Bargaining Digest Weekly

by Gordon Pavy, Nov 25, 2006

The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 800 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

Outside Syracuse, N.Y., the United Steelworkers (USW) accepted a contract with Camillus Cutlery, ending their six-month strike. In a really callous move, the company initially locked out the 50 or so workers who decided to go back together as a group. The settlement includes jobs for only 15 of the 78 workers on the payroll before the strike began. The company met with the union to give them a list of the 15 workers they wanted back—at $6 per hour less than they earned under the last contract. The union was forced to settle so the workers who will lose their jobs could apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits. 

The 300 Steelworkers at AK Steel in Mansfield, Ohio, approved a new four-year contract that was not due to expire until next February. They negotiated the new deal in one month.  

In Middletown, Ohio, AK Steel and the Machinists (IAM) met last week but remain far apart in the eight-month-old lockout. No new talks are scheduled.  

Once again, Delphi Corp. asked the bankruptcy judge for an extension to Jan. 1 on the ruling for canceling labor contracts with its unions. The judge ordered both sides back to court on Nov. 30 to report progress before he makes a ruling. 

The 900 registered nurses, members of Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, are preparing for a day of informational picketing Nov. 28 to goose stalled negotiations. WSNA is an affiliate of the United American Nurses.  

If you ever had any doubt that companies are strategically using bankruptcy laws to slash wages and benefits, here’s the story of how US Airways double dipped into the bankruptcy law to do just that and get into a position to bid for Delta. The article points out how companies in bankruptcy make good takeover targets because of their reduced debt and low wages and benefits. Some experts think if US Airways bid for Delta, so would the industry, resulting in a wave of mergers that would consolidate overcapacity. 

Two bankrupt airlines in the news for their being possible takeover targets by other carriers are adding to their payrolls. Delta says it will recall 700 maintenance employees and Northwest Airlines (NWA) will hire 200 ground workers. Delta’s maintenance crew is unorganized and the Northwest ground workers are represented by the IAM. Delta had furloughed 1,000 maintenance workers a year ago and NWA will hold a job fair to find their new hires.  

Helicopter pilots at PHI, members of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), ended their strike after an unconditional return to work offer that the company accepted. It is unclear if OPEIU can get the company back to the table as its membership dwindled to 200 from 380 out of the 780 pilots at the company before the strike. 

DaimlerChrysler confirmed that it is in talks with Chinese auto manufacturer Chery to import small cars to the United States. 

San Jose firefighters are in arbitration over the issue of special pay differences with the police officers’ contract. No details are available, but firefighters in Vallejo, Calif., inked a tentative contract that would save the city $750,000 a year. AFSCME members at the Cuyahoga Municipal Housing Authority approved a new three-year contract that gives them raises of $.50 per hour.   

West Chicago Department of Public Works labor talks show progress for the 45 Operating Engineers (IUOE) members who are employees of the city who struck for 10 days trying to move things along. 

Grabbing a term from the medical providers they cover, NBC is setting up a “Center of Excellence” so affiliates can share coverage of medical news stories. NBC is laying off 700 news workers and the network says that sharing news can increase the content three-to-four times what it is now.  

A new medical report by Mercer says that employers are running into limits on how much more they can shift rising health benefit costs to workers. Don’t despair: Employers will persevere, trying new and innovative ways to make workers pay more—provided it doesn’t mean raising wages.   

The same study shows Massachusetts health care costs are the fourth-highest in the nation, averaging $9,428 per month per worker, including the workers’ contributions. 

Hugh McAdam, the ex-CEO of International Paper Box Machine Co., was charged with stealing $346,706 from his workers. McAdam had 401(k) contributions, the company matches and employee loan repayments from 72 workers diverted to company operations and then abruptly closed the company. 

With the prospect of a federal minimum wage increase on the horizon, opponents are crawling out of their holes to claim that the minimum wage is a mirage that destroys jobs and prices the working poor out of the market. How many of these experts would volunteer for a program that would eliminate their pay increases for 10 years so their employer could keep staff levels up or prices of their company down? Minimum wage increases don’t stop policymakers from enacting laws that encourage companies to create good jobs.

For more new bargaining news articles, check out the news page of Bargaining@Work.   

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (1)