Uber called its recent union deal ‘historic.’ A new complaint alleges it was actually against the law and represents an escalation of a long fight by U.S. auto workers.
The union election that followed the contract talks was over the objections of the U.S. National Mediation Board, the third federal agency to reject a union’s request for the right to bargain about work conditions.
The union says it is still asking for its rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
The deal gave the unions that participated nearly a 12 percent share of the value of the unionized, profitable company, which has an operating profit margin of about 7 percent, said Rick Jager, a top executive at Uber.
But that share of profits is below what the company earned before the settlement. Under its agreement with the union, Uber will pay workers a portion of employee salaries and benefits in an attempt to prevent a big wage cut in the coming years.
Some observers of the U.S. labor movement argue that its long history of victories over such issues indicates a relatively stable, well-funded, unified front against any kind of attack from the boss class.
Such an argument is usually accompanied by what could be called a little- noticed point.
The boss is always right. And in this context, we mean that he or she is always right, and that the union leader or leader union is right to fight him or her.
We say this as we watch the U.S. Congress fight over the fate of the U.S. government’s Affordable Care Act. The right-wing, right-wing forces that pushed and pushed for the Affordable Care Act have been and are fighting tooth and nail against efforts to repeal it, and they should be fighting tooth and nail against efforts to expand it, too.
The ACA is and was a huge victory for the U.S. auto industry and for working people generally. The industry had been and is a major employer of
