Labor Union Blog

Economic Report

By Doug Cunningham

One in five Americans – nearly 41 million people – are working for wages and benefits hat don’t allow them to adequately make ends meet. According to a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research low wages, inadequate benefits mean this huge number of working Americans can’t cover the basic cost of living, yet earn too much to qualify them for government supports like Medicaid and food stamps. The report says universal health care reform would have a huge impact on these struggling working families.

By Doug Cunningham

Smithfield Foods has broken off talks with the United Food And Commercial Workers union on finding a fair and free process for workers to vote for a union. Pro-union workers there say they’re disappointed by the company’s action. The workers say thousands of them signed petitions asking for union representation without the com[any threats and abuses of past union elections.

While ten local SEIU state chapters have endorsed Presidential hopeful John Edwards this week, the 170,000-member Illinois Service Employees International Union threw their weight behind another Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama. However, not everyone is happy with Obama. Sarah Manski reports:

The AFL-CIO and other national labor unions are criticizing what they say is Obama’s backing of Wall Street’s push to expand NAFTA into Peru. The Bush Administration and the National Association of Manufactures is welcoming the deal saying that the watered down labor language is unenforceable. Sue Vilbrandt, a labor unionist and Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign member, picketed outside a recent Obama event.

By Doug Cunningham

Both the AFL-CIO and the Change To Win labor federations are urging an override Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. A vote to override the veto could come as soon as Thursday. The AFL-CIO says Bush’s veto – effectively freezing funding of the program – will result in a million kids form low-income families losing their health care under the program. Organized labor is urging an override of the veto, which would expand the program to insure more kids from low-income families.

More than 200 flight attendants from 20 carriers came together in support of their co-workers at Mesa Airlines and America West/US Airways to send a strong message to management that it is time to agree to fair contracts.

The workers—all members of the Flight Attendants/CWA—rallied at Barry Goldwater Airport in Phoenix today. They let officials of Mesa and America West/US Airways know they are tired of drawn-out contract talks and management demands that workers take concessions even though the carriers are profitable.

AFA/CWA President Patricia Friend told the crowd:

We stand together today to send a loud and clear message to management that it is time our negotiations move forward. Mesa and US Airways management would rather we sit back and take whatever scraps they toss our way. We sacrificed, we have helped rebuild, now it is time that we share in the rewards. No more stalling, it is time to move forward.