The New York City District Council of Carpenters and the employers of the Manufacturing Woodworkers Association of Greater New York (MWA) agreed on Sunday night, July 21, to end the current strike and have Union members return to work Monday morning, July 22.
The District Council signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that provided for wage and benefit increases during the first two years of a ten-year contract. Later wage and benefit increases would be negotiated at the beginning of the third and seventh years, with interest arbitration being used if the two sides couldn't reach an agreement.
But the MWA refused to sign the MOA, demanding that the Union agree to numerous changes to what had been negotiated and agreed. The District Council's leadership has refused to agree to these concessions.
The District Council’s members struck on July 1 after the current contract had expired. They went on strike to resist the MWA’s efforts to eliminate employer benefit funds’ contributions on all hours beyond forty in a week as well as over other issues.
The MWA finally agreed with the Union's position on no 40-hour cap on benefit funds' contributions. In exchange, the District Council agreed to alter arrangements for outside installation of millwork where at least 80 percent of the product is manufactured by the particular MWA employer.
The MWA had tried on June 27 to get a federal court judge to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the strike when the contract expired. But the federal judge refused. The MWA then went to a hearing on July 8 before federal district judge Richard Berman seeking an injunction ordering the Union members back to work, arguing that the expired contract somehow lived forever and prevented the Union from ever striking. On July 18 Judge Berman issued a stinging opinion and order denying the MWA’s request.
The parties continued to negotiate last week and over the weekend, leading to the agreement on outstanding issues and the return of the striking members to work. It's that agreement on which the MWA has reneged.
On Wednesday, July 24, the District Council and the MWA met with representatives of the District Council benefit funds to discuss a global settlement of several millions of dollars of delinquencies in contributions owed by the MWA employers. Those discussions are continuing, with the Funds and the MWA employers working on resolving those delinquency amounts owed.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
MWA Reneges on Deal with District Council
5 comments:
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No side deals McGinnis or Murphy or the so called Benefit Trust Fund Attorneys alleged to be looking out for the welfare of the members and/or the Funds.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to fire the bonehead investment advisors and the people negotiating the 50 cent on the dollar (or less) deals.
Global Settlements do nothing to deter past, present or continuing violations of the Union Contract (CBA); rather, what they do is cement into precedent the idea & mindset that the failure to perform your jobs, duties & obligations; the continuation of blatant incompetence and ineptitude is worthy of praise and a declaration that it is just and all is right with the world and the District Council. It is not.
Time for McGinnis to put his foot down and demand all the money owed, plus interst, costs and attorney fees, per the contract as executed by the individual general contractor or subcontractor and the Contractor Association.
It's time for the District Council, the R.O. & the U.S.A.O and FBI to come clean and to publish what side deals were made with Thomassen & Sheil to allow them to walk unscathed by their known corruption and to Pension out under the duck and cover, lie & spin strategy of each party above.
The alleged negotiated side deals and so called Global Settlements are continuing violations of the 1994 Civil RICO Consent Decree as the contractors involved have done no less than what Forde, Greaney, Oliveri and the corrupt shop stewards were indicted, convicted and sentenced for from the August 5, 2009 FBI sting.
This time however, those guilty work for the Benefit Trust Funds and the MWA. It is high time the USAO took down a few corrupt attorneys & those doing their bidding on both sides.
Global Settlements always come about due to the the desire of the parties to bury their illegal actions and failures. It's not the economy stupid, it's the corruption.
Were that not the case, then the D.C. would not be moving toward its 24th anniversary of Federal intervention or its 20th year on the March 1994 consent decree.
At this blazing pace of correction and so called reform given all the lies told both in & out of court, should the rank & file begin planning for the next quarter century of Court imposed intervention and a Federal takeover of their Union which has not borne the fruit advertised?
At what point does the Federal Government lose credibility and thus open itself up to liability for aiding & abetting the continuation of the fraud & corruption by its known failure to act?
its a race to the bottom and the administration is leading the way what a brotherhood throw the mwa out of the union remind them we are the reason they exist
ReplyDeleteAt what point does the Federal Government lose credibility and thus open itself up to liability for aiding & abetting the continuation of the fraud & corruption by its known failure to act?
ReplyDeleteThey settled in 94 and with every continuing chapter the feds do the same and the DC stays the same. SAMEO >< SAMEO.
I thought that the District Council website was supposed to keep us informed? Ten days after the event has occurred is not informing us. I can only assume that this is intended to inform the MWA, or supply them with some point of reference to remind them in three months when IF the District Councils counsel do not screw up again we will be able to take a strike action against the MWA. Very big "IF", based on Murphys record to date.
ReplyDeleteI do not see why the MWA are going to change their position, based on the Distict Councils track record to date, they have to assume that the District Council will screw up again, and since part of the deal with the MWA which had been agreed upon was that the District Council would pick up the tab for the welfare of the MWA workers while the contract was being negotiated (I use the term lightly), there seems little to induce the MWA to enter into any meaningful discussions. Stated plainly, the MWA gets free welfare as long as there is no contract, why would they want a contract?
They know we cannot go out on strike for three months, so they are guaranteed three months of freee welfare.
DROP DEAD UNITY TEAM !
ReplyDelete