Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Buy Union for the Holidays, and All Year Long
Monday, December 6, 2010
Join Online Day of Solidarity with the Jobless Dec. 7
by Mike Hall, Dec 3, 2010
Republican lawmakers continue to hold hostage vital unemployment insurance survival help for millions of jobless workers, vowing to keep the Senate gridlocked until the nation’s wealthy are guaranteed continued tax breaks.
More than 900,000 workers already have lost their unemployment insurance since Republicans pulled the plug Nov. 30. Every day another 38,000 job-seekers lose their unemployment insurance.
So please join us Tuesday, Dec. 7 for an online day of solidarity with the jobless via Facebook and Twitter. It’s simple.
Union Plus Helping Prepare Next Generation of Union Leaders
by James Parks, Dec 4, 2010
The future of the union movement will be in the hands of a very diverse group of up-and-coming young union members. Union Plus, part of Union Privilege, the consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO, is making sure the next generation of union leaders is well prepared.
For the the past four years, Union Plus has given annual Union Leaders of the Future Awards to young women and people of color. Honorees are paired with experienced leaders from the union movement who make a year-long commitment to provide advice, guidance and encouragement. Since 2007, more than $130,000 has been committed to the program.
Vote for Who ‘Scrooged’ Workers the Most in JwJ’s Scrooge of the Year Contest
by Mike Hall, Dec 5, 2010
The nominations are in and there are seven great—let’s rephrase that—mean, nasty, heartless candidates for the dishonor of winning Jobs with Justice’s (JwJ) Scrooge of the Year contest.
Now in its11th year, the contest highlights the CEO, corporation or politician who has done the most to “scrooge” workers in the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge before three ghosts scared the you-know-what out of him and he saw the error of his ways. But such a transformation is not likely from these Scrooge nominees.
Take a look at a short description of each, then click here for more details on their dastardly deeds and to vote for your Scrooge.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Protect and Strengthen Social Security
The federal budget deficit commission is floating the idea to raise the retirement age of Social Security, meaning we could work until age 70. In these tough economic times, it is unconscionable to propose cuts to the critical economic lifelines for working people. According to the National Academy of Social Insurance, Social Security provides:
* A typical retiree with the equivalent of a savings account of $225,000.
* A young worker and her or his family with a $414,000 disability insurance policy.
* The family of a young worker with a life insurance policy worth $433,000.
* What Is Social Security?
* Download facts and figures about the current state of Social Security.
* Read the National Academy of Social Insurance report, "Social Security: An Essential Asset and Insurance Protection for All" (2008).
Jobs? What Jobs? Jobless Tell Congress: ‘Maintain Unemployment Insurance Now’
by Mike Hall, Dec 1, 2010
Edrie Irvine, unemployed for more than a year, says Congress must act now to maintain jobless benefits. Jobless workers, Anthony Roebuck (L) and Russ Myer (R), flank her.
Yesterday, Anthony Roebuck’s unemployment insurance (UI) benefits ran out. It was the same day Senate Republicans would not even allow a vote on a bill to maintain the lifeline that has helped keep food on the table and a roof over the heads of Roebuck, his wife and young son—and millions of other jobless workers.
The 44-year-old Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) member from Denver, out of work since April, says:
My unemployment insurance ran out yesterday and I don’t know what I’m going to do without it, especially in a hard-hit economy where there are no jobs. No one wants to be on unemployment…we’d all rather be back at work right now. But the jobs just aren’t there.
AIDS Is a Global Human Rights Issue
by James Parks, Dec 1, 2010
Today is World AIDS Day, and union members around the world are calling for increased workplace efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and a renewed commitment by world leaders to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
While funding for HIV and AIDS prevention has been hit hard by the global recession, we need to remember that AIDS itself is not in recession, says Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Governments have committed to reverse the spread of this disease by 2015, and action in the workplace and union work in the broader social context is critically important to achieving this aim.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Health Care Giants Spent $86 Million in Effort to Kill Reform
by James Parks, Nov 19, 2010
We reported that Big Insurance funneled millions of dollars to the Chamber of Commerce to fight health care reform and millions more to try and water down the law once it was passed. Now Bloomberg Business News reporter Drew Armstrong has put a price tag on the effort to kill the bill. In an article earlier this week, Armstrong says tax records show big health insurers last year gave the Chamber $86.2 million that was used to oppose the health care overhaul law.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wal-Mart Plans to Open 4 Stores in the District
By Jonathan O'Connell and Mike DeBonis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 18, 2010; 12:49 AM
Wal-Mart announced plans Wednesday to enter the District for the first time, laying out an aggressive strategy to open four stores and hire 1,200 people in the city by 2012.
The blueprint is part of a national effort by the chain to expand beyond rural and suburban areas, where its low prices and massive stores transformed the retail landscape, into urban markets. Although Wal-Mart already operates stores in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, it has never had a store in the District.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Bill Clinton Rallies Miami Students to Support Alex Sink for Governor
Former President Bill Clinton, left, joins Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink for an early vote rally in Miami at Miami Dade College North Campus, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. President Clinton addressed how critical voting for Sink is, especially during an election year that will so greatly impact the future of FloridaBy John Lantigua Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 10:01 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010
Posted: 11:48 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010
MIAMI — MIAMI- Former president Bill Clinton had an enthusiastic college crowd of about 600 at his feet Thursday morning and told them what the political experts were saying about them.
He said predictions are that as many as 55 percent of young people who voted in 2008 —and helped elect President Barack Obama -- will not vote this time. Clinton imagined such a young person saying they had "something else to do on Election Day."
"Like heck you do," he shouted at the crowd.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Report: Ascension Hospitals Disrespect Nurses’ Rights
by James Parks, Jul 19, 2010
Three Michigan hospitals affiliated with Ascension Health System consistently refuse to respect workers’ freedom to join a union and bargain collectively, according to a new report by Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ). The report shows the Catholic hospitals’ actions directly oppose long-standing Catholic social teachings. In fact, IWJ says, the anti-union behavior and worker disrespect demonstrated in the report represent “a fall from grace,” and so named the report: “Ascension Health: A Fall From Grace.”
OSHA Launches New Whistleblower Protection Site
by Mike Hall, Jul 16, 2010
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that workers who blow the whistle on safety violations and other unlawful practices “play an important role in assuring compliance with federal laws.”
But, say workplace safety advocates, too many times workers don’t speak up about safety and health problems on the job because they fear retaliation from their employers, even though it’s illegal.
OSHA now has a new website specifically dedicated to its whistleblower protection program, www.whistleblowers.gov. The site is designed to provide workers, employers and the public with easily accessible information about the 18 federal whistleblower protection statutes that OSHA currently administers. OSHA chief David Michaels says:
Dr. Donald Berwick: The Leader We Need for Health Medicare and Medicaid
John August, executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which represents 90,000 health care workers, describes why Dr. Donald Berwick is a good choice to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
President Obama appointed Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week.
The decision was lauded by the New York Times. “Dr. Berwick’s major credential for the job is that he leads the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a consulting group that promotes measures to improve the quality and safety of health care while reducing its costs. He has been enormously successful at getting health care professionals and institutions to work together to reform their practices—exactly what the agency needs.” (New York Times editorial, July 8, 2010.)
Happy 75th, Social Security, Watch Out for Deficit Scam
by Mike Hall, Jul 15, 2010
Seventy-five years ago this August, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law. Today, the nation’s most successful safety net, a program that has provided retirement security and kept hundreds of millions of seniors out of poverty, is under attack.
Politicians like House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) want to raise the retirement age to 70, and leading members of the federal budget deficit commission are trial-ballooning benefit cuts
Social Security Cuts Eyed by Deficit Commission ‘Especially Painful,’ Report Finds
by Mike Hall, Jul 15, 2010
Next month, Social Security, one of the nation’s most successful and important government programs, turns 75. It is the cornerstone of retirement security for tens of millions of Americans.
(Today, the U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security will examine the success of Social Security 75 years after President Franklin Roosevelt signed it into law. We’ll be covering the hearing.)
‘Off With Their Heads’ Says Queen Meg in Attack on California Nurses
by Mike Hall, Jul 14, 2010
Meg Whitman, Republican candidate for California governor and billionaire former CEO of eBay has picked a fight with the California Nurses Association (CNA) that political observers think may backfire and energize nurses across the Golden State to work even harder to defeat Whitman in November. Meanwhile, the California Labor Federation launched a new online video and video game (left) that highlights Whitman’s job-slashing corporate history.
Some Real Questions for Chamber’s ‘Jobs Summit’
by James Parks, Jul 14, 2010
When the U.S. Chamber of Commerce kicks off its “Jobs for America: Summit 2010” this afternoon in Washington, D.C., the question workers most want participants to answer is: Will the Chamber help create good jobs at home or will it just keep backing corporations who chase the bottom line by sending jobs overseas?
Rather than straight talk about how corporate greed created the jobs crisis, Chamber leaders are expected to raise the same tired blather that too much regulation is strangling business. (Let’s see. There was SO much regulation of the financial industry in recent years that Big Banks didn’t run wild and wreck the economy. Oh, wait….)
Here are three questions the AFL-CIO and working people would like to ask the Chamber:
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Netroots Nation: Tell Us Your Ideas for the Labor Caucus
by Tula Connell, Jul 13, 2010
Netroots Nation, the annual gathering of some 2,000 progressive bloggers and activists, is coming up fast—July 22–25—and we need your input on topics we should focus on at the Labor Caucus we hold there every year.
Labor communicators from the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and independent unions take part in the Labor Caucus, as well as allies from groups such as Jobs with Justice. This year, Matt Browner-Hamlin from SEIU and I are co-hosting it, and we want your input to help frame the agenda.
Participants in the Labor Caucus focus on issues affecting our work as labor communicators—how we can improve what we do and effectively reach union members and the public. Last year, we explored how to build our own online union community, connecting labor to the progressive blog world and utilizing our resources to make changes at the state and local levels, to support union members and campaigns
Netroots Nation: Vote on a Union Beer
by Laura Clawson, Jul 13, 2010
By popular demand, Working America and the AFL-CIO are bringing back last year’s “Raise a glass for the working class” booth—otherwise known as the beer booth—at Netroots Nation. If you come by our booth anytime the exhibit hall is open and take an action for working families, you’re entitled to come back and sample union beer during the happy hours we’ll be holding next week on Thursday and Friday of the convention.
We’ll have updates coming soon about what actions you can take and exactly when beer will be served. (Last year the actions included writing to your members of Congress about health care reform or the Employee Free Choice Act, or joining Working America.) But right now, the big question is: What beer should we serve?
WWW Center Hosts Historic Merger Summit
United Airlines Senior VP of Labor Relations Doug McKeen (left) and Continental Airlines Human Relations & Labor Relations Senior VP Mike Bonds (right) visited the Winpisinger Center and answered questions from IAM representatives and members regarding the proposed United-Continental merger.
Thu July 8, 2010
The prospect of a greatly consolidated airline industry is responsible for an unprecedented conference taking place at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Southern Maryland.
More than 100 IAM representatives and members from Districts 141, 142 and 143 are taking part in the first-ever Transportation Merger Summit, designed to coordinate resources for upcoming representation elections at Delta Air Lines and to consider implications of the pending United-Continental merger.
As the largest union in the airline industry, the IAM represents employees at each of the carriers involved in this latest round of consolidation. District 141 represents more than 16,000 employees at United Airlines; District 142 represents about 11,000 Flight Attendants at Continental Airlines, Continental Micronesia and Express Jet; and District 143 represents 12,500 employees at the former Northwest Airlines.
Local 1297 Hosts Annual ‘Ride For The Guide’
Nearly 300 Years: Delbert Fruth, 89, Ed Souder 83, John Groves, 74, and Dick Zerger, 74, rode the entire 100 miles in their second Ride for the Guide. All plan to return for next year’s eventThu, July 8, 2010
Members of Local 1297 in Ashland, OH, held their 19th annual “Ride for the Guide” to benefit Guide Dogs of America (GDA). Nearly 550 riders, members and friends participated in the 100-mile poker run.
The event raised more than $10,000, which will provide guide dogs and instruction in their use – free of charge – to blind and visually-impaired men and women in the United States and Canada.
Volunteers from Local 1297, led by President Fred Confer, prepared more than 500 pounds of BBQ to serve at the rally. The event also included contests, drawings and live music
Washington State Workers Rally to Keep Tanker Made in America
In this cross-post, Kathy Cummings, communications director of the Washington State Labor Council, reports on a rally Friday in support of Boeing workers. Boeing is in competition with European-based Airbus for the Air Force’s $35 billion tanker contract.
With as many as 50,000 jobs at stake across the country, members of the Machinists (IAM) and SPEEA/International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 2001 rallied along with Washington State’s congressional delegation and a host of community and business leaders Friday in Everett. We rallied in support of Boeing, as the company turned in their bid for the contract to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of air re-fueling tankers
Call-In Day, July 13: Tell Congress to Pass Currency Legislation
by James Parks, Jul 12, 2010
Now that the Treasury Department once again has refused to label China as a currency manipulator, it is more important than ever for Congress to pass strong legislation quickly to stop the unfair and illegal advantage against U.S. producers that China and other nations gain by undervaluing their currency.
On July 13, tens of thousands of manufacturers across the country—members of the Fair Currency Coalition and the Coalition for a Prosperous America—will join with union members and citizen trade groups in a National Currency Call-In Day to ratchet up the pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to hold currency manipulators accountable.
A bipartisan group of senators is considering attaching S. 3134, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2010, to legislation that may pass at anytime. Introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the legislation would give our government the tools it needs to address currency manipulation.
Work and Walk in Union-Made Boots with Discounts for Union Members
by Mike Hall, Jul 11, 2010
With apologies to Nancy Sinatra, these boots are made for working. And, they’re made by union members in Wausau, Wis.
The American-made, union-made boots by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) locals 668 and 717 members at the Weinbrenner Shoe Co., are available online at TheUnionBootPro.com—and union members get a 27 percent discount. Walter Brown, owner of BootPro Solutions LLC, says roughly 98 percent of the work boots sold in the United States are made overseas, primarily China.
“As other well-known brands move operations offshore, the UnionBootPro has become the go-to website for union members to find the work boots they demand—boots made by American workers.”
APALA Mobilizing Asian Americans for Organizing and Political Action
About a dozen workers testified before the first national workers’ rights hearing for Asian Pacific American workers last November.by James Parks, Jul 10, 2010
One of the fastest growing segments of the union movement, Asian Pacific Americans, are mobilizing to make their voices heard in politics and in the workplace. With the crucial midterm elections just four months away, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) is urging workers and their communities to take action and make a difference in the upcoming elections. The Asian Pacific American vote could be especially decisive in Nevada where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is in a tough bid for re-election.
Late last month, several Asian Pacific American leaders visited Las Vegas seeking to mobilize local residents in political action. They also urged Asian Americans to register and vote during elections.
Monday, July 12, 2010
AFT Leader Outlines Vision to Build Better Public Education System
by James Parks, Jul 9, 2010
Saying America’s teachers would “lead and propose, not wait and oppose,” AFT President Randi Weingarten outlined a vision to “build a system of public education as it ought to be.”
She said real changes could be made by focusing on good teaching, creating a curriculum that provides opportunity for students to learn and sharing responsibility and accountability with parents and administrators.
Weingarten spoke yesterday at AFT’s biennial convention in Seattle, which runs through Sunday. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will address the convention tomorrow.
Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, July 9, 2010
Social Security: House Minority Leader Raises Renewed Privatization Fears
Social Security: House Minority Leader Raises Renewed Privatization Fears
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stated this week that he is unsure whether the Republican Party will revive their 2005 movement to privatize Social Security. Recently, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a member of the president’s Fiscal Commission on addressing the national debt, released a budget blueprint that included dramatic cuts to Medicare and Social Security before effectively privatizing both systems. Boehner has distanced himself from Ryan’s blueprint without mentioning where he stands, leaving many advocates for seniors uneasy about the fate of these programs should Republicans return to power. “Representatives Ryan and Boehner must not have seen what I saw when we put unbridled faith in the markets and Wall Street,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “We need to continue our work to protect Social Security. It is a valuable lifeline which has kept millions of retirees out of poverty.”
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Shopping for Perks Among the Big Airline Alliances
Certain Air France fliers can't earn Delta miles, though both are in the same alliance.The Wall Street Journal
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Airlines pitch their global alliances as seamless networks, yet there are so many hitches that consumers may want to shop around.
Alliances have existed for more than a decade as airlines have sought to market themselves jointly. But the companies have found that splicing together computer systems and competitive instincts has been difficult and is still evolving. As a result, perks and policies vary among each of the three big alliances—Star, oneworld and SkyTeam.
"There are still really deep pockets of incompatibility. It's not always what it's cracked up to be," said Randy Petersen, publisher of frequent-flier magazines and founder of the website FlyerTalk.com.
Passport Fees Going Up Next Week
All of the increased security and the anti-fraud measures added to passports in recent years come at a cost, officials say.By A. Pawlowski, CNN
July 7, 2010 10:15 a.m. EDT
(CNN) -- Get ready to open your wallet a little wider to satisfy your travel bug: It is soon going to cost more to apply for a new U.S. passport or renew an old one -- a move criticized by the public and some lawmakers.
Starting next Tuesday, adults applying for their first passport book will have to pay $135 -- a 35 percent increase from the current $100 fee.
(The cost of the wallet-size passport card, which Americans can use on certain trips closer to home, is rising from $45 to $55 for first-time applicants.)
Want to add more visa pages to your passport book? It's free now, but you will have to shell out $82 under the new fee schedule.
The renewal fee for passport books will rise to $110 -- up from the current $75.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
75th Anniversary of National Labor Relations Act: Unions the Answer Then and Now
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis addressed the AFL-CIO Executive Council in March. by James Parks, Jul 7, 2010
In this crosspost from Huffington Post, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis reaffirms the importance of the National Labor Relations Act, which gave workers freedom to form unions.
July 5 marked the 75th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act—also known as the Wagner Act—one of the lesser known, but key components of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. In addition to Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, a federal minimum wage and laws regulating child labor—all controversial concepts at the time that we now take for granted as basic elements of fairness—the New Deal included the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) which protected workers’ rights to join or form unions and engage in collective bargaining
Minnesota Nurses Ratify New Contract
by James Parks, Jul 7, 2010
After more than three months of tense negotiations that included a 24-hour strike, some 12,000 nurses in Minnesota’s Twin Cities yesterday voted to ratify a new three-year contract with 14 area hospitals. The new pact contains no concessions or give-backs and maintains the pension plan.
Although they did not win new safe staffing language they sought, the nurses maintained safe staffing language already in their contract, in which a nurse has a right to close a unit when it becomes unsafe to admit any more patients. The nurses are members of the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU).
Trumka: Arizona Suit a First Step, But Not Enough
by James Parks, Jul 7, 2010
The Obama administration’s suit to stop Arizona from implementing the anti-immigrant law, known as SB1070, is an important first step towards protecting the fundamental civil rights of working people in the state, but does not go far enough, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said.
In a statement late yesterday, Trumka said the administration can— and should—revoke the authority the Department of Justice has delegated to Arizona under agreements in which Homeland Security trains members of eight state and local law enforcement agencies in Arizona, including the state police, which allows the officers to enforce immigration laws
Union Values: Made In America
Dave Johnson writes for the Campaign for America’s Future and adapted this post for us.
Our country was born out of a fight to cast off colonial rule by a wealthy elite and govern ourselves as We, the People. This fight continues, and nothing more clearly represents this American effort to lift each other up than organized labor. On July 4, as we celebrate our independence I encourage people to recognize our ongoing battle by buying Made in USA goods, and by working for democracy and the rights of workers everywhere
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Arizona Court Says Secret Ballot Measure Unconstitutional
by James Parks, Jul 2, 2010
Opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act were dealt a blow June 30 when an Arizona state court judge struck down as unconstitutional a proposed state constitutional amendment that sought to restrict how workers can vote in union representation elections.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig granted an injunction sought by Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99 to prevent Proposition 108 from appearing on the ballot in November. The proposition, which was backed by the anti-union group Save our Secret Ballot (SOS Ballot), would have required secret ballots in all union elections and elections for public office. Employee Free Choice Act opponents wrongly claim the legislation would take away the right to a secret ballot election for union representation. In fact, the act would give workers—not employers—the option to choose whether to vote on union representation by signing union authorization cards
Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, July 2, 2010
Alliance Executive Director Testifies in Front of the Fiscal Commission
On Wednesday, Alliance Executive Director Edward F. Coyle testified in front of the president’s Fiscal Commission, which is charged with addressing the nation’s national debt. Coyle conveyed to the committee’s board members that retirees are deeply disturbed by the talk coming out of the Commission of cutting Social Security benefits and raising the retirement age. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) had said earlier this week that if the Republicans were to win control of the U.S. House, the party would try to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70 as part of a fiscal reform plan. “John Boehner’s call to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70 is not only deeply hurtful and insensitive to workers, but also reflects a dangerously flawed misunderstanding of how Social Security is financed and operates,” Coyle told the Commission. In response to critics who blame Social Security for America’s budget deficit, Coyle challenged them to find a federal program that functions as efficiently as Social Security. Coyle proposed raising the payroll tax cap for the wealthiest Americans in order to further strengthen Social Security’s financial structure.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Union Members Can Save on New iPhone 4 Wireless Service
by James Parks, Jun 27, 2010
Union members who purchase a new iPhone 4 from AT&T can save $198 over their two-year contract on a basic monthly service and data plan (450 minutes and 200MB of data) with the Union Plus AT&T discount. Members who buy higher rate plans can save even more.
Union Plus, which provides consumer benefits to union members and retirees, has raised to 15 percent its discount on all new wireless service through AT&T, the only union wireless provider, just in time for the release of the new iPhone 4.
Millionaires Killing Jobs
by Tula Connell, Jun 25, 2010
Today, 1.2 million jobless workers lose their extended unemployment insurance (UI) because some Senate millionaires think a $300 a week unemployment check will make people too lazy to look for a job. This group also is pushing to reduce the nation’s budget deficit rather than use short-term spending to create desperately needed jobs for the nation’s 26 million unemployed or underemployed workers.
Three things:
* The Senate yesterday failed for the FOURTH time to extend UI because Senate Republicans are blockading the bill. Economists say extending UI is fiscally prudent and essential to improve the faltering economy. Several hundred thousand more unemployed workers will lose their UI each week in addition to the 1.2 million jobless workers who already have.
U.S. Social Forum: Union-Faith Group Partnership Must Be Two-Way Street
Helen Gonzales on the AFL-CIO staff is attending the U.S. Social Forum June 22–26 in Detroit. She reports from a workshop on the importance of faith, labor and community alliances.
The global economic crisis has created a unique opportunity for the faith community and the union movement to work together to change the culture of greed and create a more just society, panelists said at a U.S. Social Forum workshop on faith, labor and community alliances on Thursday.
Saying the core principle of all major faiths is caring for our neighbor, Kim Bobo, director of Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ), told the more than 60 people in the workshop that principle can be applied to nearly every struggle workers face.
Republicans ‘Scrooge’ Workers, Kill Long-Term Jobless Help
by Mike Hall, Jun 25, 2010
Republican partisan politics won—and working families lost—again last night when Senate Republicans for the fourth time this year blocked a bill that would revive the extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits program that is the last lifeline for millions of jobless workers.
The 57-41 vote (with Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson from Nebraska joining all Republicans) fell three votes short of the 60 needed to end the filibuster against the bill. The bill also included aid for states facing huge budget shortfalls to keep 900,000 people on the job.
The extended UI program expired May 31 after the Senate left town for the Memorial Day recess without acting on a House-passed jobs bill that would have kept the long-term unemployment benefits program alive. Since then, 1.2 million jobless workers have lost their benefits.
Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, June 25, 2010
Congress Delivers President Obama a �Doc Fix� Bill
After realizing that combining the 'Doc Fix' provision with a jobs creation package was not politically feasible, House Democrats promptly passed a six-month solution to the ongoing cuts in Medicare reimbursement rates to physicians. The temporary fix passed the House late Thursday night by a vote of 415-1. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services had already started to process Medicare claims at the 21%-lower rate, causing severe financial damage to medical practices nationally. All prior claims will be resubmitted and paid at the new reimbursement rates. Additionally, the bill allows for a 2.2% raise for physician reimbursement rates.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Hundreds of Labor Activists Taking Part in U.S. Social Forum June 22-26
by James Parks, Jun 22, 2010
While the leaders of the world’s top economies are meeting in Ontario this week, across the border in Detroit, nearly 15,000 grassroots activists and organizers are coming together to share strategies to transform the nation and create lasting economic and environmental change.
Organizers say the second U.S. Social Forum (USSF) held June 22-26 in Detroit is designed to develop the people’s solutions to our nation’s economic and ecological crises. To illustrate the forum’s commitment to real change, this year’s theme is “Another World Is Possible. Another U.S. Is Necessary.” Activists will participate in more than 1,000 workshops, assemblies and trainings and 300 cultural events and performances. You can check out streaming video, radio and uploaded photos from the events here.
CWA: Comcast-NBC Merger Bad for Workers and Consumers
Members of NABET-CWA picket outside the NBC network-owned station in Washington, D.C., during “Meet the Press” last month. by James Parks, Jun 21, 2010
The proposed merger between cable TV giant Comcast and NBC-Universal (NBCU) would lead to job cuts, reduce competition in the cable industry and restrict consumer access to online video content, a senior leader of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) told lawmakers.
On top of all that, Comcast has a long record of violating workers’ rights, CWA Vice President James Weitkamp told a field hearing of the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month. After its last big merger, with AT&T Broadband in 2002, Comcast immediately set about crushing AT&T’s unions, he said. Comcast also pays its workers about a third less in wages and benefits than unionized telecom companies.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
ILO Takes Big Step Toward Domestic Workers’ Rights
Domestic workers in New York City marched for justice in 2007by James Parks, Jun 17, 2010
The International Labor Organization (ILO) this week took a giant step forward in the fight to create workplace justice for the millions of housekeepers, nannies and other domestic workers around the world. At its International Labor Conference, which ends in Geneva tomorrow, the ILO began the process to establish a first-ever international standard (”convention”) to protect the rights of domestic workers.
If the convention is passed at the ILO’s meeting in 2011, it would require governments that ratify it to ensure domestic workers are covered by the fundamental rights and principles of the ILO, which include the freedom to form unions, elimination of forced labor, abolition of child labor and the elimination of discrimination.
UAW Members Rally for Good Jobs Now
UAW President Bob King, fourth from the right, Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO President Saundra Williams and Teamsters President James Hoffa lead a Good Jobs Now! rally in Detroit yesterdayby James Parks, Jun 18, 2010
On his first day in office, UAW President Bob King sent a clear message that the union movement is ready and able to fight as long as necessary to gain economic and social justice for all.
After delivering his acceptance speech at the UAW convention in Detroit, King joined Teamsters President James Hoffa and Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO President Saundra Williams to lead a Good Jobs Now! march and rally in downtown Detroit. Delegates to the convention and other workers joined the march that filled a city block.
Nevada Alliance Members Mobilize Against Angle’s Attack on Social Security, Medicare
by Mike Hall, Jun 18, 2010
Nevada Republican U.S. Senate nominee Sharron Angle made many extremist statements during her primary campaign, and some of the most egregious involve her goal to eliminate Social Security and Medicare and privatize those two vital senior safety nets.
During a May 2010 debate on the public affairs show “Face to Face with John Ralston” Angle said, “We need to phase Medicare and Social Security out in favor of something privatized.” She repeated these views around the state
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