Archive for June, 2008
Iron Workers Endorse Obama
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The Iron Workers union has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.
Iron Workers President Joe Hunt said Obama would be a leader who pays attention to working families and would fight for job creation, health care and the freedom to form unions.
Barack Obama is a strong friend of labor. He can unite the country. With his extraordinary vision of how great this country can be, he has created a firestorm of excitement that has been embraced by all segments of our society. He will make a great Commander in Chief.
Sebelius, Leadership Conference, Gamesa Honored for Supporting Workers’ Rights
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The workers’ advocacy group American Rights at Work honored three advocates for workers’ rights June 24 at its Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Awards Celebration in Washington, D.C. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and Gamesa Technology Corp. received the award named for the former first lady and human rights champion.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who introduced Sebelius, praised her as a “passionate, authentic leader, a true friend of working families.”
Every day, she shows that a progressive leader can act on principle and commitment—and bring people together in a way that cuts across red states or partisan divides. And she has a record of achievement on our behalf.
Working Women Tell Survey: It’s the Economy!
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Working women are spending more and more time on the job with less time for themselves and their families. But the nation’s souring economy is such a major concern, most say they would use any extra time to work a second job.
The more than 12,000 women who took the sixth Ask a Working Woman survey online—released today by Working America and the AFL-CIO—also said the top item that would make their lives easier is a 10 percent raise. While issues such as affordable health care and quality child care remain major concerns for working women, paying the bills, buying the groceries, filling the tank and paying the rent and mortgage is what worries them most.
Iron Worker Says OSHA’s Safety Failure Behind Brother-in-Law’s Fall to Death
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George Cole, a retired Iron Workers member who spent 42 years on construction job sites, told a congressional hearing yesterday that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) “failure to enforce safety standards” is likely what killed his brother-in-law in a fall at a troubled Las Vegas construction site.
The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee hearing probed whether OSHA is doing all it can to protect construction workers—including strong enforcement of the safety rules on the books and development of new workplace safety standards.
New York Nurses Win Ban on Mandatory Overtime
Nurses in New York state will soon see the end of a practice dangerous for both nurses and patients: mandatory overtime.
Unions representing New York registered nurses and licensed practical nurses have been fighting for years to achieve a ban on forced overtime. Many hospitals and other health care facilities have strongly opposed overtime limits.
Under an agreement reached last week among the state Assembly, Senate and Gov. David Paterson (D), legislation to eliminate mandatory overtime soon will be passed and on the governor’s desk.
Bahrain Telecom Workers Fight to Save Jobs
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Heba El-Shazli of the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center reports on the effort to gain justice for 44 fired telecom workers in the kingdom of Bahrain, located in the Arabian Gulf.
In late May, Bahrain Telecommunications Co. (Batelco), which provides the island kingdom’s national cell phone and Internet service, fired 44 workers. The workers were let go under a controversial “employment redeployment program” (ERP), which the Batelco Trade Union (BTU) successfully contested in court. While Batelco is appealing the verdict, the union is pressing for voluntary early retirement instead of the ERP.
Memphis Guild Slams Newspaper with Unfair Practices Charge
The Memphis Newspaper Guild Local 33091 has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the Commercial Appeal newspaper after management laid off 30 employees in the middle of negotiations with the union over proposed layoffs.
In a bargaining session with the company on June 10, Guild representatives asked for more bargaining time before layoffs began. Management said at that meeting there was no final list of who would be laid off. Yet, just two days later, 30 people lost their jobs and were escorted out of the building. The company is saying the workers were terminated, not laid off. But either way, the workers are jobless.
Election 2008: Avoiding Another Train Wreck
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America’s voters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country—some 76 percent think we’re on the wrong track, according to the latest Associated Press poll. Working families are desperate for change. Journalist Bill Press says it starts with a change in leadership and a move away from the failed ideology that got us into this mess.
In a new Point of View guest column on the AFL-CIO website, Press discusses the upcoming election and why it matters in light of past years of conservative dominance in government. His new book, Train Wreck: The End of the Conservative Movement (and Not a Moment Too Soon), describes how the conservative, you’re-on-your-own outlook has failed the country.
Press, a longtime political observer and former co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire,” says this election year offers an opportunity to move past the disastrous Bush years and discard the bankrupt movement that created and sustained the Bush agenda.
U.N. Labor Organization Issues Blueprint for Fair Globalization
The International Labor Organization (ILO) recently adopted a major “Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization,” which calls for a worldwide comitment to build a global economy based on social justice.
Guy Ryder, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), says, “This declaration speaks of the need to make a different reality possible.”
In place of our world of income inequality, high levels of unemployment and poverty and the growth of unprotected work, the adoption of this declaration demonstrates a common commitment to build a world based on social justice.
The declaration, which was two years in the making, reaffirms the commitment of ILO member countries to make full, productive employment and decent work the center of their economic and social policies. The ILO is the U.N. agency that brings together governments, employers and workers to promote decent work throughout the world.
CWA Endorses Obama for President
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The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.
More than 2,000 delegates to the national CWA convention voted this morning by acclamation to give the endorsement to Obama.
CWA President Larry Cohen says the union will mobilize its members across the country, especially those in key battleground states, by educating them about Obama’s stances on issues that matter to working families:
In these states, we will unite working families and take our message to members in the workplace like never before. With President Obama, we can reform health care, we can win the Employee Free Choice Act and bring about real, positive change for working families in our country.
