Local 8183 News

Local 8183 Toy Drive - Monday, October 19, 2009
Local 8183 Teams up with Toys for Tots...
| Read More|

Health Care Update - Tuesday, October 06, 2009
An update on whats going on with Health Care Reform...
| Read More|

AFL-CIO website helps laid off workers - Tuesday, October 06, 2009
The AFL-CIO has launched a web site to help laid off and jobless workers....
| Read More|

Obama rules in favor of USW - Monday, October 05, 2009
Preident Obama rules in favor of the USW concerning China's tire imports....
| Read More|

Cooper Tire breaks ranks - Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Cooper Tire is the first of the major tire companys to come out in the favor of the Chineese goverment....
| Read More|

See All News Article

Local 8183 Events

No Events At This Time

Local 8183 Blogs

Interesting Article
By Web Wednesday, December 31, 1969

Article from Alabama that mentions Horsehead as a major enviromental polluter
[ Read More ]

Newsletters now online
By John Saunders Wednesday, December 31, 1969

Rome Union Newsletters are now online
[ Read More ]

Horsehead Restarts a Kiln
By Web Wednesday, December 31, 1969

Horsehead restarts a Kiln in Rockwood
[ Read More ]

Web Site
By Bernie Hall Wednesday, December 31, 1969

Welcome to 8183's new web site
[ Read More ]

Meal Ticket Arbitration Heard
By John Jeffers Wednesday, December 31, 1969

Meal Ticket Arbitration heard on July 9, 2009
[ Read More ]

USW Media Center

USW President Pushes for Support Against China Cheating - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard spoke last night with Ed Schultz about China’s illegal trading practices and how the Steelworkers are going to push for Congressional support to help President Obama save 1.6 million American jobs.

They talked about how President Obama’s actions to save the American auto industry showed his support for working men and women and the need to keep jobs in this country. On the other hand, Mitt Romney was willing to allow the American auto industry to fail and let those jobs go to foreign countries.

“President Obama has established an enforcement committee and given Vice President Biden what he calls the China portfolio,” said Gerard. “So this is important and this is the first President that has stood up on all of the enforcement issues that we have brought to him.”

Gerard talked about how both countries have agreed to standard operating procedures of the World Trade Organization and when a country doesn’t play by the rules, they need to be called out.

“It is like saying we all agree that the speed limit should be 60, but if China drives 85, just ignore them,” said Gerard.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

USW Vice-President Redmond Joins National Endowment for Democracy Board - Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Fred Redmond, USW International Vice President (Human Affairs), has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The NED is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. With funding from the U.S. Congress, NED supports projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries. NED is a major funder of the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, a nonprofit organization that assists workers around the world who are struggling to build democratic and independent trade unions.

Redmond is a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council and serves on its International Affairs Committee. He has traveled to Ghana, Liberia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Colombia, and Mexico on missions to promote labor rights and democracy ... more

USW Commemorates Black History Month - Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Today United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard and USW International Vice-President Fred Redmond released the following statement:

The United Steelworkers (USW) will commemorate Black History Month by honoring the sacrifices of all of the Black men and women who fought for dignity and respect in the workplace, on the bus and in all aspects of life.

In the early 20th century, Pullman Porters were an integral part of the Pullman Rail Car Company’s operations. But for decades, only Black men were hired as porters and subjected to low wages, merciless working conditions and daily humiliation because of race. They pressed on despite their circumstances and under the leadership of A. Philip Randolph organized a union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which brought about much needed improvements ... more

USW Reaches Tentative Three-Year Agreement With Oil Industry - Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The United Steelworkers (USW) is pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with Shell on a new three-year agreement, pending ratification by the union’s membership.

The USW represents 30,000 workers at 168 production, refining, marketing, transportation, pipeline and petrochemical facilities nationwide, including 69 refineries representing approximately 64 percent of US refining capacity ... more

Action Alert for USW Members in the Northeast - Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Sunoco and ConocoPhillips have arbitrarily decided to shut down three strategic oil refineries on the East Coast, all three in or near Philadelphia, Pa. All three of these refineries are USW workplaces, and if the companies follow through on their threat, 1,300 of our members will lose their jobs. Another 1,200 people, many of them members of other unions also will become unemployed. Tens of thousands more jobs will be lost. The whole community in that area will be devastated.

But this is not all. These three refineries make the majority of home heating oil, diesel fuel, and jet fuel in the region. This means consumers and homeowners just like us will be impacted all over the Northeast. If these refineries close, the home heating oil crisis next year will be much, much worse than in the recent past. Home heating oil prices could go to ridiculous highs. In some places it is possible people will not even be able to get heating oil. We do not think it is an exaggeration that people could freeze to death in their own homes if these companies get away with closing these three refineries.

USW is asking for public hearings on the refinery closures and the devastation the closures would bring.

		Click here to write a note to your two Senators and Members of Congress asking for public hearings on the refinery closures.
		Click here to send a message to your state legislators asking that they hold public hearings at the state level about the impact of these refinery closures.
		Click here to sign a petition telling Congress and your state legislators to protect Northeast citizens and keep these refineries open!

 

 

 

USW Calls for Action to Defend Domestic Auto Industry from Illegal Trade - Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

China's Predatory, Protectionist Practice the Target

Please note the links to supportive material at end

 

Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW), issued this statement today:

We're here today to issue a call to action to support and defend America's auto parts sector from China's predatory, protectionist and illegal trade practices.   This is a fight for good, family-supportive jobs and the economic vitality of communities all across this country.   It's time to stand up to China and say: enough is enough.  You've taken enough of our jobs.

The Obama Administration's leadership in combining government assistance to General Motors (GM) and Chrysler and policies like 'Cash for Clunkers' helped the auto assembly sector weather the economic crisis.   Government action, coupled with the ingenuity, dedication and hard efforts of the workers has helped stabilize and revitalize this important sector of our economy.

Unfortunately, the success of America's auto assemblers has not translated into the same level of success for the hundreds of thousands of workers directly employed making the parts and components for those companies.   As the assembly side of the industry has started to return to prosperity, employment in the parts sector has not fared as well and imports of parts - too many of them unfairly traded -- has grown exponentially ... more

USW Lauds U.S. Victory in Challenge to China's Raw Materials Export Restraints - Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The decision announced today by the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a huge victory for American workers.  In clear and unequivocal language, the WTO stated that China’s decision to limit the export of key raw materials violated the commitments China made when it joined the WTO.

“This decision is particularly important to the Steelworkers since the products China is protecting are key industrial raw materials used in the steel, aluminum and chemical industries – the industries where our members work hard and play by the rules,” said United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard.

“China’s export restraints pose a clear and present danger. They limit supplies and raise prices to foreign producers on the world market that causes real harm.   And, they act as a magnet to companies to relocate their production and sourcing to China to be able to access these key ingredients,” added Gerard ... more

The Vote is In: Vale World's Worst Corporation - Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Brazilian multinational Vale today received the 2012 Public Eye People's Choice Award for world's worst company.  The award was presented in Davos, Switzerland, where corporate chieftains and political leaders are meeting for the annual World Economic Forum.
 
Presenting the award, Nobel economics laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz called on multinational companies to go "beyond the minimum required by the law to protect the environment, to treat workers with decency and fairness, not to exploit all the advantages that asymmetries in bargaining might afford."

More than 88,000 people around the world voted in an online competition , organized by the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland, to choose the worst case of contempt for the environment and human rights.    
 
"This vote demonstrates the increasing global awareness of Vale's terrible record of destroying communities and the environment while systematically violating workers' rights," said United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard. Gerard spoke from Sudbury, Ontario, where he dedicated a new building for Steelworkers Local 6500 which represents 3,000 Vale workers.  
 
In December, the Ontario Labor Relations Board found that Vale committed unfair labor practices during a year-long strike at Sudbury. Last June 8, two workers were killed in Sudbury in an accident that is still under investigation.
 
Earlier, an Industrial Inquiry Commission appointed by the Newfoundland and Labrador government to investigate an 18-month strike at Voisey's Bay found that Vale's "behavior demonstrates disrespect for the role of a bargaining agent."
 
Vale was nominated for the Public Eye award by Justice on the Rails, a Brazilian coalition of environmental and community groups. "We owe a tremendous debt to our sisters and brothers in Brazil who continue to expose this company's destructive actions," Gerard said.

USW President Honored with Home Local Hall Naming - Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

This from the Sudbury Star in Canada: 

It was almost a first for union boss Leo Gerard.

Gerard was apparently blind-sided when it was announced Thursday that the executive and membership of United Steelworkers Local 6500 had named their new hall after the international president of their union.

That news came just before the ribbon was cut at the grand opening of the local's new headquarters at 66 Brady St.

"I guess it's almost a first. I'm almost speechless," said a teary-eyed Gerard when a cloth cover was removed from the plaque reading "Leo W. Gerard Hall," which hangs over the entrance to the main hall.

The day was a bittersweet one for Gerard, Local 6500 members and residents of the community. They were excited about the transformation of the former grocery store into a state-of-the-art hall and conference centre, but tears were also shed for the Steelworkers' Hall at 92 Frood Rd. that burned to the ground in September 2008.

Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said that hall was a place where meetings, union schools, days of mourning, children's Christmas parties and other events were held for more than 40 years.

He recalled seeing many of the people who crammed into the atrium of the new hall Thursday at the fire scene on Frood Road three and a half years ago.

Bertrand said he remembered the pain in the eyes of members, retirees and residents who watched a large piece of Sudbury history go up in smoke.

He quoted Gerard who said at the time that next to the death of a family member, the burning of the old Steel Hall was the saddest day of his life.

"So today's a new chapter for us," said Bertrand. "Today, the Steelworkers will continue that tradition to support this community and to support the membership."

He reminded guests of how USW Local 6500 has supported the community over the years, raising millions of dollars for charitable causes.

Just recently, it reached the $500,000 mark in donations from its cent an hour contribution by members to Health Sciences North's Children's Treatment Centre.

The local raised $360,000 for United Way in 2011 and $30,000 for the Edgar Burton Food Drive, and collected thousands of cans of food for the Sudbury Food Bank.

It was "altogether fitting" to name the hall after Sudbury native Gerard, who rose through the ranks as a member of the union representing production and maintenance workers to become president of an international union, said Bertrand.

Gerard recalled "all the things that went on in that (old) building and all the tough decisions that were made, and all the positive decisions that were made to benefit our community.

"One of the things that always made me love my union even more was that our union, in particular Local 6500, never, ever saw itself as just a collective bargaining tool.

"We saw ourselves as an instrument of social and economic justice for our members and for our community. And we fought for the things that mattered for working people," said Gerard.

The union doesn't want 66 Brady to be known as just its home. "We want this hall to be seen as the community's home that they can come and use and be proud of the work that we do on behalf of working people," he said.

As proud as he was to have the hall named after him, it was also humbling, said Gerard.

"There's a part of me that says I don't deserve it."

Dozens of retirees attended the opening and Bertrand insisted they enter the main hall before anyone else.

"They're the ones who fought for everything we have today," he said.

There were oohs and aahs as people poured into the hall where a musical combo was playing on the main stage and a buffet of finger foods was laid out for guests.

Mayor Marianne Matichuk attended, hugging Bertrand as she entered the hall.

Vale vice-president of mining and milling, Kelly Strong, attended the opening as did spokeswoman Angie Robson.

Greater Sudbury Police Chief Frank Elsner and Deputy Chief Al Lekun were among the guests.

Gerard called the hall one of the most beautiful in Ontario, adding: "I'm a little prejudiced now that it's mine."

Gerard, USW national director Ken Neumann and district 6 director Wayne Fraser presented Bertrand with a plaque to be hung in the hall.

"Whoever thought we could build something better than what we had at 92 Frood Rd.," said Fraser.

He said he was proud of the local for turning the hall into such a showpiece, crediting member Roger Lafontaine for spear-heading the project.

He called Local 6500 the best USW local in North America.

Neumann expressed thanks to USW retirees for giving the present- day union a solid foundation.

"You're the ones who have fought the fight," he said.

cmulligan@thesudburystar.com

Twitter @Carol_Mulligan

CLICK HERE to find the original article from the Sudbury Star

Vale competes for 'Worst Company in World;' Vote now - Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Vale is in the running for the "prize" of being named the "Worst Company in the World" by the Public Eye Awards. The prize will be awarded during the Annual World Economic Forum, that brings together corporate and government elites in Davos, Switzerland. You can vote here, to show your disgust for the way this powerful Brazilian-based company carries out its operations in 38 countries throughout the world. Behind its fabulously high profit levels and clever image control lies a sad story of union bashing, hiding workplace accidents, environmental devastation and running roughshod over local communities impacted by its mines and plants.

Vote here now to help Vale win the title of World's Worst Corporation of 2011! Voting ends January 26, 2012.

Why does Vale deserve the award for worst corporation in the world? 

A summary of some of the social, environmental, labour impacts on the traditional peoples of various enterprises of Vale in Brazil and worldwide.

 

 

USW Statement on President Obama's State of the Union Address - Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Leo W. Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) issued the following statement today on President Obama’s State of the Union Address:

“President Obama has listened to us as American workers and laid out a vision of the America we want and need, one that creates jobs and prosperity for us and not the 1% who have looted the economy.

“As a union representing workers in the manufacturing, energy and service sectors, we stand up and fight in support of the President’s ‘Blueprint for an America Built to Last.’ Strengthening American manufacturing by looking to build good jobs, green jobs and sustainable jobs with American energy, skills and values is a program for us ... more

Bain Capital Sucked the Value out of Companies - Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

In this episode, Leslie Marshall talks with Dave Foster, Executive Director of the Blue/Green Alliance and past Director of the United Steelworkers (USW). They began with a discussion about Bain Capital, which was co-founded by Mitt Romney, and how it destroyed a steel company in Kansas City, MO, caused 750 people to lose their jobs, their severance pay and parts of their health care and pensions.

Foster recalls having to deal with Bain Capital at that time. "It was a terrible story of duplicity, of greed and of pillaging."

"These were folks that stuck the straw into the value of the company, slurped it out when they had the opportunity, knew what the results were going to be, then walked away of their obligations to employees and retirees, took their $10 million in profits and went off to their new homes ..."

 

National Day of Action for Refinery Safety - Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Oil Workers engaged in a National Day of Action for Safe Refineries and Good Jobs on Saturday, January 21. Members in refinery communities around the country visited gas stations and distributed handbills to drivers on the importance of refinery safety in the ongoing round of contract negotiations. 

Actions occurred in Texas, Louisiana, Utah, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, and other locations around the country. 

Health and safety is a major issue in this round of National Oil Bargaining.

Since the last time we sat down to bargain with the oil industry three years ago, 18 oil workers have died on the job,” says Gary Beevers, the Steelworkers’ International Vice President for Oil Bargaining.  “That’s unacceptable. This time around we expect to see some real, enforceable improvements on health and safety.”

USW Endorses U.S. Rep. Mark Critz - Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The United Steelworkers (USW) today endorsed U.S. Rep. Mark Critz for re-election as the representative of southwestern Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District.

USW International President Leo W. Gerard said Critz has the endorsement of the international union, all of the USW local union presidents in the 12th Congressional District and SOAR, the union’s retiree organization.

The USW represents more than 32,000 active and retired workers in the union-dense 12th District, which encompasses all of Greene and portions of Allegheny, Armstrong, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Gerard said Critz, a former aide to the late Congressman Jack Murtha, knows the importance of manufacturing and industry and stands for industrial policies that will create good American jobs.

“He has always been there on the issues that matter to us,” Gerard said.

Critz, a Johnstown Democrat, said he was humbled by the endorsement and promised to continue to stand up for working men and women in Pennsylvania.

“I went to Congress to fight, to fight for this area … I’ve never been afraid to fight anyone when it comes to the values of working men and women, and our seniors,” he said.

“I’ve worked every day, every single day trying to create jobs back here in Western Pennsylvania and trying to uphold the values of the middle class, of working men and women, making sure that the schemes of Republicans in Congress don’t attack things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ benefits. It’s fight. We have to stand together.”

 

Steelworkers Rally Across America in Support of Ohio Cooper Tire Workers - Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

On January 14, 2012, United Steelworker (USW) members across America held informational rallies in support of the locked out workers at USW Local 207L in Findlay, OH. Since November 28, 2011, Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. refused the union's offer to remain on the job while negotiations proceeded.

Members attracted attention of motorists and consumers carrying signs that read “300 Million Reasons for Cooper to Bargain Fairly” and “Cooper Tire’s Greed Flat Out Wrong,” in front of tire stores carrying the Cooper name.

USW members submitted 675 photos from all areas of the United States of this mega information rally.

Click on the photos below to see galleries of our members in action from each USW District

		Support from District 1
		Support from District 2
		Support from District 4
		Support from District 7
		Support from District 8
		Support from District 9
		Support from District 10
		Support from District 11
		Support from District 12
		Support from District 13

USW Supports President's Decision to Delay Keystone XL Pipeline - Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Bowing to Partisan Politics Not the Right Way to Proceed, says Union

United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard expressed support for the Administration’s decision to challenge partisan politics and not bow to Republican pressure to prematurely approve TransCanada’s permit to develop a proposed 1,700-mile pipeline.  The Keystone XL Pipeline would transport crude oil and bitumen from Alberta, Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast.  

“The Administration made the right decision to ensure that a project of this scale is done in a way that is good for both jobs and the environment,” said Gerard. “The White House is facing forces in Congress that have decided to use this project as a litmus test for their commitment to jobs, at the same time as they have blocked the door to every one of the Administration’s job proposals, but the fact is more time is needed to ensure that this project will have the economic and environmental benefits claimed by the developer.”

Proponents of the pipeline estimate that the project will create 13,000 construction jobs, 7,000 manufacturing jobs and allow the U.S. to supply our oil needs with Canada, a long-standing ally instead of unstable nations ... more

USW Refinery Workers Hold National Day of Action for Safety - Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Union members to talk to consumers at gas stations about safety issues in contract negotiations

Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) union who work at oil refineries around the country are planning a National Day of Action for Safe Refineries and Good Jobs on January 21.  Members in refinery communities around the country plan to visit gas stations and distribute handbills to drivers on the importance of refinery safety in the ongoing round of contract negotiations. 

The USW represents more than 30,000 workers in the oil sector.  Most labor agreements are set to expire Feb. 1 at 12:01 a.m.  Across the country, health and safety is a major issue on the bargaining table.  In 2009 the Steelworkers proposed significant changes to health and safety language at the bargaining table, but the industry rebuffed the demands. 

The Steelworkers say that health and safety is a primary issue in this round of negotiations.  “Since the last time we sat down to bargain with the oil industry three years ago, 18 oil workers have died on the job,” says Gary Beevers, the Steelworkers’ International Vice President for Oil Bargaining.  “That’s unacceptable.  This time around we expect to see some real, enforceable improvements on health and safety.” 

Actions are planned in Texas, Louisiana, Utah, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, and other locations around the country ... more

E-Mail Cooper Tire's CEO and tell him to end the lockout - Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Our friends at American Rights at Work are supporting locked out USW members by asking supporters to e-mail Cooper Tire's CEO and demand the company end the lock out and bring back our experienced members. Here's what they wrote in a recent action alert to their supporters: 

 

On November 28, 2011, Cooper Tire and Rubber locked out 1,050 workers in Findlay, Ohio. When Cooper Tire was losing money in 2008, these employees gave up $31 million in concessions to help their employer stay alive. Cooper has since rebounded, raking in $300 million in profits - and handing corporate executives millions in raises and bonuses. Workers simply want a fair deal that recognizes their sacrifice. Instead they have been left out in the cold. Fight back against corporate greed and help Cooper Tire workers get back to work.

E-Mail Cooper Tire CEO Roy Armes to urge him to end the lockout and negotiate fairly.

 

Click here to join American Rights at Work action to support the locked out Cooper Tire workers by sending a message to Cooper's CEO.

Oil Workers to Rally at Chevron Headquarters - Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Union demands that oil industry address safety concerns in contract talks

Members and supporters of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 5 plan to rally at Chevron Corporation’s global headquarters in San Ramon, California at noon on Friday, January 20.  USW Local 5 will be demanding that Chevron and the other oil companies address serious health and safety proposals at the bargaining table in the ongoing round of contract negotiations. 

Union workers say the oil sector’s safety record is unacceptable.  “Over the past three years we’ve seen 18 refinery workers die on the job.  Process safety in this sector is out of control and we’re demanding that this industry start taking refinery safety and community safety more seriously,” said Jeff Clark, the Secretary-Treasurer of USW Local 5. 

Workers say that refinery safety is also a community concern.  BK White, Unit Chair at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, said: “When these companies operate our refineries unsafely, everybody’s at risk—refinery workers and our communities.  We know that a serious explosion at one of these facilities could devastate an entire community ... more

USW Praises Occupy Protesters for Honoring King Legacy - Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Occupy protesters across the country who have planned events for this year’s Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day honor his mission and the method he chose to pursue it, United Steelworkers (USW) officers said this week.

“By engaging in non-violent demonstration and by seeking economic justice, the Occupy protesters are walking in the footsteps of the Rev. King, and I think he would be proud of their efforts,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.

USW Vice President for Human Affairs Fred Redmond added, “In the year before his assassination, Dr. King launched with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference the Poor People’s Campaign to seek decent jobs, health care and housing for all Americans. He did it because he came to believe people cannot truly be free until they are economically independent ... more

Steelworkers Support Indiana House Democrats on Opposing Right-to-Work - Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Republicans try to Railroad Bill through Committee

United Steelworkers (USW) gathered with about 2,800 workers at the Indiana Statehouse to lend their support for state Democrats who are fighting right-to-work legislation. Democrats, who have not answered the call to bring the House into session, are angry at House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Rep. Douglas Gutwein, who refused to allow any testimony, debate or Democratic amendments.

It took only six angry minutes for the committee to approve, on a party line 8-5 vote, sending the contentious bill to the full House. When the session was called, Democrats failed to come to the floor.

“The governor is allowing the muscling of a failed plan that will result in fewer jobs at lower pay in unsafe workplaces: ‘right to work for less, ’” said USW District 7 Director Jim Robinson. ““The Republicans are insinuating that they are giving this bill a full public airing, but they are actually railroading the political process against the wishes of the majority of Hoosier middle-class workers.

 

USW's Gerard Talks Job Creation at White House "Insourcing" Forum - Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Business, Labor Leaders Meet with Obama, Administration, Experts

United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard today participated in the “Insourcing American Jobs Forum” at the White House hosted by President Barack Obama. The forum  included business, labor, administration and local government leaders along with outside experts.

The White House convened the forum to discuss how to build upon the increasing trend of companies choosing to “insource” jobs and make new investments in the United States rather than send jobs and spend money overseas ... more

Locked-out Ohio Workers from Cooper Tire Meeting with Serbian Union Leaders This Week - Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that a delegation of locked-out workers from Local 207L at Cooper Tire and Rubber Co.’s (NYSE: CTB) Findlay, Ohio plant and an international union representative are meeting this week with leaders of Nezavisnost, the union that represents workers at the company’s recently purchased facility in Kruševac, Serbia.

USW International President Leo W. Gerard said that international solidarity is especially important in the case of disputes with multinational employers, where a direct link for sharing information can be helpful for workers on both sides of the Atlantic.

“The only answer to global corporate greed is global union solidarity,” he said. “Cooper Tire management needs to understand our commitment to justice here ... more

Republicans Behaving Like Young Thugs - Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

On the the Leslie Marshall Show, Leslie talks with United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard about the recent Presidential recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Consumer Protection Board.

Marshall quoted Gerard’s latest blog posting, Recess Appointments: Backlash to Blackmail, “In America, when gangs of bullies torment school children, pushing them around and extorting their lunch money, parents know only one response effectively counters the abuse: confrontation. Running, whining, negotiating — none of that works. For the past year, since Republicans took the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, they’ve behaved like young thugs, extorting Democrats to get what they wanted.

She mentioned how true his words were with what is happening today. “What we are dealing with is a party that has made it clear that they are not just the party of ‘no’, they are a party of liars.”

Gerard said, “What they have done for the last three years is to stymie the recovery. They have made it clear, very, very clear that they are prepared to see millions of Americans suffer until they have a better shot, a better chance at defeating President Obama.” 

USW Local 10-234 Fights Demolition of ConocoPhillips Trainer, Pa., Refinery - Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

United Steelworkers Local 10-234 President Denis Stephano announced today that the plant manager at the ConocoPhillips refinery in Trainer, Pa., told union officials on Jan. 5 that if a serious buyer is not identified or the refinery is not sold by March 31, the facility will be demolished.

“This is the first time the company gave us this information,” Stephano said. “Our plant manager, Dave Erfert, also informed us that for the past 18 months he had been on a committee to determine the fate of the refinery and many options had been explored, including idling, closure and demolition.

“ConocoPhillips sends Mr. Erfert to attend the stakeholder meetings with union, community and elected officials. Why didn’t he notify the stakeholders months ago that demolition was one of the options the company was considering?” Stephano asked ... more

AFL-CIO Now Blog

 

Report Details ALEC’s Influence in Ohio Lawmaking -

Mike Gillis, Ohio AFL-CIO communications director, sends us this.

A new report released today by People For the American Way Foundation, Common Cause, the Center for Media and Democracy and Progress Ohio reveals the deep ties between the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Ohio state lawmakers.

ALEC in Ohio: The Corporate Special Interests that Help Write Ohio’s Laws, demonstrates ALEC’s policymaking influence with an in-depth analysis of the organization’s ties to key Ohio lawmakers, as well as a side-by-side comparison of nine ALEC “model” bills and actual Ohio legislation, including:

• Attacks on workers by severely limiting collective bargaining, eliminating public employment through outsourcing and privatizing government functions;
• Diminishing public education through private school voucher programs and private scholarship tax credits;
• Encouraging the privatization of state prisons to benefit the private prison industry;
• Voter suppression bills designed to disenfranchise thousands of eligible Americans;
• Draconian anti-immigrant measures that criminalize undocumented workers and penalize their employers;
• Creation of barriers for consumers and injured parties in seeking justice from corporations in a court of law;
• Measures to prevent implementation of health care reform.

At a press conference releasing the report, Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga explained ALEC’s influence over many legislative initiatives, including SB 5, which repealed collective bargaining rights for Ohio public employees (and which Ohio voters overwhelmingly overturned in a 2011 ballot intiative). “When Ohioans overwhelmingly rejected SB 5 last year, they sent a clear message that they will not tolerate attacks on Ohio’s middle class,” said Burga.

They rejected the idea that our economic problems are the result of the workers’ rights to collectively bargain. They fully rejected that extreme political agenda and opted instead to support governance with basic fairness.

Lisa Graves, Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy, noted Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s ties to ALEC.

Ohio is led by ALEC alum John Kasich, who has long advanced the agenda of ALEC corporations to the detriment of American citizens during his time in Congress and now in the statehouse in the Buckeye state.

Burga called for legislators to cut their ties with ALEC and align themselves more closely with the interests of those they were elected to represent.

What is needed is an agenda that focuses on doing the most good for the most Ohioans rather than legislating for the narrow benefit of so few.

 

Teaching and Research Assistants Call on NLRB to Issue Decision -

Christian Sweeney, AFL-CIO deputy organizing director, sends us this.

A busload of teaching and research assistants from New York University (NYU) traveled to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) headquarters in Washington, D.C., in recent days to call on the board to affirm their right to form unions. The NYU TAs and RAs, members of the UAW, filed a petition seeking a union recognition election in the spring of 2010 but are still waiting for a board decision.

Chanting “Two years is too long to wait,” as they rallied outside the NLRB, the TAs and RAs are among tens of thousands of private university graduate employees seeking their legally protected right to form a unions. That right was taken away by a ruling from the George W. Bush-appointed NLRB in 2004. 

In December, TAs and RAs from the University of Chicago protested outside the NLRB offices in Chicago, calling on the NLRB to issue a decision in the NYU case affirming teaching and research assistants’ right to form unions under federal law. The University of Chicago grad employees, who are part of Graduate Students United, an organizing project jointly affiliated with the AFT and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), stood in solidarity with the UAW campaign at NYU.

Teaching assistants and research assistants—grad employees—are critical to the mission of our universities. They are paid modestly to teach classes, grade papers and tests, tutor students, run labs and do the research that make U.S. universities the envy of the world.  Since the 1960s, thousands of these student workers have formed unions.  Many of our most prestigious public universities—Wisconsin, Michigan, UC Berkeley, UCLA and the University of Washington—have graduate employees who are union members, and more than 50,000 graduate employees are members of AFL-CIO affiliate unions.

“We are proud to support the efforts of these young workers in the UAW and the AFT,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, who heads up the AFL-CIO’s Young Workers Initiative.

They deserve the same rights that other workers have and we look forward to the day when the NLRB restores their rights under the law.

Laborers Train Society’s ‘Left Behind’ for Green Jobs; Launch Green Local -

With the graduation of seven newly certified weatherization technicians from its Eastern New York Laborers Training Center, the New York State Laborers’ Union (NYSLIUNA) is blowing holes in several right-wing myths all at once, proving that jobless people do want to work, government programs can spur the creation of good jobs and labor unions can lead the way to prosperity.

Working in partnership with Peter Young Housing, Industries & Treatment (PYHIT), a non-profit that provides treatment, housing and vocational training to disadvantaged people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, the Laborers trained these first members of Green Jobs Local 58, chartered by the Laborers (LIUNA) as the first local in the Albany, N.Y., region dedicated exclusively to green jobs. Participants in the training had to be clean and sober for at least six months in order to be accepted into the program.

Thanks in part to the state’s 2009 Green Jobs/Green New York Act and a new program launched by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the demand for the retrofitting of homes to be more weather-resistant and energy-efficient is expected to climb. (Through the NYSERDA program, residents will be able to finance the weatherization of their homes via their monthly utility bills.)

The new Local 58 members will work for Eagle Street Construction, one of PYHIT’s vocational enterprises. Local 58 Business Manager Frank Marchese Jr. told the Albany Times Union that the workers would earn $14 per hour, plus a benefits package. He told the paper:

We are taking people involved in social programs who are now moving into being viable taxpayers.

Pete Wilcox, one of the local’s new members, expressed his enthusiasm to the Times Union this way:

I am very thankful for the opportunity to get green jobs training. I live in Albany and it means a lot to me to be able to have the skills to weatherize homes in my own backyard.

Sounds like a win for everybody.

It’s on in Arizona -

Donna Gratehouse, who blogs at DemocraticDiva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Arizona’s teachers and first responders are under full-frontal attack this week, as union-stripping bills that have been called “Wisconsin on steroids” are being shuttled through the legislative process at whirlwind speed. These bills would prohibit public-sector unions from negotiating pay and benefits, ban paycheck deductions for union dues and ban compensation for union activities. They passed through committee hearings last week and are going to be debated in the full Senate this week. It’s expected that they will pass through both chambers easily due to the anti-labor GOP majority in both. It’s unclear if Gov. Jan Brewer will sign them into law. A Phoenix-based right-wing pressure group, the Goldwater Institute, and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are behind the measures.

Like their counterparts in Wisconsin last year, working people in Arizona are not taking this lying down. Rebekah Friend, Arizona AFL-CIO executive director, told Phoenix newscaster Brahm Resnik on Sunday morning that the Arizona union movement is planning to use “every option available” to fight these attacks on working families. The Arizona AFL-CIO and member unions are mobilizing people to call and write their state representatives to oppose the bills. Friend assured Resnik that, if necessary, they can fill the state Capitol with people.

After Two Decades of Darkness, a Daybreak in Burma? -

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attending BAYDA Institute.

This is a cross-post from the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center.

Almost 22 years ago, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide in a free and fair election in Burma—but the military dictatorship refused to let the NLD take power. Instead, the ruling junta crushed the organization and imprisoned its members and activists, including its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

In the past six months, Burma seems to be thawing, opening to the outside world it long shunned. And Suu Kyi, who spent many of the interceding years under house arrest—and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her struggle—is out again among the people, speaking at rallies and renewing her call for democracy.

On a recent trip to Rangoon, I had the opportunity to sit down with Aung San Suu Kyi for a conversation about the future of the labor movement in Burma. We discussed my meetings over the previous few days—with journalists, farmers, textile and garment workers and industrial workers—all of whom had started to form independent unions. She thanked the Solidarity Center and the U.S. labor movement for its support.

Suu Kyi had already given a lot of thought to what a future Burma labor movement should look like. She felt that it was important for unions to be responsible and to work for their members. She said the new unions should not be tools or fronts for any political parties, including her own NLD. She did not say that unions should not be involved in politics or support the political parties they wanted, but she did voice her position that parties should not create unions and the NLD had no desire or intent to do so.

When we talked about economic development, she stressed that Burma should not be just about garment factories; other, more creative economic development was necessary, she said. I said that Burma had the opportunity to engage in a variety of economic activities and mentioned natural resources and extractive industries as possible but also problematic. She laughed gently and said there were a lot of opportunities “to do things right or do them very wrong.”

We ended the meeting with a promise to stay in touch, and she said that they would be busy until April 1, when by-elections are scheduled. The NLD is going to participate in elections for the first time in 20 years.

“We should meet soon,” she said as I was leaving. And she reiterated the importance of independent, responsible unions, saying she did not want to see unions run by demagogues. 

“Being a demagogue is so boring,” she said with a laugh.

The Solidarity Center over the past two decades has supported Burmese labor activists that have worked with Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, have reach within the country, and have trained workers about their rights and international labor standards. Today, these workers in Burma are beginning to form and register their own unions.

Super Solidarity over Super Bowl Weekend -

AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker, Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott and others distributed fliers in Super Bowl Village, welcoming fans and reminding them the stadium was union built, the stadium staffed by union members, the half-time show courtesy of union members, the beer made by union members and the game played by union members.

Over the weekend, all eyes were on the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, where tens of thousands traveled to see the event and hundreds of thousands more watched it on television. But while the spotlight was on the game, workers across the city took to the streets to protest the outrages happening to working people.

In one such event, we rallied at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Indianapolis, where hardworking hotel housekeepers are fighting to keep their jobs and boost their poverty-level pay at a hotel where rates can be more than $1,000 a night for a Super Bowl week room. Twenty longtime hotel workers may be out of jobs in a few days when the hotel ends a subcontract with Hospitality Staffing Solutions.

The hotel workers are not in this fight alone. In the midst of what is undoubtedly the busiest few days for football players, DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), and NFL players joined Hyatt housekeepers at the rally to demand Hyatt end its abuse of subcontracted workers and hire outsourced workers directly. Smith said NFL players would  continue a year-old boycott of Hyatt over its treatment of  workers and told the crowd:

I love people who stand together to fight for what’s right.

Just blocks from the Super Bowl, these football players, together with construction workers, office staff and steelworkers, stood side by side with hotel housekeepers, joined in common cause by the struggles that unite all working people—all of the 99 percent in this country who are fighting against corporate greed and challenging politicians who seek to take away our rights as citizens of this great country.

AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker on the picket line with UNITEHERE! members and allies.

Days ago, some of those politicians right here in Indiana pushed through the state legislature  legislation that is a massive assault on the wages of the state’s working people. The “right to work” for less bill was hustled through the legislative process in a series of dirty tricks in outright contempt for democracy.

What’s happening in Indiana is just one part of the massive assault on working families across the country. Yet over the past year, we saw again and again the strength of collective action, of public protest in state after state as the rights of workers came under attack. We re-learned that we are not alone, and we have seen that when we stand together with those who share our values, victory is ours.

Hours after Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed Indiana’s contemptuous bill, tens of thousands of Hoosier workers came together in solidarity to march from the statehouse to Super Bowl village. Construction workers and teachers, grocery clerks and truck drivers chanted “Remember November,” vowing to take back the state door by door, neighborhood by neighborhood.

This year, as in Indiana, we will stand together for jobs and for economic freedom across the nation. We’ll congregate in the public square. And on Election Day, we’ll march to the ballot box to cast our votes for economic, social and political justice.

No Super Bowl Payoff for Hyatt Housekeepers -

In a radio ad airing on Indianapolis-area stations during Super Bowl week, UNITEHERE! reminds listeners one of the first things many young NFL players do after signing a first contract is “buy their mom a house, or build her a new kitchen or let her retire.”

Many NFL players were raised by moms who cleaned houses, cleaned hotels or cleaned both. We all have a special place in our heart for the women of Indianapolis who do that work.

The commercial (click here to listen) to raise awareness about hardworking hotel housekeepers is airing at the same time housekeepers at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis are fighting to keep their jobs and boost their poverty-level pay at a hotel where rates can be more than $1,000 a night for a room during Super Bowl week.

Last month after area hotel workers filed a federal lawsuit alleging wage and hour violations against Hyatt subcontractor Hospitality Staffing Solutions (HSS) and 10 downtown hotels, including the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, Hyatt announced that it would cut ties with HSS, according to UNITEHERE .

Thus far, Hyatt has refused to hire the HSS workers directly and that means 20 workers, some who have been on the job for nine years as full-time employees, will be out of work after Feb. 8.

On Friday, DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), NFL players and local leaders joined Hyatt workers and supporters in a rally outside the hotel demanding Hyatt end its abuse of subcontracted workers and hire outsourced workers directly. Says Jackie White, who works at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis in the housekeeping department:

I’ve worked at the Hyatt for over 30 years in housekeeping and I’m very proud to be welcoming Super Bowl visitors to Indianapolis. It is a celebration for our city. That said, I am concerned about what the legacy of the Super Bowl will be for Indianapolis hotel workers. The Hyatt will be making millions of dollars during the Super Bowl, and we deserve more for the hard work we do.

The commercial asks listeners that before kick off today, “when you’re at church, please say a prayer, let’s thank God for the women who raised us, for the women who are cleaning out hotel rooms.”

In Indy, we’re fans of our moms, we should support hotel housekeepers here, and they’re among the lowest paid in America. We pay for the stadiums, pay the players’ salaries and pay to build the hotels, so let’s pay the moms.

‘Brotherhood Outdoors’ Takes Sheet Metal Worker on Bow Hunt for Elk -

On this week’s episode of “Brotherhood Outdoors,” Lee Hengsteler, a member of Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) Local 359 in Arizona, gets to realize a dream he’s had since he was 6 years old:  He heads to Montana to hunt elk.

The show airs on the Sportsman Channel at 8 p.m. EST and PST every Thursday.

His bow hunting expedition was made possible when his wife, Neva, applied to the show on his behalf. Says Hengsteler:

People like me don’t win things like a guest shot on a nationally televised show, but Neva insisted on applying for me. I have one heck of a wife.

The award-winning “Brotherhood Outdoors,” Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s (USA‘s) hunting and fishing series pairs union members with renowned outdoorsman Tom Ackerman for a guided hunting or fishing trip in North America or the opportunity to show off their skills by taking Ackerman to their own favorite hunting or fishing sites.

You can click here to apply to be a guest on “Brotherhood Outdoors.” Says Hengsteler:

Tell all those union men and women out there to apply for a guest shot on “Brotherhood Outdoors,” and tell them they can win. I’m just a normal blue-collar working guy, and I won, thanks to my wife.

Click here for more photos form his elk hunt and here for more on the hunt.

Rep. Ellison Calls for End of Crystal Sugar Lockout -

Wednesday marked the six-month anniversary of America Crystal Sugar Co.’s lockout of 1,300 workers and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) told the U.S. House: “It’s time for the company to negotiate.”

In a speech on the House floor, Ellison said the workers, members of Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 167G at plant sin Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa, have been

denied the basic and most fundamental right to work and support their families. These workers have gone to bat for the company. These workers stood shoulder to should with the company to fight for a better sugar program in the farm bill just because that’s how dedicated they. What have they got in return? They’ve gotten locked out. They are not on strike. They are locked out because they refuse to accept an unfair take it or leave contract. They have been locked even though they have agreed to a no-strike guarantee.  It’s wrong, these 1,300 folks deserve better from this company.

Locked out worker Jay Holter told Steve Share, editor of Minneapolis Labor Review,

We’ve given the best we’ve got to this company and this is how we are treated. It’s probably only a year and a half ago the company gave us shirts that said, “You’re the best at what you do.”

Click here for Share’s full update on the lockout.

 

 

Hey, ALEC! Gotcha! -

Not that we ever believed right-wing lawmakers in the first place. But the cover’s been blown on all who claim that the extremist bills they introduce—uncannily similar from state to state—are the works of their own fertile but twisted minds.

They fervently deny that the legislation designed to strip workers of their rights, voters of their franchise, bust unions and boost corporate profits and power are handouts from the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC’s) corporate power toolkit.

Click here to take a look at a bill introduced last fall by Florida state Rep. Rachel Burgin (R) to reduce corporate taxes. Notice the second paragraph, “Whereas is the mission of the American Legislative Exchange Council….” That’s right ALEC’s mission statement is smack dab near the top of Burgin’s measure.

The next day Burgin apparently realized she had left the smoking gun at the scene and withdrew the bill only to reintroduce it later with ALEC’s mission statement removed. H/t to Common Cause for uncovering the deception.

State Dept. Cracks Down on Abuse of Foreign Students by Hershey and Others -

In response to protests by foreign students exploited in a factory subcontracted by the Hershey Company and advocacy by the AFL-CIO and our allies, this week the U.S. State Department announced that it will make major revisions to a guest-worker and cultural exchange visa program and barred participation by a major player in the program, the Council for Educational Travel, USA (CETUSA).

Harika Duygu Ozer, one of the students involved in the protest, told the New York Times:

I hope this sends a clear message to other recruiters like CETUSA, that we will not be your captive workers.

As we reported last summer, students recruited for a cultural exchange program found themselves instead all but indentured to a factory in Palmyra, Penn., where they were made to perform dangerous work loading Hershey products with no safety protection for less than the minimum wage. In addition, the students stayed in housing provided by the Hershey contractor, for which it overcharged. Rents were deducted from the students’ pay.

In August, the students staged a sit-in at the factory to protest their working conditions and pay abuses by the Hershey subcontractor, Excel Logistics. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale was arrested for taking part in the sit-in.

Working with Jobs with Justice and the National Guestworker Alliance, the student protesters’ actions led to a State Department investigation that found widespread abuses of a program that was designed to be a cultural exchange for students from abroad. Students who take part in the Summer Work Travel (SWT) program are admitted on a J-1 visa.

In a statement issued by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) on Thursday, EPI Vice President Ross Eisenbrey and Immigration Policy Analyst Daniel Costa wrote:

Our research has shown that corporations and labor recruiters like CETUSA are using the J-1 visa Exchange Visitor Program—and especially the SWT program, which admitted 132,000 workers last year—to avoid hiring unemployed U.S. workers and paying state and federal payroll taxes. In Pennsylvania, a state with a 7.6 percent unemployment rate, scarce jobs in rural areas (such as Palmyra, the site of the Hershey plant) should first be offered to local unemployed workers. In addition, the use of subcontractors as a way to keep employees from unionizing should be banned. The Hershey Company has successfully used the J-1 program as a way to diminish the bargaining power of its workers.

As urged by the AFL-CIO in its public comments on the SWT, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Rick Ruth announced that the list of jobs prohibited for exchange students traveling on a J-1 visa would be expanded to include construction, roofing and most industrial work.

But scrutiny of the Summer Work Travel program won’t end there. An investigation by the Associated Press also found SWT students pressed into service in the sex industry.

Read more about the student sit-in at Hershey’s Excel plant here and here.

Take Action to Help Cleaning Workers in Netherlands -

Spreading the work here from our friends at LabourStart, who sent this action request (and plug for its conference this year).

They’re calling it the “uprising of the invisible.”

Cleaning workers in the Netherlands have been on strike for 30 days and have now asked for international solidarity. They’ve created an online campaign on LabourStart which needs your help.

It will take you just one minute to tell their employers—and their employers’ clients—that it’s time to show these workers some respect, and to reach agreement to end the strike.

Please send off your message here today and spread the word.

And one more thing….

We’ve just announced the dates for the third annual LabourStart Global Solidarity Conference, to be held in Sydney, Australia, from Nov. 26-29 2012. To learn more and show your interest in attending, please visit the Event page on Facebook.

Economy Adds 243,000 Jobs, Unemployment Drops to 8.3 Percent -

Click on chart to enlarge.

The nation’s unemployment rate in January fell to 8.3 percent, down from December’s 8.5 percent, and the economy added 243,000 jobs, according to the latest figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The nation’s unemployment rate continues it steady decline, dropping by 0.8 percentage points since August and to the lowest point since February 2009. The number of jobless workers dropped to 12.8 million, down from December’s 13.1 million. But the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.5 million, about 42.9 percent of the unemployed.

The unemployment insurance program for the nation’s jobless workers expires Feb. 29.  A conference is now under way between the Senate and House over two very different one-year extensions of the UI program passed late last year, and the Republican bill would slash federal benefits, impose harsh new restrictions and move to dismantle the essential lifeline of unemployment insurance. Click here for details.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says, “The seeds of sustainable job growth are clearly present—if Republicans in Congress do not succeed in weakening the recovery.”

Republican leaders, who are admittedly unconcerned with the poor and still pressing for ill-timed austerity in Washington and state capitals, run a very real risk of putting this incipient recovery at risk. President Obama, by contrast, has laid out a comprehensive agenda for job creation and broadly shared prosperity, rather than wealth for a few.

Private-sector jobs grew by 257,000, and government employment was essentially unchanged, but over the past 12 months 276,000 public employee jobs have been lost.

In January, professional and business services add about 70,000 jobs. The leisure and hospitality industry added 44,000 jobs and health care jobs grew by 31,000.

Manufacturing saw an increase of 50,000 jobs, mostly in durable goods, and the construction industry added 21,000 jobs.  There were 10,000 new jobs in the mining industry in January.

The unemployment rates for adult men (7.7 percent) and African Americans (13.6 percent) declined in January. The unemployment rates for adult women (7.7 percent), teenagers (23.2 percent), whites (7.4 percent) and Hispanics (10.5 percent) were little changed.

Economic Policy Institute (EPI) economist Heidi Shierholz says today’s figures show “a labor market where all the moving parts seemed to be moving in a solidly good direction.”

Strong payroll employment growth was matched by a falling unemployment rate, strong employment growth in the household survey and a growing share of the population with jobs….It’s important to keep this growth in context, however—the jobs deficit is so large that even at January’s growth rate, it would still take until 2019 to get back to full employment.  We need reports this strong and stronger for the next several years to get back to good health in the labor market.

More than 1,500 Workers Join AFL-CIO Unions -

Warehouse workers, school, bus drivers, teachers, mechanics, telecommunication and manufacturing worker all have recently won a voice at work with AFL-CIO unions.

More than 350 employees at IKEA Distribution Center in Perryville, Md., voted by an overwhelming margin to join the Machinists (IAM ) despite opposition from IKEA managers who hired Jackson-Lewis, the well-known union-busting law firm. District 4 Business Representative Joe Flanders says the workers, “were able to see through the scare tactics.”

Last year, the Danville, Va.-based employees at Swedwood, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IKEA, voted to join the IAM.

In DuPont, Wash., more than some 350 workers who repair military helicopters and do site maintenance site maintenance and repair work for defense contractor URS Corp. Wash., voted to join IAM District Lodge 751. The workers have been without a pay or cost of living increase for more than four years, says new IAM member John Davis, and “a bunch of people got fed up.”

In Avon, Ky., 219 workers (see photo) at Allsource Global Management at the Bluegrass Station base voted to join the IAM. They are material coordinators for the distribution of military equipment.

Workers at former Alltel facilities—acquired in 2009 by AT&T—continue to choose the Communications Workers of America (CWA), through a majority sign-up agreement between CWA and AT&T. In a majority sign-up, the company agrees to remain neutral and recognize the union after a majority of employees signs authorization cards. Recently in New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota and Montana more than 150 workers joined CWA.

Late last, month 282 Cablevision technicians and dispatchers in Brooklyn voted to join CWA Local 1109. Click here for an in-depth look at the workers’ victory.

Workers at a GE Transportation plant in Kansas City, Mo., fought back against back against a hired gun, anti-union campaign and voted to join the Electrical Workers (IBEW). Workplace safety concerns following the 2010 on-the-job death of a co-worker and a long-list of broken promises by management spurred the nearly 100 workers to fight for a voice at work.  Click here for a detailed look at the struggle from the IBEW Now News blog.

More than 70 bus operators, mechanics, maintenance and other workers at Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 at several locations in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley voted to join the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 282. Colonial provides various school services, including transportation to 13 school districts.

Twenty teachers at the Evergreen Charter School in Hempstead, N.Y., won representation with AFT affiliate New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). But the fight is not over.  NYSUT is seeking reinstatement of special education teacher Jill Haag who was fired Dec. 2 when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant. The union says she was illegally fired for her for her work organizing the union. Haag regularly wore a lanyard stating, “Unions and Charters Working Together,” and urged parents to sign the petition in support of the union.  Click here for more from AFT.

In Fraser, Mich., the teachers and staff at the Arts Academy in the Woods, a charter school voted 20-to-1 to join Michigan Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, an affiliate of AFT Michigan.

Affordable Care Act Saves Seniors $2.1 Billion in Drug Costs -

The Affordable Care Act has saved nearly 3.6 million people enrolled in Medicare $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs in 2011, finds a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the health care reform law signed by President Obama in 2010:

is already saving money for millions of Americans with Medicare. As we move forward, we will close the donut hole completely and save even more money for everyone with Medicare.

The Affordable Care Act—which Republican lawmakers are fighting to repeal—provides a 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and, beginning this year, a 14 percent discount on generics. Last year, it provided a 7 percent discount on covered generic medications for people who hit the prescription drug coverage gap known as the donut hole, with more than 2.8 million beneficiaries receiving $32.1 million in savings on generics.

Overall, the 3.6 million Americans who hit the donut hole saved an average of $604 on the cost of their prescription drugs. The Affordable Care Act closes the donut hole completely by 2020.

Click here for a state-by-state look at donut hole savings figures for today’s donut and here for a fact sheet.