________________________________________ From: Portside Moderator [[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 4:54 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Bosses Go After Tech Workers, Professionals Turn to Labor & Faculty Union Strikes
Corporations Go After Tech Workers, Professionals Turn to Labor & California Faculty Union Goes on Strike (1) Corporations Pushing Bill to Take Away Overtime from Computer and Web Workers By Adele Stan AFL-CIO Blog November 10, 2011 http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/11/10/corporations-pushing-bill-to-take-away-overtime-from-computer-and-web-workers/#more-64439 Apparently unsatisfied by the enormous profits they've made while average Americans suffer in a difficult economy, corporations are pushing Congress to enact a new law that would exempt a large class of workers from receiving overtime pay. And they're receiving support from members of both parties on Capitol Hill. Dubbed the Computer Professionals Update Act (CPU Act), Senate bill 1747 would change the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to remove overtime protection and compensation from "almost everyone working primarily in information technology" who earns either a salary, or an hourly rate of $27.63, according to Paul E. Almeida, president of the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE). Information technology companies are focused on cutting pay for the people who work for them. If their effort succeeds, however, it will suggest to every other industry that the time is now to gut FLSA for every covered private-sector worker. Introduced in the U.S. Senate last month by Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), the CPU Act has found a Democratic co-sponsor in Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.), who is joined by two Republican co-sponsors, Sens. Mike Enzi (Wy.) and Johnny Isakson (Ga.). In a letter to senators, DPE President Almeida said of the corporations pushing the bill: [T]he same companies that send work offshore and bring lower-paid workers to the U.S. on H-1B visas now want to pay U.S. workers less in the U.S. At at least one major anti-labor law firm, cheerleading for the bill borders on the exuberant. On the Wage & Hour Defense blog of Epstein, Becker & Green, Douglas Weiner and Meg Thering write: Unlike much of the other legislation affecting employers that has been proposed or passed this year, the CPU Act would make business easier for employers and decrease the risk of employee misclassification lawsuits. If the proposed legislation passes, employers would be able to classify more employees as exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA. This would be a welcome change from the persistent drum beat of enhanced enforcement initiatives announced by government agencies and upticks in class and collective actions this year. In July, Epstein, Becker & Green's Jay P. Krupin testified before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in opposition to proposed modest NLRB rules changes. http://www.employerdefenselaw.com/announcements/epsteinbeckergreens-labor-and-employment-practice-chair-jay-p-krupin-testifies-on-union-election-rul/ http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/08/22/workers-back-nlrbs-proposed-union-election-rule/ (2) Professionals Moving to Organized Labor By Sharon Kyle Publisher L.A. Progressive November 18, 2011 http://www.laprogressive.com/rankism/labor-social-justice/professionals-moving-to-organized-labor/ Although labor union membership has declined significantly in the United States over the last 50 years, there is a segment of the labor market that is showing remarkable signs of increased union activity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, professionals and white-collar workers are joining labor unions in record numbers. According to independent labor writer, Cynthia Green, white collar workers are one of the fastest growing among the rank in the AFL-CIO. http://tinyurl.com/7weut3d The AFL-CIO is attributing this growth in recruits from the professional ranks primarily to the reduction of the manufacturing sector in the United States. But the economic downturn is also forcing more professional, technical and administrative support workers to look for new ways to build power. In a study conducted by the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) it was determined that white-collar union recruits is outpacing all other occupational groups, including the building and construction, hospitality and service sectors. Explaining this surge in professional membership, the DPE reported: "The movement is no longer just an economic safe haven for the blue collar and service workers that once dominated the institution. It is, more and more, the destination of choice for professional workers seeking fairness, equity and a voice on the job." In a report the DPE entitled, "Rising Tide: Professionals: The New Face of America's Unions", [http://dpeaflcio.org/programs/pubslist.htm]the authors noted that even though professionals have sought union protections for more than a century, the accelerated numbers of recent years appear to be driven by the dominance of multinational corporations and health maintenance organizations as employers, where workers have fewer possibilities "to exercise independent judgment." The AFL-CIO's Department for Professional Employees is dedicated entirely to assisting affiliated unions who are working on behalf of professional and technical workers. This Department is comprised of a coalition of 21 national unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO which represent over four million skilled professional and technical workers. According to the federation, the professional and technical workers in organized labor now represents the majority of its 9 million members. Hundreds of disciplines and occupations are included in this representation. Sectors such as science and engineering, technology, healthcare, education, public administration, journalism, entertainment and the arts all fall under the AFL-CIO structure which was chartered by the Federation in 1977 in recognition of the increase in professional and technical employees among union members. DPE affiliates such as the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers and the Office and Professional Employees International Union are providing a much needed source of support particularly during these difficult economic times. These unions are seeing their numbers swell as more professionals turn to them to protect the interests. The following highlights were excerpted from DFP's Vital Workforce Statistics FAQ. White-collar workers are a broad grouping of occupations of workers preforming nonmanual labor, typically working in offices and other non-production phases of industry. The education required and/or salaried job entails mental or clerical work; typical occupations fall under professional, managerial, sales coordination or administrative positions. As of 2009, 10.9% of white-collar workers (sales, office, management, professional, and other related occupations) are members of unions (about 8.3 million people) and 12.3% (over 9.3 million white-collar workers) are represented by unions. In 2009, white-collar workers accounted for 53.9% of all union workers. In 2009, 4.8% of all management, business, financial operations, and related occupations workers were members of unions (822,000 workers).12 Of the total number of sales, office, administrative support, and related occupations workers, 7.2% are union members (over 2.2 million workers). As of 2009, there are more union members among professionals than any other occupational group, making up 39.3% of all union members (not including management, business, sales, and office workers). These professionals are broken down into the following sub-groupings of occupations: 1. Computer and mathematical occupations: 5.3% of total workers in this field are union members (175,000 workers); 2. Architecture and engineering occupations: 7.7% of total workers in this field are union members (194,000 workers); 3. Life, physical, and social science occupations: 10% of total workers in this field are union members (122,000 workers); 4. Community and social services occupations: 16.1% of total workers in this field are union members (366,000 workers); 5. Legal occupations: 5.9% of total workers in this field are union members (79,000 workers); 6. Education, training, and library occupations: 38.1% of total workers in this field are union members (over 3.17 million workers); 7. Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations: 7.4% of total workers in this field are union members (136,000 workers); and 8. Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations: 13.6% of total workers in this field are union members (962,000 workers). In 2009, over 5.2 million professional and related occupations workers were union members; over 5.8 million were represented by unions (not including management, business, sales, and office workers). Of the total number of these professionals, 20.9% had union representation (18.7% actual members of a union), while among the entire workforce, only 12.3% had union representation. Significant numbers of office and administrative support workers are represented by unions: over 1.8 million, or 10.3% of all such workers. Women comprised 44.8% of the labor movement in 2009, up from 19% in 1962. Women, and especially women of color, are forming and joining unions at a faster rate than men. Many of the unions organizing in industries dominated by women, such as education and government, have consistently shown much higher win rates than those unions organizing in industries with fewer women members.20 The economic recession is having a large impact on the ability to find sustaining work. The number of non-agricultural workers not working a full work week for economic reasons, which include slack work or unfavorable business conditions, furloughs, inability to find full-time work, or seasonal declines in demand rose between March 2009 and March 2010. The excerpt is provided as an enticement to go to the Department for Professional Employees Fact Sheets which are well researched and well sourced including footnotes. http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/ Please check the links provided throughout this article for more information on how to become active in the labor movement. (3) California Faculty Union goes on Strike By Duane Campbell Talking Union - DSA November 19, 2011 Photo by David Bacon ; Thursday, Nov 17, thousands of faculty members made history by participating in the first-ever strike of the California State University system. http://talkingunion.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/cfa1.jpg http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/california-faculty-union-goes-on-strike/ The message to the Chancellor was loud and clear from six in the morning until dark: "If you don't start making decisions based on what is right for the 99% this system serves - instead of the 1% of executives and upper managers running the system - these actions will continue." At CSU Dominguez Hills in Southern California, 2,000 people over the course of the day picketed the ten gates surrounding the campus. At CSU East Bay in Northern California, according to published reports, 93% of classes were canceled for the day. Traffic was backed up for over a mile and a half into the city of Hayward. At noon, police were forced to cordon off the main entrance on Carlos Bee Blvd, effectively closing campus for the rest of the day. "This week, we sent the Chancellor a powerful message," said CFA President Lillian Taiz, a professor of History at CSU Los Angeles. Taiz continued, "People are fed up with his `management first' priorities. The CSU community is tired of seeing the Chancellor give huge raises to executives while student fees are hiked, faculty pay is stagnant, class sizes keep growing, and class offerings and faculty jobs are eliminated. "Huge numbers of people came out to support the faculty this week - students, community members, staff, supporters from other unions, political leaders, and parents. "Chancellor Reed is out of touch with the needs of the people in the trenches. Instead, he focuses obsessively on the compensation and perks of his presidents and his managers. The time has come for the Chancellor to prioritize the future of the people of California. CFA is a member of NEA, and SEIU. State and local governments provide the most basic services to our populace - public education, police and fire, transportation, parks, libraries and basic infrastructure, not to mention funding half the costs of unemployment insurance and Medicaid. Yet with state and local governments facing a recession-induced budget shortage of close to $200 billion ( out of annual expenditures of $1.7 trillion dollars), the standard conservative and moderate Democratic solution is to slash essential services. Most localities will witness significant layoffs of police and fire personnel and close to 200,000 of the nation's 3.4 million K-12 teachers received pink slips by September 2011. This fiscal crisis of the states did not fall from the sky; it resulted from the Great Recession brought on by unregulated financial speculation. Absent renewed federal aid to states and localities, painful recessionary slashing of basic human services will accelerate in 2012. Increased class sizes, withdrawal of Medicaid services, and cuts in basic uniform services have devastated the lives of ordinary working people and will send the economy into a further recessionary downturn. It is clear that democratic policies will not be granted from on-high by politicians funded by corporate interests. They will only come through democratic protest such as strikes and Occupy Wall Street and mobilization that forces elected officials to serve the people and not powerful private interests. That's why Democratic Socialists of America will be working with people across the nation to mobilize against state and local cuts in basic human services and in favor of fair tax policies and sane national priorities that put human needs ahead of empire and corporate greed. ___________________________________________ Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it. Submit via email: [email protected] Submit via the Web: http://portside.org/submittous3 Frequently asked questions: http://portside.org/faq Sub/Unsub: http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe Search Portside archives: http://portside.org/archive Contribute to Portside: https://portside.org/donate _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
