Are the days of the “defined benefit” pension over? After the last two years, many people seem to think so. In a recent interview, Boston College Professor Alicia Munnell summed up a common view on pensions for the Wall Street Journal: “Our employer-based social welfare system is collapsing. [The pension freeze at General Motors] itself is not a big deal. It’s GM on top of Verizon and IBM…and then there’s everything that’s happening in weak companies like airlines.”

Are the days of the “defined benefit” pension over? After the last two years, many people seem to think so.

In a recent interview, Boston College Professor Alicia Munnell summed up a common view on pensions for the Wall Street Journal: “Our employer-based social welfare system is collapsing. [The pension freeze at General Motors] itself is not a big deal. It’s GM on top of Verizon and IBM…and then there’s everything that’s happening in weak companies like airlines.”

In the world of defined benefit pension plans, the dominos are falling in rapid succession.

The 40,000 salaried workers affected by General Motors’ March 8 pension freeze are unlikely to agree that the company’s switch to individual retirement accounts is no “big deal.” Nor would the 100,000 GM hourly workers whose pension coverage is up for re-negotiation in September 2007.

In the first-ever direct election for Teamsters General President in 1991, reform candidate Ron Carey won a surprising upset victory over the incumbent old guard. Carey was removed from office in 1998 by the federal government’s Independent Review Board. He was later acquitted of all criminal charges and a multimillion dollar civil suit brought against him by Hoffa was dismissed. Labor Notes recently talked with Carey about his thoughts on the current state of his union...

Editor’s Note: In the first-ever direct election for Teamsters General President in 1991, reform candidate Ron Carey won a surprising upset victory over the incumbent old guard. During his years in office, Teamster rank-and-file activists and reformers spearheaded a revival of Teamster organizing and bargaining power culminating in the 1997 UPS strike.

Carey was removed from office in 1998 by the federal government’s Independent Review Board. He was later acquitted of all criminal charges and a multimillion dollar civil suit brought against him by Hoffa was dismissed.

Last year, Service Employees (SEIU)President Andy Stern started a website called “Since Sliced Bread.” Now, it looks like he’s intent on slicing up the grand state of California into a few SEIU megalocals. How soon this happens and who decides is now a matter of intense debate in all levels of current SEIU locals...

Last year, Service Employees (SEIU)President Andy Stern started a website called “Since Sliced Bread.” Now, it looks like he’s intent on slicing up the grand state of California into a few SEIU megalocals. How soon this happens and who decides is now a matter of intense debate in all levels of current SEIU locals.

Mergers have been happening in SEIU around the country for several years. Some locals have been involved in the planning, while others have had almost no discussion among the rank and file.

Hearings on the California merger process began in March. The hearings, organized by SEIU leadership, were designed to get input from the members, but it wasn’t clear how this input would be accounted for during the merger process.

When President Bush arrived in India in early March, he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of protesters. Fortunately, when I arrived in India a few days later, I received a much warmer welcome. As a representative of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), I was greeted by trade unionists who had come together for the founding conference and convention of the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI). The UE got to know the NTUI through the struggle of General Electric (GE) workers in India...

When President Bush arrived in India in early March, he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of protesters. Fortunately, when I arrived in India a few days later, I received a much warmer welcome.

As a representative of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), I was greeted by trade unionists who had come together for the founding conference and convention of the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI).

The UE got to know the NTUI through the struggle of General Electric (GE) workers in India. Although India is half a world away from our union headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when the NTUI invited the UE and FAT (the UE’s sister union in Mexico, which also represents GE workers) to participate in their founding convention, we decided that it was important to participate.

Eager to rid themselves of workers whose contracts provide rights and entitlements, General Motors and Delphi Corp. will offer buyouts to induce workers to leave the two companies. GM’s goal is to lose 30,000 of the 113,000 hourly workers now on its books. The company employed over 133,000 in 2000...

Eager to rid themselves of workers whose contracts provide rights and entitlements, General Motors and Delphi Corp. will offer buyouts to induce workers to leave the two companies.

GM’s goal is to lose 30,000 of the 113,000 hourly workers now on its books. The company employed over 133,000 in 2000.

Buyouts, negotiated with the United Auto Workers, will range from $35,000 to $100,000, depending on seniority. Some spaces opened up at GM will be available for Delphi workers to “flow back” to their former parent company, from which Delphi was spun off in 1999. Delphi is—for now—the country’s largest auto parts maker.

In a remarkable about-face, the leadership of the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the Teamster-affiliated Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) issued a public statement in early February, proclaiming solidarity with one another and calling off--at least for the moment--their long standing feud...

In a remarkable about-face, the leadership of the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the Teamster-affiliated Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) issued a public statement in early February, proclaiming solidarity with one another and calling off--at least for the moment--their long standing feud.

The cease-fire is coming none too soon, as major rail carriers look to impose major concessions on unions in national contract talks.

TAKING NOTICE

Back in November 2004, the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC)--the umbrella organization that represents the nation’s major freight railroads--proposed the elimination of the crafts of both engineer and conductor, and their replacement with the new combined craft of “transportation employee.” Additionally, they proposed that carriers then be allowed to operate trains with a lone employee.

One of the only unionized factories in El Salvador, Just Garments, is struggling to get out of debt and start up a new business plan. Just Garments makes clothing with a 100 percent 'sweat-free' and unionized work force. It was started by workers formerly employed at a Taiwanese-owned factory called Tainan.

As is often the case, when Tainan workers decided to join the Textile Industry Workers Union (STIT), management immediately announced the plant's closure. But the workers led an international campaign that resulted in a garment-shop with two directors--one selected by Tainan, the other selected by the workers--and the first union contract in the industry.

On January 24, workers at the Stepan chemical company's Fieldsboro, New Jersey plant held a one-day strike to protest the company's refusal to provide basic information regarding grievances. They were locked out. Since then, the 36 employees who organized co-workers at the Fieldsboro plant into United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Local 155 have not been allowed to return to work.

Their healthcare coverage has been suspended and replacement workers have been brought in from other Stepan plants. Stepan has not put forth any conditions under which the workers would be allowed to return to work, only commenting that they are tired of game-playing.

Pro-labor folks throughout South Carolina are working to get the Labor Party on the ballot in the state's elections. To do this, the party must round up 10,000 signatures from registered voters.

South Carolina currently has no minimum wage and has the seventh slowest wage growth in the United States. Its job growth ranks 48th in the nation, while its unemployment rate is second highest. More than 600,000 South Carolinians lack health insurance.

Instead of dealing with these problems, politicians from both major parties have promoted their state's low wages in attempts to attract big business to the state.