• WIN Week In Review May 9-11, 2008

WIN Week In Review May 9-11, 2008

By Doug Cunningham

For four months in a row now, U.S. workers have suffered a net loss of jobs. Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute says working people are in for more of the same.

[Mishel]: "The last six months the economy barely grew at all and as a consequence we're gonna see persistent loss of jobs for months to come and steadily rising unemployment. Whenever that happens, and we're already seeing it, wages grow much more slowly, hours of work don't rise or they actually decline. Fewer family members are working, people are working part-time jobs, they want a full-time job."

By Doug Cunningham

GM said this week in a government filing that it's ready to come up with up to $200 million to help end a 10-week strike at American Axle. The UAW is on strike there after the company demanded wages be cut in half and pensions and health care benefits ended for future retirees.

GM has recently said it would not get involvd in the strike. But American Axle supplies GM with key auto parts and the strike has shut off the flow of those parts to GM factories.

The $200 million GM is willing to spend would go to cushion the impact of reduced wages and fund early retirement buyouts for American Axle workers.

• SEIU Rallies Boston Workers In Hospitals Organizing Drive
• Congress Finds Mine Manager Withheld Information In Crandall Mine Deaths
• Hundreds Rallying In North Carolina To Support UAW Freightliner Five
• Economic Report: Toll On 9/11 Workers Continues

Economic Report:

September 11, 2001 is still taking tolls on the workers and emergency responders who participated in the rescue or clean up. An investigation by the World Trade Center Responder Fatality Investigation Program has revealed that 360 of the laborers or emergency professionals have died since that date. 80 perished from deaths related to cancer. The majority of those who died were between the ages of 20 and 50.

By Doug Cunningham

Hundreds of workers are expected in Cleveland, North Carolina today at a rally demanding reinstatement of five UAW local bargaining committee members fired by Freightliner. Allen Bradley is one of the workers fired over a year ago after staging a strike against concessions.

[Bradley]: “The workers are tired of being ran over. And we're tired of corporate unionism."

Freightliner is shutting down it’s operation today. Bradley says he's not sure if it's connected to the rally.

As the Democratic Presidential race slogs on into the mining state of West Virginia, a new report suggests that the 2007 mining disaster in Utah could have been prevented. Jesse Russell reports:

The New York Times reported on Thursday that according to details of a Congressional investigation into the Crandall Mine disaster in August of 2007 the mine’s general manager, Laine Adair hid information from federal mining officials and issued false statements. The report says that Adair possibly withheld the information in conspiracy with other senior staff at the mining company. Adair failed to report a previous mine collapse five months prior to the collapse which took nine lives.

By Doug Cunningham

SEIU is fighting for thousands of Boston hospital workers who want a union to improve their working conditions, advocate for patients and secure good health care and retirement benefits. Mike Fadel is a Vice-President with 1199SEIU in Boston.

[Fadel]: “They're coming together to change that, to make life better for themselves, for their families, for their patients, and ultimately for the entire city. There's just a growing civic consensus among elected officials and community leaders that there's no reason for the hospitals to interfere with these caregivers' right to freely exercise their choice to form a union."

• FBI Raids Office Responsible For Protecting Federal Workers Civil Rights
• Hollywood Could Soon See Another Strike
• Economic Report: Airlines Continue To Struggle With Bad Flights

Economic Report:

Chances are fairly high that you had a flight cancelled in March. More than 28 percent of domestic commercial flights were canceled, diverted or late according to the Transportation Department. If that number sounds bad consider that in February more than 31 percent of flights had those same problems. On the other hand, an average of 6.7 passengers per every 1,000 complained of mishandled baggage in March compared with 7.7 per 1,000 last year.

A June 30 actor’s strike in Hollywood could be in the script now that talks have collapsed between the union and the organization representing major studios. Jesse Russell reports:

The talks lasted 18 days before the Screen Actor’s Guild and the organization representing Hollywood studios pulled the plug on negotiations. Sag will use the break in contract talks to gauge the feelings of the membership. Those feelings may lead to a strike vote as early as next week. The primary issues causing friction are the same that sent Hollywood writers to the picket lines earlier this year – residuals from new media. Meanwhile, the studios took the opportunity to start negotiations with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The studios think they can reach a deal with the smaller AFTRA within two weeks, but SAG representatives have said they expect the union will get caught up in the same issues that ended SAG contract negotiations. The studios have already reached agreements concerning new media with the Writer’s and Director’s Guilds.

By Doug Cunningham

The FBI is pouring over computer records and documents seized in raids Tuesday on the Office of Special Counsel and at the home of Special Counsel Scott Bloch. That office is supposed to enforce civil rights and whistleblower protections for federal workers. But Hans Johnson, President of Washington D.C.’s Pride At Work chapter, says Bloch instead tried to dismantle sexual orientation discrimination protections and attacked union and civil rights of federal workers. Johnson says it’s part fo a Bush administration pattern.

[Johnson]: “To name people to public service positions exercising a great deal of public trust who have a fundamental disbelief or antagonism toward the very mission of the agency they re named to head.”

• Big Win For Obama In NC, Clinton Keeps Fighting
• IUE To Move Its HQ Out Of Washington, D.C.
• Letter Carriers Ready To Replenish The Nation's Food Pantries
• Economic Report: Want To Cap Your Gas Costs For Three Years?

Economic Report:

If you buy a Chrysler you could receive a gas subsidy. The automaker is offering to cap the price of gasoline at $2.99 per gallon for three years for individuals who purchase a Chrylser, Dodge, or Jeep between today and June 2. Customers receive a special card that when used will bill the charge as $2.99 per gallon. Will other carmakers follow suit? Not GM or Ford. Spokespeople for those two companies said they plan to focus on developing fuel efficient vehicles.

Letter carriers are once again helping to fill the nation's food banks, pantries and shelters. May 10 has been proclaimed National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive Day and postal carriers and volunteers will be collecting nonperishable food items left by mailboxes in all 50 states. In New York City, where mailbox pickups of nonperishable food items is logistically difficult, residents are invited to drop off donations all this week at local post offices or through online donations to a local food bank.

• Labor Urges Congress To Defeat Bush’s Colombia Free Trade Deal
• California Teachers Launch Battle Against $4.8 Billion Education Budget Cut
• Thousands Of People Expected To March For L.A. County Workers Contracts
• Economic Report: How Many Will U.S. Employers Hire This Year?

Economic Report:

How are managers around the country looking at hiring in 2008? Only 29 percent of managers in a recent USA Today survey said they planned on increasing hiring for the second quarter. That percentage is unchanged since the previous quarter suggesting job creation has become stagnant. The Department of Labor reported that in January and February total payrolls slipped by 85,000 jobs.

Thousands are expected to join a march for new contracts in Los Angeles on April 15. Jesse Russell reports:

Starting on April 15 and stretching over the three preceding days, organized labor and their supporters will march from Hollywood to the Port of Los Angeles – 28-miles – to highlight the contract negotiations about to start for more than 350,000 Los Angeles County workers. The march will reflect workers from the entertainment industry to teachers to the public sector – all in an attempt to show massive labor solidarity. More than 300 local unions are expected to be involved.

By Doug Cunningham

A budget cut of $4.8 billion will hurt. That’s the California Teachers Association’s message as it launches a six week “Cuts Hurt” bus tour protesting Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger’s proposed $4.8 billion cut.

[Sanchez 1]: “This is a very serious situation for public schools in the state of California, one we haven't faced - of this magnitude - in quite awhile."

California Teacher’s Association President David Sanchez. He says people throughout California need to mobilize and make their voices heard to stave off this education budget cut.

[Sanchez 2]: “We wanna get parents, we wanna get the public - make them aware of what's happening to our public schools if the governor's proposed budget is in fact implemented. We want the public to get mad and to start calling the governor and the legislature. To write, email, call them, to tell them not to balance the budget on the backs of our students."

By Doug Cunningham

A Colombian free trade deal was sent to Congress by Bush on Monday. The Change To Win Labor federation says the so-called “free” trade deal is a bad deal for workers. Change To Win is urging Congress to defeat the free trade deal proposed by Bush. The federation says this deal mirrors NAFTA and CAFTA free trade deals and is not the kind of change in direction in trade policy needed to serve the interest of workers. Colombia is also one of the most dangerous nations in the world to be a union activist or leader. Change To Win urges you to call your congressional rep and let them know that U.S. trade policies must protect workers both here and abroad. The AFL-CIO calls the Colombian free trade deal shows an outrageous disregard for human and workers rights. The AFL-CIO says our government should not reward Colombia for the callous indifference it shows to the rights and lives of Colombian workers.