KC Labor Newsletter
Week In Review, August
1, 2004
by Bill Onasch, webmaster,
kclabor.org
Another
Fortnight In Review
Last week we
were on the road, charging our batteries at the
celebration of the
seventieth anniversary of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters strikes.
We’re gradually
settling back in to our weekly routine.
Worker Rights North
In many respects our Canadian cousins have won better labor laws than those
of us south of the border are stuck with. This is one local custom Arkansas
based Wal-Mart doesn’t respect. When the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board
granted a UFCW request to subpoena company documents concerning union busting
tactics the world’s largest private employer squealed no fair. They found a
grandly titled Court of Queen's Bench judge to agree. Her majesty’s jurist
scolded the LRB for being subservient to the union. Emboldened by early success
Wal-Mart has escalated their drive to Americanize labor relations north of the
border by asking the courts to declare a section of Canada's Trade Union Act
unconstitutional. The target is the section that prevents an employer from
interfering in the union drive process through "advice" or "intimidation." Such
restrictions violate Wal-Mart’s charter guaranteed freedom of expression, they
argue. All of this high powered legal assault flows from a union drive at a
small store in Weyburn, southeast of Regina. Wal-Mart has 65,000 employees
across Canada. Like their operation in the USA, not a single one of them is
under a union contract.
Worker ‘Rights‘ South
Many of you are familiar with the
Association for Union
Democracy
that counsels trade unionists about their rights in battles with both boss and
undemocratic union misleaders. Not so well known is a boss funded outfit that
does just the opposite. The National Right to Work Foundation recruits stooges
to initiate legal actions against legitimate unions. Their lawyers pulled off a
couple of victories this past week:
• The United Farm Workers agreed to pay 105,000 dollars to 105 former employees
of Coastal Berry who claimed their discharge for refusal to pay union dues was
illegal because the union hadn’t offered them fee objector status. Fee objectors
can only be required to pay the portion of dues that go directly to contract
negotiation and enforcement.
•
This same trojan horse
outfit challenged card check recognition of the steelworkers at a Goodyear plant
in Kentucky.
Pension Disaster Near
Enron showed what can happen to the much hyped 401(k) retirement plans. Now
defined benefit pensions are under the gun as well. UAL (United Airlines), an
outfit that has cynically used bankruptcy to force renegotiation of wage and
health care agreements, is now threatening to default on the company's $7.5
billion pension deficit. Should that happen the whole ERISA “safety net” long
counted on to guarantee private pensions could collapse. Another powerful
argument for protecting and expanding Social Security.
Freshening Up
We did some major make overs on our
Daily Labor News Digest
and
Labor Advocate Online
pages. We
appreciate any comments.
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