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

Catholic teachers Union supported at rally in Wilkes-Barre

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

WILKES-BARRE, June 18th- A labor rally was held on June 14th on Public Square in Downtown Wilkes-Barre to show support for the members of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT) Union that the Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino refused to recognize as the teachers bargaining representative.

The union represented the teachers of ten of the fourty-two grade schools and nine of the ten high schools of the Scranton Diocese until Bishop Martino restructured the system in 2007. The system eliminated the small school boards and created four regional boards. SDACT previously had contracts with each Board of Pastors that represented each school. Mr. Martino implemented a “Employee Relations Program” eliminating the union.

The SDACT President Michael Milz, 33 year employee of the Scranton Diocese who worked as a science teacher and later a social studies teacher at Bishop Hoban High School, now called Holy Redemmer, has been laid-off and told the newspaper is looking for work.

Mr. Milz stated the SDACT has not represented the workers since August 2007, when their previous contract expired. However, some of the teachers make “voluntary” financial contributions to the union.

The SDACT now has 22 active members employed by the Diocese at St. Michael’s School in Tunkhannock. The current five year contract agreement with the Scranton Diocese will expire in August 2009.

“I’ve applied for one teaching job so-far. I’m keeping my ears open. Hopefully everything will work out fine for me,” said Mr. Milz.

On June 14th around 250 people attended the rally including many members of labor unions throughout Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties. The participates heard speeches from labor leaders, politicians and school students all critizing Mr. Martino for not allowing the union to represent the teachers.

According to Mr. Milz, Bishop Martino agreed to recognized the union as the employees bargaining representative after the restructuring took place if the union was successful in obtaining more than a majority of the employees signitures requesting union representation. However, Bishop Martino later said no to the union “card check” program, after the union obtained the signitures.

Pennsylvania State Representative, 121st Legislative District, Eddie Day Pashinski attended the rally and spoke about legislation he introduced to amend the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act to give lay teachers and employees of private, religiously affiliated schools the legal right to join a labor organization.

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

Carpenters Union members want to build Wal-Mart Supercenter store

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

TAYLOR, July 2nd- The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Union Local 645 critized Wal-Mart for not yet signing an agreement with a unionized contractor that would assure members of their union would be hired to construct the new Wal-Mart Supercenter Store on Main Avenue in Taylor Borough.

According to Vern Johnson, Vice President and Team Leader for Local 645, Pear Street in Scranton, past history shows that Wal-Mart uses an invitation only bidders list for their contractors for new store construction.

“The bidders list usually always is made up of out-of-town and out-of-state contractors. The contractors will bring in an out-of-town work force that will contribute to the erosion of the area standards that has been set for carpentry craft workers,” said Mr. Johnson.

Local 645 represent carpenters employed within the building and construction industry throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.

So far no unionized construction workers have been hired to build the retail development under construction, including preparing the site, in Taylor which neighbors Scranton.

The site formerly contained multible retail stores including a pizza shop, grocery store, and a bargain store.

The building trades members have picketed the site to inform the public they want to be hired for the construction of the Wal-Mart and the other retail stores that will be built on the site. However, before the site can be ready for the development it required a lot of excavation work including providing backfill of soil in the rear area of the site. According to Mike Mazza, Business Representative of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Union Local 542, none of his members were hired for the project. Local 542 members operate heavy construction equipment.

In a flier distributed to the public by Local 645 members, the union believes that Wal-Mart has an obligation to the community to see our area labor standards are met for construction work at all of their projects including any future work either new or remodel.

“Shame on Wal-Mart for contributing to the erosion of our area standards by hiring contractors that do not pay prevailing wages, including a fair living wage, and either providing or making payments for health care and pension benefits,” states the leaflet.

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

DOL announces grant through TAA for Pennsylvania workers

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, June 20th- The United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced a $12,431,250 grant was given to assist approximately 5,000 Pennsylvania workers affected by permanent closures and layoffs throughout the commonwealth.

According to the DOL, many of the workers targeted for assistance also have been certified as eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).

Under the TAA, older workers that lose their jobs because competitive conditions within a industry due to trade laws can apply to receive unemployment benefits beyond the normal six months, job training and other job assistance.

Under the Trade Act of 1974, the Department of Labor conducted an investigation into why the workers lost their jobs and found they were eligible for the job assistance.

“This $12.4 million grant will provide helpful re-employment services to Pennsylvanians who need to find new jobs and build a new career path,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

Ms. Chao is the longest serving cabinet member of President George W. Bush. She is also the wife of Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell.

The grant awarded to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry in Harrisburg, will provide workers with services not covered under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, including assessment, career counseling and case management. Services and benefits available to these workers under the TAA may include training, job search allowances, relocation allowances and health coverage tax credit, among others.

The newspaper requested more information from the DOL on whether any workers from Northeastern Pennsylvania received funds from the grant, but did not receive the information in time to be published in this edition.

According to the Department of Labor, of the total announced in the grant, $5,600,000 will be released initially. Additional funding up to the amount approved will be made available as the state demonstrates a continued need to service workers affected by these layoffs.

The National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor’s discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state’s ability to meet specific guidelines.

The newspaper exclusively reported in the April, 2008 edition, laid-off employees at the General Dynamics Scranton Ammunition Plant in Scranton were eligible to receive TAA benefits. The workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Union Local Lodge 847.

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

Teamsters lose election when no employees of West Side Window Cleaning Company return ballots

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

KINGSTON, July 3rd- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Union Local 401 in Wilkes-Barre was unsuccessful in winning the right to represent four workers employed by West Side Window Cleaning Company in Kingston because no employees mailed in their ballot.

In the previous edition of the newspaper, it was exclusively reported Local 401 filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region Four in Philadelphia on May 29th, to conduct an representation election to determine if the workers of the window cleaning & janitorial services company wanted to be members of the union.

The union requested all full time and regular part time window cleaners and janitorial employees be included in the election. The union wanted all other employees including management level employees, supervisors, confidential employees and guards be excluded in participating in the election.

According to the petition, obtained by the newspaper through the Freedom of Information Act, the union had the support of at least 30 percent of the workers. Under agency rules, at least 30 percent of the employees must support the petition before the NLRB will schedule a secret ballot representation election.

In most cases, the NLRB will conduct the election at the worksite of the employer. However, mail ballots were sent to West Side Window employees homes on June 17th.

The NLRB requested all ballots be returned to the Philadelphia office on or before July 1st. Any ballot received after July 1st would not be counted, even if the ballot clearly showed a postal service post date prior to July 1st.

On July 2nd the ballots were to be counted however, according to the NLRB, no employee returned their ballot, meaning the union will not represent the workers.

Under NLRB rules, a labor organization must receive fifty percent plus one of the participating employees vote in a secret ballot election to become the bargaining representative of the workers.

According to James Murphy, President/Business Agent for Local 401, apparently the union did not have any support, despite all of the employees signed authorization cards requesting the election be conducted. Mr. Murphy told the newspaper the union will not file any objections on the election with the NLRB.

For labor unions, polls show promise

by Robert Cohen/Star-Ledger Washington Bureau
Saturday July 12, 2008, 3:02 PM

Star-Ledger article link

WASHINGTON — The nation’s labor unions, in decline for decades and on the defensive for eight years during the Bush administration, are counting on a major revival if Barack Obama is elected president in November and Democrats gain stronger majorities in Congress.

With plans to spend at least $300 million on voter registration, issue ads, direct mail, get-out-the-vote operations and other campaign activities, organized labor sees the 2008 election as a watershed moment, and it has lined up solidly behind the Democratic presidential candidate.

“This election for the labor movement and for workers generally is as important as any election since 1932,” said David Bonior, a former Michigan congressman and now chairman of the labor advocacy group American Rights at Work.

On labor’s agenda are a series of economic, trade, health care and worker-safety issues. But Bonior said the top priority is enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it much easier for unions to organize workplaces, increase their dwindling memberships and ultimately boost their political and economic clout.

He likened the measure to the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, which protected the right to organize, engage in collective bargaining and strike private-sector employers.

“Such an opportunity doesn’t come around very often,” said Bill Samuel, director of government affairs for the AFL-CIO. “This is an opportunity to get a Democratic president and bigger Democratic majorities in the House and Senate who support fixing the collective bargaining laws.”

The 10 million-member AFL-CIO, a federation of 56 unions, plans to spend $53 million on outreach to its members, while its affiliated unions have promised another $150 million for the fall campaigns. Change to Win Unions, a separate organization with 6 million members, including the Service Employees International Union, are expected to spend at least another $100 million.

The business community is not taking the challenge lightly, with many business leaders supporting Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

“This is potentially the most consequential election for labor unions since (the) 1930s,” said Steven Law, general counsel to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“The unions have the potential not merely to achieve slight adjustments but to change the rules of the game, and that is a major concern for the business community,” he said.

Law said the chamber will spend millions of dollars this fall “on substantial grassroots activities and issue advocacy” to alert business interests about what is at stake, particularly when it comes to the Employee Free Choice Act. He said other business organizations and coalitions are planning to invest large sums in similar efforts.

The Employee Free Choice Act would allow formation of unions if a majority of employees at a workplace sign a card or petition, rather than cast their vote through a secret ballot. The bill also calls for mediation if a first contract is not negotiated within 90 days and, if necessary, binding arbitration.

The unions say under current law, some employers routinely control the election process through stalling and intimidation tactics, including firing union supporters, and have greatly hindered their ability to organize.

The business community argues the so-called card check proposal would take away the protection of secret ballot for workers and make them vulnerable to intimidation and coercion by union organizers. They also say it would limit the flexibility of employers, impose an arbitrary time frame for negotiation of a first contract, and ultimately hurt business growth and job creation.

The House passed the measure in 2007 by a 241-185 vote, but it stalled in the Senate because of a Republican filibuster. Obama, an Illinois senator, voted for the bill, while McCain, a senator from Arizona, supported the filibuster.

McCain spokesman Peter Feldman said the senator “supports the rights of employees to vote for union representation using a secret ballot and opposes efforts to deny them this right.”

Samuel, of the AFL-CIO, said the Bush administration has shown “outright hostility toward workers and their unions with efforts to roll back wage and hour laws, worker safety and basic collective bargaining rights through legislation, regulation and lack of enforcement.”

“John McCain really has been part of the attack on workers,” Samuel said. “He would represent a continuation of the Bush agenda.”

Feldman, the McCain spokesman, said such “charges are more about partisan politics than any supposed interest in American working families.”

Union members represented about 35 percent of the U.S. workforce in the mid-1950s, but have dropped to about 12 percent today, and only 8 percent in the private sector.

Peter Francia, an East Carolina University professor and author of “The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics,” said despite reduced membership, union households made up 23 percent of the electorate in 2006, and 24 percent in 2004.

“Even though their numbers have dropped as a percentage in the workforce, labor unions are good at getting members out to the polls,” Francia said.

We have an opportunity to get a great time slot during Tuesday evening drive time from 4pm until 5pm. I need to raise another $480 by next Monday to secure the slot. As you likely know, Democratic Talk Radio is a militantly pro-labor show with all guests either aligned with the union movement or union activists themselves.

Can you help us raise the required funding in time to secure this opportunity to advance the labor agenda over the airwaves in time?

We do not have to start broadcasting immediately but should be able to begin within a month.

WNJC 1360AM reaches greater Philadelphia, southeastern Pennsylvania, northern and central Delaware and southern New Jersey. Additionally, it streams live on the Internet.

The station is owned by the son of a former International President of the Seafarers Union. He is militantly pro-labor. He has offered to give labor unions backing the show some free spots to help with organizing or other goals. With this owner, we have a real friend in the media.

I can be reached by cell phone at 443-907-2367. The Democratic Talk Radio office is located at the UAW Local 1183 union complex in Newark, Delaware. The address is 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702.

Our website is http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com. My labor website is http://www.midatlanticlabor.com.

If your organization can help, please contact me. If you know anyone else who can assist, please make them aware of this opportunity. If possible, please contact your District, Region or International to see if they are interested.

We are currently broadcasting on WGPA SUNNY 1100AM in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Thursday mornings from 8:05am until 9am. We can provide numerous labor leader contacts in the greater Lehigh Valley that can vouch for our strong labor commitment and approach.

Sincerely,

Stephen Crockett

Host, Democratic Talk Radio
Editor, Mid-Atlantic Labor.com

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/10/afl-cio-launches-union-veterans-council

AFL-CIO Launches Union Veterans Council

by Seth Michaels, Jul 10, 2008

The AFL-CIO today is launching the Union Veterans Council, bringing together veterans and members of military families to hold our leaders accountable on the issues that matter most.

The launch of the Union Veterans Council will help mobilize the more than 2.1 million union members who are veterans to get involved in the 2008 elections and fight for the health and education benefits they deserve. These veterans will speak out to advocate policies like a fully funded Veterans Affairs (VA) and the recently passed 21st Century GI Bill.

The Union Veterans Council kicks off today in Dayton, Ohio. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney will join Building and Construction Trades Department President Mark Ayres, a military veteran and chairman of the Union Veterans Council, in announcing the national effort.

In addition to the Dayton event, union veterans are meeting at roundtable events in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Denver and Charleston, W. Va. Union veterans will launch their own state-level veterans councils and discuss plans to elect pro-working family leaders who will support veterans. Union veterans will take the lead in comparing the records of the presidential nominees, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

The AFL-CIO also is launching a TV ad today featuring Jim Wasser, a Vietnam-era veteran and retired Electrical Workers (IBEW) member. In the ad, Wasser speaks about McCain, whose military service is honorable but whose Senate voting record hasn’t supported veterans and their families. The ad will run in communities around the country hard-hit by the nation’s economic crisis.

In the ad, Wasser praises McCain’s military service and discusses his concerns about McCain’s political agenda.

Every vet respects John McCain’s war record. It’s his record in the Senate that I have a problem with.

Wasser says McCain supports continuing to spend billions in Iraq, yet he repeatedly voted against increased funding for veterans health care.

People should let McCain know that his agenda is not what we need. Not now.

Around the country, union veterans will be critical in electing a president and Congress that respect their service and look out for working families. The Union Veterans Council will make sure these veterans are educated and energized this fall.

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

Study shows mainstream media ignores working people

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, July 6th- According to a report released by the Center for American Progress, a Washington, DC based nonpartian research and educational institute, the mainstream media ignores ordinary people in economic news coverage.

The group stated mainstream media journalists are giving workers the business by having a profound impact on politics, helping everyday Americans determine what topics people think are important, shape how they feel about issues and even how they vote.

Alternative media outlets such as blogs and social networking sites have proliferated in recent years, yet must people still receive their news from the mainstream media, which is especially true for economic news, states David Madland of the Center for American Progress.

Mr. Madland added the report focuses on how the mainstream media covers the economy, a subject where fundamental political questions arise about how income is generated and allocated among individual Americans and the businesses and companies they work for and sometimes invest in. “Specifically, in its coverage of economic issues, does the media provide a balanced discussion of who gets what and why? Or instead is coverage biased toward a particular interest group,” said Mr. Madland.

The report finds based on a unique quantitative study finds that media coverage of economic issues is biased and consistently fails to live up to expectations of balance and fairness. On a range of economic issues, the perspective of workers is largely missing from media coverage, while the views of business are frequently presented. The findings are based on analysis of coverage of four economic issues: employment, minimum wage, trade, and credit card debt, in leading newspapers and television outlets in 2007.

Included in the analysis is coverage by The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, U.S.A. Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, the five newspapers with the largest circulation nationwide.

Also used for the analysis was the three major TV broadcast networks: ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News, as well as the three leading cable news networks: CNN, Fox News, and CNBC.

The four economic issues were chosen because they represent a range of economic issues that impact ordinary citizens and that many citizens have defined opinions about.

While many of the mainsteam media members throughout Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania including the Scranton Times-Tribune, the Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice, the Allentown Morning Call, the Easton Express-Times, the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal, the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader and National Public Radio have used information provided through the newspaper, most news events of labor organizations and news involving the working people are only covered in this newspaper.

More than 110 local labor stories where published in the newspaper during 2007, far above all mainstream media outlets combined. The newspapers monthly circulation is more than 8,000 copies.

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

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) unemployment rate high

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, July 2nd- According to labor data provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry, the region’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 6.0 percent, increasing by one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming Counties. Twelve months ago the unemployment rate for the region was 4.8 percent.

The MSA’s unemployment rate continues to remain higher than Pennsylvania and the nation. The unemployment rate in the state is 5.2 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month. Pennsylvania has a seasonally adjusted civilian labor force of 6,405,000 with 331,000 not working and 6,074,000 with employment. The national unemployment rate is 5.5 percent, increasing by five-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month. There are 8,487,000 civilians in the nation without employment.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA civilian labor force, workers between eighteen and sixty-five years old, increased by 1,900 from the previous month to 282,600 and increased by 5,500 during the previous twelve months. There are 16,900 civilians not working, increasing by 400 from the month before.

The MSA has the fifth largest labor force in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia MSA has the largest labor force at 2,989,500 with 153,600 not working; the Pittsburgh MSA is second at 1,217,100 with 60,500 without jobs; the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton MSA has the third largest labor force at 419,700 with 23,100 not working; and the Harrisburg/Carlisle MSA has the fourth largest civilian labor force at 287,100 with 12,500 without employment.

Of the 14 MSA’s within Pennsylvania, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA has the second highest unemployment rate. The much smaller Johnstown MSA is the only region with a higher unemployment rate than the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA at 6.1 percent. The Johnstown MSA only has a civilian labor force of 68,500. The Williamsport MSA has the third highest unemployment rate in the state at 5.9 percent. The Williamsport MSA only has a civilian labor force of 60,000.

The Lebanon MSA has the lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 3.9 percent. The Lancaster MSA has the second lowest unemployment rate at 4.0 percent, with the State College MSA third at 4.1 percent.

Within the MSA, Lackawanna County and Wyoming County are tied for the lowest unemployment rate at 5.7 percent. The unemployment rate for Lackawanna County is unchanged from the previous month while the unemployment rate for Wyoming County decreased by one-tenth of a percentage point.

Lackawanna County has a labor force of 107,500 with 6,100 residents without employment. Wyoming County has a labor force of 14,500, the smallest in the MSA, with 800 without jobs.

Luzerne County has the highest unemployment rate in the MSA at 6.2 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month. Luzerne County has a labor force of 160,500, the largest in the MSA, with 9,900 residents not working.

Goods-producing jobs increased by 600 from the month before and decreased by 200 from twelve months before. Service-providing employment increased by 1,000 during the month and 100 from twelve months before. Educational jobs decreased by 500 from the month before but increased by 1,100 from twelve months before.

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

Anti-union web-site dislikes Barack Obama union support

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, July 1st- A anti-union web-site editor suggest this November’s election will be the biggest and most expensive union organizing campaign in history.

The web-site, EmployerReport.com. was launched on Labor Day 2006, is a employer and anti-union legal community news link and post commentary against labor unions.

Peter List, Founder & CEO of Kulture LLC, a nationally known labor and employer relations consulting firm is the editor of the web-site. Kulture LLC is hired by employers when they want to bust their unions and assist companies during union organizing campaigns by educating them on how to conduct anti-union tactics.

According to the anti-union web-site, which without request provided information to the newspaper, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) endorsement of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who supports passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), confirms he is “kow-towing” to “big union bosses.”

The web-site states EFCA would effectively do away with Americans’ right to a secret-ballot election on the matter of unionization.

Under the legislation, employers would be required to recoginize unions that receive majority support by employees through a card-check program. EFCA would replace government overseen elections in the workplace which are held following a sometimes lengthy campaign.

Both the AFL-CIO and the Change-to-Win (CtW) labor federations have made passage of the legislation a priority for 2009.

Statistics show about ten percent of employees during organizing campaigns are actively and visibly involved in promoting the union. Those workers have about a 15 to 20 percent change of being illegally fired during the campaign.

“It’s unfortunate that American voters are being fooled into thinking Barack Obama is anything but a bought-and-paid-for lackey for big union bosses like Andy Stern, John Sweeney and their cronies,” said Mr. List.

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

ATU calls for fuel funding for nation’s transit systems

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

WASHINGTON, June 20th- The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) called on the United States Congress to pass legislation providing the nation’s transit systems with funds to purchase fuel in an effort to compensate for the millions of Americans who have recently switched to public transporation because of the high gas prices.

Americans took 2.6 billion trips on public transportation in the first three months of 2008, around 85 million more trips than last year for the same time period.

The high gas prices and rising diesel fuel costs are also effecting public transportation causing bus, light rail, subway, and commuter rail operators to raise fares, cut service, lay off staff, and delay capital spending. “So at a time when demand for buses and trains is at one of its highest points in history, we have transit agencies cutting back. This makes no sense. Transit needs to be part of the solution, not the victim, of high gas prices,” said ATU President Warren George.

The ATU is the largest labor organization representing transit workers in North America. The union has 185,000 members throughout the United States and Canada with 268 local unions spread across fourty-six states and nine Canadian provinces. The union represents Greyhound Bus Lines, the largest bus system in North America.

Locally, the ATU represents workers employed by the Luzerne County Transportation System, the Lackawanna County Transportation System and Martz Trailways.

According to the union, if Americans used public transportation for roughly 10 percent of their daily travel needs the nation would reduce its dependence on imported oil by more than 40 percent, or nearly the amount of oil the United States imports from Saudi Arabia each year.

“Congress needs to provide the resources necessay to keep systems operating at maximum capacity. Subsidizing transit fuel costs to move millions of people more efficiently just makes sense,” added Mr. George.

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

AFL-CIO labor federation political program co-ordinator states John McCain won’t support labor if elected

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, July 6th- Rod Muchnok, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) labor federation Field Representative, told the newspaper 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. Muchnok a former coal miner and member of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Union will co-ordinate the AFL-CIO political program in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The program is intended to better educate union members about issues pertaining to the November election and how it will effect them and the working people.

Since 1996 the AFL-CIO have conducted their political program which includes contacting union members by mail, phone and at their homes.

The AFL-CIO recently endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for President. Mr. Obama is the Democratic party presidential nominee-in-waiting. The AFL-CIO did not endorse any presidential candidate during the primary election season.

Change-to-Win (CtW) labor federation endorsed Mr. Obama for the primary election season and their affiliated unions will participate with the AFL-CIO affiliated unions in their political program called “Labor 2008.”

According to information provided by Mr. Muchnok, Senator McCain opposes the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and on June 26th, 2007 voted against the legislation.

Under the legislation, employers would be required to recoginize unions that receive majority support by employees through a card-check program. EFCA would replace government overseen elections in the workplace which are held following a sometimes lengthy campaign.

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.

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

Leasing of Turnpike proposal fails to clear House Committee

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsswb@aol.com

REGION, July 6th- In the previous edition of the newspaper it was reported the Pennsylvania Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Union have requested union members sign petitions asking Pennsylvania legislators to not support Governor Edward Rendell’s plan to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike. On July 5th Representative Joseph Markosek (25th Legislative District) the chairman of the state House Transportation Committee, a fellow Democratic party member of Mr. Rendell, announced the lease proposal will not get a vote in the committee, essentially killing the deal.

The IBT represent employees of the roadway and fears to sell or lease the turnpike would put their members jobs in peril. The IBT have been lobbying legislators in Harrisburg against selling or leasing the Turnpike for more than a year.

The Teamsters represent around 2,200 maintenance workers, supervisory and professional workers, and toll takers of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. There are three local unions around the state that represent those workers. The union has represented the workers since 1971.

IBT Local 77 is headquarted in Fort Washington and represents turnpike workers throughout southeastern and northeastern Pennsylvania. Local 250 represent workers in the western part of the state including the Pittsburgh area. IBT Local 30 represents around 100 assistant foremen, accountants, engineering technicians, surveying technicians and some supervisors. Local 77 represents more than half of the workers represented by the Teamsters.

Under Mr. Rendell’s plan, the state will give control of the publicly owened 500 mile highway to a company formed by the partnership of Citi Infrastructure Investors of New York and the Spanish company Albertis, calling themselves the Pennsylvania Transportation Partners. The company would have received a 75-year lease for $12.8 billion, or $200 million per year under the deal.

According to a press release by Representative Markosek, there is very little support for the deal in the House with the majority of members of the Transportation Committee set against the lease.

Mr. Markosek called Mr. Rendell’s proposal a bad financial deal that will not be worth pursuing even if the federal government does not give its approval to adding tolls on Interstate 80.

The union was asking union members and their families to support the workers and sign a petition that was to be presented to the leaders of the legislature to demonstate their opposition to the lease proposal.

The Teamsters is worried when cost start to rise and profits get squeezed, the companies could readily break existing labor contracts and pension agreements by firing older workers and replacing them with younger workers and cheaper wages and smaller benefit packages. Under Mr. Rendell’s proposal, the IBT contract would only be honored for four years.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807090315

Oil companies have lots of leases to drill

By Senator Joe Biden

When you first hear the idea “let’s allow offshore drilling and it will cut gas prices,” it sounds like it makes sense, especially when gas is more than $4 a gallon. But the facts say otherwise.

The only way we can achieve energy and climate security in this country is to reduce our dependence on oil.

Unfortunately, President Bush and Sen. John McCain are trying to sell us on the oil companies’ old argument that repealing the 27-year old moratorium on drilling in protected areas offshore will lower gas prices. Americans need to put this tired debate to rest. Our security — both here at home and abroad — depends on it.

First, the oil companies in this country now hold 7,000 leases to drill offshore, yet only 20 percent of those leases are producing oil. That is 68 million acres for which they already have the rights to drill. Nearly 80 percent of our offshore oil is already available for leasing — approximately 54 billion barrels total. They could be drilling in these areas, but they are not.

Assuming oil companies drilled in new areas, it would take at least a decade for new production to begin. Just last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration concluded new drilling would have no impact on oil prices before 2030.

Prices would still be determined by the world market, which will be adding billions of new consumers from growing economies in China, India and other countries.

OPEC countries control two- thirds of the world’s oil reserves. If we add a bit more oil to the market, they can cut their own output to keep prices high.

Moreover, the majority of the world’s oil is in unstable regions. Prices surge when officials threaten to attack Iran or raids shut down production in Nigeria.

Here in Delaware, we are paying $10 more a day for gas — around $3,600 a year — than we were seven years ago. That is a bite out of a family’s budget.

During the same period, permits for new oil drilling leases increased by 361 percent. Put simply, allowing more drilling does not equal cheaper gas.

Instead, we should be talking about a cleaner, more fuel-efficient future. Oil companies have the money to make new investments. In the first quarter of this year, the five largest domestic oil companies made $37 billion in profits. Since 2001, the number is close to $600 billion.

We should take back tax breaks for big oil companies, which total more than $2 billion over 10 years, and invest in green energy technology. We should have a windfall profits tax to fund everything from mass transit to high-speed rail to the next generation of safe, efficient cars. Finally, we should restrict speculation and price-gouging, and stand up to OPEC’s monopoly.

We need solutions of the future, not drilling ourselves deeper into dependence on oil.

U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, a Democrat, serves on the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees.

Flight Attendants Back Obama

by Seth Michaels, Jul 10, 2008

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/10/flight-attendants-back-obama/

The Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) union endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president yesterday in a vote by the board of directors of the 55,000-member union. Patricia Friend, president of AFA-CWA, says Obama is a candidate who understands and will fight for the needs of flight attendants and all working families.

We are at a turning point and need a President who recognizes this struggle.

AFA-CWA remains committed to supporting political candidates of all parties. The only criteria is that the candidate support issues important to the flight attendant profession and the improvement of working women’s and men’s lives.

While AFA-CWA strongly supports both Democrats and Republicans for offices that have an impact on the flight attendant profession, the record of the two candidates for President, on issues of importance to our industry and our profession, the choice is clear.

Last month, the AFL-CIO endorsed Obama and launched a new website, Meet Barack Obama, to educate and mobilize union members. This fall, the AFL-CIO is carrying out an unprecedented grassroots mobilization to elect a working family-friendly Congress and president.

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/09/pennsylvania-atu-members-spread-word-about-obamas-working-family-policies/

Frank Snyder, AFL-CIO state director in Pennsylvania, reports on the presidential race.

Early yesterday, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85 Recording Secretary Mike Harms and shop steward Ted Kielur stood outside the West Mifflin Port Authority Bus Garage near Pittsburgh and distributed worksite leaflets to members as they came into work between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.

Harms says:

We are leafleting to educate our members about Sen. Barack Obama’s policies that support working families. Working people need to elect someone who will focus on issues that are relevant to them—and Barack Obama is that candidate.

It is especially important that transportation workers understand that Sen. John McCain supports the contracting-out of public-sector jobs even though it often means a loss in wages and benefits for workers. Obama, on the other hand, supports public-sector work and workers.

Harms and Kielur agree that the member-to-member contact involved in worksite leafleting is crucial to educating union members about issues. By standing out here and passing out the worksite leaflets, “we bring the discussion right to the members,” Kielur says.

When they see the union supporting a candidate, our members will then take the time to understand why. Our members trust the union and they trust other union members and that is why it is our job to make sure all union members understand how important it is to elect Barack Obama.

Local 85 union members coming into work early in the morning appreciated the worksite leaflets, too. Members like Leonard Jatkowski, who says:

It is so important that union members are out here this morning talking about our candidate Barack Obama. We have a lot at stake this election, so we need to step up and make sure all members understand the issues.

Harms says the local has made educating members about the candidates’ positions a top priority:

We need our members to know how damaging McCain’s policies are for labor and how good Barack Obama’s will be for working families.

Kielur agrees and says:

We need to elect Barack Obama this year because he supports all the labor principles and he knows we need to preserve the middle class and that supporting unions is the way to achieve that. So, in turn, union members need to get out and elect him this year.

NJ State AFL-CIO ENDORSES OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

Vocal Support for Labor Issues & Message of Change Illustrates Strong Contrast with the Anti-Labor McCain / Bush Agenda

http://www.njaflcio.org

Trenton- With over 1 million members, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO today announced its endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President. The national AFL-CIO also endorsed the Senator earlier in the day.

“If New Jersey’s working families ever needed a change in direction, a change we can believe in, the time is now more than ever,” said New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech. “There is a very clear contrast with the divisive politics of the past, represented by John McCain and George Bush, and the politics of inclusion that embraces social and economic justice for the workers of this state, represented by Senator Obama.”

Senator Obama has earned a 98% AFL-CIO voting record as a U.S. senator, compared to 16% for Senator McCain. More information can be found at www.MeetObama08.com.

Wowkanech continued, “The policy positions offered this year gives voters a very clear choice. Senator Obama has proposed balancing our tax policies to benefit the middle class, whereas McCain will continue the Bush tax cuts for only the wealthiest Americans. Senator Obama supports the Employee Free Choice Act, which will allow workers to freely join a union without employer intimidation and harassment. McCain voted against that bill. Senator Obama has a realistic, affordable health care plan to cover all Americans while McCain’s plan continues the failed polices of the Bush Administration.”

The endorsement of the State Federation follows a unanimous recommendation of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Executive Board and over 600 delegates who voted in support of the Illinois Senator on June 11, 2008, in Atlantic City at the 27th Annual Constitutional Convention.

Contact: Will Potter (202) 822-7823

July 4, 2008

Educators Vote to Endorse Obama
Nearly 10,000 NEA delegates approve presidential endorsement

WASHINGTON —The National Education Association voted today to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for U.S. president. Nearly 10,000 educators, representing the NEA’s 3.2 million members, officially endorsed Obama as part of the NEA’s Representative Assembly. Obama will address the delegation on Saturday via satellite.

The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Reg Weaver:

“NEA’s 3.2 million members, like most Americans, are ready for change. Barack Obama understands that a child is more than a test score, that schools need adequate resources, and that creating great public schools for each and every child is a shared responsibility. We need a president who understands that the strength of our country, the vitality of our economy and the health of our democracy depend on quality public schools. NEA members have shown today that they’re prepared to help put a friend of education in the White House, and get this country back on track.”

For more information, please visit:
http://www.nea.org

# # #

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

Workers Uniting: The First Global Union

by James Parks, Jul 2, 2008

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/02/workers-uniting-the-first-global-union/

In a global economy where multinational companies operate across borders, unions are developing global strategies to better represent their members and sustain the middle class.

Today, the United Steelworkers (USW) and Unite, Britain’s largest union, took a giant step in that direction by formally joining together to form the world’s first global union.

The new union, dubbed Workers Uniting: The Global Union, will draw on the energies of the two unions’ more than 3 million active and retired workers from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The members work in virtually every sector of the global economy, including manufacturing, service, mining and transportation (see video).

USW President Leo Gerard and Unite General Secretary Derek Simpson signed the agreement in a transatlantic ceremony broadcast live at the USW convention in Las Vegas.

“This union is crucial for challenging the growing power of global capital,” says Gerard, adding:

Globalization has given financiers license to exploit workers in developing countries at the expense of our members in the developed world. Only global solidarity among workers can overcome this sort of global exploitation wherever it occurs.

While the two unions will remain largely autonomous, they will have a joint leadership to coordinate common policy and collective bargaining. The two unions represent workers at some of the same companies in both countries and will be able to coordinate bargaining.

Simpson adds:

The political and economic power of multinational companies is formidable. They are able to play one nation’s workers off against another to maximise profits. They do the same with governments, hence the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us. With this agreement, we can finally begin the process of closing that gap.

The genesis of Workers Uniting came in April 2007 when the USW, Amicus, the largest manufacturing union in the United Kingdom, and the U.K.’s Transport and General Workers’ Union (T&G), agreed to set up joint committees to move toward forming a global union. In May 2007, Amicus and T&G merged to form Unite.

At the time, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney hailed the agreement as “a bold and innovative approach to addressing the crushing effect of corporate-driven globalization on workers and their communities.”

Together, these unions have put multinational companies on notice: Pushing down wages and working conditions for your employees by pitting one country’s workforce against another will not work forever. By exploring what it would take to build the world’s first trans-Atlantic union, these unions have proven themselves to be on the cutting edge of not only the global union movement, but the future of the global workforce.

Tony Woodley, Unite’s joint general secretary, summed up the importance of the new union, saying:

This agreement will enable us to use our considerable resources to organize workers from new and growing sectors at home and in developing countries. There will be no more no-go areas for trade unions.

Unions key to greater opportunities for workers

Former senator promotes values of higher education in commencement address at National Labor College

http://www.gazette.net/stories/070208/busimlo221805_32372.shtml

In a society that values profits over the common man, everyday workers must fight even harder for their rights, former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards told graduates from the National Labor College on Saturday.

Edwards, ‘‘the son of a millworker,” as he is fond of mentioning in his speeches, told about 90 graduates of the labor studies college in Hillandale that all Americans deserve the opportunities he had to rise out of a small town, earn a law degree and run for president.

‘‘No one should work full-time in this country and live in poverty,” he said.

And organized labor movements like the unions most NLC students belong to are key in making sure no one has to, Edwards said.

‘‘It’s an example of making higher education available to people who worked hard all their lives,” he said of NLC. ‘‘America is a place that was built by people who work.”

NLC offers bachelor of arts degrees in fields such as labor studies, union leadership and administration and the political economy of labor, as well as master’s degrees through a partnership with American University.

Edwards, a Democrat from North Carolina and a former 2008 presidential candidate and 2004 vice presidential candidate, was a perfect choice for NLC’s commencement speech, said John Sweeney, the president of the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions.

‘‘Many of our unions supported him for president, and he really set the tone during the primaries; raising the issues of working families and the economy,” said Sweeney, who is also the chairman of NLC’s board of trustees.

Most of NLC’s students are working families who come from around the country to do the one-to-two year program in the middle of their careers in the labor field, said the president of NLC, William Scheuerman. The average age of the graduates Saturday was about 46, he said.

‘‘They’re committed to the labor movement because they know the labor movement brought them into the middle class,” he said.

Shannye Walker Carroll, a labor studies graduate and Frederick resident who lived in Montgomery County for 30 years, said she came to NLC for the same reason her peers did: to help other people.

‘‘Just about everybody that was there had the same mindset of trying to improve fellow co-workers and employee’s lives,” she said.

Graduate Anthony Yushinsky, an air traffic controller from New York, said going back to school was a sacrifice.

‘‘We all have full-time jobs, families and extracurricular activities, which competed for time with our school work,” he said.

But Yushinsky said it was worth it. Their degrees will be imperative to furthering the labor movement, which has suffered under George W. Bush’s presidency, he said.

‘‘This administration has attacked workers at every turn,” Yushinsky said, by freezing wages and voting down worker protection laws.

Edwards said he is also fighting for the labor movement. Since dropping out of the presidential race, he said he has been working on a national anti-poverty campaign called Half in Ten, which aims to slash America’s poverty rate in half in 10 years.

The project is a partnership with four nonprofit organizations and suggests raising the minimum wage, expanding unemployment eligibility and providing quality child care for working parents, according to Edwards.

The $90 billion it will cost to do all of that can be funded by re-evaluating ‘‘excessive” tax cuts, said Joy Moses, a policy analyst with The Center for American Progress Action Fund, one of the partnering organizations, in an interview Tuesday.

Edwards said he has no plans to stop being an advocate for workers’ rights and told graduates they should be doing the same.

‘‘We are in the fight of our lives to restore dignity and honor to those who actually work,” Edwards said. ‘‘More people ought to have the same chances I had.”