Training is Sign of Better Day in Tomato Fields

Lucas Benitez of the CIW, left, and Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange sign the historic agreement last November, as Gerardo Reyes of the CIW looks on.

by James Parks, May 5, 2011

“It’s like a time machine has suddenly whisked us from a Charles Dickens workhouse to an auto plant in the 21st century. The difference in attitude is that great.” That’s how one tomato worker, a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), reacted to a new training session for employees of Pacific Tomato Growers.

In the training, the first-ever of its kind, workers who pick tomatoes learned they are entitled to a minimum wage and breaks, what constitutes a full bucket of tomatoes and what to do if they have a complaint.

Writing for the Atlantic, Barry Estabrook, former contributing editor for Gourmet magazine, says the training is one of the first results of the historic agreement reached last November between the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE) and CIW.

The agreement is taking effect in two stages. This growing season (2010-2011), all participating FTGE members will pay a penny more per pound for the tomatoes picked. At the same time, CIW and two growers, Six L’s and Pacific Tomato Growers, will hammer out a process for enforcing the code of conduct throughout the industry. The code will apply only to Six L’s and Pacific this season. Even though it does not go into full effect until the 2011-2012 season, the agreement already has had a lasting impact on the tomato industry.

Check out the article “Tomato Schools: Undoing the Evils of the Fields” here.

Corporate Profits Soar 81 Percent but Few Jobs Created

by Tula Connell, May 5, 2011

On the eve of tomorrow’s unemployment report for April, we get this news from Fortune:

Profits of the 500 largest U.S. corporations soar by 81 percent ($318 billion), the third largest percentage gain in list history…Wal-Mart holds the number one spot for the second year in a row…Exxon Mobil leads profits with $30 billion, for the eighth year in row.

The stunning leap in profits is so excessive even Fortune writers are writhing in their leather chairs:

We’ve rarely seen such a stark gulf between the fortunes of the 500 and those of ordinary Americans….The profits derived partly from productivity gains, including workforce reductions. And many 500 companies are growing faster overseas than in the U.S.

Here’s the full list of the top moneymakers: http://bit.ly/mnrPsI.

So what are Wall Street CEOs doing?

Screaming for more tax breaks. Listen to them holler about how the United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. And then read on to see why these corporations actually pay less—if anything—in corporate taxes than their counterparts in other nations. From the New York Times:

By taking advantage of myriad breaks and loopholes that other countries generally do not offer, United States corporations pay only slightly more on average than their counterparts in other industrial countries. And some American corporations use aggressive strategies to pay less—often far less—than their competitors abroad and at home. A Government Accountability Office study released in 2008 found that 55 percent of United States companies paid no federal income taxes during at least one year in a seven-year period it studied.

As our Executive PayWatch site points out, U.S. corporations held a record $1.93 trillion in cash on their balance sheets in 2010.

But they are not investing to expand their companies, grow the real economy or create good middle-class jobs. Corporate CEOs are literally hoarding their company’s cash—except when it comes to their own paychecks.

Something to think about, because even if tomorrow’s job report shows improvement in the number of unemployed workers, more than 25 million will still be unemployed or underemployed.

Mine Execs Want to Police Themselves on Safety

by Mike Hall, May 5, 2011

The day after federal mine safety officials announced a series of “outrageous” safety violations at a Massey Energy West Virginia coal mine, mining industry officials were on Capitol Hill calling for fewer federal inspections and a voluntary safety program.

At the hearing before the Education and Workforce’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee, the Republican majority allowed just one worker’s witness, Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts, while three mine industry executives testified. Said Roberts:

The disaster at Upper Big Branch, as well as the other deaths and illnesses that continue to plague the mining industry make it clear that Congress must do more to protect miners. Operators should be required to make better efforts to prevent illnesses and injuries in the first place. After all, the mining industry has shown time and time again it is not very effective at self-policing.

Roberts said the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) needs more enforcement tools, not fewer. He called for stronger safety rules, frequent and unannounced inspections and tougher penalties. (Click here for his full testimony.)

But Anthony Bumbico, vice president of Arch Minerals, the nation’s second largest coal company, lobbied for a voluntary approach to safety, patterned after an OSHA program known as the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).

The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward points out on his Coal Tattoo blog, “It’s worth remembering that most coal-mine deaths are the result of mine operators violating long established safety laws and regulations.”

He writes that the mining industry has been pushing for a voluntary approach, “basically eliminating MSHA” for years, and that the employer-based program was “a pet project” for Bush administration MSHA chief Dave Lauriski.

something to either do away with required quarterly inspections or to create a program for “focused inspections” of only the mines with the worst previous safety performance. The National Mining Association, oddly enough, pushed for this previously just two months after the Sago disaster back in March 2006.

Backdropping the hearing was MSHA’s announcement Tuesday that it had issued 20 withdrawal orders and five citations following a surprise “impact” inspection at a Boone County, W.Va., mine owned by Massey, not far from the Upper Big Branch mine where 29 miners died in an explosion last year. MSHA chief Joe Main says:

The conduct and behavior exhibited when we caught the mine operator by surprise is nothing short of outrageous. Despite the tragedy at Upper Big Branch last year, and all our efforts to bring mine operators into compliance, some still aren’t getting it. The conditions observed at Randolph Mine place miners at serious risk to the threat of fire, explosion and black lung. Yet, MSHA inspectors can’t be at every mine every day. Our continuing challenge is counteracting the egregious behavior of certain mine operators.

NDP Makes Major Gains in Canadian Elections

Thu. May 05, 2011

The strongly pro-working family New Democratic Party (NDP) made Canadian history when Canadians elected 102 NDP members of Parliament in the May 2, 2011 federal election. When the last Parliament dissolved, the NDP had 36 seats.

The NDP picked up 58 seats in Quebec, including that of Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe. Before the election, the party had a single seat in Montréal, held by NDP finance critic Tom Mulcair.

“We heard the Quebeckers message of change and hope,” said NDP leader Jack Layton. “They expressed it very clearly so that we won’t be able to forget it.” Layton pledged to try to make parliament work “I will propose constructive solutions focused on helping all Canadians,” he said.

“The challenge to our Canadian IAM members and their families is to stay involved,” said IAM Canadian General Vice President Dave Ritchie. “We have 102 members in Ottawa, including 66 rookies who are going to be your voice in Parliament. I encourage our members to get acquainted with these MPs, share your ideas and concerns with them and, above all, give them your support.”

SAMs Workers Rally for Justice

NFFE-IAM Federal District 1 President & DBR Bill Dougan, second from left, rallies with DC Safety/Hospitality Maintenance workers demanding their employer, Downtown Business Improvement District, recognize the IAM as the workers’ union.

Thu. May 05, 2011

Dozens of IAM members rallied in downtown Washington, DC, demanding an end to their employer’s refusal to recognize the IAM as their union. The DC Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance (SAMs) workers picketed outside the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) office demanding the company recognize the Machinists Union as the workers’ certified union.

SAMs workers are often seen out and around downtown DC donning red shirts and caps. Their job is to assist the public with directions, pick-up trash and alert the police of any trouble. The workers voted to join the IAM in 2009, citing pay and sick leave issues.

“Despite the National Labor Relations Board certifying the election twice, Downtown BID continues to draw out the legal battle, and refuses to recognize the union,” said Cory Bythrow, spokesperson for the National Federation of Federal Employees/IAM Federal District 1. “This is an effort to undermine support for the union among employees.”

Downtown BID has fought two NLRB decisions certifying the election in favor of the IAM. The company recently appealed an April 4 th NLRB decision in which the Board dismissed BID’s unfounded claims of union intimidation.

“We need to get a public hearing with the City Council and the people of Washington so they are aware of Downtown BID’s hostile treatment of its employees,” said NFFE-IAM Federal District 1 Business Representative Roosevelt Littlejohn. “In my 30 years of union work I have never met a company that treats its employees as unfairly as the Downtown BID.”

“BID is acting unfair in fighting the union,” said John Wright, a SAMs worker who was wrongfully fired for taking time off to take care of his sick wife. “Let the union come in and let us have a place at the table. Respect our workplace rights.”

Study: Tobacco Workers Face Brutal Conditions in Tobacco Fields

by James Parks, May 5, 2011

The nearly 100,000 workers who travel to North Carolina each summer to harvest the state’s tobacco crop are often repaid for their hard work with sub-minimum wages, dangerous conditions in the fields and inhumane living conditions, according to findings released today from a human rights assessment conducted by Oxfam America and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC).

The findings will be presented tomorrow to the annual shareholders’ meeting of Reynolds American in Winston-Salem, N.C., where supporters will call on the company to take action to end the abuses in its supply chain. Although Reynolds does not directly employ the farm workers on its contract farms, it sets the terms with its contract growers and profits from the farm workers’ labor. The full report “A State of Fear: Human Rights Abuses in North Carolina’s Tobacco Industry” will be released this summer. Click here to read the summary.

Key findings highlighted in the summary released today include:

•One-fourth of workers report being paid less than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.
•Most of the workers interviewed suffer regularly from symptoms of “green tobacco sickness,” which is caused by excessive absorption of nicotine through the skin.
•Nearly all the workers who lived in employer-provided housing described inadequate or nonworking showers and toilets, overcrowding, leaky roofs, beds with mattresses that were worn out or missing, insect and rodent infestations and lacking or inadequate cooking and laundry facilities.

FLOC Secretary-Treasuer Beatriz Maya said at a rally, in front of the company’s headquarters:

For years Reynolds has made excuses, and tried to either deny that there’s a problem or shift the blame somewhere else, and we’re here today on Reynolds’ doorstep to tell them that there is a big problem, to show them the facts, and to let them know that we are holding them responsible. It’s time for Reynolds to do right by the workers who harvest their tobacco, and to come together with the rest of their industry to make changes. We do not accept their excuses for the inexcusable conditions that tobacco farm workers are being forced to endure.

Meanwhile, momentum is building for a mass march and rally tomorrow in Winston-Salem to demand better conditions in the tobacco fields. Thousands of farm workers, community, labor and student allies will call on Reynolds to meet with FLOC to discuss the conditions workers face in the tobacco fields. For at least four years, Reynolds has refused to meet with FLOC.

Last week, the workers gained a major victory when executives of British American Tobacco (BAT), which owns 42 percent of Reynolds American, agreed to meet with FLOC later this month. This is the first time any corporation with close ties to Reynolds American has agreed to meet with workers.

Also last week, farm workers, union members and members of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) protested at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., and at British consulates in nine cities in support of the tobacco workers.

Update Passports, Cell Phones for National Staff Conference

Thu. May 05, 2011

IAM representatives from the United States who are assigned to the 2011 National Staff Conference scheduled for June 12-16, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, are reminded that they need a valid U.S. passport to enter Canada. If you do not have a current passport, you should apply for, or update, your passport as soon as possible. Click here to go to the State Department website for the application form and further instructions.

Another concern is extra charges for international cell phone usage. Before leaving for the Staff Conference, contact your cell phone carrier about making and receiving calls while in Canada. Most major phone companies have ongoing or temporary service plans that allow you to make international calls. Call your carrier for specific information about your phone plan. Also, international text messaging is much more expensive and IAM staff using IAM-issued cell phones should limit their use of text messaging.

IAM Supports ‘Make it in America’ Agenda

Thu. May 05, 2011

The IAM welcomed House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer’s effort to restore the national focus on creating and preserving U.S. jobs as the primary pathway back to national economic prosperity.

“Each month that passes without a comprehensive national plan to rebuild our manufacturing infrastructure is another month that this nation will suffer,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. “The time for debate and lip service to the notion of large-scale job creation has past. We need big ideas, big enough to put hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work every month. Our economy will remain stuck in neutral until we do.”

The IAM recently issued “ Creating and Sustaining U.S. Manufacturing Jobs,” as part of its effort to raise awareness of the importance of preserving U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Buffenbarger praised components of the “Make it in America” agenda proposed by Rep. Hoyer as critical to restoring the nation’s economic and national security. “Every American should be concerned about the outsourcing of key defense capabilities and loss of this nation’s ability to manufacture the means of our own defense,” said Buffenbarger. “I am grateful to Rep. Hoyer for giving this important issue the attention it deserves.”