Advancing Democracy in the American Workplace
Through coalition-building, research, public relations, policy analysis, and advocacy they investigate and expose workers’ rights abuses and the inadequacy of U.S. labor law, stimulate debate about the state of workers’ rights among journalists, policymakers, advocacy groups, and the public, promote public policy that protects workers from hostile employers and weak laws that impede their rights form unions and collectively bargain, and publicize success stories of profitable companies and public agencies that respect workers’ rights and build innovative partnerships with unions.
In September the organization released their annual Labor Day List of successful employers that work well with their employees’ labor unions.
Among them are Cingular Wireless, Costco, Harley-Davidson, and Kaiser-Permanente.
Myra Bronstein and 17 other software Quality Assurance engineers at Watchmark, Inc., now Watchmark-Comnitel in Bellevue, Wash., were called into a meeting by their bosses one day.
“We were told that our replacements would be flying in over the weekend and we would be expected to start training them on Monday,” said Bronstein, who holds a degree in electronic engineering technology and had worked in the IT industry for 14 years.
American workers are looking at the future and what they see isn’t pretty, according to a survey on worker confidence by a global career transition and organizational consulting firm based in Philadelphia.
Overall confidence is down significantly from six months ago when it was at a three-year high, according to the survey conducted twice a year by Right Management Consultants.
Nearly four out of five believe unemployment will rise in the coming year, the survey found.
Even those who keep their jobs are not particularly optimistic about their prospects.
That statistic should worry employers, Brian Clapp, senior vice president for Right Management Consultants of Philadelphia, said in a statement released in November with the report.
The survey is also taken globally.
Pro-union paramedics in Plantation, FL filed a lawsuit against the city earlier this month.
A team said they are being hassled into not forming a union.
“What are they afraid of?” asked Jeffrey Poole, a paramedic and potential union Local 4430 president. “We just want the right to unionize so we can speak for the good and welfare of our members.”
The city’s fire department has more than 170 volunteer firefighters but the 52 paramedics are full-time, paid staff.
The paramedics said since trying to form a union in February, three prospective union members were forced to leave the department and others backed out of the union when the city threatened to privatize the department.
Poole said in February that 28 members signed up.
City Council members said they would not speak about pending litigation.
“It’s not a matter of what the fire administration desires or is concerned with,” said Battalion Chief and department spokesman Joel Gordon, who is named in the suit.
Gordon said 41 paramedics sent a letter to the mayor and City Council in October, assuring them they have no desire to form a union.
