On the picket line

Boeing machinists get strike pay

About 27,000 members of the Machinists union who work at Boeing became eligible to collect $150 weekly strike pay on Sept. 27. They hit the bricks on Sept. 6 over job security, pay and benefits. What Boeing wants will undermine and ultimately destroy the union: outsourcing work and using nonunion labor in certain jobs in the plants. Though Boeing is losing about $100 million a day, it is standing by its demands and refuses to negotiate. The union’s counterdemand: rehire 5,000 to 6,000 workers who were laid off after Sept. 11, 2001. To build morale, the union is holding fundraising barbecues where members can learn how to file for unemployment. Fortunately, the Machinists have a $140 million strike fund, which could last up to six months. (New York Times, Sept. 26)

Members vote: SAG should fight on

Results of a mail-in poll of the Screen Actors Guild membership show that slightly over 86 percent of the 10,298 who responded are in favor of continuing to fight for two core principles. One is “that no non-union work shall be authorized ... under any SAG agreement; and that all work done under a SAG contract, regardless of budget level, shall receive fair compensation when reused.” Another is “to support the negotiating team to get the very best contract possible for our membership.” Almost 10 percent of SAG’s 103,639 members participated in the poll.

“I am encouraged to see that members-at-large agree with the strategy of the national board and their national negotiating committee,” said Alan Rosenberg, SAG president, in a Sept. 17 union press release. “This membership poll provides clear insight and direction concerning how actors feel about their futures. Clearly they expect Screen Actors Guild to protect them from exploitation in new media, and to preserve longstanding principles and contract provisions.”

Future of Delta & Northwest flight attendants?

What will happen to flight attendants when Delta and Northwest Airlines merge in 2009? The House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure concluded, after examining the anti-worker policies of the National Mediation Board, that “the deck is stacked against unionization.” (Communication Workers press release, Sept. 25) The problem is that NMB rules require that a majority of eligible voters must cast ballots in a union election for the results to be valid. That’s one reason why Delta flight attendants were not able to join CWA’s Association of Fight Attendants in May—only 41 percent of members voted. Another was that the NMB failed to take action against Delta for waging a blatant anti-union campaign. Under the current rules, unless 50 percent of the combined 21,000 flight attendants vote to be represented by AFA-CWA, the vote will be voided and Northwest flight attendants will lose more than 60 years of bargaining rights.

New protections for disabled workers

Congress passed a bill Sept. 17 that will expand protections for workers with such conditions as epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other illnesses. These workers had been denied protection because the conditions could be controlled by medications, hearing aids and artificial limbs. An update of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, the bill rejects the strict standards set by several Supreme Court decisions and makes it easier to prove discrimination. Bush is expected to sign the bill after pressure from the disabled movement. (NY Times, Sept. 18)

Study shows Latin@ workers benefit from unionization

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), the Center for Economic Policy Research issued a report Sept. 16 documenting that unionized Latin@ workers have 17.6 percent higher wages and are more likely to have health insurance benefits and pension plans than their nonorganized brothers and sisters. (www.cepr.net) According to the report, titled “Unions and Upward Mobility for Latino Workers,” unionization raises the pay of Latin@ workers by about $2.60 an hour and raises the possibility of benefits by about 26 percent. Based on analysis of Census Bureau statistics, the report also shows that even among Latin@ workers in the 15 lowest-paying jobs, union members earn 16.6 percent more and are 41 percent more likely to have health insurance than their nonunion counterparts. The fastest-growing sector of the U.S. working class at 14 percent, Latin@ workers comprise 12 percent of union workers.