LaborLine News

NLRB Slams Door On Unionizing Carriers

2005-09-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

From Editor & Publisher:

By Mark Fitzgerald

Published: September 01, 2005 1:11 PM ET

CHICAGO With its 2-1 decision that newspaper carriers at the St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press are independent contractors who do not have the right to unionize, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) essentially ruled that carriers at nearly all of America’s daily newspapers cannot unionize either.

According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), the carriers at 95% of daily newspapers are independent contractors. The News-Press, in this case, was like Every Paper, with a contract at issue that almost any other newspaper would recognize as virtually identical to its own contracts or arrangements with its carriers.

With its decision, the NLRB did much more than simply reverse a September 2001 ruling by an administrative law judge that the nearly 400 carriers at the News-Press were employees under federal law, and could choose to be organized by Teamsters Union Local 460.

It also did more than dismiss the numerous allegations that the newspaper violated labor law by, for instance, firing carriers because of their union activities.

LINK to rest of article

Wonder if this will end up in court and if SEIU will file an amicus brief on it?
RAS

UAL to Outsource Maintenance on 777's to Chinese Company

2005-08-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

From today's Chicago Tribune:

China to service United 777 fleet
Ameco Beijing gets $30 million deal for heavy maintenance

By Mark Skertic
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 31, 2005

United Airlines said Tuesday that it will shift heavy maintenance of its Boeing 777 aircraft to a Chinese company, part of an effort by the airline to lower its labor costs.

Over the next five years, Ameco Beijing will service all of the 777s in United's fleet. The first work is scheduled to begin in October.

He Li, chief executive of Ameco Beijing, told Bloomberg News that the deal is worth more than $30 million. United declined to say how much money it expected to save.

The planes are among the largest United flies, aircraft typically used for transcontinental and international travel. United had been outsourcing maintenance work on its 777s to Timco Aviation Services Inc. in North Carolina.

Outsourcing some work makes good economic sense, Chief Executive Glenn Tilton told workers in a voice message Tuesday.

"We are focusing on the things that we do best, which means growing our business in engines, landing gear, high-tech components, avionics and line maintenance," Tilton said.

"We also recognize that there is work where we at United do not have an advantage. That work is performed for us by vendors in the U.S., Korea and other countries, now including China."

LINK to rest of article (registration req'd, but free)

Wonder what this portends for union workers?
RAS

Labor Day Poll Finds Wokers Discontented, Nervous About Economy

2005-08-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

By Ann McFeatters, Post-Gazette National Bureau

WASHINGTON -- A new poll commissioned by the AFL-CIO for release around Labor Day claims that nearly six out of 20 American workers are worried about the economy and 54 percent believe they won't be able to achieve their own financial goals.

The cost of health care is at the top of the list of economic worries cited by those polled, with only 24 percent saying the country is headed in the right direction in dealing with the issue.

And 63 percent say that it is increasingly difficult to find a good job with financial security even with a college degree, with 62 percent of working women -- vs. slightly less than half of men -- worrying about making financial ends meet.

The poll, conducted by Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart Research Associates, is based on interviews with 805 American workers, including 14 percent who are union members, and was done two weeks ago. It has an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

LINK to rest of article

AFL-CIO's briefing was shown on C-SPAN2 last night. It may appear sometime again soon.

RAS

Int'l Unions Gather in Chicago to Craft Strategy

2005-08-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

FRom the New York Times:

By REUTERS
Published: August 20, 2005

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Union leaders from around the globe gather in Chicago next week to craft a joint strategy to boost unionization in the developing world, and especially to target the U.S.-based retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Skip to next paragraph Union Network International's annual convention will gather 1,500 delegates from some 150 countries in Chicago to share labor strategies and discuss ways unions can collaborate over international borders.

``We want more organizing initiatives on a global scale,'' UNI spokesman Noel Howell said. ``We want global rules and global standards for workers everywhere.''

The convention comes only a month after a schism in the American labor movement where three unions formally split from the umbrella American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations.

The AFL-CIO lost one-third of its membership, or 4.6 million members, with the disaffiliation of the Service Employees International Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

All three disaffiliated unions will participate in the meeting of UNI, which is in its fifth year and represents 15 million workers, most from service industries.

Union leaders said their decision to leave the AFL-CIO was the culmination of years of complaints that too few resources were spent on organizing efforts to arrest a decades-long decline in U.S. union membership.

LINK to article

Northwest Keeps Flying as Mechanics Strike

2005-08-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

From the New York Times:

DETROIT, Aug. 20 - Northwest Airlines kept flying on Saturday despite a strike by its mechanics over the airline's demand for extensive wage and job cuts. Other unions at Northwest did not join the mechanics' walkout, the first major labor disruption at a domestic airline since 1998.
The situation was in sharp contrast to the walkouts that shook the industry in the 1980's and 1990's, triggering airline bankruptcies and contributing to the demise of major industry names like Pan American World Airways and Eastern Airlines.

The lack of support for the mechanics - and Northwest's ability to operate despite the walkout - demonstrated a new reality in the airline industry, which has lost more than $30 billion and cut more than 130,000 jobs in the last five years, buffeted by stiff competition from low-fare rivals and record-high fuel prices.

"This strike may be of historic importance," said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "Here members of a labor union are on strike to save their jobs, and the rest of the labor movement refuses to help it. So much for solidarity."

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents 4,430 workers at the airline, went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after the two sides failed to agree on Northwest's effort to win $176 million in concessions.

Read the rest here (subscription req'd, but free registration)

Maytag announces layoffs of 200 at Newton, IA plant

2005-08-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

From the Des Moines Register:

August 18, 2005
Maytag Corp. announced this afternoon that it is laying off 200 workers effective Sept. 2 from its plant in Newton.

That brings the work force at the factory down to 1,000.

A union spokesman said just a few years ago, the labor force stood at 2,600.

Whirlpool, based in Benton Harbor, Mich., has offered to buy Maytag for about $1.68 billion in cash and Whirlpool stock. The deal would give Maytag shareholders the equivalent of $21 for each share of Maytag stock.

Analysts disagree on what a Whirlpool purchase would mean for Maytag and Iowa. The most optimistic projections have Whirlpool investing in the Maytag brand. Whirlpool's global base and purchasing power can boost Maytag's profitability and preserve employment, supporters argue.

But most experts expect job losses in Newton, particularly in Maytag's corporate headquarters. Some analysts have predicted that Whirlpool would close most Maytag factories and keep only the brand name.

LINK to article

Click here for longer article on 8/19/2005 ..RAS

Ormet files unfair labor practice charges against USW

2005-08-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

From the Times-Leader, Martins Ferry, OH:

By MICHAEL SCHULER, Times Leader Staff Writer
August 12, 2005

ORMET Corp. has again filed unfair labor practice charges against the United Steelworkers of America, the international union representing striking workers from the company's two Hannibal facilities.

According to the aluminum producer, the charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board Thursday after the USWA allegedly refused to provide information requested by the company in May.

The information requested by Ormet pertains to financial analysis and ways the union has implemented work restructuring, contracting, workplace training, temporary employee and health care changes at other companies.

"The union has over 1,200 members who every day are waiting for a collective bargaining agreement," said. Mike Williams, chief executive officer, Ormet. "And yet, they didn't respond in more than two months to our requests or proposals."

In May, Ormet filed unfair labor practice charges, alleging that striking workers from the Hannibal facilities' USWA local unions 5724 and 5760 had threatened and assaulted vendors.

Read the rest here.

RAS

DaimlerChrysler Employees Exposed to Radiation

2005-08-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

From WTOL News (Toledo, OH), August 14, 2005:

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (AP) -- Federal officials are investigating how a damaged nuclear gauge released low-levels of radiation at the DaimlerChrysler Foundry in Indianapolis in late July.

Several workers were exposed to low levels of radiation July 29th when a four-inch cylinder overheated. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman says the overheated cylinder caused part of a lead shield around the radioactive cesium core to melt and shift.

Read the rest here.

RAS

Deal giving edge to unions muddies midfield contracts

2005-08-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

From the Indianapolis Business Journal this week (VOL. 26 NO. 22, AUGUST 15-21, 2005), from a business perspective:

Non-union contractors question whether bidding on project is worth the trouble

By Chris O'Malley
IBJ Reporter

Should union contractors have an advantage in bidding on midfield terminal jobs?
Click here to join IBJ's disussion forum.

A construction agreement that requires union wages, work rules--and union workers--at the midfield terminal project has big and small businesses alike concerned they'll be shut out of all but the tiniest contracts on the $300 million building.

Unless Janet South's painting firm Deco Group agrees to accept those terms, she'd only qualify for projects of $75,000 or less--the threshold at which the agreement kicks in.

That limitation, contained in the project labor agreement attached to the midfield terminal, contrasts with the rosy contracting opportunities presented at seminars for women- and minority-owned business.

South said she's recently been invited to attend a number of such meetings, encouraging her to bid on the midfield terminal and, later, on the new stadium where the Indianapolis Colts will play.

"Most of the minority owners are non-union ... It just seems to take away the opportunity for free enterprise in general," South said.

The PLA already has generated sparks with the Associated Builders & Contractors of Indiana. Earlier this month, the group representing non-union contractors asked the Indianapolis Airport Authority to cancel the agreement the authority signed with labor unions last May.

The ABC cites a 2001 executive order signed by President Bush that bans union-only PLAs on projects that receive federal funds.

Read the rest here.

RAS

Homeland Security Dept. Loses Labor Rules Fight

2005-08-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

From the New York Times:

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: August 14, 2005

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 - A federal court has struck down personnel rules adopted by the Department of Homeland Security, saying they violate the rights and protections given to employees by Congress.

In a ruling on Friday night, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of Federal District Court said the rules did not "ensure collective bargaining" as required by the law that created the department. The rules were to take effect on Monday.

Employee rights were a huge political issue in debates over creation of the department, which consolidated 22 federal agencies with nearly 180,000 employees in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks in the United States.

Judge Collyer, who was appointed by President Bush, said the 2002 law gave federal officials "extraordinary authority" to develop a personnel system without regard to many of the constraints normally imposed by Civil Service laws. But, she said, the Bush administration exceeded even the "broad authority" granted by Congress.

LINK to read the rest of the article.

RAS

Illinois Enacts Law to Protect Day Laborers

2005-08-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

From the TPM Cafe website:

By Nathan Newman

With an eye to the pervasive abuses against this largely minority and immigrant population, Illinois has enacted HB 3471, a law supporters hope will help force employers to treat these vulnerable workers more decently:

The law will allow the state to punish more severely those temporary-staffing agencies that shortchange workers' paychecks; illegally charge workers for business expenses, such as safety equipment and transportation; and provide unsafe working conditions.

There are about 300,000 day and temporary laborers in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Labor, which will enforce the new law.

Passage of the law is only the first step. To be effective, workers will need to organize to give the law life.

Labor advocacy groups blast Wal-Mart

2005-08-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

From the Boston Globe, August 11, 2005:

Call for boycott of school supplies
By Anand Vaishnav, Globe Staff | August 11, 2005

Attention, shoppers: A coalition of labor unions, healthcare advocates, and workplace safety watchdogs wants you to boycott Wal-Mart as you stock up on school supplies.

Standing in front of the Boston School Department yesterday, about two dozen labor activists, teachers, and politicians blasted the retail giant as blocking workers from unionizing, breaking child labor laws, and underpaying employees. The afternoon gathering was part of a coordinated effort in 34 cities nationwide to urge parents to shop elsewhere as they load up on backpacks and other supplies this month.

''Shame on Wal-Mart," said Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union. ''They want us to bring our kids to shop there, and they continue to exploit our children.

To read the rest, click here.

RAS

Sue Shurman, Pres of National Labor College Speech

2005-07-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Sue Shurman gave a rousing speech at the recent ARL-CIO convention in Chicago this week. Here's the link to a video about the importance of labor education in higher education. RAS

LaborLine News

2005-07-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

LaborLine News

Minutes from the CIRL meeting in Toronto

Planned job cuts soar 42% in May

2005-07-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

From CNN:
June 2, 2005: 1:33 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Planned job cuts soared in May after hitting a five-year low in April, but it's too early to worry about weakness in the economy, an employment firm said Thursday.

Employers announced 82,283 job cuts in May, compared to 57,861 in April, according to a monthly report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

May job cuts rose 12 percent from the year-ago period. So far this year, 427,278 job cuts have been announced, 4.6 percent more than the five-month total of 408,392 last year, the report said.

Read the rest here.
ras

CHANCELLOR ROBERT J. BIRGENEAU VISITS IIR (Berkeley)

2005-07-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Berkeley’s newly appointed Chancellor, Robert J. Birgeneau, spoke at IIR on March 30, 2005, at a welcoming reception in his honor. Art Pulaski, Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO spoke as well. The event was attended by many of IIR’s affiliated faculty members, staff and students, together with many community friends and leaders from the labor movement.

In introducing the Chancellor and Mr. Pulaski, IIR Director Michael Reich commented on the resurgent interest in labor and employment among newly
recruited faculty members. “We have seen a growing interest in labor issues among our new colleagues, and the trend spans many disciplines. New recruitments in public policy, sociology and environmental resources have brought new vitality to Berkeley’s already-strong focus on industrial relations issues.”

Chancellor Birgeneau spoke about his overall career, during which he worked closely with labor groups in many settings. While at MIT, he was instrumental in advancing faculty equity and recruiting women to MIT. At the University of Toronto, he inherited a fragmented labor relations environment that was marked by tense relations. “If you looked at the bigger picture, everybody, including the faculty, was upset about compensation issues. The big difference was that the faculty was treated with more respect than the labor unions that were represented on campus. When I started according the labor unions the same respect as everyone else expected, the result was four years of labor ‘peace’ at the University of Toronto.”

Art Pulaski, Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, expressed his strong interest in working closely with Chancellor Birgeneau. “Throughout California’s history, the Labor Movement has always supported the University—indeed, the movement was instrumental in its formation and development. The California Labor Federation is looking forward to working with Chancellor Birgeneau and his administration to advance Berkeley, which is a great public institution and resource for the people of California.” Pulaski also highlighted the influential role of IIR and CLRE on public policy, citing recent studies on such topics as paid family leave, minimum wage impacts and the hidden public costs of low-wage employment.

Chancellor Birgeneau also addressed the points in his March 27, 2005 opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times. In that opinion piece, the Chancellor reaffirmed the University’s historic role as one of the most important gateways to education and career success for California’s multicultural population. He cited the fact that many business leaders agree that it is crucial for the University to train a student body that reflects every ethnic and cultural group within the state, because Berkeley graduate will be leaders in the future. “The system is broken,” the Chancellor said, “and it is up to us to fix it.”

The Chancellor’s enthusiasm was infectious, and the event was reminiscent of the reception that was held in honor of Dolores Huerta, when she was appointed as a Regent. “It was opportune for the Chancellor to visit IIR just now,” Michael Reich said. “The University of California at Berkeley is strongly positioned at the ‘crossroads’ where labor and employment issues intersect, with clear benefits not only for policy makers and academics, but also for the working people of California. IIR is very pleased to welcome the Chancellor to Berkeley, and we’re expecting great things in the coming years.”

Link

Let's hope the challenges at Berkeley will assist them and the rest of us to look for solutions in preserving our collections of working cultures. More important, support for Berkeley may aspire some hope for those of us in the Community of Industrial Relations Libraries as the group may be renamed in the future, but we will not know for some time as the process sifts through.
ras

Transportation Communications Union Affiliates With Machinists Union

2005-07-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

From RedNova.com:

WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today announced an historic agreement that will bring nearly 46,000 members of the Maryland-based Transportation Communications International Union (TCU) into the Machinists Union. Today's agreement concludes months of discussions between leaders of the two AFL-CIO unions and will boost the IAM's membership to nearly 700,000 active and retired members.

"This affiliation makes sense on so many levels," said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. "We're joined by our common heritage as rail unions founded more than a century ago and by our growth over the years to include workers throughout the transportation industry. This 'union of unions' will also give us greater strength to face the economic challenges that confront our members and workers everywhere."

TCU represents workers at virtually every major rail company in North America, including Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, Union Pacific, Canadian National and most commuter rail lines. The IAM represents more than 11,000 rail workers among its 140,000 airline and railroad members across North America.

TCU was founded in 1899 as the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks and grew over the years to include a diverse roster that includes clerks, carmen and supervisors. Among the unions that joined the TCU since its founding were the Order of Railway Telegraphers, the American Railway Supervisors Association, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and the legendary Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Read the rest here.
ras

Anheuser-Busch Loses Hidden-Camera Case

2005-07-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

From the Associated Press via WTOP News:

Updated: Tuesday, Jul. 5, 2005 - 4:30 PM

By SAM HANANEL
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Beer maker Anheuser-Busch Cos. may have to reinstate several employees fired for using illegal drugs at work because the company used hidden cameras without informing the employees' union, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The brewer fired five workers in 1998 after hidden cameras showed them smoking marijuana in an area where employees sometimes take breaks at one of its St. Louis brewing facilities.

Four additional workers were suspended for leaving their work areas. Seven others, observed sleeping or urinating on the building's roof, had to sign "last-chance" agreements saying they could be fired for any further violation of company rules.

A 2-1 panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a finding that the brewer committed an unfair labor practice when it installed the cameras in 1998 before bargaining with the union, Brewers and Maltsters, Local Union No. 6, as required under federal labor laws.

The decision by Judge Judith W. Rogers sends the case back to the National Labor Relations Board in Washington to determine what, if any, remedies the disciplined employees are entitled to, including the possibility of reinstatement for those fired.

Read the rest here.

Unions look ahead - and inward, too

2005-07-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

From today's Christian Science Monitor:

By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

CHICAGO – In the world of unions, Angenita Tanner is something of a rare breed: a new member.
She and her fellow home-based child-care workers in Illinois recently won the right to collective bargaining, and she's hopeful that upcoming negotiations with the state will improve wages that can be as low as $9.48 per child per day.

"Everyone's excited about this movement, and they're not feeling alone anymore," says Ms. Tanner, as the children nap in the next room on a sweltering Chicago day. She's fought for union recognition for nearly a decade.

The addition of 50,000 child-care workers to the roster of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was a welcome boost in a movement that lately seems to be fighting for its survival. Just 12 percent of US workers hold a union card these days; among private-sector workers, the number is closer to 8 percent - little more than a third of what it was 25 years ago.

Read the rest here. (reg'st may be req'd)

Labor Reacts to Amtrak Reform Plan

2005-07-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

From Rednova.com:
Posted on July 1, 2005

Several labor reforms are recommended under Amtrak's new FY 2006- 2010 strategic plan, which proposes various operational, structural, and financial changes (Railway Age, May, p. 16). And not everyone is pleased. UTU International has criticized the plan, claiming it will result in "sacking assistant conductors, scrapping coverage of the Federal Employers' Liability Act, canceling Railroad Retirement for new employees, opening some routes to private operators using non-union crews, and negotiating wages, work rules, and working conditions free from provisions of the Railway Labor Act."

Amtrak told Railway Age that it "wants negotiations to be meaningful," and it's hopeful that "all parties [will] engage in a serious discussion of the merits of the various proposals being publicly debated." Following are railroad company's responses to UTU's specific points:

* Amtrak said it has "attempted for the last five years to negotiate a change in crew consist-which is preserved in the UTU/ Amtrak negotiated agreement." Amtrak is seeking a rule change, authorizing it to assign conductors to trains, as needed, not by the number of cars on a train. "We have made it clear to the UTU that we would reduce the number of conductors through attrition, not furlough, but we need a work rule change to do it," Amtrak explained.

* The reform initiatives "recommend that only new employees be covered by Social security instead of Railroad Retirement," according to Amtrak, maintaining that it is "canceling nothing." The railroad company is "asking Congress to enact legislation to accomplish this."

LINK to rest of the article.
ras

House Proposes Amendment to Overturn NLRB Decision

2005-06-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

On June 24 (last Friday) Senator JD Hayworth of Arizona (R) introduced an amendment to overturn a NLRB decision from last year to extend its jurisdiction over tribes who own casinoes but also employ non-tribal workers. Mr. Hayworth asserted

"Where tribal law has governed relations between tribes and their employees, the NLRB seeks to replace that law with its authority in this area. This decision is a frontal assault on tribal sovereign rights.

The National Labor Relations Act expressly exempts States, cities, and local governments from its coverage; and the NLRB has ruled that territorial governments, such as Puerto Rico and Guam, are also exempt from NLRB jurisdiction. But the NLRB incorrectly decided that it should exercise its jurisdiction over tribal governments on their own lands. If this unfair decision stands, the only governments that will be subject to NLRB jurisdiction will be tribal governments. "

(from the Congressional Record)

Opponents, such as Rep. Shelley Berkley from Nevada, countered with this reason:

"Last year the National Labor Relations Board correctly ruled that it had jurisdiction over on-reservation commercial tribal enterprises such as casinos.

Make no mistake about it, Indian gaming is a big business. And the people working in Indian gaming on the reservations have the right and are entitled to the protections of the NLRB. I encourage the Indian tribes and the tribal workers and the labor unions to work together to protect workers like they have done in Las Vegas. I urge my colleagues to vote against this ridiculous amendment."

(also from the Congressional Record)

After a spirited debate, the amendment failed in both voice and recorded votes. As this was the second year in a row that someone brought up an amendment to over the NLRB's decision, one may see another one in the near future.
ras

AFSCME Council 31 Staff Rep changes:

2005-06-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

AFSCME Local 3700, Union Notes and News, June 2005

AFSCME Council 31 Staff Representative Jerry Wright has retired. Victor Osuna is the new staff representative. Mr. Osuna comes to the CU office from the Springfield area and has been with AFSCME for 2 1/2 years. Before joining AFSCME, he was associated with the Machinists Union.
kd

HR's New Mandate: Be a Strategic Player

2005-06-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from a new HBS Press book, The HR Value Proposition

by Dave Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank

A while back, the vice president of human resources (HR) of a big consumer product company decided to visit with a few key customers and improve his line of sight with his company's marketplace. To avoid wasting his customers' time, he began by reading everything he could—annual reports, 10K reports, product brochures, analysts' reports. His counterpart in sales was leery of the whole idea, but once the HR VP showed how knowledgeable and thoughtful he was, his sales colleague agreed to set up a meeting with the VP of purchasing at one of their main customers. The moment they walked into the office, however, the customer snapped, "I'm busy today. Why should I spend time with you?"

This short story captures the past, present, and future of the field of HR. Twenty years ago, it would have been unthinkable for almost anyone in HR to even consider spending time with external customers. HR professionals built staffing, compensation, training, and other programs and policies that focused on employees and kept companies legally compliant. In the last decade, HR professionals have worked to become business partners and to align their work with business strategies. HR professionals have been coached to spend time with general managers and with their counterparts in sales, marketing, and manufacturing to ensure that HR work helps deliver business results. But this story also suggests what is next for HR: beginning to connect with those outside the firm as well as those inside.

To do so, HR professionals must grasp and master the concept of value. At a basic level, values reflect the standards within a firm. While HR professionals must declare, live, and encourage moral principles, we believe that an HR value proposition goes beyond values. Value also means that someone receives something of worth from a transaction.

To read the rest, click here to get to HBS Workingknowledgeweb page.

Study :Married men earn more if wives do the chores

2005-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Reuters) - Married men earn more than bachelors so long as their wives stay at home doing the housework, according to a report on Wednesday from Britain's Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER).

Academics Elena Bardasi and Mark Taylor found that a married man whose wife does not go out to work but is primarily responsible for the cooking and cleaning earns about 3 percent more than comparably employed single men.

But that wage premium disappears if wives go out to work themselves or don't do most of the housework.

"It has been fairly well documented that married men earn more than single men," Taylor, a labour economist, told Reuters.

"However, our research established the wage premium is related to the wife doing the chores," said the academic who teaches at the University of Essex.

Source: the AP via Yahoo! June 21, 2005. To read the rest, click here.

Elgin-based Trash Haulers Won't Be Striking

2005-06-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

From today's Chicago Tribune:

Waste Management wanted back at table

By Richard Wronski
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 21, 2005

About 75 members of an Elgin-based Teamsters union local will report to work Tuesday after failing to act on a threatened strike.

Local 330 President Dominic Romanazzi said after a union meeting Monday night that officials would again ask the company to return to the bargaining table.

To read the rest, you must have a subscription to the Chicago Tribune, but registration is free.

Sweeney Preaches Solidarity Amid Rifts

2005-06-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer

June 20, 2005, 4:38 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- AFL-CIO President John Sweeney pledged Monday to do everything he can to hold the labor federation together amid a rift with some of the biggest unions in the country.

"Only our enemies are cheering" for divisions in the labor movement, Sweeney said as union leaders representing over 60 percent of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members lined up in favor of his re-election.

"The millions of workers who need us don't need to see the house of labor divided," Sweeney said.

At a news conference, Sweeney said the federation will continue a conversation with the five unions opposing him.

Those unions, including the AFL-CIO's largest, the Service Employees International Union, blame Sweeney's 10-year tenure for declining union membership and fewer worker protections.

Union membership has been on a downward slide for 50 years, now representing 12.5 percent of all U.S. workers. The private sector union membership level is 8 percent. A half-century ago, one-third of workers in the private sector belonged to unions.

Source: Newsday (from the AP), June 21, 2005. Click here to read the rest.

Pretty Good Labor Site: Labor Research Association

2005-06-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Labor Research Association (LRA) is a New York City-based non-profit research and advocacy organization that provides research and educational services for trade unions.

LRA provides the latest breaking news from major newspapers. They also provide statistics pulled from sources such as the US Census.

Click here to see their site for news and data.

Blaze Cripples Oldest Labor Temple's Interior

2005-06-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

From the Springfield State-Register:

The Jacksonville Labor Temple which two years ago appeared to have been saved from the wrecking ball, was gutted by fire Tuesday afternoon, and chances for another rebirth appear slim.

The three-story brick building, the oldest standing labor temple in Illinois and believed to be the oldest such structure in the country, was being renovated by the Illinois AFL-CIO and the Jacksonville Central Illinois Labor Trust Committee. The group, which bought the building two years ago, had hoped to make the building usable for meetings and a labor museum. However, neighbors and city officials said work had lagged on the building in the past year.

The Jacksonville Fire Department found flames and smoke coming from the building, 228 S. Mauvaisterre St., when firefighters arrived just before 4 p.m., Fire Department Captain Doug Sills said.

"We sent a crew inside, but the interior of the building was in such a bad and unstable condition, we pulled them out," Sills said.

To read the rest, those who have access to LexisNexis can pull it up by typing in the quick search box "Jacksonville Labor" and limit to the past week. Otherwise, you can sign up for an account at http://www.sj-r.com.

Mother Jones

2005-06-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Did you know Mother Jones has its own blog? Bradford Plummer has two posts today: one about a constitutional amendment concerning flag burning, and one about congressional legislation and how it affects corporate pension funds.

You can also find a recent issue of Mother Jones that is available online.

The first Mother Jones Festivalin Mt Olive, IL is coming up June 24, 25, and 26th, 2005. It is being held there as she is buried in the Union Miners cemetery. Read a brief history about Mother Jones, writtten by the Illinois Labor History Society.

Commentary by Daniel Howes on the GM-UAW Negotiations

2005-06-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

From the Detroit News:

Friday, June 17, 2005

Angry rhetoric alone won't solve GM-UAW problems

Is General Motors Corp. spoiling for a fight with the United Auto Workers -- and, if so, why?

GM's spending on health-care for current and retired UAW members, some $5.6 billion per year and counting, is unsustainable. And, yes, wise union members should gird for the probability that their benefits likely will be diluted no later than two years from now in national contract talks.

But GM's alleged obsession with a June 30 deadline for the union to deliver on health-care concessions or risk unilateral action strikes me as either a) a hollow threat or b) executive posterior covering because the board of directors is impatient or c) a carefully calculated gambit that GM thinks it can win.

Wall Street's enthusiasm that GM might deliver a mid-contract breakthrough with the union appeared to temper Thursday, as investors bid GM shares down 72 cents to $35.62 after UAW President Ron Gettelfinger sounded a defiant tone in interviews and public statements.

What are they thinking at the RenCen? The last time GM waged a battle of principle with the UAW -- 54 long, hot days in Flint in 1998 -- the company chewed through some $2 billion in cash and lost a big chunk of U.S. market share and only recovered about half of it.

This time, principle favors the UAW more than GM, whose pressuring of the UAW looks more like a company trying to undo mistakes mostly of its own making than a company, in Chairman Rick Wagoner's words, committed to working "in cooperation with the UAW."

Read the rest here.

Update: Wal-Mart Nixes Decision for Open Availability Shift Work

2005-06-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

HR BIR.com (HR section of Business & Legal Reports) reports that The Charleston Gazette ran another story in which Wal-Mart has reversed it policy for employees for to be available to work any shift.

06/16/2005
Wal-Mart Nixes 'Open Availability' Policy

Wal-Mart headquarters overruled a policy decision by one of its store's that would have terminated any worker who failed to agree to be available to work any shift between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week, according to the Charleston Gazette (West Virginia).

The Nitro, West Virginia, store announced its "open availability" policy to employees earlier this week, drawing criticism from employees and worker advocates.

A corporate spokesperson says the company reversed the store's decision because Wal-Mart has no policy that calls for the termination of employees who are unable to work certain shifts.

Read the rest by clicking here.

Illinois Unemployment Still Steady at 5.8%

2005-06-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

The national average is 5.1%. Source: LAUS (unit of Illinois Department of Employment) You can also find yearly data comparing the state of Illinois and the US unemployment averages /numbers here. Illinois has not been below the national average since 1997 in unemployment figures. The gap average between the national and the State has been unchanged since 2000.

Firestone Plan in Des Moines: No Wage Increases for Union

2005-06-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

Firestone plan includes no wage increase for union workers
By
WILLIAM RYBERG

REGISTER BUSINESS WRITER
June 14, 2005

Union workers at the Firestone tire plant near Des Moines would not get a general wage increase under a proposed new contract, but the tentative agreement does include job protection guarantees, according to a summary given to union members.

The United Steelworkers of America and Bridgestone/Firestone reached tentative agreement last week on new contracts, covering 6,000 workers in seven states.

Des Moines Steelworkers Local 310 represents about 1,440 production workers at the agricultural tire factory near Des Moines. The proposed contract would replace one that expired in April 2003.

Union members have remained on the job under an extension of the old agreement while negotiations continued off and on during the past two years.The new contract would expire on July 23, 2006.

Read the rest at the Des Moines Register.

Change to Win Coalition: New Group

2005-06-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

SEIU, Teamsters, Other Unions Form Group, May Leave AFL-CIO

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- A group of five unions pushing for changes within the AFL-CIO, North America's biggest federation of labor unions, are forming a separate coalition aimed at boosting membership and reviving the labor movement's clout.

The group, dubbed Change to Win, represents about 40 percent of the 13-million AFL-CIO members and is made up of the Service Employees International Union, the AFL-CIO's largest group; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the second biggest; Unite Here; United Food and Commercial Workers International Union; and Laborers' International Union.

Read the rest on Bloomberg News.

David Bacon writes that Labor Needs a Radical Vision at the Monthly Review blog.

Wal-Mart Institutes New Work Policy

2005-06-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Wal-Mart's new rule requires workers to work any shift or be fired

By Joe Morris
Business Editor
June 15, 2005

Wal-Mart officials in Cross Lanes told employees on Tuesday they have to start working practically any shift, any day they’re asked, even if they’ve built up years of seniority and can’t arrange child care.Store management said the policy change is needed to keep enough staff at the busiest hours, but some employees said it appears to be an attempt to force out longer-term, higher-paid workers.“We have many people with set schedules who aren’t here when we need them for our customers,” said John Knuckles, a manager at the store, which is located in the Nitro Marketplace shopping center and employs more than 400.

Read the rest at The Charleston Gazette.

Ideas needed!

2005-03-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

ILIR Library

We need your input as we're working on the features to be available via our new Web page. Please provide the following information:

1. Your favorite journals
2. Your favorite databases
3. Information that you want to see from the new Web page.

Please send your comments to: crdorsey@uiuc.edu

New Web Page for ILIR Library

2005-03-10T01:42:00.000-08:00

The ILIR Library is creating a new web site. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact Katie Dorsey at crdorsey@uiuc.edu. The new site will be available in mid-April.