For those who bad-mouth SPSE/UTPE, take time the time to read this!
Lab says it will recognize union
# LIVERMORE: Agreement avoids a possible protracted dispute with unit of 170 skilled workers
By Betsy Mason
STAFF WRITER
Article Launched: 02/29/2008 03:12:48 AM PST
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory reached an agreement with labor organizers Thursday recognizing a bargaining unit that includes 170 skilled crafts workers such as plumbers and mechanics.
In return, the Society of Professionals, Scientists and Engineers, which led the unionization campaign, agreed to drop two unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board and one internal grievance.
"We're jubilant," said lab computer scientist Jim Wolford, a leader of the organizing drive. "We were looking at a rather protracted struggle."
Just before an Oct. 1 change in lab management from the University of California to Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC, the California Public Employment Relations Board approved the skilled crafts unit.
But the new manager refused to recognize it and sought to move the matter to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees labor issues at private companies.
The NLRB requires a one-day election for employees to choose whether to accept the union, usually a more difficult hurdle than the signature collection the state permits.
In response, organizers filed the unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB.
Reach Betsy Mason at 925-952-2056 or bmason@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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9 comments:
And what did this get you. Better wages, benefits and your UCRP back? Did it bring DOE / NNSA / LLNS to its knees? Did it establish the STEP system for everyone so we can all have a fair chance at decent pay raises? Did it give you the right to strike or walk of the job until you get what you want. Did it stop them from hiring cheap labor or out-sourcing your jobs?
I didn't think so.
hey 5:53PM!
Victory does not come all at once;
it will take years and acts of congress to change how the National Labs are managed!
SPSE may not have given you anything directly but its success speaks for itself; did you know, for example, that the original language of the LANL RFP did not include TCP1; it just had a "comparable" 401K for everyone and did not require the new company to offer employment to those who freeze their UCRP?
Read their latest newsletter at www.spse.org and let me know if you still think the same way.
You are too blinded by anger at LLNS to see SPSE success; SPSE is made of volunteers who continue to fight for you and I even though "we "bad-mouth them!
sincerely,
Read the newsletter and not impressed. We need a full-time union and not volunteers. Pros who know how bust some corporate kneecaps via court actions and regulatory rulings.
We're on a war footing with LLNS, stop playing patty-cake with them.
ok 9:28PM!
Did you vote last summer for SPSE to represent us? or are one of the ones that ignored SPSE plea and their insistence on the importance of colective bargaining?
The reason SPSE represents only a small unit at the lab is that the rest of the units played dead all of last year!
How can they "break" knees of you did not vote to give them union status?
March 6, 2008 9:58 PM
The answer to that is. They're use to being under UC, a much better and more productive organization than LLNS will ever be. After they get screwed really well they may come alive but I'll bet that most of them just want to get by for the next 5-7 years and realistically don't care what happens after that. It is however what occurs between that time that's going to affect them to the point where they may never reach their goal.
The mighty SPSE. They represent how many people? less than 200? That's what you call bargaining power? You and I have a differing opinion of what a union is and does apparently.
Scooby, I signed up as soon as I saw the note from manglement begging me not to. :-)
Don't assume that just because someone is critical of SPSE they were by-standers.
It is certainly immoral and almost certainly illegal for UC to transfer liability for LLNL retiree medical benefits to LLNS. Those of us affected are having our benefits cut now and probably eliminated in the near future. UC's web site promises us that if we were receiving medical benefits immediately before retiring, we would continue to receive those benefits after retiring. In my case, they provided my medical coverage for 7 years, then suddenly declared they were no longer responsible for coverage and told me a Limited Liability Company would be providing my coverage. Being one of those retirees who is not eligible for Medicare, loosing my medical coverage would be catastrophic.
Like most of these situations, it is complex enough that a short letter can't cover all the facts. I have set up a web site at: http://home.comcast.net/~jrequa/retiree.htm which explains the situation. I am seeking support from other retirees to help address the issue.
Our most critical need is to find a law firm to help us. So far, I have been unable to find one which will evaluate the merits of our case. I have been advised by two law firms that immediate action is necessary in order to protect our legal options. If you, your lawyers, or any of your members can recommend an appropriate firm please let me know.
jrequa@comcast.net
Maybe I hadn't read closely, but recently I had a prescription filled at Kaiser. It cost 3X what it had been. I was shocked, and they assured me it was not Kaiser who raised the rate. Damn LLNS. Outrageous
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