Bloomberg's Unethical Union Deals

As the Mayor of New York, it is important to make sure that city employees are happy with their jobs and what they get paid for them. Yet it is also important for that same Mayor to be fiscally prudent with the city's finances, especially when we are in a devastating recession like the current one. Mayor Bloomberg justified extending term limits based on his financial expertise and strong, "independent" leadership, but the latest deal he made with the municipal unions is as the NY Daily News' Adam Lisberg describes, is "bizarre."

From The NY Daily News:

He cut a bizarre deal with municipal unions last week, one that postponed layoffs for 1,000 or so city workers for 90 more days of negotiations.[...]

But it also leaves plenty of time for the mayor and union bosses to scrounge for some extra millions, figure out a furlough package, or find some other way to save those jobs - then shake hands for the cameras.

And if Bloomberg ends up the savior of municipal workers, it will happen right around the time his political team is asking the workers' unions to endorse him.

That perfect timing isn't something new for the Mayor either. Back in 2005 he did something similar for the Teachers' Union, who mysteriously backed away from endorsing the Democrat in the race. Nowadays he's sticking up for union workers that he initially threatened when the debate over the budget crunch began.

Unfortunately, in the article Thompson says he isn't concerned about the Mayor's about face just in time for the election and the crucial period where candidates get backed up by union support. Thompson is seriously behind in this race and if he wants to get competitive with Bloomberg, then I hope that he worried about it, and more importantly doing something about it in private.

NPO Developers Should Pay The Prevailing Wage

Apparently there is a little fight going on up in Albany over whether developers who build non-profit housing should pay their workers what they're worth. Developers argue that paying a union wage is bad for their costs, the rents of future low-income tenants and they even claim minority construction workers won't be able to do the building because unions don't like them. They also claim that there'll be less affordable housing units available. There seem to be plenty of marks against a bill mandating public works labor be at a union rate, but this is a matter of principle.

From The NY Times:

Under state law, laborers on public works projects must be paid the prevailing wage, which varies according to the trade and location. The proposed legislation would expand the definition of public works to include all government-subsidized building projects by for-profit and nonprofit developers. Most workers who build subsidized low-cost housing in New York City are not currently required to be paid the prevailing wage. Projects receiving federal subsidies are required to pay it, under federal law.[...]

The New York State Building and Construction Trades Council of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., an influential labor group that represents the state’s major construction unions, has been pushing lawmakers to expand the prevailing-wage requirements for years.

“Is the cost of construction higher? Yes it is,” said Edward J. Malloy, president of the group. “But I think we deliver a better product, on time and in budget.”

On time and in budget are just two bonuses, not to mention the fact that more construction workers will be paid a healthy hourly rate. The fact of the matter is, these jobs are propelled by government subsidies. When the Federal government is paying for it, union wages are paid. Now it is time for the state to do the same thing. The state legislature should encourage higher wages in this arena just as it does in other arenas.

Boycotting Stella D'Oro

This isn't a boycott about the taste, or some new ingredient that's going into the products at Stella D'Oro. No, the reason why I, and many activists in the New York (and possibly further out) area are not buying from them anymore is because of how the workers are being treated. A long time ago it was a great family-owned company to work for, but now that corporate America has gotten its tentacles into the Bronx bakery something has got to give before I pick up another one of their packages.

From The Huffington Post:

Stella D'oro, which was once an iconic, national, premium Italian-style biscuit brand, was also once a successful family-owned firm acquired by RJR Nabisco, then taken over by Kraft when RJR Nabisco broke up (in the wake of the disastrous KKR LBO). Stella was run into the ground by its corporate overseers, then dumped to private equity earlier this decade when Kraft began to dispose of "non-core" assets under pressure from Wall Street. Workers there have been represented by the Bakers' union since 1964.

Apparently the PE guys see the modest union contract of the older, experienced work force as a good target for their next round of pillaging. In the first round, the company disposed of its unionized route sales drivers by outsourcing distribution to a non-union company.

This time, Stella's new owners have gone directly at the workforce, ignoring the National Labor Relations Act and demanding steep wage and benefit cuts with no opportunity for the workers and their union to bargain. The National Labor Relations Board, after the usual delay and indecision issued a "refusal to bargain" complaint charging the company with violating the law. The case only went before a federal judge last week; American labor law is so broken that it may take years for justice to prevail.

Corporate mismanagement, predatory private equity, the destruction of an iconic brand and now an attempt to destroy the livelihoods of modest working families, the story at Stella D'oro pretty well sums up all that's been happening over the past two decades with the financialization of the food and manufacturing sectors generally. The workers and their union, an affiliate of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, AFL-CIO have decided they have had enough.

Reducing the wages of these workers for the next five years is nothing short of corporate greed at its worst. Thankfully, the long-time employees aren't taking this lying down and neither is the area where the factory operates. Just this weekend another huge outpouring of community support was shown for the workers' plight. For far too long corporate America has taken advantage of workers across the country and it is time to stand up against them, whether it be at a bakery or not.

Why The Employee Free Choice Act Is Necessary

Center for American Progress put together this little spot to explain exactly why we need EFCA legislation. The fact is, unionizing a workplace is extremely difficult in this day and age, where after years and years of anti-union bills have passed through Congress at the behest of their Corporate America donors.

Paterson Gives Hotel Labor A Leg Up

Perhaps it was backlash from challenging the unions during the budget process, the flubbing he gave them during the LCA gathering or his dismal poll numbers but Paterson decided to do something good for unionizing in New York's hotel industry last week.

From The NY Times:

Gov. David A. Paterson has issued an order making it easier for labor unions to organize thousands of workers at some of New York’s largest new hotel and convention center projects, including hotels in Niagara Falls and at the Belmont Park racetrack in Nassau County and the expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

The directive, which was signed on April 24 and issued on Friday, will require the operators of projects that receive assistance like loans, tax breaks or property leases from state agencies or public authorities to obtain “labor peace” agreements with unions seeking to organize their workers.[...]

The new rule signifies a major victory for Unite HERE, the hotel and restaurant workers union, which has been pressing Mr. Paterson and his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, to issue the directive for more than a year. The move also gives Mr. Paterson, who is struggling to shore up his political base and improve his poll numbers, a chit with unions that have been close to Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, his most likely rival in a Democratic primary.

“What the governor is basically saying with this order is if the state has a proprietary interest in a hospitality project, we need to take steps, just like any responsible private investor would, to forestall the possibility of any future disruption to revenues to the state associated with those projects,” said Neal Kwatra, the director of political and strategic affairs for the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, which represents about 30,000 hotel workers, primarily in the city.

With just a quick signature of the Governor's pen, hotel workers got a huge boost out of Albany. Employee Free Choice legislation is having difficulty in its passage nationwide but here in New York our government must respect and encourage the labor movement so that workers are given the chance to stand up against employers who look to get the lowest labor cost that they can. Now if Paterson can stop mocking the unions and stand in solidarity with them, then we can really get things done.

The Union Gap

The battle between unions and companies is not one to take lightly. As Elaine Bernard points out, the union movement has to take itself seriously specifically because their rolls have dropped to such a degree in the last few decades. Due to that, companies have taken advantage of workers, especially those that aren't unionized and it makes it that much harder for labor leaders to argue their position at the bargaining table.

Paterson Continues To Falter, This Time With Unions

With a nine percent increase in the state's budget passed in Albany, it is (tragically) amusing to watch Paterson lay union workers off of their state jobs. Paterson demanded that workers relinquish a 3% (cost of living?) raise. While non-union workers agreed, union workers did not and they'll be let go because of it. While it may look good that the governor is making some spending cuts, they are in all the wrong places for all the wrong reasons.

From The Times-Union:

As a result of killing the raises to the management/confidential employees, the state will save $32 million over two years, and Paterson won't have to reach the 8,900-layoff target he previously set.

Civil Service Employees Association President Danny Donohue said Paterson's actions are outrageous. "What Governor Paterson is saying is that the highest-paid personnel will not be included as part of his cost-cutting moves. He is also saying that the brunt of his reductions will be on the lower paid employees who actually do the work of the state every day."

As outrageous as it was for Paterson to demand these cuts while dramatically increasing the size of the budget, his response to the controversy was even worse:

Paterson released a letter to all state employees about the situation, emphasizing that unions refused "modest concessions" — giving up the raises and lagging paychecks — to share in sacrifices others are making.

"Regrettably, however, our state's public employee unions refused to consider concessions at all," Paterson wrote. "I was left with no alternative but to implement a work force reduction plan." He said he directed all state agency heads to implement their reductions by July 1.

"We cannot eliminate our state's deficit without layoffs," he said.

The problem is that not everyone has been sacrificing in the manner that Paterson claimed would happen. It was with a great effort against the wishes of the governor that a fair tax is now a part of the equation. The seriousness of his tone about making cuts did not pan out with the reality of the budget and the increases within. Paterson should have made sure state employees, especially union employees were taken care of. The whole matter now stinks of hypocrisy and what's worse, Paterson alienated the public employees union in the process.

I know that the state party is giving Paterson until November to straighten up, but I believe that this is the time for Paterson to realize what he's done to his reelection chances and make the smart decision to bow out early. As long as Cuomo follows some good advice, he can sit in Paterson's chair in less than two years time.

Ed Schultz Speaks Out For EFCA

Big Ed joins the chorus of left-leaning media personalities and wholeheartedly endorses the Employee Free Choice Act. He's been for this stuff all along, but now is the time to take a strong stand on the issue as it is now in front of Congress.

Good News And Numbers For Unions

These are exciting times now for unions in America. For decades, corporations have chipped away at their power and their ability to organize, resulting in a precipitous decline in membership. Despite that corporate dominance over workers, the total amount of Americans in unions rose in the highest amount since 1983. It sounds great, but only because many of the new recruits work in government where union busting is not much of a problem. Now imagine if private companies had to let workers have their say about joining a union in the same way the government does. Well it can be a reality soon, as long as Congress passes the Employee Free Choice Act.

From The NY Times:

Most Democrats support the bill, the Employee Free Choice Act, saying that making it easier for unions to grow will help strengthen the nation’s middle class during tough economic times. But Republicans denounce the bill because it would give workers the right to gain union recognition as soon as a majority signed cards saying they wanted a union, rather than through secret-ballot elections.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 36.8 percent of government employees belong to unions, compared with just 7.6 percent of workers in the private sector. Typically, state and city officials do not fight unionization efforts, while private-sector employers, fearing higher labor costs, often vigorously resist organizing drives.

The bureau noted that the percentage of workers in unions has dropped from 20.1 percent in 1983, with the decline especially noteworthy among private-sector workers because of a sharp drop in manufacturing jobs as a result of plant closings and pressures from imports. The bureau said 11.4 percent of manufacturing workers, once the heart of organized labor, were in unions.

It is true that many of those losses in membership are due to declining manufacturing jobs. Yet plenty of other industry sectors have blossomed but have not seen much in the way of unionizing. Passing the EFCA would be instrumental in helping to make that happen. Finally we could start to shift the balance of power back towards the people in this country that actually produce the goods and services that the corporations exist off of. After this battle is won, an increase of 428,000 union members a year will seem miniscule.

Unions Start To Make The Gang Of Three Pay A Price

When Diaz, Espada and Kruger bonded together to create havoc for Senate Democrats in order to further their own interests, the short term gains clouded their long term outlook. Scheming for a deal is something this politicians know very well, but threatening to caucus with Republicans when you come from a heavily Democratic district is a very dumb idea. Yet they went along with it, still haven't gained anything besides notoriety and now they are starting to pay a price.

From The Daily Politics:

This week, some 8,000 Bronx members of 32BJ will receive direct direct mail pieces targeting two of the so-called Gang of Three - Senator-elect Pedro Espada Jr. and Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. - in an effort to crank up pressure on the dissidents to come back to the Democratic fold and back Malcolm Smith for majority leader.

The mailers, which are in both English and Spanish, are part of a wider campaign by a number of labor interests that were instrumental in helping the Senate Democrats win a majority of seats this fall for the first time since 1965 and don't want to see the fruits of their labor scuttled by three renegades.

Other union members of this pro-Democrat alliance include: Unite-HERE/ New York Hotel Trades Council, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and the Communications Workers of America.

Seriously, what were these three thinking? That they would just get away with throwing our brand new majority away so that they can get some plum positions and the perks that come along with it? Meh. The Senate Dems in Albany may not be perfect, but with the help of unions like 32 BJ, we're slowly making them more responsive to the progressive and pro-working family agenda we desire.

Thom Hartmann Lays Out How The GOP Is Eviscerating Our Auto Industry

So much for the party of business, radio host Thom Hartmann came on the teevee to tell David Shuster exactly why certain Republicans are against bailing out the auto industry yet had no problem helping out rich bankers.

This Could Be Your Next Job

Or worse, it could be similar to your current position. It is past the time to give our nation's workers a fair wage and a safe workplace. Under conservative rule, many of our protections have been rescinded. Now we must fight back and this is a great way to start.



Now sign the petition to help get this bill moving!

Richard Trumka Tells AFL-CIO There's No Good Reason To Not Vote For Obama

His speech is primarily about the only "bad" reason, meaning racism. He talks about how unions have been a great fighter against the ills of racism. He talks about how racism only serves to divide us and keep everyone down for the benefit of the elite. This is one of the most impassioned speeches about race that I've heard in a long time, especially from a white guy.

WalMart: I'm Not Telling You How To Vote, But....

From their policies and executives, it isn't hard to tell how the upper echelons of the largest U.S. employer feels about partisan politics in our country. WalMart has nearly 90% of their employees in poverty and for the bottom-line, that is good for business. However, this year WalMart and their Republican friends see change on the horizon and they loathe it. So what do you think management will do about it?

From The Wall Street Journal:

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise.[...]

The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.

"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.

WalMart will go to any lengths to keep their workers down, especially here in the United States. Thanks to stronger governments in Europe and even China, workers in those countries are protected from the abuses that U.S. employees are subjected to. WalMart, being the evil corporate behemoth that they are, left Germany two years ago because their unethical practices were not tolerated.

Now here at home, people are fed up with the status quo and with how WalMart and others like them treat workers. The Bush Administration has helped companies fight unions off while managers use fear tactics straight out of the old Gilded Age handbook on union-busting (save for the Pinkertons). Wealthy Wal-Mart executives do not want an environment where unions can thrive again and empowered workers demand better wages and rights. That is why they are trying to force the Republican brand down the throats of their lower-level managers. Well try as they might, the word about them is getting out and things will change as more and more Americans wake-up to the realities of WalMart.

Tell GE To Make Fluorescent Bulbs In America

Why is it that every time I turn around there is a corporation trying to screw consumers or its employees or both? Take General Electric for example. They are one of many companies "going green" but at the expense of their workers. As you may know, compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL for short) cost a lot more than regular bulbs but last longer and reduce energy consumption. Well GE isn't satisfied with simply switching to CFLs, they're going to import a cheaper version from China and get this, get their employees to sign a pledge to go green, eliminating their jobs in the process.

From the CWA:

The growth of “environmentally sustainable technology” was supposed to be a breakthrough on par with the discovery of incandescent bulbs. Green manufacturing was supposed to stimulate our economy, not lead to further deindustrialization. Cutting-edge products like the CFLs should lead to more jobs and profits. GE is making the profits … but it is sending the jobs to China, a country known for exploiting workers and polluting the environment.

GE supported a European Commission ban on Chinese-made CFLs … so CFLs bought in Europe are manufactured in Europe. But GE is refusing to invest in advanced technology for its U.S. plants so workers here can have a future too.

Please join with us, the workers at GE lighting, to ask GE to manufacture green in U.S. plants, so we all can benefit. We shouldn’t have to choose between a clean environment or a pink slip for American workers. Sign our petition today.

Now that is a petition I can sign...and so should you.

Bruno Has Nothing To Say

At a press conference held today, State Senate Leader Joe Bruno was scrutinized for his employment at the Winthrop Corporation, an investment management firm that has and does handle millions for many labor unions. Oddly enough, a piece in the New York Times from a few days ago showed that while nothing was blatantly illegal about Bruno's outside employment, there were still problems with how Bruno fits into the system that is corrupt New York politics. So when reporters asked about it, he quickly gave them the cold shoulder.

From The NYT Cityroom:

Question: “Senator, what do you do for the Winthrop Corporation?”

Senator Bruno: “That’s been in the news, right? And I’m not going to talk anymore about any of that today, because I have reported legally, ethically, what I do and what I have been doing in that instance and in every other instance, and have been accused of nothing wrong, not ethically, not morally, and not legally. Thank you, and I hope I see you before Christmas, but not too soon.”

So why won't Bruno talk about his job. Shouldn't New Yorkers know what he is up to at Winthrop, especially when one would wonder why an investment firm would want him on the payroll unless he was Senate Majority Leader. His political power has tremendous influence on where state funds go for projects between Buffalo, New York City and Lake Champlaign. While there is no smoking gun, it looks like there is a fox guarding our state's hen house here.

Linky Linky

It may be Saturday, but there are still lots of stories going on, here are a few New York stories you might want to check out:

Norman Mailer will be missed, he passed away last night at the age of 84. A wish to RIP to a quintessential New Yorker.

Broadway is officially on strike. Local One has halted work on all but eight shows. Don't worry though, if you still want to see the extravaganza at 'Young Frankenstein' despite the NYT's lousy review the union has an independent contract with the show.

The famous Illinoisan Arkansan New Yorker Hillary Clinton is getting more bad press, this time over not paying her waitress a tip and lying about it, then found to be planting questions in the audience while visiting Iowa. Bad times for the front-runner indeed.

Do you live somewhere outside Manhattan and secretly wished you did? Well you can get a prestigious address with no ridiculous high rent here.

And finally, Christmas is upon us in Midtown. Goodluck trying to get around that area for the next month and a half. I'll be avoiding Rockefeller Center as much as I do Times Square year-round.

Is Bloomberg The Next John Lindsay?

Bloomberg has been warning city agencies to tighten their belts due to a downturn in real estate and Wall Street, but is there more to the city's upcoming fiscal woes? The New York Times certainly thinks so, and The Gothamist points out an interesting connection to former Mayor John Lindsay.

From The Gothamist:

Now The New York Times is reporting that the deals the Mayor has made with city unions may have hamstrung city budgets long after the billionaire politician has left office. Basically, these generous pay raises to unions including the police sergeants', sanitation workers', and police detectives, will lead to "expenses that stand to outpace revenue, especially toward the end of the city’s four-year spending plan."

Contracts like those as well as ones with city teachers (that boosted pay 40%) and with FDNY brass, may have left the city in the lurch long after the mayor's left office. Some critics are concerned, suggesting that the costs may force downsizing in the future, but Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler said, "You have to deal with these expenses whether you put them in the financial plan now or later. Not including them at this point would be burying your head in the sand.”

The historical parallels to Mayor John Lindsay are worth mentioning. Lindsay was a Rockefeller Republican from the Upper East Side, much like Mayor Bloomberg. His negotiations with the city's public unions wound up being calamitous to the fiscal state of New York. The aftermath led to the city verging on the brink of bankruptcy and the turmoil of 1977.

Is New York in for another bankruptcy? I certainly hope not, but the numbers are not very comforting to say the least. Bloomberg's plan to save $500 million by cutting agency spending in the next budget might help in the short term, but those salaries could be devastating over the long run. Remember, the glitzy and glamorous New York everyone sees now is superficial for the most part. Just because there are several hundred Starbucks and even more bank branches does not mean all of the city is fiscally solvent.

The Good Rats Of NYC

Whenever I am in the subway during a quiet part of the day or night, the rats that run along the rails always catch my eye...those are the "bad" rats. The good ones are the giant inflatable rats that sit outside various buildings around the city. In case you don't know, those rats are symbols that unions use to call out developers and other companies that refuse to hire union workers. Have you ever wondered who puts them up and how effective they are?

From The New York Times:

For eight years, Mr. Rynkiewicz, 37, has been a rat wrangler for Local 79. He was there when a rat was threatened with arrest. He was there when a rat was stabbed by a person opposed to the construction of a Staples store in Brooklyn.

“They gutted it,” he said, eyes downcast. “Right in the belly.”

Rats are the most ubiquitous tool of shame, but not the only one used by Mr. Rynkiewicz’s union. There is also a cigar-smoking pig, a gorilla and a skunk. The balloons are never left alone when on public display. Two union men, earning roughly $30 an hour, keep watch over them. Sandwich boards featuring quotes by Abraham Lincoln, George Washington or Gandhi are propped at the foot of the rat. Leaflets are distributed.

Local 79 came up with the idea of placing the balloons outside job sites 11 years ago. On Third Avenue, the rat loomed in front of offices belonging to Extell, one of the city’s larger developers. The union was upset that Extell was using nonunion workers to build extra office space on East 46th Street for the United Nations. Mr. Rynkiewicz said he received a call from Extell executives, who agreed to a meeting that afternoon. A week later, he said, it became a union job site. When contacted, Extell would not respond to questions about that site.

Just another day in the life of an inflatable rat.

Si Se Puede FreshDirect

First off, I have to admit I love FreshDirect. I started using them after my accident and I couldn't move from my apartment last year. The service is fantastic and my food always arrives in pristine condition. The only time I had a problem with delivery was when that massive early morning thunderstorm paralyzed the city back in July. Even then they gave me a discount for my next order. So I was sorry to see an article on them this morning about conditions in their warehouse out in Long Island City. Company efforts to stop workers from unionizing pissed me off as well.

The truck drivers have already unionized last year, becoming part of the local UFCW. As expected with a union, their working conditions have improved and receive adequate benefits. However, 900 warehouse workers are still getting shafted with low wages and bad conditions at the headquarters in Long Island City. Union proponents claim that two organizers were fired once their efforts were made public. The company disputes that but thats what companies do when presented with bad press.

These workers deserve better. Let FreshDirect know that all their employees should have access to unionize without intimidation. With the decreasing power of unions across the country, their resurgence can only come with more workers getting together to fight for fair compensation and decent working environments.

Si Se Puede FreshDirect!