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.

Chicago enjoined over private labor dispute

A federal court in Chicago has found the City of Chicago and one of its Alderman violated the National Labor Relations Act by conditioning the permitting of a sidewalk cafe on the hotel employer resolving a lengthy strike in favor of a union. This case shows the risk associated when public officials interject themselves into labor disputes. The court relied upon Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of L.A, 475 U.S. 608, 619 (1986) (stating that conditioning the receipt of government benefits on an employer’s settlement of a labor dispute impermissibly intrudes into the collective-bargaining process and interferes with the policy underlying the NLRA). Our previous post on public officials enjoined for their involvement in an employers union free campaign is posted here.

Labor fairing well in recession?

Reuters has an interesting article about how unions are weathering the economic slump. It says unions "represent" 17.8 million workers, 13.7% of the nation's workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the latest figures on union "membership" at 12.4% and 16.1 Million. The quoted numbers include the estimated 1.7 million employees who do not belong to a union even though it is their representative. The Reuters piece also quotes the BLS as its source for its claim that so far in 2009, there have been only 3 strikes involving over 1000 workers as compared to 15 in 2008 and 29 in 2001. First year wage increases were at 2.5%, down from last year's 3.7% increase.