Economic Report:
Nine out of ten Americans are feeling more than a pinch in their wallets due to rising fuel prices. A study from Associated Press found that two thirds of those polled think rising fuel prices is more important than the economy, healthcare, and the War in Iraq. As a result of the gushing prices most are driving less and finding new ways to save on energy costs, such as using less air conditioning.
By Doug Cunningham
Wages and working conditions are at the heart of the trucker’s strike by Teamsters Local 282. The strike by 400 cement truckers has shut down most of the city’s major construction projects. The new Yankees and Mets stadiums are among the affected projects. Further talks on the contract aren’t expected until next week.
By Doug Cunningham
The AFL-CIO says John McCain’s trip to Colombia and Mexico in support of trade deals show how out of touch he is with American working families. The labor federation says trade deals like the proposed Colombian agreement have decimated jobs in communities across the U.S. The Teamsters, meanwhile, have launched radio ads blasting McCain’s trip.
It is official. The world now has the first global union. Jesse Russell reports:
With companies stretching around the globe it was only a matter of time for organized labor would realize it needed to also span the circumference of Earth. On Tuesday the United Steelworkers and Great Britain’s largest labor union, Unite, signed an agreement to form a new union called Workers Uniting: The Global Union. The union includes 3 million workers in the U.S., Canada, Britain, and Ireland.
In a press video Unite’s General Secretary Derek Simpson explained why the global union is necessary:
[Simpson]: At the end of the day that has got to be the objective. How do we fight back against global capital, global national, global companies?
By Doug Cunningham
Seventy-nine thousand more private sector jobs vanished in June. Layoffs are 50 percent higher than a year ago. The June job loss was the biggest drop in jobs since November of 2002, according to ADP Employer Services. When the government’s comprehensive jobs report is released Thursday some economists are expecting it to show an incredible drop of 200,000 in the overall jobs count. Offically, unemployment was at 5.5 percent in May – the highest in three and a half years. These numbers are a sign that for workers the economy is continuing to get worse.
 |
|
In a global economy where multinational companies operate across borders, unions are developing global strategies to better represent their members and sustain the middle class.
Today, the
The new union, dubbed Workers Uniting: The Global Union, will draw on the energies of the two unions’ more than 3 million active and retired workers from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The members work in virtually every sector of the global economy, including manufacturing, service, mining and transportation (see video).
 |
||||
|
||||
If construction contractors want to do business with the Boston suburb of Somerville, they must show they are “responsible employers” as a result of new contracting standards. The city’s Board of Aldermen passed the new contacting standards after Boston-area unions pressed for the legislation.
The new “Responsible Employer” ordinance, passed earlier this month and signed into law Monday, requires all contractors bidding on city construction work to provide worker health benefits, maintain a state-certified apprenticeship program and classify their workers as employees, not independent contractors.
Recent Comments