CHANGE 22 Affiliates 33 Hall 44 1111 Local100 Joins Fight to Stop FTAA
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WHITE COLLAR AFL-CIO-CLC OFFICEANDPROFESSIONALEMPLOYEESINTERNATIONALUNION,AFL-CIOANDCLC No. 485 Issue 4, Winter 2004 Philadelphianurses win elimination of forced overtime An 18-foot rat protesting “Tenet Greed” was on the picket line in support of the nurses. Union and community supporters join nurses at November 24 rally. n November 11, 2003, 268 registered that are shared by nurses throughout the gaining table by Local 112 Associate Director wage increase and other benefit improvements. nurses employed by the Medical country. Mary Rita Duvall-Quinn. The hospital is owned This offer was overwhelmingly rejected because OCollege of Pennsylvania Hospital The nurses are members of OPEIU and operated by the California-based Tenet the offer failed to address the nurses’principle went on strike, not over money or benefits, Healthcare Pennsylvania, Local 112 based in Healthcare Corporation. The hospital offered complaint — forced overtime — which lowers but over patient care standards and concerns Allentown, Pa. and were represented at the bar- a two-year contract that included an 11 percent Continued on page 7 Prudentialagents want apieceof therock! OPEIU pickets the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, December 17 in Washington, D.C. n Wednesday, December 17 the for more than two years to win a voice in to the employer’s unfair labor practices. An to vote against the union and reminding them Washington headquarters of the their workplace. administrative law judge found that Prudential that they are employed “at will” by ONational Labor Relations Board More than a year-and-a-half ago the had violated federal labor law in conducting Prudential. The administrative law judge (NLRB) was picketed to protest the agency’s Prudential Agents voted in an NLRB-con- an aggressive anti-union campaign leading ruled that the company’s failure to grant foot dragging in a case involving nearly 2,000 ducted election to determine whether they up to the vote. Specifically, the Prudential Local 153 equal access through the internal Prudential Insurance Agents from across the wanted to be represented by OPEIU, Local company’s internal e-mail system was used e-mail system constituted a violation of country who have been trying to form a union 153. The union lost the election narrowly due to communicate with the agents, urging them Continued on page 5 ORGANIZING INSIDE General Local 102 Educational Notice to FOR Employees dedicates Conferences Employees Association new union CHANGE 22 affiliates 33 hall 44 1111 Local100 joins fight to stop FTAA embers of the Government Super- could only vote it up or down. against peaceful protestors,” according to Chief John Timoney. Several unions have visors Association of Florida, According to the AFL-CIO, “if approved, union officials testifying at a public hearing also called for a congressional investigation MGSAF/OPEIU Local 100, joined the FTAA would eliminate tariffs from 34 held in December. The AFL-CIO has called into the police mismanagement. tens of thousands of workers for four days countries with a population of more than 800 upon the U.S. Attorney General John GSAF/OPEIU Local 100 represents more of rousing, energized “Stop FTAA” events million and accelerate the staggering job loss Ashcroft and Florida Governor Jeb Bush to than 4,000 publicly employed supervisors in Miami, Florida. The demonstration was and environmental damage experienced under launch an independent investigation, as well and professionals in Broward County, Dade held to protest the November 18-21 closed- 10 years of NAFTA, the North American Free as demanded the resignation of Miami Police County and Miami Beach. door meetings of trade ministers discussing Trade Agreement. the next steps in creating the Free Trade Area The event culminated in a march of 20,000 of the Americas (FTAA), a hemisphere-wide workers against FTAA on November 20 and trade deal that will create massive job loss included educational workshops, a People’s and environmental damage in the U.S. Gala and Global Workers Forum, where eight FTAA negotiations, which have been workers from North, Central and South going on for several years, are scheduled to America described the impact of bad trade finish in 2005, when the agreement would deals on their lives. come to a vote in each country. The U.S. The event was marred by mismanagement Congress would vote on the FTAA under by police officials in Miami, leading to fast-track rules, meaning that it would not “numerous instances of obstruction, intimi- have a chance to amend the agreement, but dation, harassment and repressive tactics Ellis and Local 100 Board Member Arnie Klein. OPEIU Local 100 President Richard Ellis, Teamsters Local 769 member Elsa Lopez, South Florida AFL-CIO President Fred Frost and OPEIU Local 100 First Vice President Greg Blackman at the FTAA protest. Heavy police presence on hand. Labor officials are calling for an investigation General Employees Association into police mismanagement at the protest. affiliates with OPEIU he General Employees Association (GEA) has overwhelmingly voted to affiliate Twith OPEIU, creating OPEIU Local 115 in Ormond Beach, Florida. Ballots were mailed to 74 eligible employees, 37 returned with aYES vote and 1 NO vote. On November 19, 2003 the Executive Board met and affirmed the Affiliation Agreement. The GEA unit consists of a mixture of blue and white collar workers, including clerical workers and those who repair city roads and bridges. “The General Employees Association was independent for more than 10 years, and recently started thinking about how to improve representation for their members,” said Ed Darcy, Sr., OPEIU Florida Regional Director. “They decided that affiliation with a larger organization would provide needed power at the bargaining table, so they inter- viewed four different international unions and chose OPEIU.” Upon completion of the affiliation process, Bill Heric retired as president and Darcy assumed the position of Interim President. An election will be held later this year. 2 • White Collar Local102 dedicates new union hall (Left photo) Hundreds of union members and guests gather to celebrate the opening of the new Local 102 union hall in Daleville, Alabama. Local 102 represents more than 300 helicopter pilots who train army pilots at Ft. Rucker, Georgia. Pictured in left photo are OPEIU Director of Organization and Field Services Kevin Kistler, International President Michael Goodwin and International Representative Paul Bohelski. (Right photo) Steve Rush, Local 102 President, chairs the first union meeting held at the new hall. NAFTA in Galesburg: freetradeat the expenseof working families hile free trade has expanded between northern Mexico. The maquiladora assembly majority of workers in Reynosa’s maquiladoras. nesses suffer as unemployment lowers the the United States and Mexico for plants are used mainly to finish imported com- Often the subject of criticism from United States spending power of the entire community. Wdecades, the enactment of the North ponents and raw goods from the United States, unions, CTM seems to protect the status quo Property values suffer. Tax bases shrink, American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA) on and then ship them back to the United States. and large corporations rather than advocate for school populations dwindle, and as a conse- January 1, 1994, ushered in an era of change Zenith became the first large United States its workers, since the union jobs it desires are quence of federal funding formulas, school and uncertainty. Although NAFTA promised corporation to establish maquiladora opera- available in large part because of the cheaper funding suffers. Even more apparent, though, progress, and many pledged that it would raise tions in Reynosa, and now employs more than wages that can be paid. Blacklisting and pre- the loss of a steady employer for decades also the living standards for working families, the 20,000 workers in venting the right to rips at the social fabric of the community, reality is that it made it more attractive for United several maquilado- organize freely are whose families now face uncertainty, and for States manufacturers to find cheaper labor ra plants in northern common, and smaller many, the arduous tasks of either looking for abroad, and thousands ofAmerican workers are Mexico. Right now, Contributions can be unions struggle to com- work, moving, or going back to school. Yet, losing their jobs. This is precisely what hap- Reynosa employs made to: pete with the CTM. there is some hope, as the Illinois Employ- pened when the nation’s third largest appliance about 200 people at Yet, in an irony ment & Training Center is available for any- manufacturer, Maytag, decided to move their its two Maytag produced by the glob- one in Galesburg who is either underemployed refrigerator manufacturing plant to Mexico. plants, but expects OPEIU, Local 444 al economy, Reynosa or unemployed. This center provides unem- What is the effect of NAFTA? Look no to hire another 700 itself may lose out on ployment insurance, employment services, further than the town of Galesburg, Illinois, for all three of its Emergency Fund jobs to a cheaper pay- job training, counseling, tuition benefits, and formerly the site of a large Maytag refriger- Maytag plants. ing competitor. While workshops to illustrate all the services offered. ator manufacturing plant where 100 OPEIU The people of c/o Monte Voss, Reynosa pays about While United States unions have fought members were employed. On October 11, Reynosa, however, President $6.50 per day, the and won long battles to improve the lives 2001, Maytag announced it would start wind- are not guaranteed a same jobs in China of those employed in manufacturing jobs, ing down production at the Galesburg plant better way of life 1706 282nd Ave. pay only about $2 a large corporations focused on the bottom in late 2003 in favor of a plant in Reynosa, because of the day.