There will be a live broadcast of the event.
CWA Local 2001 and Verizon will be holding a special collection for the United Food Operation (UFO) from 7:30 am until 10:30 am, at the Verizon building,1500 MacCorkle Ave. (on the south side by Columbia Gas).
The Union members and Verizon managers UFO team are partnering with West Virginia Radio Corp. to ask the public and labor organizations to back UFO one more time before their 25th annual campaign concludes this month.
Simply turn in at the stop light -- first one past Southside bridge or first one after you pass Columbia Gas from Kanawha City side -- and you will be directed to the UFO truck. They'll unload your nonperishable, canned food for you. Give you a hot cup of coffee and other treats, and get you back on the road quickly. Just look for the CWA members in their red Union shirts, and their CWA banners.
Tax deductible cash donations can also be dropped off Friday. Make checks payable to the United Food Operation.
Joe Long of Verizon said, "Labor and businesses like Bayer Crop Sciences, and our newest partner at WV Radio, have provided tremendous help to 12 food pantries in Kanawha and Putnam counties that provide help to our neighbors and friends for the three long months of winter when their resources are stretched thin. And as Elaine Harris (the "mama" of UFO) points out, we are 100% volunteers so every penny of every dollar is well spent on high quality food to sustain those who simply are hungry or are what we call food insecure -- they literally do not always know if they will have enough food, much less nutritional food."
UFO started during layoffs and a big economic downturn in 1982.
Please donate!
We never know when one of us may need the services of this excellent operation.
Questions? Call the CWA district office at 342-2023 or Joe Long at Verizon, 344-7267 or 344-7221.
March 19, 2007
USW Informational Picket
The agreement between the United Steelworkers and Chesapeake Energy expired on Friday, December 1, 2006.
The Union membership has continued to work under the current terms and condition of employment.
Please turn out and support our Union sisters and brothers in their fight to move the bargaining process forward.
WHO: The United Steelworkers
WHAT: Informational Picket
WHEN: March 20, 2007 ~ 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Chesapeake Energy, 900 Pennsylvania Ave.
(Beside Women and Children's Hospital, Charleston)
March 15, 2007
West Virginia AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Larry Matheney
Speaks Out on the War in Iraq
Printed ~ The Charleston Gazette ~ March 15, 2007
It would be hard to find a family in West Virginia or around the country untouched in one way or another by the war in Iraq. There are more than 140,000 U.S. troops deployed there, a number that will soon increase.
Around 3,200 U.S. soldiers have died in the war, including more than 3,000 since President Bush landed on the U.S.S. Lincoln and proclaimed "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003. More than 24,000 soldiers have been wounded. Iraqi civilian war-related casualties are in the tens of thousands.
Financial costs of the war to U.S. taxpayers are around $407 billion and this total increases by well over a billion dollars per week. According to the National Priorities Project, the money spent on this disastrous war could have provided almost 20 million four-year college scholarships, paid for 54 million children to attend Head Start, provided health insurance for 244 million children, hired 7 million teachers or built more than 3.5 million new housing units.
We have paid a terrible human and financial price for a war based on "fixed" intelligence which misled the American people about nonexistent weapons of mass destruction and equally bogus claims about links between the Iraqi regime and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
At the same time, millions of Americans have been outraged by the shoddy treatment given to wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - a situation that has been made worse by the Bush administration's drive to privatize and outsource vital services to veterans and slash social programs to pay for this war and for endless tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
Overwhelmingly, our soldiers and veterans come from America's working families. They are our friends, our brothers and sisters, and our children. They deserve better than this. The American people deserve better than this.
We need a change in direction.
The AFL-CIO's Executive Council this month issued a statement calling on President Bush and Congress to end our military involvement in Iraq, noting that this administration's "blind pursuit of the war now undermines the very war on terror that was its justification."
Our soldiers are now caught in the crossfire of sectarian violence and civil war that the reckless policies of this administration helped to inflame. The Council stated that "the U.S. presence only encourages the factions to continue their warfare and serves as a magnet for foreign interference."
The solutions to this crisis are ultimately political and diplomatic, not military.
President Bush needs to reconsider the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group and open a diplomatic offensive with allies, the Iraqi government and with Iraq's neighbors to stabilize that country; revive the Middle East peace process, and move quickly to establish a timetable for removing our troops from the civil strife that is ongoing in Iraq.
I urge Rep. Shelley Moore Capito to join with Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Rep. Nick Rahall and Rep. Alan Mollohan so that West Virginia's delegation can speak with one voice in urging that President Bush and Congress jointly set a reasonable timetable for disengagement of our troops from Iraq.
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Statement of AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney
on the United Mineworkers of America (UMW)
New Report on the Sago Mine Disaster
A new report on the Sago mine disaster released today by the United Mineworkers confirms that the deaths of 12 miners at Sago on January 2, 2006 were unnecessary and totally preventable. These deaths were not due to some "act of God," but rather were the result of failures by mine management and the government. The detailed, exhaustive report shows that substandard mine seals, lack of adequate oxygen, no safety chambers, no two-way communication, no tracking devices, and no onsite, experienced mine rescue teams all contributed to these tragic deaths. Many of these failures were years in the making. They were the result of decisions by the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) to weaken legal requirements and by the Bush Administration to stop new, stronger rules on mine rescue teams, oxygen supplies and escape ways and mine refuges.
The Sago disaster and other mine disasters in 2006, which claimed a total of 47 lives, led Congress to enact the first improvements in the mine safety law in 30 years. Now we must ensure that these changes in the law translate quickly into improvements in safety in the nation's mines.
I commend the United Mineworkers for their leadership and dedication to protecting all of the nation's miners - whether they have a union or not - and their tireless efforts to see that the 12 men who died at Sago did not die in vain.
March 9, 2007
South Central Labor Council to hold March meeting at the new
Fayette Hills Unity Apartments, Oak Hill
The South Central Labor Council meets regularly at the UMWA hall in Beckley, second Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm.
On Tuesday, March 13, 2007 the 7:00 pm meeting will be held in Oak Hill at Fayette Hills Unity Apartments, located at 300 High Street South. (Across from Advance Auto Parts which is located at 1650 Main Street turn onto Glendale Ave. Turn left onto High Street at the four-way intersection and the building is at the end of the street.)
An open house of the fixed income housing will make viewing the spacious living facility available for all union members and their families attending the meeting.
Please make plans to attend the Labor Council meeting and receive applications for living at the new Union built facility, that you can take back to your locals.
For more information call: South Central Labor Council President, Jim Gardner @ 304-890-6699
March 7, 2007
Statement by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka
on the Senate Introduction of the Fair Currency Act
American workers have lost all patience with our government's failure to act on years of currency manipulation by the Chinese government. Over the past decade we have listened to a series of US Treasury Secretaries deliver biannual currency reports that fail to find any technical violations of the law. However, they always admit there is a problem and follow that by announcing another series of meetings and strategic dialogues. What we have to show for it is an ever-escalating series of trade deficits with China and the rest of the world.
The AFL-CIO, our Industrial Union Council and our business partners in the China Currency Coalition say time for talk is over. It is time for Congress to act. We believe the solution to the trade crisis requires a bipartisan and multi-dimensional approach. Our members applaud the leadership of Senator Stabenow, Senator Bunning, Senator Bayh and Senator Snow in introducing the Fair Currency Act of 2007. We pledge to work closely with these Senators and their counterparts in the House of Representatives. It is time to pass the Fair Currency Act and prove that actions speak louder than words.
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AFL-CIO Top Leadership Calls for Increased Investor Protection
Asks Congress to Take Up Executive Pay, Hedge Fund Regulation
The AFL-CIO Executive Council formally called on Congress and the regulators to take action to increase transparency and accountability in the areas of hedge funds, executive pay, and corporate boards. In a new policy statement, the AFL-CIO asked Congress and the regulators to reject demands by "irresponsible" elements of the business community to weaken investor protections. The Council also expressed its support for European labor movement concerns about private equity funds.
"The working people of this country are tired of watching while individual CEOs take hundreds of millions of dollars from the companies we invest in," said Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer. "Long-term investors need Congress to give us the tools to protect our money."
The policy statement noted the broader impact of runaway executive pay on inequality in our society and asked Congress to support both greater shareholder oversight of pay and corporate boards. It also asked Congress to look at tax policies in light of the gap between private wealth and public need in areas like health care for our troops and aid for Katrina victims.
The policy statement asked for Congressional hearings into executive pay abuses, including stock options misconduct, the impact of hedge funds on our markets and the broader economy. "Transparency and accountability are the source of our capital markets' competitive advantage and are vital to protecting the security of working people's retirement. We need to extend those principles to the trillions of dollars now in hedge funds and private equity," said Trumka.
The AFL-CIO is the country's largest labor federation, with over 10 million members in 54 unions. Union members participate in benefit funds with over $5 trillion in assets and sponsor benefit plans with over $400 billion in assets.
March 6, 2007
Printed ~ The Charleston Gazette ~ March 6, 2007
By Larry Matheney, West Virginia AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer
On March 1, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito signed on in support of the second war being waged by President George W. Bush.
We all know Rep. Capito has joined in lockstep with the president and his cronies on many issues that have had devastating effects on hardworking West Virginia families, including sending an additional 20,000 young women and men to war in Iraq, but her vote against H.R. 800, The Employee Free Choice Act is a real indication that she has now joined George W. Bush in the war he and his administration are waging on the working poor!
The National Labor Relations Act clearly states that employees shall have the right to form labor organizations and bargain collectively and employers may not interfere with the exercise of this right.
The U.N. General Assembly in its “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” states the following: Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests.
A job should not trap West Virginia workers in poverty or subject them to dangerous working conditions, unreasonable hours of work or allow disciplinary action that is not for just cause.
The Employee Free Choice Act will provide workers an opportunity to join together and form unions in their workplace in a timely fashion by allowing them to freely sign a card indicating their desire to become a union member. When 50 percent plus one of the employees have said, “Union Yes,” the employer must recognize the newly formed union.
From census data we know West Virginia ranks sixth in the size of its income gap between its richest and poorest citizens. Twenty percent of West Virginia workers earn $13,000 or less annually while the top 20 percent earn $118,000 or more. Those workers in the middle are quickly sliding toward the bottom of the income scale.
Workers forming unions and bargaining collectively in the protection of their interests is the only answer for workers seeking justice in the workplace and raising their standard of living. If we ever hope to close the gap between our richest and poorest citizens and rebuild the middle class we must eliminate employer interference when workers exercise their right to form unions and bargain collectively.
The Employee Free Choice Act is opposed by the Bush administration, Rep. Capito and the richest, most powerful business owners in this country. Why do they like making it difficult if not impossible for workers to form unions and bargain collectively with their employers?
Ninety-one percent of employers force their employees to attend anti-union meetings when workers first try to form a union; 82 percent of employers hire union-busting consultants to help them develop a strategy to stay union free; and 30 percent of employers illegally fire pro-union employees without fear of penalty.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Rep. Alan Mollohan and Rep. Nick Rahall all support the right of workers to form unions and bargain collectively and oppose those West Virginia employers who interfere with workers exercising their right.
Rep. Capito is out of step with the rest of our congressional delegation and in step with George W. Bush.
March 5, 2007
Attrition of State Employee Jobs Will Not
Offset a $200 Million Dollar Corporate Tax Cut
The West Virginia Senate has recently passed bills (SB 750 and 751) that could reduce business taxes by around $200 million over the first three years and an even larger amount when fully implemented.
There seems to be little or no consideration for how the lost revenue can be regained.
What will this mean to working West Virginians?
Here's a simple rule of thumb: in any given year, around half of state general funds goes to K-12 education and about 10 percent goes to higher education. Another 20 percent goes to providing human services such as the Children's Health Insurance Program, Medicaid. That leaves 20 percent for things like roads, infrastructure, public safety, parks and recreation, and everything else.
In other words, over the first three years alone this means:
- losing $100 million in revenue for schools at a time when education has never been more important and when state teachers are paid sub-standard salaries;
- losing $20 million for higher education in a state that ranks at the bottom in educational attainment while the costs of education for students and parents continues to rise;
- losing $40 million for human resources, which will mean further cuts in Medicaid for seniors and others, limitation of CHIP, and further reductions in services;
- losing $40 million that could improve the state's infrastructure and safety, and ensure a living wage to public employees.
In late 2006, Gov. Manchin issued a call to reform state taxes. A broad coalition of groups including the WV AFL-CIO supported this because it combined a cautious approach to reform with targeted help for low income West Virginians and reductions in business and other taxes.
These changes were approved during a special session of the legislature in Nov. 2006. It was understood that further reforms in state taxes were needed, but these changes need to be made carefully and with full consideration of the state's long term needs. Already, the state faces major financial liabilities and is heading towards a structural deficit.
Please call House Finance Chairman, Harry Keith White (304) 340-3230 and tell him;
Businesses will gain little if tax cuts come at the cost of education, infrastructure and the long term well being of West Virginians. We need a responsible approach to state taxes and revenues, not careless corporate tax cuts with no plan for the future.
Prepared by Rick Wilson, AFSC WV Economic Justice Project
March 2, 2007
“S.O.S.” Shame On Shelley!
Thursday, March 1st Representative Shelley Moore Capito signed on in support of the second war being waged by President George W. Bush.
We all know Representative Capito has joined in lock step with the President and his cronies on many issues that have had devastating effects on hard working West Virginia families, including sending an additional 20,000 young women and men to war in Iraq, but her vote against H.R. 800, “The Employee Free Choice Act” is a real indication that she has now joined George W. Bush in the war he and his administration is waging on the working poor!
Workers forming unions and bargaining collectively in the protection of their interests is the only answer for workers seeking justice in the work place and raising their standard of living. If we ever hope to close the gap between our richest and poorest citizens and rebuild the middle class we must eliminate employer interference when workers exercise their right to form unions and bargain collectively.
Again Representative Capito is out of step with the rest of our Congressional delegation and in step with George W. Bush. “S.O.S.”
March 1, 2007
Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on
House Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act
March 1, 2007
Today's vote on the Employee Free Choice Act in the House of Representatives marks a momentous turning point in the growing movement to restore our nation's middle-class. Today, the voices of tens of millions of working people who deserve the right to make a free choice to bargain for a better life have been heard and heeded on Capitol Hill.
These are people like Shirley Brown, a housekeeper at Chicago's Resurrection Health Care whose co-workers are afraid to talk about forming a union - even outside of work - for fear of losing their jobs. They are people like Ivo Camilo, a 35-year employee of Blue Diamond Growers in Sacramento, who came to Washington to tell of the fear instilled in his co-workers when he was fired for exercising his rights. And they are people like Bill Lawhorn, who came to tell of being fired by Consolidated Biscuit in McComb, Ohio for supporting a union - and despite winning his government case against his employer, four and a half years after being fired he has not been rehired or received a cent of back pay.
Today those workers and millions like them have new hope that they will have the opportunity to bargain collectively for better wages, benefits and working conditions.
Because of today's vote, the future looks a little brighter to all Americans who have watched corporations celebrate record profits, but have themselves been shut out of the party, left with stagnant wages and facing soaring costs. A union card is the single best ticket into the middle-class and, thanks to the Employee Free Choice Act, working people may finally have the chance to be part of a union.
Labor law was intended from the outset to encourage working people to come together and bargain collectively for better wages and benefits than they would be able to get on their own. But in the past few decades, labor law has been so twisted by corporations and their union-busting hired guns that it is now virtually impossible to form a union against an employer's wishes. The choice that should belong to employees now belongs to employers. Corporations routinely fire, intimidate, harass and coerce workers during organizing campaigns, and labor law is helpless to stop them. The current process is rigged from the outset by the side that holds the power of the paycheck.
The changes made in the Employee Free Choice Act are not radical. It gives workers - not corporations - the right to decide how to vote for a union. It makes it harder for employers to interfere and levies real penalties on those that do. Finally, it creates a mechanism to ensure that corporations can't endlessly stall a first contract.
For too long, it has taken heroes to form unions -- brave men and women like Shirley Brown, Ivo Camilo and Bill Lawhorn. If we are going to have an economy and a country that work for working people, that has to change.
Today is the beginning of the change we need to see.
March 1, 2007
Congresswoman Shelley Capito Votes NO
for the The Employee Free Choice Act!
Click the below Ayes and Noes for a complete list.
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 118
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)
H R 800 RECORDED VOTE 1-Mar-2007 3:56 PM
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: The Employee Free Choice Act
|
Ayes |
Noes |
PRES |
NV |
| Republican |
13 |
183 |
|
5 |
| Democratic |
228 |
2 |
|
3 |
| Independent |
|
|
|
|
| TOTALS |
241 |
185 |
|
8 |
March 1, 2007
Why is the cost of
prescription medication out of control?
One Answer is - Pharmaceutical Marketing!
Pharmaceutical marketing adds billions to the cost of prescription drugs and also increases our health care costs!
HB 3164 ~ The Pharmaceutical Availability and Affordability Act of 2007 ~ would give the state Pharmaceutical Advocate power to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers on behalf of state programs and it also would require drug manufacturers to report all expenses when providing such things as food, entertainment, gifts and trips to a health care professional.
Perry Bryant, director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care said, " this bill will help the state understand why the prices of pharmaceuticals continue to rise and allow the state to negotiate a fair price."
HB 3164 ~ passed the House on February 27th and has been referenced to the Senate Health & Human Resources Committee - Senator Roman Prezioso is the chair of that committee - his committee will meet again on Tuesday, March 6th.
Senator Prezioso represents Marion county, however, this bill will effect all of us so please call his office @ 304-357-7961 and request that HB 3164 be added to Tuesday's agenda and he and his committee support this bill - without amendment.
Toll-free: 1-877-565-3447 You will have to ask to be connected to Senator Roman Prezioso's office or to be connected to your Senator's office to request his or her help in the passage of this very important legislation.
Should you not know who your Senator is the below telephone number will request your zip code and direct your call to his or her office...1-888-844-5007
Below is a link to each Senate Health & Human Resources Committee member and their contact information. Please contact as many as you can and request that they support HB 3164 - without amendment.
