Workers Memorial Day Set for April 28
The OSHA Voluntary Protection Program flag was proudly raised on April 11, 2006 in a ceremony at Hamilton Sundstrand in Windsor Locks, Connecticut for their efforts in working with the IAM and another union to achieve OSHA’s highest level of voluntary participation. In attendance were Eastern Territory GVP Lynn D. Tucker, Jr., Connecticut Congressman John Larson, GLR Bill Rudis and Local Lodge 743 President Mark Hebert.
"Open and honest communications are part of the culture that exists here," said Eastern Territory GVP Lynn D.Tucker, Jr. (pictured above) "Two-way communication helps build the trust that leads to cooperation. Trust, honesty, and open communications are fundamental labor values."
The voluntary program encourages private and public sector efforts to improve occupational safety and health. Companies must have in place an effective safety and health management system that meets rigorous performance-based criteria. OSHA looks at employee involvement as one of the attributes of the safety and health management system that is required to qualify as a VPP site.
Hamilton Sundstrand qualified for the VPP Star level, which is awarded to exemplary worksites that have implemented successful safety and health management systems and achieved injury/illness rates below the national averages for aerospace manufacturing firms.
Although decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions, the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous.
Each year more than 56,000 workers die from job injuries and illnesses and another 6 million are injured. The unions of the AFL-CIO remember these workers on April 28, Workers Memorial Day.
On April 28, 2006, the IAM will remember those members who died on the job during a ceremony at William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center located in Hollywood, Maryland. The IAM Workers' Memorial Lighthouse was dedicated during the 2001 Annual Safety and Health Conference and has a special place on the grounds at WWW's Memorial Park. Names of fallen workers are immortalized in a brick barring their name and date of death around it's base.
The IAM website contains more information about Machinists commemoration plans.
The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada.
Every year, people in hundreds of communities and at worksites recognize workers who have been killed or injured on the job. Trade unionists around the world now mark April 28 as an International Day of Mourning.
Once again shying away from the confusion that has marred the flawed Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the Bush administration has said they do not have the authority to extend the May 15 deadline for seniors to enroll in the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Yet, the law establishing the drug benefit says the Department of Health and Human Services has the ability to extend the enrollment deadline for Medicare Part D by declaring a “special enrollment period” for exceptional circumstances. Earlier this month, HHS extended the May 15 deadline for roughly 2 million low-income seniors who they deemed met the “exceptional circumstances”.
“If a delay in the enrollment deadline is good enough for low-income seniors, it is good enough for all seniors – regardless of income,” Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) told the Associated Press.
Despite a bewildering array of choices and little reliable information about which drug plan to choose, most seniors currently eligible for the plan will face higher costs if they sign up after the May 15 deadline. Premiums will rise by 1% a month after them deadline.
Visit the IAM’s website to learn more about the Bush administration’s flawed Medicare prescription drug benefit. There you can send a letter to your Congressional representative urging them to fix the flawed prescription drug plan.
As the three-million member Canadian Labour Congress celebrates its 50th anniversary, Canada Post will issue on April 20 a single domestic rate (51 cents) stamp to commemorate its establishment.
Formed in 1872 as the Canadian Labour Union, the CLC represents the majority of national and international unions in Canada, including 12 provincial and territorial federations and 135 district labor councils.
Montrealer Steven Spazuk created the stamp with photography by Marc Montplaisir. An accomplished painter and graphic designer, Mr. Spazuk designed Canada's first customized stamp, the 1994 Greeting Stamp, and has developed various frame designs as the product evolved into Picture Postage.
Additional information about Canadian stamps can be found in the Newsroom section of Canada Post's website, and a downloadable high-resolution photo of the CLC commemorative stamp is in the Newsroom's Photo Centre.
A recent survey by outsourcing advisory firm Technology Partners International (TPI) found that while more companies are outsourcing than ever before, they are saving a lot less than expected.
Firms typically outsource critical information technology functions like help desk support and customer service to low-cost countries like India or China. In India, most programmers and service workers are paid about 80 percent less than their U.S. counterparts. However, the overhead costs associated with outsourcing, such as transition, legal, advisory and management services, typically means companies only save about 15 percent on functions they outsource.
April 14, 2006
Labor Quote of the week!
Those members of Congress who want labor’s support in November will have to support labor in April.
Robert A. Georgine; President, Building & Construction Trades Dept., AFL-CIO,
Taken from Big Labor.com
Great Labor Quotations: Sourcebook and Reader, by Peter Bollen
The Great Quotations, by George Seldes
Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations
Oak Park, Illinois IAM members are letting the public know their tax dollars are being poured down the drain by city management that refuses to honor the IAM contract.
IAM members from LL 48 and District 8 have been picketing in front of the Oak Park, Illinois city hall to let the public know their tax dollars are being poured down the drain by city management that refuses to honor their IAM contract.
After pressure from a coalition of unions and recent elections putting Trustees on the board who believe in honoring union contracts, there is good news for city tax payers, voters and union members: the city manager has announced he is resigning and moving out of state.
The Oak Park legal department continues to waste money fighting the union. For example,the village recently spent nearly $400,000 on an outside law firm to deal with workplace issues. With three full time attorneys and two employees in the Human Resources Department, the IAM believes this is a waste of taxpayers' dollars.
The harassment of IAM members hasn't stopped, either. Just last week, Oak Park management called in police to escort one of our members out of the building who was being placed on paid suspension for job performance. This type of treatment of our members is totally uncalled for and so the picketing will continue with increasing support from the Oak Park Trustees, the community and other labor unions.
Posted 9:13 PM
Local 701 in Countryside, Illinois recently brought eight new members into the IAM as the automotive technicians at Crystal Lake Pontiac GMC voted unanimously to join the IAM. Six are journeymen technicians, one is an apprentice technician and one is a semi-skilled technician.
"These technicians are solid in their determination to get the wages, benefits and working conditions they deserve. They are sick of takeaways,” said Local 701 Business Representative Tom Gregg. “The company tried to use harsh tactics, but our new members were insulted and voted 100% for the union.”
Midwest GVP James E. Brown praised IAM LL 701 DBR Dennis Jawor and BR Tom Gregg saying, "We appreciate their hard work and dedication. Here is another great example of how company anti-union tactics fail. We welcome our new members into the IAM."
Posted 9:00 PM
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) set a date for a secret ballot representation election for the Reynolds American Tobacco Co. in Winston-Salem, NC covering more than 2,000 production and maintenance workers there.
The United Tobacco Alliance for a Voice and Freedom (UTA), a joint effort by the IAM and the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union (BCTGM), had sought recognition from Reynolds.
The election will be held Thursday, May 11, 2006 at the following locations and times:
In 2006 the General Secretary-Treasurer’s Department will conduct multiple in-depth training classes for IAM district and local lodge financial officers. The class scheduled for June has been cancelled, but there is space available for classes scheduled for September 10 - 15, 2006 (cutoff date August 7) and Oct. 15 - 20, 2006 (cutoff date September 11).
Canadian members should plan to attend in October. A Canadian Grand Lodge Auditor will be attending to assist with various Canadian forms.
The enrollment form can be found on Vlodge under the Resources Tab, Printable Forms or Officers’ Forms. Please contact GST Special Assistant Rob Minnich at 301-967-4543.
Posted 8:40 PM
As the U.S. budget deficit continues to spiral out of control, government spending was up 13.7 percent from a year ago to $250 billion in March, the Treasury Department reported yesterday. Spending through the first six months of the budget year, which began in October, was up 8.7 percent from a year ago to $1.34 trillion.
The tremendous spending led to an $85.5 billion budget deficit in March, an all-time high for the month. March’s total was on the heels of February’s record $119.2 billion deficit.
The budget deficit for the year to date is a whopping $303 billion and the Bush administration is forecasting the budget deficit will hit $423 billion before the year is done, surpassing the $413 billion record set in 2004.
Posted 8:33 PM
Wildest Dreams is a new TV show from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Outdoor Life Network taking lucky union members on fantasy hunting and fishing trips around the world, from North America to South America, to Africa and beyond.
Ten lucky union sportsmen will go on an all-expense-paid hunting or fishing trip to a dream destination, win free outdoor hunting and fishing gear, and appear on Wildest Dreams TV show which is broadcast to millions of outdoor viewers on OLN.
To win your Wildest Dream, send in your Sportsman's Profile with your name, address, phone and email. Include what kind of sportsman you are and where you hunt and fish. Describe your fantasy hunting and fishing trips and why you should be selected for a fabulous trip. Include a personal video or photo on your most memorable hunting or fishing experiences.
Mail To:
TRCP
Attn: Wildest Dreams
555 11th St NW, 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20004
Email To: mdorsey@trcp.org
All Entries Must Be Received By May 15, 2006.
Posted 8:20 PM
The cutoff date for room reservations for the IAM's Legislative Conference is Friday, April 14, 2006.
Posted 8:15 PM