UE NEWS Updates

When the town of Greenfield entered negotiations with UE Local 274, which represents the town clerical and library workers, their agenda was clear: more rights for bosses, fewer rights for workers. Management wanted to expand the management’s rights clause while removing all non-discrimination language from the contract, leaving any issue of discrimination up to state law.

UE Local 106 ratified a new three-year contract with Buckeye Pipeline on January 11, 2019 which raises wages by 2.5 percent per year. In addition to the wage increase, all employees will receive a bonus in the first year of 0.50 percent of the previous year’s annual wages and a bonus in the third year of 0.25 percent of the previous year’s annual wages. The company also agreed to add contract language for jury duty and bereavement leave, and to increase the meal allowance provided when workers work two or more hours beyond their normal shift to $10.

When an arrogant management demanded attendance-policy changes that would make it easy to fire half of their co-workers, the UE Local 155 negotiating committee at Generation Lighting held firm. Their new three-year contract, ratified in November, instead removes some of the most onerous aspects of the previous attendance policy, and resets all employees’ attendance-policy “points” to zero.

At a mid-December meeting of unions from around North America held in Los Angeles, representatives of independent Mexican unions shared their expectations for working people under the government of the newly elected Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopes Obrador (known as AMLO). This public event drew many Mexican-American members of the LA community.