Word: union
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Reich's sentiment is shared by many Democrats who believe that the key to a strong economy is a strong middle class, and the key to a strong middle class is union bargaining. They point to heroes of the movement like Walter Reuther, the famed head of the United Auto Workers, who once famously noted that his workers were also Chrysler's best customers. "What studies show is that every time there's been a strong labor movement, there's been a strong middle class," says Janice Fine, a professor at Rutgers University's School of Management and Labor Relations...
...seven weeks since Obama's victory, the President-elect has proven to be more of a pragmatist than labor envisioned. From his podium in Chicago during the debate over whether to bail out the Big Three automakers, Obama has been critical of the United Auto Workers, arguing that the union must be willing to grant concessions on its workers' hard-fought wages and benefits. Labor has also been disappointed by some of Obama's initial appointments. Rep. Xavier Becerra of California turned down the job of U.S. Trade Representative because, he told a radio station, he felt overhauling trade agreements...
There is no doubt that an Obama presidency will mark a suspension of the assault on unionization that started under Ronald Reagan and peaked under George W. Bush. Obama is sure to appoint labor-friendly members to the National Labor Relations Board and begin to undo many of the obstacles Bush constructed. But the big question is how hard he will push for the measure at the top of labor leaders' wish list: the Employee Free Choice Act [EFCA]. During the campaign Obama expressed support for the bill, which would attempt to facilitate union organizing by doing away with secret...
Business groups oppose the open ballot provision because they claim it leaves employees dangerously open to peer pressure. They also particularly dislike a provision in the bill that requires just a simple majority of a company's employees to make it a unionized shop and another that would invoke binding arbitration after 120 days of negotiating. Businesses argue EFCA could cost them, and therefore the economy, untold billions annually. Union advocates argue that the bill is not just good for unions but a boost for the economy as well. "If it becomes easier for working people to form unions...
...National Labor Relations Board. Gould suggested keeping the secret ballot but reducing the extensive delays in holding such elections. "Gould's proposal eliminates the politically most potent argument against the Employee Free Choice Act, that secret-ballot elections supposedly better represent the true preferences of employees than do signed union authorization cards," says Gregory Saltzman, professor of economics and labor management at Albion College in Michigan...