L.A. Union Members Raise Funds for Homeless Vets, Donate Food to Jobless
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Kudos to Los Angeles union members who helped out those in need over the recent holiday. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Labor Community Services, AFL-CIO sponsored the Homeless Heroes Team, with more than 200 union members, their families and veterans taking part in a 5K run/walk and raising $10,000 for homeless vets.
The Los Angeles County Federation and Labor Community Services also provided Thanksgiving dinners for 2,000 unemployed union families, with more than 50 volunteers filling up 2,000 grocery bags with food and turkey certificates.
Says Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation:
The continuing hardship our members face in the current uncertain economy has had huge impact here in Los Angeles County. The continuing support of our members to assist others less fortunate than themselves highlights the strength and might of the labor movement.
Privatizing Services Can Be Costly to Workers and Government
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and his Republican/tea party supporters—the same gang who imposed “financial martial law” on cities and towns and is pushing a “right to work” for less law—are at it again.
This time they want to fire 170 nursing assistants at a state-run veterans home in Grand Rapids—many of whom have worked at the home for decades—and hire a private company to provide workers.
They claim the move is to save money, but as The New York Times points out, “taxpayers can end up paying for the cuts in indirect ways” and studies show that outsourced, privatized government operations often end up costing more to operate than the government-run operations.
Iraq-Afghanistan Veterans Unemployment: A Quiet Crisis
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks a decade ago, some 2.3 million military members have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands more continue to deploy leaving their families at home while they serve our country overseas.
But when these brave men and women return home, many face a new enemy: unemployment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was 12.4 percent in July, up from 11.8 percent in July 2010. In August, the jobless rate for these veterans had dropped slightly to 9.8 percent, but it does not include veterans who are underemployed or have stopped looking for work.
Social Security Cuts Put Vets Back in Line of Fire
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Social Security is crucial to veterans and military families when those who have served our country retire, become disabled, or lose their lives. Yet Republican lawmakers have put Social Security in their sights, willing to trade Social Security cuts for tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations in the name of deficit reduction. But cuts to Social Security or privatization would hurt millions veterans and military families.
Today, nine veterans’ organizations—including the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council—and several lawmakers joined the Strengthen Social Security campaign and released a report “Social Security: Serving Those Who Serve Our Nation” that shows the deep harm cuts would do to veterans and military families. For example:
Most of the more than 4,000 children who lost a parent since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars now receive Social Security survivors’ benefits. More than 771,000 veterans receive Social Security disability benefits. Social Security currently pays benefits to over 9 million veterans—about 4 in 10 veterans today—and the vast majority of veterans will become Social Security beneficiaries in the future.
Vets Group Tells Walker, Other Govs, ‘Don’t Punish Workers’
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The veteran’s group VoteVets.org has launched a new video and petition to support Wisconsin public employees in their fight against Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) attempt to eliminate their rights to bargain for middle-class jobs and in support of workers engaged in similar battles in other states.
Ashwin Madia, interim chairman of VoteVets.Org, says there are more than 2 million veterans who are union members, many thousands of whom are in Wisconsin and:
amongst those who are protesting. There are other public employees in Wisconsin who do valuable services for veterans every single day, including things like transporting disabled veterans to the VA, and running transitional housing programs for homeless veterans. These employees deserve the right to collectively bargain.
The petition (click here to sign) also calls on governors “to not punish our public employees by taking away their right to negotiate,” for good jobs.
We stand firmly against Governors Scott Walker, Mitch Daniels, and John Kasich, who already have announced such efforts. Their efforts only stand to punish American veterans, and those who serve them.
Guess Who Opposes Walker’s Plan for WI? Conservatives, Republicans and Vets
Conservative and Republican public employees across the state voiced opposition to a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker that would deny nurses, teachers, EMTs and other trusted public service providers the right to collectively bargain—a freedom that nearly every other Wisconsinite enjoys.
Calling Walker’s assault on middle-class jobs and public employees “anti-freedom” and a “big government power grab against individual rights,” the conservatives and Republicans make clear the opposition is not limited to progressives. Walker and Republican colleagues in the state legislature are attempting to rush through the measure this week.
In a press call Monday afternoon, public employees who said they are conservatives or Republicans weighed in. Here’s some of what they said:
“There is no bigger government than the one that takes away an individual’s rights and freedom—and that’s exactly what we’re seeing going on in Madison right now,” said Mike Recklies, a correctional officer in Elkhorn. “The legislature needs to think hard about what it means to be an American and stop this Big Government power grab against individual rights.”
Give the Gift of Football
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On Super Bowl weekend, not all eyes will be on Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. On Feb. 5, the day before the big game there, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and the AFL-CIO will host a special all-star football game at San Antonio’s Alamodome. What’s special about it is that we’re working to fill the stadium with workers who have lost their jobs, members of the military and youth. And you can help by donating a ticket for someone who’s having a tough time.
The annual NFLPA Texas vs. The Nation game features the football stars of tomorrow—draft-eligible college seniors playing before hundreds of NFL scouts and other personnel. Unlike the hundreds or even thousands of dollars folks will spend to watch the Super Bowl, tickets to the NFLPA Texas vs. the Nation game are just $10. You can donate $10, $20, $40 or more, and your gift will be matched 100 percent by the NFLPA—so for every $10 you donate, you’ll give the gift of football to two jobless workers, people in military service or children.
The NFLPA game pits college seniors with ties to Texas against top seniors from across the nation. The five-year-old all-star game is making its debut in San Antonio this year, after previous games in El Paso.
Learn more about the game here. If you’re interested in attending the game yourself, click here to learn more and click here to buy a ticket for yourself.
Honor Veterans by Fighting for Them Like They Fought for Us
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More than 2 million union members are veterans. On this day dedicated to those who have served their country in the military, it’s appropriate to remember that we need to fight for them just as they fought to defend us.
Like all workers, veterans are suffering in this tough economy. But for many vets, the situation is dire. Nearly one in five veterans (18 percent) recently back from tours of duty is unemployed. Of those employed since leaving the military, 25 percent earn less than $21,840 a year. On any given day, as many as 250,000 veterans (male and female) are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year.
So as we celebrate their service, let us also focus on ways to help veterans and all workers get out of this economic mess. In a statement, Mark Ayers, chairman of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council and president of the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), says:
They way I see it—they served us, so now it’s our turn to serve them. We owe our freedoms to the sacrifices of the brave men and women who have served in the military. For many, their fights on the battlefield are over; but now they must sadly endure other battles—such as finding meaningful employment, affordable housing and accessible health care—in their transition back into civilian life.
America’s Vets Fought for Our Future
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As chairman of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council, Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) President Mark Ayers salutes America’s veterans.
Memorial Day is a time to reflect upon those fallen American heroes who have given their lives and health to keep this nation safe. Memorial Day is also the perfect time to honor those brave soldiers who are still with us, to thank them for the freedoms we enjoy every day and to do all that we can to improve their quality of life.
But, in many aspects, Memorial Day has simply morphed into the day when we kick into high gear for the summer season.
A Tribute to Ironworker Bill Hack—and all U.S. Veterans
Chester W. “Bill” Hack had survived bloody air combat and the fiery crash of a B-17 bomber into the English Channel.
The Kentuckian was stateside teaching aerial gunnery when he volunteered to fly combat missions again.
Nazi fighters and anti-aircraft fire forced Hack’s bomber to crash into the sea on May 29, 1943. “When we ditched, I was dazed,” said Hack, an 89-year-old retired member of Ironworkers Local 782 in Paducah, Ky.
But when I smelled my hair burning, it gave me the strength to live.
