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Voice@Work Update June 8, 2006
Bush Board Allows Retaliation Against
Workers Seeking Community Support The problem began in December 2002 when negotiations between the center and Local 4485 of the American Federation of Teachers failed to produce an agreement. The union reached out to the United Way and asked it to intercede. The United Way agreed and contacted management twice. The center responded by severing its relationship with the United Way and refused to accept further funding. The loss of funding meant fewer hours and less pay for several employees. In the NLRB decision, the majority of the board concluded the employer merely acted in response to an “intrusion” by a third party, reversing a 2004 decision of an administrative law judge who determined the tactic was indeed retaliation. Read more about this case in this special edition of American Rights At Work’s Eye on the NLRB: http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/workersrights/childrenscenter0506.cfm
Nurses Rally as NLRB Readies
Assault on Collective Bargaining Rights The NLRB is expected to decide sometime this summer which private-sector nurses should be considered supervisors. The Bush board’s decisions will affect workers in any industry in which skilled employees direct or assign the work of others, including the building trades and port shipping industries. In Jersey City, the nurses were joined by their brothers and sisters in the local labor movement as well as elected officials, faith leaders and national labor leaders including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Read more about the rally and the issues before the NLRB by clicking on the link below: http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/05/25/update-nurses-rally-against-pending-nlrb-restrictions/
Peabody Coal Miners Fighting for a
Union With the aid of the AFL-CIO, which is providing staff, resources and expertise, the United Mine Workers has put 30 organizers to work helping the Peabody miners. The workers began forming in-house committees in April 2005, and more than 500 workers have signed petitions demanding the right to organize. The Justice at Peabody campaign began Dec. 10, 2005, in St. Louis on International Human Rights Day. According to UMWA Assistant Organizing Director Bob Gaydos, Peabody has systematically closed its union mines and replaced them with nonunion mines over the past 15 years. Today, only 40 percent of Peabody’s miners worldwide are union members, he says, down from about 70 percent in the 1990s. Peabody provides 10 percent of the nation’s electricity and employs some 8,300 miners at 33 mines in nine states. Read more about the Justice at Peabody campaign by clicking on the link below: http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/05/31/peabody-miners-fighting-for-a-union/
Mapping out Workers’ Rights
Around the World In contrast, the conventions have been adopted by many countries in Europe, Africa, and South America, as well as Australia. The ICTUR map contains capsule reports on working conditions around the world, as well as updates on workers’ rights to associate freely and form unions. The ICTUR is a nongovernmental organization based in London whose purpose is to defend and improve the rights of trade unions and trade unionists throughout the world. Download a copy of the map or order copies online by clicking on the link below: http://www.ictur.labournet.org/Map.htm
Press Clips of the
Week “Boonville City Council backs union campaign at
Peabody,” Evansville Courier & Press “Foster parents move toward joining union,”
Seattle Times
Quote of the Week — AFL-CIO President John Sweeney at a nurses’ rally in New Jersey
Please send story suggestions, event announcements, campaign reports, letters and other information to Katrina Blomdahl at kblomdah@aflcio.org. Thank you for all you do to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain collectively. Together, we will win. In solidarity, Andy Levin |
