Labor & Employment Law

25,000 City Workers Near Contract in San Francisco?and More Bargaining News

By Belinda Boyce

25,000 city workers in San Francisco reach a tentative agreement?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 more than 25,000 city workers, have reached a two-year tentative agreement with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, which will help the city close its massive $483 million budget gap. If approved, city workers will take 12 furlough days a year, including the shutdown of nonessential services between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

MNA-NNU, Morton Hospital: The Massachusetts Nurses Association-NNU (MNA-NNU) has reached a tentative three-year agreement with Morton Hospital, avoiding a strike scheduled to begin next week. The contract would provide 400 nurses and other health care workers with a wage increase of between 4 percent and 6 percent over the term and protect the defined-benefit pension plan.

AFSCME, Jackson Health System: AFSCME is signaling it will likely reject a request by Jackson Health System in Miami to reopen negotiations on cost-saving measures. AFSCME members may vote again on whether to approve a 5 percent pay cut, but leaders also oppose giving up premium pay of $50 per biweekly paycheck as suggested by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez. SEIU Local 1991, which also represents Jackson workers, rejected the hospital’s request to renegotiate, but its members had already agreed to both the 5 percent pay cut and the $50 premium pay.

WORK STOPPAGES
PASNAP-NNU, Temple University Hospital: The Pennsylvania Department of Health says it has received a lot of complaints about patient care at Temple University Hospital since its 1,500 nurses and health care workers went on strike March 31. The Pennsylvania Association of Nurses and Allied Health Workers-NNU (PASNAP-NNU) has itself received complaints about the temporary staff from patients who come to the picket line. Talks over the weekend broke off early this morning but are expected to resume later today.

IAM, Merrill Manufacturing: Striking workers and their supporters rallied outside of Merrill Manufacturing last week in Wisconsin, where 34 workers have been on strike for a month. The members of Machinists (IAM) Lodge 2362 have been without a contract since Dec. 20, and their main strike demand is the right to renegotiate the contract when the economy improves.

SETTLEMENTS
IAM, Hawaiian Airlines: Members of IAM District 142 ratified a four-year contract with Hawaiian Airlines. The contract covers 600 aircraft inspectors, mechanics, line service workers and cleaners and includes a 15 percent wage increase over the term.

UWUA, Covanta SEMASS: Workers at a Covanta SEMASS energy-from-waste facility in Massachusetts ratified their first contract on Friday. The 140 workers are members of Utility Workers (UWUA) Local 369. According to the BNA Daily Labor Report (subscription required), the pact came after a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge ruled the company had violated the National Labor Relations Act when it withheld bonuses and wage increases after workers voted for union representation. 

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 April 26, 2010 (boomark / email).