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President Declares ‘Jobs’ is Top Priority in 2010
In
response to a State of the Union
speech that was long on rhetoric and short on specifics,
the IAM renewed its call for a more coordinated and aggressive
response to the most serious jobs crisis since
the Great Depression.
“When one-fifth of America’s workforce is idled to some degree, the
full force of government, business, labor and academia must be
marshaled to get them back to work,” said IAM President Tom
Buffenbarger in a response to the president’s remarks. “But no such
comprehensive strategy was outlined.”
President Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress and implored
Republicans and Democrats to set aside partisan differences and make
jobs the nation’s number one priority going into the 2010 midterm
election season.
“When America’s jobless open their morning newspapers, they will
know that their national nightmare will last through 2010. The winter,
spring and summer of their discontent now will feel interminable,”
warned Buffenbarger. “And their growing anger and frustration will
find an outlet, most probably in the 2010 midterm elections.”
Senate Democrats Get Wake Up
Call
The outcome of the special election in Massachusetts is being
touted as a victory for Tea Party activists, who grabbed the public’s
attention with a non-stop smear campaign against the proposed health
care legislation. But an article by Roger Bybee in In These Times
magazine, argues that Democrats who buy that reasoning are missing the
boat.
Bybee contends that Martha Coakley's defeat reflects a fundamental
unwillingness of national Democrats to clearly distinguish themselves
from the corporate lobbyists swarming around them. If the
Massachusetts experience is not to be repeated, Bybee says Democrats
will need to answer the age old labor refrain, “Which side are you
on?”
IAM Legislative Director Matt McKinnon is quoted in the article,
arguing that it was the failure of Obama and the Democrats to more
clearly stand with the people against corporate interests that sunk
the candidacy of Coakley against Scott Brown.
IAM Launches “UCubed” to Help
Unemployed
On Friday, January 15, 2010, the IAM launched
Ur Union of
Unemployed– known as UCubed - an online community
that aims to unify the unemployed in a unique and useful way.
UCubed’s purpose is to assist the over 31 million Americans who
have lost their jobs in this Grave Recession by helping them to
organize, work together and get back to work. Many Americans are
facing the toughest times in more than a generation. Their job
prospects will depend, in large measure, on what happens in
Washington.
“More than 35,000 members of our union have been laid off,” says
IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger in his welcome letter on
the UCubed website. “Others are working fewer hours each week because
their employers simply do not have orders to fill. And the real
recovery, not the false one on Wall Street, still seems years away.”
UCubed will organize the unemployed into community activist groups
known as cubes. Together, they will turn up the heat on politicians
from the State House to the White House to act swiftly to address the
current jobs crisis. Each cube will be organized by zip code.
To date, the following have chosen to partner with the IAM in this
community service project: The AFL-CIO, the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American
Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Communications Workers of America (CWA),
IAM District Lodge 34, the International Union of Painters and Allied
Trades (IUPAT), the National Education Association (NEA), NoLimits.org,
Totten Communications and Working America, AFL-CIO.
Cubes have already developed across the country, and the numbers
continue to grow. Visit UCubed at
www.unionofunemployed.com and watch as the nation’s
unemployed take back control.
IAM Members Reject Teamster
Raid
District 947 IAM members who work at Coca-Cola plants throughout
Southern California rejected a raid by the Teamsters. IAM members
voted by a significant majority to remain with the Machinists Union.
Since leaving the AFL-CIO, which has a no-raid agreement among
affiliates, the Teamsters have led numerous raids to steal members
from other unions.
“This is a strong message to the Teamsters and any other
organization that thinks the IAM will tolerate the unethical practices
of these rogue organizations,” said Western Territory General Vice
President Gary Allen. “While there are millions of workers in America
wishing they could be represented by a union, the Teamsters are out
stealing other unions’ members instead. It’s a disservice to our
Coca-Cola members and it’s a disservice to workers we could have
organized with the resources we must divert to defeat these raids.
“This win is a credit to the solidarity of our members and the
strong effort by the IAM staff and volunteers at the local, district
and territory levels,” said Allen. “They put in a tremendous amount of
time during the holiday season and deserve our deep appreciation.”
Obama Signs COBRA Subsidy
Extension
An extension of the 65 percent COBRA subsidy was signed into law
by President Obama on December 19, 2009. This extension extends
the eligibility window for the subsidy until February 28, 2010,
and also increases the subsidy period for laid-off workers to 15
months of coverage, up from the current nine months.
Under the new bill, any worker who loses his or her job before
February 28, 2010, would now be eligible for the subsidy, and the
subsidy will now provide 15 months of coverage as opposed to the
original nine months. Workers whose coverage has already
terminated after nine months of subsidy will be given the
opportunity to re-enroll for the extended coverage.
All other provisions of the original bill remain intact. Health
care premiums will be discounted by 65 percent and the worker
would be required to pay the remaining 35 percent to maintain
their health care coverage.
The government subsidizes their contribution directly with the
employer and does not bill the actual employee for the full cost
of the benefits.
The law also gives qualified individuals a “second chance” to
elect COBRA coverage if they turned it down previously. The plan
is required to notify laid-off workers of a second COBRA
enrollment period. Additionally, laid-off workers can change to a
plan that costs less than their original plan, if it is offered to
active employees. If a company denies the premium reduction to
individuals on COBRA, an expedited appeal process is available
through the Department of Labor.
For more information on the COBRA subsidy, visit the special
Department of Labor (DOL) website at
www.dol.gov/cobra.
There are also Benefits Advisors on staff at the DOL, who can be
contacted at 866-444-3272.
Mass Layoffs Impact 248,000
in September
Thu. October 22, 2009
New jobs numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor show
employers took 2,561 mass layoff actions involving
248,006 workers during the month of September ...
New jobs numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor
show employers took 2,561 mass layoff actions involving
248,006 workers during the month of September – a slight
decrease from the previous month, but researchers are
still reporting year-to-date highs. The manufacturing
sector reported 97,066 new unemployment claims for the
month of September, 3,174 more than the previous month.
Show your support for JOBS Now! by clicking
here and sending your Congressperson a letter
demanding a jobs-creating stimulus package today. Once
done, join our
JOBS Now! cause on Facebook and share the link with
your family and friends. Help tell Congress that
American need JOBS Now!
IAM Retirees Demand Real
Health Care Reform
Thu. October 22, 2009
Dozens of IAM retirees marched on Capitol Hill last
week, calling for health care reform that includes a
robust public option without a tax on benefits.
Dozens
of IAM retirees marched on Capitol Hill last week,
calling for health care reform that includes a robust
public option without a tax on benefits.
The 55 U.S. and Canadian IAM retirees met with
members of the House and Senate, including Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, urging them to support
comprehensive health care reform that helps insure 46
million uninsured Americans while improving coverage for
the remaining 253 million Americans.
“Many of these retirees have health care benefits,”
explained IAM Retiree and Community Services Department
Director Cordone. “They are lobbying for other retirees,
their children and grandchildren who do not have
benefits.”
Cordone describes the retirees as “true heroes,” and
notes the Canadian members were especially helpful in
educating lawmakers on the effectiveness of Canada’s
single-payer system.
“Our retired Canadian members are furious about the
right-wing Republicans and insurance companies using
scare tactics and spreading untruths about the Canadian
health care system,” said Cordone. “Our northern
Brothers and Sisters are very proud of their health
care.”
Support Grows for Public
Option
Thu. October 22, 2009
A new Washington Post-ABC News survey on health care
reform shows support for the public option is rising.
A new Washington Post-ABC News survey on health care
reform shows support for the public option is rising.
The report shows that while Americans are still
divided on the bills currently making their way through
the House and Senate, a clear majority, 57 percent, now
favor a public insurance option, compared to 52 percent
two months ago. Results show support jumps to 76 percent
if the public plan could be run by individual states and
open only to those who lack affordable coverage options.
Supporters agree that having a government-run insurance
provider is the best way to bring and keep down overall
costs.
Other results include 61 percent opposition to the
Senate Finance Committee’s plan to tax health care
benefits. And, 71 percent support a provision mandating
all Americans buy insurance as long as the government
provides subsidies for lower-income families.
The Twisted Saga of Mercury
Marine
Tue. October 20, 2009
When the nominations for the 2009 Corporate Hall of
Shame are unveiled, it should come as no surprise to see
Mercury Marine and parent company Brunswick Corporation
leading a very crowded pack.
When the nominations for the 2009
Corporate Hall of Shame are unveiled, it should come as
no surprise to see Mercury Marine and parent company
Brunswick Corporation leading a very crowded pack.
While Mercury Marine, the Fond du
Lac, WI-based engine builder, appeared to be an early
favorite to take top honors in the Most Offensive
Outsourcing category, it now appears that executives of
Mercury’s parent company, Brunswick Corp., are also on
track to take home the prized Bernard Madoff Lifetime
Achievement Award.
According to ‘The Twisted
Saga of Mercury Marine,’ a study just released
by the non-profit Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF),
top executives at Lake Forest, IL-based Brunswick Corp.
orchestrated a competition between Wisconsin and
Oklahoma to see which state could provide the lowest
labor costs and the highest tax incentives.
Meanwhile, Mercury Marine/Brunswick
didn’t pay a dime of income tax in Wisconsin since 2000,
according to the IWF report and records obtained from
the Department of Revenue.
Click
here to read the full report.
“The story of Mercury Marine is a
sad documentary on how large corporations can reward
executives for failure while dismantling the
manufacturing structures that generate real value,” said
the IWF report, which was particularly critical of
Brunswick CEO Dustin McCoy, who collected over $10
million in compensation between 2006 and 2008, while
5,300 workers lost their jobs and the company’s stock
fell a whopping 71 percent.
Obama Announces Community College Plan
President Obama is calling for five million new college graduates
by 2020 – the highest graduation rate in the world. And, he’s
proposing a $12 billion community college program to help make it
happen.
The president says the new American Graduation Initiative is part
of his plan to put the country on the road to economic recovery.
“Time and again, when we placed our bet for the future on
education, we have prospered as a result,” President Obama said during
a
speech at Macomb Community College in Warren, MI, focusing on
education and jobs. Michigan’s unemployment rate of 14.1 percent is
currently the highest in the country because of the state’s struggling
auto and auto parts industry.
“Some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and
elsewhere won’t be coming back. They’re the casualties of a changing
economy,” the president said. “That only underscores the importance of
generating new businesses and new industries to replace the ones that
we’ve lost, and preparing our workers to fill the jobs they create.”
President Obama’s speech comes on the heels of a Council of
Economic Advisers’ report which found that jobs requiring at least an
associate degree will grow twice as fast as those only needing a high
school diploma.
Obama says the program includes grants aimed at encouraging
community colleges to design new innovative programs and curriculum,
funds to develop new online courses and $2.5 billion for new
construction and renovation. Spending is expected to begin early next
year.
“It’s encouraging to see our president emphasizing the importance
of education and skills,” says IAM International President Tom
Buffenbarger. “For years, the IAM has been shouting from the rooftops
that America’s edge is our skills and our children. And this
initiative recognizes that fact.
“Our hope is that in an effort to move our country forward, that
same thinking can be crafted into a larger, more holistic, program
aimed at creating jobs now rather than later, while at the same time
prepare our workforce for the future,” concluded Buffenbarger. “The
Machinists will continue our call for a stimulus package targeting the
areas in which many of the men and women taking part in the
president’s new community college initiative will be looking for work
after graduation – the manufacturing and transportation sectors. What
good is a highly-skilled pipe fitter or maintenance mechanic if there
aren’t any jobs for that person to fill once they’ve received that
quality education?”
The Union Difference: More Family-Friendly
Workplaces
A new study has found unions help make workplaces more
family-friendly, providing one more reason to support the Employee
Free Choice Act.
The report entitled “Family-Friendly Workplaces: Do Unions Make a
Difference?” focused on work-life balance issues, paid leave and
health benefits. Researchers Jenifer MacGillvary of the Labor Center
at the University of California-Berkeley and Netsy Firestein of the
Labor Project for Working Families found that “yet as has been the
case with virtually all other aspects of employment, labor unions are
leading the way in setting new standards. Unionized workers receive
more generous family-friendly benefits than their nonunionized
counterparts.”
According to the report, unions promote compliance with the Family
and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Unionized workers are 1.3 times as
likely as nonunionized workers to be allowed to use their own sick
time to care for a sick child, they are 50 percent more likely than
nonunionized workers to have paid personal leave that can be used to
care for sick children, and companies with 30 percent or more
unionized workers are five times as likely to pay the entire family
health insurance premium.
The Employee Free Choice Act, legislation currently making its way
through Congress, would help to protect the ability of all workers to
care for their families. The bill would enable workers to bargain for
better wages, benefits and working conditions by strengthening their
rights to form unions.
Click
here to tell Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
For more on the “Family-Friendly Workplaces” report, click
here.
IAM Calls For New Export Policies to Create Jobs
At a recent hearing before the House Subcommittee on Terrorism,
Nonproliferation and Trade, the IAM’s Director of Trade and
Globalization, Owen Herrnstadt, called for new measures to ensure that
our nation’s export policies promote the creation of jobs in North
America.
During the hearing, Herrnstadt recommended that the government
implement employment impact analysis whenever a company seeks an
export license that involves the transfer of production to another
country.
“Incorporating strong measures that make certain our export
policies assist in the creation of good jobs here at home is crucial
if we are to succeed in rebuilding a strong and vibrant economy,” he
said.
Machinists Renew Call for Second Stimulus
In a
four-page letter to President Barack Obama, IAM President Tom
Buffenbarger made a strong case for a second economic stimulus program
that would generate millions of jobs in the critical manufacturing
sector.
Citing the successful programs employed by Franklin Roosevelt
during the Great Depression, Buffenbarger called for an updated and
precisely targeted version of FDR’s Works Progress Administration.
“President Roosevelt's basic strategy can be re-engineered for the
modern manufacturing sector,” said Buffenbarger. “Today's unemployed
can be put to work renovating factories and installing new equipment;
devising new financing, marketing and sales packages for local
businesses; and reinventing our decaying skills-delivery system. We
can jump-start depressed local economies by letting counties and
communities hire the unemployed with federal dollars.”
The need for additional and expedited economic stimulus is gaining
increasing support, with more than 30.2 million now unemployed or
underemployed in the United States. The initial $787 billion economic
stimulus package, which took nearly four months to craft and enact,
remains largely unspent. “The wheels of government grind too slowly to
reverse the momentum of such massive unemployment in the coming year
-- unless new and far more aggressive measures are taken,” said
Buffenbarger, who noted that unemployment could increase by an average
of 250,000 each month for the next nine months.
“America's manufacturing jobs are worth fighting for,” said
Buffenbarger. “These jobs are the key to a middle-class life for
millions. A second, targeted stimulus package will give America's
manufacturing sector—and all those whose livelihoods are tied to
it—the fighting chance it deserves. And it will ignite the long-term
growth and sustained job creation that our nation so desperately
needs.”
Recession Erases Nine Years of Job Growth
The latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows the U.S.
has lost 6.5 million jobs since the start of the recession in December
2007. Economists now say the current recession has, in eighteen
months, managed to wipe out nine years of job growth.
Just last month, employers cut 467,000 jobs. There are now 14.7
million people without jobs in the U.S. – 30.2 million if you include
the involuntary part-time and those who want jobs but cannot find one.
The unemployment rate increased from 9.4 to 9.5 percent.
“We have fewer jobs in this economy than we had in May 2000,” says
economist Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute. “And it’s
important to keep in mind that in that time the labor force has grown
by nearly 13 million people… This is the only recession since the
Great Depression to wipe out all the job growth from the previous
business cycle.”
Affordable Student Loans Available
Beginning July 1, 2009, new benefits to make student loan payments
more affordable and manageable will go into place, making the prospect
of receiving a higher education and a much-needed upgrade in skills
that much more attainable for millions of Americans.
The benefits, put into place by the Democratic Majority and House
Committee on Education & Labor, were signed into law in 2007 as part
of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. They include cheaper
interest rates on need-based federal student loans, reasonable and
affordable monthly payments, and higher Pell Grant scholarships that
cover the average tuition at public universities.
These provisions are in addition to the Obama administration’s
recent announcement of a relaxation in Pell Grant eligibility
requirements for unemployed workers. That initiative is also slated to
begin in July.
Machinists Urge Far Reaching Industrial Policy
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
began a new chapter in its 121-year history with the installation of
new officers, members of the Law Committee and delegates to the
AFL-CIO and Canadian Labour Congress in a ceremony at IAM Headquarters
in Upper Marlboro, MD.
The new Executive Council takes the helm during one of the greatest
economic storms since the Great Depression and pledges aggressive
action to reignite the economies in the United States and Canada and
restore middle-class jobs.
“This leadership team knows the toll this mega-recession is taking
on working families because they are talking to our members every
day,” said IAM President R. Thomas Buffenbarger in a keynote address.
“We intend to push for a second economic stimulus, one aimed at the
manufacturing and transportation sectors,” said Buffenbarger. “Until
this mega-recession ends and real, sustained, job-creating growth
starts, JOBS Now! will be our primary focus.”
To reignite the fires of global economic job creation, Buffenbarger
called for an industrial policy that included making credit available
to smaller companies, offering investment tax credits, renovating
older plants and giving laid-off workers the opportunity to upgrade
their skills.
“We must embark upon the duties that we have pledged our sacred
honor to do,” said Buffenbarger. “We must lead this great union of
ours into a jobs-creating economic recovery, mentor a new generation
of labor leaders, negotiate the industry-leading contracts that are
the hallmark of our great union and fight like hell for our members’
fair share of the wealth created by their labors.”
Retired IAM International President George Kourpias administered
the oath of office to the new Executive Council which includes IAM
President R. Thomas Buffenbarger, General Secretary-Treasurer Warren
L. Mart, Canadian GVP Dave Ritchie, Transportation GVP Robert Roach,
Jr., Eastern Territory GVP Lynn D. Tucker, Jr., Southern Territory GVP
Robert Martinez, Jr., Headquarters GVP Richard Michalski, Midwest
Territory GVP Philip J. Gruber and Western Territory GVP Gary Allen.
Also sworn in were Law Committee members Philip Zannella, Jr.,
James Beno, Stan Pickthall, Ellen Arbogast and Jeffery Goen; and
Delegates to the AFL-CIO James Conigliaro, Shelley Kessler and Stephen
Gordon. Angela Schira will serve as the Delegate to the Canadian
Labour Congress.
Bob Herbert: ‘No Recovery in Sight’
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert recently wrote a compelling
article that provides a sober counterpoint to the Wall Street wags
and Washington pundits who are claiming the worst recession in 70
years is running out of steam.
“Some months ago, the Obama administration and various mainstream
economists forecast a peak unemployment rate of roughly 8 percent this
year. It has already reached 9.4 percent, and most analysts now expect
it to hit 10 percent or higher,” wrote Herbert in No Recovery in
Sight. “Economists are currently spreading the word that the
recession may end sometime this year, but the unemployment rate will
continue to climb. That’s not a recovery. That’s mumbo jumbo.”
Herbert refuses to accept the crackpot notion of a jobless
recovery, citing the dramatic rise in underemployed and underutilized
workers, with nearly 30 million working-age individuals languishing in
the category as of May 2009. The overall labor underutilization rate
in May 2009 rose to 18.2 percent, its highest value in 26 years.
“If it were true that the recession is approaching its end and that
these startlingly high numbers were about to begin a steady and
substantial decline, there would be much less reason for alarm,”
writes Herbert. “But while there is evidence the recession is easing,
hardly anyone believes a big-time employment turnaround is in the
offing.”
"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----
