Skip to main content

United Steelworkers of America Have Some Lofty Goals


Recently, the United Steelworkers of America held its annual convention and vowed to enact certain changes in the labor structure of America.  A few are nothing out of the ordinary, such as workers should have access to neutral voting locations and workers should have a right to a representation election within 30 days of filing a petition for one.  

However, the one that really jumped out at me was the goal to unseat Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee who spoke out against the UAW's presence at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant.  For those who do not remember, earlier this year, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Cattanooga voted on whether to unionize.  (Volkswagen Vote - Reuters Report).  Amid the vote by the workers, Senator Corker made comments that many interpreted as influencing the vote.  Specifically, Senator Corker stated that he had "conversations" and based on those conversations was assured that should the workers vote against the UAW, Volkswagen would subsequently announce that it would manufacture new Volkswagens at that Chattanooga plant. 

It is no surprise that this riled the Steelworkers, so the goal to unseat him was probably a foregone conclusion, though Corker was re-elected in 2012 and will not be up for re-election until 2018.  In any event, it will be interesting to see if the Steelworkers are successful.  

Perhaps knowing the difficulty of prevailing on all of its goals, the Steelworkers did not set a date for when their goals will be met.


Additional information on the topic can be found here:  http://mattaustinlaborlaw.com/2014/09/30/steelworkers-playbook-on-how-they-plan-to-reform-labor-law/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Distance in a Non-Compete Agreement Measured "As the Crow Flies"

Ginn v. Stonecreek Dental Care - Court of Appeals, Twelfth Appellate District of Ohio Facts :  Dr. R. Douglas Martin ("Martin") sold his dental practice to an employee who worked there, Dr. David Ginn ("Ginn").  In doing so, Martin and Ginn signed a contract for the sale which contained a non-compete provision that prohibited Martin from engaging in business "within 30 miles" of the practice for five years starting from October 2010.  While Martin initially stayed on and worked with Ginn for a period, the relationship subsequently deteriorated between the two and Martin went to work for another dental office.  The new dental office was less than 30 miles away when measuring the distance in a straight line.  However, when driving between the offices, the distance was more than 30 miles. Ginn filed a claim against Martin on the grounds that Martin breached the non-compete.   At the trial court level, the court found that "within 30 miles"...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more