Breaking: Wis. Working People Will Not Give Up After Republicans Rig Vote On Bargaining Bill

by James Parks, Mar 9, 2011

Breaking News: With their approval ratings in a free fall and Democrats standing firm, Wisconsin Senate Republicans used a hastily called conference committee this evening to rig a vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to eliminate public employee collective bargaining from the budget bill. The committee then sent the bill immediately to the full Senate, which advanced the measure 18-1 with no debate. None of the 14 Senate Democrats was present.

There are 15,000 people at the state capitol now protesting the vote and we encourage you who are in Madison to go there and add your voice for a vigil now and a rally at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

The Democratic senators have been in Illinois since Feb. 17, denying a quorum to consider the budget bill. Their dteremination forced the Republicans to show their true intentions: to deprive hard-working men and women of the freedom to bargain collectively.

The Senate needs 20 members to pass spending measures, but Republicans hold just 19 seats. Republicans would not need any Democrats to be present to pass the collective bargaining changes as a stand-alone bill because it is not fiscal in nature.

The struggle is not over. Working people are mobilizing and working on recall efforts to change the Wisconsin state Senate, and are exploring legal challenges to the manner in which tonight’s vote was conducted.

Duval Teachers Protest Budget Trims, Job Cuts

Jon M. Fletcher

Posted: March 9, 2011 - 12:00am
By The Times-Union

Timed to coincide with the opening of the state legislative session in Tallahassee, some Duval County teachers Tuesday joined a multi-county protest against budget cutting legislation they say will cost jobs.

Teachers responding to a call by their unions lined a stretch of Beach Boulevard in the St. Nicholas area for about an hour as workers drove home.

Signs demanding "Recall Rick Scott" or save collective bargaining were among those aimed at the governor and lawmakers.

Karen Moody, a teacher at Fort Caroline Middle School, said the legislation will force teachers out of the profession and make it a less attractive career to newcomers.

Similar rallies were held in Clay and St. Johns counties in Northeast Florida.

Fla. Might Disrupt Presidential Primary Schedule

Mar 9, 3:27 AM EST
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
AP Political Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- In a virtual replay of 2008, Florida is bucking national Democrats and Republicans in planning an early presidential primary, an act of defiance that creates strategic challenges for GOP candidates and could unravel the parties' primary calendar next year.

The added wrinkle this time: The 2012 Republican National Convention is in Tampa. If national Republican leaders make good on their threat to penalize states that don't follow the rules, host delegates could be stopped at the door when the GOP gathers to pick its presidential ticket.

Wis. Gov. Proposes Union Compromise in E-mails

AP Photo/Andy Manis

Mar 8, 8:42 PM EST
By SCOTT BAUER and DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has offered to keep certain collective bargaining rights in place for state workers in a proposed compromise aimed at ending a nearly three-week standoff with absent Senate Democrats, according to e-mails released Tuesday by his office.

The e-mails, some dated as recently as Sunday, show a softened stance in Walker's talks with the 14 Democrats who fled to Illinois to block a vote on his original proposal that would strip nearly all collective bargaining rights for public workers and force concessions amounting to an average 8 percent pay cut.

Under the compromise floated by Walker and detailed in the e-mails, workers would be able to continue bargaining over their salaries with no limit, a change from his original plan that banned negotiated salary increases beyond inflation. He also proposed compromises allowing collective bargaining to stay in place on mandatory overtime, performance bonuses, hazardous duty pay and classroom size for teachers.

Show Solidarity with the Women Working at T-Mobile

by James Parks, Mar 8, 2011

In recognition of International Women’s Day, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and unions around the world are standing in solidarity with the women of T-Mobile USA. As part of the global campaign, CWA is collecting messages of strength and support on its website and Facebook page—messages to encourage them as they go to work each day under harsh and unfair conditions.

Please join this show of solidarity by sending a message of support right now. You can post one on CWA’s “We Expect Better from T-Mobile” Facebook wall or submit your message here.

In February, the global union movement launched a major worldwide campaign to convince Deutsche Telekom to end its anti-union actions and allow employees at its T-Mobile USA subsidiary to join a union if they choose.

International Women’s Day: U.S., South African Union Women Share Strategies

by James Parks, Mar 8, 2011

The problems facing working women extend across national boundaries, and today, International Women’s Day, women organizers on opposite sides of the world shared ideas and inspiration. In a live teleconference, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and four young women organizers in the United States talked with a roomful of women organizers in Johannesburg, South Africa. Shuler began by saying:

With the global jobs crisis increasing unemployment…young workers, young women workers entering the workforce struggle to find decent work. Given the challenges facing young women workers around the world, the AFL-CIO, ITUC [International Trade Union Confederation] and [the South African trade union federations] hope to use International Women’s Day as a way to shine a spotlight on the important role unions can play in the lives of young women workers.

Organizers in both countries spoke about rising unemployment and precarious work as key challenges to organizing women workers. Unemployment among women around the world is growing. In a special report, “Living with Economic Insecurity: Women in Precarious Work,” the ITUC found that while the initial impact of the crisis was equally detrimental to men and women, increasing numbers of women are now either losing their jobs or being forced into temporary and informal forms of work. To read the full report, click here.

20,000 Expected for ‘We Are Indiana’ Rally

More than 1,000 people rallied to save Indiana’s schools this past Saturday.


by James Parks, Mar 8, 2011

As many as 20,000 people are expected to converge on the Indiana Statehouse March 10 to join a “We Are Indiana” protest against Gov. Mitch Daniels’ anti-worker agenda.

Although the so-called “right to work” bill is off the table, there is still a long list of bills pending in the legislature that restrict workers’ rights and attack their middle-class lifestyle.

Jeff Harris, a spokesman for the Indiana AFL-CIO, said rallies also will be held in local communities that day.

So far, more than 35,000 Hoosiers have participated in protests across the state over the past 15 days. Today, those at the Statehouse plan to mourn the “death of the middle class” with a New Orleans-style funeral procession.

On Saturday, some 1,000 people braved the cold and rain for a rally to “Save Indiana’s Schools.” Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott told the crowd:

There’s an anti-worker agenda being pushed through this legislature, make no mistake about it. Only by standing up and fighting against these attacks will we be able to protect working Hoosiers.

Asian Pacific American Groups Announce Support for Public Employees

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), representing a wide range of Asian Pacific American communities, pledged support for public employees in a historic and unified gesture of solidarity. The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), a constituency group of the AFL-CIO, is one of the 29 member organizations of the coalition and currently sits on the Executive Committee.

Recently, politicians in several states have sought to undermine the long-held right of public employees to form unions and to bargain collectively. Said Gregory Cendana, APALA executive director and NCAPA secretary:

Supporting public employee unions will help Asian Pacific Americans achieve the American Dream by allowing us to continue fighting for a voice in the workplace. Asian Pacific American workers are struggling to keep up in today’s economy, and unions are the front line of defending APA workers, who are often immigrants. Eliminating collective bargaining rights would weaken workers’ ability to provide for their families, address issues of dangerous workplaces, discrimination, pay, benefits and dignity on the job.

George Wu, executive director of OCA and chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, adds:

OCA understands that the hopes and aspirations of Asian Pacific American workers is tied to labor protections and the right to bargain collectively. We express our support for the millions of workers, parents and students who are fighting to keep their workplace freedoms and the right to negotiate for their well-being.

Wis. Gov. Walker’s Rapidly-Sinking Ship Takes on More Water

by Tula Connell, Mar 8, 2011

This from AFL-CIO Political Communications Director Eddie Vale.

Just one day after a media stunt that blew up in his face, further uniting Senate Democrats and Wisconsin’s working families against him, Scott Walker is facing the prospect of mass defections as Senate Republicans are no longer willing to tolerate his extreme power grab and bear the albatross of a Walker disapproval number–which threatening to crack 60 percent. One former Senate Republican aide even penned a memo advising Republicans “to wake up before their own districts disappear in the rear-view” and get off Walker’s rapidly-sinking ship.

Meanwhile, evidence mounts that Walker’s control over the Senate Republican Caucus is slipping away and that individual senators are fed up with his refusal to negotiate with Democrats. In addition to Sen. Dale Schultz, who has already announced he’s with the 74% of Wisconsinites opposed to Walker’s bill, Republicans Bob Cowles, Luther Olsen and Dan Kapanke—all facing aggressive recall efforts in their home districts—have indicated they want Walker come to the table to negotiate a deal that gets Wisconsin moving forward again.

LGBT Organizations Back Public Employees

by James Parks, Mar 8, 2011

Nearly 50 national organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have signed a labor solidarity statement sponsored by the AFL-CIO constituency group Pride at Work. The statement supports the rights of public employees to bargain.

The statement says, in part:

As national, state and local organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, we stand in solidarity with teachers, firefighters, nurses and all workers across this country fighting for their basic rights–for all of our rights. We are one.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) , which recently signed the statement, issued a statement that called collective bargaining a “key tool in our ability to attain equal rights.”

HRC affirms our belief that citizens should have the right to have a say in their future. The ability for workers to come together and negotiate with employers for the best possible future for themselves and their families is and should remain a fundamental tenet of the workplace.