Accepting the inevitable, AFL-CIO will back health care bill
Richard Trumka’s one block sprint to the White House yesterday afternoon paid off. This just in, from Politico: “A union official says the nation’s largest labor federation is strongly endorsing the Obama administration’s health care overhaul bill and plans to push wavering lawmakers for support. A union official familiar with the proceedings says [more...]

Posted Thu, 18 Mar 2010 .

Teamsters Local 107 in Philadelphia scored quite a haul (before the nepotism charges, that is.)
Lights. Camera. Infraction. Teamsters Local 107 will not be able to continue to take advantage of its lucrative position placing Philly Teamsters on sets when movies–and movie stars–come to town. From the Philadelphia Inquirer: It’s a chance to rub elbows with Hollywood stars. And make good money while doing it. For years, a select group of Teamsters [more...]

Posted Tue, 16 Mar 2010 .

Male, Pale, And Stale - And Hypocritical?

enlarge

download .pdf

Union officials pretend to reflect their diverse membership, yet they continue to be overwhelmingly "male, pale, and stale," as Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Andy Stern has remarked. Of course, even the leadership of Stern's breakaway Change to Win coalition is controlled predominantly by white males. While union officials never cease complaining about the composition of America's business executives, they would do well to look at their own leadership.

Discrimination
The face of the labor movement isn't its only black eye when it comes to diversity. According to documents obtained by the Center for Union Facts from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), labor unions have faced more than 13,000 charges of discrimination since 2000. And unions have had to pay more than $6 million in fines. Those charges include:

Complaints of race discrimination:	4,248
Complaints of age discrimination:	3,386
Complaints of sex discrimination:	1,820
Complaints of disability discrimination:	1,642
Complaints of religious discrimination:	297