Labor & Employment Law

Wisconsin State Workers Approve Contract?and More Bargaining News

By Belinda Boyce

Some 22,000 Wisconsin state workers approved a new two-year contract, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,300 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
 
NEGOTIATIONS                                                                                                                                      AFSCME, State of Wisconsin: Wisconsin state workers approved a two-year contract that will run through June 2011 if it is also approved by the state legislature. The contract covers 22,000 members of the Wisconsin State Employees Association/AFSCME and includes a wage freeze and 16 unpaid furlough days. The contract will help the cash-strapped state save more than $100 million over the term.

UAW, Kohler Co.: UAW Local 833 postponed a vote scheduled for yesterday on a contract with Kohler Co. in Wisconsin. The union called the company proposal, which includes a five-year wage freeze and introduces a two-tier wage system, “unreasonable, unwarranted and overly severe.”
 
MSNA-NNU/NNOC, Eastern Maine Medical Center: The second round of talks between the Eastern Maine Medical Center and Maine State Nurses Association (MSNA-NNU/NNOC) ended with no agreement. The nurses staged a one-day strike last month proceeded by a two-day lockout. MSNA says the most important issue for its 750 members continues to be safe staffing levels.

AFT-NEA, Dade County School District: In Miami, the United Teachers of Dade/AFT-NEA last Wednesday declared it was at an impasse in wage negotiations with the school district. UTD and the school district signed a three-year deal last year covering some 22,000 workers, but the deal called for wages to be re-negotiated annually.
 
ALPA, Air Transport International: The Air Line Pilots (ALPA) has reached a tentative agreement with Air Transport International for some 170 cockpit crew members who have been in negotiations with the company for six years.

SAG & AFTRA, AMPTP: The joint national board of the Screen Actors (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) approved a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The board’s approval triggers a ratification vote by the two unions’ nearly 150,000 members.

SETTLEMENTS                                                                                                                                                                                                  USW, AK Steel: In Mansfield, Ohio, workers ratified a three-year contract extension with AK Steel. The 270 members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 169 will receive two lump sum payments over the term, as well as a wage increase in 2013.

USW, U.S. Pipe and Foundry Co.: The one-week strike by members of USW Local 2140 at two U.S. Pipe and Foundry facilities in Bessemer, Ala., ended over the weekend, after workers ratified a four-year contract.

WORK STOPPAGES
AFM, Detroit Symphony Orchestra: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra offered a new proposal to striking musicians over the weekend, but the union says it does not do enough to address their salary concerns. Members of the Detroit Federation of Musicians/AFM have been on strike since Oct. 4.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for your information only.  As it is compiled from published news reports, not from individual unions, we cannot vouch for either its completeness or accuracy; readers who desire further information should directly contact the union involved.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 13, 2010 (boomark / email).