LABOR NEWS
Last Updated: 8/28/2008 5:00:44 PM
What's Organized Labor Doing on Labor Day?
New York City's traditional Labor Day parade takes place on Saturday September 6 at 10:00am at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street. The theme for this year's march is a tribute to America's servicemen and women, called the Wounded Warrior Project. NYCCLC parade flyer We have much to celebrate this year. From Hollywood to the Docks where we've settled contracts for thousands of workers and won organizing rights for Port Drivers, Security Officers, and Hotel Workers. To the passage of the first-in-the nation Construction Careers Policy which will add 15,000 new Union Jobs to Los Angeles. In the American Rights at Work Education Fund's fourth annual "Labor Day List: Partnerships that Work," the advocacy group continues to shine a spotlight on positive relationships between employers and their employees.
NYCCLC site
This September, the organizers of the labor parade are hoping to add some zip -- and attract more spectators -- by adding far more music and bands to the parade, as its moves up Fifth Avenue after stepping off at 42nd Street.
However 2008 isn't over. There is much more to be won so this Labor Day we will also look forward to what we must accomplish before the year is out. From Labor Day to Election Day we must focus our efforts on electing Barack Obama, a President who will put working families first and Mark Ridley-Thomas who will be a Supervisor who will implement the President's policies in LA.
So join us at any of our Labor Day events as we honor our past and plan for our future.
LACFL site
In this year's Labor Day List, the group highlights a geographically diverse group of employers who show that good labor relations are possible in every sector of the economy. Wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa Technology Corporation, the Washington National Opera, and Alabama Power, a utility serving millions of residents in the South, are just a few of this year's featured employers that prove that strong labor-management partnerships are the key to future success. By working with their employees and the unions that represent them, Labor Day List employers have well-trained, efficient workforces and are invested in a socially-responsible approach to business that will carry them far in the future.
ARAW 8/26
SAG, AFTRA Agree on Advertising Contract Extension; Broader Stalemate Carries On
In another sign that the Screen Actors Guild’s in no rush to resolve the stalemate with the majors over its feature-primetime contract, SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have opted for a six-month extension of their commercials contract until March 31.
The unions, which are planning to negotiate jointly on the ad deal, made the disclosure Wednesday in a brief joint announcement with the ad industry.
SAG's national board stuck to its guns, voting last week to tell its negotiating committee to continue spurning the deal -- which mirrors terms of the Directors Guild, thew Writers Guild and AFTRA pacts. Although there were no "yes" votes to accept the pact, representatives from New York and some of the regional branches abstained.
SAG's board also voted to send postcards -- as part of a member bulletin -- to the 120,000 members of SAG to poll members about the final offer but emphasized that the action isn't a strike vote or ratification.
In a slap at SAG and its stalled contract talks, the DGA has issued a staunch defense of its new-media deal with the majors and its exemption for low-budget productions.
The missive, titled "Giving New Media Room to Grow" and written by DGA president Michael Apted as a message to members in the guild's monthly magazine, will hit 13,000 member mailboxes Wednesday. It comes with SAG and the conglomerates in the eighth week of a stalemate that's been prolonged partly due to SAG's insistence that it can't accept the terms of the deals signed by the DGA, WGA and AFTRA.
Variety 8/20 The upstart faction, which is vying against incumbent group Membership First in the upcoming election, made the announcement Monday morning. Ballots will be sent out to SAG's 120,000 members on Tuesday, with the vote tabulated on September 18. Unite for Strength stressed in the announcement that its platform centers around pushing for a merger with rival actors' union the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (AFTRA) in an effort to increase actors' overall leverage at the negotiating table with the major studios. Membership First, which currently dominates the Hollywood board seats, has noted that most of the Unite for Strength slate of 31 candidates supported a move earlier this year to impose a work requirement on SAG members voting on contracts.
Tensions within SAG mounted as the union's Hollywood-based leaders rejected a call by SAG's New York branch to bring in a federal mediator to break a deadlock in contract talks with major studios.
Members of the New York regional board also publicly challenged the assertions of SAG president Alan Rosenberg and chief negotiator Doug Allen that the union is holding informal talks with studio representatives in a bid to close a deal.
And they accused SAG negotiators, in a resolution passed unanimously last week by the 23-member New York board, of "failing to bargain realistically ... and remove unattainable items from the table."
Reuters 8/18
Amid a heated battle for control of SAG's board, the Unite for Strength faction has promised it won't implement qualified voting by SAG members.
Hollywood studios are increasingly greenlighting projects in the belief that an actors' strike is unlikely to happen.
With SAG's contract stalemate continuing, the Guild has granted more than 100 waivers to indie feature films over the past month, pushing the total to 620.
The waivers have kept a modicum of feature production going. Studios have mostly stopped shooting features since SAG's contract expired on June 30 due to the uncertainty over whether the guild will be able to hammer out a new deal.
Variety 7/30
"Usually we give out $250-$350,000 a year in emergency financial assistance in Los Angeles," said a spokesman. "This year, we've already given out $1.2m. If this new strike happens, it will be devastating for people."
Parts of the AFTRA contract could undercut some of SAG's initial bargaining demands. AFTRA, for example, did not win an increase in the decades-old home-video residuals formula.
The proposed agreement increases the pay actors receive from movies and TV shows sold online and establishes payments for programs streamed online. It also guarantees the union's jurisdiction over shows created for the Web that cost more than $15,000 a minute.
SAG leaders have contended that the thresholds would exclude too many Web shows, opening the door to a pool of nonunion work. The guild has deals with hundreds of low-budget Web shows.
LA Times 5/28
Obama Wins Nomination; Is Enthusiastically Endorsed by Former President Clinton
Senator He then turned to Senator The Nation magazine's convention coverage AFL-CIO President John Sweeney gave a high-profile and impassioned speech Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, focusing on a top issue in the election: turning around our struggling economy. Sweeney said 28 million active and retired union members and their families will mobilize this fall to elect Senators The AFL-CIO makes its case for Barak Obama.
In Convention Speech, Kerry 'Savages' McCain
"On the night when Bill Clinton and Joe Biden delivered two of the Democratic National Convention's most-anticipated addresses, the guy everyone was trying to forget delivered the strongest statement," writes John Nichols in the Nation magazine. The International Labor Communications Association has put together a wide range of labor-oriented materials on candidate John McCain. Union federation Change to Win has posted a site called "Worse Than Bush." The AFL-CIO makes its case against the McCain candidacy.
"The 2004 Democratic nominee for president -- who was bluntly informed by grassroots activists that they did not want him to run again in 2008 -- might not have gained a prime-time speaking spot at the convention except for the fact of the Massachusetts senators' early and enthusiastic support of Obama.
"But Kerry did more with his time at the podium than Clinton or Biden, who has seemed oddly constrained since his selection as Obama's vice presidential running mate.
"Kerry savaged McCain.
"'I have known and been friends with John McCain for almost 22 years. But every day now I learn something new about candidate McCain. To those who still believe in the myth of a maverick instead of the reality of a politician, I say, let's compare Senator McCain to candidate McCain.
Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once denounced as immoral. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain's own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote. Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you're against it.
"'Let me tell you, before he ever debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself. And what's more, Senator McCain, who once railed against the smears of Karl Rove when he was the target, has morphed into candidate McCain who is using the same 'Rove' tactics and the same 'Rove' staff to repeat the same old politics of fear and smear. Well, not this year, not this time. The Rove-McCain tactics are old and outworn, and America will reject them in 2008.'"
Nation 8/28
Tom Short Retires; Matt Loeb Elected New IATSE President
Thomas C. Short, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees since 1994, has retired with IATSE executive Matthew D. Loeb taking his place.
Loeb, who's been an International VP since 2002, was elected unanimously. The below-the-line union credited Loeb with devising and implementing the organizing and bargaining strategies to expand IATSE's jurisdiction and membership during Short's presidency. "I am not leaving for political reasons or for health reasons, but rather because I have learned that life is short and there is a great deal that I have yet to experience and enjoy," Short said in a statement. Many rank-and-file members credit the former Cleveland stagehand with strengthening a splintered union by, among other things, rapidly expanding its membership through aggressive organizing and protecting benefits. The IATSE General Executive Board has unanimously elected International President Matthew D. Loeb, filling the vacancy left upon the retirement of International President Emeritus Thomas C. Short. President Loeb has been a member of the United Scenic Artists Local 829 since 1989, a member of Local 52 since 1996, and is a Charter Member of Local 491. He became an International Representative in June, 1994. Loeb was also the IATSE’s first Division Director of Motion Picture and Television Production, appointed to that position upon the restructuring of the Alliance and the establishment of divisions. He was elected by the General Executive Board to the position of International Vice President in February 2002 and at the 65 “I enter into the position of International President with the deepest sense of obligation to the members, who number better than 111,000, and their families. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Tom Short who made desperately needed institutional changes that will allow me to continue to build on a solid foundation. We are well positioned to meet the challenges of the future,” Loeb said.
LA Times 7/31
Documentary Film Entries for 2008 Oscars Due on Tuesday
Tuesday, September 2, is the deadline for filmmakers to submit their short subject and feature documentaries to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 81st Academy Awards.
Additional information about the documentary awards may be obtained by contacting Assistant Awards Coordinator Michelle Ayala at (310) 247-3000, ext. 117; via e-mail at mayala@oscars.org; or by visiting http://www.oscars.org/81academyawards/rules.
AMPAS press release 8/26
Biden Keeps It Simple
"Joseph Biden's speech last night accepting the Democratic nomination for the vice presidency was not a great speech. The rhetoric did not take wing and soar, the assembled delegates did not leave the arena slack-jawed and astonished. It was a workmanlike address, a blunt object delivered, at times, with great force. In many ways, it was the opposite of Barack Obama's best speeches. This may be exactly what the Obama campaign needs," writes Ezra Klein in the American Prospect.
"His attacks on John McCain were neither grudging nor high-minded. They were simple. 'In the Senate,' said Biden, 'John has voted with President Bush 95 percent of the time. And that is very hard to believe. And when John McCain proposes $200 billion in new tax breaks for corporate America, $1 billion alone for just eight of the largest companies, but no, none, no relief for 100 million American families, that's not change; that's more of the same.' This was not a speech built to inspire, or elevate. It was a message crafted to move polls."
TAP 8/28
Sweeney, Burger Emphasize Threat to Middle Class, American Dream
The nation's two top union leaders, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Change To Win Chair Anna Burger, emphasized the threat to the middle class and the American Dream in their speeches to the Democratic Convention. Their solutions, in their August 26 addresses: Election of Illinois Democratic Senator Barack Obama as president and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Sweeney, Burger, UAW Local 2344 President Robin Golden, SEIU member Pauline Beck of Oakland, California, Pennsylvania Steel Worker Jim Bauer, and UNITE HERE member Gloria Craven of North Carolina were part of "economics day" at the convention, August 25-28 in Denver.
All these speakers concentrated pocketbook issues: The loss of jobs, the threat to the middle class and -- in Bauer's case -- how "clean energy" jobs pushed by USWA can revitalize U.S. manufacturing.
ILCA 8/29
Report Examines Current Economic Stagnation
Released in time for Labor Day, the Economic Policy Institute's authoritative volume The State of Working America 2008/2009 is now available. Described as the "most comprehensive independent analysis of the U.S. labor market" by the Financial Times, the 11th edition shows that the business cycle that started in 2001 will be one for the record books. In fact, for the first time on record, middle-class families are at the end of a recovery without ever having regained the ground they lost during the previous recession. Gross domestic product and historically high productivity growth should have raised paychecks up and down the income ladder, but instead the benefits of that growth have bypassed most of the people who made it possible.
EPI press release 8/28
Wall Street Journal Heralds Labor's Comeback
Forget for a moment the media fascination with disgruntled Hillary Clinton delegates or Michelle Obama's makeover. One of the most underreported stories at this week's Democratic National Convention is that Big Labor is making a big comeback.
Not long ago, the labor movement was in a state of steady, seemingly unstoppable decline. A global economy and the information age made unions less relevant to more workers. The fall of industrial trades cut into existing union ranks, while service workers saw less need to join. Union membership as a share of the American workforce has been falling since the early 1980s, and today stands at 12.1%. In the more dynamic private sector, only 7.5% of workers carry the union label.
The paradox is that even as union numbers have declined, union political clout has increased, especially within the Democratic Party. That's in evidence in Denver, where no less than 25% of the 4,200 delegates are active or retired union members or belong to households with union members. More significant for the rest of America, labor has won the intellectual battle for control of the Democratic Party and is reasserting its agenda in a way not seen since the 1970s.
WSJ 8/27
Middle Class Loses Ground, Says Study
The economy expanded over the 2000s, and working families were highly productive, as output per hour rose 18% from 2000 to 2007. But despite their contributions to the economy's growth, middle-income, working-age households-those headed by someone less than 65-lost ground over these years. Their median income, after adjusting for inflation, fell $2,000 between 2000 and 2007, from about $58,500 to $56,500 (2007 dollars).
The trend was very different in the 1990s. After declining in the recession (and the jobless recovery that followed), the median income of working-age households reversed course and rose consistently up through 2000. In fact, over the 1990s (1989-2000) median income was up almost 10%, or about $5,200. Had this 10% growth rate prevailed in the 2000s, the median income of working-age households would have gone up $3,600 instead of falling $2,000.
EPI snapshot 8/27
Organized Labor Presents an Unusually United Front
"At first glance," writes Harold Meyerson in the on-line American Prospect, "the labor movement gathered at the Democratic National Convention couldn't have looked more united. On Sunday, labor delegates from every wing of the movement -- the unions in the AFL-CIO, those in the breakaway federation Change To Win, and those in the unaffiliated National Education Association -- gathered together in the Pepsi Center in an unprecedented display of political unity. Rival federation chiefs John Sweeney (the AFL-CIO) and Anna Burger (Change To Win) shared the podium. AFSCME President Jerry McEntee introduced (perfunctorily, to be sure) SEIU President Andy Stern. All pledged to do everything they could, and work together in most cases, to ensure Barack Obama's election. A crowd of roughly 2,000 union members, including close to 1,000 labor delegates to the convention, cheered lustily."
TAP 8/28
Nationwide Campaign for EFCA Begins
If you're in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, chances are you'll see billboards in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. They're part of a stepped-up public outreach campaign by workers' advocates and the union movement to broaden support for the bill and make it a central issue in the 2008 election.
The workers' advocacy group American Rights at Work is sponsoring ads for the legislation, including the billboards in Denver, full-page ads in Politico and USA Today, and expansive online advertising. This is a preview of a larger campaign to make the Employee Free Choice Act a reality for workers struggling in this economy. The bill would level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions.
AFL-CIO now 8/27
A Law that Could Give Big Labor Some Brawn
The proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would allow workers to skip the lengthy process of an NLRB election and unionize if a simple majority sign authorization cards. The system, dubbed "card check," also calls for unresolved conflicts to be adjudicated by a federal mediator who would issue binding arbitration if the sides can't reach an agreement. The bill boosts penalties for illegal acts by employers during union drives, which would cause them to tread more carefully when talking to employees.
For union advocates, EFCA is the No.1 legislative priority because they say the current union election system favors employers. Employers have access to workers on the job while unions can only contact them off-site. According to research conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago, 91% of employers require employees to attend one-on-one anti-union meetings with their supervisors during union organizing drives. It also found that when faced with organizing efforts, 30% of employers fire pro-union workers, 49% threaten to close the worksite, and 51% of employers coerce workers into opposing unions with bribery or favoritism.
BusinessWeek 8/28
KBR, Partner in Iraq Contract Sued in Human Trafficking Case
A Washington law firm filed a lawsuit Wednesday against KBR, one of the largest U.S. contractors in Iraq, alleging that the company and its Jordanian subcontractor engaged in the human trafficking of Nepali workers.
Twelve of the thirteen workers were killed.
Washington Post 8/28
Union Movement Hosts Panel Discussion in Denver
The AFL-CIO joined forces with The American Prospect at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week for an economic forum, "All Boats Rising: Transforming the American Economy." AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka joined Paul Krugman of The New York Times, Robert Kuttner, Bennett College President Julianne Malveaux, Senators Sherrod Brown and Amy Klobuchar and Representative Donna Edwards in a discussion moderated by Ezra Klein and Harold Meyerson, both of The American Prospect.
The wide-ranging discussion touched on student loan debt, gas prices, trade agreements and other topics and consistently engaged both the immediate need for economic fixes and the long-term need to go beyond crisis thinking and change the balance of power between employers and working people in the United States.
AFL-CIO now 8/27
Union Authorizes Strike Against World's Biggest Steelmaker
The United Steelworkers union said its members voted to give it the authority to launch a nationwide strike against ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer, if ongoing contract negotiations fail.
The union has been negotiating with Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal since April over a new labor contract that would cover more than 14,000 workers and tens of thousands of retirees. The current contract expires Monday.
On Tuesday, the union distributed a notice to workers at 14 plants operated by ArcelorMittal saying there had been a "lack of progress" in the talks and asking for the authority to call a strike if the negotiations fail. ArcelorMittal said it is committed to reaching a settlement before Monday.
Among the contentious issues are premiums for retiree health care, company contributions to a trust fund for health care, employee incentives, a profit-sharing agreement and capital investments to improve aging facilities.
Bill Steers, an ArcelorMittal spokesman, said the talks continued with frequent meetings in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
WSJ 8/28
California Farm Labor Contractor Surrenders License After Death
A farm labor contractor that employed a pregnant teenager who died of heat stroke while pruning grapes has given up its license to operate for three years.
Officials with California's Department of Industrial Relations announced Wednesday that Merced Farm Labor had surrendered its license Monday, three days before proceedings to revoke its license were to begin.
The state suspects the Atwater-based contractor failed to provide 17-year-old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez proper access to shade and water before she collapsed May 14 near Stockton.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement saying California would enforce heat illness regulations strictly.
SF Chronicle 8/27
Administration Wants Changes in Workplace Rules
The Bush administration is proposing that workplace hazard standards be subject to more public and expert scrutiny before being adopted. Critics say the proposals could make it harder to limit worker exposure to carcinogens and other toxic materials.
Critics argued that there is already ample opportunity in the rulemaking process for public and expert comment, and accused the Bush administration, with its history of differences with worker rights groups, of taking eleventh-hour steps to slow down the issuance of new health rules that industries say are overly onerous.
Washington Post 8/27
Court Rules in Favor of Las Vegas Union
Culinary and bartenders unions have won another round in their 14-year legal battle with former owners of the Sahara and Hacienda hotel-casinos in Las Vegas. But there's still no final decision in the case.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the National Labor Relations Board to reconsider its decision to let former hotel-casino owners Paul and Sue Lowden stop collecting union dues from employees after a contract expired.
Richard McCracken, the Las Vegas attorney for Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, said there are three vacancies on the five-member NLRB that probably won't be filled until a new president is elected -- so any NLRB decision will take time.
SF Chronicle 8/27
Labor's Hard Lessons
"One thing organized labor has learned from its dealings with management is that, basically, anything that can be used against a union will be used," writes David Macaray in the on-line CounterPunch. "Take specific accommodations, for example. No matter how limited or exceptional a particular arrangement starts out, if it's seen as something that can be used to management's advantage, every company in America will try to use it wherever it can, as often as it can, in every way it can, no matter what the circumstances.
"Three examples of good faith accommodations that have more or less back-fired on the union are: bonuses in lieu of a general wage increase (GWI), the two-tier wage configuration, and 'last chance' agreements."
CounterPunch 8/27
Indonesians' Suit Against Exxon Cleared for Trial
In a legal setback for Exxon Mobil Corp., a federal judge here cleared for trial a seven-year-old lawsuit by Indonesian villagers over alleged killings and torture by Indonesian soldiers guarding a natural-gas plant in the Aceh province.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Oberdorfer ruled Wednesday against a motion to throw out the villagers' suit, finding evidence that the soldiers committed the alleged atrocities and that Exxon Mobil's Indonesia subsidiary had paid for the military security forces to guard the plant.
The villagers filed the lawsuit in 2001, alleging that the oil giant's security forces murdered, tortured, raped and kidnapped local residents. The alleged abuses took place from 1999 to 2001 amid civil unrest in the region.
ILRF 8/28