Labor Union Blog

Workers at Ford Motor plants have rejected contract concessions the company has said are necessary to remain competitive with other U.S. automakers. A plant in Kentucky and a plant in Michigan both voted overwhelmingly against the concessions on Friday. The UAW will announce the final results of the nationwide concessions vote today. Ford had promised to create or keep 6,000 jobs in exchange for a wage freeze for new hires until 2015.

Two French workers from a Molex plant in France that will be shuttered and the jobs moved to China or Vietnam flew to Chicago last week to meet with shareholders regarding the logistics surrounding the closing. More than two hundred fifty workers will lose their jobs due to the closure and according to the union representing the workers the U.S.-based company has been unresponsive to demands from the French union representing the workers. However, when the two workers arrived at the shareholders meeting they were denied entry.

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Lede: The economy appears on track to begin growing again, but to sustain it one fiscal expert says financial institutions must change how they operate. Doug Cunningham reports.

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By Doug Cunningham

With the economy actually growing again rather than contracting the next challenge to make the economy work for all of us is to sustain that growth. Dr. James Parrot of New York City’s Fiscal Policy Institute says that means banks have to adopt lending practices that support jobs in the real economy.

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AFSCME Local 573 members and supporters picket the governor’s office in Spokane.

This cross-post from AFSCME highlights the protest by members of AFSCME Local 573 in Washington State against Gov. Chris Gregoire’s (D) plan to close two residential facilities to help balance the state budget.

Members of the Washington Federation of State Employees (AFSCME) Local 573, Council 28, the City Council of Medical Lake and community supporters are protesting the planned closure of Lakeland Village, a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities. Council 28 and others say the state did not take into account the cost of relocating most of the patients to state-run group homes or privately supported living facilities.

The shutdown of Lakeland Village is part of the governor’s Office of Financial Management’s plan to close down all of the state’s intermediate care facilities by 2018.

“This isn’t about saving money,” said Council 28 President Carol Dotlich, who joined the picket at the governor’s Spokane office Oct. 19.

 It’s about letting for-pay corporations into the state and making some money off our disabled citizens.

Adds Nikki Brayman, a resident services coordinator and a member of Local 573:

The most vulnerable won’t make it, and the most active will end up in jail, overwhelming local law enforcement.

Delores Nettleton, whose adult daughter has lived in Lakeland Village since 1972, is concerned about the quality of care in privately run facilities.

She has medical issues that require constant monitoring. Group homes are fine for baby-sitting or those who don’t have severe medical issues.

Medical Lake Mayor John Higgins and the city council also oppose the shutdown. Higgins says:

A lot of people who work there live here. It’s a shame they are even thinking about closing it down.

The governor and state legislature were expected to make a final decision on the closure by the end of October.