Labor Union Blog

Historic concessionary changes in the U.S. auto industry are expected to be completed today. Doug Cunningham explains.

Doug Cunningham

UAW workers at Ford seem well on their way toward approving the tentative contract with Ford. Voting continued over the weekend and was expected to end today. Locals in Chicago and Michigan have approved the deal, which like the GM and Chrysler agreements turns retiree health care over to the union using a trust fund set up by Ford. These contracts with the Big Three U.S. automakers are concessionary historic changes to traditional UAW wage and benefits structures in the auto industry. UAW leadership negotiated a lower wage for thousands of workers who will be hired to replace current UAW members and ended the auto companies’ responsibility to provide retiree health care. At Ford, up to 20 percent of its current workforce will be converted to wages that are half what current Ford UAW workers earn. The U.S. automakers have lost U.S. market share to non-union foreign automakers and so far the UAW has failed to organize the foreign transplant factories in the U.S.

Historic concessionary changes in the U.S. auto industry are expected to be completed today. Doug Cunningham explains.

Doug Cunningham

UAW workers at Ford seem well on their way toward approving the tentative contract with Ford. Voting continued over the weekend and was expected to end today. Locals in Chicago and Michigan have approved the deal, which like the GM and Chrysler agreements turns retiree health care over to the union using a trust fund set up by Ford. These contracts with the Big Three U.S. automakers are concessionary historic changes to traditional UAW wage and benefits structures in the auto industry. UAW leadership negotiated a lower wage for thousands of workers who will be hired to replace current UAW members and ended the auto companies’ responsibility to provide retiree health care. At Ford, up to 20 percent of its current workforce will be converted to wages that are half what current Ford UAW workers earn. The U.S. automakers have lost U.S. market share to non-union foreign automakers and so far the UAW has failed to organize the foreign transplant factories in the U.S.

Additionally, reinforcements may be on the way. According to trade magazine Broadcasting and Cable the 500 employees at CBS News who have been without a contract since April of 2005 will be voting on their own strike authorization this coming Thursday. The publication also reports “rumblings” of job action by the 2500 ABC/Disney camera operators and video editors who have been without a contract since March and the 200 ABC news writers who have been without a contract since 2005.

Meanwhile, scriptwriters and supporters in Hollywood continue to walk the picket lines. While showrunners had hoped that backlogged scripts would keep Hollywood up and running minus writers for at least until the end of the year – but, unexpected solidarity from actors has led to an early end to some big name shows including NBC’s The Office. Many of FOX’s animated shows may also soon be creeping to a hault as the producers are also writers. For example, all of the writers for the Simpsons are on the picket lines so last minute script changes and animation approvals can not be completed.

Meanwhile, script writers and supporters in Hollywood continue to walk the picket lines. While showrunners had hoped that backlogged scripts would keep Hollywood up and running minus writers for at least until the end of the year – but, unexpected solidarity from actors has led to an early end to some big name shows including NBC’s The Office. Many of FOX’s animated shows may also soo be creeping to a hault as the producers are also writers. For example, all of the writers for the Simpsons are on the picket lines so last minute script changes and animation approvals can not be completed.

The entertainment industry has entered act two in the drama of fed up workers. On Saturday Broadway lights dimmed as the stagehands walked off the job at 26 theaters seeking job protection. The League of American Theaters and Producers has been seeking more flexibility when it comes to how many stagehands should be hired per show. Flyers handed out by members of the stagehands union explained that while Broadway producers are reaping large profits they are seeking to limit jobs available to employees. According to the union, less stagehands means greater safety risks amongst other issues. On the flipside the producers are arguing that while some productions are seeing a boom in revenue, only one in five are actually profitable and current production hiring rules required by the union’s contract are outdated.

The entertainment industry has entered act two in the drama of fed up workers. On Saturday Broadway lights dimmed as the stagehands walked off the job at 26 theaters seeking job protection. The League of American Theaters and Producers has been seeking more flexibility when it comes to how many stagehands should be hired per show. Flyers handed out by members of the stagehands union explained that while Broadway producers are reaping large profits they are seeking to limit jobs available to employees. According to the union less stagehands means greater safety risks amongst other issues. On the flipside the producers are arguing that while some productions are seeing a boom in revenue, only one in five are actually profitable and current production hiring rules required by the union’s contract are outdated.

Today we honor veterans on the official observance of Veterans Day, and the AFL-CIO pays tribute to the brave men and women, many of them union members, who served in the armed forces.

Yet, it is clear that thousands of soldiers, including those whom the Bush administration has sent to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, face another tough battle when they return home—lack of U.S. support to ensure they have the basic necessities of life such as shelter, a decent job and health care.

It’s an outrage to learn that hundreds of thousands of veterans of all ages are homeless. A study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness shows that some 195,827 veterans were homeless on a given night in 2006—an increase from 194,254 in 2005. The alliance estimates that more than 336,600 veterans experienced homeless at some time in 2006.