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.

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.

ILO Takes Big Step Toward Domestic Workers’ Rights

Domestic workers in New York City marched for justice in 2007

by 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 yesterday

by 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

Peyton Warns Against Union-supported Candidate for Mayor

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton

Posted: June 18, 2010 - 5:35pm

By Matt Galnor

The same man who rode the police and fire unions into the Jacksonville mayor’s office seven years ago told a political group Friday to be wary of any 2011 mayoral candidate with the backing of cops and firefighters.


Mayor John Peyton blasted the unions in a speech to about 50 people at the First Coast Tiger Bay Club, whose membership includes elected officials and active voters.


Peyton has been publicly feuding with the unions, unable to get a 3 percent pay cut and pension reform during labor negotiations. He said Friday the city has gotten to the point where the union’s agenda is not in the best interest of the taxpayers.

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, June 18, 2010

Senior Issues take Center Stage in Nevada Senate Race
Nevada Alliance members rushed to Republican/tea party Senate candidate Sharron Angle's office last Friday to protest her position on privatizing Social Security. "She's extreme. She's dangerous," said NARA President Scott Watts. Her opponent is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D). Watts called emergency meetings in Las Vegas on Wednesday and Sparks, Nevada on Thursday about Angle's positions, and scores turned out to exchange warnings about her ideas for privatizing Social Security. Emotions ran high. Other sources of concern for retirees include Angle's stated desire to privatize Medicare and the Veterans Administration. Despite numerous attempts by television stations to reach Angle for comment and clarification, no one from her campaign returned their calls and e-mails over the past few days.

Wichita Machinists Rally for Aerospace Jobs

IAM members in Wichita, KS, held a rally to support their negotiators and to oppose additional outsourcing of work to Mexico

Thu. June 17, 2010

Gathered in the heat outside the hotel where negotiations are taking place between District 70 and Spirit AeroSystems, workers and their families carried ‘Jobs Worth Fighting For’ signs and cheered as union leaders praised Spirit as the only aerospace company in Wichita, KS, that has refused to outsource work to Mexico.

Bombardier and Cessna have both outsourced work from Wichita to Mexico, while Hawker Beechcraft has closed its Salina plant and recently notified the union it intends to outsource more work.

Machinists Call For Airline Re-regulation

Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and called for re-regulation of the airline industry.

Thu. June 17, 2010

“It is clear that airline deregulation has failed to deliver on its promises of a stable and profitable industry,” said Roach. “Airline business plans today focus on lowering standards, eliminating services and reducing ticket prices to the bone to put competitors out of business, making a profitable industry impossible.”

Roach cited Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that median ticket prices have dropped nearly 40 percent since 1980, while the costs of aircraft, airport leases and fuel have increased dramatically.

“Some industries are too critical to the United States to be allowed to regulate themselves,” said Roach. “The airline industry drives $1.4 trillion in economic activity and contributes $692 billion per year to the Gross Domestic Product. It is too vital to the nation’s commerce to be ignored, taken for granted or left to its own destructive ways.”

Alliance, IUPAT Members Ask Obama About Health Care Reform

by Mike Hall, Jun 15, 2010

Barbara Franklin was worried that under the new health care reform law, seniors who receive their Medicare coverage from the privately-run Medicare Advantage program would see their coverage and benefits reduced because the law eliminates some government subsidies the private insurers receive.

So she called President Obama.

Franklin, the president of Illinois chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans, was one of several callers and in-person questioners who took part in last week’s tele-town hall meeting exploring the new law’s impact on seniors and Medicare. The Alliance hosted more than two dozen watch parties for the tele-town hall.

President Obama reassured Franklin that the law’s new rules for Medicare Advantage will protect seniors and ensure that Medicare Advantage is “not just a big giveaway to the insurance companies.”

Young Workers Call for More Communication, Larger Role in Unions

by James Parks, Jun 14, 2010

The more than 400 participants in the Next Up conference, the AFL-CIO’s first-ever Young Workers Summit, developed a game plan for the future that focuses on making sure young union leaders and activists are taken seriously and their ideas are heard at all levels of the union movement.

Following three days in workshops and breakouts, student activists, community allies, a couple of political comedians and professional athletes and young workers generated several key ideas on the best ways to reach younger workers and build the movement.

In reports to the conference’s closing session yesterday (see video), the breakout groups recommended and called for increased mentoring programs to help young union members grow into leadership roles and establishing a national youth mobilization effort as an AFL-CIO priority.

Protestors Demand Fair Deals at Hyatt Hotels

by James Parks, Jun 14, 2010

Hundreds of hotel workers and community allies protested in front of Hyatt’s first annual shareholder meeting last week in Chicago and in simultaneous demonstrations in Vancouver, Honolulu, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The protesters are outraged that despite increases in the hotel chain’s revenue and share prices, Hyatt is cutting staff and squeezing workers with more work and lower pay. All this at a time that Hyatt’s majority stockholders, the Pritzker family, cashed out more than $900 million as part of Hyatt’s initial public offering last November.

Four hundred workers at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco are out on strike and the protests in Chicago come just days after hundreds of workers at the Hyatt Regency Chicago walked off the job to draw attention to the worsening working conditions at Chicago’s largest downtown hotel. In the San Francisco area, more than 9,000 workers, members of UNITE HERE! have been working without a contract since August 2009 at several Hyatts.

Campaign Strategy: The Gay and Lesbian Vote

Submitted by David Hunt on June 10, 2010 - 8:58pm

Death, Taxes & Politics

A group called Stonewall Democrats is narrowing down which candidates to support in this year's election. The group identifies itself as a network of gay and lesbian Democratic activists.

Three of the 30 candidates to make the cut (10 will make the final cut for endorsements) are from Florida.

Here are their bios. Anyone interested in voicing which candidates would be best for the gay and lesbian community can do so on this website.

Building Star Can Create 185,000 Green Jobs This Year

by Mike Hall, Jun 13, 2010

In the current recession, no sector has been harder hit than the construction industry, which has lost more than 2 million jobs. The unemployment rate in the construction industry is a staggering 27 percent, almost triple the overall unemployment rate.

You can help put building and construction trades workers back on the job by contacting your senators and representatives and urging them to support Building Star-H.R. 5476 and S. 3079. The legislation would provide building owners rebates and low-cost financing options for energy-efficient renovations in existing buildings.

It would, says the Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA):

mobilize building owners, construction firms, the building trades and manufacturers and distributors of building supplies to create jobs NOW in 2010, not later. Building Star will put sheet metal workers back to work retrofitting existing buildings, and would do so fast.

Young Workers Summit: NFL Players Call for Union Solidarity

by James Parks, Jun 12, 2010

When an offensive or defensive line of a football team stands shoulder-to-shoulder, it is almost impossible to move it. Today, two National Football League (NFL) players came to the AFL-CIO Young Workers Summit to invite their fellow union members to stand with them in one of the toughest battles they face on or off the field.

The 32 super-rich owners of the NFL teams terminated the current collective bargaining agreement two years early because they say “it isn’t working for them,” Domonique Foxworth of the Baltimore Ravens and a member of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) executive committee, told the young union activists.

47 Years After Equal Pay Act, Women Still Paid Less Than Men

by James Parks, Jun 10, 2010

Forty-seven years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, women still are not being paid the same as men for equivalent work. On average, women earn about 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. For women of color, African American women and Latinas, the gap is even wider. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wages of full-time, year-round workers in 2008 stood at $35,745 for women and $46,367 for men. That’s $10,622 less per year for women and their families in a difficult economy.

The U.S. Senate is considering the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would give employees the tools they need to close the wage gap between men and women and provide the government with enforcement power to correct pay inequities. The U.S. House passed the bill last year. The advocacy group MomsRising has an action here to urge your senator to close the wage gap and back the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Minnesota Nurses Stage 24-Hour Strike for Patient Safety

Workday Minnesota editor Barb Kucera sends this account of yesterday’s one-day strike by 12,000 Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) nurses over patient care issues in contract negotiations. In California, a similar strike by some 13, 000 California Nurses Association (CNA) nurses was blocked by a court order. Click here for more. Both MNA and CNA are affiliated with National Nurse United (NNU).

Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association walked the picket lines at 14 Twin Cities hospitals, in the largest nurses’ strike in U.S. history.

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, June 11, 2010

Obama Talks to Seniors, including the Illinois Alliance President, at Tele-Town Hall
The Alliance continues its involvement in the implementation process of the health care reform that President Obama signed into law in March. On Tuesday, the Alliance, along with several other organizations, helped the White House and President Obama organize a tele-town hall meeting to explain the new health care law to seniors. The president emphasized that his administration has already started to send out $250 rebate checks for those who fall into the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" prescription drug coverage gap. Yesterday (Thursday, June 10th - three weeks earlier than initially scheduled), checks from the federal government began to go out to some 80,000 seniors who hit the doughnut hole earlier this year. The President went on to remind seniors that in 2011, those who fall in the doughnut hole will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs, and that by 2020, the doughnut hole will be eliminated. Alliance members joined Obama in person at his Wheaton, Maryland forum.

Pelosi Says Job Creation Is Economically and Ethically Right

by Mike Hall, Jun 8, 2010

Creating jobs and forging an economy that breaks out of the boom-and-bust cycle that always leaves working families busted is both good policy and morally right, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told the hundreds of progressive activists at the America’s Future Now conference this morning.

“We have an ethical responsibility to create good jobs and economic necessity to create good jobs.”

She said it is imperative that lawmakers, policymakers and especially voters work to “achieve an economic prosperity that not only puts people back to work,” but opens the doors of economic opportunity that have been shut for the millions of people at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Mexican Federal Police Move in on Strikers in Cananea

IMF alarmed by reports that federal and state forces have moved into Cananea on Sunday night to execute arrest warrants against the union leaders of the Mexican Miners' Union.

MEXICO: IMF has received reports that federal and state forces arrived in Cananea on Sunday night, June 6, to execute arrest warrants against union leaders the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM) at the Cananea copper mine in Sonora, Mexico,

Spain's Labor Reform Could Sideline Unions: Report

Civil servants protest over planned pay cuts in front of the economy ministry in Madrid May 20, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Andrea Comas

(Reuters) - Spain may make it easier for companies to bypass unions to lower workers' pay and conditions if they can prove they are in financial difficulty, El Mundo newspaper reported on Sunday, citing government sources.

Companies in financial difficulty can currently only negotiate down wages and conditions to below those established by the collective bargaining procedure if they have the approval of unions, which is rarely given.

But El Mundo said one of the Socialist government's drafts of labor reform due to be handed to unions on Wednesday says independent government commissions would be created to negotiate salary cuts between workers and employers in such cases

Wall Street Reform a First Step to Taking Back America

by James Parks, Jun 7, 2010

Even though Congress is poised to pass the strongest Wall Street reform in recent history, the current bill is just the beginning of the broad reforms we need to take back the country from the Big Banks, a panel of experts said today at the America’s Future Now! conference in Washington, D.C.

The conference is sponsored by the Campaign for America’s Future (CAF). (If you haven’t signed up and are in the Washington, D.C., area, up you can register onsite at the Omni Shoreham Hotel [2500 Calvert Street, N.W.]. Click here for more information.)

For the first time in decades, Main Street has a chance to rein in the Big Banks, said Heather Booth, director of Americans for Financial Reform.

Got Health Care Reform and Medicare Questions? Ask President Obama!

by Mike Hall, Jun 7, 2010

Are you a Medicare recipient with questions about the new health care reform law, or do you know someone who is? Tomorrow, you’ll have a chance to get those questions answered by President Obama and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

They are hosting an hour-long, live tele-town hall meeting Tuesday, starting at 11:15 a.m. EDT. Health care advocates and senior activists will discuss the key provisions and expanded benefits that the new health care law provides for Medicare participants. The meeting will focus on the $250 “donut hole” rebate checks that will soon be in the mail and the efforts to combat some of the commercial scams and schemes aimed at seniors

Airline Gives Osama Bin Laden a Boarding Pass

British Airways Features Terrorist Al Qaeda Leader's Name in Heathrow Airport Magazine

By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ

June 1, 2010

The name of international terrorist and fugitive Al Qaeda boss Osama Bin Laden has surfaced in an unlikely spot, and apparently he's flying British Airways first class to Washington.

It seems that somebody in London with a bad sense of humor is causing the U.K. airline a bit of a headache after inserting a graphic of a boarding pass bearing bin Laden's name into a company-run magazine.

A cover story in LHR News -- a British Airways staff magazine covering London's Heathrow Airport -- about a new service allowing passengers to download paperless boarding passes to their iPhones includes close-up cover photo a white boarding pass emblazoned with the name "Bin Laden/Osama".

America’s Future Now Conference Sets Progressive Vision

by Mike Hall, Jun 7, 2010

The America’s Future Now conference kicks off this morning. During the next three days, the largest gathering of progressive activists, leaders and lawmakers will map out an economic and political agenda for change—and the organizing strategies for taking that agenda to the country.

Those strategies will focus on fighting the corporate lobbies that stand in the way of economic justice and reform; energizing and building a movement for jobs now; and creating a progressive majority that challenges both obstructionist Republicans and timid Democrats.

Group Launched to Stop Legislation that Would Make Union Organizing Easier

WHAS11.com
Posted on June 4, 2010 at 12:45 AM
Updated Friday, Jun 4 at 12:53 AM

A pro-business group launched in Kentucky on Thursday aims to make "card check" legislation an issue in the congressional elections this fall.

The Coalition to Protect Kentucky Jobs is a project of the Workforce Fairness Institute, which is backed by unspecified business owners. The Kentucky effort is supported by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Kentuckiana, the American Small Business Partnership, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers.

It's about the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow workers at a non-union employer to simply sign up if they want union representation rather than by secret ballot. The bill has fallen short of bipartisan support in recent Congresses.

Spanish Union 'Ready to Call General Strike'

Comisiones Obreras (CCOO)

June 5, 2010

Spain’s largest union said yesterday it was not satisfied with the details of government labour reform proposals leaked to the media so far and that a general strike “seems inevitable”.

Labour unions have called a one-day public sector strike on Tuesday against government austerity measures which include a public sector pay cut, and have threatened a general strike if they are not happy with the government’s labour reform package.

The government has said it is proceeding with its own version of labour reform as months of talks with unions and business leaders have failed to produce a consensus, and that it will present the plan to the other parties on June 9.

Union leaders met on Friday and “reiterated their rejection of the austerity plan as unjust, unbalanced and bad for the economy, along with some of the contents that have emerged on labour reform,” trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) said in a statement.

Florida Governor Slammed for Hospital-money Veto

Governor Charlie Crist, Florida

Critics charge that Gov. Charlie Crist slashed the budget of a hospital in Gainesville that serves thousands of poor people out of political spite.

By MARC CAPUTO AND LEE LOGAN
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

Of all the times Gov. Charlie Crist has flip-flopped, few decisions stand out like his budget veto of nearly $10 million for Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Crist recommended the money in his proposed budget in January. He recommended similar funding in the previous three years and approved them in the budget.

Crist's veto of the money -- used to treat 18,000 uninsured Floridians -- also conflicts with his veto message that said he preserved budget items that ``served the most vulnerable.''

On Thursday, the governor defended his veto: ``The concern was more with the process of it, to be honest with you. And the lateness of it. I didn't want things that came late and didn't have the complete committee vetting opportunity.''



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/04/1662596/crist-slammed-for-hospital-money.html#ixzz0q3JnCx9g

Fla. Senate Candidate Tests Politics, Ethnicity

In this May 18, 2010 photo, Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio speaks to members and guests at the Florida Federation of Republican Women, meeting in Coral Gables, Fla.

MIAMI — At a boutique hotel in Miami's upscale Coral Gables neighborhood, members of a Republican women's group smile and gush as Senate candidate Marco Rubio enters the room. A Spanish-language television reporter approaches with a microphone.

What is his stance on the Arizona immigration law? Does he favor amnesty for undocumented immigrants?

"I don't support amnesty," Rubio says. "I support a legal immigration system."

A Cuban-American lawyer and former state House speaker, the 39-year-old Rubio has captured the attention of national Republicans hoping to attract Hispanic voters, a majority of whom voted for President Barack Obama in 2008.

But it's among Hispanic voters that some of Rubio's conservative positions could prove divisive.

Chiles' Entry Into Race for Governor Stirs Up Fla. Politics

Lawton "Bud" Chiles III, the son of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles, walks to the Florida Press Center in Tallahassee, Fla. Thursday, June 3, 2010. Chiles, made a late entry into the governor's race as an independent candidate on Thursday, saying both major parties have been influenced too much by money.

By JEREMY WALLACE
Sarasota Herald-Tribune


Published: Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:36 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:36 p.m.

Late entries into the two hottest races in the state are shaking up Florida politics.
Political newcomers Jeff Greene, a Democrat running for Senate, and Rick Scott, a Republican challenger for governor, are running campaigns not seen before in Florida on this scale, spending millions of dollars of their own fortunes to bypass the traditional party routes and go straight to electorate with TV ads.

Thursday brought another twist: Bud Chiles, the son of one of the state's most beloved governors but who has no elected experience himself, announced he is running for governor. Even though Chiles said he will run as an independent, his candidacy is causing panic among Democrats that it will cost Democrats their best shot at winning the governor's mansion since 1994. The winner that year was Chiles' father, Lawton.

1,900 Texas RN’s Vote to Join NNU Affiliate

by Mike Hall, Jun 4, 2010

More than 1,900 registered nurses at five Texas hospitals have voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee-Texas (NNOC-Texas), an affiliate of the 155,000-member National Nurses United (NNU).

The election wins by the nurses took place during the past two weeks, with the latest victory coming last night at the Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville. They join the registered nurses who voted for a voice at work at four other HCA hospitals: Corpus Christi Medical Center in Corpus Christi, Del Sol Medical Center and Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso, Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen.

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, June 4, 2010

Friday, June 4, 2010

(Alliance for Retired Americans)

Alliance Members Get the Chance to Ask President Obama Questions
At a special event on Tuesday, June 8, Alliance members are invited to ask the President health care questions by telephone. A few members of the Alliance will be attending the event - which will include information on benefits for seniors under the new health care law - live, in Wheaton, Maryland. Other members are invited to ask the President questions by phone. The special number Alliance members can call to talk to President Obama is: 800-837-1935, Passcode 80272058. This one-time, national "tele-town hall" can also be seen and heard on television by watching C-SPAN, or on-line at www.healthreform.gov.

Economy Adds 431,000 Jobs–Barely Enough to Stay in Place

by James Parks, Jun 4, 2010

Some 431,000 net new jobs were created in May. A whopping 411,000 of those new jobs were temporary U.S. Census jobs while private employers added only 41,000 new jobs in May. Overall, the unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent, down from 9.9 in April, according to a report released this morning by the U.S. Department of Labor.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the low number of private-sector jobs is further evidence the recovery is still fragile.

The Economic Recovery Act saved us from a second Great Depression, but it was not sufficient to power strong and sustained job growth, and its effects are expected to wane in coming months.

Steelworkers Help Green Light New Energy-Efficient Bulbs

by Mike Hall, Jun 2, 2010

Here’s a way to reduce your carbon footprint and support good green union jobs. Check out the new Sylvania Super Saver halogen light bulbs made by the United Steelworkers (USW) in a Wellsboro, Pa., plant.

As more and more households turn to the energy-efficient bulbs over the familiar incandescent light bulb that sucks up much more energy, many manufacturers are shutting down their U.S. operations and producing the new bulbs overseas.

But Osram Sylvania has decided to manufacture its Sylvania Super Saver halogen bulbs at existing facilities in the United States. Wellsboro currently produces the outer glass portion of light bulbs that are assembled at Osram Sylvania’s plant in St. Marys, Pa.

Red Cross Workers Strike over Stalled Talks, Blood Safety Concerns

by Mike Hall, Jun 2, 2010

More than 1,000 Red Cross workers in seven cities launched a three-day unfair labor practice strike against the American Red Cross this morning. Contract negotiations between the Red Cross and the workers—members of several unions—have been stalled, in some cases, for more than a year.

One of the key issues, the unions say, is blood drive staffing practices that workers believe are key to protecting donor and blood safety. Workers say the Red Cross is putting donors and workers at risk by understaffing blood drives, replacing nurses with unlicensed supervisors, forcing employees to work unrealistic schedules and turning blood collection into an assembly line/fast-food process

Foreclosure and Bankruptcy in Favor of the Middleclass

Jun 01,2010

Amendment #534 authorizes bankruptcy courts to modify the terms of mortgages made on homeowners’ primary residences, a practice which is barred by current law. The amendment would permit bankruptcy courts to restructure the debt on home mortgages by reducing the principal owed, extending repayment periods, reducing interest rates, and prohibiting, reducing, or delaying future interest rate increases. Bankruptcy law currently permits such restructuring only for vacation homes, family farms, and yachts. Under this legislation, eligibility is limited to homeowners with mortgages originated before the enactment of the amendment who have received notice that a foreclosure may be commenced. The legislation restricts the situations in which bankruptcy judges can reduce – or “cramdown” – the principal owed.

Lincoln Parked on Wall Street, Working Families Drive Halter Bid

by Mike Hall, Jun 1, 2010

One week from today, Arkansas voters will have a choice between two-term incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln and her long record of corporate coziness or Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and his progressive agenda based on the interests of working families.

The June 8 U.S. Senate Democratic primary run-off is firing up working families and union voters across the state. These are the same voters who mobilized and turned what was supposed to a Lincoln slam-dunk in the Senate primary to a near dead heat race and ultimate run-off election.

Letter Carriers Deliver Another Record Food Drive: 77.1 Million Pounds

by Mike Hall, Jun 1, 2010

The nation’s postal customers responded with extraordinary generosity this year, donating a record 77.1 million pounds of food in the Letter Carriers’ 18th annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive. This year’s results topped last year’s record donation of 73.4 million pounds.

Members of the Letter Carriers (NALC) on May 8 picked up the donations left at mailboxes in more than 10,000 communities. The food was delivered to local food banks, pantries and shelters to help needy families in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.

Since 1993, the NALC food drive has collected more than 1 billion pounds of food—1,059,800 pounds—to help feed hungry families.

CBTU Delegates Support IAM-Delta Campaign

Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. presents CBTU President Bill Lucy (center) and actor and political activist Danny Glover (left) with IAM ‘Union Strong’ shirts during the 39th International Convention of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU).

Tue. June 01, 2010

In an unmistakable display of solidarity with Machinists fighting to represent more than 30,000 workers at Delta Airlines, nearly 1,000 delegates at the 39th International Convention of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) poured into Detroit’s Wayne County International airport wearing the IAM campaign’s signature blue shirts.

“We are here to say ‘thank you’ for the support you’ve given us over the past year and to ask you again to stand with us as this campaign moves into high gear,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr., who addressed the convention. “This campaign is not only for the workers at Delta, but for the very future of labor unions in the airline industry.”

The convention included workshops, panel discussions and speakers who urged delegates to demand solutions to the jobs crisis from candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.

Airline Reward Programs Pay Off Less Frequently

By JOE SHARKEY
Published: May 31, 2010

FOR participants in frequent-flier programs, more miles are chasing fewer seats, and the problem is likely to get worse.

In April, the five so-called legacy carriers (Delta, United, American, Continental and US Airways) averaged domestic load factors of 85 percent, which measures how many seats on airplanes are occupied by paying customers.

Southwest Airlines reported a load factor of 78.8 percent in April. That brought the overall average down a bit for the top six carriers. But no matter how you do the math and as every frequent flier knows, an empty seat is as rare a sight as a free meal on most domestic flights.

Tens of Thousands Protest Arizona’s Immigrant Law

by James Parks, May 29, 2010

Tens of thousands of people of conscience from across the nation converged on the Arizona state capitol today in Phoenix for a national day of action against that state’s infamous anti-immigrant law, also known as S.B. 1070.

Chanting “Stop Racism in Arizona,” protestors marched five miles in the hot desert sun to the capitol in one of the largest demonstrations yet against this law. S.B. 1070 allows police to stop and question anyone they have “reasonable suspicion” of being undocumented. The law does not define “reasonable suspicion,” a fact that many opponents say is carte blanche for racial profiling.