Labor Matters Compiled by Jeff Burman From Seattle to China Coming on the heels of the Seattle demonstrations against the World Trade Organization, the AFL-CIO is now mounting a campaign to stop the admission of China to the international trade body. In a letter to each member of Congress, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney urged the rejection of "Normal Trade Relations" for China and opposed its admission to the WTO. "The Chinese government's continuing repression of democratic political discourse, its intolerance for an independent labor movement, and its continued and illegal export of goods produced in forced labor camps, make it clear that 'normal trading relations' is a cruel contradiction in terms," wrote Sweeney. The AFL-CIO has recommended three conditions that US negotiators should insist upon. First, the Chinese government must observe and enforce core labor standards, as defined by the United Nations, namely that workers be allowed to join together and bargain in independent unions. Second, the Chinese government must immediately free jailed human and labor rights activists. Third, the Chinese government must agree to support US efforts to incorporate enforceable worker rights into the WTO rules. US Ratifies International Child Labor Convention While attending the WTO convention, President Clinton signed an international declaration calling for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. It prohibits children from working in dangerous manufacturing and mining, illegal drug trafficking, pornography, prostitution, and forced military service. It also prohibits forced labor, debt bondage and slavery. The UN International Labor Organization estimates that 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen work with as many as 70% engaged in hazardous work. The United States devoted a record $21.6 million in 1999 to fight global child labor abuses, and another $8.4 million in grants are being processed, according to the US Department of Labor. An additional $30 million is due in 2000. All of these efforts will help to build bridges with international labor unions. For more on the International Labor Organization, see www.ilo.org Washington Awash in Lobbyists Cash According to Federal Election Commission filings, lobbyists spent a total of $697 million in the first half of 1999 working the halls of Congress. In a recent Republican debate, George W. Bush warned that campaign finance reform might give union lobbyists an unfair advantage, but, in fact, unions spend only a tiny proportion of the total. In this accounting, unions spent a modest $10.2 million, a mere 1 1/2 percent of the total, while the top spender, the health care industry, spent $95.5 million. For more on the Election Commission report, see www.tray.com/fecinfo/ Runaway Production: Now a National Issue Six congressmen from three states promised to support national legislation to create incentives for filmmakers to stay in the United States. About 30 people from various crafts met with Congressional representatives in Los Angeles and drafted proposals for legislation. Attendees included Representative Mark Foley (R-Fla.), chairman of the Republican Caucus' Entertainment Industry Task Force, Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), and local Reps. Howard Berman (D-Mission Hills), Gary Condit (D-Ceres), Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) and James Rogan (R-Glendale). One proposal, co-written by Rep. Weller (R-Ill.), provides a tax rebate of up to $4,000 for each worker on a low budget production shot domestically. Weller hopes to attach the bill to a larger one raising the minimum wage. In 1998, between $573 million (the Canadian estimate) and $2.8 billion (the American estimate) of filming and related work went to Canada. One suggestion heard at the meeting was to slap an import tariff on foreign films bound for American distribution. This is permissible because, under NAFTA, the film industry is exempt from "free-trade" guidelines because it is deemed a "cultural industry." Several California State legislators have tried to move tax credit bills through Sacramento, but Governor Grey Davis has refused to sign, calling the bills too costly. One such legislator is Assembly-man Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles). "We have a $30 billion industry that is disappearing in front of our eyes," said Wildman. "This is a national issue, and it's encouraging to see Congress mobilize around what we started." For more on the issue, see www.sag.com More Doctors Join Unions' Epidemic or Cure? All it took was a watershed decision by the National Labor Relations Board. Interns and residents in private hospitals are now considered employees, and are thus protected by federal labor laws. Within weeks of the decision, 450 doctors at Boston Medical Center became members of the House Officers Association/Committee of Interns and Residents, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. "It will now be possible for the 90,000 private-sector house staff [interns and residents] nationwide who heretofore have not had union protection to seek collective bargaining," said CIR President Ladi Haroona, MD. For more on the Service Employees campaign, see www.seiu.org SEC Workers to Take Union Vote Some 1,800 accountants, lawyers and support staff at the federal Securities and Exchange Commission will vote on whether to join the National Treasury Employees Union. The NTEU already represents 150,000 government employees at the IRS, the US Customs Service and the Federal Communications Commission. NTEU President Colleen Kelley was delighted with the decision by the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which called for a "speedy ballot" and a single bargaining unit. "We are obviously very pleased with the decision, it was what we thought should occur," said Kelley. The SEC has 60 days in which to appeal. For more on the NTEU, see www.nteu.org Microsoft Loses Appeal in 'PermaTemp' Case On January 10, the US Supreme Court rejected Microsoft's appeal of a ruling that thousands of temporary and contract workers were eligible to buy discounted Microsoft stock. A class-action suit, filed in 1992, claimed that Microsoft treated temporary and contract workers as permanent employees except for their compensation. The decision means that Microsoft has effectively exhausted its appeals regarding the employee status of its "permatemp" workers, and paves the way for an eventual settlement. Microsoft refers to its more than 6,500 contract workers as temps, but most have worked at the company for more than a year and over 40 percent have served for more than two years. The CPAs, attorneys, certified financial managers and MBAs contend that they are denied pay and benefit equity, and are pressured to sign restrictive contracts as a condition of employment. For more on WashTech/CWA please see www.washtech.org IATSE Builds Millennial Centerpiece The spectacular 1,137-pound crystal globe that marked the beginning of the new millennium in New York's Times Square proudly carries the union label. Members of three union shops helped to assemble the international icon of New Year's celebrations: the Sheet Metal Workers, Local 137, the Electrical Workers, Local 3 and the IATSE, Local 1.   Jeff Burman is an assitant editor representative on the Guild's Board of Directors.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 21, No. 1 - Jan/Feb 2000   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700