Philadelphia Transit Workers End Strike, and More Bargaining News
More than 5,100 members of the Transport Workers (TWU) ended their strike in Philadelphia this morning, 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 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
NEGOTIATIONS
TWU, SEPTA: The six-day strike by Philadelphia transit workers is over. Transport Workers (TWU) Local 234 and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) reached a tentative agreement early this morning, in time to get trains and buses running for the morning commute. A ratification vote by TWU’s 5,100 members will be held in the next 10 days.
1,800 Boeing Workers Ratify Pact with Pay Increases—and More Bargaining News
Some 1,800 Boeing workers ratify pact with pay increases, 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 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
UAW, Boeing: Members of UAW Local 1069 at Boeing’s Rotorcraft plant near Philadelphia ratified a new five-year contract yesterday, after their contract expired Oct. 1. The new pact covers nearly 1,800 workers and includes annual raises between 2 percent and 4 percent and improves pension benefits.
2,000 City Workers Ratify Pact with Milwaukee—and More Bargaining News
AFSCME members ratified a new contract with the city of Milwaukee, 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 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
AFSCME, City of Milwaukee: Members of AFSCME Council 48 ratified a new contract with the city of Milwaukee. The 2,000 city employees agreed to a pay freeze for 2010 and 2011 in return for a no-layoff guarantee.
AFL-CIO Delegates: Jazzed and Ready to Rock
| Kathy Scott |
| Sylvia Wilson |
| Rick Bloomingdale |
The Jacob L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh is filled with union members and leaders taking part in the AFL-CIO’s 26th Constitutional Convention, many of them first-time convention delegates like Lisha Thayer from Mine Workers Local 717 member from New York. (See Thayer and many other AFL-CIO delegates at our convention video page here.)
“I’m hoping to bring back ideas to get the union involved more, more women involved in the local, with the idea I’d like to come back and say that each one reached each one of us.”
Another first-time convention participant, AFL-CIO Convention delegate Sylvia Wilson, a member of AFT, the Allegheny County (Pa.) Central Labor Council and the A. Philip Randolph Institute, was among more than 500 participants at the AFL-CIO Diversity Conference Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I want to see what’s going on in the Diversity Conference that I can carry out and apply to what I’m doing….What way can we reach out to bring more minorities in and what can we do as union members to go into the community and continue to bring more people up and elevate them and their status where they can take care of their families and have a living wage.”
Veteran delegate Richard Shaw, secretary-treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO Council in Houston, has been to many conventions and is “very excited about renewed activism in the AFL-CIO.”
“We’re certainly going to be working on health care reform and Employee Free Choice Act and I think the excitement of that and the excitement of the new officers is going to re-energize our labor movement. So I’m looking for new energy and new direction from our officers.”
500 Workers Cancel Raises to Help Massachusetts’ Budget, and More Bargaining News
Some 500 workers in Massachusetts cancel raises to help state budget deficit, 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.
SETTLEMENTS
MULTIPLE, MBTA: Four unions representing 500 workers at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), the Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Boilermakers (IBB), agreed to cancel raises set to take effect this summer to help close an estimated $160 million budget deficit. The largest MBTA union, the Boston Carmen’s Union/ATU, represents 3,200 workers and has not yet reached agreement.
Workers at American Airlines Protest CEO Bonuses, and More Bargaining News
Workers at American Airlines protest massive stock bonuses for top execs—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
TWU, American Airlines: Thousands of mechanics and ground workers at American Airlines, represented by the Transport Workers (TWU), protested outside the carrier’s Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters in reaction to the stock bonuses for top executives and managers that were paid out on April 16.
TWU Campaigns Against ‘Outrageous’ Exec Bonuses at American
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Tired of corporate executives taking seven-figure bonuses while other workers are laid off, the Transport Workers (TWU) launched a national advertising campaign to raise awareness about outrageous pending awards at AMR, the parent company for American Airlines and American Eagle.
The union began running ads April 2 in major news outlets such as CNN and in newspapers in Dallas, Chicago, Miami, Tulsa and other major American Airlines markets.
TWU also is reaching out to the public through ads on Google and other Internet sites and search engines. Each message encourages frequent flyers and the general public to play the “American Exec Check” game here. The interactive online game challenges the public to guess how much various CEOs make and to drag their caricatures to a desk marked with differing dollar figures.
10,000 Flight Attendants at Southwest Voting on New Contract
The nearly 10,000 flight attendants at Southwest Airlines—members of Transportation Workers (TWU) Local 556—are voting on a new four-year agreement that includes a number of improvements, including pay raises.
Along with the pay raises, the tentative deal—approved by TWU Local 556’s executive board—includes a boost in 401(k) contributions and improvements in leave, flexibility and job security, among other areas and no economic concessions. Says TWU Local 556 President Thom McDaniel:
This round of negotiations was conducted with a spirit of cooperation and partnership that demonstrates the legendary culture of Southwest Airlines. Times are tough in the airline industry, but labor relations don’t have to be. At Southwest Airlines, we are at our best when we focus on solving problems instead of just winning and that’s what happened here.
IAM, ALPA, AFA-CWA and TNG-CWA Workers Reach Tentative Contracts—and More Bargaining News
Customer service workers, flight attendants, pilots and telecom workers gain tentative contracts—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
IBEW, WTMJ-TV: Camera and media tech workers, represented by the Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 715, picketed outside of WTMJ-TV studios in Milwaukee as talk show host Conan O’Brien visited the NBC affiliate on his nationwide promotional tour. The local is in the process of negotiating a new contract.
Union Civil Rights Activists Vow to Keep King’s Dream Alive
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Union civil rights activists this weekend celebrated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., by commiting to hold the new administration and Congress accountable and carry on the work they did in the 2008 election to mobilize workers in support of a strong progressive agenda.
More than 800 participants in the annual AFL-CIO King Day celebration in New Orleans, which ends today, also responded to President-elect Obama’s call to honor King with community service. They joined with hundreds of area union members to roll up their sleeves in more than 20 different community service projects in a city that continues to suffer three years later from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Over two days, the activists helped repair an African American museum, churches and homes in hard-hit St. Bernard Parish.
