Labor & Employment Law

17,000 San Francisco Workers Reach Tentative Pact, and More Bargaining News

By Belinda Boyce

17,000 San Francisco city employees reach tentative contract, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

NEGOTIATIONS
Multiple, City of San Francisco: Unions representing San Francisco city workers have reached a tentative agreement with Mayor Gavin Newsom to save the city $200 million and avoid shortening the workweek for 17,000 workers. If union members approve the pact, city workers will take 12 unpaid furlough days over the next two years.

ALPA, Air Transport International: The Air Line Pilots (ALPA) is requesting the National Mediation Board (NMB) appoint a mediator to facilitate talks with Air Transport International (ATI). ALPA represents 170 ATI pilots and flight engineers and says management has been stalling negotiations for years.

IAM, Spirit AeroSystems: For the first time since being spun off from Boeing in 2005, Spirit AeroSystems has begun full contract bargaining with the Machinists (IAM). The current contract, covering 6,000 workers in Kansas and Oklahoma, expires June 25.

Multiple, State of Connecticut: Connecticut’s State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC), made up of 13 local unions, is blasting Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s request for additional cuts to the pay and benefits of 45,000 state workers. The governor’s request comes only a year after the unions reached a deal to save the state $700 million in exchange for a no-layoff guarantee.

IAFF, City of Providence: Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 799 has reached a tentative agreement with the city of Providence, R.I., after nearly seven years of tense negotiations and legal battles. The contract requires the firefighters to pay part of their health insurance, keeping in line with an arbitration award announced last week that required they do so for 2006 and 2007. Local 799 President Paul Doughty said the 450 members felt as though hell had frozen over. If approved, the contract will run through fiscal year 2013.

AFSCME, Jackson Health System: AFSCME, representing some 5,000 workers at Miami’s Jackson Health System, has begun negotiations with the hospital to help close its massive budget deficit. The nearly 5,000 members of SEIU Local 1199 were voting on a tentative agreement reached with Jackson, which includes a 5 percent worker contribution to health care.

AFSCME, American Red Cross: American Red Cross workers in Connecticut have voted to authorize a strike, after working without a contract for more than a year. The 215 AFSCME members are nurses, phlebotomists, drivers and lab technicians. The next round of talks is scheduled to begin April 25.

SETTLEMENTS
USW, Appalachian Regional Healthcare: 2,300 health care workers at Appalachian Regional Healthcare ratified a new three-year contract. The contract, effective April 1, covers members of United Steelworkers (USW) across West Virginia and Kentucky.

WORK STOPPAGES
MNA, Morton Hospital: The Massachusetts Nurses Association-National Nurses United (MNA-NNU) has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass., for refusing to bargain in good faith. The charge stems from the hospital’s plan to unilaterally dismantle the defined-benefit pension plan on March 31, despite ongoing negotiations. MNA-NNU represents 400 nurses and professional staff at the hospital.

UNITEHERE!, Castlewood Country Club: 65 workers locked out by Castlewood Country Club in California participated in a march yesterday morning to protest the ongoing lockout. The members of UNITEHERE! Local 2850 were locked out 33 days ago, after the two sides were unable to agree on worker contributions to health care.

UFT-AFT/NEA, New York City: In a win for New York City students and teachers, a judge on Friday blocked the city from closing 19 schools for poor performance. The United Federation of Teachers-AFT/NEA and the NAACP led the fight to stop the closings and applauded the judge’s finding that the city violated the law and must in the future seek more community involvement.

UFCW, Shaw’s Supermarket: As unions across New England prepared to lend their support to the 310 striking Shaw’s Supermarket workers, the company finally agreed to meet with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 791 later today. The workers have been on strike since rejecting a contract offer March 7.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for your information only.  As it is compiled from published news reports, not from individual unions, we cannot vouch for either its completeness or accuracy; readers who desire further information should directly contact the union involved.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on March 29, 2010 (boomark / email).