INK September 22, 2011

In this issue:

• Union Bailout Update
• Canadians Say “No Thanks”
• Anger Only Hope?
• Teamster Charades
• SEIU Watch, Sticky Fingers, Social Media Spotlight, Scoreboard and more…

The bottom of each story contains a link to the individual post on our site. NOTICE:  You can make a PDF of this issue of INK directly from the post.  Click here for instructions on how to do so. https://lrionline.com/easy-way-to-make-our-posts-and-ink-issues-into-pdfs Union Bailout Update

The big story brewing in Washington is the Congressional push-back against the rogue NLRB.  Members of both houses are working up proposed legislation to prevent recent NLRB actions or proposed actions, such as implementing quickie elections, forcing employers to put up a poster telling employees how to organize, and preventing employers from opening their businesses where they please (as in the Boeing case). In a memo sent to House Republicans, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) stated,

“This summer, the NLRB issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that could significantly alter current union representation election procedures, giving both employers and employees little time to react to union formations in the future. The result will increase labor costs and uncertainty for nearly all private employers in the U.S.”

We mentioned earlier this month that Rep. Benjamin Quayle (R-AZ) introduced a bill to repeal the rule requiring employers to post a new federal notice of an employee’s right to organize, which is scheduled to go into effect on Nov. 14^th.  The Employee Workplace Freedom Act would rescind this rule. Several business groups are also adding their weight to the contest, in the form of legal action. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a new lawsuit against the new posting rule, claiming the NLRB failed to perform an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis before seeking public comment on the rule. The Chamber disagrees with the NLRB’s statement that the rule “would not have a substantial economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.” If you listened to our webinar on the topic, you heard just how ludicrous was the boards estimate of financial impact on businesses. Getting to the heart of the matter, the Chamber suit claims,

“The NLRB lacks the statutory authority to impose any of these requirements. Neither section 6 of the NLRA, nor any other provision of the NLRA, grants the NLRB the authority to require employers to post such a notification, to create and promulgate a new unfair labor practice where an employer covered under the NLRA fails to post a Notice, or to toll the statute of limitations.”

Joe Trauger, vice president of human resources policy for the National Association of Manufacturers, said this of his organization’s similar suit against the board’s posting rule, “We oppose many of the board’s other decisions, but this is the case and the fact pattern that was ripe for legal challenge at this time.”  The National Federation of Independent Businesses added to the stack with a suit of their own. Amidst all of the angst provoked by the posting rule and the attack against Boeing, the DOL proposed changes to the persuader reporting rules [9] actually have a greater potential for negative impact on employers, effectively muzzling them from exercising their free speech rights. Recent additional analysis of the proposal suggests that temporary workers hired to work during a strike might also fall liable to the rule, meaning they would have to report all of their personal information to the DOL, which would become public record and available to unions. If you don’t think the unions would use this as a “hit list” for intimidation and threats against such workers, see the recent action by the Laborers in the northwest. Link to Story ********** SEIU Watch A federal Administrative Law Judge issued a 26-page decision dismissing all of SEIU’s ULP charges against Kitsap Mental Health Services (KMHS) in Washington state. When employees filed a decertification petition with the board asking it to withdraw recognition from SEIU 1199NW, KMHS withdrew recognition from the union, causing SEIU to file the flurry of ULPs. When the Seattle office of the NLRB ruled that the union’s claims should all be dismissed, the union appealed to the Appeals Division in Washington, D.C. In typical Washington fashion, the Appeals board reversed the original Seattle decision, ordering the Seattle office to prosecute KMHS based on the charges. A 3-day trial was held, and the ALJ upheld the original Seattle Division ruling, finding all of the union’s claims unsupported by fact and law. The SEIU and Sodexo settled the RICO suit against the union via a confidential agreement. In an interesting interpretation of the move, it is suggested that SEIU did not want to face exposure to damaging disclosure, and were petrified of potential fines of up to $1 billion. To prevent “dirty laundry” being exposed to the public, SEIU agreed to cease their corporate campaign against Sodexo in exchange for the dropping of the RICO suit. In California, SEIU Local 1000 president Yvonne Walker was hoping to see her salary tripled, and the salaries of the 3 local vice-presidents significantly boosted. It came to naught when a member filed an open letter calling her on the move. One of the suggestions listed in the letter was to “encourage Local 1000’s executive board to find solutions to help members instead of searching for ways to provide union leadership undue and unearned enrichment.” Walker pulled the item from the board meeting agenda. Link to Story ********** Longshoremen Hand-Slapped The NLRB filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against the Longshoremen for their assault on the Port of Longview that we reported on Sept. 9^th. Rather than pay for physical damages to the facility, and for grain dumped on the tracks from rail cars, the board has demanded the union write a letter saying it will not block rail shipments at the facility. Ouch! Link to Story ********** Canadians Say “No Thanks!” A poll by Nanos Research of employed Canadians found that 8 out of 10 of those who do not belong to a union have no desire to join one. The Canadian LabourWatch Association commissioned the survey, titled “The State of Unions 2011.” Other findings include:

• Eighty-three percent said Canadian law should require both public and private sector unions to be financially transparent with the public
• Seventy-three percent were against union dues being used to pay for political attack ads
• Only fifty-four percent of currently or formerly unionized respondents said they believed their union dues were well-spent

Link to Story ********** Anger Only Hope? Peter Morse, an attorney representing several domestic and foreign car manufactures, explained the strategy the United Auto Workers may use trying to secure a toehold in the foreign auto manufacturers it has targeted. “It’s very difficult to get a majority of the thousands of workers at these plants to be angry and want a union at one time,” Morse said. “But as an alternative strategy, we [sic] may try to break up the staff and go after the weakest link inside the plant or to target smaller suppliers to those plants.” Morse suggested the UAW could try organizing auto suppliers or segments of the assembly plant staff where discontent may be greatest.  “They can try to catch a lot of 2-pound smallmouth bass and leave the tarpon fishing for later.” Link to Story ********** Decline of American Healthcare? According to National Nurses United (NNU) and the AFL-CIO, the healthcare sector has the fastest growth rate in the organized labor movement. If you attended or viewed our “Rising Storm in LTC” webinar, you are aware that nurses and nurses aids are two of the employment groups expected to see explosive growth in the next few years.  It should come as no surprise that Big Labor is drooling over this employment sector, since their work cannot be outsourced and their numbers are growing. About 170,000 RNs (about ten percent of RNs in acute-care hospitals) are represented by unions out of the current total potential of 1.6 million hospital RNs. That’s a huge pond in which to fish! Since 2009, NNU has organized 11,000 RNs. What is troubling is the track record of unionized industries, whether steel, auto manufacturing, or anything else. Quality often suffers, and costs generally rise. More troubling still is the interruption of services when strikes occur. This week, the NNU called 23,000 nurses out on a one-day strike at two of California’s largest hospital chains, affecting 34 different hospitals. At about the same time, another hospital chain, Kaiser Permanente, will see a three-day work stoppage by 4000 National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), and supposedly another 17,000 CNA/NNU nurses are planning on joining their picket lines on the first day. Americans cannot afford a healthcare system burdened by the animus purposely created and violently sustained by unions. Link to Story ********** Teamster Charades Jimmy Hoffa: “The problem in America isn’t that we don’t have enough money. We’ve got more money than any other country in the world. The problem is American businesses not spending it and not getting it in the game.” LM-2 Financial Report submitted by Teamsters:

• The Teamsters ended 2010 with $108,608,477 in the bank
• Teamsters net assets grew by 24.9% over 2009
• Teamsters net assests grew by 33.4% from 2008 to 2009

So, beyond the rhetoric, it appears Hoffa and company refuse to play by the rules they would demand of American businesses. In California, Hoffa mouthed off against the city of Visalia, sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce asking that a $2 million grant be rescinded. The city secured the grant to improve a road leading into an industrial park, which would of course benefit all of the occupants of the park. One of the new occupants, VWR International, is building a brand new 500,000 square foot facility to replace a smaller one it has outgrown in the Bay Area. Unfortunately for the Teamsters, that means the loss of Teamster jobs there. Far across the pond in Paris, the Teamsters released a report at a global gathering of investors with the ominous title, “From Toxic Assets to Toxic Releases: How Sun Capital Partners’ Investment Strategies Destroy Economic Value, Undermine Worker Safety and Destabilize Communities.” The report is a thinly veiled corporate campaign against Sun Capital, in response to recent Teamster bargaining experiences with companies owned by the firm.

And in typical Hoffa fashion, Jimmy refused to show up for a debate with the two other candidates for the position as President of the Teamsters union, sending a surrogate instead. It should be no surprise, as Hoffa has skipped out on the last two debates during his 13-year presidency, refusing to face his opponents. When candidates Sandy Pope and Fred Gegare criticized Hoffa for being “missing in action,” the only defense offered by his stand-in was to attack Pope and Gegare for calling Hoffa out in public, stating that “For the past 72 hours, Hoffa has been the target of right-wing forces in the Tea Party and Republican Party. He has been vilified on FOX News while the two of you have been sitting on the sidelines for the past 72 hours.”  The comment was in reference to the fallout Hoffa invited by telling a labor day audience that he was ready to “take the sons of a bitches out,” referring to conservative politicians. Link to Story ********** 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 scoreboard ********** Not Skipping A Beat American Crystal, provider of about 15% of overall American sugar production, will leave 1300 locked out striking workers to their picket line as it ramps up processing with replacement workers. Negotiations have been stalled over 2 months, with workers refusing to take the 17% over 5 year pay increase offer. The company, with plants in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa, is confident it can fill the facilities with replacement workers. “Everybody in North Dakota is a potential replacement (at American Crystal) as far as that goes,” said Michael Ziesch, a Job Service North Dakota research analyst. “It’s not like they’re trying to find 1,000 neuroscientists. It’s not that I’m trying to downplay the positions, but it’s not super specific.” Link to Story ********** Social Media Spotlight We’ve kept you up to date with the rash of ULP charges being filed, and some NLRB decisions, regarding the use by employees of social media venues. With the latest New York ruling, in which a non-profit was forced to hire back 5 employees who were fired after they made comments on Facebook about a colleague, expect to see the volume of similar ULP charges rise as unions grab this gambit as another tool in their toolbox. The action was the first to go as far as an Administrative Law Judge decision, and according to Tony Wagner, new media spokesman at NLRB, the decision “is a start in establishing case law.” In a move earlier this year, SEIU added “digital staffers” to regional offices in major metro areas around the country, adding emphasis to the weight of social media. Several unions had such staff at the International level, but SEIU was the first to push the commitment down to the local level. The effort was spearheaded by Tim Tagaris, SEIU’s media director (he just announced his Oct. resignation), who cut his teeth as an Internet Strategist on Chris Dodd’s presidential campaign and Ned Lamont’s U.S. Senate run. In another example of using social media venues to enhance organizing effectiveness, Unions.org offered up free consulting for union organizers via “Organizers 2.0.”  From the web site:

Throughout September, Organizing 2.0, the online collective of communicators and online organizers working for unions and social justice activists, is offering expert-level pro-bono (free) consultant services on a wide range of communications, technology and organizing issues. This is a unique opportunity for leaders and staff with any North American union, labor organization—such as central labor councils and state federations—or grassroots economic justice group. Organizing 2.0 has lined up dozens of volunteer consultants who are donating an hour of their time for this project to answer questions on Web development, social media training, blogging, creating and using online video, new member organizing campaigns, local political campaigns, online small donor fundraising and more.

Link to Story ********** Sticky Fingers Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials: Tamika Dukes: AFSCME – $1,600 Charles Kenney: ISEU – $15,596 Joyce Wheeler: ISEU – $30,544 Jeff Napier: UAW – $3,634 Tracy Ford: IAM – $175,000 Teresa Wilson: UA – $200,000 Royce Austin: POWR – $26,331 Guy Masocco: USW – $31,700 Terri Dunkelberger: ATU – $11,849 Grace Rathke: LIUNA – $200,000 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, Nancy Jowske 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 NOTE: if you are using Internet Explorer v. 6, read the text version, as the html will not load properly in IE6. We recommend upgrading to IE7.