|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IAM Slams Overtime Ploy Since those massive tax cuts failed to spur consumer spending or spark investments in a sagging economy, the Bush administration crafted another scheme to fatten corporate profits. This one, too, targets working families. More than eight million workers could lose overtime pay under changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) pushed by the White House, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). “The 40-hour workweek is not only a union issue,” stressed IP Tom Buffenbarger in strongly worded testimony opposing the Labor Department revisions. “Since 1938, it has been a bulwark for core American workplace values, unionized or not. The proposed rules would weaken those values, and the IAM hopes that DOL will reconsider its revisions.” Workers earning as little as $22,100 a year could be considered professional, administrative or executive employees under the proposed changes. “That’s barely above the poverty level for a family of four,” Buffenbarger scoffed. “I wonder how many of these new ‘executives’ will earn fat pensions or golden parachutes when they leave these positions,’ he asked.
Firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police officers, social
workers and cooks are among those who could be reclassified and lose
overtime pay. “It’s a massive subsidy to employers, paid for by their
employees,” noted Ross Eisenbrey, EPI vice president.
Jobless Rate Hits
Nine-Year High “It was hogwash then and it’s hogwash now,” Buffenbarger declared. “We’ve lost three million private sector jobs since this president took office. He’s done absolutely nothing to slow the erosion of our industrial base and his economic policy just gives more and more to those who have too much already.”
The jobless rate hit 6.4 percent in June, the highest level in more than
nine years, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The
manufacturing sector led in payroll cuts last month, with 56,000 more jobs
lost. Since July 2000, the nation’s factories have cut 2.6 million jobs.
“That’s how well the president’s so-called ‘economic jobs and growth’
policies are working,” said Buffenbarger.
Bush Repeals
Injury Tracking Rule The revoked rule, designed to address ergonomic hazards in the workplace, required employers to include musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) on workplace injury logs and define of what kinds of injuries should be counted as MSDs.
The decision “continues the Bush administration’s dangerous ‘head in the
sand’ approach to ergonomic injuries,” said AFL-CIO President John J.
Sweeney. “Cutting off all information about MSDs exposes the Bush
administration’s ‘comprehensive approach’ as meaningless.”
Weyerhaeuser
Workers Ratify Pact The new agreement will take effect immediately, replacing the previous five-year accord that was extended from March 1. Facilities covered by the new agreement include lumber and veneer operations in Dierks, Alabama; a pole treating plant and a railroad repair shop in DeQueen, Arkansas; plywood, lumber and hardwood operations in Wright City, Oklahoma; plywood operations in Mountain Pine, Arkansas and the Oklahoma-Arkansas Timberlands employees.
The IAM Woodworkers Department was created in May 1994 when the
International Woodworkers of America - U.S. (IWA) affiliated with the
IAM.
Florida Drivers say IAM Yes! “These folks are dedicated to the people they serve,” said Steve Hernandez, directing business representative for District 112 in Jacksonville. “They’ve endured a lot of unfair treatment at work because they care about their clients.”
Hernandez said the drivers sought IAM representation after their employer,
B&D Transport, decided to unilaterally take away their holidays. “The
organizers from IAM headquarters, led by Larry Washam, were fantastic,”
said Hernandez. “They helped bring everything together. I also want to
thank the organizing committee from the drivers: Renell Manns, Mervin
Kelly, Carmen Sita Taylor, and Nathaniel Scott. They worked tirelessly. It
was a great victory for the drivers.” |
|
