NWLP-2-20-09:NWLP
2/17/09
10:08 AM
Page 2
SEIU offers
wage freeze
to ease state
budget crisis
UNITE leaders try to dissolve
hotel/restaurant union merger
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) —
By a 39-23 vote, UNITE HERE’s Ex-
ecutive Board on Feb. 9 defeated a mo-
tion to dissolve the merger between the
old Union of Needletrades, Industrial
and Textile Employees (UNITE) and
the Hotel Employees and Restaurant
Employees (HERE).
The unions merged in July 2004,
bringing together 450,000 members.
Reports differ on the reason for the
attempted breakup. Edgar Romney,
UNITE HERE’s executive vice presi-
dent who led the dissolution, cited a
number of factors. But a staffer on the
prevailing side told PAI the motive was
a plan by General President Bruce
Raynor (the former president of
UNITE) to withdraw his union and
merge it with the Service Employees.
Romney, who also is secretary-
treasurer of the Change to Win labor
federation, said in a statement after the
vote that he “worked hard to hold this
union together, in the ‘One Union
Committee,’and in daily work. But our
union is broken and our merger has
failed in its mission to organize large
numbers of workers to build power for
working people. Today, I listened as
b h
m k
vice presidents passionately explained
what the deep divisions within the
union are doing to our ability to repre-
sent members and meet the challenges
we face.”
Romney also criticized the majority
for not discussing the issue openly. He
called that another sign of intransi-
gence and said “reconciliation is not
possible” in UNITE HERE.
At the time of the merger, HERE
had more members than UNITE, and
it has since undertaken successful or-
ganizing drives in the Las Vegas-based
gaming industry. But at the same time,
HERE President John Wilhelm be-
came president of the Hospitality In-
dustries sector of the merged union,
taking a back seat to Raynor.
Though Romney said all the votes
against dissolution came from HERE
members, the staffer who spoke to PAI,
Tom Snyder, said the vote was not a
straight split. He noted one of largest
union’s joint boards — the 10,000-
member New England Board — op-
posed the dissolution.
Fifteen vice presidents have now
joined together in a lawsuit to dissolve
the merger.
ILWU rally at Rite Aid
Union members rallied outside Rite Aid stores in four states Feb. 13 to draw
attention to the company’s anti-union conduct. Some 700 workers at Rite
Aid’s distribution center in Lancaster, Calif., have been trying to join the
International Longshore and Warehouse Union since 2006. In 2007, the
federal government was prepared to charge the company with 49 labor law
violations for threatening and firing employees, but weak labor laws allowed
Rite Aid to evade the violations with only a slap on the wrist and promises to
behave in the future. And that hasn’t happened. “These abuses are a textbook
example of why Congress should pass the Employee Free Choice Act,” said
George O’Neil (above center) during a noontime rally at a Rite Aid store in
Beaverton, Oregon. O’Neil is an international Executive Board member out
of Portland’s ILWU Local 40. The Employee Free Choice Act is a proposed
law that would protect employees and their right to join a union. More than
50 people attended the rally.
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SALEM — Reacting to the State of
Oregon’s budget crisis, the largest
union of state employees went public
Feb. 12 with a proposal for a two-year
freeze of pay steps and eight unpaid
furlough days.
Service Employees International
Union (SEIU) Local 503 made the of-
fer at a Feb. 10 contract bargaining ses-
sion. The union is negotiating a new
two-year agreement to replace the one
that expires June 30. Local 503 repre-
sents more 22,000 workers at 20-plus
state agencies and seven universities.
Under SEIU’s proposal, there
would be no cost-of-living increases,
but everything else would stay the
same in the new contract — including
step increases that reward longevity.
The furloughs were suggested by Gov.
Ted Kulongoski in his December
budget proposal. If all state workers
were furloughed, the state could save
an estimated $4 million a day.
Local 503 spokesperson Kathie
Best said the union would encourage
members to use the furlough days to
volunteer in schools, homeless shelters
and other community institutions.
As of press time, negotiators for the
state had not yet responded to the
union’s proposal.
Another 7,000 state workers — in-
cluding workers at state hospitals and
prisons — are represented by Ameri-
can Federation of State, County & Mu-
nicipal Employees (AFSCME) Ore-
gon Council 75. Council 75 Executive
Director Ken Allen said his union has
been weighing similar proposals. AF-
SCME was ready to sign off on some-
thing of an austerity contract, Allen
said – with no cost-of-living raises, and
furloughs for some workers — but the
governor’s office seemed to get cold
feet about the deal, not sure if worsen-
ing budget situation would make even
that unaffordable.
AFSCME’s next bargaining session
is set for Feb. 23. That’s the same day a
revised revenue forecast is due; if tax
revenues continue to fall, that could
lead state administrators to seek wage
cuts or layoffs of state employees.
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