Labor Union Blog

In an important victory, a judge has upheld the vote by workers at Foxwoods Resort Casino, the largest private employer in Connecticut, to form a union with the UAW.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Raymond Green today dismissed all of the objections to the November 2007 election in which the 2,600 workers overwhelmingly voted for the union.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Foxwoods claimed the workers did not understand the ballot or the meaning of the union election. They also alleged misconduct by the union, including threats and intimidation. All of the allegations were dismissed.

One of the nation’s most pressing needs is the rebuilding and renewal of America’s aging and crumbling infrastructure—including roads, bridges, waterways, transits systems and the electrical grid.

Earlier this week, AFL-CIO chief economist Ron Blackwell told a Senate committee:

Public investment in infrastructure is essential for restoring strong and sustainable economic growth essential for ensuring American prosperity.

Yesterday, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced legislation that could be a roadmap to rebuilding. The bill would establish a National Infrastructure Commission to set priorities and seek to achieve consensus at local and federal levels and among public, private, environmental, labor and other groups that agree on the need for revitalizing the infrastructure but are not always in agreement on the best way to go about it.

With the nation’s middle class under attack, workers are developing a new way to mobilize workers on the job and in their communities to fight for a better life—the Stewards Army.

The idea behind the Stewards Army is straightforward but powerful: Create a movement-wide network of stewards—the union official closest to the members, who works alongside the rank-and-file members—to educate, organize and mobilize members around key issues.

When the Electrical Workers (IBEW) was contacted by Comcast employees seeking respect on the job and the protections of a union contract, the union mobilized its Stewards Army to provide information and support for the workers’ efforts. During a nationwide blitz this week, more than 400 IBEW activists handed out leaflets at more than 100 Comcast worksites, letting workers know they have a right to join a union.

Care providers for developmentally disabled adults, along with members of CWA Locals 1037 and 1040, join New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine as he signs an order recognizing the workers’ union.

More than 1,000 New Jersey providers who open their homes to care for developmentally disabled adults have gained a voice on the job by joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) signed an executive order recognizing the union last week, two days after the state Board of Mediation verified that a majority of the workers, called sponsors, signed cards seeking representation by CWA Locals 1037 and 1040.

CWA Vice President Chris Shelton says:

This is what “standing together” really means. These two locals accomplished great things by working collectively.

This is a crosspost from Firedoglake.

What is it about teachers that reactionaries don’t like?

Maybe it’s because an educated electorate poses a threat to those who seek to control the public—”Danger: Educated Union Member” is one of our favorite phrases—and so teachers pose an easy target for the antediluvians among us. (Remember John Stossel’s ABC trash piece, “Stupid in America”?).

The success of teachers’ unions also draws particular ire from the anti-education crowd. This week, you may have seen full-page ads in USA Today or teevee spots on CNN and Fox attacking teachers. The ads are part of a $1 million advertising assault on teachers’ unions launched days ago.

Two questions emerge.

Who would spend this amount of money trashing teachers? And who stands to make tons of money off this campaign?

Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), knows what ails the nation’s sick health care system. The AFL-CIO Executive Council member says Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s health proposals don’t even come close to a cure.

In this crosspost from Huffington Post, DeMoro dissects McCain’s health care plans and finds they are “grounded in the failed health policies of the Bush administration.” She says McCain’s health care slogan should be, “Don’t Get Sick in America, or You’re on Your Own.”

With all the fireworks over health care in the Democratic primaries, John McCain’s health care views should be considered in the context of the tanking economy.

The Laborers (LIUNA) and the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) announced that LIUNA will reaffiliate with the 12 other unions that make up the BCTD. The Laborers left the BCTD shortly after it disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO in 2006.

In a statement March 13, BCTD President Mark Ayers said the reaffiliation agreement reflects

…a shared commitment to always putting the interests of rank-and-file members first. LIUNA President Terry O’Sullivan’s vision, creativity and leadership will be a valuable asset to the department as we continue our strategic pursuit of repositioning and revitalizing the union construction brand around our core values of pride, performance and excellence. We welcome the LIUNA family back wholeheartedly and without hesitation.