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Labor Relations / Unions

State’s lawyer says she was punished for union organizing

04/08/2008
Assistant Attorney General Amy Lawler says she was suspended for speaking out in favor of a union movement in the attorney general’s office. But Attorney General Lori Swanson’s administration says Lawler was put on leave in March only because she had failed to follow the proper channels in raising ethics concerns …

Airline merger in holding pattern

04/08/2008
A potential merger at Delta and Northwest airlines is on hold while pilots try to work out a seniority agreement. The proposed merger is complicated by the fact that Atlanta-based Delta has a younger work force than Northwest, which is based in Eagan …

Former Longview union official pleads guilty to embezzlement

04/07/2008
The former financial secretary and treasurer of Local 738 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, located in Longview, has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $40,000 over a three-year period …

Government employees’ union treasurer admits to theft

04/01/2008
Brad Richard Harper, former treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1629 in Battle Creek, will serve 14 months in prison and pay more than $75,000 in restitution for making false statements in union financial reports …

Do nonunion employees have right to representation during disciplinary meetings?

04/01/2008
Q. I am working with my supervisory staff on how to deal with a difficult employee. He insists he has the right to be represented when his supervisor wants to discuss a performance problem. He recently asked to have another employee come with him for a meeting with his supervisor regarding his poor attendance. We are a nonunion company. Any suggestions? …

OSHA’s visit to Imperial Sugar too late, unions say

04/01/2008
OSHA has announced it will conduct combustible dust inspections at thousands of U.S. factories in the wake of an explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth that left 12 workers dead and dozens badly injured. A preliminary investigation revealed the Feb. 7 blast was caused by airborne sugar dust in a basement area …

Seniority puts Delta, Northwest airline merger in holding pattern

04/01/2008
A potential merger of Delta and Northwest airlines is on hold while pilots try to work out a seniority agreement. The proposed merger is complicated by the fact that Atlanta-based Delta has a younger work force than Northwest, which is based in Eagan, Minn. …

Beware anti-Labor comments if taking over unionized operation

04/01/2008
When W&M Properties took over management of an office complex, it immediately set about changing the staffing model under which building engineers would work. Managers began interviewing the seven incumbent engineers for positions under the new structure as well as outside, nonunion candidates. At some point during the interviews, a hiring manager let it be known that the company did not want a unionized work force …

Former Trop owner fined for business problems, while union vote is overturned

04/01/2008
Columbia Sussex, former owner of the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, asked for an extension to pay a state-imposed fine of $750,000 until the property is sold. Meanwhile, an NLRB administrative law judge overturned an October 2007 election in which Tropicana security workers rejected union representation …

NLRB decision puts work-Preservation provisions in question

04/01/2008
Developers and general contractors, beware: The National Labor Relations Board has signaled it will take a closer look at work-preservation clauses. Work-preservation clauses typically limit subcontracting on construction projects to those companies that have signed on to a project labor agreement (PLA) …