Laborers Train Society’s ‘Left Behind’ for Green Jobs; Launch Green Local
With the graduation of seven newly certified weatherization technicians from its Eastern New York Laborers Training Center, the New York State Laborers’ Union (NYSLIUNA) is blowing holes in several right-wing myths all at once, proving that jobless people do want to work, government programs can spur the creation of good jobs and labor unions can lead the way to prosperity.
Working in partnership with Peter Young Housing, Industries & Treatment (PYHIT), a non-profit that provides treatment, housing and vocational training to disadvantaged people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, the Laborers trained these first members of Green Jobs Local 58, chartered by the Laborers (LIUNA) as the first local in the Albany, N.Y., region dedicated exclusively to green jobs. Participants in the training had to be clean and sober for at least six months in order to be accepted into the program.
Thanks in part to the state’s 2009 Green Jobs/Green New York Act and a new program launched by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the demand for the retrofitting of homes to be more weather-resistant and energy-efficient is expected to climb. (Through the NYSERDA program, residents will be able to finance the weatherization of their homes via their monthly utility bills.)
The new Local 58 members will work for Eagle Street Construction, one of PYHIT’s vocational enterprises. Local 58 Business Manager Frank Marchese Jr. told the Albany Times Union that the workers would earn $14 per hour, plus a benefits package. He told the paper: Read the rest of this entry »
LIUNA and Baltimore Church Groups Providing Workers with Job Training
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This is a cross-post by Kenneth Quinnell from Crooks & Liars.
In a great example of a proactive way to deal with unemployment, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) partnered with Community Churches United for Baltimore Jobs to give job training in the construction trades to unemployed workers. In a sharp contrast to the developers in Baltimore who are receiving massive tax breaks, the faith-based coalition requested help from the labor union in helping get unemployed workers the skills they need to get back into the workforce.
African American Delegation Arriving Now in Alabama
Brenda Loya in AFL-CIO Media Affairs sends us this from Alabama, where she will report on the delegation of African American labor and civil rights leaders as they investigate Alabama’s recently passed anti-immigrant law. Follow the delegation here.
With the passage of H.B. 56, Alabama has taken a huge step backward, into the 1950s. Today, an African American delegation of labor and civil rights leaders traveled to Birmingham, Ala., to help shed a light on what is seen as one of the harshest immigration laws in the country and how it invokes inhumanity reminiscent of the Jim Crow South.
The delegation will investigate first-hand the impact of Alabama’s H.B. 56 on the lives of Latino working families. National, state and local leaders will hear from the families directly impacted by the law, document the impact of the law on Latino communities, acquire a better understanding of the civil rights implications of the legislation and assess the impact of the law on workers and businesses.
APWU Says Honor Vets with Jobs
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On Veterans Day today, lawmakers will make a lot of speeches honoring the service of the nation’s military veterans. But many of these same lawmakers are backing legislation that could cost the jobs of 26,000 veterans who work for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
The bill (H.R. 2309), sponsored by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), was approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Oct. 13. It would force the Postal Service to lay off as many as 120,000 workers, including veterans who served our nation.
The Postal Workers (APWU) and Mail Handlers, an affiliate of the Laborers (LIUNA), have launched a new TV ad (see above) that salutes the nation’s “real life heroes” and urges viewers to tell their representatives in Congress to vote ”No” on H.R. 2309 when it comes to the House floor for a vote.
Our nation’s veterans are real-life heroes. But when they come home, they don’t want a parade, they want a job.
Infrastructure Investment in Aberdeen Builds Bridges and Economy
There are reams of reports, tons of studies and rivers of statistics that prove investments in infrastructure pay off in jobs and economic boosts to the communities. When more people have good paychecks in the pockets, they pump money into their local economies.
But it’s the up close and personal examples that can be the most convincing to anyone who doubts the economic wisdom of spending money to create jobs by rebuilding roads, bridges and schools.
Before Senators cast their voites on the Rebuild America Jobs Act—we’re talking primarily to you, Republican lawmakers—they should read this article from the Seattle Times on how a massive bridge building project in Aberdeen, Wash., “is pumping new life into a once-thriving timber town that fell on hard times and stayed that way for years.”
In February, the Washington State Department of Transportation chose Aberdeen as the site to build 33 new huge pontoons—some as long as a football field and weighing 11,000 tons each—for a new bridge on state Highway 520.
While the project itself creates some 300 well-paid jobs, “it’s not the only burst of recent good news for Aberdeen.” Read the rest of this entry »
Join the Fight to Save America’s Postal Service
The nation’s postal unions and allies are fighting back against proposals to close post offices and mail processing centers, and change USPS regulations to eliminate overnight delivery of first class mail, and change two-day delivery to three days. You can join by signing a petition to your senators and representatives to preserve the nation’s mail service. Click here or here to sign the petition.
The petition is part of the Save America’s Postal Service campaign, a joint effort of the Postal Workers (APWU), Letter Carriers (NALC), Mail Handlers, an affiliate of the Laborers (LIUNA), and the Rural Letter Carriers.
Over the next several weeks, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the “super committee,” is supposed to produce a plan to reduce the federal deficit. It may include a Read the rest of this entry »
Thousands Rallied to Support Postal Workers, Save 120,000 Jobs
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Thousands of postal workers and their supporters held rallies in 492 locations across the country yesterday to protect the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and save 120,000 jobs.
Members of the four USPS employee unions—the Postal Workers (APWU), Letter Carriers (NALC), Mail Handlers, an affiliate of the Laborers (LIUNA), and the Rural Letter Carriers—and our allies held events in every congressional district as part of a national “Save America’s Post Office” day of action.
Under the guise of a “budgetary crisis,” some in Congress are going after the USPS, proposing massive cuts and job cuts—including laying off 120,000 workers, closing thousands of post offices, eliminating Saturday mail service and closing mail processing facilities. The rallies yesterday urged lawmakers to save the USPS by supporting H.R. 1351. Introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), the bill would restore financial stability to the Postal Service.
Momentum Grows for NLRB Rule Changes
Momentum is building as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) gears up to hold hearings next week on its proposed rule designed to ensure a fair process for workers who want to vote on whether to form a union. More members of Congress and academics have joined a growing group of working people and workers’ rights advocates in voicing their support for the rule changes.
Here are a few of the people and organizations who’ve spoken out for the rule change.
Laborers (LIUNA) President Terry O’Sullivan:
The common-sense reforms the NLRB has proposed will begin to bring union elections into the 21st century and are a step toward reducing the possibility of unscrupulous employers interfering with the right of workers to make an informed decision on whether to unionize.
Job Safety Laws Must Not Go Backward
In Michigan yesterday, workers not only honored those killed and injured on the job as part of Workers Memorial Day ceremonies at the state Capitol in Lansing, they warned that plans to dismantle the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) and repeal the state’s workplace safety law would put workers at risk.
UAW Region1C Director Norwood Jewell said:
We remember those that are injured and it brings to light the fact they are talking about defunding MIOSHA. We still have people dying in workplaces. We have come too far to go backwards.
Michigan AFL-CIO Health and Safety Director Derrick Quinney says, “Even in a common-sense topic like public safety, our Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation in Michigan that will repeal the Michigan Occupational and Safety Health Act in favor of a federal OSHA program.”
Instead of stripping away our law that we know works, why not update it with further rules and regulations to keep our workers safe on the job?
The real goal of our Republican legislature is to take away workers’ rights and weaken the role of protecting workers in the public. These are the same coordinated attacks that are happening in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio. This isn’t about the budget—these attacks threaten the economic security and safety of all workers.
Read more here.
Elsewhere on Workers Memorial Day, Mike Staley of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 649, offered a prayer during services at Laborers (LIUNA) Local 538 in Galesburg, Ill.
Panel Rules for 35,000 NY Bus and Subway Workers—and More Bargaining News
A panel of judges unanimously ruled that the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority must pay a 3 percent raise to some 35,000 bus and subway workers, 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 1,300 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS:
TWU, Metropolitan Transportation Authority: In New York City, a panel of judges unanimously ruled that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority must pay a 3 percent raise to some 35,000 bus and subway workers. The ruling reaffirms last year’s decision by an arbitrator in the ongoing discussion between MTA and Transport Workers (TWU) Local 100.
