posted by khaughney on August, 29 2011 3:59 PM
TALLAHASSEE — With lawmakers set to be in Tallahassee in only a few weeks for a round of committee meetings, lawmakers are starting to file legislation that will be seen in the 2012 legislative session.
We’ll be updating you periodically with legislation being filed. Here are a few that have been filed so far in the Senate.
* Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, wants a 6 percent tax on bottled water. She’s filed the bill before, but it has not gone far with Senate President Mike Haridopolos‘ firm stance against new taxes.
* Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, is also pushing his veterans’ court bill again this year. The legislation, if passed, would let veterans convicted of a crime first have a hearing to determine if they were suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. If they are, the veteran would be diverted to some treatment program.
* Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, wants the state to enter a $100,000 contract with an outside entity to conduct a review of the state’s education financing program.
* Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has again filed a Public Service Commission ethics bill that puts limits on former commissioners and PSC staff who wish to lobby and makes communications about PSC matters between commissioners and the staff more easily available to the public.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Joe Negron wants ed commish to be a cabinet member (again)
posted by khaughney on August, 29 2011 3:24 PM
TALLAHASSEE — Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, has filed legislation that would make the education commissioner an elected official and a member of the Cabinet, essentially stripping future governors of any influence he or she may have over the commissioner.
The bill, SB 96, asks voters to amend the state Constitution in the 2012 election and make the education commissioner an elected official. The job previously was an elected office, but a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 1998 made it an appointed position, along with the Secretary of State, and merged the treasurer’s and comptroller’s offices into the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.
In the case of the education commissioner, proponents of the change said that it would ensure that an educator ran the state Department of Education, not a politician. Former Gov. Charlie Crist was the last elected official to run the department.
If the amendment is approved by the Legislature and voters, a race for education commissioner would be held in 2014.
TALLAHASSEE — Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, has filed legislation that would make the education commissioner an elected official and a member of the Cabinet, essentially stripping future governors of any influence he or she may have over the commissioner.
The bill, SB 96, asks voters to amend the state Constitution in the 2012 election and make the education commissioner an elected official. The job previously was an elected office, but a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 1998 made it an appointed position, along with the Secretary of State, and merged the treasurer’s and comptroller’s offices into the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.
In the case of the education commissioner, proponents of the change said that it would ensure that an educator ran the state Department of Education, not a politician. Former Gov. Charlie Crist was the last elected official to run the department.
If the amendment is approved by the Legislature and voters, a race for education commissioner would be held in 2014.
Union Workers Honored During Labor Day Marathon on Sportsman Channel
Mon. August 29, 2011
Nashville, TN—The Union worker and sportsman will be honored during the inaugural Brotherhood Outdoors Labor Day marathon, which will feature eight back-to-back episodes airing from 1 to 5 p.m. ET. on Monday, September 5 on Sportsman Channel, the leader in outdoor TV for the American Sportsman.
A collaboration between Sportsman Channel and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), the marathon will give viewers an intimate glimpse into the lives of these hardworking, blue-collar characters as they join host Tom Ackerman for an exhilarating North American trip of their choice or act as his guide, taking him to their favorite hunting or fishing location.
Between episodes of Brotherhood Outdoors, Ackerman and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will join viewers to salute some of America’s most historical and iconic outdoor companies and the workers who help make the gear outdoorsmen and women have come to know and trust.
Episodes Airing on September 5 include:
1 p.m. | Texas Whitetail with a Steamfitter
Jake Lovato is a sportsman, sculptor and UA Local 412 steamfitter who uses his welding skills to make a positive impact, even travelling to Haiti to help rebuild an orphanage after the earthquake. In this episode, Lovato must control his impatience as he watches more deer than he’s ever seen, waiting for the perfect opportunity at that shooter buck.
1:30 p.m. | Illinois Whitetail with a Firefighter
Fire Fighter Captain Bob Barteck of IAFF Local 425 serves people in their darkest hour. His commitment to service goes beyond firefighter/paramedic and is matched only by his passion for hunting and fishing. In this episode, he and host Tom Ackerman confront the challenges of a post-rut Illinois archery hunt, when the bucks seem to have a copy of their playbook – always staying a step ahead.
2 p.m. | Kansas Geese with a Machinist
Brett Graham, an IAM Local 839 machinist, longtime Ducks Unlimited member and waterfowl guide, takes Tom Ackerman on a goose hunt outside Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas. Waterfowl experts and novices alike will get a thrill out of this epic hunt, which Tom calls the best day of goose shooting he’s experienced.
2:30 p.m. | Montauk Stripers with a Steamfitter
Host Tom Ackerman joins UA Local 638 steamfitter Jay Rodriquez on an exhilarating fishing trip to Montauk Point in Long Island as category four Hurricane Earl is heading toward the coast. Watch as this hardworking dad and autism advocate tries to put Ackerman on the East Coast’s sportiest fish before the storm hits. 3340 Perimeter Hill Dr. | Nashville, TN 37211 | www.UnionSportsmen.org
3 p.m. | Colorado Elk with a Painter
Robin DeHaven, an apprentice glazier, member of IUPAT Local 1778 and a true hero did two tours of duty in Iraq and rescued five people from a building struck by a plane. Some say no good deed goes unpunished, but DeHaven’s good deeds earned him his dream Colorado elk hunt, which comes down to a 5x6 bull at 240 yards.
3:30 p.m. | Missouri Waterfowl with a Sheet Metal Worker
Avid waterfowler and dedicated SMWIA Local 19 sheet metal worker Doug Bachman heads to the Mississippi Flyway with host Tom Ackerman for late season waterfowl action. Hunting guide and retired auto worker Dan Guyer puts his 42 years of waterfowling experience to the test, calling in the wary birds in difficult conditions.
4 p.m. | Wyoming Pronghorn with a Sheet Metal Worker
Todd Heustis, a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 9 in Denver, is a family man in a big way with 13 children. He gets the whole family involved as he takes host Tom Ackerman on his first quest for the quick and sharp-sighted Wyoming pronghorn on Wyoming’s public land.
4:30 p.m. | (NEW!) Arizona Mule Deer with a Firefighter
A former 101st Airborne Division flight medic, firefighter, master hunting guide and IAFF Local 3066 President, JP Vicente comes from a long line of Arizonian outdoorsmen. In this episode, Vicente guides Tom Ackerman on a challenging archery hunt for monster muleys on Arizona’s often underestimated public lands.
In addition to corporate partners like Buck Knives and Burris Optics, Brotherhood Outdoors is made possible through the generous support of many of America’s leading trade unions and contractor associations, including the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, National Electrical Contractors Association, Sheet Metal Workers International Association and United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry and its contractor partners.
For more information, visit www.BrotherhoodOutdoors.tv.
Brotherhood Outdoors Labor Day Marathon (30 sec) from Union Sportsmen on Vimeo.
# # #
About the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance:
The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) is a Union-dedicated outdoor organization whose members hunt, fish, shoot and volunteer their skills for conservation. The USA is uniting the Union community to expand and improve hunting and fishing access and wildlife habitat throughout North America. For more information, visit www.unionsportsmen.org or www.facebook.com/unionsportsmen
About Sportsman Channel:
Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel is the only television and digital media company fully devoted to the more than 82 million sportsmen in the United States, delivering entertaining and educational programming focused exclusively on hunting, shooting and fishing activities. Sportsman Channel is now available in HD, check with your local cable or satellite provider. Acquired by InterMedia Outdoors Holdings in 2006, Sportsman Channel reaches 27 million U.S. television households and is a part of the nation's largest multimedia company targeted exclusively to serving the information and entertainment needs of outdoors enthusiasts. Visit www.thesportsmanchannel.com, follow on Twitter, @SPORTSMANchnl (www.twitter.com/SPORTSMANchnl), become a Fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/sportsmanchannel and download Sportsman App at www.itunes.com/appstore.
Nashville, TN—The Union worker and sportsman will be honored during the inaugural Brotherhood Outdoors Labor Day marathon, which will feature eight back-to-back episodes airing from 1 to 5 p.m. ET. on Monday, September 5 on Sportsman Channel, the leader in outdoor TV for the American Sportsman.
A collaboration between Sportsman Channel and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), the marathon will give viewers an intimate glimpse into the lives of these hardworking, blue-collar characters as they join host Tom Ackerman for an exhilarating North American trip of their choice or act as his guide, taking him to their favorite hunting or fishing location.
Between episodes of Brotherhood Outdoors, Ackerman and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will join viewers to salute some of America’s most historical and iconic outdoor companies and the workers who help make the gear outdoorsmen and women have come to know and trust.
Episodes Airing on September 5 include:
1 p.m. | Texas Whitetail with a Steamfitter
Jake Lovato is a sportsman, sculptor and UA Local 412 steamfitter who uses his welding skills to make a positive impact, even travelling to Haiti to help rebuild an orphanage after the earthquake. In this episode, Lovato must control his impatience as he watches more deer than he’s ever seen, waiting for the perfect opportunity at that shooter buck.
1:30 p.m. | Illinois Whitetail with a Firefighter
Fire Fighter Captain Bob Barteck of IAFF Local 425 serves people in their darkest hour. His commitment to service goes beyond firefighter/paramedic and is matched only by his passion for hunting and fishing. In this episode, he and host Tom Ackerman confront the challenges of a post-rut Illinois archery hunt, when the bucks seem to have a copy of their playbook – always staying a step ahead.
2 p.m. | Kansas Geese with a Machinist
Brett Graham, an IAM Local 839 machinist, longtime Ducks Unlimited member and waterfowl guide, takes Tom Ackerman on a goose hunt outside Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas. Waterfowl experts and novices alike will get a thrill out of this epic hunt, which Tom calls the best day of goose shooting he’s experienced.
2:30 p.m. | Montauk Stripers with a Steamfitter
Host Tom Ackerman joins UA Local 638 steamfitter Jay Rodriquez on an exhilarating fishing trip to Montauk Point in Long Island as category four Hurricane Earl is heading toward the coast. Watch as this hardworking dad and autism advocate tries to put Ackerman on the East Coast’s sportiest fish before the storm hits. 3340 Perimeter Hill Dr. | Nashville, TN 37211 | www.UnionSportsmen.org
3 p.m. | Colorado Elk with a Painter
Robin DeHaven, an apprentice glazier, member of IUPAT Local 1778 and a true hero did two tours of duty in Iraq and rescued five people from a building struck by a plane. Some say no good deed goes unpunished, but DeHaven’s good deeds earned him his dream Colorado elk hunt, which comes down to a 5x6 bull at 240 yards.
3:30 p.m. | Missouri Waterfowl with a Sheet Metal Worker
Avid waterfowler and dedicated SMWIA Local 19 sheet metal worker Doug Bachman heads to the Mississippi Flyway with host Tom Ackerman for late season waterfowl action. Hunting guide and retired auto worker Dan Guyer puts his 42 years of waterfowling experience to the test, calling in the wary birds in difficult conditions.
4 p.m. | Wyoming Pronghorn with a Sheet Metal Worker
Todd Heustis, a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 9 in Denver, is a family man in a big way with 13 children. He gets the whole family involved as he takes host Tom Ackerman on his first quest for the quick and sharp-sighted Wyoming pronghorn on Wyoming’s public land.
4:30 p.m. | (NEW!) Arizona Mule Deer with a Firefighter
A former 101st Airborne Division flight medic, firefighter, master hunting guide and IAFF Local 3066 President, JP Vicente comes from a long line of Arizonian outdoorsmen. In this episode, Vicente guides Tom Ackerman on a challenging archery hunt for monster muleys on Arizona’s often underestimated public lands.
In addition to corporate partners like Buck Knives and Burris Optics, Brotherhood Outdoors is made possible through the generous support of many of America’s leading trade unions and contractor associations, including the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, National Electrical Contractors Association, Sheet Metal Workers International Association and United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry and its contractor partners.
For more information, visit www.BrotherhoodOutdoors.tv.
Brotherhood Outdoors Labor Day Marathon (30 sec) from Union Sportsmen on Vimeo.
# # #
About the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance:
The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) is a Union-dedicated outdoor organization whose members hunt, fish, shoot and volunteer their skills for conservation. The USA is uniting the Union community to expand and improve hunting and fishing access and wildlife habitat throughout North America. For more information, visit www.unionsportsmen.org or www.facebook.com/unionsportsmen
About Sportsman Channel:
Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel is the only television and digital media company fully devoted to the more than 82 million sportsmen in the United States, delivering entertaining and educational programming focused exclusively on hunting, shooting and fishing activities. Sportsman Channel is now available in HD, check with your local cable or satellite provider. Acquired by InterMedia Outdoors Holdings in 2006, Sportsman Channel reaches 27 million U.S. television households and is a part of the nation's largest multimedia company targeted exclusively to serving the information and entertainment needs of outdoors enthusiasts. Visit www.thesportsmanchannel.com, follow on Twitter, @SPORTSMANchnl (www.twitter.com/SPORTSMANchnl), become a Fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/sportsmanchannel and download Sportsman App at www.itunes.com/appstore.
More Union/Labor News
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 by Bob Campbell, Communicator IAM LL731
Here are more Union/Labor websites from the AFL-CIO.
Union & Related Blogs
Laying It On The Line http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/08/25/romney-better-to-raise-retirement-age-cut-benefits-than-fair-share-social-security-tax/
Main Street http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/
Metropolitan Washington Council http://www.dclabor.org/
Milwaukee Labor http://www.milwaukeelabor.org/
NWA Labor News http://nwa-working-families.blogspot.com/
San Francisco Archdiocesan AFT http://sfaft2240.org/
SEIU http://www.seiu.org/blog/
Here are more Union/Labor websites from the AFL-CIO.
Union & Related Blogs
Laying It On The Line http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/08/25/romney-better-to-raise-retirement-age-cut-benefits-than-fair-share-social-security-tax/
Main Street http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/
Metropolitan Washington Council http://www.dclabor.org/
Milwaukee Labor http://www.milwaukeelabor.org/
NWA Labor News http://nwa-working-families.blogspot.com/
San Francisco Archdiocesan AFT http://sfaft2240.org/
SEIU http://www.seiu.org/blog/
Alliance Members Generate Summer Heat on Social Security, Medicare
by Mike Hall, Aug 29, 2011
With Labor Day approaching, the Alliance for Retired Americans is wrapping up more than 70 actions in more than two dozen states around the country this summer. The events have ranged from celebrating the anniversaries and successes of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to holding accountable presidential candidates and lawmakers.
In Las Cruces, N.M., Alliance members told Rep. Steve Pearce (R), who wants to privatize Medicare and force seniors to pay for health care with an underfunded voucher program, that if he really believed in privatization, he should drop his taxpayer-funded, government health coverage he receives as a member of Congress.
On the other hand, Alliance members, including Brenda Kelly Nelum from Dale City, Calif., joined House Minority Leader rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to celebrate Medicare’s 46th anniversary. Said Nelum:
I just thought the public should know that this was the anniversary of a program that, as far as I can see, has been a success. If we didn’t have it, I don’t know if we could even afford our medicines…We would like to see the program there for younger people.
When Rep. Todd Platt (R-Pa.) went home to York, Pa., for the August congressional recess, Alliance members were there to protest his moves to privatize Social Security, cut benefits or raise the retirement age. To mark Social Security’s 76th anniversary, Alliance members and their allies delivered a piece of birthday cake to Platt’s office. Said Tony Eisenhour:
It’s not just about us, it’s about preserving it for future generations.
In San Francisco, several hundred Alliance members and other activists rallied outside Sen. Diane Feinstein’s (D) office to urge her to forcefully come out to strengthen Social Security. Said California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) President Nan Brasmer:
We’re here today to ask Sen. Feinstein to tell us, her constituents, that she will support and champion Social Security, and fight against cuts and proposals to privatize the program by Congress, the Super Committee and even by the president, who keeps tossing it out on the table.
Just this past week, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry were told in no uncertain terms what Alliance members thought of their schemes to raise the Social Security retirement age, cut benefits or privatize the program.
Perry’s photo op at New Hampshire pastry shop went a bit off his staff’s planned tracks, when Alliance members demanded he defend his bizarre claim that Social Security is unconstitutional. He refused.
Romney told a New Hampshire town hall meeting that he was a big supporter of Social Security. But after tough questioning by Alliance members, he admitted he supports raising the retirement age or cutting benefits as opposed to asking all taxpayers to pay a fair share to strengthen Social Security.
With Labor Day approaching, the Alliance for Retired Americans is wrapping up more than 70 actions in more than two dozen states around the country this summer. The events have ranged from celebrating the anniversaries and successes of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to holding accountable presidential candidates and lawmakers.
In Las Cruces, N.M., Alliance members told Rep. Steve Pearce (R), who wants to privatize Medicare and force seniors to pay for health care with an underfunded voucher program, that if he really believed in privatization, he should drop his taxpayer-funded, government health coverage he receives as a member of Congress.
On the other hand, Alliance members, including Brenda Kelly Nelum from Dale City, Calif., joined House Minority Leader rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to celebrate Medicare’s 46th anniversary. Said Nelum:
I just thought the public should know that this was the anniversary of a program that, as far as I can see, has been a success. If we didn’t have it, I don’t know if we could even afford our medicines…We would like to see the program there for younger people.
When Rep. Todd Platt (R-Pa.) went home to York, Pa., for the August congressional recess, Alliance members were there to protest his moves to privatize Social Security, cut benefits or raise the retirement age. To mark Social Security’s 76th anniversary, Alliance members and their allies delivered a piece of birthday cake to Platt’s office. Said Tony Eisenhour:
It’s not just about us, it’s about preserving it for future generations.
In San Francisco, several hundred Alliance members and other activists rallied outside Sen. Diane Feinstein’s (D) office to urge her to forcefully come out to strengthen Social Security. Said California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) President Nan Brasmer:
We’re here today to ask Sen. Feinstein to tell us, her constituents, that she will support and champion Social Security, and fight against cuts and proposals to privatize the program by Congress, the Super Committee and even by the president, who keeps tossing it out on the table.
Just this past week, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry were told in no uncertain terms what Alliance members thought of their schemes to raise the Social Security retirement age, cut benefits or privatize the program.
Perry’s photo op at New Hampshire pastry shop went a bit off his staff’s planned tracks, when Alliance members demanded he defend his bizarre claim that Social Security is unconstitutional. He refused.
Romney told a New Hampshire town hall meeting that he was a big supporter of Social Security. But after tough questioning by Alliance members, he admitted he supports raising the retirement age or cutting benefits as opposed to asking all taxpayers to pay a fair share to strengthen Social Security.
Labor Rights Week Kicks Off with Historic Agreement on Immigrant Workers’ Rights
by James Parks, Aug 29, 2011
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, center, celebrates the signing of partnership on immigrant labor rights with Guatemalan Ambassador Villagrán De Léon, left, and Nicaraguan Ambassador Francisco Campbell in June.
The ambassadors of El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic joined Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis today to sign an historic partnership to protect the labor rights of migrant workers from these countries who are employed in the United States.
The signing kicks off National Labor Rights Week, Aug. 29-Sept. 5. “Women in the Workplace” is the focus of this year’s Labor Rights Week. Migrant women are at risk of wage theft and safety violations, sexual harassment, workplace violence and gender discrimination.
This week, events are slated in 50 U.S. cities with Mexican and Central American consulates. Consulate officials will work with the Department of Labor, state labor authorities, labor unions, faith leaders and community groups to inform migrant workers about their rights and the resources available if those rights are violated.
Speaking at the signing ceremony today in Washington, D.C., Solis said:
Today, we renew our promise to everyone who does an honest day’s work in America. No matter how you got here or how long you plan to stay, you have rights. You have the right to a safe and healthy workplace and the right to a legal wage.
The partnerships are pledges between the governments to work together to educate migrant workers about their labor rights and prevent abuses in the workplace.
During the past year, Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala signed similar agreements and Solis said the Labor Department is pursuing accords with governments from southeast Asia to educate and protect their vulnerable workers as well. She added:
We understand that many migrant workers in America are afraid to report mistreatment because it can lead to more abuse, the loss of their job or deportation. With these partnerships, we seek to remove these fears. The beauty of this program is its simplicity: We’re making it easier for immigrant workers to come forward by partnering with the institutions where they are most likely to go for help—their own country’s consulates.
The ambassadors of El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic joined Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis today to sign an historic partnership to protect the labor rights of migrant workers from these countries who are employed in the United States.
The signing kicks off National Labor Rights Week, Aug. 29-Sept. 5. “Women in the Workplace” is the focus of this year’s Labor Rights Week. Migrant women are at risk of wage theft and safety violations, sexual harassment, workplace violence and gender discrimination.
This week, events are slated in 50 U.S. cities with Mexican and Central American consulates. Consulate officials will work with the Department of Labor, state labor authorities, labor unions, faith leaders and community groups to inform migrant workers about their rights and the resources available if those rights are violated.
Speaking at the signing ceremony today in Washington, D.C., Solis said:
Today, we renew our promise to everyone who does an honest day’s work in America. No matter how you got here or how long you plan to stay, you have rights. You have the right to a safe and healthy workplace and the right to a legal wage.
The partnerships are pledges between the governments to work together to educate migrant workers about their labor rights and prevent abuses in the workplace.
During the past year, Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala signed similar agreements and Solis said the Labor Department is pursuing accords with governments from southeast Asia to educate and protect their vulnerable workers as well. She added:
We understand that many migrant workers in America are afraid to report mistreatment because it can lead to more abuse, the loss of their job or deportation. With these partnerships, we seek to remove these fears. The beauty of this program is its simplicity: We’re making it easier for immigrant workers to come forward by partnering with the institutions where they are most likely to go for help—their own country’s consulates.
NFL Players Association Rejoins AFL-CIO
by James Parks, Aug 29, 2011
When the 2011 National Football League season kicks off next month, the players on the field will again be members of the AFL-CIO. After negotiating a fair and secrure contract and reconstituting their union, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) today rejoined the federation. The NFLPA renounced its status as a union in March so the players could take advantage of legal anti-trust action against the owners’ lockout.
“It was the steadfast unity of our players and support from millions that allowed us to reach a fair deal for the working men who risk their health and safety to play professional football,” said DeMaurice Smith, NFLPA’s executive director.
We have a renewed sense of unity that we’re excited to bring to our reaffiliation with the AFL-CIO. As we all face tough economic times, we see what’s possible when we work together.
A huge majority of the players signed union authorization cards and the NFL officially recognized the union as the players’ exclusive collective bargaining representative on July 30. The NFL and the NFLPA successfully negotiated a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement which became effective Aug. 4.
“The strength of working people is in the strength of our collective voice – an we are stronger today with the reaffiliation of the NFLPA,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
Just like millions of hardworking Americans, the players used their collective voice to work towards a solution. And as working people work together to create good jobs and rebuild America’s economy, we welcome the NFLPA back into America’s labor movement.
When the 2011 National Football League season kicks off next month, the players on the field will again be members of the AFL-CIO. After negotiating a fair and secrure contract and reconstituting their union, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) today rejoined the federation. The NFLPA renounced its status as a union in March so the players could take advantage of legal anti-trust action against the owners’ lockout.
“It was the steadfast unity of our players and support from millions that allowed us to reach a fair deal for the working men who risk their health and safety to play professional football,” said DeMaurice Smith, NFLPA’s executive director.
We have a renewed sense of unity that we’re excited to bring to our reaffiliation with the AFL-CIO. As we all face tough economic times, we see what’s possible when we work together.
A huge majority of the players signed union authorization cards and the NFL officially recognized the union as the players’ exclusive collective bargaining representative on July 30. The NFL and the NFLPA successfully negotiated a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement which became effective Aug. 4.
“The strength of working people is in the strength of our collective voice – an we are stronger today with the reaffiliation of the NFLPA,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
Just like millions of hardworking Americans, the players used their collective voice to work towards a solution. And as working people work together to create good jobs and rebuild America’s economy, we welcome the NFLPA back into America’s labor movement.
Who Do You Love? Join Our ‘I Heart a Worker’ Labor Day Action
by Mike Hall, Aug 29, 2011
Starting today you can show a little love for the American worker who, between the economy, jobs crisis and attacks on workers’ rights, has had a real rough year.
So this Labor Day, we’re urging everyone to HEART a Worker via Facebook and Twitter and let the public know how important hardworking women and men are in our daily lives. Starting today on our Labor Day splash page at www.aflcio.org/iheart, you can share a message that answers the question: Who do you HEART this Labor Day?
We’ll offer suggestions such as I HEART Cooks, I HEART Firefighters or, if you’re in the north country, I HEART Snowplow Drivers. You also can customize the type of worker you HEART. After you select the worker you HEART, you can share the message on Facebook and via Twitter with one or two quick clicks.
As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the I HEART a Worker action also is another way we can honor the many first responders and the thousands who worked so hard in the days and months after the tragedy to care for the injured and do the laborious work needed to restore the Pentagon and World Trade Center sites.
Also on the America Wants to Work Labor Day 2011 page, you can hear what America’s workers have to say with a Labor Day workers’ voices video. You also can sign up for mobile action alerts straight to your phone.
Plus, you will be able to find Labor Day events in your area and download Labor Day FAQs. Click www.aflcio.org and take a visit.
Starting today you can show a little love for the American worker who, between the economy, jobs crisis and attacks on workers’ rights, has had a real rough year.
So this Labor Day, we’re urging everyone to HEART a Worker via Facebook and Twitter and let the public know how important hardworking women and men are in our daily lives. Starting today on our Labor Day splash page at www.aflcio.org/iheart, you can share a message that answers the question: Who do you HEART this Labor Day?
We’ll offer suggestions such as I HEART Cooks, I HEART Firefighters or, if you’re in the north country, I HEART Snowplow Drivers. You also can customize the type of worker you HEART. After you select the worker you HEART, you can share the message on Facebook and via Twitter with one or two quick clicks.
As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the I HEART a Worker action also is another way we can honor the many first responders and the thousands who worked so hard in the days and months after the tragedy to care for the injured and do the laborious work needed to restore the Pentagon and World Trade Center sites.
Also on the America Wants to Work Labor Day 2011 page, you can hear what America’s workers have to say with a Labor Day workers’ voices video. You also can sign up for mobile action alerts straight to your phone.
Plus, you will be able to find Labor Day events in your area and download Labor Day FAQs. Click www.aflcio.org and take a visit.
Monday, August 29, 2011
More Union/Labor News
Monday, August 29, 2011 by Bob Campbell, Communicator IAM LL731
Here are some more Union/Labor websites from the AFL-CIO.
Union Related Blogs
Interfaith Worker Justice http://www.iwj.org/blog/
Joe's Union Review http://www.anti-union.blogspot.com/
Labor is Not a Commodity http://www.laborrightsblog.typepad.com/
Labor Notes http://labornotes.org/
Labor Project for Working Families http://www.working-families.org/
LabourStart http://www.labourstart.org/blogs/
LAUNION http://launionaflcio.org/index.php#
Here are some more Union/Labor websites from the AFL-CIO.
Union Related Blogs
Interfaith Worker Justice http://www.iwj.org/blog/
Joe's Union Review http://www.anti-union.blogspot.com/
Labor is Not a Commodity http://www.laborrightsblog.typepad.com/
Labor Notes http://labornotes.org/
Labor Project for Working Families http://www.working-families.org/
LabourStart http://www.labourstart.org/blogs/
LAUNION http://launionaflcio.org/index.php#
Sunday, August 28, 2011
A Big Fish Story: Electrician Lands Possible Record Catch
by James Parks, Aug 28, 2011
Unlike many other fishermen’s tales, Greg Myerson’s fish story is true and he has the fish and the photos to prove it.
The nine-year New Haven, Conn., journeyman wireman and member of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 90 landed what looks to be a world record 81.8-pound striped bass earlier this month, making him a huge celebrity on the hunting and fishing circuit. He has applied to the International Game Fish Association to certify his catch for the record book. Authentication will take at least 60 days.
Myerson, 43, has been fishing since he was 12. He says, “You fish long enough and, like anything else, you get good at it.”
I have learned about the tides, the moon and the best days to fish. The big ones don’t like to fight tides and only feed for a short time.
The 6-foot-4-inch 275-pound former high school and college linebacker struggled for 20 minutes to reel in the 54-inch trophy during a slack tide in the Long Island Sound off Westbrook, Conn. He told Mama Mia Fishing he knew he had something special on his line:
I noticed the line rising, and I told my buddy, “Watch this, the fish is going to break the surface.” He porpoised out of the water and I got my first look at him. Oh, man, I knew I had something special then. It’s only the big stripers that will jump like that. I was just hoping the hook was stuck good.
Local 90 business manager Frank Halloran says he is not surprised at Myerson’s success and newfound celebrity. He says, “When Greg puts his mind to something, it gets done.”
The New York Post reports that a nearby bait and tackle shop owner says, in the last year alone, Myerson has caught three fish weighing more than 60 pounds, including a 71-pounder he caught and released.
Myerson, who is currently unemployed, plans to keep fishing and, hopefully, return to work with his tools.
Unlike many other fishermen’s tales, Greg Myerson’s fish story is true and he has the fish and the photos to prove it.
The nine-year New Haven, Conn., journeyman wireman and member of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 90 landed what looks to be a world record 81.8-pound striped bass earlier this month, making him a huge celebrity on the hunting and fishing circuit. He has applied to the International Game Fish Association to certify his catch for the record book. Authentication will take at least 60 days.
Myerson, 43, has been fishing since he was 12. He says, “You fish long enough and, like anything else, you get good at it.”
I have learned about the tides, the moon and the best days to fish. The big ones don’t like to fight tides and only feed for a short time.
The 6-foot-4-inch 275-pound former high school and college linebacker struggled for 20 minutes to reel in the 54-inch trophy during a slack tide in the Long Island Sound off Westbrook, Conn. He told Mama Mia Fishing he knew he had something special on his line:
I noticed the line rising, and I told my buddy, “Watch this, the fish is going to break the surface.” He porpoised out of the water and I got my first look at him. Oh, man, I knew I had something special then. It’s only the big stripers that will jump like that. I was just hoping the hook was stuck good.
Local 90 business manager Frank Halloran says he is not surprised at Myerson’s success and newfound celebrity. He says, “When Greg puts his mind to something, it gets done.”
The New York Post reports that a nearby bait and tackle shop owner says, in the last year alone, Myerson has caught three fish weighing more than 60 pounds, including a 71-pounder he caught and released.
Myerson, who is currently unemployed, plans to keep fishing and, hopefully, return to work with his tools.
More Union/Labor News
Sunday August 28, 2011 by Bob Campbell, Communicator IAM LL731
Here are more websites where you can get Union/Labor news.
AFL-CIO Union & Related Blogs
American Federation of Government Employees http://afgeunionblog.wordpress.com/
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees http://www.afscme.org/blog/
Broadcast Union News http://broadcastunionnews.blogspot.com/
California Labor Federation http://www.californialabor.org/
Dignity at Work http://dignityatwork.wordpress.com/
Free Exchange on Campus http://www.freeexchangeoncampus.org/
Green Jobs, Safe Jobs http://www.hazards.org/greenjobs/blog/
Here are more websites where you can get Union/Labor news.
AFL-CIO Union & Related Blogs
American Federation of Government Employees http://afgeunionblog.wordpress.com/
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees http://www.afscme.org/blog/
Broadcast Union News http://broadcastunionnews.blogspot.com/
California Labor Federation http://www.californialabor.org/
Dignity at Work http://dignityatwork.wordpress.com/
Free Exchange on Campus http://www.freeexchangeoncampus.org/
Green Jobs, Safe Jobs http://www.hazards.org/greenjobs/blog/
Saturday, August 27, 2011
More Union/Labor News
Saturday August 27, 2011 by Bob Campbell, Communicator IAM LL731
Looking for more Union/Labor News? You have several choices: go to a specified Union/Labor website or visit The AFL-CIO http://aflcio.org/
The following are AFL-CIO Allied Groups:
Alliance for Retired Americans http://www.retiredamericans.org/
International Labor Communications Association http://ilcaonline.org/
National Labor College http://www.nlc.edu/
Solidarity Center http://www.solidaritycenter.org/
Union Plus Benefits http://www.unionplus.org/
Working America http://www.workingamerica.org/wa_splash3.cfm
Working for America Institute http://www.workingforamerica.org/
The following are AFL-CIO Constituency Groups
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance http://www.apalanet.org/
A Philip Randolh Institute http://www.apri.org/
Coalition of Black Trade Unionist http://www.cbtu.org/
Coalition of Labor Union Women http://www.cluw.org/
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement http://www.lclaa.org/
Look for more Union/Labor news links in the coming days.
Looking for more Union/Labor News? You have several choices: go to a specified Union/Labor website or visit The AFL-CIO http://aflcio.org/
The following are AFL-CIO Allied Groups:
Alliance for Retired Americans http://www.retiredamericans.org/
International Labor Communications Association http://ilcaonline.org/
National Labor College http://www.nlc.edu/
Solidarity Center http://www.solidaritycenter.org/
Union Plus Benefits http://www.unionplus.org/
Working America http://www.workingamerica.org/wa_splash3.cfm
Working for America Institute http://www.workingforamerica.org/
The following are AFL-CIO Constituency Groups
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance http://www.apalanet.org/
A Philip Randolh Institute http://www.apri.org/
Coalition of Black Trade Unionist http://www.cbtu.org/
Coalition of Labor Union Women http://www.cluw.org/
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement http://www.lclaa.org/
Look for more Union/Labor news links in the coming days.
Mark Pearce Named NLRB Chairman
by James Parks, Aug 27, 2011
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka today praised outgoing National Labor Relations Board Chairwoman Wilma Liebman and congratulated Mark Pearce on his nomination as chairman.
In a statement, Trumka said workers owe Liebman a “deep debt of graditude” for her service and “unwavering commitment” to enforcing the National Labor Relations Act.
Pearce, who has served on the NLRB since 2010, worked on the NLRB staff for 15 years before moving to private practice
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka today praised outgoing National Labor Relations Board Chairwoman Wilma Liebman and congratulated Mark Pearce on his nomination as chairman.
In a statement, Trumka said workers owe Liebman a “deep debt of graditude” for her service and “unwavering commitment” to enforcing the National Labor Relations Act.
Pearce, who has served on the NLRB since 2010, worked on the NLRB staff for 15 years before moving to private practice
Pirate Attacks Increase, but Fewer Ships Taken
by Mike Hall, Aug 27, 2011
We’ve brought you several stories on high seas piracy, especially in the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, and described how the Seafarers (SIU) and global maritime unions are responding, including the “Save Our Seafarers” (SOS), anti-piracy campaign to push governments to do more to protect sailors and ships.
A new report shows attacks totaled 266 in the first six months of 2011, up from 196 incidents in the same period last year. But the pirates have captured fewer ships due to an increased naval presence in the troubled areas, one of the key elements that international seafaring unions pressed for with the SOS program.
Click here to read an update on the problems from the Seafarers LOG and here for more on the SOS program.
We’ve brought you several stories on high seas piracy, especially in the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, and described how the Seafarers (SIU) and global maritime unions are responding, including the “Save Our Seafarers” (SOS), anti-piracy campaign to push governments to do more to protect sailors and ships.
A new report shows attacks totaled 266 in the first six months of 2011, up from 196 incidents in the same period last year. But the pirates have captured fewer ships due to an increased naval presence in the troubled areas, one of the key elements that international seafaring unions pressed for with the SOS program.
Click here to read an update on the problems from the Seafarers LOG and here for more on the SOS program.
NFL Continues Unreasonable Demands on Players
by James Parks, Aug 26, 2011
The NFL is continuing to make unreasonable demands on players even after agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Writing in Phanatic Magazine, Matt Chaney says the players were getting railroaded on testing for recombinant human growth hormone or HGH. and they are refusing to go along any more.
For the last seven years, the players have questioned the accuracy and reliability of the HGH test the NFL seeks to implement. Chaney says the tests are part of the “shady dealings” of the quasi-governmental entities World Anti-Doping Agency and its American arm USADA, which are funded by government and sports groups. Chaney says:
WADA-USADA bureaucrats incessantly promote their closed “science” for dubious synthetic GH detection that’s ripped mercilessly by independent experts worldwide.
WADA has refused for years to provide scientific information justifying the reliability of their HGH test (validation studies, population studies, performance testing between labs, etc.),” according to Chaney. And players are fed up.
Read the entire article “WADA Stonewalls NFL Players on Suspect HGH Test” here.
The NFL is continuing to make unreasonable demands on players even after agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Writing in Phanatic Magazine, Matt Chaney says the players were getting railroaded on testing for recombinant human growth hormone or HGH. and they are refusing to go along any more.
For the last seven years, the players have questioned the accuracy and reliability of the HGH test the NFL seeks to implement. Chaney says the tests are part of the “shady dealings” of the quasi-governmental entities World Anti-Doping Agency and its American arm USADA, which are funded by government and sports groups. Chaney says:
WADA-USADA bureaucrats incessantly promote their closed “science” for dubious synthetic GH detection that’s ripped mercilessly by independent experts worldwide.
WADA has refused for years to provide scientific information justifying the reliability of their HGH test (validation studies, population studies, performance testing between labs, etc.),” according to Chaney. And players are fed up.
Read the entire article “WADA Stonewalls NFL Players on Suspect HGH Test” here.
King’s Dream of Economic Justice Still Far From Reality
by James Parks, Aug 26, 2011
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said organizing must begin at the grassroots.
Davon Lomax, a member of the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 9 in New York, hasn’t worked for more than a year. One of his colleagues lost his home and ended up panhandling in the subways.
Katie Hofmann, a teacher in Cincinnati, Ohio, says more and more of her students are homeless. Teachers who have not had a pay raise for five years regularly go into their pockets to buy lunch for children who are hungry and whose families have no money.
King Center President Martin Luther King III recalled the close ties his father had with unions.
Lomax and Hofmann were two of the panelists who spoke at the AFL-CIO and The King Center symposium on “Jobs, Justice and the American Dream” this morning. Participants in the first panel, Jobs and the American Dream, agreed that 48 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the nation is still far from achieving his vision of a nation where everyone who wants to work has a good job and the freedom to achieve to the best of his or her abilities.
Rep. John Lewis called for working people to “make some noise.”
This morning’s panel on ”Jobs and the American Dream” was the first of two in the symposium. A second panel on “Justice and the American Dream” will follow.
(Watch a replay of the live panel here.)
Martin Luther King III, president of The King Center, echoed that theme, saying economic justice is even more of a concern today than 48 years ago.
Unemployed painter Davon Lomax said it’s time to create more jobs.
We’re here to do the work that must be done to represent what Martin Luther King stood for.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka reminded the crowd of about 300 that King’s vision was not simply an end to racism. He saw ending racism as part of a larger struggle for human dignity—a larger struggle centered on economic justice.
Jobs with Justice Director Sarita Gupta called for listening to ordinary Americans.
The tragedy of American history in our lifetime is that today, while we have defeated legal segregation and driven open racism from our public life, we live in a country less economically equal than in Dr. King’s time. Jobs are scarcer, it’s harder to go to college and the right to a voice on the job has been largely taken away from America’s workers.
Harvard professor Bruce Western said unions are key to fighting poverty.
To get Americans back to work will require people to come together and “make some noise” and “to get in trouble again” by taking to the streets and demanding that Congress approve the money for a massive national jobs program, said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the last living speaker from the 1963 March on Washington.
Both Sarita Gupta, executive director of Jobs with Justice, and Hofmann said organizing and mobilizing ordinary people are key to building the movement that will realize King’s dream of economic equality. Gupta said our leaders must listen to the concerns and the visions of ordinary Americans who know what’s wrong
Cincinnati teacher Katie Hofmann said Ohio workers are stepping up for change.
Hofmann pointed out that there is a passion for change in the country, citing one of her fellow teachers who ran the 100 miles between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, to deliver petitions to get a referendum to overturn Gov. John Kasich’s law that took away public workers’ ability to bargain collectively.
Harvard professor Bruce Western added that unions are the key to creating the kinds of jobs we will need to restore our nation’s economy. He pointed out that the decline of unions coincides with the decline in good-paying jobs and the increase in job insecurity.
AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker summed up the call for good jobs this way:
For months now, the lives of millions of Americans have been shaken up by economic uncertainty. Just as our nation’s capital literally shook this week, we hope that discussions like the one we will have today will shake our elected officials to move with boldness and a fierce urgency of now. We call on our leaders to respond to the desperate cries of the people for jobs and justice
Davon Lomax, a member of the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 9 in New York, hasn’t worked for more than a year. One of his colleagues lost his home and ended up panhandling in the subways.
Katie Hofmann, a teacher in Cincinnati, Ohio, says more and more of her students are homeless. Teachers who have not had a pay raise for five years regularly go into their pockets to buy lunch for children who are hungry and whose families have no money.
Lomax and Hofmann were two of the panelists who spoke at the AFL-CIO and The King Center symposium on “Jobs, Justice and the American Dream” this morning. Participants in the first panel, Jobs and the American Dream, agreed that 48 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the nation is still far from achieving his vision of a nation where everyone who wants to work has a good job and the freedom to achieve to the best of his or her abilities.
This morning’s panel on ”Jobs and the American Dream” was the first of two in the symposium. A second panel on “Justice and the American Dream” will follow.
(Watch a replay of the live panel here.)
Martin Luther King III, president of The King Center, echoed that theme, saying economic justice is even more of a concern today than 48 years ago.
We’re here to do the work that must be done to represent what Martin Luther King stood for.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka reminded the crowd of about 300 that King’s vision was not simply an end to racism. He saw ending racism as part of a larger struggle for human dignity—a larger struggle centered on economic justice.
The tragedy of American history in our lifetime is that today, while we have defeated legal segregation and driven open racism from our public life, we live in a country less economically equal than in Dr. King’s time. Jobs are scarcer, it’s harder to go to college and the right to a voice on the job has been largely taken away from America’s workers.
To get Americans back to work will require people to come together and “make some noise” and “to get in trouble again” by taking to the streets and demanding that Congress approve the money for a massive national jobs program, said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the last living speaker from the 1963 March on Washington.
Both Sarita Gupta, executive director of Jobs with Justice, and Hofmann said organizing and mobilizing ordinary people are key to building the movement that will realize King’s dream of economic equality. Gupta said our leaders must listen to the concerns and the visions of ordinary Americans who know what’s wrong
Hofmann pointed out that there is a passion for change in the country, citing one of her fellow teachers who ran the 100 miles between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, to deliver petitions to get a referendum to overturn Gov. John Kasich’s law that took away public workers’ ability to bargain collectively.
Harvard professor Bruce Western added that unions are the key to creating the kinds of jobs we will need to restore our nation’s economy. He pointed out that the decline of unions coincides with the decline in good-paying jobs and the increase in job insecurity.
AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker summed up the call for good jobs this way:
For months now, the lives of millions of Americans have been shaken up by economic uncertainty. Just as our nation’s capital literally shook this week, we hope that discussions like the one we will have today will shake our elected officials to move with boldness and a fierce urgency of now. We call on our leaders to respond to the desperate cries of the people for jobs and justice
Protecting the Rights of Pregnant Women
This is a cross-post from MomsRising.org by Vibhuti Mehra from the Labor Project for Working Families.
It’s October 20, 2009. My lab results have just confirmed the news that my husband and I have been eagerly waiting to hear. I am pregnant. I am excited. I am overjoyed. I am nervous. I am anxious. My mind and body are gearing up to experience a plethora of emotions and sensations that will last for nine months and beyond. The first trimester goes without incident. We have just started announcing the news to family and friends. And then, unexpectedly, four months into my pregnancy, I experience bleeding. Memories of a past miscarriage take over the joyous experience. I am fearful. My ob-gyn advises reducing my workload and taking it easy until things settle back into rhythm. I call my workplace and, without much ado, my supervisor and I settle on a work-from-home arrangement until all is well.
Fortunately, all did go well and I gave birth to a healthy baby boy in July 2010. As I recovered from childbirth and later took time off to bond with my child, my union contract guaranteed that I wouldn’t lose pay or my family health coverage for the duration of my leave.
In 2009, Victoria Guillen, a dishwasher at the Grand Hyatt hotel in San Francisco, was pregnant, too. Victoria had a difficult, high-risk pregnancy, was advised by her doctor to take a long leave of absence. However, unlike my experience, Victoria had to struggle with her employers for her rights. Her managers wanted her to return to work three days after her due date or not come back at all. Victoria couldn’t return to work three days after her C-section. She lost her job. She fought back with the support of her union UNITEHERE! Local 2. After months of petitioning, Hyatt gave in and Victoria was allowed to return to her job. (Read Victoria’s story in her own words).
Pregnancy can be the most joyful and the most vulnerable time of a woman’s life. And the risk of complications during pregnancy or childbirth is a very real one. Statistics show that approximately 13 percent of women will have a complication from pregnancy requiring them to be hospitalized before delivery. 20 percent of pregnant women spend a minimum of one week on bed rest during the course of their pregnancy.
Working women make up nearly half of the American workforce. Three quarters of women in today’s workforce will become pregnant while employed. Nearly 30 percent of employed women in the United States take prenatal leave. But for too many women workers, pregnancy leave is simply not affordable. And for low-wage workers like Victoria, it is especially hard.
It is, therefore, important that we have workplace standards that safeguard not only the physical well-being of an expectant/new mother and her child, but also her economic security during the pregnancy and after childbirth. The benefits of pregnancy leave to the health of mothers and their babies are well-documented. Women need access to affordable pregnancy leave so that they can take time off before and after birth without losing pay and benefits.
In California, we are fortunate to have a State Disability Insurance (SDI) program that provides pregnant women and new mothers partial wage replacement while on disability and bonding leave. SDI includes the Paid Family Leave program which researchers recently found benefits both workers and employers.
The California Work & Family Coalition is advocating for an important legislation to protect the health of working mothers and their babies. Existing state law does not require that health insurance coverage be continued for women on pregnancy leave. This puts many pregnant women and new mothers at risk of losing their health coverage at the time they need it most. SB 299 will fix this problem. Learn more about this campaign.
For legal advice about pregnancy leave in California, please call Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center: (800) 880-8047 or Equal Rights Advocates: (800) 839-4372.
NLRB Says Workers Need to Know Their Rights, Biz World Flips Out
by Mike Hall, Aug 25, 2011
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a new and simple rule today. It says employers must display an 11-by-17-inch poster informing workers of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, where they usually post notices to let workers know their rights.
Saying he applauded the new rule, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says:
Just as employers are required to notify their employees of their rights around health and safety, wages and discrimination on the job, this rule gives clear information to employees about their rights under this fundamental labor law so that workers are better equipped to exercise and enforce them.
Yet from the reaction of the Big Business, the notice is just a step away from the NLRB giving workers the right to drag employers into the street and beat them severely about the head and shoulders.
Keep in mind, this is a just a poster.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) calls it an “unprecedented overreach of its authority… a punitive new rule…a new low…a trap for millions of businesses.”
It’s just a poster.
Peter Schaumber, a former NLRB chairman appointed by former President George W. Bush, told Bloomberg News, “It’s arbitrary, it’s capricious.”
It’s just a poster.
On the right-wing website GOPUSA, the new rule is “another disgusting government intrusion into private business.”
It’s just a poster. Just a poster similar to the ones the U.S. Department of Labor requires the thousands and thousands of federal contractors to post.
The NLRB says employers will not be required to distribute the notice via e-mail, voice mail, text messaging or related electronic communications “even if they customarily communicate with their employees in that manner and they may post notices in black and white as well as in color.”
All it needs to say is that employees have the right to act together to improve wages and working conditions, to form, join and assist a union, to bargain collectively with their employer. It also must say, “employees may refrain from any of these activities.” Pretty even handed, huh?
BTW, it won’t cost employers a penny because the NLRB will provide copies for free or employers can download it.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a new and simple rule today. It says employers must display an 11-by-17-inch poster informing workers of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, where they usually post notices to let workers know their rights.
Saying he applauded the new rule, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says:
Just as employers are required to notify their employees of their rights around health and safety, wages and discrimination on the job, this rule gives clear information to employees about their rights under this fundamental labor law so that workers are better equipped to exercise and enforce them.
Yet from the reaction of the Big Business, the notice is just a step away from the NLRB giving workers the right to drag employers into the street and beat them severely about the head and shoulders.
Keep in mind, this is a just a poster.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) calls it an “unprecedented overreach of its authority… a punitive new rule…a new low…a trap for millions of businesses.”
It’s just a poster.
Peter Schaumber, a former NLRB chairman appointed by former President George W. Bush, told Bloomberg News, “It’s arbitrary, it’s capricious.”
It’s just a poster.
On the right-wing website GOPUSA, the new rule is “another disgusting government intrusion into private business.”
It’s just a poster. Just a poster similar to the ones the U.S. Department of Labor requires the thousands and thousands of federal contractors to post.
The NLRB says employers will not be required to distribute the notice via e-mail, voice mail, text messaging or related electronic communications “even if they customarily communicate with their employees in that manner and they may post notices in black and white as well as in color.”
All it needs to say is that employees have the right to act together to improve wages and working conditions, to form, join and assist a union, to bargain collectively with their employer. It also must say, “employees may refrain from any of these activities.” Pretty even handed, huh?
BTW, it won’t cost employers a penny because the NLRB will provide copies for free or employers can download it.
Romney: Better to Raise Retirement Age, Cut Benefits Than Fair Share Social Security Tax
by Mike Hall, Aug 25, 2011
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a group New Hampshire seniors, including members of the Alliance for Retired Americans, that he supports raising the retirement age or cutting benefits as opposed to asking all taxpayers to pay a fair share to strengthen Social Security.
Currently, all workers pay the Social Security payroll tax on the first $106,000 of their earnings. Earnings above $106,000 are exempt from the Social Security payroll tax. That means a grocery clerk or warehouse worker pays a bigger chunk of their income to Social Security than a hedge fund manager.
In a meeting in Lebanon, N.H., Alliance President Charlie Balban asked Romney if he would support raising the Social Security payroll tax beyond its current $106,000 cap to help strengthen Social Security.
One member of the audience told Romney, “We’re just asking that everybody pay at the same rate.”
Romney said he was opposed to having the wealthy pay Social Security payroll taxes on more or all of their income as most workers must. He said he instead would support raising the retirement age or cutting benefits by changing the way the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated. CPI is used to determine cost of living adjustments for Special Security recipients.
Romney is referring to a proposed new inflation formula known as “chained CPI,” which, if implemented, would mean that a worker in 2011 at age 65 will see his or her Social Security benefits slashed by $6,000 over 15 years.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a group New Hampshire seniors, including members of the Alliance for Retired Americans, that he supports raising the retirement age or cutting benefits as opposed to asking all taxpayers to pay a fair share to strengthen Social Security.
Currently, all workers pay the Social Security payroll tax on the first $106,000 of their earnings. Earnings above $106,000 are exempt from the Social Security payroll tax. That means a grocery clerk or warehouse worker pays a bigger chunk of their income to Social Security than a hedge fund manager.
In a meeting in Lebanon, N.H., Alliance President Charlie Balban asked Romney if he would support raising the Social Security payroll tax beyond its current $106,000 cap to help strengthen Social Security.
One member of the audience told Romney, “We’re just asking that everybody pay at the same rate.”
Romney said he was opposed to having the wealthy pay Social Security payroll taxes on more or all of their income as most workers must. He said he instead would support raising the retirement age or cutting benefits by changing the way the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated. CPI is used to determine cost of living adjustments for Special Security recipients.
Romney is referring to a proposed new inflation formula known as “chained CPI,” which, if implemented, would mean that a worker in 2011 at age 65 will see his or her Social Security benefits slashed by $6,000 over 15 years.
Survey: Teachers Have Big Impact on Students’ Lives
by James Parks, Aug 25, 2011
Next to immediate family, teachers have the most impact on people’s lives as they grow up, according to a survey by the ING Foundation.
The survey also found a large majority (88 percent) of Americans said they had a teacher who had a “significant positive impact” on their life, and 98 percent said they believe that a good teacher can change the course of a student’s life.
“As our research shows, effective teachers can have a significant influence on their students’ lives, yet their efforts are generally under-appreciated,” said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation.
Teachers are among the public employees who have come under attack in recent months and have been targeted for massive layoffs by extremist Republican state and local lawmakers. Those attacking teachers should take a look at the ING poll: Fully 83 percent of those surveyed said they had a teacher who helped build their confidence and self-esteem, while 79 percent say they had a teacher who encouraged them to pursue their dreams. Another 75 percent said a teacher served as a mentor or role model, and 54 percent said that a teacher helped them through a tough time.
The survey also revealed:
•Some 87 percent of Americans wish they had told their best teachers how much they appreciated their efforts.
•Teachers are perceived as receiving less gratitude than social workers, nurses, clergy or doctors.
•A whopping 94 percent of Americans agree that we need to do more to recognize our good teachers.
“It’s an unbelievable testament to the profession that Americans so resoundingly believe in a teacher’s ability to transform lives,” Mims said.
Whether sending a student down a path they hadn’t considered or simply ensuring them they are ready for the road ahead, a teacher’s impact can be profound and enduring.
The survey was conducted in conjunction with the annual National Teacher of the Year competition. To learn more, click here.
Next to immediate family, teachers have the most impact on people’s lives as they grow up, according to a survey by the ING Foundation.
The survey also found a large majority (88 percent) of Americans said they had a teacher who had a “significant positive impact” on their life, and 98 percent said they believe that a good teacher can change the course of a student’s life.
“As our research shows, effective teachers can have a significant influence on their students’ lives, yet their efforts are generally under-appreciated,” said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation.
Teachers are among the public employees who have come under attack in recent months and have been targeted for massive layoffs by extremist Republican state and local lawmakers. Those attacking teachers should take a look at the ING poll: Fully 83 percent of those surveyed said they had a teacher who helped build their confidence and self-esteem, while 79 percent say they had a teacher who encouraged them to pursue their dreams. Another 75 percent said a teacher served as a mentor or role model, and 54 percent said that a teacher helped them through a tough time.
The survey also revealed:
•Some 87 percent of Americans wish they had told their best teachers how much they appreciated their efforts.
•Teachers are perceived as receiving less gratitude than social workers, nurses, clergy or doctors.
•A whopping 94 percent of Americans agree that we need to do more to recognize our good teachers.
“It’s an unbelievable testament to the profession that Americans so resoundingly believe in a teacher’s ability to transform lives,” Mims said.
Whether sending a student down a path they hadn’t considered or simply ensuring them they are ready for the road ahead, a teacher’s impact can be profound and enduring.
The survey was conducted in conjunction with the annual National Teacher of the Year competition. To learn more, click here.
Hytek Workers Win IAM Representation
Thu. August 25, 2011
By more than a two-to-one margin, 165 workers at Hytek Finishes in Kent, WA voted to join the IAM. The election capped a four-month organizing effort by Seattle District Lodge 751, initiated by Hytek employees who approached the District for help. The workers specialize in various types of metal finishing and coating for aerospace manufacturers, including Boeing, Lockheed and Bell Helicopters.
“It was a ruthless, half-truth, anti-union campaign,” said District 751 Organizer Jesse Cote. Hytek, a subsidiary of Esterline Corp., hired anti-union professionals to thwart the campaign, held captive-audience meetings and spread false rumors; one being that key customers threatened to pull work from the company if the workers voted to join the IAM.
“The fact that so many people voted in favor of joining the union in the face of those threats speaks volumes about the character and integrity of the workers at Hytek,” said District 751 President and Directing Business Representative Tom Wroblewski. Wroblewski also noted that Esterline turned a profit of $46 million in its most-recent quarter, a 58-percent increase over the same quarter last year.
“Given all that, we feel management can afford to share some of those gains with the workers at Hytek whose hard work helped create those profits,” stated Wroblewski. “We’re proud to have the Hytek workers as part of our union, and we will support them in every way we can.”
The next step for the new Machinists at Hytek will be to negotiate a contract. District 751 has filed information requests with the company, asking for dates when talks can begin.
“The Hytek workers knew where to go when they needed help,” said Western Territory General Vice President Gary
Allen. “They approached the IAM, and now, collectively, have a voice in how they’re treated on the job. Welcome to the IAM, Hytek workers, and congratulations to everyone involved in making this campaign successful.”
“It was a ruthless, half-truth, anti-union campaign,” said District 751 Organizer Jesse Cote. Hytek, a subsidiary of Esterline Corp., hired anti-union professionals to thwart the campaign, held captive-audience meetings and spread false rumors; one being that key customers threatened to pull work from the company if the workers voted to join the IAM.
“The fact that so many people voted in favor of joining the union in the face of those threats speaks volumes about the character and integrity of the workers at Hytek,” said District 751 President and Directing Business Representative Tom Wroblewski. Wroblewski also noted that Esterline turned a profit of $46 million in its most-recent quarter, a 58-percent increase over the same quarter last year.
“Given all that, we feel management can afford to share some of those gains with the workers at Hytek whose hard work helped create those profits,” stated Wroblewski. “We’re proud to have the Hytek workers as part of our union, and we will support them in every way we can.”
The next step for the new Machinists at Hytek will be to negotiate a contract. District 751 has filed information requests with the company, asking for dates when talks can begin.
“The Hytek workers knew where to go when they needed help,” said Western Territory General Vice President Gary
Allen. “They approached the IAM, and now, collectively, have a voice in how they’re treated on the job. Welcome to the IAM, Hytek workers, and congratulations to everyone involved in making this campaign successful.”
WWW Center Welcomes AFSS Negotiators
Thu. August 25, 2011
Members of the IAM Bargaining Committee representing AFSS specialists employed by Lockheed Martin take part in a mock bargaining session during a week of preparations at the William W. Winpisinger Center.
A highly-skilled group of technicians known as Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) Specialists met recently at the William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center to prepare for upcoming contract negotiations with employer Lockheed Martin.
The committee, representing Specialists at six Lockheed Martin locations, spent most of their week at the Harbor reviewing contract proposals and suggestions provided by fellow AFSS members in a recent bargaining survey. The committee also took part in a simulated bargaining session where the committee tested their skills against seasoned negotiator.
“This training was an eye opening experience,” said Milt Torres from Miami, FL. “I got a whole new perspective on bargaining that our members never see. I’m more enlightened about how difficult the process is and I understand how important it is to be prepared.”
The committee worked late into each evening with legal, financial and communications advisors to develop a strategic plan that will help them stay focused on the issues through negotiations and ratification.
“This is one of the most unified bargaining committees I’ve worked with in a very long time,” said Frank Carelli, IAM Director of Government Employees Department. “They thoroughly understand the issues and are prepared to do whatever it takes to get them resolved.”
The committee included John Schamel from Raleigh, NC, Renee Manon and ADBR Rick Ryan from Princeton, MN, Justin Southward, Marl Kostka and BR Rick Compher from Ashburn, VA, Milt Torres and BR Javier Almazan from Miami, FL, Paul Shepherd and GLR Bud Michel from Prescott, AZ and Ron Mercer, David Villa and BR David Faith from Fort Worth, TX.
A highly-skilled group of technicians known as Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) Specialists met recently at the William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center to prepare for upcoming contract negotiations with employer Lockheed Martin.
The committee, representing Specialists at six Lockheed Martin locations, spent most of their week at the Harbor reviewing contract proposals and suggestions provided by fellow AFSS members in a recent bargaining survey. The committee also took part in a simulated bargaining session where the committee tested their skills against seasoned negotiator.
“This training was an eye opening experience,” said Milt Torres from Miami, FL. “I got a whole new perspective on bargaining that our members never see. I’m more enlightened about how difficult the process is and I understand how important it is to be prepared.”
The committee worked late into each evening with legal, financial and communications advisors to develop a strategic plan that will help them stay focused on the issues through negotiations and ratification.
“This is one of the most unified bargaining committees I’ve worked with in a very long time,” said Frank Carelli, IAM Director of Government Employees Department. “They thoroughly understand the issues and are prepared to do whatever it takes to get them resolved.”
The committee included John Schamel from Raleigh, NC, Renee Manon and ADBR Rick Ryan from Princeton, MN, Justin Southward, Marl Kostka and BR Rick Compher from Ashburn, VA, Milt Torres and BR Javier Almazan from Miami, FL, Paul Shepherd and GLR Bud Michel from Prescott, AZ and Ron Mercer, David Villa and BR David Faith from Fort Worth, TX.
Union Plus Helps IAM Welder Cut Health Care Costs
Thu. August 25, 2011
As a welder and 10-year member of IAM Local 1297, Melvin Reese knows a thing or two about working when the “heat is on,” but when illness kept him off the job, his stress level hit a boiling point. The costs of his wife’s monthly prescriptions were also adding up. Fortunately, Reese discovered the Union Plus Disability Grant and the Union Plus Prescription Discount Card to lessen the financial stress of illness.
“I have carried a Union Plus Credit Card for years and I’m glad I did because it made me eligible to receive a Union Plus Disability Grant. It was a tremendous help to my family,” says Reese, of Cleveland Heights, OH, who received $1,250 in assistance. “I’ve since learned of other Union Plus discounts and benefits available to union members. In addition to enjoying a 15% discount on my AT&T cell phone service, I recently signed up for the Union Plus Prescription Card. The discount card is definitely saving my family money.”
“Union Plus benefits can provide members with help when they need it most, especially during these difficult times,” said IAM General Secretary-Treasurer Warren Mart. “I congratulate Brother Reese and his family, and encourage all IAM members to take advantage of the programs available through Union Plus.”
Union members who have had the Union Plus Credit Card for at least one year, have been out of work for at least 90 days, and who experienced a loss of 25 percent or more of household income due to the illness or disability within the past six months may be eligible for disability assistance.
The Union Plus Prescription Discount Card, which comes at no cost, provides automatic savings of an average of 15 percent off brand name drugs and 40 percent off generic drugs. The card is best for union members who do not have insurance that covers prescriptions or who have household family members with insufficient prescription coverage. Spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, aunts and uncles of union members are all eligible for the no-cost prescription discount card.
To learn about the Union Plus benefits available to IAM members including discounts on AT&T wireless service, college test preparation, car rentals, legal services, health savings and much more, visit www.UnionPlus.org.
As a welder and 10-year member of IAM Local 1297, Melvin Reese knows a thing or two about working when the “heat is on,” but when illness kept him off the job, his stress level hit a boiling point. The costs of his wife’s monthly prescriptions were also adding up. Fortunately, Reese discovered the Union Plus Disability Grant and the Union Plus Prescription Discount Card to lessen the financial stress of illness.
“I have carried a Union Plus Credit Card for years and I’m glad I did because it made me eligible to receive a Union Plus Disability Grant. It was a tremendous help to my family,” says Reese, of Cleveland Heights, OH, who received $1,250 in assistance. “I’ve since learned of other Union Plus discounts and benefits available to union members. In addition to enjoying a 15% discount on my AT&T cell phone service, I recently signed up for the Union Plus Prescription Card. The discount card is definitely saving my family money.”
“Union Plus benefits can provide members with help when they need it most, especially during these difficult times,” said IAM General Secretary-Treasurer Warren Mart. “I congratulate Brother Reese and his family, and encourage all IAM members to take advantage of the programs available through Union Plus.”
Union members who have had the Union Plus Credit Card for at least one year, have been out of work for at least 90 days, and who experienced a loss of 25 percent or more of household income due to the illness or disability within the past six months may be eligible for disability assistance.
The Union Plus Prescription Discount Card, which comes at no cost, provides automatic savings of an average of 15 percent off brand name drugs and 40 percent off generic drugs. The card is best for union members who do not have insurance that covers prescriptions or who have household family members with insufficient prescription coverage. Spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, aunts and uncles of union members are all eligible for the no-cost prescription discount card.
To learn about the Union Plus benefits available to IAM members including discounts on AT&T wireless service, college test preparation, car rentals, legal services, health savings and much more, visit www.UnionPlus.org.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Romney Embraces Bosses, ‘Right to Work’ for Less
by Jeff Hauser, Aug 25, 2011
Californian* Mitt Romney gave his anti-worker corporate backers a big boost when he spent yesterday in New Hampshire getting involved in the state fight surrounding “right to work” for less.
Instead of talking about what working people want to hear—how every politician is going to create jobs—he’s spending his time with partisan political attacks that have no basis in economic reality. If he was focused on the economics, he’d realize that “right to work” for less lowers wages for everyone. In fact, the average worker in a “right to work” state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states ($35,500 compared with $30,167).
Romney ought to beware of associating himself with the more radical elements of the New Hampshire right wing, which has been losing race after race after it began its war on the middle class. Democratic state candidate Jennifer Daler bested anti-working family candidate Peter Kucmas by 16 percentage points in a state House race May 17 in a district where Republicans have held a 7 percent edge over Democrats since 2004. Daler even swept all five towns in Republican Speaker William O’Brien’s home district.
Bob Perry, a 30-year retired union member and Democrat, defeated Honey Puterbaugh by 16 percentage points in the Aug. 9 special election to regain a Republican-held state seat.
Two pro-labor candidates are running in the upcoming election in Rockingham after labor-endorsed firefighter Kevin Janvrin upset a tea party candidate in the Republican primary on July 5. Janvrin will face Democrat Ryan Mahoney Sept. 6.
If Romney can’t figure it out from New Hampshire, maybe he should check out Ohio where Gov. John Kasich’s attack on collective bargaining rights for public employees has resulted in a groundswell of support for public employees—and against Kasich.
* California is where he is quadrupling the size of his current multimillion-dollar mansion, but at different times Romney claims Michigan, Massachusetts and New Hampshire as his “home states,” showing no more certainty of his place of origin than whether he continues to support his old health care plan. Maybe we should ask for his birth certificate.
Californian* Mitt Romney gave his anti-worker corporate backers a big boost when he spent yesterday in New Hampshire getting involved in the state fight surrounding “right to work” for less.
Instead of talking about what working people want to hear—how every politician is going to create jobs—he’s spending his time with partisan political attacks that have no basis in economic reality. If he was focused on the economics, he’d realize that “right to work” for less lowers wages for everyone. In fact, the average worker in a “right to work” state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states ($35,500 compared with $30,167).
Romney ought to beware of associating himself with the more radical elements of the New Hampshire right wing, which has been losing race after race after it began its war on the middle class. Democratic state candidate Jennifer Daler bested anti-working family candidate Peter Kucmas by 16 percentage points in a state House race May 17 in a district where Republicans have held a 7 percent edge over Democrats since 2004. Daler even swept all five towns in Republican Speaker William O’Brien’s home district.
Bob Perry, a 30-year retired union member and Democrat, defeated Honey Puterbaugh by 16 percentage points in the Aug. 9 special election to regain a Republican-held state seat.
Two pro-labor candidates are running in the upcoming election in Rockingham after labor-endorsed firefighter Kevin Janvrin upset a tea party candidate in the Republican primary on July 5. Janvrin will face Democrat Ryan Mahoney Sept. 6.
If Romney can’t figure it out from New Hampshire, maybe he should check out Ohio where Gov. John Kasich’s attack on collective bargaining rights for public employees has resulted in a groundswell of support for public employees—and against Kasich.
* California is where he is quadrupling the size of his current multimillion-dollar mansion, but at different times Romney claims Michigan, Massachusetts and New Hampshire as his “home states,” showing no more certainty of his place of origin than whether he continues to support his old health care plan. Maybe we should ask for his birth certificate.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Perry, Kasich Deny Jobless Workers $731 Million in Jobless Help
by Mike Hall, Aug 24, 2011
Just in case anybody wondered if Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) give a whit about jobless workers in their states, we’ve got an answer. They don’t.
Both let a Monday deadline pass to apply for hundreds of millions of dollars—$555 million in Texas and $176 million in Ohio—in federal funds for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The money was part of the 2009 economic stimulus package.
To receive the money, both states would have had to slightly expand eligibility requirements for receiving UI, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. But both Perry and Kasich turned their backs on the money and the jobless workers.
Each state had four options in providing more UI help for their unemployed residents and only had to pick two of the ways. The states could have made workers in job training programs or those seeking part-time employment eligible. They could have provided larger benefits for unemployed workers with children or to people who have to leave their jobs because of domestic violence, a spouse’s job transfer or illness of an immediate relative.
At least 33 other states found no problems with the requirements, but Texas and Ohio claimed the modest increase in costs for expanded eligibility was too much to bear.
In Texas, Ed Sills, Texas AFL-CIO communications director, says some high-ranking Perry administration officials believed the state could have easily afforded the small extra costs.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst calculated that the higher cost of modestly improved eligibility, which was a condition of receiving the stimulus funds, would have been offset by the $555 million for more than a decade.
Instead, unemployed workers in Texas continue to suffer with a rock-bottom eligibility rate for UI benefits and employers continue to pay much higher taxes.
Employers as well as workers benefit from the federal unemployment funds, through lower unemployment taxes or delays in scheduled hikes.
But Perry and Kasich made their choice and eventually so will voters.
Just in case anybody wondered if Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) give a whit about jobless workers in their states, we’ve got an answer. They don’t.
Both let a Monday deadline pass to apply for hundreds of millions of dollars—$555 million in Texas and $176 million in Ohio—in federal funds for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The money was part of the 2009 economic stimulus package.
To receive the money, both states would have had to slightly expand eligibility requirements for receiving UI, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. But both Perry and Kasich turned their backs on the money and the jobless workers.
Each state had four options in providing more UI help for their unemployed residents and only had to pick two of the ways. The states could have made workers in job training programs or those seeking part-time employment eligible. They could have provided larger benefits for unemployed workers with children or to people who have to leave their jobs because of domestic violence, a spouse’s job transfer or illness of an immediate relative.
At least 33 other states found no problems with the requirements, but Texas and Ohio claimed the modest increase in costs for expanded eligibility was too much to bear.
In Texas, Ed Sills, Texas AFL-CIO communications director, says some high-ranking Perry administration officials believed the state could have easily afforded the small extra costs.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst calculated that the higher cost of modestly improved eligibility, which was a condition of receiving the stimulus funds, would have been offset by the $555 million for more than a decade.
Instead, unemployed workers in Texas continue to suffer with a rock-bottom eligibility rate for UI benefits and employers continue to pay much higher taxes.
Employers as well as workers benefit from the federal unemployment funds, through lower unemployment taxes or delays in scheduled hikes.
But Perry and Kasich made their choice and eventually so will voters.
Top Lawmakers Say Proposed NLRB Election Rule Ensures ‘Greater Fairness’
by Mike Hall, Aug 24, 2011
Workers deserve a “fair, clear system for protecting their rights and making themselves heard in union elections,” four top Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) strongly supporting the board’s proposed changes in the way elections to form unions are conducted.
Noting that the current election procedures are “outdated and contain unnecessary delays…that run anywhere from three and a half years to 13 years,” the lawmakers say:
The longer an election is delayed, the more likely it is that workers will face harassment and unlawful retaliation for exercising their rights….In today’s workplace one in five workers who exercise the right to organize is illegally fired. In that environment, workers stop trying to organize, leading to a country where tens of millions of Americans who want a union do not have one.
The four are Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee; Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee; and Rep. Robert Andrews D-N.J.), ranking member of the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee.
They wrote that along with ensuring workers’ rights, the proposed changes also “maintain employers’ rights while providing greater certainty and lower litigation costs for employers, workers and the government.”
The current systems delays and red tape encourage labor unrest and erode the rights of employers and employees alike. The new rules will help heal that broken system, bringing greater peace and greater fairness to the American workplace.
Click here for the full letter
Workers deserve a “fair, clear system for protecting their rights and making themselves heard in union elections,” four top Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) strongly supporting the board’s proposed changes in the way elections to form unions are conducted.
Noting that the current election procedures are “outdated and contain unnecessary delays…that run anywhere from three and a half years to 13 years,” the lawmakers say:
The longer an election is delayed, the more likely it is that workers will face harassment and unlawful retaliation for exercising their rights….In today’s workplace one in five workers who exercise the right to organize is illegally fired. In that environment, workers stop trying to organize, leading to a country where tens of millions of Americans who want a union do not have one.
The four are Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee; Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee; and Rep. Robert Andrews D-N.J.), ranking member of the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee.
They wrote that along with ensuring workers’ rights, the proposed changes also “maintain employers’ rights while providing greater certainty and lower litigation costs for employers, workers and the government.”
The current systems delays and red tape encourage labor unrest and erode the rights of employers and employees alike. The new rules will help heal that broken system, bringing greater peace and greater fairness to the American workplace.
Click here for the full letter
Nurses Demand a ‘Main Street Contract for the American People’
by James Parks, Aug 23, 2011
Nurses across the country, members of National Nurses United (NNU), are calling on elected leaders to enact a “Main Street Contract for the American People.”
NNU Co-President Jean Ross said the contract is a care plan to cure America. The plan is designed to stop economic decline and protect American families. It calls for jobs at living wages, guaranteed health care for all and equal access to quality education, schools, good housing, protection from hunger, a secure retirement for everyone, a clean and safe environment and a fair and just tax system in which Wall Street and those with the most wealth pay their fair share.
You can join with the nurses to tell the leaders we elected to pay attention to working people and not cater to the Wall Street fat cats. Sign and tweet a petition here demanding that Congress pass the Wall Street Transaction Tax, which will make Wall Street pay for the devastation it has caused on Main Street.
The nurses also are planning a Sept. 1 National Nurses Day of Action to Tax Wall Street with dozens of rallies and events across the country. To learn more and find the events in your area, visit www.mainstreetcontract.org.
Nurses across the country, members of National Nurses United (NNU), are calling on elected leaders to enact a “Main Street Contract for the American People.”
NNU Co-President Jean Ross said the contract is a care plan to cure America. The plan is designed to stop economic decline and protect American families. It calls for jobs at living wages, guaranteed health care for all and equal access to quality education, schools, good housing, protection from hunger, a secure retirement for everyone, a clean and safe environment and a fair and just tax system in which Wall Street and those with the most wealth pay their fair share.
You can join with the nurses to tell the leaders we elected to pay attention to working people and not cater to the Wall Street fat cats. Sign and tweet a petition here demanding that Congress pass the Wall Street Transaction Tax, which will make Wall Street pay for the devastation it has caused on Main Street.
The nurses also are planning a Sept. 1 National Nurses Day of Action to Tax Wall Street with dozens of rallies and events across the country. To learn more and find the events in your area, visit www.mainstreetcontract.org.
NNU’s DeMoro Named One of Nation’s Most Influential People in Health Care
by Mike Hall, Aug 23, 2011
NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro
RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United (NNU), has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. This is the 10th year in a row DeMoro was honored by the health care industry news weekly Modern Healthcare.
She is one of only 10 people in the United States—and the only one representing people who actually provide direct health care to patients—to be named to the list for each of the 10 years it has been compiled. This year, DeMoro was placed at number 31 on the list, which is dominated by government officials and corporate executives.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who wants to end Medicare and replace it with underfunded vouchers for private insurance, topped the list. In an interview with Modern Healthcare (click here and scroll down), DeMoro said Ryan and many others on the list believe that corporate medical care is the best approach to care delivery, despite the ongoing health care crisis as a result of skyrocketing costs, quality problems and 50 million uninsured Americans.
The market isn’t magic and it doesn’t trickle down. There’s a role for government—I just wish the people in government would play it. The Paul Ryans of the world actually don’t want a society. They want individuals and corporations to make ungodly amounts of money. There is no society—only individuals and what individuals can do on their own.
Click here to read more from NNU.
RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United (NNU), has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. This is the 10th year in a row DeMoro was honored by the health care industry news weekly Modern Healthcare.
She is one of only 10 people in the United States—and the only one representing people who actually provide direct health care to patients—to be named to the list for each of the 10 years it has been compiled. This year, DeMoro was placed at number 31 on the list, which is dominated by government officials and corporate executives.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who wants to end Medicare and replace it with underfunded vouchers for private insurance, topped the list. In an interview with Modern Healthcare (click here and scroll down), DeMoro said Ryan and many others on the list believe that corporate medical care is the best approach to care delivery, despite the ongoing health care crisis as a result of skyrocketing costs, quality problems and 50 million uninsured Americans.
The market isn’t magic and it doesn’t trickle down. There’s a role for government—I just wish the people in government would play it. The Paul Ryans of the world actually don’t want a society. They want individuals and corporations to make ungodly amounts of money. There is no society—only individuals and what individuals can do on their own.
Click here to read more from NNU.
MLK Memorial Unveiled on National Mall
Tue. August 23, 2011
Thousands will converge on Washington, DC, this weekend for a first look at the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. The 30-foot-tall granite statue is now open to the public.
A formal dedication ceremony will be held Sunday, August 28th, the 48th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered during his famous 1963 March on Washington.
“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom will be forever known as the day that ensured the success of the civil rights movement and launched the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. into the highest pantheon of American champions,” said a recent Washington Post article profiling the march’s chief organizer and key King adviser, Bayard Rustin. “On the 48th anniversary of the march, King will be anointed into that ultra-selective fraternity of national leaders memorialized on the Mall.”
“The IAM salutes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his legacy and his dream,” said Diane Babineaux, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “We welcome his presence on the National Mall as his memorial befittingly sits between two of our country’s most historic freedom fighters. To his left is the Lincoln Memorial, a tribute to the president who freed the slaves and where Dr. King gave his famous speech. And to his right sits the Jefferson Memorial, a tribute to our former-president and author of the Declaration of Independence.
“As the IAM prepares for the upcoming IAM Human Rights Conference to brainstorm ways to tackle the inequalities still plaguing American workers, we pledge to continue Dr. King’s legacy,” said Babineaux. “May his dream live on inside each and every one of us.”
For more information on the new MLK National Memorial, click here
Thousands will converge on Washington, DC, this weekend for a first look at the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. The 30-foot-tall granite statue is now open to the public.
A formal dedication ceremony will be held Sunday, August 28th, the 48th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered during his famous 1963 March on Washington.
“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom will be forever known as the day that ensured the success of the civil rights movement and launched the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. into the highest pantheon of American champions,” said a recent Washington Post article profiling the march’s chief organizer and key King adviser, Bayard Rustin. “On the 48th anniversary of the march, King will be anointed into that ultra-selective fraternity of national leaders memorialized on the Mall.”
“The IAM salutes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his legacy and his dream,” said Diane Babineaux, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “We welcome his presence on the National Mall as his memorial befittingly sits between two of our country’s most historic freedom fighters. To his left is the Lincoln Memorial, a tribute to the president who freed the slaves and where Dr. King gave his famous speech. And to his right sits the Jefferson Memorial, a tribute to our former-president and author of the Declaration of Independence.
“As the IAM prepares for the upcoming IAM Human Rights Conference to brainstorm ways to tackle the inequalities still plaguing American workers, we pledge to continue Dr. King’s legacy,” said Babineaux. “May his dream live on inside each and every one of us.”
For more information on the new MLK National Memorial, click here
Members Mark 10th Anniversary of Workers’ Memorial
Tue. August 23, 2011
IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger, right, and IAM Safety and Health Department Director Mike Flynn, left, and students at the IAM Safety and Health Conference mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the IAM Workers’ Memorial to honor IAM members who lost their lives on the job or from work-related injuries.
Participants at the annual Safety and Health Conference at the IAM William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center marked a special occasion when their class coincided with the tenth anniversary of the opening of the IAM Workers’ Memorial on the grounds of the Winpisinger Center. IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger joined the class to commemorate the anniversary with a special wreath dedicated to the memory of all IAM members who lost their lives on the job or from work-related injuries.
Each year, fallen members are memorialized with bricks with their names inscribed on them. The bricks are placed around the base of the memorial. “It will be a great day when this monument ceases to grow and no more of our members and their families must suffer such great losses,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.
Buffenbarger also acknowledged the work of the IAM Safety and Health Department and the many IAM members who help make workplaces safe. “We are privileged to have the one of the finest Safety and Health Departments in the labor movement. All of the IAM members who work hard every day to ensure our members return home each day are a big part of that outstanding effort.”
“This monument is not only a reminder to always honor our fallen brothers and sisters,” said IAM Safety and Health Director Mike Flynn. “It also serves as a reminder to all of us to work harder to prevent any more of our members from being killed or injured on the job.”
Click here for more information about the IAM Workers’ Memorial.
Participants at the annual Safety and Health Conference at the IAM William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center marked a special occasion when their class coincided with the tenth anniversary of the opening of the IAM Workers’ Memorial on the grounds of the Winpisinger Center. IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger joined the class to commemorate the anniversary with a special wreath dedicated to the memory of all IAM members who lost their lives on the job or from work-related injuries.
Each year, fallen members are memorialized with bricks with their names inscribed on them. The bricks are placed around the base of the memorial. “It will be a great day when this monument ceases to grow and no more of our members and their families must suffer such great losses,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.
Buffenbarger also acknowledged the work of the IAM Safety and Health Department and the many IAM members who help make workplaces safe. “We are privileged to have the one of the finest Safety and Health Departments in the labor movement. All of the IAM members who work hard every day to ensure our members return home each day are a big part of that outstanding effort.”
“This monument is not only a reminder to always honor our fallen brothers and sisters,” said IAM Safety and Health Director Mike Flynn. “It also serves as a reminder to all of us to work harder to prevent any more of our members from being killed or injured on the job.”
Click here for more information about the IAM Workers’ Memorial.
United Launch Alliance Negotiation Prep
Tue. August 23, 2011
Members of the IAM Negotiating Committee, representing workers at United Launch Alliance facilities in Florida, Alabama and California, met recently at the Winpisinger Center to prepare for upcoming talks.
Local Lodges at Cape Canaveral AFS, FL, Decatur, AL and Vandenberg AFB, CA are preparing for tough negotiations with the United Launch Alliance. The 900 IAM members build, maintain and launch Atlas and Delta rockets that lift U.S. space vehicles.
The Local Negotiating Committees met at the William W. Winpisinger Center to train, plan and build negotiating strategies for the upcoming talks. The Center’s week-long Negotiation Preparation for Bargaining Committees class fit the bill for the Committee, providing training in proposal analysis, labor law and collective bargaining tactics.
The week culminated in a negotiations simulation. “It doesn’t seem like a simulation,” said Business Representative Nick Mrdjenovich. “It’s tough, and you feel the same as you do in actual negotiations. It’s quite realistic.”
Winpisinger Center Director Chris Wagoner filled the role of company representative.
“The newly-elected members of the Committee now have a feel for what it’s like at the table,” said Aerospace Coordinator John Crowdis. “The Committee developed a plan and strategy for these negotiations during our week at the Harbor, and we’re ready for these important negotiations.”
Local Lodges at Cape Canaveral AFS, FL, Decatur, AL and Vandenberg AFB, CA are preparing for tough negotiations with the United Launch Alliance. The 900 IAM members build, maintain and launch Atlas and Delta rockets that lift U.S. space vehicles.
The Local Negotiating Committees met at the William W. Winpisinger Center to train, plan and build negotiating strategies for the upcoming talks. The Center’s week-long Negotiation Preparation for Bargaining Committees class fit the bill for the Committee, providing training in proposal analysis, labor law and collective bargaining tactics.
The week culminated in a negotiations simulation. “It doesn’t seem like a simulation,” said Business Representative Nick Mrdjenovich. “It’s tough, and you feel the same as you do in actual negotiations. It’s quite realistic.”
Winpisinger Center Director Chris Wagoner filled the role of company representative.
“The newly-elected members of the Committee now have a feel for what it’s like at the table,” said Aerospace Coordinator John Crowdis. “The Committee developed a plan and strategy for these negotiations during our week at the Harbor, and we’re ready for these important negotiations.”
The Air Capital of the World
Fri. August 19, 2011
August 19, 2011 - Wichita, Kansas is called the air capital of the world for good reason. Because this is where aerospace lives and thrives.
Click here to view the video.
August 19, 2011 - Wichita, Kansas is called the air capital of the world for good reason. Because this is where aerospace lives and thrives.
Click here to view the video.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Tell the NLRB: Workers Support a Level Playing Field
Thu. August 18, 2011
Corporate giants and anti-worker front groups are flooding the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with letters to stop the enactment of several new rules that would level the playing field for workers in union representation elections.
The proposed rules would make union representation elections fairer by simplifying procedures, deferring litigation and setting shorter deadlines for hearings and filings. Currently when workers petition the NLRB for an election, it can take months and even years before they can cast a vote. Companies often use this time to threaten, scare and discourage workers from voting. Many hire “union busting” consulting firms who assist the company in deterring employees.
The NLRB is accepting public comments before making a decision on whether the rules should become final. It’s up to working families to make sure our voices are heard in this debate. Send a letter by clicking here. Tell the NLRB you support the rule to level the playing field so workers can decide for themselves whether to form a union.
Corporate giants and anti-worker front groups are flooding the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with letters to stop the enactment of several new rules that would level the playing field for workers in union representation elections.
The proposed rules would make union representation elections fairer by simplifying procedures, deferring litigation and setting shorter deadlines for hearings and filings. Currently when workers petition the NLRB for an election, it can take months and even years before they can cast a vote. Companies often use this time to threaten, scare and discourage workers from voting. Many hire “union busting” consulting firms who assist the company in deterring employees.
The NLRB is accepting public comments before making a decision on whether the rules should become final. It’s up to working families to make sure our voices are heard in this debate. Send a letter by clicking here. Tell the NLRB you support the rule to level the playing field so workers can decide for themselves whether to form a union.
Machinists Union Infographic Pits Fair Trade vs. Free Trade
Thu. August 18, 2011
A new IAM graphic details steps to achieving fair U.S. trade policy, as opposed to the unfair, seriously-flawed South Korea, Colombia and Panama Free Trade Agreements now under debate in Washington.
Fair trade puts people and their communities before billionaire CEOs and their transnational corporations who have no loyalty to the workers who made them so successful. Therefore, a sound and fair trade agreement must include:
A comprehensive review of the impact all past trade agreements have had on U.S. jobs and workers BEFORE negotiating any new agreements. All current and proposed agreements would be put on hold until a detailed study is completed;
Adoption of the core labor standards set forth by the International Labour Organization (ILO), including those concerning safety, health and decent pay;
Preservation of U.S. government procurement policies and stronger Buy American laws;
Elimination of investor-to-state dispute resolution mechanisms;
Reform of U.S. tax policy to eliminate and discourage the outsourcing of American jobs;
Rebuilding of the U.S. manufacturing sector;
Reversal of the current $497.8 billion trade deficit;
Renewed commitment toward stronger and more effective enforcement of U.S. trade laws; and
Immediate curtailment of China’s unfairly-valued currency, illegal subsidies, manipulation of “state-owned enterprises” and violations of fundamental human rights.
These principles are reflected in the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME). The IAM is proud to be one of the first supporters of this important legislation.
Stand up for fair trade – not free trade – by clicking “Like” on the IAM Facebook page. Tell Congress to vote “No” on the South Korea, Colombia and Panama Free Trade Agreements!
A new IAM graphic details steps to achieving fair U.S. trade policy, as opposed to the unfair, seriously-flawed South Korea, Colombia and Panama Free Trade Agreements now under debate in Washington.
Fair trade puts people and their communities before billionaire CEOs and their transnational corporations who have no loyalty to the workers who made them so successful. Therefore, a sound and fair trade agreement must include:
A comprehensive review of the impact all past trade agreements have had on U.S. jobs and workers BEFORE negotiating any new agreements. All current and proposed agreements would be put on hold until a detailed study is completed;
Adoption of the core labor standards set forth by the International Labour Organization (ILO), including those concerning safety, health and decent pay;
Preservation of U.S. government procurement policies and stronger Buy American laws;
Elimination of investor-to-state dispute resolution mechanisms;
Reform of U.S. tax policy to eliminate and discourage the outsourcing of American jobs;
Rebuilding of the U.S. manufacturing sector;
Reversal of the current $497.8 billion trade deficit;
Renewed commitment toward stronger and more effective enforcement of U.S. trade laws; and
Immediate curtailment of China’s unfairly-valued currency, illegal subsidies, manipulation of “state-owned enterprises” and violations of fundamental human rights.
These principles are reflected in the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME). The IAM is proud to be one of the first supporters of this important legislation.
Stand up for fair trade – not free trade – by clicking “Like” on the IAM Facebook page. Tell Congress to vote “No” on the South Korea, Colombia and Panama Free Trade Agreements!
IAM Preserves Jobs for Workers at Closed Pratt Plants
Thu. August 18, 2011
Despite the closures of Pratt & Whitney’s Cheshire and East Hartford CARO overhaul facilities in Connecticut, IAM members who worked at those locations still have jobs.
“From the time closing notices were received in July 2009, the members and negotiating committee of District 26 were determined to reach an agreement that would preserve those jobs,” said Jim Parent, IAM chief negotiator and District Lodge 26 Assistant Directing Business Representative.
“The closings affected 497 of our members,” continued Parent. “Seventy took the buy-out that Pratt offered; and because of the contract language negotiated in our last round of bargaining, we were able to place the remaining 427 workers in jobs. Our job-security provisions remain some of the best contract protections in the country.”
A majority of the workers were moved to similar jobs in Middletown or East Hartford. Some are receiving training through a community college machining program and will then go to work as machinists in Middletown. Still others have been given jobs as utility workers and the rest retired.
The CARO (Connecticut Airfoil Repair Operation) shop closed last spring, and Cheshire closed last week. The plant closings are due to Pratt & Whitney moving the work to Georgia and Asia.
Despite the closures of Pratt & Whitney’s Cheshire and East Hartford CARO overhaul facilities in Connecticut, IAM members who worked at those locations still have jobs.
“From the time closing notices were received in July 2009, the members and negotiating committee of District 26 were determined to reach an agreement that would preserve those jobs,” said Jim Parent, IAM chief negotiator and District Lodge 26 Assistant Directing Business Representative.
“The closings affected 497 of our members,” continued Parent. “Seventy took the buy-out that Pratt offered; and because of the contract language negotiated in our last round of bargaining, we were able to place the remaining 427 workers in jobs. Our job-security provisions remain some of the best contract protections in the country.”
A majority of the workers were moved to similar jobs in Middletown or East Hartford. Some are receiving training through a community college machining program and will then go to work as machinists in Middletown. Still others have been given jobs as utility workers and the rest retired.
The CARO (Connecticut Airfoil Repair Operation) shop closed last spring, and Cheshire closed last week. The plant closings are due to Pratt & Whitney moving the work to Georgia and Asia.
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