On the picket line
By
Sue Davis
Published Jan 19, 2008 10:52 AM
WGA strike developments
In early January two movie companies and one television company—United
Artists, Weinstein Co. and David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants—signed
agreements with the Writers Guild of America. That created the first crack in
the wall erected by the Hollywood producers (AMPTP), who have refused to
negotiate with the WGA since early December. The WGA has filed a complaint
against the AMPTP for failure to bargain in good faith. (blog.aflcio.org)
Ever since Nov. 5, more than 12,500 WGA members in Hollywood and New York City
have picketed to publicize their demands for a fair share of revenue from
Internet and electronic media sales of their work. The biggest club they hold
is that the award season has begun, and award shows need writers. Case in
point: the Golden Globe awards were totally sidelined on Jan. 13. A ho-hum
press conference was held, instead of the usual glitzy celebration, after the
Screen Actors Guild announced its members would not cross a picket line.
The big question: Will the producers come to the table in time for the Oscars
to proceed on Feb. 24? The WGA is asking supporters to sign a petition, which
already has 65,000 signatures, addressed to the AMPTP. Go to
www.petitiononline.com/WGA to show solidarity with the striking writers.
Ever since Jay Leno, Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert returned to their
late-night posts without agreements in early January, their shows have been
picketed. The entire faculty of Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor
Relations sent a letter of solidarity to WGA when one of its professors
appeared on Stewart’s “Daily Show.”
In a related development, 500 CBS News employees represented by WGA finally
negotiated a decent contract Jan. 9 after voting to strike. All workers will
receive a 3.5 percent raise both this year and next. CBS had tried to impose a
two-tier system with workers at the national network receiving a 3 percent
raise in contrast to a 2 percent raise for writers at several local
stations.
In another development, the Directors Guild began negotiations with the AMPTP
on Jan. 12, involving some of the same issues as those of the WGA. The
directors’ contract expires on June 30, as does that of the Screen Actors
Guild.
Starbucks’ anti-union efforts exposed
On Jan. 8 the Wall Street Journal received a series of e-mails written by
Starbucks managers detailing the company’s anti-union campaign. Since
2004 managers had covertly monitored Internet chat rooms and eavesdropped on
party conversations to identify employees spearheading an organizing drive.
Starbucks’ workers (called baristas), who number 150,000, have been
trying to win union representation by the Wobblies, the Industrial Workers of
the World. A lawsuit is currently pending in a New York City court. The WSJ
notes that “the e-mails could prove embarrassing because they show
managers using various methods to identify pro-union employees.” Organize
the unorganized!
S.F. letter carriers: Rebuild New Orleans
By unanimous vote on Jan. 9, Branch 214 of the Letter Carriers union, which
represents 2,500 workers in the San Francisco Bay Area, adopted a resolution
calling for a federally funded public works program like the Works Progress
Administration of the 1930s to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The
resolution, which stipulates that workers should be paid prevailing wages and
have the right to organize, also calls for the right of return for evacuees and
an end to state repression, racial profiling and police brutality. The
resolution was modeled after one adopted by the Central Labor Council of
Alameda County in November.
IRS rules against FedEx
On Dec. 21, FedEx was ordered to pay the government $319 million for falsely
classifying 15,000 FedEx Ground workers in 2002 as independent contractors
instead of as employees. This is good news for the Teamsters, which has been
carrying on an organizing drive among these workers. The union estimates that
FedEx might eventually have to cough up more than $1 billion once penalties for
subsequent years are assessed. (New York Times, Dec. 23)
Worker’s art at NYC Transit Museum
A show of inspiring watercolors painted by track worker Marvin Franklin, who
was killed on the job in April 2007, was unveiled Dec. 18 at the New York City
Transit Museum. In a fitting tribute to Franklin, Roger Toussaint, president of
Transit Workers Local 100, said, “Marvin’s work shows the other
side of transit workers. Not only do we lead full and productive lives on the
job, but we do so off the job as well.” (The Chief-Leader, Dec. 28)
Since Franklin’s death and that of Daniel Boggs, who was killed on the
job five days before Franklin, Local 100 has worked with NYC Transit to improve
track safety. In December a joint task force issued more than 60
recommendations for new work protocols.
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