Labor Matters Compiled by Jeff Burman California Governor Selects Union Leaders for Top Posts New California Governor Gray Davis chose several labor leaders to fill key positions in his transition team and permanent administration, which officially took office January 4. Mary Bergen, president of the California Federation of Teachers, served on the education panel of Davis' transition team, and Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers, was on the panel overseeing water and agricultural issues. As part of his administration in Sacramento, Davis selected Steve Smith, a lobbyist for the California State Employees Association, to head up the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees wage and overtime laws, workers' compensation plans, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and other employee regulations. The governor-elect also appointed two former members of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing police officers. Frank Grimes will serve as director of the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice and Planning, and Ted Hunt, a former president of the Protective League, will serve as head of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board. Organized labor was widely credited with Davis' decisive victory in November. Statewide, union members expect a strong union presence to be ongoing in the Davis administration. "We're talking about recruiting, electing and monitoring" pro-labor candidates, says Miguel Contreras, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Federation of Labor. IATSE Selects National Organizing Directors IA President Tom Short announced the appointment of two national organizing directors. Selected were two of the IA's most capable international reps: Sandra England of Local 793, the Television Broadcast Studio Employees, in Seattle; and Daniel DiTolla of Local 844, the Radio and Television Sound Effects and Broadcast Studio Employees, in New York City. University Teaching Assistants' Rights Upheld For the fourth time, California's Public Employee Relations Board has ruled that graduate-student instructors can negotiate with the University of California for a contract. The board ruled on December 11 that graduate-student instructors, tutors and special readers at UCLA had the legal right to bargain collectively under state law. The ruling came after a one-week strike at the eight UC campuses to protest UCLA's refusal to recognize the UAW-affiliated student employees union. The strikes deftly coincided with final exams. UCLA officials contended that the teaching assistants' jobs were part of their academic training and that they were therefore not full-time employees. Hoffa Joins NABET-CWA Picketers Teamsters president-elect James P. Hoffa joined more than 100 locked-out NABET-CWA members December 15 in Washington, D.C., to protest ABC's refusal to negotiate a fair contract for 2,400 workers. Shouting "Mickey Mouse is a Teamster, Mickey Louse is [Disney CEO] Michael Eisner," Hoffa called on ABC's parent company, Disney, to end the lock-out. As picketing continues nationwide, many Democratic Party "newsmakers" have refused to appear on camera or cross picket lines. On December 28, Judge Robert O'Brien denied a request by ABC for sanctions against NABET protesters who picketed within view of live cameras. "Reasonable, non-disruptive picketing in the camera's view, if not done directly in front of the camera, between it and the subject, would be an exercise of free speech," ruled O'Brien. NABET has also offered the latest in "electronic picketing." Visit their website for sample letters to advertisers asking them to cancel ad campaigns, along with sample letters to state politicians asking them to approve emergency legislation that would make unemployment benefits available. Links are provided. High Court Backs Workers' Right to Sue Workers generally have a right to sue their employers for discrimination, even when their unions or their employers have a policy calling for arbitration, declared the Supreme Court. In reaching its decision, the Court reversed two lower court rulings by a nine to zero vote. The issue at hand was whether mandatory arbitration, the favorite of many corporate lawyers, should prevail over the open-ended court battles favored by many civil rights lawyers. Civil rights lawyers argue that arbitration is unfair. They claim that companies get to select the arbitrator who will hear the dispute, and that plaintiffs are hard put to collect evidence and adequately prepare for these unappealable, final settlements. Kids Get into the Act After studying the history of immigrant workers in sweatshops, sixth graders at Boston's Workman's Circle Shul religious school organized a rally in front of a Guess? clothing store to protest child labor and the low wages and poor working conditions in much of the garment industry. "We are here because we want to make a difference and fight for those who work in bad conditions for very little pay," the students said in a statement. More than 100 students and parents were joined for the December 6 rally by Massachusetts Labor Federation President Robert Haynes and needletrade union (UNITE) members.   Jeff Burman is an assistant editor representative on the Guild's Board of Directors.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 20, No. 1 - Jan/Feb 1999   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700