LETTER Labor Advisory Board September 2013 Vol
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Published By AMERICAN INCOME LIFE & NATIONAL INCOME LIFE LETTER LABOR ADVISORY BOARD SEPTEMBER 2013 Vol. 45 No. 5 NEWS FROM THE to engaging in a dialogue regarding racial she said, “I have two granddaughters and AFL-CIO, CTW, disparities and violence in America’s com- I want to spend more time with them.” INTERnaTIOnal & munities. “We shall encourage our national California labor official Tefere Gebre, affiliates and our state and local bodies to 45, was tapped by AFL-CIO Richard NATIOnal UNIONS participate fully in a dialogue with our part- Trumka to run on his slate to succeed her ners and allies and work diligently to sup- at the AFL-CIO’s upcoming convention. The AFL-CIO Convention, slat- port policies at the federal, state and local Holt-Baker was appointed to replace re- ed for September 8-11 in Los Angeles, is ex- level that eliminate discrimination, profiling tired AFL-CIO Executive Vice President pected to approve the return of the 1.3-mil- and violence and to denounce Stand Your Linda Chavez Thompson and then elected lion-member United Food and Commercial Ground laws that are advanced by the anti- by acclamation to serve a full term in the Workers (UFCW). The UFCW was among worker, pro-voter suppression American office by delegates to the AFL-CIO’s 26th the key unions who broke away from the Legislative Exchange Council,” the council convention in 2009. Before coming to the AFL-CIO in 2005 to form the Change To said in the statement. AFL-CIO in 1995 as Chavez-Thompson’s Win coalition. UFCW President Joe Han- executive assistant, she served as AFSC- sen chairs Change To Win, but the union Arlene Holt-Baker, Executive ME’s international union area director in has retained close ties with the AFL-CIO. Vice President of the AFL-CIO, recently California. Gebre was a teenaged political The return of the UFCW is projected to announced she will retire at the AFL- refugee from Ethiopia, a former member boost the national AFL-CIO’s membership CIO convention in September because, of Laborers Local 270. by almost 10 percent and provide an infu- sion of resources. The UFCW’s dues, based on current per capita funding, will provide an additional $10 million annually to the federation although media reports indicated the union may be offered a discount on dues payments. Details of the reaffiliation talks were not available at press time. The AFL-CIO Executive Coun- cil meeting in July in Washington, D.C., is- sued a statement in response to the shooting of 17-year old Trayvon Martin, reaffirming its commitment to social and economic jus- tice for communities of color. The council also said the AFL-CIO Convention would address the issue in September. The council called the Trayvon Martin case “a painful wake-up call” to improve economic op- portunity and social justice. The AFL-CIO Arlene Holt-Baker, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO. Flickr.com photo used under will be “deliberate in our commitment” Creative Commons from AFGE. JAMES WILLIAMS, General President Emeritus - International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Chairman - AIL Labour Advisory Board VICTOR KAMBER, Vice President - American Income Life Insurance Company, Executive Director - AIL/NILICO Labor Advisory Board ROGER SMITH, Chief Executive Officer - American Income Life Insurance Company, President - AIL/NILICO Labor Advisory Board DENISE BOWYER, Vice President - American Income Life Insurance Company, Secretary - AIL/NILICO Labor Advisory Board Pg 2 LABOR LETTER Even though Pennsylvania’s workers at the decades-old southwestern Republican-passed Voter ID law was not en- Windsor, Ontario distillery are represented forced for the 2012 general election, between by Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union 35,239 and 36,613 voters were disenfran- Local 2027. “After a tough round of bar- chised due to confusion caused by the State’s gaining, I am happy we have bargained a fair efforts to educate voters about photo ID re- agreement with the company that provides quirements, a recent analysis by the Pa. state needed improvements for our members,” AFL-CIO found. “We have said all along CAW local president Steve Taylor said. Ac- that this law had nothing to do with pre- cording to news reports, the new pact does venting fraud,” said Pennsylvania AFL-CIO not include wage increases or cost of adjust- President Rick Bloomingdale. “This analysis ments, but instead includes lump sum pay- proves that even before being implemented, ments of $4,450 for production workers and this law did exactly what its architects in- $5,200 for trades workers over the life of tended.” The labor federation examined turn- the contract. Workers also received an early out figures for the 758,000 registered voters signing bonus of $1,250 and improvements targeted by a state mailer campaign deemed in vacation schedules and employee health to “lack proper ID” prior to the law being benefits. A number of brands, including Po- blocked. They were significantly less likely lar Ice vodka, Lamb’s rum, Malibu liqueurs than other Pennsylvanians to cast a ballot and Wiser’s Canadian whiskies are pro- in the November election, the union found. duced at the Windsor, Ontario facility. ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. Flickr. Bloomingdale said further analysis revealed com photo used under Creative Commons from Nearly 5,000 Chinese workers that among voters disenfranchised in 2012, International Labour Organization. registered Democrats outnumbered regis- at a Sino-US joint venture tire manufacturer tered Republicans by more than 2.5 to one. More than half the world’s went on strike in July to protest the $2.5 bil- Voter ID “frightened a lot of people and population said their incomes have fallen lion takeover of the American parent com- when people are frightened about an election, behind the cost of living, according to a new pany by an Indian firm. Apollo Tires of In- they don’t vote,” he said. global public opinion poll from the Labor dia recently announced that it will take over 20, the trade union representatives to the Cooper Tire and Rubber, headquartered in G20. According to the poll, two out of three Findlay, Ohio, making the group the sev- INTERnaTIOnal people rate the current economic situation enth-largest tire maker in the world. But LABOR NEWS in their country as bad as it was in 2007 just thousands of staff at Cooper Chengshan, prior to the global economic crisis. “The a joint venture in the eastern province of International outrage erupted global economy is no more stable than it Shandong, walked off their jobs in protest. over the shooting death of Philippine labor was six years ago…,” said the International Workers expressed worries that the takeover leader Antonio “Dodong” Petalcorin who Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). In a could endanger their jobs and concerns over was killed July 2 in front of his home by a recent speech at the Lowy Institute for In- cultural clashes with the new Indian bosses. masked gunman who escaped on a motor- ternational Policy today in Sydney, ITUC The union said they would try to block the cycle. Dodong was leader of the Network General Secretary Sharan Burrow called transaction, but said their goal may not be of Transport Organizations (NETO- for the implementation of a “new interna- achievable. “But at least we can express our APL-ITUC.)The International Transport tional architecture” under the Australian unease and demands and we hope we can Federation is leading a global call for the Presidency of the G20 which begins in draw the support of the media to success- president of the Philippines “to do his ut- December 2013. “Globally, unemployment fully block this deal,” Yue Chunxue, director most” to stop the murders of trade union is rising above 200 million and youth un- of the Cooper Chengshan union branch, and human rights activists, and to bring employment is a problem in nearly every told the news media. the killers to justice. Dodong was part of a nation,” she said. She noted Australia’s suc- group of transport leaders who exposed the cessful experience with “quality jobs, social alleged corrupt practices of the director and protection and youth guarantees including NATIOnal & launched a campaign to oust him in Octo- experience with apprenticeships and skills POLITICAL EVENTS ber 2012. The union alleged Benjamin Go, development demonstrates a pathway for the regional director of the Land Transpor- other countries to follow.” The U.S. Department of Labor tation Franchising and Regulatory Board (DOL) obtained a consent judgment in (LTFRB) Regional Office in Davao City, Canadian workers at Hiram federal court against California noodle was involved. The ITF also called upon the Walker & Sons Ltd. agreed on new three- manufacturer and distributor Rama Food government to address the corruption issues year agreement months before the current Manufacture Corp., and two company offi- raised by Dodong and his colleagues. pact. The 132 production and skilled trades cers for wage and hour violations. The court LABOR LETTER Pg 3 ordered the employer to pay 36 current and William Spriggs said the jobless report REGIOnal & former employees $195,400 in back wages continues “to show a very mild recovery, but and liquidated damages. The DOL said they fell below expectations and are disap- LOCAL LABOR the company paid employees straight time pointing.” BLS said the job gains were con- NEWS for all hours worked and did not receive an centrated in retail, food services, financial overtime premium for hours worked be- activities and wholesale trade. The manufac- Members of Teamsters Local yond 40 per week, as required by the FLSA. turing sector gained 6,000 jobs; government 665, which represents more than 30 Lake In addition, the investigators reported that employment stayed basically flat.