Tens of Thousands Rally Nationwide for Bridge Repair, Job Creation
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From actions drawing thousands in major cities to those with dozens in smaller towns, working families, jobless workers, community members and Occupy activists across the nation yesterday marched and rallied at dozens of bridges in desperate need of repair and called on Congress put millions of Americans back to work rebuilding the nation’s crumbling bridges and roads.
The events were part of the AFL-CIO’s Infrastructure Investment Day of Action and the Occupy movement’s national day of action.
More than 1,000 Occupy St. Louis protestors, union members and retirees marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge where they unfurled a banner that read, “Build Roads and Bridges, Build Good Jobs.” Read the rest of this entry »
Robeson Display Traces Singer’s Fight for Equality and Unions
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Paul Robeson, once the premier African American artist of the 20th century, is well known as a scholar, athlete, actor and activist. Less well known is his long commitment to the union movement and his belief that the achievement of full equality for African Americans and other people of color is inextricably linked with the full equality of America’s working men and women.
Now you can learn more about Robeson’s commitment to unions and equality at the Labor Arts‘ new virtual museum exhibit of ”Old Man River: Paul Robeson and the NMU.” According to the exhibit:
Symbolic of Robeson’s devotion to the labor movement is his close connection with the National Maritime Union (NMU), which emerged from a failed effort by dissident members of the International Seamen’s Union in 1936 to improve the poor working conditions of sailors on merchant ships of the time, and the racial discrimination that was practiced on American vessels.
Back Home, Lawmakers Are Asked: ‘Where Are the Jobs?’
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Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) was expecting a friendly crowd—like a pleasant late afternoon tea party—at a town hall meeting last week.
Instead, reports Harris County AFL-CIO President Richard Shaw,
he was greeted with community and labor folks holding signs asking him where the jobs are that the “job creators” (the rich who received the tax breaks) were supposed to have created.
Culberson wasn’t the only Texas lawmaker who faced action from working families for their support of tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations instead of working for an economy that strengthens the middle class and creates jobs.
New NLRB Rules ‘Modest Step to Election Fairness’
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this morning released proposed changes in the way union representation elections are conducted that the NLRB says will “reduce unnecessary barriers to the fair and expeditious resolution of questions concerning representation.”
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the proposed changes are a “modest step to remove roadblocks and reduce unnecessary and costly litigation—and that’s good news for employers as well as employees. But he adds:
The proposed rule does not address many of the fundamental problems with our labor laws, but it will help bring critically needed fairness and balance to this part of the process.
Trumka says the rules “appear to be a common sense approach to clean up an outdated system and help ensure that working women and men can make their own choice about whether to form a union.” Read the rest of this entry »
N.H.’s O’Brien Still Planning ‘Right to Work’ Sneak Attack
New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien (R) couldn’t pull off a sneak attack or round up enough votes to override Gov. John Lynch’s (D) veto of a so-called right work bill this week, so he adjourned the House until June 22. But with no legal limit setting a veto override deadline, O’Brien can bring up the measure anytime this year, without notice.
As he did last month, when he didn’t have the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto and canceled the vote, O’Brien again vowed to bring it up anytime without warning.
The New Hampshire AFL-CIO has launched a twitter petition urging O’Brien to give 48 hours notice before bringing the override to the floor. You can click here to sign the petition. You can spread the word on your Facebook page and send to friends. Here’s the short url http://act.ly/3s9.
Earlier this week, O’Brien refused to cancel Wednesday’s session to allow lawmakers to attend the funeral for former Gov. Walter Peterson. He hoped it would draw enough lawmakers opposed to right to work away from the Capitol, so he could hold the vote. The maneuver didn’t work. Read the rest of this entry »
Judge Orders NFL Owners to Lift Lockout
In a major win for the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and a stern rebuke to league owners, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson told owners to lift the lockout they imposed on players March 12.
NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith said “I’m happy for our players and for our fans. Those who love football are the winners.” The NFLPA renounced its status as a union in March order to take legal anti-trust action against the owners’ lockout.
In her 89-page ruling Nelson wrote that the players:
have made a strong showing that allowing the league to continue their “lockout” is presently inflicting and will continue to inflict irreparable harm upon them, particularly when weighed against the lack of any real injury that would be imposed on the NFL by issuing the preliminary injunction. The public interest favors the enforcement of the antitrust laws and their underlying pro-competition policy.
New York Giants defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora, one of 12 player plaintiffs in the anti-trust suit against the NFL, said the ruling:
is a win for the players and for the fans that want to see a full NFL season in 2011. The lockout is bad for everyone and players will continue to fight it. We hope that this will bring us one step closer to playing the game we love. Read the rest of this entry »
Vermont Health Care Bill Seeks Universal Coverage
While Republican lawmakers like House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) continue their efforts to repeal the new health care reform law, last week Vermont moved a step closer to universal health care coverage when the state House of Representatives passed sweeping health care legislation, Said House Speaker Shap Smith (D):
This bill takes our state one step closer to a system that ensures that all Vermonters have access to the care they deserve and contains costs.
The bill, which must still pass the state Senate, would eventually move forward to single-payer system, something that Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) campaigned on last year. Following the vote he said the bill would make Vermont
the first state in the country to make the first substantive step to deliver a health care system where health care will be a right and not a privilege, where health care will follow the individual, not be a requirement of the employer, and where we’ll have an affordable system that contains costs.
The Vermont AFL-CIO, which backed the bill, plans to hold public forums throughout the state to explain the legislation and build support for the bill. Click here for an in-depth look at legislation by Lauren Else at In These Times.
Day 5 Brings 70,000-Plus to Madison to Protect Workers’ Rights
More than 70,000 people—the vast, vast majority of them protesting Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) assault on middle class jobs and workers’ rights—rallied in Madison, Wis., today in the fifth straight day of demonstrations against Walker’s union-busting proposals.
Mainstream media estimated the crowd at 70,000–with some as high as 100,000–and reports from the ground say that the tea party counter protest drew about 2,000 people. While there was some concern earlier today that counter protesters might try to bait the pro-worker demonstrators into confrontations, Madison police reported the day went peacefully with no incidents or arrests.
Also Walker rejected an offer from the unions to accept economic concessions if the near total ban on collective bargaining was removed from the so-called “budget repair” bill. State Sen. Jon Erpenbach told reporters
It would appear that Gov. Walker’s only target is the destruction of collective bargaining rights and not solving the state’s budget.
Click here for a great solidarity photo from Egypt and here for a video montage of the week’s rallies by Matt Wisniewski with a sound track by Arcade Fire.
Tough Trek for 7-Ton Mother Jones and Friends
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Three flat tires couldn’t keep Machinists (IAM) Benny Adair and Hardy Williams from completing their monumental task—and Adair swears, “With all the trouble we had, not a single cussword was said.”
Adair and Williams volunteered their time, a truck and a trailer to transport the seven-ton state Workers Memorial stone 250 miles from the old Kentucky State AFL-CIO headquarters in Frankfort to its new home at the Paducah-based Western Kentucky Area Council, AFL-CIO, because “we wanted to save the council some money.” Adair is council vice president and Williams is a delegate.
The 10-foot gray granite shaft is etched with a portrait of labor pioneer Mary Harris “Mother” Jones and honors workers killed on the job.
When the state AFL-CIO headquarters was sold, the council asked for the monument, and state labor leaders approved the transfer. When it was time to move the monument last year, Adair says:
It took about four hours for us to drive to Frankfort to get the monument. The return trip took about twice as long.
The tire troubles started near Elizabethtown on the four-lane Bluegrass Parkway when Adair spotted a pothole.
Workers Push Back on Move to Weaken Ohio Bargaining Law
Ohio political observers expect Gov. Elect John Kasich (R) and his Republican allies in the state legislature to take aim the Buckeye States’ 1984 law that protects collective bargaining rights for public employees.
Kasich attacked public employees during the campaign and Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Brent Larkin writes:
Kasich and the Republican-run legislature might just propose changes to Ohio’s collective-bargaining laws that precipitate an epic fight with Democrats and their allies in organized labor.
But Andy Richards, Ohio AFL-CIO Field Communications staffer, says workers in Middletown last night won one of the first skirmishes in the battle to protect workers’ rights. He files this report.
More than 100 union members and their allies packed the Middletown City Council chambers to show strong opposition and speak out against a resolution calling on the state legislature to weaken the current collective bargaining law. The council voted 6 to 1 to table the resolution. After the meeting, Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 336 President John Harvey said the council
took a strong stand tonight in support of our community and the middle class. As a proud fire fighter, I work hard everyday to provide the best services to residents in Middletown and Butler County. This resolution would have put our services at risk by taking away a process that has provided stability and cooperation between workers and local, county and state government agencies. Read the rest of this entry »
