WSLC Reports Today
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Links are functional at date of posting, but sometimes expire. Some links require free registration.  WSLC Reports Today links to stories of interest to organized labor; some positive, some negative.  The intention is to inform.

TUESDAY, MARCH 6  ▪  N.Y. Times: Senate, Bush should OK Employee Free Choice Act (editorial in today's NY Times) -- If Mr. Bush were, as he claims, truly concerned about rising income inequality and truly committed to improving the lives of America’s middle class, he would support the Employee Free Choice Act and urge the Senate to approve it.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Bill won't solve labor-relations problems (Caldwell column) -- The EFCA would shift opportunities for coercion to the labor side from the employer side.

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2007
NY Times: Senate, Bush should OK Employee Free Choice Act

The following editorial appears in today's edition of The New York Times:

THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE

There are many reasons for the long decline in the membership rolls for private sector unions, including powerful changes in the economy and the unions’ past corruption scandals.  And there is little doubt that federal rules and regulations for union organizing have also become increasingly hostile to labor, helping to drive unions’ share of the work force down from a peak of 35 percent in the 1950s to a mere 7.4 percent today.

The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would strengthen the rights of employees to form unions, and it drew an immediate veto threat from President Bush.  But if Mr. Bush were, as he claims, truly concerned about rising income inequality and truly committed to improving the lives of America’s middle class, he would support the legislation and urge the Senate to approve it.

The most significant change in the bill is known as a majority signup, which would allow employees at a company to unionize if a majority signed cards expressing their desire to do so.  Under current law, an employer can reject the majority’s signatures and insist on a secret ballot.  But in a disturbingly high number of cases, the employer uses the time before the vote to pressure employees to rethink their decision to unionize.

The bill would also increase the penalty for employers who fired or otherwise discriminated illegally against pro-union employees.  An employer currently found guilty of an illegal firing must pay back pay, minus whatever the fired employee might have earned at a new job -- a fine so low as to be meaningless.  And the bill would require binding arbitration if a newly formed union and company management were unable to agree on a first contract after 120 days.  The refusal to bargain is among the most common allegations against employers in filings to the National Labor Relations Board.

Some employers, like Cingular Wireless and the health care provider Kaiser Permanente, have voluntarily embraced the practice of the majority signup.  But many others, represented by interest groups like the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, remain rigidly opposed.

The bill’s opponents charge that replacing secret ballots with the majority signup would be undemocratic.  But the current system is by no means fair.  The law prohibits union advocacy by employees during work hours and allows employers to ban organizers from the work place.  But employers can require workers to attend anti-union presentations, and can discipline or fire those who refuse to attend.

In 2005, according to the most recent annual report of the National Labor Relations Board, 31,358 employees were receiving back pay after being discriminated against for their union-related activities.  In research for a bipartisan Congressional commission in 2000, Kate Bronfenbrenner, a labor relations professor at Cornell University, reported that 25 percent of employers illegally fired at least one employee during organizing campaigns.

Labor unions have a role to play in helping to fix today’s economic ills -- most notably, worsening income inequality, a problem that’s caused in part by unions’ decline and the workers’ resulting lack of bargaining power.  What’s needed is a Congressional drive to help Mr. Bush see this obvious connection.  The Senate should take up the House bill promptly and send it to the president for his signature.

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2007
Judy Schurke appointed Director of Labor and Industries

The following press release was distributed Monday afternoon by the Governor's Office:

Gov. Gregoire Announces Appointment of Director of Labor and Industries

 

OLYMPIA -- Governor Chris Gregoire today announced that she has appointed Judy Schurke director of the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).  Schurke is currently the acting L&I director.  The appointment is effective immediately. 

 

“Judy Schurke has led the Department of Labor and Industries through these last few months of transition and, for years, has demonstrated her commitment to the citizens of Washington ,” said Governor Gregoire.  “I am pleased to make her a permanent member of my Executive Cabinet.”   

 

Governor Gregoire appointed Schurke the acting director last October.  Prior to her appointment, she was a deputy director of L&I.

 

“I want to thank the Governor for her expression of confidence.  I look forward to working with labor and business and all the other people who are impacted by L&I’s actions and services,” said Schurke.  “Making sure workers are safe and that those who are injured receive the best possible medical treatment is vital to the citizens of Washington .  We have a dedicated staff at L&I who are committed to their work and I appreciate the opportunity to lead them.”

 

“We look forward to working with Judy to ensure that the best interests of Washington working families are served.  As acting director, she has kept her door open to us and listened to the concerns of organized labor, and we anticipate that will continue with her appointment as Director,” said Rick Bender, president of the Washington State Labor Council.

 

“Judy brings with her a wealth of knowledge from her experiences at Boeing and the Industrial Insurance Appeals Board, and is a problem-solver who brings all sides to the table in order to find a fair solution,” said Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business.  “She has a strong grasp of the issues facing workers, their families and employers, and is an excellent choice for director.”

 

Schurke had served as deputy director for operations since 2003.  Prior to that, she served for seven years as employer member of the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals.  She also was Washington Corporate Industrial Insurance Manager for Boeing and, in previous service at L&I, was head of the Self-Insurance Program and held a number of other positions with the agency.

 

The Department of Labor and Industries has 2,600 staff in 20 offices throughout the state.  The agency provides workers’ compensation insurance for 2.4 million workers and 164,000 employers and regulates larger employers who are self-insured.  L&I also regulates workplace safety, provides electrical permits and inspections in most of the state, registers contractors, licenses electricians, inspects elevators and boilers, provides compensation for crime victims and handles a number of other duties.