News from USW: Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., to Compensate Former Employee It Fired for Calling Strike-Breaker a "Scab".ERWIN (Entity Relationship for WINdows) A data modeling program for Windows from Computer Associates. It allows the database schemas to be built graphically and turns the graphs into the appropriate SQL code for creating PowerBuilder, DB2, Oracle, Sybase and other databases. , Tenn. -- News from USW USW Und So Weiter (German: and so on) USW Undersea Warfare USW United Steel Workers USW US Wheat Associates USW Ultrasonic Welding USW Ultra Short Wave USW US West Telecommunications (stock symbol) : Nuclear Fuel Services Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. is an American company that has been a major supplier of fuel for the United States Navy's fleet of nuclear-powered vessels since the 1960s. In recent years it has also processed weapons-grade uranium into nuclear reactor fuel. (NFS (Network File System) The file sharing protocol in a Unix network. This de facto Unix standard, which is widely known as a "distributed file system," was developed by Sun. See file sharing protocol and WebNFS. NFS - Network File System ) in Erwin has agreed to compensate a salaried employee who the company discharged earlier in the year for referring to a replacement worker who crossed the union picket line at the plant during a strike as "a scab." Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is a musician, vocalist, and artist. She plays bass and guitar in the alternative rock band Sonic Youth. She also plays in the band Free Kitten with Julie Cafritz (of Pussy Galore), and she has collaborated with musicians such as Ikue Mori, was a salaried employee and not represented by the union, but the USW helped her file a charge for wrongful termination wrongful termination n. a right of an employee to sue his/her employer for damages (loss of wage and "fringe" benefits, and, if against "public policy," for punitive damages). against the company with the National Labor Relations Board National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), independent agency of the U.S. government created under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act), and amended by the acts of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Labor Act) and 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act), which affirmed labor's right (NLRB) after she was fired August 17. That day she received a letter stating that NFS was terminating her for "a work attitude not in keeping with the core values of NFS." The Aug. 17 letter continued, "You have recently demonstrated your lack of respect for your fellow employees by referring to the newly hired employees as 'scabs.'" East Tennessee resident and Steelworkers Union retiree Larry Abel, who assisted Ms. Gordon with her case, said, "The NLRB was preparing to issue a complaint against NFS and prosecute the company for the illegal firing. That is when NFS management indicated that they wanted to settle with Ms Gordon. NFS managers knew they were guilty, and they sure didn't want the public to see how vicious they really are. But as it ends up, NFS isn't going to be the Grinch that stole the Gordon Family's Christmas." Ms. Gordon stated, "I could have gone to trial to get my job back and was advised by the union that they thought I'd win my case hands-down. But life is too short to work for a mean-spirited, back-stabbing bunch like NFS management." She said she suspects that "someone at the company broke into my desk. I truly believe they were trying to trump up to devise; to collect with unfairness; to fabricate; as, to trump up a charge. See also: Trump reasons to fire me." NFS insisted the settlement agreement contain no admission of guilt admission of guilt n. a statement by someone accused of a crime that he/she committed the offense. If the admission is made outside court to a police officer it may be introduced as evidence if the defendant was given the proper warnings as to his/her rights on the company's part, Gordon said, but added, "If they weren't wrong, why are they giving me a reference letter, 100% company fully-paid family insurance until June 2007, and full back pay plus damages worth several times the back pay?" Approximately three hundred-seventy members of United Steelworkers Local 9677 went on strike May 15, 2006 and remained on strike until October at the nuclear facility against what they consider unfair bargaining tactics by management after NFS' insistence on slashing retiree health care insurance benefits and ending workers' defined benefit pension plan and replacing it with a 401k savings plan. NFS later added other demands, such as expanding sub-contracting of work currently done by full time employees. Though workers made an unconditional offer to return to work in October, no labor agreement has been reached and few of the striking employees have been returned to their jobs. NFS is the sole supplier of fuel for the U.S. Navy's nuclear fleet and also supplies the Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), independent U.S. government corporate agency, created in 1933 by act of Congress; it is responsible for the integrated development of the Tennessee River basin. with nuclear fuel. In a twist of irony, five days after Gordon was fired, she received a gift certificate and letter from the company congratulating her on her fifth anniversary with NFS. The letter said, "Please accept your award as a token of our sincere appreciation for your continued loyalty and dedication to our common core values." The NLRB has already issued a complaint against an NFS contractor in the current dispute charging that two contract workers at the nuclear plant were unfairly fired for refusing to do work for which they were insufficiently trained. USW's Larry Abel reported that on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 the NLRB prosecuted the company for these illegal firings before a federal administrative law judge administrative law judge n. a professional hearing officer who works for the government to preside over hearings and appeals involving governmental agencies. They are generally experienced in the particular subject matter of the agency involved or of several agencies. , and the union is optimistic that they will be returned to work. Abel said the NFS subcontractor made cash offers to these employees to drop the charges, but the workers said their jobs aren't for sale and they want to return to their jobs with back pay. Local 677 officer Debra Greene said, "Our union is committed to protecting all workers' rights. We're pleased that Kim Gordon gained some satisfaction from Nuclear Fuel Services in time for Christmas. Now it's time for NFS to settle with the rest of the workforce and sign a fair labor agreement." The United Steelworkers is the largest industrial union in North America and representing more than 850,000 workers. |
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