http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/unions.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article4175433.ece http://tobacco.org/news/267320.html Imperial Tobacco will close a cigar factory in Bristol as part of a cost-cutting plan that will eliminate almost 2,500 jobs, including 285 in Britain, as it begins integrating Altadis, the Franco-Spanish rival it acquired for €12.6 billion (£9.9 billion) last year. Imperial has made tobacco products in Bristol since 1901 and the closure of the cigar factory ends more than 220 years of tobacco production in Bristol. Cigar production will be moved to Spain with the loss of 75 jobs, while a further 210 jobs will go from Imperial's Nottingham cigarette plant. Unions in the UK were angered by the decision to close the Bristol factory. Times Of London UK Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/106/story/180901.html http://tobacco.org/news/267030.html State and local unions celebrated two major victories this year: A full smoking ban on all casino gaming floors The Press of Atlantic City EOrtiz@pressofac.com (ERIK ORTIZ Staff Writer, 609-272-7253) Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.pjstar.com/archive/x1170287629/UAW-files-unfair-labor-practice-against-Caterpillar-over-smoking-ban http://tobacco.org/news/266367.html Caterpillar Inc.'s decision to ban smoking on all of its U.S. properties beginning Sunday, including on its manufacturing campuses, goes against guarantees in the company's contract with the United Auto Workers, the union says. The union, through Local 974 in East Peoria, has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company, contending the ban should be subjected to collective bargaining. Smoking at Caterpillar, the union said, has been a contractual privilege for 60 years. Peoria Journal-Star pgordon@pjstar.com (Paul Gordon GateHouse News Service) Fri, 30 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue-brf3-caterpillar-smokingjun03,0,6517240.story http://tobacco.org/news/266365.html A union spokesman says heavy equipment-maker Caterpillar is suspending some employees who light up at work in defiance of a new smoking ban. Bill Scott, bargaining chairman for the United Auto Workers local in Peoria, said Caterpillar is suspending some workers and warning others. He wasn't sure Monday how many workers had been disciplined. The union has filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint, contending the ban should be subject to collective bargaining. Chicago Tribune Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chicago-caterpillar-smoking-ban-may30,0,49834.story?track=rss http://tobacco.org/news/266169.html The United Auto Workers union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Caterpillar Inc. over a smoking ban that goes into effect at all of its U.S. properties on Sunday. The union claims the ban goes against guarantees in the UAW contract, and that such a policy shift is subject to collective bargaining. The union says smoking has been a contractual privilege for 60 years. Caterpillar, however, said it was time to end smoking at work. Chicago Tribune Fri, 30 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.week.com/news/local/19387549.html http://tobacco.org/news/266164.html United Auto Workers want the chance to keep their smoking privileges at Caterpillar plants. Their union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Caterpillar because of its decision to ban smoking on all of its U.S. properties beginning Sunday. WEEK-TV Fri, 30 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.yle.fi/news/id92077.html http://tobacco.org/news/266137.html The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health estimates the level of absenteeism has dramatically fallen in the restaurant sector since the introduction of a complete ban on smoking last year. Earlier tens of thousands of bar and restaurant personnel had to inhale tobacco smoke. Around 4,000 to 5,000 restaurant employees still face toxic tobacco fumes at work in the some 500 establishments which were able to obtain a partial exemption from the law until the summer of next year. The Institute of Occupational Health says those restaurants allowing smoking should give their non-smoking employees jobs in areas where no smoking took place. They were particularly concerned about the plight of expectant mothers . . . The Service Union United PAM has expressed satisfaction with the tougher anti-smoking law. . . . For their part, the Association of Hotels and Restaurants (MaRa ry.) says the smoking ban in restaurants has weakened growth in the sector. YLE24 Finland Thu, 29 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-union2308may23,0,7920881.story?track=rss http://tobacco.org/news/265904.html All new deputies at the Volusia County Sheriff's Office must be nonsmokers who can pass a physical-abilities test, according to a contract approved at Thursday's County Council meeting. New employees of the county's Beach Patrol and division of corrections, who are not part of a union, will be held to the same standard, County Manager Jim Dinneen said. "If we don't do this as a government, I think it would be irresponsible," Dinneen said, adding that he would like to implement programs to discourage other county employees from smoking and eventually ban employees from smoking on county premises. County administrators and the Teamster's Local Union No. 385, which represents Volusia's deputies and sergeants, reached an impasse over their contract at the end of September. Orlando Sentinel rjackson@orlandosentinel.com (Rachael Jackson * Sentinel Staff Writer) Fri, 23 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-bk-volusia-contracts-052208,0,189962.story http://tobacco.org/news/265822.html All new deputies at the Volusia County Sheriff's Office must be non-smokers who can pass a physical abilities test, according to contract terms agreed to at today's County Council meeting. And new employees of the Volusia County Beach Patrol and county division of corrections, who are not part of a union, will now be held to the same standard, County Manager Jim Dinneen said. . . . The union wanted an 8 percent raise and disputed the terms that would bar new employees from using tobacco and would terminate employees who can't pass fitness tests. The negotiations went through a state process, but no agreement was made until today's public hearing. Orlando Sentinel Thu, 22 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/20755/smoking-ban-challenge-is-unrealistic-says http://tobacco.org/news/265763.html Equity ARC: Variety artists have failed to convince Equity that it should lobby government to change the smoking ban, which they believe is having a "catastrophic" effect on the light entertainment sector. Performers have warned that the legislation, which came into force last June, is causing pubs and clubs - one of light entertainment's biggest employers - to close at an alarming rate. This has had a knock-on effect for artists, and they claim that work opportunities have fallen by as much as 50%. Speaking at Equity's Annual Representative Conference, northern area councillor Yvonne Joseph said that the smoking ban had lead to a "disastrous loss of work" and urged the union to take an "immediate step to challenge the job losses". However, according to vice-president Jean Rogers, attempting to change the legislation would be a waste of staff resources. The Stage Newspaper Limited UK Tue, 20 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=8b390ecb-7873-47de-947f-e503448ec2e3 http://tobacco.org/news/264827.html Hartford - The House of Representatives will not take up a proposal that could have extended the state smoking ban to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, the chamber's leader said Tuesday. One day before the adjournment deadline of the 2008 regular session, the decision by the House Democrats effectively killed the bill, which had been aggressively sought by some labor groups but opposed by other unions and by the owners of the two casinos, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. In a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic caucus, opinion had run nearly two-to-one against the bill, said House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, who had previously expressed skepticism about the proposal but agreed to consider a vote on it amid fierce lobbying from the United Auto Workers union. The Day t.mann@theday.com ( Ted Mann Day Staff Writer, Politics ) Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=63401fcf-48c8-4ac1-9491-3296561f6146 http://tobacco.org/news/264568.html It took almost five hours, and its fate is uncertain at best, but the proposal to extend a ban on cigarette smoking to Connecticut's two tribal casinos passed the state Senate Friday night. The Senate voted 24-11 to approve a modified version of the smoking ban proposal, which would form a negotiating committee to meet with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, in an effort to reach a voluntary agreement bringing the state's smoking ban to the tribe's casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. But while an amendment modified the provision most protested by the tribes, its essence remained: If the committee and tribal governments can reach no agreement by next spring, the existing ban will kick in for the casinos, a development that would almost certainly trigger a long and hard-fought court battle. Three southeastern Connecticut senators, Democrats Andrew Maynard of Stonington, Andrea Stillman of Waterford, and Edith Prague of Columbia, voted for the bill. Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, joined a group of Republicans voting against the bill. . . . Members of the United Auto Workers local union rejoiced when the bill was passed, shortly before 10 p.m. The union recently won the right to represent dealers at Foxwoods and had aggressively lobbied for the bill's passage. The Day l.mcginley@theday.com ( Ted Mann ) Sat, 03 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/jobs/chi-mon-rose-whirlpool-smokers-apr28,0,5810177.column http://tobacco.org/news/264208.html Whirlpool's smokers pay $500 a year more for their employer-provided health insurance—a penalty big enough to increase the likelihood of cheating—but how would the company find out? Internet message boards buzzed last week with speculation about spy cameras and company snitches. But truth sometimes is stranger than fiction. It wasn't management surveillance or finger-pointing co-workers that outed the smokers. It was the employees themselves. . . . Last month, Whirlpool's suit to overturn the ruling was dismissed in a sealed settlement, setting the stage for rebates. The suspended workers drew attention to their smoking when they asked for the rebates, prompting the company to check to see whether they had paid the fees. Apparently they hadn't. Whirlpool declined to comment about what happened. Last week's statement confirming the suspensions said "falsifying company documents is a serious offense" punishable by suspension or termination. Workers are represented by Local 808 of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers-Communication Workers of America, but the union also declined to comment. . . . Now managers and union officials are forced to confront and investigate behavior that nobody wanted to know about. This is an unwelcome job in a factory culture where smoking is tolerated despite corporate prohibitions and society's increasing disapproval. Chicago Tribune Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20080423_A_C__casino_workers_pleased_by_full-smoking_ban.html http://tobacco.org/news/263985.html So, today's historic, unanimous approval by the Atlantic City Council for a full smoking ban in the casinos is enormously important to String. "It means I'll be able to put in another 10 years in a casino," said String, a 28-year veteran of the city's casino industry. "I won't have to retire." The outcome of today's vote in the packed council chamber, filled mostly with casino workers and health advocates, had been expected. It follows a partial ban established a year ago and unanimous, preliminary Council approval two weeks ago of the full ban. "It feels like Christmas," String said right after the vote. "This has been a hard fight that we've won. We can go to work and not come home with a headache." The Casino Association of New Jersey, which represents the interests of the city's 11 casinos, declined to comment on the council's late-afternoon vote. Philadelphia Inquirer sparmley@phillynews.com (Suzette Parmley INQUIRER STAFF WRITER) Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.pjstar.com/php/index.php?/news/pekin_union_claims_smoking_ban_alters_working_conditions/ http://tobacco.org/news/263940.html PEKIN - A proposed smoking ban on all Tazewell County-owned property has a local union ready to renegotiate a labor contract, saying the ban alters working conditions. "We want to make sure our members don't lose a right that they've had," said Julie Young, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3404, which represents 84 employees in Tazewell County. Young said the union has sent the county a demand of bargain letter, which claims the ban would be a change in established working conditions and requires renegotiation. Peoria Journal-Star youpage@pjstar.com (KEVIN SAMPIER of the Journal Star) Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT