AFL-CIO Now Blog

New Agency Must Have Tools to Combat Unfair Trade

superuser — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:00:00 -0500

Fired Up Young Workers Organize Our Future in Boston

superuser — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:59:00 -0500

Atlanta Mayor, Unions Urge Investment in Sustainable Economy

superuser — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:58:00 -0500

Marco Trbovich, vice president at Tricomm Associates, sends us this.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed led a presentation on his city’s initiative to retrofit a wide range of commercial, public and residential buildings in a 400-block area of downtown that proved the highlight of a gathering of investors, pension fund managers, business, labor and community leaders at Heartland Capital Strategies’ first Responsible Investment Forum.

The forum, sponsored in collaboration with the Blue Green Alliance, addressed the need for greater alternative investments to sustain the real economy, an investment arena largely abandoned by Wall Street.

In contrast, the responsible investment specialists attending the forum were characterized by Heartland Managing Director Thomas Croft as “a community interested in forging a new alternative path for responsible investment in manufacturing, community development and clean economy growth,” an approach that Heartland brands as “doing well by doing good.”

Mayor Reed urged forum attendees to consider investing in the Better Buildings Challenge, the city’s retrofitting initiative to create a more sustainable economy, improved air and water quality and job growth..

“Capital goes where it is needed and stays where it is well cared for,” he told the gathering. Aided by staff of the Better Buildings Challenge and the Emerald Cities Collaborative, the Mayor provided a comprehensive presentation on how investments in the project would be managed to minimize risk.

Many of the participants in Heartland’s one-day forum committed to further conversations to discuss possible investments in the Atlanta project, which hopes to put many of city’s 57,000 unemployed union tradesmen to work in the massive undertaking.

Financing a Sustainable Economy

The Atlanta forum was the first of four being sponsored by Heartland Capital Strategies in conjunction with the Blue Green Alliance’s Good Jobs, Green Jobs regional conferences. Inspired by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Heartland promotes investments and projects essential for revitalizing America’s productive economy and community prosperity.

Heartland’s commitment to Responsible Investment is based on the United Nations ESG principles, which call for investors’ attention to Environmental concerns, Social well being, including respect for labor rights, and the character of corporate Governance, as well in addition to rates of return.

Throughout the day, forum presenters shared innovative ideas on how responsible pension investors and fund managers could maintain high rates of return while directing alternative investments toward domestic job creation in energy, manufacturing, housing and infrastructure, clear social benefits that derive from Responsible investment.

Craig Overmyer, Managing Director of Hopewell Ventures, cited the complex challenges facing efforts to fund innovative alternative investments that stimulate job growth. He characterized sustainability as creating “an eco system that keeps going,” which requires the considerable task of identifying gaps in the market and finding solutions for that gap.

“You have to identify a problem and the constituents so that you cover all your bases before the decision on the investment arises. You have to match returns of competitors and then you must lead by finding other constituent leaders” willing to advocate for ESG principles.

To overcome the fits and starts in regulatory and tax policy that hinder alternative investment, he added, “We need a national energy policy to establish continuity and consistency in policy and regulation.”

Jennifer Von Bismark, President of Towpath Renewables added that the current U.S. map of states with Renewable Portfolio Standards “looks like 29 different countries, which she said made it especially difficult for pension funds in particular to the long-term viability and return on potential investments.

Ups and Downs of Investing Responsibly

Landon Butler, who founded the $5 billion Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT) in 1982, offered a compelling overview of the explosive growth in construction investment trusts, financed by construction union pensions, since passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

While working as President Carter’s deputy chief of staff, Butler said he gained a great respect for collective bargaining’s role in securing pension savings that represent a substantial source of investment capital for nourishing the nation’s job growth and retirement security.

“Somehow the social component has gotten lost in the process over the years,” he concluded, “at a time when there is a desperate need for jobs. We’re not sensing that [pension] trustees are looking at job creation, despite the substantial record of pension fund investments in creating them.” He allowed, however, that “trustees are shell shocked because of the downturn.”

Scott Woolsey, Managing Director of the Labor-Management Fund Advisors, added that trustees are not even recognizing the ancillary jobs that projects governed by ESG principles create. “it’s all ‘returns, returns, returns.’”

Innovative Leadership Crucial

Ted Chandler, Chief Operating Officer of the AFL-CIO’s Housing Investment Trust, noted that public funds have much less focus on targeted investment than in the 1990s, offering that “layers of gatekeepers” preempt focus on the ESG principles. Gatekeepers, such as investment consultants, “identify with the management perspective,” he said. “The real issue is leadership by trustees of pension funds in setting the agenda for investments.”

“Some consultants get it,” explained Mark Austin, Managing Director of North Sky Capital, “though they’re in the minority. Many consultants clearly don’t understand all the specific concerns of trustees. They’re focused on return without an understanding of all the other issues trustees have in their laps.”

Dan Givens, a pension administrator for the Miami Firefighters union, asserted that “trustee education is the whole deal, getting our people to get comfortable with their decisions, “ a daunting challenge, he averred, as the tenure of trustees in Florida is only three to five years, “so there’s little continuity.”

Trustee Training Crucial

The call for more substantial, ongoing training to strengthen trustees’ leadership role in advocating for ESG principles was voiced repeatedly throughout the forum. “One of our missions [in the International Association of Firefighters] is to educate trustees,” Givens said. ”You have to have a platform for them to make the case for socially responsible investments. Build it and they will come.”

Bob Eason, former Vice President of the Savannah, Georgia local of the International Longshoremen, added that “it all gets back to education, and trustee education is now entirely captured by Wall Street. “ e

Deborah Nisson, Vice President of ULLICO added that fund managers need to understand that “public-private partnerships is not a four-letter word.” For the long-term nature of funds, she concluded, we need to educate trustees on the value to their constituents and the real economyh of including ESG principles in their considerations. . Unions need to make the investment in staff and training.”

IBEW Members Work to Keep U.S. Troops Safe

superuser — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:58:00 -0500

Arne Bjorkelo, standing second from left, and fellow IBEW electricians are pictured at the Inglett and Stubbs compound at Kandahar Airfield.

This is a cross-post by David Groves from The Stand.

For Arne Bjorkelo of Seattle, “Support Our Troops” means a lot more than a bumper sticker. It means living and working in the most grueling, dangerous conditions to make sure American soldiers are as safe and comfortable as possible.

Bjorkelo, a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46, and his fellow IBEW electricians from across the United States are doing electrical repair work at U.S.- and NATO-occupied camps in Afghanistan.

“We are proud and grateful to support our troops, doing what we can to make their lives safer and more tolerable,” Bjorkelo told The Stand. (He is a regular reader.) “We ensure that electrical installations on the most remote locations are safe. Often, we are the difference between showers and no showers in this most harsh environment.”

Three years ago, military contractor KBR—a former Halliburton subsidiary—was called out for endangering U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with faulty electrical power systems installed by unqualified workers at U.S. bases. At least one military investigator believed KBR’s reckless endangerment of U.S. troops merited criminal changes.

At the time, Pentagon officials estimated that at least 18 troops had been electrocuted—many due to faulty wiring and improper grounding. The Defense Contract Management Agency documented 231 shock incidents from September 2006 through July 2008 alone and concluded that KBR “failed to meet the basic requirements to identify life-threatening conditions on tanks, water pumps, electrical outlets and electrical panels.”

It’s the job of Bjorkelo and other IBEW electricians—like Tony Johnson of Birmingham, Ala., Claude Brusseau of Burlington, Vt., Tovar Camp of Atlanta and Bill Mlnarik of Green Bay, Wis.—to clean that mess up. They do electrical inspection and repair of U.S. occupied camps throughout Afghanistan.

On Monday, a suicide car bomber at the gates of Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan killed nine people. Also destroyed was much of what Bjorkelo and his colleagues had installed over the past month.

It’s dangerous and grueling work, but it’s being done with pride by union members eager to protect American soldiers.

“We are proud of our union affiliation and have an entire workforce in theater made up of IBEW members,” Bjorkelo said. “Members work in the most remote areas under grueling conditions, including knee-deep in snow and in 115-degree heat.”

He says the best way to ensure that qualified electricians are serving U.S. troops in the Middle East is to “require UNION affiliation” and to hire “tradesmen with the consistent training that the JATC provides. It is awesome to be recognized, IBEW and a NECA contractor working together!”

Check out the IBEW members’ work at Bjorkelo’s blog: Wireman in Afghanistan. Or better still, send him an e-mail and thank these union electricians for supporting our troops!

Painters Helping NY Storm Victims Rebuild

superuser — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:58:00 -0500

Six months ago, Tropical Storm Irene battered New York’s Hudson Valley and historic flooding devastated communities like Schoharie, leaving hundreds of homes destroyed or severely damaged.

But Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) members have been helping Schoharie’s residents reclaim their homes. In a unique program, IUPAT apprentices and journeymen members are putting up sheet rock and painting damaged homes in the town. Says IUPAT’s Lee Eck:

We’ve incorporated our apprenticeship program into helping the recovery effort in Schoharie in an effort to help get these people’s lives back together. Our apprentices are getting real life training and these people get their house put back together.

Click here for report on the program from YNN.com.

Romney Lies About Auto Rescue. Obama Tells UAW ‘I Bet on American Workers’

superuser — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:58:00 -0500

Royal Dutch Shell Should Be Held Accountable in Nigeria

superuser — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:58:00 -0500

Elizabeth Boomer of the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department sends us this.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell), which pits a Nigerian plaintiff, Esther Kiobel, against Anglo-Dutch oil and energy giant Shell.

While the case does not specifically deal with labor rights abuses, the AFL-CIO has filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief in support of the Nigerian plaintiffs. In its brief, the AFL-CIO affirms its strong belief that corporations, which are given many rights and privileges under the law, should also be held responsible when they are party to wrongful acts, whether those acts occur in the United States or abroad.

Kiobel and the other plaintiffs in the case hail from the rural Ogoni community in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Their protests against decades-long destruction of their economic and environmental livelihoods by the oil industry led to violent reprisals at the hands of that industry and the Nigerian authorities in the early 1990s—culminating in a sham trial and the execution of the Ogoni author and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other community leaders (including Kiobel’s husband) in 1995. Shell was the main oil operator in the Ogoni community for many years. The case will test whether Kiobel and other members of the Ogoni community can seek compensation for human rights abuses alleged to have been committed by Shell in collusion with Nigerian authorities.

The stark dichotomy between the litigants is hard to overlook. Ms. Kiobel hails from an economically shattered community. The defendants represent a company that posted a $28.6 billion profit in 2011.

The case, involving two non-American litigants, has precedent-setting potential and was brought to U.S. federal courts under a somewhat overlooked law enacted by Congress in 1789 known as the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). While the Supreme Court upheld certain applications of the law in 2004 and U.S. courts have found that individuals can be held accountable for violations of international law, at stake today in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum is whether corporations can be held liable by foreign plaintiffs for wrongs committed in violation of the law of nations.

In Nigeria, natural resources-based economic development and the brutal treatment of the Ogonis is part of an all-too-common trend on the continent. With a new scramble afoot for Africa’s natural resources, Nigeria remains a cautionary case for governments, particularly in Africa, which seek to hitch their economic and social development to natural resource wealth. The Solidarity Center, an international non-profit organization allied with the AFL-CIO, has long-standing programs with union partners in Nigeria.

Click here for more on labor rights in Nigeria.

Ariz. Lawmaker Wants to Pull the College Ladder Up Behind Her

superuser — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:21:00 -0500

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at Democratic Diva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Republican Arizona state Rep. Michelle Ugenti, who represents an affluent district in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, drew quite a bit of attention and criticism on Monday when she flippantly remarked, ”welcome to life” to Arizona college students protesting a bill she sponsored that would require them to contribute a minimum $2,000 per year to their annual tuition at state universities. Students would have to make the contribution regardless of financial need, scholarship eligibility or military veteran status. Students on athletic scholarships would be exempted (make of that what you will). Conservative legislators defended the move by claiming that state college students (the non-athlete ones, anyway) need to have “more skin in the game.”

Rep. Ugenti’s bio on the Arizona Legislature website says:

As a native Arizonan, I have a lot of pride in our beautiful state. I have lived here my entire life, and I graduated from Arizona State University in 2003 with a degree in Business Administration. While I was a student at ASU I played on the rugby team.

I don’t know if Ugenti was on a scholarship for playing rugby, but I do know that when she attended ASU, the tuition there was the second lowest in the nation for in-state students. Tuition at Arizona’s state
universities started rising sharply the year after she graduated. Rates have more than doubled from 2003 to now and are expected to continue to climb as the Legislature guts funding to higher education. Ugenti seems to have enjoyed a lucrative career during the commercial real estate bubble after her own low-cost college education in Arizona. More from her bio:

After college I worked as a successful commercial real estate agent for Marcus & Millichap and then Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty. Through my work, I was able to hone my skills in complex financial contracts and I worked with numerous principles on their real estate portfolios. I was proud to be known as a tough and non-compromising negotiator while still being highly committed to the needs of my clients.

It’s “principals,” not “principles,” but I won’t hold that against Ugenti’s fine professors at ASU. I only wish she might show a fraction of commitment to understanding the struggles of young people striving to attain an education and livelihood today that she did to the needs of her wealthy real estate clients.

Welcome to life, Rep. Michelle Ugenti. Many of your constituents in Arizona haven’t had it as good as you’ve had it.

USW Members Ratify Cooper Tire Pact, Journey for Justice Wraps Up

superuser — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:21:00 -0500

United Steelworkers (USW) Local 207L members ratified by a 2-to-1 margin a new five-year contract with Cooper Tire and Rubber Company The vote ends a three-month lockout at the company’s Findlay, Ohio tire plant.

USW Local 207L President Rodney Nelson says:

We are proud to have remained united and delivered a fair contract, despite Cooper’s best attempts to divide us.

The workers were locked out by Cooper on Nov. 28, despite the union’s good-faith offer to continue working under the terms of the previous agreement while negotiations toward a new one proceeded, says USW District 1 Director Dave McCall.

Cooper needs to acknowledge that its loyal, productive and efficient USW workforce is the company’s most valuable asset in Findlay and treat them with the respect and dignity they have earned. For many years, Cooper was a good example of how workers and management could work together toward common goals and the greater good of the community.

Click here to read more from the USW.

Several Cooper Tire workers and Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers (BCTGM) locked out by American Crystal Sugar just ended a 1,000 mile Journey for Justice. The group traveled from American Crystal offices near Fargo, N.D., to Cooper Tire’s headquarters in Findlay.

The journey highlighted the corporate greed that marks their lockouts, and the growing drive by corporate CEOs to drive down wages and benefits to pad their own pockets. Says Teresa Brown, a 12-year Cooper employee:

We set out to spread the message that we must stand together to make a difference, and we sent that message loud and clear. Our fight and the fight for justice for thousands of other workers continues every day.

Adds Becki Jacobson, a 30-year American Crystal worker from Moorhead, Minn.:

The support we’ve received over the last five days has strengthened my resolve to keep up our fight for a fair contract.

Read more at the Journey for Justice blog here.

Corporate Front Groups Battle State Minimum Wage Hikes

superuser — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:58:00 -0500