(The AFL-CIO circulated the following on June 13.)
THE BEST TO YOU—In Rome, Ga., workers at a Kellogg Co.’s manufacturing plant voted to join Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 25 recently. The 535 workers join more than 4,500 BCTGM members who work at the cereal giant’s plants in the United States and Canada.
UNION IS ELECTRIC—After a year-long campaign, the 110 workers at Tricin Electric, an electrical contractor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, voted last month to join Electrical Workers Local 353. Meanwhile, 39 blue-collar municipal workers in Live Oak, Fla., voted overwhelmingly June 2 for IBEW Local 1205.
DELIVERING A VOICE—Workers at two independent DHL-contracted delivery firms voted for a voice at work with the Teamsters recently as part of the DHL workers’ national organizing drive. In Freeland, Mich., 48 workers at L&B Cartage voted to join IBT Local 486, and in Saint Joseph, Mo., 20 workers at Mid-Continent Transportation chose IBT Local 41. Meanwhile, in Baldwin Park and San Bernardino, Calif., a dozen drivers for Chapparal Concrete Co. recently voted for representation by IBT Local 166.
HELPING WORKERS WIN—The AFL-CIO Executive Committee—a 24-member advisory group made up of top union leaders—overwhelmingly approved a resolution June 13 to make sweeping changes and shift the work of the labor federation to unite unions for the twin goals of increased organizing and political mobilization. The resolution calls for creating a $22.5 million Strategic Organizing Fund, establishing industry coordinating committees to focus on strategic organizing and encouraging and promoting union mergers. The mobilization provisions include building year-round capacity for member political and legislative mobilization and increasing the Member Mobilization Fund—which does not include contributions to candidates—by $7.5 million a year. At the end of June, the full AFL-CIO Executive Council will vote on the resolution and, if approved, it will be presented to the AFL-CIO convention at the end of July. For more information on strengthening the union movement, visit www.aflcio.org/ourfuture.
DOGS WIN A ‘BARK AT WORK’—Two Iowa sheriff’s department canine officers won honorary membership in IBT Local 238—complete with union cards—after uncovering more than $16 million in cocaine and marijuana during a recent vehicle search. The dogs’ handlers are members of the local, too. Echo, a yellow Labrador retriever, and Hank, a German shorthaired/Lab mix, were rescued from a local animal shelter shortly before they were to be euthanized. Hank works for the Dallas County Sheriff, and Echo is a member of the Polk County force. Rik Willet, Local 238 business agent, said the union decided the pair needed special recognition and voted the dogs honorary membership.
NLRB ELECTIONS DENY WORKERS’ FREEDOM—The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) union election process is so corrupt it bears almost no resemblance to the democratic process we think of when we use the term “election,” according to an independent report. The report, “Free And Fair? How Labor Law Fails U.S. Democratic Election Standards” by University of Oregon professor Gordon Lafer, shows NLRB procedures fail to meet U.S. standards for determining if foreign elections are free and fair. It cites the one-sided advantages employers hold in representation elections, including the ability to squelch workers’ free speech rights on the job and employers’ use of coercion to convince a worker to oppose a union. The report demonstrates clearly the need for new legislation to level the playing field for employees who exercise their freedom to choose a union, American Rights at Work Chairman David Bonior said. “The system for union recognition is badly broken and profoundly undemocratic. Any reform of existing labor law must begin with this understanding.” The AFL-CIO and its allies strongly support the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 842 and H.R. 1696), which would require employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers signs cards authorizing union representation. It also would provide for mediation and arbitration of first-contract disputes and authorize stronger penalties for violation of the law when workers seek to form a union. For a copy of the report, visit www.americanrightsatwork.org. For more information on the Employee Free Choice Act, visit www.aflcio.org/voiceatwork.
WRONG ON CAFTA—U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman blatantly mischaracterized previous trade agreements and contradicted the Bush administration’s own State Department in an effort to promote the flawed proposed Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said June 9. Portman claimed in recent congressional testimony that lackluster enforcement, not inadequate laws, is the only problem with Central America’s labor system, even though the State Department has reported many deficiencies in Central American labor laws. If passed, CAFTA would spread the job loss and environmental damage of the North American Free Trade Agreement to the Dominican Republic and five Central American countries and would not protect workers’ rights. To learn more about CAFTA and for a critique of Central American labor laws, visit www.aflcio.org/cafta.
EXTREMIST JUDGE PICKS CONFIRMED—The U.S. Senate last week confirmed two of President George W. Bush’s most extreme nominees for U.S. Court of Appeals seats. The Senate confirmed Janice Rogers Brown (56–43) June 8 for the District of Columbia Circuit. The following day, former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor was confirmed (53–45) for the 11th Circuit. Brown has said senior citizens “cannibalize” their grandchildren by trying to get as much “free stuff” as the political system allows. Pryor authored or joined numerous briefs challenging the constitutionality of a host of federal employment protections, including the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. For more information about the extremist judges’ records, visit www.aflcio.org.
CONTRACTING ‘IN’ A BETTER BARGAIN—New York could save more than $400 million a year by contracting “in” work that was outsourced to private companies in recent years under Gov. George Pataki (R), according to a new report by the Fiscal Policy Institute. Pataki has cut more than 20,000 jobs since taking office, and much of that work has been outsourced to private contractors. The state has spent some $1.2 billion for private information technology consultants in the past four years and $311 million for private engineers and other consultants on capital projects in fiscal 2004–2005, according to the report. “We’ve been saying for years the state is wasting millions on private contractors. This report proves we were right, but we were wrong—we underestimated the amount of taxpayer abuse,” said Roger Benson of the New York Public Employees Federation. For a copy the report, “Privatization Without Competition Equals Huge Losses,” visit www.fiscalpolicy.org.
CALIF. PAYCHECK DECEPTION’S BACK—A paycheck deception ballot measure aimed at California public employees will appear on the next statewide ballot—either in a possible November special election or the June 2006 primary—after being certified by the secretary of state June 5. The paycheck deception measure mirrors the defeated 1998 Proposition 226, which by limiting the use of union funds in politics would have weakened the voice of working families in the political arena. While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has not taken an official stand on the paycheck deception measure, “The Los Angeles Times” reported June 5 that in a conference call Schwarzenegger’s political team and top contributors discussed ways to demonize public employee unions and convince the public the unions cause many of the state’s problems. “It’s the worst kind of politics,” said Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association. The Alliance for a Better California—which is fighting the governor’s attacks on public employee pensions, public schools, teachers and health care and other anti-worker actions—will mobilize to defeat the paycheck deception initiative. For more information, visit www.allianceforabettercalifornia.org.
INSURED PAY EXTRA FOR UNINSURED—Workers with health insurance are paying extra to cover health care costs for the 48 million Americans who are uninsured, according to a new report released June 9 by the health consumer group Families USA. The report, “Paying a Premium: The Added Cost of Care for the Uninsured,” showed in this year alone, covering the health costs of the uninsured will add an average of $922 to premiums for employer-provided family health insurance. That’s about $1 of every $12 spent for job-based health insurance. These additional premium costs will rise to an average of $1,502 in 2010, the report said. For a copy of the report, visit www.familiesusa.org.
ILLINOIS SPOTLIGHTS WAL-MART AGAIN—Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) is expected to sign legislation creating a list of employers whose workers lack adequate private health insurance and whose employees and their families use taxpayer-supported public health care assistance. Wal-Mart, which employs 43,000 people in Illinois, and other businesses oppose the law. Several states have similar laws, and Wal-Mart is at or near the top of their lists. Last month, Wisconsin disclosed that more than 1,200 Wal-Mart employees and their dependents use the state’s Medicaid program at a cost of $2.7 million a year.
BUSH PLAN WOULD DISTORT WAGE FIGURES—Despite strong opposition from the public and the union movement, the Bush administration is moving ahead with plans that economists say would seriously distort the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly payroll report, which has consistently shown that most workers’ wages are stagnant. The BLS plans to include the salaries of managers, executives and even CEOs in its monthly payroll survey. Including the high salaries in the average would make it look like workers are making more money than they really are.
AIR UNIONS SEEK PENSION FIXES—The Air Line Pilots, Flight Attendants-CWA and Machinists all told the Senate Finance Committee last week that changes are needed in the nation’s pension laws to prevent more airlines from terminating their pension plans as United Airlines and US Airways recently have. As part of their bankruptcy maneuvers, the airlines were able to shed some $15 billion in pension obligations, forcing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) to take over the plans. But PBGC pension payouts are far less than the benefits promised under the airlines’ plans—often less than half. As more airlines and other companies use bankruptcy protection to shift their pension obligations to PBGC, the agency is facing a deficit of more than $23 billion. For more information, visit www.alpa.org, www.afanet.org or www.iamaw.org.