Labor Movement

NEW YORK - The next wave of union protesters isn't blue collar. It's lawyers, paralegals, secretaries, helicopter pilots, judges, insurance agents and podiatrists. These white-collar workers are not exactly the picture of the labor movement, but they are becoming a more essential part of it as they turn to unions for help in a tough economy as bosses try to squeeze out more profits. "Employers have been downsizing, asking employees to take on larger roles, making them work more hours," said Nicole Korkolis, spokeswoman for the Office and Professional Employees International Union.

NEW YORK - The next wave of union protesters isn't blue collar. It's lawyers, paralegals, secretaries, helicopter pilots, judges, insurance agents and podiatrists. These white-collar workers are not exactly the picture of the labor movement, but they are becoming a more essential part of it as they turn to unions for help in a tough economy as bosses try to squeeze out more profits. "Employers have been downsizing, asking employees to take on larger roles, making them work more hours," said Nicole Korkolis, spokeswoman for the Office and Professional Employees International Union.

Re "Labor relations," editorial, Sept. 3 How interesting to consider the evolution over the years of The Times concerning the labor movement. What a shame that, over the many years of labor-management relations, workers and others have died trying to obtain some of the profits that generously enrich capitalist management and individual entrepreneurs, The Times included.

LANSING, Mich. - I'm a 60-year-old lawyer and part-time law professor. Chanting slogans is not my preferred method of discourse. But on Tuesday, I was in the streets of Lansing marching and chanting myself hoarse. I make my living as a labor arbitrator. I've spent the last 20 years sitting as a neutral third party in disputes between employers and unions. It is an adversarial system, and discussions are often heated. But the system works because the parties meet as equals. It wouldn't work if either party were able to dominate.

The announcement this month that five prominent labor leaders were forming their own organization, "Change to Win," may well be the first step toward a breakup of the AFL-CIO at its annual convention next month. Conservatives in politics and business are gleeful at the prospect, while many ordinary citizens merely shrug their shoulders.

Argentina's labor movement crippled factories and commuter train service Monday in its first general strike against President Carlos Saul Menem's administration. The union show of force reflected worrisome signs for Menem's largely successful economic policies. The one-day strike also underscored a growing power struggle between Menem and the labor movement, which helped elect him in 1989.

Teamsters President Jackie Presser, declaring that his union is back in labor's fold for "eternity," told AFL-CIO delegates today that labor must close ranks to defend its members and political agenda. Presser predicted that a unified labor movement would create the "greatest political giant this country has ever seen."

Earl Robinson, the American balladeer whose tributes to the working man include the celebrated lament "Joe Hill," has been killed in a car accident in Washington. The King County medical examiner's office said late Sunday that Robinson, 81, was killed Saturday night outside his native Seattle after his car was struck by a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The other driver, a 64-year-old man, suffered minor injuries. The accident is under investigation.

Now that government investigators have cleared James P. Hoffa to make a new run for the Teamster presidency, his election to the top job in the nation's most powerful union would seem a shoo-in. His opponent is a relative unknown, Ken Hall, an aide to former Teamster President Ron Carey, who was disqualified in November after a federal election officer found that an elaborate money-laundering scheme, condoned by Carey, had tainted the 1996 union election.

In an extremely close election Tuesday, Harvard University's clerical and technical workers voted in favor of union representation, culminating an organizing campaign that lasted more than a decade. About 51% of the employees, who ranged from secretaries to scientific instrument makers, voted in favor of representation by the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers and 49% voted against the union. The vote was 1,530 for and 1,486 against, with 41 challenged ballots, officials said.

They're fed up and they're not going to take it anymore. That's the case for thousands of employees across the country who are striking and walking out of jobs rather than accept changes to their pay and benefits. It might be a shot in the arm for a labor movement that had been left for dead but saw big gains in the November election as voters elected pro-labor candidates. The number of union-related work stoppages involving more than 1,000 workers, which reached an all-time low of just five in 2009, rose to 13 this year as of October.

With the first round of the Los Angeles mayoral election still more than four months away, the race has taken shape in recent weeks, largely because of two developments that have scrambled the handicapping of the contest. First, it became clear that the front-runners would all be current city office-holders. For months, it had seemed likely that at least one of three strong outside candidates would be in the race, but now they have all decided not to run. Austin Beutner, a wealthy businessman whose only city service was a brief stint as special deputy to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, started to build a campaign and make appearances, then reconsidered and dropped out in May. Next, in August, county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, one of the area's best-known public officials, opted out after toying with the idea of running for months.

WASHINGTON - When the Democratic Party imposed strict curbs on its 2012 convention fundraising - barring money from typical givers like corporations and lobbyists in hopes of diminishing the influence of special interests - it carved out a key exception: labor unions. Unions have been one of the most reliable givers to Democratic convention fundraising. But with less than a month to go before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., many unions that have been steadfast donors are now declining to fork over their cash.

Not long ago, Tyrone Freeman was a rising star in the national labor movement, already the head of California's biggest union local and a force in Democratic politics from Los Angeles toWashington, D.C. Freeman's quick climb up the ranks of the powerful Service Employees International Union burnished his reputation as an advocate for the disadvantaged, a man who helped improve the lot of some 190,000 workers paid about $9 an hour to care for the...

In a break with Los Angeles' powerful organized labor movement, county transportation leaders on Monday awarded a crucial $890-million rail car contract to a Japanese firm that unions complained would create fewer jobs than a competitor and might violate federal requirements to use American workers. Officials of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority say the contract with Kinkisharyo International to build 235 cars is critical for opening new light rail lines on time and replacing aging equipment on existing systems.

American Airlines has spent the week trying to persuade a bankruptcy judge to allow it to chuck all its labor contracts and put the squeeze on thousands of union employees. If things go as expected - that is, a victory for management and not for rank-and-file workers - it will be the latest blow to organized labor and yet another indication that, in the workplace of the future, most of us will be fending for ourselves. "Workers in the United States are facing a number of difficulties," said Daniel J.B. Mitchell, a professor emeritus of public policy at UCLA.

The fierce battle that U.S. unions waged against the North American Free Trade Agreement, despite ending in bitter defeat, may give new vigor to the American labor movement. Unions emerged from the fight against NAFTA with new potential allies, both at home and across international borders.

Gov. George Deukmejian's Administration is about to deliver another blow to California workers by legalizing the 12-hour workday without overtime pay--breaking with an eight-hour day tradition that began, at least for women, 75 years ago.

CARTAGENA, Colombia — Despite strong opposition from his allies in the U.S. labor movement, President Obama said Sunday that he trusted Colombian authorities to improve protections for workers and union leaders as he cleared the final obstacle for implementation of a free trade agreement next month. The decision marks a victory for the U.S. business community, which has pushed the White House to increase commercial opportunities in Colombia's growing economy. The pact eliminates duties on most exports, eases travel restrictions and strengthens intellectual property rights.

Union membership is on the wane, but not at the Vermont Carwash and Nava's Carwash in South Los Angeles. The two businesses have agreed to collective bargaining agreements with their workers, who are members of the United Steelworkers union. Wages at the firms will be $8.16 an hour, organizers said, an increase of about 2%. There are now believed to be three union carwashes in the country, with Santa Monica's Bonus Carwash becoming the first last year. But if union leaders are able to stem — let alone reverse — years of declining membership, it will take the allegiance of these kinds of low-wage workers.