Digital Theft Agreements a Good Start
The next time you download music, a TV program or a video game from the Internet, you may get an alert that you are about to steal copyrighted material.
Internet service providers, payment system operators and motion picture and recording industry officials reached two voluntary agreements last week that will help curb digital theft, copyright infringement and product counterfeiting on the Web.
Using materials produced for the Internet by the actors, writers, musicians and others without these safeguards cheats the creative artists who should be paid for their work, just like any other worker. It is estimated that downloading copyrighted material from the Internet costs 140,000 jobs and more than $5.5 billion in sales each year.
Illegal Downloads Steal Wages, Benefits From Workers
Too few people who download entertainment illegally recognize that they are stealing wages and benefits from workers, Paul Almeida, president of the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) told a bipartisan Capitol Hill press conference today.
Almeida joined with members of Congress and business leaders to discuss the continuing harm illegal downloads and other online infringement or counterfeits pose to American jobs and the economy. According to estimates, intellectual property theft costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion every year and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs.
Join Forum on Appropriate Use of Science in Public Policy
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We’ve all heard the spin from extremist groups slamming the veracity of scientific findings by the federal government—like what constitutes a health hazard at work. But such charges have shaken the public’s already-tenuous faith in the regulatory process. On Oct. 27, a distinguished panel of scientists will discuss what can be done to ensure the scientific process is more open, consistent and credible to all stakeholders.
Professionals for the Public Interest: Associations and Unions Defending Professional Integrity (PftPI), a coalition established by the Department for Professional Employees (DPE), is sponsoring a forum on “The Appropriate Use of Science in Public Policy,” Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Auditorium, 1200 New York Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.
Professionals Make Up Largest Group of Union Members
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Laurie Kennington is one of the emerging faces of unions in the 21st century. A Yale graduate (Class of 2001), she is the new president of UNITEHERE! Local 34, the largest union on the Yale campus.
Kennington, who joined the union right after college, and Local 34, both symbolize the rapid growth of professionals and women among union members. In fact, white-collar workers accounted for 53.9 percent of all union members in 2009. Local 34, which began as a clerical union, has grown to represent 3,400 employees, many of them in Yale’s rapidly growing medical research areas. Before becoming president of the local, Kennington was a lead organizer for the Yale medical research facilities.
The AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) reports there are more union members among professional and technical workers than any other occupational group. Last year, more than 5.2 million professional and related workers were union members and more than 5.8 million were represented by unions.
‘Fair Pay for Air Play’ Won’t Hurt Black Radio Stations
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) have joined with the NAACP to put to rest the false claims that legislation to give fair pay to performers whose music is played on radio would hurt black radio stations.
If enacted, the Civil Rights for Musicians Act (H.R. 848), dubbed “Fair Pay for Air Play,” would protect the rights of performers by ensuring that they get paid a fair wage when their music is played on the radio. The bill would close a loophole in copyright law that allows AM and FM stations to duck royalty payments to performing artists.
Big Radio conglomerates have pulled out all the stops to derail the bill. In an all-too-familiar scenario, corporate executives are resorting to personal attacks against the bill’s supporters, especially the bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). They also have launched a misinformation campaign led by black-owned mega-company Radio One, which claims the legislation would hurt African American radio stations.
Professional Workers Form Coalition to Protect Public Interest
A coalition of 19 organizations representing professional employees today announced the creation of Professionals for the Public Interest: Associations and Unions Defending Professional Integrity (PftPI) to defend the ability of professionals to do their jobs right, despite outside pressures from bosses, politicians and others.
According to the AFL-CIO Department for Public Employees (DPE), polling over many years has shown that for professionals, the ability to do the job right is a priority as important as, or more important than, compensation and benefits. Professionals choose what they want to do, invest in extensive education and training and value the latitude to meet professional standards.
Yet professionals face extensive financial and political pressures that endanger their ability to turn out quality work and, as a result, endanger the public they serve, DPE says. For example, scientists found that the Bush administration regularly twisted the results of their research to fit a political agenda. Nurses are engaged in ongoing struggles to provide better service by safe staffing, and teachers seek to reduce class sizes.
AFL-CIO, Change to Win Agree on Joint Immigration Framework
The AFL-CIO and Change to Win (CtW) today announced a historic joint unity framework for immigration reform. The joint announcement and proposal is a critical sign of support for the Obama administration and Congress to address immigration reform and to ensure that the issue remains a priority. It also signals that immigration reform is an important part of economic recovery.
The framework for comprehensive reform was developed with the guidance of former Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall and the Economic Policy Institute.
In a statement, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said:
Our nation’s broken immigration system isn’t working for anybody—not immigrant workers who are routinely exploited by companies and not U.S.-born workers whose living standards are being undermined by the creation of a new “underclass.”
As a part of broad-based economic recovery, we need a comprehensive solution—and soon. The development of a unified labor position, a position centered on workers’ rights, puts us on the path to a legislative solution.
