British Airways Strike Grounds Flights but Passengers Fly

AFP/File – British Airways (BA) cabin crew began a three-day strike over pay and conditions which will ground hundreds

LONDON (AFP) – British Airways (BA) cabin crew on Saturday began a three-day strike over pay and conditions which will ground hundreds of flights, but the airline said many of its passengers were able to fly.

Some 12,000 members of Britain's biggest trade union, Unite, walked out at midnight Friday, hours after face-to-face talks between unions and and BA chief executive Willie Walsh broke down.

More than 1,000 flights are set to be cancelled in the first phase of the action, with a second walkout to follow for four days from March 27, targeted at the busy Easter holiday period.

Machinists Poll Confirms Excise Tax Opposition

Thu. March 18, 2010

IAM members delivered a bipartisan thumping to both political parties as well as the White House in an online survey of workers’ attitudes. But there can be no mistaking their strong opposition to key provisions of health care reform.

On the pending health care legislation, nearly 68 percent of Machinists adamantly opposed the 40 percent excise tax on health care plans. Seventy percent gave a thumbs-down to penalties for those without health care coverage and more than 64.9 percent wanted a public option. President Obama was given only 18.7 percent approval for his efforts to control the cost of health insurance by the 1,262 Machinists completing the survey.

UK Union Announces Strike Dates at British Airways

Thu. March 18, 2010

Flight Attendants in the United Kingdom announced today this week that they would be taking seven days of strike action at the end of the month if their contract dispute is not resolved before then.

The ITF-affiliated Unite union, which represents the British Airways (BA) workers, said that strike action would take place on March 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 and 30, with additional action possible on April 14.

Huffington Post Carries UCubed Message

Thu. March 18, 2010

Lower turnout in the midterm elections and persistently high unemployment will create an explosive mix this November. That’s according to a recently published article by UCubed Acting Executive Director Rick Sloan in the widely read Huffington Post.

“In the 2010 midterm elections, the most critical voting block is the unemployed and underemployed,” said Sloan.

Ur Union of Unemployed, also known as UCubed, is a community service project of the IAM that uses social networking technology to create a linked network of unemployed activists.

Ohio Machinists Reject Union Busting Proposal

Thu. March 18, 2010

IAM members of Local 225 in Dayton, OH, went on strike March 7 after machinists, welders and assemblers unanimously rejected a new three-year contract offer from Chemineer, a Dayton-based maker of industrial mixing equipment. The company’s offer came three weeks after negotiations began when the company suddenly called a halt to the talks, leaving behind a grossly substandard contract proposal.

“The membership felt like it was a slap in the face," said Local 225 Shop Committee Chairman Harry Grooms. "This proposal would gut the existing contract and place our members’ jobs in peril at a time when the company is making money."

A Thousand Philly Marchers Tell BofA: It's Time to Pay

by Mike Hall, Mar 19, 2010

More than a 1,000 Pennsylvania union members, laid-off workers and community allies rallied outside a downtown Philadelphia Bank America office, hundreds streamed through the bank lobby along with a delegation carrying a $145 billion check. Shouting, “No jobs, no future,” they demanded BofA endorse the check and help finance creation of the 11 million jobs Wall Street gambled away.

Trumka: Temple Takes Taxpayer $$, Should Treat Workers Better

by Tula Connell, Mar 19, 2010

In Philadelphia this morning, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka joined Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George in pledging the union movement’s support for an impending strike by Temple University Hospital’s 1,500 nurses and professional and technical employees. Shortly before the press event, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) delivered a 10-day strike notice to the hospital.

CLUW Honors 11 Union Women for 'Extraordinary Achievements'

by Mike Hall, Mar 19, 2010

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) last night presented its first annual Working Women’s Awards to 11 women who have left their mark on and helped build the labor movement.

The ceremony, at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., honored the women for their
extraordinary achievements, leadership, and for being exemplary models for working women who seek to advance in their workplace, union and community.