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Vol. 1,
Issue 13
The
goal of Labor UpFront is to provide members and friends with news,
information, and general ways to stay connected with the on-going
struggles of workers. You can also visit our
blog, http://laborupfront.blogspot.com/,
for further information on the stories in this newsletter and much more! Please
feel free to forward this to anyone
you feel may benefit, and if you received this from a friend, e-mail cp-labor-join@cpusa.org to
join the list.
Scott Marshall,
Labor Commission Chair
Melissa O’Rourke, Labor Commission Coordinator, Labor UpFront editor
In This
Newsletter:
USW:
History in the Making
Action Alerts: UFW; Bad Boss is Back
Round-up of
International Strikes
Working Women Survey
results
DC stands
with Smithfield Workers
Million
Member Mobilization
Willamette Reds
event
Election 2008: Trumka addresses USW
convention
Union Jobs
(still more needed!)
‘Workers Uniting’ —
history in the making
By Scott Marshall
The United Steelworkers union (USW) made history with its 2008
convention just held in Las Vegas. That’s History with a capital “H.”
The kind of history that can forever change labor and our country. The
kind of history that was made in 1935 when the CIO - Committee for
Industrial Organization was formed.
The establishment of the CIO was neither the beginning, nor the end of
the struggle for industrial unionism in the US and Canada. But it did
mark an historic organizational turning point for labor. By its
founding the CIO moved beyond the general question to the particular
struggle to organize workers on an industrial basis. This advance by
labor was crucial to match the development of monopoly capitalism.
Even long before 1935 there was a strong left/center core of unions and
union leaders who fully understood that craft unionism could not match
the power of giant corporations with factories all over the country,
and even the world. They also saw that local unions with only local
contracts would have little leverage in dealing with giant monopolies
that could shift production and force workers to compete across state
lines. Inherent to industrial unionism was the idea that all workers in
a company and in a workplace should be organized in the same union with
the same master contract. Also inherent in the thinking behind
industrial unionism was the idea that unions had to fully participate
in political struggles in addition to the direct economic struggles of
workers. 
Remember the name “Workers Uniting.”
It may very well be the CIO of our time. On July 2, the Steelworkers,
the largest industrial union in the US and Canada, and, Unite the
Union, the largest industrial union in the United Kingdom and Ireland,
signed an agreement clearing the way for the creation of Workers
Uniting. This will be the world's first global union. Continue
reading here.
Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers,
and Derek Simpson, general secretary of the UK-based international
union, Unite the Union, greet the USW convention just seconds after
signing the their global merger agreement before 3200 USW delegates and
fraternal guests from 29 countries. (photo by Scott Marshall)
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Action Alerts
UFW: Four workers have died
of heatstroke
It's
happened again. Yet another farm worker has died of heatstroke.
Ramiro Carrillo Rodriguez, 48, father of two, died in Selma, CA on
Thursday afternoon after working all day for Sun Valley Packing in
Reedley through a farm labor contractor. Ramiro had complained of being
sick
from the heat. He was taken home by his foreman. He passed out almost
as soon as he got in the house. By the time an ambulance got there he
was dead on arrival.
Ramiro's death makes two farm workers dying of heatstroke last week,
four farm worker heat deaths in the last 8 weeks and the 13th farm
worker heat death since CA Governor Schwarzenegger took office.
Something needs to be done immediately to prevent more needless deaths.
Please help. By clicking
here you'll send a fax to California Gov. Schwarzenegger (if you
live in California, a cc of your e-mail will also go to your
legislators) and tell them this has to stop now.
Return of the Bad Boss
Every year, Working America runs a national competition for America's worst boss--and
it’s tough competition. Familiar stories about hard work, bad pay, no
benefits and no respect come flooding in. Enter
today to see if you can escape from (your) Bad Boss!
We're asking working people to expose the truth about their bad bosses.
It's not just a chance to vent — you also could win one of two grand
prizes if your story is rated the worst bad boss experience.
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International
Labor News
International Strikes
Round-up
This summer has
been an eventful one for striking workers around the world, and more
strikes are planned. Here’s a round-up of just a few:
UK: On July 16-17, 600,000 local government workers are taking action
because employers are asking them to take a pay cut, and won't discuss
a better offer.
Read more
about it and send messages
of support to these workers.
Brazil: Brazil's Oil Workers Confederation began a five-day strike
Monday against state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA. The union
representing 4,500 workers in the Campos Basin, source of most of
Brazil's oil output, is striking over pay and work rules, regional
union chief Jose Maria Rangel said just before the walkout began at
midnight. Crews on platforms that produce more than 70 percent of the
basin's oil voted to walk out, said Alvarado Menezes, a strike
coordinator. (Bloomberg News)
Truck Drivers of the world unite!: There have been strikes all over the
world over the price of gas and the record profits of oil companies,
most being led by truck drivers.
• Last month throughout the UK over 600 tanker truck drivers went on
strike over wage and pension benefits, disrupting petrol distribution.
• Throughout Europe over the last few months truckers have staged
traffic-stopping and blocking protests over the more than 20% increase
in fuel costs. During the June strikes in Spain, most of the 90,000
hauliers who participated are self-employed, or working for small and
medium-sized haulage companies and whose livelihoods are at stake: "We
have no more solutions. We can't afford diesel any more. It's as simple
as that," Jean-Claude Ferrand told Spanish national radio. Drivers in
France and Portugal caused their own traffic disruptions in solidarity.
• At the beginning of July, nearly 4 million trucks were off the
roads in India as their owners went on strike due to 40% increases in
the cost of fuel since the beginning of this year.
South Korea: Waves of strikes throughout South Korea have been going on
for the past few weeks over the importation of beef from the United
States. Over 100,000 workers have participated in these strikes,
along with almost daily protests since the May 2 decision to allow
importation of U.S. beef to resume.
Nigeria: Members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) have been on
strike for two weeks now. The NUT started a nationwide strike on June
30 to protest against the non-implementation of Teachers Salary Scale
(TSS) by the federal government.
US: Some 8,500 employees of the University of California began a strike
Monday to demand better pay and a fair contract. The five-day strike is
set to run through Friday at the university’s 10 campuses and five
medical centers. Read more about it here.
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U.S. Labor News
Working Women want a raise
The results are in! America’s Working Women need a raise—and a break!
Last month Working America released the results of their annual ‘Ask a
Working Woman’ survey, with stunning answers.
Of the more than 12,000 respondents, 50% said that if they had more
time they would work a second job, and considering that a majority of
them also said they have credit card debt that would take at least 8
months to pay off, it shouldn’t be too surprising. Also, more than
anything else, respondents said that a 10% raise in their paycheck
would make their life as a working woman substantially easier; with
health care, pension, child care and paid time off all coming in well
behind.
If you consider that the women surveyed felt that men are being paid
more; two-thirds believe that being male, younger or more attractive
would increase their chances of promotion; and 80% say that “having
children hurts their career and prospects in the job market,” you can
see what a sorry state this country is in for women in the workforce.
The bright spot in the survey is that despite the pressures, or perhaps
because of them, working women continue to strongly support gains for
women as a class. 80% of the respondents say they identify with the
goals and ideals of feminism, and 43% feel strongly about it. And they
are not just hoping for change: 90% say they voted in the last
election, and six in 10 support efforts to encourage voting by women.
Karen Nussbaum, Executive Director of Working America, says the
findings are reflective of tough economic times for working women.
“Working women want to spend more time with their families, but can’t
afford to,” she says. “Working women say they want more cash in their
wallets, even more than other benefits, like health care. Unemployment
is up, the credit crunch is squeezing people, and gas prices are
hitting record highs. America’s working women need a raise and a
break.”
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DC “Buy Better than
Smithfield”
Metro DC labor and community activists launched the “Buy Better than
Smithfield” campaign earlier this summer in support of the 5,500
workers at the Tar Heel, NC plant where workers have been trying to
organize for the last 14 years. The workers face poverty wages, brutal
conditions, crippling injuries every day at the world's largest hog
processing plant. Cited by Human Rights Watch for violating
international human rights standards, Smithfield Packing has created an
environment of intimidation, racial tension, and sometimes violence for
workers who want a voice on the job.
DC activists are out and about canvassing, phone-banking and raising
awareness, and even helped to get a resolution introduced by the DC
City
Council. The resolution condemns Smithfield Foods and asks area
supermarkets not to stock products from the prominent meat company.
Hearings will be held in the fall. Councilmembers Phil Mendelson and
Marion Barry introduced a Sense of the Council resolution charging
Smithfield with having created an environment of "intimidation and fear
for workers who desperately want a voice on the job. Smithfield Foods
has denied employees workers' compensation after they have been injured
on the job, and has even fired injured workers." (Union City,
Metro DC Labor Council)
Check out Justice at
Smithfield’s website for more information.
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Million Member
Mobilization for Employee Free Choice Act
America's workers are putting in more hours than ever and still
struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, corporate CEOs enjoy salaries
180 times higher than their average employees.
So how do we level the playing field and get our economy back on track?
Good union jobs are the place to start. The Employee
Free Choice Act can help restore the American Dream by making it
easier for workers to form unions. Passing this bill won't be easy.
Right now, corporate interests are fighting the Employee Free Choice
Act with everything they've got. They're protecting the status quo — a
rigged system which allows employers to intimidate, harass and even
fire workers who try to demand better conditions and pay.
So over the next few months, workers across the country are going to
take a stand. We're going to show the new president and Congress there
are one million people who want to give hardworking families a chance
to get ahead. Can
you be one?
Support this bill and help us reach one
million signatures! You also have the option of uploading your
photo. We'll share the photos we collect with lawmakers so they can see
the faces of everyone who cares about this issue.
Read more about the mobilization going on here!
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Willamette Reds upcoming
event
Our friends
in Oregon are busy as usual! You can read about what they’re up to
over at their blog,
but I wanted to highlight one upcoming event in Portland in
particular. The Civil and Human Rights Committee of SEIU Local 503,
OPEU is sponsoring a public event called “A Hard Rain Fell: Struggles
for Civil Rights in the 1960’s and Their Meaning Today” on Friday,
August 8 at 7:00 PM at the SEIU offices located at 6401 SE Foster Rd.
in Portland. This event will feature long-time African-American civil
rights activist Jarvis Tyner and SEIU union activists Anne Montague and
Bob Novick speaking from personal memory about the civil rights
movements of the past and tying these to our present political moment.
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Election
'08
At
the USW convention, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka didn’t
mince words when addressing an issue at the heart of this Presidential
election:
“I’m not one for quoting dead philosophers, but back in the 1700s,
Edmund Burke said: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for
good people to do nothing.” Well, there’s no evil that’s inflicted
more pain and more suffering than racism -- and it’s something we in
the labor movement have a special responsibility to challenge.
It’s our special responsibility because we know, better than anyone
else, how racism is used to divide working people. We’ve seen how
companies set worker against worker -- how they throw whites a few
extra crumbs off the table – and how we all end up losing.
But we’ve seen something else, too. We’ve seen that when we cross that
color line and stand together no one can keep us down. That’s why the
CIO was created. That’s why industrial unions were the first to stand
up against lynching and segregation. People need to know that it was
the Steel Workers Organizing Committee -- this union -- that was
founded on the principal of organizing all workers without regard to
race. That’s why the labor movement -- imperfect as we are -- is the
most integrated institution in American life.
I don’t think we should be out there pointing fingers in peoples’ faces
and calling them racist; instead we need to educate them that if they
care about holding on to their jobs, their health care, their pensions,
and their homes -- if they care about creating good jobs with clean
energy, child care, pay equity for women workers -- there’s only going
to be one candidate on the ballot this fall who’s on their side...only
one candidate who’s going to stand up for their families...only one
candidate who’s earned their votes...and his name is Barack Obama! And
come November we are going to elect him President.”
Read
the speech in its entirety here, and after you’re done reading it,
check out the USW’s newly redesigned
website!
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Union Jobs (We need more
listings!)
Chicago: IBEW: further info is available at www.ejatt.com
Chicago Education-to-Careers: http://www.cisco.org/etc/apprec.htm
There is also a website, http://www.unionjobs.com/ that
lists union
jobs, including staff, trades and apprenticeships, by state.
Keep them coming!!!! In an effort to assist young
workers in finding decent-paying union jobs, I’m requesting that anyone
who knows of job openings or apprenticeships, in all fields and across
the country, please forward that information to laborupfront@cpusa.org.
To remove your name from our mailing list, please e-mail cp-labor-leave@cpusa.org
We welcome questions, comments and stories for our next
newsletter. Send them to us at laborupfront@cpusa.org
or call (773)
446-9920, ext. 212.
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