Labor Research Review, Volume 1, Number 10 (1987)
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Labor Research Review, Volume 1, Number 10 (1987)
Mismanagement & What Unions Can Do About It
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Item A Model in Massachusetts? A Follow-UpEarly, Steve; Schippani, Mike (1987-04-01)[Excerpt] Mike Schippani's discussion of the "social compact" alternative to mandatory plant closing legislation (in "Massachusetts & Mature Industries," LRR 9, Fall 1986) seriously understates the price that workers have paid for this "compromise between business and labor" crafted by the neo-liberal administration of Governor Michael Dukakis and its Commission on the Future of Mature Industries.Item A UE Campaign Against DisinvestmentBoardman, Christine (1987-04-01)[Excerpt] The UE International had previously emphasized to the local the need to launch a campaign to avert any type of plant closing. Local research did not paint a pretty picture of Stewart-Warner's future in Chicago. Many of the early warning earmarks of a possible plant closure were evident. While the outside walls of the main plant were repainted quite frequently, inside examination told another story. No amount of paint could replace the out-of-date equipment, freight elevators that didn't operate, and employees using their own ingenious and primitive methods to produce for the company.Item Machinist vs. Mismanagement at Eastern AirlinesBaicich, Paul J. (1987-04-01)IAM 100 leaders interviewed by Paul J. Baicich.Item Machinists Saved $137 Million At EasternAbrecht, Stephen B. (1987-04-01)[Excerpt] In December 1983 the Machinists at Eastern Airlines agreed to a contract which stipulated, among other things, that in 1984 the union would work with management to identify and implement $22 million in cost savings that did not affect pay rates and benefit levels.Item Building Union With Pension Money(1987-04-01)[Excerpt] Walton then approached the trustees of the jointlymanaged union pension fund, and showed how the fund could act as both developer and banker and could invest in major construction projects which would be built 100% union. The management trustees initially balked at the idea, but the persistent and forceful Walton eventually had his way.Item A UAW Fight for Product QualityMatuszak, Mike (1987-04-01)[Excerpt] Blytheville, Arkansas, a Bible belt community in a Right-to-Work state, is an unlikely site for a major labor dispute. But for almost a decade, it has witnessed a bitter struggle between an auto supply company and a small UAW local. UAW 1249's fight to win a contract is significant because of its persistence and because of the innovative tactics it has employed. Emphasizing the relationship between product quality and job security, UAW Local 1249 mounted an internal organizing campaign that focused on the company's long-standing indifference to quality control. This campaign could serve as a model for other local unions looking for ways to fight mismanagement.Item Firing the Boss! The Steelworkers at Wheeling-PittMetzgar, Jack (1987-04-01)An interview with Paul Rusen, former USWA District Director.Item Apartheid in Miami: Transit Workers Challenge the SystemBanks, Andy; Grenier, Guillermo (1987-04-01)[Excerpt] The story that follows will show how Dade County officials and the downtown Miami business establishment attempted to bust the transit union and dismantle a vital public transportation service to Miami's minority, elderly and working-class communities. In the name of "efficiency," Miami's political and business establishment worked hand-in-hand with the Reagan administration to make minority workers and their communities pay for the mistakes of what experts say is one of the most mismanaged transit systems in the country. This is the story of how the union organized with the community to expose this mismanagement and how the union tried to address bad management practices by offering contract language which would give the union and the workforce a voice in how Dade's transit system is run.Item Whose Job Is It, Anyway? Capital Strategies for LaborBarber, Randy (1987-04-01)[Excerpt] When corporate mergers and takeovers create massively debt-ridden new entities, with the resulting pressures to sell off assets, reduce costs (especially wages) and close "marginal" operations, it is the company's workers and their communities who suffer. And, when corporate managers accept, and even encourage, huge levels of waste, or ignore obvious opportunities because they aren't profitable enough, workers and their communities end up paying for the resulting inefficiencies and lost potential. I believe that a hallmark of the new economic era we seem to be entering will be that workers and unions will be forced to actively concern themselves with all aspects of an employer's business — with the intricate details of corporate structure, finance, and operations. In the process, they will have to evolve a comprehensive approach to the process of production and distribution, to investment and financial issues, as well as to corporate organization and control. In short, they will need to begin learning how to organize economic resources themselves and evolve what have been called capital strategies.Item