NBC30.com, February 20, 2007, Tuesday

NBC30.com

Yale Appoints Diversity Officer
http://www.nbc30.com/news/11064515/detail.html

POSTED: 3:06 pm EST February 20, 2007

Sign Up for Breaking News Alerts
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Yale University appointed Nydia A. Gonzalez as chief diversity officer, Yale President Richard C. Levin announced Tuesday.

"I am delighted that Nydia Gonzalez has agreed to bring her extensive global experience and organizational diversity management knowledge to Yale," Levin said. "I am convinced that through her efforts we will further establish Yale University as a leader in diversity, inclusion and work life."

Gonzalez, formerly the director of diversity programs at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will join the staff of Yale Feb. 26. She will head a newly organized unit that will work with the university officers, faculty and staff to develop a strategic plan designed to enhance faculty diversity.

Gonzalez received training and certification for her work in diversity from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. She has been a keynote speaker and presenter at numerous diversity conferences worldwide.

Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Weekly, February 25, 2007

Copyright 2007 Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Weekly via LawRx.com via NewsRx.com and NewsRx.net

Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Weekly

February 25, 2007

SECTION: EXPANDED REPORTING; Pg. 860

HEADLINE: PERSONNEL;

Alpharma names executive VP, human resources and communication

BODY:

Alpharma, Inc., (ALO) announced that Peter M. Watts has joined the company as executive VP, Human Resources and Communications reporting directly to Dean Mitchell, president and CEO.

Watts has over 20 years of experience in U.S. and International human resources management and consulting, including key roles at Novartis and Warner-Lambert. Prior to joining Alpharma, Watts was the Senior VP, Human Resources and Employee Services at Scholastic Corp.

"I am pleased to add a human resources executive of Peter's talent and experience to the Alpharma management team," commented Mitchell. "In order to achieve the ambitious growth objectives the company is targeting, a top company priority is to attract, retain and develop the best talent available. I am confident that Peter's skill, energy, and vision will result in the creation of a team well equipped to execute the company's growth initiatives."

Prior to his role at Scholastic, Watts held several key human resources positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including VP, Human Resources, for the U.S. Pharmaceutical business of Novartis and VP, Human Resources - Europe, at Warner-Lambert. His consulting experience included clients such as Warner-Chilcott, Cardinal Health, Oak Hill Capital, and Bank of America.

Watts is a graduate of Cornell University in Industrial and Labor Relations and earned an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School. This article was prepared by Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Week via NewsRx.com.

AFX International Focus, February 20, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 AFX News Limited

AFX International Focus

February 20, 2007 Tuesday 7:01 PM GMT

HEADLINE: Okla. town upset over beef plant plans

BODY:

HOOKER, Okla. (AP) - People started giving up on this place years ago.

The drug store and five-and-dime closed. The Ford and Chevrolet dealerships left, too, along with the tractor-parts retailers. Vacant brick storefronts with sheets of yellowed newspaper taped in the windows are reminders of what once was in this speck of a cattle town in the Oklahoma Panhandle, a place where there are more cows and hogs than people.

A couple months ago, the lumber store shut down. It was a last gasp.

'It's a damn shame to see a town like this,' says Earl Meng, a member of the city council who has lived here for 60 years, as his pickup rolls over Hooker's cracked streets one recent morning.

Salvation, some locals hope, lies in a slaughterhouse. Specifically, a Smithfield Beef processing plant to be built a few miles east of town, a $200 million project that will create as many as 3,000 jobs and put Hooker back on the map. This would be the largest beef plant built in the United States in two decades, even as U.S. beef consumption has remained steady.

It's planned for an area that ranks among the nation's biggest producers of beef, grain and farm supplies. There are an estimated 600,000 head of cattle on farms within 25 miles of the proposed plant.

When the plans for the plant were announced in October, locals were ecstatic. But love turned quickly to loathing for a large group of residents who saw the plant as an attack on what was left of their struggling town. They fear that the bulk of the jobs will be too low-paying and attract immigrants who will overwhelm city services.

'I'm not opposed to change, I'm just opposed to takeover,' says Don Ukens, a Hooker native who shuttered his Main Street TV and appliance shop in the 1990s.

Beef plant workers earn around $10 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobs are dirty, strenuous and sometimes dangerous and attract a high number of immigrant laborers at plants across the U.S.

'It's a hard and relatively low-paying job, but it's the only opportunity that exists for many of these workers,' says Cornell University professor Lance Compa, an expert in labor law and international labor rights. 'These companies take advantage of these groups, they get super-exploited.'

Critics of the plant accuse local and state officials of rolling over for Smithfield and wonder who will pay for the expansion of the school buildings, fixing the streets and hiring new police officers as the town of 1,700 balloons.

Industry experts have concerns, too. Days after the plant's announcement, JP Morgan Chase analyst Pablo E. Zuanic wrote that a processing plant that size -- that would process 5,000 head of cattle daily -- would add too much capacity to the industry and worsen the plight of beef packers, already dealing with a glut of meat and poultry in the market that has held prices down.

Zuanic also questioned whether Smithfield was even going to build in Hooker. He theorized the real goal might be to buy out longtime rival Swift and the threat of a new plant would help achieve the takeover.

Last week, Smithfield Foods Inc. said it expected to report a decline in its fiscal third-quarter profit compared with a year ago. Last fiscal year, it had earnings of $172.7 million on $11.4 billion in sales.

As residents trade facts and rumors about the plant in Sunday church, farmer Jackie Stevens says she prays to God every night not to let the plant come.

'It's going to destroy the life we know,' Stevens says.

Rancher John Hairford is the unofficial leader of a group of 140 residents who oppose the plant, fearing it will lead to increased taxes, a crowded town and an influx of illegal immigrants.

'I have nothing against Latinos coming up here legally to work,' Hairford says. 'What we don't need is the gangs; we don't want the criminals.'

Meat operations in nearby Guymon; Cactus, Texas and Liberal, Kan., have attracted thousands of Mexican and Guatemalan laborers to the area in the past decade. Many already have settled in Hooker.

Retiree Howard Kopel, who lives a couple miles from where the plant will go, says, 'We're going to give our community to a bunch of strangers. I don't care if they come from old Mexico or New York City, but they're strangers and they bring another culture.'

Hooker's demography is already changing because of the neighboring meat plants.

Dozens of residents attend the Primera Iglesia Bautista, an outreach of the Baptist church here. Their kids go to the high school, where at least half the candidates for basketball homecoming queen were Latina.

'They live here, they're going to buy groceries here, they rent houses,' says Ruth Thompson, who teaches Sunday school at the iglesia and travels to Mexico every year on mission trips. 'They do everything everybody else does.'

Still, there is tension, perhaps heightened by federal immigration raids at Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in six states in December.

A sign for the local inn on the outskirts of town announces that it is American-owned.

For Smithfield's part, the company has no specific details yet on how it will assist the community, but has pledged to work with local officials as problems arise.

'Some folks probably look at this as a big change, so there is some level of trepidation,' says Mark Linzmeier, group vice president for business development for Smithfield Beef in Green Bay, Wis.

Linzmeier would not address speculation that his company is angling to buy Swift, but says the 'plant is happening' in Hooker and there is plenty of room in the region for the beef operation.

Ground breaking for the plant had been scheduled for January, but the company now says it will occur sometime during the first quarter. Linzmeier said Smithfield recently obtained building permits for the project.

He dismissed suggestions from some local officials that there has been a lack of contact between the company and the town.

'We're not a big fanfare company; that's not our style,' he said.

State Rep. Gus Blackwell, whose district includes Hooker, would like to see the company do more to communicate about issues that have been raised.

'I think Ronald Reagan had it best: trust, but verify,' he said. '(There's) a lot of problems to work out; we do need a contact person. Should this go on for another three or four months of nothing, it will cause concern.'

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AFX.COM, February 20, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 AFX News Limited

AFX.COM

February 20, 2007 Tuesday 6:50 PM GMT

HEADLINE: Meat plant puts hard-luck town on edge

BODY:

HOOKER, Okla. (AP) - People started giving up on this place years ago.

The drug store and five-and-dime closed. The Ford and Chevrolet dealerships left, too, along with the tractor-parts retailers.

Vacant brick storefronts with sheets of yellowed newspaper taped in the windows are reminders of what once was in this speck of a cattle town in the Oklahoma Panhandle, a place where there are more cows and hogs than people.

A couple months ago, the lumber store shut down. It was a last gasp.

'It's a damn shame to see a town like this,' says Earl Meng, a member of the city council who has lived here for 60 years, as his pickup rolls over Hooker's cracked streets one recent morning.

Salvation, some locals hope, lies in a slaughterhouse.

Specifically, a Smithfield Beef processing plant to be built a few miles east of town, a $200 million project that will create as many as 3,000 jobs and put Hooker back on the map.

This would be the largest beef plant built in the United States in two decades, even as U.S. beef consumption has remained steady.

It's planned for an area that ranks among the nation's biggest producers of beef, grain and farm supplies. There are an estimated 600,000 head of cattle on farms within 25 miles of the proposed plant.

When the plans for the plant were announced in October, locals were ecstatic. But love turned quickly to loathing for a large group of residents who saw the plant as an attack on what was left of their struggling town.

They fear that the bulk of the jobs will be too low-paying and attract immigrants who will overwhelm city services.

'I'm not opposed to change, I'm just opposed to takeover,' says Don Ukens, a Hooker native who shuttered his Main Street TV and appliance shop in the 1990s.

Beef plant workers earn around $10 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobs are dirty, strenuous and sometimes dangerous and attract a high number of immigrant laborers at plants across the U.S.

'It's a hard and relatively low-paying job, but it's the only opportunity that exists for many of these workers,' says Cornell University professor Lance Compa, an expert in labor law and international labor rights. 'These companies take advantage of these groups, they get super-exploited.'

Critics of the plant accuse local and state officials of rolling over for Smithfield and wonder who will pay for the expansion of the school buildings, fixing the streets and hiring new police officers as the town of 1,700 balloons.

Industry experts have concerns, too. Days after the plant's announcement, JP Morgan Chase analyst Pablo E. Zuanic wrote that a processing plant that size -- that would process 5,000 head of cattle daily -- would add too much capacity to the industry and worsen the plight of beef packers, already dealing with a glut of meat and poultry in the market that has held prices down.

Zuanic also questioned whether Smithfield was even going to build in Hooker. He theorized the real goal might be to buy out longtime rival Swift and the threat of a new plant would help achieve the takeover.

Last week, Smithfield Foods Inc. said it expected to report a decline in its fiscal third-quarter profit compared with a year ago. Last fiscal year, it had earnings of $172.7 million on $11.4 billion in sales.

As residents trade facts and rumors about the plant in Sunday church, farmer Jackie Stevens says she prays to God every night not to let the plant come.

'It's going to destroy the life we know,' Stevens says.

Rancher John Hairford is the unofficial leader of a group of 140 residents who oppose the plant, fearing it will lead to increased taxes, a crowded town and an influx of illegal immigrants.

'I have nothing against Latinos coming up here legally to work,' Hairford says. 'What we don't need is the gangs; we don't want the criminals.'

Meat operations in nearby Guymon; Cactus, Texas and Liberal, Kan., have attracted thousands of Mexican and Guatemalan laborers to the area in the past decade. Many already have settled in Hooker.

Retiree Howard Kopel, who lives a couple miles from where the plant will go, says, 'We're going to give our community to a bunch of strangers. I don't care if they come from old Mexico or New York City, but they're strangers and they bring another culture.'

Hooker's demography is already changing because of the neighboring meat plants.

Dozens of residents attend the Primera Iglesia Bautista, an outreach of the Baptist church here. Their kids go to the high school, where at least half the candidates for basketball homecoming queen were Latina.

'They live here, they're going to buy groceries here, they rent houses,' says Ruth Thompson, who teaches Sunday school at the iglesia and travels to Mexico every year on mission trips. 'They do everything everybody else does.'

Still, there is tension, perhaps heightened by federal immigration raids at Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in six states in December.

A sign for the local inn on the outskirts of town announces that it is American-owned.

For Smithfield's part, the company has no specific details yet on how it will assist the community, but has pledged to work with local officials as problems arise.

'Some folks probably look at this as a big change, so there is some level of trepidation,' says Mark Linzmeier, group vice president for business development for Smithfield Beef in Green Bay, Wis.

Linzmeier would not address speculation that his company is angling to buy Swift, but says the 'plant is happening' in Hooker and there is plenty of room in the region for the beef operation.

Ground breaking for the plant had been scheduled for January, but the company now says it will occur sometime during the first quarter. Linzmeier said Smithfield recently obtained building permits for the project.

He dismissed suggestions from some local officials that there has been a lack of contact between the company and the town.

'We're not a big fanfare company; that's not our style,' he said.

State Rep. Gus Blackwell, whose district includes Hooker, would like to see the company do more to communicate about issues that have been raised.

'I think Ronald Reagan had it best: trust, but verify,' he said. '(There's) a lot of problems to work out; we do need a contact person. Should this go on for another three or four months of nothing, it will cause concern.'

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Business Wire, February 20, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 Business Wire, Inc.

Business Wire

February 20, 2007 Tuesday 4:39 PM GMT

DISTRIBUTION: Business Editors

LENGTH: 261 words

HEADLINE: Bard Promotes Stephen J. Long to Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

DATELINE: MURRAY HILL, N.J.

BODY:

C. R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE-BCR) announced today that at its February board meeting, the Board of Directors elected Stephen J. Long, 41, to the position of Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, effective February 26, 2007. Stephen replaces Judith A. Reinsdorf, who has resigned from Bard.

Stephen joined Bard in 2000 as Associate General Counsel and since March 2005, has served as Staff Vice President and Associate General Counsel. Prior to joining Bard, Stephen held a succession of positions of increasing responsibility in corporate law with Warner-Lambert Company. He began his career as an associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York. He earned a B.S. from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and received his J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University in Albany, NY.

"Steve has valuable experience and expertise in the medical device industry and a proven track record with Bard, which will ensure a seamless transition," said Bard Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Timothy M. Ring. "We are looking forward to having him on our corporate management team."

C. R. Bard, Inc., (www.crbard.com), headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, is a leading multinational developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative, life-enhancing health care technologies in the fields of vascular, urology, and surgical specialty products.

CONTACT: C. R. Bard, Inc.

Investors:

Eric J. Shick, 908-277-8413

Vice President, Investor Relations

or

Media:

Holly P. Glass, 703-754-2848

Vice President, Government & Public Relations

URL: http://www.businesswire.com

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), February 20, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 Star Tribune

All Rights Reserved

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

February 20, 2007 Tuesday

Metro Edition

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 10A

HEADLINE: A level playing field for American workers;

Congress needs to modernize federal labor law.

BODY:

In 1934 a series of violent strikes swept through American cities, including San Francisco and Minneapolis, producing such a wave of beatings, arrests and shootings that Congress decided there had to be a better way for Americans to form unions. It passed the Wagner Act, which gave workers the right to vote for unions and created the National Labor Relations Board to enforce fair collective bargaining.

Yet today, enforcement of federal labor law has decayed so badly that Americans might think they're back in the 1930s. Every year thousands of workers are illegally fired for union activity. Unfair-labor-practice complaints pile up at the labor board for months and seldom result in consequential penalties. "Intimidation, harassment and surveillance have become routine elements of the organizing process, so much so that fewer than a third of those attempting to organize succeed in gaining representation under a collective bargaining agreement,'' Cornell University professor Kate Bronfenbrenner has written.

Congress has waited far too long to correct this imbalance, but this year it has the perfect opportunity in a bill sponsored by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., that would streamline union elections and put some teeth back in federal labor law.

Business lobbyists have denounced Miller's bill as an effort to rig workplace elections in unions' favor. Actually, the Employee Free Choice Act would do the opposite. It would give employees more choice, reduce meddling by unions and employers, and require independent arbitration if the parties are unable to negotiate their first contract.

It's no coincidence, then, that Miller's bill has attracted support from several Republican members of the House and a number of prominent church groups. They recognize, as mainstream America once did, that unions can provide a measure of economic security, reduce inequality and build a nation's middle class. Of course many Americans wouldn't join a union if given a fair chance. But that chance is something they deserve.

PLAYING HARDBALL

In 1994 a commission headed by former Labor Secretary John Dunlop found that one in four employers illegally fired union activists during organizing campaigns, and that one in three engaged in illegal "surface bargaining" to avoid negotiating contracts with unionized employees.

The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York), February 19, 2007, Monday

Copyright 2007 Post-Standard

All Rights Reserved

All Rights Reserved.

The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)

February 19, 2007 Monday

FINAL EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL; COLLEGES; Pg. B3

HEADLINE: OPENING IN STORM DRAWS HEAT

BYLINE: Staff reports Rebecca James Nancy Cole David L. Shaw Fred A. Mohr Sapna Kollali

BODY:

Cornell University is getting lots of grief over its decision to open the university in the middle of the Valentine's Day storm and then close a couple of hours later.

By Sunday, more than 1,400 people had signed an online petition www.ipetitions.com/petition/safer-cornell/index.html asking the university to reconsider a policy that puts commuting employees at risk.

Local public schools, with forecasts in hand, had announced a day in advance that they would close Wednesday. Syracuse University , Le Moyne College and Onondaga Community College also canceled classes.

Cornell opened Wednesday morning and then closed at 12:30 p.m. The storm snow total was about 17 inches.

Lowell Turner , a Cornell professor of international and comparative labor, called Cornell's decision "breathtakingly irresponsible." Many employees make drives of 30 to 50 miles one way, often because housing is more affordable outside Tompkins County.

"The predictable necessity to close not long after employees arrived forced them again into dangerous drives home," Turner wrote. "It is appalling that our great university would show such bad judgment in such a dangerous situation."

University officials said they have to balance the needs of commuting employees with the needs of a residential campus, but that they will take the comments voiced on the petition into account for decisions made about closings in the future.

- Rebecca James

Investing in local youths

SUNY Upstate Medical University 's president met last week with about 40 clergy who minister to urban communities in the Syracuse area and the Onondaga Nation to talk about investing in the area's youths.

Upstate President Dr. David R. Smith said he would like the university to develop relationships with the clergy and their congregations. Smith said these connections would help the university spread its health education and awareness programs.

The connections also would allow Upstate's students and staff to help local youths get into other colleges, not just Upstate, Smith said. That help could take place through investing in scholarships, mentoring and talking with parents and families about higher education.

"We're worried about what we see if we can't turn around some of the trends and get more students interested in higher education," Smith said. "We think that's part of our responsibility."

A core group of clergy and university officials will be identified to put together a plan. The group will likely meet quarterly to move that plan forward, Smith said.

- Nancy Cole

Obie-winning play planned

Students at Wells College in Aurora will present "The Vagina Monologues" at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Sommer Center of Smith Hall.

Based on interviews with more than 200 women, Eve Ensler 's Obie-winning play takes an intimate look at women's memories and experiences of sexuality and their deepest fantasies and fears.

The play has inspired V-Day, a grass-roots movement to stop violence against women.

More than 20 Wells students make up the cast and crew. Natalie Kemper, of the class of 2010, is director. The play contains adult content and is not suitable for young audiences. It is sponsored by the Wells Women's Resource Center and Collegiate , the college's student government organization.

Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for others. A reception will follow the shows. Proceeds from ticket and merchandise sales will go to the V-Day Foundation. For more information, call 364-3428 or the Web site www.wells.edu .

- David L. Shaw

2 at Oswego State finalists

Two of the five finalists in a national public relations competition are students at the State University College at Oswego .

Public relations majors Melissa Andrews and Leila Boukassi competed in the finals of the PRWeek Student of the Year competition Jan. 28 and 29 in New York City.

Andrews, a senior from Rochester, and Boukassi, a junior from Great Neck, will find out how they finished at a March 8 awards dinner at New York's Tavern on the Green.

Each prepared a 10-page campaign for Motorola in professor Tina Pierracini 's advanced public relations class.

The winner will receive $5,000 and a paid internship at a New York City public relations agency.

- Fred A. Mohr

Century Project at Colgate

The Colgate Bookstore will host The Century Project, a photo exhibition of women by Frank Cordelle , and Cordelle will make several appearances on campus from today through Saturday.

The Century Project is a series of nude photographs of women whose lives span 100 years. The photos are accompanied by statements from the subjects. According to Cordelle, The Century Project forms a powerful statement about body image, society's portrayal of women in the media, sexuality, pornography and women's health issues.

The exhibition has been hosted by many universities, churches and galleries over the years, including Dartmouth College , the College of William & Mary , Cornell University , Texas A&M University , Lehigh University and the University of Vermont . The exhibit last traveled to Colgate in 2003, and this visit is sponsored by the campus Wellness Initiative.

Local residents can see the photos and meet Cordelle on the third floor of the bookstore during regular bookstore hours. They also can see Cordelle at the following events:

Opening reception at the bookstore, 4 to 6 p.m. today.

Brown bag luncheon discussion, East Hall, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Cordelle is a graduate of Hamilton College . For information on The Century Project, visit www.thecenturyproject.com .

- Sapna Kollali

Aid for textbooks offered

Students at Cayuga Community College 's Auburn and Fulton campuses can get help with their textbook bills.

The Follett Higher Education Group , which operates bookstores at both campuses, is making available $5,000 in bookstore scholarships. Follett has worked with the college Faculty Student Association and the financial aid office to give out $500 and $250 bookstore gift cards to new and returning students meeting financial need or grade requirements.

In addition, two $500 gift cards will be awarded on the basis of a 250-word essay contest open to current CCC students. Details are available from the college's Student Development Office.

- David L. Shaw

Lost Boys of Sudan to speak

Hamilton College will host a talk by several Sudanese refugees, known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the college chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

The Lost Boys were driven from Sudan as children because of civil war during the late 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, about 4,000 came to the United States as refugees.

The college previously hosted a program on the Lost Boys in October. Hobart and William Smith Colleges , in Geneva, and Fulton and North Syracuse schools are among other local places to host programs and talks by the Lost Boys.

- Sapna Kollali

Finance professor to talk

Syracuse University finance professor Boyce Watkins will lecture at 6 p.m. Friday at Hamilton College during the campus's Black Empowerment Day.

Watkins is the founder of The Black Financial Economists Association and the director of the Step Up and Go to College Tour.

Hamilton's Black Student Union also will host "To Africa and Back" from 8 to 11 p.m. Thursday to showcase black culture in the arts and performances. Both events are free and are part of the college's Black History Month celebration.

- Sapna Kollali

St. Petersburg Times (Florida), February 18, 2007, Sunday

Copyright 2007 Times Publishing Company

All Rights Reserved

St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

February 18, 2007 Sunday

SECTION: PERSPECTIVE; ; Pg. 6P

HEADLINE: Norma Rae, why's it so hard?

BYLINE: ROBYN BLUMNER

BODY:

Blurb:

Title:

Column:

UDuring the summer of my first year of law school, I was employed as a law clerk by District Council 37 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Manhattan. It was a great job that allowed me to train under some generous and talented union lawyers. But, on one of my first days on the job, I was asked whether I would cross a picket line.

Because the union was so large, the secretarial staff had been organized by an outside union, and labor negotiations were on the cusp of breaking down. DC 37 was about to be struck and it wanted its employees to defy the pickets and continue working. (I said no way.)

Thankfully those events never came to pass. But I relay them to illustrate that I know from personal experience that unions are not perfect. I've seen rigid, counterproductive, self-preserving and even corrupt behavior by some of the more than a dozen unions I have dealt with in my professional life. Still, I know of no system better at getting workers a fair shake on the job.

Just compare the benefits accruing to union versus nonunion workers: Median weekly wages for union workers are 30 percent higher, and unionized workers can expect far more in terms of fringe benefits including health care, pensions, disability insurance and vacation time. But, perhaps most valuably, unions bring job security.

Unionized workers generally cannot be fired at the whim of management or because they are getting expensive due to their many years on the job. (The notoriously antiunion Wal-Mart suggested in an internal memo that workers who stay on the job year after year are unduly driving up labor costs. Jeesh.)

With all this going for it and polls showing that 60-million American workers who are not unionized would like to be, why are union rates dropping?

In a phrase: Union-busting.

It used to be that employers would take this phrase literally, using Pinkerton agents to bust the heads of union organizers. Today's equivalents are the legions of consultants who are enlisted by almost every company that thinks it is about to be unionized. These hired guns come with fancy law degrees, but their mission is the same as the muscle - to cow employees into rejecting the union.

In a hearing before a House subcommittee, Keith Ludlum, a veteran of Desert Storm, told his story about being fired by Smithfield's Tar Heel, N.C., hog slaughter and pork processing plant after he attempted to organize his fellow workers.

Ludlum described the dangerous conditions at the plant. He said a fellow worker in his 50s broke his leg by having it pinned between an electric pallet jack and a concrete wall, then had to come to work the next day or get fired. The company provided no sick days, according to Ludlum, and didn't want to have to report the injury to OSHA.

Smithfield says it has no record of that incident and has a good safety record. But the company admitted that it offers no paid sick leave and that it "made mistakes" in the way it responded to union organizing at the plant.

Ludlum said that when the whiff of unionism was in the air, Smithfield viciously fought back. Findings by the National Labor Relations Board confirm an illegal campaign of coercion and intimidation. In 2004, the board ordered Smithfield to stop firing employees and threatening them with physical assault and other reprisals for their union support.

Stories like this are remarkably common. Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, says that one in four employers discharge employees for union activities.

Clearly, current law isn't protective enough of today's Norma Raes. So, what's to be done?

Worker-friendly members of Congress have lined up behind the Employee Free Choice Act - a measure that passed a House committee on Wednesday. It would substantially increase penalties on employers who act against employee organizers. Also, the bill would give workers the ability to authorize a union if a majority sign up for one, rather than through an election.

Employers use the election process as a delaying tactic. Between the time that a bulk of workers say they want a union by signing certification cards and the election, consultants are hired and the threats start flying.

America's story of widening income inequality is also the story of its shrinking unions. When workers have no say, they take the crumbs that are offered.

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), February 15, 2007, Thursday

Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR)

February 15, 2007 Thursday

SECTION: NEWS

HEADLINE: Portland Pacesetters Briefs: February 15, 2007

BYLINE: DJC Staff

BODY:

ENGINEERING HDR has hired Tom Hamstra and James H. Rapp in the firm's Portland office. Hamstra is a senior project manager and engineer. His responsibilities include assisting clients in finding solutions involving transportation in program management, design, and planning, and use the firm's expertise in roadways, structures, rail, transit, and traffic. Rapp is the environmental and resource management marketing manager. His responsibilities include business development and client management for HDR clients in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

FINANCE Robert G. Moody Jr., senior manager at Talbot, Korvola & Warwick LLP, has joined the partnership group at the Portland accounting, business consulting firm serving middle market clients in Oregon and southwest Washington. Moody's practice emphasis at TKW is governmental clients - cities, counties, public utility districts, school districts and public/private partnerships. Moody joined TKW in 2004 after more than 15 years of direct governmental experience. Moody served as the assistant finance director at the city of Wilsonville from 1999 to 2004. He was finance director at the cities of Sherwood and The Dalles for nine years. His municipal responsibilities included coordination of budget and audit cycles, and special projects including cost studies and integrated financial software implementations in The Dalles and Wilsonville. He led the city of Wilsonville's early implementation of GASB Statement No. 34.

Wells Fargo has promoted three team members to community banking district manager. All three are based in Tigard, and an operations manager was commended by the National Guard and Reserve. Troy Cunningham previously managed the Wells Fargo bank in Newberg. He now manages 58 team members at six branches in Beaverton, Newberg, Portland and Tigard. He joined Wells Fargo in 2002 as a teller. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Oregon State University. Damon Dishman previously managed two bank branches in Portland. He now manages 71 team members at seven branches in Albany, Corvallis, Lebanon, Philomath and Sweet Home. Dishman joined Wells Fargo in 2001 as a personal banker. He earned a bachelor's degree in business management at the University of Texas. Casey Hovey previously managed two Wells Fargo bank branches in Portland. She now manages 64 team members at five branches in Aloha, Beaverton, Hillsboro and Portland. Before joining Wells Fargo in 2005 as a branch manager, she worked at MBNA America for five years as a personal banking officer and compliance manager. She is currently working on a Bachelor of Science degree in business management at University of Phoenix. Wells Fargo's Karen Schmidt of Beaverton has been presented with an Above and Beyond award for the support she and Wells Fargo provided to one of her team members in the National Guard and Reserve. Based in Portland, Schmidt is an operations manager in Wells Fargo's wire transfer department, which serves customers around the world. Jeremy Rose of Portland, a trainer, nominated Schmidt for the award, which was presented by Brig. retired Gen. Bill Doctor of Beaverton. Doctor is the Oregon chairman of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an agency of the Department of Defense. After serving on active duty in the Navy from 1996 to 2000, Rose joined Wells Fargo in 2003. As an operations specialist 1st class in the Reserves, he served in South Korea from March 2005 to March 2006. While he was overseas, Wells Fargo preserved his job and continued his benefits. Schmidt sent Rose frequent e-mails and postcards to keep him abreast of company happenings and to let him know he was in their thoughts.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has hired Lee Hill as a lending officer to provide reverse mortgage loans to senior homeowners in the Portland area. Hill previously worked in Medicare supplement product sales for seven years and in association management for more than 10 years. Hill earned a bachelor's in government from George Washington University, a certificate in labor relations from Cornell University, and a master's in business administration from City University in Bellevue, Wash.

Wells Fargo's SBA Lending Group has hired Dan Rundgren as a business development officer to serve customers in the Portland metropolitan area. In his new job, Rundgren will specialize in commercial real estate and business acquisition loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. These loans, with their high leverage and long terms, help businesses expand without tying up precious working capital. Rundgren will also provide loans for working capital, equipment and inventory purchases. Rundgren earned a bachelor's degree from New Mexico University. While living previously in Colorado he volunteered for the YMCA and was awarded a lifetime membership by the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. MARKETING The Frause Group, a Northwest-based public relations, marketing and business analysis firm, has hired Krista Hildebrand as the managing director at the firm's Portland office. Hildebrand brings 23 years of marketing communications experience to The Frause Group. Prior to joining Frause, she served as the general manager of Rockey Hill & Knowlton's Portland office and was vice president at The Coates Agency. She currently serves on the boards of the Oregon Downtown Development Association and Oregon HEAT and is a member of the City Club of Portland and the Portland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

TAOW Productions has hired Kris "Jaymo" Jamieson and Jeff Guettler to its internal staff of marketing professionals. Jamieson brings a unique combination of corporate marketing experience and direct "core" lifestyle credentials to TAOW Productions. Guettler's extensive business development experience related to corporate finance and investment are vital to TAOW's ability to evaluate experiential marketing opportunities and ensuring client objectives are soundly met. Jamieson, a two-time national snowboarding champion, world cup competitor and former professional skateboarder has also served as marketing consultant for such companies as Nike, Swatch and VonZipper Eyewear. He currently continues his snowboarding legacy as the host of the Winter XGames, broadcasting on ABC and ESPN. Guettler served as business development and marketing manager for a Global 50 corporation, facilitating high-profile corporate investment and financing and acquisition transitions for branded consumer goods clients. Over the past 15 years, his work has included strategic behind-the-scenes negotiations with such notable companies as Procter & Gamble, Pepsico, Nike, Columbia Sportswear and others.

REAL ESTATE C&R Real Estate Services Co. has promoted Michelle Maltase to the position of senior associate broker. She has been with C&R since 2000 and was a top producer in 2006. Maltase specializes in investment sales.

SENDING PACESETTERS ITEMS: Please send your announcements to pacesetters@djcOregon.com.

Hartford Courant, February 13, 2007, Tuesday

Hartford Courant

Unions Could Target State's Tribal Casinos
February 13, 2007
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-foxwoods0213.artfeb13,0,7823050.story?coll=hc-headlines-business



By MARK PETERS, Courant Staff Writer

Labor unions are poised to turn their attention to the state's massive tribal casinos now that a federal court has sided with dealers, cocktail servers and other gaming employees.

In particular, Foxwoods Resort Casino, which was the target of unsuccessful union organizing efforts in the past and has been the subject of recent employee unrest, could again become a focus, according to people familiar with the issue - including key state and union officials.

ADVERTISEMENT

SPONSORED LINKS
"I think it's going to have an immediate effect. ... Unions will start getting in there," said State Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, co-chairwoman of the labor committee, whose district includes Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Friday that tribes, though sovereign governments, must follow the National Labor Relations Act, which gives workers the right to organize and bargain collectively.

The ruling, which could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, comes as some of Foxwoods' more than 11,000 employees have clashed with casino management over wages, benefits and working conditions. An anonymous group organized a sickout over the New Year's holiday. Casino management disbanded an employee council.

A website set up by disgruntled Foxwoods employees - www.madatfoxwoods.com - has comments posted on it about unionizing at the casino.

Organizing efforts at Foxwoods, chiefly by the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union in the late 1990s, failed. UNITE HERE, its successor union, has about 5,000 members at tribal casinos in California.

Connecticut AFL-CIO President John W. Olsen says his office is receiving inquires from various locals about organizing at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, which both rank among the state's largest employers.

"It is interesting. Right now I am not sure how it is all going to shake out," he said.

A Foxwoods tribal spokesman declined to comment on the prospects of union organizing efforts at the casino.

Although Foxwoods may be a likely target, and some are calling the federal court ruling a landmark decision, any union would face major challenges at the Connecticut casinos.

First, the appellate court decision could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians of California. That tribe had challenged a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that it had to follow federal labor law.

In the past, murkiness over the application of federal law on tribal lands has made unionizing difficult, and an appeal could prolong that problem, union officials said.

"The appeals process needs to be finished and dealt with," said Jack Gribbon, California political director for UNITE HERE.

He declined to say whether the union is discussing trying to organize at Foxwoods, saying it does not talk about plans to avoid tipping off management.

Besides the possible appeal, there are larger, more general challenges to organizing workers. Federal labor law favors management during the organizing process, making it difficult to get employees who are fearful of losing their jobs to join in, said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

Most of the benefits of federal labor law, she added, don't come until after the union is formed.

With or without last week's ruling, Olsen, the state AFL-CIO president, said the challenge for organized labor is in the larger issue of reforming federal law.

Still, union officials are talking now about the prospect of adding thousands of members. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who intervened in favor of labor in the federal case, said the ruling was a prime topic of conversation when he talked with labor leaders Monday.

"The first words out of their mouths were, `Have you read the opinion? We need to sit down and talk about it,'" Blumenthal said.

The two Connecticut tribes, the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans, sided with San Manuel Band in the case. Pequot leaders believe the tribe should continue to be treated like state and local governments and not be subject to federal labor law, according to a tribal spokesman.

Tribal leaders for Mohegan Sun were out of state for meetings and hadn't reviewed the ruling, said Charles Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribe.

He said the tribe has not been the subject of union organizing efforts in the past and continues to diligently address employees' concerns and provide the best pay and benefit packages.

Contact Mark Peters at mrpeters@courant.com.

The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York), February 12, 2007, Monday

Copyright 2007 Post-Standard

All Rights Reserved

All Rights Reserved.

The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)

February 12, 2007 Monday

FINAL EDITION

SECTION: CNY; Pg. D8

HEADLINE: YOUR HEALTH RIGHTS AT WORK

SERIES: Daily Dose

BYLINE: By Jim O'Hara Staff writer

BODY:

With health insurance costs for businesses rising and companies passing on more costs to employees, both sides might be wondering just what kind of information the boss can ask for about an employee's health.

Mairead E. Connor, currently of counsel to the Chamberlain D'Amanda Oppenheimer & Greenfield law firm, has spent the past 17 years working as a lawyer in the Syracuse area representing unions and individual employees in discrimination claims and employment-related matters.

A former teacher, Connor graduated summa cum laude from the Syracuse University College of Law and attended graduate school at the New York State School of Labor and Industrial Relations at Cornell University.

Here, she offers some insights on the issue.

For a job applicant:

Federal law - the Americans with Disabilities Act - prohibits companies from considering health issues or medical issues before the offer of employment, she said.

A company may not ask about a potential worker's medical history, family medical history, past workers compensation claims or any potential disabilities prior to the offer of a job.

Despite that, questions about past filing of workers compensation claims still pop up on employment questionnaires, she said. That information could wrongly be used by a potential employer to deny a job to someone based on a potential disability.

Job applicants cannot be asked questions about whether they smoke or drink because that information also could be used to determine a potential disability somewhere in the future and to deny a job based on that would be illegal.

For an applicant with a conditional job offer

The same protections from the Americans with Disabilities Act apply, but a company can make a job offer contingent on the applicant passing a physical. That physical can only be related to the specific job being offered.

For example, an employee being hired as a truck driver could be required to pass a physical involving Department of Transportation requirements or to see if he or she can move pallets - if that is required for the job.

"They just can't discriminate against you if it's not related to the job," Connor said.

For an employee already on the job

Things can get more complicated in the relationship between companies and employees who are already on the payroll.

Connor said she can understand the rationale behind a company trying to cut health insurance costs by having employees participate in preventive health programs, "but that's an untested legal area."

The issue is the accessibility of the information provided by an employee about his or her health and background.

If the company is using some outside health-based company to gather that information, it should not be available to the employer, and it should never be kept with an employee's personnel file at the company, she said.

"They have the right to ask, but they cannot see the information," she said. "They have no right to know your medical history or your family's medical history."

It would be illegal for a company to use that information to pass on higher premium rates to individual employees, but it would be different if the entire employee base was being asked to share the greater cost, she added.

"Most employment attorneys would agree that's legal because the employees are all being treated the same," Connor said.

It could be a problem if a company used an employee's refusal to participate in a preventive health program as a basis for passing on higher health insurance costs but that's an area of law that has not been tested, she said.

What's the main obligation of the employee?

It's simple: Always tell the truth.

"You have an obligation to be honest," she said. And company policies frequently have a provision about employee dishonesty that would allow giving false information to be considered misconduct that would warrant not offering a job or terminating employment.

Charleston Gazette (West Virginia), February 11, 2007, Sunday

Copyright 2007 Charleston Newspapers

Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)

February 11, 2007, Sunday

SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. P1E

HEADLINE: Family unfriendly;

American workers are too intimidated to join unions

BYLINE: Rick Wilson

BODY:

Something strange is happening in the American workplace. The percentage of U.S. workers who belong to unions declined from 12.5 percent to 12 percent last year.

That in itself is no surprise as good jobs continue to be a major U.S. export, thanks in part to bad trade deals that create a global race to the bottom.

The weird part is that polling data from samples conducted in December 2006 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates indicated that 60 million U.S. workers would join a union if they could.

Sixty million would get those percentage figures heading north again. And it would help promote shared prosperity and give the currently squeezed middle class some breathing room.

By the numbers, union members earn about 30 percent more per week than non-union workers. (Broken down, it's 31 percent more for women, 36 percent more for African Americans and 46 percent more for Latinos.)

Eighty percent of union members have employer-provided health insurance, compared with 49 percent of nonunion workers. Nearly 70 percent have defined benefit pensions, compared with about 14 percent of nonunion workers. Union members tend to have more days of paid vacation and short-term disability benefits as well.

Those are the kind of things that promote stable families and communities.

So what's keeping people from joining? In a few words, the answer is intimidation, retaliation and threats.

A survey of National Labor Relations Board election campaigns conducted by Kate Bronfenbrenner of Cornell University conducted in 1998 and 1999 found that private sector employers illegally fire workers for union activity in at least 25 percent of all organizing drives.

Firing or the threat of it is the most serious kind of intimidation. Other forms include forced meetings, threats to close, discipline, etc. In the Bronfenbrenner study, employers force workers to attend anti-union group presentations in 92 percent of all campaigns and half threaten to completely or partially shut down.

Last fall, Brent Garren, a senior associate counsel for UNITE HERE told a congressional subcommittee last September that 79 percent of workers agreed workers are "very" or "somewhat" likely to be fired for trying to form a union.

More recently, the Center for Economic and Policy Research found a steep rise in illegal firings since the year 2000 in relation to the last half of the 1990s. Often, these firings are not random. Rather, they tend to target workers who stick out their proverbial necks to organize.

According to the Center, "By 2005, pro-union workers involved in union election campaigns faced about a 1.8 percent chance of being illegally fired during the course of the campaign. If we assume that employers target union organizers and activists, and that union organizers and activists make up about 10 percent of pro-union workers, our estimates suggest that almost one-in-five union organizers or activists can expect to be fired as a result of their activities in a union election campaign."

Many fired workers don't bother seeking justice through the NLRB, where the wait is long and the gains are few.

There is a remedy now being considered by Congress. The Employee Free Choice Act, which has about 230 co-sponsors from both parties in the House, would establish stronger penalties for companies that violate workers' rights when they seek to organize, provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes, and allow employees to join unions by signing cards authorizing the union to represent them.

Many religious traditions support the right of workers to form unions and have issued strong statements to that effect. My favorite is from "Economic Justice for All," a pastoral letter of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1986) which states that "No one may deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity itself."

In 2005, a number of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including the Dalai Lama, the Rev. Desmond Tutu, former Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and former President Jimmy Carter, issued a statement calling on every nation, including this one, to "truly protect and defend workers' rights, including the right to form unions and bargain collectively."

Restoring the right of workers to organize would go a long way toward restoring the balance in this country and helping to create an economy that works for everyone.

Wilson is director of the WV Economic Justice Project and publishes The Goat Rope, a daily public affairs blog: www.goatrope.blogspot.com.

Buffalo News (New York), February 10, 2007, Saturday

Copyright 2007 Buffalo News

Buffalo News (New York)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

February 10, 2007 Saturday

SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS

HEADLINE: Buffalo's role in film industry seen having growth potential

BYLINE: Sharon Linstedt, The Buffalo News, N.Y.

BODY:

Feb. 10--New York State's film industry is in a solid position for economic gains, and Buffalo-area actors and technicians also stand to benefit.

That was the message dozens of local film, television and commercial production workers heard from a panel of industry and economic experts Friday, in a first-of-its-kind session sponsored by Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School and the Fiscal Policy Institute.

"The film industry is one of the best economic engines around and the potential for it beyond downstate is very real," said Patricia Kaufman, executive director of the Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development.

Kaufman and other panel members detailed the findings of a new report, "New York's Big Picture," which sizes up the fiscal health of the state's film industry and spots trends that affect its continued growth.

Among the key findings of the report are that New York is second only to California in the production of movies, television programs and commercials, a status that is being aided by recently instituted state tax incentives for New York-based projects. In terms of bottom-line economic impact, the report pegs the industry's statewide direct contribution at $13 billion, with spin-off revenues of about $38 billion.

And while Buffalo's take in that is minuscule compared to New York City, there has been quantifiable growth and it has the potential to continue.

Susan Christopherson, a Cornell professor and panel member, emphasized that film and television conglomerates are putting more emphasis on project costs than ever before, a factor that opens the door to less expensive venues, like Buffalo.

But, the film industry representatives were told they'll need to work collaboratively to reap the greatest benefit, emphasising the breadth of local talent and services and creating critical mass. The session's question-and-answer section included a lively dialogue on common problems, hurdles and interests, which Tim Clark, Buffalo and Erie County film commissioner, said should be a starting point for more networking.

"Shame on us if we don't have a second, third and fourth get-together like this. There was great dialogue and we need to keep everybody connected," Clark said.

One idea that gained quick consensus among those in the room was establishment of a local film arts center to act as a physical venue for what is by nature an individual and fragmented industry.

Although just 5 years old, the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission was cited by several of the attendees as a major step forward in attracting regional, national and international projects to Western New York. In 2002, its first year of operation, the one-person film office counted 17 projects, a number that swelled to more than 60 in 2006.

While high-profile feature film shoots for "The Savages" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" attracted attention, the list of recent local projects also includes independent films "Buffalo Bushido" and the "Dissection of Thanksgiving;" A&E's as-yet untitled reality dating series, which will debut in April; and commercials for Reebok and Allstate insurance.

e-mail: slinstedt@buffnews.com

Copyright (c) 2007, The Buffalo News, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.