Labor Matters Compiled by Jeff Burman Candidate Bradley Calls for Labor Law Reform Campaigning in Waterloo, Iowa, Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Bradley proposed changes in U.S. labor law to help strengthen American unions. He lamented the decline in union membership and called for a ban on the practice of hiring replacement workers during union-organized strikes. The former NBA star and New Jersey senator spoke before an enthusiastic crowd at the Iowa state AFL-CIO convention. "When I think about my campaign for president of the United States, one of my absolute key objectives is to make sure that more working families in America get on the prosperity train, and that this train doesn't leave more and more people farther behind." Bradley went on to suggest raising the fines for companies that fire workers who perform union organizing on the job. He said that if someone is fired for organizing co-workers, the employer should pay three times back wages plus punitive damages. The current law requires only the simple payment of back wages. For more, see www.billbradley.com. Supreme Court "Expands"Bias Damages The Supreme Court has ruled that victims of workplace discrimination can sue their employers for punitive damages, but only if a company's top executives are found responsible. Before the Civil Rights Act of 1991, workers who suffered race or gender discrimination could sue in federal court only for back pay and to get their jobs back. Workers could also receive a jury trial and ask for as much as $300,000 in punitive damages, but only in "egregious" or "truly outrageous" cases. Speaking for the 7-2 majority (Kolstad vs. ADA, 98-208), justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote that the law speaks of employers who show a "reckless indifference" to the rights of their workers. O'Connor went on to say that if only a supervisor is to blame, it is not fair to make the company pay, thereby shielding employers with strong anti-discrimination policies. New Law Protects Older Workers California governor Gray Davis has signed into law a bill that will protect older workers from layoffs based on age discrimination. The statute, authored by state senator Martha Escutia (D-Whittier), overturns a 1997 appeals court decision which said that laying off older workers to cut salaries did not constitute age discrimination. The Rolls-Royce of Union Deals? United Auto Workers Local 933 members ratified a new five-year contract with Rolls-Royce/Allison by a 91% majority, giving it "an excellent new agreement," according to UAW vice president Ron Gettelfinger. Rolls-Royce/Allison Engine is "a global company meeting present and future requirements of aerospace, defense and energy markets with facilities in 14 countries." Some 2,200 employees covered by the new contract will receive a $1,250 signing bonus, 3% general wage increases in the first, second, third and fifth years, and a 3% lump sum payment in the fourth year. These gains are protected against inflation by cost-of-living adjustments. The new contract will also improve members' pension benefits by providing an adjustment provision that compensates for any increase in the Social Security eligibility age. Health benefits also see a modest expansion, adding seven new drugs to the Prescription Plan, raising coverage for diabetic supplies, and increasing orthodontic coverage. Strong job and income security programs, negotiated in 1997, will continue throughout the new agreement. The contract covers 400 job categories for workers in Indianapolis and Evansville, Indiana, and goes into effect February 26, 2000. For more, see www.uaw.org. Hoffa Presents Anti-Mob Initiative In an effort to end the oversight of a 1989 federal Consent Decree, Teamsters president James P. Hoffa announced a new initiative to eradicate corruption and mafia influences in the Teamsters union. In presenting the plan, Hoffa was flanked by former federal prosecutor Edwin Stier and James Kossler, a former FBI official responsible for directing the department's organized crime effort in New York. Both men will assist in implementing the initiative. Hoffa's plan calls for "a process and procedure that will demonstrate that the union can and will protect itself and its members from corruption and the influence of organized crime, and that will lead to an end of outside control of the union. This goal is consistent with the fundamental premise of federal law, that labor organizations must be maintained as democratic organizations controlled by their members." In a letter to deputy attorney general Eric Holder, Hoffa wrote "...it is time for the Government to acknowledge that the objectives of the Consent Decree have been achieved." The Teamsters have been arguably the most corrupt union in the history of American labor. Three union presidents and more than 200 lesser officers have served prison time, mostly for embezzlement. James Riddle Hoffa, the father of the Teamsters' current president, was sentenced in 1967 to a 13-year prison term for mail fraud and jury tampering. After his sentence was commuted by President Richard Nixon in 1971, he vanished in 1975 while running against then-Teamster president Frank Fitzsimmons. For more, see www.teamster.org or www.igc.org/tdu/. US Air Service Workers Approve Union Ticket agents, gate workers and other passenger service professionals at US Airways overwhelmingly endorsed representation by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), voting for the union with a plurality of 67%. The latest vote was ordered last June by the National Mediation Board after two previous votes. On January 30, 1997, the CWA fell short of a majority but appealed to the Mediation Board, which found that US Airways had tainted the election by holding employer-employee discussions. The board ordered a second vote and, on September 29, 1997, a majority of workers voted in favor of unionizing. After considerable wrangling in the courts, the board then ordered the third vote. Some 10,600 passenger service workers at US Air are now represented by the CWA and will enjoy some of the best wages and benefits in their industry. For more, see www.cwa-union.org.   Jeff Burman is an assitant editor representative on the Guild's Board of Directors.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 20, No. 6 - Sep/Oct 1999   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700