WIN Week In Review December 28-30, 2007

By Doug Cunningham

With just days to before the Iowa caucuses unions are working hard for Democratic candidates in Iowa. SEIU Local 199 President Cathy Glasson says her union has people in the field doing voter outreach and will work right up to the caucuses to get people to come out for Senator John Edwards.

[Glasson]: "He actually walks the walk and has talked the talk for us. And he's actually been on our pickets lines, he's been in our organizing campaigns - not just now, but he was there several years ago. So he's been a friend of SEIU in Iowa for many, many years. So we believe that he stands on our issues and is the best candidate to actually serve us in the White House and actually make change that's important to working folks and union members in Iowa."

Workers mobilized around the country to build support for the Employee Choice Act. It paid off in March when the House approved the legislation to restore workers' freedom to form unions.

From a brand new Congress taking the reins on Capitol Hill in January to the AFL-CIO's first-ever global organizing conference in December, working families have seen some significant victories, unfortunate setbacks and a lot of unfinished business this year. We take a look back at 2007 in a series of posts starting today with a quick glance at top items from January through March.

January

* As the battle to win congressional passage of the Employee Free Chance Act heated up, a new study showed one in five union organizers or activists are illegally fired for trying to bring a union into the workplace.

This is a crosspost from Firedoglake. Last year, a groupo of workers at WMUR in New Hampshire voted to join a union—Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1228. But management didn't want to negotiate a contract with them—and there's nothing in U.S. labor law that says employers must agree to a contract. So, until this month, the workers had no contract. Then, one after another, the Democratic presidential candidates started writing letters to WMUR-TV General Manager Jeff Bartlett urging him to go back to the bargaining table and work out an agreement. Guess what? He <a href="http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/12/18/candidates-letters-help-new-hampshire-tv-workers-win-a

By Doug Cunningham

The earth shook in the U.S. auto industry in 2007. As the United Auto Workers sat down with the Detroit 3 automakers to negotiate a new contract, it was clear that the wages and benefits standards the UAW had built over decades of struggle would be attacked. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger sounded a defiant note at the UAW’s convention.

[Gettelfinger]: "By drawing on our courage and solidarity, we can and will rise to the challenge and forge a better future for generations to come. Solidarity, solidarity, solidarity forever!"

As he sat down at the bargaining table, Gettelfinger sounded like the UAW would fight to defend the middle class lifestyles it had won.

By Doug Cunningham

The earth shook in the U.S. auto industry in 2007. As the United Auto Workers sat down with the Detroit 3 automakers to negotiate a new contract it was clear that the wages and benefits standards the UAW had built over decades of struggle would be attacked. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger sounded a defiant note at the UAW’s convention.

[Gettelfinger]: ""By drawing on our courage and solidarity, we can and will rise to the challenge and forge a better future for generations to come. Solidarity, solidarity, solidarity forever!"

As he sat down at the bargaining table Gettelfinger sounded like the UAW would fight to defend the middle class lifestyles it had won.