div class=flexinode-body flexinode-1div class=flexinode-textarea-2div class=form-item
labelHeadlines:/labelbr /
ul
lia href= http://www.laborradio.org/node/983710,000 Jobs Lost As DHL Express Ends U.S. Domestic Deliveriesa//li
lia href= http://www.laborradio.org/node/9838UAW Says Government Action Is Essential As Obama, Congress Consider Auto Industry Aida//li
lia href= http://www.laborradio.org/node/9839AFL-CIO’s Rich Trumka: Employee Free Choice Act Will Help Change The Economya//li
lia href= http://www.laborradio.org/node/9840Jobs Cuts Aren’t Saving Circuit City From Bankruptcya//li
/ul
/div
/div/div
pEconomic Report:/p
pWisconsin is facing a major shortage of doctors according to a new report from the Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce. The study reveals a shortage of 374 primary care physicians in 31 counties. Sixty percent of the state’s chief medical officers surveyed said they have altered how they offer services because of the shortage and 53 percent said the shortage creates longer wait times for patients. /p
pJob cuts made by Circuit City over the last month to avoid filing for bankruptcy have failed. The electronics chain announced on Monday that it would by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company will continue to move forward with plans to close 155 stores and cut 7,300 jobs. /p
pBy Doug Cunningham/p
pThe AFL-CIO’s Rich Trumka says the election has added strength to labor’s drive to pass the Employee Free Choice Act labor law reform. It takes employer intimidation out of union organizing and is labor’s number one priority./p
p[Trumka]: “People want to change the economy. They’re tired of an economy that rewards people at the top on Wall Street but doesn’t take care of Main Street. One way to help people on Main Street is to have a union because it gives you a significant advantage. It gives you a better chance to have a higher wage.”/p
pBy Doug Cunningham/p
pThe UAW says government aid is needed quickly for the ailing U.S. auto industry. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says it’s essential that the government act to “prevent further damage to a critical industry which supports billions of dollars worth of economic activity in towns and cities across America”. President-Elect Barack Obama has assured Michigan’s governor that he supports aid to the auto industry. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are urging Treasury Secretary Paulson to consider using some of the financial bailout package for the auto industry./p
pThe United States Postal Service will soon have a little bit less competition. Jesse Russell reports:/p
pDHL Express announced plans on Monday to cease domestic delivery services and lay off nearly 10,000 employees in the United States. The company will continue to provide service for packages being sent internationally to and from the United States and will use subcontractors to complete deliveries. When combined with previous layoffs, the amount of cuts made by the company this year amount to more than 15,000 jobs. The company purchased Airborne Express five years ago in a bid to compete with FedEx and UPS./p
 |
|
|
U.S. workers opposed CAFTA because it would destroy good jobs here and in Central America. |
|
|
|
|
Working people delivered a clear and decisive message in the Nov. 4 election: We want our political leaders to overhaul the nation’s failed trade policies and put creating good jobs at the center of a new coherent global economic strategy.
Not only did voters elect a new president who favors trade reform, but workers across the country sent dozens of new members to Congress who vowed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) model of free trade.
Says United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard:
An overwhelming majority of the public understands that unregulated global trade, combined with unregulated financial and employment markets, has created an economic catastrophe for workers. Our members are committed to working with fair trade leaders in the House and Senate to fight to put workers first in a new trade regime.
A post-election poll by Lake Research partners found that 74 percent of voters said health care was extremely or very important in deciding for whom to cast their vote as president. Reducing the cost of health care beat out other issues such as gas and food prices, jobs, retirement security and other financial concerns.
By a margin of 24 points—55 percent to 31 percent—voters said President-elect Barack Obama is better able to handle the nation’s health crisis than Sen. John McCain. When they cast their ballots, 60 percent of voters who said they were worried about health care chose Obama, with 38 percent going for McCain.
Voters last Tuesday soundly rejected the misleading anti-union corporate campaign opposing the Employee Free Choice Act and overwhelmingly backed candidates who support working families.
A poll by Peter D. Hart Research Associates commissioned by the workers’ rights advocacy group American Rights at Work shows that anti-union advertising was among the least important factors in determining voters’ choices for U.S. Senate and that they continue to support making it easier for workers to join unions.
Says American Rights at Work Chair David Bonior:
No matter how hard corporate interests tried to mislead voters, it just didn’t work. State by state, millions were spent, but the fact remains, the Employee Free Choice Act never became the wedge issue corporate interests sought.
Last Tuesday, it wasn’t just President-elect Barack Obama who won a historic victory. The 111th Congress that will take office in January will have a stronger pro-worker majority and a mandate to make the economy work again for everyone.
Working families added U.S. House and Senate seats in every region of the nation, from Florida to Oregon and from New Hampshire to New Mexico. As of the latest totals, it looks like working families have added more than 20 new House members and six new senators. A party hasn’t picked up so many new seats in the House and Senate for two consecutive election cycles since the 1950s, so Tuesday’s results, together with the change of power in Congress in 2006, are a striking sign that voters are looking for new policies and new ideas.
Recent Comments