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November 2008, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Labor support Teen Works provides funds for projects

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsabe@aol.com

LEHIGH VALLEY, October 30th- The Teen Works Board of Directors approved to help fund four community projects being conducted by area teens or school groups from throughout the Lehigh Valley. The organization held a meeting on October 9th at the United Auto Workers of America (UAW) Union Local 677 building on Mack Boulevard in Allentown.

Unions from throughout the Lehigh Valley contribute funds that is donated to area teens involved with a project to help the region. The program is a agency of the Greater Lehigh Valley United Way. All funds donated by the labor organizations is used to support the Teen Works program.

School students ask the Teen Works Board of Directors for financial help to conduct a community project in the Lehigh Valley. Under the program teen(s) must first complete an application for the financial help.

Boy Scout Troop 439 member Frank Winger of Elm Street in Allentown received $300.00 from the organization to refurbish the bleachers at Ruhe Memorial Park in Allentown. The youth will strip the rust and paint off each support, repaint them with rustoleum enamel and put in new bolts, washers, and nuts. There are five bleachers and twenty-six planks.

The Team Skills USA “Promoting Autism Awareness” group of Bethlehem received $1,000.00, the maximum amount, from Teen Works Board of Directors. Team Skills USA is working to construct 500 puzzle pieces within the shops in vocational school in Northampton that will benefit children with Autism.

Boy Scout Troop 54 member Shawn Piell of Phillipsburg, New Jersey received $750.00 by the group for his project at the Phillipsburg Cemetary. The youth is removing the flagpole of the cemetary and installing a new vandal-resistant flagpole a short distance from the current location.

The final project to receive funds from the organization will benefit the Saint Andrew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Easton. Boy Scout Troop 29 member Michael Nelson of Easton received $791.00 from Teen Works to restore and refurbish the church’s parish administration office, parking lot light bases, parking bumpers, pastor’s study, door frames, and entry doors that are badly in need of repair.

The youth stated the first task is to thoroughly sand, clean, prime paint, and apply finish onto the four outside lightpost bases.

Next, the youth will refinish seventeen white parking bumpers in the parking lot.

Walls in the pastor’s study will be sanded, cracks will be repaired, and spackle will be applied.

The church will receive three new double-sided entry doors that will be painted with interior and exterior paint. The church’s business office known as the H.O.P.E. House will be powerwashed and the foundation will be repained along with two doors.

All spouts will be scrubbed and powerwashed. The youth will completely powerwash the H.O.P.E. House sidewalks, front sides and foundation.

Teen Works usually meets the second Tuesday of each month providing the organization has received any applications seeking funds for community projects.

November 2008, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Teamsters Union Local 773 withdraws petition but files to conduct election for bus company employees

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsabe@aol.com

LEHIGH VALLEY, October 31st- The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region Four in Philadelphia will not conduct an election to determine if employees at the Kraft Foods facility at 7352 Industrial Boulevard in Allentown wants to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Union Local 773, Hamilton Street in Allentown, because the union withdrew their petition.

The newspaper reported in the previous edition the union filed with the NLRB a petition requesting the agency conduct a Representation Election to determine if employees wanted to be members of Local 773.

According to the petition, filed with the NLRB on September 15th and obtained by the newspaper through the Freedom of Information Act, the petition was supported by at least 30 percent of the workers at the Kraft Foods facility. Kraft operates a warehouse and distribution center at the location. The newspaper has learned the union withdrew the petition on October 15th. Under NLRB rules, the union could refile the petition after six months. The NLRB had scheduled to conduct a election for October 24th. Should the union have lost the election, another election could not be conducted for at least twelve months.

Meanwhile, Local 773 has filed with the NLRB requesting the agency conduct a election to determine if approximately 130 employees of First Student Transporation, which provides student busing for the Pleasant Valley School District in Brodheadville, wants to be repressented by the union.

According to the petition filed on October 14th, and obtained by the newspaper through the Freedom of Information Act, the union wanted all full-time and regular part-time bus drivers, transportation aids, and mechanics to participate in the election.

The NLRB will conduct a election on November 14th at the company’s facility in Brodheadsville.

John Oliver Mason
October 22, 2008
Bread and Roses Awards event.

The Bread and Roses Community Fund held its annual Tribute to Change program at Hamilton Hall, University of the Arts, on Broad and Pine Streets, on Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Bread and Roses was founded on the theme “Change, not Charity.” It distributes funds to groups working on social change issues, such as health care, economic justice, environment, peace, and civil and human rights. Bread and Roses also provides technical assistance and leadership development to grantees and donors.

Casey Cook, Executive Director of Bread and Roses, opened the program, saying, “Each year, Bread and Roses’ Tribute to Change brings together hundreds of people to honor the contributions of local leaders of social change, as we recognize the continuing struggle for racial and economic justice.” Referring to the presidential campaign, the bailout of financial institutions by the federal government, and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s criticism of community organizers, Cook added, “The events of the last several weeks have shown us, in no uncertain terms, a Luta continua, (Portuguese for) the struggle continues.

“Wall Street and Washington,” added Cook, “are just now waking up to the reality that people on the ground live with every day. Our economy is a disaster. The gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing exponentially. In the last eight years, working family income decreased by more that two thousand dollars, while corporate CEOs now make 400 times their typical employee. Since January of this year, the unemployment rate has increased 24 percent, and is at its highest in the last five years. Most than 131,000 Philadelphians are without health insurance, and over half of those people are employed. Across the country, more than a million families have lost their homes to foreclosure. If we do not change our policies, that number is likely to grow to five million over the next few years. “

This is not news, said Cook, to Bread and Roses grantees of donors, nor to the communities they represent, “that we have an extremely troubled economy. We are all here tonight, because we all know that concentrated wealth and power corrupt our democracy, deepen the racial and ethnic divides, and destroy the fabric of our communities. What kind of democracy do we live in where we can socialize the banks, but not health care? Where our policy makers and elected officials didn’t see this coming? Where working families lose their jobs, their homes, and their retirement, while the four hundred richest Americans increased their combined net worth by $700 billion in just eight years?

“These are hard times,” added Cook, “and yes, we’re all scared. It seems like things are crumbling around us, but like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, an opportunity exists for us to take back our government, and rebuild our economy in ways that work for all Americans. But it required the commitment of each and every one of us to make sure the work gets done, and real change happens.” Cook noted that the national presidential election was coming up, but she added, “Real change begins at home. Local grassroots organizations need us now more than ever; as allies, let’s give our bodies, our time, and our money by supporting their actions, by volunteering our time and expertise, and by writing checks. Right here in this room, we have the leadership needed to make real change happen.”

Tom Segrue and Denise Brown, co-chairs of the Bread and Roses Board of Directors, presented the awards. Video clips were played, showing the accomplishments of each of the awardees.

“The Tribute to Change,” said Segrue, “is our opportunity each year to honor the individuals and organizations, who are doing the challenging work to advance social justice in our region. Over the last few months, we heard a lot of mocking and derision on the political right about community organizers and community organizations. Tonight’s awardees are an inspiring group of four individuals and one organization who are doing the hard work of organizing from the bottom up, working on the grassroots for social change.”

Denise Brown presented the Community Empowerment Award to Casino-Free Philadelphia, a group working to prevent casinos opening in Philadelphia. The award was a bullhorn with an engraved plaque on it. “I hope Casino Free Philadelphia will put it to good use,” said Segrue, “I know they will.”

The Emerging Leader Award, presented to someone emerging as a community organizer, was presented to Thomas Robinson, who has chaired Jobs With Justice’ POWR (Philadelphia Officers and workers Rising) campaign in organizing security guards at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Robinson said of POWR, “It’s a campaign geared in the City of Philadelphia geared toward revolutionizing security guard interests, who want to go after (The security firm) Allied Barton…and to get them to raised their standards of the way that they treat their workers,” which would cause other security companies to follow suit.

“Before I got involved in this campaign,” added Robinson, “I never knew anything about organizations such as Jobs With Justice. I never before thought about how I could help people change their lives, through changing the conditions of their jobs. “ Robinson urged people to challenge the situation “Where the company continues to grow and continues to expand, and at the bottom of the totem pole, the employees get nothing.”

The Emerged Leader Award went to Wayne MacManiman, Chairman of SEIU’s Mid Atlantic District 32BJ. “IT was the lack of action that inspired me” into activism, said MacManiman. “I really felt that we as a unit could do better. We talk about change, but someone has to be willing to step up and take a hold of that change.” MacManiman led service workers into gaining new contracts that improved their health coverage and salaries.

The Robin Hood Was Right Award was presented to Linda Lee Alter, a local artist who founded the Leeway Foundation, which is dedicated to recognizing and supporting women and transgender artists. “For my own art,” said Alter, “I always feel like I want to communicate, that each piece of artwork has a story and a message. It always seemed like a tool for me for change.” Alter received “financial resources that I never expected to have. When I got those resources, I felt a real need to give back in some way. It came to me that I can start a foundation (that) supported and encouraged women in the arts.” Alter and her board “wanted to reach out to people that were less well served in the women’s community.”

The Paul Robeson Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to Father John P. McNamee, who recently retired as pastor of St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church. McNamee has been active in labor and peace activism, and has published several volumes of poetry and a memoir, Diary Of A City Priest.

McNamee recalled his time in the seminary when he found a copy of The Catholic Worker newspaper in the reading room. “The founder of the Catholic Worker (movement),” he said, “was Dorothy Day. She had come out of radical labor politics. I began to be taken with her concern for the poor, and I had a special feeling for the United Farm Workers. Whenever they came to Philadelphia, they would contact me and ask me to help them, and so I spent a lot of time contacting labor leaders in Philadelphia. The peace community discovered me as someone who would come to a draft-card burning.” At that time, McNamee was on the board of the Central Committee of Conscientious Objectors, and he recalled being on the stage with someone who said, “with four letter words…what he felt about the government or the war.”

New Congress: A Mandate for Economic Change

by Seth Michaels, Nov 10, 2008

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/11/10/new-congress-a-mandate-for-economic-change/

Last Tuesday, it wasn’t just President-elect Barack Obama who won a historic victory. The 111th Congress that will take office in January will have a stronger pro-worker majority and a mandate to make the economy work again for everyone.

Working families added U.S. House and Senate seats in every region of the nation, from Florida to Oregon and from New Hampshire to New Mexico. As of the latest totals, it looks like working families have added more than 20 new House members and six new senators. A party hasn’t picked up so many new seats in the House and Senate for two consecutive election cycles since the 1950s, so Tuesday’s results, together with the change of power in Congress in 2006, are a striking sign that voters are looking for new policies and new ideas.

Voters around the country strongly rejected anti-working family incumbents. Some of Bush’s key allies in the House and Senate lost their races after a career of voting against workers on trade, health care and the freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. Here are just a few of the incumbents whose anti-worker records were repudiated. Each of the incumbent House members listed below supported the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), opposed the Employee Free Choice Act and voted to uphold Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Betsy Markey defeated Rep. Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, with a 7 percent lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO.

Suzanne Kosmas beat Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida, with a 10 percent AFL-CIO rating.

Gary Peters and Mark Schauer defeated Reps. Joe Knollenberg and Tim Walberg of Michigan, with 8 percent and 13 percent lifetime ratings, respectively.

Steve Driehaus defeated Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio, with a 10 percent AFL-CIO voting record.

In Senate races, working families won crucial victories, defeating anti-worker incumbents and challengers alike.

Rep. Tom Udall, with a 97 percent lifetime rating, and Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico, with a 13 percent lifetime rating, squared off in a race for an open U.S. Senate seat. Udall won by 22 points.

In Colorado, Rep. Mark Udall, with a lifetime 93 percent AFL-CIO score, won the race for an open U.S. Senate seat against former Rep. Bob Schaffer, whose career AFL-CIO voting record was 11 percent.

Jeanne Shaheen won a strong victory over Sen. John Sununu, who had a 10 percent lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO.

AFL-CIO-endorsed candidate Jeff Merkley defeated Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, who had a 24 percent lifetime rating.

Kay Hagan defeated Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, with a 21 percent lifetime AFL-CIO voting record.

These were some of the most consistent votes against workers in Congress. And working family voters sent them packing.

Through a strong get-out-the-vote effort by union volunteers and a nationwide momentum for pro-worker policies, incumbents like these were defeated and dozens of great AFL-CIO-endorsed candidates are headed to Congress.

Polls are showing voters didn’t just vote for Obama and a new Congress—they want and expect them to govern and be able to implement an agenda. A new Democracy Corps poll shows that 71 percent of voters want Republicans and Democrats in Congress to help Obama enact a progressive agenda, not block it. The consequences of obstruction and delay will be more lost jobs, more stagnant wages and a continuation of the Bush administration failures that have put our economy in this position to begin with.

In particular, the new Congress has a chance to implement the Employee Free Choice Act, to restore the freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. The power to form unions is a vital tool to ensure economic growth is broadly shared and sustainable in the long term. A new poll by American Rights at Work, the workers’ advocacy organization, shows a strong majority of voters approve of unions and the Employee Free Choice Act and want to see it passed.

David Bonior, chairman of American Rights at Work, says that the election results—especially in light of the multimillion-dollar smear campaign by corporate front groups—demonstrate that voters are serious about demanding real change that puts workers first.

Americans know we can’t continue the status quo of stagnant wages, rampant outsourcing, reduced healthcare coverage, and high unemployment. Unions make a difference in improving not only working conditions, but wages, access to medical care and job security. Through an aggressive public education and grassroots campaign, workers’ rights advocates and unions were able to remind and convince the public that policies to help more workers join unions ultimately will help save our failing economy.

Working family voters sent a clear message by electing so many new faces to Congress. We need to keep up the pressure and make sure the new Congress listens and fights for the Employee Free Choice Act and the new economic agenda we need.

Last-Minute Bush Push Threatens Safety, Family Leave, Environmental Rules

by Mike Hall, Nov 12, 2008

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/11/12/last-minute-bush-push-threatens-safety-family-leave-environmental-rules/

The Bush White House is making “a last minute assault on the public” with a slew of end-of-term regulations that could roll back or weaken rules on job safety, family leave, airline safety and pollution.

Matthew Madia, of the nonprofit watchdog group OMB Watch, told reporters earlier this month:

It’s environmental regulations, it’s workers’ safety, it’s reproductive health, it’s traffic safety, but the common theme is in a lot a cases the Bush administration is trying to remove restrictions on business and allow them to operate without any kind of government oversight….It’s intended to make sure that the kind of ideology and priorities that the Bush administration believes in are affecting the country for many years.

According to The Washington Post, at least 90 new regulations are in the works and if they become final before Bush leaves office: they typically can be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis.

New regulations become final after they are published in the Federal Register but usually don’t go into effect until a 60-day congressional comment period expires. But ABC News reports that some of the proposed regulations have had the comment period drop from the traditional 60 days to just over 30 days.

Such a short comment period ensures last-minute regulations will be in effect when President-elect Barack Obama takes office Jan. 20. That’s why, the Post says, the business community is pressing hard for the Bush administration to move quickly.

…lobbyists…fear that industry views will hold less sway after the elections. The doors at the New Executive Office Building have been whirling with corporate officials and advisers pleading for relief or, in many cases, for hastened decision making.

The incoming Obama administration does have a tool it could use to undo the last minute regulations—the Congressional Review Act (CRA). It is the same procedure Bush used to overturn the Clinton administration’s workplace ergonomics rule that wasn’t finalized until the end of Clinton’s second term.

Under the little-used CRA, a regulation that is enacted within 60 days of congressional adjournment—Oct. 3 this year—can be reviewed and overturned by a simple majority vote in both houses and Senate filibusters are not allowed. Politico reports congressional Democrats are considering a CRA strategy for some of the last-minute Bush rules.

OMB Watch says some of the controversial Bush rules have been finalized and the comment-clock is ticking, including a regulation that will make it more difficult for workers to use family and medical leave and another easing air pollution emissions standards on refineries.

One of the rules that has not been finalized but could be any day is the “secret rule” that could lead to increased exposure of workers to dangerous chemicals and toxins by changing the way worker exposure is measured.

The rule was pushed by Bush political appointees over the objections of career health and safety professionals and kept secret until media reports in July revealed the plan.

While the Bush White House is moving quickly to ease rules on industry, workers, as they have been for the past eight years, remain shut out.

There are dozens of important workplace safety and health rules that remain buried in the Bush administration. Those proposals include rules to protect workers from exposure to dangerous substances and chemicals such as silica, which can cause serious respiratory disease; diacetyl, a flavoring additive linked to “popcorn lung”; and beryllium, a light metal that can cause lung damage, especially to metal and dental workers.

In addition, the Bush administration refuses to develop combustible dust rules that could help prevent explosions like the one in February at an Imperial Sugar plant that killed 13 workers.

November 2008, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Group wants China to be forced to trade fairly

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsabe@aol.com

NORTHAMPTON, October 25th- The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) held a town-hall panel discussion on trade at the Northampton Community Center in Northampton on October 23rd.

The AAM, is a non-partisan, nonprofit partnership between labor and manufactures in the United States that brings together a select group of leading manufactures and the United Steelworkers of America (USW) Union.

Executive Director of AAM, Scott Paul stated the organizations mission is to promote creative policy solutions on priorities such as international trade, energy security, health care, retirement security, and other issues of mutual concern.

The AAM event in Northampton was free to the public and was one of nine conducted throughout Pennsylvania.

The labor representative panel participant was Jerry Green, President of the United Steelworkers of America (USW) Union Local 2599, Lehigh Street in Bethlehem. Local 2599 has approximately 1,600 active members throughout the Lehigh Valley and once represented workers employed at Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

Scott Paul, a former union lobbyist, said China is the biggest violator of unfair trade practices and is harming the manufacturing base of the nation.

He said because of the import of cheap China made products, manufacturing jobs are being lost. A typical manufacturing job pays more than service jobs, and each production job supports three to four other jobs.

According to information provided by the AAM, in Pennsylvania alone, 207,400 manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2000, roughly 1/4 of all Pennsylvania factory jobs. Mr. Paul estimates 37,000 of those jobs have been moved to China. Also, a recent study found that Pennsylvania lost more than 78,000 jobs between 2001-2006 just because of the United States trade deficit with China.

In the nation, more than 3.5 million, mostly manufacturing jobs, have been lost in the last ten years, with low wages, law environmental standards, no labor laws, and combined with billions of the Chinese government subsidies, make it impossible for American manufacturing companies to compete, said Mr. Paul.

Discussed was the fact that the Chinese goverment manipulates its currency, the yuan, to keep its value artificially low and the value of the United States dollar artificially high, to maintain the Chinese competitive advantage. “The Chinese must be forced to play fair. The U.S. manufactures can compete if the trading system is not tilted to China’s favor,” said Mr. Paul.

The panel agreed Washington must enforce its trade laws if the nation is to remain a world economic power.

November 2008 Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

MSA unemployment rate decreases to 5.9 percent

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsabe@aol.com

REGION, October 25th- According to labor data provided by the Department of Labor and Industry, the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point from the month before to 5.9 percent. The MSA includes Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties of Pennsylvania and Warren County, New Jersey. Twelve months ago the unemployment rate for the region was 4.4 percent.

Of the fourteen Metropolitan Statistical Area’s in the state, the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area has the fourth highest unemployment rate.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is 5.7 percent, increasing by three-tenths of a percentage point from the month before. There are 367,000 Pennsylvania residents without jobs. Pennsylvania has a seasonally adjusted workforce of 6,444,000 with 6,077,000 employed. The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 6.1 percent, increasing by four-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month. There are 9,477,000 residents nationally unemployed.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA has the highest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 6.5 percent, increasing by four-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month.

The Johnstown MSA has the second highest unemployment rate in the state at 6.4 percent, unchanged from the month before with the Williamsport MSA third at 6.1 percent, increasing by three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month.

The Lebanon MSA and the Lancaster MSA are tied for the lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 4.4 percent. The State College MSA has the second lowest unemployment rate in the state at 4.5 percent.

The Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton MSA has the third largest civilian labor force, workers between eighteen and sixty-five years old, in Pennsylvania at 420,100, increasing by 4,300 from twelve months before. The Philadelphia MSA has the largest civilian labor force in Pennsylvania at 2,996,100 with 168,800 residents not working. The Pittsburgh MSA has the second largest civilian labor force in the state at 1,223,700, with 65,800 residents unemployed.

Within the MSA, Carbon County has the highest unemployment rate at 6.7 percent, decreasing by eight-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month and increasing by one and three-tenths of a percentage point from twelve months before. Carbon County has 2,100 civilians not working, decreasing by 200 from the month before and increasing by 400 from twelve months ago. Carbon County has a labor force of 31,000 the smallest civilian labor force in the MSA.

Northampton County has the lowest unemployment rate in the MSA at 5.8 percent, decreasing by three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month and increasing by one and four-tenths of a percentage point from twelve months ago. Northampton County has 8,800 civilians without jobs, decreasing by 400 from the month before and increasing by 2,200 from twelve months before. Northampton County has a labor force of 152,000.

Lehigh County has a unemployment rate of 5.9 percent, decreasing by three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month and increasing by one and five-tenths of a percentage point from twelve months before. Lehigh County has 10,300 civilians not working, the most in the MSA, decreasing by 700 from the previous month and increasing by 2,600 during the past twelve months. Lehigh County has a labor force of 176,500, the largest in the MSA.

Dear Friends,

Democratic Talk Radio wants to thank everyone for their support of our mission. We have been devoted to bringing the Democratic message to America’s airwaves since I first bought airtime the night that the US Supreme Court imposed the Bush Presidency on our nation in December of 2000.

The show went on the air in January 2001 in Tennessee on a small AM station and soon moved to a more powerful FM station reaching a much larger audience in both northern Alabama and central Tennessee. I largely funded the effort out of personal resources. I invested over $35,000 keeping Democratic Talk Radio on the air in Tennessee.

Briefly, we broadcast nationally on the now defunct i.e. America Radio Network which was backed by the United Auto Workers union.

In the early Spring of 2008, we moved Democratic Talk Radio to the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. Our show broadcasts Thursday mornings on WGPA SUNNY 1100AM in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Sponsors paid the majority of the costs although I did invest nearly another $4,000 personally.

I want to thank all our sponsors.

The Mailroom union print shop in Allentown has been hugely helpful and supportive. I am going to be working with them as a new addition to their sales team on a commission basis. I exclusively use them for all my printing needs. The prices, service and quality are just excellent. Please let me know if I can connect you with them to meet your printing needs. We all need to print union.

The labor movement in Pennsylvania has been our greatest base of support in sponsoring the show. Laborers’ Local 1174 helped us get started by sponsoring our first 4 shows. Carpenters Local 600 and Steelworkers Local 2599 were both significantly large sponsors. The Lehigh Valley Labor Council, Steelworkers Local 10-1, Steelworkers Local 1165 and IBEW Local 380 all helped sponsor shows.

The Bethlehem City Democratic Party sponsored one show.

Collectively, they covered about 60% of the airtime costs. I paid the rest and all the travel expenses mostly out of my income as public relations representative for American Income Life Insurance. Unfortunately, my ability to help finance the show has been exhausted at least in the near term.

The travel costs and airtime costs about $250 per show. We would like to stay on the air. Democratic Talk Radio needs your financial help in sponsoring the show.

If your union or organization can help by sponsoring a show, it will help keep a pro-labor, pro-Democratic, progressive message on the air in Pennsylvania. Our show streams live on the Internet for those outside the broadcast area. Checks in any amount will be appreciated. You can sponsor a whole show or buy ads. One minute ads are $30. A thirty second ad is only $20. Personal ads are welcome.

Checks can be sent to: Democratic Talk Radio, 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702. For more details, I can be reached by phone at 443-907-2367 at almost any hour. My email address is demlabor@aol.com

If your union does not have cash, you still might be able to help by signing up in the American Income Life Insurance program with me personally. By doing so, you can get additional, new benefits for your members at no cost to them or your local. American Income is always a great program but signing with me personally helps give you additional advantages on the political action and public relations fronts.

By participating in the American Income program, you can show your support for the “buy union” idea while supporting my ability to bring you Democratic Talk Radio.

Currently, our funds are nearly exhausted. We will resume broadcasts as soon as sufficient funds arrive.

Today, we have just received a couple of checks from SEIU Local 668 and Teamsters Local 773. Together, they are almost enough to pay airtime costs for one more show. We have received pledges for the costs of a few more shows. With luck, we might not miss any broadcasts, or (more likely) only one.

Donors are always welcome as guests.

In time, we hope to expand our program into new markets and stations. The greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania market is probably next followed by Delaware and Maryland or the Scranton area.

Sincerely,

Stephen Crockett

Host- Democratic Talk Radio

P.S.- I am always available as a free speaker to the membership or executive board of your union or organization. Besides business opportunities like the American Income Life Insurance program or union printing services from The Mailroom, I can speak on topics like “The Employee Free Choice Act”, “How Unions Can Work Better With The Media” or various other political topics.

Disaster: 240,000 Jobs Lost in October

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/11/07/disaster-240000-jobs-lost-in-october/

by Tula Connell, Nov 7, 2008

In more stunningly bad news for America’s workers, 240,000 U.S. jobs were lost in October, pushing the nation’s unemployment rate to 6.5 percent—the worst in 14 years, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released today. October’s job loss represents the 10th straight month job numbers declined, putting the Bush administration on track to complete an entire year in which the nation saw no job gains.

More than 1 million American workers have lost their jobs already this year, and more than 10 million are out of work and looking for new jobs.

The financial and manufacturing sectors were particularly hard hit. The Institute for Supply Management in recent days reported a steep decline in manufacturing activity, which in October fell to its lowest in 26 years. The jobs report is another indication that Congress needs to pass a stimulus rescue package even before the new president takes office. Says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney:

We need urgent action on an economic recovery package in the lame-duck Congress that dedicates enough money to matter to help working people get back on track. The recovery package must include an extension of unemployment benefits and increased funding for food stamps while providing aid to local and state governments to maintain vital services. It should also include an immediate investment in infrastructure spending to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and schools and put people to work.

The official government jobless number shows only part of the picture. Analysts estimate that the unemployment rate would be over 11.8 percent if it counted discouraged and underemployed workers, who are not technically considered unemployed under the definition used by BLS.

Yesterday, the BLS reported the number of U.S. residents collecting state unemployment benefits reached the highest level in 25 years, rising by 122,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.84 million in the week ending Oct. 25. Compared with the same week a year ago, new jobless claims are up about 45 percent, while continuing claims are up 46 percent.

Economist Larry Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), says we haven’t seen the worst of it yet.

We are looking at several years of high unemployment (peaking at 8 percent or more) and widespread income losses that will take many more years to overcome.

A spokesman for payroll manager ADP, Joel Prakken, told CNN

he didn’t anticipate a turnaround for these numbers until the second half of next year, and added that it was “highly likely” that unemployment numbers will be in excess of 200,000 job losses per month for the next several months.

The jobs report followed the Commerce Department’s announcement that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.3 percent in the third quarter, the worst such drop since 2001. The GDP’s decline was fueled by falling consumption spending, which had up to now provided the only gasoline in the nation’s economic engine.

In fact, as Mishel points out:

The last business cycle from 2000 to 2007 failed to generate any growth for middle-class working families—on average, they lost over $2,000 a year in inflation-adjusted income. This erosion of earning power happened even as the economy, through its workers, became increasingly productive.

An erosion of workers’ earning power—some 1 million people are expected to file for bankruptcy this year—and the massive home foreclosure rate, in which 2 million people are expected to lose their homes, make the jobs picture even more dire.

President-elect Barack Obama has inherited the biggest set of domestic and foreign policy disasters likely ever to have converged simultaneously in the history of this nation, gratis the Bush administration. On the domestic side, progressive analysts agree the first step must be to staunch the blood letting. The AFL-CIO has called for an economic rescue package that gets people back to work in jobs that support their families, provides a moratorium for home foreclosures and other measures.

Beyond immediate measures, the new Obama administration must reshape the nation’s economy to address decades in which corporate profits soared and workers’ wages stagnated, health care access declined and retirement security dwindled. Throughout the past year, EPI has compiled an Agenda for Shared Prosperity as a guide for lawmakers and the new president to help get the nation back on track. The reports were prepared by a network of analysts on issues such as jobs, health care and the freedom to form unions. Another set of policy recommendations to check out is at New Progressive Voices, a project of EPI, the Campaign for America’s Future, the Roosevelt Institution and other progressive policy organizations.

It’s time to get to work.

Insider Update

Dear Friends,

I’m excited to share the results of a poll we conducted with Peter D. Hart Research Associates to set the record straight on what role the Employee Free Choice Act played in the Senate and Presidential elections, and to set the stage for our critical post-election efforts to advance the bill.

For months, corporate interests funded opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act in key Senate battleground states. Despite spending nearly $20 million, they had little or no effect on the Senate races.

Voters saw right through the dishonest corporate campaign. Often those candidates supporting the bill steadily rose in the polls despite massive advertising on the issue.

Voters support measures to strengthen the middle class, like the Employee Free Choice Act. Sixty percent of voters believe even in these tough economic times, it is important to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, and nearly one-third (31 percent) of voters strongly believe it should be a priority for Congress.

The bill will help America’s working families improve their standard of living, fix a broken system that gives corporations far too much power, and restore fairness and the promise of the American Dream.

Below, you will find our press release; attached are post-election talking points. I hope you find them useful and will share with others.

We Need You to help push back against the narrative that is taking shape: that only labor cares about the Employee Free Choice Act. Here’s a great example from the Center for American Progress’ Wonk Room.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/11/06/efca-polls/

I’ll send you more updates and new research in the next couple of weeks.

In solidarity,

Mary Beth Maxwell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2008

CONTACT:
Josh Goldstein
202-822-2127 x118
954-254-4900 (Cell)
jgoldstein@americanrightsatwork.org

» Results from a Survey Among Voters in Senate Battleground States, Peter D. Hart Research Associates (PDF)
» Commentary and Analysis by David Bonior (View/PDF)
» Presentation: Anti-Employee Free Choice Act Ads Failed to Affect Senate Races (View)

Workers Win, Corporate Interests Lose in the Election

Peter D. Hart Poll Shows Voters’ Strong Support for Employee Free Choice Act Despite Corporate Attack Campaign

Washington, DC - Despite an extraordinary $20 million spent in nine battleground states to defeat candidates who support the Employee Free Choice Act, voters soundly rejected this misleading anti-union campaign from corporate interests and overwhelmingly backed candidates who support working families. A poll by Peter D. Hart Research Associates commissioned by American Rights at Work shows that anti-union advertising was among the least important factors in determining voters’ choices for Senate, and further indicated that they continue to support making it easier for workers to join unions.

Throughout this historic campaign season, the economy has been the most dominant issue on the minds of American voters. But as the middle class bore the burden of this struggling economy, corporate interest groups have vigorously fought to mislead the public on the Employee Free Choice Act - a reasonable legislative proposal that would help restore balance in this economy by making it easier for workers to form unions.

According to David Bonior, Chair of American Rights at Work, “No matter how hard corporate interests tried to mislead voters, it just didn’t work. State by state, millions were spent, but the fact remains the Employee Free Choice Act never became the wedge issue corporate interests sought.”

In fact, not only did the opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act fail to affect these races, often those candidates supporting the bill steadily rose in the polls despite massive advertising on the issue.

The poll reveals that nearly two-thirds (60%) of voters believe even in these tough economic times, it is important to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, and nearly one-third (31%) of voters strongly believe it should be a priority for Congress. President-elect Barack Obama has already signaled his strong support of the measure: “I’ve fought to pass the Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate. And I will make it the law of the land when I’m President of the United States of America” (Philadephia, 4/2/08). Newly-elected Senators Kay Hagen, Mary Landrieu, Jeff Merkley, Jeanne Shaheen, and Mark Udall also voiced their strong support for the bill, despite the millions of dollars spent in a misleading campaign waged against them for their stance.

“We have only seen the beginning of the fight to restore workers’ rights in this country as we can expect more sound and fury from opponents of this bill,” Bonior commented. “But voters have clearly spoken. In our current economic climate, the American public is hungry for measures to strengthen the middle class, and our new Congress should heed this call and make it a priority to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.”

###

American Rights at Work is a leading labor policy and advocacy organization dedicated to educating the American public about the barriers that workers face when they attempt to exercise their rights to freely and fairly form unions and engage in collective bargaining.

======================

Mary Beth Maxwell
Executive Director
American Rights at Work
1100 17th Street, NW
Suite 950
Washington, DC 20036
tel: (202) 822-2127 ext. 102
fax: (202) 822-2168
http://www.americanrightsatwork.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dawn Page at (480) 619-9263 dpage@liuna.org or Jacob Hay at (202) 942-2285, jhay@liuna.org

http://liuna.org/Portals/0/docs/pressreleases/pressrelease2010report.pdf

New Report Says More Housing Market Problems Coming in 2010 and 2011

Many Subdivisions are Ticking Time Bombs Waiting for Interest Rate Resets

Angry Homeowners Tell Corporate Home Builders to “Fix This Mess”

Los Angeles, CA (August 7, 2008)

– Today the Laborers’ International Union of North America – LIUNA – released a report detailing the implications for homeowners and the nation’s economy when five-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) reset in 2010 and 2011. The report was released during a news conference outside of the headquarters of KB Home in Los Angeles.

LIUNA was joined by six homeowners from a KB Home development in Buckeye, Arizona as well as religious leaders and community representatives who believe the worst is yet to come in the housing and mortgage crisis.

The report, The Ticking Time Bomb: Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Depreciating Home Values in New Subdivisions examines mortgages originated between 2005 and 2006 in Maricopa County, Arizona by the lending subsidiaries of three of the nation’s largest corporate home builders: Richmond American, Lennar, and KB Home. Report findings reveal that more than one third of all the mortgages are five-year ARMs that will reset in 2010 and 2011.

The report indicates that many homeowners with five-year ARMs will be trapped in their loans and unable to refinance before their interest rates reset due to high loan amounts and decreasing home values. According to the report, home values in the area have declined an average of more than $50,000 in just the last year with the value of Lennar homes declining $61,600, KB homes by $55,600 and Richmond American homes by $49,500. “We need real and immediate action to help struggling homeowners, to bring the creation of good jobs back to the construction industry, to protect our retirement security from tainted investments and to stabilize the mortgage and housing industry,” said LIUNA General President Terence M. O’Sullivan. “Since just last year, foreclosure activity has more than doubled, 493,000 construction workers have lost their jobs and we have an economy that is spiraling towards recession. Congress and regulators must scrutinize those who helped cause this crisis – including corporate home builders – and consider action to both defuse this ticking time bomb and prevent a recurrence.”

Case Study: the KB Home Santarra Development in Buckeye, Arizona The problems resulting from the mortgage and housing crisis threatens entire communities. The case of the KB Home Santarra development in Buckeye Arizona is an example: Fifty-five percent of the mortgages are five year ARMs. Sixty-three percent of the purchases had a first and second mortgage. Home values have decreased $78,800 in the last year alone.

Many new subdivisions, like the Santarra development, now have an unhealthy number of vacant homes due to foreclosures and speculators who purchased homes intending to flip them. This glut of homes exerts a downward pressure on home values and each new foreclosure brings values down even further. Although the greatest threat looms in 2010 and 2011 when the largest number of loans will have their interest rate reset, many homeowners are currently facing foreclosure or have already lost their homes.

Caught in a Trap

When Joni Lynn bought a KB Home in the Santarra subdivision in 2006, she said she told the Realtor that she wanted a conventional mortgage with a fixed rate and without “bells and whistles.” When Lynn closed on her home in 2006, Countrywide KB gave her two mortgages. Although she is retired and her income is from Social Security and a pension, the first mortgage is an interest-only ARM with an initial interest rate of 6.5 percent. After five years the interest rate can go as high as 11.5 percent. Although Lynn is current on her mortgages, she is struggling and is worried about what will happen when her interest rate increases. She now owes about $204,000 between the first and second mortgages. Meanwhile, the Maricopa County tax assessor has lowered the value of Lynn’s house from $210,000 to $148,800 since just last year.

LIUNA Calls for Action to Help Homeowners and Stabilize the Industry

LIUNA was instrumental earlier this year in stopping corporate home builders from receiving billions of dollars in tax breaks under a provision of the Foreclosure Prevention Act being considered by Congress. LIUNA exposed the role that home builders played in creating the current crisis and successfully persuaded Congress to remove the corporate home builder bailout from the final housing bill.

The union is now calling on Congress to take the next step in confronting the housing and mortgage crisis. Lawsuits and whistleblowers have revealed numerous cases of bad lending practices on the part of America’s largest home builders. For example, former Countrywide-KB Home Loans Regional Vice President Mark Zachary has said in court that KB Home pressured its lending joint venture to engage in systematic mortgage fraud to drive sales, including encouraging inflated appraisals, assisting buyers in supplying false income information, and approving loans without review or documentation.

LIUNA is also calling for agencies which buy or securitize mortgages, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD, to exercise greater scrutiny of mortgages originated by corporate home builders or by lenders which home builders control.
###

The half million members of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of 10 million workers who build America.

For copies of The Ticking Time Bomb: Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Depreciating Home Values in New Subdivisions, please contact Dawn Page at (480) 619-9263, dpage@liuna.org or Jacob Hay at (202) 942-2285, jhay@liuna.org.

November 2008 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Pennsylvania workers losing employer paid health coverage

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, October 13th- According to a study released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington DC and the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center in Harrisburg, only the state of Michigan saw a larger decline than Pennsylvania in the number of people covered by employers paid health insurance over the past six years. The organization released the study the same week the Pennsylvania Senate left Harrisburg without acting on a plan to expand options for the uninsured.

According to the the study, “The Erosion of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance,” 70.2 percent of Pennsylvanians had employer provided coverage in 2006-2007, down 5.7 percentage points from six years ago. Nationally, the decline in employer coverage was 4.7 percentage points.

The study compared health insurance coverage rates in 2001, the peek of the last business cycle, to 2007 which is likely to be the peak of the most current expansion.

“The Senate walked away from a chance to solve what is clearly a deeping health care problem,” said Sharon Ward, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.

Pennsylvania is second to only Michigan in the loss of residents with health care coverge provided by an employer during the six-year period with 560,945 fewer state residents under employer policies in 2006 to 2007.

Pennsylvania also exceeded the national average of children losing employer provided health care coverage. Over the past six years 201,956 fewer children are receiving employer health care in the state, a drop of 7.0 percentage points, faster than the 5.6 percentage point national decline.

EPI economist Elise Gould concluded the decline of employer health care is likely to continue in 2008 with the downturn and faster than inflation health care cost increases continuing to drive up insurance rates and squeeze small businesses. “The health care problem has reached a critical level. Bold new solutions need to be considered to address the growing crisis,” Ms. Gould stated.

The EPI study found about 62.9 percent of Americans under age 65 were covered by employer provided insurance in 2007, which is more than 3 million fewer than in 2000. Also, since 2000, the number of uninsured workers has grown by 4.1 million workers. Around 45 million people under 65 are without health insurance coverage.

Between 2000-2001 and 2006-2007 the number of Pennsylvanians receiving employer provided coverage went from 7,929,984 to 7,369,039, a decline of 560,945. That was a decline of 5.7 percentage points among total number of workers receiving health care, from 75.9 percent in 2000-2001 to 70.2 percent in 2006-2007. Nationally, the decline of employer provided health care during that period was 4.7 percentage points among all workers, from 67.6 percent to 62.9 percent.

In 2001-2001, 82.5 percent of Pennsylvania workers were insured by their one employer, and in 2006-2007 it declined to 79.1 percent. The national average went from 74.4 percent in 2000-2001 to 70.9 percent.

In Pennsylvania the percentage of children under 18 obtaining their health care from their parents’ employers dropped by 7.0 percentage points between 2000-2001 and 2006-2007, from 74.3 percent to 67.4 percent. Nationally, there was a decline of 5.6 percentage points.

Overall among the 50 states and Washington, DC, Pennsylvania ranked 16th in terms of the percentage loss in employer provided health insurance, at 5.7 percentage points over the six year period.

The EPI critized the Pennsylvania Senate for not acting on a comprehensive plan to offer low-cost insurance to small businesses and individuals before they recessed to campaign for the November 4th election.

The proposal known as the Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care (PA ABC), would have offered a low-cost insurance option for small businesses not currently offering insurance to their employees and individuals who aren’t covered by an employer. The House of Representatives passed the legislation in March and had the support of Governor Edward Rendell.

November 2008 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Pipefitters Union Local 524 unsuccessful in NLRB election

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, October 14th- On October 10th the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region Four in Philadelphia conducted a Representation Election at National H.V.A.C. Service, Pethick Drive in Wilkes-Barre, and the employees rejected bring members of the Pipefitters and Plumbers United Association Union Local 524, Corey Avenue in Scranton.

It was exclusively reported in the previous edition of the newspaper, Local 523 filed a petition with the NLRB requesting the agency conduct an election to determine if employees of National H.V.A.C. Service want to be represented by the union for the purpose of collective bargaining.

According to the petition filed on August 28th, that was later amended by Local 524 on September 9th, the union wanted all employees who perform service, installation, maintenance on H.V.A.C. equipment and pipefitting systems to participate in the election. The employer provides heating and air conditioning services. The newspaper obtained both petitions filed by the union through the Freedom of Information Act.

According to the NLRB, the workers voted three for to five against being represented by Local 524. Under NLRB rules, a labor organization must receive at least 50 percent plus one of votes of the participating employees in the election to become their bargaining representative.

Jack Greenwood, Business Manager and Principal Officer of Local 524 signed the petition on behalf of the union and told the newspaper prior to the election, the employees went to the union asking to become members. “They came to us. We didn’t go looking for them,” Mr. Greenwood told the newspaper.

According to a source at the NLRB, the agency agreed to a stipulation agreement reached between the parties that eliminated the necessity of a hearing on which employees would be eligible to vote. An hearing would delay when the election would have been conducted.

November 2008 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Legislation banning forced overtime on nurses signed by Governor Rendell

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, October 9th- Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell signed the bill that will ban mandatory overtime for nurses and other caregivers except in cases of emergency. The legislation will protect Registered Nurses (RN’s), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN’s), Respiratory Therapists, and other caregivers from being forced to stay at their job beyond the shift for which they were scheduled.

The Pennsylvania Senate approved the bill on October 7th and the House of Representatives concured on October 8th the compromise changes made to the legislation they passed on May 21st, 2007.

The legislation was supported by unions that represent nurses throughout the state including the Service Employees International Union/Healthcare Pennsylvania Union and the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) Union, which both represent nurses in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The compromise provision passed by the Senate allows employers to require overtime in the event of a natural disaster, widespread disease outbreak and in cases in which unexpected absences or work call-outs discovered before a work shift could affect patient safety.

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the number of hours worked has been identified as a contributing factor to the commission of errors by nurses, and cites one study that found that shift durations of greater than 12 hours were significantly associated with increased errors among nurses. Medical errors lead to upwards of 98,000 deaths per year in the United States, according to the IOM.

Nurses unions have been pushing for legislation to ban forced overtime for more than seven years, holding rallies in Harrisburg, conducting petition drives and lobbying members of the general assembly.

PASNAP and the SEIU/Healthcare Pennsylvania Unions believe too often hospital managers substitute a lack of recruitment for more nurses with the quick fix of mandatory overtime, which has been cited in numerous studies as a primary cause of nurse burn-out and nurses leaving hospital work.

PASNAP represents nurses at the Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre and the Community Medical Center in Scranton. The SEIU represents nurses at the Scranton Mercy Hospital and the Geisinger Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre.

Fifteen other states have passed laws banning mandatory overtime.

November 2008 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Union officer criminal convictions includes two from state

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, October 13th- The United States Department of Labor’s Office of
Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) announced the agency has obtained 889
criminal convictions since 2001. The bulk of the cases have involved the embezzlement
of union funds.

OLMS is the federal law enforcement agency responsible for administering most provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The agency’s criminal enforcement program includes investigations of embezzlement from labor organizations, extortionate picketing, deprivation of union members’ rights by force or violence, and fraud in union officer elections.

The agency’s civil program receives and publicly discloses unions’ annual financial reports, conducts compliance audits of labor unions and seeks civil remedies for violations of officer election procedures. In some cases, the Office of Labor-Management Standards conducts joint investigations with other Department of Labor agencies, including the Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Office of Inspector General, as well as other law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The agency announce its criminal enforcement data for July, 2008. During the month OLMS obtained 10 convictions, eight indictments and court orders of restitution totaling more than $500,000 including a former United Steelworkers (USW) Union officer from Western Pennsylvania and a former teachers union officer from Philadelphia.

According to information provided by OLMS and reviewed by the newspaper, on July 22nd, 2008, Deborah Anthony, a former financial secretary of the United Steelworkers Union Local 1196, located in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to serve one year home detention and pay restitution in the amount of $34,134.47.

On March 14th, 2008, Ms. Anthony pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $1,245.45. The sentencing follows an investigation of the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.

On July 9th, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Grace Gaines, a former treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Union Local 4973 in Philadelphia was charged with 43 individual counts of embezzling union funds totaling $15,597.99. Ms. Grace is alleged to have issued unauthorized checks from the union’s account payable to herself and cashed checks made payable to the local union. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.

Enforcement actions in July by the OLMS also includes a former union officer sentenced for embezzling more than $147,000 in union funds in Ohio. On July 10th, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Betty Illig, a former Secretary-Treasurer of the Graphic Communications Workers (GCW), International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Union Local 638-S and the Tri-State District Joint Council in Poland, Ohio, was sentenced to five years supervised release to include one year home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and pay restitution in the amount of $145,675. On February 8th, 2008, Ms. Illig pleaded guilty to embezzling union funds in the same amount and submitting false government required reports.

“Criminal activity in the labor movement seriously affects union members, and OLMS mission is to prevent it. Our cases demonstrate the continued importance of our investigation to thwart those who abuse their positions. OLMS protects union members, and we are proud to have secured orders of restitution of more than $90 million since 2001,” said Don Todd, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Mangement Standards.

Republican Operatives Step Up Attempts to Purge Voters

by James Parks, Oct 27, 2008

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/10/27/republican-operatives-step-up-attempts-to-purge-voters/

Seems like every day, we hear about more efforts by Republican operatives to suppress the vote. Kyla Berry, a college senior in Georgia, received a letter three weeks ago telling her that she is not a U.S. citizen and is not eligible to vote.

That came as a surprise to Berry, who was born in Boston and has a U.S. passport and birth certificate to prove it. The letter, dated Oct. 2, gave her a week from the time it was dated to prove her citizenship. One big problem: The letter was postmarked Oct. 9.

Berry is one of more than 50,000 registered Georgia voters whose names have come up as a mismatch when checked against state computer records. At least 4,500 of those people are having their citizenship questioned, and the burden is on them to prove they are eligible to vote. Check out the video of CNN’s interview with Berry here.

An African American college student, Berry represents the kind of voter Republican operatives often have sought to purge from the rolls before elections. Millions of new voters—many of them from groups that usually vote for Democrats—have registered, making it likely that next week’s vote will smash all previous records.

Republicans across the country are pulling out all the stops to keep the new voters and Democratic voters at home on Election Day. One of their biggest tools is the computer matching system in which registered voters’ names are cross-checked with state and federal databases. The databases are notorious for errors and typos, which means legitimate voters could be “flagged” and possibly purged from the rolls for no good reason.

A report by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law found that states are secretly purging roles with no supervision or national standards. As a result, efforts to clean up voter rolls are not as precise as they should be and eligible voters often are wrongly removed.

But that didn’t stop Colorado Secretary of State Michael Coffman, a Republican. The voter advocacy group, Advancement Project, has filed suit against Coffman challenging illegal purges and cancellation practices that have removed between 16,000 and 30,000 voters from Colorado’s rolls.

The suit alleges, among other things, that Coffman has removed tens of thousands of voters from the official voter rolls after Aug. 4, 2008, in violation of federal law, which bans systematic removal of voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election.

Here are other examples of Republican determination to purge legal voters from the rolls:

Even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them, Ohio Republicans still are trying to use computer mismatches to challenge voter registrations. At the request of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), the White House asked the Department of Justice to look into whether 200,000 new Ohio voters must reconfirm their registration information before Nov. 4.

In Florida, election officials found that 75 percent of some 20,000 voter registration applications from a three-week period in September were mismatched due to typographical and administrative errors. Florida’s Republican secretary of state ordered the computer match system implemented in early September. Also in Florida, according to Ari at Oxdown Gazette, some officials are planning to challenge the vote of anyone whose name is on a home foreclosure list—a move that has been successfully challenged in Michigan and Ohio.

In Wisconsin, Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sued the state’s election board after it voted against a proposal to implement a “no-match” policy. The board conducted an audit of its voter rolls and found a 22 percent match failure rate—including for four of the six members of the board. Van Hollen’s lawsuit was dismissed late last week.

In Montana earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy issued a scathing ruling denouncing the state Republican Party’s effort to challenge the registration of 6,000 voters. “The timing of the challenges is so transparent it defies common sense to believe the purpose is anything but political chicanery,” Molloy said. The Montana Republican Party and its leaders, he wrote, “are abusing the process.”

November 2008 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

IAM Union request NLRB to conduct election at Sun Buick

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, October 18th- The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union, District Lodge 15 in Cincinnati, Ohio, filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region Four in Philadlephia requesting the agency conduct a election to determine if workers at Sun Buick Pontiac GMC on Birney Avenue in Moosic want to be represented by the union.

According to the petition filed by the IAM with the NLRB on October 14th, and obtained by the newspaper through the Freedom of Information Act, the union wants to represent all full-time and regular part-time flat rate and hourly service department technicians, new car service technicians, and used car technicians.

The union is requesting all parts department employees, service salesmen, lubricators, washers, polishers, lot men, office clerical employees, professional employees, guards and supervisors to be excluded from participating in the election.

Under NLRB rules, the petition requesting for the agency to conduct a election must have the support of at least 30 percent of the unit of employees. According to the petition, the IAM stated at least 30 percent of the employees want the NLRB to conduct an election.

The petition was signed by Brian Bryant, recognized as a IAM Grand Lodge Representative from Cincinnati, Ohio.

November 2008 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 2244 wants to represent UGI Energy workers

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, October 10th- The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union Local 2244, North Lincoln Avenue in Scranton, filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region Four in Philadelphia requesting the agency conduct a election to determine if workers employed by UGI Penn Natural Gas want to be represented by the union.

According to the petition, obtained by the newspaper through the Freedom of Information Act, the union is requesting all full-time and regular part-time utility specialist workers employed by UGI at its Honesdale and Milford Pennsylvania locations participate in the NLRB Representation Election.

The petition states, at least 30 percent of the workers support the agency conducting an election to determine if they want to be represented by the union. IBEW Local 2244 currently represents workers employed by UGI in and around the Scranton region.

The Utility Workers Union Local 406 represents workers employed by the utility company in and around the Wilkes-Barre region.

Philadelphia Attorney David Gaudioso signed the petition on behalf of Local 2244 requesting for the NLRB to conduct a election. The petition was filed on October 8th, 2008.

November 2008 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Unions conducting Get-Out-To-Vote (GOTV) program locally

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, October 20th- Organized labor is conducting a get-out-to-vote (GOTV) program by contacting their members by mail, phone, and at worksites asking them to be sure to get to the polls on November 4th and support Illinois Senator Barack Obama for President.

Since mid-summer the labor community has been active throughout the nation and Northeastern Pennsylvania with a political program that is intended to better educate union members about issues pertaining to the November election and how it will effect them and the working people.

In the region, the political program is being conducted out of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union District Council 87 building in Dunmore and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Union Local 542 building in Wilkes-Barre.

Unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Change-to-Win (CtW) labor federations are working together through the political program to better educate union members and their households about how presidential candidate Arizona Republican Senator John McCain hasn’t supported the labor community while in Washington and will oppose labor legislation if elected President in November.

Mr. McCain voted to prohibit application of Davis-Bacon laws in federal disaster areas, and repeatedly supported exceptions to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rules. He opposed a resolution that would have expressed support for Davis-Bacon and opposition to its repeal. Also, Mr. McCain on March 15th, 1995 voted to block President Bill Clinton’s order banning federal contractors from hiring permanent scabs to replace construction workers on strike.

Senator McCain opposes the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and on June 26th, 2007 voted against the legislation. The legislation passed the House of Representatives in March 2007, 241-185 but it failed in the Senate. Organized labor has made the passage of the law a priority for the 2009 legislative session.

Under the legislation, employers would be required to recoginize unions that receive majority support by employees through a card-check program. EFCA would sometimes replace government overseen elections in the workplace which are held following a sometimes lengthy campaign and after an employer hires consultants that specializes in keeping unions from winning representation elections. Workers could still request for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to conduct an election.

The unions effort includes members that are released from their regular jobs to campaign each day for labor supported candidates. They knock on doors of union members working from lists provided by their unions.