AFL-CIO NOW BLOG | 2008 | September                           Go Home Archive for September, 2008  Radio Host Sets Record Straight on Employee Free Choice  Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain reports on a debate today that sets the record straight on the Employee Free Choice Act.

 On the same day that anti-union forces launched another full-page attack in Oregon on U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley for his support of the  Employee Free Choice Act , national Air America radio host Thom Hartmann set the record straight about the legislation. 

 In a debate with Barbara Comstock, who is helping to lead the national corporate campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act, Hartmann made the case for passage of the bill, while revealing the flawed arguments of the anti-union movement.



 

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       Online Forum Spotlights Strategies for Displaced Workers  by James Parks, Sep 30, 2008

 Last year, some 18.5 million jobs were created, but another 16 million were lost. Millions of those workers’ jobs disappeared because of U.S. trade policies that encourage companies to move jobs offshore in search of low-wage workers. As a result, millions who had good jobs are being left to fend for themselves and must work two or more low-paying jobs just to make ends meet.  

 On Oct. 1-2, a panel of experts, including AFL-CIO Policy Director Thea Lee, will discuss online the strategies and support available to help these workers navigate their way to new jobs requiring new skills. Eighteen other educators, economists, activists, journalists and goverment officials will join Lee via e-mail discussion. The online forum, which is sponsored by the nonpartisan group NewTalk, begins at 9 a.m. EDT on Oct. 1 and runs until 6 p.m. Oct. 2. Click here for more information and to view the entire forum live. We’ll follow up here with excerpts from Lee’s e-mail exchanges. 

  

 

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      Tags: China, displaced workers, exporting jobs, jobs, labor, NewTalk.Org, Thea Lee, Trade Adjustment Asssistance, union, union blogs, unions Channels: Economy 

   

       Report: Latinos in Unions Fare Better Than Nonunion Peers  by James Parks, Sep 30, 2008

           The current economic crisis is hitting Latinos hard and they need the same help that all workers do—better wages, safe working conditions and a union. A new report marks National Hispanic Heritage Month with the news that the union difference benefits Latino workers, just as it does all other union workers.  

 In the report, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) documents a large wage and benefit advantage for Latino workers who join unions compared with their nonunion counterparts. The report, Unions and Upward Mobility for Latino Workers, found that unionized Latino workers earned, on average, 17.6 percentage points more than nonunion Latinos. Latino union members also were much more likely to have health insurance benefits and a pension plan.  

  

 

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      Tags: Center for Economic and Policy Research, Gabriela Lemus, immigrant workers, immigration, John Schmitt, labor, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Latinos, LCLAA, Milton Rosado, union, union blogs, union difference, unions Channels: Economy, Organizing & Bargaining 

   

       A Little Leaven…  by Jeff Crosby, Sep 30, 2008

         The recent investigations into several local and state SEIU leaders by their national leadership, the U.S. Department of Labor and others into financial irregularities raise questions not only for the largest and most important union in the United States, but for all of us in the labor movement. A little more than a year ago, the head of the New York City Central Labor Council was removed for similar betrayal and financial misdeeds. A Communications Workers of America (CWA) local president in New Jersey is in receivership, in part, as a result of a financial investigation. We know these problems are not the norm, and they harm the huge majority of union members whose leaders’ work is done with little personal financial reward.

 According to press reports and the union’s own internal investigation, the local leaders were collecting salaries in an annual range of $200,000 and also using union funds for questionable purposes, either paying family members for doing union business or spending union funds for unacceptable personal expenses. In some cases the local leaders represented workers who make little more than minimum wage. The union is assessing methods of addressing the problem. 

  

 

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       What If Your Social Security Was in the Stock Market Yesterday?  by Seth Michaels, Sep 30, 2008

           Yesterday’s stock market disaster, with the Dow plummeting 778 points—a larger drop than after the Sept. 11 attacks—may make Wall Street traders and billionaire hedge fund investors hyperventilate. 

 But imagine how much worse for the rest of us it would have been if, three years ago, President Bush and Sen. John McCain had succeeded in their efforts to privatize Social Security, gambling in the stock market funds that have been a guaranteed income for America’s retirees? 

 Many of our 401(k)s and pension plans took a hit yesterday—but no matter how our individual retirements fare on Wall Street, we would still have Social Security to back us up. 

 Not so if McCain became president.

  

 

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      Channels: Legislation & Politics 

   

       Wisconsin Union Members Set to Turn Around America            Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) signs the Employee Free Choice Act pledge during the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO convention.           Casie Yoder, a communications specialist for Labor 2008 in Wisconsin, sent us this rundown from last week’s Wisconsin State AFL-CIO convention.

 With the November election and the drive to win support for the Employee Free Choice Act at the top of the agenda, delegates from Wisconsin’s unions gathered in Milwaukee last week to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and the state federation’s 25th Biennial Convention.

 AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker urged the union activists to fully commit to the Labor 2008’s political mobilization—from worksite leaflets to labor walks to phone banks—and take the White House back for working families.

  We know if we are able to communicate with our members…they will vote their interests. We must turn America around and make it work for working people.

   

 

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       Wall Street Bailout Won’t Work Without Economic Aid for Workers  by Mike Hall, Sep 29, 2008

           The $700 billion Wall Street financial bailout package congressional leaders and the White House reached over the weekend does far too little for homeowners and vests far too much power in the Bush administration—whose policies and lack of oversight are at the root of the financial crisis, says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

 The vote in the U.S. House failed this afternoon, and it is unclear if the bailout bill will come up for a re-vote in its current form.

 Sweeney warns that if passed, the deal will require “vigilant monitoring” and will not work without a strong economic recovery plan for working families. Without a recovery package like the House passed last week—Senate Republicans blocked a similar stimulus bill—the new bailout plan will not address the real underlying weaknesses in the U.S. economy, and it will not earn the confidence of working men and women. It should not be enacted unless Congress moves forward with a meaningful economic stimulus package now.

  

 

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       Strickland Talks with Ohio Union Members on McCain’s Anti-Worker Record  by Seth Michaels, Sep 29, 2008

           In Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland knows the economic crisis facing working families is the most important issue at stake for them this fall. And he knows Sen. John McCain has been part of the problem, while Sen. Barack Obama proposes real solutions.

 Ohio Labor 2008 director Ben Waxman reports that McCain’s record on jobs, trade and health care topped union voter concerns at a workers’ roundtable discussion last week with Strickland.

 Strickland opened the meeting by pointing to the fundamental imbalance in the economy, which has been thrown into distress, thanks to policies that have helped corporate elites at the expense of working families.



 

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      Channels: In the States, Legislation & Politics 

   

       36 Days: Unions Educate Members About McCain’s Anti-Worker Record  by Seth Michaels, Sep 29, 2008

           The first debate is over, early voting is under way in many states, and there are only 36 days left to make a difference in this election. In Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Virginia, union leaders, staff and volunteers are working hard to educate members about Sen. John McCain’s anti-worker policies and about Sen. Barack Obama’s positive plans for boosting good jobs, strengthening Social Security and expanding health care for working families.

 This past week in Pennsylvania, workers heard from Jim Wasser, an Electrical Workers (IBEW) member and Navy vet who’s part of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council. Wasser visited a phone bank in Pittsburgh, where he talked with union volunteers about McCain’s voting record—including McCain’s opposition to pro-worker policies on unions, wages and job security and McCain’s poor record of support for war veterans.

  

 

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       Congress Passes Investment in U.S. Auto Manufacturing  by Donna Jablonski, Sep 29, 2008

 The U.S. Senate gave final approval to a measure providing $25 billion in low-interest loans for manufacturers that build advanced technology vehicles and their components here in the United States. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says the bill, passed Saturday, helps ensure vehicles of the future are produced by U.S. workers.

  It’s a huge victory for our members, for U.S. manufacturing companies and for American consumers. This is a smart investment that will speed the introduction of more fuel-efficient vehicles and also create tens of thousands of good-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs.

   

 

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