News & Announcements

This comes from our friends at Working America: 
Wow! Last week we asked you to write your attorney general and tell him or her we need a settlement that holds mortgage banks accountable for the damage they've done. The response was incredible! In a little more than a week, more than 30,000 people have taken action—and the stories they shared have been powerful. We need to keep this momentum going; will you take another action to ensure a fair settlement?

The Justice Department official who is running settlement talks on behalf of the federal government is Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli. Mr. Perrelli, who wants a settlement before he leaves his post in March, is an extremely important figure who has a lot of power over the direction of any possible settlement. He needs to hear from you.

Write Mr. Perrelli's office and let him know you support a solution that puts working families first.

Misconduct by the nation's biggest banks gave us the financial crisis, and this is our chance to hold them accountable. Time is running out—a settlement is coming soon—and we have to get this right.

Raise your voice again. We're fighting to keep millions of people in their homes. Write to U.S. Associate Attorney General Perrelli and ask him to put homeowners before bankers' greed.

From our friends at Wal-Mart Watch: Yesterday, our friends from Warehouse Workers United challenged Walmart to save jobs and adopt a Responsible Contractor Policy. They rallied in Mira Loma, California outside of Schneider Logistics, a Walmart contractor that is planning to fire more than 100 workers at the end of February. The move comes after workers participated in a lawsuit to recover stolen wages. These workers deliver millions of pounds of goods every year, moving items from warehouses to Walmart shelves across the country.

I'm proud that members of OUR Walmart, UFCW Local 770, and UFCW Local 1428 joined the demonstration. Now, I'm asking you to stand with Warehouse Workers United and tell Walmart to treat all employees with respect. Please sign the petition and stay tuned for more developments in this ongoing struggle.

Tell Cooper Tires to end the lockout! . Click Here

The NLRB Scores a Win: "On December 21, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) approved rule changes that will help streamline the union election process.  Historically, one of the biggest hurdles facing membership drives has been management’s use of stalling tactics. 
Management knows that the more time it has to intimidate, flatter, threaten, cajole, and otherwise confound the workforce, the better its chances of keeping the union out." Read more in Counterpunch, Click Here

American Federation of Musicians has an online newsletter with a feature on AFM member and CLC activist Alexandria Davis. Click Here to check it out!

Bill of Rights - 1791 - 2011: With large bipartisan support, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012.  In addition to military funding, this bill allows for indefinite detention of United States citizens without charge or trial.   Click Here for the Senate roll call vote.   Click Here House roll call vote.

Made in America: An American homebuilder has pledged to use only US-made materials in building homes.  If US builders used 5% more US-made materials, he says, this could mean hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Click Here for video.  Click Here for the list.

CLC Members push for unemployment insurance extensions at Rep. Kingston's office:   7 folks met with staff at Congressman Jack Kingston’s office to request his support of the extension of Unemployment Insurance due to expire December 31^st.  Rev. Sam Williams, Faith Missionary Baptist Church, gave statistics of the nationwide effect of not passing the extension. 

Savannah Regional CLC President, Brett A. Hulme, narrowed the figures to how many Georgians would be directly affected immediately.  Unemployed for more than 2 years, communications specialist Susan Morris told her story of the demoralizing constant search for unemployment and asked the Congressman to support the extension. 

Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 188 Business Manager Frederick Feus informed staff on the current 24% unemployment among apprentices.  4^th year Local 188 apprentice Brent Magagna, told of his 8 months without work. 

IBEW Local 508 apprentice Jeff Eardley gave a heart wrenching plea to Congressman Kingston to support the extension during his story of almost a year without work.  All this time networking, actively searching for any kind of job to support his wife and 3 children.  Jeff asked the Congressman to remember the “little people” behind the unemployment recipient, the children affected.  Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 188 retiree David Ring, came in support of the out of work apprentices in Local 188. 

Click Here for WTOC coverage of the event.
Click Here for WSAV coverage of the event.

Warren on Healthcare
Elizabeth Warren explains some fatal flaws of the for profit healthcare system.
Click Here.

Buy Union!
The Georgia AFL-CIO has a growing list of union businesses and services in our state. Check it out!
Click Here.

 Video: SB 5 Defeated in Ohio! - Please check out this video and statement by AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka . Click Here

TAKE ACTION: Sweetening Profits at the top, while sacrificing good American jobs.

Tell American Crystal Sugar to end the lockout and negotiate fair and square! Click Here.

 Video: Hotel would bring jobs to Savannah - Savannah CLC President Brett Hulme speaking to the Chatham County Commission in favor of a proposed hotel development.  This could mean hundreds of jobs. Click Here

Savannah CLC Wholeheartedly Supports the OccupySavannah Movement
Read the UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED resolution.
Click Here (click text to enlarge).

Democrats Propose $400 billion in Medicare Cuts
Read more about the Obama Administration's "super Committee's" plans to slash this critical program and what you can do about it.
Click Here.

 AMERICA WANTS TO WORK ACTION III - a Success!
WOW, what a tremendous turnout for such short notice. About 75 folks
attended throughout the 2 hours sharing hot dogs, sausage dogs, drinks,
fellowship and activism.

RUFF turned out the most folks followed by NALC 578 then Pipefitters 188.
AFGE 555, ATU 1324, ILA 1414, IBEW 84, IBEW 508, OPEIU 277, Teamsters 728,
UFCW 1996, SFT/PSRP 2069, AFM 447-704 and Working America each were represented
and carried the movement for the rest of you.

In fact, Alexandria, the newest AFM 447-704 member played the bagpipes for us.

 Why #OccupyWallStreet? Occupy Savannah is at Emmett Park on Bay street DAILY from 9am till dark!  We have a great opportunity to build coalitions with the young folks.  Please watch the video and you’ll understand why you AND your family should spend some time supporting Occupy Savannah even if just 1 hour!  See you there. Click Here.

 America Wants to Work!

About 80 folks turned out October 12^th to support the America Wants To Work Action II in Pooler Georgia just outside of Savannah.  Members from NALC 578, APWU 29, Rural Letter Carriers, SFT/PSRP 2069, Teamsters 728. OPEIU 277, Working America and Retirees Unite For the Future/ARA (RUFF) along with retirees, local candidates, ministers and community activists sent a message to PASS THE JOBS BILL!.  In addition to job creation, saving current jobs is critical.  This site was chosen because the Postal Service has a distribution center in Pooler slated for closure costing over 300 direct jobs to the local economy.

“The public support was overwhelmingly positive” said Savannah Regional CLC President Brett A. Hulme.    Hulme went on to say “I’ve been doing this for over 20 years and not a single negative came from over 1000 vehicles that passed by us today.  Obviously, the general public is aware and agrees that America Wants To Work!

WSAV - Unions Rally for Jobs in Pooler

WTOC - Postal Workers Protest Proposed Cuts

 President Obama supports ending Saturday Postal Service delivery, Post Office closings. Click Here.

 The Savannah CLC is now on Facebook.  Click Here.

 News Feeds Updated: Scroll down and you'll see our news feed boxes have been updated.  Click for the latest stories from the AFL-CIO blog, Labor Notes, Working In These Times, LabourStart and Portside Labor. We also have automatically updating stories from Physicians for a National Health Program in the "Issues & Actions" section.  

"Big Box" retailer Target is known to many for their policy of union busting, even if not as famously as Wal-Mart.  Check this anti-union video Target shows employees.  Use this as a tool to counter the lies and distortions union busters use to scare workers out of forming unions.  One of the best weapons against the shady business of "union avoidance" is to expose them to the light of day.  Target knows this, and they routinely pull the video down every time it appears online.  Check it out while its still up Here.

Here's the US Department of Labor's online newsletter.  Check it out here.

National Association of Letter Carriers #578 has some space that could be used as a union hall or office space.  The building is located in Pooler just west of Highway 95.  For more information, contact Bob Covino at (912) 660 - 0222.

Workers often have an extremely difficult time overcoming employer intimidation when they want to form a union.  Even when they get one, workers may have a hard time keeping their union, as happened in 2008 in Savannah.  Learn more about the dirty tricks and lies many bosses use to crush workers' rights:

Union Busting 101 - Click Here
"Center for Union Facts" Creator Richard Berman Exposed - Click Here
American Rights at Work's "Anti-Union Network" - Click Here

Rep. John Barrow has refused to co-sign on the Employee Free Choice Act
Call him today and remind him of his promise to be "on our side" and lead the way for true labor law reform - and not to bow to corporate pressure! His Washington Office confirmed if the EFCA was voted on today, he would "definitely" vote NO. Let him know the voters outnumber the corporate lobbyists any day of the week - especially election day!
(202) 225-2823  Washington
(912) 354-7282 Savannah

News Feeds
Click on stories in boxes, links will open in a new window.

Today In Labor History
(brought to you by our friends at BigLabor.com)

Today in labor history for the week of January 23, 2012

January 23
10,000 clothing workers strike in Rochester, NY for the 8 hour day, a 10% wage increase, union recognition, and extra pay for overtime and holidays. Daily parades were held throughout the clothing district and there was at least one instance of mounted police charging the crowd of strikers and arresting 25 picketers. Six people were wounded over the course of the strike and one worker, 18 year old Ida Breiman, was shot to death by a sweatshop contractor. The strike was called off in April after manufacturers agreed not to discriminate against workers for joining a union - 1913

January 24
Krueger Cream Ale, the first canned beer, goes on sale in Richmond, Va.  Pabst was the second brewer in the same year to sell beer in cans, which came with opening instructions and the suggestion: "cool before serving" - 1935

Federal minimum wage increases to 75¢ an hour - 1952

January 25
Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women’s Rights convention - 1851

The Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) is founded in Toledo, Ohio as the Tin, Sheet Iron and Cornice Workers’ International Association - 1888

United Mine Workers of America founded in Columbus, Ohio. The union’s constitution barred racial, religious and ethnic discrimination - 1890

200 miners are killed in an horrific explosion at the Harwick mine in Cheswick, Pa., Allegheny County. Many of the dead lay entombed in the sealed mine to this day - 1904
[Breaker is a novel that tells the story of a 1902 Pennsylvania coal miners’ strike seen through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old boy. When his father is killed in a massive cave-in, Pat must go to work as a breaker boy, laboring under the kind of dangerous conditions that led to disasters like the real-life Harwick explosion. Highly recommended for young adults, ages 10-14; in the UCS bookstore now.]

The Supreme Court upholds “Yellow Dog” employment contracts, which forbid membership in labor unions. Yellow Dog contracts remained legal until 1932 - 1915

16,000 textile workers strike in Passaic, N.J. - 1926

January 26
In what could be considered the first workers’ compensation agreement in America, pirate Henry Morgan pledges his underlings 600 pieces of eight or six slaves to compensate for a lost arm or leg. Also part of the pirate’s code, reports Roger Newell: shares of the booty were equal regardless of race or sex, and shipboard decisions were made collectively. - 1695

Samuel Gompers, first AFL president, born in London, England. He emigrated to the U.S. as a youth - 1850

The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America is chartered by the American Federation of Labor to organize "every wage earner from the man who takes the bullock at the house until it goes into the hands of the consumer." - 1987

Workers win a two-day sitdown strike at the Brooklyn electric plant that powers the city's entire subway system - 1937

A handful of American companies announce nearly 60,000 layoffs today, as the recession that began during the George W. Bush presidency charges full-tilt toward what has become known as the Great Recession - 2009

January 27
New York City maids organize to improve working conditions – 1734

Mine explosion in Mount Pleasant, Penn. leaves more than 100 dead – 1891

First meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO) – 1920

Kansas miners strike against compulsory arbitration - 1920

A 3-cent postage stamp is issued, honoring AFL founder Samuel Gompers - 1950

A group of Detroit African-American auto workers known as the Eldon Avenue Axle Plant Revolutionary Union Movement leads a wildcat strike against racism and bad working conditions. They are critical of both automakers and the UAW, condemning the seniority system and grievance procedures as racist - 1969
[A Troublemaker’s Handbook 2: How to Fight Back Where You Work, and Win! is a workplace-strategies manual covering how-to’s from agitating for better conditions to walking out. From shop floor actions to organizing new members, winning good contracts to fighting outsourcing, creating a website, dealing with the media, building community alliances, running for office -- and running the local once you win -- international solidarity, bargaining tips, corporate campaigns, researching employers -- this is, indeed, a handbook for “troublemakers” -- workers and union leaders who fight for their rights on the job. In the UCS bookstore now.]

January 28
American Miners’ Association formed - 1861

First U.S. unemployment compensation law enacted, in Wisconsin – 1932

January 29
Responding to unrest among Irish laborers building the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Pres. Andrew Jackson orders first use of American troops to suppress a labor dispute - 1834

Six thousand railway workers strike for union and end of 18-hour day - 1889

Sit-down strike helps establish United Rubber Workers as a national union, Akron, Ohio - 1936

American Train Dispatchers Department granted a charter by the AFL-CIO - 1957

Dolly Parton hits number one on the record charts with "9 to 5," her anthem to the daily grind - 1981
[Parton wrote "9 to 5" for the 1980 hit film while the movie was being shot; the movie is included in Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Expanded Guide to Films About Labor, Tom Zaniello’s encyclopedic guide to 350 labor films from around the world, ranging from those you’ve heard of – 9 to 5, Salt of the Earth, The Grapes of Wrath, Roger & Me -- to those you’ve never heard of but will fall in love with once you see them. Each entry includes critical commentary, production data, cast list, suggested related films, and annotated references to books and Web sites for further reading.]

Newly-elected President Barack Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, making it easier for women and minorities to win pay discrimination suits - 2009

Sources:
Toil and Trouble, by Thomas R. Brooks; American Labor Struggles, by Samuel Yellen; IWW calendar, Solidarity Forever; Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor, edited by Robert E. Weir and James P. Hanlan; Southwest Labor History Archives/George Meany Center; Geov Parrish’s Radical History; workday Minnesota; Andy Richards and Adam Wright, AFL-CIO Washington DC Metro Council (graphics research).

Issues & Actions

This comes from our friends at Working America: (Click the red text for links)
Wow! Last week we asked you to write your attorney general and tell him or her we need a settlement that holds mortgage banks accountable for the damage they've done. The response was incredible! In a little more than a week, more than 30,000 people have taken action—and the stories they shared have been powerful. We need to keep this momentum going; will you take another action to ensure a fair settlement?

The Justice Department official who is running settlement talks on behalf of the federal government is Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli. Mr. Perrelli, who wants a settlement before he leaves his post in March, is an extremely important figure who has a lot of power over the direction of any possible settlement. He needs to hear from you.

Write Mr. Perrelli's office and let him know you support a solution that puts working families first.

Misconduct by the nation's biggest banks gave us the financial crisis, and this is our chance to hold them accountable. Time is running out—a settlement is coming soon—and we have to get this right.

Raise your voice again. We're fighting to keep millions of people in their homes. Write to U.S. Associate Attorney General Perrelli and ask him to put homeowners before bankers' greed.

From our friends at Wal-Mart Watch: Yesterday, our friends from Warehouse Workers United challenged Walmart to save jobs and adopt a Responsible Contractor Policy. They rallied in Mira Loma, California outside of Schneider Logistics, a Walmart contractor that is planning to fire more than 100 workers at the end of February. The move comes after workers participated in a lawsuit to recover stolen wages. These workers deliver millions of pounds of goods every year, moving items from warehouses to Walmart shelves across the country.

I'm proud that members of OUR Walmart, UFCW Local 770, and UFCW Local 1428 joined the demonstration. Now, I'm asking you to stand with Warehouse Workers United and tell Walmart to treat all employees with respect. Please sign the petition and stay tuned for more developments in this ongoing struggle.

Tell Cooper Tires to end the lockout! . Click Here

NO WAY on "Free Trade"!

Stop the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement! Click Here.

Bill Clinton and Rahm Emmanuel brought us NAFTA, George W. Bush Brought us CAFTA.  The results of these so-called "free trade" agreements have been devastating. Barack Obama doesn't want to be outdone, so he has brought us no less than THREE new "free trade" agreements; with Korea, Colombia and Panama.  Read about them HERE.  Contact your Senators and Representatives HERE and tell them NO WAY on "FREE TRADE" and REPEAL THESE AGREEMENTS!!

Steelworkers at Honeywell Update: Members ratify agreement, ending 13 month lockout.  Click Here

From CREDO Action: 48 Senators, including Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Sen. Johnny Isakson, put Big Oil before the American people and helped defeat a bill that would have ended tax breaks for the five biggest oil companies. Click here for more info and action instructions!

IKEA Update  
Workers at Danville, Virginia facility vote UNION YES!   Click Here

Rite Aid Update
After five long years, Rite Aid distribution center workers finally have their union!  for more info, click here.

Wendy's & Arby's Update
So, good news for the Bakers Local 57 in Ohio - they now have a new contract after over a year campaign of hand billing, letter writing, and spreading the word on the internet.

For decades, these union represented workers had a positive relationship with Wendy's.  The trouble came then Arby's bought out Wendy's.  For more info on this successful campaign, click here.

"Medicare for All" Health Care

"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" - Mahatma Gandhi

The Savannah CLC and AFL-CIO support through resolutions a single payer, non-profit, "Improved Medicare for All" system. "Everybody In, Nobody Out." 

The Savannah CLC is a proud supporter of the Labor for Single Payer Campaign.

Be sure to check our Links & Health Care Archives for lots of news and commentary.

Latest News and Actions

Hijacked, Stolen Health Care Reform: Why Health Care Costs Will Not Be Contained
(From Huffington Post, added here 8.3.10) ..Click for more info..

Wellpoint Executive turned Health Care Bill Author Heads to HHS
(From The Hill, added here 7.9.10) ..Click for more info..

Scare Tactics, Spin & Health Care
(From Counterpunch, added here 6.30.10) ..Click for more info..

U.S. Scores Dead Last in Health Care ...Again.
(From ABC News, added here 6.28.10) ..Click for more info..

Kevin Zeezse on Health Care: What Did We Get? Where are We? And, Where do we go from here?
(From Huffington Post, added here 5.12.10) ..Click for more info..

3rd Largest Labor Council in Ohio Endorses HR 676
(From Unions for Single Payer, added here 5.12.10) ..Click for more info..

Round Two: The Battle for (Improved Medicare for All) Single Payer
(From Huffington Post, added here 5.10.10) ..Click for more info..

On Single Payer, Democrats Can't Be Trusted
(From Single Payer Action, added here 5.2.10) ..Click for more info..

'Frontline' fronts for Corporations, not the Public
(From PNHP, added here 5.1.10) ..Click for more info..

Health Insurers Hedge Bets with Fast Food Stock
(From PNHP, added here 5.1.10) ..Click for more info..

No Time to "Wait and See" on Health Law
(From PNHP, added here 5.1.10) ..Click for more info..

Greens: Now its Time to Work for Real Health Reform -  Medicare for All
(From Firedog Lake, added here 5.1.10) ..Click for more info..

 

Employee Free Choice Act
 
"Let's stand up to the business lobby that's been getting their friends in Washington to block card check. I've fought to pass the Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate. And I will make it the law of the land when I'm President of the United States of America."

- Barack Obama (the candidate), speaking to the AFL-CIO in 2008.  Working families in America are still waiting...

If this bill is introduced in the 2011 Congressional session, we'll be sure to post information and news updates here.

"If you can't lower heaven, raise hell!" - Mother Jones

Rep. John Barrow has refused to co-sign on the Employee Free Choice Act
Call him today and remind him of his promise to be "on our side" and lead the way for true labor law reform - and not to bow to corporate pressure! His Washington Office confirmed if the EFCA was voted on today, he would "definitely" vote NO. Let him know the voters outnumber the corporate lobbyists any day of the week - especially election day!
(202) 225-2823  Washington
(912) 354-7282 Savannah 

EFCA News and Actions
Be Sure to Check out our EFCA News Archive

Harkin Hints Watered Down EFCA Could Move after 2010 Elections
(From The Hill, added here 6.28.10) ..Click for more info..

What Happened to the Employee Free Choice Act?
(From Firedog Lake, added here 4.28.10) ..Click for more info..

The Night they Drove Old EFCA Down
(From Working In These Times, added here 1.30.10) ..Click for more info..

Trumka Predicts EFCA Passage in 2010; Does Not Mention "Card Check"
(From AlterNet, added here 1.11.10) ..Click for more info..

2010 Last Chance for EFCA, Labor Advocate Says
(From Workday Minnesota, added here 1.11.10) ..Click for more info..

 

Wal-Mart

The World's Largest Retailer's unmatched record of anti-worker practices earns the company a "Take Action!" section of its own. Also see the Wal-Mart info on our Links page.  Explore the Issues...

From Wal-Mart Watch: Nearly one hundred Wal-Mart Associates from across the country traveled to Wal-Mart corporate headquarters.

They presented a declaration to Wal-Mart executives, asking that the company respect their right to speak up about problems they face in their stores, improve their wages and working conditions, and treat all employees with respect.

View photos and a recap of the event at OUR Wal-Mart’s website by clicking here.

The effort was an action taken by a new Associate-led group, the Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart (OUR Wal-Mart), which is seeking to improve the lives and working conditions of Wal-Mart Associates in stores across the country.

The group is the largest ever of its type seeking to improve conditions at Wal-Mart and broke in the news this past Wednesday in a story by the New York Times.

If you’re a Wal-Mart Associate who is interested in this effort, learn more about the Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart by clicking here.

Since 2005, we at Wal-Mart  Watch have sought to hold Wal-Mart fully accountable for its impact on communities, the American workforce, the retail sector, the environment and our nation’s economy.

As the world’s retail industry leader, Wal-Mart sets standards for wages, benefits and beyond. This movement of Wal-Mart Associates has the potential for making a real difference in the lives of fellow employees – and because of Wal-Mart ’s position as a retail leader, their actions will have consequences that reach far beyond their stores.

A petition for supporters of these Associates is circulating at the Making Change at Wal-Mart site. Click here to sign the petition.

 

Wal-Mart Partners with Unions Abroad. What are they Waiting for at Home?
(From American Rights at Work, added here 6.8.11) ..Click for more info..

Call on Wal-Mart to be Honest About Political Giving
Join Wal-mart Watch in calling for complete transparency in the company's political giving.

Walmart’s Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Government Relations says that the company's politics were "relentlessly nonpartisan" during the 2008 presidential election.

But according to a new Wal-Mart Watch report, Wal-mart's Political Action Committee and the Walton family continue to give overwhelmingly to Republicans. When Walmart's PAC has given to Democrats, it was to those Democrats who were more likely to vote against President Obama's agenda.

• Wal-mart’s PAC and the Walton family continue to give overwhelmingly to the GOP.
• The primary area of increasing support for Democratic Party candidates is among conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives.
• Blue Dog Coalition Democrats and members of the Tea Party are overrepresented in Wal-mart PAC political giving while Progressive Caucus Democrats are significantly under-represented.
• Democrats supported by Wal-mart were much more likely to oppose key elements of President Obama’s political agenda.
• At the state level, the company and family further wield their vast resources to undermine the interests of Wal-mart’s core customers (working families) and associates.

As Wal-mart's Shareholder Meeting approaches, now is the time to call on Wal-mart to let the public know the truth about its political giving.

Next CLC meeting will be held Wednesday - January 4th, 2012, at 5:30pm at the IBEW Hall on Dean Forest Road. ..Click here..

• National AFL-CIO
• Georgia AFL-CIO
• Union Plus
• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
• Union Review
• Ralph Nader
• The Night They Drove Old EFCA Down