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.
103 Students Set to Graduate from National Labor College
Rachelle Honeycutt works at an oil refinery in Washington State. Sam Schaffer is a skilled sheet metal worker from West Virginia. Javier Almazan organizes workers in south Florida and Cathy Merkel is a registrar in Maryland. They’re all union members. And in a few days, all four will be graduates of one of the crown jewels of the labor movement: the National Labor College.
With a 46-acre campus just outside Washington, D.C., the nation’s only labor college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and grants bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The college evolved from the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, created in 1969, and now partners with the University of Baltimore and George Mason University for its graduate degree programs.
On Saturday, 101 students will receive B.A. degrees and two others will be awarded M.A. degrees, as the Labor College graduates its 11th class in a ceremony on the Silver Spring, Md., campus. U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will give the commencement address.
Congress Hears Demands for Health Care Reform in Town Hall Meetings
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| Sen. Arlen Specter says health care is a right. |
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| “Nothing is more important to me than ensuring that President Obama passes health care reform.” |
Members of Congress met in town hall sessions Thursday with constituents who were on Capitol Hill to rally and demand health care reform. Read dispatches from some of the meetings.
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Ohio Weighs In
After the rally, more than 250 activists from Ohio met at the Columbus Club at Union Station to plan for an afternoon of lobbying and hear from members of Congress about health care reform.
The session was introduced by Tim Burga of the Ohio AFL-CIO, who decried the “free market run amok” in the current health care system and affirmed that we must have a serious public health insurance option.
He introduced Hattie Wilkins, who made one of the most moving speeches of the event. Her situation illustrates the deep problems working families have with the way the current system operates. Hattie is a member of the United Steelworkers (USW) union who worked for 35 years for Brentwood Originals, a pillow factory in Youngstown, Ohio. The USW struck Brentwood Originals in 2008, and more than three-quarters of the workforce has been laid off. She was fired because of her strong support for the union, Hattie said. She has been collecting $887 a month in unemployment since then. She has COBRA coverage, and now pays $275 per month—31 percent of earnings from unemployment—for her health insurance. She pays another $450 per month for her mortgage payment, leaving her only $162 each month for food, utilities, transportation and all her other expenses. Now her unemployment payments are ending and she doesn’t know what she is going to do.
At 58 years of age, Hattie is searching for another job at places like McDonald’s but has to compete with applicants much younger than she is. She gave us her cell phone number, though she wasn’t sure how much longer she would have it. Hattie came to Washington, D.C., to participate in the rally and make sure her elected representatives heard her voice on this critical issue.
The Latest on Pennsylvania Town Hall
Sen. Specter has arrived, and compliments the crowd on its tenacity and commitment. Specter says he agrees that health care is a right and believes health care legislation will pass and will include a public option component. Of course, in a room full of union members, the Employee Free Choice Act came up. Specter says he is working hard to find an answer for early union certification and gaining first contracts.
Pennsylvania Update
The folks at Capitol City Brewing Co. are waiting for Sen. Arlen Specter to arrive. We hear reports he’s been at the White House.
U.S., European Union File Complaint Over China’s Trade Restrictions
The Obama administration and the European Union (EU) announced yesterday they plan to jointly file a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China’s trade restrictions on exports of key raw materials used to manufacture products such as baseball bats, contact lenses and plumbing fixtures.
When China joined the WTO in 2001, it committed to remove the export restrictions on the raw materials. The export restraints are significant because China is the largest global producer of many of the raw materials in question—bauxite, coke, zinc, silicon metal, silicon carbide, fluorspar, yellow phosphorous, magnesium and manganese.
STEELING a Union’s ID
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has been called a lot of names. Here’s another one for him: cheater.
It’s not surprising Steele and the Republicans are embarrassed about their party. But Steele has hit a new low (insert Munch’s “Scream” here): He’s set up an RNC fundraising page on Facebook made to look like it’s the United Steelworkers union.
The “United STEELE Workers Union” page even features a hard hat with an American flag sticker front and center.
Just curious, Michael: Doesn’t a white hard hat clash with your designer suits?
U.S. Trade Commission Rules for USW in China Tire Import Case
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The International Trade Commission (ITC) today ruled in favor of a trade petition filed in April by the United Steelworkers (USW) to slow a torrent of tire exports to the United States during the past several years. Those exports have cost thousands of U.S. jobs.
According to the USW petition, nearly 5,100 U.S. tire workers have lost their jobs as a result of massive erosion in the domestic market since 2004. The loss of jobs coincides with a huge surge in imports of consumer tires from China. Some 3,000 more jobs are slated to be lost by year’s end as three U.S. plants are threatened with closure.
Organizing and Mobilizing with Flair
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For four days next week, the campus of the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Md., will reverberate with the sounds of music, poetry and creative chants and art.
From June 20-23, some 100 union and social justice activists will participate in the annual Great Labor Arts Exchange and Conference on Creative Organizing, programs that combine union mobilization and outreach with songs, skits, art, poetry, theater, posters, cartoons and film.
For 31 years, the Great Labor Arts Exchange has celebrated the rich cultural heritage of working people and served as a forum that brings together talented labor artists, activists, cultural workers, educators and students.
Last year, the Great Labor Arts Exchange featured a wealth of new, young talent. Some of last year’s featured events included a giant puppet show by two members of the United Steelworkers (USW) who showed participants one way to use street theater to deliver a message. Tayo Aluko, a Nigerian who now lives in Liverpool, England, performed a one-man show on the life of actor and human rights activist Paul Robeson.
Pilots Hold Info Picket at Continental Shareholders’ Meeting, and More Bargaining News
Pilots hold info picket at Continental shareholders’ meeting—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
ALPA, Continental: Continental Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), conducted informational picketing at the annual stockholders’ meeting to press for a fair contract that acknowledges many of the sacrifices and the cuts made by the workers to help the airline. Capt. Jay Pierce, chairman of the ALPA chapter for the Continental pilots, stated that the carrier has “gained a reputation as a leader in the industry and a leader in its treatment of employees. I come before you with one simple demand: show us that you are willing to be a leader when it comes to dealing with your pilots.”
Grassroots Action Around the Country for Employee Free Choice
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| The fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act continues in Arkansas and other states. Below, Tim Strong, president of CWA Local 4900 in Indiana, explains the bill. |
As the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act takes place in Washington, D.C., union members and allies are hard at work around the country to help pass this critical legislation to level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions.
At the Huffington Post, the AFL-CIO’s Stewart Acuff reports that members of the Arkansas Conference of Black Mayors are joining civil rights leaders, religious leaders, small business owners and union members from across the state in asking their senators to support workers by voting for the Employee Free Choice Act.
In North Carolina, Larry Murray of the Steelworkers (USW) says the fight for employee free choice is a top priority throughout his union and the entire union movement because its passage means an economy that works for everyone:
“The Employee Free Choice Act is vitally important because on top of the poor economic situation, the playing field is not level. Companies have an enormous advantage in the current system.”
550,000 NYC Workers Win Pact to Save Jobs, and More Bargaining News
More than 550,000 New York City active and retired workers reached an agreement that will delay and reduce layoffs, 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 Unions, New York City: More than 550,000 New York City active and retired workers, represented by unions in the Municipal Labor Committee, including AFSCME, AFT and many other unions, reached an agreement for city workers to contribute more to their health care in exchange for delayed and reduced layoffs.
UAW, General Motors: UAW locals nationwide ratified a new agreement with General Motors and the U.S. government. ”UAW members have once again stepped up to make necessary and painful sacrifices to preserve U.S. manufacturing jobs,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. The agreement laid the groundwork for GM to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in court. The federal government takes a 60 percent ownership stake in the company during its restructuring, and UAW will emerge with a 17.5 percent ownership through shares of the new GM held by the retiree medical VEBA trust. UAW agrees not to strike until 2015 in the new agreement.
UAW, Volvo Mack Trucks: UAW members ratified a master agreement with Volvo Mack Trucks, which includes the establishment of an independent VEBA trust that will assume responsibility for providing health care to retired workers. The trust must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a process that can take up to 12 months.
IUE-CWA, GE: Some 2,000 General Electric workers at Appliance Park in Louisville, Ky., represented by IUE-CWA Local 761, voted to accept a pay freeze until the current agreement expires in June 2011. In exchange, GE will add some 100 jobs at the Louisville complex. “Hopefully, this gets the ball rolling and starts bringing in these jobs by the end of the year,” said local President Jerry Carney.
AFSCME, Manatee County, Fla.: Manatee County, Fla., School District bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other school support workers with 21 years of seniority, represented by AFSCME, will see a 1 percent pay increase next year under terms of a new agreement.
IBEW, Boston Globe: Technical services workers at the Boston Globe, represented by the Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 103, ratified an agreement to help the financially struggling newspaper company. Members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) are set to vote on similar proposals.
IATSE, Eugene, Ore.: Eugene, Ore., city workers, represented by International Association of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 675, agreed to a three-year contract with no pay raise in the first year starting in July, with a 2.5 percent pay increase in the following fiscal year. In the third year, either the union or the city will be able to reopen talks on wages and benefits.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
HPAE-AFT, Englewood Hospital: In New Jersey, 700 nurses, represented by the Union of Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE-AFT), launched pickets outside of the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center after management locked out workers and hired replacements. HPAE-AFT offered to rescind their strike notice, but management said they had to honor their contract with the company, US Nursing, supplying the replacement workers.
NEGOTIATIONS
USW, MeadWestvaco: Workers represented by the United Steelworkers (USW) at MeadWestvaco’s paper mill in Covington, Ky., are set to resume negotiations after a two-year hiatus in bargaining talks.
Disclaimer: This information is being provided for your information only. As it is compiled from published news reports, not from individual unions, we cannot vouch for either its completeness or accuracy; readers who desire further information should directly contact the union involved.
