AFIMAC News Bulletin – Covering Strike Security, Work Stoppages, and Labor Disputes

OAKLAND (CBS SF) — Members of the city of Oakland’s two biggest employee unions have voted by overwhelming margins to authorize a strike.

Members of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents more than 1,000 full-time workers and 1,500 part-time workers, including street and parks maintenance workers, civilian police employees, librarian assistants and housing inspectors, voted 95 percent in favor of authorizing a strike.

Members of International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, which represents engineers, attorneys, planners and other professionals, voted 94 percent in favor. The results of both votes were announced late Thursday.

The city’s contracts with the two unions expire on June 30. But the city’s contracts with police officers and firefighters don’t expire this year.

The two unions’ dispute with city leaders is connected with city budget negotiations, as the City Council must adopt a new two-year budget by June 30, the same day the union contracts expire.

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Quebec’s Labour Minister Agnès Maltais says she’s confident construction workers and their employers will reach a settlement before Monday, averting a provincewide strike.

Maltais said it’s the responsibility of the two sides to negotiate a deal, rather than have the government impose a settlement.

“There’s no more imposition by governments, it’s negotiations that decide,” said Maltais this morning.

A conciliator called together the two sides in the dispute to the Montreal offices of the labour ministry this morning, in an effort to get them to agree to a weekend negotiating blitz..

The meeting coincided with FTQ Construction, a union association which represents 70,000 workers, giving the ministry and employers a 48-hour strike notice. The move has been described as mainly an administrative measure.

In all 170,000 workers are affected by the dispute. Their unions have complained that talks have been stalled since the end of May, and if there’s no progress, they warn walkouts will hit all major residential, industrial and roadwork sites across the province — including Montreal’s English superhospital.

McGill University Hospital Centre officials have said that any labour conflict lasting a week or more would have an impact — but insist the new hospital will be finished on time.

Employers take out full-page ad

The Quebec Construction Association, which represents employers, took out a full-page newspaper ad this morning saying the ACQ respects workers and pointing out that the average hourly wage is more than $33.

It said employers have never asked for 14-hour work days, or 6-day weeks at regular wage rates.

Yves Ouellet, the executive-director of FTQ Construction, said he believes the worker’s demands are not unreasonable.

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RIO DE JANEIRO — Not even a day after his arrival in Rio de Janeiro and just hours after attending the Brazil-England soccer friendly at the city’s legendary Maracana stadium, a sports columnist for the Daily Mail newspaper was held up at knifepoint as he strolled along Copacabana Beach.

Adrian Durham darted into oncoming traffic to get away, and in the end the would-be mugger didn’t make off with anything. But the June 2 incident, which Durham described in a recent column, has served as a warning for the tens of thousands of foreign visitors expected to flood into Brazil for this week’s Confederations Cup soccer tournament.

It’s only the first of a series of high-profile events Rio’s is gearing up to host, among them a papal visit in July, next year’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Security has long been a major problem in Brazil, where heavily armed drug lords control swaths of territory that are off-limits to law enforcement and where petty crime often turns fatal. As part of its Olympic bid, Brazil’s government pledged to curb the violence, and major strides have been made in recent years, particularly in Rio, where the police are now present in more than 200 hillside “favela” slums.

But the country still has an alarmingly high murder rate, and knife- and gun-point muggings, carjackings and armed robberies continue to be facts of daily life. Rio alone has seen a spate of recent incidents, including the March gang rape of an American student aboard a public transit van and the shooting last Saturday of a Brazilian engineer who, because of faulty signs, took a wrong turn and drove into an unpacified favela.

Brazilian officials have brought in drones, thermal cameras and thousands of troops to patrol the six stadiums hosting Confederations Cup events. But experts say visitors like Durham will be immediately vulnerable once they venture away from secured areas, and in fact, may run even a greater risk than usual, with many police having been called off their regular street duties to patrol the stadiums’ environs.

“Street lighting and police presence need to be stepped up dramatically before the World Cup — and then the Olympics — come here,” Durham wrote in his column. “Attitudes need to change — locals clearly just accept that crime happens and have no desire to tackle it.”

Brazil’s epidemic of everyday violence makes ensuring security at the upcoming mega-events doubly complicated: Not only must officials plan for threats such as terrorism that overshadow any event of global scale, they also have to keep a lid on day-to-day violence, which some observers predict could reach a fever pitch with the influx of an estimated 60,000 foreign tourists.

Officials said they’ve already deployed the most extensive security apparatus ever in Brazil for the Confederations Cup, a two-week tournament that’s regarded as a dry run for next year’s World Cup.

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House Republicans took another swing at the Obama administration Thursday, introducing two bills that would combat union activism on the part of the National Labor Relations Board.

The Secret Ballot Protection Act, introduced by Rep. David P. Roe, Tennessee Republican, would require workers to vote privately on whether to form a new union, as opposed to the card check process, a method that some fear opens workers up to intimidation from pro-union activists.

Mr. Roe said unions have been pushing for card check so that organizers can figure out who voted against them and convince them to change their vote.

But the Tennessee congressman said he believes strongly in the secret ballot.

“That’s how I got elected,” Mr. Roe said in an interview with a small group of reporters. “That’s how the president got elected, and that’s how unions ought to be elected.

“To let you know how important that is, my wife swears up and down she voted for me, but I don’t know that for a fact,” he said.

The second bill, the Representation Fairness Restoration Act, introduced by Rep. Tom Price, Georgia Republican, in the House and Sen. Johnny Isakson, Georgia Republican, in the upper chamber, would prevent micro-unions from organizing at various companies.

Either bill would be a blow to unions and both will get a legislative hearing on June 26 before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Chairman John Kline, Minnesota Republican, hopes to move them out of the committee before the August break.

Mr. Price said “corrective measures” need to be taken to rein in the NLRB, which continues to issue decisions in labor disputes even though a federal court ruled members on the panel were illegally appointed by President Obama.

Micro-unions are small groups of employees that organize within a single company, but don’t include all employees. Republican lawmakers argue they create problems for businesses that have to spend more time negotiating with multiple unions rather than focusing on one large group of organized workers.

Last week the Conservatives launched another salvo in their war against working people. Conservative backbencher Blaine Calkins unveiled a private members’ bill (C-525) that will make it far harder to form a new union and much easier to decertify an existing one.

The legislation will eliminate the so-called automatic card check in the federally-regulated sector (telecommunications, banking, transportation etc.). For decades, union certification under the Canada Labour Code has operated this way: a majority (50 per cent plus one) of the members of a workforce are required to sign membership cards and pay $5 to certify the union. Bill C-525 proposes to eliminate this model for federally-regulated sectors. In its place, the union certification process would require 45 per cent of the members of a bargaining unit to sign cards; once that threshold is reached the Labour Board would call a secret-ballot vote.

There are good reasons why the card-check model has been practiced in federally-regulated sectors. For one, it can be difficult to organize votes for bargaining units spread across the country and transport sector employees are frequently in different places. More important, the card-check process protects workers from intimidation. It’s widely understood — and confirmed by many academic studies — that secret-ballot workplace votes reduce union certification as they give employers an opportunity to intimidate employees through compulsory anti-union meetings and implicit threats of job loss.

Not only would C-525 lead to greater employer intimidation, it heavily slants certification votes against unions. In a reversal of long-standing voting traditions, Bill C-525 would require unions receive the votes of more than 50 per cent of members in the proposed bargaining unit, rather than 50 percent of the votes cast. This means that those who don’t vote (maybe because they were on vacation, or the employer dissuaded them) are effectively deemed to have voted against unionization. No provincial labour code has this type of provision.

As Canadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza pointed out, “If this same distorted standard of democracy were applied to federal MPs, there would not be a single Conservative member sitting in the House of Commons today. There is no MP in Canada who was elected by over 50 per cent of the voting-age adults in their riding. Why on earth should this test apply to unions, but not MPs?”

The same anti-union bias is at play during a decertification vote. Over 50 per cent of the bargaining unit would have to cast a ballot — regardless of turnout — in favor of the union to prevent decertification. This would allow a decertification without majority support.

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On June 10, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to review Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 8. The suit involved two California protest laws that provide broad protection to protestors in labor-related disputes.

The plaintiff sought to prevent a union from protesting outside a Sacramento-area Foods Co. Since opening in 2007, union protestors have picketed the entrance five days a week, eight hours per day.

Attorneys for Ralphs argued that California protest laws awarded “special privileges” to labor unions, allowing them to trespass on private property. Further, they said the laws made it “virtually impossible” for California Courts to stop even disruptive labor-related protests.

Section 527.3 of the California Code of Civil Procedure says that “no court” has jurisdiction to enjoin “peaceful picketing” involving labor disputes. The Legislature enacted Section 527.3 in 1975 as part of the Moscone Act to mirror the federal Norris-LaGuardia Act, enacted in 1932.

According to Section 527.3(a), the purpose of the Act is to “promote the rights of workers” in “collective bargaining, picketing or other mutual aid or protection.” Subsection (e) excludes unlawful conduct from its protections.

The Legislature enacted Section 1138.1 of the California Code of Civil Procedure in 1999 to mirror other provisions from the 1932 Norris-LaGuardia Act. Under 1138.1, businesses seeking to prevent labor-related protest must show, among other things, that the protest will cause “substantial and irreparable injury.”

Union representatives accused Ralphs of “pervert[ing]” the First Amendment to create a right of private actors to “restrict speech through court action.”

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Police in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo have arrested 20 people after a protest against price rises on public transport turned violent.

Demonstrators set fire to a bus and briefly blocked Sao Paulo’s main road, Avenida Paulista, on Tuesday night.

More than 10,000 people marched through the city’s streets for six hours, according to the security forces, which used rubber bullets to disperse them.

They are demanding that a 6.7% price rise on public transport be revoked.

On 2 June, prices for a single ticket were raised from 3 reals ($1.40, £0.90) to 3.20 reals ($1.50, £0.96).

The authorities say that the rise is well below inflation, which since the last price rise in January 2011 has been at 15,5% according to official figures.

Police said the protest had been peaceful until a small group tried to storm the Parque Dom Pedro II bus station.

The demonstration then split, with some protesters heading back to Avenida Paulista, breaking the windows of nine banks and numerous bus shelters on the way, police said.

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South Milwaukee — Union members at Caterpillar Inc.’s plant in South Milwaukee have voted to accept a six-year labor contract that freezes wages and pensions but includes a $4,000 signing bonus and shortens what’s allowed in temporary layoffs.

Tuesday’s vote by United Steelworkers Local 1343 came after the union representing about 800 employees at the mining equipment plant turned down a similar proposed contract in late April.

It was a closely watched decision because it was the first contract since Caterpillar, known for tough labor negotiations, acquired the factory as part of its $7.6 billion purchase of the former Bucyrus International in 2010.

Union officials did not disclose a vote tally but said about 95% of the eligible members cast ballots and the contract was accepted by a majority vote, even if it was a slim margin.

“It was very close, ” said Ross Winklbauer, a Steelworkers subdistrict director.

Compared with the previous offer, the new contract shaves four weeks off the time the company is allowed for temporary layoffs, from 14 weeks to 10 weeks per year.

During those layoffs, employees will get $85 for one day or $170 per week to supplement their unemployment checks.

The contract ratification bonus was increased from $2,500 in the previous offer to $4,000 payable in installments in July and November.

Hourly wages are frozen at current levels, with senior employees earning between $18 and $34 per hour and future hires paid under a separate and lower wage scale.

Employees will be eligible to receive annual bonuses based on the company’s performance. Those bonuses could reach $18,000 per person over the life of the contract, according to the company.

Union leaders said any improvement from the previous offer was a victory, given that Caterpillar has a history of tough bargaining at its plants, and the mining equipment industry is currently in a slump.

“I don’t know if successful is the right word to describe this contract because we aren’t thrilled over it. But we were successful in getting rid of some very major things,” Winklbauer said, including the company’s demand for supplemental workers and changes to work schedules.

The company also wanted unlimited use of layoffs, according to union officials.

“We got them down to 14 weeks and then 10 weeks per year,” Winklbauer said, adding that 52 of the 60 weeks of allowed layoff time over the contract’s duration would be eligible for supplemental pay.

The Steelworkers union has represented employees at the South Milwaukee plant for decades.

“The bargaining committee did a hell of a job. I believe if the committee hadn’t recommended the contract, it probably would have been voted down again,” Winklbauer said.

“This wouldn’t have been a good contract with Bucyrus, but it was one of the best Caterpillar contracts.”

Caterpillar officials said the agreement was fair and comprehensive.

“We won’t speculate on what could have been,” said spokesman Jim Dugan.

Both the company and the union had a lot at stake in the negotiations, considering the contract could become a template for other factories in the Caterpillar system.

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Members of Mine Mill Local 598/CAW, who work for First Nickel Inc., gave their bargaining committee a 98% strike mandate this week, should negotiations with the junior miner fail to produce a new collective agreement by midnight Friday.

Voter turnout was heavy Tuesday at a meeting to hear an update on the progress of negotiations, said Local 598 president Richard Paquin.

The deadline to reach a collective agreement is Sturday, but Paquin said progress in talks has been slow since bargaining began June 5.

Still, he said he’s optimistic his bargaining committee can reach a deal with FNI and avoid a labour dispute.

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The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 788, which represents 1,200 MetroBus drivers, MetroLink operators, mechanics and clerical workers, voted early Tuesday evening to authorize a strike.

The sticking point in contract negotiations between Metro and the union is the pension plan, Mike Breihan, president of the Local 788, told the Business Journal Tuesday before all of the union members’ votes were counted. A vote to authorize the strike began Monday night.

Breihan said Metro wants to eliminate the pension plan for new employees and instead offer a 401k plan.

Metro President and CEO John Nations told the Business Journal Tuesday, “Pension costs are a threat to the viability of every company, and they are something we have to address.”

Now that the local union has authorized a strike, it needs approval from its international union to strike, according to Breihan. Striking and stopping service would be a last resort, Breihan said, and likely wouldn’t happen until July.

“It’s time for management to bargain in good faith and recognize the commitment, dedication and hard work of transit workers,” Breihan said in a statement Tuesday announcing the union’s strike vote.

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