INK: July 9, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

In This Issue:

• Insight from Phil Wilson
• A Disturbance In The Force
• UAW vs. UAW
• A Peek Behind ObamaCare
• and more…

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

NLRB: Employee Free Choice Act Ace in the Hole?

Is the Employee Free Choice Act still alive? Al Franken is now officially seated and the 60-vote caucus needed to overcome a filibuster on the Free Choice Act is in place. But just when unions should be rejoicing in the streets, it’s getting fashionable to write Employee Free Choice Act obituaries, like the one this morning in the New York Times. I think companies should keep a very close eye on the NLRB, because the news of EFCA’s death is greatly exaggerated – but I’m getting ahead of myself. Read the rest of the article here

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EFCA Update

Even with healthcare and cap & trade legislation consuming a great deal of attention, there is plenty of action in the EFCA arena. The democrat/Big Labor camp is happy to have Franken declared the winner in the Minnesota senate race, providing the 60th vote required to break cloture. On the pro-business side, several democratic senators still have not confirmed wholehearted support for the current version of the bill, while the SEIU seems to be fighting against themselves in a recent California episode by ignoring employees wishes on the basis of signatures alone! The pro-business lobby is continuing to keep the battle in the public eye, most recently with a television campaign targeting Senator Nelson in Nebraska.

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Watch the video on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/v/FlPeYML-nEQ&hl=en&fs=1&

There is new ammunition on the intellectual front against the EFCA. An attorney who has negotiated over 100 first contracts made a great argument that it wasn’t possible to “fix” the mandatory arbitration provision of the bill to make it non-destructive to businesses. Recent data also demonstrate that non-right-to-work states are shedding jobs to right-to-work states. The Mackinac Center For Public Policy in Michigan put together this very graphic interactive dashboard of statistics comparisons of non-right-to-work states vs. right-to-work states and Michigan.

In another very interesting twist, the healthcare debate has suddenly become a possible sop to Big Labor. As Congress grapples with how to pay for a public insurance program, one of the proposals involves taxing the health benefits of companies that provide such benefits via private insurance. A exemption is being considered for unionized companies. Here’s the apparent trade-off: if unions can no longer use health benefits as a bargaining or organizing tool (due to government healthcare making it a non-issue), then the unions could still use the “tax-free benefits” loophole as the replacement bargaining chip.

It could be an interesting summer!

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FREE! EFCA Strategy Review & Vulnernability Audit

This has quickly become one of our most popular programs, in light of upcoming labor law changes. It is more important than ever to assess both the internal and external factors that contribute to your company’s vulnerability to union penetration, and formulate action plans to shore up any uncovered weaknesses.

• What are the most likely labor law changes, and how will they impact my vulnerabilities?

• What are the six strategies I can implement to strengthen my defense against union encroachment?

• When do I talk to my employees about unions? What do I say about unions?

CLICK HERE to schedule your free 30-minutes consultation with Phil Wilson, LRI’s President and General Counsel.

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A Disturbance In The Force

Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union, has now been likened to “the Darth Vader of the labor movement,” as union presidents and representatives from across the country are taking UNITE-HERE’s side in the raging fight between the SEIU and the besieged union. Going against legal counsel, the AFL-CIO officially came out against SEIU’s “raiding of organized workers.” Over 15 international unions, including AFSCME and the Laborers, have committed both moral and monetary support to UNITE-HERE. As one former pro-Stern supporter put it, “the American labor movement declared war on Andy Stern.”

Labor insiders believe that the schism, and the attempts by the SEIU to dominate the American labor movement, have placed the nail in the coffin of the Change To Win labor federation. It is expected that many of the unions that originally broke away from the AFL-CIO to form Change To Win may return to the fold, without the SEIU.

Meanwhile, the battle between SEIU (including the newly-created Workers United) and UNITE-HERE continues at high tempo, with no sign of resolve.

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UAW vs. UAW

In an ironic twist, the UAW now finds itself in a position to negotiate against itself by virtue of the recent shuffling of ownership of Chrysler and GM. The UAW is both the employer and the employee of Chrysler and GM, and is both the competitor and the employee of Ford.

The recent deal between Chrysler and GM and the UAW include the agreement not to strike until 2015. Ford is now asking the same concession of the UAW. The UAW finds itself in a conflicted situation, and Ford, who effectively evaded government intervention (bailout money) finds itself in a possible competitive disadvantage.

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Only In A Union

The State of Michigan agreed with the United Auto Workers (which represents state employees in MI) for several furlough days in an effort to balance the budget. The Detroit Local of the UAW (Local 6000) filed a complaint to block the move, saying that the international overstepped its jurisdiction. Apparently, when the state attempted to bargain with the Local, the Local was not willing to grant any concessions. The state then sent a letter to the UAW international VP, who agreed to an amount of furloughed days. The local countered, saying the UAW international move was a violation of its constitution.

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AFL-CIO Extreme Make-Over

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) organized a conference last month that included 23 labor leaders. The objective of the meeting was to consider changes to the AFL-CIO intended to revitalize the labor coalition. “We focused on systemic changes that would strengthen the labor federation’s finances and increase its clout,” said IAM president Tom Buffenbarger.

With the current head of the AFL-CIO, John Sweeney, set to retire in September, a more aggressive leadership coupled with an overhaul of agenda and operational functions could bring the labor organization back to the public square in a powerful way. If the rival Change To Win federation disbands, and an EFCA-type bill passes soon, we could have a legitimate 800-pound gorilla on our hands.

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Valiant Attempt

In a move to eradicate Depression Era-legislation enacted to bolster unions, Representative Connie Mack (R-FL) proposed a repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, which would eliminate minimum compensation provisions for construction workers on public works projects. Proponents of the repeal believe that such a move would encourage more job growth for federal construction projects. “Instead of pandering to big labor,” Mack said, “Congress should be fostering a competitive environment for businesses to be able to hire more people for more jobs.”

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A Peek Behind ObamaCare

Peeling back the layers of the healthcare reform onion, you will find several key “partners” on the administration’s healthcare reform team: ACORN, the SEIU, AFSCME, and the AFL-CIO. Having given the American auto industry over to unions (the UAW) and the government, are we sure that doing the same with the 14% of the GDP known as the American healthcare system is an intelligent choice?

The healthcare industry had better pay close attention, as the “unintended” consequences of a government plan are being forshadowed in the auto, and to some extent the banking, industries.

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Typical Non-Representation

The AFSCME recently announced its endorsement of Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez for reelection. Not so fast, says the Albuquerque local! In typical fashion, the membership of the large union that represents city workers was never polled, or in any other fashion asked who they endorsed. The union made its decision based strictly on its own agenda, rather than the wishes of its constituency.

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Transform Your Workplace!

A step-by-step guide on how to dramatically improve employee engagement at your company. Includes checklists, action-planning guides and more.

• How to determine your company’s internal and external vulnerability – and why you have to deal with both kinds of vulnerability.

• Critical training for your first-line supervisors, and how you can turn them into a key to your employee engagement strategy.

CLICK HERE to find out more about The Next 52 Weeks: One Year To Transform Your Work Environment by Phillip B. Wilson

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Southern California In The Crosshairs

The Inland Empire consists of portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties in southern California, home to almost 2,900 warehouses of at least 50,000 square feet each, which employ nearly 113,000 people. These warehouses, operated by some of the largest retailers in the world, handle much of the container cargo that moves through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest trade gateway in the United States. And they are under siege.

The Change To Win federation, along with Warehouse Workers United, is squaring off with American businesses in a concerted effort to organize this compact region of workers. “There needs to be a general union movement. We expect to have a long-term campaign there,” said Tom Woodruff, organizing director of Change to Win.

“If we are concerned, we are concerned about efforts in Washington that would change the rules for union organization,” said Rob Green, vice president for government and political affairs at the National Retail Federation, speaking of the EFCA. Green suggests that if the organizing movement gains traction, many of the large retailers may move their warehouses to other parts of the country where costs would be lower.

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Steelworkers Get The Boot

A small sawmill in Larder Lake, Ontario, voted to decertify the United Steelworkers of America. The union had represented them since a 2006 vote, and the employees still had 3 months left on the one contract the union had negotiated, when 75% of them voted to decertify the union.

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SEIU vs. BOA

The campaign against Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank Of America, is one to keep an eye on. Will the embattled CEO cave to SEIU pressure to save his job?

The quandary stems from a) BOA acceptance of TARP funds, b) Big Labor deftly using the “economic crisis” and a friendly administration in Washington as leverage to pressure businesses, and c) Ken Lewis’ refusal to sit down with SEIU to pave the way for easier organizing of BOA employees.

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Labor Relations INK is published semi-monthly 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:

http://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

You are receiving this email because you
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INK: June 25, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

In This Issue:

• EFCA Update
• Union Intimidation Up Close & Personal
• RAISE, Not RESPECT
• PLUS June Scoreboard, Only In A Union, and more…

EFCA Update

A bit of detective work uncovered another fraud perpetrated by Big Labor in attempting to persuade members of Congress that a new coalition of businesses supported the Employee Free Choice Act. Even though their website gives no list of names, the group attempted to claim 1000 members. We checked our LRI Database and discovered that the chairman is CEO of a life insurance company whose members are represented by OPEIU Local 277. Of course he would want all his competition unionized! Rick Berman, of the Center for Union Facts, dug behind the scenes to uncover the hoax. “Business Leaders for a Fair Economy is a front group for a few financial companies who stand to profit from forced unionization,” said Rick Berman. “Although they claim to be a ‘coalition of 1,000 businesses,’ it publicly turns out to actually be a hodge-podge of fewer than 200 non-profits, union consultants, and businesses that don’t even exist.”

As it becomes clear that Big Labor is desperate to keep the forced arbitration provision in the bill to protect unions’ failing pensions, they are once again attempting to frame the debate by ignoring the fact that the system is not broken, and focusing the discussion on a “working arbitration system.” Read our refutation to such a system on our blog.

Another prominent Democrat, Florida State Senator Rick Dantzler, has come out against the EFCA, another state business group (225 small businesses in Colorado) have come out supporting the bill, and Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas is dancing around attempting to find a way to support a “proposal both business and labor could support.”

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FREE! EFCA Strategy Review & Vulnernability Audit

This has quickly become one of our most popular programs, in light of upcoming labor law changes. It is more important than ever to assess both the internal and external factors that contribute to your company’s vulnerability to union penetration, and formulate action plans to shore up any uncovered weaknesses.

• What are the most likely labor law changes, and how will they impact my vulnerabilities?
• What are the six strategies I can implement to strengthen my defense against union encroachment?
• When do I talk to my employees about unions? What do I say about unions?

CLICK HERE to schedule your free 30-minutes consultation with Phil Wilson, LRI’s President and General Counsel.

**********

Has SEIU Overreached?

Both sides are claiming victory in the recent Fresno battle between the SEIU and the breakaway National Union of Healthcare Workers. In the election for home healthcare workers asked to select a union to represent them, SEIU ultimately took the vote tally by a slim margin while the NUHW is challenging the election, claiming that SEIU engaged in tactics both unethical and illegal. The cost to SEIU was 1000 field workers tied up on the ground, and an estimated $10 Million or more spent on the campaign, only to emerge with a shallow victory and a tarnished reputation.

For a look at the detailed parallel with the U.S. quagmire in Vietnam, read this article. SEIU is in for a long, hard season of bitter conflict, as it continues to tangle with NUHW and UNITE-HERE, while attempting to lobby for the Employee Free Choice Act.

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Only In A Union

Shawn Clark, who was business manager of Somerville, NJ-based Local 455 of the International Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, claims that all $85,000 that he spent on entertainment, $65,000 of it in go-go bars, was legitimate business expense. Clark was expelled from the New Jersey Regional Council of Carpenters and fined $50,000, but still intends to plead not guilty to embezzlement charges.

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Union Intimidation Up Close & Personal

One of the Big Labor arguments attempting to frame the debate for the Employee Free Choice Act is an accusation that employers intimidate their employees during union organizing campaigns. Unfortunately for the unions, most evidence of intimidation points to unions and their members as the perpetrators of acts of violence and intimidation. This short collection of videos provides a glimpse into the reality of union intimidation, from the perspective of former union organizers who engaged in the practice, FBI bribery footage, and the experiences of employees selected as targets.

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Healthcare Tug-of-War

The nurses at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, CA, recently came to the conclusion that they didn’t need a union, and decertified the United Public Employees of California, which had represented them for twelve years. “We said, ‘You know what? Why bother?’ ” said Sue Washburn, the SRMC nurse who led the decertification effort.

Across the country in Boston, the states largest hospital group signed an agreement with the SEIU that restricted management’s ability to communicate about unions to their employees, leading to a recent win for SEIU at Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester. Although some hospitals or hospital management groups are pressured into signing such agreements, other will choose to fight back, and may find themselves targets of SEIU corporate campaigns. According to union officials, there are organizing campaigns targeting every hospital in Boston.

One labor consultant , Jeff Toner of Kennebunk, ME, describes such campaigns: “Corporate campaigns can target executive compensation, they can picket the homes of board members,” Toner said. “They make it as uncomfortable as possible for executives, and they cast aspersion on a hospital’s standard of care to the patient community.”

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Political Activism The New SEIU Export

The Service Employees International Union has announced it is establishing a huge member activist campaign across Canada. According to the union, members will use the political action program to mount campaigns and speak with politicians, to insure that SEIU-identified issues will remain on the agendas of politicians “at election time and every day in between.”

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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.

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Employee Relations Tip Of The Month

Recognize those who volunteer in their community with a community service award.

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RAISE, Not RESPECT

Two laws intended to amend the National Labor Relations Act are headed to Congress.

The Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act (RAISE) would permit employers to pay unionized employers incentive wages outside the normal limits imposed by collective bargaining, giving management a way of rewarding those workers who show themselves to be more productive. This is good.

The Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act (RESPECT) would reclassify management supervisors to make it impossible for them to legally engage in the kind of shop-floor activities that are a normal and essential aspect of their jobs, forcing companies to have to hire more workers to compensate, and depriving those companies of the expertise of their seasoned veterans. This is bad.

Lobby while you can!

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Raynor Accused of “Creative” Financing

According to UNITE-HERE sources, Bruce Raynor, the ousted co-president of the union, illegally transferred over $12 million dollars out of the union’s coffers and into the tills of union locals loyal to him, and to a consulting group with SEIU ties. Allegedly, those funds were then used to finance the succession of most of those locals from UNITE-HERE into a new union, which then affiliated itself with the SEIU.

John Wilhelm, the UNITE-HERE leader, has accused Raynor and Stern of orchestrating the split in order for SEIU to be able to encroach upon UNITE-HERE’s prime organizing turf, gaming and hotel industries.

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Bargaining Chip?

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Representative Steve King (R-IA) have introduced the Truth in Employment Act of 2009 in both houses of Congress. The bill seeks to protect employers from union “salts,” people who secure jobs for the express purpose of fomenting unrest in the company leading to union organizing efforts.

Salting is an age-old union tactic, and similar legislation has been presented several times during the recent decade, to no avail. One might wonder if it will be used as a bargaining chip in the EFCA-derivative debate.

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Your Union Dollars At Work

In Atlantic City, you can get a good glimpse of union dues hard at work. While the UAW is negotiating contracts for employees at Bally’s and Caesars, they are engaged in a “multi-million” advertising campaign trying to pressure the casinos.

Tired of taking it on the chin in the public arena, Harrah’s Entertainment has struck back with a radio spot of their own. “We have had more than 50 bargaining sessions with the UAW. … We’d like to agree on a contract that is reasonable, economically feasible and one that allows us to remain competitive in these difficult times.” Harrah’s says more ads are coming, although their spending won’t quite reach the level of the UAW media campaign.

With the union pouring millions into media, and the casinos having to fight back to protect their reputation, it’s a good time to be in the advertising business in Atlantic City. Casino employees, however, are seeing their pay raises frittered away. Good thing they voted in a union.

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Bank Of America’s Turn In Crosshairs

I’m sure Bank of America must be reeling. First, they loan $80 million to the SEIU for the construction of a new headquarters building. In return, Stern and company viciously attack the bank, staging protests outside Bank of America offices, called for the resignation of bank CEO Ken Lewis, and demanding improvements in wages, bargaining rights, and health care benefits for Bank of America workers through public campaigns and in testimony before Congress. Then, another union that is in the middle of a ferocious battle with the SEIU, files charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the SEIU and the bank, charging that the loans are illegal.

SEIU officials claim the charges are baseless, while Bank of American claims they are “being inserted into the middle of a dispute between two unions.”

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Branson Highlights Tough Reality

Said Richard Branson, head of Virgin Atlantic, about his company’s relationship with Boeing, “If people in Seattle build our planes and deliver them on time and, to be frank, don’t go on strike, then we’ll continue to work with Boeing. If we have our airline completely messed up, with tremendous damage done to our own work force, then we’ll go to Embraer or Airbus.”

The machinists union better pay attention. Their recent strike began the rumblings of the possible gutting of the aerospace industry in the northwest, and by year’s end we may see the fallout. Boeing has already indicated that without proper concessions from the machinists, they will establish a new 787 assembly line elsewhere.

Other industries would do well to take notice. The government does not have the wherewithal to add Boeing to the “General Motors”-style bailout program.

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UAW Attempts to Shaft Wisconsin Children

While business executives are being excoriated in the media for using private jets, the UAW is attempting to keep afloat a posh UAW-owned golf resort that has lost $25 million over the last 5 years. The union is trying to secure $3 million in tax relief from township officials, seeking to rob the school districts of much-needed funding to keep alive the elegant union leadership getaway.

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Labor Relations INK is published semi-monthly 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:

http://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

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.

INK: June 11, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

In This Issue:

• Insight from Phil Wilson
• EFCA Update
• Internicine Battle Rages On
• Organizing Campaign Moves To Public Square
• and more…

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Baby Boomers the Secret Key to Engagement?

A recent study by Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging & Work, researchers found that employee engagement among younger workers has dropped significantly during this recent economic downturn. That’s not really surprising – as I discuss in my book The Next 52 Weeks, job security is one of the keys to job satisfaction.

What is surprising is that the engagement of older workers has hardly budged during this economic downturn. Read the rest of the article here…

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EFCA Update

Big Labor ratcheted up their pressure tactics, finding a creative point of leverage to intimidate fund managers on Wall Street from speaking out against the Employee Free Choice Act. In a questionnaire, managers were asked such questions as, “Has your company made any public statements in support or opposition to EFCA?” The implied threat is that unions will move their pension monies out of these fund managers’ hands, which is basically an illegal act of coercion. Read a letter sent by one Teamsters local to their fund managers.

We’ve already written about the stacking of the National Labor Relations Board with pro-labor appointments. Meet Craig Becker in this 6 minute video to get a sense for the radical pro-union flavor these appointments will bring to the board.

Some are wondering if the 3-way conflagration between the SEIU, UNITE-HERE, and the fledgling breakaway union Workers United will hamper the efforts of Big Labor to push the EFCA forward. Not likely, but it does make for high entertainment value (see story below)!

Investors Business Daily, meanwhile, points us to a fascinating National Bureau of Economic Research study that concludes that companies typically lose 10% of their stock value after being unionized. The study found the average loss per company was $40,500 in 1998 dollars for each worker eligible to vote.

Another group of business leaders, this time an Hispanic organization in Colorado, has weighed in to lobby their senator to oppose the bill, and another Wall Street Journal editorial points to additional problems caused by binding arbitration provisions in the EFCA: union leaders will be harder to hold accountable, and it will be even harder than it is now to get rid of a union once it is in place

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FREE! EFCA Strategy Review & Vulnernability Audit

This has quickly become one of our most popular programs, in light of upcoming labor law changes. It is more important than ever to assess both the internal and external factors that contribute to your company’s vulnerability to union penetration, and formulate action plans to shore up any uncovered weaknesses.

• What are the most likely labor law changes, and how will they impact my vulnerabilities?

• What are the six strategies I can implement to strengthen my defense against union encroachment?

• When do I talk to my employees about unions? What do I say about unions?

CLICK HERE to schedule your free 30-minute consultation with Phil Wilson, LRI’s President and General Counsel.

**********

Internecine Battle Rages On

You will not find better soap opera on TV. As UNITE HERE begins to crumble with the recent leadership split, one former co-leader (Bruce Raynor) charges the other with tactics “more reminiscent of the Sopranos than anything I’ve ever seen in my trade union career,” then resigns, while the other side charges Raynor with using internal resources to organize a breakaway faction intending to join the Service Employees International Union, and claims to have been planning to boot him anyway. Meanwhile, it appears John Wilhelm (the surviving head of UNITE-HERE) is attempting to use the affair to combat his arch enemy, Andy Stern and the SEIU, by planting stories in the media accusing Stern of directing the entire affair as a way to sabotage Wilhelm’s union.

As the drama unfolds, Raynor and his new Workers United union are pleading to SEIU for financial assistance, claiming they are running a deficit of $300,000 a month. Raynor is also besmirching the reputation of Amalgamated Bank, whose holding company is his former union, claiming that UNITE-HERE is in “total chaos.”

SEIU continues with its own troubles. As its largest local seceded to become a separate union (the NUHW), other SEIU officials have either been indicted for fraudulent activity (we’ve covered in detail over the past year), or have resigned in disgust at SEIU practices.

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Follow The Money, Or Lack Thereof!

We’ve  reported before some of the troubles that union pension plans are having, and why this is one of the driving factors in the desperate push for the EFCA by Big Labor. Some have done the math, and calculated that the enactment of some EFCA-type bill would put upwards of $637,500,000 per year into union coffers, equating to over $35 billion in the next 10 years for Big Labor to meddle in politics and the continued degradation of Americas businesses. Additionally, the poor state of union pension funds could be turned around as fresh dues payers/pensioners pay in for the benefits of already retired workers.

Pension funds are a big issue. A recent report indicated almost half of the nation’s 20 largest unions have pension funds that federal law classifies as “endangered” or in “critical” condition due to being underfunded. In a vile travesty of moral failure, union officer pension funds remain in top shape despite this erosion of employee funds. One researcher, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, lamented, “Unions attract members by telling them they will look after them and that these plans are fully funded but they are not. Yet they are fully funding their own officer pensions. What we have are new members joining up so they can guarantee that the officers will have a secure retirement. In some cases they are giving up existing 401k pensions that do better than these underfund Ponzi schemes. The membership dues are not being used to build up assets they are being used to fund the officer’s retirements and to cover current retirees.”

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Only In A Union

Shortly after members of IBEW Local 459 went on strike near Reading, Pennsylvania, specialized electrical equipment belonging to the Pennsylvania Electric Company was vandalized, creating a minor emergency and initiating the response of crisis repair crews. The company was forced to increase security measures, and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security to apprise them of the situation.

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Pro-Company Workers Take Action

A chain of grocery stores in Arizona has been fighting a long-running battle with the United Food & Commercial Workers, including the filing of a defamation lawsuit, and defending Unfair Labor Practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board. In a recent development, fed-up Bashas employees joined the fray and began a series of protests outside the UFCW Local 99’s Phoenix offices.

The group hopes other employees will join in the grassroots effort to protect their company against deceitful UFCW organizing and corporate campaign tactics.

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Internal Finger Pointing, Ad Naseum

Tom Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and a member of the AFL-CIO’s finance committee, stated that the AFL-CIO has used “creative accounting” to mask its dismal financial position.

The largest U.S. labor organization in the country has seen its assets decline to a negative $2.3 million as of June 30, 2008, from a $66 million surplus on July 1, 2000. “If we are not careful, insolvency may be right around the corner,” Buffenbarger’s report said.

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Organizing Campaign Moves to the Public Square

Typical scenario:

• Union wants national company to allow the organization of its employees via card check rather than secret ballot.
• Company says no.
• Labor federation begins corporate campaign against company to bring public pressure to bear.

Recently, Change To Win played this well-worn card in a 9-city “protest” against CVS Pharmacy, claiming that the company was selling products past their expiration dates. CVS is a constant target of both the SEIU and UFCW, both members of Change To Win. Change To Win denies the allegation, but an employment lawyer familiar with corporate campaigns said, “I’d be amazed if this is purely a coincidence.”

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SEIU vs. NUHW

As SEIU continues to battle the newly formed National Union of Healthcare Workers, companies currently represented by SEIU are being dragged into the fray. In the latest episode, employees of a Kaiser Permanente facility in Stockton, CA, picketed on behalf of the NUHW. Kaiser claimed neutrality, but protesters disputed the claim. “We strongly disagree that Kaiser is neutral in this. We are forced to pay dues – $72.90 a month – to SEIU, a union that is not working in the best interest of the worker. We’re here to make sure everybody knows about it,” said one protester, Robert Nevarez. Protesters want the opportunity to oust SEIU in favor of NUHW, but is claiming Kaiser is working to prevent the action because SEIU won’t push for raising wages.

Across the state in Fresno, the SEIU is working to quash a move by Fresno home health care workers to elect out of SEIU and into NUHW. At a rally held on Sunday May 31, SEIU-UHW Trustee Dave Regan told SEIU staff to “administer an old-school ass-whipping” to NUHW supporters. “In other words, what we gotta do here, my old-school friends, is we have to administer an old-school ass-whipping over the next two weeks,” he said. “I know everybody knows what that means. We gotta give a butt-whipping they will never forget,” he added. “We gotta put them in the ground and bury them.” Watch the video here.

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Transform Your Workplace!

A step-by-step guide on how to dramatically improve employee engagement at your company. Includes checklists, action-planning guides and more.

• How to determine your company’s internal and external vulnerability – and why you have to deal with both kinds of vulnerability.

• Critical training for your first-line supervisors, and how you can turn them into a key to your employee engagement strategy.

CLICK HERE to find out more about The Next 52 Weeks: One Year To Transform Your Work Environment by Phillip B. Wilson

**********

UAW Tanks General Motors

If you’re still wondering exactly how much GM’s high labor costs played into its demise as a viable auto manufacturer, read this quick report. Robert Dewar, author of a recent book about the auto industry debacle, in a recent visit to China shared compelling data to back his claim.

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Danger In The Shadows

In another example of the many back-channel means that Big Labor supporters are looking to reward their union funding sources, New York state legislators recently tried to slide two new labor-friendly bills quietly past the public. One bill would force employers to pay up to 50% of a union’s lost dues if “extreme provocation” led to a strike, and the second makes it easier for unions to block public employers from imposing new rules. The legislation would lead to illegal strikes by public employees.

The Mayor of New York City got wind of the ruse. “Rather than rewarding illegal behavior, our Legislature should make sure that these potentially life-threatening events never happen again,” a spokesman for the mayor’s legislative office said.

On the opposite side of the country, Oregon is attempting to become the first state to pass an employer gag law that would severely restrict what employers could say to their employees during union organizing campaigns. Washington state just defeated such an attempt, and despite the bills dubious legality, Oregon legislators seem bent on pressing the matter home.

**********

Win for Right-To-Work

A field-tech with Verizon, located in Tampa, FL, was part of a team assembled to work in California, but was sent home by the CWA because she was not a member of the IBEW in her home state, a right-to-work state. When she applied for a similar second work team headed to that state, she was again denied. The National Right to Work Foundation assisted the employee in a filing a suit against the company and both unions for discrimination based on union membership, in which she won compensation for lost time, and an agreement that the unions will post notices that such discrimination is illegal.

**********

Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
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INK: April 23, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

EFCA Update

Do not fall asleep behind the wheel, lulled either by a false sense of security, or by numbness stemming from the confusing messages related to the prognosis for the Employee Free Choice Act. It does seem that the cards are stacking up against the bill passing “as is.” Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) has indicated he may pull his support, another business group has added to the fray on the side of EFCA opponents, and a Teamster-endorsed recent senatorial candidate got away with dodging confession of support for the bill. However, bubbles of compromise discussion have continued to surface, and even those who have said “no” to the bill, have typically qualified their “no” by specifying they are opposed to the current version of the bill.

Big Labor mogul Andy Stern attempted to bolster his union comrades. “We are on the hunt for a solution,” he said, and indicated that it would be a mistake for Big Labor to wait for the next election cycle, hoping to pick up more votes for the current form of the bill. The AFL-CIO posted a list of grassroots efforts working on behalf of “reform,” and in a move straight out of the standard union playbook, the SEIU appears to have “stolen” signatures used in a non-EFCA related petition and applied them to a petition in support of the law!

While both sides are claiming tactical victories for their camp, it doesn’t appear that the EFCA proponents are close yet to pulling a passable bill out of the hat. That’s good news for American businesses, IF they take advantage of the lull before the storm. Big Labor will not rest – there will be labor law change, whether it comes via one “big” bill like EFCA, a compromise bill, or a group of smaller actions. It will become more difficult for businesses to overcome organizing attempts in the near future, and more businesses will be susceptible to organizing than ever before. They must prepare now, or they will pay the price for their procrastination in the very near future.

**********

“An’ You Don’t Mess Around With … Andy?”

Andy Stern, volatile head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is a scrapper par excellence. Having buried the hatchet and come to an agreement with the CNA-NNOC to split the proceeds of hospital organizing (nurses to CNA, service staff to SEIU), he is now taking advantage of the rift in UNITE-HERE by wooing away the UNITE side of the war-torn organization to join the SEIU. The move was a bold encroachment into the gaming turf Stern has set his sights on.

John Wilhelm, co-president of UNITE HERE, calls Stern’s efforts “a naked power grab,” accusing him of attempting a “hostile takeover of another union’s jurisdiction in a way that is unprecedented in the modern labor movement.”

Labor experts disagree with Stern’s “growth at any cost” strategy, which makes concessions on benefits and working conditions in exchange for making it easier to organize in specific locations.

**********

Jaws Revisited

SEIU is calling for Kenneth Lewis’ head on a platter. Why would a union be after the CEO and Chairman of Bank of America? Simply put, they are trying to capitalize on the controversy and consumer angst that the $45 billion in government funding has created, to push their agenda for labor law change, specifically the Employee Free Choice Act.

“They’re after blood. They’re chumming the waters for sharks,” UNC Charlotte finance professor Tony Plath says of the union’s campaign. “I’m not a cheerleader for BofA. But let’s be objective about this: These attacks are all about card check.” Plath reasons that by accusing a major company of abusing consumers and workers, Big Labor stands to gain support in Congress for changes they are trying to push through. There are no unionized banks, but with the proposed changes in labor law, that could all change rapidly.

**********

Only In A Union

While Big Labor is attempting to force American workers to give up the protection of a secret ballot in exchange for the easily manipulated “card check” process, the Teamsters are showing the disrespect they hold for any democratic process. Three
Teamster members are on trial for rigging an election in 2004, apparently in collusion with the attorney of their local.

Now that’s democracy, Big Labor style!

**********

LRI Website Update

We’ve made it easier for you to find what you need on our web site. Hard-hitting videos, on-target publications, a growing inventory of free resources, and our exclusive library of databases, everything you need to move your company ahead of the competition. Here is a quick diagram highlighting some of the changes. Check it out – spend a few minutes on the site, and we’d love to hear your feedback!

**********

UFCW vs. Wal-Mart

The UFCW is wielding a new Union Authorization Card sporting a picture and quote from President Obama. In the last month or so, about 60 organizers have been sent to over 100 Wal-Mart stores across 15 states, using the new card to secure signatures.

As the nations largest private-sector employer with 1.4 million employees in 3600 stores, the unions see Wal-Mart as the key to the nations retailers, whose jobs cannot be shipped overseas. If the Wal-Mart domino falls, Big Labor knows the chain reaction will be enormous.

**********

Kidnapped!?

If the new trend to import all things French (socialism…) continues, we might soon see union locals kidnapping company officials. Disgruntled employees of French auto parts manufacturer Faurecia recently “sequestered” executives for over 5 hours to protest a restructuring and plant shutdowns. Sony, 3M and Caterpiller have also had to deal with this unusual method of “negotiation.” Almost half of the French population believes it is a valid means of bargaining.

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APRIL 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.

**********

Higher Ed & Big Three Auto

The UAW represents academic student employees at California State University. The latest round of contract talks have been stymied over the issue of fee waivers. Full fee waivers would cost the school between $8 to $11 million annually, and CSU is not prepared to budge on the issue.

“A strike might be something that we’ll have to do,” a UAW spokesperson said.

**********

Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

In a side note to our union fraud section, Obama recently rescinded new financial disclosure rules put in place in the last days of the Bush administration aimed at making it easier to spot union corruption. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a former chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, complained, “In a time when the president himself said we need more accountability and transparency in government, canceling rules to help root out corruption is not the way to go.”

Lyndon Denney - USW: $24,000

Larry Ramsey – ROU: $163,222

Frankie Sanders – APWU: $13,000

Norman Stefanik - USW: $25,808

Rosa Della Porta - ILWU: $108,000

William Sargent, Jr.- AFGE: $31,000

**********

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:

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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

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: February 12, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

SEIU / UHW-West Conflict Erupts

SEIU’s Andy Stern final pulled the trigger and put the large (150,000 member) California-based local into trusteeship. United Healthcare Workers-West president Sal Rosselli, and 17 other elected officers, were ousted, and SEIU and moved to seize control of the local’s offices.

In what some observers called “trench warfare,” the UHW-West leadership first refused to vacate their offices, and then opened a new union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, to rival SEIU for the membership of the local, petitioning for elections in 62 hospitals and healthcare facilities.

The west-coast dispute was mirrored in the east, as the UNITE side of the UNITE-HERE union took the HERE side of the executive committee to court over violations of its constitution.

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OLMS Teeth To Be Pulled?

Since the start of fiscal year 2001, the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards cumulative enforcement results include 1,004 indictments, 929 convictions, and payments or orders of restitution of $93,110,576. However, the mission of the OLMS to protect union members from financial abuses and other crimes by those who serve in positions of trust may be jeopardized, as Labor Secretary designate Solis will not commit to funding, and in fact parried the direct question into a comment antagonistic to business, rather than the unions officials OLMS is designed to monitor.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Watch the video on YouTube at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55fyIT5q84

**********

Obama Begins Union “Dues” Payments

Whether or not the Employee Free Choice Act moves through Congress swiftly, Big Labor will have plenty to thank Obama for. He has already begun the process of tossing bones to his biggest backers. Several Executive Orders were signed giving unions preferential treatment in Federal contracts and making it harder for workers to understand their rights. Additionally, power is granted to the Secretary of Labor to blacklist union targets from federal contracts.

Meanwhile, Big Labor is keeping the heat on the newly elected Congress, and President. Andy Stern of the Service Employees International Union threatened to “hold people accountable” for their campaign promises. Keep you eyes open – Big Labor’s $450 Million election debt won’t be satisfied with just a few bones. They’ll want substantial meat, whether packaged in the EFCA or not.

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UFCW Thugs Intimidate Worker

At a Rite-Aid store in Niagara Falls, NY, an employee working in the stock room was approached and pressured by three representatives from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The worker had filed a petition on behalf of his co-workers to have the union removed. According to the police report filed, the union representations tried to coerce him into an after-hours meeting, and he feared they were trying to harm him.

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Employment Law Changes

Beyond the impact of the new administration on laws related to union issues, there are more changes coming that employers will have to keep abreast of. The workload of HR personnel will increase dramatically, and pity the small business owner who doesn’t have an HR manager! The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act are the first two among the plethora to come.

**********

Pro-Business Advocacy

Americans For Job Security is a pro-business, pro-markets issue advocacy group that has joined the fight against the Employee Free Choice Act. Among their key issues are:

- tax reduction

- free markets & free trade

- energy

- transportation

Check out their web site.

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ULP Charge of the Month

Download a PDF of this ULP here.

**********

Teamsters Latest Corporate Campaign

Hoffa has instructed Teamster locals across the country to sever any relationships with Cleveland-based KeyCorp bank, and move their banking business elsewhere. Why? Because Key is the primary lender for Oak Harbor Freight, an Auburn, Wash., company where more than 600 Teamster members had been on a lengthy strike.

Teamster-owned assets to be moved could run as much as $18 Billion. Just another example of Big Labor’s strategy to drag a third party into a labor squabble.

**********

Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Kenneth Campbell – IUOE: $290,000

Carl White – IATSE: $86,000

Gerald Conaway – FOP: $5,500

Stephen Snyder – USW: $78,893

Rick Radek – BLET: $6,700

Joseph Johnson - IBB: $102,519

Richard Klemser - IAM: $60,000

Jeffrey Baker - IAM: $16,050

Danny Tilley - TBCTC: $9,719

Linda Peterson - APWU: $6,505

**********

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:

http://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

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: January 6, 2009

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

“Big Labor” Secretary Solis

It is no surprise that Obama would appoint a Labor Secretary that is strongly in support of Big Labor. The comments of several from the Labor sphere can be read here.

A NYTimes article put it quite succinctly:

“Ms. Solis has championed a bill, called the Employee Free Choice Act, that is the No. 1 priority of organized labor… She is the only member of Congress on the board of American Rights at Work, a pro-union group pushing for the bill.”

Some insiders believe that Solis’ pro-labor stance will add weight to the contest over the EFCA. Although it is now being called “controversial” by even the mainstream media, and as prior proponents in Congress are beginning to wane in vocalizing their continued support, Solis may be the trump card pushing the bill to near the top of the legislative priorities.

**********

Airlines a Reflection of Big Three Auto?

The oil price fluctuations and a weakened economy have taken their toll on the airlines, but the ongoing challenge of dealing with unions and union rules could be the albatross around the neck that brings this industry to it’s knees.

American is wrestling with flight attendants, while Delta is struggling to merge the recently acquired Northwest employees, many of whom were unionized, into it’s ranks, and pilots at Continental have been grappling to reach a new contract since July of 2007. Meanwhile, JetBlue is facing another organizing threat as its pilots work to form an independent union.

**********

How to Ride the Fence

Finally, American companies are becoming aware of the dangers of the pending Employee Free Choice Act. That’s good! Unfortunately, many of these companies will fail to join the public fracas over the bill so as not to jeopardize other legislative agendas. That’s not so good!

Many businesses are remaining on the sidelines and while allowing the Chamber of Commerce and other advocates to fight the legislative battle. Yet there is another way to fight back while remaining under the radar: make your company a hardened target to union encroachment. One possible (great) outcome is that Big Labor wins the EFCA battle, but then can’t make hay from it because US businesses have properly educated their employees about the facts of unionization.

If you’re willing to at least fight on this front, start here.

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HR Under Obama

About 1200 HR managers responded to a recent poll:

Do you think President-elect Obama’s policies on employment law will:

Make your job more difficult — 69%

Have no effect on you — 22%

Make your job easier — 9%

The article lists 10 pieces of pending legislation that will affect most businesses – and HR personnel – including the Employee Free Choice Act.

**********

McDonalds Ignites Union Ire

WalMart was the first large enterprise to be chastised publically by the press and unions for providing information to their management about the perils of the Employee Free Choice Act. McDonalds recently joined the ranks of those excoriated for doing the same thing – explaining to their franchisee owners the impact the passage of the EFCA could have on their operations. As is typical of Big Labor, the result was to attempt to intimidate the fast food giant.

William Whitman, spokesman for McDonalds USA, clarified McDonald’s position:

“Regarding this legislation, as a restaurant organization with 3,100 independent small businesses, we have a responsibility to inform and educate our system about legislation that could impact their business. This was the intent of the communication in question. Unfortunately, the message was leaked to the media and excerpts were used to create the impression that McDonald’s is engaged in anti-union activities. Again, this was not our intent.”

**********

Jack Welch Chimes In

In an admonition to business owners to educate their employees about the Employee Free Choice Act, the business icon stated,

“union work rules are one of the main reasons that the auto industry is close to bankruptcy…In 2009, Americans couldn’t less afford a resurgent unionization movement.”

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ULP Charge of the Month

Seems the ITPE Local 4873 in Tacoma doesn’t want it’s employees talking to their collective bargaining representatives!

Download the ULP here.

**********

Devious Strategy

The SEIU has been accused of signing contracts that are not necessarily in the best interests of its members, and of playing cozy with management. However, US businesses may find a sting in these “management-friendly” contracts.

“Stern has every intention to paralyze the businesses he now has sway over by holding over the heads of management the sheer size of his membership as newer contracts come up for negotiation. These businesses are signing their own death warrants by imagining that the SEIU has any long term interest in working with management.”

**********

Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Van T. Barnes – IBT: $97,661

Fidel R. Garza – AFGE: $84,000

Thomas Brown – IBEW: $6,467

Diane Martin – IBT: $1,535

**********

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:

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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

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: December 3, 2008

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Pig In The Parlor

As debate over the merits of the Employee Free Choice Act continues, the UAW’s contribution to the problems of the Big Three automakers is coming more clearly into focus. As Congress is pounding the Detroit companies to produce a viable plan for recovery, the UAW is drawing lines in the sand, endangering the jobs of millions. This week the union has finally succumbed to an emergency meeting to discuss further concessions.

The UAW has continued to blame the economy rather than admit its role in the debacle. A comparison of the wages and benefits of non-Detroit automakers to the Big Three easily highlights the differences. Take home wages in Detroit average $28.42 an hour, compared to Toyota ($26), Honda ($24) and Hyundai ($21) in their plants in the southeast. Add benefits, and the non-Detroit companies are on par with most other manufacturing jobs at $44.20, compared to Detroit’s $73.21.

Randall Johnson of the US Chamber of Commerce says that any bailout must be accompanied further concessions from the UAW. “There’s no secret about the entitlement cost overhead the auto makers are sustaining,” said Johnson. “It’s got to be looked at it if they’re going to survived.”

**********

New Targets In Union Crosshairs

A recent interview with a restaurant lobbyist suggests that management in many industries who would not have considered themselves a prime union organizing target may need to rethink their position.

Speaking of the restaurant industry, Rick Berman said, “My hope is that the industry will act in a more pre-emptive fashion so that we are not engaged in as many fire drills as I fear we may be.” He further warned, “Companies with heavy franchised operations are not immune.”

Another target is the Hispanic community. Latinos are found in large numbers in industries such as healthcare and hospitality, were SEIU efforts have grown recently. Begging the question of the ease of organizing Hispanics is the role the language barrier plays in properly representing (or misrepresenting) authorization cards to this growing component of the American workforce.

**********

Union Loses

In a recent union defeat, workers at a Blue Diamond Growers plant in Sacramento overwhelmingly voted to reject representation by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Blue Diamond chief executive officer Doug Youngdahl told members of the cooperative in a letter sent Thursday, “this vote … overwhelmingly supports and endorses that working together as a team and talking directly with each other is preferred rather than working through a third party.”

**********

More SEIU Turmoil

The top SEIU official in California was forced to step down amid charges of financial impropriety. Annelle Grajeda is the third major SEIU leader to step aside following reports about shady financial practices. Grajeda served as president of the L.A. local and the union’s state council, and as an executive vice president of the national organization.

Under scrutiny is her role in payments of tens of thousands of dollars to a boyfriend, Alejandro Stephens. A complaint filed by two members of Grajeda’s local stated, “We have grave concerns that this type of betrayal of public trust and malfeasance may be happening in our local union.”

One of the first two SEIU officials to resign under similar circumstances has been permanently banned by the union, and ordered to repay more than $1 million back to the organization. Tyrone Freeman (earlier INK story here) is now the target of a federal criminal investigation.

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Labor Excels At Com 2.0

Unions are constantly sharpening their skills and tactics in the sphere of communication technologies and strategies. With a labor-friendly administration taking over in Washington soon, management needs to expand its use of the modern tools of communication.

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ULP Charge of the Month

Download a PDF here.

**********

Ultimate Oxymoron

The Employee Free Choice Act as part of a Stimulus Bill? Believe it or not, some are beginning to perceive this idea as a way to ram the card check bill down America’s throat with a spoonful of “stimulus” sugar. Keep an eye out for this one!

**********

Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

John DaBronzo – AWIU: $830,000

Edna Latimore – AFGE: $77,857

Lawrence Marable & Deborah Powell – AFGE: $184,129

Willie Harris – AFGE: $5,000

Michelle Trinh – WGA: $17,228

Todd Novak – BLE: $47,780

Tina Curtis – APWU: $18,283

Kenneth Wallace – UWUA: $8,300

Bradley Steinruck – USW: $1,987

**********

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:

http://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

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: November 18, 2008

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Why Campaigns Matter

I received the following email today from someone who got my “Unions: The 7 Lies You Must Know” email series. I thought I would share it. My response follows. Here was the email from “localunion21″:

Hello Philip
I have read your seven lies and have a question for you. I work non-union in Omaha Nebraska making $17.00/hr with no health benefits for my family and no plan for retirement.

I was approached by a union organizer and he did use some of the info you provided.

read the rest of the article here…

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Boeing Strike The Last Straw?

In 1991, former Boeing Chairman Frank Shrontz warned civic leaders in a speech to the Seattle Chamber of Commerce that aircraft could be built in other parts of the country for 30-to-40 percent less than Washington State. “Could Puget Sound turn into an aerospace rust belt of the 21st century, complete with padlocked factories, unemployment lines and urban blight?” Shrontz asked then. “It certainly could.”

We soon may add to Shrontz’s titles that of prophet. The recent plight of the Big Three automakers, Boeing’s loss of 200 production days over the last two decades due to strikes, and the hardships to parts suppliers across the country impacted by the latest strike, have many industry analysts predicting Boeing will move out of state at the first opportunity.

**********

Strike Forces Jobs Out

Striking employees at an American Standard plant in New Jersey didn’t make out as well as the Boeing machinists. The company eliminated 20-30 jobs and moved a bathtub production line to another plant. The line being moved is a high-volume sales item and the company said keeping the supply of products open to customers was critical. Said plant manager Paul Lee, “We will do whatever we must to ensure we continue to meet our customers’ needs.” When asked if other work might be moved from the plant, Tracy Benson Kirker, a spokesperson for the company, reiterated that the company would keep all of it’s options open.

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OLMS Busy Last Year

During the fiscal year ending in September 2008, the Office of Labor-Management Standards obtained 102 convictions and 130 indictments, with restitutions totaling more than $3.2 million. Since 2001, the OLMS has secured court orders of more than $91.5 million. That’s a lot of union dues!

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Only In A Union

Employees of UPS who are members of Teamsters Local 804, filed a report charging that union officials colluded with UPS management to divert almost $18 million from the local health fund to the union pension plan, while raising member health care co-payments. The amount represents more than half of the health plan assets.

**********

Grocery Union Picking Up Steam

In 2003/2004, a 141-day strike and lock-out seemed to shatter the back of the United Food and Commercial Workers union in southern California. With a resurgence of energy and a more coordinated strategy, the UFCW is back on the prowl. “We are coming back,” said Jennifer Riddagh, who works at a Vons store in Thousand Oaks. “Things are pretty good right now.”

The UFCW has set it’s sights on the rapidly growing Fresh & Easy grocery chain. The company has opened 48 stores in Southern California and 49 in Phoenix and Las Vegas, with plans to expand to 200 stores by early next year.

Rick Icaza, president of UFCW Local 770 in Los Angeles, said “We realize that Fresh & Easy will be a major problem for us if we don’t do something about organizing it.”

**********

NOVEMBER SCOREBOARD

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.

**********

Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Adopt a park close by your place of work and get a crew together to clean it up and maybe even add some new feature (playground equipment, flower garden, trees, etc.).

**********

Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Kevin Sherlock – NALC: $45,000

Krista Yeatts – IAM: $47,746

Kathleen Kordish – USW: $2,500

Eugene Huss – USW: $2,000

Grace Gaines – AFT: $15,597

Janet Johnson – AFGE: $11,251

Glenroy Richards – AFGE: $11,243

**********

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:

http://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

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: November 5, 2008

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Special Election Edition

Obama Wins – What about the EFCA?

It is Wednesday morning and I am beat. After staying up late to see whether there would be a call in Minnesota, Georgia, Alaska and Oregon (there wasn’t) I finally hit the sack around 1AM. Things aren’t any clearer this morning.

As I write this today it looks like there will be a runoff in Georgia. In Oregon the Republican has a slim lead with 75% of the ballots counted – still way too close to call. Minnesota is headed for a recount. It looks like Alaska will remain a Republican seat.

Based on this, it looks like Democrats will have between 56 and 58 seats when all is said and done (including two independents who caucus with the Democrats, although Joe Lieberman may be kicked out of the Democratic caucus tomorrow).

What does that mean for the EFCA?

…read the rest of this article on our blog.

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Great Depression Redo?

It took until the last weeks of the campaign, but finally several good articles have emerged showing the connection between President Franklin Roosevelt’s anti-competitive, pro-union labor policies and the unnecessary extension of the Great Depression. These two articles (here & here) include additional insight into trade policies and taxes, while this article describes the impact of the Wagner Act and the role of state right-to-work laws in finally turning the situation in a positive direction in the 1950’s.
Both warn that the passage of the EFCA is likely to cause similar damage to an already fragile economy.

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The Real EFCA Losers

This article in Forbes does a nice job of highlighting another impact of increased unionization, highly likely under the Employee Free Choice Act:

“A 2002 study by the Bureau of National Affairs found that…private sector workers in the 10 least unionized states earned $1,600 more annually than workers in the 10 most heavily unionized states. What’s more, between 1992 and 2002, the less unionized states generated twice as many nonfarm jobs–with better benefits–than more unionized states. “

Swelling the union roles will also exacerbate the growing tendency of unions to act contrary to the wishes of their members. “Big Labor will get more money and added flexibility to further ignore the wishes of its rank-and-file and pursue its political agenda.”

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Union Impacts Merger

The Communications Workers of America has sued AT&T over a proprosed restructuring plan, and accused the company of using “corporate shell games to avoid contractural obligations.”

AT&T has been working to meld the various business units it acquired after the breakup of the old Bell System into a single enterprise. The CWA lawsuit seeks to force AT&T to honor its obligations under collective bargaining agreements and to recognize all subsidiaries’ existing union contracts.

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The Future of Political Campaigns?

Even before Americans began entering the polling booth, the AFL-CIO was congratulating its membership for the huge expenditure of time and money during the campaign. As we mentioned in the adjacent article on union political activism (The Real EFCA losers), this litany of tactics will only compound under an EFCA climate.

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A Global Labor Reaction

It may be prudent to look at how the global labor movement is reacting to the economic climate, particularly with a new regime in control in the U.S.

All labor movements are driven by particular ideological viewpoints, and yet they borrow strategy, rhetoric, and tactics from each other any time it serves their purposes, especially when they can lean on “global justifications” for their prefered agenda.

It is no surprise that Big Labor in the U.S. is crying out for re-regulation of financial markets, universal health care, and huge government spending programs. Interestingly, as a part of their 8-point program, Change To Win labels the passage of the EFCA as occuring “at no cost to taxpayers.” Although the cost won’t come in taxes, as described elsewhere in this issue of INK, there will be a huge price to pay if unionization runs rampant.

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Required Reading!

An Interview with Don Wilson: The EFCA. This is a free transcript of an interview with the CEO of Labor Relations Institute on the EFCA and its impact on American businesses.

Click here to download a PDF of the transcript.

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Prepare, Don’t React

We have been sounding the alarm since the EFCA first surfaced on the legislative radar about the need for U.S. businesses to adopt new sets of practices. The worst response is a knee-jerk reaction. What is required is a purposeful strategy that will retain the trust of employees, along with a preparedness plan in the event union organizing activity surfaces. These management attorneys reinforce our position, and provide some great groundwork for building employee trust.

Our EFCA Tool Kit provides a strategic preparedness kit-in-a-box that nicely complements such proactive actions.

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Coming Soon to the U.S.?

France announced that it would impose surveillance on companies to prevent them from taking certain business actions, such as off-shoring jobs. If Big Labor continues to buy up our government, would we soon follow France’s lead?

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Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Karimah Bailey – AFGE: $98,802

Teresa Cora Luna- IATSE: $67,416

Louella M. Zieman – IAIW: $51,684

Michael St. John – GMP: $24,000

Christopher Ethington – UAW: $15,100

Luther L. Corey – ATU: $16,288

David Thompson – BLE: $8,767

Chad Mowery – BLE: $2,537

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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:

http://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

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US

INK: October 21, 2008

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this issue with links here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

EFCA: No Time To Lose

We are only 2 weeks away from what at this point looks like a big win for Barack Obama and a substantial – perhaps filibuster-proof – Democratic majority in the Senate. Many people we’ve talked to over the last several months about the Free Choice Act have told us they are waiting until after the elections before they do anything. I have a feeling many of those will say that they are going to wait until the legislation passes before they take action after the election.

These “conservative” strategies seem logical. After all, why prepare for a change in the laws when you don’t even know what the rules are going to be? But the strategies are not logical. And they’re not conservative. They are reckless. Companies who aren’t fully engaged in devloping an action plan and educating new and incumbent employees right now about union cards are going to be sorry.

read the rest of the article here…

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Boeing Strikers Should Take Note

Daimler Trucks North America has scheduled a closure of a Porland, OR plant. The closure will send 900 machinists looking for jobs, as the production work is be shifted to climates with less union encumbrances in the Carolinas and Mexico. Striking Boeing machinists, represented by the same union representing the Freightliner employees, could drive Boeing to a similar move once production on the 737 comes to an end.

In a related reinforcement of the point, Boeing executive Fred Kiga, speaking at a Washington state aerospace industry conference, warned of the northwest becoming known as a “strike zone.” “I don’t think anyone would call this region an aerospace rust belt today,” he said. “But we cannot afford to become known as the strike zone either. The stakes are much too high.”

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McCain vs. Obama: Labor Policy

The Alliance for Worker Freedom has release a chart comparing the two presidential candidates on labor positions, including right-to-work, card check, and other key issues. Check it out!

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UFCW vs. Business Reality

The six Wal-Mart employees of a Tire & Lubrication Express department in a Canadian store probably thought they had finally cracked open the “evil empire” when they won a 3-year court battle over representation by the United Food & Commercial Workers union. Business realities soon hit home when the Express was closed due to the unprofitability of the venture adjusted for the new wage hikes. The employees were offered employment – non-union – at other Wal-Mart locations.

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More Cash from the UAW

Piling on to the huge Big Labor financial commitment to sway the November elections, the United Auto Workers launched a $3 million ad campaign in the manufacturing states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The campaign, supporting the Obama ticket, is targeting active and retired members of the UAW, of which more than half of the total of one million live in one of those four states.

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Former Union Organizers Expose “Psychological Battery”

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Big Labor has been spouting about the supposed coercive tactics that empoyers use during organizing campaigns to intimidate employees into voting in favor of the company.

We’ve put together a three-minute video of several former union organizers exposing the truth about the tactics used by unions during such campaigns. This “insiders view” highlights the dangers of the horribly mistitled Employe Free Choice Act, and indicates what the American workforce should prepare for should this legislation pass, and exposes who the real culprits are of coercive tactics.

Watch the video on YouTube at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/v/Y1b2UtZ2S6Q&hl=en&fs=1

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If you missed this – here it is again!

An Interview with Don Wilson: The EFCA. This is a complete interview with the CEO of Labor Relations Institute on the Employee Free Choice Act and its impact on American businesses.

Pre-Election Special! There is still time to educate your employees about the dangerous impact of the Employee Free Choice Act prior to the November election. We are offering the About the EFCA module from our EFCA Tool Kit for only $895. You still have time to make a difference! Review
the details and preview the videos here.

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 OCTOBER SCOREBOARD

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.

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Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Ask for employees who are “subject matter experts” at something outside of work (fishing, hunting, crafts, cooking, etc.) to do a “brown bag lunch” presentation on the topic – ask for volunteers to cover topics. Remember how excited you got for show and tell when you were in school? It’s still pretty fun.

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Sticky Fingers!

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

Kenneth Campbell – IUOE: $270,000

Carol Bruno – CSEA: $16,000

Charles Bohanon – BLET: $18,074

Donna Roles – USW: $60,000

Kenneth Saltz, Jr. – USW: $15,809

Betty Wing – USW: $6,600

Michael LaPorte – USW: $20,000

Jeffrey Granberg – BAC: $2,500

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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:

http://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

Labor Relations Institute
7850 South Elm Place – Suite E
Broken Arrow, OK
74011
US