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Last updated Tuesday, July
1, 2008
In
The News Archives
MAY 2008
Would
you treat YOUR mother this way?:
Wal-Mart
faces the largest gender-discrimination lawsuit of all time,
with 1.6 million women suing over unequal pay and unequal opportunities.
Its managers have told women they "don't belong in management"
and that they "can't manage men." More recently, Wal-Mart
has repeatedly denied military moms leave to see their children
before they deploy to war zones.
(From WakeUpWalmart.com,,
added here 5.11.08) ..Click
for more info..
225
USW Members Awarded Back Pay, Johnstown America Ordered to Recall
Laid Off Workers:
PITTSBURGH
– The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that Arbitrator
Clare McDermott this week awarded about 225 members of USW Local
2635 up to a year’s worth of lost wages and ordered Johnstown
America Corp. to recall them to their jobs in accordance with
their contract.
(From USW News,
added here 5.11.08) ..Click
for more info..
APRIL 2008
“It seems
like CEOs hit the lottery even when their companies collapse,”
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said at a recent hearing on CEO
pay and the mortgage crisis.
He was absolutely
right.
Just about any way
you look at it, runaway pay packages led CEOs to take on excessive
risk and are one of the real causes of the mortgage crisis.
The brand-new AFL-CIO 2008 Executive PayWatch website
exposes CEO pay packages, including those of the chief executives
whose companies helped create the subprime mortgage meltdown.
(From AFL-CIO, added
here 4.28.08) ..Click
for more info..
John
McCain, May be a Good Ole Boy, but he's not Our Boy!
So you think John McCain is a good ole boy, a straight shooter
and a maverick and somebody you would enjoy having a beer with;
Ok so look him up and have that beer and have a real conversation
about what he will do "for" the working families of
America. Then get up and work your butt off to elect someone
that will actually help to change the course of our ecomomy
so it benefits all working Americans not just the super rich.
(From AFL-CIO, added here 4.28.08) ..Click
for more info..
Negotiate
Green:
In time
for Earth Day 2008, the 1.9 million member SEIU launched its
“Negotiate Green” initiative, a program that will
utilize the union’s strong bargaining power to reduce the
environmental footprint of our workplaces.
(From AFL-CIO's
Change to Win, added here 4.24.08) ..Click
for more info..
DC
Security Guards Win First-Ever Union Contract:
D.C. City
Council Members and clergy joined with Local 32BJ today to announce
agreements with the four top private security contractors in
Washington D.C. on 4-year contracts providing nearly 1,500 private
security officers with the higher wages, health care and other
benefits they need to support their families.
(From AFL-CIO's
Change to Win, added here 4.24.08) ..Click
for more info..
'Death
on the Job' Report: More Workers Killed, Fewer Employer Penalties:
More workers
are being killed on the job, but employers who are found to
have violated federal safety laws in fatality cases are paying
as little as $750 in penalties for each death, according to
the latest edition of the AFL-CIO’s annual report Death
on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.
(From AFL-CIO's
Web Blog,, added here 4.24.08) ..Click
for more info..
MARCH 2008
Unions’
Campaign Against Verizon Sale Nets Better Deal for Consumers,
Workers:
Verizon
workers mounted a strong campaign against the sale of the company’s
landlines in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. As a result,
when regulators approved the sale, the workers’ efforts
created a better deal for consumers and the workers.
The Electrical Workers
(IBEW) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which
together represent 2,500 Verizon employees, reached a tentative
agreement [March 24] with FairPoint Communications, the North
Carolina-based company that will take over Verizon’s landline
operations in the three states March 31.
(From AFL-CIO,
added here 3.26.08) ..Click
for more info..
Georgia
Labor Movement Loses Leader:
Gary Dondero passed
away today March 24, 2008. Gary’s passing is a great loss
to his family and to his Labor Union Family.
Gary Dondero was
a true trade unionist. His work in the labor movement and community
service speak for themselves. In a crunch, a fight or a crisis
Gary’s union brothers and sisters knew they could rely
on him. Gary was a steward, trustee and organizer of LL 2783.
The Memorial Service for Brother Gary Dondero will be Saturday,
March 29,2008 @ 1:00 P.M. at the First United Methodist Church.
The church is located at 120 E. William Ave, in Kingsland Georgia.
..Click
for more info..
American
Federation of Musicians signs agreement with Savannah Sinfonietta:
On February 15, 2008, William Keith, Executive Director of the
Savannah Sinfonietta, signed an agreement that recognizes American
Federation of Musicians Local 447-704 as the sole representative
of all musicians hired by the Sinfonietta. President Mark Sellman
signed for Local 447-704. Mr. Keith has also agreed to begin
negotiations on an initial collective bargaining agreement within
the next month.
(from AFM #447-704, added here 3.24.08)
..Click
for more info..
CA:
4,000 nurses strike over health care, pension benefits and hospital
closures in poor areas:
Some 4,000 registered nurses began a 10-day walkout
Friday at 10 Bay Area hospitals operated by the Sutter Health
chain in a dramatic protest over patient care conditions. More
than 95 percent of the RNs struck the hospitals. Guaranteeing
safe RN staffing at all times -- especially ensuring that Sutter
RNs are able to take rest breaks and meals -- is one of several
key patient safety issues that is at the center of the dispute.
(from Union Review, added here 3.24.08)
..Click
for more info..
AFL-CIO
Legislative Scorecard for 2007 Now Available
This electronic AFL-CIO Voting Record will let you know where
your lawmakers stand on working family issues such as strengthening
Social Security and Medicare, freedom to join a union, workplace
safety and more.
All
votes were selected for inclusion because of their importance
to working families. "W" indicates a "wrong"
vote that would hurt working families; "R" indicates
a "right," or pro-working families, vote. The Voting
Record also shows each member's lifetime record of support for
working families...Click
for more info..
Good
Jobs First "Claws Back" Against Corporate Subsidies:
When big corporations like Wal-Mart come into a town, they often
do so fueled by big tax subsidies. In return, they often promise
to create hundreds or thousands of good, new jobs%u2013and then
renege on that pledge. Good Jobs First, which has a long record
of providing tools for community activists to challenge corporate
giveaways, this week launched a new blog to bolster its efforts.
(From
AFL-CIO Now, added here 3.15.08) ..Click
for more info..
OSHA
to Workers: All Right, All Right, We'll Check if Your Workplace
is About to Explode. But Just This Once!
In the wake of the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion in Port
Wentworth, GA, Unions and lawmakers are calling upon OSHA to
create strong, enforceable regulations to prevent tragedies
like this from happening again.
(From
Change to Win, added here 3.15.08)
..Click
for more info..
1,000
New Jersey Adult Day Care Providers Join CWA:
More than 1,000 New Jersey providers who open their homes to
care for developmentally disabled adults have gained a voice
on the job by joining the Communications Workers of America.
(From
AFL-CIO Now, added here 3.15.08) ..Click
for more info..
First
Transit Drivers in Atlanta Vote Unanimously to Join the Teamsters:
(Atlanta, GA) %u2013 Nearly
200 First Transit bus operators who provide transportation for
university, Coca-Cola and other workers in the Atlanta area
voted unanimously to join Teamsters Local 728 in three separate
elections held this month. ..Click
for more info..
 
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