On July 1, 2005, when the relaunch of www.goiam.org takes place, IAM members will have the opportunity to add a “Podcast” to their mp3 player or personal computer.
”This is cutting edge technology that IAM members can now use,” said Communications Director Rick Sloan. “Hundreds of thousands of web surfers get their news and information in an audio format via podcasts. Now, IAM members can do the same thing.”
A podcast automatically downloads audio in such a way that it loads onto an iPod or other mp3 player the next time the player is synced to the computer. The audio can also be saved for later listening on a PC.
Podcast content will feature material produced by the Communications Department, interviews/talks by Machinist Union leaders, or call-in commentary from the membership.
Taken from the imail
Posted 8:45 PM
The IAM’s Western Territory scored three impressive organizing victories recently, picking up members in California and Oregon.
IAM Local 93 won the right to represent 32 workers at the L-3Com facility in Jolon, CA and DL190 won a unanimous election to represent workers at Esposti Chevrolet in Sonoma, California.
Meanwhile, District Lodge 24 picked up 6 new members at American West Chrome in Portland, Oregon.
“Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard for these wins,” said Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson. “Organizing new members requires hard work and commitment."
Wednesday June 15, 2005
The IAM released “Candle," the second Internet ad in its vigorous yet humorous virtual ad campaign that explores the moves and motivations of a group of autocrats intent on destroying the American Labor Movement. "Candle" pierces the darkness surrounding the SEIU's reason for splitting the labor movement.
If your internet connection does not support streaming video, click here for downloadable version.
Taken from the imail
Posted 7:16 pm
Corporation: an ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.
Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary, 1906
Taken from "Great Labor Quotations Sourcebook and Reader
Posted 5:50 pm
Monday June 21, 2005
IAM Aerospace Coordinator Richard Schneider, center, presents the IAM’s contract proposals to Boeing Human Resources VP Jerry Calhoun. With Schneider are, from left, District 70 President Steve Rooney of Wichita, KS; District 751 President Mark Blondin of Seattle WA; IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger and District 24 Directing Business Representative Bob Petroff of Portland, OR. Next to Jerry Calhoun is Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Alan Mulally.
The IAM and the Boeing Company opened formal negotiations for a new contract in a meeting in Seattle, WA. The IAM presented a comprehensive proposal to senior Boeing management that reflects the important contract issues identified by IAM members.
“Our objective is to keep our members working in jobs that provide a good standard of living,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “Our partnership with Boeing in this industry is demonstrated every day as our members build the best airplanes in the world. They’ve helped Boeing turn the corner and now Boeing should do the right thing -- negotiate a contract that recognizes the vital role our members play in the company’s success.”
“We are optimistic as we enter this round of bargaining,” said District 751 President Mark Blondin. “We have all been through hard times in the last few years, but we met the challenges. The top issues facing our members at Boeing – retirement benefits, health care and job security – are the very same issues that are troubling millions of working men and women, all across America. We have an opportunity to lead the way in these negotiations to prove that realistic solutions to these problems exist if people work together.
The current 36-month labor agreement expires at 12:01 a.m. September 2, 2005.
Taken from the imail
Posted 7:43 pm
In the next few days the IAM will be delivering a demand letter to bargain to the Onex Corporation, the owners buying the commercial side of Boeing in Wichita, Kansas. “We understand Onex is closing the sale with Boeing on June 16, and we want immediate negotiations,” said Aerospace Coordinator Dick Schneider. “We need to get back to the collective bargaining table to secure a contract for our members at Onex.
“This will be a brand new employer, and we will have an opportunity for a brand new beginning with this company. Onex has made a commitment to keep work in Wichita, and to grow the business in Wichita. We need to secure the very best Collective Bargaining Agreement as possible for our members, with as many accompanying jobs as possible,” said Schneider. “We hope to have a new proposal for our members to vote on in the next few weeks.”
Taken from the imail
Posted 7:56 pm
Over the past year Department of Defense (DoD) workers and a union coalition have been battling over the new civil service personnel rules known as the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). NSPS, as proposed by the DoD and the Bush administration, eliminates the current pay schedule, creates stricter disciplinary rules and restricts bargaining rights and representation for the Department of Defense workers.
NSPS was originally set for implementation on July 1 st but Pentagon officials announced that the rollout of NSPS would be pushed back. Officials stated that the date for implementation is “event driven” and that instructions and training must be underway before NSPS is rolled out.
Union officials will meet with Office of Personnel Management’s Acting Director and the Acting Secretary of Defense June 16 in an attempt to obtain worker friendly modifications to the system.
The Bush Administration released a similar proposal this week to revamp the civil service system government-wide by 2010. Specifically written into the proposal is a roadmap to circumventing union representation.
Click here to send a message to Congress to stop the unfair NSPS system.
Taken from the imail
Posted 8:16 pm
Monday June 13, 2005
Celebrate Flag Day June 14, 2005
The original Pledge of Allegiance
On September 8,1892, the Boston based "The Youth's Companion" magazine published a few words for students to repeat on Columbus Day that year. Written by Francis Bellamy,the circulation manager and native of Rome, New York, and reprinted on thousands of leaflets, was sent out to public schools across the country. On October 12, 1892, the quadricentennial of Columbus' arrival, more than 12 million children recited the Pledge of Allegiance, thus beginning a required school-day ritual.
At the first National Flag Conference in Washington D.C., on June14, 1923, a change was made. For clarity, the words "the Flag of the United States" replaced "my flag". In the following years various other changes were suggested but were never formally adopted.
It was not until 1942 that Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. One year later, in June 1943, the Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite it. In fact,today only half of our fifty states have laws that encourage the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroom!
In June of 1954 an amendment was made to add the words "under God". Then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower said "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."
Taken from www.USFlag.org
Posted 9:25 PM
No one knows with absolute certainty who designed the first stars and stripes or who made it. Congressman Francis Hopkinson seems most likely to have designed it, and few historians believe that Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, made the first one.
Until the Executive Order of June 24, 1912, neither the order of the stars nor the proportions of the flag was prescribed. Consequently, flags dating before this period sometimes show unusual arrangements of the stars and odd proportions, these features being left to the discretion of the flag maker. In general, however, straight rows of stars and proportions similar to those later adopted officially were used. The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following:
"I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people by the people, for the people, whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a Republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union, one and inseparable; established upon those principls of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.I therefore believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag, and to defend it againest all enemies."
Historical Notes: The American's Creed was a result of a nationwide contest for writing a National Creed, which would be a brief summary of the American political faith founded upon things fundamental in American history and tradition. The contest was the idea of Henry Sterling Chapin, Commissioner of Education of New York State. Over three thousand entries were received, and William Tyler Page was declared to be the winner. James H. Preston, the mayor of Baltimore, presented an award to Page in the House of Representatives Office Building on April 3, 1918. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the commissioner of education of the state of New York accepted the Creed for the United States, and the proceedings relating to the award were printed in the Congressional Record of April 13, 1918. It was a time when patriotic sentiments were very much in vogue. The United States had been a participant in World War I only a little over a year at the time the Creed was adopted.
The author of the American's Creed, William Tyler Page, was a descendant of John Page, who had come to America in 1650 and had settled in Williamsburg, Virginia. Another ancestor, Carter Braxton, had signed the Declaration of Independence. Still another ancestor, John Tyler, was the tenth president of the United States. William Tyler Page had come to Washington at the age of thirteen to serve as a Capitol Page. Later he became an employee of the Capitol building and served in that capacity for almost sixty-one years. In 1919 he was elected clerk of the House. Thirteen years later, when the Democrats again became a majority party, they created for Page the office of minority clerk of the House of Representatives. He held this position for the remainder of his life.
Referring to the Creed, Page said: "It is the summary of the fundamental principles of the American political faith as set forth in its greatest documents, its worthiest traditions, and its greatest leaders." His wording of the Creed used passages and phrases from the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and Daniel Webster's reply to Robert Y. Hayne in the Senate in 1830.
Taken from www.USFlag.org
Posted 7:53PM
Sunday June 12, 2005
Changes in pay at Boeing could produce a ripple effect
BY DAN VOORHIS, The Wichita Eagle
For decades Wichita has lived an economic fairy tale that most cities could only wish to join. Because of Boeing Wichita, blue-collar aircraft workers here earn phenomenal wages: Weekly manufacturing pay is $200 above the national average, a state Department of Labor report said last month. That has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy over the years. more.......
Taken from the Wichita Eagle website at www.Kansas.com
Posted 5:30 PM
Since Boeing Wichita announced that it has a buyer for its commercial aircraft division, Boeing's military operations here -- the smaller of the two businesses -- has been working to adjust to the split.
It's sort of like the little sister watching the older one go off to college and taking along items they used to share.
In many ways, "we acted as one business here," said Derek McLuckey, general manager of Boeing's Wichita Development and Modification Center.
The military business will provide fire and security services under contract to the new company after Onex Corp. completes the buyout this week. The deal is expected to close Thursday .
But the defense business, which employs 3,300, has been working to replace services such as communications, shipping and receiving, and janitorial that it shares with Boeing Wichita's commercial aircraft division.
The larger challenge for the military business here, however, may be forging a new identity for Boeing in a community where it has existed for more than 75 years.
A lot of community support, such as serving on local nonprofit boards, has come from the commercial aircraft side of Boeing, McLuckey said. Now the military side, which will be renamed, will take on that role and others. more........
Taken from the Wichita Eagle website at www.Kansas.com
Posted 5:20 PM
Cold rejection
I hope the newspaper will allow me to say goodbye to the many friends I made during more than 26 years at Boeing. I never dreamed that I would walk out the door and, a few hours later, learn I have no job and cannot even say goodbye. I came home the morning of June 4 with my rejection envelope lying on my front porch.The feeling that suddenly I mean nothing to my employer is a feeling I cannot explain. I knew I would someday leave Boeing, but not in such a cold, impersonal way. I am taking this opportunity to say goodbye to my friends at Boeing; Perhaps our paths will cross again. I pray that most of you received job offers from the new company.
CHERYL YASBEC
Wichita
Taken from the Wichita Eagle website at www.Kansas.com
Posted 5:15 PM
Boeing bashing in city is shameful
After reading Opinion Line in The Eagle the past few weeks, I have to ask the citizens of Wichita: Why do you have so much animosity toward Boeing workers? How can you find it funny that people have lost their jobs after many years of loyal service?Everyone has had the same opportunity to work for Boeing. The line for a job at Boeing could have had anyone standing in it, including those who have no compassion for what is happening out there today. The workers at Boeing are a major part of the Wichita economy, and give generously to every charitable organization there is. With what is happening out there, those charities and the local economy as a whole will suffer greatly.You may attribute that to the Canadians with Onex Corp. and the greedy leaders at Boeing who will no doubt reap a huge bonus after the sale closes. Those greedy leaders have completely forgotten where they came from. Sheer greed has their judgment so clouded that they cannot think of what it would be like to be treated the way that the workers at Boeing are being treated.The citizens of Wichita who find it amusing that more than 1,000 people have lost their jobs should be ashamed. If you can't say anything nice, maybe you shouldn't say anything at all and keep from being thought of as evil-minded.
KENT OWEN
Wichita
Taken from the Wichita Eagle website at www.Kansas.com
Posted 5:10 PM
Friday June 10, 2005
The strongest bond of human sympathy, outside the family relation, should be one uniting all working people of all nations and tongues and kindreds.
--Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, 1864
Quote sources:
Great Labor Quotations: Sourcebook and Reader, by Peter Bollen
The Great Quotations, by George Seldes
Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations
Taken from the BIGLabor.com , check it out there is a lot of good information.
posted at 9:29 PM
A week before Boeing is expected to close the deal to sell its commercial aircraft operations in Wichita and Oklahoma, Boeing's second-largest union rallied to protest the way employees have been treated in the sale.
Similar rallies were held at Boeing sites in Chicago and Renton, Wash., and at Onex Corp.' s headquarters in Toronto.
"Corporations can't be allowed to kick people to the curb," said Charles Bofferding, executive director of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which coordinated the rallies.
More than 1,100 Boeing workers will not have jobs with the new company when it takes over the operation, the union said.
The picketers, most of whom did not have job offers, held signs that read, "Onex's wallet lined with my future," "There is a better way" and "Turner turned on us," referring to Boeing Wichita general manager Jeff Turner, who will lead the renamed Onex firm.
One large sign noted that the workers without jobs have a total of 4,600 years of experience.
Olivia Hously, 56, and her 14-year-old daughter, Amber Munir, were among those who attended the rally.
Hously does not have an offer from the new company.
She came to show her support, she said, for co-workers inside the plant where she has worked for 26 years.
She is concerned about the impact the lost jobs will have on Wichita's economy, she said.
"Wichita is a close-knit community and geared around manufacturing," Housley said. "Whatever negative happens around manufacturing impacts everything."
A transition like this can be difficult on employees who don't receive offers, Boeing spokesman Chuck Cadena said. The company is offering career and outplacement services.
When Boeing decided to sell the business, it "looked at what we had to do to make these operations more competitive, given the pressure we have for the marketplace to become more efficient," Cadena said.
"On balance, a sale to Onex is the best outcome," he said, adding that Onex wants to keep the business in Wichita, invest in it and help it grow.
Onex managing director Nigel Wright said the company's goal was to hire the group of workers with the best "skills, experience, attitude and approach to make the new company a success."
It is "our duty to get the right mix of people and skills, which we have done," he said.
Wright also said that he has received positive feedback from employees about the hiring process and the job offers.
"People want the new business to succeed," he said.
The union says Onex wants to cut medical coverage for all workers and early retiree benefits for those 55 and older, and deny recall rights to the workers now being cut.
SPEEA Midwest director Bob Brewer also wondered why Boeing continued to add to its work force this year, knowing there would be cuts involved in a sale.
Boeing has hired as it needed to fill its needs for a mix of skills, Cadena said.
It is Boeing, not the new company, that is laying off workers, Wright said. Therefore, "we don't have a recall list."
And the new employer is offering medical benefits to early retirees starting at age 62, he said.
"I don't know of another brand-new employer in the Wichita area or elsewhere who in 2005 is providing early-retiree medical," Wright said.
Wednesday's rally had a lower turnout than other rallies held by the union. SPEEA estimated that about 75 people filtered in and out during the rally.
Brewer said the turnout was low because some workers were worried about potential repercussions.
They told him they supported the rally but didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their positions with the new company, Brewer said.
But Boeing spokesman Cadena said employees were free to attend.
Other than that, "I can't speak for why people may or may not have gone out," Cadena said.
Taken from the Wichita Eagle website at www.Kansas.com
Posted 9:20 PM
When Boeing and its largest union opened contract talks three years ago, negotiations kicked off -- as they traditionally have -- in Wichita.
But now that Boeing is selling its commercial aircraft division in Wichita, the formal opening session of a new round of talks is being held today in the Seattle area.
This time, a significantly smaller group of Wichita workers will be represented by the new contract.
With the impending sale of Wichita's commercial division, the Machinists will represent about 700 Wichita workers in Boeing's military division, which is not being sold.
About 4,500 hourly workers who will work for the new company will be in a separate bargaining group.
In Boeing talks, "we're a smaller presence, but we're still here," union business representative Garland Moore said.
Wichita remains part of an agreement negotiated jointly with workers in the Seattle area and in Portland, Ore.
"We just work with them, and we have basically the same issues theyhave," Moore said.
The union's top issues include wages, pensions, health care costs and job security.
Today, Boeing and the Machinists will trade proposals. Preliminary talks will take place this summer until mid-August, when the two sides will start round-the-clock negotiations at a Seattle hotel.
The current contract expires Sept. 1. About 18,200 employees in Wichita and the Pacific Northwest will work under the terms of the new agreement.
During the last round of negotiations, the aerospace industry hadtaken a deep downturn after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Now, Boeing's orders are on an upturn.
"Our members stuck in there during the hard times," Machinists District 751 president Mark Blondin told the Associated Press. "Now it's on the upswing, and we intend to share in the profits that the company is going to get."
For its part, Boeing is facing aggressive competition in the marketplace.
The company is "focused on making sure we can work with the unions to reach a contract that helps us be competitive," Boeing
spokesman Chaz Bickers said. "Winning new business is the way that we create and sustain these great-paying jobs."
During the last round of negotiations three years ago, 62 percent of those voting rejected the contract, but a vote to strike lacked the two-thirds majority needed. Without the needed strike votes, the contract went into effect under the union's bylaws.
Boeing's offer included an 8 percent signing bonus, general wage increases of 2 percent in the first year and 2.5 percent in the second and third years of the contract, increased pensions and increased health care costs.
Workers said the offer did not go far enough to protect jobs. They were unhappy the contract allowed Boeing to send jobs outside the company and vendors to come onto the shop floors.
Meanwhile, the Machinists' legal department will send a letter to Onex Corp., the company buying Boeing Wichita's commercial division, requesting that bargaining for a new contract begin as soon as possible, the union said in a memo to members this week.
In May, Machinists union members in Wichita rejected Onex's contract offer. Onex then said it would proceed with the sale and impose its own terms of employment.
Onex managing director Nigel Wright said the company would return to the negotiating table after the sale closes.
Taken from the Wichita Eagle website at www.Kansas.com
Posted 9:06 PM
Members of IAM Local 733 and 2328 employed by Raytheon in Wichita and Salina, Kansas voted by a 99 percent margin to authorize a strike if the company fails to deliver a satisfactory contract offer. The IAM contract with Raytheon expires on July 31, 2005 and covers 4,300 IAM-represented employees.
The contract battle promises to be hard-fought, with Raytheon indicating it plans to seek takeaways across the board. Raytheon claims that the employee pension fund is under funded and is “demanding the ability to control costs” in the pension plan. Raytheon indicated it also wants to shift yet more health care costs onto the workers.
“This vote drew a line in the sand for Wichita workers,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez. “For years, the Machinists at Raytheon exchanged wage increases for pension benefits and they’re not about to let the company default on those commitments.”
Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge added, “Raytheon needs to remember that workers and their families depend upon their pension. These workers will fight to keep it.”
On the heels of high-profile pension defaults at several U.S. airlines and steel companies, other companies are hoping to shed their long-term pension obligations. “It’s time to demand that U.S. corporations honor their pension promises,” said IP Buffenbarger.
“Combined with the President’s plan to privatize Social Security, corporate America is attempting a one-two punch that would completely eliminate retirement security for millions of Americans.”
“Is there no limit to corporate greed?” asked Headquarters GVP Bob Thayer. “Jobs are being sent overseas by the millions, billions in health care costs are being shifted to employees and now their hard earned pensions are under attack. This is a fight we will not lose.”
Thursday June 2, 2005
Flag Day June 14th
The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.
On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.
Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.
Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.
In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.
Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."
Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
Taken from www.USFlag.org
Posted 6:53PM
Boeing job cuts will top 1,000
The plant's second-largest union says Onex will impose employment terms on its members, too, putting off negotiations until after the sale.
The number of jobs cut at Boeing Wichita will rise to more than 1,000 over the weekend and may go higher as Onex Corp. presses ahead with plans to buy the plant by June 16. more.........
Taken from the Wichita Eagle website at www.Kansas.com
Posted 6:35 PM