Last Updated:
Sunday February 07, 2010 06:15 AM
* Welcome to our newest affiliate,
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Union (IATSE)
#491. They do all kinds of work on movies in the Carolinas and Savannah
area. You can visit their web site
here.
*
Union Plus is matching donations
dollar-for-dollar for Haiti earthquake relief with a $100,000 commitment.
Your members can maximize the power of their contributions by visiting
UnionPlus.org/Haiti and
Union Plus will automatically double contributions made to the
AFL-CIO Solidarity Center's Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers Fund.
That means $10 becomes $20, $25 becomes $50, and $100 becomes $200.
* Under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, every person
who received unemployment benefits during 2009 can exclude the first
$2,400 of those benefits from their 2009 tax return. For married
couples, the exclusion applies to each spouse separately. If both
spouses received benefits during 2009, each may exclude the first $2,400
of benefits they received.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205643,00.html
* If you use bookmarks to visit this site,
please use your browser's "refresh" button to see new content. If
you bookmark our calendar page, the current page each month is
http://www.savannahclc.org/calendar.htm. Otherwise, you
may not see the current pages. Thank you!
* 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
* The Savannah
Federation of Teachers/Paraprofessionals & School Related Personnel (SFT/PSRP)
local 2069 has supported every labor activity in the last few
years. Now, it's time to return that support. The first march
at the Savannah Board of Education Building took place Tuesday, August
25th.
Click Here for coverage. The
Teachers have been there for us, now we need to show solidarity with them.
Watch this space for future actions.
If not you, who?
For more information on the Teachers'
struggle,
Click Here.
* ATTENTION LAID OFF WORKERS: Do You
Qualify for Stimulus Insurance Money?
Part of the Stimulus Package signed
into law by President Obama allows subsidies
for COBRA payments up to
65%.
Or, if you have not worked enough to make your insurance,
you may be eligible for assistance. This is for all trades. Call your Union, Call your
Regional - Take advantage of this to keep your insurance coverage! If
you qualify, they MUST help you out!
..Thanks
to our Carpenter Brothers in New York for the Heads Up, Check this Video..
..Click
Here for the Department of Labor web site explaining the program..
Today In Labor History
(brought to you by our friends at
BigLabor.com)
Today in labor history for the week of February 8th, 2010
View past weeks in the
Archives
 February
08
Mary Kenney O'Sullivan, first female
general organizer for the American Federation of Labor, born. She was
appointed to the post by AFL President Samuel Gompers - 1864
Vigilantes beat IWW organizers for exercising
free-speech rights, San Diego - 1912
February 09
Wobblie activist Tom Mooney convicted in bombing frame-up orchestrated by
Pinkerton Detective Agency. He was pardoned and released 22 years later -
1917
Congress approves legislation allowing for a total
of $940,000,000 to be used for Depression-era relief projects.
$790,000,000 of this money was intended to be used to fund work relief and
flood recovery programs - 1937
President Kennedy asks Congress to approve creation
of the Medicare program, financed by an increase in Social Security taxes,
to aid 14.2 million Americans aged 65 or older - 1961
Some 19,000 Boeing engineers and technical workers
in Washington state and Oregon begin what is to become a 40-day strike
over economic issues - 2000
February 10
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) founds the Building and
Construction Trades Department as a way to overcome the jurisdictional
conflicts occurring in the building and construction unions - 1908
Eleven members of the Carpenters’ union in Reesor
Siding, Northern Ontario are shot, three fatally, by independent local
farmer-settlers who were supplying wood to a Spruce Falls Power and Paper
Co. plant. Some 400 union members were attempting to block an outbound
shipment from the plant. The action came as the company was insisting on a
pay freeze and two months of seven-day-a-week work - 1963
Forty workers are killed on Staten Island, NY when a
huge storage tank filled with liquefied gas explodes - 1974
February 11
500 Japanese and 200 Mexican laborers unite to fight the labor
contractor responsible for hiring at the American Beet Sugar Co. In
Oxnard, Calif. They ultimately win higher wages and the right to shop at
stores not owned by the company - 1903
Mary Harris “Mother” Jones is arrested while leading
a protest of conditions in West Virginia mines. She was 83 years old at
the time - 1913
Fifteen thousand rubber workers strike in Akron,
Ohio, protesting speed-up - 1913
The Seattle General Strike ends after six days. Some
65,000 workers struck for higher pay after two years of World War I wage
controls - 1919
“White Shirt Day” at UAW-represented GM plants.
Union members are encouraged to wear white shirts, marking the anniversary
of the 1937 sitdown strike that gave the union bargaining rights at the
automaker. The mission: send a message that “blue collar” workers deserve
the same respect as their management counterparts. One of the day’s
traditional rules: Don’t get your shirt any dirtier than the boss gets
his. The 44-day strike was won in 1937 but the tradition didn’t begin
until 1948, at the suggestion of Local 598 member Bert Christenson - 1948
February 12
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass born into slavery near Easton, MD - 1817
John L. Lewis, president of United Mine Workers of
America and founding president of the CIO, born near Lucas, IA - 1880
 February
13
A national eight-month strike by the Sons of Vulcan, a union of
iron forgers, ends in victory when employers agreed to a wage scale based
on the price of iron bars—the first time employers recognized the union,
the first union contract in the iron and steel industry, and what may be
the first union contract of any kind in the United States - 1865
Some 12,000 Hollywood writers returned to work today
following a largely-successful three-month strike against television and
motion picture studios. They won compensation for their TV and movie work
that gets streamed on the Internet - 2008
February 14
Western Federation of Miners strike for 8-hour day - 1903
President Theodore Roosevelt creates the Department
of Commerce and Labor. It was divided into two separate government
departments ten years later - 1903
Jimmy Hoffa born in Brazil, Indiana, son of a coal
miner. Disappeared July 30, 1975, declared dead seven years later – 1913
Striking workers at Detroit’s newspapers, out since
the previous July, offer to return to work. The offer is accepted five
days later but the newspapers vow to retain some 1,200 scabs. A court
ruling the following year ordered as many as 1,100 former strikers
reinstated - 1996
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).
In The News
Previous News and Labor 2008 / Turn Around America items can now be viewed
in the
Archives.
Be sure to scroll down to see the latest
"Turn Around America," Health Care Reform
news and Employee Free Choice Act news in the "Take Action" section, which
is updated regularly.
UAW-Related news can now be viewed
Here
(Auto Industry News Last Updated: 2.6.10)
Fighting Company Union Ideology:
(From Workers Compass, added here 2.6.10)
..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..
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka's
Response to the State of the Union Address
Click Here for Video
Click Here for Text
(From AFL-CIO, added here 1.30.10)
..Click for more info..
Vogtle Contractor Says One Thing, Does
Another - Won't Hire Locals
(From Augusta Chronicle, added here 1.19.10)
..Click for more info..
Local Man Fulfills Promise to
Restart Civil Rights Group
(From Savannah Morning News, added here 1.18.10)
..Click for more info..
Machinists Union Remains Opposed to Tax
of Health Benefits
(From IAM, added here 1.16.10)
..Click for more info..
Unions Mobilize to Help Haitian
Earthquake Victims
(From In These Times, added here 1.16.10)
..Click for more info..
Health Care Victory -- Or Pretzel?
(From Labor Notes, added here 1.16.10)
..Click for more info..
Teamsters President Thanks White
House for Sticking With Plan to Tax Benefits
(From Teamsters, added here 1.16.10)
..Click for more info..
Two Articles: Trumka Will Support
Obama Health Bill, Even With "Cadillac Tax"
(From Politico, added here 1.13.10)
..Click for more info..
(From WSWS, added here 1.13.10)
..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..
Don't Let Georgia Tech Bust Teamster Bus
Drivers
(From Labor Notes, added here 1.08.10)
..Click for more info..
Savannah's Year in Review:
Coverage of Teacher Furloughs & Marches
(From Coastal Source, added here 1.07.10)
..Click for more info..
140 Union Members, including AFL-CIO
President Richard Trumka Arrested at Sit-In:
(From AFL-CIO, added here 1.06.10)
..Click for more info..
From Auto Plants to Universities - How
to Win a Sit-In:
(From Labor Notes, added here 1.05.10)
..Click for more info..
Turn
Around America
Keep an eye on this section and "Take Action" for news updates, materials
and ways to help. Scroll to the bottom of our
Archives page for previous entries. For copies of "Turn Around
America" flyers personalized for your union,
contact us.
Will Obama's Corporate Tax Breaks Create
Jobs?
(From Workers Compass, added here 2.6.10)
..Click for more info..
Corporate
Personhood Should Be Banned Once and for All:
Outrageous Supreme Court Decision Should
Reignite Most Necessary of Debates
(From Common Dreams, added here 1.21.10)
..Click for more info..
Anger Over Health
Care Bill Creates Uncertain Future:
(From Labor Notes, added here 1.29.10)
..Click for more info..
Sen. Jim DeMint
Still too Scared to Debate Eric Massa:
(From Down With Tyranny!, added here 1.06.10)
..Click for more info..
Food for Thought -
Obama Backs So-Called "Merit Pay" for Teachers:
(From the USA Today, added here 1.05.10)
..Click for more info..
Challenging
Sen. Jim DeMint to a Debate on TSA Collective Bargaining Rights:
(From the Examiner, added here 1.05.10)
..Click for more info..
White House
Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel Says Passing Democratic Health Care Bill Will
Be Like Passing NAFTA - And He Thinks That's a Good Thing:
(From the Firedoglake, added here 1.05.10)
..Click for more info..
Atlanta Central
Labor Council Heavily Influences Mayoral Race:
(From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, added here 1.04.10)
..Click for more info..
The Political
Winds are Shifting - Labor Starting to Create its Own Agenda:
(From Workers Compass, added here 12.21.09)
..Click for more info..
More US
Labor Groups Speak Out Against War in Afghanistan
(From Labor Notes, added here 12.02.09)
..Click for more info..
Obama to
Announce up to 35,000 New Jobs... In Afghanistan.
(From Counterpunch, added here 11.29.09)
..Click for more info..
Working
America
Working America, community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, is a powerful force
for working people. We combine the strength of 10 million union men and
women and millions of workers without the benefit of a workplace union who
share common challenges and goals to fight in communities, states and
nationally for what really matters--good jobs, affordable health care,
world-class education, secure retirements, real homeland security and
more. We work
against wrong-headed priorities favoring the rich and corporate special
interests over America's well-being.
Working America uses professional research, communication, education,
canvassing, lobbying and community organizing to demand that politicians
address the priorities that matter most to working people--not just
wealthy special interests. Make a difference for your community, for
America and for your working family.
Click here to learn about the benefits of Working America membership.
Help
build a better future for working families by joining today. Click here to
join.
Don’t forget—Working America and the AFL-CIO have put together the
Unemployment LifeLine, a one-stop resource center for
jobless workers. It’s a guide that links workers to the resources in their
area, from unemployment offices to veterans’ services to child care. It
also offers the opportunity to talk to others and share lessons learned
and support.
Reauthorize Federal Benefits Before They Expire in February 2010
Current federal extensions
(including both the Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended
Benefits programs), the additional $25 per week in everyone’s benefits
check, and COBRA subsidies for jobless workers are set to expire at the
end of February 2010. With so many jobs lost, and periods of unemployment
lasting nearly seven months, it’s crucial that Congress provide these
extensions and supplements through the end of the year.
Click Here
Breaking News: Supreme Court Undoes Democracy
Just hours ago, the Supreme Court gave
Corporate America a green light to use its immense wealth to buy elected
officials.
The court's shocking decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission struck down 60 years of legal precedent prohibiting
corporations from making campaign expenditures to attack or support
political candidates.
The court ruled that the First Amendment - designed to protect the speech
of real, live humans - guarantees for-profit corporations the right to
influence elections.
This is nothing short of a massive assault on the very foundation of
American democracy.
Please watch this special video on what Public
Citizen is doing in response to the Supreme Court's decision. Then sign
our Citizen's Free Speech Petition calling for a constitutional amendment
ensuring corporate power doesn't overwhelm our democracy.
We must fight back. The lines are clearly drawn. People v. corporations.
Tell
Congress: No Excuses - Fight for Workers Rights in 2010
The U.S. Senate seat once held by Ted
Kennedy, a stalwart champion for the middle class, has gone to Scott Brown
– who wouldn't even meet with union leaders during his campaign to
discuss his position on the Employee Free Choice Act.
But we can't give up. Not at this critical
moment. Not with so much at stake. We can create better paying jobs,
better health care, and a fair work environment – but to do so, we'll need
your help now, more than ever!
Don't let Congress use Tuesday's election
as an excuse to block legislation that would improve the lives of
America's workers.
Write your senators. Tell them: "NO EXCUSES – keep
fighting for workers rights in 2010."
BAKERY WORKERS FIGHT WENDY’S CUTBACKS
Wendy's is being unfair to the
employees that bake the buns for its restaurants by refusing to negotiate
a fair contract for these workers. The company eliminated negotiated
health benefits and defined pension benefit plans, and replaced them with
substandard health plans and risky 401(k) plans.
We are asking you to show
solidarity with the workers of Wendys and Arby's (who now owns Wendy's) by
not eating at these restaurants.
For a printable
flyer, click here. Be sure to click on the flyer once it
loads to make it easier to read.
Don't Let Georgia Tech
Bust Teamster Bus Drivers
Read the
article and make the call. We are trying to get union brothers and
sisters back to work, so please be courteous.
"You can help too. Call G. P. Peterson,
president of Georgia Tech, at 404-894-5051, and tell him to make Groome
rehire the Teamster drivers and recognize their union and contract."
(From Labor Notes, added here 1.08.10)
..Click for more info..
Support Fair Union Elections for
Airline Workers!
..Click for more info..
Not My Chamber!
Right now, the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce is engaged in a $100 million
campaign to block reforms that would aid struggling Americans and help fix
our economy.
Their goals? Sink health care reform, fight tooth and
nail against any real solutions to the climate crisis, stop needed fixes
to our labor laws, and make sure bailed-out banks can keep paying out
billions in bonuses without any real accountability.
You can help us build the movement to make sure
our leaders ignore the Chamber's out-of-touch campaigns. Add your name to
our pledge today!
(From American Rights at Work, added here 11.12.09)
..Click for more info..
Fig Newtons Boycott
Kraft Foods has moved the production of Fig Newtons to Mexico and
announced the outsourcing of Honey Grahams. As the economic
crisis continues its alarming effect on this country Kraft Company is
sending hundreds of US jobs to Mexico. This will clearly have an adverse
affect on the Atlanta, Georgia plant, its employees and their families.
Please support US made products and good jobs here so workers have decent
wages and working conditions.
Please
click this link to send a message to Mr.
Tom Kirschner
Director Human
Resources Labor Management
Kraft Foods
North Global Inc.
| When
employees at Rite Aid's distribution center in Lancaster, CA,
tried to form a union, workers say they were intimidated and
harassed, and some were even fired for their support of the union!
Even after workers prevailed in a two-year struggle to organize
their union, the fight isn't over: Rite Aid has stalled contract
negotiations for over a year.
Rite Aid employees have been
working non-stop to get their company to do the right thing, and
though things have improved recently thanks to their efforts and
to the help of a mediator, the workers need our help to break this
damaging stalemate.
» Tell CEO Mary Sammons to settle
the contract TODAY.
|
|
Health
Care
A Single Payer, Medicare for All health care
system was unanimously endorsed at the 2009 AFL-CIO Convention in
Pittsburgh, PA.
Click Here to read the resolution.
The Georgia AFL-CIO endorsed Single Payer Healthcare at our 2007
Convention. We believe it is the most cost efficient and effective way to
deliver healthcare to everyone.
"H.R. 676, introduced in Congress by Representative John Conyers (Dem.-Mich,
has been gathering sensational support from unions across the country. It
has already been endorsed by 512 union organizations in 49 states. That
includes 39 AFL-CIO-affiliated State Federations and 125 Central Labor
Councils. The Service Employees International Union and other Change to
Win internationals have also endorsed it."
-
Labor's Voice for Change
Rep. John Conyers Single Payer Health Care Page (a great HR 676
resource)
(From Rep. John Conyers, added here 6.19.09)..Click
for more info..
Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Medical Journal
Dr. Angell explains fundamental flaws of the current, profit-driven
system. She also explains why a single payer solution can cover all
Americans and control costs, while some current reform efforts leave the
current system essentially unchanged.
(Video link, added here 7.23.09)..Click
for more info.
Latest News and Actions
Labor Officials Bend to Democrat Pressure
on Health Care
(From Workers Compass, added here 1.30.10)
..Click for more info..
Machinists Union Remains Opposed to Tax of
Health Benefits
(From IAM, added here 1.16.10)
..Click for more info..
Teamsters President Thanks White
House for Sticking With Plan to Tax Benefits
(From Teamsters, added here 1.16.10)
..Click for more info..
Two Articles: Trumka Will Support
Obama Health Bill, Even With "Cadillac Tax"
(From Politico, added here 1.13.10)
..Click for more info..
(From WSWS, added here 1.13.10)
..Click for more info..
Obama the Candidate Promising Live,
Televised Broadcasting of Health Care Negotiations Eight Times - Obama the
President Keeps Process Behind Closed Doors :
(From Breitbart.tv, added here 1.06.10)
..Click for more info..
Obama to Unions - Drop Dead:
(From Boston Globe, added here 1.7.10)
..Click for more info..
Labor
Analysis of Senate Health Care Bill: A Step in the Wrong Direction
..Click Here..
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has come
out
against the Senate's Health Care Bill
Right and Left Agree: Mandates are the Road
to Neo-Feudalism:
(From Firedoglake, added here 1.4.10)
..Click for more info..
Ten Reasons to Kill the Bill:
(From Firedog Lake, added here 12.2.09)
..Click for more info..
Maine AFL-CIO Calls for Labor Summit
to Win Single Payer Health Care
(From Talking Union, added here 12.13.09)
..Click for more info..
Medical Malpractice Tort
Reform is a Red Herring
(From Contra Costa Times, added here 12.05.09)
..Click Here..
Labor Bargains for
Too Little in Health Care, Gets Even Less
(From Labor Notes, added here 11.25.09)
..Click Here..
NY Times Comparison of
House and Senate Health Insurance Bills
(From The New York Times, added here 11.19.09)
..Click Here..
Tell Your Senators: Support Medicare for
All!
(From Public Citizen, added here 11.17.09)
..Click for more info..
We Need Health Care, Not
Health Insurance
No Subscription or Login Needed, Just Click "Free Trial"
(From Albuquerque Journal, added here 11.15.09)
..Click for more info..
President Obama: Plan is not "Health Care
Reform," it is "Health
Insurance Reform"
(From CBS, added here 11.15.09)
..Click for more info..
The Money Taboo in Health Reform
Coverage
(From Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, added here 11.14.09)
..Click for more info..
Congressman Dennis Kucinich: Why I Voted NO
(From Congressman Dennis Kucinich, added here 11.12.09)
..Click for more info..
More and More
Standing up to Profiteering Insurance Companies, Risking Arrest
..Click
for more info.
Insurers Get $465
Billion, Uninsured Could Get Fined
(From In These Times, added here 10.5.09)..Click
for more info.
AFL-CIO Unanimously
Endorses Single Payer at National Convention
(From Monthly Review,, added here 9.19.09)
..Click Here..
As Baucus Unveils
Health Plan Absent of Public Option, New Study Finds 45,000 Uninsured Die
Every Year (video and transcript)
(From Democracy Now!, added here 9.19.09)
..Click Here..
Health Proposal Includes
Mandates, No Public Option
(From CNN, added here 9.18.09)
..Click Here..
United Health Lobbyist Announces
Fundraiser for Nancy Pelosi as She Backs off Public Option
(From Physicians for a National Health Program, added here 9.18.09)
..Click Here..
'Public option' advocates circle their
wagons around two useless sentences in HR 3200
(From Physicians for a National Health Program, added here 9.11.09)
..Click Here..
Don't Be Afraid
of Single Payer (Letter from a Union Member)
(From Savannah Morning News, added here 9.10.09)
..Click Here..
Don't Be Fooled By the
'Public Option' - What's Being Promoted is NOT What's Being Drafted Behind
Closed Doors
(From Truthdig, added here 9.4.09)
..Click Here..
No Transparency
In Health Care Bill
(From Wall Street Journal, added here 9.4.09)
..Click Here..
Dems Back off Single Payer Bill
(From
The Hill, added here 9.1.09)
..Click for more info..
'I prefer single payer, but...'
(From
Single Payer Westchester, added here 8.27.09)
..Click for more info..
This Isn't Reform, It's Robbery
(From
Truthdig, added here 8.25.09)
..Click for more info..
This is Reform?
(From
New York Times, added here 8.25.09)
..Click for more info..
“Public Money, Private Control: Hidden
Government Subsidies for the Rich and Powerful” by David Himmelstein, MD
(From
NPR, added here 8.23.09)
..Click for more info..
Video: Rep. Anthony Weiner Advocates Single
Payer. Asks What Value Insurance Companies Add, Leaves Joe Scarborough
"Speechless," Unable to Answer
(From
Morning Joe, added here 8.17.09)
..Click for more info..
“You Do Not Cut Deals with the System that
Has to Be Replaced”: Ralph Nader on Secret White House Agreements with the
Drug Industry
(From Democracy Now!,
added here 8.17.09)
..Click for more info..
Obama Backs Down on "Public Option"
(From
Associated Press, added here 8.17.09)
..Click for more info..
Questions for Dr. Marcia Angell
(From New York Times,
added here 8.14.09)
..Click for more info..
Obama: Big Pharma's Sugar Daddy?
(From Air America,
added here 8.03.09)
..Click for more info..
Single Payer Payer Promised an Up/Down Vote
in House Before Year's End
(From The New York Daily News, added here 8.03.09)
..Click for more info..
Ralph Nader on "Health Care Hypocrisy"
(From The Nader Page, added here 7.26.09)
..Click for more info..
Bill Moyers: Highly Informative Segment on
Health Reform - And Efforts to Stop It
(From PBS, added here 7.26.09)
..Click for more info..
Former Cigna Executive Sheds Light on
Industry Tricks to Deny Coverage and Care
(Senate Testimony, added here 7.26.09)
..Click for more info..
Bait & Switch - How "Public Option" Was
Sold
(From Physicians for a National Health Care Program, added here 7.24.09)
..Click Here..
Testimony of Steffie
Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H.
Before the Health Subcommittee of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
June 24, 2009
(From EnergyCommerce.House.Gov, added here 7.23.09)
..Click for more info..
Brett Hulme: Keep Pushing on Health Reform
(From Savannah Morning News, added here 7.23.09)
..Click for more info..
Testimony of Sidney M. Wolfe MD
Acting
President, Public Citizen and Director, Health Research Group at Public
Citizen Before the Subcommittee on Health House Committee on Energy and
Commerce Hearing on Health Insurance
June 24, 2009
(From EnergyCommerce.House.Gov, added here 7.23.09)
..Click for more info..
Time to Come Home to Single Payer:
(From Single Payer Action, added here 7.23.09)
..Click for more info..
Employee Free Choice Act
Employee Free Choice Act
This bill intends to change existing labor law (the National Labor
Relations Act), making it easier for unions to organize work places.
It aims to make anti-union bosses accountable
by increasing penalties when they are found to discriminate against
or fire employees for taking a pro-union stance. It aims to end the
foot dragging and bad faith bargaining on the part of employers when its
time to agree upon a contract. With Binding Arbitration,
after 3 months, a third party will come in and decide on a contract, which
encourages businesses and unions to quickly reach a mutual agreement.
The third, and by far most controversial
provision of the bill was "majority sign up" or the "card
check." Today, at least 30% of workers in a shop need to sign
authorization cards just to have a union election. At that point,
the boss can insist on an election or recognize the intention to form a
union.
Those against "majority sign up" say it
removes a tenet of democracy, the secret ballot. Those in favor say
it guards against the intimidation and firings that often accompany union
drives; and the law would allow workers to choose a secret ballot election
anyway.
The "card check" provision appears to have
been removed by Democrats looking for a "compromise," with
little protest or acknowledgement from labor. Many Democrats who
voted for the bill in 2007 (then-president Bush promised to veto the bill)
have withdrawn support today. President Obama voted for EFCA as a
Senator and promised to pass the bill if he became president.
Georgia Representative John Barrow is one such Democrat who has
refused to endorse the bill again, despite campaign promises to do so.
In 2009, his office reported Barrow would vote against the bill if
it included the card check provision.
What will replace the card check provision?
Will this controversial bill come to a vote? Will the President and
members of Congress who promised to pass EFCA fight for the bill?
And finally, will union members and other working people mobilize and
demand passage? This is the year to find out.
EFCA in
2010
"If you can't lower
heaven, raise hell!" - Mother Jones
HR 1409 in the House of Representatives
Library of Congress Info
Present Co-Sponsors
Is Your Representative a present Co-Sponsor?
If so, thank them for
their support of working families.
If not, urge them to support this
legislation on behalf of working Americans!
How to contact your Representative
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
S.560 in the Senate
Library of Congress Info Present
Co-Sponsors
Is Your Senator a present Co-Sponsor?
If so, thank them for their support of working families.
If not, urge
them to support this legislation on behalf of working Americans!
How to contact your Senator
Latest EFCA News and Actions
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..
Stern to Obama Administration:
Tighten Up on EFCA Passage
(From Financial Times, added here 1.10.10)
..Click for more info..
Upon Departure From
AFL-CIO, Sweeney is OK with EFCA Without "Card Check"
(From New York Times, added here 1.10.10)
..Click for more info..
Employee Free Choice Act
Opponents (CVS, Target, Michael's) Gear up for 2010
(From Providence Business News, added here 1.07.10)
..Click for more info..
Labor's Last Stand: The
Corporate Campaign to Kill the Employee Free Choice Act
(From Harper's Magazine, added here 12.20.09)
..Click for more info..
Sen. Blanche Lincoln
(D-AR), Reiterates Her Opposition to EFCA
Call her office in
Washington, DC (202) 224-4843 and Little Rock 1-800-352-9364
(From Hotel Interactive, added here 11.15.09)
..Click for more info..
Sen. Dianne
Feinstein (D-CA), Turns her back on EFCA ....Again
Call her
office in Washington, DC (202) 224-3841 and San Francisco (415) 393-0707
(From McKnight's, added here 11.15.09)
..Click for more info..
Organizing with or without
EFCA
(From Labor Notes, added here 9.19.09)
..Click Here..
Salon Wants Stylists to Waive Future
Right to Unionize, Ballot or No Ballot
(From New York Times, added here 8.31.09)
..Click Here..
For years Rite Aid workers
have faced unfair firings, campaigns of misinformation, and intimidation
for trying to form a union. But Rite Aid would never have been able to get
away with any of this if Congress had passed the Employee Free Choice Act.
Tell Congress about the Rite Aid debacle – and keep
up the drumbeat for the Employee Free Choice Act.
Latest EFCA Action Photos
EFCAction
5: Sams / Wal-Mart / Home
Depot
(Pooler)
Next on the EFCA Chopping
Block: Binding Arbitration?
(From Associated Press, added here 7.31.09)
..Click Here..
Democrats had "Card Check" Removed From EFCA?
(From New York Times, added here 7.19.09)
..Click for more info..
Secret Ballot In
Name Only
Gordon Lafer, a professor at the University of Oregon,
discusses how employers and their "union-avoidance" consultants have
undermined secret ballots under current NLRB election
rules.
(Video Link, added here 7.20.09)
..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.
Explore
the Issues...
Wal-Mart Latest Rip-Off Attempt: The Girl Scouts
(From New York Times, added here 7.19.09)
..Click for more info..
Wal-Mart`s Sick Leave Policy Risks Spreading Swine Flu
(From National Labor Committee, added here 11.04.09)
..Click for more info..
Take Off Wal-Mart`s Health Care Mask! Write CEO Mike Duke
(From WakeUpWalMart.com, added here 11.12.09)
..Click for more info..
Tell Wal-Mart`s CEO Mike Duke: Do Better!
(From American Rights at Work, added here 11.12.09)
..Click for more info..
 
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