AFL-CIO Debate: Autocrats or Democrats?

Next week, the AFL-CIO Executive Council debates reform proposals submitted by its affiliated unions. The outcome remains in doubt. But what has become crystal clear over the last few months is this: the opposing forces — lets call them the Autocrats and the Democrats — have vastly different mindsets when it comes to forging the future of the American Labor Movement.

The Autocrats think they know what's best for the entire labor movement. Led by SEIU's Andy Stern, IBT's Jimmy Hoffa, Laborers' Terry O'Sullivan, HERE's John Wilhelm and Unite's Bruce Raynor, they see forced mergers, exclusive industry-based jurisdictions and per capita rebates as the critical elements of reform. For them, the key question is: who controls what? And their answer is: us and everything. You can read about their basic approach at www.unitetowin.com.

The Democrats believe in majority rule. They, too, see the need for change. Led by AFSCME's Gerry McEntee, AFT's Ed McElroy, CWA's Morty Bahr, Painters' Jim Williams, APWU's Bill Burris, IAFF's Harold Schaitberger and IAM's Tom Buffenbarger, they see a need to focus on politics and legislation, communications and a redeployment of resources.

Theirs has been a broad-based consultive process where over a dozen of the largest unions came together to hammer out a set of consensus proposals. And they are actively engaging other unions to gain support for what should be a majority position.

Within the Machinists Union, the stakes in this debate have been clear since the Grand Lodge Convention last September. Then, President Buffenbarger explained what the fuss was all about. Over 1,300 IAM delegates responded by unanimously endorsing a resolution giving the Executive Council the power to withdraw from the AFL-CIO.

In early January, as the IAM's Department Directors met to discuss reform proposals, President Buffenbarger laid out the challenges facing our union and the AFL-CIO. The two-day meeting at the Winpisinger Center included a three hour question and answer session with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka. It produced a seven-point strategy call Use Our Power.

Subsequently, IAM President Tom Buffenbarger has been in discussions with other labor leaders in an effort to build a consensus for reforms, reforms that can and will forge a vibrant future for the American labor movement, a future that respects the autonomy of individual unions, a future that reflects the labor movement's commitment to democracy.

Tentative Agreement Reached for 6,000 at Lockheed

Negotiations for a new contract covering more than 6,000 IAM members at defense contractor Lockheed-Martin concluded on February 22, 2005 with a tentative agreement between Lockheed and the IAM Coordinated Bargaining Committee.

“The agreement includes improvements in wages, pensions and other areas of the contract,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator John Crowdis. “A tremendous amount of attention was placed on the membership surveys regarding the issues most important to the members at Lockheed. The negotiators successfully kept these issues in the forefront of these negotiations.”

The IAM Coordinated Bargaining Committee is recommending approval of the three-year accord.

Negotiators representing IAM members at Lockheed-Martin facilities in Marietta, GA, Clarksburg, WV, Meridian, MS, Palmdale, CA, Sunnyvale, CA, Vandenberg AFB CA, and Cape Canaveral, FL will return to their respective locations to present the entire agreements to the membership. Informational meetings will be held at all locations on February 27, 2005.

“The negotiators and I strongly encourage all members to attend these meetings to hear Lockheed’s offer in its entirety,” said Crowdis.

Federal Unions File Suit Against New DoD Regulations

IAM/NFFE Federal District 1 and several other federal worker unions have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. to stop the Bush Administration’s attempt to impose the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) on more than 700,000 civilian employees at the Department of Defense.

The new NSPS rules drastically reduce federal worker protections, gut the current pay system and virtually eliminate collective bargaining and union rights for DoD employees.

The suit charges DoD with creating the new system in direct contradiction to the authority granted to management by Congress and that DoD “failed to engage in meaningful collaboration with the elected representatives of DoD’s workers over the planning, development, and implementation of labor relations changes.”

The DoD version of the NSPS is now in the public comment stage and could be final within three months. To submit a comment and send a message to Congress, visit the Stop the Assault on Federal Workers.

Swift Boat Attack on Social Security

The conservative activists who orchestrated last year’s Swift boat smear campaign are lining up to torpedo groups opposed to President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security.

The negative campaign will take special aim at AARP, one of many the senior citizen groups opposed to privatization. “They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts. We will be the dynamite that removes them,” boasted lobbyist Charlie Davis to the New York Times. Davis is president of USA Next, a GOP lobbying group that spent millions of dollars to support Bush proposals on tax cuts, energy and the scandal-plagued Medicare prescription drug plan.

According to the paper, the conservative lobbying group hired two individuals who advised the Swift boat media campaign and helped write its incendiary commercials. The group also hired a public relations firm and publisher who were involved in the anti-Kerry ads.

While federal law prohibits outside groups from coordinating with presidential campaigns during elections, there is no such prohibition during policy battles such as the one brewing over Social Security. Several large business groups, including the Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers have already formed lobbying coalitions to promote the President’s privatization plan.

Bush Administration Seeks Amtrak Derailment

The White House is renewing its attack on Amtrak by calling for an end to Federal subsidies and even suggesting bankruptcy for the nation’s passenger rail carrier.

Under the administration’s proposal, any state wanting to preserve Amtrak service would have to fund it on their own.

“Our nation’s passenger rail systems carry more than 5 million passengers a day,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “Instead of dismantling an essential piece of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, the Bush Administration should work with Amtrak management, Congress and labor to develop long-term funding solutions that will ensure Amtrak’s survival.”

Spinning out of Control

The rash of recent revelations regarding mock-journalists being paid to propagandize Bush administration policies is enough to give reality television programs a bad name. This year alone, a pair of syndicated columnists admitted to accepting large sums from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote the Bush Administration’s homophobic “marriage” initiatives. And in 2004, GOP shills, disguised as reporters, appeared in numerous unattributed video news bromides supporting the President’s Medicare prescription drug plan.

The Government Accountability Office stepped into the fray last week with a sharply worded memo reminding federal department heads that prepackaged news stories that do not identify the government as their source are in violation of laws that ban covert propaganda.

Fake news is nothing new, but the recent unmasking of Jeff Gannon, a conservative operative provided with a daily press pass to White House briefings, shows how far the charade has reached. For two years, Gannon served as a lifeline for White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, repeatedly offering softball questions to rescue the struggling press secretary if reporters’ questions on a sensitive topic became too intense.

Sisters of ’77’ Documentary to Air March 1

In conjunction with Women’s History Month, PBS television will broadcast Sisters of ’77 on March 1, 2005 as part of the Independent Lens series. The documentary will show archival footage from the first National Women’s Conference in Houston, TX as well as present day interviews with the women who took an early stand in the battles for equality.

The weekend in 1977 was a landmark event for the women who attended the conference. Over the course of four days, they set in motion a sweeping plan of action to place women’s issues at the forefront of the nation’s political and social agenda.

“It caused a spark in so many women to know that the fight was worth it, and that they were not alone in their efforts, and that there were thousands of women out there who agreed with them and were going to be there to help,” said former Texas governor, Ann Richards, who took part in the historic conference.

House Bill To Penalize U.S. Companies That Offshore Jobs

A bill introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Ca) would make companies that have outsourced jobs overseas in the last five years ineligible for new federal contract awards.

The bill, H.R. 829 would prevent any federal agency from awarding a grant, contract, loan guarantee or other funding to any company that has outsourced any jobs to overseas workers during the previous five years. The bill also has some leeway to exempt companies that can show they are actively working to create and keep new jobs for Americans.

Other exemptions for companies that have outsourced jobs overseas to win federal contracts would be for them to enter into agreements with the government with the guarantee that they would: create at least half the number of jobs outsourced in the U.S. and maintain those jobs for another 18 months. The bill would also contain penalties for companies that do not live up to the agreement.

Hawaiian, Aloha Airlines Bankruptcy Update

District 142 members at Hawaiian Airlines ratified a tentative agreement covering Mechanic & Related workers at the bankrupt carrier.

Separately, District 142 Mechanic & Related members at Aloha Airlines, also in bankruptcy, will be voting on a new tentative agreement February 24, 2005. Aloha has threatened to take advantage of Section 1113 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code and terminate its collective bargaining agreement with District 142 if a ratified agreement is not achieved.

Agreements covering Hawaiian and Aloha’s Clerical, Reservation and Customer Service employees represented by IAM District 141 have been ratified by the membership and approved by the respective bankruptcy courts.

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