National union conventions take up single-payer health care
The 33rd Constitutional Convention of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has gone on record urging Congress to enact HR 676, a bill introduced by Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to implement a single-payer health care system in the U.S. The ILWU, whose convention met the third week in May, represents all dockworkers in West Coast ports from San Diego to Vancouver
Delphi cuts devastate Midwest town
ANDERSON, Ind. (PAI) — In the 1970s, UAW Local 662, including workers at the Delphi Auto Parts plant in Anderson, Ind., had 17,000 members. In the early ’90s, less than half that remained. Now only 722 are left, and that number is dropping fast.
While profits soar, two more miners die
PITTSBURGH — The coal that miners extract at the Miller Brothers strip mine in Breathitt County, Ky., keeps the lights on in the chambers of Congress. On May 23, the Senate passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER). That same day Steven Bryant, 23, went to work at Miller Brothers and died. The next day, Todd Upton, 34, died from head injuries underground at International Coal Group’s Sycamore #2 mine in Harrison County, W.Va. Both mines are nonunion.
Guilty! Enron workers cheer Lay, Skilling verdicts
HOUSTON – Enron workers who lost billions in pension benefits when the company collapsed are voicing satisfaction that at last top Enron executives have been found guilty of a long list of crimes that plunged the company into bankruptcy.
Gay rights and labor share common struggle
While the relationship between the LGBT community and the labor movement has traditionally been weak, things seem to be changing. LGBT rights organizations and trade unions are working together more and more, coordinating campaigns, running candidates and fighting for issues like domestic partner benefits and gay marriage.
S. Africas workers strike for justice, jobs
Earlier this month the people of South Africa celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first democratic constitution. The dismantling of the oppressive apartheid regime in the early 1990s, and the end of dominance by a privileged white minority, gave hope to millions of black South Africans seeking justice and self-determination.
Workers confront Sunoco over proposed pay cuts
SUGAR LAND, Texas — On May 19 a spirited group of labor activists converged on the offices of Sunoco Logistics here to support its truck drivers, members of the United Steelworkers Local 13-1267, who are fighting a proposed pay cut.
More miners killed
“I think it’s a crisis right now,” said Tony Oppegard, former top lawyer for Kentucky’s Mine Safety and Licensing Office. “When we have 31 coal miners killed in less than five months, that’s a crisis and it needs to be treated as a crisis and dealt with. We need to stop this fiction that all coal operators are good guys and all you need to do is talk them and they’ll do the right thing, which is the cornerstone of the Bush administration philosophy. We need to crack down on operators instead of trying to babysit them.”
A Texas trucker on fuel prices
Do you remember a few years back when all those people ran out and bought diesel-powered cars because the fuel was so much cheaper than gas? Heck, diesel was just a by-product of gasoline, it’ll always be cheap. Or so it seemed at the time.
Security officers organizing in Oakland, Berkeley
OAKLAND, Calif. — As part of a nationwide campaign by the Service Employees union to organize security guards, workers at ABC Security Services are in the midst of a drive to win justice on the job and recognition for their union, SEIU Local 24/7.
