Archive for December, 2006
Goodyear Workers Reach Tentative Settlement
Last night, the United Steelworkers (USW) and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract after union movement-wide support of the more than 15,000 striking workers publicly highlighted how Goodyear planned to send jobs to China and abandon its obligation to provide health care benefits for 30,000 retirees. The union said the agreement:
secures retiree health care benefits and dramatically increases Goodyear’s investments in union facilities.
In a victory for workers, the tentative agreement requires Goodyear to rescind its demand for immediate closure of its Tyler, Texas, plant and instead provide for a one-year period of transition during which workers will have the opportunity to take advantage of sizeable retirement buyouts.
Goodyear sought to close the Tyler plant–its third plant closure in four years–despite making nearly $500 million in profit last year. In moving to close the plant, Goodyear tried to walk away from promises the company made to work in partnerhip with the USW and not cut jobs after union members came to Goodyear’s aid several years ago by taking wage and benefit freezes when the company experienced financial hardship.
Solidarity Center: Global Approach to Workers’ Rights
“I work at a garment factory in al-Dhulayl (Jordan). I just came off a 24-hour shift unloading trucks into the stock room storage area. I was so exhausted that I fell and slashed my face. My arms ache….I have not been allowed to eat. My supervisor told me that if I go to the union, I will be beaten, put in jail and deported. I know that these are not idle threats….But I can no longer keep silent.”
Those are the words of 20-year-old Mohammed, a Bangladeshi migrant worker in one of Jordan’s nine Qualified Industrial Zones—huge factory complexes where goods are manufactured for export to countries all over the world.
A New Direction in Minnesota—and the Nation
Steve Share, editor of the Minneapolis Labor Review at the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council, sends us the following from that publication.
“We’re heading for a day where more folks have health insurance and it’s more affordable and where public education for all Minnesota kids is excellent.”
What a difference an election makes. Those are the words of Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis), the incoming Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. She will take the gavel Jan. 3 to lead a chamber with a 36-seat majority for the DFL Party—the first labor-friendly majority in eight years.
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.
Still no concrete news from Pittsburgh on the Goodyear talks, but negotiations that began Dec. 18 are continuing. Nearly 16,000 United Steelworkers (USW) members were forced out on strike Oct. 5 by the giant tiremaker.
In the meantime, we have to keep the pressure on. If you live in the area around Akron, save Jan. 19 to take part in a huge rally at Goodyear headquarters.
A Republican Happy Holiday: Revenge
Revenge is an ugly trait. It’s especially odious during this season of good will toward humans. But Republicans just couldn’t leave office without giving more payoffs to their Big Business backers and exacting retribution in the wake of their massive electoral losses Nov. 7. Two examples, one each at the federal and state levels, highlight such greed and mean-spiritedness.
In one of his final acts as Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) used the tax bill to create a major change in Medicare policy eagerly sought by a few health insurers, in particular a company headquartered in his home state.
Goodyear Tire Officially Grinch of the Year
The polls have closed, the votes have been counted and a winner has been declared.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is the Grinch of the Year, say voters in the sixth annual Jobs with Justice (JWJ) contest to name the nation’s worst corporate malfeasor.
Voters said Goodyear has done more harm to working families than any other Big Business entity. Goodyear forced out on strike in October more than 15,000 United Steelworkers (USW) members at 16 plants in the U.S. and Canada.
Despite concessions from workers and retirees in 2003 that kept Goodyear afloat, the company has demanded a new contract that would slash retiree health coverage and call for an additional plant closing, with the loss of 1,100 jobs. At the same time, the company is importing tires from plants overseas, including China.
Union Leaders on The Hill Blog
Take a look at The Hill’s Congress Blog where United Steelworkers (USW) member Mike Michaud, a Democrat representing Maine, compares Congress’ inaction on funding bills to a .180 batting average in baseball, well below the famous “Mendoza Line.”
Also on The Hill Blog, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the new Congress cannot let President Bush hold a minimum wage increase hostage to his demand for even more business tax breaks.
Deadly Year for Journalists
Fifty-five journalists have been killed on the job in 2006, including 32 in Iraq, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)—hat tip to the Newspaper Guild-CWA.
Never has CPJ recorded so many violent deaths of journalists in a year in one country.
Most of the journalists killed in Iraq were targeted because of their work, CPJ reports. Four were killed in crossfire or by acts of war. The other 28 were murdered. Half had been threatened before their deaths.
Wal-Mart Gets off the Hook Again
A federal judge ruled last week that Wal-Mart cannot be held liable for sweatshop conditions and other worker rights violations by its overseas suppliers, even though its contracts with those suppliers required that they abide by local labor standards.
Last year, the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) filed suit in California on behalf of the workers at Wal-Mart suppliers in China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Swaziland and Nicaragua.
