Support for Boeing Strikers Grows

IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger, center, visits striking Boeing workers represented by District Lodge 24 in Portland, OR.

International President Tom Buffenbarger and General Vice President Robert Thayer joined IAM members picketing Boeing locations in Portland, OR, Wichita, KS and Washington state during the Labor Day weekend. The strike by 18,400 workers over health care, job security and pensions moved into its second week with strong support from local communities and declarations of solidarity from the AFL-CIO and international labor federations.

“I was deeply impressed by the resolve and determination of the strikers at each location we visited,” said IP Buffenbarger. “Every man and woman on those picket lines knew exactly why they were there. The issues they are fighting for: pensions, health care and jobs, are the same issues that matter to every union member, indeed every worker in North America. It was an honor to march alongside them.”

The IAM negotiating committee remains prepared to meet with Boeing any time, any place. It is an open invitation, but Boeing must want to do more than just talk. “They need to be prepared to address members’ issues in a meaningful way,” said the latest bulletin from District 751. Boeing has yet to contact IAM negotiators or make any effort to return to the bargaining table.

“We’re fully prepared to expand our picketing operation or to resume serious negotiations,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Dick Schneider. “The choice is up to Boeing.”

For ongoing strike information, go to www.iam751.org

 

Rail Machinists Ratify National Contract

After more than five and a half years of negotiations, IAM District 19 members working at Class 1 freight rail carriers covered by the national agreement with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee have ratified the tentative agreement reached on July 29, 2005. Sixty-five percent of voting members accepted the hard-won agreement.
“It has taken us a long time to get to this point,” said District 19 President Joe Duncan. “However, through working together and standing strong we were finally successful." Additional information is available on the District 19 website, www.iamdl19.org.

 

Hart Poll Paints Grim Picture

A majority of American workers are dissatisfied with the economic situation in the United States today and are worried about their own economic future, according to a poll released by the AFL-CIO.

Labor Day 2005: The State of Working America, conducted by Peter D. Hart associates for the AFL-CIO, found that 59 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the economic situation in the country and 54 percent are worried about achieving their economic and financial goals.

The poll found that the biggest reasons for workers’ bleak view of the economy is declining real wages and a reduced standard of living. Fifty-three percent of workers say their income has failed to keep up with prices, while 70 percent said that employers are failing to provide cost of living raises.

Health care and retirement security were also significant concerns among those polled, with 68 percent saying health care in this country is on the wrong track and 65 percent saying employers are failing to provide adequate and secure retirement benefits.

The quality of jobs being created in the United States is also a worry among Americans. More than two-thirds of respondents feel most of the new jobs being created in this country are mainly lower-paying jobs without benefits.

The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 805 workers with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

 

2005 LCLAA Conference Held in Puerto Rico

From left, back row: Al Lopez, LL 1484;  Monica Silbas  Educational Rep., Transportation Dept.; Joaquin (Paco) Gonzalez, LL 701. Front row: Juan Negron, LL 447; Dora Cervantes, Special Rep. Transportation Dept.; Charlotte Sund, Director, Human Rights Dept. and Cheryl Eastburn, Director, Women's Dept.

IAM delegates attended the 2005 Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Educational Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they were able to discuss ways to improve the lives of Latino working families.

Delegates had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of workshops that covered topics such as immigration, social security, media training, organizing, politics and housing. Participants also heard from a wide array of guest speakers discussing union issues Puerto Rican and other Latino workers face on a daily basis.

The LCLAA (www.lclaa.org) is represented on the AFL-CIO General Board and the IAM is a continuing sponsor of their efforts.

 

District 837 Wins COLA Case in St. Louis

After a year and a half of being denied a wage increase negotiated in their last contract, a group of Machinists represented by District 837 in St. Louis, MO are now sharing more than $70,000 in back pay. The 287 employees will also have their base salaries increased to reflect the raise in pay that has been missing since the contract went into effect.

During the 2004 negotiations with The Boeing Company, District 837 secured language that would fold a thirteen-cent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Traveler into the base pay of all employees within the collective bargaining agreement. Employees in several classifications, however, were dismayed to see they were not receiving the traveler pay.

District 837 Staff, led by PDBR Rick Smith, initiated a Union Grievance to correct the denial of contractual pay for all affected employees. After months of inaction by the company, the Union moved the case to arbitration, where Boeing’s own actions and claims during contract negotiations were used to bolster the union’s case. Ultimately, the Company capitulated and agreed to pay all employees. Each employee was paid what they should have been received and the Traveler was folded into their base pay.

 

No Movement in China Textile War

U.S. and Chinese trade representatives once again failed to reach a broad textile agreement while meeting in Beijing this week. There was hope the fourth meeting between the two sides this year would produce an agreement before Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the United States next week.

In fact, Cass Johnson, president of the U.S. National Council of Textile Organizations, told Reuters the two sides failed to even narrow their differences. “People thought there was a good chance of an agreement coming out of these meetings, but it’s clear the Chinese government was not interested in moving off its position – and neither was the U.S. government,” Johnson told Reuters.

Since decade-long quota’s on textile imports from China were lifted January 1, exports to the United States have skyrocketed 97 percent to $7.4 billion – fueling our record $162 billion trade deficit with China and costing thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

 

Locked Out Pemco Workers Holding Strong

Children of locked out Pemco members of Local 1632 at a picket line family day family day show support for their parents.

The lockout of Pemco workers in Dothan, AL continues. Two hundred Members of Local 1632, along with 250 laid-off members met recently for a fish fry donated by Ray’s, a local restaurant.

The local had a family day, highlighted by a picket sign contest for the kids, who then walked the line with their parents to protest the unfair lockout.

Negotiations resumed last week, but progress is slow. “Our membership is strong, and we’re willing to walk as long as it takes to get a just and fair contract,” said District 75 DBR Steve Pridgen.

“It’s great to see a community come together behind the locked-out IAM members,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez. “They’re pulling together against corporate greed to make sure that Dothan remains a great place to work and raise a family.”

 

Gentle Warrior Award
Honors Civil Rights Activists

Former Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union member Otho Moore, center, of Indianapolis, IN receiving an award honoring the legendary union from A. Philip Randolph Museum's Chairperson and founder Lyn Hughes, right, and President Ed Lewis. Moore, 87 years old, hired on as a Pullman Porter in 1942 and worked until 1989.

The 2005 A. Philip Randolph “Gentle Warrior” honorees were Tavis Smiley, host of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS; the Reverend Dr. Addie Wyatt, retired UFCW International Vice President; and the Chicago Defender, a black-owned newspaper that has been operating for over 100 years.

The awards were presented during the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum’s 9 th Annual Gentle Warrior Awards Dinner in Chicago. IL. Randolph, a legendary civil rights icon, became known as the “Gentle Warrior” – a tribute to the dignified demeanor that belied his fiery dedication to racial equality and social justice.

Ed Lewis, Education Representative for the IAM Midwest Territory and president of the Museum, attended the ceremony and brought greetings from IP Buffenbarger and the IAM Executive Council. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters is among the unions of the Transportation Communications International Union (TCU), which signed an agreement on July 6, 2005 to merge with the IAM.

A highlight of the ceremony was a tribute to former Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porter member Otho Moore, who received a certificate paying tribute to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union for the role they played in advancing the cause of trade unionism and civil rights in this country.

 

 

 

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