American University Food Service Workers Get a Fair Contract

I was elated to see that the hard working employees at my university have reached a fair contract.  They can now take culinary classes and get paid for doing so, and prepare meals from scratch.  This means that there will be much better food coming out of TDR, and that is a good thing.

You can read the whole story from Labor Notes here:

http://labornotes.org/blogs/2013/01/campus-workers-win-training-hours-cook-better-food#comment-4712

In Solidarity,

Joseph

Labor's New Odd Couple, Or A Match Made In Heaven?

There is the familiar old adage, politics makes strange bedfellows.  The recent announcement that the NationalUnion of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and the International Association of Machinistsand Aerospace Workers (IAM) are discussing a possible affiliation may have some people reworking that statement to include the labor movement.   

Like many in the labor community, I have to admit I was puzzled when I first heard of this possible partnership.  Why would an independent union of healthcare workers who are locked in an epic struggle against what is arguably the most undemocratic union in modern labor history consider teaming up with a union that has no history of representing healthcare workers, and frankly, has had its own issues in the past with internal democracy?

            According to John Borsos (Vice-President of NUHW), “IAM shares NUHW’s vision to build a national healthcare union.”  The fact that IAM is not involved in healthcare is seen as something of a plus to NUHW, as Borsos believes this will afford his organization a greater level of autonomy.  Of course, all of these issues are yet to be hammered out by the two unions, and any affiliation would be subject to approval by the respective memberships. 

So why would NUHW choose IAM over another independent union, such as the United ElectricalWorkers (UE) or another healthcare union like the California Nurses Association(CNA)?  While Borsos confirmed that there were other suitors who showed interest in NUHW, he declined to confirm specific organizations who expressed interest. 

While detractors will likely speculate that the NUHW-IAM alliance is based solely on the fact that NUHW needs resources for the upcoming rerun of the Kaiser Permanente elections, it is important to point out that if there were the case, why wouldn’t NUHW just affiliate with Unite Here, who, according to the Department of Labor, gave NUHW $4.8 million in 2010?  When asked about what kind of support IAM would be giving NUHW in the upcoming elections, Borsos would only say that IAM would be offering assistance – “Both financial and otherwise.” 

While there is no question that NUHW will benefit greatly from this alliance, it should be pointed out that IAM will also benefit from its willingness to consider an affiliation with this upstart democratic union.  If they are committed to making their union more democratic, then this affiliation could be a step in the right direction.  While some may view this as the labor movement’s current version of the odd couple, skeptics should at the very least applaud the willingness of IAM to take on the purple monster, which is something that most unions have not had the intestinal fortitude to do thus far.   

(SEIU did not respond to repeated requests for comment on this story)

Book Review: Civil Wars In U.S. Labor by Steve Early

 

Ever since Florence Reese wrote the lyrics to Which Side Are You On? in 1931, that question has been posed between labor and the bosses. With his latest offering, The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor, Steve Early will have workers and activists asking themselves where they stand in the labor movement.

In Civil Wars, Early, who is a well known critic of SEIU’s lack of internal democracy, meticulously dissects the various internal issues that have plagued the organization over the last several years. At the same time he also gives a historical background to provide adequate context for the reader to understand where the problems originated. Early discusses the failure of the MAC (Member Action Center) Call Centers in a chapter that is humorously titled, Dial 1-800-My-Union? The MAC line was a running joke during my time as an SEIU Organizer with District 1199 in West Virginia, as it consisted of an answering machine and an email being sent to the organizer to fix whatever issue had been reported.

While Civil Wars gives a very detailed account of the hostile takeover of United Healthcare West that led to the formation of NUHW (National Union of Healthcare Workers), Early also points out that while this trusteeship is by far the most publicized and biggest action by SEIU, it is certainly not the first. Early explains how Andy Stern crushed dissent in other locals by forcing their members into other locals who were either already under trusteeship, or under the leadership of Stern loyalists.

Early does not end his coverage of SEIU’s woes with internal issues. In a section titled How EFCA Died for ObamaCare, Early explains how SEIU burrowed into a position of influence inside the Obama administration and effectively elbowed out other unions. This is something that has put even more stress on the already fractured relationship SEIU has with the rest of big labor.

As a former SEIU staffer, I found myself cringing as I read Civil Wars, much as many rock stars must have cringed watching Spinal Tap for the first time. I believe this book should be required reading, not only for members of SEIU, who will find Civil Wars to be a disturbing peek behind the purple curtain, but also for anyone who cares about the future of the labor movement.  I found Civil Wars to be a disturbing validation of what I experienced firsthand as an organizer with SEIU.  The chickens have finally come home to roost after twenty years of shifting from a grassroots democratic union into a top-down bureaucratic corporation that places a higher value on political influence than it does on member representation.  

Civil Wars offers a unique look inside the challenging proposition facing NUHW that is all too familiar for IWW members – surviving as an independent union.  Among the major labor organizations in the United States, only a few, namely IWW and the United Electrical Workers(UE) have survived over the long-term.  NUHW’s recent partnership with the Machinists(IAM) demonstrates just how difficult it can be.

While Early focuses on SEIU, the issues that are raised in Civil Wars are faced by members in many other unions. When unions begin to look more like the corporations they are supposed to be fighting than the militant, democratic voice for workers that they are meant to be, it is only natural that the battle lines will begin to form, as Civil Wars clearly shows.

The real question Early seems to be asking is, very simply, Which Side Are You On?

Organizing In The Retail Sector: Pizza Delivery

When you look at union membership in the retail sector(or the lack thereof), it's striking how many retail and food industries are completely unorganized across the board.

Most labor unions are unwilling to devote the time and resources needed to organize workers in low paying jobs in the retail and food service industries. Their reasons vary from the high turnover rate, to the small bargaining unit in some fast food stores, to the fact that low income workers will have lower dues. While some of this reasoning makes sense, especially with the turnover rate with younger workers, ignoring entire industries is a failed strategy in my opinion.

In the next few entries, I will explore some of these industries, and whether union organization is feasible. The first industry I will look at is Pizza Delivery.

There have been two major efforts to organize this industry in the past. The first was an organization I was involved with, the Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers(APDD), lost an organizing campaign by one vote in Nebraska. The APDD subsequently ran out of money, and is now a distant memory.

The 2nd was run by a Domino's driver named Jim Pohle, who founded the American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers(AUPDD). He successfully ran an organizing campaign and won a NLRB vote in Florida. Unfortunately, like 2/3 of workers who vote in favor of union representation, they never could get the owner of the Domino's franchise to negotiate a contract. Jim eventually ran out of money and merged his upstart union with the Amalgamated Transit Union(ATU) who promptly forgot about him. As a result, the AUPDD is now defunct.

I still think that the pizza delivery industry is ripe for union organization. There are an estimated 10k big 3(Domino's Papa John's, Pizza Hut)stores in the United States. Pizza drivers are already inoculated against management, as they have been getting screwed by them for years. With tip credit laws that are lowering hourly wages to sub-minimum wage, and lackluster mileage compensation, the vast majority of drivers are supportive of the idea of unionization.

Unfortunately, most labor organizations that have been contacted by pizza delivery drivers have been dismissive or completely unresponsive. One driver I know already have several signed cards in hand, and was flatly turned down by an organizer for the UFCW. This kind of attitude must be changed if the labor movement wants to start winning over the unorganized.

This industry could be organized if a dedicated(Unite Here! anyone?) union takes the strategy of organizing the biggest franchises first. There are franchises in each of the Big 3 that have over 100 stores. There is also a dedicated base of career drivers that are willing to jump in on the front lines if there is an effort with some legitimacy.

That is the key. Legitimacy.

Canadian Hotel Employees Vote to Authorize Strike

Hotel employees at 32 Toronto-area hotels have voted to authorize a strike prior to the upcoming G20 Summit. Unite Here! Local 75 represents the approximately 5,500 affected workers. Read the full press release here:

http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/update.php?city_id=141

Fort Benning Food Service Workers Ratify New Contract

The 900 food service workers who serve our military members at Fort Benning, Georgia ratified their new contract yesterday. The new contract guarantees the best pay levels ever achieved for this unit, which is represented by Unite Here!

Here is the official press release:

http://www.unitehere.org/detail.php?ID=3222