Labor Updates (1/10/08)

Liberian Firestone Workers Win a Union Voice: Liberian Firestone rubber workers at a Bridgestone-Firestone rubber plantation celebrated a Liberian Supreme Court ruling last month legitimizing a July union election. The ruling upholds the historic union election where workers elected their own union representative for the first time in 80 years (A NEW DAY FOR LIBERIAN FIRESTONE WORKERS 7/30/07 UC). The ruling came only weeks after a worker strike demanding Firestone recognize and bargain with the union, reports Mike Hall on the AFL-CIO Weblog. We “have realized our power and are looking forward to carving out a new collective bargaining agreement with the company,” said Austin Nantee, the newly elected President of the workers’ union. Flight Attendant Unions Strategize In DC: Leaders and activists of four airline unions began an unprecedented three-day bargaining summit in Washington yesterday to map out contract strategy, reports Mike Hall on the AFL-CIO blog. In the next two years, nearly 90,000 flight attendants in the four unions at 18 U.S. airlines will be in negotiations for new contracts. The unions-Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), the Machinists (IAM), Transport Workers (TWU) and the unaffiliated Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA)-say their goal is to coordinate efforts to increase bargaining leverage and assist each other in raising industry standards for all flight attendants.