North Carolina’s Union Movement

Four days and counting down to Turn Around America! Can you think of anything scarier than forgetting to vote in this election?

Record turnout continues. As of yesterday, 2 million people have voted early in North Carolina. That’s more than half the number of all votes cast in 2004!

For the first time ever, North Carolina voters can register to vote and vote in just one-stop at early voting locations in every county.

Vote today and volunteer for GOTV on Nov. 4

Early voting ends Saturday, so there’s still time for you to exercise the franchise and free up time on Election Day to Get Out The Vote!

Contact AFL-CIO State Political Director Carlos Carrillo at (919) 833-6678 or ccarrill@aflcio.org for information about volunteering.

Sen. John McCain continues to trot out his favorite political prop and substitute for actually addressing the concerns of middle class voters - Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher.

It turns out at Wurzelbacher isn’t even a licensed plumber, makes far less than $250 thousand, and is a member of a non-union trade group that has endorsed John McCain.

We’d like to introduce you to some real, licensed and trained professional Plumber Joes:

• Joe “the Plumber” Vicena, UA Local 75
• Joe “the Plumber” Martinez, UA Local 3
• Joe “the Plumber” Tatum, UA Local 10
• Joe “the Plumber” Gutzwiller, UA Local 440

The Associated Press and News & Observer are reporting that the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Smithfield foods have reached a settlement in the company’s lawsuit to end the union’s community outreach campaign, Justice @ Smithfield.

Election agreed to for Tar Heel plant

Since the Tar Heel plant opened in 1992, the UFCW has tried to organize workers in two elections - in 1994 and 1997. As part of the settlement, the union and company have agreed to a third election, likely to be held later this year.

For more information, read the about the settlement and the upcoming election.

In a stunning dose of straight-talk to CNN, senior McCain campaign economic policy advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin admits employer-based coverage is superior than anything you could buy for yourself with McCain’s $5,000 tax credit:

“What [workers] are getting from their employer is way better than what they could get with the credit.”

There’s more from the AFL-CIO Blog:

As Newsweek economics correspondent Jane Bryant Quinn points out, a $5,000 tax credit in the McCain plan falls far short of the cost to replace most workers’ employer-provided coverage, especially for older workers who could face annual premium costs of $12,000 or more.

Just yesterday we told readers about new reports that show McCain’s health plan would cost 608,559 North Carolina residents their coverage - leaving them to find individual insurance on the private market.

Would veto “in a New York minute”

Today, speaking to CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, McCain made clear once again his anti-worker, anti-union outlook:

I will do everything in my power to block such legislation. And imagine, Sen. Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid pushing the union agenda, it would be very, very, very unfortunate.

From the AFL-CIO Blog:

Let’s see. Along with the freedom to form unions, what other “very, very, very unfortunate” items are on the “union agenda“?

There’s quality, affordable health care for all and we can’t forget good jobs with good wages.

Then there’s retirement security and quality public education and affordable higher education.

How about fair trade agreements that don’t ship U.S. jobs overseas and trade agreements that protect workers’ rights and the environment?

Who exactly does John McCain think will find this agenda so unfortunate?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that as of Monday, October 27, 1.2 million voters have cast their ballots in North Carolina during One-Stop Early Voting.

Have you voted yet?

From now until Saturday, November 1, you can register to vote and cast your ballot to Turn Around America at one-stop voting locations across North Carolina.

The State Board of Elections has produced a complete list of One-Stop early voting locations in every county. Click here to download the list as a PDF.

Last week, NC AFL-CIO members of Change to Win protested outside the Republican Party office in High Point, NC. The group included our board member, Lewis Dishmon, President of UNITE HERE 294T, who spoke to WXII-12 news.

Watch the video.

This is our time! Please join us in our intensive GOTV efforts to move our 100,000 union members to the polls.

Today until Monday, Nov 3rd - Phone banks
Locations: Raleigh, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington, Statesville, Dallas.

Saturday, Nov 1st - Walking for Change
Locations: Raleigh, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Charlotte, Wilmington, Asheville.

Tuesday, Nov 4th - Massive GOTV efforts
Locations: Raleigh, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Charlotte, Wilmington, Asheville.

For information re times and locations call Carlos Carrillo @ 919-833-6678 or email ccarrill@aflcio.org

Questions to ask yourself about McCain’s health plan

Do you know the truth about McCain’s health care plan?

Do you know that McCain’s plan will tax your healthcare benefits just like income?

Do you know that under the McCain plan, 608,559 North Carolina residents would lose employer-sponsored health insurance?

The web site Insurance Company Rules for All has startling answers to questions about what kind of health care system John McCain is proposing for America:

Two new reports from the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Economic Policy Institute found that 608,559 North Carolina residents, 12.9% of people with employer-sponsored coverage, would lose their job-related health benefits under the McCain health care plan.

If your employer pays $12,000 a year for you to buy health insurance through work, not only would McCain’s health care plan make you pay income tax on that amount (in addition to the tax you pay on your actual income) - your employer’s payroll taxes will also go up.

Employers will be left with a choice: pay higher taxes or stop offering health insurance through work. Which do you think they’re going to choose?

When you no longer have group health insurance, try getting individual coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. It’s not going to happen because McCain’s plan leaves insurance companies free to deny coverage to people with any pre-existing condition.

Read the full North Carolina report (PDF) and compare the candidates health care plans.

Local 5287 defeats decertification by wide margin

With so much time and energy focused on our campaign to Turn Around America, there’s important news on the solidarity front in North Carolina’s union movement.

Good news from High Point - workers at Thomas Built Buses voted overwhelmingly to keep their union, defeating a decertification campaign launched by National Right to Work - 67 percent to 33 percent.

UAW has the full story on its web site.

• Virginia ground war
• Veterans show waning support for McCain
• Women in trades want their issues addressed
• Mailed ads have become mostly negative, experts say
• Mailings take a direct approach
• Be prepared, labor group tells voters
• Voters blasted by variety of radio ads
• Hillary to 2,000 in West Palm Beach: ‘close the deal’ for Obama
• In W. Va., lingering doubts about Obama
• Obama wages ‘uphill battle’ to wrest West Virginia from McCain
• Democrats in steel country see color, and beyond it
• Ground game (click “full episode”)
• Conservative PAC brings stop Obama tour to Michigan
• Candidates, AFL-CIO sponsor working families rally
• Kentucky emerges as surprise Senate battleground
• Union gives $500,000 to pro-slots group
• Absentee ballot requests sent by union invalid
• More buyouts will not help automakers shed more workers, Gettelfinger says
• Boeing strike: high stakes in outsourcing
• Mediator chosen in Actors Guild impasse
• House Democrats mull ideas for stimulus package
• Why we need the Employee Free Choice Act
• Support right to work
• Disastrous power grab by unions awaits
• Big labor power grab
• Unions see global rise in illegal workers due to crisis

• The unions’ battle for Obama
• AFL-CIO to focus on W.Va. this week
• Labor mobilizing massive get out the vote drive for Obama
• Groups work to educate Hispanic voters
• Blueprint for a Real Secretary of Labor (Opinion)
• Out of a job? Labor group offers advice
• On Call Exclusive: AFL-CIO Targeting WV, Dropping First Mailer
• As an Issue, Taxes Favor Obama
• Union Mail Blitz Hits McCain — In Deep Red West Virginia
• Renewed Crackdown On Illegal Immigrants
• Businesses, ACLU still upset after administration revises no match rule
• McCain brings ‘Joe the Plumber’ tour to Florida
• Collins needs to take stand for workers, unions (Opinion)
• GOP Efforts to Scrutinize Voter Registrations Make Little Headway
• Judge tosses Wis. AG’s suit demanding voter checks
• ‘Legacy Bus’ does not flatter 43
• Hollywood studios open to mediation in labor talks
• Pros and cons: Prop. 201, homeowners bill of rights

• Jobless claims increase more than expected
• AFL-CIO Voices Workers’ Needs, Concerns in Capital City
• Veterans Campaign for Obama and McCain in La Crosse
• Firefighters Target McCain, GOP Senators on Health Care
• Ad Spotlight: Firefighters Fuming Over McCain Health Plan
• Machinists union supports Obama
• Sorry, I Can’t Find Your Name (Editorial)
• House GOP leader asks Bush to cut off ACORN funds
• McCain Tries to Push Past Palin Backlash 
• Shop, baby, shop? Hockey moms aghast that GOP spent $150K to outfit Palin, even her baby
• U.S. Insurer of Pensions Has Lost $2 Billion 
• Financial crisis summit set for November 15: W.House
• GOP, eyeing House losses, pulls out of key races
• Future of manufacturing has alliance hitting streets
• Cable TV ad blasts "Privatizer" John McCain on Social Security
• Kimberly mill closing a key election issue
• Unions bankroll bid to sink Souder
• ‘Card check’ act would transform labor landscape
• Labor: The Debate Over Workers’ Rights
• Union Bill Debated as Anti-Business, Pro-Middle Class
• PROP. 201: Backers seek help for buyers; industry fears more lawsuits
• Duel lives on in "right to work" fight
• Freedom Lost? Critics Say Controversial ‘Card Check’ Amendment Should Be ‘Forced Choice Act’
• There May be a 401 (Not OK) in Your Future (Opinion)
• Fight over unionizing takes to TV
• Boeing Strikers Dig In Heels Even as Economy Turns Sour (Hard Clip)

• Election could help fulfill union dream, management nightmare
• Battle Intensifies Over Bill to Expedite Union Organizing
• McCain casts himself as middle-class guardian
• Layoffs spreading across corporate America
• The View From Ohio
• Court Ruling Stokes Voter-Fraud Fight
• Nearly 1000 march in Detroit to support workers rights
• Metro Detroit union members protest NLRB and rally for Obama
• Union members rally against Bush labor policies
• Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president
• Economic Downturn Sidelines Donors to ‘527′ Groups
• Union rally forges support for Obama
• Voters allege ballot trouble
• Valley strike gaining national attention (video clip)
• AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer joins picket, offers support to locked out Heartland workers
• National union leader to picket lockout
• Alabama unions, business leaders on opposite sides of labor bill
• Plain Dealer Endorses Obama for President (Opinon)
• The Real Plumbers of Ohio (Opinion)
• Ongoing Boeing Strike Poses Threat to Industry
• Palin: Obama experimenting with ’socialism’

• Richard Trumka (video clip)
• Big labor targets undecided retirees
• AFL-CIO Mail Blitz Hammers McCain As "A Disaster For Retirees"
• AFL-CIO Blitzes Retirees
• Bernanke Proposes More Government Stimulus, Wall Street Bites
• Financial issues steal show on campaign trail
• McCain says his campaign is focused on the economy 
• President of Wisconsin AFL-CIO outlines labor’s agenda
• McConnell blames tight race on left
• ‘It’s Not About Race’
• Opposing Views: Which Candidate is Better for the Economy?
• More machines added to handle early-voting crowds
• An eroding model for health insurance
• Boeing, Machinists to Resume Talks
• Tentative agreement reached in UC labor dispute
• SAG, AFTRA join forces for ad talks
• The Real Scandal (Opinion)
• Amendment 47 would weaken unions that workers need desperately now (Opinion)
• Labor unions’ contributions (Letter to the Editor)
• Will Obama Change NAFTA?
• Our Endorsement: No on Prop. 201 (Editorial)
• Get candidates’ stand on ‘Free Choice Act’ (Letter to the Editor)
• U.S. Labor Department seeks ouster of L.A. union officers

• AFL-CIO kicks off largest Get Out The Vote effort ever
• Safeguard your precious voting right (Linda Chavez Thompson Op-Ed)
• Firefighters Whack McCain for Taxing Benefits
• Toward a more perfect union
• Obama Turnout Priority in Labor’s Bid to Revive Political Clout 
• A.F.L.-C.I.O. Targets Seniors
• Labor’s Boots on the Ground
• AFL-CIO floods battlegrounds with volunteers, flyers
• Dem rep hears from workers dissatisfied with conditions
• Union members travel the state for Democratic candidates
• AFL-CIO Official In Jackson Tuesday
• Jobless trends trouble state labor chief
• Jobs focus of two events
• Job protection gets critical: Labor leader keys on health care, trade in downturn
• AFL-CIO Vows To Mount Enormous Get Out The Vote Operation
• Big Labor Robocall: ‘John McCain Has Gotten Us Into This Economic Crisis’
• Labor group ramps up big get-out-the-vote effort
• AFL-CIO 14 Day Sprint
• AFL-CIO Targets West Virginia for Obama
• Michigan, used to being wooed, is now lonely
• Granholm stumps for Obama in Florida
• Workers are subject to pressure from both sides (Letter to the Editor)
• Call for open discussion
• Homeowner ‘rights bill’ foes predict lawsuit surge
• Ads distort the facts on Amendments 47 and 49 (Editorial)
• It’s the ‘L’ word, not the ‘N’ word (Editorial)
• A more imperfect union
• ‘Card check’ ads bypassing Nevada
• U.S. Chamber ad on unions features Londrigan scuffle

2008 C.O.P.E. Endorsements for N.C.

The AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education has endorsed the following candidates for federal, state, and local office in North Carolina:

President / Vice President
Barack Obama
Joe Biden

U.S. Senate
Kay Hagan

U.S. House
by district:

1. G.K. Butterfield
2. Bob Etheridge
3. -
4. David Price
5. Roy Carter
6. -
7. Mike McIntyre
8. Larry Kissell
9. Harry Taylor
10. Daniel Johnson
11. Heath Shuler
12. Mel Watt
13. Brad Miller

Governor
Bev Perdue

Lt. Governor
Walter Dalton

Attorney General
Roy Cooper

Secretary of State
Elaine Marshall

State Treasurer
Janet Cowell

Labor Commissioner
Mary Fant Donnan

State Auditor
Beth Wood

Insurance Commissioner
Wayne Goodwin

Agriculture Commissioner
Ronnie Ansley

Superintendent of Public Instruction
June St. Clair Atkinson

Supreme Court
Suzanne Reynolds

Court of Appeals
John C. Martin (Martin seat)
Jim Wynn (Wynn seat)
Kristin Ruth (Tyson seat)
Cheri Beasley (McCullough seat)
Linda Stephens (Stephens seat)
John Arrowood (Arrowood seat)

N.C. Senate, N.C. House, district court judges, and other local races - please download the full slate (in Adobe PDF) for the Central Labor Council where you live:

1. Western NC (Asheville, Hickory)
2. Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point)
3. Southern Piedmont (Charlotte, Concord)
4. Greater Sandhills (Fayetteville)
5. Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill)
6. Eastern Piedmont (Roanoke Rapids)
7. Eastern NC (New Bern, Havelock)
8. Southeastern NC (Wilmington)

Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

One-Stop polls open until Nov. 1

From now until Saturday, November 1, you can register to vote and cast your ballot to Turn Around America at one-stop voting locations across North Carolina.

The State Board of Elections has produced a complete list of One-Stop early voting locations in every county.

Click here to download the list as a PDF.

Same-day registration

For the first time ever in a presidential election, North Carolinians can register to vote and vote at the same time. Same-day registration is only available during early voting.

Here’s what you need to know to register at One-Stop voting sites:

1. Go to a One-Stop early voting site
2. Fill out a voter registration card
3. Present a proof of ID

Appropriate ID includes a N.C. driver’s license, utility bill, government issued document with name and address (ex. passport, military ID), student ID with name and address, a bank statement or bank-issued credit card statement.

National AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka spoke the truth at the national Steelworkers convention earlier this summer, saying there’s only one bad reason to vote in this election - a candidate’s skin color.

With so much at stake for workers and working families, the American Federation of Government Employees isn’t taking anything for granted either.

Listen to the new radio ad that is now airing on stations nationwide. Read the transcript below:

“I’m a union member. My name is John Gage. I’m old enough to appreciate the union movement’s contributions to civil rights, and I’m white enough to pick up on the code words of prejudice.

“In this economic crisis, every American worker should be hopping mad. Working families have been left behind like never before. Gender bias, racism, they’re not free. They have a cost, because the real issues - Wall Street, health care, jobs, Iraq, gas prices, Social Security - have serious financial consequences for all of us.

“But I’m optimistic. As union members, as Americans, we will get beyond gender bias and racism and get down to the real issues. We built the middle class, and we’re not giving it up.

“There are a hundred good reasons for how you vote this year and only one bad reason - prejudice. Let’s talk about the real issues.” — John Gage, AFGE President