Organizing news from around the nation

Here’s a tip, Harvard:
Don’t break the law

Organized labor is gaining ground in nontraditional sectors across the country, from car washes to restaurants and even the Ivy League.

The wait staff at Harvard Club of Boston, members of UNITE HERE! Local 26, recently sued their employer for violating the Massachusetts “Tip Law” by failing to pass monetary gains on to workers. Management charged customers a service fee and instructed club members not to tip waiters and waitresses. This deceptive practice was called into question when the staff, who believed the service fees were charged in place of tips, discovered the compensation wouldn’t be given to the workers. They asked for compensation and a policy change. At press time, contract negotiations continued.

No car wash blues here

Car wash workers in southern California reached a groundbreaking agreement at Bonus Car Wash in Santa Monica and Marina Car Wash in Venice, both businesses owned by the same company. Workers voted to join the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 675 this summer.

In addition, workers from three other car washes also joined the union as part of the CLEAN Carwash Campaign. The two-year campaign for thousands of workers at car washes in California is a coalition between USW, the AFL-CIO and more than 100 community, faith and labor organizations in the Los Angeles area. Thousands of workers face unsafe work conditions that violate federal laws on health and safety, wages and hours, and anti-discrimination. Most workers were immigrants, often asked to show up early and not clock in until the first customer arrived. Last year, the California attorney general filed a suit against Bonus Car Wash demanding $6 million in back wages for workers, in addition to fines and penalties for exploitive labor law practices. With a union, workers now have representation on the job, a grievance procedure and standardized rules on wages and hours. Marina Car Wash was closed after workers formed their own union and ratified a contract, but the owners have promised to reopen. To learn more, visit cleancarwashla.org.

Cooper Tire lockout

Early one December morning – without warning – USW Local 207L members at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. were locked out in Findlay, Ohio. Still in contract talks, more than 1,050 workers are facing possible concessions on pensions, wages and health care, despite the company’s healthy profits and large CEO compensation packages. In addition, the union charges that Cooper engaged in illegal bargaining by not fully presenting vital information about negotiations to the union. USW members already agreed to more $30 million in concessions during the last contract, before the company locked them out in recent contract talks. Meanwhile, the Cooper CEO’s compensation totaled $4.7 million last year.

Army civilians organize

More than 1,400 U.S. Army civilian personnel specialists voted to join the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) in October. These new members, who provide human resources services to soldiers, veterans and Army families, will form a new bargaining unit within the Human Resources Command (HRC), the largest public or private HR organization in the world. In 2005, the workers, previously represented by AFGE in Local 2 (Alexandria, Va.), Local 1411 (Indianapolis) and Local 900 (St. Louis), were transferred to Fort Knox, Ky., as part of an effort to consolidate the Army’s human resources functions. Federal law required a new election to establish whether workers wanted to retain their union representation.

American Crystal hires scabs

Last July, American Crystal Sugar Co. locked out 1,300 members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers. Workers continue to stand in solidarity while replacement workers run the company’s five factories in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. Union members in Iowa were granted unemployment benefits, but about 400 union workers in North Dakota were denied. Major issues include hiring practices, particularly hiring outside workers in union plants, and the company’s proposal to more than double maximum out-of-pocket costs for family health care coverage. Crystal’s 2011 fiscal revenue was $1.8 billion, up from $1.2 billion the previous year. The company’s president and CEO received a 23 percent compensation increase, from $2 million to $2.4 million last year. The union stands firm on sharing – with profits as well as sacrifice.

Gwynne Marie Cobb