JBM Bluegrass Satellite/DirecTech has agreed to pay approximately $1.9 million to workers at its Columbus, Ohio facility for massive unfair labor practices the company committed in its efforts to destroy the workers’ union, UE Local 719. This is a major victory over an extremely anti-union employer; however, these workers are still engaged in a very difficult fight for their first UE contract.
The company, an installation and service contractor for DirecTV, dropped its appeal of the February 2006 decision of Administrative Law Judge Lawrence W. Cullen, and negotiated with UE an agreement to provide the back pay the judge had ordered. Approximately 80 employees will receive money under the settlement; at least four people will receive over $80,000, and one individual’s payment is $84,000.
Workers at Bluegrass/DireTech began organizing with UE in May 2003 and demanded union recognition from the company in September 2003. The company committed massive unfair labor practices to stop the organizing drive, and faced with the prospect of losing in an NLRB trial, agreed in March 2004 to recognize the union. But within days the company was firing workers in retaliation for their union support, and over the past three years has committed massive additional labor law violations, including subcontracting much of their work in an effort to starve workers into submission.
Kevin Rhodes is one of the technicians discharged for his support for the union. His companion Alisha Romans was also constructively discharged immediately after she testified for the union at an NLRB hearing. They are now both back to work, and between the two of them, they are receiving $98,000 in back pay, and they plan to personally thank UE members this month when they represent Local 719 at the UE Convention.
“So many times when people do the right thing and stand up for what is right, they still do not reap the reward – they do not achieve justice,” says Kevin. “But this time it really paid off for us. I’ve never seen it pay off before. It’s good to know someone is sticking up for us. I want to thank all the members of UE for supporting your union that has now done so much for us. Our job is a much better place now.”
Judge Cullen agreed with UE and the NLRB General Counsel on the majority of charges against Bluegrass, and found massive violations of workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The biggest individual back pay amounts are to employees who were victims of constructive discharge, by which the company forced some union supporters to quit by depriving them of sufficient work to earn a living. The judge found that the company “ran a covert operation designed to deprive the Columbus bargaining unit of their work by transferring it elsewhere and concealing this information from the Union.”
Additional back pay to larger numbers of employees result from the judge’s finding that the company unilaterally imposed lower pay on new employees; mandatory work on Sundays and Labor Day; forced technicians to purchase locking ladder racks for their trucks; forced employees to pay for small parts used in their work and for company equipment. The judge found the company committed numerous other illegal acts, such as bad faith bargaining tactics that included regressive bargaining proposals – proposals to make things worse than before the union came in – and systematically refusing to give the union information to which it was entitled. He found the company illegally attempted to get rid of UE “ … by instigating and soliciting employees to file and sign decertification petition;” established illegal rules that prohibited workers from talking about the union on company time and property, as well as “..prohibiting employees from discussing their wages with co-workers under threat of discharge …”
Despite being forced to pay up and settle its past unfair labor practices, Bluegrass/DirecTech continues to do everything it can to avoid agreeing to a contact with UE Local 719. That’s why members of UE and other unions demonstrated in June at the annual shareholders meeting of DirecTV, for whom Bluegrass is an exclusive contractor. UE members and friends are urged to help Local 719 members in their fight for justice by signing the online petition to DirecTV on the UE website, www.ueunion.org .