NWA Green Jobs Training Center!

“The Fayetteville Green Jobs Training Center of Excellence will soon be a reality. Thanks to everyone involved in helping make this happen. I had lots of help. Joining me yesterday were Alderman Sarah Lewis, Representative Lindsley Smith, UA Engineering Professor Panneer Selvam, Stephen Smith from the Northwest Arkansas Labor Council, and Steve Clark from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, all of whom have been working to make this happen. Chief of Staff Don Marr, Senator Sue Madison, and Peggy Gabriel from the UA College of Engineering, as well as other members of my staff, have been involved but were unable to attend the announcement. The important thing is that we are taking steps to put people to work in green jobs that will save energy and money for local residents and businesses.” -- Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, AFSCME Local 965


Northwest Arkansas Lands Green Jobs Training Center

By Skip Descant

Saturday, February 27, 2010

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES— The next crop of energy auditors or energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning specialists could come from Northwest Arkansas.

Gov. Mike Beebe announced the launch of two green-job training centers in the state Friday. One will be based at NorthWest Arkansas Community College and the other at Pulaski Technical College’s North Little Rock campus. The two programs will be funded for the next three years with more than $2.5 million in federal grants.

No official start date has been set, but officials say they’d like to get the program off the ground in June.

In Northwest Arkansas, the job-training program will be based in Bentonville with some coursework in Fayetteville, said Becky Paneitz, NWACC president of the community college, speaking after a news conference in North Little Rock where Beebe made the announcement.

NWACC’s corporate learning center in north Fayetteville at the corner of Joyce Boulevard and College Avenue will house the classroom portion of the training program, while “lab-type work” will happen at the school’s main campus in Bentonville, said Beau Walker, interim director of public relations at NWACC.

“This is good not just for the city of Fayetteville, but the whole region,” said Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan. Jordan traveled to Little Rock to attend Beebe’s news conference.

“I really believe that between the two schools, we’ll be able to open a new job market for the whole state,” Jordan said.

Establishing a green job training center in Northwest Arkansas was a prominent plank in Jordan’s bid for Fayetteville mayor in 2008.

“Today teaches you that if you stay after something long enough and stay after it, it will come to pass,” Jordan said.

He was joined at Friday’s announcement by Steve Clark, president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce; Sarah Lewis, Fayetteville City Council member; and state Rep. Lindsley Smith (D-Fayetteville), who is also employed as Jordan’s communications director for Fayetteville. A host of officials from NWACC also attended the event.

Rick Mayes, director of building sciences at NWACC, will serve as director for the program. A program coordinator will begin work in mid-March, Walker said. The program coordinator will work to certify the new program with nationally known organizations such as the Building Performance Institute, the Residential Energy Services Network, Air-Conditioning Contractors of America and the Florida Solar Institute.

“This project is really geared toward weatherization for the state of Arkansas,” Paneitz said.

“One of the many goals for the Center of Excellence is to help bring lacking standardization to the state of Arkansas by training an educated, qualified workforce,” Walker added.

“It’s extremely important to the economic development for this region,” Paneitz added.

The coursework is being designed so that most professional certification training will take several days to several weeks depending on how the classes are scheduled. It’s not yet clear how much the classes will cost.

The state has said it wants to offer a minimum of 60 courses in the next three years, training at least 600 workers. The U.S. Department of Energy issued a $7.4 million grant to pay for the program. NWACC was awarded $1,356,088 and Pulaski Tech was awarded $1,231,202. The grants, which are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be administered by the Arkansas Energy Office, a division of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Roughly $4.9 million will be used by NWACC and Pulaski Tech to develop mobile training units that will visit the state’s other community colleges to provide the training.

Beebe said the money will allow the schools to “be able to train folks for the jobs of tomorrow, not the jobs of yesterday, the jobs of tomorrow.”

“(The program) marries environmental protection with economic development and it creates jobs for folks that will be long-lasting for the foreseeable future,” the governor said.

Organizers say they hope to identify more funding sources for future classes.

“The Centers of Excellence are charged with making this initiative sustainable and we anticipate other correlating funding will be designated to implement additional projects related to alternative energy such as wind, solar and geothermal,” Mayes said .

Initially, the training will include licensing and certifying professionals already working in these job sectors, say NWACC officials.

Local job watchers are praising the announcement.

“One of the great things about NWACC’s new offerings is that they will be shaped by the needs of our community,” said Keaton Smith, who leads Jordan’s Fayetteville Forward green economy group. “Programming will be fluid to meet consumer demand for new innovations and trends in the marketplace.”

“It is another key step in building a science, business and technology cluster,” said Steve Rust, president and CEO of Green Valley Development in Fayetteville. Green Valley Development is an economic development group charged with attracting and growing companies in the green-tech job sector.

More training in the green building sector will assist a growing move to build more energy-efficient buildings, said Karen Stewart, an environmental consultant with EcoPotential, a Springdale firm that offers training and consulting for environmental building certification in areas like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, also know as LEED.

“They go hand in hand,” Stewart said, pointing to a November 2009 report by the Green Building Council that shows green building will support 7.9 million jobs nationwide and pump $554 billion into the American economy — including $396 billion in wages — over the next four years.

“So this is really what needs to happen in Northwest Arkansas,” Stewart said.

Labor leaders say the training centers will be a boost for jobs.

“Even in Northwest Arkansas we’re running 7 percent unemployment, and this is the first step to get this set up to get the certification people need and I think, put more people in the workforce,” said Stephen Smith, president of the Arkansas Labor Council, which worked closely with officials in Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas, NWACC and others to secure the training center.

“We can then move on for more cooperation for more advanced job training in areas like solar and wind energy,” Smith added.

The Arkansas News Bureau’s Jeremy Peppas contributed to this report.

AFL-CIO PRESIDENT RICHARD TRUMKA ON SENATE PASSAGE OF JOBS BILL

Working people across America welcome the news that the Senate has passed a jobs bill today as a first step to put Main Street back to work. Senator Reid has said more actions need to be—and will be—taken. We couldn’t agree more. We need much bigger and bolder actions to ensure that we create 10 million jobs and Wall Street pays the bill to fix the financial disaster.

In a turn of head spinning hypocrisy, some Republican Senators had the audacity to vote for a bill they voted less than 48 hours ago not to allow even to be considered. If these Senators want to be seen as part of the solution, they must stop these procedural hijinks that are slowing down the Senate and hurting the recovery. Working families need jobs and are demanding real results from Washington.

Moving forward, we will be taking the fight for jobs to communities nationwide, focusing on the solutions we have outlined in our 5 point jobs plan: Extending unemployment insurance benefits, food assistance and health benefits; rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and investing in green jobs; increasing aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services; increasing funding for neglected communities to match people who want to work with jobs that need to be done; and using TARP money to get credit flowing to small businesses.

RICHARD TRUMKA
February 24, 2010

Momentous Step Taken to End Wage Theft

Miami-Dade County Passes Historic Measure Poised to Inspire Other Communities

Miami-Dade County yesterday overwhelmingly passed the first county-wide ordinance in the country to combat wage theft, making it easier for workers to bring legal action against employers who fail to pay or underpay them.

“This is momentous,” said Jeanette Smith, Executive Director of South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (SFIWJ). “The passing of this legislation will make a difference for every worker in Miami-Dade County and, hopefully, will encourage groups all over the country to establish similar mechanisms for workers in their communities.”

Thursday’s vote was the culmination of over a year of work by SFIWJ and the South Florida Wage Theft Task Force. Similar initiatives are being considered by states and cities across the country, including Los Angeles and New Orleans.

“This victory is a spark that will help ignite a wave across the country,” said Ted Smukler, Public Policy Director of Interfaith Worker Justice. “It is a shining example of many initiatives underway at the state and local levels to combat this crime, and demonstrates that there’s widespread political will when people are made aware of the extent of the crisis.”

“It’s a historic day for all Miami-Dade workers, employers who play by the rules, taxpayers, our economy, and our community, setting the precedent for the nation to follow,” said Fred Frost, President of the South Florida AFL-CIO and a member of the wage theft task force.

“This legislation will provide justice for exploited workers using a streamlined hearing examiner process, at very little cost to our county,” said Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners member Natacha Seijas, the measure’s principal sponsor. “I am very pleased that every colleague present today voted in favor of this Ordinance.”

“Recovering back wages owed workers will put more money in the local economy, send a message to crooked employers and create a more level playing field for honest employers,” read a Miami Herald editorial endorsing the ordinance, which the newspaper argued would “fill a vacuum” and “be a future deterrent.” “Employers would have to pay employment and workers' compensation taxes they're now avoiding, a burden for honest employers.”

“And now, the real work begins,” said SFIWJ’s Smith. “Tomorrow, we go out to the streets and we talk to workers. We visit congregations. We educate. We involve our community in a county-wide effort to implement this historic piece of legislation. The message is clear -- thou shalt not steal. Not in our community. Not anywhere.”

“When raising the minimum wage was blocked at the federal level for 12 years,” said IWJ’s Smukler, “people took action at the state level and were successful in winning state campaigns that raised the minimum wage above the federal level in a majority of states in the country, creating the momentum that eventually led to raising the national minimum wage in 2007. We believe that victories like today’s in Miami-Dade County can similarly inspire a wave of policy changes and legislation at the local, state, and ultimately federal levels, with the goal of ending wage theft in America.”

#####

No Deal on NLRB Appointments

President Obama must act immediately to restore the ability of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to protect the rights of American workers by giving recess appointments to two nominees who are being blocked by Blanche Lincoln and other Senate Republican obstructionists, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said today.

Writing on Huffington Post, Trumka put it this way:

The NLRB’s job is to protect workers’ rights—but for more than two years it has been functioning with only two members instead of the five it should have. Working people need an NLRB that can enforce the National Labor Relations Act—not one hobbled by vacancies.

Click here to read the entire post.

Saying “enough is enough,” Trumka is urging working people to take action now and call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1111or 202-456-1414 and demand that President Obama use his executive power to appoint Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the NLRB during the Presidents Day recess.

In a deal between the White House and the Senate minority, the Senate yesterday confirmed 27 non-controversial Obama appointees. But the NLRB nominees—Becker and Pearce—both highly qualified, well-respected labor lawyers who were nominated in July, were left out of the deal. The Republicans filibustered the Becker nomination, although he received a majority vote. The White House apparently has agreed not to make Presidents Day recess appointments—a process that allows the president to temporarily appoint his own nominee while Congress is out of session.

Trumka calls that decision:

A big win for the Republicans. A big win for corporations that want to file down the teeth of the NLRB. A big loss for working people.

He adds that progressives must act quickly to build support for a fully functional NLRB.

Progressives should take every opportunity to let their congressional representatives and the White House know that protection of workers’ rights is one of the first and most important changes working people expected to see when they voted in 2008. It’s been 13 months since the inauguration—it’s time.

CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE BOARD AND COMMITTEE OPENINGS

Please encourage eligible union members and representatives of working families to apply for these appointments.

http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/city_clerk/documents/misc/Board_and_Committee_Application_Form.pdf

Board, Committee & Commission Vacancies

CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE BOARD AND COMMITTEE OPENINGS

ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION COMMISSION

One Term Ending 03/31/14

AUDIT COMMITTEE

One Unexpired CPA Term Ending 12/31/12

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS

Two Terms Ending 03/13/15

BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY OF THE OZARKS

One Unexpired Term Ending 12/31/12

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

One Term Ending 03/31/16

Each commissioner must be a resident of the city for at least three years immediately preceding their appointment. A.C.A. Section 14-51-202.

CONSTRUCTION BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS

Three Terms Ending 03/31/15

Two Alternate Terms Ending 03/31/11

FAYETTEVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

One Term Ending 04/01/15

PLANNING COMMISSION

Three Terms Ending 03/31/13

One Unexpired Term Ending 03/31/11

One Unexpired Term Ending 03/31/12

TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

One Unexpired Term Ending 06/30/11

TREE AND LANDSCAPE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Utility Representative Term Ending 12/31/11

One Service Organization Unexpired Term Ending 12/31/11

One Land Development Unexpired Term Ending 12/31/11

February 26, 2010– APPLICATION DEADLINE

All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on February 26, 2010.

All volunteers must reside within the Fayetteville City Limits and be a Fayetteville Registered Voter. All applicants must submit a new application for each board, committee, or commission. Applications may be emailed to city_clerk@ci.fayetteville.ar.us or mailed to the City Clerk’s office at 113 West Mountain, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Please contact the City Clerk’s office at 575-8323 for more information.

http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/city_clerk/documents/misc/Board_and_Committee_Application_Form.pdf

New report shows unions substantially raise wages and benefits for workers

A new report released last week by the Center for Economic and Policy Research examines unionization rates, the size and composition of the unionized workforce and the wages and benefits for union workers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

"The union presence varies across states, but unions substantially raise wages and benefits for workers in every state," said John Schmitt, the author of the report.

The study, "The Unions of the States," finds that in the typical state, unionization is associated with a 15 percent increase in hourly wages. Unionization is also associated with a 19-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-provided health insurance and a 24-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Buy, Buy, American Pie

Obama Right to Make JOBS Top Priority

President Obama was exactly right when he spoke tonight of the stubborn resilience of the American people in the face of adversity. Despite daily insecurity and the deep hurt of not being able to find jobs, working people's goodness, decency and hard work have kept our country going.

But Americans are also deeply frustrated and angry. We want to see elected leaders who'll fight for us and bring real change. We want jobs-President Obama is absolutely right that jobs must be our number one focus in 2010. And we must act on a scale that will be meaningful: We need more than 10 million jobs just to get out of the hole we're in. We want health care fixed. We want our leaders to break the stranglehold of Wall Street and the big banks and make them pay to repair the economic damage they created.

President Obama spoke directly to those concerns tonight. He called for a jobs bill and putting people to work. He called for America to take its place as a world leader by investing in our economic foundation, education, infrastructure and energy technology. He demanded tough financial reform. He called for curbing corporate influence, stopping tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and enforcing trade rules. He committed to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. And he said we must finish the job of reforming health care.

The President was right to call out Republicans for obstructing change and putting politics ahead of progress.

Now it's time for all of us to get busy and work together to bring the big changes that are essential-starting with enacting a jobs bill that is big enough to create jobs for the millions of people who want to work and can't find jobs. The time for small change is long gone. We were pleased to see that the President embraced two of the job creation proposals we have made - investing in infrastructure and helping small businesses get credit through TARP funds.

We're ready to fight for the President's vision - and we're going to insist that it be done right. That includes restoring the freedom of workers to bargain to make jobs into good jobs by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

We will not agree with every aspect of every proposal. We will continue to be an independent voice for middle class Americans and fight for the change working families need-and we are ready to do more. This is the time for a broad movement of Americans demanding jobs and an economy that works for all, and we're ready to put our energy and leadership into building that movement-taking the fight to the doorstep of the banks that are exploiting struggling homeowners, of corporations that are running away from communities and of lawmakers who choose to back them up.

We hope elected leaders at every level will choose instead to lead with action. Working America is watching to see what they do. We are in a "show me" kind of mood and we are ready to see results.

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
On President's State of the Union Address
January 27, 2010

We Need a JOBS PLAN Now!

The election in Massachusetts last week was a sobering reminder to candidates running in 2010. Voters are fed up with the inaction in Washington and are expecting RESULTS. If candidates want the votes of working families come November, they need to pass real working families legislation - a jobs bill, health care reform, financial regulation and the Employee Free Choice Act. Our job could not be clearer. Our time to stand up and fight for the issues that are important to working families is now.

Please watch and share widely this short YouTube video of President Trumka commenting on the results in Massachusetts.

Also be sure to attend our candidate nominating convention in March. The full COPE will begin candidate interviews at 1:00 p.m. on Friday March 26th. There will also be a reception hosted by Martin & Kieklak Law Firm Friday evening. Affiliated union members are encouraged and welcome to attend both.

We need a strong job creation plan to foster growth, ensure that states perform the core functions that all American families deserve, and deliver jobs to Americans on Main Street. Join the Facebook group to show your support, and ask your state legislators to sign onto this letter. The AFL-CIO is calling on Congress and the Obama administration to take five steps now to care for the jobless and put America back to work. Read more.

Are you and your family members registered to vote? You can check your registration online and register to vote online too. You must be registered at least 30 days before an election in order to vote.

Thank you for all that you do.

In solidarity,

Alan Hughes, President
Ricky Belk, Secretary-Treasurer

Labor Council meeting rescheduled for February 4

Due to the Winter Storm Warning for Thursday, January 28, the meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Labor Council has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 4, at 5:30 p.m.

Building Retiree Power

I hope you will consider joining me April 5-8 in Las Vegas for Building Retiree Power, the 2010 national convention of the Alliance for Retired Americans. We will offer a wide array of education and training opportunities to improve your skills as a grassroots activist and as a leader of a local or state retiree group.

It may be a new year, but many of last year's challenges - health care, retirement security, and a lingering recession - still remain as great as ever. The future of our retirement, and what will be there for the generations that follow us, will be dramatically affected by what our leaders do this year.

I've heard experts say that in this November's elections older voters will make up over one-third of the turn-out. If the health care debate has been any indication, retirees will be the object of a lot of attention - and a lot of misinformation. We must do our homework on the candidates and the issues, and educate our neighbors so they will be able to separate fact from fiction come election time.

The Alliance convention will feature noted speakers and training workshops on topics such as health care reform, Social Security, community organizing, fund-raising, and using new on-line communications tools such as Facebook to reach more retirees in your area.

For more information about the Alliance for Retired Americans national convention, to be held April 5-8 at Bally's Las Vegas, visit www.RetiredAmericans.org or call 888/373-6497.

Barbara J. Easterling is president of the Alliance for Retired Americans. She was previously the secretary-treasurer of the Communications Workers of America.

Building a Stronger Labor Movement in Our States and Communities

Building a Stronger Labor Movement in Our States and Communities

AFL-CIO State Federation, Area and Central Labor Council Conference

AFL-CIO President Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer Shuler, Executive Vice President Holt Baker, IUPAT General President and State and Local Committee Chair Williams and State and Local Leaders will be attending and participating in our National Conference April 22-25 in Orlando, Florida

(National Community Services Conference begins on the evening of April 21)

Join state federation, area and central labor council leaders from across the country as we meet to share ideas, strategies, opportunities and challenges in building our movement at the state and local levels and winning historic national campaigns. We will focus on the information, tools and skills needed to accomplish these goals to help Turn Around America with a major emphasis on jobs, health care, the Employee Free Choice Act and the many issues within your states that will require attention as we move into Labor 2010. A comprehensive agenda will be developed over the next several weeks to include:

# Peer-to-Peer Discussions
# Grassroots Skills Workshops
# Communications and Technology
# Organizational Development
# Sharing of Best Practices
# AFL-CIO Youth Initiative


Registration for the Conference and hotel is all completed on-line. We encourage you to make your reservations early.

Register at: www.aflcio.org/sfclcconf

For further information, contact: Amy Morris at sfclcconf@aflcio.org or 202-637-5355.

Pass Real Labor Reform Law

Thanks to Brother Ricky Belk, CWA from Alma and Secretary-Treasurer of the Arkansas AFL-CIO, for sending the following letter to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and speaking up for working families in Arkansas.

Arkansans are no stranger to the hardships that workers and employers are feeling throughout the country. It’s more important than ever that our leaders pass meaningful reforms that directly affect workers in Arkansas so our middle class can help rebuild our country’s economy from the bottom up.

One of the best things we can do for workers everywhere is pass real labor law reform such as the Employee Free Choice Act to give them the ability to bargain for a better life. Unfortunately, instead of supporting this critical legislation, the Democrat-Gazette Editorial page has once again decided to confuse fact with fiction and irresponsible scare tactics.

Let’s set the record straight. The bill will not eliminate the right for workers to choose a secret-ballot election during organizing. It will, however, restore fairness to the system and let workers, not their bosses, make the choice in how they form a union.

The bill also will hold corporations accountable when they break the law and bring balance to negotiations by allowing for arbitration when employees and employers can’t come to an agreement.

I hope in the future the Democrat-Gazette will be more conscious of the facts and not just continue to echo corporate rhetoric. I urge all Arkansans to involve themselves in this debate and find out the truth for themselves.

RICKY BELK Alma

Wage Theft Should Be A Crime

“You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.” Deuteronomy 24:14 A worker I interviewed, whom we’ll call Victoria, took a job at a Fayetteville restaurant for $50 a day. She worked 10 to 10, six days a week. That comes to $4.16 an hour. Arkansas’ minimum wage is $6.25, plus time-and-a-half for work over 40 hours per week.

Victoria’s terms of employment were illegal. Had she been paid a legal minimum wage, she would have earned $300 more per week.

If only she had been paid.

Victoria was supposed to be paid every two weeks. But it was nearly a month before she got her first check. When she got her second check a week into her second month of work, her employer told her not to cash it for a week.

By that time she had additional responsibilities. She was the primary cook, preparing most of the orders and doing the dishwashing as well. She was coming in earlier and staying an hour later. Same $50 a day.

One day a couple of weeks later, Victoria suffered a pretty serious cut to her finger. It became infected overnight. She was treated and told to cover the finger for three days.

The doctor said she could return to work, taking some precautions to protect the injury. When she went back the next day, the owner fired her. The owner paid her half of what she was owed, with a hot check.

That hot check was Victoria’s good luck. You see, it is a Class Cfelony to pass a hot check of $500 or more - that’s a serious crime; same category as manslaughter.

Victoria went to the Workers Justice Center who contacted the county prosecuting attorney.

The prosecutor forced the former employer to make good on the hot check.

There are only civil penalties when an employer to underpays a worker, or hires people below the legal minimum wage, or refuses to pay for work an employee has done. There are legal sanctions.

Unlike the prosecutor’s office, these wheels move slowly. It takes time. And if the worker wins, the employer usually suffers just a slap on the wrist. But in truth, it is theft. Wage theft.

Maybe you think this is an unusual case, an exception to the rule. Not so. A landmark study published in fall surveyed more than 4,000 low-wage workers and found that nearly 70 percent of the workers had experienced at least one pay-related violation in the previous work week.

That’s shocking. (“Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers” at http:// nelp.3cdn.net/1797b93dd1ccdf9e7d_ sdm6bc50n.pdf)

These violations were widespread, not just rogue employers victimizing undocumented immigrants.

The typical worker lost $51 the previous week out of average weekly earnings of $339. That’s a 15 percent pay loss. Nearly 60 percent of the workerssampled did not receive mandatory pay documents that help insure pay is legal and accurate. Of those who worked overtime, 75 percent were not paid the legal amount and 70 percent of those who came in early or stayed late for their shift were not paid for their extra work.

The good news: Generally the employers that treated people well overall - offering health insurance, vacations, and paid sick days - had lower violation rates. High rates of cheating: Child care workers, personal and repair services, restaurants, textile manufacturing, private households, drug and grocery stores, retail, building and grounds workers, various manufacturing low-wage jobs.

Women, black and Latin workers got the worst of it.

Last week I heard from a parishioner who was faced with the choice between food and blood pressure medications because a contractor didn’t pay her husband $750 for his construction work. He’s white, male and native born.

I asked Fernando Garcia of the Workers Justice Center what would most help. He said, “Make wage theft a crime, like hot checks.” Then workers would have some clout behind them.

Not paying a worker a legal wage is theft - wage theft. It’s a crime to steal property. Why isn’t it a crime to steal someone’s blood, sweat and tears?

By Lowell Grisham

Monday, January 18, 2010

LOWELL GRISHAM SERVES AS RECTOR OF ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN FAYETTEVILLE. HIS COLUMN WILL APPEAR ON SUNDAYS AFTER TODAY.

Northwest Arkansas Times, Page 5 on 01/18/2010

Remarks by AFL-CIO President Trumka, San Diego Jobs Rally

Remarks by Richard L. Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, San Diego Jobs Rally, San Diego, CA
January 06, 2010

Thank you, Art (Pulaski), for that introduction, and for your leadership in taking on the jobs crisis in California.

I am happy to be in San Diego on my first trip to California as president of the AFL-CIO.

California is Exhibit 1 of what’s happening across our country and I came here to listen and to learn.

What I’ve seen here this morning – as I sat with some of the hard-working people of this great city – people who through no fault of their own are without jobs -- is another grim reminder of the ever-present struggles of working families in this city … this state … this country … at this decisive moment in our history. It’s a reminder of the responsibilities born by our nation’s leaders – including our labor movement – to respond as never before to create a different kind of economy.

And I can tell you this: We cannot – and we will not – hesitate in fighting back.

And we will not turn away anyone who will work together with us to create an economy that recognizes and respects the lives and futures of the people of this great state.

The spirit and innovation and leadership I’ve seen here have affirmed my decision to come to San Diego – you’re an inspiration not just for our labor movement but for our entire country.

I’m really proud to join such a great bunch of leaders today — Art Pulaski, Tom Lemmon, Mickey Kasperian, Rabbi Coskey, Lorena Gonzales and City Council President Ben Hueso --- all of you committed to saving and creating the jobs we so desperately need.

Most of all, I’m proud to join all of YOU rallying together here today.

Jobs. It’s what it’s all about.

Good Jobs.

And they should be Local Jobs.

I love your T-Shirts ---- “Local Jobs” are the key.

You are leading the way with so many initiatives ---- YOUTHBUILD .... your CLC Jobs Agenda for 2010 ... your plans to adopt a programmatic Project Labor Agreement for the city.

Great work, San Diego!

And I know we can count on you for more.

On December 3^rd, I was invited to President Obama’s Jobs Summit to deliver a message on behalf of America’s working families and our unions. Our message was that we need to take urgent action NOW to create jobs.

While our country is slowly beginning to recover from the recession, we can’t just sit around and hope for the best. Our jobs picture remains grim – and I don’t need to remind anybody here of that.

President Obama agreed with us and said we need to fundamentally rebuild our entire economy.

While Wall Street is busy cashing bonus checks, working families are living a nightmare of layoffs, mortgage foreclosures and personal bankruptcy ... and that, brothers and sisters, is totally unacceptable.

Congress also agrees with us and before the holiday recess, the House of Representatives passed a jobs package that will extend unemployment insurance, send more financial aid to state governments, and fund more important infrastructure projects ---roads, bridges, railways, school construction, water treatment projects.

The House bill isn’t big enough to resolve the jobs crisis, but it’s a good first step and we have to convince the Senate to pass it now.

The AFL-CIO has adopted a five point plan to add urgency at all levels of government.

First, we have to extend the lifeline to the unemployed — the unemployment benefits, food assistance, COBRA benefits that help people deal with layoffs and the chaos they create.

Second, we have to pump more money into rebuilding our infrastructure and investing in green technology. We have at least $2.2 trillion in this country in unmet infrastructure needs --- $2.2 trillion. More than one in four of our nation’s bridges are in bad shape .4,000 dams are deficient .30 percent of our schools are overcrowded and 3.5 million students attend schools where a building is in poor condition. Every dollar we spend employs workers all down the supply chain in construction, manufacturing, design and engineering – and ripples out into every sector.

We also have to increase our commitment to helping state and local governments, who are facing deep shortfalls like the one here in California — nationwide, we’re facing proposals for the layoffs of teachers, police and fire fighters – 2700 firefighters alone. An investment in state and local government will not only save jobs, it will maintain critical frontline services and avoid devastating damage to education.

It is equally important for us nationally to take a cue from what you are doing here in San Diego and fund jobs in our local communities — not replacements for current public jobs, but good new jobs to help address priorities in distressed communities.

Finally, we believe we have to put TARP to work for Main Street by using some of the leftover funds to create jobs by hiring community banks to lend money directly to small and medium-sized businesses. The bank bailout helped Wall Street and now we have to help Main Street --- without reservation … without delay.

These great needs present awesome opportunities -- if we can summon the resolve as a nation to rebuild our country and create the jobs we need in the process. Over the next few months, we’ll be asking international unions, local unions, and all of our state and local affiliates to help turn up the heat on government at every level.

And we must make sure American jobs are good jobs – that’s why the next step is fundamentally rebuilding our economy.

It’s why one of our most urgent priorities is restoring the freedom of every working person to join a union to bargain for a better life by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

And it’s why fights like the one you are waging at Doug Manchester’s Grand Hyatt are absolutely critical.

We know that when we make our voices heard, we get action — you are doing that here in San Diego ….

And we can do it all across our country if we do more of the hard work it takes to get our elected officials moving.

You’ve proven that when we work together, and stand together and fight together, we win together.

Let’s get busy and roll up our sleeves and get the job done.

December Jobs Report

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
on December Jobs Report
January 8, 2010

December’s jobs report is an ominous sign of the deep and continued
suffering by working families who want to work but can’t find jobs,
despite tentative signs of renewed economic growth. The unemployment
rate held steady at 10 percent only because 661,000 workers left the
labor force altogether. Our nation remains at risk of a double-dip
recession as well as long-term wage and job stagnation if Congress and
the president fail to act quickly and decisively to create good jobs
now.

The number of Americans looking for work for over 6 months remains
alarmingly high at 6.1 million. Joblessness among young adults is a
dismal 27.1 percent. And the rates among African Americans - at 16.2
percent -- and Hispanics - at 12.9 percent - are especially painful.

It has taken years of financial abuses and corporate giveaways to get
us into this deep hole and we will only climb out if we keep our foot
on the accelerator. We urge Congress to move quickly to pass emergency
legislation. The bill passed by the House in December is a good start.
The AFL-CIO has outlined a five step plan that can be immediately
implemented to create or save 4 million jobs. Our plan would extend
unemployment, food aid and health care benefits. It would rebuild our
crumbling infrastructure and invest in green technology, increase aid
to state and local governments, put people to work in distressed
communities and hire community banks to lend TARP funds to small
businesses.

For a full copy of the AFL-CIO five step plan go to:
http://www.aflcio.org/createjobs

Workers can go to www.unemploymentlifeline.com for assistance.

Plan to Revitalize American Manufacturing

“Made in America” is a phrase we all want to start hearing again, and yesterday the White House moved in that direction by unveiling a sound and thoughtful plan to help revive America’s manufacturing sector. We are pleased that President Obama is working aggressively to address this issue.

We are particularly pleased by the leadership shown by Vice President Biden in this area, along with his work on behalf of middle class families. AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler and IBEW President Ed Hill met with the Vice President yesterday.

President Obama’s plan invests in our country by emphasizing job training, rebuilding our infrastructure, leveling the playing field in the area of trade, regulating our financial markets and, importantly, helping displaced workers who continue to struggle in the current economy. The plan recognizes that government must play an active role in order to strengthen and restore our manufacturing sector. And it acknowledges that losses on the order of the 5 million manufacturing jobs lost in the last 10 years and our $840 billion trade deficit cannot be sustained.

Major challenges remain. A framework on manufacturing must also address currency manipulation by our trading partners and the skyrocketing costs of health care for manufacturers. These issues keep America’s manufacturers at a disadvantage. In addition, we urge the Obama administration to call for strengthening the role of workers as partners in training and workforce development. In order to do this we must restore workers’ freedom to form unions by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

We must also focus on building a workforce for the future by adequately investing in training and education for our young people, many of whom have been hit hardest by this economic crisis. We look forward to working with the Obama Administration and with Ron Bloom, the President’s Senior Counsel for Manufacturing Policy, in order to implement these ideas. Together we can revitalize our manufacturing sector and restore the nation’s middle class.

-- Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on White House Plan to Revitalize American Manufacturing December 17, 2009

Survey of Labor Representatives on Workforce Investment Boards

I am delighted to share with you the results of a new national survey of Labor Representatives who serve on Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs). Out of 900 WIB Labor Representatives contacted by email, more than 400 from 47 states and the District of Columbia participated in the survey conducted by the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute last August.

You can get a copy of the report on our website at:

http://www.workingforamerica.org/pdf/WIBSurveyReportPDFFinal.pdf

or contact Katrina Dizon at kdizon@workingforamerica.org and she can send you the PDF.

The results indicate that many boards can do much more in supporting policies and practices that can lead to better jobs and stronger communities. The survey also touches on a range of topics including whether the interests of workers are adequately represented on the boards and the degree to which WIBs are deliberative policy-making bodies.

WIBs can play an important role in helping reshape our national economy and training Americans for better jobs. Created under the Workforce Investment Act, which Congress passed in 1998, approximately 600 state and local boards are currently involved in making critical decisions on how to spend workforce development funds including billions of training funds under the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

ALSO OF NOTE: Besides the survey results, this report also includes summaries of recent conversations between Labor Representatives and Assistant Secretary of Labor Jane Oates on reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.

Katrina Dizon
Working for America
AFL-CIO

WORKING AMERICANS CALL FOR CREATION OF GOOD JOBS

As economic leaders gather in Washington for the White House Jobs Summit, working people will come together in Ohio, Minnesota, New Mexico, and California to talk about their experience in communities hard hit by the economic crisis. Members of Working America and the AFL-CIO will join religious and labor leaders in Dayton , Columbus , Minneapolis , Sacramento , and Albuquerque to discuss how the economic crisis has affected them and call for the implementation of national policies that will create good jobs immediately.

The roundtable discussions are part of an initiative led by the 11.5 million member AFL-CIO and affiliates like Working America to push for the immediate creation of good jobs. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will be at the White House Jobs Summit calling for a five-point plan that will create and save at least 2 million jobs over the next year. The plan includes:

· Extending the lifeline for jobless workers;

· Rebuilding America’s schools, roads, and energy systems;

· Increasing aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services;

· Funding jobs in our communities; and

· Putting TARP funds to work for Main Street.

“The job crisis is hitting all working Americans across the country.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. “That’s why every day we are calling for immediate action to turn around the economy. We need jobs—now. And I’ll be delivering that message from millions of working people at the White House Jobs Summit.”

Working America represents 3 million members, 16.5 percent of which are unemployed, making it one of the largest organizations of unemployed workers in the country. Recently, Working America launched the Unemployment Lifeline (at unemploymentlifeline.org) which is a resource for people who’ve lost their jobs and are struggling to find a new one.

“Every night we talk to thousands of people in neighborhoods across the country and they all tell us the same thing – that they need urgent action on jobs and economy to stay afloat,” said Karen Nussbaum, Executive Director of Working America. “The jobs crisis is in every neighborhood, every family. The question we’re asking is what do working Americans think of the economy and how has it impacted them. That's just as important as what Goldman Sachs thinks.”

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Today, as the global community commemorates the United Nations
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the
AFL-CIO joins trade unionists from every nation in calling for renewed
efforts to combat gender-based violence.

Violence against women is a global problem that affects women of all
ages, ethnicities, races, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds.
It is also a workplace issue. Unequal treatment of women in workplaces
and the unsafe employment conditions of many women increase their risk
of being victims of sexual harassment, abuse and rape. At the same
time, domestic violence often impedes the ability of women to go to
work and earn a living to support their families. To meet their
families’ needs, many women have been forced to leave their home
regions in search of work elsewhere, often thereby becoming vulnerable
to exploitation by unscrupulous employers.

The AFL-CIO recognizes this dynamic in its Charter of Rights of Working
Women, issued in a statement by the AFL-CIO Executive Council on March
5, 2009. It states: “Although [women around the world] speak different
languages, they share the vision of a world founded on respect, peace,
equality and solidarity, and without violence, harassment and
discrimination. For all women, especially for the millions who work in
insecure, temporary, unsafe, underpaid and unpaid jobs, this vision
lies far beyond the truth of their daily lives.”

Employers must be held responsible for ensuring that women have safe
workplaces free of all forms of violence and sexual harassment.
Bringing an end to violence and discrimination against women will have
a positive impact on our families, our economies, our nations and our
world.

Statement from AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler
November 25, 2009