Nonprofit News and Comment

LABOR UNIONS

“Rockefeller versus Rockefeller on paid sick days debate; Nelson’s foundation funds union-led push, while David’s give dough to biz-ed effort.” By Chris Bragg. Crain’s New York Business. February 10, 2013. The Rockefellers, one of the world’s most generous philanthropic families, apparently find themselves on both sides of New York City’s rancorous debate over a bill mandating that businesses offer employees paid sick days. Over the past several years, the Rockefeller Family Fund, a nonprofit established in 1967 by New York Republican Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, has given at least $250,000 toward the union-led push to require companies to offer paid time off. The nonprofit’s $7 million 2010 operating budget came from outside donations and interest accrued from an endowment funded by the family fortune, initially earned by Standard Oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller more than a century ago. Then, in December, the far larger Rockefeller Foundation announced a $100,000 grant to a nonprofit arm of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. The money will be used to hold 2013 mayoral forums highlighting business issues—and for many small businesses, especially restaurants and retailers, there is no concern more pressing than legislation that would require them to pay for time off if an employee calls in sick. “If this was a way to say the Rockefeller family was split on the issue, it was a smart way to do it,” said one left-leaning source, noting that the Rockefeller Foundation’s grant was smaller than the Family Fund’s, despite its annual spending being much greater. The net assets of the Rockefeller Foundation, established in 1913 by John D. Rockefeller, are $3.5 billion. In 2011, it gave away $132 million, according to its most recent tax return. The Rockefeller Family Fund, meanwhile, has $92.7 million in net assets. It gave out $14.8 million in 2010, tax records show.

“Panera Bakers Battle For A Union In A Union-Free World.” By Dave Jamieson. Huffington Post. February 16, 2013. Kathleen VonEitzen heads into work at 10 p.m. with a long night ahead of her. A trained baker, VonEitzen spends the evening and early morning hours cutting and shaping trays full of dough, shuffling between multiple ovens, and constantly checking her crusts until they’re browned just right. She pulls hundreds of fresh baguettes, bagels, cookies and scones from the ovens until her shift finally ends around dawn. VonEitzen, 55, doesn’t work in some boutique bakery, but in a Panera Bread franchise in Battle Creek, Mich. The company prizes VonEitzen’s craftsmanship, referring to her as an “artisan.” “It takes a special type of person to dedicate their night to baking fresh bread,” Panera says on its website. Though Panera bakers don’t bake from scratch (the raw dough comes from a regional facility) they’re still required to master a wide range of baking disciplines. They typically undergo a “bakery boot camp” that’s at least seven weeks long, with homework, exams and demonstration bakes, capped by a 90-day on-the-job assessment period. Many bakers say it takes a year on the job before they can comfortably handle all the responsibilities of the kitchen. The fresh-made breads and pastries are Panera’s hallmark, and they’ve earned the chain a devoted following among the kind of health-conscious, middle-class diners who are willing to spend $7 to $10 on a quick meal. So-called “fast-casual” restaurants like Panera, Chipotle, Chopt and Cosi have come to occupy an increasingly large swath of the American dining landscape. Panera has expanded rapidly in recent years, and now boasts 1,600 locations in 44 states. By combining convenience with fresh, high-quality ingredients, it aims to offer something better than fast food. But how much better are the jobs?

LABOR UNIONS

“Alt-Labor: Nonunion workers’ groups are gathering strength across the country. But will they ever make the kind of impact that traditional labor once did?” By Josh Eidelson. American Prospect. January 29, 2013. Nonunion workers’ groups are gathering strength across the country. But will they ever make the kind of impact that traditional labor once did? On a warm evening in July, the Chrysler Center Capital Grille in Midtown Manhattan had more than customers to contend with. Inside, diners feasted on a $35 prix fixe dinner as part of the city’s Restaurant Week promotion. Outside, protesters handed out mock “menus”: “First course: Wage Theft. Second course: Racial discrimination.” Some passersby rolled their eyes; others pumped their fists. Dishwasher Ignacio Villegas yelled: “No more exploitation of workers!” His fellow demonstrators—a few co-workers and a couple of dozen staffers and activists from the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC)—picked up the chant, Occupy-style. The protest was one of many the center has mounted since 2011 against the Capital Grille and its corporate parent, the restaurant giant Darden Inc. (It owns the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, among others.) Villegas helped sign up nearly half of the Capital Grille’s staff to join a class-action lawsuit the ROC filed against Darden, alleging that the company violated minimum-wage laws and forced employees to work off the clock. In other states, workers are suing over similar allegations. (Reached over e-mail, Darden communications director Rich Jeffers called the allegations “baseless,” adding, “Any assertion that we do not pay our employees fairly, that we discriminate, or that we do not offer opportunities for advancement is completely false.”) Helping aggrieved dishwashers, cooks, and waitstaff take legal action against companies that violate the law, and organizing street actions to pressure management, are the hallmarks of the ROC’s efforts to improve working conditions in the low-wage restaurant business.

LABOR UNIONS

“Organized Labor Loses Members.” By Melanie Trottman and Kris Maher. Wall Street Journal. January 23, 2013. Federal figures released Wednesday show the percentage of workers who belong to unions dropped to the lowest level since World War II in 2012, largely reflecting public-sector job losses and labor’s continuing struggle to organize workers. Unions lost 400,000 members last year, or about 2.8% of their total, and more than half of them were from the public sector, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The percentage of workers in unions fell to 11.3% last year, from 11.8% in 2011—the biggest decline in six years. Unions were hard-hit last year by trouble in the public sector, which has long been a bright spot for labor amid private-sector membership losses. Public-sector workers are still about five times more likely to be in a union than those in the private sector. The public-sector membership rate in 2012 dropped to 35.9%, from 37% in 2011, a steeper decline than the private-sector drop to 6.6% from6.9% during the same period. Union officials attribute the membership decline to the overall economy, the state-level collective-bargaining battles and outdated federal labor laws that they say make organizing too difficult. In the past two years, cash-strapped states have eliminated public-sector jobs. Republican lawmakers have also led state initiatives aimed at scaling back collective-bargaining rights. The drop “is very much related to the loss of public-sector employment overall” and highlights the impact of the recession, said William Spriggs, chief economist for the AFL-CIO labor federation. Mr. Spriggs said unions are succeeding in adding Hispanic members and workers in fast-growing sectors of the economy, such as parts of the private-sector health-care industry. The membership rate among Hispanics rose last year, while the rate for whites declined, the data showed. Others said the numbers suggest unions aren’t adding value to workers or employers and instead are inflating workplace costs. “The current business model isn’t working,” said James Sherk, a senior policy analyst in labor economics at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “The trend is going to continue,” he added, citing aging members as one of many reasons.
Related story:
“Union Membership Continues To Drop In U.S.” All Things Considered/National Public Radio. January 24, 2013.

LABOR UNIONS

“Unions Create TV Ad To Appeal To Young People; This TV ad is the first in a new campaign by the AFL-CIO to change how young people feel about unions.” By Richard Gonzales. Morning Edition/National Public Radio. February 6, 2012. This TV ad is the first in a new campaign by the AFL-CIO to change how young people feel about unions. At a time when young activists from Zucotti Park to Tahrir Square have shown what the internet and social media can do to help organize people, some American unions have been taking notes. The AFL-CIO is embarking on a new advertising campaign that combines new and old technologies. “Work doesn’t separate. It’s what binds us together,” a commercial voiceover says in the recently test-launched ad campaign with a disarmingly simple message. The campaign is called “Work Connects Us All,” and it’s TV ad features a multi-racial cast of firefighters, teachers, autoworkers, and even baristas gathered in a stark industrial interior. “I teach your kid. You fix my car. He builds my city. She keeps it safe. Work is what connects us,” the ad says. It never mentions unions, and only a quick credit at the end tells the viewer that it is sponsored by the AFL-CIO.

LABOR RELATIONS

“Philharmonic, Union Reach Pact.” By Jennifer Malony. Wall Street Journal. January 30, 2012. The New York Philharmonic, which faces $24 million in unfunded pension liabilities, has reached a deal with its musicians’ union on a two-year contract that postpones a fight over the players’ pension plan. The deal was struck Saturday and must still be ratified by the union members. It would give the musicians no wage increase for the 2011-12 fiscal year and a 2% increase this September, the philharmonic said Sunday. The musicians had been working without a contract since September. The new pact would end in September 2013. K.C. Boyle, a spokesman for Local 802 of the Associated Musicians of Greater New York, said the orchestra’s management had pushed to “drastically” cut pension benefits by moving from a defined benefit pension plan to a 401(k)-style defined-contribution plan. In negotiations aided by a federal mediator, the philharmonic ultimately agreed to extend the musicians’ current pension plan, which has a maximum benefit of $70,000 for all members of the orchestra. But both sides have agreed to hire a consultant to study “the advisability of moving to a defined contribution pension plan” for the next contract, the philharmonic said in a statement. The New York Philharmonic is the nation’s oldest symphony orchestra. It has an annual operating budget of $69 million and has made recent headway in addressing recurring million-dollar-plus deficits. Union members said cutting pension benefits would hurt the orchestra’s ability to retain and attract talented musicians. Violinist Fiona Simon, who leads the orchestra’s negotiating committee, said in a statement that the new contract “will allow the philharmonic to maintain its high quality, which is important not only to our audience but to New York City’s reputation as the cultural capital of the world.”
Related story:
“New Contract for Philharmonic.” New York Times. January 29, 2012.

LABOR UNIONS

“Merger of Actors Unions Keeps Up the Momentum.” By Michael Cieply. New York Times. January 30, 2012. A planned merger between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, which has been clearing hurdles of one sort or another for many months, cleared another on Saturday when the Aftra board gave its approval. The SAG board had already done so. Both unions will now submit the merger to a membership vote in late February, with results set to be announced March 30. The unions had once negotiated their key Hollywood contracts in tandem, but went their separate ways in a period of turmoil that saw SAG’s members work without a contract for a year, while many new television series were begun under the jurisdiction of Aftra.

“Indiana Governor Signs a Law Creating a ‘Right to Work’ State.” By Monica Davey. New York Times. February 1, 2012. Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana, who had once said that he did not wish to add a “right to work” provision to the state’s labor laws, signed a bill on Wednesday doing just that. The legislation, which bars union contracts from requiring non-union members to pay fees for representation, makes Indiana the first state in more than a decade to enact right to work legislation and the only one in the Midwestern manufacturing belt to have such a law. Mr. Daniels, a Republican who is prevented by term limits from seeking re-election this year, signed the measure only hours after it cleared the Republican-held State Senate — an unusually speedy journey through the Statehouse aimed, many said, at ending what had become a rancorous, partisan fight before the national spotlight of the Super Bowl arrives in Indianapolis on Sunday. The bill, which takes effect immediately, makes Indiana the 23rd state in the nation with such a law. It remained uncertain whether final approval of the bill would prevent union protests at events related to the Super Bowl, and on Wednesday thousands of union members and supporters marched, chanting in protest, from the Statehouse to Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of the football game. Republican leaders defended the unusually swift passage of the measure, noting what they described as “overt threats” by union members and others about intentions to raise the right to work issue during the Super Bowl. For their part, union leaders said the Republicans had overblown the union’s intentions on the football game.
Related story:
“Indiana may soon be Rust Belt’s first right-to-work state.” USA Today. February 12, 2012.

LABOR UNIONS

“Indiana Moves Closer To Right-to-Work Law.” By Jack Nicas. Wall Street Journal. January 25, 2012. The leader of the Indiana House Democrats, Rep. Patrick Bauer, conceded Tuesday that his party faces dwindling options to block passage of what would be the nation’s first right-to-work law in a decade, meaning the legislation is likely to be adopted eventually. The House Democrats sat out for at least the eighth day in three weeks on Tuesday, a day after the House Republicans voted down Democrats’ amendment for a statewide referendum on the bill. The proposed legislation would ban contracts that require all employees to pay union dues, whether or not they are union members. Supporters say a right-to-work law would lure businesses to Indiana. Opponents say it would weaken unions, leading to lower wages and worse working conditions.
Related story:
“Indiana Right-to-Work Bill Advances.” Wall Street Journal. January 26, 2012.

LABOR UNIONS

“What ‘Right to Work’ Means for Indiana’s Workers: A Pay Cut.” By Gordon Lafer. The Nation. January 11, 2012. For the past year, public employees around the country have been under attack. With collective bargaining cast as a fiscal issue, private sector workers are encouraged to vent their economic frustrations at lazy government clerks living high on the hog off others’ hard-earned tax dollars. “We can no longer live in a society,” Scott Walker, then governor-elect of Wisconsin, argued, “where the public employees are the haves and taxpayers who foot the bills are the have-nots.” But it turns out that the same forces that bankrolled the attack on public employees have also been advancing an agenda to eliminate unions for private sector workers. Twenty-two states, predominantly in the old Confederacy, already have “right to work” laws—mostly dating from the McCarthy era. “Right to work” (RTW) does not guarantee anyone a job. Rather, it makes it illegal for unions to require that each employee who benefits from the terms of a contract pay his or her share of the costs of administering it. By making it harder for workers’ organizations to sustain themselves financially, RTW aims to undermine unions’ bargaining strength and eventually render them extinct. With the Republican sweep of state legislatures in 2010, a coalition of corporate lobbies, right-wing ideologues and Republican operatives seized the moment to reach their long-sought goal of extending RTW into traditionally union-friendly parts of the country.

LABOR UNIONS

“Pro-Union Boycott Hits Indiana House.” By Jack Nicas. Wall Street Journal. January 6, 2012. The Indiana House was stuck Thursday in a standoff over a bill that would crimp private-sector unions, delaying the start of its session and drawing thousands of protesters to the Statehouse. For the second consecutive year, Indiana House Democrats are boycotting their chamber to block a state right-to-work bill, which in Indiana would ban labor contracts that require all employees to pay union dues, weakening unions’ finances and clout in the workplace. Pro-union protesters rallied Thursday at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma and Gov. Mitch Daniels have made the right-to-work bill the session’s top priority, saying it would help lure new businesses to Indiana. Democrats and union workers, who flooded the Statehouse to protest the bill for a second day Thursday, argue the bill would lead to lower wages and worse working conditions. House Democratic Leader Patrick Bauer said Republicans were trying to “ram” the bill through without public input, and that his caucus would not return to the chamber until Republicans hold public hearings across the state. Democrats are planning to hold their own hearings on the bill outside the Indianapolis this weekend. A poll released by Ball State University last month found 48% of Indiana residents were undecided on the right-to-work bill. About 27% supported the bill and 24% opposed it, according.
Related story:
“Indiana Labor Measure Is Expected to Progress.” New York Times. January 6, 2012.

LABOR UNIONS

“It’s Crunch Time for Organized Labor.” By Neil King, Jr. Wall Street Journal. February 23, 2011. Labor unions are facing the most direct challenge to their political and financial clout since Ronald Reagan broke the air-traffic controllers union 30 years ago. Across the industrial Midwest, a union stronghold long vital to Democrats and key to President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects, Republicans are trying to roll back the powers of not just public-employee unions but also the bargaining and dues-collecting power of groups that represent auto workers and carpenters. Democratic members of Indiana’s House of Representatives refused to show up for work Tuesday, in an effort to block debate on a Republican-backed “right to work” bill that would give employees the ability to opt out of paying union dues even in a union-represented shop. Such laws are in force in 22 states. Democratic members of Wisconsin’s Senate continued their boycott of the legislative session, effectively blocking action on proposals to curtail bargaining power for state public unions. Gov. Scott Walker said 1,500 state workers could lose their jobs by July if his proposal doesn’t pass. Republicans in Michigan, meanwhile, are working on a bill to make the home of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. a right-to-work state. Lawmakers in those states and Ohio have sparked widespread protests with proposals to restrict longstanding collective-bargaining rights or to weaken the grip of private-sector unions that represent more than a million workers. The actions follow elections last fall that put GOP governors and Republican majorities in charge of statehouses across the region. Several of the new governors ran campaigns promising to go after public union benefits and to weaken their bargaining powers.
Related stories:
“Spreading Anti-Union Agenda.” Editorial. New York Times. February 22, 2011.
“The immediate crisis.” No by-line. The Economist. February 22, 2011.
“Labor Unions Fight For Their Right To Influence.” All Things Considered/ National Public Radio. February 23, 2011.
“Billionaire Brothers In Spotlight In Wis. Union Battle.” Morning Edition/National Public Radio. February 25, 2011.