Chicago Tribune (Illinois), July 18, 2007, Wednesday

Copyright 2007 Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune (Illinois)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

July 18, 2007 Wednesday

SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS

HEADLINE: Wal-Mart cast as dark lord: Organized labor uses Harry Potter parody in viral marketing campaign against giant retailer

BYLINE: Sandra M. Jones, Chicago Tribune

BODY:

Jul. 18--The Ministry of Magic is paying Waldemart to build a store at Hogwarts. The giant corporation has bulldozed Hagrid's hut and turned the Quidditch pitch into a parking lot. The small shops in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are in danger of shutting down.

And, what's that, Lord Waldemart in a black cape with a yellow smiley face?

Is this some twisted scene from the latest "Harry Potter" installment? Hardly.

Welcome, instead, to organized labor's pitch to the YouTube crowd.

This latest effort takes on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. via a viral marketing campaign that spoofs the wildly popular Harry Potter series just as the fifth Potter film debuted to a record box office last week and the seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," is set to debut at midnight Friday with a record-setting first run of 12-million copies, many of which will be sold in Wal-Marts.

Wal-Mart Watch, the Service Employees International Union-backed group that has dogged Wal-Mart for the past two years, is changing tactics, using humor to get its message across to a new generation of potential activists who are more accustomed to browsing online video sites such as YouTube than walking in a picket line. It's the second time the group has launched a parody -- the first debuted on YouTube in October -- and it's the first time it set up a Web site to poke fun at the company it tried and failed to organize.

"Unions are still struggling with their image, but they've gotten way better at marketing," said Richard Hurd, professor of labor studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. "The timing is perfect, and it's very creative."

Earlier this month on video-sharing site YouTube, the group launched a three-minute video, "Harry Potter and the Dark Lord Waldemart, Part 2," that parodies the labor and business practices of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. The accompanying Web site, WaldemartWatch.com, tells the story of Harry, Ron and Hermoine fighting the evil Lord Waldemart from taking over the wizarding world, discriminating against giants and other minorities and treating the hard-working house elves unfairly.

The video mimics the trailer to the latest Potter movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which opened July 11 with a one-day box office take of $44.8 million, a record for a Wednesday debut. Andrew Slack, a comedian and activist, spent hours studying the Potter film trailer before writing the script with fellow actors at the Boston-based comedy troupe The Late Night Players. The troupe rushed to produce the film in less than a month, so it would be ready before the Potter madness crescendoed this week.

"I'm a big believer in the power of humor to create social change and get the message out there," said Slack, 28. "In this YouTube era, viral marketing is a great way to spread the message. We don't want anyone feeling that they're being lectured at. We want to break away from that to what they're interested in, and humans tend to be interested in laughing."

Slack, who plays the evil Lord Waldemart in the video, is also founder and executive director of the Harry Potter Alliance, a 2-year-old online human-rights organization that connects Harry Potter fans to social justice causes. Slack got the idea to start the organization after reading that author J.K. Rowling, before she became famous, investigated human-rights abuses in Africa as a researcher at Amnesty International.

Wal-Mart, for its part, has its own publicity machine in motion, preparing for Friday's unveiling of the final Harry Potter book with midnight Potter parties at all 24-hour Wal-Marts and rallying fans to take a "pledge" at MakeThePledge.net not to divulge the ending of the book.

"Speaking of spells, the film is full of misinformation except for one part -- our commitment to low prices and saving people money so they can live better," said Melissa O'Brien, spokeswoman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart.

The Waldemart video had 10,000 hits a day, according to Wal-Mart Watch spokesman Nu Wexler. The YouTube link had generated 8,800 hits as of Tuesday night. The first Waldemart video had 457,000 hits in October on YouTube.

Just how popular the latest Wal-Mart spoof will ultimately be is hard to say. Wal-Mart Watch is banking that, at minimum, the video was a low-cost way to "talk to an audience that otherwise wouldn't be engaged in these issues," said Wexler.

"The power of this stuff is that it isn't that expensive to do and if it catches on it can have a substantial impact," said Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Evanston. "Most of them don't go anywhere, but if something does capture the imagination, it can go far beyond what you can buy in the media."

--

smjones@tribune.com

To see more of the Chicago Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.chicagotribune.com. Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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.

Market Wire, July 18, 2007, Wednesday

Copyright 2007 Market Wire, Incorporated

All Rights Reserved

Market Wire

July 18, 2007 Wednesday 1:48 PM GMT

HEADLINE: Dr. John Boudreau, Author and Champion of Talent Supply Chain Management, Joins Blue Chip Expert's Board of Directors

DATELINE: SILICON VALLEY, CA; Jul 18, 2007

BODY:

Blue Chip Expert, the premier online job site for top-tier professionals, announced the appointment of Dr. John Boudreau to its Board of Directors. Dr. Boudreau is recognized worldwide for breakthrough research on the bridge between superior human capital, talent and sustainable competitive advantage.

"John brings a tremendous perspective as a Board member of Blue Chip Expert. His work on bringing Supply Chain Management theory to the identification and sourcing of professional talent complements our business model of delivering top-talent, quickly and efficiently, to companies in need," noted Scott Langmack, CEO of Blue Chip Expert.

Dr. Boudreau is professor of management and organization at USC's Marshall School of Business and the research director at USC's Center for Effective Organizations. He has recently released a new book, "Beyond HR: The New Science of Human Capital," co-authored with Peter Ramstad, published by the Harvard Business School Press. Some of Boudreau's other works include the best-selling textbook "Human Resource Management," published in multiple languages worldwide. His research noted above received the Academy of Management's New Concept and Human Resource Scholarly Contribution awards. He consults extensively with clients such as Baxter, Corning, Electronic Arts, Hewlett-Packard, Novartis, the U.S. Navy, and others. Prior to joining USC, he was Professor and Director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University.

"Blue Chip Expert's model of leveraging the premier professional organizations and social networking to identify and aggregate top-tier professionals is like no other. When matched with the ability for companies to develop a pipeline of top talent for hard to find roles, they are taking talent sourcing to a new level. I look forward to being an active Board member and helping them succeed."

About Blue Chip Expert

Founded in 2005, Blue Chip Expert is the premier talent source representing tens of thousands of professionals from top companies and universities. Blue Chip Expert matches the top caliber professionals with companies around the world, in a quick and cost effective manner, by leveraging Blue Chip Expert's patented search technology. Blue Chip Expert, an invitation-only site, sets itself apart from the competition as it offers an exclusive community and creates precise professional connections based on personal service. For more information, visit us at www.BlueChipExpert.com

Media contact:

Duncan Egan

Email Contact

650-292-7202

SOURCE: Blue Chip Expert

The Washington Post, July 16, 2007, Monday

Copyright 2007 The Washington Post

All Rights Reserved

The Washington Post

July 16, 2007 Monday

Suburban Edition

SECTION: METRO; Pg. B06

DISTRIBUTION: Maryland

HEADLINE: Obituaries

BODY:

...

Michael Thomas Lescault Union Official

Michael Thomas Lescault, 60, the deputy executive director of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, died July 3 of a carotid aneurysm at Prince George's Hospital Center. He lived in Cheverly.

Mr. Lescault had worked as a labor advocate since 1975. He was a union organizer with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in New Hampshire. In 1980, he joined the AFL-CIO African American Labor Center and lived in Botswana and Lesotho, advising trade unions in those countries and South Africa.

He moved to the Washington area in 1986 and continued working with the AFL-CIO. He was the union's European liaison, based in Paris, from 1995 to 1998.

Since 1998, he had worked with the Solidarity Center as director of program reporting and evaluation. He was named deputy executive director in December.

Mr. Lescault was born in Holyoke, Mass., studied at Drew University in New Jersey and was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts. He served in the Army and was a Vietnam veteran. He received a master's degree in labor and industrial relations from Cornell University in 1975.

Survivors include his wife of 39 years, Liz Lescault of Cheverly; a son, Matthew Lescault of Riverdale Park; his mother, Ellie Lescault of Holyoke; and four brothers, Guy Lescault of Washington and Atlanta, Tom Lescault of Phoenix, Jim Lescault of Springfield, Mass., and John Lescault of Silver Spring.

-- Matt Schudel

News & Record (Greensboro, NC), July 14, 2007, Saturday

Copyright 2007 News & Record (Greensboro, NC)

All Rights Reserved

News & Record (Greensboro, NC)

July 14, 2007 Saturday

Rockingham Zone Edition

SECTION: TRIAD; Pg. B2

HEADLINE: Smithfield maneuvers to hold vote

DATELINE: RALEIGH

BODY:

RALEIGH - About a half dozen employees of the world's largest hog slaughterhouse carried several boxes of letters to a Raleigh post office Friday, saying more than half of their 5,000 co-workers are asking for a union vote.

"We're tired of being harassed," said Dorothy Walters, who said supporters of the United Food and Commercial Workers International union have repeatedly called her home and come to her door asking for her support.

The delivery was the latest public exchange between Smithfield Foods and the union, which has been trying to organize the plant for more than a decade. The union has declined to hold a vote, saying Smithfield can't hold a fair election, pointing to a history of worker abuse and election meddling.

Union supporters want a card-check vote, which would force the company to recognize a union if the group can get more than half of employees to sign a card.

On Monday, roughly 4,230 rank-and-file plant employees attended a meeting where management offered them a chance to sign letters addressed to the union's president, Joe Hansen. Smithfield spokesman Dennis Pittman said managers showed employees a box and a trash can before leaving the room, then allowed employees to decide where to place the letters.

More than 2,900 employees - or 70 percent of those in attendance - signed the letter asking for a vote, Pittman said.

"The employees have spoken - and it has nothing to do with whether they want the union or not," Pittman said. "They say that they want this over with."

But union organizers questioned the circumstances of the meeting, saying the gathering was unfairly "coercive" and that much of it was conducted in sight of management.

Smithfield employee Keith Ludlum said the company asked people to sign the letters after showing an anti-union video that discussed how boycotts hurt the company.

"The UFCW wants workers to have a free and fair choice," Gene Bruskin, who oversees the union's efforts to organize the Smithfield plant, said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, Smithfield has not shown itself to be capable of doing that."

Smithfield employees process up to 32,000 hogs a day at the sprawling plant in Tar Heel, a tiny town about 80 miles south of Raleigh.

Union activists have used the plant as a rallying cry for card-check organizing.

Their efforts also drew attention in June, when Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards met with union-aligned workers and held a news conference to highlight their cause.

Earlier this year, Smithfield reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board and agreed to pay $1.1 million in back wages, plus interest, to employees fired by the company during union elections held in 1993 and 1997.

"Given the experience the union's had there, you can understand strategically why they are calling for something other than a secret ballot election," said Richard Hurd, a professor of labor studies at Cornell University. "It's been somewhat of a tainted environment."

Hurd, who serves as a consultant for several union organizations, said card-check is a more private process that allows workers to talk with each other one-on-one.

"Card-check doesn't work that well without neutrality, but it's better than an election held at the workplace," he said.

GRAPHIC:

Gerry Broome/The Associated Press

Chauncey Morgan (left) and a delegation of Smithfield Foods employees deliver boxes of letters Friday to a post office in Raleigh. Smithfield workers delivered nearly 3,000 letters calling for a union election.

Business Wire, July 13, 2007, Friday

Copyright 2007 Business Wire, Inc.

Business Wire

July 13, 2007 Friday 9:30 AM GMT

DISTRIBUTION: Business Editors

HEADLINE: Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Work Place Report is a Must-Have Source That Attorneys and Human Resources Professionals Can Turn to for Up-to-Date Information

DATELINE: DUBLIN, Ireland

BODY:

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62618) has announced the addition of "Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Work Place" to their offering.

Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Work Place provides complete coverage of legal and practical problems from both employers' and employees' points of view. It is a must-have source that attorneys and human resources professionals can turn to for up-to-date information.

You'll learn how employers can protect themselves against the numerous pitfalls that could result in litigation, what human resources professionals can do to develop policies and procedures to reduce the risk of liability and how attorneys for both sides can develop a winning trial strategy.

Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Work Place covers such important topics as: the Family and Medical Leave Act; the development of sex discrimination and sexual harassment statutes; how federal and state legislation affects attorneys and clients; "glass ceiling" and "glass wall" issues in professional and academic settings; pregnancy discrimination, childcare leave and benefits, including the certification requirements an employer may impose; precondition for, duration of, and reinstatement after a leave; the scope and application of the Equal Pay Act; the Federal Arbitration Act; attorneys' fees and attorney-client privilege; the Rape Shield statute; the Title VII ministerial exemption; tenure statute of limitations problems; "continuing violation" standards; and EEOC complaint verification.

Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Work Place features analysis of current concerns, accompanied by tips, tricks and traps for plaintiffs' and defendants' counsel and human resource managers.

This book is updated as needed, generally two times each year.

About the Authors:

Mr. Solotoff is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He represents employers and employees and acts as lead trial counsel in all aspects of labor and employment law litigation. He was chairman of many bar association labor and employment law committees on national, regional and local levels, and has been a frequent guest lecturer and presenter.

Henry S. Kramer is an Attorney-Consultant at ConsultKramer of Ithaca, New York. He is also a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University's New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, where he has taught collective bargaining and labor law. Mr. Kramer has been involved in the practice of human resources and labor law throughout his managerial career, including serving as Cornell University's Director of Employee Relations, and as Corporate Manager of Labor Relations and Legal Services and as Human Resources In-house Counsel for BASF Wyandotte. He has frequently served as Chief Spokesman in labor contract negotiations.

For more information, visithttp://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62618

The Daily Record of Rochester (Rochester, NY), July 12, 2007, Thursday

Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires

The Daily Record of Rochester (Rochester, NY)

July 12, 2007 Thursday

SECTION: NEWS

HEADLINE: Rochester-based Harris, Chesworth, O'Brien, Johnstone names first African-American female partner

BYLINE: Tara E. Buck

BODY:

LaMarr Jackson now has the distinction of being the first African-American female partner at a major area law firm.

The partners of Harris, Chesworth, O'Brien, Johnstone, Welch & Leone, LLP, elected Jackson to a partnership, which was made official July 1.

Jackson came to practice law later in life, having first earned a master's degree in education in 1974 from SUNY at Brockport, and her decision to attend law school was not an easy one, she recalled at her Linden Oaks office on Monday.

"I had only two weeks to prepare," she said, chuckling.

Jackson had been working in 1989 as the Affirmative Action Minority Business Coordinator for Monroe County under then-County Executive Lucian Warren when she was wait-listed at SUNY at Buffalo School of Law. She was weighing an offer to become a deputy director of the newly-formed Division of Minority and Women Business Enterprise for former Gov. Mario Cuomo's administration. And she was out of town for a meeting when her secretary received a call from UB Law's associate dean.

"She called and said, 'The dean of the law school called. They have an opening and they need to know by Monday. '"

"I had a weekend of, 'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?'" Jackson said. "I talked to my family. I talked to my mentor, [Cornell University professor] Jean McKelvey, and then I said, 'OK. ' I called them back on Monday morning and I showed up with my deposit and had exactly two weeks to find a place, to make arrangements for someone to move into my house and find an apartment. The rest, as they say, is history. "

Jackson's parents, Edward and Sylvia Jackson, live in Churchville and they and other family members helped her to raise the niece she has raised as her own daughter, now 18.

"I was very blessed. My parents were in good health, my sister was available. I had a whole network of support from family and friends who said 'Just do it,' and I did it. I somewhat amazed myself because, at that time, you couldn't get a loan for law school and I had worked right up until two days before I started class. I exhausted my life's savings to go to law school, and it was interesting. I left a full-time position and stepped out on faith. I can say I enjoyed it. "

Jackson counts her parents as mentors, along with her uncle, Lloyd Hurst, a pioneering attorney in Rochester who now lives in North Carolina.

The late Jean and Blake McKelvey "were very close to me, kind of like a set of grandparents," Jackson noted. (In 1947, Jean was one of the founders of Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations; her husband, Blake, was a City of Rochester historian.)

Throughout her "second career," or "BLS" - before law school - as Jackson likes to say, she also has relied on assistance and advice from Judges Patricia Marks and Evelyn Frazee, women she said she admires and respects, and who provided encouragement.

"Now I can't imagine doing anything else," Jackson said when asked whether she made the right decision.

The significance of her partnership is not lost on Jackson, although she is quick to point to the successful career of attorney Michelle A. Hutchinson, a founding partner of the firm Brown & Hutchinson.

More women, minority partners "probably should be par for the course, but it isn't yet because I don't think there are that many. There are women partners, yes, but not minority women partners. ... It's still something that's not in the ordinary and, until it becomes part of the ordinary, I think it is something that is still outstanding. I think it's good for the community as a whole to see this and, in particular, the minority community because then they realize there's an opportunity still for growth," she said.

"T. Andrew Brown is going to become the next president of the Monroe County Bar Association, that's a first in this community for an African-American. ... There are some people who may say, 'Well, it's about time,' but, for many people, it's all about the timing. It's a coming together of skills, qualifications and opportunity and I think that's what happened here at Harris Chesworth. "

Jackson began working of counsel to the firm in August 2005, and she serves as the town attorney for the Town of Riga, as a Hearing Examiner for the City of Rochester and as an arbitrator for the Rochester City Small Claims Court. She holds a graduate certificate from the Cornell University School of Industrial Labor Relations.

Jackson is admitted to practice in the federal courts, Connecticut and New York. Her practice also is centered on matrimonial/family law and criminal law.

Jackson has taught law for more than 14 years, and actually went to law school in order to teach because doing so enabled maintaining a "neutral" status in terms of her work as an arbitrator. For many years she was an adjunct faculty member at SUNY Brockport, Cornell University School of Industrial Labor Relations and Rochester Institute of Technology and was an assistant professor at St. John Fisher College.

She is a member of the MCBA, where she has served on the judiciary, membership, fee arbitration and diversity committees, as well as the Rochester Black Bar Association, the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

In the fall, she is running on the Republican ticket for the office of Henrietta town justice.

Jackson left behind a successful practice of her own to join Harris Chesworth because it became increasingly difficult for her, as a solo, to "keep and maintain everything you need for clients. Their needs change and their demands change. "

She holds a great deal of respect for the firm and its partners, she said, and takes pride in her affiliation with them.

"It's exciting because the firm is growing and I work with a group of great attorneys from every aspect. "

She also appreciates the ways in which the firm is mindful of family needs and how fellow attorneys there help each other when family-realted duties call.

"The men in the firm also spend time with their families," Jackson said. "I think that's the advantage of being in a firm of this size. ... I think all of the partners have children, some have teenagers like I do. I've had flexibility with class schedules, with picking [her daughter] up, being able to spend time doing school activities. The firm has been very good to me. "

Such flexibility is important for the success of women attorneys, especially, Jackson noted, regardless of their race.

"Women, in general, have more on their plates. If it's not child care, it could be family care, a partner or a spouse may need to be taken care of. Or perhaps family events sometimes dictate where and when a woman is at a certain point in her career, like a relocation.

"I think women as a whole don't sometimes have the opportunity [to become partners] but they also don't have as much flexibility, and that's key when you're practicing law and you're on a partnership track. You have to be flexible. It means working nights, it means working weekends. When you do trials, you don't have the luxury of saying, 'I can't be here until eight o'clock. ' You have to work hard and it does mean sacrifice. "

She said that women have more career options today with a law degree than they did in the past, and that also is a factor in how many women seek the partnership track.

"You can teach. You can do mediation, arbitration. You could write. You could do just appeal work from home. I think, in the past, those options weren't there for women, but they're now being explored. Women are no longer pigeon-holed into only being on a partner track or not and 10 years ago that wasn't the case," Jackson said.

Such flexibility is "vital," she noted, "because you can be a good attorney ... and people will no longer look at your gender or your race. What they will look at is, 'This is a good attorney I want on my side representing me in court,' and, when it comes down to it at the end of the day, that's what it's about. "

The Times Union (Albany, New York), July 12, 2007, Thursday

Copyright 2007 The Hearst Corporation

All Rights Reserved

The Times Union (Albany, New York)

July 12, 2007 Thursday

1 EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. C1

HEADLINE: Ruling lets graduate students form a union;

Labor activists at UAlbany cheer federal decision that reverses earlier finding by regional director

BYLINE: By MARC PARRY Staff Writer

BODY:

ALBANY - Labor activists broke out banners and balloons Wednesday to celebrate a ruling that allows some graduate student research assistants to unionize.

They rallied at the University at Albany to cheer a decision that directly affects about 2,000 employees of the Research Foundation of the State University of New York working in Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse. The private nonprofit foundation administers outside grants for sponsored research programs at SUNY. The employees affected by the case are enrolled at SUNY but draw their paychecks from the foundation, a union leader said.

The ruling by the National Labor Relations Board focused on whether the student assistants have a fundamentally economic or educational relationship to their employer.

The board reversed the deci sion of a regional director who had ruled the research assistants are not employees of the foundation, meaning they would not qualify for collective-bargaining rights.

Graduate students have shouldered more and more of universities' day-to-day work over the past 20 years. The new ruling represents "a rare expansion of bargaining rights for graduate students under the current labor board, appointed by President Bush," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which closely tracks college labor issues.

"It's a victory for graduate students across the country," Arindam Mandal of Communications Workers of America Local 1104 said through a megaphone during a noon rally that drew fewer than 20 people.

The decision contrasts with a major ruling handed down by the NLRB in a related case three years ago. The board ruled then that graduate teaching assistants at Brown University lack collective-bargaining rights under the National Labor Relations Act because they are students rather than employees.

One Cornell University labor expert argued that the new development opens the door to an appeal of the original ruling and is "the kind of decision that the board will regret because they have muddied their own waters quite significantly."

"People might think it's a small decision, but I think it's an important decision because it lays bare the contradictions in the earlier decision," said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Marc Parry can be reached at 454-5057 or by e-mail at mparry@timesunion.com

GRAPHIC: Photo

PHILIP KAMRASS/TIMES UNION JOE FOX of the Capital District Area Labor Federation speaks Wednesday as UAlbany graduate student Arindam Mandal holds a megaphone. PHILIP KAMRASS/TIMES UNION UNION MEMBERS and UAlbany graduate students, from left, Chitrakalpa Sen, Siddhartha Chattopadhyay and Arindam Mandal celebrate their newly won freedom to organize a union.

The New York Times, July 9, 2007, Monday

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

The New York Times

July 9, 2007 Monday

Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section B; Column 0; Classified; Pg. 5

HEADLINE: Paid Notice: Deaths NOONAN, JOHN J., ''JACK'

BODY:

NOONAN--John J., ''Jack'', of New York City, passed away Friday morning with family by his side at the age of 73 due to complications from a stroke. Born December 2, 1933. Loving husband of Teresa for 37 years, beloved father of James, John Jr., and Michael, brother of Kathleen Newberger, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He served in the U.S. Naval Air Force during the Korean War. Proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 3, Jack studied Labor Relations at Cornell University and served as Chairman of the Elevator Division for many years. His love, wisdom, and stories will be missed greatly. Visitation Monday and Tuesday 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm at Arlington Benson Dowd Funeral Home, 8315 Parsons Blvd, Jamaica, NY, (718) 658-4434. Funeral service Wednesday 9:30 am at St. Nicholas of Tolentine R.C. Church, 150-75 Goethals Ave, Jamaica, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Stroke Association.

URL: http://www.nytimes.com

The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), July 8, 2007, Sunday

Copyright 2007 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

All Rights Reserved

The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky)

July 8, 2007 Sunday

METRO Edition

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1D

HEADLINE: Tensions high as foundry strike hits second month

BYLINE: Jere Downs jdowns@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal

BODY:

Union's talks for

1st contract stall

By Jere Downs

jdowns@courier-journal.com

{}The Courier-Journal

SHELBYVILLE, Ky. More than a month into a United Steelworkers strike, a stick horse stands sentinel on the picket line outside Ohio Valley Aluminum.

Named for onetime Kentucky Derby hopeful UD Ghetto, the horse represents what striking workers say is wrong at their foundry.

The foundry's owner, Interlock Industries, reported $711 million in revenue from metal fabricating plants and taxicab franchises across the United States last year . Its workers say they lost their estimated $2,500 annual bonus, as well as their longtime Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas dinner and a $25 Kroger holiday gift card.

As the Mackin family of Louisville, the company's owner, was grooming UD Ghetto to win the Kentucky Cup Juvenile race last year, workers who earn on average $15 an hour tending blast furnaces and sawing aluminum ingots voted last August to unionize.

"About the time they cut our holiday dinners, they posted a picture of the horse in the break room," 64-year-old trucker Harold Johnson said. "That is why we got our own horse out front."

While the union triumphed in a 62-22 vote in August, contract negotiations broke down and a strike began June 1.

Striking workers want all employees to join the United Steelworkers and pay dues.

Interlock Industries management presided over by brothers Jeffrey, Michael, Jay and Craig Mackin want none of that.

"This is the one sticking point," company lawyer Edwin S. Hopson said. The Mackin family "feels strongly that employees should not force people to join."

Now workers and management are locked in a struggle over a first contract, a battle that foils 40 percent of new unions nationwide, Cornell University labor professor Richard W. Hurd said.

Half-century-old labor laws require only that an employer bargain in good faith. The National Labor Relations Act imposes no limits or penalties to ensure a contract is reached after workers democratically vote to join a union. Just last month, changes proposed for that national labor law stumbled.

The Employee Free Choice Act requires unions and management to submit to binding arbitration within months after bargaining begins, among other measures. The new law passed the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the law fell nine votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed to proceed to a final vote.

There is little likelihood that the Employee Free Choice Act will see action before the presidential election, Hurd said. The Mackins' objection to an all-union shop "demonstrates they really don't want a union at all," he added.

Across the street from the plant just off Interstate 64, United Steelworkers Local 1693 members are digging in.

"We are at war," said local president Kevin Baird, in his fourth term representing about 2,000 steelworkers at plants around Louisville. "This is the worst company I have dealt with in 15 years. They've got deep pockets. They are tyrants."

Privately owned Interlock Industries does not disclose profits. The firm's Web site boasts revenues have grown from $290 million in 2000, when patriarch Joseph Leo Mackin Jr. died, to $711 million in 2006.

Of that, 55 percent of revenue comes from Ohio Valley Aluminum plants in Shelbyville, Boonville, Ind., and Niles, Ohio. The Mackin family derives 41 percent of revenue from sheet-metal manufacturing of roofing, gutters and siding. The rest comes from Yellow Cab services in the Kentucky cities of Louisville, Owensboro and Hopkinsville, plus Indianapolis.

Still, last year was a tough year and annual bonuses had to go, Hopson added.

"It is not like they put hundreds of millions in their pocket," he said of the Mackins, who also operate the Lucky Seven Stable in Ocala, Fla., and the Mackin Foundation in Louisville. "Last year was a horrible year for Ohio Valley Aluminum. The company was losing money."

Good-paying jobs are scarce in Shelby County. Until Leo Mackin died, longtime workers say, employee relations with management were healthy.

"When the old man was living, we got treated good," said Donald Jamison, 69, a forklift driver who said he has worked at the plant for 50 years.

John Young, 43, made $14.64 an hour pouring molten aluminum in the plant, where the temperature on the shop floor runs 110 degrees, he said. Young's paychecks netted him about $1,300 a month, after a $420 health-care deduction for his wife and two children.

"We would get a 3percent raise and our insurance would go up 4percent," Young said.

Tony Mahoney, 36, made $14.10 hourly slicing aluminum ingots for the last decade. He wants sick days, personal days, scheduled breaks and respect.

"I worked 136 days without a day off," Mahoney said. "We got to see our way through it."

As the walkout enters its sixth week, a strike fund keeps picketing workers current on car and house payments, Baird said. The union has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, asserting that Ohio Valley Aluminum has refused to bargain, changed work rules and harassed employees to cross the picket line, among other claims. A union letter-writing blitz to customers also claims the company is shipping poor- quality goods.

Meanwhile, Ohio Valley Aluminum is investigating paint balloons that Hopson said were thrown at aluminum logs hauling out of the plant last Sunday. Court records show the company won a restraining order to limit picket activities and a court order citing Jamison for contempt for following a non-striking worker home.

After Jamison followed his car to a nearby shopping center, pouring operator Ralph O'Neil states in his affidavit that he told Jamison he "could not afford to take off and I needed my insurance."

As workers waited in lawn chairs on the worn grass outside the foundry last week, talk turned to the best place to buy day-old bread and odd jobs like landscaping.

"If Christmastime comes and we are still here, I will begin to get a little worried," trucker Johnson said.

In June, Ohio Valley Aluminum "shipped everything they had an order for," Hopson said.

"For them to criticize our quality is unbelievable," he said. "Their co-workers stayed on the job."

Trucking has been contracted to J.B. Hunt, a non-union firm. Several workers have been crossing the picket line in recent weeks, Hopson added.

"The economic reality is starting to hit home," he said.

Reporter Jere Downs can be reached at (502) 582-4669.

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC; STAFF MAP BY STEVE DURBIN THAT SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE OHIO VALLEY ALUMINUM PLANT IN SHELBYVILLE, KY (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM OR LIBRARY PDF PAGES)

The Observer (England), July 8, 2007, Sunday

Copyright 2007 Guardian Newspapers Limited

All Rights Reserved

The Observer (England)

July 8, 2007

SECTION: OBSERVER COMMENT PAGES; Pg. 12

HEADLINE: Opinion: No Labour man would ever have leapt on this bus

BYLINE: Nick Cohen

BODY:

Labour and Tory politicians used to move in different worlds. The classic career path for a Conservative minister was to accept the relatively low pay of Westminster - low in comparison with what he could have earned in business, that is - as the price of having a say in public life. He would strive to get to the top of the greasy pole and go off to make 'real money' in the City on retirement.

The 20th-century British left watched him with contempt. Trade unionists who had battled the boss class, and middle-class intellectuals with a distaste of spivvery and funny money, had little time for business. Labour politicians found Westminster salaries as good or better than what they could earn as trade union officials or academics. When they left politics many became bureaucrats - Roy Jenkins and Neil Kinnock went to the European Commission - or journalists - Roy Hattersley, Richard Crossman and Harold Wilson's press spokesman Joe Haines - or just retired and wrote their memoirs. These often came in the form of diaries. Crossman's and Barbara Castle's provoked outraged accusations of betrayal and breach of confidence from their contemporaries, and in Crossman's case, government lawyers tried to stop him publishing.

If the same accusations hit Alastair Campbell when his diaries are published, they won't be new, and if his diaries are as shrewd and informative about British government as the diaries of his Seventies predecessors, every historian of the Blair years will thank him. But Campbell isn't just taking publishers' advances; he and his former New Labour colleagues are working for organisations that no 20th-century Labour politician would have gone near.

On Thursday, three days after Campbell's book launch, First Group, who employ him as a 'brand, sports sponsorship and charity consultant', will hold its annual general meeting in Aberdeen. Managers and shareholders will have to pass a picket of low-paid American bus drivers, demanding that the conglomerate respect their human rights. The shareholders may not be as unsympathetic as outsiders might predict - at last year's AGM about 20 per cent voted for a critical motion.

In Britain, First Group is known for running trains and buses. Commuters resent the mediocre performance of the privatised services and taxpayers resent the spending of so much of their money for so little effect on parasitic transport firms. But employees of First Group say it treats them well enough. In the US, however, it is involved in ferocious labour disputes. Unions battle to force the company to recognise them, and have filed dozens of accusations of local managers victimising activists. George Benedict, a bus driver from New York state, will allege to First Group shareholders on Thursday that when he arrived at work with a Teamsters union cap, he was demoted and his hours were cut. Shareholders will get copies of an assessment from Lance Compa, a specialist on international labour law from Cornell University, who says of an American subsidiary that runs yellow school buses: 'It forcefully campaigns against workers who choose union representation, denigrates the union and threatens dire consequences if employees succeed in their organising efforts.'

Campbell isn't the only New Labour supporter working for the conglomerate. Tim Allen, a former colleague in Number 10 who now runs a lobbying firm, advised First Group, although he tells me he has no links with it now. When John Lyons, the Labour MP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden. was thrown out in the 2005 election, he was picked up by First Group and sent to the US to report on its treatment of workers. American unions have learned to be wary of members of the Labour party.

Kim Keller from the Teamsters union described running into Lyons in Baltimore where workers allege that First Group pulled out of a contract to run school buses after they voted to join a union and asked for better health insurance. 'I told him there were many workers who could talk to him. There were rampant violations. He never took us up on it. And he's the guy who's supposed to be monitoring this!'

First Group spokesmen tell me that the unions are always making accusations about its behaviour, but an accusation is not the same as a proven charge. They add that the vote for union recognition had nothing to do with its deci sion to pull out of Baltimore. Meanwhile, Lyons has criticised anti-union behaviour by managers. The point that's worth dwelling on is that in the 20th century no Labour MP or party worker would have cared what First Group spokespersons said. The assurance of their American comrades that this was a union-busting firm that victimised low-paid workers would have been all they needed. Old taboos, not all of them foolish, would have been stirred. Some things weren't done, and this was one of them.

I hope I'm not romanticising the past. Labour voters weren't necessarily better people than Tories. Labour MPs could be just as hypocritical, corrupt, vain, dunderheaded, prejudiced, incompetent, feckless and delusional as their Conservative counterparts - more so on occasion. All I'm saying is that the willingness of Labour people to have anything to do with a company with First Group's reputation shows that the old world is dying.

I talked at the beginning about working-class Labour trade unionists confronting the bosses, but today they rarely do. Trade union membership has collapsed in the private sector. The typical modern trade unionist works for the civil service, NHS or local government and the 'boss' they confront is a fellow bureaucrat. The puritan middle-class academic earnestly peddling his or her plans for social reform also feels like a figure from another age. Although I can't remember ever meeting a lecturer who admitted to voting Conservative, the leftishness of the post-modern academy is an obscurantist and exclusive ideology with few concrete plans for the improvement of the lot of less fortunate citizens here or abroad.

'I am a great admirer of the British sense of fair play and high respect for workers' rights,' said an American union leader as he sent his men off to Aberdeen. He shouldn't count on either.

The Times Union (Albany, New York), July 8, 2007, Sunday

Copyright 2007 The Times Union

The Times Union (Albany, New York)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

July 8, 2007 Sunday

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

HEADLINE: An insider's view of a school board

BYLINE: Scott Waldman, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.

BODY:

Jul. 8--GUILDERLAND -- Peter Golden's blog probably won't win him lots of friends in the Guilderland Central School District.

Since May, Golden has been writing about his experiences as Board of Education member on his own Web site. He's received mixed reviews from his fellow board members for "Boardside: Dispatches from the Education Wars."

The blog, basically an online diary, uses a combination of satire and reflection to rehash board meeting minutes and incite debate.

On "Boardside," Golden has filed reports about personal meetings with the superintendent and the "occasional lapses in adult behavior by some of the board."

He even coined a term for school board members: "dronoids," which he defines as a cross between "drone" and "android" that refers to "Board of Education members who emit a low-humming sound that is oftimes confused with human thought and human speech."

Golden, a published author who has done freelance articles for the Times Union and The New York Times, started his board term two years ago. He said he began the blog this spring in hopes it would bring more people into the school board process.

He was motivated to start it, he said, because more people vote in presidential elections than in school board races, even though the latter could have more of a direct effect on their lives.

"I wanted to open the process," Golden said. "I wanted people to be more interested."

Golden, 53, does not hide his disdain for ineffective school boards. The blog introduction includes the Mark Twain quote "In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards."

Videos, letters, quotes, pictures and interviews are all part of Golden's plans for the future of the site. He said his Web site has received visitors from as far away as China and lists almost 4,000 hits in a Web counter.

It has also raised the hackles in Guilderland.

"It shows a lack of respect for others on the board," Board Vice President John Dornbush said. Dornbush said the site was inappropriate, but declined further comment on the blog.

Don Csaposs, Guilderland's director of development, railed publicly against the blog at a June school board meeting. It's one-sided, self-promoting, violates the board's code of ethics and does little to bring together board members with opposing views, he said.

"It's not a good advertisement for the notion of collaborative behavior," Csaposs said.

Others have questioned why there is no place for readers to comment. However, Golden said he'll post any responses he gets.

Board member Barbara Fraterrigo said Golden has shown he is willing to change his site when others voiced concern over comments they perceived as disrespectful. She said he had already taken down some remarks.

Fraterrigo said the site is a reflection of free speech in the modern age. She said it is another means to give the public information.

"It just develops the conversation on education and the needs of education," she said.

Golden said any criticism of his right to free speech will only make him speak out more. He said he has an informal editorial board that evaluates his postings after they are up to determine if he has gone too far and that he has already followed some of their advice.

He said he would not post the contents of private conversations among board members; the meetings give him more than enough material.

"We're amusing enough in public," he said.

He dismissed criticism leveled at him by a community member at a recent school board meeting that he profits from the site. Golden said his blogging actually takes away from time he would otherwise spend on the book he is currently writing about the Cold War.

School board members must be careful with blogs, said Sally Klingel, a senior extension associate with Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School. She said they could be valuable if they encourage more discussion, but problematic if they reveal private information in a public format.

"He would have to toe the line on only reporting his thoughts," said Klingel, whose work includes conflict resolution with school boards and teachers' unions.

New York State School Boards Association spokeswoman Barbara Bradley said school board members are within their rights to create such blogs, although she was not aware of any others in New York. She expects Golden's unusual site will be joined by many more.

"School board members have a right to speak as individuals," Bradley said. "This is another vehicle for them."

Golden ultimately sees the blog as an important community outlet. He is looking forward to the debate it will encourage.

"What governs a district is the friction between the administration and the board," Golden said. "If a board doesn't supply the friction, the governance doesn't get done."

To see more of the Times Union, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesunion.com. Copyright (c) 2007, Times Union, Albany, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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.

Business Wire, July 6, 2007, Friday

Copyright 2007 Business Wire, Inc.

Business Wire

July 6, 2007 Friday 2:00 PM GMT

DISTRIBUTION: Business Editors; Legal Editors; Human Resources Writers

HEADLINE: Learn How to Decide Whether Alternative Dispute Resolution is the Right Approach for your Organization or Client

DATELINE: DUBLIN, Ireland

BODY:

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c61943) has announced the addition of "Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Work Place" to their offering.

"Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Work Place" legal risk in the work place. Whether you need information on the latest cases and ADR programs or guidance on how ADR can serve or harm your company or clients interests, you will want to have this book close at hand. It features a careful weighing of considerations both lawyers and human resource managers must be aware of. It explains the pros and cons of relying on ADR, the complex legal and practical issues involved in creating an ADR program, and the forms of ADR currently in use.

An easy to use desk book, it explores the latest developments in the law, and the practical tips, tricks and traps employment professionals will want to know about. You'll find out about the intricacies of: mediation, arbitration and other techniques; industry-specific ADR; how to decide whether ADR is the right approach for your organization or client; what employers can and can't do in an ADR program; and when a court may decide to overturn the result of an ADR proceeding. This book is updated as needed, generally two times each year.

Authors Bio:

Henry S. Kramer

Henry S. Kramer is an Attorney-Consultant at ConsultKramer of Ithaca, New York. He is also a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University's New York State School of Industrial and Labour Relations, where he has taught collective bargaining and labour law. Mr. Kramer has been involved in the practice of human resources and labour law throughout his managerial career, including serving as Cornell University's Director of Employee Relations, and as Corporate Manager of Labour Relations and Legal Services and as Human Resources In-house Counsel for BASF Wyandotte. He has frequently served as Chief Spokesman in labour contract negotiations.

Areas covered:

. Background and ADR Legal Development

. Federal Statutes Related to Employment ADR

. State Statutes Related to Employment ADR

. PRIVATE ADR SYSTEMS

. Court Annexed Alternate Dispute Resolution

. ADR in the Securities Industry

. ADR In Relation to Collectively Bargained Agreements

. Arbitrability

. Entering ADR, Waiver, and "At Will" Employment

. The ADR Process

. Human Resources Considerations

For more information visithttp://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c61943

CONTACT: Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

Fax: +353 1 4100 980

press@researchandmarkets.com

URL: http://www.businesswire.com

The Oregonian, July 6, 2007, Friday

Copyright 2007 The Oregonian

The Oregonian

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

July 6, 2007 Friday

SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS

ACC-NO: 20070706-PO-STRIKES-LABOR-20070706

LENGTH: 752 words

HEADLINE: Are strikes increasing, or just unease?

BYLINE: Brent Hunsberger, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

BODY:

Jul. 6--First it was drywallers. Then beer truck drivers. Now, truck-making machinists. Metro-area ambulance drivers could be next.

With that broad swath of workers getting past, threatening or carrying out a strike, it might seem as though organized labor -- long in decline -- suddenly is flexing its muscle.

That's far from clear.

The U.S. Labor Department tracks strikes only at large employers. Its numbers so far this year show no spike in work stoppages.

But labor and public opinion experts sense strikes are on the increase and might be symptoms of a curious undercurrent of economic insecurity among workers in an economy that traditional measures suggest is quite healthy.

Even as corporate profits remain high, consumer health care, energy and food costs are increasing. Those pressures, coupled with a global trend in offshoring, appear to be leaving workers feeling unsettled, polls indicate.

"I have a feeling there may be an uptick in strike activity because there is a frustration (that) times are getting better for corporations but not for workers," said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University.

In 1981, the U.S. Labor Department stopped tracking strikes at employers with fewer than 1,000 workers, leaving researchers with no good way of tracking stoppages, Bronfenbrenner said.

Through May, the Labor Department reported six large strikes nationwide, compared with six over the same period last year and 12 in 2005. That's far fewer than 64 strikes through the first five months of 1981.

Still, four actual or threatened strikes have garnered local attention in the past month, with health care, offshoring or gas costs playing apparent roles:

Drywallers in the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters staged a 19-day strike last month, claiming increased gas prices a driving force. The union settled for an average 5 percent wage increase.

About 150 Teamsters truck drivers at Eugene-based Western Beverage Co. went on strike June 25, accusing the beer distributor of trying to break the union to save on health care and retirement costs.

Machinists at Freightliner this week voted down a contract proposal recommended by its leadership and ratified by three smaller unions. Union members object to a proposed elimination of retiree health care, and they also cite the truck maker's production shift to Mexico.

A union representing 600 American Medical Response workers approved going on strike as soon as July 16, in part because the company wants workers to pay 25 percent of health insurance premiums.

By most measures, the nation's economy seems healthy. Oregon's unemployment rate of 5 percent is near historic lows. Consumer price increases remain below 3 percent annually.

But employers continue to pass more health insurance costs on to employees. And, the nation's trade imbalance and the trend of moving jobs out of the country increasingly bother Americans.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted between March and May found that 48 percent believed free trade agreements have harmed the United States, up from 32 percent in October 1999.

Tim Hibbitts, a Portland pollster, said in his firm's 30-year existence, never have so many voters reported fewer gains from an economic recovery. Although that sentiment has improved since last year, roughly only 25 percent to 30 percent of voters in recent polls reported feeling better off, Hibbitts said.

National polls reflect similar unease. A Gallup Poll in June found seven in 10 respondents thought the country's economic conditions were getting worse -- the highest rate since September 2001.

"I think that's fascinating, given the (stock) market is at an all-time high, and we're told unemployment is low," said Hibbitts, co-owner of Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall Inc. "Clearly, that's not registering with a lot of folks out there."

Regardless of how current strikes end, Hibbitts said, policymakers need to pay attention to the larger work force's unease.

"If these are the good times, you have to wonder what things are going to look like when we head into a downturn," Hibbitts said.

To see more of The Oregonian, or to subscribe the newspaper, go to http://www.oregonian.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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.