AFL-CIO Now Blog

Thousands Tell Big Insurance: Blocking Health Care Reform Is a Crime

superuser — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:14:00 -0500

AFSCME members declaring the Ritz-Carlton a crime scene.

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee to Congress: "You better take our side before we arrest you!"

Thousands of union members, community activists, religious leaders and others turned out in Washington, D.C., today to confront Big Insurance and demand insurance companies stop plotting to kill health care reform even as Congress debates bills to reform the nation's broken health care system. The boisterous, energetic, diverse crowd marched from the AFL-CIO and AFSCME buildings and DuPont Circle to the sound of beating drums and shouted slogans like, "Blocking health care is a crime" and "Health care can't wait." The crowd was so large, it completely encircled the block-long Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., where the front group for the nation's biggest insurance companies, the America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is meeting. Health Care for America NOW (HCAN) sponsored the rally and march. We live-tweeted the event here. Nicole Varma from Arlington, Va., who has no health care insurance because she is unemployed was among those taking part in the rally.

I am unable to get my medications because I can't afford them. We need to send a message to the insurance companies that they definitely need to listen to the people. We don't want insurance abuses. We want real health care reform.

Live: March and Rally at Big Health Insurance Meeting

superuser — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:14:00 -0500

Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is leading a large union contingent from the AFL-CIO and AFSCME buildings to participate in a mass rally at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., during the meeting of the big insurance industry front group, the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Big Insurance is meeting there to plot how to kill health care reform.

Join us here, where Danielle Hatchett from our online team will live tweet the march and rally, starting at 10:30 a.m. Follow #m9 for the latest updates on Twitter from some of the thousands of participants expected to attend.

Not in D.C.? Take part by tweeting the event. Here’s a sample tweet: @AHIPHIWIRE You are under citizens’ arrest for blocking health care reform. #m9.

Today: We Tell Health Insurers Stop the Hikes, Back Reform

superuser — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:14:00 -0500

Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is leading a large union contingent in a march from the AFL-CIO and AFSCME buildings to a mass rally at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., during the meeting of the big insurance industry front group, the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).

Many unions and union-related groups are working together on the rally, but some are making a major effort, including AFSCME, AFGE, AFT, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), United Steelworkers (USW), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), SEIU, Alliance for Retired Americans, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Pride At Work, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ).

Join us here where James Parks and Danielle Hatchett from our online team will live tweet the march and rally, starting at 10 a.m. Follow #m9 for the latest updates on Twitter from some of the thousands of participants expected to attend.

30,000 CWA Members Ratify Contract with AT&T—and More Bargaining News

superuser — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:15:00 -0500

Some 30,000 Communications Workers of America members ratify a contract with AT&T, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

SETTLEMENTS
CWA, AT&T: Members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 3 last week ratified a three-year contract with AT&T. The contract covers 30,000 workers in the Southeast. CWA District 1 in Connecticut is now the only region still in negotiations with AT&T.

AFT, Detroit School District: The Detroit Federation of Teachers/AFT signed a letter of agreement with the school district that avoids the layoffs of 72 teachers and the transfer of another 50 teachers due to take effect March 7. The deal also preserves $46 million in federal funding of the early childhood program.

AFSCME, Columbus City Schools: 3,500 public school support staff in Columbus, Ohio, approved a new two-year contract on Tuesday. The contract provides a 3.55 percent wage increase over the term for the members of the Columbus School Employees Association (AFSCME-CSEA).

UFCW, Stop & Shop: Members of five United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local unions in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Sunday ratified new three-year contracts with Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. The contracts cover nearly 40,000 workers and provide wage increases while maintaining pension and health care benefits.

NEGOTIATIONS
AFTRA and SAG, AMPTP: The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) last week announced it will join the Screen Actors (SAG) in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, after bargaining separately during the last contract talks. The current contract expires June 30, 2011, and talks are scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

Multiple, City of San Francisco: Some 15,000 San Francisco city workers received layoff notices Friday as part of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s plan to cut costs by rehiring the workers to a reduced workweek. The workers are represented by multiple unions, including the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21 and SEIU Local 1021, which have formed the Public Employees Committee to develop counterproposals. If no alternative to the layoffs can be agreed upon, the city unions plan to file a lawsuit.

NFLPA, NFL: The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) on Thursday shared with members details of team owners’ latest proposal, which could reduce players’ compensation by 18 percent. The union says this reduction in pay is “not justified given the NFL’s unprecedented growth and [the owners'] failure to provide meaningful financial data relating to their expenses.”

WORK STOPPAGES
UFCW, Shaw’s Supermarkets: Workers at a Shaw’s Supermarkets distribution center in Methuen, Mass., went on strike yesterday, after voting to reject the company’s latest contract proposal. The 309 workers are members of UFCW Local 791.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for your information only. As it is compiled from published news reports, not from individual unions, we cannot vouch for either its completeness or accuracy; readers who desire further information should directly contact the union involved.

Workplaces Must Adapt to Greater Role of Women In Workforce

superuser — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:15:00 -0500

A new Center for American Progress (CAP) report released in time for International Women’s Day today offers practical solutions to help America’s workers and families meet the dual demands of work and family. (Read the full report here.)

The report, “Our Working Nation: How Working Women Are Reshaping America’s Families and Economy and What It Means for Policymakers,” calls for:

Updating basic labor standards to recognize that most workers also have family responsibilities and need predictable and flexible workplace schedules,access to paid family and medical leave the right to paid sick days.* Improving basic fairness in our workplace by ending discrimination against all workers, including pregnant women and caregivers.
Providing direct support to working families with child care and elder care needs.
Improving knowledge about family-responsive workplace policies by collecting national data on work-life policies offered by employers and analyzing the effectiveness of existing state and local policies.

The report builds on the 2009 Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation, which took a comprehensive look at working women and how their work has transformed today’s workplace.

In a telephone press conference this afternoon, the report’s co-author Heather Boushey, senior economist at CAP, cited a poll that shows a large majority of Americans support new, more family-friendly workplace policies. A full 85 percent of respondents say businesses that fail to adapt to the needs of modern families risk losing good workers. Boushey said:

These issues are becoming more important in the recession. Most of the jobs that have been lost have been lost by men leaving millions of women and mothers to support their families On top of this for those worker who have their jobs we need to make sure they stay employed, that…family-work conflicts don’t put them on the unemployment rolls.

In the United States and around the world, working women fall short of getting equal pay, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).

In addition to higher poverty rates and the ongoing prevalence of sexual and domestic violence, the United Nations reports that women earn between 30 percent and 40 percent less pay than men for equivalent work. And with the nation’s financial debacle, U.S. women are shouldering the added burdens of sky-high unemployment, rampant foreclosures and inadequate access to health care.

The AFL-CIO has a “long-standing commitment to gender equality in the workplace,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler said.

And today we’re reaffirming that commitment, standing firm with workers around the world to call for a more equitable and inclusive future for women.

In a statement, the AFL-CIO said:

It’s clear that the jobs crisis is a crisis for working women. But like the women who marched in New York City over 100 years ago for shorter working hours, better pay, an end to child labor, and the vote, women today are fighting back. As labor readies for a massive campaign to create the jobs our country desperately needs, the AFL-CIO is proud to stand with them in that fight.

International Women’s Day, March 8: Time to Recommit to Equal Rights

superuser — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:14:00 -0500

Women make up more than half the American workforce and are approaching half of union members. On International Women’s Day, March 8, the AFL-CIO is recommitting itself to continue the struggle for equal rights, dignity and respect for all working women.

This past week, the AFL-CIO Executive Council pointed out that much needs to be done for women workers to gain equal footing. For example, the council cites a United Nations report, which shows the majority of the world’s 1.3 billion absolute poor are women. On average, women receive between 30 percent and 40 percent less pay than men earn for the same work. Women also continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women worldwide.

Noting that International Women’s Day began a century ago when women workers in New York City marched for better wages, the council said in a statement:

Just like women 100 years ago, women in America-and around the world-are fighting back. On this year’s anniversary of International Women’s Day, we recommit ourselves to continue to the struggle for equal rights, dignity and respect for all working women while paying close attention to women’s concerns in our fight to create jobs.

Click here to read the council statement.

Here’s some of what’s going on in conjunction with International Women’s Day:

In a survey, women members of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) pointed to times when they felt a lack of respect on the job because of their gender. You can read some of the comments here.
Some of the nation’s entertainment unions will unite on International Women’s Day to give voice to the women of Afghanistan with a presentation of “Out of Silence: Readings from The Afghan Women’s Writing Project,” in Los Angeles. This will be an evening of dramatic readings of selected essays and poems written by emerging Afghan women writers who often face estrangement, beatings, and even death for creatively expressing themselves through the written word. Presenting the readings are members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Screen Actors (SAG), Writers Guild of America, West with Producers Guild of America and the Women In Film International Committee.
LabourStart, the global labor news service and PSI, the global union federation for public-sector workers, have launched a campaign to free Seher Tümer, a Turkish public-sector union leader. She has been in prison for her union activities for more than a year. You can join the effort to free this brave union leader by clicking here.

Egyptian Workers To Receive Meany-Kirkland Award

superuser — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:17:00 -0500

Striking Egyptian property tax collectors demonstrate in downtown Cairo in 2007.

Angered by severe economic pressures and frustrated by inadequate representation, Egyptian workers started to take to the streets in a wave of strikes and other public protests in the early 2000s. Despite strong government repression, more than 2 million Egyptian workers have been involved in 3,000 strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins since 2004.

The AFL-CIO Executive Council, meeting in Orlando, Fla., this week, awarded the Egyptian union movement for the 2009 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award. The award will be formally presented later this year. Click here to read the resolution.

The Egyptian government has responded to the protests with a mixture of red tape and outright violence. Yet Egyptian workers haven’t backed down: As a result, the council said:

They are leading the most significant social movement in the Arab world since World War II, and the largest labor unrest in Egypt since the late 19th century. Egyptian workers are continuing to challenge their employers, their unions and their nation’s government.

To learn more about the Egyptian workers fight for their rights, check out a new report, “Justice for All: The Struggle for Workers’ Rights in Egypt,” released recently by the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center. Download the report here.

The most successful action so far in the fight for Egyptian workers’ rights was the formation of the Independent General Union of Real Estate Tax Authority Workers (IGURETA), the first independent Egyptian trade union in more than half a century.

In December 2007, about 3,000 municipal real estate tax collectors held an 11-day sit-in strike in front of the Egyptian Ministry of Finance. The strike ended with the municipal tax collectors being granted a bonus equal to two months pay and a pay raise of approximately 325 percent.

Buoyed by their success, that strike committee and its supporters gathered 30,000 signatures endorsing a new, independent union and elected local union committees. In April 2009, the workers submitted their application for IGURETA to become an independent union. After tense negotiations, the government accepted the application.

The council also cited the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS), a nongovernmental labor support organization that provides important institutional support for Egyptian workers Established in March 1990, CTUWS aims, among other goals, to promote independent trade unionism, defend workers’ right to strike and develop democratic practices in Egypt.

In its statement, the council said:

The IGURETA and the CTUWS represent a growing representative labor movement for workers in Egypt. As leading examples of Egyptian workers’ dedication to fighting for freedom of association and workers’ rights, the AFL-CIO is pleased to award the IGURETA and CTUWS, on behalf of all Egyptian workers, the 2009 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award.

The annual Meany-Kirkland award, created in 1980 and named for the first two presidents of the AFL-CIO, recognizes outstanding examples of the international struggle for human rights through trade unions. Previous winners have included U Maung Maung of Burma, Nancy Riche of Canada, Wellington Chibebe of Zimbabwe, Ela Bhatt, the founder of India’s Self Employed Women’s Association, the Liberian rubber workers and Colombian activist Yessika Hoyos.

250-Mile ‘March For Califiornia’s Future’ Begins

superuser — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:11:00 -0500

A diverse group of California public employees today began a 48-day "March for California's Future." The march, sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), AFSCME and a coalition of labor, education and faith groups, began in Bakersfield. The march will draw attention to the state's budget crisis and the devastating impact of budget cuts on Californians now and into the future. The goals of the march are to restore the promise of public education, create a government and economy that works for all and establish fair taxes to fund California's future. Hundreds of firefighters, nurses, in-home care workers, students and police officers will join the marchers for parts of their 250-mile trek to the state capitol in Sacramento.

California Students Rise Up Against Massive Education Cuts

superuser — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:16:00 -0500

Californians by the tens of thousands spoke as one yesterday demanding the primacy of public education in the state’s budget. Up and down the state, students held scores of demonstrations, rallies, marches and teach-ins were at governmental centers, universities, community colleges, high schools and elementary schools.

The actions come as the 2010-2011 budget process looms and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, after promising in January to increase education funding, instead cut $2.5 billion from education in his budget proposal.

In Sacramento, several thousand students, teachers and workers rallied on the steps of the Capitol building, spilling out over the grassy mall. They demanded state legislators and the governor fully fund public education and make it affordable and accessible to all.

State Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D) and Assembly Speaker Manuel Perez (D), as well as several other legislators, pledged support for funding education. Assembly member Alberto Torrico (D) made a pitch for support of his bill that would create a 12.5 percent tax on oil extracted in the state to raise $2 billion a year for public education. He noted that California is the only state in the nation that doesn’t charge such a fee and that oil companies shouldn’t be getting off the hook while education suffers.

In former President George W. Bush’s Texas they raise $400 million per year from an oil extraction tax. Even in Sarah Palin’s Alaska, oil companies get charged a 25 percent fee. The bill, AB 656, says there will be no more free ride for big oil.

Praising the student activists as “troublemakers,” Bill Camp, executive director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, pointed a finger at the culprits.

They destroyed this economy with their unrestrained greed, and we aren’t going to let them get away with it. Let us never forget who put this country in this position and who we’re coming after—Wall Street!

UC Berkeley student Wendy Brown blamed education’s financial woes directly on the anti-tax measure called Prop. 13 and the anti-tax political culture in the state. She said it’s not the consequence of the state being poor. “The state is very rich in resources and very rich in the rich,” she said, advocating taxing the wealthy and corporations.

Without education there is no substance to the promise of equality and freedom.

UC Berkeley linguistics professor George Lakoff is promoting a ballot initiative to do away with California’s Prop. 13’s requirement of a two-thirds vote to pass the state budget and any tax measures, the only such law in the country. He noted that previous speakers had asserted that democracy needs public education.

But education needs democracy. Now we have minority rule, not democracy.

He noted that 37 percent of the legislators—the Republicans—keep the majority from raising revenues to fund the state’s necessary functions. He urged the students to get on Facebook and viral the petitions for the initiative and gather signatures.

Californians have long understood the importance of education funding. Back in 1988 voters passed Prop. 98, mandating that 40 percent of the state’s budget would go to public education, ranging from pre-kindergarten to community college. In 2004, the education community agreed to allow Schwarzenegger to borrow $2 billion from those funds to help balance the budget with the promise it would be repaid the next year. In January 2005, Schwarzenegger broke that promise. Since then, Schwarzenegger again cut education funding in FY 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 by $18 billion when factoring in the cost of living adjustments structured in Prop. 98.

Class sizes are increasing dramatically in kindergarten to 12th grade—from 20 to as many as 33—while extracurricular and arts and music classes disappear.

Students are being turned away from the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) campuses for lack of funding, many classes are overcrowded or unavailable, lecturers are being laid off, employees furloughed and fees for those systems as well as at community colleges are skyrocketing, putting the promise of education out of reach for the state’s poor and minority communities. For example, just last year alone UC fees rose by 40 percent to more than $10,000 per year. And Schwarzenegger’s latest budget proposal seeks more increases.

The March 4 Day of Action to Defend Public Education was conceived at an education conference at UC Berkeley in October attended by about 1,000 students and teachers. The idea spread throughout California, becoming a national movement with actions in 34 states.

At UC and CSU campuses, students and faculty walked out of classes and held rallies and demonstrations. At UC Santa Cruz, they shut down the school for the day.

In the Bay Area, students at UC Berkeley rallied on campus in the morning, then marched several miles to Oakland City Hall for another 2,000-strong demonstration. There they boarded BART light rail to San Francisco for a 5 p.m. rally at City Hall Plaza, joining many thousands from universities, community colleges, local high schools and elementary schools in a raucous rally.

No politicians were allowed to take the stage—only students, faculty and workers spoke.

The colorful creativity of the picket signs and banners in San Francisco ran the gamut from sloganeering to rhythms and rhymes to perennial favorite sarcasm. My favorites were one that read “Upside Down Sign” and was affixed to its stick that way and another simply hand-lettered one that said, “I couldn’t afford a real sign.”

Speakers made the point that March 4 was only the beginning of the public education movement. More large demonstrations are planned for March 22, including a blitz visit to state legislators in Sacramento.

Today, the education coalition will begin a 250-mile march up the state, starting at California State University, Bakersfield, and going up the Central Valley to arrive in Sacramento on April 21. Along the way, they will hold rallies and media events to publicize the cause and build support.

Comcast Repair Techs Choose IBEW

superuser — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:16:00 -0500

Installation repair technicians at Comcast in Fairfield, N.J., withstood a strong anti-union campaign by the employer and voted last week to join Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 827.

The vote, which was administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), signals a change in the way the company’s installation repair technicians are standing up for their rights on the job, said Local 827 Organizing Chair Jason D’Errico:

The win is groundbreaking for these workers. This is their first step toward gaining a collective bargaining agreement. The Comcast workers have stood strong against this multibillion-dollar giant.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, aggressively fights to deny its workers the freedom to join a union.

Union leaders say this latest win will likely have a ripple effect, setting a precedent for future efforts. IBEW Telecommunications Director Martha Pultar said this victory is a good sign for more than a dozen other ongoing Comcast campaigns from New England to Washington and Oregon.

Solidarity among the workers was the key to the win. As IBEW President Edwin Hill put it:

This victory is another example of how the union movement ensures that more and more hard-working Americans maintain footing in this slippery economic climate. The stronger our numbers, the better we can advocate for working men and women in this ever-changing industry.

For more information on the ongoing Comcast campaign, click here.