Impacts of the Great Recession continue to reach into the city of Long Beach’s coffers, with a recent court decision requiring the city to pay around $4 million in back wages. The state appellate court ruling stems from a city management decision in May 2009 to furlough most city employees for a week without pay […]
Month: November 2014
Flight attendants narrowly reject American Airlines contract
By the slimmest of margins, members of the union representing flight attendants at American Airlines Inc. and US Airways Inc. voted down a tentative agreement on a new contract Sunday. The dispute now goes to binding arbitration. Members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants rejected the deal by 16 votes out of more than […]
Unionization is good for business and labor
The impending election and the Fairpoint strike have catalyzed many conversations about today’s role of labor unions. Common misconceptions that are being voiced over and over again are based on a combination of old stereotypes from the industrial age and general misinformation. I recently was involved with organizing one of the most innovative collective bargaining […]
Machinists Union Completes Organizing Hat Trick in Texas
Washington, D.C., Oct. 22, 2014 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today announced their latest organizing victory for 1,000 mechanics, technicians and maintenance personnel employed by URS at the Red River Army Depot (RRAD) near Texarkana, TX. The win follows a pair of successful IAM campaigns earlier this year that organized […]
Tell Congress to Fully Fund F-35 Production, Protect IAM Jobs
The IAM is urging Congress to stop any further spending cuts for the F-35 program, a fighter jet built by IAM members which keeps our armed forces safe while defending U.S. interests around the globe. The President’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request funds only 34 F-35s, eight less than was requested by the U.S. Navy […]
Georgia Machinists Ratify Improved Contract at John Deere
IAM Local 2789 members at John Deere in Augusta, GA recently negotiated and ratified a contract that secures improved wages and benefits as the agricultural equipment manufacturer celebrates its one millionth tractor sale. The new contract includes a 401(k) and college tuition pay-back increase, a signing bonus and excellent job bidding and seniority language. “Thank […]
Ohio Machinists Get Out The Vote
Mary Ellen Napier and Jim McClelland of IAMAW District 54 in Ohio aren’t giving up on the midterm elections. They want all union members to vote now and start to prepare for 2016. Volunteers can knock on doors and make phone calls to get out the vote, on Election Day and in every election, to […]
States skirt past federal Buy American bans
Question: How can you get your government on board to bolster Buy American laws in public procurement contracts and help create more American jobs, profits, and tax revenue? Answer: Try focusing on your state representatives by asking them to create, sponsor, and advocate enactment of Buy American laws on the state and local level. Think […]
SpaceX in Hot Water Over Alleged Labor Violations
A newcomer to the space transport industry is having some success launching rockets into space, but still can’t figure out how to follow California labor law. SpaceX, a Hawthorne, CA-based company which recently won a NASA contract to launch astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017, is facing two lawsuits over alleged labor law […]
Connecticut Machinists Help Secure Election Day Bright Spot
Bucking a national trend of right-wing Election Day victories, Connecticut voters defeated a union-busting millionaire to re-elect progressive Dan Malloy as the state’s governor. IAM members helped ensure the win. A robust, widely supported “Labor 2014” campaign, spearheaded by the state AFL-CIO, reached union members and their families in every corner of the state. The […]
