Sunday, December 31, 2017

Supreme Court's Janus ruling could have seismic effect on future of labor

Transit Workers Union President John Samuelsen is leery of the effects such a ruling could bring.
 (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)



By Ginger Otis
New York Daily News 



The new year will bring a new Supreme Court ruling that could have far-reaching implications for the labor movement — and many New York public-sector unions are already braced for a potentially devastating blow. 



The case is Janus vs. the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in mid- to late-February.
AFSCME has until Jan. 12 to file briefs on the merits of its arguments in the legal battle, and labor supporters have until Jan. 19 to file their amicus briefs.
At stake is the right of public-sector unions to charge fees to workers who choose not to join labor organizations — but who still gain from the collectively bargained salaries, pensions and other benefits that unions negotiate on their behalf.
A loss in the case would overturn about 40 years of established labor law, and possibly put severe strains on the finances of public-sector unions across the country.
“We are already brainstorming on possible solutions and next steps if we lose Janus, and I believe we will,” said Peter Meringolo, former chairman of the city Correction Captains Association and now chairman of the state’s Public Employee Conference.
“If it happens, and workers who don’t join the union no longer have to pay agency fees, it’s going to be a problem,” he said.
His organization — an umbrella group that advocates for more than 65 public-sector labor organ­izations in New York — has already created a special committee to tackle the Janus quandary. “We are worried and we’re looking at what legislation could be passed in New York to help,” said Meringolo.
Unions have long argued — with agreement from U.S. courts — that individuals who choose not to join labor associations but who work in union shops and prosper from union-bargained contracts and benefits should pay agency fees that are akin to the dues paid by full-fledged union members.
Otherwise, the nonpayers — dubbed “free riders” or “freeloaders” — get the benefits of union actions while the financial burden is borne by others.
If the Supreme Court overturns the existing legal precedent that gives labor groups the right to charge “free riders,” the floodgates will open, labor leaders fear. Existing dues payers could choose to quit their union and keep their cash — and remain secure in the knowledge that by law, the union still has to keep collectively bargaining for them.
Meanwhile, the erosion of a dues-paying membership could cripple the public-sector labor movement, union advocates say.
District Council 37 — the city’s largest public-sector union with roughly 120,000 workers — could be among the hardest-hit, labor sources said.
“Cops, firefighters, the uniformed unions that earn the higher salaries — they’re not really feeling the pinch from paying dues,” said one longtime city union member. “But DC 37 members on a lower pay scale do feel it and likely many will opt out of paying if they can.”
On its website, DC 37 had already started sending motivational messages to its troops — touting new innovations like its Member Action Teams, volunteer organizers who do outreach to the union’s widespread network of employees, who exist across nearly every city agency.
DC 37 is a charter member of AFSCME, the national union that’s being sued by Illinois government employee Mark Janus.
Janus has argued that he doesn’t agree with AFSCME’s political positions and that he should not be forced to pay fees to support the union — even though it collectively bargains and protects Illinois state employees, including him.
Backed by numerous conservative and right-to-work groups, Janus sued the union for abridging his First Amendment rights.
Underpinning his legal challenge is a 1977 precedent set in the Abood v. Detroit Board of Eduation case.
On the merits, it’s remarkably similar to the claims made by Janus, and in 1977, the court ruled that unions could require nonmembers to help pay for collective bargaining, in part to ensure “labor peace.”
But workers don’t have to pay for unions’ political work — like doorknocking, leafletting and campaign donations — as that does violate their First Amendment rights, the Abood case said.
That ruling has stood since — but not without challenges.
Last year, the Supreme Court heard Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association, also funded by right-wing groups and also arguing that paying union fees was a First Amendent infringement on workers who were not members.
The justices heard Friedrichs arguments in January 2016 — but the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a month later resulted in a 4-to-4 deadlock. The case reverted to the ruling of the lower court, which found in favor of the teachers’ union.
But the labor movements’ relief was short-lived, because the Janus case now looms.
Scalia’s replacement, Justice Neil Gorsuch, is a Constitutional originalist, meaning he believes the document should be construed as intended by its initial drafters.
That hasn’t given labor leaders much hope that he will side with Abood — and as Gorsuch will likely be the decisive vote, the expectation is that AFSCME will lose.
At Transport Workers Union Local 100, a union that has experienced first-hand the debilitating effect of losing dues, a plan is already afoot to counteract an unfavorable Janus ruling.
Recently, president Tony Utano rolled out his ideas at a labor talk — and put heavy emphasis on ramping up communication to existing and new members, to remind them and convince them why they need to support the union.
“Janus will mean that we will have to make still more effective use of our resources, and double down on communicating with members. We will have to represent our members as well as we ever have, even if we have less money to do it with. How we do this will take forethought, but, even more, it will take adapting to new times as we go along,” Utano said.
“The overriding point is this: This is something we can do. We can hold our ranks together ... What it takes above all is working with our members and coming through for them,” he said.
Local 100’s roughly 43,000 New York members also have an example to follow in Transport Workers of America’s national union — which has shops in two states that are already right-to-work, meaning employees there don’t have to pay fees to unions even when they benefit from union protections. Twenty-eight states in the U.S. are currently right-to-work.
“We have excellent dues density in those shops in Houston and Miami, even though they are right-to-work states,” said TWU president John Samuelsen.
“We brought the presidents in of those locals, which have about 3,000 members each, to form a national committee of public-sector unions to share information and insights,” he said.
Samuelsen is well aware of how fast a union’s fortunes can sink when the dues-paying membership disappears. In 2005, following a three-day transit strike in New York, Local 100 lost its rights to automatic dues check-off in members’ pay as a punishment for its actions.
Once paying dues become voluntary, many union members put the money in their pockets, not Local 100’s coffers.
By the time Samuelsen was elected Local 100 president in 2009, the union had lost roughly $11 million in unpaid dues, he said.
Some workers even refused to pay after the penalty was lifted and automatic dues check off was restored, he said.
To get the cash back, Samuelsen had to mount an aggressive outreach campaign to show members what their money did for them via the union — and make sure to deliver real results in contracts and job benefits.
Local 100 has made tremendous strides in getting its former scofflaws back on the books and recouping losses, said the union leader, who was elected to run TWU nationally in September.
“We run that same kind of sophisticated shop in Houston and Miami, and the members realize that their livelihoods are linked to the success of the union,” the Samuelsen said. “This situation is complicated but in some ways the answer is simple: We fight. We fight for our members and we fight with them.”
As an example, he pointed to Columbus, Ohio, where TWU is in a protracted battle to stop the automation of bus driver jobs.
“This is why the trade union movement is still so relevant — if TWU wasn’t in Columbus, those bus operators would be doomed. But we are there, and because of that those jobs will be there for the next 20 years and beyond,” he said.
If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Mark Janus, the impact will be felt fairly quickly, said labor lawyer Tim Yeung.
Because the case hinges on a constitutional challenge, if Janus wins, the ruling will supercede all other laws, he said.
“It’s the constitution, so that trumps all,” Yeung noted.
It’s not clear if public-sector unions would have to wait for immediately stop collecting them from non-members. Either way, “it’s not going to take long to affect the whole country,” Yeung noted.
In New York, public-sector unions have some measure of protection in the relatively labor-friendly state Legislature, and with Gov. Cuomo, who frequently expresses his support for union jobs.
Already, state Sen. Marisol Alcantara (D—Manhattan), chair of the Senate Labor Committee, has introduced legislation to make it easier to join a public-sector union in New York.
And state Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island), a staunch labor backer, has indicated she might be willing to go even further.
“It’s premature right now to talk about specifics, but the biggest question is about duty of fair representation,” she told the Daily News. “Is it fair to force a union to represent someone who doesn’t want to be part of the union and isn’t paying any dues or fees? I think not. If you don’t want to be at the bargaining table and you want to go negotiate your own pay and benefits, go ahead and negotiate your own contract,” said Savino.
But, “others don’t necessarily see it that way,” she added.
Another question would be the right of a union to request a rebate, or a payment from a non-member union in exchange for representing them at grievances or providing other job protections, she said.
The best solution, the senator noted, is for unions to increase interactions with members and explain the benefits — not just financial — of having a strong voice in the workplace.
“Let’s hope for a good decision and be ready for a bad one,” Savino said. “But if you think this case really has anything to do with a public employee somewhere worried about First Amendment rights, I have a bridge to sell you.” 


Thursday, December 28, 2017

[Ngo-pal-rights] NGO Action News - 22 December 2017



Dear friends, 
This week's NGO Action News has just been published. The newsletter summarizes activities undertaken or planned by civil society organisations across the globe as well as UN action on the question of Palestine over the week. Please feel free to inform us about your activities and publications by emailing us at palestinianrights@un.org and to forward this newsletter to your supporters. We welcome your organization's contributions, questions or comments. Happy holidays to those celebrating and peace to all,
        Division for Palestinian Rights
        Department of Political Affairs
        United Nations

       Like us on Facebook: @UN.palestinianrights
       Follow us on Twitter: @UNISPAL
      UNISPAL website: unispal.un.org

Global
·         To prevent further deaths and injuries, on 21 December, Amnesty International called on the Israeli authorities to put an end to the excessive force allegedly used as part of its response to demonstrations in the OPT, which followed the U.S. statement on Jerusalem of 6 December.

Middle East
·         In a joint press release (“Israel is Unable and Unwilling to Conduct Genuine Investigations and Prosecutions”) issued on 21 December , Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and three other Palestinian human rights organizations reported the submission of their fifth substantive communication to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The confidential communication examines Israel’s investigative system in light of the admissibility requirements under Article 17 of the ICC Statute, calling on the court to open an investigation into serious crimes allegedly committed during the 2014 Gaza war.  

·         Putting a human face to data provided by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on unemployment in the Gaza Strip, B’Tselem published on 21 December personal accounts of college and university graduates in search of professional opportunities in Gaza.

North America
·         The Palestinian American Research Center (PARC) has announced several research and travel fellowships during the 2018/19 academic year. Information about the application process and deadlines is available online.

·         On 17 December, Al Shabaka-The Palestinian Policy Network hosted its first policy lab “Holding the Line on Jerusalem: Key Questions and Options” with Nadia Hijab and Zena Agha. The latter also took part in the debate “What Now for the Palestinians?”, held on Newshour Extra of the BBC World Service, together with Mouin Rabbani, Yezid Sayigh, Gill Hoffmann and David Makovsky.

Europe
·         On 21 December, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) informed about the services provided by the Dunya Women’s Cancer Centre in Ramallah and its activities to raise awareness about the importance of early diagnosis of breast cancer.

United Nations 
·         On 21 December, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/ES-10/L.22 on the status of Jerusalem, reaffirming, inter alia, the provisions of Security Council resolution 478 (1980).

·         On 19 December, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for  an independent and impartial investigation into the killing of 29-year-old activist Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh on 15 December, during a protest near the Gaza perimeter fence. Having reportedly lost his legs after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza, Ibrahim was severely disabled and used a wheelchair. To ensure accountability for any crimes committed in the context of recent demonstrations in the OPT, the High Commissioner also called for all other incidents resulting in death or injury to be investigated. He further condemned unequivocally all attacks against civilians, including the indiscriminate shelling of Israeli civilian areas by Palestinian armed groups operating from Gaza.

·         On 4 December, UNRWA reported the establishment of its first ever elected agency-wide student parliament. The newly elected members, representing all UNRWA fields of operation (West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) gathered in November for a four-day workshop in Beirut.


To subscribe: send an email to ngo-pal-rights-join@list.un.org


Sunday, December 24, 2017

Serbia: Meeting of WFTU General Secretary and the former workers of the Knjaz Milos Company

22 Dec 2017  EUROPE, SERBIA
On 22.12.2017 a meeting was held at the Headquarters of the Trade Union Organization SLOGA in Belgrade, Serbia, between the WFTU General Secretary, George Mavrikos, and representatives of the former workers of the Knjaz Milos Company in Aranjelovac, Serbia.
The former workers of the Knjaz Milos Company have been protesting over the last years against the anti-workers policies they face.
During the meeting, the WFTU General Secretary was informed on their situation and future action of support was discussed.

NETHERLANDS: Tens of thousands of teachers went on strike

AMSTERDAM

More than 60,000 elementary school teachers in the Netherlands went on strike yesterday, demanding increases in wages and better working conditions by employment of additional staff, according to the Teachers’ Union (Abo). It is the second national strike of teachers within two and a half months (after several years), as their demand for additional state funding of 1.4 billion euros (900 million for increases in wages and 500 million for additional employment) has not been satisfied yet by the government.

A survey published in the Trouw newspaper on the occasion of October strike outlined the significant deficiencies in Dutch primary schools and the intensification of work: It is estimated that 31,000 Primary School Teachers have left the educational system, while many of them (about 2 / 3) would return if wages and working conditions would be improved.

Friday, December 22, 2017

Transport Workers Union Celebrates Long-Fought Victory for New Members

The Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (TWU) Local 577 voted to ratify their first-ever contract with Allegiant Air today, offering flight attendants at the airline their first labor agreement with the company following over six years of negotiations.

With over 95 percent of the membership participating, the contract was ratified by 70 percent. The agreement offers the over 1,100 flight attendants at the airline several key workplace victories, including better wages, sick leave, and grievance procedures. It’s a significant vote of confidence in TWU from the Allegiant work group, who faced interference from both the company and other efforts. With this ratification, the decision is clear: flight attendants trust the union to listen to their concerns and stand up for them when they need it.

“The rank and file flight attendants and the TWU leadership were determined to win a solid contract from Allegiant Air,” said John Samuelsen, the union’s International President. “Together, we launched a strategic campaign against the company that bore fruit quickly. These members should be very proud for standing up to Allegiant and taking control of their own destiny.”

Solidarity week 15-21 December 2017 with the People of Palestine around the world



Palestine is not alone

The Trade Unions from 14 countries of the Mediterranean who we met in Marseille, of France on 13-15 of December 2017 we state that Palestine is not alone.
We condemn the decision of USA President to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This act reveals that imperialism is ruthless, barbaric, aggressive.
The US is trying to legitimize the Israeli occupation, the continuous crime at the expense of the Palestinian people with murders, imprisonment, walls and settlements. This development is connected with the US plan for border change in the region aiming at the control of the energy resources and their transport routes. These are the antagonisms that dictate the different stance of Germany, UK, France. Nevertheless, the EU has grave responsibilities because it is upgrading the relations with Israel, equating the perpetrator with the victim and characterizing the just struggle of the Palestinian people as terrorism.
Our duty is to support the heroic Palestinian people against this aggressiveness, to support this people who give a long-term struggle against occupation army, against the policies of the Israeli governments, against the policies that are calling on them to compromise with the Israeli occupation.
All Palestinian trade unions who are proud to struggle for the vindication of the Palestinian People will find us in solidarity with them.
Today’s circumstances, all the more so after the unacceptable decision of the USA President, require a class-oriented, youthful, internationalist, massive, uniting trade union movement; A trade union movement free of bureaucratic interventions and corruption. Only a trade union movement which is organizationally independent and which struggles can assist the Palestinian people’s struggle.
In this context we call all unions to support the international week of solidarity to Palestine called by the WFTU all over the world. All together
We demand:
• Recognition of the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and east Jerusalem as its capital,
• The end of the settlements and the withdrawal of all settlers who have settled across the borders of 1967,
• The demolition of the separation wall in Jerusalem,
• All the Palestinian refugees to be granted the right to return to their homes, based on the relevant decisions of the UN,
• The elimination of any exclusion against the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza strip,
• The immediate release of imprisoned Palestinians and other political prisoners kept in the Israeli prisons,
• The withdrawal of the Israeli army from all the occupied territories of the 1967, including the Golan Heights and the Sheba area of Southern Lebanon
AST – CGTL – CGTP-IN – CLA – DEV-IS – GFTU – GUPW – ICATU – NAKIKIYAT-IS – NFL – OATUU – OTT – PAME – PEO – SNAPEST – STAL – UD CGT 13 – UGTA – UIS PYJ – USB – USM – UTJT
Solidarity Messages are also published by:
  • UNDECA Costa Rica
  • Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union – Trinidad & Tobago
  • Coordinadora Sindical de Clase – Spanish State
  • KASBI-Indonesia

Monday, December 11, 2017

UPS forcing drivers to work 70-hour weeks with mandatory overtime requirement during holidays

(Courtesy NY Daily News)
Story by Ginger Adams Otis
@GingerOtis

This Christmas, UPS drivers are getting the gift of overtime — whether they want it or not.
United Parcel Service on Dec. 1 called for mandatory overtime for its drivers across the country — although not every shop has had to immediately implement the new hours.
Thanks to a projected 5% increase in package deliveries this month from the same time last year — a jump from 712 million to 750 million — UPS has mandated drivers put in 70 hours a week, instead of the usual 60.
That equates to an extra day of work a week — on top of the already extended 11-hour shifts UPS drivers are putting in, according to their union, Teamsters Local 804.
The UPS drivers learned of the policy change the day before it was implemented.
For those who work Monday through Friday, it means working a sixth day, on Saturday.
For those scheduled Tuesday through Saturday, it means their sixth day will be Monday, according to a UPS spokesman.
One UPS driver based in Queens said he didn’t know he was getting mandatory overtime until the end of shift on Thursday.
Those workers were issued a notice of intent to discipline — which the union said could end in dismissal.
UPS spokesman Steve Taut said it was unlikely the mandatory overtime would result in any firings — or even discipline.
"The next step is a meeting and that notice of intent may turn into nothing and an employee can explain the reason they couldn’t work,” he said. “There may or may not be any sort of discipline or repercussions, depending on the situation.”
So far, UPS has only activated its mandatory overtime policy in Queens and Brooklyn — but it could spread to the roughly 7,000 Local 804 drivers in Westchester, the Bronx and Manhattan.
Taut said that UPS had staffed up for the busy holiday season — hiring 95,000 additional temporary workers.
But as online sales continue to boom, so does demand for speedy delivery, he said.
“Volume has come in extremely strong, so we’re taking whatever measures necessary to make sure we can deliver to our customers,” Taut declared.
To justify its change up in hours, UPS cited a Department of Transportation law that permits drivers to work up to 70 hours in an eight-day week.
But Local 804 says UPS is playing fast-and-loose with regulations designed for long-haul surface truckers — not package delivery drivers who are in and out of their vehicles all day carrying hundreds of packages.
“It’s exhausting, a lot of wear-and-tear and stress on the body. We have filed labor charges on this,” said Local 804 principal officer Eddie Villalta. “This is a safety issue.”
The Teamsters are in the middle of negotiating a new contract for their UPS driver members before the current one expires in July 2018.
Local 804 was engaged in supplemental side negotiations in New York, which have now been canceled, Villalta said.
“We’re being bombarded with calls from drivers because honestly, how does UPS expect them to be functional and productive working all these extra hours?” he asked.
Union President Eddie Villalta, seen at his Queens Office, said he has filed labor charges over the mandatory overtime. (HOWARD SIMMONS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
UPS has approximately 75,000 delivery drivers nationwide and 7,000 in Local 804.
Vincent Perrone, a 23-year veteran of UPS, said plenty of workers have always volunteered to work extra days — but he couldn’t recall ever being forced to do it in the past.
“This year they said everybody has to come in, and we understand there are busy days, but it is the holiday season for us too. What about our families and children? Our shopping and decorations?” he said.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Transport Workers Union, Tom Ridge to probe outsourced plane repairs

(Courtesy of New York Daily News)
Just how friendly are U.S. skies? Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has been hired to find out.
Ridge, founder of Ridge Global, has inked a deal with Transport Workers Union to conduct a security assessment on American Airline planes that are serviced in hangars overseas.
A Republican who was also the governor of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2001, Ridge will “evaluate and assess critical repair and maintenance work performed on U.S. passenger aircraft,” his firm said in announcing the contract.
TWU said it has specifically requested that Ridge focus on whether the “off-shoring” of such work to foreign countries is a danger to the American public.
The union is currently in contract negotiations with American Airlines. TWU says that as part of the company’s contract demands, the airline wants to move hundreds of mechanic jobs based in the U.S. overseas — a potentially catastrophic loss of work as well as a major threat to national security, union president John Samuelsen contends.
American Airlines has denied that it wants to outsource its aircraft repair and maintenance to cheaper climes. But it does want to bring in some third-party vendors in the U.S. to take over certain non-mechanical jobs, like de-icing plane, the airline said.
Samuelsen said the union hired Ridge out of workers’ concern that American Airlines was putting profits over passengers.
“Mechanics and other ground workers employed at U.S. airlines take great pride in making the U.S. air transportation system the safest and most reliable in the world. We also have a very personal stake in doing things right. Our families fly on the planes we fix,” Samuelsen said.
Most American air travelers are unaware that an increasing number of U.S. commercial airlines send their planes to South America and China for vital repair work.
Samuelsen said U.S. government agencies don’t have the same oversight authority on foreign repair shops that they do in America.
Ridge said his firm was going to find out if U.S. air travelers are at greater risk of mechanical failures or potential terrorist attacks as a result of off-shoring.
“A significant amount of airline maintenance by the major carriers is outsourced to contract operations in the U.S. and overseas — work that should be assessed and quantified,” Ridge said.

Saturday, December 9, 2017

No to the USA President’s decision


07 Dec 2017

The World Federation of Trade Unions condemns the decision of USA President to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.  This act  reveals that imperialism is ruthless, barbaric, aggressive.
Our duty is to support the heroic Palestinian people against this aggressiveness, to support this people who gives a long-term struggle  against occupation army, against the policies of the Israeli governments, against the policies that are calling on them to compromise with the Israeli occupation.
The WFTU has always been and will remain firmly by the side of Palestinian workers who are continuing their struggle.  The WFTU will use all the international fora to promote the fair demands of the Palestinian people.  The WFTU will reveal the responsibilities of yellow trade-unions’ leaderships that support Israel’s policy.
 All Palestinian trade unions which are proud to struggle for the vindication of the Palestinian People will find us in solidarity with them.  All trade-unionists in the base of their unions who are struggling against the corrupted and compromised trade union leaders will find us standing by their side.
Today’s circumstances, all the more so after the unacceptable decision of the USA President, require a class-oriented,   youthful, internationalist, massive, uniting trade union movement; A trade union movement free of bureaucratic interventions and corruption.  Only a trade union movement which is organizationally independent and which struggles through the WFTU ranks can assist the Palestinian people’s struggle.

The Secretariat