Tell the NLRB: Workers Support a Level Playing Field

Thu. August 18, 2011

Corporate giants and anti-worker front groups are flooding the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with letters to stop the enactment of several new rules that would level the playing field for workers in union representation elections.

The proposed rules would make union representation elections fairer by simplifying procedures, deferring litigation and setting shorter deadlines for hearings and filings. Currently when workers petition the NLRB for an election, it can take months and even years before they can cast a vote. Companies often use this time to threaten, scare and discourage workers from voting. Many hire “union busting” consulting firms who assist the company in deterring employees.

The NLRB is accepting public comments before making a decision on whether the rules should become final. It’s up to working families to make sure our voices are heard in this debate. Send a letter by clicking here. Tell the NLRB you support the rule to level the playing field so workers can decide for themselves whether to form a union.

Machinists Union Infographic Pits Fair Trade vs. Free Trade

Thu. August 18, 2011

A new IAM graphic details steps to achieving fair U.S. trade policy, as opposed to the unfair, seriously-flawed South Korea, Colombia and Panama Free Trade Agreements now under debate in Washington.

Fair trade puts people and their communities before billionaire CEOs and their transnational corporations who have no loyalty to the workers who made them so successful. Therefore, a sound and fair trade agreement must include:

A comprehensive review of the impact all past trade agreements have had on U.S. jobs and workers BEFORE negotiating any new agreements. All current and proposed agreements would be put on hold until a detailed study is completed;

Adoption of the core labor standards set forth by the International Labour Organization (ILO), including those concerning safety, health and decent pay;

Preservation of U.S. government procurement policies and stronger Buy American laws;

Elimination of investor-to-state dispute resolution mechanisms;
Reform of U.S. tax policy to eliminate and discourage the outsourcing of American jobs;

Rebuilding of the U.S. manufacturing sector;
Reversal of the current $497.8 billion trade deficit;

Renewed commitment toward stronger and more effective enforcement of U.S. trade laws; and

Immediate curtailment of China’s unfairly-valued currency, illegal subsidies, manipulation of “state-owned enterprises” and violations of fundamental human rights.

These principles are reflected in the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME). The IAM is proud to be one of the first supporters of this important legislation.

Stand up for fair trade – not free trade – by clicking “Like” on the IAM Facebook page. Tell Congress to vote “No” on the South Korea, Colombia and Panama Free Trade Agreements!

IAM Preserves Jobs for Workers at Closed Pratt Plants

Thu. August 18, 2011

Despite the closures of Pratt & Whitney’s Cheshire and East Hartford CARO overhaul facilities in Connecticut, IAM members who worked at those locations still have jobs.

“From the time closing notices were received in July 2009, the members and negotiating committee of District 26 were determined to reach an agreement that would preserve those jobs,” said Jim Parent, IAM chief negotiator and District Lodge 26 Assistant Directing Business Representative.

“The closings affected 497 of our members,” continued Parent. “Seventy took the buy-out that Pratt offered; and because of the contract language negotiated in our last round of bargaining, we were able to place the remaining 427 workers in jobs. Our job-security provisions remain some of the best contract protections in the country.”

A majority of the workers were moved to similar jobs in Middletown or East Hartford. Some are receiving training through a community college machining program and will then go to work as machinists in Middletown. Still others have been given jobs as utility workers and the rest retired.

The CARO (Connecticut Airfoil Repair Operation) shop closed last spring, and Cheshire closed last week. The plant closings are due to Pratt & Whitney moving the work to Georgia and Asia.

Another FAA Shutdown Looming over Rep. Mica’s, Delta’s Union-Busting Scheme

by Mike Hall, Aug 18, 2011

Workers and allies told Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) to back off Delta’s union-busting scheme when he arrived at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

If a funding agreement isn’t reached by Sept. 16, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) faces another shutdown like the one Republicans forced in July. That shutdown cost 4,000 FAA workers and 70,000 construction workers two weeks’ pay, halted important airport safety improvements and cost taxpayers some $400 million. It ended Aug. 5 with a temporary FAA reauthorization.

But another shutdown just might happen if Republicans like Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) continue to carry Delta Air Lines’ baggage by backing a provision in the long-term House FAA funding bill—supported by Delta—to take away democratic union election rights for aviation and rail workers. Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) President Veda Shook says Mica is:

acting as Delta Air Lines’ pawn by advancing a union-busting provision and threatening another shutdown of the FAA. Mica’s contempt for workers and the 75,000 people who were out of work due to the partial shutdown of the FAA is feeding Delta’s grossly funded union-busting scheme.

AFA-CWA unions are stepping up the pressure on Mica, his Republican colleagues and Delta—and you can join in. Click here to sign a petition to Delta telling the airline it’s time to cease its support for the “entirely undemocratic” union election provision that would count workers who don’t participate in a union election as “No” votes.

AFA-CWA members are holding rallies and are picketing at airports and congressional district offices, including outside Mica’s home district office. Last week, they rallied at airports in Seattle; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Philadelphia; Charlotte; and Atlanta and plan more actions before Congress returns to work next month.

Mica claims he did not orchestrate the July shutdown over the union election rules and says he is “surprised” at the heat he is receiving. But Dana Milbank of The Washington Post writes:

Letting his anti-labor ideology take over, he tried to use the FAA bill to overturn a decision by the National Mediation Board to rescind an old rule that had made it unusually difficult for airline workers to organize. Delta Air Lines furiously lobbied Congress to intervene…Mica, as much as anybody, created a culture of distrust, where staking out bargaining positions leads not to compromise but to warfare. And now he’s surprised?

The Senate version of the FAA reauthorization bill protects workers’ rights. Lawmakers like Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) refused to give in to Mica’s hostage taking of the bill in July and vow to continue to support workers.

Add Your Name to Union Plus Solidarity Map

by James Parks, Aug 17, 2011

This Labor Day, it is more important than ever to show the strength of working families.

Union Plus, part of Union Privilege, the consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO, is inviting all working people to come together online to show America our strength and solidarity. If you support American workers, join other working people and be counted on the Union Plus Solidarity Map. The goal is to have 10,000 participants on Labor Day, Sept. 5.

Click here to show support for all workers in North America by adding your name to the Solidarity Map and here to view the map, which is updated every 15 minutes.

Here are some other ways you can show your solidarity this Labor Day and every day.
•Support your U.S. fellow workers—and their jobs—by buying union-made products and products made in the U.S.A.
•Share these “36 Reasons to Thank a Union” with friends who may not realize what unions have done for every one of America’s workers.
•Share a photo of how you and your family and friends celebrated Labor Day 2011.
•Learn more about the history of Labor Day and the story of the U.S. labor movement.

There’s strength in numbers. So stand up, be counted and encourage others to do the same.

Allstate Agents Vote to Join OPEIU

by James Parks, Aug 17, 2011

Employees of the American Arbitration Association count ballots as (from left) OPEIU President Michael Goodwin, NAPAA Executive Director Jim Fish and President Robert Isacsen, OPEIU Director of Communication Nicole Korkolis and OPEIU Director of Organization and Field Services Kevin Kistler oversee the count

Members of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents (NAPAA) voted overwhelmingly today to join the AFL-CIO-affiliated Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU).

Ballots were mailed to all 1,200 members of NAPAA and, when they were tallied, more than 94 percent had voted in favor of affiliating with OPEIU. The vote was administered by the American Arbitration Association.

The NAPAA Board of Directors is expected to meet in the near future to formally approve the affiliation. Once the agreement is approved, NAPAA members will become members in OPEIU, the AFL-CIO and all state federations.

NAPAA will become a guild affiliate of OPEIU and will not have a collective bargaining agreement. By joining OPEIU, NAPAA members will have assistance with promoting legislation and gaining legal expertise.

Currently, agents, who are small business owners, are subjected to unachievable quotas, the specter of reduced compensation and an ever-present threat of contract termination.

OPEIU President Michael Goodwin says:

This is a matter of defending the interests of ill-treated small business owners, and NAPAA members have recognized that OPEIU is the right organization to help them achieve the benefits and protections they deserve.

Still Nickel and Dimed and (Not) Getting by in America

by Tula Connell, Aug 17, 2011

Congratulations to author Barbara Ehrenreich for the 10th anniversary re-issuance of her classic study of the working poor, “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America.” Ehrenreich didn’t just write a theoretical study, she based the book on her experiences working as a waitress, a Wal-Mart “associate,” a nursing home aide and a maid employed by a cleaning service. At the time the book came out, Ehrenreich wrote a piece for us based on her experiences. She concluded:

…even in an economy celebrating unequaled prosperity, a person can work hard, full-time or even more, and not make enough to live on.

That was in 2001. The U.S. unemployment rate at mid-year was 4.5 percent. There were 150,400 home foreclosures in the first quarter of that year, as reported in Aug. 17, 2001, by The New York Times, which noted that home sales were on track to make 2001 the second-best year ever.

Today, the 2001 economy seems like a dream. America’s jobless rate has hovered between 9.1 percent and 10.1 percent for more than a year, with foreclosures in July alone totaling 221,763—and that figure is a 44-month low.

Working at low-wage jobs during the dot.com boom when the economy was buzzing, Ehrenreich wrote that while employed as a waitress,

The money I saved on rent was being burned up as gas for commuting. Without a well-stocked kitchen, I couldn’t make up big, economical dishes and freeze them ahead for the week, so I was spending too much on fast food. I began to realize it’s actually more expensive to be poor than middle class: You pay more for food, especially in convenience stores; you pay to get checks cashed; and you can end up paying ridiculous prices for shelter.

Today, millions upon millions of America’s working don’t even have a paycheck. Yet as Ehrenreich points out in an article on CNN today, the nation doesn’t just need jobs—some 12 million, in fact, to make up what’s been lost—it needs good jobs, jobs that support a family.

She also points out that the economic decline of America’s middle class began some 40 years ago, when fewer unionized workers resulted in an increasing gap between wages and productivity. The decline, accelerated in this latest recession, has been non-stop since the 1970s. Ehrenreich describes the “sad trajectory of the American middle-class spirit from the late ’70s to the present day.”

We’ve gone from Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It” to begging the sleek-suited “job creators” for whatever they can throw our way.

Ten years ago, Ehrenreich stated that after her experiences as a low-wage worker,

if this were my real life, I would become an agitator in no time at all, or at least a serious nuisance.

Today, she sees such signs of hope, some “courageous exceptions” to the notion of groveling for corporate crumbs.

Forty-five thousand Verizon employees are walking picket lines to defend their hard-won union wages and benefits. Thousands of Wal-Mart employees have signed up as members of an association (“Our Walmart”) to demand respect from the company.

Even the most isolated and “invisible” workers—nannies and maids—are organizing themselves into a National Domestic Workers Alliance. As anyone in these groups could you tell: We don’t just need more jobs, we need more jobs that treat employees like humans and pay what you could actually live on.

Verizon Joins Extreme Fringe’s Attack on Middle-Class Jobs

by Mike Hall, Aug 17, 2011

More than 45,000 Verizon workers are standing strong on picket lines and at rallies and marches for middle-class jobs, as the strike enters its second week. But while the public has rallied for their fight for middle-class jobs—you can sign a petition here—Verizon has lined up with the extremist Scott Walkers, John Kasichs and other far-right elements in attacking working families.

Striking Verizon families have begun receiving letters from the $20 billion company telling them they will lose their health care coverage if the strike isn’t over by Aug. 31.

Communications Workers of America (CWA) has made a commitment to assist striking workers in paying for their health care needs out of the Robert Lilja Members Relief Fund (RLMRF) during their participation in the strike. Click here for more information.

CWA District 9 Vice President Jim Weitkamp told a cheering audience of United Steelworkers (USW) at the union’s convention in Las Vegas yesterday:

Verizon has aligned itself with the ultra right wing in this country, which is determined to destroy collective bargaining in the United States. They have their hand in the pocket of every working class family in this country. We will not stand by and let them mug us in broad daylight.

Click here for his full remarks.

More than 1,000 religious leaders have signed a petition to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam urging him to bargain fairly and in good faith with the CWA and Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Interfaith Worker Justice’s (IWJ’s) Jonathan Currie says Verizon has become the latest example of how even profitable corporations are demanding concessions from workers during this economic downturn. Verizon has made billions of dollars in revenues in recent years and rewarded its executives with millions.

People of faith in this country are deeply concerned with the way working families are being punished in this economy….There is no reason for a company like Verizon to demand huge cuts in pay and benefits from its workers.

Meanwhile, the IBEW reports that Verizon has been using thousands of inadequately trained replacement workers and managers to try and perform the jobs of the skilled Verizon workers on strike. The results have not been pretty.

Says IBEW Local 2321 Business Manager Ed Starr:

We’re seeing people without the right safety equipment, trying to do the job without doing the proper pre-work safety checks. These are the kind of screw ups that would get any of us written up in a heartbeat. The majority of these replacements have no telecommunications training and someone is going to get hurt bad unless Verizon settles this.

A video captured by Middleboro, Mass., Local 2321 shows IBEW strikers stepping in to prevent replacement workers from causing damage and personal injury to themselves and others. Local 2321 has been documenting unsafe working practices on its Facebook page since the strike began.

CWA Local 2205 President Jerry Rogers told the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press:

They want to see if they can break us and they’re not going to.

For more information on events and how you can support striking Verizon workers all along the East Coast, click here and here for events in New York and New Jersey.

Here are other ways you can show solidarity with the strikers and stand up for middle-class jobs:
•Find a local picket line to support here.
•Download leaflets here.
•“Like” the strikers on Facebook here and change your Facebook and/or Twitter profile picture in solidarity here.
•Click here to sign and tweet an act.ly petition demanding Verizon drop its outrageous concessionary demands.
•To tweet about the strike, use the hashtag #verizonstrike and feel free to direct to @VZLaborfacts.

New York Area Drivers Gather to Organize

Thu. August 18, 2011

A diverse group of workers from New York and New Jersey met at the Winpisinger Education & Technology Center to plan the next steps to organize not only themselves, but the nearly 10,000 Black Car Drivers in their respective states. District 15 in New York City now represents about 100 drivers in the industry.

The Black Car Drivers provide premium personal transportation services in the New York metro area and most are recent immigrants from all corners of the globe trying to build a good life in the United States. To get started in the industry, they must purchase an upscale vehicle and buy a “franchise” from a “base” for up to $80,000. The “base” provides them with a dispatcher and client contacts. All of the other operating costs, including upkeep, maintenance, insurance, even monthly fees to the dispatchers, are born by the drivers.

Nearly two dozen drivers from different “bases” traveled to the Winpisinger Center for a three day session of basic union orientation, their rights to organize, campaign strategy, tactics, goals and solidarity within the group. “This was very informative for me,” said Yun Li. “I didn’t know anything about my rights or even a union, other than the untruth I was told by my base owners. The only way to find the truth for yourself, is face to face. The training and planning of the past days have shown me what’s right, and now I can see hope for the future.”

“Imagine going to your job day in and day out and not only having to pay to work there, but also paying for the product or service you provide and nearly every cost associated with it,” said District 15 DBR, Jim Conigliaro, Sr. “These drivers can spend up to 15 hours every day on call and not get a single call, and they still foot the operating bill for that day. Many times the lack of a call is punishment from the dispatchers after the drivers try to exercise their basic rights. As a whole, drivers earn less than $25,000 per year with no benefits and a dim future for themselves and their families, at the same time serving some of the wealthiest people on Wall Street.”

“These workers are barely scraping by in an industry patronized by wealthy Wall Street Bankers, who pit these workers against one another to get cheaper rates,” said Eastern Territory GVP Lynn D. Tucker, Jr. “Their working conditions have developed into something unseen in the labor movement for many years. The drivers pay large sums of money to get in the industry, pay fees, fines and penalties that amount to working for the company store, with no way out and no future at the end. The IAM intends to help them change all that.”