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lia href=http://www.laborradio.org/node/9986Wal-Mart plaqued by week of bad press /a/li
lia href=http://www.laborradio.org/node/9987Auto Industry heads to DC seeking a Loan, not a bailout/a/li
lia href=http://www.laborradio.org/node/9988Economic Report: Black Friday fails to impress/a/li
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pSales were up on Black Friday, but by much less then in previous years. Sales were up by 3 percent, less than the 8.3 percent rise of 2007. Slightly more shoppers said they finished their shopping on the day after Thanksgiving then last year. 39.3 percent are done in comparison to 36.4 percent in 2007. 54.7 percent of shoppers sought out discount stores while 43 percent visited traditional department stores. 34 percent took their shopping online. /p
pSales were up on Black Friday, but by much less then in previous years. Sales were up by 3 percent, less than the 8.3 percent rise of 2007. Slightly more shoppers said they finished their shopping on the day after Thanksgiving then last year. 39.3 percent are done in comparison to 36.4 percent in 2007. 54.7 percent of shoppers sought out discount stores while 43 percent visited traditional department stores. 34 percent took their shopping online. /p
pLede: As the auto industry prepares to head to Capitol Hill again tomorrow, the UAW responds to anti-union attacks as it makes the case for a rescue loan – not a bailout – for the U.S. auto industry.br /
Doug Cunningham reports./p
pBy Doug Cunningham/p
p[Ron Gettelfinger]: “This is not about the UAW, this is about America. It’s not only about Main Street, but it’s about side streets.br /
We need to give the industry a bridge loan to get us over this economic downturn.”/p
pUAW President Ron Gettelfinger. As for the anti-union attacks on the UAW as the industry seeks aid./p
p[Gettelfinger 2]: “The people that wanna say the unions are the bad guys here – look at our safety record, look at the quality of the products we’re building, look at the productivity. You know, we have set the benchmarks in many of those areas today. This economic downturn is not the fault of the auto workers. It’s not the fault of the auto industry. We need low interest bridge loan. And this is not a bailout. The industry is going to pay the loan back.”/p
pLede: As the auto industry prepares to head to Capitol Hill again tomorrow, the UAW responds to anti-union attacks as it makes the case for a rescue loan – not a bailout – for the U.S. auto industry.br /
Doug Cunningham reports./p
pBy Doug Cunningham/p
p[Ron Gettelfinger]: “This is not about the UAW, this is about America. It’s not only about Main Street, but it’s about side streets.br /
We need to give the industry a bridge loan to get us over this economic downturn.”/p
pUAW President Ron Gettelfinger. As for the anti-union attacks on the UAW as the industry seeks aid./p
p[Gettelfinger 2]: “The people that wanna say the unions are the bad guys here – look at our safety record, look at the quality of the products we’re building, look at the productivity. You know, we have set the benchmarks in many of those areas today. This economic downturn is not the fault of the auto workers. It’s not the fault of the auto industry. We need low interest bridge loan. And this is not a bailout. The industry is going to pay the loan back.”/p
pAs the world’s largest discount retailer, Wal-Mart stands to do better than most chains during this economically challenged holiday shopping season. However, that hasn’t stopped the company from receiving a steady flow of negative press. On Friday a worker was trampled to death at a Long Island store as a mob of overeager consumers flooded doorway in order to take advantage of early morning sales. Police are investigating tapes of the incident to try and identify customers that may have been involved in the trampling. Critics are calling for a review of the company’s procedures that morning to see if it had been adequately prepared and took appropriate measures for the regular day after Thanksgiving rush./p
pAs the world’s largest discount retailer Wal-Mart stands to do better than most chains during this economically challenged holiday shopping season. However, that hasn’t stopped the company from receiving a steady flow of negative press. On Friday a worker was trampled to death at a Long Island store as a mob of overeager consumers flooded doorway in order to take advantage of early morning sales. Police are investigating tapes of the incident to try and identify customers that may have been involved in the trampling. Critics are calling for a review of the company’s procedures that morning to see if it had been adequately prepared and took appropriate measures for the regular day after Thanksgiving rush./p
Six workers at the Mongibello flower plantation just outside of Bogotá, Colombia, were illegally fired earlier this month for trying to form a union. The actions, which are illegal under Colombian law, are just another example of the lax enforcement of labor laws in that country that must be addressed before a free trade agreement with Colombia can be considered.
All six workers—José Alexander Montenegro, José Abel Rincón, Samuel Rico, Juan Bautista López, Milton Páez and Sergio Fabián Bossa—had worked on the flower plantation for more than 15 years each. The workers decided to contact one of Colombia’s labor federations, the CUT, to talk about organizing a union. When management at the plantation discovered their plans, the six workers were immediately fired.
You can take action now to help these workers. Click here to tell management of the Mongibello plantation that illegal firings are unacceptable and to respect the labor rights of all workers employed by their company.
Just weeks after the Obama administration and the new Congress take office—with the economy as the top priority—more than 2,000 union, environmental, business and government activists and leaders will take part in the 2009 Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference.
The Feb. 4–6 conference in Washington, D.C., is coordinated by the Blue Green Alliance, the partnership of the United Steelworkers (USW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
It will focus on transforming the struggling economy through a wide range of environmental investments in green technology, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Conference organizers say the goal is to develop a “New Green Deal” that would create jobs, increase energy independence, reduce global warming and expand the clean energy and green technology markets.
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The Groucho mask is the symbol for the Falsie’s contest for firms that pollute our information environment with falsehoods. |
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Corporate lobbyist Richard Berman really should get the recognition he deserves for his PR campaigns that have slammed Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of the alcohol industry and encouraged pregnant women to eat potentially mercury-laden tuna at the behest of the seafood industry.
Now, he can—with your help.
Each year, the Center for Media and Democracy/PR Watch sponsors the “Falsies Awards” contest to shine an unflattering light on those responsible for polluting our information environment—you know, those high-paid corporate mouthpieces who have truth-telling issues. Berman is one of several nominees for a Falsie.
Berman most recently has spent his time—and millions in corporate cash—on a deceptive ad campaign to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act. As our friends at PR Watch describe his anti-worker, anti-union media campaign:
Corporate lobbyist Rick Berman was busy throughout 2008, though his sustained and frequent use of front groups over the years may earn him a Lifetime Achievement Falsie. As the U.S. elections approached, Berman’s Center for Union Facts lobbied against labor rights legislation, claiming it would allow “union bosses” to “use coercion.”
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