Top Lawmakers Say Proposed NLRB Election Rule Ensures ‘Greater Fairness’
Workers deserve a “fair, clear system for protecting their rights and making themselves heard in union elections,” four top Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) strongly supporting the board’s proposed changes in the way elections to form unions are conducted.
Noting that the current election procedures are “outdated and contain unnecessary delays…that run anywhere from three and a half years to 13 years,” the lawmakers say:
The longer an election is delayed, the more likely it is that workers will face harassment and unlawful retaliation for exercising their rights….In today’s workplace one in five workers who exercise the right to organize is illegally fired. In that environment, workers stop trying to organize, leading to a country where tens of millions of Americans who want a union do not have one.
The four are Read the rest of this entry »
Proposed NLRB Rule Change Draws Wide Support
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) modest, common-sense proposed rule to remove roadblocks for workers who want to vote on whether to form a union has drawn praise from working men and women, political leaders and activists around the country. Here’s a sample of the comments:
Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Edwin Hill:
By eliminating delays, the board is not only bringing some balance. It is also saving money for taxpayers who foot the bill because of unnecessary litigation.
Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen:
Workers at T-Mobile USA and nearly every other company know firsthand how U.S. corporations use delay to keep workers from making a fair choice about union representation. The changes proposed by the National Labor Relations Board are a first and modest step toward ending some of that delay.
Murray Retains Senate Seat, Quinn Keeps Illinois Governorship
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Two close major races were finally decided last night. In Washington state, Sen. Patty Murray (D) was declared the winner over Wall Street water boy Dino Rossi (R) and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) is the winner over anti-union Bill Brady.
In both races, union support was the key factor in providing the margin of victory. Illinois union family voters made up 26 percent of those who cast ballots and 59 percent went for Quinn.
In Chicago alone, 6,000 union volunteers were on the phones and doors on Election day.
The Washington State Labor Council mounted a massive mobilization for Murray. During the weekend before elections, 400 volunteers visited 9,400 union homes and made nearly 14,000 phone calls to union members urging them to get out the vote for Murray.
Murray’s win means the next Senate will be made up of 53 members of the Democratic caucus (including Independents) and 47 Republicans. The Senate race in Alaska has yet to be called but the vote count shows that both write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski (R) and tea-party backed Joe Miller (R) are far ahead of Democratic candidate Scott McAdams.
Tanker Contract Delayed Until After Election—50,000 Jobs at Stake
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When some voters cast their ballots next week, their decisions will determine whether nearly 50,000 jobs in 40 states are created. The U.S. aerospace company Boeing is locked in a competition with European-based EADS, which builds the Airbus, for what is the largest contract in Air Force history. If Boeing’s bid wins, the company will immediately create tens of thousands of good union jobs to build the tanker. The Air Force has delayed the awarding of the $35 billion tanker contract until after the November elections. With some key members of Congress up for re-election, the choices voters in Washington and a few other states make will help determine whether Boeing or EADS gets the tanker.
Washington Labor Council Flier ‘Best’ on Secret Corporate Cash
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When it comes to politics, campaign advertising, candidate endorsements and all other forms of electioneering, the union movement has nothing to hide. Our name is right there, out front on fliers, leaflets, television commercials.
We don’t hide behind election laws and made up patriotic names. Our spending and contributions are a matter of public record, unlike the well-hidden and top secret money trail that leads to the Chamber of Commerce and the radical right groups that don’t have to reveal from which corporation, front group or extremist millionaire their campaign cash is coming from.
That caught the eye of author Paul Loeb. In a recent column on Huffington Post, Loeb points to a recent flier from the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) on the U.S. Senate race between Sen. Patty Murray (D) and Wall Street waterboy Dino Rossi (R). Read the rest of this entry »
What’s the Word for Nov. 2? JOBS!
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What are working families looking for in a candidate this fall? Let Machinists (IAM) President R. Thomas Buffenbarger explain. Speaking to members of IAM, Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) and other Washington State unions at a rally for Sen. Patty Murray in Seattle, he said:
Our candidates are the type of candidates who bring the one word we want to hear to a campaign. What word is that brothers?
A booming chorus of “JOBS!” was the answer.
Buffenbarger said Murray has a solid jobs track record, especially in preserving and attracting aerospace jobs—like the Air Force’s new air tanker—to Washington State.
Washington State Workers Rally to Keep Tanker Made in America
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In this cross-post, Kathy Cummings, communications director of the Washington State Labor Council, reports on a rally Friday in support of Boeing workers. Boeing is in competition with European-based Airbus for the Air Force’s $35 billion tanker contract.
With as many as 50,000 jobs at stake across the country, members of the Machinists (IAM) and SPEEA/International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 2001 rallied along with Washington State’s congressional delegation and a host of community and business leaders Friday in Everett. We rallied in support of Boeing, as the company turned in their bid for the contract to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of air re-fueling tankers.
New Mine and Workplace Safety Legislation on Horizon
Stronger enforcement tools, tougher penalties and broader workers’ rights are at the center of soon-to-be introduced workplace safety legislation.
The bill’s crafters say they were spurred by the deadly Massey Energy Upper Big Branch explosion that killed 29 coal miners; the Tesoro refinery blast that claimed the lives of seven Washington State workers; the BP oil rig blast that killed 11, the Connecticut Kleen Energy Systems explosion where six workers died and other recent workplace disasters.
The outline of the proposed job safety bill focuses on mine safety, but also includes provisions to strengthen worker safety protections in all workplaces. House and Senate leaders, including Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), announced the new job safety package this morning.
Miller, chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, says the April 5 Upper Big Branch blast highlighted the “significant problems” in mine safety laws.
Tanker Bid Tests Who U.S. Trade Policy Really Helps
If the Obama administration is serious about rebuilding America’s manufacturing base, it should start by awarding the $35 billion Air Force tanker contract to the Boeing Co. and not to a European firm that has ignored trading rules in its bid, several experts say.
The tanker contract was rebid this year after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) upheld Boeing’s protest of the original decision to award the contract to French-based EADS/Airbus and Northrop Grumman. After EADS dropped out, leaving Boeing as the only bidder, the Air Force extended the deadline for bids by 60 days and EADS submitted a new solo bid.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) pointed out the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in March that Airbus had received illegal subsidies to make the A330 aircraft, which EADS will use for the tanker competition.
Family and Medical Leave Extended to Flight Crews
Airline flight crews will soon have the same family and medical leave coverage other working Americans have enjoyed since 1993. The House of Representatives approved legislation yesterday amending the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow airline pilots and flight attendants to qualify for leave. The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it.
The FMLA requires state agencies and private employers with more than 50 employees to give workers up to 12 weeks off to care for themselves or a family member. But because of the unique way their work hours are counted, pilots and flight attendants have found it difficult—if not impossible—to meet the 1,250-hour-per-year threshold required for FMLA eligibility.
