Hudson Valley Labor Report

Hudson Valley Rally For Workers Rights Energizes The Masses

2011-03-06T21:30:00.002-05:00

Almost 1000 people gathered to stand up for the rights of all American workers this past week in Rock Tavern, NY. It was a cold day and it was amazing to see all of the people there. There were men, women and children, there were college students and high school students along with those close to retirement.

Thank you to Pete Seeger for joining with us to sing Solidarity Forever and Which side are you on? The answer to that question was definitely the American worker.

Sometime in the future, the labor movement will look back and realize that Scott Wilson was the catylst this generation needed to energize the existing labor movement and to preserve the American Dream for the future generations of workers.

This movement is growing at an incredible speed. More to come soon...

Ed Was Way Ahead Last Week

2011-02-25T19:14:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin Becomes Ground Zero For Workers Rights

2011-02-21T20:58:00.004-05:00

Here is an example of what is in store for all American Workers,if they don't wake up and see what is happening to their "dream" and begin to openly support protecting workers rights again.

This is about the American right to collective bargaining. If you think that this is just a public employee issue - you are wrong. If you think it's purely a tax issue - it is not. The monetary requests of the Governor have been agreed to. They agreed to increase pension and health contributions.

This is now PURELY about the right to bargain. They have a Governor who believes that American workers should have no say or seat at the table.

This is something you would read about in China.

These people are now fighting for only that - the right to bargain. This is past paying more for health insurance or pensions - they already agreed on that.......this is an all out assault on American Workers rights - period. It IS political and CORPORATE DRIVEN. With a goal to "trickle down" the attack to the rest of the American Workforce. Don't be fooled, the only way to protect yourself is to band together.

Unions are the only avenue for workers to use to protect their rights and benefits they have worked hard for. No one else does that or is interested in doing that. Doesn't it make sense that corporations would fight their very existence?

That is what is going on in Wisconsin.
And that's an American fight.

Create Good Jobs And This Does Not Happen: Create Nothing And There Is No Where To Go

2011-02-17T19:14:00.007-05:00

This issue will be playing out soon in many more states,towns and in many more places. Three things are clear: the budget needs to be cut, jobs and retirements need to be saved and new GOOD jobs need to be created.

The Huffington Post Amanda Terkel

WASHINGTON -- Public employees around the country have become the nation's scapegoats for the rough economy, with many Republican politicians in recent months criticizing them as privileged, overpaid and underworked -- unlike their private sector counterparts. But in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) is now in hot water, facing an overwhelming backlash from the state's residents.

Wisconsin is facing a $137 million budget deficit. In order to close it, Walker wants to sharply curtail the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions, effectively preventing them from negotiating benefits, hours and working conditions. (They would, however, still be able to bargain over base wages, and Walker decided to exempt firefighters and police workers from his measure.) Public workers would also have to contribute more money toward pension and health insurance plans.

What has attracted the most attention is Walker's threat to call out the National Guard in order to respond to a walk-out or any resistance to his plan.

The governor has insisted that he's not targeting public employees.

"I'm just trying to balance my budget," Walker told The New York Times. "To those who say why didn't I negotiate on this? I don't have anything to negotiate with. We don't have anything to give. Like practically every other state in the country, we're broke. And it's time to pay up." The Huffington Post was unable to get a comment from him on Wednesday.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin has said that Walker's plan will save Wisconsin $30 million over the next three months and $300 million over the next two years.

But some questioned whether his proposal is really financially necessary. The governor himself claims that Wisconsin can save $165 million by the end of next June simply by restructuring existing debt. Additionally, the share of corporate tax revenue funding the state government has fallen by half since 1981 and, according to Wisconsin Department of Revenue, two-thirds of corporations pay no taxes.

"I don't think there's any question that what Gov. Walker is trying to do here is not simply outrageous -- one of the worst things I've ever seen a Wisconsin governor do -- but he's just acting on a long-time corporate wish: the fantasy of destroying unions," former Wisconsin Democratic senator Russ Feingold told The Huffington Post in an interview on Tuesday. Feingold is launching a new political action committee called Progressives United, aimed at combating the influence of corporate power in politics.

Calling Walker's actions "big government at its worst," Feingold said that Republicans are trying to pit private workers against their public counterparts.

"This is an attempt to divide and conquer," he added. "What they did is teed up the rhetoric in the last few years about how public employees -- the notion is that somehow they're making huge amounts of money and they don't have to work very hard, and they're doing fine because their jobs and pensions are guaranteed while people in the private sector are suffering. Surely, there is enormous reason for people in the private sector to be frustrated -- and particularly working people who have had their jobs shipped overseas by trade agreements that have been backed by these big corporate interests that are benefiting from Citizens United. But the idea here on the right and the corporate side is to divide working people against each other, to turn private employees against public employees out of some kind of resentment."

Thousands of Wisconsin residents have showed up for rallies in Madison, with hundreds of Wisconsin residents signed up to testify on Tuesday against Walker's plan. Many of them ended up rolling out sleeping bags and sleeping in the building's rotunda overnight. With a GOP legislature on his side, Walker could get a vote as soon as Thursday. On Tuesday, the Republican co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee helped speed along the process by preventing a "citizen filibuster" and limiting the amount of time that residents had to speak, prompting protests from the people who were shut out of hearing without being heard.

Opposition to Walker's proposal has come not only from unions, but also veterans organizations and even the Green Bay Packers.

"As a publicly owned team we wouldn't have been able to win the Super Bowl without the support of our fans," wrote current and former members of the Packers in a statement. "It is the same dedication of our public workers every day that makes Wisconsin run. They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. But now in an unprecedented political attack Governor Walker is trying to take away their right to have a voice and bargain at work."

There are roughly 175,000 public sector employees with union representation in Wisconsin. Of those, 39,000 are state employees and 106,000 are teachers.

UPDATE, 3:40 p.m.: In an interview with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren on Tuesday, Walker played down the number of protesters. Van Susteren observed that tens of thousands of residents have turned out to protest, saying, "I don't think Madison has seen a protest like that in quite some time." Walker replied, "In the end though, you're still talking about 5.5 million in the state. You're still talking about a couple of hundred thousand state and local government employees. So sure, you're going to have a few riled up about this, there's no doubt about it."

UPDATE, 5:00 p.m.: The AP reports that Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature plan to introduce significant revisions to Walker's bill.

UPDATE, 5:02 p.m.: On Tuesday, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents wrote a letter to Walker expressing concern that his budget would remove UW-Madison from the UW system, which would in turn create unnecessary competition between the colleges:

We do not yet know what you have in mind for the University of Wisconsin System, but it has come to our attention that elements of your proposed 2011-13 biennial budget might remove UW-Madison from the UW System. As leaders of the UW System and long-time Wisconsinites who care deeply about the welfare of all UW campuses, we want to express strong concerns about this significant restructuring, especially without broad consultation and careful deliberation.
A Walker spokesman told the AP that more details will be released in the governor's budget next Tuesday.

UPDATE, 10:42 p.m.: Madison public schools were closed on Wednesday, because a large number of teachers and staff called in sick to protest Walker's bill.

UPDATE, 12/17: Madison public schools are closed for the second straight day, and some Milwaukee schools are also shut down. The University of Wisconsin is preparing for large protests, and on Wednesday, the provost sent out a message to the campus community (via HuffPost reader Thom Q.):

Students, faculty and staff,
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is aware that classes may be disrupted tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 17) as a result of reaction to the budget repair bill.

We value public debate and participation in the political process, however, we do not believe that this should come at the cost of a day of instruction for our student body. We are advising students to attend class, and faculty and staff to teach in the way they normally would. It is the responsibility of instructors to ensure that students' educational opportunities are preserved.

For additional guidance about political activities on campus, information about appropriate use of IT resources, please refer to my message of Monday evening:

If you have questions, please consult with the appropriate supervisor, instructor, or department chair.

Respectfully,

Paul M. DeLuca Jr.

Online Organizing Key to Workers’ IBEW Win

2011-01-08T09:13:00.004-05:00

by Mike Hall, Jan 4, 2011 AFL-CIO News

When workers decide they want to come together and form unions, it’s a well-documented fact that management is none too happy about it.

Talk with your fellow workers in the lunchroom, speak out at a forced, closed-door meeting with the boss, or—heaven forbid—wear a pro-union shirt, hat or sticker and you’re sporting a bull’s-eye for retaliation. In more than one-third of organizing campaigns, pro-union workers are fired.

In Newburgh, N.Y., last spring, workers at an Anheuser–Busch InBev’s Metal Container Corp. plant—where a previous organizing attempt drew intense management harassment and the firings of some workers—employees reached out to Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 363.

But as the IBEW Now News Blog reports:

The fear of captive-audience meetings, harassment and other actions by the employer left many at the plant wary of how to press forward without management sidelining their efforts.

So organizers got crafty and set up a special blog strictly for the 164 employees to debate, strategize, air concerns and ultimately come together for victory, all while avoiding many of the union-busting tactics so common in most campaigns.

IBEW Local 363's Sam Fratto says the blog was like having a “24-hour-a-day union and campaign meeting. Because of their past experience, workers were afraid to talk among themselves on the floor. But this time with the blog, nobody’s jobs were in jeopardy because management couldn’t single out who was for or against the union."

Over the course of the summer, the blog became an online meeting spot for the 164 workers, who knew plant management was monitoring the blog.

We knew they were monitoring the blog and we didn't care. It didn't matter. In fact, we used it to our advantage.

The blog was also being watched from 9 different countries including England, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, China and Japan.

Despite management’s efforts to hone in on pro-union workers, captive-audience meetings couldn’t refute what the workers were reading and commenting about on the blog. Says Fratto:

The company tried to get people to spill info about the campaign, but the workers just stayed silent. And since nobody’s wearing T-shirts or handing out stickers or fliers, who could they put the pressure on? Nobody.

In August, the workers voted overwhelmingly to join IBEW and are now in contract talks. Visit the can plant blog here: www.canplant.blogspot.com

Happy New Year To Everyone!

2010-12-31T21:07:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to the hard working people who make up the shrinking middle class.

Happy New Year to the hard working employers too, the ones who treat their employees fairly.

Happy New Year to all of the people who support labor and understand the vital need for American labor to be organized.

We need to set the standards in the world. We ended 2010 down at number FIVE - not good.

Have a safe and prosperous New Year.

Congratulations To Employees Of Deb-El On Settling Their First Union Contract

2010-12-22T07:26:00.005-05:00

The employees of Deb-El, a Sullivan County company that manufactures and processes egg products have unanimously votes yes for a union contract. The 57 employees of the Thompsonville company had to fight a long battle to get that contract because management of Deb-El foods, Inc. did not want them to become unionized.

Workers finally have clear, written rules to follow in regard to their employment with the company.

Prior to having a contract, rules were a one way street - without a contract, an employer can make and change any rule or procedure at will and at any time - without any regard to how it affects the employees. This is very frustrating to workers who have things changed on the fly that can adversely affect them and their families without so much as a discussion.

The contract, approved this week by a unanimous vote of the workers, is a five year pact.

Represented by Local 342 of the United Food and Commercial Workers,the workers have benefits they never had before, said union spokeswoman Kate Meckler.

“It provides for guaranteed wage increases over the course of the contract. It provides for benefits they never had before like real vacation pay and real time off,” she said. They also have access to union funds and access to the 401K and annuity plan, which they never had before, Meckler said.

Congratulations to the Deb-El workers! Now show the company that there was really no need to fight it and prove how a unionized plant can be an advantage for both the workers and the company.

Powerful Speech - Open Your Ears And Your Mind To The Truth

2010-12-10T06:35:00.000-05:00

This is a powerful speech that can just stand on its own. This is the 800 pound gorilla in the country. All of this goes on while they have us enthralled with reality shows and Snookie.

It's more like Snookered.

Pass this around for people to see because it is something we never hear or get breaking news on......the truth.

The Cut List Starts At The End Of The Line

2010-12-04T08:26:00.004-05:00

Whether you are working or not - you know the economy is a mess. You know jobs are hard to come by. You know there is and has been for a long time, terribly high unemployment.

Congress is debating whether to extend emergency unemployment checks for more than 6 million Americans who are approaching the 99-week limit, some four million others are facing the certain end of their benefits over the next year.

The President's Council of Economic Advisers said "the exhaustion of unemployment benefits for so many will curb spending power enough to significantly impede an already weak economic recovery."

The typical household would see their income fall by a third should they lose their checks, according to the report. For the sole breadwinner, income would fall by 90 percent.

Multiply that number by 4 million and climbing for those who would have nothing. That is not a good situation for anyone.

Say what you want about lazy people and pulling yourself up - easy for you to say if you are one of the employed. The fact is that there are not 4 million jobs for those curently unemployed and we all know it's getting worse.

These are not the people you fear that DO NOT WORK. These are people that are very unfortunately BETWEEN WORK that are the subjects here. This is not about LAZY.

And here is a news flash: If they keep letting companies go offshore, taking our jobs with them and coming back here to sell it all back to us at nice high inflated American prices - the job mess will continue....and it will infect and affect everybody - working or not.

To think of letting our countrys people whither away and at the same time give out financial support to other coutries and THEIR people is mindboggling.

If we really can't afford to take care of someone - shouldn't AMERICANS be the last on the cut list?

The unemployment benefits need to be there for these Amercican Workers who are STUCK BETWEEN jobs.

The cut list starts on the other end of the line.

Poll: Majority of Americans Say Health Care Law Should Stand or be Expanded

2010-11-26T09:09:00.003-05:00

Fifty-one percent of registered voters say that Congress should let the new health care reform law continue as is or change it so that it does more, according to a McClatchy/Marist Institute poll conducted Nov. 11-15. Thirty-three percent want to repeal it completely, 11 percent want it changed so that it is less sweeping and 5 percent are undecided.

Among those who support the legislation, 16 percent are in the "let it stand" camp while 35 percent believe it should be changed to do more.

You wouldn't think that was the case by reading the papers, watching TV or listening to the radio - they made it seem that everybody thought it was a bad idea.

I often wondered, what part of the law don't the middleclass people like?

Is it that insurance companies cannot drop you or refuse you coverage for pre-existing illnesses? Do they not like that?

Is it that now your insurance covers your children up to the age of 26 if they do not have access to insurance?

Or do the middleclass people not like that their lifetime medical expenses CANNOT have a cap or maximum anymore?

The Republican congressional leadership included a vow to repeal health care in its pre-election "Pledge to America".

Many GOP candidates ran on a promise to work towards scrapping what they dubbed "Obamacare." Read between the lines folks - it's POLITICAL.

That is in the Pledge To America???
REVERSING THOSE BENEFITS FOR THE MIDDLECLASS?? What the heck else is in there?

No matter what party is in they all pull the same tricks - give a catchy "nice sounding" name to a bill or law that actually screws the middleclass people.

When they do that, a large number of those same middleclass people trust it by the name it's called and end up supporting it. Nice trick that works over and over.

Former Anheuser Busch Workers, Now Known As ABINBEV Vote YES To Join IBEW Local 363

2010-09-11T14:06:00.004-04:00

The workers at the ABINBEV Metal Container Corporation in Newburgh have chosen IBEW Local 363 to represent them in collective bargaining.

The workers at the ABINBEV Metal Container Corporation have chosen IBEW Local 363 to represent them in collective bargaining in an election that was held on Friday August 27 and Saturday August 28 by the National Labor Relations Board.

These workers manufacture the cans for Budweiser Beer and other beverage companies affiliated with the company which is now called ABINBEV after the sale of the Anheuser Busch Company to INBEV - a Belgium owned company.

This campaign started approximately 6 months ago and there was a tremendous amount of work put into this effort by countless workers at the plant and by IBEW Local
363.

A group of workers came to IBEW Local 363 in early February and spoke about how much they were losing with the new foriegn owned company. Soon after and through much effort, Local 363 began to increase the number of employees involved and held numerous small meetings with the workers on each shift.

Through their own efforts, the workers themselves brought more than double the amount of authorization cards required by law to file for the election to the union.

At that time, Senior Assistant Business Manager Sam Fratto became involved and suggested that they try a new way to organize the workers throughout the process – by using the electronic media and creating a blog that all of the workers could have access to 24 hours a day. The theory was that the blog would equalize the captive audience meetings and the fact that physical access to the workers was limited. It worked great and is still being used today in this next part of the election / negotiation process. The blog address is www.canplant.blogspot.com.

On Saturday night, August 28 the majority of workers chose to have IBEW Local 363 as their collective bargaining agent.

There was much pressure applied by the company and many veiled threats were levied at the people. This is a solid group of workers who are very proud to become members of the IBEW and especially of Local 363 and they held strong. After the election there were workers who voted no calling the union everyday stating that they would be supporting the union and that they were sorry they voted no because of immense pressure from the company.

They understand the power associated with having a written contract to work under. With the sale of AB, the workers knew they had to take steps of their own to protect themselves and they contacted Local 363 to make that happen. They picked the right union to do that!

There are now 164 NEW IBEW 363 union members in the Hudson Valley because of their courage and effort to band together to join the union and to speak with one voice.

Hopefully, more workers in the Hudson Valley will see that there is a choice available when it seems that everything is being taken from them - call in the IBEW or any other union in the area. Organize.

Now the ABINBEV workers have a voice at the table with the multi-billion dollar company from Belgium that owns the former AB Budweiser Brand.

Happy Labor Day To All Union Members And Their Families!

2010-09-06T09:46:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day to all union members and their families. Here is a short Labor History lesson for your use:

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Labor Day Legislation

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

A Nationwide Holiday

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

Labor Day Warm Up - Here's To The Workers

2010-09-05T08:22:00.001-04:00

Schools In: Warming Up For labor Day

2010-09-04T08:47:00.001-04:00

Kingston Nurses Looking To Unionize

2010-09-01T20:22:00.003-04:00

The Registered Nurses at Kingston Hospital want union representation!

They have asked the New York State Nurses Association to file a petition for election with the National Labor Relations Board. The union also represents RNs at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.

The Nurses Association represents the registered nurses at Benedictine Hospital. They have helped the nurses with such issues as health care benefits, binding arbitration to resolve grievances, and negotiated layoff and seniority provisions.

Union elections are up in the area with union wins increasing at a rapid pace.

In this time of uncertainty, workers are beginning to realiize that without a written contract, nothing "they have" with the employer has any legal standing. To ensure that workers keep what they have they can seek out union representation and negotiate for a written contract in their workplace.

Good luck Kingston Hospital Registered Nurses!

There's Organizing Going On In The Hudson Valley

2010-08-05T23:02:00.005-04:00

Contractors and manufacturing employees are contacting union offices more than they have in a decade. With job security at such a low point people are not as concerned as they were about attempting to form a union. And with no job security to offer on the other end, the contractors are looking for a ready made workforce that can be ready at the drop of a hat and that they can discard just as fast.

Even though many companies do not want their workforce to have a union, it gives the workers power, there is nothing wrong or illegal about wanting a union or joining a union. In fact, it is an American right that is guaranteed by Federal Law. Did you know that the policy of the United States has written into it that the policy of the United States of America is to ENCOURAGE collective bargaining?
m
There are more than a couple of major organizing campaigns going on in the Hudson Valley this summer.. The union involved doesn't want to go public but said that we can mention to the people that there is movement in the movement. I hear there are more to come. That is good news. People are much better off working under a contract than without. Fair contracts work, Fair to both parties. Then it always will work and you can work together as partners.

When we can we will give some more info. It will have to go public soon just by word of mouth.

Happy Fourth of July To All American Workers

2010-07-04T08:22:00.003-04:00

Happy Fourth of July to everyone who works for a living, union or non union. We live in the greatest country in the world where we can say what we wish and do whatever we want to do.

We have rights in this country that do not exist in most countries. We should cherish those rights and exercise them as we feel the need.

No American should ever be be intimidated or threatened in retaliation for defending those rights.

Happy Independence Day!

Sottile: Contract Law Be Damned

2010-07-01T08:15:00.002-04:00

Mayor James Sottile has made a deal to have a private hauler pick up recyclables at the curb for 700 homes free of charge in a test run aimed at privatizing the service in the city.

The Civil Service Employees Association, the union representing the majority of city workers opposes the mayor’s plan.

County Waste & Recycling Service of Clifton Park will begin on Aug. 1.

At present, city residents must put out recyclables in separate containers AND THE CITY WORKERS PICK IT ALL UP UNDER THEIR CONTRACT.

Sottile said city workers freed up from collecting recyclables would be able to do other jobs, like collecting yard waste at the curb. He also said the city would use less fuel, and cut its truck maintenance costs.

The mayor said no employees would be laid off as a result of the move.

Troy Ashdown, a shop steward for the Civil Service Employees Association, promises that the union will file a grievance over the matter.

Under its contract with the union, Ashdown said, the city is not allowed to use other workers to do jobs that had been performed by employees who had been laid off in the Department of Public Works, unless the laid-off workers are paid.

“You can’t downsize your workforce and then privatize it or bring in cheap labor without benefits,” said Ashdown, who added that the provisions are spelled out in a contract agreed to by Sottile and the Common Council.

“The CSEA doesn’t run the day-to-day operations of the city, the administration does,” was Sottiles response.

Contract Law will decide this issue. Even a non-expert can agree that when you are a party to a contract - you cannot unilaterally change it - it doesn't work that way.

Alderman Charles Landi, D-Ward 3, said of Civil Service Employees Union “What goes around comes around,” and “This could be the tip of the privatization iceberg.”

Ashdown responded by saying the union is looking forward “to seeing Mr. Landi in court.”

The City of Kingston should either fire their attorney who is giving this mayor contract administration advice or spend the money to send Sottile to a class on contract law himself because this one is a loser for the mayor and his fellow anti-union blowhard and big mouth, Landi.

Contractors Caught Paying Off The Books And Deducting No Taxes On Job Built Using NYS Money

2010-06-10T19:39:00.009-04:00

Remember when the local construction unions were told that their contractors were NOT competitive enough with their bids to build the new Orange Regional Medical Center hospital?

Well, well, look at this one.

No wonder why legitimate union contractors prices were rejected as being too "HIGH".

The New York State Department of Labor has heavily fined THREE NON-UNION CONTRACTORS at the Orange Regional Medical Center for paying workers off the books, not paying them overtime and illegally deducting money from their paychecks.

Not to mention they brought in Out of State Workers to do it.

The Department of Labor announced Wednesday that it fined the three companies a total of $265,207. The workers were robbed of $118,000 in wages and illegal deductions from what little pay they did get.

It all seems pretty clear now who were the good guys, who were the bad guys in the construction of this hospital.

The ones working and building the hospital didn't pay their taxes on their pay and yet the unemployed locals paid the tax on their unemployment checks.

Thanks Orange Regional Medical Hospital for all you have done to and for our local LEGITIMATE CONTRACTORS AND WORKERS.

And thanks for showing the entire Hudson Valley and the union workers why you cannot believe the spin put on the "sin" of making a prevailing wage or that it is bad for business.

We will forever use the Orange Regional Medical Center as an example of how many contractors in the construction business submit that "lowest bid".

Thank you Thank you Thank you

Where's The Beef?

2010-06-09T07:07:00.002-04:00

Speaking of jobs - how many economic development people do we have employed in the public sector in the Hudson Valley?

Remember how hard some of them fought the local construction workers when they begged for local jobs for local people? We do!

Or what about how hard some of them fought against even bringing up the subject of a liveable wage for local people in the jobs that could be created?

Don't get lulled to sleep because that has not changed.

Everybody talks jobs jobs jobs. All the big shots want their name in the paper for the announcement - but when it comes to actually discussing the kind of jobs or an actual number - forget it !

They can't be more clear with their motto on that-

"Don't ask and don't tell"

Here is a hint to all - That is no longer going to be acceptable.

So for starters, drop the cocktails, fingerfoods and drinks and give us the "solar details".

JOBS JOBs JObs Jobs jobs

2010-06-06T08:18:00.003-04:00

There has been much written, many discussions had and many press conferences called in regard to our goal to make Ulster County the hot bed of the Solar Industry on the East Coast.

There is a solid effort being put forth to make that happen by the solar groups and every politician in our area. That is a great move and one that should be supported.

The goal is to create jobs. Good jobs. Putting people to work. Taking people who are unemployed and who have been displaced and involving them in a new and exciting career. One in which they can support a family.

There have been multi- millions of dollars of taxpayer provided funds and grants that have been pumped into this effort. The amount of press conferences held announcing the next grant to the next business coming in or given again to those who are in line a second time are staggering. The unemployed person who reads of these events in the paper gets some life and hope pumped into their viens that maybe things will really improve around here.

But there is a component missing in the equation - tell us about those jobs. Give us the real information on what those millions are bringing in besides headlines. Why do we NEVER read that part?

Solar/ Green jobs are always touted as the new "high paying" jobs.If that is even partly true it would definitely be an improvement for the area.

How many people have a job because of this effort? How many new hires are there? What is the starting pay? Are there health plans and retirement plans?

Some might feel that this is wrong to ask - but it is not. Too many times in the past we in the Hudson Valley have heard the great, high paying jobs story only to find out they were paying $9-10 dollars an hour with no benefits.

Let's make the solar industry a benefit for everyone - the owners and the workers.

Show us the details.

Remember Our American Veterans On Memorial Day

2010-05-30T19:30:00.002-04:00

This weekend, take a few minutes to remember the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our rights and our freedom. Remember, it is the veteran who stood up to those who want to take those freedoms away.

Ulster Solar Jobs - The Unasked and Unanswered Question

2010-04-25T20:58:00.008-04:00

It is great to see that the Tech City Solar jobs look like they are starting to come to fruition. The Good Lord knows that our local people need jobs very badly.

We have been following the various articles in the paper and so many of our elected officials are squeezing into the picture eager to announce the "hundreds" of jobs that will be created. We also noticed and appreciate the multi-million dollar grants and government payouts that are making these jobs possible.

That all makes great news, the governmental assistance is welcome and neccessary to stimulate the industry..............

With all of that said - we have yet to hear what kind of jobs these will really be. Will they have hourly wages that will help someone maintain a middleclass lifestyle? Will they pay enough to buy a house in Ulster County? Will they have a health plan that covers the employee? What about family coverage? Is there any chance of having something put away for a retirement or pension plan?

The sad part is that the great majority of our "leaders" will shudder at the prospect of someone asking that question.

Just once it would be nice for someone who is considered a "leader" - someone who is in place to help the residents - someone who feels that just creating "jobs" is not really good enough unless they are "good paying jobs" - to ask the "hard" questions.

The sad fact is that is a subject that you are just not supposed to speak of or ask questions about. To do so would make you an ingrate - or someone who is "crossing the line" - a jerk who is looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Want proof of that??? When was the last time you heard any of our "leaders" ask about it? We believe the answer to that is.....never.

So consider the question asked - can someone explain to the community - what kind of jobs are our millions creating?? And please don't give the generic, fluff-off answer - be specific.

Please - don't take this wrong - we hope these are great paying jobs with great benefits. If they ARE, they are worth every penny of investment and MORE.

But can somebody answer the question, "What kind of jobs are we really creating and what are the particulars concerning the COMPENSATION FOR THE WORKERS THERE?

We believe that in order for those jobs to REALLY BE good paying jobs with good benefits - they need to be covered under a collective bargaining agreement and the people should be represented by a union from the area.

The good news is that inroads are being made to ensure Ulster residents get something worthy of their investment and "good" jobs are not just an afterthought in the process.

Hey........somebody's gotta do it.

Public Lawyers, Supervisors and Managers Get Union Contract

2010-04-10T08:30:00.002-04:00

Forty mid-level managers working for Ulster County have ratified their first-ever union contract. This should be a shining example to all other workers that banding together to bargain for workplace rules and compensation is a smart thing to do. Ulster Legislators should be approving the new contract this month.

The Ulster County Staff Association – a group that includes social-services lawyers, nursing managers and probation supervisors – had been fighting for a contract since 2005.

How could that be the case? That is an extra long time to bargain. Maybe someone from that association could explain who held it up so long and why.

As always, negotiations for contracts are a two way street. The new agreement, which runs through 2010, would give them a 13 percent pay hike but also raises their contributions toward health benefits. The pact does not include retroactive pay, which could have cost Ulster roughly $250,000 but cost them nothing due to collective bargaining. Nice advantage for the County on that one.

Working with and under a contract is the best option for all American workers. Without a contract, you have no say in anything that goes on in your workplace. It's that simple.

Don't listen to the ignorant people and the corporate shills who bash organized labor and unions. There is strength in numbers - and it is an AMERICAN TRAIT to band together for the good of each other. Comments to the contrary are bullshit.

...and to all of those union bashers I have just three little words...........

the Chamber of Commerce.

Industry Experts Confirm Economic and Social Value of PLAs at Michigan State University Conference

2010-03-29T23:38:00.004-04:00

Experts from the construction industry, academia and local government spoke to the value of Project Labor Agreements at a conference jointly sponsored by the School of Labor & Industrial Relations and the School of Planning Design & Construction at Michigan State University.

The conference, "Understanding PLAs", was designed to bring together leading experts on the subject of PLAs.

There was even an unintended surprise when a panelist for the Associated Builders and Contractors, an industry group that is aggressively opposed to PLAs, shocked both his colleagues on the panel - there to present the ABC’s opposition to PLAs - when he actually praised PLAs as being a “good thing.”

The ABC panelist – an attorney with Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith, PC in Michigan – even singled out for praise a Metropolitan Building Trades Council for their work on a PLA project in Michigan that included both union and non-union contractors.

Other panelists unanimously endorsed the concept of PLAs as being good for on-time and on-budget construction. Steve DiBartolo – a Vice President for Hill International; a professional services and construction management firm that specializes in helping its clients minimize the risks inherent in the construction process – spoke to the cost savings that can be achieved by construction owners through the use of project labor agreements.

He was followed by Doug Maibach, of Barton Mallow (a nationally recognized provider of construction management services) who offered a unique perspective of the value of PLAs. Most “revenue producing” projects (i.e. sports stadiums; casinos; etc.) that require a fast construction phase in order to minimize revenue loss, are almost universally constructed under a PLA. This is due to the fact that PLAs offer greater jobsite efficiencies and cost savings through the employment of a safe, highly skilled, highly trained and highly productive workforce.

Another value that PLAs bring an area is to provide pathways for local, disadvantaged residents to secure career training opportunities through the building trades’ local joint skilled apprenticeship programs.

All in all, the conference offered a ringing endorsement of the overall economic and social value that PLAs provide to construction owners, contractors, government entities, and the community at large.

Employing a knowledgable,trained, productive and safe workforce on a project is the most important component required in making the project progress efficiently.

When the public hears the truth about PLA's they overwhelmingly support using them.

Help spread the word - PLA's make Sense!

A Must Read - Manufacturing And The USA : A Discussion

2010-03-22T23:45:00.004-04:00

President Leo Gerard of the USW sat down for a discussion with Richard McCormack, the editor and publisher of Manufacturing & Technology News, a publication he created in 1994. This entry is their full discussion.

Leo W. Gerard: Richard, when you appeared recently at Youngstown State University as a guest of the Center for Working-Class Lecture Series, you talked about how essential manufacturing is to the U.S. economy and how politicians seem clueless about that. In fact, you said, “Politicians don’t get it.” When did that happen because clearly politicians in the 1950s understood that a solid economy rests on manufacturing products of real value?

Richard McCormack: It happened imperceptibly over the past three decades, but perhaps the defining (though little observed) event was when Wal-Mart overtook General Motors as the country’s largest employer. When that happened, the retail industry became one of the most powerful political entities in the country, replacing the manufacturing industry.

The crossover from GM to Wal-Mart is important because retail started setting the terms of the debate not only with politicians, but also with manufacturers. Retailers are driven by increasing profits by pennies on the dollar by paying workers low wages with no benefits and buying cheap imports.

The loss of the manufacturing sector’s political influence also occurred with the rise of the finance sector, which became the dominant force in political gift-giving. The Wall Street financial sector does not give one-half hoot about American jobs.

The loss of America’s industrial capability also coincided with the persistent selling of economic ideology to the American public and its politicians that the country would be a lot more prosperous getting rid of crappy manufacturing jobs and creating jobs in the service and “knowledge” sectors. That grand experiment in creating a “post-industrial economy” just suffered a monumental collapse.

Americans have allowed the big corporate multinational companies and their agents to take control of their political system. It remains to this day a system that is stacked against American workers and American taxpayers. Americans have not entered the fight to save American jobs. I wonder if the middle class is drugged up on Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and Tiger Woods; addicted to sugar, salt and fat; fake “news” shows on television; and Prozac to deal with depression and lull them into thinking that their condition is beyond control. Something is stopping Americans from getting off their couches and demanding a voice in America’s economic future. Americans have lost their country to a few people who make a lot of money off outsourcing, off-shoring and importing everything Americans used to make and continue to buy. Americans must take their country back before it is too late.

Gerard: You have written about this problem in the book, “Manufacturing A Better Future for America,” and elsewhere. How do we make politicians understand how vital manufacturing is?

McCormack: Politicians need to be hit over their heads with a baseball bat as forcefully as is possible, with Americans insisting that they at least acknowledge that a country that doesn’t make what is consumes is going to fail. It is a simple concept. There are many historical precedents of countries and empires failing after having lost their productive capacity. It is an ancient concept: a country that does not have industry cannot support an army.

The United States has just gone through a period of unprecedented loss of wealth. Its citizens have taken a collective economic step down. Yet politicians are sitting smug in the belief that they can borrow more money. They work in Washington, D.C., where I live. This place is humming. Most of them have no idea what the country looks like. Have they been to Detroit, Saginaw, Youngstown – America’s heartland? America’s heartland is dead. That means its heart has stopped beating. What happens to a person when their heart stops beating?

The financial meltdown wasn’t caused by the housing bubble or the financial bubble or the dot-com bubble, although all of those things contributed. It was caused by the simple fact that American consumers have sent all of their wealth to China, Korea, Japan, Germany and Mexico buying all of the things they once made. Tell that to the politicians. They don’t get it. They don’t get it and they don’t get it, which means they have to be hit over the head and be hit over the head and be hit over the head as hard as is possible to hit them with the simple message, over and again: the country cannot survive if it sends all of its wealth offshore. The country has to produce what it consumes. Our politicians do not understand this basic FACT. Have they looked at why China is becoming a superpower? It’s not because China exports its sports heroes and pop culture. It’s because China has embraced manufacturing as THE means to economic superiority. It is the same path the United States took to reach global dominance. Inexplicably, the United States abandoned that path.

Gerard: In Youngstown, you quoted Ralph E. Gomory, the retired IBM senior vice president for Science and Technology and a winner of the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment, as saying the interests of American corporations have diverged from the interests of America, yet politicians act as if they’re still the same. Can you explain what that means both in terms of the economy and employment?

McCormack: Ralph Gomory has made one of the most profound and important observations on the current global economic situation. He says that outsourcing is not free trade. Yet the federal government still represents the interests of the powerful companies that are firing millions of American workers and shifting those jobs offshore.

Domestic manufacturers have told me repeatedly that the greatest protectionists in our country are the corporate and financial companies that are doing everything in their power to protect their assets in China. To influence policy in their favor, the multinationals, retailers, importers and foreign producers fund think tanks, trade associations, lobbyists, lawyers and public relations firms. These are the real protectionists, not American businessmen who want to save American jobs and the American middle class.

The U.S. government continues to craft policies that are beneficial for companies that outsource jobs. For instance, the U.S. government refuses to confront China over its currency manipulation because the companies that benefit most from China’s undervalued currency are the American companies that have shifted their production there. Who does the U.S. government represent? The tens of millions of American workers who get the ax due to China’s blatant cheating, or the few CEOs at multinational companies and the financial class who make more and more money?

It was no coincidence that the stock market had its best year ever in 2009 – the same year millions of Americans were losing their jobs. The dynamic still hasn’t changed, despite the financial sector’s meltdown: Every time a company announces American worker layoffs, its stock price goes up. Yet policymakers equate the stock market with a healthy economy. They are as wrong on that as they are on the belief that the world is flat.

Gerard: You have also said that politicians’ decision to implement the concept of free trade – which is not fair trade – has largely contributed to the nation’s problems. Would you talk about how something as positive-sounding as free trade devastated American industry?

McCormack: A friend of mine works at the Commerce Department. He says that free trade is a farce. The United States has tariffs of 2 percent or 3 percent on incoming products. Yet the United States trades with countries with tariffs that are 10 times higher. Is that free trade? He has a simple solution to the U.S. trade crisis: hold up a mirror to any nation trading with the United States. Whatever their tariffs are on U.S. products entering their country, that is what the U.S. tariff should be on their products entering America.

How can U.S. producers compete when they must pay for all of the costs that foreign producers don’t have to add to the price of their product? These costs include things like scrubbers and baghouses on coal plants. Not requiring the generation of clean power is a Chinese subsidy offered to all manufacturers setting up shop in China. It is an unfair subsidy that U.S. companies cannot counter without the U.S. government saying that it is unfair. Even worse, 75 percent of the mercury pollution in the United States can be attributed to Asian coal-fired plants that do not have emissions controls. The majority of these plants are located in China. China is poisoning America. If it was happening in the United States, the federal government would take the American utility or industrial company to court and impose fines of millions of dollars. What does the U.S. government do about China’s toxic emissions drifting over U.S. airspace? Nothing.

U.S. manufacturers have to abide by a thousand EPA rules and OSHA standards. Not so in China. That is a huge advantage. The United States government lets American companies that have set up shop in China get away with not having to abide by American standards – even though their products are being sold in the United States.
It is morally wrong.

Any foreign product sold in the United States should be required to be produced under the same conditions as is required for producers of the same product in the United States. If these requirements are not going to be enforced on overseas competitors, as they are here so vigorously by our federal government, then those cost advantages should be calculated and tacked onto the price of the product entering the United States.

Foreign producers should NOT have this unfair advantage. It is an outrage that the United States has allowed this to occur.

It is time for the country to stop listening to importers, their agents in Washington, including foreign governments, retailers and the financial industry. The U.S. government has to start representing the interest of American manufacturers, workers and business owners. It does not now. This is not a conspiracy theory. This is reality.

Gerard: In the chapter you wrote for the book, “Manufacturing A Better Future for America,”you said something that every American should find frightening. You said that when Congress cuts the taxes of individuals or gives them tax rebates in an attempt to stimulate the economy, the actual effect is to create jobs in foreign countries. Can you explain that?

McCormack: The U.S. government has just spent the past 10 years trying DESPERATELY to stimulate the U.S. economy, with trillion-dollar tax cuts, tax giveaways, low interest rates and even two wars that have lasted for nine years. Then the Democrats took office in 2009 and enacted their own $787 billion “stimulus.” Every time Americans have had a few extra bucks in their pocket (from tax cuts to direct government payments to home equity loans) they have spent that money on products that are now made somewhere else in the world. Is it any wonder why China’s economy was growing by 10 percent per year during the past 10 years, as U.S. consumers shipped more and more of their hard-earned dollars there to buy everything?

Gerard: You have been critical of the second economic stimulus bill – called a jobs bill – that Congress is now talking about. You contend that the proposed bill won’t create new jobs. Here’s what you actually said, “I don’t see any jobs there. I just see more money being spent.” What’s wrong with that bill?

McCormack: It is more of the same. Only a very small percentage of the bill encourages investment in U.S. production. There is not a single program aimed at countering the incentives that foreign countries are providing their companies and U.S. producers to set up operations in their country. The United States has to start competing – to start countering those incentives with its own incentives to manufacturing companies. It doesn’t matter if these companies are American companies or foreign companies. To create lasting, decent jobs, the United States needs global companies to open production in the United States to serve the U.S. market.

Small American companies do not need a $30-billion tax cut to hire workers. They need CUSTOMERS. They won’t hire a soul unless they have a customer to sell them a product. Yet the country continues to lose manufacturing plants to China.

Gerard: If you could actually get Congress to listen to you, what would you tell them is necessary to create good new jobs?

McCormick: Ask the 50 economic development officers from each of the states to form a U.S. Economic Development Council. These people and their offices know what is being planned in terms of company expansions. Give them a war chest, some of the TARP money or funding from the proposed “jobs” bill, and tell them to deploy the same tactics they use in their states to attract industry to America. All of the states are competing against each other to attract industrial investment. They should be working together, especially since supply chains cross state borders.

Gerard: When I go to Washington, what I hear is that we don’t need manufacturing. That’s old and dirty. So many politicians say the U.S. can move to a financial and service economy. You disagree with that. Why?

McCormick: I hear it too, though a little less often, thank goodness. This argument is what has led to the demise of the United States. People are just starting to realize that as manufacturing goes offshore, high-end jobs in design and research and development go with it. When a plant closes, the supply chain disappears. This supply chain includes materials and parts producers, software providers, like CAD (computer-aided design), ERP (enterprise resource planning) and dozens of other high-tech equipment providers, machine tool companies, maintenance, accounting, packaging – the list goes on to include such things as the local restaurants, janitorial services and those dependent on the plant’s tax revenues, like librarians, county clerks, police officers and teachers. These are service jobs, all of which depend on manufacturing. One manufacturing job supports 15 other jobs. No other category of job has such a high multiplier. The United State must do whatever it can to start creating manufacturing jobs.

Gerard: We are losing at the international trade game with imports far exceeding exports and creating a massive trade deficit. Is it over for the U.S., or can Washington actually do something to reverse this situation?

McCormick: The game is not over. Not yet. But the country is perilously close to a period of sustained pain caused by continuing huge trade and budget deficits. The United States is assuming greater and greater debt. The country cannot borrow its way to prosperity. At some point very soon, the United States has to stop accumulating debt and start the process of paying it down. The only way to do this is by producing the products Americans consume – like cellphones, televisions, digital cameras, computers, semiconductors, printed circuit boards, autos, steel, household items, appliances, luggage, clothes – everything – and to start producing a new generation of radical and revolutionary products that the rest of the world needs to buy.

Richard McCormack is editor and publisher of Manufacturing & Technology News, a publication he created in 1994. It is read by industry executives, government officials and academics on five continents. McCormack has reported on science and technology, industry and government in Washington, D.C. for 26 years specializing in economic competitiveness and globalization. He has won numerous journalism awards for investigative, analytical and interpretative reporting. He is author of the book, “Lean Machines: Learning from the Leaders of the Next Industrial Revolution.” And he is the editor of the new book, “Manufacturing A Better Future for America,” for which he wrote the first chapter, “The Plight of American Manufacturing.”

We Need Skiing, a Shower and Haircut

2010-03-17T06:06:00.003-04:00

Last night, Ulster County Legislators voted 27-3 in favor of a resolution supporting the proposed Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park a multimillion-dollar resort adjoining Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.

The project that would create hundreds of jobs has been trying to work its way through the system for more than a decade. THAT IS RIDICULOUS.

The legislative chambers were overwhelmingly filled with supporters who stood in the chambers and the hallway.

With people either losing jobs or scared of losing their jobs in this flat almost depression-like economy, it was obvious the most people have lost patience with some of the unsatisfiable, wild haired environmentals that have chased away so many business in Ulster County over the last 10 - 20 and and even thirty years or so.

Those people still act as though there are absolutely no regulatory laws or rules protecting the environment from "bad" projects and that THEY ALONE are the saviors of the earth.

In fact, the project is still undergoing review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act and WILL NOT BE BUILT IF IT DOES NOT MEET ALL REQUIREMENTS.

What was evident last night was that quite a few of these "environmental saviors" are devoid of reason and really need a dose of reality, a shower and a haircut and some common sense.

Area workers - both union and non-union - and union representatives all spoke in favor of the development. Don't believe the spin the paper put on it that those who support the project were not residents and those who spoke against it were. Unless you can look in the mirror and say you believe that no Ulster residents need jobs.

Don't forget that when a project like this is built hundreds of ancillary businesses feed off of it. They supply paper, rugs, supplies, do their books, fix the air conditioning, paint, deliver packages, install and fix alarms, deliver lunch, sell produce, fixtures.....you get the point.

To answer concerns that were first brought foward in regard to the environment Developer Dean Gitter of Crossroads Ventures LLC scaled down the proposal he first unveiled in 1999. The project now would include two hotels — one a four-star family-style resort, and the other a five-star luxury spa resort — conference facilities, a golf course, some 629 detached lodging units and time-share townhouses.

He has also pledged to make this a "Green Built" project.

Nope - not enough say the saviors. It will never be enough. Just build "trails" they say. Just don't rake any spotted snails up when you do it.

Gitter has said that when completed, the project will generate millions of dollars each year in sales tax revenue to the county in addition to hundreds of full- and part-time jobs.

Here is the bottom line to this:

This project MUST meet all requirements to build. The majority of Ulster Businesses and residents support this project. People are losing their jobs and homes here in Ulster County with no hope for getting new ones. People are leaving this area for a better way of life.

The good part is that at least they are now following their children -who have been leaving Ulster County for decades.

Here's a warning shot to the crazy haired bunch - you aren't going to be steering our ship to the point of crashing anymore. The working people of Ulster County will be adding another impact statement for public review - the ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT- and we are going to insist that test is also seriously considered.

IBM - Profits Up, Employees Down ( And Out )

2010-03-02T06:52:00.001-05:00

IBM laid off hundreds of North American employees Monday - making this a yearly cut for their loyal employees. Remember the OLD IBM? In order to keep the unions out they bragged that they would take care of their workers for life. Family picnics, carnivals and no time clocks helped convince the people that the Original BIG BROTHER would be all that they would need.

And the people fell for it - they didn't think long term.

As of Monday evening, Alliance@IBM, which gathers information from IBM employees, had tallied more than 900 cuts across several divisions and at it's operations in Dutchess County. The total laid off in Dutchess is not clear.

An IBM spokesman, Doug Shelton would not go into details about the cuts but said, "We continually remix our skills and structure to meet the changing needs of our clients."

Very robotic answer Doug.

IBM eliminated more than 1,000 positions in Dutchess and Orange counties in 2009. The company's mid-Hudson payroll is now below 10,000 workers for the first time in a decade.

IBM enjoyed record profits of $13.4 billion in 2009.

Thousands of "IBM" families had their lives ruined.

In the past few years, IBM has repeatedly laid off and fired American Workers and instead increased their hiring of workers outside of the United States.

Another Great American Company screwing American workers for more money, bigger golden parachutes for the executives and higher profits.

Remember kiddies - 3rd World Wage Rates = Huge American Profits.

Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge called the layoffs "cost-cutting" and "an ongoing part of our overall business model." Loughridge also said reductions would continue in 2010, but at a slower pace than last year.

IBM Employees - the few that are left - it's time to stop believing the corporate crap and look into ORGANIZING A UNION with the Alliance@IBM group.

It just may be the the beginning of having a future again. Right now, you ALL have nothing to lose. In other words, grow a little pair and stand up for yourselves.

Otherwise, pick out a good stump and go put your neck on it for the next round of "cost cutting".

Fire Away

2010-02-10T07:57:00.003-05:00

Mayor James Sottile e-mailed city aldermen, asking them how they would pay to fill positions left empty by retirements in the fire department if the city abides by the contract with the Kingston Professional Firefighters Association. The contract says positions must be filled.

The union correctly says that the city is required to replace the three firefighters who retired last year. Sottile has said he offered retirement incentives and wanted to save money by leaving the positions unfilled. The union filed a grievance in response.

Sottile filed a lawsuit to prevent the grievance from going to arbitration even though the contract clearly states that they should do so in the event of a dispute.

Last week, a state Supreme Court judge ruled the firefighters had a right to bring the matter to arbitration. Sottile is appealing that ruling.

Sottile is pulling the old bait and switch now and trying to shift the "problem" to lawmakers who have suggested the Mayor does not have a solid court case in the position he has taken refusing to abide by the contract - THAT HE SIGNED.

Alderwoman Jennifer Fuentes of Ward 5 and Common Council Majority Leader Bill Reynolds, D-Ward 7, already have suggested Sottile's case is weak. They both realize and agree that according to the contract authorized by the previous Common Council and signed by the mayor, the Firefighters have every right to seek arbitration.

“Unfortunately, some of our employees in the police and fire departments don’t recognize the seriousness of the economic (situation) that we in the Northeast and the entire country are in,” Alderman Charles Landi said.

Alderwoman Andi Turco-Levin, R-Ward 1, who took office this year, said the latest contracts were negotiated during a time when an economic crisis was looming and she feels that not "enough consideration was given to these issues when contracts were negotiated back in 2007".

Sottile's e-mail demanded that those who think the city should give up its court case give clear ideas on how to pay to fill the three positions.

Sottile wrote, “I am being advised by some members of the council not to appeal the decision and hire three firefighters immediately. I am asking those of you who feel that these positions should be filled please give me some suggestions on how we can pay to fill these positions from the current budget.

“I would be happy to review your suggestions to see if this can be accomplished.”

Here are a couple good, solid ideas: cut some of the fat you have in that front office in your "economic development" department - who haven't economically developed shit but a drug store in 10 years or created any meaningful jobs for our residents and ax a few of the other do nothings you have wearing ties and suits and hire the three Firemen - just like YOU agreed to do when you negotiated the contract. At least they will actually do some work for their taxpayer paychecks.

If you don't like that one - fire whatever attorney you wasted our money on who helped you negotiate that contract. Don't blame the Fireman who came to that table in good faith.

Or better yet "Mayor" .....offer to cut your pay to make up for not thinking ahead or negotiating a better contract with better language in regard to retirement incentives.

Try this in the future Jimmy - think ahead for once and really do your job - and include that flip flopping Landi in this - Blaming the unions for everything when it's you two that constantly screw up is making you both look like asses every time you open your mouths.

Pants On Fire?

2010-02-04T06:54:00.004-05:00

Here's the story - The Firefighters union, who were in good graces with the Mayor of Kingston for delaying their raises are now in a slight conflict with their former buddy. They filed a grievance claiming that the city must fill three positions left vacant when three firefighters retired last year through a retirement incentive program.

Sottile filed a lawsuit last year to prevent the Kingston Firefighters Association Local 461 from seeking arbitration on the grievance. Problem is that the Firefighters are following exactly what the contract - that Sotille agreed to and signed - says.

Seems like Sottile has a slight habit of agreeing to things and then renegging on them later - that's not how it works in big boy land.

A state Supreme Court judge has ruled that the union has the right seek arbitration on whether Mayor James Sottile must fill three firefighter positions left vacant. Once again and to be clear, the contract that Sottile agreed to says the union has a right to bring the matter to arbitration.

Sottile said Wednesday the city has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court Appellate Division. Talk about wasting the taxpayers money!

The mayor said he will not fill the positions until the matter is decided through the court system. That is fine - that is what he should do - that is his right.

But then he says:
“I am not going to do it. The city of Kingston is not in the position to ... hire firefighters. You have to be able to have the right to manage and when you take control out of management’s hands, that is not a healthy organization.”

The decision said the union has the RIGHT TO ARBITRATE - not that they are correct in saying the three new firefighters need to be hired.

On a more stable note, Tom Tiano, President of the Firefighters said the decision was a victory for the union, but it did not settle the matter of whether the three positions would be filled. See? Tom understands

“We are very pleased that the judge has ruled in our favor,” Tiano said.

Tiano said that the contract is clear that when there is a grievance it must be resolved by an arbitrator. He also said it is clear in the contract, which was approved by the Common Council and endorsed by Sottile, that firefighters must be replaced.

“We are willing to abide by an (arbitrator’s) decision, and it seems to me that the city should honor the same thing,” Tiano said.

Sottile said if some ruling does wind up directing the city to hire back the firefighters there will be consequences.

Probably said while stamping up and down in his City of Kingston Taxpayer paid boots.

“Either raise taxes or lay people off,” Sottile said. Hey Jimmy, try that in the overloaded front office once in awhile.

Tiano said the union was “disappointed” to hear such comments from the mayor.

Looks like yet another honeymoon is over and Sottile has another union President is fight with. Point is, boths sides need to abide by what is right and what they agreed upon - no matter how that comes out.

Like we have said in the past - vote for the person not the party - ya hear us Democrats?

IBEW Local 363 Electricians Install LED Lighting On The Walkway Over The Hudson

2010-01-24T09:58:00.002-05:00

If you look just north of the Mid-Hudson Bridge and see another set of lights across the Hudson River, you will be looking at the new LED lights that have been installed by IBEW Local 363 Electricians on the Walkway Over the Hudson.

The new lights are now being tested by those same Union Electricians who installed the lighting over the 1 ¼ mile southern railing during the last several months.

The LED lights will complete the overall electrical installation on the bridge, which will activate security monitoring equipment and include electrical outlets across the entire span.

The State Office of Parks and Recreation, which operates the Walkway will use the new LED lighting system for events that request permits.

In the spring of 2010, the lights will be formally unveiled in a special public ceremony.

Thank you to the trained and talented union electricians of IBEW Local 363!

IBM - Non-Union Employees Get Ready For Another Layoff

2010-01-21T06:13:00.001-05:00

IBM Corp. showed off their financial report Tuesday, showing the company as a whole with record-breaking profits in 2009 of $13.4 billion, earnings per share of $10.01 and and predicting an improved outlook for 2010.

At first glance the regular, middleclass worker would think, "Hey! This looks good for jobs in the area!" Maybe they are done with the recent history of substantial downsizing and job cuts.

However, Mark Loughridge, chief financial officer, told brokerage analysts that there will be more reduction of costs through "work-force rebalancing." That invariably means disappearing jobs in IBM.

While Loughridge put a 2009 number of $3.7 billion on cost reductions, including job cuts and consolidating work in various centers, he did not give a specific number for 2010. A year ago, he gave a more detailed report.

"How should we think about additional cost and expense savings?" asked David Bailey of Goldman Sachs. Let me guess - Cut the working people out of the equation and give yourselves huge bonuses??

"It's not going to be at the $3.7 billion spend takeout that we saw last year," Loughridge said. But such reductions, he said, will be an "ongoing part of our overall business model."

IBM cut about 10,000 jobs in the United States in 2009, according to various company disclosures - get ready for more. Hundreds of those jobs lost were in Dutchess County.

Profits are good - jobs are a cost to those profits - no matter how high those profits get - they can't get high enough.

The IBM workers should have organized into a union ten years ago - now they are paying the price of being at-will employees for a corporation that couldn't give a shit less about them or any "American" job.

Newburgh Orange County Community College Project Built With A PLA

2010-01-05T21:51:00.006-05:00

The big new building north of the foot of Broadway in the City of Newburgh will be bustling with college students in about a year from now.

The campus, which will house facilities for health studies and science programs, will be ready to start classes for the spring 2011 semester.

College President Dr. William Richards said the facilities will include a three level underground parking complex with labs on the top floor with offices and a student center on the lower levels.

County Executive Edward Diana, a SUNY Orange alumnus, said that he was very proud of the project and the fact that it is being built completely with local labor and under a project labor agreement. He said that this project is the seventh project that Orange County has built using a PLA. He also said that the local union trades have saved the county money and built each project on time and within budget. He spoke of the job opportunities it created for existing local workers and the new apprentices entering the trades because of that opportunity.

Local Union Ironworkers lifted and bolted the top beam into place Tuesday at the new SUNY Orange campus, marking the ceremonial placement of the final beam on the multi- million dollar building which will become home to over 2000 students.

This project is a great example to all municpalities of how to really get the most return on their investment for their constituents.

Too many times the local construction workers and the jobs that are created are LOST to out of state and non-local workers and contractors. Orange County did NOT let that happen on this project.

Thank you Orange County Executive Edward Diana and to all Orange County Legislators for leading by example and demonstrating that economic development can be done in such a way that NO job opportunities are wasted. Too many of our elected officials waste those opportunities by turning a blind eye toward the construction jobs created by our taxpayer financed capital projects.

Thank you again Orange County for a true shining example of smart growth.

Merry Christmas To All Employees And Employers

2009-12-24T06:51:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to all employees and employers. Maybe now is a good time to explain a little something so that people know where Hudson Valley Labor Report is coming from throughout the year. There are many employers in the Hudson Valley who are good employers. They treat their people well and with respect. Some may not be union employers either and that's ok.

(Here comes the but) ......but if they truly are good and caring employers they would allow their employees - when the employees chose to - to organize to bargain collectively in regard to the rules at their workplace. When that happens, the employees are doing the exact same thing that their employer does - joining an organization to "network" and "expand" their "opportunities".

The most important part of all of this is that the employees would have a better relationship with their employer. A more constant, upfront, specific and steady relationship. The employers business relationship with the employees would now be just like every other business relationship the employer has - it would be in writing.

I can already hear it - the "employee handbook" takes care of that. Not true. The handbook does not create the same business relationship the employer has with everyone else they do business with. Does anyone in the class know why?

The employee handbook is exclusively created, maintained and can be changed unilaterally by the employer. There is no other business or other business man that would agree to "work" under that type of agreement. Both parties need to have their concerns addressed and access to a method to fairly work out any kind of disagreement in the relationship.

The great part of the relationship is that when you have a contract both parties actually AGREE on it before it can go into effect. The unfair characterization of this arrangement is that somehow when employees want a contract in their business relationship with their employer they dictate what that contract contains. That is not true.

It is exactly like any other business relationship. We sell our labor and we prefer to have a written and fair contract just like those who sell objects and services.

Unfortunately, many employees were fired this year for wanting this.

Merry Christmas

Pearl Rivers Pfizer Finally Notifies NYS About Layoffs

2009-12-16T06:35:00.001-05:00

Pfizer of Pearl River, NY is a major private employer in the Hudson Valley that employs 2,931 employees, as many as 800 commute from Orange County and the vicinity around it.

The company has been in progress on some large layoffs and restructuring lately. But as usual, the labor law has been slightly ignored in the process. There is a LABOR LAW called the the "WARN ACT"- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act - that requires companies with 50 or more employees to give 90 days' notice of layoffs to the state and workers who will lose their jobs.

Pfizer had apparently laid off 90 to 100 workers in an apparent violation of the law.

Workers there said that Pfizer had moved ahead with layoffs without notifying the state. In meetings with employees, managers told workers that at least another 600 employees would be laid off in waves during the next 12 months. When asked, though, managers told employees that WARN didn't apply to them.

Interestingly enough, Pfizer notified the state Tuesday that more workers would be laid off here in mid-March. That's on top of 200 layoffs Pfizer announced two weeks earlier.

Documents filed by Pfizer say 91 workers will lose their jobs. In another contradiction the same filing identifies 95 positions that will be eliminated: 49 union, 46 non-union.

The recent WARN filings appear to be an effort by the company to correct and distance themselves from their previous statements. The company filed the most recent WARN notices after a local newspaper reported that Pfizer appeared to be in violation of state law.

It seems that workers rights are always on the bottom of the list in too many corporate plans. While we don't expect them to be their number one concern - these laws and peoples rights should at least be on the screen. At the very least - don't brush it to the side by telling people it doesn't apply when it does.

Pay attention people - nobody is going to do it for you - except the unions, that is.

Kingston Budget, Alderman Comments and the CSEA

2009-12-06T15:39:00.002-05:00

Looks like it is time to comment on the Kingston Budget but in particular about the CSEA. I read another blog bashing them for not renegotiating their contract. I would respectfully ask Alderman Madsen to report on what other contracts the city has renegotiated.

I don't mean the police and fire contracts - I mean with businesses who do business with the city and have existing contracts. For example, did you go to the office supply person and renegotiate with him? Maybe you could have had him lower the price of paper by 25%. You know the answer to that one. What about the oil company? The gasoline stations? The electrical power company?

What about every other business who has contracts with the city? Of course you didn't - you wouldn't even consider that and neither would they.

No - you go after labor. They are the easy target. They also can take the heat off of you and your fellow Alderman. It's the unions, you say - they won't give anything back.

Not saying they couldn't or wouldn't do their share IF it would make a difference. In the case of the CSEA - they couldn't make a dent. So - to your untrained eye - they were unreasonable and you bash them. You are wrong.

Opening the contract would have a longer lasting and more devestating effect on bargaining for decades and possibly forever. It is not their fault the jobs are being lost - it's yours. You and the Alderman got your end of the bargain during contract negotiations. Concessions were made in bargaining and increases in employee health costs were had in return for a pay raise. Now you can't balance your books and you come to the well. You take the easy road.

You claim the union doesn't care for its members - you're wrong. The union is thinking AHEAD for the good of ALL of the members. Fortunately, they had the entire membership in mind when they considered this situation - not just the 14 you point to. If the gap could have been reached they would have done what they could have. They proved that with last years budget.

What you wanted from the CSEA this year was - excuse my french - equivilent to pissing up a rope - know what I mean?

Making up $1.2 million was impossible. So that being the case, they had a choice - insist on the contract staying intact or allow themselves to be whored out forever and during EVERY CONTRACT from now on.

So ease up on the CSEA - they hated losing those jobs more than you ever did. They did the right thing in the BIG PICTURE though. In comparison, so did the police and firefighters. The difference was those two unions goal was possible and reachable.

One message to the CSEA - you guys should be looking to bring back Ashdown next election. It's only gonna get worse from here boys and girls. You need somebody whose been around and who will stand up and be counted.

Follow The Money

2009-11-27T10:22:00.004-05:00

Legislative Issues From The Building and Construction Trades Department and the AFL-CIO

Today, we are in the midst of an economic crisis that has affected every American. We have felt it at work, in our homes, and in our communities. The burden has fallen disproportionately on middle-class and low-income workers, and it has meant tremendous sacrifice for many hard-working Americans. In the construction industry alone, this economic slowdown has cost more than 800,000 jobs. Even for those who have managed to keep their jobs, wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, and job security, health care and the promise of a secure retirement are vanishing.

From this crisis has emerged an opportunity to put this country back on track. Our futures, our children’s futures and the future of our nation depend on the path that our lawmakers choose to take today. Right now, the U.S. Congress is working on several pieces of legislation that will not only transform the economy, but improve the lives of working Americans for generations to come.

If passed, these measures – which include Clean Energy legislation; the Employee Free Choice Act; and Health Care Reform – would help re-build an economy that works for everybody.

The Clean Energy bill could jumpstart entirely new industries, as well as re-vitalize our American manufacturing base. In the process, it would create hundreds of thousands of new well-paying jobs and bolster communities – both urban and rural – all across America.

The Employee Free Choice Act would put the power to choose a union and bargain for a better life back in the hands of workers.

Health care reform would have the effect of improving the affordability, availability and quality of health care for all Americans, while also leveling the playing field for responsible employers who currently provide health care coverage for their workers (and which, in many cases – such as unionized construction contractors – places them at a competitive disadvantage with their non-union counterparts).

Each of these bills, however, has been met with staunch opposition from Republicans and big business groups who want to preserve the status quo, in which our economy works for the benefit of the few…at the expense of the many. Simply put, the preservation of the status quo will have devastating effects on America’s future.

This is all driven by money. It is very easy to understand - those that have it - don't want to see you have it - because it may mean less for them. When you see or hear or read articles against these bills - it is not the working class or poor who are paying for that message to be broadcasted or put in print - it is those who have the money already who are paying to sway your mind.

Like they always say - follow the money.

A Little National Labor Relations Board Insight

2009-11-22T08:08:00.007-05:00

Over the past few years, if I was a lawyer advising a new employer on federal employment laws, I would tell them not to worry about violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). When an employer violates any of the three major federal employment laws covering minimum wage, discrimination, or safety, they must at least pay fines or damages. Yet, there are many times when no penalties are assessed on employers who commit unfair labor practices under the NLRA.

Of course, it hasn't helped that the board has been three members shy of a full deck - they normally have 5 members sitting on the board - all through the Bush years, they had two. Two anti- worker members by the way.

Things may start to change now because the board is now fully staffed, balanced and has both business and workers interests represented.

The board is supposed to see to it that employees have their right to organize protected, they can't be fired or discriminated against for attempting to form a union, they can't be rejected for employment because of their union affiliation among other related issues.

Our country needs strong labor unions. Even the people outside of the unions need strong labor unions. Many are too ignorant or too brainwashed against the unions to understand that, but it is true.

In a country where money controls everything, we need a strong National Labor Relations Board that will be fair, efficient and protect the peoples rights. We also need to know that there are penalities for those that ignore those rights. Let's face it, if you are a rich business owner I don't think that a $400.00 fine for violating a workers rights is going to effect you that much.

Soon we will begin to see some decisions come out of the Board that will set the stage for the next 100 years of labor law. Let's hope that they rule fairly and with the people of this country in mind.

A Message from Uncle Sam

2009-11-15T07:26:00.001-05:00

Harp & Whistle Employees Fight Back

2009-11-08T20:52:00.004-05:00

The Harp & Whistle, a bar and restaurant in Newburgh is a popular place for many to gather on Fridays after work and to have dinner every once in awhile. People who went there became close with those who worked there as waitresses, waiters and barmaids. Well, the place was sold and the new owners were taking over last week. Problem was - as is usual in the business world - nobody let the employees know anything.

They found out that after showing up for work one day last week that they didn't have jobs. One woman already began working her shift and the new owner told her to leave - she didn't work there anymore. She was also told not to bother to come back and apply for a job. In fact, all of the longtime employees were told that.

Funny how when they went to the newspaper and said they were going to - oh my, yes - PICKET the place - things began to change. Imagine that NON UNION WORKERS PICKETING and standing up for their rights.

The day after that hit the paper the new owner contacted all of the workers and explained that they all misunderstood. They could have their jobs back. They didn't have to reapply or anything.

Reminds me of the Godfather movie a little - the rent stays the same.

Mayor Sottile - That's A Lot Of Garbage

2009-11-05T07:51:00.006-05:00

Hey, what's that smell? Oh, it's Mayor Sottiles new garbage program. He used to have the crew start early and haul ass along with the garbage. Then politics got involved. Retaliation got involved. He was going to fix those CSEA union guys - no more stint work.

By the way, the union gave up stint work years ago - the Mayor kept using it. The idea was to get those trucks OFF the streets and out of everybodys way. However, it also became a convenient way to make believe that it was now somehow the union taking advantage of the taxpayers. That was political bullshit in a political season.

It is not about him running for office this time. It's about making himself look like he is doing something for the taxpayers - when he is really not.

Now the Mayor claims he has received at least 50 complaints this week about garbage not being picked up as it used to be.

We bet a few of those compalints were, "Hey, I'm stuck behind these dam trucks that were never in the way before!"

So he runs to the paper, tells us when he was born - which was at night - which also explains why he is so in the dark on everything - and bashes the union. He, along with his anti-union sidekick Barney Fife aka Robert Senor. Who by the way, is a staunchly non union mumbling windbag anyway.

“I will not tolerate” the continued delays in pickups said the Mayor. Nice sound bite. What he needs to also say is he will stop his supervisors from cramming extra rules down the workers throats. Can't drive over 10 mph or you will be suspended. Hurry up and drive 10 mph doesn't seem to go right - does it? And if I catch you driving 11 mph you can go home for 30 days. Hmmmmm, that would slow me down in this economy too.

Bart Robins, president of the Kingston unit of the Civil Service Employees Association, said he is aware of the delays in trash pickup but said they are unavoidable and that this is just a poorly thought out plan. This is not by any means a calculated effort on the part of the union to slow down the process.

Anyone with a little common sense can clearly see that starting later in the morning - which means less time to get to the transfer station - and getting threatened with suspension for going over 10 mph are two issues that are surely adding to the problem at hand.

A real Mayor would get his City of Kingston provided boots on and ride those trucks to see what was going on.

This is the exact situation he claimed he needed the CITY TAXPAYERS to buy WORKBOOTS for him and the other office girls inside of City Hall.

Let's go Jimmy - grab your friend Barney and hit the back of the truck - then come back and tell us what's wrong and how easy it is. Remember, 10 mph or you go home for 30 days. No cheatin now.

Maybe Paul Kirby can follow you both and do a story on it for us.

Think It's Real This Time?

2009-11-03T21:52:00.002-05:00

If you read the papers today or watched the news they are talking about the Casinos again in Sullivan County. In a nutshell, there is a movement to get the Federal Government to approve off reservation casinos on an individual basis. Across the country, there are politicians who want them and there are politicians who don't.

The problem is any decision in the past had to cover all of the possible locations in the whole country. So it never could pass. Changing that to approve them on an individual basis is a smarter way to look at it. Some places could actually be improved with the addition of casinos.

Can anyone deny that we need the jobs now? If it is crime that people are worried about - I think we kind of have that already, don't we? Most of it is probably because of the lack of jobs. The rest of it is because of a lack of "brung up". That slang phrase - if you never heard it before - means a lack of morals because no one taught you any better.

Let's give the casino approach a try. They have talking about them for the Catskills since the seventies and Sullivan County has been on the downslide since the seventies.

It's time to try something new. - Let's create a job for a change of pace.

Anti-Union Democrats - A Great Political Lesson

2009-10-25T08:42:00.009-04:00

Enough is enough with this guy.

Mayor James Sottile claims that city residents are feeling intimidated by police officers who are asking for signatures on petitions that oppose police department layoffs.

Union members of the Police Benevolent Association are going door to door to explain to residents that cuts to the police force will adversely affect the ability of their peers to protect the people of Kingston.

The blatantly anti-union Sottile, who always seems to relish having issues with unions in general, runs to the paper and claims there is intimidation going on.

Mayor Sottile is the perfect example of why local political endorsements and decisions by Organized Labor CANNOT BE MADE STRICTLY BY PARTY AFFILIATION. He is the poster boy for that as an ANTI-UNION DEMOCRAT.

This is an EXAMPLE OF WHY many union political funds WILL NOT SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC COMITTEE. We wouldn't want any of our HARD EARNED dollars supporting another anti-union candidate through the DEM pipeline.

Sottile stated that “My office has received calls that people felt intimated to sign a petition, and that is a wrong tactic to take.” What he doesn't say is that there is ALSO MUCH SUPPORT FOR THE POLICE.

He is trying to spin this his way because he is against unions in general and it is now the police unions turn in his barrel.

He also said he hopes members of the Police Benevolent Association are not pressuring people into signing. Cut it out Mayor. Just say you hate the unions because they give their members a voice that you have to listen to. They prevent you from being a little Hitler.

The Police Benevolent Association absolutely denies that ANYONE has or would intimidate a resident and if they come upon a resident who does not want to sign they thank them and move on. Remember- they protect the people. It is ridiculous to even say that they have intimidated one of the residents.

So kiddies, when you recieve your union endorsements in the mail and you see a larger mix of Republicans and Democrats - you will understand why we ENDORSE THE PERSON AND NOT THE PARTY. Sometimes even a Donkey turns out to be a pig or a nasty elephant.

Stint Work - Smart Move or Jerk Move?

2009-10-24T10:03:00.004-04:00

Kingston Mayor James Sottile has made a big splash with his latest move - to discontinue "stint work shifts" among City sanitation workers as of November 1

“Stint work shifts” allow those workers to leave work early if their tasks are completed but still get paid in full.

Let's examine this a little deeper.

A good leader always knows history. DID THE MAYOR CHECK TO SEE WHAT THE ORIGIN OF THE "STINT WORK SHIFT" WAS?

Everything in a contract evolves from a previous situation. I would BET that the origin of the "stint work shift" was the following:

COMPLAINING BUSINESS OWNERS.

In short, it most likely was the business community who screamed at a previous Mayor to get those smelly, large, dirty, obnoxious GARBAGE TRUCKS AWAY FROM MY BUSINESS DURING PEAK BUSINESS HOURS. It doesn't go well with lunch or my pretty little boutique. The trucks also make for a nice CLOG in front of our stores between 12 noon and 4pm.

I can hear them screaming right now in my time machine, "Oh, Mr. Previous Mayor - can you not do something to get those dirty trucks and dirty men away from our customers, parking spaces and buildings? YOU ARE COSTING MY BUSINESS MONEY!"

Have no fear business people - Mr. Previous Mayor has a solution. I will get those dirty men and smelly trucks off of the street before it can effect your business.

I will make them a deal, start early, hustle your ass, finish up and beat it.
Case solved.

Until 2009 that is.

Mayor Sottile has now decided that those days are over and has even been quoted saying that, “It just doesn’t make sense.”

This should be good. I just hope that they don't forget to wash up before lunch. Maybe now they can even dine in one of those fine restaurants with the rest of the lunch crowd.

Know history or you are doomed to repeat it.

Forget the PROMOTION - I'm Stickin With The Union!

2009-10-21T22:19:00.004-04:00

Acting Newburgh City Manager Richard Herbek has hired former deputy chief Michael Vatter to assume the job of Fire Chief of City of Newburgh. He will start is new job on November 2, 2009.

Vatter retired in 2000 after working more than 20 years for Newburgh in the Fire Department.

The former Chief, Christopher Barrett retired in the beginning of September. That left an opening for many of the current Fire Fighters to fill.

The job has been vacant since.

Why you ask? Why would NOT ONE of the Fire Fighters apply for or accept an offer to apply for the Chief position??

Even the Departments Assistant Chiefs all turned down the chance to apply.

THEY KNOW THAT THE PROMOTION cannot replace the PROTECTION OF THEIR UNION CONTRACT.

Hmmmmmmmmm - THOSE ARE SMART PEOPLE WORKING IN THAT NEWBURGH FIRE DEPARTMENT.

This PROVES something - There's POWER in THE UNION.

Ring a Ling Ling - Back To Class

2009-10-14T06:28:00.002-04:00

The Onteora School District and the teachers association have reached an agreement on a new contract. The parties negotiated in a marathon session and finally came to a mutual understanding.

It is interesting to note that the impasse that plagued the negotiations was aided by an attorney who was hired to "help" the district negotiate. Sometimes an attorney or a consultant thinks that their job is to stonewall the negotiations in order to "earn" their money. This is quite common. In reality, their job should be to ensure that a fair negotiation is held according to the law and to advise their client so THEY don't break the law.

A lesson for school districts in this case and other parties who negotiate is that sometimes the people involved can actually can do a better job negotiating without the hired guns. Regular people involved in the everyday processes of the business or school district know their situations best and have the uncanny ability to resolve them so no one loses.

The teachers have been working without a contract since July 2008. The union had reached the point of breaking the stalemate with a strike.

"We're all glad to resolve this before it got really divisive for our community," said school board President Laurie Osmond.

Congratulations to the teachers and the district.

Now someone explain the logic behind the "double pay" for the people who would have "filled in" during the strike. After that explain how that issue was decided on in an instant. What budget did that raise come out of?

That part still bothers me.

Pencils Down.

2009-10-11T07:22:00.003-04:00

The Onteora Teachers Association has scheduled a vote for this Tuesday to decide on whether or not to call a strike.

They have been without a new contract since June 2008, when a five-year contract negotiated in 2003 expired.

They began negotiating for a new contract in the fall of 2007 — that was two years ago.

It does not take two years to negotiate a contract if everyone is being reasonable. The teachers began picketing Board of Education meetings last month.

Hundreds of picketers turned out at last Tuesdays meeting. Joining the Onteora Teachers Association in solidarity were the Onteora Non-Teaching Employees Association, neighboring school district teachers unions and even some retired teachers.

The board stayed in executive session for a abnormally long time which made it look like the board did not want to face the picketing teachers. Teachers union official middle school teacher Corey Cavallaro said in response that the board and administration have “absolutely zero respect for us.”

A letter was sent by the union to all parents explaining that the teachers may strike.

In response, the Onteora school board held an emergency meeting at which it agreed to double the pay for substitute teachers and staff in the event of a strike.

Wow! Look how fast they negotiated that! Bammmmm. Let's double the pay! What kind of sense does that make? It seems that there should be some questions raised in regard to that decision. First one should be, is this board negotiating in good faith with the Teachers? Why has it taken two years (so far)?

Listen, believe it or not - unions don't strike at the drop of a hat. Someone, on the district side - is playing games at the bargaining table. That's what this is all about.

......and it shouldn't get to this point.

But the last agreement was made in 2003 and that contract has already been expired two years!

District Superintendent Dr. Leslie Ford - better step in and be a MEDIATOR or hold on to your little mortarboard hat.

Could There Really Be Union Retaliation In Kingston?

2009-10-02T18:12:00.005-04:00

Mayor James Sottile has transferred two union city employees active in union affairs into unwanted positions in what could be retaliation for their efforts as union leaders or criticism of his administration.

The mayor says it’s only about trying to get jobs done more efficiently in the city Department of Public Works.

It sure looks very suspicious to anyone who has been following this administrations track record in employee relations.

“This is about coming up with better ways to serve the public,” Sottile said. “It is amazing to me that these same two employees keep complaining whenever they are forced to work.”

Love to hear how that serves the public better in more than just a soundbite in the newspaper.....and what does he mean by complaining?

Does he really mean representing the workers in the bargaining unit when they had to?

Bart Robins,president of the local unit of the Civil Service Employees Association, and Troy Ashdown, a former vice president, are the two employees being transferred to other positions.

Ashdown and Robins said that these moves by the mayor will not save any taxpayer money at all or make services any more efficient. The say Sottile is getting back at them for defending the rights of city workers over the years.

Both Labor leaders were involved in exposing the city for storing and stockpiling chemicals in the DPW and exposing Sottile appointed, former DPW Supervisors who were wasting taxpayer money buying things such as $60 dollar pens. They both also exposed the unfair treatment and chastising of a female city employee for "stealing air" to fill up her flat tire after work one night.

Add this to claims of sexual harrassment against the city, sexual objects being tossed at women worked under the Sottile administration, coupled with these two union representatives putting their political foot in the door when Sottile wanted to lay off workers last year and you have the possibility of Sottile not feeling comfortable around these two becoming a reality.

“Everyone knows we have been the loudest and most ardent critics of the mayor and his dysfunctional policies regarding our department,” Ashdown said.

Let us not forget that the CSEA did not back Sottile for his re-election for mayor last election.

Ashdown noted that “out of a pool of six laborers” at the sewer annex on Wilbur Avenue, only he and Robins were moved.

Ashdown has been reassigned to the city’s wastewater treatment plant on East Strand, while Robins is being moved to the public works barn on Hasbrouck Avenue.

In a letter by Public Works Superintendent Michael Schupp we have this talking head explanation to go by:

“In an effort to continue a satisfactory level of service and maintain infrastructure and health and safety standards under the department’s responsibility to the residents, businesses and visitors to Kingston, some staffing organizational changes must be implemented.” ( Their lawyer obviously wrote that excuse for them )

That's bullshit.

I challenge the new superintendent to put that in words that really mean something that he can justify.

The mayor did make one very telling comment, “I think the public is getting pretty tired of these individuals complaining when all we are asking them is to do what they get paid for.

This move was all about the "complaints" which were all legitimate concerns that they raised on behalf of fellow workers- it has nothing to do with efficiency or the taxpayers money.

Dutchess County Executive Bill Stienhaus: Anti-Union Scum At Its Best

2009-09-26T08:34:00.004-04:00

Dutchess County Executive Bill Stienhaus is at it again. This man lives to bash the unions. At least he doesn't hide it though. He is proud to be against anything that will help a working person advance or make a better living. Every time his own county employees have a contract coming up - he starts with his anti union diatribe. He tormented the Dutchess County LOOP Bus drivers last year.

He vetoed the Electrical License because he saw it as a "union issue" although it was pushed heavily by the non union contractors association. He vetoed it calling it a favor for unions by Democrats. The non union contractors had a fit. The good news was after reading his "I want to beat the union" reasons for his veto - the Legislature of Dutchess County overrode his veto. So, like the spoiled child he is - Bill Stienhaus then just refused to fund it. Again , calling it a union issue.

He is a sick man. Was his mother a coal company boss in the 30's or something?

His new target is project labor agreements. The Legislature passed a resolution stating that they would CONSIDER a pla on projects that cost over $3.5 million dollars. He vetoed it. But before he vetoed it, republican sources say that he made his rounds throughout the REPUBLICAN PARTY threatening certain relatives county jobs and to withhold funding for fellow republicans future campaigns if any of those republicans voted for the pla. Some were original sponsors.

So I ask, is this governing? Is this how we elect leaders and want them to decide whether a law is worth supporting?

Project Labor Agreements do NOT prohibit non union contractors or workers from working on the PLA project.

That is all propaganda and a deliberate and outright LIE. By the way, Orange County Community College and Marlboro schools in Ulster County are both building under a pla as we speak.

Come out from behind your desk Bill Stienhaus- there is no boogie man but you.

President Obama Addresses The AFL-CIO - Finally a United States President Who Supports The Advancement Of The American Workforce!

2009-09-17T18:42:00.003-04:00

It is about TIME.

New Beginning For The AFL-CIO - TRUMKA

2009-09-17T18:27:00.005-04:00

The American Labor Movement will be moving to the front of the stage once again and will be heard and seen with newly elected President Richard Trumka. He promises to bring new hope and new ideas and exposure to the plight of the American Workers.

It is about TIME.

Remember What Labor Day Is Really About

2009-09-07T07:54:00.006-04:00

An American President who acknowledges that working people, labor,unions and the creation of jobs are and should be top priorities in this country.

Which Side Are YOU on?

Here is a little Labor history lesson:

Joe Hill - Google him kids:

Did anyone notice that the local newspapers barely mention what Labor Day is really about? Do you think that is done by design?

I do.

Daycare Center Has License Suspended

2009-09-01T06:48:00.002-04:00

A daycare center at 14 Pond Street in the Town of Poughkeepsie has had their daycare license suspended. The owners were both arrested for endangering the welfare of a child.

The owners were LICENSED to operate the residential daycare facility.

On August 18, a four-year-old nearly drowned in a pool there. The child was taken to the hospital, treated and later released and is recovering at home.

An investigation revealed they did not have a waiver for the pool from the State Office of Children and Family Services and did into provide adequate supervision for the children.

As a result, their LICENSE was SUSPENDED. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

So this means that because they needed a license to operate this business (that could harm the public or kill someone) and because they did not follow the rules and regulations - they are now shut down because of the licensing law.

Wow! What a good idea.

But who needs licenses? Their license probably cost them around $200-$300 dollars a year. Imagine how much of that $200-$300 dollars a year their customers had to pony up? I bet each one of their customers probably paid $2 dollars or $5 dollars or even maybe $10 dollars over the course of ONE YEAR! - if they only had thirty customers.

So now, someone explain why licensing certain businesses isn't a good idea? Act as a danger while you are plying your business - and you are out of business or at least suspended. Take away the need for a license and these business can't be stopped.

Now go out and hire that electrician to wire your mothers house. You know, the one in the white van with no markings on it and Connecticut plates.

Ulster Contractor Licensing Proposed

2009-08-30T19:48:00.006-04:00

Talk about a segment of business that NEEDS licensing! The construction and remodeling industry is definitely one! It is comprised of many different types of people - some legit, some not. There are many different sizes of companies and a wide array of owners from all walks of life. Most of these companies are legitimate but some are definitely not.

There are a great number of construction projects in Ulster County and other counties that "fly under the radar".

No one would ever know they are being done, many are not inspected and it is on those "under the radar" projects the customer sometime falls victim to less than skilled or honest contractor.

How many stories are out there about people who give large down payments for work only to never see the contractor again? Or who pay large sums of money for unfinished or shoddily installed work?

Unfortunately, when there is no license required and no inspection is done - there are very few avenues a customer can take to remedy their sitiuation.

Look around and see how many construction vans in Ulster county ride around unmarked with no company name on them. There is a reason for that. And it is never a good reason.

Legitimate business owners put their company and contact info on their trucks. They don't mind being identified by the public. They carry the proper insurances. They have their work inspected.

Contractor licensing is something that is inexpensive and pays for itself. It does that by ensuring that we, the people who hire contractors, are protected. For a $200 or $300 licensing fee, all contractors are and can be identified and held accountable to the public......and that is at a cost of less than $1 dollar a day to the contractor or any customer.

After Ulster adopts contractor licensing for basic general construction - we need to adopt an electrical license for those contractors who are installing electrical wiring in our homes, business and schools.

The installation of electrical wiring requires the contractor to prove that they are knowledgeable and capable by PASSING AN EXAM. There are no excuses for the avoidance or rejection of that fact.

If a contractor cannot prove that they know the electrical code and can install wiring safely - they should not be allowed to ply that trade in this county.

Let's see how far the contractor and electrical licensing goes this time.

Election years and election seasons bring out the best ideas - don't they?

Just The Facts

2009-08-20T19:10:00.005-04:00

Read the area papers and you are hit with the hard facts. Unemployment is up in the Hudson Valley. The amount of unemployment in NYS as a whole has actually declined. Like everyone else out there in reality land - we need more jobs. And we need good jobs. You really can't point your finger at any one group and say it is their fault though.

But there are some points that have to be made. When we move forward and the powers that be use the public fisc to "attract" jobs, let's hope that they really take a hard look at doing the right thing in the future- now that the bottom has dropped out.

Don't give financial assistance to projects that don't promise - and produce - good jobs ever again.

That public money or loans or whatever form of assistance you want to call it, is worth a great deal. Use it to everyones advantage.

Build projects with local labor - get tax breaks and financial assistance.

Hire people at wages that you can actually feed a family of four on - then you can get nice tax breaks and financial assistance.

Give those kind of companies the "shares" of those who can't promise that.

Give more to those - who give more to the community. Sounds like a logical idea, doesn't it?

With over 8% of people unemployed in the Hudson Valley it is time to think about what really matters - creating good jobs so people can live here.
We let this ball drop in the past - let's regroup and all work together for a change.

President Obama Speaks About The Health Care Debate

2009-08-15T17:09:00.001-04:00

Do The Math

2009-08-10T04:24:00.003-04:00

The weekly cost of feeding an Ulster County family of four is $198.99 for the week ending August 7, according to the county Consumer Fraud Bureau.

That is a decrease of $3.20, or two percent, since the last survey was taken for the week ending July 24.

The decrease is primarily due to sale items in the meat and fish category.

The marketbasket survey is intended to provide consumers with information regarding fluctuations in the local cost of retail foods.

So if I get one of those $10 dollar an hour jobs that everyone is so happy to create, I would earn a gross pay of $400.00 per week and net somewhere near what? $300? $320?

That would leave me around $120.00 or $480.00 a month for rent, the electric bill, a telephone, car maintenance, car insurance and oh yea - gas. Nothing for clothes, cable, kids, school supplies or anything else that could possibly be thought of.

Make it $15 dollars per hour and I am still struggling here in Ulster County.

The point is that the next time we hear our politicians bragging that the jobs that are coming in will pay at least $10 dollars per hour - (we see them fight like hell against $12 dollars an hour in most cases)- we need to remember what that really gets the employee who earns it.

Not suprisingly, the politicians who think these are great wages are also the ones who are against unions.

Smarten up people. Do the math.

Interesting Nine Minute Conversation For Union Members

2009-08-09T10:17:00.000-04:00

A Few Thoughts Worth Thinking: Better Duck - Here Comes A Snowball

2009-08-02T13:03:00.003-04:00

Kingston city union members better hold onto their wallets and start paying attention to the buzzwords being put forth by Mayor Sottile and the newly, reborn Alderwoman DiBella.

Anybody else noticed how ballzy the anti-union DiBella is getting now that she is a political lame duck?

She has always exuded a certain disrespect for the workers of the city with her crappy attitude but now she is going to make sure nobody can dispute that fact. Make no mistake about it, she will be a willing volunteer to throw the snowballs for Jim Sottile in this upcoming budget season. There will be some layoffs this time, you can feel it.

....And this is just part two in the plan. Part one was to meddle in the CSEA election to weaken the union by helping to remove Troy Ashdown as Vice President. Ashdown was just about the only thing that stood in the way of the Mayor riding rough-shod over the city employees. That cannot be disputed. No disrepect to the current officers there now but lets face it - the Mayor has a free ride now.

DiBella - the snowball thrower - has a nasty disposition when it comes to all unions anyway and she is going to go out swinging. She was quiet for months after plowing into the side of a building after a late night "dinner". They name guardrails after people like her.

This should be a lesson to all of our union political committees out there - the "democrats are ALL for the union workers" theory is a bunch of bullshit. They prove that best in the city of Kingston.

The truth is that LOCALLY, unions should look at the individual candidate - no matter what their party is - any other way is a waste of your molecules.

Another point. Can somebody name even ONE large project that the Mayor has backed where he has insisted that LOCAL WORKERS be hired to build it? Don't strain yourself - there were none. And there will never be. He is afraid to do that.

So when you read about how Sotille is pushing for projects (and he does push certain ones it seems) think of all of the JOB OPPORTUNITIES and job creation he squanders by not caring enough to promote his own local workers who construct buildings and "projects" for a living.

A little sound advice to the Kingston city workers - pay close attention to who is speaking what words. The new union leaders should start rounding up the troops and circling the wagons RIGHT NOW because anyone who reads the papers can see they will be gunning for you guys big time in the next budget. You have some big shoes to fill in regard to holding back the attack.

If you need us, we are there for you.

For The Workers At The Nevele Who Had No Union To Explain This For Them

2009-07-25T09:18:00.003-04:00

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
A Guide to Advance Notice of Closings and Layoffs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) was enacted on August 4, 1988 and became effective on February 4, 1989.

General Provisions

WARN offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. This notice must be provided to either affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union); to the State dislocated worker unit; and to the appropriate unit of local government.

Employer Coverage

In general, employers are covered by WARN if they have 100 or more employees, not counting employees who have worked less than 6 months in the last 12 months and not counting employees who work an average of less than 20 hours a week. Private, for-profit employers and private, nonprofit employers are covered, as are public and quasi-public entities which operate in a commercial context and are separately organized from the regular government. Regular Federal, State, and local government entities which provide public services are not covered.

Employee Coverage

Employees entitled to notice under WARN include hourly and salaried workers, as well as managerial and supervisory employees. Business partners are not entitled to notice.

What Triggers Notice

Plant Closing: A covered employer must give notice if an employment site (or one or more facilities or operating units within an employment site) will be shut down, and the shutdown will result in an employment loss (as defined later) for 50 or more employees during any 30-day period. This does not count employees who have worked less than 6 months in the last 12 months or employees who work an average of less than 20 hours a week for that employer. These latter groups, however, are entitled to notice (discussed later).

Mass Layoff: A covered employer must give notice if there is to be a mass layoff which does not result from a plant closing, but which will result in an employment loss at the employment site during any 30-day period for 500 or more employees, or for 50-499 employees if they make up at least 33% of the employer's active workforce. Again, this does not count employees who have worked less than 6 months in the last 12 months or employees who work an average of less than 20 hours a week for that employer. These latter groups, however, are entitled to notice (discussed later).

An employer also must give notice if the number of employment losses which occur during a 30-day period fails to meet the threshold requirements of a plant closing or mass layoff, but the number of employment losses for 2 or more groups of workers, each of which is less than the minimum number needed to trigger notice, reaches the threshold level, during any 90-day period, of either a plant closing or mass layoff. Job losses within any 90-day period will count together toward WARN threshold levels, unless the employer demonstrates that the employment losses during the 90-day period are the result of separate and distinct actions and causes.

Sale of Businesses

In a situation involving the sale of part or all of a business, the following requirements apply. (1) In each situation, there is always an employer responsible for giving notice. (2) If the sale by a covered employer results in a covered plant closing or mass layoff, the required parties (discussed later) must receive at least 60 days notice. (3) The seller is responsible for providing notice of any covered plant closing or mass layoff which occurs up to and including the date/time of the sale. (4) The buyer is responsible for providing notice of any covered plant closing or mass layoff which occurs after the date/time of the sale. (5) No notice is required if the sale does not result in a covered plant closing or mass layoff. (6) Employees of the seller (other than employees who have worked less than 6 months in the last 12 months or employees who work an average of less than 20 hours a week) on the date/time of the sale become, for purposes of WARN, employees of the buyer immediately following the sale. This provision preserves the notice rights of the employees of a business that has been sold.

Employment Loss

The term "employment loss" means:

(1) An employment termination, other than a discharge for cause, voluntary departure, or retirement;

(2) a layoff exceeding 6 months; or

(3) a reduction in an employee's hours of work of more than 50% in each month of any 6-month period.

Exceptions: An employee who refuses a transfer to a different employment site within reasonable commuting distance does not experience an employment loss. An employee who accepts a transfer outside this distance within 30 days after it is offered or within 30 days after the plant closing or mass layoff, whichever is later, does not experience an employment loss. In both cases, the transfer offer must be made before the closing or layoff, there must be no more than a 6 month break in employment, and the new job must not be deemed a constructive discharge. These transfer exceptions from the "employment loss" definition apply only if the closing or layoff results from the relocation or consolidation of part or all of the employer's business.

Exemptions

An employer does not need to give notice if a plant closing is the closing of a temporary facility, or if the closing or mass layoff is the result of the completion of a particular project or undertaking. This exemption applies only if the workers were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of the facility, project or undertaking. An employer cannot label an ongoing project "temporary" in order to evade its obligations under WARN.

Who Must Receive Notice

The employer must give written notice to the chief elected officer of the exclusive representative(s) or bargaining agency(s) of affected employees and to unrepresented individual workers who may reasonably be expected to experience an employment loss. This includes employees who may lose their employment due to "bumping," or displacement by other workers, to the extent that the employer can identify those employees when notice is given. If an employer cannot identify employees who may lose their jobs through bumping procedures, the employer must provide notice to the incumbents in the jobs which are being eliminated. Employees who have worked less than 6 months in the last 12 months and employees who work an average of less than 20 hours a week are due notice, even though they are not counted when determining the trigger levels.

The employer must also provide notice to the State dislocated worker unit and to the chief elected official of the unit of local government in which the employment site is located.

Notification Period

With three exceptions, notice must be timed to reach the required parties at least 60 days before a closing or layoff. When the individual employment separations for a closing or layoff occur on more than one day, the notices are due to the representative(s), State dislocated worker unit and local government at least 60 days before each separation. If the workers are not represented, each worker's notice is due at least 60 days before that worker's separation.

The exceptions to 60-day notice are:

(1) Faltering company. This exception, to be narrowly construed, covers situations where a company has sought new capital or business in order to stay open and where giving notice would ruin the opportunity to get the new capital or business, and applies only to plant closings;

(2) Unforeseeable business circumstances. This exception applies to closings and layoffs that are caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would otherwise have been required; and

(3) Natural disaster. This applies where a closing or layoff is the direct result of a natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, drought or storm.

If an employer provides less than 60 days advance notice of a closing or layoff and relies on one of these three exceptions, the employer bears the burden of proof that the conditions for the exception have been met. The employer also must give as much notice as is practicable. When the notices are given, they must include a brief statement of the reason for reducing the notice period in addition to the items required in notices.

Form and Content of Notice

No particular form of notice is required. However, all notices must be in writing. Any reasonable method of delivery designed to ensure receipt 60 days before a closing or layoff is acceptable.

Notice must be specific. Notice may be given conditionally upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event only when the event is definite and its occurrence or nonoccurrence will result in a covered employment action less than 60 days after the event.

Penalties
An employer who violates the WARN provisions by ordering a plant closing or mass layoff without providing appropriate notice is liable to each aggrieved employee for an amount including back pay and benefits for the period of violation, up to 60 days. The employer's liability may be reduced by such items as wages paid by the employer to the employee during the period of the violation and voluntary and unconditional payments made by the employer to the employee.

An employer who fails to provide notice as required to a unit of local government is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each day of violation. This penalty may be avoided if the employer satisfies the liability to each aggrieved employee within 3 weeks after the closing or layoff is ordered by the employer.

Enforcement

Enforcement of WARN requirements is through the United States district courts. Workers, representatives of employees and units of local government may bring individual or class action suits. In any suit, the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.

Information

General questions on the regulations may be addressed to:

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Office of Work-Based Learning
Room N-5426
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210
(202) 219-5577

When the local paper called it the "Warren" act - We knew this information wouldn't be part of the story. Start counting employees.

Turn Things Around - Join A Union

2009-07-18T19:24:00.000-04:00

Study Shows Wages In the Hudson Valley Declining In Recent Months

2009-07-11T21:32:00.003-04:00

The Washington think tank,the Brookings Institution released a study last week that stated that the Mid-Hudson Valley is among the top five U.S. metropolitan areas with the most severe wage declines in recent months.

The study found salaries of those employed by companies in the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area fell an average of 1.4 percent from the last quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009, ranking the region fifth hardest hit by falling wages.

The good news in this is that the Mid-Hudson unemployment rate of 7.8 percent was below the national average of 9.0 percent.

Local housing prices fell 6.2 percent, while dropping 6.3 percent nationally and 6.9 percent in the 100 metropolitan areas.

Howard Wial of the Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Program stated that he was not really sure why the local wage decline was so severe.

"It could be higher-paid workers are getting laid off, and regular workers are being replaced by temps," or "Another way it could happen is if people's hours are cut. We've been hearing of that happening."

Wial also stated that the Brookings' study was "fairly broad-based, reflecting not just a few industries," and cautioned against drawing long-term conclusions.
"It's something to keep an eye on," he said. "It's just a one-quarter change."

It truly is something to keep an eye on in regard to the affect it will have on wages in the near future. As the economy improves lets hope that wage rates will also improve for local working people.

One of the most effective ways for workers to get those raises is to be organized and working under a contract with their fellow workers. Raises are fewer and far between when the workforce is fragmented and bargaining individually.

Translation: Union workers have more of a chance to get better pay raises.

Happy Independence Day From President Obama and Organized Labor

2009-07-03T22:18:00.002-04:00

NYS Labor Law Payment of Wages

2009-06-28T23:06:00.002-04:00

Schools In................

Frequency of payments.

1. Every employer shall pay wages in accordance with the following provisions:

a. Manual worker.--- (i) A manual worker shall be paid weekly and not later than seven calendar days after the end of the week in which the
wages are earned; provided however that a manual worker employed by an
employer authorized by the commissioner pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of
this paragraph or by a non-profitmaking organization shall be paid in
accordance with the agreed terms of employment, but not less frequently
than semi-monthly.
(ii) The commissioner may authorize an employer which has in the three
years preceding the application employed an average of one thousand or
more persons in this state or has for one year preceding the application
employed an average of one thousand or more persons in this state and
has for three years preceding the application employed an average of
three thousand or more persons outside the state to pay less frequently
than weekly but not less frequently than semi-monthly if the employer
furnishes satisfactory proof to the commissioner of its continuing
ability to meet its payroll responsibilities. In making this
determination the commissioner shall consider the following: (A) the
employer's history meeting its payroll responsibilities in New York
state or if no such history in New York state is available, other
financial information, as requested by the commissioner, which will
assist the commissioner in determining the likelihood of the employer's
continuing ability to meet payroll responsibilities; (B) proof of the
employer's coverage for workers' compensation and disability; (C) proof
that there are no outstanding warrants of the department of taxation and
finance or the department of labor against the employer for failure to
remit state personal income tax withholdings or unemployment insurance
contributions; and (D) proof that the employer has a computerized record
keeping system for payroll which, at a minimum, specifies hours worked,
rate of pay, gross wages, deductions and date of pay for each employee.
If the employers' manual workers are represented by a labor
organization, the commissioner shall not grant an employer's application
for authorization under this subparagraph unless that labor organization
consents thereto.
Upon notice to the employer and an opportunity to be heard, the
commissioner may rescind such authorization whenever the commissioner
has determined, based upon the factors enumerated above, that the
employer is no longer able to meet its payroll responsibilities as
previously authorized.
b. Railroad worker.--- A railroad worker shall be paid on or before Thursday of each week the wages earned during the seven-day period
ending on Tuesday of the preceding week; and provided further that at
the written request and notification of address by any employee, every
railroad corporation, with the exception of those commuter railroads
under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan transportation authority,
shall mail every check for wages of such employee via the United States
postal service, first class mail.
c. Commission salespersons.--A commission salesperson shall be paid the wages, salary, drawing account, commissions and all other monies
earned or payable in accordance with the agreed terms of employment, but
not less frequently than once in each month and not later than the last
day of the month following the month in which they are earned; provided,
however, that if monthly or more frequent payment of wages, salary,
drawing accounts or commissions are substantial, then additional
compensation earned, including but not limited to extra or incentive
earnings, bonuses and special payments, may be paid less frequently than
once in each month, but in no event later than the time provided in the
employment agreement or compensation plan. The employer shall furnish a
commission salesperson, upon written request, a statement of earnings
paid or due and unpaid. The agreed terms of employment shall be reduced
to writing, signed by both the employer and the commission salesperson,
kept on file by the employer for a period not less than three years and
made available to the commissioner upon request. Such writing shall
include a description of how wages, salary, drawing account, commissions
and all other monies earned and payable shall be calculated. Where the
writing provides for a recoverable draw, the frequency of reconciliation
shall be included. Such writing shall also provide details pertinent to
payment of wages, salary, drawing account, commissions and all other
monies earned and payable in the case of termination of employment by
either party. The failure of an employer to produce such written terms
of employment, upon request of the commissioner, shall give rise to a
presumption that the terms of employment that the commissioned
salesperson has presented are the agreed terms of employment.
d. Clerical and other worker.--- A clerical and other worker shall be paid the wages earned in accordance with the agreed terms of employment,
but not less frequently than semi-monthly, on regular pay days
designated in advance by the employer.
2. No employee shall be required as a condition of employment to
accept wages at periods other than as provided in this section.
3. If employment is terminated, the employer shall pay the wages not later than the regular pay day for the pay period during which the
termination occurred, as established in accordance with the provisions
of this section. If requested by the employee, such wages shall be paid
by mail.

Project Labor Agreements Explained

2009-06-18T22:13:00.003-04:00

Almost every organization has a written business plan to make sure goals are achieved in a timely manner.

Project labor agreements (PLAs) are much like business plans for construction projects. A PLA is a contract between the project manager, the various craft unions, and the contractors on the project. They have proven to be an effective way to manage and maintain time schedules and budgets by standardizing and stabilizing wages and benefits, starting times, overtime rules, holidays, and other related matters.

PLAs differ from standard collective bargaining agreements in that they include all the parties working on a specific project, not just a single union and contractor. A PLA takes precedence over all pre-existing collective bargaining agreements between contractors and unions. The PLA binds the involved parties only to the terms of a specific project.

They insure that all the workers on the job work under the same work rules, including the same dispute procedure, with the exception of wages and fringes. Thus, the owner and/or project manager is only dealing with a single set of rules for every worker, there are no work stoppages (even if a given trade is on strike against their own management group!), and if there is a dispute everybody knows exactly how it will be handled.

Since the 1930s, public and private entities have successfully employed PLAs to increase harmony and productivity on jobsites. Widely recognized projects that utilized PLAs include: Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Shasta Dam, St. Lawrence Seaway, Disney World, Cape Canaveral, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and the
Seattle Seahawks Stadium. Major businesses such as General Motors, Ford Motor Company, British Petroleum, Toyota, Humana, and United Parcel Service, have utilized PLAs for vital projects.

PLAs are used on both public and private construction. PLAs can provide a project with the stability and increased value needed to attract funding. Lenders look favorably on projects utilizing such agreements, since they greatly increase the likelihood that the project will be completed on-time and on-budget.

Efforts to outlaw the public use of PLAs only undermine a federal agency’s ability to exercise administrative discretion in choosing the best contracting methods and performance requirements for individual construction projects. Non-union workers are not excluded from work on public PLAs and in fact, such discrimination would be illegal. Non-union workers may register with the union hall for a PLA project, and are referred for work through the union.

They are not required to join the union to be referred for work, and do not need to pay union dues that fund collective bargaining representation. PLAs encourage fair competition among contractors by standardizing labor conditions. PLAs can streamline negotiations for complex projects, reducing costs along the way. Long-term, complex projects often involve several local collective bargaining agreements.

A consultant hired by the New York Thruway Authority determined the four-year refurbishment of the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York would require 19 separate agreements among the trades and their workforce and have cost more than $6 million extra if the project had been negotiated without a PLA.

Also, the local agreements would have required renegotiation throughout the life of the project, allowing opportunities for potential future dispute. Because of the convenience of one long-term agreement through a PLA, it is a time- and money-saver for the owner or construction manager.

Schools in - Age Discrimination In Employment Act Exceptions

2009-06-12T20:23:00.002-04:00

Everyone knows that there are laws protecting employees from age discrimination. Employees are protected under the ADEA.

However, there are cases in which the law does not apply. Here are a few of them for your notebooks:

Whe age is a bona fide job qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of a particular business (i.e. modeling clothes for teenagers).

When the differentiation is based on reasonable factors other than age, such as the use of stringent physical requirements necessitated by the nature of the work, ADEA prohibitions do not apply.

When differentiations are based on the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide employee benefit plan, such as a retirement, pension, or insurance plan, the actions are exempt from the ADEA.

Another exception to the prohibition on mandatory retirement at any age covers state and local governments with mandatory retirement ages for firefighters and law enforcement officers.

When an individual has, for a two-year period prior to retirement, been employed in a bonafide executive or high policy-making position, and is entitled to an immediate, nonforfeitable, annual retirement benefit from a pension, profit-sharing, savings, or deferred compensation plan which equals at least $44,000 then compulsory retirement at 65 is not prohibited.

When there is a bona fide apprenticeship program, which has been traditionally limited to training younger persons for skilled employment, the ADEA prohibitions do not apply.

Pencils down.

ACME Bus of Middletown On The NLRB carpet

2009-06-04T06:00:00.002-04:00

The NlRB is asking a Federal Judge to issue a "bargaining order" to bypass the actual election and allow Teamsters Local 445 to bargain with Acme Bus Co. in Middletown on the workers' behalf because it is that likely that Acme Bus engaged in union-busting activities "so serious and substantial" that workers were prevented from holding an election to unionize.

"This charge is so serious that the NLRB is saying there's going to be no election and wants to issue a bargaining order," said Local 445 Officer Adrian Huff. "This is something that happens very rarely. I've never seen one of these in my lifetime, and I don't think I'll ever see another one again."

"We're going to vigorously fight them," Mark Portnoy, Acme's lawyer said.

If the judge agrees with the NLRB and decides to issue the bargaining order, the workers would be unionized. Teamsters local 445 would then begin to negotiate, along with the employees for a written contract.

Local 445 filed a complaint on September 29, 2008 accusing Acme General Manager Charles Mazzei and two men known as "JJ" and "Cowboy" of threatening, interrogating and firing workers who tried to organize.

Additional charges were filed after that date concerning managers videotaping union representatives talking with workers, calling the police on union representatives, and prohibiting employees from discussing the union.

Where is Acme Bus - in Russia some place?

The complaints were backed up by a huge amount of the employees

"I'm all for the union," said one worker. "When Charlie found out I and a couple of others were helping the union out, he slowly got rid of each one of us."
She was fired by Acme in September.

"The union thinks they're going to lose," the lawyer chuckled.

.....He thinks the Labor Board likes wasting a federal judges time too.
65 of Acme's 100 employees signed authorization cards requesting a union election.

If the Employee Free Choice Act was law, those employees who were fired would not have been and the employees would already be bargaining for a written contract.

This type of illegal activity happens all over the country and even in our back yard many times a year.

Why shouldn't employees be able to have their rights and the rules at work in written form?

That is what a contract is. Is that so terrible? How much money does their attorney make? That money could have been available for the employees benefit.

Now the attorney will get rich holding the little people down and denying them their rights.

Pass the EFCA or any improvement to the way it is now. It is an absolute shame what happens in this country to American workers.

"We would have had the election in November," he said, "but terminations, interrogations and surveillance, prevented it. Acme poisoned the well by frightening the workers away from the union. People can't vote in an atmosphere of a police state, in an atmosphere of fear."

"Nonsense," Portnoy said. "These aren't stupid people; these are sophisticated people. If they go into a voting booth, they're going to vote their conscience. They think we're a good employer. We don't believe the union has any strength."

Unions and Workplace Protections

2009-06-02T23:08:00.002-04:00

Part III -

An extensive array of labor laws and regulations protects workers in the labor market and the workplace. From the National Labor Relations Act and Social Security Act of 1935 to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, labor unions have been instrumental in securing labor legislation and standards.

However, beyond their role in initiating and advocating enactment of these laws and regulations, unions have also played an important role in enforcing workplace regulations. Unions have provided labor protections for their members in three important ways: 1) they have been a voice for workers in identifying where laws and regulations are needed, and have been influential in getting these laws enacted; 2) they have provided information to members about workers' rights and available programs; and 3) they have encouraged their members to exercise workplace rights and participate in programs by reducing fear of employer retribution, helping members navigate the necessary procedures, and facilitating the handling of workers' rights disputes

Unions have played a prominent role in the enactment of a broad range of labor laws and regulations covering areas as diverse as overtime pay, minimum wage, the treatment of immigrant workers, health and retirement coverage, civil rights, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation, and leave for care of newborns and sick family members.

Common to all of these rules is a desire to provide protections for workers either by regulating the behavior of employers or by giving workers access to certain benefits in times of need. Over the years, these rules have become mainstays of the American workplace experience, constituting expressions of cherished public values.

Less well recognized perhaps, is the important role that unions play in ensuring that labor protections are not just "paper promises" at the workplace. Government agencies charged with the enforcement of regulations cannot monitor every workplace nor automate the issuance of insurance claims resulting from unemployment or injury.

In practice, the effectiveness of the implementation of labor protections depends on the worker's decision to act.

This is done either by reporting an abuse or filing a claim. Unions have been crucial in this aspect by giving workers the relevant information about their rights and the necessary procedures, but also by facilitating action by limiting employer reprisals, correcting disinformation, aggregating multiple claims, providing resources to make a claim, and negotiating solutions to disputes on behalf of workers.

By organizing into bargaining units, workers are more apt to become educated and stand up for their rights in the workplace.

America needs strong unions.

Union wages, nonunion wages, and total wages

2009-05-31T00:10:00.003-04:00

There are several ways that unionization's impact on wages goes beyond the workers covered by collective bargaining to affect nonunion wages and labor practices. For example, in industries and occupations where a strong core of workplaces are unionized, nonunion employers will frequently meet union standards or, at least, improve their compensation and labor practices beyond what they would have provided if there were no union presence. This dynamic is sometimes called the "union threat effect," the degree to which nonunion workers get paid more because their employers are trying to forestall unionization.

There is a more general mechanism (without any specific "threat") in which unions have affected nonunion pay and practices: unions have set norms and established practices that become more generalized throughout the economy, thereby improving pay and working conditions for the entire workforce. This has been especially true for the 75% of workers who are not college educated.

Many "fringe" benefits, such as pensions and health insurance, were first provided in the union sector

Union grievance procedures, which provide "due process" in the workplace, have been mimicked in many nonunion workplaces.

Union wage-setting, which has gained exposure through media coverage, has frequently established standards of what workers generally, including many nonunion workers, expect from their employers.

Until, the mid-1980s, in fact, many sectors of the economy followed the "pattern" set in collective bargaining agreements. As labor law enforcement decreased due to anti-union policies of political foes, their ability to set broader patterns has diminished. However, unions remain a source of innovation in work practices (e.g., training, worker participation) and in benefits (e.g., child care, work-time flexibility, sick leave).

The impact of unions on wage dynamics and the overall wage structure is felt most in the markets where unions are seeking to organize and the nonunion employers affected are those in competition with unionized employers.

How Unions Help All Workers - Part One

2009-05-25T22:35:00.002-04:00

by Lawrence Mishel and Matthew Walters

Unions have a substantial impact on the compensation and work lives of both unionized and non-unionized workers. This report presents current data on unions' effect on wages, fringe benefits, total compensation, pay inequality, and workplace protections.

Some of the conclusions are:

• Unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation, including both wages and benefits, by about 28%.

• Unions reduce wage inequality because they raise wages more for low- and middle-wage workers than for higher-wage workers, more for blue-collar than for white-collar workers, and more for workers who do not have a college degree.

• Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion employers follow. For example, a high school graduate whose workplace is not unionized but whose industry is 25% unionized is paid 5% more than similar workers in less unionized industries.

• The impact of unions on total nonunion wages is almost as large as the impact on total union wages.

• The most sweeping advantage for unionized workers is in fringe benefits. Unionized workers are more likely than their nonunionized counterparts to receive paid leave, are approximately 18% to 28% more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are 23% to 54% more likely to be in employer-provided pension plans.

• Unionized workers receive more generous health benefits than nonunionized workers. They also pay 18% lower health care deductibles and a smaller share of the costs for family coverage. In retirement, unionized workers are 24% more likely to be covered by health insurance paid for by their employer.

• Unionized workers receive better pension plans. Not only are they more likely to have a guaranteed benefit in retirement, their employers contribute 28% more toward pensions.

• Unionized workers receive 26% more vacation time and 14% more total paid leave (vacations and holidays).

Unions play a pivotal role both in securing legislated labor protections and rights such as safety and health, overtime, and family/medical leave and in enforcing those rights on the job.

Unionized workers are more informed, they are more likely to benefit from social insurance programs such as unemployment insurance and workers compensation.

Unions are an intermediary institution that provide a necessary complement to legislated benefits and protections.

This is part one of a continuing series of articles on this subject.

Support your union - you will be helping yourself and all workers by doing it.

Memorial Day Weekend: Remember What It Stands For

2009-05-22T22:50:00.000-04:00

Study Says Antiunion Tactics Are Becoming More Common

2009-05-21T06:14:00.001-04:00

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE, NY Times

A new study by a Cornell University professor of 1,004 union organizing drives has found that employers threatened to close plants in 57 percent of the campaigns and threatened to cut wages and benefits in 47 percent.

The study also found that employers fired pro-union workers in 34 percent of the campaigns. And it asserted that management’s antiunion tactics had helped pushed down the unionization rate to 12.4 percent, from 22 percent three decades ago.

Titled “No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing,” the report is likely to be heavily cited, quoted, praised and denounced in the debate over whether Congress should enact legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize.

The study found that “the aspirations for representation are being thwarted by a coercive and punitive climate for organizing that goes unrestrained due to a fundamentally flawed regulatory regime.”

The author of the study, Kate Bronfenbrenner, is director of labor education research at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and has often been criticized by business groups for her pro-union positions.

Ms. Bronfenbrenner said her research had been reviewed and approved by her peers.

“I am an objective scholar,” she said. “There are no neutrals in this field of academia. I used the highest, methodological standards possible.”

She said her study was based on a random sample of 1,004 unionization elections from early 1999 to late 2003 and relied on a review of National Labor Relations Board cases and documents, as well as surveys of 562 lead union organizers.

In 63 percent of the elections, the study found, supervisors used one-on-one meetings to interrogate workers about whether they or co-workers supported a union. (It is illegal under federal law to interrogate workers about such matters.)

In 54 percent, she found, supervisors used the meetings to threaten workers.

Her study found that employers used 10 or more types of antiunion tactics in 49 percent of unionization drives, up from the 26 percent she found in a similar study 12 years ago.

Why are business owners afraid to bargain with their employees as a group?
What are they afraid of?

Point of Order: Unions And Their Members Give Back To Their Communities Every Day

2009-05-19T06:32:00.000-04:00

Organized Labor gives MORE back to their communities than most people realize. This goes on all over the country. The fact is that we just don't publicize it. There are hundreds of donations of money amounting to thousands of dollars to community, youth groups and schools. That is in addition to a massive amount of volunteer work done for the needy each year by all of the unions in the Hudson Valley and yet - you have some local people and even some politicians, who still attempt to discredit labor.

There are endless ways that we can all help each other in the Hudson Valley if we support each other.

Support the unions, support the middleclass and support good wages. The return on that support is the best investment you can make for the local community.

Mayor Grinch Out of Control

2009-05-16T21:03:00.008-04:00

Everyone knows the story of the Grinch. What is going on now in the City of Kingston is TRULY UNBELIEVABLE.

Jeanne Edwards, an employee of the Department of Public Works who filed a sexual harassment suit against the city last year has been laid off by Mayor James Sottile.

Ms. Edwards received the bad news in a letter on Friday from Kathleen Thomas, executive secretary in the city’s Civil Service Office stating that “Recent changes in the economy have forced us to make some difficult decisions here at the city of Kingston. “Therefore, it is with regret that I inform you that we are eliminating your position as code enforcement officer effective May 29, 2009.”

“I think that this is a disgraceful move coming from a mayor with a disgraceful history regarding his workforce,” said Troy Ashdown, the vice president of the CSEA local that represents city public works employees. “This mayor acts unstable at times, and once again we are seeing that.”

It sure looks like something is terribly wrong. If you have been following the history here - the Mayor tried to cut Edwards to part-time in his budget proposal last January.

The Common Council did the math and realized that the savings to taxpayers from cutting Edwards to part-time would amount to SAVING ONLY PENNIES.

Many residents spoke out in favor of keeping Edwards in a full time time position and in the end the Common Council voted to fund her position at full time in the budget they approved.

If the position was budgeted for - how can the Grinch steal Christmas again after the fact?? Something smells rotten here.

Edwards, Troy Ashdown and other union leaders of the CSEA are calling the action retaliatory and said that they will pursue legal action against Sottile for her being laid off.

Edwards is one of two city employees Sottile has laid off recently. The other was in the Parks and Recreation Department. A common practice in retaliatory layoffs is to combine or bundle the real victim in with another employee or employees.

“I am not looking at names,” Sottile said. “I am looking at positions. The task that she (Edwards) does will be done by somebody else.”

Ashdown said Edwards layoff may add fuel to the sexual harassment suit filed by her and two other women who worked for the Department of Public Works at the time. That is an additional cost that will far exceed the cost of the already budgeted position.

Does this really make any sense?

Oh and well,well,well - Sottile is on vacation this week, golfing in Florida.

According to the Kingston Freeman:

Alderman Thomas Hoffay said on Friday that he was not aware Edwards had been laid off and that he was under the impression the city’s retirement incentive and voluntary furlough programs had eliminated the need for job cuts.

“This gives their (union) argument some credibility when it is just one person getting something in the mail,” said Hoffay, D-Ward 2.

Sottile, a fellow Democrat, responded by saying Hoffay “doesn’t understand the finances of the city.

“Unfortunately, all indicators are ... that (what has been done so far) isn’t enough,” the mayor said.

Alderman Michael Madsen, D-Ward 9, described himself as “speechless” when told Edwards had been laid off. Asked if he thought the move was retaliatory, he said: “How could any conscientious person think otherwise?”

Alderwoman Ann Marie DiBella, one of two women on the Common Council, declined to comment about the layoff. “I just as soon stay out of it,” the Ward 5 Democrat said.

That is NOT an acceptable answer.
Her mouth is always going about everything else. Let's hear it now. Speak up, step up and be heard - even if it means you must- God forbid - question the Mayor Grinch.

It is very well known how hard that is for YOU to do.

Where too are the rest of the members of the Common Council on this issue? The people expect an answer. Is this how Ms. Edwards would have been treated if you were in charge? If this involved your own sisters? Wives? Mothers?

Your silence is deafening.

Earth To Glenn

2009-05-13T06:58:00.000-04:00

The Ulster County Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee has approved contracts for ancillary workers in both the Ulster County Sheriffs Department and the Ulster County Community College.

Committee Chairman Alan Lomita noted that the three and a quarter percent wage increases were already anticipated for and included in the County budget.

The number of workers involved was much smaller than other County employees units and the increases were right in line with what has been approved in the past for the larger groups.

To his credit, Lomita reasoned that, “I didn’t really think it was fair to use them as sacrificial lambs.”

The only committee member to vote against the increase was Republican Minority Leader Glenn Noonan. He stated that the County could not afford to give this group the three and a quarter percent wage increases given the current economy.

Earth to Glenn, the money was in the budget for this already.

It is easy to try to pick pocket the little guy for what probably amounts to a personal burden of .06 cents a year to each taxpayer and make believe you are a fiscal genius.

In a multi million dollar budget, we think you could save somehow, someplace and sometime without taking it out of the mouths of the working people - especially after the money was put aside for it.

Some of our "leaders" have only two talents - fighting with the other party and taking away from the working person.

......and both of those acts are getting old.

Global Investors Managing $372 Billion in Assets Endorse the Employee Free Choice Act

2009-05-12T06:33:00.001-04:00

Investors in the U.S. and Abroad Consider Passage of the Act an "Economic Imperative"

May 11, 2009 - New York, NY - Yesterday, an international coalition of major institutional investors, managing $372 billion across the global economy, sent a letter to Senate and House leaders endorsing the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560 and H.R. 1409).

The investor endorsement brings a new business voice to the debate over U.S. labor law reform, breaking sharply with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and other corporate trade associations lobbying against the bill.

"As investors, we believe constructive labor relations are essential for improving productivity, efficiency and workplace safety," said Steven Heim, Senior Vice President and Director of Social Research and Advocacy for Boston Common Asset Management, LLC.

"We believe the proposed legislation would help appropriately rebalance labor-management relations and better protect workers if they face unlawful conduct by employers when exercising their workplace rights."

In their letter, the investors underscored the economic considerations in their endorsement of the legislation, noting that "the decline in unionization in the United States, exacerbated by a variety of anti-union responses from companies and weaker U.S. labor law, has damaged the fragile relationship between management and employees and depressed the prospects for sustained economic recovery."

"The Employee Free Choice Act is an investment in our shared economic future," said Adam Kanzer, Managing Director and General Counsel at Domini Social Investments LLC. "The Act will help to stabilize our economy, both in the United States and abroad, by establishing a more balanced relationship between labor and management. Today, American workers are producing more and receiving less. This is an unsustainable trend that creates material risks for employees, investors and the global economy.

By more effectively protecting workers' fundamental human rights, the Act would help to reverse these damaging trends."

Ulster County Residents - Check Your Shorts

2009-05-08T06:23:00.004-04:00

Last night, the Dutchess County Lawmakers approved the installation of their Electrical Licensing Board. The actual licensing law was approved in the fall of 2008. The board will have its first meeting this month to elect a Chairman and begin to lay out their plan to issue licenses.

Ulster residents should be aware that the only place left now in the ENTIRE Hudson Valley Region for the uninsured, unqualified, unlicensed, fly by night electricians (some who know just enough to be dangerous) to make a living is in - where else - Ulster County.

Be very careful when hiring an electrician after next month. Ask for insurance. Ask for qualifications. Ask for an IBEW electrician to do the work.

The influx of unqualified electricians into Unlicensed Ulster County will increase dramatically by June.

When you ask for an IBEW electrician to do the work, the contractor is GUARANTEED to be an electrical license holder in the Hudson Valley and will use ONLY electricians who are certified by NYS as Journeyman Electricans.

When you lights go out or worse yet, your house goes up in flames - you will wish you did.

The next thing you should ask for is an explanation from your Ulster County Legislators about why they are letting you hang out to dry like this.

Which Side Are You On?

2009-05-07T06:18:00.001-04:00

This is what it takes for people to demand respect and justice at their workplace. The Employee Free Choice Act would have already given these workers the right to bargain for better conditions and wages with their employer.

Notice the politicians at the end supporting the workers efforts to organize.

How many Hudson Valley politicians who look for the support of labor and working people during election time would REALLY show their face and voice their support when the workers need them?

The fact on that is all would give some and some would give all, but most would give nothing.

Corporate Greed Gets The Welcome Mat In Kingston

2009-05-04T06:42:00.009-04:00

Looks like there are already some issues at the new Walgreens under construction in Kingston.

Seems that Walgreens has challenged the IBEW to a "duel" by using a contractor that undermines the wages and benefits of electricians in the area. Here we see that sometimes even local contractors can be greedy and pay their workers low wages. This should be a good one.

The Mayor obviously forgot to mention to Walgreens that he wanted to create good, well paying local jobs. Looks like it's gonna be a hot summer.

Here is the handbill that HVLR obtained that is being passed passed out on the streets of Kingston. A little detective work by the IBEW shows just how far and deep corporate greed goes.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Are You Paying Too Much At Walgreens?

Walgreen Co., owner of Walgreens Pharmacy, has agreed to pay $35 million to settle a federal lawsuit accusing it of defrauding Medicaid by switching patients onto more expensive drugs.

The Federal Government sued Walgreens based on the testimony of whistleblower Bernard Lisitza. Lisitza, a pharmacist, accused the company of secretly switching patients to more expensive versions of the heartburn drug ranitidine (the generic form of Zantac), the Parkinson's drug selegiline (a generic version of Eldepryl) and a generic form of the anti-depressant Prozac. By making minor changes, such as giving patients tablets instead of capsules, the company was able to collect more money in Medicaid reimbursements.

These changes were widespread, Lisitza said, and not made for any medical reason.

"Switching between tablets and capsules to deliver medications might seem harmless, but when that is done solely to increase profit and in violation of federal and state regulations that are designed to protect patients, pharmacies must know that they are subjecting themselves to the possibility of triple damages, civil penalties and legal fees," said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

The violations allegedly took place in 42 states and Puerto Rico and resulted in the public health program paying up to 400 percent more than necessary.

While stopping short of admitting guilt, Walgreens agreed in the settlement to enter a five-year compliance agreement to make sure that no more medically unnecessary drug switches happen from now on.
The agreement will be overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Walgreens will also pay $18.6 million to the U.S. government and $16.4 million to various state Medicaid programs.

This Handbill is brought to you by IBEW Local 363 in an effort to inform the public in regard to Walgreens and not to stop any employee or any person working for any employer from working or making deliveries and not to organize Walgreens employees.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Kingston consumers should pay close attention about this "bait ansd switch" trick with their medicine and prescriptions.

Paying 400% more for your medicine is nothing to sneeze about.

Walgreens Pharmacy / Bad Neighbor!

When Is Lunch?

2009-05-03T09:31:00.004-04:00

MEAL PERIOD GUIDELINES

Section 162 of the New York State Labor Law provides as follows:

Time allowed for meals

Every person employed in or in connection with a factory shall be allowed at least sixty minutes for the noonday meal.

Every person employed in or in connection with a mercantile or other establishment or occupation coming under the provisions of this chapter shall be allowed at least thirty minutes for the noonday meal.

The noon day meal period is recognized as extending from eleven o'clock in the morning to two o'clock in the afternoon.

An employee who works a shift of more than six hours which extends over the noonday meal period is entitled to at least thirty minutes off within that period for the meal period.

Every person employed for a period or shift starting before eleven o'clock in the morning and continuing later than seven o'clock in the evening shall be allowed an additional meal period of at least twenty minutes between five and seven o'clock in the evening.

Every person employed for a period or shift of more than six hours starting between the hours of one o'clock in the afternoon and six o'clock in the morning, shall be allowed at least sixty minutes for a meal period when employed in or in connection with a factory, and forty-five minutes for a meal period when employed in or in connection with a mercantile or other establishment or occupation coming under the provision of this chapter, at a time midway between the beginning and end of such employment.

The commissioner may permit a shorter time to be fixed for meal periods than hereinbefore provided. The permit therefore shall be in writing and shall be kept conspicuously posted in the main entrance of the establishment. Such permit may be revoked at any time.

In administering this statute, the Department applies the following interpretations and guidelines:

Employee Coverage. Section 162 applies to every "person" in any establishment or occupation covered by the Labor Law. Accordingly, all categories of workers are covered, including white collar management staff.

Shorter Meal Periods. The Department will permit a shorter meal period of not less than 30 minutes as a matter of course, without application by the employer, so long as there is no indication of hardship to employees. A meal period of not less than 20 minutes will be permitted only in special or unusual cases after investigation and issuance of a special permit.

One Employee Shift. In some instances where only one person is on duty or is the only one in a specific occupation, it is customary for the employee to eat on the job without being relieved. The Department of Labor will accept these special situations as compliance with Section 162 where the employee voluntarily consents to the arrangements. However, an uninterrupted meal period must be afforded to every employee who requests this from an employer.

For additional information or assistance, contact the nearest office of the Division of Labor Standards under the heading of NYS Department of Labor, Albany NY.

The NOT Fully Developed Plan

2009-04-30T18:39:00.005-04:00

Mayor Sottile has gone to the paper to announce that he has a plan to combine the Department of Public Works and the Department of Parks and Recreation to make things more efficient. He says the merger would save money and create a wider pool of workers to maintain city parks.

CSEA Unit Vice President Troy Ashdown has said that the proposal will neither save money nor make the parks any cleaner and that there are still questions that need to be answered in regard to the Mayors proposal.

“It is just change for change’s sake,” Ashdown said. “The Mayor is just playing musical chairs.”

Ashdown told Hudson Valley Labor Report that he absolutely agrees that the city should be run as efficiently as possible but the devil is in the details.

To Ashdowns credit, the Mayor admitted to the Daily Freeman that specific plans have not been fully developed, he did say however, that he plans to shift at least five recreation department laborers to public works.

The job of a municipal labor leader is to ensure that the taxpayers get the best production in return for their tax dollars and that, at the same time, workers rights are respected within any "plan" that may be proposed.

Judging from the past track record of this Mayor, the welfare of the workers is not too high on his list of priorities, so Ashdown is 100% correct to make sure he gets involved and questions a plan that is - from the Mayors own words - NOT fully developed.

HVLR has a suggestion for the Mayor. Why not involve the union and develop the entire plan as a team?

“My number one responsibility is to the taxpayers of this community, not the CSEA,” Sottile said. Good soundbite but there are tons of examples of his office costing those same taxpayers money for stupid reasons.

.....and, just last week he involved himself in the CSEA election. This week, he doesn't care.

That seems to be part of an ongoing problem with this Democratic Mayor - he seems to have a few different personalities and a problem working UPFRONT and well with others....and his union issues transcend just the CSEA.

The Mayor told the Freeman he is perplexed by Ashdown’s comments, saying that “behind closed doors,” union officials appeared to back the plan.

How do you back a plan that even the Mayor admits is "not fully developed"?

“It is unfortunate that the vice president criticizes me for trying to save jobs,” Sottile said. Another good soundbite.

Recent history shows that this Mayor does not have a record of saving jobs. Just rewind to the budget he proposed for proof. He didn't give a damn about saving jobs or the people in those jobs.

The best part is that Alderman Charles Landi, D-Ward 3, who chairs the Common Council’s Finance/Economic Development Committee, defended the mayor’s plan, and unfairly bad mouthed the union while doing it.

What could Charlie mean? He backs the unfinished, not fully developed plan?? Good ole dependable free thinking Charlie.

Looks like Charlie is just taking shots here or maybe just doing shots - one or the other. Either way - you're too much Charlie.

Here is a simple solution Mayor- meet with the union and work out a REAL finished plan before going to the paper half cocked and starting a dispute over one that isn't even "fully developed".

Maybe it is time, as some commenters on this blog have said, to take a look at electing a few more Republicans and ousting a few these do nothing, anti-union Democratic blowhards we have in office now in Kingston and in Ulster County as a whole.

It's a good bet that the Republicans would love a few new friends these days and they can't possibly be any worse than some of these "allstars" we have in office now.

School Is In Session....Pay Attention And Take Out Your Labor Law Textbooks

2009-04-29T06:53:00.001-04:00

Pay attention kiddies and know your rights.

Another Perfect Example: We Need Unions And The EFCA

2009-04-25T08:03:00.002-04:00

The brainwashed, the ignorant, the corporate hacks and Fox news cool aid drinkers are in for a suprise. This NEEDS to change and it is going to change.

Maybe Walmart, like the rest of the companies who are against the EFCA are really just worried about the workers having the right to a secret ballot election.
Yea, and they truly care about their "associates".

It looks more and more like the time for bullshit has passed.

WOW, Look Who Is Proud To Be A Union Member!

2009-04-24T21:57:00.002-04:00

When employees bargain TOGETHER with their employer they can increase the chances that they will receive the proper training to help them perform their jobs.

Everyone knows that unorganized workers in every field LAG BEHIND their union counterparts when it comes to legitimate and proper training in their workplace.

The recent pirate attack on the Maersk Alabama showed the world that unions can save the lives of workers by providing quality on-the-job training and support.

Listen to the words of someone who was actually there and involved in that terrible situation in the high seas. He credits their success to their union membership, training and the employees feeling of togetherness as a working unit that made everything work out for the best.

What a great example of what ORGANIZING and working together can do!

However, millions of workers - back here on land - are harassed, intimidated, or fired for trying to join unions. The Employee Free Choice Act would change that.

But corporate lobbyists are pulling out all the stops to block this bill. Lies are flying all over the place because the momentum is on the workers side this time and the corporate hacks are nervous as hell.

Every worker needs to have a voice at work! Even us land lovers!

Let The Games Begin

2009-04-24T06:31:00.001-04:00

The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce is holding a seminar today for its members about the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Employee Free Choice Act allows WORKERS TO CHOOSE to join labor unions by a secret ballot election OR if a majority of those same workers sign a petition or cards telling the employer that they want a union - they would get it instantly, right then - without waiting sometimes months to have an election.

It is common knowledge that the month delay is very important to employers who plan on breaking Federal Laws to stop a union election.

That is what spawned the URGENT need for the Employee Free Choice Act.

What is the difference to an employer if a majority of workers who want a union hand them cards stating that fact or if a majority of workers tell them that a month later in an election?

The answer is simple - it doubles the opportunity for those workers to join the union......and da boss man doan like that.

The Chamber says: "This educational session will provide information about union-organizing rules, the proposed changes and a practical approach for business owners to prepare for this possible change".

Translation; We are meeting to help businesses plot on how to take away American workers rights and how to lobby against those rights.

This law isn't about the "unions", it is about the "workers".

Why would they be afraid TO BARGAIN FAIRLY WITH THEIR WORKERS?

Don't they realize that all subjects in negotiations must be agreed upon by both the employees and the business owner?

Why would a fair business man not want to put the terms and conditions
(whatever they may be) in writing?

They actually put it writing right now - it's called the "Employee Handbook".

Take yours out and read the last few paragraphs where it will say "THIS IS NOT A CONTRACT" and that the employer can "UNILATERALLY CHANGE" anything in it WITHOUT ANY NOTICE TO THE EMPLOYEES.

That's real fair.

Here's why - the employer does not have to listen to any employee concerns at all without a union in place. They like it like that - and it's ok that they like it.

Who wouldn't like making all the rules without question - no matter how unfair those rules may be?

But, here in America - working people HAVE THE RIGHT to adjust that situation a little by bargaining with the employer as a group.

Why all the histeria about that?

Businesses sign contracts and NEGOTIATE for every single thing they buy. They sign contracts and NEGOTIATE over the cost of every single thing they sell.

Their employees want to negotiate too - for the daily labor that they sell every day to their employer.

What's wrong with that??

Are Taxpayers Paying Mayor Sottile To Run The City Or The CSEA?

2009-04-20T06:25:00.004-04:00

Kingston city taxpayers should take solice in knowing that their Mayor is spending his days trying to make sure that the unions internal machine is running fairly. In this tough economy, that is a very good use of his valuable time.

In the most recent CSEA election season, there were union members who were interested in running for office. So far, so good.

Internal union election procedures are structured and precise, so that every person who wants to be involved and run for an office can. The structure is no different from those in place when you are running for a public office.

Follow procedure, properly file your election forms and start campaigning.

Simply put in this particular case, the interested parties that filled out the election form did not write in the proper office that they intended to run for. This negated their opportunity to run for the correct office.

Normally, this would not be a problem and it could be amended. But in a campaign strategy utilizing the element of suprise that backfired, the candidates waited until the end of the last day to file their papers, leaving no time to change their incorrectly completed form.

Now unless you've been hiding under a rock somewhere, you already know that the Mayor of Kingston has no love for the current leadership of the local CSEA, Troy Ashdown and Bart Robbins. No love because they actually do their jobs well and protect the rights the employees of the city.

Now comes the best part. The Mayor is spending his day writing letters to the CSEA in Albany questioning whether this internal union matter has been done fairly and expresses that he is very concerned about it.

He wrote, "Over the past month, I have received a number of complaints from city employees with regard to the election process and procedure. These employees have indicated that the process has not been fair and equal to all."

“They have also expressed their distress with the fact that they feel they are not getting accurate information from their local representatives. I am asking that your organization investigate the concerns of (the union members) with regard to this election and its process.”

Sottile also stated that his “sole concern is that this process be applied fairly and equally for all.”

Isn't strange how the guy who is always against the union and its members now has such a great concern about if they are being treated fairly?

What's next Lance Matteson and March Gallagher outside picketing for higher wages for Ulster residents??

Hey, Hey, My, My

2009-04-17T19:29:00.007-04:00

Looks like the National Labor Relations Board has reached down and peepee smacked the owner of the Concept Packaging for interfering with the employees who wanted to form a union.

The problem with it is that the Labor Board is making a ruling on illegal conduct that happened months ago. The employer might have stepped onto the wrong side of the law - but looks like that's the price you don't mind paying when your goal is to trip up your own employees and stop them from enjoying their rights as Americans.

The damage is already done to the election campaign and innocent people lost their jobs.

BUT DON'T WORRY BECAUSE THE UNION IS FIGHTING TO GET THEIR JOBS BACK FOR THEM AND TO SCHEDULE A NEW ELECTION DATE.

I ask you, what other group takes on the task of fighting for working peoples rights, the quest for dignity in the workplace and good paying jobs everyday?

I mean, of course, besides the local IDA boards.

An election should follow shortly. Let's hope the people who were humiliated and forced to protest against their own rights can now recover some courage to stand up against an unfair thug of a boss.

On another note, I hear that the contracts for Shop Rite, Stop&Shop and Pathmark are going to expire this weekend. The good news is that both labor and management have pledged to work with each other and come to an agreement that is fair for both sides.

Isn't that the way it is supposed to be?

Make sure you patronize good companies that provide good jobs.

Let the other ones starve to death. Ya hear me Hannafords?

Remember These Poor Concept Packaging Workers?

2009-04-13T22:24:00.004-04:00

That really has to be one of the most embarrassing, staged and self denigrating public displays ever seen. ..........I'm against myself, really.

The results are in concerning the alleged safety violations at Concept Packaging in Newburgh, the second largest perfume bottler in the nation.

Blocked exits, a blocked and restricted fire-suppression system, an inadequate flammable-storage room, improper storage of flammables, inadequate electrical equipment, inadequate personal-protective equipment, lack of hazard-communication training and machine-guarding hazards.

OSHA found over 30 violations and could be getting ready to fine the company over $60,000 for allowing those unsafe working conditions, some of them very dangerous.

Also involved are about 19 workers who have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board claiming they lost their jobs when they were discovered to be part of a group that called in the union to organize the workers.

Seeing their fellow workers fired for starting to organize is what made the rest of those poor people march against themselves. Swearing that the dangerous conditions inside were ok and that they did not need the union. That was just pure intimidation coming out of those peoples pores. That is what fear looks like - in their eyes.

Soon, the National Labor Relations Board should rule on some of the discrimination charges on behalf of the 19 workers and also on the election date - which will actually be decided and held someday.

This is a classic and VERY LOCAL EXAMPLE OF why we need to pass the
Employee Free Choice Act.

"At-Will Employees"

2009-04-11T10:52:00.007-04:00

This article is for our friends who DO NOT work under a UNION CONTRACT.

What is "at-will employment"?

The "at-will doctrine" is a rule of contract law.

"At-Will" means that an employee can quit at any time and an employer can fire an employee at any time and for any reason.

Read any employee handbook and you will find those words. Sounds like a logical arrangement on the surface doesn't it?

When the at-will doctrine is applied by a court, here is what the "AT-Will Employee" can expect in regard to his or her rights at the workplace:

A job that is described as "permanent" does not mean that it will last forever. It means only that the job is not temporary or not seasonal.

The employer can discharge the employee at any time without even an explanation.

The employer can discharge the employee for absolutely any reason. For example, simply because the employee asked for a day off.

The employer can discharge the employee without any warning. For example, for the very first time the employee is late.

The employer can discharge the employee without offering the employee any kind of "hearing" or chance to explain.

The employer is not required to give an employee two-weeks notice, or any advance notice at all prior to discharge.

The employer is not obligated to tell the employee the reason for the discharge.

The fact is that the at-will doctrine provides an employee no job protection at all.

Here are a few differences between the At-Will employees workplace and the employee who works under a written CONTRACT:

A contract between the employer and employee provides greater protections for the employee.

A collective bargaining agreement between a union and the employer provides for discharge only if there is "just cause."

Wrongful discharge in violation of the written contract is a labor law violation.

IF YOU DO NOT WORK UNDER A CONTRACT read the employer's handbook, manual, or policies and you will probably realize that the "deck" is stacked heavily in the favor of the employer, who unilaterally wrote those documents.

The best part of the employee handbook for the employer is that if an employee EVER finds something in the handbook that could make him or her "right" and the company at fault or liable for something - EVERY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK CONTAINS A CLAUSE THAT SAYS THAT THE EMPLOYER CAN CHANGE THE HANDBOOK AND ANY OR ALL OF ITS CONTENTS AT ANY TIME THE EMPLOYER CHOOSES.

Can you say paid slaves? Or better yet, in most cases, low paid slaves? What rights do "At-Will" employees have that the non paid slaves of the past didn't have? The sad answer is that they only have the rights that are provided by the passage of laws.

Thankfully, the At-Will Employees have also benefited from the struggles of the AMERICAS UNIONS - who fought for and won each and every right the AT-Wills have that was LEGISLATED and MADE LAW. It is organized labor who fights for all workers rights and for the passage of every labor law we have AND WILL EVER HAVE.

And by the way, the same people who wrote those employee handbooks fought the passage of every one of those labor laws that we all enjoy and take for granted today.

Kingston And Benedictine Nurses Working For Nistel - Stand Up And Be Counted

2009-04-07T05:55:00.004-04:00

Registered Nurses who work for the private company called Nistel Inc. have voted to become part of the NYS Nurses Association. There are about 50 nurses who work at the hospitals who are employed by the company.

They join another 200 nurses from Benedictine hospital who already decided to join the union last September.

Now these workers can work along WITH management and create a written contract that will be beneficial for both labor and management. The nurses say that they chose to join the NYSNA because they feel comfortable knowing that this union is an expert organization in dealing with the issues that affect registered nurses.

The best part for all of the nurses involved is that they now will become part of the decision making process whenever an issue concerns the hours, wages and working conditions of the nurses.

It is just smart business to lay out a game plan and to look ahead at some of the issues that may arise and to work out those issues prior to the time that they occur. This saves time, money and a lot of hard feelings. It also lets all parties know that there is a standard to follow that everyone has had an opportunity to develop.

Great job NYSNA.

It Is Obvious What The Truth Is Here

2009-04-05T09:40:00.004-04:00

The Employee Free Choice Act INCLUDES the right to insist on a secret ballot election in addition to ADDING the right for the majority of workers to just sign cards or a petiton. The employer THEN MUST BARGAIN WITH THEM - settling the issue instantly.

The thought that employees could actually form a union WHENEVER THEY DECIDE TO sends fear through the hearts of most unfair employers. The result is a heavily financed campaign that could be titled "Complete Lies, Distortion, Stereotyping and Fear - or whatever works"

The EFCA will definitely kill off ONE extremely lucrative business, made for the same snakes that are now hissing the loudest against the law:

Unions Will Save Middle Class America, Like They Always Have

2009-04-02T05:47:00.000-04:00

New Guidelines Established For IDA Financing

2009-04-01T05:56:00.004-04:00

The Industrial Develepment Agency has FINALLY decided to focus on not only financially assisting businesses but demanding that those who ask for help from the county - actually create good jobs for local people in return.

There has been a puzzling tug of war taking place concerning the melding of the need to attract business and the need to create good jobs for the people of this county.

For years, the IDA gave away the store and created nothing for the poor slobs in the county looking for a decent job. How frustrating it was to see millions of dollars given to needy millionaire businessmen that created no jobs.

But those days are over! By a seven to zero vote the IDA has established new rules for businesses asking for public assistance.

Here is a brief outline of the details:

Any business who accepts IDA financing must create local jobs during the construction phase and then hire local people for their permanent jobs.

All construction workers WILL be paid the NYS Prevailing wage for the area in order to ensure that local construction businesses who pay their local employees good wages are not undercut by transient workers and businesses from out of the area.

All permanent jobs WILL include a health plan and a $12 minimum wage.

There will be a post-project employment report sent back to the IDA that will show that the employment provisions of the contract with the IDA were and are being complied with.

IDA Board members will have access to every project at any time to conduct worker interviews for compliance.

Businesses not willing to comply with these procedures will be DENIED financial assistance.

Businesses willing to comply with these procedures will be financially assisted with much higher levels of compensation than were previously allowed.

The IDA Board has looked back into their history and found that they have wasted many opportunities and given too much to those who gave little or nothing back.

The new system will distribute more financial assistance to those who truly want to partner with the county. By cutting out those businesses who only want to feed themselves at the public trough and give nothing in return, they FREE UP MONEY TO ASSIST THOSE BUSINESSES THAT REALLY DESERVE THE HELP.

Congratulations to the IDA board and its members for finally thinking with the best interest of businesses and working people in mind and recognizing that their prior blind eye to the extreme lack of job creation was an awful mistake.

With almost 10 percent unemployment and almost nothing to show for years and years of just "giving the money away", this is a real breath of fresh air and a long overdue and very smart position to take from this point foward.

April Fools

A Little Free Style

2009-03-30T23:30:00.003-04:00

President Obama has the full attention of the corporate giants in regard to his feelings toward American middleclass workers. The money and bullshit are flowing heavy out there against the Employee Free Choice Act. The CEO of Home Depot has called the passage of the law that would make it easier for American workers to organize into unions, "the end of the world as we know it".

Makes me wonder if that is a good thing or bad thing - if you accept their version of what the world should look like.

There is definitely a lot of arm twisting out there. Many moves are being made with eyes looking way into the future. This goes for both Republicans and Democrats. Fed Ex has threatened to cancel orders with Boeing if labor laws are eased to protect workers!

The Employee Free Choice Act must be a great and effective law for the benefit of the middle class American worker.

That is the only explanation for the panic and millions of dollars being spent by big business on an anti-union, anti-worker and deliberate misinformation campaign against a law that is good for American workers.

Look for some real battles in regard to this....it's gonna be a HOT SUMMER!

Did you see that IBM was going to actually patent the best system to use to offshore your American jobs, get rid of the American workers, save all kinds of money and STILL QUALIFY for public funding? They said soon after that it was an error on their part to apply for the patent. oh. I believe that.

Very conservatively, if rent costs $1000., Electric $200, Heat $100, Food $800, Car insurance $200, Car payment $250 and Gas $200 - all per month - and you made $18 per hour and worked forty hours - and paid even just $100 dollars in Federal and State taxes - you would net $620 dollars a week or $2480 per month to pay the $2750 in bills listed here.

SO, what is a good job? What is a good wage?

....And before you start feeling sorry for the upper 2% that are going to be asked to pay an increased tax rate on their income...........
.....their rate is going to increase by only 1-2% more. If you want to feel sorry for anybody, feel sorry for the average people who pay on every dollar they make and can't hide the lions share in some shelter.

I hear there are more than a few electricians who are nervous about Orange and Dutchess requiring their electricians to be licensed who are getting ready to set up shop in Ulster because you can "get away" with more there. What do you think they mean by that?

Hey! Does that count as attracting jobs?

Trust Us , Trust Us

2009-03-25T06:50:00.003-04:00

Some of these "Corporations Gone Wild" in the global market would sell your grandmother for firewood if they could.

"American" company? Most couldn't care less about that. They have allegiance only to profit. If closing whole towns up and moving out of the country can turn another dollar - they are gone.

A large part of this is based on wage exploitation. A person in a foriegn country can work for under $10 dollars a day. Can you do that here in America? Can you do that in the Hudson Valley? Not at under $50.00 a week. Are you then a "greedy worker"? Do you make too much money? I don't think so.

The well being of American workers is not even on the corporate plate.....in fact, it has been off the table for generations. Morals and ethics have been replaced with greed.

The good news is that American workers are beginning to organize

More and more companies are being exposed as questionable and greedy. Selling out whole industries in America is of no consequence to these people. They have no shame either. Cutting American jobs and then moving those same jobs to India or some other country.

With a contract there are written procedures that are followed in regard to employment issues and situations, such as pertains to hours, wages, working conditions and rules. Those procedures are established together for the good of both the company and the employees.
Oh wait, they are called associates now - not employees. Employees could attempt to organize, associates are just "associated" with the company on a one on one basis.
Working people need to stop believing corporations who say there is no need for a CONTRACT or a union.

What other major component of your financial survival should you not have reduced to writing and signed by the person you are doing business with?

Just like other companies out there - large and small- IBM still has written contracts for every single thing it buys - except for IBM"ers".

Great business move though - fooled almost two generations - first cut the retirement and now your job goes to India. Nice. The corporation convinced those working Americans into believing that banding together was a bad idea. This layoff is the payoff to the company for doing a good job at that.

In the past locally, some American workers even had to suffer the indignity of teaching their foreign replacement their job.

Soon Americans will be organizing for survival. Some may dispute that but it is true. When corporate misbehaviour effects blue collar and white collar workers and people start to see the entire working class being moved off shore - THEY WILL BAND TOGETHER WITH THEIR NEIGHBOR.

Just like they would at a neighborhood brush fire.

You Can Still Have A Secret Ballot.......

2009-03-22T20:33:00.005-04:00

Family Medical Leave Act - Military Style

2009-03-19T22:34:00.000-04:00

Remember Scary Movies?

2009-03-18T22:53:00.000-04:00

Media Matters Calls Out FOX On EFCA

2009-03-18T06:01:00.003-04:00

Employee Free Choice Act: "Fox Facts" vs. actual facts

Fox News has run on-screen text, often billed as "Fox Facts," falsely claiming that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would "kill workplace secret ballots," "kill workers' right to secret ballot" and "take away workers' right to have a secret ballot vote."

In fact, as the Christian Science Monitor has noted, the legislation "gives workers a choice of forming a union through majority sign-up ('card check') or an election by secret ballot."

Fox News has also aired on-screen text claiming that "current law requires workers to vote by secret ballot"; in fact, current law already allows a union that shows it has the support of a majority of workers to represent the workers if their employer voluntarily agrees to recognize the union.

In recent days, Fox News has run on-screen text -- again billed as "Fox Facts" -- falsely claiming that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would "kill workplace secret ballots," "kill workers' right to secret ballot" and "take away workers' right to have a secret ballot vote."

It is a fact, the legislation would not eliminate employees' right to a secret ballot; as The New York Times reported, "Business groups have attacked the legislation because it would take away employers' right to insist on holding a secret-ballot election to determine whether workers favored unionization" [emphasis added].

The REAL FACTS ARE that "[t]he proposed law gives workers a choice of forming a union through majority sign-up ('card check') or an election by secret ballot."

Additionally, Fox News has repeatedly aired on-screen text falsely claiming that "current law requires workers to vote by secret ballot." In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted, current law already allows a union that shows it has the support of a majority of workers to represent the workers if their employer voluntarily agrees to recognize the union.

Media Matters has noted that Fox News hosts and contributors have frequently advanced falsehoods about the Employee Free Choice Act. Think Progress has also noted that, in recent days, Fox News has frequently distorted facts when discussing the bill.

Clearing Up The Corporate Lies: A Full Time Job

2009-03-13T06:24:00.000-04:00