IAM Sues to Stop Unfair Rules at Homeland Security Dept.

The IAM’s Federal District 1 is joining three other federal-employee unions to stop the Bush Administration’s unfair personnel rules at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The new rules ignore employee input from DHS’s own “town hall meetings” and strong protests by federal unions. They change the way federal DHS workers are paid, promoted and disciplined and throw out more than a century of Civil Service protections that ensured federal workers were treated fairly.

The Bush Administration’s new rules mean federal employees will not get annual raises passed by Congress. Instead, managers will be able to set raises for individual employees based on an annual “performance evaluations.”

The new rules end collective bargaining rights over issues such as scheduling, assignments, shift rotation, duty posting, time off and any operational matters. DHS also gives itself the ability to void collective bargaining agreements and replace them with management-decreed department regulations.

Employee access to independent, impartial outside boards that could review discipline or discharge actions taken by DHS management, especially in cases where “whistleblower” employees were experiencing retaliation, are severely curtailed and are replaced by in-house boards whose members are appointed solely by the DHS Secretary.

Office of Management and Budget Director Clay Johnson confirmed that the Bush Administration will soon introduce legislation in Congress to give other government agencies the authority to impose similar personnel rules.

“These rules are a giant step backward for federal workers,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “In the name of flexibility and national security, the Bush Administration is turning back the clock on fair treatment and compensation of loyal, hardworking federal employees. Other Presidents used increases in benefits to federal workers to spur positive changes in the private sector. This President is setting the stage for stripping bargaining rights and silencing a voice on the job for every worker in America, public and private.”

NYT Magazine Article Triggers Angry Response

IAM members responded angrily to Sunday’s New York Times Magazine article “The New Boss” about unions in the 21 st Century. Using a special feature on the IAM website, members blasted the author for his belittling characterization of the William W. Winpisinger Center at Placid Harbor.

“Like every blue-collar worker across North America, we take great pride in what we do, in the skills we use every day, and in our ability to put bread on the table,” said a sample letter that many used to express their feelings about the article. “To have you demean our work to make your point was a real travesty.”

More than 47,000 IAM members have attended classes at the Placid Harbor campus to learn about grievance handling, arbitration, organizing, labor history, workplace safety and how to become better union leaders. The school, which provides college credit for many of its courses, is nationally recognized for the unique training it provides.

If you’re one of the members who has visited Placid Harbor, or if you’re simply tired of elitists sneering at anyone who make things work in North America, maybe you’d like to give Matt Bai and the New York Times Magazine a piece of your mind.

Reynolds Tobacco Workers to Vote March 3

Production and maintenance workers at Reynolds American Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina are getting ready to make labor history after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declared last week that employees there can hold a union election on March 3.

The NLRB-supervised election follows a grassroots organizing drive among full-time and regular part-time production and maintenance workers at the company’s Tobaccoville and Whitaker Park plants. Among the issues that sparked the drive are benefit cuts for employees while senior management continues to receive big raises, bonuses and stock.

“Excessive executive compensation is only part of this story,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez. “These employees know their rights and they know a contract can protect their benefits, pensions and healthcare. It just makes sense to get those rights in writing.”

Activity will build in the weeks leading up to the election. Organizers will provide employees with information about their right to choose a union free from intimidation and interference while Reynolds officials are expected to oppose the organizing drive.

The company has already hired a “union avoidance” law firm and is holding meetings with employees. IAM organizers are responding with a special website where Reynolds employees can get more information and the facts about their legal rights to form a union.

NLRB Authorizes Wal-Mart Union Vote

Tire workers in Loveland, Colorado are poised to become the first Wal-Mart employees in years to organize a union following a ruling that cleared the way for a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)-supervised election.

In November, a majority of workers in the 17-person department petitioned the NLRB to join the United Food and Commercial Workers. The company objected, claiming the department did not constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. In a 46-page decision released last week, the board rejected the company’s position and ordered the election.

The ruling is a victory for union organizers whose efforts to organize at Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. have been aggressively opposed by the company. Following an organizing victory in 2000 by meat cutters at a Wal-Mart store in Jacksonville, Texas, the company announced it would no longer employ meat cutters at its stores.

While it continues to oppose unions for its U.S. workers, Wal-Mart announced last month that it would recognize unions at its stores in China, where management officials are routinely installed as local union officials by the Communist government.

Rodney Slater Named to NWA Board

IP Tom Buffenbarger appointed former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater to join former IAM International President George Kourpias on the Board of Directors at Northwest Airlines. Unlike traditional board members who must represent the interests of all shareholders, Slater’s role will be to exclusively represent the interests of IAM members at the Minneapolis-based airline.

The unique appointment was authorized following Northwest’s August 2003 refusal to repurchase unredeemed shares of Series C stock distributed to IAM members and other employees as part of the company’s 1994 Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

“Our members deserve aggressive representation on the NWA Board of Directors,” said District 143 President Bobby DePace, who represents 17,000 active and furloughed IAM members at Northwest.

“Rodney Slater’s expertise in transportation issues will compliment George Kourpias’ extensive labor background and create a formidable team to oversee our members’ substantial investment in Northwest Airlines.”

Help Save the 40-Hour Week

The Bush administration and GOP leaders in Congress are preparing to introduce legislation that would eliminate the only enforcement mechanism requiring employers to pay a cash premium for overtime work. An IAM Action Item is now available for members to oppose this anti-worker initiative

The so-called “Comp Time” legislation would allow employers to substitute time off for premium pay and would make it cheaper for employers to extract mandatory overtime from employees, undermining a key incentive against excessive hours.

All IAM members are also asked to visit their elected representatives and urge them to vote against any legislation that undermines the 40-hour workweek.