UAW agenda

Will Canton Mississippi's Nissan plant be the next target in the UAW's drive to organize foreign automakers' plants in the U.S? This USA Today article suggests it will.

Jury verdict hits Mississippi casino

A Jewish manager has won a discrimination claim against a Tunica Mississippi casino. The Clarion-Ledger reports " two former casino employees testified they heard the general manager refer to Silverberg as a "G.D. Jewish slug." The jury awarded the former food and beverage director $102,000 in back pay, $76,500 for mental anxiety and $400,000 in punitive damages.

Labor in the Magnolia State

The Clarion-Ledger online has a pretty good overview piece on the state of labor in Mississippi.

First strikers replaced, now decertification

Workers at Omnova's plant in Columbus, MS have been on strike for over a year. Now the replacement workers have filed a decertification petition with the NLRB. The union has indicated it will aggressively contest the decertification. Previous posts here.

Columbus MS strike

Here is an interesting short piece about a strike in Columbus, Mississippi. There is not much to the article but the intensity of the reader comments is very telling about the economy and the sharp divide between those angry with "corporate America" and those valuing a job, any job.

Money trail

Here is an interesting post by a conservative Mississippi blogger about labor's funding the state's two democratic congressmen. The blogger suggests the small contributions this election cycle relates to the congressmen's opposition to EFCA.

Shipyard workers ratify contract extension

In a low turn out election, employees at Pascagoula's Northrop Grumman shipyard ratified the contract extension previously discussed in this post. Hat tip to Kathy Burns at USMI.

Mississippi shipyard contract extended

Northrop Grumman's Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard reached agreement on a two year contract extension with various labor organizations representing employees. The current agreement, reached after a month long strike in 2007 was set to expire in March 2010. Key benefits are wage increases each year and a $1,000 ratification bonus. Employee contributions for monthly health insurance premiums will not rise over the course of the extension.