http://socialistaction.org/labor-briefing-9/
Labor Briefing
Published October 23, 2015. | By Socialist Action.
DNC-picket
By BILL ONASCH
> Socialist Action members in Minneapolis write: “On Saturday, Oct. 10,
over 400 enthusiastic participants joined a rally and march on U.S. bank
in Northeast Minneapolis. U.S. Bank has actively lobbied against fair
wages and treatment for workers and simultaneously financed dirty
industries.
The concurrent exploitation of workers and the earth is bringing
together previously separate struggles into broad coalition efforts.
Minneapolis Works, the organization that put together this march
consists of seven different unions, plus a variety of community
organizations and the environmental umbrella coalition MN 350.org.
“Minneapolis Works is trying to pass a city ordinance that will
guarantee sick time and safe time; protect against wage theft, require
fair minimum hours and reliable scheduling, and provide a $15/hour
minimum wage.
“Speakers pointed out that US Bank claims to be green, all the while
funding the dirtiest energy projects like Tar Sands, Enbridge and
fracked gas pipelines. The bank also pretends there’s no money to pay
workers more, but it paid $240 million for naming rights to the new
Vikings Football Stadium.
“The very diverse crowd included young and old, immigrants from many
countries—Ethiopia, Somalia, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras,
Cambodia, Liberia—in addition to longer term residents of all races. Our
personal sentiment, which was shared by everyone we spoke with, was that
it was truly inspiring to see all the different people and groups coming
together to fight our common enemy. No more divide and conquer!”
> An AP dispatch from Seattle reports, “After protests and questions
about whether the University of Washington would be required to follow
Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law, the university has decided to boost pay
for all affected workers. After raising all campus wages to at least $11
an hour in April, UW announced Monday it would increase its minimum wage
to $13 in January and $15 at the beginning of 2017.
“This decision applies to all workers on campus, including students and
follows the law’s rules for large employers. The new wage agreement will
affect about 5,500 people, including 3,500 student workers. The
university estimates the cost for raising all workers to at least $13 an
hour in 2016 will be $3.2 million. Students disrupted an April regents
meeting, demanding higher wages. The university announced a few days
later that it was increasing the minimum pay for student workers to $11
an hour.”
> From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “Teachers unions are strong, but
in St. Paul, muscle is being flexed in new ways. Rather than simply work
on behalf of candidates, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers teamed with
parents this year to coordinate and bankroll a Caucus for Change
movement that challenged incumbents and lifted four political newcomers
to prized DFL Party endorsements. Now, contract talks are underway
between the teachers and the school district, and as candidates enter
the final weeks of the election, the union could soon find itself with
maximum leverage: a new majority on the seven-member board already
endorsing its contract pursuits.”
> Last December, a lame-duck Congress, scrambling to avoid another
government shutdown, passed a huge omnibus appropriations bill, which
included the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. Many
such funds, which collectively cover about 10 million workers, are in
trouble. Rather than requiring employers to put more money in to keep
their promises, the new law facilitates reneging on their obligations if
they convince the Treasury Department it’s necessary to stay solvent.
While there are still some procedural formalities, the Teamsters Central
States Pension Fund is confident that the Treasury—who saved so many
banks “too big to fail”—will approve massive slashing of pension checks.
The first of these are expected to hit 115,500 of 400,000 retired
Teamsters truck drivers and inside workers starting next July—with cuts
of as much as 50 percent, a number that could only grow with time.
On Oct. 10 dozens of retired and working Teamsters protested outside the
Local 41 hall in Kansas City. Teamsters for a Democratic Union strongly
objects to this attack and supports alternative legislation. The TDU
slate in next year’s election of national Teamsters officers will make
pensions a major issue as they work to oust the Hoffa regime, which over
the past 17 years did little to protect retirees.
> Occasionally, employers file unfair labor practice charges against
unions, but the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers (UE) are
under a unique attack by an Israeli-based Zionist outfit. The Israel Law
Center, which claims to be a civil rights group and a defender of
victims of terror, is harassing UE because their recent convention went
on record supporting the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions campaign against
Israeli repression of Palestinians.
BDS has broad labor support in Europe and Canada but UE is the first
national union in the USA to sign on. With a straight face, the retained
American and Israeli shysters claim UE’s solidarity violated
Taft-Hartley Act prohibitions against secondary boycotts. They also
urged General Electric to “avoid labor accords” with UE—who have a
national GE contract.
If you have some labor related news you’d like to share in this column
contact billonasch@xxxxxxxxxxx
Photo: 15 Now picketers outside Democratic National Committee gathering
in Minneapolis, Aug. 28. From 15 Now Minnesota.
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Posted in Actions & Protest, Environment, International, Labor, Middle
East, Minneapolis, Palestine. | Tagged 15 Now, 350.org, climate change,
Israel, Minneapolis, Palestine, TDU, Teamsters, UE.
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