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Checkout the New LaborUnionReport.com

2010-07-01T23:34:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder:

All blog posts (as well as news)

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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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

ATTENTION: LABORUNIONREPORT.COM READERS....

2010-06-28T18:36:00.000-04:00

LABORUNIONREPORT.COM is pleased to report that our new website (and blog) is operations.

We will NO LONGER be posting on this site.

Please go to LABORUNIONREPORT.COM for all our latest news & views.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

AFSCME official admits embezzling $180,000 intended for ACORN affiliate

2010-06-26T12:24:00.001-04:00

It's been said that there is no honor among thieves...

An AFSCME official stole $180,000. Big news? Not really. Union corruption in the form of union bosses stealing from their members happens all the time. What is surprising is when union bosses steal from one of their own.

A former union official from Milwaukee has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling about $180,000 of union funds, according to federal court records.
Paula Dorsey, former president of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, withdrew the money from an account between 2004 and 2009 to finance her gambling habit, said Mel Johnson, an assistant U.S. attorney. Dorsey faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, in addition to repayment of the estimated amount stolen.
The money was intended to fund Operation Big Vote, a national initiative to increase minority voter turnout.

More here.

So what is Operation Big Vote? Well, it appears to be one of the nuts from the fallen ACORN tree...

This year alone ACORN has registered 1,315,037 voters.
Although the organization prides itself for its registration efforts, it also has a long history of scandal. In the state of Missouri in 1986, 12 ACORN members were convicted of voter fraud. But that case was not an isolated incident in the state. In December 2004, in St. Louis, six volunteers pleaded guilty of dozens of election law violations for filling out registration cards with names of dead people and other bogus information. Authorities launched an earlier investigation after noticing that among the new voters was longtime St. Louis alderman Albert “Red” Villa, who died in 1990. The volunteers worked for “Operation Big Vote” — a branch of ACORN — in St. Louis.

Like we said...no honor among thieves.

__________________

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

Cross-posted on RedState.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

UPDATED: Machinists stick themselves with rejected contract, lack votes to strike...

2010-06-26T02:43:00.001-04:00

On Friday...

Machinists union members at Spirit AeroSystems are voting today on whether to accept the company's 10-year contract offer.

Of close to 20 Machinists interviewed this morning, most said they were voting to strike.

Read more here.

UPDATE: 2:36 AM, Saturday...

Machinists' union rules stick members with rejected contract...

Machinists union members at Spirit AeroSystems rejected the company's offer of a 10-year contract on Friday, but lacked the votes required for a strike.

As a result, members ratified the contract by default.

Of those voting, 57 percent rejected the contract. Fifty-eight percent voted to strike, falling short of the two-thirds required for a work stoppage.

Read more here.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

BFF: Obama, Blago & SEIU's Stern

2010-06-25T15:53:00.002-04:00

What do you do if you're up to your eyeballs in snot and someone throws a turd at your head? In Andy Sterns' case, he quits the SEIU and becomes a corporate dude. This may be why:

John Harris relays a meeting on Nov. 3, 2008 with himself, two union leaders -- Andy Stern and Tom Balanoff -- and the governor.

In a previous call played to jurors, Harris testified he and Blagojevich understood the two were approaching him on behalf of Obama's camp.

The meeting happened one day before the presidential election and the talk was about the senate seat vacancy the major campaign donors expected would happen the next day.

Reproach? Nah. They're above it.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Teamsters let man's home flood over non-union crane

2010-06-25T10:27:00.001-04:00

They'd rather let a man's home flood than let a non-union operator on to a piece of equipment?

Witnesses said pickets at scene, however, prevented the Gatlin employees from using the crane, saying that only union operators were allowed to run them.

"They gathered around and wouldn't let the guys get to the equipment," said Diane Brzycki, who lives across the street from Milton. "They just stood there in the middle of the road."

A spokesman for Gatlin acknowledged there was a "dispute" Thursday morning but that the company and the union workers settled it. But whatever they agreed upon did not help Milton, whose property to the north of his just-completed house was still under standing water Thursday afternoon.

"They don't give a hoot about what happens to my house; they weren't even going to turn on the pumps," Milton said. "Gatlin came to turn them on, but the Teamsters said no, not without union operators.

"I'm a union person myself, but I wouldn't allow someone's house to get flooded."

More here.

[Ed. note: May their pickets leave splinters in their hands that get infected and fester.]
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

UPDATED! Dastardly union dealmakers dealt out of Dems’ disgusting DISCLOSE Act

2010-06-24T16:20:00.004-04:00

It must pay to have friends in ~~low~~ high places because less than a week after the National Rifle Association sold out Americans' First Amendment rights for its own special deal, union bosses have had their Democratic sock puppets exempt unions from the DISCLOSE Act as well.

A Democratic amendment tucked into campaign finance legislation Wednesday night appears to exempt big labor unions from proposed disclosure requirements.

The change, inserted by Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.), chairman of the committee charged with handling the bill and a key union ally, would also affect other groups funded by members who pay dues of less than $50,000. While the move may satiate liberal Democrats who had become uneasy with an exemption for the National Rifle Association, a union loophole will certainly cause Big Business to cry foul.

[Update] From the Alliance for Worker Freedom:

The DISCLOSE Act marks a stark departure from the traditional treatment of corporations and unions by applying punitive measures to associations in the corporate form, but not to labor unions, even though these groups have traditionally been treated similarly in campaign finance law:
Companies that received federal money during the financial crisis face restrictions on speech, but not unions: General Motors cannot engage in express advocacy, urging voters to support a candidate by name, while the United Auto Workers union can
Corporations, unions, non-profits and 527 groups will be required to report donors who give more than $600 if they engage in express advocacy, -- average union dues, the source of the majority of their funds, in 2004 were $377
Businesses with government contracts worth more than $7 million are not allowed to engage in express advocacy while public sector unions that receive their dues from the taxpayers are exempt from such restrictions
Companies where a foreign entity owns 20 percent or more of a company’s shares are not allowed to engage in express advocacy while international unions are free to tell Americans how to vote

With Democrats throwing the Constitution out to special interests with the highest bid (or the best back-room talents), it is no wonder hard-working Americans no longer have faith in their government.

If special interests were lollipops, Democrats would be lining up to see who could suck the hardest.

__________________

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Obama's Oil Spill: Just get out of the way...

2010-06-24T11:36:00.001-04:00

Yeah, British Petroleum may have caused the gusher, but President Obama and his union-controlled federal bureaucracies now own the disaster:

Governor Riley was in Huntsville Wednesday afternoon updating leaders on the state of our state... namely how we're dealing with the oil spill.

He said he believes Alabama leaders could have stopped the oil from lapping onto our shores, if only they had the tools from the start.

"Can we protect our shores?" Governor Riley asked. "Sure you can, but you can't do it with the situation that you have down there today."

Riley says there are about 20 federal agencies that have veto power, and they all have their hand in the decisions to clean up the spill; that creates gridlock, so nothing gets done.

"If this is going to affect a turtle, you can't do it. If this is going to affect a person's ability to work in hot conditions, you can't do it," Riley mimicked the agency officials.

The Governor says there was a boom in Alabama that would have protected the 25 miles of coastline from the oil, but he says government leaders moved it to Louisiana, saying that state needed it worse. Then, the plan was to put up a snare boom across the beach.

"Sounded like a plan to me until Fish and Wildlife said, 'Nope. You can't do that because it'll catch turtles in the net,'" said Riley.

So, then the plan changed, and 400 workers would be hired to clean the beach.

"Sounded great right up until OSHA said, 'Nope. It's too hot for 'em to work.' So, now they're limited to working no more than 20 minutes out of the hour or a maximum of two hours a day," said Riley.

What is perhaps the world's worst environmental disaster in history can now be laid squarely at this President's feet. He may not have started it, but his government has helped spread it.

Mr. President, please get your bureaucracy out of the way and let real men and women clean up the mess you helped create.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Machinists Postpone Boeing Strike...for now

2010-06-24T10:39:00.000-04:00

It looks like Sunday...

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

CEOs explain why economy still sucks...

2010-06-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, that's not their politically-correct terminology, but it should be...

Despite a slightly more upbeat report, Business Roundtable Chairman Ivan Seidenberg said chief executives still have plenty of angst. They are not sure if the economy will continue to build momentum and are concerned about new congressional proposals to increase taxes and regulations on business, he said.

"There's a lot of caution on the part of CEOs," Seidenberg said after the report was issued Wednesday. "We are not expanding as fast as we expected to at this stage of the recovery."

The day before the report, Seidenberg warned of a "growing disconnect" between business and government that he said are preventing the economy from growing faster and creating more jobs.

Now, wait for the job killers on the Left to complain...

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Is Obama About to Grant Amnesty By Executive Order?

2010-06-23T00:43:00.001-04:00

Rumors are rumors. Then again...

Apparently, this rumor is serious enough that Senators Grassley, Hatch (R-Utah), Vitter (R-La.), Bunning (R-Ky.), Chambliss (R-Ga.), Isakson (R-Ga.), Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Cochran (R-Miss.) sent President Obama a letter.

According to Numbers USA...

Several Senators have learned of a possible plan by the Obama Administration that would provide a mass Amnesty for the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens. Led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), eight Senators addressed a letter to the President asking for answers to questions about a plan that would allow DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide an amnesty if they can't secure enough votes for a bill in the Senate.

Senate Letter to Obama on Amnesty

Ah, just in time for the mid-term elections.

__________________

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

Cross-posted.

NLRB Update: Everyone But Becker

2010-06-22T15:16:00.002-04:00

Senate confirms Pearce and Hayes, sidelines SEIU's Becker.

According to Bloomberg...

The National Labor Relations Board reached its full five-member size for the first time since December 2007 after the U.S. Senate confirmed two of President Barack Obama’s nominees.

Brian Hayes, a Republican Senate aide, was confirmed by the Senate as it approved a package of almost 70 of Obama’s stalled nominees. The Senate also confirmed Mark Pearce, a Democrat Obama appointed to the board in March, for a full term.

However, the one person the Senate appears to have overlooked? The SEIU's Craig "Refuse to Recuse" Becker.

Becker, opposed by Republicans and business groups for his ties to labor unions, wasn’t confirmed by the Senate today. That means he will serve on the board only until the end of 2011, less than the full five-year term.

With Andy Stern opting to reside in Corporate America now, it appears the SEIU may not have as much sway as it did just a few short months ago.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

More on former SEIU boss Andy Stern's golden parachute...

2010-06-22T08:21:00.001-04:00

We posted on former SEIU boss Andy Stern's joining a corporate board of directors yesterday.

Now, Beyond Chron opines...

Not bad enough to cause painful damage to workers who are still paying for his fat compensation package, and too many others who took risks and made sacrifices only to see their organizing or contract campaigns damaged or smashed entirely.

All the while, he’s building his own golden parachute from the burning wreckage he left, polishing up his WH insider portfolio — and then peddling his ass to fat cats and high hats everywhere who must enjoy having a pet labor leader who does tricks upon command — all for the same bastards who are actively destroying the American dream for the working stiffs and huddled masses this punk once claimed to speak for.

For some reason, Andy's switch from union boss to corporate insider isn't sitting too well.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

The Union Protection Racket: Union members need protection...from union bosses

2010-06-21T20:22:00.001-04:00

Remember that piece we posted the other day about the 400lb union boss who stole $300k to blow on hookers and gambling?

Well, the New York Post had a great piece on Saturday that started with this:

Remember why unions were formed in the first place -- to protect workers from being taken advantage of?

Nowadays, the rank-and-file mostly need protection from their own leadership.

The Post article goes on to give a few examples of other corrupt union bosses but it is really only touching the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the iceberg is here.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU's Andy Stern gets a new job as a corporate insider...

2010-06-21T11:12:00.000-04:00

Maybe Andy's sudden resignation from the Service Employees International Union wasn't so sudden after all?...

SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA 6.76, -0.04, -0.59%) , a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to combat bio-warfare pathogens, announced today that Andy Stern, labor leader and prominent advocate for reform, joined SIGA's board of directors. Mr. Stern is the former president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in North America.

[snip]

"Andy is a strong leader and a great addition to our Board of Directors. His insight, experience, and leadership, particularly his understanding of how our federal government works, will complement the skill sets of our existing board members," said Dr. Eric Rose, SIGA's Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Stern has been cited in numerous publications as being one of the most influential leaders on healthcare and a frequent White House visitor. In 2010, Stern was named a Presidential appointee to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

Though it does appear, having the dude who holds the keys to the White House may benefit SIGA rather nicely:

Shares of SIGA Technologies have approached the eight dollar level of late, rebounding nicely from the low of under five dollars about six months ago. The SIGA stock reached a high of over ten bucks last December in anticipation of a possible awarding of a BARDA contract for the ST-246 smallpox vaccine. The contract did not pan out at the time, although some modifications to the application process in the interest of creating competition were announced around that time.

A $2.8 million contract was awarded to Siga by the Department of Defense in early March, although this one was for ST-669, a broad-spectrum anti-viral.

That's nothing in comparison to the big BARDA contract that investors of the company are waiting for, but it does have the potential to rake in up to ten million dollars for SIGA when it's all said and done.

Then, too it helps that SIGA's Eric Rose was appears to have been an Obama donor and that SIGA seems to be doing well sucking off of the government teat.

Welcome to your new home, Andy. We're sure we'll be paying for your avarice somehow.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Union v. Union: IBEW calls out Cannibalistic Carpenters in St. Louis

2010-06-19T17:05:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, cannibals get into fights over the same piece of meat.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is launching a sweeping campaign to convince St. Louis Carpenters Local 57 to stop performing electrical work that undercuts union standards of quality, safety and wages.

Billboards have been mounted in several locations, and the message can be seen and heard in radio and print ads this week. A unity rally June 15 drew more than 1,000 members from several craft unions to hear national leaders of the IBEW and other trades.

We posted on this fight back in April.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

400 lb. union boss cops to blowing $300,000 on hookers and gambling

2010-06-17T23:19:00.004-04:00

Courtesy of the New York Daily News comes this gross little story of union corruption:

A roly-poly ripoff artist with a taste for hookers and gambling pleaded guilty Wednesday to squandering nearly $300,000 in looted union funds.

[snip]

The 400-pound married father of a young son cavorted with prostitutes in Manhattan, the Bronx and a notorious Queens motel offering specially themed rooms and short-stay rates.

"They were $400 to $500 [per date]," Port Authority Deputy Inspector General Michael Nestor told the Daily News about the union-subsidized trysts.

If you have the stomach for it, there's more here.

[Editor's note: We opted not to include pictures.]
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

NLRB's two-member rulings illegal, says SCOTUS

2010-06-17T22:47:00.001-04:00

This is all you really need to know...

Hundreds of recent federal rulings in disputes between unions and employers could be reopened after the Supreme Court said on Thursday that it was illegal for the National Labor Relations Board to decide the cases with only two sitting members.

But for those of you that like to read the weighter legal stuff, here's the SCOTUS decision (in PDF).

Of course, the AFL-CIO front group American Rights at Work is playing the blame game, as usual.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SHOCK! The Teamsters lied to us, say striking drivers...

2010-06-17T22:33:00.000-04:00

Ripped from the headlines:

Teamsters members growing wary of strike

SOME UNION TRUCK DRIVERS SAY THEY WERE MISLED ABOUT CONTRACT

Several members of a Gary-based union have contacted The Times in recent days over concerns that the terms of a labor agreement proposed by employers was misrepresented, and they question why they are on strike.

More than 300 truck drivers with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 142 went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday against 28 contractors after voting down a proposed new two-year contract. In a move of solidarity, union members declined to cross picket lines of certain contractors after Portage-based Ironworkers Local 395 went on strike June 1.

[snip]

One union driver, who declined to be identified fearing retaliation, said a strike vote was taken as early as March 21 at a union meeting. He said Teamsters Local 142 President Mitch Sawochka told members a group of highway contractors was trying to break up the union by separating the people doing highway work from people who work at steel mills and refineries. He said he also was baffled about why a vote was being taken because the contract didn't expire until two months later and that likely a final proposal hadn't been presented to the union.

"He told us they were out to screw us," the driver said. "I don't think he went into negotiations with good faith as these people were led to believe."

Unfortunately, last year, the National Labor Relations Board decided that it's okay for unions to lie to their members and it's not likely, with unions now controlling the NLRB, the Board will reverse its position any time soon.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Union-Backed Democrat Urges an End to Right to Work States

2010-06-17T00:14:00.002-04:00

Elections have consequences.

In 28 states across the U.S., unionized workers can be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. If workers refuse to pay the union, the union can order them to be fired from their jobs.

However, since 1947, the so-called Taft-Hartley Amendments to the National Labor Relations Act (passed over Pres. Harry Truman's veto) enabled state legislatures to enact "Right-to-Work" laws which outlaw forced unionism.

It's not the first time he's pushed it. In 2008, he actually introduced a bill that went nowhere. However, this time union-~~bought~~ backed Democrat Congressman Brad Sherman's effort to end Right-to-Work laws must be take a little more seriously.

On Monday, Rep. Sherman sent a letter to colleagues encouraging them to join his efforts to force workers to pay union dues by ending Right-to-Work laws.

BradShermanRTW

With nearly $700,000 pumped into his campaign coffers over his career by Big Labor (12 out of his top 20 contributors are unions), there's little wonder why the California Congressman would want to reward his backers. After all, California, (with all its fiscal issues) owes a lot to its unions.

Note: California is not a right to work state but its neighbors Arizona and Nevada are.

Download:
Contributor	Total	Indivs	PACs
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$75,000	$0	$75,000
American Assn for Justice	$73,000	$0	$73,000
Credit Union National Assn	$71,819	$6,250	$65,569
Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union	$71,500	$0	$71,500
Teamsters Union	$68,000	$0	$68,000
National Assn of Realtors	$67,750	$1,000	$66,750
Carpenters & Joiners Union	$67,500	$0	$67,500
United Auto Workers	$66,000	$0	$66,000
American Institute of CPAs	$62,500	$0	$62,500
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees	$59,000	$0	$59,000
Operating Engineers Union	$58,000	$0	$58,000
Laborers Union	$55,000	$0	$55,000
United Food & Commercial Workers Union	$52,500	$0	$52,500
Time Warner	$51,400	$38,900	$12,500
Specialty Merchandise Corp	$48,200	$48,200	$0
American Federation of Teachers	$44,031	$0	$44,031
Grobstein, Horwath & Co	$43,533	$43,533	$0
Deloitte & Touche	$41,750	$750	$41,000
National Education Assn	$40,000	$0	$40,000
Service Employees International Union	$37,200	$0	$37,200

If Sherman and his colleagues succeed in getting a bill passed that ends workers' right to work, President Obama would likely sign it and millions of Americans could be forced to pay a union or be fired if they become unionized.

This is why....

Elections have consequences

Get out and vote in November.

hat-tip: Alliance for Worker Freedom
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Teamsters win right to mow lawns...

2010-06-16T01:21:00.000-04:00

The Teamsters won a round:

Racine County's use of inmates to mow state highway medians and shoulders violated 2009 labor agreements, an arbitrator has decided.

Racine County has been using jail inmates for the last year to mow state highway medians, and that upset union members who filed a grievance.

An arbitrator decision, publicly released Tuesday, said Racine County did violate 2009 labor agreements by using inmates to mow, but the arbitrator's decision did not directly say the county needed to stop using inmates to mow.

Ssssh! Don't tell the arbitrator about the goats...
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Desperate Times for Desperate Dems

2010-06-15T23:30:00.002-04:00

You know when time are bad for ~~socialists~~ Democrats when one of their own becomes a ~~capitalist~~ lobbyist for a corporation fighting the SEIU*...

Former House Dem leader Gephardt hired as lobbyist by firm battling SEIU

Former House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) has been hired to lobby for a major food-services company that has faced criticism from a powerful union

Gephardt and Tom O’Donnell, his former chief of staff, have registered to lobby on “labor/management related matters” by Sodexo, according to lobbying disclosure records.

The French-owned company has been embroiled in a battle with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) over a labor organizing campaign, and Gephardt is known for his labor ties.

[snip]

The company has also hired Jeff Trammell, a former senior adviser to ex-Vice President Al Gore, to lobby for the firm.

...and its not Gephardt's first time working for corporations either...

So what does a labor union supporter and former 14-term congressman do after abandoning all hope of becoming president? Does he hook up with a union and use his connections to further the cause? Does he put his Northwestern University bachelor’s degree and University of Michigan law degree to use by doing public interest work? Does he teach, write books and go on the lecture circuit, extolling the virtues of America’s workers?

No. He turns his back on what he formerly stood for and goes for the easy money. He places his snout in the trough right next to the other guys. Gephardt becomes a lobbyist. Not only a lobbyist, but a lobbyist for Goldman Sachs

This former critic of Wall Street is now a booster of Wall Street. With his knowledge and connections, there were a dozen ways Gephardt could have helped the labor movement. He could have made a difference. Instead, by defecting, he defiled his legacy and further fanned the flames of cynicism.

Yo, Dick! Money talks, bulls**t walks!

[Now we know how much your "service" in Washington meant to you!]

...can't...stop...laughing...

__________________

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

[* Emphasis added throughout.]

No-Vote Unionization: Union bosses and Dems want it resurrected...

2010-06-15T12:32:00.001-04:00

With the union-controlled National Labor Relations Board doing labor's bidding these days, one would think union bosses and their Democrat minions would forget about pushing the job-destroying and hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act. But apparently that is not the case.

As the U~~nion of Ailing Workplaces~~ United Auto Workers (UAW) meets in Detroit this week to install a new king (Bob King, that is), they had a visit from the AFL-CIO's top boss, Richard "the Fifth" Trumka, who, among other comments seemed to be calling up the spirits of EFCA:

Trumka also called on UAW members to intensify phone calls, letter writing and other lobbying of their congressional representatives and senators to pass the Employee Free Choice Act....

"We won't quit until the EFCA becomes the law of the land and everyone who wants a union can have a union," Trumka said.

Not to be outdone by Trumka's remarks, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) seemed rather frustrated by Democrats current impotence on EFCA:

“I do not understand it. … We control the White House. We control the Senate. We control the House of Representatives," Lewis said. “Let's pass it and pass it now.”

No matter how bad the idea, no matter how many jobs it will destroy and no matter how many freedoms it takes away, unions and their Democrat minions will stop at nothing at seeing a unionized America.

Remember GOTV on NOVEMBER 2nd. Your right to vote depends on it.
__________________

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

On UAW's Gettlefinger: It doesn't get any more surreal.

2010-06-14T01:35:00.003-04:00

This week, the ~~United Against Work~~ United Auto Workers (UAW) is holding its 35th constitutional convention in Detroit this week, one protester was handcuffed (actually he is a UAW retiree and convention delegate) and the UAW's new king (Bob King, that is) is being challenged by a dissident member.

Meanwhile, the UAW's retiring boss, Ron Gettlefinger (the man who brought you Government Motors), in an interview with reporters, offered his rather surrealistic views on worker rights.

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger gave a preview Sunday of part of his Monday farewell speech at the union's constitutional convention, telling reporters that he would vigorously defend the right of workers to organize.

Okay. So far, so good. But here's where he goes all screwy:

Gettelfinger questioned why it is all right for groups like the National Association of Manufacturers to have members, but businesses try to trample the rights of individual employees to form unions and collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions.

What Gettlefinger is doing in this one statement is deploying at least two distinct propaganda techniques, namely transfer and The Big Lie.

For decades, unions have used (as an argument for unionization) the transfer meme that there's really no difference between businesses belonging to associations like the National Association of Manufacturers or Chambers of Commerce versus workers belonging to labor unions.

Unfortunately, there are many differences between business associations and unions. Here are just a few:

Businesses can quit their associations whenever they want, union workers cannot. In fact, trying to get a union out of the workplace is extremely difficult for workers.
Businesses can stop paying money to their associations any time they like and the worst that would happen to them is they get kicked out. If a unionized worker quits paying a union, in 28 states, the union can have him fired.
Businesses who break an association's rules can get kicked out, but a union worker who breaks a union's rules can be placed on trial by the union and fined money.
Business associations cannot cause their members to go out on strike, unions can.
Business associations cannot cause their members to lose their jobs, unions can.
Business associations cannot cause their member companies to outsource jobs, unions can.
Business associations cannot cause the government to nationalize companies, ~~unions have~~ the UAW has.

The second propaganda technique Gettlefinger uses is the Big Lie. In fact, not only does he use it once in his statement but twice.

First, Gettlefinger alleges that businesses try "to trample the rights of individual employees..." Despite that this is an overly broad generality (there are over four million employers in the U.S.), the fact of the matter is, unions win roughly 68% of all NLRB elections. This means that, if Gettlefinger's statement was true, employers are doing a pretty poor job at trampling the rights of workers.

The second point Gettlefinger makes in the same sentence is another union myth: "...individual employees to form unions and collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions." Unions like the UAW are no longer "formed" by workers, they are legal entities already established and, more importantly, when workers belong to a third-party union like the UAW, the union is the members sole and exclusive bargaining representative for the purpose of collective bargaining. In other words, the workers don't do the bargaining, the union does. Moreover, according to the UAW's own union constitution, in order for any UAW contract to be approved, the UAW must approve it (and the union has veto power as well).

What is even more hypocritical of Gettlefinger's portrayal of unions is the fact that his successor, Bob King, who was chosen by the UAW leaders last year, is not even going to be voted on by UAW members but will be installed this week by the convention delegates.

For more than 60 years, the UAW's top leadership has blocked attempts to permit union members to vote directly for the union presidency. Rather, as the UAW's new designated nominee, King has the support of the union executive board, which has picked the UAW presidents since the late 1940s through series of closed caucuses.

It's a good thing Ron Gettlefinger is retiring because the truth just can't be stretched any more than it has.

Goodbye, Ron. It's been surreal.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Spirit Airlines Crippled by Pilots Strike

2010-06-13T20:15:00.002-04:00

Apparently, Spirit Airlines' pilots don't realize there's a recession going on and airlines are struggling to stay solvent.

On Saturday, ALPA-represented pilots grounded the airline after rejecting a contract that would have raised their pay 30% over five years, increased the match to their retirement plan and provided them four days off between every trip.

Presumably, it wasn't good enough.

More here:
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Is Obama’s NLRB Looking to Suppress Worker Votes in Union Elections?

2010-06-13T01:39:00.000-04:00

As President Obama's union-controlled National Labor Relations Board continues on its quest to help unions do all they can to unionize America's workers, a hint of their newest attempt may come in the form of a request for information (RFI) through the federal government's procurement website.

For 75 years, when a union seeks to unionize a company, the NLRB's primary method for determining whether a majority of workers wish to be unionized is through a secret-ballot election that includes a paper ballot and private, portable NLRB voting booth. More importantly, except in extraordinary cases where employees are scattered across geographic areas, these elections are almost always done on an employer's premises and on working time.

Why are they done on an employer's premises? The reason is simple. Historically, the NLRB has viewed making the election process available to all the affected workers is preferable than having a minority of employees decide the fate of all affected employees.

Note: NLRB elections are decided by a simple majority vote. In order for a union to win, it needs 50% + 1 of those people who actually vote. For example, if there are 100 workers in a voting unit and all 100 vote, a union needs 51 votes in order to win the right to represent all 100. However, if only five people vote and 95 (for whatever reason) do not vote, if three out of five workers vote to unionize, all 100 workers are unionized.

As they are in politics, unions are effective in getting out the vote in union elections. As a result, unions win approximately 68% of all elections held this way. However, when union elections are held in the workplace, there is also a greater likelihood for all affected workers to participate, including those that do not want the union. And that is something the union-controlled NLRB appears to want to change.

According to the NLRB's RFI, the agency is seeking information for electronic voting for...

...the acquisition of electronic voting services to support conducting secret-ballot elections to determine representation issues. Specifically, the Agency requires a proven solution that supports mail, telephone, web-based and/or on-site electronic voting...

...the Agency specifically requests information, to the extent available, relating to what safeguards, if any, could be implemented to ensure that votes cast remotely were free from distractions or other interferences, including undue intimidation or coercion.

In other words, it appears the union-controlled NLRB is about to move a process that has primarily taken place in the workplace (and has worked well) out into the streets.

And the agency is closing the RFI quickly—June 29th—which indicates it is going down that path, without much time for there to be an opposition mounted.

As one of the more common union-organizing ploys is telling workers "if you don't want the union, don't vote" (a means of tricking "NO union" voters from voting), the NLRB's push toward off-site, electronic voting appears as a willingness to disenfranchise (read: suppression) workers who oppose unionization.

Equally important is the ability for unions to further pressure workers into voting for the union outside the workplace. As the law firm of Ford & Harrison notes:

While a shift away from the on-site, secret-ballot election makes little sense with respect to the NLRB representation election process, the potential for such a shift does create great concern for employers and employees alike. The primary goal of the on-site, secret-ballot election is to ensure the presence of "laboratory conditions" in the election process – to ensure that the voters are not subject to outside influences at the time immediately leading up to, during, and immediately following the casting of the ballot. If the NLRB eliminates the on-site aspect of the secret-ballot election, the NLRB is also eliminating any guarantee that voters will not be subject to coercion, intimidation, or other outside influences as they cast their ballots. [Emphasis added.]

While the union-controlled NLRB won't publicly admit its RFI and the implementation of off-site voting is designed to better aid unions by suppressing votes that may be against unionizing, the NLRB's recent actions leave little question.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

NYC Bus Drivers Don’t Take Spit

2010-06-12T09:19:00.000-04:00

New York City. You either love it or hate it. It's a big city. It's tough. It never sleeps.

Like their city, New Yorkers are hip, they're trendy and, all too often, they can be rather rude and rudeness...well, you know...rudeness can sometimes lead to bad behavior.

The Transport Workers' Union, which represents New York City's bus drivers has negotiated a unique benefit for its members who encounter particularly rude riders, especially those passengers prone to hocking loogies:

A bizarre policy has allowed city bus drivers to land an average of two months paid time off -- with one staying at home for more than half a year -- every time a rider spits on them.

The outrageous arrangement comes courtesy of TWU Local 100's strong union contract and the willingness of MTA officials to categorize spitting incidents as "assaults" -- even though the state penal code doesn't.

Of the 153 bus drivers who took time off because of assaults last year, 51 -- one-third -- did so solely because a disgusting rider decided to spew his frustrations, MTA officials said at a committee hearing yesterday.

And they averaged a whopping 64 days of paid time off for each incident, the officials said.

The number of days off ranged from a single mental-health day for some drivers to the 191-day debacle, the agency said.

[snip]

When an MTA bus driver reports a spitting incident, an agency team responds to the scene with a cleanup kit.

Some drivers just continue on their way afterward, and some are taken off in ambulances if there's fear of a health risk, Smith said.

Drivers need to get a note from their family doctor to get the free days -- and there isn't a limit to how much "assault time" they can take.

Many claim to have posttraumatic stress disorder. [Emphasis added.]

Despite an exhaustive search, there's no information available for what happens when a driver encounters pigeon poop.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Unionizing Doctors: SEIU already reaping rewards at having Craig Becker at the NLRB

2010-06-11T14:44:00.001-04:00

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is already reaping the rewards of having its Associate General Counsel Craig Becker sitting on the union-controlled National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

On June 3rd, the union-controlled NLRB issued a 2-1 decision denying a request for review (a form of appeal) by St. Barnabas Hospital regarding the unionization of its resident physicians. The two board members were former-Teamster attorney (and current NLRB chairman) Wilma Liebman and SEIU's former associate general counsel Craig Becker. The dissenter was the last remaining GOP appointee Peter Schaumber (whose term expires in August).

Legitimate and unanswered questions still remain about why the SEIU's Becker refuses to recuse himself on cases involving the SEIU, but the fact is, the SEIU's presence on the labor board is already reaping rewards for the purple behemoth.

Resident physicians at St. Barnabas Hospital voted overwhelmingly to form a union after a two-year fight. The National Labor Relations Board today announced a 119 to 2 vote in favor of the residents and interns of joining the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare as their exclusive bargaining agent.

“St. Barnabas's frontline caregivers haven't had the voice they need to advocate for a better, safer hospital for themselves and the Bronx community,” said Eric Scherzer, Executive Director of CIR, in a statement. “With today's vote, they'll be able to work cooperatively with management to achieve their goals.”

But the hospital immediately said it may appeal an NLRB decision that allowed the vote to be counted.

A St. Barnabas spokesman also noted that just 121 of the 280 eligible residents chose to vote, but the union says that total is misleading. A total of 168 votes were cast; St. Barnabas challenged 47 of them because they belonged to residents leaving at the end of the month. CIR agreed to let the remaining 121 votes be counted first, while the the remaining challenged ballots would only be opened if the outcome was in question.

While the hospital is appealing the NLRB's refusal to review its case, the NLRB's current position (unless overturned by the courts) enables the SEIU (and other unions) to unionize resident physicians across the nation, adding tens of thousands of members (and millions of dollars) to the SEIU's rolls and treasury.

You didn't really think the SEIU pushed for nationalized health care for altruistic purposes, did you?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Will unions push Boeing to the brink?

2010-06-11T09:03:00.004-04:00

Unemployment: 9.7%

Foreclosures: Up 40%

Union pushing a company to the brink? Priceless.

After enduring a month-long strike in Long Beach, California, Boeing has another possible strike looming in St. Louis.

This time the Machinists' are balking at this offer:

Key features of the contract offer to approximately 2,500 represented St. Louis-area employees include:
-- $5,000 lump sum payment in year 1 of the agreement
-- 3 percent general wage increases in years 2, 3, and 4, and an additional 3 percent in the remaining seven months of the contract
-- Basic retirement benefit increased to $81/month per year of benefit service effective Sept. 1, 2010; a $11 (15.7 percent) improvement from $70 today
-- Excellent health care benefits at a moderate cost to employees
Current health care coverage and employee contributions continue through Dec. 31, 2013
-- Continued company savings plan match of 50 percent of the first 6 percent contributed (increases match for employees hired after Dec. 31, 2004, from 50 percent of first $70/week to 50 percent of first 8 percent). Employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2012, will also receive a 4 percent automatic company contribution to their Voluntary Investment Plan, vested immediately, in lieu of participation in the Employee Retirement Income Plan – Hourly East.

Read the rest here:

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

THOSE D*MN UNIONS: Do-nothing teachers' union threatens Marine's job

2010-06-10T21:15:00.003-04:00

It is a question of principle.

Apparently, today's union bosses believe that ~~service~~ payment to the union is more important than one's service to his country. As a result, they would rather make an example of a retired marine by having him fired for not paying union dues than to hear his case as to why he should not be forced to pay them.

A retired U.S. Marine who runs a Massachusetts high school's ROTC program says he faces termination if he doesn't pay a $500 union fee by next week, a levy he refuses to pay because he already receives medical and dental benefits from the military.

Maj. Stephen Godin, senior naval science instructor at the Naval Junior ROTC Unit at North High School in Worcester, Mass., told FoxNews.com he has been teaching for the Educational Association for Worcester for 15 years -- including 14 at North High School -- without having to join the union or pay an "agency fee" toward the cost of collective bargaining.

"I just want to save my job here," the 58-year-old father of two said. "I've been doing this for 15 years. Nobody has ever told me to join the union or be terminated."

Unfortunately, the teachers' union may have more standing in they eyes of the law, since Mr. Godin lives in Massachusetts, one of 28 states where it is legal to force workers to pay the union or the union can have them fired.

Godin, who earns roughly $75,000 a year, said he has asked for arbitration no fewer than five times, but has not received a response from the teacher's union. He said he received a letter last month from Worcester Public School officials indicating he will be fired on June 15 if he fails to pay the agency fee.

"It's really nothing," Godin said of the amount. "It's the principal [sic] of the matter. I think they're trying to extort money from me. They do nothing for me."

In this case, while they may have the legal right to have Major Godin fired, on principle*, the teachers' union is just plain WRONG.. To think, this retired marine fought for freedom for his country and his fellow Americans--some of whom are those very teachers' union bosses who are now trying to have him fired.

[* Then again, like morals, principles seem to be what are lacking with so many of today's union bosses.]

Read the rest of Major Godin's story here.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

12,000 Nurses Abandon Patients...for "Patient Safety?"

2010-06-10T17:26:00.002-04:00

While claiming they're doing it for their patients, 2,000 RNs walked out on their patients today in protest of...everything.

In what may be the largest ever strike of its kind, 12,000 Twin Cities nurses have walked off the job at 14 area hospitals in a 24-hour strike over pay, pensions and staffing ratios. Outside Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis, they greeted the day with a rendition of "Amazing Grace."

The hospitals have shipped in 2,800 replacement nurses, as well as extra doctors, nurse practitioners and other health care delivery pros to try and cover for the walkout, and says that ERs and birthing centers won't be affected by the strike.Estimated cost to the hospitals: $4.5 million.

Word has it that Florence Nightingale opted to cross the picket line to care for the abandoned patients..
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Why the Arkansas Runoff is Important: Union bosses delivered a $10 million message to Democrats

2010-06-10T01:35:00.001-04:00

Union bosses suffered a seeming setback on Tuesday as Arkansas voters rejected the union attempt to make an example out of Blanche Lincoln. But the setback isn't what it seems.

The Black Sheep Survives the Slaughterhouse

From the beginning, Tuesday's Arkansas Showdown was really more about the national Democratic Party and who owns it than it was about Blanche Lincoln. Blanche Lincoln was merely the ~~black sheep~~ sacrificial lamb who didn't toe the line for union bosses and, therefore, whose throat needed to be slit to ensure that all the other Democratic sheep would fall back into line.

It was a union plan hatched long before Blanche bucked the union bosses. In fact, in 2008, the SEIU announced that it had set aside $10 million of its members' money to "unelect" politicians who did not toe the labor line. Blanche Lincoln was the first major test case.

While the effort failed in Arkansas, the message to the rest of the Democratic establishment is simple and clear:

We bought you. We own you. You buck us. We destroy you.

Unions work to tighten their noose on Democrats' necks.
Notwithstanding the fact that neither the American people nor the media would stand for a corporation or group of corporations engaging in such blatant extorionate tactics, union bosses used their members' money to make an example of Blanche Lincoln.

Although it failed in Arkansas, the fact is Arkansas is a Right-to-Work state and has a low number of union members compared to Forced Unionization states should not be ignored. The fact that unions wasted of $10 million of members' money to send a message to all Democrats should also not be ignored.

Union bosses believe that, since they bought the Democratic Party, they own it and, therefore, Democrat politicians must obey their union masters or face the assault that Blanche Lincoln staved off.

The Faux-Family Feud
While the media is playing up the faux-rift between the White House and union bosses, the real story is that Labor is not licking its wounds.

Labor leaders were incensed by an undisclosed White House official’s assertion to POLITICO Tuesday night that the unions’ support of Halter amounted to “flushing $10 million” of their members’ money down the toilet on “a pointless exercise.”

“If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November,” the official said.

To the contrary, union bosses are pleased with the fact that they almost took Lincoln down:

...[U]nion leaders insisted Wednesday that forcing Lincoln into a runoff and coming within a few thousand votes of unseating her had achieved their goal — getting other wayward Democrats to think twice before crossing labor.

"If working families were able to accomplish this in Arkansas, imagine what they can achieve in other states," said AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.

Union officials were unified in praising the outcome as a strong warning to Democratic incumbents like Lincoln who have taken labor's money and utterly defied them when it comes to votes. They are tired of the argument that Republicans would be even worse, so labor should tolerate the lesser of two evils.

"It's been well worth it," said American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees president Gerald McEntee. "We've gotten more publicity and been talked about in terms of powerful labor more than I've heard in the last 20 years."

While Blanche Lincoln survived the unions and will likely fall in November, the union bosses succeeded in sending the message to the rest of the Democrat politicians who might be considering having a view independent of union bosses: Don't even think about it.

For those that do not want to fall under the jackboots of today's union bosses, the message is also clear:

In order to overcome the assault that unions are going to engage in leading up to November, Americans will need to be better organized, more strongly motivated, and, most important, they need to get out and vote.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU's Becker Wrongly Splits Hairs on Recusing Himself on SEIU's cases at NLRB

2010-06-09T23:44:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, we pointed out SEIU-attorney-turned-NLRB-member Craig Becker's seeming violation of his ethics pledge by ruling on a case involving the SEIU, in breach of the two year moratorium.

A mere five days later, in another case (ironically involving the SEIU again), Becker takes the chance to address his critics with thumb planted firmly on nose, stating that the reason he is (and, presumably, will continue) ruling on cases involving the SEIU is because SEIU locals are different from the SEIU international union.

...the Moving Parties ask that I recuse myself on the grounds that local labor organizations affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are parties to the cases. Prior to the commencement of my service on the Board, I was employed by and served as counsel to the SEIU. I resigned that position and ceased all such representation effective April 4, 2010, prior to being sworn in as a Member of the Board. Pursuant to the President’s Executive Order and Title 5 of the Code, I have pledged to recuse myself from all cases to which SEIU is a party for a period of 2 years subsequent to April 5, 2010. That pledge, however, does not require me to recuse myself from all cases in which local unions affiliated with the SEIU are parties.

SEIU is a separate and distinct legal entity from the many local labor organizations affiliated with SEIU. The courts have clearly distinguished local unions as autonomous entities separate and apart from international unions with which they are affiliated. [Emphasis added.]

A splitting of the hairs Absolutely.

Moreover, it's a faulty argument. The SEIU has control over its locals and for Craig Becker to argue that they are separate and distinct is like stating that a parent has no responsibility for its child.

While it is true that the Service Employees International Union is a separate legal entity from its local unions, the international is, in fact the parent of those locals.

More importantly, the SEIU's own union constitution (in PDF) seems to contradict Mr. Becker's argument:

This organization shall be known as the Service Employees International Union, affiliated with Change to Win and the Canadian Labour Congress, and shall consist of an unlimited number of Local Unions chartered by it, and the membership thereof, and such affiliated bodies as may be established from time to time. [Article I, p. 3]

It appears there's not much distinction. Then, of course, there this:

Article III

JURISDICTION AND MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. The International Union shall be composed of and have jurisdiction over its affiliated bodies and all Local Unions composed of working men and women who are employed or engaged in any phase of private, nonprofit or public employment... [Article III, p. 4]

...and this...

The International President is empowered to construe the jurisdiction above defined to embrace all classifications of workers within any establishment anywhere in the world.

Section 2(a). The International Union shall have jurisdiction over the Local Unions and their members and over all affiliated bodies.

and this [note the term with the approval of]:...

(c). With the approval of the International Union, Local Unions may establish different categories of membership and rates of dues for persons represented and not represented by the Local Union for collective bargaining purposes including, but not limited to, life members, retired members and associate members.

...and this certainly appears that the SEIU International President can "require and direct" local unions...

(f). Consistent with the programs and policies adopted by the SEIU Convention delegates, the International President shall be empowered to negotiate and enter into national, regional, or areawide collective bargaining agreements, including companywide or multi-employer agreements, and to coordinate activities toward this end in consultation with the Local Unions involved, and is authorized to require and direct coordinated bargaining among Local Unions. [Article VIII, p. 13]

...or this...

(h). The International President shall have authority to interpret this Constitution and Bylaws and decide on all points of law submitted to him or her by Local Unions or the membership thereof, or by affiliated bodies, subject to appeal to the International Executive Board, and the next Convention. [Article VIII, p. 14]

...and this...

Section 2. Any member or officer of a Local Union aggrieved by any action of his or her Local Union or affiliated body not covered by the provisions of Article XVII of this Constitution (including determinations of election protests) may petition the International President within 15 days after the act complained of, or may petition the International Executive Board, within 15 days after the action of the International President thereon, to review the action of the Local Union or affiliated body. [Article VIII, p. 14]

...or this...

Section 4. The International President shall sign all charters and other official documents of this International Union; shall have the authority to direct an examination of the books and records of any Local Union or affiliated body;... [Article VIII, p. 14]

...and, of course, this...

Section 7(a). Whenever the International President has reason to believe that, in order to protect the interests of the membership, it is necessary to appoint a Trustee for the purpose of correcting corruption or financial malpractice, assuring the performance of collective bargaining agreements or other duties of a bargaining representative, restoring democratic procedures, or otherwise carrying out the legitimate objects of this International Union, he or she may appoint such Trustee to take charge and control of the affairs of a Local Union or of an affiliated body and such appointment shall have the effect of removing the officers of the Local Union or affiliated body. [Article VIII, p. 15]

...and the Trustees powers over a local?

(b). The Trustee shall be authorized and empowered to take full charge of the affairs of the Local Union or affiliated body and its related benefit funds, to remove any of its employees, agents and/or trustees of any funds selected by the Local Union or affiliated body and appoint such agents, employees or fund trustees during his or her trusteeship, and to take such other action as in his or her judgment is necessary for the preservation of the Local Union or affiliated body and for the protection of the interests of the membership.

Sounds like the SEIU is in charge of its locals, doesn't it?

Section 4. No Local Union shall have any right to pay any bills before it pays its full obligation to the International Union each month. [Article XIII, p. 24]

And, of course, the SEIU international constitution "governs" its locals...

Section 3. The Constitution and Bylaws of all Local Unions and affiliated bodies and amendments thereto must be submitted to the International Union and be approved before they become valid; provided, however, that notwithstanding such approval, the Constitution and Bylaws of all Local Unions and affiliated bodies shall at all times be subordinate to the Constitution and Bylaws of the International Union as it may be amended from time to time .... Regardless of approval, if any conflict should arise between the Constitution and Bylaws of a Local Union and affiliated bodies or any amendments thereto, and the Constitution and Bylaws of the International Union as it may be amended from time to time, the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws of the International Union shall govern. [Article XV, p. 27]

So, while Mr. Becker may try to argue that the SEIU is different from its local unions, the truth is the SEIU exercise a lot of power over its locals, making the SEIU the parent to its children.

Either way, it's the same house!

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Is the SEIU using racist stereotypes in Arizona travel hotline parody?

2010-06-08T09:22:00.000-04:00

Last week, we called attention to the SEIU's new "travel hotline" advising travelers and its seemingly racist undertones.

Now, Fox News' Megyn Kelly takes the purple people eater to task:

Given the SEIU's recent racial play in the Arkansas runoff, it appears there is a troubling pattern emerging out of the house that Andy Stern built.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

He almost certainly broke his ethics pledge, but did the SEIU's Craig Becker break the LAW?

2010-06-07T20:04:00.003-04:00

It's not like we're shocked (is anything involving unions really shocking anymore?)....

Still, it is pretty blatant for the SEIU's former assistant general counsel, Craig Becker, who is now sitting on the National Labor Relations Board to be issuing decisions on behalf of the SEIU. Especially when Becker seems to be in clear breach of his signed ethics pledge where he pledged:

I will not for a period of two years from the date of my appointment participate in any particular matter involving specific parties that is directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts.

So, after reading the above pledges (and presuming that it his signature on the pledge), it might be hard for him to explain this:

St. Barnabas Hospital and Committee of Interns and Residents, Local 1957, SEIU, Petitioner. Case 2–RC–23356

June 3, 2010

ORDER DENYING REVIEW

BY CHAIRMAN LIEBMAN AND MEMBERS SCHAUMBER AND BECKER

The National Labor Relations Board, by a three member panel, has carefully considered the Employer’s request for review of the Regional Director’s Decision and Direction of Election. The Regional Director directed an election among the Employer’s house staff. The Employer asserts, among other reasons, that the Regional Director should have considered the applicability of Brown University, 342 NLRB 483 (2004). We deny review.

Are you shocked? If so, why?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

The Mother of ALL Union Bailouts: $165 Billion (or more) for union pensions

2010-06-07T11:42:00.003-04:00

By comparison, the bailout of the United Auto Workers and its corporate cohorts ~~Government~~ General Motors and Chrysler may be "chump change," only costing American taxpayers around $100 to $130 billion.

Now, however, Democrats are lining up to soak taxpayers with another union bailout, to the tune of $165 billion and possibly much more.

A Democratic senator is introducing legislation for a bailout of troubled union pension funds. If passed, the bill could put another $165 billion in liabilities on the shoulders of American taxpayers.

The bill, which would put the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation behind struggling pensions for union workers, is being introduced by Senator Bob Casey, (D-Pa.), who says it will save jobs and help people.

As FOX Business Network’s Gerri Willis reported Monday, these pensions are in bad shape; as of 2006, well before the market dropped and recession began, only 6% of these funds were doing well.

Although right now taxpayers could possibly be on the hook for $165 billion, the liability could essentially be unlimited because these pensions have to be paid out until the workers die.

Union multi-employer pension funds are sinking faster than the Titanic and have been for years. But the Wall Street meltdown is not the main culprit, unions are.

Many of the union pensions that Congress is talking about bailing out are hemorrhaging cash because so many unionized companies have been driven out of business, as has been the case in the unionized trucking industry.

Although Democrats are doing all they can to prop up unions these days (see Weekend at Bernie's for reference), American taxpayers should not be put on the hook for another union bailout, be it for $1 or $165 billion.

What part of "we cannot afford it!" don't they understand?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Harry Reid gets an inconvenient question about SEIU stormtroopers

2010-06-07T00:41:00.001-04:00

During a May 28th press conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was asked an inconvenient question by Kerry Picket.

During a press conference last Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, told reporters about a bipartisan amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting the right of military families to bury the remains of their loved ones without being protested. I asked Mr. Reid if the same right to privacy should extend to private citizens whose homes are protested by public unions. Mr. Reid dodged the issue saying, "I don't know anything about lawns and Bank of America executives."

Harry Reid said he didn't know about the SEIU's organized, premeditated trampling of an individual's private property?

Yeah.

Okay.

Sure.

__________________

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

EFCA may be "dead" in Congress, but unions are running the NLRB

2010-06-06T23:55:00.001-04:00

According to U.S. Representative Phil Roe (R-TN), the job destroying and hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act is "dead" this year.

U.S. Rep. Phil Roe says legislation that would make it easier for unions to organize in the workplace is dead in Congress.

Roe, R-Tenn., recently told human resources professionals at the Kingsport’s MeadowView Marriott that the “Employee Free Choice Act” won’t come back up in this congressional session.

[snip]

“Unless the Senate acted on it, (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi said she would not bring it to the House floor,” Roe told those attending a labor and employment seminar put on by the Kingsport-based Hunter, Smith and Davis law firm. “It won’t be back. ... You will not see that in this Congress. It’s deader than a doornail.”

While this is certainly good news (Scott Brown helped confirm this months ago), the other shoe is dropping over at the National Labor Relations Board, where unions control the government agency like a pitbull's jaws on a chihuahua's throat.

Since SEIU-appointee Craig Becker and union attorney Mark Pearce were seated alongside former Teamster attorney (and current NLRB Chairman) Wilma Liebman, the agency has become to unions what the KGB was to the Kremlin. And, it's only going to get worse in the months and years ahead.

Already, the NLRB has begun using press releases to tout union "wins," while seemingly ignoring rulings against unions (like this one).

With the General Counsel, Republican-appointee Ron Meisberg resigning two months before his term expires and the last Republican-appointee leaving in August, the union-controlled NLRB will have carte blanche ability to run roughshod over America's union-free workers and their employers.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Communist Party USA honors SEIU & AFSCME leaders

2010-06-06T21:02:00.001-04:00

From the horse's mouth:

Three Connecticut labor leaders, Art Perry, Anna Montalvo and Gwen Mills, will be honored on Sunday, Dec. 6, with the annual Amistad Award presented by the People's World, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party USA. The reception, "Keep the Ball Rolling ... to win jobs with union rights, health care, peace and equality!" will be held at 4 p.m. at the New Haven People's Center, 37 Howe Street, New Haven.

The three are being recognized for their contributions in mobilizing in the workplace and community and building coalitions for social change. Also featured on the program will be music and spoken word, a holiday gift table and homemade buffet.

Art Perry has been an organizer and community and political activist since working at Southbury Training School as a member of New England Health Care Employees Union / District 1199 in the 1970s. His grassroots political organizing with working families has elected many progressives to local, state and federal office. He served with1199 for 17 years, and is now Connecticut political director of SEIU 32BJ Justice for Janitors where he furthers his beliefs in justice, equality and community organization.

Anna Montalvo is the first woman and the first Latina to serve as president of the 1,500-member AFSCME Local 1522 in Bridgeport. As a child she experience discrimination in the schools of New York which gave her the drive to pursue her education, and help ensure that all parents and students are treated with respect and dignity. She is a vice-president of AFSCME Council 4 and active in many community and labor organizations, and is recipient of numerous awards.

Gwen Mills was raised in New Haven. In the 1980s she participated with CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador), and later spent a year in Mozambique working with local groups to re-establish activist organizations at the close of the civil war. In 2000 Gwen returned to New Haven where she has served as a lead organizer with the CT Center for a New Economy (CCNE). In 2007 she became political field director of Unite-Here unions for Connecticut and Rhode Island.

McCarthyism? Yeah, right.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

The Chicago Way on Trial: Blago, Obama & The SEIU

2010-06-06T16:53:00.001-04:00

If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what really throws you into a panic. Jack Handey

Summers are generally known as a time for forest fires and where there's smoke, there's usually a fire burning. Right now, as waves of oil splash along the coastlines of the southeastern United States, there are large plumes of smoke coming from Pennsylvania, as far away as Colorado, and a huge cloud of smoke is hanging over the State of Illinois threatening to choke the airways of several Washington insiders. And, while the White House fecklessly tries to deal with all of them, each (individually or collectively) have the potential of bringing down the presidency of Barack Obama.

In Washington, the White House is scrambling to contain SpecterGate (the alleged promising of a job to Congressman Joe Sestak in exchange for dropping his campaign to unseat Sen. Arlen Specter). Then, just as Sestak and the White House appear to have their stories straight, Andrew Romanoff throws more gasoline onto the fire by ~~confessing~~ ~~admitting~~ disclosing that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina allegedly proffered not one, but three possible positions to Romanoff should he too drop his Senate bid.

Although the White House may still retain some "plausible deniability" on SpecterGate and The Denver Deal, since the parties have all seemingly been able to coordinate their stories (well, Sestak and Romanoff weren't actually offered paying jobs) and there have been no subpoenas issued (yet), the unmistakable odor of burning brush is in the air.

SpecterGate and The Denver Deal may ultimately blow up into raging infernos if the media begins to draw the nexus between the two as a wider pattern of bribery and secret back-room dealings. However, that would take reporters willing to dig deeper than simply believing a White House explanation broadly issued at 6:25 in the morning via e-mail. In the end, though, The Denver Deal and SpecterGate may rest on the possible collaboration of the parties, as well as what former President Bill Clinton refers to as "it depends on what 'is' is" and what he did or did not do under White House orders.

Blagojevich, Obama & The SEIU

The one scandal that has the White House positively p*ssing in its pants is the trial of ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich which began last Thursday.

Last December, we mentioned a possible smoking gun as Blagojevich's defense team requested FBI notes from interviews with the Obamas, Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and SEIU bosses Tom Balanoff and Andy Stern. Now, as the trial gets underway, the White House is bracing for the smoldering embers to drift back its way:

The corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is already shaping up to be a political circus, promising to lay bare the underbelly of Chicago politics.

But while the stakes are clear for Blagojevich — he could be the fourth Illinois governor in 40 years to retire to a federal prison — some of the most powerful Washington insiders are braced for potential political damage from the trial, which begins Thursday.

President Barack Obama, White House aides Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) all have at least some interest in the outcome, according to documents produced by prosecutors, defense lawyers and the White House counsel. [Emphasis added.]

Swirling around in the center of this circus ring-of-fire is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), specifically Chicago SEIU boss Tom Balanoff and former SEIU international president Andy Stern. In April, SEIU president and king-maker Andy Stern abruptly resigned from the SEIU, which immediately fueled speculation that there was a connection between the Blagojevich scandal and Stern's resignation.

This speculation was further fueled when redacted portions of the defense's subpoena request were revealed just days after Stern's resignation:

Yet, despite President Obama stating that no representatives of his had any part of any deals, labor union president told the FBI and the United States Attorneys that he spoke to labor union official on November 3, 2008 who received a phone message from Obama that evening. After labor union official listened to the message labor union official told labor union president “I’m the one”. Labor union president took that to mean that labor union official was to be the one to deliver the message on behalf of Obama that Senate Candidate B was his pick. (Labor union president 302, February 2, 2009, p. 7).

Labor union official told the FBI and the United States Attorneys “Obama expressed his belief that [Senate Candidate B] would be a good Senator for the people of Illinois and would be a candidate who could win re-election. [Labor union official] advised Obama that [labor union official] would reach out to Governor Blagojevich and advocate for [Senate Candidate B] ... [Labor union official] called [labor union president] and told [labor union president] that Obama was aware that [labor union official] would be reaching out to Blagojevich.” (Labor union official 302, February 3, 2009 p. 3). [Emphasis added.]

Since Stern is now gone and his hand-picked successor Anna Burger was roundly rejected in a purple palace coup, it is unclear whether Burger loyalist Tom Balanoff will be thrown under the purple bus by SEIU's new president, Mary Kay Henry. If she truly wants to rid the union of some its most recent controversies, Balanoff may be a noteworthy victim of such a purge. If this happens, Balanoff may hold the key to what really went down in November 2008 and may be willing to spill his guts.

However, as Blago's trial is still in the jury selection stage, there is still plenty of time for all of the parties to get their stories straight (even though some are seemingly contradictory), which would leave Blago with a his word against theirs case.

Unless one of the parties (like Balanoff) flips, turns state's witness, or is caught perjuring him or herself on the stand, it is still possible for the White House to get past the summer with only a little smoke inhalation.

Then again, all it takes is one man to start a forest fire and, right now, there is a lot of smoke billowing out of the White House and different parts of the country and the White House might not be able to contain any one of these.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Chris Christie & the NJ Teachers Union: A Bitter Fight to the End

2010-06-05T23:51:00.000-04:00

Though he's only been in office less than a year, New Jersey's governor, Chris Christie is taking on the school yard bully (the New Jersey Education Association)....And, yeah, it's for the kids.

hat-tip: mbecker908
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Does the Machinists Union Want Boeing's SC Plant Closed?

2010-06-05T13:08:00.003-04:00

Last year, we reported on the Machinists vs. Boeing jobs saga that ended with Boeing deciding to produce part of the new 787 in Charleston, South Carolina. At the heart of Boeing's decision to manufacture in the South was the International Association of Machinists (IAM).

In sum, Boeing wanted a no-strike pledge from the union, which the union would only agree to if Boeing would let the union unionize more if the company. Ultimately, the Company said, 'no thanks' and opened the plant in Charleston. Of, course, it helps that the South Carolina plant is union-free.

Clearly, Boeing's move to the South enraged the union. Now, the IAM is hoping to give Boeing some union payback by filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board. The union is claiming that Boeing's new plant is a retaliatory move by the company for the union's 2008 strike.

The Machinists union has filed a complaint against Boeing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), charging that the company was retaliating for a 2008 union strike when it decided last fall to put a second Dreamliner assembly line in Charleston, S.C., rather than Everett.

It is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act for employers to retaliate against workers for engaging in lawful activities, including strikes.

[snip]

In a statement, District 751 president Tom Wroblewski cited public declarations by senior Boeing executives tying the selection of North Charleston to a desire to avoid Machinists' strikes in the Puget Sound region.

Such declarations, Wroblewski said, "send a message to workers that they should not stand up for their rights at the bargaining table. We will not allow this unlawful intimidation to stand as we prepare for the 2012 contract negotiations."

Boeing spokesman Tim Healy said the company believes the charges are "meritless."

The IAM struck Boeing for two months in fall 2008, the fourth strike in a decade. Early the following year, Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney told Washington's congressional delegation the repeated strikes were a major problem and the company would seek another location for its second 787 assembly line unless the union agreed to a long-term no-strike clause.

"We were entirely transparent with the IAM," Healy said. "We needed an agreement that would allow us to meet our customer commitments. [Emphasis added.]

While the IAM's case seems flimsy at best, with the new union-controlled NLRB in Washington, one cannot predict how the NLRB will ultimately rule, especially given the union desire to decimate long-standing legal precedent.

If the NLRB happens to rule in the union's favor, it is possible one of the remedies it could order would be for Boeing to close the Charleston plant and bring the work back to the union in Puget Sound.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Is the SEIU playing race card in Arkansas run off?

2010-06-05T09:21:00.002-04:00

Presumably, President Obama still supports Sen. Blanche Lincoln over her runoff opponent, SEIU-backed Lt. Governor Bill Halter. However, with Tuesday's Democratic runoff election going down to the wire, it's becoming harder to tell.

Given the close ties between the SEIU and the White House, it's hard to imagine the White House doesn't know that the SEIU is using President Obama's picture alongside Bill Halter's on door hangers in a "predominantly African-American neighborhood in Little Rock."

While the door hanger doesn't state that Obama is endorsing Halter, its implication by using the imagery is that Halter is Obama's choice in the election and, unless the voters in this African-American neighborhood read otherwise, they would be led to believe that Obama wants them to vote for Halter.

This says a lot about not only the SEIU's manipulation of the facts, but also (and most importantly) its attitude about African Americans.

In sum, the SEIU seems to be saying to African-American voters:

We don't think you're smart enough to know that President Obama is backing Blanche Lincoln and we know that if we put a picture of Obama next to Halter, you'll vote for him.

It's astonishing to think that a labor union would stoop to such low Machiavellian and racist depths but, apparently to the SEIU, the ends justify the means.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Cross-posted.

UFCW boycotts Macy's

2010-06-03T00:43:00.000-04:00

Just what a retailer needs during a recession:

A labor dispute between a union and one of the major stores at Tacoma Mall is heating up. Last week, members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 367 voted to approve a strike against Macy’s. The two sides have been negotiating since January. Local 367 represents about 240 workers at Macy’s, most in the store at Tacoma Mall, and about 15 in the furniture gallery on the other side of Interstate 5.

[snip]

They are awaiting permission from the international union headquarters before going out on strike. This could include calling upon the public to boycott Macy’s. Local members would prefer not to do so, he noted.

Stay tuned.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU’s Assault on Arizona: Purple-people eaters launches Arizona Travel Advisory Hotline (in ENGLISH ONLY)

2010-06-02T23:05:00.003-04:00

As part of its continued campaign of ~~flipping the bird~~ flouting America's immigration laws (including Arizona's new SB 1070), the SEIU launched a new faux-Arizona Travel Advisory Hotline earlier today.

Even though it's part of the SEIU's ongoing campaign of Amnesty for Illegals, it really is sort of a clever waste of money.

If you call the number (888-958-5068), you will hear a woman's voice state the following:

OPERATOR: Thank you for calling the Arizona travel advisory hotline. If you're planning a trip to Arizona, beware of an important travel warning. An overly stringent law on immigration has made it difficult for anyone who looks even remotely suspicious, resulting in detainment. Please check the following options to understand the implications of your actions. And remember to carry your citizenship and immigration papers at all times.

If you plan to wear jeans, press 1. If your skin is even remotely tanned, yellow, brown or blue in hue, press 2. If you tend to eat fast foods, drink bright colored juices or eat fresh vegetables in lieu of meat products, press 3.

If 1: Jeans are worn by many working people targeted by the new Arizona immigration law. Please wear slacks or khakis to avoid appearing suspicious. For more information, please press 4.

If 2: Working people come in many shapes and sizes, but anyone who doesn't resemble a J. Crew or Ralph Lauren model, should be very, very careful. Consider wearing conservative or preppy clothing to avoid getting noticed. For more information, please press 4.

If 3: Many working people targeted by the new immigration Arizona immigration law eat fast foods and drink bright colored juices. Avoid these foods while traveling in Arizona to avoid undue attention from law enforcement officials. For more information, please press4

If 4: To learn more about this Arizona campaign visit www (dot) it stops in Arizona (dot) com. Or press 1 from your cell phone to receive text message updates about Arizona travel warnings, boycotts and other breaking news on immigration reform. SEIU will never charge for these alerts but your carrier's message and data rates may apply.

The only problem with the SEIU's newest assault on Arizona is that it is in English only. There's is no "press one for English, two for Spanish, etc." This makes the SEIU's effort a complete waste of time and money and...worse...seems rather...racist.

[Tsk, tsk! ]
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Steve Wynn: China more predictable than Washington

2010-06-02T21:57:00.002-04:00

Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?...

Well, the Washington politburo probably wishes Steve Wynn would keep his opinion in Sin City, but the man who built an empire and knows something about creating wealth also seems to know what is destroying it...Washington.

If you haven't seen this, you need to, 'cause Steve Wynn's not pulling any punches.

[Spoiler Alert: It's a pretty sad commentary when an American entrepreneur says the business climate in China is more stable than in America.]

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

RED CROSS HIT BY UNION STRIKES

2010-06-02T13:39:00.005-04:00

Although, due to its planned short duration, it appears to be a mere union pressure tactic to get the American Red Cross to cave at the bargaining table, multiple unions have hit the not-for-profit with a three-day strike in six states.

The unions involved include AFSCME, the CWA, OPEIU, and, of course, the SEIU.

Blood collections were suspended Wednesday as 60 union workers joined a broader coalition to initiate a strike against the American Red Cross.

Locals workers sit and stood along Veterans Memorial Boulevard. Some held signs, while one yelled into a megaphone. Each belonged to Service Employees International Union Local 1199.

A union official attributed the work stoppage to disagreements about health insurance, pension and staffing levels. Red Cross declined specific comment, but said its contract proposals are consistent to benefits afforded to its non-union staff.

This is from NBC in Connecticut:

Unionized American Red Cross workers are on strike on Wednesday and there will no blood drives for the day.

About 200 Connecticut Red Cross workers, who are members of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, started a three-day strike at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. It will end at midnight on June 4.

Union officials warned in May of a possible strike and said the Red Cross is taking part in unfair labor practices, including a lack of nurses at blood drives, and skimping on important benefits for employees.

From Buffalo:

Unionized workers for the American Red Cross Blood Services Division in Buffalo are set to go on strike today.

The walkout will involve about 100 area workers who collect, process and distribute blood, said James Wagner, president of Local 1122, Communications Workers of America. Another 60 tele-recruiters who recruit blood donors will not join the strike for fear their work would be moved immediately to Rochester, he said. Wagner had initially said that group would join the strike.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Gangland USA: A tutorial on union colors...

2010-06-02T00:22:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, you're at one of your children's softball games and your cell phone rings. You recognize your home number and you quickly realize it's an emergency call from your teenager whom you left home alone (doing God knows what).

You sense the sheer panic on the other end as you ask what is the matter. At first you think the house must be on fire, or something worse...

Your teenager exclaims in a rather frightened voice that hundreds of people are on your front lawn demonstrating about something.

Random thoughts quickly enter your mind: Did I pay the lawn service? Yes, you reassure yourself.

Your teenager stammers that the goons on your front lawn are like a gang of thugs.

"What sort of gang?" you ask, "what do they look like?"

Flashes of Sons of Anarchy pop through your brain.

"I don't know, dad, they're not flashing any gang symbols that I know of...

...but they're all in colored shirts."

Now, if you were the one to get that sort of call, instead of Greg Baer, perhaps it would help you to know in advance some of the colors of the various ~~gangs~~ unions, so that you could identify the ~~goons~~ activists for the police (not that they'd do anything anyway).

The following is a quick tutorial on the colors of some of today's major ~~street thugs~~ unions.

The Purple Behemoth.

The Color Purple is synonymous with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and is probably the most recognizable today.

Green with envy?

Green is the official color of SEIU competitor AFSCME (which stands for the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees)

Seeing Red?

The Communications Workers of America have long been a red union (in a purely colorful form, of course).

Mellow Yellow.

Yellow is all-too-often the color for the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Paint it Black (or whatever color they choose).

Never wanting to be dull, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters prefers black, but is happy in just about any color, as long as it bears two severed horses' heads.

Of course, the identification of marauding mobs of protesters by their shirt colors alone can get confusing if the mob is actually an astroturf organization of community activist like ACORN (red) or the NPA (a color combination). If, however, you cannot tell whether it is a union or an astroturf organization (it is difficult, you know), just look for the union label.

We hope this short list helps you should you ever have unwelcome ~~trespassers~~ visitors on your front lawn.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Cross-posted.

All Photos: Creative Commons

BREAKING: NLRB's General Counsel resigns while Harkin tries to sneak Becker in the back door

2010-06-01T21:53:00.004-04:00

NRLB General Counsel Announces Resignation

An anonymous source alerted us earlier that NLRB General Counsel Ronald Meisburg (bio here), today announced his resignation effective June 20 RATHER THAN SERVING OUT HIS TERM WHICH ENDS ON AUGUST 14....a mere 24 days. He has accepted a position at the law firm, Proskauer Rose LLP. This gives President Obama the ability to immediately nominate another union cronie to the NLRB as general counsel.

Harkin Tries to Sneak Becker Through the Back Door

In other NLRB-related news, last Thursday, Sen. Tom Harkins (D-IA) attempted to sneak recess-appointed, SEIUer Craig Becker onto a full term at the NLRB by attempting to move the Senate to unanimous consent on 80 Obama nominations (see Becker on page 9 of this PDF). Harkin's move was blocked by Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Coming to a Church Near You: Union Protesters

2010-05-30T22:16:00.001-04:00

Cars honk at the union protesters, drivers pump their fists in solidarity, many thinking to themselves:

Those evil, greedy, profit-loving corporate bosses are always trying to take the bread and butter from the workers' mouths!

Oh!...

Wait a minute!...

Those union protesters aren't picketing the offices of some nameless corporate behemoth. They're picketing the church on the corner!

Why? Because the church members dared to use their money wisely and frugally and the contractor that helped on the new addition to the church was...

*gasp!*...

...a non-union contractor!

Big Government has exposed the Carpenters' union in California protesting the Grace Baptist Church in Bakersfield...

In Bakersfield, California the local carpenters union is protesting the Grace Baptist Church for hiring a contractor who hired non-union labor. Grace Baptist Church had no control over who the contractor hired. You would think the local carpenters union would take a pass at protesting a church, but I guess not. Though the church greeted the protesters with water, coffee, cookies and candy. Do they feel bad for standing in front of a church with a “Shame On the Grace Baptist Church”? No.

Of course, by watching the video below, there's no telling if the union protesters are real union members or if the Carpenters outsourced the protesting jobs. However, it does appear to be the same Carpenters' union local that protested outside an ice cream store in nearby Arroyo Grande.

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth." George Romero
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Has Bill Clinton finally doomed Hillary’s POTUS chances?

2010-05-30T21:17:00.006-04:00

If the allegations about Flowers, Jones, Stone, Streisand and countless others didn't destroy their dynasty...

If fellatio in the Oval Office and an infamous blue dress didn't ruin it for her...

Perhaps, this time...this time, Bill Clinton has finally gone too far with another woman and, as a result, ended it for Hillary.

No, he didn't try out a new brand of cigars with her, but his championing of soon-to-be replaced Sen. Blanche Lincoln has broached the truly unforgivable—alienated the one group Hillary Clinton will need in ~~2012~~ 2016 if she is ever going to become President of the United States...

Union bosses.

Bill Clinton's message to Democrats here Friday about their heated two-way U.S. Senate battle was a simple one: a vote for incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln is a vote rank-and-file Arkansans, while a vote for Lt. Governor Bill Halter is a vote for outside labor unions and liberal activist groups.

Don't be fooled, Clinton told the gathering of about 300 at Philander Smith College. The big, national unions supporting Halter are "using you and manipulating your vote," he said.

[snip]

Clinton held up a copy of a Washington Post article and quoted from it about how national unions want to make Lincoln a poster child for "what happens when a Democrat crosses us." The former president argued that the unions nationalized what should be an Arkansas-focused Senate race.

This has the AFL-CIO tobacco-spittin' mad.

"Bill Clinton and Blanche Lincoln took us in the wrong direction when they supported NAFTA," said spokesman Eddie Vale in an email to reporters. "They sent thousands of Arkansas jobs to Mexico and Canada, and yet they’re still bragging about their support of the job-killing deal. When it comes to protecting and creating jobs in Arkansas, they just don’t get it."

Since no Democrat can move up the democratic food chain these days without kissing the pinky rings of the big union bosses and since crossing them (as Blanche Lincoln has in her opposition to the Employee ~~Free~~ FORCED Choice Act) is considered a mortal sin, Bill's blasphemous bashing of the lords of labor will not be without recrimination and reprisal.

BUT, since Bubba is no longer running for office and since unions do not (typically) target children, he and Chelsea are probably off limits. This leaves Hillary to (once again) pay the price for Bill's transgressions and, since unions have long memories, that probably won't happen until 2016.

"I may not have been the greatest president, but I've had the most fun eight years." –Bill Clinton

__________________

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

The SEIU: Safeguarding and taking money from illegals…for years

2010-05-29T22:51:00.002-04:00

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...

Give me your union dues and union fees,

I will take them so ever happily...

While this may not rise to the level of harboring a fugitive, since harboring a fugitive refers to "the crime of knowingly hiding a wanted criminal from the authorities," it comes awfully darn close.

SAN FRANCISCO - Federal immigration authorities have pressured one of San Francisco's major building service companies, ABM, into firing hundreds of its own workers. Some 475 janitors have been told that unless they can show legal immigration status, they will lose their jobs in the near future.

ABM has been a union company for decades, and many of the workers have been there for years. "They've been working in the buildings downtown for 15, 20, some as many as 27 years," said Olga Miranda, president of Service Employees Local 87. [Emphasis added.]

Okay, let's stop there for a moment, shall we?

Here is a local SEIU president stating that the unionized company has employed illegal aliens for 15, 20 and as many as 27 years...as her union has collected dues from these workers.

Such is the state of today's unions. Which begs the following questions:

If you see someone commiting a crime, do you have a duty to call the police...or do you "look the other way?"

If you see someone comitting a crime, do you help the criminal perpetually perpetrate the crime, as well as charge him for your time? Does that make you a criminal or a mere opportunist? If you go out and actively recruit said persons engaging in the illegal activity into your organization, wouldn't that make you a conspirator or your organization a criminal organization?

Now, as unions are going out to recruit workers who are in this country illegally, why is it that no one has questioned Big Labor's complicity in furthering a illegal activity? Doesn't Big Labor have a civic duty to turn in illegal activity? How is it they can get away with taking money from workers who they know are working for a company employing said workers illegally? Aren't they furthering a crime?

How is it that Big Labor gets a get-out-of-jail-free card on this one???

Just curious.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

You didn’t really think Obamacare was going to leave you untouched, did you?

2010-05-28T22:58:00.001-04:00

There wasn't really a question about it, was there?

Whether it's called Obamacare or nationalized health care, we've been warning since October 2008 (as others have also weighed in) that Obamacare would eventually lead to single-payer insurance.

Why? It's a matter of simple economics.

If health care costs are expected to rise as predicted, employers will find fines less costly (and far less burdensome) than continuing coverage for their employees. As Obamacare slowly gets digested, employers are beginning to understand that change comes at a price and so, accordingly, they are planning change as well...slowly...incrementally.

Still not convinced? How about some more evidence:

Towers Watson, a leading human resources consulting firm, has conducted a survey of 661 human resource and benefit specialists across America. While benefit professionals are still digesting the new law, the survey shows that they are even more skeptical of Obamacare than the public is.

These benefit specialists represent a broad range of industries, and are responsible for choosing health-insurance plans for almost 4 million Americans. If their fears come true, the future of American health care is bleak. Among the highlights:
90 percent believe that Obamacare “will increase their organization’s health care benefit costs”;
88 percent intend to pass the increases onto employees by increasing employee premium contributions or other cost-sharing measures;
74 percent intend to “reduce health benefits and programs” by using stingier health plans, restricting eligibility for health coverage, and using spousal waivers or surcharges.

And what about Grandma? According to the survey, seniors will feel it the fastest and most dramatically.

More than three in four employers (85%) believe that health care reform will reduce the number of large organizations offering employer-sponsored retiree medical benefits. And 43% of employers that currently offer retiree medical plans plan to reduce or eliminate them.

How's that for "change you can believe in?"
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

DOL Releases "Persuader" PowerPoint

2010-05-28T14:25:00.000-04:00

As the union-controlled Department of Labor explores ways to make it more difficult for employers to communicate with employees on the subject of unionization, the DoL held a meeting this past Monday to "hear" from interested parties (even though their minds are made up) on the topic of making employers report any time employees hear from their employer on unionization.

The DoL has just released the PowerPoint of the meeting's agenda.

The foreshadowing of the DoL's plan comes on slides 8, 9 and 12:

As we said previously, the union-controlled Department of Labor does not want employees to hear anything negative on the facts about unionization and they are doing everything in their power to make it more difficult to hear from employers.

You can bet, by January, the DoL's new rules will become effective.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Teamsters got your goat?

2010-05-28T11:48:00.001-04:00

You know times are tough for unions when they're willing to take union dues from farm animals.

The Teamsters in Oakland, California filed a grievance against Mills College, complaining that the school had violated its collective bargaining agreement by hiring non-union workers to clear brush.

The Teamsters demanded that the college either (1) award backpay to the union members who lost out on the work or (2) require the 500 non-union workers to join the union.

The only problem? The 500 non-union workers were — and we’re not making this up — goats.

“If the college opts to have the goats become members,” said a Teamsters spokesperson, “we intend to represent them in the same aggressive manner as we do every member.” [Emphasis added, though not really needed.]

This sort of gives new meaning to George Orwell's Animal Farm, doesn't it?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Duuude! Marijuana Workers of the World Unite!

2010-05-27T22:50:00.010-04:00

Well, if the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) can't unionize Wal-Mart and Whole Foods, they might as well settle on unionizing pot growers.

At a ceremony hosted by Oakland City Council's Rebecca Kaplan, 100 employees at medical marijuana dispensary and education hub Oaksterdam University turned in their membership cards to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 5.

It may well be the first union pot shop in the country, if not the world.

But, alas, there seems to be more than just high times at the bargaining table afoot:

Workers at three medical marijuana businesses in Oakland will announce Friday that they have unionized, another step in a concerted campaign aimed at bringing legitimacy to a once-hidden sector of the state's economy and boosting the marijuana-legalization initiative.

Perhaps the UFCW bosses will start claiming taking their dues payments in seeds.

Now, wouldn't that be something?

UPDATE: Oh! Wait! There's more:

If California voters in November approve the Control and Tax Cannabis initiative, which would legalize marijuana possession and use of small amounts of marijuana for those over 21 and tax it, there could be thousands of new workers ripe for unionizing, said Dan Rush, a Local 5 organizer.

In addition to the retail clerks at the dispensaries, union organizers anticipate thousands of new cannabis-processing jobs, agricultural work for growers and security positions at dispensaries.

"These will be good union jobs with middle-class incomes," said Ron Lind, the president of Local 5 and a vice president of the 1.3 million-member international union.

The union has not officially endorsed November's legalization measure. Those recommendations could come in July. But Lind said the union's national leadership is "supportive" of the local's new outreach and it reflects the interests of members.

Yet, Big Government's Bret Jacobson has a slightly different take on the unionized pot heads:

Well, maybe now we know why: they have been laying the groundwork to organize the entire food chain, as it were, since they have organized a pot shop in Oakland. Now you can Super Size it and smoke a spliff without ever crossing a picket line.

Indeed, unionized pot heads swinging through the unionized drive-thru: There is something to be said for unions creating their own supply and demand.

And, we thought unions had reached their low point when the SEIU unionized ~~strippers~~ exotic dancers some years back!

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Laid off Steelworkers ready to strike Alcoa...?

2010-05-27T22:14:00.002-04:00

Something seems amiss here:

Workers at Alcoa's idled Massena East plant said Wednesday they are willing to go on strike if the company cannot come up with an acceptable contract proposal by Monday.

If the plant is idled, that means all of the workers are on lay off, right?

So what good is a strike?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Dues-sucking unions threaten blood collection at Red Cross

2010-05-25T08:28:00.000-04:00

Led by the United Food & Commercial Workers, unions including the Teamsters, SEIU, Steelworkers, CWA, and OPEIU, may be striking the Red Cross next week.

Unionized blood-services workers at the American Red Cross' regional offices based in Toledo have notified the agency they could strike June 2 if they do not have a new contract by then.

The strike, which would involve 184 members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 75, would be one of seven walkouts being coordinated in several states by different trade unions, all to commence at 9 a.m. that day.

[snip]

However, Mr. Dudley said the UFCW is coordinating its actions with several other unions, including the Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, the United Steelworkers, the Communications Workers of America, and the Office and Professional Employees International - representing about 1,000 workers total at Red Cross blood services offices in Michigan, California, Connecticut, Georgia, New York, and West Virginia. None of the unions reached new contracts, Mr. Dudley said.

The Red Cross has a contingency plan in the event the unions strike.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Steelworkers ready to strike?

2010-05-24T23:55:00.001-04:00

Apparently, even though the last strike last two years, they've forgotten what it's like walking a picket line?

Century Aluminum is one of the largest employers in Hancock County and a weeks-long contract negotiation between the local steelworkers union and Century Aluminum have some people fearing a strike could be inevitable.

Workers went on strike at this same plant in 1998 for nearly two years, back then it was owned by a company called Southwire. The local steelworkers union said it's ready to strike a deal.

"Negotiations aren't going as well as we'd like," John Beaver with United Steel Workers 9423 said. "Obviously, our goal is to reach an agreement, an agreement both parties can live with."

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

ABF Freight Teamsters Reject Plan to Protect Jobs, Benefits

2010-05-24T23:45:00.000-04:00

Apparently, according to a Teamsters press release, Teamsters at trucking company ABF rejected a plan to protect their jobs and and benefits.

Teamsters employed at ABF Freight System have rejected a Wage Reduction-Job Security plan aimed at protecting the jobs of more than 7,000 workers and securing their health, welfare and pension benefits for the remainder of the National Master Freight Agreement.

[snip]

Mail ballots were sent out April 30 and counted today with the process being overseen by an independent election officer. With a final count of 3764-2936, the workers voted no on the plan with about 80 percent of the members affected participating in the vote. The plan had called for a reduction in gross wages and mileage rates of 15 percent effective next pay period and running through March 31, 2013. Negotiated wage increases (less 15 percent) and cost of living adjustments, if any, would have remained in effect for the life the plan.

Teamsters at ABF may soon be joining this illustrious list of other Teamster-represented freight companies.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Pilots strike, airline closes...any questions?

2010-05-24T23:30:00.001-04:00

The AFL-CIO is ~~blathering~~ blogging on the story that Spirit Airlines is allegedly threatening that, if its pilots strike, the airline will close:

Spirit Airlines is threatening to close its operations in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., if its 500 pilots go on strike. The Air Line Pilots (ALPA) has said its members will strike at the end of a 30-day cooling-off period if they don’t get a fair contract.

Somehow this is news? Apparently, the AFL-CIO would rather fly in a plane without a pilot?

[Never mind, don't answer that.]

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

The SEIU, the NPA & Organized, Premeditated Intimidation

2010-05-19T15:52:00.003-04:00

It wasn't a secret. They were planning it for weeks. Their plans were to protest and protest they did.

They even brag about it on their website:

A little rain didn't stop thousands of people from gathering on K Street to call out the big bank lobbyists corrupting our democracy.

After two days of confronting the bank lobbyists with National People's Action, we were joined by our brothers and sisters from the AFL-CIO, Jobs with Justice, MoveOn, and hundreds of supporters from around the country.

However, before astroturfing K street on Monday, they decided to trespass onto the private residential property of two of their targets, one of which happened to be a neighbor of Fortune's Nina Easton. Perhaps they did not know she would write about their trespassing this way:

Every journalist loves a peaceful protest-whether it makes news, shakes up a political season, or holds out the possibility of altering history. Then there are the ones that show up on your curb--literally.

Last Sunday, on a peaceful, sun-crisp afternoon, our toddler finally napping upstairs, my front yard exploded with 500 screaming, placard-waving strangers on a mission to intimidate my neighbor, Greg Baer. Baer is deputy general counsel for corporate law at Bank of America (BAC,Fortune 500), a senior executive based in Washington, D.C. And that -- in the minds of the organizers at the politically influential Service Employees International Union and a Chicago outfit called National Political Action -- makes his family fair game.

Waving signs denouncing bank "greed," hordes of invaders poured out of 14 school buses, up Baer's steps, and onto his front porch. As bullhorns rattled with stories of debtor calls and foreclosed homes, Baer's teenage son Jack -- alone in the house -- locked himself in the bathroom. "When are they going to leave?" Jack pleaded when I called to check on him.

Baer, on his way home from a Little League game, parked his car around the corner, called the police, and made a quick calculation to leave his younger son behind while he tried to rescue his increasingly distressed teen. He made his way through a din of barked demands and insults from the activists who proudly "outed" him, and slipped through his front door.

"Excuse me," Baer told his accusers, "I need to get into the house. I have a child who is alone in there and frightened."

Now this event would accurately be called a "protest" if it were taking place at, say, a bank or the U.S. Capitol. But when hundreds of loud and angry strangers are descending on your family, your children, and your home, a more apt description of this assemblage would be "mob." Intimidation was the whole point of this exercise, and it worked-even on the police. A trio of officers who belatedly answered our calls confessed a fear that arrests might "incite" these trespassers.

[snip]

In the business community, though, SEIU has a reputation for strong-arm tactics against management, prompting some companies to file suit.

Now those strong-arm tactics, stirred by supposedly free-floating (as opposed to organized) populist rage, have come to the neighborhood curb. Last year it was AIG executives -- with protestors met by security guard outside. Now it's any executive -- and they're on the front stoop. After Baer's house, the 14 buses left to descend on the nearby residence of Peter Scher, a government relations executive at JPMorgan Chase.

Targeting homes and families seems to put SEIU in the ranks of (now jailed) radical animal-rights activists and the Kansas anti-gay fundamentalists harassing the grieving parents of a dead 20-year-old soldier at his funeral (the Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on the latter). But that's not a conversation that SEIU officials want to have.

No, they would rather not have a conversation about their intrusion onto another person's property, nor do they consider intimidating family members immoral or unlawful.

And, they have no remorse whatsoever.

More than 1,000 visited two bankers at their homes Sunday afternoon to ask for meetings with Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.

When mobs trespass onto the private residential property of a private citizen and intimidate their children, and the police refuse to take action, no one should act surprised if a citizen acts to defend his property and his family from the lawless hordes...but, perhaps, that may be what the SEIU, the NPA, and their ilk want.

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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Arizona Electrifying Response to the Left's Boycotts-R-Us Campaign

2010-05-19T01:40:00.001-04:00

Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.

Wyatt Earp

With the SEIU, the UFCW and the AFL-CIO up in arms over Arizona's new immigration law (which enforces already-existing law), Obama administration officials Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano have admitted they haven't actually read the law, despite their condemnation.

Meanwhile, the City of Los Angeles has opted to boycott the State of Arizona. According to union-backed Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

Boycotts work. We saw this in the early 1990s, when people last boycotted Arizona for the state's refusal to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: people canceled their vacations to Scottsdale and the Grand Canyon; conventions were moved from Phoenix to Los Angeles, and the NFL moved SuperBowl XXVII from Tempe to Pasadena.

In response to L.A.'s arrogant attempt to economically blackmail the Grand Canyon state, Arizona's Corporation Commissioner gave the L.A. mayor a message: Two can play that game.

In a letter [see below] to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce said a boycott war is bad for both sides, and said he would "be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements" to end the electricity flowing to Los Angeles.

"I am confident that Arizona's utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands," Mr. Pierce said. "If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona's economy."

We'll have to wait and see who blinks first...Arizona or Los Angeles (and its lights).

Response to the LA Boycott by AZ Corp Commissioner
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Blumenthal's Blundering Bluster: Pro-Union Attorney General Turns Out to Be a Liar

2010-05-18T10:34:00.002-04:00

Whenever there was a picket line, he was there. A brief to be filed on a union boss's behalf? He wrote it and filed it. He was, to the say the least, union bosses' highest friend in Connecticut's Democrat apparatchik and, as attorney general, Richard Blumenthal aspired to higher office.

Unfortunately, like many politicians, Slippery Dick Blumenthal ~~lied~~ misled, repeatedly, on his resume.

At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

No word yet from the union bosses backing Blumenthal, though we suspect all will be forgiven if it looks like Slippery Dick still has a shot at winning the election.

After all, why let a little thing like honesty stand in the way of a good union candidate?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Andy Stern's War on Terror: NUHW insurgents inflict more damage on SEIU

2010-05-18T10:02:00.000-04:00

Andy Stern may be gone, but his California Civil War still rages on and, in Saturday's Washington Post, Andy used an interesting ~~analogy~~ metaphor comparing his union battles to the War on Terror:

"It's a tragedy in terms of how the money was spent, but a necessity in terms of preserving the organization's integrity," he said. "I don't want to analogize this, but there is not enough money you can spend in America to protect us from terrorists. And you know, sometimes you have to spend money to protect the integrity of the institution from its own version of self-righteousness and terrorism."

To compare fellow unionists to terrorists is an interesting choice of terminology. Especially since the latest battle between the SEIU and its former local (now known as the National Union of Healthcare Workers), the purple behemoth lost another election to the union "insurgency":

Caregivers at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital have voted to leave Service Employees International Union and join the rival National Union of Healthcare Workers.

Results, announced Monday after three weeks of voting by mail, shows 408 votes for the health care union, 242 votes for SEIU, and 13 votes for no union. The local union represents more than 830 workers, including respiratory care practitioners, licensed vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, clerical workers and others.

[snip]

The election for NUHW "is our second-biggest hospital election," said Sadie Crabtree, a spokeswoman for the union. About 2,600 Kaiser Permanente health workers in Southern California have voted to go with the new union. NUHW is working toward an election that would ask 47,000 Kaiser workers throughout the state if they want to change unions. Workers at more than 360 facilities have petitioned to join NUHW in the last 15 months, and most are still waiting for their elections, Crabtree said.

With Stern now gone, it will be interesting to see if the SEIU's new president, Mary Kay Henry, will be able to contain the ~~Iraq~~ NUHW insurgents.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Union Boss Faces Up to 80 Years for Lap Dances and Embezzlement...

2010-05-17T17:58:00.002-04:00

Six hours. It really didn't take that long, did it?

A former carpenters union official from Somerset County was convicted in federal court in Trenton today of pocketing $85,000 from the organization to host hundreds of lunchtime drinking sprees at go-go bars.

After deliberating less than six hours, a jury found Shawn Clark, 45, guilty of embezzlement for using the union’s American Express card during more than 450 visits over seven years to watering holes that included Johnny A's Hitching Post in Paterson and Pure Go Go in Manville. He faces up to five years in prison for each of the 16 counts in the indictment.

“You treated that card as if it were your own – didn’t you?” Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Grady O’Malley asked Clark during a cross examination.

Clark, the ex-business manager for Local 455 of the International Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, spent hours on the stand last week arguing he was conducting union meetings at the clubs. Part of his job, he said, was drumming up union business by entertaining contractors, tradesmen and the occasional politician who felt at ease around pulsing music and dancing women.

But prosecutors said Clark, who was fired from the union in 2008, ruled the local with an "iron fist." To help conceal his bar tabs, which occasionally exceeded $1,000, he installed a close friend as treasurer, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Romankow. The prosecutor said Clark traveled to strip clubs miles away from the union’s office in Somerville, buying untold number of beers, shots with Red Bull chasers and tiny bottles of Chardonnay for the women on stage.

Wow! You mean 450 visits to go go bars, getting lap dances, and drinking on other people's dime isn't union business? Who knew?

Well, at least he'll have some fond memories.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

A Race to the Bottom: Unions hate individual rights

2010-05-17T14:37:00.001-04:00

It is only on the basis of property rights that the sphere and application of individual rights can be defined in any given social situation. Without property rights, there is no way to solve or to avoid a hopeless chaos of clashing views, interests, demands, desires, and whims. Ayn Rand.

Some time ago, union bosses, who purported a desire to help people, fell off the train, bumped their heads, and woke up on a mission to eliminate individual rights. It's hard to say when they fell off that train. It might have been sometime after Samuel Gompers died in the late 1920s, or when the Reds infiltrated the unions in the 1930s, or when John Sweeney took over the AFL-CIO in 1996, or it could have been just a long, slow slog to the bottom of the tracks. Whatever the case, the proof is in: Today's union bosses absolutely, without-a-doubt, abhor individual rights.

Today, goons from the SEIU are in Washington taking over a Bank of America lobby (pictured at right). This follows the weekend union takeover of a lobbyist's private property (his front yard) in the name of protesting for "financial reform."

Of course, unions have long believed that employers should have limited (or NO) property rights when it comes to union organizing. After all, a job is a right and therefore the workers' right to a job trumps an employer's right to his property. However, to believe that the right to trespass onto an individual's private property takes this collectivist philosophy to breathtakingly new levels.

If the taking of a individual's private property (whether it be temporary or permanent) is put into the capricious will of whatever astroturf gang comes along that day (be it a union or the Klu Klux Klan), then no individual rights are safe from the tyranny of the masses, including the right to one's life.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Opposing unions means you go to hell?...Really?

2010-05-17T12:33:00.002-04:00

You know the old saying about religion and politics? Well, sometimes the twain do meet...

Never mind that today's unions rake in roughly thirteen billion dollars a year from workers (the majority of whom are forced to pay the union or be fired from their jobs); and never mind the history of violence and union corruption; and never mind the desire to eliminate secret-ballots or the buying of politicians, or the sheer hypocrisy...

According to a group of Catholic scholars, there's going to be a lot of us heading South...

Catholic scholars say those who thwart labor unions commit mortal sin

A group of Catholic scholars contends that management efforts to break labor unions are a grave breech of the church's social doctrine and tantamount to committing mortal sin.

Problem is, someone's got some explaining to do...

In November 2006, the Diocese of Scranton announced its plans to restructure its schools. That decision simultaneously brought closure to the old schools and the bargaining relationship that several of those schools had with their in-house unions, all of which were under the umbrella of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT).

[snip]

On Sept. 3, the first arbitration award was handed down, that affecting Bishop Hoban. SDACT and the teachers were the winners in the dispute. The arbitrator’s award called for the employer to immediately begin paying $725,000 to Hoban’s 40 teachers. Since then, similar awards were handed down in the other disputes. When the dust settles and all of the arbitrators have ruled, the diocese may owe nearly $2 million to the teachers in the 12 affected schools.

This immediate payout (and the enormous associated legal costs) will no doubt have an unfavorable impact on the diocese and its schools. It is just one more foreseeable and avoidable consequence of a reckless policy of union-busting initiated by Bishop Joseph Martino and his advisers.

The diocese has attempted to spin this outcome to make it a demonstration of the union’s “greed.”

A lot of explaining...

Then, of course, there's that whole glass house thing...

[Be careful with those broken shards, fellas, they can be sharp.]
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU runs from Obama, dumping $142,000 on Tim Burns attack ads

2010-05-14T19:39:00.002-04:00

Trying to keep is purple fingers ~~on the throats~~ in the pockets of the late Jack Murtha's constituents, the SEIU is dumping $142,000 on ads trying to defeat GOP candidate Tim Burns in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District.

The SEIU's ad tries to tie Burns to "special interests" because of campaign contributions.

The commercial matches up with other Democratic-aligned groups advertising in the district: it avoids any mention of the policies of the Obama administration or the Democratic Congress, focusing instead on a purely economic message that depicts Burns, a former businessman, as out of step with the struggles of working class voters.

Oddly, the SEIU ignores the fact that the SEIU is...well...a special interest.
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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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU's New Burger Queen? Internal Documents Expose Plan to Unionize Fast-Food Industry

2010-05-14T14:51:00.009-04:00

If you'd like to see how a union plans to exploit and target workers if the hallucinogencially-named Employee Free Choice Act (aka "card-check") is passed, read this post.

Last weekend, we reported on what appeared to be a new union battle that the SEIU was going to wage by invading the UFCW's turf and attempting to unionize grocery workers. The foundation of this was an interview new SEIU boss Mary Kay Henry gave to a reporter. On Tuesday, the SEIU was forced to issue a press release reassuring the UFCW it had no plans on invading (also known as raiding) the food sector.

SEIU fully recognizes the food sector as a core industry of sister union United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents more than a million supermarket workers.

Well, it turns out that the SEIU's "correction" (see above) may not be entirely accurate.

Internal SEIU documents have exposed a December 2009 plan hatched to unionize the nation's fast food workers. The SEIU plan details how the purple behemoth plans on targeting fast-food chains in Los Angeles first, the using L.A. and an "east coast" city as a spring board into other cities.

The SEIU's plan is based on a labor landscape that is post Employee Free Choice Act, but its strategies demonstrate how the SEIU plans to use EFCA to unionize an almost-entirely union-free industry. While there is much to comment on about the SEIU plan and how a union targets workers within an industry (see highlighted text), we're just going to show you the plan itself.

In its plan, the SEIU states:

Our initial probing in this industry has taken place in the Los Angeles metro area. Los Angeles County has over 60,000 fast food workers in just the top ten chains. When we mapped out the restaurants of the major chains, we saw that they encompass large groupings of low income tracts. While just over 20,000 workers are employed in the top 10 chains in Fast Food in LA, we have broke [sic] down 75% of the geography into 4 Clusters. This encompasses just over 15,000 of the 20,000 workers.

The SEIU's One-year goal:

Organize 15,000 food service workers in LA County and thousands of additional workers in an east coast market within the first 6 months, and begin raising the standards for these workers.

The SEIU lays out its strategy, as follow:

Initiate a focused experiment in one or two metro areas to test the organizing theory and bring resources to bear on a limited geographical target.
Choose metro areas with a favorable local political environment and workforce composition (Los Angeles and an east coast market)
Target 7-10 of the largest chains to keep bargaining manageable and map out geographic clusters where field work can be concentrated.
Build broad-based support for targeted workers via extensive community outreach and organizing and political work with prominent local elected officials
While staying focused on the 7-120 chains, bring workers together across companies within geographic clusters to build a sense of movement and solidarity.
Use a living wage as a vehicle to excite, build momentum, build worker lists/ID potential leaders and potentially support collective bargaining. We believe we will have enough traction with an ordinance to use as a legitimate tool for organizing and potentially as legislation to raise standards.
Move fast and furious with an army of 200-300 Staff/MOs/VOs/other volunteer organizers and the necessary number of leads to:

Petition for living wage
ID leaders
Bring workers together within geographies
Sign authorization cards
File on dozens of restaurants per week

While the SEIU's plan was prepared during the reign of Andy Stern and presented to the SEIU's Executive Board, there is no indication to believe that this plan has changed as Mary Kay Henry has committed $4 million to organizing and was part of the Executive Board at the time of this proposal.

You can read the rest of the SEIU plan here (captured just before it was mysteriously 'scrubbed')...

h/t: SternBurgerWithFries.

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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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Unions Throw a Fit, Taxpayers Take the Hit...

2010-05-14T12:12:00.001-04:00

In a union city like Philadelphia, it really shouldn't come as a shock that when unions pitch fits, politicians' knees buckle, and taxpayers end up paying the price.

A few months ago, we posted on Philadelphia's proposed soda tax that drew union protests by the Teamsters. To be clear, we also believe the soda tax idea is a stupid idea--sort of like tea taxes were in 1773--as are most taxes today that go to pay for bloated governments.

However, instead of curbing the gorging at the public trough that has caused municipal budgets nationwide to collapse and prompting public workers' demands to raise taxes, the Philadelphia City Council has capitulated to union demands once again. Now, in yet another union shakedown, the residents of Philadelphia will be seeing their property taxes go up.

If you live in Philadelphia, higher property taxes and a fee for trash pickup may be two things you'll pay for next year.

Philadelphia City Council approved Mayor Michael Nutter's $3.9 billion budget for 2011 with a vote Thursday evening.

To fill in a $150 million budget gap, officials made several tax increases, the most notable being a 9.9-percent jump in property taxes, officials told NBC Philadelphia. That increase will only last for two years.

The 9.9 percent temporary tax hike has to get final approval from council next week.

Council also passed measures that will institute a new, yearly $300 fee for trash pickup from small businesses, duplexes and apartment buildings and a tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco.

One high-profile tax that wasn't included in the approved budget was the proposed soda tax.

The measure -- which would have put a tax of 2-cent per ounce on all soda and sugary drinks sold within the city limits -- was both lauded and detested by residents.

Once again, taxpayers take a hit all because unions threw a fit.
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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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

On the Arizona Boycott...

2010-05-13T23:41:00.000-04:00

Other than one earlier post, we haven't commented much on Arizona's decision to enforce immigration laws, but this is pretty poignant:

Los Angeles' city council votes to boycott Arizona for its enforcement of existing federal law. No word yet on how China's human rights violations will be treated. [Emphasis added.]

The rest of the article is just as good.
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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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Steelworkers' Leo Gerard Posts a Funny...sort of

2010-05-13T19:10:00.008-04:00

Sometimes union bosses are just plain ol' gooberheads.

Take Leo Gerard, for example. He's the president of the United Steelworkers and he seems to like to making his points by conflating two different issues.

Earlier this week, the union-controlled National Mediation Board (the federal agency that governs labor relations in the airline and railroad industries) set more than 70 years of precedent on its head by changing how union votes are counted.

We noted how the voting change is nothing more than a payback for union bosses who can now concentrate their resources on unionizing an airline's workers by concentrating only on hub cities and ignoring smaller outlying cities, even though workers in those smaller cities become unionized as well.

Nevertheless, in today's true union fashion, Gerard posts an antagonistic op-ed in the Hill entitled: Hey, Union-Busters: We'll Give You Supermajority. Aside from the provocative title [perhaps we should just start calling today's unions 'Company Killers'], Gerard's post was more perplexing to the average reader than enlightening--even for those who don't immediately see through his sad sophomoric sophistry .

Gerard makes the mistake of trying to tie NMB elections (which are entirely different than NLRB elections) into the uber-union desire for the job-destroying Employee Free Choice Act. His problem with doing that is that one has nothing to do with the other.

The anti-worker-rights groups wanted the NMB to retain a different kind of election – one that requires the winner to receive votes from the majority of all of those qualified to participate -- essentially, a supermajority.

This is an exciting new development. Up until now CEOs, union-busters, and particularly conservative Republicans, have actively opposed the Employee Free Choice Act, mainly because of a provision they call “card check.” But card check provides exactly what they now say that they want – a determination made by the majority of all of those qualified to participate. So, clearly, since they’re so upset by the end of supermajority rule for airline and railroad workers, they’d be happy if Congress intervened and instituted it for all workers by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

Under the NMB's new voting procedures (regardless of whether one agrees with it or not), the voter's preferences (presumably) are kept secret. Under the delusionally-dubbed Employee Free Choice Act's 'card-check' provisions, worker preferences are not secret.

Under card-check, workers are left exposed to pressure, manipulation and deception. And, most importantly, under card-check there is NO ELECTION, period.

Gerard's post would be funny, if it weren't such a pathetically poor attempt at subterfuge.

Gooberhead.
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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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Reading the Tea Leaves: Anna Burger will be stepping down at the SEIU

2010-05-13T13:09:00.001-04:00

Okay. We're going out on a limb here, but it's not without some solid foundation: If we're reading the tea leaves correctly, Anna Burger will likely be leaving her post as Secretary-Treasurer of the SEIU.

In less than a month, the (former) Queen of Labor has gone from being the assumed-next-in-line to lead, to being unceremoniously dethroned by a coup led by the union's top generals.

Yesterday, CQ Politics laid out the strongest evidence yet that Andy Stern's "partner" may have reached the end of the rope.

Major changes to the Service Employees International Union’s downtown operations could be under way soon.

In an interview Tuesday, new SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said she is conducting a monthlong review of her top deputies, including Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, Henry’s main opposition in the union’s recent election to replace longtime head Andy Stern. Burger mysteriously dropped out of the race two weeks before the May 8 election.

“She and I have begun discussions and are committed to reaching an agreement by the end of May. ... Every officer is now in a review process about what role they will assume,” Henry said in the interview. “It is the prerogative of the president to reassign responsibilities.”

Reading between the lines, it appears that the new SEIU leader doesn't want or need Anna Burger undermining the union's "new" direction, or stabbing her in the back in trying to re-take the union.

It should be noted, we're not suggesting that Anna will be leaving the SEIU or the labor movement. For the moment, she is still the head of the failed Change to Win federation and has a seat at the White House ~~dinner~~ task force table. However, it appears that her power within the SEIU will almost certainly be diminished if when Mary Kay Henry gets her way.

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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

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.