Is the UNITE HERE union playing hard ball in Cerritos?
Posted by: Matt Kauble | 06/30/2008 6:00 AM
Below is a story picked up from CBS News. Apparently UNITE HERE is in the process of trying to force card-checks on the employees of Prudential Overall Supply.
Company intimidation is not new for Big Labor and while UNITE HERE has neither taken credit for the fire or been linked at this early time to the fire, it is not beyond the realm of possibilities. For more information on the problem of union sponsored violence go to: http://www.nrtwc.org/facts-issues/fuva.htm
For the story in question read below:
Company intimidation is not new for Big Labor and while UNITE HERE has neither taken credit for the fire or been linked at this early time to the fire, it is not beyond the realm of possibilities. For more information on the problem of union sponsored violence go to: http://www.nrtwc.org/facts-issues/fuva.htm
For the story in question read below:
CERRITOS, Calif. Los Angeles County firefighters put out a big rig fire in Cerritos early on Monday morning.
The tractor-trailer was parked in a driveway in an industrial area at Valley View Avenue and Artesia Boulevard when the blaze began, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokeswoman Cheryl Sims.
The fire was reported about 12:15 a.m. and put out about 12:40 a.m., Sims said. No injuries were reported.
The big rig belonged to Prudential Overall Supply company, according to camera crews at the scene.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, and arson has not been ruled out, Sims said.
For the rest of the story, please click here.
I'm sorry, but a union filing of NLRB charges is considered a "strong-arm tactic"? Tell me, Matt, are you going to cry "Big Labor is strong-arming honest businesses!" every time a charge is filed? Here's a history lesson for you: when the NLRA was written, there were provisions in it for unions and companies to file charges to investigate wrong-doing by the other side. If a union did that, maybe, just maybe, it's because something needs to be investigated?
This entire piece is written from a biased perspective, from the very start when you incorporate the contentious phrase "Big Labor" to your posting an article with the company's opinion of the union without any mention of contacting the union for comment.
Keep at this journalism thing, though, Matt. One day you'll get the hang of it!
Dear Wes,
The strong arm comment was in the article I copied from CBS News.
But you are right I should have included at least links if not articles in support of the corruption charges. Such links should include the following:
South Florida's Leading Hotel Union, Unite Here Local 355, in the Midst
of an Internal Corruption Probe Targeting Two Top Organizers
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2006_3rd/Aug06_UNITEProbe.html
South Florida Local Bosses Ousted by Internal Ethics Board
http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=2010
Union Loses Court Bid to Keep Records Sealed in Cintas Case
http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=1872
One California Corporate Campaign Heats Up; Another Cools Off
http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=1641
Island View Casino Employees Seek Federal Injunction to Block Coercive “Card Check” Unionization Drive
http://www.nrtw.org/press-release-categories/union-corruption-violence-and-intimidation?page=1
Download the Federal Lawsuit mention in the article at :http://www.nrtw.org/pdfs/news-release-docs/Island-View-LMRA-Lawsuit.pdf
Big Labor has been hot to make "card check" the law of the land for some time. Apparently, secret ballot is too much of an impediment to union organizing, while card check is much more amenable to intimidation and threats.
Begin furious backpeddling now... the story currently reads as follows not as suggested above
Big Rig Catches Fire In Cerritos
CERRITOS, Calif. Los Angeles County firefighters put out a big rig fire in Cerritos early on Monday morning.
The tractor-trailer was parked in a driveway in an industrial area at Valley View Avenue and Artesia Boulevard when the blaze began, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokeswoman Cheryl Sims.
The fire was reported about 12:15 a.m. and put out about 12:40 a.m., Sims said. No injuries were reported.
The big rig belonged to Prudential Overall Supply company, according to camera crews at the scene.
Buckets of oily rags appear to be the source of the fire, according to county fire inspector Frank Garrido.
Garrido believes the fire started due to "spontaneous combustion" and caused about $100,000 in damage to the big rig and some pallets.
"All of the contents of the trailer were lost," according to Garrido.
"Buckets of oily rags appear to be the source of the fire, according to county fire inspector Frank Garrido.
Garrido believes the fire started due to "spontaneous combustion" and caused about $100,000 in damage to the big rig and some pallets."
Just because a county fire inspector has ruled it "spontaneous combustion" does not necessarily mean someone did not make sure the conditions were just right so that an "accidental" fire could be generated.
Question is who left the buckets of "oily rags" in a position to erupt into "spontaneous combustion"? Was it someone who was in favor of the company forcing card checks on their employees or was it someone else?
And just because someone believes something is so, should not suppercede evidence. Such as how chemically does a bunch of oily rags spontaneously combust. Was there a heat source lit near one of the pails, was the night air temperature sufficiently hot enough to set off a bunch of oily rags, did all of the buckets go up at the same time or did it start in one and spread to the others?
And is the "spontaneous combustion" theory just a big I don't know?
These are the questions that should be asked, particularly when dealing with a fire at a company in the midst of a dispute with a union trying to organize it.