UAW Set for Major Rally at Connecticut Casino and More Bargaining News

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/05/05/uaw-set-for-major-rally-at-connecticut-casino-and-more-bargaining-news/

by May Silverstein, May 5, 2008

UAW members are planning a major rally at Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino this month, 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, Foxwoods: The UAW is planning a major rally May 17 at Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino. The event is scheduled for the same day Foxwoods opens its new $700 million MGM Grand hotel expansion with an invitation-only party. The UAW won an election to represent table game dealers, but the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which owns the casino, has challenged the election several times, saying federal labor law does not apply to a casino on tribal land.

USW, Latrobe Specialty Steel: Some 350 members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1537 at Latrobe Specialty Steel Co., in Pennsylvania walked off the job, after rejecting a three-year contract proposal. Wages are a central issue.

UAW, Jaquith Industries: A strike by more than two-dozen UAW Local 624 Unit 5 members at Jaquith Industries in Syracuse, N.Y., entered its sixth month, with no negotiations since February.

IBEW, Verizon Communications: New Jersey Verizon Communications workers, represented by the Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 827, rallied outside company offices in Monmouth and Ocean counties to raise attention to upcoming contract talks. Negotiations commence next month.

Negotiations
SAG, AMPTP: According to recent reports, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the bargaining group for Hollywood’s largest movie and television companies, told the studios not to expect a breakthrough in stalled talks with the Screen Actors (SAG) before their scheduled end on Friday. ”Although both parties have spent considerable time in the negotiating room, we are not yet close to an agreement,” said the message posted on the AMPTP website.

ALPA, Delta Air Lines: Delta Air Lines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), are voting on changes to their contract that would give them pay raises, an equity stake and other benefits in the merger with Northwest Airlines. Voting will run through May 14.

FULL story at link.