Wednesday, August 29, 2012
NLRB Seeks $2.6 Million Plus Interest From the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
IATSE Labor Union: In an award that remedies twelve years of blatant and continuous violations of federal labor law, the National Labor Relations Board has ordered the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, to pay $2.6 million in back pay and benefit contributions to IATSE stagehands. These workers had been unlawfully fired and unable to work at the Kravis Center for more than a decade. This decision also includes interest that continues to accrue and remedies violations of federal labor laws committed by the Kravis Center during the period September 2000 through September 2007.
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2 comments:
This story does not inspire confidence in IATSE or any collective bargaining entity. It is over a decade into this battle and even with the backing of the NLRB it took over 2 years to get any action against this venue. I feel as though outside of the major cities and major locals IATSE does not have much influence. Also it seems as though this loss of work was going to happen within two years anyway when the negotiations came to an impasse. It seems as though the major venues in many cities are moving away from using IATSE labor to cut costs. I know in Richmond Virginia there is only one venue that still uses the IATSE local. Maybe I just haven't been in the right market but I keep seeing less of a reason to become an IATSE member anywhere outside of New York, LA and markets of that size.
I agree with Luke. I do not feel insentivised to join a union when it takes 10 years to follow through with a complaint. Coming from Atlanta where there are only 2 venues that employ IATSE workers, I know it's not necessarily beneficial to become a member. What disturbs me about this article is that the money will go to the NLRB and not the local union, and ultimately back to those workers who were violated. At least, that is what's implied. I definitely need to learn more about unions before I can come to any major conclusions. But this article leaves me with a lot of questions. How many complaints against an employer must there be before they lose their contract with the union? It seems like there were at least two or three in this scenario...and were union members working there in the mean time? Over the last ten years? Seems inconsistent to me. Isn't Florida a right to work state? Meaning that you don't have to be a member of the union to work at a unionized facility? I guess I just need more information.
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