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Help Locked-Out Workers Get Through the Holidays, and More Bargaining News |
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Workers locked out at Progress Casting in Minnesota need your help for the holidays—and more news here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND ACTIONS
GMP, Progress Casting: Many workers locked out since Oct. 27 from Progress Casting in Plymouth, Minn., are struggling to make ends meet as the holidays approach—and their health care coverage has been cut. Please support our brothers and sisters in their battle. The workers are represented by the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers (GMP) Local 63B, and the union has set up a fund to assist members. Donations may be sent to “GMP 63B Relief Fund,” 2520 Kennedy St., N.E., Minneapolis, MN 55413. Supporters also are asked to write Progress Casting to urge an end to the lockout. Send letters to Bill Bieber (owner) or Tim Meador (general manager), Progress Casting, 2600 Niagara Lane N., Plymouth, MN 55447.
AFSCME, Parkview Memorial Hospital: Nurses at Parkview Memorial Hospital near Riverside, Calif., represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (AFSCME), rallied to call attention to contract negotiations with the hospital they say are going much too slowly. Workers voted to unionize on Feb. 1, and negotiations for a first contract have stalled.
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
UAW, Casino Aztar: In Evansville, Ind., 200 casino workers at Casino Aztar, who won representation by the UAW, reached an agreement to drop unfair labor practice charges for the casino making unilateral changes to medical benefits after the workers voted for the UAW. Aztar will compensate workers for the cost of the changes and bargaining for a first contract are expected to begin in the coming weeks.
NEGOTIATIONS
TWU, American Airlines: Contract negotiations between the Transport Workers (TWU) and American Airlines ended without an agreement, and the two sides now will ask the National Mediation Board to step in. American and the union have been negotiating a new contract for more than a year. The two sides began intense talks Dec. 2 to push for a deal and agreed they would bring in federal mediators if they didn’t work out an agreement.
SPEEA-IFPTE, Boeing: Boeing engineers, represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace-IFPTE (SPEEA-IFPTE), will resume negotiations with the company next month. Contract talks began Nov. 17, and the union rejected an initial contract offer.
TNG-CWA, Denver Post: The Denver Post’s principal owner has asked workers, represented by The Newspaper Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA) Local 37074, to reopen their contracts in an effort to cut expenses by $20 million.
AFSCME, Toledo: More than 800 city of Toledo (Ohio) workers, represented by AFSCME Local 7, rejected a new, three-year contract offer that would have frozen salaries for the first two years and raised premium costs for hospitalization and prescription drugs. The vote gives union leaders the authorization to issue a 10-day strike notice.
SETTLEMENTS
AFT, Cincinnati Public Schools: Educators with Cincinnati Public Schools, represented by AFT, reached an agreement that maintains salary scales and benefits unchanged for 2009. Workers are finishing the second year of three-year contracts signed in 2007, but negotiators left compensation issues undetermined for the contract’s final year.
USW, Dow Chemical: Workers, represented by the United Steelworkers (USW), reached agreement with Dow Chemical Co. for severance packages in an attempt to save jobs. The Fortune-50 chemical giant will shed 5,000 full-time positions worldwide, parties indicate.
AFT, Grayslake Elementary: In Illinois, 46 teachers in the Grayslake Elementary District, represented by AFT have a new three-year contract that provides 4 percent annual raises.
IAFF, Anchorage: Anchorage firefighters, represented by the Fire Fighters (IAFF), have a new five-year contract that provides 3 percent wage increases next year, with increases between 2.9 percent and 4.5 percent during the next four years. The latter increases will be calculated using five-year inflation averages.
ORGANIZING
ALPA, Colgan Air: Pilots at Colgan Air voted to join the Air Line Pilots (ALPA). Colgan Air operates as Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express from numerous bases in the Northeast and Texas.
Disclaimer: This information is being provided for your information only. As it is compiled from published news reports, not from individual unions, we cannot vouch for either its completeness or accuracy; readers who desire further information should directly contact the union involved.
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