AFL-CIO Proposed Resolutions

The 2013 AFL-CIO Convention is underway in Los Angeles, and I decided to peruse the proposed resolutions, as well as proposed amendments to the AFL-CIO Constitution.

Here are some of my favorites:

Resolution 5, which just passed, co-opts the IWW method of growing membership to organize the unorganized.  This would extend AFL-CIO membership to all workers, even if they are not yet working under a collective bargaining agreement.

Constitutional Amendment 1, which would add a Young Workers' Representative to the AFL-CIO Executive Board.

Then there's Constitutional Amendment 2 & 3.  Amendment 2 is the Machinists' Union(IAM) complaining about Raider Unions, which made me think, "Pot, meet the kettle."  Amendment 3 is an amendment to reaffirm that Article XX(anti-raiding) will not be applied to non-affiliated unions. Paranoid much?

Let's see what else comes up.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

What It Means To Be The Only Non-Union Employees in a Union Environment

I thought about this entry on Monday, but I'm just getting the chance to post it.  The reason for this is that I was working on Labor Day, along with the other employees in my department.  We happened to be the only employees in the plant who were required to work.  We are also the only department that is not in the bargaining unit.

While working Monday didn't really bother me(I consider May 1st to be the real Labor Day), it did get me thinking about the other differences between the employees in the bargaining unit, and my department.

There are the obvious holidays that we do not get to enjoy spending with family and friends.  We also do not follow seniority when it comes to open job promotions, or bidding on our routes.  We were also the only employees in the plant who did not have their cost of living increases retrograded, which meant a few hundred dollars to most of us.  We also do not ever get weekend days off unless we are on vacation.  This is despite the fact that there are enough of us to rotate weekend duty so that everyone gets one weekend day a month off.

Then there is the most important issue - Job Security.

There have been several people in the bargaining unit who have lost their jobs over questionable evidence, and nearly all of them have been awarded their jobs back with back pay by arbitrators.  Our department has had four employees terminated in the last six months.  While the evidence was much stronger in some cases over others, none of the employees was allowed to have the chance to have their day in court.

In contrast, my job classification in a nearby plant happens to be in the bargaining unit.
What are the differences between those employees and us?

For starters, they make $3.13 more an hour than we do, which is a direct result of their contract negotiations.  Secondly, they can bid on their routes using seniority, which means your loyalty to the company is rewarded by giving you first choice of your job assignments.  They also rotate weekend assignments, and had their cost of living increase retrograded.  Most importantly, they have the right to grieve any adverse action taken by management against them.
 
So when I think of what it means to be union(which I have been in the past) and non-union(what I am now), the difference is crystal clear:

Lower Pay, Less Fairness, No Job Security.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

Change to Win - An Island of Two?

Mike Elk scored a huge scoop this past weekend, reporting that UFCW will vote to rejoin the AFL-CIO after its upcoming convention in August.

You can read Mike's full story at In These Times.

When I covered LIUNA's decision to return to the AFL-CIO back in 2010, I interviewed James Williams, President of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades(IUPAT) to get his opinion on LIUNA's return.  One of my main inquiries was regarding whether the AFL-CIO should require LIUNA to pay back per capita as a condition of rejoining the federation.  My feeling back then was that not requiring some form of repayment would make it attractive for unions to leave the federation to avoid per capita for a time if they ran into financial trouble.  The union could then hypothetically rejoin the AFL-CIO without any penalty.

As Mike Elk reports in his story,

Details of the negotiations between the UFCW and AFL-CIO are unknown at this time. However, inside sources say the AFL-CIO is likely to offer the UFCW some sort of deal, such as a discount on dues, as motivation to rejoin.

I understand that having UFCW back in the fold is more important o the AFL-CIO than some back per capita taxes, but it doesn't exactly set a good precedent going forward.

The larger implication for the labor movement is that Change to Win can't really be looked at as a labor coalition or federation anymore.  However, I am floating a few new name ideas for the two remaining unions.  How about Steamsters, or SEI-2.  They could make t-shirts saying Purple and Black Attack.

Although the return of UFCW will certainly get people wondering if SEIU and the Teamsters will rejoin the AFL-CIO, I don't foresee that happening any time soon, with different reasons for each organization.

The departure of the Teamsters was almost entirely about two things: 1) money and 2)money. Also 3)Article 20.  The Teamsters are in deep with their pension plan, and I don't see them willingly adding more per capita taxes when they don't even have a way to pay for their own pension fund 20 years from now.  They also still like to raid other unions, which Article 20 prohibits.  It would be something to see the Machinists and Teamsters under the same roof again.

I could actually picture SEIU coming back to the AFL-CIO before the Teamsters.  SEIU has the money for per capita, and rejoining the AFL-CIO could be used as a strategic way of blocking the National union of Healthcare Workers(NUHW) from organizing more members, as NUHW is now affiliated with CNA, and therefore subject to Article 20, which prohibits raiding other AFL-CIO member unions.

However this hashes out, this will be an interesting year in the House of Labor.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

The Massive Motor City Union Busting Scheme

This afternoon, Detroit became the largest city in the history of the United States to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy.  The city had been the subject of a hostile takeover by Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who appointed Kevin Orr, a bankruptcy expert, to rescue the city from massive deficits.

Why would you hire a bankruptcy expert to turn a city's finances around?

The obvious answer to that question is that someone doesn't want the city to recover. The who in this question becomes a little clearer once you find out that Governor Rick Snyder is a venture capitalist.  And what are venture capitalists experts in? Bankrupting companies and selling off their assets.

The purpose of this action could not be any clearer:

This is the biggest, most blatant union busting stunt since PATCO, and it might even be bigger. In filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the state would be able to sell off the city's assets, renege on pension obligations, and make labor agreements obsolete.  This isn't your average union busting scheme - this is the Twinkification of an entire city.

Make no mistake, if this is allowed to stand, you will see this in every major city with a strong collective bargaining presence. If the working class was waiting for a moment to get out in the streets with the pitchforks(well, not pitchforks, but pots and pans maybe) and raise nine kinds of hell, this is it.

We have to get in the streets and fight this battle.  We can't just throw money, or send email blasts, or send out our talking heads on cable news.  All of us - you, me, your buddy, my grandma, your pastor, the neighbors and their dog all have to get out in the streets and fight to keep the corporate vultures from imposing their will upon us. It's time for sit-ins, teach-ins, walk-outs, and anything else necessary to get the job done.

It has begun.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

Rank and File Rejection At UPS

The rank and file members at UPS have rejected a concession-riddled contract negotiated by Teamsters' management.  According to Labor Notes, Teamsters for a Democratic Union(TDU) was able to mobilize members to vote down the contract at the regional and local levels.

Read the Labor Notes story here:

http://www.labornotes.org/2013/06/vote-no-movement-sends-ups-bargainers-back-table

In Solidarity,

Joseph 

Ten Principles All Unions Should Be Built Upon

I found this list of precepts from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union(ILWU).  The ILWU is a militant, independent union that most unions could learn a few things from.  The ILWU honors every picket line, which I have written about before here. The ILWU has a long history of successful labor actions and an extremely active membership.  The following is a list of the ILWU's ten guiding principles.  The labor movement would do well to adopt them across the board.

 

I
A Union is built on its members. The  strength, understanding and unity of the membership can determine the union’s  course and its advancements. The members who work, who make up the union and pay  its dues can best determine their own destiny. If the facts are honestly  presented to the members in the ranks, they will best judge what should be done  and how it should be done. In brief, it is the membership of the union which is  the best judge of its own welfare; not the officers, not the employers, not the  politicians and the fair weather friends of labor. Above all, this approach is based on the conviction that given the truth and an  opportunity to determine their own course of action, the rank and file in 99  cases out of 100 will take the right path in their own interests and in the  interests of all the people.

II 
 Labor unity is at all times the key for  a successful economic advancement. Anything that detracts from labor unity hurts  all labor. Any group of workers which decides to put itself above other workers  through craft unionism or through cozy deals at the expense of others will in  the long run gain but little and inevitably will lose both its substance and its  friends. No matter how difficult the going, a union must fight in every possible way to  advance the principle of labor unity.

III 
 Workers are indivisible. There can be  no discrimination because of race, color, creed, national origin, religious or  political belief. Any division among the workers can help no one but the  employers. Discrimination of worker against worker is suicide. Discrimination is  a weapon of the boss. Its entire history is proof that it has served no other  purpose than to pit worker against worker to their own destruction.

IV
“To help any worker in  distress” must be a daily guide in the life of every trade union and its  individual members. Labor solidarity means just that. Unions have to accept the fact  that the solidarity of labor stands above all else, including even the so-called  sanctity of the contract. We cannot adopt for ourselves the policies of union  leaders who insist that because they have a contract, their members are  compelled to perform work even behind a picket line. Every picket line must be respected as though it were our own.

V
Any union, if it is to fulfill its appointed task, must put aside all internal  differences and issues to combine for the common cause of advancing the welfare  of the membership. No union can successfully fulfill its purpose in life if it  allows itself to be distracted by any issue which causes division in its ranks  and undermines the unity which all labor must have in the face of the employer.

VI
 The days are long gone when a union can consider dealing with single employers.  The powerful financial interests of the country are bound together in every  conceivable type of united organization to promote their own welfare and to  resist the demands of labor. Labor can no more win with the ancient weapons of  taking on a single employer in industry any more than it can hope to win through  the worn-out dream of withholding its skill until an employer sues for peace.  The employers of this country are part of a well-organized, carefully  coordinated, effective fighting machine. They can be met only on equal  terms, which requires industry-wide bargaining and the most extensive economic  strength of organized labor.

VII 
 Just as water flows to its lowest level, so do wages if the bulk of  the workers are left unorganized. The day of craft unionism – the aristocracy of  labor – was over when mass production methods were introduced. To organize the  unorganized must be a cardinal principle of any union worth its salt; and to  accomplish this is not merely in the interest of the unorganized, it is for the  benefit of the organized as well.

VIII
   The basic aspiration and desires of the workers throughout the world are the  same. Workers are workers the world over. International solidarity, particularly  to maritime workers, is essential to their protection and a guarantee of reserve  economic power in times of strife.

IX
 A new type of unionism is called for which does not confine its ambitions and  demands only to wages. Conditions of work, security of employment and adequate  provisions for the workers and their families in times of need are of equal, if  not greater importance, than the hourly wage.

X
Jurisdictional warfare and jurisdictional raiding must be outlawed by labor  itself. Nothing can do as much damage to the ranks of labor and to the principle  of labor unity and solidarity as jurisdictional bickering and raiding among  unions. Both public support and strike victories and jeopardized by  jurisdictional warfare. This code for rank and file unionism is implemented by the membership’s  participation in organization, negotiations, strike machinery, contract  enforcement and every other aspect of union life. Thus, its discipline springs  out of participation, conviction and the right of the membership to decide its  own course of action. The above principles and steps to implement them, and an  informed and alert membership make the union what it is.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

What Is May Day?



This past week, workers from around the globe commemorated the 127th anniversary of the massacre at Haymarket Square, where four unarmed workers were shot and killed by police who were attempting to breakup a general strike.  Remembrance of this tragic event became known as International Workers' Day, or May Day. 

May Day is an official holiday in over 80 countries, but you rarely hear anything about May Day in the United States.  Why is that?  To be frank, the big labor federations in the United States have long been in bed with federal agencies that are controlled by anti-worker corporate interests, as well as participating in class-collaboration with corporations themselves.  It was in this spirit that the Knights of Labor went along with Grover Cleveland's endeavor to sweep the Haymarket Affair under the rug by creating Labor Day in September.

So just what were the workers fighting for with their general strike in Haymarket Square?  A little thing you might recognize called the eight hour work day.  Four innocent workers gave their lives to secure that right that is so often taken for granted.  Today, you can barely get workers to organize because people are afraid of losing their $9 an hour job, when we are able to work a normal work week because workers just like us were willing to sacrifice to make sure the next generation had better working conditions than they enjoyed.

So my question is, what are you willing to sacrifice for the workers of tomorrow?

Just a thought.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

P.S. - Here are a few links if you are interested in learning more about the labor movement outside the United States:

Eric Lee from LabourStart has just published a book that will introduce you to the various labor federations from around the world.  You can find it here: https://www.createspace.com/4252731

To see what a real labor federation looks like, check out the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Into The Hollers(working title) excerpt

Hey everyone,

The following is a rough draft excerpt from the book I'm working on that recounts my year as an organizer in West Virginia and Kentucky with SEIU/District 1199 WV/KY/OH.

This section talks about my first day on the job. All feedback would be helpful and encouraged.

Day One

Shit. I mumbled to myself as I sat up along the side of the bed in the darkness of my room at the Ramada Inn situated right off Interstate 64 in Huntington, WEst Virginia. Still groggy from my six hour drive through the mountains from Brunswick, Maryland the night before, I stumbled over to the window and drew the shades. The morning sky was dreary, and it was still raining. As the cars passed along the interstate, I joked to myself, "We'll, can't beat the view."

I got myself together and climbed into my 1999 Volvo station wagon - an unconventional vehicle choice for a union organizer. I soon discovered that most organizers drive either a small four cylinder car because of the amount of miles they drive, or an SUV. This is handy for hauling union supplies around, but it is useful mainly for dragging members to events.

The HR coordinator had informed me that rather than spending my first day filling out paperwork during a traditional orientation, I would be traveling in a three hour caravan from Huntington to Columbus, Ohio for a rally against Ohio Senate Bill 5. S.B. 5 proposed the elimination of collective bargaining rights for public sector employees. Aside from the general importance of showing solidarity with our union sisters and brothers, this would affect about 7,000 members of our Local, approximately a third of the total membership of our Local.

I was more than a little excited about the reality that I was now getting paid to attend a rally that I usually would have showed up to for free. I met with a few of our members at the union office across town, where we piled into a fifteen passenger van in preparation for our three hour journey. After a few minutes of pleasantries and being welcomed to the union, I struck up a conversation with a woman whom I thought was one of my members. After we shared a very in depth discussion on our respective philosophies regarding the labor movement, including a very frank assessment of the internal struggle going on in California with NUHW, I discovered that the woman I had been speaking to was in fact the Executive Vice-President of the entire Local.

As I sat internally kicking myself for being so open about my opinion regarding SEIU's undemocratic direction, Kathy assured me that they did things differently, and that due to 1199's merger agreement, they could never be placed under trusteeship. This time, I kept my trap shut on not sharing her opinion on this point. I decided to play it safe and stick to non-work related topics for the remainder of the trip.

When we arrived at the main office in Columbus, the building was overflowing with staff and members who were being herded onto charter buses that would ferry us downtown to the statehouse. There had been rumors that the governor would have the state police lock the doors, and sure enough, about five minutes after we gained access, we were informed that once we left the building, we would not be permitted to re-enter the facility. The building was filled to the brim with union members. I was struck by the diversity of the labor community I could see around me. There were truck drivers talking to librarians, firemen chanting with nurses, plumbers alongside prison guards. Every combination you could imagine was represented.

For the next several hours, we sang, chanted, and raised all sorts of hell while the Republican controlled Senate did their best to ignore us. There were visits from former governor Ted Strickland, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who were both greeted by cheers from the crowd. F

After returning to the union office, we made the drive back to Huntington. By the time I made it back to the hotel, it was around 10:30pm. I rolled into bed, thoroughly exhausted, but with a huge smile on my face. "This could be good," I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep.

As I mentioned, this is a rough draft and I'm open to any feedback. More to come.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

Overtime In Danger?

Apparently, Republicans have decided that the time is ripe to reintroduce this dandy proposal to weaken overtime laws.  Under this remake of the 2003 Family Time Flexibility Act, employees could choose to take comp time in lieu of overtime pay.  I put the word choose in italics because while it prohibits companies from pressuring employees to give up their overtime pay, I believe that is exactly what will happen.

After all, companies are prohibited from coercing employees during union organizing campaigns, but that has never stopped them.  Why then, would this be any different, especially when there is a direct monetary incentive to pushing an employee to opt out of overtime pay.

For those of you who haven't figured out yet that the GOP has a long term game plan for crushing any sort of workers' rights, this is just another clue.  What's next - the 40 hour work week?

In Solidarity,

Joseph

Labor Friendly Super Bowl Ads

I will be holding my breath again this year to see if the AFL-CIO, Change to Win, or anyone else for that matter will take advantage of the massive audience watching the Super Bowl to air a pro-labor commercial.

I have called in the past for an ad that utilizes various members of the labor community, from construction workers who build stadiums, to the players who, by the way, happen to be union members.

The ad could be simple, ending with a 1-800 number for people to call if they are interested in forming a union where they work. This is not rocket science. Labor membership is now below 7% nationally. If not now, when is this sort of action appropriate.

In Solidarity,

Joseph