Archive for November, 2006
Taxi Drivers Line Up to Join New York CLC
They start each day $130 in the hole. They work 60–70 hours a week in one of the most grueling and dangerous jobs around, all for between $27,000 and $33,000 a year.
They are New York City taxi drivers, mostly immigrants from developing countries looking for a better life for themselves and their families. And soon they will have the backing of the 1 million members of the New York City Central Labor Council. The council is expected next month to make the Taxi Workers’ Alliance, which represents 7,000 taxi drivers, its newest member—the first worker center to affiliate with a central labor council.
In August, the AFL-CIO Executive Council adopted a resolution that paved the way for worker centers to affiliate with AFL-CIO central labor councils and state federations. The purpose of the action, as stated in the resolution, was to connect to the worker center communities in a structured and meaningful way and to develop new methods in partnership with these centers in order to expose abuses and improve workplace standards in various industries to the benefit of all workers—whether union or nonunion; whether immigrant or born in the United States.
Construction Workers Pay High Price for NYC Real Estate Boom
Seems that the more real estate prices skyrocket in places like New York City, the less attention developers appear to pay to safety codes as they push to get another highly priced building up as quickly as possible. And construction workers—mostly immigrants—are paying the cost in injuries and even death.
Five Years After Getting Favorable Trade Status, China Hasn’t Changed
Five years ago, when Congress granted permanent normal trade relations to China, a prerequisite to that country joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), supporters claimed China would, among other things, adhere to the rules of the global trading system. They also said China would open its markets to America’s exporters, investors, businesses and farmers and become a member of the community of nations that promotes democratic government, human dignity, peace and stability in the world.
Nurse Trades School Infirmary for Iraq Combat Hospital
Diane Adloff, a school nurse in Cleveland, and a member of AFT, got a new assignment this school year. A major with the U.S. Army Reserve, she was ordered to prepare for deployment to Iraq, where she will work as a community health nurse at a combat support hospital.
Adloff, 57, already has a big job. She provides health care for nearly 800 children, preschool through eighth grade, many of whom are special education students. She says it will be hard for her to leave her students, but it also will be difficult to leave her three grandchildren, the youngest of whom will be walking and talking before grandma gets back home.
Read more of Adloff’s story on the AFT website by clicking here.
Bargaining Digest Weekly
The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 800 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
Outside Syracuse, N.Y., the United Steelworkers (USW) accepted a contract with Camillus Cutlery, ending their six-month strike. In a really callous move, the company initially locked out the 50 or so workers who decided to go back together as a group. The settlement includes jobs for only 15 of the 78 workers on the payroll before the strike began. The company met with the union to give them a list of the 15 workers they wanted back—at $6 per hour less than they earned under the last contract. The union was forced to settle so the workers who will lose their jobs could apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits.
Buy Union Week Begins Today
With America’s consumers set to spend as much as $60 billion for holiday gifts, the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions want to make sure that shoppers know where they can find quality union-made gifts of apparel, computer and related equipment, consumer electronics, books and hundreds of other products.
That’s why the Union Label and Service Trades Department (UL&STD) launched an early preview of the ShopUnionMade website just in time for the holiday shopping season. The UL&STD launched the website, which lists union-made products and services, to coincide with the beginning of Buy Union Week, Nov. 24–Dec. 3.
Latinos Plan Ways to Build Political Strength
Latino voters played a big role in the Nov. 7 election results that ended control of Congress by Big Business special-interest Republicans and returned working family-backed candidates to the majority.
U.S. Census figures show Latinos make up at least 10 percent of the population in 11 of the 28 congressional districts that switched from Republican to Democratic.
A Healthier Climate for Improved Job Safety and Health Legislation
What’s in store for safety and health legislation with a new Democratic majority set to take over Congress in January? One thing’s for sure—it’s bound to be better than the past several congressional sessions.
Worker health and safety issues have been back-burnered for years under the watch of congressional Republican leadership and the Bush administration—except, that is, for their efforts to weaken workplace safety laws.
Another Bad Trade Deal: Colombia Pact Signed Today
Jeff Vogt, global economic policy specialist in the AFL-CIO Legislation Department, describes how once again, the Bush administration is signing a trade agreement that ignores workers’ fundamental rights.
The United States and the Republic of Colombia today are signing the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), despite urgent calls from leading Democrats to renegotiate the agreement to strengthen labor protections.
Once again, the portion of the FTA on worker protections is insufficient to ensure respect for labor rights, particularly in light of the extreme conditions in Colombia–where industrial conflicts are at times “resolved” by torture or murder. In fact, two years of intense negotiations did not result in improved language on workers’ rights, did not change a single labor law, or even make a commitment to take truly effective measures to prevent the murder of or threats to trade unionists and end impunity for those labor-related crimes.
New Congress to Bring Fresh Wind to Trade Issues
We’ve noted trade was a key issue that helped Democrats gain control of Congress in the 2006 elections. Now, Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan State AFL-CIO, points out in a column in The Detroit News that in a significant shift, many rural voters chose Democrats because of the trade issue.
For the manufacturing worker it’s “will my job be outsourced next?” For the farmer it’s “will another trade agreement put yet another crop into worldwide price-cutting competition?” And for the rural small business person the worry is “when my customers suffer, how long before I am next?”
