People Before Profit blog

A call for justice in the tobacco fields

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:47:00 +0000

"The men found me a pair of rubber boots and a roll of plastic bags which I turned into a poncho to keep the morning dew from soaking my clothes.

"My job, which began at 7 a.m., was topping, suckering and weeding.

"The flower had to be broken off the top and the suckers had to be gleaned from the leaf. The suckers look like little shoots of romaine lettuce.

"One of my co-workers, El Nino, was divorced last year but remains a loyal father by supporting four children ages 17, 16, 12 and 4. He wants the kids to get an education to escape a life of dead-end jobs in Mexico. Being in the U.S. for so long a time destroyed El Nino's marriage, but lack of work in Mexico left him little choice but to sign up for the H2A guest worker program."

Thus Baldemar Velasquez, founder and president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), described the first of seven days he spent last month as an anonymous field laborer. His aim was to see firsthand the conditions faced by tobacco workers in North Carolina where they are paid $7 a day.

He continued: "All day I was nervous about the nicotine and tar. The 'Green Monster,' as they know it here, is nicotine poisoning ingested through the skin. I was lucky to find some light gloves with grips on them. They lasted a day. I had to throw them away as they were sticky and black with what would have been on my hands."

Velasquez said that on his third day "the heat was as bad as anything I can remember. By 8 a.m. I was soaking wet in part because of having to wear the plastic bag again.

"The sun felt like a flame thrower on my back. The men looked beat, breathing with their mouths open with teeth showing and their shirts drenched in sweat. The top half of my pants was soaked in sweat by 8:30 a.m. It is easy to see why men can die of heat stroke."

Two days after his stint ended Velasquez's hands were still swollen and covered with blisters. He worried about how long it would take for him to make a fist without "serious pain."

Tobacco workers, led by FLOC and joined by supporters from organized labor and community organizations, marched through the streets of Winston-Salem, North Carolina yesterday to demand fair treatment and justice.

They marched, they say, because for 3 years Susan Ivey, CEO of Reynolds, the nation's second largest tobacco company, has refused to meet with the FLOC to discuss ending the abuse in the tobacco fields.

Tobacco workers live in poverty, they say, and suffer from both nicotine poisoning and exposure to deadly pesticides and chemicals.

There are nine documented cases of heat stroke deaths in the North Carolina fields over the last two years.

"The conditions these workers face are not only a tragedy but a moral disgrace hidden from the majority of Americans," said Velasquez, vowing, "FLOC will campaign until Reynolds Tobacco commits to joining us in addressing this national shame."

James Andrews, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, said the labor movement in his state is in full support of FLOC. "Each year," Andrews said, "thousands of tobacco workers are effected by green tobacco sickness and by over exposure to harmful chemicals in tobacco leaves. Many of these workers never receive medical attention and the vast majority of North Carolina farm workers are not covered under workers' compensation insurance."

FLOC's cooperation with the "traditional" labor movement extends well beyond the borders of North Carolina. The organization was represented at the AFL-CIO's 2009 convention in Pittsburgh last September.

FLOC represents thousands of immigrant farm workers in their push for living wages and improved working conditions. Members harvest a variety of products, including tobacco and tomatoes.

In 2006 FLOC won union recognition for 7,000 migrant workers in North Carolina. It is currently seeking to organize at least 15,000 more in the state.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luckywhitegirl/ / CC BY 2.0

Temple health care workers strike for dignity, patient care

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:14:00 +0000

PHILADELPHIA - Some 1500 nurses and professional and technical workers struck at Temple University Hospital Wednesday morning after working without a contract for seven months. A spirited crowd of Temple workers and their allies filled Broad Street in front of the north Philadelphia hospital for a noontime rally as the strike gathered strength and support during its first day.

The rally impressively displayed the preparation and high consciousness of the striking workers. Speakers expressed their anger at the Temple hospital and university administration for their repeated and long standing failure to address issues of staffing levels, patient care, working conditions and compensation. Many expressed their pride in their work and their length of service. Respiratory therapist Lorenzo Glover told the crowd, "You guys built this house; Temple forced our hand. We are here today and we are here to stay!"

Francine Fregeehi, Vice President of TUHNA, the Temple University Hospital Nurses Association, took the microphone to express her anger at media accounts describing the strikers as "angry Black workers." She said, "They must not know that we have a diverse work force. I am an angry Black worker, but I also see angry white workers and angry Asian workers here."

The strikers were buoyed by the presence of the national paresident of the Hospital Workers Local 1199c Henry Nicholas and other union leaders who expressed support. Jim Savage, President of United Steel Workers Local 10-1, said, "The Philadelphia labor movement supports you; we'll be here. You just have to last one day longer than they do!" Paul Prescott of the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) told the strikers that Temple students were in support and had delivered a petition with 1300 student signatures saying so to university President Anne Weaver Hart.

The striking workers are members of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professional (PASNAP). They include 1000 members of TUHNA and 500 professional and technical employees such as social workers and laboratory workers who are members of Temple Allied Professionals (TAP). The workers say that the Temple administration is taking union busting to new levels in this strike. Their contract expired last September 1 and the administration has refused to bargain since that time.

An issue that generated special anger was an attempt to insert in the contract a clause that would legally bar employees from publicly criticizing administration practices at the hospital. Speakers pointed out the irony of management's attempting to deny workers their Constitutional rights in the city where the Constitution was written. PASNAP President Patricia Eakin told the World that this "gag order" amounted to a "global screw job" that the members would not tolerate.

The spirit and determination of the strikers was all the more impressive in light of the protracted management campaign to have its way in this contract. The strike focuses attention on key national issues of labor rights, affordable health care, and privatization. The union notes that Temple has gone into the healthcare business with disastrous results. Thirteen years ago Temple bought an additional healthcare facility, Northeastern Hospital which, for decades, had served the northeast Philadelphia community and was a busy facility until Temple closed it in April of 2009. The University now is putting all its effort into breaking the union at its remaining facility near the north Philadelphia campus. The union says that the University has hired outside firms to bring in 800 strikebreakers who are being paid $10,000 a week and housed at expensive downtown hotels.

Photo: Ben Sears

Jobs With Justice scores wage theft victory over InkStop lockout

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:58:00 +0000

It takes a fight to win and Cleveland Jobs With Justice is celebrating its role in a massive repayment of stolen wages in a settlement that has labor lawyers shaking their heads in disbelief.

In the agreement signed by U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. Wednesday the 15 members of the board of InkStop Inc. will shell out $660,000 from their own pockets to 629 workers they locked out Oct. l. Usually when companies declare bankruptcy as InkStop did Nov. 5 workers are last in line and lucky to get anything.

In this case they received 82 per cent of the wages they were owed.

"It is highly unusual for individual defendants to pay part of a wage-and-hour settlement." said Cleveland labor lawyer Barry Freeman, according to the Plain Dealer.

But what has not been reported is that when the company headquartered here closed its 152 office supply stores throughout the eastern half of the United States, Cleveland Jobs With Justice swung into action. It held a demonstration Oct. 29, posting a video of the event on its website and launching a blog campaign to write letters to owners Dirk and Dawn Kettlewell and other members of the company's board.

The board included network football broadcaster Norman "Boomer" Esiason, former quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and head of a foundation raising money against cystic fibrosis. Several other members of the Boomer Esiason Foundation also sat on InkStop's board.

During the demonstration some 50 activists and Jobs with Justice Director Debbie Kline draped yellow crime scene tape on the front of the company's closed store in Lakewood. In addition, the Bread and Puppet Theater of Vermont, which happened to be in town performed.

Lakewood City Councilwoman Nickie Antonio joined attorneys for the locked out workers in denouncing the company for giving no notice of the closing, failing to pay wages for three weeks as well as the workers' health insurance thereby leaving them ineligible for COBRA benefits.

Coincidentally it was reported on the day of the protest that InkStop was being sued for fraudulently withholding information by an investor who had given the company $250,000 immediately prior to its collapse.

While employees were left high and dry, Jobs With Justice hammered the Kettlewells for continuing to enjoy a life of luxury in an $850,000 house in a gated community in suburban Aurora.

"Cleveland Jobs With Justice effectively advocated for the employees in this matter," said attorney Jason Bristol who worked on the settlement. "When a situation like this arises, it often requires a multifaceted approach. Litigation is not the sole means for resolving complicated disputes."

"Cleveland Jobs with Justice would like to thank and congratulate the workers and their attorneys, the Bread and Puppet Theater and everyone that joined in our efforts to bring justice to the former employees of InkStop," Kline said. "Justice has prevailed!"

Photo: Debbie Kline

There they go again! GOP denies jobless benefits to thousands

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:43:00 +0000

When Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma left for his "Spring Break" on March 29, he also left some 200,000 jobless Americans without badly needed money to provide for their families.

That's the consequences of the GOP senator's actions. Like a thief, who snuck into your home catching your family off guard, Coburn slipped into the Senate chamber while Democratic lawmakers celebrated the passage of health care. He then moved a sham bill, which effectively blocked a new round of extending unemployment insurance.

The federal unemployment subsidy is set to expire April 5. Congress doesn't return from its recess until April 12. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said lawmakers will approve the extension then, and apply it retroactively.

Under the fig leaf of trimming deficit spending, Coburn demanded the benefits be paid for out of already committed stimulus monies. Kentucky GOP Sen. Jim Bunning pulled a similar trick February when he blocked extending jobless benefits. The move, and his language, set off a firestorm of opposition, hurting the carefully crafted "Joe-six-pack" image of the GOP.

This time, the Republicans conspired to try to blame the Democrats for the extension expiration. But most news reports saw right through the scam. Oklahoma City's KFOR-TV ran a news story blaming Coburn for leaving thousands of unemployed Oklahomans high and dry.

"It's unbelievable he would hold up benefits to the most needy. He says our country can't afford it. But unemployed people spend their benefits right away, putting it into the economy," said Myrna Burman of the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO.

"Unemployed people aren't rich, like Coburn. He's never experienced what it is to lose a job, lose a paycheck and not be able to provide for you family," she said in a telephone interview.

Oklahomans seemed to agree with Burman. On KFOR's website 112 comments followed the story "Senator Coburn blocks unemployment bill," pointing out similar realities.

Raymond from Hinton, Okla., wrote:

"Yes we need tough measures. Like sending Tom Coburn out to live on the streets with all the other people that no longer have income!!!!!!!! Maybe it's time to elect Coburn out of office and find someone who knows what it is like out here. "

And Valerie of Oklahoma City wrote: "My unemployment benefits ran out almost a month ago, and I was only getting $132/week...That's not a lot of money...I need this extension while I'm still looking for a permanent, full-time job. Shame on you Sen. Coburn!!"

The battle to provide jobless benefits for the high number of unemployed is just part of the larger fight to create good paying jobs.

The labor movement, along with civil rights groups, women and student organizations, are demanding action, not only to extend unemployment benefits - and COBRA subsidies - through the end of the year, but to create jobs. And reach those communities hardest hit the prolonged recession.

"Two months in a row of these unnecessary and painful disruptions are two too many. When Congress returns to D.C. in two weeks, it must quickly finalize the extension of unemployment insurance benefits and COBRA subsidies through the end of the year. But that is just the beginning of a meaningful jobs agenda," writes National Women's Law Center Vice President Emily Martin in a recent op-ed. The law center is part of the Jobs For America NOW coalition.

Martin urged the passage of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families emergency fund through 2011, and the jobs creation bill recently introduced by California Rep. George Miller, called Local Jobs for America Act.

This bill would, Martin writes, "create and save one million jobs in local governments and non-profits, employing teachers, police officers, librarians, and child care workers across the country. It's past time to make a real commitment to job creation and support for the unemployed."

Photo: Building trades workers rally for unemployment insurance in Indiana. Kaitlin DeCero/http://www.flickr.com/photos/labor2008/ / CC BY 2.0

Unions, passengers unite to save mass transit and jobs

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:00:00 +0000

CHICAGO - Thousands of transit workers and passengers rallied at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) on March 27 to demand federal funding for public transit systems nationwide.

"This is a national transit crisis," declared Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of RPC. "We say rebuild rail, make the steel in Gary, Birmingham and Pittsburgh. Make the buses in Detroit. Make the windmills in Indiana. Put American back to work now."

Transit worker unions and RPC are forming a national coalition to save public transit and union jobs. The rally was the first in a national tour to unite transit workers with the communities they serve.

While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated nearly $50 billion for surface and transit projects, including $8 billion for high speed rail construction, the recently passed Jobs for Main Street Act was mostly stripped of mass transit funding.

Jackson railed against federal and state policies, mostly written over the years by Republican legislators, which have choked funding for urban transit. Services cuts and layoffs are especially impacting working-class, poor, African American, Latino and other communities of color.

Layoffs are also disproportionately hitting workers of color, and eliminating good paying union, family-sustaining jobs.

The coalition is demanding immediate passage of legislation by Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., that would allow cities over 200,000 to use up to 50% of their federal transit funding for operating expenses.

Unions are also demanding federal and state funding ratios be changed. For example the Chicago area Metra system, which mainly services the suburbs around Chicago, gets five times more funding per passenger than the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

The CTA laid-off 1,100 transit workers Feb. 7 to close a $300 million budget deficit. The cuts resulted in the elimination of bus lines, longer wait and packed buses and trains.

But Chicago is not alone. According to the American Public Transit Association (APTA), 90% of large transit agencies have been forced to raise fares or cut services and lay off workers in the last few years.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City is facing an $800 million deficit and may lay-off 1,300 workers. Washington DC transit officials will lay off 150 workers to close a $40 million gap. Trains are already bursting at the seams with passengers.

The Chicago rally brought together leadership from Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Transport Workers Union and United Transportation Union.

"We're talking about creating a new economy, but at the same time local governments are dismantling our transit system," said Harry Lombardo, Executive Vice President of the Transport Workers Union.

"They're bailing out Wall Street, bailing out the banks and auto industry but letting transit die. It makes no sense," he added.

"I bring the solidarity of 38,000 New York City transit workers," declared John Samuelson, president of the Transport Workers Local 100 of New York City to cheers. "Our message is simple: we stand together, we win. We stand alone, we lose."

APTA says there are $15 billion in public transit projects "shovel ready" and should be included in any federal jobs legislation. This would create 450,000 jobs. For each $1 invested in public transit, $6 is generated in economic return. A $1 billion investment in public transit would create 30,000 jobs.

According to Tyrone Jordan, bus operator and ATU Local 241 member, the layoffs are overworking the remaining workers. The money to solve the crisis has to come from the government, he said.

"They're cutting mass transit everywhere," said Vern Hodge, abus operator and union rep for ATU Local 241. "We're here to put up a fight for more funding."

Obama makes pro-labor recess appointments

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:17:00 +0000

President Obama is bypassing Republican obstructionists in the Senate this week and naming 15 people to administration positions, which the GOP has blocked for an average of 214 days.

Two of those appointments are Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board. Republicans had blocked the NLRB nominations on grounds they would result in the board pushing a radical pro-union agenda.

The president issued a statement about his appointments:

"The United States Senate has the responsibility to approve or disapprove of my nominees. But, if in the interest of scoring political points, Republicans in the Senate refuse to exercise that responsibility, I must act in the interest of the American people and exercise my authority to fill those positions on an interim basis."

Most of the appointments Obama is making this week were approved by Senate committees months ago, but still are awaiting full Senate approval.

Becker and Pearce, two well-known labor lawyers, were nominated by the president in July and received Senate Judiciary approval, but Senate Republicans blocked final approval.

The announcement of the recess appointments followed a week in which the White House received thousands of calls from union members asking the president to overcome the GOP obstruction with the appointments of Becker and Pearce.

"America's working men and women have been waiting for National Labor Relations Board appointments for too long," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka declared at a news conference during the week.

The NLRB, which is supposed to enforce national labor law and rule, for example, on the eligibility of workers to unionize, has had a majority of its seats vacant for more than two years, slowing its work and raising questions about the legality of its rulings.

The board is important to workers because it is responsible for certifying union elections and addressing unfair labor practices.

Republicans fear that with a new Democratic majority the board could decide cases or make new rules that would make it easier for workers to exercise their right to organize. The GOP reserved its most intense fire for Becker, who has served in a legal capacity for both AFL-CIO and Change-to-Win unions. They specifically claimed he would use his position to make labor laws more "union-friendly."

Obama had been on record as warning of recess appointments if the Senate didn't act. His move capped a week in which his political standing was boosted by the passage of health care reform, a student loan overhaul and a nuclear arms treaty with Russia.

The recess appointments mean the 15 people could serve in their jobs through the end of 2011, when the next Senate finishes its term.

Most observers scoffed at Republican complaints that the appointments would make it more difficult to get bipartisan support for future legislation. "A probability of zero can't get smaller," wrote Mark Kleiman of Reality-Based Community.

In any case, both Republican and Democratic presidents have made recess appointments, which bypass the Senate's authority to confirm nominees, when they could not overcome delays. President Bush made more than 170 such appointments and President Clinton made 140.

Bush had made 15 recess appointments by this point in his presidency even though he faced nothing like the level of obstruction faced by Obama. At this point in 2002 Bush had only 5 nominees pending on the floor. By contrast, Obama has 77 nominations now pending.

Also among the Obama appointments are four positions on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and posts at the departments of Homeland Security and Treasury.

Photo: California nurses rally for Employee Free Choice (screen shot from video).

Chavez message is still strong

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:27:00 +0000

FORT WORTH -- Union organizer Cesar Chavez' birthday, March 31, is celebrated in North Texas as it is across America. This big city held two parades and two rallies on Saturday, March 27. The second group started from the downtown convention center at 4 PM. Over 100 strong, and full of energy, the crowd of Latinos and other Chavez supporters marched down Main and around the City Hall.

The lead truck had three musicians who sang traditional farm worker songs such as "De Colores." The crowd punctuated every line of every song with shouts of "Viva Cesar Chavez!" or "Viva Dolores Huerta" and the response, "Que Viva!" From time to time, the rhythmic chanting changed to "Se Puede?" and the response, "Si, se puede!" ("Can it be done?" and "Yes, it can be done!"

There are no United Farm Workers locals in North Texas, but members of other unions marched for Chavez. A big United Auto Workers banner was in the center of the Fort Worth action. The march ended with more music and a rally at Tarrant County Junior College. Fort Worth City leaders are trying to decide on a street to name after the great farm worker organizer. Nearby Dallas recently celebrated a Cesar Chavez street naming ceremony.

Photo: Jim Lane

If Daddy doesn’t have a job what am I supposed to do?

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:13:00 +0000

DETROIT - Sedrick Staten's family came here from Alabama in 1969. He's been driving a Detroit school bus for 18 years. A member of Teamsters Local 214, his livelihood is being threatened because of the school privatization efforts of Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager of Detroit Public Schools, appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Staten's story is moving. "I've been a loyal Detroit public school person all my life," he said. "My mother was a custodian for 30 years, my brothers, my sisters, my whole family have always been affiliated with Detroit public schools. If I lose my job, it's going to make me think about moving out of Detroit. My kids love their schools. But if Daddy doesn't have a job, what am I supposed to do?"

Staten joined hundreds of other school workers, many with similar stories, at a rally at Bobb's office.

Rose Gant is a secretary at Webster Elementary School, and a member of the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. She is fighting hard against the drastic cuts Bobb is pushing. "He wants us to take pay cuts, insurance cuts and retirement cuts," Gant said. "We cannot get enough supplies in the buildings." Standing outside the school system's administrative offices, Gant said the money should be spent in the schools instead of "down here."

A special education aide who has worked for 10 years at the Mae C. Jemison School said Bobb wants her and her coworkers to take a 10 percent pay cut. "We don't make any money now and he's trying to take more," she said. "It's going to be harder, much harder if they take more and give us less."

Beth Thoreson, from AFT Michigan, said Bobb has threatened to privatize office employees, the first people anybody sees when coming into a school. "The people who are rallying today are the people that hold the whole school system together - the teachers wouldn't be able to do their job if it weren't for them," she said.

"To outsource those jobs is to take away their ability to live in the city. Most of them do, and their kids go to school here," Thoreson said. The typical school office employee has worked on the job for 15 years and earns $25,000.

Privatization is not the answer because in the long run it doesn't save money, she said. "To privatize the jobs of people who live in the city, that support other businesses in the city, becomes a vicious cycle. It's not just an impact on the schools; it's an impact on the entire city." She also raised a concern shared by others: "Specialists have been brought in at huge amounts of money that could keep a number of these people at their jobs."

Former Detroit Federation of Teachers President Virginia Cantrell, who now serves on the school board advisory council, said, "We need to get the class size down, books and supplies in the classroom, and we need to stop moving teachers around, four, five, six times a year. All that needs to be done are things that are common sense."

She objected to Bobb trying to both be a financial manager and oversee academics. "None of us is smart enough to take on everything and be the master of everything. There's no check and balances." The elected school board, not Bobb, needs to oversee academics, in her view.

Russ Bellant, a retired labor and community activist long engaged in the fight to preserve public education, said Bobb is embarking on a systematic plan to dismantle public education in the city. Up to 45 schools are scheduled to close. What needs to be done is to keep the schools open and fill them with students, instead of closing them, he said.

Michael Mulholland, secretary treasurer of AFSCME Local 207 representing Detroit's water and sewage workers, came to the rally because his union is also fighting a privatization effort that could affect upwards of 13,000 workers.

Photo: PW/John Rummel

Workers battling plant shutdown get boost from Danny Glover

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:29:00 +0000

BROOKLYN, Ohio - The fight to stop Hugo Boss from closing its men's suit plant here got a big boost Tuesday from actor and social activist Danny Glover, acclaimed for his roles in films including "The Color Purple" and "Lethal Weapon."

"Morale has been down," Glover told a press conference in the plant lobby. "I am here to support these courageous workers and give some inspiration for their struggle."

Glover had addressed several hundred workers in the plant cafeteria during their lunch break before touring the plant. He talked and took pictures individually with nearly every worker in the plant.

With passion in his voice Glover spoke of the pride the workers have in their job and how they are "the real backbone of the community."

Plant closings and outsourcing of jobs are a basic cause of the economic crisis, he said, adding, "We must change the idea of how we treat workers. Democracy cannot be sustained if this goes on."

Glover's involvement in the fight to save the plant gained national attention when nearly all Oscar nominees responded to his appeal not to wear Hugo Boss tuxedos at the recent Academy Awards ceremony.

"The Academy Awards sent a message," Glover said, "that we care about workers."

Workers in the lobby along with union officials and representatives of Gov. Ted Strickland and Congressman Dennis Kucinich cheered as Glover said, "I hope to come back to celebrate a victory."

"Danny Glover really lifted spirits," said one supervisor faced with losing the job she has held for 25 years. "I haven't seen so many smiles in a long time."

But even as Glover spoke the shutdown was under way. The cutting room, the beginning of the assembly line process with about 30 workers, had already mostly closed and workers in the bundling department stood in the hall hugging each other with tears streaming down their cheeks as they said their farewells.

"I've worked here 33 years, five months, 12 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes" said Ruth Vrbac. "I met my husband here. It's the only job I've known."

The fight to save the plant took off last December when the German-owned company notified its 370 employees here that the plant would close April 27 at the end of the union contract.

The action came despite negotiations involving state and federal officials. Hugo Boss CEO Dr. Andreas Stockert had told Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown the company intends "to expand our presence in the United States."

"Closing this plant cannot be justified," said Bruce Raynor, national president of Workers United, who accompanied Glover on the tour. "This is a $2.1 billion corporation and this plant is modern, efficient and profitable."

"They already make $300 in profit on an $800 suit. This is only about greed," Raynor said.

The company, he said, wants to shift production to Slovenia or Turkey where it can pay workers less than $1 an hour. Workers here make close to $12 an hour.

"Executives who have never been in Brooklyn, Ohio, made this decision," Raynor said. "We demand they reverse this. We will do whatever it takes. This plant shall not close."

Hugo Boss was taken over in 2007 by a Permira, a private equity firm based in Britain. British and German unions with seats on the company's board voted against closing the plant, its only U.S. production facility. In addition, both the Ohio and California public employee retirement funds with stock in Permira have sent the company sharply worded letters against the closing.

Workers United encourages supporters to email Stockert at: Andreas_Stockert@hugoboss.com or call the company's New York office at 212-940-0600.

Further information on the fight is available at workersunitedunion.org.

Below is a 10-minute excerpt of Glover's press conference:

Photo: Danny Glover speaks to reporters at the Hugo Boss plant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To4TQWXhj7c

New Chicago trend: charter school teachers unionize

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:09:00 +0000

CHICAGO - One hundred teachers at four charter schools run by ASPIRA, Inc., of Illinois filed for union recognition March 19. Two-thirds of teachers at the schools signed authorization cards, far in excess of what is legally needed.

The teachers are seeking to organize with Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS), affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. Workers at ASPIRA will join 123 teachers at three other Chicago charter schools, run by Civitas, who joined the union and negotiated their first contract last year.

George Smith, a math teacher at ASPIRA's Mirta Ramirez Computer Science High School since it was established in 2003, said teachers at his school were ready for a union two years ago. But then ASPIRA opened two other campuses and the new teachers weren't ready yet.

"What really drove this was the desire for transparency in how ASPIRA was spending money and a greater active voice in curriculum, schedule and professional development," said Smith. The charter school management has frozen teachers and parents out of the decision making process, he said.

The curriculum was like the "flavor of the month," and often depended on where ASPIRA got outside funding from, Smith said. It was impossible to track academic results and prevented continuity from year to year in curriculum and graduation requirements.

"Our action sends a strong and clear message to ASPIRA that we believe forming our union will lead to greater collaboration and better results for our students," said Alexa Sorock, a humanities teacher and department head at ASPIRA Early College High School.

Early College High School teachers had been promised reimbursement for taking graduate-level classes, but then were never paid. This became a sore point.

According to Carlos Fernandez, lead organizer for Chicago ACTS, the ASPIRA teachers received support from members of ASPIRA's board of directors, elected officials, the community and the Chicago Teachers Union. Parents and students have been very supportive, added Smith.

"The negotiations will begin for a new contract once the certification takes place. We anticipate negotiations will be difficult given the Chicago Public Schools budgetary constraints," Fernandez told the People's World.

In light of a projected $700 million budget shortfall, Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman demanded that the teachers union reopen its contract and make concessions or face massive layoffs and increased class sizes. Charter school funding will be cut by 18 percent, forcing many smaller charter schools out of business.

James Thindwa, civic engagement coordinator with Chicago ACTS, said the unionization of charter school teachers will bring "transparency and an expanded set of eyes. It will result in a wiser prioritization of expenditures. This will potentially impact who decides to establish charter schools, making it difficult for those who are only in the business to make a profit."

The desire by teachers and staff to join Chicago ACTS comes as Chicago Public Schools management is ramping up efforts to establish more charter schools. There are now an estimated 2,000 non-union charter schoolteachers in Chicago.

The growth of charter schools has been encouraged here as part of Renaissance 2010, a big-business-inspired plan to privatize and reorganize the city's public education including closing scores of schools and dismissing their staffs. The Chicago Teachers Union believes some are using the charter movement to bust the union, driving down teacher salaries and benefits.

The Chicago experience has become the model for President Obama's national education policy, led by former Chicago Public Schools CEO and current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Chicago ACTS is part of a growing new education reform movement which rejects the "simple narrative that lays problems at the doorstep of teachers and unions," says Thindwa. "There is a growing recognition that the education crisis takes place within a complex economic and social environment."

The union authorization cards, signed by two-thirds of the teachers at the four ASPIRA schools, have been presented to the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board, which must certify the union within 90 days. State law requires 50 percent plus one vote of teachers to unionize.

Baltimore workers rally for jobs

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:48:00 +0000

BALTIMORE, Md. - Chanting "What do we want? Jobs. When do we want them? Now," a crowd of 300 union members and their community allies rallied in the rain at City Hall Mar. 22 to support a bill to create construction jobs for Baltimore City residents. All the supporters were clad in bright orange tee shirts provided by LIUNA (Laborer's International Union) which read, "Get Baltimore Working."

The bill, introduced in the City Council by Baltimore City Councilman Bill Henry, 4th Councilmanic District, will require contractors and local unions to work together to provide Baltimore residents with jobs that come with first class training, living wages, health benefits and retirement plans.

In addressing the crowd, Councilman Henry explained that Community Partnership Agreements (CPA), such as the one he was proposing, have been passed all over the country and that it's time to get Baltimore on board.

Betty Thomas, a community leader who helped to mobilize for the rally said, "This legislation will make sure that city tax dollars go for employment for people in Baltimore City. Baltimore families are starving. Time is of the essence."

Kevin Cosby, a minority contractor explained that the bill is good for minority contractors, for unions and for workers in Baltimore City. Individuals, he said, would be put on a career path through the legislation. It's about giving opportunities to people who otherwise would not have a chance.

Ernie Greco, president of the Baltimore Central Labor Council, told the crowd that the "other side" is working very hard against the bill. Earlier in the day opponents of the bill said on the radio that the it would not create jobs for Baltimore City residents. The jobs would go to out-of-city union members with seniority. Greco explained that, in fact, seniority doesn't take effect in construction. He added that the labor movement is behind the proposal and is starting to garner support among the rank and file.

The campaign for passage of the CPA bill coincides with a nationwide AFL-CIO drive for jobs highlighted by the "Week of Action for Jobs" last week with rallies and picketlines all across the nation sponsored by the "Jobs for America NOW" coalition of 60 grassroots organizations.

Councilman Henry urged concerned citizens to contact their city council representatives to tell them to vote yes on the bill to get Baltimore working again.

Photo: PW/Jordan Farrar

Labor takes the stage in immigration reform fight

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:55:00 +0000

Leaders of the AFL-CIO and a number of Change to Win unions took part in the enormous March 21 immigration reform rally in Washington, arguing that fairer treatment of both documented and undocumented immigrant workers is essential to the struggle for all workers' rights.

The following day, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka announced his federation's support for the DREAM Act, which would allow millions of undocumented young people who have been in the country for more than five years to go to college and gain permanent resident status.

The only winners in attacks on immigrants are the big corporations, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker told Sunday's rally.

The current immigration system "is benefiting the very same corporate giants who destroyed our economy," she said. "It is allowing those corporations to exploit workers by underpaying them, or not paying them at all, simply because of their immigration status. As long as employers have a pool of workers who are too scared to complain, those corporations will continue to profit and workplace standards will continue to go down."

The support of labor is a significant boost for the immigration reform movement for a number of reasons. The most important may well be the organized fighting power of the labor movement itself, which showed its strength most recently in the fight for health care reform.

Labor's involvement will also help to take the air out of a major anti-immigrant talking point, the claim that immigration is bad for American workers. Immigration reform advocates counter that allowing the millions of undocumented workers in the United States official status will automatically give them the same protections American workers have: minimum wage, Social Security, and the right to form a union. This will, in turn, create an upward pressure on the wages and benefits of all workers in the U.S. In addition, it will stimulate the economy: undocumented immigrants are some of the poorest people in the U.S., and extra wages will boost their purchasing power, creating a ripple effect.

Further, economists argue that, despite the current economic crisis, long-term trends point to the United States needing more workers. According to Barry Bluestone, dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University and author of the new report, "After the Recovery," a labor shortage could take hold in the United States by 2018, with over 5 million vacancies. If these vacancies are not filled, the cost to the economy could be as much as $3 trillion from 2018 through 2023.

Labor's official endorsement of Sunday's rally, as well as a number of pro-immigrant-rights rallies in the past few years, including the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride in 2004, represents the continued progressive evolution of the labor movement's policy towards immigrant workers, which began in the 1990s with the election of John Sweeney as AFL-CIO president.

The AFL-CIO is fighting for legalization for the undocumented, an independent commission to assess and manage future immigration based on real needs and real labor market shortages, a secure and fair immigrant worker authorization process, and more rational control over the borders. The labor federation is adamant that temporary worker programs, likened by many to the exploitative bracero programs of the past, be improved and not expanded.

Much of the crowd - estimated in the hundreds of thousands - at the March for America came with their unions. The Service Employees (SEIU) alone mobilized more than 5,000 members, from as far away as California, to attend. Other unions mobilized similar numbers, and the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Unite Here and others were part of the coalition sponsoring the march.

Photo: An SEIU sign held aloft at Sunday's March for America. http://www.flickr.com/photos/luckywhitegirl/ / CC BY 2.0

Jazz-blues opera brings ‘Forgotten’ labor history to life

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:55:00 +0000

A cast of 22 actors and musicians will bring the story of Lewis Bradford, a Methodist minister and labor organizer, to the stage at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts in Clinton Township, Mich., on Friday, March 26.

Bradford, one of Michigan's unsung labor heroes, was found fatally wounded in an isolated part of the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn, Mich., in November 1937. While the company called his death an accident, his family always suspected foul play because of his efforts to organize workers and his work with British pacifist Muriel Lester and the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Some eight years ago, family stories about Bradford prompted Bradford's great-nephew, Steve Jones, an award-winning jazz composer from Maryland, to travel to Michigan to investigate his uncle's life and death. After a months-long search with the help of a county clerical worker, Jones unearthed the long-lost autopsy report for Bradford and took it to the Wayne County, Mich., medical examiner who said the death could not have been due to an accident, but should probably have been deemed homicide.

Jones proceeded to write a jazz/blues opera, "Forgotten: The Murder at the Ford Rouge Plant," about his uncle and about labor struggles in the 1930s in Michigan. Some 25 songs describe the Ford Hunger March, the Flint sit-down strikes at General Motors, the Battle of the Overpass at the Ford Rouge plant, and other events. Much of the musical focuses on Bradford's work at the Howard Street Mission, a homeless shelter in Detroit, and his weekly radio program, "The Forgotten Man's Hour," broadcast as a counterpoint to the pro-fascist broadcasts of Father Charles Coughlin, Detroit's notorious radio priest.

First performed at the George Meany Center near Washington, D.C., "Forgotten" received rave reviews for two earlier productions in the Detroit area in 2004 and 2005. It has since been produced in Minneapolis, and excerpts have been performed in Cincinnati, Chicago and New York. United Auto Workers Region 1A is planning to produce the show later this spring at its hall in Taylor, Mich.

Since early February, the cast has been rehearsing "Forgotten" at Detroit's Central United Methodist Church, where Bradford served as associate pastor in the 1930s. On March 14, cast members performed selections from the show during Central's Sunday service, and the Rev. Edwin Rowe paid tribute to Bradford's legacy in his sermon.

The new production includes members of Actor's Equity, the Detroit Federation of Musicians, and rank-and-file members of the UAW, AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers, and several other unions. The performance is dedicated to the memory of Dave Moore, the last known survivor of the 1932 Ford Hunger March, who passed away last fall.

Tickets for the March 26 show range in price from $10 to $30 and are available by calling the theater box office at 586-286-2222, or at www.Macombcenter.com. More information about "Forgotten" and samples of its music can be seen and heard at www.forgottenshow.net, where information on buying a cast CD is also available.

The Michigan production is funded in part by contributions from the Michigan Labor History Society, the Michigan chapter of the U.S. Peace Council, the Ovshinsky Foundation, and many individual donors. In addition to the performance in the 1,300-seat Center for the Performing Arts, playgoers can visit the Macomb Community College exhibit on the 1930s and the Great Depression, a multi-media display of life in Detroit during that period. The college and theater are located near M-59 and Garfield Road in Clinton Township, Mich.

Photo: The "Forgotten" cast. Courtesy Dave Elsila.

Workers lose fight to keep NUMMI open

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:28:00 +0000

FREMONT, Calif. - The United Auto Workers' campaign to keep the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) plant open has ended in defeat: Toyota held fast in its decision to stop using the plant, and the union is now resigned to severance. Toyota took the decision despite a report by a "Blue Ribbon Commission" appointed by California state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and chaired by University of California-Berkeley economics professor Harley Shaiken, showing the company's stated reasons for the closure are unfounded.

Community leaders had fought alongside the union. They realized the closure will be a disaster for California, with 4,700 workers at the plant and tens of thousands more at parts suppliers losing work. Lockyer's commission says the closure will cost California taxpayers $2.3 billion and cripple the state's economy.

It was apparent Toyota didn't care about that. Many believe the real reason is union-busting. NUMMI is Toyota's only unionized plant in North America.

On March 17 workers gathered at the UAW hall across the street from the plant to vote on the severance package negotiated by the union. It was a painful scene. "Twenty five years and this is what we get. Great fight. Great job," one man shouted from his car to a nearby union official as he turned out of the lot.

There was no doubt the deal would be accepted, and not because it was some kind of golden parachute. While the union won modest improvements to Toyota's initial offer, the average is around $53,500 and workers on disability were left behind with a severance slightly over $21,000. "As soon as NUMMI found a loophole to screw people, that's just what they did," Sal Gomez, who went on disability last September after a knee replacement, told the San Jose Mercury News. The deal also leaves a $131 million pension shortfall.

"For the world's most profitable automaker to walk away from a pension covering people who, in some cases, worked for more than a quarter of a century doesn't look good," Shaiken told the Detroit Free Press.

The workers were nonetheless expected to ratify the agreement. The union argued the impending closure would make NUMMI less interested in negotiating, and warned that if NUMMI declared bankruptcy the workers might lose severance altogether.

Juan Carrera, NUMMI worker since 1985, told reporters: "there was no other choice ... It's like take it or leave it."

When votes were tallied the agreement won by 90 percent.

The package contains a clause that gags the union and stipulates they should not engage in activities that might be harmful to Toyota, including "informational picketing."

Before the vote, Sergio Santos, president of the NUMMI workers' union, UAW Local 2244, said imposing the restrictions "violates our First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution and our rights to freedom of association under the labor rights conventions of the United Nations International Labor Organization." Despite his views, he said, he would comply with the restrictions.

Recapping the Lockyer Commission's findings that Toyota could have produced more Corollas and started making hybrids and plug-ins at NUMMI, Santos said of the closure's consequences. "... as we lose our homes, our health benefits, and ultimately our health, the true toll of Toyota's decision to abandon vehicle production in California will become clear to everyone."

The closure is also a loss for all of the nation's auto workers. The other Toyota plants had been able to use the threat of unionization to force management to keep their wages in line with those of unionized NUMMI. No longer. More, it is likely that GM will try to peg its wages to Toyota's in the name of competition.

Meanwhile, area labor councils and elected officials are working to help the displaced auto workers and seeking new manufacturing uses for the NUMMI facility.

Photo: David Bester

New York May Day reborn

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:24:00 +0000

May Day - International Workers Day - was, of course, born in the U.S.A. But while the Haymarket events occurred in Chicago, the largest and perhaps best known May Day celebrations in the U.S. were historically in New York City. Unions, workers, their families and more traditionally marched together to honor working people.

This year, New York's historic May Day celebrations will be reborn with a mass march and rally organized by the labor and immigrant rights movements. An alliance of over 30 city and regional organizations is calling for "Labor and Immigrant Rights and Jobs for All." The demands are based on the AFL-CIO's five-point jobs program and immigrant rights demands.

A recent panel of labor leaders at the Left Forum discussed May Day historically and the plans for May Day 2010.

Ed Ott, former Executive Director of the New York City Central Labor Council spoke from the panel, saying, "this project will help rebuild the working-class left in the city." He noted that there are several protests on May 1, but argued, "this particular expression is the regrouping of some particular unions to reclaim a presence on May Day."

This emerging alliance is reclaiming May Day from years of neglect. McCarthyism, the decline of the left, and the identification of May Day with sectarian groups (true and not) had whittled New York ‘s May Day celebrations down to a small but spirited gathering by the dawn of the 21st Century.

Then in 2006, something happened.

Immigrant rights movements in the U.S. had for several years used the occasion of May Day to demonstrate for immigrant rights, but in that year millions of immigrant families poured out on May 1 around the U.S. calling urgently for immigrant rights, workers rights and amnesty. New York was no exception. May Day received a new breath of life.

This year perhaps begins a full recovery. Saturday, May 1, the march will assemble in Manhattan's Foley Square on Worth Street between Centre and Lafayette Streets. The March route will pass Wall Street, home to the country and world's largest banking and finance institutions, which many participants see as the source of the current economic and jobs crisis-and end in Battery Park.

Another panelist, Bhairavi Desai of the New York City Taxi Workers Alliance said, "It is really important to see organized labor and the immigrant rights movement come together with our economy in the state it's in." Taxi workers, domestic workers and many other immigrant workers are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act and face particularly difficult challenges at the workplace and elsewhere.

Some of the sponsors of the May day events include, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, District Council 37 AFSCME, Transport Workers Union Local 100, Domestic Workers United, United Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 210, New York City Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (UFCW), Labor Left Project and many more.

In closing the panel presentation, Ed Ott spurred the audience into action, saying, "Every working-class activist should try to build this effort."

For more information or to volunteer, contact Jason Green with the Alliance for Labor & Immigrants Rights & Jobs for All at Jason@advancegroup.com or 212-239-7323

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcjc/ / CC BY 2.0

Labor mobilizes votes for health care bill

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:48:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (PAI)--The drive by Democratic President Barack Obama and congressional Democratic leaders to pass health care reform came down to the wire the weekend of March 19. The AFL-CIO Executive Council voted March 18 to support the Senate-passed health care bill, despite all its flaws.

Leaders of 3 million-member unions weighed in to drum up support for the legislation, while other unions were part of a joint effort for the cause.

The fed's decision could sway some votes in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., acting with President Obama, is trying to stitch together a 216-member majority -- among the current 431 representatives -- for the Senate-passed health care overhaul.

"After 60 years of fighting for health care reform, we are convinced that now is the time to say 'yes,'" Trumka said after the council meeting. "The health care bill is good for working families, now and in the future."

But, Trumka also said the plan still needs improvements, alluding to the problems with the Senate bill, which includes the lack of a "public option" and a tax on "high-value" insurance. Labor vociferously opposes such a tax.

Nevertheless, Trumka called it "landmark legislation" and promised labor would continue to battle the nation's insurers over future changes.

As part of her lobbying to get the Senate's bill through the House and to the president's desk, Speaker Pelosi promised upset pro-worker lawmakers that a measure fixing the Senate-passed health care plan -- including postponing the 40% excise tax until 2018 -- would be part of a second bill vote immediately afterwards.

It would pass by a special budget bill procedure, reconciliation, to ban a Senate GOP filibuster.

Money-saving is the key, because then the second bill full of such "fixes" could be voted on in the Senate under special "reconciliation" rules that require only 51 votes and avoid a GOP filibuster.

Pelosi's latest convert was Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who voted "no" on the House version of the health care bill because it did not allow any path -- even state by state -- for government-run single-payer health care coverage, abolishing the insurance companies, their high premiums and co-pays, denial of care and 44,780 annual deaths.

Union leaders in northeast Minnesota told PAI they were assured another doubter, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., would vote "yes," too. Yet another, Rep. John Boccieri, D-Ohio, was still getting pressure from all sides.

Millions of dollars in advertising, thousands of e-mails and phone calls, personal calls by the president and grassroots demonstrations all targeted the final undecided Democrats.

In a full-page ad, United Food and Commercial Workers President Joe Hansen thanked Obama "for showing us the way forward on health care reform." Then he declared: "The House must act swiftly on the framework you have provided. Delay is not an option for working people.

"The men and women who check groceries, stock shelves, cut meat, make soup, clean buildings, care for children, care for the sick and aged -- including tens of millions of part-time workers -- are counting on Congress to enact the foundation of a health care system that will serve all Americans," Hansen's union said in the ad.

Teamsters President James Hoffa and AFSCME President Gerald McEntee also spoke out, with McEntee urging members and allies to contact Congress by phone or e-mail. He concentrated on the House, which has turned into a battleground on the health plan.

"Insurance industry operatives and Republican talking heads you see on cable TV say we need to start over and spend another year -- or another decade -- before we pass reform. They twist the facts to say that the public opposes reform, but what the public really opposes are attempts to water down or kill reform to keep the insurance companies happy," McEntee's message said.

"The bill would end the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to those who have pre-existing conditions -- or deny coverage when you get sick. It would require insurance companies to pay for preventive care. It would allow parents to keep their unemployed children on their policies until they turn 26. And it would end taxpayer funded subsidies to Big Insurance...The opportunity to end insurance company abuses is a moment for which we worked long and hard. It is a vote that will affect our children, and their children. The time has come to pass health care reform," McEntee declared.

Hoffa also urged Teamsters to get their representatives to agree to the Senate's health care bill, however flawed, thus sending it to Obama.

The bill's 40% excise tax on the value of health care plans above a minimum of $27,500 per family draws the ire of union presidents and their members -- ire Hoffa shares.

"We fought against this tax because it was the right thing to do," he said.

Nevertheless, "Now is the time to get this done," the Teamsters leader said of health care revision.

"Teamster members have solid health care coverage, but the outrageous cost of insurance is hurting our employers and dragging down the economy. Working families cannot afford a health care system that allows a for-profit insurance company to increase premiums by 39%, the way Anthem Blue Cross did in California recently. The burden on working people is too great. The plan...will provide insurance to millions of Americans who don't have it and control costs for millions more who do."

Arrayed against the bill were the GOP, the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, right-wing lobbies, about a thousand "tea party" zealots who descended on Congress on March 16 and -- of course -- the insurance companies. Insurers spent $20+ million on TV ads.

Photo: Union members are part of many street heat demonstrations for health care across the country. Progress Ohio/http://www.flickr.com/photos/progressohio/ / CC BY 2.0

Women's History Month event honors women in unions

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:29:00 +0000

DETROIT - In Recognition of Women's History Month, the Civil Rights Committee of the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO showed the film "Norma Rae."

Committee co-chair Michele Artt said a lot of thought went into picking this film. "The committee viewed a number of DVDs looking for the right one. First we wanted to honor women in unions and their struggle for equal pay. With so many people discouraged, we needed a movie having a positive outlook; one showing working people on the winning side. We really feel gains are possible when people unite and of course, the movie sends a great message to all women."

The film starring Sally Field, a winner of several academy awards, does just that.

It's based on the 1975 true story of Crystal Lee Sutton, a 33 year old mother of three, earning $2.65 an hour folding towels at the J.P. Stevens plant in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. Low pay and unsafe working conditions compelled her to take a leading role in efforts to unionize the plant. Who could ever forget the scene where Field stands on her workbench table holding a white sign with the black letters spelling UNION?

Sutton lost her battle with brain cancer on September 11, 2009.

April Smith, a retired teacher said, "It's hard to believe it took until the 70's to organize that plant - and now many of those jobs are gone.

"Due to the loss of manufacturing jobs, having decent jobs and decent wages is more of an issue today for women and families."

As I walked out, the words to the Dusty Springfield tune running through the movie were still in my head: "And maybe what's good gets a little bit better and maybe what's bad is gone."

Bush is gone and the possibilities for things to get better are there. It's going to take the same kind of unity and determination to move forward that it took to organize J.P. Stevens.

Photo: Michelle Artt connects union women and the struggle for pay equity to Women's History Month at a recent Detroit celebration. John Rummel/PW

The guy who delivers your mail takes a labor history tour

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:58:00 +0000

Straightening out the corners - you know, the hard edges in our lives. We all get ‘em; some do yoga, some get religion. Me, I ride. That's what helps me to straighten the corners, round out the edges. "When you straighten out the corners, you get a circle. The circle is a symbol of life: there is no beginning and there is no end." I read that once in a motorcycle book. "You straighten out the corners so you can see other people's points of view, and you can understand a little more about them .... ‘cause we're all Brothers and Sisters in this world." Biker philosophy at its finest.

I've been having a hard time lately trying to soften the hard edges in my life. My ol' man, Moses Dick, died this January. Nine days later, a pal of mine died as well. And a month later, my uncle passed away suddenly. Straightening out these corners has not been easy. Sometimes I laugh at these curve balls thrown down from Heaven as I swing my earthly aluminum bat, but most times I cry. But one thing remains certain: I need to draw inspiration and hope from the lives these men lived. They are a part of my history and I plan to pass it on down.

This is the 40th anniversary of the Great Postal Strike of 1970. Some of you reading this may have been participants in that eight days that changed the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). I want your stories to never be forgotten. Your courage and sacrifice has allowed me and my wife to do all the things that I've written about over the last eight years: namely travel the country via motorcycle to all 50 states and meet letter carriers all along the way. This has been a great honor and a humbling privilege. I know I am a result of two great parents, but also my economic privileges have been forged by the dedication and perseverance of those letter carriers who came before me. And not just the letter carriers; determined unionists and social activists have been laying my groundwork for many decades.

I have been involved in the Michigan Labor History Society for a couple of years now. I like going to the meetings because they call me "young man." It's quite a shame, actually, to be the youngest on the program committee at 50 years old. This group is responsible for the great monument, "Transcending," located in Hart Plaza, in downtown Detroit. To be in the midst of this group while they are discussing labor history is, to me, like a hummingbird sucking up sweet nectar. I believe more of us, those who labor for a living, need to understand our roots. We take way too many of our good working conditions and benefits for granted. I am not a big fan of sitting in a classroom chair (just ask my Mom), so my idea of teaching is to do a Detroit labor history field trip. Detroit is a UAW (United Auto Workers) town, but also a very historical town for NALC history as well. Let me grab a beer as I take you on a tour.

First stop: the Fort Street Bridge at Miller Road. This bridge, at the border of Dearborn and Detroit, crosses the Rouge River. Looking north, the ominous stacks of the Ford Rouge steel plant billow black clouds of stinky smoke. Tugboats hug the shore, waiting to steer barges to the Detroit River, and the Morton salt mines lie underneath the southeast side of the bridge. The historic marker on the bridge reads:

On March 7, 1932 in the midst of the Depression, unemployed auto workers, their families and union organizers braved the bitter cold temperatures and gathered at this bridge, intent on marching to the Ford Rouge plant and presenting a list of demands to Henry Ford. Some 3,000 "hunger marchers" paraded down Miller Road. At the city limit Dearborn police blocked their path and hurled tear gas; the marchers responded with rocks and frozen mud. Near Gate #3 the demonstrators were bombarded with water from fire hoses and a barrage of bullets. In the end, five marchers were killed, 19 wounded by gunfire, and numerous others by stones, bricks and clubs. Newspapers alleged that the marchers were Communists but they were in fact people of all political, racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Dave Moore, the last survivor of the Ford Hunger March, just died October 26, 2009. He was 97 years old and a union activist until his death. These are his words about that event:

"When you drive down Miller Road, your tires run over the blood of our martyrs. And when you walk along the street, the soles of your shoes are walking where the blood ran in 1932. We need to tell our young people the story of how people sacrificed their lives to build a movement."

Next stop: the Miller Road overpass leading to the main entrance of the Rouge plant. This was the catwalk workers used to go from the parking lot to the plant. On May 26, 1937, Walter Reuther and three union associates began to pass out leaflets to workers on the overpass during shift change. Ford was the last auto company to allow the UAW to organize its factories, and was not at all happy about union organizers giving leaflets to his workers.

Twenty-five cars filled with men in sunglasses arrived at the site and warned everyone, including newsmen and the Ladies Auxiliary Brigade, to get out of the area. Reuther and his partners were attacked brutally on that overpass by those thugs while Dearborn police did nothing to stop the violence. Women were beaten, as well, with one police officer pleading, "Stop beating her. You'll kill her ..." One union organizer was pushed off the bridge and fell 30 feet. Another was beaten so badly, he spent months in the hospital with a broken back. I saw the actual photos of the Ford Hunger March and the Battle of the Overpass victims as they lay in pools of blood. The images are horrific.

Next stop: Transcending, the Labor Legacy Project. This is the majestic steel circle reaching into the heavens in the forefront of Hart Plaza. Just across from the Joe Louis fist, this is labor's gift to the city of Detroit. Our Letter Carriers Branch was one of the first contributors to the building of this project. If you have not done so, please visit this 63-foot-tall glorious monument. It is an inspiring sculpture with a spiraling granite walkway through an artist's vision of labor history. Look for our Branch 3126 tribute plaque on the memorial wall.

Last stop; the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University. This is the resting place of all NALC official archives. It is also where the UAW places all of its archival history, as well as many other unions. Until June of this year there is a grand special exhibit of NALC history at the library. A group of us recently perused this fine display of letter carriers in action over the last 200 years and found it quite outstanding. There is quite a bit of 1970 strike history as part of this display. I highly recommend a family trip to the Reuther Library. Your kids need to know about labor history. Maybe they will even Twitter their friends about how much fun they're havin' in a library!

So let's connect the dots. I've been accused of being a ramblin' idiot so let's sharpen our pencils and put them to paper.

Ford Hunger March...U
Battle of the Overpass..N
Postal Strike of 1970.......I
Labor Legacy Project........O
NALC History Exhibit.........N

I see the connection between all these things. It's just working folks trying to fight for dignity and respect. It's plain and simple to me. I am glad that I wrote this article. It's helped me to straighten out the corners of my mind. Now I understand why the Labor Legacy Project is a circle. But look closely; there is a gap at its apex. There's still a lot of work to be done. The future is unwritten.

The arc of history bends towards justice. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

P.S. This article was inspired by a proud, retired UAW member, Robert "Moses" Dick, 1939 - 2010. Two of his favorite sayings were, "Work Sucks!" and "Thank God for the Union." You are gone, but never forgotten. Thanks, Pops!

John "Cementhead" Dick is an active member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 3126, Royal Oak, Mich.

Photo: Voices of Labor memorial in Detroit's Hart Plaza. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cletch/ / CC BY 2.0

Labor, allies line up behind new House jobs bill

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:14:00 +0000

Just 24 hours after the new Local Jobs for America Act was introduced into Congress by Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., unions and their allies are lining up to support the legislation which they say will create one million jobs.

The measure, the largest job-creation plan yet proposed in Congress this year, would provide $100 billion to fund wages and benefits for a million workers who would otherwise be unemployed.

Leaders of the nation's mayors are among those already coming out in support of the bill.

Elizabeth Kautz, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and mayor of Burnsville, Minn., said the bill has already been endorsed by her organization. "Mayors know from experience that direct funding to cities can create and save jobs and do it quickly," she said.

"Our research at the National League of Cities shows the ability of cities to meet their financial needs is now in jeopardy and will most likely worsen substantially through the rest of 2010," Ronald Loveridge, mayor of Riverside, Calif. and president of the NLC, said in a statement. "The economy cannot recover if cities falter, and so federal action now is essential." Loveridge was with Miller when he announced the bill yesterday.

Jobs for America Now, the country's largest jobs coalition with more than 60 affiliated organizations, announced its support this morning. Alan Chaney, the coalition's campaign manager, said, "The economy remains weak and the private sector cannot generate enough jobs to put us on a safe and sure path to recovery. With this bill Congress is finally taking action to create jobs."

Randy Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, praised the portion of the bill that allocates $23 billion to help school districts keep 250,000 education jobs. "A child's life moves on no matter the circumstances - there is no pause button on his or her education. Students need their teachers in classrooms, not on unemployment lines, and this new jobs measure will help keep educators in schools where they belong," she said.

The Campaign for America's Future issued a statement that said, "The legislation acknowledges a fundamental truth that conservatives refuse to face: You cannot put the economy back on a stable growth path without significant direct government spending on jobs.

Also praising the legislation, the Economic Policy Institute's Vice President Ross Eisenberry said it would actually create more than the one million jobs estimated by Miller. "This is because of indirect job creation that happens when people have more money to spend at local businesses."

Economists at the labor-backed EPI say timing of the bill's announcement was "none too soon." Heidi Shierholz described a labor market "stuck on pause" and said that "while official unemployment remained unchanged in February, underemployment actually increased, to 16.8 percent from 16.5 percent in January. Many workers who had kept their jobs were working less hours and all those lost work hours added up to 2.8 million full time jobs."

She explained further that while 11.1 million jobs are needed to return to pre-recession levels of employment, the "effective" jobs gap is a much bigger 13.9 million, once lost work hours are factored in.

The bill provides $75 billion in grants to cities for 750,000 jobs providing needed local services.

It also funnels $22.5 billion directly to governors to distribute to cities with less than 50,000 people and to non-profit organizations and county governments to create similar types of jobs.

The legislation also allocates $23 billion to help states support an estimated 250,000 education jobs, $1.18 billion to put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat and $500 million to hire and retain fire fighters.

Five hundred million dollars is also included for 50,000 on-the-job training position slots to help private small businesses expand employment.

Photo: Steve Rhodes/http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

HomeGoods /TJX workers rally for union contract

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:35:00 +0000

Bloomfield, Conn. -- Hundreds of HomeGoods / TJX workers with their families and supporters rallied at the company's distribution center here on March 10 to demand a fair contract to improve wages and health insurance benefits. The company recently posted a record one billion dollars in profits. The workers who do the work are demanding their share.

HomeGoods employee Jessica Rivera noted, "We are rallying for a better contract and for better pay and benefits. We want to be treated fairly and equally at work. We want to feel proud of the work we do and the company we work for." The 600 workers have been hard hit in the economic crisis.

On February 24, TJX, the parent corporation of HomeGoods, Marshalls, AJ Wright and TJ Maxx stores, posted record profit for 2009, breaking the one billion dollar profit mark for the first time in its history. For the quarter ending January 30, TJX posted a profit of $ 395 million, up from $ 250.7 million a year earlier. TJX is one of the most profitable retail companies in the country.

The workers turned out in large numbers to give the message that the time for a fair contract is now! They were joined in support by John Olsen, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO and Peggy Buchanan, president of the Greater Hartford Central Labor Council. In his spirited speech, Olsen pledged full support from the members of the AFL-CIO in Connecticut.

Wearing red Unite Here t-shirts, the workers pledged to stand firm. In organizing the rally, the Unite Here New England Joint Board said the workers want "a health insurance plan that allows us to afford to see a doctor and bring our kids to the doctor and wages that allow us to provide for our families."

Wages are currently between $8.40 and $11.75 an hour. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in 2007-2008 an income of at least $21.11 an hour is needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Connecticut.

"Help stop the race to the bottom," said the call to the rally. "TJX shouldn't join the ranks of the exploiters of the poor like the Hyatt and Wal-Mart."

Photo: PW/Thomas Connolly