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From: 	"BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com>@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22BNA+20Highlights+22+20+3Cbhighlig+40bna+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com] 
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Subject:	June 18 -- BNA, Inc. Daily Labor Report

______________________________

DAILY LABOR REPORT
Highlights & Table of Contents
June 18, 2001
______________________________

ISSN 1522-5968

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__________

HIGHLIGHTS
__________


D.C. CIRCUIT OVERTURNS NLRB DECISION  ON 'SHAM' SALES,
BARGAINING ORDER

The National Labor Relations Board made inadequate findings
to support its decision that an affirmative bargaining order
was necessary because a mobile food catering business made
"sham" sales of catering trucks and routes to avoid
unionization, the District of Columbia Circuit rules
("Douglas Foods Corp. v. NLRB, "D.C. Cir., No. 00-1241,
6/12/01).

"While anti-union animus may well have motivated the
decision [by Douglas Foods Corp.] to sell the [ ] trucks and
routes, there is not substantial evidence to support the
NLRB's conclusion that the sales were 'sham' transactions,"
Judge Sentelle says. He vacates the board's order that the
company re-establish its hot truck operations, expressing
"grave doubts" about its legality even if sufficient fact
findings had been made. . . . Page AA-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a6f1_


DOL STATISTICS SUGGEST DROP IN TRADE-RELATED JOB LOSSES

Recent Labor Department statistics suggest that there may be
a decline in U.S. job losses related to international trade.
The Labor Department determined in fiscal year 2000 that an
estimated 97,764 workers could be eligible to apply for
benefits under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program and
that 47,275 might be eligible for benefits under the North
American Free Trade Agreement's Transitional Adjustment
Assistance program. These figures compare with the 158,649
DOL estimated as eligible for TAA benefits and the 68,730
estimated as eligible for NAFTA-TAA benefits the previous
fiscal year.

The department certified 842 TAA cases and 403 NAFTA-TAA
cases in FY 2000, compared with 1,634 TAA cases and 518
NAFTA-TAA cases the previous fiscal year. Incidents in which
the department determined that workers could be covered by
both programs, "dual certifications," dropped to 260 from
384 last fiscal year. This corresponded with a fall in the
estimated number of workers covered under either program
from  54,769 to 31,617. . . . Page A-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a4n9_


UNIONS UNFAZED BY "KENTUCKY RIVER"; ADVOCATES DEBATE NURSES'
STATUS

Undeterred by the Supreme Court's recent ruling rejecting
the National Labor Relations Board's latest test for
determining whether nurses are supervisors and therefore
unable to join a union, many unions representing health care
professionals say they will continue with organizing efforts
among nurses despite the adverse ruling.

In May, the justices ruled in "NLRB v. Kentucky River
Community Care Inc." that the board's test for deciding
whether a worker exercises independent judgment in
performing certain job tasks--and therefore qualifies as a
supervisor--was inconsistent with the National Labor
Relations Act. In so ruling, the court affirmed by a 5-4
vote a federal appeals court's refusal to enforce the
board's decision that six registered nurses at a health care
facility run by the Kentucky River Community Care Inc. were
not supervisors because they did not exercise independent
judgment in performing their duties.

Some health care employer advocates and labor lawyers agree
that bringing the issue back before the board could be a
daunting task. Not only is this the second time the Supreme
Court has shot down NLRB's attempt to characterize certain
nurses as nonsupervisors, but the changing political climate
may signal a board less inclined to tackle this issue again,
they said. Nonetheless, while advocates for employers and
employees debate the significance and possible ramifications
of the decisions, most health care employee unions continue
organizing efforts. . . . Page B-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h2a3w8_


COMAIR, PILOTS REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT TO END 12-WEEK
STRIKE

 Union representatives for Comair pilots will begin contract
briefings June 18 on a tentative agreement that, if
ratified, will end a crippling 12-week strike against the
regional airline.  Details of the five-year contract are not
being released in advance of ratification, but  J.C. Lawson,
chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association's unit at
Comair, says the union is recommending adoption "because we
believe it satisfies the pilots' fundamental requirements."

 Comair's 1,350 pilots walked off their jobs March 26
following three years of unsuccessful contract negotiations.
Compensation, work rules, job security, and retirement
benefits were the sticking points of negotiations, according
to the pilots' union.      Tentative agreement came June 14,
after three days of intense negotiations between ALPA and
Comair management at National Mediation Board offices in
Washington, D.C.

 Pilots will be briefed on the agreement at informational
meetings June 18-19, the union said. ALPA members will then
vote by telephone June 20-21. If pilots approve the
contract, Comair planes could be flying again by July 15,
the company says. . . . Page A-4

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a4v5_


STANCE OVERTURNED ON PREEMPTION OF WORKERS' MECHANIC'S LIENS

Mechanic's liens filed under Indiana law by a group of
union-represented workers seeking to secure unpaid vacation
pay from their economically failing employer were not
preempted  by the Labor-Management Relations Act, the full
Seventh Circuit rules in a 7-5 decision ("In re: Bentz Metal
Products Co. Inc., "7th Cir., No. 00-1320, en banc, 6/7/01).

Reversing a decision by a three-member panel of the court,
Judge Evans observes that the amount owed to the employees
of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Bentz Metal Products Co. Inc., an
amount governed by the company's collective bargaining
agreement with  United Auto Workers  Local 2298, was not in
dispute. Therefore, the claim did not require an
interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement and
was not preempted by the act, he finds.

Judge Bauer dissents, accusing the majority of
"side-stepping the law to reach an equitable result." Even
though the amount due to the Bentz workers was not in
dispute, Bauer says, preemption applied  because the workers
were seeking to enforce the bargaining agreement. . . . Page
A-7

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a6j1_


JUMP IN FUEL PRICES LIFTS CPI 0.4 PERCENT IN MAY

Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in May as fuel prices
climbed higher for a second consecutive month, the Labor
Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Excluding
the volatile food and energy components of the index,
consumer prices rose a slightly better-than-expected 0.1
percent in May, the smallest monthly increase since December
2000, BLS says.

 "This was a very favorable report. We were obviously
plagued by gasoline hikes that didn't show up in the [June
14 release of the] producer price index,  but price
pressures have generally been quite mild," says Carol Stone,
senior economist at Nomura Securities in New York. Mickey
Levy, chief economist at Bank of America in New York, was
less impressed by the report, saying that once price
increases for the housing component and the medical care
component begin to rise, "it is hard to stop the increase."
. . . Page D-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a1t3_


________________

ALSO IN THE NEWS
________________

REAL EARNINGS: The inflation-adjusted weekly earnings of
most U.S. workers rose 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted
basis in May, reflecting an expansion of hours worked as
well as pay gains, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. .
. . Page D-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a1e2_

AIRLINES: President Bush will intervene to stop a threatened
strike by flight attendants at American Airlines if no
contract settlement is reached by the end of June, Bill
Mosley, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation,
confirms. . . . Page A-4

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h3z9q7_

AIRLINES: Transport Workers Union Local 555 ratifies by a
vote of 2,565 to 1,121 a six and one-half year pact with
Southwest Airlines. The agreement covers 5,300 ramp,
operations, provisioning, and freight agents. . . . Page A-5

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a5p5_

RETAIL SALES: Retail sales rose 0.1 percent in May as
spending for items from cars to apparel weakened, the
Commerce Department says. Spending on retail and food
services rose to $291.3 billion from $291.09 billion in
April. . . . Page D-2

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a1f4_


_________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS
_________________

LEADING THE NEWS

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
   NLRB made inadequate findings to support its decision
   that an affirmative bargaining order was necessary
   because a mobile food catering business made "sham" sales
   of catering trucks and routes to avoid unionization, the
   D.C. Circuit rules . . . Page AA-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a6f1_


____

NEWS
____

AIRLINES
   Members of TWU Local 555 overwhelmingly ratify a six and
   one-half year contract with Southwest Airlines . . . Page
   A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a5p5_

   President Bush will intervene to stop a threatened strike
   by flight attendants at American Airlines if no contract
   settlement is reached by the end of June . . . Page A-4
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h3z9q7_

   Union representatives for Comair pilots will begin
   contract briefings June 18 on a tentative agreement that,
   if ratified, will end a crippling 12-week strike against
   the regional airline . . . Page A-4
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a4v5_

CANADIAN ECONOMY
   Major contracts settled in Canada during April produced
   average annual wage increases of 2.7 percent, down from
   the 3.8 percent average in March, Human Resources
   Development Canada reports . . . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a7h9_

DISCRIMINATION
   Federal district court in Arizona finds Wal-Mart Stores
   Inc. in contempt of court for violating terms of a
   Tucson, Ariz., disability-bias settlement and imposes a
   $750,200 fine . . . Page A-3
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a0q7_

DISLOCATED WORKERS
   Recent Labor Department statistics suggest that there may
   be a decline in U.S. job losses related to international
   trade . . . Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a4n9_

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
   Manufacturers continue to be plagued by the high dollar
   and rising energy and health care costs, yet most
   businesses expect manufacturing to stage a "slow but
   steady" recovery in the fourth quarter, a survey released
   by the National Association of Manufacturers finds . . .
   Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a6y3_

ENTERTAINMENT
   Members of six unions at Walt Disney World in Orlando,
   Fla., overwhelmingly reject terms of a new contract
   proposal that they say are inadequate . . . Page A-9
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a7c6_

LABOR LAW
   Mechanic's liens filed under Indiana law by a group of
   union-represented workers seeking to secure unpaid
   vacation pay from their economically failing employer
   were not preempted by the Labor-Management Relations Act,
   the Seventh Circuit rules . . . Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a6j1_

MINIMUM WAGE
   New Hampshire Senate narrowly kills a House-passed bill
   (H.B. 469) that would have raised the state's minimum
   wage by $1 per hour over two years, from $5.15 to $6.15 .
   . . Page A-9
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a4n3_

PENSIONS
   IRS issues final rules (T.D. 8948) on minimum cost
   requirements under tax code Section 420, permitting the
   transfer of excess assets of a defined benefit pension
   plan to a retiree health account . . . Page A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a5w9_

RACE DISCRIMINATION
   Second Circuit rules jury's irreconcilable verdicts
   regarding a black manager's claims under Title VII of the
   1964 Civil Rights Act and state law that he was rejected
   for a "team leader" position and then terminated in
   retaliation for earlier complaints of race discrimination
   requires a new trial . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4g9p7g9_

SEXUAL HARASSMENT
   EEOC files a class action against International Profit
   Associates Inc., a suburban Chicago management consulting
   firm alleging widespread sexual harassment . . . Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a9m1_

STATE LAWS
   Maine Gov. King (I) signs into law (Ch. 401) a
   first-in-the nation restriction on the assignment of
   mandatory overtime to nurses . . . Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4b3b7_

TRADE
   House Republican leaders introduce bill (H.R. 2149) to
   give President Bush broad authority to negotiate trade
   agreements that he can bring back to Congress for a
   straight up or down vote with no amendments . . . Page
   A-9
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a3b5_

WORKFORCE REDUCTIONS
   Chicago-based Tribune Co. announces plans to reduce its
   workforce by 6 percent--or approximately 1,400
   employees--by the end of the year . . . Page A-4
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h3z9z8_


__________________________

ANALYSIS & PERSPECTIVE
__________________________

NLRA
   Undeterred by the Supreme Court's recent ruling rejecting
   NLRB's latest test for determining whether nurses are
   supervisors and therefore unable to join a union, many
   unions representing health care professionals say they
   will continue with organizing efforts among nurses . . .
   Page B-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h2a3w8_


_____________

ECONOMIC NEWS
_____________

CONSUMER PRICES
   Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in May as fuel prices
   climbed higher for a second consecutive month, the Labor
   Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reports . . .
   Page D-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a1t3_

PRODUCTION & CAPACITY
   Industrial output contracted sharply in May, by 0.8
   percent, marking the eighth month in a row that the
   industrial sector has declined, the Federal Reserve says
   . . . Page D-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a2k5_

REAL EARNINGS
   Inflation-adjusted weekly earnings of most U.S. workers
   rose 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in May,
   reflecting an expansion of hours worked as well as pay
   gains, according to figures released by the Labor
   Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics . . . Page D-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a1e2_

RETAIL SALES
   Retail sales rose just 0.1 percent in May as spending for
   items ranging from cars to apparel weakened, the Commerce
   Department reports . . . Page D-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a1f4_


______________

TABLE OF CASES
______________

Douglas Foods Corp. v. NLRB (D.C. Cir.) . . . Page AA-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a6f1_

EEOC v. Darnell (D. Ariz.) . . . Page A-3
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a0q7_

Harris v. Niagara Mohawk Corp. (2d Cir.) . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4g9p7g9_

In re: Bentz Metal Products Co. Inc. (7th Cir.) . . . Page
A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4h4a6j1_

   __________
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