Longview, Wash., Workers Rally for Good Jobs Now
The economic recovery is barely creating enough jobs to keep up with growth in the U.S. workforce, much less to make a dent in the 11 million jobs lost during the recession.
In Longview, Wash., more than 120 workers and union supporters marched and rallied last week to demand Good Jobs Now. In Cowlitz County, where Longview is located, the unemployment rate is around 12 percent.
Jeff Johnson, special assistant to Washington State Labor Council President Rick Bender, told the crowd:
This crisis was created by Wall Street bankers and insurance companies. These crooks profited by creating ever more riskier financial tools….This financial industry was run like a casino and you and I ended up on the losing side of the table.
Seattle Workers Rally to Support TSO Union
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Dozens of union members, elected officials and community supporters gathered at Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport this week in solidarity with tens of thousands of transportation security officers (TSOs) who want to form a union with AFGE.
The Seattle rally shows workers across the country are standing strongly behind the employees who protect the flying public. The AFL-CIO and affiliated unions are mobilizing to draw attention to the plight of these workers and the unfair ways they are being treated.
Even though federal border guards, immigration and customs and Federal Protective Service employees are already union members, TSOs still do not have collective bargaining rights.
Worker Center, Washington State Fed Join Forces to Help Immigrant Workers
Casa Latina—a worker center that serves all workers, including immigrant workers—is affiliating with the Washington State Labor Council to encourage closer cooperation in the fight for immigrant workers’ rights.
Seattle-based Casa Latina is the 11th worker center to join the AFL-CIO under a program we launched in 2006 that enables state and local bodies of the AFL-CIO and neighboring workers’ centers to establish formal ties and work together to meet the needs of America’s workers.
Washington State Labor Council President Rick Bender says:
Low-wage and immigrant workers in the United States face enormous challenges in enforcing their labor and employment rights, rendering them ripe for exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous employers. This exploitation hurts us all because when standards are dragged down for some workers, they are dragged down for everyone.
State Fed Leaders: Air Tanker Contract Should Go to Boeing
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Awarding the $35 billion contract for the Air Force’s refueling tankers to Boeing Co. is the clear choice for “investing in American workers, American knowledge, American security, and America’s future,” the presidents of 10 AFL-CIO state federations say in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The letter, sent last week, urges the Pentagon to consider the impact on the U.S. economy and national security in deciding which company should receive the lucrative Air Force refueling tanker contract.
In September 2008, Gates, who also was George W. Bush’s defense chief, announced he was canceling the competition for the refueling tankers and leaving it to the next administration to decide. Gates said the competition between Boeing Co. and European-based EADS/Northrop Grumman was “too controversial” to be settled during the last four months of the Bush administration.
