(The AFL-CIO distributed the following on July 12.)
New members reported in this week’s WIP: 1,341
New members reported in WIP, year-to-date: 71,793
PRIDE OF ALOHA–The Seafarers and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association celebrated the July 4 christening of the “Pride of Aloha,” a newly refurbished deep-sea cruise vessel sailing under the American flag with an all-union 800-person crew. The 853-foot vessel is the first of three planned U.S.-flagged cruise ships for Norwegian Cruise Lines. The cruise line agreed to recognize MEBA as the bargaining representative for licensed deck officers and engineers and SIU for the unlicensed crew and hotel staff.
HEAD START ON JUSTICE–Some 175 workers recently won a voice on the job with AFSCME. On June 3, the majority of 85 voters at Portland (Ore.) Area Early Head Start voted to join Council 75. In neighboring Washington, the majority of 46 administrators in the state Department of Social and Health Services voted to join Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28, as did 20 workers at Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, Wash. Other new AFSCME members include 24 workers from the Teays Valley Local School District who joined the Ohio Association of Public School Employees/Local 4.
UNION IS A REALITY–Some 133 workers joined the Theatrical Stage Employees recently, including the crews of two reality television series. Swan Productions, producers of “Swan,” signed an agreement with IATSE in May to cover its 40 employees, and Bobwell Productions, which produces “Blind Date,” signed a contract June 23 for its 25 postproduction workers. In Quebec, Ontario, Canada, the Labor Relations Commission granted bargaining rights to IATSE Local 523 for 68 workers at the Les Galeries de la Capitale movie theater. The theater challenged a July 2003 majority verification process. In a majority verification procedure, workers gain their union when a majority signs authorization cards in favor of union representation.
TENET WORKERS GAIN VOICE–More than 100 hospital aides and office and support staff at Tenet Healthcare’s Daniel Freeman Marina hospital in Marina del Rey, Calif., voted recently to join SEIU Local 399.
MAKING SWEET MUSIC–The majority of 68 musicians in the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra voted to join the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada Local 285-403 in May.
DRIVING WITH A UNION CARD–In Romulus, Mich., 65 drivers at MCSI Inc. won a voice on the job with Teamsters Local 299 June 29 through a majority verification process.
TEAMING UP WITH PIEDMONT WORKERS–Communications Workers of America and IBT are teaming up to help customer service and ramp workers at newly formed Piedmont Airlines win a voice on the job in a rapidly changing industry. The new airline was formed from the merger of two U.S. Airways subsidiaries, Allegheny Airlines–where workers already have a voice on the job with IBT–and Piedmont, where workers have been trying to form a union with CWA.
WORKING FAMILIES RALLY BEHIND KERRY/ EDWARDS–Presumptive Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates John Kerry and John Edwards are winning strong support from working families following the July 6 announcement that Kerry selected the North Carolina senator as his running mate. Thousands of union members and their families are turning out at rallies and campaign events with union T-shirts and caps and placards backing the Kerry/Edwards team. On July 9, President George W. Bush made a quick bus tour of Pennsylvania, but at several stops and along the route, union activists and their allies showed up to remind Bush and voters that the Keystone State has lost some 150,000 manufacturing jobs since Bush took office.
NOT OVER ON OVERTIME–Messages from working families urging Congress to stop new rules that could cost millions of workers their overtime pay rights continue to flood Capitol Hill. Those rules are due to go into effect Aug. 23 and workers still have time to urge Congress to act before it adjourns for the summer July 23. Business groups that strongly lobbied for the changes in Fair Labor Standard Acts (FLSA) overtime rules are set to begin reclassifying workers as exempt from overtime pay soon as Aug. 23 arrives. One pro-management group offers employers guidance to the new rules in a special report called “New FLSA Rules: Seize the Day,” and special software to make employee reclassification quicker and easier. Send your senators and representative a message urging them to support all efforts to block the overtime pay grab by visiting http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fax4otpay or click on http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fax4otpay/forward to send a message to your family members, friends and co-workers asking them to join in the fight to save overtime pay.
NAACP BACKS FREE CHOICE ACT–The NAACP, the nation’s largest civil rights organization, has endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act and is urging its members to contact their congressional lawmakers about the legislation (S. 1925 and H.R. 3619). The bills would allow workers to form unions and bargain good contracts without the often-debilitating obstacles inherent in the NLRA process. In a related development, President Bush for the fourth consecutive year declined an invitation to speak to the NAACP’s convention, meeting in Philadelphia July 10-15. Presidential candidate John Kerry will address the convention July 15. Bush is the first sitting president since the 1930s not to address an NAACP convention. Bush also declined recently to speak at the convention for the Latino advocacy group LaRaza.
HERE AND UNITE MERGE–Meeting at a special joint convention in Chicago, the members of UNITE and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees voted July 8 to merge their unions. The new union is called UNITE HERE. “We are stronger together at the bargaining table, at shop floors, in city halls, state capitals and in Washington, D.C.,” said Bruce Raynor, former UNITE president, who becomes president of the new organization. “Together, we will have the strength we need to bargain with giant global corporations,” said John Wilhelm, former HERE president, who is UNITE HERE’s president/hospitality industries.
BUSH IGNORES AIR SAFETY LAW–The Bush administration continues to allow U.S. aircraft to be repaired in unsafe and uninspected foreign repair facilities four months after a congressional deadline to bring those facilities to the same safety and quality level of U.S. repair stations. The Bush White House fought legislation that requires the Federal Aviation Administration to develop a plan to ensure those foreign repair stations meet the same strict safety and oversight standards as U.S. repair stations. “The Bush administration’s silence and inaction speaks volumes. Our government shows its true colors when it snubs airline safety and security–and the law-in order not to offend foreign business interests,” said Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department.
RX EXPRESS ROLLS–Hundreds of American seniors will board buses this month destined for Canada, where they expect to buy prescription drugs at far lower prices than what is charged in this country. The Alliance for Retired Americans is sponsoring the Rx Express bus trips to help seniors save money and to draw attention to the exorbitant prices charged by U.S. drug companies for medicines older Americans need to stay healthy and alive. Nearly 30 people from New York and Rhode Island rode 14 hours roundtrip on July 6 to Montreal and purchased their prescription drugs at 30 percent to 50 percent less than U.S. retail prices.
DEAD GIVEAWAY–A dress code for federal air marshals that requires the officers to look like stereotypical G-men–with suits, ties, shiny shoes and short hair–jeopardizes passenger and crew safety, according to the marshals and Flight Attendants/CWA. “Under the rules, the air marshals often look like FBI or Secret Service agents right out of central casting. This seriously compromises their ability to protect people on board,” AFA President Pat Friend said. Initially the marshals were allowed to wear their own clothes and make their own grooming decisions to better blend in with passengers. “Easy identification of air marshals permits terrorists to distinguish which flights air marshals will be protecting and, more importantly, flights they won’t be protecting,” said John Adler, first vice president of the unaffiliated Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
RECOUPING LOSSES–Members of four unions representing workers at Freightliner Corp.’s truck manufacturing plant in Portland, Ore., July 6 ratified three-year contracts with the company that come within a dime of restoring pay and benefit cuts workers accepted in 2001. The 1,100 employees will receive raises of 75 cents to $1.50 an hour in the first year and 50 cents an hour in each of the remaining two years. Workers also retain their current health care plan. The workers are represented by IBT Local 305, Machinists District Lodge 24, Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5 and SEIU Local 49.
SHOPPERS’ WORKERS OK PACT–Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 approved a new four-year contract July 6 with Washington, D.C., area Shoppers Food Warehouse supermarkets. The 6,000 workers will receive wage increases and improved premium pay and working conditions.
WORKING FAMILIES VOTE SITE LAUNCHED–The AFL-CIO launched a new Working Families Vote website (http://www.votenov2.com) with a great new look and loads of tools to help working families make a difference in the November elections. You can register to vote, learn how to protect your vote and download fliers on the issues affecting working people as well as find out where the candidates stand on working family issues.
DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS–One-hundred-forty-six union members from more than 35 unions received college degrees during the National Labor College’s sixth commencement ceremony June 26 in Silver Spring, Md. Three union presidents–Martin Maddaloni of the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, Michael Sullivan of the Sheet Metal Workers and James Williams of Painters and Allied Trades–were among the 135 graduates who earned bachelor’s degrees. Eleven graduates earned master’s degrees from the University of Baltimore. A special ceremony launched construction of the Lane Kirkland Center, a new facility named for the former AFL-CIO president, and the Howard D. Samuel Memorial Scholarship fund, in honor of the longtime union leader.
LABOR DAY TOOLKIT–This Labor Day, Sept. 6, working families will make a strong statement: “We’re Taking Back America for Good Jobs, Health Care and Strong Communities.” The new AFL-CIO Labor Day toolkit contains message points, charts and other data on good jobs lost, tips on ways to gain media coverage on your event, ideas on planning a “Labor in the Pulpits” program and other helpful tools. For a copy of the toolkit, call 1-800-442-5645.
CORRECTION–The July 6, 2004, edition of WIP should have said California’s landmark paid family leave plan is employee funded.
Work in Progress is also available on our website at http://www.aflcio.org/aboutaflcio/wip .