The Community Costs of American Crystal Sugar Lockout to Date: $30.5 Million
|
|
Amy Masciola, communications consultant with the Minnesota AFL-CIO, sends us this.
When a company locks out workers and won’t negotiate a contract, the entire community suffers a massive economic loss—as a new report on the economic effects of American Crystal Sugar Co.’s lockout of 1,300 workers in the upper Midwest details.
According to “A Region on the Ropes,” even as the company reported record profits during its annual meeting last week, families of locked-out workers are losing $1,000 to $2,300 per month, and the local economy of the Red River Valley has had direct losses of nearly $12 million during the four months of the lockout. The report, issued by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM), states:
Instead of continuing negotiations with its employees, Crystal Sugar has made increasing profits and compensation for its executives the priority. The Company has hired inexperienced, non-union contract workers and is turning a blind eye to the wider economic fallout, which to date totals an estimated $30.5 million.
Steelworkers Ratify New Contract, End 11-Month Lockout—and More Bargaining News
Some 750 United Steelworkers (USW) members ratified a new contract, ending an 11-month lockout, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,400 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
USW, U.S. Steel: In Canada, members of USW Local 1005 ratified a new contract, ending an 11-month lockout by U.S. Steel. The pact, covering some 750 workers, will run until Oct. 15, 2014.
UAW Members Ratify Pact with Oshkosh—and More Bargaining News
UAW members in Wisconsin ratify a new contract with Oshkosh Corp., and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,400 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
UAW, Oshkosh Corp.: Members of UAW Local 578 voted to ratify a new five-year deal with Oshkosh Corp. in Oshkosh, Wis. The 3,100 workers approved the agreement, following two earlier rejections, after the company dropped proposals that would have allowed it to hire temporary workers.
AFT, Philadelphia School District: Teachers at Philadelphia’s public schools approved a one-year contract extension with the school district. The contract now runs through August 2013 and covers 15,000 members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (AFT).
AFSCME, University of California: Patient care workers and service workers at University of California campuses ratified new contracts that will provide wage increases for some 20,000 AFSCME members. The patient care contract runs until Sept. 30, 2012, while the service contract expires Jan. 31, 2013.
Ship Pilots, Machinists, Deputy Sheriffs, Bakers and Communication Techs Join AFL-CIO Unions
 |
The 250 members of the Panama Canal Pilots Union recently voted to affiliate with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). The pilots guide the ships that transit the historic canal. Says ILWU President Robert McEllrath:
Both unions will benefit from this new affiliation that will provide each with more solidarity and support. With more of our employers now operating around the globe this kind of strategic alliance makes a lot of sense.
In Kent, Wash., the 165 workers at Hytek Finishes voted to join the Machinists (IAM) after a four-month battle. The workers specialize in various types of metal finishing and coating for aerospace manufacturers, including the Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter.
Locked-Out BCTGM Workers Fight Union-Busting
 |
|
Locked-out workers from Roquette America’s Keokuk, Iowa, plant took their fight for justice to French-owned multinational corporation’s just-opened Geneva, Ill., facility yesterday. And the global labor movement is lining up behind the locked-out workers.
The members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 48 G were joined by allies, including Jobs with Justice, at the grand opening and first customer workshop of Roquette America’s so-called innovation center. But as the fliers the workers handed out and signs they carried said:
There’s Nothing Innovative About Union Busting.
The workers had one basic request: Return to the bargaining table and bargain in good faith.
BCTGM local 48G President Steve Underwood says the lockout of the 240 workers since September “has been devastating for Keokuk families and our local economy.”
Roquette has heard repeated pleas from our members and supporters all across Iowa, but they haven’t listened. Our only option is to take the next step and move our campaign to other locations until the company decides to live up to its own commitments and return to the bargaining table.
IAM Ratifies Pact with Army Fleet Support—and More Bargaining News
The Machinists (IAM) approved a new contract with Army Fleet Support, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,300 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
IAM, Army Fleet Support: Members of Machinists (IAM) Local 2003 at Ft. Rucker, Ala., ratified a new three-year contract with Army Fleet Support earlier this month. The 3,800 IAM members are trainers, test pilots and mechanics at the Army’s largest helicopter base.
Workers Across Nation Choose a Voice with AFL-CIO Unions
 |
||||
|
||||
County workers, professional employees, bakery workers, airborne pilots and “ghost” pilots and sheriff’s deputies are among the latest workers to choose a voice at work with AFL-CIO unions.
In Utah, more than 400 Salt Lake County workers won a union voice with AFSCME Local 1004. The 408 county employees—skilled trades, maintenance and service workers—could vote for union representation only after AFSCME fought and won passage of a county collective bargaining ordinance last year.
John Farrer, a Highway Department worker, says:
This is definitely a positive thing for workers, and that’s why they voted it in. With all that’s happened, the wage cuts, benefits going down and insurance going up, we need a strong union voice to represent the interests of working families.
Union Challenges Stella D’oro Announced Shutdown
 |
|
Workers at the Stella D’oro Biscuit Co. in the Bronx, N.Y., charge that the cookie maker’s decision to shutter the plant this fall is a direct retaliation against the workers striking the company in 2008.
Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) filed charges this week with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking to block the shutdown and also demanded the company reopen negotiations.
On June 30, an NLRB administrative law judge ruled that Stella D’oro, which now is owned by the private equity firm Brynwood Partners, refused to bargain with the union, improperly declared an impasse in negotiations and illegally refused the workers’ offer May 6 to return to work. The law judge ordered the company to reinstate the 136 workers with back pay and interest.
The company reinstated the workers July 6, the same day it announced it would close the Bronx bakery in October and move production elsewhere.
Stella D’oro Pulls a Wal-Mart, Shuts Down When Labor Board Rules for Workers
 |
|
UPDATE: BCTGM Local 50 says it will fight Stella D’oro’s decision to close the plant and soon file retaliation charges against the company with the NLRB. We will keep you updated.
Just days after a federal administrative law judge (ALJ) found Stella D’oro Biscuit Co. guilty of several labor law violations and ordered the company to reinstate more than 130 workers who have been on strike since August, the cookie maker announced it was closing its Bronx, N.Y., plant.
Last year, members of Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) refused management demands for wage cuts by as much as $5 hour and slashes in health and pension benefits by the private equity firm that took over the company in 2006.
On June 30, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ALJ Steven Davis ruled Stella D’oro—now owned by Brynwood Partners—refused to bargain with the union, improperly declared an impasse in negotiations and illegally refused the workers’ May 6 offer to return to work. Davis ordered the company to reinstate the workers with back pay and interest.
43,000 New Jersey Communications Workers Ratify Pact, and More Bargaining News
Some 43,000 New Jersey Communications Workers of America ratify a revised contract—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 1,100 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
CWA, New Jersey: More than 43,000 workers in the largest union representing New Jersey state workers, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), ratified a revised contract that defers a raise and swaps furloughs this year for future vacation days. “During these hard economic times, nothing is more important than protecting vital public services and the jobs of working people,” said Hetty Rosenstein, CWA’s New Jersey area director.
