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Latest Labor News |
June 04, 2006 -
California jury awards $61 million to two FedEx drivers in
harassment lawsuit - A Superior Court jury awarded $61
million to two FedEx drivers of Lebanese descent who claimed a
manager harassed them with racial slurs for two years. Edgar
Rizkallah, 43, and Kamil Issa, 36, both of Pleasanton, said in the
discrimination lawsuit they were called "terrorists," "camel
jockeys" and other epithets in 1999 and 2000 by Stacy Shoun,
terminal manager for the Oakland FedEx Ground facility where the two
men were contract drivers. An Alameda County Superior Court jury on
Friday awarded the men $50 million in punitive damages, on top of
$11 million in compensatory damages the jury awarded them on May 24,
a lawyer for the plaintiffs and a FedEx Corp. spokesman said
Saturday. The company plans to appeal. Rizkallah and Issa, both
Lebanese-Americans, accused FedEx and Shoun in the 2001 lawsuit of
creating a hostile work environment based on their race and national
origin and causing emotional distress, said their San Francisco
lawyer, Christopher Dolan. The men complained to senior managers but
the company ignored their claims, Dolan said. Shoun was ordered to
pay $1 million to the drivers as part of the compensatory damages
award under a California law allowing individuals to be held
personally liable for workplace harassment.
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June 02, 2006 -
Postal Mail Handlers in Talks to Stay
With AFL-CIO - LIUNA
General President Terry O’Sullivan letter announcing the
disaffiliation specifically notes that LIUNA has been focusing on
the issue of solidarity charters, and their possible relationship to
“the interests of our National Postal Mail Handlers Union.” To
quote Brother O’Sullivan, “[a]s a union representing workers in the
federal sector, the Mail Handlers are faced with special
considerations in their relationships with the AFL-CIO and with
other postal unions.” We agree, and therefore we are continuing
discussions with the AFL-CIO, as it is the intention of the NPMHU,
in conjunction with LIUNA, to try to stay affiliated with the
AFL-CIO in some capacity.”
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May 03, 2006 -
Torrence Wins 2nd Term As APWU
New York 'Metro' Leader
- "Members of the New York Metro Area Postal Union have
re-elected President Clarice Torrence to a second term, as she
vanquished four opponents while getting 1,192 of 3,168 votes
cast."
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April 21, 2006 - DOL Sues Chicago
APWU Local to Re-run Election - On March 24, 2006, the
Department of Labor filed a complaint in the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Chicago APWU
Local #1 . The complaint seeks to set aside the local union's
April 30, 2005, election and hold a new election for 21
contested officer positions. The complaint alleges that the
union violated Section 401(e) of the Labor-Management Reporting
and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) by: failing to mail ballots to
eligible members, thus depriving them of their right to vote;
counting ballots cast by ineligible persons; and failing to
preserve its election records for one year making it impossible
to discern the accuracy of the tally.
more information at
Chicago Postal Worker
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April 08, 2006 -
White House, RNC Outreach To ... Labor Unions?
For the first
time in years, the White House and the Republican National
Committee have organized high-level briefings for some nation’s
biggest labor unions, gatherings described by GOPers both as
part of traditional midterm election outreach as well as a
consequence of widening differences within the labor movement
about tactics and strategy
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February 28, 2006 -
AFL-CIO announces partnership with largest teachers' union
The AFL-CIO and the nation's largest teachers union, the National
Education Association, announced a partnership Monday that could
help the labor federation regain some of the clout it lost when
several unions defected last year. The 2.8-million-member NEA agreed
to allow its local affiliates to join the AFL-CIO. The hope is that
the AFL-CIO will give teachers more muscle when they campaign for
political candidates and push legislation.
National Education
Association Partners with AFL-CIO
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February 03, 2006 -
NLRB rules FedEx drivers are employees -drivers in Northboro, Massachusetts,
were wrongly classified as independent contractors, a regional office
of the National Labor Relations Board has ruled, the Teamsters union
seeking to represent the drivers said on Thursday. The union had argued
that drivers for FedEx Ground should be considered employees, making
them eligible for overtime and other benefits such as health care and
overtime. The ruling was issued Jan. 24.The International Brotherhood
of Teamsters, which represents some 1.4 million U.S. workers, said that
the 23 drivers at FedEx Ground division FedEx Home Delivery can participate
in an election on forming a union in the next month
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January 23, 2006-
Postal Job No Obstacle
for NYC Transit Worker
Postal Worker Debra Orr’s case centered on her right to work a second
job, was heard by an arbitrator in 2002, 2004 and then again in December
2005. Problems arose for Ms. Orr when she filed a notice of dual employment
in 2002 as part of the Policy Instructions for working as a Conductor
for NYC Transit. The agency’s policies state that workers must have
at least 16 hours free prior to working an eight-hour shift for NYC
Transit. Ms. Orr maintained that her job with the Postal Service
fit within that time frame, and submitted documentation supporting her
claim. But her next job pick as a Conductor was denied by NYC Transit
and she was assigned to platform duties, leading her into an arbitration
case that she won. (scroll down)
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January 23, 2006-
Unions
kept pace with growing U.S. workforce in 2005-The
number of workers belonging to labor unions rose last year for the first
time in six years, as union membership kept pace with a growing American
workforce, the U.S. Labor Department said on Friday. The number of union
members rose by 213,000 to 15.7 million in 2005, the first increase
since 1999, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in an annual
report. Unions' share of the workforce was unchanged at 12.5 percent
in 2005, as the number of union members grew at the same rate as the
number of all wage and salary workers, which includes managers and executives
who are ineligible for union membership under federal labor law. The
news was welcomed by the AFL-CIO, the country's largest labor federation,
which has long complained that hard-core tactics by many nonunion employers,
including illegal measures like firing union activists, has intimidated
many workers who would like to have a union. "In a political climate
that's hostile to workers' rights, these numbers illustrate the extraordinary
will of workers to gain a voice on the job despite enormous obstacles,"
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in a statement.
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January 18, 2006 -
Labor unions target Republicans
to sway budget cut vote
Two labor unions announced Tuesday they will run ads targeting 11 House
Republicans designed to pressure them to withdraw their support
for a budget bill that would save $39 billion within five years. The
$500,000 ad campaign, which begins running today, informs low-income
senior citizens that they would face higher co-pays for Medicaid health
services and new rules that make it more difficult to qualify for nursing-home
care. |
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January 16, 2006-
MLK Jr. Died at a Union Picket Line
- Most people have seen clips of Martin
Luther King Jr.'s
"I've been to the Mountaintop" speech in Memphis where he died,
but relatively few know that he was there as part of a sustained campaign
to support an AFSCME strike of santitation workers demanding a union.
In the dumbing down of celebrations of Martin Luther King Jr. as a national
icon, the relatively radical demands for economic justice that he was
making in his later years tend to disappear.
But Martin Luther King Jr. had made a strike of public employees in
Memphis a centerpiece of his efforts to launch the "Poor Peoples Campaign"
of his final year. You can read more details about the strike at
this website
commemorating the strike, but it's worth understanding that Martin Luther
King Jr., even as he rightly criticized the exclusionary rules of some
individual unions, always saw a strengthening of unions and labor as
critical to achieving long term justice for African Americans.
Transcript: MLK
Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech
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January 2, 2006 -
AFL-CIO president upbeat for labor's future
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney failed to prevent the Teamsters and several
other major labor unions from breaking away from his umbrella federation
earlier this year. The breakaway Change to Win Federation consists of
seven unions, including some not previously affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
Despite that setback and the declining number of labor union members,
Sweeney was optimistic that unions can begin growing again if they organize
1 million workers a year. |
December 18, 2005 -36%
Of Public Sector Workers Unionized -
The share of the nation's workforce represented by union members has
declined steadily since it hit 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year
federal tracking data became available. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) figures-compiled from monthly surveys of 60,000 households-show
union membership nationwide had fallen to 12.5 percent in 2004. The
BLS reported that, after seasonal and other adjustments:
* 15.5 million of the 123.6 million people employed nationwide belonged
to unions in 2004, compared to 15.8 million of 122.4 million employed
nationwide in 2003
* 36.4 percent of public-sector employees nationwide were union members
in 2004, compared to 7.9 percent of private-sector employees. In 2003,
union members accounted for 37.2 percent of public-sector employees
and 8.2 percent of private-sector employees.
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December 12, 2005 -
Canadian postal workers alarmed about possible fallout of UPS trade
complaint
Canadian postal workers say they're worried that trade tribunal hearings
that started Monday in a case pitting Ottawa against giant courier company
UPS could devastate Canada Post and hurt other public services. The
hearings, which will run all week at the World Bank, centre on a complaint
from UPS that the publicly funded Canadian corporation has an unfair
advantage over competing private companies. UPS, the world's largest
package delivery firm, first filed a claim for $160 million US against
the Canadian government in April 2000 under the North American Free
Trade Agreement |
November 22, 2005 -
Higher Court Calls Bush
NLRB Out on a Bad Decision
A federal appeals court recently joined the growing chorus of critics
of the National Labor Relations Board’s Republican majority. The Seventh
Circuit Court issued a harsh assessment of the Board last month when
they ruled to overturn its finding that an employer’s partial lockout
of pro-union workers was legal. The decision wasn’t handed down by “liberal
activist judges,” as you might have expected. Rather, a trio of Republican-appointed
judges denounced the Bush Board. Public scrutiny over the policies of
the Bush administration is at an all-time high, but the extreme decisions
and willingness of the Board to undermine workers’ basic legal protections
are still under the radar. Now that Republican-appointed federal judges
have sharply rebuked the views of the Bush Board, will more eyes be
on the NLRB? |
November 21, 2005 -
US corporate excess under fire as unions go on the attack -
US unions, weakened by public apathy and internal splits, are fighting
back with an online database that accuses corporate supremos of lining
their own pockets while grinding down their employees. Business leaders
are deeply unhappy at the online initiative of the AFL-CIO workers'
federation, accusing union bosses of taking a cheap shot when complex
issues are at stake. But the AFL-CIO affiliate behind the site, Working
America, says there is nothing cheap about the pay packages on offer
to the favoured few while millions of blue-collar Americans fret about
losing their jobs and benefits. "The public should be able to question
the outrageous pay of CEOs at a time when jobs are being outsourced
every day and their health and safety is endangered every day," Working
America deputy director Robert Fox told AFP. The site at
www.workingamerica.org has
information on more than 60,000 US companies, detailing their violations
of health and safety legislation, their outsourcing of jobs overseas
and the pay deals for chief executives.
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November 21, 2005 -
G.M. to Cut 30,000 Jobs and Close 12 Facilities
in 3 Years -Recently, U.A.W.
members at G.M. voted to accept modest changes in their health care
benefits, which had been virtually free. Despite that, G.M. still faces
huge liabilities for retiree health care and pension benefits.
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November 20, 2005 -
US DOL Office Of Labor Management Standards
(OLMS) has been busy
On October 18, 2005, in the United
States District Court for the District of Maryland, Steven R. Fairfax,
former Secretary-Treasurer of Branch 3939 of the National Association
of Letter Carriers, was sentenced to ten months home confinement with
electronic monitoring, five years probation, and was ordered to pay
full restitution and a $100 assessment. Fairfax previously pled guilty
to one count of embezzling union funds totaling $53,990.04. The sentencing
follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.
On September 22, 2005, in the
United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, Richard Carlson,
former Secretary-Treasurer of Postal Workers Local 769, was indicted
on 18 counts of embezzling union funds totaling $7,089.14, and one count
of making a false statement in a Labor Organization Report. The indictment
follows an investigation by the OLMS Denver District Office
On September 19, 2005, in the United States District Court for
the Middle District of Florida, Lenin V. Perez, former President of
the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 599, pled guilty
to knowingly and willfully receiving cash kickbacks in return for referring
postal employees to certain medical specialists under a Federal health
care program. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Tampa
Resident Investigator Office. Sentencing set for 12/30/2005
On September 19, 2005, in the United States District Court for
the Middle District of Florida, Lenin V. Perez, former President of
the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 599, pled guilty
to knowingly and willfully receiving cash kickbacks in return for referring
postal employees to certain medical specialists under a Federal health
care program. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Tampa
Resident Investigator Office.
On August 31, 2005, in the United
States District Court for the District of Delaware, Paul Himmelstein,
former Secretary-Treasurer of Branch 1977, Letter Carriers, pled guilty
to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $34,683.20.
Himmelstein was indicted on May 24, 2005. Sentencing is scheduled for
November 29, 2005. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS
Philadelphia District Office.
On August 25, 2005, in the United
States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the Department
filed a complaint against American Postal Workers Union Local 190. The
complaint seeks a new election, supervised by OLMS, for the offices
of president, executive vice-president, recording secretary, secretary-treasurer,
administrative aide, director of organization, motor vehicle service
craft director, clerk craft director, and maintenance craft director.
The complaint alleges that the union allowed discriminatory access to
its membership list; provided incorrect ballot return instructions;
refused to count mail ballots received in accordance with ballot instructions;
allowed a union officer to use union resources for campaign purposes;
applied moneys of an employer to promote the candidacy of an incumbent
and his slate; and allowed confidential union resources to be used for
campaign purposes. The lawsuit follows an investigation by the OLMS
New York District Office.
On August 18, 2005, in the United
States District Court for the District of North Dakota, Robb Dutchuk,
former Secretary-Treasurer of American Postal Workers Local 349, was
indicted on charges of embezzling $34,919.90, making a false statement
in a labor union report, making a false statement to the Postal Service,
and making a false entry in and the destruction of labor union records.
The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Minneapolis Resident
Investigator Office and the United States Postal Service Office of the
Inspector General
On July 7, 2005, in the United District Court for Nebraska, Terry
L. Gloe, former treasurer of Local 11, American Postal Workers Union,
was sentenced to six months imprisonment followed by three years of
supervised release with a special condition of six months continuous
home confinement. In addition, he was ordered to make restitution in
the amount of $113,377. On February 3, 2005, Gloe pled guilty to embezzling
union funds following an investigation by the OLMS Kansas City Resident
Investigator Office
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November 20, 2005 -Employers
slapping fees on workers who smoke
- Employers straining to hold down soaring health care costs have turned
to more aggressive tactics, such as penalizing workers who smoke. A
few employers — including Northwest Airlines, Northwestern Mutual Life
Insurance Co. and the state of Georgia — have started levying surcharges
for employees who smoke. Gannett Inc., which publishes The Des Moines
Register and has 1,150 employees in Iowa, will add a $50 monthly surcharge
starting in January for smokers who use its insurance plans. To support
surcharges, companies cite federal government studies showing that a
smoker costs an employer $5,606 extra per year because of higher medical
expenses and absenteeism. |
October 31, 2005 -
California
NALC Members Urged to Oppose Prop. 75 -Vicious Anti-Union
Effort Dangerous to All Workers
NALC President William H. Young urges all active and retired members
of the union in California to make a special effort to go to the polls
on Tuesday, November 8, and cast a ballot against Proposition
75, which seeks to reduce the ability of public employee unions in that
state to represent their members on political and legislative issues.
Young plans to meet with letter carriers at several locations in California
prior to the special election and emphasize to them the importance of
their vote and the potential danger posed to all federal and postal
employees should Proposition 75 be approved. The chief advocate of Proposition
75 is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has made union-bashing his mantra
while his popularity wanes. The initiative would prohibit public employee
unions in the state from using dues for political purposes without written
consent from members. It would not, however, require business corporations
to have a similar consent from stockholders before funneling money from
their political war chests to candidates
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October 23, 2005 -
Labor federations make
progress on cooperation agreement
-The AFL-CIO and Change to Win are citing progress toward an agreement
to allow the two labor federations to cooperate at the state and local
level. Change to Win was formed in July when the Teamsters, SEIU and
UFCW split from the AFL-CIO to form their own labor federation. Leaders
said they differed with the AFL-CIO on its focus at the national level,
but wanted to continue working with the AFL-CIO's state federations
and local central labor councils. The AFL-CIO, however, said its constitution
prohibited its state and local organizations from working with Change
to Win unions. In recent weeks, both federations have been in negotiations
to soften that position.
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October 23, 2005 -
Desperation
Deal at General Motors - The
United Autoworkers union has agreed to save General Motors over a billion
dollars a year in health insurance costs. This is a disguised pay-cut,
since workers will now pay more out of pocket for their healthcare.
The union agreed to this desperation deal to help keep GM alive. The
once-dominant auto-maker posted a record $1.1 billion loss in the third
quarter; and its former parts division, Delphi, with 34,000 union jobs,
has just gone into bankruptcy. If and when it emerges, Delphi's $26-an-hour
workers will be cut to something like $12. That gets your attention.
The union leadership was so eager to help GM survive that the UAW filed
an unusual suit intended to block its own union retirees from challenging
the negotiated health-benefit cuts. Now Ford has just reported a $284
million third-quarter loss, and wants the same kind of deal the UAW
gave GM. Even with these concessions, the industry that once was the
core of America's blue-collar middle class is continuing its downward
spiral, cutting jobs and cutting the pay and benefits of the workers
that remain. General Motors, which a generation ago had about half a
million union workers, will soon be down to 84,000.
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September 26, 2005 -
Black Caucus Labor Forum—Members of the Congressional Black
Caucus (CBC) and several union leaders took part in a special CBC Labor
Issues Forum Sept. 22. The participants, including Postal Workers President
William Burrus, AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy and AFT Secretary-Treasurer
Nat LaCour, explored ways to boost union membership and the challenges
of organizing African Americans and other people of color. The CBC also
condemned the Bush administration’s suspension of Davis-Bacon prevailing
wage and affirmative requirements for federal Hurricane Katrina recovery
and rebuilding contracts. At a Sept. 27 luncheon, the AFL-CIO will honor
the CBC for its support of organizing drives around the country and
of key union legislative issues, including the Employee Free Choice
Act, as well as its opposition to schemes to privatize Social Security
and such bad trade deals as the Dominican Republic-Central America
Free Trade Agreement.
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September 26, 2005 -
Dissident unions get organized -Labor unions that split with
the AFL-CIO earlier this year will meet in St. Louis this week, and
leaders say they'll lay the groundwork for growing organized labor's
depleted ranks and creating greater economic opportunity for workers.
As part of its plans to create greater economic opportunity for workers,
the coalition said it is teaming with community groups, including Rainbow/PUSH
and the Black Leadership Forum, in rolling out a multi-industry training
program to train workers to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast
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September 14, 2005-
UNITE HERE Leaves AFL - CIO - A union representing almost half
a million apparel and hospitality workers has decided to bolt the AFL-CIO
and join a half-dozen other unions seeking to focus labor more on recruiting.
''It is time for the labor movement to make some changes,'' said UNITE
HERE's general president, Bruce Raynor, on Wednesday. UNITE HERE joins
the Service Employees International Union, the Teamsters, the United
Food and Commercial Workers and the Carpenters in forming a dissident
federation that calls itself the Change To Win Coalition. The
Laborers International Union of North America and the United Farm Workers
are also part of the new federation, but have not left the AFL-CIO.
UNITE HERE leaders said the biggest change for the breakaway unions
would be devoting most of their resources to organizing. (New York Times)
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September 14, 2005-
Labor fights to preserve Davis-Bacon
Among the litany of regulations in line to be eased or suspended during
the daunting rebuilding process on the Gulf Coast are several that have
greatly alarmed labor unions, whose furious lobbying efforts are hitting
a brick wall of conservative might. Union officials are concerned that
President Bush’s Sept. 8 suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires
federal contractors to pay construction workers a prevailing wage, was
only the beginning. Further hurting the union cause is GOP lawmakers’
support for broad bureaucratic relaxation in the Labor Department, a
push rooted in the long-standing bad blood between unions and Republican
think tanks.
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September 6, 2005 -
Union leader calls for hike in mileage reimbursement rate
As gasoline prices nationwide soared to levels measuring nearly twice
those of a year ago, federal employees who drive personal vehicles on
government business are seeking an increase in their mileage reimbursement.
Federal law allows the General Services Administration to establish
a mileage reimbursement rate for government
employees who use their own cars for work, but the GSA-mandated rate
cannot exceed the rate established annually for tax deduction purposes
by the Internal Revenue Service. In a letter Tuesday to IRS Commissioner
Mark Everson, National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley
asked the IRS to raise the reimbursement rate
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August 22, 2005 -
Big Brother On and Off the Job -
They'll be bowling alone at Guardsmark
tonight. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) doesn't want the
employees chatting it up off the job. On June 7 the
three Republican appointees on the five-member board that regulates
employer-employee relations in the United States handed down a remarkable
ruling that expands the rights of employers to muck around in their
workers' lives when they're off the job. They upheld the legality of
a regulation for uniformed employees at Guardsmark, a security guard
company, that reads, "[Y]ou must NOT . . . fraternize on duty or off
duty, date or become overly friendly with the client's employees or
with co-employees."
The board majority held that the guards probably would interpret
this to be a no-dating rule, pure and simple. In her dissent,
member Wilma Liebman wrote that the rule plainly specifies both dating
and fraternizing, a term that covers a range of activities that go well
beyond (or fall well short of) dating. That certainly was the reason
that a San Francisco security guard local of the Service Employees International
Union brought the case to the NLRB in the first place: The rule as written
could preclude any attempt by the guards to meet to form a union, or
even to talk about work-related issues.
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August 21, 2005-
Unions Launch Campaign to Organize Wal-Mart
workers worldwide - A global
coalition of unions is launching an unprecedented campaign to organize
workers around the world at US retail giant Wal-Mart, seeking to bring
a new level of globalization to the labor movement. The Wal-Mart campaign
was set to be officially launched at a meeting in Chicago Monday of
Union Network International (UNI), a group that includes 900 unions
in some 140 countries. The campaign aims to draw from labor organizations
around the world to pressure Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer
and largest private company in terms of revenues, and a frequent target
of unions for driving down wages as well as prices. Union leaders said
they hope to bring collective bargaining or other improvements to the
estimated 1.6 million Wal-Mart employees around the world -- possibly
even in countries such as China, where western-style unions are non-existent.The
global effort on Wal-Mart escalates a longstanding feud with the retailer
and the US-based United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), which has
accused the retailer of "union-busting" efforts to keep US stores from
unionizing. Also see wakeupwalmart.com
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August 21, 2005 -
Labor takes hit as solidarity
splits - In a region synonymous
with American unionism, striking mechanics at Northwest Airlines face
a solitary fight against the world's fourth-largest airline. Signaling
changing times for an increasingly fragmented labor movement, a fiery
group of sign-waving, slogan-shouting strikers found little support
Saturday -- abandoned by fellow unions and largely ignored by travelers
who passed by picket lines on their way to board Northwest flights.
Union officials say Northwest's final offer
to its striking mechanics and cleaners would: • Set the mechanics' hourly
base rate pay at $22.95. Before the strike, Northwest says it was $30.89.
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August 19, 2005 -
AFL-CIO leader decries unions' break with group -During
his speech at the Iowa Federation of Labor's convention in Waterloo,
Richard Trumka, national secretary-treasurer for the AFL-CIO, said the
decision of three national unions to pull out of his organization was
coming at a terrible time.He said "workers are under the worst attack
in 80 years" and now is not the time for labor divisions. "We need more
solidarity, not less solidarity," Trumka said. Not only that, but he
said the decision stripped the AFL-CIO of resources and will cost labor
organizations at every level."I'm mad as hell at the unions who disaffiliated,"
Trumka said. "It was shortsighted. It was selfish."
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August 17, 2005-
Union candidates cry foul over unsent mail
-Candidates looking to unseat the leadership of United Food and
Commercial Workers Union Local 655 on Tuesday filed charges with the
Department of Labor alleging their opponents interfered with the U.S.
Postal Service. The group says campaign literature was supposed to be
mailed to members on Aug. 12 but was never sent. It has yet to be located.
The candidates are asking the Labor Department to provide oversight
of the election
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August 7, 2005-
Federal Labor Union Fight for Employees
Charges with Violating Hatch Act
- A federal labor union is going
to bat for two employees charged by the Office of Special Counsel with
violating the Hatch Act by sending politically partisan e-mails from
their government accounts. In a friend-of-the-court brief, the National
Treasury Employees Union argues that the Merit Systems Protection Board
should uphold the dismissal of a complaint against the employees, saying
that preventing any political discussions conducted via e-mail would
have "sweeping impact governmentwide."
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July 24, 2005-Teamsters,
SEIU Decide to Bolt AFL-CIO-Jolting
organized labor, the Teamsters and a massive service employees' union
decided Sunday to bolt the AFL-CIO, paving way for two other labor groups
to sever ties in the movement's biggest schism since the 1930s. The
four dissident unions, representing nearly one-third of the AFL-CIO's
13 million members, announced they were boycotting the federation's
convention that begins Monday, a step that was widely considered to
be a precursor to leaving the federation. They are part of the Change
to Win Coalition, a group of seven unions vowing to accomplish what
the AFL-CIO has failed to do: Reverse the decades-long decline in union
membership. But many union presidents, labor experts and Democratic
Party leaders fear the split will weaken the movement politically and
hurt unionized workers who need a united and powerful ally against business
interests and global competition
Organized labor faces schism as 4 unions plan to boycott convention-
In a mark of organized labor's badly broken solidarity, four major unions
Sunday said they would boycott the AFL-CIO's convention, and three appear
poised to bolt the federation that has loosely bound the nation's unions
together. Officials from the 1.3 million-member Teamsters and the 1.8
million-member Service Employees International Union, the AFL-CIO's
largest union and the spark behind the rebellion, said they would meet
Monday and announce their plans.
Four Big Unions Boycott AFL-CIO Convention and May Split Away
(Washington Post)
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July 24, 2005-FedEx
Ground's contract drivers want to be employees-Though FedEx
Corp. was built on a cargo airline, its trucking business is now a big-time
money-maker and a tough competitor for its chief rival, UPS Inc. But
the shipping giant's trucking division, FedEx Ground, is now embroiled
in a growing labor fight that could raise operating costs by millions
and lead to an overhaul of its work force. The argument centers on the
more than 14,000 drivers of those trucks with the purple and green "FedEx"
on the side that make thousands of stops each day at homes and businesses
across America. The drivers are independent contractors who own the
trucks, pay all operating costs and get no company benefits. But drivers
in Tennessee, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota and
elsewhere are suing FedEx, arguing the company skirts worker protection
laws by refusing to hire them as employees eligible for overtime pay,
health insurance, workers' compensation and other benefits. They also
want to be reimbursed for back operating expenses and lost benefits
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July 22, 2005-
AFL-CIO faces rebellion within ranks at convention -U.S.
labor leaders fighting declining membership and influence are facing
a rebellion from within the ranks that could weaken or even splinter
the 50-year-old AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. union coalition. The
AFL-CIO, representing nearly 13 million workers, meets in Chicago on
Monday in a convention dominated by demands for change from five member
unions representing more than a third of the membership. The dissident
group is seeking to emphasize recruiting new members and to make structural
changes, and it has decried what it calls a misplaced emphasis on electoral
politics. The talk has fueled speculation over a split in the AFL-CIO.
Dissident leaders have stopped short of saying they would leave if the
coalition rejects their proposals, but they have vowed to respond with
what one leader called "appropriate action." The group already plans
to hold its own "founding convention" in the autumn regardless of what
happens at the Chicago meeting.
In the decade that AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has controlled the
coalition, union membership fell from 15.5 percent of the work force
to 12.5 percent. In 1983, before a nationwide decline in heavy manufacturing
and the exporting of work to other countries, that figure was slightly
over 20 percent. Sweeney, 71, faces re-election at the upcoming convention
and is unopposed so far in his bid for a third term, despite the dissatisfaction
of dissident members.
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June 15, 2005-Five
Top Unions Join Forces, Raising Threat of Labor Rift-The
likelihood of a schism in organized labor increased yesterday when five
major unions formed a growth-oriented coalition and the presidents of
four of the unions hinted strongly that they might quit the A.F.L.-C.I.O.
The presidents of the Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers,
and Unite Here yesterday joined an earlier threat by the Service Employees
International Union to end their affiliations because they are so unhappy
with the labor federation. The four unions represent nearly one-third
of the members of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., a federation of 57 unions and 13
million workers, and if they quit it would greatly weaken the federation,
hurt its budget and cause fighting within labor
(New York Times)
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May 31, 2005-AFL-CIO
prez suffers labor pains
-Is America's top labor leader, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, slighting
his own employees and violating their union contract? In a stunning
letter to Sweeney last week, nearly 100 unionized workers at AFL-CIO
headquarters in Washington claimed that federation officials have given
them "the kind of treatment we have come to expect from corporate America,
not the house of labor" - and they called that treatment "unacceptable."
The workers are among 167 employees whose jobs Sweeney targeted for
elimination last month in a massive cost-cutting and restructuring move
at the federation that will ultimately reduce its workforce of 460 by
nearly one-fourth. As part of Sweeney's unprecedented restructuring,
61 new jobs will be created, largely to expand the federation's union
organizing campaigns and its support of political candidates. The laid
off workers will be offered a chance to apply for the new positions.
"Management has agreed that seniority is the first criteria, but they've
also made it clear beforehand that we are going to have differences
of opinion on applicants' qualifications," Parks said. In other words,
the most senior laid-off workers will not automatically be offered one
of the newly created jobs. The labor discord at AFL-CIO headquarters
has many union leaders around the country nervous. "Seniority is one
of the cornerstones of labor unions," said a New York labor leader.
"How do I sit across the bargaining table from an employer and defend
it in my contract when the AFL-CIO isn't doing so with its own workers?"
See also
A
Summer of Discontent for Labor Focuses on Its Leader's Fitness for His
Job (NYT)
Labor union rift opening; GOP sees opportunity
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May 30, 2005-Unions
expect hit if shipyard closes
-Maine's labor unions stand to lose more than 4,000 members if the Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard closes, dealing one of the largest single blows to the
state's unionized workforce at a time when membership already is declining
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May 3, 2005-
AFL-CIO 'redirecting
resources;' will cut 106 jobs-The
AFL-CIO said Tuesday that it plans to lay off one-fourth of its 420
employees as part of a restructuring that will shift resources to organizing
new members and political mobilization. About two-thirds of the 106
layoffs will occur at the downtown Washington headquarters two blocks
from the White House where four departments are being merged with others.
A 10 times a year glossy magazine, America at Work, will cease publication.
“The changes today are not because we are in dire financial straits,”
said AFL-CIO spokeswoman Lane Windham. “The changes are because we have
limited resources and those resources are being redirected to meet our
goals.” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney is under pressure from leaders
of five dissident unions to overhaul the federation and develop a strategy
to reverse declining membership.
|
 May
1, 2005-Book:
Lane Kirkland : Champion of American Labor
-"This highly laudatory biography tells
a -fascinating story not only of the man who was a major force in America's
labor movement but also of the era (1979-1995) in which he served as
head of the AFL-CIO. An uncompromising and tenacious leader of America's
working people, Kirkland advocated freedom for the world's oppressed."
Another review: "LANE Kirkland's life was dominated by his
times. He was one of the most able, intelligent and inspired leaders
in the history of American labor. But as president of the AFL-CIO from
1979 to 1995 he presided over the demise of the American union movement
as it was known in the 20th century. No plausible successor institutions
have yet emerged. He rallied labor to fight against what he considered
free-trade extremism and came shockingly close to stopping the North
American Free Trade Agreement. Yet in the end he was able to do far
less for American union members than he achieved for workers in Eastern
Europe and Latin America. At the end of a great career he was hounded
out of office by the anger, resentment and ignorance of lesser men who
blamed him personally for the historic forces that rendered 20th century
unions obsolete. After he left office the decline of private sector
unions only accelerated under the stewardship of the men who had dismissed
him."
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April 17, 2005-Labor
can't win in a house divided
-Like no other time in the last 50 years, a united labor movement is
critical to defending the working class and the American people. It
is decisive to any hope for a progressive agenda for the whole nation,
not just for union members. Bush and company know only too well that
labor, along with the African American and Latino communities and the
women’s movement, are the core power behind the massive coalition that
came so close to defeating them in 2004. Now Bush and his ultra-right-wing
Republican cronies in Congress are daily ratcheting up their efforts
to dismantle progressive social legislation. Unions and the AFL-CIO
are under particular assault for their role in the 2004 elections. Labor
is critical in the fight to hold off the Bush administration’s attacks
on the people.
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April 17, 2005-
Labor unions can expect more audits-White
House says it's after corruption; groups cite payback for opposing Bush.
The Bush administration is rapidly expanding audits of the nation's
labor unions, citing a need to ferret out and deter corruption. But
union leaders assert that those increased efforts are nothing more than
crude political retaliation. Pointing to embezzlement of hundreds of
thousands of dollars by the presidents of the ironworkers union and
Washington's teachers union, Labor Department officials say the number
of audits fell too far in the 1990s and needs to be restored to previous
levels.
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April 9, 2005-Union
Seeks Wal-Mart Files About Payments-The United Food and Commercial
Workers Union called on Wal-Mart Stores yesterday to release all documents
connected with accusations that its former vice chairman, Tom Coughlin,
had obtained improper expense account reimbursements to finance secret
anti-union activities. The union's call for release of the materials
comes two weeks after Mr. Coughlin resigned, accused by Wal-Mart, the
world's largest retailer, of taking $100,000 to $500,000 through expense
account abuses. (New York Times)
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April 5, 2005-Unions
Protest at Schwarzenegger Event
- About 2,000 union demonstrators protested
against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's package of proposed reforms Tuesday
night outside a hotel where the governor was raising money for a slate
of ballot measures. Nurses, teachers, firefighters, police and members
of several public employee unions have been staging noisy protests against
the Republican governor for months. On Tuesday, they aired their complaints
outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel in San Francisco. "He picked the wrong
group," said Deborah Burger, president of the 60,000-member California
Nurses Association. "We don't have a lot of money, but we have connections
with the community."
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March 20, 2005-GOP
Requests Investigation of Organized Labor Over Social Security Debate-House
Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) and
Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX)
sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, calling on the
Labor Department to investigate whether the concerted efforts of organized
labor (AFL-CIO) to pressure financial firms and brokerage institutions
to withdraw their support of the President’s proposal to reform Social
Security have in fact violated federal labor and pension law.
Labor Unions Enter Social Security Debate
(NYT)
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March 20, 2005-
Retirement, the federal way-The
experiences of Brenda Barnett and Jason O'Dell, who are among two million
civilian employees of the federal government enrolled in the [Thrift
Savings] Plan, show how giving investors control over their retirement
savings can have widely varying results. President Bush holds up the
federal savings program as a model for the retirement accounts he wants
to add to Social Security. The federal thrift plan, however, differs
in an essential way from the retirement accounts that the president
wants to carve out of Social Security. The thrift accounts are on top
of a generous fixed pension for federal employees, while President Bush's
proposal envisions the accounts replacing a substantial part of Social
Security's fixed pension. (NYT)
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November 24, 2004-OSHA
to Issue Final Rule on Federal Agency Record-Keeping and Reporting Requirements
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will publish a final
rule in tomorrow's Federal Register that will require federal government
agencies to adopt worker safety and health record-keeping and reporting
requirements that are essentially identical to the private sector. The
new requirements will go into effect beginning Jan. 1, 2005. "These
new requirements will improve record-keeping which will enhance the
ability of federal agencies and employees to prevent occupational injuries
and illnesses," said OSHA Administrator John Henshaw. "Producing more
useful data will better enable the agencies to identify patterns of
injuries and illnesses and focus on the most effective intervention."
While the regulation will become effective Jan. 1, notices of violations
will not be issued during the first year as long as agencies are making
a reasonable effort to comply with the requirements. OSHA will launch
a comprehensive outreach and compliance assistance effort early in the
implementation period to educate and train federal agencies on the new
recording requirements. The new requirements will enhance the capacity
of agency safety and health managers to focus the attention of their
illness and injury prevention programs on the most significant hazards;
identify types or patterns of injuries and illnesses whose investigation
will lead to prevention efforts such as improved work practices or technology
development; and provide useful priority-setting information for establishment
inspections within an agency.
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November 17, 2004-Unions
insulted by Bush minimum wage-Despite
Democratic losses across the board in the elections, organized labor
is refusing to embrace President Bush’s offer to raise the minimum wage
by $1.10 an hour. “It’s insufficient, and it’s too little, too late,”
said Bill Samuel, director of legislation for the AFL-CIO. “This is
an insult to workers whose wages have fallen so far behind that they
can’t even afford the bare necessities.”
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November 15, 2004-Teamsters
Find Pensions at Risk-n the
1960's and 1970's, the Teamsters' huge Central States pension fund was
a wellspring of union corruption. Tens of millions of dollars were loaned
to racketeers who used the money to gain control of Las Vegas casinos.
Administrative jobs were awarded to favored insiders who paid themselves
big fees. A former Teamster president and pension trustee was convicted
of trying to bribe a United States senator. Yet for nearly half a million
union members who are expecting the fund to pay for their retirement,
those may have been the good old days
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November 12, 2004-Election
reveals gap between federal union members, leaders
-As the leaders of federal employee unions lamented George Bush's reelection,
many members celebrated, illuminating a disconnect between leadership
and those they represent. All major federal employee unions, including
the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury
Employees Union, endorsed Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for president. But
according to exit polls, almost four out of 10 union members voted for
Bush. In the wake of last week's election, union leaders are asking
themselves how they can bridge the electoral gap, and how to respond
to members who say they voted for Bush because they support him not
only on cultural issues, but also on workforce issues
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November 12, 2004-House
leader seeks to boost White House authority to reorganize agencies
-As
President Bush prepares for a second term, his Republican allies on
the House Government Reform Committee are considering legislation bolstering
executive powers. Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., wants
to expedite the process for confirming presidential appointees and reinstate
executive reorganization authority, which was granted intermittently
to presidents between 1932 and 1984. That would allow the president
to propose changes in the structure of government agencies, then submit
them to Congress for approval on an up-or-down vote. The authority would
minimize the turf wars that inevitably crop up when new agencies such
as the Homeland Security Department are created, a Davis spokesman said.
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November 12, 2004-No
backup, no sick days, Canada Postal Employees say
-Canada Post employees in rural and suburban offices say they are unable
to get time off because there is a shortage of replacement employees,
and are planning job action to make their point. Marie Harke, who delivers
mail in Westlock, says Canada Post promised to find backup workers to
fill in for sick or vacation days by June, but hasn't delivered.
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November 10, 2004-
None dare call it voter suppression and
fraud-Evidence is mounting
that the 2004 presidential election was stolen in Ohio. Emerging revelations
of voting irregularities coupled with well-documented Republican efforts
at voter suppression prior to the election suggests that in a fair election
Kerry would have won Ohio. Democratic hopeful Senator John Kerry of
Massachusetts conceded on November 3, based on preliminary postings
by the highly partisan Republican Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell. These unofficial results showed Bush with 136,483 more votes
than Kerry, although 155,428 provisional ballots, 92,672 “spoiled” ballots,
additional overseas ballots, and some remaining absentee ballots remained
uncounted. The day after his concession, Kerry drew 3,893 votes closer
to Bush when a computerized voting machine “glitch” was discovered in
an Ohio precinct. A machine in ward 1B in the predominantly Republican
Gahanna, Ohio, recorded 4,258 votes for George W. Bush when only 638
people cast votes at the New Life Church polling site. Buried on page
A6 of the Columbus Dispatch, the story also reported that the voting
machine recorded 0 votes in a race between Franklin County Commissioners
Arlene Shoemaker and Paula Brooks. Franklin County Board of Elections
Director Matt Damschroder told the Dispatch that the voting machine
glitches were “why the results on election night are unofficial.”
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November 10, 2004-Bush
election leaves labor unions in turmoil-As
the nation's union leaders gather on Wednesday in Washington the labor
movement is in turmoil, with the president of the AFL-CIO's largest
union hinting it might pull out of the labor federation and some labor
leaders saying that John J. Sweeney may face a challenge for the federation's
presidency.
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November 10, 2004-Group
Seeks Union Election Spending Probe
-An anti-union group is urging the Federal Election Commission to investigate
one of the largest unions in the country, claiming the Service Employees
International Union unlawfully spent workers' dues to elect Democrats
in last week's election.
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November 10, 2004-Calif.
Governor Names Labor Leader to Run Employment Department-After
upsetting labor unions by favoring corporate interests this year, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday appointed a Democrat and longtime labor
leader to manage the sprawling bureaucracy of the Employment Development
Department. Patrick W. Henning — son of legendary labor activist Jack
Henning, a one-time appointee of President John F. Kennedy — becomes
director of the department as it faces criticism that it is a recalcitrant,
inept bureaucracy. Henning's appointment nevertheless has given hope
to labor unions that believe that Schwarzenegger has courted business
interests. The governor vetoed nearly 90% of the so-called "job-killer"
legislation that had been sent to him by the Democratic-controlled Legislature
and worked to kill Proposition 72, a labor-backed initiative to increase
healthcare coverage
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November 10, 2004-Calif.
settles electronic voting suit against Diebold for $2.6M-California
Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced Wednesday a $2.6 million settlement
with Diebold Inc., resolving a lawsuit alleging that the company sold
the state and several counties shoddy voting equipment. Although critics
characterized the settlement as a slap on the wrist, Diebold also agreed
to pay an undisclosed sum to partially reimburse Alameda, San Diego
and other counties for the cost of paper backup ballots, ink and other
supplies in last week's election. California's secretary of state banned
the use of one type of Diebold machine in May, after problems with the
machines disenfranchised an unknown number of voters in the March primary.
The original lawsuit was filed a year ago by Seattle-based electronic
voting critic Bev Harris and Sacramento-based activist Jim March, who
characterized the $2.6 million settlement as ``peanuts.''
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November 3, 2004-
Survey: Union Members Overwhelmingly Backed
Kerry-Union
members overwhelmingly supported presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry
(D-Mass.), who conceded on Nov. 3, and union households accounted for
one of four voters, totaling 27 million union household voters in 2004,
according to an independent election night survey and the exit polls.
Union households provided a 5.8 million vote advantage for the Democratic
candidate for president, a new exit poll finds. Sixty-five percent of
union members voted for Kerry, with an even bigger margin—68 percent—voting
for Kerry in battleground states. In sharply divided Ohio, 67 percent
of union members voted for Kerry, according to the election night survey
conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the AFL-CIO. Overall,
62 percent of union members surveyed say they disapprove of President
George W. Bush’s job performance, with 67 percent saying they have only
some or very little confidence Bush will look out for working families.
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October 22, 2004-Bush's
War on Labor: NLRB changing the rules
- It has nothing to do with Iraq, terrorism, or taxes, but here's another
issue right at the heart of what's at stake in next month's election:
As president, George W. Bush gets to fill three of the five seats on
the National Labor Relations Board, the panel that serves as a kind
of Supreme Court for labor issues. Bush didn't get his three-member
majority until last December, when he placed a conservative Washington,
D.C., attorney named Ronald Meisburg on the panel. Meisburg's nomination
had been blocked in the Senate, so Bush made what's called a recess
appointment, meaning Meisburg gets to serve only until the Senate recesses
next month
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October 22, 2004-Democrats
Aim to Organize the Union Vote-Labor Leaders Predict Record
Turnout as They Rally Members for Kerry in Battleground States
-When union members give him grief about Democrats being soft on the
Second Amendment, Bill Dorward, an organizer for the United Steelworkers
of America, fires back: "If you lose your job, you can't eat your gun."
Dorward has not had to give that response much this election season.
Three years of job losses and other economic setbacks have stoked political
passions among union-represented workers, and leaders of the nation's
largest labor organizations are forecasting a record turnout among members
and their families.
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October 21, 2004-Judge
orders UPS not to discriminate against deaf drivers-UPS
Inc. violates anti-discrimination laws by barring the deaf and hearing-impaired
from driving parcel delivery trucks, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson said the Atlanta-based company's
practices breach the Americans with Disabilities Act, and ordered revisions
in UPS' policies within 30 days. The U.S. Postal Service and FedEx Corp.
allow some deaf drivers to operate delivery vehicles under 10,000 pounds.
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