Buffalo News (New York), August 12, 2008, Tuesday

Copyright 2008 The Buffalo News

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Buffalo News (New York)

August 12, 2008, Tuesday

CENTRAL EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. B7

LENGTH: 583 words

HEADLINE: Union officials reveal main concerns for the future; United Auto Workers, Teamsters consider health care, cost of living as top issues

BYLINE: By Matt Glynn - NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

BODY:

Union officials in Buffalo Niagara say they face tough conditions for bargaining contracts for their members.

Many industries are shedding jobs and, in some cases, closing plants. With globalization, they say, employers have more options for moving work overseas. Rising health care costs continue to put pressure on labor costs.

"What it all comes down to is, that's a bigger picture than you can bargain at the bargaining table," said Sam Williams, an official with United Auto Workers Region 9, which is based in Amherst.

Williams was one of several speakers Monday at the first Advanced Collective Bargaining Conference in Niagara Falls. The two-day conference, which concludes today, is focusing on strategies and tactics unions use in negotiating contracts.

Williams, who is active in the union's political affairs, said he views health care costs as the No. 1 issue in contract talks nowadays. Those soaring costs can far exceed whatever annual raises can be secured for workers, he said.

The UAW went through a contentious bargaining process this year with American Axle & Manufacturing that included an 87-day strike. American Axle is closing some of its U.S. plants, including a Buffalo plant idled since last year, and is dramatically reducing its U.S. work force through buyouts and retirements. Wages for the remaining workers and new hires were cut drastically under the new contract.

Williams lamented the impending loss of the Town of Tonawanda forge, which is expected to shut down next year. "The American Axle [forge] was considered by far one of the most efficient facilities in the system," he said. "And yet it's closing."

Richard Lipsitz Jr., a Teamsters Local 264 business agent, said health care costs remain a critical concern, but he thinks cost of living and inflation have emerged as the top bargaining issue.

"You've got a double whammy like you've never seen in our lifetimes," said Lipsitz, another speaker at the conference.

Soaring energy prices are have touched all types of industries, he said. Consumers have cut back their spending in some areas, leaving some companies struggling with reduced sales. And the ripple effect is being felt at the bargaining table, he said.

Both Williams and Lipsitz said beyond the issues of individual contract talks, their unions are pushing for bigger changes through elected officials.

The Teamsters union is emphasizing passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which the union believes would bolster organized labor's membership and increase workers' bargaining power, Lipsitz said.

"It changes the entire way you organize a union, it changes the entire way you bargain the first contract," he said. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007, about 12 percent of workers belonged to a union, including about 36 percent of public sector workers and 7.5 percent of private sector workers.

The act would give workers the option of approving union representation by obtaining a majority of workers' signatures, without requiring a secret-ballot election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.

Opponents, including business groups, claim the current system already safeguards workers from possible coercion or intimidation, by keeping voting secret.

The two-day conference in Niagara Falls was presented by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations in Buffalo. Art Wheaton, director of labor studies and the event's organizer, said he hopes to turn it into an annual conference.

e-mail: mglynn@buffnews.com

GRAPHIC: Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News Sam Williams, an official with United Auto Workers Region 9, said he views health care costs as the No. 1 issue in contract negotiations. Associated Press On Monday, Sen. John McCain, left, the likely Republican presidential nominee, criticized Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama for co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act. The Teamsters union says the measure would bolster organized labor's membership and increase workers' bargaining power.

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