News By Union

Union Plus has awarded $150,000 in scholarships to 130 students representing 43 unions, including three children of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) members, in the 2011 Union Plus Scholarship Program.

Chart courtesy Talking Points Memo

Mitt Romney’s campaign is proving that while money can’t buy you love, it can buy a whole lot of ads. But they come at a tremendous cost: His campaign spent more in January than it brought in. According to spending reports, Romney’s Presidential campaign and the super PAC supporting him raised $13.1 million in January, but spent $32.7 million. Maybe Romney needs a refresher course in Accounting 101.

When it comes to fundraising, he is particularly weak among small donors, the people who provide small, but often regular, donations to a campaign. Although they don’t have deep pockets, these donors are a good barometer of how broad a candidate’s support is among regular folks. They tend to be enthusiastic door-knockers and phone-bankers, and they can contribute multiple times without ever reaching limits on contributions to federal candidates.

It’s no surprise that small donors are Romney’s Achilles’ heel. After all, he’s made countless comments that make it clear working families are not among his favorite constituents. One of the most telling was “corporations are people.”  

In contrast, small donors are the backbone of President Obama’s campaign. In fact, nearly half of what his campaign raised in 2011 came from individuals giving $200 or less.

If Romney faces Obama in the general election, the former Massachusetts governor better hope that the Supreme Court rules that corporations can grow legs, walk into the voting booth and cast ballots for him. Those may be the only votes Romney can count on. 

This week, The Simpsons aired its 500th episode. Chronicling the life and the hilarity of a working family from the fictional town of Springfield, this animated sitcom has often taken on issues important to workers.

The best work-related episode and arguably the best Simpsons episode EVER, “Last Exit to Springfield,” aired in 1993. In that episode, Homer Simpson becomes the president of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant union and leads the workers in a strike to get their dental plan back. Montgomery Burns, the plant owner, tries again and again to break the union’s spirit, but they remain united.

Here are some memorable lines from that episode:

Carl: What do we want?
All: More equitable treatment at the hands of management!
Carl: When do we want it?
All: Soon!

Mr. Burns: We both want a fair union contract.
Homer: (thinking) Why is Mr. Burns being so nice to me?
Mr. Burns: And if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
Homer: (thinking) Wait a minute. Is he coming onto me?
Mr. Burns: I mean, if I should slip something into your pocket, what's the harm?
Homer: (thinking) My God! He is coming onto me!
Mr. Burns: After all, negotiations make strange bedfellows. (chuckle, wink)
Homer: (thinking) Aaahh! Sorry, Mr. Burns, but I don't go in for these backdoor shenanigans. Sure, I'm flattered, maybe even a little curious, but the answer is no!

Lisa: Do you really think you can get our dental plan back, dad?
Homer: Well, that depends on who's the better negotiator, Mr. Burns or me...
Bart: Dad, I'll trade you this delicious doorstop for your crummy old Danish.
Homer: Done and done!

In the end, the union wins back its dental plan, but not before Homer’s daughter, Lisa, sings her epic protest song:

Press Contact Galen Munroe [email protected] 202-624-6904

(WASHINGTON) – As Nuveen Investments seeks to refinance $1.1 billion in debt – just barely a year after the firm’s last billion dollar refinancing – the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is urging clients to carefully consider the firm’s suitability as an asset manager in light of its highly leveraged financial condition, as well as its oversight and control by private equity owners Madison Dearborn Partners. Some Teamster-affiliated funds have already moved investments away from Nuveen; others are reviewing their options.

“We are concerned that Nuveen is trapped in a debt service cycle that the company cannot escape,” said C. Thomas Keegel, General Secretary Treasurer of the Teamsters Union, whose affiliated pension and benefit funds have more than $100 billion in assets under management including some with Nuveen subsidiaries. “As part of the leveraged buyout led by Madison Dearborn Partners in 2007, Nuveen borrowed more than $3.1 billion at high interest rates. They have since refinanced that debt several times at even higher rates. We believe that kicking the can down the road will ultimately result in significantly higher fees for clients.”

Nuveen has reported losses nearly every quarter for the past three years. Their strategy of acquiring other asset management firms to restore revenues back to pre-melt down levels has yet to benefit Nuveen’s bottom line.

“We expect financial managers of our members’ retirement assets to be practical, responsible fiduciaries who use good judgment,” said Teamsters International Vice President Rome Aloise, Co-Chair of the Investment Committee for the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust, which together with other union funds, has withdrawn hundreds of millions of dollars invested with Nuveen or Nuveen-owned companies. “How can a company that can’t manage its own finances be trusted to invest wisely for its clients?”

Nuveen’s financial circumstances are no secret. Both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investment Service currently rate Nuveen Investments just one level above “junk” status on their respective ratings scales.

Nuveen’s subsidiaries include: Nuveen Asset Management; Nuveen Hyde Park; NWQ Investment Management; Santa Barbara Asset Management; Symphony Asset Management; Tradewinds Global Investors; Winslow Capital Management, FAF Advisors, and Gresham Investment Management, LLC.

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit http://www.teamster.org/ for more information. Follow us on Twitter @TeamsterPower.

(02/22/12) As the Postal Service prepares to announce which mail processing facilities will face consolidation beginning in mid-May, the APWU is fighting back. The union is continuing to oppose USPS plans to slash service, eliminate 35,000 jobs, and destroy the mail distribution network. "APWU members have done an outstanding job of expressing our concerns to members of Congress and the media,"said APWU President Cliff Guffey. "We face an uphill battle, so it is crucial that union members continue to make their voices heard."

Airtran Teamster Mechanics Overwhelmingly Ratify Seniority Integration With SWA Press Contact Galen Munroe [email protected] 202-624-6904

(WASHINGTON) – In a vote tallied yesterday, Teamster Mechanics at AirTran voted 278 to 42 to accept the seniority integration proposal negotiated on their behalf by Teamsters Local 528 in Atlanta, Ga. and the Teamsters Airline Division. However, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), who would not release their vote count, reported that the mechanics they represent at Southwest Airlines voted down the proposal.

AMFA provided no explanation for failing to release their vote count.

“It is unfortunate that our members at AirTran will now have to wait a while longer in order to gain the benefits of a merged seniority list and an amalgamated collective bargaining agreement,” said Capt. David Bourne, Director of the Teamsters Airline Division.

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @TeamsterPower.

The corporate interests behind the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) think the way to break the strength of unions is to undermine worker solidarity. That’s why they’re pushing right-to-work-for-less legislation in Arizona and other statehouses across the country. Their biggest success occurred this month in Indiana, which became the 23rd state to adopt the anti-worker measure. Now they’re gunning for workers in Minnesota.

One day after Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the bill into law, two Minnesota state senators announced they, too, would introduce legislation to put a right-to-work-for-less measure before voters in November. If approved, it would change the state’s Constitution so workers who receive the benefits of a union contract (but don’t want to join a union) can keep those benefits without having to pay their fair share for representation.

We call those workers “free riders” because they take, for free, what others are willing to pay for.

Supporters of such legislation argue that it’s only fair to let workers decide if they want to pay dues. The Minnesota lawmakers also contend it will make the state more attractive to companies that want to locate or expand there.

But ALEC, the Mackinac Center and other groups pushing right-to-work-for-less legislation behind the scenes understand that it’s really not about fairness. They simply want to undermine the middle class by breaking the power of workers to stand up for their rights and lowering wages and benefits for everyone across the board – within and outside of a union.

“It’s an assault on the American belief that everyday people deserve decent wages, health care, and to be able to retire with dignity,” AFSCME Council 5 Exec. Dir. Eliot Seide said in a broadcast interview with Esme Murphy, Sunday morning anchor for WCCO-TV in Minnesota.

Seide, also an AFSCME International vice president, called the effort to pass right-to-work-for-less “a straight attack on collective bargaining, on stifling workers’ voices in the workplace, and it’s meant to hurt workers. It’s not meant to improve the lives of workers.”

For proof, Seide noted that Minnesota workers make, on average, $5,500 more than workers in states where the right-to-work-for-less is the law. “We also have lower poverty. We have better education. We have better health care. We have better quality of life.”

For evidence for his claims, check out the websites of AFSCME Council 5 and Council 65.

It’s not just earnings that are hurt by right-to-work-for-less laws. It’s also retirement security. Experts have found that pensions in right-to-work-for-less states were significantly lower – 4.8 percent lower.

That may be OK with corporations and the right-wing lawmakers who do their bidding, but it is not OK for the working middle class. As The New York Times said recently in an editorial, “Voters, unionized or not, should recognize the new “right to work” push for what it is: bad economics and cynical politics.”

WORKERS ACROSS CANADA are hailing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s announcement of a $35 billion shipbuilding program under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.

Tags  Headline News, Shipbuilding

United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard talked with progressive talk show host Ed Schultz about the forces working against wage earners, a "Journey for Justice" for workers and Republican candidate Rick Santorum.

They talked about the Koch brothers, their relationship with the Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and how they plan to go after labor, public sector unions and public education.

Gerard said, "We now know completely what his agenda is and his agenda is not to just beat up on the labor movement but to eviscerate the middle class."

They also talked about the 3-day "Journey for Justice," a 1,000-mile road trip From Fargo, Minn, to Findlay, Ohio, for union workers, their families and friends to highlight the greed of two companies - American Crystal Sugar Company Bakery, who locked out 1,300 Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) workers and of Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., who locked out 1,050 United Steelworkers (USW) members.

Lastly, they talked about the radical candidate who has shown his true colors against labor, Rick Santorum. "The Republican Party has moved to the extreme right. They are almost like a cult now," said Gerard.

Listen Here:

Supporters Deliver Petition Signed by Tens of Thousands to Crystal Sugar Headquarters

Hundreds of union members, their families, and supporters rallied in Moorhead, MN, today to protest the lockout of some 1,300 workers by American Crystal Sugar Company (ACS). After the rally, a delegation of labor and community leaders delivered a petition signed by more than 33,000 people to the company’s headquarters.

The petition calls on CEO David Berg to end the lockout and resume negotiations with his workers, members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). The petition was circulated on the internet by American Rights at Work and the Minnesota AFL-CIO. More than 33,000 people had signed by Tuesday.

“This overwhelming response to our petition shows that people support our struggle for justice at Crystal Sugar,” said Nathan Rham, who has worked at the ACS Hillsboro factory for four years ... more

Earlier this month TWU and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) entered into partnership with the goal of building a stronger alliance that will benefit over the 850,000 members they jointly represent.   This partnership provides the unique opportunity for each of us to preserve and build upon TWU's and CWA's proud history.  We will stand in solidarity and work together on joint projects that will allow us to further our goals of economic and social justice for all working families. Both Unions will work together in the following areas:   Develop a closer relationship in order to maximize our efforts where we have common interests and issues.   Facilitate joint efforts, both Domestic and Internationally in order to achieve specific goals and objectives   Develop coordinated and innovative Legislative and Political campaigns and corporate strategies   Evaluate areas of shared density for future growth and support with major emphasis on organizing   Create information sharing mechanisms including research, education, training, health & safety, communications, legal etc. You can read the agreement letter signed by both TWU International President James C. Little and CWA International President Larry Cohen by clicking here.

(02/21/12) Current postal and federal employees won't have to pay more for their retirement benefits in order to fund an extension of the 2 percent payroll-tax holiday passed by the Congress last week, but new government workers will be required to pay 1.5 percent more to fund another portion of the bill, which extends unemployment benefits.

(02/21/12) Current postal and federal employees won't have to pay more for their retirement benefits in order to fund an extension of the 2 percent payroll-tax holiday passed by the Congress last week, but new government workers will be required to pay 1.5 percent more to fund another portion of the bill, which extends unemployment benefits.

Tune in now to AFGE’s “Inside Government” for a special presentation from the union’s annual Legislative and Grassroots Mobilization Conference. The show, which originally aired on Friday, Feb. 17, is now available on demand.

They’re phoning it in and it’s making them stronger. AFSCME members from across Wisconsin are joining together in teletownhall meetings to discuss anti-worker attacks and effective ways to fight back.

Council 24 held a teletownhall recently in advance of the state issuing sweeping changes in the personnel system that could negatively affect membership. Members discussed what the changes might bring and what needed to be done to prepare. As a result, scores of members volunteered to recruit new members, and many more signed up to work on the recall of Gov. Scott Walker.

A Council 40 teletownhall dealt with a string of victories achieved since Walker’s collective bargaining rights grab. In this new venue, member action has helped save hundreds of jobs, fight privatization, protect health care and preserve workplace rights.

“This is a new ballgame,” Sec.-Treas. Lee Saunders told callers on one of the recent calls. “But you’ve adapted. You’re writing a new chapter for our union, and inspiring AFSCME members across the country. We’re standing with you. The nation is watching you. Keep fighting.”

Council 40 member Christine Kistner told callers how she and members across the state were able to defeat a privatization plan that would have wiped out hundreds of income maintenance jobs. “It was a grassroots effort, led by the members,” said Kistner, a member of Local 1240 and council vice president. “You can’t make change sitting on the sidelines.”

Another piece of legislation threatening hundreds of county highway worker jobs was killed after members sent 2,000 emails and made countless phone calls.

These teletownhalls are yielding not only discussion of strategy, but spurred recruitment of new membership and increased participation on union Facebook pages – an effective tool for membership mobilization.

AFSCME has also developed an iPad application to help organizers record member signups in an efficient, organized and secure manner. The app, specifically designed to comply with current Wisconsin law, allows members to provide critical contact information and renew their recurring PEOPLE contributions to ensure this summer’s recall campaigns and the November elections in Wisconsin are well-funded and victorious.

Cash-strapped states are offered a deal they may find hard to refuse: sell their prisons to Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest operator of for-profit prisons, and get back plenty of cash to remedy their states’ budget problems.

And what’s in it for CCA?  A 20-year management contract and assurance that the state will take steps to keep the cells full – 90 percent full, to be exact. That’s the only way the deal will ensure that CCA’s growing business in incarceration will remain profitable.

Read more in this excellent “cash for prisons” piece in the Huffington Post, and a follow-up story about the money behind prison privatization.