Labor Unions

Labor Gripes about Cheney Firm Prompt County Review of Hiring, Contract Practices

The people united will often be defeated, sad to say. But labor union members yesterday took some measure of satisfaction from Palm Beach County commissioners' response to workers' complaints about unfair treatment by Kellogg Brown and Root, the many-tentacled global corporate octopus formerly helme ... More >>

Palm Beach Ironworkers vs Spawn of Cheney, Round Two

When Palm Beach County two years ago awarded a subsidiary of Kellogg Brown & Root a share of a $668 million contract to build a new waste treatment facility, the company's anti-union ways were no secret. But KBR's was the cheapest of three competing proposals, so commissioners gave the firm the ... More >>

Kravis Center Breaks Law, Screws Workers, Stiffs Patrons

Pretty goddamned embarrassing when Palm Beach County's premier performing arts showcase chooses to break the law with impunity rather than do right by its employees. But for 12 years now Palm Beach's Kravis Center has engaged in an illegal campaign of union busting that's simmered like a b ... More >>

Chicago Teachers on Strike: Just Be Glad You Don't Live in Florida

Chicago teachers are entering the third day of their labor strike, leaving kids without classes after only four active days in the school year. "I've been picketing for four hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30, and we have a rally downtown at 2:30 p.m.," said Laura G., a teacher on the city's southwest s ... More >>

BREAKING: Broward Teachers Union Funds Used in Illegal Contributions to Hillary Clinton, Alex Sink, Investigators Say

See also: Former Broward Teachers Union President Patrick Santeramo Arrested, Faces 200 Years in Prison.Former Broward Teachers Union President Patrick Santeramo turned himself in today after being charged with 20 counts of various racketeering, theft, and money-laundering charges. There are dozens ... More >>

Allen West on Education: No More Feds, No More Unions

Congressman Allen West gave a 25-minute speech on his 2012 platform over the weekend -- expect more in the coming days. Today, though, we tackle education."Washington has a good day when it manages not to screw things up too badly. That is equally true when it comes to education. No one is well-serv ... More >>

Hallandale Beach Protesters to Block Federal Highway Traffic Tonight

Workers at the Mardi Gras Casino say management has been adopting illegal union-busting tactics with its workers, and now they're planning a king-hell spectacle to bring attention to it.Event organizers say they have 500 "confirmed" participants for a rally tonight that will start at B.F. James Park ... More >>

Broward Teachers Union President Under Investigation; Board Members Split on Action

Broward Teachers UnionPat Santeramo​Pat Santeramo, president of the Broward Teacher's Union, is currently under investigation by the Broward State Attorney's Office and the Broward Sheriff's Office, according to a spokesman from the State Attorney's Office.Additionally, a spokesman from the Browar ... More >>

Rick Scott and Private Prisons Engaging in "Pay to Play" Politics, Teamsters Complaint Alleges

​Florida politicians received nearly $1 million in campaign contributions from two private prison corporations last election cycle -- GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America -- and an ethics complaint filed by the Teamsters union yesterday claims $30,000 of those contributions that went t ... More >>

Labor Pains: Nova Southeastern Unlawfully Suppressed Union, NLRB Determines

Nova's custodial workers tried to organize. ​More than four years after Nova Southeastern University got flak for union busting, the National Labor Relations Board has recently sided with a group of former custodial workers who were harassed by the college's higher-ups when they tried to organize. ... More >>

Broward Teachers Union Will Try to Dodge Another Potential Coffin Nail

flickr.comYeah, good luck with that.One of the last things Broward public school teachers -- teachers anywhere, really -- need is another reason for lawmakers to think they should dissolve their right to unionize. But that just might be the case if an anonymous (and, honestly, grammatical error-ridd ... More >>

KBR Subsidiary Wins Contract to Build Trash Burner in Palm Beach

Flickr user: U.S. ArmyKBR has a horrific track record in Iraq.​Despite protests by union workers, environmentalists, and competitors, the Palm Beach County Commission yesterday handed one of its largest public works contracts to a company owned by controversial war contractor KBR.Acting as the Sol ... More >>

AWF Gives Florida's Labor Climate a C; Hooray, We're Passing!

FlickrThe red badge of honor​Ever get news that you know is supposed to be bad, but it's actually kind of awesome? Like when your parents are really solemn about getting divorced but you're like, woo, two Christmases? This is one of those times: The Alliance for Worker Freedom released its biannua ... More >>

Teachers Union on Holy Water Incident: "What's Alleged Did Not Occur"

Flickr: Der_Kaiser​The Broward Teachers Union expects that two teachers at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach will be "fully exonerated" after school officials finish investigating a religious argument that occurred in a classroom March 11 in which an atheist claimed that two Christian teach ... More >>

NYC Union Guys in Trouble for Dropping 10-Large at The Breakers Palm Beach

Flickr: SLDdigitalThe Breakers​Yeah I know $10,000 at The Breakers is barely enough to tip the bellhop, but still. Union leaders are expected to be judicious with their share of the workin' folks' wages. Also, it doesn't help that much of the District Council of Carpenters' leadership is already u ... More >>

Merry Christmas, Broward School Board. Here's Some Coal.

Courtesy of Broward Teachers Union​ In the spirit of holiday giving, about 6,000 postcards from Broward Teachers Union members are expected to begin arriving at the homes of Broward School Board members today. The cards, featuring lumps of coal and some adorably angry-looking children, are not ex ... More >>

Broward Teachers Play Hardball With Scandal-Rocked District

School Board Member Beverly Gallagher faces corruption charges.​No more dragging a stack of papers home to grade at night while watching Glee. No more late afternoon conferences with parents, or volunteering to chaperone the math team's car wash -- at least not until after Thanksgiving.For the nex ... More >>

School Board Member Stephanie Kraft Has a History of Shady Deals

Judge Slaps Nova for Labor Violations

A labor judge ruled this week that Nova Southeastern University went to unlawful extremes to quash an effort by the school's custodial contractors to unionize. Among the findings by Administrative Law Judge John H. West: that supervisors intimidated employees of a custodial services firm after they ... More >>

[UPDATED] Janitors' Union to Protest at Broward County Courthouse

SEIU Protestors That will be the view outside the Broward County Courthouse this afternoon. Close to 100 members and sympathizers of the Service Employees International Union plan to protest the county's negotiations with janitorial services provider TCB Systems, Inc. of Miami. TC ... More >>

November 4 Election Predictions

Bill Scherer Gearing Up For Electoral Rampage

Nova to Workers: Drop Dead

Janitors go jobless for months, and students don't give a damn

The Agony of DeFede

Unions glom onto the Herald columnist's legacy

Late-night Confession

What exactly did the mayor say to the commissioner at City Hall?

Second-Best Local Boy Gone Bad

Tony Gentile

Boxer Rebellion

Union ringleaders hope to rally pugilists to fight for their rights

Publix Where working can be lethal

Five workers have died in Publix's Deerfield Beach warehouse in the past eight years. Has the workplace gotten safer? Apparently not.

Undercurrents

The plot thickens

Rank and Revile

Municipal employees with Local 532 are cutting off the higher-ups for lack of support

Undercurrents

Letters

United They Fall

The effort to unionize Kitchens of the Oceans drove the company out of town and Haitian employees into unemployment lines

Talk About Emergency Response Time!

When paramedic Shane Anderson started organizing a union, Coral Springs officials wasted no time in firing up the harassment