Articles

Unions in the News at mid-month

January 14, 2010 - NUHW - Why is SEIU's Contract a Secret from Workers at Daughters of Charity? - A good question since no one in any SEIU Local ever gets to see the entire contract before voting because that would expose all the back-room management-friendly deals the SEIU is prone to make.  Quotes include "SEIU told Daughters of Charity workers we were voting for full retroactive pay, no cuts in healthcare, full parity in benefits, and no management rights" [in order to sway the vote.  Instead they got] "Wage freeze instead of full retro pay, Family cut from health insurance, Higher healthcare costs, New management rights.   So why won’t they give us a copy of our contract?"

January 13, 2010 - San Francisco Bay Guardian - No Room at the Inn - "The labor movement made a show of strength the evening of Jan. 5" [as Unite Here strives to obtain a small increase in the wages of workers at the most profitable hotels in San Francisco.]  [Their leaders "were arrested for blocking traffic for hours outside the Hilton San Francisco" [demonstrating what real unionism is]. [We can all learn from this that standing up for your rights is the only way to protect jobs and advance workers' causes.  We can also wonder why SEIU decided to wage a costly and divisive battle against one of the most effective unions for lower wage earners - Unite Here.]