Savannah Regional Central Labor Council

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Last updated Sunday August 02, 2009

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In The News Archives

DECEMBER 2008

740 Research Assistants Join CWA:
(From AF:-CIO, added here 12.15.08) ..Click for more info..

Victory at Smithfield, Tar Heel!
(From UFCW, added here 12.12.08) ..Click for more info..

Teamsters Organize 40,000 Workers in 2008:
(From Teamsters, added here 12.11.08) ..Click for more info..

Atlanta-based US Mail Haulers Join Teamsters, Seek Respect:
(From Union Review, added here 12.11.08) ..Click for more info..

AFL-CIO, SEIU Attack McDonald's Stance on Labor Law:
(From Chicago Business News, added here 12.11.08) ..Click for more info..

Victory for the Sit-In Strikers:
(From AFL-CIO, added here 12.10.08) ..Click for more info..

When the Downturn Sailed Into Savannah:
(From New York Times, added here 11.30.08) ..Click for more info..

NOVEMBER 2008

Savannah Community Members Call on Chambliss to Testify in Imperial
Sugar Case..Click Here..

New Bush Rules Narrow Family Leave for Workers:
(From AFL-CIO, added here 11.16.08) ..Click for more info..

Economic Crisis Boils Democratic Message Down to Jobs:
(From Washington Post, added here 11.16.08) ..Click for more info..

Union Families Will Focus on Union Made Gifts for the 2008 Holiday Season:
(From Union Label Dept. of AFL-CIO, added here 11.14.08) ..Click for more info..

JCB Lays Off 120 Workers:
(From Savannah Morning News, added here 11.14.08) ..Click for more info..

Great Dane to Close Savannah Plant:
(From Savannah Morning News, added here 11.14.08) ..Click for more info..

In Memoriam, Martha True..Click Here..

OCTOBER 2008

WORKERS WIN AT SMITHFIELD! Company Drops Suit and Allows Vote:
In exchange for dropping the "Justice at Smithfield" protests, Smithfield at Tar Heel has dropped a racketeering suit against the UFCW and will allow a vote for Union representation.

(From Union Review, added here 10.31.08) ..Click for more info..

United Steel Workers at Coastal Concrete: A Perfect Case for the EFCA:
Savannah Area Central Area Labor Council members showed solidarity with USW members facing a decertification vote.
..Click for more info..

Skip to the Front of the Line - Vote Early:
Mariya Strauss, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA), explains how early voting works—and like all of us in the union movement urges everyone to vote early if possible to avoid long lines and other potential roadblocks to casting a vote Nov. 4.

(From AFL-CIO, added here 10.24.08) ..Click for more info..

Fact Checking the Right on the Employee Free Choice Act
Conservatives On The Employee Free Choice Act: Unions Would ‘Browbeat Workers’ With This ‘Insidious Bill’...

(From Change to Win, added here 10.24.08) ..Click for more info..

Unionization Substantially Improves the Pay and Benefits of Younger Workers
In an election year that promises record numbers of young voters, a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) documents a large wage and benefit advantage for young workers in unions relative to their non-union counterparts. The report also finds that younger workers are earning about 10 percent less than their counterparts did in 1979, despite impressive gains in young workers' educational attainment over the same time period.

(CEPR, added here 10.24.08) ..Click for more info..

Video: "Second Chance - Union Made":
From the Google Video page:"The stories of six troubled lives released from jail, living on the streets or running in gangs. Their second chance for a new life begins with a good union construction career in City of Los Angeles."

(From UnionReview.com, added here 10.08.08) ..Click for more info..

IBT Union Protests Colombian President’s U.S. Visit To Lobby for Bad Trade Deal:
“We join with our brothers and sisters in Colombia in strongly opposing the Colombia Free Trade Agreement,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “It’s a disgrace to even consider an agreement with the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists.”

(From Teamsters, added here 9.21.08) ..Click for more info..

SEPTEMBER 2008

Boeing Strike May Go More Than a Month, Analysts Say :
Boeing Co.'s machinists, on the third day of a strike over job security and compensation, may be walking the picket lines for more than a month, if history and industry analysts prove any guide.

(From Bloomberg.com, added here 9.8.08) ..Click for more info..

Bus Drivers in Atlanta Area Overwhelmingly Ratify Contracts After Voting Yes 116-0:
About 200 First Transit bus drivers in the Atlanta area have overwhelmingly ratified first-ever contracts that give them a host of benefits they never had, including paid holidays. The drivers enjoyed their first paid holiday on Labor Day. They are members of Teamsters Local 728 in Atlanta.

(From Union Review, added here 9.8.08) ..Click for more info..

State of Working America: Workers Produce More, Get Less In Return:
America’s workers know that although our economy may have grown since the recession ended in 2001, the average worker is in worse shape now than when the recovery began. Workers’ finances are stretched to the limit as the price of gas, food, clothing and other necessities rises and their paychecks remain stagnant.

(From AFL-CIO Now, added here 9.2.08) ..Click for more info..

Sweeney on Labor Day: Workers Ready to Turn Around America:
It’s Labor Day and we certainly won’t find President Bush rubbing shoulders and sharing burgers with electricians, teachers, steelworkers, firefighters or most anybody else who makes up the nation’s working family backbone.

(From AFL-CIO Now, added here 9.2.08) ..Click for more info..

"We Rise and Fall as One Nation":
Yesterday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the American Dream Candidate, Senator Barack Obama, gave an incredible speech that tied together the labor movement, the fate of the middle class, Hurricane Gustav, and what we have to do — together — to restore the American Dream.

(From Change to Win , added here 9.2.08) ..Click for more info..

AUGUST 2008

Teamsters Rally in Support of AB Workers:
Hundreds of St. Louis Teamsters and families rallied today in downtown St. Louis to show support for Anheuser-Busch workers nationwide in the wake of the purchase of the iconic American beer company by Belgium-based brewing giant InBev. Carrying rally signs that said “InBev: Keep Your Promises!,” rally participants, along with Teamster trucks, overflowed Kiener Plaza next to the famous St. Louis Arch.

(From Budwatch.com, added here 8.20.08) ..Click for more info..

Union Voting on Qwest Strike Authorization:
Communications Workers of America District 7 members are voting on whether to authorize a strike against Qwest Communications International Inc., four weeks into the union’s negotiations with the telecommunications company in Denver.

(From Denver Business Journal, added here 8.08.08) ..Click for more info..

Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart.

(From Daily Herald, added here 8.08.08) ..Click for more info..

Inquiry Finds Under-Age Workers at Meat Plant:
State labor investigators have identified 57 under-age workers who were employed at a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, and have asked the attorney general to bring criminal charges against the company for child labor violations, Dave Neil, the Iowa Labor Commissioner, said on Tuesday.

(From New York Times, added here 8.08.08) ..Click for more info..

JULY 2008

Union Movement Rallies Around CWA, IBEW Members at Verizon:
A series of “rolling” rallies is building solidarity for 70,000 Communications Workers of America members and 15,000 Electrical Workers whose contract with Verizon East expires Aug. 2. Local AFL-CIO labor councils and state federations have pitched their support to the Verizon workers in the Northeast.

(AFL-CIO, added here 7.27.08) ..Click for more info..

Hoffa Rejects 'Drilling Our Way Out' of Energy Crisis:
(Oakland, CA) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said today that working Americans hard hit by rising gas prices and a collapsing economy demand a comprehensive long-term program focused on exploring and developing alternative sources of energy as a solution to the crisis facing our country.

(International Brotherhood of Teamsters, added here 7.27.08) ..Click for more info..

Union Movement Rallies Around CWA, IBEW Members at Verizon:
A series of “rolling” rallies is building solidarity for 70,000 Communications Workers of America members and 15,000 Electrical Workers whose contract with Verizon East expires Aug. 2. Local AFL-CIO labor councils and state federations have pitched their support to the Verizon workers in the Northeast.

(AFL-CIO, added here 7.27.08) ..Click for more info..

OSHA Seeks $8.7 Million Fine Against Imperial Sugar:
ATLANTA — Imperial Sugar, the owner of a refinery near Savannah where 13 workers died in a sugar dust explosion in February, knew of safety hazards at the plant as early as 2002 but did nothing, and should pay more than $8.7 million for safety violations, the head of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Friday.

(From New York Times, added here 7.27.08) ..Click for more info..

Teachers Union Rolls Out New Vision for America’s Schools:
CHICAGO — “Can you imagine a federal law that promoted community schools — schools that serve the neediest children by bringing together under one roof all the services and activities they and their families need?

(From People's Weekly World, added here 7.20.08) ..Click for more info..

ILA Member in Fatal Accident at Savannah Ports:
From the Savannah Morning News:
A longshoreman working for SSA Cooper was killed Tuesday during a ship discharge operation at the Georgia Ports Authority docks.

(Reported in the Savannah Morning News 7.9.08),..Click Here..

JUNE 2008

Teleride Workers in Savannah Vote Union Yes!
Teleride Van Drivers voted 17-0 for representation from the ATU(Amalgamated Transit Unionon) May 9, 2008 and was confirmed by the NLRB.

(From ATU Local 1324, added here 6.23.08) ..Click for more info..

Savannah Student Wins Music Scholarship:
American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 447-704 of Savannah is proud to announce a scholarship award to a talented local student. On Thursday, May 29, 2008 AFM Local 447-704 President Mark Sellman presented a scholarship check of $1,000 to Daryl Giuliano, a graduating senior of the Savannah Arts Academy.

The scholarship is sponsored by the Music Performance Fund (MPF), affiliated with the AFM. The MPF Scholarship Program was initiated in 1996 out of concern with the development of tomorrow’s professional musician.

Ms. Giuliano will be attending Georgia State University School of Music this fall as a music performance major. She has been playing cello since the age of twelve, studying with Glenn Fischbach, former principal cellist of the Savannah Symphony.

(From AFM Local 447-704, added here 6.16.08) ..Click for more info..

Forbes: Fears of a Union Renaissance:
Who's afraid of a little organized labor? U.S. business, that's who.

Union membership encompasses just 7.5% of the private sector, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fearful of a potential resurgence in the United States. Now the group, which represents business interests, is opposing a laundry list of bills fluttering about Capitol Hill, which the chamber says would make it easier to organize a union, expand worker benefits at the expense of employers and lift the caps on punitive damages sought by employees in lawsuits.

(From Forbes Magazine, added here 6.10.08) ..Click for more info..

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..

 

Labor 2008 Archives

News Archives

Chambliss Faces Subpoena Over Sugar Blast that Killed 14 Workers :
(From AFL-CIO, added here 11.19.08) ..Click for more info..

Georgia Working Families Revved Up for Senate Runoff:
(From AFL-CIO, added here 11.19.08) ..Click for more info..

G-20 Unions: Time to Change Direction of Global Economy:
(From AFL-CIO, added here 11.14.08) ..Click for more info..

Building on Election Success, AFL-CIO Executive Council Calls for Economic Mobilization:
(From AFL-CIO, added here 11.14.08) ..Click for more info..

After Push for Obama, Unions Seek New Rules
With friends of Labor moving into the White House, the EFCA can have another chance. And that means trouble for employers wishing to exploit workers.

(From The New York Times, added here 11.9.08) ..Click for more info..

Barrow Gets Easy Victory Over Stone in 12th Congressional District..Click Here..

It's Not Over Yet! Senate Runoff Could Attract Obama (and a win for Jim Martin): ..Click Here..

Despite Republican Victories in GA, Democrats making gains..Click Here..

GA Congressional Race Winners

DISTRICT 1: Jack Kingston (R)

DISTRICT 2: Sanford Bishop (D)

DISTRICT 3: Lynn Westmoreland (R)

DISTRICT 4: Hank Johnson (D), unopposed

DISTRICT 5: John Lewis (D), unopposed

DISTRICT 6: Tom Price (R)

DISTRICT 7: John Linder (R)

DISTRICT 8: Jim Marshall (D)

DISTRICT 9: Nathan Deal (R)

DISTRICT 10: Paul Broun (R)

DISTRICT 11: Phil Gingrey (R),

DISTRICT 12: John Barrow (D),

DISTRICT 13: David Scott (D), incumbent

Combustible Dust Front and Center in GA Senate Contest:
Video Link.
(From Change to Win, added here 10.31.08) ..Click for more info..

Meet Joe the REAL Plumber:
Sen. John McCain, meet Joe the plumber. Unlike Samuel Wurzelbacher, Joe’s given name is…Joe.

And, unlike Wurzelbacher, he’s a licensed plumber...

(From AFL-CIO, added here 10.24.08) ..Click for more info..

Skip to the Front of the Line - Vote Early:
Mariya Strauss, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA), explains how early voting works—and like all of us in the union movement urges everyone to vote early if possible to avoid long lines and other potential roadblocks to casting a vote Nov. 4.

(From AFL-CIO, added here 10.24.08) ..Click for more info..

"Joe Six-Pack" Demands Answers From Anti-Union McCain & Co
Sarah "Joe-Six-Pack" Palin pulled her labor union roots out of the frozen Alaskan soil and started shaking them at normally union-allergic Republican crowds from the day John McCain announced her as his running mate..

(From Huffington Post's Leo Gerard, added here 10.08.08) ..Click for more info..

Senators Discouraged Penalties on Suspect Imports:
Georgia's two senators intervened on behalf of an Atlanta-area wholesaler last year to discourage trade sanctions against cheap Chinese paper imports as the Bush administration investigated complaints that the paper was illegally subsidized by Beijing.

The pro-import stance put Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson at odds with other U.S. lawmakers who said illegal Chinese "dumping" threatened to shutter manufacturing plants in their states.
Associated Press
, added here 9.04.08) ..Click for more info..

Last Week's Numbers (for Georgia):

So many union members, so little time. Let's pick up the pace!

Local Union Mail

AFGE 987, AFGE 1922, AFGW 217, ATU 732, CWA 3207, CWA 3250, GCIU/IBT #8M, IAM 713, IAM 2665, IAM 2789, IUPAT 1756, TWU 239, USW 9-237, USW 232, USW 238, USW 531, USW 983, and USW 1504 sent out local union mail about the election in the past week.

8,899 letters were mailed to union members.

Worksite Leafleting

AFGE 987, IBT 728, USW 9-326, and USW 572 participated in worksite leafleting in the past week.

661 flyers were handed out at worksites, member to member.

Labor Walks

Note new Schedule for Savannah Walks!
We need you NOW! ..Click Here..

Last week’s labor walk participants included AFGE 217, AFGE 510, AFGE 987, AFGE 1922, IAFF 574, IAM 2789, IBEW 508, IBT 728, LIUNA 515, NALC 578, NALC 4944, OPEIU 277, SFT 2069, TWU 527, UA 150, UFCW 1996, and Working America.

527 union households were visited.


Member to Member Phone Banking

Last week’s phone bank participants included AFGE TSA, AFGE 217, AFGE 510, AFGE 987, AFGE 1922, AFGE 3887, AFSCME 1644, AFT 1565, ATU 732, IAFF 574, IAM 2789, IBEW 508, IBEW 613, IBT 728, LIUNA 515, NALC 578, NALC 4944, OPEIU 277, SFT 2069, TWU 100, TWU 527, UA 150, UAW 10, UFCW 1996, and Working America.

5,141 calls were made to union members.

(Georgia Labor 2008 Blog) ..Click Here..


Unions Take the Lead at Democratic National Convention:
Next week, the presidential race will kick into high gear as the 2008 Democratic National Convention begins in Denver.

(AFL-CIO Now, added here 8.20.08) ..Click for more info..

N.C. Workers Set Record Straight on Employee Free Choice:
Working people have made passage of the Employee Free Choice Act a priority issue in the 2008 election. Today, 150 workers from throughout North Carolina pledged their support for the bill, which would level the playing field and allow workers to decide whether to choose a union without employer interference.

(AFL-CIO Now, added here 8.20.08) ..Click for more info

John McCain Archives
What are Union Vets saying about John McCain?:
Today, AFL-CIO union veterans are launching the first Union Veterans Council, which will bring together the power of union veterans on the issues that matter most to veterans and all working families...for the 2008 elections and beyond.

(From AFL-CIO, added here 7.27.08) ..Click for more info..

McCain Collects His Social Security Checks. Why Shouldn’t We?
The Alliance for Retired Americans, the national organization that advocates for the rights of more than 3.5 million retirees and their families, asks a good question:

Will John McCain return the Social Security check he calls a “disgrace”?

(From AFL-CIO, added here 7.20.08) ..Click for more info..

 

Union YesUnion YesUnion Yes

 

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Next CLC meeting will be held Wednesday, February 3, 2009 at 5:30pm at the IBEW Hall on Dean Forest Road. ..Click here..


 



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