United Steelworkers Local Union 1999 Unit 09

Winter 2005 Volume 1, Issue 4 December 20, 2005 In Solidarity

Delphi, Under Pressure, Backs Off On Confrontation With Unions

NEW YORK (PAI)--Under pressure from the six unions representing its workers, executives of bank-rupt Delphi Auto Parts postponed asking a federal bankruptcy court judge in New York for a date when Delphi can seek an end to its union contracts. The new date for that hearing will be Jan. 20. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the postponement gives the union coalition and Delphi more time to bargain. But he said Delphi’s demands that the court let it fire 18,000 workers and cut the wages of the rest by up to two-thirds “were a road map to confron-tation” and unacceptable. The postponed hearing continues the saga of Delphi, whose CEO took it into bankruptcy in October. Its six unions--UAW, IUE-CWA, the Steel Workers, Machinists, Operating Engineers and Electrical Workers--represent 24,650 Delphi workers. They are also trying to protect thousands of its retirees. The postponement of the main bankruptcy hearing on the unions’ contracts, announced Nov. 29, fol-lowed Delphi’s decision to back off another demand: Huge “retention bonuses” for top executives. UAW strongly objected to the payments. Its court papers said they could total $531 million in cash and prizes to 600 executives. Delphi sought a court hearing that same day on the bonuses. Union protests, including rallies at Delphi plants, prompted the delay. That hearing was rescheduled to Jan. 5. In its court papers objecting to the bonuses, UAW said such generosity to corporate honchos could

See Pressure, Page 3.

Delphi Unions Form Coalition, As Fed Blasts Company

DETROIT (PAI)--Led by the United Auto Workers, the six unions representing North American workers at Delphi Auto Parts formed a coalition to battle the firm’s attempt to cut workers’ wages and benefits by up to 60 percent. The Mobilizing@Delphi coalition, formed Nov. 3, includes UAW, IUE⁸CWA, the United Steel Work-ers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Machinists and the Operating Engi-neers. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney, who strongly supports it, pledging “together we will fight to force Delphi management to change the com-pany's anti⁸working family strategy.” Delphi filed for bankruptcy protection in September and said it wanted to cut wages by at least 50 per-cent. It later upped that to 60 percent. It also wants to shut U.S. plants and send jobs to cheaper nations. Just before the filing, it offered huge bonuses to key execs to convince them to stay on. When Delphi filed, it told IUE-CWA that “it wants to eliminate medical and life insurance for current and future hourly retirees....but maintain pre⁸65 health care for its salaried and management retirees.” Sweeney called that move and others “obscene.” Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

2

Index Page 8 - President’s Mes-sage Page 12 - Kelly’s Kolumn Page 14 - Sports Page 18 - Indiana E-Activist Network

USW Local 1999 218 S. Addison St. Indianapolis, Indiana 46222 Phone: 639-1479 Fax: 639-1138 E-Mail: uswa1999@iquest.net

EDITOR: Kelly Ray Hugunin E-Mail: hugunin@tds.net CONTRIBUTORS: Kelly Ray Hugunin Chuck Jones AFL-CIO USPA

Your Union Leadership District 7 Direc-tor: Jim Robinson Sub-District 3 Director: Randy McKay International Staff Representa-tive: James Adcock Local Union 1999 Officers President: Chuck Jones Vice President: Steve Davis Local Union Rep. Bruce Reed Financial Secre-tary: Allen Johnson Recording Secre-tary: Markeya McDaniel Treasurer: Pat Baker

Trustee: Linda Bennington Trustee: Larry Silcox Trustee: Mike Biggs Inside Guard: Greg Rippy Outside Guard: Maurie Wilkerson Guide: Bruce Reed Legislative Com-mittee: Allen Johnson Civil Rights Com-mittee: Dewayne Graham Bill Ford Unit 09 Officers Unit President: Kelly Ray Hugunin Unit Vice Presi-dent:

Bill Ford Grievance Com-mittee: Kelly Ray Hugunin Bill Ford Andy Engle Stan Perkins Mike McDonald Stewards: Jason Benge Derrick Morris Tony Phillips Curtis Rainey Mark Schulz Safety Commit-tee: Bill Ford Randy Coombs Chris White (alt.) Leroy Robinson Civil Rights Com-mittee: Kelly Ray Hugunin Bill Ford Stan Perkins Andy Engle Legislative Com-mittee: Kelly Ray Hugunin Bill Ford

3

Pressure, from Page 1. jeopardize Delphi’s existence. “Debtors (Delphi executives) are apparently tone deaf to the effects of implementing a generous bonus and severance program, for a select group, on the remainder of the workforce,” UAW pointed out. Noting some of the bonuses could increase execs’ pay by 280 percent, UAW added: “At a time when Delphi is proposing deep cuts in wages and benefits, and contemplating a severe contraction of its domes-tic operations that could leave tens of thousands of employees without jobs, deep resentment and anger over a program valued at over $500 million can nei-ther be understated nor should it be ignored. “Participation of the UAW and UAW⁸represented employees for the success of its reorganization” is “vital” for Delphi to keep going, UAW said. It added reaching a new contract is already a challenge. Rich payments to the execs, while the unions are try-ing to bargain and ratify a new pact, “make it unlikely UAW will be able to garner the necessary support among its membership...if employees view the process as tainted by large awards for a select few while they bear the brunt of the cost⁸cutting.” Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Labor’s Drive VS. Bush Agency’s Anti-Worker Rules Accelerates

By Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer

WASHINGTON (PAI)--Labor’s campaign against GOP President George W. Bush’s Defense Depart-ment personnel rules--rules that strip 800,000 work-ers of their union rights, collective bargaining, whis-tleblower protection, fairness in pay, job protections and more--accelerated in mid-November in Congress and in court. Labor got a win, at least temporarily, when federal workers’ unions and the Bush Justice Department--acting for DOD--agreed to delay the starting imple-mentation of the new rules until at least Feb. 1. A court hearing on them may occur at about the same time. And unions got sympathetic comments from senators of both parties when they took their com-plaints to Capitol Hill on Nov. 17. The defense workers’ fight is important: Bush wants

to extend the personnel rules, which deprive workers of virtually all rights, beyond DOD and the Home-land Security Department to all 2 million federal workers. The rest of the government is waiting and watching for their turn” to adopt new personnel rules, Bush Office of Personnel Management Direc-tor Linda Springer told senators at the hearing.

See Drive, Page 10.

Steelworkers Organizing at Middletown, New York The Steelworkers have been conducting an organiz-ing campaign at our sister plant in Middletown, NY. The hourly workers in the plant are currently repre-sented by an independent Union called NOITU (National Organization of Industrial Trade Unions). A petition for an election by the National Labor Re-lations Board to decertify NOITU and certify the USW as the sole representative for the employees was filed last week. An election should be held by

the end of January. If the Steelworkers are success-ful in winning the election the USW will represent the workers in Middletown and Indianapolis. Kelly Ray Hugunin, Unit President at Indianapolis has been aiding USW International Organizer, Mark Pitt in the organizing efforts in Middletown. Kelly will be visiting the workers in Middletown sometime in January before the election.

4

Diamond Chain V-P Found Guilty of charges The trial of Attila Martin, Unit Vice President at Dia-mond Chain (Unit 13), was held December 13, 2005 at the Local 1999 Union hall. Martin faced three charges in the trial. Martin was charged on October 27, 2006 with violat-ing the Constitution of the International Union of the United Steelworkers: Article XII, Section 1, L. “deliberately interfering with any official of the In-ternational Union in the discharge of that official’s duties;”, Article XII, Section 1, M. “deliberately en-gaging in conduct in violation of the responsibilities of members toward the organization as an institu-tion;”, Article XII, Section 1, N. “deliberately inter-fering with the performance of the organization’s legal or contractual obligations;”. The charging par-ties were: Chuck Davis, Steve Forsythe, Jeff Hubler, Ron Kelso, Ruth Ann Landers, Jim Pennington, and Marcus Roberts all from Diamond Chain. Local President Chuck Jones appointed Mike Biggs (Unit President at Halcomb and Hoke and Local 1999 Trustee), Kelly Ray Hugunin (Unit President at Quemetco), and Howard Davis (Unit President at Mid-America Extrusions) as the Trial Committee to

preside over the trial. The trial Committee was re-sponsible for determining if Martin was guilty of the charges and if it was determined that he was guilty to recommend punishment as outlined in the Interna-tional Constitution.

The members at Diamond Chain are in disagreement with the Company over their Teamwork Incentive Plan (T.I.P.). The Company is attempting to take money away from the membership by making a uni-lateral change to the way the T.I.P. is calculated. The T.I.P. is in their contract and the Company was

See Trial, Page 5.

WASHINGTON (PAI)--Even as workers and their allies press to change U.S. immigration laws to grant visas to undocumented workers who stay out of trou-ble, pay taxes and live by U.S. rules, a GOP Radical Right Winger who has been outspoken on the issue is pushing in the other direction: To strip people of their citizenship. In a proposal being considered by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Rep. Thomas Tancredo (R-Colo.) wants to bar citizenship from any children born in the U.S. to undocumented workers. Tan-credo alleges undocumented mothers have 300,000-500,000 babies each year. He did not cite Hispanics by name, but left that implication. “Congress must declare the child of an illegal alien inherits the status of his parent. Thus, the child, like his parent should be deemed to be an illegal alien,” Tancredo said, speaking as chair of the “Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus.”

GOP Right-Winger Moves To Strip Citizenship From Some Residents Tancredo spelled out his plan in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), asking Specter’s panel to quiz federal appellate judge Samuel Alito on citizenship when the commit-tee opens hearings Jan. 9 on GOP President George W. Bush’s nomination of Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Tancredo’s scheme may come up before then, if Congress takes up immigration legislation this year, he told Specter. And Hastert’s consideration of the citizenship ban was trumpeted by the right-wing Washington Times on its front page. “The U.S. currently grants citizenship automatically to every person born here– including legal permanent residents, temporary visitors, non⁸immigrants and illegal aliens. A consensus is building, however, to end this destructive practice,” Tancredo wrote Spec

See Citizenship, Page 5.

5

Vandalism at Local 1999 Union Hall On Saturday night December 18, 2005 vandals de-stroyed property at the Local 1999 Union hall. A member of the Local from Sumco Inc. had rented the hall for a party that night. During the course of the evening one of the glass en-trance doors to the hall was broken. The renter was informed by Pam Presley, who was there to clean the hall after the party, that they would be responsible for the damage as it was one of their guests who had broken the door by kicking it. Approximately fifteen minutes after the partygoers had left a group of people arrived at the hall and van-dalized the car Pam was driving that night. The van-dals busted the windshield, broke out all the other windows and taillights, dented the fender, and scratched the trunk severely. The car is owned by Local 1999 President Chuck Jones. The Local 1999 Executive Board will be discussing any measures that can be taken to prevent vandalism from happening at the hall again.

Citizenship, From Page 4. ter. “While this issue may not be as high profile as abor-tion, affirmative action, or gay rights, how Congress and the courts deal with the issue of birthright citi-zenship will impact everything from the cost and quality of our education and health care systems to fighting terrorism,” Tancredo contended. Citing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, Tan-credo admitted “most people believe” it “mandates automatic citizenship for persons born on U.S. soil.” But he said “some legal scholars”--whom he did not name--”dispute this notion.” The complex part of the amendment, Tancredo says, is the phrase that gives citizenship to anyone “subject to U.S. jurisdic-tion.” That doesn’t include children of diplomats. Citing the amendment’s sponsors in 1866, he de-clared it should not include aliens and should not in-clude their kids. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Trial, From Page 4. unsuccessful at making any changes to the plan in the 2004 negotiations. The Union’s position is that the Company has no right to make any mid term change to the contract without agreement with the Union. As a result of the dispute over the T.I.P., Local 1999 Local Union Representative Bruce Reed and Interna-tional Staff Representative Jim Adcock instructed the Union representatives at Diamond Chain not to have any discussions with anyone from the Company about the T.I.P.. The instructions were given after a July 7, 2005 meeting with the Company and reiter-ated several times thereafter. At the July meeting the Company notified the Union of its intent to change the way the T.I.P. is calculated. Adcock and Reed gave the instructions to not have any discussion with the Company because it could be considered as ne-gotiating with the Union and hurt the Union’s chances of winning the grievance that would be filed when the Company implemented a change to the T.I.P. calculation. On September 19, 2005 Martin took it upon himself to make a phone call to Jerry Randich who handles the T.I.P. for Diamond Chain and discuss the changes to the T.I.P. calculations. On October 1, 2005 the Company implemented a unilateral change to the way the T.I.P. is calculated. After hearing approximately five hours of testimony from several witnesses and testimony from Martin concerning the charges, it was the unanimous deci-sion of the Trial Committee that Martin was guilty of the charges. At the Local membership meeting held on December 18, 2005 the membership voted to ac-cept the findings of the Trial Committee and their recommendation that Martin not be allowed to hold any elected or appointed Local or Unit position for the remainder of current term of office and the next term. Also at the December meeting Martin presented a charge against Local 1999 President Chuck Jones to Local 1999 Recording Secretary Markeya McDaniel. Martin accuses Jones of violating the International Constitution Article XII, Section 1, H. “using abu-sive language or disturbing the peace or harmony of any meeting in or around any office or meeting place of the International Union;” on two separate occa-sions.

6

Wal-Mart In Trouble: New Free Association Founded For Workers By Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer

WASHINGTON (PAI)--Just before release of a dev-astating film about its treatment of its workers and their health care costs, Wal-Mart, the biggest U.S. employer--and one that is virulently anti-union and anti-worker--finds itself facing a new threat: A new, free association founded for its present and former workers. The Wal-Mart Workers of America (WWOA) is not the union the retailer fears. But it has union backing, and it’s meant as an outlet for workers to band to-gether, give them information about their rights as workers and provide a toll-free number for com-plaints, criticism and information-sharing. T h e n e w g r o u p ’ s w e b s i t e , www.WalMartWorkersofAmerica.com, will offer a national clearing house of information and services for former and current Wal⁸Mart workers, says Paul Blank, Wal-Mart campaign director for the United Food and Commercial Workers. And to publicize its services to Wal-Mart workers, WWOA will distribute $200 each in health care aid to 50 uninsured Wal⁸Mart employees. That’s money UFCW members raised in “Halloween candy” sales the last weekend of October outside of 84 Wal-Mart stores nationwide, with the candy money earmarked for Wal-Mart workers now forced to turn to taxpayer-funded clinics or Medicaid for health care. “Every day 1.3 million workers help make Wal⁸Mart one of America’s most profitable companies, and yet, every day it seems Wal⁸Mart finds new ways to exploit them. WWOA will be a powerful tool to help Wal⁸Mart’s workers join together to improve their lives and make Wal⁸Mart change for the bet-ter,” Blank said. WWOA isn’t the only wide-ranging blow that hit Wal-Mart. Robert Greenwald's film, Wal⁸Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, was aired in New York on Nov. 2. It’s booked for 3,000-plus screenings na-tionwide during “A National Week of Protests Against Wal-Mart,” Nov. 13-19. SEIU President Andrew Stern, after the first airing, called the film “not just the premiere of a movie but the premiere of a movement.”

That international week of protests will see UFCW members and other unionists joined by community groups and their allies nationwide. It will not only highlight Wal-Mart’s abuses of its workers, but its harm to communities through its “big box” stores, which drive local retailers out of business and de-stroy three better-paying jobs for every two low-paying positions that Wal-Mart creates. “This will provide a forum for the many people across the country and the world concerned about the policies of Wal-Mart and other big chains,” says Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Asso-ciation, one of the groups helping organize the week of protests. The demonstrations “will call attention to these policies in a very public way. We are en-couraging consumers to buy responsibly,” he adds. Meanwhile, UFCW is continuing its holiday cam-paign against Wal-Mart by urging shoppers to pa-tronize unionized competitors or mom-and-pop stores starting on the biggest shopping day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, through the end of the year. WWOA was founded after the New York Times re-vealed a secret memo by Executive Vice President Susan Chambers. It called for more cost-cutting at the behemoth, which already makes enormous prof-its. The cost-cutting moves would cut workers’ hours, shift them from full⁸time (34-hour) to part⁸time jobs, push out senior workers and cut health care costs by daunting unhealthy or obese people from applying. Wal⁸Mart has also forced workers to toil unpaid for overtime--the latest instance is in Con-necticut--and discriminated against women, who are 72 percent of its workers in pay and promotions. It discriminated racially against African-American shoppers in Kentucky, broke child labor laws in New York and Connecticut and has its cleaning subcon-tractors, with Wal-Mart execs’ knowledge, hire ille-gal immigrants. “For the first time, all Wal⁸Mart workers will now

See Free Association, Page 9.

7

Wal-Mart In Trouble: Govt. Report Slams Shady Labor Dept.-Company Deal By Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer

WASHINGTON (PAI)--GOP President George W. Bush’s Labor Department entered into a questionable deal earlier this year with giant anti-worker retail be-hemoth Wal-Mart, a new report by non-partisan gov-ernment auditors says. Though the deal technically isn’t illegal, auditors added it shows DOL lacks stan-dards for such pacts. The 90-page Government Accountability Office re-port, requested by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), top Democrat on the GOP-run House Education and the Workforce Committee, focused on an agreement the anti-union retailer reached with DOL after its child labor law violations in New York and Con-necticut were exposed. Wal-Mart paid $135,000 in fines, a tiny amount for the $250 billion retailer. It also agreed to federal in-spections of its stores for any wage and hour viola-tions--not just child labor--after 15 days advance no-tice from the feds to the firm. That pact caused Miller to hit the ceiling and request the probe. He also demanded, but never got, an ex-planation of the pact from Bush Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. The GAO report results, released Nov. 1, led Miller and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) to introduce legislation banning advance notice by DOL of any inspections of firms for wage and hour violations. GAO said the Labor Department’s agreement with Wal-Mart provided it with “significant concessions” due to that advance notice. DeLauro said “advance notice of investigations following a labor violation, as granted in the settlement with Wal⁸Mart, provides companies with ample time to cover up labor infrac-tions.” The United Food and Commercial Workers and other unions are leading a nationwide campaign focusing on Wal-Mart’s labor law-breaking and other viola-tions. DOL signed the deal, called a “compliance agree-ment,” in January. But DOL said nothing until The New York Times raised questions in February. Miller said compliance agreements are supposed to deter,

not encourage, law-breaking. GAO said DOL signed the Wal-Mart deal as a result of “serious breakdowns” in the agency’s normal procedures. The ensuing compliance agreement “was significantly different than other agreements DOL signed” with other law-breaking companies, it added. And GAO said the agreement “has brought significant benefits to Wal⁸Mart while weakening future federal oversight of labor practices at Wal⁸-Mart.” It also “gave significant concessions to Wal⁸-Mart¼in exchange for little commitment from the employer beyond what it was already doing or re-quired to do by law,” GAO said. “The breakdowns resulted in Wal⁸Mart being able to author key provisions of the agreement, reached after the Labor Department found the company had vio-lated child labor laws at operations in three states,” a report summary, provided by Miller, states. “Instead of looking out for all Americans, the Bush administration took care of one of its closest friends, Wal⁸Mart. The Bush Labor Department chose to do an unprecedented favor for Wal⁸Mart, despite the fact it is well known for violating labor laws, includ-ing child labor laws. The sweetheart deal put Wal⁸-Mart employees at risk, undermined government ef-fectiveness, and further undermined public confi-dence that the government is acting on its behalf,” Miller commented, after noting that Wal-Mart execu-tives donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bush’s campaign last year. “Wal⁸Mart’s settlement with the department put the interests of one of the nation’s worst labor law viola-tors ahead of the protection of America’s workers,” said DeLauro. “Labor law violators must be held ac-countable, not rewarded with sweetheart deals that allow them to continue to put workers at risk. We must prohibit future agreements from providing no-tice of investigations or inspections.,” DeLauro said. But when DeLauro tried to attach a ban on such sweetheart deals to the Labor Department money bill

See Govt. Report, Page 9.

8

Local 1999 President Chuck Jones wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. “Have a safe and happy Holi-days”

UAW, Ford Agree On Health Care DETROIT (PAI)--Following a pattern set by an ear-lier agreement with General Motors, the United Auto Workers and Ford agreed Dec. 10 on $850 million in savings that would, for the first time, have retirees shoulder some health care co-pays. UAW’s Execu-tive Council approved it Dec. 14, but its 87,000 ac-tive Ford workers must ratify it and a court must ap-prove the pact. It covers those workers and about 87,000 retirees. “Our goal was to provide the best possible health coverage and the strongest possible long⁸term pro-tections for all UAW⁸Ford active workers, retirees and surviving spouses. We believe this achieves that,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Gerald Bantom said. The active workers will defer 17 cents per hour of their scheduled cost of

living increases and a 3 percent raise scheduled for next September. Like GM, Ford retirees will start paying small sums for health care for the first time: $10 monthly for an individual, $21 for a family, plus deductibles and co-pays. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

MILWAUKEE (PAI)--A Radical Right business lobby is crowing over a federal court decision that bans Milwaukee from requiring project labor agree-ments on city-funded contracts to provide construc-tion services for the elderly and disabled. The so-called National Federation of Independent Business, which is a lockstep player in the Right Wing phalanx that now rules the federal government, said the Sev-enth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago over-turned a lower court decision for Milwaukee’s ordi-nance. NFIB claimed that PLAs shut out “small businesses” from city business by requiring them to hire union workers for duration of the construction projects. MINNEAPOLIS (PAI)--Service Employees Local 113 in Minneapolis launched a new quality health care initiative, timed to begin with the start of bar-gaining with Twin Cities-area hospitals on Dec. 7, Workday Minnesota reported. Together for Quality Care, "isn't just about health care workers," said Charles Mitchell, a patient care aide at United Hos-pital in St. Paul. "We can't provide quality care until everyone in our community, our state and our coun-try has access to quality, affordable health care." The launch coincided with the start of negotiations between Local 113 and Twin Cities hospitals on contracts covering some 5,900 workers. One focus of the talks is the fact that too many health care workers can't afford coverage for themselves and their families. Bargaining may feature cooperation on improving care as well as contention over health care costs. One of the two hospital groups that Lo-cal 113 is negotiating with, Allina, decided with the local "to develop a strategic alliance to solve prob-lems and improve the delivery of quality health care in Minnesota" by crafting a partnership agreement within 45 days. Allina also agreed to neutrality in organizing drives.

Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Labor News Around The Nation

9

Free Association, from Page 6. have the ability to join an association, to join to-gether, to empower each other, and to build a move-ment for Wal⁸Mart to change. Working together, Wal⁸Mart workers can be a new and powerful force for change. Let there be no doubt, the WWOA will finally create a ‘real open door’ for change--a door Wal⁸Mart will never be able to close,” Blank added, WWOA is free to all former and current Wal⁸Mart workers. Besides telling them how to qualify for health care money and offering the toll-free hotline about work place issues, it will also tell them about the class-action suit from female workers against Wal-Mart for discrimination in pay and promotions and provide them a confidential way to be a whistle-blower, along with telling them of their state and fed-eral labor rights and how to defend themselves. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Govt. Report, From Page 7. earlier this year, the GOP-run House, on a party-line vote, rejected it. AFT President Ed McElroy said the report shows not just that DOL signs sweetheart deals with labor law violators, but that it lacks the people and money to even enforce child labor laws. “DOL’s shortfalls in enforcing child labor laws ex-tend far beyond its dealings with Wal⁸Mart. There are an estimated 3.2 million workers under age 18 in the United States, but only 34 full⁸time DOL investi-gators to monitor and enforce child labor provisions. And, while the allowable maximum fine for a child labor law violation is $11,000, the average fine im-posed by DOL in this category last year was just $718. Our government has a great deal more work to do to ensure that all Americans, and young people especially, are protected in the workplace,” he said. “We all have a duty to ensure that school, not work, is the top priority in children’s lives. Anything short of this mark is negligent,” McElroy concluded. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Survey: One-Third Of Families WASHINGTON (PAI)--More than one-third of U.S. families, who now list themselves among the na-tion’s “haves,” fear becoming poor, a new survey shows. And that fear, along with virtual unanimity that poverty is a problem, should spur wide dialogue on what to do about it, survey sponsors contend. The survey, for the Marguerite Casey Foundation, said slightly more than 9 of every 10 respondents agree poverty is a problem. Three in five call it a big problem. And 97 percent of families agree the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. By a 3-2 margin, they’d be willing to pay $200 more a year in taxes, per family, for more government spending to help the poor. However, opinions diverge on if the rich-poor gap can be closed. Fifty-six percent of families say it can be shut, while 40 percent saw it as inevitable. Higher proportions of families whose income was below the U.S. poverty line and those who earned up to double the poverty line said it could be closed. But 42 percent of the highest group--those whose family income was above 200 percent of poverty--saw the gap as inevitable, while 54 percent did not. “Hurricane Katrina laid bare the hardship of Amer-ica’s poor,” Luz Vega-Marquis, the foundation’s president said, in unveiling the findings on Oct. 18.

“Our hope is that it provokes dialogue” about those conditions and what to do about poverty, she added. But while survey respondents call poverty a problem, only 2 percent name it as “the most important issue” facing the U.S. That trails “national security/safety/terrorism and war” (17 percent), the war in Iraq (16 percent), health care (10 percent), the economy (7 percent), child welfare and education (5 percent), moral values (5 percent), George W. Bush/government (5 percent) and Social Security (3 per-cent). The reasons families gave for poverty were: Employ-ers’ benefit cuts, especially in health care (91 percent calling it a “major” or “minor” reason), lack of job skills (90 percent), outsourcing (90 percent), a too-low minimum wage (88 percent), part-time jobs (85 percent), single-parent families (82 percent), “lack of motivation” (75 percent), and “too many immi-grants” (72 percent). Between 60 percent and two-thirds called the too-low minimum wage, outsourc-ing and health care cuts “a major reason” for pov-erty. The others were in the 50s, except immigrants

See Survey, Page 12.

10

47 MILLION AMERICANS DE-PEND ON SOCIAL SECURITY

TODAY

Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law in 1934, millions of American workers have earned benefits by paying into the system, creating a safety net that keeps retirees, survivors of workers who die young and people with disabilities out of poverty. Source: Social Security Administration.

Drive, From Page 3. And some Bush Right Wing backers then want to extend the scheme, which literally destroys union representation, to other workers nationwide, private and public. AFGE President John Gage and AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department President Ron Ault testified Bush Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Bush’s OPM broke the law that let the Defense Department establish a new National Security Personnel System (NSPS) for its 800,000 civilian workers, starting with 300,000 in 2006. NSPS leaves workers unprotected and open to politi-

cal pressure, favoritism in pay and promotions, man-agement whims, and disciplinary hearings where their agency is the prosecutor and Rumsfeld appoints the judicial board. It also lets Rumsfeld arbitrarily take issues out of bargaining, making them totally management prerogatives. This is a setup to take away unions’ rights,” to bar-gain for and protect the workers, Gage told the GOP-run Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. That’s not only the rights we have now, but any rights in the future.” The NSPS is like The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the fairy tale that he reads to his 5-year-old daughter, Ault said. I do feel stark naked,” like the emperor in the story. NSPS is not about security. It’s about control.” Some 36 federal workers’ unions, united as never before,” are challenging the Bush/Rumsfeld rules, Ault added. The NSPS rules reflect a broad view of unions as interlopers,” Ault noted. He said they were drafted before 9/11 by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, a D.C. think tank. The rules’ creator there is now a top DOD personnel aide implementing NSPS. It is driven by disdain for workers and their rights, disregard for justice, disrespect for Congress and pure arrogance. It is time for Congress to step in and stop this now,” Ault declared. Gage also sought leg-islation stopping NSPS. Senators from both parties were supportive. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.)--whose state houses many, if not a majority, of the defense workers--said his past experience as Navy Secretary showed we cannot, as a consequence of NSPS, have that civilian (defense worker) feel disenfranchised.” Sen. George Voino-vich (R-Ohio) said there’s a lot of apprehension” among Defense Department workers about the rules. Gage said the workers and unions were barred from participating in making the new NSPS rules, which were drafted secretly--a claim DOD officials denied. The Bush DOD’s top witness claimed to the senators there was little dissent except for a small group” against the NSPS rules, but Gage said he was wrong.

See Drive, Page 13.

11

Union Leaders Eulogize Rosa Parks

WASHINGTON (PAI)--Calling her action a land-mark in U.S. history, union leaders eulogized Rosa Parks, the one-time seamstress and activist whose refusal to give up her seat to a white in a Montgom-ery, Ala., bus touched off the modern civil rights movement in 1955. Parks, who subsequently moved to Detroit, died Oct. 24 at age 92, just five weeks before the 50th anniver-sary of her decision that began the movement. On Dec. 1, 1955, police arrested Parks for refusing to obey segregation laws, which ordered African-Americans in the middle of a bus to yield their seats to whites. Her decision and arrest led to a 381-day successful boycott of the buses, the start of the civil rights movement led by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and a Supreme Court ruling outlawing such segregation laws.

Parks’ activism is also a model unionists should fol-low, said participants at an Oct. 25 conference at the AFL-CIO, held to start organizing mass demonstra-tions for labor rights on International Human Rights Day, Dec. 10. “The entire labor movement mourns Rosa Parks, the civil rights hero who took a seat in the front of a bus in Montgomery, and set off a revolution that spread to every corner of our country,” AFL-CIO President

John J. Sweeney said. “As Hurricane Katrina so vividly reminded us, the work of Rosa Parks isn’t finished: Race, class and poverty still divide our na-tion.

“Ms. Parks sat down so Americans of every race, color and creed could stand up together. We must celebrate her memory by rededicating ourselves to winning the battle for social and economic justice,” he declared. “Black citizens long regarded bus segregation as one of the most onerous aspects of Jim Crow laws,” the Machinists added. Montgomery’s “city buses had 36 seats. Under Alabama law, the first 10 were reserved for whites. The last 10 were customarily reserved for blacks. The middle 16 were a kind of racial no man's land, where seating was at the driver's discre-tion. The driver asked Parks to move. When she refused, the police were called and she was arrested. “IAM members from Local 2848 restored the bus to its original 1955 condition in 2002. The Cleveland Avenue bus where Rosa Parks made her protest now sits in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.,” IAM said. Black crepe now adorns it. Parks’ refusal to move “spawned a myth that she dis-obeyed...because she was physically tired,” AF-SCME commented. “But with the quiet dignity she displayed then and ever after, she set the record straight: ‘I was no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day (as a seamstress). The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.’” Parks’ refusal shows “the potential power of a single, simple, cou-rageous act--the power of refusing to follow orders simply because they're wrong,” AFSCME con-cluded. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

"My only concern was to get home after a hard day's work." — Rosa Parks

12

By now most of you have received your new 2006 Union pocket calendar. Inside you will notice several business cards so that you may contact your Local Union representatives. I would like for you to especially notice one card in particular. That is the one titled Wein-garten Rights. You should keep this card in your wallet or some other place where it will be readily accessible for you at work. Why is this card so important? It is impor-tant because it gives you a simple statement to make to management about your legal right to Un-ion representation during an investigatory inter-view. An investigatory interview occurs when a supervisor questions you to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks you to defend your conduct. The rights of unionized employees to have present a union representative during investigatory interviews were announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc.). These rights have become known as the Weingar-ten rights. If you have a reasonable belief that disci-pline or other adverse consequences may result from what you say, you have the right to request union representation. Management is not required to inform you of your Weingarten rights; it is your responsibility to know and request.

In Solidarity

Kelly Ray Hugunin Unit 09, President

Survey, From Page 9. (39 percent “major”). The survey of 1,546 families--277 very low-income, 728 moderate-income and 541 high-income--also showed surprising agreement both on causes of pov-erty and on measures to reduce it. Virtually none of the moves they support are being considered by the GOP-controlled Congress or GOP President George W. Bush. By an 83 percent-15 percent margin, they support raising the minimum wage. That’s just behind the 85-13 margin for increasing the earned income tax credit. Expanding subsidized day care was backed 90-9 percent, while expanding medical care for the poor was supported 84-13. And by a 57-38 percent margin, the families said they would be willing to pay $200 more a year in taxes “for government spending to help the poor.” That included a 55-40 margin among the highest income group. But with a resistant political class in Washington, the foundation is turning to publicity and mobilization to put public pressure on lawmakers and Bush on the poverty problem, Vega-Marquis said. “We’re trying to support advocacy, activism and education of lower-income families, to move these policies,” she explained. That includes the founda-tion’s support for the living wage campaign nation-wide and educational brochures on the earned in-come tax credit, “one of the most important sources for low-income people today.” Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

" Thank God we have a sys-tem of labor where there can be a strike. Whatever the pres-sure, there is a point where the working man may stop."

Abraham Lincoln Speech March 16, 1860

Hartford, CT

13

Drive, From Page 10. The non-partisan Government Accountability Office told lawmakers that Bush’s DOD is moving too far, too fast. GAO Director David Walker opposed Bush’s plan to extend the NSPS rules government-wide. The one-size-fits-all’ approach is not appro-priate to all agencies’ demands, challenges and mis-sions,” Walker warned. AFGE, the Metal Trades Department and other un-ions sued in early November to stop the rules in their tracks. That follows the unions’ success in court against Bush personnel rules involving the 125,000 workers at the Department of Homeland Security. Federal Judge Rosemary Collyer, a former Reagan administration labor official, said Bush’s DHS rules illegally destroyed collective bargaining. She halted them. White House officials said on Nov. 15 that Bush would appeal Collyer’s order to higher courts. In the DOD suit, to be heard by federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, the unions said Rumsfeld and Bush’s Office of Personnel Management broke the law by convening secret working groups to draft the NSPS behind closed doors,” then published them on Oct. 27 for 30 days’ notice before would have begun Nov. 28. The agreement announced just before hearing delays their start until February. The suit covers at least 285,000 of the 800,000 De-

fense Department civilian workers. They are mem-bers of AFGE, the National Federation of Federal Employees/ IAM, the Association of Civilian Technicians, the National Association of Government Employees/SEIU, the United Power Trades Organization (Corps of Engineers workers in the Pacific Northwest), the Professional and Technical Engineers, the Teamsters, the Laborers and the Fire Fighters. The unions explained in their court papers that the 2004 defense authorization law, which let Rumsfeld establish the NSPS, ordered that he and Bush’s OPM do so only in collaboration with and in a manner that ensures the participation of employee representatives in the development and implementation” of the per-sonnel system. That law also mandated meaningful discussions” of the new personnel rules, at least 30 days for the un-ions to review and comment on them and ordered Rumsfeld and OPM to give any recommendations” from the unions full and fair consideration.” Over the course of more than a year” Rumsfeld and DOD developed their proposed labor relations sys-tem, to the point of publication, using secret working groups,” the unions’ court papers said. Rumsfeld did not give the unions the opportunity to collaborate

with, participate in or have dis-cussions with the secret groups,” and hid the drafts of the rules. DOD held concept discussions” with the unions, but (it) said they were not meaningful,” the papers add. That broke the law. The unions want Sullivan to or-der DOD to give them its instruc-tions to the secret working groups, copies of the draft rules, order DOD and OPM to have meaningful discussions” of the personnel rules with the unions and to block Rumsfeld’s system until his agency follows the law. No date for the court hearing has been set yet. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

14

Steve Richardson shows his support for the Indi-anapolis Colts.

Sub District 3 2006 Dates of Events

March 18 and 19 ------- Bowling Tournament

April 22 and 23 ------------- Bass Tournament

June 9 ------------------------------- Golf Outing

June 17 and 18 -------------- Bass Tournament

October 7 and 8 ------------- Bass Tournament

Roberts Rules For Workers In First Supreme Court Labor Case WASHINGTON (PAI)--Supreme Court Chief Jus-tice John Roberts, in his very first labor case on the High Court bench since his nomination by GOP President George W. Bush and confirmation by the Senate, has ruled for workers. That’s because, in an unanimous decision on Nov. 8, the 9-member court said that companies must pay workers for the time they take walking from where they don and doff protective equipment to their job stations. In the very first case Roberts heard, the day he took his seat--Oct. 3--IBP, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods, argued it did not have to pay its meatpacking work-ers for the time they took to walk to and from their lockers to the meat-cutting line. At the lockers, they donned gloves, aprons, goggles, safety boots and other safety equipment. When IBP refused to pay at its Pasco, Wash., plant for the walking time, six workers led a class-action suit. They argued that because the equipment is es-sential to their jobs, they should get paid for the time

they use to don it, doff it and walk to and from the line--1-1/2 to 3 minutes per worker per day. The workers won in the lower courts, and they won in the Supreme Court, too. “Because donning and doffing gear that is ‘integral and indispensable’ to employees’ work is a ‘principal activity’ under the statute, the continuous workday rule mandates that the time the petitioners (the work-ers) spend walking to and from the production floor after donning and before doffing, as well as the time spent waiting to doff, are not affected by the Portal⁸-to⁸Portal Act, and are instead covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act,” which requires they be paid, Associate Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for all nine justices, including Roberts. Stevens said IBP, now a subsidiary of Tyson Foods, must pay the workers for all of the time involved. He called it “integral” to their jobs. Neither the time the workers spend putting on and taking off their protective gear nor the walking time was paid for under the contract between the workers’ union, the Teamsters, and Tyson. The case covered IBP workers at Pasco from 1995-99. They said the Fair Labor Standards Act, the law

See Roberts, Page 16.

15

AFA Loses A Round In Court Battle To Save United Pensions CHICAGO (PAI)--The Association of Flight Atten-dants lost a round in court in its fight to save pen-sions of members at bankrupt United Air Lines. But the war isn’t over. That’s because while the Nov. 1 ruling by the federal appellate court in Chicago went against AFA, the bigger battle yet to come will be in federal court in D.C. AFA challenged the government’s settlement agree-ment with United, and sued the airline in federal court in Chicago, United’s headquarters. That pact let the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corp. take over all of United’s pension plans for its unionized workers, including the Air Line Pilots, the Machinists, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association--who rep-resent its mechanics--and AFA. It could then cut the workers’ eventual pension payouts. AFA challenged the settlement because--among other reasons--it was frozen out of the negotiations

between the bankrupt airline and the feds. It also said such a freezeout broke the terms of its contract with United. But the Chicago court said federal pen-sion law lets the bankrupt company and the feds ne-gotiate such settlement agreements without consult-ing anyone else. “The agreement, moreover, did not terminate the (AFA) plan. It simply provided for PBGC to initiate a review to determine whether PBGC should termi-nate the plan under...an administrative process that is...unrestrained by the terms of collective bargaining agreements,” the Chicago judges said. But the war will continue in federal court in D.C., the judges noted. There, AFA is challenging PBGC’s powers and actions, not United’s. No date has been set yet for that hearing, where United will be on the sidelines. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Political Pressure Forces Bush To Restore Davis-Bacon WASHINGTON (PAI)--Political pressure from moderate Republican representatives, concerned about re-election fights next year in their blue-state labor-influenced congressional districts, forced GOP President George W. Bush to restore the Davis-Bacon Act’s prevailing wage rules for Hurricane Katrina-clobbered areas. The practical effect will be to restore reasonable wages for construction workers toiling on projects--from highways to bridges to buildings to levees to airports--needed to rebuild damaged areas of Louisi-ana, Mississippi and Alabama, especially devastated New Orleans. The prevailing wages resume starting Nov. 8. But Bush’s reversal, announced Oct. 26, didn’t go all the way in helping thousands of construction workers who lost wages, jobs, or both after the hurricane hit and after he yanked Davis-Bacon on Sept. 8. That’s because Bush did not make his restoration retroactive, and because his order still left politically favored contractors, such as Halliburton, and the low-wage, out-of-state, non-union workers--some of

them illegals--in place. That means that workers such as the 75 IBEW Lou-isiana members, dumped out of their reconstruction jobs in favor of cheaper out-of-state workers after Bush’s prior order, still may not get their jobs back. Nevertheless, Bush’s reversal cheered AFL-CIO Building Trades Department President Edward Sulli-van, whose unions mobilized their members--including at an Oct. 29 march on the capitol in Baton Rouge--to demand Congress pressure Bush on Davis-Bacon. Marchers also demanded decent housing and job priority for area residents. “Thousands and thousands of letters, e-mails and calls from trade union members and their families were generated calling for reinstating these critical worker wage protections. The resulting bi-partisan congressional effort to pressure Bush to reinstate Davis-Bacon achieved success,” Sullivan said. “This is great news for workers and their families in the devastated Gulf Coast.”

See Bush, Page 16.

16

“Only a fool would try to de-prive working men and women of the right to join a union of their choice.”

President Dwight David Eisen-hower

President (1953-1961)

Roberts, From Page 14. that governs pay and overtime, said that the time they took donning and doffing the gear and walking to the meat plant line “was integral and indispensa-ble” to their work. Lower court judges agreed. That’s even though Congress passed a law in 1973--the Portal Act--implying that FLSA does not cover the walking time. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Bush, From Page 15. Bush was pushed to reverse his Davis-Bacon order by 37 moderate GOP lawmakers, led by Reps. Frank LoBiondo (N.J.) and Steve LaTourette (Ohio), Sulli-van said. LoBiondo chairs the GOP labor caucus. Bush also faced a threat from Senate Democrats, led by Tom Harkin (Iowa) to attach an amendment re-storing Davis-Bacon prevailing wage protections to legislation now before Congress, such as the Labor Department’s spending bill. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

E-Board Elects Maurie Wilkerson On October 13, 2005, the Local 1999 Executive board met to fill the vacancy of the Outside Guard. The position was left vacant when Steve Combs re-tired from Rexnord, Link Belt Bearing Division on

October 1. Maurie Wilkerson was elected as the new Outside Guard for the Local. Maurie is employed by UTC Carrier (Unit 7). He has worked there for six years. He has been active in the Local for several years. He is Chairman of the Sports Committee and has been active in organiz-ing. He also serves on

the Grievance Committee at UTC Carrier. Maurie looks forward to serving the Local in any way that he can in the future.

Minneapolis Enacts Living Wage Ordinance By Steve Share

The Minneapolis Labor Review, Special to PAI

MINNEAPOLIS (PAI)--By an 11-2 margin, the Minneapolis City Council adopted a living wage or-dinance advanced by a coalition of labor unions, community organizations, and faith⁸based groups. GOP Mayor R.T. Rybak, facing an election four days after the vote, said he would sign it. Rybak later won re-election. The ordinance, in Minnesota’s largest city, is yet an-other indication that unions and their allies nation-wide are tired of waiting for the GOP-run federal government in Washington, D.C., to help workers. Instead, they are working to improve workers’ in-comes and lives through state and local actions and legislation. As an example, many states have raised their mini-mum wages far beyond the $5.15 per hour federal minimum, which has been static since 1997. But this year alone, party-line votes in the GOP-run Senate twice killed attempts to raise the federal minimum. By contrast, the states are not only raising minimum wages, but the Living Wage Coalition has pushed cities to go beyond that bare necessity, as in Minnea-polis. Members of the Living Wage Yes! Coalition, who filled the Minneapolis City Council chambers with a standing⁸room⁸only crowd, burst into applause when Council President Paul Ostrow announced, “The measure is adopted.” I m obviously pleased by the support of the City

See Living Wage, Page 17.

17

Living Wage , From Page 16. Council,” said coalition co-chair Bill McCarthy, president of the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council. It really shows the overwhelming support by our city officials for the wages and working con-ditions of working people.” The ordinance will require organizations with city contracts in excess of $100,000 or who receive city subsidies in excess of $100,000 to pay a wage of $12.09 per hour. That represents an income equal to 130 percent of federal poverty guidelines for a fam-ily of four. Unlike a previous living wage policy enacted by a council resolution in 1997, the new ordinance pro-vides enforcement mechanisms and financial penal-ties for organizations that fail to comply. This is one of the strongest living wage ordinances in the country,” said Ryan Greenwood, the other coalition co⁸chair, who is also executive director of Progres-sive Minnesota. The vote was veto-proof. Nearly every City Council member spoke before the vote--a development that Councilwoman Lisa Good-man criticized as “political” speech⁸making just a few days before the election. She voted for the ordi-nance. If it’s politics, so be it,” retorted Councilman Paul Zerby, chief author of the living wage ordinance. The late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone said politics is about what makes the lives of people better. If that’s why we’re here, let’s do it.” It’s so heartening to see organized labor and the dif-

ferent progressive organizations and faith groups form this kind of coalition. I frankly hope this spreads like wildfire,” he said. McCarthy added that “building the coalition was just as important as pass-ing the living wage” ordinance. Council members Goodman, Ostrow and Barb John-son challenged the coalition to work to see that Hen-nepin County, the neighboring city of St. Paul and other adjacent jurisdictions also enact living wage measures. I can’t underestimate the importance of a regional approach,” Goodman said. She praised the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council for doing a good job of keeping their eyes on the prize,” while working with other groups and the city staff to reach the compromise.” Besides the labor council, other living wage coalition members included Minnesota ACORN, the Archdio-cese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis Office of Social Justice, Jewish Community Action, Progressive Min-nesota, the SEIU State Council, AFSCME Council 5, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59, Team-sters DRIVE, UNITE HERE Local 17, the Twin Cit-ies Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Confed-eration of Somali Communities of Minnesota, Twin Cities Religion & Labor Network, the JOBS NOW Coalition, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees --which, with AFSCME 5, represents state workers--the state Democratic Party and the local Green Party and the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Working Families, Poor, Middle Class Get Split In House Votes WASHINGTON (PAI)--Working families, the poor and the middle class got a split in votes in the GOP-run House just before lawmakers quit for the Thanksgiving recess. The win came first. The loss came second, and it may matter more. The win came when 22 GOP moderates rebelled against planned sharp cuts in student loans, Medicaid health care for the poor and other aid for working families, all pushed by GOP leaders and GOP Presi-dent George W. Bush. The moderates joined with Democrats to defeat a bill appropriating money for the Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services. Combined, they got 224 votes in

the 435-member House, AFT President Ed McElroy said. It and workers won, 224-209. But workers lost, by a 217-215 margin, when the GOP-run House approved Bush’s $50 billion pack-age of budget cuts--which could revive the social program cuts the first vote rejected. The second vote margin would have been wider for GOP leaders had not they, once assured of a majority, told some wa-vering lawmakers--number unknown--to go ahead and vote “no” in order to look good back home. Over in the Senate, Bush’s tax cuts ran into trouble.

See Split, Page 18.

18

INDIANA AFL-CIO E-ACTIVIST NET-WORK!

As you are aware the political climate for organized labor in Indiana has changed, therefore it is extremely important that we make our voice heard. Along with fighting for working men and women we are in effect fighting for our existence. Probably at no time in recent history has a legis-lative session been as important as this one will be.

The Indiana AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions along with the independent unions have collectively decided to join forces to fight back damaging legislation against Indiana's working families. Therefore, they are in the process of creating an E-Activist network that will allow them to directly communicate with union members about possible damaging legislation or other vital labor union news.

Members who register for the Indiana AFL-CIO E-Activist network can update their profiles, access the tell-a-friend web page, locate their legislators and send them an email, and check on any email alerts or advocacy cam-paigns. Through the E-Activist Network you can watch and listen to the Indiana General Assembly.

To sign up, go online and visit the IN AFL-CIO website at www.inaflcio.org. Bookmark the site in your web browser to stay informed and prepared to take action. Please sign up today! And, tell a friend so they can sign up and be informed!

Split, From Page 17. Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R- Iowa) tried to push them through, but moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) defected. She said it was ridiculous to cut programs for the poor and middle class while cutting taxes by $70 billion for the wealthy. Her vote, plus those of all nine Democrats, produced a 10-10 tie and the bill lost, for now. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney said the Bush-GOP push for the budget cuts in “health care, student loan programs and food assistance,” combined with “yet another round of huge tax breaks for the rich” shows “it's clear the Bush administration and its con-gressional allies are completely out of touch with mainstream America.” “By voting down the Labor⁸HHS appropriations bill, which shortchanged a number of important education programs, House members sent a strong message that the agenda being pursued by the Republican leadership is out of step with the American public,” McElroy added. “From the very beginning of this year’s appropriations process, AFT expressed con-cerns with woefully inadequate funding for educa-tion.” He called the vote a message to lawmakers to come up with a better bill. AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, chair of the AFL-CIO Political Committee, said the loss of the “Right Wing’s mean-spirited” Labor-HHS-Education bill sent a political message: “Moderate Republicans understand uncompassionate conservatism just does-n’t sell back home.” That vote “could be the begin-ning of the end for the leader-ship’s agenda of gut-ting vital public services to pay for tax cuts for the super rich.” Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Thanks to You my pension Is quite secure

CEO

19

News Analysis: The Politics Of Globalization: Why Corporations Are Winning And Workers Are Losing

By Thomas I. Palley, Special to PAI WASHINGTON (PAI)--Domestic political economy has historically been constructed around the divide between capital and labor, with firms and workers being at odds over the division of the economic pie. Within this construction labor is usually represented as a monolithic interest, yet the reality is labor has always suffered internal divisions. Globalization sharpens these divisions, which helps explain why corporations have been winning and workers losing. The issue of whether workers win from globalization is particularly pertinent to U.S. workers now: U.S. and world trade negotiators meet in Hong Kong in mid-December for the latest session of global talks. Workers’ interests are far from their agenda. A core problem for labor is that workers are also consumers, thereby creating a divide between desires for higher wages and desires for lower prices. His-torically, this identity split has been exploited to di-vide union and non⁸union workers. Globalization amplifies the worker-consumer identity split through its promise of lower prices, a problem that is exem-plified in the debate over Wal⁸Mart. This problem is worsened by the fact that globaliza-tion impacts the U.S. economy unevenly, hitting some sectors first and others later. The process can be understood in terms of the hands of a clock. At 1 o’clock is the apparel sector; at 2 o’clock the textile sector; at 3 o’clock the steel sector; at 6 the auto sec-tor. Workers in the apparel sector are the first to be im-pacted, but all other workers get price reductions. Thereafter, the process picks off textile sector work-ers at 2 o’clock. Meanwhile, workers from 3 o’clock onward get price cuts, as do the apparel workers at 1 o’clock--those that still have jobs. Each time the hands of the clock move, the impacted workers are isolated. In this fashion, globalization moves around the clock with labor perennially divided. Manufacturing was first to experience this process, but technological innovations associated with the Internet are putting service and knowledge workers

in the firing line as services become tradable. Even retail workers are vulnerable, as shown by the viabil-ity of the Amazon.com business model. Public sector wages are also indirectly in play since declining wages mean declining tax revenues. The problem is that at each moment in time workers are divided, with the majority made slightly better off while the few are much worse off. Globalization also divides capital, creating a new division between bigger inter-nationalized firms and smaller firms that remain nationally centered. This was brought into sharp focus with the debate over the trade deficit and the over⁸valued dollar. In previous decades manufacturing as a whole op-posed trade deficits and an over⁸valued dollar be-cause of the adverse impact of increased imports. The one major business sector exception to that op-position was retailing, which benefited from cheap imports. However, the spread of multi⁸national pro-duction and outsourcing has divided manufacturing into two camps. In one camp are larger businesses that have gone global and benefit from cheap imports. In the other are smaller businesses which remain nationally cen-tered in terms of sales, production and input sourc-ing. This division opens the possibility of a new alli-ance between labor and those manufacturers and businesses that remain nationally based. This is a potentially potent alliance since in the U.S. there are approximately 7 million enterprises with sales of less than $10 million each, versus 200,000 with sales greater than $10 million. However, such an alliance will always be unstable since traditional labor-capital conflict over income distribution can always reassert itself. Indeed, this pattern is already evident in the internal politics of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The NAM has been signifi-cantly divided regarding the over⁸valued dollar, and one way to address these divisions is a domestic competitiveness agenda aimed at weakening regula-

See Globalization, Page 20.

20

Globalization, from Page 19. tion, reducing legal liability and lowering employee benefit costs. Solidarity has always been key to political and eco-nomic advance by working families, and it is key to mastering the politics of globalization. Developing a coherent story about the economics of globalization around which working families can coalesce is a key ingredient for solidarity. So too is understanding how globalization divides labor. Such understand-ings can help counter deep cultural proclivities to individualism, as well as other historic divides such as racism. However, as if this were not difficult enough, global-ization creates additional challenges. National politi-cal solutions that worked in the past are not adequate to the task of controlling international competition. That means the solidarity bar is further raised, calling for international solidarity that supports new forms of international economic regulation. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Thomas Palley is former chief economist of the AFL-CIO and former chief economist of the U.S.-China Commission, a con-gressionally created panel that monitors U.S.-China trade and economic relations. This other economic analyses can be found on www.thomaspalley.com

Missouri GOP Senator Pledges To Fight Right-To-Work By The St. Louis Labor Tribune, Special to PAI

ST. LOUIS (PAI)--Breaking with fellow Right Wing Republicans and their dogma, Sen. James Talent (R-Mo.), who is up for re-election next year, says he op-poses national “right to work” legislation. The first-term lawmaker from the St. Louis suburbs is not the only Show Me State GOPer to break with party orthodoxy on the issue. Gov. Matt Blunt (R) has vowed to veto any right-to-work bill approved by the GOP-run Missouri legislature, a pledge reiterated by his lieutenant governor, Peter Kinder, when both Kinder and Talent spoke to the Carpenters District Council several weeks ago. Both Republicans also opposed any attempt to repeal the state’s prevailing wage law, the St. Louis Labor Tribune reported. That again breaks from the party

line, as GOP President George W. Bush dumped pre-vailing wage standards for areas clobbered by Hurri-cane Katrina. Repeal of such rules has long been a Right Wing goal. Talent got a rousing standing ovation when he told the meeting of several hundred delegates from East-ern Missouri and Southern Illinois: “I have never supported ‘Right⁸To⁸Work’ and I’m happy to join with you in making sure we don’t have it nationally or in the state of Missouri!” And Kinder received a thunderous round of applause when he declared that “While Gov. Blunt and I are in office, there will be no Right⁸To⁸Work law and no repeal of prevailing wage!” Kinder said he supported unions and appreciated what unions had done to raise the standard of living for working families in Missouri. He praised the Carpenters for their exceptional training programs, their attention to safety, and for the good wages they bring to working families in Missouri. Union leaders, who defeated a so⁸called “Right⁸To⁸Work” ballot proposal in 1978 in Mis-souri, have been concerned about a bill introduced last spring in the state legislature to authorize the union⁸busting law. The political climate in Missouri has changed dramatically in recent years and Repub-licans control both the governor’s office and the leg-islature. If Republicans, who have strong majorities in both the state senate and state house, should pass a so⁸-called Right⁸To⁸Work bill, Blunt could be expected to get heavy business pressure to sign it, despite his pledge to labor this year--in an exclusive interview with The Labor Tribune--that he would veto any such bill reaching his desk. Carpenters Secretary Treasurer Terry Nelson and by Carpenters President Douglas McCarron--in town for the Sept.27 Change to Win convention-- praised Tal-ent and Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) for inserting Davis⁸Bacon provisions into a $286.5 billion high-way/mass transit bill the GOP-run Congress recently

See Pledge, Page 21.

21

USW Sub District 3 Presents: January 21, 2006 Texas Hold’em Tournament: Noon to 6:00 PM

Las Vegas Night: 6:00 PM to Midnight @ USW Local 1999, 218 South Addison St, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Texas Hold’em Entry fee is $50 per person and includes ticket to Las

Vegas night. Entry fee will be collected at the door. Participants need to be at the door by 11:30 AM.

Las Vegas Night tickets are $10 per person.

Prize money will be based on sales and participation: Hourly drawings at the Las Vegas Night (must be present to win) and Grand Prize at midnight (need

not be present to win).

Texas Hold’em Tournament payout based upon number of participants.

Proceeds will go to the Sub District 3 Political Education Fund.

Pledge, From Page 20. passed. The 1931 Davis-Bacon Act mandates payment of prevailing wages on federally funded highway, road, bridge, mass transit and other construction projects. But it contains a provision for waiving those wage rules in times of “national emergency.” Bush seized on that provision to dump Davis-Bacon in the Katrina-devastated areas, thus cutting workers’ wages on reconstruction projects. “I was with the president (Bush) when he told Sen.

Bond: ‘You take care of the Carpenters and the Op-erating Engineers’ in the highway bill,” McCarron said. McCarron is virtually the only union leader who meets regularly with Bush. Bond chairs the Senate Appropriations Transporta-tion and Infrastructure subcommittee, and coau-thored the highway law. While it lists highway and mass transit projects, it does not actually dole out the money; Bond’s panel is one that does. Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)