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2007 UAW contract talks GM puts two-tier pay deal on table
President Signs Measure to Reform NLRB Rules in Kentucky River Cases Overturning nearly sixty years of established precedent, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today issued rulings in the “Kentucky River” cases, setting the stage for the re-classification of tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of workers as “supervisors,” thereby depriving them of the right to union membership. In the key decision, Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., the NLRB ruled those workers who use “independent judgment” while “assigning” or “directing” tasks to co-workers are statutory “supervisors.” In so doing, the NLRB has essentially re-written the existing law which, since 1947, had consistently recognized that employees having the authority to assign particular tasks are not supervisors, absent additional managerial powers, such as the power to hire, fire, or discipline. As a result of the Oakwood decision, many nurses and other professional employees, as well as skilled craft employees and lead workers in industry, are now in danger of being re-classified as statutory “supervisors” and therefore stripped of their rights under federal labor law. The NLRB has also given the green light for employers to argue that practically any worker who has the authority to assign or direct another is a “supervisor” and therefore ineligible for union membership and the protection of a union contract – even if their jobs have been covered by a union contract for decades. “Today’s decision threatens to create a new class of workers under Federal labor law: workers who have neither the genuine prerogatives of management, not the statutory rights of ordinary employees,” said NLRB members Liebman and Walsh in their dissent regarding the Oakwood case. The full impact of the NLRB’s decision won’t be clear for some time, as employers attempt to strip employees of their union protections on a case-by-case basis. It is certain to have a major impact in the healthcare field, but is also likely to be raised by employers in virtually every industry. The IAM vigorously opposes this sweeping and blatantly anti-labor ruling, and it will support an appeal by the United Auto Workers (the union directly involved in the Oakwood case) seeking to overturn the NLRB’s ruling and restore full union protections to all nurses and other lead workers. New Jobs, Unemployment and Education Data on Facts & StatsChristine Silvia-DeGennaro, a labor standards policy analyst at the AFL-CIO, recently updated our interactive database accessible through www.aflcio.org She describes the new information in detail here. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its latest monthly jobs and unemployment numbers for the states, and these numbers are now available on the AFL-CIO Facts & Stats database. The user-friendly database enables visitors to compare state statistics—as well as national indicators—on issues such as health care, poverty, bankruptcy, trade and more.
In Boston, 4,000 workers from across New England rallied and marched to several locations, including a department store where union/community alliances successfully fought off attempts by Wal-Mart to locate in downtown Boston. They also marched to a Verizon Wireless office, where the company harasses and intimidates members of the Electrical Workers, Communications Workers of America and other unions in an effort to break the union.
In New York City, workers celebrated a new model agreement between Lifespire, a nonprofit agency serving people with developmental disabilities, and the Civil Service Employees Association Local 1000. After a bitter 10-month battle, the company agreed to remain neutral in the organizing campaign and recognize the union if a majority of the more than 1,000 workers signs authorization cards.
WORKERS’ COMP LAWS CHALLENGED—Seventy unions and building trades councils in Missouri filed suit Nov. 30 asking a state court to throw out a package of workers’ compensation law changes passed by the 2005 legislature. The suit charges the new corporate-backed laws impose unreasonable barriers to employees seeking remedy for workplace injuries and are unconstitutional. Remember CAFTA backers at the polls08.03.2005 Fifteen Democrats and 202 Republicans sided with corporate interests and against workers, farmers and consumers when they voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). President Bush, who signed the bad trade deal in early
August, had to twist a lot of arms in the House of Representatives. Even so, UAW
President Ron Gettelfinger praised Democrats and Republicans who resisted that
pressure and voted against repeating the disaster of the North American Free
Trade Agreement, which decimated
Privatization of Social Security is not deadWe’ve been reading a lot of good things about the grassroots efforts to beat back President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. You can’t read a story or hear a news program about the issue without the words “doomed” attached to it. But as public opinion polls consistently show that voters reject the president’s plan to slash Social Security benefits while increasing our national debt, the issue has not been defeated – not by a long shot. House Republicans in September will be pushing legislation they call a “retirement security package.” It’s a title that would have made George Orwell proud. It includes a new privatization scheme that would divert temporary surpluses now going into Social Security to fund private accounts. Just as they did with CAFTA, Republicans will use arm-twisting and “sweeteners” to buy votes. It’s hard to believe that some lawmakers would sell out the retirement security of millions of hard-working Americans for a brand-new bridge or highway, but then again, they sold out American jobs with CAFTA. The Republican plan does nothing to shore up the long-term financing of the Social Security system. It merely shows the real objective is privatizing Social Security, not strengthening the system for future retirees. The time to act is now. Privatization is not dead. Call your representatives toll-free at (888) 355-3588 and urge them to block the effort by House Republicans to sneak in this risky and wrong privatization scheme. Contact Representative Lewis: Washington D.C. Office U.S. Representative Ron Lewis 2418 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-3501 Elizabethtown Office Republic Bank Building 1690 Ring Rd. Suite 260 Elizabethtown, KY 42701 Phone: 270-765-4360 Toll Free in KY: 1-800-367-6676
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