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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Labor Hour Headlines, 9-15-01 |
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by Peter Miller
Email: peterm (nospam) shout.net (unverified!) |
15 Sep 2001
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Headlines as broadcast during the Illinois Labor Hour, Saturdays at 11 a.m. on WEFT 90.1 FM, Champaign, IL. |
AFLCIO Summarizes Impact on Workers
The AFL-CIO was quick to express its reaction to the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Centers last week. By the morning of the twelfth, the AFL-CIO had compiled a short summary of the union workers in the buildings at the time of the attacks. The list included firefighters, over 300 of whom are assumed killed, making the disaster the "the worst day for line-of-duty deaths in the 83-year history of the IAFF," according to IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger. Others involved are 270 hotel and restaurant employees who worked on the top floor of the World Trade Centers; eight airline pilots and twenty five flight attendants on the four high jacked planes; about 240 members of the American Federation of Government Employees worked in the World Trade Centers, and members of two other locals work at the Pentagon; dozens of members of AFSCME were missing as were numerous electrical workers, painters, laborers, and steam fitters. The AFL reported that all postal workers at the two locations escaped injury. Other unions employed at the World Trade Center included members of Musicians Local 802, Service Employees, Teachers, Teamsters, and longshore workers' unions. Unions made many donations and offers of help in the wake of the attacks. By Wednesday, more than 1000 Iron Workers had volunteered their services for rescue, recovery, and cleanup; and the New York State AFL-CIO and the UFCW arranged for food, and water for the rescue workers. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said of the attacks, quote, "We mourn those who perished as they performed their work, whether in rescue efforts, in offices or on airplanes. The AFL-CIO and our unions will do everything we can to assist the continued rescue operations and the medical care of those injured." unquote.
Sampling of International Responses
International solidarity with US workers was also expressed quickly when news of the attacks spread. Bill Jordan, International Secretary of the one hundred sixty million member International Confederation of Free Trade Unions condemned the attacks and sent condolences to the victims, saying, quote, "The news that the events have been instigated by terrorist groups is abhorrent and defies belief. Under no circumstances can such actions be justified", unquote. The International Chemical, Energy, and Mineworkers confederation also expressed shock and anguish, and pledged, quote, "to continue to work tirelessly with the help of all our affiliates, through global trade union solidarity to play our part in seeking to prevent such outrages against innocent workers across the world." Canadian Auto Workers' President Buzz Hargrove also expressed condolences for the victims and their families.
Firefighters' Bill Moves Forward in Senate
A rare step forward for labor came on Thursday when a bill to expand collective bargaining rights for public safety officers emerged from a Senate committee. The National Collective Bargaining Bill is the top legislative priority of the International Association of Firefighters and its committee success was the bill's first move forward in five years. If approved by the full Senate and the House, President Bush will have final say in whether to implement a national collective bargaining bill for public safety officers. Only one Senator spoke against the bill. Kit Bond, a Republican from Missouri, argued that firefighters already have enough rights. Missouri law prohibits municipalities from entering into union contracts with their public safety personnel. The anti-union National Right to Work Committee has made defeat of the IAFF's collective bargaining bill a top priority, and the firefighters' union predicts that anti-union groups will be looking for ways to block further action.
Republicans Use Attacks to Push Conservative Economics
Congress Daily reported on Thursday that Republicans are using the attacks against the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon as an excuse to push business tax breaks and corporate welfare proposals, as well as capital gains tax cuts, all of which are central to a conservative economic program. They are also trying to use the attacks as an opportunity to push fast track negotiating authority through Congress. Claiming that the changes are part of a so-called "economic stimulus package", House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, a California Republican, said that, quote, "we don't want people to say we have not done anything" unquote, in efforts to stimulate the economy or make Wall Street brokers believe that their investments are safe. Critics say the Republican proposals are tax breaks and giveaways to the rich and will do nothing to stimulate the economy. Dean Baker, a co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research says, quote Baker suggests that rather than cutting business and capital gains taxes, congress should reduce taxes on lower-income Americans and increase the earned income tax credit. Democrats on the ways and means committee have said that they will oppose some of the Republican economic proposals.
Verizon Hit with Federal Labor Law Charges
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Verizon Communications will be charged with dozens of federal labor law violations in New York state. The National Labor Relations Board is preparing a complaint against Verizon for breaking the law when it discouraged employees from joining a union. In a letter to the Communications Workers of America, the NLRB said that the eighty six violations include physical assault of employees because of union membership or support for the union, and threats of reprisals against employees who joined or supported the union. Last August, Verizon ended an 18-day strike by agreeing to wage increases, pension benefits, and other improvements for the 86,000 union members. Most importantly, at the heart of the settlement was an agreement to "card check" elections that allow workers to form unions simply by signing cards, which is common in most developed countries. Under the card check agreement, employees at a work site would join the union if 55 percent signed up through the cards. Since the settlement, union officials have reported increased resistance to organizing efforts.
Agreement Reported on Decatur Plant Closing
On Monday, it was announced that workers at Decatur's Bridgestone/Firestone plant had reached an agreement on the terms and conditions of the plant closing. The beleaguered tire company and Steelworkers Local 713 announced the timetables, procedures, and severance payments for closing the plant. Although officials would not disclose the contents of the agreement, a copy was posted in the factory. During the month of September, the workforce will be reduced by half, or about 380 workers. The plant will close permanently two days after Christmas. On Monday, the union will begin holding meetings with members to explain the contents of the agreement.
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