Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) News Room &#187; ufcw

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
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INK: May 14, 2009

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:37:03 +0000

Labor Relations INK

Download a PDF of this ULP here.

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

The Employee Free Choice Act: When Should I Start Talking To My Employees?

This week we posted a blog item on an interesting study about the Employee Free Choice Act. In it a solid majority of employers (nearly 60%) say they think some form of EFCA will pass this year. This note is to them. The other 40% of company leaders in that survey are smoking crack … a compromise bill is being negotiated as we speak and will become law this summer.

I’ve been doing a series of strategy calls with companies around the country over the last month. These calls are a blast (if you’re interested in doing a Free Choice Act strategy call for your company you can learn more here - until EFCA passes I’m doing them for free). The companies we’ve talked to range from large, multi-facility organizations who are already doing a lot of the right things to companies that are just learning that EFCA is coming. For the bigger companies we are able to really roll up our sleeves and work on advanced communications strategy. We work on a basic game plan for the smaller companies. But one question comes up in every call, no matter how big and sophisticated the employer: When should I start talking to my employees about EFCA?

It’s a great question.

read the rest of the article here…

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EFCA Update

There is no let-up in the furor over the Employee “Forced” Choice Act. Almost every day, a new editorial in some local paper comes out either pushing the act as the one piece of legislation to save the middle class, or aghast at the end of democracy.

The list of Democrats coming out against the bill continues to grow, while Dem stalwart George McGovern spoke out a second time, this time attacking the arbitration provision. McGovern nicely quotes former AFL-CIO head George Meany condemning mandatory arbitration as “an abrogation of freedom.” New studies decrying the negative economic impact of EFCA arrived. The government’s own recent data even dispelled the myth that the unions are playing on an “uneven field.”

Big Labor and their allies are scrambling to salvage the bill, continuing to float alternatives, including “card checks by mail.” What a ride!

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Companies Fight Back

Two supermarket chains have had enough of the lies and bullying tactics of unions, and have mounted a public defense of their businesses. Arizona-based Bashas’ mailed flyers to homes in Phoenix, countering the smear campaign being waged by the United Food and Commercial Workers. Times Supermarkets in Hawaii actually filed a defamation suit against the Teamsters. “The union has carried on a campaign of negative, untrue and unlawful attacks against us and our customers in an effort to smear Times Supermarkets’ name and extort concessions from the company,” said John Quinn, president and CEO of the chain. When the Times workers decertified the union, they intensified a radio and web boycott campaign.

Even with the economy as soft and fragile as it is, unions are still willing to toss the strike trump card on the table. In Colorado, 17,000 part-time workers in the grocery industry were on the trip-wire of strike, part of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, over contract issues with Safeway and other grocery chains. In response, the grocers began advertising for potential replacement workers.

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Stacking The Deck

While the EFCA rollercoaster continues to careen wildly, the administration continues to steadily work in numerous other ways to provide every possible advantage to Big Labor. Both of his recent nominees to the National Labor Relations Board are former militant union operatives, one of which is on record espousing the elimination of any role of the employer in union representation elections. In another deft move, the Department of Labor drastically reduced funding for the Office of Labor-Management Standards, which monitors the fraudulent activities of unions (obtaining 929 convictions of corrupt union officials and the recovery of more than $93 million on behalf of union members from 2001 to January of this year), while increasing the budgets of other offices within the Employment Standards Administration, which monitor employer behavior.

Meanwhile, the courts created a scare from out of left field when one appellate court canceled 300 NLRB decisions made last year, while another court contradicted this ruling by upholding the decisions as valid. No telling where this one will settle, but if Obama has his way with court appointments, the outcome is easy to predict.

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SEIU Raiding Techniques

Here is another reminder that unions care nothing for America’s workforce but are only interested in growing their own power base and bank accounts. This under-three-minute, well-constructed video describes the sophisticated raiding process deployed by Big Labor’s most aggressive attack dog, the Service Employees International Union.

Find this YouTube video here.

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ULP Charge of the Month

It’s always amusing to see how unions treat their own employees, especially when it involves SEIU.

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SEIU Imbedded

If you have any questions about how “pay to play” works at the federal level, this short video should answer them! Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, brags that

“SEIU is on the field, it’s in the whitehouse, it’s in the administration…SEIU members and staff are now all throughout the White House.”

You don’t have to look far to see how this plays out. Witness the sway the SEIU apparently has in withholding stimulus funds to the state of California in an attempt to prevent the state from implementing needed wage cuts to some of its labor force (SEIU members).

Any questions?

Find this YouTube video here.

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Union Members Picket Their Union

“Anna Burger is a hypocrite,” said Malcolm Harris, president of the Union of Union Representatives, which represents 210 employees of the SEIU. Anna Burger is a top executive in the SEIU and head of the Change To Win coalition. SEIU recently laid off 75 workers in a way that violated their contract, and according to the picketers, used “union-busting” tactics to quell opposition.

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SEIU Abandons Members

A group of employees who were discriminated against in an internal job reshuffle, filed a grievance with their union, the SEIU. Since the union had agreed with the changes made to the status of the workers, the SEIU did not pursue the grievance. The employees, having no other option, filed suit against the company.

Here’s where it gets fun! The SEIU negotiated with the employer that any such issue would be handled by arbitration only. By rejecting the grievance, the union had refused to submit to arbitration. When the workers lawsuit ended up at the Supreme Court, the court agreed that the workers had signed away their right to sue by allowing the union to bargain such a clause into their contract. The only entity left for the workers to sue – is their union!

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EFCA Threat Provokes Action

A recent study indicates that companies are at least beginning to plan on taking action in anticipation of upcoming labor law changes. According to the survey,

• 64% of those taking action are planning, considering adding, or increasing supervisor management and training programs

• 47% are planning or considering improvements to unit climate and engagement

While, most of the respondents (70%) rated their current work climate as positive, only 35% had actually administered employee opinion surveys to address union avoidance and vulnerability. Our recent blog post addressed this concern and provides some details about the proper use of the survey process.

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Sticky Fingers

Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:

James Decker – ISDWU: undisclosed

Don Padgett – AFGE: $186,997

Donna Simpson – USW: $87,823

Christine Throckmorton – HERE: $9,674

William “Willie” Brown – UA: $4,942

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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:

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: April 23, 2009

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:31:16 +0000

Labor Relations INK

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located 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.

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“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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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 27, 2009

admin — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:51:58 +0000

Labor Relations INK

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Solis vs. Corruption

Hilda Solis was confirmed as Secretary of Labor this week. After a bumpy confirmation process in which her nomination was held up by questions about her role as a lobbyist for the Free Choice Act while also serving in Congress, she was approved overwhelmingly by the Senate.

Unions are happy with Solis, who served on the Board of American Rights at Work, a non-profit, union-funded lobbying organization whose purpose is to garner for the Free Choice Act. Businesses are wary for the same reason. I’m sure she is anxious to get to work. She has big shoes to fill.

read the rest of the article here…

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SEIU Attempts “Hostile Takeover”

The SEIU again displayed its true colors by launching a sophisticated and well-coordinated attack on another union, the California Nurses Association (CNA). The SEIU is apparently attempting to take over the CNA-NNOC by soliciting SEIU-allied individuals to run for the CNA-NNOC national board of directors, as well as attempting to harass and intimidate the CNA-NNOC leadership.

The strategy included the impersonation of nurses through the creation of a false “RN” group with a fake website, e-mail address, and phone number. Multiple smear mail pieces and e-mail alerts were distributed, along with phone calls soliciting recruits to run for the CNA-NNOC board on SEIU’s behalf. SEIU brought in staff from around the country for the campaign, that in true Big Labor fashion included uninvited home visits to CNA-NNOC members.

SEIU spokesperson Michelle Ringuette first denied the attack, but when faced with overwhelming evidence, admitted to the campaign, defiantly saying SEIU would do everything in its power to protect its interests.

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CNA on Steroids?

On Feb 18th, three nurses unions announce their intent to merge into one larger organization, calling it the United American Nurses-National Nurses Organizing Committee. The three unions involved are the California Nurses Association-National Nurses Organizing Committee, the United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Their combined membership would total 150,000.

Of their five stated goals, the one to which they have committed the majority of their operating budget is the organizing of all nonunion direct care RNs in the U.S. With the recent attack by SEIU upon the CNA, it can also be presumed that they desire to become a harder target against such attacks in the future. Thus, a majority of their efforts would seem to be spent in organizing, union in-fighting, and of course, political activism. Hardly seems there will be much time (or money) left over to work for the betterment of their members.

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CWA Attempts Stiff-Arm Tactics

Members of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) were falsely informed that they have no right to resign from formal union membership and would face hefty fines if they choose to continue to work if CWA ordered a threatening strike.

With the help of National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, two New Jersey AT&T employees filed unfair labor practice charges against the CWA Local 1101 union for such misconduct. Union officials have no legal power to punish nonmember employees for honoring their commitments to their employer, and they have attempted to confuse the issue by telling CWA union members in Washington, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey that any attempt to resign from union membership is prohibited.

“It’s particularly despicable to threaten workers with fines if they refuse to abandon their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “All workers should be free to support their families, free from ugly threats by union bosses.”

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EFCA Counter-Measure

The fight against the Employee Free Choice Act took a new turn on Feb 25th. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S. Carolina) introduced a bill, the Secret Ballot Protection Act (SBPA), that will guarantee the right of American workers to have a secret ballot election on whether to unionize. SBPA has also been introduced in the House with over 100 co-sponsors.

This is a commendable effort, but regardless of the outcome, keep in mind we have warned that Big Labor may well compromise their effort on EFCA by giving up the elimination of the secret ballot process in order to retain the mandatory arbitration provision.

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Case Against EFCA

A detailed study recently released thoroughly debunks the claims made by proponents of the EFCA. Written by noted legal scholar Richard Epstein, it addresses the EFCA’s three provisions, and soundly criticizes the justification supporters cite for the bill. It is a lengthy but readable document (download PDF).

Says Epstein, “The bottom line therefore is that the passage of EFCA will create huge dislocations in established ways of doing business that will in turn lead to large losses in productivity.”

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EFCA Awareness Problem

A new poll conducted by the Employment Law Alliance indicates that 75% of American workers are still completely in the dark about the Employee Free Choice Act. Here is a summary of the findings:

• Only one-quarter reported that they were aware of the EFCA

• Slightly over one-quarter (26%) say they support the EFCA, and nearly as many (24%) oppose it

• Fewer than one-third (30%) of those surveyed support replacing a secret-ballot election with a “card check” system to determine union representation; 35% were opposed

• Asked about the use of government-supervised, binding arbitration to settle a contract in the event of a deadlock, 37% favor this while 22% were opposed

Pro-business interests have a long way to go to get the public informed and on their side!

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FEBRUARY SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

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Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Have employees interview each other about their “highlight moments” at work – make sure that they describe in detail. Write down or record the interviews (audio or video) and start collecting them. When you have a bunch of them, bind them in a book or put them together as a movie and give them out to employees. This can have a long-lasting positive impact.

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UFCW vs. Grocers

The United Food and Commercial Workers is mixing it up with three California grocers. Last year, pharmacists voted to join what is called UFCW’s Professional Division. The union asked to sit down with representatives of Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs and negotiate a separate contract. The three grocers’ UFCW contracts don’t expire until 2011, and they don’t believe they’re obligated to negotiate until then.

In 2003 and 2004, the UFCW and the three grocers engaged in a rough-and-tumble labor battle that included a five-month strike and lockout.

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Union Pockets

Here’s a quick glimpse of some 4th Quarter union expenditures:

* Teamsters spent $373K lobbying government in 4Q

* American Airlines pilot union spent $120K lobbying in 4Q

* Southwest Airlines pilot union spent $40K lobbying in 4Q

* Air Line Pilots Association spent $230K lobbying in 4Q

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Labor Relations INK is published semi-weekly and
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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

admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:46:02 +0000

Labor Relations INK

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.

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

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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.

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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

With friends like these…

Download a PDF of this ULP here.

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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.

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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

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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: January 22, 2009

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:40:14 +0000

Labor Relations INK

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located here).

Labor Relations Insight from Phil Wilson

Online Organizing

A really interesting article in The Nation about the promise – and perils – of online organizing. Among the most interesting things it discusses is how the web 2.0 world is actually a threat to unions in the traditional sense of the word.

The “distributed” nature of the web can destroy hierarchical structures (just as it has in the business world). Where a group of workers can self-organize around a problem, why do they need to fund and deal with the politics of a super-structure with its own agenda? They don’t.

read the rest of the article here…

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SEIU Meltdown

The SEIU International Executive Board approved plans to split apart one of it’s largest locals, United Healthcare Workers-West. The rift between UHW and SEIU international goes back to April of 2007, when the local’s leader, Sal Rosselli, questioned SEIU practices that were aligning the union against groups advocating for better patient care. In response to the IEB vote, UHW’s executive board notified SEIU President Andy Stern that rank-and-file members are calling for a disaffiliation referendum for the entire local.

SEIU has repeatedly used strong-arm tactics to replace leaders of dissident locals with those loyal to Stern. Three such Stern allies, Annele Grajeda, Tyrone Freeman, and Rickman Jackson, have all been implicated in corruption scandals involving millions of dollars of union funds.

Since the vote, tensions have increasing. In Oakland, and off-duty policeman apparently hired by SEIU as a private investigator aggressively photographed members of the local union and assaulted a UHW staff member.

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UFCW Pension Woes Stacking Up

Ron MacDougall, a former employee of a pork plant on Prince Edward Island in Canada, received a letter informing him that the pension benefits were being cut in half. The UFCW-run plan had been seriously underfunded, and serious problems came to light several years ago about the way union heads mishandled investments.

Another pension run by the UFCW for the Dunsmore, PA, Department of Public Works, was announced to be insolvent. The pensions of other public service workers of the borough remain intact, as they were not handled by UFCW. The DPW’s involvement in the UFCW pension “was a decision by whomever was running DPW at that time, and I mean on the union side. It’s their call,” said Jerry Hart, borough council vice president.

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Big Labor Consolidating Power

David Bonior, a former Michigan congressman and a member of President Barack Obama’s economic-transition team, facilitated a meeting of members of the AFL-CIO and breakaway rival Change To Win. The presidents of twelve unions representing most of the unionized workers in the country met to discuss how to reunite the labor movement.

According to a released statement, “The goal of this meeting is to create a unified labor movement that can speak and act nationally on the critical issues facing working Americans.” The real target is to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the new alignment of the Congress and White House with pro-union issues. “Political action on the national level may be enhanced,” said Gary Chaison, a labor expert at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

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Only In A Union

A teamster organizer broke into a youth camp run by the rival Fraternal Order of Police and installed surveillance equipment, purchased with Teamsters funds. He was attempting to catch Metro police officers working at the camp who he believed were drinking after hours.

At the time, the Teamsters Union was locked in a struggle with the FOP for the right to represent Metro police officers in negotiations with the city.

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UAW “Roach Motel”

A machine operator at an automotive parts plant gathered signatures of more than half of the 150 workers seeking to drop their representation by UAW Local 19. However, the UAW fought back, stating that the multi-plant local would have to be decertified not just at this plant, but at all 12 plants now operated by the owner of this particular plant.

“The issue is that they make it very easy to get into the union but they make it very difficult to get out. It’s sort of like the roach motel,” said Glenn Taubman, the attorney representing the employee’s petition.

Unions want to have their cake and eat it too. Although it is possible to organize distinct units within one facility, as long as it can be shown that they have some commonality that qualifies them as a “bargaining unit,” the unions will throw up any smokescreen to impede such a unit being decertified.

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Teamsters: Strike vs. Talk

Rather than do their research prior to entering negotiations, the Teamsters allowed 2 votes & 10 weeks of a strike before submitting an information request to the employer. In a statement released to a local paper, Metalworks President and CEO Tom Paine asserted, “the union is just now asking the company for negotiating information, a process that should have been done months ago…The union leadership has caused a severe economic hardship to all members because of a strike that they initiated and continue to promote. Instead of working through the economic and competitive challenges, the Teamsters union instructed their membership to walk off their secure jobs.

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JANUARY SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI Scoreboard

**********

Employee Relations tip-of-the-month

Know your HR law! The more competent HR personnel are at their job, and the more the better job they do at answering employee questions in understandable language (sans jargon), the more confidence your employees will have in their opportunity to flourish.

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Top Ten for 2008

National Legal Policy center’s top union corruption stories of last year.

10) Senate appointment scandal has union connections.

9) ACORN is knee-deep in voter-registration and internal fraud.
Los Angeles SEIU chieftain is exposed, dismissed.

7) Law enforcement agents arrest Operating Engineers local thugs.

6) Union investments fuel progressive activism.

5) Mexican unions are bastions of government favoritism and corruption.

4) Labor Department puts more teeth into financial reporting rules.

3) Federal prosecutors expose New Jersey construction locals.

2) Five dozen Gambino family mobsters plead guilty.

1) Barack Obama is elected president.

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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: November 18, 2008

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:24:10 +0000

Labor Relations INK

View this month’s scoreboard (archives also located 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.

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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.

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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.”

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NOVEMBER SCOREBOARD

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don’t guess, just
check the LRI 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.).

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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

**********

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

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:49:25 +0000

Labor Relations INK

If you missed this – here it is again!

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”

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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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).

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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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