Symposium: Building Bridges to Labor’s Community Allies
Marvin Bing, a member of the AFL-CIO Special Committee on Labor-Community Partnerships, sends us this report on a meeting of AFL-CIO constituency groups in Phoenix.
AFL-CIO constituency groups kicked off the “We Are One Moving America Forward” symposium late last week with a series of great speeches by William Lucy, Ben Jealous, George Gresham, Danny Ortega and Judith Browne-Dianis. A resounding theme: “We can’t let the 1 percent trick us into believing we are different—We are the 99 percent, we are one and if we don’t work together on issues that bring us together, we will fall together.” We are the people who fight for working families, we are the people who fight to protect our students, children, seniors and families. We are the labor movement and together with the community we are unbeatable.
Constituency members include: The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), Pride At Work (PAW), Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA).
Maria Elena Durazo, secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, closed the panel, “Organizing in Our Communities: How African Americans and Latinos Have Strength in Unity,” by saying: Read the rest of this entry »
ILCA Reports the Hidden Truth About Pittsburgh’s Revival
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When the G-20 summit meets in Pittsburgh in two weeks, the world leaders will hear how the city has rebounded after the demise of the steel industry and made itself into a center for higher education and medical research. But the hidden truth is that the ed-med revolution has passed many Pittsburghers by and only benefits the Steel City’s wealthy and highly educated citizens, said United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard.
At the same time, Gerard warned, the problems in Pittsburgh are representative of what’s happening across the nation as policymakers cling to policies that continue to send jobs overseas, decimating working families’ communities.
Speaking to the biennial convention of the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA), meeting Sept. 10-12 in Pittsburgh, Gerard said our trade policies reward companies that move jobs overseas and our trade deficit with China has made us the world’s biggest debtor nation. (See a video clip of Gerard’s remarks on our AFL-CIO Convention 2009 site.)
Holt Baker: Unions Leading Way to Green Economy
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America’s future is green and the union movement is in the forefront of creating a new green economy, says AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker.
Speaking to the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) education conference in Phoenix last week, Holt Baker said:
“One of our biggest opportunities lies in the creation of green jobs, and a new vision of America that our labor movement is helping make happen.”
She credited many unions for undertaking green initiatives, including the United Steelworkers (USW), the UAW, AFT, AFSCME and the building trades. She also pointed to the institute’s Center for Green Jobs and APRI’s new computer learning lab in Pittsburgh as examples of the ways in which unions are preparing workers for a green economy.
Dionne Warwick: ‘Fair Pay for Air Play’ About Economic Justice
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Little did the public know that when they heard Dionne Warwick sing, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and other hits on the radio for the past four decades, none of the money made off the airplay found its way to her—it all went in the radio station owners’ pockets.
Now Warwick and other performers have a chance to finally get what they are due—but Big Radio CEOs are resorting to personal attacks in an effort to derail legislation that would pay performers like Warwick when their music is played on the radio.
Writing today on the Huffington Post, Warwick says the Civil Rights for Musicians Act (H.R. 848), dubbed “Fair Pay for Air Play,”
is about economic justice for African American artists. It’s about what’s right. And it’s about time.
‘Fair Pay for Air Play’ Won’t Hurt Black Radio Stations
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) have joined with the NAACP to put to rest the false claims that legislation to give fair pay to performers whose music is played on radio would hurt black radio stations.
If enacted, the Civil Rights for Musicians Act (H.R. 848), dubbed “Fair Pay for Air Play,” would protect the rights of performers by ensuring that they get paid a fair wage when their music is played on the radio. The bill would close a loophole in copyright law that allows AM and FM stations to duck royalty payments to performing artists.
Big Radio conglomerates have pulled out all the stops to derail the bill. In an all-too-familiar scenario, corporate executives are resorting to personal attacks against the bill’s supporters, especially the bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). They also have launched a misinformation campaign led by black-owned mega-company Radio One, which claims the legislation would hurt African American radio stations.
