The two-dozen member Guild unit at the Solidarity Center began negotiations over a successor collective bargaining agreement to the three-year deal that expired Sept. 25.
Solidarity Center Unit Chair Rob Pajkovski said on the eve of talks that a management negotiator had indicated that a new contract could be reached by the end of the month. “We are not so sure about that,” Pajkovski said.
Other members of the bargaining committee are David Welsh, Geoff Herzog, Hind Cherrouk, Jana Silverman, Laurie Clements, Tristan Masat, Rick Hall, and WBNG Executive Director Cet Parks.
Launched by the AFL-CIO in 1997, the nonprofit organization assists workers around the world who are attempting to build democratic and independent trade unions. Funding is provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the departments of State and Labor, private foundations, and national and international labor organizations.
WBNG has been representing approximately two dozen workers – many of whom are stationed outside the United States – since 2002.
The Solidarity Center’s Guild bargaining team gathered in Washington just before talks began.