Rep. Ellison Calls for End of Crystal Sugar Lockout
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Wednesday marked the six-month anniversary of America Crystal Sugar Co.’s lockout of 1,300 workers and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) told the U.S. House: “It’s time for the company to negotiate.”
In a speech on the House floor, Ellison said the workers, members of Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 167G at plant sin Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa, have been
denied the basic and most fundamental right to work and support their families. These workers have gone to bat for the company. These workers stood shoulder to should with the company to fight for a better sugar program in the farm bill just because that’s how dedicated they. What have they got in return? They’ve gotten locked out. They are not on strike. They are locked out because they refuse to accept an unfair take it or leave contract. They have been locked even though they have agreed to a no-strike guarantee. It’s wrong, these 1,300 folks deserve better from this company. Read the rest of this entry »
Register Now to Take Back the American Dream
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Join progressive activists from around the nation to map out strategy to Take Back the American Dream and rebuild America’s struggling middle class. The annual conference (formerly known as the America’s Future Now conference) is set for Oct. 3-5 in Washington, D.C. Click here to register.
With the floodgates of corporate campaign cash flung open and a tea party-dominated conservative movement doing violence to the fundamental pillars of middle-class prosperity, the promise of the American Dream is under threat as never before.
But as the grassroots uprising in Wisconsin, the battles in Ohio and other states and this summer’s actions show there is a growing energy and counterweight to battle this extremist and corporate attack on middle-class jobs and dreams.
At the conference, sponsored by Campaign for America’s Future (CAF) and co-sponsored by Rebuild the Dream, MoveOn.org and Change Nation, activists, local volunteers, students, teachers, unions and community groups will come together to find ways to revitalize the economy, build jobs, change communities and harness the grassroots energy.
Register Now for the Summit on Jobs and America’s Future
The Campaign for America’s Future is bringing together key leaders and grassroots activists for a critical Summit on Jobs and America’s Future March 10 to tell the truth about what it will take to get America working and to discuss solutions to the economic crisis.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will deliver the keynote address. Other speakers include Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Working America Executive Director Karen Nussbaum; Van Jones, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change; and pollster Celinda Lake.
The Summit on Jobs and America’s Future begins at 9 a.m. March 10 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. To register and to get more information, click here.
Sky Chefs Workers Rally for Better Contract
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Four years ago, employees at LSG Sky Chefs, the world’s largest airline catering company, took wage cuts and agreed to pay more for health care coverage to help the company survive. Now the company is profitable again, but management is refusing to restore the workers’ previous wages and benefits. Instead, the company is trying to wring more out of workers demanding, among other things, that they accept a health care plan with greatly increased premiums.
Fed up with a lack of progress in contract talks that began a year ago, workers from LSG kitchens across the country, all members of UNITEHERE!, gathered in Minnesota’s Twin Cities late last month to rally and call on the company to stop dragging its feet and negotiate in good faith.
‘We Want Paychecks, Not Unemployment Checks’
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Workday Minnesota editor Barb Kucera reports on the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s job action yesterday.
Cement mason Jessica Keeley had a message for lawmakers Wednesday at the state Capitol:
We want to collect paychecks—not unemployment checks!
Keeley was among hundreds of workers and union leaders who rallied to urge the Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) to take action to save and create jobs. They said the government cannot cut its way to prosperity and must use fair taxes to fund important public services. As Keeley put it:
The bottom line is we can’t grow private sector jobs without fair public sector investment.
New Legislation Would Create 1 Million Jobs
Members of Congress and a bipartisan group of mayors today announced new legislation they say will create or save up to 1 million public- and private-sector jobs. Jobs saved would include those such as firefighters, police and teachers and others whose jobs are in jeopardy because of local government budget cuts.
The nation’s economic crisis is forcing states and municipalities to cut jobs that are critically important to local communities. State and local governments and school districts face $178 billion in budget deficits this year alone. Last month, AFSCME members across the country rallied in state capitals to urge legislators to raise revenue to save needed public services.
The Local Jobs for America Act, developed with mayors, county officials and others, also contains job-creation strategies to enable small businesses to help hundreds of thousands of individuals get private-sector jobs. A bill number has not yet been assigned.
Rep. Ellison Shows How to Support Employee Free Choice
As the new Congress kicks off its first week and we prepare for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, now is the time for political leaders to speak out for the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain for a better life.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) is a great example of how a political leader can educate the public and fight for workers as we work to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Ellison and other pro-worker members of Congress have come under fire from deep-pocketed Big Business lobbyists and corporate front groups that are expending millions on disinformation and false attack ads to scare voters and elected officials alike. But Ellison, an Employee Free Choice Act co-sponsor, doesn’t scare so easily.
