AUGUST 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Building Trades Unions again involved with youth apprentice program

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

REGION, July 18th- The pre-apprenticeship program in the Lehigh Valley began on July 5th for the second consecutive year.

Last May affiliated local union members of the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Lehigh Valley announced the new program at the Lehigh Valley Career Link in Allentown.

The labor federation along with the United Community Services sponsors the program and is funded by the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board. Funds are provided through the Pennsylvania allocation from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The program is intended to provide youths from the Lehigh Valley, which must first meet the financial requirements, the ability to study and learn about becoming a construction tradesperson.

The program will provide for the eligible youths both academic preparation and work experiences to enter the building trades apprenticeship programs.

There are 19 local unions affiliated with the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Lehigh Valley which represents workers employed within the construction trade industry. Many of those unions are involved with the program and are asked by Vicki Henshaw, who directs the program, to participate in classroom discussion and informing the youths of what is involve to become a construction tradesperson.

Ms. Henshaw, which has worked in the Lehigh Valley within the social services for many years, told the newspaper last year there were fourteen youths enrolled in the program and this year there is twenty.

“The program was a success in 2009 and much of this years program is the same as last years,” said Ms. Henshaw. None of the youths enrolled in this year were involved in the 2009 program.

Following the summer long program the youths will receive their certification for completing the course during a event in which their parents will be asked to participate.

Apprentice classrooms of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union Local 375 in Allentown are used for the classroom studies and is headquarted in their building on Liberty Street.

William Dorward, Area Marketing Representative for the Sheet Metal Workers International Union Local 19, which represents employees that install duct work for heating and air conditioning and metal roofs throughout the Lehigh Valley, in a earlier newspaper story the pre-apprenticeship program has been conducted in the Reading area for several years and is very successful.

The youths will get acquainted with the building trades apprenticeship programs, visit job sites, and learn about building trades unions. They will be required to study math, construction safety and building trade work readiness. The requirements for the program will mirror a real union apprenticeship program.

The Tea Party “Catch 22”

The Tea Party movement has started to come unglued over a series of internal contradictions that amount to an identity crisis. The Tea Party is caught in a “Catch 22” position that has largely been ignored by the corporate mainstream media.

Just this morning I watched a local PBS show where a Republican operative claimed that the Tea Party movement was not “Republican, Right Wing or racist.” The comment appears to be the Republican Right Wing official spin on all things “Tea Party” in nature. Unfortunately, the claim really lacks credibility because it conflicts with the facts on the ground all over the nation.

Anyone who really watched the development of the Tea Party movement, as part of the anti-healthcare reform effort, understands that it was a creation of Fox News and corporate funded Right Wing Republican operatives. Despite many claims to the contrary, it brought very few new faces into the political process.

What the Tea Party public relations campaign did was simply “re-brand” the various largely discredited, Right Wing fringe elements in the Republican Party under a new name. It did con the mainstream corporate media very effectively into calling blatant corporatist, economic elitist policies “populist.” It was a bad joke that the media completely missed or just ignored.

Like the fake ACORN pimp and voter registration scandals, the storyline falls apart completely when the details are examined in any detail. The spin relies on manufactured “facts” that are really outrageous lies being told over and over again. In time, the storyline falls apart but often the damage has been done. It appears the mainstream corporate media has learned absolutely nothing from their Iraq War-Weapons of Mass Deception experience.

The reality is that there is probably not much of a Tea Party movement outside of Republican Right Wing corporate control. When it comes to economic populism, the Tea Party has either been completely missing in action or in outright opposition to every proposal that is populist in nature.

Our middle class has been under constant attack by corporate forces for decades. The Reagan-Bush Republicans have been pushing changes in government policy that benefit only the most elite of economic elitists for 30 years. American workers are being driven out of the middle class by government policy and market power. The Republican Right has successfully placed many of the levers of power in government in the hands of the corporatist economic elite. Some Democrats assisted parts of this corporate take-over of government but it was overwhelmingly Republican effort.

The government is not the enemy if it is controlled by the majority of middle class Americans. It is a check on excessive corporate power under those circumstances.

The genius behind the Tea Party campaign is that it is a corporate created public relations/political campaign designed to promote pro-corporate economic policies via government while calling the movement “anti-corporate and anti-government.” The racism angle is a just a way to hook “poor and middle class whites” into an effort designed to economically benefit the wealthiest of the wealthy at the expense of “the poor and middle class of all colors.”

Racism has long been used to divide working Americans up along color lines so they do not demand a better deal from the economic and political elite. Racism serves an economic purpose and always has served an economic purpose. Racism is a sucker bet for working Americans. It has been a key element in building the Tea Party movement and the Republican Party since Richard Nixon. Republican Right wing economic policies are a disaster for 90% of Americans and social wedge issues including race have been the key to Republican victories for more than a generation.

If the Tea Party was really a new creature, it would be fielding third party candidates everywhere under the Tea Party name. Republican and Right Wing operatives claim it is independent of the Republican Party but at the same time strongly oppose real independence. The Republican Party is the Tea Party. The Tea Party is just the most extreme elements of the Republican Party devoted to driving any remaining moderates out of the Republican Party.

You cannot support Pat Toomey-Club for Growth economic policies and still claim to be a populist movement. You have to support economic policies that increase the wages of American workers, support government measures to help the unemployed, curtail the ability of corporations to move jobs outside the United States and sell untaxed imports in our country, shift the tax burden back in the direction of corporations and the Super Wealthy instead of putting it on the middle classes and seek to regulate corporate market power to be an economic populist.

Economic populists do not make excuses for BP like Rand Paul or Sharon Angle. Economic populists do not oppose government deficits during a severe economic downturn nor support government deficits in good economic times, like the Republicans are doing. Opposing better access to affordable healthcare is not a populist position. Giving massive tax cuts to wealthy people while our government is running massive deficits and local governments are firing teachers, firefighters and police is simply stupid economics and has nothing to do with economic populism.

If the Tea Party is” populist” in nature, as they claim, then the policies they support should demonstrate that populism. If the Tea Party is independent of the Republican Party, then they should field independent candidates in the November general elections to prove their independence. If the Tea Party is not racist, then they should condemn the expression of racism from within their movement every time they occur. If the Tea Party is not an expression of extreme Right Wing sentiments, then they should stop supporting the political agenda of the Far Right.

American voters will learn in coming months just how fake and flakey the Tea Party con job is by watching the Tea Party Republicans seeking office in November. You will learn nothing about this from Fox News but the mainstream media should not drop the ball on this story in 2010. The voters deserve a real discussion about the unreality of the Tea Party reality.

Written by Stephen Crockett (Host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com ). Mail: 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702. Phone: 443-907-2367. Email: demlabor@aol.com.

Feel free to publish without prior approval.

July 12, 2010
REPUBLICANS JUST DON’T LIKE THE UNEMPLOYED, CONT’D….

I’ve been marveling in recent months at the ways in which Republican lawmakers and candidates seem to actively dislike — on a personal level — those who’ve lost their jobs in the recession. It’s kind of odd, given that the unemployed don’t seem to have done anything to offend the GOP and earn the party’s disdain.

In the latest example, we see Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett (R), the frontrunner in this year’s gubernatorial race, arguing publicly that jobless workers in his state are choosing not to work, preferring to live on meager unemployment aid.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett on Friday accused some jobless Pennsylvanians of choosing to collect unemployment checks rather than going back to work, prompting swift criticism from his Democratic opponent and one of the state’s top labor leaders.

“The jobs are there. But if we keep extending unemployment, people are just going to sit there,” Corbett told Harrisburg radio station WITF at a campaign stop in Elizabethtown. “I’ve literally had construction companies tell me, ‘I can’t get people to come back to work until . . . they say, “I’ll come back to work when unemployment runs out.” ‘ ”

I obviously can’t speak with confidence about what some guy told some other guy who in turn told Corbett. But the general argument is getting quite tiresome.

“The jobs are there”? No, they’re really not. Nationwide, there are five applicants for every one opening, which is a terribly painful ratio. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is currently at a 26-year high.

Corbett not only seems confused about economic conditions, but his animosity about the jobless’ attitudes is awful. Yes, I can appreciate the fact that an unemployed worker who’s exhausted his/her benefits will be more desperate to take any job than an unemployed worker who’s still receiving public aid. But this dynamic matters a whole lot more when there are plenty of job opportunities for those who want them. That’s just not the current reality.

To hear Corbett tell it, the unemployed prefer to be unemployed — turning down job opportunities that pay more, choosing to rely on aid that offers far less. Worse, Corbett doesn’t seem to realize that his approach makes the larger problem worse — cutting people off from unemployment benefits undercuts consumer spending, which in turn leads to less demand and fewer job opportunities……

Read the rest of this article at

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024674.php

JULY 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Robert Casey’s legislation would help keep workers’ pensions solvent

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 17th- The Americans for Limited Government (ALG), a conservative political organization in Fairfax, Virginia, is critizing United States Senator Robert Casey’s (Democrat-Pennsylvania) Pension bailout legislation and is urging the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to reject it.

The United States Congress is considering legislation that would help the multi-employer pension system remain solvent.

Mr. Casey’s bill titled, “Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010,” could result in taxpayer money being used to help workers pensions remain solvent.

Most of these pensions are held in what are known as multi-employer pension funds. Created in 1974 as part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, these funds are an agreement between a union and two or more employers to fund the pension of workers and retirees. It has been estimated the pension fund could be approximately $165 million in debt.

The rub is that many of the participating company’s have gone out of business but their employees remain in the system, and become the remaining company’s responsibility. As these multi-employer pension plans become more and more insolvent, the unions are faced with members pensions shortfalls.

The ALG, their media allies, and other conservative groups are suggesting the legislation is nothing but a bailout of union members pensions.

If the pension problem is not rectified the shortfall could result in cutting benefits, raising the retirement age, asking retired members to contribute to the fund or force unions to use dues money

JULY 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

MSA unemployment rate remains the highest in Pennsylvania

BY PAUL LEESON
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 30th- According to labor data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the region’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 10.3 percent, increasing by three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report, which was released approximately four weeks before. 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 8.5 percent. The unemployment rate is the highest for the region since September 1992 when it reached 10.5 percent.

The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is 9.1 percent, rising by one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous report. Pennsylvania has a seasonally adjusted civilian labor force of 6,463,000 with 591,000 not working and 5,872,000 with employment. The national unemployment rate is 9.7 percent.

There are 14,973,000 civilians in the nation reported to be unemployed.

That number does not include civilians that have exhausted their unemployment benefits and have stopped looking for work. There are at least 22,000,000 civilians in the nation without jobs. Approximately 200,000 civilians in the nation are exhausting their unemployment benefits every week and will not be counted in the national unemployment rate.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA has the fourth largest labor force in Pennsylvania with 286,200 civilians. The Philadelphia MSA has the largest labor force at 2,995,300 with 279,900 not working; the Pittsburgh MSA has the second largest labor force at 1,229,800 with 105,700 without jobs; the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton MSA has the third largest labor force at 425,400 with 41,900 not working; and the Harrisburg/Carlisle MSA has the fifth largest civilian labor force at 286,200 with 24,300 without employment.

Of the 14 MSA’s within Pennsylvania, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA is tied with the Johnstown MSA for the highest unemployment rate. The Erie MSA has the second highest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 10.0 percent, with the Allentown/Bethlhem/Easton MSA and the Reading MSA tied with the third highest at 9.9 percent.

There are 29,400 residents reported to be not working in the MSA, increasing by 800 from the previous report and rising by 5,100 from twelve months before. That number also does not include civilians who unemployment benefits have expired and stopped looking for work.

The State College MSA has the lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 6.7 percent. The Lebanon MSA has the second lowest unemployment rate in the state at 7.9 percent, the Altoona MSA and the Lancaster MSA are tied for the third lowest rate at 8.0.

Wyoming County has the lowest unemployment rate in the MSA at 9.5 percent, decreasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report and increasing by nine-tenths of a percentage points from one year ago. Wyoming County has a labor force of 14,500, decreasing by 300 civilians from the previous report and dropping by 100 from one year ago. There are 1,400 Wyoming County residents without jobs, unchanged from the previous report and increasing by 100 from twelve months ago.

Luzerne County has the highest unemployment rate in the MSA at 10.6 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report and increasing by one and seven-tenths of a percentage point from twelve months ago. Luzerne County has a labor force of 162,900, decreasing by 200 from the previous report and increasing by 900 during the past twelve months. Of the labor force 17,300 do not have a job, increasing by 400 during the past four weeks and rising by 3,000 during the past twelve months.

Lackawanna County has a unemployment rate of 9.9 percent, increasing four-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report and jumping by one and nine-tenths of a percentage point from one year ago. Lackawanna County has a labor force of 108,900, unchanged from the previous report and rising by 700 during the past twelve months. There are 10,800 Lackawanna County residents without jobs, rising by 500 from the previous report and increasing by 2,100 during the past twelve months.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre MSA seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs increased 600 to 254,000 since the last report. Since May 2009 the area has lost 600 jobs.

JULY 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Cinram Manufacturing plans to layoff senior employees first

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 28th- The newspaper has learned Cinram Manufacturing in Olyphant, formerly called Speciality Records, intends to layoff senior employees later this summer before cutting workers that were hire more recently.

Cinram Manufacturing recently announced and the mainstream media reported the company will layoff 155 employees but the report company officials filed with the Department of Labor indicates more than 600 will lose their jobs by the end of 2010.

Cinram Manufacturing is Lackawanna County’s largest manufacturer. In February it was announced the company lost the Warner Home Video manufacturing contract. Warner Home Video will terminate its production contract with Cinram on July 31st. The contract with Warner Home Video represented approximately 28 percent of Cinram’s revenue.

The company operates a 1 million square foot plant in the Mid-Valley Industrial Park, which once manufactured vinyl records and employing several thousand workers.

Cinram employees are not represented by a labor organization, therefore the employer will not need to negotiate what is called, “layoff effects bargaining” and can layoff the most senior workers first and save money by eliminating the employees with accrued vacation weeks.

The average wage of the employees to be laidoff is between $15.00 to $20.00 per hour.

The newspaper is aware of two organizing campaigns at the plant that was conducted by several unions during the past several decades.

According to information provided to the Department of Labor (DOL) by Cinram officials, and obtained by the newspaper, the company will layoff several times in 2010. The first layoff will occur on August 2nd and a second layoff will be held between December 7th and 21st.

The layoffs will effect packaging and assembly operators, offset print operators, and electro-mechanical technicians. The average longevity of the laidoff workers will be at least 18 years.

The company stated it planned to layoff around 600 of the 1,000 workers at the plant. No part-time workers will be effected by the layoff.

Cinram filed with the Department of Labor about the layoffs on April 23rd, and the mainstream media failed to report the actual number of employees to be terminated.

JULY 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Carpenters Union proud of training and education center

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 29th- The Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters Union which is affiliated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America International Union, is proud of their training and educational center in North Lebanon Township and continues to expand the center and the programs.

Robert Zukovich, Coordinator/Instructor of the Carpenters Training and Educational Fund of Greater Pennsylvania, told the newspaper the center first opened in 1988. Mr. Zukovich stated the facility is equipped with the highest quality of materials and machinery needed to educate union apprentices the skills of carpentry.

“The facility is designed to prepare the next generation of carpenters,” said Mr. Zukovich. The facility is also used by journeyman members to expand their skills in the trade.

According to Vern Johnson, Northeast Manager of the Council Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters and Vice President of Carpenters Union Local 645 in Scranton, which represents Carpenters Union members throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, the training center is a state-of-art facility and has expanded since 1988 from 7,800 square feet to more than 35,000 square feet today.

Local 645 is affiliated with the Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters. Local 261 in Scranton had their own training center before the union merged with Carpenters Union Local 514 in Wilkes-Barre approximately seven years ago creating Local 645.

Under the apprentice program applicates must complete a four-year training program which requires classroom teaching and on-the-job training.

Working apprentices wage rates will increase every six months until reaching journeyman status at the end of the four-year program.

Under the millwrights training program, apprentices and journeymen who wish to continue their training, learn to install, maintain, diagnose and repair machines like compressors, pumps, conveyors, monorails, extruders, gas and steam turbines, and mining equipment.

Under the carpenters training program, apprentices learn the carpentry trade which includes working with building materials made with wood, installing tile and insulation, acoustical ceilings, cabinets, and siding.

Gary Ford, President/Organizer of Local 645 and an instructor at the training center stated the Carpenters Training and Educational Fund of Greater Pennsylvania has partnered with the Harrisburg Community College to provide the apprentices with the opportunity to receive college credits.

Mr. Johnson said the rewards of apprenticeship training through the Carpenters are the good wages and benefits received as a skilled craftsperson. He said a unionized carpenter will be working for a union contractor under the protection of a union contract.

Apprentice applicants must reside in twenty-seven counties of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania which includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming and Monroe Counties.

The United Brothershood of Carpenters has around 500,000 union members throughout the United States and Canada.

JULY 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Lehigh Valley unemployment rate at 9.7 percent

BY PAUL LEESON
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

REGION, June 14th- According to labor data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Center for Workforce Information and Analysis in Harrisburg, the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 9.7 percent, decreasing by one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month. 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 8.2 percent.

There are fourteen Metropolitan Statistical Area’s in Pennsylvania and the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area is tied with the Johnstown MSA for the third highest unemployment rate. The only region’s with a higher unemployment rate than the Lehigh Valley is the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA at 10.0 percent and the Erie MSA at 9.9 percent.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is 9.0 percent, unchanged from the previous report, which was released approximately four weeks ago. There are 584,000 Pennsylvania residents without jobs, but the number does not include residents that have exhausted their unemployment benefits and stopped looking for work.

Pennsylvania has a seasonally adjusted workforce of 6,470,000 and 5,886,000 of them have employment. The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was reported to be 9.9 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report.

There are 15,260,000 residents nationally unemployed but counting workers who benefits have been exhausted or unable to find full-time work there are more than 20 million Americans without jobs.

The data shows the Reading MSA has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the state at 9.6 percent with the Williamsport MSA the fifth highest at 9.4 percent.

The State College MSA has the lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 6.6 percent, with the Lebanon MSA the second lowest at 7.6 percent and the Altoona MSA and Lancaster MSA are tied for the third lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 7.9 percent.

The Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton MSA has the third largest civilian labor force in Pennsylvania at 426,500, rising by 3,400 during the past twelve months. There are 41,600 residents in the MSA without jobs, rising by 6,800 during the past twelve months. Those numbers also does not include workers who have exhausted their benefits.

The Philadelphia MSA has the largest civilian labor force in Pennsylvania at 2,998,400 with 280,300 residents not working. The Pittsburgh MSA has the second largest civilian labor force at 1,234,900, with 104,500 residents unemployed. The Harrisburg/Carlisle MSA has the fourth largest civilian labor force in the state at 287,200, with 23,300 residents unemployed. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre MSA has the fifth largest civilian labor force at 286,700 with 28,500 residents not working.

Carbon County has the highest unemployment rate in the MSA at 11.1 percent. Northampton County has the lowest rate at 9.5 percent and Lehigh County’s unemployment rate is 9.8 percent.

By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun

Giant Food, the region’s largest grocery chain, has reached an agreement with the Teamsters union that will save hundreds of jobs at its dry-goods distribution business when it outsources the work to a Jessup firm later this year.

The head of Teamsters Local 730, the union that represents workers at the distribution plant, said Tuesday that 341 full-time workers will keep their jobs at the Giant dry-goods business that’s being contracted out to Jessup Logistics LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Some part-time workers will become full-time under the deal, said Ritchie Brooks, president of Teamsters Local 730.

Landover-based Giant announced in April that it planned to outsource the business to Jessup Logistics, which had agreed to adopt the contracts of three local unions representing workers at the plant. Giant said at the time that Jessup would hire many of the workers, but it wasn’t ruling out layoffs.

Giant said in a statement that it is still negotiating with two other unions. The grocer would not comment about the Teamsters agreement beyond the statement issued late Tuesday.

“We have reached agreement with Teamsters Local 730 concerning the effects of the transfer and hope to reach agreement with the remaining local unions impacted by this tentative transaction in the coming weeks,” Kim Brown, vice president of public affairs and community relations, said in the statement.

Giant officials declined to say whether any of the 130 nonunion workers at the facility would be laid off.

Brooks had worried that jobs would be lost and work moved to Pennsylvania, where Jessup Logistics has many automated factories. Brooks said Gov. Martin O’Malley and Ron DeJuliis, state commissioner of labor and industry, called Giant on the union’s behalf.

“We stood our ground for almost three months and let them know we wanted guaranteed jobs and we would pass out information leaflets in the stores if we didn’t get them,” Brooks said.

Giant officials have said they decided to outsource as a cost-cutting measure and to put the operations with a company with more expertise. They also wanted to focus more on the distribution of fresh produce, where they saw potential to expand.

Giant will continue to run its own transportation and recycling division.

Grocers have been looking for ways to cut costs and operate more efficiently as the industry has become more competitive. Jessup Logistics also handles Giant’s frozen-food division.

DEMS, GOP READING SAME POLL

House Democrats gathered on yesterday to discuss the results of a national survey on the deficit and manufacturing that House Republicans were passing around late last week. Digging into the survey, which was paid for by the Alliance for American Manufacturing and done by Dem Mark Mellman and GOPer Whit Ayers, hints at an answer to why people are so passionate about the deficit: It’s about jobs. Asking whether Congress should address the deficit or the jobless crisis, therefore, is the wrong question. Create jobs and the deficit concern goes away. Reading into the survey, you find that people relate the deficit to indebtedness to China and indebtedness to China is a proxy for American decline and the collapse of manufacturing, a huge concern among voters. About 45% of respondents said the biggest problem is that “we are too deep in debt to China,” the highest-ranking concern, 58% of folks said the U.S. is no longer the strongest economy, with China being the overwhelming alternative people identified. Three-quarters had an unfavorable view of goods made in China and 83% felt the same toward companies that set up shop there. The number one objection people had to China was the $2 trillion the country holds in U.S. debt. Asked how to improve the economy, the number one solution provided by voters was to “crack down on foreign countries who violate their trade agreements with us.” The survey: http://bit.ly/d4gv1F

From Maurice Morales

July 6, 2010 at 8:30am

Subject: Alliance for American Manufacturing Video by Baltimore Music Happenings

- MySpace Video http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=101605682

from a rally i videotaped resently.please share www.youtube/maurice11 for more of my work

Have you seen them?
By Ed Knox

I refer to beautiful stress balls that have been distributed throughout the United States of America, specifically at Veterans’ Administration Hospitals and similar locations.

These balls are beautifully imprinted with red, white & blue background and then with “DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS” imprinted along with a toll-free telephone number and a statement regarding the courage it takes for a Warrior to ask for help.

(I think that statement is in reference to those of us who served in the Military and might be experiencing difficulties coping with the effects of our service.)

So what? Guess where they’re made. Yep. That’s right; these balls are made in China!

It is an insult to those who fought and died for the Freedoms we enjoy here in the United States of America. You’ve heard the quote: “For those who fought for it, Freedom has a taste the protected will never know!”

We obviously cannot go backwards in time to correct the past. The best resolution moving forward is to let our Veterans know whether or not we as a Country care about them and their employment situation.

There are companies here in America that would be happy to manufacture these balls. I’m certain that these companies would hire Veterans. These companies - right here in the United States - would be proud to not only hire Veterans, but would be even more proud to know that they have helped Veterans who others might consider to be handicapped.

Think about what a wonderful message we SHOULD be shouting: “Because the United States of America actually intends to keep its word to the Veterans of Military Service, we will insist that first hiring priorities will go to Companies within the United States of America. These companies will receive even more ‘priority’ when they hire Veterans. Still more ‘priority’ will be assigned to them if those Veterans happen to have a Service-Connected disability. Companies who do not manufacture within the USA will not be considered a resource for items that could have and should have been manufactured in the USA! This is without regard to whether or not the ‘bottom line’ seems to be cheaper. That ‘bottom line’ is NEVER cheaper when it creates an increase in unemployment of Americans.” That statement becomes even stronger when you consider the employment situation of our Nation’s Veterans!

As a Viet Nam Veteran, a Member of the DAV, NABVETS, the American Legion, a lifetime Member of the VFW, and a true American Patriot; I am appalled and sickened by the situation as it currently stands.

One of the items that you might want to consider is to ask your Senators and Congressmen to continue funding the wonderful program called HELMETS TO HARDHATS. ( www.helmetstohardhats.com ) This is a program that assists our Service Members in their transition from Military to Civilian life. It helps them find a career pathway. Another item to consider is to donate your time and/or some Dollars to help HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS. ( www.homesforourtroops.org ) This fine organization builds special-needs homes for some of our returning veterans who have been severely injured in combat.

Paying attention to the problems facing our Veterans, and helping to put America back to work in order to start repairing our economy are the two most important issues facing our Country today.

Be American, Buy American!!

Sincerely,

ED KNOX

Ed Knox is President of Local Union 68 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and is a Member of the Denver Musicians’ Association (DMA). There are photographs to accompany this article which were taken by Pete Vriesenga, President of the DMA; but I can’t figure out how to post them here. Any suggestions?

Free Trade Agreement with Korea will cost U.S. jobs
Robert E. Scott
July 1, 2010

The Obama administration has announced that it intends to finalize a new free trade agreement with South Korea (KORUS FTA) in time for the next G-20 summit in November. Although the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) projects this will have a small positive impact on the U.S. trade balance, and “minimal or negligible “ impact on U.S. employment, history shows that such trade deals lead to rapidly growing trade deficits and job loss in the United States.

The Charts below compare USITC’s estimates of the impact of the forthcoming free trade agreement with Korea to EPI’s own calculation. Unlike USITC’s forecast of a small positive impact, EPI’s research shows it will increase the U.S. trade deficit with Korea by about $16.7 billion, and displace about 159,000 American jobs within the first seven years after it takes effect…..

Click on this link to see charts mentioned above EPI link

July 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Mack Trucks recalls United Auto Workers members

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

REGION, June 14th- Mack Trucks Inc. announced the truck manufacturer will recall 75 laid-off workers at its Macungie plant because of the increase in demand.

According to the company, the recall will take place on June 21st.

The workers are members of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) Amalgamated Union Local 677, Mack Boulevard in Allentown. Mack Trucks is owned and operated by Volvo of Sweden.

According to a story published in the Allentown Morning Call, company officials said they would be cautious in recalling laid-off workers this year as they monitored the market’s reaction to a 2010 change in federal emissions requirements that raise the price of rigs, which can range from $80,000 to $150,000 each.

In June 2009, Local 677 members ratified a new 40 month contract agreement with Mack. The agreement will expire on October 1st, 2012. It took effect on June 1st, 2009.

The contract agreement was a concessionary pact that was neccessary because of the world economic slump.

Edward Balukus, President of Local 677 told the newspaper at the time for the most part the membership understood the agreement was the best that could have been negotiated during the bad economy.

Mack laid-off 180 workers at the manufacturing facility in December 2008 and approximately 25 more in May 2009.

When the new pact was ratified, there were approximately 395 workers laid-off at the Macungie plant which makes truck rigs with the majority used for the manufacturing of garbage trucks.

In 2009 the union had four different contracts with Mack including for employees of their headquarters that was located across the street from Local’s 677 office. Mack announced in the summer of 2008 it would move the headquarters from Allentown to North Carolina shifting the jobs away from the Lehigh Valley.

Change is good… except when it is arbitrary, capricious, and painful. John, a technical support rep, writes about trying to meet the so-called “right-fitting” policies imposed by management on employees at T-Mobile USA. Eventually discontinued, the plan ended up confusing employees and angering customers.

We note that this campaign for respect at T-Mobile has been picked up by the Wichita Eagle. The company has a major call center in that city.

We encourage you to continue visiting our website (http://www.loweringthebarforus.org/) and to like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/loweringthebar). Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/realtmobile).

The campaign continues. We are active in organizing. We are active politically. We are about to launch a major international initiative. We are thinking through the future of this company and reaching out to the investment community. We are working with a variety of stakeholders.

CWA Vice President Ed Mooney, who led the delegation of T-Mobile employees to Germany in May, is back! On Thursday, June 24, he appeared on talk radio in Bethlehem with a T-Mobile employee from Pennsylvania somewhere. We hope to have the audio file posted soon to the web site.

Do you know what a difference the union makes? Check out Hae-Lin’s post on How They Do It in Germany. She looks at the little things that matter so much – individual monitoring, how pay is structured, and break time. She finds that in general call center work is stressful but that the union (ver.di) negotiates a work environment that is much more humane.

Estamos Juntos? T-Mobile is actively reaching out to the Hispanic community as part of its attempt to revive its fortunes. Unfortunately, the company is not doing a good job of “sticking together” for either employees or customers. For those of you following the World Cup, you may know that T-Mobile is a major promoter of soccer, especially in the Hispanic community. We suggest, however, that T-Mobile deserves a red card for its treatment of employees.

There are some indications that the issues facing stakeholders at T-Mobile are present in different forms throughout Deutsche Telekom. In What’s Going on at Deutsche Telekom, we note managerial corruption at DT Greece, rigged bidding involving DT in Serbia, a step backward in corporate transparency at DT Hungary, and the recent resolution of the corporate snooping scandal in Germany that left a rather nasty smell. Back in the U.S., T-Mobile may have obstructed justice in a homicide investigation.

The corporate spying scandal at DT was once thought to have compromised the career of incoming T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm. His appointment changed all that… but it is pretty high stakes for DT CEO René Obermann.

As for the fortunes of T-Mobile USA, please note that CWA released an investor alert last week. We hate to be pessimistic, but mainstream observers are not excited by the company’s future. We note that Deutsche Telekom is no longer traded on the New York Stock Exchange. I have no love for the NYSE but it does have listing standards the company no longer has to meet – to the detriment of investors. Tell me again how the company will raise money for the 4G network?

For all you Apple fans out there, we note the speculation that the iPhone may be offered by T-Mobile or Verizon or… ?

We noted last week as well that T-Mobile is shutting down a repair facility in Georgia, only to outsource the work. How is that for respecting employees?

There are some observers out there who believe the brand T-Mobile will disappear in 2011. Maybe we should have a contest to re-name the company!

That’s it for now.
Enjoy your weekend!

—
Stick together at T-Mobile? Not for the workers. Learn the truth about T-Mobile.

http://loweringthebarforus.org/

http://twitter.com/realtmobile

Contact: realT-Mobile@cwa-union.org

JUNE 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

MSA unemployment rate highest in Pennsylvania

BY PAUL LEESON
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 2nd- According to labor data provided by the Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry, the region’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 10.0 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report, which was released approximately four weeks before. 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 8.2 percent. The unemployment rate is the highest for the region since September 1992 when it reached 10.5 percent.

The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is 9.0 percent, unchanged from the previous report. Pennsylvania has a seasonally adjusted civilian labor force of 6,470,000 with 584,000 not working and 5,886,000 with employment. The national unemployment rate is 9.9 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report.

There are 15,260,000 civilians in the nation reported to be unemployed. That number does not include civilians that have exhausted their unemployment benefits and have stopped looking for work. There are at least 21,500,000 civilians in the nation without jobs.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA has the fouth largest labor force in Pennsylvania with 286,000 civilians. The Philadelphia MSA has the largest labor force at 2,998,400 with 280,300 not working; the Pittsburgh MSA is second at 1,130,500 with 104,500 without jobs; the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton MSA has the third largest labor force at 426,500 with 41,600 not working; and the Harrisburg/Carlisle MSA has the fifth largest civilian labor force at 287,200 with 23,300 without employment.

Of the 14 MSA’s within Pennsylvania, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA has the highest unemployment rate. The Erie MSA has the second highest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 9.9 percent, with the Allentown/Bethlhem/Easton MSA with the third highest at 9.7 percent followed by the Reading MSA at 9.6 percent.

There are 28,500 residents reported to be not working in the MSA, increasing by 5,100 from twelve months before. That number also does not include civilians who unemployment benefits have expired and stopped looking for work.

The State College MSA has the lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 6.6 percent. The Lebanon MSA has the second lowest unemployment rate in the state at 7.6 percent, the Altoona MSA and the Lancaster MSA are tied for the third lowest rate at 7.9.

Lackawanna County has the lowest unemployment rate in the MSA at 9.5 percent, increasing by three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report and increasing by one and seven-tenths of a percentage points from one year ago. Lackawanna County has a labor force of 108,700, increasing by 100 civilians from the previous report and rising by 500 from one year ago. There are 10,300 Lackawanna County residents without jobs, increasing by 1,800 from twelve months ago.

Luzerne County has the highest unemployment rate in the MSA at 10.4 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report and increasing by one and nine-tenths of a percentage point from twelve months ago. Luzerne County has a labor force of 162,800, decreasing by 200 from the previous report and increasing by 1,000 during the past year. Of the labor force 16,900 do not have a job, increasing by 300 during the past four weeks and rising by 3,100 from one year ago.

Wyoming County has a unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, decreasing three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report and jumping by one and five-tenths of a percentage point from one year ago. Wyoming County has a labor force of 14,600, decreasing by 100 from the previous report and rising by 100 during the past twelve months. There are 1,400 Wyoming County residents without jobs, decreasing by 100 from the previous report and increasing by 200 from one year ago.

Within the MSA, mining, logging and construction jobs increased from the previous report by 700 jobs because of the spring building season.

Professional and business services jobs rose by 600 from the previous report due in large part to warmer weather allowing additional employment at local landscaping businesses.

Leisure and hospitality jobs rose by 900 during the period because of the outdoor recreational businesses adding seasonal workers.

JUNE 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

National unemployment rate falls because of Census jobs

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 4th- The national job growth report was released for May indicating the unemployment rate decreased to 9.7 percent primarily as a result of 411,000 temporary United States Census jobs. The unemployment rate does not include workers that have exhausted their unemployment benefits and stopped looking for work.

There was reported to be 15,260,000 residents without employment in the United States which does not include workers who benefits have been exhausted or unable to find full-time work. Actually, there are more than 20 million Americans without jobs.

The Census hires total job creation for May pushed the total to 431,000, however the addition of 20,000 non-Census jobs is down sharply from the 217,000 reported for April. However, excluding the temporary Census hires, the economy has generated 132,000 jobs a month over the last three months. The number is just a bit more than the amount needed to keep pace with the number of workers entering the labor force.

According to Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, an economic policy think tank in Washington, DC., the weakness in job creation spread across sectors. Construction is again shedding jobs, losing 35,000 jobs in May after showing gains the prior two months. Some of this may have been weather related, with increases in March and April reflecting a bounce-back from the bad weather in February.

Retail trade lost 6,600 jobs in May after adding 97,000 jobs over the prior four months. Weak sales are the obvious explanation for the job decline. Employment services added 34,400 jobs in May after adding 29,000 in April. The sector has added almost 75,000 a month from October, 2009 through January 2010.

Health care added 13,100 in May, down from its average of 20,000 a month over the last year. Restaurants added 5,500 jobs in May compared with an average of 19,000 jobs over the last four months. State and local governments lost 22,000 jobs in May, a pattern that will likely continue with the new fiscal year that begins in July.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a bright spot with the 0.1 hour increase in the duration on the average workweek. It is now up by 0.5 hours from its low last October. The increase could suggest a demand for labor and more hiring is imminent. However, hours are poorly measured and some of this increase may simply be noise in this data.

Meanwhile, wage growth continues to slow with the average hourly wage rising at a 1.6 percent annual rate over the last quarter, down from a 1.9 percent rate over the last year.

The picture in the household data is very mixed. While the unemployment rate dropped, the employment rate also slipped by 0.1 percent as the labor force was reported as shrinking by 322,000. This likely reflects noise rather than a real decline in the labor force. As noted before, since October 2009, employment growth in the household survey has hugely exceeded jobs growth in the survey.

African Americans were the biggest gainers in May, with a 1.0 percentage point drop in their unemployment rate overall to 15.5 percent, with the unemployment rate for black women dropping 1.3 percentage points to 12.4 percent.

College graduates saw a 0.2 percentage point decline in their unemployment rate to 4.7 percent. Unemployment stayed constant for those with some college and rose by 0.3 percentage points for high school grads and those without degrees.

JUNE 2010 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton edition of The Union News

Under pressure by Mr. Carney company suspends helmet manufacturing

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

REGION, June 5th- Under pressure from United States House of Representative Chris Carney (Democrat-10th Legislative District), Federal Prison Industries (also known as UNICOR) has suspended producing military helmets and agreed to waive the preferential staus that gives it first right of refusal on helmet contracts with the United States government.

“Our military men and women deserve only the best equipment and it has become clear that Federal Prison Industries cannot meet the standards required in manufacturing helmets,” stated Mr. Carney.

The decision to suspend helmet manufacturing leaves two large contractors who have large facilities in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Gentex and BAE, with the opportunity to win substantial contracts and add hundreds of jobs, Mr. Carney stated.

Mr. Carney was informed of the decision to suspend helmet production hours before consideration of amendments on the Defense Authorization Act was to begin on Federal Prison Industries.

The company which employs prisoners, is one of the largest military helmet manufacturers in the country and was the producer of the 44,000 helmets that the Army recalled several weeks ago.

Mr. Carney was pursuing action against the company because of alleged multiple problems it had with ballistic standards testing.

Senate Republicans Kill Jobs Bill, Block Jobless Aid

by Mike Hall

http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/06/18/senate-republicans-kill-jobs-bill-block-jobless-aid/

Senate Republicans last night blocked a jobs bill that would have extended unemployment insurance (UI) for long-term jobless workers. Some 250,000 unemployed workers a week are losing their unemployment benefits because they can’t find jobs.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the Republican’s action to

block unemployment benefits for the hardest-hit jobless Americans is an outrage–sadly, it’s simply the latest shame. All members, both Republicans and Democrats, must remember that come November, voters will be thinking about one thing—jobs.

Senate leaders scaled back the bill to win the 60 votes needed to end the Republican filibuster against the bill. The 56-40 vote included all Republicans present and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)

The extended UI program expired May 31 after the Senate left town for the Memorial Day recess without acting on a House-passed jobs bill that would have kept the long-term unemployment benefits program alive. The U.S. unemployment rate is near 10 percent, at least 15 million people are out of work and 6.8 million people have been out of work for 27 weeks or more.

The Republicans’ strident opposition to the jobs bill is out of step with voters. According to a June 11-13 USA Today/Gallup poll, 60 percent of Americans say they would favor “additional government spending to create jobs and stimulate the economy.”

Not only did Senate Republicans turn their backs on jobless workers–they also protected Wall Street investors and big oil companies like BP. The bill would have closed tax loopholes that allow hedge fund and other investments managers to shelter income at lower tax rates than working families pay on their income. It also increased the liability taxes on oil companies. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said Republicans

said “Yes” to the special interest groups they always stand by.

Further Senate action on the bill is not expected until next week.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a non-partisan partnership of leading U.S. manufacturers and the United Steelworkers.

Every citizen in the state of Delaware, the city of Newark and the surrounding region, no matter what their income, education, position, or political leaning should join us to put the critical need to rebuild a new manufacturing economy on the top of the policy agenda. Economists and the public agree that America must have high-quality jobs if we are to have long term prosperity and save America’s middle class. The solution is to rebuild our manufacturing jobs by seizing the opportunity to make green and sustainable products and meet our infrastructure needs. Now is the time, manufacturing is the solution, and you can help make it happen for our nation.

The United States has lost more than 5 million manufacturing jobs in the past decade, and more than 50,000 factories have closed. Manufacturing is critical to the nation’s economic growth and our lawmakers must take action to grow good American manufacturing jobs. Together we can “Keep it Made in America.”

Executive Banquet & Conference Center
205 Executive Dr.
Newark, DE 19702

Tuesday, June 29
6:00-9:00 pm

Speakers followed by a panel discussion. Written questions will be submitted from the floor.

Complimentary Dinner Will Be Served

WHO: Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) & you
WHAT: Delaware Town Hall & free dinner
WHEN: Tuesday, June 29: 6:00-9:00
WHERE: Executive Banquet & Conference Center, 205 Executive Drive, Newark, DE 19702
WHY: “Manufacturing a Solution for America’s Economic Woes” is vital for America today and in the future!

FREE EVENT!

Please RSVP to 866-365-2203
For Information Contact: Gwen Miller 302-283-1330 or Stephen Crockett 443-907-2367.

RSVP is a must. We need an accurate count for the dinner.