Machinists at
US Airways Ratify Proposal
Mechanic &
Related members at US Airways ratified contract amendments worth $160 million in
annual savings as part of the bankrupt carrier’s restructuring program.
The vote, which carried by 57 percent, marks the second time US Airways’
Mechanic & Related employees were polled on the company’s restructuring
proposal. A re-vote was scheduled after US Airways’ CEO David Siegel
acknowledged statements he made prior to the initial vote led to confusion over
the consequences of rejection.
“The decision to hold a
re-vote was made when it was clear that employees initially received misleading
information,” said IAM District 141-M President Scotty Ford. “Ratification of
this proposal restricts US Airways from seeking further cost reductions from IAM
members in bankruptcy court.”
The proposal covers US
Airways’ 6,800 Mechanic & Related employees. The carrier’s 5,400 Fleet Service
Employees, represented by IAM District 141, approved a separate proposal on
August 28, 2002.
Ground Zero Heroes
Plagued by Illness
According to a recent Washington Post article, workers who braved
smoke and fire following the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers
are facing serious respiratory illnesses.
Doctors
at Mount Sinai’s Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental
Medicine were among the first to recognize the potential for widespread health
consequences. The center has already treated 600 workers exposed to smoke, dust
and airborne toxins, with 60 percent suffering persistent and potentially long
term upper and lower respiratory problems.
The IAM
is supporting the work of the Selikoff Center by donating all profits from the
sale of its ‘Everyday Heroes’ documentary. “The film tells the story of
the men and women who worked at Ground Zero,” said IP Buffenbarger. “But the
story does not end there. We need to do everything possible to protect these
workers who risked their lives and their health when we needed help most.”
For
more information on the ‘Everyday Heroes’ project and how you can help, go to
www.goiam.org.
IAM Federal Workers Standing Firm
“U.S.
Government employees have a proud history of providing service to this
country and its citizens,” said Rick Brown, DBR, Federal District 1, at
the annual convention of IAM Federal Employees. “We will stand up to the
current assault on federal workers at the same time we reach out and
organize a new generation of government employees.”
The
rights of unionized federal workers are currently threatened by proposals that
would give administration officials the right to revoke union and civil service
protections for many of the 170,000 employees slated to become part of the new
Homeland Security Department.
“Civil
service protections and collective bargaining rights are not a threat to
national security,” said Frank Carelli,
IAM Government Employees’
Director. “Despite
the view of anti-union zealots, the war on terrorism, here and abroad, is about
protecting freedoms such as the right to belong to a union – not eliminating
them.”
White House Targets Worker Rights
The Bush administration and its Republican allies in the Senate put
worker rights squarely in its crosshairs as debate opens on Homeland
Security issues. Bush wants to strip away basic rights enjoyed by some
170,000 workers who will be affected by the bill.
Bush says he will veto any bill that maintains workers collective
bargaining rights and civil service protections. The Senate version,
authored by Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-CT, does just that.
You can urge your senators to protect these basic rights by sending an
‘Action Alert’ email message at the Politics and Legislation section of
http://goiam.org/politics.asp
or call the Capitol switchboard at 202 224-3121.
Blue Ribbon
Commission Drafts Final Report
Members of the Blue Ribbon Commission gathered at the Winpisinger Center
last weekend to draft a final report of the comments made by IAM members
at 40 town-hall meetings held last Spring and early Summer. Eight groups
with five members each crossed the U.S and Canada to listen to what IAM
members had to say about their union and what changes are needed. The
five-member groups were made up of leaders from local, district and
grand lodge levels and came from different industries and regions in
North America.
“These Blue Ribbon Commission members did a terrific job. Each group
went out and listened carefully to our members. They learned what our
members are most concerned about and what changes we need to make,” said
Blue Ribbon Commission Chairperson GVP Robert Thayer. “The Executive
Council will use the final report generated at this meeting to recommend
important changes for the years ahead.”
Eastern Territory Gains New Members
IAM
District 12 recently organized 28 new members at Maryland-based Cobro
Corporation. Workers there operate test equipment and provide data
analysis for U.S. government agencies on a wide range of machinery,
engines and vehicles.
“On
behalf of the IAM and members throughout the Eastern Territory, I’d like to
welcome the members at Cobro Corp. into the Machinists Union,” said GVP Warren
Mart. “Our objective is to provide first class service and representation for
every bargaining unit, regardless of size.” Mart recognized Organizer Henry
Scott, Shop Stewards Dorothy Hartman and Milo Cremeans, and District 12 DBR
Vickie Fultonberger for their work in this latest Eastern Territory win.
SEC Probes GE Payoff to Welch
That enormous retirement package General Electric forked over to Jack
Welch, its former CEO, has come under scrutiny from the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm said it is cooperating with the
inquiry.
Welsh raised the corporate greed bar to new heights with a retirement
package that called for GE to pick up the tab for his Manhattan luxury
apartment, including food, wine, cooks, waiters, laundry and
furnishings. It also included prime seats at sky boxes at Yankee Stadium
and Fenway Park and other perks.
This comes in addition his $9 million pension and other goodies,
including a lucrative consulting contract.
Welsh has said he will give up all the extras and struggle to get by
with just the pension itself. He may have to dip into his personal
savings if times get really hard. He is said to have amassed a personal
fortune of some $900 million.
Prescription Drugs Tops Election Agenda
Both major political parties grabbed onto a prescription drug
benefit for senior citizens in fierce battle to win votes among that
high-turnout voter bloc. Republicans tout a House-passed bill they claim
will help older Americans pay their prescription drug bills.
Democrats say that measure is a fraud, since it has a yawning gap in
coverage and funnels billions of dollars in subsidies to HMOs and big
drug companies. It also allows HMOs and drug companies to make most of
the decisions--how much the plan costs, which drugs are included in the
plan and whether or not to even offer coverage for seniors, Democratic
critics charge.
Republicans point to the fact the Democratic-controlled Senate has yet
to pass a drug bill.
"As activists, it is our job to make sure that every retiree in America
understands why the House measure is absolutely the wrong bill to
address the problem and why no bill in the Senate is better than a bad
bill," explained George J. Kourpias, who heads the Alliance of Retired
Americans.
Bayer Offers to Sell
Indiana Plant for $1
After
four years of dismantling assembly lines and shipping work to Mexico and
Germany, the pharmaceutical giant Bayer is looking to finish the job by
offering to sell the hollowed out remnants of its Elkhart, Indiana
factory complex for one dollar.
Local
officials charge Bayer’s plan is designed to relieve the company of a $372,000
annual tax bill and annual maintenance costs of $7 million. Demolishing the
complex, a move favored by some residents, would cost Bayer as much as $20
million.
Prior
to layoffs and shipping work offshore, the plant employed 3,000 people in and
around Elkhart. Less than 750 remain.