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Lane, Pratt, Doyle Back to Work — TEMCO Settles Labor Board Charges

The Electric Materials Company (TEMCO) has agreed to fully comply with a ruling issued November 1st by an administrative law judge, who ordered the North East, Pa., employer to begin bargaining in good faith with UE and to make restitution to employees who were the victims of its illegal behavior. As a result, three fired workers are back on the job a real negotiations for a first contract are expected to take place in early 2003. The ruling concluded TEMCO repeatedly violated U.S. Labor Law in its efforts to destroy the right of its employees to UE representation. Among its conclusions: TEMCO illegally fired, laid-off or disciplined union supporters; made unilateral changes to working conditions, workload, and the internal grievance procedure; threatened workers to undermine their support for the union; delayed wage increases; and, blatantly undermined bargaining in whatever way it could. Details ... (12/02)

Azteca Workers Stand Strong;
Boycott, Support Expand
Temperatures have dipped considerably since Sept. 30 when UE Local 1159 members began their unfair labor practice strike against Azteca Foods, but workers’ determination to gain justice continues to soar. Strikers are continuing their 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week picket line at the plant regardless of the weather. Mostly Spanish-speaking immigrant women, the strikers have vowed to "last one day longer" than Azteca millionaire-owner Arthur Velasquez. The Azteca workers have called for a national boycott of Azteca tortillas, tortilla shells and tortilla chips ... (12/02

Strike Wave Hits General Electric
Growing anger and dissatisfaction with the heavy-handed policies of the General Electric Co. boiled over in recent weeks, resulting in a series of grievance strikes across the GE chain with the possibility of more to come ... (12/02)

Hendrickson Workers Increase Wages,
Benefits In Early Contract Settlement
Successfully completing early contract negotiations, Local 770 members have overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year agreement, providing for general wage increases $1.55 an hour over three years. The night-shift pay premium increases to 45 cents per hour in the new contract, while a new "Wellness Benefit" adds preventative health services for employees and their families ... (12/02)

Local 697 Wins 20-Month Battle
For Second Contract with Flex
A first contract didn’t come easily in 1997 for UE Local 697 members. And to gain a second agreement, they had to again convince their employer, the Fairview furniture manufacturer Flex-Y-Plan Industries, that the union is here to stay ... (12/02)

Local 796 Enjoys ‘Really
Different’ Negotiations
The "hellish" negotiations reported three years ago went in an altogether different direction this year, with union-represented staff at Antioch University’s McGregor School gaining their biggest-ever salary increases following brief but productive negotiations. Salaries rise by 6.5 percent, 5 percent and 4.5 percent over the term of the three-year contract. "This time the major difference was the university didn’t have an attorney present," said Local Pres. Diana Tomas. "That made a difference because generally the attorneys are just there to drag things out, they don’t add much that’s constructive" ... (12/02)

Fairbanks Improves Offer,
Local 234 Ends Strike
Members of UE Local 234 have returned to work at Fairbank Scales in St. Johnsbury, Vt following  a three-week strike forced by unreasonable employer demands. UE members stopped work after more than a month of negotiations failed to convince Fairbanks Scales to change its insistence on a pension freeze and a substantial wage cut in the form of payments for health insurance. The pension freeze would have condemned younger workers to a poverty pension and punished employees for long service ... (12/02)

Big Business Wins on Election Day,
Despite UE Members’ Efforts
An expensive and largely uninspiring election on Nov. 5 produced a low voter turnout and a big-business victory — not that energetic UE members didn’t work for an opposite result. The United States Senate and House of Representatives are both under Republican control. Three hundred and eighty-three of 387 incumbent House members were re-elected, and 23 of 27 incumbent Senators were returned to office. Republicans made gains largely in races where there was no incumbent. "The election results prove that the Democrats are incapable of confronting and challenging the growth of corporate power," says UE Genl. Sec.-Treas. Bruce Klipple. ... (12/02)

For Brazil, a Worker
In the White House
On Oct. 27, a solid majority of Brazilian voters (61 percent) cast their ballots for a former factory worker and union leader known as Lula, the candidate of the Workers’ Party (PT). The election of Luis Inácio Lula da Silva as president of Brazil is one of those triumphs of democracy that we in the United States used to claim for ourselves. He’s a candidate born in the equivalent of a log cabin, an honest politician, of, by, and for the people ... (12/02)

World of Work —
World Labor News Roundup
INTERNATIONAL:  French Unions Fight for Shorter Hours, Against Privatization; One-day General Strike Paralyzes Italy; More Than a Quarter of European Workers Suffer from Stress; Unions and Employers Sign Landmark Teleworking Agreement; Alcatel Slashes Another 20,000 Jobs; Polish Miners Lead Warsaw Protest ... (12/02)

New Manager Spoils Cook’s Job,
Union Action Saves Her Bacon
Carolyn Hardnick is still on the job at the Antioch College cafeteria, where she’s worked for 36 years. That’s because her union protected her from an arbitrary management. Hardnick had worked as a group leader, which under the UE Local 767 contract added 5 percent to her cook’s wages. Hardnick has worked with a dozen or so bosses over the years, but the new food services director was the first with whom she had problems. Unwilling to take the stress, she decided to give up the group leader responsibilities. But when she handed in the cafeteria keys and her resignation on the morning of Friday, Oct. 18, Dave Radkey told Hardnick she couldn’t quit the group leader position without giving up her job as cook, too. ... (12/02)

Constitutional Amendments Adopted
The UE membership, in local-by-local voting, has adopted the amendments to the UE Constitution endorsed by the 67th UE Convention in Raleigh, N.C. ... (12/02)

At Annual Convention:
Local 893, IUP Celebrates
Twenty Years of Progress
The annual state convention of UE Local 893, Iowa United Professionals, on Oct. 5 celebrated 20 years of union activism and committed the statewide union to further struggle on behalf of Iowa public-sector employees. Local 893 Pres. Bill Austin discussed the challenges facing the union, particularly getting a good contract at a time when the state doesn’t have much money ... (12/02)

Azteca Strike, Elections
Top Eleven’s Agenda
The Azteca strike and upcoming Nov. 5 elections, collective bargaining and strengthening the union, dominated the discussion at the District 11 Council meeting in October ... (12/02)

UE District 2 Locals
Are Fighting Back
Two hundred-strong, UE 234 members, UE District Two local delegates and community supporters filed past management’s windows at Fairbanks Scales chanting, "Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!" Delegates rallied to support the Fairbanks workers, members of UE 234, in their struggle to hold down the costs of health insurance, keep a good contract, and thaw the company’s proposal to freeze their pension. It was a solid show of district-wide support for their sisters and brothers at Fairbanks ... (12/02)

ROC-Solid Training
PHOTO: Regional Organizing Council members from around the country attended a training session in Vermont in October that gave practical experience with an ongoing organizing campaign ... (12/02)

District 1 Elects Officers,
Emphasizes Struggle, Union Education
Delegates to the annual UE District One convention 26 re-elected their district leadership, made plans for rank-and-file delegations to visit several state capitols in the coming year, and heard reports on struggles in the wide variety of workplaces within the district ... (12/02)

Joyce Clayborne
Continues To Lead District 7
District Seven Council delegates re-elected Joyce Clayborne as president at their October meeting. Delegates also shared experiences in organizing the unorganized and reported on workplace conditions ... (12/02)

Union Members Mourn
Tony Mazzocchi, Labor Party Founder
Tony Mazzocchi, founder of the Labor Party and long-time leader of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (now PACE); he died Oct. 5, 2002 of pancreatic cancer. UE members worked closely with Mazzocchi in building and promoting the Labor Party, especially when the party’s first constitutional convention met in Pittsburgh in 1998. Mazzocchi spoke to UE Conventions in 1996 and 1998 and met with the union’s General Executive Board. ... (12/02)

Paul Wellstone, Labor’s Senator,
Perishes in Plane Crash
Sen. Paul D. Wellstone, 58, was killed in a plane crash on Oct. 25. A good friend of UE, he was regarded as the strongest voice for America’s working families in the United States Senate. Facing a tough re-election battle, Wellstone had been campaigning earlier in the day in the Twin Cities with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D., Mass.). The Bush Administration and corporate lobbyists had specifically marked Wellstone for defeat. The reasons were obvious: Wellstone worked tirelessly to defend working people and advance their interests ... (12/02)

Melvin Womack,
Veteran UE Organizer, Dies
Melvin L. Womack, a retired UE international representative with a larger-than-life presence in two districts, died Sept. 10. Mel Womack retired in 1992, after 31 years on the UE staff. Many UE convention delegates knew Mel Womack chiefly, if not solely, for his performance as "Chairman of the Arrangements Committee" at most conventions from 1985 through 2001. But it is his advice and guidance that countless staff and rank-and-file leaders will recall and value ... (12/02)

Lloyd Vandever, Retired
District 10 Leader, Dies
Lloyd K. Vandever, for many years a UE leader on the West Coast (known as "Van" to nearly everyone), died Aug. 1, just three weeks short of his 85th birthday ... (12/02)

Columnist’s UE Roots Revealed
In researching the history of UE District One, the UE NEWS managing editor came upon a charter request from UE Local 126 at National Instrument Laboratories in Washington, D.C. The application was signed by the local president, Abraham Kotelchuck. Any connection with UE NEWS columnist David Kotelchuck? A query yielded this response from the health and safety columnist ... (12/02)

Orders Bargaining, Reinstatement — Labor Board Judge Blasts TEMCO

In painstaking detail, a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge has ruled that The Electric Materials Company (TEMCO) repeatedly violated U.S. Labor Law in its efforts to destroy the right of its employees to UE representation and has ordered the North East, Pa., employer to begin bargaining in good faith and to make restitution to employees who were the victims of its illegal behavior. Among the ruling's conclusions: TEMCO illegally fired, laid-off or disciplined union supporters; made unilateral changes to working conditions, workload, and the internal grievance procedure; threatened workers to undermine their support for the union; delayed wage increases; and, blatantly undermined bargaining in whatever way it could. The UE Local 684 members remain as determined as ever to win a decent and fair first contract (11/02).  Details   ...

Rank-and-File Activity: Critical
Element in Rockwell Contract
What union bargainers describe as "the most difficult negotiation circumstances in memory" came to a successful conclusion in Milwaukee, Wis. when UE Local 1111 members voted at a special meeting to approve a new collective bargaining agreement negotiated with Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley. (This is a longer version of a story that was posted earlier this year in UE News Update. This version appeared in the print edition of the UE News) ... (09/02)

Local 1111 Members Visit Rockwell
Co-Workers, Encourage Organization
They didn't just "happen" to be in the neighborhood. But they did drop by to say "hi" — and something else. Exercising their rights under a recent National Labor Relations Board decision, some 20 members of UE Local 1111 from Rockwell Automation's Allen-Bradley plant in Milwaukee have visited six unorganized Rockwell facilities in three states to encourage union organization. The UE members encouraged their non-represented Rockwell co-workers to use their collective voice to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions. (from UE News Update; an identical  article appeared in the UE News in print) ...  (09/02)

UE Local 221 Convenes
Head Start Worker Conference
Members of UE Local 221 who work at two different Head Start programs in Vermont gathered on Saturday, July 27 for the local’s first Head Start Workers Conference. Head Start is a national, federally-funded program that works with low-income families to provide services that foster development and success in learning. Currently, Congress is discussing various proposals to fundamentally change the program made by President Bush, the American Federation of Teachers and others. Any and all of these proposals could have serious effects on the working conditions of UE members, and all Head Start workers ... (09/02)

Dave Martin, First Glastic
Union President, Passes
Dave Martin, 58, the first president of UE Local 758, succumbed to his fight with a brain tumor on Friday, July 19, 2002. The members of the local wish to extend their sympathy to his family; he will be missed by all. An area resident for 30 years, Brother Martin had worked in the maintenance department at Glastic for 22 years ... (09/02)

In Raleigh, NC — 67th UE National Convention is History!

Convention Coverage More: Convention Information Page 2002 UE Officers' Report    Host District The 67th Annual UE Convention was hosted by UE District One, The Heartland of Early UE Struggles ...

Delegates headed home September 19th, as the 67th Annual UE National Convention drew to a close. Meeting for the first time in North Carolina, the UE Convention gave a loud and proud boost to organization among public-sector workers in that state, affirmed workers' rights here and abroad, and opposed war against Iraq. Delegates began their work September 15th, and continued to debate union policy and issues throughout the week. The union's three top officers were reelected to office. A spirited and vocal rally on Monday focused on anti-union laws that violate workers' rights in North Carolina. UE News Update 67th CONVENTION DAILY SUMMARIES Sunday: Convention Opens The 67th UE Convention opens with song and prayer and addresses by labor leaders John Hovis and Baldemar Velasquez. Monday UE Convention affirmed the right of all workers to bargain, strike and organize through resolutions and a spirited march on the North Carolina capitol. Tuesday On Tuesday, September 17, the UE Convention took a strong stand on civil liberties, heard a report on union finances, and recessed for workshops. Wednesday Extensive, sometimes emotional discussions at the UE Convention on Wednesday, Sept. 18 focused on building working-class unity in the workplace and around the world. Thursday In the final session, UE Convention delegates took stands on trade deals, war with Iraq and Social Security, among other issues.

Leaders of UE Locals in GE Chain
Reject Mid-Contract Insurance Concessions
Representatives of the union's General Electric locals voted unanimously on June 27 to reject the company's call for interim medical insurance concessions. Delegates to the UE-GE Conference Board, meeting at UE's Pittsburgh headquarters, also unanimously agreed to make plans to convince the profit-rich corporation to abandon its cost- shifting scheme ... (from UE News Update; an identical  article appeared in the UE News in print) ... (07/02)

The Assault on Workers' Rights —
Neglected by News Media, But Real
It wasn’t on the evening news or front-page of your daily newspaper. But that doesn’t mean it’s not real, or that the facts aren’t there. A recent United States Senate hearing highlighted the story the news media chose not to report: the human rights emergency facing workers who try to organize ... (07/02)

Local 150 Activists Bring Case
For Fair Budget to Legislators
As state legislators convened to grapple with the budget, UE activists from a number of public-sector worksites converged on the State Legislative Building in Raleigh, North Carolina,  to argue for a fair budget that protects services and jobs. The UE activists are fighting against massive cuts in jobs and services because of the state's budget crisis. UE Local 150, North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, is conducting a ‘State of Emergency’ campaign to defend jobs ...

For UE Members in Mexico,
New Appreciation; Surprises
INTERNATIONAL: We as working-class people are not alone in our struggle for better pay and working conditions," says Judy Hice, president of UE Local 1004, recently returned from a trip to Mexico as part of a UE delegation. The trip was among the regular exchanges of rank-and-file delegations sponsored by UE and Mexico’s Authentic Labor Front (FAT), a federation of unions and cooperatives. UE participants interviewed by the UE NEWS came away with an appreciation for the physical beauty of Mexico, the dedication of the FAT to improving workers’ conditions, and the importance of the UE-FAT alliance ... (07/02)

Local 506 Business Agent Authors
Guide to Pennsylvania UC Claims
Devising a guide to Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation system became just one more task for the busy business agent of UE Local 506, Patrick Rafferty. The closing of Pennsylvania's unemployment offices by  the administration of then-Gov. Tom Ridge caused a crisis for workers requiring a creative solution: A Guide for Setting Up a Claim by Telephone or Internet, issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and largely written by the full-time UE officer ... (07/02)

In Washington — Convention Builds Realistic Future For Labor Party
		Through issue campaigns and recruitment from within unions, the Labor Party aspires to become (in the words of its organizing resolution) "the answer workers are looking for — the answer to corporate domination." The Second Constitutional Convention July 25-28 reaffirmed both the party's goals and a realistic plan for growth. Delegates endorsed a resolution on organizing which recommits the party to its three core campaigns — Just Health Care, Worker Rights and Free Higher Education, and looks to develop new recruitment plans, including industry-specific organizing." (07/02)

Prompt, Public Action by Local 712
Overturns Unjust Termination
Prompt and public action by UE Local 712 overturned the unjust discharge of Kenyon College mechanic Russell Cline. Cline, the mechanic responsible for maintaining the college’s entire fleet of vehicles, was fired when he lost his drivers' permit. The real issue, however, was a rule no worker had ever heard of; a rule that had been implemented without bargaining with the union ...  (07/02)

District 7 Opposes Nuke
Transport Through Ohio
On the eve of the United States Senate vote,  UE District Seven Pres. Joyce Clayborne contacted Senators DeWine and Voinovich to express the union’s opposition to the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste dump. The Senate voted 60-39 on July 9 to approve the project, which will see radioactive waste shipped by highways and railways to Nevada ...  (07/02)

National Publication Highlights
Work of Local 1421 Stewards
An article in the April 2002 UE NEWS caught the eye of a reporter for the weekly Union Labor Report, who went on to write an article for his publication highlighting the work of UE stewards ...  (07/02)

District 2 Council Meets in a ‘UE Town,’
Endorses Vermont, Massachusetts Candidates
The UE District 2 Council meeting in Greenfield, Mass.  provided delegates with a good mix of shop reports, political action, workshops, and discussion of resolutions at the upcoming national convention. The council heard from and endorsed three candidates for statewide office in Massachusetts and Vermont ...  (07/02)

District 6 Response to Recession:
Stronger Union, Health Care for All
A stronger union and real health care reform are the solutions to the recession which hangs over the region encompassed by UE District Six in western Pennsylvania, western New York and West Virginia ...  (07/02)

District 11 Council
Meeting Focus on Struggle
District 11 Council delegates from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and South Dakota gathered in Wisconsin on the banks of the Mississippi to report on ongoing struggles waged at the bargaining table, through the grievance procedure and in new organizational efforts ...  (07/02)

District 10 Builds Union;
Council Coincides with ROC
The first meeting of the District 10 Regional Organizing Council coincided with the quarterly district council meeting. On Thursday, June 27, District 10 kicked off its Regional Organizing Council with training in the morning, followed by afternoon leafleting at distribution centers in Ontario ...  (07/02)

Local 160 Receives
Charter at District 1 Meeting
PHOTOS: New UE Local 160, based in Virginia, is presented with their UE Charter during the District 1 meeting, which also featured the UE Education Department's  Transnational Solidarity Workshop ...  (07/02)

Fighting for a First Contract at Azteca
PHOTO: Workers at Chicago's Azteca plant are determined to win a fair first contract — despite the company having come to the bargaining table with an extensive list of concessions ...  (07/02)

UE Local 684 Sponsors
Little League Champions
PHOTO: Three years ago, employees of TEMCO in Erie, Pa. — where workers are fighting to win a first contract — asked the company to sponsor a little league team. It refused. Organized as a UE Local, TEMCO workers took on the responsibility themselves and saw the team take first place this year ...  (07/02)

Celebrating the Union Difference
Local 506 Pres. Randy Majewski addresses a rally sponsored by the Erie County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO celebrating unionism and the difference it makes in our lives and the community ... (07/02)

Campaigning Against Layoffs, Furloughs — Local 893 Fights For Fair Budget
		As the UE News went to press, the consequences of the state budget deal struck by Gov. Tom Vilsack and the Iowa legislature were not yet clear. What is certain is that the members of UE Local 893, IUP, have taken a strong public stand in defense of their jobs and the public they serve through phone calls, picketing and e-mails. Local Pres. Bill Austin, who met with top state administration officials seeking an explanation of how the new budget will impact UE members, discovered few answers. "I don’t think anyone really knows how this deal is going to play out, at least not yet," Austin commented. "Even state administration is unsure of just what has happened." Details... (6/02)

Local 506 Limits Subcontracting Job
Losses at Erie GE; Effort Continues
Early this year,  General Electric announced its intention to eliminate about 215 jobs through subcontracting at its vast manufacturing complex in Erie. UE Local 506 succeeded in reducing that number to 47 and hasn’t stopped its effort to save those jobs, too. Committees of rank-and-file members spent weeks investigating and analyzing the company’s reasons for subcontracting and developing counter-proposals, many of which have been accepted by GE ...  (6/02)

FMLA Too Family-Friendly,
Supreme Court Decides
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling makes a family-friendly law more boss-friendly. In a 5-4 decision, the Court struck down a Department of Labor rule that afforded some protection of the time-off accrued by workers who exercise their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ... (6/02)

Despite Recession, Executive
Board Looks to Keeping UE Strong
At its quarterly meeting in May, the union´s General Executive Board continued the hard work of implementing a financial plan that guarantees a high level of UE activity despite the hammer blows of recession and a hostile atmosphere for organizing (from UE News Update; a slightly longer article appeared in the UE News in print) ... (6/02)

'Questionable Future'
Of Cash Balance Confirmed
An audit by the Labor Department inspector general reveals that one out of every five of companies with cash-balance pension plans may be shortchanging workers — confirming a story which first appeared in the UE News in 1999 (from UE News Update; an identical article appeared in the UE News in print) ... (Here's the 1999 article) (6/02)

UE Endorses the
Pension Protection Act
UE has taken a stand on behalf the Pension Protection Act, H.R. 4478, introduced by U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and others. The act would compel the U.S. Labor Department to fully enforce the laws regulating "cash balance" pension plans. " (from Political Action Update; a similar article appeared in the UE News in print) (6/02)

UE Locals Urged to Participate In Labor Party Convention
		Union locals are encouraged to participate in the Second Constitutional Convention of the Labor Party, which will take place Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, July 28 at the Capitol Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. A letter sent to locals by UE Genl. Sec.-Treas. Bruce Klipple stresses the union’s leading role in the Labor Party and the organization’s continuing importance ... (6/02)

Local 150 Responds To DHHS 'State of Emergency' With the State of North Carolina facing a budget deficit approaching $2 billion, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced an austerity plan that could involve massive cuts in jobs and services, with little regard for the workers who provide essential services. In response, UE Local 150, North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, is conducting a "State of Emergency" campaign to defend jobs and give workers a voice in decisions made about their future ... (6/02) UE 150 Participates in Statewide Rally for Economic Justice If They Can’t Find the Courage, Then They Can’t Find the Money:" This was the chant as more than 400 people, representing thousands, came together to call on the North Carolina General Assembly to find the courage to tax corporations and not overburden the poor in order to recoup its budget shortfall. As state employees, UE Local 150 members are at the heart of the budget crisis ... (6/02) Local 150 Rally on UNC Campus Gets Administration's Attention All UE rallies should have such a swift, positive result: As union members rallied on the University of North Carolina campus and demanded a meeting with management, Provost Robert Shelton unexpectedly took the bullhorn from Dir. of Org. Bob Kingsley — and agreed! ... (6/02)

Labor Legacy Web Site
Explores Western Pennsylvania
EXPLORE LABOR HISTORY! The raw materials of UE history in western Pennsylvania are now online. An extensive and still growing sample of the collections of the UE/Labor Archives — including documents, photos and buttons — may be viewed at the University of Pittsburgh's Labor Legacy Web Site, which also includes the papers of a number of Pittsburgh area unions. The Labor Legacy Web Site began three years ago ... [View this story "framed" (the Labor Legacy Website pages will appear in the bottom frame as you follow links in the story) or "non-framed" (story links will open in a new window) ... (6/02)

French Unions in Massive,
United Anti-Racist May Day Demonstrations
INTERNATIONAL: One of the biggest and most united trade union demonstrations seen since France was freed from Nazi occupation in 1944 took place on May 1 when at least 1.3 million people took to the streets in the country’s cities, towns and villages against the racist and anti-immigrant policies of the extreme right-wing party, the National Front ... (6/02)

Colombia’s Hard-Line New President
Takes Office with Questionable Record
INTERNATIONAL: At the time of his assassination in 1998, Jesus Maria Valle Jaramillo was among Colombia’s most outspoken human rights activists. The 53-year-old lawyer had been a vigorous critic of Alvaro Uribe Velez, governor of the Province of Antioquia, for allowing the proliferation of vigilante groups. Today, Valle is dead — assassinated, many believe by the  vigilante groups supported by Uribe while Uribe has become Columbia's new president. He wants "civilian resistance" groups to proliferate thoughout the country ... at U.S. taxpayers' expense ... (6/02)

Language and Benefit Gains for Local 895,
Perry School Support Staff Association
Members of UE Local 895 ratified a voluntary agreement on April 26, 2002. In a difficult year for Iowa school districts, the Perry School System had actually spent all of its reserve funds and gone into debt. With little money available, union members demanded and gained significant improvements in contract benefits ... (6/02)

Local 893-16, Urbandale Schools,
Ratify New Agreement
The Urbandale Community School district will get no increase in funding from the State of Iowa next year because of State budget cuts and declining enrollment, but workers united in UE Local 893-16 negotiated a 4.9 percent increase, including wages and insurance. (6/02)

Local 683 Gains 2 New Holidays,
Pay Raise at Lamson & Sessions
Lamson and Sessions workers, members of amalgamated UE Local 683, have ratified a new three-year agreement with the owner of the former Pyramid Plastics plant. The contract contains a new automatic progression schedule along with wage increases averaging 55 cents the first year and 2.5 percent in both the second and third years ... (6/02)

‘Save Manufacturing Jobs,’ UE Members
Tell Wisconsin Governor, Legislators
With a large state budget deficit and political scandals compromising both parties, the Wisconsin Capitol is not a place most state legislators would like to be these days. It was even more interesting when UE members came to town to demand action to save manufacturing jobs  (from UE News Update; an identical article appeared in the UE News in print)... (6/02)

UE Local 299 Leader Wins Election
To New Haven Democratic Committee
Tina Jendrewski, vice president of amalgamated UE Local 299, "got tired of broken promises, from alder-people right up to the Mayor. Nothing much by way of accomplishments ever got done," she complains. The long-term Circuit-Wise worker decided to do something about this mess. Together with a woman who is a Yale worker and member of HERE Local 24, Jendrewski was elected co-chair of the 12th Ward Democratic Committee. "I will put my UE knowledge to work and take a bite out of City Hall," Jendrewski says ... (6/02)

Michael Karpa, Local 1114
Business Manager for 25 Years
Michael Karpa, who served the members of amalgamated UE Local 1114 as business manager for 25 years, died in April 2001 at age 84 ... (6/02)

Tortilla Makers Choose UE — Wrapping Up A Victory for Democracy
		Workers at Azteca Foods, a manufacturer of tortillas and tortilla chips, have voted by a more than two-to-one margin for UE representation in Chicago. The election victory follows a campaign begun several months ago when Latino community organizations sought out UE to assist in bringing democratic unionism to Azteca. For more than 20 years Azteca workers were trapped within Distillery Workers Local 3. With the help of the Chicago Workers’ Center they deauthorized dues payments to the corrupt incumbent union and last fall began organizing into UE.  (04/02)

Virginia Hospital Workers Organized
As Newly Chartered UE Local 160
It was raining on April 9, bringing a brief respite to drought-plagued western Virginia. Workers at Western State Hospital are expecting the new UE local chartered that damp Tuesday will bring long-term relief to the drought of adequate wages, staffing levels and employee voice at the mental-care facility. UE Local 160, Virginia Public Service Workers Union, more than 200-members strong, received its charter from Dir. of Org. Bob Kingsley during a day of action and solidarity expressing the new local union’s demand for "quality care and livable wages" ...  (04/02)

Supreme Court Injures Organizing,
Immigrant Workers’ Rights
Jose Castro wanted to have a union because the worked in a low-wage shop. Little did he know that his decision to organize would lead to his firing and, 13 years later, a Supreme Court decision that injures the rights of workers to gain union representation. The Supreme Court, in its Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. NLRB decision on March 27, ruled that Castro and other immigrant workers who are fired for organizing a union are not entitled to back pay. The ruling will make union organizing even more difficult ...  (04/02)

Local 684 Opens Office,
Struggle Continues at TEMCO
As their struggle for a first contract continues, the members of UE Local 684 celebrated the opening of their office and meeting hall in North East, Pa. The Local 684 Hall is located directly across the street from The Electric Materials Co. — the union members’ employer. Bob Thieme, a Local 684 member, created large beautiful signs for every window and a 4x6 wooden sign for the outside of the building. ...  (04/02)

Vermont UE Locals Meet with State
Officials, Urge Pro-Worker Legislation
Union members brought their concerns about health insurance, tax reform and the continuing crisis in manufacturing to Vermont's state capitol, arguing for a working-class agenda in discussions with legislators, Lt. Gov. Doug Racine and Progressive Party candidate Anthony Pollina. The impending budget crisis loomed large in morning workshops and discussions with the Progressive Party legislative delegation. UE members and Progressive legislators agreed the budget should not be balanced on the backs of working and poor people ...  (04/02)

World of Work —
World Labor News Roundup
INTERNATIONAL: Italy Stages Biggest Industrial Protest for 20 Years -European Union Fights Against Sexual Harassment - Britain Launches Super-Union - Ten Million Indians Strike Against Privatization - German Metal Union Stages Strikes for Pay ...  (04/02)

Protesting Corporate
Abuse of Mexican Workers
Mexican employees of Alcoa perform work similar to those of UE members, assembling electrical components for the auto industry. But the company pays them $1.20 an hour. When workers began to organize, Alcoa fired 236 of them. So when Alcoa stockholders met in Pittsburgh ...  (04/02)

GE Retirees Rally
For Pension Improvements
PHOTO: The Retirees Association of General Electric (RAGE), along with UE Locals 506 and 618, gathered at the East Gate of the GE plant in Erie, Pa. to call attention to the need for pension increases and regular pension cost-of-living adjustments.  (04/02)

Third City of Tipton Contract
Marks Progress with Local 893
Seven years ago the City of Tipton hired Jerry Kapinski for $5.50 an hour. Management promised him a fifty-cent raise when he completed his probation. When the City reneged on that promise, Kapinski realized he needed a union. He organized his co-workers, who voted unanimously to be represented by UE Local 893/IUP. The UE members employed by the City recently finished negotiations for their third contract. At the end of the contract period, Jerry Kapinski will be making $12.81 an hour ...  (04/02)

Industrial Alloys Workers Recoup
Wages Lost in Contract Blackout
Thanks to their union, Industrial Alloys workers in Pomona are recouping wages lost when blackouts struck the shop last year — and the company reinterpreted the contract ...  (04/02)

UE Members at Graham Packaging
Still Don’t Pay for Health Insurance!
The UE Local 1421 members at Graham Packaging take satisfaction from knowing that under the terms of their new agreement health insurance will continue to be a company-paid benefit — without a cent coming out of their pockets towards the cost of the premium. Also, the contract sets doctor-visit co-payments at $5, so that the cost to Graham workers can’t be raised by health care providers ...  (04/02)

Local 1421, T.A. Greene
Agree on Contract Extension
The members of amalgamated UE l421employed at T.A. Greene Co. approved a two-year contract extension, signed April 8. The extension protects company-paid insurance and seniority ...  (04/02)

Local 404, United Stamping
Reach One-Year Contract
Local 404 and the United Tool and Stamping Co. have settled the terms of a one-year contract. Union members rejected company proposals that would have instituted a wage freeze and forced workers to pay more for an inferior health insurance plan ...  (04/02)

James Kane, Retired UE President,
District 2 Leader, Dies at 78
James M. Kane, who served as president of UE during the Reagan years, died April 1 at age 78. A militant leader of Vermont machine workers in the 1950s and 1960s, Kane was president of UE’s northeastern region in the 1950s — and mentor to hundreds of high school students in the 1990s. Despite many years in union office, Kane had difficulty with the notion of being a "professional" labor leader. "It’s hard for me to get over the idea that I’m not a worker," he told a reporter in 1981 ...  (04/02)

Unions Bring Famed Activist
Dolores Huerta to University of Iowa
Solidarity was alive at the University of Iowa in March, as an unprecedented coalition of labor, community, and university groups collaborated in bringing labor and human rights activist Dolores Huerta to campus. A diverse audience of more than 400 attended the March 6 lecture, the keynote and highlight of the week-long conference entitled Global Feminisms: Activism, Art, Alternatives. The highly enthusiastic audience responded several times to Huerta’s leading cheers and gritos in English and Spanish ... (04/02)

District 10 Council Hears
Reports of Successful Struggles
Delegates to the District 10 Council meeting here March 15-16 could take satisfaction from successes in struggles in the midst of ongoing battles with the bosses ... (04/02)

Fred Goetz, Outdoor
Writer, Dies at 83
Fred Goetz, an outdoors writer whose fishing and hunting column appeared in the UE NEWS for nearly 20 years, died Feb. 7 at age 83. He suffered fatal injuries when the car in which he was a passenger was struck by a vehicle that ran a stop sign at a high rate of speed, driven by a 17-year-old with a suspended driver’s license ...  (04/02)

Berlin Nursing Home First Contract  — Average Wage Increases Exceed 11%
		"We could just picture all the bosses and their lawyers sitting around in posh offices laughing about a group of poorly paid women at a nursing home organizing a union and thinking they could win a decent contract," said newly elected Local 254 Pres. Crystal Breer. "They thought we’d never win. Boy, were they wrong!" Breer made her comment at a recent party celebrating the first contract at Berlin Health and Rehabilitation Center in Barre, Vt. It had taken 17 long, hard months, but finally, in late January, Berlin workers — UE Local 254 — prevailed. Details... (03/02)

University of Vermont Shuttle
Drivers Will Keep Their Jobs
The University of Vermont shuttle service will remain in-house, saving the jobs of shuttle drivers represented by UE Local 267. The UE local and students had launched a campaign that demonstrated wide campus and community support for the drivers. More than 1,100 students, staff, faculty and community members signed a petition supporting retention of the shuttle service ...  (03/02)

GE Unions Preparing
For 2003 Bargaining
With national bargaining less than 15 months away, General Electric is already preparing its themes — and it’s not too soon for union members to get ready. That was the message delivered by UE leaders to local officers and stewards at a meeting of the UE-GE Conference Board in Pittsburgh. Union Pres. John Hovis and Conference Board Sec. Steve Tormey said that in remarks to managers, GE’s new chief executive predicts more pain as the company goes on the offensive, not satisfied with an 11 percent overall increase in earnings last year ...  (03/02)

Local 1004 Wins First
Termination Grievance
Jackie Jackson, unjustly terminated for "bringing her problems to work," is back to work at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, thanks to the vigorous prosecution of her grievance by UE Local 1004. This is the first termination grievance ever won at the hospital — and to win it, the union improvised by creating a new step to the grievance procedure ...  (03/02)

Iowa Political Action Day
Advances 'Citizens’ Budget'
Union members from across Iowa took proposals for a citizens’ budget to the State Capitol, stressing that cuts in services and layoffs are no solution to the State’s budgetary crisis. UE represents more than 6,000 working families in Iowa, largely in the public sector. The annual UE Iowa Political Action Day followed mobilization in the late fall that helped convince a special session of the Iowa Legislature to restore $3 million in cuts from the Department of Human Services, preventing layoffs ...  (03/02)

UE Educates Ohio
Lawmakers On Workers’ Issues
UE members from six locals, representing co-workers at workplaces around the state, met Feb. 21 with Ohio legislators on issues of concern to workers. The Ohio UE delegation, led by District Seven Pres. Joyce Clayborne, presented legislators an alternative state budget and addressed the more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Ohio during the past 18 months, the far-reaching consequences of last year’s Ohio budget cuts, public education, the health insurance crisis, electric deregulation and pay equity ...  (03/02)

International Solidarity
				World Social Forum Considers Alternatives To Corporate Agenda INTERNATIONAL: For six days in February, the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil and its more than 50,000 diverse participants from more than 130 countries, imagined "another world is possible." UE was represented at the World Social Forum by Genl. Vice Pres. Carl Rosen, District Two Sec.-Treas. Jonathan Kissam and Intl. Labor Affairs Dir. Robin Alexander. (They made the trip with funds raised especially for that purpose.) Here is their report ...  (03/02) Attack on Brazilian Labor Federation Condemned By UE, AFL-CIO Presidents INTERNATIONAL: The presidents of UE and the AFL-CIO have condemned the burglary of the offices of  Brazil’s largest labor federation and called for a thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible. The break-in — by men wearing police uniforms — occurred hours following approval of a national strike to protest regressive labor legislation. This raid also follows a series of assassinations of labor movement leaders ... SIDEBAR: Burglarized Union Aided by UE ...  (03/02) World's Unions Condemn Israeli Bombing of Palestinian Union Headquarters INTERNATIONAL: On Feb. 17, Israeli F-16 fighter aircraft and Apache helicopters launched an attack on civilian targets in the Palestinian city of Nablus that included the headquarters of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU). The building was severely damaged in the bombing; miraculously, no trade unionists were killed in this assault.Unions around the world have expressed their outrage at the bombing of trade union offices in a military attack ...  (03/02)

Complicated by State Budget,
Bargaining with Town of
Greenfield Yield Contracts
The members of amalgamated UE Local 274 employed by the Town of Greenfield, Mass., in the Department of Public Works, the Town Hall and Library are again working under collective bargaining agreements. The absence of a state budget complicated negotiations and placed these UE members in a position of working without contracts for six months ...  (03/02)

Lamson & Goodnow Members
Prevail in Tough Fight
With New Management
In their first negotiations with new management, the members of amalgamated UE Local 274 employed by Lamson and Goodnow in Greenfield, Mass., faced a range of serious concessions for the first time. An aroused and united membership defended the contract and emerged with improvements ...  (03/02)

Kraco Workers
Strengthen Their Rights
Kraco Enterprises workers, members of amalgamated UE Local 1421 in Los Angeles have ratified a new contract reached in early February with the manufacturer of car stereo systems. The four-year contract includes a new paid holiday (employee’s birthday) and other improvements in benefits, changes in contract language that strengthen workers’ rights, and wage increases ...  (03/02)

Local 264 Meets Goals in Contract
With New Owner of EIS Wire
As EIS Wire and Cable emerged from three years of bankruptcy under new ownership, the members of amalgamated UE Local 264 employed at the South Hadley, Mass., plant faced tough challenges. The venture capitalist group that bought EIS recognized the union but not the contract. UE members entered negotiations with three goals; all three goals were met ...  (03/02)

District 2 Council Delegates
Discuss Conventions, Constructing
Transnational Contacts
Over the two full days of UE District Two’s February council meeting in Taunton, Mass., delegates leafleted nearby workplaces for single-payer healthcare, participated in a workshop on building union power in transnational corporations and heard remarks by a Massachusetts AFL-CIO official ...  (03/02)

Checking the State of the Union
At UE District Six Meeting
The process of revitalizing the union in western Pennsylvania, western New York and West Virginia continued at the District Six Council meeting in February. The October meeting revealed the considerable amount of experience among the council delegates. Last month the council took inventory of the state of union ...  (03/02)

District 11 Meeting Stresses
Organizing And Political
Action For Workers' Defense
The local leaders from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin who gathered for the UE District 11 Council clearly understood that organizing the unorganized and political action represented answers to attacks by the bosses in both the private and public sectors. Although times are hard for working people due to layoffs and the mismanagement of the federal budget, workers are fighting back and UE members are helping to lead that fightback, declared District 11 Pres. Carl Rosen in opening the discussion ...  (03/02)

OEM Workers Approve 3-year Agreement;
Unity (in 4 Languages) Crucial
It took a membership rejection, another meeting with the company and another vote for amalgamated UE Local 683 to obtain membership approval on a three-year agreement with OEM/Erie (Pa.). The UE shop leadership at OEM began preparations months ahead of time to overcome a communication problem: two-thirds of the 170 members in the plant don’t speak English. Meeting notices, contract surveys and other communication with the membership had to be in four languages ...  (03/02)

Local Staves Off Wage
Freeze, Gains Dollar Raise
When amalgamated UE Local 683 began negotiations with Liberty Iron & Metal, the company wanted a one-year wage freeze. The membership had other ideas. Even though the company fired one of the negotiating committee members and laid off another, the UE committee hung tough ...  (03/02)

American Iron Workers
Gain $1.20 Over 3 Years
American Iron workers, members of amalgamated UE Local 1139 in Minneapolis, are working under the terms of a three-year contract that provides a 40-cent increase in each year ...  (03/02)

New Contract for Winneshiek
County Secondary Road Crew
The Winneshiek County Secondary Road Crew, members of UE Local 869, have ratified a new two-year agreement. Wages increase by an average of 3.5 percent effective July 1, by 3.5 percent on July 1, 2003 ...  (03/02)

Local 1160 Makes Gains
At Roth Pump Mfg. Co.
Roth Pump Manufacturing Co. workers, members of UE Local 1160 in Milan, Ill., are benefiting from a new contract they negotiated and ratified in November. Under this agreement, workers temporarily transferred to a higher-rated job will receive that job’s pay for all time spent in the temporary position. Previously, an employer qualified for the higher pay only when working more than 10 days in any 30-day period ...  (03/02)

Russ Senkow, Local 107 Leader, Dies;
Championed Westinghouse Workers
In his 43 years with Westinghouse, Russell Senkow held virtually every elective office in Local 107. And when the mammoth Westinghouse turbine plant in Lester closed in 1987, Local 107 Pres. Senkow was the last worker to leave the facility. Senkow continued to fight for his co-workers; 15 years after the plant’s closure, that struggle ended with Senkow’s death Jan. 23 at age 77 ... (03/02)

Local 506 Members
March on King Holiday
PHOTOS: Undaunted by cold and snow, a Local 506 contingent marched in the Erie, Pa. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial March on Jan. 21 ... (03/02)

State Budget Funds Restored  — UE Political Action Halts Iowa Layoffs
		Thanks to "a political tidal wave" of UE rank-and-file activity, a special session of the Iowa Legislature has restored $3 million in cuts from the Department of Human Services budget — preventing significant layoffs of UE members, at least in the short term. With the start of a new legislative session in January, union members are continuing to press for a budget that respects state workers and the citizens they serve ...  (02/02)

Union Members at Stepan
Convince New Manager on Contract
When new Stepan Co. managers sought takeaways, an active and determined membership successfully delivered the message that workers at this chemical plant expected substantial improvements in their contract. Stepan workers, members of amalgamated UE Local 1421, achieved substantial wage and pension increases and an end to mandatory overtime in their new agreement. "I feel we did very well," Chief Steward Bryan Martindale tells the UE NEWS. Adding to the sense of accomplishment are wage increases considerably higher than raises received by some management personnel ...  (02/02)

Remembering the Strike Last Time —
Load King Management Seeks
Hassle-Free Contract
Faced with company unfair labor practices, UE Local 1187 members struck the Load King division of CMI 1n February, 1999 for nine long months in their fight to win a decent contract. Negotiations went much more smoothly this time. Well aware of the recent past, new management set a conflict-free settlement as its goal ... (02/02)

Three-Day Strike Gains Fair
Contract For Locals at ABB
Expectations of smooth negotiations based on excellent business conditions proved to be unfounded for members of UE Locals 625 and 626, who had to strike for three days to achieve a fair contract with ABB, a Swedish-based manufacturer of circuit breakers. The two locals have not been forced to the picket-lines since 1981 ... (02/02)

Workers, Students, Legislators
Oppose UVM Outsourcing Plan
More than 1,100 students, staff, faculty and community members signed a petition delivered by a delegation of students, union members and legislators to University of Vermont administrators recently, expressing concern that that the university may subcontract the UVM Shuttle Service and Animal Care Management Dept. If the plan is adopted, livable wage jobs held by Local 267 members would be eliminated ... (02/02)

The Tale of the Crooked E: Enron
FEATURE: The tale of the Crooked E: Once the nation’s single largest trader of electricity, profited from deregulation, bankrolled politicians and eventually helped shape the nation's energy policy. Then it suddenly went bad — but not so suddenly that Enron bigshots missed a chance to cash out $1 billion of their own shares. Here are two of Gary Huck's political cartoons, commenting on this unfolding scandal ... (02/02)

Energy and Strength Mark
Twelfth FAT Congress
INTERNATIONAL: The twelfth National Congress of the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) in Mexico brought together some 250 delegates from the different sectors of the FAT, as well as friends and supporters from Mexico and abroad. New energy was provided by the welcome presence of representatives of the 2,600 member bus drivers’ union that recently affiliated with the FAT, as well as other new groups of workers ... (02/02)

World of Work —
World Labor News Roundup
INTERNATIONAL: Russia’s First Post-Soviet Labor Law Reform Makes Industrial Action Harder; German Unions Seek Big Pay Increases in Face of Jobless Rise; New French Labor Law Scuppered – 35-hour Week Extended; Germany Abandons Nuclear Power; Big Corporations Accelerate Layoffs; UK Manufacturing Workers Bottom of League; Italian Unions Take Action Against Anti-Employee Bill ... (02/02)

Protests Call for Closure
Of Terrorist School, Recall Victims
Of Latin American Military
More than 10,000 Americans, among them UE members from Districts Six and 11, took part in peaceful protests against terrorism at the U.S. Army's School of the Americas in Georgia, where Latin American troops are trained in commando tactics, military intelligence and psychological operations. For the eleventh consecutive year, concerned citizens gathered outside Ft. Benning, Ga. to remember the victims and to call for the school’s closure ... (02/02)

Young Friend in Mexico
INTERNATIONAL/PHOTO: Don Kosobucki, Local 506 treasurer, with a young friend in Mexico. The Erie General Electric worker participated in a rank-and-file delegation headed by Genl. Pres. John Hovis that visited Mexico in late November to learn more about Mexican workers’ living and working conditions.  (02/02)

Crises of 2001 Dominate Discussion
At District One Convention
The events and aftermath of Sept. 11, the economic crisis, and the UE financial plan captured the attention of delegates to the 49th convention of UE District One. District One Pres. Connie Spinozzi joined with delegates in mourning the workers who died on Sept. 11 simply because they were at work. Warning against the hysterical calls for restricting civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism, Spinozzi told delegates, "We need, more than ever, to stay the UE course" ... (02/02)

Stewards Training in Pennsylvania
A dozen stewards from six Local 155 shops and Local 112 took part in a training session in mid-December. The workshop focused on giving shop leaders the basic skills needed to investigate and argue grievances effectively ... (02/02)

New Local 1014 Officers
PHOTO: The newly elected executive board and trustees of UE Local 1014, which represents workers at General Cable in Sanger, Calif. (02/02)

Walter Taylor, Former
Local 615 President, Dies
Walter Lee Taylor, former president of UE Local 615, died Jan. 15, 2002 at age 55. In his nearly 25 years of employment with Pennsylvania Electric Coil, Brother Taylor served his local union in various capacities, including chief steward. The pattern maker also served on the UE District Six executive board and as a district trustee ... (02/02)

Moe Foner Dies; Promoted
Working-Class Culture
Moe Foner, who died Jan. 10 at 86, was a key leader in Local 1199, the New York-based hospital and healthcare workers’ union. But Foner is best known for his vision and success in promoting workers’ culture. "I operated under the theory that a good union doesn’t have to be dull," he told an interviewer two years ago ... (02/02)

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