Labor Union Blog

The American Red Cross says a $200 million budget deficit means it must cut a thousand jobs The red Cross is 126 years old and has had funding issues ever since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when it set aside $200 million in donations for “future terrorist attacks”.

The lawsuit brought by a Nevada teacher’s union questioning the legitimacy of casinos being used as caucus sites goes before a judge today. Jesse Russell reports:

In March of 2007 Democratic presidential campaigns representatives and party officials met to determine how best set up the state’s caucus sites so they could accommodate the thousands of employees who work in downtown Las Vegas on Saturdays. The agreement allows for shift workers within two and a half miles of the Vegas Strip to attend caucuses being held at casinos in the area. Two days after the Culinary Workers endorsed Senator Barack Obama the Nevada State Teachers Union filed a lawsuit questioning the legitimacy of the at-large voting precincts.

By Doug Cunningham

Armed with a Presidential Emergency Board recommendation that Amtrak essentially agree to the union position, bargaining resumed Wednesday between Amtrak and several unions. Because Amtrak took a take it or leave it stance refusing to bargain in good faith, workers have gone eight years without a new contract agreement. If they can’t agree to a contract there could be a nationwide Amtrak strike January 30th. Don Griffin is Director of Strategic Coordination and Research for the Teamsters’ Brotherhood of Maintenance and Way.

[Griffin]: “It would effect freight railroad. It would be a nationwide strike. It would have impact on the freight railroads and it would have a substantial effect on commuter operations from Boston to Washington, D.C. Look, the last thing we want to do is go on a strike, have a strike. The members lose money, they lose benefits, the public is inconvenienced. What we wanted was a voluntary agreement. And we were just unable to get to the point where we had serious discussions with Amtrak.”

At the end of December, the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) appointed to investigate the long-running contract dispute between Amtrak and nine labor unions came down squarely on the side of the workers. The nearly 10,000 workers have been seeking a new contract and a general wage increase since the beginning of 2000—more than eight years.

The board’s report, submitted Dec. 30, recommends adoption of nearly all of the unions’ proposals. The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD) says the PEB’s report: