Author Archives for Ann Kammerer
After over a year of bargaining, Sky Chefs airline catering workers won an important new national contract! Under the terms of the new agreement, which was ratified by a 76% margin, the over 9,000 UNITE HERE Sky Chefs workers will receive:
- At least $1.10 per hour in raises through 2018;
- At least one additional paid sick day each year;
- Better jackets and footwear for those of us working in very cold temperatures;
- Stronger language to move grievances and limit the use of part-timers;
- Sky Chefs workers in California will move to a UNITE HERE Health plan as a first step towards better and affordable health care for all.
The new contract was a result of organizing efforts from UNITE HERE locals across the country, including in-kitchen actions, rallies, delegations and a large civil disobedience action in Washington, D.C. More than 30 union committee leaders from Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. traveled for negotiations.
The “Nickel a Ticket” campaign for justice and respect for all airline catering workers will continue, as we maintain pressure on both the airlines and the catering companies to do the right thing for all airline catering workers!
“The black casino workers and hotel people, once they got off work, they were never allowed back into the hotels and casinos once they punched out. They couldn’t even go in there to have breakfast or have dinner at all back then. When the union first formed, my mother and my grandmother had us out on the picket line with them, so they could sit in the restaurant, or go to the shows. So that’s been with me all my life. You have a lot of different immigrants in Vegas now. And everybody is in the melting pot, and everyone’s got something to say. The union has given a voice to the voiceless for me. It has. Yes, it has.” — Sheila Bell, 54, Las Vegas
Read more…
HONOLULU — October 20, 2015 — After three years of contract bargaining, Kaiser Permanente employees represented by UNITE HERE Local 5 voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year collective bargaining agreement that covers 1,900 employees at 22 facilities throughout Hawaii. The agreement retains full pension coverage with no cuts to benefits, provides excellent pay increases, adds significant new benefits, preserves options on medical coverage for both active and retired workers, and provides us the opportunity to work in partnership.
“We’re pleased to reach a fair agreement with Local 5 on behalf our employees,” said Jean Melnikoff, vice president of Human Resources. “This agreement helps Kaiser Permanente to remain sustainable in the long-term and stay affordable for our members and customers. It also ensures that our employees will continue to receive highly competitive wages and benefits so that we can attract and retain the best people to care for our members and patients.”
“After a difficult three-year contract dispute, both union members and the management team are highly motivated to work together and resolve issues,” said Eric Gill, the head of Local 5. “All of us care deeply about providing the quality care our patients need, and this will help us work more effectively together to achieve that goal.”
For the latest updates on negotiations, please visit kpinhawaii.org/labor.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has provided total health to the people of Hawaii for more than 50 years with physicians who are members of the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group, the largest multi-specialty physician group practice in the state of Hawaii. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. Visit kp.org for additional information. Become a fan of good health with Kaiser Permanente Hawaii: Like our page at Facebook.com/KPHawaii and follow @KPHawaii on Twitter.
About UNITE HERE! Local 5
Local 5 represents approximately 10,000 workers throughout Hawaii who work in the hospitality, health care and food service industries and is an affiliate of UNITE HERE, an international union that represents over 250,000 workers throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.unitehere5.org.
Employees of the Harvard-owned DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Boston joined Local 26 and ratified a first union contract in October. Workers first sought changes from hotel management and Harvard University, which owns the hotel, in 2013. The contract will bring up the workers up to the same standard as all unionized hotel workers in Boston and Cambridge, including wages of more than $19 an hour and affordable health care. Harvard students were heavily involved in picket lines and a boycott during the 2-year campaign.
Welcome to Local 26!
Holiday Inn Express North York hotel workers go on strike to stand up for good jobs in their community
Toronto, October 5 – Hotel workers at the Holiday Inn Express North York, located in Toronto’s north-west end, went on strike today as they continue to stand up for good jobs in the Jane & Finch community. While employers at dozens of other GTA-area hotels have settled fair contacts with their workers, the owner/operator of the Holiday Inn Express North York, the Vrancor Group, has failed to agree to the union’s proposals.
“We’re going out on strike to protect good jobs in our community,” says Veronica Cousins, a Room Attendant at the hotel. “The Jane & Finch community needs good jobs with decent pay and benefits – we deserve our fair share and we won’t let our employer sell this community short.”
Over 30 hotels across the GTA – big and small, multinationals or locally-owned – have all signed new collective agreements on a similar city-wide standard. The members of UNITE HERE Local 75 are leading the way to create good jobs with real benefits in the hospitality sector. The union hotel standard includes a fair wage, health benefits, pensions, and workload protections. This standard is especially important in a community like Jane and Finch where few jobs provide such benefits.
“Hospitality workers are primarily immigrants, women, and people of colour, a cross-section of people who already suffer more than average from poverty, instability and precarious employment,” explained Lis Pimentel, President of UNITE HERE Local 75. “When employers like the Vrancor Group engage in the race to the bottom, it’s not just their workers who suffer – their families and their communities suffer too.”
Supported by Local 75 members from hotels across the city as well as labour and community allies, the workers at the Holiday Inn Express North York say they’re prepared to stay out on strike as long as it takes to win a fair contract. “We’re not asking for anything more than what dozens of other hotel employers have already agreed to,” says Cousins. “Vrancor is trying to strip away our standard and we’ve rejected their final offer by a 96% margin – we’re united and we’re not going to stop until we deliver good jobs for Jane & Finch.”
After a long fight, Earlham College cafeteria workers have finally become members of UNITE HERE Local 23! They began organizing in early 2014 after their employer, Sodexo, began exploiting a loophole in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This loophole allowed Sodexo to reclassify many of the full-time workers as part-time, resulting in a loss of benefits for affected employees.
In the many months that followed, Earlham workers proved that they wouldn’t take Sodexo’s actions lying down: they were featured in a high-profile article in the Wall Street Journal traveled to actions across the country, and even visited the U.S. Capitol to demand the closure of what they dubbed the “Sodexo Loophole.”
Ultimately, their efforts were successful! In June 2014, Earlham amended its contract with Sodexo to require that employees’ benefits be restored, and, later that month, Sodexo reversed its policy nationwide. Four months later, workers won an NLRB election and gained union recognition.
But their fight wasn’t yet over. In November 2014, Sodexo announced it was leaving Earlham, and workers came together again, organizing with the support of Earlham students and community members to keep their jobs, seniority and wages. They won the union for a second time, this time with a new company, Metz Culinary Management. On September 16, 2015—after over a year and a half of organizing—Earlham workers unanimously ratified their first contract!
These workers and their hard-fought victory are a wonderful example of the dedication and tenacious spirit of all UNITE HERE members. Let them be an example to us all.
Congratulations, and welcome to UNITE HERE!
Winner Honored for Achievement and Union Values
Union Plus recently awarded $150,000 in scholarships to 106 students representing 36 unions, including one winner representing UNITE HERE, in the 2015 Union Plus Scholarship Program. In this 24th year of the program, more than 5,000 applications were received from union members, their spouses and their dependent children in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This year’s UNITE HERE winner is:
- Sameera Sheikh of Brooklyn, N.Y. Sameera, whose father, Maqsood Sheikh, is a member of UNITE HERE Local 6, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.
“The burden of student debt will be felt for decades to come,” Leslie Tolf, president of Union Privilege, the organization that provides Union Plus benefits for union families and manages the scholarship program, said. “Our scholarship winners understand this nightmare and have an uncanny ability to budget, hold down jobs and internships, and continue to excel in their studies. They are informed consumers, which is increasingly important in today’s world.”
Meet the 2015 UNITE HERE Honoree
Sameera Sheikh
Sameera is a 2015 high school graduate who aspires to become a lawyer. Sameera earned her high school’s Gateway Academic Honors Award all four years, posting the highest grade-point average in her class. She participated in the Pace University Upward Bound Center for Urban Education program three years, serving as college committee chair in 2013, and also took classes at the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health at SUNY Downstate Hospital. She was co-founder and president of Gateway Ambassadors, a student-government organization at her high school, and participated at city-wide volunteer events through ChangeMakers. The daughter of immigrant parents, and a first-generation college student, Sameera appreciates her father’s union membership as it allowed him to work reasonable hours and therefore play a more active role in her life. “The union really makes a difference for the working class,” she said.
Learn More About the Union Plus Scholarship Program
Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school or a recognized technical or trade school. Since starting the program in 1991, Union Plus has awarded more than $3.7 million in educational funding to more than 2,500 union members, spouses and dependent children.
Union Plus is committed to helping union members and their families fund their college education. In addition to the scholarships, Union Plus also offers the following benefits to help union families afford higher education:
- Discounts of 15 to 60 percent on college and graduate school test preparation courses from The Princeton Review. Discounts are available for classroom, online and private tutoring for the SAT®, ACT®, GMAT®, LSAT®, GRE® and MCAT® as well as college affordability and admissions online courses. Visit UnionPlus.org/CollegePrep or call 1-888-243-7737.
- Discounts on textbooks. Union families save 5 percent or more when renting or buying textbooks. New, used and digital textbooks are available. Free shipping is included on orders over $59. Visit UnionPlus.org/Textbooks.
- College counseling discounts of 15 percent from Collegewise, the admission division of The Princeton Review. College counselors help high school students find, apply to and attend the right colleges. Visit UnionPlus.org/CollegeCounsel for more information.
Visit UnionPlus.org/Education for applications and benefit eligibility.
Union Plus also provides a wide range of money-saving benefits and services for union members and families, including discounts on all-union AT&T wireless service and mortgage with unique financial assistance, savings on travel and recreation, and more. To learn more, visit UnionPlus.org.
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*Certain restrictions, limitations, and qualifications apply to these grants. Additional information and eligibility criteria can be obtained at UnionPlus.org/Education. Grants are only available until all available funds have been awarded.
- Gate Gourmet workers (members of Local 1) rally in Chicago in January 2015.
On Thursday, August 27th votes were tallied and Gate Gourmet airline catering members approved a new union contract covering 7907 workers across the country! The contract was ratified by a 92% margin and will be expire December 31, 2017.
3499 workers are members of UNITE HERE in Chicago, New York, Newark, Miami, Ft Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa, San Antonio, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Hawaii. Other workers are covered by the Teamsters, RWDSU and Bakery Workers Union.
Local 100 Carol Ruiz of the Newark kitchen said,
“We fought hard to win respect, better wages and safe conditions. My co-workers and I are proud of standing up and winning our best contract in years!”
The new contract will improve starting wages, increase yearly raises, reduce health care costs and add two additional sick days.
Take a look at a photo slideshow of highlights from workers’ Nickel A Ticket campaign:
…Meanwhile, bargaining continues with Sky Chefs
Binding arbitration (if needed) for the national agreement covering nearly 8,000 UNITE HERE members is scheduled for January 13-15, 2016. Key Bargaining goals include:
- Affordable quality health care with potential move to UNITE HERE plans.
- Wages & Local wage supplements increases to fit area / market standards.
Parking and valet attendants picketed Colonial Parking at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in D.C.’s West End neighborhood Saturday, August 29, to demand an end to Colonial’s unfair labor practices.
“This August, it has been two years since Colonial took over the parking at the Ritz-Carlton Hotels in D.C.,” said Yosef Woldhanna, a valet attendant for Colonial Parking at the Ritz-Carlton. “They have been a difficult two years for us. The health insurance with Colonial is not affordable. People who have gone back home don’t feel secure about having jobs when they come back.”
On April 21, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board General Counsel issued a federal complaint against Colonial Parking, operating at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, for allegedly unlawful threats, creating the impression of surveillance and retaliation, as well as discipline and termination of an employee for participating in union activities. A hearing was held from July 7th to July 13th, and workers are now awaiting a decision.
“We are long-term workers for Colonial Parking at the Ritz hotels,” said Woldhanna. “We are proud of our work and we deserve no less than the parking workers at other luxury hotels in D.C.”
The Washington, D.C., Ritz-Carlton Hotels are owned by New York-based developer Millennium Partners.
The U.S. public has long relied on the American Heart Association’s recommendations for how to prevent heart attack and stroke. Given the AHA’s influence, we believe the organization should avoid financial ties to corporations with commercial interests in cardiovascular health. However, the AHA and its leadership accept large sums of money from individuals and corporations, including those in the pharmaceutical industry that have a financial interest in public-health recommendations. Here are a few select examples:
- Dr. Robert Eckel, former AHA president and co-author of certain cholesterol-related AHA guidelines, received nearly $33K in industry payments in 2014. Over $14K came from drug maker Sanofi Aventis. Experts say that company’s new cholesterol-lowering drug, Praluent, and others like it could cost U.S. payers and patients more than $100 billion per year.
- Dr. Mark Creager, the current AHA president, received over $30,000 in 2013 and 2014 combined from pharmaceutical companies Novartis and AstraZeneca.
- The AHA received over $15 million from pharmaceutical, medical device, and health insurance companies in the 2013-14 fiscal year, including nearly $3.3 million from Pfizer.
The AHA’s guidelines influence how doctors across the country advise their patients. In the process, the guidelines affect how billions of dollars will be spent. Shouldn’t these recommendations be free of industry influence?
The American Heart Association should take the following steps to shore up the public trust that is so essential to its success:
- Prohibit directors, guideline authors, or other AHA leaders from accepting payments from any companies in the pharmaceutical, health insurance, food service, or food manufacturing industries.
- Preclude directors and other leadership positions from being held by representatives of any company in the pharmaceutical, health insurance, food service, or food manufacturing industries.
- Convene a panel of independent experts who do not receive income from these industries to review the 2013 ACC/AHA cholesterol guideline and risk calculator.
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Today we walk for our loved ones and their right to unbiased medical advice. @American_Heart stop taking drug-company money! #HeartWalk
Tweet: Tell the @American_Heart to stop taking drug-company money. Because we deserve unbiased medical advice! http://bit.ly/1JVg5hd #HeartWalk
If you are a current or former employee, representative, or volunteer of the American Heart Association who has concerns about the charity’s financial relationships, please consider confidentially providing any potentially relevant information by sending us an email. Your input could help ensure that the AHA is as transparent and effective as it can be.
Employees of the Harvard-owned DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Boston joined Local 26 and ratified a first union contract in October. Workers first sought changes from hotel management and Harvard University, which owns the hotel, in 2013. The contract will bring up the workers up to the same standard as all unionized hotel workers in Boston and Cambridge, including wages of more than $19 an hour and affordable health care. Harvard students were heavily involved in picket lines and a boycott during the 2-year campaign.
