Local News in Brief : 60 Fired at Universal
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Universal Studio Tours has fired about 60 electricians and maintenance workers for refusing to cross picket lines set up by striking tram drivers and mechanics.
Joan Bullard, a spokeswoman for Universal Studio Tours, said the company on Tuesday “terminated” workers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 40 and Studio Utility Employees Local 724 because they violated a no-strike clause in their contracts by not showing up for work that day at the 420-acre park in Universal City.
But Timothy Dixon, assistant business manager of the electrical workers local, said the contract allows for individual union members to honor a picket line if the other union’s walkout is officially sanctioned by the leadership of both unions. That was the case in this instance, Dixon said.
The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Universal Studio Tours with the National Labor Relations Board, he said.
Universal has replaced the fired workers with managers, Bullard said.
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