It’s a ‘Hard Land’ for Locked-Out Miners
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Several hundred Los Angeles-area union members recently came together to lend support and solidarity to the nearly 600 members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 locked out at Rio Tinto’s Borax mine in Boron, Calif. Now, you can get a firsthand look at this union solidarity in action with this slide show set to the word and music of Bruce Springsteen’s “This Hard Land.”
A caravan, organized by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, delivered more than $30,000 in food and other supplies to support the miners fighting the international mining conglomerate’s move to outsource jobs, convert full-time jobs to part-time temporary work, slash retirement benefits and gut grievance protections and other workplace rules.
UAW Reaches Tentative Agreement on NUMMI Closing
The UAW today announced it has reached a tentative agreement on the planned closing of Toyota’s New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, Calif. The agreement covers some 4,500 members of UAW Local 2244.
The tentative agreement will be presented to members of the local in the coming days. Details are being withheld pending a ratification vote by the membership. Voting dates have not yet been scheduled.
Comcast Repair Techs Choose IBEW
Installation repair technicians at Comcast in Fairfield, N.J., withstood a strong anti-union campaign by the employer and voted last week to join Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 827.
The vote, which was administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), signals a change in the way the company’s installation repair technicians are standing up for their rights on the job, said Local 827 Organizing Chair Jason D’Errico:
The win is groundbreaking for these workers. This is their first step toward gaining a collective bargaining agreement. The Comcast workers have stood strong against this multibillion-dollar giant.
Whirlpool Exec’s Letter Strengthens Workers’ Resolve
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Whirlpool executive Paul Coburn’s memo warning Whirlpool workers not to participate in a rally tomorrow to save their jobs has only made the workers more determined than ever to fight the company’s decision to lay off 1,100 workers and send jobs to Mexico when U.S. unemployment is at its highest level in decades.
The reaction to his “open letter,” contained in an internal newsletter, has been quick and strong. It also has put a national spotlight on the practice of many employers to cut costs and raise profits by moving jobs offshore without regard for the communities and workers they leave behind.
Show solidarity with the Whirlpool workers, 900 of whom are members of IUE-CWA Local 808, by signing an online petition urging Whirlpool to reverse its decision and Keep It Made in America: Save Our Jobs. Click here to add your name to the nearly 40,000 who already have signed the petition.
More than 630 people commented on the story about Coburn’s letter on the Huffington Post, many condemning Coburn for trying to stifle dissent and for moving good jobs out of the country. Many cited the $20 million in federal economic recovery money Whirlpool received and the boost in sales from the government’s push for energy-efficient appliances.
L.A. Unions Send Caravan of Food, Hope to Locked-Out Rio Tinto Miners
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Several hundred Southern California union members rallied at a Dodger Stadium parking lot yesterday before sending off a caravan carrying more than $30,000 worth of food and other supplies for locked-out borax miners at Rio Tinto’s Boron, Calif., mine. The mine is about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
The caravan was organized by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor to support the nearly 600 members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 who are fighting the international mining conglomerate’s move to outsource jobs, convert full-time jobs to part-time temporary work, slash retirement benefits and gut grievance protections and other workplace rules.
Last month the workers rejected the contract offer and Rio Tinto locked them out Jan. 31.
Locked-out miner Randy Laursen told the rally:
You know we got big corporations trying to push all the laborers out, make nothing….This is America. We all have a right to make a decent living.
Whirlpool Warns Workers to Skip Friday Rally
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In an internal newsletter at Whirlpool Corp.’s Evansville, Ind., plant, Paul Coburn, vice president of Whirlpool’s Evansville Division, says the decision to close the plant and kill 1,100 jobs will not be reconsidered and warns workers about attending a Friday rally protesting the shutdown:
…these negative activities will only hamper employees when they look for future jobs….We fear that potential employers will view the actions of a few and determine whether they would want to hire any of Evansville Division employees in the future.
You can read more about Coburn’s memo on The Huffington Post here.
Show solidarity with the Whirlpool workers, 900 of whom are members of IUE-CWA Local 808, by signing an online petition urging Whirlpool to reverse its decision and Keep It Made in America: Save Our Jobs. Click here to add your name to nearly 40,000 who already have signed the petition.
Locked-Out Vancouver Airport Workers Return to Work
Some 300 food, beverage and concession workers employed by HMSHost at Vancouver International Airport will return to work over the next two days after the company agreed to lift a lockout during mediation. The workers, members of UNITEHERE! Local 40, were locked out Feb. 18 after a one-day strike.
Local 40 members have been working without a contract since March 2009. The main issue in negotiations is job security. Sixty workers are set to lose their jobs after the Olympics ends. The workers say they also are standing together to fight for contract language that would provide job security for long-term employees when new food outlets open.
Umps Make Right Call, Vote for OPEIU Affiliation
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No arguing with the umpire on this call. The 215-member Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) voted by 91 percent to affiliate with the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU).
AMLU President Shaun Francis says the umpires’ decision:
“is the next step in a progression toward improving the lives and working conditions of some of the hardest working and most underappreciated people in the game.”
The life of a minor league umpire is difficult, with low pay, no vacation or sick time and no ability to return home during the long season, which lasts from spring training in March to mid to late September. Salary for a minor league umpire starts at $1,800 per month and is only paid during the season, forcing the umpires to work a second or third job during the off-season.
Time Is Now for TSO Bargaining Rights
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Hundreds of workers braved the cold Washington, D.C., weather today to send a message to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Give transportation security officers (TSOs) who protect the flying public the opportunity to protect themselves with the right to bargain a union contract.
“Chanting Union Rights for TSOs,” members of dozens of unions rallied at AFL-CIO headquarters this morning. Speaking within earshot of the White House, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker said:
“It is way past time for the Obama administration to give the TSOs their right to bargain collectively and hold their election so they can sit down at the table with management, start the negotiations and change their lives for the better.”
AFGE yesterday filed a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for an election to allow the 41,000 TSOs to vote on union representation. In 2003, the Bush administration stripped the workers of collective bargaining rights.
AFGE Files for TSA Election; Rally for Workers’ Rights Set for Tomorrow
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The 41,000 transportation security officers (TSO) at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are a step closer to winning the collective bargaining rights they have been denied since 2003.
Today, AFGE filed a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for an election to allow the TSOs to vote on union representation. More than 30 percent of the TSOs nationwide support the AFGE petition. In 2003, the Bush administration stripped the workers of collective bargaining rights. Says AFGE President John Gage:
We have always known that the choice to unionize and the task of winning collective bargaining rights for the TSA workforce would be a two-part process. While it would be ideal for a TSA administrator to have granted collective bargaining rights first, the two do not have to go hand-in-hand. By settling the question of representation first, AFGE will be ready to begin negotiations as soon as the bargaining rights are established.
