Archive for November 18th, 2008
UAW President: Millions Will Be Devastated Unless Congress Passes Bridge Loan
Testifying before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee this afternoon, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger didn’t mince words about the auto industry’s need for Congress to approve a bridge loan.
The situation, said Gettelfinger,
is critical. It is a crisis….If the Detroit–based auto companies are forced into liquidation, the consequences would be truly devastating, not only for UAW members, but also for millions of other workers and retirees across this nation, and for the entire economy of the United States.
Gettelfinger and the three top executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler called on the committee and Congress to approve a $25 billion emergency bridge loan to help automakers weather the current credit and economic crisis that has driven car and truck sales to the lowest level in 25 years.
Chambliss Faces Subpoena Over Sugar Blast that Killed 14 Workers
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Tragedy struck a Georgia factory in February when combustible dust caught fire and exploded at the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth, killing 14 workers and injuring many more.
Now, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), an opponent of working families who’s in a tough runoff to defend his Senate seat, is facing questions about whether he improperly aided Imperial in its efforts to avoid the consequences of its negligence.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) hit the company with $5 million in fines for “willful and egregious safety violations” over the blast. And a Senate subcommittee held a hearing in July, finding that Imperial had no plan to deal with the dangerous combustible dust and ignored warnings about plant safety.
Wal-Mart Part of $1 Billion Skim-Scam Flimflam
Big-box retail chains like Wal-Mart are skimming some $1 billion a year in local and state tax revenues and pocketing the cash, according to a new report by the non-profit research center Good Jobs First.
Skimming the Sales Tax: How Wal-Mart and other Big Retailers (Legally) Keep a Cut of the Taxes We Pay on Everyday Purchases says the biggest losses to local and state tax coffers come from programs—known by names such as “vendor discount” or “collection allowance”—that pay retailers for collecting sales tax on behalf of governments.
Weingarten Calls for ‘Common Ground’ Solutions to Brunt Impact of Financial Crisis on Schools
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Jobs, home foreclosures, failing banks and falling stocks are often the focus of today’s economic discussions. But as AFT President Randi Weingarten reminds us, an often overlooked impact of the nation’s financial crisis is its effect on education.
Faced with declining tax revenues, state and local governments are cutting back on their most essential investment—educating the next generation. This disinvestment in education may help states and local government’s bottom lines this year. But it places our economy in a race to the bottom for years to come.
Speaking before an audience of lawmakers, education policy experts and union leaders at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., yesterday (see video), Weingarten outlined proposals to improve public education that would also make a long-term investment in the nation’s lagging economy. She signaled a willingness to find solutions on several long-standing controversial issues.
Union Volunteers in Georgia Mobilize to Defeat Anti-Worker Sen. Chambliss
The 2008 election isn’t over yet. In Georgia, the U.S. Senate race is headed to a Dec. 2 runoff, and union members are working hard to oust anti-worker Saxby Chambliss and send Jim Martin to the Senate.
On Nov. 4, neither candidate won a majority of the more than 3.75 million votes cast, which triggered the Dec. 2 runoff. As the election rapidly approaches, the AFL-CIO and thousands of union volunteers will carry out the largest labor mobilization ever attempted in a runoff campaign.
Union volunteers will continue the efforts that were successful in states across the country. They’ll deliver thousands of worksite fliers, make thousands of phone calls, send union mail and knock on doors across the states.
