Making Jobs an Election Issue

With less than a week to go before the most important election in decades, the IAM's 'Wheels of Misfortune' truck is keeping the union's message of 'JOBS! Worth Fighting For" front and center at union events across Maine and New Hampshire.

Earlier this week, the rolling 40-ft. billboard bearing 3 large spinning wheels traveled from Millinocket in northern Maine to events in Skowhegan, Bangor and Bucksport, ME.  The brightly colored wheels carry a somber message: each bears the names of foreign countries where hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs have been exported during the past four years.

By midweek, the 'JOBS!' truck made appearances at Bath Iron Works and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, NH. The truck's progress has also been featured in area newspapers and on television stations in the New England area.

The truck will remain on the road through Friday, spreading the IAM message that our jobs are worth fighting for, and reminding every union member of their duty to vote on Nov. 2.

Respect is Key in Richmond Honda Strike

Respect from the employer is at the core of a strike by 56 members of IAMAW Local Lodge 1857 at Richmond Honda Motor Sales in Richmond British Columbia.

The members, who include mechanics, service writers, parts department and lot staff, walked off the job Wednesday, October 20, 2004 when final bargaining efforts to resolve the dispute failed. “The bargaining unit voted 63 percent to reject the Company’s final offer on October 14th and there was still no movement from their final position when we met the next morning,” said IAMAW Business Representative Walter Gerlach. “It’s really about respect for the work we do, we were left with no alternative but to proceed with strike action.”

Outstanding demands include Sunday shifts for select positions, sick leave provisions and job descriptions for certain classifications. “The union remains willing to negotiate a fair settlement with the company over the outstanding issues,” said Gerlach. “We hope to bring a speedy resolution to this dispute.”

Americans Worry Over Job Security

This is a bad time to find a good job, or so say a 63 percent majority of respondents to a Rutgers University poll of 1,011 employed Americans. The poll also found that 40 percent of Americans are “very concerned” about job security. Only one in three believe President Bush has done a good or excellent job of handling the nation's job situation.

"Employee concern about the current unemployment rate is at one of the highest levels we've seen since the ... surveys began in 1998," Kenneth Dautrich, a professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, said.

Lack of Sick Leave Compounds Flu Vaccine Shortage

The lack of paid sick leave in the United States will compound the risk of getting the flu this winter, at a time when even at-risk individuals cannot obtain flu shots because of a massive shortage of the vaccine, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families. 

Nearly half the nation’s workers don’t have guaranteed paid time off from their jobs when they are sick, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These workers are more likely to go to work when they are sick, increasing the likelihood they will infect others, says the partnership.

“Many workers may put others at risk by going to work sick because they cannot afford to miss a paycheck,” says National Partnership President Debra Ness. Fully 86 million U.S. workers don’t have paid sick days to care for sick children, according to a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, No Time to Be Sick: Why Everyone Suffers When Workers Don’t Have Paid Sick Leave.

“Paid sick days would ease some of the tough choices facing American families today,” says Ness. “It would help workers provide for their families while being responsible employees.”