SUNDAY SESSION, SEPTEMBER 16, 2007
The 70th UE Convention was called to order at 9:21 a.m. Andrew Dinkelaker, president of the UE Eastern Region, host region for the convention, welcomed the delegates. He called on all the Eastern Region delegates to stand and be recognized. “Our strength comes from our unity and diversity,” said Dinkelaker.
MONDAY MORNING SESSION, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
President John Hovis called the convention to order at 9:00 a.m., and recognized Peter Knowlton, president of the Northeast Region and convener of the Resolutions Committee. Peter thanked the members of the Resolutions Committee for their hard work late into Sunday night. He then called on Nathanette Mayo, Local 150 and Pam Kelly, Local 222, who read the Collective Bargaining resolution.
Local 1174 members at the Quad City Die Casting are unshaken in their determination to win a just contract, despite being locked out by the company since late July. Their resolve grew even stronger with a state decision granting them unemployment benefits, and with the decisions of two temp agencies to remove their workers from the foundry
JBM Bluegrass Satellite/DirecTech has agreed to pay approximately $1.9 million to workers at its Columbus, Ohio facility for massive unfair labor practices the company committed in its efforts to destroy the workers’ union, UE Local 719. This is a major victory over an extremely anti-union employer; however, these workers are still engaged in a very difficult fight for their first UE contract.
UE Local 221 members at the Flynn Regional Box Office in Burlington, Vermont unanimously ratified a new three-year contract in June. The agreement includes wage increases of 3 percent each year for workers at the maximum rate, and annual raises of 4 and 5 percent for workers at lower rates. Before organizing with UE, wages at the Flynn ranged from minimum wage to just a dollar above minimum wage. By the end of
this contract, the Flynn workers’ fifth, the start rate will have reached $10.21 and the maximum rate $12.28.
Workers at Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier Vermont who are organized into UE Local 255 made significant progress in this round of contract negotiations. By keeping the members informed and remaining united, the final contract retained important protections and made some significant improvements. The new agreement, covering 108 workers, is a three-year contract with reopeners on wages, health insurance, retirement and gain share.
Members of UE Local 203 at City Market/Onion River Co-op in Burlington Vermont, fought for and won a two-year agreement that fixed many wage inequities that had developed under the previous agreement. Average wage before negotiations for the 122 workers in the bargaining unit was $10.88. With no turnover, the average wage at the end of the two-year contract term will be $12.29.
On July 3 – the day before Independence Day – a bill to revoke the ban on collective bargaining and contracts for state and local government employees was approved by a majority of a House judiciary committee. This is an important first step toward repealing North Carolina´;s unjust 50-year-old General Statute 95-98, and giving public employees the right to bargain.
More than 40 members of UE were on hand to make history in Atlanta at the end of June, as over 10,000 people gathered for five days in the biggest social justice event in our country in recent memory, the U.S. Social Forum (USSF.)
Nearly 50 members of UE, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Jobs with Justice and other supporters rallied on June 6 outside the annual meeting of DirecTV in New York City to protest the denial of workers´ rights by the giant satellite TV company and its subcontractors. Four of them – Northeast Regional President Peter Knowlton, UE Local 719 member and DirecTV contractor employee Victor Iddings, International Rep.
If you like what you read, please consider subscribing to the UE NEWS — for as little as $5/year you can support great labor journalism and receive the print edition of the UE NEWS four times per year.
You can also sign up to receive monthly UE NEWS Bulletins via email, or follow UE on Facebook or Twitter.