Labor Union Blog

Labor strife continues in California as DMV workers stage a sick out on Friday and shut down to offices. The workers were protesting the recent executive order by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to slash state worker wages to the federal minimum due to a stalemate in budget discussions by state legislators. Offices in Hawthorne and Bellflower, California were closed while other offices experienced delays upwards of two hours as they coped with a shortage of staff. In the Los Angeles region more than 200 DMV staffers called in sick Friday.

Lede: By tomorrow the whole country will know who the worst boss in America is. Doug Cunningham explains.

On Tuesday, Working America will announce its bad Boss Contest winners. Visitors to Working America’s web site can read the tales of woe caused by horrible bosses and vote for a winner – the person who hands down has the worst boss of all. He applied for paid leave and disability benefits and the boss threw away the paperwork. The Bad Boss Contest has drawn thousands of entries and the web site has had millions of hits. Last year’s winner was a father of three who had just been diagnosed with a rare cancer. He applied for paid leave and disability benefits which his family badly needed and the boss threw away the paperwork. This year’s finalists for the worst boss include a worker fired for leaving his job to rush home to his burning house and a worker who was berated for skipping work to spend time with his father who had just hours to live. The workers with the worst bosses will get free vacations from Working America, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO for workers who are not in unions.

Lede: By tomorrow the whole country will know who the worst boss in America is. Doug Cunningham explains. On Tuesday Working America will announce it’s bad Boss Contest winners. Visitors to Working America’s web site can read the tales of woe caused by horrible bosses and vote for a winner – the person who hands down has the worst boss of all. Last year’s winner was a father of three who had just been diagnosed with a rare cancer. He applied for paid leave and disability benefits and the boss threw away the paperwork. The Bad Boss Contest has drawn thousands of entries and the web site has had millions of hits.This year’s finalists for the worst boss include a worker fired for leaving his job to rush home to his burning house and a worker who was berated for skipping work to spend time with his father who had just hours to live.

There is trouble brewing in the House of Mouse. On Thursday Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Snow White and others protested in front of three Disney-owned hotels in Disneyland over a labor dispute. More than 30 protesting workers, many dressed up as iconic Disney characters, were arrested for failing to obey a police officer while they protested the latest contract proposal made by Disney to the UNITE-HERE, the union representing more than 2,300 workers. Disney is seeking to create a new category for some part-timers that would substantially reduce benefits. The classification, according to the union,

There is trouble brewing in the House of Mouse. On Thursday Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Snow White and others protested in front of three Disney-owned hotels in Disneyland over a labor dispute. More than 30 protesting workers, many dressed up as iconic Disney characters, were arrested for failing to obey a police officer while they protested the latest contract proposal made by Disney to the UNITE-Here, the union representing more than 2,300 workers. Disney is seeking to create a new category for some part-timers that would substantially reduce benefits. The classification, according to the union,

Baldemar Velásquez

Members of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) in North Carolina harvest 26 different crops ranging from cucumbers to tobacco to Christmas trees. By far, harvesting tobacco is considered the worst, the riskiest and the dirtiest of the jobs.

FLOC founder and president Baldemar Velásquez felt compelled to experience what the tobacco workers go through each day. So for a week in July, he worked as an unknown field laborer in an all-male group at a North Carolina farm to see firsthand the conditions of tobacco workers. Tobacco workers are paid between $7 and $9 an hour. Velásquez is donating the money he made to FLOC’s fund for widows of union members.

WIN Week In Review August 15-17, 2008

By Doug Cunningham

More than five thousand International Association of Machinists workers are into the second week of their strike against Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita and Salinas, Kansas. Health care, pensions and sick leave for new workers are among the issues. Striker Ralph Polly says workers have to put up a fight against takeaways that are creating a bleak future for the next generation of workers.

[Polly]: “My main reason to be here is for the people that’s gonna come here after me. It’s just been take away, take away, take away and I think it’s time we all take a stand and try to reverse this.”