Anger Over Erg.Onomics Reg Watered-Down Ergonomics Safety Rising Workers' Compensation.,Costs Public in Due to Be Acted Hearings January.- Upon the Board
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~pyqgj Vol 37-No. 40 October 14, 1994 FeinstEin BronRaleE 5et Rallies in Northern- and Southern California to focus labor's support for Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Ka- WVorkers thleen Brown in the critical Nov. 8 general election races were an- nounced this week by the state AFL-CIO's Committee on Political *Protest Education (COPE). The schedule: * Wednesday,* Oct. 26, at Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel with Brown Prop 187 the featured speaker. * Thursday., Oct. 27, at the San Labor's crusade against immigrant-bashing Francisco Airport Hilton Hotel with Proposition- 187 moved out of the phone banks Sen. Feinstein in the spotlight. and into the streets this week as tens of thou- .Both sessions will start at 9:30 sands prepared to join Sunday's giant protest a.m. and conclude before 1 p.m., march in Los Angeles. according* to Jack Henning, execu- Trade unionists quickly grabbed all available tive secretary-treasurer of the Cali- seats on chartered buses that wll haul partici- fornia Labor Federation. pants-to Los Angeles from points as far distant Bill Nress, chair of the California as the San Francisco Bay Area. Democratic Party, is to speak at The L.A. march will start at Cesar Chavez both rallies. Avenue and Lorena Street in East Los Angeles '"Labor is faced with twin politi- and stretch northward to City Hall where rally cal disasters if Kathleen Brown and speakers will point out the grossly unfair exag- .............................. Dianne Feinstein are defeated in gerations upon which the scapegoating ballot their respective races for governor initiative is based. Fired Sprint workers Join anti-Prop 187 Marchim S.FE and United States senator," Henning state It comes a week after last San warned AFL-CIO affiliates Sunday's be obliged to report any child they believe* 04I am proud that labor has been in the fore- Wednesday as the two rallies were Francisco march by some 2,500) through the might have undocumented parents. Mission to S.F City Hall. Also last front of the struggle to defeat this disastrous announced. District. Doctors, nurses and. other staffers at Al- initiative," Henning said in a letter Lo all affili- "Both races will be won or lost Sunday, President Arturo 'Rodriguez of the amneda Countys in Oakland United Farm Workers led more than Highland Hospital ated unions and councils. by campaign activities between now 2,000 took the occasion to declare publicly that they and election the -state in a protest march against Proposition* 187 in "Thanks to unions throughout the state we day," AFL- wilreustoobe te rpoting requjrenn. are mounting a strog campaign against it. I CEO leader .clared. Watsonville. Prpsition. 187paetMw in Ofit--- .Thc twpmeesi" s willfocus also Wednesday Oakland thousands marched have annhounced-that.they would refuse to on in separate columns from surrounding towns to obe*y "With only a few weeks left, we need to energizing1t6Wbs.-efforts t e the lawfcsoreege natvl dctn u feat Proposition* 187, the anti-immi- a protest rally at City Hall Plaza. Included Meanwhile, Executive Secretary-Treasurer memessourthatrepoduac eueinouvteo grant initiative, and to pass Proposi- were many students of Latino ancestry who Jack Henning of the California Labor Federa- tion the would have to their eeoay,"enigraded. "gnooeopo 186, single-payer health repeatedly verify citizen- tion called for memberes of all AFL-CIO afffli-. sietiondato"tHmuencanegtakdooenor care initiative. ship if Proposition 187 passes because ates to redouble their efforts to -defeat the Henning -called for "a fervent teachers, health care workers and others would initiative. (Continued on Page 4) closing drive" to get out the- labor vote for Brown and Feinstein. As he spoke,' polls showed Brown's opponent, incumbent Re- unions to Publ.ishers: Open the Books publican Gov. Pete Wilson inching such anti- San Francisco upward despite egregious newspaper pub- cial advisors who put together the *Job security for all 2,600 em- fore worker campaign tactics as his call lishers, faced with a Halloween the strike deadline. There was employee buyout* of United ployees represented by the. lo- no for -total. abolishment. of the eight- strike dealine, a dramatic and eighit immediate response from, got Airlines. cal unions that are involved. management. hour. day for all 'California wage innovative proposal Wednesday The financial advisors will inves- from * Successorship protections in Negotiations bogged down last the unions they have been tigate the veracity of publishers' event of sale or restructuring of the stonewalling at the bargaining table year after the publishers brought in claims that they must have wage Chronicle, Examiner or Newspaper King & Ballow, the notorious for more than a year. freezes and a long list of cost-cut- Agency The proposal is contained in a union-busting lawyer firm from ting concessions in order to stay in * Establishment of a structure Memphis, Tennessee. King & Bal- letter submitted to managements of business. which the the Chronicle and Examiner and through employees can low called off joint negotiations, "Upon verification of* need, the become true partners through stock which had provided a quarter of a their jointly owned Newspaper unions are prepared to moderate Agency by Doug Cuthbertson, ownership, profit sharing or other century of industrial peace for met- wage demands as well as our- posi- innovative alternatives to the tradi- ropolitan dailies of the San Fran- chair of the S.F Conference of tions on so-called flexibility issues tional labor-management Newspaper Unions. arrange- cisco Bay Area. as part of an acceptable quid pro ment. A National._ Labor Relations It calls for the employers to open quo," Cuthbertson wrote. The clearly bounced the their books-with guarantees of proposal* Board unfair. labor practice charge The quid pro quo, he said, should ball back onto the publishers' side of is bringing the employers back to confidentiality-to the same finan- include: the net with two weeks left be- only (Continued on Page 4) (Continued on Page 4) Anger Over Erg.onomics Reg Watered-down ergonomics safety rising workers' compensation.,costs public in due to be acted hearings January.- upon the board. Ninety-seven com- regulations upon by to employers resulting from wide- Director of Industrial Relations ments. were reported filed, and the the Cal-OSHA Standards Board spread'injury to workers. It would- Lloyd W Aubry assured the board bulk of next month should be rejected and them apparently voice out- reward -recalcitrant employers at the members at that time that the staff rage over the weakening of the Pro- r rewritten, Executive Secretary- expense of their more conscientious of the Division of Treasurer Jack Henning of the Cali- Occupational posed standard to meet objections o competitors." Safety and Health would come back from Standards Board members. fornia Labor Federation told. the The Standards Board will have to with revised board this week. regulations satisfying "The standard will not protect rewrite the proposal, Henning said, their objections. True to Aubry's workers from injury, nor will the Henning's warning that the pro- to ""fulfill its mandate to create a word, watered-down regulations Division (of Occupational Safety needs 9 posal "significant strengthen- standard to. minimize repetitive mo- were distributed for comment three and Health) -be able to do its job," ing," was seconded by other trade tion injury." weeks The Standards Board unionists ago. warned Larkie Gildersleeve of and work safety activists .The Standards Board, acting will have to act on the proposal at a Northern California Newspaper who submitted objections before without either of the two labor rep- scheduled -for Nov. 17 in deadline for meeting Guild, one of the unions that Tuesday's comment. resentatives it is -supposed. to in- Los Angeles in.-order to comply launched the drive for Cal-OSHA ",'In its current form, the. proposal clude, indicated two months ago with a mandate. from the would do little to the Legisla- repetitive trauma safeguards a de- remedy epi- that it wanted to approve regulations hire to have an ergonomics standard cade ago. demic of 'cumulative trauma disor- much weaker than those that came in place next Jan. 1. ders," the state AFL-CIO leader de- by '"We do not believe that the regu- out of a f6ur-year-effort by an advi- .It remains to be seen what impact lation as currently proposed will in clared. "It would not stem the committee and were sory put to comments filed this week will -have (Continued on Page 4) Teamos..Blo htlIat ner' Wvnistle-Diowing aemonstrators nancial District* on Monday, Oct. paraded noisily through downtown bargaining. units. Ponuy.'Express. is going. after Wells Fargo: Guardfouse' nsdan o Brg 24, when.the-Teamsters hold;a_*.ma- driversostruckin-seVeralcitis,6gtit Servie -in'C"lifornia. arner offices at*.Citycop Plaza. Los Angeles Wednesday as. the jorAdmonstration from 3:30 to 5:30- became Teamsters launched A natiotial cor- soon -.obvi.ous,.-,h*at-Borg. Meanwhile,, the pectogenralAtuthe e tim, a smallr contin- p.m..outside Borg Warner.*offices*At* Wanrwas. willig*to let P6nyEx- of th)e Feda Reserve Bank,.isun gent led by Teamter intrntinal. porate campaign against courier And Sansome and Clay. streets.. pressdwindle.--away.rather. than guard services owned by the Borg But the real fcsi Borg deraknganinveitigation ofpossi- rpeenaieBob MarshalIhad- Warner Wells allow-thevworkers.:-to' bargain' bl9ilain by Borg.Warner of its billed at San Francisco City Hi to corporation: Fargo Warner's Pony Exprss subsidiary collectively contract to service the bank. and its Guard Services, Burns, Kane Secu-- Some 4,000 Pony Express urge officials- to refuse- to- use any. rity and* Pony Express. -.Such illegal actions have resulted branch-Offices. At the sam timle,. of the. Borg Warner courier drivers -voted overwhelmingly for.