4,000 in New Jersey Show Support for Wisconsin Public Employees

by John Goltz, Feb 26, 2011

This is a crosspost from the New Jersey State AFL-CIO.

The unity rally at the State House was a tremendous success, and you made it happen. Union members from across the state and nation, from all sectors of our labor movement, joined with our community partners and stood together – over 4,000 strong – to show solidarity for the Wisconsin workers. (CLICK HERE for photos of the rally and to see solidarity in action.)

Everyone who believes in solidarity and knows what’s at risk for the middle class was there. Although the rain started falling, a little downpour was not cause for hesitation; it simply meant that we were more determined than ever to stand together. Our signs were held higher, and a swell of umbrellas joined the concert of colors which swept across the crowd. Standing shoulder to shoulder at the rally were bakery workers and iron workers, teachers and laborers, nurses and electricians, firefighters and plumbers, painters and social workers, carpenters and grocery workers, teamsters and bus drivers, secretaries and steelworkers, professors and sheet metal workers, police officers and plasterers, toll collectors, and asbestos workers, a wide range of state workers, and the list goes on.

Solis: Govs. in Wis. and Ohio Want Workers to Give Up Their American Rights

by Tula Connell, Feb 26, 2011

The nation’s governors are meeting right now in Washington, D.C., for their annual conference. Well, not all of them. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a no-show, preferring to make the rounds on the weekend television interview programs to explain away why he wants to take away the freedom of public employees to bargain for good middle-class jobs.

Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) also is meeting this weekend. Here are excerpts from the statement Labor Secretary Hilda Solis made this morning when meeting with the DNC. Walker needs to read these remarks. And so does Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who’s right on the heels of Walker in his attacks on nurses, teachers and EMTs.

Florida Tech Flight Instructors vote IAM

Flight instructors at the Florida Institute of Technology voted to join the IAM after concerns about unpaid hours and benefits.


Thu. February 24, 2011

A five-month campaign to organize flight instructors at the Florida Institute of Technology came to a close this week after the instructors voted 34-7 to join the IAM.

The newest members of District Lodge 166 say their vote was based on concerns about pay and benefits. Despite the hours they spend at the Florida Tech flight school, instructors are only paid when the airplane engine is on or when working with a student. They are also unable to receive health care benefits, sick days and vacation until they’ve clocked in 3,000 hours of instruction, which can reportedly take up to five years.

EEOC Probes Jobless Discrimination Claims

Thu. February 24, 2011

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces U.S. laws prohibiting employment discrimination, is investigating recent claims of employers discriminating against the jobless. The commission held a public meeting last week in which it heard testimony from various employment advocacy groups who say some employers are posting want ads with a disclaimer to unemployed applicants.

The message “Unemployed Need Not Apply” is a growing trend in the labor market amongst employers looking to fill their payrolls with “experienced” workers. The assumption, said Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project (NELP) Christine Owens when testifying before the EEOC, is that unemployed workers’ skills are outdated

IAM Flight Attendants at Continental Ratify Industry Leading Agreement

Fri. February 25, 2011

Washington, D.C., February 25, 2011 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today announced that Flight Attendants at Continental Airlines have voted to ratify a new interim collective bargaining agreement that will raise their top base pay to $52.53 per hour while providing a no-furlough guarantee for the duration of the accord.

The contract was ratified by 68 percent of voting members, with 70 percent of the overall membership participating. The new interim agreement covers 9,300 Flight Attendants based in Houston, TX, Newark, NJ and Cleveland, OH. The 20-month contract is retroactive to January 1, 2010.

“This interim agreement provides immediate raises and important merger protections as United and Continental integrate their operations,” said IAM General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. “After we win representation rights for the combined Flight Attendant group, we will return to the table and negotiate long-term improvements for all 25,000 Flight Attendants.”

19 Latino Organizations Denounce Assaults on Public Employees

by James Parks, Feb 25, 2011

Nineteen Latino organizations, including the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), have come together to oppose the attacks on public servants. Governors or legislators in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Iowa and Florida are pushing extremist legislation that would take away the freedom of nurses, police, firefighters and other public employees to bargain for a middle-class life.

Wisconsin Police Set to Stage Sleep-In to Keep Capitol Open

by Tula Connell, Feb 25, 2011

The leader of the police union in Wisconsin is calling for Gov. Scott Walker to keep the state Capitol open—and today announced plans for a sleepover to make sure that happens.

State lawmakers approved a rule change two days ago that clears the way for limiting the public’s access to the state Capitol and ejecting people protesting Walker’s bill to take away public employees’ rights to bargain for good middle-class jobs.

Solidarity with Wisconsin Public Employees Growing

by James Parks, Feb 24, 2011

Some 2,000 working people rallied at the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul Tuesday to make it clear that Wisconsin-like attempts to destroy collective bargaining will not succeed in their state.

Gov. Mark Dayton joined the rally and the crowd roared when Dayton declared:

“Drastic, extreme measures will not become law here. They won’t become law—because I’m here.”

In Hartford, Conn., working people, union members and their allies gathered near the north entrance of the Capitol building yesterday in a show of solidarity with state workers in Wisconsin. Gov. Dannel Malloy briefly addressed the crowd, saying he views the unions as partners in his quest to close a budget gap estimated as high as $3.7 billion.

USW Rally Hits Attack on Public Service Workers

by James Parks, Feb 24, 2011

Hundreds of working Americans overflowed the lobby of United Steelworkers (USW) headquarters today into the streets of Pittsburgh, in a rally to show solidarity with teachers, nurses and other public service workers in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio whose freedom to bargain for a better life is under attack.

Boeing Wins $35 Billion Tanker Contract

The NewGen Tanker demonstrates its ability to refuel two aircraft.

by James Parks, Feb 24, 2011

The Air Force has given a major boost to U.S. job creation by awarding a $35 billion contract to build the next generation of air refueling tankers to Boeing Co. The announcement was made at the Pentagon late this afternoon after the financial markets closed.