August 01, 2006
Labor Quote of the week!
Take a look at the Garth Brooks Wal-Mart video! Freinds with low wages! http://www.walmartworkersrights.org/
Taken from American Rights at Work website http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/
After two months on strike, IAM negotiators and representatives of PPG Industries are returning to the bargaining table at the request of the federal mediator. Nearly 900 members of Local 470 have been on strike at the chemical company’s Lake Charles facility since May 26.
“Our negotiators have been ready and willing to negotiate since we hit the bricks,” Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez told the members at a rally Saturday in Lake Charles. “This strike is affecting not only the workers, but the entire community.”
Also present at Saturday’s rally was 11-year-old Genie Burton, daughter of Dan Burton, a member of the Local 470 negotiating committee. She wrote a letter to the editor that was read on the air on KPLC-TV in Lake Charles. GVP Martinez thanked the Burton family, saying, “Make no mistake, the next generation has a stake in this fight too. Let’s do what we can to provide a future for the workers here today and for the next generation.”
House GOP leaders have once again ensured the defeat of a minimum wage increase for working families, pushing through sham legislation early Saturday morning that combines a minimum wage increase with a repeal of the estate tax.
Republican leaders were well aware adding the estate tax provision would kill a minimum wage increase as the bill heads to the Senate, where efforts to repeal the estate tax have consistently been defeated. Repealing the estate tax would benefit only the wealthiest Americans and cost the government more than $800 billion for the first 10 years alone.
“It’s a political ploy, it’s a joke, it’s a hoax, it’s a sham,” said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of the bill. “We are robbing America’s families who are struggling for a better future for their children in order to give a tax cut of $800 billion.”
There has been no increase in the minimum wage since 1997 and the current rate of $5.15 per hour puts a full-time worker well below the poverty line even for a family of three.
The Senate is expected to take the bill up Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said Democrats will fight to pass the minimum wage and block the estate tax giveaway.
The recent organizing win at Bill Brandt Ford in Brentwood, CA has been capped off with a first contract that boosts wages and saves new members hundreds of dollars a month in health care costs.
Key issues in the negotiations were health care costs, wages, and respect in the workplace. “The workers in the parts department came to us and asked if we could help them the same way we helped the mechanics,” said IAM organizer Jesse Juarez. ”We told them that if they were strong and determined, we could get them a contract they could be proud of.” District 190 represents the mechanics at the dealership and negotiated a quality contract for them four years ago.
“Some of the employees in the parts department were paying as much $800 per month for their medical coverage,” said Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson. “The IAM was able to negotiate a package where the employer now covers most of the cost. Business Representatives Mark Hollibush and Rick Rodgers did a great job and were even able to get $5 - $ 6 an hour improvements for our new members.”
Robin Davis, a 21-year IAM member of Local 1000 in Bloomington, IL, is all smiles after receiving a check for more than $71,000 and getting her old job back. Davis, a City of Bloomington employee, received full back pay, full seniority and full benefits, thanks to an arbitrator’s decision.
Midwest Territory GLR Sue Wilson represented Davis since she was discharged in March 2005. “This was a complex arbitration,” said Wilson. “The Human Resources Director brought up everything she could in an attempt to justify the discharge, even going back to a supposed ‘Last Chance Letter’ from seven years ago.” Thanks to the IAM, the arbitrator saw things differently.
Midwest GVP Phil Gruber praised GLR Wilson for the important win, and thanked the District 9 and Local Lodge 1000 membership for their efforts and support in the case.
While working families continue to be financially battered by gas prices topping $3 a gallon, oil companies across the board reported record profits last week.
Exxon Mobil announced they raked in a staggering $10.36 billion during the second quarter, a 36 percent jump from a year ago and the second largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company.
Royal Dutch Shell saw earnings jump 40 percent to $7.3 billion; BP saw earnings jump 30 percent to $7.3 billion; ConocoPhillips saw earnings jump 65 percent to $5.2 billion.
The oil industry’s profit increases mirror the increase in gas prices, which were averaging $2.14 a gallon at this time last year. A recent Gallup poll found more than half of Americans are experiencing financial hardships due to today’s gas prices. Many low-income families have cut back on basic necessities such as food, according to the poll.
Worried about the rising cost of health care? Are you concerned that life will be tougher for the next generation of working women than it has been for us? Click the link below to make your voice heard with the AFL-CIO Ask a Working Woman survey: http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/VdaazPF1ocOV/
This Labor Day, the tens of thousands of survey responses will be delivered to every member of Congress and to state and local officials around the country. As candidates campaign before the November elections, they need to hear what you have to say.
So far, more than 14,000 working women have taken the AFL-CIO's 2006 Ask a Working Woman survey. The survey concludes August 7 and organizers hope to have at least 20,000 responses to take to elected officials. This election year, the stakes are high, and this survey identifying the concerns and recommendations of working women is more important than ever.
Machinist union members working under the IAM/UPS National Agreement are receiving a 12 cents per hour COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) increase and 90 cents per hour wage increase effective today, August 1, 2006, once again highlighting the benefits of an IAM contract.
“Having the COLA clause contained in the National Agreement shows that it does not cost – it pays to belong to the IAM,” said IAM Automotive Coordinator Boysen Anderson.
The IAM defeated the United Steelworkers Union (USW) in a two-day National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election to determine representation rights for the Armco Employees Independent Federation (AEIF) in Middletown, OH.
Of the 2,207 eligible voters in the AEIF bargaining unit, 1,056 voted in favor of IAM representation. The USW received 790 votes and 10 ballots were cast to keep the AEIF as representative. No votes were for “No Union” and the NLRB declared one ballot void.
“AEIF leaders contacted the IAM earlier this year seeking help to end the 5-month long lockout at AK Steel Corp. and to explore the possibility of affiliating with the Machinists union,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “Today’s victory gives each and every AEIF member a seat of honor inside the IAM, and an opportunity for a secure pension with the IAM National Pension Fund (NPF).”
AEIF members were locked out by AK Steel on Feb. 28 in a dispute over health care costs, work rules and finding a replacement for the company-managed pension plan. IAM membership allows negotiators to propose a defined benefit pension under the IAM’s highly regarded multi-employer plan. AK Steel proposed to replace the current pension with a risk-based 401k plan.
“AEIF has a proud 63-year history representing generations of workers here in Middletown,” said AEIF President Brian Daley. “Partnering with the IAM gives us the opportunity to preserve our traditions and to negotiate a pension plan that is worthy of the men and women in this community.”
“The IAM pledged to conduct a positive campaign and we delivered on that promise,” said IAM Eastern Territory Vice President Lynn Tucker, Jr. “Despite efforts by the company to delay the election process, we look forward to quickly resolving the lockout and the issues that led to it.”
Business Representative Janet Wright addresses a group of the Long Beach City Workers and IAM representatives. More than 400 Long Beach city workers are new IAM members.
The IAM’s Western Territory recorded four critical organizing victories this week, bringing in 458 new members into the IAM.
“Four separate wins, over the span of two days, have us feeling very good about the hard work that we have been putting into organizing in this territory,” said Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson. “Organizing is difficult, but American workers are hurting and we offer them relief from what is ailing them.”
IAM District 947 in Long Beach, CA brought in 409 city employees, employed in professional occupations varying from librarians and analysts to doctors and nurses.
“This is a great victory, but it was only possible because of the hard work of a lot of people,” said Grand Lodge Representative Joel Ochoa, who helped coordinate the organizing drive.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, 35 flight simulator technicians working for Lockheed Martin at Kirkland Air Force Base voted overwhelmingly to join the IAM. Four flight technicians at DynCorp International, MCAS Miramar in San Diego, CA also voted to join the IAM as part of District 725.
At Bechtel Bettis in Idaho, Grand Lodge Representative Mike Wardle has gotten a card-check agreement with the company for two additional classifications that will bring ten more workers into the 219-person unit that was organized in March.
A big vote is expected next week in the Senate to discontinue funding of certain sections of the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). IAM members, especially federal workers, should contact their Senators to ask them to support the measure.
The vote will be on an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill, which will defund sections of the NSPS recently deemed illegal by District Court Judge Emmett G. Sullivan. Sullivan ruled in favor of federal workers declaring certain parts of NSPS infringed on employees’ collective bargaining rights.
Click here to send a message to your Senators to stop NSPS. “We won this vote a few weeks back in the House, now we need to win it in the Senate,” said IAM Government Employees Director Frank Carelli. “If the Senate amendment passes, it will send a very strong message to the Department of Defense that they’ve gone too far with NSPS.”
Nurses at BryanLGH Medical Center in Lincoln, NE believe nothing should stand in the way of giving their patients the best care possible.They also believe IAM representation and an IAM contract will help make that care possible.
Frustrated by staffing shortages, reduced pension benefits, limited educational opportunities and other cost cutting moves, the nurses at Bryan contacted the IAM and began an organizing drive as the Capitol City Nurses Association.
Hospital officials are fighting back with traditional anti-union rhetoric about wanting to preserve a “professional relationship” with the nurses, and how they have learned from past mistakes, but nurses at Bryan are looking for respect that only comes when they can sit down with hospital administrators as equals, rather than just employees.
A looming shortage of registered nurses is expected to increase the pressure and workload on nurses at Bryan. According to a report issued in April by the Nebraska Center for Nursing, the current 800 nurse shortage will blossom to a 4,000 nurse shortage by 2020 unless step are taken. A recent front-page article (www.journalstar.com) in the Lincoln Journal Star describes the history and issues in the nurses’ campaign for respect on the job.
New IAM members, from left, Latoya Myers, Angelina Watson, Local 2775 President James Morrison, Vanatta Bryan, Shirley Myers and Special Rep. Joe Greaser celebrate their organizing win.
A group of 41 drivers who transport convalescent patients for medical treatment in South Carolina have voted overwhelmingly for IAM representation. The drivers work for ATC/Vancom, a division of Veolia Transportation and will become members of Local 2775 in Beaufort, South Carolina.
The vote was held simultaneously at two locations, in Beaufort and Walterboro, SC. Some of the new members drove nearly an hour to Walterboro after a full day’s work to witness the election count and hear the results.
“Special thanks should go to Local 2775 President James Morrison, District 96 DBR Tony Wilson and Local 23 President Elwin Kennedy for their help making this organizing drive a success,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez.
Lodges wishing to enroll their web stewards for the 2006 Advanced Web Development course can still enroll. The Application deadline has been extended to August 1, 2006. The Advanced Web Course builds on the skills web stewards learned in Basic Web and highlights a more sophisticated use of graphics using classic principles of design, and provides an introduction to HTML and cascading style sheets.
The course is scheduled for September 24 - September 29, 2006 at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, MD.
Click here to download enrollment form and course information. Fax in applications to the IAM Communications Dept., 301-967-4586.
Flight Simulator Technicians and Simulator Support Specialists (SIMTECH) and Northwest Airlines voted this week to approve a new agreement with the bankrupt airline. With the ratification and signing of the SIMTECH agreement, all IAM groups at Northwest Airlines have now ratified new agreements with the carrier.
IP Tom Buffenbarger announced two staff changes in the IAM Legal and Communications Departments. Bill Haller, pictured at right, a long-time labor attorney, joined the IAM as Associate General Counsel on July 24. Haller, originally from Syracuse, NY, has lived in Philadelphia, PA the last 18 years. “Bill Haller spent the last 15 years fighting the good fight as a labor lawyer in private practice,” said Buffenbarger. “We’re very glad he’s chosen to join our team here at Headquarters.”
Joining the Communications Department is Bobbie Sullivan, pictured left. Since coming to IAM Headquarters in 1974, Sullivan has served the IAM in a host of capacities. Sullivan most recently served 9 years as Executive Secretary to recently retired General Vice President Bob Thayer. “Bobbie Sullivan will be an invaluable asset to the IAM in her new capacity,” said IP Buffenbarger.