Unions have work cut out for them NLRB hearings for Da Silva's case SEIU

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.projo.com/projojobs/content/projo_20060903_junion3.13e4931.html

Unions have work cut out for them

Recruiting members gets more difficult as demographics, job market change

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 3, 2006

BY ARTHUR KIMBALL-STANLEY
Journal Staff Writer

Luis Da Silva used to work nights cleaning the Turk's Head Building in downtown Providence. Like many janitorial workers, Da Silva, who was born in Brazil, moved to the United States only a few years ago and speaks little English.

Da Silva said he would often see organizers from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615 outside the building, trying to talk to the janitors about Martin's Maintenance, the company used by the property owners to clean the building. The union wanted to learn about the company's staffing practices, including how much employees were paid.

"Every day I saw them outside my building," said Da Silva, 25. "I wanted to know what was the benefit of having a union."

SEIU organizers are trying to prove that Martin's Maintenance is not compensating workers properly. To research that claim, the union needed a copy of a worker's paycheck. Da Silva decided to give a copy of one of his paychecks to a union representative.

"I was beginning to believe that a union could come to my workplace," he explained. "Any worker would like to have a union. I wanted more job security. With Martin's Maintenance there was no security. You have a job today, and tomorrow they fire you."

When his supervisor at Martin's Maintenance heard he had given a copy of his check to the SEIU, Da Silva was not only fired but was also assaulted, he said in an affidavit to the National Labor Relations Board. Da Silva told the board that he was confronted while on the job by his supervisor and was repeatedly pushed and threatened for cooperating with the union. Da Silva claims he lost his job because the company wanted to intimidate other employees from dealing with the union.

Martin's Maintenance has stated that Da Silva's story is little more than union propaganda. The company claims that Da Silva was never even an employee, but was an independent contractor.

The SEIU has rallied to Da Silva's defense, saying that the incident is indicative of the situation service workers find themselves faced with and the intimidation workers face in Rhode Island when attempting to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board has taken up Da Silva's case and will hold hearings starting next month.

Many unions in Rhode Island say that stories such as Da Silva's are not uncommon and are indicative of the current state of the labor movement.

full STORY AT LINK ABOVE.

[wakeme2008]

1. Companies paying "independent contractors" do not take out taxes and

FICA. Also they do not pay the company side of FICA. Also the company for an employee would pay unemployement tax and work comp. For contractors they would not pay those.

[daveskilt]

2. If it werent the SEIU I might believe it

I work in a hospital and the SEIU local 250 will not take no for an answer. They were voted out 6 years ago after we got wise to their collusion with management to keep our wages down in return for access to other hospitals in the chain. They still steal patient records, vandalise the hospital, call and visit to threaten us at home (2am) last time, slashed one nurses tires when she told them she didnt want to join. I know its all straight from saul alinsky's rules for radicals - but once the employees say no they need to back the hell off. They say they care about patient care but then they stand outside with bullhorns at 3am and stop patients from sleeping, or they come in the hospital to steal supplies, records, or equipment so they can accuse us of neglecting patients. They even physically threatened employees not to go to work so they could try and show we were understaffed. they don't care about the patients and I don't believe they care about the employees beyond getting access to our paychecks for union dues.

Im a hard core lefty. I've been a union organiser (trying to form a grad student union to get healthcare benefits for student instructors). but the SEIU are scumbags that give the rest of us a bad name.

[Omaha Steve]

3. I can see why you would be off the SEIU after all that

There are other unions for nurses including AFSCME



Shari Williams, RN , Ohio

"My ultimate loyalty is to my patients. AFSCME is a union of nurses that's a strong voice for standards of care -- as well as for good pay, benefits and working conditions."



http://www.afscme.org/workers/68.cfm