2,500 Workers at General Motors in Kansas on Strike and More Bargaining News

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/05/12/2500-workers-at-general-motors-in-kansas-on-strike-and-more-bargaining-news/

by May Silverstein, May 12, 2008

Some 2,500 workers at a General Motors facility in Kansas are on strike, and more news from “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

WORK STOPPAGES AND ACTIONS
UAW, General Motors: More than 2,500 workers, represented by the UAW, went on strike at General Motors’ (GM’s) Fairfax facility in Kansas after no agreement was reached on issues such as management at the plant, job security and seniority rights. The striking workers build the Chevrolet Malibu, one of GM’s most popular vehicles. GM says it will boost Malibu production at its Orion, Mich., plant. The Kansas workers join the Lansing GM plant on strike over local conditions.

NEGOTIATIONS
AFTRA, Hollywood Producers: The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) officially opened up negotiations with the Hollywood producers. AFTRA covers actors on prime-time TV shows.

SAG, Hollywood Producers: The Screen Actors (SAG) and producers now are negotiating use of movie and TV clips on the Internet. SAG executive director Doug Allen told The Associated Press the producers sought to evaporate actors’ rights to control use of their images and want “us to give up the 50-year-old right actors have to give consent or not when someone wants to use a clip of their work.”

ATU, Lakeland Bus Company: Workers at Lakeland Bus Lines in New Jersey, represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1614, reached a deadline to accept a proposal recommended by the state labor commissioner, and negotiations are ongoing. The drivers had planned to walk off the job Monday, before the state
intervened and instituted a 72-hour cooling-off period. Bus drivers are seeking a contract that provides pay and benefits similar to those of New Jersey Transit drivers.

SETTLEMENTS
CSEA-AFSCME, New York State: Some 6,000 New York state court employees, represented by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), an affiliate of AFSCME, are in line for cost-of-living pay raises over four years under a tentative contract agreement.

FULL story at link.