Northwest Airlines mechanics gathered in front of the White House on Monday protesting President Bush’s intervention in contract talks between their union and the Minnesota-based airline.
Now, one day later, attorneys and high-ranking labor officials will take part in a labor law symposium on the MSU campus.
The symposium, sponsored by the Law Review of MSU-Detroit College of Law, will be held at 7 p.m. today in the Castle Board Room on the third floor of the DCL Building.
The event will focus on the impact of the Bush administration on labor laws and will feature a panel presentation and a question and answer session.
Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan State AFL-CIO, said Bush’s recent actions in the Northwest negotiations have hurt his relationship with organized labor.
“You have a president that says, ‘I’m going to invoke the 60-day cooling off period before the parties negotiate,’” said Gaffney who will speak today. “What that says to the employer is, ‘You don’t have to give in, because I’m not going to let the union strike.’”
Bush intervened in negotiations between the airline and the mechanics’ union Friday, which automatically postpones a strike for at least 60 days.
Also speaking are MSU graduate Leonard Page, general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board, Grand Rapids attorney Carl Ver Beek and Saginaw attorney David Masud.
This is the first time the publication has hosted a symposium focused specifically on labor law since the school relocated to East Lansing in 1995.
“Initially, the school used to have both a symposium and a writing competition in the area of labor law when it was in Detroit,” said Lisa Harrison, co-chair of the symposium. “We felt that in a state like Michigan where labor is such an important issue, it’s important that we start holding a symposium that will discuss current labor issues.”
Allen Lanstra, editor of the Law Review, said he is expecting good things from the event.
“We’ve been getting a lot of great responses from DCL alumni in the area who are planning on attending,” he said.
