Spirit Airlines is threatening to shut down if its 500 pilots strike, 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
ALPA, Spirit Airlines: Spirit Airlines is threatening to close its operations in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., if its 500 pilots go on strike. The Air Line Pilots (ALPA) has said its members will strike at the end of a 30-day cooling-off period if they don’t get a fair contract.
Multiple, City of Los Angeles: The Los Angeles City Council last Monday passed a budget that calls for the layoff of 761 city workers, and 16 to 26 furlough days next year for other municipal workers. The City Council ignored the request of Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa to postpone the vote while negotiations continued with the Coalition of L.A. City Unions.
USW, Yokohama Tire Corp.: United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1023 reached a tentative four-year agreement with Yokohama Tire Corp. covering nearly 700 workers at a Salem, Va., plant. Details of the contract will not be released until USW members have had a chance to review it.
CSEA/AFSCME, Erie County: The Civil Service Employees Association/AFSCME Local 815 reached a tentative five-year agreement with Erie County in New York. The deal would provide workers with a 15 percent wage increase over the contract’s term but would create three tiers of workers in regard to retiree health care. The 4,200 members will vote on the deal in early June.
UFCW, Dr Pepper Snapple Group: Dr Pepper Snapple Group, parent company of Mott’s, has imposed wage and benefits cuts on 300 workers at a Mott’s plant in Williamson, N.Y. The members of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union/UFCW Local 220 authorized a strike last month, although one has not yet been called.
UFCW-ICWU: Leaders and members of International Chemical Workers Union/UFCW (ICWU/UFCW) Local 143-C are shocked and outraged with Pfizer’s decision to shut down a plant in Pearl River, N.Y. ICWU/UFCW says Pfizer gave no warning of the layoffs and that the work done by its 757 members in Pearl River will be shipped to Ireland, Belgium, Montreal and Puerto Rico.
SETTLEMENTS
USW, Pinnacle Airlines: Members of USW Local 736 ratified a new five-year contract with Pinnacle Airlines. The agreement covers nearly 950 ground workers and provides improvements to health care and pension benefits.
WORK STOPPAGES
USW, Vale Inco: The Ontario Labour Relations Board last week ordered USW and Vale Inco to resume talks aimed at ending the ongoing strike by 3,000 workers. The members of USW Local 6500 have been on strike since July 13 of last year.
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.
This post originally appeared in AFL-CIO blog on May 24, 2010. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Belinda Boyce. Before joining the AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department as research analyst, I worked for six years in the AFL-CIO Organizing Department: three years in Voice@Work and three years in the Center for Strategic Research, working on organizing, issue, and political campaigns. I attended Penn State University, where I became a rabid fan of Nittany Lion football, and later graduated from Florida State University College of Law.
