(The AFL-CIO issued the following on February 22.)
ELATED AT ELANT—Nearly 600 caregivers at four Elant nursing homes in Orange County, N.Y., gained a voice on the job last week when they voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU District 1199NY.
EDUCATION WORKERS WIN A VOICE—Fifty-six paraprofessionals in the Waconia School District have a voice on the job with Education Minnesota after a recent election. Education Minnesota is the merged state affiliate of AFT and the National Education Association.
COLLEGE UNIONS WIN FLORIDA CASE—Florida officials had no right in 2003 to terminate the collective bargaining agreements of the faculty and employee unions at its public universities, the state’s 1st District Court of Appeals ruled Feb. 14. Two years ago, the state legislature scrapped the statewide Board of Regents and turned that body’s authority over to separate boards of trustees at each of the universities. Union contracts were terminated and unions had to begin negotiating new contracts from scratch with each of the university system’s 11 institutions. The court ruled the state government may not “unilaterally terminate its obligations under a collective-bargaining agreement simply by reorganizing the executive branch, where the employees affected perform the same work, in the same jobs, under the same supervisors, by operating the same facilities, carrying on the same enterprise, providing the same service.”
SAYING YES TO THE UNION—The more than 220 workers at the Dana auto parts assembly plant in Buena Vista, Va., voted overwhelmingly Feb. 4 to remain members of the UAW, rejecting a decertification petition spurred by the anti-union National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The workers first chose UAW in 2003 under a majority sign-up or card-check, in which the employer agrees to recognize the union after a majority of workers indicates a desire to join a union by signing union cards. The anti-union “right to work” group has been attacking majority sign-up and is backing both legislative and legal efforts to ban it.
SECRET WAL-MART DEAL SCRUTINIZED—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Inspector General will launch an investigation into the department’s agreement to give Wal-Mart 15 days advance notice to investigate and fix complaints of federal wage-and-hour law violations before any department investigation begins. The notification deal was part of a settlement in which Wal-Mart agreed on Jan. 6 to pay $135,540 for child labor violations involving young workers’ use of dangerous equipment. The advance notification agreement wasn’t revealed until Feb. 11 when “The New York Times” reported it. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) requested the Inspector General’s investigation Feb. 14. “I am very concerned about this secret agreement between Wal-Mart and the Bush administration,” he says. For more information visit www.aflcio.org.
‘BOATILLA’ CRUISES FOR SOCIAL SECURITY—Working families nationwide are stepping up the campaign to prevent President George W. Bush from privatizing Social Security. During this week’s Presidents’ Day congressional recess, union activists are meeting with their members of Congress and urging them to sign a pledge to strengthen, not privatize, Social Security. To sign a petition urging members of Congress to sign the pledge, visit www.socialsecuritypledge.org. AFSCME is making 2 million phone calls to voters in 33 congressional districts, asking them to contact their representatives and urge them to oppose privatization. In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Feb. 17, members of the Broward County AFL-CIO and the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans festooned a small fleet of boats with banners reading “Don’t Sink Social Security” and cruised the intercoastal waterway outside a hotel where the Securities Industry Association (SIA) was holding a Social Security symposium. The SIA is a long-time backer of privatizing Social Security. On Feb. 11, the brokerage firm Edward Jones—with about 9,000 offices nationwide—pulled out of another pro-privatization business group, the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security, after a coalition of community, retiree and union activists rallied Feb. 8 outside the firm’s St. Louis headquarters and other locations. Activists also sent thousands of e-mails. Privatizing Social Security would lead to benefit cuts and trillions of dollars of debt and would open up the system to corruption, waste and Enron-ization. Help get the word out about the fight to strengthen Social Security and turn back Bush’s privatization plan by visiting www.aflcio.org/socialsecurity. Activists can download fliers with the facts about privatization, how to decipher the Bush administration spin and what privatization means for women, African Americans, Latinos and other groups.
COMMENT ON NEW DEFENSE WORKER RULES—Federal workers and others opposed to the Bush administration’s proposed personnel rules for more than 700,000 Department of Defense workers have until March 16 to file their comments on the rules. The rules gut the civil service and bargaining rights of the department’s civilian workers. Submit your comments online at www.regulations.gov. For more information, visit www.afge.org or www.aflcio.org.
BILL NOT OK IN OKLAHOMA—More than 300 workers held a Rally for Oklahoma Families in Oklahoma City Feb. 16, urging state representatives not to repeal a municipal employee collective-bargaining law enacted last November. That law requires cities with populations of 35,000 or more to collectively bargain if employees choose union representation. A bill to repeal the law passed a House committee Feb. 14 and will go before the full House soon. AFSCME is appealing an Oklahoma County district judge’s ruling last month that the measure is unconstitutional because it discriminates against public workers in small cities and towns.
BUSH RENEWS EXTREMIST JUDGE PICKS—President Bush resubmitted the names of 12 federal appeals court nominees Feb. 14 who had failed to win Senate confirmation during Bush’s first term because their out-of-the-mainstream legal views. Appeals court judges decide important labor-related cases such as National Labor Relations Board appeals, workplace health and safety cases, civil and workplace rights issues and more. Several of the renominated candidates have track records of anti-worker rulings. “The president looks like he is still more interested in picking fights instead of picking judges. The last thing the federal courts need is reactionary judges bent on rolling back basic constitutional rights,” said Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).
CALPERS SAYS NO TO PRIVATIZATION….—California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) trustees voted 9–3 against a scheme by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to privatize the state’s retirement system by replacing defined-benefit pensions with a 401(k)-type plan for future employees. Schwarzenegger also is trying to privatize the state’s retirement system through legislation, and if that fails he has threatened to hold a special election on a privatization ballot initiative. CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the United States, with more than $182 billion in assets. It administers retirement and health benefits for 1.4 million current and retired California public employees and their families. On Feb. 3, trustees of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System voted 10–2 against the plan, after which Schwarzenegger fired all four of his appointees who voted against it.
…YES TO CSEA’S FECKNER—CalPERS unanimously elected California School Employees Association board member Rob Feckner its new president Feb. 16. “We will do everything in our power to stop the elimination of our defined-benefit pension plan,” said Feckner, who also pledged to continue striving for corporate governance reform and curbs on executive compensation.
IBT PACT DELIVERED AT DHL—In a major step in the Teamsters campaign to help workers at international package and freight carrier DHL win a voice on the job, more than 300 recently organized members of IBT locals 851 and 295 ratified their first contracts at the DHL gateway at JFK Airport in New York City. Contract talks are under way at several other DHL hubs where workers have chosen a voice with IBT. Workers at more than 30 independent contractors that deliver packages for DHL have voted to join IBT.
RAT ON 1ST AMENDMENT GROUNDS—The First Amendment’s free speech protections extend to the Machinists’ right to display a 12-foot-tall inflatable rat on a public right-of-way, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Feb. 11. The case goes back to 2003 when the IAM demonstrated with the rat outside a Fairfield, Ohio, car dealership on three occasions despite a city ordinance prohibiting “structures.” On one occasion, the protestors were cited for violating the ordinance. In a 2–1 decision, Judge Boyce Martin wrote, “In our view, there is no question that the use of a rat balloon to publicize a labor protest is constitutionally protected expression within the parameters of the First Amendment, especially given the symbol’s close nexus to the union’s message.”
STEELWORKERS FIGHT FOR TIRE DEAL—Steelworkers held informational rallies at some 200 Nissan auto dealerships Feb. 16 and protested the lack of progress in talks for a new contract for some 6,000 USWA members at eight Bridgestone/Firestone plants. Nissan is a major purchaser of Bridgestone tires, and the events were held to inform the public about Bridgestone’s stalling. The Bridgestone pact expired nearly two years ago, and the union says the company’s foot-dragging and refusal to invest in improvements in its plants masks an effort to close the plants and move production offshore. Other tire makers have committed to invest in and improve their USWA plants.
‘SISTERS OF ’77’—In November 1977, 20,000 women and men left their jobs and homes in cities and small towns around the country to come together at the first National Women’s Conference in Houston. The award-winning documentary about the conference, “Sisters of ’77,” will air March 1 on PBS stations around the country. The conference attendees’ aim was to end discrimination against women and promote their equal rights. “Sisters of ’77” provides a fascinating look at that pivotal weekend and how it changed American life and the lives of the women who attended. Check your local listings. To learn more, visit www.itvs.org/outreach/sistersof77.
NEW UNION PLUS CREDIT CARD FEATURES—Union Privilege announced a new Union Plus credit card program Feb. 15 that gives union members and their families new benefits. The expanded benefits include 100 percent protection against fraud; a skip-payment option and credit protection in the event of a strike or lockout; and special help through Lifeline Trust, Disaster Relief Fund and Layoff Helpline for members facing extreme financial hardship. Extended warranties are available for products purchased using the card. For more information, visit www.unionpluscard.com or phone 1-800-522-4000.