People Before Profit blog

Nurses score wins for unions and patients

Tue, 31 May 2011 15:53:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - Emphasizing that short-staffing harms patients, the National Nurses Union - after a bitter struggle - racked up a big contract win at the D.C. area's largest hospital, the Washington Hospital Center.

Details of the settlement had been sketchy, but NNU member Rajini Raj filled some in on May 21 at a labor-sponsored forum on Asian-American workers.

The hospital, part of the very profitable MedStar chain, had steadfastly refused to bargain in good faith with NNU, she said. The union represents 1,650 nurses at the institution, a Level I trauma center that often receives the worst and most-difficult cases.

At one point, last Oct. 1, management declared an impasse in bargaining and attempted to impose its last offer, Raj said. It also fired 18 nurses, all union activists, for being unable to report for work during D.C.'s record blizzard a year ago February.

"They were bargaining in bad faith, but they never pleaded poverty," Raj told the group. "They couldn't. MedStar made $142 million in profits in its last fiscal year and $123 million more from last July 1 through Dec. 31. But it enjoys 'non-profit' status, so it can refrain from paying taxes," she added.

NNU won the right to represent the nurses just three days after the impasse. The now-NNU nurses later took a strike authorization vote, which passed overwhelmingly. After legally required notice, the NNU conducted a 1-day strike at the hospital on March 4, and management then locked them out for four more days.

But hospital management caught so much flak from area activists and politicians move that the hospital was forced back to bargaining, and the two sides agreed on a new pact earlier in May. The nurses ratified it by a 93 percent-7 percent margin. Provisions include establishment of "a new staffing matrix" to end short-staffing problems. Management must also meet with NNU representatives in a joint committee on staffing.

Also included are wage increases of 8.5 percent-9 percent over the 42-month term of the contract, retroactive to October. The pact also restores night and weekend differential pay that management wanted to eliminate.

And finally, provisions include restoring the 18 fired nurses (10 are already back) to their jobs with back pay.

"It's superior and allows us a voice on staffing and care issues," Raj said. "We will continue to speak out as patients' advocates. It's the only way we can improve quality of health care in this city."

Asian Americans tackle job discrimination

Tue, 31 May 2011 11:20:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - Asian Americans are reporting varied forms of job discrimination, with complicating factors - cultural and economic - that make it extra hard for them to win rights, wages and benefits, a panel told D.C. unionists on May 21.

The panel, at a Workers Rights hearing called by the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), an AFL-CIO constituency group, drew agreement from the room full of attendees including from AFL-CIO education coordinator David Carpio and from former Service Employee Union organizer Miya Chen, now a White House liaison on Asian-American issues.

Speakers ranged from an activist for nail salon workers - who noted two-thirds of her colleagues are "independent contractors" deprived of labor law protections - to a young Thai woman who just finished her 5-year apprenticeship training with Electrical Workers Local 26 and will become a journeyman electrician on June 4.

They also included a Filipina teacher whose union, the Prince Georges County, Md., Education Association, went to bat for Filipina teachers whom the county schools illegally forced to pay various Visa fees. The Obama administration Labor Department fined the county school system millions of dollars in the case.

Job discrimination against Asian Americans is important: They're the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S., and now number 15 million nationwide. Their share of the U.S. workforce doubled in the last decade. And the 2010 census showed double-digit percentage increases in the Asian American population in many states, including Maryland (up 51 percent) and Virginia (more than 70 percent).

On-the-job problems they face include exposure to toxic chemicals. Tina Pham, a community organizer with the Nail Salon Project - which advocates for workers' rights and job protections for spa and salon workers - noted that manicurists in nail salons are exposed to up to 10,000 chemicals in the nail polishes they apply to their customers' digits. Standards for exposing workers to most of those chemicals have not been changed in years.

Workers face two barriers in regard to forcing changes in the unsafe conditions, she added: Two-thirds of the workers are "independent contractors" and 42 percent of salons are family-owned establishments, usually Vietnamese-owned, where workers are toiling for relatives or other community members. There is a social taboo against complaining about your own community, Pham admitted.

Korean-American restaurant worker Woong Chang, now also an activist with the Restaurant Opportunities Center, a workers' rights group, said there is pervasive racial discrimination in restaurant jobs. Whites and males get up-front jobs that produce better pay and larger tips - such as being servers - while African Americans and other minorities are restricted to the back. And even when they're qualified, as he is with eight years' experience and a bachelor's degree, they're denied promotions and raises.

Restaurant workers also get abysmal pay. The regular minimum wage law does not cover workers who depend on tips, including restaurant workers. They're subject to "tipped wage" laws in each state, which set much lower minimums: $2.77 per hour in D.C. and seven other states; $2.13 nationally. Workers are expected to make up the difference from tips. The national minimum hasn't risen in 20 years, Chang said. Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., a former restaurant worker, has introduced legislation to raise the minimum. But managers at restaurants frequently cheat their tipped workers when the tips are pooled. "Leave cash," Chang counseled diners, and tip generously.

Rateeluck "Tarn" Puvapiromquan, the IBEW member, provided the contrast. She described how IBEW's "earn while you learn" training prepared her for a new, well-paying career, on an equal footing with other electricians. It also provided something else non-union workers lack: "OSHA training, so I'm aware of unsafe working conditions. Now, if I see something, I can tell a co-worker: 'You might want to adjust that ladder.' Before, I wouldn't know." That will prevent accidents on the job, she said.

"As long as you followed the training program, raises were guaranteed. We have overtime pay, holiday pay, health care with dental and vision benefits, a credit union" and "equal pay for equal work" and "a voice on the job" at both worksites and in the local, the young woman said. "It's made me a better-informed citizen, too."

Rajini Raj, a National Nurses Union member and native of India, also provided another contrast, describing her union local's long struggle and eventual win for better staff-patient ratios and higher quality care at Washington Hospital Center. It took a one-day strike and four-day lockout by the region's largest hospital to bring an agreement. All 18 nurses whom the hospital illegally fired for pro-union views are being instated, or will be.

"We will still continue to speak out as our patients' advocates," Raj stated.

"Our dream became a nightmare" for many Filipina teachers who came to the U.S., brought in by school districts short of qualified science and math teachers, said Millet Panga, the Prince George's County teacher. Not only did the Labor Department order the county school system to repay the teachers the money they laid out for Visa coverage, but it must drop its plan to let the Visas expire, thus forcing the teachers out.

"We need the broader community at large to be involved in these struggles," said David Carpio, the AFL-CIO's education and training coordinator. "We may think such injustice is exceptional and that it's happening irregularly. But we know it's not. It's organized, it's planned and it's intentional."

Workers, supporters cheer cheating contractor's downfall

Fri, 27 May 2011 17:41:00 +0000

HAYWARD, Calif. - A huge wage-theft case against a San Francisco Bay Area contractor almost reached the finish line May 26. One last chapter must still be written.

Union and community leaders and activists gathered outside the Alameda County Superior Court here for a rally before NBC Contractors owner Monica Ung was scheduled to appear for sentencing in the case.

Ung had been arrested exactly two years ago, and indicted on 48 felony counts of wage theft, perjury and insurance fraud. In a settlement, she was convicted of two felony counts, received a suspended four-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution to hundreds of workers and to the State of California.

But in the end, the judge put off sentencing until next month, to ensure compensation is handled properly.

NBC Contractors, now bankrupt, was employed on many publicly funded Bay Area projects including city halls, schools, libraries and other public buildings.

Workers, many of them Chinese immigrants who spoke limited English, told investigators they had to sign two time cards - one showing the actual hours they had worked, and the other falsely reporting they had worked fewer hours for the higher "prevailing wage" required by publicly-funded projects.

"It's almost three years that we've been fighting to win justice for the NBC workers," Victor Uno, business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595, told the crowd. The IBEW has been at the forefront of the struggle, together with the Alameda Labor and Building Trades Councils, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the National Electrical Contractors Association, which employs union labor.

Uno called the day Ung and two associates were arrested "a day in history for all of us who fight for justice."

State Board of Equalization member Betty Yee called the case "probably the most blatant example" of a "$6 billion underground economy problem" in the state. The construction industry accounts for a big portion of that, she said.

Alameda Labor Council head Josie Camacho said it was "a glorious day for workers who are in unions, and especially for workers who are not in unions. They are having their day in court."

The roots of the case go back nearly a decade, Alameda County Building Trades Council head Andreas Cluver said. "Unfortunately, Monica Ung and NBC Contractors are not the exception," he added. The court proceedings "will be a wake-up call," letting other unscrupulous contractors know they cannot get away with it.

Speakers warmly paid tribute to the workers who had the courage to come forward and expose NBC Contractors' wage theft and fraud.

One of them, electrician Chi Wong, thanked supporters and told the crowd to loud applause, "I am very happy today that my greedy boss must pay for what she did."

Speaking in Chinese, Un Un, a member of the San Francisco-based Chinese Progressive Association, said the group's survey last year of Chinatown restaurant workers found that at least half were not even being paid the minimum wage. "This kind of wage theft doesn't just hurt workers - it hurts their families, their communities and the entire economy," she said. "That's why we're campaigning against wage theft, so we can have justice for all."

Before the rally, Cluver said in an interview that cases like that of NBC Contractors underscore the importance of Project Labor Agreements - negotiated collective bargaining agreements covering working conditions on a project or a series of projects. Even when a state has effective enforcement, workers can be afraid to come forward, he said, adding, "The labor movement says, we'll get you a good job, and you can stand up to your employer."

Photo: Chinese Progressive Association member Un Un telling the rally about anti-wage theft campaigns in San Francisco. Marilyn Bechtel/PW

Labor's use of giant rat deemed legal

Fri, 27 May 2011 16:29:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The labor movement's giant inflatable rat is legal, even at demonstrations in front of secondary employers, ruled the National Labor Relations Board May 26.

In a case involving Sheet Metal Workers Local 15 and Brandon Regional Medical Center - which hired below-wage non-union temps to build its addition years ago - the board voted 3-1 that using the rat on a flatbed truck parked in public more than 100 feet from the hospital entrances, is kosher, along with the leafleting of passing patients.

When the case first came up, the board ruled in 2006 that other parts of the union's demonstration - including a skeleton and a coffin - were illegal. The case wound up in court and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals first ruled the funeral was legal. It later said the rat was too and sent the case back down to the NLRB to finish the job.

"The determinative question as to whether union activity at a secondary site violates" labor law "is whether it constitutes intimidation or persuasion," said the board. "Union protest activity that is merely persuasive is lawful even when the object of the activity is to induce the secondary to cease doing business with a primary employer," in this case, the contractor that brought in the temp workers to help build the hospital addition.

"Protest whose impact on a secondary employer owes more to intimidation than persuasion" is not lawful, the board warned. The rat, it said, is not intimidating.

Wisconsin judge kills anti-union law

Thu, 26 May 2011 12:41:00 +0000

MADISON, Wis. - The right-wing push to destroy unions in Wisconsin ran into a wall this morning when the law ending collective bargaining rights for public workers was struck down by a circuit court judge.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi said in her ruling today that it was violation of the open meetings law by Republicans that renders the law void. She had previously put the law on hold temporarily while she considered the case.

"The court must consider the potential damage to public trust and confidence in government if the Legislature is not held to the same rules of transparency that it has created for other governmental bodies," Sumi wrote in her decision. "Our form of government depends on citizens' trust and confidence in the process by which our elected officials make laws, at all levels of government."

While unions and their allies have been pushing full steam ahead to remove from office six Republican senators who supported the bill, they have also been waging a battle in the courts.

Although the labor movement sees the circuit court ruling today as a big victory, the legal battle is not over.

Republicans have already appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court, which has scheduled arguments for June 6 to decide whether it will hear the case. If the court hears the case it can either uphold or overturn the circuit court ruling. If it does not hear the case, today's ruling in favor of the unions stands.

If they don't like the final outcome in the courts, Republicans, who control the state legislature, could also pass the law a second time, this time observing the open meeting provisions that they ignored the first time around. It was their violation of those provisions that led to the judge's striking down of the law today.

The law that killed collective bargaining rights was pushed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker. When it was rammed through the state legislature, it triggered a workers' uprising of historic proportions. Hundreds of thousands marched on Madison every day for more than a month with thousands occupying the State Capitol for almost that entire time.

Although there was no reaction from Republicans yet today, Walker and GOP leaders have already said that nullification of the anti-collective bargaining law by the courts would result in their passing the law again as part of the state budget next month if necessary.

The last time they tried doing it that way Democratic state senators fled the state to prevent them from getting the necessary higher quorum required to pass budget laws.

The GOP senators eventually responded to that by approving just the piece of the budget bill that killed collective bargaining rights. Unfortunately for them, they passed that measure in violation of the state's open meetings law, causing the judge today to nullify the law.

The law eliminating collective bargaining rights forces public service workers to pay more into their health care costs and pensions. Although it exempts police and firefighters, both gave support to the battle against the law by the rest of the public workforce. Firefighters and police marched on the capitol and participated in the occupation of the building.

Photo: An earlier demonstration against the anti-union law. John Bachtell/PW

Labor wins a few in Florida

Wed, 25 May 2011 16:19:00 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Labor reported a few wins in the 2-to-1 Republican Florida legislature, while fighting anti-worker initiatives by both rank-and-file lawmakers and right-wing Gov. Rick Scott, a wealthy former hospital chain CEO.

A laundry list of legislation released by the Florida AFL-CIO showed a ban on project labor agreements on state-funded construction failed. So did a move to automatically decertify public worker unions when they "fall below 50 percent active membership," as did a "paycheck protection" measure. "Paycheck protection" is not about protecting paychecks; it's about preventing unions from using funds which come from dues paid by workers) to help elect people who will stand up for workers.

Also failing: An anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic "identification" bill, modeled on Arizona's drastic law, which lets local law enforcement officers stop anyone they suspect of being undocumented and force them to produce immediate proof of legal residence - or face arrest and deportation.

But in neighboring Georgia, the 3-to-2 GOP majorities in the legislature passed, and GOP Gov. Nathan Deal signed, an anti-immigrant law similar to Arizona's. The Obama administration, following the lead of several unions - notably the Service Employees International Union - and the American Civil Liberties Union, has challenged and stopped Arizona's law in court.

"The 2011 legislative session was one of the most damaging in Florida's history," the state AFL-CIO said in a summary. "Working families, the unemployed and the impoverished faced numerous assaults in the continuing drive to make the rich richer and give more power to the powerful. This legislature did nothing to fix our economic problems and create the jobs we desperately need.

"Fortunately, a brave group of Democrats and Republicans stood up for the basic American principles of fair play and freedom of association to beat back attempts to silence organized labor in Florida. This ensures that workers will still have an opportunity to organize, speak with a unified voice, and fully participate in the political process."

State AFL-CIO President Mike Williams said the GOP's "attempts to silence Florida's unions brought together workers from all walks of life to create the strongest labor coalition in the history of Florida." He promised "we will hit the ground running in an aggressive campaign to right the wrongs committed during the past 60 days."

But the wins he cited were overshadowed by other losses. They included imposing so-called "merit pay" systems on teachers statewide and capping state revenues, similar to an infamous "taxpayer bill of rights" restriction that hobbled Colorado for a decade before its repeal. Lawmakers cut jobless benefits by 54 percent and made it easier for employers to deny benefits to fired workers. They also cut pensions for newly hired state workers, and changed local police and fire fighters' pensions.

Obama: No trade deals without help for workers

Tue, 24 May 2011 16:25:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is now telling congressional Republicans, the biggest backers of so-called "free trade" treaties with Colombia, Panama and especially South Korea, that the president will not submit the pacts to lawmakers unless they restore trade aid for workers who lost their jobs to imports, first.

And while the White House has begun talks with key lawmakers on legislation to implement the treaties - legislation that, as a practical matter, the administration can write - the pacts have yet to be formally sent to Capitol Hill.

The most controversial pact, and the one that draws unanimous labor ire, is with Colombia. There, 2,580 unionists have been assassinated, virtually all by right-wing paramilitaries, in recent years.

The latest murder, on the week of May 13, was of labor lawyer Hernan Dario in downtown Cali. There has been little prosecution in Colombia, while some U.S. multi-nationals have paid the paramilitaries to murder the unionists.

The biggest pact in economic terms is with South Korea. It's the largest since the jobs-losing North American Free Trade Agreement more than 15 years ago. But unions are split on that pact.

After the Auto Workers and Michigan lawmakers won up to eight years more in U.S. tariffs on imported Korean cars and trucks - while lifting Korean tariffs on U.S. cars and parts - the Autoworkers supported the pact. The United Food and Commercial Workers support it as well.

But the AFL-CIO, the Steel Workers, the Communications Workers and most other unions oppose the Korean pact, saying it would give too much power to multi-nationals and does not adequately protect workers' rights here or in Korea.

All three pacts are hung up because the GOP-run House let the expanded aid for workers who lose their jobs to imports, called Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), lapse. Now the Obama administration wants TAA renewed and expanded first.

"This administration believes that just as we should be excited about the prospect of selling more of what we make around the world, we have to be equally firm about keeping faith with America's workers" by renewing and expanding TAA, Obama's U.S. trade representative, Ron Kirk told trade beat reporters.

Until an expansion included in the stimulus law, TAA was restricted to workers who could directly prove they lost their jobs to below-cost imports. In the stimulus law, it was expanded to suppliers and also to workers whose jobs depended on business from workers who had lost their jobs to imports.

In other words, TAA used to be just for workers who could prove their plant closed due to subsidized foreign competition. The stimulus law expanded TAA to suppliers of parts for that plant - and to the nearby diner where plant workers ate.

Those new sections of the law lapsed in February. Obama and Kirk want them reinstated before they send Korea, Colombia and Panama pacts to Congress.

Some top congressional Democrats have told the White House they may not support the trade pacts unless the expanded TAA is renewed. That's important: The pacts were negotiated under now-dead presidential "fast track" trade authority, so Congress and labor can't attach conditions to them, but must vote them up or down.

Union helped hotel worker stand up to IMF chief

Tue, 24 May 2011 13:52:00 +0000

Several articles in the major media are discussing the high risk of sexual assault that housekeepers face in hotels. Sexual assault and harassment is rampant, maids are afraid to complain to management because of fear of losing their jobs and perpetrators think there is little chance they'll get caught.

Dominique-Strauss Kahn, former chief of the International Monetary Fund, wasn't so lucky, however, because he picked the wrong place to prey on a worker - a union hotel in New York.

"After he was arrested there was a lot of self-congratulatory praise and back slapping for how well this was handled in the United States, as opposed to how it might have been handled in some European countries, including France," said Tula Connell, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO. (A number of articles on the case claim matters involving sexual predation are more routinely swept under the rug in European countries.)

"But speaking out publicly against so powerful a world figure from the vantage of a hotel-maid required guts and, in addition, it required a union."

Connell cited an article by Adele Stan, an independent journalist, that said, "By any measure it was risky. There's a reason most rapes go unreported. But there was one thing that the housekeeper knew could not be done to her for reporting her account, she could not be fired because of her membership in a union, the New York Hotel Trades Council."

In a statement issued by the labor-backed Center for Economic Policy and Research, their director Dean Baker said, "In this particular case, the housekeeper belonged to a union that has provisions in its contract that require the management to take cases of sexual assault seriously. This meant the housekeeper knew that she could make a complaint to management and not worry about being ridiculed or putting her job at risk."

In an editorial on its website , the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council said "New York is the wrong place to prey on hotel workers. It has the highest proportion of unionization in the hotel industry, 75 percent."

Most workers in the hospitality industry are non-union and have few rights. They can be disciplined or fired without cause at any time. Those who are undocumented live almost entirely without any protection from the law.

The union says that management philosophy in the luxury service business expects workers to behave with extreme civility toward customers, who are called "guests." The "customer is always right" philosophy holds sway, the union says.

A maid from Mexico working at a luxury hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona ran into problems on May 22 when she knocked on a customer's door for the nightly turndown service.

The customer, an older man with gray hair, was alone when she opened the door.

"Would you like me to turn down your sheets?" the maid asked.

When the customer declined, the maid offered some chocolates.

"That would be perfect," the man said.

But before the maid could hand him the candies, he opened his zipper and exposed himself.

"I handed him the candies and quickly left," said Imma, 45, a resident of Phoenix to a reporter from the Arizona Republic.

Hotel maids, the vast majority of them immigrant women, face sexual harassment on a regular basis, said Annemarie Stassel, a spokesman for Unite Here which represents more than 100,000 housekeepers nationally. "We know these things happen and that is why whenever workers choose union representation we make sure there are strong clauses in the contract to protect against assault and harassment."

Stassel said the most common incidents are men answering the door naked, and workers being asked for sex, with or without pay.

In union hotels, the procedure instructs women cleaning rooms to leave the room doors open and use their cleaning carts to block the doorway. They remain vulnerable, however, because they work alone and when inside a room they are out of view of security cameras.

Since the Strauss-Kahn arrest, many are speaking out more to one another, according to Arelia Valdiva, an organizer with Unite Here, Local 11 in Los Angeles.

She said that this week a maid told her that while she was cleaning a bathroom, the customer returned intoxicated and said something was wrong with the TV. When she entered the room she saw that the TV was working and that the customer was watching a pornographic movie.

Stassel said maids often don't report sexual harassment because "it happens so often."

"Union contracts are important," she said, "because they empower workers to speak up and demand justice."

Photo: Empowered union hotel workers practicing civil disobedience techniques for a 2010 rally in Chicago. (Photo courtesy Local 1, Unite Here)

Labor board sides with Red Cross workers

Mon, 23 May 2011 16:22:00 +0000

LANSING, Mich. - A National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge has stepped into the middle of the campaign by Red Cross to drive down wages and benefits of its unionized workers, finding the huge non-profit organization guilty of charges filed against it by the Office and Professional Employees' Local 459 here and Teamsters Local 580.

In his May 5th 54-page ruling, Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey Wedekind said he found that the Red Cross arguments for its case were "without merit" or worse.

Wedekind's ruling represents another win for OPEIU and its union allies in their long-running battle with one of the nation's best-known, and wealthiest, charities. The Red Cross has been trying to cut wages, benefits and jobs - all represented by OPEIU and also by other unions - in Michigan, West Virginia and several other states.

Its cuts forced the Lansing OPEIU local to strike for three days in 2010, and led to declining staff morale elsewhere in the organization.

The resulting staff cuts also led the federal government to fine the Red Cross $37 million in the past few years for not keeping the U.S. blood supply fresh. The Red Cross is its principal custodian, and without trained workers to monitor blood and replenish it, the blood becomes useless.

Wedekind found the Red Cross guilty of, among other charges:

* Repeated failure to provide the union's information they requested on its claim that there was "reduced demand for blood." The "reduced demand" led Red Cross to "demand significant concessions from employees," but it never backed its stand with evidence, Wedekind said.

* Refusing to provide needed information to Local 580 over a Red Cross scheme to eliminate a choice of five health care coverage plans in favor of one national, Red-Cross-run plan. Red Cross finally provided data, after a key open-enrollment period closed, showing it was still offering alternative plans elsewhere in the country.

* "Unilateral transfer of tele-recruiter work" out from under OPEIU Local 459 to another state.

* Unilateral and sudden enforcement of a new, more-stringent attendance policy in Nov. 2008, without bargaining with the unions. The Red Cross "began to more strictly enforce its existing attendance policy by disciplining unit employees for only three or four previously unscheduled absences or tardies regardless of the reason (for example, even if the absence was for medical reasons and the employee had accrued sick leave)," Wedekind noted. Citing past NLRB rulings, Wedekind said the Red Cross "was obligated to provide the OPEIU with advance notice and an opportunity to bargain over the change and its effects, but failed to do so." Altering the policy is "a significant change in mandatory terms and conditions of employment, requiring bargaining."

* Throwing OPEIU's semi-yearly union meetings off of Red Cross premises in April 2009, after allowing them since at least 2007. A 28-year worker testified she could not remember any off-premises OPEIU meeting.

* Unilaterally dumping the retiree medical program for OPEIU members who are now in the bargaining unit, but who will retire in the future.

"It is uncontroverted that neither the American National Red Cross nor" its Michigan affiliate "directly notified the union of the change," Wedekind said. "The union only learned of the change from a union steward, shortly after the ANRC's president and CEO, Gail McGovern, sent an Oct. 28, 2008 memo to all employees announcing both the Jan. 1 change and a second change to occur on July 1, 2009."

That direct memo broke labor law by going around the union, Wedekind noted. And the Red Cross board also broke the law by announcing the changes to the retiree medical program "as a fait accompli" without notice or bargaining, he added.

* "Unilaterally suspending employer matching contributions to the 401(k) savings plan on May 1, 2009, and closing the pension plan to new hires on July 1, 2009," for the Red Cross workers represented by OPEIU. But Wedekind said the 401(k) case against the Red Cross covering workers represented by the Teamsters was unproven.

* Disciplining one OPEIU shop steward for doing her job, and barring another from talking to workers.

* "Denying annual leave and guaranteed hours" to workers after the strike, OPEIU said.

"The judge upheld the charges and issued an order for the Red Cross to remedy all violations with back pay and interest and to post a notice notifying employees the Red Cross will not break the law in the future. The Red Cross is embroiled in contentious labor relations around the country. There are more than 30 expired union contracts nationally and similar unfair labor practice charges are pending in a number of states," said Lance Rhines and Joseph Marutiak, staff reps for OPEIU Local 459.

"Dozens of labor unions representing Red Cross employees, including Local 459, have formed a coalition to advocate for better safety and employee rights. The coalition is supported by groups outside the labor movement, such as the National Consumers League, Jobs with Justice, Interfaith Workers Justice, the Hemophilia Foundation of America, and the Committee of Ten Thousand," the two staff reps added.

Unions not behind Wisconsin boycott

Fri, 20 May 2011 16:24:00 +0000

MILWAUKEE (PAI) - The latest twist in the saga of right wing Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker's war on workers is a series of media stories, which leaders of the state AFL-CIO and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council have flatly scorned, that the fed has concocted any boycott in Wisconsin aimed at Walker's policies.

Not only does federal law make calling boycotts tough, but so do internal AFL-CIO rules. "If we had a boycott, trust me, we would be shouting it from the rooftops," noted Sheila Cochran, chief operating officer of the Milwaukee council.

Requirements and rules are stricter on unions than on corporations - not just on boycotts, but on every action - from how they support candidates to how they report money spent, how they organize and protest, and even to set up picket lines.

If anything, the requirements escalate in a boycott. A boycott can only be imposed when endorsed by the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Only then will union members be urged "don't buy"- which means not to use the service or buy products.

So what's behind the rumors of an AFL-CIO boycott in Wisconsin? The short answer, and the same one that triggered the mass protests in Madison - and around the country - against the Walker-GOP law that killed collective bargaining rights, is: Grass-roots activism.

In other words, union members and like-minded individuals have acted on their own, voting with their dollars against Walker's politics and policies.

What's been happening in Wisconsin has gone far beyond the control or even initiation of organized labor, and one consequence is this constant talk of boycotts that unions never started and often spend hours knocking down.

Fury over Walker's proposals has long moved beyond curtailing the rights of public workers. It has spread beyond unions, public and private, and now encompasses a lot of citizens who never thought twice about unions or politics.

If that weren't true, the six Republican state senators who will be objects of recall elections this summer would not be so anxious and backpedaling on Walker proposals they long knew about - and the GOP wouldn't be rushing to pass Walker's bills before they lose control of the state legislature. Ironically, this has heightened the right wing attack on the AFL-CIO, since they'd like to pretend it's only unions that are upset.

But actually, unions are about jobs and negotiations, which is why they can remain calm and focused in marches and rallies. Union leaders know the difference between words and sticks and stones.

There is one case where the state fed quite obviously went after a big Walker backer. In late April, it publicly pulled its money out of M&I Bank, whose executives gave even more money to Walker's campaign than the Koch brothers did.

One journalist told me that, despite denials, "The court of public opinion sees this as nothing other than a boycott."

He'd better not say that out loud around the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom. It would destroy the operators of PolitiFacts, who spend much of their time digging out obscure charges few have heard of but probably accept as true - but aren't.

Let's start with the busiest complaint on blogs by right-wingers. They didn't criticize corporations for pasting anti-union slogans on gas pumps, but they claim unions are behind the illegal campaign to plaster anti-Walker slogans on supermarket products. There's no evidence for that allegation. The slogans apparently mainly targeted a sausage company and cheese company whose owners gave heavily to Walker.

But the slogans were never a union idea - just more people upset by slash-and-burn emanating from Madison, or acting out a fantasy on the internet. It kept unions busy telling overwrought members to stay away from stuff like this - and reminding them to still enjoy brats but look, as they always should, for the union-made ones.

Another warning to stay away involves those online boycott lists, which reflect anger at Walker's policies, on Facebook and elsewhere. The call was to boycott companies that gave money to Walker's camp. Lists were provided based on database culling. Unions were kept quite busy warning journalists and their own members away from such ideas because such lists were scatterguns.

Many companies actually give money to both parties. Several companies on the lists employ union workers. Others support union causes. Some of the companies listed have disgustingly anti-union policies, but it's their behavior, not opinion, that prompts boycotts.

Wisconsin state fed President Phil Neuenfeldt has reminded people that the boycotts weren't union ideas. He then was at the receiving end of displeasure not just from the right but from some on the left who suggested unions should "attack" businesses that fed Walker.

In one case, unions were slow to speak up, in an instance of overzealous members. A union field representative used his letterhead to urge area companies to put up signs indicating support of "worker rights." That was fine, but his letter also suggested that "neutral meant no," - in other words, that lack of a sign would be regarded as a sign of opposition.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said that was over the top. A company could have a lot of reasons not to put up a sign and shouldn't be regarded as an enemy because of an empty window. When told what happened, the AFSCME council leaders stepped in, telling members no union ever proposed, encouraged or endorsed that tactic.

This was not the case with the M&I bank action. It was very specific - a union protest, and it came after individuals and other unions had also pulled their money out of Wisconsin's biggest bank in a public manner, all as a blunt statement of their disgust.

But no doors were barred, no employees who gave to a political party of their choice were targeted and no union member was told to switch banks. In other words, it was not a boycott.

The fed said this was specifically a clever and effective advertisement of disgust, not much different than what newspaper columnists do - or what newspaper advertisers do when they pull ads in disagreement with editorial policy.

Stephanie Bloomingdale, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, spelled it out in a letter to M&I when she and a contingent of supporters yanked the federation's $105,000 in funds from the bank, which also has branches in other Midwest states.

U.S. taxpayers had bailed out M&I with $1.7 billion in TARP funds, which have not been fully reimbursed as promised. Now M&I promises to repay the government's TARP cash only after it sells itself to a Montreal bank. That sale would lead to job losses in Wisconsin, and a bonanza for the M&I executives who gave to Walker.

As Bloomingdale pointed out, the TARP rules say executives shouldn't profit until they pay the taxpayers back, yet M&I is using foreign ownership to reward CEO Mark Furlong and other top executives. "While we sacrifice and work hard to rebuild our state's economy, you've set yourself up for a $24 million personal payday after the bank's sale is completed. A $24 million payday that you bent the rules to get," she wrote. "M&I does not deserve the trust of Wisconsin's working families."

If a clear message like that equals a boycott, somebody had better tell Webster's.

California teachers arrested

Fri, 20 May 2011 16:17:00 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A week of statewide teacher protests in California, over threatened budget cuts that would devastate elementary and secondary schools and their students, included the arrest of 26 members of the California Teachers Association on May 13 after a sit-in at the Capitol here.

The impact of the protests organized by the association, a National Education Association affiliate, is unclear. Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, proposed extending $11 billion in expiring tax increases to fund the schools and close the state's overall budget gap, but the GOP minority in the state legislature may have enough votes to block that.

Besides the Sacramento protest, where California Teachers Association President David Sanchez and the others were arrested after refusing to leave lawmakers' offices, thousands of teachers and their supporters marched in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Bernardino, and elsewhere.

All said that without the revenue, state aid - necessary because of California's long-standing local property tax caps - would be devastated, and so would the schools.

"Education can't take these cuts anymore," Joyce Medeiros, a sixth grade teacher in San Juan Batista, told the Associated Press during a 1,000-person rally in San Francisco. She said K-3 classes now have 32 kids or more, far above national averages and recommendations for success in schools. "We've taken our cuts," she said. "It's time to look for other solutions."

"If we don't get the extension, then public education in California will die," A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, told an afternoon press conference there; he accompanied yet another rally that drew thousands. Vincent Precht, a special education teacher in L.A., showed solidarity with his fired colleagues - due to the budget cuts - at the L.A. rally by wearing a woman's pink slip over his clothes, the Los Angeles Times reported. "I've never seen such a terrible anti-teacher anti-union atmosphere," he said.

Susie Hernandez, a fourth grade teacher in Sacramento, came to the state Capitol protest because, "Our state is falling apart. I'm hoping that somebody who can do something is willing to."

But the attitude of the GOP was symbolized by state Assembly GOP minority leader Connie Conway, who said tax increases are not needed to fund the schools. "These big union tactics will not sway my opinion," she said in a statement.

The GOP has countered with its own $2.5 billion school aid plan, which teachers called inadequate.

Photo: Shaun Martin // CC 2.0

AFL-CIO head: If you’re not supporting us we won’t support you

Fri, 20 May 2011 16:12:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - In a major speech at the National Press Club May 20, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said he supports unions taking an independent political approach in their fight to build the power of workers.

"Working people want a labor movement strong enough to restore balance to our economy, fairness to our tax system, security to our families and moral standing to our nation," Trumka told the live audience here and tens of thousands of viewers on C-Span and other media outlets. "Our role is not to build the political power of a party or a candidate. It is to improve the lives of working families.

"It doesn't matter if candidates and parties are controlling the wrecking ball or simply standing aside - the outcome is the same either way," said Trumka. "If leaders aren't blocking the wrecking ball and advancing working families' interests, working people will not support them. This is where our focus will be - now, in 2012 and beyond."

The leader of the nation's largest labor federation said that an independent labor movement was critical now because of attacks on workers' rights, new efforts to curtail voting rights and calls for austerity on the backs of seniors, children and the sick.

"These events signal a new and dangerous phase of a concerted effort to change the very nature of America - to turn this into an 'I've got mine' nation and replace the land of liberty and justice for all with the land of the rich, by the rich and for the rich," Trumka declared.

He said that politicians like Republican Govs. John Kasich (Ohio) and Scott Walker (Wisconsin) campaigned promising to take action on the nation's jobs crisis, only to show when they took office that "their jobs agenda was to make them disappear." He added, "But their real passion was for eliminating the rights of working people and their unions because they are the people standing in the way of their agenda."

Trumka cited Alex Hanna, a graduate assistant at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and co-president of the Teaching Assistants' Association, which belongs to the American Federation of Teachers.

Hanna, whose family is from Egypt, was in Cairo rallying for freedom for Egyptian workers when he heard about Gov. Walker's push to end collective bargaining for public workers.

He rushed home to join the demonstrations at the Wisconsin state Capitol.

Hanna, who joined Trumka at the press conference, said the Cairo and Madison experiences, though different, show that "when people overcome their fears and stand for what they believe in they can succeed."

Trumka warned that "powerful political forces are trying to silence working people." He said, "In this environment we must do more than just protect our own right to a voice in the life of our nation. We must raise our voice to win a better future for all working families here in America and around the globe."

The union leader closed his speech with a strong pitch for unity.

"We know that only a dynamic, effective movement of working people working together can reclaim the value of work, " He said. "Our unions must reach out to every working person in America - to those whose jobs have been outsourced and down-sized, to carwash workers in Los Angeles, to domestic workers who have few legal rights, to freelancers and young people who have 'gigs' rather than jobs. And together with the AFL-CIO's construction and manufacturing workers, pilots and painters, plumbers and public employees, bakers and others, we will be heard."

Photo: Stock shot of Trumka. AFL-CIO // CC 2.0

Concert in tribute to Anne Feeney a big success

Wed, 18 May 2011 16:22:00 +0000

NEW YORK - The auditorium at Local 1199/SEIU here on May 13 was filled with enthusiastic folk music lovers, political activists, trade unionists, family and friends, all gathered to pay tribute to an extraordinary working-class folk singer and song writer Anne Feeney.

Over 300 people came out to express their thanks and appreciation to a wonderful artist and a friend who for years has given so much of herself to the causes that progressive folks hold so dear. The concert was organized to help raise funds for Ms. Feeney's mounting medical expenses.

Feeney despite her battle with cancer was present and upbeat and energetic as ever.

She spoke and sang beautifully several times throughout the evening.

Feeney, a political activist, is a talented composer and singer. Known for her militant fighting songs she has been a popular cultural figure in the working-class, trade union, and peace and freedom movements both in the U.S. and abroad for many years.

Performers included an all-star line up of some of folk music's top artists starting with the legendary Pete Seeger and Peter Yarrow.

Bev Grant and George Mann organized the event and put together an unforgettable evening.

In addition to Seeger and Yarrow, the line up included Dave Lippman, Bev Grant & the Dissident Daughters, Chris Owens, Judy Gorman, George Mann, The Brooklyn Women's Chorus, working-class rapper and professor Louie and of course the guest of honor.

The New York City Labor Chorus under the direction of Jana Ballard kicked off the evening. The night ended with a real hootenanny finale as everyone joining in on a jazzed up version of the tune "Solidarity Forever" and a spirited rendition of Feeney's "There's a War on the Workers."

Elise Bryant, who is a well-known singer and leader in the labor song movement, emceed the concert. She is also a professor at the AFL-CIO's Labor College.

If you would like to contribute to Ann Feeney's health fund or just get in touch visit her website.

Photo: Julie Leonardsson, via Feeney's MySpace page.

“Rebel Girl” Gurley Flynn inducted into Labor Hall of Fame

Wed, 18 May 2011 13:13:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - "We stand on the shoulders of giants," said Teamsters President James Hoffa at a ceremony marking the May 17 induction of labor pioneers Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Victor Reuther into Labor's International Hall of Fame.

Hoffa spoke to a crowd in a reception room with a commanding view of the U.S. Capitol building at the headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the nation's capital.

"Especially in these days of the war on workers," Hoffa said, it is important to honor women and men like Reuther and Flynn, along with other legendary union leaders like his father, Jimmy Hoffa, and Victor Reuther's brother, long-time United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther.

He added, "It is workers who put boots on the ground in the battles in Wisconsin and Ohio. We have never faced a test like today, a tsunami of anti-labor legislation. Events like this pull us together."

Standing on easels beside Hoffa were large posters of Flynn and Reuther. A program book with many photos of the two inductees and greetings from many unions was distributed.

Flynn is described in the program book as a fiery leader of the 1912 Lawrence, Mass., textile strike, a founder of the Industrial Workers of the World and the American Civil Liberties Union, leader of the International Labor Defense and chairwoman of the Communist Party USA. Joe Hill dubbed her "The Rebel Girl" in his famous song.

Included are remembrances of Flynn by her CPUSA co-worker Daniel Rubin. "She always spoke about labor rights and women's rights and she was also very much into the struggle for peace - the Vietnam war," Rubin wrote. "She was a firm supporter of democratic liberties," he noted, adding that her views on peace, on women's equality, civil rights and trade union solidarity "all remain valid" Today.

Victor Reuther helped organize the famed 1936-37 sit-down strike at the General Motors Fisher Body Plant in Flint, Mich. Later, he served as UAW education director and international director. He lost an eye in an assassination attempt in 1949.

His son John Reuther recalled that the Reuther brothers worked in an auto plant in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. He said that stirred his own interest in the USSR. A Soviet journalist suggested that he study there, which he did. Later, in his travels, John Reuther said, he was often greeted at airports by union members out of respect for his father.

Donald Boggs, an executive board member of Labor's International Hall of Fame, presided at the induction ceremony. He told the People's World, "The labor movement was born out of social activism and some of its themes are socialist concepts, that we are all our 'brother's keeper' and deserve a decent standard of living."

Boggs said, "We have to reach out to family and friends, to galvanize support in standing up against the attack on workers. It amazes me when the elite blames unions for this country's downfall. They have used deceit and disinformation. The real issue is the loss of jobs and corporate America's forcing down of wages for working people." He echoed Hoffa's comments on the importance of honoring labor's heroes.

Mike Smith, academic co-chair of the Hall of Fame, thanked the Teamsters for hosting the ceremony "celebrating those who fought for the rights of workers." He presented to Hoffa a $1,500 contribution to the Teamsters scholarship fund.

Smith said the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University holds the largest labor archives in the nation and is the source of documentation of those inducted into the labor Hall of Fame, established in 1973.

Among those enrolled are William H. Sylvis, a leader of the Molders union over a century ago; Mary "Mother Jones" Harris; Frank Little, IWW copper miner lynched in Butte, Mont. (a close friend of Flynn); United Mine Worker President John L. Lewis; Steelworkers union founding President Philip Murray; Sleeping Car Porters President A. Philip Randolph; Machinists union President William Wimpisinger; Auto Workers leader Olga Madar; railway strike leader Eugene V. Debs, a founder of the IWW; International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union President Harry Bridges; Farm Workers union President Cesar Chavez; and William "Big Bill" Haywood, founder of the IWW and a member of the CPUSA.

Photo: Tim Wheeler/PW

Labor leader calls for 500,000 "soldiers" to defend democracy

Wed, 18 May 2011 13:03:00 +0000

CLEVELAND - With the drive to repeal a drastic union-busting state law in full swing, Harriet Applegate, executive secretary of the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, rallied over 100 key labor and community activists here May 16.

Speaking at the annual Spring Celebration fundraiser for Cleveland Jobs With Justice, Applegate called for mobilizing an army of "upwards of 500,000 newly activated soldiers" in the fight to save the right of workers to bargain collectively.

That is the number of teachers, safety force workers and other public employees whose right to negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions was eliminated when Republican Gov. John Kasich signed what is known as Senate Bill 5 into law March 31. Since then, tens of thousands of workers and their supporters have hit the streets circulating petitions to put the measure as a referendum on the November ballot.

"This is our moment," Applegate said, "in both an exhilarating and terrifying way. Exhilarating because this is our chance to come back strong...and terrifying because of the consequences if we fail.

"John Kasich has done for us what we couldn't do for ourselves," she continued. "He has unified us. More importantly, he has unified us around an issue that is not only fundamental to unions, but fundamental to democracy: collective bargaining."

The ultra right "is not interested in dialogue, discussion, bargaining or any other form of communication much less dispute resolution," Applegate said. "It is their way or the highway."

Collective bargaining, she continued, "is the verb of democracy."

Groups like Jobs with Justice are critical to winning the fight because unions "aren't structured to reach out to the community and they're not so good at it by and large." They "need all the help they can get in the coalition-building department."

Applegate called for building teams of labor and community activists in every precinct to go door to door "winning hearts and minds" and overcoming an expected massive "campaign of divide and conquer" once the referendum is on the ballot.

Senate Bill 5, she said, has activated people as never before. "We haven't seen this ever in our state and rarely in our nation since the 1930s. "[W]e cannot afford to fail to take advantage of this wonderful moment of engagement," she said. "Shame on us activists if we cannot seize this opportunity, win it and take it as far as possible. We are only limited by the limits of our hopes and dreams. We are not likely to get this chance again. Let's seize the day!"

Awards were presented to State Sen. Mike Skindell and State Rep. Mike Foley, leaders of the fight against the union-busting measure in the Legislature, as well as to Sue Brown of Workers United and Mike Martino of United Food and Commercial Workers for their longtime contributions to the labor movement.

Photo via North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor.

Artists and screen actors take steps toward merging unions

Tue, 17 May 2011 16:10:00 +0000

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild took a step toward merging when AFTRA's board of directors met today by videoconference in Los Angeles and New York.

The AFTRA board appointed a committee to work with SAG on merging the two unions. The new successor union will represents professional performers, broadcasters, and sound recording artists.

AFTRA's New Union Committee and SAG's Merger Task Force will work together to develop a merger agreement, constitution and dues structure for the new union, to be presented to the AFTRA board by January 2012.

The New Union Committee, chaired by AFTRA President Roberta Reardon, consists of 29 members (13 committee members and 16 alternates) who represent each major category of AFTRA's membership.

The Successor Union Mission Statement highlights the importance of AFTRA and SAG, noting that they "were formed in the turmoil of the 1930s, with histories of fighting for and securing the strongest protections for media artists. Our members united in order to preserve those hard-won rights and to continue the struggle to extend and expand those protections into the 21^st century and beyond.

"Our work is seen and heard in theaters, on television and radio, sound recordings, the internet, games, mobile devices, home video: you see us and hear us on all media distribution platforms. We are the faces and the voices that entertain and inform America and the world."

Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, AFTRA's national executive director, said, "AFTRA members are uniquely poised to coordinate their considerable experience across a wide range of industries among common employers to ensure that as their work evolves, it evolves under a union contract. Our success in these upcoming negotiations is especially critical in light of the fact that these agreements will carry forward into the new, successor union and must be strengthened to provide continued quality work opportunities to future generations of union members."

Actors unions have faced many new obstacles during recent years.

Only one of these has been the harm done to professional actors by the growing trend of reality TV shows, for example.

Many union actors see reality TV as glorifying a number of untalented actors who choose not to move on to things such as feature film production, and who often choose not to get involved with the union. In fact, nearly all reality TV is non-union.

The shows are, for that reason, cheaper to make and attract more uninsured, exploitable, and disposable workers. This whole reality TV genre contributes nothing to what AFTRA and SAG are fighting for, and poses at least one reason why Reardon is looking, through the merger, to strengthen both AFTRA and SAG.

She is concerned about the big political picture too. "In recent times," said Reardon, "We have witnessed an unprecedented attack on public workers in this country. Today, they are coming after school teachers, cops and nurses - but tomorrow they will come after us. These attacks offer yet another compelling reason why we must unite our two unions so that we grow as one and we grow stronger to build real power for our members."

Reardon continued by explaining what she said AFTRA has known since 1937: "Entertainment and news media professionals are stronger standing together and, overwhelmingly, AFTRA members want one new union. I look forward to moving this process forward into the next stage where we will now work with our sisters and brothers at Screen Actors Guild to build a new union for a new world."

Photo: http://www.sag.org/oneunion

Is your paycheck correct? There's an app for that!

Mon, 16 May 2011 15:46:00 +0000

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced the launch of an application for smart-phones - a timesheet to help employees independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. It lets an employee punch in start times, end times, breaks, and lunch periods. Links provided to the department's Wage and Hour Division make contact info and materials regarding wage laws easily accessible.

Launched on May 9, the app is available in English and Spanish, and compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch. It may eventually work with other platforms, like Android and BlackBerry. Creators also hope to provide features not currently available, like tips, commissions, bonuses, deductions, holiday pay, weekend pay, and shift differentials.

For workers without a smart-phone, the Wage and Hour Division has a printable work hour's calendar that includes easy-to-understand information about workers' rights and how to file a wage violation complaint.

Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis welcomes the app, telling CNS News, "This app will empower workers to understand and stand up for their rights when employers have denied their hard-earned pay."

This app is the logical next step forward in a progressive move to highlight the importance of carefully drafted employer wage policies and practices.

Over the past few years, federal courts nationwide have experienced a surge in lawsuits alleging wage and hour violations by employers. And in many of the cases, employees were not paid for all of their activities including those that are considered "compensable work" under federal regulations.

Last year the Department of Labor made a move to recover almost $1 million in back wages for New York construction workers, and forced a company in Georgia to compensate for inappropriate investment of union pension funds.

"Wage theft is a national epidemic that robs millions of workers of billions of dollars they've worked for but never see," said Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Workers Justice (IWJ). Bobo notes wage theft is "the crime wave no one talks about. It's really all around us."

IWJ, which in November 2010 ran a National Day of Action Against Wage Theft, released a study, that found 60 percent of nursing home workers, 100 percent of poultry plant workers and 90 percent of restaurant workers are denied their fair pay at some point.

"This app underscores the need for employers to maintain accurate time records for their workers," said Paul DeCamp, former administrator of the Department's Wage and Hour. "The last thing an employer wants is to be blindsided by years' worth of detailed daily time records showing much more time worked than was actually paid. It's in everyone's interest for workers to be paid correctly and for any disagreement regarding hours worked to be resolved in real time rather than months or years after the fact."

The app can be downloaded from the Wage and Hour Division's website.

Photo: Courtesy of Interfaith Workers Justice.

Machinists, labor board official say Boeing broke law

Mon, 16 May 2011 14:04:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The Machinists are gathering allies as the battle grows over a top National Labor Relations Board official's statement that Boeing broke labor law by moving aircraft production to anti-union South Carolina.

"The NLRB charge against Boeing is the most significant NLRB case in half a century," union President Tom Buffenbarger told International Association of Machinist's (IAM) several hundred delegates to its legislative conference here May 10.

Even as he spoke to IAM, Buffenbarger noted that Gov. Nikki Haley, R-S.C., "was addressing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and deriding and disrespecting this union."

IAM has picked up union support for its stand - upheld by NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon, the agency's top enforcement officer. They note Boeing opened its second 787 "Dreamliner" assembly line in North Charleston, S.C., strictly in retaliation against its IAM locals at an aircraft assembly plant in Everett, Wash., and at a parts plants in Portland, Ore.

The Machinists filed a complaint, buttressed by quotes from company officials, from the CEO on down, that Boeing moved Dreamliner production to right-to-work, anti-union South Carolina because it faced union criticism, and occasional strikes, at its Pacific Northwest plants.

That's illegal retaliation, Solomon said, adding that the remedy is for Boeing to move Dreamliner production back to Everett.

Buffenbarger admitted IAM "still has a hill to climb" before the case concludes. He predicted it would go all the way from a June 14 NLRB hearing in Seattle through appeals to the full board and the courts, "all the way up to the Supreme Court."

But IAM picked up strong support from the AFL-CIO when Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker addressed the legislative conference May 11. She called the right to strike "the fundamental backstop" for labor, and said IAM is defending it against Boeing's pressure - pressure that forced strikes in Everett, Buffenbarger noted.

"Listen, I know that nobody makes the decision to strike lightly," Holt Baker said. "But it is the fundamental backstop, one of the strongest points of leverage we have. All a worker has is his or her labor."

While she praised Boeing's planes as "the best in the skies" because they're built by union labor, Holt Baker blasted the company's management.

"We believe Boeing executives broke the law," she declared. "Their decision to move production to South Carolina, their decision to publicize the reasons why, amount to a clear threat that Boeing workers heard loud and clear: If you exercise your rights, we will take away your jobs.

"And that threat, sisters and brothers, is a violation of federal labor law, and that makes the company's decision to expand production in South Carolina a matter of law enforcement."

Buffenbarger also pointed out that Boeing faces two shareholder suits charging the company management hid details of the financial impact of the move and the Dreamliner's problems.

Solomon's complaint against Boeing drew opposition from right-wing Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, who demanded all records of contact between the NLRB regional office and its D.C. headquarters on Solomon's filing, as well as the precedents Solomon used.

"We understand no union employee" in Everett "has lost his or her job or been financially harmed by" the firm's opening of the South Carolina assembly line, wrote Kline and right-wing Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn. They called Boeing's move "a legitimate business decision." They claimed the proposed penalty - returning the assembly line to Everett - is "extraordinary and would have a detrimental impact on the economy and workers of South Carolina" while "chilling" business activity elsewhere.

Their letter also prompted the NLRB's Solomon to stick up for his legal filing.

"Contrary to certain public statements made in recent weeks, there is nothing remarkable or unprecedented about the complaint issued against the Boeing Company on April 20," Solomon said on May 9. "The complaint involves matters of fact and law that are not unique to this case, and it was issued only after a thorough investigation in the field, a further careful review by our attorneys in Washington, and an invitation by me to the parties to present their case and discuss the possibility of a settlement. Only then did I authorize the complaint alleging certain statements and decisions by Boeing officials were discriminatory under our statute," said Solomon.

"At any point, the parties could reach a settlement agreement and we remain willing to participate in any such discussions at the request of either or both. We hope all interested parties respect the legal process, rather than trying to litigate this case in the media and public arena."

Photo: Boeing Company plant and signage in El Segundo, Calif. (AP/ Reed Saxon)

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn to be inducted into labor hall of fame

Mon, 16 May 2011 12:18:00 +0000

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, along with Victor Reuther, will be inducted into Labor's International Hall of Fame on May 17 in Washington, D.C.

Reuther was instrumental with organizing of industrial plant workers in Flint, Mich. The United Auto Workers was founded in 1936 amidst a great uprising of industrial workers, including the UAW's most famous battle - the 1936-37 Flint sit-down strike - where a six-week occupation of GM factories by autoworkers forced the company to recognize the union and effectively breaking the back of the open shop.

Reuther later held several offices within the UAW, including leading the union's Education and International Affairs departments. His brother, Walter, was UAW president from 1946-1970.

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, nicknamed "Rebel Girl," was a labor activist and militant in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or Wobblies), a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and leader of the Communist Party USA.

At age 17, Flynn became a labor organizer and organized campaigns among garment workers in Pennsylvania; silk weavers in New Jersey; restaurant workers in New York; miners in Minnesota, Missoula, Mont., and Spokane, Wash., and textile workers in Massachusetts.

Born in Concord, N. H., on August 7, 1890, her family moved to New York when Flynn was 10. Her parents introduced her to the ideas and movement for socialism and at the age of 16. She gave her first speech, "What Socialism Will Do for Women." Flynn advocated for women's rights, birth control and right to vote. She played an important role in the campaign for equal pay for women and the establishment of day care centers for mothers working in industry. She wrote a column on feminist issues for the Daily Worker.

She was persecuted for her political beliefs and served a two-year prison sentence in the 1950s because she was a Communist. She wrote about her time in prison in "The Alderson Story: My Life as a Political Prisoner." The ACLU ousted Flynn because of her political beliefs in 1940, but reinstated her posthumously in 1976.

Her book "Rebel Girl" is available from International Publishers.

Click here to view historical letters, documents and photos of Flynn and Joe Hill.

For more biographical information see People's World Women's History special "Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the Rebel Girl."

Photo: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn speaks at a 1913 rally of striking workers in Paterson, N.J. (CPUSA collection/Tamiment)

Union gets new chief

Fri, 13 May 2011 16:40:00 +0000

NEW YORK - Noel Beasley, who, as Midwest director for what is now Workers United led successful campaigns to save HartMarx clothing jobs in Illinois and Hugo Boss jobs in Cleveland, was elected new president of Workers United, an SEIU sector, the union said. The Workers United board put him in office at a May 10 special session.

Beasley succeeds Bruce Raynor, Workers United's founder. SEIU's board forced Raynor to resign over expense account problems.

Papers that Raynor's former union, Unite Here, turned over to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York accuse him of illegal transfers from the union-owned Amalgamated Bank of New York to locals loyal to him, before Unite Here split and Workers United left for SEIU.

After Raynor and 150,000 members left, the remaining 260,000 Unite Here members, led by President John Wilhelm, rejoined the AFL-CIO.

Beasley, accepting the Workers United presidency, has a very different agenda. Building upon his 35 years with the union, including the last 25 as Midwest director based in Chicago, Beasley plans to concentrate on developing workplace leaders and field staff, education and mobilization.

"This is an extremely difficult period of transition for the global trade union movement and the problems our union must confront are complicated. These problems are in many ways reflections of the hard times that now assault our members, their families and communities," Beasley said in a statement released by SEIU. "We must move from defense to offense. We must reclaim North America for working families and stop the attempts to roll back virtually every hard-fought victory of the 20^th century.

"If we can save jobs in the Rust Belt, we can do it everywhere," he said, citing the Hugo Boss and HartMarx campaigns. The Hugo Boss drive used massive publicity and political support to save 400 jobs at the last clothing plant in Cleveland, when the firm wanted to close it and shift the work to low-paid workers in Turkey and Eastern Europe.

Sit-ins and demonstrations led banks to restructure loans to HartMarx, saving 3,500 jobs at the large mens' clothing manufacturer. Most of them were in suburban Chicago and in Rock Island, Ill.