Firefighters, Burn Survivors and Allies Walk for Burn Awareness
 |
AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer reports on the recent Walk for Burn Awareness in Boston.
More than 350 firefighters, burn survivors and supporters came together on Sunday for the second annual New England Walk for Burn Awareness.
Participants raised nearly $30,000 to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children®—Boston, the Fire Fighters (IAFF) Burn Foundation and the Boston Firefighters Local 718 Burn Foundation.
Phil Tammaro, 3rd District IAFF Burn Foundation coordinator, said that after 18 years as a firefighter and as a burn survivor,
one thing I know for sure is that our work doesn’t end when the fire goes out. That’s why the firefighters are so committed to volunteering our time to supporting those we rescue on their road to recovery.
Boston Workers Rally in Support of Wis. Public Servants
|
|
Across the country and around the world, workers, community and faith activists are standing in solidarity with nurses, firefighters and other public employees in Wisconsin, Ohio and around the nation in their fights against a coordinated attack on middle-class jobs.
Yesterday in Boston, hundreds crowded the state capital to show they support the Wisconsin public servants. Check out the video above and the commentary.
The commentator points out that two of three businesses in Wisconsin do not pay taxes and to try and take away public employees’ right to bargain is a declaration of war against the middle class.
Working People in Boston, Detroit Tell Big Banks: ‘Good Jobs NOW!’
 |
||||
 |
||||
|
||||
More than 200 union members and community activists gathered outside the Boston headquarters of Bank of America this week to call on Bank of America and other bailed-out Wall Street investment banks to pay their fair share to restore the jobs destroyed by their reckless actions and to stop their selfish obstruction of needed financial reforms.
And yesterday in Detroit, Saundra Williams, president of the Metropolitan Detroit, AFL-CIO, joined a crowd of union families and communities members at the Bank of America to demand Good Jobs NOW! The actions are among the more than 200 nationwide events taking place through today as part of the AFL-CIO Make Wall Street Pay events.
The Greater Boston Labor Council and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO say more than 40 unions and organizations were represented at the event, which they organized with the SEIU State Council. They submit the following report on the Boston event.
Bank of America, a major culprit in the financial industry’s collapse, received more than $45 billion in taxpayer bailout funds. Bank of America and other bailout recipients assured the public they needed the money to loosen up the credit market for small businesses and provide needed investment for building projects. Now, more than a year later, small businesses aren’t hiring due to lack of available credit and stalled construction projects are keeping thousands of men and women in the building trades out of work. In the meantime, Bank of America has spent millions lobbying against financial regulatory reform, executive compensation rules, credit card regulation and the Employee Free Choice Act.
Two Unions in Hawaii Seek to Block Governor from Ordering Furloughs—and More Bargaining News
Two unions in Hawaii seek to block the governor from ordering furloughs for thousands of state workers—and more updates here 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.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
Multiple, BART: Two of the larger BART unions, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and SEIU Local 1021, agreed to extend their labor contracts beyond the June 30 expiration through July 9 at midnight. AFSCME, which represents white-collar workers at BART, expects to sign a similar extension. You can get real-time updates on Twitter at https://twitter.com/realbartworkers.
Pilots Hold Info Picket at Continental Shareholders’ Meeting, and More Bargaining News
Pilots hold info picket at Continental shareholders’ meeting—and more updates 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.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
ALPA, Continental: Continental Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), conducted informational picketing at the annual stockholders’ meeting to press for a fair contract that acknowledges many of the sacrifices and the cuts made by the workers to help the airline. Capt. Jay Pierce, chairman of the ALPA chapter for the Continental pilots, stated that the carrier has “gained a reputation as a leader in the industry and a leader in its treatment of employees. I come before you with one simple demand: show us that you are willing to be a leader when it comes to dealing with your pilots.”
Boston-Area Congress Members Back Employee Free Choice Act
 |
| U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, Stephen Lynch and Mike Capuano joined Greater Boston Labor Council President Lou Mandarini and Vice President Patricia Armstrong in supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. |
Richard Rogers, executive secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council, reports on the campaign to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Union members from the Boston area met with members of Congress yesterday to press for quick action on the Employee Free Choice Act, a critical bill to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life.
U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch attended the meeting at Plumbers and Pipe Fittters Local 12 in Dorchester. Some 75 union leaders and activists of the Greater Boston Labor Council took part, as all three members of Congress publicly pledged their support for the Employee Free Choice Act, the first viable effort to reform America’s broken labor laws in over a generation. (U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, another Boston-area member, also is a supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act.)
