ECONOMIC NOTES NEWS AND ANALYSIS FROM THE LABOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATION August 25, 2000 Contract Trends Verizon Strike Delivers Big Gains for Unions With unions and Verizon on Wednesday reaching a tentative three-year agreement covering the remaining 37,000 workers who were still on strike, the highly watched labor dispute is over. For 87,000 members of CWA and IBEW, the strike was a clear victory, as union negotiators won significant gains on all the key issues they brought to the table. What's more like the Teamsters strike against UPS in 1997 the Verizon victory showed the rest of the nation's workers that the strike is still a powerful weapon when members are united and strong. Full Story: http://www.laborresearch.org/cont_contracts7.html New Organizing UFCW Challenges Union Busting at ConAgra It takes a lot of bone-crushing labor to slaughter and package enough meat to fill the stomachs of a well-fed nation such as the United States. Stunning, skinning and trimming livestock, cutting standard cuts of meat, cleaning and salting hides, etc. is brutal and dangerous work. Faced with working conditions that most people would prefer to avoid, it should be no surprise that workers in this industry want union representation. But Nebraska-based ConAgra the multinational food conglomerate which sells prepackaged foods under the brand names of Healthy Choice, Banquet, Marie Callender's, Kid Cuisine, Butterball, Singleton, Pierce, Mama Rosa, La Choy, etc. is using classic union-busting tactics to oppose organizing activities by workers at a meat-packing plant in Omaha, according to allegations made by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). Full Story: http://www.laborresearch.org/contentorg5.html Contract Trends Union Wage Increases Are Up, but So Is Inflation In the first six months of 2000, first-year wage increases in newly negotiated union contracts covering 483,000 workers averaged 3.9%, compared with 2.7% in the same period of 1999, according to data compiled by the Bureau of National Affairs. The jump in union wage increases is certainly good news for workers. But it also comes at a time when consumer prices (i.e. inflation) have been rising due to higher energy costs. Full Story: http://www.laborresearch.org/cont_contra_6mths.htm ********************************************** Copyright (c) 2000, Labor Research Association ********************************************** Visit the LRA Consulting Web site at http://www.lraconsulting.com or call (212) 714-1677 to find out more about LRA's services. IF YOUR UNION OR ORGANIZATION HAS ANY NEWS OR INFORMATION YOU WOULD LIKE ECONOMIC NOTES TO COVER, LET US KNOW: http://www.laborresearch.org/contactlra.html ABOUT LRA Labor Research Association is a New York City-based non-profit research and advocacy organization that provides research and educational services for unions and labor activists. Through its annual Labor Awards Dinners, LRA gives recognition to labor and political leaders who have made significant contributions to labor struggles. LRA's work is overseen by a Board of Directors composed of union leaders and others involved in the labor movement. LRA's Executive Director is Greg Tarpinian. The Labor Research Association is affiliated with LRA Consulting, the leading full-service strategic campaign, research and communications group for unions in the U.S. today. ============================================================ Labor Research Association 145 West 28th St. New York, NY 10001 Tel: (212) 714-1677, Fax: (212) 714-1674 Internet:[EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.laborresearch.org ============================================================ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN-ANNOUNCE: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network - Announcements -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=unsubscribe%20laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=subscribe%20laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=subscribe%20laamn-announce-digest> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?subject=laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive3: <http://archive.tao.ca> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <home.labridge.com/~laamn> | LAAMN | <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
