Around the world, some 246 million children between 5 and 17 years
old are working instead of attending school.
That's one out
of every six children in the world today.
The
International Labour Organization has chosen June 12 as
World Day Against Child Labour to focus world attention
on the urgent need to eradicate child labour. |
New Rose Honors UFW Founder Cesar Chavez
Gardeners who want the union label on their flowers may want to
check this one out. Farm Workers members have teamed up with
California flower grower Bear Creek to develop a rose dedicated to
the memory of UFW founder Cesar Chavez. Ten percent of the
proceeds from sale of the lustrous red rose go to the Cesar A.
Chavez Foundation, which educates young people about the union
leader’s legacy.To order, call 800-292-4769 or visit
www.jacksonandperkins.com.
Three West Coast governors
–
John A. Kitzhaber,
Gary Locke and
Gray Davis -- were interviewed recently on the IAM’s Third Shift program. Jobs, healthcare and college costs were some
of the issues affecting working families that the governors addressed.
Find out about health care in your state:
The Kaiser Family
Foundation's State Health Facts Online
resource contains the latest state-level data on demographics,
health, and health policy, including health coverage, access,
financing, and state legislation. |
Get Your Convention Gear
Check out gear for the
2004
IAM Convention
The IAM
Executive Council
International President
R.
Thomas Buffenbarger
Secretary Treasurer
Donald
E. Wharton
GVP Western
Territory
Lee
Pearson
GVP Canada
Dave
Ritchie
GVP Midwest
Territory
Alex
M. Bay
GVP Headquarters
Robert
V. Thayer
GVP Southern
Territory
George
Hooper
GVP Eastern
Territory
Warren
L. Mart
GVP Transportation
Robert
Roach, Jr.
|
Tuesday, June 11, 2002
‘Heroes’
Documentary Available Online
The IAM unveiled a secure section of
their interactive website to make the 9-11 labor documentary,
‘Everyday Heroes’ available directly to union members and the
public.
The 49-minute
documentary, produced by the Machinists, is being used to raise funds
for medical and psychological treatment of workers exposed to hazardous
working conditions during rescue and recovery work at the World Trade
Center site.
“All profits from the
sale of ‘Everyday Heroes’ will go to a special treatment fund
established by the IAM and administered by the Mt. Sinai – Irving J.
Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine,” said
Machinists President Tom Buffenbarger, who donated $20,000 to launch the
workers treatment fund.
Single and multiple
orders for the compelling oral history documentary can now be processed
online at
http://edh.goiam.org/ using a new e-commerce feature of the IAM
website.
“We established the
fund to honor the union men and women who rushed into harm’s way on
September 11,” said Buffenbarger. “Their pride and resolve was an
inspiration to us all. The fund is our way to say ‘thank you.’”
Preparations Underway for
IAM-NWA Negotiations
District 143
delegates from locations across the U.S. met in St. Paul this week to
review members’ contract proposals in preparation for an initial
exchange with airline management in August 2002.
District 143, headed by
President and Directing General Chairman Robert DePace represents 16,668
IAM members at Northwest, including Reservations Agents, Customer
Service Agents and Equipment Service Employees (ESE). Their current
agreement expires in February 2003.
Separately, District 143 representatives recently
began negotiations for 3,200 IAM members at Alaska Airlines. IAM
negotiators proposed 103 changes to the current agreement, which becomes
amendable on October 29, 2002.
US Airways Applies for
Loan Guarantees
After losing $2
billion last year, US Airways is turning to U.S. taxpayers for help. The
nation’s sixth largest airline filed this week for $900 million in
federal loan guarantees to stave off bankruptcy and fund a massive
restructuring plan.
US Airways is the largest
airline so far to apply for the loan guarantee since Congress created
the Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) to oversee a $15
billion airline bailout fund.
ATSB guidelines call for a viable business plan
before it will approve loan guarantees. The plan filed by US Airways
with its application proposes $1.3 billion in annual cost savings, with
$950 million coming from employees and $350 million coming from vendors
doing business with the airline.
Negotiations between the IAM and US Airways
regarding restructuring proposals have been underway for weeks. Calls by
the airline for wholesale cuts in wages, benefits and pensions were
rejected by union representatives. “If US Airways is serious about
seeking the IAM’s help in avoiding bankruptcy, we need to see a tangible
business plan and understand how our members fit into that plan,” said
District presidents Randy Canale and Scotty Ford in a message to members
at US Airways. “History clearly shows that employee concessions, alone,
do not save airlines.”
GOP Eyes Lobbyists’ Litmus Test
Grover
Norquist is at it again. The GOP activist best known in labor circles as
the “brains” behind California’s notorious Proposition 226, the
“paycheck deception” measure, has set his sights on Democrats who work
for lobbying firms in the nation’s capital.
It’s part of a campaign that
could “deny government access and prime lobbying jobs to Democrats,” the
Washington Post said in a recent article. The hefty dossier will
be given to top White House officials and Republican lawmakers on
Capitol Hill, the report noted. Norquist is closely tied to Karl Rove,
President Bush’s top political adviser. He is a frequent visitor at the
White House and GOP congressional offices.
Norquist hopes to convince lobbying firms and trade
associations to purge Democrats and hire more Republicans, the Post
alleged.
“I am appalled that
anyone would be that brazen,” said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle,
D-SD.
Labor Dept. Touts New Job Venture
Labor Secretary
Elaine Chao unveiled a “unique” initiative to counter the loss of more
than 1.5 million jobs in the last nine months. Chao announced a plan to
help dislocated workers find new jobs with Home Depot.
“That’s supposed to be good
news?” asked IP Tom Buffenbarger. “We have thousands of members losing
good jobs paying decent wages all across the manufacturing sector.
Minimum wage jobs at retail outlets are not the answer.”
A Home Depot executive told the Daily Labor
Report the firm expects to hire 160,000 workers over the next four
years. That same executive declined to discuss Home Depot’s wage scales,
but claimed they are higher than “local market retail rates.”
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