|
One Voice - October 2006 Archive
Current One Voice issues --- Archive index
VOL III, Issue 284 -- October 27, 2006
________________________________
FYI - This article was submitted to WV Newspapers
It's a long way from Christmas, but lately I've been thinking about Frank Capra's classic Christmas film "It's a Wonderful Life."
In that film, George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, runs a local savings and loan. When it looks like he's made a failure of his life, he contemplates suicide. Fortunately, an angel intervenes and shows him what a difference he has made in the life of his town.
If he hadn't been around, many of his friends and loved ones would have had a sadder life. Worst of all, the lovely town of Bedford Falls would be no more. It would have been taken over by the greedy and power-hungry tycoon Mr. Potter. Without George, the dark village would have been renamed Pottersville. It wasn't the kind of place where you'd want to live.
This brings us back to West Virginia in the fall of 2006, where we have our own version of Mr. Potter who wants to take over our state in the November election.
This Mr. Potter is the CEO of Massey Energy, which made its mark with hostility to workers' rights and safety while being indifferent to the environment. He plans on spending millions of his own dollars to buy himself a legislature. His money did influence the outcome of the West Virginia Supreme Court race in 2004 making him feel very powerful, and he liked it.
Most people would probably be content with being the highest paid coal company CEO or the 12th highest paid executive of a publicly traded company, but not our Mr. Potter.
He'll be sending out paid political mercenaries to go door to door and attempt to scare voters into believing that anyone who opposes him will have their guns and Bibles taken away and be forced to marry one or more people of the same sex.
But don't be fooled by the "vote your values" campaign signs. This has nothing to do with faith and values and everything to do with greed and lust for power.
In other words, he's not doing this "for the sake of the kids."
And if he succeeds, West Virginia may be renamed Blankenshipville.
This is no movie, and we're all George Bailey.
And if we ignore the smear and fear tactics that are sure to come and send a message this November that West Virginia is not for sale, we'll all have a merrier Christmas.
And when the voting machine bells ring, we might even get our wings.
Sincerely,
Larry K. Matheney
Secretary-Treasurer
West Virginia AFL-CIO
VOL III, Issue 283 -- October 25, 2006
Heart attack claims political activist Florine Warden
By Mannix Porterfield
The Register-Herald
Florine Warden, a self-appointed cheerleader for the Democratic Party who took politics seriously year-round, died Monday, a day after suffering a pre-dawn heart attack at her home in Calloway Heights.
Warden was one of Beckley’s better known and more colorful figures, using her steep front yard overlooking the four-lane on Robert C. Byrd Drive to plug Democratic candidates with massive billboards.
“No one believed more, felt more and fought harder for the workers of the world than Mrs. Florine Warden,” Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said in a brief statement.
“While we on earth have lost a voice for the working men, Heaven has gained a new angel armed with a trumpet that harkens like a bullhorn.”
Perhaps her favorite of all time — Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va. — likewise ascribed Warden to a heavenly home.
“At the Pearly Gates, I bet that St. Peter will be holding a sign, ‘Welcome home, Florine. Job well done.’”
Byrd called her “one of the most ardent, sincere and dedicated advocates for working people and for West Virginia that I have ever known. She never flinched. She let her passions and her patriotism guide her.”
Another of her favorite political luminaries, Beckley attorney Bill Wooton, was called to her bedside Sunday at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital.
“She was lucid and coherent,” said Wooton, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Warden’s medical power of attorney.
Warden suffered the heart arrest around 5 a.m. Sunday, but managed to drive herself to the hospital, Wooton said.
“She was really a remarkable woman,” Wooton said.
“That she could drive herself to the hospital after a heart attack is further evidence of what a remarkable person she was. She was one of a kind. She’ll never be duplicated. My thoughts and prayers are with her family right now. It’s a tough time for them.”
Sen. Jay Rockefeller said West Virginia has lost a true public servant in Florine Warden.
“(She was) a tireless activist who fought for what she believed in and understood more than most the importance of community involvement and speaking out. For decades, she advocated not for herself, but for people in need in Southern West Virginia and across the entire state, serving particularly as a voice for women and working families,” Rockefeller said.
“Florine’s profound dedication left an impression on so many lives — and now, I hope, her legacy will do the same.”
Elaine Harris, international representative for the Communications Workers of America, remembered Warden as a fighter for the underdog.
“She was like the Energizer Bunny,” Harris said.
“She gave us the energy and inspiration to keep working. She was just a good person all the way around.”
Warden was a fixture at Democratic rallies and any forum in which candidates of both major parties were invited to speak. A few years ago, at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, she bent the rules and hoisted a huge sign backing one of her favorites.
A diehard liberal, Warden couldn’t suffer even a moderate Democrat, if she perceived them as anti-labor.
When businessman Joe Manchin ran for governor in 1996 against Charlotte Pritt, she arrived at his rally at a sporting goods shop, armed with a bullhorn and unleashed a steady chant, “Low blow Joe,” and all Manchin could do was smile helplessly through the barrage.
That bullhorn became synonymous with Warden, as did the oversized political signs gracing her front lawn.
Raleigh County Democratic Chairman Joe Brouse said the party has lost “its most tireless advocate and also has lost someone who very much cared about Beckley and the Raleigh County community.”
Warden not only toiled for the party but for working families as well, Brouse said.
“The party sends out its condolences to her family and thanks her for her hard work over the years,” he added.
She used a changeable letter sign to tout issues and needle politicians with whom she disagreed — chiefly Republicans.
One of them, Sen. Russ Weeks, R-Raleigh, said he didn’t mind the signs, adding, “I got a kick out of it. I enjoyed that.”
Apprised of her death, Weeks said, “I really and truly hate that. She’s in a much better place now.”
Raleigh County Republican Chairman Joe Long and his candidates took the signs in stride.
“She was always fun,” Long said. “She turned up everywhere with her signs. She came to Mountain State University games with signs and rooted for MSU. She’ll be missed. We’ll miss her signs up there. We (Republicans) made her sign in the yard several times.
“She cared about what was going on. She supported those people who thought would do the job. She voiced her opinion. She was involved in the community in many ways.”
Among issues she fought for was a professional baseball team in Beckley and altering the state seal so that it depicted a woman.
Senate Majority Whip Billy Wayne Bailey, D-Wyoming, had a falling out with her some years back over workers’ compensation, but the two ultimately buried the hatchet.
“In the last two years, we fought side by side for the same people,” Bailey said. “She was always a hard fighter for what she believed in. She will be sorely missed by many.”
------------------------------------------------------------
At Florine's request a private service will be held today at Melton Mortuary in Beckley. Florine's many friends plan to have a "Celebration of Florine's Life" at a later date.
VOL III, Issue 282 -- October 20, 2006
Watch "West Virginia's Underground Economy" a TV documentary by Eric Spelsberg
Eric Spelsberg a video producer living in Weston was commissioned by the Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation to do a TV documentary on “West Virginia’s Underground Economy”
The documentary which first aired around Labor Day exposes the out of control use of illegal and imported labor on construction sites and workplaces across the state.
"West Virginia's Underground Economy" will be rebroadcast on the following days:
WCHS-8
Parkersburg, Charleston, Huntington
Saturday, October 21st and Saturday, October 28th --- 7:00 p.m.
WTRF-7
Wheeling, Weirton
Saturday, October 21st and Saturday, October 28th --- 7:30 p.m.
WDTV-5
Clarksburg, Morgantown, Elkins
Saturday, October 21st and Saturday, October 28th --- 7:30 p.m.
WJAL-Comcast
Martinsburg, Cumberland
Sunday, October 22nd and Sunday, October 29th --- 7:00 p.m
WVNS-11 & 13
Beckley, Lewisburg, Bluefield
Saturday, October 28th and Saturday, November 4th ---7:30 p.m.
VOL III, Issue 281 -- October 20, 2006
Candidate Meet and Greet
Join Governor Joe Manchin and Marion County Democrats
Monday October 23, 2006 - 6 P.M.
Westchester Village - US Rte. 19 South, Fairmont, WV
Featuring candidates:
Senator Robert C. Byrd
Congressman Alan Mollohan
Delegate Mike Caputo
Delegate Tim Manchin
Delegate Linda Longstreth
Commissioner Cody Starcher
Free Food, Free Music, Free Prizes
Everyone Welcome
VOL III, Issue 280 -- October 17, 2006
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
Support Those Who Support Us --- WV's Working Families
Join Labor 06 Activities
Who: Marion County Labor Council
What: Door to Door
When: Saturday, October 21st
Where: Meet at the UMWA Office, 310 Gaston Ave, Fairmont
Contact: Marion County Labor Council President, Vern Swisher for more information
---------------------------------------------------------
Who: Wheeling-Ohio Valley Labor Council
What: Door to Door
When: Saturday, October 21st
Where: Meet at the Ironworkers Hall, 2350 Main Street, Wheeling
Contact: Ohio Valley Labor Council President, Frank Ellis for more information
---------------------------------------------------------
Who: South Central Labor Council
What: Door to Door
When: Various Times until November 7th
Where: Meet at the UMWA Hall, 2306 South Fayette Street, Beckley
Contact: South Central Labor Council President, Jim Gardner for more information
---------------------------------------------------------
Who: Southwestern District Labor Council
What: Door to Door
When: Various Times until November 7th
Where: Meet at the Laborers Hall, 1201 7th Ave, Huntington
Contact: Southwestern District Labor Council President, Carl Eastham or Tim Millne for more information 304-523-2353 or Tmillne@aol.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Who: North Central Labor Council
What: Door to Door
When: Various Times until November 7th
Where: Meet at the North Central Labor Council , 120 Linden Avenue, Clarksburg
Contact: North Central Labor Council President, Tony Blidgett for more information 304-677-1952
---------------------------------------------------------
Who: Kanawha Valley Labor Council
What: Sign Day -- place Endorsed Candidates signs in members yards
When: Saturday, October 28th
Where: Meet at the State Building Trades, 600 Leon Sullivan Way, Charleston
Contact: Kanawha Valley Labor Council President, Mike Matthews for more information
---------------------------------------------------------
Who: Brooke-Hancock Labor Council
What: Regular Monthly Meeting
When: Thursday, October 19th
Where: Krogers, off Three Springs Drive, Exit of US 22, Weirton
Contact: Brooke-Hancock Labor Council President, Linda Dickey for more information
---------------------------------------------------------
UMWA President,Cecil Roberts
Tuesday, October 24th at 6:00 pm - VFW in Clarksburg
(Hosted by the Democratic Women of Lewis, Upshur and Harrison Counties)
---------------------------------------------------------
For more information on the above activities contact:
West Virginia AFL-CIO
---------------------------------------------------------
Early Voting Begins October 18th
VOL III, Issue 279 -- October 13, 2006
West Virginia AFL-CIO Photo Gallery
You can browse each gallery by thumbnails. Click on any thumbnail to enlarge. The enlarged view includes forward/back buttons to go to the next or previous picture, or you can click on the enlarged picture to go to the next picture.
VOL III, Issue 278 -- October 10, 2006
Article in Today's Charleston Gazette by:
Paul J. Nyden, Staff writer
Nurse unions in trauma
Federal ruling could decimate membership
West Virginia labor leaders think a new National Labor Relations Board ruling will make it harder for them to organize workers into unions, especially in nursing and the construction trades.
Last week’s 3-2 NLRB ruling — involving a Michigan hospital network called Oakwood Healthcare Inc. — increases the number of workers who can be called “supervisors” and therefore lose the entitlement to join unions.
The ruling “has created a new class of workers,” says Larry Matheny, secretary treasurer of the West Virginia AFL-CIO. “But they are not supervisors — they are not entitled to the same benefits supervisors traditionally enjoy.”
Recent studies have shown that there are 57 million workers in the United States who would choose to be union members “if they were not afraid of reprisals, discharges or disciplinary actions against them,” he said.
The Oakwood ruling will deny 8 million workers the right to join a union, and that number will grow in the future, he says.
“We are seeing human rights, workers rights and dignity being tread upon by a special-interest-driven Bush administration,” Matheny said.
The two NLRB members who dissented in the Oakwood ruling warned that the Oct. 3 decision “threatens to create a new class of workers ... who have neither the genuine prerogatives of management, nor the statutory rights of ordinary employees.”
The dissenters also predicted the number of people in the new “supervisory” category could reach 34 million by 2012 — representing more than 23 percent of the work force.
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit research group based in Washington, D.C., estimates that 16,339 West Virginia workers could be immediately reclassified as supervisors under the ruling.
They would include 6,667 registered and licensed practical nurses, 2,788 secretaries and office clerks, 1,989 cooks and chefs, 1,806 accountants and auditors, 1,044 electricians, 1,040 social workers and 1,006 cashiers.
“Collective bargaining may not be the choice for everyone,” says Rebecca Patton, president of the American Nurses Association. “But protecting and preserving that right is fundamental to the safety and well-being of both nurses and the patients they serve.”
The “supervisor” role will be wrongly applied to many nurses, she argues.
Under the new ruling, any nurse who directs an assistant to do so much as clip a patient’s nails might get reclassified as a “supervisor.”
“Being a registered nurse who delegates tasks does not make someone a supervisor under the law,” Patton said.
The ruling codifies a wholly new definition of “supervisor,” says Kenny Perdue, president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO.
“In the past, supervisors had the power to hire and fire,” he said. “This [ruling] could make team leaders into supervisors, including anyone who makes any decision inside a coal mine, in a nursing home, at a construction site or in a steel mill.”
He said the AFL-CIO will challenge the ruling in court.
The impact of the ruling is hard to predict, says Steve White, director of the Charleston-based Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation, an umbrella labor organization. “This could clearly be a far-reaching decision.
“Every construction job has people who take some leadership role, but they are not employers. They do not hire and fire any workers. Team leaders have always been considered a part of the work force, not part of management,” White said.
One possible pitfall of the ruling is that employers could be able to eliminate workers who initiate organizing campaigns simply by calling them supervisors, even if they supervise workers just 10 percent to 15 percent of the time on the job, said Roy Smith, secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia Building Trades Council.
“If you send an apprentice to a car to get a part, you could potentially be called a supervisor and eliminated from union representation,” he said. “This ruling creates a new class of people. But they don’t share in company profits. They don’t benefit in any ways owners would benefit.”
The nursing profession illustrates the problems dramatically, says Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute.
“If an employer rotates charge nurses, making them supervisors only once every 10 days, they can now be reclassified as supervisors,” he said.
“A nurse telling another employee to do anything — to groom a patient or empty a catheter — could turn that nurse into a supervisor, if she is held accountable as to how the task was performed, if she is given a bonus or penalty based on that performance.”
Among West Virginia’s unionized hospitals are Beckley Appalachian Regional, Summers County Appalachian Regional Healthcare in Hinton and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Martinsburg. Nurses at each are represented by the United American Nurses union, a national organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
The benefits of union membership can be formidable, says Rick Wilson, a member of the American Friends Service Economic Justice Project.
Union members generally receive 28 percent higher wages and 44 percent higher overall compensation than nonunion workers, he said.
“Attacking the right to organize not only harms those who are poor,” Wilson said, “it strikes a blow at middle-class Americans in a time of growing inequality.”
Matheny believes things might get worse.
“If we choose not to stand up and make our voices heard, we will see a continuing decline in wages, health-care benefits, pensions and Social Security payments. We will see even worse bills passed and worse decisions made.”
-----------------------------------------
STAND UP AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
   
We Must Support Those Who Support Us -
West Virginia's Working Families!
Send a message to your U.S. Senators and Representative to restore our rights by clicking the below link.
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/restoreourrights
VOL III, Issue 277 -- October 6, 2006
Candidate Meet and Greet
South Central Labor Council President, Jim Gardner would like to invite you to his Council's Tuesday, October 10th - 7 p.m. meeting at the UMWA Hall, 2306 South Fayette Street in Beckley.
Jim has organized a West Virginia AFL-CIO Endorsed Candidate Meet and Greet for his councils jurisdiction.
------------------------------------
Yard Sign Committee
Kanawha Valley Labor Council Vice President, Jack Carte will be filling in for President Mike Matthews and he invites you to his Council's Monday, October, 9th - 7:30 p.m. meeting at the State Building Trades Office Building, 600 Leon Sullivan Way in Charleston.
Jack will be organizing a yard sign committee for the West Virginia AFL-CIO Endorsed Candidates in his council's jurisdiction.
Should you have questions, call or e-mail the WV AFL-CIO 344-3557 - wvaflcio@wvaflcio.org
------------------------------------
Southwestern District Labor Council
An e-mail from Brother Tim Millne (Go Herd)
Brothers & Sisters but most of all friends:
On behalf of my wife Diana and my mother Gayle I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many union members and their families who gave so generously in our time of need. As you are aware my family was devastated in a freak flood that damaged our home our property, but not our spirit.
It is truly amazing to us that so many friends answered the call of the federation even when you have problems of your own. It is a true testament of SOLIDARITY when an injury to one is indeed an injury to all. Thanks so very much for the contributions and your prayers and God Bless each and every one of you and your families. You mean so very much to me and mine.
Tim Millne
------------------------------------
West Virginia AFL-CIO Labor Councils
The 13 West Virginia AFL-CIO Labor Councils throughout our State realize the importance of being involved in our State's political process and volunteer countless hours of their time supporting Candidates who support West Virginia's Working Families.
To Those Councils ... Thank You!
To View the West Virginia AFL-CIO Labor Councils
VOL III, Issue 276 -- October 4, 2006
The Bush Administration Is NOT
Investing in West Virginia - and America's Workers!
West Virginia Needs Adequate Funding in the 2007
Labor HHS Education Appropriations Bill
Over the past five years, workers have been falling farther behind, even as corporate profits are increasing faster than during any previous business cycle and CEO compensation is surging!
Yet, President Bush and the Republican-led Congress have proposed a 2007 budget that slashes funding for programs that keep our workers safe and that prepare our citizens for the jobs of the 21st century. Only by investing in and improving the quality of life of its people can America sustain its global scientific and economic leadership. Investments in West Virginia's - and America's - workers must be increased!
The Current Status of West Virginia's Workforce
West Virginia's working families are feeling these economic forces. Their incomes are stagnating, and they are working harder to provide for the basic needs of their children.
- In July 2006, there were 42,358 unemployed workers in West Virginia.
- From January 2001 to 2006, West Virginia lost 11,998 manufacturing jobs and 2,355 information jobs.
- 5,984 West Virginia workers have lost their jobs due to NAFTA.
- The median earnings of a West Virginia worker is $22,691.
- The current poverty rate in West Virginia is 14.8%.
Preparing the Workforce for 21st Century Jobs
Despite a serious deterioration in the ability of workers to have jobs that provide a middle class income, federal funds to help them retool their skills, start new careers and find new jobs have fallen behind the growing need since 2001. If the 2007 House appropriations bill becomes law, worker training and job matching services by state employment service agencies would decline by $745 million ($2.2 billion in inflation adjusted dollars) since 2001.
Specifically, the bill:
- Cuts Trade Adjustment Assistance funding - which provides workers who have lost their jobs due to trade policy with job training, income support, job search help and relocation assistance - by $27.8 million;
- Cuts Workforce Investment Act (WIA) adult and youth training programs by $431 million, $325 million of which already has been allocated to the states from last year's appropriation. More than half of this amount comes from funds used to help workers adjust to unanticipated plant closings, mass layoffs and natural disasters. West Virginia would lose a total of $330,000, including $53,000 for adult training; $286,000 for dislocated worker assistance; and $97,000 for youth training if these cuts become law;
- Cuts $27.6 million (after a $96.3 million cut last year) from the federal/state Employment Service, which matches jobseekers with employers and helps ensure that American jobs are filled by workers in the U.S. before foreign workers are brought into the country. That means the Employment Service will be able to serve 5.5 million fewer people than it did in 2001. And, the current bill eliminates America's Job Bank which is one of the largest free electronic job listing services in the world. Compared to 2001, West Virginia would lose $971,000 ($2,045,000 inflation adjusted) from job matching and reemployment service grants, in addition to losing the use of America's job bank.
HELP STOP THE CUTS - VOTE !
VOL III, Issue 275 -- October 3, 2006
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
On Today's Bush Labor Board Decision That Will Strip Workers of Union Rights
Today, the National Labor Relations Board, dominated by Bush administration appointees, announced a decision which welcomes employers to strip millions of workers of their right to have a union by reclassifying them as "supervisors" - in name only. Supervisors do not have protected rights under the National Labor Relations Act to improve their lives by forming and joining unions.
The case - - Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. -- was one of three cases announced today by the NLRB in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision in NLRB v. Kentucky River Community Care. The Oakwood case is the lead case, and sets a broad new standard which will determine whether millions of workers are "supervisors."
While the Supreme Court decision cracks open the door to a redefinition of who is a supervisor, the decision by the NLRB virtually kicks it in. In fact, according to NLRB members Liebman and Walsh in their dissent regarding the Oakwood case, "Today's decision threatens to create a new class of workers under Federal labor law: workers who have neither the genuine prerogatives of management, nor the statutory rights of ordinary employees. In that category may fall most professionals (among many other workers), who by 2012 could number almost 34 million, accounting for 23.3 percent of the workforce." An Economic Policy Institute study has found that up to 8 million workers could be affected immediately by the decisions.
Today's decision is the latest in the Bush-appointed NLRB's legal maneuvering to deny as many workers as possible their basic right to have a voice on the job and improve their living standards through their union. Over the last several years, the NLRB has chipped away at that right by limiting the eligibility of disabled workers, teaching assistants, temporary workers and others to join unions. Now, at the very time middle class workers need more help, not less, the NLRB is taking a broad swing.
The immediate implications of the Oakwood Healthcare Inc. case are devastating to workers in the health care industry and potentially in other industries where professional employees direct or assign the work of others. The Board rewrote broad definitions of supervisory duties, such as assigning work, responsibility to direct and use of independent judgment. In fact, the Board decided that if an employee spends as little as 10 to 15 percent of their time performing supervisory functions that they will be considered to be supervisors, and thus likely stripped of their right to have a union.
The other two cases released today, on Golden Crest Healthcare Center and Croft Metals, Inc., were applications of the new standard set forth in the Oakwood decision. While in both these cases the Board decided that the workers were not considered supervisors, this provides little indication of how future cases will be decided under the new standard.
It is a sad day for every American who works to put food on the table and gas in their cars, when the rights they count on can be cynically eviscerated by a Labor Board that is informed more by political ideology than sound legal analysis.
The NLRB should protect workers' rights -- not eliminate them. If the Administration expects us to take this quietly, they're mistaken. Over the next week, working people will be coming together in the streets in cities across the nation to make sure everyone knows the Bush Administration is slashing workers' right to have a voice on the job.
VOL III, Issue 274 -- October 3, 2006
________________________________
October 17th
DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION
-
Last day to register to vote at county clerk's office.
-
Last day to mail voter registration application.
-
Last day to register at specified agencies, during regular hours.
-
Last day to file registration after move to a new county in West Virginia.
October 18th - November 4th
EARLY VOTING
November 7th
GENERAL ELECTION DAY
- Polling Hours are 6:30 am - 7:30 pm for All November 7th Election Locations
|
