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Tuesday, July 22,  2003

As GVP Bob Martinez (left) looks on, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius
signs a proclamation supporting IAM efforts to preserve jobs in the state.

Kansas Gets Serious About JOBS!
Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez led a delegation of Fighting Machinists to the state capitol in Topeka, where Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed a proclamation to support the IAM’s effort to preserve jobs and prevent outsourcing.

“We need to keep good jobs here in Kansas,” said Gov. Sebelius after pledging her support. “That’s why I’m proud to be part of the ‘Grow Kansas’ movement. I feel keeping jobs and economic development in Kansas and the United States is critical.”

The Machinists campaign is aimed at keeping Raytheon, Boeing and other Kansas manufacturers from subcontracting established jobs to vendors outside the United States. Similar campaigns are underway to protect aerospace and manufacturing jobs in Connecticut and Washington State.

Separately, Kansas Lt. Gov. John Moore named District 70 President Steve Rooney to co-chair one of seven economic mini-summits to be held across the state to develop regional economic development plans. “Our highest priority is the creation and retention of jobs in Kansas,” said Moore.
 

Help Stop Federal Union Busting
President Bush’s attack on federal workers is in full swing. His proposals to “streamline” government will destroy jobs, eliminate civil service protections and gut collective bargaining rights for thousands of hardworking and loyal federal employees. Congress controls the fate of one of the worst of Bush’s proposals, the Defense Transformation Act.

Both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives passed versions of the Defense Transformation Act. The final rules will be part of a larger Defense Authorization Bill (HR 1588 and S1166) that Congress may pass soon.

You can help stop these attacks on federal workers by distributing the “Stop the Attacks” handbill. Ask your co-workers to contact their U.S. Senators and Representative. Tell Congress to oppose the Defense Transformation Act and any other legislation that harms federal workers. IAM members can also send a pre-written email message to their legislators in the “Action Alert” section of www.goiam.org.
 

Rail Safety Bill Falls Short
A so-called rail safety bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee last week failed to address serious and well-documented safety problems for the nation’s freight and passenger rail workers.

The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act (S. 1402) preserves existing loopholes that allow rail companies to ignore federal rules governing the rail worker’s hours of service. The bill also fails to adequately protect the employee’s right to blow the whistle on serious safety violations.

“This legislation is a victim of efforts by the nation’s railroad lobby to protect the interests of rail management,” said GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “Meaningful legislation to protect overworked and fatigued rail workers is long overdue. The IAM will not rest until legislation is passed to give America’s rail workers the workplace safety and whistle blower protections they deserve.”
 

Seniors Demand Real Drug Benefit
Senior citizens and their allies are making their voices heard this week in a massive campaign to torpedo a pair of phony Medicare drug benefit bills passed by the Senate and House. The Alliance for Retired Americans, the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions as well as a wide array of community organizations and activists were joining forces to block the phony measures.

Protests and rallies are slated for the home districts of congressional members as they return home for the August recess. The Alliance mailed more than 750,000 postcards to members and is providing a toll-free number for retirees to call their senators and representatives and tell them not to privatize Medicare and to retain existing employer-provided drug benefits.

During the Alliance’s legislative conference, Sept. 3-5 in Washington, DC, members plan an all-out lobbying effort urging Congress to pass a real Medicare drug benefit plan. The two Medicare bills are now in the hands of a House-Senate conference committee that may work through the summer to reconcile the differences. Both bills leave seniors with huge drug costs, yet encourage employers to drop retiree drug coverage.

Critics say the bills would privatize Medicare, drive up premiums for seniors who want to stay in traditional Medicare plans and do nothing to curtail soaring prescription drug prices. On average, prices of the 50 most-prescribed drugs to seniors rose 3.5 times the rate of inflation in 2002, according to a report by Families USA, a healthcare consumer group. For more information, visit www.retiredamericans.org. To obtain a copy of the report, visit www.familiesusa.org.
 

AFL-CIO Blasts Trade Deals
Here we go again.

The AFL-CIO called on Congress to reject the new Chile and Singapore free trade agreements—the first ones negotiated by the Bush administration under the Fast Track trade authority. These deals are “the blueprint for a global economy without meaningful worker rights, job and wage security and balanced international trade,” said federation President John Sweeney.

“This is NAFTA revisited,” declared IP Tom Buffenbarger. “Anyone with an open mind knows how well that trade package worked for North American workers.”  He pointed out that the U.S. lost 3 million private sector jobs in that past three years, most of them in the manufacturing sector already hard-hit by NAFTA.

“There’s nothing ‘free’ about trade policies that cost our nation millions of well-paying jobs,” Buffenbarger said. “That’s a high price to pay for so little in return.”
 

Organizing Sweeps Western Territory
GVP Lee Pearson credited organizers’ hard work and determination for three wins and a voluntary recognition last week to bringing IAM representation to 133 workers in California, Arizona and Washington State.

“I am extremely proud of the work done in each of these campaigns," said GVP Pearson, who also recognized the invaluable work of in-plant organizing teams.

Among the new IAM members are 28 workers who repair shipping containers at Global Intermodal Systems in Wilmington, CA. That campaign, led by DBR Jim Beno with District 190 Organizer Al Lopez and District 190 BR Kevin Kucera culminated in a 23-4 election win on July 17.

Additionally, sixty-one workers at Vertex LLC voted to joint the IAM after a hard fought campaign headed by DBR Bobby Martinez, GLR Judy Young and Local 933 Organizing Committee Chairperson Corina Padilla. The unit is located at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. GLR Jose Rodriguez and GLR Steve Cooper also assisted in this campaign.

During the same week, twenty-four firefighters at Arizona’s Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Range voted unanimously to join the IAM.  Congratulations to DBR Robert Martinez and GLR Steve Cooper.

Rounding out the extraordinary organizing week is a voluntary recognition for 21 workers employed by Fidelity Technologies Corp. at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington State. Congratulations to Jesse Cote, Jr., Washington State Organizer.
 


The Summer 2003 IAM Journal is now online. Skyrocketing health care costs are causing Premium Shock for members and employers. The IAM Journal looks at what's causing the increases and what can be done to change America's health care system.


See who works for you, how the IAM is structured, and what services the IAM offers. Go to: IAM profiles for 2003.


The 108th Congressional Directory . . . get your copy. Send $5 to the MNPL Education Fund, c/o IAMAW, 9000 Machinists Place, Upper Marlboro, MD, 20772.


The official site for the 36th Grand Lodge Convention to be held in 2004 in Cincinnati, Ohio is now online. Check it our for convention news, sponsorship offers, and convention gear.