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September 28, 2005
Dear Working Families e-Activist,
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Workers in the Gulf Coast have lost so much—many lost their homes, belongings and jobs. Some lost family members. Now they’ve lost decent pay, too.
When President Bush signed that executive order taking away community “prevailing wage” standards for construction workers who will rebuild the Gulf Coast, he took hope from working families trying to put their lives back together. We can’t allow this to happen.
Please turn your outrage to action and help restore decent pay for Gulf Coast workers. Click the following link to sign our petition now:
There is no way a just America can allow pay to be cut for Gulf Coast workers—especially while politically connected contractors are getting fat no-bid contracts and the wealthiest Americans are getting massive new tax breaks. And especially when the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina exposed how workers in the Gulf desperately need decent wages.
Let’s be clear: The community wage standards President Bush cut were very modest to begin with. Federal law simply required that federal contractors not lower community construction wages—wages that average about $9.50 an hour in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, less than $20,000 a year for skilled, full-time work. Why in the world should these workers get pay cuts?
At least nine times in the past decade, right-wing extremists in the Republican Party tried in Congress to repeal or undermine the law that requires federal contractors to pay the “prevailing wage” for the region in which they are working. None of the efforts succeeded. But the Bush administration has taken advantage of Katrina to do what it could not do otherwise.
Please take a moment to sign our Petition for Decent Pay in the Gulf Coast. President Bush and your members of Congress will get a message immediately letting them know you have signed it. Click here:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/protect_workers
Once you have signed the petition, please urge the people you know who care about working families and decent pay to sign it, too. Can you get five people to sign? 10? 25? The more signatures we get, the more we’ll be heard. Please click this link to send a message to your friends:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/protect_workers/forward
Thank you for helping restore decent pay in the Gulf Coast.
In solidarity,
Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO
Sept. 28, 2005
P.S. Please forward this e-mail to your co-workers, friends and family. Together we'll fight to protect workers and their families in the Gulf Coast.
Taken from AFL-CIO Working Families e-Activist Network
Posted 6:39 pm
September 27, 2005
Labor Quote of the week! l
Alone we are nothing, together we're everything-it's the whole philosophy of Labor.
Leon Davis, president, Local 1199, founder of a small union of drugstore workers in 1932, becoming America's largest organizationmof health care workers
Taken from "Great Labor Quotations" Sourcebook and Reader
Posted 7:05 PM
More than 18,400 Machinists at Boeing will vote Sept. 29 on a revised contract offer that resoundingly proves the value of membership solidarity and resolve in a collective bargaining showdown.
The new offer contains dramatic improvements over the company’s so-called “final offer,” which triggered a walkout that shut down Boeing’s commercial operations in Kansas, Oregon and Washington state.
On every major issue, Boeing was forced to withdraw their takeaway proposals and concede to IAM members’ demands.
“Because of the solidarity and unified courage of our members, we achieved a better pension, better seniority rights, better recall rights, maintained one of the best health care packages in the country with no additional costs, achieved better job security and preserved retiree health care for past retirees, current members, and future hires,” declared Mark Blondin, District 751 President.
Boeing also withdrew a proposal that would have provided less in pay and benefits for IAM members working in Wichita, Kansas.
“We went into these negotiations together and we were determined to come out together,” said Steve Rooney, President of District 70 in Wichita. “Rather than be divided by sellout proposals, we are more unified than ever.”
The strike at Boeing was seen as a crucial test for the labor movement. Despite three years of consistent profits, the plane maker sought deep cuts in health care and offered a pension benefit that was the lowest percentage pension benefit increase in decades.
A victory for the company would have triggered a renewed assault on employees and union members at successful companies nationwide.
“Our members not only said no to Boeing, they said no to Corporate America’s greed,” said Aerospace Coordinator Dick Schneider. “From the start, they were determined to make Boeing “Do the Right Thing.”
“The final word on this tentative agreement will be in the hands of our members, where it belongs,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger, who participated in the negotiations that led to the revised offer.
“But this agreement, and the dramatic improvement over what the company originally proposed, should be the last word in any debate over the value of a militant union and a determined membership in today’s cutthroat economic environment.”
Posted 7:12 PM
IAM representatives attending the Organizing Summit in Chicago, Illinois on Oct. 5-7 are urged to complete and return the downloadable pre-registration form as soon as possible if they have not already done so.
More than 900 rooms have already been reserved by delegates planning to attend the conference; however, fewer than 600 pre-registration forms have been received at IAM headquarters.
To facilitate the on-site registration for delegates, please return a completed pre-registration form via fax to the IAM Communications Dept. at 301-967-4586.
The results of this year’s IAM Newsletter & Website Contest are in and District 190, Local 712 and Local Lodge 1781 have a whole year to sit on their laurels.
District 190 won in the category of General Excellence for both its newsletter, The Sparkplug, and its website, www.iamdistrict190.org.
Local Lodge 712 took top newsletter honors and Local Lodge 1781 won bragging rights for local lodge websites.
“Every year IAM newsletters become more professional and websites more sophisticated,” said Communications Director Rick Sloan. “Local lodges and districts are indispensable in getting labor’s message out.”
All contest winners will be presented awards at the IAM Communications Conference set for October 30 — November 2 in Wichita, Kansas.
The deadline for reserving hotel rooms is Thursday, September 29, 2005. For more information about the conference call 301-967-4520.
See all of the winners at: www.iamaw.org/publications/2005winners/index.htm
Posted 7:21 PM
New IAM members at L-3 Vertex at Ft. Irwin, CA at their negotiations preparation meeting along with District 725 staff and organizers who provided the majority of the help for the authorization and vote yes blitz, including GLR Jose Rodriguez, GLR Joel Ochoa, and GLR Claudio Figueroa of Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson’s staff.
Service Contract Employees employed by L-3 Vertex at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California voted 72 to 25 for IAM representation. The employees maintain and repair training vehicles for the U.S. military. Starting from a submission to the IAM website, the campaign utilized the IAM Blitz program and took just four months from initial lead to election.
“It was a good campaign because the people had issues that kept them strong and solid. They did not fall for the employer’s repeated empty promises,” said Grand Lodge Apprentice Organizer Jonathan Holden who assisted GLR Dennis London, GLR Tom Mason and Grand Lodge Apprentice Organizer Cheryl Stockebrand on the campaign.
“All the new members say thanks to everyone who helped them win IAM representation.”
The new IAM members got right down to business, electing fellow members Jerry Hill, Jesse Hodges and Robert Gallegos to their negotiating committee. They will be assisted by GLR Frank Santos and BR Virginia Cobb.
Posted 7:28 PM
Upon US Airways’ emergence from bankruptcy, the IAM plans to file a petition with the National Mediation Board for a ruling that the two carriers are operating as a single transportation system.
At that time, the IAM will be certified as the representative of both the Mechanic & Related and Fleet Service workforce on the merged airline. This will pave the way for integrating the employees of both airlines under the current IAM agreements.
It is the IAM’s position that employee groups should be merged based on the individual’s date of entry into a particular classification at their respective airline.
If a representation election with another union is called and less than 50 percent +1 of the combined workforce, including furloughed employees, choose to vote in the election, there will be no union, no contract and US Airways will have the unrestricted ability to impose any wages, benefits and employment terms it wants, including elimination of seniority provisions.
For more information, go to: www.goiam.org/usairways.
Posted 7:46 PM
GVP Bob Martinez views the devastation at District 73 in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Southern Territory GVP Martinez recently visited Gulf Coast towns hit hard by Hurricane Katrina to witness first hand the devastation affecting IAM members and others living in these areas.
“District Lodge 73 in Pascagoula lost everything,” said Martinez after seeing the remains of the District office. “There’s nothing but block walls and studs left.”
After traveling through Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Biloxi and Waveland, Mississippi and seeing the piles of rubble, homes that are no more and the people working hard to get their lives back together, GVP Martinez then headed to meet with members of Local 2249 at the Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi.
“Listening to their stories is heartbreaking,” said Martinez, who was joined by Community Services Director Maria Cordone.
“Our members are living with other family members and friends just so they can have a roof over their heads,” said Cordone.
All IAM members affected by the disasters have been asked to report to their Local Lodge Community Service Committees as soon as possible so that an assessment can be made of just how many need help. Donated goods and supplies are being dispersed to our members as quickly as possible.
For more information about the IAM's relief efforts, go to:
http://www.goiam.org/content.cfm?cid=5418
Posted 7:55 PM
of humor and fun!
September 23, 2005
Long community support and internal resolve of the IAM m
Strong community support and internal resolve of the IAM membership have kept spirits high during a lockout at Dothan, Alabama's Pemco Aviation. GVP Bob Martinez (above in white shirt), marched with workers outside Pemco's padlocked gates earlier this week.
Solidarity on Display in Pemco Lockout
If management's decision to lock out nearly 200 members of Local 1632 was based on the expectation that workers there would abandon their quest for a fair contract, then someone at Pemco Aviation in Dothan, Alabama is due for a trip to the woodshed.
"The resolve of this membership is evident the minute you talk with any one of them," said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez, who marched with workers outside Pemco's padlocked gates earlier this week.
"They made sacrifices to help this company during hard times several years ago, but times have changed and this company can afford to do much better by these workers."
The members of Local 1632 have also been bolstered by widespread community support, including donations to a food bank and hardship fund available to workers and their families. A federal mediator assigned the dispute recessed the negotiations last week to give both sides an opportunity to review their positions.
Northwest Airlines Defaults on Pension Payments
Northwest Airlines last week defaulted on a required $65 million payment to pension plans covering more than 14,000 IAM members at the carrier. Northwest's pension plans are underfunded by $3.8 billion, and the bankrupt airline indicated it intends to freeze its current plans and replace them with a follow-on plan.
District 143 Representatives traveled to Washington, D.C. this week for meetings with Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. and other Grand Lodge officials, our labor and bankruptcy attorneys, economists and representatives from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to discuss pensions and bankruptcy.
The PBGC officials provided an overview of the pension insurance program, detailing how the agency administers terminated pensions and processes claims. District 143 will provide the PBGC a series of questions specific to IAM members at Northwest Airlines and distribute their responses to the membership.
The IAM has developed a series of videos that discuss both the bankruptcy process and provide important information about pensions and the PBGC. Both are available on the Grand Lodge website at www.goiam.org/transportation.emberr U
Unemployment Swells in Katrina's Wake
Hurricane Katrina's devastation continues to profoundly impact American workers as 398,000 workers filed initial claims for state unemployment benefits during the week ending September 10. The Labor Department reported a 71,000 increase from the previous week, making it the largest one-week increase in the number of unemployment insurance claims in more than nine years.
The number of workers filing for unemployment assistance is expected to increase even further in the coming weeks as Katrina evacuees begin to receive their last paycheck and are advised on filing for assistance by relief workers.
In response to the large number of evacuees who will need more substantial assistance due to the scope of Katrina's devastation, the National Employment Law Project has called on Congress and the Bush administration to make major improvements to federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
As it stands now, most families will not receive federally-funded Disaster Unemployment Assistance due to major federal restrictions adopted in the 1980's. Instead, they will be forced to rely on unemployment benefits from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, which pay the lowest benefits in the country.
"Today's jobless claims are a poignant reminder of the crippling impact of Hurricane Katrina on jobs and the community," said Maurice Emsellem, Policy Director of the National Employment Law Project. "We urgently need a federal response to the disaster that includes major improvements to the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program."
nemployment Assistance program."
A happy family, ATT Driver Alfred Johnson, center with white t shirt, is reunited with his daughter Ronnette after they were separated during the evacuation of New Orleans. Joining Johnson are other family members and LL 641 President Phil Calloway, far right, LL 641 Vice President Steve Campbell, second from right, and GLR Paul Morris, third from right, who helped reunite the family.
Machinists Display Competence and Compassion
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, many IAM members are dedicating their time and skills to relief efforts. Nearly 4,500 IAM/NFFE-represented employees from the Forest Service Council are providing management and support services in the battered Gulf Coast area.
IAM members are getting supplies into the disaster area, providing security for New Orleans and surrounding areas, managing evacuee centers, providing transportation services, conducting rescue and body recovery efforts and much more.
Meanwhile, the storm that struck on August 29 continues to generate remarkable stories. When Alfred Johnson, an IAM driver for Auto Truck Transport, was forced to evacuate his New Orleans home and then separated from his son and daughter, IAM members pitched in to help reunite the displaced family.
While Johnson made his way to a shelter in Atlanta, GA, his daughter was transported to a Raleigh, NC shelter after being plucked by helicopter from a New Orleans rooftop. When news of the family's plight reached Local 641 President Phil Calloway and Vice President Steve Campbell, they quickly volunteered to drive Johnson's daughter from Raleigh to Atlanta. With a donated van from their employer, Rolo Shuttle, father and daughter were reunited.
The generosity of IAM members did not end there. Grand Lodgepy family, ATT Driver Alfred Johnson, center with white t-shirt, is reunited with his daughter Ronnette after they were separated
Oil Prices in Largest One-Day Spike
Crude oil prices saw their largest one-day spike earlier this week, jumping $4.39 to reach $67.39 per barrel. Fear that oil refineries in Houston may be shut down if Tropical Storm Rita makes landfall there later this week spurred the increase. Four major refineries near New Orleans are still shut down due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and additional closures could wreak havoc on consumers.
While gas prices have eased slightly since peaking at $3.057 over the Labor Day weekend, the $4 dollar surge in oil prices will likely cause another significant increase in prices. Meanwhile, if oil continues to hover at sky-high prices, Americans will be stuck with massive heating bills this winter.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meanwhile, isSeptember 21, 2005
Boeing's Strike: Go Figure
The latest issue of Business Week magazine details the fuzzy math used by Boeing executives who insisted on a so-called “last, best” offer that was all but certain to be rejected by the IAM members in Portland, Oregon, Wichita, Kansas and Washington state.
The strike at Boeing, now approaching its third week, is poised to cost the aerospace giant as much as $90 million a month, but could be settled for far less, according to Business Week.
Taken from imail
Posted 7:37 AM
Consumer Confidence Hits ‘Abysmal’ Levels
The University of Michigan's preliminary index of consumer confidence fell to the lowest point since 1992 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and pushed gasoline prices to a record high, raising concern that Americans may curtail spending.
The widely watched financial barometer fell to 76.9 this month from 89.1 in August, surpassing even the drop following the September 11 attacks in 2001. The decline was the biggest since December 1980.
“These are abysmal numbers, suggesting a deeply pessimistic consumer in the first half of September," said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York.
Taken from imail
Posted 7:45 AM 
(From left) Ed Terneus, Keith Schafer, Dan Richardson.
Ceremony Honors St. Louis Machinists
Quick thinking Machinists Ed Terneus and Dan Richardson of Local Lodge 837B in St. Louis, Missouri were presented with special jackets last month for their potentially life-saving response when a 1,700 pound F/A-18 SuperHornet wing stand fell on fellow Machinist Keith Schafer in March.
Despite pleading with Terneus and Richardson to let him up, the quick-thinking Machinists forced Schafer to stay on the ground until the Emergency response crew arrived. Schafer had broken his spine both vertically and horizontally with part of the bone compressing several major nerves in a manner that any movement would have resulted in permanent nerve damage.
“If they had not kept me down and calm, my surgeon said at best I would have been paralyzed for life,” said Schafer.
The incident took place at the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia after all three members traveled to the military base to complete the delivery of a Boeing Maintenance Trainer built at the Boeing St. Louis military production facility.
Close to fifty of Terneus and Richardson’s co-workers attended the appreciation ceremony where Schafer, who has recovered most mobility, presented his IAM brothers with several rolls of Lifesavers.
Bankrupt airlines don't bother Boeing
Delta and Northwest both have orders pending, but Boeing's growing international customer base will soften the blow.
BY ALLISON LINN
Associated Press
SEATTLE - In most industries, news that two of your customers are seeking bankruptcy protection would be chilling.
But when you're aerospace giant Boeing Co., and the customers are stalwart U.S. airlines, a week like the last one -- while not exactly something to shrug off -- is also far from a reason to panic.
Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. are the latest major U.S. airlines to head to bankruptcy court, hampered by high labor and fuel costs that make it tough to compete with more nimble discount carriers.
Both airlines are Boeing customers: Delta has 55 airplanes on order, and Northwest is set to be the first U.S. carrier to put the company's new 787 into service.
But analysts say neither airline is key to Boeing's most important growth plans, which focus on winning customers in markets such as India, China and other countries that are fast developing a flying middle-class. more on this story..............
Taken from the Wichita Eagle
9-20-05
