Union Labor News: August 2009

• UW Employees Win Organizing Rights
  After a decades long struggle, academic workers in the University of Wisconsin System have finally won collective bargaining rights. Action in the recently-adopted state budget, advanced by pro-union legislators, grants the legal right to form a union to faculty, academic staff, and research assistants at state universities across Wisconsin. The change affects nearly 25,000 wo... [More]
• Public Sector Unions Trade Pain for Gains
  Facing the potential of massive layoffs as public services are cut through the bone, public sector unions are scrambling to soften the impact on the workforce. As the economy continues to tank, many unions are reluctantly accepting short-term wage cuts in return for more time off, in lieu of unpaid furlough days that could severely disrupt services and family budgets. State of... [More]
• National Day of Action Targets Taco Bell, Yum!
  By David Johansen, Union Labor News Contributor When twenty-eight Taco Bell workers were fired on March 24 because of legal status questions stemming from Social Security “no match” letters, the workers had no opportunity to correct the problem, or even to respond. Management simply showed them the back door and told them to leave. Since that day, the... [More]
• Finally, Progress on Labor Issues in Congress
  By Jim Cavanaugh, SCFL President After decades of being ignored, or worse, being hurt by federal legislation, working people this summer are witnessing the rapid movement through Congress of two major reforms – labor law reform and health care reform. With seemingly daily developments on both fronts, it is nearly impossible for a monthly publication to cover... [More]
• Wis. AFL-CIO Lists Gains in State Budget
  The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO recently released its report on the major issues that organized labor worked to address in the 2009-2011 Biennial State Budget which has now been signed into law. The following summary provides some of the highlights: Collective Bargaining Rights UW System Faculty & Academic Staff: I... [More]
• Legislature Also Passes Progressive Tax Changes
  Over the past few years, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has taken the lead in a campaign called the Alliance to Protect the Public Good to build support for public structures and the revenue needed to fund them. Public structures include the physical and social infrastructure that we all rely on for a quality of life: education (K-12, technical college, UW System), public safety (police, fir... [More]
• Health Care Reform Essential to Fix the Economy
  Making Sense of the Meltdown - Forth in a Series on the Economic Crisis By Sachin Chheda, Wisconsin Fair Trade Coalition Director In the next weeks, Congress will debate, and hopefully pass, comprehensive health care reform. The case for health care is clear – we have millions without coverage, who then tend to wait until they are very... [More]
• 9-to-5 Appeals Judge’s Paid Sick Leave Ruling
  A court battle has ensued over a Milwaukee ordinance requiring employer-provided paid sick benefits, as another outbreak of the deadly H1N1 flu pandemic threatens to hit this fall. On July 20, 9to5 – National Association of Working Women announced it would appeal a Circuit Court ruling that halted the ordinance’s implementation and called on Milwaukee’s Common... [More]
• Book Adds Perspective on Pivotal Staley Fight
  By Ken Volante, Staff, Madison Teachers Inc. There is a rash of books that purport to demonstrate something new in the labor movement. Here is one that shows an effective worker how-to fighting strategy and does not hold back on its critici... [More]
• Paid Vacation Act Intro’d in Congress
  Why the Paid Vacation Act is needed: Compared with other countries: • The U.S. is the only industrialized nation w... [More]
• Unions Make Jobs More Family-Friendly
  When it comes to protecting workers’ ability to care for their families, union membership is a big boost, a new study confirms. It’s yet another reason why in this tough economy we need to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain through the Employee Free Choice Act. “Family-Friendly Workplaces: Do Unions Make a Difference?” was written... [More]