July 26, 2007

Efforts to Make Card-Check Illegal Defeated in Congress

Anti-union lawmakers in the House and Senate attempted last week to make union recognition based on majority card check authorization by workers illegal, but the apparently coordinated attack was defeated.

The first measure, introduced by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) as an amendment to the Higher Education Access Act, was defeated 54-42. DeMint's amendment would have amended the National Labor Relations Act to makeing it illegal for workers to organize other than through the act's NLRB election process.

Of special significance, six Republicans voted against DeMint's amendment, raising the possibility that lobbying by CWA and other unions on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act is making progress on the GOP side of the aisle. Those six are Norm Coleman (MN), Susan Collins (ME), Gordon Smith (OR), Olympia Snowe (ME), Arlen Specter (PA) and George Voinovich (OH). Among them, only Specter had supported the Employee Free Choice Act.

The same day in the House, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) offered an amendment to the Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill that would prevent the National Labor Relations Board from certifying a union if workers did not submit to the NLRB election route. It was rejected, 255-167, with the help of 31 Republicans. Three Democrats voted for the anti-card-check measure: Rep. Dan Boren (OK), Gene Taylor (MS), and Mike McIntyre (NC). Boren and Taylor voted against the Employee Free Choice Act. Curiously, McIntyre had voted for EFCA.

The 31 Republicans siding with labor against the anti-card check measure were Don Young (AK), Robert Aderholt (AL), Chris Shays (CN), Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL), Judy Biggert (IL), Tim Johnson (IL), Rodney Alexander (LA), Peter Hoekstra (MI), Candice Miller (MI), Thaddeus McCotter (MI), Sam Graves (MO), JoAnn Emerson (MO), Jon Porter (NV), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Jim Saxton (NJ), Chris Smith (NJ), Mike Ferguson (NJ), Peter King (NY), Vito Fossella (NY), John McHugh (NY), Jim Walsh (NY), Randy Kuhl (NY), Steve LaTourette (OH), Ralph Regula (OH), Phil English (PA), Jim Gerlach (PA), Tim Murphy (PA), Dave Reichert (WA), and Shelley Moore Capito (WV).

Minimum Wage Hike First Step in Progressive Agenda

CWA members and hundreds of other union and commmunity activists joined with U.S. House and Senate leaders on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to celebrate the first raise in the minimum wage in more than 10 years – a victory that lawmakers and social justice leaders said wouldn't have been possible without labor's determination and hard work.

"For 10 years people working at some of the most difficult, dirtiest jobs in America were told 'You have to work for a poverty wage,'" Rep. George Miller (D-CA) said. 

The hourly minimum wage had been $5.15 an hour for a decade until going up by 70 cents, to $5.85 on July 24. Two more increases will bring it to $7.25 an hour by mid-2009. However, Miller said he and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) intend to introduce legislation to raise it higher, to $9.50 an hour.

Two minimum-wage workers were among the speakers, including 55-year-old Valerie Henry who talked about working three jobs to make ends meet. They include day work at Camden Yards in Baltimore, where she has to show up to find out if she will get any work each day. In spite of her situation, she spoke with pride of keeping the stadium tidy and the pleasure she gets when fans thank her for the clean bathrooms.

CWA President Larry Cohen said the minimum wage increase is a big victory but it and other single-issue legislation won't solve the ultimate problem for workers – having a voice on the job. That will take passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. "When we are able to organize and bargain collectively without employers' threats and intimidation and stalling tactics, we will be able to fight for ourselves for our wages and working conditions," he said.

About 40 members of the House and Senate marched into the rally together as activists cheered.

At Cohen's urging, the crowd greeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) with chants of "best Speaker ever."  Pelosi said the raise is reason to celebrate, but that it's not enough. She pledged that she and other Democrats will continue to work on progressive agenda to make good jobs, higher education and health care a reality for all Americans.

"This is just the beginning," she said. "In the coming months, we will expand cost-effective health coverage for millions of uninsured children, lower energy costs for all Americans and create the next generation of good-paying American jobs by growing our renewable energy and technology sectors."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) invoked the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt.  "Seventy years after President Roosevelt made a commitment to our parents and grandparents through the New Deal, too many Americans are now getting a raw deal," Reid said. "Hourly wages and household incomes are down while the number of uninsured Americans and executive salaries are up.  But today, hundreds of thousands of Americans will have a little more in their next paychecks to help them better afford basic necessities like food, clothing, day care, health care, education and retirement."

CWA Facing Off with Verizon in Va. over Deregulation

In hearings this week in Virginia that Verizon hopes will end the state's telecom oversight, CWA is arguing that the company wants the freedom to pursue its fiber-optic FiOS network at the expense of the copper network that provides telephone and Internet service for most of Virginia's rural and inner-city areas.

"Verizon is not providing quality service to the customers who rely on its copper network and has no intention of providing quality service to these customers in the future," CWA's Charlie Buttiglieri testified before the State Corporation Commission in Richmond. "Verizon seeks deregulation to reduce its obligation to maintain the copper plant so that it can focus all its resources on FIOS network, which is only being deployed in select areas."

Verizon is arguing that there is enough telecom competition in Virginia now that the market, rather than the state government, should determine prices. But some state officials and opponents say the company is exaggerating the amount of competition.

As the hearings began Monday, about 15 red-shirted CWA Stewards Army members from locals across Virginia gathered to protest Verizon's attempt at deregulation. CWA District 2 Representative Carol Summerlyn told reporters that the union supports FiOS "but not at the expensive of other customers."

IUE-CWA Puts Delphi on Notice, a Strike Possible

IUE-CWA notified Delphi Corp. of its intent to terminate its local and national contracts in a letter delivered to the company on July 18.  The notice paves the way for a possible strike in October if the union and company cannot reach a new agreement covering more than 2,000 workers.

The action came as talks continued to drag on with little or no movement by the company on key issues including job security, wages and benefits.  As part of its termination notice, IUE-CWA also withdrew its permission for Delphi to use temporary workers at represented facilities. The company has the option of cutting production or hiring the workers permanently.

"Delphi has not delivered proposals that meet our members' needs," said IUE-CWA President Jim Clark. From the start we have stated that IUE-CWA members want both their jobs and dignity intact at the end of the process. We are tired of spinning our wheels in negotiations while Delphi falls short of these basic demands."

The termination notice is the first step toward a national strike at Delphi, pending the authorization of the members and CWA's Executive Board and president.  Under terms of the existing contract, the notice allows the locals to strike effective 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 13. 

"There is still much time to change our course," said IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board Chairman Willie Thorpe. "But we cannot sit back and be unprepared. In our estimation, given the current state of talks, a strike is a real possibility and we need to act accordingly."

On July 19, Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain approved a new contract covering 17,000 employees represented by the United Auto Workers, bringing Delphi a step closer toward completing its restructuring and emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company's restructuring plan is further dependent upon a significant infusion of capital from an investment group headed by Appaloosa Management LP. Appaloosa has the option to withdraw its offer of $2.55 billion if the court has not approved it by Aug. 16. Delphi has yet to reach new labor agreements with several unions including IUE-CWA that together represent about 3,000 workers.

Delphi plans to close 21 of 29 of its plants in the United States and slash about four-fifths of its U.S. workforce.

Senate Committee Okays Broadband Bill Unanimously, Speed Matters Strategic Industry Fund Plays Major Rule

CWA-supported legislation to raise the government's definition of high-speed Internet and develop a detailed "map" of broadband availability, speed, and cost across the United States won unanimous approval from the Senate Commerce Committee this week. The Broadband Data Improvement Act (S. 1492) now moves to the full Senate for action, where it is not expected to encounter much difficulty given the measure's bipartisan support.

A companion measure is expected to be introduced in the House shortly by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) who chairs that body's Commerce Committee.

CWA played a central role in the development of the measure through effective bipartisan lobbying and its widely publicized Speed Matters Strategic Industry Fund Campaign and website (www.SpeedMatters.org). This May, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, CWA President Larry Cohen urged Congress to adopt legislation, laying out the key principals behind the union's Speed Matters program: universality, speed, affordability, an open internet, and consumer and worker protections.

The legislation requires the Federal Communications Commission to revise its definition of broadband, currently an outdated 200 kilobits per second.  CWA recommends that "high speed" broadband be defined as 2 megabits per second (mbps) for downloads and 1 mbps for uploads. The FCC is also required to collect detailed information on the actual number of residential and business broadband customers.

The bill calls on other government agencies to play a role in improving the availability, speed and cost of broadband. The Census Bureau is instructed to collect data on household Internet connections and computer ownership, and the Government Accountability Office and Small Business Administration are required to study and make recommendations on collecting information and comparing U.S. high-speed availability and quality with other countries. More than $40 million in grants will be provided to the states for broadband mapping and local technology planning teams, and "telecommunications labor organizations" are given a key role as members of the local technology teams.

IN BRIEF:

  • Seeking to bring high-speed Internet service to all Americans, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is running an online forum this week at www.openleft.com where people can post comments and ideas about making broadband access a reality for all.  He will use the feedback in drafting legislation to promote high-speed Internet development.

    "Broadband policy is one of the most important public policy issues today," Durbin said in launching the project. "Frankly, America does not have a national broadband strategy, and we are falling behind. That means our families don't have access to the best medical technologies, our students don't have access to the best educational opportunities, and our entrepreneurs are limited in the markets they can access."

    CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach posted details of CWA's Speed Matters Strategic Industry Fund Campaign and urged people to visit the site at www.speedmatters.org.

    "CWA is excited about the growing movement of workers, teachers, librarians, health care professionals, businesses, farmers, policy makers, advocates for people with disabilities and consumers who are coming together in our Speed Matters campaign to support affordable, high-speed Internet for America," Rechenbach wrote.

    The discussion continues through Friday night. To post or read submissions, go to http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=347.


  • So many union families want to attend the AFL-CIO Democratic presidential forum on Tuesday, Aug. 7 in Chicago that the event has been moved from a conference center to Soldier Field, home of the Bears.

    The 6 p.m. event, to be moderated by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, is expected to draw more than 10,000 union members and their families. It will be broadcast nationally on MSNBC and XM satellite radio.

    The event is free but tickets are required. The AFL-CIO says people interested in attending should contact their local union or call the Chicago Federation of Labor at (312) 222-1000. Participants, who must be seated by 5:30 p.m. and remain in the arena until 8 p.m., are urged to wear union clothing. However, shirts that endorse a specific candidate are prohibited, as are signs and banners.

    Confirmed candidates for the forum are Sens. Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. For updates about the event, check the AFL-CIO blog at www.aflcio.org.


  • Citing long NLRB delays in deciding workers' cases, two Democratic members of the House from California, Reps. George Miller and Lois Capps, this week urged Board Chairman Robert Battista to decide cases in a more timely manner and to issue a report on the status of all pending election certifications. The lawmakers' letter to Battista referenced a July 18 report by the NLRB Inspector General which found that Board delays were impacting workers' rights. 

    In the handling of unfair labor practice charges, the IG found that it took the Board an average of 914 days to decide cases filed by an individual and a union, 653 days to decide cases filed by a union, 490 days for cases filed by an individual, but just 381 days to decide cases filed by employers.