FAA Bill Threatens NMB Voting Rights

Thu. March 10, 2011

The House of Representatives will soon debate and vote on the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 (H.R. 658). Hidden deep in this legislation is a provision that would overturn the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) new voting rules for the nation’s airline and railroad workers.

Click here to urge your Representative to protect workers’ voting rights.

Sponsored by GOP House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL), the provision would eliminate the new democratic voting guidelines and restore a process that has been used for decades by corporations to defeat union organizing efforts in the transportation industry.

Under the old NMB voting rules, any worker who did not vote in a union representation election was automatically counted as a vote against the union.

The new NMB voting does not, as opponents frequently claim, eliminate secret ballot elections. It simply allows a majority of voting employees to choose and eliminates the government’s unfair practice of assigning a preference to those voters who do not cast a ballot.

Last year’s change to NMB voting rules was rightfully hailed as a major victory for workers’ democratic voting rights. The effort to reverse that achievement is yet another effort by a coalition of right-wing extremists seeking to restrict, reduce and eradicate collective bargaining rights nationwide.


The new NMB rule, which determines the outcome of representation elections in the same way as elections for the U.S. President, Congress and nearly all state representatives, was furiously opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Air Transport Association (ATA), the lobbying arm for the nation’s major air carriers.

Machinists President Responds to GOP War on Middle Class

Thu. March 10, 2011

The following is a statement from IAM President Tom Buffenbarger in response to the move by the Wisconsin state Senate to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights:

“Last night in Wisconsin, legislative process trumped democratic principles. Republican Senators voted 18 to 1 to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights. It is a Pyrrhic victory and one the GOP will regret.

“Now is not the time to get mad, but to get organized. In every state where the handmaidens of the hyper-rich try to strip us of our collective bargaining rights, we will mobilize for recalls, ballot initiatives and political campaigns.

“If the Republican Party wants class warfare, they’ve got it. IAM members have watched the hyper-rich destroy their jobs and their communities with their unbridled greed. And the Fighting Machinists have been aching for this fight.”

Ohio Workers Stepping Up Struggle for Bargaining Rights

Thousands of Ohioans rallied against S.B. 5 on March 8.

by James Parks, Mar 10, 2011

With the state House expected to take up Senate Bill 5 next week, Ohio working people are stepping up their grassroots opposition to the legislation that takes away the right of public employees to bargain for good middle-class jobs.

In rallies, phone banks and other actions, workers are energizing and encouraging people across the state to contact their state legislator about the bill.

Community activists, religious leaders and others will join working people for a rally in New Lexington today and in Chillicothe tomorrow. The local rallies follow a major rally at the state Capitol during Gov. John Kasich’s State of the State address on Tuesday.

The Ohio AFL-CIO also is setting up call centers in 15 Ohio cities to help mobilize union members and keep up the momentum against the bill. And on Monday, AFSCME members will hold press conferences in seven Ohio cities to explain how Kasich’s budget will hurt working families.

NFL Owners' Labor Committee at Mediation

Mar 10, 3:05 PM EST
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the sides far apart on key economic issues, nine of the 10 members on the NFL owners' labor committee, including co-chairmen Jerry Richardson of the Panthers and Pat Bowlen of the Broncos, attended Thursday's negotiating session with the players' union.

After two extensions, the collective bargaining agreement is now due to expire Friday. If a new deal isn't reached by then, there could be another extension. Or, talks could break off, possibly leading to a lockout by owners or decertification by the union followed by antitrust lawsuits by players - actions that could threaten the 2011 season.

Other committee members present: Jerry Jones of the Cowboys, John Mara of the Giants, Art Rooney II of the Steelers, Clark Hunt of the Chiefs, Mark Murphy of the Packers, Dean Spanos of the Chargers and Mike Brown of the Bengals. Eagles president Joe Banner and Redskins general manager Bruce Allen also were there with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Wis. Assembly Takes up Bargaining Rights Measure

Mar 10, 4:02 PM EST
By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin lawmakers argued again Thursday over an explosive proposal to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from the state's public workers, with Democrats offering last-ditch objections before a vote expected to approve the measure and deliver one of the strongest blows to unions in years.

Debate began in the Assembly after re-energized protests prompted a temporary lockdown and security sweep at the state Capitol, where demonstrators had flocked to try to block representatives' access to their chamber.

Once inside, Republican leaders agreed to two hours of discussion before a vote. But they made clear their intention to stand by Gov. Scott Walker's proposal and his insistence that it's necessary to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.

Money Matters: NFL, Union Wrangle Publicly on CBA

Mar 10, 7:31 AM EST
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Not nearly enough.

That, essentially, was the NFL Players Association's stance on two vital issues Wednesday as the deadline for a new labor deal approaches. The owners' willingness to reduce the amount of extra money they want up front - from $1 billion to $800 million - isn't a sufficient drop. And the financial data the league is willing to reveal isn't what the union seeks.

Both sides spoke much more openly about money matters Wednesday than they have since they entered mediation Feb. 18. The twice-extended deadline for expiration of the collective bargaining agreement is at the end of Friday.

Under the old CBA, owners received an immediate $1 billion for operating expenses before splitting remaining revenues with players. Owners initially sought to double that, and while they have lowered the up-front figure they want, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith tied that to the full financial transparency he's sought for nearly two years in what is a $9 billion business.

Wis. GOP Bypasses Dems, Cuts Collective Bargaining

AP Photo/Andy Manis

Mar 10, 8:07 AM EST
By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- At least two dozen protesters spent the night just outside the Wisconsin state Assembly chamber in anticipation of a late Thursday morning vote on explosive union rights legislation that passed the Senate after Republicans outmaneuvered their missing Democratic counterparts and pushed through the bill.

The extraordinary turn of events late Wednesday set up Thursday's perfunctory vote on the measure that would strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from most public workers. Once the bill passes the Assembly, it heads to Republican Gov. Scott Walker for his signature.

Within hours of the Senate passing the bill, a crowd of hundreds of protesters grew to about 7,000 in the Capitol, a crowd as large as any seen inside the building in three weeks of demonstrations.

No Protest Planned Over Boeing Tanker Win

Tue. March 08, 2011

The European Aeronautics and Defence group (EADS) announced it will not dispute the Pentagon’s choice of Boeing as winner of the competition to build a new fleet of air-to-air refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force. The news concludes a nearly 10-year battle for the contract, which could support more than 40,000 U.S. jobs and is worth as much as $100 billion to Boeing and its suppliers.

In his announcement that EADS would not protest the award, EADS Chairman Ralph D. Crosby Jr., acknowledged that Boeing's $20.6 billion bid was significantly less than the $22.6 billion offer submitted by EADS, which had proposed building a tanker modeled around the Airbus A330. The Air Force evaluation, acknowledged Crosby, was “handled exactly by the rules.”

IAM leaders said the announcement confirmed their belief that the U.S. workforce was a major factor in the Pentagon’s decision.

Veterans Council Serves Those Who Served

Tue. March 08, 2011

The IAM is urging all union members who are military veterans to take advantage of the resources provided by the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council (UVC), an organization founded in 2008 and dedicated to providing information about legislation, programs and benefits of value and interest to veterans and their families.

Veterans, family members and even non-veterans who believe our veterans deserve the best, are encouraged to click here to begin receiving email alerts about important issues and events and when their voice is needed to make a difference.

Among the issues that are part of the 2011 UVC Legislative Agenda are health care for veterans and the high unemployment rate for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans, which includes National Guard and Reserve troops who found their jobs gone when they returned from active duty.

“There are approximately 185,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are currently unemployed and thousands more who are unemployed due to the ongoing recession and the loss of valuable manufacturing jobs,” said IAM General Secretary-Treasurer Warren Mart, who serves on the UVC Executive Council. “We owe them our best efforts and the Union Veterans Council is one way to make sure their concerns get the attention they need and deserve.”

IAM Poll Reveals Bi-Partisan Disapproval

Tue. March 08, 2011

In the second annual poll designed to give IAM members an opportunity to express their concerns about the state of the economy, the verdict was clear: President Obama isn’t doing enough to create jobs, with only 15.2 percent rating him excellent or good and 83.2 percent giving him a not-so-good or poor rating on having a strong, aggressive program to get people back to work.

As disappointed as IAM members were in the president’s performance, their disdain for Congress was clear. Over 51 percent said they would NOT support their member of Congress for re-election – a 4 percent decline from 2010, but still not an encouraging sign for incumbents.

The nearly 1,900 IAM members who took part in the poll were bi-partisan in their disapproval. They felt neither party was: controlling the growth of the federal deficit (64.6 %); standing up forcefully to the big banks (63.9 %); or pushing a strong jobs program to get people back to work (63.2 %). Democrats drew their best marks on standing up for the interests of working people (45.1 %); pushing programs to rebuild America’s infrastructure (44.6 %); and protecting Social Security and Medicare (43.1 %).