Union Review

Union Carpenter Dies at Las Vegas Strip Project

nominateducate — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:24:41 -0400

http://www.spfpalocal7777.org/SAFETYFIRSTATCITYCENTER.html

Bates has been a member of the union for 11 years, said Marc Furman, who oversees local carpenters unions as the head of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters.

The carpenter is the 12th construction worker to die in a construction accident on the Las Vegas Strip in the last 18 months.

But he is the first to die at Echelon, a $4.8 billion multi-towered Boyd Gaming project that broke ground one year ago. Marnell Corrao Associates is the general contractor of the Tower and Tishman is the construction manager.

http://www.swcarpenters.org/

http://www.lasvegassun.com/

Will the AFL-CIO Bring Labor Behind Obama?

Richard — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:09:27 -0400

The AFL-CIO will meet up this week with Barack Obama behind closed doors. I hope that shortly after these meetings, the labor federation will join with the Change to Win and the many other unions to openly endorse Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

Union Launches Facebook and Myspace Pages

Richard — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:44:13 -0400

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) launced two new social networking pages today in an effort to reach younger members on their voting rights.

A Personal Feel Good Story When Feeling Like Crap

Richard — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:44:42 -0400

So, on Friday of last week I was honored to be part of a panel at the 33rd Annual Metro Labor Communicatons Council. I was walking up 43rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, where the event was being held when something caught my eye. A worker came off a construction site and began walking toward a deli. He pulled his hardhat off and stuck it under his arm ... As he was doing that, I was checking out the stickers on the hat and smiled big and proud to see the brother had a Union Review sticker.

Ohio, Locked Out Kongsberg Automive workers hold mass demonstration and I can't find any information

Joe638NYC — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:41:37 -0400

We have quite a few members here who are facing the American Nightmare

Their jobs were bought by a multi-national corporation and they were locked out and "temporarily" replaced by scab workers. I need help, help from the people who are locked out. Hit the submit content button and write a story about the rally, or just post some comments, pictures and/or links here.

Help to fight back by spreading information, its obvious that the media and press just don't care. BUT, we are read around the country, in fact around the world by some very prominent people. They come here for news. Lets give it to them.

Carpenters to Fight Elimination of Income Tax

nominateducate — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:46:08 -0400

"This is the type of initiative that would have a disastrous impact on construction, school budgets and virtually every state service," said NERCC Political Director Tom Flynn. "You can't just eliminate a third of state revenues and not feel a real pinch. We will be educating our members and helping educate the public about the very dangerous consequences this repeal would have. If we do that, I think it will be defeated."

http://www.necarpenters.org/

McCain Denies Supporting Social Security Privatization

Richard — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:27:31 -0400

I spend a fair amount of time at websites that can help me get to the core of where the candidates stand. I'd like to think that I have a fair handle on where Barack is on the issues that mean the most to me -- and have only known that McCain is on the opposite side, promising only to perpetuate all the madness endured by the Bush administration.

One site that I go to often is McCain Revealed & try to keep with what Tula Connell from AFL-CIO NOW posts on the candidate. Tonight I thought it would be a good idea to cross-post her stuff to Union Review to help spread the word(s).

VICTORY: New Jersey School Bus and Transit Workers Choose Teamsters!

Richard — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:17:29 -0400

In a 4-to-1 margin in favor of joining Teamsters Local 469 in Hazlet, New Jersey some 184 workers are the latest group to seek the Union's representation to improve their working conditions.

Teamsters Set Record Straight About PTS Shutdown

Richard — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:28:36 -0400

"The company did not provide us with information that was anywhere near adequate to support its demands. The company did not present us with a viable plan to get out from underneath its debt. Instead, the company wanted to force our members to bear the lion's share of the cuts and to shoulder a grossly disproportionate share of the ongoing risks relating to the company's problems with its lendors. We countered with a detailed proposal to the company, which included significant operating improvements for PTS and which in our opinion would have enabled to company to survive. The company rejected our proposal and insisted only on cutting our members' wages. At the same time, though, the company's top management would not take the same cuts for themselves."
~Fred Zuckerman, Teamsters Carhaul Director

Online Media Presented at 33rd Annual Metro NY Labor Communications Council

Richard — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:02:45 -0400

The Metro New York Labor Communications Council's 33rd annual convention on Friday, June 13th held a panel called "Communicating Labor's Agenda for the 2008 Elections." I was honored to be part of this panel to speak about innovative strategies for education and mobilization through the use of new media. This entry will go into a few of the items discussed with the hope that the word can spread even farther about online organizing, educating and mobilizing -- as well as open a discussion here on the topic.

JOHN L. SMITH: Let's Hope Walkout After City Center Death Puts Safety ahead of Speed

nominateducate — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:51:59 -0400

The scale of the project poses challenges on many levels. While construction workers came running to land good-paying jobs at CityCenter, building trades officials say their knowledge of standard safety practices is inconsistent. Meanwhile, the state's critics argue too few inspectors have roamed the construction site.

Was the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration ill-prepared -- and arguably unwilling -- to levy hard scrutiny at powerful Perini?

Building trades officials have complained for weeks that, even when OSHA found safety violations, the fines were reduced or eliminated altogether. And when it's acceptable to eliminate safety equipment such as those last-chance nets that might have saved the life of one fallen worker, there's something wrong with the system.

Fireman, teachers, police, none are allowed into unions in North Carolina, stand in solidarity for public workers 6/11/08

Joe638NYC — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:10:42 -0400

North Carolina citizens and organizations are calling for the passage of House Bill 1583, which will grant North Carolina's public servants the collective bargaining rights they deserve.

North Carolina's anti-worker laws and failures of labor law enforcement have been reported on this site and at Union Review for a while now, from breaking the bylaws of NAFTA by outlawing collective bargaining and freedom of association for public employees, in which Mexico filed charges with the United Nations International Labor Organization, to the recent Charges filed by over 40 North American unions against the state to the blatant discrimination and disregard for safety standards in the states meat cutting industry

Tomorrow the H.O.P.E Coalition (Hear Our Public Employees) are gathering to help pass House Bill 1583, which will grant North Carolina's public servants the collective bargaining rights they deserve.

Join the Indian slave pipefitters march on the Dept. of Justice, 6/11/08

Joe638NYC — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:02:01 -0400

If this is the first you have heard of this story, you don't visit enough, from Union City e-mail:

Indian Guestworkers to Rally Outside DOJ:
Indian guestworkers and supporters will march on the Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday at noon to demand the DOJ allow workers to stay in the US during the ongoing investigation against their employer Signal International. “The workers, who walked off jobs in Gulf Coast shipyards in early March, say they were victims of human trafficking when they were brought to the United States under a temporary guest worker program,” reported Julia Preston in the New York Times on Saturday.

Another disabled Wal-Mart victim gets justice

Joe638NYC — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:55:36 -0400

“After beating all the odds — surviving my injury when not expected to survive, walking again when told that I would never walk again, and returning to work where I received excellent performance evaluations and consistent merit increases — I was devastated to have the rug pulled out from underneath me simply because Wal-Mart could ‘no longer accommodate my handicap needs.’ I am hopeful that this settlement will make Wal-Mart take a closer look at its policies and practices with respect to the employment of individuals with disabilities so that what happened to me will not happen to someone else.”- Glenda D. Allen, fired from Wal-Mart

Justice has been served, Wal-Mart to Pay $250K Settlement for Firing Worker Disabled in Shooting

Reminder: Labor on TV tonight, hope the DOL and OSHA take a look

Joe638NYC — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:25:45 -0400

60 Minutes at 7 EST will be featuring a story about Combustible dust, and FX will have a 30 Days with Morgan Spurlock repeat at 11:00 EST, of him trying to make it as a rookie coal miner.

60 minutes story

30 Days story

NY Construction members take to buses to promote unions

Joe638NYC — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:09:59 -0400

The ad is simple and effective and drives home the point that unions are not special interests they are the people who make everything in this country work. - Bill

*Click image for large view

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to make everyone aware of the new bus ad campaign on the NYC buses, sponsored by the Concrete Alliance. It asks the question: "Why Union?" Then it shows a family that is healthy and happy. The ad is simple and effective and drives home the point that unions are not special interests they are the people who make everything in this country work. We often hear talk of family values these days. What higher value can we place on our families than securing the wages, health benefits, and other essential family needs that become available through union membership? I'm really proud of my Local for participating in the campaign.

Bill the Lather

Video: Bill Moyers addresses conference for media reform: labor, health care, middle-class, tying it all together

Joe638NYC — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:36:46 -0400

"...and I see a link between that process and the stock market frenzy which scorns long-term investments, genuine savings, in favor of quick turnovers and speculative bubbles, whose inevitable bursting leaves insiders with stuffed pockets and millions of small shareholders, stock holders, employees and home owners, out of luck, out of work, and out of hope." -Bill Moyers

From YouTube:

Legendary journalist Bill Moyers address the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis, June 7, 2008. Presented by FreePress.net. For more speakers, press coverage, and info, visit: http://www.freepress.net/conference

The NY Times actually mentions Indian Slave pipe-fitters, Rick Berman, need for teaching about unions, IN: Laborers get 1st rais

Joe638NYC — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:33:39 -0400

A whole ton of labor info from around the net, Rick Berma's orginization has launched a national campaign against unions and the Employee Free Choice Act, a labor attorney from PA speaks of a need for education about unions and the labor movement for young people, Tuka Connell brings us some distressing news on the latest unemployment figures, The New York Times finally reports about the Indian slave pipefitters, Starbucks fores a "Barista" for union activity, Joe's Union Review is recognized by Far Left field Blog and the LIUNA Laborers Local 274 in Indiana finally gets a raise after 3 years and a strike.

Crane News: 2 stories at Joe's Union Review

Joe638NYC — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:21:21 -0400

Two recent stories following the recent crane tragedy in New York

NY: City’s Top Crane Inspector Is Arrested

E-Mail from the USA shows need for time consuming crane inspections

Video: James McMurtry "We can't make it here" - live and acoustic

Joe638NYC — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:10:16 -0400

Now I’m stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can’t make it here anymore

Some essential advice from a 4th. generation union construction worker

Joe638NYC — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:07:49 -0400

Spotted this good piece of advice from the website of Cement Masons Local 555

Living Lean
by Brett Hinsley, Business Manager, Cement Masons LU 555, Oregon and SW Washington

My grandmother lived in Koosherem Utah during the depression. The only things that grow there are rattlesnakes and potatoes. She used to tell us that there wasn’t a way to cook potatoes known to man that she has not tried. She was adept at making a living out of nothing. She never wasted food, she always repaired things instead of buying new and she cleaned chicken coops for .25 cents an hour as a young girl. She taught us how to live lean.

My grandfather worked as union Teamster hauling graders...(continued)

Building Bridges Radio: HIP-GHI Privatization; and Labour Solidarity with Palestine

knash — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 10:59:02 -0400

Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
********************************************

Teamsters Carhaul Division Approves Strike Against PTS

Richard — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:22:19 -0400

On Friday, June 6, leaders from local Teamster unions that represent PTS carhaul members unanimously approved a strike against the company beginning at 9 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) Monday, June 9.

FedEx Express Pension Gone Overnight

Richard — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:04:31 -0400

For most of the 35 years at Federal Express, the hard work and dedication of the Express workforce delivered the profits that fueled the so-called “People-Service-Profit” slogan. But something happened between 1998 and 2000 when Federal Express became “FedEx” and the company bought RPS/Caliber. Those people – the workers at Express – who delivered all those years of profit saw more and more money going to acquisitions and less and less money put into their wages and workplace benefits like health care and pension.

The acquisitions have only quickened since 2000. FedEx Express profits funded the $1.2 billion purchase of American Freightways, the $2.4 billion purchase of Kinko’s (now something called FedEx Office????) and the $760 million purchase of Watkins. FedEx Express profits funded the $1.8 billion build-out of the Ground network. FedEx Express profits funded the purchase of ANC in England, the purchase of DTW in China and the purchase of PAFEX in India.

Forbes: Fears Of A Union Renaissance

Richard — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:40:53 -0400

The Forbes article starts out with the following: "Who's afraid of a little organized labor? U.S. business, that's who."

I welcome you all to go to the article and comment on this piece. It is not everyday that we can get actually get heard at publications such as Forbes.

Union Workers in Florida Protest McCain Fundraiser

Richard — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:32:14 -0400

It was a breath of fresh air for me to find an article on Click10.com (the web presence for the Miami-based ABC-TV affiliate) on the protest held by Florida union members at a John McCain fundraiser in the Sunshine State.

Here are a few other reasons we should not vote for McCain this year!

One Union Bites Another Union's Work ...

Richard — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:04:01 -0400

This is a short two paragraph story about a First Student bus yard that voted to unionize with the United Auto Workers. While I am glad these workers have a union, I am disappointed that the UAW is picking off the success of another union. I am curious to know what others think of this situation.

Unions Come Together to Support TRADE ACT!

Richard — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:05:50 -0400

Yesterday afternoon on Capitol Hill, labor leaders came together with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representative Michael Michaud (D-ME) to announce the introduction of the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act.

Las Vegas: Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades win strike for better safety

Joe638NYC — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:48:39 -0400

“We’ll fix it. We’ll fix it.” But nothing ever happens. They’re pushing to get stuff done. They’re more interested in the money, than keeping the job safe.-Fred Medina, a member of Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 797

I was in the middle of writing this up last night, I got a ton of information from Gangbox: Construction Workers News Service, after 11 construction deaths in 18 months, and failure to negotiate a positive safety plan between the unions and Perini, the General Contractor, the Nevada Building and Construction Trades membership walked off the job late Monday night, a general strike, today I noticed at the AFL-CIO Blog that the workers have ended the strike, details below.

Creator of Super-Size Me trying to make ends meet as a rookie coal miner on FX

Joe638NYC — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:44:45 -0400

Morgan Spurlock, the creative genius and main character of Super-Size Me, is going to try to live for 30 days as a rookie coal miner in the United States. I missed it, it's on the cable channel FX, Tuesdays at 10:00 and 11:00PM, but it is going to be rerun Friday and Sunday at 11:00PM. You can check the schedule

The show is called 30 Days, where Mr. Spurlock and other willing people try to live the lives of other people for 30 Days, from the 30 days site at FX

Glenn Beck commentary: Slavery alive and well in the U.S.

Joe638NYC — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:24:35 -0400

Illegal aliens mean no workers' comp claims, no age, race or sex discrimination lawsuits, no healthcare premiums, no unions, and no demands for raises, vacations or bigger offices. In fact, illegal immigrants are the perfect employees because they're not employees at all; they're corporate slaves.

I have written 2 articles with the same title, Mr. Beck does justice to getting the message out there

Great article, this is the very point of a lot of my writings here and around the net, jobs Americans wont do, see my article on "Modern day Slavery hunger strikers going on day 20, Get E-Active!" on how my trade has been violated by Signal International, and thats only one very small story that made the news. What about the Verizon subcontractor, the H1B Visa abuses and disqualification of US workers, as i state in the article about the pregnant 17 year old Mexican girl who died of thirst on a farm in California, there is a war on the American worker, spread the word, this affects all of us, liberal, black, Chinese, conservative, Latino,union, Republican, white, Catholic, Democrat, Jewish, Muslim, immigrant, our parents, our kids, etc...

The entire article is just a click away

Underage and pregnant Mexican teen dies on California vinyard

Joe638NYC — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:20:04 -0400

“If you take her to a clinic,” the foreman said, “don’t say she was working [for the contractor]. Say she became sick because she was jogging to get exercise. Since she’s underage, it will create big problems for us.”

I got wind of this story from TrueBlueMajority at DailyKos from (5/29/08):

Pregnant farmworker dies due to safety violations
Funeral services were held yesterday in California for Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez. Vasquez Jimenez was a 17 year old woman working for a contracting company called Merced Farm Labor, and she died of overheating because rules about access to water, water breaks, and shade were ignored. Newspaper reports indicate her body temperature exceeded 108 degrees. She may not have known she was two months pregnant; her pregnancy was discovered as part of the investigation into her death.

US Dept. of labor auditing law firm for disqualifing American workers

Joe638NYC — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:17:16 -0400

I read through the Newswire, it seems that the DOL has "information indicating that in at least some cases the firm improperly instructed clients who filed permanent labor certification applications to contact their attorney before hiring apparently qualified U.S. workers."

More loop holes screwing American workers, you can view the entire Newswire at "U.S. Department of Labor Auditing All Permanent Labor Certification Applications Filed by Major Immigration Law Firm" (6/2/08)

I'm getting the eerie feeling they don't want American workers, and are doing everything in their power to make sure they don't wind up with one. this follows all the other immigration scams and injustices that are happening in our "legal immigration" policies. Next story up is the one about the pregnant 17 year old migrant farm worker in California who died because she wasn't allowed to have water. Sphere: Related Content

Modern day Slavery hunger strikers going on day 20, Get E-Active!

Joe638NYC — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:07:30 -0400

"Very little has changed in the last hundred years. Welcome to the new world order." - Ron Ault, President Metal Trades Dept., AFL-CIO in support of hunger strikers

Signal Corp Fucked American workers from the beginning
Getting to the bottom of why this is a plight for all American workers

I have been following this story for a while, not only for the fact that it's a crime against humanity and every labor law of the United states, not just for the fact that I detest slavery and Visa abuses, not only for the constantly worsening conditions that working people in my United States must endure, the HUGEST GRIPE I have is that this is the work that myself and my fellow union brothers and sisters do for a living, and while we get a decent paycheck, we only get one when we work and we are by no means independently wealthy. Construction is quickly becoming the most dangerous profession in the country, it requires high skills and training. Signal International decided that it wouldn't even use any US workers at all, and was granted H2B, temporary, non-seasonal Visa's to bypass all American workers and get them from elsewhere. I know quite a few pipefitters and steamfitters who would have worked to get Signal back online.

So Signal Corp fucked the American worker from the beginning. Thats just the start to our story. I'll let the E-Active campaign, by Jobs With Justice, which has already had 9,000 E-mails sent to Congress asking for an investigation of Signal International, explain the rest of this travesty.

AP Tally: Obama clinches Democratic Nomination

Richard — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:26:57 -0400

While the news that Senator Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination is a journalistic leak or not ... I believe (as do many others) that it is time that Senator Clinton steps out of the presidential race and works toward uniting the Democratic Party once again.

Building Bridges Radio: Utah Phillips Got it Right- A Memorial

knash — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:18:41 -0400

Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
********************************************

Task Force on the Underground Economy and Misclassification at a Field Hearing Conducted by Senator John Kerry

nominateducate — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:45:58 -0400

"Cheaters and unscrupulous employers have created an underground economy as big as $1 trillion. Worse, workers right here in Massachusetts are being taken advantage of and not getting the benefits and protections they deserve," said Kerry. Participating in the hearing with Kerry was US Congressman John Tierney (D-Salem), co-author of the Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability and Consistency (TRAC) Act, which seeks to discourage employers from misclassifying workers by allowing the IRS to collect the unpaid taxes from the employer. In addition, the bill would increase fines for misclassifications.

http://www.necarpenters.org/

American Axle gearing up to destroy the environment

Joe638NYC — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:22:57 -0400

Who would have thought that those good guys at American Axle would wind up winning their labor dispute with the UAW here in the states, getting as much as wages of $10 less an hour and gearing up to shed 3 US factories and a little less than 2,000 US workers in the process. You would think that they have gotten a sweet deal.Figuring that the US worker is the absolutely highest production worker in the world. Theres gotta be some reasoning and considering all the new business it has recently gotten, its a cause for alarm.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said today that it has a $1.4 billion backlog in new business beginning next year through 2013 — almost all of which will be sourced outside the United States, Automotive News reported.

You would think they would be opening factories on every block, but that simply isn't the case. For some reason, be it governmental labor regulations or environmental standards, American Axle is pledging to do more business outside of the US

Indian Ambassador refuses to visit with "slave" hunger strikers

Joe638NYC — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:15:39 -0400

Follow up on the post-Katrina abuses of H2B Visa guest workers in Mississippi and Texas.

Press Release: AFTRA Reaches Tentative Agreement with AMPTP on Primetime Television Contract

Richard — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:28:52 -0400

LOS ANGELES, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists -- the nation's second largest performers' union, representing 70,000 members, including approximately 52,000 working actors-has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on a new three-year primetime television contract (Exhibit A of the AFTRA Network Television Code). The agreement is subject to approval by AFTRA's National Board and ratification by the union's membership.

Stanley Aronowitz on What Is To Be Done

knash — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:31:05 -0400

Building Bridges Radio: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
********************************************

Building Bridges Radio: World Food Crisis

knash — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:01:03 -0400

Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
********************************************

Mobile agreement between New Era and Teamsters paves way for overwhelming union vote in Jackson facility

Joe638NYC — Sun, 18 May 2008 16:31:22 -0400

"The Teamsters reached an agreement with New Era Cap earlier this year with its Mobile, Alabama workers that helped lead to today's victory." - Jimmy Hoffa Jr., President International Brotherhood of Teamsters

In Feburary 2008, the Teamster, New Era Cap and the NAACP jointly announced a tentative 3 year agreement in the Mobile, Alabama facility. Part of that agreement was that the company and the union would remain neutrality, whereby they would stand clear of coercion in the organizing of other New Era Cap facilities.

Friday, the workers in the Jackson, Alabama facility, which employees 326, voted overwhelmingly, 209-77, to become union members in the Teamsters Local 991.

American Axle/UAW reach tentative pact, Cheektowaga to stay open, Tonawanda Forge to close

Joe638NYC — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:59:27 -0400

There is a tentative agreement between AAM and UAW, not many details as of yet. Buffalo Cheektowaga facility to stay open, Tonawanda Forge to close, don't know much more yet, details will be released Sunday morning. WSBT DTV reports "A spokesperson who was briefed on the agreement says the auto part supplier has boosted its wage offer and increased payments it will give workers to take a wage cut."

UPDATE: Senate drops public safety workers Bill

Joe638NYC — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:37:50 -0400

UPDATED-> Bill did not go through !

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats on Thursday dropped a bill allowing all police, firefighters and other first responders to unionize after Republicans complained they didn't get enough time to offer amendments.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he did not have enough votes to force final consideration of the bill.

The two top senators on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., will try to work out an agreement before the bill comes back for consideration, Reid said. READ MORE!

Yesterday on my homesite "Joe's Union Review" I asked you to join with American Rights at Work to contact your Senator and ask them to approve the bill that would allow basic collective bargaining for public safety officers.

Kongsberg Automotive: Greed is Thy Name

Joe638NYC — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:33:32 -0400

crossposted on uniongal

I know this is coming as a SHOCK to everyone here, but Kongsberg has decide to CLOSE another plant. This one is in Sweden, again. Wonder if they’re moving those operations to the new Polish plant or somewhere with even fewer environmental laws and lower taxes. But hey, don’t take my word for it, take a read of ABN:

Slavery in the news: Indian 'guest workers' to hold hunger strike in DC

Joe638NYC — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:30:48 -0400

Follow up on the post-Katrina abuses of H2B Visa guest workers in Mississippi and Texas.

Now these workers are going on a hunger strike in Washington DC this Wednesday

On May 1 Teamster Local 237 Held A Sprited Rally To Raise Awareness to the NYCHA Budget Cuts

Richard — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:23:57 -0400

On May 1, Teamster Local 237 held a very spirited rally at City Hall Park to raise awareness to the ongoing budget cuts slashing into the New York City Housing Authority, which employs about 8,000 Local 237 members. Here's the whole story.

Building Bridges Radio: Inequality and Our Imploding Economy

knash — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:46:27 -0400

Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
                           National Edition
     Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
                   ********************************************

Amazing Video of Teamster Rally in Florida, March 2008

Richard — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:38:58 -0400

A new and excellent video was released late last week of the exciting rally I attended with a few hundred school bus and transit workers organizing a First Student yard in Jacksonville, Florida.