LABOR SHORTS #2: Exposing Today's Union Bosses One Skid Mark at a Time

Labor Shorts, Vol. 1, Issue 2

Welcome to Labor Shorts, where we expose today's union bosses one skid mark at a time.

In this week's issue, we bring to you the following briefs...er...shorts:

• Harkin Hopes for EFCA in Fall. Union-mastered Senator Tom Harkin "hopes" for an EFCA vote this fall, reports the Hill. [For more information on the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act go here.]
• Goodbye Norma Rae. EFCA pushers invoke the spirit of the late Cheryl Lee Sutton (aka 'Norma Rae') as a means to draw support of the job killing legislation. What the proponents of no-vote unionization neglect to mention is that the textile plant that 'Norma Rae' helped unionize closed in 2003 [Listen to the NPR report here.]
• Kiddie Indoctrination Part Deux. We've seen the videos of kids eerily singing praises to the President, but those are considered educational anomalies. On the other hand, Michelle Malkin is posting how union indoctrination (including union organizing, complete with the creation of "peer education program about workers’ rights today") is built into the curriculum in the L.A. Unified School District.
• Boeing, Going, Gone? Despite its denial that it has made up its mind about transferring some of it 787 production to its recently union-free South Carolina facility, Boeing is seeking land clearing permits [perhaps to send a signal to its unionized workforce in Washington?].
• A Paper Tiger? The United Steel Workers (formerly the United Steel Workers of America) will learn tonight whether it will continue representation of 900 Virginia paper workers, many of them who are supportive of an independent union formed by former USW local officers.
• Let Them Walk and Carry Signs. Did you know that crossing guards are unionized in the State of Rhode Island? And, did you know the City of Warwick gave the crossing guards lifetime health care and pension benefits? No, really! Well, apparently the mayor of Warwick thought the same thing so he fired all the crossing guards. Problem is, the State Labor Relations Board ordered the city to rehire the crossing guards and pay them the salaries and benefits they would have been paid under the terms of their last contract. [Of course, at taxpayer expense.]
• Union Fundraiser: 'Raids Made Possible Only Through the Support of Members Like You.' The Willamette Reds report that the National Union of Healthcare Workers (the union formerly known as SEIU United Healthcare West) had a successful trip to the AFL-CIO Convention two weeks ago, receiving financial pledges from unions around the country. This will allow the NUHW to continue its fight against the Purple People Eater, otherwise known as the SEIU.
• Speaking of Union Raids... The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is raiding another union's 6,700 members in Suffolk, NY
• Goodyear's Steelworker Contract Saves 1/2 Billion+. The new contract covers 10,300 workers at plants in Akron, Ohio; Buffalo, N.Y.; Danville, Va.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Gadsden, Ala.; Topeka, Kan.; and Union City, Tenn.
• Everyone is NUTS over ACORN! Of all the czars and union stars proliferating the White House these days, Patrick Gaspard, former SEIU and ACORN front man and current White House Director of Political Affairs (think Karl Rove) has caught the attention of RedState.
• Where ACORN gets its Nutty Flavor. Union-Free America has posted where some of ACORN's green money making machine comes from. [Here's a hint: Unions.]
• Between a Rock and a Boulder. When teachers abandon school kids for picket lines, education gets short changed. However, in Boulder, CO, the school superintendent plans to use subs to keep schools open.
• Speaking of Rocky Relations in the Rockies. UFCW-represented grocery workers at Safeway and City Markets have rejected their employers' offers, setting the stage for a strike.
• Teamsters get a Time OUT. After representing workers at El Paso's Time Warner Cable for 30 years, the Teamsters were ousted (130 to 90) by TWC employees.
• ...And Bombs with Plans for FedEX. Teamsters' most recent efforts to run FedEx (into the ground) by busting founder Fred Smith's job into two were shot down by shareholders.
• Take this Shot & Shove it! Hundreds of health care workers in New York protest mandatory pig flu shots: When asked if he's willing to lose his job, Frank Mannino, RN, said, "Absolutely. I will not take it, will not be forced. This is still America." [Um... okay...]
• Don't Do the Crime if You Can't Do the Time. Only in New Jersey. Anthony R. Ambrosio pled guilty to five charges, including embezzlement of an employee benefit program, tax evasion and conspiracy, and now faces up to 25 years in prison and $6 million in fines. One of his charges was paying $20,000 (+/-) to leaders of the Operating Engineers Local 825.

And, that, dear readers, concludes this week's Labor Shorts.

Best wishes for a productive and prosperous week's end.

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"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." -- Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776