Labor Union Blog

This is a cross post from the Firedoglake blog.

Every evening, Kiel Macey goes door to door talking with working- and middle-class people in Pennsylvania about issues like health care, jobs and the U.S. economy. Even though most have just come home from work and are busy with dinner, their families and yes, television, many of them take time to talk with Kiel, a canvasser for the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America.

Kiel’s goal is to sign up new members with Working America. When they sign up (at no cost, or for whatever they want to chip in), people who don’t have the benefit of a union on the job get a voice in a growing community of workers who increasingly have a major say in changing the political direction of the nation. Sometimes, as Kiel says, it comes down to this: Britney Spears or health care.

The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.

Settlements
UAW, Ford: On Nov. 3, the UAW and Ford Motor Co. reached a four-year tentative agreement to cover 54,000 employees. The agreement closely follows the agreements reached with General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. Ford and UAW negotiators tentatively agreed to shift the company’s $22 billion retiree health benefit obligation to a union-controlled Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust. While full details will be disclosed following the ratification vote, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger indicated the “team is proud of each and every negotiator because they have encouraged Ford to invest in product and people while addressing the economic needs of our active and retired members.”

If one former Communications Workers of America (CWA) member from California had a chance to speak directly with Republican candidates, she’d ask them about health care. Here, she tells an all-too-common story: Her husband has developed a chronic degenerative condition, and his insurance soon will be expiring—leaving him essentially uninsurable because of his condition. She wants to know what the Republican candidates would do to help families like hers.

Have a question you want to ask the Republican candidates? You can let the world know what you’d ask the Republicans if you had a chance in our Working Families Vote 2008 contest. We’ll announce winners right before the Nov. 28 Republican YouTube debate. Shoot a brief video of yourself, and let us know what question you want the Republicans to answer, about the issues that matter most to you. All current and former AFL-CIO affiliate union members are eligible to submit videos, and everyone can vote for their favorites.

What would you ask the Republicans if you had a chance? Submit your video today!

The writer’s strike to win a fair contract enters its fifth day, as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Televisions Producers continues to refuse to return to the bargaining table.

Striking writers and their supporters are on the picket lines at major studios in New York and California in a drive to win an equitable contract that addresses how writers get paid as new media plays a bigger and bigger role in the entertainment industry.

The writers are seeking a formula for fair compensation for their work when it is broadcast on the Internet, downloaded to iPods or cell phones or distributed via DVD. (Click on the “Why We Fight” video for more information on the issues.)

Linking arms for civil disobedience during last year’s protest at NLRB headquarters were Washington Metropolitan AFL-CIO President Joslyn Williams, UMWA Organizing Director James Gibbs, Sandra Falwell, a member of the D.C. Nurses Association, UMWA President Cecil Roberts, and AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff.

Since its installation by the Bush administration, this National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has systematically dismantled decades of worker rights’ protections, especially the freedom to form a union.

Thousands of workers across the country are taking to the streets to say “No More!” On Nov. 15, in more than 20 cities, workers will march and rally at NLRB offices to protest the board’s anti-worker decisions and push for an end to the Bush Board’s reign. In fact, the NLRB should be “Closed for Renovations” because the nation’s workers would be better off without the NLRB until a president who doesn’t side with Big Business is elected and can appoint new members.