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UNION NEWS
Transit Workers get Family Care Program
Amalgamated Transport Union Local 192 is using negotiated monies to
create a Family Care Program that meets the child and elder care needs
of its members. Beginning in September, the Program will offer one time
subsidies for respite care and back-up child care, a free SAT college
prep course for high school juniors and seniors, and workshops on child
and elder care issues. The Program will also hire a full-time Family
Care Coordinator from the rank and file to run the Program. (ATU local
192 and AC Transit)
OPEIU Wins Allowances for Child and Elder
Care
Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 343 negotiated
with their employer, a labor union, for an allowance of $200 per month
for child care or elder care expenses. Participants apply for the child
care allowance every January until the child is 12 years of age (18
years, if handicapped) and provide a receipt from the child care provider
each month. The elder care allowance is provided to any union member
with a parent in a licensed facility providing medical care or in-home
by a licensed practitioner. (OPEIU local 343 and the employer, National
Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada,
CAW)
Weekend Work Gets More Pay
National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union
of Canada (CAW) successfully negotiated a separate work/pay relationship
for members working weekends and compressed work weeks. Weekend shifts
consist of 2 - 12 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday. Each 12 hour shift
is paid at a rate of 20 hours so that an individual working weekends
will work 24 hours and be paid for 40 hours. Transfer to a weekend work
schedule is voluntary. The compressed work week consists of 3 - 12 hour
shifts, Monday thru Wednesday. Employees on the weekend shift or the
compressed work week will accrue hours paid, not worked, for pension
plan calculations. (CAW and 3M Canada Company)
LEGISLATION
Hawaii passes family sick leave legislation
Hawaii became the fourth state in the country to pass family sick leave
legislation applicable to private sector employees. HB 389 requires
an employer of 100 or more employees that provides paid sick leave to
allow employees to use up to ten days of their accrued and available
sick leave to care for a child, parent, spouse, or other dependent with
a serious health condition.
New Mexico Passes Comprehensive, Family Friendly Unemployment Insurance
Bill
On March 19, 2003 Governor Richardson of New Mexico
signed the Unemployment Insurance Reform Bill into law. This comprehensive
family friendly law came into effect due to the work of a diverse and
active coalition that understood the need for unemployment reform. The
coalition, put together by the New Mexico Human Needs Coordination Council,
included the state AFL-CIO, New Mexico Voices for Children, Lutheran
Office of Governmental Ministry – NM, New Mexico Coalition Against
Domestic Violence, New Mexico Women’s Agenda and over 90 other
organizations.
Coalition leaders pointed out that although New Mexico’s Unemployment Insurance trust fund was the most solvent fund in the nation, only 3 out of 10 unemployed New Mexicans could actually receive unemployment benefits. In order for more people to qualify, reforms were needed immediately. The new law puts New Mexico firmly in the ranks of the more “family friendly” states with respect to its unemployment insurance program. The new law:
- increases the benefits to all unemployed workers
- provides benefits to dependents of the unemployed
- covers part-time workers
- provides benefits to workers who had to leave work due to compelling domestic circumstances – including lack of child care or being the victim of domestic violence
- counts a worker’s more recent earnings in determining eligibility
- repeals the denial of benefits to full-time students & people in job training programs
- adopts more generous provisions to allow state and federally funded benefits extensions in times of high unemployment.
All told, the law will expand unemployment insurance benefits to over 4000 additional workers and increase the benefit amounts to all unemployed workers.
Union Members Beat Back Republican Attack on the 40-hour Work Week
In early June, the AFL-CIO led union members in a successful
campaign to halt the passage of HR 1119, Republican-sponsored legislation
that would allow companies to opt out of paying overtime by granting
time off, instead of extra pay, when employees work more than 40 hours
in a week. Republican House leaders pulled the bill, entitled “The
Family Time Flexibility Act,” from the floor agenda when they
realized they did not have enough votes. Their concession represents
a significant victory for the AFL-CIO, which organized an aggressive
lobbying campaign against the bill.
While Republican supporters of the bill promoted it as a worker and family-friendly measure that would allow people the option of spending more time with their children, the AFL-CIO leadership says the bill will lead to “lower pay, longer hours and unpredictable work schedules.” The bill would have made significant changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which mandates that workers be paid 150 percent of their hourly rate for work beyond 40 hours a week. Karen Nussbaum of the AFL-CIO said, “H.R. 1119 does not help working women balance work and family responsibilities. Rather, the bill encourages employers to demand more overtime from employees by not requiring them to pay the time-and-a-half for work beyond the 40-hour workweek and instead offer comp time. Mandatory overtime, especially with little advance notice, can be disruptive to schedules and expensive to working women who would have to cover the cost of additional child care. Also, since the employer would have ultimate discretion over when comp time is taken, many working women would not be able to take advantage of it.”
In addition to disrupting work schedules, bill would also represent a pay cut for millions of workers who rely on overtime pay as supplemental income to make ends meet for their families. Many construction workers depend on money from overtime to carry them through inevitable periods with no work – in many states building work is seasonal. In their fight against HR 1119, union members met with House Representatives in their home district offices to explain what overtime means to their families. The AFL-CIO outreach campaign included calls, faxes, e-mails, and most importantly, these personal visits to the lawmakers.
Although the defeat of HR 1119 is an important victory, according
to the leadership of the AFL-CIO, the fight is not over. The labor
movement will have to continue to fight to preserve overtime while
we support measures that allow working people to spend time with their
families and make decent wages to support them. “Many working
women are desperate for more time with their families and more control
over their schedules, but H.R. 1119 would make it harder for them
to gain either time or flexibility. What working women really need
is pay equity, limits on mandatory overtime, an increase in the minimum
wage, more paid leave, more work schedule flexibility, and expansion
of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),” said Karen Nussbaum.
For more information about the on-going fight to preserve overtime,
visit http://www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/overtimepay.
Message from Executive Director Netsy Firestein
This past winter, we sent out a survey about the newsletter
to our readers and a huge percentage of you replied. Thanks! You liked
“Union News” covering bargaining successes and wanted more
legislation and policy updates, and most of you read the whole newsletter
through! In response to your comments, the Fall issue of the Newsletter
will have a new name, a new look and some content change. The readership
is expanding and there will be new ways to support the work of the Labor
Project. We hope you like it and welcome your comments.
Our newsletter will continue to highlight the leading role that unions
are taking in promoting the family friendly workplace. I am so excited
to be part of this growing movement! When this issue goes to press,
I will have returned from the first ever AFL-CIO Work and Family Conference
on Bargaining & Policy in Chicago (originally planned for September
12, 2001). This year we have a lot to celebrate and a lot to plan for.
We will hear from the California Labor Federation on the new paid family
leave law, and the New York State AFL-CIO on increased funds for child
care for working families. We will also learn about innovative bargaining
and organizing efforts from UFCW, CWA, SEIU, AFT and others. This conference
illustrates how the labor movement can set the bar for changes in the
workplace that make it work for families.
This report from the Work in America Institute by Will Friedman, Ph.D
and Jill Casner-Lotto focuses on the importance of time and the desirability
of reduced work schedules to union members. According to the study,
high quality reduced time schedules appeal most to women and younger
workers -- a growing part of the labor movement. The report provides
examples and guidelines for implementing new scheduling options. “Time
is of the Essence” may be ordered from the Labor Project for
Working Families, (510) 642-7088 or downloaded.
RESOURCES
Labor Feminism
Labor’s
Heritage, The George Meany Center for Labor Studies – The National
Labor College, Winter/Spring 2003. This issue has great articles on
“The Labor Origins of the Next Women’s Movement”,
a woman’s perspective on the Packinghouse Workers Unions, and
highlights of working women activists. Order from Labor’s Heritage,
(301) 431-5451, lblevins@georgemeany.org
Website on Unemployment Issues
The National Employment Law Project has a new on-line resource for
jobless workers and interested groups concerned about today’s
job market and the federal extension of unemployment benefits. Learn
about the latest benefits and support resources in your community.
For more information log on to http://www.UnemployedWorkers.org.
The Cost of Universal Access to Quality
Preschool in Illinois
This comprehensive report was
for the Governor of Illinois’s Task Force on Universal Access
to Preschool. It is a helpful primer for other states exploring universal
preschool. The report was written by Stacie Golin, Institute for Women’s
Policy Research, Anne Mitchell, Early Childhood Policy Research, and
Margery Wallen of the Governor’s Task Force. Available from
the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, (202) 785-5100, http://www.iwpr.org
Labor Family News is published quarterly by:Labor Project for Working Families
2521 Channing Way #5555
Berkeley, CA 94720
Ph: 510-643-7088
Fax: 510-642-6432
lpwf@berkeley.edu
www.working-families.org
Netsy Firestein
Editor
Jenya Cassidy
Managing Editor
Reprints Permitted With Acknowledgement. Call us for an email version.
