SHAME ON the Carpenters Unions, Part III

[cannon_fodder]

The protesters, hereinafter referred to as harassers, have been enjoined by a judge in Tulsa from "protesting" on hotel property, from blocking the entrance, from making noises that can be heard in the hotel or further harassing the Snyder family. They can hand out fliers (which will probably fail to mention that they aren't union members and haven't worked for the hotel, or that the workers DID make a living wage) and hold signs:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090916_298_0_TheMay304718&archive=yes

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20090917_14_A4_TeMyoe41668&archive=yes


I was in Albuquerque last week with a slew of other Tulsa folks for the TU football thrashing of New Mexico.  While there we were treated to a very familiar site:  members of an out of state carpenters union harassing local businesses (California and Nevada in this instance) with "SHAME ON" signs.    Like Tulsa they are protesting anyone and everyone, even local high schools.  Even when a contract is for public bid and the union company fails, or where the job is subcontracted . . . the most visible location gets protested for "unfair labor practices."

Unfair, again, being a euphemism for "you didn't pick me!"   Apparently they try to get employees to force union organization on a company, if that doesn't work they approach the company, and when that fails they picket all their customers.

The community and the local workers in Albuquerque seem to have the same attitude towards the "protests" (really just harassment) as the people in Tulsa:

Let us be clear, the carpenters union imports are not assisting company employees who may have expressed a desire to be represented by a union. Rather, they are creating problems for both merit shop company owners and their employees in the form of pure harassment.

Letter to the Editor

Albuquerque version of TulsaNow, the Duke City Fix forum discussion on the topic:
http://www.dukecityfix.com/forum/topics/sunflower-market-labor-dispute?x=1&id=1233957%3ATopic%3A307877&page=1#comments

So I started to wonder, how wide spread is this.  A quick Google search shows that it is pretty much nationwide.  If you have any connection to a non-union competing service the Carpenters union they will do all they can to cripple your business:

In Phoenix they are protesting tenants in buildings constructed with competing labor, using non-union protesters paid a sub-standard cash wage (code for homeless people I imagine).

A Court as issued an injunction against further Carpenter protests in Sacramento for harassment, later affirmed by the National Labor Relations Board.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2005/03/07/story4.html

In Knoxville TN they are doing the exact same thing as in Tulsa.  Picketing developers who hire other contractors using "hired help."  They went to the competing companies employees and were turned away,m they talked to the CEO of the company who said he didn't want the union there, and so they are picketing the customers.

In that instance they asked the familiar questions:

"We'd ask them, 'What are area standards? How are we not meeting them?'" he says. "We never got a straight answer."

I Knoxville workers have come out to discuss their wages and claim they make MORE at the non-union company.  A statement the union hasn't confirmed or denied.  In fact, the union has stopped giving reasons for the protests:

http://www.metropulse.com/news/2009/may/21/knoxville-carpenters-union-protests-local-develope/

In Utah the Carpenters union is protesting a rival union as being "phony" and coercing people to sign up.  They are protesting the transit authority for using this "phony" union.   The UTA issued a statement saying the contractors were union, they made a wage comparable to the area, and they would have to bring the issue up with the GC.  And, gasp, they hired temp workers on a non-union wage to do the protesting for them:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20040523/ai_n11452381/

In Atlanta they hired picketers and send them to a pre-school because the wife of the president of a non-union company worked there.

http://www.thecirclegrouptruth.com/shameful.cfm

They are doing the same crap in Detroit, Atlanta, and Montana, that I have found. 

A person is San Diego was apparently mad enough to do some follow up investigation on their activities, they found out how they spend their money:

    * $1,723,194 spent on Work Preservation (payments made to companies that use union labor)
    * $1,041,743 on legal expenses
    * $383,009 for settling potential legal issues
    * $0.00 on strike benefits
    * $4,151,028 on political activities, lobbying, contributions, gifts and grants
    * $1,812,350 on brand new automobiles
    * Cash Receipts for 2007 totaled $74,716,704
    * Representational Activities accounted for $25,077,048, or only 36% of total receipts [the rest overhead]
    * Contributions, Gifts and Grants (mainly Work Preservation) - $3,177,579 – 4.3% of total receipts

http://carpenterwatch.com/sbcc/personalinfo.php?page=biography

That website also learned that the prevailing union wage in Orange County California was $14-20 an hour.  Or less than Green Country is paying in Tulsa.  The images posted on the various links above will be familiar, the rat picture, the banners . . . everything.

They don't have a beef with anyone in particular.  They have been instructed NATION WIDE to go pick fights.  Not because of a labor dispute, but as a marketing tactic.  They will hurt and attempt to destroy local businesses, institution, and even schools in their attempt to increase membership to their club.

I'm not a labor lawyer, but illegal union activity includes "Striking over issues unrelated to employment terms and conditions or coercively enmeshing neutrals into a labor dispute."   That according to the National Labor Relations Act.    If picketing outside a business that hired the competition for over a year and chasing the president of a non-union company to his lunch destination isn't enmeshing neutrals (if this even counts as a labor dispute) . . . then it's hard to find what would count.

Shame on the Carpenters Union.  The more I learn about their antics the less likely I am to EVER use their labor or encourage others to do so.  They're giving union men a bad name.

[Conan71]

Look how many union halls there are in the LA and OC area.  Two chapters exist at the same address with different phone numbers in Orange.  Seems like a lot of duplicity to me.

[ARGUS]

I have been a past member of two building trades unions: The Laborers and the Carpenters. I do not agree with he BS tatics that they are using.
Hiring the dolts/trash to picket is fundementaly wrong.
It's my former union and I scream honk and flip them off.
I am not a fan of Dave Hannigan ( I have caled him at home at midnight in the past to scream at him for work to be done on our jobs at the time)
Building trade unons DO have their place<TRAINED SKILLED TRADESMEN> but the times and tactics are'a changin'...glad I am not in that buisness any more.
So long Local 943...buh bye..dip shclitz!

[patric]

I have been a past member of two building trades unions: The Laborers and the Carpenters. I do not agree with he BS tatics that they are using.

If they start using the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka tactics, we're in for some fun!