NFL, Union Talk 4 Hours; Plan to Resume Tuesday

Mar 7, 9:03 PM EST
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trying to work their way to a new labor deal, Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith resumed negotiations for four hours Monday.

With both sides adhering to mediator George Cohen's admonition that they not discuss the talks publicly, it wasn't clear how much - if any - progress was made in the shorter-than-usual session. The only sure thing: The sides planned to meet again Tuesday.

The current collective bargaining agreement originally was set to expire last week, but two extensions have now pushed the cutoff to the end of Friday. After months of infrequent formal negotiations and plenty of acrimony, the sides have spent 12 days at the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service, but they still remain apart on key economic issues.

What will happen the rest of this week is still anyone's guess. If a deal isn't reached, the sides could agree to yet another extension and negotiate beyond Friday. Or talks could break off, leading to, possibly, a lockout by owners or antitrust lawsuits by players.

United Cuts 2011 Growth and Southwest Raises Fares

AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

Mar 7, 8:07 PM EST
By DAVID KOENIG and JOSHUA FREED
AP Airlines Writers

DALLAS (AP) -- United Continental Holdings Inc., the world's biggest airline company, scrapped its 2011 growth plans on Monday and said it will cut unprofitable routes because of rising fuel prices.

The airline also said it may remove less fuel-efficient planes from its fleet.

United said the amount of flying it does this year will remain about the same as last year. It had previously planned to grow as much as 2 percent.

Fuel has become into the largest single expense for most airlines. Flying less is one way they can offset it. Raising fares is another - and they've been doing that aggressively.

Over the weekend Southwest Airlines Co. joined a $10 increase started by other airlines on many domestic round-trip fares. Southwest's increase may have ensured success for a price hike by major airlines that seemed to be faltering. Southwest carries more U.S. passengers than any airline and wields great influence over prices.

Wis. Gov. Rebuffs Democrats' Request for Meeting

AP Photo/Andy Manis

Mar 7, 9:15 PM EST
By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Democrats who fled the state nearly three weeks ago asked Monday for a meeting with Gov. Scott Walker to talk about changes to his plan to eliminate most public workers' union rights, a request the governor dismissed as "ridiculous."

Walker said he and his administration have been in communication with at least a couple of the AWOL Senate Democrats about a deal that could bring them back, but the lawmaker who asked for the meeting, Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller, "is firmly standing in the way."

That accusation led to a flurry of angry responses from Democrats who said Walker was misrepresenting the talks. The sometimes-angry exchange suggested that any resolution to the stalemate was farther away than ever.

On April 4, Stand in Solidarity with Working People

by James Parks, Mar 7, 2011

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis where he was standing with sanitation workers demanding their dream of a better life. Today, the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a middle class life are under attack as never before.

People across America—black, white, Latino and Asian American—are electrified by that same dream and are standing up for the right to join together for our common dreams.

Join us to make April 4, 2011, a day to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for. It’s a day to show movement. A day to be creative, a day to show that “We Are One.”

UAW Members Ratify Caterpillar Contract

by James Parks, Mar 7, 2011

Members of the UAW ratified a new six-year contract with Caterpillar Inc. covering 9,500 workers at plants in Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

“This ratification is particularly pleasing as it may have finally put the troublesome relationship between the UAW and Cat right where it belongs: behind us,” UAW Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Williams said in a statement.

UAW and Caterpillar began contract negotiations Dec. 15 for a new agreement covering workers at the construction and mining equipment maker’s Illinois facilities in Aurora, Decatur, East Peoria, Mapleton, Mossville, Morton, and Pontiac, as well as the company’s facilities in York, Pa., Memphis, Tenn., and Denver.

UAW President Bob King said:

This is another example of unions and business working together, recognizing each others’ needs, and finding creative solutions to keep good manufacturing jobs in the U.S. in this very competitive global economy.

The previous agreement expired March 1.

Workers Under Attack Will Tell Their Stories to Congressional Hearing

by James Parks, Mar 7, 2011

Workers from the front lines of the corporate-led assault on America’s middle class, including working people from Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, will be on Capitol Hill tomorrow to describe their struggles to keep their bargaining rights so they can bargain for a middle class life.

Courtney Johnson is among those testifying before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Johnson has dedicated her life to serving the poorest kids in the Columbus (Ohio) City Schools for a decade. Outside the classroom, she volunteers as the senior class advisor and newspaper and yearbook advisor at the local arts academy where she teaches English and Humanities. Johnson says that no one goes into teaching for the money, but she expects to be able to provide a middle-class life for her family. That will not be possible if Ohio Gov. John Kasich succeeds in his efforts to take away bargaining rights for public employees.

Farmers Launch Tractorcade in Solidarity with Wis. Public Employees

This tractorcade in 2007 is just a small example of the mass statewide tractorcade protest this weekend in Madison, Wis.

by James Parks, Mar 7, 2011

This weekend, thousands of Wisconsin farmers will not be working in the fields or milking cows. They will be driving their tractors in a mass tractorcade in support of public employees at the state Capital in Madison. Three statewide farm organizations are organizing the tractorcade March 12 to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s state budget and proposal to end collective bargaining rights for state employees.

Rural communities will be disproportionately hurt by Walker’s proposed budget, and farmers in Wisconsin want to send a message that they stand with state workers and all working and middle-class families in the state.

If you have a tractor and would like to join in the tractorcade, please contact John Peck at Family Farm Defenders at 608-260-0900 or send an e-mail to FamilyFarmDefenders@yahoo.com. Family Farm Defenders is sponsoring the tractorcade along with Wisconsin Farmers Union and Land Stewardship project.

UNITEHERE! Reaches Tentative Deals with Hilton Hotels

by James Parks, Mar 7, 2011

After many months of bargaining, UNITEHERE! and Hilton Worldwide have reached tentative agreements at hotels in three major markets—Chicago, San Francisco and Honolulu. The tentative agreements cover nearly 4,000 workers.

While terms of the settlements vary in each city, the contracts include wage increases, improved job stability language and reduced workloads for housekeeping staff and others. Significantly, the new contracts also preserve low-cost, high-quality health care and pension benefits for Hilton workers and their families at a time when, nationwide, these employee benefits are being cut.

UNITEHERE! President John Wilhelm said in a statement:

We are pleased to have achieved a fair settlement for all sides—one that allows workers to move forward and share in the robust recovery that the hotel industry is experiencing.

Wis. 14 Offer to Meet with Walker to Discuss Bipartisan Solution

by James Parks, Mar 7, 2011

Wisconsin Senate Democratic Leader Mark Miller this morning offered to meet in person with Gov. Scott Walker and Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald to discuss how to reach a “bipartisan solution to our differences.”

In a letter hand-delivered by Miller’s office to Walker and Fitzgerald, the Democratic leader said:

Over the past several weeks we have witnessed an unprecedented public debate in Wisconsin over the value of public workers and the importance of collective bargaining rights.

The working people of Wisconsin are deeply concerned about what the future holds for their families, and for the great state they call home. Now more than ever they are counting on us as leaders to work together to resolve our differences to move our state forward.

Fourteen Democratic state senators, including Miller, left Wisconsin for Illinois on Feb. 17 to prevent a quorum from considering Walker’s plan to eliminate bargaining rights for public employees. By leaving, the Democrats prevented Walker and Fitzgerald from ramming the bill through without working people having their voices heard.

Airlines to Load On More Fees

After Checked Bags, Carriers Seek to Charge for Early Boarding, Fancier Foods and Reclining Seats

MARCH 7, 2011
By SUSAN CAREY

Airlines are digging around for ways to pile on more fees.

In recent years, airlines from AMR Corp.'s American Airlines to Spirit Airlines Inc. found new ways to boost profits—and annoy fliers—by charging fees for checked bags, selecting a choice seat or other services once included in ticket prices.

Now they're mulling and testing various new fees for services that never were part of a ticket: Want a seat that reclines more? A pre-ordered champagne brunch in coach? Insurance against a blizzard that waylays a trip? Access to speedy security lines and early boarding? Soon you might be able to get them all—for a price.

Airlines started charging for checked bags, snacks, pillows and other items in a big way in 2008. Last year, such fees brought in an estimated $22 billion, or 5% of global industry revenue.

Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)

Get more information on CLUW at www.cluw.org or click the subject line above.

Thanks for visiting the Coalition of Labor Union Women. CLUW is the national women's organization within the labor movement. Our members are on the frontline, empowering working women to become leaders in their unions and encouraging them to make a difference on the job and, most importantly, in their own lives. Our values are simple: Solidarity, involvement, dignity and justice. DOWNLOAD BROCHURE.

IAM Local Lodge 731 Business Meeting

IAM Local Lodge 731 will hold its monthly business meeting on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at the Union Hall, 277 Tallulah Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32208 at 7:00pm. If you arrive early please be respectful and wait for the Executive Board meeting to conclude. Go to the LL731 page at www.iam731.org for directions.

NFL Talks Continue, Deadline at End of Friday

Mar 7, 6:15 AM EST
By BARRY WILNER
AP Pro Football Writer

Negotiators for the NFL and the players' union begin five days and nights - at least - of talks toward reaching a new collective bargaining agreement on Monday. Failure by the time Friday ends could mean the first pro football work stoppage since 1987.

Enough progress was made in 11 days of meetings overseen by federal mediator George Cohen that two extensions to the current CBA were granted: first for 24 hours, then for seven days. That doesn't mean the owners and players association are on the verge of any major breakthroughs.

But, unlike in the previous months when there was little movement - except in opposite directions - the two reprieves last week were encouraging.

Wisconsin Sheriff Stands Up for Democracy

Sheriff David Mahoney

by James Parks, Mar 6, 2011

Dane County (Wis.) Sheriff Scott Mahoney is a man who respects the Constitution and the right of people to protest. Mahoney pulled his deputies from the guarding the Wisconsin Capitol building entrances this week after Gov. Scott Walker and his aides tried to crack down on dissent by closing the building. Walker was trying to stifle the mass demonstrations by working people who were protesting his plan to take away bargaining rights for state employees.

As Mahoney said during a press conference on March 1:

When asked to stand guard at the doors that duty was turned over to the Wisconsin State Patrol because our deputies would not stand and be palace guards. I refused to put deputy sheriffs in a position to be palace guards.

In an article on TheNation.com, John Nichols profiles Mahoney and asks why he would refuse to act as the governor’s palace guard. Mahoney’s straightforward response: He believes it is important to respect the Constitution and maintain a free and open space for honest debate and dissent.

“I smile every day at what I am seeing take place in this building,” Mahoney says.

We’re an example to the world about how to run a democracy.