quote:
Presidential Candidate joins the Strikers and Minneapolis Workers ask for card-check neutrality agreementAnn Arbor - Presidential Candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich joins the A2 Strikers.
In a show of solidarity with striking workers, Ohio Representative and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich joins the picket line.
Views photos here: bordersreadersunited.a2wc.org
Minneapolis - Workers at Borders Books and Music in Uptown still don’t have a contract, but they sent management scrambling Wednesday when they said they’d accept Borders’ last contract offer - an offer the workers previously rejected. The catch? Borders would agree to neutrality and card-check recognition in union organizing attempts at seven other local Borders stores.
Borders’ management quickly recessed negotiations to make “What do we do now?” phone calls to corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., said Bernie Hesse, organizing director for UFCW Local 789, which represents the Uptown Borders workers.
It was the first time Uptown management didn’t immediately say “no” to a proposal from its workers, Hesse said. Nonetheless, about an hour later, store management returned and said “no.”
Workers at the Uptown Borders have been trying for more than a year to gain their first contract. It would be the first union contract at any Borders store nationwide. Workers at the flagship store in Ann Arbor the only other unionized Borders have been on strike since Nov. 8 in an attempt to get their first contract.
Hesse said the Uptown workers are willing to accept a contract they rejected if it makes it easier for other Borders’ workers to organize. A card-check neutrality agreement skips the usual National Labor Relations Board election process. Instead, a company agrees to allow union organizers access to its employees, agrees not to engage in union-busting meetings, and agrees to recognize the union as soon as a majority of affected workers sign cards requesting union representation. The union generally agrees not to carry on any public campaigns against the company.
Borders also has stores in Block E in Minneapolis, in the Midway in St. Paul, and in Woodbury, Richfield, Minnetonka, Maple Grove and Coon Rapids.
The contract at issue in Uptown would provide a 3 percent pay raise and create a grievance procedure, Hesse said, but otherwise essentially duplicate current company policy. Workers rejected that proposal in September because it failed to guarantee a “living wage” for all workers (set by Minneapolis ordinance at $9.33 an hour), failed to guarantee a minimum number of hours for “full-time” workers, and ignored worker requests in areas such as health insurance and community service opportunities.
Hesse said negotiations probably wouldn’t resume until January. Borders owns 420 stores in the U.S., plus 750 Waldenbooks stores in the U.S., with additional stores overseas. The company has $3.4 billion in annual sales. (By Michael Kuchta — December 4, 2003 Workday Minnesota)
Support the Union workers in Ann Arbor and Minneapolis.
1) boycotting all Borders, Waldenbooks, and Amazon.com;
2) volunteering to picket with workers in Ann Arbor and Minneapolis or any cities where there are solidarity pickets
3) joining Borders Readers United, our community support coalition (in Ann Arbor- bru (at) riseup.net in MPLS- jason (at) supersphere.com)
4) calling Borders Headquarters (734-477-1100) and/or emailing them (ccare (at) bordersstores.com) to tell them you support us;
5) signing an online petition; petitiononline.com
6) join the discussion or sending support to the workers at www.bordersunion.org
7) forwarding this message to all your friends and colleagues!
In Solidarity,
Borders Union Workers
Email this thread to someone!
posted 06 December 2003 03:46 PM
