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Recent News

Republicans Work to Overturn Protection from Outlaw Contractors

Corporate lobbyists are busy trying to persuade Republican Senators to try to do away with the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which requires all companies seeking publicly funded contracts to report any record of violating workers’ rights on the job. As President Obama explained at its signing ceremony: “Taxpayer dollars should not reward companies that break the law.”

The lobby group opposing the law says that it is unnecessary. However, since 2013, Good Jobs Nation, a group representing 2 million low-wage employees of federal contracts, has filed more than 30 legal complaints on behalf of 500 workers documenting systematic wage theft, misclassification, and other labor law violations at the Pentagon, Smithsonian museums, and other federal offices in Washington, DC. A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) investigation revealed that one Pentagon food service contractor threatened and intimidated workers who tried to organize.

Recent News

Global Airport Workers Join Protest

On June 1-2 airport workers from around the world held the first-ever global day of action to draw attention to the airline industry’s continued push to drive down wages and working standards, while raking in record profits of $36 billion in 2016. The protest was organized to coincide with the International Air Transportation Associations (IATA) annual general meeting in Dubin, Ireland.

While some workers traveled halfway around the world to deliver their message directly to the IATA executives in Dublin, others stayed home and staged protests in airports in Brazil, Argentina, Korea, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and Sweden. In the US there were rallies, press conferences, and banner drops in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and other cities.

One report by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) finds that workers in security, wheelchair assistance, fueling, cargo and baggage handling, cabin cleaning, and passenger check-in face a working environment of stress, irregular work patterns, and insufficient wage levels. This global worker action was spearheaded by a new coalition called Airports United that is determined to secure economic justice and higher standards for airport service workers everywhere.  

Recent News

Workers Fired during Strike Could Get Millions

In early June, after a nearly six-year battle, 38 union workers illegally fired during a strike found out they should be rehired and reimbursed for lost wages. Eighty workers at the Piedmont Gardens senior living facility in Oakland, California, went on a five-day strike in 2010 over healthcare, pension, disciplinary policies, and other issues. Less than 24 hours before the strike was to end, the employer sent contacted some of the employees and told then they had been permanently replaced.

The ruling by the National Labor Relations Board found that Piedmont had replaced the workers to teach them and the union a lesson. The facility’s executive director admitted in an affidavit that she was motivated to permanently replace the workers to avoid future strikes. The attorney for the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West called the decision significant, stating that every employer in the US will now had to follow the law created in the decision.In early June, after a nearly six-year battle, 38 union workers illegally fired during a strike found out they should be rehired and reimbursed for lost wages. Eighty workers at the Piedmont Gardens senior living facility in Oakland, California, went on a five-day strike in 2010 over healthcare, pension, disciplinary policies, and other issues. Less than 24 hours before the strike was to end, the employer sent contacted some of the employees and told then they had been permanently replaced.

The ruling by the National Labor Relations Board found that Piedmont had replaced the workers to teach them and the union a lesson. The facility’s executive director admitted in an affidavit that she was motivated to permanently replace the workers to avoid future strikes. The attorney for the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West called the decision significant, stating that every employer in the US will now had to follow the law created in the decision.

Recent News

No Resolution in Sight for Detroit Schools in Need

 

Pressure is mounting for Michigan lawmakers to find more funding for Detroit Public Schools, after the teachers union called for another day of sickouts over possible “payless paydays” for employees this summer. Emergency Manager Steven Rhodes urged state lawmakers to pass a $715 million package to rescue the debt-ridden district. A union-sponsored protest last May 2 closed 94 of the district’s 97 schools.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers organized the sickout after the system’s chief manager said, without more money from the state, he would be unable to pay teachers the salaries owed in July and August, and summer school would be canceled. The union reports that almost two-thirds of teachers spread the payments over the full year, from September through August. Other teachers rely on additional earnings from summer school. The district’s year-end budget deficit ballooned to a projected $320 million this year, and to avoid a complete shutdown in April, the Legislature approved $48.7 million in emergency aid. The school district, which was not included in the city’s 2013-2014 bankruptcy, saw a sharp decline in enrollment. According to city data, more than half the students going to publicly funded schools in the city attend charter schools, which leaves Detroit Public Schools with just 46,000 students, down from 167,000 in 2000.  

Recent News

Child Labor Still a Problem in Tobacco Industry

Various North Carolina farmers affiliated with RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company illegally hired children under 13 years old to harvest tobacco crops, a recent report revealed. Commissioned by the tobacco company, the audit found that 40% of its contractor farms employed underage workers, violating the Federal law on child labor. In particular, 16% of minors (under the age of 16) illegally performed hazardous work.

Baldemar Velasquez, president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO (FLOC), says “We’ve been telling the company for eight years now that there are serious labor violations happening all over Southern tobacco fields, including on Reynolds farms.” He adds, “Reynolds has continuously denied that these conditions exist and has tried to sweep labor issues under the rug.” In 2014, after a Human Rights Watch report brought public attention to the issue, RJ Reynolds American and Altria Group pledged to put a halt to the hiring of children under age 16. According to Velasquez, though, it is not a priority so it’s not happening.  

Striking Verizon Workers
Recent News

No Fair Offer Yet for Striking Verizon Workers

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has reported that Verizon sent a letter to striking workers encouraging them to cross their picket line. At 36,000 employees, the strike is the biggest American work stoppage since 2011 and, according to experts, it could have far-reaching effects on both workers and employers.

“I think the workers feel pretty threatened and would be willing to hold out for a fairly long time,” says Jeremy Schwartz, associate professor of economics at Loyola University. In April, all along the East Coast, unionized workers walked off the job, citing layoffs that led to longer work hours and less job security. They also said employees are being forced to work out-of-state positions for extended periods of time. Striking workers are not being paid and the company recently cut off their health benefits, a move Schwartz says could play a dramatic role in the success of their efforts. “These are not upper-class workers, so I’m sure the time that they’ve had off of work is already pretty painful,” he says. “The fact that they’re willing to go this long is a testament to how threatened they feel.”

While Verizon issued a statement saying they have offered workers a 7.5% salary increase over the next three years with no layoffs as a final offer, sources say the strike could continue for some time.

airbnb
Recent News

SEIU Will Not Accommodate Airbnb

Negotiations between Airbnb and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) fell apart amid fierce backlash from other labor unions and housing activists across the country. SEIU plans to work with UNITE HERE, a union that represents hotel workers. “It is our clear understanding that SEIU will not have a deal with Airbnb to represent housekeeping services,” according to UNITE HERE spokeswoman Annemarie Strassel.  

Opponents of Airbnb contend the company is accelerating gentrification by reducing the supply of available housing units for local residents. Airbnb’s offer included paying more local taxes, sharing data with municipalities, and cracking down on landlords who break rules. UNITE HERE and other critics argue Airbnb has allowed people to illegally turn their homes into hotels, which removes permanent housing from the market and reduces affordable housing options in cities. Partnering with a union would have been a PR victory for Airbnb, but would have done little to support low-wage workers, according to critics, who say the deal would have meant sending unionized labor into illegal hotels.  

Recent News

AFL Enters Battle for Bargaining

AFL-CIO strongly objects to a New Jersey takeover proposal of Atlantic City that eliminates all collective bargaining agreements. With battle lines drawn that would affect thousands of workers and more than 100 union contracts, the national AFL-CIO has joined the fight.

“Attempts to undermine collective bargaining under the pretext of solving financial challenges are nothing new. We’ve seen it in states and cities across the country,” say AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech in a joint statement. “We know that the best way to solve problems is to collaborate with workers who are on the front lines, like firefighters, police, teachers, and city employees. Governor Christie’s current proposal—which seeks to limit collective bargaining—is unacceptable. The state Senate and the General Assembly should work together to find the right compromise that supports the principle of collective bargaining and protects the rights of working people.”

The legislation passed by New Jersey Senate and supported by Christie includes a provision eliminating collective bargaining agreements. However, New Jersey Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto has said that he will not support a bill that allows the state to tear up collective bargaining contracts.

Does Governor Christie believe legal contracts are no longer binding? Written agreements have been honored for hundreds of years around the world. The scenario of “maybe we’ll honor a contract maybe we won’t” would set a dangerous precedent, not only in New Jersey, but across the country.

Recent News

Fired Jimmy John’s Workers Vindicated

A federal appeals court ruled March 25 that a Jimmy John’s franchisee illegally fired six workers for publicly protesting the company’s sick leave policy. The 8th Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld a National Labor Relations Board finding that MikLin Enterprises, which owns 10 Jimmy John’s franchises in the Twin Cities area, had engaged in unfair labor practices and were directed to rehire the six with back pay.

“We were fired more than five years ago, illegally, for warning the public that our lack of paid sick days meant that they could end up eating sandwiches tainted by germs,” says Max Specktor, one of the six, in a statement. “Justice delayed is justice denied.” MikLin’s workers narrowly voted against joining the Industrial Workers of the World in 2010, but union supporters continued to campaign for paid sick leave, including posters depicting Jimmy John’s sandwiches made by a sick worker. The company argued that the posters were not protected speech under federal labor law, because they were “disloyal.” The court held that there was substantial evidence “tying the effort to obtain paid sick leave with the effect that the lack of paid sick leave could have on MikLin’s product.”

Recent News

Machinists United

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) reached seven tentative contract agreements with United Airlines for 30,000 workers. According to IAM, the five-year accords run through 2021 and call for approximately 30% pay increases over the term of the deal and $100 million in lump sum payments. The contract also includes a 25% hike in defined-benefit pension benefits, stops outsourcing of work currently performed by IAM members, and provides for insourcing of additional work.

Though current agreements were not amendable until December 31, 2016, IAM and United agreed last October to open existing contracts one year early and engage in expedited negotiations, which led to the tentative agreements.