NEWSFEED: US union struggles

[ckaihatsu]

via iuf.org

The IUF-affiliated UFCW leafleted customers at Phillips Seafood's flagship Baltimore restaurant on a busy May 9 evening in solidarity with the union fight for permanent jobs at the company's crabmeat factory in Lampung, Indonesia, where workers with up to 15 years of service are still denied permanent employment contracts.
In mediation talks with the local Labour Office in Indonesia, convened in response to the union's demand for negotiations on the workers' employment status, factory management has declared that only the US owner can make that decision - so the UFCW took that message directly to the parent company. UFCW Vice President Mark Lauritsen (who is also an IUF Vice President) and head office staff together with a contingent of UFCW Local 27 members leafleted restaurant customers and spoke with management of the restaurant to explain the Indonesian situation and their support for the crabmeat factory workers fight against the factory's brutal disposable jobs regime.






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[ckaihatsu]

via socialistproject.ca

Bill Fletcher Jr. has been an activist since his teen years. He has worked for several labour unions in addition to serving as a senior staffperson in the national AFL-CIO. Fletcher is the co-author (with Dr. Fernando Gapasin) of Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice; and the author of 'They're Bankrupting Us' -- And Twenty Other Myths about Unions. Fletcher is a syndicated columnist and a regular media commentator on television, radio, and the web. Recorded in Toronto, 2 June 2017.

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

The supposed reform of pensions in Michigan is part of a broader attack aimed at rolling back all the gains won by workers in decades of struggle.

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

The deaths of two coal miners last month put 2017 on track to reach fatality figures not seen since the relative boom period of 2011-13.

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via wsws.org

A WSWS reporting team distributed copies of the International Amazon Workers Voice at a fulfillment centre in Brampton, Ontario, where workers reported earning low wages and being exploited twice over by labour contractors.

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

The government gave Amazon millions of dollars to set up its sweatshop-like operation in the deindustrialized Northeast.

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

The Detroit Federation of Teachers is attempting to impose yet another round of concessions on teachers who have suffered years of givebacks, layoffs and eroding school conditions.

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

Nurses at the Baystate Franklin Medical Center are the latest to face a battle to defend their health benefits.

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[ckaihatsu]

via fightbacknews.org

Rochester, MN - Members of SEIU Healthcare MN, AFSCME Council 65 and Teamsters 120 have spent the last year in a battle with Mayo Clinic. It started with Mayo’s surprise announcement in July 2016 that they would subcontract Mayo food service workers out to Morrison Food Services starting in 2017. The affected food service workers are employed at Mayo’s southern Minnesota locations in Rochester, Albert Lea Austin and Fairmont.
Upon finding out Mayo’s plan to subcontract them out to an out-of-state corporation after decades of working hard as Mayo employees, the workers decided they needed to fight back. They launched a coordinated fight to say “we need good jobs at the Mayo.” In the end, they could not legally stop Mayo from subcontracting them, but the workers were determined to win a contract with Morrison, their new employer, which did not contain major concessions and moved them forward with a contract that keeps good jobs in Rochester and across the Mayo system.
The Mayo food service workers organized in the community to let people know what Mayo was doing, and that they were only doing it to make more money off of the backs of their employees and off the backs of the community that is paying increased property taxes and state taxes to allow Mayo to continue expanding and increasing its profits. At the same time as that workers were making these changes, Mayo announced that they were closing down or moving out much-needed patient services, like the birth center in some of their facilities, which will cause many of Mayo’s workers and the surrounding community to lose services.
These fights culminated in large pickets in Rochester which brought out the majority of the Mayo food service workers as well as hundreds from the community.
Seeing these workers do whatever it took and fight for what they deserve was an inspiration for anyone to behold. One group of non-union food service workers in another area of the Mayo decided they wanted to join the union too. Last fall over 100 more workers voted yes by an 89% majority and joined SEIU Healthcare MN and merged bargaining units to become part of the SEIU Food Service Bargaining Unit.
Now, a year later, because of their strength and resolve, the Mayo food service workers have reached a tentative agreement with Morrison in which there are no major concessions and in fact the workers will be getting raises that vary in size from 12.5% to 42% over the life of a 5-year contract. The newly organized workers fared especially well, with many getting raises of as much as several dollars effective immediately upon ratification.
In addition to raises, the workers won better healthcare than they had before and a guaranteed contribution 401k in which the employer must deposit 50 cents for every hour an employee works with no contribution required form the employee.
Most importantly they won good strong language in their contract and have built the power they need to move forward and go up from here in future bargaining. They won all of these improvements because they organized and showed the boss they would not back down. Because they were so organized they did not end up having to strike but it was clear to all that they could have if they needed to.
Ratification votes are being held over the next week and the contract is expected to pass overwhelmingly.


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[ckaihatsu]

ATU 308 Preliminary Strike Vote


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ATU Preliminary Strike Vote

On June 29, 2017 the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, the union of the rail division at the Chicago Transit Authority, held a city-wide preliminary strike authorization vote among its members. Of 927 members who voted, 97.4% voted YES for a strike. Scenes and interviews from the voting process. Length - 19:37

Video url:
https://youtu.be/rrvib4rLpYo

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Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat.

For info: [email protected], www.laborbeat.org, 312-226-3330; Labor Beat, 37 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60607. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat". Labor Beat is on as a cable-tv series in six U.S. cities: Chicago, Rockford, Urbana, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; Cambridge, MA. Chicago schedule: CAN TV 19, Thursdays 9:30 pm, Frdays 4:30 pm.


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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

A Wednesday morning explosion at the GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant has left three workers injured and one hospitalized.

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via fightbacknews.org

Grand Rapids, MI - Members and staff of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951 are picketing the entrance to Pearson Foods on July 6. Pearson is in violation of fair labor practices and is interfering with workers’ union membership. UFCW filed unfair labor practice charges against Pearson Foods.
Some of the issues are: Pearson is refusing to sign a union contract overwhelmingly ratified by workers; Pearson is refusing to implement a wage increase agreed to in negotiations, and that Pearson is refusing union representatives’ access to meet with union workers.
The Republican majority in the state capitol effectively curtailed the power of unions in Michigan four years ago. Now companies feel free to ignore and even violate union contracts. It will take a new labor movement that uses job actions and strikes to gain the respect that working people want.


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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

Medical examiner’s report repudiates claims by police and the media that veteran electrician Michael Morrison, who plummeted 75 feet at the Little Caesars sports arena, took his own life.

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

As the mega-corporation rakes in free money from state and federal services, grants and tax breaks, thousands of its regional employees face grueling work conditions and low pay.

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[ckaihatsu]

Tell NC Gov. Cooper to VETO Farm Bill - Stop attacking farm workers right to organize!




Anti-Union Bill S615 Attacks Farmworkers Right to Organize

After a series of recent farm worker wins in NC - from kale workers to sweet potato pickers and a growing campaign against tobacco corporate giant RJ Reynolds - politicians that are also growers are now trying to use their legislative power to stop workers on their own farms from organizing for better wages and working conditions. Farm Bill S615 is a shameful abuse of power that takes aim at our union in a blatant attempt to stop farm workers from achieving union agreements that include wage increases, job security, benefits, and improved working conditions. Farm Bill S615 has already passed the NC House and Senate, and we are calling on Governor Cooper to veto the bill.

The Legislature had originally sought to pass SB375 to eliminate union payroll deduction for ALL employers, including private and public. But, after mass pressure from UE local 150-NC Public Service Workers Union, NC Association of Educators, NC AFL-CIO and others, they backed off the bill, and instead decided to attack farm workers alone!

The bill has two parts: 1. It makes it illegal for farmers who have signed union agreements to deduct dues from union members who want to pay dues, seeking to weaken the only farmworker union in the state, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) 2. The bill makes it illegal for farmworkers to ask growers to sign an agreement with their union as part of settling wage or other legal violations, making it more difficult for farmworkers to achieve union agreements that include wage increases, job security, benefits, and improved working conditions. This, FLOC believes, is occurring in retaliation for a series of lawsuits their members have brought over the past few years, seeking to end wage theft, intimidation, and retaliation across Eastern NC.



TELL NC GOVERNOR ROY COOPER:


Veto Farm Bill, S615, a bill designed by farmers elected to the NC State Legislature to stop farm worker union’s progress

TAKE ACTION:

1. SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION TODAY!

2. Get your Union or Organization to write an official letter from the organization to Gov. Cooper calling on him to veto SB615. Send letters to [email protected] and [email protected] and CC a copy to [email protected] and [email protected]

3. Follow-up with a personal phone call. Call 919-716-6400 or 919-814-2000

To: Governor Roy Cooper
From: [Your Name]

I am shocked to hear about Farm Bill S615, the latest attack that farmers elected to the State Legislature launched against farm workers.

State Rep. David Lewis, a tobacco farmer in Eastern NC, was pushing Senate Bill 375, which would make it harder for farm workers on his own farm to organize for better wages and working conditions. Not having the votes to pass the bill, Rep. Jimmy Dixon, a farmer from Warsaw, NC snuck it in as an amendment to Farm Bill, S615, which was passed on June 28 without opportunity for full discussion. These farmers are abusing their power as legislators to pass self serving laws to stop their own workers from unionizing.

Farm workers are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act and other worker protections like minimum wage, child labor, and workers compensation laws, among others. However, through the efforts of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), farm workers have won union contracts that include wage increases, job security, and improved working conditions, and this bill aims at stopping this progress.

We want to thank you for all of the good work you have done to reverse the mistakes of the past administration. As a long time advocate for working people, we ask that you veto Farm Bill, S615.

SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION TODAY!

Copyright © 2017 Southern Workers Assembly, All rights reserved.
You either attended an event hosted by the Southern Workers Assembly or have signed one of our online petitions.

Our mailing address is:
Southern Workers Assembly
PO Box 934
Rocky Mount, NC 27802

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[ckaihatsu]

via iuf.org

Following a series of recent farmworker wins in the Southern United States, farmers elected to the North Carolina State Legislature are trying to use their legislative power to stop workers on their own farms from organizing for better wages and working conditions.
On June 28, the North Carolina General Assembly passed Farm Bill S615 with no debate. The bill aims to stop the progress that farmworkers are achieving by making it illegal for farmers to deduct dues from union members as well as making it more difficult for farmworkers to win union contracts. The bill would make it illegal for farmworkers to ask growers to sign an agreement with their union as part of settling a lawsuit over wage or labor violations!
US farmworkers are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act and other worker protections like minimum wage, child labor, and workers compensation laws, among others. However, through the efforts of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), farmworkers have won union contracts that include wage increases, job security, and improved working conditions. This bill aims to roll back this progress.
Please join FLOC and the IUF in calling on North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to veto the bill. Your message will be sent by email to the Governor and delivered as part of a signed petition. CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE





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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

After AT&T workers in California and Nevada rejected the sellout deal, the CWA immediately agreed to federal mediation, a blackout on information and a no-strike pledge.

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[TomLeftist]

ATT is real evil, and very mucho into free markets, neoliberalism, privatization. A couple months ago, I went to a local ATT telephone internet office, to pay the 47 dollars bill for the monthly internet services. And the employee of that local ATT store had lots of tooth decays, his teeths in pretty bad shape. Just like the teeths of the great majority of the workers of Walmart, Mcdonalds and other ultra-right wing libertarian anti-free medical care corporations. Many years ago, the state of the teeths, the health of the teeth of people was used as an index to judge the economic social status of a person

via wsws.org

After AT&T workers in California and Nevada rejected the sellout deal, the CWA immediately agreed to federal mediation, a blackout on information and a no-strike pledge.

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

The new three-year master contract must now be approved by the union’s board of directors and then ratified by union members.

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[ckaihatsu]

via socialistproject.ca

As nativist right-wing populism surges across the Global North amidst the exhaustion of social democracy and 'Third Way' liberalism, the United States finds itself at the forefront. Elsewhere, right populist parties have led in the polls, as with the Front National in France and the PVV in the Netherlands, or played key roles in seismic political events, as with UKIP and Brexit. But so far, only in the U.S. has the right populist wave captured a major political party and ridden it to power.

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