Deleuze|Guattari, Lacan, And

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Deleuze|Guattari, Lacan, And Many Struggles, One Fight: Deleuze|Guattari, Lacan, and the US Anti-Fracking Movement A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2019 Kai Heron School of Social Sciences Contents Maps & Figures………………………...……………………….4 Abstract……...……………………..…………………………...7 Declaration & Copyright Statement……………………..……....8 Acknowledgements………………..……………………………9 Introduction……………………………..…………………….12 We’re Talking About A (Shale) Revolution…………………………..…….....16 Deleuze|Guattari & Resistance……………...…………………………...…...20 One, Two, Many Deleuze|Guattari’s……………………………..………......35 Fieldwork: Ethics & Methods………………………………………...………45 Thesis Structure…………………………………………...………………….48 Chapter I: “Ours Is Becoming the Age of Minorities”………....51 Why Minorities?............................................................................................................56 Minorization…………………………...……………………………………..70 Extending Deleuze|Guattari’s Minorization Thesis…………………...……...81 Conclusion……………………..…………………………………………….82 Chapter II: Cramped Space in the Marcellus Shale Fields…..…90 Cramped Space………………………………………...……………………..93 Dimock, Pennsylvania: Confronting the Democratic Illusion…….……..…...104 Conclusion…………………………...……………………………………...112 2 Chapter III: One Divides into Two: The Majority as Nobody…………………………………...……………….…113 Major/Minor or Majority/Minority/Minoritarian?...............................................118 A Formalist Interpretation of the Majority……………………...…………...129 Conclusion…………………………………...……………………………...143 Chapter IV: It’s Political Philosophy…But Where’s the Politics?...............................................................................................145 Why Deleuze|Guattari’s Political Philosophy Does Not Have a Politics…....148 Two Tendencies of Minority Struggles………………………………..…….161 Conclusion …………………………………………………………..……..180 Chapter V: We Are Seneca Lake: Becoming-Minoritarian?........181 The Origins of We Are Seneca Lake………………………………...………184 The Becoming-Minority of Everybody/Everything………………………....194 Who is the “We” in We Are Seneca Lake?.............................................................215 Conclusion…………………………………………………...……………...225 Conclusion………………………………………..………….227 Citations ………………………………………………..……235 Appendix: Cited Interviews……………………………...…....262 Word Count: 87,943 3 Maps & Figures Figure One: Map of the Marcellus Shale Region…………………………………...…..5 Figure Two: Map of upstate New York and Pennsylvania…………………….…...…...5 Figure Three: Map of Pennsylvania’s unconventional oil wells as of March 2019.…..…6 Figure Four: Map of the Finger Lakes Region of New York……………………..……6 Figure Five: Deleuze|Guattari’s diagram of majorities and minorities……...……..…133 Figure Six: The places in Lacan’s four discourses…………………….……...………135 Figure Seven: The terms of Lacan’s four discourses……………………………...….135 Figure Eight: Lacan’s Discourse of the Master……………………………...……….136 4 Figure One: The Marcellus Shale Region (Source: John G. Van Hoesen, 2019) Figure Two: Thesis Fieldsite (Source: Google Maps, 2019) 5 Figure Three: A map of the 11,935 unconventional wells drilled so far in Pennsylvania as of 30 March 2019 (Source: Fractracker.org) Figure Four: The Finger Lakes Region of New York (Source: Google Maps, 2019) 6 Abstract: In an interview conducted in 1972 Deleuze describes his “Capitalism and Schizophrenia” project, written with Félix Guattari, as an effort to give psychoanalysis “some schizophrenic help.” What if it is now time to return the favour? What if it is Deleuze|Guattari who are today in need of some psychoanalytic help? This thesis develops a re-reading of Deleuze|Guattari’s figure of the minority as it appears in A Thousand Plateaus that is compatible with advances in psychoanalytic and Marxist theory and puts it to work in an analysis of the US anti-fracking movement. The thesis argues that there are in fact two theories of minorities to be found in A Thousand Plateaus. The first is anti-dialectical and vitalist, the second is dialectical and formalist. Though the vitalist account is more consistent with Deleuze|Guattari’s philosophy and its reception in political theory and resistance studies it reduces politics to a substantialized ontology of becoming and to the level of life as such. In this way it cannot think the role that a historically bounded subject plays in the construction of a politics. The second theory of minorities leans heavily on mathematical set theory and comparisons with Lacanian psychoanalysis to present a formalist and historically specific theory of post-Fordist capitalism and its attendant forms of struggle and subjectivity. Here, Deleuze|Guattari present the minority in dialectical terms as the displaced form of appearance of class struggle under post-Fordist conditions and in so doing suggest an auto-critique of their more vitalist and anti-formalist proclivities. This second account, however, remains underdeveloped and is flawed in its use of set theoretical categories. Departing from Deleuze|Guattari’s slips, mistakes, inconsistencies, and contradictions, this thesis reconstructs their second theory of minorities and gives it some psychoanalytic help. Working with, through, and alongside the US anti-fracking movement the thesis proposes that a formalist, Lacanian indebted, account of minorities is well-suited to theorizing the strengths and limitations of contemporary struggles against fracking and related infrastructure. In the process the thesis moves beyond Deleuze|Guattari to make broader contributions to political theory, political ecology, and post-colonial studies. In particular, it defends the role of universality in emancipatory struggle. 7 Declaration and Copywrite Statement No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copywrite or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trademarks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for us without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialization of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=24420), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, the University Library’s regulations (see http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/about/regulations/) and in The University’s policy of Presentation of Theses. 8 Acknowledgements I would like to begin by thanking my advisors, Carl Death and Andreja Zevnik. When I arrived at the University of Manchester I had plans to write a theoretically informed ethnographic study of the US anti-fracking movement that would stand in a broadly Foucauldian tradition. Instead, I have written an empirically informed piece of political theory that is steeped in Deleuze|Guattari’s philosophy, Lacanian psychoanalysis, and Marxist theory and practice. It is the sign of an excellent supervisory team that Carl and Andreja gave me the space and the confidence to pursue my curiosity in this direction while keeping me on track to complete the thesis on time. I would also like to thank Manchester University’s administrative staff: Ann Cronley, Kimberley Hulme, Val Lenferna, and Anusarin Lowe for their support and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for funding the project. This thesis would not exist without the participation and encouragement of anti-fracking organizers across the United States. My eternal gratitude to the members of We Are Seneca Lake, Lancaster Against Pipelines, and the residents of Dimock, Pennsylvania, in particular. It is rare to experience the levels kindness, friendship, and solidarity that I found waiting for me in these communities. The landscape, wildlife, and people of upstate New York and Eastern Pennsylvania have an indelible place in my heart. Thank you. In 2017 I was awarded the 2017-2018 Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at the Fisher Center for the Study of Gender and Justice at Hobart William Smith Colleges, New York. This gave me the chance to spend a year living in my PhD’s fieldsite while writing, teaching, and participating in research and discussion on the Fisher Center’s theme for the year: “The Futures of Revolution.” This was without question the
Recommended publications
  • Capitalist Meltdo-Wn
    "To face reality squarely; not to seek the line of least resistance; to call things by their right names; to speak t�e truth to the masses, no matter how bitter it may be; not to fear obstacles; to be true in little thi�gs as in big ones; to base one's progra.1!1 on the logic of the class struggle;. to be bold when the hour of action arrives-these are the rules of the Fourth International." 'Inequality, Unemployment & Injustice' Capitalist Meltdo-wn Global capitalism is currently in the grip of the most The bourgeois press is relentless in seizing on even the severe economic contraction since the Great Depression of smallest signs of possible "recovery" to reassure consumers the 1930s. The ultimate depth and duration of the down­ and investors that better days are just around thecomer. This turn remain to be seen, but there are many indicators that paternalistic" optimism" recalls similar prognosticationsfol­ point to a lengthy period of massive unemployment in the lowing the 1929 Wall Street crash: "Depression has reached imperialist camp and a steep fall in living standards in the or passed its bottom, [Assistant Secretary of Commerce so-called developing countries. Julius] Klein told the Detroit Board of Commerce, although 2 'we may bump along' for a while in returningto higher trade For those in the neocolonies struggling to eke out a living levels " (New Yo rk Times, 19 March 19 31).The next month, on a dollar or two a day, this crisis will literally be a matter in a major speech approved by President Herbert Hoover, of life and death.
    [Show full text]
  • GLOSSARY of COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TERMS and SELECTED LABOR TOPICS
    GLOSSARY of COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TERMS and SELECTED LABOR TOPICS ABEYANCE – The placement of a pending grievance (or motion) by mutual agreement of the parties, outside the specified time limits until a later date when it may be taken up and processed. ACTION - Direct action occurs when any group of union members engage in an action, such as a protest, that directly exposes a problem, or a possible solution to a contractual and/or societal issue. Union members engage in such actions to spotlight an injustice with the goal of correcting it. It further mobilizes the membership to work in concerted fashion for their own good and improvement. ACCRETION – The addition or consolidation of new employees or a new bargaining unit to or with an existing bargaining unit. ACROSS THE BOARD INCREASE - A general wage increase that covers all the members of a bargaining unit, regardless of classification, grade or step level. Such an increase may be in terms of a percentage or dollar amount. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE – An agent of the National Labor Relations Board or the public sector commission appointed to docket, hear, settle and decide unfair labor practice cases nationwide or statewide in the public sector. They also conduct and preside over formal hearings/trials on an unfair labor practice complaint or a representation case. AFL-CIO - The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations is the national federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of fifty-six national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.
    [Show full text]
  • Philadelphia Suburban Contractors Agreement
    AGREEMENT Between BUILDING OPERATORS LABOR RELATIONS DIVISION OF BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS ASSOCIATION OF PHILADELPHIA, SUBURBAN SECTION and SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 32BJ TERM: DECEMBER 16, 2019 TO DECEMBER 15, 2023 SL1 1623715v2 030060.00001 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ARTICLE 1 - Recognition ............................................................................................................. 1 ARTICLE 2 - UNION SECURITY AND CHECK-OFF .............................................................. 3 ARTICLE 3 - DISCHARGE AND DISCIPLINE ......................................................................... 5 ARTICLE 4 - GRIEVANCE/ARBITRATION ............................................................................. 5 ARTICLE 5 - CONTRACTOR TRANSITION ............................................................................ 8 ARTICLE 6 - SENIORITY AND BUMPING .............................................................................. 9 ARTICLE 7 - WORKLOAD/REDUCTIONS............................................................................. 11 ARTICLE 8 - PRIOR BETTER TERMS AND CONDITIONS ................................................. 11 ARTICLE 9 - PICKET LINE/NO STRIKE CLAUSE ................................................................ 12 ARTICLE 10 - LEAVES OF ABSENCE .................................................................................... 12 ARTICLE 11 - VACATIONS ..................................................................................................... 13 ARTICLE
    [Show full text]
  • Culinary Entertainment, Creative Labor, and the Reterritorialization of White Masculinity
    This is a repository copy of Culinary Entertainment, Creative Labor, and the Reterritorialization of White Masculinity. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/150181/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Negra, D and Tasker, Y orcid.org/0000-0001-8130-2251 (2019) Culinary Entertainment, Creative Labor, and the Reterritorialization of White Masculinity. Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, 59 (1). pp. 112-133. ISSN 1527-2087 © 2019 University of Texas Press. This is a pre-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Cinema and Media Studies following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available through the University of Texas Press. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Culinary Entertainment, Creative Labor and the Re-Territorialization of White Masculinity Abstract This article explores popular cultural themes of masculinity and mobility in the context of post-race and “end of men” discourses.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards Socially Just Pedagogies: Deleuzoguattarian Critical Disability Studies
    Towards socially just pedagogies: Deleuzoguattarian critical disability studies Dan Goodley Reader in Disability Studies and co-director Centre of Applied Disability Studies, School of Education, University of Sheffield, 388 Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2TA http://www.shef.ac.uk/applieddisabilitystudies/ Revised paper submitted for Special Number of International Journal of Inclusive Education entitled: ‘Pedagogies: Matters of Social Justice and Inclusion’ 1 ABSTRACT Socially just pedagogies call for sensitivity to politics and culture. In this paper I will uncover some key challenges in relation to working pedagogically with disabled people through the exploration of a critical disability studies perspective. Firstly, I will unpack some of the assumptions that underpin educational understandings of 'disability' and 'impairment', suggesting that we need to engage more willingly with politicised and socially constructed ideas in relation to these phenomena. Secondly, I will raise questions about the current aims of pedagogy in relation to the market and the autonomous learner. In light of the market – and the subject it produces - I will argue that 'disability and 'impairment’ demand critical researchers to think more creatively about setting the conditions for experimenting with socially just pedagogies. Thirdly, with this experimentation in mind, I will draw upon the work of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to think of socially just pedagogies in terms of rhizomes (n-1); productive models of desire and planes of immanence. These concepts construct pedagogies as 'becoming' rather than 'being' – opening up resistant spaces and potential territories of social justice – all of them uncertain. 2 Introduction: a multiplicity of challenges Educators … should reject forms of schooling that marginalize students who are poor, black and least advantaged.
    [Show full text]
  • 2016 Collective Bargaining Agreement
    Ventra Sandusky Collective Bargaining Agreement INDEX Agreement Proposal Article 1 Recognition Article 2 Union Security, Dues, & Check-Off Article 3 Management Rights Article 4 Bargaining Unit Work Article 5 Anti-Discrimination Article 6 Grievance Procedure Article 7 Seniority Article 8 Hours of Work Article 9 Union Representation Article 10 Health and Safety Article 11 Leaves of Absence Article 12 Compensation Article 13 General Provisions Article 14 No Strikes / No Lockouts Article 15 Holidays Article 16 Vacation Article 17 Benefits Article 18 Wages Article 19 Disciplinary Procedures Article 20 Work Standards Article 21 Contingency Clause Article 22 Contract Waiver and Term Article 23 Termination Attendance Policy Substance Abuse Policy 1 Letter of Understanding – New Hire Union Orientation Letter of Understanding – City Taxes Letter of Commitment between Company and Union Additional Unpublished Letters Retirement Eligible Ford Employees – Reload Incentivized Supplement Flex-N-Gate Health Care Plan Opt Out Memorandum of Agreement – Collective Agreement Ratification Bonus Letter of Understanding – Cameras Letter of Understanding – Earbuds Letter of Understanding – Process Technicians 2 IMPORTANT SUGGESTIONS 1. Read the agreement carefully, as it is your responsibility to learn their contents. If you have questions, contact your committeeperson. 2. Learn the difference between a gripe and a legitimate complaint and/or grievance. A grievance relates directly to the collective bargaining agreement. 3. Discuss any complaints you may have with your supervisor and committeeperson immediately. 4. Keep informed. Read the bulletin boards daily and know the plant rules. 5. Your supervisor has an obligation to call your committeeperson if you so request. 6. Do not sign any papers without first reading them thoroughly.
    [Show full text]
  • Scottishleftreviewissue 54 September/October 2009 £2.00
    scottishleftreview Issue 54 September/October 2009 £2.00 scottishleftreviewIssue 54 September/October 2009 Contents Comment ........................................................2 Dave Watson For sale .........................................................14 Whores and virgins .........................................4 Henry McCubbin Robin McAlpine Occupation or strike? ....................................16 It’s the rich who caused the pain ......................6 Gregor Gall Joe Cox Back to the ‘80s? ...........................................18 Answering the Queen......................................8 Donald Adamxon Mike Danson Representation without manipulation ..........20 Inconvenient truths for the neoliberals. .......10 Lou Howson Andy Cumbers Religion is hell ..............................................22 Us swallowing their medicine ......................12 Stephen Bowman Comment cottish politics can be remarkable - and not in a good way. seems to be unable to see the world in any terms other than SThe Megrahi affair has not cast Scottish politics in a good point-scoring. It would be an interesting academic exercise to light, but not for the usually trumpeted reason. Rather, it just write down every position taken by Iain Gray since assuming shows that sometimes we just can’t see past ourselves to ‘leadership’ of the party and map it against the positions taken anything bigger. by the Daily Record. It is not immediately obvious that there has been any difference. Mapping it in the other direction is equally Let’s start with the obvious point - it is perfectly reasonable to telling - it is not just that the Labour Party is in opposition, it’s have different views on the release or non-release of the man that it is developing a new sort of Total Opposition. No matter convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. It is possible to believe that what happens, Scottish Labour finds reason for outrage at the he was in jail rightfully and it is possible to believe that he was SNP.
    [Show full text]
  • Transgender People's Deterritorialization In
    manusya 23 (2020) 116-126 brill.com/mnya Transgender People’s Deterritorialization in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and Trace Peterson’s “After Before and After” Tanrada Lertlaksanaporn (ธัญรดา เลิศลักษณาพร) MA (English), Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand [email protected] Abstract Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and Trace Peterson’s “After Before and After” have been studied in several aspects related to transgender issues. The pre- sentation of transgender people, especially the transgender protagonist in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, has been criticized as a formulaic depiction with little portrayal of their struggles and triumphs. At the same time, the transgender protagonist is viewed positively as an integral force in the novel. The poem “After Before and After” has been praised for its creative portrayal of transgender people. A study of transgen- der issues in relation to desire and connection helps to show that both texts offer more possibilities of liberation towards the state of “becoming.” This study applies Gilles De- leuze and Félix Guattari’s theory of schizoanalysis to explore transgender people’s lines of flight, rhizomatic movements and transversal connections towards the state of de- territorialization in India and the US. Keywords transgender – post structuralism – becoming – deterritorialization © Tanrada Lertlaksanaporn, 2020 | doi:10.1163/26659077-02301006 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the
    [Show full text]
  • Kafka : Toward a Minor Literature
    Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature This page intentionally left blank Kafka Toward a Minor Literature Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari Translation by Dana Polan Foreword by Réda Bensmai'a Theory and History of Literature, Volume 30 University of Minnesota Press MinneapolLondon The University of Minnesota gratefully acknowledges translation assistance provided for this book by the French Ministry of Culture. Copyright © 1986 by the University of Minnesota Originally published as Kafka: Pour une littérature mineure Copyright © 1975 by Les éditions de Minuit, Paris. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Seventh printing 2003 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Deleuze, Gilles. Kafka: toward a minor literature. (Theory and history of literature ; v. 30) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924—Criticism and interpretation. I. Guattari, Felix. II. Title. III. Series. PT2621.A26Z67513 1986 833'.912 85-31822 ISBN 0-8166-1514-4 ISBN 0-8166-1515-2 (pbk.) The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. Contents Foreword: The Kafka Effect by Réda Bensmai'a ix Translator's Introduction xxii 1. Content and Expression 3 2. An Exaggerated Oedipus 9 3. What Is a Minor Literature? 16 4. The Components of Expression 28 5. Immanence and Desire 43 6.
    [Show full text]
  • Labor and Employment Law Journal a Publication of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the New York State Bar Association
    NYSBA SUMMER 2011 | VOL. 36 | NO. 2 Labor and Employment Law Journal A publication of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the New York State Bar Association Inside • MManagementanagement IInterestnterest SSurveysurveys • DDeferraleferral ooff IImpropermproper PPracticeractice CChargesharges • SStudenttudent DDiscriminationiscrimination CComplaintsomplaints UUndernder tthehe TTayloraylor LLawaw • PPublicublic PPolicyolicy CConsiderationsonsiderations oonn • GGloballobal WWorkplaceorkplace HHealthealth aandnd SSafetyafety AArbitrationrbitration CComplianceompliance • RRecoupmentecoupment ooff UUnemploymentnemployment BBenefienefi ttss • EEthicsthics MMattersatters • UUnionnion OOrganizingrganizing CCampaignsampaigns • EExceptionsxceptions ttoo tthehe AAt-Willt-Will RRuleule • IImplicationsmplications ooff tthehe AARRARRA NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Defi nitive Creative Impasse-Breaking Section Members Techniques in get 20% discount* with coupon code Mediation PUB1164N Written by leading practitioners, trainers, academicians and judges, Defi nitive Creative Impasse-Breaking Techniques in Mediation is replete with tips, techniques and tools for breaking impasse in mediation and negotiation. This book is a resource for lawyers who represent clients in mediation EDITOR and negotiation, general practitioners and other professionals Molly Klapper, J.D., Ph.D. interested in honing their ADR skills. PRODUCT INFO AND PRICES 2011 / 290 pages, softbound This invaluable reference offers mediation approaches PN: 41229 which can be applied to many different situations. The List Price $60 topics include: Avoiding Impasse: A Mediator’s Rules to Live NYSBA Members $45 By; Using Emotions in Mediation to Avoid or Get Through Impasse; Changing Faces to Change Positions; Getting a Order multiple titles to take advantage of our low fl at rate shipping charge of $5.95 per order, regardless of the Bigger Bang for Fewer Bucks; Resolving Impasses in Personal number of items shipped. $5.95 shipping and handling offer applies to orders shipped within the continental U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • GLOSSARY of COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TERMS and OTHER LABOR RELATED TOPICS
    GLOSSARY of COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TERMS and OTHER LABOR RELATED TOPICS ABEYANCE – The placement of a pending grievance (or motion) by mutual agreement of the parties, outside the specified time limits until a later date when it may be taken up and processed. ABOOD v. DETROIT BOARD OF EDUCATION – The legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, on May 23, 1977, ruled unanimously (9–0) that agency-shop (or union-shop) clauses in the collective- bargaining agreements of public-sector unions cannot be used to compel nonunion employees to fund political or ideological activities of the union to which they object. The Court nevertheless held, by a 6–3 majority, that nonunion employees in the public sector may be required to fund union activities related to “collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment purposes.” This case was overturned by the Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2018 on Janus v. AFSCME. ACTION - Direct action occurs when any group of union members engage in an action, such as a protest, that directly exposes a problem, or a possible solution to a contractual and/or societal issue. Union members engage in such actions to spotlight an injustice with the goal of correcting it. It further mobilizes the membership to work in concerted fashion for their own good and improvement. ACCRETION – The addition or consolidation of new employees or a new bargaining unit to or with an existing bargaining unit. ACROSS THE BOARD INCREASE - A general wage increase that covers all the members of a bargaining unit, regardless of classification, grade or step level.
    [Show full text]
  • Bargaining Update #38 Bargaining Unit Newsletter March 4, 2021
    Unity Center for Behavioral Health (UCBH) Oregon Nurses Association Bargaining Update #38 Bargaining Unit Newsletter March 4, 2021 ONA/UCBH What is Management NOT Telling Us Executive Committee & Bargaining Team About Their Wage Proposal? Chair: • They’re not telling us that their Unity’s spokesperson herself agreed Sarah Mittelman (PES) proposed wage scale is less than that nurses would lose money over time their current wage scale. under their proposal, especially future Vice-Chair: new hires. Changing the date for some Christine Allen (Unit 5) • They’re not telling us that even if we move up a step on their new scale, nurses on when they would move up a Secretary/Treasurer: that’s still less than we would have step doesn’t change the fact that the Rebecca Brunk (UNIT 1W) moved up on the current scale, even whole scale is lower. Grievance Chair: if it happens now as opposed to our We believe we have an obligation to Kristen Sharp (Unit 2) anniversary date. stand firm for fair wages for all nurses, Membership Chair: • They’re not telling us that they think not just current nurses but also future Tracie Henry Unity nurses only deserve a 1.25 nurses. Why should all future nurses (Unit 6/Adolescents) percent across the board annual hired after this contract is done be stuck at a lower scale than all other Legacy Staffing Chair: raise. nurses? We are working to make Unity Sherrie Neff (Unit 5) • They’re not telling us that nurses a place that nurses want to work at and Bargaining Team Member: hired after the contract is done stick around.
    [Show full text]