United Employees Ratify Three Tentative Agreements with the IAM

On October 29, 2013, the International Association of Machinists (IAM) announced the ratification of three agreements with United Airlines, which covers 28,000 employees including fleet service, passenger service, and storekeeper employees. More than 65 percent of each group cast ballots and over 70 percent voted in favor of ratification.

The three contracts bring together the employees and move away from an “us vs. them approach,” according to IAM District 141 President, Rich Delaney. The agreement covers United employees as well as the employees added from United’s 2010 merger with Continental Airlines. Delaney says, “All conversations in the future will be about IAM members as one connected and interchangeable group.”

Employees will receive rate increases, back pay and signing bonuses. Delaney says the contracts “provide IAM members at United Airlines the best overall terms in the airline industry.” The immediate wage increases range from 7 to 29 percent and from 19 to 56 percent over the term of the agreements.

Additionally, the parties are awaiting a decision by arbitrator Joshua Javits concerning an integrated seniority list of all the employees. According to a letter sent by Javits and posted on the IAM website, Javits will finalize his decision by November 7, 2013.

Unionized Grocery Worker in Western Washington Ratify New Contract

Workers voted to pass a new agreement by “an overwhelming majority” with Safeway, Albertsons and Kroger supermarkets, according to a union announcement on October 31, 2013.

The tentative agreement was reached just hours before a strike would have gone into effect on October 21, 2013.   The grocery chains bargained as a multiemployer group represented by Allied Employers, Inc., while workers were represented by two UFCW locals and one International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) local bargaining together.

The UFCW stated the agreement contained no concessions and the union was able to “defeat” various employer proposals such as pay cuts and the elimination of health care for part-time workers.

Employees will receive pay increases during the 2nd and 3rd years of the three-year agreement in addition to a ratification bonus based on hours worked over the last 12 months.

The grocery chains will also continue to fund the health care plan so employees will not be faced with increases to premiums, deductibles or out-of-pocket expenses.

Moving forward, the UFCW and the IBT have announced they intend to focus on achieving paid sick leave days for all workers. Workers in Seattle have enjoyed paid sick leave since 2012 when all companies in Seattle were required by law to provide employees with at least five paid sick days per year.

San Francisco Mayor Signs Bill Providing Workers the Right to Flexible Work Arrangements

On October 9, 2013, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (D) approved the San Francisco Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance after the Board of Supervisors gave it the green light only a day earlier.

Effective Jan 1, 2014, private employers with 20 employees or more must inform them of the right to request flexible work arrangements. Failure to do so will result in a fine according to the ordinance. Flexible work arrangements include change in start times, part-time schedules, and telecommuting among others.

The ordinance requires employers to respond within 20 days of an employee’s written request. Employers may deny the request, but must supply the details behind its reasoning. Examples of legitimate business reasons for denial include productivity loss, detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer or client demands, and the inability to organize work among other employees.

In a press release, David Chui, President of the Board of Supervisors, said, “We need to do more to help families stay in San Francisco and to accommodate the dramatic changes to the workplace in recent decades.” According to Chui, children represent only 13.5 percent of the city’s population. The ordinance is an effort to make San Francisco a more family friendly city for workers. San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to pass such an ordinance. The state of Vermont, however, has a similar state-wide mandate.

IBT Members Ratify Agreement with DHL Express

On October 11, 2013 the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced it had ratified agreement with DHL Express after the final contract rider was approved two days earlier. The agreement covers about 2,000 DHL employees. The contract will expire on March 31, 2017 and is retroactive to April 2013.

According to a summary posted on the IBT’s website, employees will receive a lump sum of $1,250 in 2013 and wage increases beginning in 2014. Full-time workers will receive general wage increases of $1.00 in 2014, $0.60 in 2014, and $0.60 in 2016. Part-time workers will receive general wage increases of $0.50 in 2014, $0.30 in 2015 and $.0.30 in 2016.

Other items included in the union’s summary include the following:

• The company will continue to pay 100 percent of the cost to hire an arbitrator in resolving disputes.
• A new neutrality agreement will make it easier for IBT to organize non-represented DHL employees.
• Employees will receive double time pay for hours worked over 12 hours per day.
• The company will continue its contribution increases contribution increases to health, welfare and pension plans.

Workplace Fatality Rate in U.S. is Three Times Higher Than the Fatality Rate in the U.K.

According to a report, “Occupational Fatality Risks in the United States and the United Kingdom,” published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, the workplace fatality rate in the U.S is currently three times higher than that in the U.K.

The authors, John Mendeloff and Laura Staetsky, found that while the fatality rate in the U.S. was about two times higher than that in the U.K. in 1993, the gap has since increased.

The greatest difference in fatality rate between the two countries is in the construction industry. In the construction industry, the U.S. rate is actually four times higher than the rate in the U.K. In 1992, the U.S. rate was 11.5 workers killed for every 100,000 workers while the U.K. rate was 8 workers killed. In 2009, the difference was much greater. The U.K rate was only 2 workers killed while the U.S rate was 8 workers. While both countries saw a decrease in the number of workers killed, the pace of that decrease has been much slower in the U.S. than the U.K.

The authors provide an in-depth comparison of the data, but do not extensively speculate on the reasons for the discrepancy. They write, “Explanations for the reasons why the U.K. has substantially lower reported fatality rates than the U.S. obviously need more attention.”

The report used data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) carried out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as well as other U.S. sources such as OSHA. For U.K. data, the report used information compiled by Eurostat.

The comparison did not include deaths due to highway motor vehicle crashes nor those due to violence in the workplace.

The Center for Effective Government Encourages States to Improve Whistleblower Protections

According to a new report by the Center for Effective Government (CEG), states should act to improve whistle-blower laws because further federal legislation changes are unlikely given the current gridlock in Congress.

The report calls the guarantees written into the federal OSH Act “weak” and discusses OSHA’s “meager” budget. Currently, the OSHA can only support one inspector for every 4,300 workplaces. Additionally,  only 7 percent of the investigations are recommended for litigation and many are found “without merit.”

The report highlights five elements states should incorporate into legislation to protect workers from retaliation by employers:

• Employees should be given adequate time to file a retaliation complaint. The report suggests 180 days. Under the OSH Act, employees only have 30 days after the adverse action occurs.
• Agencies should conduct prompt and thorough investigation of complaints. OSHA takes an average of 150 days to close an investigation although the OSH Act describes a 90 day timeline.
• Agencies should be authorized to preliminarily reinstate terminated employees. Under the OSH Act, an employee fired in retaliation for filing a complaint has no right for preliminary reinstatement.
• The burden of proof should be reasonable. The report cites other whistle-blower statutes such as the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), which require the employee to show the protected activity was one factor affecting the employer’s decision to take an adverse action. The OSH Act, however, requires the employee to show the activity was a motivating factor for the adverse action.
• An employee should have a right to pursue his or her complaint if the state agency does not. OSHA has the complete discretion to file suit under the OSH Act. The report suggests all employees should have the option to pursue a claim of retaliation despite OSHA’s findings.

CEG would like to see federal regulations change and compares the OSH Act to a variety of more recently enacted whistleblower protections such as the FRSA to show that it is out of date. CEG claims that if the OSH Act can not be changed due to Congress, individual states need to address the issues themselves and follow CEG’s recommendations as outlined above.