This Happens More Than You Would Ever Believe! (Among Other Bad Things)

There are many people that work in environments like this one. Sometimes in order for that to change,it takes just one person to finally say, "That's enough!" but most will agree it is very chancy to do that.

Even with all of the "protective" laws we have in 2009, if a situation was unsafe or unfair, it is still very chancy to speak out in a non-union workplace. And that is a fact.

Some will say, "well, that person can leave! He doesn't have to work there." That is a true statement - but another true statement is that if a person wants to work there - and is willing to work hard for their money - then they deserve a safe and fair place to work, just like the employer deserves their hard work.

If that's wrong, I'm on the other team.

We need the Employee Free Choice Act to be passed so that workers can more freely organize themselves into unions. Some think of that as threatening or disloyal. It is a mistake to think that. Another mistake is thinking that when the people speak as a group in a union it's automatically adversarial. When both sides are fair- everybody wins.

If that's wrong, I'm on the other team.

Remember When? Get Ready - Change Is Coming

Change is coming. President Elect Obama has a tremendous task ahead of him to lead this country out of the recession/depression we are in. He keeps the well being of all of our American citizens as his first priority- with a special place in his heart for the middleclass working people. Thank God for that fact because nobody else has in a long time. (About 8 years)

Fixing this country and the mess it is in will take time,
remember - Fred and Barney didn't change overnight.

Union Construction Trades

If you are a person who wants to learn a trade and earn a middleclass living, you need to check out the Local Union Construction Trades. If you are a person who is working in the trades now but are not working in the union, you need to check out the Local Union Construction Trades. The training cannot be matched anywhere. The training is paid for by the union and the union contractors. You will be taught not only how something works but why it works. Every worker that completes the Union Apprenticeship classes is a potential Foreman or even General Foreman.

The Union Trades do a lot of good things for their community too.

Senior citizens groups, countless charities, little leagues, libraries, churches, hospitals and those faced with difficult times all know who to call in their time of need. When they call the trades, they know they will get help.

Find out how you can join the Trades and be part of the union movement.

Our proudest moments are when we are supporting our community and the people who work within it.

House Passes Two Major Working Family Bills: Fair Pay Act, Paycheck Fairness Act

House Passes Two Major Working Family Bills: Fair Pay Act, Paycheck Fairness Act

by Mike Hall, AFL_CIO NEWS Jan 9, 2009


Lilly Ledbetter says she knows she’ll never recover the hundreds of thousands of dollars she lost from her paychecks because of nearly 20 years of pay discrimination. But today the U.S. House of Representatives, with a big push by Ledbetter’s refusal to go quietly away, took the first step to make sure millions of other women don’t suffer the same fate.

By a vote of 247-171, the House passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act (H.R. 11) overturning the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that denied Ledbetter—and any worker who suffers pay discrimination—justice. Then shortly after, lawmakers added some new teeth to equal pay laws and passed the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12) by a 256-163 vote. Both bills now go to the U.S. Senate.


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says the two bills are

Not only important to the women of this country. They are very important to the economic security of this the country. That’s why we are taking them up in the first week of Congress.

During a conference call with reporters yesterday, Ledbetter said:

I’m a living example of the fact that pay discrimination is a pervasive problem in workplace today….My case is just the tip of the iceberg. My case is over and I will never receive any pay. But Congress has the power to ensure what happened to me won’t happen to anyone else.

After years of working at an Alabama Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant, Ledbetter discovered she was being paid less than the lowest-paid man doing the same work. She gathered enough evidence to file suit, and a jury awarded her $3.8 million. But Goodyear appealed to the Supreme Court.

But in May 2007, the Supreme Court squelched the award and ruled Ledbetter—and other workers—has no right to sue for a remedy in cases of pay discrimination if she—or any worker—waits more than 180 days after her first paycheck, even if she didn’t discover the pay discrimination until years later.

Following the court’s ruling, hundreds of pay discrimination cases have been thrown out based on the 5-4 decision that basically overturned decades of precedent that considered each paycheck a discriminatory act, thus allowing workers who don’t discover the discrimination for years to seek legal remedies.

Marcia Greenberger of the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) says the Ledbetter bill

is a matter of economic justice and a matter of economic urgency for women and the families they support. More than 300 cases…were lost because of the court’s ruling. How many more were told by their lawyers, “It’s too bad. You’re too late.” We can’t wait another day to pass this law.

The Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s (D-Conn.), would provide more effective remedies for women who are not paid equal wages for doing equal work, by adding some teeth to the 1963 Equal Pay Act

Women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar a man is paid, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Women workers covered by a union contract are guaranteed equal pay. But millions of other working women don’t have that protection and must rely on today’s inadequate fair pay laws.

DeLauro says pay discrimination, coupled with the economic crisis,
has put so many women on the edge financially. The Paycheck Fairness Act makes the 45-year-old Equal Pay Act a more effective tool. It stiffens penalties, protects workers from retaliation and offers concrete solutions to what is a real problem.

Both bills passed the House in the last session, but Senate Republicans blocked a vote in the Senate. Congressional Democrats hope to have both bills ready for President-elect Barack Obama to sign shortly after he takes office. But it is unclear how vigorously Senate Republicans will oppose the bills.

One thing this clear, their friends and donors on the corporate world are “horrified,” screaming about the fair pay bills, reports Art Levine on the Huffington Post. He suggests their reaction to these “two common sense bills” is a preview of the vitriolic and hysterical arguments they will mount against the Employee Free Choice Act.

Anti-labor groups and Republican leaders are sharpening their attack lines, or lies, about these measures and the upcoming Employee Free Choice Act.

We’re not backing down, so this should be a fun year.

Coalition For A Democratic Workplace: EXPOSED AS A FRONT AND FRAUD

Here is another example of naming a group or a law with a name that is exactly the opposite of what it really is or does.

You would think that a group called the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) would be dedicated to promoting the needs and desires of America's workers. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, CDW spreads half-truths and lies about the Employee Free Choice Act to wage an ill-conceived assault on the rights and opportunities of millions of men and women across the country.

Here's the real scoop on the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace...

CDW is a front group for business associations, industry lobbying groups, and right-wing policy centers who are against workers getting a fair shake in this economy. Its financial backers include some of the most virulent anti-worker and anti-union organizations in the country, including:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s most powerful business lobbying organization,The Retail Industry Leaders Association, a group whose biggest member is Wal-Mart, the poster child for low wages,The Associated Builders and Contractors, an association of anti-union contractors who fight against workers having unions to improve their wages and safety on the job.

CDW is doing the dirty work for CEOs and corporate special interests. Too ashamed to be fighting publicly against policies that would provide workers with real economic opportunities, these companies instead use their deep pockets and powerful influence to fund CDW’s dishonest PR and lobbying campaign.

The CEOs and multimillion dollar business industry groups backing CDW don’t care about democracy or privacy.

They’re distorting the truth because they want to stop workers from having a better standard of living, access to health care, job security, and the rest of the benefits that accompany union membership.

These same groups oppose everything from paid sick days to fair pay and even the hugely popular Family and Medical Leave Act.

It's unbelievable that business interests would suddenly care about privacy now, when corporations increasingly monitor employees’ every move – including e-mail, phone calls, personal belongings, and even interactions outside of the workplace.

CDW spreads misinformation. Contrary to the lies and distortions displayed in CDW’s new TV ad and on its website, the Employee Free Choice Act does not take secret ballots away from workers.

The legislation instead offers employees an alternative to the current, broken system that is slanted heavily in favor of management against workers.

In fact, the bill would ensure that workers can choose their own union formation process, either through majority sign-up or a National Labor Relations Board election.

You will hear more and more about groups like this one formed as fronts for big business to push lawmakers to deny Americans their rights to organize as the Employee Free Choice Act gets closer to passage. Stay tuned.

Unions Help All People And Improve Lives!

If you are in a union, you know that working under a contract,(as every professional person with half a brain insists on doing also), is the absolute smartest move you can make.

No business person does anything with another business person or customer without a contract - stating what will be done and what will be paid for that action.

To work everyday without a contract is a very chancy situation. You are in what is called an "at-will" arrangement and are an "at-will" worker. Sounds logical on the surface. Another one of those cleverly worded political phrases.

At-Will means just that, at will. Your whole career, your pay, your benefits, your hours of work your lifestyle and your life can be changed AT WILL by another person at ANY TIME. No explanation needed. And you have absolutely nothing to say about how any of it is going to work.

With a contract, that same situation requires discussion and reason and fairness.

Who in the heck would want that? Huh?

If you know someone who needs a contract or if you do yourself - make that point on this blog and the first steps will be taken to make that happen.

You can have a union where you work right now and soon, with the Employee Free Choice Act - it will be easier than ever to join or form a union at your workplace.

Happy New Year! : Unions Create "Helmets To Hardhats" Program To Support Our Veterans

"We Support The Troops"

The Union Building Trades across America have created a program to give employment preference to those that served our country in the armed forces. It's called," Helmets To Hardhats".

Today, it is very popular for everyone to say that they "support the troops". It is very easy to agree with that statement and to say that. However, we have not heard of EVEN ONE CORPORATION that has made a concrete commitment to those words in regard to promising any returning vets a job. Not one.

THE BUILDING TRADES UNIONS in America, with the creation of "Helmets To Hardhats", are actually doing something to back up those words.

They are pushing the vets to the front of the line when it comes to having an opportunity to learn a trade and have a career after their military duty is completed.

That is because the unions are the ones that are actually in the "people" business. They care about the welfare of all workers and really believe that our Vets deserve to be rewarded for their service and for protecting this country.

Think about who it was that stepped forward the next time the union bashers come out against Organized Labor. Or when we have local politicians speaking out against the Prevailing Wage Laws for construction workers.

We need more organizations to step up like the Unions do and start supporting the idea that American citizens and workers deserve to have and to be able to maintain a decent standard of living.

If you know a Veteran who wants to get into the Building Trades locally, check out the Hudson Valley Building Trades Council website at www.builditunion.org. You will find a directory of local unions on that site.

So when you see the building trades members out at a site picketing for wage standards or speaking out at public meetings for the creation of local jobs,realize that they are performing a service for all local workers.

....and remember - help us support the Vets by supporting the Local Union Building Trades.