Looks like LLNL's SPSE union needs a little practice on how to take down the big dogs. So far it's LLNS/ LLNL (1) , Union (0).
Union Drops Charges Against Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
BY KATE STURLA
Contributing Writer
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Category: News > University > Higher Education
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recognized a skilled trades employees unit on Thursday, leading its parent union to drop two unfair labor practice charges.
After the lab, which is partly managed by the university, recognized the unit, the Society of Professionals, Scientists, and Engineers dropped charges that cited a failure to recognize and bargain with the existing bargaining organization.
The unit includes 170 employees in several positions, including plumbers, mechanics and pipe fitters.
"We are pleased that we've reached an agreement with SPSE and we look forward to future good-faith negotiations," stated lab spokesperson Susan Houghton in an e-mail.
The California Public Employment Relations Board had recognized the unit late last September, right before the lab's management switched from only the University of California to the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, a security group that includes the university.
But the new management had allegedly refused to recognize the unit and asked unit organizers to go through the National Labor Relations Board, which has jurisdiction over private companies.
Unlike the California Public Employment Relations Board, the National Labor Relations Board requires an employee-wide election to approve a union.
"We felt that we wanted to give our employees an opportunity to vote," Houghton said.
She added that employees were also given the opportunity to come forward and leave the union, an option that some took.
But Jeff Colvin, the society's local representative to the University Technical and Professional Employees' union, called the lab's initial refusal to recognize the unit "absurd."
Employees began organizing eight months ago in anticipation of the change, he said. Prior to the Oct. 1 transition, employees had all the rights of university employees, including the assurance that they could be dismissed only for just cause.
"All of these rights disappeared with the transition to public sector management," Colvin said.
Union officials said they did not want to hold an election because the original decision to recognize the unit was already legitimate.
"It's standard practice for these elections to be gerrymandered-the employer decides who can vote and who can't, who's in the unit and who's not," Colvin said, adding that the process can take up to a year.
Lab employees have faced other issues with the transition to private ownership, Colvin said. For example, the lab laid off 500 employees in January and has plans to lay off an additional 750 employees, he said.
The union will now begin negotiating for better severance packages for employees who have been laid off and more protections for current employees, said union organizer and the society's former president Jim Wolford.
Contact Kate Sturla at ksturla@dailycal.org.
Tags: LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY, SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
8 comments:
How is getting LLNS to recognise SPSE a loss?
Mind you, it's a toothless lapdog of a union, not a pitbull like the Machinists or Teamsters. But if that's all employees want....
RTFA
This is a win for the union and the skilled crafts.
I think TFA was read correctly and guess what. SPSE lost. Until they have the ability to strike, walk off the job and demand hire wages and benefits SPSE is worthless. Until they have a few strong arm-men / enforcers in the union, the union is dead. That's all the top dogs of ULM will ever understand. Only when it puts their facilities at a complete work stoppage will they get the point. Only when you can stop the hiring of all foreign nationals that will do your job for half pay will you get what you want. If you'd take the blinders off and look around you'll see the work force is made up of a different breeds. And don't give me that diversity BS and the idea they can find American's that are just as smart. Hog wash.
The worse mistake this nation made was NAFTA and since then it been down hill with no hope of reversal. It's over and I do mean over. Maybe you guys should listen and understand why you don't have any jobs in America and you're not going to except for those $7.00-$10.00 none skilled labor ones, while the rest of the world put your butts in the grave.
There is of course hope for the few lucky ones who jump the fence and become corporate lawyers and get an MBA in international trade, making them as bad as the ones who got us in this mess in the first place. they of course won't give a hoot about you because they will be the rich looking down upon you servants.
Listen, Learn and Understand Your Future
and if that's not enough information to paint you a picture try this. Outsourcing of America
March 5, 2008 3:13 PM
Unions cannot initiate the actions you have mentioned unless they have the active support, as evidenced by card check and election votes, of more than half of the employees. The Lab employees, with the exception of the skilled trades, have rejected the union and therefore have no room to complain that it has done nothing.
March 5, 2008 5:19 PM
Exactly and that's why America has gone to heck and is now in the hands of the international corporate swines. Basically LLNL employees are gutless and have no desire to fight for what they want and that's why they're going to lose it all. I guess after they get screwed really well the ligh bulb may come on, but I seriuosly doubt it. The best anyone can do is move on.
Reality check, foreign nationals can not in fact do the vast majority of the work at the lab. In fact it's a major PITA to get even a non sensitive country foreign national on site to do anything, let alone work full time.
And no, you can't outsource most of the work to other countries either.
It is absurd to argue that this is a loss. It is not a huge victory but it is a positive for SPSE. Whether it is a positive for the lab workforce as a whole is hard to judge.
March 5, 2008 7:13 PM
Why not. Some of the parts in NIF are made in Mexico, France and Japan.
And most of the computer components are made in SE Asia. That doesn't change the fact that they are just tools and that the real work in many cases has to be done by US Citizens. This is not optional under the current rules, nor is it likely to change.
This is of course one of the challenges the lab faces as it picks from a much smaller pool of talent than much of private industry.
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