[nfbmi-talk] picketers protest peckham

[joe harcz Comcast]

Me too.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at att.net>
To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2012 8:53 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] picketers protest peckham


> Hey Joe,
>
> Thanks for this.  I am so happy about this.
>
> Warm Regards,
>
> Fred
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
> Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2012 1:21 PM
> To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] picketers protest peckham
>
> Picketers protest alleged anti-union action at Peckham
>
>
>
> Group claims a pattern of 'retaliatory layoffs'
>
>
>
> 10:23 PM, May. 11, 2012  |
>
> peckham picket 2
>
> Purchase Image
>
>
>
> Brian Owens (left) and Michael Grau (right) who said they are recently 
> laid
> off Peckham Industries employees, take part in an informational picket in
> favor
>
> of union organization outside the nonprofit Friday. / Rod Sanford | 
> Lansing
> State Journal
>
> pbcsi.dll/persbilde?Avis=A3&ID=KenPal&maxH=34&maxW=34
>
>
>
> Written by
>
>
>
> Ken Palmer
>
>
>
> List of 1 items
>
> . Filed Under
>
> list end
>
> List of 1 items
>
> . Business
>
> list end
>
>
>
> A handful of workers and union organizers worked a picket line at Peckham
> Vocational Industries on Friday to protest what they called anti-union
> activities
>
> by the nonprofit company.
>
>
>
> Mike Kolhoff, an organizer for United Peckham, an independent union formed
> in March, said the informational pickets are aimed at stemming what he
> called
>
> a pattern of "retaliatory layoffs" at Peckham.
>
>
>
> "They are laying off staff to intimidate people from joining the union,"
> said Kolhoff, of the Lansing Workers' Center, a community group that
> advocates
>
> for individual workers and groups of workers. "They are targeting groups 
> of
> people who they believe would be most likely to support the union drive,
> while
>
> other groups of people are being excluded."
>
>
>
> The company released a statement saying it respects citizens' rights to 
> hold
> informational sessions in public places.
>
>
>
> Spokeswoman Bonnie Zimmerman said the company recently laid off about 70
> clients who work in apparel manufacturing. More than 100 others were laid
> off before
>
> that, she said.
>
>
>
> "A lot of the work we do is for the military, and those production numbers
> are down," she said.
>
>
>
> "The volume of work orders is decreasing."
>
>
>
> Lansing-based Peckham provides job training for people with disabilities 
> who
> work in manufacturing, warehousing, office cleaning, information 
> technology
>
> and other fields. The company is a major supplier of garments for the U.S.
> Army and other branches of the military.
>
>
>
> About 200 clients have signed union pledge cards since the organizing 
> drive
> began in March, Kolhoff said. The union has not been certified as a
> bargaining
>
> agent for the workers. He and other union supporters said the layoffs 
> began
> in April and now number 200 or more.
>
>
>
> The union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National
> Labor Relations Board, Kolhoff said.
>
>
>
> On Friday afternoon, Brian Owens, who worked at Peckham for two years 
> before
> being laid off last week, held signs in front of the company's plant on
> Capital
>
> City Boulevard, urging workers who were leaving the plant to sign a union
> pledge card.
>
>
>
> "All of this started when we started getting a union in here," Owens said,
> referring to the layoffs.
>
>
>
> Workers are concerned about wages, working conditions and what he called
> disrespectful treatment of them by the company, he said.
>
>
>
> "They are using and abusing people on a daily basis, and it just has to
> end," Owens said. "It's a glorified, modern-day sweatshop."
>
>
>
> Source:
>
>
>
> http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120512/BUSINESS/305120028/Picke
> ters-protest-alleged-anti-union-action-Peckham?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%
> 7CFRONTPAGE
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