Posted on December 19th, 2008
Let’s start with the good, because we need some encouragement in these trying times.
Yesterday, reports surfaced that Rep. Hilda Solis will be selected as the next Labor Secretary. The choice of Solis, an unapologetic labor advocate, sends an unmistakable message that the Obama administration will mean business when it comes to worker rights.
Then this morning President Bush announced the decision to provide over $17 billion of TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) money as emergency relief to GM and Chrysler. There had been talk that the Bush administration wanted to meddle with worker salaries or forced bankruptcy proceedings. Thankfully, neither of those options were in the package the president announced. Correction: as CtW Connect reports, there were worker salary demands included in the fine print of the Bush administration’s rescue package, but the UAW will hopefully have a chance to fix this particular flaw once the Obama administration takes over.
In the bad news file, the Bush administration altered regulations pertaining to farm workers. These proposed changes will depress the wages of farm laborers, a group of workers who already receive substandard wage and job protections. The only solution is for the incoming Obama administration to undo this harmful regulation change. To read more about it and to let President-elect Obama know this needs to be fixed, click here.
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Filed under: cybersteward.net
Posted on December 12th, 2008
The former Teamsters President passed away today in New York City. He was 72.
A former UPS package car driver, Carey would become the first democratically elected head of the IBT. He went on to lead the union in a successful strike against UPS in 1997, because of which he is credited with opening the door to thousands of new full-time Teamster jobs.
People have differing opinions of Ron Carey (as they tend to have of all leaders), but many of the accomplishments he had in his time leading our union cannot be dismissed, no matter your opinion of Mr. Carey. As we hear news of his passing, all union men and women should hold him in a place of respect for the things he did for our cause.
To read more now on Ron Carey, check out TDU.org
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Filed under: Article 22.3, I.B.T., Rank-and-File, cybersteward.net, solidarity, strikes
Posted on December 12th, 2008
Then let your elected representatives (including the President) know we need action on the auto bailout. Let them know governmental coercion of UAW givebacks is not going to fix this mess (no matter what some Republican Senator with foreign automakers in his state wants to say).
Click here to find out who your representatives are. Then email or call them to let them know you will hold them accountable if they fail to stand up for real Americans — because however anyone feels about the idea of bailouts, the failure to take action will have a directly catastrophic effect on regular Americans.
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Filed under: exposing anti-union propoganda, politics, poverty and wealth, solidarity, unionism
