Labor Union Blog

Lede: Striking Shaw’s warehouse workers began a 60 mile march over the weekend to draw attention to their 12 week strike. Doug Cunningham has the story.

By Doug Cunningham

Brian Petronella is president of UFCW Local 371 and an international Vice-President with the union. He says for the 300 workers striking the Shaw’s warehouse owned by the giant Supervalu grocery chain, this strike is about financial survival and health care.

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That was the sound of downtown Trenton, New Jersey on Saturday as moiré than 35,000 New Jerseyans descended on downtown to protest the budget cuts proposed by Governor Chris Christie. The rally came two days after Christie’s vetoed a millionaires tax on individuals who earned more than $400,000. It would have impacted an estimated 16,000 people in the Garden State. Meanwhile, the Governor is asking state workers and teachers to accept wage freezes and contributions to health benefits. The crowd, which was made up of a healthy army of teachers, say they are only asking to be treated equally.

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MP3: 

LaborRadioMay242010.mp3

Transcript: 

LaborRadio052410.txt

***WORKERS INDEPENDENT NEWS SERVICE***

Labor Radio for 05/24/10 Newscast

***Get WIN News On Your Cell Phone! Just dial 425-527-7001. ***

Affiliates/subscribers may feel free to use this copy in its entirety and make any changes necessary.

Please credit stories to Workers Independent News Service.

*Text is designed to be copied and pasted.

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Workers Independent News Labor Radio
Internet Radio Program 05/24/10
Producers: Doug Cunningham & Jesse Russell

Labor Radio Rundown:

1) WIN Newscast

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IUPAT member Lonnie Tinder (right) takes the keys to his new bass boat in 2008.

A lucky union member will soon be casting a fishing line from a brand new bass fishing boat, thanks to a partnership between the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), the hunting and fishing club for union members and Triton Boats.

USA and Triton will give away a new TR-18 SE fiberglass bass boat powered by a union-made Mercury engine and valued at more than $22,000. The winner also will spend a day fishing with Triton CEO Earl Bentz on his private lake in Tennessee.

This is the second time Triton has awarded a boat to a union member. In 2008, Lonnie Tinder, a Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) member in Phoenix, won a $25,000 boat, motor and trailer.

All active and retired members of AFL-CIO affiliated unions are eligible to win. Current USA members are automatically entered in the contest. If you are not a USA member and want to enter for a chance to win the boat, click here. The deadline is July 31, 2010. 

Triton also has developed a special union appreciation program. Any union member who purchases a Triton boat package will receive a free one-year USA membership or one-year extension of an existing membership, a custom engine cover featuring the USA logo and a gift certificate of up to $300 to spend on Triton merchandise.

Bentz says:

Union members have made concessions to keep American companies competitive within the international market. They have made sacrifices and fought hard to keep jobs in this country and that’s what keeps our employees working. Last year was one of the most difficult economic environments certainly in my lifetime, so  we asked ourselves what we could do to help those who give so much.

USA Executive Director Fred Myers adds:

Just as our jobs support the activities we enjoy in our free time, the purchases we make to enjoy activities like fishing and hunting should support our economy, and therefore, our livelihood.