plaindealerVol. 91 Issue 4 “A Voice for Working Kansans since 1919” January 2009th

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The PlainDealer(316) 529-8513

3830 S. Meridian Ave.Wichita, KS 67217–3704

IN THIS ISSUE...Gallup: America Supports Workers —2

Bush Denies Workers Bargaining Rights —5Heartland Labor Forum Hosts Labor News —7

NAACP Supports EFCA —8

Baby, it’s cold outside:

KANSELHolidayParty

[L-R] Les Richardson, Carpenter’s Union 201; Roger Stamback; Allene Cantrell, Recording Secretary, KANSEL;Tim Franta, President, Local Lodge 733; Nikki Omenski, Director of Marketing; and KANSEL student Taylor.

[Photo and copy by Stuart Elliott, APWU, and Webmaster of www.ksworkbeat.org.]

KANSEL, the Kansas School for EffectiveLearning, held its annual holiday party onDec. 9, 2008, at its new building at 2212 E.Central.Despite a blizzard, several stalwartsattended and enjoyed holiday festivities.Carolyn Bunch, Executive Director ofKANSEL, and Roger Stamback, 834,KANSEL President, let us in on a secret:2009 is the 20th anniversary of the found-ing of KANSEL and they are planning abig celebration! Stay tuned for details.

Foreign Auto Makers to Set Wages For Our Auto Workers? By Pat Lehman, Grand Lodge Representative, IAMAW, RetiredThat is the demand made byRepublican Senators includingKansas’ own Pat Roberts, who isturning his back on the 60,000KANSAS jobs dependent on theU.S. auto industry.Amazing, simply amazing! Thesesame Senators didn’t bat an eyewhen $200 BILLION U.S. taxpay-ers’ money bailed out AIG becauseit insured worthless mortgages,then gave $700 Billion to banks formaking home loans to folks whohad no hope of making ballooningpayments, another $120 Billioneach to Freddie Mac and FannieMae for making worthless loans,BUT when the auto makers askedfor a $25 Billion LOAN, these sameSenators who happily bailed outthe big boys, their buddies onWall Street, said “NO.”The reason, is very simple. Manyof these Senators are fromSouthern states where foreign carmanufacturers have been givenmillions of taxpayer’s money tolocate NON-UNION auto plants.Tennessee gave one company$500,000,000.00 just to locate aplant there. And these sameSenators have colluded with thecompanies to keep the workersfrom organizing a union.As usual, Union Auto Workers

wages are being inflated by thecompany, the news media, andthese lying Senators. The figuresbeing given out include medical

benefits for retirees, futureprojected medical costs, overtime,shift differences, etc. In manycases, the average wage is actually

$17-$18 per hour. Hardly a hugewage in comparison with manage-ment wages, or CEOs, or U.S.Senators whose perks are also

mind-boggling, especially thegold-plated retirement plan paidfor with U.S. taxpayers’ money!But these Senators are demandingU.S. Auto Workers take yetANOTHER pay cut so they earnNO MORE than the non-unionauto workers in the Southernstates. In other words, U.S.workers are supposed to letforeign car manufacturers tear uptheir union contract, and setwhatever wages they decide theworkers should earn.

Automakers’ Survival Crucial for KansasBy Kansas Reps. Dennis McKinney and Jim WardOne out of every 10 jobs in this country is auto-related, with the Big Three supporting 5 million jobs across all50 states. This is why the federal proposal to help the auto industry is so important – especially in Kansas,where thousands are employed at General Motors Corp.’s Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kan.In these difficult times, history is the best teacher. In 1979, Chrysler faced a situation remarkably similar to thecurrent crisis facing the auto industry. After a year of record-high gas prices and economic turmoil, and with astockpile of inefficient vehicles, Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy. In response, President Jimmy Carterproposed a $1.5 billion loan-guarantee program. The plan required Chrysler to curtail executive pay, generatemajor concessions from unions and adhere to strict government oversight. The loans were paid off within threeyears, and thousands of jobs were saved. Additionally, the government made more than $330 million from feesand the sale of stock warrants.As we work through the crisis of 2008, hardworking Kansas families must not be expected to foot the bill forexecutive mismanagement. The United Auto Workers have been actively working with GM leaders to helprestructure and save the company. Retiree health insurance already has been conceded as part of negotiations.Reports that Fairfax workers make $76 an hour are highly exaggerated. Midline employees at the Fairfax plantmake about $15 to $16 an hour, with average earnings at about $26 an hour and highly skilled professionalsearning about $32 an hour. This is well below the inflated rate circulating in the media. The auto industry mustbe saved, but not at the expense of workers.GM’s Fairfax Assembly Plant employs 2,640 workers and pays more than $10 million a year in property taxes.With the Fairfax plant already facing slowdowns and layoffs, a GM bankruptcy would devastate the Kansaseconomy. In addition to the employees actually working at the plant, numerous local businesses rely on theplant’s purchase of their products and services. A crash in this backbone of America’s manufacturing sectorwould create a devastating ripple effect, leaving just a matter of time before the aerospace industry (whichalready has lost 1,800 jobs in Wichita in recent months) could suffer the same fate.We all have a vested interest in urging our senators and congressmen to save the auto industry, protectingboth Kansas jobs and the hard workers filling them.Dennis McKinney, of Greensburg, is House minority leader and incoming state treasurer. Jim Ward, ofWichita, is House assistant minority leader.

[Set Wages for All?Continued on page 2]

January 20092 — The PlainDealer

Resolve to get involved with your local!

Poland, Dec. 14, 2008 – SomeU.S. labor groups that have longfeared environmental campaignsas a threat to American jobs arestarting to see advantages ingoing green.This evolution was clear at thisweek’s U.N. climate talks inPoland, where several Americanlabor groups and environmentalactivists made joint appeals forpolicies that would promote high-tech renewable energy as theanswer to both climate change andjob losses.About 25 representatives of U.S.unions were in Poznan – abouttwice the number at last year’sU.N. talks in Bali, Indonesia –representing workers from theelectrical, transit, steel, service andother sectors.“There is a very wide cross-section of American unions thatreflects the growing engagementof American unions’ support ofclimate change policies,” saidDavid Foster, executive director ofthe Blue Green Alliance. The groupwas founded by the UnitedSteelworkers, North America’slargest manufacturing union, and

GALLUP: America Still StronglySupports UnionsBy Mike Hall on December 2, 2008Despite the best efforts of corporate-backed anti-union groups, the BushWhite House and anti-worker politicians demonizing unions on thecampaign trail, most Americans continue to approve of unions, as theyhave for the past seven decades.The latest update from Gallup on union support shows 59 percent ofthose surveyed back unions, while 29 percent disapprove of them.According to Gallup:

Americans have generally held a favorable view of unions fordecades — with no less than 55 percent of Americans sayingthey approve of labor unions in Gallup polls conducted from1936 to 2008.

Not surprisingly, most of the support comes from Democrats andindependents. Seventy-two percent of Democrats approve of laborunions, compared with 63 percent of independents but only 38 percentof Republicans.Also, most respondents said unions should have more influence (35percent) or the same amount of influence (28 percent), while 32 percentwant to see less union influence.The results reflect what other pollsters have found about public supportof unions. More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) supportstrong laws, such as the Employee Free Choice Act, that give employeesthe freedom to make their own choice about whether to have a union intheir workplace without interference from management. Also, some 60million workers say they would join a union today if they could.For more from the Dec. 1 update by Gallup, go to www.gallup.com/poll/112717/Americans-Remain-Broadly-Supportive-Labor-Unions.aspx?version=print.

Green Activists Find New Ally in U.S. Unions By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writerthe Sierra Club, the United States’largest and oldest grass-rootsenvironmental group.“There’s a power in the jointvision that we just don’t havefunctioning on our own,” addedFoster, who was for 16 years aUnited Steelworkers regionaldirector.The Blue Green Alliance wasfounded in 2006 and expanded thisautumn to include three moreunions and another green group.Environmental protection andlabor rights have intersectedbefore, especially in past battles toeliminate toxins and other pollut-ants from the workplace.But the two sides have also foundthemselves at odds. Unions haveoften seen nature lovers asidealists willing to sacrificeAmerican jobs for the sake ofendangered species. Some coalindustry workers remain hostile toefforts that would reduce green-house gas emissions by closingdown coal-fired plants.But both groups also have feltgrowing pressure over the pastdecade because of manufacturing

job losses in the Americanheartland and what they see as anerosion of workers’ rights andweakening environmental protec-tion.Environmentalists want cleanenergy – such as wind and solarpower – to reduce gases thatdegrade the environment. It is intheir interest that new jobs in thesector offer good pay and ben-efits, to win labor’s support fortheir agenda.David Hawkins, director of climateprograms with the environmentalgroup Natural Resources DefenseCouncil, attributes the deepeningcooperation to the need to fightopponents who say you cannotprotect the environment andpreserve jobs at the same time.“They keep on shouting that scarecampaign at every opportunitythey get,” Hawkins said. “Analliance is a powerful way ofsending the message that you canhave both.”Margrete Strand Rangnes, a SierraClub representative, says environ-mentalists are also fighting forworkers to have stronger protec-tions as a way of protectingwhistleblowers who speak outagainst environmental and otherviolations.Some unions see jobs in therenewable energy sector as a wayto create a new wave of well-paidjobs that will replace the nearly 5million manufacturing jobs thathave disappeared over the pastdecade.

Robert Baugh, chairman of AFL-CIO’s energy task force, said hisfederation still has “some differ-ences” with environmental groups,but that “we also have a lot ofcommon interests.”As environmentalists push forclean energy policies, he said it’svital that labor get involved toensure that as those policies areput in place, workers’ interests arenot ignored.“The climate crisis and a newenergy policy is an opportunity forour country to actually have astrategy about the environment,about manufacturing,” Baugh said.“We think that by addressing theenvironmental crisis, we actuallycan have the opportunity to creategood, green jobs.”Baugh noted, for instance, thatthere are about 8,000 parts in awindmill – and that his groupwants to ensure that Americanworkers will be making them.The labor leaders who are goinggreen like to cite examples ofwhere green policies have led tojob creation.Pennsylvania, for example, passedrenewable energy standardsseveral years ago that persuadedthe Spanish wind energy companyGamesa to open up four plants inPennsylvania, creating 1,400 newjobs making wind turbines.And last year, about 500 laid-offsteel workers were called back towork in two steel plate mills Gary,Indiana, to produce steel for windturbines.

Foster said unions and greengroups have waged joint lobbyingefforts nationwide for lawsincreasing energy efficiency andpromoting renewable energies, andthey have teamed up for numerouscourt battles against companiesthat violate workers’ rights andenvironmental standards.For example, the Natural Re-sources Defense Council and theSierra Club have endorsed theEmployee Free Choice Act, aunion-backed bill that wouldprotect workers’ rights to joinunions. The Sierra Club hasmobilized members to write to theirCongress members to support thebill.Abraham Breehey, a senior unionofficial, said workers are starting toshake off their belief that greenenergy spells doom rather thanopportunity.Breehey pointed to the case of agroup of Indiana blacksmiths whorecently struck a multimillion dollardeal to produce a new hammer forheavy-duty work in building windturbines.That “was a light bulb moment,and we realized that there must bemore examples where job opportu-nities on their face might not seemlike green jobs but end up beingpart of the green economy,” saidBreehey, of the InternationalBrotherhood of Boilermakers, IronShip Builders, Blacksmiths,Forgers and Helpers.

If you had any doubt this group ofsupposed-to-be United StatesSenators are simply union-bustersat heart, this should open even theeyes of the blind.So I have a proposal for them:How about foreign auto manufac-turers setting the wages for all ofmanagement, including the CEOs.In most of those countries, topmanagement makes no more thanfour or five times the average wagepaid in the factory, not the 500times common in the U.S.And while we are at it, how aboutdemanding the top boys on WallStreet (who bankrupted ourcountry) be dumped on the streetwithout their usual goldenparachute?

Oh, and let’s look at Korea, Japan,Malaysia, etc. and demand ourSenators and Congressmen workfor the same wages their membersof Parliament are paid, and withonly the perks the foreign politi-cians get! After all, if the businessleaders from these countries aregoing to set wages for U.S.workers, then members of Con-gress should be willing to makesome sacrifices too, it’s only fair.Or, these guys might decide tostart representing U.S. workersand U.S. companies instead ofpandering to the foreigners. Howabout a LOAN to U.S. Autocompanies to keep 3.5 million jobsin the U.S.? How about caringabout the current and future U.S.citizens who need those jobs? It istime they decide to act likeAMERICANS!

[Set Wages for All?Continued from page 1]

Celebrate Martin LutherKing, Jr., Day on Jan. 15!Martin Luther King, Jr., was born onJan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia.An African American clergyman, activistand prominent leader in the Americancivil rights movement, his main legacywas to secure progress on civil rights inthe United States.A Baptist minister, King became a civilrights activist early in his career. He ledthe 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott andhelped found the Southern ChristianLeadership Conference in 1957 andserved as its first president.In 1964, King became the youngestperson to receive the Nobel PeacePrize for his work to end racialsegregation and discrimination throughnon-violent means.Martin Luther King, Jr. Day becameaU.S. national holiday in 1986.

The PlainDealer — 3January 2009

Support the Employee Free Choice Act! Sign a card today!

The Plaindealer (ISSN 0898-4360)Periodicals Postage Paid at Wichita, KSPOSTMASTER:Send address changes to:The Plaindealer3830 S. Meridian Ave.Wichita, KS 67217–3704(316) 529-8513Melanie Jenney, Editoremail: ThePlainDealer@D70iam.orgBoard of DirectorsJudy Pierce, President, Labor FederationBrenda Honse, Vice President

(CWA Local 6402)Tim Franta, Sec./ Treas. (IAM Local 733)Stuart Elliott (APWU Local 735)Deb Boatright (Local 708)Dave Philpott (IAM Local 774)Kathy Petersen (IAM Local 839)Ralph Stout (Local 834)John Shepherd Jr. (UA Local 441)Advertising and stories are due by the 15thof each month. Subscription rates are $15per year. Special rates available to unionmembers and locals subscribing as a body.Founded in 1919 by Tom Tilma, thePlaindealer is the official publication of theWichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, and covers news of interest to workingpeople.Story suggestions and letters to the editorshould be sent to the PlainDealer at 3830 S.Meridian Ave., Wichita, KS 67217–3704;by email to theplaindealer@d70iam.org, orcall (316) 529–8513 with your ideas. To beconsidered for publication, letters to the editormust be signed and include the author’stelephone number. Views expressed inletters to the editor are not necessarily theviews of the Plaindealer, its Board ofDirectors or affiliated unions.Published monthly by PlaindealerPublishing, Inc. at 3830 S. Meridian Ave.,Wichita, KS, 67217.

World Wide Work is a free bulletinpublished by the American LaborEducation Center, an independentnonprofit founded in 1979. TheCenter’s website,www.TheWorkSite.org, offers freedownloadable tools for grassrootseducation and organizing.*The Green Collar Economy byVan Jones (HarperOne). ThisAfrican American activist hasemerged as a leading voice forattacking both poverty and climatechange by putting millions ofpeople to work greening oureconomy. He talks in forthrightterms about the need to unitewhite environmentalists andcommunities of color for a commonagenda, gives examples ofinnovative organizing alreadygoing on, and lays out specificpolicies that can be pursuedlocally and by the Obama adminis-tration.*Obama’s Challenge by RobertKuttner (Chelsea Green). With thenew U.S. president facing enor-mous political and economicpressure from corporate specialinterests, progressives mustorganize to push an agenda forreal change. This economics writermakes an important contribution tothe process by laying out aprogram and how Obama canachieve it.*Speaking Treason Fluently byTim Wise (Soft Skull). Wise, whowrote the most insightful commen-tary during the 2008 presidentialelections about the doublestandards applied to BarackObama because of race, hascompiled his anti-racist writings ofthe past ten years in this follow-upto his book White Like Me. Heconsistently makes white readerssee their own internalized assump-tions in new ways, whether writingabout “reverse racism,” class,immigration, profiling, or popculture. Even sports: Noting thatmany don’t consider Barry Bonds’records untainted given thesteroid era, he asks why baseballrecords set in Babe Ruth’s timeshould count without an asteriskgiven that they were set withoutfacing black or Latino competitionand thus can’t be compared totoday’s achievements?*Winter Soldier: Iraq andAfghanistan edited by IraqVeterans Against the War andAaron Glantz (Haymarket). Morethan 50 veterans give personaltestimony that rarely appears inthe U.S. media about the atrocities

WorldWide Work: New Works Worth Noting (With a nod to MLK, Jr.)they saw, racism and sexism in themilitary, the crisis in veterans’health care, and corporate warprofiteering.*Holy Roller by Diane Wilson(Chelsea Green). Wilson’s booksare a delightful antidote to thehomogenization of Americanculture. Her first, An UnreasonableWoman, told of her odyssey as ashrimp boat operator who took ona global chemical company thatwas polluting her bay. Her latesttells of her childhood among HolyRollers in rural Texas. She writesthe way people from that time andplace talked and thought, givingthe reader a total immersionexperience.*Mine Work by Jim Davidson(Utah State University Press,1999). A gem of a mystery set in atown in the Southwest in the 1950swhere a mining company usedNavajo labor to break a unionorganizing drive.*An Unknown God by TonyEquale (aequale@swva.net). Athoughtful ex-priest who has spentmuch of his life doing blue-collarwork and helping poor peopleorganize critiques the traditionsand teachings of the CatholicChurch and explores the future offaith in today’s world.*Understanding the US-Iran

Crisis and Ending the Iraq Warby Phyllis Bennis (Olive Branch).Two timely and readable pocket-sized primers organized around thequestions any layperson wouldask.*Shopping for Porcupine by SethKantner (Milkweed). The author ofthe novel, Ordinary Wolves, nowprovides a revealing nonfictionaccount of his life in Arctic Alaska,complete with stunning photos.*Depraved Indifference by PatriceWoeppel (iuniverse.com). Theworkers’ compensation systemdoes more to protect corporationsthan injured workers, according tothis well-researched analysis thatdraws on a number of actual cases,including the author’s own injurywhile working in a hospital. Thefinal chapter gives her prescriptionfor change.*All You Can Eat by Joel Berg(Seven Stories). An activist giveshis view of how hunger in Americacould be ended under the Obamaadministration. The cost wouldequal 2 percent of the net worth ofthe 400 richest Americans.*Laid Off, Laid Low edited byKatherine S. Newman (ColumbiaUniversity Press). Five scholarlyessays study the economic,psychological, and politicalconsequences of increased

employment insecurity in the U.S.*Reproduce & Revolt edited byJosh MacPhee and FaviannaRodriguez (Soft Skull). A bilingual(English/Spanish) collection ofmore than 500 radical politicalgraphics that may be reproducedfor free.FILM*Trouble the Water(www.troublethewaterfilm.com). Aresident of New Orleans’ NinthWard, too poor to evacuate, useda camcorder to capture what sheand her neighbors were experienc-ing during and after Katrina. Aprofessional film maker thenteamed with her to produce adocumentary that is highlyunusual because the perspectiveis from the inside in real time.MUSIC*Troubled the Water(bornhustlerrecords.com). Theyoung black woman who shotmost of the footage for the filmdescribed above has recordedmoving rap songs about herexperiences in the poorest sectionof New Orleans.*Red House 25 (Red House). Acompilation of 64 tracks by thelabel’s artists to celebrate its 25thanniversary. Comes with a 48-pagebook. Artists include Greg Brown,Peter Ostroushko, John Gorka,

Lucy Kaplansky, Kate McKenzie,Guy Davis, Loudon WainwrightIII, The Wailin’ Jennys, JormaKaukonen, Eliza Gilkyson, andmany more.*Polk Miller and His Old SouthQuartette (Tompkins Square). Ifyou are interested in an historicalcuriosity, this CD presents ascratchy recording from a livelytouring group from the 1890s andearly 1900s made up of a whitebanjo player and four AfricanAmerican musicians.WEBSITES*Goodguide.com is a site beingdeveloped to provide consumerswith instant information aboutsocial responsibility ratings forproducts, even as they shop.Check it out and give the develop-ers your feedback.*Proxydemocracy.com tells youwhat shareholder resolutions arebeing introduced at companies inwhich you own stock, along withsocial responsibility ratings formutual funds.

January 20094 — The PlainDealer

Resolve to get involved with your local!

Chicago Workers to Rest of Country: “Don’t Let it Die!”By David Bacon, News Analysis, New America Media, 12/11/08, http://news.newamericamedia.orgNote: The sit-in by 240 unionworkers who were abruptlyterminated from their jobs at aChicago window-manufacturingplant last week raises the ques-tion of the rights of workers in themidst of a national economiccrisis.Late last night, the workers endedtheir sit-in after the Bank ofAmerica, which had cut offfinancing for the company, agreedto lend the company $1.35 millionto pay workers their severancepackages. JPMorgan Chase,which owns 40 percent of thewindows company, said it wouldpay an additional $400,000.NAM associate editor DavidBacon examines the issue.Chicago worker Raul Flores’s jobis gone, but he’s still there.“I’ve got a family to support, soI’ve got to do whatever it takes,”he says. “The economic situationis not good, but I can’t just waitfor something to happen to me.”That puts Flores in the same boatas millions of other U.S. workers.Last month alone 533,000 workerslost their jobs, the highest figure in34 years. A week ago, the heads ofthe big three auto companies werein Washington D.C., pleading forloans to keep their companiesafloat.As a price, lawmakers and punditstold them, they had to become“leaner and meaner,” and inresponse, General Motors an-nounced it would close nine plantsand put tens of thousands ofworkers in the street. Ford andChrysler described a similar job-elimination strategy.Flores didn’t just accept theelimination of his job. Instead, hesat for six days in the Chicagoplant where he worked, togetherwith 240 other union members atRepublic Windows and Doors.Republic workers were notdemanding the reopening of theirclosed factory, at least, not yet.They are fighting for severanceand benefits to help them survivethe unemployment they knowawaits them. Yet their occupationcan’t help but raise deeperquestions about the right ofworkers to their jobs. Can a returnto the militant tactics of directaction, that produced the greatestgains in union membership, wages

and job security in U.S. history,overturn “the inescapable logic ofthe marketplace?”Can employers, and the banks thathold their credit lines, be forced tokeep plants open?Unlike the auto giants, Republic isnot threatening bankruptcy. Itmakes a “green product,” Energy-Star compliant doors and windowsthat should be one of the bedrockindustries for a new, more environ-mentally sustainable economy.But Bank of America, as it wasreceiving $25 billion in federalbailout funds, pulled thecompany’s credit line, leavingworkers in the lurch. Perhaps thatalone led President-elect BarackObama to support the workers.The bank-enforced closureundermines his program for usingenvironmentally sustainable jobsto replace those eliminated in thespiraling recession.He called Republic workers“absolutely right. What’s happen-ing to them is reflective of what’shappening across this economy.”Federal law requires companies togive employees 60 days notice of aplant closure, or pay them 60 daysseverance pay, to give thembreathing room to find other jobs.Republic workers got three days,and no money.“They knew they’d be out on thestreet penniless,” says Leah Fried,organizer for Local 1110 of theUnited Electrical Workers. “Whenthe negotiating committee cameback to the factory to report thatthe company didn’t even show upto talk with them, the workers wereso enraged they voted unani-mously not to leave until they gottheir severance and vacation pay.”While the workers acted to gaintheir legally-mandated rights, the

plant occupation resurrects atactic with a radical history. In1936, auto workers occupied thehuge Fisher Body plants in Flint,Mich., and when the battle wasover, the United Auto Workerswas born. Sitdown strikes spreadacross the country like wildfire.Occupying production lines inplant after plant, workers wonunions, better wages and realchanges in their lives.Seventy years later, the workerswho have inherited that legacy ofunionization and security are onthe brink of losing everything. Justsince 2006 the United AutoWorkers has lost 119,000 members.The threat of plant closure hasbeen used to cut the wages of newhires in half, to $14.50, the samewage paid on the window lines atRepublic, where the union is onlyfour years old.Flores certainly hopes that thosewhose livelihoods are in peril willrediscover the tactic. “This is thestart of something,” he urges.“Don’t let it die. Learn somethingfrom it.”And the sit-in was successful.After a thousand people rallied infront of Bank of America, the bankyesterday announced it would putup $1.35 million in loans to pay themoney owed the workers. Floresand his co-workers then voted toend the occupation.Fran Tobin, mid-west organizer forJobs with Justice, a coalition oflabor and community groups withchapters around the country,shares that optimism.“I think this is not the last timewe’re going to see Americanworkers occupying Americanplants as part of a move to savejobs and turn things around,” hesays.

Organizers for Jobs with Justiceare fanning out with a programthey call a “Peoples’ Bailout.” “Weneed to ask, ‘What kind of aneconomy and recovery do wewant?’” Tobin emphasizes. He listsfunds for a jobs program, ratherthan huge loans to banks, amoratorium on home foreclosures,investment in infrastructure repair,and helping local and stategovernments (and public worker)survive the crisis without massivebudget cuts.Flores, Tobin and Fried all agreethat none of those demands canbe won without unions andworkers willing to fight for them.That makes the Republic plantoccupation more than just a local

confrontation. “This might not bethe right tactic in every situation,but people know we need to befighting back,” Fried says.Will the unions in auto plants andother workplaces hit by layoffstake up the challenge of theRepublic workers? To Flores, theyhave to do something more thanjust watch the elimination of theirjobs. “We’ve got to fight for ourrights,” he emphasizes. “It’s notfair that they just kick us out onthe street with nothing. Somebodyhas to respond.”NAM David Bacon is the authorof “Illegal People — HowGlobalization Creates Migrationand Criminalizes Immigrants.”

Who Was Jobs With Justice’sGrinch of the Year for 2008?

Voters in the Jobs with Justice (JwJ) ninth annual Grinch of Year contestpicked the entire lot of Wall Street executives whose unchecked

corporate greed led to our nation’s economic disaster.Each December, voters in the Grinch of the Year contest tap the CEO,

corporation or politician who has done the most to “scrooge” workers.Over the years, especially under the Bush administration, the bank

chiefs, hedge fund sorcerers and stock traders successfully lobbied forderegulation of the financial industry and, in turn, made record profits.But at a price. Millions of Americans lost good jobs and the nation’s

economy is in the worst shape it’s been since the Depression.Now that the bottom has fallen out of the market, Wall Street is sending

the bill to working people—the very ones who have been forcedout of their homes, out of their jobs, out of their health care

and out of their pensions by Wall Street’s greed.Too bad Wall Street execs won’t experience the same

holiday epiphany of Seuss’ Grinch and return the loot.Now that would be a holiday miracle!

The PlainDealer — 5January 2009

Support the Employee Free Choice Act! Sign a card today!

Bush Denies Bargaining Rights to8,600 Federal WorkersBy James Parks on December 2, 2008, on AFL-CIO weblog, http://blog.aflcio.orgIn a final-days attack on workers’ rights, President Bush yesterday issued an executive order that deniescollective bargaining rights to about 8,600 federal employees who work in national security, law enforcementand intelligence.Nearly 1,000 of the workers currently are represented by a union, and some have been for more than 30 years.The biggest group affected by the order is the 5,000 employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearmsand Explosives (ATF), which is now part of the Justice Department.Peter Winch, national organizer for AFGE, the largest federal employee union, says the union is determined tofight the executive order.

Bush’s actions are within his legal discretion, but he has abused that discretion. There is no reasonfor this action. Nothing has happened from yesterday to today to change the national securitysituation to require such a change.We’re asking President-elect Obama when he takes office to review all exclusions [from collectivebargaining] since 1978. Several exclusions by this president were not done for national securityreasons, but to stop unions.

In the executive order, Bush said it would be inconsistent with “national security requirements” to allow theemployees to engage in collective bargaining over the conditions of their employment.This is the same rationale the White House used in 2003 to deny bargaining rights to workers at the Transpor-tation Security Agency (TSA) in one of the first shots in the Bush administration’s war on federal workers.Although transportation security officers (TSOs) remain deprived of the freedom to bargain collectively, AFGEhas 10,000 TSA members in 22 locals nationwide and regularly represents these employees before the TSADisciplinary Review Board, the Equal Opportunity Commission, Congress and in the courts. And that numberis growing. More than 100 TSOs at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field joined AFGELocal 1040 in August.Says Local 1040 President Greg Gallo:

AFGE has stood behind TSOs in Dallas for seven years, but this new local means that TSOs will havea voice at home, not just one nationally. As a member of TSA’s first class in 2001, I have seen the upsand downs at the agency. Unfortunately, there are mostly downs, so an AFGE presence is imperativeto boosting confidence and morale.

AFGE President John Gage agrees.The new local signifies a growing trend among TSOs that they want local representation, whilebelonging to the largest—and among the most influential—federal employee union in the nation.

The latest executive order also covers certain workers in the Energy Department, Immigration and CustomsEnforcement, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. CoastGuard and the Federal Aviation Administration.Article printed from AFL-CIO NOW BLOG: http://blog.aflcio.orghttp://blog.aflcio.org/2008/12/02/bush-denies-bargaining-rights-to-8600-federal-workers/

(PAI)—Lilly Ledbetter, thelongtime Goodyear tire supervisorwhose sexual pay discriminationcase against her firm went all theway to the Supreme Court – whereshe lost – lost $223,776 in lifetimeearnings due to 19 years ofdiscrimination at the tire firm’sGadsden, Ala., plant, a new reportsays.As it turns out, Ledbetter wassomewhere between average andlucky.Her earnings loss was half thenational average of lifetimeearnings losses, $434,000 perwoman, that female workers suffercompared to male counterparts inthe same jobs.But Ledbetter’s Goodyear careercovered only half of the gentlegray-haired grandmother’sworking life. Take those 19 yearsand double them, and LillyLedbetter is a typical femaleworker in the U.S., the report says.At least in Alabama, she wasn’t inthe state where woman worker areworst off. Nor, as a companysupervisor, was Ledbetter theworst off among all femaleworkers, analysis of federal datashows.In Lifetime Losses: The CareerWage Gap, Jessica Arons of theCenter for American Progress, aliberal and pro-worker think tank,showed lifetime earnings ofaverage female workers trailedthose of their male counterparts byhundreds of thousands of dollars.In one profession, the law, the gapis $1.48 million. And the pay gapunderstates the lifetime earningschasm, Arons noted. QuotingLedbetter, Arons pointed out thelifetime gap not only affects awoman’s pay but her pensionlevels and her Social Securityearnings base. All are lower.Arons explained the huge lifetimelosses occur because the typicalfemale worker, after adjusting forother factors, earns 78 cents forevery dollar a male worker doingthe same job earns. Take that andmultiply it by a woman’s workingcareer, and compound the gapevery year, and you get differ-ences ranging from $270,000 over42 years (ages 24-65) in Vermont toalmost three times as much($728,000) in Wyoming.

The greatest difference betweenmen and women workers was inlegal services. That’s becausewhile 51% of the legal professionis female, the women start out inlower pay brackets and areconcentrated in the lower-payingareas of the legal world. The menare the high-paid law firm partners,the women are lower-paid legalaides.The smallest lifetime gap wasamong “installation, maintenanceand repair workers,” where thedifference was only $84,000 over aworking woman’s lifetime. Buteven then, there was a problem,Arons noted: The profession isonly 4% female.“It should be hard to have any gapwhen virtually no women work in agiven field. The fact that a wagegap exists at all, despite being thesmallest gap, suggests pay equityremains a large problem in thatsector. Moreover, it is evidentadditional effort is needed tobetter integrate the entireworkforce,” she said.“And even an $84,000 gap,averaging out to a shortfall of$2,000 a year, can be a large hit to afamily at the lower end of theeconomic spectrum,” Arons noted.As for Ledbetter, the earnings gapin Alabama was $445,000 over awoman’s working career. And foran average supervisor nationwide,the male-female lifetime gap was$635,000.Arons pointed out the lifetimeearnings gap has a huge impact onwomen, men and families. “Lowerwages for women hurt men andsociety as well. American menwork the longest hours in theindustrialized world and have thesmallest amount of leisure time,often so that their wives canincrease the time they spend onfamily caregiving duties or in orderto make up for their wives’ lowerwages. “Society, moreover, losesout on additional tax revenue fromwomen while having to increasespending on safety net programsfor women who are not paid aliving wage,” she wrote.Arons also suggested six mea-sures to help close the lifetimeearnings gap. Her recommenda-tions included labor-backedlegislation to reverse the Supreme

Court ruling against Ledbetter andother female workers, and theEmployee Free Choice Act, labor’stop legislative goal in the nextCongress. “This bill would make iteasier for employees to formunions, establish strongerpenalties for employers whointerfere with the right of workersto form a union, and providemediation and arbitration whennecessary to ensure employersbargain with new unions over afirst contract in good faith. Unionmembership increases women’sweekly earnings by 38.2% andmen’s by 26.0%. Women of colorand low-wage earners are helpedeven more by unionization,” Arons

wrote of the workers’ rights bill.Though Arons did not say so, thepay gap between male and femaleunion wor-kers is smaller than theoverall yearly pay gap. The mostrecent data on median weeklyearnings, in 2007, show all workingwomen’s median weekly wageswere 80 cents for every dollar aman earned. Union women’swages were 87 cents per dollar.Ledbetter knows about that, too.

As a supervisor, not covered bylabor law, she suffered the paydiscrimination. At one congres-sional hearing on legislation –named for her – to overturn thecourt’s ruling and to let womanworkers sue firms for sexual paydiscrimination, she told PressAssociates Union News Serviceshe believes rank-and-file femaleworkers at Gadsden suffer littlepay discrimination.

Why?They’re coveredby Goodyear’sunion contract,with the SteelWorkers.

REPORT:Average Female Worker Loses $434K in Lifetime Earnings to Pay DiscriminationPress Associates, Inc. (PAI) – 12/12/2008

Average Female Worker Loses $434K:An average female worker loses $434,000 over herworking lifetime to sexual pay discrimination on the

job. The biggest losers: Women in Wyoming(-$728,000) and in the law (-$1.48 million).

January 20096 — The PlainDealer

Resolve to get involved with your local!

Direct PipelinePLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS LU441

Richard L. Taylor, Business Managerand Financial Secretary-Treasurer

LocallyThe nationwide economic slowdown is generating much anticipation as to what 2009 willbring to our industry and to Local 441. We have already seen a large number of projectspostponed or canceled that would have supplied many man hours for our membership.This is happening in Kansas and across the country and the end result will be unem-ployment.The drop in the stock market is obviously affecting our Pension Plans and Health andWelfare Plans, but because we have been diligent in creating solid financially fundedPlans, they are holding their own. The deciding factor is time and how long the currentsituation persists. We will continue to monitor this and notify the membership immediately of anychanges.This industry and our Local have survived many ups and downs. There is no doubt that we will persistthrough this and be stronger for it. Take care of your job and continue to show the professionalism youhave in the past so we can continue to secure our hold on the future.We have golf balls, tee shirts, and hats. Come by and get outfitted with Local 441 apparel.Please take time to view your web site. The address is: www.ua441.org.DeathsWe are sorry to report the death of Brother Henry E. Lige Jr., 54, Pipefitter, residing in Manhattan, KS,passed away on November 19, 2008. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with his family.PoliticalCongratulations to our new President Elect Barack Obama. This is one definite bright spot because he isa true friend of labor and the United Association. The UA was the first National Building Trades Unionto come out in support of President Obama. We can rejoice in the anticipation of an administration thatwill look out for our best interest instead of one that is constantly trying to destroy us. Thank you foryour participation in the November election.We will continue to build a long-lasting establishment in the political arena of our jurisdiction. We feelthat it is critical to maintain a presence politically so that when issues arise; the local will already havean established voice that will be heard. Thank you to all Local 441 members for your support boththrough your participation in the PAC fund and your involvement and support with various politicalgroups.MeetingsLocal Union 441 meetings are being conducted on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 PM at theUnion Hall located at 1330 East First Street in Wichita. If other meetings are scheduled, you will be dulynotified.NOTE: As of the November 2007 union meeting, we began televising our monthly union meeting to theoutlying areas over the Internet. This should allow easier access and participation bythe members that reside in those areas.Retirees ClubThe next Retirees meetings will be on January 7th, February 4th and March 4th at 10a.m. at the Hall. Please come and join us!Breakfast is the second Wednesday at 9 a.m. We are meeting at Spears Restau-rant, 4323 W Maple from January through November.All retired members and their families are invited to join us. Come enjoy the fellowship!For more information, call Jim Wilbert at 722-6859.

Richard Taylor

At the RailColumn by Martin HawverIt’s taken three years, but finally itappears that a state task force is aboutready to put together a proposal that

would, if it works right, make it less likely that we’ll be in an autoaccident with someone without a dime’s worth of insurance.Cities and counties are likely to see a surprise from the Legislature in theupcoming session…the end of the free ride that the state’s “truth intaxation” law has provided them for a decade.That free ride? It allows cities and counties to spend more money withonly the minor inconvenience of publishing a legal notice in the localnewspaper that the commission is spending more money.That notice, in small type buried in the back of your local newspaper,generally is just an admission that the city or county is adopting abudget that spends more money than the last budget did.And, because that money comes from, well, from you, it would seem tobe something that you might want to protest.Well, for the last decade, there really wasn’t any way to protest that localbudget. You could read about it if you could find the legal notice andgripe, but there wasn’t a real hammer to use to try to beat it back.In an era when property values—against which local units of govern-ment levy taxes—had been rising consistently, local units of governmentcould increase spending without raising the tax mill levy. The same levyrate raises more money when there is more property value to tax. And, aslong as valuations rose, local officials could crow that they did nicethings for constituents without raising the mill levy.If the valuation of your home increases, and most did in recent years,you write a bigger check and take whatever solace you can from the milllevy not rising. That’s why local officials brag about keeping the milllevy the same, or maybe even lowering it a dab, while still spending moredollars.For a decade, that “truth in taxation” notice was the only realacknowledgement of that increased spending. Once published, localunits of government are free to spend more money whether they raisethe property tax mill levy or not.Well, a legislative interim committee last week decided, essentially, thattax money is still real money, and whether the mill levy is raised or not,people ought to have the chance to object to the increased spending.A bill that would make that “truth in taxation” notice subject to a protestpetition will be introduced in January. Upshot? If enough voters (numbernot yet determined) of the district sign petitions objecting to the budget,they can force an election on the budget.What’s that mean? Either that the governmental unit adjusts the budgetto spend no more money than the previous year, or the budget goes to avote, at some cost of course, to see whether the governing body has thesupport of taxpayers for the budget.Likely? The governmental unit will pare the budget to save the cost ofthe election—and potential political cost of losing the referendum.That’s a big deal, a major sea change for local governments. It’s onething to publish a notice in the paper; it’s another thing to defend it to anentire community, not just the handful of folks who typically hangaround the city council or county commission during tedious andcomplicated budget discussions.The protest petition? It’s not easy to get people to sign up, and it takestime and coordination, but it is possible. And then, the issue changesfrom “truth in taxation” to very simply, taxation and what level of localgovernment spending and taxation people are willing to agree to.If the bill passes, and its chances are probably pretty good nextsession…the free ride is over.Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver ispublisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this state-wide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com.

Sit down and read.Educate yourself forthe coming conflict.

—————Mother Jones

DID YOU KNOW?If you have an AT&T cell phone, you are entitled to a discount on

your service. Union staff and officers are entitled to an 18% discountand union members get a 10% discount.

To use your discount, simply call customer service and give themthese FAN codes (Staff & officers - 45842, Members - 113662).(From Jake Lowen, COPE Director, Wichita-Hutchinson Labor Federation)

The PlainDealer — 7January 2009

Support the Employee Free Choice Act! Sign a card today!

LOCAL UNION BULLETIN BOARD

May the New Year surprise youin unexpected and wonderful ways!

Thursday, January 8Operating Engineers LU101— Regular Meeting, 7 p.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaSPEEA— Midwest Council Meeting, 973 S. Glendale, WichitaWichita Area Union Label— E-board, 6:30 p.m.; Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.mSaturday, January 10Machinists LL639— E-board Meeting 8 a.m., Regular meeting 9 a.m.Machinists LL733— E-Board Meeting at noon, regular meeting at 2 p.m.Machinists Local 2328— E-Board Meeting, 9 a.m., 2055 S. Ohio, Salina

Regular Meeting, 10 a.m., 2055 S. Ohio, SalinaMachinists Local 834 & 839— Regular Meeting, 10 a.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaMonday, January 12APWU Local 735— Regular Meeting, 8 a.m, 6920 W. Pueblo, WichitaNALC Branch 201— 7:30 p.m., NALC Br 201 Union Office

227 S. Pattie, WichitaUSW Local 01350— Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Union Hall

427 N. Main, Hutchinson, 67501SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— Membership Recruitment / Organizing Committee

973 S. Glendale, WichitaPlumbers & Pipefitters LU441– Regular Meeting, 7 p.m., 1330 E. 1st, WichitaTuesday, January 13Machinists Local 708— Regular Meeting, 7 p.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaCWA Local 6402— E-Board, 5:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, Wichita

Stewards, 7 p.m., 530 E. Harry, WichitaWednesday, January 14IBEW Local 1523— Regular Meeting, 5:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, WichitaMachinists Local 1989— E-Board, 3:40 p.m., Regular meeting, 3:50 p.m.

2005 Kansas Ave., Great Bend, 67530LU 441 Retirees— Breakfast, 9 a.m., Spears, 4323 W. MapleThursday, January 15Salina Labor Federation— Regular Meeting, 7 p.m., 2055 S. Ohio, SalinaSteelworkers Local 13417— Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, WichitaSaturday, January 17Machinists LL2799— E-board meeting 9:30 a.m., 3830 S. Meridian, Wichita

Regular Meeting, 10:30 a.m.Machinists Local 774— 10 a.m. Regular Meeting, 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaKansas State Union Label— 10 a.m., USW #241, 118½ Pine St., El Dorado, KS??Monday, January 19SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— Membership Recruitment / Organizing Committee,

4:30 p.m., 973 S. Glendale, WichitaSPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— L&PA, 4:30 p.m. at SPEEA Hall, 973 S. GlendaleGlaziers Local 558— 5 p.m., 1330 E. 1st St., Wichita, KSTuesday, January 20CWA Local 6402— Membership Meeting, 6:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, WichitaWednesday, January 21SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— Governing Documents Committee, 5 p.m.,

973 S. Glendale, WichitaThursday, January 22Wichita Hutchinson Labor Fed— 6:30 p.m., 3219 W. Central Ave., WichitaSaturday, January 24Graphics Union Local 575— 10 a.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaThursday, January 29District 70 Retirees— Luncheon, 11:45 a.m., 3830 S. Meridian, Wichita

Hammond, Zongker & Farris, L.L.C.ATTORNEYS AT LAWCity, State, Federal, Trial & Appellate Practice

•THOMAS E. HAMMOND

•JAMES B. ZONGKER

•DAVID H. FARRIS

Cases involving:Workers Compensation,

Auto Accidents,Injury and Wrongful Death

NO RECOVERY • NO FEEFREE INITIAL CONSULTATION

262-6800727 N. Waco • River Park Plaza • Wichita

Mailing Address:P. O. Box 47370 • Wichita, KS • 67201

Keep up to date on local and national union news at www.KSWorkbeat.org

Heartland Labor ForumHeartland Labor Forum presents broadcast programming in the Kansas City area featuring labor news oncommunity radio KKFI 90.1 fm. Live shows are on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. and on Fridays from 5 to 6 a.m.Archived shows can be heard any time at www.heartlandlaborforum.org.December 11 show• Judy Ancel talks to Alexandra Harney about her new book The China Price. What’s the realcost of those Chinese goods?• Molly Madden interviews Leonardo Sakamoto of Free the Slaves in Brazil• Feature: Don’t Be Ladylike with Jan BrillDecember 19 show• Union Free America –Who’s behind anti-union culture and Why We Need the EmployeeFree Choice Act.Also listen to Workers Independent News (WIN) at 4:57am, 7:57am, 4:57pm.

Have YOU Signeda Free Choice ActCard?Don’t forget to sign a card tosupport the Employee FreeChoice Act (EFCA), the mostimportant change to U.S. laborlaw in a generation.The card campaign is part ofthe AFL-CIO Million MemberMobilization to show the newpresident and Congress thatthere is widespread supportamong working men andwomen for stronger laws toprotect the right to choose aunion and stop unfair employertactics against organizing andbargaining a first contract.

Be kinder than necessary, because everyoneyou meet is fighting some kind of battle.

During the Saturday, Dec. 6, meeting of Local Lodge 639, DavidRobertson from Local Lodge 834 made a presentation to specificallythank two 639members who turnedout to support 834’s57-day strike.Almost every dayafter leaving theirsecond shift atLearjet, DonWilmoth and MikeMunday joined thepicket line at Boeingand walked a four-hour shift.Robertson jokedthat, during thattime, he saw more ofthem than he did hiswife. On a moreserious note, he saidthat they exemplifiedthe kind of solidaritythat unions are all about.

Two 639 Brothers Honoredfor Supporting 834 Strike

NAACP Supports EFCA:Employee Free Choice Act, Peter Kirsanow,and the NAACP Blog by Kevin Myles, President, Wichita NAACP

I came across an article in the National Review on the Employer Free Choice Act,written by Peter Kirsanow of the US Commission on Civil Rights. Longtime readers ofthe Wichita NAACP blog may remember that I had written previously about PeterKirsanow’s reappointment to the Civil Rights Commission HERE wherein I noted that:

Commissioner Kirsanow was chosen to serve as a federal Civil Rights watchdog,not because of his Civil Rights background or work in the field, in fact, quite theopposite is true. Kirsanow was a partner with the Cleveland, Ohio law firm ofBenesch, Friedlander, Coplan, and Aronoff LLP which focused on representingmanagement in employment-related litigation. Placing Kirsanow on the Civilrights Commission is analogous to placing a tobacco lobbyist in the Office of theSurgeon General.

Now Commissioner Kirsanow has written a predictable screed in opposition to the Employee Free Choice Actor EFCA. It is predictable in that Mr. Kirsanow’s record is distinguished more by its dogged fidelity to ideologythan by its demonstration of fair judgment or commitment to principle.In fact, when President Bush used a recess appointment to name Kirsanow to the National Labor RelationsBoard, Senator Ted Kennedy issued a statement reading in part, “Mr. Kirsanow’s record as a Member of theCommission on Civil Rights raises serious doubts about his fitness for high office and his commitment tofairness for all Americans.”Now Mr. Kirsanow has taken his opposition to the EFCA public. His argument rests squarely with the provi-sion that would allow workers to unionize by majority sign-up. He postulates that by affording workers theoption of using the majority sign-up process, the secret ballot election process would become a thing of thepast. And that if that happened, workers’ rights would be infringed upon because they would be forced tomake public declarations concerning the desire to or not to unionize...Mr. Kirsanow then (ironically) goes on to evoke civil rights imagery in a couple homespun hypotheticalnarratives designed to recast his union-busting effort as some noble or historically relevant cause.“Four decades ago, black voters in the Deep South and other regions of the country were subject to threats,intimidation and harassment for attempting to cast a secret ballot.” Kirsanow wrote...Oh. No. You. Didn’t.Silly Rabbit...The EFCA is a bi-partisan bill, introduced in the House by Rep. George Miller with 233 co-sponsors, andintroduced in the Senate by Senator Ted Kennedy and 46 co-sponsors, which would allow workers to formUnions through majority sign-up, help employees secure labor contracts with their employers in a reasonableamount of time through negotiation, mediation, or binding arbitration, and toughen penalties against employerswho violate workers rights.The bill passed the House by a 241-185 margin but was stalled in the Senate by a cloture motion and remandedback to the House Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions where itsits alongside the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Employment non-Discrimination Act, the Student LoanSunshine Act, and a hundred other acts and resolutions that have no scheduled hearings.The NAACP supports the Employee Free Choice Act. We recognize that union workers currently earn 26%more in median weekly wages than non-union workers; unionized women earn 31% more than their non-unioncounterparts, and black union workers earn 29% more than non-union African Americans.Furthermore, 75% of union workers have health benefits, compared to 49% of non-union workers. 69% of unionworkers have short-term disability coverage, compared to 30% of their non-union counterparts. Finally, 82% ofunion workers get life insurance, compared with 51% of non-union workers.The impact of unions – ensuring that all working Americans are treated well and share in the prosperity –cannot be overstated. Despite the continuing strength and advocacy power of unions, however, some employ-ers continue to treat workers poorly, not paying them a fair wage or providing them with necessary benefits:the purchasing power of workers’ wages is 5% below where it stood 30 years ago.CEO pay has continued to rise and is currently more than 1,000 times the earnings of the average worker. Therichest 13,000 U.S. families have nearly as much income as the poorest 200 million combined. And someemployers continue to fight the legitimate organization of unions. 70% of American employers in manufacturingthreaten to close the plant if workers choose a union.Furthermore, in the 1950s, when 30% of workers belonged to unions, only a few hundred workers sufferedretaliation for trying to organize a union; in 1969, the number or workers suffering retaliation was just over 6,000and by the 1990s more than 20,000 workers each year were victims of discrimination when they tried to organizea union.Now because the motion for cloture failed, the bill is essentially dead unless either nine Senators change theirvotes, which seems unlikely for this lame-duck session. However, it is very likely that we will see this bill, alongwith the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, resurface in a slightly modified form in the next Congress.

David Robertson, LL 834, presents Don Wilmoth,LL 639, with a t-shirt and $50 check in appreciation for

Wilmoth’s efforts to support the Boeing strike.Wilmoth and Mike Munday walked the 834 picket line

daily after their second-shift jobs to support theirunion brothers and sisters.

Black History is Union Historyhttps://unionshop.aflcio.org/“I Am a Man” poster/Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of HopeWhat a difference 40 years make! Two unionshop favorites both have to do with thestruggles of people of color to have a betterlife. One is the “I Am A Man” (https://unionshop.aflcio.org/I_Am_a_Man_P18C52.cfm) poster, whichdepicts African American sanitation workersmarching in Memphis in 1968 for a union and basic human respect.The other is a two-book set, Dreams of My Father and The Audacity ofHope (https://unionshop.aflcio.org/Barack_Obama_Two-Book_Set_P1429.cfm), by President-elect Barack Obama, which gives usinsight into the forces and beliefs that shaped his path in life. The factthat he will become president on Jan. 20 also is testament to the strength,courage and faith in the cause of justice that animates the entire progres-sive movement.

Firm Doing Hospital Project DemolitionDoes Not Provide Health InsuranceSALEM, Ore. (PAI)— What was supposed to be a prevailing wagedemolition and construction project at the dilapidated Oregon StateHospital in Salem, Ore., has taken a wrong turn with employment of non-union contractors, the Northwest Labor Press reports.The general contractor for the $250 million project is Hoffman Construc-tion, but the $16 million demolition contract – which includes asbestosremoval — went to non-union Konnell Construction, which turned overthe asbestos work to IRS Environmental. That firm doesn’t providehealth insurance for its mostly Hispanic workforce and is not a state-recognized trainer of apprentices.The whole mess led Laborers Local 320 to hold an informational picketline on Nov. 20 at the hospital, a 107-year-old facility used in the famousfilm One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Kevin Myles, President,Wichita NAACP

Be kinder than necessary, because everyoneyou meet is fighting some kind of battle.