Archive for February, 2008
9/11 First Responders Protest Bush Health Care Funding Cuts
Today, three weeks after President Bush cut health care funding by 77 percent for Sept. 11 first responders, many of whom are developing serious and deadly illnesses because of their work at Ground Zero, some 200 9/11 workers rallied on Capitol Hill this morning, calling on Congress to restore the health care money.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates the cost of treating Ground Zero workers is about $218 million year and is expected to grow as the workers' illnesses worsen and as more firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and rescue and recovery workers develop Ground Zero-related diseases.
Utility Workers Back Obama
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Today, the Utility Workers (UWUA) endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.
The Utility Workers union represents 70,000 active and retired workers in the gas, water, electrical and nuclear industries. It is the fourth AFL-CIO affiliated union to endorse Obama.
D. Michael Langford, the national president of the UWUA, said Obama’s policies on energy were what made him stand out in a strong field.
Sen. Obama understands our issues, supports our goals and will do what is right for utility workers, our families, our communities and our country. We join him in his fight for change in America that will put working people first.
Workers Memorial Materials Available Online Now
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Each year, thousands of workers are killed on the job and millions more are injured or become ill because of their jobs.
This April 28, workers in the United States and around the world will honor those killed and injured on the job and call for improved workplace safety on Workers Memorial Day.
Last year, there were 12,000 ceremonies, from memorial services to marches and rallies, in 118 countries. This year, workers, union activists and religious and community leaders and elected officials are expected to take part in a similar number of events.
FAA: a ‘Rogue Agency’
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is telling air traffic controllers who speak out about safety conditions to get another job.
Last week, Don Chapman from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) told reporters that newly implemented changes in air space rules around the Philadelphia area had controllers concerned about safety and the added pressure on already overworked air traffic controllers. Chapman, NATCA's Philadelphia facility representative, also noted the changes had been made without any input from the controllers.
Crandall Canyon Owner Must Face Capitol Hill Lawmakers
Looks like Crandall Canyon co-owner Robert Murray can't hide from Capitol Hill any longer. Crandall Canyon is the Utah mine where six coal miners and three rescuers were killed last August. The bodies of the six miners have never been recovered.
The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee last week subpoenaed Murray after he turned down several earlier offers from the committee to voluntarily testify. As committee spokesman, Tom Kiley says:
We had asked to sit down and speak with Mr. Murray on several occasions, but those requests have been rebuffed.
Cleveland Families Challenge McCain’s Ties to Subprime Housing Corps.
Ben Waxman, national AFL-CIO Ohio state director, sends us this report from Cleveland.
Union activists from the North Shore Federation of Labor gathered outside a campaign event for Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) this morning to deliver a clear message to attendees: McCain is doing nothing to solve the housing crisis and help families in trouble keep their homes.
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In the past two years, more than 14,000 Cleveland families have lost their homes to foreclosure, leaving entire city blocks abandoned. But this morning, McCain came to town peddling the same corporate-friendly, anti-worker agenda President Bush has been pushing for seven years.
Former UAW President Doug Fraser Dies at 91
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Douglas Fraser, who went to work in a Detroit auto plant in 1934 and rose through the ranks of the UAW to lead the union from 1977 to 1983, died Sunday in Southfield, Mich. He was 91 years old.
Says UAW President Ron Gettelfinger:
Doug was a friend, a mentor and a counselor to so many within the UAW and the larger labor movement. His integrity and his enduring commitment to protecting the rights of workers will continue to inspire us. He never forgot that we were working for our active and retired members.
An Associated Press obituary notes that UAW members held Fraser in high regard.
With his mischievous smile and gregarious, easygoing manner, Fraser was popular with the union's rank-and-file, who appreciated his candor and accessibility. Everyone called him Doug.
Workers Sign Up with AFSCME in California and South Dakota, and More Bargaining News
Workers sign up with AFSCME in California and South Dakota and more highlights from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
Organizing
AFSCME, Park View Community Hospital: Some 260 nurses at Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside, Calif., voted to join the United Nurses Associations of California (UNAC), an affiliate of AFSCME. Marlene Burnett, spokeswoman for Parkview Community Hospital, said the facility's administration respects the nurses' decision and would negotiate a contract with them.
What if Deadly Dust Explosions Were Airplane Crashes?
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If a certain kind of plane kept falling out of the sky, killing and maiming hundreds of passengers, the public would be outraged if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ignored the advice of aviation experts calling for new safety standards.
Surely the outrage would boil over if the FAA instead told industry: “Hey are some voluntary safety guidelines. See what you can do, OK?”
That’s a ludicrous scenario the federal government and the aviation industry would never allow to happen in real life, writes longtime workplace safety advocate Les Leopold. However, substitute dust explosions for crashing airplanes and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the FAA—and that is the reality in our nation today, he says.
King’s Legacy: ‘We Get More Organized Together Than Apart’
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With the issues of economic equality and immigration high on the agenda in this election, author Michael Honey reminds us that the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. carries some important lessons for today's political leaders and activists.
Honey, humanities professor at the University of Washington-Tacoma, is author of Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign.
In an article first published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, he says King's life demonstrated that labor rights, human rights and civil rights are indivisible. He quotes King as saying, "We can get more organized together than we can apart."
