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.
Doctors, Teachers, Bakers and More Win Union Voice
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While Republican lawmakers and right-wing talking heads try to demonize the union movement, physicians, nurses, flight instructors, technicians, bakers and more are the latest workers to choose a voice on the job with AFL-CIO unions.
More than 1,900 AT&T technicians across Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 3 in the Southeastern United States recently joined CWA through majority sign-up. The workers perform installation and repair for AT&T’s U-Verse TV, Internet and voice service.
In Portland, Ore., 156 workers at Dosha Salon and Spa voted for CWA Local 7901 in a hard-fought, 18-month campaign that included fierce anti-union campaign. Organizing Coordinator Al Kogler said the hair stylists, massage therapists, nail technicians, spa hosts, schedulers and laundry workers at the four salon locations didn’t back down.
Instead, the workers stayed upbeat and stuck together, wearing red T-shirts to anti-union meetings and temporary pro-union tattoos.
This Halloween, Go with Union-Made Treats
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When the hordes of Halloween trick-or-treaters—from tiny Lady Gagas to younger-than-Justin-Biebers, along with the traditional pirates, witches and ghosts—come knocking on your door, you can treat them to union-made Halloween candy. It’s the good stuff, too.
Our friends at the Northwest Labor Press checked in with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) union to find out which candy carried union cards.
Union: Wendy’s Robs Bakery Workers of Hard-Earned Health Care, Pensions
Wendy’s New Bakery Co., part of the Wendy’s/Arby’s Group fast-food chain, has illegally implemented concessionary contract terms proposed in bargaining at its Zanesville, Ohio, plant, according to federal unfair labor practice charges filed yesterday by Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 57. The 150 workers at the plant have been in negotiations for a new contract since March.
The union says the unilateral action by company guts the current health care plan, eliminates the pension plan and takes away workers’ rights guaranteed under the previous contract. BCTGM President Frank Hurt calls the action by the Wendy’s/Arby’s Group “a disgrace.”
For nearly three decades, members of Bakers Local 57 have taken pride in the quality products they make for Wendy’s stores and customers. The New Bakery workers have sacrificed much over the years in order to secure a quality contract with good health care coverage and a solid, guaranteed pension for themselves and their families. We will not quietly stand by and watch this company rob our members of their hard-earned benefits.
Private Equity Firms, Our New Corporate Masters?
Workers returned Tuesday to the job at Stella D’oro Biscuit Co. in the Bronx after a judge ordered the company reinstate the 136 employees who had remained strong throughout a brutal 11-month strike. But before they could even walk through the doors, they were greeted with the anti-union response by the company’s private equity firm owners, the 21st century’s mutation of the robber barons: Brynwood Partners announced it would shut down operations in October. (“Private equity firms” is the euphemism those leveraged buyout corporations adopted after leveraged buyout got a bad name in the 1980s.)
Established more than 75 years ago, Stella D’oro is a nationally known maker of specialty baked goods and until recently was a family-owned business. But a series of corporate buyouts ultimately resulted in Brynwood’s 2006 purchase of the company. And a private equity firm’s only reason for existing is to make money-lots of it. Even robber barons ultimately had to ensure they had enough workers on the job because those companies made money by making things. Not so for today’s private equity firms. Closing shop and making off with the profits is what they do.
2,500 UAW Members Say ‘No’ to Health Cuts and Outsourcing—and More Bargaining News
Some 2,500 UAW members in Texas authorize a strike—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
UAW, Bell Helicopter: Some 2,500 workers at Bell Helicopter plants in the Fort Worth, Texas, area, represented by UAW Local 218, went on strike today after rejecting contract proposals that would have increased medical costs and outsourced the work of janitors.
30,000 Workers at AT&T Reject Company’s Final Offer, and More Bargaining News
Some 30,000 workers at AT&T reject what company is calling it’s final offer, and more updates 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
CWA, AT&T: Some 30,000 AT&T workers in five states, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), have rejected what the company declared to be its ”best and final” offer to resolve a nearly three-month contract dispute. Union leaders repeatedly have said they are optimistic a deal can be reached before workers walk off the job.
