Unionized Workers

DAYTON, Ohio -- All the wild talk and rumors threw Scott Seibert into a dark mood. People were fretting about losing their jobs, their homes and their savings. Seibert couldn't wait to leave early from the Delphi Corp. factory where he has worked for the last 29 years and 10 months. "I find it hard to work right now with a knife sticking in my back," he said, over a drink at a workers' hangout near the plant. From Seibert and many others here, the bankruptcy filing by Delphi, the nation's largest auto parts maker, represents the end of an era for a 95-year-old company that took its name from this once-thriving industrial city.

Sparked by a number of controversial moves made by the Bush administration over the past three years, unionized federal workers are engaged in this year's presidential election like never before, union officials and political observers say. "We've found unprecedented numbers of federal employees expressing interest in this election," said Ward Morrow, assistant general counsel for the American Federation of Government Employees, the country's largest labor...

PHILADELPHIA - US Airways' chief executive officer said yesterday that the airline would, as expected, ask a bankruptcy judge to impose temporary pay cuts of 23 percent on its union workers to conserve cash during the slow fall travel season. CEO Bruce Lakefield told employees in a recorded message that the filing was to be made yesterday. The airline has refused to discuss the details of its request, but union leaders who received the request confirmed the cuts. The airline has not asked its 2,300 executives and managers for the same sacrifice.

Ronald Reagan's presidency signaled a critical period for organized labor, a time when unions began shrinking at a much faster pace and it became more acceptable for businesses to fight off labor organizations. But what remains in dispute about his legacy is whether the former president's actions triggered a decline in union membership or accelerated a trend that was had already begun. "It isn't clear whether Reagan set the tone for the '80s and into the '90s, or whether he reflected changes in society," said Charles Craver, a labor law professor at George Washington University Law School and author of Can Unions Survive?

Stanley Morris never believed it would come to this. When he retired from Sparrows Point in 1997 with 43 1/2 years of service, Morris, 68, thought he was secure with health care benefits from Bethlehem Steel Corp., which covered him and his wife at a cost of $150 a month. But now, Morris and other retirees say, Bethlehem has turned its back on retirees of Sparrows Point and its other steel mills. Bethlehem, which agreed over the weekend to be sold to International Steel Group Inc. of Cleveland, announced Friday that it planned to end health and life insurance benefits for retirees and dependents March 31 - a devastating blow to 19,000 Baltimore-area retirees and dependents.

At 73, Suzanne Mensh has been clerk of the Circuit Court in Baltimore County since 1986, and she considers her experience a major selling point in her bid for a fifth term. One of Mensh's challengers is focusing on how she handles her staff of 120 and on her firing of a court clerk in October. Yvonne Clark, one of two fellow Democrats running against Mensh for the $75,000-a-year post, has criticized Mensh for the dismissal and says Mensh is hostile to unions. "We need to look at her hiring and personnel practices and see how she's running that office," said Clark, 54, of Woodlawn, a benefits administrator for the city Circuit Court.

WASHINGTON - After 532 days of negotiations, the Securities and Exchange Commission and its union employees agreed yesterday to a contract that would allow workers to telecommute two days a week, among other provisions. The agreement, which still needs approval by the union members and SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt before it can go into effect, addresses basic working conditions such as dress codes and compensatory time off. It doesn't cover pay, a sore point for many SEC professionals, who are paid less than their counterparts at federal banking agencies.

A major change being proposed for Anne Arundel County's employee pension plan is expected to spark an emotional debate at a council meeting today. County administrators, led by County Executive Janet S. Owens, support a bill that would allow employees to retire with a full pension at any age after working for the county for 30 years. Workers now must be at least 55 years old to collect a full pension. "I feel that we have a fairly comprehensive bill here," said County Administrative Officer John M. Brusnighan.

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that foreign workers brought to the United States under a much-investigated cultural exchange program run by a Maryland firm have the right to organize and join a union. In a 12-page ruling, Wayne R. Gold, regional director of the NLRB, concluded that the electricians brought to the United States by USA-IT of Greenbelt have a right to vote on whether they want to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Under Gold's order, USA-IT must provide the union with a list of all its employees in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia.

Union officials helping to organize janitors in Baltimore said yesterday that negotiations with several commercial cleaning companies will begin this month. But they did not rule out more strikes and civil disobedience if agreements aren't reached. Six commercial cleaning companies have agreed to negotiate with the union, which is seeking better wages and health benefits for part-time and full-time workers. While about 100 workers returned to work at the six companies after strikes began 22 days ago, about 25 workers continued striking at two companies that have not agreed to negotiate - Metropolitan Maintenance and Broadway Services, union officials said.