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UWUA Power for America Training Trust FundAbout the Trust Fund - In the News - Member News
(last updated: 05-11-12)
‘Right to Work’ for Less Passes, Indiana Working Families Vow to Fight On The Indiana state Senate this morning approved (28-22) a “right to work” for less bill. Passage of the bill, says Indiana State AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott, “means that strong arm tactics, misinformation and big money have won at the Indiana Statehouse.” She says the bill, which Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) will sign, sets Indiana upon: a path that will lead to lower wages for all working Hoosiers, less safety at work and less dignity and security in old age or ill health. Indiana’s elected officials have given the wrong answer to the most important question of this generation. While thousands of working people—some days more than 10,000—traveled to Indianapolis over the past few weeks as Daniels, House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) and others muscled the bill through the legislature, they were often denied the right to be heard. Says Guyott: Citizens who stood against this legislation were barred from entering the Statehouse, were denied the chance to testify before the committees considering it and were refused meetings with their own legislators. Independent, fact-based assessments of the economic impact on this legislation were dismissed in favor of stories, promises and unsubstantiated claims by out-of-state special interest groups. And Indiana’s legislative traditions were dishonored as those in power rammed through this bill at reckless speed to avoid further public scrutiny and to please their corporate paymasters. A similar bill was passed in 1957, but voters not only turned out the Republican majority in the next election cycle, but the law was was repealed in 1965. Says Guyott: As working men and women did in the 1950s and 60s, this generation of Hoosiers will now rise up, join forces and repeal this anti-worker agenda again. From: http://blog.aflcio.org/2012/02/01/right-to-work-for-less-passes-indiana-working-families-vow-to-fight-on/
Walker Recall Election Now All But Certain to Occur
Indiana anti-union bill to get vote next week as Republicans and Democrats make a deal
Indiana Labor Measure Is Expected to Progress
A Gathering Storm Over ‘Right to Work’ in Indiana
The Nasty Truth About the Online Retailers You Probably Used for Your Holiday Shopping
Right to Work Reality Check: Debunking Jim Buck
Indiana Republicans aim to get right to work on 'right to work'
Lindsey Graham Tried to Bully NLRB Before Boeing Complaint
House GOP Launches Attack on Labor Board Republicans use Boeing-Machinists dispute to undermine worker rights UNDER THE PRETEXT that the National Labor Relations Board has overreached in a case involving Boeing and the Machinists union, U.S. House Republicans have moved to strip away the NLRB’s ability to enforce labor laws protecting workers. On Sept. 15, the House passed the “Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act” (H.R. 2587). The act’s noble-sounding name belies the fact that its intent is to allow large corporations to trample long-established legal protections that prevent employers from retaliating — such as through firings or relocating a factory — when workers strike or engage in other protected activities. H.R. 2587 is unlikely to be brought up in the Senate, where Democrats maintain a slim majority. However, should the 2012 elections give Republicans control of both houses of Congress and the presidency, H.R. 2587, or some variant, could very well become law. Rep. Tim Scott of South Carolina sponsored H.R. 2587 in reaction to a complaint filed against Boeing by the NLRB on April 20. In the complaint, board acting general counsel Lafe Solomon charged that the company transferred a second production line of its 787 Dreamliner commercial jet from Seattle, where Machinists from District 751 are employed, to a new nonunion facility in Charleston, S.C., “for discriminatory reasons.” During the most recent contract negotiations between Boeing and the Machinists, the company had attempted to obtain the union’s guarantee not to strike. When that failed, Boeing announced it would move the production line to Charleston. The Machinists have obtained documentation that shows the company considered a number of options for the second line, but it chose Charleston, even though it admitted that the site offered the highest business risk. During a recent Machinists press conference in Seattle sponsored by the International Labor Communications Association, ILCA President Steve Stallone stated, “[The case] calls into question the basic legal rights of workers. Boeing broke the law; they got caught. They thought they were so big they didn’t have to worry about it. Now that they’ve been caught violating the law, at this point what they’re trying to do is have their Republican friends in Congress either change the law or defund a federal agency so it can’t enforce . . . the National Labor Relations Act.” Read More: http://www.boilermakers.org/news/House_GOP_launches_attack_on_labor_board
Support Your Union Brother - Elect Mayor John Birkner, Jr. Sisters & Brothers, The only way working men and women are going to regain their voice within the current state and federal political environment is for workers to run for and win election at every level of political office. We need to have true worker advocates at every level within our local, state and federal government. The opportunity to support one of our own, a UWUA Local Union President, in his re-election bid for the position of Mayor of Westwood New Jersey is not only privilege but an opportunity for the membership of the UWUA to provide assistance to a true advocate for workers and their families. The UWUA National C.O.P.E. Committee endorses Brother John Birkner is his re-election bid and has contributed to his campaign fund. Time is of the essence, there are only two weeks left before the election, please read the letter from Brother Birkner below and please do all that you can to support one of own. John Duffy UWUA Vice President, AFL-CIO ------------ Dear Brothers and Sisters of the UWUA, As you are aware, the labor force in the State of New Jersey is under direct attack by politicians intent on destroying the rights that thousands of working families have earned through collective bargaining. Everything from working conditions, to pensions and benefits have been the subject of a well orchestrated media campaign designed to divide public and private labor unions, and to destroy the gains we have fought for decades to achieve. For the past thirty years I have been an active member of the UWUA, AFL-CIO, Local 534, and the President since 2002. I have fought attempts at privatization of public utilities, joined our health care professionals on the picket line, and been a vociferous advocate for the rights of working families. For the past four years I have served as mayor of the Borough of Westwood, working hard to ensure that the quality of life of the residents I represent is maintained, and the working conditions of our Borough employees are not compromised due to draconian cuts to municipal aid from Trenton. I am a candidate for re-election in November and I am reaching out to you because I need your help. As a labor leader, I have successfully completed the NJ State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates Education program and pride myself in the commitment I have made to New Jersey’s working families. My opponents in the upcoming election are well funded and will stop at nothing to move their anti-worker agenda forward. I realize this is a difficult time economically, however I am asking for your financial support so that we may continue to ensure that the ranks of our elected representatives include the voice of working families and organized labor. Your generosity and continued support is greatly appreciated. Donations can be sent to : Friends of Mayor John Birkner, Jr. c/o 416 Fourth Ave. Westwood, NJ 07675 In Solidarity, John Birkner, Jr. President Utility Workers Union of America AFL-CIO, Local 534 Read More: http://uwua.net/cope/support-your-union-brother-elect-mayor-john-birkner-jr.html
The Hit for State Workers
Remarks by AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka, "Addressing the Jobs Crisis" - The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC Today, we're discussing the causes and the cures for the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. It seems crystal clear to me: we don't have a debt crisis – we have a jobs crisis. America isn't broke. But America's basic promise – an ever-rising, ever-widening prosperity – is being broken. Counting all the casualties of the job crisis, our real underemployment rate is over 16 percent. Earlier generations of economists would have called this a depression. The nation has lost almost 7 million jobs since December, 2007– and another 4 million jobs should have been created as people entered the labor force, giving us an 11 million jobs hole in our labor market. That number should be on every bulletin board and every screensaver in every public policymaker's office. And this is not an equal opportunity recession. The official unemployment rate is 16.7 percent among African Americans, 11.3 percent among Hispanics and 23 percent among teenagers.
But this jobs crisis isn't only about cold statistics. Work isn't just what we do – it's who we are. It's how we support ourselves and our loved ones; how we connect to our fellow men and women; and how we contribute to the world and leave our legacy.
Maine Labor Mural on Display at AFL-CIO Check out the a reproduction of the 11-panel mural depicting Maine’s labor history that the state’s governor has banned. It’s on display now through Oct. 11 at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. Maine Gov. Paul LePage ordered the original mural, by artist Judy Taylor, removed from state property in March and continues holding the artwork hostage. The mural depicts the state’s labor history, including a 1986 paper mill strike, “Rosie the Riveter” at the Bath Iron Works and the enactment of child labor laws. LePage, who supports right-to-work-for-less laws and pushed to weaken child labor laws, claimed the mural was compared with North Korean propaganda. But Mount Holyoke College President Lynn Pasquerella put LePage’s actions into proper perspective when she said they conjure “thoughts of rewriting history prevalent in totalitarian regimes.” The Maine AFL-CIO is leading a lawsuit to force LePage to return the mural to its previous display site at the state Department of Labor. Maine AFL-CIO President Don Berry helped make the mural available, together with Nancy Nesvet, an independent curator. Previously displayed at the nonprofit VisArts arts center in Rockville, Md., the display is open to the public during regular business hours at the AFL-CIO, 815 16th St., N.W. Read More at AFL-CIO AFL-CIO and National Labor College Launch Invested, A Unique Personal Finance Website Financial Empowerment Project offers bias-free financial information Go to: http://invested.nlc.edu/ (Washington DC, September 23) – The AFL-CIO and the National Labor College are launching Invested, a unique personal finance website offering free and unbiased financial education resources. According to the creators, the site was imagined due to a lack of endorsement-free personal financial advice for working people. The website addresses topics applicable to people of all ages and backgrounds: financing for college, purchasing a home, managing family finances, how to save for retirement, and how to respond to life events from a financial perspective. "In today's economy, there are too many financial minefields to count," said Zach Teutsch, director of investor education. Invested is providing a resource that doesn't exist – a product and endorsement-free zone where working people can go and get the information they need for the life decisions important to them." Invested is part of the National Labor College's Financial Empowerment Project which launched in 2010. It is funded by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and is dedicated to helping working people through life's financial milestones. Contact: Josh Goldstein (202) 637-5018 Kasich on public employees: “we are at war with these people” - 9/22/2011 The Governor said that we are at war with these people. He also said that he wishes they would just accept Senate Bill 5 because he is going to spend millions in tax payer money to defend it in the campaign. He said if it goes down, he and the legislature are going to “ram it through” in other legislation. He commented that his polls are showing that as many as 70% of Republicans are going to vote the bill down and he doesn’t understand why. He also tried to tell the people that he tried to sit down with union leadership and they declined. I guess he forgot that the union leadership approached him before Senate Bill 5 passed and he had the doors of the State House LOCKED for the first time ever in history. He locked us out of our building and said he was not discussing anything. His actions made that clear. Read More: http://www.plunderbund.com/2011/09/19/kasich-on-public-employees-we-are-at-war-with-these-people/
Labor Day FAQ - 9/1/2011
Dr. King would say that a Nobel Peace Prize winner can and must find a way to demonstrate that he is a man of peace, a man of love and non-violence. He would say it is time to bring an end to war and get our young men and women out of harm's way. Dr. King would assert without hesi-ta-tion that war is obsolete, that it destroys the very soul of a nation, that it wastes human lives and natural resources. A. Philip Randolph, the dean of the civil rights movement and the convener of the March on Washington, once advocated creating what he called a "freedom budget" that would be a collection point for the resources government would use to help create jobs, rebuild infrastructure, clean up the waterways and make sure we have clean air to breathe and nutritious food to eat. I think Dr. King would ask why we couldn't do something like this today.
Tapping Into Our Buy American Consciences - 8/27/2011
Reclaiming Democracy for ‘We The People’ - 8/24/2011
Can the PSC Set Rates and Employment Levels?
Anti-Union Group Sues State's Largest Teachers Union A lawsuit filed by 15 teachers from around the state challenges one of the state's largest teachers unions about how it uses money collected from non-union members. The teachers, backed by a national anti-union nonprofit foundation, sued the Ohio Education Association and its regional districts Thursday night in federal court in Columbus. The OEA represents about 128,000 teachers and education staff, including "a few thousand" who opted out of joining a union but who still pay a "fair share" fee. Read More Wisconsin’s Warning to Union-Busters Five months after Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin pushed through a law stripping public unions of their bargaining rights, the Republican Party has paid a price. Two of the state senators who backed the law were thrown out of office by voters on Tuesday and replaced with Democrats. Mr. Walker’s opponents did not succeed in turning over the Senate, but it was still an impressive response to the governor’s arrogant overreach. Recall elections are extremely difficult to win; only two had succeeded in the state in the last 80 years. The districts lean Republican, and getting people to turn out in an unusual off-year election is always a struggle. Had Democrats won one more district, they would control the Senate, but they were also trying to send a warning to Republican lawmakers around the country who are trying to break public employee unions. In that, they succeeded. Read More More Support for Obama’s Proposed Executive Order More than 60 House Democrats sent a letter this week to President Barack Obama, asking him to issue an executive order that would make companies vying for government contracts disclose their political contributions. “Political expenditures are already well-known to those that make them and to the officials who benefit,” the letter said. “With disclosure, the public will have access to this information as well, allowing them to judge whether contracts were awarded based on merit.” The executive order would help to mitigate the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which gave corporations the go-ahead to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections. Read More Why Americans Are So Angry The rich are getting richer. Their effective tax rate, in recent years, has been reduced to the lowest in modern history. Nurses, teachers and firemen actually pay a higher tax rate than some billionaires. It's no wonder the American people are angry. Many corporations, including General Electric and Exxon-Mobil, have made billions in profits while using loopholes to avoid paying any federal income taxes. We lose $100 billion every year in federal revenue from companies and individuals who stash their wealth in tax havens off-shore like the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. The sum of all the revenue collected by the Treasury today totals just 14.8% of our gross domestic product, the lowest in about 50 years. If the Republicans have their way, the entire burden of deficit reduction will be placed on the elderly, the sick, children and working families. In the midst of a horrendous recession that is already causing severe pain for average Americans, this approach is morally grotesque. It's also bad economic policy. President Obama and the Democrats have been extremely weak in opposing these right-wing extremist proposals. Although the United States now has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major industrialized country, Democrats have not succeeded in getting any new revenue from those at the top of the economic ladder to reduce the deficit. Instead, they've handed the wealthy even more tax breaks. In December, the House and the Senate extended President George W. Bush's tax cuts for the rich and lowered estate tax rates for the wealthiest Americans. In April, to avoid the Republican effort to shut down the government, they allowed $38.5 billion in cuts to vitally important programs for working-class and middle-class Americans. Now, with the U.S. facing the possibility of the first default in our nation's history, the American people find themselves forced to choose between two congressional deficit-reduction plans. The plan by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, which calls for $2.4 trillion in cuts over a 10-year period, includes $900 billion in cuts in areas such as education, health care, nutrition, affordable housing, child care and many other programs desperately needed by working families and the most vulnerable. The Senate plan appropriately calls for meaningful cuts in military spending and ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But it does not ask the wealthiest people in this country and the largest corporations to make any sacrifice. The Reid plan is bad. The constantly shifting plan by House Speaker John Boehner is much worse. His $1.2 trillion plan calls for no cuts in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it requires a congressional committee to come up with another $1.8 trillion in cuts within six months of passage. Those cuts would mean drastic reductions in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. What's more, Mr. Boehner's plan would reopen the debate over the debt ceiling, which is now paralyzing Congress, just six months from now. Read More Almost all of us are getting poorer Some of us are getting poorer faster. And we all know who's getting richer. A new study by the Pew Research Center shows how much poorer we all got between 2005 and 2009. During that period, net worth for white households fell 16 percent. It fell 53 percent among black households and 66 percent among Hispanic households. Concludes Pew: Plummeting house values were the principal cause of the recent erosion in household wealth among all groups, with Hispanics hit hardest by the meltdown in the housing market. Of course falling wages can't help either. The EndoftheAmericanDream.com blog reports that median wages are falling in nearly every American city: According to the Census Bureau's annual survey of income and poverty in the United States, of the 52 largest metro areas in the nation, only the city of San Antonio did not see a decline in median household income in 2009. Here are some scary numbers showing one-year declines: *In Detroit, median household income declined 10% to $48,535. *In Orlando, median household income dropped almost 10% to $46,856. *In Cleveland, median household income fell 8.5% to $45,395. *In Miami, median household income declined 8.2% to $45,946. *In Indianapolis, median household income dropped 7.1% to $50,140. Suppose it's occurred to anyone in Congress that fighting over the debt ceiling isn't the best use of their time right now? Read More Oppose Attempts to Undermine the New Consumer Bureau Tell Your Representative to Stand Up for Consumers The creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is one of the most significant reforms to come out of Congress’ efforts last year to protect consumers and rein in Wall Street greed. This new agency, which consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren is now working to set up and Richard Cordray will hopefully run, is to be responsible for cracking down on unfair, deceptive and abusive practices in consumer financial products such as mortgages, student loans and credit cards. But now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is under attack. House Republicans are scheming with Wall Street lobbyists to push bills that will virtually guarantee that the bureau would be a weak, ineffective agency without the will or ability to curb the kind of financial abuses that caused the nation’s worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Specifically, H.R. 1315, sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), would grant the same regulators that failed so spectacularly to protect consumers and stop the financial crisis broad leeway to block the new bureau’s rules. It would also make the bureau less accountable and more likely to slide into gridlock and inaction by altering the leadership of the agency from that of a single director to a five-member commission. Help us oppose these attempts to undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Email your member of Congress (and follow up your message with a phone call) today! CLICK HERE Now is STILL the Time to Take Action in Your Community - 7/27/2011 Who could have imagined the destructive actions we’ve seen this winter and spring—from attacks on public employees in dozens of states to the Republicans' federal budget plan to destroy Medicare? Elected politicians are ignoring working families’ No. 1 priority—jobs and the economy—to deliver political payback to the CEOs and corporations that bankrolled them into office. This summer, when members of Congress are in their home districts for recesses and many state legislatures are out of session, voters will hold these politicians accountable for their actions and positions on working family issues. As events unfold, you can find information and resources here. Please add your events and share your ideas so that together, we can restore respect for the lives and futures of working people. Announcing The 2013 Utility Workers Union of America Scholarship Program - 7/21/2011 For high school juniors who will be completing or leaving high school and entering college in the fall of 2013. This scholarship program was established by Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, for the children of active members of the union. To enter your child into the 2013 Utility Workers Union of America Scholarship Program (for students who will complete high school and enter college in 2013), use the link below and complete the following steps in the Entry Form process: STEP 1: Read the scholarship program brochure in its entirety (confirm that you have read and understand the program procedures by marking the check box at the bottom of the page STEP 2: Confirm that your child meets all participation requirements for the 2013 competition by marking the appropriate check boxes. STEP 3: Complete the online 2013 Utility Workers Union of America Scholarship Program Entry Form. STEP 4: Review the Entry Form for completeness and accuracy, read the Submission Agreement and submit your child’s Entry Form for the 2013 competition. STEP 5: Print and retain a copy of the “Submission Confirmation” for your records. We wish your child the best as he/she participates in the 2013 Utility Workers Union of America Scholarship Program. USE THE LINK BELOW TO BEGIN THE 2013 ENTRY FORM PROCESS https://programentry.nationalmerit.org/JSPDKLBD http://uwua.net/press-releases/announcing-the-2013-utility-workers-union-of-america-scholarship-program.html New Rules Would Bring Union Elections into 21st Century - 7/18/2011 The proposed new rules would help eliminate delaying tactics workers face after they have filed a petition to vote on whether to form a union. The new rules set time limits on election procedures and outline the type of information employers must provide and make other changes. Management attorneys claimed that somehow those changes stifle employers’ right of free speech and are unfair burdens on companies. Read More State House OKs New Congressional Districts - 6/27/2011 Despite the threat of a legal challenge, the state House of Representatives approved redrawn districts for Michigan’s 14 seats in Congress. The 63-47 vote was a nearly a straight party line vote with most Republicans supporting the redistricting maps and most Democrats opposing. The new maps now move to the state Senate for consideration next week. “The Michigan Legislative black caucus is opposing the maps because we believe the process has not been open and fair,” said state Rep. Fred Durhal, D-Detroit. The new maps lump U.S. Reps. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township and Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak in the same district. It also gives U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit and Thad McCotter, R-Livonia, wildly meandering districts that cross county and municipal lines. Michigan is losing a seat in Congress – going from 15 to 14 – because of population losses revealed in the U.S. Census. Republicans are controlling the redistricting process because of their majorities in the state House and Senate, governor’s office and the Supreme Court. State Rep. Barb Byrum, D-Onandaga, said there was not enough time to review and analyze the maps before they were moved out of committee Tuesday. “We must have an open and deliberative process and we haven’t had that,” she said. But state Rep. Peter Lund, R-Shelby Township, is the chairman of the redistricting committee and said he will vigorously defend the maps if they are challenged in court. Two Republicans – Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, and Bob Genetski, R-Saugutuck – voted against the maps. While two Democrats – Douglas Geiss, of Taylor, and Andrew Kandrevas of Southgate, supported the redistricting plan. History of Utility Workers View Video UTILITY WORKERS FIGHT TORRENT OF GREED AT AMERICAN WATER CO Charging that the American Water Company is demanding huge rate hikes from customers and steep concessions from employees – while showering top executives with lucrative pay packages – dozens of workers and community members rallied outside the nation’s largest for-profit water utility in Alexandria yesterday morning to demand an end to American Water’s “unfair attacks” on working families. “American Water is trying to increase water rates and give their CEOs millions of dollars" out of the pockets of their workers through increased health costs, Gary Ruffner (below, reading letter), National Secretary-Treasurer for the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), told Union City. “It’s always the case that greedy people want to make profit off of the back of the workers, but it’s not fair to trample on the workers and community like that. We’re here to bring attention to corporate greed and the practices that are going on within corporate America all over this country.” After leafleting morning commuters outside the King Street Metro station for several hours, the demonstrators – which included members of the UWUA, the AFL-CIO and SEIU 32BJ – chanted “Rate hikes for you- bonuses for bosses!” as they marched to American Water’s office on Duke Street to rally and deliver their message. “Having CEO’s get huge bonuses and benefits while making employees pay double their rate for health care is ridiculous,” said SEIU 32BJ Political Coordinator Kevin Hills. “We don’t want all their money- we just want a fair share for the workers and our community.” Before leaving, the demonstrators delivered letters from Virginia Congressman Jim Moran and the Northern Virginia Labor Federation urging William Walsh – the President of Virginia American Water Company – to be “mindful of the difficult conditions facing working families in Virginia and across the country” and to stop “the painful cost shifts to those families.” The UWUA urges people to email CEO Jeff Sterba at jeff.sterba@amwater.com or call 856-346-8200 to let him know that “American Water’s demands for concessions in healthcare and retirement benefits are unacceptable,” and that “management should immediately return to good faith negotiations for a fair labor agreement.” – report/photos by Adam Wright. Read More The Hard Truth About Health Care Republicans have a plan that has been tried repeatedly but that has never worked. Democrats have a plan that might work in theory, but it is untested at the scale they'll need for it to work in practice. And both parties are too scared to talk about the only plan that has worked. Read More What Google and Facebook are Hiding MoveOn wouldn't be possible without the open Internet. But according to our own Eli Pariser, the Internet itself is changing. His book on the topic, The Filter Bubble, comes out this week (you can check it out here). In March, the TED conference invited him to preview the argument. When I talked to Eli beforehand, he was really nervous-in the audience were top executives from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and a number of other companies he critiques. But his call for an open, ethical Internet-he actually called out the Google founders and Bill Gates in the audience by name-got a standing ovation. And it's been burning up the TED website ever since. We're sharing it today because we think it's a really important point. Increasingly, the Internet is hiding things from us, and we don't even know it. Take a moment to watch Eli's TED talk today: "You spend half your life in Internet space, but trust me-you don't understand how it works. Eli Pariser's book is a masterpiece of both investigation and interpretation; he exposes the way we're sent down particular information tunnels, and he explains how we might once again find ourselves in a broad public square of ideas. This couldn't be a more interesting book; it casts an illuminating light on so many of our daily encounters." If you're interested in the book, you can check it out by clicking on the link <; -all of Eli's profits from this email will go to MoveOn.org Civic Action. It's not a given that the Internet will remain fertile ground for democracy. We need to make sure it does, and Eli's argument is an important part of that fight. Unlimited Secret Money Is Drowning Democratic Elections The 2012 presidential election year promises to be the most expensive ever and unless the Department of Justice does its job, it also promises to be have the most anonymous campaign donations in U.S. history. Read More Local 121 and American Water  April 27, 2011 Mr. D. Michael Langford Utility Workers Union of America 816 t1h6 Street NW Washington DC 20006 Re: UWUA 121 and the Petition of Tennessee American Waterfor a General Rate Increase in TRA Docket No. 10-00189 Dear Mr. Langford, Recently, it was my pleasure to work with the legal representation of the Utility Workers Union of American, AFL-CIO and UWUA Local 121 in a rate case with Tennessee American Water Company (“TAWC”) before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (“TRA”). Despite the resistance and numerous objections of TAWC to every facet of participation of the Union in the case, Mr. Strauss and Ms. Mapes were well received by the Directors and Staff of the TRA and brought to light many employee and maintenance issues, which according to the record in this matter, have long been neglected by TAWC. Their efforts were every effective. During the course of the hearing, the Directors took considerable interest in the testimony of the Company and Union witnesses on various issues affecting the number of employees needed to maintain an efficient water system. The number of employee positions incorporated into the final decision of rate case and the reporting requirements imposed on TAWC reflect the efforts of the Union. It is my hope TAWC will be held accountable to improve in these areas. I wish to thank you and the Union for their efforts in this matter and look forward to working with Mr. Strauss and Ms. Mapes in future TAWC rate cases. Sincerely, Ryan L. McGehee Assistant Attorney General Office of the Tennessee Attorney General Consumer Advocate and Protection Division P.O. Box 20207 Nashville, TN 3 7202-0270 (615) 532-5512 (615) 532-5512
Obama Plan Prevents 2012 Recession: Economists
Enel Opens World’s First Hydrogen-Driven Power Plant Zero-down, Leased Solar is Hot. What's Up Next? Leased Energy Storage Systems. by Bruce Mulliken, Green Energy News Somewhere in the deep, crevasses of some solar entrepreneur's brain there’s a thought brewing: Leasing solar systems is a success. Leasing energy storage systems could be too. Customers would like that. Leasing has taken the financial bite out of solar power. Leasing could do the same for expensive energy storage systems. It’s not the technology it’s the “financial bite” that’s keeping energy storage systems out of solar powered buildings and building powered part time by intermittent renewable energy sources. Read More: http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2011/20110070.html
Effects of EPA's new coal rules in Tennessee disputed - 9/4/2011
One side says bills will rise; other says pollution will drop
AFL-CIO Announces Full-Time Push for Jobs, Working Family Heroes - 9/1/2011 Flanked by working people from across the country, AFL-CIO officers pledge to give voice to working people in the political process (Washington DC, August 31)– Detailing the desperate need for jobs and for a voice for working people in the political process, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka today outlined a broad new mobilization effort to speak to and for working people on economic issues year-round. Joined at a Labor Day press event by workers from Missouri, Ohio, New Hampshire and Minnesota, Trumka pledged to amplify the voices of working families in a public debate dominated by partisanship and goals defined by Tea Party Republicans and their corporate backers. Without a voice in the political process, he said, working men and women and their core concerns – notably, creating an economy that works for everyone – are more easily ignored. "The AFL-CIO is responding aggressively, with innovative tactics to build a movement for the next generation that speaks to and for all working people – around jobs, politics and the workplace," he said. "Working people have a powerful voice when they band together," he continued. "And now more than ever, working people need to have their voices heard politically. Only together can we reinvigorate our democracy." The event focused on the seriousness of the jobs crisis and its impact on all working people. Leann Bosquez, a jobless Minnesotan and Working America member, said "I feel that employers are looking more for college education than a proven track record. I'm either overqualified or undereducated. It's hard on the self-esteem. In my career life, I've always been ambitious. I've always jumped in with both feet and worked with a team to get things going. It's clear – more must be done to create jobs." In addressing the need for solutions to the jobs crisis, Trumka said, "This is the time for boldness. This is the moment that working people will judge President Obama: Will he propose policies that fundamentally move us away economic extremism? Will he propose solutions that are on the scale necessary to address the jobs crisis?" The AFL-CIO has developed a 6-point jobs plan to address the current jobs crisis: 1. Rebuilding America's schools, roads, ports, airways, and energy systems. 2. Reviving U.S. manufacturing and stop exporting good jobs overseas. 3. Putting people to work doing work that needs to be done. 4. Helping state and local governments avoid more layoffs and cutbacks of public services. 5. Helping fill the massive shortfall of consumer demand by extending unemployment benefits and keeping homeowners in their homes. 6. Reforming Wall Street so that it helps Main Street create jobs. Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler detailed the impact of the jobs crisis on young people. "Without more investment in job creation, young people will suffer in the future as a result of stunted opportunities in the present," Shuler said. "But the next generation is not just going to sit back while their opportunities are frittered away by the current generation of corporate elites. Young people are making a difference all across the globe—from Egypt to Wisconsin." Several of the workers responded to recent attacks on public employees and other working people. BJ Simmons-Talley, a bus driver and AFSCME member from Ohio, said, "I love my job. I love working with kids. I've been watching Gov. Kasich. He's attacking teachers, police, fire fighters, service workers. All the people who give back to their communities. We don't want to be rich – we just want to be able to retire, to have health care, to feed our family, to clothe our kids, to send them to school – and to make sure they have jobs when they come out of school." Steve Soule, an IBEW member and technician from New Hampshire, said, ""I voted for New Hampshire Republicans – it's a pretty independent and small government state. But I've been involved with fighting against the right to work in New Hampshire. They're wrong about it." Soule continued, "Being in a union has allowed me to have a family and a job with security and benefits. I've been a union member all my life. I have the ability to sit down with my employer in a professional manner and negotiate – without a union that doesn't happen. It's a good thing for me and a good thing for my community." Executive Vice-President Arlene Holt Baker addressed new voter suppression initiatives from over-reaching state legislatures and governors. "It is shocking to see a largely unnoticed push to create a voting population more reminiscent of the 1950s. This year, state legislators in 34 states – nearly all Republicans aided by their millionaire backers – introduced voter ID laws under the guise of preventing voter fraud," said Holt Baker. "The AFL-CIO is committed to working with our partners in the civil rights and the voting rights community to fight these partisan attempts to disenfranchise a particular segment of our voting age population with their solution to a problem that doesn't exist." Dawn Jennewein, a CWA member from Missouri, has been active in holding politicians accountable and calling for job-creating solutions. She said, "A lot of these politicians are okay with attacking working people because it doesn't hurt their bottom line. But that's why I speak out and attend rallies – because if we don't fight for our future, our kids and our grandkids, then they won't have anything. We have to fight for them and for future generations. The retirees before us fought for what we have today."
El Hierro To Become World's First Renewable Energy Island - 8/24/2011
Going Green Pays Off - 8/21/2011 LED lighting saves city nearly $1,000 a month Going green is saving the city of Iowa City some green on its monthly utility bill. The city invested in energy-efficient lighting for its downtown parking ramps, resulting in a 52-percent reduction in overall electricity usage in the facilities and a savings of nearly $1,000 monthly per ramp. All five of the city's parking ramps have been retrofitted with LED lighting, which uses less energy, lasts longer and requires less maintenance than the old fixtures. The new lighting also is equipped with motion detectors, which dim the lights by 80 percent when an area is unoccupied for more than five minutes. Read More http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20110819/NEWS01/108190306/Going-green-pays-off?odyssey=nav%7Chead Can the U.S. Cut the Greenhouse Gases Without Washington? If Washington can’t make headway in cutting planet-warming emissions through national regulations, investments, or incentives can the rest of the country do it without them? Possibly, and certainly any help beyond the Washington Beltway will be welcome. Here are some thoughts: -- Utilities don’t seem to mind renewables, particularly solar, since capacity can be added easily. Power companies don’t really like to build large conventional power plants. They do so because they have to meet predicted demand. But big plants take years to build and are huge investments. More than likely they’d rather keep adding distributed power almost continually than commit to new large centralized power plants. If anything lots of small generators are easier to build than one big one. --- Utilities don’t seem to mind electric car charging on their grids: Eventually it’s a new source of revenue. If enough electric cars are sold, off-peak, overnight power that’s generated but now not sold will provide a new source of revenue and profits. Power Grid To Struggle With Off Peak Renewable Energy Demand? One major concern for many countries has been how to make their existing power grids ‘smarter’ so that they are more compatible with renewable forms of energy. However a report from MIT has stated that despite the increase in ‘smart meters’ (that allow people to see electricity cost fluctuations in real-time), a rise in demand could overload the power grid. How might this happen you ask? Well if you were to wait until late at night to charge your phone or to do the laundry, then it is possible others will do the same. During this ‘off peak’ period, these energy-intensive tasks would not use renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar, but instead fire up backup generators.  Read More Less than Citizens  Abolishing Birthright Citizenship Would Create a Permanent Underclass in Our NationSam Fulwood III, Marshall Fitz In a move contrary to the most cherished of American values, a band of ultraconservative activists are targeting the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants—and others—to score political points. This issue brief examines the kind of society and democracy we would become if the 14th Amendment were amended to once again create a permanent underclass in our nation, delineating the costs and challenges of such policies if they were to prove successful. A retreat on birthright citizenship would set in motion a cascading effect of unforeseen, unintended, and unwanted consequences, among them:
Ten Reasons Why Protecting Unions Is a Life and Death Issue In Wisconsin, tens of thousands of public sector workers were going to work every day, helping the people in the DMV, hospitals, health care centers, public transportation, teachers, fire fighters, and clerical workers. Then, on February 11, 2011 Republican Governor Scott Walker introduced a bill, with a Republican majority in the legislature, that would virtually eliminate public sector unions as we know them. The bill opposed collective bargaining rights, required annual votes to ask workers if they wanted the unions to represent them, and prevented the unions from collecting dues automatically out of workers' paychecks. The anti-union movement is spreading to Ohio and many other states and we have to develop a plan to beat back the pro-corporate anti-union forces. These Ten Reasons are put forth as a tactic to help the movement for union rights. 1) Because the relationship between labor and capital, labor and management, is in contradiction 2) Unions support the most progressive causes in the U.S. 3) Unions are one of the few organized forces that can challenge the corporations in the political arena 4) Unions encourage women's leadership 5) Unions have become a great friend of Latino immigrant labor 6) Unions are a critical component of the Black community 7) Unions are one of the few institutional bulwarks against a corporate dictatorship over all of us 8) Union meetings are rough and tumble but a real exciting place to go 9) Unions are a force for world peace and do not want working people fighting each other when peaceful means of resolving disputes exist 10) Unions are social institutions in the age of alienation Read More USDA Secretary Vilsack says agency will adopt recommendations on diversity The $8 million assessment by an outside group was spurred by a promise from the Obama administration to bring “cultural transformation” to a department that has been guilty of some of the government’s most egregious cases of discrimination. The study, which officials described as voluminous, was not distributed. Among its more than 200 recommendations, which were released Tuesday, were suggestions that the agency’s chief diversity officer monitor hiring, that farm service officials be required to “thoroughly” explain reasons for denying loans to minorities and women, and that the USDA mount public relations efforts to change the agency’s reputation by emphasizing its focus on diversity. The study by the Jackson Lewis consulting firm dug into divisions within the department, which has been accused of discrimination ranging from denying minorities access to farm programs to refusing promotions for female middle-managers. Tens of thousands of minority and female farmers and ranchers have filed and won civil rights settlements against the USDA, which also has faced thousands of discrimination complaints from its employees. Read More Progressive Media Suffer Losses In the Fight Against the Right-Wing Media Machine Major progressive media stars have recently lost their platforms, while the Huffington Post eschews progressivism – both worrying developments in the media war with the right. We have reached this point over a 30- to 40-year process in which conservatives built and funded an infrastructure that is now so well entrenched it operates seamlessly. We are being overrun by a relentless, orchestrated, coordinated machine that hammers away with propaganda and obvious lies, shaped by conservative values and pro-business and corporate talking points. These are woven into conservative narratives delivered by big personalities in every corner of the media where they dominate the discourse and have the largest and most active audiences. It is, in a word, a juggernaut. Read More Michigan Fire Rick Snyder Welcome to the official campaign aimed at recalling Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan. On this site, you will find some useful information on how we are approaching this recall, where we are in the process and what you can do to help. If you have any questions or concerns, please Contact Us. We do ask that you view the FAQ Page beforehand. The issue being addressed as it pertains to the recall is with regards to State Senate Bill No.4214(full version) | Summary that was signed into law, thereby becoming Public Act No. 4 A.K.A. "local government and school district fiscal accountability act." The language of the recall petition was approved by the Washtenaw County Clerk's office on Friday April 29th. We now urge you to start organizing in your own areas. To do so please Sign Up Here, once you're logged in, go to the Groups Tab and then scroll down to find your county and click on the name. Then click the "Join Group" link on the right-hand side. We need to start organizing training sessions in each area so that those who are circulating petitions and collecting signatures are doing so according to the rules set forth by the state. Literature will be provided and each County Captain will be responsible for arranging said sessions. WARNING: The first instances of possible sabotage are already occuring in the form of posting false petitions online. On Friday April 29th annarbor.com posted a download-able .pdf of a scanned recall petition. Please be aware that NO online petitions are valid. NO petitions will be made available for download. If you sign one of these false petitions your name can also be removed from the genuine petition. The genuine petitions will have a union stamp on them and will be printed on both the front and back sides. More details on this identifying mark later. In the mean time, NO petitions are available until it is noted on this site. In the mean time, if you haven't done so already please Sign up to Volunteer The most important action anyone can take at this particular time, is to register to vote. In order to do so, please go to: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MIVoterRegistration_97046_7.pdf If your address has changed since you last voted please go to: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ed-109pg_16088_7.pdf A mural in Maine pits Gov. Paul LePage against labor unions On the evening of March 22, as Judy Taylor painted a portrait of local siblings in her quiet Seal Cove, Maine, workshop, surrounded by easels and oils, blueberry bushes and pines, the artist’s phone rang with the news that Gov. Paul LePage intensely disapproved of her work. “I was kind of shocked,” said Taylor, remembering the call from a local reporter who was seeking her reaction to the LePage administration’s plan to strip her 11-panel mural from the state Department of Labor because, she learned, the tea-party-backed Republican governor thought it sent an insufficiently pro-business message. The ensuing drama has overwhelmed her and her state. “I certainly didn’t think it would become what it is today,” Taylor said. On LePage’s order, the mural was dismantled and stored. In the past few weeks, the governor has also called for the renaming of conference rooms now titled in honor of farmworker leader Cesar Chavez and Frances Perkins, a Maine icon who was the first female U.S. Cabinet member, serving as the New Deal-era labor secretary. LePage’s derision of demonstrators has prompted even louder protests, political dissent within his party and merciless mocking by liberal critics in the national media. The controversy, Taylor said, has warped the Maine political scene into a landscape best captured by a surrealist. Read more Thank the Wisconsin Volunteers Daily Kos is sending thank you notes to the volunteers who gathered recall petition signatures against Wisconsin Republicans. The volunteers gathered enough signatures to force six Republicans into recall elections. Follow the link below to send a thank you note to the volunteers. Daily Kos is in touch with the local organizers, so every single volunteer who helped out will receive your note: http://campaigns.dailykos.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=23 Unions May Engage In "Bannering" To "Shame" A Secondary Employer In a recent case called Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters (New Star General Contractors, Inc.), the National Labor Relations Board upheld a fairly common Union street tactic of calling attention to the Union’s dispute with a so-called “primary” employer by displaying a large banner in front of the worksite of a “secondary” employer who happens to be utilizing workers from the “primary” employer. Typically, the dispute between the Union and the “primary” employer is over the “primary” employer’s failure to use Union workers or pay Union-scale wages. By publically advertising its dispute with banners in front of the “secondary” employer, the Union hopes to “shame” the “secondary” employer. The NLRB held that hanging a banner outside in front of the “secondary” employer’s worksite with this clear purpose of simply shaming the “secondary” employer does not constitute what is known as “signal picketing” (sending a signal or inducement to workers at the “secondary” employer to engage in any kind of work stoppage or slowdown), nor does it constitute any kind of an unlawful threat, restraint or coercion against the “secondary” employer. See generally Southwest Reg’l Council of Carpenters (New Star Gen. Contractors, Inc.), 356 N.L.R.B. No. 88, 2/3/11 (released 2/4/11) (New Star). The NLRB’s decision appears consistent with a series of decisions in the fall of 2010 in which the Board determined that a stationary display set up by a Union in front of the worksite of a “secondary” employer does not constitute unlawful picketing of the “secondary” employer because a stationary or fixed sign does not include “the element of confrontation.” See e.g. Carpenters & Joiners of America (Eliason & Knuth of Arizona, Inc.), 355 N.L.R.B. No. 159 (2010) (Eliason). In the recent New Star case, the Unions initiated a strike against two general contractors the so-called “primary” employers. During the strike, the Unions displayed banners referencing its “labor dispute” with the two general contractors at 19 different construction worksites associated with “secondary” employers, i.e., worksites that were using the general contractors being struck by the Unions. At two non-public job sites, the Unions did not confine their banners to the immediate proximity of the entry gates that were reserved for non-neutral employees. Instead, at one worksite, the banners were displayed 10-15 feet from the gate reserved for neutral employees, and at a second worksite, the banners were 300-350 feet away from the neutral employee gate. At the work sites, the Unions also distributed handbills that explained the connection between the “secondary” employer and the two general contractors (or “primary” employers) with which the Unions had a dispute. Siding with management, the NLRB’s General Counsel had argued that the banners constituted unlawful common situs picketing and that the term “labor dispute” on the banners impermissibly signaled to employees of the “secondary” employers that they should cease working. Disagreeing with the General Counsel, the NLRB pointed out that: (i) it has considered ten cases involving bannering at fifty-four locations;The Board ruled that, for conduct to be in violation of the secondary boycott provisions of federal labor law, two key elements must be satisfied: (1) the Union’s activity induced or encouraged the “secondary” employer’s workers to cease working; andUltimately, the NLRB found “no evidence” to suggest that the Unions’ banners were a “‘prearranged or generally understood signal’ to any employees to cease work.” The Board also noted that: (i) the Unions did not discuss their protest with passersby;Dissenting Board Member Brian E. Hayes, the only Republican NLRB member, observed the lack of a practical difference between picketing and bannering and pointed out that “‘every form of influence and persuasion’ is equally prohibited, regardless of the method used.” Hayes accused the majority of the NLRB of “undoing through administrative adjudication the restrictions imposed by Congress on unions’ ability to involve neutral employers and employees in a labor dispute.” Hayes opined that the display of a banner announcing a “labor dispute” at a neutral gate to a non-public job site “plainly sought to ‘create the impression that this was an unfair job, and that the Union was requesting neutral employees . . . not to enter the site.’” While the Democratic NLRB majority seems to remain consistent in its stance that bannering is distinguishable from unlawful picketing, it is still unclear how a federal appellate court will view the issue. Unless and until a federal appellate court reverses the NLRB’s determinations on this issue, employers may find themselves stuck enduring this type of activity. In order to ensure that business is not disrupted and that Union activity is contained as much as possible, employers should continue to use the reserved gate system. Read More N.J. Senate president warns retirees may see pension payouts cut without plan to fix system New Jersey government retirees may have their pension payouts cut if Governor Chris Christie and lawmakers don’t agree on a plan to close a $53.9 billion hole in the system, Senate President Stephen Sweeney said. Christie, 48, has failed to win support from the Democratic-led Legislature for proposals to roll back a 9 percent benefit increase from 2001, raise the retirement age, increase worker payments into the system and freeze cost-of-living raises. Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver have introduced a competing plan that would also freeze automatic raises while allowing workers to keep the 2001 increase if they pay more. Kevin Roberts, another spokesman for Christie, said the administration’s pension proposal would go further in closing the funding gap. When he unveiled the package in September, Christie’s administration said it would whittle down the unfunded balance to $14 billion over the next 15 years. Read More Budget Cuts Raise Doubt on Course of Recovery The budget deal struck last week amounts to a bet by the Obama administration that the loss of $38 billion in federal spending will not be the straw that breaks the back of a fragile economic recovery. Read More Big Bucks Help Koch Brothers’ Influence Run Deep on Capitol Hill We’ve reported on the right-wing extremist billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch from their Palm Springs summit meeting with like-minded CEOs and politicians to their heavy support and influence on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). Now a new report from the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) shows the Koch brothers have become some of the biggest spenders on Capitol Hill, where big spenders abound. Since 2008, they have spent more than $40 million, says the CPI report: to influence federal policy, as the company’s lobbyists and officials sought to mold, gut or kill more than 100 prospective bills or regulations. Check out these examples from CPI: At an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearing last summer, representatives from Koch Industries argued that moderate levels of the toxic chemical dioxin should not be designated as a cancer risk for humans. When members of Congress sought higher security at chemical plants to guard against terrorist attacks, Koch Industries lobbyists prowled Capitol Hill to voice their opposition. And when Congress moved to strengthen regulation of the financial markets after recent collapses, Koch Industries—a major commodities and derivatives trader—deployed a phalanx of lobbyists to resist proposed changes. Read more This is Bigger than Public Employee Unions Address to rally on 43rd Anniversary of Martin Luther King's Assassination April 4, 2011, Madison, Wisconsin By Will Jones, Associate Professor of History, UW Madison http://wi.aft.org/ufas/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=74c80f8a-3c8b-43ca-bcde-2145cff09d50 Some have suggested that history professors should not be speaking out about what is going on here in Wisconsin and across our land, but I have been studying public employee unions for five years and I know what they have done to improve our society. So I will not be silent as people try to take that away from us, by destroying the unions that have stood up not just for public employees but for the public services that we all rely upon every day. When Martin Luther King went to Memphis in 1968, he hoped to build a new movement. He argued that the goals of that movement would be more expansive and more difficult to achieve than the civil rights movement that he led in the previous decade. It was an interracial movement of poor and working-class people. It aimed to ensure that all Americans had access to good jobs, a safe and healthy place to live, high quality education and affordable health care. That movement was weakened by King's assassination 43 years ago today, but no institution has carried on his vision, kept that movement alive, more than public employee unions. AFSCME, which was founded right here in Madison, Wisconsin, helped win that strike in Memphis. That set the stage for the rapid growth of the union in the 1970s; not just among garbage workers but maids, janitors, food service workers and laundry workers. They won decent wages and benefits and gave dignity to those jobs. The benefits were not just economic. They won workplace health and safety regulations, protection from discrimination based on race, gender and sexual orientation, limits on workload and grievance and seniority procedures. AFSCME worked with other public employee unions, including the National Education Association, Police and Firefighters Associations, the Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, and my own union, the American Federation of Teachers. But those unions did not just fight for their own members. They became critical political voices for working people, particularly with the decline of unions in the private sector. In many cities, public employee unions were the only organized advocates for African Americans and other people of color. And in addition to fighting for working people, public employee unions defended the public services that we all rely upon. They resisted cuts to our public schools, our health care system, our transportation and our public safety. They have been on the front lines of the struggle to realize Martin Luther King's vision of a society where all citizens lead healthy, peaceful and productive lives, where all people can live in comfort and in dignity. And now those unions are under attack, and it's not hard to see the broader issues at stake. The same people who want to destroy public employee unions want to destroy our public schools, defund our health care system, and deprive all workers of decent wages and benefits. And it is not just those gains that are under attack. While we were focused on defending our collective bargaining rights, the legislature passed a bill making it more difficult to vote. That was a direct attack on the victories of the civil rights movement. The legislature is currently debating cuts to transportation and education that will reinforce racial segregation in Milwaukee, which is already the most racially segregated city in the United States. So it is not just the future of public employee unions that is at stake here in Wisconsin. It is a struggle over the legacy of Martin Luther King's dream. Too often we restrict that dream to a simplistic goal of racial equality, but King himself described his vision in far broader terms. As he stated in 1961, before a group of union leaders in Washington, D.C., his dream was the "American Dream." It was "a dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few." That was King's dream, and it is that dream - the American Dream-that is under attack here in Wisconsin and across the United States. And it is that dream that we are defending right here in Madison today. A love of teaching, but fear for the future Greta Voit wanted to be a teacher like her mother before she'd even attended school. Now, a fight over collective bargaining has her questioning whether she made the right choice. Read More April 4: A Transformational Moment 
The hopes and dreams of working families across America are under attack today, more than they’ve been in a long time. But we’re rising to the challenge—building transformational change for working people from the rubble being left by destructive, CEO-funded politicians in states and in Washington, D.C. On Monday, April 4, and the days surrounding it, working families across the country are organizing and joining hundreds and hundreds of actions. The labor movement, progressive organizations, the faith community, students, academics and concerned Americans from all walks of life are united, demanding a better future and declaring “We Are One.” Find a "We Are One" solidarity action near you, or add your own. The spark that was lit in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states where workers are under attack by politicians as payback to their CEO friends is igniting a movement none of us could have imagined. More than ever, Americans realize we’re all in this together. We realize that an attack on any group of workers is an attack on all of us. What better way to celebrate this new solidarity than by honoring Dr. King’s legacy and sharing our common dreams with each other? >> Find a solidarity action near you. >> Or, get ideas and add your own solidarity action. The movement that started in Wisconsin continues to grow. This unprecedented momentum and solidarity is coming from the ground up—not from any one person or organization, but from millions of us. To achieve lasting change for workers in America, each of us must find our own ways to keep building on the movement that started in Wisconsin. We can’t allow momentum to be lost for even a moment. However you choose to do it, please join us in solidarity April 4. And please stay involved, because this is only the beginning. In solidarity, Manny Herrmann Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO P.S. This is only the beginning of an incredible moment. If you haven’t already, order a We Are One lapel pin or button. All but the actual costs will be a donation to support the massive mobilization efforts of your brothers and sisters around the country. To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org. Wis. Protests Are Watershed Opportunity for Working People Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s assault on workers provides a rare watershed opportunity for working people to educate the public about unions and collective bargaining and to create momentum to rebuild the union movement. It is this realization [that Walker is after power] that has brought people into the streets, suddenly and spontaneously; this realization that has galvanized people in ways you could never have planned or foreseen. According to a recent New York Times poll, more than 40 percent of respondents had neither a positive nor a negative view of unions. The size of that group, McCartin says, indicates public opinion is in flux. It’s TIME TO STAND TOGETHER! Be Seen! Talk to Your Neighbors, talk to your friends. This is real, now is the time. Ohio Union Busting Bill Worse than Wisconsin Ohio Senate Bill 5 makes Wisconsin union busting legislation look like a walk in the park. Under the proposed measure, government workers would not be allowed to strike and would face imprisonment and fines if they did. The legislation would eliminate contractual patterns for wage increase, putting total authority for hiring, firing, and outsourcing in the hands of public sector managers. It would cut government workers pay by 20 percent by forcing them to pay that much for their health care premiums. The bill would deny collective bargaining rights to teachers, professors, and workers hired through private contractors. Whereas in Wisconsin, police and fire personnel were not affected by the limits in collective bargaining, in Ohio they will also be denied the rights to bargain over salary and benefits. It would broaden the factors that can determine layoffs or dismals to public employees and limit vacation days and paid holidays for long-term workers. The bill would privatize some prisons. Read More We Are One - National Day of Solidarity on April 4, 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn., where he was standing with sanitation workers demanding their dream of a better life. Today, the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a middle-class life are under attack as never before. Find out more here. Join us to make April 4, 2011, and the days surrounding it, a day to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin and dozens of other states where corporate-bought politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for. It’s easy to set up an April 4 event! We have resources to do so at http://www.we-r-1.org/weareone_resourcesforaction.cfm. Send an Email to SReynold@aflcio.org to get support and tips from our field organizers. Join millions of others who are electrified by King’s same dream and are joining together for our common dreams. Another Suit Challenges Wisconsin Union Bill's Passage Democratic officials in Wisconsin have filed a second legal challenge to the legislative process that facilitated the passage of Gov. Scott Walker's "budget repair bill." The Dane County District Attorney on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in circuit court alleging that Republican senators didn't give proper notice of a meeting last week in which they passed the bill, which curtails collective-bargaining rights for public-employees unions. District Attorney Ismael R. Ozanne, a Madison-based Democrat, said in a complaint filed Wednesday afternoon that Republicans posted notice of the meeting less than 24 hours before it began, in violation of state law. Read More from Wall Street Journal  We Won't Pay for Your Crisis! - 3/14/2011 Michigan UNcut and UWUA Local 223 Transmission Trades Division kick off coming week of Lansing protests with March 12, Saturday rally at Michigan's Capitol Building. Read More WFRN Live: The Union Edge - 3/14/2011 Rich Mata, UWUA's National Training Director will be featured on The Union Edge on Tuesday, March 15th at 1:00 pm. Listen live by visiting WFRNLive.com or visit the web site later to access the recorded version. Read More Union Bill Is Law, but Debate Is Far From Over - 3/13/2011 Democrats and union leaders, emboldened by the huge outpouring of protesters who have rallied for weeks at the Capitol to oppose what they called a politically motivated effort to weaken unions, pledged to redouble their political, legal and legislative efforts to block measures that the governor had described as necessary to balance the budget. Read More Bloomberg Reports that Ohio Voters Can Launch a Ballot Initiative - 3/14/2011 If petition forms with more than 231,000 voters signatures are filed within 90 days of the law approval, according to the secretary of state office. The number of signatures is 6 percent of the total vote cast for governor last year. Gathering that many petitions in three months is no small feat, though the required number of signatures equals just under two-thirds of the number of workers potentially impacted by the bill. More importantly, the spirit of protest across the Midwest has truly gone viral, inspiring parallel demonstrations in Indiana, Ohio and other states, and cheers across the Twitterverse, pizza from Haiti, and picket signs from Cairo. And on top of potential court challenges, there are rising calls for a general strike to paralyze Gov. Walker's administration. In the wake of that outpouring of solidarity, a conventional referendum seems almost too easy. Read More Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr.: Wisconsin Governor Hurts State's Future - 3/14/2011 For Milwaukee and other cities, Gov. Walker lowers the boom, calling for $1 billion in cuts, largely from public schools. The South Milwaukee School District summarized the damage: the pool would be closed, music instruction would be eliminated in grades 5-12, high school technical education and business education would be eliminated. Liaison services with the police would be reduced, eliminating drug-abuse resistance education. School breakfasts would cut by 10 percent, as would poverty aid and bilingual assistance. Aid from the state for nurses would also be zeroed out. Supplemental science and math, aid for advanced placement, all get cut. Read More Democrats See Wisconsin Loss as Galvanizing - 3/12/2011 Even as the Republican governor of Wisconsin was signing a bill Friday that all but ended collective bargaining for state employees, Democrats nationally had put out advertisements and letters to use his own success against him. Polls and the impassioned crowds who have jeered Mr. Walker and the Republican-led Legislature outside the Capitol in Madison, Wis., offer some evidence to lift Democrats’ hopes. But for all the trumpeting of how Mr. Walker’s bill has awakened a sleeping giant of once-dispirited Democrats and union members, it will undeniably weaken labor, historically a key voting bloc for the party. And even some Democrats say that whatever the energy now, that will hurt the party long term. Read More Good Jobs Defined - 3/7/2011 While speaking to Hispanic organizations and Latino labor leaders on Wednesday, Secretary Solis highlighted her message that "Good Jobs for Everyone means we are committed to protecting workers by improving working conditions, advancing opportunities for employment, protecting retirement and healthcare benefits, helping employers find workers and strengthening collective bargaining." The roundtable is part of an ongoing and targeted effort to reach Latinos in the workforce and discuss current economic and social challenges facing the community. Additional topics included state and federal workplace policies and funding streams, their impact on Latino communities, and the critical role Hispanics have to play in American innovation. Read More Not Privatization, Profitization - 3/6/2011 Time and time again, studies have shown that there is very little gain through privatization and, more often than not, the public suffers substantial losses. If anything, the track record of past privatization efforts shows faulty budgeting, costs overruns, and unnecessary spending. Read More Message from AFL-CIO President Trumka - 3/5/2011 Dear Local Union Leader: As leaders of the National and International Unions that make up the AFL-CIO, we are calling upon all of our local unions to answer the challenge that has been laid down by the fights for survival of our movement. We are meeting this week in Washington, D.C., to develop our plans and strategies to advance the fight for workers' rights against the corporate-led government assault we've seen in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and states all across the country. Even at this moment, tens of thousands of workers have taken to the streets to protest the assault on the fundamental freedoms of collective bargaining and the basic right to have a union. As we respond to the crisis faced by workers in everyone of our states and local communities - it becomes clearer than ever before that we need a movement that is strong and united at every level, and that has the ability to mobilize working people and our allies at the grass roots. For these reasons, today we are calling on everyone of our local unions to be certain that you join, affiliate and participate with the AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils in your communities. We cannot survive as a movement if we let solidarity be simply a word and not a way of life. We urge you to make this an immediate priority for your local union, and if you are uncertain where or how to affiliate with your state and local councils, please contact the AFLCIO Field Department at ( 202-637-5280 ). We need to strengthen the AFL-CIO at the local and state level and we need to do it now. In Solidarity, UWUA (Utility Workers Union of America) & Members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council 100,000 Strong In Madison - 2/28/2011  More than 100,000 union members and their supporters rallied in Madison, Wis., on Saturday to tell Gov. Scott Walker to stop the attacks on public employees’ right to bargain for middle-class jobs. Tens of thousands more rallied in solidarity with Wisconsin workers in cities across the nation. Read MoreWisconsin’s Walker Calls for End of Collective Bargaining, Alerts National Guard - 2/15/2011 First Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced a state budget plan that strips state workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights, cuts pay and benefits and says there will be no negotiations. Today he took it even further: He announced he has alerted the National Guard to be ready in case state workers strike or rise in protest. He told the Associated Press he’s been working on contingency plans for months. The last time the National Guard was used against public workers was the Memphis sanitation strike in 1968, just before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The last time the Guard was called out in Wisconsin to quell a labor dispute was the 1934 Kohler strike by the UAW. Walker may be suffering from a bit of right wing paranoia about unions. Today when he dropped the National Guard bombshell, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported: The Capitol news conference where Walker announced his plan had unusually high security, with four Capitol police offers stationed outside of it and checking on who was attending the event. What a way to conduct the state’s business! Read More at AFL-CIO American Workers Still Enduring A Jobless Hell - 5 Workers For Each Job Opening - 2/13/2011 Workers are still enduring a jobless hell in the U.S. Jesse Russell reports just how bad it still is. A Labor Department employment report released on Tuesday revealed that there are still five unemployed workers available for every job opening in the United States. Businesses have been holding off on hiring new employees even though some of the top businesses in the country are sitting on large profit margins. Still that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been an up tick in job openings. There are 31 percent more jobs available on the market then in July of 2009. Economists won’t consider the nation in a recovery until there are two unemployed workers for every one job opening. In December there were 4.7 unemployed workers – less than the last highest number of 6.3 unemployed workers for every job opening in November of 2009. Nearly 14.5 million people are projected to be out of work. Convincing businesses to start using some of their combined $2 trillion in assets to create more jobs and hire more workers was one of the reasons President Barack Obama held his speech to the Chamber of Commerce on Monday. Businesses contend that they can’t create jobs because there isn’t enough demand in the marketplace. Read More at Labor Radio Jobs Crisis Hits People of Color Hard - 2/7/2011 While it is good news that the national unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in January, it is important that we look deeper into the statistics to find the real story of this recession. There is a depression in communities of color. The unemployment rate for African Americans overall is 15.7 percent, double the rate for whites. One in six African American men over age 20 (16.5 percent) is jobless as are 12.9 percent of African American women. The unemployment rate for Hispanics, at 11.9 percent, is nearly three points above the national average. The job situation for our African American teenagers is dire. Nearly half—45.4 percent—are without jobs. That’s higher than the jobless rate at the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Read More at AFL-CIO Now Blog TAKE ACTION: 15 Anti-Labor Bills Introduced - 1/25/11 As of now, there have been 15 anti-labor bills introduced into the House and Senate. The new state legislature is barely a week and a half old, yet already they are taking advantage. These bills do nothing to help the working people of Michigan – they are simply the same old partisan games that will get us nowhere. Read More UWUA Power for America Training Trust Fund Supports Training Opportunity - 1/17/2011 The Training Department has requested to send six PERT attendees to the Doble “Life of a Transformer Seminar”. The information related to the seminar was submitted and found to be an education opportunity for participants. The P4A Trust Fund has voted and approved paying for the training and the related expenses of the seminar. DTE Energy 2010 Holiday Meals on Wheels Program - 1/10/11 A priceless gift from the heart The DTE Energy Care Corps demonstrates the holiday spirit of giving and reaches out to others in our own backyard who need a helping hand! More than 700 DTE Energy employees, retirees, family and friends volunteered to pack and deliver meals to homebound seniors in metro Detroit Christmas weekend. This corps of volunteers cold-packed food on December 23 and packed hot meals on Christmas morning. Once all the food was boxed, staggered shifts of volunteers picked up their meals from one of six staging stations and delivered them to appreciative seniors in Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Highland Park, Detroit and the five Grosse Pointes. Fifty DTE Energy vehicles – including natural-gas-powered and electric vehicles – were part of the fleet that delivered meals to 5,700 stops. Read More at DTE News The Rich Get Rich Quicker - 1/5/2011 The new year requires an inventory of the old. Mostly, this is an individual impulse, leading to resolutions and renewal. Such reckoning can seem an intensely private exercise. But what of a whole society? Can we assess the year just past with an eye on the entire land? Morally, how fares the United States of America? If a just society is defined by the relationship between the well off and the very poor, we have big trouble. US Census data for 2010 show the widest rich-poor income gap on record. In 1968, the top 20 percent of Americans had about 7 times the income of those living below the poverty line. By 2008, that disparity had grown to about 13. By 2010, it had grown even further, to more than 14. The poverty level in 2010 was put at $21,954 for a family of four. In 2010, the percentage of Americans living below half of the poverty line (or about $11,000) had grown from 5.7 percent in 2008 to 6.3 percent. That the rich get richer while the poor get poorer can seem a timeless clich**, yet something is steadily corroding America. The mythic land of equality has the largest income disparity of any Western nation. How can that be? These figures show that the shocking economic collapse of the last two years has been no collapse whatsoever for the most affluent, even while it remains traumatic for most, and catastrophic for many. Yet instead of generating a sense of moral urgency, this condition has produced a spirit of entitlement among the privileged, complacency among the struggling middle, and resignation among the impoverished. How else account for the most decisive judicial act of 2010 - the Supreme Court ruling in January that elite-protecting political spending by corporations must be unrestrained - and the most decisive legislative act - the December extension by Congress of massive tax cuts for that wealthiest sub-minority? And who can deny that the court decision led directly to the congressional act? Read More and Discuss this at the UWUA Forum. Shuler: Unions Can Play Critical Role in Training Nation’s Workers - 12/30/2010 To be more competitive in the global economy, U.S. business and government must greatly increase their investment in education and skills training. Unions can play a critical role in making sure our workers have the skills and knowledge they need, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler said today. Shuler participated in a panel sponsored by the National Journal, “Why Should Business Invest in Increasing Education Attainment.” She told the group that unions have created a model for investment in education in the form of joint labor-management programs where the voice of the worker is heard, and his/her input is taken into account. Read More at AFL-CIO Blog State GOP leaders weigh right-to-work legislation - 12/26/2010  INDIANAPOLIS — Republicans in the Indiana House are considering whether to move forward with so-called right-to-work legislation that Gov. Mitch Daniels says is so divisive that it could derail much of his agenda.GOP lawmakers — who just gained control of the House — already have filed two bills that would ban companies from making union dues or membership a requirement of employment. That's the law in 22 states, most to Indiana's south and west. Rep. Doug Gutwein, new chairman of the House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee, said it's too soon to say whether the bills will get public hearings and a vote when the legislative session begins in January. Click here to Read More at Courier Journal.com. AFL-CIO President Trumka's letter regarding the extension of unemployment benefits - 12/17/2010 To get their way, Senate Republicans terrorized millions of jobless workers—making them live in fear for months as cold weather and the holidays approached. Some of our jobless brothers and sisters lost the ability to warm their homes or put food on the table and gas in the car. Some working families even lost their homes to the Big Banks that caused our economic meltdown—all so Senate Republicans could get tax breaks for the rich. These tax cuts throw away precious resources needed for investments in jobs and will do very little to propel economic growth. Read More at the UWUA Forum. Workers Bracing for "Right-to-Work" Assault - 12/8/2010 The right-wing Republican agenda is becoming more apparent as we inch closer and closer to January 2011 and the start of the new legislative session. Missouri Republicans will hold 26 of 34 state senate seats and 106 of 163 House seats giving them a veto proof majority – and the ability to set the legislative agenda. In fact, the new Missouri Senate President Pro-term Rob Meyer (R-Dexter) said so-called "right-to-work" legislation and lowering corporate taxes would be his top priorities. "Right-to-work" legislation would severally cripple organized labor’s ability to build and service its members. By allowing open-shops, ‘right-to-work’ would force unions to represent workers who do not pay union dues, draining union treasuries in the process. Read More at People's World. Like Congress, Americans Split Over Health-Care Reform - 12/6/2010 But even opponents back many provisions of the controversial law, Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll finds Americans are still deeply divided over the nation's new health-care reform package, with 28 percent of adults wanting to repeal the legislation while 31 percent favor keeping all or most of the reforms. Another 29 percent aren't sure what should be done. Read More at U.S. News - Health 10 Cool Ways to Whack Your Utility Bill - 12/3/2010 Although the green movement has been trumpeting the importance of energy conservation for years, it popped up on Americans' radar screens in a major way after oil-price spikes in 2008 caused utility companies to add fuel surcharges to customers' bills. Add to that droughts and water shortages in many regions of the country that forced strict water use restrictions, and homeowners have plenty of incentive to save money on their utility bills any way they can. Here are 10 large and small changes you can make to help your home be more energy efficient and cut utility bills for years to come. Read More at FOX Business Health Law Suit Dismissed by Judge Norman Moon - 12/1/2010 A second judge has upheld the constitutionality of the health care law enacted by Congress. Read More at The New York Times Want to Cut Electric Bills? Beware the 'Phantom Loads' - 11/30/2010 Many of our appliances use some electricity even when they're turned off. It's something known as "standby power" to professionals, but commonly called "phantom loads" to me and you. It's something that happens in almost every home. The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab estimates that 10 percent of residential electricity usage is consumed in phantom loads. What are the most common phantom loads? You don't need to be an electrical engineer or have special tools to find them. Just look for appliances with an external power supply, remote control or continuous display. Read More at Fox Business Unemployments Benefits to Expire - TAKE ACTION The clock's ticking for 2 million unemployed workers who face losing their unemployment insurance....leaving them with no where to turn. TAKE ACTION NOW: SIGN THE AFL-CIO PETITION Detroit Thermal Attracts $50 Million to Detroit for Best of Class District Energy System - 11/23/10 Detroit Renewable Energy LLC Formed To Acquire Energy-From-Waste Plant, Detroit Thermal Steam System And Related Company Long-Term Energy-Effective And Eco-Friendly Supply Of Renewable Energy From Municipal Waste Assures Support Of Detroit Core Business Districts DETROIT, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of public and private enterprises, led by Detroit Renewable Energy LLC, the new parent company of Detroit Thermal, LLC; along with the City of Detroit, the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324, Utility Workers Union of America, AFL, CIO Local 223, and The Detroit Edison Company (Detroit Edison), has attracted a $50 million investment to Detroit in a deal that assures a long-term, cost-effective and eco-friendly supply of renewable energy from waste derived fuel to support the essential energy needs of Detroit's core business districts. Detroit Renewable Energy LLC (DRE) was funded by Greenwich, Connecticut-based Atlas Holdings LLC with participation by Youngstown, Ohio-based Thermal Ventures II, LP. DRE is a new Detroit-based holding company for several companies that will operate as independent subsidiaries of DRE. Read More at PR Newswire Protect and Strengthen Social Security - 11/23/2010 The federal budget deficit commission is floating the idea to raise the retirement age of Social Security, meaning we could work until age 70. In these tough economic times, it is unconscionable to propose cuts to the critical economic lifelines for working people. According to the National Academy of Social Insurance, Social Security provides:
Curing Range Anxiety - 11/17/10 At the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show at least three pure battery electric cars from major auto manufacturers will make their debut. Coming to the streets and highways of the United States during the next few years will be an Americanized version of Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV, a second generation of Toyota’s RAV4 Electric and Volkswagen’s Golf blue-e-motion. Some car buyers in the U.S. will latch on to electric vehicles right away. Others will be wary and have their issues with the technology. Click Here to visit Green Energy News Fox News & Virge Bernero: What a GOP – Controlled House Means for Unions - 11/10/2010 Virg Bernero, mayor of Lansing, Mich., discusses how unions will survive now that Republicans are the majority in the House. Click Here to visit Fox Business Can You Outlive Your Pension? - 11/8/10 Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects of planning for retirement, even with a union pension, is the possibility that you will outlive the plan itself. But before I get to that, let’s discuss who we are. I have found in my conversations with union members that this working group tends to break down into three basic groups. The youngest among us tend to look at wages, excluding the immediate needs for health insurance coverage or pensions. The next group, more middle-aged with families and dependents tend to find the benefits provided by health insurance along with wages a top priority. And while the more senior members of any union will not exclude the pay they receive of the health care parts of their contracts, they look to the pension as the most important aspect of what their contracts offer. Read More at wfrnlive.com AFL-CIO President Trumka: ‘We Did Our Job’ In 2010 - 11/3/2010 At various junctures during the 2010 cycle, the lack of enthusiasm among labor organizations and, more specifically, union workers, appeared like it would seriously hamper the Democratic Party’s chances. Labor itself fed the notion, cognizant that lawmakers would be more attentive to their needs if their political help wasn’t taken for granted. Well, unions didn’t sit out the election. They spent big money. And while the checks and campaign efforts came up short, on Wednesday morning one of the leading figures in the movement made the case that if Democrats wanted a scapegoat it wasn’t labor. “We did our job,” Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, told the Huffington Post. “No matter what demographic, you look at our membership, we had large margins for progressive candidates approaching 30, with Harry Reid it was higher. We voted 69 to 29 for him which is a 40 percent margin. So we educated out people we got them out to the polls and they voted in large numbers. Unfortunately, the rest of society was over-large in the other way.” Read More at Capitol Hill Blue.com I REMEMBER - 10/30/2010 VOTE NOVEMBER 2ND!!! - 10/25/2010 There's so much riding on this upcoming election, People like you who vote can keep our economy moving forward. After all we've been through, we can't risk going back. 28 states have become battleground states as we face laws that will force unions to use their time and members’ dues money to provide union benefits to free riders who are not willing to pay their fair share. Check out fact sheets on the "Right to Work" for less laws at: http://www.aflcio.org/issues/legislativealert/stateissues/work/index.cfm 2010 Midterm Election Matchups - 10/21/2010 See who's in play during this upcoming election and get a look at the Political Landscape maps all powered by the Washington Post. Stay on top of the 37 Senate seats up for grabs with race rankings, and drill down into past election results all the way to the district level. Visit Yahoo.com for more information. Labor 2010 - Why We're Walking - 10/17/2010
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