KULTURE

Election Results Put Employers on Notice

2006-11-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

The events of this past week shouldn't be all that surprising to anyone. Most pundits had predicted that the Dems would likely take control of the House. The question was "by how many?".

The hope for many, however, was that the GOP would hold the Senate.

Well, those hopes were dashed late Wednesday evening when Democrat Jim Webb was unofficially declared the winner in Virginia's hotly contested Senate race.

On Wednesday, chief union bosses John Sweeney (AFL-CIO) and Anna Burger (Change to Whine) issued gloating statements.

To better understand the ramifications of what this election means to America's employers and their employees, it is important to know that this was not a "democrat" win, this was a coup d 'etat orchestrated and executed by Big Labor Bosses.

No, the military was not used in this coup d'etat (except as a diversion)...it was peacefully done through the media and by distracting the public with the red herring of the Iraq war.

Yes, calling Iraq a red herring may arguably be a controversial statement, but consider this:

Prior to getting any Big Labor endorsement, candidates were required to pledge their commitment and support not to ending the war in Iraq, but to the Employee Free Choice Act(EFCA). EFCA (also called the Kill American Jobs Act) is Big Labor's bill to force unionization on America's employers (and employees) by ending secret-ballot elections, then to require binding arbitration on said employers within 120 days of unionization.

Note: Binding arbitration of initial contracts will result in the placing of an employer's economic condition into the hands of a third-party arbitrator.

Prior to Tuesday's election, Big Labor's passage of EFCA was only two votes shy of a majority in the House and eight votes shy in the Senate.

Now, with the change in Congress, passage of EFCA when Congress reconvenes in January is almost a certainty. The only questions that remain is 1) whether the Republicans have the testicular fortitude to filibuster the legislation out of existence, or 2) whether the Democrats have the votes to override a presidential veto of this dangerous legislation.

Ironically, nearly all of those Republicans who pandered to Big Labor by pledging support of this measure still wound up seeing union endorsements go to their Democrat opponents.

So, how does the election equate to a coup d'etat?

Very simple:

The prosecution of this coup was spelled out in Sweeney's statement:

The AFL-CIO's mid-term mobilization focused on 13.4 million union voters in 32 states. In the final four days of this election alone, more than 185,000 union volunteers participated in an unprecedented get-out-the-vote effort, making 7.9 million phone calls, knocking on 3.5 million doors and reaching 2 million workers at the worksite. In addition the program focused on turning out millions of infrequent voters in battleground states.

And, before the Tuesday's winners got too drunk at their victory parties, Anna Burger sealed the deal by issuing a threat to the winners when she said:

To Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, our message is the same: No more empty promises, no more rhetoric. Working people have put you in office, and we will hold you accountable if you don't start working for us.

The message to the politicians is clear: You better follow our direction or we'll amass our armies to throw you out.

Once the Big Labor gains passage of EFCA, no employer will be safe. Union treasuries will be full, their armies larger, and their command of loyalty from the politicians to Big Labor's wishes will be absolute.

The November 7th election was about much more than Iraq and the repudiation of George Bush, this election was about the future of American free enterprise. Unfortunately, liberty and free enterprise lost a huge battle in the last 36 hours.

To America's employers: You have now been put on notice. If you weren't energized before, you should be now. The future of your company is now in jeopardy and your workers' jobs are in peril.

The Sick, the Twisted & the Criminally Perverse...

2006-11-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

In a strange, but telling example of just how union members getting screwed by their union bosses these days, the US District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled on October 17th that a corrupt union boss who was indicted (and later pled guilty) for mail and wire fraud, interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, bribery, embezzlement from a labor organization and various other crimes was entitled to nearly $300,000 in benefits relating to the stress endured from defending his actions.

In the court's ruling, Judge James L. Robart ruled that the United Transportation Union's pension plan committee's denial of former UTU president, Byron Boyd's denial of benefits was 'arbitrary and capricious.'

After his indictment, Boyd complained to his doctor about the extraordinary amount of stress he was under. Boyd's doc wrote to the UTU, recommending the Boyd be placed on permanent and total disability.

After Boyd pled guilty, he applied for disability retirement benefits, but the pension plan committee turned him down on the grounds that his disability was caused by his "willfully criminal conduct" (no shit!?!...).

Apparently the court disagreed with this rationale, stating instead that there was no causal relationship between Boyd's criminal enterprise and his disability.

Now, that's justice!

Labor's backward direction...

2006-10-30T10:08:00.000-08:00

Though it's been said for years that the union movement is just plain backwards, the AFL-CIO's actions this week just prove this fact.

Thanks to those observant folks at the NAM for sending this to us...

It seems the union behemoth has placed a rather large sign about the upcoming Nov. 7th elections on a building in DC for drivers to take a gander at. Problem is, the only way to view it is by looking at it in your rearview mirror.

After you check out the NAM's blog, the Shopfloor, take a gander at what those folks at NAM have to say about it:

October 30, 2006

Wrong Way For Labor - Again

Thanks to one of our regular labor skate readers, one of the many who are fed up with John Sweeney's AFL-CIO, for sending along this gem. Here's the set up: The AFL-CIO headquarters sits on the corner of 16th St. and I (also known as "Eye") street in Washington, DC. In an attempt to get their message out, they have hung this westward-facing "Had Enough? Vote" banner from the corner of their building.

Never mind that its rife with inaccuracies and that it portends flushing more of their members' money down the drain, supporting causes and candidates which the members don't support.

We're so over that.
No, to get the full impact, you must look at this picture, which includes a view of traffic on Eye Street. Notice the "One Way" signs and note which way the traffic is moving. That's right, Eye Street is a one-way street, going westbound. That means the sign faces the wrong way on a one-way street, away from the hordes of people who might otherwise see it each day.
As we picked ourselves up off the floor from laughing over this latest colossally stupid move by the boneheads over at the AFL-CIO, it occurred to us that no, this was actually quite fitting. Why? Because for the hundreds of thousands of people driving westbound down Eye St. in the Nation's Capitol each week, they see labor's message the same way the rest of America can see all that was great about the American Labor Movement: In the rear view mirror.

Union hypocrisy at its finest...

2006-10-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

This story has also been posted on EmployerReport.com

Unions are supposed to get workers higher salaries and better benefits, right?

Well, the theory sounds good...Unless you're actually an employee of a union.

The Steelworkers, the same union that once ruled Pittsburgh, owns a resort outside the Steel City called Linden Hall.

Of course, Linden Hall was bought and paid for by the dues of members of the Steelworkers, many of whom are now unemployed.

Well, the workers of Linden Hall are unionized (by Unite-HERE) and seem to be having a tough time with their union-employer (the Steelworkers).

Note: These same workers had a strike some years ago, accusing the Steelworkers of paying them poverty-level wages

It seems union management (those bastards!) wants to freeze the wages of their union workers, as well as cut their hours...which also may lead to benefit cuts!

It would seem that when the shoe is on the other foot, the Steelworkers isn't as benevolent as its PR image-makers in Pittsburgh make them out to be.

Can anyone say HYPOCRISY?

Stupid is as stupid does...

2006-10-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

The following e-mail came in from the Kulture website:

"cry all you want. overnite will now be a union company. is it not nice to make enough in wages to afford to live in our country. waaa waaa waaa"

Now, ordinarily, idiocy does not warrant a response but, being that this person e-mailed, it is only appropriate to share the text of the e-mail with you, our loyal readers.

Yes, Overnite Transportation, now a division of UPS signed a card-check agreement with the Teamsters. And, yes, that agreement was signed during the Hoffa convention in Vegas over this past summer. And, yes, Hoffa used it to his political advantage to shove in the face of his political opponent Tom Leedham.

However, now that UPS gave Overnite to the Teamsters, the drivers will be able to watch their dues money go into a union that has lost more than 800,000 members since 1980, lost the majority of its major NMFA carriers, sat idly by while its pension funds became underfunded (to the tune of about $10 billion in the CSPF), and still has what some consider corrupt leadership.

Now, the Overnite drivers can join their union brothers, as their pension funds get cut as the money goes to pay for the pensions of workers who never worked a day at UPS and their leaders continue to bloat their own coffers.

A WALMART JOB ACTION

2006-10-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

Although this hasn't appeared on any major news sites, it was posted on EmployerReport.com earlier...

It appears that Walmart has had its first ever work stoppage in the United States.

On Monday, approximately 200 team members at one of the retail giant's stores in Florida walked off the job in protest of schedule changes.

Walmarts in Florida have been targeted by the Walmart hate groups for some time, namely the UFCW, et al.

Is this a sign of things to come? Perhaps...

Stay tuned to EmployerReport.com for more info.

It's about time...

2006-10-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

After more than six months of supporters of illegal immigration controlling the debate and union bosses clamoring to add the aliens to the union membership rolls, at last their are a couple of unions beginning to question this blind loyalty to those who have their members' jobs.

Last month, the IBEW was the first major union to publicly oppose amnesty.

The question now becomes: Will other unions take the IBEW's lead or will they continue pandering to the left-wing of the AFL-CIO's demo-socialist party?

September 28th...The Day Unions Went Hollyweird

2006-09-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's now official, union have gone from the radical to the radically ridiculous!

On September 28th, instead of staging your average run-of-the-mill sit in protest, UNITE-HERE staged your average run-of-the-mill media event, complete with protestors pre-marked to be arrested by the LAPD.

Hell, the arrestees were even told to leave their jewelry at home.

Why?

Well, it seems UNITE-HERE wanted media coverage and nothing more to draw attention to their efforts to unionize the hotels around LAX. The didn't want the arrestees to really be arrested. Just be arrested for the evening news. They didn't want their martyrs to be real martyrs, just fake martyrs....Actors, really.

The union honchos even set up a website ahead of time.

So, instead of just calling a press conference like normal media hounds, union organizers decided to inconvenience LA commuters just to make a big splash.

Whatever happened to the days of an average union protest with some tear gas and horse-mounted police to make the evening news? Welcome to the new age of unions...fake protests, fake protestors and fake arrests.

I suppose it's just a sign of the times...

Instead of unions being led by leaders of yesteryear like Sam Gompers and John Lewis, America now has a bunch of dues-chasing charlatans claiming to be union leaders.

Too bad the "three strikes and your out" law doesn't apply to these jokers!

Blatant Hypocrisy or Mere Opportunism?....

2006-09-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Am I missing something?....

After reading this article, I still don't get it...

Doesn't anyone else see it?...

Am I looking at it all wrong?...

I don't think so, but I just don't know why no one has pointed this out...

If you see someone commiting a crime, do you have a duty to call the police...or do you "look the other way"?

If you see someone comitting a crime, do you help the criminal continue perpetrate and charge him for your time? Does that make you a criminal or a mere opportunist? If you go out and actively recruit said persons engaging in the illegal activity into your organization, wouldn't that make you a conspirator or your organization a criminal organization?

Now, as unions are going out to recruit workers who are in this country illegally, why is it that no one has questioned Big Labor's complicity in furthering a illegal activity? Doesn't Big Labor have a civic duty to turn in illegal activity? How is it they can get away with taking money from workers who they know are working for a company employing said workers illegally? Aren't they furthering a crime?

How is it that Big Labor gets a get-out-of-jail-free card on this one???

An airplane crash always brings out the worst in people...

2006-09-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

As a frequent air traveler, it seems like there's nothing like an airplane crash to cause the worst in people to come out.

It always becomes a freakin' media circus, with NSTB officials standing on a dais with a bunch of other uniformed offcials standing behind them looking rather grim talking to the cameras and vowing to get to the bottom of it...blah, blah, blah...

After not having a significant crash since American Airline's flight 587 went down in Staten Island, NY in 2001, officials are clamoring to have another circus after the doomed Comair Flight 5191 went down on August 27th, killing 49 of 50 passengers and crew.

This time, however, the union representing the air traffic controllers is weighing in with its agenda--even though they say they're not--by blaming the Bush administration's FAA (primarily)--who is also fumbling with trying to figure out what city the plane actually went down in (thankfully, they got the state right!).

"In no way are we going to use a tragedy to advance our own union agenda," spokesman Doug Church said. "That's not what this is about. But it is very concerning the FAA admitted they were not staffing the facility appropriately."

Not pushing an agenda, Doug? Yeah, right!

It's always the "BUT" of a sentence that make one wonder about the agenda...

AND, of course, let's not forget the ambulance-chasing Democrats who, in this election year are pining to hold a hearing on anything and everything ...

Finally a labor leader who isn't a whore stands up...

2006-09-06T19:47:00.001-07:00

With union bosses publicly and pathetically chasing illegal aliens down for their membership and dues money, it has been rather curious as to why more union members (or independent thinking union leaders, if there are any) haven't said: "ARE YOU F***KING INSANE?!?"

I mean, really!

C'mon, union bosses! Have you no shame?...No morals?...No sense of loyalty to the hard-working Americans who have paid your fat paychecks for decades?!?

Are you that desperate?...Or are you just that depraved?

Here you are, union bosses, helping to bankrupt industries, close companies, and chase American jobs out of this country...You have FAILED American workers by the MILLIONS and NOW when the blood has been sucked out of your American victims you want to represent illegal alien workers?!?

Come on now!...

Well, lo and behold, in Milwaukee this past Labor Day weekend, Local 75 of the Plumbers & Pipefitters decided to take a contrarian stand to their Washington AFL-CIO masters iby refusing to march in the city's Labor Day parade.

Why?

Because Labor Day march planners had decided to co-mingle the Labor Day march with another "immigrant (aka illegal alien) march"

According to Harry Kreuser, Local 75's Business Manager, "there was conversation about bringing in the Hispanic community to participate in the parade, and it was a rally on their part for legalizing the illegal aliens in the Hispanic community. And we just felt that this parade should not be a political parade or a political statement as much as it is for Labor Day."

Way to go, Harry! We may be on polar ends of the labor-management spectrum, but at least you seem to have some backbone (unlike your comrades who seem to want to sell their souls for the dues money of illegal aliens)!

A post script: As a former union worker and local leader whose job (along with hundreds of others) was sent to Mexico more than a decade ago (before NAFTA, BTW), this kind of moral prostitution is exactly why unions in America should be dissolved.

Stupid is as stupid does (again)...Teamsters get contract after 7-week strike

2006-09-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

After seven weeks on the picket lines over the issue of time off, the Teamsters finally got a contract at a Marathon Oil refinery in Minnesota.

After seven weeks of lost wages, the Teamsters got employees a 3.5% increase and a $1500 signing bonus. (Wow!) It kind of makes you want to ask: Guys, was it worth losing two months worth of wages?!?

PLUS, ya gotta love this quote(!):

"The strike, which began on July 19, had no impact on production at the refinery, as 140 engineers and other nonunion personnel took over operation at the refinery, which is the smaller of Minnesota's oil refineries."

The Great Popcorn Panic...

2006-08-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

Somewhere there's a story in this...But I can't quite figure out the union's angle (YET...).

But, here's the gist of what I've been able to figure out.

The UFCW is raising all kinds of alarm bells across America about workers exposed to a chemical that goes into popcorn and it being somehow linked to "popcorn lung disease." Although the union hasn't asked for popcorn to be pulled from the shelves, they're making one helluva big stink about the buttery stuff!

We'll keep you posted on this. But, until then, keep poppin'!

EmployerReport.com is now officially online

2006-08-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

For those of you regulars to this blog, you know that EmployerReport.com has been in the works for a couple of months now.

This morning, the official press release went out on the wires. You can view the release via the link above, or just direct your friends and associates to EmployerReport.com.

Oh Great!...Arizona is the target of leeches (er...unions)...

2006-08-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia: Leeches are annelids comprising the subclass Hirudinea. There are freshwater, terrestrial and marine leeches. Like their near relatives, the Oligochaeta, they share the presence of a clitellum. Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites. The medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, which is native to Europe, and its congeners have been used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years.
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Being from the Grand Canyon state, I can attest to the fact that unions are weaker in Arizona than they are here in the Northeast. They should be...it's a dry heat.

In fact, with the exception of an 'honorable mention' now and then in the local press, unions in Arizona are pretty much as common as a javelina strolling down Scottsdale Road. You see 'em now and again, but just not that much.

Note: If you do not know what a javelina is, you may click here.

So, when I read that unions were infiltrating the formerly wild west of Arizona, I was pretty bemused and rather disgusted.

Unions, like any other parasite who has killed off its host must either find new blood--or die.

Well, the leeches are moving out west, as have all the Q-Tips (blue-haired retirees), Democrats, and other Frapuccino-drinking libs.

The leeches follow the jobs, not realizing that they are the disease that has killed thousands.

One can only hope that the desert floor proves too hot for the leeches and they dry up and blow away.

Oh well, as the song says:

Arizona take off your rainbow shades
Arizona have another look at the world
Arizona cut off your Indian braids
Arizona why dontcha go my way
Arizona take off your hobo shoes

An Oldie but a Goodie...

2006-08-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the politically correct has to give way to humorous reality! This is an oldie and always a goodie!
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A dedicated Teamsters union worker was attending a convention in Las Vegas and decided to check out the local brothels.

When he got to the first one, he asked the Madam, "Is this a union house?"

"No," she replied, "I'm sorry it isn't."

"Well, if I pay you $100, what cut do the girls get?" the Teamster asked.

"The house gets $80 and the girls get $20," she answered.

Offended at such unfair dealings, the union man stomped off down the street in search of a more equitable, hopefully unionized shop.

His search continued until finally he reached a brothel where the Madam responded, "Why yes sir, this is a union house. We observe all union rules."

The man asked, "And if I pay you $100, what cut do the girls get?"

"The girls get $80 and the house gets $20."

"That's more like it!" the union man said.

He handed the Madam $100, looked around the room and pointed to a stunningly attractive blonde.

"I'd like her" he said.

"I'm sure you would, sir," said the Madam.

Then she gestured to a 92-year old woman in the corner... "but Ethel here has 67 years seniority and according to union rules...she's next."

Just a reminder...

2006-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder, EmployerReport.com is up and running. So, if you're curious as to why there are fewer posts than normal, it's because we're only blogging when there's something that really intrigues or infuriates us....Like the assh*le Corzine in NJ (see below).

There he goes again!!! NJ's Corzine slipping it to his union ex-babe at taxpayer expense!

2006-08-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Those poor NJ taxpayers (and their kids) are getting screwed again by their billionaire governor and his union honcho ex-squeeze...

Last month, it was the state shut down that cost the taxpayers millions in order for the billionaire to get his tax increases passed, using his ex-girlfriend and current union boss, Carla Katz', clout to muscle it through.

This month Corzine & Co. has given his ex, her union (the CWA), and AFSCME a huge payoff for last month's rallies at the statehouse.

He gave his union buddies NJ's 7,000 registered child care givers--apparently without the workers even voting on it!

According to NJ's Star Ledger:

Corzine signed an executive order formally recognizing the Child Care Workers Union. The order authorizes the state to "enter into good faith talks" with the new union, Corzine said in a prepared statement.

The workers will be jointly represented by the Communications Workers of America Local 1037 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 1, said CWA local president Hetty Rosenstein. AFSCME officials could not be reached for comment yesterday....

Rosenstein said. If negotiations lead to higher pay and other perks, there
could be an added cost to taxpayers.

Given New Jersey's propensity to elect corrupt politicians, it is little wonder why the state's motto is "The Garbage State."

A conflict of interest?...AFL-CIO opposes parental notification on abortion

2006-07-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

A conflict of interests and ideals?

Leftist labor ideologues of the AFL-CIO's Executive Council, convinced by feminists, are opposing Proposition 85, a California ballot initiative to provide parental notification on abortions, which prompted this statement from Father Frank Pavone of the National Director of Priests for Life:

“It’s an absolute betrayal of working families that the people who are supposed to represent them, their unions, have decided to help undermine their roles as parents,” said Fr. Pavone. “The AFL-CIO Executive Council can no longer claim to represent the little guy when it backs the mega-million dollar abortion industry over the interests of its own members.”

The next question becomes: How does labor's left, apparently being "led" by the feministas, reconcile its image with the largest group it's currently courting: immigrants (most of whom are latinos, mostly Catholic and [presumably] anti-abortion)???

When will someone call these clowns on there hypocrisy??? Oh, I guess we are!

In calling for Mexican election recount, is RWDSU admitting illegals are members?

2006-07-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

If a union knows its members are illegal aliens, does it have a duty to report them... Or, does it continue collecting their dues, while turning a blind eye to illegal activity?

Hmmm....

The RWDSU, which is holding its convention in Orlando this week is calling on the Mexican government to conduct a vote-by-vote recount.

What is more interesting is this amazing statement by Stuart Applebaum, the union's president:

The RWDSU represents many workers who are immigrants from Mexico and many of these joined with almost 40 million other Mexicans to vote in the July 2, 2006 elections to choose a new President and Legislature. [emphasis added]

Now, is Applebaum acknowledging that his union is harboring illegal aliens? If so, what is he going to do about? Hmmm?

Starbucks gets beaned in San Jose

2006-07-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a union to screw-up a good deal!

Starbucks came up on the losing end of a deal to provide San Jose's city hall workers with some java, but the politicos wanted the master tenant to sign a "labor peace" agreement. Instead of bowing to the legal extortion, the tenant, who was planning to rent space to Starbucks and another vendor, backed out of the deal.

Now, those city hall workers will be without the good old green and white.

Too bad, they probably could have used the caffeine to get something done!

Sssh! It's a secret...EmployerReport.com will be live on Labor Day 2006

2006-07-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

Sssh! Pass it on....

We're starting to spread the word (quietly) that www.employerreport.com is coming on Labor Day 2006!

Let us know what you think!

Damn! Jury orders UNITE-HERE to pay $17.3 million in defamation suit

2006-07-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

$17.3 million! That's a lot of money from member's dues!

From Sutter Health:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. July 21, 2006 – One of the nation's largest labor unions has been ordered to pay nearly $17.3 million in damages for defaming the not-for-profit Sutter Health network of doctors and hospitals. A jury in Placer County, Calif. found New York-based Unite Here acted with fraud, malice, or oppression when it mailed defamatory postcards to consumers in communities served by Sutter Health hospitals.

The jury awarded Sutter Health and its plaintiff hospitals $17,292,850 in damages for harm to Sutter Health's business and reputation."We are pleased that leaders of Unite Here have been held legally accountable for recklessly frightening patients and the public through outrageous and false allegations," said Michael Roosevelt, chair of the Sutter Health Board of Directors. "We truly hope this decision encourages labor unions like Unite Here to think twice before using shameful scare tactics that ultimately hurt patients in an attempt to advance a political agenda."

Comair given OK to throw out union contract

2006-07-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

A US bankruptcy judge has given Comair, a subsidiary of bankrupt Delta Air Line, permission to void its contract with its flight attendant's union.

Teamsters strike oil refinery over time off

2006-07-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well, going out on strike is certainly one way to get some time off...

At Marathon, the Teamsters want more time off and are apparently opposed at the company's desire to give them less time off--so they struck...

The company, which is using union-free employees to operate the refinery, says that production will not be impacted by the strike.

That, of course, begs one to wonder: What if the company gives the strikers what they want--permanently???

ESAB plant manager bristles at 'union buster' label

2006-07-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

Following a UAW-initiated strike, where the union got its members permanently replaced, an interesting article on the plant manager's take on the strike.

Unions want to unionize illegals

2006-07-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

'Pathetic'?...How about 'depraved'?....Either one or both work just fine to describe today's union leaders.

After failing their legal American members, todays union leaders now want to unionize illegal aliens.

How about this for a suggestion? Since it's illegal for employers to hire illegal aliens, why not make it illegal for unions to extend membership to illegal aliens...and since illegal aliens are working somewhere, wouldn't it be aiding and abetting a criminal enterprise for unions to collect money that was obtained illegally?

UAW's woes may be larger with potential alliance

2006-07-20T04:24:00.000-07:00

With the possible alliance between General Motors and NIssan-Renault, the UAW is getting nervous. This article explores the ramifications...

NJ State Building Trades Rebuke State AFL-CIO

2006-07-20T03:58:00.000-07:00

More union infighting? Yep! In New Jersey, the drama just goes on and on and on and on...

In a move that has deep ramifications for a state with large union density, 250 top officials with the state building trades council voted this week to rebuke its president and withhold money and political manpower after his attacks on a Democratis state lawmaker sided with the CWA and Governor John Corzine's budget plan (which gave state residents a huge sales tax increase).

According to an article in the Goucester County Times, the trades council has also opted not to participate in the AFL-CIO's annual political endorsement conference this September and withhold up to $4.6 million in political funding.

"At this point in time (Wowkanech) chose one union over another union. Instead of being a mediator, he got in the fight and chose sides," said Jim Kehoe, president of the United Building and Construction Trades Council of South Jersey. "It's a very substantial message. It's never happened before."

NWA Flight attendants' new union agrees to concessions

2006-07-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

The union that just got elected to replace Northwest Airlines flight attendants' independent union less than two weeks ago agreed to contract concessions totaling approxmately $195 million.

The AFA-CWA was elected less than two weeks ago on the promise of a stronger union for the flight attendants. It apears now that the AFA-CWA is now attempting to bolster its support by stating:

"With the airline in bankruptcy, this deal was always going to be about survival," said Mollie Reiley, interim president of the Northwest branch of the union.

"We left no stone unturned and we have made a significant difference together, but this is not a day that we celebrate. We have an agreement that will give flight attendants hope for the future and one that allows us to fight another day."

Danny Campbell, interim vice president of the Northwest branch of the Association of Flight Attendants, said a quick vote was in the flight attendants' best interests.

"We need to move on with trying to get the company out of bankruptcy so we can put up a good battle in the future for getting back some of the things we gave up," he said.

To avoid strike, SAB Miller agrees to go into Teamster Health & Welfare

2006-07-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Apparently sensing the summer heat wave that is currenly upon us, the execs at SAB Miller agreed to place their workers into the Teamsters' health and welfare plan to avoid a strike.

According to press reports, the deal will save the company $13.5 million over the life of the contract.

Of course, there are no reports on the actual quality of the plan.

This Quote of the Day comes from the UFCW

2006-07-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Following the thwarting of a decertification attempt by workers at Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., a beef processing plant in Joslin, Ill, the United Food & Commercial Workers is now committed to 'representing the interests of the workers.' According to the Bureau of National Affairs:

Jill Cashen, a spokeswoman for the international union, said the decertification campaign would serve as a "wake-up call." Moving forward, she said the union would focus on more effective strategies for representing the interests of Tyson workers affiliated with Local 1546.

"Anytime workers file a recertification petition it's a wake up call for us," Cashen told BNA. "These things give us a reason to look at our role and the job we're doing with the bargaining group. We're glad we won the election, and we want to continue to do the best job we can to represent these workers."

Her startling comments makes one wonder: What have you been doing all this time with the dues money you've been collecting from these workers?

Democrats air, then pull ads with flag-draped coffins (view it here)

2006-07-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

Though there's not a lot to cheer about with the GOP, this proves there is nothing endearing about the Democrats!

Talk about an insult to our soldiers and their families!

AFL-CIO's Acuff: It's Class Warfare!

2006-07-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

According to the People's Weekly World, the Connecticut AFL-CIO is ready for war! A war of the classes, that is.

At its convention last week, the CT AFL-CIO went on its usual blame-Bush rampage, with AFL-CIO Director of Organizing Stewart Acuff declaring, “[T]hey’re waging class war and it’s time we wage it back!”

Acuff urged the delegates to “elect a real pro-working families majority, then take to the streets.”

Liberal luminary, Sen. Chris Dood (D-Conn) roused the mob by stating, "[T]he crowd that runs the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House are doing everything they can day after day to turn the clock back.”

Of overlooked, but equal significance, the PWW reports that the convention the convention "updated its bylaws for the first time in a decade, and by acclamation deleted all anti-Communist clauses left over from the 1950s era of repression."

Not Miller Time! says Teamsters

2006-07-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

The Teamsters are saying a strike at SAB Miller is 'imminent.' The issue? What else? Health care costs.

The Teamsters, however, are wanting the company to go into the Teamsters health & welfare plan...The company, smartly, is rejecting that trap.

Auto factory jobs coming to America?

2006-07-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Although the UK union is a tad upset with MG Rover's new owner, Nanjing Automobile, to build a new assembly plant in Oklahoma, it appears there may actually be insourcing of factory jobs here in the good old US of A.

Of course, it helps that Oklahoma is a right-to-work state.

Eee gads! Unions are being outsourced overseas, as well?

2006-07-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks, David, for sending this one!

An interesting article from the Technology Commerce Society (whoever they are) by Ian Murray on the benefits of globalization, how it has lifted the living standards of poor workers all over the world, etcetera, etcetera.

Well, the interesting thing is how unions are now attempting to unionize these workers--even though, in one example cited of a textile company in Turkey, the workers' wages are in the top 2 percent of their industry.

In fact, the unions are even using the tactics that their American counterparts use--like corporate campaigns and attempting to force unionization on workers even though the workers don't want the union.

If this trend continues, the question then becomes: Will the globalization of unionization cause these workers (like their American predecessors) to have their jobs exported too?

Nurses rally in advance of NLRB decision on supervisory status

2006-07-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here's one for the Only in California column:

The California Nurses Association is a 'hootin an' a' hollerin (when don't they?) over the NLRB's impending decision on what constitutes a supervisor or not...A decision that may (or may not, as it hasn't been decided yet) deprive unions of their precious dues money by potentially making certain members of the bargaining unit into members of management and, therefore, ineligible for union membership.

Gasp! More dues money evaporating from union coffers??? It's no wonder the union is shrieking!

So, what is a supervisor? Well, it's pretty simple (or not). The NLRA (as amended), Section 2(11) defines a "supervisor" as:

"any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibly to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not merely of a routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment."

To get their point across, the CNA has even threatened to call wide-spread strikes over the issue if the NLRB doesn't give them their way.

Keep screaming, ladies, we're sure the NLRB will hear you all the way in DC!

Cummins hit by IAM/IBT strike in NW

2006-07-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

In a strange show of solidarity between two unions usually at war with each other, the IAM and the Teamsters are striking diesel maker Cummins at shops across the Northwest.

Illinois politicians attempt to thwart workers' wishes in unionization fray at Resurrection Health Care

2006-07-11T04:56:00.000-07:00

Though health care system employees at Chicago's Ressurection Health Care aren't in contract talks, arent striking, and haven't even had an election to vote to unionize, Democratic union shills US Senators Barack Obama and Richard Durbin and U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Melissa Bean, Jerry Costello, Danny Davis, Rahm Emanuel, Luis Gutierrez, Jesse Jackson Jr., Daniel Lipinksi and Bobby Rush have sent a letter urging the union-free system to "initiate a dialogue."

“We are not going to engage in a dialogue with a union that hasn’t been elected by our employees to represent them,” Resurrection spokesman Brian Crawford said. He said a prompt response will be sent to the lawmakers, but declined further comment until after the letters are sent.

So much for Democrats standing for democracy, when the workers haven't even elected a union!

Mormons 0 - Teamsters 1...Appeals court rules religious slurs okay in campaign

2006-07-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Big surprise: A federal appeals court has ruled that it's okay for union organizers to slur the Mormon ownership of a Company, the Church's practices of collecting tithings, and, presumably, all other religions during organizing campaigns...

Of course the Teamsters were unionizing a group of mostly latino (and Catholic) workers.

The Mormon-owned company may appeal...

Child support enforcement workers' strike over in Ohio

2006-07-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

To the chagrin of deadbeat dads in Columbus, the 4-week strike that got the spectre of law enforcement off their back is now over.

The Teamsters took these county workers out and would up losing the battle. Under the settlement, workers wil get three percent raises in each year of the three year agreement, BUT will have to start contributing to their health care and are losing their county-funded retirement system.

Clearly these workers will be even more bitter than the average public worker, which means:

Time to pay up, pops!

Ground Zero strike is over

2006-07-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

No details on the settlement, but Operating Engineers local 15 should be back to work Monday...at more than $80 an hour. [Thanks Mayor Bloomberg!...]

Fickle flight attendants flip unions at NWA

2006-07-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

Switching unions almost as fast as they switch their hair color, the flight attendants at Northwest have voted to dump the independent union they dumped the Teamsters for just three years ago.

The winner in this latest tussle is the Communications Workers of America, the old dinosaur from the telephone industry. A couple of years ago the CWA thought that associating with the Association of Flight Attendants just might make sense...So they merged forces (so to speak) and became the AFA-CWA.

Problem is, the AFA-CWA only has 10 days to negotiate a deal before NWA imposes its labor concessions.

Teamsters proclaim innocence in San Jose mayoral scandal

2006-07-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

In case you missed the blog a few days ago, San Jose's mayor has got himself into a heap of trouble...which has cost SJ residents $11.25 million more for their trash than originally budgeted for.

Now, the Teamsters, who are at the center of the scandal insist they didn't do anything wrong. Yet, the mayor and Norcal have both been indicted. Go figure!

The San Jose Mercury news has a nice little slideshow of the timeline.

Operating Engineers strike Ground Zero

2006-07-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

Already making $80/hour, Operating Engineers Local 15 has struck NYC sites after rejecting an offer that included 6% annual increases.

DEM vs. DEM: As New Jersey shut-down enters day 2, Corzine pays off his union buddies

2006-07-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

"Welcome to New Jersey, where we kill and eat the weak"
(As seen on a T-Shirt in Newark airport)

New Jersey really is a sick and twisted kind of place....And not just because it's the armpit of the country and home of HBO's make-believe Sopranos and countless other real-life thugs, but because of its stupid politicians and the voters that keep electing them.

See if yoos folla dis one...

Here, we have a Democrat billionaire who was just-elected as governor with the help of his ex-girlfriend (who also happens to be the head of the state's largest public employees' union[CWA])..

No sooner does he take office, he then declares that there needs to be a BIG tax increase in order to solve the budget crisis...

[Ya gotta keep in mind that dis guy replaced dat LAST Democrat governor who resigned 'cause he finally figured out that he was gay and about to be outed and who admits he was trolling the NJ Turnpike rest areas looking for gay sex.]

HOWEVER, instead of doing what the private sector would do in a budget crisis, the billionaire opts to favor his ex-chick and curry her further goodwill by exempting the state workers from any sacrifices, like pay cuts, more co-pay for health insurance (things that a failing business would need to do), or making cuts in the bloated state workforce.

His ex-chick (da union boss), then decides to put all of her union muscle behind the billionaire, telling her members to support the governor's tax increase...squid pro quo, anyone?

When other Democrats sqwawk and fail to pass a budget by the July 1st deadline, the billionaire governor declares the state to be 'shut down'...All non-essential state workers must stay home.

A LAY OFF...? No. In New Joisey it don't quite work dat way, see?

Well, here's the best part of the story:

Since the billionaire caused the shut down, essentially laying off the state workers for however long this political brouhaha lasts, the billionaire governor has promised to pay the state workers for their lost time!

Guess who get stuck with the tab on that one!?!

That's right, the same NJ voters who put the billionaire in office!

According to the Morris Daily Record, during a Monday morning CNN interview, Corzine [the billionaire governor] said "all of the state workers will be getting make-up pay for what they are not receiving."

"If that is the case, then just tell them to come to work," said Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester.

"If the intent is to have the workers stay home and then pay them, he might as well have them there," Sweeney said. "What is the purpose of shutting down state government?"

Wait, isn't that what welfare is???

If you're wondering where the Republicans are in this whole mess, they've been kept out of it. LITERALLY! The Democrats literally locked the Republican lawmakers out of the rooms where the budget committees were bickering!

Only in New Joisey.

Democrats: "If Democrats fail to capture the House, labor will be partly to blame"

2006-07-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

The one thing that the disorganized labor movement is usually organized on is politics. That is, the backing of Democrat candidates is almost always (read 99% of the time) on Big Labor's agenda.

However, it seems that the Democrats are getting flustered with the lack of solidarity of unions in toeing the party line all the way for November's election.

According to The Hill, some Dems are angry that some unions are spending dough on the GOP. While the list of union flip-flopping on money and politics is long in this article, here's an excerpt:

Organized labor has also poured tens of thousands of dollars into the campaign accounts of highly vulnerable Republicans, in several instances surpassing the amount given to Democratic challengers.

Rep. George Miller (Calif.), ranking Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, has disclosed that at least one of his House colleagues has said that, if Democrats fail to capture the House, labor will be partly to blame. Miller, a lawmaker close to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), shared that anecdote with labor officials, according to a union lobbyist, perhaps sending a subtle message of displeasure that Democrats know labor is hedging its bets.

Rep. John Sweeney (R), the Democrats’ No. 1 target in New York, has won the endorsement of the local affiliate of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and of the Albany affiliate of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, Sweeney’s campaign says.

Ralph's $70 mil. fine doesn't cover UFCW's humilation, says embittered writer

2006-07-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Remember that Southern California grocery strike when the UFCW took 70,000 workers out for 4 1/2 months and lost their shirts? Well, according to Brian Sheppard, the recent $70 mil. fine that Ralph's was required to pay for its illegally hiring workers during the strike is "but small payment for having so publicly humiliated and fiscally destroyed unionized grocery workers..."

The payments will not begin to equal the money that Ralphs and other grocery stores will save, here and elsewhere, as a result of the contract that the union was finally forced to sign, nor will it make the national labor movement whole for the illegal and unfair tactics used by the grocery stores.

WSJ Affirms what we've been saying since '03: Unions are failing to get contracts 45% of time for newly unionized employees

2006-07-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's nice to be a trendsetter. Although it's only now being reported by the Wall Street Journal, we picked up the 45% figure in '03 from UNITE-HERE and have been quoting it since then. Now that the WSJ's reporting it via FMCS, everyone will be using it...

Here's the deal:

Roughly 45% of newly formed unions fail to negotiate a first contract with an employer within two years, according to 2004 data from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a federal agency that mediates labor negotiations. Labor officials say they believe the figure has risen since then, as companies grow increasingly wary about health care and pension benefits...

Since unions fail almost half the time to deliver their product, what good are they?...It's like buying a car that only starts half of the time.

With $1.5 mil at stake, UFCW compares company's call for an election to Saddam Hussein

2006-07-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

In one of the longest-running corporate campaigns in America, the United Food & Commercial Workers has pathetically compared Smithfield Packing's call to hold an election to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

After years of marches, rallies, and union 'badgering,' at the world's largest hog-processing plant, the Company is calling for an election among its 5,000 Tar Heel, NC workers to put the union issue to rest.

“It’s like a Saddam Hussein election,” said Gene Bruskin, the union’s campaign director is quoteed as saying in the AP. “You terrify the population for 10 years, and then you say, ‘Let’s vote.’”

With an average dues rate of $25 per worker, per month, the altruistic UFCW stands to make up to $125,000 per month or $1.5 per year...leading one to believe: There is money in pork bellies

Jesse Jackson: From parasitic second-hand, mouth-for-hire to parasitic union boss...It's all in a day's work

2006-07-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

With no real claim to fame or job of his own (except being the consumate whining demogogue with a knack for putting timing to his rhyming), professional shake-down artist Jesse Jackson has been named national co-chairman of the near-bankrupt Jockey's Guild, the not-quite-a-union union.

Admittedly, Jackson says he doesn't know doo-doo about horse racing, but he was oh-so-quick to invoke the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King as he took the post:

"I know the principles of organizing," Jackson is quoted as saying in the New York Times, then referring to Dr. King:

"Dr. King didn't have to follow around garbage workers to know his role was to motivate garbage workers to stand up and fight for the right to organize."
[Problem is, Jesse, Dr. King was the real deal...You're just a has-been living off the coat-tails of other people's misery.]

Understandably, according to the NYT, some jockeys are upset with Jackson's hiring:

"The first I knew of Jackson being hired was when I read about in the Racing Form," said Richard Migliore, a New York-based jockey who is a member of the guild's senate. "I just couldn't understand where this came from. My feeling about it is that we need to re-establish our credibility in the industry and heal some wounds after what happened with Gertmenian, who did a lot of damage.
[At least with Jackson, the damage he does will be more public!]

"We don't need to jump right back into a situation where we have hired someone who is not savvy when it comes to racing and has no grasp of the issues. How does hiring Jesse Jackson fit into the picture?"
[It gives him a platform to get on the news from, sir.]

Tony Black, a Philadelphia Park-based rider who said he left the guild over concerns with Gertmenian's practices and has founded a group to represent jockeys at the track, said, "This is a horrible idea."
[It is to everyone, except Jackson...]

"Neither person, Dwight Manley nor Jesse Jackson, is a person who is experienced in racing or knows jockeys," he said. "Maybe they were just overwhelmed by the name Jesse Jackson. He brings with him more controversy than solutions."
[Amen, brother!]

Teamsters cost San Jose residents $2 mil. and the mayor his job

2006-07-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

The definition of Priceless?

Labor racketeering?...No.

Bid rigging?...um...not exactly.

Getting your Teamster buddies a garbage contract costing your taxpayers $2 million more than your budget allows?...

Yeah, that's it!

Striking UAW local to face NLRB on 40 charges

2006-07-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Chalk this one up to the just-your-average-day-on-the-icket-line column...From the Evening Sun:

"The National Labor Relations Board has found United Auto Workers Local 1968 engaged in violations of the federal labor law, including incidents in which picketers either physically harmed ESAB replacement workers or threatened to do so.

"Some of the incidents include picketers causing bodily harm by pushing non-striking employees, causing property damage, making sexually threatening remarks and yelling ethnic epithets.

"The NLRB found a pattern of incidents in which the union unlawfully interfered with the replacement employees right to report to work. The NLRB's complaint comes after a 60-day investigation into the charges that stemmed from a complaint filed by ESAB on April 24."

Deception, hypocrisy and union-busting WITHIN the SEIU

2006-07-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

An essay from the inside of the 'underbelly' of 1199, SEIU. Written by Kevin Funk, a recent and idealistic young college graduate who took a job in 2005 as an organizer with 1199, SEIU.

The writer tells of his slave-like working conditions deceiving the people of Sprinfield, Ohio during a campaign supporting a ballot initiative, as well as how SEIU bosses discouraged organizers and staff from unionizing.

Teamsters convention over...More organizing promised

2006-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the Teamster party's over in Sin City and its time for 7,000 convention delegates to go back to their wives and their normal jobs (whatever they may be)...

The biggest Teamster PR highlights for the week was obtaining a commitment from UPS to allow coercive card-check recognition for UPS Freight (formerly Overnite Transportation). [For further details, read the blog entry below.]

According to their PR machine, Teamster convention delegates also ratified a number of resolutions to set priorities for the union, including:

* Building a mighty army of Teamster organizers
* Continuing the successful fight to keep the border closed to unsafe Mexican trucks
* Organizing the DHL delivery system
* Organizing Quebecor World workers
* Fighting to protect Teamsters' retirement security
* Organizing port drivers
* Organizing Cintas Corp. workers
* Fighting for strong contracts that set industry standards
* Organizing school bus workers

Among the guests who sucked-up, poked fun at business and Bush and/or asked for support at the convention were U.S. Sen. John Edwards, (D-NC); U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, (D-DE); U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, (R-MI); actor Kiefer Sutherland; radio show host and comedian Al Franken; and actor Danny Glover.

Oh well, another Teamster convention ends...

So far, no embarrassing pictures like Ceasar's gladiators carrying union bosses (yet...)

Stupid is, as stupid does...UPS caves to Teamster pressure, agrees to card-check for Overnite

2006-06-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

"The biggest thing, John, is we have a political schedule here."

IBT General President James P. Hoffa, 1999

While the background to the Teamster-Overnite saga is below, here's the scoop:

Yesterday, at the Teamsters' member-pays-all-expenses staged PR event in Las Vegas (also known as a union convention), President Hoffa announced that he got UPS management to agree to the coercive card-check method of union recognition for the 17,000 employees of UPS Freight (the former Overnite Transportation).

Here's the official line from the Teamsters:

"UPS knew that the entire leadership of the union was meeting this weekin Las Vegas," said Ken Hall, Director of the Teamsters Parcel and Small Package Division. "They knew that we would either ramp up our campaign or they could come up with an agreement such as this that the union has beenseeking."

While we don't know what UPS is getting from this deal (they're sure to be getting something), here's what we do know:

Teamster President James P. Hoffa has had a nearly eight-year reign of the IBT with little or nothing to show for it except a good PR machine. After eight years, the jury's still out whether he's been good or bad for rank and file Teamster members...In other words, is he really inept (but is fortunate to have a good PR machine)? Or, is he a victim of the times (but is fortunate to have a good PR machine)?

This year Hoffa Jr. is facing re-election and his opposition is hitting him hard on his do-nothing presidency, as well as his alleged cave-in to UPS management in the 2002 contract.

The Teamster convention is this week in Las Vegas and it is a week of press releases, puffery (see pic below) and grand-standing...Remember: Hoffa is a master at PR.

For Hoffa to claim that he got UPS to bend over for card-check organizing gives him more political clout (ie., PR) to use during his re-election.

So, why would UPS agree to deny their workers the right to a secret-ballot election?

Here's our guess:

Teamster pension plans are in serious trouble. For example, the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund is around $10 billion underfunded. UPS, meanwhile, is the single-largest contributor to most large Teamster pension plans, propping up the plans against those hundreds of other Teamster-represented companies (like Consolidated Freightways, etc) that have gone belly-up since de-regulation of the trucking industry.

UPS negotiations will be starting soon and it is likely that pensions will be a major issue for the Company.

Hoffa may be viewed by management as a weaker opponent than a Tom Leedham or other TDU-backed president. Remember: Many UPSers view Hoffa as having sold them out in the last contract. ( Click here for an example.)

Here's some background for those of you who may not remember the Teamsters' debacle at Overnite:

From October 24, 1999 through October 24, 2002, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters conducted a nationwide strike against then-LTL trucking company Overnite Transportation. The strike occured after 130 bargaining sessions for a first-time agreement failed. The Teamsters wanted Overnite to agree to enter its failing pension, as well as its health and welfare plans. Overnite management said "NO."

During the strike, there were allegedly 47 shootings, numerous instances of violence, threats and other shenanigans. The strike was even the subject of a 1 1/2 hour HBO documentary called American Stand-Off.

A couple of years ago, after the Teamsters abandoned the strike and had been decertified from nearly all of the Overnite terminals, shipping giant United Parcel Service bought Overnite Transportation.

Now, after threatening UPS management with a nasty organizing campaign, the Teamsters has convinced UPS management to allow it to unionize former Overnite workers through the coercive card-chack method.

It's an interesting twist to this decade old saga.

The strike was an effort to shut Overnite down completely to get the Company to agree to a first-time contract....It didn't work. The strike was a debacle for the Teamsters.

Here are some of the quotes from American Standoff:

Jimmy Hoffa during a conference call with John Murphy, Before the Strike…

Before the Strike, Oct., 1999.

John Murphy, Teamsters’ V.P. of Organizing:

“We see this going no longer than Thanksgiving. I...My own view, Jim, is I don’t think Overnite can take three weeks of it. ‘Cause I think we can take ‘em down in three weeks. The first week is sort of a standoff, the second week they see all their customers abandoning them.”

Jimmy Hoffa, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters:
“I just don’t see a three week deal is going to bring them to their knees....The biggest thing, John is we have a political schedule here. We gotta run in 2001....This could be a major mistake.”

Jimmy Hoffa during a conference call with John Murphy [Source: HBO, AmericaUndercover—American Standoff]

Week 3 of the Strike.

John Murphy, Teamsters’ V.P. of Organizing:
“Someone once said that a general of an army has to be prepared to order all the soldiers to die to be an effective general. And I still believe that....In fact, that we have to be prepared to take any consequences and any loss to prevail in the struggle. There is no price too high to pay.” [Source: HBO, AmericaUndercover—American Standoff]

After 12 Months on Strike.

Unidentified Striker at Teamsters, Local 667 Union Hall
“When we went out, we was guaranteed, tha’ we would have a hundred thousand teamsters to back us. And what have we had, we’ve had a little money, yeah, but we haven’t had shit from the damn teamsters.” [Source: HBO, AmericaUndercover—American Standoff]

Not his father's union...Teamsters' Hoffa encourages participation of 'individuals of various sexual orientations'

2006-06-27T03:27:00.000-07:00

Giving new meaning to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, James P. Hoffa and his delegates in Vegas have amended their union constitution to prohibit discrimination on the basis of (among other things) sexual orientation. Is this asign of the mighty Teamsters desperation? Or, is it just more cronyism among the left...liberal unions jumping into bed (so to speak) with...well...whoever will join them? Who knows?!?

States Hoffa: "We are committed to the development of an organization which values and encourages the participation of women, individuals of various sexual orientations and members of racial, cultural, and ethnic groups in the policymaking and leadership roles at all levels of the International Union and its affiliated bodies."

Just two days after New York's annual Gay Pride Parade brought in an estimated 500,000 marchers, Hoffa's me-too-ism has this blogger wondering if the Teamsters shouldn't change their name to the International Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Teamsters & Tranvestites.

Well, that's one way to attract new members (and piss off your old ones!)...

But hey!...It's all good, right?!?

A victim of her own politics...left-wing goddess turns union-buster

2006-06-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Liberals often clamor about their belief in workers' right to unionize. Here's the story of Judy Wicks, left-wing owner of Philadelphia's ultra-progressive White Dog Cafe.

Her staff is paid her definition of a living wage, offered health benefits, and given paid vacation. So, why did Judy Wicks, called a "left-wing goddess" for her political activism turn into a union-buster when her staff wanted to unionize with UNITE-HERE? Why did she insist on a secret-ballot election when her political comrades want to deny workers their right to vote?

This is a must read for anyone who believes that workers should have a right to vote on the matter of unionization, as opposed to having unions forced on them merely because they were tricked into signing an authorization card.

St. Louis Teamsters busted at beer distributor

2006-06-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

After more than a year of being on strike, workers at Lohr Distributing Company (which distributes Anheuser-Busch products) in St. Louis have decided to kick the Teamsters out of their workplace.

Voting in the election, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, were permanent replacement workers hired since May 2005, when the Teamsters called the 36 Lohr workers out on strike.

When the Cat gets the Rat

2006-06-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

Damn cat!!!

These pictures were e-mailed to me by a friend. Note the rat's right ear...

Borders & the UFCW...An unhappy affair

2006-06-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Although I'm not sure why the newspaper decided to publish this story, as there's no point to it, the article details the timeline when Borders' bookstore employees voted to unionize in '02, struck in '03, got a contract in '04, failed to ratify a renewal in '06, file a petition to decertify, have union recognition withdrawn; union files charges....That's about it...The whole story. But see for yourself (I think the editor got lazy--like I did with this post!)

FBI Censors Hoffa Documents

2006-06-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

From the Lansing State Journal:

DETROIT - Federal prosecutors have released a heavily censored 40-page affidavit it used to get a warrant for last month's fruitless search for the remains of former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa.

The document, with 12 pages removed and five almost totally blacked out, raised more questions than it answered about the reasons for the two-week, $250,000 search of a Milford Township horse farm.

Alas...more tax payer money wasted!

Big Labor's Ugly New Face

2006-06-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

A great op-ed about SEIU's Stern by Chuck Muth from Citizen Outreach...It's worth the read!

Unionization among blacks has fallen 50%

2006-06-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

An interesting development...

Union membership among blacks has dropped by almost 50% in the last two decades, according to a study by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The study found that 31.7% of all black workers were unionized in 1983, but only 16.6% were in 2004. Last year, 2.18 million African American workers were union members, or 15.1% of the 14.46 million employed blacks, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Of course, it's all Corporate America's fault...

Disappearing union jobs explains the decline, says Gerald Jaynes, professor of economics and African American studies at Yale University and a member of the black enterprise Board of Economists. Manufacturing accounts for many union jobs, and tens of thousands of union workers have been laid off in recent weeks by Detroit’s Big Three automakers. De-unionization is another trend, as organizing union shops has become more difficult under National Labor Relations Board policies.

Whole Foods CEO Speaks Out on Freedom

2006-06-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ever want to know why we at Kulture do what we do (as in fight collectivism, socialism, and unions)? Read this, and you'll get a better understanding...

In this speech (originally given in 2004 and revised for publication this month), Whole Foods CEO John Mackey lays out his background from left-wing, hippie of the 60's to modern-day capitalist....

Here is an excerpt:

At the time I started my business, the Left had taught me that business and capitalism were based on exploitation: exploitation of consumers, workers, society, and the environment. I believed that "profit" was a necessary evil at best, and certainly not a desirable goal for society as a whole. However, becoming an entrepreneur completely changed my life. Everything I believed about business was proven to be wrong.

The most important thing I learned about business in my first year was that business wasn't based on exploitation or coercion at all. Instead I realized that business is based on voluntary cooperation. No one is forced to trade with a business; customers have competitive alternatives in the market place; employees have competitive alternatives for their labor; investors have different alternatives and places to invest their capital. Investors, labor, management, suppliers — they all need to cooperate to create value for their customers. If they do, then any realized profit can be divided amongst the creators of the value through competitive market dynamics.

This article should be a must-read for all Americans...

Brother of Boston mob boss get plum gig over other Teamster members

2006-06-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's always refreshing to know that, even in the 21st century, organized labor is still running with organized crime. A Boston Herald article tells the story of ex-con Jackie Bulger getting a plum job working at the city’s convention centers while longtime union members go without work.

Joe Wright, a Teamster who’s challenging the union’s leadership in elections later this year, said the hiring of Bulger - the younger brother of ex-Senate President William Bulger and fugitive mobster James “Whitey” Bulger - merely highlights a hiring system that favors pals of the head of Local 82, John Perry.

Earlier this week, Perry said the 68-year-old Bulger - who recently had his state pension stripped due to his prior convictions for lying to a grand jury about the whereabouts of his accused serial-killer brother Whitey - got his $29-an-hour job fair and square.

Yeah, right!....Unless the someone keeps on eye on this one, Bulger will probably wind up getting a full pension too.

AFL-CIO gets it wrong again

2006-06-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

In its effort to slam a GOP candidate, the AFL-CIO blames Bush for a Clinton tax break.

Teamsters facing raid at crown jewel UPS

2006-06-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

UPS, the Teamsters' crown jewel, may be up for grabs by an upstart union headed up by two UPS drivers and former Teamster members.

Representatives of the Association of Parcel Workers of America were in Louisville, Kentucky June 4 to promote the organization to Louisville's UPS workers. It was the third such meeting the group has held in Louisville, said APWA president Van Skillman, a tractor-trailer driver for UPS in Greensboro, N.C.

The upstart is gaining momentum due to the Teamsters' changes in the underfunded Central States Pension Fund, which has cost thousands of members thousands of dollars each. The problem is the pension fund is billions of dollars underfunded and UPS and its employees are bearing the brunt of an underfunded plan.

Skillman and fellow tractor-trailer driver Danny Eason of Raleigh, N.C.,
founded the group after ending their Teamsters membership. Skillman, 49, has worked for UPS for 27 years and Eason, 52, has worked for the company for nearly 35 years.

Skillman said he left the union in disgust after finding out that a 2004 change in the company's pension plan meant he would receive only about $2,200 a month in pension payments, instead of the $3,000 a month he would have been due if he retired with 30 years service before a change was made to the pension.

Fred Zuckerman, president of Teamsters Local 89, says the group "poses no real challenge at all" because it lacks the financial means of Teamsters.

"They say they will be able to offer full pensions after five years when they
don't even know how to fund a pension," Zuckerman says, "We have a very good strike fund, which was ratified in 2002, and they don't even have a strike fund. Their claims are just nuts."

As though the Teamsters know how to fund a pension?

The Teamsters' arrogance may be their downfall if the upstart picks up steam. It was the arrogance of unions like the Machinists and the TWU that gave the ill-fated AMFA its ability to get started in the airline industry. [Does anyone remember them?]

Of course, the IAM and the TWU don't have the past that the Teamsters do....The leaders of the upstart have to survive first!

AFL-CIO to dump $1 Bil into New Orleans

2006-06-13T05:17:00.000-07:00

AFL-CIO boss John Sweeney has decided to invest $1 billion into hurricane ravaged New Orleans in order to build 10,000 "affordable" homes and a new downtown hotel.

According to USA Today, the money will come from the AFL-CIO's 40-year-old Housing Investment Trust, which invests worker pensions in affordable housing and (of course) requires union labor on the projects.

Now, that's a revitalization project...use ridiculously expensive union labor to build 'affordable' (read: cheap) housing.

Sounds like more union members (or their pensions) are going to get hosed on this one!

As UAW members lose jobs, union bosses head to Vegas

2006-06-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

As though living in an alcohol-induced haze the last 20 years and just awakening to an oh-sh**-I-blew-my family's-fortune-while-I-was-drunk reality, the UAW is freaking out in Vegas!

As UAW members lose their jobs, have their wages slashed at uncompetitive companies, their union bosses are in Vegas on a good old-fashioned, member-paid junket to commiserate on how bad things are for the union and b*tch about corporate America...

From Forbes.com:

"Everything the UAW has fought for at the bargaining table is under attack," Gettelfinger told 1,400 delegates gathered at the UAW's constitutional convention in Las Vegas. "Things that once seemed rock solid--jobs we've done and done well, the retirement and health care coverage we've earned, our right to a collective voice in our workplace--are threatened by many corporate CEOs, right-wing politicians and anti-union groups."

Even the union itself has been forced to cut back. In the past four years, it has reduced the size of its administrative staff by about 20%, to about 830 people, and closed some regional offices while reducing spending on conferences and air travel.

Like, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, YOU IDIOTS?!?...OUT BUYING GOLF COURSES OR SOMETHING??? [Oh yeah...I forgot...You did buy a golf course.]

UAW Convention begins...

2006-06-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

According to this article, union failures are all part of Hillary's vast right-wing conspiracy.

[Thanks, TW!...Glad to know we're a part!]

UAW boss compares union to Christianity

2006-06-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

In an excellent Detroit News article detailing the ongoing and devastating malaise of the UAW in the auto world of today, one delusional local president compares the UAW to Christianity by stating:

"I believe our union will grow," said Robert Betts, president of UAW Local 2151. "It's like the Romans. The more they persecuted the Christians, the more the faith grew."

[This dude has GOTTA be smoking more than just some smack-daddy, DAMN good reef, 'cuz he's hallucinating more than a freak at a Grateful Dead concert, man!!!]

The fact is, the UAW has lost more than a million of its members (roughly two-thirds) since its peak, while foreign auto makers (Toyota, Honda, Nissan and BMW) have been adding thousands of (good-paying) US jobs--all of which are non-union.

Here's the reality (we've said it before and we'll say it again): Today's union's are brain-dead, their bosses are still living in a perpetual state of denial (or are smoking the same reef as the guy above), and it's time someone had the decency to pull the plug.

BTW: Thanks, Tom, for sending this along!

Supreme Court vacates and remands case that could have broadened RICO to employers

2006-06-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

In a collective sigh of relief from employers across the nation, on Monday, the US Supreme Court vacated an 11th Circuit decision which would have had far reaching and significant ramifications for the nation's 5+ million employers.

From the Associated Builders & Contractors:

Supreme Court Refuses to Review Appeals Court Decision
Expanding RICO Liability

The U.S. Supreme Court June 5 vacated and remanded an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision that would have made employers vulnerable to abusive Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuits (Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Williams, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 05-465).

In the case, the appeals court had ruled that four employees of Calhoun, Ga.-based carpet manufacturer Mohawk Industries, Inc., could proceed with a class action lawsuit alleging that the company conspired with third-party staffing agencies and recruiters to hire illegal workers to “reduce labor costs by depressing wages for its legal hourly employees and discourage workers’ compensation claims, in violation of federal and state RICO statutes.”

In its short, two-sentence order, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the appeals court for reconsideration based on Anza v. Ideal Steel Supply Corporation, a decision also issued on June 5 which ruled that plaintiffs must demonstrate that they suffered “direct” injury from a proven RICO conspiracy.

CWA to strike NBC News?

2006-06-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

Oh my! NBC may need to hire replacements? Maybe Katie Couric is available again.

The CWA's NABET* has been working without a contract since March 31st.

The union representing 2,500 news writers, editors, camera operators, engineers, technicians, producers and other workers, including roughly 240 people at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 in Chicago, said workers have given leaders approval to launch a strike if they deem it necessary.

Contract talks began last November, and the current contract expired March 31, said the *National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communications Workers of America. The union represents workers at NBC Universal network operations and network-owned and operated stations in Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., and Burbank, Calif.

Issues for the union include job security.

"NBC wants to expand further who can do digital camera work," jeopardizing union work, said union spokeswoman Candice Johnson. "They want to decrease certain job categories."

Some may remember the 1998 lockout, when NABET got its camera techs locked out of their jobs for 11 weeks after pulling a series of quickie strikes.

Locked out AK Steel union rebuffs Steelworkers in favor of IAM

2006-06-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Although locked out since March 1st, the union president representing 2,700 AK Steel workers in Middletown, Ohio has told the United Steelworkers he would not let the USWA meet with his executive board. Instead, the independent union is cozying up to the International Association of Machinists.

Now, the fur is flying between them all:

USWA against the Machinists: “While the machinists union is a fine union, they simply don’t have the strength in numbers and expertise to provide the first-class representation that AEIF members deserve,” said Tom Conway, a USWA international vice president. “In fact, as far as we know, they do not represent any significantly sized group of workers in the basic steel industry.”

IAM responding: “I think our numbers speak for themselves,” said Frank Larkin, a spokesman for the Upper Marlboro, Md.-based IAM.

USWA against the independent: AEIF president led "his members into a lockout 'without knowing how to lead it out again.'”

Confused? With today's unions, that's understandable.

AFL-CIO's Sweeney responds to Geo. McGovern's "attack" on unions

2006-06-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Sweeney: "I was astonished that McGovern defended Wal-Mart's policy of shifting its workers' healthcare costs onto taxpayers' backs....Unions strive to work hand-in-hand with business for the good of the workers and the community. Instead of blaming workers, McGovern should call on business to be an equal partner."

From the horse's mouth...You can read McGovern's op-ed by clicking here

Union threatens to shut down east coast rail transportation

2006-06-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

The union (Brotherhood of Maintenance of WayEmployees) is PO'd about not having a contract with Amtrak for the last seven years and is trying to 'kick it up a notch' by picketing the home opener of the NJ Jackals in Montclair, NJ today.

Why?

Well, it seems Floyd Hall, owner of the New Jersey Jackals, is also a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors.

How the public will ever put two and two together on this one is beyond comprehension.

Let's see, I take my kid to a game, see a bunch of union pickets about the train line and am supposed to connect the dots? Yeah right. Another example of union stupidity.

Oh! But wait! There's more....

Jed Dodd, General Chairman of the Union, stated: "Ultimately this dispute will lead to a strike engineered by the BushAdministration and their appointees. This will result in a total shutdownof all rail service, including New Jersey Transit, on the Northeast Corridor. We have offered to resolve this dispute peacefully through binding arbitration and their refusal is another indication that theiragenda is to shut this vital public service down. We need a management that is committed to mass transportation and not union-busting and the privatization of public assets."

Border Patrol Agents on Sen. John McCain: "too big and too important to deal with us."

2006-06-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Unions are starting early on trying to crucify the GOP's apparent '08 front-runner...However, they're not pulling any punches with pudgy Teddy Kennedy either

According to members of the agents' union local 2544, Senator McCain has never been a friend to rank-and-file Border Patrol agents. Local 2544 represents US Border Patrol agents in Arizona, McCain's home state.

"He routinely ignores correspondence from Border Patrol agents and often gives the impression that he is just too big and too important to deal with us," they said.

"He attempts to undermine our mission at every turn and actively supports the criminals who violate our laws. He always trys to downplay the fact that illegal aliens knowingly and willingly violate our laws, and he is a close ally on immigration matters with Senator Ted Kennedy, who we believe is the biggest disgrace of all time in the United States Senate."

These law enforcement agents point to Senator McCain's "imperious attitude" towards rank-and-file Border Patrol agents and his complete disdain for their mission has been evident for many years.

Chicago's construction strike over

2006-06-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

The strike is officially over. No details other than the Laborers agreed to a 4-year deal.

As a side note: Happened to be in Chi-Town on Friday, saw the pickets standing around, leaning on buildings, smoking butts, eating hotdogs, and generally looking like they do every other day of the week...

3rd World Country or US Labor Union? NY Politicians want mobbed-up school bus drivers' union investigated

2006-06-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Allegations of physical threats, voter fraud, and missing money...

Third World Country or U.S. labor union?...

Used to be a time when mobsters could just run NY unions and not have to worry about people complaining...Seems those days are ending only to become photo ops for politicos running for re-election.

It seems, in fact, that in 2006 (an election year, of course) a bunch of politicians (90 to be exact) are clamoring for an investigation of Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

It seems, according to the New York Times, that the policitos want public hearings into why little has changed at the union since last July when its top three officials were indicted on charges that they were under the influence of the Genovese crime family. They've even scheduled a news conference for Monday (WOW!).

Who are these politicos? Well, of course, never to miss a photo op, Dem. Rep. Charlie Rangel's among them.

Among the issues are physical threats to members, alleged voter fraud, and misappropriations of union funds ...

Critics of the union leadership assert that money appears to be missing from the union's strike fund, for which the union has
collected $2 a week from most members for more than two decades.

According to Local 1181's filings, the fund has $9 million. But many union members say it should have at least $20 million because most union members have contributed at least $80 a year.

NJ hospital locks out 660 RNs in bold move to protect patients

2006-06-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

Lockouts are an under-utilized defensive weapon used to protect patient care from unions pulling 'quickie strikes.'

In NJ, it would seem politically unpalatable...But the officials of Englewood hospital appear to have taken a tough stand in protecting their patients.

NLRB's Boston region kicks SEIU in teeth, favoring Mass Nurses Assn in ruling

2006-06-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

It appears the SEIU hasn't taken over Massachusetts quite yet...

The Massachusetts Nurses Association has won the right to represent nearly 50 nurses who will work in the Boston Medical Center's new $96 million Moakley outpatient cancer facility , according to a decision by the National Labor Relations Board. The decision is a defeat for 1,199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which had presented a competing claim to represent the nurses.

8th Cicuit rules RNs must be fired for failure to pay dues

2006-06-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

From BNA's Labor Relations Week:

As it did earlier this year in a similar case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit May 24 upheld an arbitrator's decision that St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis must discharge a group of nurses who refused to pay union dues as required by the union security clause of their collective bargaining agreement (United Food & Commercial Workers' Union Local No. 655 v. St. John's Mercy Health Sys., 8th Cir., No. 05-4316, 5/24/06).

Typical union: Pay up or we'll get you fired!

Unbelievable! NJ Dems ask state workers to take less $$$!

2006-06-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

In an ultra-liberal state like New Jersey, the unthinkable is happening...

Some Democrats are actually asking their key constituents--public workers' unions--to take less in wages in benefits!

Why?

Because the freakin' state is about bankrupt and the liberal governor (multi-billionaire John Corzine), whose ex-girlfriend is a bigwig union boss, (pictured at right, with the gov.) just shoved huge tax increases down taxpayers' throats without cutting spending on the unions feeding from the public trough!

Predictably, the union is balking at such an idea...

"A contract is a contract, and some of the proposals I saw up there are in violation of our contract," said Robert Regan, treasurer for Communications Workers of America Local 1037, which represents 6,000 state workers. "We've done our share."
Some unions have recently begun running ads** in support of Corzine's proposed budget, which calls for the largest -- and legally required -- contribution to the employee pension system in a decade but also would hike and expand the sales tax.
[** and muscling their members...see related post below]

The [three Democrat] lawmakers compared the state to a failing company and asked labor to volunteer some givebacks to avoid tax hikes.
"We have to shrink the government, instead of continuing to expand it," Moriarty [one of the Democratic lawmakers] said. "We have to go on a diet. We have to call in Jenny Craig and NutriSystem, and we got to put this government on a diet."

Chicago-Laborers strike 300 companies, halting construction

2006-06-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Although this one may get settled soon, it 's beginning to look like it's going to be a long, hot summer...

Members of the Construction and General Laborers' District Council of Chicago Vicinity and its union locals announced plans Wednesday night to strike over 300 of the construction companies affiliated with the Mid-American Regional Bargaining Association. The union claims the companies represent 10 percent of the local construction market.

The strike affects a nine-county area. High-profile projects, including the Dan Ryan and Kingery expressway construction projects and O'Hare International Airport modernization, were among those affected.

St. Louis bricklayers go on strike

2006-06-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

In St. Louis, 12oo bricklayers are 'hitting the bricks*' after their contract with the Mason Contractors Association expired.

* Irresistable pun intended.

Teamsters kill deal (and jobs) at Memphis brewery

2006-06-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

How to commit economic suicide in five easy steps:

A company offers to buy your plant;
You and your union reject the deal because you have to take some cuts
The company backs out of the deal;
Your company announces it will be stopping production in September;
You're unemployed.

Yet another example of today's unions at their finest!

Alcoa inks last minute deal with Steelworkers averting strike

2006-06-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

Alcoa's share were up 1.2% on news that it got a last minute deal with the United Steelworker Workers of America covering 9,000 U.S. employees.

Wobblies scheduled to have election at Berkeley movie house

2006-05-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

22 of the 28 workers at Shattuck Cinemas have signed a petition to have an NLRB election. The election is now set for June 16th.

We opined about this earlier this month, as follows...

“We're only asking for work conditions that are reasonable and humane. Management needs to start listening to our concerns and valuing its workers. We need our voice to be heard. It's time we had a union!” says Lauren Grady, cinema employee age 25.

Stale popcorn, $4.25; flat soda, $2.25; ticket to a boring movie, $9.50;
pimply-faced movie-house employee-turned-rebel-activist, priceless!

The Teamsters & Centralization under the Change to Whine Federation

2006-05-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

A gem of a piece in the Nation about life in the Teamsters union today. Although it blathers on a bit about the politics inside the union, the real story is the information told about the workers at the now-defunct Silver Capital...

Silver Capital's workers were mostly Mexican immigrants, working for substandard wages and zero benefits--no healthcare, no pensions, no sick days. And no matter what the auto companies tell you, manufacturing work is not fun. Silver Capital workers suffered severe injuries (fingers chopped off, limbs gouged) and rarely saw a dime of compensation.

If only they had a union, right? Actually, Silver Capital workers did have a union. They were members of Teamsters Local 743, a 13,000-member local representing workers throughout Chicago. "The union never helped anybody," says Marcela Garcia, who worked at Silver Capital for seventeen years. "You'd go to them with a problem, they'd say, 'It's not my problem. Talk to the company.'"

So when Silver Capital announced in September 2004 it was closing down for good--and offered employees like Garcia little to no severance--workers took matters into their own hands. They struck: a one-day walkout without union approval.

Union leaders responded quickly and decisively. Local 743 vice president José Galvan (who did not respond to calls for comment) went straight to the picket lines--where he told the workers that if they didn't get back to work pronto, he'd call immigration.

This story of workers at the hands of union bosses is not unique...The problem is, it is rarely ever told in today's leftist (and unionized) media.

Minor league umps get deal

2006-05-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, after two months of striking, minor league umpires finally got a contract...

Apparently, not much has changed from their previous deal though.

So far, FBI agents dig up only dirt in latest Hoffa search

2006-05-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Another patch of land yields nothing (so far) in the latest search for Jimmy Hoffa.

Alcoa prepares for Steelworkers strike over health care

2006-05-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yet another strike looming over the cost of health care...

Teachers' unions giving poor retirement advice

2006-05-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here's the gist: More members' being screwed on their unions' advice...

"Some of the United States' largest teachers unions have joined forces with investment companies to steer members into retirement plans that frequently have high expenses and mediocre returns. The unions endorse investment providers, even products, and the companies reciprocate with financial support. They sponsor union conferences, advertise in union publications or make payments to union treasuries."

Caveat emptor, anyone?

Memorial Day & the Patriot Guard

2006-05-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

As America remembers her fallen heroes this Memorial Day Weekend, we'd like to call your attention to a related and ongoing story of America's commitment to her soldiers--it is the story of of the Patriot Guard.

The Patriot Guard was born in late October 2005 and has a current (and fast growing) membership of about 35,000.

To know who the Patriot Guard is, you'd need to know a little history of how it came into being.

In August 2005, a small group of patriotic American Legion motorcyclists in Kansas heard that a radical cult of religious zealot-freaks called the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) had begun protesting the funerals of fallen American soldiers.

Instead of sitting idly by in apathy, these American Legion bikers decided to do something to help honor these fallen soldiers while protecting the families from the WBC miscreants.

Thus, the concept for the Patriot Guard was born.

Its mission is simple:

"Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.

1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.

2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.

We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means."

On Wednesday, we had the honor of riding our hogs with the Guard at the services of Lance Cpl. Adam Conboy in Philadelphia. It was a sad, yet inspiring day with about 100 bikes providing escort to the Caisson through the streets of a Philadelphia suburb.

While membership is free and their are no donations to be made. However, please forward the Patriot Guard (http://www.patriotguard.org/Home/tabid/53/Default.aspx) info to any patriots you know who may wish to ride.

Thanks,

Kulture

Borders Workers Seek to Decertify UFCW

2006-05-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

Three years after getting a contract for 60 workers at the Ann Arbor Borders Books & Music Store, the UFCW is facing decertification as Borders' employees have filed a NLRB petition to kick the union out.

The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 876 represents the 60 hourly workers at the store. The company and the union have been unable to reach an agreement on a new contract after the last one expired March 31.

"It just doesn't seem like it's done anything for us, and it's frustrating because they're collecting dues and I don't know what we're getting from it,'' said the employee.

Another employee group realizing the the truth about today's unions--They're good at taking money, but not much else...

Another failed IAM strike

2006-05-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

Another 38 Machinists on strike (for 7 months), another 38 Machinists permanently replaced.

This article about the 7-month strike at Buffalo Wire sympathizes with the strikers who have been permanently replaced and fails to call into questions the stupidity of the union leaders who got these workers replaced.

Machinists strike PPG (video available)

2006-05-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

The "Fighting Machinists" (aka the "bottomfeeders" to the rest of the union movement) have decided to strike PPG's Lake Charles plant over two tier wage structure & sick leave proposals.

Click on the link above and view the KPLC news video.

Is the AFL-CIO 'union-busting'? Seems so, says the TWU

2006-05-27T05:54:00.000-07:00

A union rift over the flight attendants at Northwest Airlines has the TWU seething mad. So much so that one of the TWU union bosses has accused the AFL-CIO of (ee gads!) union busting.

It seems the TWU is courting the Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA) , the independent union that currently represents the flight attendants. While at the same time, the AFA-CWA is trying to raid the PFAA's turf to gain control of the flight attendant.

Now, the AFL-CIO has stepped in and taken sides with the rival AFA-CWA.

The AFA-CWA demanded and received an AFL-CIO subcommittee decision on Wednesday ordering the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to
cease "any financial or other assistance" for PFAA and the NWA Flight Attendants," and granting AFA-CWA exclusive rights to organize the NWA flight attendant group.

"Northwest Airlines flight attendants should not be denied the right to choose whichever union they want," said Thom McDaniel, President of TWU Local 556. "When management denies employees the right to organize it is called "union busting" and when the AFL-CIO takes this
position, it is just wrong."

Another union boss p***ed off at the AFL-CIO...Wow! With the amount of of unions that have defected from the AFL-CIO in the last year (including the Laborers earlier this week) you'd think Sweeney & the Gang would want to keep appease more of his fellow union bosses.