Boland, Smith Join Executive Council
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The AFL-CIO Executive Council welcomed two new members at its meeting in Orlando today: Bricklayers (BAC) President James Boland and Bruce Smith, president of the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers (GMP).
The council also honored retiring council members John Ryan,, John Flynn and UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn.
New council member Boland served as BAC’s secretary-treasurer before taking over from Flynn, who recently retired. In its statement honoring Flynn’s service, the council says;
Organizing heads up Flynn’s legacies to the BAC, but there are many others-stewards training, new member orientation, labor-management craft committees, the National Training Center, health care purchasing coalitions and much more.
Smith joined GMP in 1972 and held various offices until he was elected as secretary-treasurer in 2004. He was sworn in as GMP president in January, taking over for Ryan, who now serves as assistant to the president.
The council statement said one of Ryan’s most important accomplishments is the contracts he helped win for his members.
In 2008 alone, GMP negotiated contracts with three giant glass companies-Owens Illinois, St. Gobain and Anchor Glass-that actually improved on earlier contracts despite overwhelming pressure to make concessions.
Bunn, the highest ranking woman in her union’s history, was honored in the council statement as “a pioneer in the organizing of graduate employees and other white-collar workers.”
Her strategic vision and creativity are credited with helping tens of thousands of people win better lives.
Bunn has been named AFL-CIO Organizing Director.
800 Steelworkers at Kaiser Win Wage Increases—and More Bargaining News
Some 800 United Steelworkers members at Kaiser Aluminum negotiate a wage increase and signing bonus in their new five-year pact, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
USW, Kaiser Aluminum: 800 Kaiser Aluminum workers in Heath, Ohio, and Spokane, Wash., ratified a new five-year contract effective Oct. 1. The contract provides the United Steelworkers (USW) members a signing bonus and wage increases.
Executive Council Welcomes New Vice Presidents
Of the 51 vice presidents elected today to the AFL-CIO Executive Council, there are nine new additions, who are expanding the range of voices that will be heard. We congratulate the following new vice presidents of the AFL-CIO:
- Patrick D. Finley, Plasterers and Cement Masons (OP&CMIA)
- M.B. “Mike” Futhey, United Transportation Union (UTU)
- Newton Jones, Boilermakers (IBB)
- D. Michael Langford, Utility Workers (UWUA)
- Robert McEllrath, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
- Roberta Reardon, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)
- John Ryan, Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Works (GMP)
- DeMaurice Smith, Professional Athletes
- Baldemar Velasquez, Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC)
Help Locked-Out Workers Get Through the Holidays, and More Bargaining News
Workers locked out at Progress Casting in Minnesota need your help for the holidays—and more news 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 ACTIONS
GMP, Progress Casting: Many workers locked out since Oct. 27 from Progress Casting in Plymouth, Minn., are struggling to make ends meet as the holidays approach—and their health care coverage has been cut. Please support our brothers and sisters in their battle. The workers are represented by the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers (GMP) Local 63B, and the union has set up a fund to assist members. Donations may be sent to “GMP 63B Relief Fund,” 2520 Kennedy St., N.E., Minneapolis, MN 55413. Supporters also are asked to write Progress Casting to urge an end to the lockout. Send letters to Bill Bieber (owner) or Tim Meador (general manager), Progress Casting, 2600 Niagara Lane N., Plymouth, MN 55447.
