Union

Was that a State of the Union address or was it President Barack Obama's first big campaign speech of 2012? It certainly sounded like the latter, but given the state of Washington, what else could we expect? His opening lines, a tribute to the soldiers who returned home from Iraq, was a reminder of a promise kept from his first campaign - and it was followed by a reference to the killing of Osama bin Laden under his watch, and that by a dig at how little has been accomplished by a deeply divided Congress.

IMAGINE a local teachers' union president who sees many positives in private schools, promotes charter schools, even runs seminars for teachers interested in starting a public charter.Just as radical, consider a union leader convinced that professionalism and rigorous teacher-to-teacher peer review need to replace protection by tenure and assignment by seniority. A leader who believes teachers unions should be more like craft guilds of professionals than simply defense attorneys for members in trouble.

The owner of a defunct Columbia printing company pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore yesterday to charges of conspiring with a maritime union official to embezzle nearly $400,000 from the union.Ronald Schoop was charged last month with Harry Seidman, former comptroller of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, with conspiring to embezzle union money. The charges were contained in a criminal information, rather than an indictment, suggesting that Schoop cooperated with the government.

The tone was somber, but optimistic. The issues were touched upon, but not explored in depth. The talk was of unity.Members of Local 27 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union convened to discuss their coming contract negotiations with Maryland Jockey Club management at a Pikesville hotel yesterday and left with the understanding that difficult negotiating days are ahead.The union represents a disparate group of track workers, including mutuel clerks, parking attendants, starting gate personnel, admissions workers and security guards.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Lenny Dykstra had his say yesterday. He expressed his doubts and asked his questions and then generally submitted to the will of the 260 or so fellow strikers who showed up for a regional meeting of the Major League Baseball Players Association.Lest anyone forget, Dykstra is the one big-name player to question the solidarity of the union. He is the one who said on ESPN's "Up Close" last week that he wanted to convene a meeting of the 20 highest-paid players in baseball to review the performance of the union leadership.

As Hurricane Felix threatened Bell Atlantic Corp.'s territory with 80-mph winds yesterday, the union that represents the crews that repair damaged telephone lines continued to teeter on the brink of a strike.A spokesman for the Communications Workers of America, which represents 37,000 Bell Atlantic network maintenance workers and other employees from New Jersey to Virginia, said yesterday that the union has rejected the company's latest offer to replace the contract that expired 12 days ago.Doug Thompson, a spokesman for CWA District 2, said the union would not alter its bargaining strategy because of the storm -- either to avoid it or take advantage of it."

Nearly 300 players who once played in the major leagues and were members of the union served the 27 clubs as replacement players during the strike-stricken exhibition schedule, lists compiled by the union show.The team-by-team lists the union sent to members of its executive board last week totaled 1,554 players who appeared in exhibition games before the players ended their strike April 1.Included on the 27 lists, in bold-face capital letters and underlined, were 291 players, or just under one-fifth, who formerly played in the majors, paid union dues and received union benefits, including money from sales of union-licensed products.

The union calls it "neutrality." Management calls it "a gag order." One of the key issues in contentious hospital bargaining involves union proposals that would limit what hospitals can do to oppose a unionization drive. About 2,500 members of District 1199E-DC of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) struck for a day last week at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Sinai Hospital. The union represents patient-care aides and workers in housekeeping, maintenance and food service departments.

The suspended president of the city's Fraternal Order of Police lost a bid in court yesterday to get a temporary restraining order that would have put him back at the helm of the union that represents Baltimore's police officers. Judge Joseph H.H. Kaplan declined the request and said Lt. Frederick V. Roussey should wait until after next week's hearing by the union's board of directors, at which he is expected to defend himself against internal charges, to determine whether to pursue further court action.

The Anne Arundel County Personnel Board has rejected TC claim by more than 100 county union members that they deserve a 14.3 percent raise to compensate them for their workweek being increased from 35 to 40 hours.The board ruled 4-1 in favor of the Gary administration, which made the change last year as part of a package of personnel reforms.The employees, members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Locals 582 and 2563, received lump sum bonuses last year of $400 and $600, respectively.