Labor Blotter

Senator Hillary Clinton is reaching out to labor in her likely bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Meetings are scheduled next week with several major labor unions including the International Association of Firefighters and the Service Employees International Union.

FedEx delivery drivers in Wilmington, Massachusetts voted to join the Teamsters, the first drivers to do so within the FedEx Home Delivery System. The National Labor Relations Board has ruled seven times since 1988 that FedEx Ground and Home Delivery Drivers are not independent contractors and are eligible to join unions.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association and Brigham and Women's Hospital averted a strike by reaching a tentative agreement that includes a pay raise and contract language protecting newly licensed nurses and union rights.

Nearly 1000 workers at the the world's largest hog slaughterhouse staged a two day wildcat strike at the Smithfield plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina after the company fired 75 workers whose social security numbers did not match government records. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, in what is a change for organized labor in the United States, has been attempting to organize the plant despite the fact many of the workers are illegal immigrants.

Labor Blotter

Middletown, CT public works employees spent a day of “hard bargaining” and agreed to a three year contract that includes a 3 to 3.25 percent wage increase each year but conceded higher medical co-payments.

Wal-Mart is coming under increasing scrutiny by labor and humanitarian groups, as well as high profile politicians as the holidays approach. The world’s largest retailer made $ll.2 billion in profits last year.

A mural depicting labor’s contribution to the city of Madison, WI is underway in a project supported by grants from the Wisconsin Humanities Council, Madison Arts Commission, and the Wisconsin Arts Board, as well as by donations from local unions and individuals.

Representatives from four Teamsters locals and five smaller unions at the Philadelphia Daily News and The Inquirer agreed to a third extension of contract talks. At issue are the workers’ pension plans and layoff seniority.

The San Bernardino Unified School District used a fictitious union agreement to defend unorthodox hiring practices that encouraged nepotism and cronyism, according to members of the California School Employees Association. The district is under pressure to implement the merit model used throughout the state.