LV firm, union remain at odds after suit, rally

Grace Leong

Thursday, June 15, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.

Some 250 Las Vegas union workers and religious leaders rallied Wednesday at Jensen Precast's Las Vegas concrete plant to pressure the company to reinstate workers it claims were fired for union organizing.

Led by national AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, the rally was part of "7 Days in June," a week of hearings, marches, rallies and bus tours aimed at bolstering organized labor nationwide.

The Nevada Carpenters Union and a group of former Jensen workers at the rally displayed a copy of an employer "black book" naming Jensen and a National Labor Relations Board lawsuit filed against the firm Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Jeff Hermanson, the Carpenters' spokesman, said attempts to talk to the company failed.

"Trumka asked for an opportunity to bargain, and Father Phil Carolin of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada wanted a meeting to discuss the treatment of the workers, but Jensen referred them to its attorney."

"This isn't a legal issue but a moral one. But all they told us was, 'If you're not here to buy concrete, we don't have time to talk to you,' " he said.

Eric Jensen, Jensen Precast's president, described the rally as "short, boisterous, but civil and uneventful." He said workers who support organizing the company will have to vote through a secret ballot election held by the NLRB.

"But we also have employees telling us they will quit if the company goes union. And we have to respect their rights too."

Stephen Wamser, NLRB's deputy regional attorney, denied any political motive by the agency when asked if its lawsuit filing was timed to coincide with the "7 Days in June" event. "There's no effort to time the filing with the union protests. The (lawsuit) authorization from the board came on June 6. It just took us this long to complete the preparation of the papers," he said.

Hermanson agreed.

"It's purely coincidental that the filing occurred during the week of '7 Days in June.' We've been seeking an injunction since last August."

While Jensen doesn't believe he is being targeted by the government, he questioned the purpose of the unions black book, which lists Nevada employers that unions claim violate the law by firing union organizers.

"We're assuming the timing of the petition is coincidental. But if it's the union's stated intention to put us out of business by blacklisting us, that's illegal."

"Also the union hasn't been very forthcoming. We first filed unfair labor practices charges against the union too on June 24, 1999, and those were settled by the union on Feb. 28," he said.

Jensen had charged that the union demanded its client, Quality Mechanical Contractors Inc., remove four Jensen non-union workers from a jobsite at the Fiesta hotel-casino on June 3, 1999. It said the union also damaged its property and threatened workers who crossed the picket line with physical harm.

The NLRB's lawsuit seeks an order requiring Jensen to negotiate a union contract.

The petition seeks to stop the company from discriminatorily assigning more onerous work to union supporters and to reassign two workers -- Eduardo Mendoza and Roberto Gonzales -- their former quality control finisher work in lieu of floor sweeping duties.

It also seeks to stop Jensen from threatening to fire workers who support the union, interrogating them about their union activities and stopping them from wearing union T-shirts.

Eric Jensen denied the NLRB charges.

"The allegations are false. We feel we will prevail in both the injunction and administrative law hearings because we didn't do it," he said, declining to comment on whether the company will reinstate the five workers.

The NLRB petition also seeks to stop the company from sabotaging union participation by offering wage increases and improvements in medical benefits to workers who stop their union activities.

"Last year, to get the workers off the strike, Jensen gave a wage increase that ranged from $1 to $4 per hour," said Hermanson. "Before the union campaign began, the typical wage increase was only 16 to 50 cents an hour."

He said Jensen's workers currently earn an average wage of $9-$14 an hour, some 50 percent below average construction industry rates.

"If these jobs were performed by union workers under the current construction agreement, they will be earning at least 50 percent more, that is, $13.50 an hour for apprentices and $21 an hour for skilled workers," Hermanson said. "We aren't seeking the current construction rates for the first contract. We're talking about a reasonable increase and we think a $1-$4 an hour wage increase will be a good step."

Jensen declined comment on the union's proposals.

The union also disputed Jensen's claims that it has operated for 529 days at its Las Vegas plant without a lost time accident.

"There's a problem with safety. Workers are breathing dust without proper protection. Jensen got a number of OSHA citations for faulty equipment and wiring, and one worker got hit by a forklift," Hermanson said.

He said Jensen could claim there weren't any lost time accidents because the company allegedly gave its workers a safety incentive bonus if they do not report lost time accidents and used vacation days to cover for the time needed to recover from worksite injuries.

Jensen denied those allegations.

"We have a pro-active safety program companywide. We put in the safety incentive bonus to remind people to be safe."