Union plays hardball in Atlantic City

UNITE HERE, potentially looking at a bitter labor dispute with Reveal Entertainment, has launched an initiative aimed at Reveal's investors in advance of a $1.3 billon dollar high yield debt offering.

Peace declared

The war between the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its one time close ally UNITE HERE has been settled. Randy Shaw explains all here. While the terms of the settlement are heavily in favor of UNITE HERE ( SEIU returns $75 Million dollars and an $85 Million Dollar office building) the accord is a big win for new SEIU President Mary K. Henry, and overall a boost to labor.

Ruh roh

Looks like the food service operator at the new 1.6 billion dollar Meadowlands Stadium intends to operate non-union. It has renounced the previous operators collective bargaining agreement with UNITE HERE, it has not rehired many of the employees of the former food service operator, and it has reduced the average pay from $13.80 an hour to under $12.00 per hour.  "Ruh roh", indeed.

Dead EFCA

Jane Hampsher at Firedoglake has a good post on the politics of EFCA, starring Harry, Arlen and Rahm.

Size matters

Union density matters, that is. This BeyondChron piece dramatically exhibits the external pressure union activists can put on employers to encourage them to "cooperate" in the process of their employees "selecting" union representation in the major hotels in San Francisco. More after the jump

NOLA restaurant workers targeted

Labor Notes reports a new multi-city initiative to "transform" the largely non-union restaurant industry. The Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) is not a union, but it is supported by UNITE HERE locals. It also engages in supporting workers rights. New Orleans is one of four cities targeted by ROC, which has an office on Canal Street. The organizations current target is the owner of Tony Moran's and Old Absinthe House.

SEIU oopsie

Another Randy Shaw piece in Beyond Chron skewers the SEIU and its strategy for attacking UNITE HERE.

Unionize your sleep

As we enter the holiday season, the friendly folks at UNITE HERE have produced a web site that allows you to search for lodging where the employees are represented by UNITE HERE. A few searches revealed no facilities in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi or Tennessee. Louisiana has one facility in New Orleans.

Former organizer decries Unite Here's tactics

The New York Times has an interesting article on the complaints of union organizers about the manipulative practices used by the union including abusing the privacy of the organizers.

A prodigal returns

UNITE HERE is bringing its 265,000 members back to the AFL-CIO. UNITE left the organization in 2005 when several labor organizations founded Change to Win. Earlier this year UNITE lost about 150,000 members to the SEIU, one of its "partners" in Change to Win.