"PRESSURE TACTICS" Unions publish "scab lists" of nonunion workers

The Kansas chapter of the United Auto Workers union is using its website to draw attention to GM workers who choose not to pay union dues.

UAW Local 31 dedicates an entire page of its website to listing the names and work stations of employees who have opted to exercise their rights not to be in the union. UAW Local 31 lists nearly 30 workers at the Fairfax, Kansas GM plant who are not in the union. The “Scab List” is published under the union website’s “Important Information” section.

Local 31 president Vicki Hale did not respond to request for comment.

Glenn Taubmann, a lawyer at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, said that scab lists are used to pressure workers into joining the union. The use of their personal information and where they can be found in the plant make them easy targets for harassment and intimidation.

“It comes as no surprise that unions in right to work states engage in all sorts of harassment and pressure tactics against independent-minded workers,” he said. “The ugly truth is that once UAW bosses get into power, they will not tolerate any worker who refused to ‘voluntarily’ join and pay dues. Their view of “voluntary” unionism is an iron fist against anyone who dissents.”

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"PRESSURE TACTICS" Unions publish "scab lists" of nonunion workers

Pan Caribbean, Unions draw closer to sugar deal

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By Balford Henry, Observer Senior ReporterTuesday, September 03, 2013 | 6:58 AM

KINGSTON, Jamaica — COMPLANT/Pan Caribbean Sugar Company and the unions representing workers at its Bernard Lodge, Frome and Monymusk estates, are headed for an understanding today, at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, for resolving labour issues which have threatened the start of the sugar crop in November.Trade union sources told the Jamaica  Observer Monday that, following a meeting with the workers on Friday in Mandeville, they believe that there is a basis to establish a framework for resolving the issues.The most immediate issue is that of 132 security guards who have been laid off since last month, and whose positions are likely to be made redundant by the company, and replaced by a contract with a private firm, Quest Security. However, there are several other industrial relations matters plaguing operations at the plants, which the government wants to see resolved before they interfere with preparations for the 2013/14 sugar crop. This led to a private meeting between Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Roger Clarke, and the parties last week, which has set the stage for an early resolution.China National Complete Plant Import Export Corporation (COMPLANT), a subsidiary of Hua Lien International, owns Pan Caribbean, which was formed to operate the factories divested by the Government in 2011.Under the transfer agreement, Pan Caribbean needs to increase raw sugar production at the plants to 150,000 tonnes by 2014. But, production has been going in the wrong direction since.Clarke admitted in Parliament in May that production at the factories, which constitute 70 per cent of local sugar production, was falling. He explained that last year the COMPLANT plants produced only 65,000 tonnes of sugar. Clarke had promised the Government’s support in assisting Pan Caribbean to reach its target.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Pan Caribbean, Unions draw closer to sugar deal

Colima allows same-sex civil unions

30 July 2013 Last updated at 06:00 ET Same-sex marriages have been legal in Mexico City for years, now Colima allows civil unions Colima has become the latest Mexican state to allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions after a majority of local authorities passed a change in the state’s constitution.

Legalisation on same-sex unions falls under state legislation, and a number of states have divergent rules.

Mexico City and the southern state of Quintana Roo allow gay marriages, while Coahuila allows same-sex civil unions.

Congress in Yucatan on the other hand banned same-sex marriage in 2009.

Seven out of ten authorities in Colima approved the constitutional change, which had been passed by the state’s congress earlier this month.

Only two Congressmen voted against the change, arguing the state should legalise gay marriages rather than restricting same-sex couples to civil unions.

‘More integration’

News of the change in the law in Colima came on the same day as Pope Francis told reporters that gay people should not be marginalised but integrated into society.

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Brazil, the Pope reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church’s position that homosexual acts were sinful, but homosexual orientation was not.

Gay marriage was legalised in Uruguay earlier this year, and in Argentina in 2010.

In Brazil, the Supreme Court in May voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing same-sex couples the same legal rights as married heterosexuals, effectively authorising gay marriage.

However, full legalisation of gay marriage in Brazil still depends on the passage of a law in Congress.

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Colima allows same-sex civil unions