Voice@Work Update Aug. 9, 2006

Thousands of Workers Nationwide Challenge Labor Board
This summer, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is preparing to rule on three cases that are referred to as the “Kentucky River” cases.  By broadening the legal definition of “supervisor” beyond those with real supervisory authority, the NLRB rulings could deny up to 8 million workers their freedom to form a union, reversing decades of workers’ rights.

From July 10 to July 20, workers in more than 20 cities turned out by the thousands to demand that the NLRB protect their freedom to form unions and bargain collectively.  The Week of Action included marches, rallies, and large-scale demonstrations at Labor Board offices and health care facilities.  It was an extraordinary week that culminated with a powerful march and demonstration at the NLRB headquarters in Washington, D.C.

See photos from the Week of Action here.

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135 Members of Congress Tell NLRB to Listen to Workers
So far, 24 senators and 111 House members have signed a letter to NLRB Chairman Robert J. Battista demanding that the board reverse the decision not to hear oral arguments in these critical cases.

Please urge your members of Congress to send the letter to Battista today.  Click here to take action.

The AFL-CIO and a group of 30 labor law professors filed separate motions to have the NLRB reconsider its refusal to hold oral arguments.

Check out the Economic Policy Institute’s report, Supervisor in Name Only, on the Kentucky River cases.  The report concludes that up to 8 million workers could be barred from forming unions and delineates the affected job classifications.

Another report, President Bush’s National Labor Relations Board Rolls Back Labor Protections, released by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chronicles a series of NLRB decisions that have limited workers’ freedom to join unions.

The worker advocacy group, American Rights at Work, also published a report, Workers Anticipate Reversal of Rights From Bush-Appointed Labor Board, which reviews the history of the Bush labor board’s decisions.  The report also provides a look at the legal issues and implications of the Kentucky River cases for workers.

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Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert Takes on Bush Board
"The Colbert Report," Comedy Central's popular political satire, ran a segment July 18 on the potentially disastrous impact the Kentucky River rulings could have on workers.  Host Stephen Colbert took on the National Labor Relations Board and ridiculed the notion that all workers could be deemed supervisors.

Check out the clip from the show here.

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Press Clips of the Week
"Bid to Disqualify Workers From Unions Is Protested," Washington Post
About 1,500 workers demonstrated at the NLRB headquarters in downtown Washington to protest the impending Kentucky River decisions to deny workers their freedom to form unions and bargain collectively.

"Protecting workers’ rights," The Boston Globe
Op-ed article by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Richard M. Rogers, executive secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council.

"A New Assault on Workers' Rights," Mother Jones
AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff and Voice@Work Campaign Research Coordinator Sheldon Friedman explain impact of upcoming Kentucky River decisions.

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Quote of the Week
"If it meant the difference of being able to be in the union and have my union benefits and my contract, I would choose to stay with the union."

- Cyndy Chan, a sheet metal worker in Portland, Ore., on the prospect of being "promoted" out of her union through the Kentucky River decisions. Chan is represented by the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local 16.

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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.

Voice@Work Campaign
AFL-CIO