People Before Profit blog

May Day, a day for international labor solidarity

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:58:00 +0000

DETROIT - More than the first warm, sunny day of the year (which certainly helped uplift people after an unusually long Michigan winter), what made May 1st special was the broad cross section of Michigan labor and faith leaders who proudly celebrated the great U.S. holiday, May Day, by calling for worker's rights and immigrant rights.

In fact, all over the nation, the AFL-CIO called on people to come to local May Day events.

"Today is a special day," said Chris Michalakis, President of Metro Detroit, AFL-CIO. He said Labor Day is a great holiday but today is a day of "international labor solidarity, a day when we think about labor struggles not just here in the United States, but all over the world."

A case in point for Michalakis was the crushing death of hundreds of Bangladesh garment workers who became victims so Walmart shoppers can have cheap t-shirts even as the company also exploits its U.S. workforce.

"No matter where you are or live or what your nationality is, we need international solidarity," he said.

A major theme of the rally was the demand for a comprehensive immigration bill.

"We've got to fight for immigration reform because no longer should babies be torn away from their parents in local neighborhoods like we are in right now," said Reverend Charles Williams of the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church. "Black, brown, yellow, it does not matter, we are all God's children," said Williams.

"What always amazes me is that far too many people pretend we are not a nation of immigrants," said Michigan American Federation of Teachers President David Hecker.

He noted that except for Native Americans, all of us are immigrants. It was immigrants, working in the sweatshops of our nation that helped build this country and make it great he added.

Al Garrett, AFSCME Council 25 President said we need a pathway for citizenship for "folks who are in the shadows of America, working every day and being exploited by employers." He added "we want it now, not ten to twelve years from now."

Elder Leslie from Michigan United, a labor and faith based organization working for immigrant rights, movingly spoke about her adopted Senegalese son Michael Mendy, an artist and Detroit resident, who had been living in the U.S. since 1998. In 2010, he was shot during a robbery, but instead of going after the robber, the police detained him and turned him over to ICE. A campaign is being waged for his release.

Circulating through the crowd with a petition to raise the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour was Good Jobs Now organizer, Daryl Austin. He said "families are struggling. You cannot make it on $7.40 cents. There is no way a single parent can do anything with that."

"We need it, don't you think it's time?" he asked.

The same is being said about comprehensive immigration reform.

Photo: Michigan United organizer, Elder Leslie, speaks at Detroit May Day rally. John Rummel/PW

6,000 miners rally in fight for pensions

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:07:00 +0000

ST. LOUIS - "We are going to stand up, fight back and go to jail for our members - and that is something Peabody can't buy," United Mine Workers' of America (UMWA) international president, Cecil Roberts, told 6,000 mineworkers, supporters, and community activists, as they rallied here in downtown Kiener Plaza on April 29.

The rally was held just across the street from Peabody Energy's national headquarters. Peabody is the nation's largest and most profitable coal company.

According to the Mineworkers, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal created the spinoff company, Patriot Coal, in a scheme to deny pension and health care benefits to over 20,000 union members and their dependents.

Patriot Coal filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, 2012 and shortly thereafter asked to be released from its promises to UMWA members in West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio.

Peabody Energy and Arch Coal are both headquartered in St. Louis, Mo and the bankruptcy case was moved to St. Louis last November.

Dozens of mineworkers have been arrested over the past few months for peacefully sitting down in the street just outside Peabody's headquarters.

President Roberts emphasized that the ongoing rallies, marches and civil disobedience are "about saving lives."

He said, "Somewhere near a coalmine there is a family, a priest or minister, and a doctor" and a coal miner "who has paid the ultimate price" due to black lung disease or cancer, and all they expect in return is what was "promised to them, what they already paid for."

Roberts called Peabody Energy "a Judas" and reminded the assembled union members that Judas kissed Jesus' hand to mark him for death. He then added, pointing to the Peabody headquarters just across the street, "and they are counting the money upstairs."

"People are coming from around the nation and around the world to be with us in this fight. They recognize that our fight is their fight. If Peabody Energy and Patriot can get away with their scheme to get out of their obligations to their retirees, then any company anywhere can do the same thing."

UMWA secretary treasurer, Daniel Kane, echoed Roberts' sentiment and added with enthusiastic cheer, "The labor movement is the greatest instrument for social and economic justice in the world."

"People will only take being walked on for so long," he continued, "before they rise up."

Ominously, but calmly, he concluded, "The people in charge need to recognize that we are the means for a peaceful resolution to our grievances. We are going to do this until we win or for the rest of our lives."

He called people who sit on the sidelines, who refuse to join a union, but benefit from unions, "draft-dodgers in the war for economic justice."

Larry Cohen, international president of the Communication Workers' Union of America (CWA), representing 700,000 members, called Patriot Coals bankruptcy "bullshit" and added that "they are the opposite of patriotic."

Cohen added, "If the courts allow this to happen, they [large corporations] will be able to do anything they want."

Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP, said, Peabody "has conspired to take your money, to defraud you of your hard-won benefits. It is a crime against humanity."

UMWA leaders also emphasized the international aspects of this campaign. Secretary treasurer Kane, said, "Peabody is in Australia. We're in Australia. Peabody can run, but it can't hide. You can't get away from the union."

"We will go across the country or across the world if we have too."

Steve Smyth, president of the Queensland, Australia Construction, Forestry and Mining Employees Union (CFMEU), which represents more than 5,000 miners at nine Peabody mines, said, "We won't stand for a multinational company that rips you off."

"Peabody has simply turned its back on the mine workers. They didn't do this by mistake. They knew what they were doing. They planned this."

Former White House aide and president of Rebuild the Dream, Van Jones, said, "Any corporation, any boss, who looks a man in the eye and tells him to go down into that hole and risk your life to keep the lights on...there's a name for that man who's sent down that hole: he's a hero."

"The promise of lifelong health care for miners and their widows is a sacred moral promise and you can't get out of it," Jones said.

After the rally, union members marched six blocks to the federal courthouse where Patriot Coal's bankruptcy case is being heard. Sixteen protesters blocked the street in front of the courthouse, including Roberts and Cohen, and were arrested.

Later that night, faith leaders from all across St. Louis led a 250 person candle light vigil in support of the mineworkers at the federal court house.

Missouri Jobs with Justice director, Lara Granich, welcomed the faith leaders, and said, "We are grounded in the idea of a covenant. No matter what happens in this building that covenant cannot be broken."

Earlier president Roberts brought the assembled union members to a roar when he said, "I will die standing up for the principle that you should keep your promise. Peabody made a promise. We'll fight and die to see that that promise is kept."

Photo: Tony Pecinovsky/PW

ExxonMobil threatens to lock out union workers

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:32:00 +0000

BAYTOWN, Texas - ExxonMobil's flat refusal to deal with safety issues at the largest refinery in the U.S. in Baytown, Texas has led the oil firm to threaten to lock out its 850 employees, members of the Steel Workers local there. USW, which is trying to negotiate a new contract, had to give ExxonMobil a 60-day notice of a possible strike.

The two sides were scheduled to hold another bargaining session on May 3. USW's lead negotiator, District Director Richard "Hoot" Landry, still hopes they can reach agreement. But right now, ExxonMobil refuses to admit there's anything wrong at Baytown and says it doesn't need to impose safety measures that USW, ExxonMobil and other major oil firms reached in their last nationwide master contract.

That's though Baytown accounted for 57 incidents, including 21 leaks or spills, during the master pact's three-year term, from Feb. 1, 2009-Jan. 31, 2012, according to public reports at the federal Energy Department. Baytown accounted for almost one-third of all 185 ExxonMobil safety incidents in those years. No deaths were reported.

USW Local 13-2001, which represents the workers, says the oil/petrochemical facility needs - among other things-a top-to-bottom "process safety" inspection, where all of its systems are evaluated as a whole, not just one by one.

But when ExxonMobil presented its "last, best and final offer" in mid-April - a legal requirement it must meet before declaring an impasse in bargaining and imposing a lockout - there wasn't a word about process safety, USW says.

"The health and safety language we proposed was the same language in the 2012 National Oil Bargaining agreement that ExxonMobil agreed to for its facilities in Torrance, Calif., Billings, Mont., Chalmette, La., and Beaumont, Texas," Landry said.

"Our union developed this language to help the oil companies do a better job at process safety so that problems can be detected before they result in fires, explosions, releases and other incidents that impact the health and safety of our workers and the local community."

The process safety language calls for an USW representative on inspection teams, process safety training for plant workers, fatigue prevention and an annual site process safety review at Baytown, which produces between 540,000 and 562,000 barrels per day of oil, petrochemicals and related products.

"ExxonMobil negotiators said they didn't want the USW dictating health and safety language to them. They said they were the leaders in safety," Landry said.

Photo: Jacques Brinon/AP

Today in labor history: Poor Peoples March began in Washington, D.C.

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:11:00 +0000

On this day in 1968, the Poor Peoples March began in Washington D.C., less than a month after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. The marchers erected a tent encampment called "Resurrection City" on the Washington Mall. The protest lasted for six weeks. Promoting the march, King had said, "We ought to come in mule carts, in old trucks, any kind of transportation people can get their hands on. People ought to come to Washington, sit down if necessary in the middle of the street and say, 'We are here; we are poor; we don't have any money; you have made us this way...and we've come to stay until you do something about it.'"

King saw the march as a means of promoting an economic Bill of Rights. It called for:

"A meaningful job at a living wage"
"A secure and adequate income" for all those unable to find or do a job
"Access to land" for economic uses
"Access to capital" for poor people and minorities to promote their own businesses
Ability for ordinary people to "play a truly significant role" in the government

The Johnson administration prepared for the march as if it posed a threat of a takeover of the capitol and mobilized 20,000 soldiers.

Resurrection City ended peacefully.

Photo: Wikimedia (CC)

GOP senators push bill to kill NLRB

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:02:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - Eleven Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to virtually shut down the National Labor Relations Board.

Led by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the top GOP'er on the Senate Labor Committee, the group wants to ban the board from making any decisions until it has a legal quorum of at least three members confirmed by the Senate.

The Right Wing in the GOP-run House jammed through an identical ban late last month, by a 219-209 margin, with 10 Republicans there defecting from the anti-worker party line and joining all 199 Democrats in opposing the measure.

The Office of Management and Budget has already announced it will recommend President Obama veto the anti-NLRB bill should it reach his desk.

And the AFL-CIO, in a letter to lawmakers, strongly opposed the legislation. Legislative Director Bill Samuel said the Senate should do its constitutional duty and confirm Obama's nominees to the NLRB, which oversees labor-management relations.

During the House debate on the anti-NLRB bill, several Democrats called the measure part of the Republican anti-worker crusade, whose objective is to destroy unions and collective bargaining in the U.S., while eroding the middle class.

Left unsaid in the GOP's statement is that GOP filibusters blocked Obama's NLRB nominees, forcing him to appoint two board members during Senate recesses. A GOP-president-named federal court panel ruled in January that the "recess appointees," and the hundreds of decisions they've voted on since Jan. 2012, are illegal.

Obama nominated those recess appointees, Democrats Sharon Block and Richard Griffin - a former union general counsel - for regular board seats. They, plus his two GOP nominees, both pro-boss lawyers, will face a Senate Labor Committee confirmation hearing on May 16. So will current board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce, the only non-recess NLRB member. Obama nominated him for a new term.

"The NLRB has traditionally made major policy changes and interpretations only with the affirmative votes of at least three board members, typically from a full 5-member board. Yet, even with unconstitutionally recess-appointed board members, the board continues to issue decisions overruling well-established precedent and replacing it with new policy that is favored by the administration's supporters," Alexander claimed.

GOP co-sponsors of the anti-NLRB bill include Sens. Roy Blunt (Mo.), Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Pat Roberts (Kansas), all Labor Committee members. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is considering a 2016 GOP presidential race, is also a co-sponsor.

Photo: halfwaytoconcord/Flickr

OSHA marks Workers Memorial Day by focus on contract workers

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:46:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration honored Workers Memorial Day, April 28, by focusing on deaths among one of the most vulnerable groups of employees, contract workers.

"Many of those killed and injured are temporary workers who often perform the most dangerous jobs, have limited English proficiency and are not receiving the training and protective measures required," said OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels. "Workers must be safe, whether they've been on the job for one day or for 25 years."

The most recent data available, from the 2011 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, show contract workers, defined as workers "employed by one firm but working at the behest of another that controls the job site," suffered 542 on-the-job deaths that year, out of a national total of 4,693. One fifth of contractor deaths were in construction.

"Given the number of temporary workers and the recent high profile fatal incidents, the agency is making a concerted effort using enforcement, outreach and training to assure temporary workers are protected from workplace hazards," an agency headquarters memo to its field inspectors says.

"Employers have a duty to provide necessary safety and health training to all workers regarding workplace hazards. To determine whether employers are complying," OSHA inspectors should "determine within their inspections whether any employees are temporary workers and whether any of the identified employees are exposed to a violative condition." Inspectors should also interview the "contract workers" to see if they got required safety training "in a language and vocabulary they understand."

And recent OSHA inspections showed that "temporary workers have not been trained and were not protected from serious hazards due to lack of personal protective equipment" when working with chemicals, among other hazards, the agency said.

Photo: Bob Self/AP & The Florida Times Union

May Day 2013: Workers march all over the world

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:04:00 +0000

NEW YORK - May Day demonstrations here and across the nation today, sponsored by the labor and immigrant rights movements and many of their allies, are part of global demonstrations involving tens of millions on every continent.

May Day, which began at the historic Haymarket Square site in 19th century Chicago with workers demanding an eight-hour day, is now the most-celebrated holiday on the planet.

May 1 dawned first in Asia this morning with hundreds of thousands of protesting workers literally shutting down the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. They condemned the government for hiking fuel prices and eroding recent meager increases in the minimum wage.

In Manilla, the capital of the Philippines, meanwhile, thousands of exploited contract workers marched through the streets demanding the right to unionize.

In Istanbul, Turkey, police locked down the center of the city to keep out thousands of May Day protesters. The history of police violence against workers did nothing to deter the demonstrators, still mindful of the 1977 protests when police shot dozens of Istanbul workers to death during May Day demonstrations. "There are scuffles everywhere in the streets leading up to central Istanbul," said Hashim Jahelbarra, in his post on the Al Jazeera website.

The Iraqi Communist Party marched in huge May Day protests in Baghdad.

Meanwhile millions in Europe began to join the global actions.

More than 1.5 million turned out at 16 demonstrations and rallies in Moscow.

In Greece, the country ground to a halt as almost everyone joined in a 24-hour general strike against austerity. Trains and ferries were stalled at their moorings as seamen walked off the job.

"Our message today is very clear. Enough with these policies which hurt people and make the poor poorer," said Ilios Iliopoulos, general secretary of Greece's public sector unions.

In Spain, where official unemployment stands at 27 percent of the workforce, unions called at least 80 major demonstrations with millions turning out. "Never has there been a May 1 with more reason than this one to take to the streets," declared Candido Mendez, head of the nation's trade union federation.

In the U.S., the AFL-CIO, which is leading demonstrations in many cities, is calling on people to turn out and show their support for massive job creation programs and comprehensive immigration reform.

Notices sent to union members by the Chicago Federation of Labor urged workers to "Reclaim May Day, the real Labor Day."

The unions say good turnouts today will show that the people reject austerity as the solution to the economic crisis and instead demand job creation and strengthening, not weakening, of earned benefits programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Around the United States, May Day actions will place a special emphasis on immigrant rights and the need for a commonsense immigration process. Union members are joining community partners and allies in more than 50 actions. There is still time to find a May Day event near you.

Photo: Workers gathering at city hall in Madrid, Spain May 1, 2013, where thousands marched against austerity. Paul White/AP

Catholic school teacher, fired for being gay, draws wide support

Wed, 01 May 2013 11:43:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Carla Hale, beloved 19-year teacher at Bishop Watterson High School here, was fired by the Catholic Diocese in March for "violating the morality clause."

More than 100 students, Watterson alumni, and community and labor supporters packed the meeting room of the local Unitarian Church last Saturday to support Hale.

Hale had just returned to work after her mother's funeral in March. Instead of offering condolences like the ones she received from students, staff and other teachers, the administration of the Catholic school called her in and fired her. They said the diocese had received an anonymous letter pointing out that her mother's obituary stated that she was survived by Carla "and her partner."

"That is really a disgusting double-standard," said Bill Clarson, who was just leaving the meeting at the Unitarian Church with his wife Jane. "When you see how they've treated the priests who had molested children, for them to fire a wonderful teacher who'd done nothing wrong is just plain wrong!"

"We believe in morality, that God says we should treat everyone with respect and kindness," Jane added. "I just can't believe Jesus would have greeted this fine teacher with a pink slip after she'd just buried her mother."

The meeting was called to organize an ongoing support campaign, which participants called #halestorm, to push for Carla Hale's reinstatement.

"Since this injustice, the entire Bishop Watterson community, as well as the community outside the church, has rallied to her defense," said meeting chairperson Amanda Finelli. "We were taught the values of humanity, decency and treating other people with dignity when we attended Watterson. Ms. Hale's firing goes against every decent value we learned there!"

"If we can show the diocese how wrong they are, and actually change their policies for the better, that would really be something worthwhile," she said.

Students, alumni and friends reported on recent actions taken to protest the firing. These include an online petition, which now has over 100,000 signatures, a Facebook page. Spontaneous rallies and pickets have been organized, including dozens of Watterson students picketing the Columbus Catholic diocese office on Friday. Buttons with the Bishop Watterson logo and an equality sign transposed on it were distributed. There was discussion of printing T-shirts and posters to protest the firing. Speakers talked of the need to widen the struggle and reach out to other communities. Committees were set up on research, outreach, actions and media relations.

Watterson senior Zach Simmons said students wanted to "return something" to Hale. "She taught us about love, acceptance and tolerance," he said. "She'd do anything for us. We just want to return the favor and stand up for her."

All spoke about the almost total public support they are receiving.

Across the street from the diocese office, windows carried the message, "We Love Carla Hale!"

"We were out there all day with signs, buttons, asking everyone to support Ms. Hale's reinstatement," said Watterson senior Grant Stover. "But we're out there for everyone, everyone deserves equal rights! We will not be satisfied if she is rehired ... they can do this again to someone else."

That sentiment was echoed by Glen Skeen, Communications Workers of America union officer and president of Pride@Work, a constituency group of the AFL-CIO supporting rights of LGBT workers.

"Carla Hale's firing is a violation of worker's rights, every worker's rights, not just LGBT workers," Skeen said. "Discrimination against her is also against all of us and we intend to stand with you, against this outrage."

Hale has filed a grievance through her union, the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators, as well as a lawsuit and a complaint with the city's Community Relations Commission.

"This is a clear violation of Ms. Hale's rights as a citizen and as a teacher," said Tom Tootle, her attorney. "We've filed a lawsuit, the city has moved to enforce its anti-discrimination ordinance, and she's filed a grievance through her union for reinstatement. While nobody really wins in a situation like this, we are very confident and Carla has three different paths on which she can prevail."

"We will be here as long as it takes to get justice," Finelli said as the meeting ended. She noted that the diocese had instituted a gag order for teachers, closed off their web site from any communication, and was trying to intimidate teachers and supporters of Hale. "It won't work," she said, "it'll just make us stronger."

Sunday morning, dozens of people showed up at St. Andrews Cathedral here, handing out cards supporting Hale to those arriving for services.

That evening, John Petrucci, a parent of a Watterson student, was forcefully removed from an annual diocese fund-raising dinner when he rose to call on Bishop Frederick Campbell to "take responsibility for Carla Hale's dismissal."

"He won't stand up and say, 'It was my call,' so all the pressure is on the kids," Petrucci said. "I want it off those young folks and on the ones that actually made that decision."

After being removed forcibly, Petrucci sought medical care at an emergency room and filed a police report.

This week the city moved to enforce its anti-discrimination ordinance, filing a complaint against the Catholic Diocese.

Columbus has a very strong anti-discrimination ordinance, passed two years ago after a tough struggle. It contains specific language outlawing discrimination because of sexual orientation, as well as race, age or sex.

Photo: Carla Hale "I Support Carla Hale" Facebook page

Austin cabbies affiliate with AFL-CIO

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:47:00 +0000

AUSTIN, Texas - It's been a good few years for taxi drivers gaining a voice on the job. Today in Austin, Texas, the National Taxi Workers Alliance (NTWA) granted its first local chapter charter since it joined the AFL-CIO. The NTWA was chartered by the AFL-CIO in 2011, with New York City and Philadelphia locals as the founding members.

Austin taxi drivers founded the Taxi Drivers Association of Austin (TDAA) to organize and collectively address drivers' concerns, from economic hardship to harassment and physical safety on the job. TDAA says drivers work up to 15 hours per day, seven days a week and yet earn less than minimum wage on many days and have no job security. While income is tightly regulated by the city through the meter, owners regularly increase lease fees charged to drivers that eat up much of their earnings.

Today at a ceremony welcoming the chapter, Becky Moeller, president of the Texas AFL-CIO, told KUT News the affiliation will allow the drivers to "Speak with one voice, whereas before they would speak and we would assist them. And now they're actually part of organized labor, and we're excited about that."

Merga Gemada, vice president of the TDAA, said, "The bare minimum protections required for a taxi driver to have a dignified life are not available to us today because of the economic instability we work under. At the same time, drivers are not covered by workers' comp or disability and have no insurance to protect themselves in the case of an accident. Today's affiliation is also the launch for the TDAA's campaign for economic rights and dignity, in which drivers are demanding greater job security and a safety net against their precarious working conditions."

"Austin joining the national Alliance is just the beginning of a much bigger change in Texas," declared Bhairavi Desai, president of the NTWA.

Photo: Taxis at the airport in Austin. Ihwa Cheng/KUTNews.org

Students and pizza workers unite!

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:29:00 +0000

MADISON, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin at Madison has been at the center of an ongoing dispute between workers rights activists and the Palermo's frozen pizza company.

The University is engaged in a licensing agreement with the Milwaukee based pizza producer that allows them to use the famous 'Bucky Badger' logo of the UW. This frozen pizza product can be found at some of the largest sports venues in Wisconsin where students pack the stands to cheer on their beloved Badgers.

The only problem is Palermo's troubling labor relations record. One that is so dreadful, and aimed directly at immigrants, that it stands in clear violation of the University's own code of conduct rules when it comes to licensing, and the University's own Labor-Licensing Committee has said so. This code was put into place to ensure the University not lend it's good name and likeness to those companies that employ sweat shop labor or abuse their workers in other ways.

The Palermo's company has been tangled up in an ongoing series of complaints ever since their workers sought to organize a union for the protection of their work place rights and wages. The pizza maker summarily dismissed those leading the effort to organize and some who were immigrants had their status used against them in a manner the National Labor Relations Board deemed illegal.

With this being the case, students, working families and faculty have all asked that the relationship with Palermo's be terminated. At the last meeting of the UW Madison faculty interim Chancellor Ward was questioned directly why this relationship has not yet been severed. Ward replied he would wait for the final decision of the NLRB on one of the outstanding complaints against the company before taking any action. When the company came out on the winning side, Ward considered the matter closed.

Not being able to rely on either the bureaucrats in Washington or the administrators of their own campus to do the right thing student activists banded together and entered Ward's office to force the issue. This resulted in a spontaneous 'occupy' of the Chancellor's office. Almost a dozen students left voluntarily when campus police asked them to do so, but one refused. That student was cuffed and loaded into a van provided by the Madison police department. Students quickly and peaceably surrounded the van in an act of solidarity.

Sitting in a circle around the vehicle it had nowhere to go except over the students who were supporting the rights of workers and the good name of their own University. The police decided the better action was to cite the single student at the scene rather than to transport him to the local jail. He was then released to the cheers of his compatriots in the cause.

Next month interim Chancellor Ward will be replaced by Rebecca Blank, who most recently served as President Obama's Secretary of Commerce. No doubt these students will again raise the issue of fairness and judgment when it comes to lending the name of their University to the likes of employers who illegally exploit immigrants and thwart their efforts to the most basic right of collective bargaining.

Photo: United Students Against Sweatshops Facebook page.

Today in labor history: Everettville mine explosion

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:26:00 +0000

On this day in 1927, an explosion devastated the Federal No. 3 mine in Everettville, West Virginia, killing 109 mine workers, many of whom today lie in unmarked graves, their tragedy forgotten. The mine was owned by the town's New England Fuel and Transportation Company.

Only nine of the men working in the mine at the time of the disaster were able to escape, after one of them got to safety and returned with a rescue team and equipment, managing to save eight of his coworkers.

It took two weeks to put out the raging fires that resulted from the explosion, and before all of the bodies of the miners were recovered. Messages found later revealed that some other miners in the facility survived the initial explosion, but became trapped and died from exposure to noxious gases.

In 2011, 84 years to the day after the disaster, a memorial was finally dedicated to the memory of the coal miners, whose names are inscribed upon it. The 7.5 ton memorial stands on a hillside overlooking the former mine.

Another memorial service was held at that location this year. "We dedicated it to all the miners who died here," said Carol Thorn, president of the Everettville Historical Association. "There were miners from the explosion who didn't get to go home. There's some that never got out of the mines."

Photo: cdc.gov

5 things you need to know about the 'Comp Time' bill

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:02:00 +0000

Reposted from the AFL-CIO NOW blog.

If you are one of the millions of workers who count on overtime to stretch your paycheck, including the 59% of US workers paid by the hour, it's time to tell House Republicans, "Don't cut my overtime with your so-called Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1406)."

The bill would allow employers to stop giving workers any extra pay for overtime work and instead substitute "comp time."

What would that mean for most workers?

1. "Comp Time" means a pay cut-Workers compensated with time off rather than cash would see a reduction in their take-home pay.

2. "Comp Time" means mandatory overtime-"Comp time" legislation would make mandatory overtime less expensive for employers. Under "comp time" legislation, employers may be able to receive the benefits of overtime work at no additional cost to themselves.

3. "Comp Time" means more unpredictable work schedules for employees-Making mandatory overtime cheaper for employers would keep workers on the job longer and result in more unpredictable worker schedules and, for workers with children, higher day care costs.

4. "Comp Time" undermines the 40-hour workweek-The only incentive for employers to maintain a 40-hour workweek is the requirement under the Fair Labor Standards Act that they pay a time-and-a-half cash premium for overtime. "Comp time" legislation, by contrast, would encourage employers to demand longer hours by making overtime less expensive.

5. "Comp Time" is not voluntary-Workers can be coerced into accepting "comp time" and the employer has the ultimate authority to determine when a worker can use accrued "comp time."

Call Congress today and tell your representative to oppose H.R. 1406: 1-888-866-2561.

Also see Mark Gruenberg's article in the People's World April 19: GOP pushes to replace overtime with comp time.

Today in labor history: Report on equal pay for women

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:59:00 +0000

On April 29, 1943, the special representative to the National War Labor Board issued a report, "Retroactive Date for Women's Pay Adjustments," setting forth provisions respecting wage rates for women working in war industries who were asking for equal pay.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National War Labor Board by his Executive Order 6017 on January 12, 1942. The Board mediated wartime labor disputes and consisted of representatives from business, organized labor, and the public.

Later that year, women asked the National War Labor Board that they be paid the same amount as men would be paid for the work they were doing. This special representative's report sets forth provisions respecting wage rates for women.

A directive issued by the board in September 1942 stated that "rates for women shall be set in accordance with the principle of equal pay for comparable quantity and quality of work on comparable operations."

But the struggle for equal pay continues.

When the Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President Kennedy in 1963, women were earning an average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men.

In December 1977, eight women went on strike against Citizens' National Bank in Willmar, Minn. Their goals were straightforward. They wanted equal pay for equal work. They wanted equal treatment. They never got what they wanted. Every year, high school and college classes invite members of The Willmar 8 to speak. "We don't go out looking for opportunities, they come to us." In the classroom, students can't believe what they hear." Read more about this here.

In 1999 the AFL-CIO and the Institute for Women's Policy Research reported that the average working family loses more than $4,000 each year because of the wage gap between women and men and overall America's working families lose a staggering $200 billion each year.

That same year, the national AFL-CIO launched a campaign to introduce new equal pay legislation in over 22 states. The legislation was designed to close the wage gap between men and women as well as workers of color.

Earlier this month on Equal Pay Day 2013, a woman worker's median wage was only 77 cents for every dollar of a man's with the same qualifications and background. That disparity is even greater for African-American women and Latinas.

According to Debra Ness, president of National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF): "A punishing wage gap persists for women in every corner of the country, We must do more to close the wage gap, which is present in every industry, and affects workers with every level of education."

Republican filibusters have killed equal pay bills every time that have come up in the Senate.

But a survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this year shows one real equalizer in pay between men and women is the union contract.

Photo: "Wendy Welder" pushes back her helmet during a moment's pause from her welding job at the Richmond shipyard in California, February 1943. Wikimedia Commons

No worker should have to sacrifice life or health on the job

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:12:00 +0000

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On Workers Memorial Day. April 29, 2013

On Workers Memorial Day, we come together to recognize the inherent dignity and value of every person and to remember all those who have perished on the job. As a third-generation coal miner, I've known firsthand the uncertainty of whether my loved ones would return home at the end of the day safe and healthy, and my heart goes out to all the communities who have endured terrible losses.

Each day in this country, 150 workers die from job injuries and occupational diseases. Last year in the United States more than 3.8 million workers were reported injured on the job, but this number understates the problem. The true toll of job injuries is likely two to three times greater. Around the globe, the toll is vast, with 2.3 million workers dying and 317 million workers injured on the job each year.

This year our thoughts are particularly with the families of West, Texas, where two weeks ago a horrific explosion at a fertilizer plant killed 15 people, injured hundreds more and caused widespread destruction. While the investigation is still under way, from all reports regulatory authorities had not inspected this dangerous facility in years.

We are outraged by the deaths of our sisters and brothers in Bangladesh, where over three hundred workers have perished, and hundreds have been injured, in the collapse of a building that housed garment factories. Despite warnings by authorities that there were cracks in the building that made it unsafe, factory owners told the workers there was no danger and ordered them to work. No worker should have to sacrifice life, limbs or health to earn an honest day's pay - not here in the United States, not in Bangladesh or anywhere else. Yet, corporations continue the push for profits, seeking to avoid regulation and oversight. They claim that stronger worker protections and enforcement kill profit, when the reality is that failure to act kills workers.

This is especially true for the millions of immigrant workers who live in the shadows and face even greater risks of death and injury on the job. Until all workers, regardless of where they were born or what country they live in, have the ability to come together on the job and speak out against dangerous conditions, we will continue to mourn needless deaths and preventable tragedies.

This Workers Memorial Day we must speak out against all those who value profit over life and wealth for the few over prosperity for all. Corporations that exploit workers and put them in danger must be held accountable. We call on the Obama Administration to act without further delay to implement important regulations on silica, coal dust and other hazards. And we must strengthen our job safety laws to give all workers the protection they need and deserve.

Photo: Seen through a hole in the roof a building that collapsed, Bangladeshi rescue workers search for survivors in Savar, Bangladesh, April 28. On Sunday, rescuers located nine people alive inside the rubble of the multi-story building. Authorities announced they will now use heavy equipment to drill a central hole from the top to look for survivors and the dead. Kevin Frayer/AP

Obama budget seeks more funding for job retraining

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:45:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration's proposed federal budget for the year starting Oct. 1 calls for a major rewrite of federal job training programs for long-term unemployed adults, and $8 billion for that task, details show.

But, in a tight budget environment for domestic programs and with House Republicans' hostility towards workers, there appear to be long odds against the success of his plan.

Still, the Obama proposal is noteworthy for what it says about administration job-training priorities at a time when unemployment is still above 7 percent.

The administration's proposal also would allot another $2 billion in block grants to states to fund long-term and innovative job training and retraining programs.

The ruling House Republicans have complained the government now funds some 37 separate job training programs, including everything from Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which aids workers who lose their jobs to subsidized foreign imports, to community college courses that let workers train for new jobs or upgrade their skills.

Their solution: Roll all 37 into a block grant, dump the money on governors to use as they wish - and drastically cut it. Obama wants to create an $8 billion program of "subsidized employment opportunities for (the low-income and long-term unemployed."

"Priority will be provided to employment opportunities likely to lead to unsubsi-dized employment in emerging or in-demand occupations in the local areas," his budget says. "Funds may (also) be used to provide support services, such as transportation or child care, necessary to enable participation of individuals in employment opportunities."

The $2 billion in block grants would go for "on-the-job training, sector-based training, training supportive of an industry sector partnership, acquisition of an industry-recognized credential, connections to immediate work opportunities, career academies and/or adult basic education and integrated basic education and training models," Obama's budget blueprint adds. If Congress kills Obama's proposal, the budget notes that by current law TAA gets cut from $1 billion this year to $656 million on Dec. 31.

In another job training proposal, the administration, for the second straight year, wants to eliminate a $1 million program that trains women for jobs in "non-traditional" fields for women, principally construction. "The mission of expanding apprenticeship opportunities for women will continue to be advanced through the Office of Apprentice-ship's work to expand registered apprenticeships and ensure equal access to apprenticeship programs," the Obama budget blueprint says.

Photo: Obama wants to set aside $8 billion to train laid off workers for the green jobs of the future, including the building of an energy infrastructure not dependent upon fossil fuels. Brian van der Brug/AP & Los Angeles Times

Hyatt says it won’t put a housekeeper on its board

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:42:00 +0000

CHICAGO - Repudiating one of its own employees, this week, Hyatt Hotels announced its nomination of a longtime financial executive and McDonald's Board Member, Cary McMillan, to join its board of directors at its shareholder meeting to be held this June.

The announcement has caused a firestorm of reaction in the ranks of the Hyatt workforce and among community leaders who have been supporting the candidacy of Cathy Youngblood, a Hyatt housekeeper.

Ongoing violation of worker rights by Hyatt is what motivated her to try for a seat on the corporate board, says Youngblood, who has been traveling across the country in the "Someone Like Me" campaign-a national initiative of the Unite Here union to have a worker added to the hotel chain's board. Since late 2012, Youngblood has been speaking with workers and community leaders across the U.S. and rallying support for what she says is much needed reform at Hyatt, which the union has dubbed "The Worst Hotel Employer in America."

"When Hyatt announced its proposal for a new member of its board of directors this week, it doubled-down on its resistance to reforming longstanding labor abuses," said Youngblood, adding, "Hyatt has an opportunity to demonstrate its desire to move in a new direction-to show it really cares about worker voices. Instead of nominating someone like me, Hyatt has chosen to nominate a board member from McDonald's, adding to the ranks of board members from Walmart, Goldman Sachs, and other corporate giants."

Youngblood says that on her tour to speak to co-workers she has learned about a variety of ways in which the hotel giant is pushing aside the concerns of its workers.

"As I travel across the country, I am learning about all kinds of issues that need resolution, from backbreaking labor to scores of unjust firings, and Hyatt has thwarted worker protests and union organizing-attempts to rectify these workplace abuses. In fact, Hyatt has gone so far as to take the lead in lobbying against legislation that would make housekeeping work safer.

When asked why a worker would even want to be on the board of a company engaging in so many violations of worker rights Youngblood said, "If someone like me, a housekeeper, were on the board, he or she would bring common sense solutions to the many problems we face at our jobs, and Hyatt would be a better company and a much better place to work."

At the June board meeting it is expected that Youngblood will be supported by thousands of Hyatt workers and by community leaders from around the country.

Photo: Cathy Youngblood waiting to testify to the Maryland House of Delegates in favor of Bill 956, which would require companies that get over $100,000 in public subsidies to provide workers with basic job protections and benefits like a living wage and paid sick leave. Hyatt Hurts! Facebook page

Labor's stance on immigrant workers has changed, says Trumka

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:33:00 +0000

The following is a message from Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO:

I've been getting some letters lately. They've included words like "illegal alien" and others that aren't fit to print.

I don't want to dismiss these concerns. For a long time, the labor movement feared immigrant workers, because we thought employers would find low-cost workers and push down wages. And it happened--our system was broken, and those bad bosses drove down our wages and everyone suffered. Some choose to blame aspiring citizens for these problems. But working families aren't the problem, and we've never been the problem.

Labor's stance has changed, and changed for the better. We proudly stand on the side of Americans in waiting. Join us; tell your senator you want a common-sense immigration process with a road map to citizenship: http://act.aflcio.org/c/18/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=5401

I'm not dismissing your fears, brothers and sisters. I understand where they come from. Good jobs are scarce. What if the job crisis worsens? The economy is tough.

But there's something else at work here. Fear can make our memories short. We forget what they said about our grandparents and aunts and uncles and even us. "You don't belong here." "Go back where you came from."

One hundred years ago, some in the labor movement rejected new immigrants, women, people of color and millions of "unskilled" industrial workers. That historic prejudice has never sat well with me. When people use the word "immigrant" as an insult or as a way to degrade people - I take it personally. The lesson we should take from our history is that when we stand together, all of us are stronger. Right now we have the chance to make history and reform our immigration system, to ensure working families--no matter where they are from--are protected.

America's unions stand on the side of workers. So we stand on the side of every single one of those 11 million Americans in waiting. We won't back up, we won't back down, and we won't be turned aside until every single one gets formal recognition.

Photo: Trumka with a fellow worker at a labor solidarity rally. AFL-CIO/Flickr

Today in labor history: Army seizes Montgomery Ward HQ

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:34:00 +0000

Today in 1944, on the orders of President Roosevelt, the U.S. Army seizes the Chicago headquarters of the unionized Montgomery Ward & Co. after management twice defies the National War Labor Board. Montgomery Ward Chairman Sewell Avery, an anti-labor/anti-New Deal ideologue, refused to comply with war board decisions during World War II. In an effort to avoid strikes and disruptions in production, the board had negotiated settlements between management and workers to avoid anything that could cripple the war effort.

Montgomery Ward had supplied the Allies with everything from tractors to auto parts to workmen's clothing--items deemed as important to the war effort as bullets and ships. Although growing rich off the war contracts, Avery refused to comply with the terms of three different collective bargaining agreements with the United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union hammered out between 1943 and 1944.

On April 26, 1944, after Sewell refused a second board order, Roosevelt called out the Army National Guard to seize the company's main plant in Chicago. Avery himself had to be carried out of his office by National Guard troops. By December of that year, Roosevelt was fed up with Sewell's obstinacy and disrespect for the government's authority. (The uber-capitalist Sewell's favorite insult was to call someone a "New Dealer"--a direct reference to Roosevelt's Depression-era policies.) On December 27, Roosevelt ordered the secretary of war to seize Montgomery Ward's plants and facilities in New York, Michigan, California, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon.

Like the modern day Koch brothers, Avery helped to finance anti-Roosevelt groups and urged Montgomery Ward's shareholders to vote against Roosevelt to end "burdensome and inequitable taxes," which he said were holding back business expansion.

He reportedly yelled, "To hell with the government!" at FDR's Attorney General Francis Biddle, who had flown to Chicago in April 1944 in hopes of placating him. "I want none of your damned advice."

Biddle ordered two National Guardsmen to lift Avery out of his office chair and carry him out of the building. "You ... New Dealer!" Avery bellowed.

Photo: Sewell Avery, defiant to the end, is escorted from his office by soldiers (AP/Harry Hall)

Chicago retail and fast food workers rally for $15

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:27:00 +0000

CHICAGO - Hundreds of this city's retail and fast food workers rallied at St. James Cathedral last night after having walked off their jobs early in the day. After their walkouts and before they got to the evening rally they marched and protested all over the Loop and the Magnificent Mile.

The first walkout was at 5:30 at McDonald's in Union Station. The walkouts continued all day, ultimately affecting more than 100 locations including Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Burger King, Macy's, Victoria's Secret and many other companies - 30 all told.

"I've been working here two years and have a 46 cent raise," said Andrew Little as he picketed in front of Victoria's Secret. "That isn't right. Nine dollars is not enough. It takes me at least two four-hour shifts to pay for two weeks worth of bus passes. The rest of my expenses I pay with the other three days. It's not a want. It's a need. We need 15 dollars an hour."

Little is typical of the countless workers who are kept on part time schedules so their employers won't have to pay for health insurance or other benefits.

In the days leading up to the Chicago walkouts the Fight for $15 Campaign helped build support by getting out "rent affordability charts" all over the Internet, showing how many hours a minimum wage worker has to work in order to afford a two bedroom apartment in all 50 states.

There is not a single state in the entire country where a minimum wage earner can cover fair market rent by working a standard 40-hour week. The calculation does not include the additional necessities of food, clothing, transportation, utility bills and medical care.

"Workers across the country are tired," said Krystal Collins, a Macy's employee. "We're tired of working hard, but not earning enough to support our families. After seeing the workers in New York City saying they weren't going to take it anymore, we were inspired to go on strike right here in Chicago."

Briel Daniels, another worker at Victoria's Secret, said $8.75 an hour was especially unacceptable "because I might bring in a thousand dollars of sales in an hour yet I can't make $1,000 in a month."

Tanesha Manuel, a worker at Nike, was thinking along the same lines. "People say the wage you are receiving is because you are a low skilled worker. But if I can generate big profits for the Nike store, along with my co-workers, I believe that means I am a skilled worker."

The determination of the companies to use people part time so they can avoid paying for benefits causes all kinds of other problems for workers.

"I'm working 20 to 22 hours a week," said Manuel. "But the discouraging thing is that it is spread over five days instead of three seven hour shifts so I'm forced to spend more on transportation. I love my job but the unfairness of that is a lot to deal with. We want to bring awareness of this to the public."

Many people passing protesters yesterday were supportive, saying they could understand the workers' demands. "What they are asking for is completely reasonable," said one woman in front of a Magnificent Mile McDonald's. "I just don't know how they could possibly make ends meet on the salaries they get now."

The blindsided McDonald's manager, Cynthia Delacruz, was scrambling as she tried to cover her shift. "I did not expect this, I was not forewarned about this, I had no idea that any of this was going on," she said.

"They just think their 'teams' should keep on working for miserable wages forever," said a spokesperson for The Fight for $15. "Then again, management probably no longer attracts the brightest bulbs in the chandelier these days. Being a manager is no longer about handling logistics, building an efficient and productive team, and creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and professionalism (if it ever was).

"It's about enforcing your company's immoral, inhumane and miserly policies at all costs, so you can squeeze your underlings dry."

In their usual attempt to maintain what they call "objectivity," the major media searched for people who opposed the striking workers and interviewed John Brady, who WGN described as an "office worker" who was against the demonstrations.

"I think its rather bold for them to complain, when so many other people out there would just love to have their jobs," he told WGN.

Commenting on the interview, the Fight for $15 spokesperson said, "It seems every time workers ask to be treated fairly someone comes out and says they're supposedly lucky to even have a job. Nobody who works or wants to work should be subsisting on scraps. If you're working full time (either at a single job or multiple jobs) and still can't afford life's basic necessities, then your company is stealing your labor, and you're basically a slave. Since we abolished slavery in the U.S. in 1865 with the 13^th Amendment, I'd say these folks have every right to complain."

Photo: Fight for 15 Facebook page

Today in labor history: SCLC's Ralph Abernathy and 100 workers arrested

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:58:00 +0000

On this day in 1969, Ralph Abernathy, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), was arrested along with 100 other workers on a Charleston South Carolina picket line for demanding union rights.

South Carolina law allowed only 10 workers at a time to participate in a picketing. The workers were protesting at the South Carolina Medical College Hospital demanding wage increases and union recognition. Hospital officials said it was illegal for them to bargain with a union. Rev Abernathy was then the new head of the SCLC following Martin Luther King's murder the year before on April 4, 1968. The workers were represented by 1199B and won wage and benefit increases. Abernathy died in 1990.

Photo: Wikimedia