Labor Union Blog

Economic Report:

Deaths of Hispanic workers on the job has jumped by 72 percent since 1992. In 2007, 937 Hispanic workers died, that comes after 2006 saw a record setting 990 deaths. The total for fatalities for all workers fell during that same time period from 6217 in 1992 to 5657. The number of Hispanics in the workforce has increased during that time period. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics they represented 10.4 percent of the workforce just a decade ago and in 2007 represented 14 percent of the workforce.

By Doug Cunningham

U.S.based Oshkosh Corporation has agreed to pay 53 French workers up to $42,000 each in severance pay after the workers threatened to blow up factory machinery. It’s the third group of French workers recently to threaten such action. This follows a wave of “boss-nappings” where managers were held briefly by workers demanding more severance money.

Toyota is currently pondering the fate of California’s last remaining car factory. The plant in Fremont, California employs 4,700 United Auto Workers was opened as part of a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota two decades ago. GM will cease production of the Pontiac Vibe at the plant in August. Production at the plant is down 47 percent since last year.

Workers at three Atlantic City casinos have authorized strike action if a deal can not be reached with owners. Jesse Russell reports:

Workers represented by the United Auto Workers gave the union the authority to call a strike against Bally’s and Ceasar’s hotel/casinos this weekend. The two hotels are both owned by Harrah’s Entertainment. Workers authorized strike action at Tropicana Casino and Resort in March. Although a strike date has not been set Harrah’s has begun threatening to hire replacement workers as part of a contingency plan in the event a strike does happen. The UAW is currently negotiating the first union contract for 3,000 Atlantic City card dealers. The two sides have been negotiating for nearly two years.

By Doug Cunningham

Despite a New York Times report last week that says as many as five Democratic senators are behind a move to strip the Employee Free Choice Act of its majority sign-up provision, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says he’s not worried about Democratic wavering. Sweeny’s comments were recorded during an interview with the Real News Network in June . They were posted recently on the AFL-CIO blog.

[Sweeney]: “The President is committed to supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. The Vice-President is just as committed and has been working directly with members of Congress on this legislation.

Joe Ames

Joseph L. Ames, 83, former AFSCME secretary-treasurer, died June 17, the union reported last week. Ames served in the post from 1968 to 1972. Prior to that, Ames was secretary-treasurer at AFSCME Local 410 in St. Louis and served as president of the Missouri AFL-CIO.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee praised Ames and said Ames was

a man whose vision of fairness and justice in the workplace extended beyond his own union to the everyday men and women who work hard to live the American dream. Joe helped build AFSCME into the union it is today, and we will always be grateful for his dedication.

Ames also served on AFSCME’s executive board, chaired the commission that rewrote AFSCME’s constitution (adopted in 1965) and helped establish the guidelines and precedents for the union’s Judicial Panel, which he also chaired. The panel decides challenges concerning the eligibility of nominees for office and other matters.

The Washington Post said Ames—who lost a leg in combat during World War II—became a “a civil rights activist” when he returned to St. Louis after the war. He also served one term in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Ames also was close friends with the “Labor’s Troubadour” the late Joe Glazer. He co-wrote several songs on Glazer’s 1984 album “Jelly Bean Blues.”

His survivors include his wife of 56 years, Lillian, and three children. Memorial donations may be made to The Southern Poverty Law Center, the Georgetown University School of Medicine or a charity of choice.

Read more about Ames at AFSCME here and here.

The International Council of Employers (ICE), an association of thousands of masonry contractors, has endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act.

The ICE is composed of some 10,000 contractors who employ members of the Bricklayers (BAC) union. Fred Kintader, the president of ICE, announced the association’s support for Employee Free Choice in the latest issue of ICE Voice, the association newsletter.

Kintader said that the endorsement came after a long debate in which contractors concluded that the Employee Free Choice Act will be in the best interest of both workers and employers in the masonry industry. ICE and the Bricklayers frequently collaborate on issues like training, workplace safety, health coverage and pensions.

These contractors join more than a thousand businesses around the country that have expressed support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is targeting thousands of state jobs held by union members—and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,100 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

NEGOTIATIONS
Multiple, California: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered department heads to eliminate 2,000 jobs on top of the 5,000 positions he wants to cut as part of his budget solution. The move affects California state workers represented by multiple unions, including AFSCME, SEIU, CSEA, IAFF and IUOE.

Multiple, BART: Train operators and station agents in BART’s second-biggest union, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1555, rejected a management contract proposal and expect to return to the bargaining table soon. Additionally, BART workers at its biggest union, SEIU Local 1021, voted to reject management’s contract proposal by 98.5 percent.

AFA-CWA, Midwest Airlines: Flight attendants at Midwest Airlines, represented by the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), filed for federal mediation after contract negotiations stalled. The union said the talks have stalled because the company is demanding large cuts in pay and benefits.

WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
UAW, Bell Helicopter: Some 2,500 striking Bell Helicopter workers, represented by the UAW Local 218, returned to the bargaining table. The strike began June 14 after workers rejected the company’s final offer. Bell has attempted to replace the striking workers with some 1,000 temporary workers, including managers and Bell workers from other company locations.

IBEW, Penelec: Some 500 workers on strike since May 21 at Penelec Energy, represented by the Electrical Workers (IBEW), are set to resume negotiations with the aid of a new federal mediator. Forced overtime is a major issue.

IBEW, CMP: Central Maine Power workers, represented by IBEW Local 1837, rallied to demand a contract.  The last agreement expired May 15, and negotiations began in March.

CNA/NNOC, Kaiser: Kaiser Permanente nurses in Fremont, Calif., represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), marched during a lunchtime rally, demanding management drop what they say is a proposal to slash clinic hours.

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
AFT, Detroit Public Schools: The Detroit Federation of Teachers (AFT) declared that the layoffs of hundreds of teachers within Detroit Schools is a contract violation and demanded the district rescind them or face a lawsuit.

ILA, Evergreen Shipping: The International Longshoremen’s Association filed a complaint accusing Evergreen Shipping Agency of improperly trying to include guest workers among the company’s clerical workers for whom the ILA is negotiating a contract. 

SETTLEMENTS
CWA, AT&T: Some 18,500 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) at AT&T’s Midwest region tentatively agreed on a new contract, following five months of negotiations and three months without a contract. CWA said the three-year deal safeguards health benefits, which had been a sticking point in the talks. AT&T is still negotiating with the union in four other districts and will start on a fifth soon. Together, those talks cover nearly 100,000 workers.

UAW, Lear Jet: Members of the UAW at Lear Jet reached a tentative agreement on new contracts at local unions in Arlington and Wentzville, Mo. Jim Wells, director of UAW Region 5, said, “Our bargaining committee at Lear has worked long and hard and arrived at a tentative agreement which we believe is in the best interests of our members and communities.” 

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for your information only. As it is compiled from published news reports, not from individual unions, we cannot vouch for either its completeness or accuracy; readers who desire further information should directly contact the union involved.

Forty years ago today, Apollo 11 landed on the moon and 1,800 members of the Electrical Workers (IBEW) played an important part in that historic achievement. Find out more in this cross-post from the IBEW website.

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On Monday, July 20, the world marks the 40th anniversary of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. Capping a frantic race to space with the Soviet Union, the Apollo 11 lunar mission was viewed by half a billion people. But, for every succeeding generation, the feat will stand as one of the pivotal moments of human history. That includes—in no small way—the history of the IBEW.

More than 1,800 IBEW members working at the Kennedy Space Center provided the instrumentation, data acquisition, processing and communications support that contributed to the triumph of the Apollo 11 mission.

The September 1969 issue of The IBEW Journal carried a photo montage showing members of Cocoa Beach, Fla., Local 2088 at their work stations at the space center. “Not enough praise can be heaped upon our IBEW members who, no matter how minute or large the requirement and demand of the particular job were, produced with flying colors,” the Journal reported.

Al Richardson is still working as an electronics lead at the space center. “I have been blessed to have been here for the entire Apollo program,” says Richardson. “Team spirit got us to the moon.” With 44 years of seniority, Richardson recalls working 13 straight weeks during the mission, 10 to 12 hours a day without a day off. “You gave it your all in Apollo 11,” he says.

One year after the Apollo 11 mission, astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the first step on the moon, addressed the 29th IBEW International Convention in Seattle. Armstrong personally thanked union members for “dedicating themselves to safeguarding the reputation of their country and the lives of my fellow crewmen, and demonstrating in the process that American skill and craftsmanship are the very finest in the world.”

In 1974, IBEW International President Charles H. Pillard accepted a NASA award in recognition of the union’s contribution to the U.S. space program. A plaque received by Pillard bears the signatures of Apollo astronauts and a small U.S. flag that was aboard the command module of the Apollo 17 moon expedition. The award is prominently displayed in the IBEW museum in Washington.

“As we reflect on the anniversary of the moon mission, few Americans remember that moments after astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin returned to their module after their historic walk, an unmanned Soviet spaceship crashed into the moon on a failed research mission,” says IBEW President Edwin D. Hill.

“The dedication and talent of IBEW members and thousands of other members of organized labor who worked on Apollo 11 continues to show the world the power—not just of our nation’s technology—but of our nation’s highest ideals,” says Hill.

Dan Raymond, Local 2088 business manager, says that the 40th anniversary celebration coincides with the end of a proud era of accomplishment. Only eight launches remain in the space shuttle program. Then, a five-to-seven-year gap will occur before the U.S. program returns to manned, rocket-style missions. Ironically, the Russian Soyuz capsules will be employed during the interim to transport astronauts to the international space station.