Video: IBEW Local 665 President talks about the Employee Free Choice Act in Michigan 7-24-08

Labor bloggers to promote Employee Free Choice Act at NYC Labor Day parade? Strike updates, got a Joe's MySpace, and HR676 US National Health Care Act

Firstly, Labor Day 2008 in New York, trying to promote the Employee Free Choice Act

Myself, Richard from Union Review and Kirsten from Uniongal, the Women, Unions and Our Stories blog, are looking for sponsors to get some Employee Free Choice Act shirts, with our sites listed as supporters, to be given away at this years Labor Day Parade in New York, if all goes well we will have a major labor union donation to help us get our message out there, we are hoping that all our readers, and some people who are not as active out there in the streets will get educated on the Bill and spread the word of the facts on this legislation. It is possibly the most important bill in my lifetime.

Many law firms stand to lose a tremendous cash cow if The Employee Free Choice Act is enacted

Usually, unless the company agrees to a card check vote, when a MAJORITY of workers signs cards to be in a union there is a wait time, usually over a month later, when the employees get a chance to vote via "secret ballot" to be in a union. That's where the Lawyers and Union Avoidance law firms come into play, they make multi-billions in figuring ways to turn workers against the idea of being in a union, turning workers against one another and using any means , such as unlawful firing. . These law firms thrive on fear. They make companies whose workers are engaged in organizing drives terrified of a collective voice , which unfortunately in today's day and age is really not looking at the facts at all.

Many companies could stand to gain a great deal if they mimicked the business practices of COSTCO, who has a hands off policy and allows their workers to join a union by a simple MAJORITY card signing, some stores sign up and some do not, but their employees all benefit from not being denied that basic right. Consider how disgruntled almost every Home Depot employee is, it's a down right shame, they don't care about their shit job one bit, give them a fairs day wage, nice pension to worry about keeping, and decent medical and they would likely make the Home Depot experiance a much better one for customers and would most likely raise their share value far beyond just the next quarter. Corporations however usually do not think like that, you can learn more at "The Corporation- 23 chapters in YouTube playlist form", but let's get back to the facts in this matter.

What employers and law firms do to keep workers from joining unions and who's on their side, why America needs the Employee Free Choice Act

FACT: Many companies have closed door meetings with employees without their own pro-union workers in attendance, brain washing them to fear being in a union and in fact fear to even mention the word. In one recent article I wrote about a construction contractor here in New York, whose MAJORITY of employees signed cards to be in a union, were sent to another jobsite for a closed door meeting, were told they would get a $5 an hour raise if they voted against joining a union and in fact a former supervisor, who stood to gain nothing testifying, in an affidavit to Federal labor officials, stated when he asked his boss about the union:"He said he had about six guns on the job, and he had people there who would do whatever needed to be done. He said that he could dig a hole and put me in it and make the records showing I worked for the company disappear.", the workers fearing reprisal and thinking they were going to get a raise wound up voting overwhelmingly against the union. From: "High-Cost Condos, Low-Cost Labor—and Threats of Violence to Union Organizers"- Village Voice (6/24/08)

Last November, the NLRB ordered Auringer to post a notice promising not to make such threats. A new vote was canceled after Auringer fired 10 pro-union employees on the election's eve.

This is a good reason that America needs the Employee Free Choice Act. They sign the cards, they get into a union. No guns, no threats, no bullshit propaganda.

More reasons that the current NLRB "secret ballot' hurts working Americans

FACT: 30% of pro union employees are fired during an organizing drive, even though it is against the law, they just don't care as the NLRB has been battered by lobbyist and mega-corporations to the point of intellectuality. This is in no small part due to President Bush's appointment as NLRB Chairman, Robert Battista who just recently declined the reappointment to join a union avoidence and union busting law firm, from American Rights at Work, which I first published here on 5/5 in a story, titled "Former Bush NLRB Chairman Robert Battista, joins union avoidance law firm" which highlights the deterioration of the rights of workers during his tenure at the NLRB:

For years I've been writing that Robert Battista, former chair of the National Labor Relations Board, has been doing the bidding of anti-union employers by dismantling protections for workers under the law. Apparently, he's now going to be doing the bidding of anti-union employers and making a lot more money at notorious unionbusting firm Littler Mendelson (see a sample of their unionbusting strategies: Littler Mendelson’s Dos & Don’ts).

Battista asked Bush to withdraw his nomination as Labor Board chair, which was going nowhere, and joined the firm that John Logan of the London School of Economics called one of the "nation’s first law firms to conduct aggressive union avoidance campaigns."

Now Battista can make money telling employers how to exploit the law he helped to weaken in order to prevent their workers from organizing.

Battista is not alone, spin-doctor lawyer and lobbyist Rick Berman, the self proclaimed "Dr.Evil", corporate lobbyist for Big tobacco and the liquor industry among others, and creator of such fun filled sites as The Center for Union Facts is working hard on getting the American public against the Employee Free Choice Act, by advertising on local networks against the bill, using that d1ckhead who played Johnny Sachs in the Sopranos (probably a rank-and-file SAG member like Ronald Reagan, except a hell of a lot less talented), to scare people into thinking that if the Bill is

passed that their Democracy will be erased by ending 'secret ballot'. It's more like it will end

Mr.Berman's and other lawyers cash cow. Lawyers, corrupt politicians and corporations are the modern day gangsters, I'm starting that when they went after the Mafia they really wanted to eliminate their competition.

The commercial shows a gangster over the card signers shoulder, yeah maybe it should show a corporate lawyer counting money if this doesn't get passed

**Click the image to add your name to the petition that will wind up on the desk of the next US President

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Strike News and Job Loss
UA LU 699, IBT 282 NY Concrete drivers, American Axle updates

Lots of news going on, I've been trying to contact the Business Manager for UA Local 699 Sprinklerfitters to see if I can get any more info on the strike in Seattle Washington, last night I sent him an e-mail, still waiting for a response, I'm sure the guy is busy.

I have read that the New York concrete truck Teamsters Local 282 have gone back to the negotiating table as of yesterday, the NY Times reports that there is some progress.

Also received news of American Axle, who I recently wrote is gearing up to destroy the environment, is now looking to get rid of 400 white collar workers in the United States, now that they are escaping the land of labor rights to distant shores. What a disgrace, maybe they can rename the company to "3rd. World Nation Axle"

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Health Care For All, supported by doctors and now the Mayors Council

Big news, the single payer health care bill is being endorsed by the US Conference of Mayors(The U.S. Conference of Mayors is a nonpartisan organization of mayors representing cities with a population of 30,000 or more. It currently has about 1,100 members.), this is a bill that would get health insurance for all Americans and is strongly endorsed by a whopping 59% of American doctors, here's the text of the resolution in support of the United States National Health Insurance Act, H.R. 676:

Submitted By:
The Honorable Lois J. Frankel, Mayor of West Palm Beach, Fla.
The Honorable Wayne J. Hall Sr., Mayor of Mayor of Hempstead, N.Y.
The Honorable Carolyn K. Peterson, Mayor of Ithaca, N.Y.
The Honorable John E. Marks, III, Mayor of Tallahassee, Fla.
The Honorable Sheila Dixon, Mayor of Baltimore, Md.
The Honorable Becky Tooley, Mayor of Coconut Creek, Fla.
The Honorable Ryan Coonerty, Mayor of Santa Cruz, Calif.

WHEREAS, every person deserves access to affordable quality health care; and

WHEREAS, the number of Americans without health insurance now exceeds 47 million; and

WHEREAS, millions with insurance have coverage so inadequate that a major illness would lead to financial ruin, and medical illness and bills contribute to one-half of all bankruptcies; and

WHEREAS, proposals for “consumer directed health care” such as Health Savings Accounts or Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) would only worsen this situation by penalizing the sick, discouraging prevention and saddling many working families with huge medical bills; and

WHEREAS, managed care and other market-based reforms have failed to contain health care costs, which now threaten the international competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers; and

WHEREAS, administrative waste stemming from our reliance on private insurers consumes one-third of private health spending while the single payer Medicare system has administrative costs of less than 5 percent; and

WHEREAS, U.S. hospitals spend 24.3 percent of their budgets on billing and administration while hospitals under Canada’s single payer system spend only 12.9 percent; and

WHEREAS, Harvard researchers estimate that more than $300 billion could be recovered by replacing private insurance companies with a single public payer, enough to cover the uninsured and to improve coverage for all those who now have only partial coverage; and

WHEREAS, entrusting care to profit-oriented firms diverts billions of dollars to outrageous incomes for CEOs and threatens the quality of care; and

WHEREAS, The United States National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676) would assure universal coverage of all medically necessary services, contain costs by slashing bureaucracy, protect the doctor patient relationship, assure patients a completely free choice of doctors, and allow physicians a free choice of practice settings; and

WHEREAS, most polls show that the majority of Americans support universal health care; and

WHEREAS, as of the date of this resolution, the majority of American physicians (59 percent) believe that Single Payer is the best method of securing universal health care; and

WHEREAS, The United States National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676) will guarantee every mayor that all residents and employees of his/her city will be fully covered for health care and save millions of taxpayer dollars now spent on premiums to provide less than full health insurance coverage for government employees; and

NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the United States Conference of Mayors expresses its support for The United States National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676), and calls upon federal legislators to work towards its immediate enactment and further urges the adoption of a process to insure that health care providers justify any increase in health care costs.

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Got the MySpace up, and a shoutbox. Next we will change the layout here.

Finally did it, got a dedicated Joe's Union Review MySpace account that mirrors the blog here into the MySpace social network, it's how I met Richard at union review, theres a whole lot more to that story, but in a nutshell, I'm looking to meet more Richard's, Joe's and Kirsten's.

I also added a "shoutbox' to this site, you can easily add messages onto the site by entering text into the box and submitting it, try it out, it's right under the title "Say something even if it's wrong"

Seriously thinking of updating the site, I have been working with a layout that has more features, like having just the story introduction on the front page, with a read more lnk, ala Union review and the Building Bridges Radio blog i have been working on, let me know what you think.

Working behind the scenes a bit lately, a great win for the future of New York's labor solidarity was achieved yesterday, I'm waiting for a press release to write on it, stay tuned, and finally I leave you with...

Tell the next president, we want the right to be in a union without employer coercion

Lets give either Mr.Obama or Mr.McCain a message when they get into office, American families want the right to become union without anti-union coercion from employers, corporations and union avoidance law firms. Let's make sure that when the people who do vote to be collective bodies get recognized as negotiators of a contract, too many times employers use legalese to abstain from negotiations even after NLRB confirmed votes that win unions.

Dear Joseph, It’s all about strength in numbers: A million voices for the Employee Free Choice Act... and millions more union workers raising living standards for all of us. Sign the petition! Who’s losing out in this sputtering economy? Not corporate CEOs. Too many of them have made sure to secure a golden parachute for themselves, while workers face soaring health care costs, foreclosures and an uncertain future. The Employee Free Choice Act would help level the playing field and get our economy back on track. That’s why we’ve launched a huge campaign to get 1 million people to support this bill and tell Congress it’s time for change! Sign the petition—we’re already at 29,349 signatures! We need you to be one of them. The Employee Free Choice Act would give more workers the chance to negotiate for better benefits, wages and working conditions by forming unions. And that will help all of us. There’s strength in numbers, and as we build our collective muscle, we can raise living standards, improve health care and stop corporate America’s race to the bottom. But some CEOs try to stop unions, preventing their workers from negotiating a contract. In fact, 30 percent of corporations illegally fire pro-union workers during union organizing drives. Of course, no CEO would agree to work without a contract. So why can’t their workers have the same rights? It’s time to bring back some fairness. That’s why we need 1 million voices supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. But a million people is a LOT of people. We won’t reach our goal without YOUR friends and family. Do you support this bill? Take one minute to sign our petition. Upload a photo while you’re at it! Anti-union groups are mounting a campaign to fight this bill. We can’t match our opponents dollar for dollar, but we can prevail if enough people rally to this important cause. The economy should work for all of us, not just the privileged few. We can get there with your help. In solidarity, Working Families Network, AFL-CIO P.S. To learn more about the Employee Free Choice Act, click here.

Todays news from Union City

Union City is the Labor Council in Washington DC, when you think of the fact that most of the International unions offices, as well as most of our Federal Government offices reside in Washington DC, you can imagine how much is going on there on a daily basis. Their E-Mail newsletter helps keep me in the know, heres the latest E-Mail and they send me one daily. It's like the newspaper for unionists. You can subscribe to Union City by clicking this link

There are also many other publications on the AFL-CIO Working Families E-Activist Network
that you can sign up and get delivered to your inbox.

You can even get the Joe's Union Review Newsletter by entering your E-mail address into "Get updates in your inbox" on the right hand side, so heres todays news from DC Labor:

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TODAY'S LABOR NEWS Labor Updates: MontCo Profs & Delta Workers Walking & Talking Healthcare in NoVA DC Cops Call Fenty "Anti-Union" CWA and Verizon Resume Early Negotiations NLRB Upholds Trump Plaza Dealers' Vote for UAW Weekend Labor History ON THE LINE THIS WEEKEND Friday, June 6 9:45A WPFW's Gloria Minott "Metro Watch" Radio Show with John Boardman Friday, June 6 10A AFGE's "Inside Government" Radio Show Friday, June 6 10:30A AFL-CIO Organizing Training Saturday, June 7 9A NoVA Health Care Walks

Friday, June 6, 2008

LABOR UPDATES: Union Victory for MontCo Profs: Hundreds of part-time faculty at Montgomery College won a months-long battle to unionize this week (DC Jobs with Justice Corner: PT MontCo Profs Organize 4/24/08 UC), voting overwhelmingly for SEIU Local 500, reported Marcus Moore in Wednesday's Gazette. "The opportunities we now have to win improvements for ourselves and our students are endless," said part-time faculty member Terilee Edwards-Hewitt. The vote is the first successful unionization drive by part-time instructors in Maryland, reported Moore. Delta Workers Vow to Continue Campaign After Failed Union Bid: Delta flight attendants (Flight Attendants Hold Union Vote at Delta 5/9/08 UC) will continue to fight for a union voice following a worker vote last week that fell short because of an intense voter suppression effort by Delta management, reports the CWA District 2 website. "Managers plastered crew rooms with posters urging flight attendants to throw out their official voting information" and "prevented workers from exercising their right to post pro-union materials in crew lounges," reports District 2. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) plans to file interference charges against Delta. Workers are optimistic, though, that another union vote - following the probable merger between Delta and Northwest - will be successful. Click here to read the full story.

WALKING & TALKING HEALTHCARE IN NOVA: Northern Virginia activists will door-knock on the healthcare issue tomorrow in Northern Virginia Central Labor Council's health care walk. "We will have doughnuts, bagels, juice and coffee in the morning and Iron Workers General Secretary Walt Wise and AFGE National Secretary-Treasurer J. David Cox will do a send-off," says Northern Virginia CLC President Dan Duncan. Lunch will be provided after the walk. For more info or to RSVP, contact Roxy Mejia or Steve Mendenhall at the NoVa CLC 703-750-3633.

DC COPS CALL FENTY "ANTI-UNION": Calling DC Mayor Adrian Fenty "anti-union," DC police union official Kristopher Baumann said Fenty "has shown absolute disdain for front line workers." Contract negotiations between the District and DC police officers are heating up after what Baumann called "outrageous" contract proposals from the city, reported WTOP Radio Monday. "Negotiators for the city have not acted in good faith, they're trying to run over the frontline officer and destroy the union," Baumann told WTOP. City proposals would take away guaranteed pay increases, reduce hazardous duty pay, technical work, and clothing allowances, give commanders more power in determining overtime compensation for officers, weaken workers' due process rights and rights to appeal disciplinary actions, reported WTOP.

CWA AND VERIZON RESUME EARLY NEGOTIATIONS: Talks between CWA and Verizon resumed last week, according to a report in the CWA 2108 News. "CWA Districts 1, 2 and 13, together with the IBEW, have agreed to resume early negotiations with Verizon, covering the Verizon 'East' contract," says a report in the June edition of the 2108 News. The contract, covering 55,000 CWA members, expires on August 2. "The parties initially engaged in early contract bargaining beginning last November but the talks were suspended earlier this year. Verizon has continued to agree to limit its bargaining agenda to health care while the unions have an unrestricted agenda and the discussions will cover the ability of members to have access to jobs of the future in the growth areas of the company." CWA is bargaining jointly with the IBEW.

NLRB UPHOLDS TRUMP PLAZA DEALERS' VOTE FOR UAW: More than a year after they voted for a union, dealers at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., finally can celebrate their victory. The National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) last week certified the UAW as their union. On June 21, a united labor movement, backed by community supporters, will hold a major demonstration in downtown Atlantic City to demand that casino owners end their stalling tactics and come to the bargaining table. Click here for details on buses from DC. "We've been trying to get to the bargaining table for over a year," said Trump Plaza dealer Doug Migliore. "Now we can move forward to get a contract." Click here for the complete story by James Parks on the AFL-CIO Now Weblog.

WEEKEND LABOR HISTORY: Speculator mine disaster. 164 killed at Butte, MT (6/6/1917); A general strike by some 12,000 autoworkers and others in Lansing, MI. shuts down the city for a month in what was to become known as the city’s “Labor Holiday.” The strike was precipitated by the arrest of nine workers, including the wife of the auto workers local union president: the arrest left three children in the couple’s home unattended (6/6/1937); Labor Party founding convention opens in Cleveland, OH (6/6/1996); Militia sent to Cripple Creek, CO, to suppress Western Federation of Miners strike (6/7/1904); Sole performance of Pageant of the Patterson Strike, created and performed by 1,000 mill workers from the silk industry strike, New York City (6/7/1913); Unemployed riot in London (6/8/1886); A battle between the Militia and striking miners at Dunnville, CO ended with six union members dead and 15 taken prisoner. Seventy-nine of the strikers were deported to Kansas two days later (6/8/1904); More info & ammo for unionists is available online from Union Communication Services and from the 2008 Slingshot Collective Organizer booklet.

Material published in UNION CITY may be freely reproduced by any recipient; please credit the Council as the source. Published by the Metropolitan Washington Council, an AFL-CIO "Union City" Central Labor Council whose 200 affiliated union locals represent 150,000 area union members. JOSLYN N. WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT. Story suggestions, event announcements, campaign reports, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome, subject to editing for clarity and space, and should be directed to:

Editor: Chris Garlock/Assistant Editor: Andy Richards/streetheat@dclabor.org/Voice: 202-974-8153/Fax: 202-974-8152

Todays news from Union City

Union City is the Labor Council in Washington DC, when you think of the fact that most of the International unions offices, as well as most of our Federal Government offices reside in Washington DC, you can imagine how much is going on there on a daily basis. Their E-Mail newsletter helps keep me in the know, heres the latest E-Mail and they send me one daily. It's like the newspaper for unionists. You can subscribe to Union City by clicking this link

There are also many other publications on the AFL-CIO Working Families E-Activist Network
that you can sign up and get delivered to your inbox.

You can even get the Joe's Union Review Newsletter by entering your E-mail address into "Get updates in your inbox" on the right hand side, so heres todays news from DC Labor:

---

TODAY'S LABOR NEWS Labor Updates: MontCo Profs & Delta Workers Walking & Talking Healthcare in NoVA DC Cops Call Fenty "Anti-Union" CWA and Verizon Resume Early Negotiations NLRB Upholds Trump Plaza Dealers' Vote for UAW Weekend Labor History ON THE LINE THIS WEEKEND Friday, June 6 9:45A WPFW's Gloria Minott "Metro Watch" Radio Show with John Boardman Friday, June 6 10A AFGE's "Inside Government" Radio Show Friday, June 6 10:30A AFL-CIO Organizing Training Saturday, June 7 9A NoVA Health Care Walks

Friday, June 6, 2008

LABOR UPDATES: Union Victory for MontCo Profs: Hundreds of part-time faculty at Montgomery College won a months-long battle to unionize this week (DC Jobs with Justice Corner: PT MontCo Profs Organize 4/24/08 UC), voting overwhelmingly for SEIU Local 500, reported Marcus Moore in Wednesday's Gazette. "The opportunities we now have to win improvements for ourselves and our students are endless," said part-time faculty member Terilee Edwards-Hewitt. The vote is the first successful unionization drive by part-time instructors in Maryland, reported Moore. Delta Workers Vow to Continue Campaign After Failed Union Bid: Delta flight attendants (Flight Attendants Hold Union Vote at Delta 5/9/08 UC) will continue to fight for a union voice following a worker vote last week that fell short because of an intense voter suppression effort by Delta management, reports the CWA District 2 website. "Managers plastered crew rooms with posters urging flight attendants to throw out their official voting information" and "prevented workers from exercising their right to post pro-union materials in crew lounges," reports District 2. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) plans to file interference charges against Delta. Workers are optimistic, though, that another union vote - following the probable merger between Delta and Northwest - will be successful. Click here to read the full story.

WALKING & TALKING HEALTHCARE IN NOVA: Northern Virginia activists will door-knock on the healthcare issue tomorrow in Northern Virginia Central Labor Council's health care walk. "We will have doughnuts, bagels, juice and coffee in the morning and Iron Workers General Secretary Walt Wise and AFGE National Secretary-Treasurer J. David Cox will do a send-off," says Northern Virginia CLC President Dan Duncan. Lunch will be provided after the walk. For more info or to RSVP, contact Roxy Mejia or Steve Mendenhall at the NoVa CLC 703-750-3633.

DC COPS CALL FENTY "ANTI-UNION": Calling DC Mayor Adrian Fenty "anti-union," DC police union official Kristopher Baumann said Fenty "has shown absolute disdain for front line workers." Contract negotiations between the District and DC police officers are heating up after what Baumann called "outrageous" contract proposals from the city, reported WTOP Radio Monday. "Negotiators for the city have not acted in good faith, they're trying to run over the frontline officer and destroy the union," Baumann told WTOP. City proposals would take away guaranteed pay increases, reduce hazardous duty pay, technical work, and clothing allowances, give commanders more power in determining overtime compensation for officers, weaken workers' due process rights and rights to appeal disciplinary actions, reported WTOP.

CWA AND VERIZON RESUME EARLY NEGOTIATIONS: Talks between CWA and Verizon resumed last week, according to a report in the CWA 2108 News. "CWA Districts 1, 2 and 13, together with the IBEW, have agreed to resume early negotiations with Verizon, covering the Verizon 'East' contract," says a report in the June edition of the 2108 News. The contract, covering 55,000 CWA members, expires on August 2. "The parties initially engaged in early contract bargaining beginning last November but the talks were suspended earlier this year. Verizon has continued to agree to limit its bargaining agenda to health care while the unions have an unrestricted agenda and the discussions will cover the ability of members to have access to jobs of the future in the growth areas of the company." CWA is bargaining jointly with the IBEW.

NLRB UPHOLDS TRUMP PLAZA DEALERS' VOTE FOR UAW: More than a year after they voted for a union, dealers at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., finally can celebrate their victory. The National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) last week certified the UAW as their union. On June 21, a united labor movement, backed by community supporters, will hold a major demonstration in downtown Atlantic City to demand that casino owners end their stalling tactics and come to the bargaining table. Click here for details on buses from DC. "We've been trying to get to the bargaining table for over a year," said Trump Plaza dealer Doug Migliore. "Now we can move forward to get a contract." Click here for the complete story by James Parks on the AFL-CIO Now Weblog.

WEEKEND LABOR HISTORY: Speculator mine disaster. 164 killed at Butte, MT (6/6/1917); A general strike by some 12,000 autoworkers and others in Lansing, MI. shuts down the city for a month in what was to become known as the city’s “Labor Holiday.” The strike was precipitated by the arrest of nine workers, including the wife of the auto workers local union president: the arrest left three children in the couple’s home unattended (6/6/1937); Labor Party founding convention opens in Cleveland, OH (6/6/1996); Militia sent to Cripple Creek, CO, to suppress Western Federation of Miners strike (6/7/1904); Sole performance of Pageant of the Patterson Strike, created and performed by 1,000 mill workers from the silk industry strike, New York City (6/7/1913); Unemployed riot in London (6/8/1886); A battle between the Militia and striking miners at Dunnville, CO ended with six union members dead and 15 taken prisoner. Seventy-nine of the strikers were deported to Kansas two days later (6/8/1904); More info & ammo for unionists is available online from Union Communication Services and from the 2008 Slingshot Collective Organizer booklet.

Material published in UNION CITY may be freely reproduced by any recipient; please credit the Council as the source. Published by the Metropolitan Washington Council, an AFL-CIO "Union City" Central Labor Council whose 200 affiliated union locals represent 150,000 area union members. JOSLYN N. WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT. Story suggestions, event announcements, campaign reports, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome, subject to editing for clarity and space, and should be directed to:

Editor: Chris Garlock/Assistant Editor: Andy Richards/streetheat@dclabor.org/Voice: 202-974-8153/Fax: 202-974-8152

Former Bush NLRB Chairman Robert Battista, joins union avoidance law firm

Who would have thunk it? Former Bush NLRB appointee now working for anti-union law firm.

For quite some time the NLRB has been favoring employers, now former Chairman Robert Battista can help exploit American workers, using laws he helped create.

According to American Rights at Work (5/5/08):

Breaking: Battista Now Busting Unions For Profit
Written by Erin Johansson

For years I've been writing that Robert Battista, former chair of the National Labor Relations Board, has been doing the bidding of anti-union employers by dismantling protections for workers under the law. Apparently, he's now going to be doing the bidding of anti-union employers and making a lot more money at notorious unionbusting firm Littler Mendelson (see a sample of their unionbusting strategies: Littler Mendelson’s Dos & Don’ts).

Battista asked Bush to withdraw his nomination as Labor Board chair, which was going nowhere, and joined the firm that John Logan of the London School of Economics called one of the "nation’s first law firms to conduct aggressive union avoidance campaigns."

Now Battista can make money telling employers how to exploit the law he helped to weaken in order to prevent their workers from organizing.

Heres some links on the NLRB in the Bush years

• Democrats say NLRB majority anti-union - USA Today (12/13/07)
  

"Today, fewer workers have fewer rights and weaker remedies under the National Labor Relations Act," said Liebman, who was appointed to the board by President Clinton. "Virtually every recent policy choice by the board impedes collective bargaining, creates obstacles to union representation or favors employer interests." Unions have protested what they call anti-union decisions from the current National Labor Relations Board. They particularly point to 61 decisions the board made in September they say hurt unionized workers.

"Since its installation in 2002, the Bush administration's labor board has embarked on a systematic and insidious effort to radically overhaul our federal labor law and its regulation of labor relations in the private sector," AFL-CIO lawyer Jonathan Hiatt said.

• NLRB sets window for decertification - USA Today (10/02/07)

If anti-union employees can get 30 percent of eligible employees to sign a petition within 45 days, an NLRB secret-ballot election will take place, the decision said.

"This is an encouraging step forward for employee freedom," said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation.

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation lawyers challenged the card-check system for workers at two auto parts suppliers, Dana Corp., an Ohio auto parts maker and Metaldyne Corp.,of Plymouth, Mich., who were organized by the United Auto Workers.

The NLRB, however, said its decision would only apply to future card check campaigns, leaving the Dana Corp. and Metaldyne Corp. employees as members of the UAW.

The board's decision will make it less likely that a company will voluntarily agree to a card-check campaign, said NLRB members Dennis P. Walsh and Wilma B. Liebman.

"An employer has little incentive to recognize a union voluntarily if it knows that its decision is subject to second-guessing through a decertification petition," the two wrote.

• Bush Re-Nominates the WORST NLRB Chair Ever - Unbossed (2/02/08) :

As Ted Kennedy said:

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the White House announced the President’s intent to nominate Robert Battista and Gerald Morales to the National Labor Relations Board.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy said, “It’s unbelievable that President Bush would renominate Mr. Battista to the Board, after he led the most anti-worker, anti-labor, anti-union Board in its history. America’s hard-working men and women deserve a Board that will uphold their rights, not undermine them. With these nominations, the Administration has again demonstrated its hostility to fairness and justice in the workplace.”

• Marchers hit NLRB rulings by Bush-named majority - Labors Forgotten News (11/17/07)

"This is not the NLRB. This is George Bush's board. This is Dick Cheney's board. This is the Chamber of Commerce's board. This is the National Association of Manufacturers' board. And it sure as hell ain't the Labor Board!” declared Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts.

The marchers protested 61 NLRB decisions, virtually all by party-line 3-2 votes, starting in late September and continuing, that stripped away many workers' rights. They included rulings making it easier to oust unions through what are called "decertification petitions” -- rulings making it harder for workers illegally fired for pro-union work to get back pay, and rulings making it easier for firms to break labor law.

• Human Rights Watch Expresses Deep Concern about Recent U.S. National Labor Relations Board "Supervisor" Ruling Letter to Battista from HRW (10/26/08)

Human Rights Watch wishes to express our deepest concern that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision in the so-called Kentucky River Trilogy violates United States obligations under international human rights law and international labor law. The decision announces an expanded definition of “supervisor” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the main U.S. law governing workers’ right to organize. Under the new definition, employers can classify as “supervisors” those employees with incidental oversight over coworkers, even when such oversight is far short of genuine managerial or supervisory authority.

International Labor Organization condemns the Bush NLRB "Kentucky River" decision

From American Rights at Work (3/25/08) :

Bush Board Violates International Human Rights Principles

Written by Erin Johansson

In a rebuke of the Bush Board, an agency of the United Nations ruled that the NLRB’s decision to broaden the definition of supervisor was in violation of core international labor standards. The International Labor Organization (ILO) charged that three 2006 supervisor decisions “appear to give rise to an overly wide definition of supervisory staff that would go beyond freedom of association principles… [and] might lead to the exclusion of wide categories of workers from protection of their freedom of association rights.” In response to a complaint filed by the AFL-CIO, the ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association Committee reiterated that supervisors are “only those persons who genuinely represent the interests of employers,” which is contrary to the Bush Board’s new definition of a supervisor, which includes those with “minor or sporadic oversight over co-workers.” The committee also expressed concern about the potential “clogging of the representation and collective bargaining process through an increase in appeals filed by employers with a view to challenging the status of employees in bargaining units.” The ILO committee recommended that the U.S. government take the necessary steps to ensure that only true supervisors are excluded from the protections of the National Labor Relations Act. The United States is bound to uphold international labor standards, including the freedom of association, as a member of the ILO. Are you paying attention, members of Congress? You have a chance to right this wrong.

This is commonly referred to as the "Kentucky River" decision

Brooklyn,NY: Handyfat workers win $360,000 in back pay, with help from IWW and Make the Road by Walking

UPDATE to-> NY & Surrounding Area : IWW I.U. 460/640 Needs Our Help !!!

From: The Industrial Workers of The World (3/13/08)

IWW to picket Handyfat Trading in celebration of jury award for 6 fired workers of $360,000 in back pay!

Workers from Handyfat Trading founded IWW Industrial Union 460 in December 2005. They were instrumental and active in organizing all the other food service shops that have joined IU 460 since then (ten shops). In addition, these workers along with the workers from EZ Supply/Sunrise Plus achieved the first collective bargaining agreements in this segment of the food industry.

In December 2006 and January 2007, all union members from both Handyfat and EZ Supply were fired. After winning orders of reinstatement and back wages at the NLRB, the workers now begin to win the court battles for their stolen backwages.

The IWW will be holding a picket and press conference this Saturday at Handyfat.

Saturday - March 15th, 2008 at 10am

at Morgan and Thames street in Bushwick, Brooklyn (Look for the big rat on the corner) L train to the Morgan Avenue station The press will be invited to talk to the workers about their struggle and victory.

From UnionReview - NY & Surrounding Area : IWW I.U. 460/640 Needs Our Help !!!

The Story at Handyfat (9/22/07)

In August of 2005, Pablo Montes and Carlos Hidalgo, workers from Handyfat Trading Corp., attended a meeting of Workers in Action, the labor group at the Bushwick, Brooklyn, community organization Make the Road by Walking. They spoke of terrible working conditions: they worked 60 or more hours for a mere 280 dollars per week (at most $4.66/per hour with no overtime); they had no benefits or sick days, and they were called "dirty Mexicans" and worse by an abusive manager. Afterwards, they agreed to bring their fellow workers to meet with two IWW organizers/Make the Road members, six of whom joined the union. On December 5, 2005, over 50 supporters joined the Handyfat workers in a march to declare their IWW membership and demand that the owner observe the wage and hour law. By the end of the winter, the owner was paying legal wages, and the union had won a minority contract, complete with wage increases, sick days, vacation time, and other perks.

You can read more about Make the Road by Walking at UnionReview in the article entitled:
Brooklyn , NY - Fighting For the Little Guy And Winning
and you can read more about the IWW with a search at UnionReview,
While this is a huge victory for the workers, as of 9/22/08, the IWW local 460/640 had been dropping deeply into debt supporting these workers. You can contact them to see if they still need assistance. Hopefully the NLRB decision made them whole again.

First union on Indian land, victory for the dealers at Foxwoods, union election upheld

Victory!

Been following this story for a few months and actually spoke to some workers at Foxwood around Christmas. Good for them, they were starving for representation.



From a UAW press release 3-14-08

UAW at Foxwoods' union election upheld

HARTFORD, Conn. - In an important victory for workers rights, NLRB Administrative Law Judge Raymond P. Green today upheld November's overwhelming vote by casino dealers at Foxwoods to form their own union.

This ruling dismisses all of Foxwoods' objections to the election and clears the way for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify the union election results.

"We are thrilled that Judge Green affirmed that our election was a free and fair measure of the will of the dealers," said Denise Gladue, a dual-rate dealer in Table Games. "We have won every ruling and we won our election by a decisive margin. We have waited long enough. Management needs to respect our majority, recognize our union, and negotiate a fair contract."

Casino dealers voted Nov. 24 by a 3-to-2 margin in favor of unionization. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Foxwoods filed objections to the election, trying to get it overturned. The charges claimed that voters 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.

"We speak many languages, but we all know how to say, 'Union Yes!' And everybody who works here knew exactly what our election was about: We want a union!" said Wei Ching Siu, a part-time Table Games dealer. "My coworkers and I want a healthy workplace, wages and benefits we can count on, and we want respect. We all knew what we were voting for - a huge majority of us worked hard to win our union."

"Gaming employees have a definite home in our union," said Elizabeth Bunn, secretary-treasurer of the International Union, UAW. "The dealers at Foxwoods join a growing tide of casino workers standing together and standing up for a voice on the job."

The UAW represents more than 8,000 gaming employees nationally, including workers in Atlantic City, N.J.; Newport, R.I.; Evansville, Ind.; and Detroit.

"We are very proud to stand with the Foxwoods workers in fighting for good jobs in southeastern Connecticut," said Bob Madore, director of UAW Region 9A. "From the beginning, the Foxwoods dealers have been very impressive in standing together.
Read Full Press Release

Related links from UnionReview:

• Union's On The Rise - Some Recent Victories - Part 2
• CT: Foxwood dealers Vote to be Union !
• CT: Stand In Support Of Foxwoods Workers Organizing Drive Nov.23rd.
• Foxwoods Resort Casino president resigns as company expands, dealers vote for a union