Big Unions Cut Secret Deals With Employers

Hey, it's just a job, says AFTRA member

(NEWSER) - Oh, Target: Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to hire union actors for your anti-union employee training video. The video, which Gawker dubs “propaganda,” was created in 2003 but made headlines this week when that site made it publicly viewable for the first time. Now Salon reports that the two actors in the video, who play Target employees warning other Target employees about the dangers of signing up for a union, are both union actors and that the video was filmed under the jurisdiction of huge entertainment union AFTRA. More»

This essential question needs to be answered, but it's complex

(NEWSER) - We toss around the phrase all the time, but how do we define what makes a “good job” good? It’s a key question—and a complex one—as we look to the future of our economy, writes Michael Lind in Salon . Among the factors:

• Unions: We often call manufacturing jobs “good” ones, but that wasn’t the case until they were unionized. Service-sector jobs, meanwhile, are often seen as "bad" jobs, but they might see huge benefits from unionization.

'Our members are absolutely outraged'

(NEWSER) - Two of America’s biggest pilot unions are urging their members to refuse to submit to full-body scans when they go to work. They complain the machines are "intrusive" and could expose pilots to risky amounts of radiation over time. Those who refuse are subjected to pat-downs that were made more invasive this month—one pilot said he felt as though he’d been “sexually molested.” More»

Prop 19 would make state a 'laughingstock,' Governator writes

(NEWSER) - Arnold Schwarzenegger, who just last year called for debate on legalizing pot, has come out against Proposition 19, a ballot initiative that would do just that. “Any patrol officer, judge or district attorney will tell you that Proposition 19 is a flawed initiative that would bring about a host of legal nightmares and risks to public safety,” the Governator writes in an op-ed piece for the LA Times . “It would also make California a laughingstock.” More»

President expresses support for public option in speech to AFL-CIO

(NEWSER) - President Obama honored the achievements of organized labor today, pointing out that iniatives like the minimum wage and paid vacation “bear the union label,” the AP reports. Speaking at an AFL-CIO meeting in Cincinnati, Obama asked for union support in his push to reform the health care system, and he pledged to make progress on a bill that would make it easier for workers to join unions. More»