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Bargaining Rights Center Stage on Capitol Hill
Nearly 100 congressional staffers - some of the youngest and brightest and some wizened by experience-turned out for a briefing on collective bargaining and organizing rights conducted by the AFL-CIO, CWA and workers from other unions.
The Hill session on May 29 was part of an overall drive by the AFL-CIO and CWA to raise awareness by workers, lawmakers and the public, of a crisis in collective bargaining and organizing rights in the United States that has left millions with no jobs or jobs with little security and increased benefit erosion.
Introduced by AFL-CIO Legislative Director Bill Samuel as "an acknowledged expert," CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen presented CWA's successful experience with bargaining card check and neutrality at SBC and Cingular, and helping workers organize unions under those agreements as an alternative to the broken NLRB election process.
"We now have a National Labor Relations Board that is hollowed out, that can't make any decisions," Cohen pointed out, explaining it takes at least a year to get elections certified.
"In cases where a ballot is necessary, employers can delay elections and can delay bargaining for up to five years," he said, citing workers' ongoing struggle to obtain recognition at the Chinese Daily News, where five journalists have been fired for organizing activity.
Ironically, the National Labor Relations Act, which governs the NLRB, promotes collective bargaining, while today the rights of millions are trampled by union-busting consultants, who help employers avoid unionization, as workers face unprecedented crises in obtaining health benefits and pensions.
"The overall crisis can't get much worse," Cohen said, pointing out that nearly 40 percent of workers in Canada are covered by collective bargaining and that several European countries have more than 80 percent of workers under bargained agreements.
Cohen called for members of Congress to support voluntary recognition agreements and changes in labor law to create a level playing field for workers as part of the AFL-CIO's Voice@Work program.
Geoconda Arguello Kline, president of the Culinary Workers, HERE Local 226 in Las Vegas, told staffers how employers intimidate immigrant workers who would otherwise vote to have a union. Her union has gone from 25,000 to 50,000 members through card check agreements with several new major hotels, she said.
"We have to think about this: How we can bring these benefits to more families," she said. "You can only realize the American Dream when you are free," she added, pointing out that workers who are free to form unions bring a higher level of productivity to companies.
Rita Chitwood, an organizer of newly formed Auto Workers Local 5286 in Gastonia, N.C., described how five years ago the Freightliner Co. brought in its CEO to talk to workers in captive audience meetings. "He was very intimidating. People were scared. You're not going to sign a (representation) card if people tell you you're going to lose your job."
Diamler Chrysler took over the company and agreed to organizing neutrality. "We had our card check earlier this year, and we're still building our union, but the company did the right thing."
Following a lively question and answer period, Samuel asked the staffers to urge the representatives and senators they work for to speak out for collective bargaining and organizing rights when they become aware of organizing campaigns in their states or districts. Noting that the Hill briefing on collective bargaining rights was the fourth in a series, he pointed out that "most of the workers" who speak out in the workplace about forming unions "risk their jobs and livelihoods."
Cohen urged lawmakers to participate in Voice@Work by sitting on Jobs with Justice's Workers Rights Boards of community leaders that hear cases and bring public scrutiny to union busting in organizing drives, and to participated in "Human Rights Day" events CWA and unions are planning for Dec. 10.
Prior to the briefing, he conducted a PowerPoint presentation on the crisis in collective bargaining rights for CWA leaders attending recent District 2 and 7 meetings. CWA Vice President Jeff Rechenbach conducted the same presentation for leaders at the District 4 meeting. The information has or will be presented at similar meetings throughout CWA.
Local 4310 has passed a resolution on collective bargaining and organizing rights similar to those passed by CWA and the AFL-CIO earlier this year, and Cohen has asked all locals to do likewise. Locals that send copies of their resolutions to the EVP's office in Washington, D.C., by Aug. 8 will be recognized in the September CWA News.
The Hill session on May 29 was part of an overall drive by the AFL-CIO and CWA to raise awareness by workers, lawmakers and the public, of a crisis in collective bargaining and organizing rights in the United States that has left millions with no jobs or jobs with little security and increased benefit erosion.
Introduced by AFL-CIO Legislative Director Bill Samuel as "an acknowledged expert," CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen presented CWA's successful experience with bargaining card check and neutrality at SBC and Cingular, and helping workers organize unions under those agreements as an alternative to the broken NLRB election process.
"We now have a National Labor Relations Board that is hollowed out, that can't make any decisions," Cohen pointed out, explaining it takes at least a year to get elections certified.
"In cases where a ballot is necessary, employers can delay elections and can delay bargaining for up to five years," he said, citing workers' ongoing struggle to obtain recognition at the Chinese Daily News, where five journalists have been fired for organizing activity.
Ironically, the National Labor Relations Act, which governs the NLRB, promotes collective bargaining, while today the rights of millions are trampled by union-busting consultants, who help employers avoid unionization, as workers face unprecedented crises in obtaining health benefits and pensions.
"The overall crisis can't get much worse," Cohen said, pointing out that nearly 40 percent of workers in Canada are covered by collective bargaining and that several European countries have more than 80 percent of workers under bargained agreements.
Cohen called for members of Congress to support voluntary recognition agreements and changes in labor law to create a level playing field for workers as part of the AFL-CIO's Voice@Work program.
Geoconda Arguello Kline, president of the Culinary Workers, HERE Local 226 in Las Vegas, told staffers how employers intimidate immigrant workers who would otherwise vote to have a union. Her union has gone from 25,000 to 50,000 members through card check agreements with several new major hotels, she said.
"We have to think about this: How we can bring these benefits to more families," she said. "You can only realize the American Dream when you are free," she added, pointing out that workers who are free to form unions bring a higher level of productivity to companies.
Rita Chitwood, an organizer of newly formed Auto Workers Local 5286 in Gastonia, N.C., described how five years ago the Freightliner Co. brought in its CEO to talk to workers in captive audience meetings. "He was very intimidating. People were scared. You're not going to sign a (representation) card if people tell you you're going to lose your job."
Diamler Chrysler took over the company and agreed to organizing neutrality. "We had our card check earlier this year, and we're still building our union, but the company did the right thing."
Following a lively question and answer period, Samuel asked the staffers to urge the representatives and senators they work for to speak out for collective bargaining and organizing rights when they become aware of organizing campaigns in their states or districts. Noting that the Hill briefing on collective bargaining rights was the fourth in a series, he pointed out that "most of the workers" who speak out in the workplace about forming unions "risk their jobs and livelihoods."
Cohen urged lawmakers to participate in Voice@Work by sitting on Jobs with Justice's Workers Rights Boards of community leaders that hear cases and bring public scrutiny to union busting in organizing drives, and to participated in "Human Rights Day" events CWA and unions are planning for Dec. 10.
Prior to the briefing, he conducted a PowerPoint presentation on the crisis in collective bargaining rights for CWA leaders attending recent District 2 and 7 meetings. CWA Vice President Jeff Rechenbach conducted the same presentation for leaders at the District 4 meeting. The information has or will be presented at similar meetings throughout CWA.
Local 4310 has passed a resolution on collective bargaining and organizing rights similar to those passed by CWA and the AFL-CIO earlier this year, and Cohen has asked all locals to do likewise. Locals that send copies of their resolutions to the EVP's office in Washington, D.C., by Aug. 8 will be recognized in the September CWA News.