SMART Union
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Cincinnati, Ohio lawmaker introduced his plan to bring a right-to-work law to Ohio despite opposition from fellow Republicans.
The proposal from Rep. Tom Brinkman (R-Mount Lookout) would prohibit mandatory union membership at workplaces. The change would give employees the choice to opt out of unions and their dues. Twenty-five states have right-to-work laws, including recently passed proposals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.
Read more from Telegraph-Forum.
Reprinted with permission from Tom Campbell, WNY Labor Today.
Buffalo-Headquartered Sheet Metal Workers Local 71 is being credited and hailed with starting a successful organizing drive in Western New York that led to transportation crew members for North America’s largest railroads in Buffalo and Rochester and several other New York State cities to Go Union – an effort that’s spread to organizing successes in the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio and is growing into a national campaign.“
Local 71 organizer Joe DeCarlo played a ‘big part’ in all of this,” International SMART (Sheet Metal, Air, Railroad & Transportation Workers Union) Organizing Director Jim White told WNYLaborToday.com during a recent interview from the Union’s Washington, D.C. offices. “(Local 71) ‘kicked this off’ and has been a ‘big component.’ This is one organizing drive they ‘kept on top of.’
After being approached by the non-represented crew transportation workers employed by Renzenberger Incorporated, the Sheet Metal Workers subsequently registered organizing victories in Buffalo with Local 71 (53 Workers), in Rochester with Local 46 (6 Workers), in Syracuse With Local 58 (13 Workers), in Binghamton With Local 112 (15 Workers), in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania With Local 19 (120 Workers) and in Ashtabula, Ohio With Local 33 (15 Workers) – for a Combined Total of 247 New Members.
“It’s been a ‘very positive experience’ so far,” said Local 71 business manager Helak, who also serves as a SMART General Executive Council Member.
The workers will benefit (by being union-represented) and it’s ‘blossomed’ into a regional success story. We’re ‘looking to do more’ and ‘make it happen’ – and so far, it has. Getting a National Agreement (With Renzenberger) will help the industry as a whole. ”
About a year and half ago, the Renzenberger workers – who serve as drivers to transport engineers and conductors from one location to another – here in Buffalo’s Bison Rail Yard – reached out to Local 71 organizer DeCarlo: “they told ss ‘they had to have’ a Union on their rail lines. They Were making minimum wage – around ($7.25) an hour – with no benefits. SMART’s Transportation Division was a ‘perfect match’ for them.”
Renzenberger has more than 200 locations across 31 States and Provinces with a fleet of more than 1,700 vehicles and drivers. The company provides crew transportation services for North America’s largest railroads by shuttling employees in between destinations. In addition to the railroad industry, the company also shuttles oil and gas crews to work sites.
Because it was hard to get all the potential new Union members together in one place to talk with Them and answer their questions, SMART organizers in the locals where the campaigns took place used conference calls and the Unions’ websites to connect with the Renzenberger workers, SMART International Rep White told WNYLaborToday.com.
Eventually management at Renzenberger “saw the worth” in having their transportation drivers become unionized, DeCarlo Told WNYLaborToday.com: “within two weeks, Renzenberger provided us with their employee’s contact information. They too saw the ‘value’ of what we were doing. These workers work for ‘first class railroads’ and they’re continually on the road. They saw the ‘strength’ in being Union.”
So, what began in Buffalo branched out to other groups of Renzenberger workers performing the same jobs across New York, and in the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio. As a result, the company has signed a national neutrality agreement with SMART, DeCarlo proudly said.
Meanwhile, business manager Helak Heaped Praise on DeCarlo for the job he’s done and for what’s being accomplished: “He’s done an ‘excellent’ job. Joe’s also offered his help to our locals across the atate and into Pennsylvania and Ohio. He’s given his time to be the ‘best representative’ for this growing group of workers – who could use the help. They needed an increase (in wages) and an ‘uplift’ in their jobs and future.”
The work starts now on negotiating first contracts and “getting these guys some benefits,” said SMART International Rep White: “We have to organize this industry so these workers are ‘paid better,’ so it’s not a ‘race to the bottom.’ These companies also want ‘safe drivers’ (to employ) – not someone who has ‘no experience’ or has worked as a cab driver or hotel van driver. The employer ‘doesn’t know’ what they’re getting. “
The Initial Organizing Campaign in Buffalo Started When SMART/Transportation Division Local 1566 Chairman, Brian Sharky Contacted Local 71 About Organizing the Renzenberger Drivers After Being in Direct Contact With the Railroad Employees.
SMART Local 71 won its representation election at Renzenberger in Buffalo in early March by a unanimous vote of the company’s drivers, DeCarlo said. The election involving the 53 Workers actually was a three-way race between SMART, an independent union called the National Production Workers Union.
On Saturday Oct. 3, community leaders, politicians and union members gathered in Dorchester, Massachusetts to honor SMART General President Emeritus Joseph Nigro with the dedication of the Local 17 Union Hall building in his name.
The plaque, placed on the walls at the entrance to the hall describes his contributions to the community and the union as well as the passion he held for his fellow working men and women who he dedicated his working life to.
After more than a month on strike, the Amarillo Metal Trades Council (MTC), representing nearly 1,200 workers at the Pantex Nuclear Weapons facility, and Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) reached a tentative agreement.
The MTC struck after more than seven months of bargaining when, on August 28, CNS-Pantex presented its “best, last and final” offer. At that time, 87 percent of the Texas workforce voted to strike the Amarillo facility.
Highlights of the agreement include improved medical coverage with controlled out-of-pocket medical costs and contained premium increases for current and future employees; maintenance of the defined benefit pension plan for current employees; maintained sick leave earnings and bank; and improved short-term disability benefits.
In addition to the benefits package, the tentative agreement also gives employees annual wage increases of two percent. MTC represented employees will vote on the proposed agreement on Sunday, October 4.
New sheet metal positions available in Tennessee. Click on link for details. You MUST call your Local Union if interested. Visit the Sheet Metal Job Bank for more information.
According to analysts at FMI, growth within the construction industry is now expected to reach 6 percent for 2015 and 7 percent for 2016, with the total value to reach $1.09 trillion.
This is the highest total since 2008, unadjusted for inflation. Growth in construction for end users in manufacturing has led the way in 2015 and should come in at 18 percent growth for 2015. Analysts have found that this pace within the sector is unlikely to continue, as they predict only 5 percent to 7 percent for 2016 through 2019. Manufacturing and industrial construction requires a long planning cycle in most cases; it also is a market that reflects global competition as countries strive to keep their workers employed and boost exports. Lower energy prices are, overall, beneficial to this sector, with the exception being mining and oil and gas construction, which has slowed since energy prices started dropping last year. Lower energy prices, along with a trained and available workforce and improved modes of transportation, also attract manufacturing. The completion of infrastructure work that will enhance access to and from the Panama Canal will mean a boost for manufacturing in Gulf Coast states.
FMI also found that other strong markets for 2015 include lodging, office, and amusement and recreation, all experiencing double-digit growth. Multifamily construction has cooled to 11 percent for 2015 with single-family at 9 percent in 2015 and 10 percent in 2016. In the non-building sectors, power construction continues to weaken, with an expected 8 percent drop for 2015.
FMI is a leading provider of management consulting, investment banking and personal development services to the engineering and construction industries.
Columbus, Ohio – An Ohio lawmaker said he plans to introduce a “right-to-work” bill that would prohibit private-sector labor union membership as a condition of employment.
State Rep. Tom Brinkman said Wednesday that his bill, which he plans to introduce next month, would ban “closed shops” and forbid unions from charging “fair-share fees” to non-union workers at private-sector workplaces. The Cincinnati Republican said he intends to introduce the bill sometime next month.
The lawmaker said his legislation would not apply to public-sector unions, which were controversially targeted with similar restrictions by Senate Bill 5 in 2011 until Ohio voters rejected it.
Read more from Cleveland.com.
A new report from the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) shows that Latino union workers have distinct advantages over their non-union peers in terms of their bring home pay and benefits.
“Latino Workers and Unions: A Strategic Partnership for America’s Progress” provides the latest data on the wages and benefits afforded Latino workers through union membership.
The report finds that unionized Latino workers make $11,544 more in yearly wages. In addition, their non-union counterparts face an increased chance of wage theft and on the job mortality while also receiving the lowest quality pension and health insurance coverage.
The report also recommends that unions begin extensive outreach to the Latino community in order to impact workers’ rights and increase their own power.
The sponsor of a proposed ballot measure aimed at making union dues voluntary for public employees may well drop the initiative after receiving a politically unpalatable ballot title.
Portland attorney Jill Gibson said she is leaning toward abandoning the proposal after the Oregon Supreme Court upheld a ballot description that will make the measure harder to sell to voters.
The measure, which is being closely watched by the state’s unions, would end the state law requiring public employees represented by union contracts to pay dues regardless of whether they join. Instead, dues would be voluntary for non-members.
Read more from The Oregonian.
Missouri State Legislative Director Ken Menges asks Missouri SMART members to join in the fight against right-to-work. Although Governor Jay Nixon vetoed the right-to-work legislation June 4 at the SMART Sheet Metal Local 36 facility, a battle has been raging in the state to get that veto overturned.
A veto session is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, 2015 to revisit the right-to-work legislation and to overturn the veto.
“We have worked hard since the legislative session ended in May to visit and show support for both our Democrat and Republican friends,” Menges said. “I would like to extend a special thanks to Assistant State Director Jason Hayden (Local 1405 – St. Louis), Local Legislative Representatives Thad Krawczyk (Local 933 – Jefferson City, Mo.), Josh Stallings (Local 1823 – St. Louis), Gerald Wohlgemuth (Local 226 – Moberly, Mo.) and Dan Coleman (Local 1780 – Kansas City, Mo.) for spending several days canvassing door-to-door, working to get letters from union members to their legislators and thanking them for their support.
“According to the Missouri AFL-CIO we have had nearly 20,000 letters and calls go out to legislators, which is phenomenal.”
A rally was held September 12 in preparation for the fight against Governor Nixon’s veto being overturned. The rally was attended by hundreds of union members across the state, including SMART membership. Governor Jay Nixon was a keynote speaker at the event.
