Labor Secretary Speaks Out for Equal Pay

Tue. April 12, 2011

April 12, 2011 marks Equal Pay Day for 2011, the length of time women must work into 2011 to make what men earned in 2010. “ Almost 50 years after enactment of the Equal Pay Act, equal pay for equal work remains elusive for millions of working women,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. “In fact, over the past 10 years, the pay gap has remained virtually unchanged. Today in America, women are paid an average of 80 cents for every dollar paid to men. The pay gap is even larger for women of color, with black women earning about 70 cents, and Latinas about 60 cents, of every dollar paid to all men.”

The Labor Department estimates that the average full-time working woman earns $150 less per week, which adds up to $8,000 less per year and $380,000 over a working lifetime. Solis pledged increased enforcement of wage discrimination laws, creating more options for workplace flexibility to allow balancing work and family life and increased education resources to help employers comply with the law.

"Equal pay is not just a women's issue. It's not just a family issue. It's a recovery issue. I am committed to finding commonsense solutions to closing the pay gap once and for all so that our nation will be a more fair and equitable place for everyone,” said Solis.

Click here to read the full statement.

IAM Opens Bargaining with Air Canada and Aveos

Tue. April 12, 2011

The IAM commenced bargaining in Toronto on behalf of members at Air Canada and Aveos. Canadian General Vice-President Dave Ritchie is taking part in the talks from the outset.

“We are looking for gains in this entire process," said Chuck Atkinson, IAM District 140 President and Directing General Chairperson. "That is our message and that is our intent and it applies to all IAM bargaining units at Air Canada and Aveos.”

"We're looking ahead to the future and leaving behind what is past," said Dave Ritchie, GVP of the IAM in Canada. "The Grand Lodge will provide whatever support is needed in these negotiations, and that includes me.”

This round of negotiations marks the first time all units, including TMOS, Clerical and Finance at Air Canada and Maintenance and Clerical at Aveos have participated in bargaining together.

Senators Introduce National Manufacturing Strategy Act

Tue. April 12, 2011

Recognizing that the manufacturing sector has historically led the American economy out of recession, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) have announced the introduction of the bipartisan National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2011.

The legislation is aimed at bolstering the competitiveness of the American manufacturing industry, spurring American job growth and strengthening the middle class. It would require the Commerce Secretary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the nation’s manufacturing sector and submit to Congress a National Manufacturing Strategy. The goals of the strategy are to increase manufacturing jobs, identify emerging technologies to strengthen U.S. competitiveness, and strengthen the manufacturing sectors in which the U.S. is most competitive.

“Manufacturing helped build our middle class and must lead our nation’s economic recovery,” said Sen. Brown. “If we’re going to out-compete and out-innovate other countries, it will require a national manufacturing strategy. The United States has been without one, and our economy has paid the price. We are seeing manufacturing help lead us out of the recession, but we need a sustained strategy to ensure long-term growth and job creation.”

America has lost 5.5 million manufacturing jobs, or one-third of the total, over the last decade. With a per capita GDP of $47,400, the United States remains the world’s greatest economic power. However, unless we increase our exports – in 2010, the U.S. trade deficit was $630 billion – then we will encounter new threats to a complete economic recovery. The U.S. ranked 4 th in exports with about $1.27 trillion in exports last year, yet, we ranked first in imports.

The U.S. House has introduced similar legislation.

More Than 1,900 Faculty Support Wis. Workers’ Rights

by James Parks, Apr 13, 2011

Even as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker heads to Capitol Hill to defend his moves to deny collective bargaining to public employees and cut vital state services, more than 1,900 faculty at public and private universities and colleges across the country are standing up for the rights of workers.

The group signed an open letter in support of University of Wisconsin faculty, students and staff. The letter shows the strong support in the academic community for collective bargaining and solidarity with the workers on University of Wisconsin campuses who are under attack by Walker’s draconian budget and overreaching actions. You can read the letter here.

“Bargaining rights for workers are an essential element of a fair economic system in a democracy,” said Charles MacArthur, professor of education from the University of Delaware.

Robert McChesney, professor in the department of communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said:

The more academics and scholars feel pressure to be quiet, to not take chances, to go with the flow, the greater is the need for them to speak out publicly and truthfully in defense of social justice.

The letter is just one of many acts of support and solidarity for UW colleagues, students and staff. These include nearly 1,000 “From Memphis to Madison” rallies on April 4 and nationwide “fight-back teach-ins” organized on campuses across the country on April 5. Faculty also have signed petitions, made public statements and joined protests around recent attacks on academic freedom in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Martin Luther King III: Labor Has Unique Opportunity to Rebuild

by James Parks, Apr 13, 2011

This morning, I interviewed Martin Luther King III after he spoke to the AFL-CIO Executive Council, meeting here today in Washington, D.C.

Question: What issues did you discuss with the Executive Council this morning?

King: I never thought that in 2011, 43 years after my father’s passing, that we would have to be engaged in a serious campaign to protect and preserve the rights of workers, to make sure collective bargaining is maintained. It’s a sad day in America, but that sad day also creates a unique opportunity for labor and civil rights organizations to work together like we’ve never worked before. Some of that began on April 4, when over 1,500 demonstrations occurred in America and across the world.

Question: You say in your guest column on the AFL-CIO website that your father would be marching in Wisconsin today. Why is that?

King: We have economic challenges in this country and we blame the folks who are working and placing no blame on the corporations that have farmed out jobs around the world and these CEOs who have runaway paychecks. The elected leaders are putting the responsibility on the people who are making this country work. My father always stood up for justice and righteousness. So he would certainly be in the forefront of those saying collective bargaining is a right, that workers should not be mistreated.

Question: The middle class has been hurt badly, especially the black middle class, by home foreclosures and the offshoring of manufacturing jobs. What can we do to restore the middle class?

King: The plan has to include something I call creating opportunities for people. One thing is that we need a moratorium on foreclosures. We also have to use our creative juices and develop some entrepreneurship among small and developing businesses where the majority of people work.

Finally, I think this situation has created a unique opportunity for labor to reframe the discussion. For the first time since Ronald Reagan [mistreated] the air traffic controllers, labor has an opportunity to rise again and be so strong that it can never be torn down. At some point those who have opposed what labor was trying to do will realize that what’s happening [to the economy and democracy] was not what they wanted. But they were so ferocious in the dismantling of people’s lives that it is going to backfire.

Question: At the time of his death, your father was building a multi-racial coalition of poor people, labor, students, clergy, peace advocates and civil rights activists to fight for the soul of America. Is it necessary and/or possible to build such a coalition today?

King: It will take that kind of coalition [to change the country.] You’ve got to engage young people because they are graduating from our colleges and universities and there are no jobs. You need clergy; you need those who promote peace. You need small businesses that understand we need workers. It takes a coalition to bring about change. Sometimes you only need a few good women and men who are determined, dedicated and dependable.

Thousands Protest Michigan Budget that Cuts Biz Taxes, Raises Tax on Poor, Seniors

by Mike Hall, Apr 13, 2011

Thousands of Michigan workers, students, seniors and others are heading for the state capitol in Lansing today for a massive rally against Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) proposed budget that cuts $900 million from education, taxes pensions, raises taxes for low-income families and slashes vital services–all while, cutting business taxes by $1.7 billion.

The budget battle follows last month’s fight over Snyder’s “financial martial law” bill.

The new law allows Snyder to declare a “financial emergency” in a city or school district and appoint a manager with broad powers, including the ability to fire local elected officials, break teachers’ and public workers’ contracts, seize and sell assets, eliminate services—and even eliminate entire cities or school districts without any public input.

Also last month Snyder signed a new law that cuts state unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks.

Snyder and Republican legislators are expected to try to push the budget through as quickly as possible, says Michigan AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney.

They’re hurrying to get this done and the result of that is they’re not listening to everyone involved enough.

In a joint statement, Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer and House Democratic Leader Richard Hammel said the Snyder plan balances the budget on the backs of

seniors, working families, and students while giving billions away to big corporations… It does nothing to resolve the concerns and frustrations that have brought people to the Capitol by the thousands in recent weeks to voice their opposition to his agenda. We also question the amount of revenue this plan will actually generate since the bulk of the revenue raised from the pension tax comes from hitting the lowest pensions.

Lies, More Lies and Wis.’s Gov. Walker

by Tula Connell, Apr 13, 2011

Our friends at AFSCME have pulled together facts that refute the “misinformation”—to put a polite gloss on it—Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has perpetrated throughout his attacks on the ability of public employees to achieve and mantain a middle-class life. Check it out.

Wisconsin did not have a budget deficit before Scott Walker took office. On Jan. 31, the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a memo projecting a $121.4 million surplus for the state. Walker created the “budget crisis” by providing $116 million in tax breaks to corporations, squandering the surplus. Walker’s budget proposal includes another $83 million in tax breaks for multistate corporations and investors.

Walker refused to sit down with unions to help fix the Wisconsin budget. Public employee unions agreed to all of Walker’s fiscal demands, including doubling their health care premium contribution to 12.6 percent and contributing 5.8 percent of their salary to pensions, which according to Walker would save the state $300 million over the next two years. Despite this, Walker forced through legislation stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights and to this day has refused to sit down with them.

Show Solidarity with Workers Under Attack—Buy a Button or Pin

by James Parks, Apr 12, 2011

The struggle to save the nation’s middle class from the assaults of Republican governors and legislators continues to grow as more and more people realize that strong unions provide a counterbalance to runaway corporate power.

You can show your support of those who are on the frontlines of the struggle by purchasing “We Are One” buttons and lapel pins or a “Stand With Wisconsin” tee. When someone asks what the message means, you can tell them you’re standing in solidarity with millions of working people from every walk of life for the right to bargain collectively for good, middle-class jobs.

Order your pins and buttons today here. The pins are $15 each and the buttons are $10. For every pin you purchase, $12.95 goes to support mobilization efforts opposing attacks on working families in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states. For every button purchase, $9.43 goes to the help the workers under attack.

Stand in solidarity with the courageous Americans who are struggling each day to preserve our American Dream.

Also available for $14 is the union-made ”Stand With Wisconsin” T-shirt. All profits will go to help the Wisconsin workers. You can purchase the shirts here.

Fair Pay Act Would Bring Equal Pay for Equal Work

by Mike Hall, Apr 12, 2011

Today, as equal rights advocates mark Equal Pay Day to remind the nation that women are paid just 80 cents for every dollar men earn, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the Fair Pay Act of 2011 that would ensure that employers provide equal pay for jobs that are equivalent in skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

Harkin says that discrimination accounts for much of the pay gap and there are too many loopholes and barriers to effective enforcement of existing laws. “We need to strengthen penalties and give women the tools they need to confront discrimination.”

At the same time, we must recognize that the problem of unequal pay goes beyond insidious discrimination. As a nation, we unjustly devalue jobs traditionally performed by women, even when they require comparable skills to jobs traditionally performed by men.

Millions of jobs dominated by women such as social workers, teachers, child care workers and nurses are equivalent in skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions to similar jobs dominated by men says Harkin:

But the female-dominated jobs pay significantly less. This is inexplicable. Why is a housekeeper worth less than a janitor? Why is a parking meter reader worth less than an electrical meter reader? Why is a social worker worth less than a probation officer?

AFL-CIO Blog Archives for March 2011

Read the AFL-CIO blogs for March 2011.