Seattle, WA – On the afternoon July 25, workers at Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches held a press conference outside Homegrown/Artisan Premades headquarters to condemn CEO Brad Gillis’ sudden announcement that he intends to close ten of the 12 Homegrown restaurants on September 15, putting over 150 people out of work.

Gillis’ announcement comes just three months after workers, members of Unite Here Local 8, ratified their first union contract, following a militant two year contract campaign. During the event, workers at various Homegrown locations came forward to give statements to the press that had gathered. Many of them expressed devastation, as well as shock, at the closures and how they received the news.

“We’re in shock. Completely out of nowhere, we saw there was a notice put up on the government website WARN, which legally requires employers to notify people 60 days in advance of layoffs, and that was how we found out. We’re going to call it what it is, which is union busting,” said Zane Smith, a worker at the Redmond Homegrown.

Other workers reflected on their contract campaign and the benefits and protections they had won, which had made their campaign an inspiration to workers across the country.

“I’m heartbroken.” said Sydney Lankford, who also works at the Redmond Homegrown. “In October I was illegally fired by this company for speaking in a union delegation. My coworkers and I went on strike, and we won. We won my reinstatement, and then we won this kickass contract – for ourselves, and for other food service workers.”

“Brad Gillis never came to us, he never came to our union to talk this over or bring alternatives. Brad didn’t make a business decision; he made a decision to not give workers livable wages – he is a union buster,” Lankford continued.

Zane Smith, who fought alongside Lankford and their coworkers and the Redmond Homegrown, was next to make remarks. “It’s important for us to be out here today because food service workers in Seattle, and the US, have looked to our campaign, they’ve looked to what we’ve won in terms of heat pay and our historic first contract, but also because bosses are looking to Brad right now. Workers in this country are rising up, organization is on an upswing right now over the last five years, and bosses are looking for ways to kill the momentum that workers have.”

“Brad may think that he’s won by shutting down our union, by firing 158 people who now have to find healthcare, pay rent, and find ways to feed their kids elsewhere, but he has not. 150 people are going to go to their next job knowing that when workers stand up, we can win, and knowing that the fight is worth it,” said Smith.

Homegrown workers say they will continue to fight against union busting and for severance, as well as the protection of as many jobs as possible.

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #UNITEHERE #Homegrown #Layoffs #UnionBusting #Feature

On August 11 the National Labor Relations Board declared the union drive victorious after processing the final 13 ballots from an election last fall.

Workers sought USW representation to fight low wages, hazardous working conditions and abusive treatment at Kumho, which ruthlessly harassed and bullied union supporters in an attempt to derail the organizing campaign.

“These workers voted to unionize even though Kumho tried every underhanded, despicable stunt it possibly could to violate their rights and poison the election results,” noted USW District 9 Director Daniel Flippo.

In 2017, Kumho workers narrowly lost an initial election on the heels of Kumho’s vicious union-busting campaign, which included threats against USW supporters. Kumho’s conduct was so egregious that Administrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan not only ordered a new election but took the extraordinary step of ordering the company to read workers a list of its numerous labor law violations.

While awaiting the final results of last fall’s election, conditions at Kumho only got worse. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the company failed to implement commonsense safety measures.

“In forming a union and holding Kumho to account,” Flippo said, “these workers will help set stronger pay and workplace standards for the whole industry.”

#MaconGA #unions #UnitedSteelworkersUSW #KumhoTire #unionbusting

On August 11 the National Labor Relations Board declared the union drive victorious after processing the final 13 ballots from an election last fall.

Workers sought USW representation to fight low wages, hazardous working conditions and abusive treatment at Kumho, which ruthlessly harassed and bullied union supporters in an attempt to derail the organizing campaign.

“These workers voted to unionize even though Kumho tried every underhanded, despicable stunt it possibly could to violate their rights and poison the election results,” noted USW District 9 Director Daniel Flippo.

In 2017, Kumho workers narrowly lost an initial election on the heels of Kumho’s vicious union-busting campaign, which included threats against USW supporters. Kumho’s conduct was so egregious that Administrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan not only ordered a new election but took the extraordinary step of ordering the company to read workers a list of its numerous labor law violations.

While awaiting the final results of last fall’s election, conditions at Kumho only got worse. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the company failed to implement commonsense safety measures.

“In forming a union and holding Kumho to account,” Flippo said, “these workers will help set stronger pay and workplace standards for the whole industry.”

#MaconGA #unions #UnitedSteelworkersUSW #KumhoTire #unionbusting

AFSCME Local 3305 represents medical and professional support staff at the hospital, which was purchased by Aurora Health Care Inc. in 2019. Aurora Health Care operates only two unionized hospitals in all of Wisconsin.

Since the contract expired in September 2019, workers have endured twelve bargaining sessions. Still, Aurora Health Care refuses to budge on poor wages. While Aurora Health Care pays their union-busting attorneys hundreds of dollars an hour, they continue to insult workers by offering low wages.

Management is consistently utilizing union-busting tactics to divide workers. These tactics include reorganizing workers out of the bargaining unit, which makes fewer union members eligible for union membership. This strategy is often used by management to silence workers and weaken their collective power.

Additionally, management stopped dues deduction, which the National Labor Relations Board refers to as an “economic weapon” in bargaining. This tactic attempts to force local leaders to focus on maintaining their local rather than focus on necessary bargaining work.

Workers are fighting back by speaking to local press, distributing signs throughout the community to show solidarity with hospital employees, displaying signs on their vehicles parked on the hospital grounds, and organizing their coworkers. With poor offers on the table, bargaining is ongoing, and the workers are resolved to fight until they win.

#MarinetteWI #PeoplesStruggles #unionBusting

Jacksonville, FL – Protesters from the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition stood outside of a local Staples retail store, Feb. 8, demanding that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) stop using non-union labor at Staples. In order to cut costs, the Postal Service recently opened up mail centers at participating Staples stores around the nation as part of a test program. Instead of employing union postal workers with good pay and benefits, these new centers are staffed by underpaid, non-union retail workers.

“Union membership has been declining since the Reagan administration,” said Marina Djordjevic, lead organizer of the event. “If people do not voice immediate opposition, union busting will persist.”

Due to a 2006 decision by Congress, the U.S. Post Service was forced to make unprecedented yearly payments of almost $6 billion in healthcare costs for future retirees. That is, the U.S. Postal Service is prefunding retirement benefits and turning its surplus into a deficit.

U.S. Postal Service administration handled this artificial crisis predictably, by cutting over 200,000 postal jobs, closing down mail distribution centers and local post offices, and now contracting work out to non-union employers like Staples. The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) is demanding that these new Staples mail centers be staffed with union postal workers and not minimum-wage retail workers.

“This is part of a move to shift work in this country to low paid part-time employees,” said Fernando Figueroa, member of the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition. “Either the mail centers employ postal workers or we have to organize all Staples employees into a union of their own. The unions need to build towards a strike or their jobs are going to be privatized.”

Protesters waved signs that read “Save our service” and “Stop Staples union busting.” Drivers passing by on Beach Boulevard, one of the busiest streets in Jacksonville, honked their horns and gave thumbs up to show their support for union jobs.

If the pilot program goes well, the non-union mail centers are threatening to spread to the thousands of other Staples stores around the country. This is a major step towards privatizing the U.S. Postal Service.

#JacksonvilleFL #privatization #unionBusting #postalWorkers #JacksonvilleProgressiveCoalition #Staples

The case was petitioned to the Supreme Court by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW), a right-wing anti-union group.  Harris v. Quinn narrowly looks at whether or not home care workers in the state of Illinois are public employees with the right to unionize. Illinois law allows home care workers to unionize, though in the case in question, the workers actually voted against having any union representation. Despite that, the NRTW appealed the case to the Supreme Court, seizing an opportunity to push the highest court to issue a sweeping ruling that would ensure no future unionization opportunities.

The NRTW is not content to have the court rule only on home care representation. They argued that it is unconstitutional for public sector unions to have exclusive representation rights and the ability to collect fair share fees for any public workers, even when the dues are used only for collective bargaining purposes. In essence, they want to turn every state into a ‘right to work’ state for public employees.

The questions posed by the most right-wing members of the Supreme Court made clear that they are salivating at the opportunity to strip the right to unionize from all public workers. A number of commentators have speculated that conservative Justice Antonin Scalia may end up the voice of ‘reason’ on this case. Though Scalia can in no way be considered a friend of labor, many speculate that he is less likely than the other conservatives on the court to reject 40 years of legal precedent recognizing the rights of public workers to unionize. Justice Scalia is also unlikely to want to restrict states’ rights to set their own laws. Union officials are counting on Justice Scalia to be the swing vote ruling in their favor on this case. A decision is expected later this year.

Harris v. Quinn is just the most recent in a series of court cases aimed at breaking unions. It is part of a concerted effort carried out in the courts, state legislatures and federal government to attack workers and defund unions (both public and private sector) by taking away a union’s ability to collect dues. These anti-union efforts have succeeded in Wisconsin, where public sector unions have lost at least 40% of their dues-paying membership since Governor Scott Walker succeeded in destroying collective bargaining for public employees. In Michigan, home of important sit-down strikes, ‘right to work’ is now the law.

Working people and the unions who represent us cannot rely on ‘moderate’ conservatives and narrow legal arguments to protect us. In fact, the law has been established to limit the effectiveness of union organizing and the Supreme Court has ruled time and again to strip us of our rights.

The more effective a strategy is, the more likely it is to be deemed illegal. Sit-down strike, where strikers occupy their worksite, thus preventing the company from bringing in scabs (‘replacement workers’) or finding other means to continue production, are a good example. This tactic was ruled illegal by the National Labor Relations Board after waves of sit-down strikes in the late 1930s led to significant gains for workers. The legality of the sit-down strike made it to the Supreme Court, which they ruled on Feb. 27, 1939, in the case of NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation, that sit-down-strikes were essentially illegal. The court ruled that workers who violated the law, regardless of whether that violation was provoked by a violation of the company, did not have to be reinstated. In other words, any worker who broke the law during a strike could be fired, no matter what.

As Joe Burns, labor lawyer and author of the book Reviving the Strike, states, “We cannot understand or overcome the weakness of the modern labor movement without addressing the role of the judiciary in suppressing labor rights. A century ago the labor movement had a crystal clear understanding of the role of the United States Supreme Court. From the early 1900s into the 1930s, labor activists railed against not just unfavorable labor law decisions but against the very idea that judges should be allowed to intervene in labor matters. From conservative AFL officials to radical unionists, labor activists understood that courts were engaged in judge-made labor law.”

As case after case is pushed to the Supreme Court by groups like the National Right to Work Foundation, labor activists must once again challenge the idea that judges can be trusted to determine labor policy. We must also challenge people to understand that if the laws are put in place to weaken our movement, those laws need to be broken.

The greatest upsurges in labor – the private sector in the 1930s and the public sector in the 1960s – were the result of hundreds of thousands of working people rising up and defying labor laws that were created to prevent us from winning. If we are to rebuild a strong movement of working people, we need to reclaim the tools of our historic successes, and not count on the courts to grant us the permission to use them.

Cherrene Horazuk is President of AFSCME 3800 which represents clerical workers at the University of Minnesota.

#MinneapolisMN #unionBusting #SupremeCourt #rightToWork #PublicSectorUnions #HarrisVQuinn

Asheville, NC – SITEL workers and community members came out on the afternoon of Sept. 5 for a lively picket, supporting SITEL workers’ right to organize. Picketers held signs opposing SITEL’s union busting practices. One read, “United we bargain – divided we beg.”

SITEL operates 29 call centers in the U.S., as well in 25 other countries. The corporation is notorious for low wages and poor working conditions. At the call center in Asheville, brave workers are taking a stand and organizing a union drive with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). “We face a corporation known for its rabid anti-union stance. SITEL is a global poverty broker that strategically opens sites based on a predatory business strategy of exploiting vulnerable labor populations for profit,” says Ken Ashworth, an employee at the facility.

What began as a struggle over grossly inadequate restroom facilities has developed into a yearlong struggle for respect, better benefits and good wages.

“My wife Shana has worked for SITEL for over three years now, and still only makes $9.50 an hour,” said Ed Williams. “It’s bad enough that we have to decide if we feed the family or pay for gas for her to get to work.” As a slap in the face, rather than increasing workers' wages so they do not have to make such hard choices, SITEL has an employee sponsored food panty for its workers. All the while the CEO receives bonuses of $750,000 a year.

“We organized the picket today because SITEL is trying everything it can to scare us from organizing,” says union organizer Sarah Buchner. “They have brought in ‘union avoidance consultants’ to hold captive audience meetings as a means to spread misinformation and create fear about the role of unions.”

Rebecca Smith and Pat O’mara, who identified themselves as ex-Teamsters, are ‘union avoidance consultants.’ SITEL is paying them over $3,000 a day to try to convince workers that a union will not help them and create divisions between the workers. They are lying to the workers, and they are bought and paid for by SITEL.

On Sept. 5, during the shift change from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., SITEL workers, together with dozens of friends, family and community supporters, held a picket outside the call the center to show the company that they knew exactly what unions are for – organizing and fighting back.

Not long after the picket assembled, SITEL management called the police, hoping they could scare the picketers into silence. In the face of this scare tactic with threats of arrest, the union supporters stood their ground. After a long discussion between leading workers, IBEW representatives, the city attorney and the police, the police finally admitted that the workers had the right to picket on the sidewalk off SITEL’s property and the demonstration continued. As cars passed they honked in support and drivers raised their fists in solidarity.

In August, SITEL settled several unfair labor practice claims, one regarding maintaining and enforcing an illegal social media policy. The full text of the settlement can be read here (http://organizesitelasheville.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/sitel-posts-settlement-notice-on-labor-charges/). Notice of this has been posted on bulletin boards at the Asheville location and on the company intranet nationwide.

#AshevilleNC #unionBusting #classStruggleUnionism #IBEW #SITEL

Republicans have passed a bill that fines any politician $1000 a day for not showing up. I don’t know if this applies, say, if the entire Democratic caucus all got the flu or some other nasty something. None the less, the pressure is a lot tougher, supposedly, for the politicians, which is leading some Democrats to say it is best to argue against the ‘right to work for less’ bill from the floor of the House – even though the Republicans have said they have the votes to pass the union-busting measure.

The right to work for less legislation would make it illegal for a union and a company to bargain in its contract that a person who works for the company must pay dues as a condition of employment. Think this sounds okay? A lot of people do and they are confused. No one really likes getting forced to do things. But this isn’t really about that. It is about attacking working people’s organizations. If you work at a union shop, you benefit from the collective fights and struggles of the sisters and brothers that have come before you. Being a free rider ain't cool. Remember, you don't get something for nothing.

Oddly, the Republicans push this as if it somehow works for people, yet the Economic Policy Institute has wasted their arguments, saying essentially there is no economic benefit to the state and workers tend to earn $1500/yr less as a result. Sounds familiar? This 1% solution is just a disgusting union busting strategy in play. It also runs counter to their entire rap about big government meddling in everything. So, why is it cool to meddle here? You probably know the answer.

Unions and allies from throughout the state have been mobilizing for the past two weeks with round the clock lobbying and ‘occupations’ in the State House. Stay tuned for the battle yet to come.

#IndianapolisIN #unionBusting #rightToWork

A problem for the Republicans as the next election approaches is that more people voted against Issue 2 than voted for Republican Governor John Kasich in 2010.

SB 5 planned to severely restricted collective bargaining rights for firefighters, teachers, nurses and other public employees. The bill made striking illegal and restricted union bargaining rights to a couple of items. The bill also eliminated safe staffing minimums, putting both workers and the public in potentially dangerous situations. Working class people overwhelmingly opposed this attack.

SB 5 was another attempt to balance the state budget on the backs of workers here in Ohio. Governor Kasich, former CEO of the big Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs, wanted to take away the rights of workers, claiming the need for concessions due to the bad economy. At the same time Kasich defends the bonuses paid to his Wall Street buddies with taxpayer bailout monies. SB 5 was just another attempt by the 1% to bust up unions.

While this is a major victory, the fight in Ohio is not over. Kasich is already hinting at breaking up SB 5 into smaller portions and passing each one individually, making it hard to repeal multiple sections thru ballot voting. Governor Kasich will not stop his attacks on the working class of Ohio and the working people will not stop fighting back.

#ColumbusOH #unionBusting #SenateBill5 #GovernorKasich

The story asserted that “decades of contractual promises made to unionized workers” had brought the Postal Service to the point of defaulting on a $5.5 billion payment due Sept. 30, and possibly shutting down entirely this winter.

The Times detailed the drastic cuts proposed by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe: No more Saturday delivery, closure of 3700 post offices and 300 sorting facilities nationwide, elimination of 220,000 jobs. Most of these moves require Congressional approval and the threatened shutdown was clearly supposed to help Congress make up its mind.

What wasn’t mentioned in the article: The $5.5 billion payment in question is part of a bizarre requirement imposed upon the USPS by Congress five years ago to prefund its retiree health benefits 75 years in advance over a ten-year period. In effect, the Postal Service is paying for the retirement of workers who haven’t even been born yet, let alone hired. Imagine the outcry if the feds made similar demands on private businesses!

Also unmentioned by the Times: Donahoe’s announcement came just as the post office was scheduled to enter contract negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Forking over those annual $5.5 billion payments has cost the USPS $20 billion in operating losses over the past four years. Without them, the Postal Service would still be in the black, despite a big falloff in mail volume when the economy went south three years ago.

If Congress was serious about preventing the drastic service cutbacks Donahoe has proposed, there’s an obvious solution: End the prefunding requirement.

For those who hope to strip postal workers of their union rights, however, the prospect of a default presents a golden opportunity.

Representative Darrell Issa is the chair of the House Committee on Government Operations. Strictly speaking, the USPS is not a government operation and it receives no federal funds. Still, Issa’s committee is charged with overseeing it.

As a young man, according to a January profile in the New Yorker, Issa was busted twice for auto theft . Both times he managed to escape prosecution. Today he is the richest member of the House, having made a fortune in the car alarm business.

Issa has proposed a bill that would require the Postal Service to cut its expenses by $3 billion a year. If it failed to do so, its affairs would be put in the hands of a politically appointed commission with the power to scrap its collective bargaining agreements and slash wages and benefits.

I don’t know that the Postmaster General wants Issa’s bill to pass. I do know that he’s employing the same strategy. He’s using an essentially manufactured crisis to apply the screws to his work force.

To an alarming extent, the media is buying the story. The New York Times makes an issue of the fact that labor costs account for 80% of USPS expenses, “compared with 53% at United Parcel Service and 32% at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors.”

It’s a meaningless comparison. Neither FedEx nor UPS is charged with maintaining a universal service network, a task that requires human labor. When its customers need to ship to a location it doesn’t handle, UPS typically contracts with the Postal Service for “last mile” delivery. Unlike FedEx, the Postal Service does not sink a big chunk of its revenues into maintaining its own fleet of planes. It does not spend millions lobbying Congress, investing in other businesses or paying off stockholders. Whatever money it makes is ploughed back into operations.

And, for what it’s worth, there’s no significant difference in pay and benefits between the Postal Service and UPS, whose drivers are under Teamster contract. Despite a 30-year-old no-layoff clause in its union contracts, the USPS has managed to reduce its work force by nearly 30% in the past ten years. In my district, there’s a hiring freeze which has left some offices so understaffed that veteran carriers are routinely required to work 60-hour weeks.

Retiring workers are not replaced – or if they are, it’s with ‘transitional employees’ who enjoy rudimentary union protection but have no benefits, job security, seniority or bidding rights. Supposedly hired as a temporary expedient when the post office was introducing new mail sorting machinery, the “TEs” have emerged as a permanent feature of the postal work force and spend years vainly waiting for promotion to career status. They can be laid off at any time.

In the private sector, ‘downsizing’ is considered good business strategy, and ‘leaner, meaner’ companies are the ones that attract investors. Typically, what’s involved is the shift of capital from productive parts of the economy to the financial sector, where few workers are employed but the profit margins are enormous – or used to be, before the Wall Street meltdown of fall 2008.

The social costs of business downsizing are enormous, but there’s a certain crazy logic to it: under capitalism, businesses exist to make money. But downsizing the Postal Service makes no sense at all. For all the politicians’ prattle about the USPS needing a new “business model,” the post office isn’t really a business. It’s a public service, mandated by the U.S. Constitution. It reaches every household and business address in the country; its universal service network, built up over two centuries, is as much a part of the nation’s infrastructure as our interstate highways or public schools.

But its workers are unionized, so it’s fair game. Just as our public schools are being crippled as scarce tax dollars are diverted into corporate-run, non-union charter schools, reactionary forces in Congress are hell-bent on compromising the nation’s mail service beyond repair as the necessary price of busting the postal unions. In the process, the public is being robbed of a vital public service, and the right of all workers to union protection is further undermined.

Sept. 30 is the deadline for the USPS to make the $5.5 billion payment Congress demands. On Sept. 27, the four postal unions will be demonstrating at local Congressional offices across the country in an effort to get the truth out. Go to saveamericaspostalservice.org to find out where the demonstration in your area will be happening. Then come out and join it – to keep the mail moving and to stand with the brothers and sisters who move it.

Peter Shapiro is a retired member of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 82 and is active in Jobs with Justice.

#UnitedStates #UPS #LaborDay #unionBusting #postOffice #postalService #RepresentativeDarrellIssa #PostmasterGeneralPatrickDonahoe #FedEx #USPS #NationalAssociationOfLetterCarriersBranch82 #JobsWithJustice

Milwaukee, WI – About 500 protesters came out with their homemade signs to picket Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's afternoon visit to Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, Aug. 26. Residents of the neighborhood, joined by unions and community groups such as Peace Action Wisconsin, mobilized within 48 hours. The message was clear that the people in Milwaukee want Walker out!

Gov. Walker was in Milwaukee for a media appearance at a private school. Protesters picketed an entire block. Balconies across from the school hung anti-Walker banners. “Get out of my neighborhood” read one sign. The people had good reason to be so angry. Despite a mass mobilization of people to recall two Wisconsin State Senators, Gov. Walker has still managed to cripple public education, public sector unions, essential social services like Planned Parenthood and is attacking immigrants. Walker's message to the billionaire Koch brothers and big corporations is that Wisconsin is open for business, meaning no more living wages, no more organizations of workers, and no more assistance to the needy.

“We have to build a movement that can stop Walker's agenda,” said Jacob Glicklich, co-president of AFT Local 2169. “We're fighting for unions everywhere.”

Since the passage of Act 10, Gov. Walker's infamous anti-union legislation, AFT Local 2169 will not be able to bargain for benefits and working conditions, will have a cap on their wages, will only be able to collect voluntary dues and have to get over 50% of their members to renew the union's certification every single year. It's a rigged anti-union act, with every non-vote counting against the union.

At one point in the protest, Milwaukee police officers entered the back yard of someone who was hosting protesters. They grabbed one of the protesters and arrested him. Some of the arrest can be seen on Youtube. About a half hour later, the Milwaukee police arrested another person who was organizing solidarity for the first guy arrested. To show solidarity for the two who were arrested, please go to http://wibailoutpeople.org/.

Alicia and Breshonna Tines were two sisters attending the protest. Breshonna got hold of a megaphone. “People know what exists is coming to an end and it's time for us to fight back!”

#MilwaukeeWI #unionBusting #GovernorScottWalker #AFTLocal2169

Senate Bill 5 is a blatant attempt by Republican Governor John Kasich and the Republican controlled Ohio legislature to break the back of unions while lying to the public about “budget difficulties.” This same governor and his cronies in the state government have also been pushing to eliminate Ohio’s estate tax, which taxes property inherited by the relatives of the very rich. It’s clear that this bill, along with other similar bills in other states, is a coordinated attack on the working class in America and has nothing to do with budget problems.

The bill passed the house by a vote of 53-44 with minor changes from the Senate version of the bill. The Senate passed the House version by a vote of 17 to 16. The passage of Senate Bill 5 was met with loud opposition by the workers and trade unionists who were in attendance at the statehouse. Many opponents of the bill were forcibly removed from the gallery as they sang We Shall Not Be Moved and shouted “Repeal it!” and “Ohio hates you.”

The union busting bill eliminates all collective bargaining rights for public employees employed by the state and state agencies, including corrections officers, state troopers and college professors, among others. City and county employees will have bargaining rights severely restricted. Among the many attacks on workers’ rights, SB-5 makes it so public workers will no longer able to bargain over healthcare benefits or pension contributions. Public employers are not allowed to pay more than 80% of the costs for health care benefits. Teachers’ unions have been stripped of their power to negotiate over layoff procedures, teacher salaries, teacher placement and classroom sizes, with those decisions now being decided solely by superintendents.

Furthermore, public workers cannot agree to contracts in which seniority is considered as a factor when determining layoffs. Public employers “last best offers” will now be considered the default “agreement” whenever a labor contract is in dispute. The bill rigs labor negotiations so that the final decisions made about contracts are left in the hands of politically motivated elected officials, instead of arbitration. Public employers have also been given the power to unilaterally reopen labor contracts when they deem there to be a “fiscal emergency.” Finally, among other things, public workers are banned from striking and striking workers can be permanently replaced.

The bill is expected to be signed into law by Governor Kasich on March 31 and large demonstrations are expected. Workers, students, trade unionists and their allies are expected to push to put the law up for vote on the ballot in November.

#ColumbusOH #Columbus #unionBusting #CollectiveBargaining #PublicSectorUnions

Madison, WI – Thousands are still protesting at the Capitol here, March 1. Amidst tight security, including erecting concrete barriers outside the Capitol and denying the public entry into the building, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker delivered his budget address this afternoon.

Gov. Walker aims to destroy public sector unions, slash public school funding while increasing state aid for private schools, section off the University of Wisconsin-Madison for further privatization, weaken and eventually eliminate state welfare programs and deny in-state tuition for undocumented students. These are just some examples of the all out attack on working and oppressed people.

Felisha Burgos, a student at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee and a member of Voces De la Frontera's Youth Empowered in the Struggle, has been regularly attending protests against Walker's attacks. “I continue to protest in Madison because I believe in my teachers and the rights of state workers, in fact all workers. We were the first state to grant union workers rights and I believe Walker is taking us in the wrong direction. Forward not backward!” she says.

The occupation of the State Capitol has been going through challenges in the last couple days. An incredible protest on Feb. 27 involved hundreds of workers and students and defied a 4:00 p.m. ultimatum to wipe the Capitol building clean of dissent. Then, on Feb. 28 the police had the building locked down all day and welded shut a bathroom window that had been used to sneak in food and supplies so occupiers could stay inside the building when the outside doors were locked. Dozens of people have kept up the visible presence at the Capitol by creating a tent city on the outside, despite very cold nights.

March 2, marks the National Day of Action for Education Rights. Dozens of Students for Democratic Society (SDS) chapters will be participating in the action, from Texas to North Carolina, but all eyes are on the protests being planned in Wisconsin. Members of SDS at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are planning a walkout that will include a worker contingent of AFSCME and AFT members.

“Tomorrow's protest is important because it will be a big show of solidarity with those at the Capitol,” says Peter Adamczak of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee SDS. “The rally tomorrow will promote a unified voice of the people, not the power of money.”

#MadisonWI #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #AFSCME #unionBusting #CollectiveBargaining #GovernorScottWalker #Wisconsin #publicSectorUnions #VocesDeLaFrontera

Chicago, IL – The bosses at UIC Medical Center have a new weapon in their arsenal: privatization.

For years, management here has been cutting jobs, increasing workload, and tightening the screws on all of us. Their aim has been to make more profits for the salaries of the top doctors and administrators, and to ensure good rates of return for the Health Management Organizations (HMOs) and other healthcare corporations.

The workers here have fought them every inch of the way, and even won a few battles. Now the bosses are bringing in a heavier weapon. They have announced plans to privatize the Outpatient Clinics at the University of Chicago.

This is an attack against all hospital workers. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents the housekeepers, LPNs, station clerks, and medtechs who work in the Clinics. All stand to lose their jobs, as do the Registered Nurses (RNs) represented by the Illinois Nurses Association.

UIC Workers Plan to Fight Back

Earlier this year, housekeepers were targeted with job cuts. Militant action defeated that threat. More force needs to be brought to bear on the University to stop this new assault. As Local 73 chief steward Louis Diaz put it, “All workers are threatened by this attack. We have to unite – nurses, housekeepers, and clerks – to say no to job cuts, and no to privatization.”

Workers at UIC are planning a militant struggle to defeat this privatization plan. The fight will include pickets, rallies, petitions, pressuring politicians, and gathering community support. This will be a struggle for the future of UIC Hospital and Clinics.

Privatization Will Mean Union-Busting

Privatization will wipe out contracts with unions, like the INA and SEIU Local 73. It will mean that Civil Service jobs will be eliminated, along with job security, pensions and other benefits.

Also, if the Clinics are separated from the UIC Hospital, then the hospital is more likely to fail. It already faces future cuts from the federal government and from the HMOs, which are demanding lower operating costs from hospitals and other providers. Like a hot air balloon cut from its basket, the Clinics would soar while the Hospital plummeted to the ground.

The root cause of this is the profit motive, putting the interests of people after the moneyed interests. In the privatization scheme, ownership would be transferred from the State of Illinois to a “nonprofit” corporation made up of the top doctors. Mark Meadows, a housekeeper and Local 73 member summed up the reason for the move, “Before HMOs took over medicine, the doctors made most of the profits. Now the doctors are looking to get theirs back.”

Tracy McClendon, a clerk in the hospital, is getting involved in fighting against the threats because, “Working people have to refuse to go along with these moves. They aren't in our interests, or the interests of the people of Chicago. They only serve the handful of rich men that make the decisions.”

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