EmployerReport.com Mid-Week Update: Yeah...it's political...

Before we opine on some current news, here are a few of the many stories we're posting for you on EmployerReport.com:

LOCAL BARRED FROM CONVENTION, AS MACHINISTS PONDER DUES INCREASE...

MICKEY PICKETS DISNEYLAND IN EFFORT TO INFLUENCE TALKS...

Teamsters leaflet Kenny Chesney concert...

HOLLYWOOD PARALYZED...

Nursing battles rage on as CNA tries to unseat SEIU in Vegas...

AFTER A YEAR OF FAILURES, UAW STILL TARGETING ATLANTIC CITY...

GREEKTOWN CASINO LAYS OFF UAW DEALERS...

With $46 billion pension deficit, Boeing puts new 401(k) plan into effect...

These and many more stories that cannot posted here can be found on EmployerReport.com.

Now, on to our opine...

**WARNING: For those readers who sometimes feel we spend too much time pointing out the political ties between labor unions and the current Democrat party, we encourage you NOT to read the rest of this update, BECAUSE...

...politics seem to be taking center stage this week, as the AFL-CIO is set to issue its endorsement of Barack Obama tomorrow, solidifying the Illinois Senator's bona-fides as the union bosses' candidate of choice.

In related news, the venerable labor federation sent out its endorsement ballots on Tuesday with only one name on the ballot, prompting one of our many learned readers to write "Only a labor organization would do it this way. And, the Communist Party..." To wit, we respond: With today's unions, what's the difference?

Speaking of the Communist Party and the AFL-CIO (believe it or not, there is still a Communist Party), CP USA Political Action Committee Chairwoman Joelle Fishman has written a more-than glowing article about Obama and this year's elections, stating that "Big political shifts are under way" and ending her article with a quote from AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker proclaiming "we are going collect our debt this November." [Editor's note: For those who may think that we've been crying wolf for these many months, we can only assure you that this year all of the planning that has been going on since we were in the union movement (many, many years ago) is coming to fruition--particularly so since 1995 when John Sweeney took Lane Kirkland's job at the AFL-CIO.]

Ms Baker's comments, of course, do not bode well for America's employers, or their workers, because if Mr. Obama's 12-point poll lead holds up and he succeeds in taking 14 formerly "Bush states" as he plans, you can be assured that the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act will be enacted by this time next year.

Speaking of EFCA, dear HR practitioners and Employers, did you know that if a union is out there secretly signing cards today, the cards signed today can be used tomorrow (next year) to unionize your employees (without a vote) under EFCA, since union cards generally do not go "stale" for a year and, in some cases, even longer? [Editor's note: In an effort to fully disclose here, we didn't dream this one up, it actually came from one of those devious labor attorneys with whom we work...] CLICK HERE for some things union organizers typically hide from workers.

Now, if that doesn't scare the proverbial snot out of you, take heed: We have said for years: If you're not talking/listening to your employees, you can be sure a union is. THINK ABOUT IT LIKE SEX: You forgot to have "the talk" with your kid...What does that make you, dear Grandparent?

As was stated above, politics do seem to be taking center stage this week. However, for these stories as well as other union news coverage, be sure to go to EmployerReport.com.

Please have a productive and prosperous end of the week!

EmployerReport.com End-Of-Week Wrap-Up

Dear Readers:

First and foremost: We offer a Welcome to our new subscribers.

We appreciate those of you helping to spread the word about EmployerReport.com, one of the web's only daily (M-F) news website's giving you news and views about today's labor unions from a pro-employer, pro-union-free worker viewpoint.

Now for our End-of-Week (EOW) Wrap-Up:

Sometimes the stories in the news are just too much! Sometimes they're hilarious, sometimes they're...well...incredible!

For us, our End-of-Week (EOW) Wrap-Up has left us feeling a little more incredulous than usual--delivering for us some real eye openers that may (or maybe not) have changed some of our opinions about today's unions...

For example:

WHEN IT COMES TO REPRESENTATION, SEIU SUCKS: In a show of union (un)solidarity, for those of you familiar with the SEIU, AFSCME's Arizona lobbyist Roman Ulman (whose union is facing a raid in the Grand Canyon State by the purple people eaters) declares that the SEIU "does a very good job of organizing, getting workers to sign up - and sign over a portion of their paychecks, but when it comes to representation, it sucks." [Okay, that, to us, is really NOT that surprising, but the fact that a union boss so brazenly put that in the press is.]

UNMADE MAIDS: THE UNION'S REJECTED US. In Las Vegas, it seems that our fundamental beliefs that unions will take anyone willing to pay them dues has been shaken to their core as UNITE-HERE's Culinary Union is refusing to unionize the maids at the Imperial Palace, despite the maids having delivered signature petitions to the union. States one maid who is upset with the union: “It’s sad when you have people who want their help, willing to pay union dues, and the union doesn’t want to hear anything.”

LIFES' TOO SHORT TO WASTE BEER: In yet another "what's up with that" union story, the Teamsters' union, which is locked in a bitter dispute with a West Virginia beer distributor, has lodged a complaint with the WV Department of Environmental Protection about the company's alleged dumping of old beer into the sewer system. Talk about an atrocity on both parties' counts! It's bad enough the company was dumping the old beer, but for the Teamsters to snitch?!? C'mon guys! Picket lines are hot in the summer time!...Go get your buckets! According to Kathy Cosco, a DEP spokeswoman, "We did receive a complaint from the Teamsters yesterday. An inspector went to the company today and found out they had, over a period of time, been disposing of their product in a storm drain. We of course informed them they cannot do that," Cosco said. "We suggested they talk with the city of Sissonville to work out something with their [liquid] collection system." [Editor's note: We have a few suggestions on how to get the parties back to the table and, if that doesn't work, we also have some suggestions for the old beer.]

TEAMSTERS ARE NAMING NAMES: Just when employees thought it was safe to affiliate with the Teamsters, one the union's representatives in Florida has sent the names of 12 of its employee-organizers to a county administrator, which has made its way to the press and all over the internet. To those involved in the union organizing (Ron Aliff, Kathy Connell, Mike Rollins, Donald Finn, Penny Oliver, Richard Longboat, John Burnett, Debbie Johnston, Henry Browning, Dan Oliver, Rachelle Jones and Jerome Golden), all we can tell you is: so much for confidentiality with your union.

ON TO MORE SERIOUS NEWS:

• This just in from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: In May, employers took 1,626 mass layoff actions, resulting in 171,387 filings for unemployment insurance, seasonally adjusted. Both events and initial claims were the highest for the month of May since 2003. To view the PDF report, click here.
• On Thursday, the US Supreme Court struck down a coercive California law that the National Right to Work Foundation's Stefan Gleason called "nothing more than an underhanded attempt by union officials to use public funds to corral California workers into their forced dues-paying ranks."
• UAW (United Auto Workers aka United Against Workers) President Ron Gettlefinger is headed to Atlantic City, NJ this weekend to attend a rally for UAW-represented casino dealers who, taking a gamble with the failing auto workers' union, voted to unionize more than a year ago but have not been able to secure the UAW's promised brass ring--a labor contract. [Editor's note: If the UAW does for dealers and their casinos what it's done for the Big Three auto makers and their workers, the dealers should fold now.]
• As part of its ongoing war against pork producer Smithfield, the United Food & Commercial Workers has launched an attack-ad campaign that the company describes as Misleading Consumers, Hurting Employees and Blocking a Secret-Ballot Vote at [one] Smithfield Plant.
• In another UFCW-related story, a former UFCW member offers his compelling account of how paying mandatory UFCW dues took his grocery salary below the minimum wage.
• In Chicago, the Teamsters have placed Local 714 into trusteeship AGAIN.

For you HR Professionals, HRCapitalist blogger Kris Dunn has a great piece on the effects that the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act may have on your career entitled A Career Killer for HR Pros. While we disagree that it is a career killer, in that there will be greater emphasis in avoiding unionization than ever before, we do believe that many of today's HR professionals are ill-equipped with dealing with the ramifications of EFCA.

In other EFCA news:

Those good folks at the Center for Union Facts are airing ads in Colorado, a key battleground state in the fight against big union bosses quest to eliminate secret-ballot elections. TV advertising is expensive and the battle is big but, if you're pro-private ballot, you can help by donating to the Center for Union Facts by going here.

In recognizing those who help the fight for the cause of freedom, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) presented U.S. Congressman John Kline (R- Minn.) with the Free Enterprise Legislator of the Year award. According to the ABC, in the 110th Congress, Kline has led the fight against the "Employee Free Choice Act" (H.R. 800), legislation that would rob workers of their right to a private ballot election when deciding if they want union representation.

For you political junkies on the...

Not-So-Right: In Chicago, in a move that will surely raise suspicion among an already suspicious conservative base, GOP nominee John McCain had a meeting with Latino leaders, pledging to push through immigration reform if elected. That said: In Senator McCain's home state of Arizona, the town of Cave Creek is trying to ban day laborers once again after a US District judge threw out an earlier ordinance.

Far-Left: As oil prices soar and the public clamors for relief, some Democrats in Congress are calling for the nationalization of the oil industry. You can watch the Fox Business Report video by going to EmployerReport.com.

Last but not least...

In what we're referring to as the world's biggest (and most expensive) union organizing campaign in history, Big Labor's presidential nominee Barak Obama met with his union backers on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. The AFL-CIO will be giving Obama their blessing within weeks, and yesterday AFSCME (who backed Hillary Clinton), gave Obama its endorsement, as well as having spent $543,000 ads with MoveOn.org targeting GOP nominee John McCain.

Well, folks, that's a bit of the news that has caught our attention this week. For more news, be sure to go to EmployerReport.com.

On behalf of EmployerReport.com, please have a GREAT week's end!

Best wishes,

EmployerReport.com
"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." -- Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Used Like Pawns: Teamster Bosses Order Strike Ending in Members Going to the Unemployment Line

Last week was a bad week for the 1,250 Teamsters employed by Performance Transportation Service. First, their bankrupt employer had asked them to take a wage cut in order to stay in business, but their union bosses ordered them to strike instead.

So, like obedient little pawns, they followed their union bosses' orders and hit the picket lines on Monday, June 9th.

By Friday, the company was out of business, its doors closed.

Now, all 1,250 Teamsters (and the company's support staff) are unemployed.

The question remains: Why did the Teamsters force this already bankrupt company to close and purposely send its members to the unemployment lines?

Actually, there may be more than one answer. The AP story on Saturday shed some light by explaining:

In a letter to PTS employees, company president and CEO Jeff Cornish said the bankruptcy court on June 4 authorized a 15 percent wage cut for Teamsters-represented employees for two months.

The company anticipated negotiating a new, long-term contract during that time, but the Teamsters instead went on strike Monday. Both sides met Thursday to discuss PTS' proposal, which Cornish said included salary cuts for both hourly and salaried
workers.

"Unfortunately, for reasons we do not fully understand, the Teamsters concluded that it was not in their interest to accept our offer," Cornish wrote.

"Management and many of our Teamster members were willing to make the requested sacrifices to save the company, but the leadership of the union had a different agenda," Cornish added.

What agenda? Well, the Teamsters for a Democratic Union had this on their website:

As the Teamster strike against PTS nears the end, Teamsters report seeing nonunion rigs pulling cars and trucks out of a few production plants and ports....

The strike to drive PTS out of business [emphasis added] makes sense only if the work goes to legitimate union carriers, and our union enforces Article 5 of the carhaul national contract to ensure that PTS Teamster follow their work to the new carriers....

Wait a minute! It would appear that the strike against PTS was a deliberate move on the part of Teamster bosses to close this company.

Interestingly, according to the Detroit News, PTS was the nation's #2 car hauler, hauling 2.7 vehicles a year, or 10,400 a day had been battered by rising diesel prices and slower business coming from its customers, GM, Ford and Toyota. In 2006 and again in 2007, the Company had filed bankrupcty. Indeed, the 15% wage cut approved by the bankruptcy judge was temporary--lasting only until July 31st while the union and the company could negotiate a new agreement.

It appears to us, that the Teamster bosses did not want a new agreement, and preferred that the Company close its doors in the hopes that the work would go to the remaining unionized carriers.

Unfortunately for the Teamster members who have been forcibly left unemployed by their union bosses, diesel prices show no signs of lowering anytime soon, and the automakers are still slowing more. This indicates to us, that the union bosses' strategy of putting PTS out of business may ultimately backfire on the drivers who were used as pawns by an irresponsible leadership.

THE CURIOUS CASE AS TO WHY LABOR'S KARL ROVE GOT DUMPED: BIG Shake-Up at Change to Win as Tarpinian Steps Down

CHANGE TO WIN'S PROM KING GETS DUMPED.
Perhaps size does matter afterall?

Three years after orchestrating the biggest shake-up of the American labor movement in decades (yet producing very LITTLE results), the Change to Win federation announced this afternoon that Greg Tarpinian (pictured on left showing the size of something), the group's Executive Director since the union insurgency broke away from the AFL-CIO in 2005, will be stepping down.

TARPINIAN: LABOR'S KARL ROVE. Tarpinian, a labor union consultant who was not elected by any rank-and-file union members, assumed his appointed role in 2005 as one of the architects of the AFL-CIO break-up after hanging out with one of the bad boys of the union movement: Jimmy Hoffa Jr. Although Hoffa Jr is, admittedly, not as cool as his old man was, he's got good creds with his name, so Tarpinian grabbed onto Jimmy's coattails in 1996 and has been riding them ever since.

In addition to his role as the insurgent federation's executive director, Tarpinian is also President of the Labor Research Association and President of LRA Consulting and, according to Change to Win's Department of Labor filings, has been 'back charging' the union federation for his time as Executive Director.

According to the C2W top cheerleader and SEIU siren Anna Burger: "Greg Tarpinian's vision was instrumental in the creation of Change to Win. He has played a leading role in the development and unity of Change to Win over the last three years and has won the respect of labor leaders throughout the country for his leadership in shaping the movement to restore the American Dream."

Curious. Since Tarpinian was one of the original architects of the break-up of the AFL-CIO, we're wondering why it sounds to us like Ms. Burger and her clique got tired of Tarpinian and kicked him to the curb. (Maybe Biff couldn't deliver on his promises and Anna and the girls got bored?...Hmmm.)

To be sure, the whole break-up and union rivalry hasn't gone all that well for the Change to Win gang.

In fact, following the AFL-CIO's 2006 mid-term election victory, it would be safe to say that the Change to Win strategy has been nothin' but a Change to LOSE strategy. We've even pointed that out on a couple of occasions, urging quarterback Andy Stern to make amends with his old coach.

Maybe The Architect just got unpopular with the bosses?

Prior to his coronation to his prom king role as head of the Change to Win gang, Tarpinian was a staunch supporter of and advisor to current Teamster president, Jim Hoffa, Jr. (pictured on left with C2w'S Anna Burger and Tarpinian), as evidenced by his Letter to the Editor published in the Sept. 7, 2000 edition of the Nation, wherein he wrote:

As someone who has worked closely with Hoffa over the years, I always found it difficult to hear the trite stereotypes used by those who were bent on maintaining their power under a veneer of progressivism.

In addition to his ties to union bosses, Tarpinian also helped run Republican George Pataki's re-election campaign in 2002.

But, Tarpinian also had his detractors, like the rank-and-file members from the Teamsters for a Democratic Union who, in 2005, wrote:

Do you know Greg Tarpinian? If you careabout your union, you should. He’s
practically running it. And you are paying him millions of dollars to do it.

Tarpinian is a labor consultant in New York. He attached himself to Hoffa back in 1996 when he campaigned for him, along with another consultant, Richard Leebove of Detroit. He’s wiggled upward ever since.

His long time close associates have eased into key positions of power. Leo Deaner, a Tarpinian associate for many years, is Hoffa’s new Executive Assistant....

Tarpinian gets big bucks to do dog-and-pony shows at the IBT Convention and Unity Conferences, and he’ll get a lot more PR and “education” money now. In return, he holds banquets in New York to give awards to Hoffa and Tom Keegel, who sign the checks to his consulting company. What goes around comes around. What’s going around is your money.

Tarpinian wrote the plan and the script for the Teamsters to leave the AFL-CIO and join Change to Win, which also pays Tarpinian big bucks.

Most importantly, he is guiding the direction of the Teamsters Union. Remember when Jim Hoffa charged that Ron Carey had outsiders (“SEIU”, “mineworkers,” etc.) in positions of power?

Now we have a New York consultant running our union, who only bothers to speak to Teamsters when he has his hand out for money.

According to the Change to Win press release this afternoon, Tarpinian will be replaced by Chris Chafe, another non-elected staffer who served as Chief of Staff and Political Director from UNITE-HERE before becoming former presidential candidate John Edwards' senior adviser on labor.

While we're not exactly sure why Tarpinian, a Hoffa devotee, is being kicked to the the proverbial trashheap and replaced by another non-elected appointee from another union in the union federation, you can be sure EmployerReport.com will bring it to you as soon as we know.

For more union-related news, go to EmployerReport.com

TEAMSTER WORKERS UNIONIZING?...

So, working for the Teamsters isn't all that it's cracked up to be?

Perhaps wages are too low, or managment is unfair?

So you think maybe you need a union to protect you from your boss?

WAIT A MINUTE!?! YOUR BOSS IS THE UNION???

Oh. Sorry.

Well, out of Michigan comes yet another sordid story of employees seeking to unionize against their employer--the union...

On May 16, the Office Professional Emolyees International Union (OPEIU) filed a petition for an election (no card check?) in order to represent workers employed by Teamsters Local 214.

The irony of it all...

Lazy Union Workers 'a Cancer': Are Union Bosses Finally Getting It?

"We represent the sick, lame and lazy."

It was said matter of factly by one of the older chief union stewards sitting around the bar one late afternoon after one of our monthly union meetings. That was nearly 20 years ago, but it was something I (like many others) had come to realize as a union rep.

The people who actually needed the union were those that were always in trouble at work--the workers who couldn't make it to work on time, didn't care that their quality sucked, or who generally couldn't do what the company expected of them. Ultimately, it is the syndrome that cost far too many good union members their jobs, as companies have elected to move away from these mutant union members.

Basically, as a union, if you take dues from a hundred people, the union will spend the dues representing the bottom ten percent. The other ninety percent are paying dues for nothing, was something I later realized.

Like I said, that was nearly 20 years ago, and I've long since left the union movement.

Since then, after spending years "on the other side," I've come to know why many companies despise unions and it goes back to that bar many years ago....It's because unions all-too-often represent the 'sick, lame, & lazy.' [Actually, since the passage of the ADA, it's more politically correct to just say 'the lazy'.]

Now, however, it seems that at least one union boss is beginning to send the message that unions are finally starting to get it: That employers' perception of unions is so negative because of the 'lazy union worker.'

Mark Ayers, the president of the AFL-CIO's Building & Construction Trades Department (BCTD), is finally sending a wake-up call to his union bretheren:

"There is no place in our unions for nonperformers," Ayers told business managers of the Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons during a recent speech recently.

Calling non-performing union members a cancer that has “dragged us down for many years and damaged our reputation as highly trained and productive craft professionals,” during a Feb. 27 OPC-MIA meeting, Ayers said, “they are the members that scream the loudest about union rights on the job, in your hiring halls and in your union meetings, while at the same time they chip away at our proud foundation.”

In short, he said, “they are simply bad for business, and therefore, they must go!”

He reminded the business managers that in the current business environment anyone can find out anything about an organization with a few clicks of a mouse.

“We must understand that we are constantly being judged by what we do and how we conduct ourselves every single day we are on the job,” he said. “Over the last thirty years or so, we didn’t lose the lion’s share of the market because the competition was so good,” he said. ‘We lost it because our attitudes, our productivity, and our work ethic got worse and we took our jobs and our work for granted.”

Perhaps if all union bosses came to the same conclusion that Ayers has, unions wouldn't be as despised as they are and wouldn't need to spend a billion dollars to buy an election in order to strip workers of their right to vote on unionization (vis a vis the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act).

But, then again, it seems that most union bosses are more interested in preserving their place in history as destroyers of companies, than go against the status quo by looking at their own defective product.

Note: The AFL-CIO's Building & Construction Trades Department encompasses the following unions:

• International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers


• International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers


• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers


• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)


• International Brotherhood of Teamsters


• International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers


• International Union of Elevator Constructors


• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)


• Laborers’ International Union of North America


• Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada


• Sheet Metal Workers' International Association


• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada


• United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers

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For more union-related news and information, go to EmployerReport.com

CHANGE TO WIN BOSSES BLOW IT BIG TIME BACKING THE WRONG DUDE...

On March 5th, AFSCME boss Gerald McEntee told the AFL-CIO Executive Committee in San Diego: ``We kicked Andy's ass from one end of Ohio to the other, and in Texas, too.''

With that in mind, please allow us to be blunt: The Change to Win bosses (that Gang of Seven) got their asses kicked tonight in Pennsylvania (again).

After breaking up the House of Labor, their boss of bosses being accused of top-down management, anti-democratic hostile takeovers, and now embroiled in another inter-union fight, SEIU members and their "brothers" and "sisters" in the Change to Win federation have one more thing to be ashamed of tonight:

The union bosses have picked the wrong presidential primary candidate again...

Remember President Howard Dean? Oh yeah, the SEIU's Andy Stern (the ringleader in the Gang of Seven) bet big on him too during the '04 primaries.

Although the Pennsylvania primary results are still coming in, Hillary has beaten Barak in another big key state. The question is: By how much? (Click here to go Pennsylvania's Official Election Page.)

This evening, SEIU's website still has a page posted boasting SEIU Members: Making the Difference in Pennsylvania, then listing all of the actions that the SEIU has had its members do for Obama, such as:

• More than 3,000 SEIU members working directly to contact voters door-to-door or over the phone
• Extensive statewide TV ad featuring SEIU members and other workers on the air 4/17 through 4/22
• SEIU members leafleted at a Philadelphia gas station on 4/17 to inform voters about Obama’s plan to reduce gas prices
• More than 150,000 doors knocked and 17 waves of direct mail to hundreds of thousands of Democratic households
• SEIU President Andy Stern, Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and Pennsylvania State Council President Eileen Connelly have been campaigning across the state to turn out the vote for Obama
• Stern, Burger and Connelly introduced Obama at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO 38th Constitutional Convention
• Burger and Connelly participating in an Election Day rally on Obama’s plans to turn around the economy
• SEIU members canvassing alongside thousands of Change to Win union members in numerous cities

Now, add the SEIU's partners in the Change to Whine federation, the Teamsters, UNITE-HERE, Carpenters, UFCW, Laborers, and UFW--all of them backing Obama--and that's a lot of members' time and dues money wasted. Obama outspent Clinton three to one in the Keystone State.

And, since 32% of Pennsylvania's union members dominated by Change to Whine unions, it appears that all their union dues have gone to back another candidate who starts strong and fizzles at the end...

Hillary should be happy that Change to Whine is in Obama's camp, as they haven't picked a winner yet, and it appears their track record at picking candidates may fail again

It's the Economy, Stupid...

A good Monday to you:

As you begin your work week, we though we'd share some of the news we're posting for you this week:

In the 'It's the Economy, Stupid' Department:

• This morning, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, as the Fed is apparently looking into a Nordic-style of nationalization of U.S. Banks, while the Treasury Department is set to announce a whole new slew of regulations we're sure will further encroach upon the already-overly regulated U.S. economy.
• As the UAW strike at American Axle drags on well into its second month, causing the closure and unemployment of tens of thousands of GM workers, fears begin emerge that the strike is tipping the U.S. into further recession. Meanwhile, American Axle has begun advertising for replacement workers to begin filling vacancies.
• In related news, the United Auto Workers lost another 73,500 members in 2007.
• In the Mid-Atlantic states, it appears that grocery chains Safeway and Giant Foods have reached a tentative agreement with the UFCW, averting a strike that would have affected 25,000 workers and hundreds of thousands of shoppers.
• In Hollywood, just as the effects of the 100-day long writers' strike begins to wear off, new strike fears emerge as the actors' unions begin their negotiations with conflict between SAG & AFTRA dividing the two unions.

On a Lighter Note...

• The Teamsters must be foaming at the mouth right now at Barak Obama. It seems as though the rock-star candidate decided to have a beer while on his campaign swing through Pennsylvania. Problem is, the beer happened to be a Yuengling--a Pennsylvania-brewed beer that just happens to be union-free and the subject of a Teamster boycott.

And, Lastly...

• It seems union organizers are so desperate today that they'll go after anyone...including carwash workers. That's right, carwash workers in the City of Angels (Los Angeles)--many of whom are illegal aliens--are being targeted by the AFL-CIO and the Steelworkers to become unionized. After helping to push the steel industry out of the U.S., it's just still too hard for us to imagine that carwash jobs are going to be the type of jobs that union organizers like to boast of as "middle class jobs". Seems more likely that the workers will just be a quick ticket for the union to siphon off more dues.

For this and more union-related news, go to EmployerReport.com

Please have a productive and prosperous week.

DRINK THE BEER THAT BARAK OBAMA DRINKS: It is UNION-FREE...

DRINK THE BEER THAT BARAK DRINKS...

It's guaranteed to get some Teamsters foaming at the mouth...

Do you think Obama's advance people didn't know when they ordered the rock-star candidate a Pennsylvania born-and-bred Yuengling., they ordered him a beer that's brewed by NON-UNION brewers?

That's right, the rock-star candidate--who's supported by (according to Machinists' union president Tom Buffenbarger) latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock wearing, trust-fund babies--just must not have realized when he swigged away at his non-union-made beer that the Teamsters and his fellow Democrats have been trying to boycott Yuengling since their former members kicked the union out of the 179-year old company.

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For more Union News, go to EmployerReport.com

What's in the News (OMG)...

Barely a week has gone by since our last post to you. Yet already this week, the news seems to beg for commentary. Therefore, without further ado...

On the Labor Front:

• In Altoona, PA, the SEIU is poised to take the RNs out on strike over (of all things) the Altoona Regional Medical Center's refusal to require forced-dues in its contract. It seems that a fair number of RNs are opposed to the SEIU's insistence of pay-dues-or-be-fired language and have petitioned the hospital to refuse to agree to the language.
• In St. Louis, in a rather bold move, the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission has locked out the IBEW and IATSE over language issues, as well as the lack of diversity in the unions' ranks. [Editor's note: It is too bad Philadelphia doesn't take St. Louis' lead and do the same with the unions there, since they also continually refuse to bring diversity to their ranks.]
• In the Mid-Atlantic States, the UFCW's contract with grocers Safeway and Giant is due to expire on March 31st. While it may be posturing, both sides seem ready for a strike and the grocers, for their part, have been advertising for replacement workers.
• In Philadelphia, that City of Not-So-Brotherly Love, Teamster-beating victim Don Adams has finally reached a settlement with the Teamsters for a beat-down that several union-thugs gave he and his sister in 1998. What was Mr. Adams' offense? He was a protestor of President Bill Clinton's dalliances with Monica Lewinsky who happened to be at the wrong protest, at the wrong time, in the wrong city.
• In La Jolla, CA, as John McCain attended a fund-raising luncheon, he was greeted with more union protestors. Last week, the AFL-CIO announced that it would be spending $53 million to bring McCain down. It appears that part of the union strategy is to picket each of McCain's events from now until November.
• In Maine, the Machinists' union has itself in bit of a sticky situation. As negotiations are about to begin with Bath Iron Works, the Machinists has placed its local under trusteeship as it looks into allegations of financial mismanagement and a lot of pornography found on the union's computers.

In Other News:

• There is a nationwide strike brewing among (mostly independent) truck drivers to take place on April 1st, in protest of high fuel prices. While it does not appear that this strike is union-related, if successful, its impact on our already-lagging economy may have a negative affect....Or, as the drivers are independents, they may just find themselves unemployed.
• As she attempts to maintain a semblance of momentum against rival Barak Obama heading into the Pennsylvania primary, former first lady Hillary Clinton has gotten herself into a pickle with getting caught in an (um..) 'untruth' over her comments about landing in Bosnia in 1996 under a hail of sniper fire. CBS news exposes the former first lady, which you can view here.
• In the "Yee-Haw, the Bush-Administration-Finally-Does-Something Right" category, the Department of Justice finally gave satellite-radio providers XM Radio and Sirius the okay to go ahead with their over-a-year-old merger plans. Although the two providers are still hemorrhaging cash, at least the stocks got a bounce for a day.
• On our blog (below), we take aim at John Dingell's Deadly Idea to impose a $0.50 per gallon gas tax on all Americans. As Mr. Dingell represents the economically-ailing state of Michigan, we wonder: With representatives like that, who needs enemies?

Lastly, in the "OMG" & "WTF" Category:

• In an article that is sure to raise employers' ire and get unions and employee-rights advocates salivating, the American Journal of Psychiatry has found addiction to text messaging and emailing could be another form of mental illness. While it may be premature to say that eventually workers may be taking FMLA leaves because their children are addicted to text messaging or reasonable accommodations must be given for myspace.com-addicted employees, the writing (er...text) may be on the proverbial wall.

For more news, go to EmployerReport.com.

[IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OUR READERS: Due to certain objections raised by a few readers that EmployerReport.com is too slanted against Democrats and their labor-union puppet-masters (sorry, couldn't help that one...), we are striving to provide a more 'fair & balanced' approach in our slams against all things political. During this hyper-sensitive political season, WE KNOW THAT SOME OF OUR READERS ARE FEELING BELEAGUERED AND BUSH-WHACKED. However, our goal is not (nor has it ever been) to boost one political party over another.

Unfortunately, as labor unions are solely focused on defrauding (read: screwing) the American worker of his right to vote on the matter of unionization through the Orwellian-named Employee Free Choice Act and educating the populace on EFCA was one of the primary reasons for the establishment of EmployerReport.com, we realize that there may be some who have been offended from time to time by our postings and rants. Unfortunately again, unions can only accomplish their goal of killing workers' rights by using the Democrats, and the Democrats can only get elected through the unions. It is, indeed, a sad state of affairs that our nation finds itself in.

However, for those of you who may have preconceived notions about our politics-at-large, please be comforted in knowing that, like all liberty-minded persons, it is our view that both political parties have a tendency to be injurious to personal liberty and, therefore, as with all governments, neither should be trusted. That said, it is our intent (and our tagline) to continue to "...bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." We'll also continue to be a bit irreverent from time to time, as that is just our nature.]

Please have a productive and prosperous week.

P.A. List

Editor & Chief Blogger

NAFTA: The Democrats' Red Herring

As a former union worker whose job was outsourced to Mexico, it has been with some interest that I've been watching Clinton, Obama and the rest of the leftist creed rally the mobs in Ohio (and the rest of the midwest states) about the jobs lost due to NAFTA.

To be sure, there have been jobs lost to NAFTA. However, to use NAFTA in this current political debate is nothing more than a red herring...a politically expedient catchall phrase to get the blue collar class in a frenzied tizzy.

What's even worse is that Mexico is not even the place where jobs have been exported to as of late. The fact of the matter is, years ago, Pakistan, India and China have replaced Mexico as the hot spot for jobs to go.

Hell, if blue collar Americans really stopped to think about it, they'd begin to wonder that if Mexico were still the place for jobs to run to, then why are the Mexicans coming here???

So, why all this demagoguery about NAFTA?

Simply put: It's the left-wing politicians and their union handlers scraping the bottom of the barrel of Americans' xenophobia in an effort to stir votes.

As most (some?) may recall from high school history, America was, in essence, founded as a result of foreign trade. Remember the East India Trading Co? How about Columbus and his search for passage to get spices and such? Let's see, I think it was the Pinta, the Santa Maria and...and... (oh well).

And, for those of us who can remember back before NAFTA was signed, we'll recall that the exportation of jobs started long before Bill Clinton ever signed the treaty. In fact, union bosses know this too, they just don't like to admit it.

However, today, in this polticial season, it is far too convenient for left-wing politicians and their union puppet-masters to blame a trade agreement than it is to accept blame for what has really caused the exportation of jobs to begin with--the role that US labor unions have played in causing unionized companies to become uncompetitive in a global economy.

The term maquiladora has been around long before NAFTA, and the outsourcing of jobs to other countries long before that. [For a quick Wikipedia read on the history of maquiladoras click here.]

In fact, as to the outsourcing of the US steel industry, it began as a result of the Great Steel Strike in 1959--well before NAFTA. However, the Steelworkers don't like to admit that.

In the trucking industry, the advent of lost Teamster jobs wasn't NAFTA and the provision of Mexican trucks crossing our borders. Teamsters began losing membership as a result of Jimmy Carter signing the Motor Carrier Act into law in 1980. Yet Jimmy Hoffa Jr. won't admit that his union made hundreds of trucking companies close in the face of open competition.

How about the telephone industry jobs? NAFTA? Nope. That was judge Harold Green ordering the breakup of Ma Bell in 1983--a full 11 years before Clinton signed NAFTA.

How about the auto industry?....Didn't NAFTA destroy those jobs? Nope. Before Nissan today, there was Datsun in the 1970s, and Toyota isn't Spanish for anything (except maybe Toyota). Unfortunately for the UAW bosses, no matter how hard they try, they can't blame the Mexicans for the consequences of competition with the Japanese.

So, you see, by using NAFTA on the stump as they are, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are doing nothing more than pandering to get votes out of people who are hurting due to the realities of competition.

In the long run, it is these very people who will again be hurt, as neither Clinton nor Obama will be able to unwind the more-than-50-year-old-clock that is globalization.

Oh, by the way, if you're curious, our union jobs were shipped to Mexico in 1992--about a year and a half before NAFTA was signed.
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For more union-related news, go to EmployerReport.com

Change to Win Endorses Obama, Calls for Clinton Exit

THIS JUST IN:

Less than a day after the Change-to Win (C2W) federation member the International Brotherhood of Teamsters endorsed Barak Obama, and a week after C2W unions the SEIU and the UFCW did the same, the Change to Win federation officials officially endorsed the senator from Illinois today.

In a conference call this morning announcing the federation's endorsement, C2W Chairwoman Anna Burger stated, "we do think it is time to bring this nomination process to a close," indicating unions are increasingly tired of the battle for the Democratic nomination and getting behind Obama to the peril of former first-lady Hillary Clinton.

For more union-related news, go to EmployerReport.com .

Dude! The Teamsters Are Selling Drugs Down at the Hall...

...Well, sort of...

It seems that the Canadian Teamsters have opened their own pharmacy to combat the high price of drugs, according to an article on Mississauga.com.

And the idea apparently comes from union halls here in the US having their own pharmacy--right in the union hall!

According to the article, the Teamsters opened their pharmacy so that the "membership of Teamsters Union 938 will have access to are the common, everyday prescription drugs that many Canadians require in their daily lives."

Mayor Hazel McCallion, who attended Monday's official opening, hailed the initiative. “It’s unique because everybody is concerned about the cost of drugs... our health system just can’t cope with it. So I want to congratulate you on this venture, which I know will be very successful,” she said.

Wait a damn minute here!?! Isn't the Canadian health care system (socialized medicine) something we Americans are supposed to be envious of???

Sshh! Don't tell the liberals about this...They'll be beside themselves.

The article goes on to state that the Teamsters' president Larry McDonald got the idea from his years living and working in the good ol' U.S. of A.

“Many unions down there have opened their own pharmacy right in the union hall," McDonald said.

Oh really??? The Teamsters (and other unions) are dispensing drugs right out of their union halls...here in the States?

Now that is news to us! Does the DEA know about this, Larry?

If there are union halls dispensing drugs here in the U.S., we certainly have never heard of them.

Hell, they didn't dispense drugs when we were in the union....Well, not legal drugs anyway!

Hey, by the way, isn't pot legal in Canada?

If so, we have one word for this whole story: Duuuude!

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For more labor-related news go to EmployerReport.com

Change to Win is losing more elections than the AFL-CIO

An interesting statistic was recently reported by the Bureau of National Affairs that calls into question the whole Change to Win defection from the AFL-CIO.

Most readers may recall that the entire engineered split from the AFL-CIO that occurred in 2005 was over the issue of how unions spent money on organizing. Change to Win's chief architects, SEIU's Andy Stern, UFCW's Joe Hansen, UNITE-HERE's Bruce Raynor, and Teamsters honcho Jimmy Hoffa, as well as Laborers' boss Terry O'Sullivan (who defected later) all whined about how the John Sweeney regime was spending too much on politics and not enough on organizing.

Well, one would think that the Change to W(h)in(e) gang would be able to brag that its efforts are paying off. But, alas, this is not the case.

According to BNA, citing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election result reports for the first half of 2007:

AFL-CIO-affiliated unions won 56.6 percent of the 350 elections in which they participated in the first six months of 2007, compared with 60.1 percent of 398 elections in the first half of 2006. Whereas Change to Win-affiliated unions only won 53.1 percent of the 343 elections in which they participated in the first half of 2007.

What makes matters worse for the Change to Whiners is the fact that they only unionized 10,912 workers, compared to the AFL-CIO's 12,493.

On top of that, Sweeney can now boast of expanding his control of the Democratic Party as a result of the November 2006 mid-term election.

To us, it appears as though Andy & Gang are wearing more than a little egg on their face, while Sweeney has earned a big belly laugh at his former protege's expense.

For union-related news, go to EmployerReport.com

The Problem with Today's Unions...

Imagine this:

You go to a doctor for a hang nail.

Sitting in the doctor's exam room, (s)he tells you that he's fixed this hang nail problem of your a thousand times and you just need to lie back, get sedated and everything will get fixed in a jiffy.

Before you know it, you're on your back and the doc's giving you a shot and you're getting a little sleepy and...

While you're asleep, you have dreams about running around in a forest, chopping down Christmas trees...You dream you hear a chainsaw off in the woods...And...

It's time to wake up.

You look down and...

HOLY CRAP!!!

YOUR LEG'S FREAKIN' GONE!!!!

Well, that about sums up one of the many problems with unions today.

Workers often think that, when they turn to a union, it's going to make life a whole lot better when, in fact, unions are knocking them out, causing workers to lose jobs, then charging them money for such "fine" service.

Case in point:

In Johnstown, Pennsylvania the United Steelworkers' have done such a fine job at representing the workers at Freightcar America that 390 workers are going to become unemployed soon.

According to the news report:

The company said it must take advantage of its lower-cost facilities and it was unable to reach an agreement with the steelworkers union on a contract that would make it cost effective.

Now, with that kind of union representation, it kind of makes you wonder if Freightcar America's employees may have been better off fixing their collective hang nail themselves, right?

Yeah, we think so too!

Hey! Did you hear the one about the Teamster who went to the brothel?...

Click here for the rest of that story...

An Intersting Couple of Weeks for Unions

It's been an interesting two weeks for unions around the country.

Within the last two weeks, union bosses with the United Auto Workers (aka the Union of Ailing Workplaces) trumpeted their new agreement with Chrysler stating things like:

"Jobs are protected in this contract, contrary to what people have been saying. There is a job security package in here" and

"Once again, teamwork in the leadership and solidarity in the ranks has produced an agreement that protects jobs for our communities and also protects wages, pensions, and health care for our active and retired members."

However, after berating their disgruntled members into ratifying the contract, Chrysler announced last Thursday that is was cutting up to 12,100 jobs on top of the previously announced 13,000 jobs to be eliminated. That brings the total to about 25,000 jobs to be cut.
If that weren't bad enough for union bosses...

Over at the SEIU, security company Wackenhut has whacked the union with a RICO suit over the SEIU's "malicious, four-year, international corporate campaign to force Wackenhut to recognize the Union as the employees' bargaining representative while denying the employees their federal rights to free choice and a secret ballot election."

In SoCal...

After only a week and a half of striking, the Teamsters union caved-in to Waste Management and accepted the contract offered. Why? Well, when the union went out on strike last Monday, they vowed to fight the company to the bitter end. However, when the company advertised for permanent replacement drivers last Friday, "the workers got the crap scared out of them," and decided to return to work earlier this week.

For these and many more amusing news stories, go to EmployerReport.com.

Teamsters seem to want to maintain the ability to terrorize East Bay with strikes and unsafe drivers

Waste Management Dispute Update:

It's Day 17 of the dispute between Waste Management and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

On July 2, Houston-based Waste Managment defensively locked out approximately 500 drivers and equipment operators in an effort to get a contract renewal that both its customers and the company could live with.

In this case, the term "to live with" can be taken literally since safety is one of the major issues in the dispute.

The main sticking points in the dispute are the union's refusal to enter into a contract that contains a "no strike" clause--which means the union agrees that it will not strike during the life (or duration) of the contract, as well as the union's refusal to agree to the company's propsals on safety.

"This contract comes down to two things," said James Devlin, WM's Area Vice President. "This is about labor peace and safety. We are willing to overlook millions of dollars of inefficiencies in the contract because that's how strongly we believe in those two issues. We are ready right now to sign one of the richest contracts in waste management history."

Waste Management say workers would be able to honor the local, sanctioned picket lines. However company officials do believe it [a "no strike clause"] would protect the company against any collusion a union such as Local 70 may take part in with another union, such as Local 396 in Los Angeles, whose contract with Waste Management expires Sept. 30.

For a company to propose a contract wherein the union agrees not to go on strike during the life of the contract is not abnormal. In fact, "no strike" clauses are the norm in the overwhelming majority of union contracts in America.

Regarding the safety issue, it would appear that the Teamsters prefer to force the company to keep unsafe drivers on its rolls--even in the case where a driver kills someone.

That's one of the main reasons the company introduced new "life critical rules" in the proposed new contract. If a driver violates one, he is suspended for five days. The second violation can result in termination. Company officials said the rules are nothing more than traffic laws everyone else on the road must follow, such as obeying speed limits in school zones and wearing seat belts.

"It's not up to the Teamsters to dictate societal rules," said Devlin, adding the workers would still retain a grievance and arbitration process to appeal any penalty.

Both unions and employers have what are referred to as economic weapons. Although lockouts occur less frequently than strikes, a lock out (like a strike) is where the employer has chosen to deploy its economic weapon.

In this case, it's ironic that the company had to deploy its economic weapon to avoid the Teamsters from using its economic weapon anytime it wants to.

Look at it this way. Since the union doesn't want to peacefully holster its weapon for the duration of the contract and wants to maintain the ability to terrorize both the company and its customers by striking whenever it wants, the company decided to shoot first. Not a bad strategy, is it?

In the meantime, the union has geared up its PR machine and is trying to drum up support across the labor movement, as well as with the liberal media and politicos (an easy find on the Left Coast).

A word of caution though: For all you lefty's supporting the Teamsters in this battle, you might want to think about sitting this one out.

You see, supporting the Teamsters in this battle means that 1) you are supportive of a union that seemingly wants to hold the citizens that the company serves hostage by striking the company whenever the union bosses get a bug up their bums, and 2) supporting a union that would rather keep an unsafe driver on the road--even if he kills other people--than allow him to be terminated.