All House Members Would Have Lost Under Election Rules They Seek for Workers

by Mike Hall, Mar 28, 2011

The House member leading the fight to deny aviation and rail workers fair union elections would have lost his seat by a 68-32 percent margin under the election rules he wants to impose on transportation workers.

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wants to repeal last year’s new rule by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that says air and rail elections should be decided just like any other election—including congressional elections—by a majority of votes cast. Previously under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which covers rail and airline workers, each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.

A new report from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) finds that not only would Mica be an overwhelmingly loser under those rules, but not one member of Congress would have won election if they had to play by the same rules Mica, Delta Airlines and other transportation corporations want to impose on workers.

The House version of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that Mica and most House Republicans are pushing would repeal the new NMB rule. Using the old standard, CWA reports that Mica would have received just 32 percent of the votes in his 2010 reelection.

Mica received support from 69 percent of the voters in his district who cast a ballot amounting to slightly over 185,000 actual votes tallied for him. However, if you add the over 83,000 voters who voted against Rep. Mica to 312,000 eligible voters who did not participate, then Rep. Mica would only muster 32 percent of the overall total.

Maine Gov. Removes Labor Mural in Stealth Move

by Tula Connell, Mar 28, 2011

Over the weekend, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) secretly removed from a state building an 11-panel mural depicting working families’ history. Like Republican state legislators in Wisconsin who passed a bill killing collective bargaining through a series of dirty tricks, Maine’s Republican governor operates away from the public eye—despite being an elected official accountable to taxpayers.

LePage resembles Wisconsin Republicans in another way—giving jobs to personal connections, in this case, his daughter. LePage made sure his 22-year-old daughter got an entry-level job in the governor’s office paying $41,000—$10,000 more than those who pass teacher and police tests. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s top aides found a comfy job—with a $12,000 raise—for the girlfriend of one of his staunchest allies.

Like Walker, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and other newly elected Republican lawmakers, LePage turns his nose up at democracy. During a rally Friday in Maine to protest the removal of the mural, an artist at the rally suggested:

that people form a human chain to block the mural’s removal. When asked what he would do if that happened, Governor LePage said, “I’d laugh at them, the idiots. That’s what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!”

Last week, LePage sparked outrage in the state and across the nation when he ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural depciting the state’s labor history from the Department of Labor. The mural, in part, depicts a 1986 paper mill strike and “Rosie the Riveter” at Bath Iron Works.

American’s flight attendants forbidden to strike

March 25, 2011, 3:01 p.m. EDT

By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The U.S. isn’t allowing flight attendants at financially strapped American Airlines to walk the picket lines any time soon, and that could change the tone of labor negotiations across the industry, some experts said Friday.

The National Mediation Board, the U.S. agency that referees labor-management relations for airlines, has ignored a request made a year ago by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, asking the federal government to release it from negotiations for what’s called a 30-day cooling-off period, which then allows for a strike.

For almost three years, American Airlines flight attendants have been in talks with management, seeking improved wages and benefits as well as more job security. But management has refused to deal until the union allows it more scheduling flexibility for workers in order to increase productivity.

The NMB later said the carrier’s fragile finances and the weakened national economy would weigh heavily on its decision, according to the union.

The NMB said it would not comment on any ongoing labor negotiation.

Medicare rise could mean no Social Security COLA

Mar 27, 5:14 AM EDT

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments.

The government is projecting a slight cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits next year, the first increase since 2009. But for most beneficiaries, rising Medicare premiums threaten to wipe out any increase in payments, leaving them without a raise for a third straight year.

About 45 million people - one in seven in the country - receive both Medicare and Social Security. By law, beneficiaries have their Medicare Part B premiums, which cover doctor visits, deducted from their Social Security payments each month.

When Medicare premiums rise more than Social Security payments, millions of people living on fixed incomes don't get raises. On the other hand, most don't get pay cuts, either, because a hold-harmless provision prevents higher Part B premiums from reducing Social Security payments for most people.

Wis. Walker’s Latest Stealth Move Shows He Thinks He’s Above the Law

by Tula Connell, Mar 26, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has already proven he doesn’t care about the will of his constituents. Now, he thinks he’s above the law.

In a late Friday move–so as to get little media attention–Walker defied a court ruling and published the bill killing collective bargaining rights for the public employees. A judge had issued a restraining order on the law, passed by state Assembly and Senate in a set of dirty-trick moves. The restraining order barred its publication, but apparently the rule of law doesn’t apply to Walker.

The Wisconsin Law Journal reports that the Republican state senate leadership sees publication of the bill as enacting the law–in short, bypassing due process in the court system.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who said he went to the Reference Bureau with the idea, wasted no time in saying that the law’s online publication meant it would take effect Saturday. His brother, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, agreed, according to a spokesman.

“It’s my opinion it’s published, it’s on the legislative website, it’s law,” Scott Fitzgerald said. “It was clear to me after our discussions this morning, if it in fact it is posted and it says published and there’s a specific date on it, it would be very hard to argue this was not law.”

Not so, says Dane County Circuit Judge Sarah O’Brien, who

refused to take up a request for emergency action made late Friday by the Democratic district attorney, Ismael Ozanne, saying there was no “critical urgency” in her addressing the posting because the temporary restraining order preserves the status quo. She said she didn’t know what effect the online posting had, and that the issue could wait until a previously scheduled hearing Tuesday in one of the lawsuits challenging the law’s legitimacy.

With residents now calling their state ”FitzWalkerstan” because of the Fitzgeralds’ close ties to Walker, seems to show again how dictatorships often start with Troikas.

House Republicans, Delta Move to Overturn Fair Election Rules for Air and Rail Workers

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

The battle over workers’ rights moves from state capitols to Capitol Hill next week when House Republicans will try to repeal rules that guarantee fair and democratic elections for workers who want to form unions.

The House is set vote on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill with a provision that would repeal last year’s new rule by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that says air and rail elections should be decided just like any other election—including congressional elections—by a majority of votes cast.

Previously under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which covers rail and airline workers, each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.

Republicans and their corporate partners in the transportation industry fought to block the NMB rule through the courts and with a Senate bill last year. They are now mounting a campaign to overturn it through the FAA bill and Delta Airlines is leading the way, reports Brian Beutler on Talking Points Memo.

Now, sources say, a similar fight is likely to play out on the House floor, and anti-union employees at Delta Airlines are preparing to fly to Washington to join the fight.

Beutler says the group “No Way AFA”–a coalition of Deltal employees who want to derail union rights–sent a message to its members obtained by TPM that asserts, “Delta strongly supports the bill” as currently written. AFA is the Association of Flight Attendants, the flight attendants union.

Learning the Lessons of Wisconsin

International President Tom Buffenbarger called on delegates at the 2011 MNPL Planning Committee meeting to meet with members, face-to-face, and explain the scope of the right wing's anti-union and anti-middle class agenda currently underway in the United States.


Thu. March 24, 2011

International President Tom Buffenbarger addressed the 2011 MNPL National Planning Committee this week and described the midterm elections results as a direct consequence of both political parties’ failure to address the core concerns of American voters.

“In the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, voters wanted bold programs and concrete proposals to create jobs and revive the economy,” said Buffenbarger. “It’s what the voters are still waiting for, and it’s what this country still needs.”

Despite the election of a slew of right-wing extremists, the results are also providing a wake-up call for the millions of Americans who stayed away from the polls last year.

“The people of Wisconsin learned an important lesson and now they’re teaching the rest of us,” said Buffenbarger, who described the extraordinary mix of farmers, office workers, students and families who turned out for the protests there. “It’s not just about unions any more, it’s about what’s right.”

Nationwide, more than 200 rallies and marches have taken place in support of workers’ rights in Wisconsin, or in response to nearly 400 pieces of anti-union legislation being proposed by right-wing GOP governors in other states.

“States like Wisconsin and Ohio are being used as proving grounds to find out how willing you are to fight back,” said John Winston, National Political Director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC). “And make no mistake, you’re fighting against people who fundamentally do not believe in your right to exist.”

In addition to Winston, MNPL delegates also heard reports from representatives of the Democratic Governors Association, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the AFL-CIO and the Union Veterans Council.

The four-day MNPL meeting concluded with territorial action plans and the annual awards ceremony where local and district lodges were honored for their political activism in support of candidates and legislation that support workers’ rights.

Gruber Rallies for Public-Sector Workers in Wisconsin

Phil Gruber, IAM GVP Midwest Territory

Thu. March 24, 2011

IAM Midwest Territory GVP Phil Gruber, along with a delegation of IAM members, joined others in Madison, WI, to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s legislation to strip public-sector workers of their collective bargaining rights.

As reported by Workers Independent News, Gruber told the crowd gathered for the city’s fifth weekend of protests that the Machinists are ready to stand side-by-side with public sector workers and take this fight head on. “If the Republicans want to wage a war against us, by God, we’re ready for it. Bring it on!” shouted Gruber.

Gruber warned that once rights are diminished for public-sector workers, there is no doubt GOP leaders will come for the private sector next. “If Walker is allowed to crush collective bargaining for the public employees of Wisconsin,” said Gruber, “it will only be a matter of time before the private sector employees are attacked, and the dominoes will begin to fall.

“As the story of labor unions is written, we have now reached the chapter where labor unions are under full attack. Thanks to the Republicans and the Tea Party, we are now fighting for our survival.

“Now is not the time to get mad, but a time to get organized. In every state where the maidens of the wealthy are trying to strip our collective bargaining rights, we will mobilize for recalls, ballot initiatives and political campaigns. IAM members have watched the wealthy destroy their jobs and their communities with unbridled greed. The Fighting Machinists have been aching for this fight.”

To watch GVP Gruber’s entire speech, click here.

People all across America are rising up in support of the workers in Wisconsin and those under attack in Ohio, Indiana and dozens of other states. Take action by joining unions, people of faith, civil and human rights activists, students and other progressive allies on April 4th for “We Are One.” It’s a day to show our solidarity. There will be a range of community- and workplace-focused actions. Click here for more information.

IAM Supports KOHKUREN in ILO Complaint

Robert Roach, IAM GVP Transportation Territory

Thu. March 24, 2011

This week, the IAM hosted the Japanese Federation of Aviation Workers’ Unions (KOHKUREN) at IAM Headquarters. The visit was part of the IAM’s continuing alliance with our Japanese brothers and sisters in the air transport industry.

During the meeting, KOHKUREN representatives explained the recently filed International Labour Organization (ILO) complaint concerning the bankruptcy-related dismissals of over 100 cabin attendants and cockpit crewmembers at Japan Air Lines.

“As North America’s largest airline union, the IAM continues to fight against all violations of fundamental human rights,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “We are proud to stand with our brothers and sisters in Japan who are struggling to make certain that ILO Conventions protecting the right to freedom of association, collective bargaining, and prohibiting against discrimination are honored and enforced.”

Guild Asks Huffington for Dialogue on Future of Journalism

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

Earlier this month, The Newspaper Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA), called on the unpaid writers at The Huffington Post to withhold their work in support of a strike launched by Visual Art Source in response to the company’s practice of using unpaid labor.

In an open letter today to publisher Arianna Huffington, TNG President Bernie Lunzer wrote that when Huffington Post spokesman Mario Ruiz was asked about TNG’s action, he said, “We stand squarely behind The Newspaper Guild’s mission of ensuring that media professionals receive fair compensation.”

We invite you to demonstrate this commitment by sitting down with the Guild to begin a dialog about the future of journalism. We would like to discuss the values that we share, and build upon them to meet the rapid changes and demands taking place in the industry. Like you, we believe that for journalism to survive it must adapt to the digital age.

New technology should not make a worker’s paycheck obsolete.

You have championed the plight of workers in this country, which is why we are calling on you to demonstrate that commitment by meeting with us.

Click here for the full letter and here for background on the dispute from TNG. Click here to visit the Facebook “Hey Arianna, Can You Spare a Dime” by Guild Freelancers/ California Media Workers Guild.

Los Angeles Workers Set to Rally for Communities, Jobs

by James Parks, Mar 24, 2011

On Saturday, March 26, tens of thousands of working people, students, community activists and religious and political leaders will join in a massive march and rally in Los Angeles to protect workers’ rights and protect the middle class.

The “Our Communities, Our Good Jobs” rally will focus on a series of attacks against LA-area workers, from school teachers to grocery store employees. Teachers are facing massive layoffs, attacks on seniority, evaluations based on student test scores and schools that are being dissolved. At the same time, across southern California, 60,000 grocery workers at Ralph’s supermarket are working under an expired contract. The marchers will send a message to Ralph’s management that workers will not let the giant corporations force another strike and lockout like they did in 2003 and 2004.

Charles Cooper, a member of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9588, says he decided to march at home after protesting with workers in Wisconsin:

They were all out there together. They educated each other and were so active. In LA and across the country, government and corporations are cutting everything under the auspices of ‘we’re broke.’ I am marching on March 26 not because I’m a union member. I am marching because in LA we need to have our voices heard right now more than ever.

Indiana Prosecutor Resigns After Suggesting Fake Attack on Walker, Blame Protesters

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

In an e-mail praising Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) attack on worker rights and middle-class jobs, an Indiana deputy prosecutor suggested a fake attack on Walker to discredit the workers and their unions protesting the governor’s actions.

Yesterday, just before the story was scheduled for publication, Carlos Lam, a Johnson County deputy prosecutor, submitted his resignation, reports the Daily Journal in Franklin, Ind.

In the e-mail from Lam to Walker, discovered by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Center Journalism following an open records request, Lam suggests that Walker employ a “false flag operation” to gain sympathy and paint the protesters as violent.

If you could employ an associate who pretends to be sympathetic to the unions’ cause to physically attack you (or even use a firearm against you), you could discredit the unions….Currently, the media is painting the union protest as a democratic….Employing a false flag operation would assist in undercutting any support that the media may be creating in favor of the unions. God bless, Carlos F. Lam.

Lam told the journalism center that his e-mail address matched the Hotmail address appearing on the Walker e-mail but claimed he had never written to Walker. But according to the center:

At 5 a.m. Thursday, expecting the story to come out that day, Lam called his boss, Johnson County, Ind., Prosecutor Brad Cooper, and told him he had been up all night thinking about it.

“He wanted to come clean, I guess, and said he is the one who sent that email,” Cooper said.

Wisconsin Court Upholds Milwaukee Paid Sick Leave Law

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

More than two years after Milwaukee voters overwhelmingly passed a paid sick leave city ordinance, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals today upheld the law and lifted an injunction an employer’s group was granted in June 2009.

But Republican state legislators are backing a bill that would prevent Wisconsin cities and towns from establishing their own paid sick leave laws. Dana Schultz, lead organizer for 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, says:

Milwaukeeans have made their decision on paid sick days, and now the courts have upheld their vote. The State Legislature should not be trying to rob voters in Milwaukee and cities across the state of their basic right to local decision-making on sick days or any other laws….It’s time for the State Legislature to stop its attacks on hard-working families and get to work on policies that will help create jobs and grow our economy.

In November 2008 voters approved by 70 percent the ordinance that requires large businesses to provide employees with up to nine sick days a year and small businesses up to five sick days. But in June 2009, employers were granted an injunction in legal battle that wound its way to the state Supreme Court and then back to the Court of Appeals.

Walker’s Attacks Strengthen River Falls Faculty Resolve to Vote For Union

by James Parks, Mar 24, 2011

Galvanized by Gov. Scott Walker’s move to eliminate their freedom to collectively bargain for good middle-class jobs, faculty at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls voted 148-16 today in favor of union representation through AFT-Wisconsin, an affiliate of AFT.

“What we’ve seen at UW-River Falls today is an extension of what we’ve seen across our state since Walker announced his disastrous bill,” said Wes Chapin, a professor of political science at River Falls.

Our state is at a crossroads. Wisconsin has a long and proud history of fairness, integrity and progressivism. The labor movement has been, and will continue to be, central to that history. Today, UW-River Falls faculty made a stand in preserving that history, and moving Wisconsin forward.

Chapin said Walker’s anti-worker legislation galvanized the faculty’s resolve to form a union.

Our strength cannot be legislated away. Our strength is, and always has been, our collective voice—a voice that is stronger than ever.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said:

This landslide election, along with the other recent University of Wisconsin campus union victories, demonstrates that workers…will not let Gov. Walker’s anti-democratic, anti-worker ideological agenda deny them their right to form a union.

Walker Slams Door on Young Workers, Ends Apprentice Jobs

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

Rust never sleeps and apparently neither does Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) when it comes to attacking middle-class jobs. This week, he made another sneak attack.

Matt Hrodey at Milwaukee Magazine’s NewsBuzz site reports Walker quietly issued an executive order this month suspending rules that require contractors on state projects to employ workers under the state apprenticeship program.

Walker’s executive order, his 18th, was not distributed as a press release, unlike the prior 17, each of which can still be read on the “Media Center” section of the governor’s website.

Under the apprenticeship program contractors provide on-the-job training in a skilled trade to apprentices and also pay them wages as they attend classes at a technical college or other institution. It is overseen by the state Department of Workforce Development, and carried out at the local level by the state’s 94 local trade committees, boards staffed by local employer and employee representatives.

Florida Morning: Hogan, Brown will face off for mayor; Haridopolos stalls state ethics legislation

Submitted by Abel Harding on March 23, 2011 - 7:49amFlorida Morning
@abelharding, abel.harding@jacksonville.com


HARIDOPOLOS STALLS ETHICS LEGISLATION - "The office of Senate President Mike Haridopolos has put the kibosh on a fellow Republican's ethics bill ‚ the same bill Haridopolos himself had co-sponsored last year," writes the Miami Herald's Marc Caputo. "The decision to stall the bill, which is designed to crackdown on legislative voting conflicts of interest, draws attention to the issue of ethics in a Legislature where lawmakers have run afoul of disclosure laws. Haridopolos, a candidate for U.S. Senate, was recently admonished by his rules chairman for "inadvertently" failing to detail his finances on Constitutionally mandated ethics forms. Also, Haridopolos often goes out of his way to say that all senators' bills are treated similarly in that they're each assigned three committee stops ‚ and it's up to the committee chairmen to put bill on the agenda. But when the legislation sponsored by Sen. Paula Dockery appeared on the proposed Wednesday agenda for the Government Oversight and Operations Committee, Haridopolos' office ordered it removed with no explanation.

Support Fair NMB Rules for Aviation and Rail Workers

Tue. March 22, 2011

The IAM is urging members and local leaders to contact their Representatives during this week’s Congressional recess to ask them to vote “YES” on an amendment to maintain fair National Mediation Board (NMB) union voting rules for aviation and railroad workers.

Hidden deep in the FAA Reauthorization bill (HR 658) is a provision that would overturn the NMB’s current rule which allows a majority of voting employees to choose whether they wish to vote for union representation, against union representation or not vote at all. If the rule is overturned the votes of those who do not vote, will be counted as “No” votes.

The process of voting under the Railway Labor Act was changed to ensure the voice of everyone who wishes to convey their viewpoint is heard and fairly counted.

“If we applied the old NMB voting threshold to those running for federal, state or local office, thousands of elected officials would never hold public office,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. “We reject returning to a process in which the government imposes a viewpoint on its citizens. And we strongly encourage Congress to support the current process where each person has the opportunity to choose for themselves if they want to vote ‘yes’ or vote ‘no’ for a union, and those who abstain from voting for whatever reason do not influence the outcome of the election.”

Debate on the FAA Reauthorization bill is expected to begin the week of March 28 th.

Please contact your Representative at their district offices via phone or in person. The message is simple: Please vote "Yes" to the Amendment to strike Section 903 NMB repeal rule from the FAA Reauthorization bill (HR 658). For more information on the bill, click here. Talking points are available here.

Click here to find your Representative’s district office address and contact information.

2011 MNPL Planning Committee Meeting Underway

New members of the MNPL Planning Committee are sworn in by GST Warren Mart at this year’s annual Planning Committee Meeting in Albuquerque, NM

Tue. March 22, 2011

With the fallout from the 2010 midterm elections still poisoning the political landscape in more than a dozen states, members of the 2011 MNPL Planning Committee are meeting in Albuquerque, NM, to evaluate ongoing campaigns and to develop aggressive strategies for the months ahead.

“We cannot sit back, we have to fight back,” declared Headquarters GVP Rich Michalski in a review of efforts by anti-union forces to silence the voice of labor unions and working people. “From Wisconsin to Washington, DC, these radical ideologues are opposed to everything we stand for.”

Michalski singled out Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, not only for his highly publicized attempts to eliminate collective bargaining for that state’s public employees, but for his earlier refusal to accept nearly $1 billion in federal funds for the construction of a much-needed high-speed rail corridor in Wisconsin. “The same scenario is playing out from Ohio to Florida, where Republican governors are deliberately prolonging the recession as part of the GOP campaign to retake the White House in 2012.”

While the challenges facing MNPL delegates were given due attention, there were also significant accomplishments to celebrate, including innovative organizing campaigns, unique partnerships and the successful conclusion of the decade-long battle to secure the tanker refueling contract.

“This IAM never gave up on the tanker contract but we would not have prevailed without the efforts of the people in this room,” said Legislative and Political Action Director Matt McKinnon. “That’s what we do as a union and as a family; we don’t give up.”

The opening day agenda also included remarks by New Mexico State AFL-CIO President Christine Trujillo, who described the difficult economic times facing New Mexico residents, made worse by the loss of eight labor-friendly state representatives in the last election and the Walker-like policies of New Mexico’s Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

Here’s What Happens When Manufacturing Disappears

Steve Cappozola of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), reports on what happens when manufacturing jobs disappear. This is a cross post from the AAM website.

Last week, Manufacture This published a chart showing how lost manufacturing jobs correspond with lower state revenues and higher state budget deficits.

We thought we’d amplify that point by citing a sad and disturbing New York Times article on the exodus of Detroit’s population. With Michigan hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs, Detroit’s population has fallen by 25 percent over the past decade. The result? 237,500 residents have left town.

Photos of Detroit show boarded-up and vacant homes. New York Times reporter Katharine Seelye describes this “as dramatic testimony to the crumbling industrial base of the Midwest.”

The U.S. Labor Department reports that Michigan lost more than 320,000 manufacturing jobs, just between 2001-2008. Little wonder then, that without job prospects, hundreds of thousands of residents have been forced to leave.

Seelye says the massive drop-off in population is “the largest percentage drop in history for any American city with more than 100,000 residents.” The only comparable flight would be the “unique situation of New Orleans,” where 29% of the city evacuated after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

What’s especially disheartening is knowing that Detroit’s exodus was preventable. Failed manufacturing in Michigan, which has left so many without work, is the result of failed U.S. trade policy and little effort by successive administrations to ramp up America’s industrial base in the face of changing global economic conditions.

Times are getting dire. What’s urgently needed is for the U.S. to implement a national manufacturing strategy to bring back good-paying jobs before it’s too late.

Tell Your Senators to Support the Social Security Protection Amendment

by Mike Hall, Mar 23, 2011

Next Wednesday, March 29, you can take action to strengthen Social Security by calling your U.S. Senators and urging them to support the Social Security Protection Amendment.

The amendment is part of a small business bill (S. 493) and it’s language is straightforward. It says:

Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries should not be cut and Social Security should not be privatized as part of any legislation to reduce the Federal deficit.

Congressional Republicans led by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are demanding Social Security cuts as part of any deficit reduction legislation, even though Social Security has not contributed a penny to the deficit and has a $2.6 trillion surplus today.

Nearly two-thirds of older Americans who receive Social Security count on it for more than half of their income. Click here for more facts on Social Security.

Mark March 29 on your calendar and click here and our friends at the coalition Strengthen Social Security—Don’t Cut It—will send you a reminder to make the call.

Global Unions Condemn Proposed Anti-Worker Laws in Mexico

U. S. union members march in front of the Mexican Embassy demanding rights for workers in Mexico.

by James Parks, Mar 23, 2011

Unions across the United States and around the world are calling on the Mexican government to reject proposed draconian changes to Mexico’s labor laws that if enacted, would lower wages, destroy job security, increase poverty and violate workers’ and human rights.

The proposals, which are supported by Big Business and President Felipe Calderón’s administration, are similar to the anti-worker bills being pushed through state legislatures in the United States. In a statement, the Union Nacional de Trabajadores (UNT), the largest independent trade union confederation in Mexico, says the laws would be:

a regressive initiative that undermines fundamental rights of workers, and strengthens corporate control of labor. It follows the logic of those who think that the only viable offer to overcome the economic crisis is to transfer costs to workers, by reducing wages, lowering job security, and making workers a readily disposable resource for the benefit of capital.

The proposed legislation comes a month after a six-day global Mexico Days of Action, where workers around the world demanded that Mexico’s government allow its workers to enjoy the freedom to form a union, to create safe workplaces and bargain for family-supporting wages.

Report: Want Better Schools? Put a Higher Value on Teachers

by James Parks, Mar 23, 2011

Governors in cash strapped states and so-called education reformers who scapegoat teachers for schools’ failures are doing the exact opposite of what needs to be done to make our schools better, according to a new report.

In countries with successful public education systems, teaching is held in much higher esteem as a profession than in the United States. Becoming a teacher in these countries is difficult, and candidates are recruited from the top of their college and university classes, the report says. These countries also provide more resources for teacher training and they give teachers more responsibility for professional development and leading reform.

The report, “What the U.S. Can Learn from the World’s Most Successful Education Reform Efforts” by the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation, found three other major differences between the successful countries and the United States:

•The U.S. spends more money per pupil than almost all countries, but most of the resources end up in the richer schools. In high-performing nations, budgets are often much smaller and extra resources go to disadvantaged schools.
•High-performing nations establish rigorous achievement standards, based on the idea that “it is possible for all students to achieve at high levels and necessary that they do so,” according to the report.
•Class differences have a much more pronounced effect on educational achievement here than in high-performing nations.

Maine Republican Governor Erasing History of Working People

One of 11 panels depicting working people’s history that Maine’s Gov. LePage wants removed.

by Tula Connell, Mar 23, 2011

Once again, Republicans are trying to erase the history of America’s working people. In Maine, Republican Gov. Paul LePage has ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural depciting the state’s labor history from the Department of Labor. The 11-panel piece in part depicts a 1986 paper mill strike and “Rosie the Riveter” at Bath Iron Works. Judy Taylor, an artist based on Mount Desert, won a 2007 competition to create the mural to depict the “History of Labor in the State of Maine.”

Further, the names of conference rooms are being changed to make them more “business friendly.” One is called the “Perkins Room,” for Frances Perkins, the first female Secretary of Labor and promoter of New Deal policies that improved workers’ rights on the job. Perkins championed labor reforms after the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire that resulted in the deaths of 146 garment workers in New York City. This Friday is the 100th anniversary of that tragedy.

In a March 22 e-mail to staff, Maine’s acting commissioner of Labor Laura Boyett wrote:

We have received feedback that the administration building is not perceived as equally receptive to both businesses and workers – primarily because of the nature of the mural in the lobby and the names of our conference rooms.

Happy Birthday Health Care Reform–Don’t Let Republicans Spoil the Party

Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions

by Mike Hall, Mar 23, 2011

Today is the first anniversary of the landmark Affordable Care Act that has already helped tens of millions of Americans acquire or receive better health care and that has reined in health insurance companies’ most abusive practices.

Yet congressional Republicans keep trying to repeal health care reform. What are they against? Take a look at just some of the Affordable Care Act’s benefits repeal would destroy.

•Millions of seniors are receiving free preventive care, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, and relief from skyrocketing prescription drug prices–such as getting $250 if they reach the “donut hole” and a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs.
•For small businesses, job-creating tax credits are available to help cover their employees. More small businesses are now providing coverage.
•Adult children can stay on their parents’ health plans until they’re 26, which provides much needed access to care and peace of mind in this tough economy.
•The Affordable Care Act ends unconscionable abuses like dropping you because you fall ill or because you made a mistake in your paperwork. It bans the practice of denying your care or charging you more for having a pre-existing condition—about 129 million people. It also ends annual and lifetime caps on coverage.
•For the first time ever, the insurance companies are being held accountable, capping how much they can charge, limiting excessive profits and putting the brakes on bloated compensation for CEOs.

Walker Now After Senior, Low-Income Health Care

by Mike Hall, Mar 22, 2011

After lining up Wisconsin’s public employees and middle class jobs in his sights, Gov. Scott Walker (R) is shifting his aim to seniors and low-income families.

His proposed budget would make huge cuts in the state’s Senior Care prescription drug program, the BadgerCare health plan, and the Family Care’s support services for the elderly, as well as tax relief for low-income workers and property owners.

Yesterday, activists with the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans condemned Walker’s recent budget proposal. At their 4th biennial convention delegates representing the group’s more than 100,000 Wisconsin retirees unanimously approved a resolution strongly opposing the proposed cuts. They then marched to the state capitol, carrying “Don’t Walker on Me” signs and delivered the resolution to the governor’s office.

Wisconsin Alliance President Leon Burzynski says “Not only does Gov. Walker malign public workers, but he also cuts programs that are aimed at those most in need in our state.”

Neither public workers nor these vital programs are to blame for our state’s fiscal challenges, but Gov. Walker is wielding his budgetary ax in their direction instead of getting rid of tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.

IAM Responds to Crisis in Japan

Thu. March 17, 2011

The IAM is working closely with its alliance partner, the Japan Federation of Aviation Workers’ Unions (KOHKUREN) to provide information, advocacy and support for airline workers who could be impacted by the tragedy unfolding in Japan.

“Our first concern is the safety of Flight Attendants and ground workers who could face hazards associated with the earthquake and the damaged nuclear power plant,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “The IAM met with KOHKUREN representatives this week in Washington, D.C. and relayed to the U.S. Department of Transportation the unique concerns of flight crews and other airline workers based in and flying through Japan.”

In addition to maintaining constant communications with Continental Airlines and continually assessing the situation, the IAM is assembling a team of volunteer Flight Attendants from Continental and United Airlines to travel to Japan to provide direct assistance and evaluate what additional support may be needed.

“We have expressed our members’ concerns to Continental management,” said District 142 President Tom Higginbotham. “Any Continental Flight Attendant who has concerns about flying through Narita should contact an IAM Representative immediately.”

Additionally, the IAM Disaster Relief Fund is available to assist members who have suffered losses from the earthquake. IAM Flight Attendants and any IAM Transportation Department members who suffer a loss due to the earthquake and its aftereffects should call the office of General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. at 301-967-4550.

“This is a humanitarian crisis of global proportions and we have a responsibility to respond without delay,” said Roach. “The IAM will continue doing everything possible to protect our members and future members.”

Montana Public Employees Join National, State AFL-CIO

by James Parks, Mar 21, 2011

Public employees in Montana have a stronger voice today after the Montana Public Employees Association (MPEA) announced it will affiliate with the national AFL-CIO and the Montana AFL-CIO. This affiliation will bring Montana’s public employees into the larger union movement at a time when support for the rights of public employees is stronger than ever.

The MPEA is a Montana-born union that has operated independently for 65 years before joining the AFL-CIO. The affiliation of MPEA will expand the size of the Montana State AFL-CIO by 7,500 members bringing the current membership to 46,000.

Quint Nyman, executive director of the MPEA, said:

We realize that by affiliating with the national and Montana AFL-CIO we become a stronger voice for our members and for all workers in the state of Montana. My organization believes in the power of one voice for the Montana labor movement and solidarity with the larger labor movement as it works to defend the rights of workers across the country.

This is the second major affiliation with the Montana state federation in three years. In 2008, the Montana State AFL-CIO welcomed 2,400 newly affiliated members of the Montana Nurses Association.

“When workers stand together on the job, in our communities, and at the voting booth we can do great things,” said Montana AFL-CIO President Jim McGarvey.

I am so pleased to welcome the MPEA into the Montana State AFL-CIO. I am grateful for the contributions they have made to the condition of working families in Montana over the years. I look forward to working with Quint Nyman and the MPEA to promote sustainable Montana jobs so every worker can support their family and have health insurance they can count on and a secure retirement.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka added:

Over the past few weeks we have seen unprecedented strength and solidarity growing within the labor movement – which makes this news so exciting. The Montana Public Employees Association has a long and proud history of successful representation of its members. We welcome them to the broader labor movement and look forward to even more success as a partner and an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

New Hire Shows Wisconsin’s Not That Broke

by Mike Hall, Mar 21, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) says the Badger State is teetering on the brink of financial collapse, yet he finds a spare $150 million for corporate tax breaks and his top aides find a comfy job—with a $12,000 raise—for the girlfriend of one of his staunchest ally’s.

Just goes to show you that when Walker and all the other governors who use state budgets as a pretext to push through harsh cuts and strip rights from teachers, nurses, firefighters, it’s not about economics. It’s all about politics.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Valerie Cass, a former Republican legislative staffer, was hired Feb. 7 as a communications specialist with the state Department of Regulation and Licensing. According to the Journal Sentinel, Cass, 26, is the girlfriend of State Sen. Randy Hopper (R.) 45, who has filed for divorce from his wife.

Journal Sentinel reporter Daniel Bice writes that top officials in Walker’s administration recommended Cass and then hired her for $43,200 a year job that paid her predecessor $31,200.

Hopper, who voted for Walker’s attack on workers, says he had nothing to do with Cass’s appointment to the job. Click here for Bice’s full story.

BTW, Cass is no rookie to Republican politics. Before her new job, Bice reports she spent part of January in Washington, D.C., helping Reince Priebus with his bid to become the chairman of the Republican National Committee. Always good to have friends in high places.

Brazilian Workers Back U.S. Public Employees

by James Parks, Mar 21, 2011

Six Brazilian labor confederations expressed their solidarity with public employees in Wisconsin and other states who are struggling to defend their right to bargain for middle-class jobs. In a letter to President Barack Obama, who is visiting South America, the trade union leaders called on the United States to guarantee “full freedom of association, collective bargaining, and freedom of expression and assembly” for public employees.

The letter states that the Brazilian workers protest the way some U.S. state governments are limiting and even extinguishing basic rights won by public employees.

The six national confederations that signed the letter are the CUT, Forca Sindical, CTB, UGT, Nova Central, and CGTB. The signees represent nearly 5 million affiliated workers, while bargaining for some 50 million workers in the country.

Merger of AT&T and T-Mobile Good for Consumers, Workers

by James Parks, Mar 21, 2011

The announcement over the weekend that AT&T is buying T-Mobile USA could benefit both consumers and employees. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the deal offers tens of thousands of T-Mobile USA employees the opportunity to benefit from the pro-worker policies of AT&T, the only unionized U.S. wireless company. Some 42,000 AT&T mobility employees are represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Trumka adds:

For T-Mobile USA workers who want a voice in their workplace, this acquisition can provide a fresh start with T-Mobile management.

Members of CWA joined with their colleagues at ver.di, the German telecommunications workers union in 2009 to create TU—a global union for T-Mobile workers. CWA President Larry Cohen says of all the possible partners for T-Mobile, AT&T will mean better employment security, a management record of full neutrality toward union membership and a bargaining voice.

Read Trumka’s statement here and Cohen’s statement here.

Republican Budget Cuts Would Cripple NLRB

by Mike Hall, Mar 21, 2011

Proposed Republican budget cuts to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could force the agency to furlough workers for as many as 64 days between now and Sept. 30, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

The CRS report says if the $50 million cut House Republicans are seeking for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 was enacted, “the substantial reduction in work days would be dramatic.”

Other NLRB activities that could be affected include Board decisions, remedies to ULPs [unfair labor practices], collection of back pay, requests for court injunctions to stop ULPs, responses to public inquires, outreach, completion of financial and other reports, and other activities.

In a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) writes:

As you know, the NLRB’s mission is vital to enforce protections for American workers and private businesses under the National Labor Relations Act. According to the CRS, “[r]educed NLRB staffing could affect employers, employees, and unions.”

Miller says that while Congress should identify and cut “any wasteful or inefficient spending”:

these cuts to the NLRB are misplaced and are inherently destructive to labor-management relations. They have no place in final legislation.

Librarian Refuses to Be Scott Walker’s Scapegoat

Librarians protest Wisconsin Republican attacks on workers.

by James Parks, Mar 12, 2011

Audrey Barbakoff, a librarian at the Milwaukee Public Library, is being anything but quiet. In a column in American Libraries Magazine, she says the vilification of public workers—teachers, fire fighters, police officers, nurses and, yes, even librarians—could cause immeasurable long-term damage beyond the loss of jobs and the middle-class lifestyle.

She says when Gov. Scott Walker and others plant the notion that public employees only work for the benefits, they ignore the real sacrifices they make and tremendous good they do every day. And public workers need to speak out loudly about their value to their communities:

I won’t apologize for making a living wage, for being able to visit a doctor when I need one, or for choosing a job that will help me build adequate retirement savings. I deserve and expect those things….But that isn’t why I became a librarian….I became one because I wanted to give.

We need to speak up about the value we bring to our communities. We need to have a presence at community meetings, in the newspapers and—should it come to that—at protests.

Bad budgets and bad legislation will hurt us for a time. Silent acquiescence to the idea we are valueless to our communities will hurt us forever.

PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama Shies Away from Protests

AP Photo/Morry Gash

Mar 12, 5:51 PM EST
By SAM HANANEL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Union leaders urged Vice President Joe Biden during a White House meeting last month to go to Wisconsin and rally the faithful in their fight against Gov. Scott Walker's move to curtail collective bargaining rights for most public employees.

Request rebuffed, they asked for Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

So far, however, the White House has stayed away from any trips to Madison, the state capital, or other states in the throes of union battles. The Obama administration is treading carefully on the contentious political issue that has led to a national debate over the power that public sector unions wield in negotiating wages and benefits.

A few labor leaders have complained openly that President Barack Obama is ignoring a campaign pledge he made to stand with unions; most others say his public comments have been powerful enough.

Wis. Labor Protesters Say Next Fight at the Polls

AP Photo/Morry Gash

Mar 13, 1:48 AM EST
By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Clogging the Wisconsin Capitol grounds and screaming angry chants, tens of thousands of undaunted pro-labor protesters descended on Madison again Saturday and vowed to focus on future elections now that contentious cuts to public worker union rights have become law.

Protests have rocked the Capitol almost every day since Gov. Scott Walker proposed taking nearly all collective bargaining rights away from public workers, but the largest came a day after the governor signed the measure into law. Madison Police estimated the crowd at 85,000 to 100,000 people - along with 50 tractors and one donkey - by late afternoon. No one was arrested.

Speakers delivered angry diatribes while the crowd carried signs comparing Walker to dictators and yelled thunderous chants of "this is what democracy looks like."

Lockout, Court Cases Put Popular NFL on Hold

Mar 13, 6:19 AM EDT
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Welcome to The NFL Lockout.

As far back as May 2008, it became a possibility.

As recently as a week ago - when owners and players agreed to extend the deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement - Commissioner Roger Goodell made it sound avoidable.

And yet here we are: The country's most popular sport - water-cooler fodder for six months of Mondays; generator of more than $9 billion in annual revenues; responsible for the two most-watched programs in U.S. TV history, the 2010 and 2011 Super Bowls - is stuck in a holding pattern, thanks to its first work stoppage in nearly a quarter of a century.

The owners imposed a lockout on the players Saturday, essentially shutting down operations. That came hours after talks broke off and the union dissolved itself, meaning players no longer are protected under labor law but instead are now allowed to take their chances in federal court under antitrust law. Nine NFL players, including superstar quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, and one college player headed for the pros filed a class-action lawsuit in Minnesota and asked for a preliminary injunction to block a lockout, even before it went into effect.

Religious Groups Begin Nightly Vigils at Wis. Capitol

by James Parks, Mar 11, 2011

In a tremendous show of opposition against Gov. Scott Walker and the state Republicans’ recent actions to take away public workers’ right to collective bargaining and his proposed budget, Madison’s religious community is organizing ongoing nightly vigils sponsored by different faith communities at the State Capitol. Each night a different religious community will sponsor the vigil, drawing members from far and wide.

Rev. Jerry Folk, co-chair of Madison’s Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice, says:

Many religious leaders in Wisconsin are disturbed by the governor’s proposed budget because it will widen the gap between the haves and have-nots of society by taking resources away from the middle class and the poor and giving them to the wealthiest among us.

German Workers Rally in Solidarity with Wisconsin Public Employees

Teresa Casertano in the AFL-CIO Organizing Department sends us this report.

As tens of thousands of Wisconsin residents rally and march across the state tomorrow for the fourth weekend in a row, they will receive support from union members in Berlin who are holding a solidarity rally. Members of the German telecommunications union, ver.di, will turn out to to support bargaining rights for workers in the United States. They know that collective bargaining is not possible unless workers are able to join unions and participate in their own organizations free from the fear of reprisals by their employers.

In a letter to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is trying to take away the right of public employees to bargain for a good, middle-class life, Frank Bsirske, chairman of the United Services Union ver.di of Germany, said Walker’s “proposed unilateral action” is:

an attack on one of the fundamental pillars in a well-developed democracy, where social dialogue and collective bargaining through trade unions secure constructive relationships between employers and employees. This kind of relationship has proved its high value in many countries, both in times of economic growth and during crisis.

NFL Players Renounce Union Status To Block Lockout

by James Parks, Mar 11, 2011

After almost three weeks of negotiations with NFL team owners and the assistance of a federal mediator failed to result in a fair, new collective bargaining agreement, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) this afternoon renounced its status as a union in order to block a lockout by the owners. The NFL left the players no choice.

The players believe their best course of action now is to file individual antitrust suits against the owners if there is a lockout, which they could not have done unless they relinquished union representation in the contract talks.

You can show your support for the players, fans and stadium workers by signing a petition here.

If there were to be a lockout, it wouldn’t just impact football players and fans. Stadium employees would be jobless. Staff in sports bars, restaurants and hotels, police officers and others who work supporting the game also would be hurt. In fact, 150,000 workers would feel the impact, and $4.5 billion dollars in revenue would disappear from 32 cities around the nation.

In a statement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said working people stand shoulder to shoulder with the NFL players:

Unfortunately, the NFL and its 32 team owners, who have enjoyed the fruits of a $9 billion industry in a devastating economy for working families, could not reach a fair deal with the men who risk their health and safety to play professional football.

In light of this unfortunate situation, the players have decided to renounce the NFLPA’s status as their exclusive bargaining unit. Working people stand shoulder to shoulder with the players and their right to protect themselves and their families through antitrust laws that prohibit illegal and greedy corporate behavior.

Quarterbacks Drew Brees, Payton Manning and Tom Brady have already agreed to be the lead plaintiffs in an antitrust case, although other players may join a suit. Federal antitrust laws prohibit illegal corporate behavior.

IAM Stands Ready to Help Earthquake Victims

Fri. March 11, 2011

The largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, an 8.9 magnitude quake off the country’s east coast, has caused extensive damage in Japan and generated potentially damaging tsunamis across the Pacific and West Coasts of the United States and Canada.

“Our deep concern goes out to the people of Japan, especially those in the Japanese labor movement with whom we have a long history of friendship and cooperation,” said IAM International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger. “As potentially destructive tsunamis generated by the earthquake move across the Pacific, the IAM stands ready to help IAM members and communities that may be affected by this tragedy.”

The IAM represents Flight Attendants at Continental Micronesia in Guam, transportation and other industry workers in Hawaii and the West Coasts of the United States and Canada.

Mike Hogan's Votes Are Record of Contender's Priorities

Mike Hogan

He's been in the House and on the City Council, letting values lead his decisions.

Posted: March 11, 2011 - 12:00am
By Jim Schoettler

Jacksonville voters still trying to figure out mayoral frontrunner Mike Hogan could get to know him, for better or worse, by a hard look at his voting record.

Staunch social conservative. Public safety ally. Constituent advocate. Often an opponent to tax and fee increases - but not always.

Hogan was involved in crafting and/or voting on hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of legislation during his two terms on the City Council (1991-99) and three years in the Legislature (2001-03). As Duval County tax collector, he also was appointed to the powerful 2008 state Taxation and Budget Review Commission, which meets every 20 years to recommend improvements to the tax and budget system.

NFL, Players Face Expiration of Labor Contract

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Mar 11, 11:18 AM EST
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the NFL on the brink of its first work stoppage in nearly a quarter of a century, Commissioner Roger Goodell and union head DeMaurice Smith met at a federal mediator's office Friday, the day the league's twice-extended labor contract was set to expire.

Goodell was joined by nine of the 10 members of the owners' labor committee, along with various league executives and lawyers. Smith walked over from the NFL Players Association's nearby headquarters with about 20 people, including New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and several other current or former players.

Friday was the 16th day of negotiations since Feb. 18. The collective bargaining agreement originally was scheduled to run out last week; another extension was possible.

"We're going to head inside today, try to get some work done," Smith said.

Wis. Gov. Officially Cuts Collective Bargaining

AP Photo/Michael P. King

Mar 11, 12:12 PM EST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker succeeded Friday in taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights from the vast majority of the state's public employees, quietly capping weeks of contentious debate and delivering an epic defeat to the labor movement with a private bill signing.

Walker planned to hold a ceremonial signing later in the day.

The proposal touched off a national debate over labor rights for public employees, and its implementation is a key victory for Republicans who have targeted unions in nationwide efforts to slash government spending. But labor leaders said they plan to use the setback to fire up their members nationwide and mount a major counterattack against Republicans at the ballot box in 2012.

The measure passed the state's Assembly on Thursday following more than three weeks of protests that drew tens of thousands of people to the Capitol in opposition. The Senate cleared the way for passage with a surprise move Wednesday that allowed them to move the measure forward without 14 Democratic senators present.

The bill forces state workers to pay more for their pensions and health care benefits, which is estimated to save Wisconsin $30 million to help pay down a $137 million budget shortfall projected by July 1. The higher payments for state workers will take effect over the coming weeks.

Holt Baker: We’re Fighting for Basic American Freedoms

AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker addresses massive rally in Indiana yesterday.

by James Parks, Mar 11, 2011

Working people in Indiana and across the country are fighting for the same basic freedoms our Founding Fathers fought for, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker told a crowd of more than 25,000 at a rally in Indianapolis yesterday.

“We are here because of the right of freedom of association—the right of free men and women to join together,” Holt Baker said.

Whether that be in the church of our choosing, the political party of our choosing or the freedom to associate together to improve the condition of ourselves and our families.

This is what America is all about—because without these freedoms we don’t have a free society.

Holt Baker told the crowd that she knew they would not let Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Republicans in the legislature destroy the middle class and take away workers’ rights in Indiana.

I look out at all of you, and I know what democracy looks like. It looks like all of you. Workers, community, men and women, students and seniors. All standing as one—united in your resolve to protect the right to bargain.

FAA Bill Threatens NMB Voting Rights

Thu. March 10, 2011

The House of Representatives will soon debate and vote on the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 (H.R. 658). Hidden deep in this legislation is a provision that would overturn the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) new voting rules for the nation’s airline and railroad workers.

Click here to urge your Representative to protect workers’ voting rights.

Sponsored by GOP House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL), the provision would eliminate the new democratic voting guidelines and restore a process that has been used for decades by corporations to defeat union organizing efforts in the transportation industry.

Under the old NMB voting rules, any worker who did not vote in a union representation election was automatically counted as a vote against the union.

The new NMB voting does not, as opponents frequently claim, eliminate secret ballot elections. It simply allows a majority of voting employees to choose and eliminates the government’s unfair practice of assigning a preference to those voters who do not cast a ballot.

Last year’s change to NMB voting rules was rightfully hailed as a major victory for workers’ democratic voting rights. The effort to reverse that achievement is yet another effort by a coalition of right-wing extremists seeking to restrict, reduce and eradicate collective bargaining rights nationwide.


The new NMB rule, which determines the outcome of representation elections in the same way as elections for the U.S. President, Congress and nearly all state representatives, was furiously opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Air Transport Association (ATA), the lobbying arm for the nation’s major air carriers.

Machinists President Responds to GOP War on Middle Class

Thu. March 10, 2011

The following is a statement from IAM President Tom Buffenbarger in response to the move by the Wisconsin state Senate to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights:

“Last night in Wisconsin, legislative process trumped democratic principles. Republican Senators voted 18 to 1 to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights. It is a Pyrrhic victory and one the GOP will regret.

“Now is not the time to get mad, but to get organized. In every state where the handmaidens of the hyper-rich try to strip us of our collective bargaining rights, we will mobilize for recalls, ballot initiatives and political campaigns.

“If the Republican Party wants class warfare, they’ve got it. IAM members have watched the hyper-rich destroy their jobs and their communities with their unbridled greed. And the Fighting Machinists have been aching for this fight.”

Ohio Workers Stepping Up Struggle for Bargaining Rights

Thousands of Ohioans rallied against S.B. 5 on March 8.

by James Parks, Mar 10, 2011

With the state House expected to take up Senate Bill 5 next week, Ohio working people are stepping up their grassroots opposition to the legislation that takes away the right of public employees to bargain for good middle-class jobs.

In rallies, phone banks and other actions, workers are energizing and encouraging people across the state to contact their state legislator about the bill.

Community activists, religious leaders and others will join working people for a rally in New Lexington today and in Chillicothe tomorrow. The local rallies follow a major rally at the state Capitol during Gov. John Kasich’s State of the State address on Tuesday.

The Ohio AFL-CIO also is setting up call centers in 15 Ohio cities to help mobilize union members and keep up the momentum against the bill. And on Monday, AFSCME members will hold press conferences in seven Ohio cities to explain how Kasich’s budget will hurt working families.

NFL Owners' Labor Committee at Mediation

Mar 10, 3:05 PM EST
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the sides far apart on key economic issues, nine of the 10 members on the NFL owners' labor committee, including co-chairmen Jerry Richardson of the Panthers and Pat Bowlen of the Broncos, attended Thursday's negotiating session with the players' union.

After two extensions, the collective bargaining agreement is now due to expire Friday. If a new deal isn't reached by then, there could be another extension. Or, talks could break off, possibly leading to a lockout by owners or decertification by the union followed by antitrust lawsuits by players - actions that could threaten the 2011 season.

Other committee members present: Jerry Jones of the Cowboys, John Mara of the Giants, Art Rooney II of the Steelers, Clark Hunt of the Chiefs, Mark Murphy of the Packers, Dean Spanos of the Chargers and Mike Brown of the Bengals. Eagles president Joe Banner and Redskins general manager Bruce Allen also were there with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Wis. Assembly Takes up Bargaining Rights Measure

Mar 10, 4:02 PM EST
By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin lawmakers argued again Thursday over an explosive proposal to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from the state's public workers, with Democrats offering last-ditch objections before a vote expected to approve the measure and deliver one of the strongest blows to unions in years.

Debate began in the Assembly after re-energized protests prompted a temporary lockdown and security sweep at the state Capitol, where demonstrators had flocked to try to block representatives' access to their chamber.

Once inside, Republican leaders agreed to two hours of discussion before a vote. But they made clear their intention to stand by Gov. Scott Walker's proposal and his insistence that it's necessary to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.