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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Labor Hour Headlines 1-27-01 |
Current rating: 0 |
by Peter Miller
Email: peterm (nospam) shout.net (unverified!)
Address: 113 N. Market St., Champaign, IL 61820 |
27 Jan 2001
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Aside stories from the Labor in Illinois site, http://www.ilir.uiuc.edu/lii/, the following reports aired during the 1/27/01 edition of the Illinois Labor Hour.
Included below: WTO to Meet in Qatar; Courts Help Railroads Stop Strike; Former Teamster President Indicted; Neil Young's Model Train Company to Move to China?; False Bankruptcy Helps Airline Merger; Massive Layoffs Sweep Across U.S.; WTO to Meet in Qatar |
The World Trade Organization, whose last meeting was derailed by public protests against the un-elected body\'s power to overturn state and national laws, has announced that its upcoming meeting will be held far from protesters. The next WTO meeting will be held in Qatar, which is located in the Persian Gulf and whose government doesn\'t allow public protest. Human Rights watch criticized the WTO\'s choice, pointing to a U.S. state department report that notes severe restrictions on freedom of assembly. The State Department report points out that Qatar\'s government doesn\'t allow political demonstrations, it severely limits freedom of association, it does not allow political parties or membership in international professional organizations critical of Arab governments, and security forces monitor all private social, sports, trade, professional, and cultural societies. In a joint statement, the United Steelworkers of America, Friends of the Earth, Public Citizen and other critics of the WTO accused the organization of trying to quash protests that marked the Seattle ministerial meeting in December 1999. Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth, said in a statement, quote \"The WTO\'s choice of Qatar demonstrates the fallacy that the WTO is committed to transparency. We have to ask what the WTO\'s real agenda is when it meets in a nation that prohibits peaceful demonstrations and hinders freedom of the press.\" Earlier this week the WTO\'s General Council selected Qatar to host the next ministerial meeting on Nov. 5-9. The Gulf state was the only country that made a formal offer to host the meeting.
Courts Help Railroads Stop Strike
A dispute over personal leave time in the ever more highly concentrated rail industry led to a strike by 8000 union engineers last week, disrupting rail traffic in 23 states. The strike, by the Brotherhood of Local Engineers, was halted at least temporarily this morning, when the federal government intervened on behalf of railroad corporation Union Pacific. The court agreed with the corporations\' understanding of the Railway Labor Act, arguing that personal leave time is a minor dispute and therefore not an issue over which workers can strike. Brotherhood of Local Engineers President Edward Dubroski responded, quote, \"While we disagree with the court, and are confident that our legal position ultimately will prevail, we will respect the court\'s order.\" unquote. The restraining order is due to expire at 1 a.m. EST on Sunday.
Former Teamster President Indicted
Former Teamsters president Ron Carey faced more legal problems on Thursday, as the union\'s review board filed perjury charges against him. Carey, once viewed as a reformer who would restore democracy and strength to the troubled union, was charged with perjury and making false statements during investigations of an illegal plan to use union funds for his 1996 re-election campaign. The seven-count indictment was filed in Manhattan federal court. The investigations of carey were focused on the connection between donations of nearly one million dollars to various public advocacy groups, and return donations to Carey\'s campaign. Public advocacy groups implicated in the charges include Citizen Action, Project Vote, the National Council of Senior Citizens, and the AFL-CIO.
Neil Young\'s Model Train Company to Move to China?
Classic rock singer Neil Young may put 400 Detroit workers on the street if his model train company decides to move production to China. Lionel Trains, a company co-owned by Neil Young, announced on Wednesday that it might close its main plant in the Detroit suburb of Chesterfield, Michigan, and move operations to china. The reason for the move is that labor there is cheaper. The workers, who are members of the United Auto Workers, is urging supporters to contact the company to protest the move. Workers urge their supporters to go to Lionel\'s website, lionel.com and send messages to the company\'s president. Neil Young has been a co-owner of the plant since 1991.
False Bankruptcy Helps Airline Merger
The following is an excerpt from a story that we didn\'t report on-air. It seems extremely important, though for its criminal components. The already-suspect merger between American Airlines and TWA--a merger with which the general public and the press are expressing uncharacteristic discomfort--was apparently pushed on shareholders and employees by a false bankruptcy claim. Note that this article was posted after midnight on Friday night/Saturday morning.
Saturday January 27, 12:02 am Eastern Time
TWA head testifies that bankruptcy was American\'s idea
WILMINGTON, Del., Jan 26 (Reuters) - Trans World Airlines Inc. President William Compton said for the first time that the troubled airline\'s bankruptcy filing on Jan. 10 was American Airlines\' idea, an admission that could fuel investor Carl Icahn\'s claim that TWA\'s board was not fully informed when it approved American\'s plan to buy TWA\'s assets.
``Don Carty (chairman of American parent AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR - news)) felt the only way we could do a transaction was through a bankruptcy process,\'\' Compton testified at a hearing on Friday night before U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson. Carty made his decision Jan. 3, and six days later TWA directors approved it after six hours of deliberation, Compton said.
Massive Layoffs Sweep Across U.S.
In the first week of George W. Bush\'s presidency, corporations announced major layoffs. 57,000 people will lose their jobs--and those are only the ones reported in the major national press in the last half of the week.
An internet search turned up the following reports for the end of the week:
WorldCom-MCI--7,700 - 11,500. \"10 - 15% of its 77,000 workers\"
WorldCom previously cut about 2,300 jobs in 1998 to trim expenses after its $40 billion acquisition of MCI Communications Inc.
Lucent--16,000
AOL-Time Warner--2400
Textron--3600
JC Penney--5300
Sara Lee--7,000 with more anticipated as Ralph Lauren discontinued a major lingerie contract.
CNN--400
Hewlett-Packard--1700
Standard Register (business printing)--2,400 people or 30% of staff. 1 printing plant already closed.
Ericsson Electronics--cell phones--4,200
Gillette--2,700
Bausch&Lomb--800
Internet companies fared poorly, as well.
MarchFirst, Internet Consulting--550, 6.7% of workforce.
Beyond Interactive -- 90 - 105 of its 350-person staff. Clients are huge: Verizon, Oracle, Nickelodeon
Razorfish.com -- layoffs
Brittanica.com -- 75
Oxygen.com --? Closed on-line store.
Excite.com--250 (1 of every 12 employees)
Workers in the United States did not respond to the enormous layoffs, but workers across Europe did. The following article describes reaction to General Motors\' announcement of layoffs across Europe.
Thursday January 25 6:14 PM ET
European Autoworkers Stage Protest
By HANS GREIMEL, AP Business Writer
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Thousands of European autoworkers staged protests against General Motors Corp. on Thursday to denounce the U.S. automaker\'s plans to cut as many as 5,000 jobs across the region in a restructuring.
An estimated 30,000 workers, or a third of GM\'s 90,000-person European workforce took part, though union leaders at GM subsidiary Adam Opel AG in Germany put the figure closer to 40,000.
The walkout took a 12 percent bite out of GM\'s daily European vehicle output, with only 7,450 of the usual 8,500 autos rolling off assembly lines.
Union officials said more than 15,000 workers rallied for about an hour outside four Opel factories, while 8,500 stayed away from work at four British plants operated by GM\'s Vauxhall Motors unit.
Labor leaders mustered the massive protests to denounce the closing of Vauxhall\'s Luton plant, where the world\'s biggest automaker intends to layoff 2,000 workers. While most of Thursday\'s walkouts lasted no more than an hour, union officials said the British strike would last 24 hours.
Opel workers\' council leader Udo Loewenbrueck said he couldn\'t rule out additional protests in the next few days.
Several dozen GM workers staged a sympathy strike at company offices in Zaragoza, Spain. Another 6,000 protested outside a plant in Antwerp, Belgium, according to German labor union IG Metall.
``Any plant in Europe could itself be the next one affected,\'\' IG Metall spokesman Guenter Lorenz said, calling for workers across the continent to down tools in solidarity.
See the remainder of the story elsewhere.
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See also:
http://www.prairienet.org/weft/
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10% layoffs |
by Zach
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
27 Jan 2001
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An American army regulation
Says you mustn't kill more than 10% of a nation
'Cos to do so causes permanent "psychological damage"
- Sinead O'Connor, lyric from "Famine"
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See also:
http://www.uhb.fr/Langues/Cei/soconnor.htm
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