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Attacks on Cleland, Votes in Senate Show Chambliss No Friend of Georgia Vets | Digg |
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In tomorrow’s runoff election between Jim Martin and Sen. Saxby Chambliss for Georgia’s seat in the U.S. Senate, there’s a clear difference on the issues that matter to veterans and their families.
Chambliss has voted to undermine veterans health care, and he continually has voted with President Bush on key economic issues that affect the lives of veterans, from retirement security to trade. Martin, a Vietnam veteran, has pledged to fight on behalf of working families and America’s veterans.
In a message to union veterans, Mark Ayers, chairman of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council and president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, pointed out the differences between Martin and Chambliss on veterans issues. The message was co-signed by Ann Converso, president of the United American Nurses, and J. David Cox, secretary-treasurer of AFGE. Converso and Cox serve as vice chairs of the Union Veterans Council.
Topping Bush’s List: A Rule Making It Harder to Regulate Toxic Substances | Digg |
The nation's voters may have cast their ballots overwhelmingly for change Nov. 4, but the Bush administration's drive to weaken worker safety laws and reward its corporate friends is far from dead.
In November, we reported on the Bush administration's last-minute assault on the public with a slew of end-of-term, no congressional-approval-needed regulations that could roll back or weaken rules on job safety, family leave, airline safety and pollution.
Tomorrow: Georgia’s Senate Runoff Race | Digg |
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Tomorrow, Georgia voters go to the polls to vote in the runoff election for U.S. Senate. AFL-CIO-endorsed Jim Martin is in a close contest with anti-worker incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss in a race that could determine the ability to pass a pro-working family agenda in 2009 and beyond.
Union volunteers are putting in long hours and mobilizing around the state to get out the vote in the Senate runoff. If Martin wins, he’ll be the 59th pro-worker vote in the Senate, providing a critical voice for policies that will rebuild America's middle class and strengthen the economy. Chambliss would continue to stand in the way of progress on health care, job creation and the Employee Free Choice Act.
91 Trade Unionists Murdered in 2007 | Digg |
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A total of 91 trade unionists were murdered for fighting for workers’ rights worldwide in 2007, according to the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC's) Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, released late last month.
Colombia, where 39 union members were killed in 2007, again tops the list of most dangerous countries to be a union member. While there was a slight reduction in killings in Colombia compared with the previous year, ITUC says many attempts to kill Colombian unionists failed, and there was a notable increase in forced removals, arbitrary arrests, illegal raids and threats, especially in agriculture, health and education.
In Guinea, 30 unionists were murdered. ITUC says the regime of President Lansana Conte was directly responsible for the killing of 30 unionists during the brutal repression of union-organized public demonstrations against corruption and violations of fundamental rights.
Colombian Flower Workers Fired for Seeking Union. You Can Help | Digg |
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Six workers at the Mongibello flower plantation just outside of Bogotá, Colombia, were illegally fired earlier this month for trying to form a union. The actions, which are illegal under Colombian law, are just another example of the lax enforcement of labor laws in that country that must be addressed before a free trade agreement with Colombia can be considered.
All six workers—José Alexander Montenegro, José Abel Rincón, Samuel Rico, Juan Bautista López, Milton Páez and Sergio Fabián Bossa—had worked on the flower plantation for more than 15 years each. The workers decided to contact one of Colombia's labor federations, the CUT, to talk about organizing a union. When management at the plantation discovered their plans, the six workers were immediately fired.
You can take action now to help these workers. Click here to tell management of the Mongibello plantation that illegal firings are unacceptable and to respect the labor rights of all workers employed by their company.
‘New Green Deal’ Focus of Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference | Digg |
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Just weeks after the Obama administration and the new Congress take office—with the economy as the top priority—more than 2,000 union, environmental, business and government activists and leaders will take part in the 2009 Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference.
The Feb. 4–6 conference in Washington, D.C., is coordinated by the Blue Green Alliance, the partnership of the United Steelworkers (USW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
It will focus on transforming the struggling economy through a wide range of environmental investments in green technology, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Conference organizers say the goal is to develop a "New Green Deal" that would create jobs, increase energy independence, reduce global warming and expand the clean energy and green technology markets.
A Falsie Would Fit Corporate Hack Rick Berman—Cast Your Vote Now | Digg |
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Corporate lobbyist Richard Berman really should get the recognition he deserves for his PR campaigns that have slammed Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of the alcohol industry and encouraged pregnant women to eat potentially mercury-laden tuna at the behest of the seafood industry.
Now, he can—with your help.
Each year, the Center for Media and Democracy/PR Watch sponsors the "Falsies Awards" contest to shine an unflattering light on those responsible for polluting our information environment—you know, those high-paid corporate mouthpieces who have truth-telling issues. Berman is one of several nominees for a Falsie.
Berman most recently has spent his time—and millions in corporate cash—on a deceptive ad campaign to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act. As our friends at PR Watch describe his anti-worker, anti-union media campaign:
Corporate lobbyist Rick Berman was busy throughout 2008, though his sustained and frequent use of front groups over the years may earn him a Lifetime Achievement Falsie. As the U.S. elections approached, Berman's Center for Union Facts lobbied against labor rights legislation, claiming it would allow "union bosses" to "use coercion."
Giving Thanks—and Taking Action | Digg |
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Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice and author of Wage Theft in America, urges us to put the meaning of Thanksgiving into action. (Our interview with Bobo on wage theft also can be read here.)
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is an official day to give thanks for all we have and all we can do. It is a time to relax with friends and family. Unlike some other holidays, there are few shopping expectations, house decorating requirements or religious service responsibilities. And aside from my butter-laden cooking, Thanksgiving is a day of relaxing, giving thanks and reflecting.
But the opportunity to relax, give thanks and reflect upon all we’ve been given helps us discern how we can do more or be more effective in our work for justice. Giving thanks is not a meaningless gesture. Giving thanks stops our complaining about things we want while others lack things they need. Giving thanks compels us to figure out how we can use the gifts and resources we’ve been given to help those most in need.
Railway Workers Receive Hazmat Training at Labor College | Digg |
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More than 180,000 pounds of highly toxic materials are transported on America's rails every day. Though some railway workers have been trained in handling these materials safely, thousands more still lack even the basic training needed. That’s about to change through an ambitious training program at the National Labor College (NLC), funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration recently awarded the NLC a $1.3 million grant for an intensive program to train railway workers in the handling and transporting of hazardous materials (hazmat), including dangerous chemicals and radioactive substances.
Global Wages Decline; U.S. Income Gap Worst of Developed Countries | Digg |
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The global economic crisis will lead to deep cuts in the wages of millions of workers worldwide in the coming year, according to a report published today by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Meanwhile, wage inequality in the United States between the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent income brackets is the highest of any developed economy.
The report, Global Wage Report 2008/09, warns that wages are likely to fall worldwide and exacerbate an already unacceptable level of inequality. Based on the latest growth figures from the International Monetary Fund, the ILO forecasts the global growth in real wages will at best reach 1.1 per cent in 2009, compared to 1.7 per cent in 2008.
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