Phoenix Councilman Targets Workers in Fraudulent Crusade
Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at DemocraticDiva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio is a Tea Party conservative, and a prolific e-mailer. For the past year, DiCiccio (who assumed office in 2009) has flooded the inboxes of thousands of Phoenicians on about a weekly basis with long-winded missives spinning tales of public-sector “union bosses” drunk with power and city workers enjoying lavish compensation packages while services are cut. Here are excerpts from one dated Jan. 11:
Union Demands Exposed: More Money/Power
What you are about to read will create a significant stir at city hall, and I need you to pass this information to others.
Phoenix is about to enter another round of union negotiations, and I am insisting the public see all the demands and be involved in the discussions….While we still see our neighbors out of work, losing their homes and struggling to just get by, the government unions believe they are entitled to more. The private sector and private sector unions have seen cuts between 15-25% while government unions have seen an increase payout of 23%.
Today I am releasing the written demands from the unions along with a breakdown of what those demands mean to you in money and more power over your pocketbook. Have no doubt the information below will make quite a few insiders upset because it exposes each demand by each union.
Feels like there should be a dun dun DUUUUUUUN soundtrack accompanying that, doesn’t it? What Sal “exposed” there was negotiating information that was posted on the city’s website. But this type of theatrics is what we’ve grown to expect from Sal. Read the rest of this entry »
Women Taking on Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant Law
 |
||||
|
||||
Arizona’s new anti-immigrant law has “paved the way for assaults on the basic human rights of women and created an environment in which violence against women and children has been state-sanctioned.” But immigrants and people of conscience are steadfastly resisting the law, a group of women activists said this week.
At the same time, religious groups, political leaders and sports teams are calling for the law to be repealed.
The Women’s Emergency Human Rights Delegation, which includes civil and women’s rights leaders, journalists, union leaders and organizers from the AFL-CIO, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the National Domestic Worker Alliance (NDWA) and Jobs with Justice (JwJ), visited women at community centers in Phoenix on Mother’s Day to document the experiences of women in Arizona in the wake of the signing of the law. Ana Avendano, an assistant to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, was among the delegation. Read the delegation’s statement here.
3,000 Steelworkers at Vale Inco Vote to Stay on Strike—and More Bargaining News
Some 3,000 United Steelworkers members at Vale Inco vote to stay on the picket line after eight months on strike, 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.
WORK STOPPAGES & LEGAL ACTION
USW, Vale Inco: Striking United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada overwhelmingly rejected an offer from Brazilian mining company Vale Inco on Friday. The 3,000 members of USW Local 6500 have now been on strike eight months and say the contract offer was “insulting.”
