Latest News
Richard Lanigan Elected President and Mary Mahoney Elected Secretary-Treasurer at 27th OPEIU Convention
Orlando, Florida (June 6, 2016) — Delegates to the Office and Professional Employees International Union 27thConvention today elected Richard Lanigan to serve as president for the next three years. Also reelected to her third term was Secretary-Treasurer Mary Mahoney.
Lanigan was named president by the OPEIU Executive Board in December following the resignation of Michael Goodwin. In February 2016, Lanigan was sworn in as a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Lanigan has served as Secretary-Treasurer of OPEIU Local 153 and as an International vice president for Region II since 1994.
Mahoney is also president of OPEIU Local 6 in Boston, Massachusetts, serving in that role since 1995.
AFL-CIO-Endorsed Boycott of “Made in Mexico” Mondelez International Snack Foods
The AFL-CIO has endorsed the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union (BCTGM) boycott of the snack food items of Mondelez International (“Mondelez,” “Mondelez/Nabisco”) that are made in Mexico.
The boycott is being conducted because Mondelez is shifting work from U.S. production facilities, most recently in Chicago, IL, to a facility in Salinas Victoria, Mexico.
Menard’s Settles OPEIU Labor Law Violations Case With NLRB – 45,000 Workers Win Class Action Rights
At least 45,000 workers have won class-action lawsuit rights in a National Labor Relations Board case against Menard’s.
The midwest-based home improvement supply store chain owned by Wisconsin anti-union billionaire John Menard is settling the case with the NLRB rather than trying to fight the charges that his company is violating labor law.
OPEIU Local 153 attorney Seth Goldstein filed the charges along with attorney Marissa McDermott.
OPEIU Endorses Ted Strickland in the Primary Race for Senator from Ohio
New York, NY (March 10, 2016) – The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, today announces its endorsement of Ted Strickland in the primary race to become the Democratic nominee for the office of U.S. senator from Ohio.
“After consulting with OPEIU Local Unions in Ohio, we have decided to put our full support behind Ted Strickland because of his stance on a number of issues of importance to our members,” said OPEIU President Richard Lanigan. “Ted has been a champion of working people throughout his career in Congress and as governor, and he will continue to fight for them in the Senate by working to increase the minimum wage, protect overtime wages, achieve pay equity, support collective bargaining in the workplace and defeat bad trade deals like the TPP.”
OPEIU Endorses Hillary Clinton for President
New York, NY (March 9, 2016) – The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, today announces its endorsement of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election for president of the United States.
“Our country’s chief executive should be someone who is experienced in both domestic and foreign affairs and someone who understands and prioritizes the needs of working families,” said OPEIU President Richard Lanigan. “Hillary Clinton has this experience and the OPEIU Executive Board has determined that of all the candidates, she is by far the most qualified to lead our nation.
OPEIU Local 2 Member Elected Co-Chair of YWAC
OPEIU Local 2 executive board member Caniesha Seldon has been elected to serve a one-year term as co-chair of the AFL-CIO Young Workers Advisory Council (YWAC). YWAC was founded in 2009 and is comprised of 35 young workers from various AFL-CIO affiliates across the United States. It was created as a way to develop dialogue among young workers who are active in the labor movement, with the hopes of creating resources and programs that make it easier for young workers to become more involved. Council members mentor, train, and develop young worker group leaders and publicly represent the AFL-CIO’s NextUp program across the country.
NY unions add 58,000 members in 2015, reversing decline
Unions in New York State gained 58,000 members last year, a reversal of the decline recorded between 2013 and 2014, according to new federal data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week the ranks of private-sector and government unions in the state totaled 2 million, up 3 percent from a year earlier. Union membership has fluctuated in recent years. There was a decline of 6,000 members between 2013 and 2014, and an increase of 145,000 between 2012 and 2013. The latter was the first increase since 2007. However, union membership remains below its recent high of 2.1 million in 2005. The expansion of union rolls coincided with an increase in the number of people employed in New York State. The total workforce statewide grew by 189,000 people last year, or 2.3 percent over 2014.
Seth Goldstein: Union believes Menards is curtailing employee rights
Dear Editor: I am happy Kevin Scofield is glad to remain employed at Menards during hard times, though he hardly offers spirited details and talks vaguely of policies he does not like. Unfortunately, Menards denies their employees the right to speak openly regarding company employment policies and decisions with which they may disagree.
For instance, Menards has created a no-gossiping policy at the workplace. The company’s “Team Member Pay Merit Review Eligibility Notice” lists reasons managers can cite to deny employees merit pay increases — including gossiping. Menards’ gossiping ban violates the National Labor Relations Act as it unjustly penalizes any employee who complains, to another employee, about working conditions.
OPEIU Endorses Shaun Francis for NY State Senate, 43rd District
The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, has endorsed Shaun Francis for the New York State Senate, 43rd District.
“Shaun has dedicated his post-baseball career to serving the needs of working people,” said OPEIU President Richard Lanigan. “He has the experience and proven dedication that makes him the right candidate to represent working families in New York and ensure their interests are protected in Albany.” Lanigan pledged OPEIU will mobilize its members in the 43rd District to help ensure that Francis is elected.
Workers, lawyers, NLRB team up to expose Menard’s union busting
David versus Goliath comparisons leap to the journalist’s pen whenever an average person fights for rights against the controlling richest .01 percent. It’s a popular truism. But sometimes it’s dead right. Such is the case of an unknown union organizer who likes to work computer and phone out of a coffee shop near his Manhattan home in a state that doesn’t even have one of John Menard Jr.’s 280 Big Box home improvement stores.