Joe's Union Review Mobile Version

Mr. Block gets news only from the bosses' paper

2008-12-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

some things never change

So who is Mr.Block (from Wikipedia)?

Mr. Block is a United States comic strip character commemorated in a song written by Joe Hill.

Mr. Block, who has no first name, was born 7 November 1912 to Ernest Riebe, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Block appeared that day in the Spokane newspaper Industrial Worker, smoking a cigar and wearing a checkered suit with top hat. Subsequently, Mr. Block lost the fancy clothes but always kept a hat, ten sizes too small, perched on one corner of his wooden blockhead.

"Mr. Block is legion," wrote Walker C. Smith in 1913. "He is representative of that host of slaves who think in terms of their masters. Mr. Block owns nothing, yet he speaks from the standpoint of the millionaire; he is patriotic without patrimony; he is a law-abiding outlaw .. [who] licks the hand that smites him and kisses the boot that kicks him .. the personification of all that a worker should not be."

Former Teamster President Ron Carey dead at 72

2008-12-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

Ron Carey, the first Democratically elect President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has passed

From MSNBC

The first democratically elected leader of the Teamsters died yesterday at age 72 in New York City.

Ron Carey was first elected to head the Teamsters in 1991 on a vow to end mob control. In his re-election bid in 1996, he narrowly defeated James Hoffa, Jr. However, in 1998, a court-appointed review board expelled Carey from the Teamsters, concluding, according to the New York Times, he “breached his fiduciary duty by failing to stop an illegal scheme that siphoned more than $750,000 in union money into his 1996 re-election campaign.”

In 2001, Carey was charged with perjury related to the scandal. He was later acquitted on all charges.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and five children.

What people are saying

2008-12-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

From "Republican Senator Admits Opposition to Auto Bill is All About Union Busting" comment at DU

Unions "appear to be an antiquated concept in today’s economy"?
If anything is true it's the exact opposite. Unions are more important now then ever before as it has become painfully clear the corporate executives have no interest in seeing American workers prosper. For them it's all about getting what you can for as little as possible. Fucking disgusting.

From "Somebody Has to Respond" comment at Truthout

Thirty years of anti-labor propaganda has taken its toll, but us working stiffs have to stick together or we are going to keep getting screwed. It's not a coincidence that, once the interests of the wealthy are threatened, $750 billion materializes instantly. This is after all that preaching about fiscal responsibility to those of us lower on the food chain.

From "Stuff Made In China"

Another gross example of this is from years ago. I had a roommate that worked at an Old Navy. For those of you that don't know, Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic are all the same company. The blue jeans at Old Navy cost around $20, at the Gap $40, and at Banana Republic $60. I don't recall exactly, but I want to say all were made in Indonesia. Undoubted they were produced at the same factory. Really I don' know, maybe the 12 year old sewing the Old Navy jeans got like $8 a month and the one sewing the Banana Republic jeans received $12 a month. However, I seriously doubt it.
Moral is: If you have to buy Chinese made crap, please buy it as cheaply as possible. You should realize those $90 Polo Jeans are probably $7 at Marshalls.

New York construction union shows solidarity with sit-in workers

2008-12-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

“In many ways,” said Jessie Jackson, their action “is the beginning of a larger movement for mass action to resist economic violence.”

When the Republic Windows and Doors workers were left shafted without warning they took action, according to the AFL-CIO blog yesterday Dec.11th:

...workers at Republic Windows & Doors who made justice happen. After a six-day sit-in at the plant, workers at Republic Windows & Doors in Chicago voted to accept a settlement late last night.

Somewhere along the line a little thing happened, solidarity. Many of us have heard about the demonstrations across the nation, the support from President-Elect Barack Obama and Jessie Jackson standing in solidarity with the workers, but here's something that you may not have heard.

According to a friend of mine who on December 9th, was at the meeting of New York's own Metallic Lathers Union LU 46, in front of a standing room only crowd of members Business Manager Bob Ledwith made a motion that Local 46 show support for the striking UE workers in Chicago by sending them a gift of $1,000 to help defray their costs and hardship.

The members, all of whom are anticipating a rough ride themselves in the near future voted unanimously to approve the motion.

According to the history of the Metallic Lathers in New York:

All through the years Local 46 has been outstanding in its help to the labor movement and has always aided and endeavored to help others secure their own rights.

I hope that showing of solidarity can rub off on other workers across this great nation. I recall the sentence I used to use to practice typing when I was a kid:

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. (of course, and women too)

Here's more on the struggle and victory of the Republic workers from the UE site:

A bid for fairness that inspired the world.

On Friday, December 5, 2008, an new chapter in labor history was written by about 260 Chicago workers at Republic Windows and Doors.

Three days earlier, they learned the plant was closing. Bank of America, although flush with U.S. government bailout cash, had refused to extend Republic's line of credit and had also refused to allow Republic to pay out what they were owed.

United — as a union of co-workers — they stood together and said "No!"

For the next five days they occupied their plant — something rarely seen in the U.S. since the 1930's The worldwide reaction was stunning.

A World of Support

People organized demonstrations in dozens of cities across the country, from New York to San Francisco, from icy Buffalo to sunny Florida. Solidarity messages poured in from around the world. Their common theme was, "We're behind you — and proud of you! Keep up the fight!"

The UE Local 1110 members had no way of knowing how deeply their courageous action would resonate. But it soon became clear that their action articulated the anger and frustration millions of ordinary people in this worsening economic crisis. of

A World of Hope

They inspired people fed up by the excesses of banks, corporations and the powerful who have led us into the worst economic crisis since the 1930s — and then got the government to bail them out with our money.

They gave hope to people who face the prospect of losing jobs, homes, healthcare, retirement, and for many, the hope for their kids to get a good college education.

A Movement to 'Resist Economic Violence'

Rev. Jesse Jackson expressed it well when he said that, like Rosa Parks 50 years ago, the Republic workers stood up for justice by sitting down. “In many ways,” said Jackson, their action “is the beginning of a larger movement for mass action to resist economic violence.”

Now, it's up to all of us to make sure this moment is a real turning point, when we begin to stand together as working people to demand an economy and government policies that put our needs first.

So what is the latest on these workers?

From Change To Wins Blog:

Republic Workers Win! (For Real This Time)

This time it’s official:

After the conclusion of negotiations Wednesday evening, the membership of Local 1110, more than 200 workers, met in the plant cafeteria to hear and consider the tentative settlement that had been worked out by UE negotiators over the past three days.

The settlement was approved by a unanimous vote…

The settlement totals $1.75 million. It will provide the workers with:

Eight weeks of pay they are owed under the federal WARN Act,
Two months of continued health coverage and,
Pay for all accrued and unused vacation.

JPMorgan Chase will provide $400,000 of the settlement, with the balance coming from Bank of America.

Although the money will be provided as a loan to Republic Windows and Doors, it will go directly into a third-party fund whose sole purpose is to pay the workers what is owed them.

As the Local 1110 leaders characterized the settlement, “We fought to make them pay what they owe us, and we won.”

Hooray! Congratulations!

UPDATE (1:35PM): Great discussion of the victory at Daily Kos, kicked off by Friend of CtW Connect TomP.

Pyramid of the capitalist system redux

2008-12-12T13:36:00.000-08:00

They Rule You, They Fool You, They Shoot At You and They Eat For You

That idealization has been around for quite some time, it was on the cover of The Industrial Worker, the newspaper of The Industrial Workers Of The World(The IWW) way back in 1911, the title of the work is Pyramid of the Capitalist System.

So what has changed in the almost 100 years since this masterpiece has been created, the masses fought through the Great Depression gotten some advantage through the 50's and the corporatist have found better ways to fool us.

They have opened our borders to a servitude class, while diverting our pension into mutual funds that invest against our own interests, they have made loopholes for those at the top and given corporations carte blanche over our lives and have taken our constitutional rights while we sat in blind patriotism. They have their media telling us what we need to know about nothing, while constricting the free speech from dissenting views. They have us thinking that labor laws will protect us, while cutting staff and regulations to the bone.

They have used racism, religion, language, and fear to pit us against one another, and have beaten us with the sense that there is nothing any one of us can do about it.

Here is an updated version of the great illustration of 1911, is it so far off the mark.

I wish I were more creative I'd make my own, maybe show the Wal-Mart door crushing out a human life so some scums could save a few dollars on their foreign made crap, maybe add the Haitian bread winner feeding his children dirt sandwiches to stave off the hunger pains after a hard days work making clothes for companies which used to make it here for a living wage.

They sold our future down the drain while you watched American Idol.

Unfortunately I don't know where the image is from

Autoworker bailout fails Senate!

2008-12-12T02:56:00.000-08:00

You motherfuckers, you toss trillions at killing in war, a trillion to your cohorts in banking and when it comes to one of the last American industries which is manned by American workers, union American workers who have agreed to give concessions, who's new hires only make $14 at the highest wage and whose companies have asked for a loan of a mere $15 billion, you turn your backs.

Make no mistake about it, this bill was killed by Republican Senators, they are your enemy, and for all of those working in the deep south in the Foreign auto manufacturing, which does not have any legacy costs for retirees yet, be prepared, if the big 3 are gone, your pay is gonna drop like an anchor.

With 1 in 10 US jobs attached to the big three you have tossed our country into a tailspin, the dollar has dropped overnight and how much longer before we have another 3,000,000 unemployed, while you close your eyes and leave the border open and let all help the corporations continue to force undocumented workers into servitude to feed you.

The people have shown that they are getting tired of it at the Republic window and door factory in Chicago, unfortunately it's like alcoholics anonymous, we might all have to hit the bottom before we look for change.

How long will you all bury your head in the sand before you realize that there is a war against the American worker? That's ALL American workers, they will continue to pick us off one at a time..

Bloomberg:

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar slumped below 90 yen for the first time in 13 years after the U.S. Senate rejected a $14 billion bailout for the nation’s automakers.

The U.S. currency headed for a sixth week of declines versus the yen as General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC failed to obtain the funds they need to survive until next year. Japan isn’t considering intervening in currency markets now, Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told reporters in Tokyo today.

“The dollar is dropping like a rock,” said Masahiro Sato, joint general manager of the treasury division in Tokyo at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., a unit of Japan’s second-largest publicly listed lender. “This is a big blow to confidence in the U.S. economy. Bankruptcy protection for U.S. automakers may be the only option left.”

More info from Google

Chicago Workers Take A Stand

2008-12-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

A good friend and fellow labor activist wrote this piece for UnionReview.com. I asked her if we can cross-post her article to Joe's site, and she said, "Of course," enjoy!

They say that those who aren’t angry simply aren’t paying attention. When it comes to anger over the country’s financial meltdown, however, not paying attention is becoming less of an option, thanks, in part, to a group of renegade workers from Chicago who have taken matters into their own hands.

In the midst of a financial crisis and government-backed bail outs to save Wall Street, big business and fat-cat CEOs, workers in Chicago are taking a stand.

As reported by CNN.com, 200 members from the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America have joined together in a peaceful protest that is making headlines and causing some of the country’s most powerful to take notice.

The group of 200 were employees at Republic Windows and Doors until just days ago, when the company announced massive layoffs, giving employees only three days notice. The layoffs, Republic Windows and Doors claims, are a result of Bank of America cutting off credit to the company.

Now, the workers are staging a sit-in, saying they won’t leave until they get what is rightfully theirs: severance packages and accrued vacation pay.

Among those to show support for the group include the Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson, President-elect Barack Obama and Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who recently issued an order for the state government to suspend doing business with Bank of America.

“We are going to do everything possible here in Illinois to side with these workers,” Blagojevich said. “And it isn't just lending them moral support, but it's putting pressure on financial institutions like the Bank of America.”

Earlier in the year, Bank of America received a $25 billion tax-payer bailout package which corporate CEOs claimed would save the jobs of working men and women; it’s more and more clear, however, who the bailout really bailed out—and the employees of Republic Windows and Doors are making it harder and harder to forget.

Talking to People About the Union Movement.

2008-12-11T05:02:00.000-08:00

I posted this on Union Review over the weekend and thought to share some of these thoughts with Joe and his readers, Richard/ UR

I was at a holiday party where I hardly knew anyone. Conversations were going on all throughout the day, some were better than others. There was, however, one thing that was painfully similar about them all; and this is what came to mind: Not many people outside of the union movement have any clue as to what is taking place at our unions; clearly this not one of those profound utterances, just a matter of fact observation/nugget.

At some point or another I mentioned a number of campaigns that either I am directly or indirectly involved with –or simply know just enough about to share. In the back corners of my mind I thought: This is what we all need to be doing - educating people wherever we are and have the opportunity. I also thought … there is no day off or resting from this mission.

Here is a small capsule of issues I talked about, alluded to or brushed upon at one point or another:

1. FedEx Express workers have a pension freeze that went into affect earlier this year; they are looking at losing tons of money over the course of their careers. While they are working on organizing with the Teamsters, their campaign is one that is long and strenuous. While pension issues are enough to lose sleep over, many of these workers are seeing, in this horrible economy, their work being shipped overseas. The outsourcing at FedEx Express is as bad, if not worse, than its wonderful Independent Contractor policies at another division of that company. To go see what is happening with this campaign, check out http://www.fedxmx.com or http://www.fedexwatch.com. You can sign up for a user name and password at FedXMx to comment on the blog or participate in the forum – and if you do, show your solidarity online as though you walked passed them on a picket line; I believe it goes a long way out here on the Web.

2. School Bus Workers around the United States are NOT experiencing issues with outsourcing, like their brothers and sisters at FedEx Express. Instead, the drivers, mechanics, aides and monitors are dealing with very low, if not sub-standard wages, work rules that are ever changing, and no respect or say at their job. With all that can be said to be wrong about the union movement in the United States (and both members and nonmembers are endlessly finding what is wrong with the union movement in this country) – there is also, undoubtedly a lot that is good; this is one of those campaigns. What started two years ago with a group of First Student workers in Iowa and Baltimore has become multinational worker movement. You can (and should) learn about this campaign at http://www.schoolbusworkersunited.org. Like the FedEx campaign site, get a username and password; show your solidarity with these incredible workers.

3. The Colombian Free Trade Agreements cannot and should not pass through while Bush is leaving office – and be aware that he is /was/has been working on doing just that. While there is much on the Colombian Free Trade Agreement on Union Review – and infused in our daily and national publications, there is nothing that simply comes out and says why this is a bad deal for trade unionists. Today there was a great piece on the AFL-CIO Blog; http://www.aflcionow.org; it said, “Despite the Bush administration's repeated attempts to push through Congress a U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this year, the reality is that Colombia has not stemmed the violence against trade unionists or brought those responsible to justice.

In short, Colombia has a long way to go before a free trade pact should be considered.

The head of Human Rights Watch recently wrote three top House leaders urging them to remain steadfast in insisting that Colombia clean up its act before approving any new trade deal."

4. Finally, I think that every union supporter will agree that the Big Three loans should not be contingent on UAW workers giving concessions. I read a lot of back and forth on this issue everyday of the week, and for the record, let me write that I think it is BS when business reporters suggest that the reasons the Big Three automakers are in the trouble they are in because of the UAW workers’ wages. I have not yet heard a reporter mention anything about the executive office salaries, and how absurdly huge that salary is; and perhaps they should take a cut to keep their business afloat. What annoys me the most about “this” discussion is that when the government was bailing out Wall Street, AIG and the others … there was never any mention of how much these people at the top were earning, you deal with one unionized industry and sector and suddenly the conversation is about worker wages – come on! There is so much opinion about this – the last one I read hit UnionReview earlier today here: http://unionreview.com/why-uaw-should-not-have-make-any-concessions-big-three-get-loan-congress.

While these are just four items that seemed to come up for me in the last couple days, there are countless others. There are victories to feel proud of and defeats to look back on and re-organize around. Needless to say, we have a ton of work to do … even if we are at parties with a group of people we just met hours ago.

California workers express concerns about Rite Aid management at special shareholder meeting in NY

2008-12-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

This is a piece that came to UnionReview.com by way of Rand Wilson of the AFL-CIO, I thought to cross-post it here while Joe is dealing with day-to-day stuff. -Richard /UR

Over 600 workers employed at Rite Aid's giant distribution center in Lancaster, California, sent a representative to attend the company's special shareholder meeting in New York City on Tuesday, December 2.

With the company's stock price hovering at less than 50 cents, and problems plaguing Rite Aid's supply chain serving hundreds of stores in the southwest, workers expressed "serious concerns about the focus and execution of Rite Aid's top management team."

Rite Aid management is blaming its troubles on the economy, but employees offered a different perspective.

"When you work inside a critical point in the supply chain, you can tell if management is really focused on running things efficiently and motivating everyone to work together as a team. Right now, that's not happening at Rite Aid from what we can see." said Carlos "Chico" Rubio who works at Rite Aid's modern million-square-foot distribution center in Lancaster where container-loads of products arrive each day from the Port of Los Angeles and are quickly distributed with just-in-time precision to more than 500 Rite Aid retail stores throughout the southwest.

"The good news is that we've got talented employees who want to be part of a successful solution. But we're missing that opportunity now because management can't seem to focus on solving problems and working together with us as a team," explained Mr. Rubio, who offered three suggestions at the shareholder meeting:

* Rubio invited CEO Mary Sammons to visit the Rite Aid's distribution center in Lancaster to meet with employees, explain the company's goals, and encourage problem-solving.
* Rite Aid executives should consider limiting their compensation to reasonable multiples of what workers earn, and keep executive pay more in line with performance.
* Rite Aid management should abandon its anti-union "we know what's best for you" philosophy, and focus instead on building cooperative relations with its employees' unions.

Morale among Rite Aid workers nationwide has suffered because top management has been taking huge compensation packages despite a 95 percent decline in share value since June 2007. Top executives took over $18.2 million in total compensation in FY 2008, including more than $3.5 million in cash bonuses related to the acquisition of the Brooks and Eckerd drug store chains, a decision some analysts consider to have been a costly mistake.

At Rite Aid's distribution center in Lancaster, workers have struggled with other examples of bad management that surfaced soon after employees expressed interest in joining the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). The ILWU already represents dockworkers at the ports who handle Rite Aid shipping containers that are offloaded from ships and then transported to distribution centers, including Lancaster. In March 2008, the distribution center workers voted to form a union, overcoming an expensive and vicious anti-union campaign waged by Rite Aid management. The company engaged in a host of illegal labor activities, including disciplining, harassing, and firing union supporters. The company's behavior was so egregious that the National Labor Relations Board prepared to try Rite Aid on 49 violations of federal labor law. Rite Aid executives chose to settle the charges rather than defend their costly and illegal campaign against employees having a voice at work.

Management's aggressive interference did not end after the Lancaster workers voted to form their union. Rite Aid has continued a costly and intense anti-union campaign that has included harassing workers, issuing warnings and suspensions to union supporters, and firing at least six union supporters on flimsy pretexts. Charges alleging new unfair labor practices, related to the company's failure to bargain in good faith, are pending.

"Rite Aid is wasting precious time and money on their anti-union campaign when all of us should be focused on getting this company back on the right track," said Mr. Rubio. "Management should be working with us, instead of against us, to help this company succeed."

Prior to attending the shareholder meeting, Mr. Rubio met with the AFL-CIO and other unions representing workers at Rite Aid. At the meeting, an AFL-CIO representative announced that a special briefing was being organized for industry analysts and investors in early 2009.

Trustees of union health and welfare funds, which have an important say over lucrative contracts with pharmacies including Rite Aid, are expressing concern about the company's poor labor relations record. At a recent Employee Benefits Conference in San Antonio, hundreds of union plan representatives received detailed information about Rite Aid's ongoing labor dispute in Lancaster.

In addition to financial and labor problems, Rite Aid has been entangled in a number of consumer fraud cases. The company has defended itself against a slew of consumer fraud allegations during the past decade, and is now in litigation with the New York Attorney General. Last summer an investigation by the Attorney General found that 112 Rite Aid stores had carried or sold expired products. The announcement of the New York allegations came as Rite Aid was settling a similar case with Attorney General of New Jersey.

A more detailed report documenting Rite Aid's mismanagement and attempts to suppress workers' rights may be obtained by contacting Rand Wilson at the above number or by email at rand@mindspring.org.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union unites more than 45,000 workers in over 60 local unions in the states of California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii.

Related links:
http://www.ilwu.org

Unionization Substantially Improves the Pay and Benefits of Women Workers

2008-12-11T04:53:00.000-08:00

A new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) documents a large wage and benefit advantage for women workers in unions relative to their non-union counterparts.

The report, "Unions and Upward Mobility for Women Workers," found that unionized women workers earned, on average, 11.2 percent more than their non-union peers. In addition, women in unions were much more likely to have health insurance benefits and a pension plan.

"For women, joining a union makes as much sense as going to college," said John Schmitt, a Senior Economist at CEPR and the author of the study. "All else equal, joining a union raises a woman's wage as much as a full-year of college, and a union raises the chances a woman has health insurance by more than earning a four-year college degree."

The report , which analyzed data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS), found that unionization raises the pay of women workers by almost $2.00 per hour. According to the report, women workers in unions were also 19 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, all the more significant, since women pay higher premium rates individually than men. Women workers were also 26 percentage points more likely to have an employer-provided pension plan than women workers who were not in unions.

The study also shows that unionization strongly benefited women workers in otherwise low-wage occupations. Among women workers in the 15 lowest-paying occupations, union members earned 14 percent more than those workers who were not in unions. In the same low-wage occupations, unionized women were 26 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and 23 percentage points more likely to have a pension plan than their non-union counterparts.

Stuff to work on, recent reading, sites and stuff to write about

2008-12-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

Here's all sorts of stuff I'm either gonna re-read, write about, study or promote. Some are sites that link to me, some are new blogs I found, some are from a few months back, but all are interesting and important in their own way, I regard this batch of bookmarks as my sandbox of data which I haven't had a chance to write about. There's more, but here's a sample.

Joe's Sandbox

Hello everyone....

2008-12-01T16:49:00.000-08:00

Taking a little time off from the net. I'm still keeping up with the news, just have been really busy in the real world, got the Yahoo Pipes gadgets up on the right hand side, and am testing a few other blogging ideas, like http://www.stopunions.blogspot.com and http://www.joesunionreview.wordpress.com

You can add the Yahoo pipes Labor News Version 7 to your site, it constantly updates all the labor headlines from over 40 dedicated labor sites along with a search term from Google that brings in a lot of links, check the Stop Unions Blog for a larger version of the gadget.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving

Unfortunately for one of our own New Yorkers who had the misfortune of working in the Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, Long Island, it was his last.

Disgusting, greed caused that death, from both sides, the company who didn't beef up security and urged the frenzy and the scumbag customers who created the riot. Greed is the ruination of mankind.

Wal-Mart - Save Money or Die Trying!

Peace,
Joe

A pump salesman's son speaks of life without the Big 3

2008-11-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

"One company employs about 100,000, the other employs millions. What’s the real difference? The people who work for AIG wake up, shower and go to work. The vast majority of people who work for the Big Three wake up, go to work, come home and shower ." - Brandon Spence

Screw the jackals in the main stream, here in a response to an article that states "let them fail" is some of the down to earth facts of what life without the "Big 3" car manufacturers would be like for all of us. Here's a response to some scumbag named Morgan Liddick's article that appeared in the Colorado's Summit Daily News, where he didn't hide his anti-union views, the original was titled "U.S. automakers have a duty to die". Many could just sit there and raed and ingest the story and go on with their lives, not caring about all the jobs that would be lost if indeed the "Big 3" went away. But wait, there is a voice of reason out there in Colorado, his name is Brandon Spence and here's what he had to say:

Re: “U.S. automakers have a duty to die,” Morgan Liddick, SDN Nov. 25
In a very twisted way, a part of me hopes Morgan Liddick and those who share his position for the Big Three to “die” get their way. Only for the sake to see what he would be writing years from now after the U.S. has slipped into an economic abyss. Would he then stand by his column that U.S. automakers have a duty to die? I somehow think not.

I am fourth-generation Flint, Mich. GM baby. My great grandfather was a part of the infamous 1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike. My grandfather put in 30 years at GM. One uncle recently retired from GM. Another has been a Teamster for as long as I can remember. My father’s job, selling industrial pumps, would not have existed if not for the Big Three. And I was born in Flint with most of my family still in both the Flint and Detroit areas.

I have seen first-hand what happens when the U.S. automotive industry fails. If you want to know what America will look like if the Big Three do not get their $25 billion loan, take a look at southeast Michigan. Unemployment is approaching 10 percent and will likely eclipse that mark by the end of 2009, with an estimated 108,000 jobs being cut . This would be just the beginning. The unemployment rate during the Great Depression averaged about 14 percent. Reports indicate the nearly three million jobs will be lost if GM, Ford and Chrysler file Chapter 11. That could dramatically escalate when you factor in that one in 10 jobs in the U.S. are tied into the automotive industry: parts suppliers, truck drivers, advertising agencies, dealers, etc. Those are the obvious ones.

The steel workers throughout the Midwest would take a major hit, one they cannot afford. There are also insurance agencies that will be bogged down with health insurance claims and benefits that are tied up in bankruptcy court for years. Millions of Americans overnight without jobs and healthcare.

But yes, Mr. Liddick, you’re right the automotive industry deserves to die. You’re right. They did produce the biggest cars and trucks possible. But this is not solely the fault of the automakers. Americans wanted the biggest, and that’s exactly what they got. It’s far easier to wake up one day with gas at $4 a gallon and decide to buy a smaller fuel-efficient vehicle than it is to change all of your manufacturing plants. That takes time. And for the record, let’s dispel the myth about the current quality and inefficiency of Big Three vehicles. A J D Power quality study scored eight Big Three brands as high or higher than Acura, Audi, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Scion, Volkswagen and Volvo. Both the Chevy Malibu and Ford Fusion scored higher than the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. All of the Detroit Three build midsize sedans the EPA rates at 29-33 mpg on the highway. The most fuel-efficient Chevrolet Malibu gets 33 mpg on the highway, 2 mpg better than the best Honda Accord.

So who do you want to see punished by this? It certainly won’t be the CEOs. They’ll be fine. The other millions that don’t wear white collars, not so much. AIG was handed upwards of $150 billion. The Big Three are asking for a loan, to be paid back, of $25 billion. One company employs about 100,000, the other employs millions. What’s the real difference? The people who work for AIG wake up, shower and go to work. The vast majority of people who work for the Big Three wake up, go to work, come home and shower.

The Big Three catapulted America into the 20th Century as an economic power. During WWII Detroit halted production and turned its attention to building tanks. A quarter of all tanks manufactured in the U.S. came from the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, a division of Chrysler. General Motors was the world’s largest employer for most of the last century. The backbone of this country was built on the labor of the automotive industry. And now when it looks bleak, people like you, Mr. Liddick, want to see them crash and burn. I’ll be sure not to call you if I’m in a bind. Finally, off point here. You said “WE” voted for change in the last election. I somehow find it hard to believe that you voted for change. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

And a very good article at DailyKOS:
Detroit is angry at anti-autoworker media spin

Act Now!: Stop todays hanging of a teacher/unionist in Iran!

2008-11-26T02:37:00.000-08:00

Act NOW!! Don't let a unionist die!! Spread the word, sign the e-action e-mail.

From Eric Lee over at Labourstart

Act NOW!
Iran: Save the life of Farzad Kamangar
Education International (EI) has been informed that Farzad Kamangar, the Iranian Kurdish teacher and social worker sentenced to death on "absolutely zero evidence" according to his lawyer, could be hanged on Wednesday 26 November 2008.

According to several reliable sources, he has been taken from his cell 121 in ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison in preparation for execution. Jail security officers are said to have told him he is about to be executed and they are making fun of him, calling him a martyr.

The Revolutionary Court issued the death sentence against Kamangar on 25 February 2008. His lawyer has said: "Nothing in Kamangar’s judicial files and records demonstrates any links to the charges brought against him." Kamangar was cleared of all charges during the investigation process. The last time Kamangar was seen, he was at the health clinic of Evin prison and his physical condition was poor. Witnesses testify that he has been beaten again. Kamangar has not been allowed to see his lawyer or family members for the past two months.

EI has been appealing to the Iranian authorities to commute Kamangar's death sentence and ensure his case is reviewed fairly.

Now, EI is once again appealing to Iranian judicial authorities to halt the execution. EI is also asking members of the international community urgently to intervene.

Click here to ACT NOW!!

We can save the life of a fellow unionist in another country if we Act Now!!!

Gotta run to work.I signed it. It only take a minute.

Some jackass banned me from the Ridgid Plumbing Forum

2008-11-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

I made 2 posts one of them with some info about the "Big 3" crisis and it had a link to my site, I didn't have the information saved unfortunately, but the other is this post which had a poll attached, it was called "Foreign made US flags should be outlawed, would you help if I created a petition?":

Here's an idea that is an easy one to get people to agree upon, or at least I would hope. Last week on CNN there was a report that $4.7 million dollars were spent in this country on US flags made on foreign soil. According to the report $4.2 million were manufactured in China. I had brought up this point at a dinner last week and one of the guests was a Vietnam Veteran, he looked at me when I was speaking and replied something close to this "I was at a friend's funeral, he was with me in 'Nam, his father was still alive and in his eighties, he had a full military service and when they folded the flag and handed it to his father, he looked at the tag and it..." I shouted "I don't want to hear the end of this story!" unfortunately he continued "..(it) was "Made in Vietnam" according to FiveStarFlags.com
"Five Star Flags are 100% made in the U.S.A. If you see U.S. flags advertised that do not clearly state they are "Made in USA", they are probably NOT! In fact, flag dealers nationwide are SO up in arms about imported flags, that if you see flags advertised that DO NOT BRAG about being made in America, if is probable they came in from overseas. Please note also the U.S. Government mandates flags 2' x 3' and larger MUST HAVE A 'COUNTRY OF ORIGIN' label. If you have purchased American flags that do not have a "Made in USA" label, that flag is imported. Five Star Flags does NOT sell imported flags." I see a huge problem with this, as do mostly everyone I speak to in the real world and online, so I am here asking for help, would you help get signatures for a petition that brings a Congressional bill back from the dead and asks that our Government prohibits flags that are not "Made In The U.S.A."?
The bill HR 2993, was called the Genuine American Flag Act and was sponsored by Congressman Dan Boren from OK, it was introduced in July of 2007 and it seems to have been abandoned, the bill states:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Genuine American Flag Act'.
SEC. 2. IMPORTATION FOR SALE OF FOREIGN-MADE AMERICAN FLAGS PROHIBITED.
Beginning 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, no flag of the United States of America (regardless of size and whether or not in compliance with the standard proportions prescribed by Executive order) that is the product or manufacture of any foreign country or instrumentality may be imported for sale into the United States.
As noted at GovTrack(updated on Nov.6, 2008), the bill was refereed to the Subcommittee on Trade and:
The majority of bills never make it out of committee. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned.
I think all American flags should be made here where someone in my country can put food on their table, so will you help? I have asked countless people from all walks of life and all have stated "why wouldn't someone agree with this?" and I reply I have no idea.

So I have posted this poll here and in the Ridgid forums, another union and nonunion hangout, to get a diverse response base and see how well this is received. So please vote and add some comments, this is in the very beginning stages.

Thanks,
Joe

Clearly a General discussion type of story if ever there was one, but I tried to see if anyone got a looksie at the article and voted on the poll and I was greeted with a "BANNED: reason spam, BAN lift time: NEVER"

That's just fucking great some almighty cunt of an administrator bans me for fighting for American jobs, and they did it in a way that I can't even state a defense for my case. What a real silly thing to do. I didn't even break any rules, figuring I must have missed something I checked, here's the rules in a nutshell:

By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.

The owners of RIDGID Plumbing Forum, Woodworking Forum, Power Tool Forum reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

It doesn't have any rule against getting support for a petition, guess if the company has anything to do with the forum, they probably think I will be asking for people to sign a petition for them to make their crappy power woodworking tools in this country.

Autoworkers and the $73 and hour myth (Updated: Michael Moore, Pat Buchanan and the Rick Berman ties)

2008-11-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

the claim that workers are getting $70 an hour in compensation is just "not true."
The catch phrase that is used to make people hate unions

image by David Horsey- Seattle Post Intelligencer

The corporate war against unions and American workers in general has taken an awful turn, in 'if you repeat it people will believe it is true fashion' the stooges against us are creating more anti-union sentiment with making us think that only unionized autoworkers are making far too much money as opposed to the rest of us here in the U.S.

Alas their fear of the possible passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is making them slam the unions as hard as possible, getting catch phrases like "73 dollars an hour" to become a household phrase, but you my dear reader are much smarter than those who believe this to be true. Finally the numbers have been scrutinized and the sensationalistic numbers have been brought to our attention, the average union autoworker makes around $28 an hour as of 2007 and the new contract signed in early 2008 will limit the top wage of many non-core new hires to roughly $14 an hour with a lower degree of benefit costs also. That's a whole lot less than what a Toyota worker makes here in the US, but it was done to create American jobs.

The average UAW autoworker at the 'Big 3' makes roughly a little less than $60,000 a year and the average non-union autoworker in the U.S. makes roughly $52,000 and considering that most of the nonunion plants are in lower cost of living areas, I would say that both are quite competitive with one another. Basically no one is getting rich who is a general worker at any U.S. auto manufacturing plant. The anti-union forces along with the corporate right are spinning this to create more anti-union sentiment in our country. They fixate on a number that sounds outlandish and just keep repeating it until you say "greedy union worker", when in fact with the way the world is changing even the nonunion manufacturers here will be cutting back and need help eventually as it is very hard to compete globally when places such as Mexico have a minimum wage of $2 an hour, Bangladesh is only $0.06, and Vietnam is $64 an month.

So the choice is your, keep listening to their horseshit, keep hating your fellow American workers, keep letting them get away with outsourcing all of our industry or open your eyes and let them know that you know they are misinforming us. Remember "unions force jobs overseas" or at least that's what they want you to believe.

Yes these are bad times, really bad times, but don't take it out on the American workers, not the union ones or the nonunion ones, we are all hurting, don't let them get away with driving a bigger wedge between all of us, the collapse of GM, Ford and Chrysler will cost us 3 million U.S. jobs, add that to the 50,000+ Citibank workers, and all the others who have recently been laid off and you can see now we as the American working class need to rely on each other now more than ever.

Debunking the $73/hour Myth

Here's the scoop on the pay at the 'Big 3', from the pages of The New Republic

Why Are We Bailing Out Auto Workers Who Make $70 An Hour?
by Jonathan Cohn
Debunking the myth of the $70-per-hour autoworker.
If you've been following the auto industry's crisis, then you've probably read or heard a lot about overpaid American autoworkers--in particular, the fact that the average hourly employee of the Big Three makes $70 per hour.
That's an awful lot of money. Seventy dollars an hour in wages works out to almost $150,000 a year in gross income, if you assume a forty-hour work week. Is it any wonder the Big Three are in trouble? And with auto workers making so much, why should taxpayers--many of whom make far less--finance a plan to bail them out?
Well, here's one reason: The figure is wildly misleading.
Let's start with the fact that it's not $70 per hour in wages. According to Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automative Research--who was my primary source for the figures you are about to read--average wages for workers at Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors were just $28 per hour as of 2007. That works out to a little less than $60,000 a year in gross income--hardly outrageous, particularly when you consider the physical demands of automobile assembly work and the skills most workers must acquire over the course of their careers.

More important, and contrary to what you may have heard, the wages aren't that much bigger than what Honda, Toyota, and other foreign manufacturers pay employees in their U.S. factories. While we can't be sure precisely how much those workers make, because the companies don't make the information public, the best estimates suggests the corresponding 2007 figure for these "transplants"--as the foreign-owned factories are known--was somewhere between $20 and $26 per hour, and most likely around $24 or $25. That would put average worker's annual salary at $52,000 a year.
So the "wage gap," per se, has been a lot smaller than you've heard. And this is no accident. If the transplants paid their employees far less than what the Big Three pay their unionized workers, the United Auto Workers would have a much better shot of organizing the transplants' factories. Those factories remain non-unionized and management very much wants to keep it that way.

But then what's the source of that $70 hourly figure? It didn't come out of thin air. Analysts came up with it by including the cost of all employer-provided benefits--namely, health insurance and pensions--and then dividing by the number of workers. The result, they found, was that benefits for Big Three cost about $42 per hour, per employee. Add that to the wages--again, $28 per hour--and you get the $70 figure. Voila.
Except ... notice something weird about this calculation? It's not as if each active worker is getting health benefits and pensions worth $42 per hour. That would come to nearly twice his or her wages. (Talk about gold-plated coverage!) Instead, each active worker is getting benefits equal only to a fraction of that--probably around $10 per hour, according to estimates from the International Motor Vehicle Program. The number only gets to $70 an hour if you include the cost of benefits for retirees--in other words, the cost of benefits for other people. One of the few people to grasp this was Portfolio.com's Felix Salmon. As he noted yesterday, the claim that workers are getting $70 an hour in compensation is just "not true."
Of course, the cost of benefits for those retirees--you may have heard people refer to them as "legacy costs"--do represent an extra cost burden that only the Big Three shoulder. And, yes, it makes it difficult for the Big Three to compete with foreign-owned automakers that don't have to pay the same costs. But don't forget why those costs are so high. While the transplants don't offer the same kind of benefits that the Big Three do, the main reason for their present cost advantage is that they just don't have many retirees.
The first foreign-owned plants didn't start up here until the 1980s; many of the existing ones came well after that. As of a year ago, Toyota's entire U.S. operation had less than 1,000 retirees. Compare that to a company like General Motors, which has been around for more than a century and which supports literally hundreds of thousands of former workers and spouses. As you might expect, many of these have the sorts of advanced medical problems you expect from people to develop in old age. And, it should go without saying, those conditions cost a ton of money to treat.
To be sure, we've known about these demographics for a while. Management and labor in Detroit should have figured out a solution it long ago. But while the Big Three were late in addressing this problem, they did address it eventually.
Notice how, in this article, I've constantly referred to 2007 figures? There's a good reason. In 2007, the Big Three signed a breakthrough contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) designed, once and for all, to eliminate the compensation gap between domestic and foreign automakers in the U.S.
The agreement sought to do so, first, by creating a private trust for financing future retiree benefits--effectively removing that burden from the companies' books. The auto companies agreed to deposit start-up money in the fund; after that, however, it would be up to the unions to manage the money. And it was widely understood that, given the realities of investment returns and health care economics, over time retiree health benefits would likely become less generous.
In addition, management and labor agreed to change health benefits for all workers, active or retired, so that the coverage looked more like the policies most people have today, complete with co-payments and deductibles. The new UAW agreement also changed the salary structure, by creating a two-tiered wage system. Under this new arrangement, the salary scale for newly hired workers would be lower than the salary scale for existing workers.

One can debate the propriety and wisdom of these steps; two-tiered wage structures, in particular, raise various ethical concerns. But one thing is certain: It was a radical change that promised to make Detroit far more competitive. If carried out as planned, by 2010--the final year of this existing contract--total compensation for the average UAW worker would actually be less than total compensation for the average non-unionized worker at a transplant factory. The only problem is that it will be several years before these gains show up on the bottom line--years the industry probably won't have if it doesn't get financial assistance from the government.
Make no mistake: The argument over a proposed rescue package is complicated, in no small part because over the years both management and labor made some truly awful decisions while postponing the inevitable reckoning with economic reality. And even if the government does provide money, it's a tough call whether restructuring should proceed with or without a formal bankruptcy filing. Either way, yet more downsizing is inevitable.
But the next time you hear somebody say the unions have to make serious salary and benefit concessions, keep in mind that they already have--enough to keep the companies competitive, if only they can survive this crisis.

Jonathan Cohn is a senior editor at The New Republic.

My apologies to my readers for the lapse of writing on my behalf, I needed some time after the election to rest, work has been very satisfying also and I have been trying to have more free time with my family. Fear not I have a lot to say and a ton of ammunition on really bad shit happening against workers in today's America, I even have about 4 stories in the sandbox that need final editing to go forward and get published, but I need some time to focus and get the facts correct and intact.

More child labor in our backyard, more unscrupulous employers rejecting us in favor of undocumented workers with little or no rights and even a touch of good news, a story on more clothing made in the USA.

Update #1:
Michael Moore, Moore on the $73 Myth and the anti-union ties to it, just like I wrote and spoke about last Thursday at the NYC Central Labor Council meeting

Michael Moore on the arrogance of the Big 3
this is from CNN on Nov.19th.

It's more like $41 for the entire package
Another update on the myth from Media Matters (11/22/08), in a story entitled "Media figures falsely assert or suggest autoworkers make $70/hour without noting figure includes benefits paid to current retirees" (In part, entire article at link above):

In a November 18 post on his American Prospect blog criticizing Sorkin's reporting, economist Dean Baker wrote that the $70 figure Sorkin used is distorted by conflating "legacy" costs -- medical benefits and pensions paid to retirees -- with current labor costs:

The New York Times told readers that GM's autoworkers are paid $70 an hour (including health care and pension). This is not true. The base pay is about $28 an hour. If health care cost per worker average $12,000 per year, that adds in another $6 an hour. If the pension payment takes up 25 percent of base pay (an extremely high pension), that gets you another $7 an hour, bringing the total to $41 an hour. That's decent pay, but still a long way from $70 an hour.

How does the NYT get from $41 to $70? Well the trick is to add in GM's legacy costs, the pension and health care costs for retired workers. These legacy costs are a serious expense for GM, but this is not money being paid to current workers. The person on the line in 2008 is not benefiting from these legacy costs.

Rick Berman, the US Chamber Of Commerce and their agenda against the Employee Free Choice Act

I called this one last week, I spoke in front of my fellow New york City Central Labor delegates and noted that the $73 an hour myth was perpetrated by anti-union forces seeking to discredit unions. Here's the payoff, Rick Berman, the corporate lobbyist and spin doctoring lawyer, who's past efforts were defending animal torture by trying to make PETA look bad, defending cigarette companies, trying to lower the legal drinking age and higher the breath test levels for the alcohol companies and trying to defend the fish industry against claims of mercury levels that are dangerous. He is also the creator of The Center For Union Facts, a biased attack site against unions which is funded by McDonalds, Smithfield Pork and others who I cannot name due to court papers being locked.

One of Mr.Berman's front groups, the business-backed Employee Freedom Action Committee has been showing commercials which attack unions. Are we gonna let this corporate shill distort the facts? Here's the scoop from The Hill in a story by By Ian Swanson entitled "Business group blames unions for carmakers’ woes" (full story at link):

Unions are to blame for the Big Three automakers’ problems, according to a television ad meant to stoke public opposition to organized labor’s number one legislative priority.

“Steel, auto, airlines. What do these industries all have in common?” asks the ad sponsored by the business-backed Employee Freedom Action Committee, which was active in several hotly contested Senate races this year. “Hundreds of thousands of lost jobs and union bosses that helped put them out of business.”

The advertisement urges people to fight the Employee Free Choice Act, which unions hope will be taken up quickly by the Democratic Congress and President-elect Barack Obama. The bill would eliminate the requirement for workers to cast secret ballots in deciding whether to organize, making it easier to form unions.

Business groups are paying for the ad to run on CNN and the Fox cable news network Monday through Wednesday, according to the group’s spokesman, Tim Miller. He said the ad buy was “fairly substantial” but declined to specify a figure. A similar ad ran in Mississippi and New Hampshire in conjunction with Senate races in those states, where business groups worked to tie Democrats to the Employee Free Choice Act.

“If Americans like what the unions did to Detroit’s economy, they’ll love what the unions will do to the country,” said Richard Berman, the business group’s executive director.

“The unions have played a significant role in nearly bankrupting the Big Three automakers with untenable inefficiencies which have put tens of thousands out of work,” Bergman said. He said the union bill, known as “card-check legislation,” would do the same to millions of jobs across the country.

Alan Reuther, legislative director for the United Autoworkers, blasted the ad and Bergman’s comments. He said the auto industry’s problems rest on a series of bad trade and healthcare policies, and that the credit crunch is to blame for the current crisis.

Reuther also said major concessions offered by unions in their 2005 and 2007 contracts will result in the elimination of the cost-gap between union and non-union plants. “We feel that we’ve stepped up to the plate,” he said.

He also pointed to a 2007 report by two auto industry consulting firms that found nine of the 10 most-efficient auto plants in North America have workers organized by the United Autoworkers or the Canadian Autoworkers.

It's called Propaganda
"Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths."

You know who said that? Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's Propaganda Minister in Nazi Germany, he got the people to focus and hate other people, this cycle is repeated over and over throughout history, Goebbels also quips

“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”

We have seen this recently in the term "terrorism", which was used against President-Elect Barack Obama by Sarah Palin in a failing campaign.

Now these groups against workers want to use the manifestation of "greedy" union workers, those guys and gals who are making a whopping "$73 an hour", it's all propaganda and many of us are eating it up.

Even Pat Buchanan doesn't blame the autoworkers

from "PJB: Who Killed Detroit?" (11/21/08):

Who killed the U.S. auto industry?

To hear the media tell it, arrogant corporate chiefs failed to foresee the demand for small, fuel-efficient cars and made gas-guzzling road-hog SUVs no one wanted, while the clever, far-sighted Japanese, Germans and Koreans prepared and built for the future.

I dissent. What killed Detroit was Washington, the government of the United States, politicians, journalists and muckrakers who have long harbored a deep animus against the manufacturing class that ran the smokestack industries that won World War II.

He continues (full article in link above):

It then clamped fuel efficiency standards on the entire U.S. car fleet.

Next, Washington imposed a corporate tax rate of 35 percent, raking off another 15 percent of autoworkers’ wages in Social Security payroll taxes

State governments imposed income and sales taxes, and local governments property taxes to subsidize services and schools.

The United Auto Workers struck repeatedly to win the highest wages and most generous benefits on earth — vacations, holidays, work breaks, health care, pensions — for workers and their families, and retirees.

Now there is nothing wrong with making U.S. plants the cleanest and safest on earth or having U.S. autoworkers the highest-paid wage earners.

That is the dream, what we all wanted for America.

And under the 14th Amendment, GM, Ford and Chrysler had to obey the same U.S. laws and pay at the same tax rates. Outside the United States, however, there was and is no equality of standards or taxes.

Thus when America was thrust into the Global Economy, GM and Ford had to compete with cars made overseas in factories in postwar Japan and Germany, then Korea, where health and safety standards were much lower, wages were a fraction of those paid U.S. workers, and taxes were and are often forgiven on exports to the United States.

All three nations built “export-driven” economies.

The Beetle and early Japanese imports were made in factories where wages were far beneath U.S. wages and working conditions would have gotten U.S. auto executives sent to prison.

The competition was manifestly unfair, like forcing Secretariat to carry 100 pounds in his saddlebags in the Derby.

Japan, China and South Korea do not believe in free trade as we understand it. To us, they are our “trading partners.” To them, the relationship is not like that of Evans & Novak or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is not even like the Redskins and Cowboys. For the Cowboys only want to defeat the Redskins. They do not want to put their franchise out of business and end the competition — as the Japanese did to our TV industry by dumping Sonys here until they killed it.

While we think the Global Economy is about what is best for the consumer, they think about what is best for the nation.

Like Alexander Hamilton, they understand that manufacturing is the key to national power. And they manipulate currencies, grant tax rebates to their exporters and thieve our technology to win. Last year, as trade expert Bill Hawkins writes, South Korea exported 700,000 cars to us, while importing 5,000 cars from us.

That’s Asia’s idea of free trade.

How has this Global Economy profited or prospered America?

In the 1950s, we made all our own toys, clothes, shoes, bikes, furniture, motorcycles, cars, cameras, telephones, TVs, etc. You name it. We made it.

Are we better off now that these things are made by foreigners? Are we better off now that we have ceased to be self-sufficient? Are we better off now that the real wages of our workers and median income of our families no longer grow as they once did? Are we better off now that manufacturing, for the first time in U.S. history, employs fewer workers than government?

We no longer build commercial ships. We have but one airplane company, and it outsources. China produces our computers. And if GM goes Chapter 11, America will soon be out of the auto business.

Our politicians and pundits may not understand what is going on. Historians will have no problem explaining the decline and fall of the Americans.

Mr. Buchanan points towards over-government and unfair trade. I was happy to see his views, I'm so sick and tired of reading the propaganda that is today's mainstream, the likes of the US Chamber and Rick Berman who claim more unfair trade is a good thing for America make me sick. One commenter on the above article, Kurt2208, states:

Free trade agreements work fine with countries like Germany, England, japan and Canada which have close to the same standard of living. They do not work with third world and communist countries. As the traiter Dubya leaves office he is pushing another trade agreement with Columbia. I believe he should be tried and convicted of treason and shot!!!

Hope that last line doesn't get him in trouble. They might even call him a 'terrorist". We toss $700,000,000 billion on the banking industry that got us in this mess and when it comes to unionized workers the talking points start. Do you know what the US Chamber of Commerce and Mr.Berman had to say about the banking bailout? Nothing.

Now they blame the workers. Fucking amazing.

GM sent me an E-Mail on the crisis
I own a Chevy Impala

Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid.

The U.S. economy is at a crossroads due to the worldwide credit crisis, and all Americans are feeling the effects of the worst economic downturn in 75 years. Despite our successful efforts to restructure, reduce costs and enhance liquidity, U.S. auto sales rely on access to credit, which is all but frozen through traditional channels.

The consequences of the domestic auto industry collapsing would far exceed the $25 billion loan needed to bridge the current crisis. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research:

• One in 10 American jobs depends on U.S. automakers
• Nearly 3 million jobs are at immediate risk
• U.S. personal income could be reduced by $150 billion
• The tax revenue lost over 3 years would be more than $156 billion

Discussions are now underway in Washington, D.C., concerning loans to support U.S. carmakers. I am asking for your support in this vital effort by contacting your state representatives.

Please take a few minutes to go to www.gmfactsandfiction.com, where we have made it easy for you to contact your U.S. senators and representatives. Just click on the "I'm a Concerned American" link under the "Mobilize Now" section, and enter your name and ZIP code to send a personalized e-mail stating your support for the U.S. automotive industry.

Update #2♦:
Spotted a new blog by the autoworkers who are trapped in this mess, it's called Joe The Autoworker, go stop bye and show some support for our fellow American workers

The Rat Race

2008-11-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

By POLYP

Building and Construction Trades statement on President-Elect Obama's actions on climate change

2008-11-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

Statement of BCTD President Mark H. Ayers in Response to President-Elect Obama's Stated Intent to Act Quickly on Climate Change

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by BCTD President Mark H. Ayers:

By stating his intent to act quickly on the issue of climate change, President-Elect Obama is already delivering the kind of leadership he promised on one of the world's most pressing issues. The skilled craft workers who comprise America's Building Trades Unions will be essential to not only developing and deploying the clean energy technology of the future, but also to build the expanded energy grid infrastructure that will be necessary to distribute this power. We know that with willing partners in government, we can solve the climate crisis and create the good jobs that will be essential to ensuring a robust economic recovery.

SOURCE Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Quote of the day

2008-11-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

Gotta love it, from the Reddit threads on the story "I'm an American Worker and I'm Tired of Getting Screwed"

I don't want the government's help spending my money, cause they sure as hell didn't help me earn it.
Right. The government didn't provide a safe environment for you to work in. The government didn't facilitate the interstate trade that makes your business flourish. The government didn't build the roads that serve the business that you work for. The government didn't establish the minimum wage laws that keep you from working for peanuts.

I could continue, but the point is clear. You don't know what the hell you're talking about.

I'm an American Worker and I'm Tired of Getting Screwed

2008-11-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

The American worker doesn't want a handout. Never did. We do want a hand up from our government. - Rick Kepler, American worker

Like I said in the last article, "Autoworkers and the $73 and hour myth," I have been busy and a lot of stories have sat in the sandbox, fortunately enough for all of us AlterNet has received the same e-mail that I have, and run the story before I could. For that I'm really glad because it got the discussion running over there, and it needs to be spoken about.

So from our new friend, and fellow pissed off American worker, Rick Kepler, here's what I got in the inbox. (AlterNet provides the bio, please go there to discuss this)

I'm an American Worker and I'm Tired of Getting Screwed
I am an American worker, and you are damn right I want the wealth to be shared and spread. I am talking about the wealth my hard work helped to create, but was taken from me by George Bush's base, the very rich, or as I know them, my corporate bosses. For the past eight years I have watched W.'s and McCain's (Country Club First) base grab the largest share of our country's wealth. Where did they take it from? They took it from my family's pocketbook, and my co-workers' families' pocketbooks. They stole the wealth that I was trying to build for me and my family when they stripped my pension plan from me and told me to invest in a 401k. Then they stole most of that 401k and other workers' 401k savings with this economic meltdown. This was a massive transfer of wealth from the workers' pockets into the already stuffed pockets of the rich. My retirement savings and my coworkers' savings all across America have been looted by the corporate bosses, who just got bailed out while we got left out. Again!

The American worker, whether black, brown, white, red, yellow, or rainbow color, has been fleeced over these past eight years. We are the ones who go to work every day. We don't own our places of work, nor do we help manage them. We just go in and do the job. And we must be doing one hell of a good job because we are told that we are the most productive workers in the world. We are working longer and harder, but our paychecks keep shrinking! Where are those productivity gains going then? Not into our pockets. Our standard of living has been going down these past eight years ($2,000 less in family income since W. took office) This is another damn transfer of wealth into the hands of the extremely rich.

Their greed is insatiable. Take our family's health care. They do. They keep passing on their increased costs to us, or they just drop coverage for the worker completely. That means we either join the 50,000,000 who have no health care, or we end up having to buy it privately, thus eating up a huge portion of our family's income. If we manage to hang onto our health care plans, our deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pay contributions keep skyrocketing. This amounts to another massive transfer of wealth from our pockets into the overflowing pockets of our corporate bosses.

The list goes on for the American worker. We saw overtime pay stripped from millions of workers during this past nightmare eight years. The worker was still working overtime, but due to a new "boss law" passed by W. and McCain's party that assists these thieves, the workers didn't receive overtime pay because they were declared exempt. They also weakened the workers' health and safety standards or just plain didn't enforce the laws already on the books. As a result, the American worker pays the price in lost days due to accidents from unsafe conditions or from lingering, expensive illnesses suffered from unhealthy working conditions. This too is a massive transfer of wealth from our pockets into our corporate bosses' bulging pockets.

To further sweeten their own pots, they took full-time jobs and converted them to part-time with no benefits, or they just made their employees line up and reapply for their exact same jobs at half the pay. Are we beginning to see what a true transfer of wealth looks like? So, do I want to see a spreading of the wealth? You bet your sweet hind-end I do. But all I ask of Obama is to give me and my co-workers the ability to retrieve some of the wealth that has been stolen from us.

Strengthen the laws that give workers the right to organize and bargain for a contract with our bosses. The current laws on the books have been torn to shreds by W. and McCain on behalf of their base. This is just part of their attack on American workers. Under globalization, the bosses seek a much cheaper workforce, which always means non-union, which means "can't fight back." That is why they have gutted the laws that protect workers. The laws that once gave us a level playing field with our bosses have been rendered useless, including our legal right to strike. That law said I had a right to strike, and could.

The American worker doesn't want a handout. Never did. We do want a hand up from our government. We still believe and have hope that this is a government of, by and for the people. We do want to know that our government will finally stand with us against this onslaught, this Robin Hood in reverse, being conducted by the bosses against the workers. The bosses know that W. and McCain have been on their side for the past eight years - and so do we workers. We just want our government to now stand on our side as we stand up against this corporate attempt to create third world working conditions right here in America. Restore our right to fight for a better living for ourselves and our families, and let the power of pissed-off workers, united in struggle, spread corporate America's stolen wealth back into the pockets of those whose pockets got picked these last eight years - the American worker.

Rick Kepler has driven beer trucks in New Orleans, Louisiana; Colorado Springs, Colorado and Oakland, California. He has tended bar in San Francisco, and worked on the railroad and loading docks in Ohio. Currently he's a Teamsters organizer who speaks to thousands of unorganized workers every year.

I asked Rick if he would like to write on the site and he responded "Not a regular writer but if Iget inspired again, would love to send it to you," I hope he continues to get inspired, we need more Rick's out there, we need to talk about work and whats going on in this country. I was especially happy because I got the e-mail right after I was ranting about the misconception that "unions force jobs overseas", I hope we can inspire each other and get more people talking. I am enjoying the conversation on Reddit, come join in. We might not all agree, but it is a really good community to learn from our fellow internet users frm all walks of life.

Communication is power.

Good Article About Free Choice Act

2008-11-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I posted a tirade that the local Associated General Contractors Association posted about the Free Choice Act.

I found an article that goes into why they are so scared. It is because labor, with 250,000 volunteers, did the hard pick and shovel work of turning out the vote all around the country. This includes in targeted congressional seats. This is a big change from focusing on the base. Having these grassroots activists in competitive districts can help ensure that the candidates that campaign on labor's issues follow through at the policy level.

This is how the San Francisco Chronicle sums it up:

Under the proposed law, if a majority of employees at a workplace approve by signing authorization cards, a union will represent the group.

An Obama win meant everything to labor, because Sen. John McCain is an ardent opponent of the legislation, and labor's ground game was impressive: Unions spent about $450 million in the election, and the effort was particularly helpful in battleground states. In all, union members connected with 13 million voters in 24 states, in the process selling the Employee Free Choice Act along with the Democratic ticket.

However, the Democrats did not get a filibuster proof majority. Democrats currently have 58 Senators. In order to get the bill through the Senate, the bill's proponents must be able to stop a filibuster and that requires 60 votes.

Here is a link to the AFL-CIOs Free Employment Act Page.

Roskam Inquires About CEO Pay

2008-11-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

By Bendygirl
Crossposted from Bendygirl

I've been watching the hearings, hearing the testimony and pulling for the bridge loan. Then there was this tidbit, reported by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post:

So it was hard to feel sorry for the executives when Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), late in the hearing, reminded them again that "the symbolism of the private jet is difficult," and mischievously asked the witnesses whether, in another symbolic gesture, they would be willing to work for $1 a year, as Nardelli has offered to do.

"I don't have a position on that today," demurred Wagoner (2007 total compensation: $15.7 million).

"I understand the intent, but I think where we are is okay," said Mulally ($21.7 million).

"I'm asking about you," Roskam pressed.

"I think I'm okay where I am," Mulally said.

And don't even think about asking him to fly commercial.

CEO pay is a hot issue. AIG is goind out of its way to pay out for their "top managers" and then you have the big 3. The emphasis has been on the income of workers represented by the UAW (think Mitchells smarmy comments from Sunday's Meet the Press) and then there's reality:

Chrysler $29-$33:
More contract info by company here: http://uaw.org/contracts/index.php

TOYOTA
$30/hour

EXECS
Alan Mulally
Chief Executive Officer
Ford Motor Company
$22,750,385 in total 2007 compensation

G. Richard Wagoner
Chief Executive Officer
General Motors Corporation
$19,761,874 in total 2007 compensation.

Assuming a 40 hour work week, that's $9,615 an hour for Wagoner - 150% of the average CEO salary of $6,153/hour.

Chrysler isn't traded, but here's this article from the weekend about how Chrysler is paying about $30 million in retention bonuses to keep top executives while cutting thousands of jobs.

How much does the average AIG worker make? What's the median? How about the other "bailed out" organizations? Ones where they sent their IT operations off shore to India and elsewhere and canned all of their IT people like IndyMac (they weren't bailed out, just belly up)?

It's fine to get these numbers, but the issue isn't how much the average autoworker makes or the average Toyota or Honda worker, the message should be that these are American Workers who WORK. They produce American jobs, they contribute to their communities, they raise their kids, they vote and yeah, their represented by a union but they don't deserve anything less than what Wall Street has already gotten. That includes the Executives because not to do it means a destruction of local economies, not just detroit, we're talking Parma Ohio, Lordstown, St. Louis and this doesn't include the rolling effect on suppliers.

But let's take another look at AIG, again, from the Washington Post:

American International Group plans to pay out $503 million in deferred compensation to some of its top employees, saying it must tap the funds to keep valuable workers from exiting the troubled insurance giant.

News of the payments to top AIG talent comes as the federal government has just put more money into saving the company from bankruptcy, beefing up the total public commitment to $152 billion. Meanwhile, members of Congress are questioning the company's expenditures -- including lavish business trips to resorts -- during a time when taxpayers are on the hook for the bailout.
snip

Companies over the past 20 years have increasingly use deferred compensation as a way to attract and retain highly paid executives. Under these plans, top talent can postpone taking some of their large annual salaries for years -- often until a set date -- and can put off being taxed on it. Some wait to take the funds until they retire, when they would presumably be in a lower tax bracket.

Few executives seem to understand the correlation we common Americans make with failure and excess. I for one see their salaries and wonder, WTF?

But after watching what's been going on with AIG (and the scandalous behavior AFTER their bailout-not a loan), it's just incredible that these executives from the big three flew to DC on private corporate jets. But for Mullaly and Wagoner to say no to taking a massive ONE YEAR pay cut as Nardelli has said he'd do, well, damn, I wouldn't have given them a bridge loan either, because they aren't a good risk. Of course, that's me speaking as a former home loan underwriter. If I had a homebuyer with this kind of credit, this kind of debt load while arriving in a vehicle well beyond what should be their means, I'd have to really think long and hard about those combined factors and here and now, it'd be one tough call.

What's saddest of all, it seems only Nardelli really gets what's at stake in this financial melt down, survival.

AGC of San Diego Predicts Some Good Things from the Obama Administration!

2008-11-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

I have some shocking news. The AGC of San Diego has finally printed some good news. Good news to me that is.

The AGC here in town usually prints anti-union venom every Monday with their Monday Morning Quarterback. It does have some good information sometimes about local and national construction industry news, but often it just includes anti organized lab rants and raves by the senior staff.

In their post election analysis they were certain that the Obama Administration was going to push for two major labor policy changes. The first is removing the ban on Project Labor Agreements on Federally funded projects. The second is implementing the Free Choice Act. This update to the National Labor Relations Act, allows for a workplace to be organized if majority of workers to say that they want to be a part of a union.

Below you can find the article. Please remember the author's tone is not labor friendly and they are getting ready to fight. But it is good to see the local AGC on thier heels.

President Elect Obama is going to face some unprecedented challenges as he takes office this January. Our economy is in terrible shape, and we are fighting two wars on two different fronts. I am sure all AGC members understand the difficult task the new administration will be facing and how important it is that the administration stay focused on the critical problems our country is now experiencing.

However, we also see some troubling priorities that appear to be on our President Elect’s “front burner.” These priorities involve sweeping changes to our labor laws that will result in the most comprehensive changes in labor relations since the 1940’s. With the Democratic Party holding solid majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the US Senate, we see the following actions moving soon after the inauguration:

To set the tone….here is a quote from President Elect Obama’s April 2008 speech to the delegates attending the Building Trades National Convention….

“They (Bush Administration) don’t believe in unions. They don’t believe in organizing. They’ve packed the National Labor Relations Board with their corporate buddies. Well, we’ve got news for them….it’s not the Department of Management, it’s the Department of Labor, and we’re going to take it back.”

So what can we expect?

The Employee Free Choice Act

As a Senator, President-Elect Obama was a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. This law makes union organizing of a workforce easy……I think too easy. It simply requires the union to obtain 50% +1 of your employees in a particular craft to sign cards. There is no election. When this happens your firm has a union. Yes, you do get to negotiate for an agreement after the cards are signed, but if you are unable to reach an agreement with the union within a specified time period, an arbitrator will be called in and the terms of the agreement will be subject to binding arbitration. This initial agreement will be a two-year agreement.

Under the law that has existed since the 1940’s, unions could get cards signed by 30% of your work force and then call for an election which is overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If 50% +1 of the unit employees voted for the union you are required to enter into negotiations. If you are unable to reach an agreement, the union has the right to strike/picket but does not necessarily end up with an agreement.

The Employee Free Choice Act takes away the secret ballot election that is currently a mandatory part of the election process. In addition, it contains a powerful new tool that will create a very difficult atmosphere for employers facing a union organizing campaign. The union, probably through individual employees, will be able to file a civil suit against an employer for violating an employee’s right to organize during a campaign. The fine is up to $20,000 per violation. I would assume that it will be tempting for the unions to convince the employees to file these suits during the card signing process even if the allegation is a “stretch.”

Unions like nothing better than to have a big fine hanging over an employer’s head during these campaigns. This is not possible under current law. In addition, if an employee is fired during a campaign, and it is found that the firing was a result of the employee’s involvement in the campaign, the employer will owe the employee the employees lost wages times three.

Now, it is a given that the Employee Free Choice Act is going to pass and be signed by the President during 2009. Obviously, AGC and all other major construction and non-construction interests are gearing up for the legislative battle that will surround this Act when it is introduced. Its exact form is not known, but assuming that it passes in a form similar to the above, please understand that AGC staff and legal experts are working on innovative ways to assist contractors.

And….if you are a union contractor do not believe that you will not be affected by the Employee Free Choice Act. It is no secret that there is a great deal of union to union friction in the Building Trades right now. I predict that there will be efforts to amend the Employee Free Choice Act to position some of the larger Building Trades unions to organize workers in the smaller building trades unions. Certain building Trades Unions are committed to the concept of reducing the number of building trades unions, and this is a real opportunity to structure easy takeovers of smaller unions!!!!

Project Labor Agreements (PLAs)

In a September 16^th, 2008 letter to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers President Elect Obama wrote….

“We need to make sure the government uses project labor agreements to encourage completion of projects on time and on budget. One of the first things George Bush did when he got into office was to ban PLAs. One of the first things I’ll do as President is repeal that ban.”

This returns us to the way it was before President Bush took office. How extensively the PLA will be used in this “Federal” context remains to be seen, but….beware.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

The NLRB in Washington hears and attempts to decide all major labor cases. There are five Board members appointed by the President. Normally three of the appointees will be from the President’s party, and will view labor relations as the President does, and two appointees will be from the other party. During the Bush years, the President did not have a full five-member Board for very long. This caused some of the most controversial cases, including the “Ban the Banner” case, not to be decided since these cases by tradition will only be addressed when five members are serving.

We expect all five to be appointed quickly in the Obama Administration!!!

I have been involved in construction industry labor relations for the past 30 years. There is no question that the next few years will be a real challenge. If the Employee Free Choice Act passes in any form similar to what we have seen in past versions of the legislation, our industry and all other industries face some real difficulties. However, please remember actually implementing something this unfair will be difficult.

Stay tuned.

Nov.17th. come join in a discussion on the retirement crisis

2008-11-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted at DailyKOS, Union Review and Democratic Underground

The New York METRO Communicators is bringing us a discussion on the pension crisis this Monday night.

The End Of Retirement With Dignity
What workers need to know

A discussion with:

Teresa Ghilarducci, author of When I'm Sixty-Four: The Plot against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them. After having taught economics for twenty-five years at the University of Notre Dame, now holds the Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Chair of Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research. She is also the 2006-2008 Wurf Fellow at Harvard Law School. Her other books include Labor's Capital: The Economics and Politics of Private Pensions.

There will also be commentary by:

Stuart Leibowitz, Chair of Alliance for Retired Americans, AFL-CIO; President of the New York City Chapter of Retirees Association of District Council 37

Mel Aaronson, Treasurer of the United Federation of Teachers; UFT representative to Teachers' Retirement System board

Refreshments, Light Meal and a book signing by Teresa Ghilarducci to follow

Monday, November 17, 6:15-8:00pm
United Federation of Teachers
52 Broadway in Manhattan
Classroom F, 19th Floor

<--Click for Printable leaflet on left

Brought to you by the METRO Labor Communications Council, the New york branch of the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA)

Our Veterans, welcome home

2008-11-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

I just spotted Paul Rieckhoff, the Executive Director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, on CNN. The IAVA is an amazing resource for our recent veterans and has been pivotal in the fight for better services and future employment for our recent vets. Many times a story on this site is directly from information at the IAVA site. In watching CNN Paul said a really important thing, while it isn't a direct quote its roughly translated like this "It doesn't matter your view on the war, or who you voted for last week, it's time to rally around our veterans"

Checking out the IAVA site, I noticed the new partnership that the IAVA has with the Ad Council, the message "you are not alone"

From the Ad Council post at YouTube:

The mental health consequences of combat threaten to overwhelm a new generation of veterans. There are 1.7 million men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...
The mental health consequences of combat threaten to overwhelm a new generation of veterans. There are 1.7 million men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 1 in 5 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are suffering from a mental health injury, ranging from depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as a result of their service.

Less than 1% of the U.S. population has served or is serving in the current conflicts and when they return home, their sense of isolation is often magnified. This campaigns long-term objective is to decrease the depression and PTSD-related outcomes among returning Vets by taking a two-pronged approach encouraging Veterans to join other Veterans at the first ever online community exclusive to OIF/OEF Vets, and separately, to empower their Friends and Family by helping them learn how to start constructive conversations. The challenges facing returning vets are myriad but with support from other Veterans, family, and friends the issues can be effectively dealt with.

The AFL-CIO blog has also posted on our veterans

Honoring U.S. Vets by Ensuring They Get Jobs
It’s wonderful that we, as a nation, set aside a day to honor America’s brave men and women who have risked their lives for our country throughout the centuries and continue to do so today. But our troops now stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere need more than just Veterans Day set aside for them in November. When they come back from combat, they need jobs to support themselves and their families in careers that put to work the skills they learned in the service.

Helmets to Hardhats, founded in 2003 by the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) unions, together with employers with union workforces, has since helped more than 5,000 military vets find new careers as electricians, plumbers, roofers and other skilled trades, says Darrel Roberts, executive director of Helmets to Hardhats.

The Helmets to Hardhats program is unique in that it was created with the singular intent of helping National Guard, Reservists and transitioning active-duty military members connect to career opportunities in the construction industry, one of the last bastions of solid middle-class wages for working Americans. Helmets to Hardhats recognizes this and is committed to placing veterans in careers that provide family-supporting wages, good benefits and a decent chance at realizing the American dream.

Helmets to Hardhats helps match vets and soon-to-be vets with apprenticeship and training programs offered by the BCTD’s 15 unions. Veterans can use their GI Bill education benefits as they complete the certified apprentice programs.

Recently, the group launched the Wounded Warriors program to help veterans with service-related disabilities find meaningful career paths in the construction industry. Among the information and tools provided, the Wounded Warrior program lists career opportunities that employers have specifically identified as potentially suitable for veterans with disabilities.

Navy veteran Mark Young, now a member of the Insulators (AWIU) Local 6, took part in the Helmets to Hardhats apprenticeship program, and says it

seemed like the perfect way for me to get into the building and construction trades while using my military experience as an added bonus.

Military veterans make ideal candidates for apprenticeship in the construction industry, according to Helmets to Hardhats, because it makes economic sense to leverage military training in apprenticeship programs for former members of our armed forces whose service to our country should provide them with strong job opportunities.

The program is run by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment, a labor management committee created by the BCTD and employer associations. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. In April, President-elect Barack Obama told the BCTD legislative conference:

I applaud your partnership with Helmets to Hardhats. I believe we have a responsibility to serve our soldiers as well as they’re serving us, and by helping make sure they have the skills to work in the trades when they come home, you’re living up to that responsibility. As president, I’ll support funding for this critical program.

Former Marine Corps radio operator Patrick Morgan, who served two tours in Iraq, is now an apprentice with Iron Workers Local 3 in Pittsburgh. He heard about the program before he was discharged and told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

It sounded like something I really wanted to do….I’m learning a lot and they’ve been nothing but good to me.

For more information, visit the Helmets to Hardhats website here. For veterans with service-connected disabilities, visit the program’s Wounded Warrior section.

A huge shout out to retired UA Local 638 Steamfitter Gene Jackson for all he does in spreading awareness about the Wounded Warriors Project, and for making sure these men and women coming back are not forgotten.

Wow, no text needed

2008-11-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

Dan Rather explaind the corporate media ownership

2008-11-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

A video of Dan Rather speaking at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, brought to you by the folks over LinkTV:

Former CBS Anchorman, Dan Rather, speaks to an audience about how corporate broadcasters have compromised journalistic integrity by satisfying stockholders, instead of public interests.
More at LinkTV

Video Link

Just wrong on so many levels

2008-11-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

Construction of NY's greenest building on National Gegraphic's Man Made

2008-11-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

1 Bryant Park, The Bank Of America tower

The most amazing job I have had the honor of working on is on the tube right now, I see a lot of friends. This is an amazing green structure, I'm glad I got the call right after it began(thanks Greg). My girl is gonna Tivo it for me too. I hope it's not the last great job I'm on.

The show's called Man Made and it's on the National Geographic Channel

It's airing Friday at 12:00AM (that's Fri. morning if you're like me and need to think about it)
Saturday Nov. 8th at 4:00PM
and next Thursday Nov.13th. at 5:00PM

From the NGC Man Made site

Overview
Photos

In the city that never sleeps, one architects dream for a greener future has been realized. The One Bryant Park building in New York City is not only going to be the second tallest building in the city, but is set to be one of the most energy efficient skyscrapers in the world. Richard Cook and his team have taken on an exhilarating challenge to transform the modern approach to green technology. Both groups envisioned breaking new ground in the arena of environmentally conscious skyscrapers, a significant step forward in a city known for massive energy consumption. Join National Geographic as we examine the trials and triumphs of erecting a skyscraper whose blueprints just might map out a new design for our planets future.

So set your Tivo's and DVR's people and get a small look into the craftsmanship of some of the worlds finest construction workers.

Day One

2008-11-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

A new day and miles to go before I sleep

2008-11-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Excerpt, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

To make the world a better place, this is my promise

It was a hard fought battle, and never in my life would I feel a deep sense of hope as I, along with my beautiful girl and the kids, heard the words on ABC that the United States of America has a new president elect. One who has run a campaign of hope.

We did it! This is just the beginning. We have miles to go before we sleep, but for today I will rest and plan along with my fellow unionist and working people, plan how we will further take back our country for our class, the middle class.

Now is the first day of the rest of our lives, keep reading and contributing on the net. The majority of our work is ahead of us, but I will not fade away, my constituents will not either.

As my dear friend Richie Negri explained what he read from Jimmy Hoffa's e-mail he received last night after the winner was declared:

"This is a great day -- a historic day, now let's get this country unified and working for regular, middle-class Americans again. We elected a great man, but we can't stop here because our real work starts now."

The NYC Central Labor Council adds:

There is much work to do with all of our nation's current challenges, but now we have the tools and renewed optimism to get it done.

My buddy Kirsten mentions that the "Right To Work" ballot initiative, which would have destroyed the labor movement in Colorado was defeated yesterday.

Steve from Omaha has sent a job application to President Elect Obama, for the soon to be vacated Secretary of Labor position, which is currently held by Elaine Chao, I certainly endorse Steve, talk about a polar opposite to the Bush labor ideals, here's what Steve has to say to our next President:

Dear Senator Obama,

For the last several years American workers have suffered under the current administrations polices and appointees. I would like to apply for a job that is first and foremost for fairness of the American worker. I am asking to be your Secretary of Labor. I am much more qualified than Elaine Chao ever could be.

Twice in my life I have been fired illegally. Twice a union has won my rights through legal action. I know what it means to be the head of a family without a job during bad times. I know bankruptcy as a result of these actions too. I have also had two on the job accidents that resulted in two different partial impairments.

I have some unique qualifications that will provide for fairness to workers and employers on a case by case basis. Since you don't know much about me, just ask my 100,000 plus friends at the Democratic Underground for their opinion. They have been reading my labor opinions for over four years.

Regards,

Steven L Dawes
Shop Steward AFSCME Local 251.

This has been a great day, but this is just the beginning.

I leave you with a quick excerpt of a comment back to someone who attacked my ideals over at NewsVine:

...You tell me, why is it happening? Why does every so-called first world country in the entire globe being invaded by illegal workers? Is it the Democrats? Is it the Republicans? Could it be unfair Free Trade agreements? Is it the people who refuse to hold their leaders accountable and believe the lies that "there is nothing we can do about it?"

Ending the corporate love affair with the slave class is tops on my agenda.

No child in my country 13 years old should work on a kill floor. No 13 year old should wind up in critical condition and see his father die while they worked on a construction site in my America. The profiteers of human misery should be held accountable, their enablers should be held accountable.

We cannot allow anyone in our America to work without rights, a citizen cannot compete. A citizen should not have to foot the bill because employers choose to fail in their legal responsibilities.

We must stop the influx and we must find a humane way to deal with those who are already here. No one benefits from the misery that has been created except the unscrupulous employers. This must end. The slavery and labor abuse that many of our ancestors fought and died fighting against must stop again.

They know that united we stand so they decided to bring us more division, they encourage us to fight worker against worker, they have had a sweet deal in the last 15 or so years, all workers here in our United States are suffering because of this. The powers that be do not want us to pull those under us up to our level, they want us to slip down to theirs. Big business would be perfectly happy if we all bargained our way to the bottom, while the few at the top generate all the wealth and the majority of us get less and less for our labor.

I blame Free Trade for the influx, more on that in another story...need some sleep, just for tonight, maybe a few days off the web would do me justice. I'm sure my girl would agree.

I just want to thank all the great labor writers, communicators, organizers and activists, who believe that we can change the world. Those who believe that all that is good will only happen if we have a strong and vibrant worker movement. Their dedication, their core belief that if we are strong, we can fight for a better world and we can do it together, but mostly above all else, I would like to thank my fellow workers, who come and read our sites and choose to be informed of whats going on. Those of you who know that that "there's nothing we can do about it," is a lie which is repeated by those who would chose to keep us living poor, spending more and working till we die.

We must step it up in '09.

We have miles to go before we sleep.

UMWA responds to Obama coal bankruptcy statement

2008-11-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

The United Mine Workers Association has responded and their website is down due to overload of bandwidth, with a little help of Google cache here's the text:

McCain campaign’s last minute distortion of Obama’s coal record an act of desperation

date:
November 3, 2008
For immediate release?:

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“Sen. John McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, have once again demonstrated that they are willing to say anything and do anything to win this election. Their latest twisting of the truth is about coal and some comments Sen. Obama made last January about the future use of coal in America.

“Here is what the McCain campaign left out of Sen. Obama’s actual words: ‘But this notion of no coal, I think, is an illusion. Because the fact of the matter is, is that right now we are getting a lot of our energy from coal. And China is building a coal-powered plant once a week. So what we have to do then is figure out how can we use coal without emitting greenhouse gases and carbon. And how can we sequester that carbon and capture it.’

“Sen. Obama has been consistent with that message not just in the coalfields, but everywhere else he goes as well. Despite what the McCain campaign and some far right-wing blogs would have Americans believe, Sen. Obama has been and remains a tremendous supporter of coal and the future of coal.

“I noted that Sen. McCain even went so far yesterday as to say he has always been a supporter of coal. I wonder, then, how he can justify his statement at a Senate hearing in 2000 that, ‘In a perfect world we would like to transition away from coal entirely,’ and his leading role in sponsoring legislation in 2003 that would have wiped out 78 percent of all coal production in America?

“Fortunately, UMWA members, their families and their friends and neighbors in the coalfields know all too well what is going on here. They’re not going to fall for it, and we urge others throughout America who care about coal to review what the candidates’ records on coal actually are. We are confident that once they do, and once they see the many other benefits to working families of voting for Sen. Obama, they will make the right choice for themselves and their families

Unions force jobs overseas

2008-11-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

This is a response I wrote to the ignorant mob over at the Newsvine on a story entitled "Labor unions get boost from Boeing strike", where in the first sentence the author states that the Boeing strike has:

given a shot in the arm to a weakening organized labor movement in America.

I had to remind him about his choice of wording and respond to the anti-union views I read in the comment's, here's what I had to say:

Firstly a note to the author: Last year for the first time since 1984 the union membership has risen in America, hence a strengthening labor movement is more accurate, secondly to all the people who have posted before me, and those who read afterwords:

I believe that the complacent American people have moved jobs overseas, and I'm right.

The day you all decided that the poison pet food from China was OK, the cheap plastic piece of crap toy with the lead paint from Wal-Mart was fine for your kid to put in their mouth, the day you blamed the US auto worker and not the greedy companies that used our tax money to make concept cars that got 80+ MPG over ten years ago and didn't bring it to market, that was when YOU gave our jobs overseas. When you decided to talk to Apu in India, masquerading as "Charlie" for your PC's tech support and didn't demand an American at the other end of the phone, the day you let the undocumented worker mow your lawn, that day you all closed your eyes and bought Nike sneakers that some Vietnamese guy made for a whopping $64 a month over the New Balance that was half the price and made by the head of an American family.

You watched with your head up your behind when such staples of American life as Wrangler Jeans moved to Haiti, where even the hardest of workers make less than $2 a day are forced to eat clay sandwiches with salt to stave off the hunger pains, and to such places as Bangladesh, where even the highest paid of the regular working class must stand in thousand people lines to get government subsidized rice, you still sit there idle and watch Hershey's chocolate move 1,500 jobs to Mexico for $2 an hour wages, and you allow the media to brainwash you with fluff of Paris and Britney's sniffer, you are the reason we are here today. You closed your eyes and gave our industry and our jobs away.

Don't blame the unions for the loss of good American jobs, blame yourself. You blindly point your fingers at the only institutions that try to help the American worker, because that's exactly what they want you to do.

Your ignorance disgusts me, your grandparents would slap you. They fought for what you have blindly gave away, even child labor has made a comeback, as an immigration raid in Pottsville, Iowa, which grabbed almost 400 workers in the Agriprocessors Kosher meatpacking plant, has been found to have over 30 workers who were underage, the youngest was on the KILL floor, she was 13. This year also saw how a 13 year old who was working with his father in Illinois, fell 3 stories from a forklift and watched his father die. That doesn't even mention the pregnant teenager from Mexico who died on a California vineyard because she wasn't allowed to stop for a water break. Yes, you allow that and wonder why the Salmonella has spread into out food supply, and no one in any media outlet comes to the conclusion that maybe they don't get a potty break either. You all get what you deserve, less and less. Until you get rid of your blinders and see exactly how they have sold us out, it's only gonna get worse.

So enjoy your crap from Wal-mart, your now made in China air conditioner that 1 in 10 don't work, your poison food and your self-created rat race to compete with workers that have little or no rights in foreign lands and within our own borders.

When the labor movement dies, when we must all fend for ourselves, when you must have at least 3 sources of income to survive and work 12 hours a day with no hope for a dignified retirement, don't come crying to me. Just keep your mind occupied with all the crap they throw your way and make sure your kid's can pass a test and are discouraged from critical thinking so the manager's at McDonald's and the military recruiter's can be well stocked with another group of clean slates to work with.

Joe,

http://www.joesunionreview.com

Bah, I just get so sick of the bullsh!t these people choose to believe. If you like what I wrote over there, hit the little up arrow below my post.

Barack Obama's Grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, loses battle with cancer

2008-11-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

A very sad day for the Obama Campaign, yesterday, Terence Tolbert, Barack Obama's Nevada state director died of a sudden heart attack, today we have learned that Barack Obama's 86 year old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has lost her bout with cancer.

With sadness I bring the following news from 13 News in Baltimore:

Barack Obama's Grandmother Dies
WASHINGTON (CBS)

A day before the presidential election, Barack Obama announced the death Monday of his grandmother, who helped raise him and who he praised as the cornerstone of his family.

The Democratic presidential candidate announced the news in a joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng. He said his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, had died peacefully after a battle with cancer.

He said: "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."

The candidate learned of her death Monday morning while he was campaigning in Jacksonville, Fla. He planned to go ahead with campaign appearances.

Late last month, Obama took a break from campaigning and flew to Hawaii to be with the 86-year-old Dunham.

Obama said the decision to go to Hawaii was easy to make, telling CBS that he "got there too late" when his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995 at 53, and wanted to make sure "that I don't make the same mistake twice."

Goodbye Steve's brother

2008-10-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

From Reddit

The Barack Obama infomercial

2008-10-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

It's called "American Stories, American Solutions" and I haven't watched it yet, need more time

Any questions, please read why I am voting for Mr. Obama and why I urge all working people to do the same, Joe endorses Barack Obama under the Working Families Party line

Edit: 6 minutes in and it's all about working people...gotta sleep, goodnight.

Staten Island and Brooklyn need Mike McMahon in Congress

2008-10-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

"Not until we return dignity and respect to our workplace will our nation ever live up to the great ideals upon which it was founded." - Mike McMahon

->Click the image to the right for large printable card you can take with you when you vote

What can I say, we had many years of Republican Vito Fosella as our Congressman, and while there were a few items I agreed upon with him, for the most part he didn't see the same picture as me. He ignored my stance on media consolidation, stating in a mass generated e-mail that if corporations owned more TV, radio and newspapers, it would be better for all of us. He also did not respond to my offer to do anything in my power to help keep my local hospital, Victory Memorial, open. So I was a bit discouraged, but that was then, this is a new day.

First let me explain a bit about my Congressional district

My district, the 13th. Congressional district of New York, which encompasses all of Staten Island and the southern part of Brooklyn, has the highest density of any Congressional district in the entire United States, with over 92,000 union households. For too long we had a person in office at the Congressional level that didn't quite understand what difficulties workers face on a daily basis. Now we have a chance to elect someone who knows who his neighbors are, so here's what Mr. McMahon has to say about labor, in excerpt:

My neighbors and friends in both Staten Island and Brooklyn leave their homes and families early each morning to put in a hard day’s work, helping our City function and supporting their families. As a child I learned from them the values that continue to guide me today – the honor of hard work, the importance of family, and the power that we have when we stand together.
The great American ideals of justice and fairness demand that we treat each and every hard working man and woman - from fire fighters to teachers, from police office officers to sanitation workers, from construction workers to nurses, and so many other important but often overlooked jobs -, with dignity and respect. First and foremost this means a fair wage for a fair days work, appropriate benefits so that they and their family have health care access, financial security, and time off to spend as a family.

Employee Free Choice Act:

Sadly the fight for dignity and respect on the job has never been more difficult then today. Far too often, when workers courageously stand up and demand union representation , unscrupulous employers respond with illegal threats and intimidation. Firing workers, changing shift times, and even threatening to close places of work are becoming all the more common in union organizing campaigns. The nation’s foremost enforcer of labor law, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), is simply ill-equipped and unable to decide these cases in a timely fashion. This means that even when illegal acts are found, the ruling often comes years after workers have been intimidated from voting for union representation, and the atmosphere for union organizing has been poisoned beyond the point when a free and fair election is possible. This, clearly, is not what was envisioned by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he and Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act over 70 years ago. As Americans, we must stand together to say that this type of harassment is unacceptable anywhere in the world, let alone in our nation’s own work places.

It is for these reasons that I strongly and proudly support the Employee Free Choice Act. This vital legislation will return the decision about union representation to the rightful decision makers – the workers. Once this most important piece of legislation is enacted into law, workers will be able to declare their desire for union representation through the signing of union authorization cards. The union will be able to hold those cards until a majority have been signed, at which time they will be submitted to the NLRB. No longer will employers be able to hire union busting law firms that employ vicious campaigns of threat and intimidation in preparation for a union election date. No longer will workers’ votes be cast under the watchful eye of their employer. The Employee Free Choice Act will finally begin to return democracy and fairness to our nation’s workplaces.

I am proud to have stood with the hardworking men and women of my City to protect their jobs and living conditions. When the sons and daughters of our City were called up to active military duty and temporarily forced to leave their families and municipal jobs to proudly serve our country in the War on Terror, I fought to make sure that the housing and food compensation that they received with their deployment was not subtracted from their City pay checks. Before I and my colleagues on the City Council demanded this change in City policy, City employees that were called up to active duty were required to return to the City the lesser of their City salary or their military compensation, including the cost of housing and food.

Just as I successfully fought in 2003 to save nearly two hundred good paying Teamster jobs at the City’s Department of Sanitation, I will fight with equal vigor for:

Labor and Environmental Standards in all International Trade Agreements. Our country needs fair trade that raises the wages and standards of all workers, not trade that makes it free for employers to export jobs and exploit workers.
Increased funding for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration and other Similar Federal Agencies. Federal agencies charged with enforcement of our nation’s labor laws need to be sufficiently resourced and empowered to do their jobs. Needless and senseless workplace accidents must be stopped before they happen, and when they do, employers that are at fault must be held accountable for their actions. In this day and age workers should not be dying on our construction sites -as has tragically been the recent case in New York City - or in our nation’s mines. We have the technology and ability to do this work safely and we owe it to the hard working men and women of our nation and their families to ensure their safety.
Increasing the National Minimum Wage. The legal minimum wage needs to be raised further and we must ensure that all levels of government are vigorously enforcing the law and prosecuting those who violate it. Men and woman should be paid equal and fair wages for a fair days work, and in order to support their families these wages must keep pace with inflation and the rising cost of living.
Ensuring that all Government Funded Projects Pay a Prevailing Wage for All Construction Work. If there is a single dollar of federal funding in a development project, all construction should be done at the prevailing wage rate. The practice of segregating Federal and local government funding and structuring the project to minimize the work done at a prevailing rate, as is far too often the case in New York City, simply must come to an end. As a member of the New York City Council I fought to end this practice by introducing legislation, Introduction 733, requiring that all City subsidized projects, whether directly or indirectly funded, pay a prevailing wage rate. I will continue this fight once elected to the United States Congress.

Not until we return dignity and respect to our workplace will our nation ever live up to the great ideals upon which it was founded. I will work hand and hand with my partners in organized labor in the fight for economic justice both here at home and abroad.

Every single labor union in the New York City area is endorsing Mike McMahon, his stance on our returning veterans and infrastructure are also top notch, and from some friends and colleagues of mine, he is the real deal. Mike McMahon can also be voted under the Working Families Party, Line E.

More info on Mike McMahon can be found on Mike McMahon For Congress
More info on who Working Families supports and their issues can be found at WFP.org

Victory for Smithfield workers, Rico suit dropped, workers to get union vote!

2008-10-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

"Truth, Justice and the American way" - narrator, Superman TV series

One Rico suit against unions and their supporters has been dropped, workers finally big winners, imagine we live in a world that just being able to get a union election is a major victory

From Metro DC Labor Council:

WORKERS WIN AT SMITHFIELD!
(10/27/08 6:20P) In a huge win for organized labor, Smithfield Foods dropped a racketeering lawsuit against union organizers Monday and agreed to let them hold a union election at the world's largest hog slaughterhouse. "In return, the United Food and Commercial Workers union agreed to end a publicity campaign against Smithfield that included calls for product boycotts to support its calls for an organizing election at the slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, N.C.," reported the Associated Press Monday afternoon. Smithfield -- the nation's largest pork producer -- estimated that the Justice at Smithfield campaign – which included a major focus on DC-area customers who make up one of Smithfield's largest markets -- cost it about $900 million. "The metro-area labor movement has been deeply involved in this struggle since it was launched over two years ago," said Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams. "Every local activist and labor supporter who turned out to rally, leaflet or march for Justice at Smithfield should be proud of their role in this win." The agreement was announced by Smithfield and the UFCW in a joint statement as the company's lawsuit was about to go to trial Monday in federal court. In a joint statement, Smithfield and the union said they "have agreed on what both parties believe to be a fair election process" on union representation at the Tar Heel plant. The settlement was sealed, and U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne ordered the parties to say nothing further about the deal until after the union election. It was unclear when that election would take place.
- click here for Larry O'Dell's complete AP report. Photo: At the June 19 Justice at Smithfield campaign launch in DC; photo by Tiye Kinlow

Boeing and IAM agree to 4 year deal

2008-10-28T02:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry gotta run, just squeezing this info in while I'm running out the door

From labourstarts newsfeed

Boeing, union agree on 4-year deal
Boeing, machinist union agree tentative deal
Boeing, machinists in tentative deal to end strike
Machinists in Tentative Deal with Boeing
Boeing unions 'reach strike deal'

Finally beat Kirsten to the punch, hopefully when she writes a new story she can bring it here

Added some nifty widgets to the site, Labourstart photo's and a video bar

2008-10-28T02:48:00.000-07:00

I am really happy to be finding so many nice widgets around the net lately, it's getting easier to grab wonderful content and bring it to you. the newest stuff I have is the Industrial, Labour and Trade Unions of photo's from around the world and a video widget featuring one of the great artist on YouTube, please note I'm still testing all this stuff out, Just like the labor news widget I created with the use of YahooTubes on the top right, and the addition of the Amber Alert badge.

I'm trying to make this site one of the best for info for working people.

Later,
Joe

Longest-serving Republican in the US Senate found guilty

2008-10-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Directly from the "They're all scumbags" catagory

From Times Online (excerpt):

The longest-serving Republican in the US Senate has been found guilty of lying about free gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor.
Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, had been hoping to win re-election next week, but last night he faced the end of his 40-year political career, after being convicted on seven corruption charges.
The guilty verdict will make a difficult race almost impossible for the 84-year-old senator, and brings the Democrats one crucial seat closer to realising their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
Stevens’s downfall will provide another unwelcome distraction for John McCain, whose efforts to run an anti-sleaze ticket have already been compromised by the Troopergate inquiry, which found that his running mate, Sarah Palin, had used her position as Governor of Alaska to settle a personal score

More at Politico: Messy trial ends with a decisive verdict

Sad. sadder and saddest

2008-10-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

My girl says I'm a bit on the negative side, why would that be...

So when will banks give loans? Sadder

Saddest

Today Sad: Dennis Kucinich: Timing of Attack In Syria So Close To Election Questioned

July sadness: Republicans helping to encourage the use of more illegal alien labor

Military says Twitter, the social networking tool is for terrorists

2008-10-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

Are you f@cking kidding me?

I heard this on the news tonight, the social network tool that you can send text messages to cell phones or friends online has been deemed a terrorist tool by the US military.

From Vnunut:

A report by US military intelligence has claimed that the messaging application Twitter could be used by terrorists as an operational tool.

The report into the increasing security implications of mobile technology envisaged terrorists using Twitter messages, or Tweets, to communicate and share images and locations of future terrorist attacks.

"Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives," the report said.

"For example, there are multiple pro and anti Hezbollah Tweets. In addition, extremist and terrorist use of Twitter could evolve over time to reflect tactics that are already evolving in use by 'hacktivists' and activist for surveillance. This could theoretically be combined with targeting."

It notes that Twitter was used extensively by protestors at the recent Republican National Convention to identify the location of police and security guards in an effort to get around them.

It's called technology assholes, it's better than the mass beatings to American's that the stormtroopers at both the RNC and DNC dished out. Wheres the ACLU. This is quickly becoming a fascist police state.

eFluxMedia adds:

The report also focuses on newer applications for mobile phones such as digital maps, GPS locators and many more. The army report analyzes discussions on Al-Qaeda-affiliated online forums and the fact that terrorists and followers are discussing about the benefits of modern-day technology and how it can be used to coordinate a terrorist attack.

One of the online conversations was reportedly about the benefits of "using a mobile phone camera to monitor the enemy and its mechanisms," while another was about how one can use a Nokia 6210 Navigator for "marksmanship, border crossings, and in concealment of supplies" through the cell phone’s GPS functions.

Another similar, online chat focused on how terrorists could use voice-modification software in order to conceal their identity when making phone calls. Using the above-mentioned features as well as many other and adding Twitter use to that may have a bigger impact.

"Twitter was recently used as a countersurveillance, command and control, and movement tool by activists at the Republican National Convention," the Army report notes.

"The activists would Tweet each other and their Twitter pages to add information on what was happening with Law Enforcement near real time."

Take Action: Tell the Gap to stop supporting union-buster's at Oak Harbor Freight

2008-10-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted at DailyKos

Don't just sit there, take action!

From Labourstart:

Tell the Gap: Don't Harbor Worker Abuses
Don't let Gap Inc. support worker and retiree abuses!

Oak Harbor Freight Lines workers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho were forced to strike on Sept. 22 in protest of the freight company's violations of U.S. labor laws, as well as hostile efforts by the company to intimidate workers.

A day later, Oak Harbor took the outrageous step of cutting off health care benefits to its workers and retirees. Instead of negotiating with striking workers in good faith, Oak Harbor has imported teams of professional strikebreakers to coerce and scare loyal long-time employees.

Oak Harbor's biggest freight customer, Gap Inc., has supported the move to replace striking workers and cut off health care benefits to retirees.

REI, Urban Outfitters, and other companies have elected to suspend their relationship with Oak Harbor until the company finds a just and lasting resolution to the ongoing labor dispute.

Several organizations, including, Sweatfree Communities, the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation, the International Transport Workers' Federation, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, and the International Labor Rights Forum have called on Gap Inc. to suspend its relationship with Oak Harbor.

Unfortunately, the Gap continues to ignore workers' rights abuses and use Oak Harbor to transport merchandise. Tell the Gap to stop harboring worker abuses.

CLICK HERE! To send your message to Gap Clothing!

Wake up people, we can't just let shit like this go anymore!

From The Teamsters website:

On Oct. 21st. Teamsters rappelled down the side of a building adjacent to The Gap’s headquarters in San Francisco to bring attention to the company’s support of union-busting freight firm Oak Harbor Freight Lines.

*Click above for larger image

“We are here today at Gap Inc. to let the people of San Francisco, and the country, know that Gap, Inc. supports union-busters,” said Dan Jurpik, a striking worker who participated in the banner drop. “I have worked for Oak Harbor for 14 years. Now they are slashing our health care and bringing in professional strikebreakers to coerce and scare loyal long-time employees.”

“This company is treating its employees badly,” said Al Hobart, President of Teamsters Joint Council 28 and International Vice President. “Not only do they not want to negotiate fairly, but now they have taken the outrageous step of slashing health care benefits for workers. And, to add insult to injury, they cut health care for retirees – the very workers who built Oak Harbor into a strong company.”

Oak Harbor’s biggest freight customer, retail giant Gap Inc., continues to provide support to Oak Harbor even after it cut retiree health care benefits, froze workers’ retirement income and slashed sick leave.

More than 600 Teamsters remain on strike in Washington, Oregon and Idaho against Auburn, Washington-based Oak Harbor, after bargaining unsuccessfully for a fair contract for the past 11 months.

CLICK HERE! It only takes a minute!

A huge thank's to Eric Lee at the folks at Labourstart for helping gather support for our fellow workers. A huge thanks to the labor and social justice organizations worldwide that are in support of our American workers.

Stand in solidarity CLICK HERE!

Video: The value of a dollar

2008-10-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

The video that explains the value of gold Vs.the dollar on YouTube

Why unions are bad

2008-10-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

<--Next: Video: The value of a dollar

Last: Italy went on strike and no one mentioned it-->

Gotta love Larry from the Trucking Board forum:

By Larry Retired
I've finally realized why unions should have never been created and should be put to rest for good.

If unions had never been created, there would have never been a middle class. That way ordinary people would have never been exposed to many of the creature comforts of the elite. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. We could all still be going to work in our childhoods, working 14 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. We would die young, allowing our jobs to be passed on to the next fortunate generation. This way our jobs wouldn't have had to be exported to China, where those lucky souls are getting to do this admirable labor. There would still be a place for the greedy and unscrupulous, there always is. We wouldn't have the time or energy to be corrupting our minds with things like religion or recreation. Without all these distractions, our lives would be so much simpler. This scenario, after all, is the ultimate goal of the multi-national corporate elite. They have particularly escalated their push toward this end during the past 30-odd years.

The only downside that I see with this is that everything around us would be different, in most cases nonexistent. I mean if we, the masses, didn't have any money or time, there would be no need for all the stores, homes , doctors, roads, you name it. So as this brave new world is systematically foisted upon us by the corporate elites, don't be so damned ungrateful. They are only looking out for your own good, after all.

But since we already have these pesky unions, we all need to join together and help bring them down. Consider this, 33% of American citizens are making less than $15,000 a year, and 75% of us are making less than $50,000 a year. Now how ungrateful can we be, to expect that kind of compensation, with days off in many cases, to boot. In 1970 the largest corporation in America was General Motors. They paid their labor well, provided them with excellent benefits, and allowed them to retire with dignity. Henry Ford had the stupid idea that he needed to pay his help enough so that they could afford his products.

Today Walmart is America's largest corporation, where turnover is huge, pay is low, there are few or no benefits, and certainly no retirement. Can't you see where this is far superior to that of the recent past? If we can just keep heading in this direction for a little while longer, maybe we can get back to where we will be making so little and working under totally miserable conditions, that we can get back our basic means of production from China. Oh what a blessed thought, golly I can't wait.

Great post Larry, thanks. Larry is a retired Yellow city driver, dock worker and hostler. Retired in 2005, after 31 years.

See also my favorite misconception "Unions force jobs overseas"

Italy went on strike and no one mentioned it

2008-10-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

From ANSA.it

2008-10-17 15:43
Strike brings Italy to a halt

Trains, planes, trams and Venice water buses stopped (ANSA) - Rome, October 17 - Tourists and residents were forced to brave the rain on foot Friday as a general strike against government reforms called by grass-roots unions brought public transport in big cities to a halt.

Protest marches paralysed traffic in Rome, Milan and Turin, and unions described the strike as ''a success beyond our wildest dreams''.

In Rome unions claimed some 300,000 people took part in the main rally at Piazza San Giovanni to protest against low salaries and temporary contracts for workers across various sectors as well as school reforms and health cuts.

In Milan around 50,000 people turned up for a similar rally at Piazza Duomo, and local police described the traffic situation in the city as ''chaotic''.

'Vaporetti' water buses in Venice were also down to a reduced service, with around 48% of operators adhering to the strike. Children left alone in classrooms made desperate calls to their parents to come and pick them up as teachers deserted schools to join marches, and in Rome police in riot gear guarded the entrance to the education ministry to prevent access by protesting university and high-school students.

''The protest's enormous, extraordinary success demonstrates, despite the driving rain, that workers, students and teachers not only have no intention of keeping quiet but they want to continue to battle against a racist, classist government that helps bankers and speculators but does nothing for the general population,'' said Italian Communists' Party leader Paolo Ferrero.

Education Minister Maria Stella Gelmini said the strike was the result of ''a campaign of misinformation'' on the reforms from opposition parties trying to create public alarm.

Bus, tram and local train services are guaranteed during special time windows to allow Italians to get back and forth to work. These windows vary from city to city.

National rail company Trenitalia said long- and medium-haul trains were not affected by the strike.

A handful of international and domestic flights were canceled.

US main stream media fails to mention it......

More info
BBC, Op-Ed News,

Father Brian Jordan will run the NYC Marathon on behalf of killed and injured construction workers

2008-10-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

Father Brian will run for both deceased union and nonunion workers during the marathon. "God loves us equally during life and death" says Father Brian "However, your chances for survival are far greater if you join the construction workers' unions and receive the proper safety training."

NYC IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 20, 2008
ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST TO RUN NYC MARATHON FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WHO WERE KILLED OR SEVERELY INJURED ON THE WORKSITE

On Sunday, November 2, 2008, Father Brian Jordan will run in the annual New York City Marathon on behalf New York City construction workers who have either been killed or severely injured this past year.

Father Brian is the chaplain for the Building Trades and Construction Council of New York City. He began ministering among construction workers when he was a chaplain at Ground Zero from September, 2001 till June, 2002. He has attended many wakes, funeral Masses and memorial services for many of the deceased during the past year. Among them were the six construction workers killed on March 15 when a crane collapsed on Second Avenue and 52nd Street. Also two were killed on May 30 when another crane collapsed on First Avenue and 91st. Street. According to the Dept. of Buildings, 19 construction workers were killed so far this year. Construction workers have a higher rate of being killed on the job than police officers and firefighters. Particularly, among nonunion workers who do not have the sufficient training and safety equipment that is expected from their employers. Recent statistics point out that 1 out of every 5 Latino construction workers nationwide are either killed or injured on the worksite each year. The majority of these Latino workers are immigrants and work for nonunion contractors.

Coincidentally, November 2 is the Feast of All Souls on the Christian calendar. This solemn feast recalls the deceased by loved ones, family members and friends. Their continued prayers will help raise their souls into Heaven. In Latino culture(especially among Mexicans) they call November 2 the Day of the Dead

(El Dia de Los Muertos.) Father Brian will run for both deceased union and nonunion workers during the marathon. "God loves us equally during life and death" says Father Brian "However, your chances for survival are far greater if you join the construction workers' unions and receive the proper safety training."

Father Brian requests that the public give generously to a new fund that will dispense money gifts to family members of future victims of worksite accidents. This fund will be known as the Construction Workers' Relief Fund. It will be effective after the Nov. 2 Marathon. A special committee will be appointed to carefully distribute these funds on an as needed basis. Please make your checks out to:

CONSTRUCTION WORKERS' RELIEF FUND c/o

Building Trades and Construction Council

71 W. 23rd Street Suite 501

New York, New York 10010

Father Brian Jordan is well known for being there for our construction workers, in the above picture Father Brian blesses the I-Beam cross which was discovered under the debri at the World Trade Canter site, Father Brian is also an immigration counselor at St.Francis in NYC, and known as a spiritual adviser to the labor movement

Here's a video interview with Father Brian Jordan from April,2007 on immigration

Disposable worker dies and 13 year old injured working on Value Palace hotel in IN.

2008-10-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

<--Next:Father Brian Jordan will run the NYC Marathon on behalf of killed...

Last: Yellow Rat Bastard workers fight back and join a union-->

"It's also possible no one will be held accountable."

Who? A couple of misclassified workers for a company named Carpetbaggers, working under the General Contractor Millstone. Jose Delgado, Sr., 31, of the 2000 block of Breaburn East Drive, Indianapolis, and his son, Jose Delgado, Jr., 13, who lives at the same address
What? One dies and his son, a 13 year old severely injured while working with him while improperly using a fork lift as an elevator
Where? A new hotel in Indiana, the Value Palace, which unfortunately has no standard on who they work with, some value, people die cutting corners. The Value Place hotel is located at the southwest corner of I-65 and County Line Road in Johnson County.
When? Last week, Oct 16th.
Why? Because they can get away with it.

From wthr.com 13 in Indiana:

Greenwood - A forklift accident two weeks ago claimed the life of a Greenwood construction worker. His teenage son was also on the site, and was also injured. Now OSHA officials may be looking into more violations.

As the new Value Place hotel takes shape in Greenwood, so too are state officials making progress on their investigation into an accident on the site two weeks ago.

Three tile workers were coming off the fourth floor into an aerial basket when, according to police reports, two of the workers, 31-year-old Jose Delgado, Sr. and his son, slid off the forks and the forklift fell to the ground. Delgado later died from his injuries. His son, at first reported to be only 15 years old, was also hurt.

"A construction site like this is not a place for a child like that to be working," said OSHA deputy commissioner Jeff Carter.

Carter says this week investigators learned the boy wasn't 15 after all. "We believe he's younger than that now. We believe he could be as young as 13," he said.

By law, that's too young to be on the job site. Investigators are also looking at the forklift used by the workers.

One thing OSHA investigators will have to determine is whether the workers were using the forklift incorrectly, or if that machinery is used in a similar fashion on this or other job sites.

The basket on the forklift is what OSHA investigators consider "homemade." Officials want to know if the workers were trained to use it.

"That basket we have questions about. It does not meet the standards," said Carter.

The contractor supervisor on site told police the day of the accident, "Any subcontractor may use the on-site forklift, but must sign a contract stating they must get the necessary training." He went on to say, "Millstone [the general contractor] does not allow people in the basket."

But two weeks after the fatal accident, Eyewitness News saw two workers in what appears the be the same forklift.

"The company will probably be cited," Carter said.

Citations are likely. But who the state holds accountable for one worker's death is still unclear.

The driver of the forklift, Antonio Torres, told police he didn't have a key to drive it and that he used a pocket knife to start the engine.

OSHA officials say citations may be directed at Torres, who is an independent contractor, Carpetbaggers, the company who hired him, and Millstone, the general contractor on the construction site. It's also possible no one will be held accountable.

The investigation is expected to take another two weeks.

So how does this happen?

let's ask Chris the Carpenter from Indiana, in a story entitled "Joe the Plumber-meet Chris the Carpenter!!":

Now the quarter of a million mark wouldn't really be that hard to meet. I can't speak with any first hand knowledge, but being on the inside looking out, I can say with much certainty that there are people in our line of work that do much better than we do. And I think $250,000.00 is quite obtainable. See, as a union contractor we are obligated to pay the union benefits and wages that our contract states but if we were a non-union contractor we could get by a lot cheaper. Now I know there are some stand up non-union contractors that pay a good wage to their employees, offer health care and a 401k etc. But those guys know, as well as I do, that there are those out there that take advantage of people and don't do things on the up and up. I know because I see them on a regular basis on jobs throughout central Indiana.

I'm talking about the elephant in the room in the construction industry. It works like this. A guy secures a contract to do a job, say, roofing, masonry, landscaping, drywall, whatever. He then purchases the material and he finds a labor broker. This is usually a legal immigrant that can speak English and knows a lot of other immigrants that need jobs, are usually illegal and have little or no English skills. They will work very hard and they are very reliable. AND, they work very cheap. Now the contractor knows what the labor rate runs and he can charge just a little less than we do or what the legit non-union guy does. He then sub-contracts to the labor broker who then sub-contracts to the illegal immigrants. This is all done on a piece meal basis. In other words, a set amount is paid for the installation of the product, i.e.; 15 cent/square foot of drywall or 45 cents per concrete block. This way, the price is set and the contractor and the labor broker can't lose. It's up to the actual worker to bust his butt to make any money because he only gets paid for the set amount of material in the job. And it's pennies on the dollar compared to the wages my guys get or the good non-union contractor employees get. The contractor then gives the illegals a 1099 form instead of paying the taxes, workman's comp., insurance, not to mention providing a safe environment and the workers don't worry about it because they won't file taxes anyway. They work very, very cheap because the broker knows they won't say anything if they want to keep their job because there is a whole line of people ready to take their place.

Just recently, a small hotel was being built just West of Indianapolis and the floor covering was contracted this way or something similar. On a Saturday, workers were stocking material using a forklift that was supplied by the General Contractor. The workers tied a box to the forks and was using it as a man lift to get material to the second floor. (Totally against OSHA regulations) The box broke loose and two workers in the box fell to the ground. It was a father and son. Illegal immigrants from Mexico. The boy was 14 years old. Both died. This is not an isolated incident. If these workers were fortunate enough to live and only receive serious injuries, this story would never be told because they would be whisked away and 2 more put in their place. There has been no follow up story to the contractors on this project, and I'm sure that somebody got in trouble. But those lives are lost forever. And the work will be done in this manner over and over again because nothing is being done about it.

I hope you all understand that I'm not putting the blame on the illegal immigrants. I understand their plight. If I had to feed my family and I could make money to do that in Mexico, I would be there in a heartbeat. The blame is to be placed on the employers that take advantage of these people so they can line their own pockets. I'm not trying to solve the immigration problem right now. I'm trying to show Joe the Plumber that it's not as glamorous as it looks. So go ahead Joe, buy that company. Run a legitimate business. Put in the hours to make it work. Build yourself up to make that $250-300,00.00. Believe me, if I get to $300k, I'll pay the 4-5% extra taxes and never blink. But how much are you going to be paying the people that got you to that level? You gotta pay them a decent living wage too. You'll never do any of it without good employees. So you gotta spread the wealth with your employees first or you'll never make it as an employer.

So, go for it Joe!! See ya on the jobsite, huh?

Chris the carpenter Central Indiana

Picture and some info from:
The Indy Channel, AllVoices.com

Yellow Rat Bastard workers fight back and join a union

2008-10-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

WooHoo, a little over 7 months after I reported on the unsavory employment conditions in my article "NYC: Yellow Rat Bastard's owner turns out to be a scumbag" about how Yellow Rat Bastard had been paying its employees below minimum wage, without overtime, without taxes and had retaliated against employees who complained, the workers have fought back and decided to become members of a union.

For a few months after I wrote that story I was the number 2 hit on Google for the term "Yellow Rat Bastard", time has dropped me down the list, along with possibly some help by employees of the firm spreading the name around and creating a few separate entries for the site, but all's fair in the internet, at least for now. (I do this for free, they should have just hired me, hey look I'm #7 for The Employee Free Choice Act on Google today)

I know as matter-of-fact, that my story has been read thousands of times by people just looking through Google for info about the store, possibly all of the employees who decided to become union.

From the RWDSU site:

Yellow Rat Bastard Workers Join RWDSU in New York (10/7/08)

Workers at urban youth fashion retail chain Yellow Rat Bastard have joined the RWDSU, continuing on a path to a union contract that they have sought for three years. The 160 workers joined the RWDSU via a card check recognition on October 3.

Workers at Yellow Rat Bastard, which has seven stores throughout New York CIty, have continually suffered abuses including criminally low pay and overtime violations. Earlier this year, the clothing chain agreed to pay a $1.4 million settlement to over 1,000 workers who had been cheated out of fair pay. The lawsuit, filed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, came as a result of the efforts of the Retail Action Project, a partnership between the RWDSU and the community group Good Old Lower East Side.

"This another step toward justice, dignity, and respect for the workers at Yellow Rat Bastard, whose owners have too often lived up to their store's name," said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbuam. "We can only hope that management agrees to respect the decision of its workers and negotiates a contract in good faith."

A handshake and an 'atta boy" at the next CLC meeting from Mr.Applebaum would be nice, as I would be honored to meet the man whose writting's I wholeheartedly admire.

Finally being able to shop at Yellow Rat Bastard with a good conscience is even better, now if they will sign a 'no sweatshop, fair trade" pledge, I'd be thrilled. We'll take what we can as we can get it I guess.

Joe's atta boy goes out to the 160 workers who now are union, after the abuse they took, I'm really happy for them, my only advice, is give your employer a good days work and speak to your friends and family on the diferance between justice you finally have and what you went through to get there. Together we are strong, divided we beg.

You can read some of Stuart Applebaum's writings at various sites around the internet and the homepage of the Jewish Labor Committee, which he serves as President.

The JLC is a fantastic site, which the heritage of the American Jew is woven into today's world, they do not forget where they came from, the employee abuse, like so many of our heritages suffered. It is important that we all learn from the past.

Most importantly, the Jewish Labor Comittees policy statement on the worker abuses at AgriProcessors, which in part states:

In reviewing the complaints of Agriprocessors’ employees, the JLC learned that there is a clear pattern of employer negligence and even lawlessness. Among the most troubling practices by Agriprocessors are:

• abuse of child labor laws;
• failure to pay workers the full amount of wages they have earned;
• unnecessary exposure of workers to dangerous -- even life-threatening -- working conditions;
• sexual harassment.

The JLC has also learned that Agriprocessors is actively waging a campaign of intimidation and harassment against workers who have expressed an interest in exercising their legal right to union representation.

In this atmosphere, it is clear that the recent ICE raid at Agriprocessors, though apparently legal, only buttresses the conviction shared by many undocumented workers that our government is not only indifferent to worker abuse, but works in collusion with management to penalize workers who challenge it.

While there are many differing perspectives regarding immigration reform, the American Jewish community shares a common conviction that all workers -- regardless of their immigration status -- must be free to exercise their rights and challenge employer abuses. Our belief is grounded in the collective memory of American Jewry of the gross exploitation of Jewish immigrants by employers who, like Agriprocessors, abused and robbed them of their right to dignity in the workplace.

I wish it could be "the American community shares a common conviction that all workers -- regardless of their immigration status -- must be free to exercise their rights and challenge employer abuses", because if that were true, there wouldn't be a slave class in this country.

Every part of my Heritage was abused when they entered the country. The difference today is that the government, lobbyists and the corporations have made all facets of immigration an open faucet, with no throttle. It seems that even if the people already here got human rights, were able to be in a union and have a pathway to citizenship that that faucet would still be jammed open, letting in the next wave.

It's a continuous flow of worker suppression, and we the tax payers are subsidizing the the employers responsibilities.

The conservatives scream 'socialism', the last 30 years, especially the last 7.5 have honed this into a science, keep allowing the undocumented workers in, let the citizen workers pay for the things that the employers of these workers are supposed to pay for, and make sure that the undocumented workers will live in a state of fear. This to me is a corporatist socialism that is not acceptable. The divisiveness of their methods is insidious, you actually have rabid "McCain" supporters who scream that their opposing view is socialism, while they are living in a semi-socialist society where only a few are benefiting.

Add in a whole lot of anti-union policies, absence of working rights for undocumented's , an abused Visa system and a new army of ICE storm troopers to get sent into service if the slaves get out of line, and we are heading into a really bad place.

Fear is their weapon and if we do not overcome their campaign against the people who work in this country, bad days are coming.

An undocumented class of workers is unacceptable in our country. Having citizens and non-citizens competing for work is insanity. This is undermining all of our hard fought labor laws and rights, this is hurting all of us and you dare complain of socialism.

If big business and their conspirators had their way, we would all be making $2 an hour, fighting for a crumb of bread and terrified to raise any concern for our safety. Many idiots write that "unions are a thing of the past, we don't need them anymore, we now have federal labor laws that take care of us", that sounds good, until your boss tells you "I can get 15 illegals here to do your job" and even if he doesn't get the job done right, even if a portion of them get hurt or killed, he can still scoop up more to finish it the next day. So you work harder to make him more money, to keep him competitive, or you just get so disenfranchised that you refuse to care, you are beaten to straying away from the conversation, you take your lumps in solitude, you become fractured and the entire labor movement becomes a confused fragmented mess, with all sides fighting against the middle, and when the heart of a leader dies and he/she steps in line or even worse becomes on the take, the conspirators are lined up to spread the word of their infractions, to belittle and dishonor the movement. Like vultures they swarm, to get the masses to avoid unionization. They get workers to chew off their leg against their own interest.

It's your world, let's really think and talk about this more. The closure of the faucet and the liberation of the workers in America should be our first concern in the next Presidency.

The pro-worker movement should be there also

The video McCain wouldn't like you to see: paid volunteers

2008-10-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

After a legnthy interview with a the Orlando campaign for John McCain, where the person interviewed stated that they have tons of volunteers in the race, after interviewing a few of em, we find that most are paid

Q at the end of video: Why do they sign confidentiality agreements?

Johnathan from the GOP: Because they are employees

Amber Alert: 7 year old, Chicago

2008-10-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Illinois State Police Issued the Amber Alert on Friday evening after the boy was abducted in Chicago and his Grandmother and another relative were found shot to death. The suspect is considered armed and dangerous.

Julian King is a black male, 7 years old, 4 feet 11 inches, 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a brown polo shirt with stripes and khaki pants.

The suspect is unknown at this time.

The suspect vehicle is a white 1994 Chevrolet Suburban with Illinois tag number X584859.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

The information above is from Code Amber

I found the amber alert gadget which alerts us of missing children and is displayed on the right hand side of the site, you can add it to your website by going to Code Amber website

I urge other site owners and webmasters to add it to your site, it's not a big distraction and it just might save a kids life.

Joe endorses Barack Obama under the Working Families Party line

2008-10-25T04:43:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, when you get to the voting booth, you immediately get sick of having to choose the lesser of 2 evils at the voting booth. The nicer of 2 huge criminal organizations.

While Independents are a hard runner, even such people that I respect that could have really made some changes, such as Dr. Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, chose to be a candidate in one of the major parties, knowing fully well that you need their "membership" in today's world to even have a chance of getting elected at that high stage of the game. I mean look at Congress, only one Independent, its a scary situation, not much choice.

Good cop, bad cop. The Republican's and Democrat's know where their bread and butter are, the war chests of the big 2, but just like the "big 3", it seems they sit on changes until after the fact, and while the Democrats are the good cop in the public's eye, they still sign bad laws and raises for themselves, hurt working people, they are a rouge "good cop" and viewed as our only choice, and unfortunately for President I would have to agree, McCain's voting record against the working man and our returning veteran's is atrocious, at least it's easy to see which side he's on, a champion for huge corporations and the arch-enemy to the American worker.

On McCain's stance on my two biggest issues, the American worker and how we treat returning veterans I would have to vote for Barack Obama by default. I remember voting for Ross Perot just on his stance against NAFTA, the Bush Sr. written policy which Bill Clinton pushed against Congressional wishes into law. Look where we are now!

I watched all the good industrial American union jobs on the Queens, New York shoreline vanish, just like Ross predicted. Eight years of Bush Jr. has us embedded in a forgotten war, as long as the profiteers are in the black, nothings mentioned. Bush has waged a war on the American worker since his first unconstitutional Executive Order, which made any project that recieved Federal funding, our tax money if you are counting, inellegible to receive a "Project Labor Agreement", his latest unconstitutional Executive Order was to make any PRIVATE business that is deemed a subcontractor of a Federal contract ineligible to recognize it's memberships wishes to be in a union via a card check agreement. Explained simply that even if the company/corporation agrees ahead of time to allow it's workers to decide that they want to be in a union by just having the majority of workers sign cards, it will not be legal.

Please also note that the first business association to endorse John McCain in this years Presidential bid was none other than, The Associated Building Contractors, the staunchly anti-union group of construction corporations that want to eliminate unions altogether, they have fought against prevailing wage, fought against project labor agreements and are the benefactor of workers without rights across our nation, they are the enemy of the American construction worker and they have blindingly aligned themselves with the Republican party, the ABC would be happy if they could import foreign workers to do their projects with sovereignty of retaliation by any American who chose to protest their actions, it has been in the works for years. They want to disqualify American workers and use a slave class, that is their agenda. That is not true Republican value, that is not true Conservative value, that just makes me sick.

Now how did the self-proclaimed Maverick fare with our veterans? Think about this, the young men and women who are actively fighting in this war have donated 6 times as much to Barack Obama, why you may ask? Because John McCain's record of voting for their interests has been horrible, he was against an updated version of the GI Bill, and was absent from the voting, as a matter of fact the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America issued a report card on the candidates and John McCain has scored a D on legislation that would help our returning vets, a D, Barack Obama who has also been campaigning and missed a few votes scored a B.

Even Ron Paul has received 4 and a half more contributions from our active military than John McCain.

As a labor activist and independent writer, I feel that I must tell you how I'm voting, and I must tell you why? If Barack Obama hold onto one of his promises, even if he isn't able to accomplish any of his tasks, the worker movement in this country will be way ahead of the game as opposed to any of the John McCain measures . Barack Obama is a somewhat unknown in the circles of main stream politics, but he is not a Bush or a Clinton, he may actually have an agenda that isn't just give the corporations everything they want on a silver platter, and possibly make life better for the people in these United States. One thing is for sure, that if he gets elected he will owe it to labor to make sure that our issues are heard.

I will hold accountability to labor to make sure that we are heard, or will call for new leadership, we can never allow another NAFTA fucking in my lifetime, we can never allow a wholesale sell off of the industries we have left and we must encourage businesses that sell stuff here, to make it here, with good paying American jobs. Barack Obama has already taken stands against contractors in Chicago when they misclassified workers to avoid American workers and pay them below wage, I am hoping that he will continue in his stance against illegal activities like that.

One of the most scary ideas on John McCain, is his amnesty plan, which didn't have wording to stop the influx...to which I scream, what part of making those that are already here citizens makes you think that the next one that enters will not undermine him? A really failed policy which he has abandoned.

Not to mention the fact that McCain want's me to pay the tax burden of my employers health insurance plan as my own taxable income, are you fucking kidding me an man who claims "why should anyone's tax get raised in this economy?" is going to make me pay tax on something that is exempt now? and I wouldn't even be able to get the $2,500/$5,000 tax credit if my employer supplies the policy!

Does Barack Obama scare me, sure he does, I didn't like him voting for the FISA and Bailout bill, does John McCain scare me, oh yeah, along with those measures he has voted against the interests of the American worker 100% of the time, so I would say he is a lot scarier. Hell if I were one of the spin doctoring idiots on the campaign, I would have to say that John McCain is an economic terrorist, his policies and the wishes of those who have invested interests in him this election will cause much fear and panic for the American working family.

I am voting for Barack Obama and how I'm gonna do it

So what can I do, here's what, I'm going to vote for Barack Obama, here in New York I get to have that independent feeling, and maybe tell him exactly why.

Well this election, in New York you can send a clear message to the Big 2, a message that say's that the only reason that you are voting for this candidate is his stance on labor, on our bread and butter. On Nov.4th. in New York, you can vote for Barack Obama under the Working Families party, and it will count as a vote for him, but at the end of the day, when the ballots are tallied, and if indeed Mr.Obama does win the Presidency, he can see that you and I voted for him only on his stance for the working man.

While there are a few, not many, hiccups in some of the issues that Working Families Party are fighting for, I feel that there is a distinct agenda that is in our best interest.

Hell, we can always join the local meetings and get our voice heard. It's a new party, it's grassroots and netroots, it's not the Big 2 and it can be better if we get involved in it..

Here's where WFP stands on the issues:

The Working Families Party is fighting for a more just world.

One where the economy works for everyone. One where politicians are held accountable to working people, instead of big-money backers. One where all of us, no matter where we come from, can find a good job, get healthcare when we need it, afford a home, send our kids to good schools, and have a secure retirement.
Green Jobs, Green Homes, Real Tax Solutions, Clean Elections, Affordable Housing , Education, Equal Rights, Good Jobs, Living Wages, Healthcare for All, Paid Family Leave, Public Transportation, Veterans and Military Families

On November 4th. send a clear and distinct message to the Big 2, I am voting only for real values, the values of the working people, and even if I do not agree 100% with WFP, it's a lot more than I agree with the Big 2.

From The WFP site on Presidential election 2008:

Vote Change Like You Mean it

After 8 long years of disastrous, far-right government, Working Families need a champion in the White House like never before. Barack Obama’s campaign has inspired millions of Americans to fight for the issues the WFP has long championed, whether it’s an economy that works for everyone, healthcare for all, protecting social security, or the right to join a union.

This November, Obama will appear on the Working Families Party ballot line - “Row E” - across New York. Votes for Obama on the WFP line count just the same, but they also let you vote your values and send a powerful message: New Yorkers demand real progressive change.

Remember, if and when Barack Obama get's elected, it's up to us to hold him accountable, renegotiate Free Trade agreements, reinvest in infrastructure, create green jobs, it will all be on the table and I'm ready. Keeping American's working is this site top priority, would I reregister as a WFP member, that would take me learning just how grassroots they are and possibly honing in on their motives, letting Barack Obama know that I am voting for him for issues that matter to me, "One where politicians are held accountable to working people, instead of big-money backers.", is a good start.

Just for fun: How to keep an idiot busy

2008-10-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

(for at least a couple minutes)

Stolen from Page Tutor

Wal-Mart to destroy historic Civil War battlefield

2008-10-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

Video: IBEW Local 665 President talks about the Employee Free Choice Act in Michigan 7-24-08

2008-10-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Video: Richard Trumpka on Employee Free Choice Act 10-21

2008-10-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Take Action Now!

2008-10-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

Sign the Health Care Petition

Our goal is to win secure, high-quality health care for all. We are mobilizing a 1 million-member army of activists to keep health care reform at the top of the 2008 political agenda—and to put our health care system on the road to recovery after the elections. Sign the petition for secure, high-quality health care for all today.

Learn More | Take Action

Support the Employee Free Choice Act

The Employee Free Choice Act would restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain—without management interference. Our goal is to present the next president and Congress with 1 million signatures urging them to enact the Employee Free Choice Act. Sign the Online Card to show your support today.

Learn More | Take Action

Stop the U.S.-Colombia Trade Deal

In Colombia, dozens of unionists are killed and attacked every year, while the Colombian government systematically undermines union members’ rights. Tell your representative to oppose a trade deal with Colombia until its government makes real progress in protecting the lives and rights of union members.

Learn More | Take Action

End Unfair Trade Practices

The U.S. House is preparing legislation to address unfair and unsafe trade practices by China and other nations. We need your help to ensure the legislation they come up with contains strong and effective remedies to make certain these countries play by the rules. Tell your representative to fight for working families and put an end to these unfair trade practices.

Learn More | Take Action

Joe the Plumber: Hey, Joe by David Macaray

2008-10-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

He’s a non-union craftsman using a respected union logo. In some places, that would still get you a well-deserved ass-kicking. Union credentials, especially in the skilled trades, are hard to obtain and really count for something. You hire a union plumber, electrician or mechanic, and you know that you’ve hired a competent worker, an expert.

Directly from the pages of CounterPunch:

McCain's Latest Blunder
Hey, Joe

by DAVID MACARAY

By now, most people have heard of Joe Wurzelbacher, the Ohio plumber’s assistant whom John McCain chose to promote as a symbol of working class Americans who will be victimized by Barack Obama’s announced tax plan. Talk about a clumsy promotion. During the course of Wednesday’s presidential debate, “Joe the Plumber” was mentioned a staggering twenty-five times.

Leaving aside Wurzelbacher’s personal views on politics—which turn out to be a mixed bag of knee-jerk homilies, including calling the Iraq occupation a “good thing,” railing against people who “criticize” America, arguing that social security should be privatized (after the latest Wall Street debacle, wouldn’t we all be broke?), and declaring that no one should have to pay taxes—his work background needs to be examined.

After all, this guy was yanked out of obscurity by the Republican Party’s nominee for president, and held up to the country on national television as a representative of America’s hard-working plumbers. He’s Joe the Plumber, the poster boy for the country’s blue-collar skilled workers. It’s important we know who he is and what he does.

First of all, Joe the Plumber is not a plumber, at least not a licensed one. His job title is “plumber’s assistant.” He works for Newell’s Plumbing and Heating, a two-man outfit in Toledo, run out of a garage behind Al Newell’s house. The way McCain portrayed Joe the Plumber, he was this budding entrepreneur looking to buy his own company, only to have that dream in danger of being destroyed by Obama’s confiscatory tax plan.

In 2003, Joe the Plumber applied for a plumber’s apprentice program and took adult education classes to that end. He never finished the program and never received a license from the city of Toledo or Lucas County, Ohio. As a plumber’s assistant, he’s not required to have a license, so long as his boss has one (which Al Newell does). But Joe the Plumber is also not allowed to call himself a “plumber.” Joe the Plumber is a fiction.

Second, the reference to Newell’s business as being worth between “$250,000-$280,000,” is very likely another falsehood. Because Al Newell does little fix-it jobs (repairing toilets, leaky pipes, etc.), local plumbing companies in and around the Toledo area estimate his business to be worth a fraction of the amount mentioned by McCain’s people, who needed the higher figure as a basis for making their case.

Third, while no one can say for certain, it’s improbable that Joe the Plumber is in a position to buy Newell’s business, modest as it is. Not only did the single father with a 13-year old son earn about $40,000 last year, he has a $1,182 lien against him from the state of Ohio for failure to pay back taxes. Also, isn’t there that little matter of a major credit crunch going on with the banks?

Fourth, as has been noted by the media (and reluctantly acknowledged by Joe himself), Joe the Plumber’s biggest beef with Obama—that under his plan he’d have to pay additional taxes—is baseless. In truth, under the Obama tax plan he would actually have his taxes lowered. Ah . . . so he had it totally backwards. Sort of like the White House had it on WMD in Iraq. I guess that’s why they call them “low information” voters.

Fifth (and this is the one that’s freaking out union workers all over the country), despite the fact that Joe the Plumber is not a licensed plumber or a union member, and despite the fact that Al Newell does not run a union shop, on his MySpace page Joe the Plumber has the balls to use the union logo from Columbus Local 50 of the United Assn. of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry.

He’s a non-union craftsman using a respected union logo. In some places, that would still get you a well-deserved ass-kicking. Union credentials, especially in the skilled trades, are hard to obtain and really count for something. You hire a union plumber, electrician or mechanic, and you know that you’ve hired a competent worker, an expert.

Making this whole thing even more gruesome, not only is Joe the Plumber posing on his website as a union member, but Local 50 has already formally endorsed Barack Obama for president. Ouch.

So, whom do we blame here? Joe the Plumber for being a knuckle-head, or the McCain campaign for not properly vetting the guy? Maybe it’s a little of both.

Let’s not forget that McCain’s brain trust is the same team who didn’t know that Sarah Palin’s daughter had gotten knocked up, that her husband wanted to secede from the United States, and that Palin herself was mired in a messy political scandal. Compared to that stuff, I suppose Joe the Fake Plumber doesn’t look too bad.
David Macaray, a playwright and writer in Los Angeles, was a former labor union rep. He can be reached at dmacaray@earthlink.net

Downloadable and printable Employee Free Choice Act petition, and some more info

2008-10-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of a modified version of the one which I received from the New York Central Labor Council

with over 700,000 signatures, we have to get to the million mark.

Just click the image below and print it

We have run it throughout the jobsites here in New York, and I am happy to say we have gotten quite a response, I haven't picked them up from the hall in recent weeks, but last i checked, we had over 600, I will be picking them up this Wednesday and dropping them off at the AFL-CIO office some time next week.

You can do this too, get the number of your local AFL-CIO, CTW or Labor Federation or Council and send them there, I'm sure the internationals would also accept them.

Just do something

Direct Image Link

So what's the fact's?

Here's some recent fact's I wrote on The Employee Free Choice Act to a user over at UnionReview who asked in the story "Don't get fooled by McGovern's anti- Employee Free Choice Act ad's during the debate tonight":

Secret Ballot?
Submitted by NYCElectrician3 on Mon, 10/13/2008 - 6:55pm.

Can somebody explain the whole loss of a secret vote thing to me I have searched and searched but my brain is having trouble filtering fact from made up stuff.

To which I responded:

currently, if a group want's to get out of a union: Let's say that more than half of your local want's to get out of your union, and be non-union, all they would have to do now is get a petition signed by more than half the work force that states that they want to get out of the union and send it to the NLRB. Then all of the workers would no longer be in a union.

You don't need a secret ballot to decertify a union!

OK, so we got that out of the way.

Currently if a group of workers, let's say 100, wants to be in a union, they will have to seek out an organizer, if one is not currently working on the case, then get at least 30%+1 of the grroup to sign cards that state their intention.

Now the fun begins, because after the workers sign the cards and the organizer sends them to the NLRB to set a date for a "secret ballot" election, most companies will get themselves a union-avoidance firm to figure out what steps to take to make sure the workers will not become unionized. Usually, from what I have read, the interim is roughly about a month and a half.

Under the advice of said firms and anti-union lawyers, the company will then do everything possible to stop their workers from becoming union. This includes, even though it is illegal, firing pro-union workers, creating an atmosphere of worker against worker, showing movies that are against unions, having closed door meetings with each employee one on one, threaten to leave the country if they decide to become union, in a recent case here in NY with the Carpenter's trying to organize the workers at a nonunion site they threaten the employees with guns and destroying records of employment if they vote yes to union.

If it's illegal, how do they get away with it? Because in the past 30 years, the NLRB has been underfunded and torn to ribbons by politico's who get their backing from corporations. Currently it takes months, sometimes years to go through all the back log's of NLRB complaints. Not to mention the penalties are usually extremely low if any at all.

Here's some food for thought, if the current "secret ballot" election was even moderately fair to employees, how could anyone possibly explain all the Wal-Mart's, Target's, McDonald's and Home Depot's that are a predominant fixture of America landscape, and not one of them has a single union employee?

The Employee Free Choice Act would change that, it would make it so that if 51 of those 100 employees mentioned above were to sign a "union authorization" card, they would be in a union.

Hence the union avoidance and anti-union lawyers, who are contributing enourmously against the legislation, would lose their bread and butter. That, my friend is a billion dollar industry and they aren't gonna give up so easy.

Another tidbit in the legislation is the increase in fines against unscropulous employers who break the law during an organizing drive and a time frame where the first contract must be negotiated or an independent board will create one.

Currently, even if the employees were to get through the gauntlet of everything stacked against the and "secret-ballot" vote in a union, theres no reason to believe that the employer will ever recognize their union.

For instance the employees of Goya foods, who voted to be union in 1998, I think have finally got their first contract in 2008:

Ten years later, workers are still waiting.

NEW YORK, April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On April 24th, a three-judge
panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that Goya
Foods must negotiate a contract with Goya warehouse and sales workers in Miami
seeking better wages and working conditions. UNITE, a predecessor union of
UNITE HERE, won National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections to organize
these workers in 1998. But a decade later, the workers still do not have the
benefits of a union contract.

During the organizing campaign, Goya used a host of tactics - including
harassing workers who supported the union, threatening workers, and holding
mandatory meetings full of anti-union diatribes - in an effort to avoid
unionization. After the workers voted overwhelmingly for union representation,
Goya worked to frustrate the workers' desires. The company had weak
enforcement of federal labor laws on its side as it sought to weaken and
divide the workers to the point at which they would give up on forming a
union. UNITE filed charges with the NLRB, challenging Goya's recalcitrance
during bargaining, their unilateral changes in working conditions, and their
discriminatory treatment of those who openly supported the union.

In 1999, the NLRB's General Counsel charged Goya with at least twenty-three
violations of U.S. labor law, including threats of job loss, plant closings,
interrogation, discrimination in work assignments, and the firing of at least
three union supporters. Later in 1999, Goya stopped bargaining with UNITE and
illegally withdrew recognition of the union.
So now you know a few of the fact's about The Employee Free Choice Act, it would turn the tide against the oppressors of the American worker, it could actually bring back the middle class, or at least stop us from paying for the subsidized medical that all those nonunion employee's at the Wal-Mart's and Target's need to get now. It might actually give a few people in this country a couple of disposable income dollars that they could reinvest into businesses.

Remember also, that it wasn't until business interests changed the way people organized into a union that a "secret ballot" was created, the card check was the way the labor movement started. AT&T uses the card check for it's wireless employees, they seem to be doing well, so do H&M clothing stores and they are expanding across the island of Manhattan. There are others, but it's late.

Hope that explained a bit of it. If you get a chance sign the petition, it's the One Million Strong button on the side of the site,

heres more from my site, a must view video is at the link "Video: Massive corporations against The Employee Free Choice Act", it can explain it better than me.

The Employee Free Choice Act
Employee Free Choice Act- cutting through the suffocating atmosphere of threats, intimidation and illegal firings...
Retired Pipefitter speaks up for the Employee Free Choice Act
Video: Barack Obama on issues that matter to American workers
Video: SEIU President Andy Stern discusses The Employee Free Choice Act
What's Wal-Mart so afraid of? Four words- Employee Free Choice Act
Employee Free Choice Act - Take back the American dream
Video: Massive corporations against The Employee Free Choice Act
550,000 sign Employee Free Choice Act petition
Home Depot needs unions, the Employee Free Choice Act and a labor relations firm
More blatant discrimination against construction workers comes to light, this time prevailing wage violations across America
Mike Fishman. President of 32BJ, speaks of whats wrong and what must be done to avert the collapse of the middle class in America
Joe's Union Review welcomes another Labor blog, a letter to the editor that made my day, SEIU performs ABBA at John McCain camp
Telling our veterans about the Employee Free Choice Act and John McCain's record
Labor bloggers to promote Employee Free Choice Act at NYC Labor Day parade? Strike updates, got a Joe's MySpace, and HR676 US National Health Care Act
Con-Ed to workers: Take your 0.5%, give us a 2-tier and shut up
NY nonunion construction: With guns, threats and empty promises this modern day gangster keeps his workers from joining a union
Tell the next president, we want the right to be in a union without employer coercion
Get 1 million signatures to Congress, sign the Employee Free Choice Act petition
NY: Bloomingdale's flagship store, workers authorize strike
If you work in the USA, voting for McCain is a vote against your own interests

What do I know, I'm just 1 of the 7% of American's in the private sector who are in a union, so I may have missed a point or 2, as with everything else I write, if anyone out there see's an error, I'm willing to learn.

That's the facts brother, spread it around the job, get more signatures.

If more people were union in this country, it would bring up the standard for all workers, except those lawyers and lobbyist I mentioned above.

There's no room for us to be bamboozled anymore

Peace,

Joe

PS: Just rethinking about the "democracy of a secret ballot", I don't remember voting for Secretary Treasurer Paulson, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters...

They have beaten the balls off the middle-class and the American Worker for quite some time, how about that guy Bush sent to head the NLRB, in the campaign against the American worker, Robert Batista, he just resigned to work for the biggest anti-union law firm in the United States, didn't vote for him either. Shit I didn't even get a chance to sign a card...

UnionGal, point's out in her article Not so fast CNN

Take this op-ed in the Hill by Gordon Lafer, a political scientist at the University of Oregon and the author of Free and Fair? How Labor Law Fails U.S. Democratic Election Standards:

For instance, in elections for Congress or the president, it is illegal for a private corporation to tell its employees anything that favors one candidate or the other. But in workplace elections, it is standard practice for supervisors to hold repeated one-on-one conversations with the individuals they oversee. Here, the person who has the most direct control over hiring and firing, promotion, raises, hours and duties tells their subordinates in no uncertain terms why a union would be bad for them. The message is clear: If you ever want a raise, or a day off to take your kid to a doctor, you better not support the union.

Many of the tactics used to intimidate employees are legal. However, because federal labor law contains no possibility of punitive fines, prison or any other type of sanction, employers break the law at will. Last year, approximately 15,000 Americans were illegally fired, suspended or otherwise financially punished for trying to form a union in their workplace.

An election where one party controls the media, requires voters to attend its rallies, enforces a gag order on opponents and fires voters for backing the opposition is undemocratic and un-American. The Employee Free Choice Act would reform the current system to guarantee that Americans who want to form a union are able to do so in part by ending the charade that we call a Labor Board election by giving workers a second option: the choice to form a union by a majority sign-up process

Kirsten's article is a great read
.

Wal-Mart closes only union department in North America

2008-10-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

Unreal, finally a few workers became union in Wal-Mart, so they closed the section. Wal-Mart is a disgrace!

From PR Newswire:

Wal-Mart Watch Responds to Wal-Mart's Closure of Unionized Tire and Lube Express in Gatineau, Canada

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to Wal-Mart's closure of the recently unionized Gatineau, Quebec Tire and Lube Express, Wal-Mart Watch Executive Director David Nassar released the following statement:

"Wal-Mart's closure of the recently unionized Tire and Lube Express auto shop in Gatineau, Quebec shows how Wal-Mart is willing to do anything to keep its workers from receiving better wages, decent benefits or fairer
working conditions. The Gatineau workers have merely exercised their human rights under Canadian Law, something that is clearly unacceptable to Wal-Mart.

"Later today, Wal-Mart Watch will launch a new web site which features the real stories of Wal-Mart employees who are suffering under Wal-Mart's low-wage, low-benefit business model.

"The closure in Canada clearly shows that Wal-Mart has no desire to change."

Fuck you Wal-Mart, you are a huge reason that the American people are having hard financial problems and you had led they way to giving our jobs oversea's.

More headlines from Labourstart

Quebec Wal-Mart to close unionized auto shop [The Star]
Quebec Wal-Mart Closes Tire Centre After Labor Accord [Bloomberg]
Quebec Wal-Mart shuts Gatineau union shop [The Gazette]
Quebec Wal-Mart closes auto shop after union win [Reuters]
Quebec Wal-Mart Canada shuts another location after workers unionize [UFCW]
Quebec Wal-Mart closes unionized shop [The Globe and Mail]
Quebec Wal-Mart closes shop where union contract imposed [CBC]
Quebec Wal-Mart Watch Responds to Wal-Mart's Closure of Unionized Tire and Lube Express in Gatineau [Wal-Mart Watch]

This is very interesting

2008-10-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Mr. McCain, Dead Wrong on Colombia

2008-10-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

By Bendygirl
crossposted on Uniongal

Free Trade with Colombia is not a "no brainer" like Mr. McSame said tonight. Let me remind you why:

I suppose the death last week of yet another Colombian union activist is just an example of how far Colombia has come in addressing their issues. Well, I guess if you're a moron, that is.

or how about Uribe who thought it was okay to address this issue, an issue of AMERICAN politics:

"I deplore the fact that Senator Obama, aspiring to be president of the United States, should be unaware of Colombia's efforts," said President Alvaro Uribe in a statement released by the presidency. "I think it is for political calculations that he is making a statement that does not correspond to Colombia's reality."

Don't worry, before the vote in the Senate this is what Obama said:

"I will oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement if President Bush insists on sending it to Congress because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labour protections we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements," Obama said Wednesday at a meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

And there's Coca Cola and years of intimidation and murder of union activists:

The body of Isidro Gil lay inside the plant. The first bullet had hit him between the eyes. The remaining five shots were fired out of spite or bravado. Another Coca-Cola union leader had been disposed of.

But here's the real kicker:

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) puts the conviction rate of trade union murderers at 1%. Certainly President Uribe has shown little inclination to rectify this situation. “There are no assassinations of workers in Colombia,” he has stated, adding that there are “rotten apples” in the trade union movement.

On Labourstart, there are 100 stories of strikes, deaths, intimidation, and other issues within Colombia. The no brainer here Mr. McCain is that Colombia kills, intimidates and silences trade unionists. Free trade, No Fucxing Way!!

Messed around with UnionGals site, check it out

2008-10-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

Been working on doing this for Kirsten for a long time, now was as good as any, so i fired up the same template as I used on Building Bridges, and came up with her new theme, go take a look, and vote in the poll.

Later,
Joe

ATTENTION: to all my readers subscribing with FeedBlitz

2008-10-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

After a month without FeedBlitzs' system working properly, I'm going to try something new, I'm going with FeedBurner, you can subscribe with the box on the top right hand side.

I'm going to keep both services active, so let's see which is better, please feel free to comment on what you think

Sorry for the inconvenience

In solidarity,
Joe

CEO Vs. worker

2008-10-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

From all the way back in June 2007,

The guy on the right is the worker
from Conde Naste Magazine:

Trumka video on Obama shooting up YouTube's all time chart

2008-10-15T04:13:00.000-07:00

There is a brain and conscience in America
I usually expect the latest American Idol, Britney Spears crotch, or whatever flavor this month is to be the top of YouTube, glad to be proven wrong

From Tula Connel at the AFL-CIO Now blog:

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Trumka Video Topping YouTube Charts
A quick update on the huge—and growing—popularity of the speech by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka in which he addressed the issue of race in this election. Trumka’s speech at the United Steelworkers convention in July went viral a couple of weeks ago and has generated a national debate on race, the economy and the elections.

Since then, the video clip of Trumka’s speech on YouTube has received nearly 400,000 views and now is rated YouTube’s 79th all-time, top-rated videos in the news and politics category.

If you’ve seen it already, you know it’s worth watching again.

It's a great powerful video, take a look if you have a couple of minutes, give it a rating while your there.

Remember, while the main stream media chooses not to cover labor news, they haven't been able to stop YouTube, yet.

Keith Olberman: Terrorists are a tool for John McCain to exploit the American public

2008-10-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Trumka video on Obama shooting up YouTube's all time chart->

<- I'm As Mad As Hell #1 - "The Part That Big Media Left Out !!!"

This is poignant, from 9/11/08

It's amazing that the keyword of terrorism has been used even more in the weeks that have followed.

I'm As Mad As Hell #1 - "The Part That Big Media Left Out !!!"

2008-10-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Almost a year since I penned this.

We have come a long way from when I wrote this on Union Review last year, but the fight has intensified, I hope that people are learning from all of our sites that we as workers must get together and fight for a better tomorrow, so here's my article which has been parked here on the front page since this site began in Janurary 2008, which was originally posted on Union Review. The information is eben more important today then it was last year.

Reposted from 10/27/07

Why is it that when someone who becomes a hero, the fact that he is a proud union member is not mentioned in the mainstream media? Could it be that the media on a whole is quite a bit anti-union?

I'm not just talking about the likes of Rupert Murdoch, I am talking about the main 6 companies that own almost everything you see and read, the six that have to bargain directly with unions and would like nothing more than for people to believe that the working mans plight is hopeless and we must bargain from the scraps left for us. And yes my friends, they want total control of the internet . Well I've gone a bit off point, the point is that when Wesley Autrey, a member and shop steward of LIUNA Local 79, became New Yorks subway hero on Jan. 3rd. 2007, by putting his life at risk to save another, there was absolutely no mention that he was a union member in any of the big media outlets. I only came to learn that through my diligence in serching out news on the internet. And that my friends is a total shame .

NYPost "Autrey, 50, a construction worker who achieved nationwide fame for his death-defying rescue of a Boston man who had fallen off the subway platform" NYTimes "Mr. Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker, said he knew something was different when he showed up for work later on Tuesday. His boss, he said, bought him lunch — a ham-and-cheese hero — and later told him to take yesterday off." USAToday "I just tried to do the right thing," said the 50-year-old Harlem construction worker." NBC "Wesley Autrey, a Navy veteran and construction worker, was standing nearby on the platform with his children when he saw Hollowpeter fall. Autrey jumped down to the track area and lay on top of Hollowpeter as a train passed about "2 inches" from his head."

What comes to mind that is if this was me, the first thing i would say if asked what my job was would be my union . Now this isn't the only instance whereby I have come to this conclusion , when speaking with an official with OPEIU on the crisis in downtown NYC regarding HIP's removing 186 union jobs from downtown , good paying jobs they were obligated to keep there when they used "Empire State Development Corp.'s WTC Job Creation and Retention Program", none of the big papers here in New York would carry the story , the Times (which has this so-called worker friendly stance said it was too small an issue) refused as did all the others , the only paper that would run the story was New York Newsday. I consider it very newsworthy, and refuse to buy any other paper. Not to mention the fact that Newsday is the only paper here in New York which reports on employee misclassification and tax evasion by nonunion contractors .

Media ownership

the tie to net neutrality

"A Federal Communications Commissioner said that the censoring of political speech during a recent Pearl Jam performance illustrates the need for network neutrality." Link

FROM : SaveTheInternet

What is Network Neutrality? Network Neutrality — or "Net Neutrality" for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web
content based on its source, ownership or destination.

Ok that means hypothetically, that without "Net Neutrality", if Disney, who is partnered with Verizon , has a "Union" issue and someone posts an article on UnionReview about it, Verizon is within their rights to throttle our sites basic internet bandwidth to the degree that it would be frustrating if not impossible to view it. Think this isn't a possibility, think again .

FROM: SFGate.com

"If you missed the incident, Verizon Wireless initially refused to transmit text messages over its cellular network from Naral Pro-Choice America, a pro-choice group, to its members. Naral uses text-messaging to update its supporters on pro-choice policy and the message would have only gone to people who had signed up to receive them. But several days later, Verizon did an about-face and agreed to send the messages. Nonetheless, according to news reports, Verizon did not retreat from its position that it is entitled to decide what messages to transmit. This is censorship of the first magnitude."

As a matter of fact , those that oppose Net Neutrality have garnered the talents of "spin-doctor' Rick Berman, former lobbyist for big tobacco and current creator of Center For Union Facts, whose main focus is to tarnish unions through truths, half-truths and out right propaganda.

Basically his site Hands Off The Internet is a giant scare tactic to those in the world that believe everything they read. Basically if you read through Berman's web sites you can easily understand this joke.

Q: How can you tell that Rick Berman is lying? A: He opens his mouth

FROM : SaveTheInternet

What else are the phone and cable companies not telling the truth about?
AT&T and others have funded a massive misinformation campaign, filled with deceptive advertising and "Astroturf" groups like Hands Off the Internet and NetCompetition.org. Learn how to tell apart the myths from the realities in our report, Network Neutrality: Fact vs. Fiction.

Well this was installment #1 of my "Mad as Hell", stay tuned as I once again someday sift through all the misinformation and spin-doctoring and get another story here.

Here's the 2nd. installment from UnionReview.com: Mad As Hell#2 - Australia dumps corporate government in favor of labor and what's important here

Joe's Union Review Mobile Version

Mr. Block gets news only from the bosses' paper

Former Teamster President Ron Carey dead at 72

What people are saying

New York construction union shows solidarity with sit-in workers

A bid for fairness that inspired the world.

Pyramid of the capitalist system redux

Autoworker bailout fails Senate!

Chicago Workers Take A Stand

Talking to People About the Union Movement.

California workers express concerns about Rite Aid management at special shareholder meeting in NY

Unionization Substantially Improves the Pay and Benefits of Women Workers

Stuff to work on, recent reading, sites and stuff to write about

Hello everyone....

A pump salesman's son speaks of life without the Big 3

Act Now!: Stop todays hanging of a teacher/unionist in Iran!

Act NOW!Iran: Save the life of Farzad Kamangar

Click here to ACT NOW!!

Some jackass banned me from the Ridgid Plumbing Forum

Autoworkers and the $73 and hour myth (Updated: Michael Moore, Pat Buchanan and the Rick Berman ties)

The Rat Race

Building and Construction Trades statement on President-Elect Obama's actions on climate change

Quote of the day

I'm an American Worker and I'm Tired of Getting Screwed

Good Article About Free Choice Act

Roskam Inquires About CEO Pay

AGC of San Diego Predicts Some Good Things from the Obama Administration!

Nov.17th. come join in a discussion on the retirement crisis

Our Veterans, welcome home

Wow, no text needed

Dan Rather explaind the corporate media ownership

Just wrong on so many levels

Construction of NY's greenest building on National Gegraphic's Man Made

Day One

A new day and miles to go before I sleep

UMWA responds to Obama coal bankruptcy statement

McCain campaign’s last minute distortion of Obama’s coal record an act of desperation

Unions force jobs overseas

Barack Obama's Grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, loses battle with cancer

Goodbye Steve's brother

The Barack Obama infomercial

Staten Island and Brooklyn need Mike McMahon in Congress

Employee Free Choice Act:

Victory for Smithfield workers, Rico suit dropped, workers to get union vote!

Boeing and IAM agree to 4 year deal

Boeing, union agree on 4-year deal

Boeing, machinist union agree tentative deal

Boeing, machinists in tentative deal to end strike

Machinists in Tentative Deal with Boeing

Boeing unions 'reach strike deal'

Added some nifty widgets to the site, Labourstart photo's and a video bar

Longest-serving Republican in the US Senate found guilty

Sad. sadder and saddest

Military says Twitter, the social networking tool is for terrorists

Take Action: Tell the Gap to stop supporting union-buster's at Oak Harbor Freight

Video: The value of a dollar

Why unions are bad

Italy went on strike and no one mentioned it

Father Brian Jordan will run the NYC Marathon on behalf of killed and injured construction workers

Disposable worker dies and 13 year old injured working on Value Palace hotel in IN.

Yellow Rat Bastard workers fight back and join a union

The video McCain wouldn't like you to see: paid volunteers

Amber Alert: 7 year old, Chicago

Joe endorses Barack Obama under the Working Families Party line

Vote Change Like You Mean it

Just for fun: How to keep an idiot busy

Wal-Mart to destroy historic Civil War battlefield

Video: IBEW Local 665 President talks about the Employee Free Choice Act in Michigan 7-24-08

Video: Richard Trumpka on Employee Free Choice Act 10-21

Take Action Now!

Joe the Plumber: Hey, Joe by David Macaray

Hey, Joe

Downloadable and printable Employee Free Choice Act petition, and some more info

Wal-Mart closes only union department in North America

This is very interesting

Mr. McCain, Dead Wrong on Colombia

Messed around with UnionGals site, check it out

ATTENTION: to all my readers subscribing with FeedBlitz

CEO Vs. worker

Trumka video on Obama shooting up YouTube's all time chart

Act NOW!
Iran: Save the life of Farzad Kamangar