Posts tagged United Auto Workers
Opinion: How to Unionize the Artworld
August 15, 2022 // The AWC envisioned a more egalitarian artworld. Leading artistic and cultural institutions like MoMA relied on the labour of hundreds of people, from artists to archivists to cloakroom attendants, and the group felt that they should all have a voice in institutional decision-making, including the ability to bargain over pay and working conditions. As well as empowering art workers, the AWC also sought to make art more available to the public. In one creative act of protest, artist Joseph Kosuth designed a lookalike MoMA membership card, emblazoned with the AWC logo, which purported to grant the cardholder free entry. Unfortunately the AWC, like many radical groups of the era, was not long for this world. Members voted to solidify their project by forming an art workers’ union in 1970, but its scope was ill-defined and the effort fizzled.
How the United Auto Workers union is changing following its latest convention
August 12, 2022 // “I would say the idea of reform was really the central theme of this event, whether you were there as a reformer, or whether you were someone who was pushing back against the idea that the union has a big corruption problem.” — Sascha Raiyn, WDET “I would say the idea of reform was really the central theme of this event, whether you were there as a reformer, or whether you were someone who was pushing back against the idea that the union has a big corruption problem,” says Raiyn. “But the people that I talked to, including veterans of many conventions, said that this convention was the most democratic that they had ever seen.” reverse delegate pay,
We’ve Beaten Down the Union ‘Dues Skim’ in Michigan Again and Again
August 11, 2022 // A few months later, Robert Haynes — a retired Detroit police officer — reached out to tell us that he and his wife Patricia were ensnarled in a similar scheme. Bob and Pat receive monthly Medicaid checks to take care of their two adult children. This dues skim resulted in an estimated 80,000 day care and home caregivers being forcibly unionized, with $35 million taken from their paychecks and given to unions. Harris v. Quinn, Bob and Pat Haynes,
UAW Accused of “Threatening and Intimidating” Members at Constitutional Convention
August 5, 2022 // But reports show that attendees who questioned the union’s status quo were heckled, intimidated or drowned out. The main issue that arose between leadership and attendees was that the UAW did not want to increase pay for striking workers. The vote to raise strike pay passed initially, but UAW leaders then put it up for a reversal vote after many members had already left the convention, allowing the policy to be reversed before it ever took effect. Union leaders also pulled the same trick to give themselves raises after the vote was first denied. “Our leaders … do not represent the rank-and-file members of our union. They represent the interests of staff and leadership. They represent the interests of their friends,” said Daniel Vicente of Local 644. “They absolutely robbed us again. We’ve been robbed by the people in prison; we’re getting robbed by these leaders here.” Daniel Vicente of Local 644, Scott Houldieson,
UAW pushing to get EV battery plants in Michigan to unionize
August 4, 2022 // The United Auto Workers said its future could be in doubt if it doesn’t get these plants unionized. That’s because the Big Three are making a big push for electric vehicles. Detroit’s three automakers already announced plans for seven different battery plants across the country to power the electric vehicles they plan to build. One of those plants is in Lansing. Cindy Estrada, UAW Vice President, The UAW said it has more than 400,000 active members, and that number is expected to drop as companies need fewer traditional engines. Estrada is the one in charge of trying to get plants part of the electric vehicle transition, like the one being built in Delta Township, to join the UAW.
Ex-UAW execs convicted of corruption get out of prison early
July 25, 2022 // Jones and Williams acknowledged they had used union funds for golf trips, expensive meals and stays at California villas. First Step Act, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit, UAW members from across the U.S. are meeting in Detroit next week to nominate candidates for union leadership. A national election will be held in the fall, a direct result of the government’s corruption investigation.
Federal monitor accuses UAW of concealing misconduct probe
July 22, 2022 // Attorney Dawn Ison told the union that it was violating a court order by concealing the information, and the UAW has been behaving properly since, Barofsky wrote. But he wrote that the union was obstructing him. “The union’s concealment of evidence of the misconduct of one of its leaders and its own investigation into that misconduct interfered with the monitor’s ability to carry out his work,” Barofsky wrote. Treasury Department's special inspector general, Troubled Assets Relief Program, Judge David Lawson, Detroit,
UAW members challenge Ray Curry for union presidency
July 5, 2022 // Instituting direct elections of United Auto Workers' international officials is leading some members to step up and challenge President Ray Curry to the union's top role, even from within Solidarity House. Passage last year of the "one member, one vote" system by a referendum vote of the membership was brought on by a years-long corruption scandal, implicating 17 people, including two former UAW presidents. It's setting up a historic leadership selection process ahead of next year's critical contract negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers as their transition to electrification increasingly affects shop floors and as the union covers an increasingly diverse swath of members. court-appointed UAW monitor, Reuther or Administrative Caucus, pension and retirement health-care benefits, socialist,
MFA union ratifies its first contract
June 30, 2022 // The MFA Union represents all non-managerial employees who are not already represented by another collective bargaining agreement, and includes hourly front-of-house staff and part-time educators as well as members of administrative, technical, curatorial and conservation departments. Union leaders said the salary minimums will improve pay equity across departments and raise salaries up to industry standards. Curators and conservators, who are typically paid less than salaried professionals in other departments, will see the biggest gains. “There is room for improvement in museum compensation as an industry, but this is a step in that direction … so hopefully we don’t get so behind industry standards in the future,” said Eve Mayberger, a member of the bargaining committee and an assistant objects conservator at the museum. “It is a huge improvement for many of our unit members.” Matthew Teitelbaum, Maida Rosenstein
Already strained supply chain at risk in ongoing port labor talks
June 22, 2022 // Both Tirschwell and Larian point out that it wouldn't take a strike or a management lockout to slow or stop the flow of cargo. In the past, union members have slowed cargo simply by following strictly the terms of their existing contact, rather than trying to work most effectively. "Maybe they won't go on strike, but they can slow down everything," said Larian, the toymaker CEO. "A strike is very unlikely. A lockout is very unlikely," said Tirschwell. "But there's a definite possibility of an industrial action that disrupts the flow of cargo. That's what happened for six months in 2014 and 2015." Jim McKenna, Isaac Larian, Peter Tirschwell,