Labor Shorts

Labor Shorts is a weekly-ish advisory from: LaborUnionReport.com

Oct. 31, 2009
• Have They Severed Ties? Following our discovery last week of the hypocritical use of a "union-busting" law firm by the Democratic establishment (including the Democratic National Committee and POTUS), we've been waiting for the establishment to sever their ties to this firm ... We're still waiting.

• Whose Driving America's Bus? Apparently, its Andy Stern and his purple-clad comrades. With 22 visits to the White House, Andy tops the list. What else has Stern & the Gang directed the White House to do?

• United Against Work. The ever-shrinking UAW has voted to deny Ford Motor Co. a competitive contract, following the contracts of GM and Chrysler. Did the UAW just kill Ford too? Could there also be a conflict of interest?

• Your Taxes at Work. Chrysler Offers 23,000 workers early retirement. Guess who's subsidizing that?

• Boeing, Boeing ... Gone! The wait is over. Earlier this week, despite making its demands clear to a defiant IAM, Boeing announced its decision to locate its second production line to South Carolina, sending a strong message to an anti-business Washington State and its 'Fighting Machinists'.

• Teamsters Celebrate Anniversary on Strike. Despite employees voting to decertify last May and the plant doing fine, those crazy horses over at the Teamsters continue picketing Metalworks.

• Yankees or Phillies? [Who cares in the West?] Both are playing under the threat of (another) SEPTA strike in Philadelphia.

• Pickets a Go-Go…? Not yet. UFCW members in Colorado are feeling a bit frustrated that the UFCW national bosses haven't released them to hit the streets yet.

• Harley-Davidson, our favorite V-Twin makers, announce a plan to outsource approximately 400 more Machinists' jobs in Pennsylvania.

Union Corruption Corner:

* Sticky-Fingered Steelworker gets one year for swiping $48k.

* Where'd the Money Go? AFSCME Local 1324 is searching for $13k of its members' money ... Apparently it just walked away.

* $13K Will Get You Six Months ... If you happen to be former CWA President Belinda Woods.

* Machinists' Money Pit? And 27 months in federal prison was the sentence for former pension manager Harvey Keil for stealing $341,000.

* How Do You Plead? Apparently former SEIU boss Alejandro Stephens is set to plead guilty on two counts of mail fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.

* Just the usual: Union fraud in Detroit (even Kwame is involved)