by Mike Hall, May 18, 2011
The Republican “outrage” machine has been operating in high-dudgeon mode since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against the Boeing Co. in April.
But as David Madland of the Center for American Progress Action Fund points out, the manufactured Boeing outrage is “part of a long-running, highly orchestrated right-wing campaign against workers and their unions that has now reached a fevered pitch.”
This is not, of course, the conservative movement’s first attempt to prevent the Obama administration from trying to protect workers’ basic rights to join a union and collectively bargain.
Earlier this year, Madland writes, 176 House Republicans (75 percent of the caucus) voted to eliminate all funding for the NLRB and while that failed to pass, a continuing resolution previously passed by the House included a $50 million reduction in the NLRB’s budget and would have forced NLRB staff members to be furloughed for 55 days, causing a backlog of cases to pile up.
Madland points out that congressional Republicans also are fighting to overturn the National Mediation Board’s (NMB’s) new rule that says air and rail union elections should be decided like any other election—including congressional elections—by a majority of votes cast. Previously each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.
Senate Republicans also attempted to attach an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that would have blocked workers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from voting to join a union. Madland writes these congressional actions are in addition to the state attacks on workers’ rights being waged in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states. He says the attacks on the NLRB over the Boeing case are part of the:
conservative movement’s campaign to weaken workers’ rights. Sadly, conservatives have shown they want to eliminate laws protecting workers’ rights to join a union and collectively bargain, and when they can’t get rid of the law, they seek to prevent its enforcement.
Click here for his full article.
Keep in mind that when the NLRB issues a complaint, it’s only the first step in a long process of determining whether the company violated the law, a process in which Boeing will have ample opportunity to present its side of the case.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
$3 Million Training Grant Means Aerospace Jobs for Washington Workers
by Mike Hall, May 18, 2011
Standing over the production line in Renton, Wash., where members of the Machinists (IAM) District 751 build Boeing Co.’s 737s, Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) yesterday announced that the state is investing $3 million to train hundreds of Washington workers to get the skills and certificates they need to work in the aerospace industry.
(Thanks to Kathy Cummings, communications director for the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), for sending along the video.)
The IAM and Boeing worked together, Cummings said, to secure the funding to maintain the high-skilled workforce that makes Washington the best place in the world to build and maintain airplanes. Gregoire said the money will help:
those individuals negatively impacted by the national recession receive training to move toward a stable and good-paying career. And it ensures our aerospace workers have the cutting-edge skills needed to design, build and maintain the aircraft of tomorrow—helping our 650 aerospace companies grow and create new jobs.
IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski said:
We at the Machinists union know that workforce training and education are key to maintaining and growing our industry. This complex industry of aerospace requires these kinds of investment.
Standing over the production line in Renton, Wash., where members of the Machinists (IAM) District 751 build Boeing Co.’s 737s, Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) yesterday announced that the state is investing $3 million to train hundreds of Washington workers to get the skills and certificates they need to work in the aerospace industry.
(Thanks to Kathy Cummings, communications director for the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), for sending along the video.)
The IAM and Boeing worked together, Cummings said, to secure the funding to maintain the high-skilled workforce that makes Washington the best place in the world to build and maintain airplanes. Gregoire said the money will help:
those individuals negatively impacted by the national recession receive training to move toward a stable and good-paying career. And it ensures our aerospace workers have the cutting-edge skills needed to design, build and maintain the aircraft of tomorrow—helping our 650 aerospace companies grow and create new jobs.
IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski said:
We at the Machinists union know that workforce training and education are key to maintaining and growing our industry. This complex industry of aerospace requires these kinds of investment.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
U.S. Steps Up Pressure on Guatemala to Enforce Labor Laws
by Mike Hall, May 17, 2011
The Obama administration announced yesterday that because Guatemala has not taken sufficient steps to effectively enforce its labor laws, as required under the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), it is requesting a meeting of the Free Trade Commission.
The meeting would be the second step in the process outlined under the DR-CAFTA, to compel a nation to enforce its labor obligations under the agreement. In July, the U.S. requested consultations with Guatemala. But as U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk says:
We have identified a significant number of apparent failures by the government of Guatemala to enforce its labor laws. While Guatemala has taken some positive steps over the past several months, its actions and proposals have been insufficient to address what we view as systemic failures.
Kirk says Guatemala has failed to enforce labor laws regarding the right of association, the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, and acceptable working conditions.
In 2008, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan unions filed a complaint with the Labor Department outlining the systemic failure of the government of Guatemala to enforce its own labor laws or to take reasonable action to prevent violence against trade unionists.
In 2009, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) named Guatemala the second most dangerous country for trade unionists. Colombia was first.
A 2009 report by the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center noted that in addition to the brutal repression of workers’ freedoms, Guatemala’s laws hinder workers from exercising their basic rights in many ways. Some laws criminalize legitimate union activity. Efforts to strengthen labor laws have been rolled back in recent years. Click here to read the report.
Last year, when the Obama administration took its first action against Guatemala, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said:
If consultations fail, however, we call upon our government to prosecute this case vigorously through the dispute settlement process.
If workers cannot exercise their rights under the law without fear of violence, labor law enforcement means little, and trade agreements cannot deliver the promised widely shared benefits.
The Obama administration announced yesterday that because Guatemala has not taken sufficient steps to effectively enforce its labor laws, as required under the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), it is requesting a meeting of the Free Trade Commission.
The meeting would be the second step in the process outlined under the DR-CAFTA, to compel a nation to enforce its labor obligations under the agreement. In July, the U.S. requested consultations with Guatemala. But as U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk says:
We have identified a significant number of apparent failures by the government of Guatemala to enforce its labor laws. While Guatemala has taken some positive steps over the past several months, its actions and proposals have been insufficient to address what we view as systemic failures.
Kirk says Guatemala has failed to enforce labor laws regarding the right of association, the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, and acceptable working conditions.
In 2008, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan unions filed a complaint with the Labor Department outlining the systemic failure of the government of Guatemala to enforce its own labor laws or to take reasonable action to prevent violence against trade unionists.
In 2009, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) named Guatemala the second most dangerous country for trade unionists. Colombia was first.
A 2009 report by the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center noted that in addition to the brutal repression of workers’ freedoms, Guatemala’s laws hinder workers from exercising their basic rights in many ways. Some laws criminalize legitimate union activity. Efforts to strengthen labor laws have been rolled back in recent years. Click here to read the report.
Last year, when the Obama administration took its first action against Guatemala, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said:
If consultations fail, however, we call upon our government to prosecute this case vigorously through the dispute settlement process.
If workers cannot exercise their rights under the law without fear of violence, labor law enforcement means little, and trade agreements cannot deliver the promised widely shared benefits.
Wis. Voter ID Bill is Voter Suppression in Disguise
by Mike Hall, May 17, 2011
Not satisfied with attacking the collective bargaining rights of public employees, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Republican legislators have set their sights on voting rights with a so-called “Voter ID” bill that opponents call voter suppression.
The bill was passed by the state Assembly last week and the state Senate is expected to approve it today. Both chambers have a Republican majority. The legislation will make it much more difficult for many Wisconsinites to exercise their right to vote due to confusing and onerous obstacles, such as the most restrictive photo ID requirement in the country.
In addition, the bill’s estimated cost is some $7.5 million at the time when Republicans claim the state is in dire financial strait. Says state Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D) of La Crosse:
This bill will not prevent fraud or the recent election mismanagement errors that we have seen. As we continue to make drastic cuts to our schools, libraries, health programs and public safety services, the Voter Suppression Bill will force deeper cuts with no real benefit.
The Wisconsin League of Women Voters says the bill is an
expensive proposal that would create barriers to voting for thousands of citizens in an effort to “fix” a problem that does not exist.
Its backers claim the bill is designed to combat voter fraud. But as the Wausau Daily Herald writes in an editorial against the bill:
The case for a voter ID law would be different if there were reason to believe that widespread voter fraud were corrupting Wisconsin’s elections. There isn’t. There is no data to back up the notion that widespread vote fraud exists here.
There are large numbers of people who do not have the state issued photo I.D. the bill requires. According to a recent UW-Milwaukee study, those without state-issued photo ID who would need to obtain one to vote under the Voter ID Bill include:
• 23 percent of Wisconsinites over the age of 65.
• 17 percent of white men and women.
• 55 percent of African American males and 49percent of African American women.
• 46 percent of Hispanic men and 59percent of Hispanic women.
• 78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24.
The Interfaith Council of Greater Milwaukee says the photo ID requirement
would be an unnecessary impediment to many low-income people along with elderly or disabled people who live in their own homes. And the restrictions it places on the use of college IDs for voting would unfairly disenfranchise many students.
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt says the reason for this legislation is
political power and to suppress turnout among constituencies who may tend to vote Democratic—not to address a manufactured problem of voter fraud.
Not satisfied with attacking the collective bargaining rights of public employees, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Republican legislators have set their sights on voting rights with a so-called “Voter ID” bill that opponents call voter suppression.
The bill was passed by the state Assembly last week and the state Senate is expected to approve it today. Both chambers have a Republican majority. The legislation will make it much more difficult for many Wisconsinites to exercise their right to vote due to confusing and onerous obstacles, such as the most restrictive photo ID requirement in the country.
In addition, the bill’s estimated cost is some $7.5 million at the time when Republicans claim the state is in dire financial strait. Says state Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D) of La Crosse:
This bill will not prevent fraud or the recent election mismanagement errors that we have seen. As we continue to make drastic cuts to our schools, libraries, health programs and public safety services, the Voter Suppression Bill will force deeper cuts with no real benefit.
The Wisconsin League of Women Voters says the bill is an
expensive proposal that would create barriers to voting for thousands of citizens in an effort to “fix” a problem that does not exist.
Its backers claim the bill is designed to combat voter fraud. But as the Wausau Daily Herald writes in an editorial against the bill:
The case for a voter ID law would be different if there were reason to believe that widespread voter fraud were corrupting Wisconsin’s elections. There isn’t. There is no data to back up the notion that widespread vote fraud exists here.
There are large numbers of people who do not have the state issued photo I.D. the bill requires. According to a recent UW-Milwaukee study, those without state-issued photo ID who would need to obtain one to vote under the Voter ID Bill include:
• 23 percent of Wisconsinites over the age of 65.
• 17 percent of white men and women.
• 55 percent of African American males and 49percent of African American women.
• 46 percent of Hispanic men and 59percent of Hispanic women.
• 78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24.
The Interfaith Council of Greater Milwaukee says the photo ID requirement
would be an unnecessary impediment to many low-income people along with elderly or disabled people who live in their own homes. And the restrictions it places on the use of college IDs for voting would unfairly disenfranchise many students.
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt says the reason for this legislation is
political power and to suppress turnout among constituencies who may tend to vote Democratic—not to address a manufactured problem of voter fraud.
White House Says No Trade Deals Until TAA Strengthened
by Mike Hall, May 17, 2011
Until Congress acts on renewing an enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA) for workers who have lost their jobs because of outsourcing, offshoring and unfair trade deals, the Obama administration will not submit three pending trade deals to Congress, the White House announced yesterday.
In February, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) refused to hold a vote on extending the TAA. Because of Boehner’s blockade, the TAA program that been strengthened in 2009, reverted back to its 2002 version that covers fewer workers and offers lower benefits and fewer opportunities for displaced workers.
Capitol Hill observers said Boehner and Republicans held the TAA extension hostage to force a commitment from the Obama administration to send three pending trade deals— Korea, Panama and Colombia—to Congress.
The AFL-CIO has long-backed TAA. In February, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called it a “lifeline for working people trying to get the skills necessary to change careers after their lives have been turned upside down.”
But the AFL-CIO remains firmly opposed to the Colombia, Korea and Panama free trade agreements.
Until Congress acts on renewing an enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA) for workers who have lost their jobs because of outsourcing, offshoring and unfair trade deals, the Obama administration will not submit three pending trade deals to Congress, the White House announced yesterday.
In February, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) refused to hold a vote on extending the TAA. Because of Boehner’s blockade, the TAA program that been strengthened in 2009, reverted back to its 2002 version that covers fewer workers and offers lower benefits and fewer opportunities for displaced workers.
Capitol Hill observers said Boehner and Republicans held the TAA extension hostage to force a commitment from the Obama administration to send three pending trade deals— Korea, Panama and Colombia—to Congress.
The AFL-CIO has long-backed TAA. In February, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called it a “lifeline for working people trying to get the skills necessary to change careers after their lives have been turned upside down.”
But the AFL-CIO remains firmly opposed to the Colombia, Korea and Panama free trade agreements.
Fact and Fiction in the Boeing Complaint
Tue. May 17, 2011
Right-wing lawmakers and conservative commentators continue to promote the notion that the Boeing Company and certain southern states should not be required to observe federal labor law, and that the federal agency charged with enforcing that law should be defunded and dismantled.
What began as a straightforward and well-documented case of illegal retaliation by Boeing against its workforce has ballooned into an anti-government crusade by extremists who are trying to make the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) the next victim in the GOP’s nationwide campaign against collective bargaining rights.
“Workers have a constitutional right to free speech and freedom of association that does not vanish at the South Carolina state line, or any other state where officials are so eager to promote their anti-union views,” said IAM General Vice President Rich Michalski. “The NLRB has both the right and the responsibility to enforce federal labor law equally in all 50 states.”
Among the distortions being promoted is that the NLRB’s complaint is an attack on states with right-to-work laws. This is nonsense. The Board’s complaint has nothing to do with such laws. It seeks to remedy Boeing’s retaliation against its workers in Washington by bringing their work back to Washington. The violation of law would be the same wherever Boeing had moved that work. It has no effect on South Carolina’s or any other states’ right-to-work law whatsoever.
Another claim cited by conservative commentators is that the Federal government is trying to tell a company where to put its work. This is false. The National Labor Relations Act does not restrict the placement of work unless a company does so for an illegal reason. And no matter how much Boeing’s allies in this case may wish it were not so, retaliating against workers for engaging in lawful concerted activity is illegal.
Voting Begins for Flight Attendants at United Airlines
Tue. May 17, 2011
The National Mediation Board (NMB) is mailing voting instructions this week to more than 24,000 United, Continental and Continental Micronesia Flight Attendants, who will have until June 29 to choose the union that can best produce a single contract for the combined group. Flight Attendants can vote by phone by dialing 1-877-NMB-VOTE or online at www.nmb.gov after receiving their voting instructions.
The IAM currently represents approximately 9,400 Flight Attendants at Continental, where they recently negotiated a contract that secured comprehensive work rules, a defined benefit pension and a range of health care choices, in addition to the highest wages in the industry. The IAM also represents the Flight Attendants of Continental Micronesia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Continental.
By contrast, the over 15,000 Flight Attendants at United Airlines, who are represented by another union, are still working under a restrictive contract with a top pay rate that is $13,035.60 less than the rate the IAM negotiated for Continental Flight Attendants.
"Greater resources, bargaining experience and higher levels of democracy and transparency are just some of the reasons why many Flight Attendants at United Airlines are anxious to secure IAM representation, and why Continental and Continental Micronesia Flight Attendants want to preserve what they have," said General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr.
For the latest election information, visit www.iamnow.org.
‘Going Back on the Deal’
Tue. May 17, 2011
An op-ed published in the New York Times this week reveals GOP attempts to double-cross American voters – particularly, the unemployed.
“Last year, Republicans refused to renew unemployment benefits unless the high-end Bush-era tax cuts were preserved,” reads the article. “After the White House agreed to keep the tax cuts through 2012, they agreed to extend federal jobless benefits through 2011. Now, they want to renege.”
The editorial cites a bill, recently passed by the House Ways and Means Committee, giving states permission to use federal unemployment benefit funds for other purposes, including tax cuts for businesses.
“This is a very bad idea at a time when the national jobless rate is 9 percent, and higher than that in 22 states,” reads the editorial. “The $31 billion in yet to be paid federal benefits is desperately needed.
“Republicans, however, aren’t looking to restore the funds to long-term solvency; they want to cut taxes no matter what the cost. And their business constituents — who have resisted paying unemployment taxes in good times as well as bad — don’t want to pay more taxes into the system, even after the economy has recovered. There are better ways to help the states and bolster business during tough times. Reducing unemployment benefits is the wrong choice.”
The House bill would also require an unemployed person have at least a high school diploma or GED in order to receive benefits. The bill now heads to the House floor for a full vote.
email share print rate: Tags: UCubed, unemployed, jobs
Bill Targets ‘Rogue Websites’ that Kill Jobs, Steal Wages
by Mike Hall, May 16, 2011
The Internet is a major source for intellectual property theft and a major marketplace for counterfeit goods. But new legislation would crack down on “rogue websites” that offer anything from pirated copies of Hollywood blockbusters and popular music to counterfeit brand-name prescription drugs and airplane parts.
The bipartisan PROTECT IP Act [Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act] would allow authorities to move more quickly to shut down the sites, impose tougher penalties and sanctions and create stronger intellectual property rights. Says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:
The economic well-being of workers in the United States—jobs, income, and benefits—turns more and more on our protecting the creativity and innovation that yield world-class entertainment, cutting-edge and sustainable manufacturing and construction, and disease-ending pharmaceuticals. In a tough economic time, the PROTECT IP Act will help to protect U.S. workers and consumers against digital thieves and counterfeit scammers.
The bill was introduced by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Conn.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (D-Iowa). Says Grassley:
The online distribution and sale of pirated content and counterfeit goods imposes a huge cost on the American economy in terms of lost jobs, lost sales, lost innovation and lost income. Piracy and counterfeiting can also present serious health and safety problems for consumers. This legislation will add another tool to the toolbox for going after these criminals and protecting the American public.
Nine of the 23 unions in the AFL-CIO Department of Professional Employees (DPE) represent 400,000 creative professionals and other workers in the arts, entertainment, and media industries. Those workers, says DPE President Paul Almeida, are
actors, stage employees and technicians, musicians, writers, editors, and many others. Digital theft costs the arts, entertainment, and media industries billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs. For these skilled professionals, online infringement is wage theft.
Click here for more information.
‘DREAMERS’ Keep It Alive
by Mike Hall, May 16, 2011
Last week the DREAM Act—which would give conditional legal status and eventual citizenship to undocumented students who meet a series of stringent criteria—was reintroduced in Congress.
Click here to read Dissent Magazine’s Daniel Altschuler’s detailed look at how young “DREAMERS” built a movement that has played a key role in keeping the DREAM alive since the bill was first introduced in 2002.
Last week the DREAM Act—which would give conditional legal status and eventual citizenship to undocumented students who meet a series of stringent criteria—was reintroduced in Congress.
Click here to read Dissent Magazine’s Daniel Altschuler’s detailed look at how young “DREAMERS” built a movement that has played a key role in keeping the DREAM alive since the bill was first introduced in 2002.
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