RWDSU, The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, workers have voted to authorize a strike if the negotiations have not come to an agreeable contract offer by Thursday. Nearly 2,000 workers will walk out at any time after the deadline, the union is still at odds with Bloomingdale’s over health care and wage increases.
The RWDSU is affiliated with the UFCW, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and has recently had a large membership increase with with workers in the union friendly H&M clothing stores sign up. The H&M labor friendly policy was actually what would be expected if there was a passing of the Employee Free Choice Act. They agreed to respect their workers wishes to form a union by a card check, From RWDSU press release (11/20/07) :
Under the terms of an agreement negotiated earlier this year, H & M agreed to a process called “card check recognition” which required the company to respect the decision of employees to have representation once a majority signed cards affirming their support for the union. The company also pledged not to interfere with the workers’ efforts to organize.
“By respecting the right of employees to join our union, H & M is setting an example other retailers should follow,” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, adding that he expects the National Labor Relations to certify the union as the workers’ collective bargaining agent.
Workers may hit the picket lines at Bloomingdale’s flagship store on the Upper East Side as early as next weekend.
The famous department store’s employees said they will strike if a contract agreement is not reached by the time their current deal expires on Thursday.
Negotiations between the company’s Executive Board and the local chapter of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union have been lasting for more than two months.
A union spokesperson said that negotiations will continue, but nearly 2,000 workers at the store have authorized a walkout. The union said the date for the strike has not been set.
The group is fighting for a general wage increase and to protect the employees’ current health coverage.
This would be the first time the store has been shut down by a strike in 43 years.
Here is a brief list of candy products made by members of the Bakery Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM); snack foods by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW); or fruit and nuts from members of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).
2008 VEHICLES BUILT BY UNION MEMBERS IN THE UNITED STATES & CANADA
UAW CARS
Buick Lucerne Cadillac CTS Cadillac DTS Cadillac STS Cadillac XLR Chevrolet Cobalt Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet Malibu/Malibu Hybrid Chrysler Sebring Dodge Avenger Dodge Caliber Dodge Viper Ford Focus Ford Mustang
Ford Taurus Lincoln MKS Mazda 6 Mercury Sable Mitsubishi Eclipse Mitsubishi Galant Pontiac G5 Pontiac G6 Pontiac Solstice Pontiac Vibe Saturn Aura/Aura Hybrid Saturn Sky Toyota Corolla*
UAW PICKUPS
Chevrolet Colorado Dodge Dakota Dodge Ram Pickup* Ford Explorer Sport Trac Ford F-Series* Ford Ranger
GMC Canyon Isuzu i-Series Lincoln Mark LT Mazda B-series Mitsubishi Raider Toyota Tacoma*
UAW SUVs/CUVs
Buick Enclave Cadillac Escalade Cadillac Escalade ESV Cadillac SRX Chevrolet Suburban* Chevrolet Tahoe/ Tahoe Hybrid Chrysler Aspen Dodge Durango Dodge Nitro Ford Escape/Escape Hybrid Ford Expedition Ford Explorer Ford Taurus X GMC Acadia GMC Yukon/Yukon Hybrid
GMC Yukon Denali Hummer H1 Hummer H2 Hummer H3 Jeep Commander Jeep Compass Jeep Grand Cherokee Jeep Liberty Jeep Patriot Jeep Wrangler Lincoln Navigator Mazda Tribute/Tribute Hybrid Mercury Mariner/Mariner Hybrid Mercury Mountaineer Mitsubishi Endeavor Saturn Outlook
UAW VANS
Ford E-series Chevrolet Express
Chevrolet Uplander GMC Savana
CAW CARS
Buick Lacrosse Chevrolet Impala Chrysler 300 Dodge Challenger Dodge Charger
Ford Crown Victoria Lincoln Town Car Mercury Grand Marquis Pontiac Grand Prix
CAW SUVs/CUVs
Chevrolet Equinox Chrysler Pacifica Dodge Magnum Ford Edge
Lincoln MKX Pontiac Torrent Suzuki XL7
UAW/CAW PICKUPS
Chevrolet Silverado*
GMC Sierra*
UAW/CAW Vans
Chrysler Town & Country
Dodge Caravan
IUE SUVs/CUVs
Chevrolet TrailBlazer GMC Envoy GMC Envoy Denali
Isuzu Ascender Saab 9-7X
Support union jobs in the U.S. and Canada
This guide is prepared by the UAW to provide information for consumers who want to purchase vehicles produced by workers who enjoy the benefits and protections of a union contract.
All these vehicles are made in the United States or Canada by members of the United Auto Workers (UAW), Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) or International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America (IUE).
Because of the integration of U.S. and Canadian vehicle production, all these vehicles include significant UAW-made content and support the jobs of UAW members.
However, those marked with an asterisk (*) are sourced from the United States and another country.
When purchasing one of these models, check the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
A VIN beginning with “1”, “4” or “5” identifies a U.S.-made vehicle; “‘2:’ identifies a Canadian-made vehicle.
Not all vehicles made in the United States or Canada are built by union-represented workers. The Toyota Corolla, for example, is made in the United States by UAW members, but the Canadian model is made in a nonunion plant and other models are imported from a third country.
*Vehicles marked with an asterisk are produced in more than one country, but all models made in the United States are assembled by UAW members.
Safeway and Giant have over 20,000 union workers who are getting ready to be on strike. While the workers had given concessions in their last contract, including a higher copay for new hires, the company is now going for the jugular, stating they cannot compete with Non-Union stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, they have even been interviewing temp workers for the possibility of a strike, I would say this is an aggressive stance. According to the UFCW, ‘‘Strike preparations have gone very well and will be completely in place by Wednesday, March 26,”
They are not “replacement” workers and they are not “Temporary” workers. They are scabs and Safeway and Giant advertising in the store AND in the local media for scabs is beyond the pale.
I just wish Fox 5 News could have called a scab a scab.
UFCW members of Locals 400 and 27 are standing together for a fair contract–and UFCW members nationwide are standing with them. Members last week wore stickers to show their support for locals, who are currently bargaining with Giant and Safeway. Their employers have so far been unwilling to agree to a fair contract for their workers, one that shares the success with those employees that made it possible.
Members are signing pledges to fight for a fair contract with wages that pay the bills and affordable health care. Their pledge also includes signing up to pass out info to consumers outside their stores, with info about the negotiations and a request that shoppers support them with their shopping dollars if the company won’t settle a fair contract.
In addition, UFCW members will be asking for support from members and supporters nationwide, in telling the companies that they need to offer Baltimore/DC workers a fair contract now.
Recently the 2 companies have ran ad’s for Scab’s, according to Gazette.net (3/24/08):
Safeway recently ran advertisements in The Washington Post seeking applications for temporary employees ‘‘in preparation for a possible labor dispute,” while Giant ran a similar ad without mentioning labor issues, according to published reports.
Giant, the region’s top grocer, has about 13,400 employees in Maryland, and the company ranked fifth in the number of employees in Maryland among private companies, according to a survey released last year by the state Department of Business and Economic Development.
Safeway ranked ninth in the number of employees in Maryland with 8,680, according to the state survey.
What can we do to stand in solidarity with the workers? Stop shopping in Target, CVS and Wal-Mart.
Hundreds of Latino workers across the U.S. die annually in construction accidents, a toll that has mounted steadily. Two years ago 354 Latinos were killed in construction accidents, a 34 percent increase over 2003, the most recent government statistics show. More than one out of three Latinos killed on the job in 2006 lost their lives doing construction work, a far higher proportion than for white or black workers.
With this year’s flu epidemic in full swing, nearly half of all U.S. workers who fall ill or have sick kids must decide whether to stay home and lose wages or go to work sick and expose others, a choice many say no one should have to make.
“We thought she was a fantastic role model of a woman who is not just running for government per se but who is making change at a more grass-roots level,” University of Utah spokeswoman Taunya Dressler said. The U. invited Huerta, 77, to be the keynote speaker during its 2008 Women’s Week Celebration because she embodies passion for change that affects people’s lives.
“Under federal labor law, we have the right to tail him. Ambulatory picket is what it’s called and we can follow him to find out where his job sites are,” said The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Representative Ron Robbins. Robbins claims they have a labor dispute with CCI, even though the company is not part of the union. Robbins says wherever Packard goes, so do protesters and the labor dispute.
Florida – Burger King is a lousy corporate neighbor
Are they really willing to pay an exorbitantly higher transportation cost to bring in tomatoes from overseas or Mexico and pass that on to their customers rather than pay a penny more per pound?
Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine – Labor activists help fix Fairpoint/Verizon deal
“Those who united to raise their voices in opposition to the sale acted in the finest New England tradition of citizen participation,” said Glenn Brackett, business manager of IBEW Local 2320 based in Manchester, NH. “We can take comfort in knowing that because of our involvement, FairPoint will be stronger financially than it would have been under the original deal. Verizon now has to put $362 million more into the deal and FairPoint has to cut its dividends by at least $200 million in order to reduce its debt.”
Nowhere is the damage caused by this disastrous trade deal more evident than in Ohio, the site of next week’s Democratic presidential primary. The Buckeye State has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs over the past seven years. Click here to see where all the presidential candidates stand on trade and manufacturing.
West Virginia – Worker ‘s one step closer to ability to walk away from anti-union meetings
Captive-audience meetings are just one of many tactics employers use to suppress workers’ freedom to form or join a union. Cornell University scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner studied hundreds of organizing campaigns and found that 92 percent of private-sector employers, when faced with employees who want to join together in a union, force employees to attend closed-door meetings to hear anti-union propaganda. She also found that 80 percent of employers require supervisors to attend training sessions on attacking unions and that 78 percent require supervisors to deliver anti-union messages to workers they oversee.
Wisconsin and Maryland – Legislation to allow Academic workers collective bargaining
On Feb. 19, the Wisconsin State Senate voted 21 to 12 for legislation that would allow faculty and academic staff employed across the University of Wisconsin system to form unions… …the companion legislation in the Wisconsin Assembly faces a tough battle from the Republican majority in that chamber.
In Maryland, graduate employees from the University of Maryland system, joined by AFT and AFL-CIO allies, presented an impassioned case for why they should have the right to bargain.
Washington DC – UFCW Vs. ICE Misconduct hearings begin
”There isn’t much out there, especially in the range of the wages we were earning,” Snyder said. ”I see a lot of $10-an-hour jobs out there that won’t pay my bills.”
Counting nonunion workers, 110 people are eventually expected to be laid off at the plant, which is expected to run through mid-March with a skeleton crew of about 25.
Ohio – 1500 hospital workers to get union election on March 12th
…if a majority in any one of the 11 groups votes for unionization, that group will become a bargaining unit and negotiations between the unit and Community Mercy Health Partners will proceed. If negotiations fail to result in an agreement favored by most union members, those members can vote to strike, according to information provided by CMHP and the union.
New York – Tell Lazard’s CEO that Atria should respect workers rights
Workers at Atria Senior Living are being threatened and intimidated for trying to form a union. Caring for our nation’s elderly is an important job, and workers at Atria deserve a living wage, affordable healthcare, and the training and support they need to do their jobs well. They also have the right to a free and fair process to decide on forming a union.
Tell the Wall Street execs at Atria and Lazard to stop unionbusting and play fair. Write your message now!
USA – ALPA gearing to fight over seniority in event of Delta/Northwest merge
The Air Line Pilots Association has asked its United members to approve a dues increase to help pay for a potential dispute over seniority in the event of a merger, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.
Seniority is said to be the major issue of contention in talks on a merger between Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp., the newspaper said. Negotiations stalled last week as pilots, who had given preliminary approval to a merger, dug in their heels over seniority issues.
“I saw people come running out burnt, screaming, hollering, their skin hanging off them,” There are now 12 confirmed deaths and 11 people still in critical condition from the Imperial Sugar refinery explosion Don't let this happen again, make OSHA include standards for explosive refinery dust, sign the petition at the top of JoesUnionReview.
contact and donations
To get updates in your inbox or to Help build Joe's Union Review
Please check out the Blogger version of this page at Joe's Union ReviewContact me via e-mail
The Real Union News 