The Union News.: 8/19/08

8/19/08

ACORN-Tides Foundation cash link probed

More ACORN stories: here
More Wade Rathke stories: here

Who is Drummond Pike? What is Citizens Consulting Inc.?

The head of a foundation that has funneled millions to liberal causes anonymously repaid $1 million embezzled from one of the organizations the foundation financially supports.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Drummond Pike secretly agreed to replace the money embezzled from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or Acorn. Pike is chief executive of the San Francisco-based Tides Foundation.

According to the Times, Pike was aiding Wade Rathke, the Acorn founder and a Tides Foundation board member, when he decided to buy the promissory note requiring the Rathke family to repay money taken by Rathke's brother, Dale.

Acorn discovered the embezzlement in 2000, but did not alert law enforcement officials. Acorn's management committee instead negotiated an agreement to have the Rathke family pay back the stolen funds. The Times reported the agreement was carried on the books of an Acorn affiliate, Citizens Consulting Inc., as a loan to an officer. Pike purchased the loan in June from the affiliate, according to e-mail messages from senior Acorn officials obtained by the newspaper in which they discussed how to keep the transaction a secret.

Acorn's Web site describes the organization as the nation's largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people, operating in 110 cities across the country.

Acorn has an Allegheny County chapter that most recently garnered attention in June, when its members marched through East Liberty to protest the upswing in mortgage foreclosures.

The Times reported that several Acorn affiliates have received money from Pike's Tides Foundation, which has provided more than $400 million to nonprofit groups since 2000. Much of the money flows out of donor-controlled accounts that Tides manages.

Tides received $8.3 million from 1994 through 2005 from The Heinz Endowments, chaired by Pittsburgh ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz.

(pittsburghlive.com)

Barack paid ACORN unit at least $850K

News union briefing

AFL-CIO big Trumka bristles at Barack

Barack smacked down for straying from collectivist principles

As he prepares to accept the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama's allies in organized labor are worried that he is becoming too friendly with Wall Street types such as former Treasury Secretary and current Citigroup, Inc. senior executive Robert Rubin.

According to Bloomberg News, a recent presentation by Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO argued that unfettered global traded and inadequate government regulation resulted in lost manufacturing jobs. "It will do us little good if, when the next Democrat moves into the White House, Wall Street takes command of our country's economic policy," Bloomberg quotes Trumka's presentation as saying. The story adds that there is no doubt that Trumka is taking a shot at Rubin.

Trumka is unapologetic. The AFL-CIO already is flexing its political muscle and began looking at candidates for cabinet posts including the Treasury and Energy Departments along with the Federal Reserve. Obama's advisors deny that Rubin or anyone else has any particular sway over his economic policies. But there definitely is a tilt toward the center going on.

Obama, who backs union goals such as reopening NAFTA and universal health care, recently raised a few eyebrows when he seemed to accept the notion that he can't pay for these programs only through the capital gains tax. Last week, two Obama advisers wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the Illinois senator would only consider raising capital gains taxes from 15% to 20% instead of as high as 28%. That's no cause for celebration for investors, but the prospect of an Obama presidency is no reason to panic, either.

This weekend, the New York Times chronicled the battle between Obama and John McCain for the hearts and minds of businesses both large and small. Corporate types are not enthusiastic backers of McCain but are backing him since their favored candidate Mitt Romney got out of the race. Obama, though, does have his share of backers in the corporate world including Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt. Warren Buffett has also advised him.

Organized labor knows that Obama needs their support. They are going to hold the Illinois senator's feet to the fire to make sure that he doesn't forget them even as he tries to make new friends at the boardroom level. It will be a tricky balance to maintain through the general election.

(bloggingstocks.com)

Hurried striker fatally strikes striker

Machinists strike turns deadly

A prayer vigil was held this afternoon for a Hawker Beechcraft worker killed early this morning when a truck driven by a fellow striking worker hit him on Greenwich. Jeff Hart, 45, died in the accident, according to the Machinists Union Local Lodges 733. The vigil was held at the Machinists union hall on MacArthur Road. The event was to have been a rally for the Machinists negotiations at Boeing Co.

"We know this a time of very solemn hearts," said Mike Burleigh, a union business representive who led the vigil. "We gather here today to think about Jeff."

Those who attended were Machinists represented employees at Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems. They joined hands and prayed for strength for the family.

"We do not know why, but we want you to be here with this family," Burleigh prayed.

With a strike at Hawker Beechcraft and negotiations at Boeing, "we know that we have other things that we have to do,... but this is not the day for that," Burleigh said.

Linda Callen, a union steward at Hawker Beechcraft knew Hart.

"He was a nice man; he was very very friendly," Callen said. "And he was very kind."

Callen had been back to work only three weeks from having open heart surgery.

Despite the surgery, he wanted to walk the picket line to show his support of the strike, Callen said.

Hawker Beechcraft workers represented by the Machinists union went on strike Aug. 4 after rejecting the company's offer of a new labor contract.

The accident happened about 5 a.m. today in the 300 block of Greenwich Road just south of East Waterman Street. Hart was crossing from west to east across Greenwich when he was struck by a 1989 GMC truck driven by a 49-year-old Hawker Beechcraft worker.

Police said it appeared that Hart was running across Greenwich from an overflow parking lot near the old Palace Theatre toward a strike rally set to begin at 5 a.m.

The driver of the vehicle was southbound on Greenwich apparently trying to drive to a parking lot entrance that would allow him to park in the Palace overflow lot, police spokesman Gordon Bassham said.

Bassham said no charges have been filed in the case.

Some who took part in the rally Monday morning said the turnout had been strong and traffic was heavy at the time.

Rick Ward worked just a few feet from Hart on the Hawker 900 line in Plant Four. He was at the rally when he heard the news that Hart had been hurt. Ward went to the hospital where he learned Hart had died.

"I was totally shocked," Ward said.

He described Hart as a "freehearted person. I don't think he ever met a stranger."

In the workplace, "he'd always come up to me and asked if I needed any help from him," Ward said. "He was a very caring person."

A statement from Wood said that Hart had been member of the International Association of Machinists for two years.

Several Machinists provided CPR and assistance until police and an ambulance arrived, Wood said.

"Our thoughts and prayers today go out to Jeff's family," Wood said in the statement.

Donations for Hart's family are being collected today in every IAM-represented facility in Wichita, Wood said, and "we intend to do everything possible to assist the family of our fallen member. The Machinists Union is a family, and today we grieve as a family.a^

Hawker Beechcraft released a statement about 1:45 p.m. today, calling the accident a tragic loss.

"People across the company are deeply saddened that Jeff Hart passed away as a result of an accident this morning," said Andrew Broom, director of media relations and public affairs. "The company offers our most sincere condolences to his family and friends, and will be assisting the family during this difficult time."

(kansas.com)

Losing the game? Change the rules.

Labor lawyers warn employers about EFCA

Stern struggles to damage-control scandal

Preventing unionization

Newspaper offers 'survival guide'

As unions ramp up local activities in a bid for growth, more local businesses will find themselves working with organized labor. Here's a primer on how to get along before, during and after contract talks:

Know your corporate practices. We're not talking about what your employee handbook says. We're talking about the stuff your company actually does. Unions that research companies they're negotiating with often find disconnects between written policies and actual procedures, said Edwin Keller, a partner in the Las Vegas labor law firm of Kamer Zucker Abbott. Typically, the status quo that existed when the union entered is what you must maintain in your labor agreement. Try to impose a handbook rule that doesn't exist in practice, and the union could accuse you of making unilateral changes in employment agreements. That could violate federal labor laws. You could end up in front of the National Labor Relations Board defending your company against unfair labor practices, rather than spending your time negotiating a mutually-beneficial contract, Keller said.

Pinpoint your priorities before you bargain. Ask yourself what corporate policies and practices you most want to preserve, and what policies need changing. Your general counsel might spend days arguing with the union over vacation protocol, only to report back to human resources and find department heads cared far more about sick leave.

Develop informal lines of communication. Bargaining meetings can include as many as 60 people advocating for the union or the company.

"Some sessions can turn into circuses," Keller said. "There can be a lot of posturing on one side or the other."

That's why it's essential for just one or two lead negotiators on each side to get together occasionally outside formal labor talks. Just grabbing a cup of coffee before a session can help each side understand where the other party is coming from.

"I can recall situations where the union representative would say, 'This is a real hot-button issue for some people who'll be there today, so let's both make sure we don't ratchet up the tension level by giving short shrift to it or making offhand comments that can be taken wrong,'" Keller said.

Educate your managers on the new contract. Contract-administration training helps your managers know basics ranging from vacation-time seniority to proper layoff procedures. If you botch a vacation request because you don't understand the new agreement's rules, you could have some minor aggravation on your hands. Or you could end up on the wrong side of a serious grievance procedure. Either way, some contract training can prevent big mix-ups.

Share information with the union. The union has a legal obligation to represent all its members equally. It can't always do so if an employer doesn't give details during a grievance process. If you're taking a union member through a disciplinary process, or if you're having trouble interpreting a contract, provide as much information as you can so the union can effectively cover its members.

Keep in touch. Regular post-contract discussions with union officials can head off smaller concerns before they become full-blown grievances, Keller said.

PREVENTING UNIONIZATION

Perhaps the most effective way to avoid strife with organized labor is to prevent union entry into your business. Here are some tips that could help:

Make your pay and benefits competitive. Perform regular salary and benefit surveys to ensure the compensation you offer is up to snuff when compared with competitors in your market.

"If you think everything is fine even though you're paying $3 an hour less than the competition in wages and benefits, you're asking to be organized," Keller said.

Keep up management training. When the economy tanks and companies look to cut expenses, supervisor training often goes out the window. But good management skills are essential in department heads who have immediate contact with employees. The best technical skills don't mean much if a manager doesn't communicate well, or if he fails to understand why he shouldn't dress down poorly performing employees in front of their coworkers.

"There's an old adage out there that bad employees don't bring in unions -- bad supervisors do," Keller said.

At a minimum, find a two- or four-hour management class that will review labor laws and impart basic people skills. Labor law firms, including Kamer Zucker Abbott, often offer such courses.

Be consistent. Implementing policies and procedures fairly and evenly can head off discontent among employees. Applying rules differently could send disgruntled workers into the arms of the nearest labor union.

Boost communication in uncertain times. Keller said he frequently sees unions enter the picture when corporations experience big changes. The departure of a key executive or the sudden attrition of departmental managers can make workers nervous. Be up front with your work force about what's going on.

"If the employer is not communicating with employees and assuring them that things are OK during a transition, they will look for that support and input from a third party," Keller said.

(lvbusinesspress.com)

Corrupt NY Carpenters get more oversight

Related story: "The 28 labor-states"

Labor-state union proves difficult to clean-up

Citing continued corruption, a federal judge has ordered a one-year extension of government oversight of the New York City carpenters’ union, which has spent 14 years under supervision.

Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of Federal District Court in Manhattan pointed to widespread off-the-books work and the bribery convictions of several shop stewards in ordering the extension in a decision issued on Friday. Under the government’s supervision, Judge Haight and an independent investigator oversee the union.

The union, the New York City District Council of Carpenters, which represents 25,000 carpenters, had asked Judge Haight to end the supervision, saying that the union was no longer under the influence of the Genovese crime family. The union signed a consent decree in 1994 agreeing to court-appointed supervision after federal prosecutors filed a civil racketeering lawsuit alleging that organized crime figures held sway over the union and assigned mob-linked workers to high-paying and no-show jobs at many sites, including the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

The carpenters’ request to end supervision was undercut last week when a dissident candidate in a union election was harassed and assaulted at a candidates’ forum that was held in the auditorium of a Catholic school in Manhattan.

According to witnesses and accounts provided to the union’s independent investigator, the candidate was beaten unconscious outside after the meeting on Aug. 5 by a group of men who had been yelling during the forum.

On Monday, in response to the assault, Judge Haight issued a memorandum urging union leaders to ensure that there would be no more beatings at candidates’ forums. He also directed the union and the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan to inform him of the results of a Labor Department investigation into the attack.

Judge Haight rejected the union’s assertion that the standard for ending court-ordered supervision should be whether mob control of the union had ended. The judge, accepting the arguments of the United States attorney’s office, instead concluded that the standard should be whether all forms of corruption and labor racketeering had been eradicated.

Judge Haight cited federal criminal cases brought against the construction contractors On Par, Boom Construction and Tri-Built, which prosecutors said had saved on wages and benefit payments by employing carpenters off the books, with shop stewards often being bribed to turn a blind eye to the practice. The contractors paid far less into the health and pension funds than they were supposed to, prosecutors said.

Judge Haight wrote that the shop stewards and other union officials “played vital roles in facilitating, enabling or abetting the employers’ fraud” by failing to supervise job sites or keep track of hours worked.

The judge also noted that rank-and-file carpenters had reported serious corruption earlier this decade. Investigators later found that out-of-work political supporters of union leaders were frequently allowed to jump the job-referral line and were assigned jobs before many carpenters who had been out of work longer.

In asking that supervision be continued, the United States attorney’s office cited a “culture of corruption that continues to impede efforts to fight that corruption.”

But Judge Haight accused federal prosecutors of “hyperventilation” about the extent of corruption. He wrote that the “outer and visible signs of organized crime influence have been significantly reduced” and that the union officials and Genovese family members involved in corruption in the early 1990s have “departed.”

He said he took the advice of William Callahan, the union’s independent investigator, who said an important test for ending the supervision was that the union “will be able to police itself without court and government supervision.”

Judge Haight concluded that this was not the case. “The record,” he wrote, “makes clear that massive job-site corruption was taking place from the 1990s through 2006.” He also pointed to a recent indictment alleging that the Genovese family had the ability to manipulate the district council, local unions and certain contractors through early 2004.

While praising the union’s reforms, including changes in the job-referral system, the judge wrote, “It is too early to tell whether recent reforms will achieve the purpose of showing whether the union can police itself without supervision.”

He also asked whether the union’s internal culture could change so that rank-and-file carpenters would no longer be scared to speak out about corruption.

“The district council must demonstrate that the union’s efforts to combat corruption have reduced the frequency and scope of corrupt practices to the extent that this court is convinced that the union and its constituent locals can adequately police themselves, without further government involvement and court supervision,” Judge Haight concluded. “At the present time, the district council has not made that showing.”

The assault last week on the dissident union candidate, William Davenport, undermined the union’s assertions of a change in its internal culture. Mr. Davenport, according to several accounts, was heckled when he spoke at the union meeting, which was attended by about 500 members. Despite the presence of two retired police detectives hired to maintain order, a group of men stood up in the front rows and screamed, according to one longtime union dissident who was there.

“It was disgraceful — thugs took over the meeting,” said the dissident, Eugene Clarke, a member for 49 years. Mr. Clarke, who did not see the assault, said the group yelled insults at Mr. Davenport and threw a roll of toilet paper at him when he was on the stage.

When candidates running on the slate of an incumbent, John Greaney, spoke, the crowd was less raucous, Mr. Clarke said.

In a separate decision issued on Friday, Judge Haight rejected the United States attorney’s request to replace Mr. Callahan as the independent investigator.

The government said that Mr. Callahan had not been aggressive enough in unearthing corruption. But Judge Haight said he was satisfied with Mr. Callahan’s performance saying that Mr. Callahan, like his predecessor, Walter Mack, was working diligently to ferret out job-site corruption.

Judge Haight said corruption had declined, thanks in part to Mr. Callahan and Mr. Mack, but too much remained. For that reason, he chose to extend Mr. Callahan’s term for two years.

In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Mr. Callahan called it “an important decision that reaffirms our credibility.”

(gangbox.wordpress.com)

Teamsters out on strike v. Ford

Related story: "The 28 labor-states"

Militant union fails to stop production in labor-state

Teamster workers at Ford's Louisville Assembly and Kentucky Truck plants went on strike yesterday after contract negotiations broke down between the union and Auto Port, a contractor Ford hired this year to load new vehicles onto railcars for shipment.

The strike, which involves about 435 workers, is not affecting production at the plants, said Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski. She said the auto company had contingency plans in place but declined to describe the measures.

Disputes over the railcar-loading work began soon after Ford announced the switch from contractor RCS Transportation of Shelbyville to Auto Port, a subsidiary of Toronto-based CN International.

Auto Port, which had won a three-year contract for the work, notified Teamster employees that they would be out of a job June 1, but invited them to interview for their old jobs at less than half their former hourly pay of $20 to $22.

A compromise allowed the Teamsters to stay on at reduced wages, but with the same health and pension benefits. Details of a final contract were to be worked out later, but "negotiations broke down Friday, and they refused to meet with us," said Fred Zuckerman, Teamsters Local 89 president. "As a result, we set up picket lines today."

The two sides deadlocked on job security issues, Zuckerman said. "That's always been the biggest issue."

Under the Teamsters' national contract, "we have the ability to follow the work from one employer to another, and they will not agree to it," Zuckerman said. A spokesman for CN International did not immediately return a call seeking comment late yesterday.

The Teamsters also filed a lawsuit Friday against Auto Port in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The union charged that the company had agreed to arbitration regarding disputes over remaining sick days and personal leave days for the former RCS employees.

The suit alleges the Teamsters won the arbitration, but that Auto Port refused to abide by the decision. Claims in a lawsuit represent only one side of a case.

Kozleski declined to comment on the suit or other issues in the dispute.

Zuckerman said the Teamsters "will continue to picket … until we can resolve our differences," but acknowledged that Auto Port may seek to replace the striking workers.

"This is a very important issue for us," Zuckerman said.

(courier-journal.com)

"Go where the money is ... and go there often."

Willie Sutton guides unions' desert success

The national headlines tell stories of unions in retreat, of organized labor groups facing record-low membership numbers and fewer retirement benefits for their workers. But unions in Las Vegas seem to have missed that message.

Labor experts say organized labor in the Silver State thrives today, and they point to sustained organizing and bargaining efforts as evidence of a healthy union climate here. "Las Vegas has been on the radar screen for the labor movement for many years now," said Daniel Cornfield, a sociology professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. "It probably won't go away."

Added Nelson Lichtenstein, director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy at the University of California, Santa Barbara: "Las Vegas is the center of unionism in the country. Everyone is watching, because there's a lot of activity going on and all sorts of things happening."

Take the tussle between local electric utility Nevada Power Co. and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 396. Nevada Power wants to reduce union workers' pension benefits by up to 70 percent in a bid to protect the company's long-term bottom line; IBEW officials say the company can afford current benefits, given the 40 percent increase in net income the utility posted in the second quarter. Neither side is yielding, despite their labor contract's expiration in February.

Or look at the bitter fight between the Service Employees International Union and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. The nurses' group attempted in May to wrangle representation of 1,100 St. Rose Dominican RNs from the SEIU, forcing an employee election that split workers but fell three votes shy of winning representation outright. Contested votes and pleas to the National Labor Relations Board followed. A runoff election is pending.

From the AFL-CIO's Building Justice campaign to organize residential construction workers to Culinary Local 226's efforts to unionize locals casinos, area unions are agitating for more members and richer benefits. The share of Nevada workers belonging to unions is 15.4 percent, up from 13.8 percent in 2005 and higher than the nation's 12.1 percent. Local union officials say the ailing local economy, with its rising unemployment and its falling government revenue, could give them an important assist in further boosting their share of the state's labor market.

"This (economic) environment is very clearly an opportunity for workers to organize," said D. Taylor, secretary-treasurer of Culinary Local 226. "If you notice when workers really organize in this country it is during a depression, not during good economic times. What's going to happen is that all the cuts that companies have done where workers don't have a collective bargaining agreement, when the economy gets better and they start rolling around, most of the time they don't restore those cuts. Those cuts become part of the landscape."

The economy isn't the only factor set to bolster union fortunes in Las Vegas.

An area's political climate, including its "managerial-legal framework," plays a large role in fomenting organized labor, Lichtenstein said. And in its managerial-legal setup, Las Vegas offers a friendly environment to unions: The Culinary maintains mostly positive relationships with the resorts that employ its 60,000 local members. The deals local unions work out with employers amount to a "sort of de facto abridgement of right-to-work laws" that prohibit making union membership a condition of employment, Lichtenstein said.

Also important to the expansion of organized labor: prevailing union sentiments. There, too, Las Vegas offers benefits to unions. With organized labor's heavy penetration in the resort sector, workers in other industries are well-acquainted with unions and thus more comfortable with their presence. Plus, Las Vegas houses a growing number of Latino immigrants, a demographic that Lichtenstein said tends to harbor strong, pro-union leanings.

"You might have a Latino construction worker whose sister works in a hotel, and he hears about hotel maids who can buy houses," Lichtenstein said. "He'll say a union is a good idea."

Most of the favorable sentiment about unions locally is based on the relatively good relations that the Culinary has had with casino companies.

The Culinary has contracts with most of the major Strip and smaller downtown casinos, the big exceptions being Las Vegas Sands and Station Casinos -- two companies the union has long targeted.

Taylor refused to discuss current organizing efforts. But on July 18, Culinary members descended on various resorts owned by locals operator Station Casinos, the largest nonunion gaming company in Clark County to protest.

New York Times labor writer Steven Greenhouse recently described the Culinary union as "unusually farsighted," and the "most successful union local" in the country.

Greenhouse's new book, "The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker," dedicates three pages to the union's rise from 18,000 workers in the late 1980s to nearly 60,000 members today.

The expansion happened as unions nationwide shrank with the modernization of factories and the off-shoring of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Other unions are joining the Culinary in ramping up local organizing and negotiating activities.

The 7,000-member United Food and Commercial Workers Local 711 continues to picket retail giant Wal-Mart, even as it negotiates new contracts with Albertsons, Food 4 Less, Smiths and Vons. Union officials have said they see Wal-Mart, which has 13 local supercenters and 11 area neighborhood markets, as a long-term growth opportunity.

Unions that used to organize industrial factories now want other avenues to curtail their decline.

The United Auto Workers, whose labor force at General Motors shrunk from 400,000 in 1970 to 74,000 last year, according to Greenhouse, trolled Atlantic City casinos for new members.

Following the UAW's lead, the Transport Workers Union of America is organizing dealers along the Strip through its Las Vegas Dealers Local 721.

After failing to organize workers inside 10 Las Vegas casinos in 2001, the TWU found success at Wynn Las Vegas, where dealers angry over the resort's tip-sharing policy voted for union representation in May 2007. Dealers at Caesars Palace followed suit in December.

The TWU suffered a defeat in mid-July when nearly 60 percent of the Rio's dealers rejected it.

Unions aren't relying on gaming alone for their growth.

Labor officials are increasingly focusing on industries that provide personal and professional services such as entertainment and tourism. They're also chasing the home-building sector, health care, retail and services related to hospitality, such as caterers and launderers, Lichtenstein said.

Those targeted growth areas put Las Vegas right in the path of labor union management and organizers.

The AFL-CIO launched its Building Justice movement in 2006. The campaign, focused on the home-building sector in Nevada and Arizona, has involved more than 5,000 workers, many of whom work for subcontractors of Michigan-based housing giant Pulte Homes. Union representatives and workers have distributed pamphlets outside Pulte's local new-home communities, and they've held news conferences that feature local construction workers discussing their treatment on the job. They've also picketed residential job sites belonging to Pete King Construction, accusing the contractor of poor safety practices.

Pulte officials have countered that they don't employ the staff members of subcontractors, and they're not responsible for the relationships between subcontractors and their workers. They've also said the AFL-CIO is targeting Pulte in its organizing campaigns to generate publicity.

Pete King executives have said they field regular visits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to make sure their safety practices are up to snuff. They countered that the union is more interested in organizing Pete King workers than it is in safety, and they believe unions have targeted Pete King for its large business volume and its big employee base.

Shifting political winds could also have implications for local union growth.

With the 2009 Legislature now six months away, some unions are weighing legislation to send to Carson City.

One of the most public issues, with 12 deaths on Strip construction sites since December 2001, is safety.

Steve Ross, a Las Vegas city councilman and secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, said his organization is looking at legislation that would require union and nonunion contractors to adopt stricter safety standards, including OSHA safety training for all workers.

"We look at the industry in general," said Ross, whose trade council contains 17 construction labor unions. "We want everyone protected."

Ross is also looking at promoting labor agreements for public works projects, and keeping more of them in the hands of in-state contractors.

He plans to present the Legislature with proof of unscrupulous contractors that underpay workers, pocketing the money.

"We want to save the taxpayer money," Ross said. "Someone's walking away with the money and stealing it. The worker's not getting it. We think we have a pretty good case."

And November's presidential election will also affect the expansion of organized labor.

Lichtenstein said unions would benefit more from a Barack Obama presidency than they would a John McCain term. That's because Obama would likely emphasize providing universal health care, which would remove health benefits as a common sticking point in union negotiations and allow organized labor to focus more on what Lichtenstein said they do best -- negotiate over grievances and wages.

What's more, Lichtenstein said, Obama is more amenable to the Employee Free Choice Act, a proposed federal law that would replace secret-ballot union votes with card-check procedures. Unions say the act would make it easier to organize a company, because the bill would protect workers from anti-union speech and actions that employers undertake before secret balloting. Employers say the law would make organizing easier because card checks aren't anonymous, and that would leave workers open to union intimidation.

Obama supports the Employee Free Choice Act, while McCain would veto the bill, Lichtenstein said.

"Although the promised land will not be reached with Barack Obama as president, he will be much better for unions than John McCain," Lichtenstein said.

(lvbusinesspress.com)

Teamster mini-strike gets the job done

Related story: "The 28 labor-states"

Bus drivers employ typical labor-state tactic

Some folks have places to go ... but no way to get there. That’s what hundreds of people are faced with in Racine (WI), after city bus drivers went on strike Monday morning. If you were looking for a bus ride in Racine Monday, chances are, you had trouble finding it ... because bus drivers went on strike Monday after contract negotiations fell apart.

As Racine city bus drivers picketed outside their headquarters Monday, their buses sat empty, and their passengers were wondering where they were. “We were on our way to the doctor’s office, and were waiting to catch the bus, and now we basically have to walk down there,” Manuel Guajardo said.

Guajardo and Gail Draves thought the bus would be coming Monday morning, until TODAY’S TMJ4’s Jay Olstad told them it wasn’t.

“I have a bad knee as well. We’re going to have surgery on it, so that’s kind of hard for me,” Draves said.

Both of them have health issues and depend on the buses.

“We’ll have the drivers get back to work today if they’re willing to work with us. They know what our issues are,” Local Teamsters 43 Union Rep. Wes Gable said.

Gable said the issues involve insurance and jobs. The drivers work for Professional Transit System, which manages busing for the city.

Here are the sticking points: PTS doesn’t want to insure retirees and plans to shift some union jobs into management, moves they claim have to be done because of sky rocketing fuel prices.

“We’re hoping they can recognize that times are tough. Our offer is as good as we can make it and I hope they come back to work soon,” Curtis Garner with PTS said.

Until they do, the buses will sit empty ... and some people only have one option to move forward.

“A lot more walking,” one person said.

Workers will be striking as long as it takes. Now, people who ride the buses are stuck in the middle.

Because of the strike, the busing company claims nine dialysis patients were not transported to their clinics Monday. The company says it will have vans available for those patients Tuesday.

The mayor and union met Monday afternoon to try and resolve the strike.

(callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com)

AFSCME takes dues hit in labor-state

Related story: "The 28 labor-states"

Excessive labor costs force gov't union layoffs

Duluth Mayor Don Ness said 169 employees received layoff notices as part of a plan to balance a $6.5 million budget shortfall. The layoffs announced Friday included 28 full-time, permanent employees and will have short- and long-term impacts, officials said. "It's a major change for us," said City Assessor John Gellatly, who will lose two appraisers. "But I can't specify or quantify things right now."

Two branch libraries in the Woodland and West Duluth neighborhoods are now closed until at least the end of the year. The hours at the main library will be scaled back starting Sept. 1.

The beach house at Park Point is closed for the rest of the summer with the layoff of lifeguards.

Ness previously said Monday that 217 jobs would have to be cut, but to reduce the number of laid-off employees, Ness said his administration will seek to impose four unpaid days off for all employees who are not in public safety jobs.

"There is a shared feeling of disappointment that this has become necessary," Ness said. "But even as people share their disappointment, the vast majority also recognizes the necessity for difficult decisions and hope by addressing these lingering issues head-on that we will get to the point where the city will be more stable financially."

The cuts were spread through nearly all departments but were heaviest in parks and recreation, libraries and maintenance. Parks lost 58 employees, including five full-time. Libraries lost 33 employees, including nine full-time. Public Works and Utilities lost 65 employees, including five full-time.

"They're the people that mow the grass, water the lawns, tend the rinks, deliver the senior meals. The list goes on and on," manager John Grandson said. "They take care of traffic lights, plow streets they do whatever they're told."

The city's largest labor union urged any laid-off members to file grievances with the city, and also will file a grievance over forcing employees to take unpaid days off.

Deb Strohm, a representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and an employment counselor with the city, said the union wants the administration to cut all part-time employees before touching full-time employees.

AFSCME Local 66, which includes 543 members out of more than 800 city employees, will hold a news conference Monday on the steps of City Hall to speak out against the cuts and argue that they weren't necessary.

"Why does the city have money to continue to provide services to all of our visitors and tourists, but doesn't have the dollars to spend to retain employees who provide services to Duluthians?" Strohm said.

(postbulletin.com)

Laborers haul out giant rat again

Related story: "Union label: 20 ft. inflatable rat"

Typical union threat, intimidation in labor-state

No, Halloween didn’t come early this year: The 16-foot-tall inflatable rat bearing beady red eyes and menacing yellow teeth posted outside Selinsgrove Elementary School on Monday was part of a union protest.

A Harrisburg-based asbestos workers union, the Mid-Atlantic Laborers Association, travels throughout eastern Pennsylvania with a giant rat they use to symbolize perceived injustice. They were stationed outside Selinsgrove Elementary School on Monday because the district hired a nonunion contractor to remove asbestos as part of its 18-month-long renovation project, a spokesman said.

“It’s definitely an attention-grabber,” said union organizer Joe Wingert, of Dalmatia. Wingert and two other men set up beach chairs flanking the rat on Broad Street. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., they waved at honking cars and took turns handing out fliers.

“Their safety records are questionable,” organizer Tim Bowen said of asbestos removal company Power Components Systems. His association claims Power Components Systems has been fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for “serious and repeated violations.”

A search of OSHA’s online records reveals two occasions in the last five years in which government inspectors said the company had violated requirements regarding the wiring methods used at the job site. One violation was categorized as a “serious” infraction.

Union representatives also said the contractor was cited by the EPA for violating the Clean Air Act and was once removed from a job at Sadler Health Center in Carlisle.

A Power Components Systems spokesman on Monday did not dispute the union’s claims.

Selinsgrove Superintendent Dr. Frederick Johnson on Monday said the demonstration “mean(t) nothing to me.”

Johnson said his district doesn’t discriminate between union and nonunion contractors. “We feel those kinds of issues are company issues,” he said. “We know we have to pay the prevailing wage. After that, we don’t get much into it.”

Johnson said the demonstrators were on borough property and were within their rights.

And as it turns out, the giant black and brown rat has a name.

“His name is Thor,” said Wingert. “My daughter named him.”

(dailyitem.com)

The Union News.

Pages

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