The Cablevision 99% Votes Today
Today, 285 Brooklyn-based Cablevision workers—the Cablevision 99%—will vote in a election for union representation.
According to the New York State AFL-CIO,
the workers have withstood a blistering assault on their right to form a union. Rather than coming to the table and discussing the merits of union representation in the open, Cablevision management is truly taking the low road, by pressuring workers with misinformation in endless “captive audience meetings.”
Despite this enormous pressure from the management 1 percent, the Cablevision 99% have been standing strong.
Check out the workers’ powerful video here. Then follow the directions on the action page to e-mail Cablevision management and let them know their workers have the right to organize free from harassment and intimidation.
According to their website, Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional Pension System More Cost-Efficient for New York City than 401(k)s
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The city of New York helps out taxpayers and retired public employees by sticking with a traditional defined-benefit pension plan rather than a 401(k) model, according to a new report issued by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS). According to the NIRS release describing the report, ”A Better Bang for New York City’s Buck,” which was commissioned by New York City Comptroller John C. Liu:
New York City’s defined-benefit pension plans can deliver the same retirement income at a nearly 40 percent lower cost than a defined contribution 401(k)-type individual account.
The report builds on research gathered by NIRS for a national study, “Decisions, Decisions: Retirement Plan Choices for Public Employees and Employers,” issued in September. In a press statement, NIRS Executive Director Diane Oakley explained:
Coalition Pushes Living Wages for NYC
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In New York City, Wall Street profits are skyscraper high again, real-estate developers and companies are receiving billions in public subsidies and yet a record number of full-time working New Yorkers are relying on food stamps and emergency food assistance because they do not earn enough to support themselves or their families.
But a citywide living wage movement, led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), is fighting back and pushing for passage of the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, legislation that would establish a living wage standard for jobs in taxpayer-subsidized economic development projects, especially large retail centers. It’s a movement that has galvanized many thousands of working people, who have been rallying and marching regularly for the legislation over the past year in congregations and on the streets of the five boroughs of the city. Faith groups, civil rights groups, LGBT groups, anti-hunger groups and many other diverse constituencies are joining forces in the Living Wage NYC coalition.
The fight for living wage jobs is seen as a defining economic justice issue for the future of New York City and all working people. No working person should have to live in poverty. That’s the message being sent loud and clear.
1,800 Boeing Workers Ratify Pact with Pay Increases—and More Bargaining News
Some 1,800 Boeing workers ratify pact with pay increases, 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
UAW, Boeing: Members of UAW Local 1069 at Boeing’s Rotorcraft plant near Philadelphia ratified a new five-year contract yesterday, after their contract expired Oct. 1. The new pact covers nearly 1,800 workers and includes annual raises between 2 percent and 4 percent and improves pension benefits.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney: Solidarity Is Our Way of Life
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| AFL-CIO President John Sweeney gives his final keynote to convention delegates. |
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| Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George (above) and former Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris (below) help open the AFL-CIO Convention. |
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With the convening of the 26th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention this afternoon in Pittsburgh, nearly 2,000 delegates, alternates and guests took part in the formal opening ceremony and paid tribute to retiring AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Following greetings by Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George, Jack Shea, president of the Allegheny County [Pittsburgh] Labor Council, and former Pittsburgh Steelers player Franco Harris, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka welcomed everyone, noting how great it is to be in Pittsburgh, “the city of bridges.”
And bridges are the perfect illustration of what we’ll be talking about over the next few days. Bridges that connect diverse people, diverse unions, diverse communities and diverse nations. Bridges to cross together, so we can turn around America….Some of the bridges America needs have been burnt—destroyed by years of a rampant corporate agenda embraced by the Bush administration. It’s hard to overstate just how damaging those years have been.
Our unions and the workers we represent are suffering in a historic collapse. But at the very same time, we have historic opportunities. New bridges with a new administration, a new Congress and rivers of hope flowing through the people of our country. Our Convention has a theme for today: We are many, we are one.
That’s our power—and it’s our joy.
Machinists in St. Louis Authorize Strike, and More Bargaining News
Members of the Machinists (IAM) in St. Louis authorized a strike after rejecting a contract over the weekend—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
IAM, GKN Aerospace: Workers at GKN Aerospace in the suburban St. Louis area, represented by Machinists (IAM) District 837, authorized a strike, which allows union officials to give the company a seven-day notice for a strike. The authorization vote received 99 percent approval after workers rejected the company’s contract terms. Members want a sweetener for workers who could retire immediately but have seen their pension take a hit in the economy. Also at issue is the company’s proposal for nontraditional workweeks.
