Can They Do That? Past Practice Grievances and Mid-term Bargaining

Tuesdays - November 18th & December 2nd
6:00 - 9:00PM
UMass Lowell, Alumni Hall - North Campus
Cost: $15.00 per session, $25.00 for both

Co-Sponsored by the Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council and UMass Lowell Labor Extension Program.

Session I - Robert Schwartz: Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
What are Our Rights When the Contract Doesn't Cover It? Past practice gievances and mid-term bargaining

Session II - Nancy Lessin: Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
Confronting Management Blame-the-Worker Health and Safety Programs: A case study in mid-term bargaining

Robert Schwartz is a labor lawyer and author of several books that have helped make the law and our legal rights accessible to workers and union activists including: The Legal Rights of Union Stewards; How To Win Past Practice Grievances; The FMLA Handbook; Injured on the Job: A Handbook for Massachusetts Workers and his most recent book Strikes, Picketing and Inside Campaigns.

Is management changing conditions, rules, policies, job descriptions, break times, etc. during the period of the contract? Are they telling you that if there isn't specific contract language prohibiting the change, you don't have any recourse? In this session, attorney Bob Schwartz will teach us how to use past practice and mid-term bargaining rights to protect our members even when we
don't have specific contract language.

Nancy Lessin is from the United Steelworkers' Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety and Environmental Education and former Health and Safety Coordinator for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.
What can you do if management is implementing (or has implemented) a "blame-the-worker" safety program that blames workers for their "unsafe acts" and focuses attention away from correcting hazards? Whether its prizes for workers who don't report injuries, discipline and/or drug-testing for those who do report injuries, behavioral observations or other practices, these programs are bad for health and safety and bad for union solidarity and strength. Learn about strategies, using past practice and mid-term bargaining rights, to eliminate or prevent "blame-theworker" safety programs, and build member involvement and union strength in the process.

Light refreshment offered. Please pre-register by November 13th, 2008

For more information or to pre-register, please contact Sue D'Amore at (978) 934-3256 or send an email to Susan_Damore@uml.edu with your name, union and contact information.

Discounts are available to unions who send 5 or more members to both sessions.
www.uml.edu/laborextension