International Women’s Day, March 8: Time to Recommit to Equal Rights
Women make up more than half the American workforce and are approaching half of union members. On International Women’s Day, March 8, the AFL-CIO is recommitting itself to continue the struggle for equal rights, dignity and respect for all working women.
This past week, the AFL-CIO Executive Council pointed out that much needs to be done for women workers to gain equal footing. For example, the council cites a United Nations report, which shows the majority of the world’s 1.3 billion absolute poor are women. On average, women receive between 30 percent and 40 percent less pay than men earn for the same work. Women also continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women worldwide.
BAC’s Flynn, AFSCME’s Lucy Announce Retirements
Two major union leaders announced their retirement this week. On Monday, the Bricklayers (BAC) Executive Council elected James Boland as the union’s new president succeeding John Flynn, who retired after more than 10 years. Boland previously served as BAC’s secretary-treasurer.
Yesterday, AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy announced he will retire, after serving 38 years in that post. His retirement is effective June 25. Delegates to the AFSCME convention on June 28-July 2 in Boston will choose his successor.
Global Unions Condemn Mexico’s Move to Bust 44,000-Member Union
The global union movement is accusing Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, of systematically trying to bust independent unions and is demanding that he respect the rights of workers to form unions.
The latest example of Calderón’s anti-worker bias is the takeover last month by federal agents and police of the country’s second largest electrical power distributor, Luz y Fuerza (Central Light and Power). Calderón used an executive decree to dissolve the utility, but, in doing so, he also fired the entire 44,000-person workforce and disbanded their union, the 95-year-old Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union (SME), a frequent critic of the government’s policies.
