Movement to unionize workers at Milum Textile a fierce battle

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0221biz-union0221.html

Movement to unionize workers at Milum Textile a fierce battle

Mark Shaffer
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 21, 2007 12:00 AM
A union's attempts at organizing mainly immigrant workers in Arizona's low-wage service industries have resulted in nearly two of every three laundry workers unionizing.

Then there's the story of Craig Milum of Phoenix and his company, Milum Textile Services, and the knockdown, drag-out battle he is waging against the New York-based Unite Here union.

For more than a year, Milum has demanded that his roughly 100 commercial laundry workers be allowed to have a companywide vote by secret ballot to determine if the union will be in or out.

However, Unite Here has used a variety of tactics. Some are rooted in labor law, like the practice of getting workers to sign documents indicating they want to unionize, which is called "card check neutrality."

If more than 50 percent of Milum's workforce signed the cards, a union automatically would be created.

Although that effort has come up short, the union has tried to bring in community leaders and clergy to impress on Milum the need for change.

Having failed that, the union is trying to get Milum's best customers to drop their cleaning contracts with him and use union-friendly commercial laundry services.

"This whole thing is like an organized-crime shakedown," Milum said.

Milum said he starts his workers at $8 an hour and pays top salary at $10.65.

Amanda Cooper, a Unite Here spokeswoman in New York, said: "We've taken a special interest in Milum Textile because workers there have really been trying to improve conditions in the workplace. We've been trying to engage the employer, but he's been recalcitrant."

The National Labor Relations Board has scheduled a March 5 hearing on Milum's request for the vote and other issues surrounding the unionizing effort.

Unite Here moved into the state four years ago with a goal of organizing all service industry and hotel workers.

It has organized 60 percent of the state's laundry workers and has recently been focusing more on hotel workers.

According to Bureau of Labor statistics, union membership in Arizona rose from 145,000 in 2005 to 197,000 in 2006, a 36 percent increase.


FULL story at link.