Massive crew firings at troubled Caesars/ISU project follow filing of suit
for back wages
 
United Archaeological Field Technicians (IUOE Local 141) UPDATE:
 
Ceasars RDI, A part of ITT Sheraton, Inc. entered into a contract with
Harrison Co. IN. to gain an Indiana Gaming permit for their casino
riverboat.  In this contract Ceasars promised to pay "union wages" to all
people working on the construction site.  The UAFT, as representative of the
majority of the Archaeological Technicians working on the project, attempted
to negotiate with Indiana State University-Athropology Lab (ISU) the
employer, but ISU refused to respond.
 
After months of attempts, the UAFT and 77 employees were forced to file a
law suit in Indiana State Court to recover back wages.  Ten days later, on
September 11, 1998, ISU layed off (fired) 21 of the remaining 34 employees
in retaliation for the suit and the organizing effort.  All this when ISU
has three more deeply stratified sites to mitigate by April of 1999, and at
a time when their supervisors announced they were looking to add another
twenty to thirty people to the project.   A three year project with a crew
of nearly 100 is now down to little over a dozen.  We can not stand for this
kind of illegal and unfair activity, especially from a tax supported
organization.
 
The UAFT requests that field technicians who wish to support the union's
efforts refuse any offers of employment on this project until these issues
have been resolved.  Please circulate this information to all interested
parties.
 
 
In Solidarity,
 
Paul Reckner (member - UAFT)