How difficult will it be to enact labor law reform? The Republicans have dedicated themselves to portraying the Obama presidency as a failure and they oppose everything the Democrats attempt to do. Will it be any different with the Employee Free Choice Act?

     Senator DeMint Uses Botched Bombing to Attack Organized Labor

                Who’s Running the TSA? No One, Thanks to Sen. Jim DeMint 

WASHINGTON — An attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.

The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama’s nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union.

As al Qaida claimed responsibility Monday for the thwarted attack and President Barack Obama made a public statement about it, Democrats urged DeMint to drop his objection and allow quick confirmation of nominee Erroll Southers, a counterterrorism expert, when the Senate reconvenes in three weeks.

Southers, a former FBI special agent, is the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department assistant chief for homeland security and intelligence. He also is the associate director of the University of Southern California’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, and he served as a deputy director of homeland security for California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Two Senate committees have given Southers their bipartisan blessing. An acting administrator is in place pending his confirmation. Marshall McClain, the president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association, said that the Senate should have acted sooner to confirm Southers.

DeMint said in a statement that the attempted attack “is a perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA.” He wants Southers to clarify his stand on unionizing the TSA, a shift that Democrats support.

Without collective bargaining, DeMint said, the TSA has “flexibility to make real-time decisions that allowed it to quickly improve security measures in response to this attempted attack.”

If organized labor got involved, DeMint said, union bosses would have the power “to veto or delay future security improvements at our airports.”
Margaret Talev, McClatchy Newspapers

Have you ever wanted to give UPS the finger but were afraid to?

Well, here is how they do it at Local 177 in New Jersey.

                                     

Our mental images of labor seem so out of date.

More to the point, they might actually hurt efforts at union growth. When forced to conjure up an image of workers, the average American thinks of burly, middle-aged blue-collar workers: auto, mine or longshore workers circa 1950.

But today’s typical union member is more educated, more female and less white than at any time in American history. This diversity is a strength we should  celebrate and make known.

As David Moberg detailed in a recent study by the Center for Labor and Policy Research reported that today white men make up only 38% of union members. The report went on to say that

Union workers, like the rest of the workforce, are now almost half women, older, more educated, and more racially and ethnically diverse….In the next decade, the rise of women to majority status in the labor movement and the likely continued influx of racial and ethnic minorities into unions are likely to be among the most important developments for organized labor.

The crucial question is, how will organized labor deal with these demographic changes?

One change that is important and missing from current discussions about the fate of organized labor movement is age. The union movement in America is aging fast, and not bringing new, younger members into the fold in sufficient numbers to rejuvenate itself.

Are we only a few years away from a union movemen that looks like an AARP meeting?

More importantly, support for unions has been declining in the public. Many young people do not see the value of unions, thinking of them as quaint but ineffective relics of the liberal past. Unions need to find ways to reach out to young Americans and connect with them if the movement is going to have a real chance at surviving into the 21st century.

There are many critical issues labor needs to deal with, but getting support from the youth of America must not be ignored. In recent years, business has learned the value of culture, hiring consultants to use social media and develop a cultural brand.

President Obama’s election shows the power of mobilize twenty-somethings around an idea or brand. Imagine if organized labor could tap into youth culture, making unions hip the same way Obama’s handlers made him hip! Well, a man can dream.

Richard Greenwald

An appeals court overturned a $1.5 million verdict awarded to a woman who was spanked in front of co-workers in what her employer called a camaraderie-building exercise. A jury in 2006 had ruled that Janet Orlando had suffered sexual harassment and sexual battery when she was paddled at home security company Alarm One Inc. The jury punished the company with a $1 million punitive damage award.
        But on Monday, a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeal overturned that verdict, ruling that the jury had been given improper instructions. In particular, the jury wasn’t instructed that one vital element of proving that sexual harassment occurred is showing the action was directed at a woman because of her gender. Lawyers for Alarm One, an Anaheim-based, 300-employee company, said that the spankings were not discriminatory because they were given to both male and female workers and that Orlando and others willingly took part. Orlando’s attorney, Nicholas “Butch” Wagner, vowed to take the case to trial again. “We may get more this time,” Wagner said.
        But K. Poncho Baker, the attorney who defended the company at trial in 2006, said that because the company has since gone into bankruptcy and its insurance was exhausted battling Orlando’s claim and settling with three other co-workers, there may be little left to recover. “Good luck retrying this one,” Baker said.
        Orlando quit the company in 2004, less than a year after she was hired at the Fresno office, saying she was humiliated during the company’s team-building practices. Employees were paddled with rival companies’ yard signs as part of a contest that pitted sales teams against one another. The winners poked fun at the losers, throwing pies at them, feeding them baby food, making them wear diapers and swatting their buttocks. The company has since abandoned the practice.

There will be a meeting at Local 455 to discuss the new health insurance proposal that UPS is offering. If you have questions, this is the time to get answers. Don’t rely on second or third hand information. Plan to attend and bring your spouse.

                                   

     This is a tale of two union organizing campaigns. 

     The first is at an AT&T facility in Burlington, VT.. AT&T does not interfere when it’s workers choose to talk to a union. The workers are allowed to choose whether they want to ignore the union, vote by secret ballot or just sign cards. It’s a lot like how life would be under the Employee Free Choice Act. This is a quick and easy read, check it out. It will make you feel good.

     The second story is not pretty. A WalMart tire facility in Kingman, AZ tried to unionize and learned a lesson in how life is without the Employee Free Choice Act. The mere mention of the word ‘Union’ at a WalMart store will get you fired. The kneejerk reaction from the corporate office is swift and brutal. This is an ugly story, but it shows why current labor laws need to be reformed. 

     The Employee Free Choice Act may be the next big act to take the stage in Washington. We all know what the stakes are in this fight. Will we rebuild the middle class with strong unions or will we condemn our children to low pay service industry jobs?

     This is a tale of two cities, but it’s also a tale of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Are the disruptive protesters at healthcare townhall meetings really just average citizens upset with Washington and exercising their freedom of speech? Or are they a radical fringe, outspoken, angry and pushed into the limelight as part of the corporate agenda to defeat President Obama? And if they are successful in defeating change in healthcare, what does it mean for the Employee Free Choice Act?
I don’t think any of us really believe that the protesters we see on TV every night are just average Americans. The guy that wore his gun to an Obama townhall meeting carried a sign proclaiming that the tree of liberty needed to be watered with the blood of tyrants. That’s the same quote that Timothy McVeigh had on his t-shirt when arrested. Those are not mainstream Americans. But they are framing the debate over change in America.
When corporate America is able to whip the crazies into a frenzy and shout down real debate, then the idea of change in America is dead. And one change I was really hoping for was the Employee Free Choice Act. The murder of the healthcare debate is being orchestrated to save just one industry. Imagine how much fear and anger will be hurled at the EFCA. And while there won’t be townhall debates to draw media attention, there will be other venues to show how the Unions are trying to take over America.
If we remain silent on the hijacking of the healthcare debate, we can kiss the EFCA goodbye.

        Every one of those forms the Local gives you comes with wings attached. All you need to add is a little ink from a pen to make them take off. You will be amazed at how far those little pieces of paper can fly.
        Grievances are the cause and effect of all the issues you live by on a day-to-day basis. They are the reason you have an attendance policy. They are the reason for you can fight excessive overtime. They are the reason for how you pick floating holidays and vacations. They are the reason you still have a right to strike in Colorado. Somebody somewhere filed a grievance. They took the time to write it down, and send it to the business agent. They took the time to look in the contract book and find an article to file under. (Let us not forget, “and all others that apply.”)
        As a steward you will make many decisions and deals on behalf of your members, but none will have an afterlife unless they are decided through the grievance procedure. That is where the wings are attached. Once things are decided in a grievance hearing, it is a written record. This record that can always be referred to. This record can be researched and rediscovered. People’s memories are short and subject to interpretation. But when it’s written down, it becomes a fact. It becomes a fact that other people can call upon. You will be amazed in your career as a steward which grievance will grow wings and fly.
        They can only fly if you use that magic paper with the wings attached.
        Write it down!
        File it!

Your editorial “The fate of FedEx” (Opinion, Thursday) mischaracterizes a House amendment to Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization. The bill is now before the Senate.

You describe the House amendment as a measure that would apply “only to FedEx Express.” This suggests that the House singled out FedEx Express for unfair treatment — an interpretation that is exactly backward.

FedEx Express has for years taken advantage of a loophole sneaked into legislation at the 11th hour. The loophole lets FedEx Express evade the labor law that its 46 competitors must follow. FedEx Express is the only company in the freight and package-delivery industry that is given such a preference. Congress is set to restore fairness even as the company resorts to threats and intimidation to keep its special status.

FedEx has a long history as a bad corporate actor. The company is fighting efforts by Congress to make it play by the same rules as its competitors. Meanwhile, it also misclassifies thousands of drivers in its Ground Division as independent contractors, forcing taxpayers to pick up the costs for their unemployment and health care. Last month, eight state attorneys general sent a letter to FedEx questioning the way it classifies its Ground Division drivers.

Now FedEx is leveraging American jobs and threatening to cancel a $7.7 billion contract with the Boeing Co. if Congress forces it to operate under the same rules as every other package-delivery company in the country.

FedEx undoubtedly will try again to win favored treatment by making lavish campaign contributions to lawmakers and touting its track record of appointing them to its board when they retire.

The Teamsters have seen firsthand how a company can be profitable and live up to its corporate obligations to take care of its workers. Many UPS employees are represented by unions and are earning good wages and benefits. UPS still delivers packages on time.

Frankly, I’m a little surprised that such an outspoken advocate of free-market economics as The Washington Times would side with FedEx on this issue. FedEx has long enjoyed the advantages of an uneven playing field. Now the Senate is considering a bill that could remove government interference from the freight and package-delivery industry and put all 47 competitors on an equal footing.

It’s time for Congress to restore fairness to the overnight package delivery industry and make sure that all competitors play by the same set of rules.

KEN HALL
Vice president
International Brotherhood of Teamsters

    Each year the FBI issues its Crime in the United States Report, which documents murder, robbery, assault and other street crimes. They don’t, however, publish a yearly report of corporate crime committed in the United States. Most corporate crimes and violence go undetected because, unlike other criminal groups in the United States, major corporations have enough power to define the laws under which they are held accountable.
        The casualty rate for working people in the United States is higher than many people realize because the media focuses on interpersonal crime. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported that over 11,000 workers die in their workplace each year. Another 50,000 working people die prematurely from occupationally related diseases, in addition to 1.8 million job injuries annually. OSHA cited that most workplace deaths are caused by poor safety standards and lax enforcement of workplace laws. When corporations speed up production or cut back on staff, exhaustion and stress are dangerous threats to working people.
        Despite the relative weakness of OSHA, Washington lobbyists representing the business elite are actually trying to eliminate OSHA. The National Association of Manufacturers and United Parcel Service are the leading corporate lobbyists against job safety standards and enforcement. The right to a safe environment for all workers was won by pressure from consumer advocates like Ralph Nader and unionists. OSHA has only 1,800 inspectors for more than six million workplaces. With roughly 90 million workers nationwide, this averages out to one inspection per workplace every 70 years. Nevertheless, big business vehemently opposes OSHA.
        The public’s perception of crime and criminals is painted by a media controlled by monopoly corporations. Fox News Corporation, owned by wealthy Republican contributor Rupert Murdoch, has nightly features on Fox TV like “America’s Most Wanted” and “Cops” to glorify law enforcement’s targeting of poor and disenfranchised drug users. Most of what people see on corporate-controlled television are dramas about serial killers, hidden video “caught on tape” shows or police busting minorities in the “ghettos.” Never on television or in reality are there law enforcement agents busting down the doors of corporate executives who knowingly violated workplace safety laws, or who robbed their employees of millions of dollars.
        Corporate crime is rampant not only through a lack of enforcement of the law, but also because crime is built into the economic system. Corporate criminal behavior could be looked at as oversocialization of amoral capitalist ideals. The only concern of capitalist America is to squeeze as much profit value out of labor power as possible. Every dollar a company spends on safety for workers and consumers is one dollar less in profits. From a capital accumulation standpoint, it is a rational—although villainous—business decision to skimp on safety.
Sarah Turner