"Should any political
party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment
insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you
would not hear of that party
again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group,
of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among
them are a few Texas oil
millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from
other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.
----President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952----
IAM Celebrates 120 Years
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
celebrates its 120th anniversary this week. It was on the evening of
May 5, 1888 that railroad machinist Tom Talbot held a secret meeting
with eighteen fellow machinists in a locomotive engine pit in
Atlanta, Georgia. That meeting was the foundation of the IAM.
Unemployment was high in the 1880s and people were still hurting
from the ravages of a depression of the 1870s. With 10-hour days,
unsafe working conditions and declining wages (journeymen
machinists, at $2.00 an hour, were earning about half as much as
twenty years earlier), the need for workers to unite and organize
was never greater.
First named the Order of United Machinists and Mechanical Engineers
of America, Tom Talbot became the union’s first president. With the
help of “Boomers,” Machinists organizers who traveled by rail,
membership grew to 4,000 in just two years.
Supreme Court Rules on Voter Photos
Taking sides in a dispute over a problem that many say does not
exist, the U.S. Supreme Court this week ruled 6 to 3 that states may
require voters to present photo identification to prevent fraud. The
ruling threatens to disenfranchise millions of voters including the
poor, elderly, disabled and urban dwellers who are least likely to
have the appropriate photo ID.
The ruling follows an appeal of an Indiana law requiring voters to
present specific government-issued identification, such as a drivers
license or passport before voting. The Indiana law, considered to be
the toughest in the nation, has been called a not-too-thinly veiled
attempt to discourage voters who traditionally lean Democratic. The
decision was widely hailed by GOP lawmakers who claimed it was
needed to protect against voter fraud, despite the absence of
evidence that voter fraud is a problem. Civil rights groups were
quick to denounce the decision.
“This is a disgraceful decision by a court that has no credibility
on election issues,” said Mary G. Wilson, president of the League of
Women Voters of the United States.
Airbus Distorts Tanker Job Numbers
Union members in Washington state held a
spontaneous protest in the wake of the Air Force decision to award a
$40 billion contract for aerial refueling tankers to Airbus/EADS.
Less than a week after the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
launched a review of the controversial $40 billion tanker contract,
comes news that Airbus is grossly exaggerating the number of U.S.
jobs that would be created.
As part of a full-court public relations blitz, the Toulouse-based
plane maker and European parent company EADS are claiming their
tanker, based on the Airbus A330, will create 48,000 jobs in the
U.S., nearly double their original estimate.
In a letter to the editor at the Sacramento Bee, Western Territory
GVP Lee Pearson ripped into Airbus for a history of false claims and
distortions. “Earlier in the decade, Airbus claimed that it had
created 100,000 jobs in the U.S., but a study by the U.S. Under
Secretary for Trade, Grant Aldonas, could only find 500,” wrote
Pearson in response to an article that cited the bogus Airbus
numbers. “Last year, Airbus made the claim that U.S. companies would
build half of the A380, yet at the same time the French press
reported that production from all of North America would only amount
to 21 percent.”
Even the British, who will be making the wings for the Airbus
tanker, have experienced Airbus parent EADS’ outrageous distortions.
In 2006, a British government agency banned as untruthful an ad that
claimed, “I am British” in reference to the A330 tanker.“Given this
history of gross distortions, it strains credibility to believe even
the original EADS/Northrop Grumman job creation numbers and claims
of 60 percent domestic content, could be true,” said Pearson. “To
believe that the EADS/Northrop Grumman European Airbus tanker will
create 48,000 American jobs is a fairy tale akin to the notion that
NAFTA is a source of good paying U.S. manufacturing jobs.”
GAO to Investigate $40 Billion Tanker
Contract
If the Air Force officials who awarded a $40 billion contract to
Airbus and EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.) were
betting the outrage over the deal would die out quickly, they
gambled wrong. A formal protest filed today by the Boeing Co. will
be considered by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to
determine if the multi-billion contract was properly awarded.
From Seattle, WA and Wichita, KS to Washington, D.C., elected
officials are going ballistic over the Air Force’s decision to
outsource an entire fleet of U.S. military aircraft to a consortium
that is heavily subsidized by European governments. “This is one of
the worst decisions I’ve ever seen,” said Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA),
who echoed the sentiments of many lawmakers in the House and Senate
who were stunned by the decision to bypass Boeing, a U.S. company
that has been supplying the Air Force with refueling tankers for
nearly 50 years.
The controversy gained fresh legs when Air Force officials
admitted the impact on American jobs was not one of their criteria
for awarding the contract, which could eventually be worth as much
as $100 billion. Boeing officials also claim the Air Force changed
its criteria after the bidding was underway, further favoring
Airbus.
Leading the charge to give Airbus a leg up on the historic
contract was none other than presidential aspirant
John McCain
(R-AZ), who prodded the Pentagon in 2006 to develop bidding
procedures that did not exclude Airbus.
“Awarding this contract to Boeing would support at least 44,000
U.S. jobs in 40 states,” said IAM International President Tom
Buffenbarger. “Instead, billions in U.S. taxpayer dollars will be
used to create jobs in Toulouse, France, and give European countries
the potential to influence U.S. foreign policy to an unprecedented
degree.”
Click
here to view a letter sent by IP Buffenbarger to
members of Congress and click
here to send a message to your representatives,
urging them to overturn this decision.
February Job Loss Worst in Five Years
The U.S. lost a total of 63,000 jobs last month, the largest
decline in jobs in nearly five years. February’s job numbers,
released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, continues to
fuel recession fears and pushes job losses for the year over 80,000.
With 22,000 jobs lost in January, it also marks the first time since
June 2003 that there have been consecutive months of job loss. While
the job loss was widespread, manufacturing and construction continue
to be hit the hardest, losing 59,000 and 39,000 jobs respectively.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, improved to 4.8 percent from 4.9
percent. However, it was a result of the large increase in the
number of people that the government says have stopped working or
looking for jobs for various reasons. If the 450,000 people who left
the labor force in February had been counted among the unemployed,
the unemployment rate would have actually been 5.1 percent,
according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The dismal job numbers, combined with the large number of workers
dropping out of the workforce, has led to increased calls to extend
unemployment benefits.
“Today’s job losses—the worst in five years—emphasize the urgent
need for more effective action,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA),
chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee. “Extending and improving unemployment benefits is the
best way to bring immediate help to the millions who are out of work
and provide a much-needed jump-start to our economy.”
Machinists Union Blasts Tanker Decision
Machinists across the country are calling for congressional
action following the decision by Air Force officials to award a $40
billion aerial refueling tanker contract to a team led by the
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), parent company of
Airbus.
“The Air Force's decision is a serious blow to a key American
industry,” said IAM GVP Rich Michalski. “President Bush and his
administration have denied real economic stimulus to the American
people and chosen instead to create jobs in Toulouse, France.”
The tanker competition was mandated in 2003, allowing a heavily
subsidized European manufacturer, EADS, to bid against Boeing, a
U.S. firm that received no subsidies.
“This decision means billions of taxpayer dollars will be used to
create jobs in foreign countries, rather than here in the United
States,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. “Giving
this contract to EADS further hollows out America’s industrial base
and rewards a company that has already used $100 million in European
government subsidies to grab nearly 50 percent of the U.S.
commercial aircraft market.”
The IAM represents nearly 35,000 Boeing employees in Washington
state, Oregon, Kansas and locations across the country.
IAM Debuts ‘Training Wheels’ Issue Ad
The IAM is rolling out ‘Training Wheels,’ a brand new
issue ad
to highlight the alarming lack of skilled training opportunities for
America’s next generation of workers. While half a trillion dollars
of local, state and federal money are spent each year on higher
education, nearly all of it is earmarked for traditional four-year
colleges and universities.
“Between outsourcing, retirements and the absence of new training
opportunities, the supply of highly skilled workers in this country
is slowing to a trickle,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “We need a
strong commitment from elected officials at every level to ensure we
have the jobs, the workers and the sophisticated training needed to
take advantage of tomorrow’s high-tech opportunities.”
The new ad is the second in a series and part of the IAM initiative
called America's
Edge, which aims to re-emphasize technical and vocational
classes in America’s high schools, expand the availability of
industrial technology and information technology courses in
America’s community colleges and create High Tech Institutes in each
state that focus on 21st century manufacturing technologies and
materials.
Bush Denies Millions of Children Health
Insurance - Again
President Bush last week denied millions of children health
insurance for the second time by vetoing legislation reauthorizing
and expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The bill would have expanded the program by $35 billion over the
next five years, providing more than ten million low-income children
with health insurance.
The Democratic-led Senate passed the legislation by a veto-proof
margin, but the House fell just short of the two-thirds majority
needed. The House will vote on January 23 whether to override the
veto.
Despite broad bi-partisan support, Bush vetoed similar legislation
in October. Without reauthorization, however, millions of children
are facing a dim outlook. Twenty-one states will run out of money
for children’s health insurance in the coming year, according to the
Congressional Research Service. Nine of the twenty-one states are
expected to exhaust their funds as soon as March, including Alaska,
Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey
and Rhode Island.
Trade Deficit Jumps to $57 Billion
The U.S. trade deficit rose to $57.8 billion in October, up $700
million from September’s $57.1 billion gap, according to data
released by the U.S. Commerce Department. The trade deficit is now
up to nearly $587 billion through the first ten months of the year.
The increasing trade deficit was fueled by rising oil prices as well
as a record $25.9 billion trade deficit with China. Despite consumer
concerns over the safety of Chinese-made products, there was an
increase in imports of Chinese toys, games, sporting goods, home
electronics, computers and telecommunications equipment. Further
highlighting the U.S.’s flawed trade policy, the trade deficit with
Mexico reached a new high of $7.5 billion in October.
Wisconsin Workers Win Representation Rights
Members of District 121 organize to win at
Spartech Plastics in Portage, WI
District 121 in Beaver Dam, WI, recently secured IAM
representation rights for 81 production, inspection, maintenance and
warehouse workers who manufacture engineered plastic sheeting and
other materials at Spartech Plastics in Portage, WI.
“The in-plant organizing team was solid in their commitment to win
IAM representation, which resulted in a greater than 2 to 1 vote in
favor of joining our union,” said Midwest Territory GLR Steve
Nickel. “Our members at Spartech want a voice in the workplace, a
safe working environment, better wages, benefits and working
conditions.”
Midwest Territory GVP Philip J. Gruber welcomed the new members and
thanked everyone involved in the winning effort. “We appreciate the
hard work and dedication of GLR Steve Nickel, GLR Bob Anderson, GLR
Russ Wittkop, DBR Dan Hilbert, ADBR John Rolbiecki along with
Apprentice Organizers Jan DeSmidt and Brian Jarvensivu. We
congratulate our new members and welcome them into the IAM family.”
Machinists Rally Iowa Union Members for Clinton
IP Buffenbarger addresses union members in
Cedar Rapids, IA on the importance of getting out the vote.
Labor leaders from four of the nation’s largest trade unions were
joined by former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Iowa
Governor Tom Vilsack for a full day of campaigning in Iowa on behalf
of Democratic presidential candidate New York Senator Hillary
Clinton.
Union members turned out in force for rallies on December 15 in
Council Bluffs and Cedar Rapids where IP Tom Buffenbarger delivered
a
speech urging members to consider a candidate’s seniority
among their qualifications to be president.
“We all know about seniority,” said Buffenbarger, who noted that
Sen. Clinton had nearly three times the experience in the Senate
than her two closest rivals. “And before entering the Senate,
Hillary Clinton did the graveyard shift, swing shift and day shift
in the White House. Eight years – 2,920 days – in the most intense
work site on earth.”
Buffenbarger was joined in Iowa by John Flynn, President of the
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Stuart
Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store
Union and Gerald McEntee, President of the American Federation of
State, County, and Municipal Employees.
Following the rallies in Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs, the unions
provided caucus training to ensure members take part and understand
Iowa’s unique caucus system.
