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

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.
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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.

Machinists Postpone Boeing Strike...for now

It looks like Sunday...

 

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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.

Will unions push Boeing to the brink?

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:

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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.

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

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.
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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.

Airline merger could spark inter-union fights

Last week, United Airlines and Continental announced they were merging.  Now, The Street reminds us that, although the majority of both airlines are unionized, in some cases, there are different unions representing the same work groups at the respective airlines, which could prompt a war:

To summarize, the IAM represents about 9,500 flight attendants (about 8,400 are active) at Continental, while the Association of Flight Attendants represents 16,000 flight attendants at United (about 13,000 are active). The IAM represents about 7,900 fleet service workers at United, while the Teamsters represent about 7,600 fleet service workers at Continental. The IAM represents 8,100 customer service agents at United, while Continental agents do not have union representation.

If fighting does break out, it is likely to be have the Teamsters at its center as there has been animosity between the IAM and Teamsters for years. 

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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.

Machinists Authorize Another Strike Against Boeing

Apparently, Machinists at the Grand Lodge in Upper Marlboro, Maryland didn't get the message when Boeing moved a portion of its 787 production to South Carolina last year.  This time, its not the IAM in WaSta that may be going out on strike, but the Machinists in St. Louis:

Machinists at Boeing's St. Louis defense systems plant have authorized a strike if a contract is not accepted before the current agreement expires next month.


The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 said in a statement that the strike authorization vote was supported by 99 percent of the workers who attended a meeting on Sunday.


District 837 president Gordon King says seniority, pension, health care and job protection are the key issues.

Nothing like killing the goose when you get your gander up...

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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 bugging Boeing rival

It's been six months since the International Association of Machinists helped chase Boeing 787 Dreamliner production jobs away from Washington State.  Yet, according to this report, it appears the Machinists in WaSta isn't the only union harassing airplane manufacturers:

When Boeing announced late last year that it would build a second 787 Dreamliner assembly plant in South Carolina instead of Washington, labor issues played a big role in the decision.

The company said it hadn’t been able to negotiate a long enough no-strike agreement with its largest Washington union, the Machinists.

But Boeing isn’t the only manufacturer in the commercial airplane business who’s worrying about labor interruptions these days

The company’s European rival, Airbus, experienced a brief labor shutdown Monday on its A330 and A340 assembly lines

The union involved told Airbus to expect staggered strikes later this week at the company’s A320 production line. Monday’s strike lasted from noon to midnight.

Some day, and perhaps it may only happen when even more union jobs are lost, unions may actually come to realize that, when you kill the cow, there won't be any more meat to feast on.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

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

MACHINISTS UNION PRESIDENT BUFFENBARGER BLASTS OBAMA...AGAIN!

Among all the union presidents cutting backroom deals with the White House, one has been noticably absent and that is Tom Buffenbarger, the president of the International Association of Machinists.

Buffenbarger, most-famously known for his 2008 tirade (see below) against then-candidate Obama is apparently on the White House's growing list of enemies and, therefore, is apparently not welcome in all of the back rooms at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue where union bosses cut their deals.

Last night, following Obama's State of the Union address, Buffenbarger (who seems to be a frustrated poet) released the following statement:

It is hard to reconcile the images of a year ago – millions of Americans watching as one as President Barack Obama took the oath of office – and the faces of 31 million Americans who have been idled in this Grave Recession. Even the pomp and ceremony of this State of the Union address could not dispel the sense that something has gone terribly awry.

The clarion calls of hope and change have faded like the last notes of Taps. The enveloping darkness, a darkness of deepening disillusionment and even deeper cynicism, is settling across the land.

When one-fifth of America's workforce is idled to some degree, the full force of government, business, labor and academia must be marshaled to get them back to work. But no such comprehensive strategy was outlined tonight.

Tonight, for all those Americans who are unemployed or underemployed, the darkness grew deeper, the cold grew more penetrating, the hunger grew more acute and the fear – yes, the fear – of what tomorrow would bring grew more intense.

Tomorrow morning, when America's jobless open their morning newspapers, they will know that their national nightmare will last through 2010. The winter, spring and summer of their discontent now will feel interminable. And their growing anger and frustration will find an outlet, most probably in the 2010 midterm elections. [Emphasis added.]

Even though the Machinists' union reluctantly eventually went "all in" by endorsing Obama once Hillary Clinton lost the 2008 primaries, Buffenbarger has never backed down from his 2008 comments when he called Obama a "silver-tongued orator from Kansas, Hawaii and Illinois? The man in love with the microphone" and his supporters  "latte-drinking, Prius- driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust fund babies."

View his entire tirade here: 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Apparently, Buffenbarger doesn't care to be invited to the White House in 2010 either.


Addendum: There's also bad blood between Buffenbarger and the SEIU's Andy Stern.

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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

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LABOR SHORTS: The Grinch, The SEIU & More...

Labor Shorts is back for its sixth installment and, in honor of the season and the first story below, we've changed the shorts (so to speak):

• Bah Humbug! No egg nog for those Union Scrooges! An ongoing brouhaha between NBC and NABET/CWA has the union threatening to pull the plug on "Christmas in Rockefeller Center."


• Why do they want to eliminate voting rights? Unions won 73% of NLRB Elections in the first half of 2009 which begs the question: Why do union bosses want to eliminate workers' right to a secret-ballot with the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act? [What losers.]


• WTF?!? God, Guns and…Goldman Sachs? The SEIU is bragging (and Bloomberg is reporting) that executives at failed New Jersey governor John Corzine's former company, Goldman Sachs, are arming themselves against a potential proletariat uprising, as SEIU continues to harass the bailed-out billionaires club.


• Speaking of Class Warfare…In a newly uncovered video, SEIU's former favorite son (and current DNC Chair) Howard "Hear Me Yell" Dean has declared the debate between socialism and capitalism OVER and announces the DNC's "permanent campaign."


• Show Me State Turns Blind Eye To Purple People Beaters. Three months after the fact and just when it appeared that justice would be served upon the SEIU thugs who beat a black conservative last August, justice just got downgraded to an "ordinance violation."


• SEIU settles PR SNAFU with Boy Scout…sort of. After threatening to file a grievance for a boy scout volunteering his time to clear a path, SEIU bigwigs found themselves picking up sticks by the roadside in an attempt to revitalize their already-blown image.


• Fat Chance, Fat Head! The Machinists union is calling on President Obama to save 1,000 Pratt & Whitney jobs that are moving out of Connecticut. Apparently, the union is hoping that "the silver-tongued orator" Obama has forgotten Machinist President Tom Buffenbarger's anti-Obama tirade during last year's Democratic primaries. [Perhaps the IWAS is befitting.]


• How Objectionable: SEIU's Press Release Calls Out NLRB & Attempts Scare Health Care Workers. The National Labor Relations Board has apparently offended the seemingly above-the-law SEIU by granting health care workers at Kaiser Permanente the right to vote to choose whether or not to remain represented by the Union of Purple People Eaters. Read the release here.


• An Ex-SEIU staffer shares what he found wrong with Andy Stern's SEIU: "…an organization that dampened freedom of speech, weakened internal democracy, reduced meaningful member involvement, made secret deals with employers that harmed members’ interests, and isolated and punished members and staff who disagreed." [Read the rest here.]


• Union extortion gets NY contractor 3 Mos. in slammer. "After apologizing to his family and the court, Petrocelli told the judge that if he hadn't paid off McLaughlin, the crooked labor leader would have put him out of business by drumming up labor unrest."


• Thief Steals Millions from Sandhogs Union. "Like sand in an hourglass, so were the..." Over the last seven years, Melissa G. King of Irvington, N.Y., transferred $42 million from three union funds to bank accounts she controlled.


• SEIU Set to Walk Out on Patients. Richard Palmisano, president and CEO of Northern Berkshire Healthcare, the hospital’s parent corporation, said in a release that the hospital would continue to "provide high quality health care services to our patients without interruption" if the strike takes place as planned.


• Teamsters' Hoffa Imposes Concessions on Teamster Members. “We’re proud that we stood strong against concessions, and we did it on our own. Now our own International union comes in and undercuts us. They’ve sold themselves to the company,” stated Local 705 steward Mike Jordan.

These, as you know, are but a few of the stories we post seven days a week on LaborUnionReport's Linkedin Group. If you're not on there yet, you're missing a lot.

Readers, we wish you a very productive and prosperous week's end.

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

Labor Shorts, an EFCA Rumor & Health Care

An EFCA Update: The Latest Rumor…

We have not been hearing much about the job-destroying and hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act. However, given last Tuesday's Democratic drubbing at the polls in NJ and VA, we know that unions and their allies on the Hill are getting a bit antsy (read desperate) to try to get their agenda passed before the mid-term elections in 2010.

On EFCA, as it's been stalled in the Senate, rumor has it that there will be an attempt to do something…anything…after the first of the year.

While "anything" may be a watered-down version (i.e., "quickie elections," baseball-style arbitration, equal-access, and punitive fines), or it could be the EFCA in its original form, the real reason unions and their cohorts are going to try for something after the first of the year is to see who's with them and who's against them. This way, with the help of Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and his help in developing labor's 'hit list,' they'll know who to target in the mid-terms.

Now, this might sound a bit like 'extortion' to laypeople (like us). But no one should dare call it 'extortion.' For 'extortion' really has no place in politics…And, stating the truth would be about as absurd in today's political environs as laypeople calling political threats from union bosses 'extortion.'

Labor Shorts #6: Exposing Union Bosses, One Skid Mark at a Time…

• Proud Propagandists: SEIU Leaked Memo Exposes Union Propaganda Techniques Used For Union Bailout Bill
• Angry in Arizona. As a strike deadline nears, UFCW-represented grocery workers in Arizona are upset with their union and picketed the UFCW offices in Phoenix…BUT…
• Grocery workers in Colorado want to strike. However, UFCW bosses quibble on constitutional language as member claims union is "playing games with our lives."
• The SoCal Slaughter. In Washington, UFCW bosses' bad memories of the 2004 SoCal strike that went kaput are causing some angst over granting a strike sanction.
• Tough Times for the UFCW Staff as one UFCW Local Threatens its Own Staff Union With Layoffs!
• Black and blue and purple too! With two alleged beatings over the last few months, we take a look at The SEIU and its Purple Pattern of Persuasion
• Don't Mock Them! It may be hard to take unions seriously when one sees American Airlines' flight attendants mocking a strike. [LMAO!]
• No Tips Today… Workers at the San Francisco's Palace Hotel walked off the job this morning, taking to the streets with picket signs, drums and whistles.
• Bugging Becker… Eminent scholar Richard Epstein takes on NLRB nominee and SEIU radical Craig Becker, as well as the overly (and overtly) politicized National Labor Relations Board.
• What a MESS! The Teamsters are threatening to walk out on the mess hall at West Point, possibly leaving 4,000 cadets with nothing to eat.
• Dis-United Unions… The ongoing slug-fest between the union (formerly) known as UNITE-HERE and the SEIU-backed Workers United continues as laundry worker Carmen Padron says: "They should be organizing workers who don't have a union, not harassing us." [More here…]
• More Machinists to Lose Jobs as Hawker Beechcraft announces the closure of its Salina, Kansas plant--one of the two locations where the Machinists waged a bitter (and fatal) strike last year. The strike resulted in one fatality.
• A Disastrous Divorce or a Swimmingly Sweet Note? It all depends on one's point of view of how good the now-locked out musicians of Broadway's "Tony N' Tina's Wedding" played.
• The Last of the Mohicans? YRC bankruptcy may only be a matter of time as the last major Teamster trucking company continues to get creative in trying to save itself. If this latest effort fails, YRC's bankruptcy may be imminent and the company will join a long, long list of failed Teamster trucking companies.
• Topping 34,000. In the last day or so, the total number of site visits to 1-888-NO-UNION.COM have topped 34,000. This is all through word of mouth, as the site (as a free resource for employees and their employers) grows in popularity.
  

The Coming Apocalypse? Nationalized Health Care…or Not.

Okay. So "apocalypse" may be a bit of a stretch (*see footnote).

However, despite being declared DOA in the Senate (and whether you like it or not), Nancy Pelosi and her minions passed a 1,990 page monster of a bill under the cover of darkness on Saturday night.

“There’s no doubt that this is the most liberal health care bill that’s ever going to be passed by the Congress,” said a senior Democratic aide who helped ram it through the House. “Everything after this is likely to be weaker.”

While union bosses, like CWA's Larry Cohen gloat on the House's passage of PelosiCare, others are not so keen on the idea of a government-run, nationalized health care debacle.

"If this health care bill becomes law, America, life as you have known it, freedom as you have exercised it and privacy as you have enjoyed it will cease to be," says Judge Andrew Napolitano of the nearly 2,000 page freedom-ending monstrosity of a bill.

You can download all 1,990 pages here and sink into a recliner for a few hours, or you can view a partial breakdown of the bill on WSJ here.

And, if you're into that "holding-your-representatives-accountable" thing, you can see how your representatives voted here.

• Footnote: A few of our readers rebel at our staunch promotion of individual liberty so, on occasion, we like to throw a bit of hyperbolic bluster their way to gauge their reactions. [Bro-hugs, dudes!]

Readers, that is our take on all that which is important on the union front.

As always, for Labor News & Views delivered to your inbox daily, join the LaborUnionReport group on Linkedin.

And, don't forget, you can also follow us on Twitter.

We hope that you have a productive and prosperous week.

Best wishes.

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

Machinists' Union Democracy is 'MUD'

Unions like the International Association of Machinists are fighting to get a no-vote unionization bill signed into law. Elections can, after all, be such a dirty business....People might actually vote differently than the union bosses want.

But, apparently, the Machinists' union bosses don't just dislike elections for union-free workers, it seems the union bosses don't like them for their members either.

The Association for Union Democracy points out:

IAM election needless. All 20 officers coast in.

The constitution of the International Association of Machinists provides for the election of international officers by direct membership vote. But machinists are not actually burdened with the chore of casting ballots because it's so difficult for any dissident to get nominated that no one runs against the administration. So it was in January this year when the election committee (more accurately, the non-election committee) announced that all candidates of the administration for all 20 posts, including president, secretary treasurer, vice president, law committee, and AFL-CIO and CLC Delegates were automatically declared elected.

Wannabe candidates must be nominated by at least 25 locals to get on the ballot. The election committee reported that only the administration candidates --- each with over 300 local nominations --- made it. It's not clear whether there was even a single errant nomination from anywhere, no reference to any local nomination for anyone else, not even a possible token nomination for a local favorite son. However, the committee did note that, for one technical reason or another, the returns from around 150 locals were not included in the count. How many of these locals, if any, nominated independent candidates or local favorites is not known.

No wonder unions like the IAM want to do away with elections. After all, they are sooo inconvenient.

WHO BLEW IT? An Anti-Business State and Fighting Machinists Lose Bout for Boeing Jobs

The months-long, cross-country suspense over who gets the new 787 Dreamliner production line is finally over.

Leaving an Anti-Business Climate

The Boeing Co. has finally reached the conclusion to locate its second production line for the new 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, far away from what many view as the anti-business climate in Washington State.

While the decision is not sitting well with the International Association of Machinists, the union should not be too surprised either.

In September, the union was overwhelmingly decertified at Boeing's facility in South Carolina and, based on press reports, Boeing may have finally tired of its acrimonius relationship with the "Fighting Machinists."
According to Bloomberg:

The union was willing to extend its current four-year contract by another eight years, ensuring no strikes through at least 2020, to secure the 787 work, Rich Michalski said. Instead, Boeing shut down talks two days before its Oct. 26 board meeting and announced Oct. 28 that it would open a plant in the southeastern U.S. state, the first time it has built a commercial-aircraft assembly line outside the Seattle area.

“They won’t ever get us to commit like that again,” Michalski said in an interview last night. “That’s over.”

Sound like the drum beats of war for Boeing in their next round of negotiations.

Pro-union commentator and UC Berkley professor Harvey Shaiken adds: “The risk for Boeing is, moving to South Carolina does not solve its labor issues with the IAM; if anything it adds a troubling new layer to them.”

Unreasonable Demands?

However, despite the IAM's pledge not to strike, it appears that the IAM didn't leave much choice for Boeing.

Boeing says the IAM "demanded new planes be built here [in Washington], offered only an eight-year no-strike guarantee and wanted a gold pass to organize everyone and everything in the company."

Of course, that was in addition to three percent increases every year for another eight years following the 2012 expiration of the union's current contract.

A Parade of Noise-Making Machinists

It also appears that dealing with the Machinists' union and its apparently constant antagonism may be a bigger driving influence behind Boeing's decision.

Matt Gettmann began working in finance at Boeing Co. last year, and it wasn't long before he found himself watching, stunned, as union members prepared for what became an eight-week strike.

The work stoppage cost the company billions in deferred revenue and caused some of the delays in production of its new 787 at a time when Boeing was growing increasingly frustrated with labor squabbles.

"There would be a parade of people, thousands and thousands of them, making noises and screaming" — right in the factory, Gettmann said. "That's the employee-employer relationship? It's shocking."

....

"This looks very much like a company that's tired of dealing with this union, and they've found a way out," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with Teal Group. "The union needs to put aside the concept of who's right and who's wrong, and look at who's winning and who's losing. This is not going well from their perspective."

Now that would be an understatment!

Boeing, Boeing...Gone?

Time will tell if Boeing shifts more of its production to more labor-friendly locales, but for the IAM in Puget Sound and Washington State offcials, this should serve as a wake-up call:

Chasing business away with anti-business regulations and unrealistic union demands is not being 'pro-worker'--especially when it causes jobs to be lost.

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Cross-posted on RedState.com

MACHINISTS UNION DODGES "ANGRY AND DISGUSTED" MEMBERS AT MERCURY MARINE

"I am angry and disgusted with our union. They fought us tooth and nail all week long in our effort to get a re-vote," said Fred Toth Jr., an IAM member and Mercury Marine employee.

Toth, like other members of the International Associatation of Machinists employed by Mercury Marine, will likely be unemployed soon. Last Sunday, a majority of members rejected their employer's 'last, best and final offer' and, after they realizing their employer was indeed serious about closing their plant, asked their union for a re-vote. All they got was the run around until the last minute.

Unfortunately, the Machinists union delayed letting its members conduct a re-vote until the day the company's offer was expired...too late to have all its members vote.

According to the Journal-Sentinel:

A second vote on a labor contract at Mercury Marine Inc. came to an abrupt halt Monday afternoon when union officials said there was no longer anything to vote on.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers called off the vote mid-afternoon Monday rather than allow it to continue until 6 p.m. as had been scheduled.

"The union has no other options but to consider (the company's) last, best and final offer to have been removed from the table, and the current (labor) agreement remains in full force and effect until June 23, 2012," a statement from IAM District 10 headquarters said.

Union, not company, blamed...

Toth said he did not blame the company or Lodge 1947 for the cancellation of the second vote, but he was upset with District 10 officials in Milwaukee.

"As far as I am concerned, they failed their membership," Toth said.

District 10 officials would not comment beyond what was in their written statement.

Then came the classic duck 'em and dodge 'em response from the Machiists' union bosses:

Michael King, a spokesman for the IAM Midwest Territory office, declined to discuss the second vote.

"To discuss what happened, when we didn't initiate it, may not necessarily be in our best interest," King said. [Emphasis added.]

For background on this story go here, here, and here.

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BREAKING NEWS: MACHINISTS' LAST MINUTE REVOTE TACTIC REBUFFED

After feeling the heat from the soon-to-be-unemployed membership at Mercury Marine, the International Association of Machinists finally relented and made a gesture toward allowing the members to revote on the contract offer they rejected last Sunday.

The problem was, the voting started at 10 p.m. on Saturday night and again at 6 a.m. this morning--a full six hours after the company said its offer would expire.

From JSOnline:

A last-minute decision Saturday to have a second vote on a labor contract at Mercury Marine Inc. was effectively killed early Sunday when the company said it would not accept the results of any ballots cast after midnight.

Late Saturday night, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge 1947 announced there would be a second vote on the contract proposal that was scheduled to expire at midnight. Voting began at the union hall in Fond du Lac shortly after 10 p.m., was expected to last until midnight and continue on Sunday until 6 p.m.

But early Sunday morning, union officials said a Mercury Marine executive told them the company would not accept any ballots cast after midnight.

Thus, the polls will not be open Sunday as announced earlier, said Dan Longsine, the union’s chief negotiator.

Ballots cast Saturday night will probably be voided, Longsine said. The union had wanted to continue voting on Sunday, thus giving members adequate opportunity to cast their ballots.

In a statement released at 2:15 a.m. Sunday, Mercury said:

"The IAM conducted a last-minute vote on the original proposal terms and conditions but did not complete the process to a definitive conclusion prior to the expiration of the proposal. As a result, Mercury said it will continue to operate the Fond du Lac facility under the terms and conditions of the existing contract, which expires in 2012. Manufacturing workers in Fond du Lac are represented by the IAM, Local chapter 1947. As previously announced, the company will now begin the transition planning process to its Stillwater, Okla., facility."

It appears that the union, which knew of the company deadline all week, tried to pull a quick PR stunt in an effort to cast the pall of blame back on the company.

Whether or not the members see through this transparent effort is unknown. What is known, however, is that 850 Machinists' members will soon be unemployed.

MORE ON THE MACHINISTS MERCURY MARINE MASSACRE

Rules are rules. In this case, however, it sounds as though the Machinists international union rules are so strict that 850 members will be losing their jobs as a result.

Below is another video explaining that the International Association of Machinists won't let the soon-to-be unemployed members revote on the previously rejected contract.

UPDATE: MACHINISTS MEMBERS HOPES SINKING AS INTERNATIONAL UNION NIXES REVOTE

With time running out before their jobs go away, Machinists union members in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin are asking for a revote on the vote they took last week to either accept or reject their employer's final offer.

Last Sunday, despite warnings from their employer that a rejection would mean closing their facility, Machinists members rejected the concessionary contract. Within days, members began having second thoughts.

Now, however, it appears as thought their international union is prohibiting the members from taking a revote unless their are changes to the company's final offer. The company, however, states that its offer will not change. As WBAY reports:

"I think the bylaw thing was a straw man. There's somebody on the IAM that doesn't want this to happen, and it's very unfortunate because they are not representing the interests of the people of this community," County Executive Allen Buechel expressed.
....

"The situation at some point may need a hero, and may need a hero making a decision that is outside the box. We're hoping somebody is going to step forward and make that decision that is going to keep jobs in Fond du Lac," City Manager Tom Herre said.

It's a decision that also divides the union.

"I'm afraid there's going to be some violence. Actually, I'm not sure that wouldn't happen now if a second vote and the vote went the other direction, because there's still people who feel strongly on both sides," Buechel said.

Some ask why the local union doesn't just ignore national leaders and hold another vote. The county executive tells us they worry if the vote isn't sanctioned it won't count at all.

The company's offer will stand until midnight tonight.

WHY ARE UNIONIZED WORKERS OPTING FOR MASS INDUSTRIAL SUICIDE & UNEMPLOYMENT?

There's a disturbing trend occurring across America. It seems as though there is a move toward mass industrial suicide being executed by unions and their members these days. Despite unemployment being around 9.5% nationwide and likely to see double digits, more and more often it appears that unions and their members are opting for pink slips and plant closures rather than agreeing to concessions that just might save their jobs.

Is it that there is a big game of chicken being played between labor and management around the nation? Are workers being told by their union leaders that it is better to be unemployed than to work with "the boss"? Or, have unionized workers adopted a mass nihilistic philosophy toward work? And, if the latter is the case, who is at fault when the companies involved are in entirely different industries and different geographical regions?

The Union of Ailing Workplaces (UAW)

In Huntsville, Alabama, members of the United Auto Workers have rejected their employer's request to re-open their contract to obtain cost-reductions to make their plant more competitive. Their decision comes just a few days before their employer, Continental, an automotive parts supplier decides whether or not to keep the plant open.

Continental has said it would consider closing the plant and relocating product lines to lower-cost facilities if cost reductions aren't made to make the operation here "globally competitive."...

Continental last month told UAW representatives that the company's automotive business has been hurt by a slowdown in the automotive industry, and UAW sources say the company was looking for some $60 million in cost savings a year at the plant.
According to Continental, the Huntsville plant has the highest manufacturing costs of all Continental's North American plants that make electronic parts.

The Huntsville Continental plant has about 550 hourly employees who are union members, nearly 100 salaried employees who are union members and about 300
salaried, nonunion employees.

On the Heels of the Machinists' Mass Suicide at Mercury Marine

A mere four days ago, 850 members of the International Association of Machinists voted to reject their employer Mercury Marine's request for givebacks, despite the clear message from their employer that the company would move work from its Fon du Lac, Wisconsin plant to its Oklahoma plant.

Unless the union and its members change their minds by August 29th, job cuts will be starting soon. However, according to Phillip Gruber, Midwest Director for the Machinists union, it would appear the decision to see the company move rather than accept concessions is final.

Union officials say the company's latest proposal is a "suicide offer."

Which option would you take?

"Mercury Marine never intended for this offer to be accepted," said IAMAW Midwest territory vice president Philip Gruber. "Despite progress on every major issue and a commitment by the IAM to continue bargaining, the company balked in the final hours and added terms and conditions that assured members would reject the offer … Mercury Marine has been threatening these workers and this community for weeks. Some companies may hint at dire consequences as a bargaining tactic, but rarely do we see such extortion in plain view. It's unethical, it's
un-American and I respect any worker who stands up and refuses to be bullied."

Sounds like 'case closed' for Mercury Marine's Machinists.

Boeing, Going...Gone?

Just last month, the same Machinists' union was given an ultimatum by its largest employer, Boeing, that the union must ensure labor peace (through a long-term no strike pledge) or it may move part of its 787 Dreamliner assembly out of Washington state.

Last year, the Machinists union engaged in a long, "costly and damaging" strike at Boeing, idling 27,000 union workers and shutting production down for 52 days (and which followed a three week strike in 2005). With Boeing locked in a competitive battle with European-government backed Airbus, it appears the company is no longer tolerant of having an unpredictable workforce.

However, when the company signaled its desires to have longer-term labor peace, the union establishment in that state essentially gave Boeing "the bird" by saying giving a long-term no strike pledge is“...something that we would probably never do."

As of Wednesday "the plane maker has notified the South Carolina Department of Commerce that it will seek a permit to add a commercial aircraft assembly line in the state." [In Charleston, South Carolina, the employees at Boeing's recently purchased plant currently have an election scheduled to determine whether they will decertify the Machinists union.]

While Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx stated that no decision has been made on whether the company will move some of its assembly to South Carolina yet, he also added, "Production stability will be a factor [in where the new production line is located], but that doesn't mean that we have a preference for a non-union facility."

It does appear, however, that the writing is on the wall for many of the Machinists in Puget Sound. Their last long strike may just have been the straw that broke the camel's back and their resistance to ensure labor peace will cost them dearly.

Bad Leadership or Bad Decisions?

With the seemingly disparate decisions being made by these unions and their members likely to result in the loss of thousands of jobs, the question becomes: Are these union workers being deceived by their union leaders into believing that their employers won't actually close their facilities? Perhaps time will provide us with the answer but, if this is indeed the case, then there is ample evidence that should demonstrate to them the folly of following their union leaders lockstep to the unemplyment lines.

MERCURY MARINE MACHINISTS MAY HAVE VOTED TO COMMIT MASS INDUSTRIAL SUICIDE BY REJECTING COMPANY'S REQUEST FOR CONCESSIONS

The statement from their employer, Mercury Marine, could not have been any clearer: We need concessions or we move.

Yet, it seems as though Machinists members in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin purposely ignored the warning and drank a whole lot of arsenic-laced Kool Aid in order to commit mass industrial suicide.

Now, if the 850 members of the International Association of Machinists soon find themselves on the unemployment line, they will have no one to blame but themselves.

The union knew the choices:

If the union votes to accept the proposal from Mercury on Sunday, existing jobs will remain in Fond du Lac and reduce operations in Stillwater and elsewhere, Mercury President Mark Schwabero said today.

A no vote, he said, means Stillwater could become a primary operations location

Nevertheless, earlier today Machinists members of Local 1947 'overwhelmingly' rejected the company's offer, knowing full well it cold cost them their jobs.



Granted, their choice was a difficult one (give back wages and benefits or see if the company's 'threat' to move is real). However, by deciding to reject the company's request and roll the dice, the Machinists members cannot blame Corporate America or anyone else if their jobs are eliminated.

MONDAY MAYHEM: UNIONS & THEIR DASTARDLY DEEDS DONE (NOT SO) DIRT CHEAP

It's Monday evening and it was a hot one today. While the air-cooled Harleys were parked in the shade, we felt it an opportune time to share the some of the latest and (not so) greatest news on the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act as well as what else today's union bosses are up to.

Another Harley Strike?

First and foremost, on a subject near and dear to our hearts (as well as other body parts), the International Association of Machinists is scheduling a strike vote on September 20th at the Harley Davidson plant in York, PA.

With 2,000 jobs at stake, this is a seemingly suicidal tendency on the part of the IAM as it comes on the heels of Harley's ultimatum that it needs to trim costs or it will (like Caterpillar before it) leave York, especially following the three-week strike just 2 1/2 years ago.

Arlen Specter's Little Purple Pill & Its Ugly Stepchild ACORN

If you you've been reading our blogs, just when you think Arlen Specter (D-R-D PA) is heading into proverbial town hall hell with flaccid poll numbers, it seems as though he just takes a little SEIU Purple Pill, mixed with some mixed nuts at ACORN, and WHAMMO! his poll numbers start to rise again.

According to a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll, Specter is once again back in the saddle, riding a five point lead over his Republican rival Pat Toomey.

While it does seem hard to believe that Pennsylvanians would support a man who switches his opinion and his party likely more often than his underwear, it may be that Specter's Viagra-like poll numbers are due to the cover he's getting from the Purple People Eater union known as the SEIU.

The SEIU and its ugly stepchild known as ACORN have apparently been astro-turfing for Specter by busing their storm troopers to Specter's town hall meetings to avoid more embarrassing 'senior moments' for the octogenarian politician who, it seems, has forgotten who he works for.

The Spectre of EFCA in September

Speaking of Senator Specter-the-Spectre (the man just who can't make up his mind when it comes to the delusionally-dubbed Employee Free Choice Act), on Friday, the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned Democrat Senator told an audience of left-wing bloggers in Pittsburgh that he wood vote for cloture on EFCA.
This means, contrary to his statement in March that he was opposed to EFCA, he is once again fully for it AND, if all Democrats are in alignment, EFCA will pass as written (see caveats below).

Here's Our Current Prognosis on EFCA...A Lot of IFs:

• Nothing before September 8th (when the August recess is over)


• IF Democrats Mary Landrieau (LA), Mark Pryor (AR), Blanche Lincoln (AR) and Dianne Feinstein (CA) all vote along party lines the Senate will pass EFCA as written.


• IF Senators Byrd and Kennedy are back in town


• NOTE: It will be a surprise if a "frail and failing" Ted Kennedy is able to re-enter the Senate chambers to cast a vote and, it is unknown how long it will take for his successor to be named and pressured into supporting EFCA


• IF the Health Care debate sucks all of the oxygen out of Washington, it is remotely possible (though doubtful) that the Democrats may become so embattled with intra-party fighting that it will not be able to focus on another highly contentious bill until after the mid-term elections.
  
• Utilizing our favorite motto: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst…

On a Lighter Note: Shark Attacks are Down, BUT…

A brighter side to the recession if we've ever heard one...

The good news is: According to Surfer magazine's July '09 issue, shark attacks in 2008 dipped to their lowest level in five years.

Apparently, more Americans are skipping out on their annual pilgrimages to the beach, which means less tasty morsels for those hungry man-eaters swimming in the deep.

The bad news is… [Click here to find out]

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

Is the Machinists' Union a Threat to U.S. National Security?

Can a union become a threat to national security?

Quite possibly, if it engages in a strike during a time of crisis.

Well, on June 9th, hundreds of members of Local 898 of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) went on strike against their employers--private contractors at Vance Air Force Base.

This labor dispute, according to UPI, has caused the Air Force to suspend flight operations at the base.

While America is currently not under attack (that we know of), imagine if an incident like 9/11 were to occur and the Air Force could not scramble the jets to intercept hijacked aircraft.

What then?