The Saturday9/23/06 Dallas Morning News DMNrepots on page 2D that one Jim Phole has managed to unioinize the first eleven drives as preisdent of the American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers Inc at a Pensocola franchise of Domino’s. The franchise refused to pay the minimum wage saygin the were tipped employees. This may well open the foor to other organizing attempts.
The way this works is that one petitions the National Labor Relations Board for recognition as a union. Then one petitions to hold an election. If the workers vote for union representation, bingo the union represents the workers.
This is no small matter. Union membership has been declining for decades. The entire auto industry has migrated from union shop states ( where a worker can be requried to join the existing union whether he votes to or not) to right to work states in which union membership is not compulsory. Previous to this, such jobs as fast food could fill their ranks with other young workers. However as these jobs are increasingly taken by older and often dispclaced workers, that trend is changing.
Mr. Pohl is apparently not a UNT Dallas candidate. He delivers pizza because and I quote ‘he likes to sleep late, smoke on the job, and listen to the radio. But then how many Mr. Pholes are out there?
With auto ranks being thinned, this may be the unions next best chance. Most of you are too young to remember the days in the 1960s when George Meany would appear on the Sunday talk shows threatening to shut down entire industries with a strike. Those were the glory days for unions. This may be the first re awakening of opportunity.
DLE
Professor Elam 
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