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 Well, don’t cancel your plans for May 1 yet because America might not grind to a halt that day afterall. Occupy Wall Street, the official front organization of the Occupy Movement, had announced last week that it was calling for a “crippling” general strike on May 1. And while the working title of the strike “The Day Without the 99%” has a post-apocalyptic feel to it, the street buzz is few people with a job to strike from will actually be participating.
“It won’t happen,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. “They (Occupy) are not working with the unions in a serious way yet; nor are the unions working with them in a serious
Continue reading Oh! No! Occupy Announces General Strike!
 Labor Notes is now reporting that Teamsters bosses are telling their members at Hostess that it may be better to “remove” their bankrupt employer with a strike this spring than continue to negotiate with “a company set on destroying union standards.” Killing off the Twinkie would also presumably “clear the field” for unionized competitors to “pick up the pieces” and play nice with Teamsters. (Or else.)
A strike would “almost certainly put Hostess’ Brands out of business,” read a memo from the union’s bakery division director. “We wish we had better alternatives—but we do not.” The union is negotiating for “significant governance” and “significant equity” in Hostess should it survive and claims Hostess is not seeking substantial enough concessions from its lenders
Continue reading Confirmed: Teamsters Have a Hit Out on the Twinkie
 Current charges or sentences of embezzling union officials:
Natasha Bever CWA
$117,378
Pamela Hinzman APWU
$26,261
Joseph Ray Gonzalez, Jr. IGUA
$13,800
Amy Pullen NALC
$4,876
Kenneth Schmidt BLET
$1,373
Federck Petro AFGE
$100,000
Graven Townsend USW
$100,000
Gerardo and Vincent Fusella, Jr. IBT
$1,000,000
Kenneth Aurecchia UA
$125,000
Joseph Meizlik SPFPA
$9,122
http://www.nlpc.org/union-corruption-update
  
 The CWA, parent union of the Flight Attendants union, and the Transportation Workers Union announced a new “partnership” last week that is supposed to combine their forces as needed to bargain tough contracts and lobby lawmakers on transportation issues. However the two unions already appear to be on opposite sides of the primary transportation issue of the moment, the FAA funding compromise that recently passed both the House and Senate by wide margins.
The TWU has said they can “live within” the compromise that retains last year’s “voter majority” rule change while setting a new higher 55% threshold for a union’s show of interest. The compromise also allows the two top vote getters, including the company, to run off after a three-way election without a
Continue reading New Union Partners Disagree on FAA Compromise
In this issue:
• Union Bailout Update • Yes, America, the Unions Are Killing Your Twinkies • Will the Unions Screw Up the Superbowl? • Laborers Vow Never to Forget Keystone • Picket Line Do’s and Don’ts • Teamsters Watch, Sticky Fingers and more…
NOTICE: You can make a PDF of this issue of INK directly from the post. Click here for instructions on how to do so.
Union Bailout Update
The NLRB held a “meet and greet” on Jan. 12 between lawmakers and the three newly sworn in Board members at the center of the latest NLRB firestorm. Members of Congress were denied the chance to question or even scan the resumes of Richard Griffin and Sharon Block as the two Democrats’ names were only first
Continue reading INK January 19, 2012
 It appears the Communications Workers of America, the parent union of the Newspaper Guild, has all but declared war on the New York Times. The Guild, which represents over one thousand Time’s journalists and photographers, has been without a contract since March. Five other union locals that represent the Mailers, the Pressman and other unionized production workers have signed on to fight the paper’s proposal to freeze pensions and end an independent medical plan.
The CWA has earmarked $350,000 for the fight, hired a politically savvy PR firm, and gathered 500+ signatures from current and former journalists on an open letter to the publisher. The unions also accuse the preeminent liberal media giant of reneging on past “lifetime job guarantees” given in
Continue reading Gray Lady Labor Pains
In this issue:
• Union Bailout Update • Occupy Does Union Bidding in Port Protests • UAW Not Targeting Nissan, Much • Teamster $150K Club • Scoreboard, SEIU Watch, Sticky Fingers and more…
Union Bailout Update
Breaking News:
President Obama announced late Wednesday evening that he plans to nominate two lawyers to the National Labor Relations Board. The Board will no longer be able to issue decisions or create major new rules without a three member quorum and Craig Becker’s recess appointment ends on Dec. 31.
The president will nominated Sharon Block, deputy secretary for congressional affairs at the Department of Labor, and Richard Griffin, who is the general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers. Both would be considered
Continue reading INK December 15, 2011
Last week the CWA filed a petition on 9,700 American Airlines customer service workers, only days after AMR, American’s parent company filed for bankruptcy. The workers are the only American employees not yet unionized and the company’s non-competitive labor costs were one major contributing factor in the company’s poor financial performance. For the past six years, American has been attempting to gain concessions from the four unions that already represent American employees. The CWA claims union membership will better protect customer service employees through the bankruptcy process.
 In an always crowded field, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) stands out this month for most flagrant overuse of wild-eyed hyperbole by a union communications department, but then hey, they just officially lost one really big election.
On November 18, the National Mediation Board rejected claims of employer interference during the 2010 election where Delta attendants rejected the AFA by a 51% to 46% margin. (The remaining votes were write-ins.) The AFA complaint hinged primarily on the troubling notion that the election must have been tainted because turn-out was too high, largely due to Delta making it too easy for all attendants to vote and
Continue reading Delta Elections Upheld
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Well, don’t cancel your plans for May 1 yet because America might not grind to a halt that day afterall. Occupy Wall Street, the official front organization of the Occupy Movement, had announced last week that it was calling for a “crippling” general strike on May 1. And while the working title of the strike “The Day Without the 99%” has a post-apocalyptic feel to it, the street buzz is few people with a job to strike from will actually be participating.
