|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GE Contract Wins Support By an overwhelming margin, IAM members endorsed a new contract at General Electric Corp. after a three-day voting period ended yesterday. The new agreement covers 2,800 members at 18 GE locations across the U.S. The four-year contract makes significant improvements in wages, pensions, health care and job security areas, reports GVP Bob Thayer, who headed the IAM negotiating team. “We listened to our members and we worked diligently to make their voices heard at the bargaining table,” Thayer said. “Their solidarity made a difference. This contract shows what workers can do when we all work together.” He also credited a “highly skilled and totally dedicated committee” for bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. “Russ McGarry and every single representative at the table did an outstanding job.” McGarry is the IAM Collective Bargaining director. Members voted to accept the proposed agreement by a 10-to-1 tally, although a few small locations had not yet reported their results.
The new contract includes a 16.2 percent wage hike, including projected
COLAs and a skills adjustment increase. The increase boosts the average
hourly pay by $3.82 an hour over the four-year term. That translates into
$18,500 in earnings over that period.
Seniors Shun Sham Drug
Bill The respondents, including Republicans, Democrats and independents, found little in the measure to warrant their support. Critics of the Medicare revisions now moving through both houses of Congress claim the major beneficiaries are the pharmaceutical firms and the insurance industry—both of which have contributed huge sums to Republican Party campaign coffers.
Additionally, the revisions could prompt employers to drop coverage for
4.4 million retirees who use such policies to fill in gaps in Medicare,
reports the Congressional Budget Office. To make your voices heard on this
issue, link to IAM web page action alert:
http://goiam.org/politics.asp
Speak Out on Bush Bid
to Cut OT Pay The U.S. Labor Department “woefully underestimates” the number of employees who will be affected by the proposed changes to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, according to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute (http://www.epinet.org). Emergency Medical Technicians, paralegals, licensed practical nurses, draftsmen, draftswomen, surveyors, reporters, chefs, cooks and dental hygienists are among the millions of workers who could lose the right to overtime pay. An additional 1.3 million workers would lose overtime pay under new rules that exempt all non-manual workers earning $65,000 or more, regardless of their duties. “This administration continues to behave like the nation’s premier business lobby,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “The legal right to overtime pay is an important check on employers who would abuse employees and cheat them out of pay for time worked. There is no reason to believe that protection is any less necessary today than it was when it first became law more than a half century ago.”
Click here:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/ot4dol/
to prevent a
pay cut for millions of working Americans and protect employees’ legal
right to overtime pay.
ATF Bargaining Rights in the Crosshairs As part the U.S. Treasury Dept. for more than 200 years, the ATF was cut in two by the recent creation of the Homeland Security Dept. About 550 employees remained with the Treasury Dept., while 4,700 ATF employees, including inspectors, were moved to the Justice Dept. Officials are proposing to reclassify the inspectors as “industry operations inspectors,” a move that will provide the agency with legal cover for the elimination of the inspectors’ collective bargaining rights. Union busting at John Ashcroft’s Justice Department is nothing new. In January 2002, President Bush issued an executive order revoking collective bargaining rights for federal employees in the U.S. attorney’s office and four other division of the Justice Dept.
The ATF inspectors are members of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU),
which represents 150,000 federal employees in 29 agencies.
House Panel Approves $6
Billion for Amtrak “The committee’s action was a decision to invest in Amtrak and make it a success, rather than perpetuate the myth that Amtrak can exist without subsidy,” said Sonny Hall, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Dept. “I applaud the outstanding leadership of Committee Chair Don Young (R-AK) and Ranking Member James Oberstar (D-MN), and urge the full House to move swiftly on these two bills.”
Throughout its 30-year history, Amtrak has struggled under a federal
mandate to operate as a for-profit enterprise, a standard no other sector
of the nation’s transportation system is expected to meet.
Rumsfeld Plan Threatens to Advance A Conference Committee is poised to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill that would open the door to favoritism and cronyism by managers. “No matter how Congress resolves the differences in the two versions, the result will be bad news for federal employees,” said Frank Carelli, IAM Government Employees director. IP Tom Buffenbarger urged IAM members to make appointments with their elected representatives when they return home during the July 4 recess. “Do not allow this anti-worker proposal to become the law of the land,” said Buffenbarger. “The civilian employees of the DOD are among this country’s most loyal and hardworking citizens. They deserve better treatment than the strong arm tactics Secretary Rumsfeld has in mind for them.”
Members can also visit the Action Alert section of the IAM website:
http://congress.nw.dc.us/iamaw/issues/alert/?alertid=2014671&type=CO
to send a message telling Congress to oppose the Rumsfeld plan.
Additional information and helpful talking points on this issue can be
found on the IAM Government Employee website at
http://www.goiam.org/visit.asp?c=4439.
Photo Contest Deadline is Monday |
|
