House Republicans, Delta Move to Overturn Fair Election Rules for Air and Rail Workers

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

The battle over workers’ rights moves from state capitols to Capitol Hill next week when House Republicans will try to repeal rules that guarantee fair and democratic elections for workers who want to form unions.

The House is set vote on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill with a provision that would repeal last year’s new rule by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that says air and rail elections should be decided just like any other election—including congressional elections—by a majority of votes cast.

Previously under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which covers rail and airline workers, each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.

Republicans and their corporate partners in the transportation industry fought to block the NMB rule through the courts and with a Senate bill last year. They are now mounting a campaign to overturn it through the FAA bill and Delta Airlines is leading the way, reports Brian Beutler on Talking Points Memo.

Now, sources say, a similar fight is likely to play out on the House floor, and anti-union employees at Delta Airlines are preparing to fly to Washington to join the fight.

Beutler says the group “No Way AFA”–a coalition of Deltal employees who want to derail union rights–sent a message to its members obtained by TPM that asserts, “Delta strongly supports the bill” as currently written. AFA is the Association of Flight Attendants, the flight attendants union.

Learning the Lessons of Wisconsin

International President Tom Buffenbarger called on delegates at the 2011 MNPL Planning Committee meeting to meet with members, face-to-face, and explain the scope of the right wing's anti-union and anti-middle class agenda currently underway in the United States.


Thu. March 24, 2011

International President Tom Buffenbarger addressed the 2011 MNPL National Planning Committee this week and described the midterm elections results as a direct consequence of both political parties’ failure to address the core concerns of American voters.

“In the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, voters wanted bold programs and concrete proposals to create jobs and revive the economy,” said Buffenbarger. “It’s what the voters are still waiting for, and it’s what this country still needs.”

Despite the election of a slew of right-wing extremists, the results are also providing a wake-up call for the millions of Americans who stayed away from the polls last year.

“The people of Wisconsin learned an important lesson and now they’re teaching the rest of us,” said Buffenbarger, who described the extraordinary mix of farmers, office workers, students and families who turned out for the protests there. “It’s not just about unions any more, it’s about what’s right.”

Nationwide, more than 200 rallies and marches have taken place in support of workers’ rights in Wisconsin, or in response to nearly 400 pieces of anti-union legislation being proposed by right-wing GOP governors in other states.

“States like Wisconsin and Ohio are being used as proving grounds to find out how willing you are to fight back,” said John Winston, National Political Director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC). “And make no mistake, you’re fighting against people who fundamentally do not believe in your right to exist.”

In addition to Winston, MNPL delegates also heard reports from representatives of the Democratic Governors Association, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the AFL-CIO and the Union Veterans Council.

The four-day MNPL meeting concluded with territorial action plans and the annual awards ceremony where local and district lodges were honored for their political activism in support of candidates and legislation that support workers’ rights.

Gruber Rallies for Public-Sector Workers in Wisconsin

Phil Gruber, IAM GVP Midwest Territory

Thu. March 24, 2011

IAM Midwest Territory GVP Phil Gruber, along with a delegation of IAM members, joined others in Madison, WI, to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s legislation to strip public-sector workers of their collective bargaining rights.

As reported by Workers Independent News, Gruber told the crowd gathered for the city’s fifth weekend of protests that the Machinists are ready to stand side-by-side with public sector workers and take this fight head on. “If the Republicans want to wage a war against us, by God, we’re ready for it. Bring it on!” shouted Gruber.

Gruber warned that once rights are diminished for public-sector workers, there is no doubt GOP leaders will come for the private sector next. “If Walker is allowed to crush collective bargaining for the public employees of Wisconsin,” said Gruber, “it will only be a matter of time before the private sector employees are attacked, and the dominoes will begin to fall.

“As the story of labor unions is written, we have now reached the chapter where labor unions are under full attack. Thanks to the Republicans and the Tea Party, we are now fighting for our survival.

“Now is not the time to get mad, but a time to get organized. In every state where the maidens of the wealthy are trying to strip our collective bargaining rights, we will mobilize for recalls, ballot initiatives and political campaigns. IAM members have watched the wealthy destroy their jobs and their communities with unbridled greed. The Fighting Machinists have been aching for this fight.”

To watch GVP Gruber’s entire speech, click here.

People all across America are rising up in support of the workers in Wisconsin and those under attack in Ohio, Indiana and dozens of other states. Take action by joining unions, people of faith, civil and human rights activists, students and other progressive allies on April 4th for “We Are One.” It’s a day to show our solidarity. There will be a range of community- and workplace-focused actions. Click here for more information.

IAM Supports KOHKUREN in ILO Complaint

Robert Roach, IAM GVP Transportation Territory

Thu. March 24, 2011

This week, the IAM hosted the Japanese Federation of Aviation Workers’ Unions (KOHKUREN) at IAM Headquarters. The visit was part of the IAM’s continuing alliance with our Japanese brothers and sisters in the air transport industry.

During the meeting, KOHKUREN representatives explained the recently filed International Labour Organization (ILO) complaint concerning the bankruptcy-related dismissals of over 100 cabin attendants and cockpit crewmembers at Japan Air Lines.

“As North America’s largest airline union, the IAM continues to fight against all violations of fundamental human rights,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “We are proud to stand with our brothers and sisters in Japan who are struggling to make certain that ILO Conventions protecting the right to freedom of association, collective bargaining, and prohibiting against discrimination are honored and enforced.”

Guild Asks Huffington for Dialogue on Future of Journalism

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

Earlier this month, The Newspaper Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA), called on the unpaid writers at The Huffington Post to withhold their work in support of a strike launched by Visual Art Source in response to the company’s practice of using unpaid labor.

In an open letter today to publisher Arianna Huffington, TNG President Bernie Lunzer wrote that when Huffington Post spokesman Mario Ruiz was asked about TNG’s action, he said, “We stand squarely behind The Newspaper Guild’s mission of ensuring that media professionals receive fair compensation.”

We invite you to demonstrate this commitment by sitting down with the Guild to begin a dialog about the future of journalism. We would like to discuss the values that we share, and build upon them to meet the rapid changes and demands taking place in the industry. Like you, we believe that for journalism to survive it must adapt to the digital age.

New technology should not make a worker’s paycheck obsolete.

You have championed the plight of workers in this country, which is why we are calling on you to demonstrate that commitment by meeting with us.

Click here for the full letter and here for background on the dispute from TNG. Click here to visit the Facebook “Hey Arianna, Can You Spare a Dime” by Guild Freelancers/ California Media Workers Guild.

Los Angeles Workers Set to Rally for Communities, Jobs

by James Parks, Mar 24, 2011

On Saturday, March 26, tens of thousands of working people, students, community activists and religious and political leaders will join in a massive march and rally in Los Angeles to protect workers’ rights and protect the middle class.

The “Our Communities, Our Good Jobs” rally will focus on a series of attacks against LA-area workers, from school teachers to grocery store employees. Teachers are facing massive layoffs, attacks on seniority, evaluations based on student test scores and schools that are being dissolved. At the same time, across southern California, 60,000 grocery workers at Ralph’s supermarket are working under an expired contract. The marchers will send a message to Ralph’s management that workers will not let the giant corporations force another strike and lockout like they did in 2003 and 2004.

Charles Cooper, a member of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9588, says he decided to march at home after protesting with workers in Wisconsin:

They were all out there together. They educated each other and were so active. In LA and across the country, government and corporations are cutting everything under the auspices of ‘we’re broke.’ I am marching on March 26 not because I’m a union member. I am marching because in LA we need to have our voices heard right now more than ever.

Indiana Prosecutor Resigns After Suggesting Fake Attack on Walker, Blame Protesters

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

In an e-mail praising Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) attack on worker rights and middle-class jobs, an Indiana deputy prosecutor suggested a fake attack on Walker to discredit the workers and their unions protesting the governor’s actions.

Yesterday, just before the story was scheduled for publication, Carlos Lam, a Johnson County deputy prosecutor, submitted his resignation, reports the Daily Journal in Franklin, Ind.

In the e-mail from Lam to Walker, discovered by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Center Journalism following an open records request, Lam suggests that Walker employ a “false flag operation” to gain sympathy and paint the protesters as violent.

If you could employ an associate who pretends to be sympathetic to the unions’ cause to physically attack you (or even use a firearm against you), you could discredit the unions….Currently, the media is painting the union protest as a democratic….Employing a false flag operation would assist in undercutting any support that the media may be creating in favor of the unions. God bless, Carlos F. Lam.

Lam told the journalism center that his e-mail address matched the Hotmail address appearing on the Walker e-mail but claimed he had never written to Walker. But according to the center:

At 5 a.m. Thursday, expecting the story to come out that day, Lam called his boss, Johnson County, Ind., Prosecutor Brad Cooper, and told him he had been up all night thinking about it.

“He wanted to come clean, I guess, and said he is the one who sent that email,” Cooper said.

Wisconsin Court Upholds Milwaukee Paid Sick Leave Law

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

More than two years after Milwaukee voters overwhelmingly passed a paid sick leave city ordinance, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals today upheld the law and lifted an injunction an employer’s group was granted in June 2009.

But Republican state legislators are backing a bill that would prevent Wisconsin cities and towns from establishing their own paid sick leave laws. Dana Schultz, lead organizer for 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, says:

Milwaukeeans have made their decision on paid sick days, and now the courts have upheld their vote. The State Legislature should not be trying to rob voters in Milwaukee and cities across the state of their basic right to local decision-making on sick days or any other laws….It’s time for the State Legislature to stop its attacks on hard-working families and get to work on policies that will help create jobs and grow our economy.

In November 2008 voters approved by 70 percent the ordinance that requires large businesses to provide employees with up to nine sick days a year and small businesses up to five sick days. But in June 2009, employers were granted an injunction in legal battle that wound its way to the state Supreme Court and then back to the Court of Appeals.

Walker’s Attacks Strengthen River Falls Faculty Resolve to Vote For Union

by James Parks, Mar 24, 2011

Galvanized by Gov. Scott Walker’s move to eliminate their freedom to collectively bargain for good middle-class jobs, faculty at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls voted 148-16 today in favor of union representation through AFT-Wisconsin, an affiliate of AFT.

“What we’ve seen at UW-River Falls today is an extension of what we’ve seen across our state since Walker announced his disastrous bill,” said Wes Chapin, a professor of political science at River Falls.

Our state is at a crossroads. Wisconsin has a long and proud history of fairness, integrity and progressivism. The labor movement has been, and will continue to be, central to that history. Today, UW-River Falls faculty made a stand in preserving that history, and moving Wisconsin forward.

Chapin said Walker’s anti-worker legislation galvanized the faculty’s resolve to form a union.

Our strength cannot be legislated away. Our strength is, and always has been, our collective voice—a voice that is stronger than ever.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said:

This landslide election, along with the other recent University of Wisconsin campus union victories, demonstrates that workers…will not let Gov. Walker’s anti-democratic, anti-worker ideological agenda deny them their right to form a union.

Walker Slams Door on Young Workers, Ends Apprentice Jobs

by Mike Hall, Mar 24, 2011

Rust never sleeps and apparently neither does Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) when it comes to attacking middle-class jobs. This week, he made another sneak attack.

Matt Hrodey at Milwaukee Magazine’s NewsBuzz site reports Walker quietly issued an executive order this month suspending rules that require contractors on state projects to employ workers under the state apprenticeship program.

Walker’s executive order, his 18th, was not distributed as a press release, unlike the prior 17, each of which can still be read on the “Media Center” section of the governor’s website.

Under the apprenticeship program contractors provide on-the-job training in a skilled trade to apprentices and also pay them wages as they attend classes at a technical college or other institution. It is overseen by the state Department of Workforce Development, and carried out at the local level by the state’s 94 local trade committees, boards staffed by local employer and employee representatives.