Tens of Thousands March for Voting Rights
Marvin Bing, a member of the AFL-CIO Special Committee on Labor-Community Partnerships, sends us this report.
Tens of thousands of labor and civil rights activists on Saturday marched from the New York offices of Koch Industries, whose owners have supported restrictive voting legislation modeled by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing think tank funded by brothers David and Charles Koch. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who took part in the event, put it this way:
You can’t accomplish anything if you’re not prepared to fight.
The coalition of labor, civil rights and community organizations marked Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, with the Stand for Freedom march and rally where they voted to roll back new voting rules passed in several states.
Some of the laws passed in more than a dozen states around the country include Read the rest of this entry »
Unionists Denounce Qatar as Choice for 2012 Climate Change Talks
AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council Director Bob Baugh, a member of a global union delegation led by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), sends us another in a series of reports on the new round of United Nations climate change negotiations taking place now in Durban, South Africa.
The choice of Qatar for next year’s climate change conference drew an immediate and harsh reaction from the ITUC delegation. Qatar’s labor laws are highly restrictive. In a country where migrant workers make up the majority of the workforce—87 percent of the total population—government employees as well as non-Qatari nationals are not allowed to form or join unions.
We issued a statement calling on the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to reconsider the decision. Says Sharan Burrow, ITUC general secretary:
The international union movement will not accept climate change talks being held in a country which does not respect workers’ rights and is the highest emitter per capita in the world.
Join AFT in Alleviating ‘Children’s Famine’ in Somalia
AFT sends us this report.
AFT President Randi Weingarten urged President Obama to “help marshal the humanitarian aid needed to halt the advance of the apocalyptic ‘children’s famine’ spreading through Somalia and neighboring nations in the Horn of Africa.”
President Obama has called a meeting of heads of state and ministers in New York this week to address the crisis.
U.N. Workers in Struggle for Their Rights
The 67 workers who provide technical hookups for broadcasts and conferencing services at the United Nations are waging a battle for justice and respect.
The workers, members of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1212, say they are being pressured by a contractor and the United Nations to accept drastic staff reductions that could pit union members against each other and endanger the economic security of employees nearing retirement. Ironically, the International Labor Organization (ILO), an arm of the United Nations, establishes international labor standards to protect workers’ rights.
Says Goldie James, a 28-year radio engineer:
The U.N. seems to be importing big corporation-style hardball into an organization that promotes world peace.
Local 1212 members have worked for contractors over the 65-year history of their bargaining unit. Most of the contractors have signed agreements with either IBEW Local 3 or Local 1212, the union says. When a contractor went out of business recently, Local 1212’s crew worked for a month without being paid, according to the workers. The local worked with the United Nations to secure a deal with a new contractor, Priority Production Services (PPS).
Senate Confirms Former ALPA President Woerth
The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD) today praised the Senate’s confirmation yesterday of former Air Line Pilots (ALPA) President Duane Woerth as U.S. ambassador of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO is an United Nations agency that fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
In a statement, TTD President Edward Wytkind said:
For decades Woerth has demonstrated his deep understanding of the complex issues that stem from the globalization of air transportation. Having a skilled and forceful ambassador during ICAO deliberations will serve the Obama administration well and will ensure that U.S. aviation concerns, including those of aviation labor, are brought before this important U.N. global aviation policy forum.
