People Before Profit blog

Urge to lawmakers: Use Trans-Pacific trade pact to favor workers

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:28:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The AFL-CIO is urging Congress and the Obama administration to use negotiation of the proposed Trans-Pacific Pact, a trade treaty linking the U.S. with at least eight nations on both sides of the ocean, to redo U.S. trade policy to support workers, not multi-national corporations.

But whether Obama will heed them is open to question. Celeste Drake, the AFL-CIO specialist who discussed the TPP at a congressional hearing on May 17, praised Obama officials for listening to labor's analysis and suggestions, "especially when compared to the prior administration." But she does not know if Obama U.S. Trade Rep Ron Kirk will adopt any of labor's ideas.

The TPP pact is running into increasing congressional flak. A news report May 24 said Senate Trade Subcommittee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., would introduce legislation to make its text and communications with Congress public.

And earlier in the month, 61 lawmakers protested to the Obama administration that leaked details show the pact would ban any "Buy America" legislation.

Late last year, in a meeting with Pacific nation leaders, Obama pledged to get the TPP done quickly, both to boost U.S. exports - his stated goal - and to also curry favor with business, his unstated political goal. His decision to successfully push trade pacts with Colombia, Panama, and Korea, over labor opposition, was for the same reasons.

Eight nations, including developing nations such as Malaysia and Vietnam and the trading powerhouse of Singapore, are part of the TPP talks. China and Japan are not, yet. But Obama officials say the door is open for them to join, with conditions. With the TPP's text not yet released, the AFL-CIO seized the opportunity to tell lawmakers what should be in it - and what shouldn't.

"USTR and its partners must embark on economic development policies that explicitly address the creation of good jobs, the development of a thriving middle class, and respect for domestic policy space," Drake told a GOP-run House subcommittee. "Such an approach would require abandonment of the status quo.

"It would also require the cooperation of global corporations, many of which are used to using their leverage to play off one nation against the other in a race to the bottom in wages, benefits, social protection strategies, conservation, and public health and safety measures. The AFL-CIO cannot recommend strongly enough that, for a trade agreement to benefit workers here and abroad, it must prioritize fundamental labor rights, creation of high-wage, high-benefit jobs, and balanced, sustainable trade flows.

"When workers can exercise their fundamental rights, as well as have a secure and hopeful future and sufficient incomes, their demand will help businesses and the global economy grow in a sustainable way," Drake stated.

Striking workers assail Red Cross “union-avoidance plan”

Thu, 31 May 2012 10:09:00 +0000

LANSING, Mich. - It tears Red Cross workers up to not be doing the jobs they love. That means collecting and transporting the blood that saves so many lives. But at some point, they have to protect their own lives and livelihoods too.

Teamster member Greg Golden, a 12-year mobile unit assistant worker for the American Red Cross, shared those thoughts on the picket line here Wednesday. It will soon be his tenth week in a strike that has spread from Cleveland to Toledo to Lansing. The Red Cross is attempting to deny its workers the ability to bargain for, of all things, health care, he said.

"We've known that for years but couldn't prove it," Golden remarked. "Now they've actually said it."

He was referring to the union discovery of American Red Cross "internal documents" that detailed the plan to deny the union's right to bargain collectively. Mike Parker, Teamsters Local 580 secretary treasurer, said the Red Cross wants to take away bargaining rights for health care, have the ability to raise health care premiums at any time without bargaining with the union, and implement a benefits package at or below what non-union employees receive, in order to discourage union membership. Since the strike began, management has only committed to three hours of talks per bargaining unit.

This explains why the Red Cross rejected union-offered health care concessions that would save the agency money by increasing employee premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.

Jennie Hemstreet, a 19-year mobile unit assistant for blood drives working in Lansing, put it clearly: "They have a union-avoidance plan."

Picketer Kelly Tracy of Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 459 said the health package pushed by the Red Cross contains such huge deductibles and co-pays that "out of pocket for a family of four would be like taking a 30 percent pay cut."

More than health care expenses is at stake. The strikers want the public to know that the Red Cross is planning cuts - like eliminating the presence of a registered nurse at all blood drives - that will undermine the safety of our blood supply.

The unions have set up food banks to help out the strikers. On Thursday evenings, the Teamsters organize dinners for strikers and their supporters. OPEIU members organize "theme dinners." Donations of cash and goods have come from other unions. Even some blood donors have shown solidarity by walking the picket line. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero joined the picketers and brought pizzas.

Even with the help, it is not easy being on strike. Some of the picketers say they are eating more macaroni and cheese and Ramen noodles than they should, but even with those discomforts, and many more, the picketers remain strong.

Golden said he and others are in the fight of their lives. What they want us to know is that they're fighting for our lives too.

Photo: Red Cross workers on strike in Lansing, Mich. John Rummel/PW

NLRB official orders rerun recognition vote at Target store

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:26:00 +0000

VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. - Saying Target illegally threatened to close its Valley Stream, Long Island, store if United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 won a recognition vote there, a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge ordered a rerun election at the 268-worker store.

If the union wins the second election, the Valley Stream store would be the first of Target's 1,755 stores to be successfully organized. NLRB Administrative Law Judge Steven Davis' May 18 ruling also banned other Target labor law-breaking there.

Davis set aside the first vote, which Local 1500 lost last Jun. 17, 137-85. He said the labor law breaking was led by a management pamphlet with the threat to close. That illegally tainted the vote, he said.

"By distributing a leaflet to its employees in which it threatened its employees that its Valley Stream facility would close if employees chose the union as their collective-bargaining representative, the respondent (Target) has violated" labor law, Davis wrote.

There were also unlawful threats to discipline and fire pro-union workers and unlawful surveillance, among other unfair labor practices, Davis' ruling said.

"We have said from Day 1 that a neutral judge would find that democracy was denied to Target workers," Local 1500 spokesman Pat Purcell told local media. "Target needs to agree that it will no longer engage in these practices at this location."

The Valley Stream store has been closed since April. Target says it's renovating the store, but Local 1500 said that the closure is illegal retaliation for workers' support of the union and filed another unfair labor practices complaint with the NLRB's local office.

Meanwhile, Target is taking over Zellers, a Canadian retailer. Five of Zellers' 15 stores, one in British Columbia, and four in Ontario, are unionized by UFCW Canada. That union launched a public campaign to tell consumers that Target must abide by "successorship" clauses in the Zeller contracts - and Canadian provincial labor laws.

"Our position is that we are asking Target to recognize Zellers workers everywhere, whether a store is union or non-union, and at the very least to let them continue working at the store once it's converted, and to honor the wages, the hours, the benefits that they currently have," Kevin Shimmin of UFCW Canada said.

UFCW Canada has filed a petition with the British Columbian government demanding Target accept successorship rights there, and bargain with the union about the takeover. It plans to file a petition in Ontario, Shimmin added.

Photo: Kevin Dooley // CC 2.0

Labor history: U.S. autoworkers and the Soviet Union

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:39:00 +0000

In 1929, Ford Motors signed a "technical assistance" contract with the Soviet Union. The American automaker agreed to furnish the USSR with plans and expert assistance in building a plant that would manufacture 100,000 automobiles each year. In return, the Soviets would buy 72,000 vehicles from Ford, as well as all repair parts.

200 Soviets came to the United States for training, and Ford sent teams of experts and autoworkers to the Soviet Union for training. Included on the trip was Walter Reuther, who later became president of the United Auto Workers. Reuther later went on to become a Cold Warrior.

Photo via Walter P. Reuther Library.

Steelworkers remember martyrs, fight for living

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:37:00 +0000

The Republic Steel mill in south Chicago is sacred ground for the American labor movement. The mill is empty and silent now, the fields around it a vacant lot, but the land has been hallowed by the blood spilled in the Memorial Day Massacre of 1937, when police fired on a peaceful picket line, killing 10 and wounding dozens of others.

Seventy-five years later, on May 26, across the street from Republic Steel, labor leaders, academics, rank-and-file activists and elected officials gathered at a commemoration and rally organized by the United Steelworkers under the title, "Fighting for Workers' Rights: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow."

The solemn occasion brought together black, white, and Latino workers, women and men of every age: from Beatrice Lumpkin, a trade unionist and Communist who has been organizing workers for more than 75 years, to Levi Marshall-Bawden, age five weeks, son of teachers and grandson of steelworkers, sporting a bib with the slogan, "Don't make me call my union rep!"

The event opened with a tribute to the 10 Memorial Day martyrs, where women steelworkers dressed and veiled in black recited the names of the slain trade unionists, urging participants to remember the struggle for which they gave their lives. The day's ceremonies ended with a prayer at the monument to the fallen workers.

Between the opening tribute and the final benediction, a series of speakers celebrated the fighting spirit of American labor, but also drew attention to the acute problems facing the working class in its struggle for justice.

Edward Sadlowski, Sr., opened the morning panel by noting how little things had changed since the massacre at Republic Steel: "We haven't done the job... we still have the same injustices and inequities that we had 75 years ago."

Ruth Needleman, professor of Labor and Community Studies at Calumet College, echoed Sadlowski's comments. Recalling the great victories of the labor movement (shorter hours, good wages, legal protection of the right to organize, an end to child labor...), she asked, "How is it that we are fighting today for what we already won?"

Democratic Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., answered her question in his own speech: "Labor is under attack by right-to-work laws, by Republican governors and legislatures, and by an economic ideology that sees finance as sacred and workers as disposable."

Indeed, the need to defeat the Republicans at the ballot box was a major theme of the event. Even as speakers acknowledged that the Democratic Party has not been a fast friend of working people, they laid the blame for the worst abuses, the hardest union-busting, the most shameless corporate pandering, squarely at the door of the GOP.

Ed Sadlowski Jr. of a Wisconsin-based American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees district spoke with particular vehemence about the need to recall Scott Walker, comparing the embattled Wisconsin governor to Republic Steel chairman Tom Girdler, under whom the Memorial Day Massacre occurred.

On Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, USW President Leo Gerard was equally blunt.

"That slimy bastard never worked a day in his life," he said. "I don't know how working people could think of voting for him."

Gerard continued to suggest that trade unionists honor the sacrifice of the Memorial Day martyrs by "making sure we use every bit of energy from now until November to return the president to the White House."

But electoral organizing was far from the only arena of struggle identified by the speakers at Saturday's event.

Sadlowski Jr. encouraged workers to understand electoral work as one tactic in a larger strategy whose ultimate expression is in militant, grassroots action like that seen last year in Madison, Wisc.

In a speech punctuated by cheers and standing ovations, Rep. Jackson Jr. called for a "constitutional agenda" for labor: a struggle for amendments guaranteeing every worker the right to a job or income, health care, and full economic and social equality across lines of race and sex.

Jackson also announced that he will introduce to the House, June 6, legislation that will immediately raise the federal minimum wage to ten dollars per hour, and peg that wage to the Consumer Price Index to protect it from inflation.

Steelworkers Gerard highlighted the necessity of building a worldwide workers' movement to fight globalized corporate greed. He emphasized the importance of uniting workers across national boundaries in contract negotiations with multinational corporations.

In keeping with Mother Jones' famous injunction to "pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living," Saturday's rally struck a balance between honoring those who gave their lives before the gates of Republic Steel, and learning from their sacrifice to build a labor movement capable of fighting, and winning, in the 21^st century.

Photo: Women of Steel honor those killed in the Republic Steel Massacre at the 75th anniversary commemoration, May 26. (Ike Gittlen)

NYC public workers battle Bloomberg, with video

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:05:00 +0000

NEW YORK - Even as Mayor Michael Bloomberg ladles out billions of dollars to contractors in questionable deals, the multimillionaire former businessman is trying to cut pay of 10,000 of the city's municipal trades workers. That's forced their union, AFSCME District Council 37, to battle him on both issues.

The union's response is by publicity and via Congress and courts. The council has released reports detailing the $9.2 billion-plus Bloomberg has spent on more than 18,000 contractors. And on May 22, 11 Democratic U.S. representatives asked the federal government to probe the spending, since many of these dollars are federal funds.

Meanwhile, District Council 37 and other city unions got a state judge in Manhattan to temporarily halt Bloomberg's pay and benefits "prevailing rate" changes. Those changes would have cut pay, sick leave, and vacation time for 10,000 municipal trades workers. A hearing on the case is scheduled for June 13.

"This is a morally reprehensible assault on the wages and benefits of the city's blue-collar workers - laborers, sewage treatment workers, highway repairers, locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, and more - men and women who use their smarts, their skills and their strength to do the hardest, dirtiest jobs that help make this city run," Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said of Bloomberg's prevailing rate cuts.

District Council 37 has released reports, beginning in 2009, about waste and high costs in Bloomberg's contracting out plans, and showing how using city workers instead can save money. The total is more than $9 billion for at least 18,000 contracts.

Video: DC 37 holds congressional briefing

The lawmakers sent their request for a federal probe of those contracts to the Government Accountability Office on May 22. They acted just after Bloomberg announced the city had a $500 million mid-year budget gap, which he was going to close largely via a $466 million settlement with just one of the contractors.

But the lawmakers sought the GAO probe after city Comptroller John Liu's office found "fraudulent contract bidding processes, questionable payments, and lack of proper oversight." With federal dollars involved, and "without clear oversight, the time is due for a federal agency to probe into the allegations of waste," District Council 37 said.

"It is still unclear just how much New York - and federal taxpayers -have been defrauded by unsupervised contractors," it added. "In many cases, these private companies displace more qualified public employees."

Bloomberg ordered the prevailing rate cuts for the city trades workers on April 11. A month later, Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez halted his scheme. The unions said Bloomberg didn't follow city procedures-including public notice - before the cuts.

Photo: District Council 37 facebook page.

Coalition asks members to lobby for Paycheck Fairness Act

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:08:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - A wide alliance of women's rights, civil rights, community, and activist groups, including the Coalition of Labor Union Women, opened a campaign on May 23 to get their members nationwide to call their senators and lobby in the next few weeks for an equal pay for equal work law, the Paycheck Fairness Act.

The drive kicked off when Senate Democrats, led by Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. - a feisty former social worker who's also the longest-serving woman ever in Congress - announced that Senate leaders promised them a vote on the legislation the week of June 4, after lawmakers return from their Memorial Day recess.

The catch: The Paycheck Fairness Act needs the usual 60 Senate votes to overcome a prospective GOP filibuster. When it last came up, in the Dec. 2010 lame-duck session of a Senate with more Democrats than this one, it fell five senators short.

Mikulski explained the first equal pay law passed 49 years ago this month, when women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned. Now it's 77 cents. "Forty-nine years is enough," she declared.

Hence, the call by Mikulski and her colleagues, to have constituents contact their senators - especially the Republicans. The Senate has 51 Democrats, two Democratic-leaning independents, and 47 Republicans, one of whom is recovering from a stroke and can't vote. No Republican senators of either sex were at the press conference.

Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Al Franken, D-Minn., joined their female colleagues.

The bill is also a political problem for the GOP. "We're saying that this vote will show you're either for equal pay or you're not," Mikulski declared. She said voting for Paycheck Fairness would give Republicans a chance to "walk back" from what another senator, Washington's Patty Murray, called a long list of schemes in a "war on women."

The Paycheck Fairness Act has been marooned in the House for more than a decade, too. Its key provisions include outlawing employer bans on workers asking about pay, heavy fines, and triple damages for pay discrimination, and curbs on the excuses employers now legally use to justify unequal pay for equal work by equally qualified male and female workers.

The American Association of University Women, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Partnership for Women and Families and the National Women's Law Center organized the community-labor-civil rights-womens rights alliance for the bill. It includes CLUW, said Executive Director Carol Rosenblatt, who attended.

Photo via CLUW website.

CWA president: We need mass movement to fix this mess

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:04:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (PAI) - The U.S. will stay mired in an "economy mess" of low growth, low-paying jobs, rising income inequality and worse unless it fixes its political processes, Communications Workers President Larry Cohen says.

"We won't fix the economy mess unless we fix the democracy mess," he stated in opening a May 22 discussion about how to create more jobs, and especially more jobs that pay well.

Cohen's remarks were seconded by Leo Hindery, a consultant heading his own firm, InterMedia Partners. The two spoke at the Center for National Policy in the second in its series of the national security implications of continuing high joblessness. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka opened the series several weeks ago.

Cohen and Hindery both identified ways to create, or save, high-paying jobs. Cohen's key point is that "you have to create demand" and the way to do that is to pay people good wages to make things. That's a constant theme of the entire union movement, he said. Other progressive groups have sometimes joined in, he added.

Ways to do so, they said, include investment in infrastructure, lessening the U.S. trade deficit, restoring the power of workers to organize and bargain collectively and increasing manufacturing's share of the workforce from its present 10% to at least double that.

But none of this will be accomplished without prior political reform, Cohen said, citing a graphic he distributed showing both CWA's goals and the lesser Obama administration goals for creating jobs. Both must clamber over a high political wall, he added.

Repeating points he has made frequently, Cohen said there are four ways to knock down that wall:

One is campaign finance reform to overcome the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, which opened politics to a cascade of corporate cash.

"Each presidential nominee, Obama and Romney, will spend over $1 billion. A Senate race costs north of $20 million, and a House race costs $5 million. Even a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates costs $250,000," Cohen said. Workers can't compete with such sums, while corporations and the rich provide them.

"We need not just an election, but a mass movement to change this," he stated.

The second is internal reform of the U.S. Senate, and particularly of its filibusters. Curbing the filibuster has been a Cohen and CWA cause for several years, with the Steelworkers also helping to lead that crusade.

Cohen told the group filibuster rules must be changed to reserve the talkathon - and the 60-vote threshold to shut it off - only for the most important issues, just as occurred during historic debates in the 1960s over civil rights. Like then, Cohen said, senators who want to try to talk a bill to death must physically and constantly stay in the Senate chamber to do so. USW President Leo Gerard has also made that point, declaring, "haul in the beds" for such marathons.

Right now, instead, "400 pieces of legislation" passed the Democratic-run 111^th Congress in 2009-2010 and disappeared to due to filibusters, Cohen said. Much of that was pro-worker and would have helped the economy, too, Cohen added.

Hindery jumped in to make the point that one of those bills - which he too says must pass - was the Employee Free Choice Act, to help level the playing field between workers and bosses in union organizing and in bargaining first contracts. Hindery called it the best economic revival measure Congress could have enacted. Actually, the GOP filibuster threat prevented EFCA from ever reaching the Senate floor and the House didn't bother approving it in 2009-10. They knew it would be a useless exercise.

The third major change Cohen advocated is comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to legalize undocumented workers. "When my great grandparents entered this country, was there a requirement to become a citizen? No. They came, and they were," he said.

The final change is expansion, not contraction, of voting rights. Forces fighting for contraction, Cohen reiterated, "are all orchestrated" and do so deliberately to deprive specific groups - minorities, college students and the elderly - of the right to vote.

Without those political changes, the two said, legislation to revive the economy, particularly through infrastructure, advanced job training and creating new factory jobs, will not get off the ground. And income inequality will continue to grow, they warned.

Hindery said that the answers to the economic mess from both the GOP and the Obama administration are inadequate. That's because both, he said, view the stuttering recovery as part of a normal business cycle - "and it's not."

Not only is the U.S. economy "broken" and leaving millions of more people behind, Cohen warned, but the U.S. "cannot depend on a deus ex machina - an outside force" to ride to the rescue. "Europe is more broken than we are," and China and Latin America cannot help, either, he warned.

Photo: Larry Cohen. Teresa Albano/PW

The Battle of Toledo

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:05:00 +0000

Today in labor history: On May 23, 1934 workers in Toledo Ohio, overcame police and company strike breaking efforts.

Workers at the Electric Auto-Lite plant were striking for union recognition. National Guard troops machine gunned the strikers resulting in two deaths and several wounded.

A five-day running battle called "The battle of Toledo" between police and the strikers ensued.

The company later recognized the union and agreed to a five percent pay raise. The strike was led by the craft union dominated American Federation of Labor (AFL). It ended on June 3.

Photo: Creative Commons 3.0

Striking Red Cross workers' life blood on the line

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:48:00 +0000

CLEVELAND - In a unanimous vote recently the Cleveland City Council passed a resolution supporting the strike by 250 blood collection workers at Northern Ohio Red Cross. The action followed similar resolutions in Toledo and Lansing, Mich., where strikes against Red Cross are also under way.

The strike by Teamsters Local 507 in the Northern Ohio region, based in Cleveland and covering 19 counties, is now in its fourth month. The unions in all three locations charge the agency is stonewalling talks and seeking unilateral power to alter negotiated contracts, especially in health care plans.

"Our members are committed to retaining their collective bargaining rights as much as they are committed to providing caring service to donors who visit the blood drives," Mike Parker, Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 580 in Lansing, said. Parker charged that Red Cross is also stifling negotiations and is offering only six hours of talks and then not until June 19.

"By the time June 19 rolls around, our members will have been on strike 11 weeks."

Dozens of strikers came to the Cleveland AFL-CIO meeting May 9, asking help to boycott blood drives and funds to support their fight. They said donations should be sent to Red Cross Strikers, c/o Teamsters Local 507, 5425 Warner Rd., Unit 7, Cleveland, OH 44125. Below is the statement read by one striker, a mobile unit worker, at the meeting:

"My name is Kathy Greene and I am a proud member of Teamsters local 507. I have been with the American Red Cross for 8 yrs. I was so excited to work for this great organization. Quickly the rose-colored glasses came off and the truth became clear.

"Blood drives were 50-100 miles from my home. My workday was anywhere from 10-16 hrs. Working at a site that was grandfathered in without air on a 90-degree day and trying to keep my staff and donors from passing out was part of my daily challenge. When donors went over goal and I called for help I was told that they didn't have anyone available and I would have to deal with it. Part of my dealing with it was making sure we were getting the donors through as quickly as possible because I didn't want customers to complain that they waited too long. The extra donors sand paperwork must be done correctly to avoid the blood being put on hold or discarded. Then I have to try to give breaks and lunches to my staff while donors look on.

"I personally have a heart condition and many times I have to look at my schedule to see if I should take my medication because I'm probably not going to be able to take a break to go to the bathroom due to extra donors. I have to make sure that my staff who have health issues or are pregnant get that break. We look out for each other not management.

"I don't know about everyone else, but would you want someone to come at you with a big needle that has not had anything to eat or drink in hours? Not me!

"Exhaustion from a long day without a break can cause errors. If I forget to dot an I or cross a t on my paperwork can put the blood on hold. Try explaining that to management, that you were tired or were rushed due to going over goal, or late setting up the blood drive, That's not an excuse! Red Cross could be fined by the FDA! And whose fault is that? MINE!

"We have many policies and procedures that we have to follow per the American Blood Bank Association and the FDA. We are all trained professionals. We are paramedics, EMTs, medical assistants, phlebotomists and nurses. Before we can work to our full capacity we go through months of training. Then every quarter we have to be observed by a supervisor then yearly. We constantly have some sort of training or updates.

"We are the front-line of the American Red Cross. We are the first person you see and we are the reason you come back. We love our jobs and the donors. Over these past 12 weeks we have been told: "if you don't like your job quit!" Our response to that is we do love our jobs. That's why we are out here fighting for them. All we want is respect and a fair wage! I would like to know that the American Red Cross sees each of us for who we really are-hard-working, dedicated people who understand the mission of the Red Cross. But do they? This is supposed to be a great humanitarian organization that strives to help others. What about their employees that can't afford their medical bills, can't afford to put gas in their cars so they can drive more than a hundred miles to work? What about the families who have to find a sitter to watch their kids at 4am? A fair wage, good medical and working with us on our schedules would be a reward for our blood, sweat and tears.

"In closing let me tell you about the hard working collection staff of the Red Cross. We are the ones that are up at 3 am driving in a snowstorm to set up a blood drive. We are the ones that get home after working more than 14 hours to find our kids already asleep. We are the ones that you tell your stories that getting blood saved your life or the life of a friend or family member. We are the ones that are providing a good experience to our donors so they keep coming back. We are the ones that keep the blood safe to save lives. WE ARE THE AMERICAN RED CROSS!"

Delegates responded to Greene's speech with a standing ovation.

Photo: Teamster Nation blog

Cities’ budget cuts target firefighters, slowing responses

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:14:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (PAI) - New York. Los Angeles. Chicago. St. Louis. Kansas City. Even Scranton, Pa.

From coast to coast, mayors and city councils are hacking away at firefighters' ranks in desperate attempts to cut budgets and save cash by cutting workers, including IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) members and others. While New York led the way in the layoffs - starting in 2011 - they've exploded into a major scandal in the nation's second-largest city, Los Angeles.

That's because local media uncovered the fact that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa used the city's budget ills plus LAFD "excellent" response times to convince his city council to close more than two dozen units, the Los Angeles Fire Fighter said.

The only problem with that was the response time figures: There wasn't a five-minutes-or-less response 80% of the time, as the mayor and his then-fire chief claimed. It was slightly less than 60%, adds the United Fire Fighters of Los Angeles, IAFF Local 112, citing independent studies.

"Despite our best efforts, the then-Fire Chief and his then chief of staff, Brian Cummings, ultimately prevailed on the city council with their powerful promises of LAFD improvement," the paper said. So LA, to help close a $300 million-plus gap, shut 18 fire companies, four ambulances, nine emergency medical services districts, three command teams and other units. It downsized LAFD units by 15%.

"For three years now, we rank-and-file Fire Fighters have done our best to make Angelinos aware that deep LAFD budget cuts resulted in tragedies that needn't have happened," says Pat McOsker, the local's president.

"Too many people in need of help have called 911, then waited for thinly stretched firefighters and paramedics who were tied up on other emergencies. There have been some terrible outcomes along the way," he adds.

McOsker calls the results, including the declining five-minute response rate, "a public safety disaster." His local is demanding LAFD control be taken out of mayoral hands and transferred to "an elected autonomous fire district board" with the power to hire a fire chief under a long-term contract to bring stability to the department. And McOsker said 150 laid-off LAFD workers should be recalled to duty.

The budgets cuts in LA and elsewhere have been particularly notable since the middle of 2011. That's when cities, which retained public safety workers thanks to funds from the Obama administration's stimulus law, had to start laying them off when the money ran out. The GOP-run House's budget would cut even more from federal fire protection grants - which do not go directly for personnel-IAFF says.

But Los Angeles isn't the only city where the mayor cut the Fire Fighters. It's just the one with the biggest controversy. Here's what has happened elsewhere:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg led the cutting parade last year, closing 20 fire companies. So Fire Fighters led 10,000 people, waving American flags, in a protest march across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall last June 2. "Public officials are cutting budgets and decimating public safety programs. In difficult times when people have so much insecurity, public safety is something they expect from their government. It is an investment we must make," IAFF President Harold Schaitberger said then.

"Mayor Bloomberg is putting school children, the elderly, homeowners and business owners throughout the city in grave danger," Schaitberger warned. The New York Fire Department had approximately 15,000 workers, including managers.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, facing a half-billion-dollar budget hole, wants to cut the Fire Department's ranks, along with other slashes, such as curtailing bus service. IAFF Chicago Local 2 paramedic Rebecca Bolluyt protested in an April 16 letter to the Sun-Times. Chicago has approximately 5,000 fire fighting personnel.

"There are often days we hear over the radio, 'Is there any available ambulance, anywhere...anyone?'" she wrote. Bolluyt said when a major fire occurs, other areas must cover for the units that respond, or arrive as backups for Fire Fighters whose oxygen tanks run out, or to help rescue victims. "The system works, but we are always concerned that our resources will be overwhelmed-with fatal outcomes," she added.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, to try to gain control of the Fire Fighters pension fund - for political and fiscal purposes - has attacked the union and cut up to 84 jobs.

City officials "are trying to make Fire Fighters the scapegoat for their years of fiscal incompetence," IAFF District 2 Vice President Mark Woolbright told the St. Louis Labor Tribune. "Their hope is if they distort the truth long enough and often enough, it'll resonate with city residents" and damage the high reputation of St. Louis Fire Fighters.

In February, Kansas City, Mo., city manager Troy Schulte said he wanted to cut 162 city workers to close a budget gap, and 105 would be in the fire department. He wanted to pick and choose whom to let go, so that recent hires, cross-trained in both fire fighting and emergency medical services, would not be laid off due to low seniority.

On March 15, Scranton city officials admitted they had no "rapid intervention team" at the ready to rescue hurt or trapped firefighters during a large fire the day before. Nobody died, but the lack of a team was due to budget cuts.

Photo: Los Angeles firefighters battle a car fire Jan. 2. Mike Meadows/AP

War on workers in Minnesota: unprecedented attacks in 2012 legislative session

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:19:00 +0000

ST. PAUL, Minn. (PAI) - With Republicans in control of both houses of the Minnesota legislature for the first time in 38 years, they unveiled an unprecedented attack on worker rights and protections, including the granddaddy of all anti-union legislation: "Right to work."

But with strong support of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Mark Dayton, organized labor succeeded in stopping most of the repressive legislation and pushing lawmakers to boost jobs through infrastructure bonding and Minnesota Vikings stadium bills.

But union leaders said the session represented a lost opportunity to revive Minnesota's economy - and they'll put the record of state lawmakers before union members when they go to the polls this fall.

"The attacks on middle-class workers this legislative session have been relentless," said Julie Schnell, president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota.

"Over the coming months, Minnesota's union members will be carefully examining whether their legislators stood up for working people over the last two years," said Shar Knutson, president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

The year began with clear signals that Republicans would try to push through a measure to amend the state constitution to make Minnesota a "Right to Work" state.

Part of the national agenda for corporate America since the 1950s, Right to Work laws allow workers covered by union contracts to avoid paying their fair share of the costs of representation, yet still enjoy the benefits of the contract.

The Right to Work law weakens unions, making it harder for them to advocate for their members and the public. Union members, including firefighters and nurses, testified that through their unions, they are able to negotiate for life-saving equipment and better patient care.

Ultimately, a bipartisan group of lawmakers stalled the legislation and prevented it from coming to a vote. Numerous other bills that continued divisive, Wisconsin-style attacks on collective bargaining were also stopped - some by Dayton's veto pen.

Unions are opposing two proposed amendments to the Minnesota constitution that will be on the ballot this fall: A photo ID requirement that would limit voting rights, passed by the legislature this year, and a ban on same-sex marriage, approved by lawmakers last year.

These amendments, also part of the national Right Wing agenda, "Would shred the very fabric of our state's diversity and proud inclusivity that makes Minnesota a desirable and livable state that's strong economically, socially and culturally," said Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26.

The final days of the session, which ended in early May, focused on approval of an infrastructure bonding bill and legislation to fund a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings - both high priorities for Building Trades unions, some of whom have 30% of their members out of work.

"Between a jobs and infrastructure bill and a new stadium in downtown Minneapolis, tens of thousands of Minnesotans will soon be going back to work in good-paying, family sustaining jobs," said Knutson.

However, unions said more was needed to boost the state's sluggish economy. SEIU said the bonding bill was "a very watered-down version that will create fewer jobs than hoped for and improve less of Minnesota's infrastructure than our state needs."

While failing to create jobs and continuing to borrow money from school districts to balance the state budget, Republican legislators again put forth a bill to cut corporate taxes. Dayton vetoed it.

Public school teachers were a particular target, with more than 20 bills attacking public education.

"None of them responsibly addressed the most pressing needs of our students, including repaying the state's $2 billion IOU to its schools, closing the achievement gap and developing a sustainable funding system for the future," said Tom Dooher, president of Education Minnesota, the state's joint AFT-NEA affiliate.

"Instead, we saw bills that would raise the health insurance costs for educators and their districts, put corporate tax breaks ahead of repaying the debt to our schools and impose new regulations for teacher layoffs," he added.

Other measures would have stripped teachers of their collective bargaining and seniority rights. None became law, in large part because of vetoes by Dayton.

"Our special thanks go to Gov. Dayton, who said in February that education policy shouldn't be a political ploy. He meant it," said Dooher.

Union leaders were unanimous in their praise of Dayton, who repeatedly called on lawmakers to focus on jobs - not attacks on workers. Unions also said members turned out in impressive numbers, participating in numerous rallies and lobby days at the Capitol and phoning and e-mailing lawmakers on the issues. A March 12 demonstration against Right to Work, which drew more than 1,600 people, was one of the largest union actions at the Capitol in recent memory.

The labor movement hopes that type of activism will translate into power at the polls in November, when the entire legislature, eight Minnesota U.S. House seats, a U.S. Senate position and the presidency of the United States will be at stake.

"When the legislature convenes in January, Minnesota will face another multi-billion dollar revenue shortfall," said Knutson. "Minnesotans will have an opportunity to elect legislators who will stand up for working people instead of shutting down state government to protect corporate special interests."

Barb Kucera is editor of Workday Minnesota, where this article originally appeared. Photo: Minnesota Vikings supporters and building trades workers rally outside the Minnesota House in support of a new stadium for the Vikings NFL football team, May 7, in St. Paul, Minn. Jim Mone/AP

Unions blast judge for halting new election rules

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:01:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - Unionists, led by Teamsters President James Hoffa and AFL-CIO General Counsel Lynn Rhinehart, blasted a May 14 ruling by a federal judge in D.C., throwing out the union election rules changes the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently implemented.

The changes, which the NLRB said would help consolidate election-related hearings and litigation and lessen delays in certifying vote results, took effect on April 30. But James Boasberg, a federal district judge in D.C., halted the rules and rolled their impact back, because the NLRB did not have a legal quorum when it passed them.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an allied anti-union right wing group sued to stop the union election rules. Boasberg said he wasn't ruling on the substance of the rules, only that the NLRB didn't have the required three-member quorum to act.

The NLRB had three members when it voted on the rules: Two Democrats and Republican Brian Hayes. That's enough for a quorum on what would ordinarily be a five-member NLRB. But Hayes refused to vote at all. Result, Boasberg said: No quorum.

Hayes opposed the new rules in prior ballots. The NLRB argued that showed his intent, and should count. Boasberg said there must be three actual votes on the new rules, even if one was "no" or "abstain." The Democrats voted for the new rules.

"The judge based his ruling on a technicality, saying the NLRB didn't have a quorum when it approved the reforms," Hoffa said. "A Republican member sat out the vote on the proposed reform, though he had publicly and stridently opposed it, and was in office when the regulations were adopted.

"This is just another attack on workers and the American middle class. The decision lets anti-worker extremists game the system. It condones the NLRB member's neglect of his duty. It gets in the way of the NLRB's ability to do its job, which is to protect workers' rights.

"The board and the courts must reconsider this issue as soon as possible so the board can do its job," Hoffa concluded.

Rhinehart made the same points Hoffa did. She added the AFL-CIO thinks Boasberg's ruling "is flat-out wrong."

"Brian Hayes was a sitting, working, paid member of the NLRB when the rule was adopted, and remains so today...The judge's ruling, while in our view incorrect, is solely based on technical issues that speak to the procedure of the board and not the rule itself," Rhinehart added.

NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce said the board is reviewing Boasberg's decision and considering its response. "We continue to believe that the amendments" - the new rules - "represent a significant improvement in our process and serve the public interest by eliminating unnecessary litigation," he said. "We are determined to move forward."

And the judge said his ruling isn't the end of the story.

"The court emphasizes its ruling need not necessarily spell the end of the final rule for all time," Boasberg wrote. "The court does not reach - and expresses no opinion on - plaintiffs' (the Chamber of Commerce's) other procedural and substantive challenges, but it may well be that, had a quorum participated in its promulgation, the final rule would have been found perfectly lawful.

"As a result, nothing appears to prevent a properly constituted quorum of the board from voting to adopt the rule if it has the desire to do so. In the meantime, though, representation elections will have to continue under the old procedures," the judge said. Pierce said Boasberg's ruling would affect about 150 elections.

Strikers blast Caterpillar greed, reject concessions

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:54:00 +0000

JOLIET, Ill. - Unabashed corporate greed, is how striking workers are describing Caterpillar's efforts to slash wages and benefits while eliminating pensions and seniority rights at their plant here.

Over 1000 striking workers, their families and supporters rallied in an impressive show of solidarity at the plant gate May 11. They were greeted by a constant blare of horns from passing trucks and motorists.

"This fight is indicative of what's happening across the country," said Steve Jones, International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local 851, directing business representative. "These multinational corporations making multibillions in profits and still trying to steal off the backs of their workers. And I'm proud to see our brothers and sisters standing up and fighting together."

Caterpillar made record profits of $4.5 billion in 2011 and handed out millions of dollars in bonuses to corporate executives. But apparently that's not enough, because the transnational behemoth has launched a drive to break the unions and roll back wages, benefits and seniority rights.

Workers have been on strike since May 1 after the company refused to back off a far reaching concessionary contract proposal.

Caterpillar was also one of the big Illinois-based corporations who bitterly complained over an increase in corporate taxes passed last year in the state legislature. They have threatened to leave the state.

"I couldn't believe this was what they were offering us," said Mike Jones, an assembler tester who has worked for Caterpillar for six years. "They're making record profits and they want to take money from us, cut our pay and increase our health costs. It's never enough with those guys.

Another striker told the Peoples World website that Caterpillar was already engaging in dangerous speedup.

"It's a safety issue. Forced overtime, working you anytime and anywhere. Before the strike they were forcing us to work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, as long as they wanted. That's a safety issue," he said.

In January Caterpillar locked out workers at a locomotive assembly plant in Ontario, Canada. They then moved the jobs to a non-union plant in Indiana, busting the Canadian UAW local.

Joining the solidarity rally were several workers from the La Grange, Illinois locomotive assembly plant where a concessionary contact was rammed down the worker's throats two months ago almost identical to the one being pushed in Joliet.

"If you want to look at a shop that has these policies look at us and now were hurting," said Dave Rodriguez, sergeant-at-arms for UAW Local 719. "They've taken a lot from us too. No pension or COLA. They took our representation away, limited the time committeemen and stewards have to work on the floor and resolve our issues. They're looking to break (our union).

Rodriguez said the company would bank on fear to break the strike and impose the contract. Many new workers at the LaGrange facility were fearful and voted for the concessions.

Elected officials including Joliet mayor Tom Giarrante, a former president of the Firefighters local, joined the strikers. Giarrante reminded the workers that the firefighters defeated a similar effort at take backs by sticking together.

"I always felt if you want good employee you have to pay them good pay and good benefits," he said. "That's the way we treat our employees.

"I don't understand the seniority issue. It's just an issue to break your union. You've got to stick together."

Tammy Duckworth and Bill Foster also joined the strikers, Democrats running for US Congress in two of the national battleground congressional races to regain a Democratic majority.

Foster said there have been two great financial crises in US history and the thing they both have in common is runaway corporate greed.

"Trickle down policies failed. For America to be strong, the middle class must be strong and that's what this is all about," said Foster. "It's never wrong to stand up for decent wages and benefits you can count on. "

"Let me get this right," said Phil Gruber, IAM general vice president, Midwest Territory. "The CEO pulls in millions in bonus and yet you the workers who built this company and made it profitable are being asked to make concessions. Unions are under full attack. We will not let them break our spirit or our unions!"

Please send food or monetary assistance for the strikers at Caterpillar to:

Local Lodge 851, 23157 S. Thomas Dillon Dr., Ste. B, Channahon, IL 60410

Photo:Caterpiller strike solidarity rally, May 11. John Bachtell/PW

Labor's top organizer sees long fight ahead

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:36:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - Progressive groups and individuals, including labor, Latinos, African-Americans, women, and students must unite in a years-long campaign to restore and reclaim both workers rights and U.S. democracy, Communications Workers President Larry Cohen says.

Otherwise, the nation will slip under increasing corporate control, he told a May 10 gathering of the Women's National Democratic Club here. Cohen, in addition to his role as leader of one of the nation's biggest unions, is also chair of the AFL-CIO's Organizing Committee.

Cohen lamented the decline of workers' rights, saying it has led to a situation where unions represent only 6.9 percent of the private workforce, a share lower than when famed labor leader Eugene V. Debs was running the American Railroad Union in 1900.

And without restoration of political rights, workers' rights will not be restored, said Cohen.

Cohen spoke as the presidential general election campaign launched in earnest, with Obama's formal announcement the week before and back-and-forth jabs between Obama and presumed GOP foe, financier Mitt Romney. Organized labor has declared for Obama, with formal endorsements and mobilization.

The campaign Cohen described needs to last longer than one election cycle, he warned, estimating it would need at least "seven to 10 years" of concentrated effort. And it would have to go beyond normal party politics, too.

Indeed, Cohen said labor made a mistake after its legions helped vault Obama into the Oval Office and give Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a new term as House Speaker. The mistake was not in helping elect them, he said, but in not keeping up the pressure on the issues important to labor.

As a result, 400 progressive measures - everything from the Employee Free Choice Act to immigration reform - passed the House in 2009-10, and then fell victim to GOP filibusters in the Senate. And in an early 2009 White House meeting, Cohen said, labor law reform in the form of the Employee Free Choice Act was sidetracked "until after they did health care."

Left in the lurch, labor must campaign for "democracy and economic justice" at the same time, to increase its clout and those of its allies -- and keep the drive going between elections, to force lawmakers it elects to approve pro-worker laws, he added.

"The limits of democracy alone have blocked us," Cohen declared.

Cohen cited a graphic, from a new CWA booklet for the campaign, with a high wall that workers must scale. The high wall that blocks achievement, he said, is built of four things: Senate filibusters, the huge flow of corporate money into politics - "It's gotten out of hand," he said - the lack of legalization of immigrants, and voter suppression legislation proposed or enacted in 38 states.

"ALEC and others like it know they can't win elections unless they shrink the electorate," he said, referring to the business-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, the secretive author of anti-worker, union-busting, voter suppression and other right-wing laws.

The coalition Cohen envisions is in the booklet, Building A Movement For Economic Justice And Democracy, would have a potential total of 50 million people.

That includes 15 million union members, at least 10 million Latinos, at least 10 million African-Americans, 5.2 million members of progressive women's groups such as Emily's List and NOW, four million students, five million senior citizens, and millions of others in progressive religious and community organizations.

"If we can blend together these groups" to fight for both democracy and workers' rights at the same time, and (sustain it) over a long stretch of years, the effort can succeed, he said. The booklet is being distributed at CWA steward and leadership training classes.

He compared the workers rights/democracy drive to two other successful mass movements. One was the 30-year effort, led by former Brazilian Metal Workers President Luiz Ignacio "Lula" da Silva to build unions there. It eventually led to Lula's election to the Brazilian presidency - and to cutting poverty by empowering workers to bargain for living wages that let them buy food.

The other comparison Cohen used is the "Arab Spring," which started with a Tunisian street vendor burning himself to death in protest of his repressive government's restrictions. It set off popular uprisings, which toppled first that dictatorship, followed by those in Algeria and Egypt. The uprisings continue.

The alternative to such a huge and coordinated drive is dire, Cohen said.

"If we don't focus on these democracy issues, we're leading people around and around in a circle, and we're like Sisyphus, constantly pushing the rock up the hill" only to have it roll back down again, he declared. "But if we can rebuild an offense" on democracy and "a vision to recapture the American dream, then that's what we'll come up with.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/labor2008/ / CC BY 2.0

Trumka: Labor and allies to unveil economic platform

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:54:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - A coalition of progressive groups, led by the AFL-CIO, will unveil a joint platform this summer to foster long-term reconstruction of the economy. They'll also demand that candidates support it in order to get their (and their members') electoral backing, federation President Richard Trumka says.

Trumka disclosed the coalition's existence in answering a question after his May 9 speech to the Center for National Policy, a national security-oriented think tank in D.C. Center President Scott Bates invited Trumka to talk because, Bates said, the state of the economy - and lack of income equity in it - is a national security issue, too.

Trumka did not give details of the eventual "agenda for America," adding, "We'll be wheeling it out in early July." But he spent much of the speech, on the topic of reviving U.S. manufacturing and its relationship to national security, outlining what sounded like the federation's priorities for that platform - most of which he has announced before.

"We brought in a lot of progressive groups to talk about an agenda for America," he told the initial questioner. "We'll be using it to organize the election."

"We'll tell candidates about this agenda that creates an economy that works for everybody. And we'll use it to support candidates now, and recruit candidates in the future," he added.

Trumka admitted, to another questioner, that enacting the program would be difficult unless the groups both elect progressive lawmakers and then hold them politically accountable. That's the point of the labor federation's re-crafted political program, he said.

For the AFL-CIO, key items that could be on the agenda were many of those Trumka outlined in his speech and the Q&A:

One of them was government encouragement, and boosting of domestic manufacturing, through R&D, tax incentives and other methods. Creating well-paying factory jobs has been a constant fed theme for years. Trumka extended that to factories' supply chains.

His example was in the U.S. auto industry - whose business accounts for one-fourth of all manufacturing. It's revived, and Trumka lauded President Obama for stepping up on that.

Setting "strong manufacturing goals," for the U.S., as other nations do, was another item. Specifically, Trumka said the nation should "add four million factory jobs and balance its trade within five years," and have factories produce 18 percent of gross domestic product. The trade deficit is over $600 billion yearly. Data show factories gained 350,000 jobs in the last two years, but lost six million jobs and 54,000+ factories in the prior decade.

Another item: Telling government leaders "to shed the notion that austerity is virtuous." Such budget cutting is a GOP mantra and even Obama has adopted it at times. "We should resist this when austerity means starving the economy of public investments" in infrastructure, education at all levels, and technology, specifically broadband, he said.

Specifically, the U.S. should think big on highway and mass transit investment, he added. That means not the "small-bore" highway bill now subject to congressional wrangling, a two-year $106 billion measure.

"American leaders [also] need to drop their unreasonable fear of taxation. It's become ridiculous. If we want a competitive economy, we have to fund education and infrastructure by ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the capital gains preference, eliminating tax incentives that encourage offshoring and financial speculation and putting in place tax incentives for companies that make things here. That's how to fund the investments we need without going further into debt," he declared. "Fair taxation should not be unreachable."

Also of import is strengthening the right to organize and bargain through labor law reform. Trumka quoted former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, then a corporate counsel in Richmond, Va., as telling his clients in a memo that "a free enterprise system needs a strong labor movement."

"Unions provide strong job safety protections, and we're the biggest provider of adult education" in the U.S., through apprenticeship training, Trumka said. "In every other successful economy, unions can demand and negotiate pay increases that lead to increased demand that leads to growth. That's no longer the case in America," he said.

Businesses should stop viewing their workers "as a burden," and instead view them as "the backbone of America."

That means changing the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act, the latter of which covers workers in airlines and railroads, and bankruptcy laws, Trumka said. He called both labor laws "antiquated." The RLA takes away the strike as a weapon and does not require mandatory arbitration, giving firms more incentive to stall.

As for the NLRA, "literally, a first-year law student" working for an anti-union firm "can delay (representation) elections for five or six years," Trumka, who has a law degree, said.

Trumka also said his brother-in-law worked for 34 years as a mechanic for United Airlines before retiring. Several years later, United declared bankruptcy and "he lost his pension," Trumka said. The United plan was transferred to the federal government. Bankruptcy lets firms "shed themselves of health care and pensions," Trumka stated.

Reversing moves to exclude people from political participation is another goal. Trumka said 34 states are trying to enact laws to toss out voters, from voter ID to bans on voter registration drives. He singled out Texas for shortchanging Latino voters, even though Latinos provided all its population growth. He cited another form of disenfranchisement: partisan, convoluted redistricting, where lawmakers choose their constituents. Trumka, who votes in Pennsylvania, said its legislature threw him into a congressional district that extends like a stringbean halfway across the state. "It's tough to figure out who your rep is. And both parties are guilty of this," nationwide, he commented.

Photo: Photo of Trumka, courtesy of Jobs with Justice // CC BY-NC 2.0

Trumka: America’s economic lead is not a given

Fri, 11 May 2012 16:01:00 +0000

Below are excerpts of a May 9 speech by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to the Center for National Policy, a Washington think tank that in the past has concentrated on national security issues. The center decided this year that the economy itself is a national security issue. Trumka's remarks follow:

"A recent issue of manufacturing and technology news posed a question about the U.S. tool and die industry -- about whether it is too depleted to play a role in America's manufacturing recovery," Trumka began.

"That question, and similar questions about scores of other industries, presents a truth we too often prefer to avoid: We can no longer take America's economic preeminence for granted.

"Not long ago, we could, and we did. America designed, engineered, and made things put to use all around the globe, and as a result, our economy was the strongest in the world. That economic preeminence cemented our international standing.

"America's rise in the world was fueled by the tremendous economic capability of a democratic republic, and then strengthened by universal suffrage, universal education, and a strong labor movement. European powers raised standing armies while we built steel mills and public universities. Yet when democracy needed an arsenal, we converted our great economic power overnight into military power.

"Much has changed since America's rise in the 20th century, but one reality remains: Sustainable prosperity rests on national manufacturing capacity.

"In this respect, the U.S. took a wrong turn. Compared to other industrialized countries, we have experienced larger trade deficits as a share of our economy and a steeper decline in manufacturing jobs over the last 30 years. That decline threatens our national security in three ways.

"First is the direct loss of jobs, purchasing power and tax base. The second threat is our diminished capacity to meet our own national defense manufacturing needs, especially in times of crisis. The third threat is the vulnerability of our economy to supply chain disruptions arising far from our shores.

"These are sobering concerns. But I'm not here to offer visions of doom and gloom; for the first time in a generation, the president of the United States made revival of manufacturing a centerpiece of national policy, and it's about time. President Obama has proven himself to be a genuine leader on manufacturing and national security [who is] willing to make hard decisions necessary to revive manufacturing.

"The toughest and most important decision was to save the American auto industry from the disastrous Wall Street actions that led to the collapse of the financial system in 2008. That alone strengthened and retained one-quarter of the manufacturing jobs in the United States.

"The collapse of the domestic auto industry could well have been the point of no return. We would have become the only major world economy without a domestically based auto industry. But it didn't happen.

"Instead, those same companies are now growing and moving into the technological lead in key areas like plug-in electric hybrids. The fact that Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors are alive and prospering today is at least as important to our national security as the fact that Osama bin Laden is dead.

"Yet much more work remains to be done to repair the structural vulnerabilities of our industrial economy. On Mar. 31, a fire at a chemical plant in western Germany killed two workers and halted production of a vital component of the resin used in the fuel lines and braking systems of cars.

"Over the weeks since that fire, auto parts suppliers have scrambled for that resin. That one factory fire, it turns out, threatened the incredibly tight supply chain of the global industry and could potentially slow production of thousands of vehicles.

"In a global economy, we will always be somewhat vulnerable to events outside our borders, just as other countries found themselves vulnerable after 2008 to our failure to regulate our financial sector. But the unprecedented hollowing out of our manufacturing economy since 1980 - and in particular since 2000 - left our economy even more at-risk than our competitors to supply shortages of key products.

"Only with a viable and vibrant manufacturing base can the U.S. prosper in a world of rising economies. A more prosperous world where more people have access to the good things in life is good for our national security, but only if we act to ensure that America shares in that prosperity, rather than being the loser in a zero-sum game.

"That's why we must press our elected leaders to focus public policy on providing broadest possible support to help both U.S. and foreign companies manufacture in the United States. The good news is, most Americans get the importance of manufacturing.

"Too many watched quietly as national policy has been shaped by companies that largely moved offshore. The interests of those companies are not aligned with the interests of the majority of Americans who work for a living. That has to stop.

"In thousands of cities and towns, the factories and plants that produce things are key to helping the U.S. maintain our economic and diplomatic place in the world. When those facilities and those workers - well trained and tech-savvy - operate at capacity, we can't be beat.

"But when we allow our industrial capacity to be hollowed out, our trade deficit to balloon, our consumer economy to become dependent on foreign credit, we find ourselves vulnerable. That's the situation President Obama inherited when he took office."

Photo: STock photo of Trumka, via Transport Workers Union

Labor’s International Hall of Fame to induct 9/11 union victims

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:14:00 +0000

DETROIT - The 636 unionists who died in the infamous al-Qaeda attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on New York and Washington, as well as in the commandeered plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, will be inducted as a group into Labor's International Hall of Fame on May 17.

The Detroit-based institution added one guest speaker at the ceremony will be Cathie Ong, sister of an unionized flight attendant murdered by the attack that day.

Cathie Ong's sister, Betty Ong, was on board American Airlines Flight 11, one of two planes al-Qaeda flew into the World Trade Center. The plane crashes brought the Twin Towers to the ground, killing almost 3,000 people, including most of the unionists.

"We are extremely proud to be able to honor the legacy of these true heroes of American history," the hall's board said. "Many of those who perished on Sept. 11 were serving the American public and gave their lives in service. All who perished are missing in our hearts, but not in our memories. These heroes gave the ultimate price with their service." The ceremony honoring the unionists will be at the AFL-CIO.

The Sept. 11 victims will join more than 100 people enshrined in the 39-year-old institution. Those honorees made contributions to the advancement of labor rights.

The 636 unionists were more than 20 percent of all those who died. Of them, 343 were New York Fire Fighters who rushed into the World Trade Center to try to save others before the Twin Towers collapsed. Their Catholic priest was also killed.

The attacks on New York and Washington, combined with the crash in Shanksville, Pa., of the fourth terrorist-commandeered plane -- intended to reach the nation's Capitol -- "will forever be seared into our nation's history," Hall of Fame board members said. IAFF will host the Washington induction ceremony honoring the dead.

Besides the 343 Fire Fighters and 60 police officers who rushed into the Twin Towers to save others, another 73 workers - many of them unionists -- died trapped in the Windows on the World, a restaurant on the top floors of the Trade Center's North Tower. The commandeered plane that hit the Pentagon killed 70 civilians and 55 military personnel. Flight Attendants and Airline Pilots were among those killed on four planes used as weapons by hijacking terrorists. Approximately two dozen unions lost members on Sept, 11, 2001.

The Twin Towers collapsed nearly two hours after the first passenger plane being used as a weapon crashed into the North Tower at 8:56 a.m. The second plane hit the South Tower minutes later.

Photo: WTC memorial in lower Manhattan. Juan_Carlos_Cruz // CC 2.0

Home care workers win union rights

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:02:00 +0000

HARTFORD, Conn. - Home care workers hugged, cried and cheered when the State Senate, after a six-and-a-half-hour debate, voted in favor of granting home health care and child care workers in state funded programs the right to collective bargaining, days before the end of the legislative session.

"This is an exciting day for 11,000 Connecticut workers - who do some of the most important yet undervalued work in our society - caring for children, seniors, and people with disabilities," said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry. "This courageous act of giving low-wage workers a voice in their work will raise the quality of those services so that our whole society benefits."

The struggle to win bargaining rights has been long and rough. When the state legislature failed to act last year, Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy issued an executive order allowing the workers to vote on whether they wanted to affiliate with a union for the purpose of "meet and confer" sessions on wages, benefits and hours.

For several intensive months the providers debated their options during hundreds of house visits and meetings. These low-wage workers, mostly women, have been struggling to make ends meet, on far less than a living wage. For early child care workers, reimbursements rates have not increased in ten years.

In March, the child care and health care providers each voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU, forming Homecare Workers United.

Meanwhile, the well-funded anti-union Yankee Institute for Public Policy filed three lawsuits against what they called the governor's "forced unionization" of home care workers, in hopes of overturning the governor's action and creating a climate of harassment and fear.

"I believe our state government has an obligation to protect our most vulnerable, young and old alike. It's my hope that elected representation will lead to better wages, and therefore more stability in each of the fields - a development that will help both client and care workers," said Gov. Malloy as the bill was passed.

Providers and their supporters organized visits and phone calls to their legislators in favor of the bill. They were met by well-funded opposition and provocations, including an attempt to disrupt a Capitol press conference convened by the Connecticut Commission on the Status of Women to support the legislation. The final vote was along party lines, with 22 Democrats voting in favor and 12 Republicans opposed. The House has already approved the bill.

"Before the General Assembly passed this bill, we didn't have the same rights that other workers in America have," said Belinda Haynes, a personal care attendant from East Hartford.

"It's like people think the work we do isn't important enough to worry about whether or not we need paychecks we can support our families on or health insurance to take care of ourselves if we get sick or injured, " said Haynes. "Now we know that our legislators do care about what happens to us, and our consumers. That means a lot to me and the people I care for."

"Parents can keep their jobs and can feel good about who takes care of their children and have stable childcare they can count on," said Annette Ridenour, a child care provider in New Haven.

"Collective bargaining strengthens the workforce for child care providers because it allows us to be seen and grow as professionals," said Ridenour. "Our bargaining rights becoming law is a huge step towards a brighter future."

Photo: Home Care Workers United celebrate their union victory. Photo by Home Care Workers United.

Caterpillar workers strike against take back contract

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:29:00 +0000

JOLIET, Ill. - Nearly 800 workers at a Caterpillar plant here have been on strike since May 1 after the company refused to back off a far reaching concessionary contract proposal.

The workers make hydraulic components and systems for Caterpillar tractors, wheel loaders and mining trucks and are members of International Association of Machinists Local 851.

"Normally in the past, they could buy some votes by making the contract better for younger workers or better for older workers. With this contract though, everything was takeaways," said Local 851 President Tim O'Brien.

Caterpillar responded to the strike by hiring scabs to continue uninterrupted production to meet growing demand for its products in North American. Strikers dispute the company's claim it can resume full production.

"I'm out here for my wife and children" said Ted Hobsen, a union steward. "They want to raise health care premiums and cut benefits, disregarding seniority, working us anytime and anywhere and any shift. We've got families."

"If you freeze my wages then double what I pay for my health care, then you cut my pay," said Joe Nuske, IAM chairman.

The company, which increased profits by 44 percent in 2011, reportedly $5 billion, made a record breaking $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2012.

The take back proposal is part of an aggressive assault on the unions representing Caterpillar workers and the imposition of concessions in its operations worldwide.

Earlier this year Caterpillar broke the Canadian UAW local at its London, Ontario, operation when it locked out the 465 workers. The company then transferred the work to a non-union plant in Indiana, which recently became a "right to work for less" state.

Caterpillar is demanding the Joliet workers accept a six-year contract that freezes wages, doubles health care payments, eliminates health care coverage for retirees, eliminates key seniority provisions, forces workers to accept irregular shifts and does away with the current pension in favor of a 401k plan.

The company wants to reduce wages for some workers by as much as $8 per hour.

In addition, the company, which employs another 1,200 workers at the plant not under this contract, wants to reduce wages for new hires, who currently earn $13 per hour. Caterpillar would set up a new rate determined by a "market based" formula.

"I wouldn't be able to afford to take my kid to the doctor," Gareth Beeson told In These Times. "Basically this contract wouldn't make this job worth working anymore. I'd still pay union dues, but I wouldn't have a good union job anymore."

Solidarity is pouring in from the labor movement and community. Strikers say they will fight until they get a fair contract.

Photo: Striking members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union on the picket line outside Caterpillar's plant in Joliet, Ill., May 1. The contract expired for about 800 workers at the plant. Matthew Grotto/The Herald-News/AP