Labor Relations INK In this issue: • EFCA Update • Nurses Union Wants Its Cake, And to Eat It To! • Political At Heart • SEIU Watch, ER Tip-Of-The-Month, Scoreboard, and more… EFCA Update 
Just as some are discussing the Employee Free Choice Act “obituary” after Big Labor lost their political battle in Arkansas (over Blanche Lincoln), the political wheels in Washington just keep on turning, churning out additional ways to benefit unions. As we reported, the NLRB floated a request for input on setting up a remote, electronic-voting procedure for NLRB elections. Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are fighting back, but it is probably only a matter of time until we say goodbye to the NLRB-monitored secret ballot election process sans intimidation and coercion. According to former NLRB member Chuck Cohen, “There’s nothing to stop people from saying ‘Let’s do our Internet voting or telephone voting together to show our solidarity.’ ” 
We also reported on the Supreme Court decision nullifying over 600 NLRB decisions. Although the impact from this is probably not too significant since most of the cases were typically non-controversial, it’s another pebble in the avalanche headed toward American business. The resolve of the NLRB to remain union-friendly can be clearly viewed in Craig Becker’s refusal to recuse himself from cases that definitely fit the standards of Obama’s supposed 2-year “ethics pledge.”Becker based his refusal on the specious argument that local affiliates of the SEIU are not the same as the parent organization (the International SEIU)! As the administration continues to beef up the “enforcement” staff at the various sub-departments within the DOL, continue to expect Big Labor to use the pressure from claims of violations (such as OSHA) as a lethal organizing tactic. Buried within the “bureaucratese” of the health care bill are a minimum of five give-aways that specifically benefit unions. The bill is so complex that more are sure to emerge as the analysis of the behemoth law unfolds. In similar fashion the DISCLOSE Act, which deals with disclosure requirements in campaign spending, was rife with union loopholes. Further legislation with union-friendly components is sure to follow. Representative Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) is attempting to rally his fellow Democrats to support a federal bill that will abolish right to work laws in the 22 states that have them! Ron Gettelfinger, now the former president of the UAW, attempted to rally the troops to continue the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act in his farewell speech. In particular, he recommended using the upcoming November elections to pressure candidates to take a positive view of the bill. The tactic may backfire on Big Labor, however, as business groups jump on the “election pressure” bandwagon. One group in Nevada, the newly formed Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs, submitted questionnaires to all Nevada candidates for federal office, asking their stance on the EFCA. The group plans to release the findings to the voting public, and if there is truth to the recent polling of how the public feels about unions, the ploy may be effective, at least in changing the politicians’ campaign rhetoric. Blanche Lincoln’s recent primary victory in Arkansas could be a preview. The union candidate there, Bill Halter, refused to take a position on EFCA and was hammered by Lincoln’s campaign for the money he received from labor unions. In another example of taking politicians to task on the side of businesses, the Americans for Limited Government called out nine Republican members of Congress (among others) for co-signing their names to what ALG characterizes as a plot to provide a $165 billion taxpayer bailout of union pension plans. ********** Special EFCA Update: DOL Reporting Requirements – Free Webinar DON’T MISS THIS!! • Unions are on a campaign to choke off employer free speech, and they are using the Solis Department of Labor to do it. • Are unions asking the DOL to fine your company for its employee orientation program? • Do they want you to spend time in the slammer for talking about unions? This special one-hour Free Webinar will begin at 2PM Central Standard Time on June 30th. Seating is limited, so please go to this page now for more details, and to register: https://lrionline.com/dol-reporting-webinar ********* Nurses Union Wants Its Cake, And To Eat It Too! 
In preparation for an announced 1-day strike by nurses affiliated with the Minnesota Nurses Association, several hospitals reduced or shifted patient loads to ensure adequate care for all patients. When many of the nurses were not needed the next day due to the decreased patient level, they accused the hospital of an illegal lockout. When the 1-day walkout failed to achieve the union’s bargaining objectives, the MNA began discussing another walk-out, this time potentially open-ended. Area hospitals question the union’s motivation for the threat. As our own Phillip Wilson said in an article in MedCity News, “a strike for patient care is like a beer bash for alcoholics.” ********** Employee Relations Tip-Of-The-Month 
One very effective way to improve employee relations is by showing appreciation for a job well done. In fact, some studies suggest that the number one thing many employees look for in a job is to receive appreciation when they do good work. Unfortunately, many managers or supervisors are quick to criticize employee mistakes, but slow to give praise. When delegating work activities to employees, or providing them with performance coaching or feedback, telling them “thank you” when the job is done costs nothing but a moment of your time. Practicing this behavior consistently will reap huge benefits for your organization in the long run. Hat Tip to Eric Vanetti of Vantage Point Alliance. ********** 12 Union Myths Exposed In our tenth installment of The Cato Journal’s January 2010 “Are unions good for America?” issue, we cover the tenth myth. Here is The Homeland Stupidity web site’s synopsis of this myth, and a link to each of the 12 Cato articles.
Myth Number Ten: Labor unions support trade liberalization because it lowers the prices of goods that workers buy. Fact: This used to be true, but today’s labor unions oppose trade liberalization. They believe that increasing globalization has directly led to the decline of their unions, and thus their power. This isn’t exactly true, according to Daniel Griswold, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. “Although the evidence is lacking to implicate globalization as a whole, two aspects of the trend have been found to have significant negative effects on labor unions: inward foreign direct investment (FDI), and ’social integration’ across borders.” When foreign companies invest in the U.S., companies here realize that they can also invest in other countries. “The correlation of FDI and declining rates of union density suggests that ‘many workers feel greater insecurity from seeing capital mobility in their sectors, even if not in their own particular firms,’ Slaughter (2007: 344–45) concluded.”
Download the PDF here. Check out the Cato Journal and access all 12 PDFs here. ********** SEIU Watch 
In California, thousands of health care employees will finally have a chance to make a selection between SEIU and their West Coast rival, the NUHW. The NLRB dismissed charges the SEIU had filed attempting to block the elections. The SEIU will likely be given the opportunity to withdraw the charges, offering them a way to save face. It is likely they will do so, as they have plenty of negative PR to deal with at the moment. Evaluating the SEIU under Stern’s leadership provides a telling look at what unions are really about. By the time of Stern’s departure, the union was spending less per member on representational costs than at any time since 2002. Being deeply in debt, the union spent much of Stern’s last year cutting back on expenditures, and the deepest cuts were made to these representational expenses. Revealing the true nature of how labor unions have evolved, University of California (Santa Barbara) labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein put his finger on the problem stating, “unions today are essentially political organizations which succeed by mobilizing their membership and animating their allies. Numbers are less important than élan.” Listen to almost any of our interviews with former union organizers – they found out the hard way that unions are political organizations front and center, and care very little about “representing” their members. ********** FREE 2009 NLRB Elections Report With the DOL bending over backwards to make it easier for unions to attack your company, now more than ever it pays to have solid intelligence about what unions are up to. LRI has created a new NLRB Elections Report that will provide a bird’s-eye view of union activity. Filled with colorful, easy-to-read charts and graphs, and broken out in a variety of ways, the information is easy to digest. We want to send you this free 22 page report for 2009 as a thank you for being an LRI INK subscriber. Head to this page to see more details, and to download your free report. https://lrionline.com/elections-report ********** Political At Heart 
A recent Labor Notes article reflecting on the recent UAW convention reiterates the key premise mentioned in the above article, that unions are in the main political organizations, from the way they are run to the prime objectives they espouse. The opening paragraph from this UAW member says, “As the United Auto Workers’ 35th Convention unfolds in Detroit, it is painfully obvious that—despite facing the worst crisis in UAW history—keeping a death grip on power is more important to current leaders than fostering democratic debate on the future of our union.” Al Benchich, the article’s author, goes on to describe UAW then-president Gettlelfinger’s efforts to squelch democratic process from the floor of the convention in favor of the typical caucus-controlled agenda, and lamented incoming UAW president Bob King as being cut from the same cloth. Alluding to the political focus of the union (rather than the member-representation focus all unions purport to have), Benchich states,
“As president, King will undoubtedly do more to recreate the UAW as part of broader social movements than Gettelfinger ever thought of doing. He’s told me he wants to incite the membership to be more actively involved. “
Seems both labor historians and union members both recognize what union organizers fail to represent to prospective members – that unions only want member dues to sustain union-leader lifestyles, and to support political agendas, whether or not those agendas match those of their alleged constituency. ********** 
SCORE BOARD Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just check the LRI Scoreboard
View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).
Download a PDF of this month’s scoreboar
********** Toyota Beware! Newly-elected UAW president Bob King revealed his union’s next war as he declared, “We’re going to pound on Toyota.” King called on UAW members to picket Toyota dealerships. Toyota had recently closed down a co-production facility it operated with GM in California, and announced it would shift production of the Corolla to a new plant in Mississippi. The UAW doesn’t have much of a track record with the Asian auto-makers. Its five major efforts to date against both Toyota and Nissan have all been failures – in fact the UAW has never organized an auto factory beyond the domestic Big Three. The Association of International Auto Dealers took King to task for his strategy.
“Attacking small businesses won’t help Mr. King build back UAW membership,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “If he wants to pressure the 28,000 workers at Toyota’s U.S. manufacturing plants to unionize, he should consider some other method than hindering business at a randomly chosen Toyota dealership. A picket line will only hurt the dealership, its employees, and the community it serves. An assault on America’s auto retail industry will only serve to highlight the disconnect between the UAW and reality.”
********** Ahh, the High Life! 
Let’s see, you are the president of a union local with access to credit and debit cards, and are also in charge of managing the financial records. What to do with your “spare time?” How about spend almost $300,000 of the union’s money on hookers, gambling, and other pricey pleasures? This is how Daniel Hughes chose to spend his time. The married father of one son frequented notorious “short stay” motels in Queens and the Bronx (at about $400 to $650 per “date”), made several junkets to a casino in Connecticut, and dined well and often, all at union expense. I guess if you’re going to be in a union, it “pays” to be the boss! ********** Bargaining Crap-Shoot During organizing campaigns, one of the aspects most misrepresented by union organizers is the process of collective bargaining. Organizers typically mislead prospective members on two key points of the process. First, organizers describe a bargaining process where new union members are either in charge or involved in the actual bargaining. Second, organizers make prospective members believe that the issues that are important to them will be key issues at the bargaining table. Neither of these representations is true. Most often, the national union manages the bargaining process. Members of the local are generally “included” on the bargaining team, but they are generally figureheads, and are not allowed to bring issues to the table. Secondly, there are a list of items that always take precedence to any of the new members concerns, such as dues check-off and union security clauses. Recent negotiations at Quincy Medical Center in Massachusetts demonstrate this reality. The union agreed to wage reductions in exchange for seniority and “other provisions” in the contract with the hospital. As is typical, the union is more concerned with provisions that impact union power and control issues than it is member benefits. ********** A Union Is… Well… A Union. 
We have continued to cover the fight between SEIU and NUHW over the tens of thousands of medical employees in California. Although it may seem we have been touting the NUHW “side” in this story, we have simply been highlighting the battle as one more of SEIU’s current woes. As a reminder that one union is typically no better than another, and that at the top they generally all appear to operate via the same playbook, the General Counsel of the NLRB recently released a finding that while still in office the former president of SEIU-UHW Sal Rosselli (now president of the fledgling NUHW) and other former SEIU-UHW leaders: • Deliberately failed to handle grievances and bargain contracts. • Stole and destroyed documents needed for grievances and bargaining. • Moved millions in members’ dues money into a private account they controlled. • Threatened and intimidated SEIU-UHW staff and supporters. Concluding the report, the General Counsel wrote:
“Thus, the evidence indicates that the former UHW leadership (Rosselli and the others while still in office in SEIU-UHW) made a conscious decision to abdicate its representative responsibilities with regard to grievances and bargaining in favor of carrying on an ongoing fight with SEIU and creating an ‘ungovernable’ situation for any trusteeship imposed. Unit employees’ collective-bargaining agreements were cancelled, apparently to further this fight, SEIU’s pre-trusteeship offices were invaded, non-employees were threatened and harassed, UHW offices were unlawfully occupied, documents necessary for UHW to represent unit employees after trusteeship were stolen or destroyed, and unit employees were restrained and coerced in the exercise of their Section 7 rights by individuals loyal to NUHW, including former UHW stewards.”
********** Sticky Fingers! Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials: Brian R. Wilson-AFSCME: $10,500 Vince Anello- IBEW: $94,000 http://www.nlpc.org/union-corruption-update ********** Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up by visiting: https://lrionline.com/free-stuff/newsletter-signup/ If you use content from this newsletter please attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and include our website address: www.LRIonline.com Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger, and Shaun Fanning You are receiving this email because you subscribed to receive our labor relations newsletters and updates. You can manage your email preferences by clicking the link at the bottom of any of our email communications.
