NUMMI Workers Ratify Plant Closing Package

by Mike Hall, Mar 18, 2010

Some 4,500 UAW Local 2244 members have ratified a closing agreement for the Fremont, Calif., plant with New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI). In today’s ratification vote, members of Local 2244 approved the agreement by a margin of 90 percent.

UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles praised members of the Local 2244 bargaining committee for their hard work and solidarity.

We are all deeply saddened to see these operations come to an end. While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, the terms of this agreement will certainly help cushion the impact for our members.


UAW Region 5 Director Jim Wells says the NUMMI workers’ solidarity and support from the union movement helped the workers through a difficult time.

Seattle Construction Workers Demand 'Jobs Now'

More than 600 building and construction trades workers from the Seattle metropolitan area rallied downtown on St. Patrick’s Day to demand the “green-lighting” of major job-creating public-works investments being delayed by political wrangling.

“We want jobs NOW!” chanted the workers the same day that new Washington State unemployment numbers showed construction payrolls fell by another 3,200 jobs in February and have dropped 32 percent in the past 20 months. The Seattle-area construction industry is suffering from unprecedented unemployment rates of 35 percent—even higher in some trades.

Bigger Enforcement Hammer Saves Worker's Lives

by Mike Hall, Mar 16, 2010

When a worker is killed on the job because of an employer’s serious and willful violation of the nation’s job safety laws, the median penalty the employer faces isn’t time in jail–it’s a mere $3,675.

It’s time to put some real teeth and a bigger enforcement hammer into the Occupational Safety and Health Act, (OSH Act), witnesses told a House hearing today. In prepared testimony, AFL-CIO Safety and Health Director Peg Seminario asked the House Workforce Protections subcommittee

Reconstructionist Rabbis Resolve to Reaffirm Workers' Rights

Ross Hyman, a research analyst for the AFL-CIO Center for Strategic Research, sends us info on this latest support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

“Wool workers and dyers have the right to say: ‘We will all be partners in any business that comes to the city.’ Bakers have the right to arrange their shifts.”

9/11 Health Bill Clears Another Hurdle

by Mike Hall, Mar 17, 2010

The nearly 60,000 rescue and recovery workers and community members whose health is at serious risk from their exposure to the contaminated and toxic rubble at the 2001 Ground Zero World Trade Center attacks are a step closer to receiving long-term medical care.

Southwest Airlines and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Open travel Program for College Students

Southwest Airlines On Tuesday March 16, 2010, 11:23 am EDT

DALLAS, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines, in conjunction with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), announced today the opening of "Dandole Alas a Tu Exito/Giving Flight to Your Success," its annual education travel award program. Online applications will be accepted through April 30, 2010, at http://www.hacu.net/. A panel of judges comprised of college professors and education advocates from coast to coast will gather this summer to select students who will receive free travel to their colleges and universities

2 US Airways Employees Arrested in Phoenix

March 16th, 2010 @ 5:58pm

PHOENIX (AP) -- Authorities say a US Airways pilot and flight attendant could face felony assault charges in the beating of a Phoenix-area high school baseball coach.

Florida Members Rally at Mercedes of Orlando

Supporters of the fight for justice by Auto Technicians at Mercedes-Benz of Orlando rallied to raise awareness of the dealership’s unfair treatment of its workers.
Tue. March 16, 2010

Nearly a dozen unions joined with District 166 Machinists in support of auto technicians at Mercedes-Benz of Orlando in Orlando, FL, where seven workers were fired for demanding a fair contract.

The protest included a giant inflatable rat, an appropriate symbol for a company that has refused to bargain in good faith following a lawful NLRB election in December 2008.

Obama's Space Cuts Threaten 9,000 Shuttle Jobs

Tue. March 16, 2010

President Barack Obama's proposed budget promises to send thousands of U.S. space workers to a new frontier: the unemployment line.

The president is proposing to shut down NASA's Constellation program and contract the work to private companies. Constellation's mission is to return man to the Moon, and ultimately Mars. The budget provision, if passed, could mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across the country and an end to our nation's role as the leader in space technology and exploration.

Wealth Gap Widens for Women of Color

Tue. March 16, 2010

Women of color face an enormous wealth gap when compared to the rest of society, says a new report by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. However, the wealth gap is far narrower for minority women belonging to a union, says one official.

The report released at the “Economic Security for Women” symposium in Washington, DC, defines “wealth” as a person’s assets minus their debt (which is different from income). Results show single African-American and Hispanic women have a median wealth of $100 and $120 respectively. The median for single white women is $41,500.