Labor Unions

WASHINGTON -- Shares of USAir Group Inc. fell 15 percent yesterday after the airline said it ended talks with its labor unions on exchanging a stake in the company for wage concessions.The breakdown in talks is more bad news for an airline that has lost $3 billion in the last six years and suffers from the highest costs in the industry. The labor agreements were expected to save $2.45 million over five years, and failure to cut costs jeopardizes the airline's future, analysts said."They've been negotiating for well over a year and getting absolutely nowhere," said NatWest Securities analyst Vivian Lee. "They are trying to send a message of urgency.

Labor unions representing federal employees reacted angrily to the $3.8 trillion budget unveiled Wednesday by President Barack Obama, who proposed trimming $20 billion from federal retirement benefits - reopening a debate many Democrats felt had been resolved last year. The 2014 spending plan - which arrived months late - would reduce annual budget deficits by an additional $1 trillion over a decade, according to the administration's estimates; raise the federal minimum wage to $9; curb Social Security spending; increase the federal cigarette tax and close tax loopholes the Obama administration has pursued for years without success.

WASHINGTON -- Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court gave federal workers and their labor unions a major victory yesterday, allowing them to bring up new issues for bargaining even while an existing contract is in effect.Among the federal employees who will directly benefit from the decision are thousands of Social Security Administration workers in the Baltimore area, including those at the agency's headquarters in Woodlawn.They and other federal employees had argued that they had a right to raise new issues midterm, but that claim had been rejected in a series of rulings by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the Richmond court's view was wrong.

As President Barack Obama said in his inaugural address, America "cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. " Not even the very wealthy can continue to succeed without a broader-based prosperity. That's because 70 percent of economic activity in America is consumer spending. When most Americans are becoming poorer, they're less able to spend. Without their spending, the economy can't get out of first gear. That's a big reason why the recovery continues to be anemic.

INTENSE ECONOMIC PRESSURES are forcing the Port of Baltimore to re-think the way it does business. Revolutionary changes in the maritime industry bode ill for this port unless a new approach is found to stem the loss of cargo and shipping lines. Sacrifices from all port actors are essential if Baltimore wants to regain this lucrative trade.With consolidations, mergers and downsizing rippling through the maritime world, Baltimore's previous advantages have eroded. Deregulation robbed the port of its edge over arch-rival Norfolk.

George West found something beyond the thrill rides, snowball stands and livestock yesterday at the Maryland State Fair. At a booth manned by volunteers from local labor unions, West, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, also got some suggestions on whom to vote for in this fall's elections. He said many union members follow the union's advice come election season and often vote for Democrats. "Those who support you, you support," the Baltimore County man said.

Labor unions representing federal employees reacted angrily to the $3.8 trillion budget unveiled Wednesday by President Barack Obama, who proposed trimming $20 billion from federal retirement benefits - reopening a debate many Democrats felt had been resolved last year. The 2014 spending plan - which arrived months late - would reduce annual budget deficits by an additional $1 trillion over a decade, according to the administration's estimates; raise the federal minimum wage to $9; curb Social Security spending; increase the federal cigarette tax and close tax loopholes the Obama administration has pursued for years without success.

As President Barack Obama said in his inaugural address, America "cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. " Not even the very wealthy can continue to succeed without a broader-based prosperity. That's because 70 percent of economic activity in America is consumer spending. When most Americans are becoming poorer, they're less able to spend. Without their spending, the economy can't get out of first gear. That's a big reason why the recovery continues to be anemic.

Del. Elijah E. Cummings, a West Baltimore legislator who is among the front-runners for Rep. Kweisi Mfume's 7th District congressional seat, picked up two more key endorsements yesterday, with a little more than two weeks to go until the March 5 primary election.The Baltimore Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization representing 17 labor unions, threw its support behind Mr. Cummings, the Maryland House speaker pro-tem.Maryland Senate Majority Leader Clarence W. Blount, a West Baltimore Democrat who is dean of the city's legislative delegation, also formally endorsed Mr. Cummings yesterday, pledging the support of his political organization, the Five in Five Democratic Club.

Two candidates for the 7th Congressional District seat have received key endorsements from powerful sectors of organized labor.The Rev. Frank M. Reid III was endorsed yesterday by a coalition of labor unions representing more than 30,000 blue-collar workers. State Sen. Delores E. Kelley received the backing of the National Education Association, acting on the recommendation of the Maryland State Teachers Association, which represents 46,000 educators in the state.Ms. Kelley's endorsement came with a $5,000 contribution from the NEA, the largest amount allowed by an organization under federal campaign law.Her campaign also announced yesterday a $5,000 contribution from EMILY'S List, a national political action committee that supports Democratic women running for Congress who favor abortion rights.

Unite Here — a labor union trying to organize workers at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore — gathered outside the hotel Tuesday to publicize a federal agency's decision to take the company to trial over alleged unfair labor practices. The National Labor Relations Board issued its complaint this month, alleging that Hyatt Regency managers "interrogated employees about their union activities," began "invoking harsh discipline" when employees arrived late to work and fired four people this year as part of that campaign.

It seems you can't turn on the television or the radio this summer without hearing some voice extolling the virtues of bringing a sixth casino to Maryland - this one to be built inPrince George's County. And while there is an active public dialogue on the issue of expanded gaming, it is important for Marylanders to understand what is being promised and what may underlie the rhetoric. One particular element of the proponents' campaign deserves clarification - the jobs promised. As The Baltimore Sun reported on July 13 ("National Harbor ad claims not supported by state analysis")

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's victory in Tuesday's recall election doesn't mean President Barack Obama is going to lose his re-election bid - or even that he will lose Wisconsin. But it clearly shows that organized labor is a seriously weakened political force that needs to reinvent itself for its sake and for the nation's. The vote was widely billed as a preliminary skirmish in the November election between Mr. Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, but there is good reason to conclude that its predictive value is low. For starters, exit polling showed that even as voters handed Mr. Walker a convincing 53 percent to 46 percent victory over Milwaukee's Democratic mayor, Tom Barrett, a solid majority of them would have voted for Mr. Obama over Mr. Romney.

On July 10, three Chicago-area Alderwoods funeral homes were viciously vandalized. All were Dignity Memorial network facilities that had also been targeted for a strike by local Teamsters. Teamsters Local 727, which represents 16 Alderwoods embalmers, drivers and funeral directors, had been negotiating with the company that owns the homes after their labor contract expired June 30. The union complained that the other side had bargained in bad faith and had "…proposed a three-year wage freeze and a company health care package that is more expensive and less comprehensive than the union's health and welfare benefits," reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court overturned a century-old restriction on corporations using their money to sway federal elections Thursday and ruled companies have a free-speech right to spend as much as they wish to persuade voters to elect or defeat candidates. In a 5-4 decision, the court's conservative bloc said corporations have the same First Amendment rights as individuals and, for that reason, the government cannot stop corporations from spending freely to help their favored candidates win elections.

George West found something beyond the thrill rides, snowball stands and livestock yesterday at the Maryland State Fair. At a booth manned by volunteers from local labor unions, West, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, also got some suggestions on whom to vote for in this fall's elections. He said many union members follow the union's advice come election season and often vote for Democrats. "Those who support you, you support," the Baltimore County man said.

Hoping to increase its political leverage, the AFL-CIO announced yesterday that it was creating a novel organization for nonunion workers who agree with the labor movement on many issues and want to campaign alongside labor on those issues. Federation officials said they hoped the new organization, to be called Working America, would attract more than 1 million members to lobby Congress and to join demonstrations on issues from raising the minimum wage to stopping the privatization of Social Security.

Responding to a bleak auditors' assessment, USAir Group Inc. has said it expects to finish 1995 with more than $400 million in cash and that it "has not hired bankruptcy counsel, nor does it intend to do so."In the company's year-end filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, auditors for the Arlington, Va.-based airline expressed "substantial doubt" that the financially struggling airline could continue operating in its current form.But the airline, in a separate filing made later that day, insisted it had enough funds for normal operations through 1995, "barring unanticipated events," and has not hired a bankruptcy attorney.

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of the largest U.S. labor federation announced yesterday that they will spend more money this year than ever before to get voters to the polls in a midterm election that they hope will return Democrats to power in Congress. "This Labor Day, it appears that a `perfect storm' is gathering that may well sweep away Republican control of the Congress this fall," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Republican voter mobilization efforts were credited with big GOP wins in 2004 and 2002.