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Verizon Business technicians celebrate their organizing victory with Sen. John Kerry (center) at a the annual Labor Day breakfast of the Greater Boston Labor Council.
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Kevin Leppman and his co-workers at Verizon Business in New England and New York spent their first Labor Day as union members this month.
In August, as part of its new three-year contract with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Electrical Workers (IBEW), Verizon agreed to extend union recognition to more than 600 former MCI technicians at Verizon Business.
The new union members will be covered by the contract beginning in December.
Scientists, public health experts and others are trying to put the brakes on the Bush administration’s rush to change a workplace safety rule that could lead to increased exposure of workers to dangerous chemicals and toxins. The proposed rule also would make it more difficult for the next administration to enact new safety rules.
In a letter to the Department of Labor, the group of experts say the administration has truncated the comment period normally allowed for such a broad and important change in safety standards.
Working people have long known the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been a disaster. A 2006 study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows NAFTA has failed workers in Mexico, Canada and the United States. In each nation, while worker productivity grew, wages remained stagnant or dropped—while the wealth of those at the top increased significantly. More than 1 million jobs that would have been created were lost in the United States, and many of the new jobs that were created in Mexico were low wage with no benefits and no future.
Sen. Barack Obama has said NAFTA must be amended to fix its many shortcomings, while Sen. John McCain says the treaty is working out just fine 15 years after taking effect. Back in April, McCain chose a failing Ohio factory as a place to praise the Bush administration’s bad trade deals. McCain also showed how out of touch he is with America’s workers by telling a crowd of workers and their families, who were facing the devastation of their communities and loss of their livelihoods, that lost manufacturing jobs would not return.
Economic Report:
The workplace environment is improving for gay workers, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. A new report from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that 583 businesses rated, 259 received a perfect score for the treatment of lesbian, gay, or bisexual employees or consumers. Those companies have implemented policy’s that are diverse and inclusive and also provide domestic partner benefits. In 2007, only 195 businesses achieved a perfect score.
Economic Report:
The workplace environment is improving for gay workers, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. A new report from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that 583 businesses rated, 259 received a perfect score for the treatment of lesbian, gay, or bisexual employees or consumers. Those companies have implemented policy’s that are diverse and inclusive and also provide domestic partner benefits. In 2007 only 195 businesses achieved a perfect score.
More layoffs for Ford and GM, but this time the job cuts are coming from across the pond. Overall, 1900 workers are likely to be let go by the two companies’ at plants in Spain. Ford says it plans to temporarily layoff between 1000 and 1200 workers due to anemic demand. GM plans to slash 600 jobs. Spain has seen a drop in new car registrations of 21 percent over the first eight months of 2008.
More layoffs for Ford and GM, but this time the job cuts are coming from across the pond. Overall, 1900 workers are likely to be let go by the two companies’ at plants in Spain. Ford says it plans to temporarily layoff between 1000 and 1200 workers due to anemic demand. GM plans to slash 600 jobs. Spain has seen a drop in new car registrations of 21 percent over the first eight months of 2008.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers can notch another win for workers on their tomato buckets. On Tuesday, the coalition announced Whole Foods Market had signed on to coalition’s “penny-per-pound” program where major food purchasers would pay an extra penny for Florida grown tomatoes. The idea is that those extra pennies would be passed on to the tomato pickers. In a joint statement Whole Foods Global Produce Coordinator Karen Christensen said the company made the decision after “evaluating the situation in Florida.” The plan fits with the company’s “core values.” The Coalition has had multiple successes in applying pressure on tomato purchasers.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), who acknowledges he is known for his sometimes salty language, says there is a four-letter word that needs to be at the heart of any new economic stimulus package to help right the staggering Bush economy.
We’ve got to get on a “Build America” program for infrastructure, from roads and bridges and schools to broadband. I’ve got a four-letter word for that, J-O-B-S…create jobs here at home so people can have a good middle class life.
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