Obama Rejects Radical Republican Fiscal Agenda

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement today on President Obama’s speech on fiscal policy and the federal budget.

Today, President Obama gave a promise to America’s working people that he wouldn’t follow the path of the radical Republican fiscal agenda that leads to lost jobs and a national decline of standards. That commitment is essential at this crucial moment for children, students, seniors and everyone who hopes for a secure economic future.

The President also made clear that he understands why Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are so important to working people. The labor movement is equally clear that we oppose cuts to any of these critical programs – no matter who proposes them.

Above all, let us refocus our national energy and attention on job creation – because successful job creation is the key to making long-term deficit reduction both easier and more politically achievable.

The Republican budget proposal, by contrast, is simply a shameful wealth transfer from working people to corporate CEOs. It does not make a significant dent in the deficit. It is a fraud on the American people. Republican leaders in Congress have shown they want a massive cut in tax rates for the wealthy and for Wall Street, and they want the middle class and the poor to pay for it in various ways, including higher health care costs, hidden tax increases and cuts in essential programs. At a time of record unemployment, each cut to our nation’s budget threatens American jobs and the Republicans’ irresponsible cuts would eliminate hundreds of thousands of them.

Here’s the truth: We cannot have an honest conversation about the deficit until we return fairness to our tax system, and that includes addressing our medium and long term fiscal problems created by the $100 billion-a-year Bush tax cuts, as President Obama made clear today. But we also must close corporate tax loopholes in a way that raises additional net revenues. We must insist that corporations and the rich pay their fair share instead of shortchanging education, health care, technology and other investments in our future. President Obama does not yet have the balance right between spending cuts and new revenue. Without significant new revenues, we will just end up balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and the middle class.

The regressive and economically destructive plan of the Fiscal Commission Chairs is not a starting point. A number of groups on the Democratic side have come forward with plans and ideas that seek to restore fiscal health, tax fairness and investments in our future. Those ideas have to be the way forward to create an economy in which our children can thrive, with a renewed focus on creating good jobs.

Fire Fighters Push Back Against Fla. Gov., Chamber Attack

by Mike Hall, Apr 13, 2011

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) assault on fire fighters and other public employees—with the support of the Florida Chamber of Commerce—isn’t going over well with voters.

A new poll shows that 67 percent believe fire fighters, paramedics and other public employees deserve collective bargaining rights and 53 percent say those workers should have the right to have their dues deducted from their paychecks—something Scott and the Chamber want to outlaw. Says Fire Fighters (IAFF) President Harold Schaitberger:

Prohibiting dues deduction is nothing more than an attempt to gag workers.

He says the Chamber’s campaign backing Scott’s bill is trying to convince voters that “it has the best interests of fire fighters in mind.”

But the Chamber is nothing more than a partisan, political interest group with little use for those who stand in the way of its anti-worker agenda. The Chamber and anti-worker lawmakers want voters to believe Florida workers are forced to join unions, but membership is voluntary.

Click here to see an IAFF ad that began airing in Florida this week

A Win For Workers

Wed. April 13, 2011

April 13, 2011 - A win for one worker is a win for all workers. After the recent decision of the National Labor Relations Board, labor should be celebrating as six brave men who stood up for their right to join a union are finally able to return to work.

Click here to watch the video.

The Price of Honor

Wed. April 13, 2011

April 13, 2011 - More than a year ago, the MNN ran a story about a group of auto technicians in Orlando who were fired from their jobs because they wanted to join the IAM.

Click here to watch the video.

Federal Workers Await Details of Budget Cuts

Tue. April 12, 2011

More than 800,000 federal employees breathed a sigh of relief when Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced a tentative agreement to fund the government through the remainder of the fiscal year.

Finalized with less than two hours before the government would shut down, the agreement will not go into effect until later this week. Congressional staff must first write the handshake agreement into legislative language and pass a bill through both chambers before it goes to the White House for the President’s signature. In the meantime, Congress passed a bridge continuing resolution to fund the government until the full fiscal year bill is signed into law.

“We are certainly relieved that a deal was reached, but we have some reservations,” said NFFE-IAM National President William R. Dougan. “We still do not know how big the cuts are going to be across different agencies. Although we have been given an assurance that provisions directly targeting federal employees - like eliminating step increases - are not part of the deal, the billions in cuts are still likely to have an impact on federal workers employed at the agencies that receive cuts.”

While federal workers dodged the shutdown bullet last week, additional fiscal battles lie ahead, including a fight over raising the limit on the national debt, which is expected to hit the current $14.3 trillion ceiling next month. Among the proposals from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, (R-WI) is a five-year pay freeze for federal workers and a 10 percent attrition-based cuts to the government's workforce.

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.