Is Indy Airport Playing Politics For Ballard?

I've said it before and I'll say it again - nothing happens at the Indianapolis International Airport that is not pre-approved by the Mayor.

I suspect his fingerprints are on the latest news from the Airport. At least his campaign's fingerprints are under suspicion.

In today's Indy Star there is a notice of a public hearing on an Airport ordinance that would rescind an older ordinance allowing collective bargaining by Airport employees. In part the notice says:

General Ordinance No. 1-2011, if adopted, shall repeal General Ordinance No. 9-2008 which established a system to permit representation of certain employees by unions (employee organizations) for purposes of limited collective bargaining for employees of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.

The meeting of the Airport Authority Board will be at 8 am, April 15, in the main conference room of the Radisson Hotel, 2500 South High School Road - not in the Board room at the airport.

The Airport Board was going to vote on this proposal to nip union hopes in the bud (aka 'union busting') back at its March 11 meeting (see my blog entry "Union Busting Reaches Fever Pitch in Indiana"). Then, all of a sudden, the proposed vote was taken off the table "indefinitely" (see my blog entry on March 9 "Indy Airport Sidesteps Union Issue - For Now") "Indefinitely" sure had a short tenure.

At the same time as the vote was 'indefinitely postponed', Mayor Greg Ballard's campaign was making much hay of its endorsement by 4 AFSCME locals representing City workers. In fact, the campaign made the announcement on March 8 and the Airport's 'indefinite' postponement hit the newspaper on March 9. Coordinated ? Quack, quack, quack.

Now that the campaign no longer needs undivided attention to its supposed support for and by Union brothers and sisters, the Airport is released to return to its union bashing ways.

Perhaps the 4 AFSCME locals would contemplate rescinding their endorsements on principal.

Ronald Reagan Linked Unions With Freedom Itself

Indy Airport Sidesteps Union Issue - For Now

A very small blurb in today's IndyStar notes that the Indianapolis Airport Board's public hearing on collective bargaining, originally set for Friday, is indefinitely postponed.

IndyStar Reporting Breaking News - Indiana Democrats Trigger Showdown

The IndyStar website is reporting that Indiana House Democrats have left the State in order to kill so-called 'right to work', also known as 'right to work for less' legislation.

Seats on one side of the Indiana House were nearly empty today as House Democrats departed the the state rather than vote on anti-union legislation.

A source tells the Indianapolis Star that Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.

and,

Today, the union members who have filled the Statehouse — an estimated 4,000 according to the Indiana State Police — held a rally, chanting such things as “Ditch Mitch” and “Save Our Families,” which he must have heard as he worked in his nearby Statehouse office.

More as it develops.

Union Busting Reaches Fever Pitch In Indiana

Union busting is all the rage these days, and the backlash is just about to be ramped up in earnest.

At the Indianapolis International Airport, CEO John Clark has announced his intention of revoking collective bargaining rights for airport employees. Make serious note here, that nothing happens at the airport without the full consent of Mayor Ballard, who appoints 6 of the 8 board members. IndyStar reporter Bruce Smith, reported on Thursday (Feb 17, 2011):

Jeff Withered, business agent for Operating Engineers Local 399, was blunt in saying negotiations ended abruptly after Clark became involved. He said that smacks of a betrayal of promises by Clark and the Indianapolis Airport Authority board to allow collective bargaining.

"John Clark stopped it and told us to go away for two years," Withered said.

Clark will ask the airport board Friday to begin steps to repeal the ordinance passed in December 2008 that granted collective bargaining rights for airport employees.

The board is expected to hold a hearing March 11 on an ordinance to repeal those collective bargaining rights.

At least three employee groups have shown interest in forming unions.

Airport Board meeting agendas can be obtained by visiting the Board's webpage and clicking on the calendar for board meetings in the upper right hand corner of the page. As of right now, no Board meeting has been added to the calendar for March 11, so keep checking.

Meanwhile the Republican-controlled State Legislature is pushing forward on a large number of bills, all of which hack at one key component after another, of workers rights to collective bargaining or union operations. They want to make collective bargaining illegal for all state workers. They want to prohibit union/government negotiated project labor agreements. They want to increase the size of a project wherein a common wage would have to be determined. They want to limit what can be part of the negotiated package for union contracts in educational institutions.

The idea that a group of American individuals should be legally prohibited from associating with one another and joining together to improve their work environment and pay, is in direct contradiction with the inalienable rights enunciated in our Declaration of Independence.

The real aim of all of these legislative efforts is not to make Indiana more competitive in attracting business. It is to bust the unions, and allow employers to do whatever they want in work conditions and wages. It is also, to reduce the ability of unions to lobby for better laws and to contribute money and manpower to Democratic candidates.

For much of this week, the Central Indiana Labor Council plans rallies at the Statehouse. The schedule is:
Monday, February 21 -- 9 am
Tuesday, February 22 -- 10 am
Wednesday, February 23 -- 10 am
Thursday, February 24 -- 10 am

The Central Indiana Jobs With Justice is focusing on the hearings on HR1468, the so-called 'right to work' bill. That hearing begins at 9 am, Monday, February 21, in room 156A in the basement of the Statehouse. If you cannot be there, even though Monday is a holiday (thanks to unions, by the way), you can watch live video feed from the Statehouse through the Legislature website, by clicking on the 'Watch Indiana General Assembly Live' button in the right hand corner of the home page.

Unions may represent a small fraction of workers in our State. But there can be no mistaking the positive influence of those contracts on the rest of us.