North Carolina's Union Movement

We are the people we’ve been waiting for

We are One Nation, born from many, determined to build a more united America – with jobs, justice and education for all.

We are young people, frustrated that society seems willing to spend more locking up our bodies than educating our minds, yet still we find ways to succeed and shine.

We are students and newly-returned veterans – persevering in the face of mounting debt – determined not to be the first generation to end up worse off than our parents.

We are baby boomers and seniors – who saw hope killed in 1968 and will not let the dream of a united America be taken from us again.

We are conservatives and moderates, progressives and liberals, non-believers and people of deep faith, united by escalating assaults on our reason, our environment, and our rights.

We are workers of every age, faith, race, sex, nationality, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and ability – who have suffered discrimination but never stopped loving our neighbors, or our nation.

We are American Indians and Alaska Natives – citizens of Native nations – who maintain our cultures, protect our sovereignty, and strength America’s economy.

We are the new immigrants, raising our children in the torchlight of the Statue of Liberty, while confronting the shadows that are bigotry and mass deportations.

We are the native born.  We inherited the divided legacies of settlers and American Indians, black slaves and white and Asian indentured servants. And yet, in this moment of shared suffering, we rejoice in newfound friendships and new alliances.

We are people who got thrown out – thrown out of our jobs, schools, houses, farms and small businesses – while Wall Street’s wrongdoers got bailed out. We are families who pray every day – for peace and prosperity; for deliverance from foreclosures; for good jobs to come back to urban and rural America.

We are unemployed workers – forced to watch hopes for bold action dashed – because some Senators threaten filibusters, and other would-be champions fold in fear.

And yet, we are the majority – fueled by hope, not hate. We have the pride, power and determination to keep ourselves – and our country – moving up and out of the valley greed created.

And most importantly – from ensuring women are treated fairly at work, to expanding health care coverage for millions– we have been victorious whenever we worked together. We have proven the only thing we need to succeed is each other.

And so, on 10-2-10, we come back together – to march.

“I believe that workers can change the South and, by doing so, change the country. If only I could get the leaders of the union movement to believe it, too.”

By MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer

Forty-seven years after the 1963 March on Washington, the union movement and our allies are preparing for our own march in October. Under the banner of One Nation Working Together, union members, civil rights activists and other concerned citizens will rally in support of good jobs, a quality education for every child, immigration reform and workers’ freedom to form a union. Our rallying cry is that we must reverse the dangerous trend toward greater income inequality and finally create an economy that works for all.

To achieve that goal and to become a truly united nation working together, leaders of the One Nation coalition partners—particularly our nation’s labor leaders—could learn a valuable lesson from that earlier march on Washington: The road to justice and equality must go through the South.

During the 1963 march, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. eloquently illustrated this point when he said:

“Let freedom ring from the mountains of New York…Pennsylvania….Colorado….California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia….from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee….from every hill and molehill of Mississippi….let freedom ring.”

Civil rights leaders knew the only way to win freedom for people of color everywhere was to win it first in the most difficult place—the segregated South. That’s why community activists boycotted buses in Montgomery, college students staged sit-ins in Greensboro and sanitation workers walked out in Memphis. Dr. King and other leaders understood that if they could change policies in the heart of Jim Crow, then they could change laws nationally. And they did.

More than four decades later, national labor leaders should heed Dr. King’s prophetic words. If we want to strengthen the rights of workers everywhere, then we must organize workers in the South.

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$400 Million for education from “Race to the Top”

North Carolina won big in President Obama’s Race to the Top Fund, securing a $400 million grant that will, in part, pay for continued implementation of Gov. Bev Perdue’s Career and College: Ready, Set, Go! initiative, she announced this week:

“North Carolina’s children today are one step closer to being guaranteed the best public education possible – something every child deserves. This grant will give us the resources to more aggressively implement our plan to ensure that all of our children graduate ready for a career, college or technical training.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress and signed into law last year included $4.35 billion for the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program for the states designed to reward those which demonstrate success in raising student achievement and come up with the best plans for education reform – plans that can serve as a model for other states.

“I thank Sec. [of Education Arnie] Duncan for recognizing North Carolina’s ability to lead in education reform, and I thank everyone who worked so hard to make this possible,” said Perdue.

Our state was one of nine and the District of Columbia to win grants in the second phase of Race to the Top. President Obama has requested $1.35 billion in his next budget to continue the successful program, saying only the countries that lead the way in education will lead the world:

“There are any number of actions that we can take to enhance our nation’s competitiveness and secure a better future for our people, but few of them will make as much of a difference as improving the way we educate our sons and daughters.”

$250 Million for expanding broadband

Last week, Gov. Perdue announced that North Carolina has been awarded an additional $115 million in Recovery Act grants to expand broadband Internet access in our state. All together in just this year, North Carolina has received $250 million in grants from President Obama’s economic stimulus plan for bringing high-speed Internet to our rural communities.

“Increasing broadband access will create new jobs up front and provide a boost for local economies to create even more jobs and a better quality of life in the near future,” said Gov. Perdue. “These improvements are especially important in rural and underserved areas of North Carolina.”

“We need high speed Internet for our homes, schools, hospitals, and workplaces,” says Speed Matters, a project of the Communications Workers of America, which advocates for affordable high speed Internet access for Americans:

“But most U.S. Internet connections are far too slow to send and receive large files for medical monitoring, to run a home-based business, or for multi-media distance learning. America is falling behind our industrialized peers at a time when we should be growing our competitiveness with the rest of the world.”

Download and upload speeds in the United States – the nation that invented the Internet – rank (PDF) 28th in the world, and North Carolina falls below the national average. Many remote or rural areas of our state still don’t have broadband. Thanks to investments being made because of the Recovery Act, we’re beginning to change that.

Putting America back to work

In the middle of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, obstructionists in Congress have blocked bill after bill to create jobs and get us back on our feet. Here in NC, we’re hard at work making sure all of our union brothers and sisters know whether our members of Congress have been working and voting for us or for Wall Street. We can be proud of some Representatives who have been on our side, but Sen. Richard Burr has really let us down.

But there’s an even bigger movement nationwide to hold members of Congress accountable for their records—and we’re part of it. It’s called ONE NATION, a broad and diverse coalition that has come together to build a future of shared prosperity, not stubborn unemployment and a lost generation, and to reverse the dangerous economic course America has been on.

ONE NATION includes our union, the AFL-CIO and civil, human rights, faith, environmental and other progressive allies, united to call for:

• An economy that works for all;
• Good jobs, fair jobs, safe jobs and more jobs;
• Wall Street reform;
• Quality education for every child;
• Reform of our broken immigration system;
• And restoring workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain collectively.

Pulling America back together

On Oct. 2, tens of thousands of working people, young people, retirees, civil rights activists and many others will come together for a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. On the same day—exactly one month before the fall elections—the union movement will hold its biggest labor walk ever, taking our message door-to-door in targeted states around the country. Together we will show the obstructionists in Congress that we are many and diverse, strong and united—and we will fight together for the American Dream and for good jobs now.

We urge you to be part of this national surge of strength to improve life for working families. We are asking all unions to recruit members to march on Washington on 10/2/10. Information on buses will be announced soon, Sign up now by calling or emailing our office or going to http://www.onenationworkingtogether.org/.

Gender pay gap is their own fault

This week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce chose the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – which gave women the right to vote – to blame women for the fact that they get paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. In a post titled “Equality, Suffrage, and a Fetish for Money”, Sr. Director of Communications Brad Peck, writing for the Chamber’s official blog, ChamberPost, said:

“Most of the current “pay gap” is the result of individual choice rather than discrimination.”

The Chamber is opposed to federal legislation – The Paycheck Fairness Act – that would address the pay gap by requiring companies to justify pay discrepancies based on only bona fide factors such as education, training, and experience – provided these are related to the job and a business necessity. The Act would prohibit retaliation by employers for people asserting their legal rights and would make businesses that engage in sex discrimination liable in civil court.

But to the Chamber, women can close the pay gap all by themselves if they would just pick higher paying jobs and wealthier husbands:

“It is true that culturally speaking women are more likely to have to make the tough choices about work-life balance. But as we all seek to fit our values into a dynamic 24/7 economy, let’s not overlook the obvious, immediate, power-of-the-individual solution: choosing the right place to work and choosing the right partner at home.”

Doubt won’t close this gap

The Chamber spokesperson used scare quotes around the words pay gap – as if it wasn’t real or to be taken seriously. Not only is women getting paid less than men a reality, it’s true even when they have the same jobs. Zaid Jilani at Think Progress notes:

While it’s true that women sometimes migrate into fields that have lower pay, what Peck ignores is that even within the same occupation, women are paid less. For example, data collected by the Census Bureau in 2007 shows that “female secretaries…earn just 83.4% as much as male ones” and female truck drivers “earn just 76.5% of the weekly pay of their male counterparts.” A report put out this year by the University of Minnesota finds that women in that state are “are paid $11,000 dollars less each year than men with the same jobs.” A 2007 American Association of University Women report compared men and women with similar “hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors normally associated with pay” and found that “college-educated women still earn less than their male peers earn“; the report concludes that workplace discrimination is the culprit in the wage gap.

It is important to note that this pay inequity is so pervasive that it even affects people who undergo a sex change. In 2008, researchers Kristen Schilt and Matthew Wiswall examined the wages over their lifetimes of people before and after a sex change operation. Even “when controlling for factors like education, men who transitioned to women earned, on average, 32% less after the surgery. Women who became men, on the other hand, earned 1.5% more.”

Fight for equal pay “a Scrooge-like fetish for money”

People fighting for equal pay for equal work, the Chamber says, are consumed by “a Scrooge-like fetish for money.” Essentially, if you’re concerned about the negative effects of women earning 23 cents less than every dollar men earn, you’re just being greedy.

Putting aside the laughable idea that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should be lecturing anybody about being greedy, it fits with the Chamber’s long history of hating women, says FDL’s Michael Whitney:

In case you were wondering if this was a one-off incident, rest assured: the US Chamber of Commerce really hates women.

• 1977: US Chamber opposes amendment to Civil Rights Act that would ban discrimination against pregnant women.
• 1978: US Chamber says pregnancy is a “voluntary” condition in its opposition to Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
• 1987: Family Medical Leave Act “sets a dangerous precedent,” according to the US Chamber.
• 1998: US Chamber opposes Equal Pay Act because “work experience does tend to create greater wage gaps.”
• 2007: US Chamber opposes Lilly Ledbetter’s court case for equal pay because “tear-stained testimony” prejudices against a defendant. Opposed the bill in Congress to right the wrongs against Ledbetter in 2008 and 2009 as well.
• 2007: Chamber official pledges “all out war” against Family Medical Leave Act, and in 2010 made it a “priority” to fight in Congress.
• Monday: US Chamber again cites pregnancy as a “voluntary choice.”

On the side of teachers, firefighters, public safety officers…

Last week, Congress passed and the President quickly signed into law a bill that will save literally hundreds of thousands of American jobs. The law provides $16 billion in Medicaid funding assistance and $10 billion for teachers’ jobs. Failure to pass this bill would have meant state and local governments – which cannot operate a budget deficit and are still reeling from massive shortfalls since Wall Street nearly triggered a second Great Depression in 2008 – would have been forced into a new round of layoffs.

In North Carolina alone, some 5,700 public school teachers will be in class instead of in unemployment lines because of this law. Our economic recovery depends on fixing the jobs crisis. In signing this bill into law, President Obama and Democrats in Congress prevailed against a nearly unanimous Republican opposition, which seems determined to make the crisis worse.

On the side of Wall Street and outsourcing…

This law was fully funded, in part by closing a corporate tax loophole that rewarded multi-national corporations for exporting our jobs. Republican allies of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the Senate had filibustered the bill for months to protect this tax break for outsourcing.

After the Senate overcame Republican obstruction to pass the bill and send it to the House for final consideration, House Republican leader, John Boehner attacked – without irony – closing the outsourcing loophole as a “job killing tax hike” and derided the teachers, firefighters, and police officers whose jobs would be saved as “liberal special interests.”

The House passed the bill by a vote of 247-161. Not one Republican from North Carolina voted for this bill. AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka, released a statement:

“With today’s vote, House Republicans showed they value Wall Street and tax cuts for the rich over teachers, police and firefighters.  This is yet another example in the laundry list of anti-jobs votes they’ve taken.  They voted ‘no’ even though the Congressional Budget Office estimated this measure will reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion.

“This bill reduces the deficit by closing tax loopholes that reward companies for sending American jobs overseas.  So not only did these Republicans vote against saving jobs in America — they voted to keep encouraging corporations to outsource jobs during this recession. [...]

“Come November working people will remember who stood for jobs and who stood in the way.”

We will, indeed, remember in November.

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Renews pledge to support EFCA, continue fighting for workers

President Obama addressed the leadership of the AFL-CIO at the recent Executive Council meeting in Washington, DC. Touting the major legislative accomplishments of his administration – health reform and Wall Street reform chief among them – the President reminded union leaders that under his administration, we now have an ally in the White House instead of an administration with “a profound animosity toward the notion of unions.”

Indeed, the first act of Congress the newly-sworn-in President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a workers’ rights law to ensure you have the right to protection under the 1964 Civil Rights Act each time you are the victim of pay discrimination by your employer.

Obama’s Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, herself the daughter of trade unionists, has restored the Department of Labor to its role as guardian of workers’ rights, protector of health and safety, and enforcer of wage and hour laws – much to the dismay of business and employer groups who had a willing pawn in Bush’s “Anti-Labor” Department chief, Elaine Chao.

Remembering who drove the car into the ditch

The President told union leaders it’s up to us to remind our members over the next three months that the upcoming election is a choice between going forward or going in reverse. The same people who are asking voters in November for the keys to the car are the ones who drove it into the ditch in the first place:

“You’ve got these folks who drove America’s economy into a ditch, and for the last 20 months, we put on our boots and we got into the mud and we’ve been shoving that car out of the ditch inch by inch, and they’ve been standing on the side the whole time watching, telling us, no, you’re not pushing hard enough, you’re not doing it the right way — not lifting a finger to help.   And now we’ve finally got that car up on the blacktop there, about to drive, and they say they want the keys back.  (Laughter.)  Well, you can’t have the keys, because you don’t know how to drive.  (Laughter.)  You don’t know how to drive.  (Laughter.)  You’re not going to get the keys back.  (Applause.)  You’re not going to get them back.

“Somebody pointed out to me that when you’re in a car and you want to go forward, you put it in “D.”  (Laughter.)  You want to go back in the ditch, you put it on “R.”  (Laughter.)  So I just want everybody to think about that.  (Applause.)”

You can read the transcript of President Obama’s remarks to the AFL-CIO Executive Council by clicking here.

A new voice for state/local movement

Last Wednesday, August 4, 2010, the AFL-CIO Executive Council – the top governing body of the National AFL-CIO – elected five new members, including our own NC State AFL-CIO President, James Andrews, who will take one of two seats newly created to promote diversity and give greater voice to state and local labor leaders (see press release below).

James’ election speaks well of his leadership and the good work of our state federation. Congratulations, James!

Contact: Eddie Vale 202-637-5018

AFL-CIO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ELECTS FIVE NEW MEMBERS Council also thanks 3 departing members for service to the Labor Movement

(Washington, August 4) – Today the AFL-CIO Executive Council elected five new members to the council. The Executive Council also voted to add two seats to the council for the purpose of promoting and establishing diversity as well as giving a greater role to state and local labor leaders. The council is meeting this week in Washington to discuss plans for a major push in the fall elections, the response to the jobs crisis and strategies for organizing and outreach to young workers.

President Obama will address the council today.

The new members of the Executive Council include: Bob King, the newly elected UAW President; General Holiefield, UAW Vice President; Lee Saunders, the newly elected Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME; James Andrews, President of the North Carolina AFL-CIO; and Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO Executive Council is made up of the AFL-CIO President, Secretary-Treasurer, Executive Vice President, and 53 vice presidents.

The Council also thanked departing members – former UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and former UAN President Ann Converso for their service to working people.

“The new members of the Executive Council represent workers in all professions across the country who are working to make their workplaces and communities better,” said AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka. “I look forward to working with our new members who bring great experience, energy and new ideas to the AFL-CIO Executive Council and thank our departing members for their service to the labor movement.”

Burr says it’s “No longer an emergency”

For over 450,000 workers in North Carolina who are unemployed, the emergency is as real as it’s ever been. Despite this, Senator Burr has voted repeatedly AGAINST extending unemployment benefits, the only source of income for people who have – through no fault of their own – lost their jobs to the recession.

After his most recent vote against aid for the jobless, in an interview on Monday, Burr explained to Politico why he didn’t support extending aid for the jobless: unemployment “is no longer an emergency.”

In a press release issued on Tuesday, NC State AFL-CIO President, James Andrews, responded:

“Working families across North Carolina deserve a leader who understands what they’re going through in this tough economy. If Senator Burr really thinks unemployment is ‘no longer an emergency,’ he should ask the thousands of hardworking North Carolinians who have lost their jobs and are actively looking for work if they think this is not an emergency situation for their families. Burr should immediately apologize for his hurtful and out of touch remarks and pledge to support future extensions of jobless aid as needed.”

The full article in which the comments appears is available here.

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Attention first-responders in North Carolina

Last night, the House of Representatives failed to pass the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (H.R. 847) on a 255-159 vote, with 243 Democrats and 12 Republicans voting in favor – not enough on a procedural vote that required two-thirds support. The bill would provide up to $7.4 billion in health care aid to Ground Zero workers who have dealt with serious health problems since 9/11.

Instead of voting on the substance of the bill – aid for police, firefighters, paramedics and other heroes who ran to the scene to help while people fled in terror and have suffered the consequences to their health ever since – Republican leadership in the House hung their objections to the bill around the procedure. Like on so many bills in Congress these days, for an intransigent minority party, process trumped substance, and workers are the losers.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) would have none of it. In what can only be called must-see C-SPAN, Rep. Weiner explodes on the GOP leadership in the House for providing cover to the Republican caucus to oppose the process and defeat the bill:

“‘Oh, if only we had a different process we’d vote yes.’ You vote yes if you believe yes! You vote in favor of something if you believe it’s the right thing! If you believe it’s the wrong thing, you vote no!”

Voting ‘No’ from North Carolina:

1. Rep. Virginia Foxx [R, NC-5]
2. Rep. Howard Coble [R, NC-6]
3. Rep. Sue Myrick [R, NC-9]
4. Rep. Patrick McHenry [R, NC-10]

Voting ‘Yes’ from North Carolina:

1. Rep. George Butterfield [D, NC-1]
2. Rep. Bob Etheridge [D, NC-2]
3. Rep. Walter Jones [R, NC-3]
4. Rep. David Price [D, NC-4]
5. Rep. Mike McIntyre [D, NC-7]
6. Rep. Larry Kissell [D, NC-8]
7. Rep. Heath Shuler [D, NC-11]
8. Rep. Brad Miller [D, NC-13]

AFL-CIO President Trumka responds

Most House Republicans and the groups that back them like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce care more about protecting the interests of foreign corporations than our nation’s heroes, says AFL-CIO President, Rich Trumka:

“Helping the thousands of 9/11 responders and others who are now sick as a result of their exposures at the World Trade Center should not be a partisan issue. But sadly, the majority of House Republicans voted against this bill, even though its costs were fully paid for as required under the PAYGO rules by closing a tax loophole for foreign firms that operate in the United States. It appears that some Republicans and business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, are more concerned with protecting the interests of the foreign based companies who try to avoid paying taxes than helping those who answered the nation’s call on 9/11.”

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Discount hotel rate expires August 8

If you are planning to attend our 53rd Annual Convention at the Hilton North Raleigh on September 9-10, you better make those hotel reservations soon!

The cut off date for placing reservations is August 8, 2010. For reservations, call 1 (800) HILTONS (1-800-445-8667) or (919) 872-2323 or www.northraleigh.hilton.com and give group code “AFL”. Hotel rooms are $115 per night if you make your reservation before August 8.

Pre-registration now until August 13

Convention credentials were mailed to affiliates back in June – either directly to local presidents or to the address where dues statements go. Check there first before calling our office to report having not received credentials.

We strongly urge affiliates to submit their delegate credentials and registration fees by Friday, August 13. Pre-registration is essential to reduce waiting times upon arrival at the convention and to ensure we have prepared the necessary amount of materials, seating, and banquet meals. Please make every effort to pre-register your delegates and submit payment no later than August 13. If pre-registration is not possible, delegates can bring completed credentials and their registration fee with them when they arrive at the hotel.

Education is power for workers

More than 50 students from local unions representing public and private sector workers across North Carolina attended Carolina Labor School July 11-16 on the campus of UNC Wilmington. The class this year seemed more engaged than ever, and they left Wilmington armed to the hilt with the knowledge necessary to be better union members, to be more informed advocates for the rights of all workers, and to win victories for working families in the November elections.

Students took a week-long course in state labor law from our General Counsel, Mike Okun, learned about effective strategies for dispute resolution at work and how to think critically about the current media and political narratives about unions and health reform from visiting professors Marc Cryer and Judi King, respectively, of the Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR), and got a crash course in workers’ compensation from attorney Valerie Johnson. MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer of the NC State AFL-CIO, also led students in a workshop on our Labor 2010 political program.

This year we screened an Emmy-award winning documentary to challenge Labor School students on this point: we are the union, and our primary concern is solidarity among workers – documented or otherwise.

Made in L.A. follows three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops. They work twelve hour days for less than minimum wage – if they get paid at all – and are easily exploited by a system of contractors and subcontractors designed to allow retailers to profit off sweatshop labor. These workers find the courage and solidarity to organize a 3-year boycott against trendy clothier Forever 21. In the end, they win more than basic labor protections. Their victory in court establishes a precedent that companies cannot avoid responsibility for the mistreatment of workers who make the products they sell.

Labor School is an opportunity for union members to leave their shops, their hometowns, and share the successes and struggles where they come from with other union members. Students seemed to gain a new perspective about their place in a larger movement, one concerned with improving the lives and protecting the health, safety, and dignity of all workers.

Thanks to you, our members, for your continued support of the educational programs of the NC State AFL-CIO. Without the commitment you and your membership have to North Carolina’s union movement, the Carolina Labor School would not be possible.

Our “2010 Shining Star Award” winners. (left to right) Fred Erwin, IAFF 947; Marie Wilson, BCTGM 317T; and Jimmy Everage, USW 959

For more pictures from our 2010 Labor School, check out our Flickr photostream.

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Free tax cuts for the rich, no unemployment extension unless it’s paid for

Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ), the second ranking Republican in the Senate, said this week that tax cuts for the rich should never be offset to avert their impact on the federal budget deficit – but unemployment benefit extensions must be fully paid for in advance.

Kyl called unemployment benefits “a necessary evil” and “not an economic matter”, and he disputed the assessment by economists, supported by the Congressional Budget Office, that extending unemployment benefits is among the best forms of economic stimulus, a simple concept according to Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo:

The stimulus argument for extending emergency unemployment benefits during a recession is simple: If unemployed people lose benefits, then they stop spending money, which shrinks the economy, and costs more jobs. Extending the benefits forestalls that. Kyl says that, while there is a political and humanitarian benefit to giving constituents unemployment benefits, the government deficits they engender do more harm to the economy than systemic unemployment could.

Of course, if the Republican leadership in the Senate really cared about government deficits doing harm to the economy, they would do well to remember it’s Bush’s tax cuts for the rich – not $300 a week unemployment checks – that are the biggest threat:

So there we have it – the upside down economic priorities of Senate Republicans like our own Richard Burr: free tax cuts for the rich no matter the cost, but no “evil” unemployment insurance for the jobless unless paid for in full.

If Republicans take control of the Congress after the election in November, at least we’ll know what to expect from them: more of the same philosophy and leadership that got us into the mess we’re into in the first place.

Bill now moves to Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives took an important step forward in providing fire fighters, police officers, and other public safety workers collective bargaining rights by passing the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act as an amendment to the war supplemental spending bill moving through the Congress.

Most states already provide bargaining rights to public safety workers. Only North Carolina and Virginia make it illegal for public employees – including safety workers – to sit down at the table and bargain as equals with their employer. This bill would change that for public safety workers, and it’s a long time in coming, says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger:

“Seventy-five years after passage of the National Labor Relations Act, fire fighters are a step closer to having the same rights that workers in the private sector have had since 1935.”

Tell Kay Hagan keep her campaign promise of support

Kay Hagan won the endorsement of the IAFF in 2008 after pledging her support for the collective bargaining bill. Now staff for the Senator are indicating she has changed her position.

“This is unacceptable,” says Greensboro firefighter and Vice President of PFFPNC Local 947 , Dave Coker:

“We are asking that you contact Senator Hagan’s office and urge her to live up to the promises she made to firefighters in North Carolina and vote for the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act.

“I can’t stress how important these phone calls will be as we head into this fight.  You can bet that the City/County Managers and others will be calling Senator Hagan and encouraging her to vote against the bill.”

Here’s the number to Kay Hagan’s DC office: 202-224-6342; and her state headquarters in Greensboro: 336-333-5311; and her Raleigh office: 919-856-4630; and her Charlotte office: 704-334-2448; and her Asheville office: 828-257-6510; and her Greenville office: 252-754-0707.

For more information about this legislation, visit the IAFF website.

Info clearinghouse for Affordable Care Act

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched an innovative website, HealthCare.gov, as implementation of the historic Affordable Care Act began July 1. The new site is a clearinghouse for information about the new law, but it’s also an important tool for consumers.

With a few mouse clicks at HealthCare.gov, you can find insurance options, learn about prevention, compare care quality, understand the new law, and find information tailored for you. Get a quick introduction to some of the most important features of HealthCare.gov by watching this video by HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius:

Just the beginning of reforms

The Affordable Care Act, signed into law by President Obama last March, went into effect on July 1, 2010. While it will take time for the new law to be fully implemented, several important aspects have already gone into effect:

• Cash rebates for seniors who fall into the Medicare Part D prescription drug “doughnut hole”, which the law will ultimately close.
• Tax credits for small businesses of up to 35% the employer’s cost to provide insurance to employees.
• Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan established nationwide for people unable to buy insurance to bridge the gap until 2014 when such discrimination will be outlawed.
• Matching federal dollars for states to afford to expand Medicaid coverage for the poor.
• $2.5 billion in aid to states to help agencies evaluate and fight unwarranted insurance company premiums increases.
• Creation of the HealthCare.gov website to help consumers compare coverage options and monitor implementation of the Act.

Beginning in September of this year, several more provisions will go into effect, including an end to insurance company abuses like rescinding your coverage when you get sick, allowing young adults to join or stay on their parent’s policy, mandating free preventative care, eliminating lifetime benefit caps, and eliminating denial of coverage for children with pre-existing conditions.

Be sure to check out the timeline for more information about these reforms and what’s to come thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Coalition for public employees needs support

The campaign to end the ban on public employee collective bargaining in North Carolina has been a long one. The work of the North Carolina Hear Our Public Employees Coalition (HOPE) must continue, especially in hard economic times. Even for a group that runs as efficiently as HOPE on a shoe-string budget, that effort takes money.

Richard O’Brien, Secretary-Treasurer for the Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of North Carolina, has written a letter urging our member unions and individuals in the community to dig deep and continue to fund this vital effort to repeal the Jim Crow law that bans bargaining for public employees:

Now is not the time to slack off, as HOPE has been securing more and more legislators who support the repeal.

This is where we need YOUR help! Our larger contributors have not been able to help out in the way that they would like to be able to contribute. So rather than having a few large contributors, HOPE is counting on numerous individuals like you to make smaller donations of $10, $15, or $20.

Read More >>

Richard Burr is slick with oil contributions

A coalition including the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, SEIU, and veterans group VoteVets.org has launched a new ad slamming Republican Senator Richard Burr for siding with Big Oil companies and against the American people. Senator Burr has taken over $426 thousand from Big Oil and Gas to fuel his campaign for reelection so he can spend six more years in Washington, DC, protecting corporate interests:

Instead of doing the bidding of oil companies and voting to exempt them from their responsibility under the law to clean up the way they do business, our senator should side with the people of North Carolina and support legislation to end our country’s addiction to foreign oil and create the clean energy jobs of the future.

Drivers want independence from cab companies

Cab drivers in Charlotte are protesting city laws requiring all cab operators to be registered with a local cab company. On June 18, dozens gathered outside city hall to draw attention to their fight for independence. Teamsters Local 71 organized the protest to highlight the need to change the way the cab business does business in the Queen City.

The cab drivers want Charlotte to adopt rules similar to other large cities, like New York, where cab drivers are independently self-employed.

Current law is a sweet-heart deal for cab companies, which get to take a large cut of what drivers earn just to act as a registrar. Instead of lining the pockets of company owners, protesting drivers told local NBC affiliate WCNC / NewsChannel 36 they need that money for their families:

“I have three kids. I have so many bills to pay, and I have to pay, every month, more than $1,300 to them,” said cab driver Abdul Cali. “They don’t provide me anything and my job is not secure enough.”

Watch video coverage of the protest:

City to study the issue

Following the protest, the cab drivers took their message into the City Council meeting, where the Council took the first steps toward changing the law by assigning their issues to a committee. You can view the Council proceedings online; the cab drivers’ presentation begins at about 44′ 45″.

Corporate greed has a new poster child

The very profitable food & beverage company, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) and its President and CEO, Larry Young, apparently are trying to win the race for greediest corporation.

DPS made $555 million in net profit for 2009, has profited each of the last five years, and leads the industry in profitability. In just three years on the job, the CEO’s salary has more than doubled while other executives have taken bonuses and pay increases of their own.

How has DPS rewarded the workers at its Mott’s facility in Williamson, NY for its stellar success? By demanding outrageous wage cuts and other concessions, says RWDSU/UFCW Local 220:

“The company admitted there was no financial need for the cuts and concessions. Instead, the company wanted to take advantage of high unemployment in the area. The company told the union that the workers should think of themselves as a “commodity” like “soybeans or oil.” When the supply goes up, the price should go down. And regardless of how profitable and productive the workers have been – and how profitable the company has been – the workers should be paid less.”

Company is breaking the law

On May 23, 2010, DPS imposed its “last, best and final offer” even though the parties had not reached a bargaining impasse. Workers were hit with a $1.50 an hour across the board wage cut, elimination of their pension, and a 20% cut in the company’s 401k match. The union has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, and the employees have gone out on strike to protest their treatment at the hands of DPS.

You can show solidarity with Mott’s workers, who are asking for our support:

• Follow them on Facebook and learn more at www.mottsworkers.com.
• Publicize this struggle within your own union and personal networks.
• Write or fax a letter to DPS President & CEO Larry Young at:
  5301 Legacy Drive
  Plano, TX 75024
  (972) 673-7976 fax (send a copy to 212-779-2809)
• Contribute to the “RDWSU Mott’s Hardship Fund”
  RWDSU/UFCW
  30 E. 29th Street
  New York, NY 10016

The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group is doing what it thinks it can get away with – breaking the law and treating its workers no better than commodities. Don’t let them get away with it. Mott’s workers are striking to take a stand, not just for themselves, but for all of us. The NC State AFL-CIO is proud to stand with them. We hope you will, too.

A chart back to reality

Deficit peacocks – like our own Republican Senator, Richard Burr – succeeded in killing legislation to extend unemployment insurance, COBRA subsidies, and aid to the states to avoid massive layoffs. Their victory is a loss for workers and working families struggling to cope with layoffs and long-term unemployment inflicted upon them through no fault of their own.

Well here’s a reality check that even phony deficit hawks like Burr cannot ignore. They like to pretend that deficits magically appeared in January 2009. This chart shows the economic and military policies of the Bush Administration and the Republican controlled Congress who authorized them are to blame for the dismal long-term outlook of our federal budget, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

The Bush Tax Cuts for the rich are the number one driver of long-term deficits; stimulus spending is but a sliver.

Our emergency is unemployment, not deficits

The number one priority of every elected official should be creating jobs and preventing the collapse of the job market – there are 5 people out of work for every 1 job opening – from undermining economic recovery. Economists agree that the best use of federal dollars in sustaining that recovery is extending unemployment insurance, the only source of income for millions of Americans who even without jobs still need to buy gas and groceries, pay their rent and utility bills. As soon as that money comes in, it’s out the door stimulating the local economy.

The two best solutions to long-term budget deficits are to get people back to work and let Bush’s ill-conceived tax cuts for the super rich expire. The next time you hear someone say President Obama’s reckless spending is bankrupting our country, show them this chart back to reality.

Don’t Let Corporate Money Control the Labor Commissioner’s Race

We are extremely disappointed that the Senate Judiciary Committee voted this week to amend House Bill 961 by gutting it of all language relating to campaign finance reform.

HB 961 would have expanded public financing to several Council of State races, including the one for labor commissioner. The money to pay for the campaigns would have been raised by imposing relatively modest new fees on the businesses and firms regulated by the elected offices involved – attorney general, state treasurer, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner and secretary of state.

Call or email senators on the Judiciary Committee before Tuesday and tell them you want public financing for Council of State races and you want it before they adjourn for the year – not later, not next year, but NOW. Let them know this is an issue that you will remember when you vote in November.

• Chair, Sen. Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr., 919-715-3001, Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net
• Vice Chair, Sen. R. C. Soles, Jr., 919-733-5963, RC.Soles@ncleg.net
• Vice Chair, Sen. Daniel G. Clodfelter, 919-715-8331, Daniel.Clodfelter@ncleg.net
• Vice Chair, Sen. Peter S. Brunstetter, 919-733-7850, Peter.Brunstetter@ncleg.net
• Vice Chair, Sen. Josh Stein, 919-715-6400, Josh.Stein@ncleg.net
• Members:
  Sen. Charles W. Albertson, 919-733-5705, Charlie.Albertson@ncleg.net
  Sen. Philip E. Berger, 919-733-5708, Phil.Berger@ncleg.net
  Sen. Dan Blue, 919-733-5752, Dan.Blue@ncleg.net
  Sen. Margaret Highsmith Dickson, 733-5776, Margaret.Dickson@ncleg.net
  Sen. David W. Hoyle, 919-733-5734, David.Hoyle@ncleg.net
  Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird, 919-733-5804, Ellie.Kinnaird@ncleg.net
  Sen. Floyd B. McKissick, Jr., 919-733-4599, Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net
  Sen. David Rouzer, 919-733-5748, David.Rouzer@ncleg.net
  Sen. Andrew C. Brock, 919-715-0690, Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net
  Sen. Harry Brown, 919-715-3034, Harry.Brown@ncleg.net
  Sen. Debbie A. Clary, 919-715-3038, Debbie.Clary@ncleg.net
  Sen. Malcolm Graham, 919-733-5650, Malcolm.Graham@ncleg.net
  Sen. Clark Jenkins, 919-715-3040, Clark.Jenkins@ncleg.net
  Sen. Richard Stevens, 919-733-5653, Richard.Stevens@ncleg.net
  Sen. Jerry W. Tillman, 919-733-5870, Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net

This is about whether we can have a state council of elected officials controlled by multi-national corporations and the businesses they are supposed to regulate or have a government of, by, and for the people.

As struggle continues, “Stay on the wall”

On Tuesday, June 15, 2010, supporters of public employees rallied outside the North Carolina General Assembly before lobbying lawmakers to repeal the ban on collective bargaining by public employees – GS95-98 – a Jim Crow law passed in 1959 that’s still on the books.

The event was organized by the North Carolina Hear Our Public Employees (HOPE) Coalition. About 200 trade unionists, community, and civil rights activists traveled to our state’s capital to press for repeal of the law that makes North Carolina one of only two states to forbid public employees from engaging in what is an internationally recognized right to bargain with your employer.

The day-long event began with an orientation session at the State Archives building, where NC State AFL-CIO President, James Andrews, urged supporters of HOPE to not give up this fight for freedom:

“The message is to you – and it’s a biblical term some of you folks know – ‘Stay on the wall. Don’t get off the wall’ – because I am convinced that the right of public workers in this state to gain collective bargaining will happen in North Carolina.” Watch the video:

Speaking truth to power in a powerful way

After orientation, HOPE supporters converged on the Mall across from the Legislative Building where the General Assembly meets to speak out for the rights of workers. There they heard several powerful messages, beginning with a speech by NC NAACP President, Rev. William Barber. Here are a few highlights from his remarks:

“The Civil Rights Movement and the Labor Movement are two movements headed in the same direction, and we will always be joined together.”

“Environmentalists and civil rights people and labor folk and folks who care about education come to those positions from the same basic moral framework: that we must have a society that works for everybody and especially those on the margins and those who do the hardest work.”

“This law [G.S. 95-98] is a Jim Crow law, one of the last active Jim Crow laws, and it needs to be repealed from our state law.”

“People talk about the dignity of work, but work alone is not dignified. Slavery was a form of work, but there was no dignity in that. [...] Work is only dignified when workers are protected, when there’s a living wage, when there’s safety, when there’s collective bargaining, when there’s labor rights.”

Watch Rev. Barber’s speech to at Lobby for HOPE rally: Part 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Ed Duffield is a firefighter of 24-years in Winston-Salem, NC. “I’m here to talk about having a seat at the table.” Firefighters’ number one priority is protecting the safety of the public and their members. They want the ability to talk about workplace issues “intelligently” with their employers, “and with collective bargaining, we’ll have the opportunity to do that.” Watch the video:

“Without the progress of women, there can be and will be no progress,” said Michelle Cotton Laws, a community activist, president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP, and Indy Weekly’s 2009 Person of the Year. Women make up 47% of the state workforce and 91% of teachers. In refusing to give these women a seat at the table, Michelle said, lawmakers “are talking about dismantling the strength of our families and communities.”

“We’re hear to say to the members of the General Assembly and the cabinet, ‘If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside-down, all alone, you ought to let us back at the table to collectively bargain and turn it right-side-up.” Watch the video:

We’ll have more to add to our collection of videos and pictures from Lobby for HOPE 2010 in the coming days, but you can watch these and more at our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/aflcionc.

UPDATE: Press Clips from Lobby Day

Thanks to HOPE staff person, Chelsea Earles, for compiling this list of press clips from the June 15 Lobby Day:

• http://www.reflector.com/state-news/tuesday-nc-general-assembly-38522
• http://groups.google.com/group/official-correspondence/browse_thread/thread/a33c42a646eecdfc?pli=1
• http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=node/541
• http://hamptonroads.com/2010/06/group-lobbies-end-nc-government-bargaining-ban
• http://www.theherald-nc.com/2010/06/16/14784/bill-would-allow-unions.html
• http://wlos.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.nc/210be66b-www.wlos.com.shtml
• http://www.kinston.com/articles/coalition-66138-kfpress-bargaining-workers.html
• http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/3564aaa8dd164dcc8a5005ebb005893a/NC-XGR–Collective_Bargaining/ (IN)
• http://www.gastongazette.com/news/ban-48254-unions-government.html
• http://www.civitasreview.com/miscellaneous/the-audacity-of-h-o-p-e/
• http://www.gearino.com/
• http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Tuesday-at-the-NC-General-Assembly-524962.php

It takes a Senate of millionaires to hold us back

Outrageous. Stunningly callous. Business as usual for the minority party in our dysfunctional Senate.

All of these are ways to describe the Republican-led effort to filibuster – repeatedly – and successfully kill a jobs bill, aid to the states, and extensions of vital unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits.

Senator Richard Burr voted with his party against Democratic efforts to pass anything – even a bill vastly paired down from the comprehensive jobs bill the House already approved.

Arthur Delaney at the Huffington Post reports on the doomed effort of Senate Democrats to appease deficit peacocks:

“But after jettisoning several provisions to help the old, the poor and the jobless, reducing the bill’s ten-year deficit impact down from $134 billion to just $33 billion, the bill is still sinking. Not a single Republican is willing to lend support and Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson is still holding out, leaving Democrats two votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster.”

On June 1, extended unemployment insurance for 1.2 million Americans expired. The bill Senate Democrats tried to pass would have extended those benefits through the end of the year. Subsidies of COBRA benefits – the only way workers can keep health insurance after losing their jobs – also expired. Aid to states to avoid massive teacher layoffs beginning July 1 – up to 900,000 jobs – also failed.

From Mike Hall, reporting for AFL-CIO Now Blog:

The Republican blockade means about 250,000 unemployed workers a week lose their benefits, which averages around $300 a week, while Republican lawmakers take in a nifty $3,346.16 a week of taxpayers’ money.

Maybe if they spent a few months out of work in an economy where the unemployment rate is near 10 percent, at least 15 million people are out of work and 6.8 million people have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, they wouldn’t be so cavalier in calling for “tough love” for the unemployed and telling them they’re just not looking hard for work.

Seventy-three years later, history repeats itself

In 1937, Republicans in Congress convinced President Franklin Roosevelt to stop spending to reduce unemployment and instead focus on balancing the budget. The result was the so-called “Roosevelt Recession” when unemployment doubled.

David Welna of National Public Radio covered the historical perspective this morning:

Many economists agree that government spending – even with borrowed money – gives a boost to the overall economy, especially one battered by the worst recession in most peoples’ lifetime.

“The Depression, as bad as it was, would have been much worse without the government spending,” says Alan Brinkley, a historian of the Depression at Columbia University. “And the 1937 effort to balance the budget – I think almost every economist would agree – was a catastrophe.”

Killing jobs to defend the super rich

The jobs bill that Republicans killed in the Senate would have cost $3.5 billion a year over the next decade. As noted here, our tax system currently subsidizes the incomes of the richest 400 individuals to the tune of $18 billion every year.

Tula Connell breaks it down at the AFL-CIO Now Blog

So, in short: Republicans in Congress are out of touch with the American people and are working with the growing group of millionaires – like coal mine owner Don Blankenship of Massey Energy Co. and BP CEO Tony Hayward – to ride roughshod over those whose sweat and hard work built this nation.

When you hear Republican Senators like Richard Burr crow about how reducing the deficit is more important than passing legislation to provide a paltry $300 a week in unemployment insurance to laid-off workers, many of whom have been out of work more than a year, he’s telling you all you need to know about Republican priorities for our country:

“Let them eat cake.”

Union makes significant Victory Fund donation

North Carolina State AFL-CIO President, James Andrews, was in Washington, DC earlier this week, attending the national convention of the Office and Professional Employees International Union. Andrews is a member of ITPE-OPEIU Local 4873. He was invited to address the delegates of the 25th OPEIU Convention.

At the convention, Andrews applauded OPEIU’s mission to organize internal members – those already covered by a collective bargaining agreement but who are not members of the union. OPEIU President, Michael Goodwin, has had success with new strategies to encourage these employees to sign up.

Andrews also spoke about the opportunities having a worker-friendly president in the White House presents, but told delegates, “It’s up to us to keep organizing, as well as to hold our elected officials accountable to the working people of our nations.”

At the conclusion of his address, OPEIU presented a generous $15,000 donation to the North Carolina State AFL-CIO, money that will go to our Victory Fund to support our 2010 political program to mobilize members to elect and retain worker-friendly candidates at the federal, state, and local level.

Top tax rates plummet even as incomes ‘skyrocket’

The world has turned upside down. Over the past few decades, if you were among the richest 400 taxpayers in the United States, the more money you made, the less you paid in taxes. That’s the finding of a new report issued by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

The top 400 households paid 16.6 percent of their income in federal individual income taxes in 2007, down from 30 percent in 1995. This decline works out to a tax cut of $46 million per filer in 2007, or a total of $18 billion in tax cuts for these households per year.

That’s serious money not available to spend on creating jobs, extending unemployment benefits, providing public education, fixing our broken infrastructure, or transitioning to a clean energy economy.

System rigged to benefit insanely rich

The reason for the decline in the effective tax rate is the top 400 filers earn most of their money (66%) from capital gains and stock dividends – income taxed at 15%, less than half the tax paid on ordinary income. The Republican controlled Congress slashed capital gains taxes in 1997 and again in 2003. The tax on capital gains is now almost half what it was under Ronald Reagan (28%).

The rich are getting richer, too. During the last economic expansion from 2002 to 2007, two-thirds of the wealth generated went to 1% of the population. Even as the incomes of the super rich exploded, they paid less in taxes than teachers, fire fighters, or doctors. In fact, the top 400 filers actually made more after taxes:

Because of the steep reduction in effective tax rates for the top 400 households, their after-tax incomes grew even faster than their pre-tax incomes. Between 1992 and 2007, their average income after federal income taxes increased by 475 percent.

The next time you hear a candidate for U.S. Senate claim we can’t afford to extend unemployment benefits, COBRA subsidies, or provide aid to cash-strapped states to avoid draconian cuts to education and other public services, think of the 400 richest Americans – in a nation of 300 million – whose income we subsidize every year to the tune of $18 BILLION.

Click here to read the full report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Putting “We the People” back in control of our politics

NC Voters for Clean Elections, a coalition working to advance citizen-funded, voter-owned elections will hold a lobby day at the General Assembly June 22. The NC AFL-CIO supports the work of the NC Voters for Clean Elections because we believe public campaign financing would make it easier for regular citizens – as opposed to special interests with deep pockets – to impact policies that ensure every North Carolinian has a decent quality of life.

What: Voter Owned Elections Lobby Day
When: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 starting at 9:00 AM
Where: State Legislative Building, 16 W Jones Street, Raleigh, NC

Click here to register to attend lobby day!

Special keynote address by Lawrence Lessig

This year NCVCE will present Professor Larry Lessig as the keynote speaker at Lobby Day. Lessig is a Professor of Law at Harvard University and a frequent national commentator on the growing influence of special interests in our political system. He is currently the Director of Harvard’s Edward J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics where he studies institutional corruption. To get more of an idea about his work, you can read his recent article, “How to Get Our Democracy Back,” published in the Nation, or view a selection of his famous, rapid fire presentations (seriously, you’ll be stunned).

Lessig will speak in the Legislative Auditorium from 11 AM – noon, followed by free lunch for lobby day participants from 12 noon – 1 PM. Click here to register.

Two bills in the General Assembly need our support

There are two bills on the coalition’s legislative agenda that would push reform forward in North Carolina. The first would expand our successful Council of State program to additional statewide races where there is an awkward reliance on money from regulated industries (e.g. State Treasurer, Commissioner of Labor). The second would allow municipalities to create local public financing programs. Both bills help break the fundraising dependencies that have led to state ethics scandals. Both would make state elections more accessible to average voters and grassroots-oriented candidates.

But legislators won’t act unless they hear from you! Click here to register.

The event is being sponsored by the state campaign reform coalition, NC Voters for Clean Elections.  Their partners include the League of Women Voters, Democracy North Carolina, the NC Center for Voter Education, Common Cause NC, AARP-NC, the NC Council of Churches, the AFL-CIO of NC, the NAACP of NC, the NC Association of Educators, and the NC Justice Center. For a full list of partners click here.

The NC State AFL-CIO is proud to stand with NC Voters for Clean Elections to expand sensible campaign finance reform and put “We the People” back in charge of our politics in North Carolina.

For more information, including the schedule, parking, and directions, visit http://www.ncvce.org/.

Shocking report by ITUC is chilling

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has released its 2010 Annual Survey, and the results are a moral outrage:

“The ITUC’s Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights has documented a dramatic increase in the number of trade unionists murdered in 2009, with 101 killings – an increase of 30% over the previous year. The Survey, released today, also reveals growing pressure on fundamental workers’ rights around the world as the impact of the global economic crisis on employment deepened.”

Watch the (shocking) survey video and share it with your networks:

The ITUC recorded “an extensive list of violations suffered by trade unionists struggling to defend workers’ interests, this time in 140 countries.” Beyond beatings and 101 murders documented by the ITUC, trade unionists have been targeted other ways and in more countries than ever:

“A further ten attempted murders and 35 serious death threats were recorded, again mostly in Colombia and Guatemala. Furthermore, many trade unionists remained in prison and were joined by around hundred newly imprisoned in 2009. Many others were arrested in Iran, Honduras, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey and Zimbabwe in particular. The general trade union rights’ situation has continued to deteriorate in a number of other countries, including Egypt, the Russian Federation, South Korea and Turkey.”

For more information about the 2010 Annual Survey:

• To read the survey in full
• To see the survey video
• To see the Multimedia page of the Report
• To read the press release on Africa
• To read the press release on Asia and Pacific
• To read the press release on Europe
• To read the press release on Middle East
• To read the press release on the Americas

Support public employees

Join us on Lobby Day, Tuesday, June 15. Come to Raleigh and lobby the General Assembly to repeal the ban on collective bargaining and give state agencies and localities the option to negotiate a contract with their employees. Help make sure all employees in North Carolina – private and public – have the right to a voice at work.

What: Collective Bargaining Lobby Day
When: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 starting at 9:00 AM
Where: State Archives auditorium, 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh, NC

RSVP for Lobby Day by sending a message to info@nchope.org.

Virtual Lobby Day is happening now

Can’t be in Raleigh on Tuesday? You can still support our efforts by calling and emailing your state representative and senator. Click here to find your legislators. Tell them you support the repeal of the bargaining ban because:

• Public employees make NC work. Our quality of life depends on them.
• Public employees should not have less rights on the job than workers at McDonalds or Walmart.
• Public employees can help balance state and local budgets and collective bargaining would give them a seat at the table and a voice in how to do it.
• Repealing the ban would empower state agencies and local leaders to decide for themselves whether to bargain with employees.
• Ending a Jim Crow injustice matters even today, 51 years after the ban sought to prevent whites and non-whites from working together on the job.

Download the flyer (opens PDF) for Collective Bargaining Lobby Day and promote this event within your networks.

Has your local union or council picked its students yet?

The 2010 session of our summer labor school will run Sunday, July 11 through Friday, July 16. Join us for six days and five nights of learning, movement building, and fun on the campus of UNC Wilmington. Click here for the call letter, flyer, and registration form (PDF). Read more.

New record set: 77.1 million pounds

Postal customers and their letter carriers rallied to the cause of fighting hunger in a big way last month. The results of the 2010 “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive exceeded the record haul of last year by almost 4 million pounds – for a total of 77.1 million pounds of food donated.

The AFL-CIO Blog has the story:

Since 1993, the NALC food drive has collected more than 1 billion pounds of food – 1,059,800 pounds – to help feed hungry families.

NALC President Fredric Rolando praised postal customers’ generous donations and the NALC and other union members and volunteers’ work on the nation’s largest one-day effort to combat hunger.

“Despite the lingering effects of the recession, postal customers came through again this year in the continuing fight against hunger in America. Our members and the thousands of rural letter carriers and other volunteers were proud to deliver the generous donations from millions of caring citizens who wanted to help needy families in their communities.”

Thanks to all our readers who supported the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Food Drive and special thanks to the Letter Carriers for continuing to deliver for the hungry in this country. For more information, visit http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/.

City set to short change local heroes

Firefighters in Greensboro are facing the indefinite loss of pay raises if the city manager’s budget proposal is adopted by council. Longevity pay, a 1% raise for every 5 years of service up to 5% max, would be frozen for all city employees.  For the average firefighter who already earns less in total compensation than other city employees, the city’s plan to do away with longevity raises would mean a loss of $350 in pay annually, Chief Gregory Grayson told WFMY News 2:

“Our folks are motivated by the need to serve and want to help people primarily,” said Grayson. “But they also have bills to pay and families to support.”

WFMY reports that “firefighters have already gone two or three years without pay raises.” Watch the video:

Firefighters are among the first responders whom lives and property depend on during an emergency. They are dedicated public servants who are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to save others.  The least the City of Greensboro can do is honor the promise it made to these workers when it hired them – reward those who stick with the job and not take away their longevity pay.

Update: Firefighters lost

At their Tuesday, June 8 meeting, Greensboro City Council refused to put longevity pay back on the table and rejected the idea of doing a study of firefighter compensation. The pay is set to expire for all city workers on June 30.

“We were hoping the longevity would not be frozen, and also for the compensation study,” Greensboro firefighter and IAFF Local 947 member, Dave Coker, told WFMY News 2. “It’s just disappointing.”

“We’re just going to keep pushing on tomorrow, tonight. We’re going to put our turnout boots on the same way. We’re going to get on the rig the same way. And we’re going to give the citizens the world-class service they deserve regardless of whether we got this or whether we didn’t.”

Having voted for CAFTA, Burr touts jobs in area devastated by free trade

Republican Senator Richard Burr toured Northeast North Carolina on Wednesday, stopping in Edenton in Chowan County to tout jobs at the Colony Tire Plant and burnish his credentials with rural North Carolina voters.

What’s the big deal with Burr taking his “broken promises” tour to Edenton, NC?

Five years ago, George C. Moore Co. closed the doors on a textile and dye plant that had been open since the 1960s, and 200 North Carolinians lost their jobs in the process. Where did the jobs go? Central America.

Read about the plant closure in a 2005 article published in the Herald Sun (opens PDF).

Richard Burr made such a move possible, having voted twice to pass the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), despite promising not to support the free trade giveaway to Big Business during his 2004 election campaign. CAFTA eliminated tariffs on exports from Central America to the United States, which meant George C. Moore Co. could produce the same goods there and sell them here without having to pay higher wages to employ Americans.

Richard Burr has been a strong advocate for bad trade deals, deals which have cost over 5 million U.S. manufacturing jobs – over 372,300 in North Carolina alone – since NAFTA.

VIDEO: Connecting the dots

“No jobs. No future.” That was one of the slogans chanted at the March on Wall St. The fight for jobs is the fight for our future. Everything depends on creating jobs – repairing the housing crisis, boosting consumer confidence, avoiding long-term budget crises, and closing current holes in state and local budgets.

The people who started the financial crisis of 2008 – Wall Street bankers – are responsible for the loss of 11 million jobs in this country. It’s only right they pay for the programs necessary to create jobs.

In this video, AFL-CIO Policy Director Damon Silvers explains what we mean when we say: Good Jobs Now, Make Wall Street Pay, with an introduction by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

Watch the video:

This video is perfect for showing at your next union or council meeting. Please share it.

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