Shutdown...or Lockout?

We are now into week two of the full blown circus that is the government shutdown of 2013.  For some 800,000 federal employees who are being furloughed, there is another word for this situation: lockout.

lock·out

[lok-out] Show IPA

noun

the temporary closing of a business or the refusal by an employer to allow employees to come to work until they accept the employer's terms.

The only difference between this situation, and the definition from our friends at dictionary.com is that the federal employees do not have the means to accept the employer's terms.  This is because they are being kept off the job by a few dozen extremists in the House of Representatives who do not care about the livelihood of 800,000 people.

The American Federation of Government Employees(AFGE) is the largest of the labor organizations representing about 300,000 dues paying members.  While AFGE President J. David Cox has made some media appearances, and there have been a few rallies on the Hill, AFGE has not yet started treating this like the lockout that it is.

In most cases, when unions are locked out by management, they immediately set up a picket line and pull out all the stops to force an end to the stalemate.  So far, there have been a few small rallies and a membership drive that allows members to earn a $100 rebate for signing up new members.  While I'm all about membership drives, and was active in them during my years as an AFGE member, perhaps a more militant, in your face approach might be appropriate given the task at hand.

My good friend, Bill Preston, President of AFGE Local 17, is spearheading a rally this Friday.  Here is the pertinent information:

Join Local 17 of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) for a Rally at the Capitol to Protest the Government Shutdown and Support your Fellow Workers

When: Friday, October 11, 2013 from 12:00 Noon until 3:00 PM

Where: The West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building  The attached map from the U.S. Capitol Police gives the exact location: It is the demonstration permit area marked # 1.

Who: All Federal employees* and their friends and families and allies, including veterans (Local 17 represents workers at the VA's Central Office)

Bring any homemade signs to express to Congress your feelings about the shutdown.

I've applied for a permit to hold the Rally.  

* Federal employees may attend this Rally if they are:

- in a furlough status;

- taking annual leave; or

- attending during their regular 30-minute lunch period.

Please note that furlough–exempted employees (those still working due to continued funding) should take annual leave if they plan to attend for longer than the 30-minute lunch period.  Furlough–excepted employees cannot take annual leave, but may still attend during their regular lunch period.

Come help make this a successful Rally!!  We look forward to seeing you on Friday!!

 
If you are in DC and are able to attend, please do so in solidarity with those who are furloughed.  This rally is an excellent start, and I would like to see a more proactive push from the AFGE national leadership.  Let's set up some picket lines and burn barrels near the Capitol and House office buildings.  It's time to take the fight to them and put some real pressure on them to stop this insanity.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

 

The Dirty Truth Behind Closed Contract Negotiations

If you ask your average rank-and-file UFCW or Teamsters member when they last attended a contract bargaining session, they'll likely tell you that they've never been to one.  What's the reason for this?  One of the unfortunate truths of the labor movement is that many unions do not permit their own members to attend the negotiation sessions of their own contract.

I asked several Kroger members for an update during their contract campaign last year.  The answer was identical from everyone I talked to.   They could attend a regional meeting to receive an update, but they were never informed of negotiating session locations, or invited to attend.  When I asked several Teamsters from the facility in which I work, they responded that only the Shop Steward was permitted to attend negotiations.

So why is this a big deal?

For starters, and probably most importantly, it's your contract.  I don't know about you, but there is no way in hell that I'm going to let someone negotiate the terms of my employment without me being present so I can witness and approve of what they agree to.  I have always believed that someone who has the opportunity to attend negotiations, and refuses to do so has no right to complain about the shortcomings of their collective bargaining agreement.

If your union doesn't encourage you to attend negotiations, or tries to discourage you from attending, this should be a major red flag.  Ask yourself this question - Why don't they want me to attend?

So why don't unions want their members at negotiations? 

There are two very big secrets that many unions do not want their members to know that contribute to this strategy:

1. Having open negotiations has the potential to show the weakness of the bargaining unit if nobody shows up.  Of course, if a union is doing its job, then it will have the bargaining unit mobilized for negotiations.  Most unions do not spend enough time or resources on this sort of action.  Therefore, it is in their interest to have closed negotiations to keep the employer in the dark.

2. Having closed negotiations allows the union to make whatever deals it wants to make without the members knowledge.  I call this the SEIU strategy.  SEIU has become famous for its backroom deals with employers.  While I mentioned earlier that my local had open negotiations, I was trained to figure out what the members would swallow without going on strike, then to make a deal with management without the members knowing to settle the contract.  Sadly, many unions follow this playbook and negotiate weak contracts instead of organizing their bargaining units into a militant force that can fight concessions.

The bottom line is: It's your contract, your job - Fight for it!

In Solidarity,

Joseph

It's Time To Strike The No Strike/No Lockout Clause

Much has been said by various leaders in the labor movement over the last several years about the lack of solidarity in the labor movement, yet most of them seem to ignore one of the biggest causes of this problem - The No Strike/No Lockout Clause in most union contracts.

Admittedly, the plus side is very attractive to union leaders and workers:  The company agrees not to lock you out for the duration of the contract.  Well, at least they say they won't lock you out.  These rules may not apply if you work for Albertsons, Ralph's, Sterling Chemical, Castlewood Country Club...you get the point.

Unfortunately, the down side to a No/Strike/No Lockout clause is a huge one.  Not only are workers barred from going on strike, it bans just about any labor action, including leafletting, picketing, and slow-downs.  Bigger than the issues just mentioned is that most of these clauses prohibit sympathy strikes, and forces members to become scabs and cross picket lines of other unions.

It would seem to me that if the leaders of today's labor movement are searching for the reasons that workers aren't as united as we were 60-80 years ago, this might have something to do with it.  In exchange for not locking us out, which is not always effective, especially if the workers get into the plant and have a sit-down strike, the labor movement has signed over our most effective weapons:

1. The ability to control our own labor.
2. The ability to unite with other workers to effect commerce.

Without these weapons, the labor movement has become soft, weakened, isolated, and although it pains me to say it: corporatist.

So how do we solve this problem? Well, there are a few ways.  Some are more radical(effective), and some are more moderate(somewhat less effective).

1. Remove the No Strike/No Lockout Clause completely.  Instead of wasting time and money on arbitration cases that drag on forever, change the grievance procedure where any class action that is not solved at the 3rd step can result in a strike.  Of course, this means that unions will actually have to mobilize workers, which is what our purpose is supposed to be in the first place.

2. Keep the No Strike/No Lockout Clause, but retain the right to picket and leaflet.

3. Keep the right for sympathy/general strikes.  At the very least refuse to cross picket lines.  What the hell ever convinced the labor movement that it was alright to force our members to become scabs?

If you want real solidarity and a united labor movement, this would be a good start.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

A Few Things I'd Like To See This Labor Day

Here are a few things I would like to see this Labor Day:

1. An actual push by the labor movement to organize new workers. I actually kind of liked the AFL-CIO commercial last year, but I'd like to see one this year that simply lists the benefits of being in a union vs. non-union with a message that says "If you'd like to learn more about joining a union or starting one where you work, call this number" with a number set up by the AFL-CIO to direct people to the appropriate labor union.

Sounds simple doesn't it? It is, except it would mean that big labor would actually have to spend some money on organizing - what a concept!

2. While millions of Americans are watching football, wouldn't it be awesome to see a commercial(maybe even the sort of one listed in number 1) featuring some of the biggest names in the NFL, who oh, by the way, happen to be union members, publicly supporting unions and encouraging people to organize?

3. Since it hasn't happened up to this point, wouldn't it be nice to have a union friendly President come out publicly in support of unions, and the right to organize freely under the Employee Free Choice Act? Does anyone remember Candidate Obama saying he'd be right out there on the picket line with workers? If anyone has a picture of Obama in Wisconsin, or at the Ohio Statehouse, or on the picket line with Verizon workers, please send it to me - I think I missed something.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

p.s. - if you are interested in joining a union, please post a comment and I'll direct you to a union in your industry.

Proof That Everything, Even NFL Coaching Decisions, Is Related To Labor

It appears that the decision of whether the Dallas Cowboys will fire their coach might depend on the possible lockout due to labor issues between the players' union(NFLPA) and management.

Full story here:

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/could-nfl-labor-issues-save-wa.html

In Solidarity,

Joseph