Lodge 516 News

A study released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) finds that unfair trade with China cost the United States 2.4 million jobs between 2001 and 2008. This figure does not include the thousands of jobs that were lost in 2009 and the first few months of 2010.

The report also finds that the growing trade deficit has cost jobs in every Congressional district. IAM President R. Thomas Buffenbarger blamed China’s currency manipulation, illegal subsidies, failure to honor international human rights and trade barriers for these staggering job losses. Buffenbarger also criticized U.S.-based corporations that are “only too willing to outsource jobs to China to take advantage of low labor costs.”

“We once again call upon the administration and Congress to get serious about China’s unfair trade policies,” said Buffenbarger. “We need a comprehensive response to the jobs crisis—one that starts with leveling the playing field with China.”

Congress is poised to let the unemployment insurance benefit clock once again run out for America's jobless. The temporary 30-day extension put in place a few weeks ago is scheduled to end at the end of this month. However, members will be breaking for Easter recess Friday - which means millions will lose their unemployment benefits if lawmakers fail to act before the break.

Legislation to do away with the 30-day extensions and extend unemployment insurance benefits through the end of 2010 is currently under debate in the House. It's imperative House lawmakers pass this bill and get it to the president's desk this week.

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.”

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

IAM Retirees Demand Real Health Care Reform

Support Grows for Public Option

The Twisted Saga of Mercury Marine

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.

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.”


About Local 516 Meet the Leadership Affiliated Shops Calendar of Events Lodge 516 News Legislative Action MNPL 10 Plus 10 Union Links Other Resources Join the IAM	Updated: 03/28/10 Welcome to the IAM Lodge 516 Web Site. Unfair Trade with China Cost 2.4 Million Jobs A study released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) finds that unfair trade with China cost the United States 2.4 million jobs between 2001 and 2008. This figure does not include the thousands of jobs that were lost in 2009 and the first few months of 2010. The report also finds that the growing trade deficit has cost jobs in every Congressional district. IAM President R. Thomas Buffenbarger blamed China’s currency manipulation, illegal subsidies, failure to honor international human rights and trade barriers for these staggering job losses. Buffenbarger also criticized U.S.-based corporations that are “only too willing to outsource jobs to China to take advantage of low labor costs.” “We once again call upon the administration and Congress to get serious about China’s unfair trade policies,” said Buffenbarger. “We need a comprehensive response to the jobs crisis—one that starts with leveling the playing field with China.” Unemployment Benefits Set to Expire, Again Congress is poised to let the unemployment insurance benefit clock once again run out for America's jobless. The temporary 30-day extension put in place a few weeks ago is scheduled to end at the end of this month. However, members will be breaking for Easter recess Friday - which means millions will lose their unemployment benefits if lawmakers fail to act before the break. Legislation to do away with the 30-day extensions and extend unemployment insurance benefits through the end of 2010 is currently under debate in the House. It's imperative House lawmakers pass this bill and get it to the president's desk this week. 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----
	Home // Feedback // What's New? // Search // Site Index
	© 2002-2009 IAM Lodge 516 All Rights Reserved