Channel: Organizing & Bargaining
Winning Together—NEA and the AFL-CIO
Congratulations to the seven lucky National Education Association (NEA) members who today won top prizes in the AFL-CIO Winning Together Contest by displaying their knowledge of the power of union solidarity.
The contest was sponsored by the federation’s Unity Partnerships project and was open to NEA members and staff attending the NEA Representative Assembly Expo in San Diego this week.
To enter the contest, participants answered a question about the combined voting strength of NEA and AFL-CIO active and retired households in their home states. Those who answered correctly were eligible for the grand prize and two second prizes. Everyone who submitted an answer was eligible for one of three third prizes.
In today’s drawing, Carol Sampsel of State College, Pa., won the grand prize of a $1,000 Costco gift certificate. Sampsel says:
[I] Just got a new place to live so this will come in handy!
The second prize winners, who each receive an AT&T BlackBerry Curve 8320 cell phone, are:
- Angela Gonzalez of Miami, Fla.
- Nancy Gentis of Las Vegas
- Claudia Bock of Newark, Del.
And the three winners of the third prize—an AT&T Samsung SGH-a737 cell phone—are:
- Lynette Wright of Elburn, Ill.
- Mary Mayof Nashville, Tenn.
- Amy Peel of Reno, Nev.
Unity Partnerships is a groundbreaking agreement between the national AFL-CIO and the NEA that allows local NEA associations to affiliate directly with the AFL-CIO. The program is supported by the AFT, a longtime AFL-CIO affiliate.
Covanta Complaint Shows Need for Employee Free Choice Act
Here’s another example of why the Employee Free Choice Act is so important. The National Labor Relations Board this week issued a comprehensive complaint charging Covanta Energy Corp. and all of its U.S. subsidiaries with violating federal labor law.
More than 130 workers at Covanta’s Southeastern Massachusetts (SEMASS) facility in West Wareham, Mass., voted to join Utility Workers (UWUA) Local 369 in May 2008. The facility converts solid waste into energy by shredding and burning the trash. The employees have been trying to negotiate a first contract for more than a year.
If the Employee Free Choice Act were law, this dispute would have been over months ago. The legislation provides the mediation and arbitration assistance to help settle a contract when a company and a newly certified union cannot agree on a contract after three months.
NFFE’s Richard Brown Dies at 47: ‘A Trade Unionist at Heart’
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Richard N. Brown, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), died yesterday in Arlington, Va. He was 47 years old.
Brown served as president of the 100,000-member NFFE since 1998. The union represents blue- and white-collar federal workers in more than 30 federal departments and agencies. The NFFE was founded in 1917 and affiliated with the Machinists (IAM) in 1990.
NFFE Secretary-Treasurer Bill Dougan says Brown was “a strong leader, a dedicated trade unionist, and a friend.”
Rick was a trade unionist at heart. He came from a union family and maintained membership in NFFE-IAM and the Laborers Union (LIUNA), the latter being a membership he maintained after leaving construction to become a machinist. Rick was a strong advocate for federal employees. Never one to back down, Rick was a strong presence in the fight against several federal workforce initiatives aimed at contracting out federal government jobs and eliminating federal employees’ unions.
In his passing, we have lost a strong voice and champion for working men and women. We will mourn his loss greatly.
20,000 University of Wisconsin Faculty Gain Bargaining Rights
More than 20,000 faculty members at two midwestern universities are one step closer to good union contracts. Yesterday, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle signed the state’s biennial budget, which includes a provision extending collective bargaining rights to more than 20,000 University of Wisconsin (UW) faculty, academic staff and research assistants.
The same day, some 430 instructors and adjunct faculty at Western Michigan University (WMU) voted for the Professional Instructors Organization (PIO), an AFT affiliate, to represent them.
Great Quotes: ‘Only a Fool’ Would Block Workers from Unions
As Labor Day approaches, here are some great quotes reinforcing the value of unions to our nation. A big thumbs-up to Ramona for her blog on TPM, which includes quotes from leaders as diverse as Dwight Eisenhower, Clarence Darrow and Pope John Paul II.
Eisenhower sounds like he is endorsing the Employee Free Choice Act:
Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice.
Lots to Learn on Solidarity Center Website
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The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center has added a new look to its website that shows the breadth of the center’s efforts to help workers in 60 countries achieve a better life by forming independent trade unions. The site, www.solidaritycenter.org, offers a range of options to learn about the Solidarity Center’s programs, publications and other work.
The site includes an interactive map showing regions of the world in which the center maintains field offices and linking to union news and program updates from each region.
The site follows Solidarity Center’s work on issues such as the global economy, workers’ and human rights, safety and health, migration and human trafficking, organizing and bargaining, gender and equality. It puts a global perspective on news about workers and describes the union exchange programs that allow union members to interact with workers in foreign countries and learn firsthand about the conditions they face in the workplace. It’s also a source for videos of workers around the world struggling to join unions.
Two Unions in Hawaii Seek to Block Governor from Ordering Furloughs—and More Bargaining News
Two unions in Hawaii seek to block the governor from ordering furloughs for thousands of state workers—and more updates 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 JOB ACTIONS
Multiple, BART: Two of the larger BART unions, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and SEIU Local 1021, agreed to extend their labor contracts beyond the June 30 expiration through July 9 at midnight. AFSCME, which represents white-collar workers at BART, expects to sign a similar extension. You can get real-time updates on Twitter at https://twitter.com/realbartworkers.
Four Honored for Promoting Diversity in Entertainment Industry
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Committees of Actors’ Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors (SAG) will honor four performing artists who have made important contributions to increasing diversity in their professions. The 2009 Ivy Bethune Tri-Union Diversity Awards will be presented in Los Angeles on June 29.
The awards celebrate individuals and organizations that take an active stand for diversity within the industry. This year’s theme, “Storytellers,” commends individuals who, by sharing their own stories, have encouraged cross-cultural understanding and enabled others to express their dreams and creativity.
The 2009 honorees are:
- Actor George Takei for his long-standing history of activism for artists of every race and creed, including his work with the Arts in Transit program that creates opportunity for artists within the public sector;
- Victoria Ann Lewis, writer, actor and teacher who established the Other Voices Project, which cultivates and produces writers and performers with disabilities;
- Cheryl Burke, a dancer who encourages children of all ethnicities to express themselves through movement;
- Charlie Hill, a Native American stand-up comedian and storyteller who uses humor to share elements unique to Native American culture and those we all share.
Ludlow Massacre Site Dedicated as National Landmark
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Today, Mine Workers (UMWA) leaders, union activists, lawmakers and historians will dedicate the site of the 1914 Ludlow Massacre—one of the bloodiest chapters in the nation’s labor history—as a National Historic Landmark.
On April 20, 1914, in Ludlow, Colo., thugs hired by several coal companies and the Colorado militia attacked a peaceful encampment of striking miners and their families. By the end of the day, 20 were shot or burned to death, including 14 women and children.
More than 90 years ago, UMWA erected a monument there. But since 1918, despite the efforts of family survivors, historians and labor activists, there was no state or national commemoration of the site.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated Ludlow a National Historic Landmark. UMWA President Cecil Roberts says the designation will “preserve the memory of this brutal attack on workers and their families.”
The tragic lessons from Ludlow still echo through our nation, and they must never be forgotten by Americans who truly care about workplace fairness and equality. With this designation, the story of what happened at Ludlow will remain part of our nation’s history. That is as it should be.
IBEW, OPEIU Members Honored at Labor College Graduation
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Among the 103 union members who received their college degrees in ceremonies at the National Labor College (NLC) today, two were singled out for special recognition.
Ken Erdman of the Electrical Workers (IBEW) received the 2009 Seidman Award, given to students whose senior paper best focuses on aging and retirement issues. Cathy Merkel, a member of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), was honored with the President’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship, her contribution to labor education and exemplary service to her union, the NLC and the union movement.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka told the graduates that the campus is one place we put aside our differences of occupation, geography or union.
Here we focus on what we all have in common: A legacy of great struggle and a deep commitment to build a better future for working families across the nation and everywhere in the world.
All totaled, 101 students received B.A. degrees and two others were awarded M.A. degrees as part of the Labor College’s 11th graduating class in a ceremony on the Silver Spring, Md., campus. The graduates are members of 23 different unions.
The Labor College enables adults working full-time with families and other commitments to break the barriers they face in pursuing higher education.
U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis delivered the commencement address.
Click here to read more about the NLC graduation and the graduates.
