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,
October 22, 2002
Economic Issues Drive Election
Despite all the drum-beating and chest-thumping about regime changes in
Iraq dominating the airwaves, next month’s mid-term election hinges on
other issues. Even President George Bush acknowledged as much with a
belated plan to hold down prescription drug prices in the face of rising
discontent on that issue.
With good reason,
both the White House and the Republican Party would prefer to blur the
lines on economic issues. Since President Bush took office two years
ago, unemployment has risen, health care costs scored the biggest
increase in more than 10 years, the number of Americans without health
care is up 1.4 million, the poverty rate went up, household incomes fell
for the first time in a decade. At the same time, both the S&P 500-stock
index and the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 18 percent, the worst
in 15 years, during the third quarter of this year.
“Working families
hold the key to which party controls Congress next year,” noted IP Tom
Buffenbarger. “Our votes can make the difference in this election. Take
a long hard look at the candidates and their voting records. See where
they stand on protecting American jobs, protecting our retirement
security, keeping our workplaces safe. Don’t be fooled by their campaign
promises. Take a look at how they voted on issues that impact working
families. We can make a difference.”
To see how your
lawmaker voted on issues of importance to working families, visit
http://goiam.org/politics.asp.
Just type in your zip code, click on "Issues & Legislation," then click
on "Key Votes."
UPS Negotiations to Continue
A
week of negotiations between the International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and United Parcel Service (UPS) concluded
last week without an agreement. Despite high hopes and progress toward a
settlement, several issues remain unresolved.
“We are determined
to reach an agreement that fully addresses our members’ primary
concerns: pay, pensions, and health benefits,” said Boysen Anderson,
overall coordinator for the IAM team. “Obviously, these are also the
most costly and difficult issues to resolve. We intend to reconvene as
soon as possible to finish the job we started.”
“I want to express
my thanks to each member of this negotiating committee,” said Anderson.
“We came together in the finest IAM tradition to bargain in a united,
coordinated fashion. Ultimately, we will prevail.”
IAM Workers at Boeing Key to Legal Victory
Two
Machinists at Boeing, Carl Heidy and William McGraw, were recognized
recently for their role in an important legal victory in the case of
Boeing Company v. Heidy. The lawsuit produced a unanimous
decision protecting the hearing loss benefits for retired and older
workers.
Despite being
ordered by the Washington State Department of Labor to pay 100 percent
of seven work-related hearing loss cases, Boeing appealed, arguing that
hearing loss was a function of aging. The argument was rejected by the
Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, the lower court and ultimately,
by the State Supreme Court.
“A worker’s age is
irrelevant to establishing the existence and extent of a worker’s
disability,” wrote Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles Johnson in
the unanimous decision.
“These two
machinists put a human face on a case that was quite technical, both
legally and factually,” said Christine O. Gregoire, Attorney General of
Washington State in an Oct. 3, 2002 letter commending their involvement.
“Without the contributions of Mr. Heidy and Mr. McGraw, the case could
have turned out very differently.”
Corporate Scandals
Cost USA $200 Billion
The
recent corporate crime wave cost Americans more than $200 billion in
lost savings, jobs, pensions and tax revenue, according to a report
using data culled from government and public sources.
The report tallied the damages: $175 billion in losses from 401(k) and
public pension funds and at least $6.4 billion in stock losses. It was
estimated that a million workers lost jobs at the affected companies,
often while company executives cashed out billions of dollars in their
own stock.
“Tens of thousands of jobs, lost. Billions of dollars in personal and
public retirement savings, gone,” said Senate Majority Leader Tom
Daschle (D-SD). “The lesson ought to be clear: when corporate fraud
leads to corporate failure, we all get hurt. Unfortunately, this
administration and many of our Republican colleagues continue to deny
that obvious fact.”
House Rejects Jobless
Pay Benefit
In a
straight party-line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives torpedoed a
Democratic-sponsored economic stimulus plan to extend the emergency
federal unemployment benefits program for another six months and to add
13 weeks of benefits for jobless workers in all 50 states. Additionally,
the plan would have increased the federal minimum wage by $1.50 an hour,
create jobs and improve the infrastructure by boosting highway spending.
The vote drew a stinging rebuke from AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. He
called the vote the “capping event in a legislative session marked by
the astonishing arrogance of the Republican-led House in handing out
legislative awards to corporations, such as a $254 million tax break for
Enron, while ignoring the very real needs of families struggling through
the recession.”
Congress Agrees on
‘Lame Duck’ Session
The
budget impasse on Capitol Hill forced Congress to return for a “lame
duck” session after the Nov. 5 mid-term election. With only two of 13
required spending bills approved by both chambers, the federal
government will operate on a continuing resolution until Nov.22. That
means federal agencies will continue to operate at current spending
levels.
The House passed three other spending bills. The Senate approved one.
Issues likely to come up in “lame duck” session include pension reform
and certain Medicare provisions. For now, both House and Senate have
recessed until Nov. 12.
HPWO: Working Together Pays
IAM Local 61 and Diesel Recon won a top state award earlier this year.
The local union and the company, both located in Memphis, were awarded
the Tennessee Labor-Management Excellence Award at the 15th
Annual Tennessee Labor-Management Conference. The award goes to the best
labor-management partnership in the state. Workplaces are judged on
leadership, employee involvement and development, diversity and morale.
Local 61 and Diesel Recon, a division of Cummins Engine, have been
working on an HPWO Partnership since 1998. During this time, leaders
from both the union and the company attended the IAM’s HPWO Partnership
classes at the Winpisinger Center in southern Maryland.
IAM Shutterbugs Notch
Honors
The IAM Communications Department announced the winners of the 2002
Photography Contest. The top award went to LL 2061's Edward W. Griffith
for his photo, Ready for Blastoff. LL 1426's Eric Waldon took
second-place honors for Moving Along. Third place was a draw
between LL 837b's Thomas Pinski with Loading a Missile Launcher,
and LL 2458's Dave Francis with Par Kicker Maintenance. Four
entries received honorable mention, including Fire in New Mexico
(shown above) by
Jozef J. Drozdowski from FL 2086.
The 2003 IAM Calendar features the first, second and third place
winners, as well as all of the honorable mentions. Preview the winning
entries right now at:
http://www.iamaw.org/publications/2002photocontest/winners.htm
|