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Rail
Retirement Law Takes Effect
The Railroad Retirement and Survivors’
Improvement Act of 2001 takes effect this week after a three-year battle to
increase retirement benefits for railroad workers and surviving spouses. The
legislation, signed into law on December 21, 2001, raises benefits, cuts
payroll taxes and allows a portion of the railroad retirement fund to be
invested in private securities.
A key provision of the new law increases benefits for spouses of deceased
rail workers. Surviving spouses will now be eligible for 100 percent of the
retiree’s retirement benefit. Previously, the spouse’s retirement benefit
was limited to 50 percent of the retirees’ annuity. Additional benefits
include lowering the retirement age from 62 to 60 for workers with 30 years
of service and health insurance for retirees with benefit increases pegged
to the medical inflation rate.
Detailed information on benefits, service requirements, financing provisions
and effective dates of the new law is available from the U.S. Railroad
Retirement Board at
http://www.rrb.gov/opa/pr/pr0113.html.
Dates Set For UAL PEB
Hearings
The Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) appointed by President Bush to block
a work stoppage at United Airlines will take testimony from IAM
representatives and UAL officials during three days of hearings set to begin
on January 9, 2002.
The
3-person PEB, established by executive order on December 20, has 30 days to
complete an investigation and make non-binding settlement recommendations in
the 2-year old contract dispute between UAL and 15,000 mechanic and related
employees represented by IAM District 141-M.
“The Bush emergency board sets the stage for Congress to impose a contract
on employees at United Airlines,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “Airline
lobbyists and the Bush administration are using this situation to undermine
the wages and bargaining rights of airline employees everywhere.”
The
PEB’s recommendations can be forced on employees by an act of Congress if no
voluntary agreement is reached at the end of a second 30-day cooling off
period following the board’s month long investigation.
“Every union member, every airline and non-airline worker should pay close
attention as this drama unfolds,” said Buffenbarger. “The stakes are high
and the outcome, one way or the other, will affect us all for years to
come.”
Tell ’em To Torque Off
The IAM kicks off a campaign Monday to organize Automotive Technicians and
Mechanics in Las Vegas, Nevada. Workers in auto dealerships there have been
hit hard by health care increases and sub-par wages and benefits. Check out
the campaign website:
http://www.iamaw.org/publications/torque/index.htm.
Unemployment Rate Rises
Again
Layoffs rose last month to their
highest level in 8 years, making 2001 the worst year since 1998. Last year
companies announced close to 1.8 million job cuts.
With the unemployment rate
rising to 5.8 percent, the economic slowdown is hitting more and more
workers each day. Three significant sectors have suffered severely:
manufacturing/industrial, high technology and travel. In addition the auto
and aerospace industries have been hit hard with massive reductions.
While some economists
refuse to use the “R” word, continuing layoffs will deepen any recession by
reducing consumer spending, which makes up two thirds of the economy.
Even if the economy
begins to recover later this year, jobs will be hard to find as employers
hold back rebuilding their staffs to ensure that the recovery will last.
Bush
Closes Women’s Bureau
President Bush followed a stream of anti-worker initiatives during his
first year in office with an announcement he was closing the Department of
Labor’s Women’s Bureau, the only federal agency specifically mandated to
represent the needs of working women. The Women’s Bureau was established in
1920 and its mandate is to “advocate and inform women directly, and the
public as well, of women’s work rights and employment issues.”
The
Women’s Bureau was instrumental in passing the Fair Labor Standards Act in
1938, assisted women working in the war industry in World War II, fought for
the President’s Commission on the Status of Women and to pass the Equal Pay
Act in 1963 and advocated for family-friendly employer policies such as the
Family and Medical Leave Law in 1993.
Bush’s action will eliminate the Women’s Bureau Equal Pay program. Last
year, the Bush Administration shut down the White House Women’s Initiatives
Office.
Eastern Territory Racks Up
Organizing Wins in 2001
The Eastern Territory ended 2001 on a positive note for organizing. Out of
104 elections, the IAM won 94 for an astounding win rate of 90.4 percent.
The election wins meant 1849 working people now have the benefit of union
representation.
“Everyone in the Eastern Territory worked hard on these
campaigns and we can all take great pride in these victories,” said Eastern GVP Warren Mart. “Congratulations to everyone involved and we look forward
to a successful year in 2002.”
Major
Aerospace Contracts Up in 2002
Contracts covering more than 76,000 IAM aerospace workers will expire this
year in 60 locations across the U.S. and Canada.
Major IAM agreements for 2002 include Lockheed Martin (expires March 1 in
Sunnyvale and Palmdale, CA; Marietta, GA; and Cape Canaveral, FL) and the
Boeing Co. (expires September 1 in Wichita, KS; Portland, WA; and the Puget
Sound region, WA; Oct. 27 in Torrance, Long Beach and Huntington Beach, CA).
“Job Security continues to be the overriding issue,” said GVP Bob Thayer,
who directs the IAM Aerospace Department. “The U.S. cannot continue
exporting skilled jobs and advanced technologies all over the world and hope
to remain the world leader in aerospace. It may be profitable in the short
run for individual corporations, but it is destroying the industry as well
as the livelihoods of the aerospace work force.”
Final Call For IAM Scholarship Contest
“'Last call’ is fast approaching for 2002 IAM Scholarship applications. To
obtain an application packet, immediately write or call the IAM Scholarship
Office. You must tell them whether you are an IAM member or the high school
Senior child of an IAM member, and whether you want an application for a
College Scholarship or a Vocational/Technical School Scholarship.
Completed application packets must be returned and postmarked by February
22. Applicants must be IAM members or the children of IAM members with
at least two years’ continuous membership in the union.
Contact the IAM Scholarship Program at (301) 967-4708 or write: IAM
Scholarship Program, 9000 Machinists Place, Room 117, Upper Marlboro, MD
20772-22687. For complete information, click on:
http://goiam.org/visit.asp?c=669
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