February 17, 2006

600 Utah Government Workers Join CWA

Already lobbying for wages and benefits and with hope for passing a state collective bargaining law, the 600-member Utah Association of Government Employees (UAGE) on Feb. 9 voted to affiliate with CWA.

CWA Local 7704 President Kent Anderson approached UAGE Executive Director Kevin Scofield last September. CWA's District 7, the Public, Health Care and Education Workers Sector, and the  National Coalition of Public Safety Officers worked together to make the affiliation possible.

The government employees group was very interested in getting support for organizing, training organizers, and establishing a mobilization structure, Anderson said.

The unit had already explored merger with the Teachers and Service Employees, but chose CWA and will become Local 7776.

UAGE's Scofield said members are very excited about "the affiliation and its possibilities. We've been very impressed with everyone we've met in CWA."

Corporate Funding Behind Anti-Union Smear Campaign

A business hatchet man for hire with ties to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — and clearly well-bankrolled by corporate interests — has launched a vicious anti-union campaign this week starting with full-page ads in the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.

The ads, which ran Feb. 13, showed a "Closed" sign over a padlocked gate and said such signs are "The New Union Label" and "Brought to you by the union 'leaders' who helped bankrupt steel, auto, and airline companies," and advertised a website, http://www.unionfacts.com/.

Among other things, the so-called "Union Facts" campaign plans to push for a Republican bill to ban card-check organizing, the New York Times reported.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said sources told the federation that state Chamber leaders in Florida announced at a conference last month that they plan to spend $8 million a year on the campaign, though national Chamber officials deny involvement. Whoever is paying, Sweeney said, it's "clearly bankrolled by business interests threatened by workers' efforts to roll back corporate power."

The Washington Post reported that the lawyer behind the campaign is often connected to controversial campaigns including one that that challenges Mothers Against Drunk Driving and its efforts to reduce drunk driving accidents.

TNG-CWA Gains Backing of Equity Firm in Knight Ridder Bid

TNG-CWA is working with the nation's largest "worker-friendly" private equity firm, The Yucaipa Companies, as part of an overall effort to bid for nine newspapers of the Knight Ridder newspaper chain.

The newspapers are the Akron Beacon Journal, the Duluth News Tribune, the Grand Forks Herald, the Lexington Herald-Leader, The Monterey County Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and the San Jose Mercury News. The papers have a combined employment of 7,000 and a combined daily circulation of 1.3 million. Workers at these newspapers have been meeting with TNG-CWA staff to discuss the buyout possibility and workers' options under such a plan.

TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said working with Yucaipa strengthens TNG-CWA's ability to form alliances with financial and strategic bidders for the Knight Ridder properties and broadens its appeal to other bidders in the process. To date, Knight Ridder has said it is only entertaining bids for all of its newspaper properties and related assets. 

One option for Guild members and all other union and non-union employees of the nine papers would be to invest side by side with Yucaipa, through 401(k) and other savings plans, thereby creating a partially employee owned company. The Newspaper Guild-CWA itself will not be an investor in such a future company.

Bill Boarman, chair of the CWA/ITU Negotiated Pension Plan and president of CWA's Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector, expressed support for the effort and noted that Yucaipa, with its record of responsible and worker-friendly investment, would be an excellent partner.

For more information on the buyout effort, go to www.valueplusmedia.com. ValuePlus Media Corporation is the preliminary name for the acquisition corporation that would purchase the union papers.

IN BRIEF:

  • Three more U.S. representatives have signed on to the Employee Free Choice Act, bringing the number of House members supporting the bill to 209, along with 41 senators.

    The three newest cosponsors are Democrats John Tanner of Tennessee, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Allen Boyd of Florida.

    The legislation would recognize union representation when a majority of workers sign cards, and calls for first-contract arbitration if the two sides can't reach agreement, ending what now can be years of employer stalling tactics.

    The bill was introduced by Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) and Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass). The Senate cosponsors include Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter and Vermont Independent Jim Jeffords.

    The House cosponsors include 11 Republicans and Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders. The GOP members are New York's Sherwood Boelhert, Vito Fossella, Peter King, Randy Kuhl, and John McHugh; Pennsylvania's Curt Weldon and Michael Fitzpatrick; Connecticut's Chris Shays and Rob Simmons; Steve LaTourette of Ohio; and Joe Schwarz of Michigan.

    To check if your senators and representatives support workers' rights, go to
    http://www.afl-cio.org/.

     
  • The AFL-CIO is previewing its new blog — AFL-CIO Now — among union activists and requesting feedback before officially unveiling the site next week.

    The federation calls it, "a news blog with attitude, pulling together information from every part of the country affecting every type of worker," and further notes:  "We post breaking news and updates all day long, every day — so you'll want to check back often."

    Visit AFL-CIO Now at www.aflcio.org/blog, and then send your comments in an e-mail to blognews@aflcio.org.

     
  • An attempt by union-buster Michael Zinser — on behalf of the Memphis Publishing Company — to refuse to arbitrate grievances at the Commercial Appeal newspaper was rejected by a federal district court judge.

    "National labor policy favors the arbitration of labor disputes," said Judge J. Daniel Breen in finding for TNG-CWA Local 33091 and ordering the newspaper to accept arbitration on the outstanding grievances which were filed after the contract's expiration.

    Negotiations for a new contract had been underway for eight months in 2004 when management challenged the contract's "evergreen clause," which maintains the grievance process and arbitration of disputes, as well as dues checkoff, while bargaining for a new contract continues.

    TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said the judge's decision "confirms that the best labor relations policy is one that respects the relationship between the union and management." Zinser's strategy of trying to destroy this practice was dealt a severe blow, she said.