[nfbmi-talk] united peckham announces picket

[joe harcz Comcast]

United Peckham announces plans to picket Peckham Inc. golf outing

 

Published: Monday, June 11, 2012, 5:01 PM     Updated: Monday, June 11, 2012, 5:01 PM

Angela Wittrock | awittroc at mlive.com

By

Angela Wittrock | awittroc at mlive.com

Print

Peckham Sign Picket Golf Outing.jpgCourtesy PhotoMembers of United Peckham Employees Group will picket the company's annual golf outing.

 

LANSING, MI -- A labor union organizing employees of Lansing-based Peckham International says it will hold an informational picket of the company's annual

golf outing, organizers announced Monday.

 

"Our goal is to expose the managers at Peckham to their prospective donors as hypocrites, and exploiters of disabled people and refugees," said Mike Kolhoff,

an organizer with the Lansing Workers Center.

 

Kolhoff has been assisting the United Peckham Employee Group

 in its effort to organize a labor union for employees,

many of whom they claim are paid less than minimum wage.

 

In a press release, United Peckham says those same "severely disabled workers" will be providing caddy services for the outing, a fundraiser for the company's

foundation.

 

They also anticipate a counter-demonstration from "anti-union workers," who they contend "have been recruited by managers and will be doing this as part

of their paid hourly employment."

 

This is

the second informational picket

the group has held.

 

Kolhoff and other organizers have accused Peckham management of laying off employees active in organizing attempts. Now, Kolhoff says, Peckham has dedicated

anti-union employees to hold one-on-one meetings with pro-union employees to dissuade them from supporting United Peckham.

 

"They're actively working against this at the work site," he said. "I think they're organizing anti-union workers to talk to people, do one on ones – stuff

our organizers did before they were laid off," which Kolhoff contends was a reprisal for the organizing attempts.

 

"We're slowly making progress. We're going to do it."

 

Peckham, a non-profit corporation, manufactures products for clients including General Motors, Auto-Owners Insurance and Demmer Corporation.

 

Many of the company's employees are disabled workers, employed as part of Peckham's job-training program.

 

Union organizers

say the company is taking advantage of disabled adults,

paying them low wages while reaping massive profits.

 

Attempts to reach Peckham officials for comment weren't immediately successful.

 

Organizers with United Peckham and the Lansing Workers Center plan to picket the golf outing from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday, June 12. The event will be held

at the Eagle Eye and Hawk Hollow golf courses in Bath Township.

E-mail Angela Wittrock:

awittroc at mlive dot com

and follow her on Twitter at

twitter.com/AngelaWittrock

and

Facebook,

or reach her by phone at 517.219.7073.

 

Source:

 

http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2012/06/united_peckham_announces_plans.html