Labor Relations

The first talent auditions for the ninth season of the Fox juggernaut "American Idol" are still two weeks away, but there is already a beauty contest going on behind the scenes. Negotiations on a new contract for Simon Cowell, the show's linchpin, chief prosecutor and animating force, are progressing quickly and could be concluded as early as this week.

Whether you label it the "card check" bill or the Employee Free Choice Act, you can also call it something else -- in deep trouble. Key senators this week appeared to cripple prospects for passing the highly polarizing measure, the labor movement's top priority in Congress, which is aimed at making it easier for workers to join unions. The latest hurdle came Friday, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she would seek alternative legislation that was less divisive.

Starbucks a hub of union-busting and worker exploitation? Say it ain't so, Howard Schultz! The Starbucks chief executive, who actively cultivates a socially progressive image, is in the cross hairs of a new-media campaign designed to bolster union representation at the retail giant and beyond. For five years, Starbucks has been the target of a limited but sometimes nasty unionization drive that has tarnished its reputation for high-minded benevolence.

A chilly, high desert dawn was breaking as the workers trickled onto the sprawling grounds of Rite Aid Corp.'s distribution warehouse, a behemoth box at the edge of the Mojave. Awaiting them outside was a makeshift table set with hot coffee and doughnuts, courtesy of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union. Employees donning yellow union T-shirts briefly savored a hard-won triumph as they continue a bitter, three-year-plus campaign. "I'm glad to be back.

Looking to slash payroll costs in a disastrous budget year, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have thrown their support behind a new union contract that is designed to cut police overtime costs by 83%. The city's elected officials hope the two-year contract with the Los Angeles Police Protective League will reduce overtime costs by $72 million in the next fiscal year, according to a confidential report obtained by...

Only a few weeks ago Hollywood's biggest actors union appeared dangerously close to sliding into a strike that would shut down movie and TV production and further depress the region's economy. But a boardroom drama this week has drastically dimmed that prospect.

Three more years of labor peace, and the NFL will have gone a quarter-century without a work stoppage. But don't buy that anniversary cake just yet. A lockout could be looming. DeMaurice Smith, newly appointed executive director of the NFL Players Assn., said as much Monday in a visit to Indianapolis Colts training camp. He told reporters he expects team owners to lock out the players when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2010 season. Tough talk?

The United Steelworkers union said Saturday that it would extend by 24 hours talks for a new labor contract for U.S. refinery workers, delaying a possible strike that could affect over half of U.S. refining capacity. "Sufficient progress has been made in our deliberations today to warrant a rolling 24-hour extension at all locations," USW spokeswoman Lynne Baker said in a statement. "Discussions are continuing." A spokesman for lead refiner negotiator Shell Oil Co.

Hollywood's largest actors union strongly endorsed a new film and TV contract, closing the chapter on a yearlong dispute with the major studios. The vote, which was expected to be close, drew a stronger show of support than anticipated from the membership of the Screen Actors Guild, with 78% voting for the deal and 22% opposing it. Turnout was unusually high by SAG standards, with 35% of 110,000 union members casting ballots.

Southern California Gas Co. and the union representing its workers are running out of negotiating time on a labor contract that expires this weekend. A strike could begin as early as midnight Saturday against the company that serves more than 20.3 million consumers in Southern California. On Sunday, Local 132 of the Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, asked its members for an authorization vote that would give the union the right to call a walkout if negotiations fail.