Machinists Oppose Northwest-Delta Merger

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ (IAM) General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr., issued the following statement April 14 in response to the proposed merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines:

“Airline industry consolidation will come at tremendous public expense. The Machinists Union’s Merger Committee has examined the Northwest-Delta merger proposal, and we firmly believe this merger is not in the best interest of passengers, employees or the communities these airlines currently serve.

“Northwest and Delta have both lobbied Congress for pension relief. Both have also frozen their underfunded pension plans. If this ill-advised mega venture fails, the liability for these plans will fall on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and ultimately the American taxpayer.

“We will do everything legally possible to oppose any merger that threatens our members’ jobs, labor contracts, pensions, seniority, and their right to union representation.”

Northwest’s IAM members are the only employees at either airline that still have an active, secure defined benefit pension plan, the IAM National Pension Plan. The IAM represents 12,500 Northwest Airlines Ramp Service Employees, Stores Clerks, Customer Service Agents, Reservation Agents, Flight Simulator Technicians and Plant Protection employees. The Machinists union is currently organizing Delta Air Lines’ Ramp Service, Customer Service, Reservation and Maintenance employees.

Additional information is available at www.goiam.org/transportation.

In a letter to members posted on the IAM District 141 website’s Merger Watch page, Randy Canale, President & Directing General Chairman, wrote that, in light of the proposed Delta-NWA merger, “It is possible that some combination of United, Continental, and/or American Airlines may be prompted by today’s announcement. These airline mergers represent a threat to your wages, benefits and union representation itself.”

Check the District 141 website’s Merger Watch page at www.iam141.org/airline_mergers.htm for the latest information as this situation develops.

Prop. 98 Video on Youtube
A video showing why Prop. 98 on the June 3 ballot should be opposed can be viewed online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=otqgKz4PnIU.

“Tale of Two Countries” Video Looks at Health Care in Canada
Canadian members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) talk about their country’s health care system and how it compares with the costly system in the United States in a video that the Canadian Media Guild produced for last year’s CWA convention in Toronto.
The video is now available online on at www.heatlhcarevoices.org/canada. The Health Care Voices website features hundreds of stories, ideas and concerns of CWA members and their families as part of the union’s fight for health care reform in the United States.

The March/April issue of the CWA News explains CWA’s campaign for reform and looks at differences between the publicly-funded systems of Canada and Europe and the insurance-driven system in the United States.

In the video and in other interviews, Canadians indicate they don’t understand why Americans cling to a staggeringly expensive system that leaves so many people without health care.

State Supreme Court Upholds Living Wage Law
In April, the California Supreme Court cleared the way for the L.A. International Airport hotel living wage law to take effect. The decision comes more than a year after the Los Angeles City Council enacted the wage law, which was immediately challenged by hotels and other business interests. The law is now expected to take effect within six weeks, barring any further challenges from the hotel industry.

According to a recent study from the L.A. Alliance for a New Economy, hotel workers in the LAX area have lost approximately $4.6 million in unpaid living wages. On average, individual workers lost between $350 and $4,044 a year, depending on job classification. Revenues for these hotels, meanwhile, have increased an estimated $30.1 million—approximately 6 times the additional cost of complying with the ordinance.

Learn more at http://laane.org/pressroom/stories/new_century/080411_LWUpheld.html

New Website Provides Resources For Unemployed Workers
The National Employment Law Project has launched www.UnemployedWorkers.org, a new website that provides all the resources needed for unemployed workers to get active in the nation-wide campaign to extend jobless benefits. The site includes worker stories, resources for unemployed workers to access available benefits, and updates on the latest developments in Congress to move the extension.

California Labor Federation Endorses Candidates For June 2008 Primary
Last month, more than 400 union delegates from across the state came together to vote on labor’s official endorsements for state legislators, U.S. representatives, and statewide ballot measures for the upcoming primary election on June 3rd.

The convention provided union members with the opportunity to weigh in on this year’s important political races. All union members and allies are encouraged to consider these endorsements before heading to the polls in June.

“California’s working families need lawmakers who are committed to protecting our jobs and advocating for our issues,” said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation on April 8. “With today’s endorsements, the California Labor movement is moving closer to building a strong majority of ‘labor warriors’ on the state and federal levels.”
The California Labor Federation represents more than two million workers in 1,200 unions across the state. The full list of endorsements can be found at www.calaborfed.org/political/june_08.html.

Paid Sick Days Bill Moving Forward
On April 9, the Assembly Labor Committee voted in favor of a AB 2716, sponsored by Assembly Member Fiona Ma that would allow all California workers to earn paid sick days. The vote came after a new report from the Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that paid sick days would benefit employers as well as workers.

“AB 2716 will save employers $2.3 million per year, mainly from reduced turnover costs,” said Vicky Lovell, Ph.D., the author of the study.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee approved the paid sick days bill on April 15. The bill is now headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. If passed by the legislature and signed into law, California would be the first state in the nation to require employers to provide paid sick days. Learn more at www.PaidSickDaysCA.org.

AFL-CIO 2007 Congressional Voting Records Available
The AFL-CIO has compiled the 2007 House and Senate Voting Records for the 110th Congress. Informationabout the votes of U.S. senators and representatives is available online on the AFL-CIO’s website at www.aflcio.org/issues/legislativealert/votes/vr_all.cfm. The congressional scorecards that track 19 Senate votes and 24 House votes from the first session of the 110th Congress can be downloaded as PDF files.

The Voting Record also shows each member’s lifetime record of support for working families. So, for instance, a quick look tells us that Sen. John McCain has a 16 percent working families voting record, Clinton 94 percent and Obama 98 percent.

An individual lawmaker’s record can be checked, or an entire state’s congressional delegation. In the coming months, a regularly updated interim voting record also will be available

Labor College Courses in Santa Fe, NM
The National Labor College offers courses at its Southwest Organizing School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For information on registration and housing, check www.nlc.edu

Budget Information
The California Budget Project has a summary of key provisions of the Governor’s proposed budget online at www.cpb.org.

School Finance Report
The California Budget Project has produced a new study, School Finance Facts: How Does California Compare? Funding California’s Public Schools. To view the report check www.cbp.org.

Child Care Guide
“Quality Child Care: A Guide for Working Parents,” is a free resource from the Labor Project for Working Families and the California Federation of Teachers that gives working families information on how to find quality child care and how unions can address child care needs of members. Check www.working-families.org/organize/childcare_guide.html to download a free copy. To order a free hard copy, email info@working-families.org or call (510) 643-7088. The WPLF also has information and materials on the infant care crisis and what unions can do. Check www.working-families.org/ for more information.

Working Families 2008 Website
The Working Families 2008 Website has been launched as a hub for the activity of the AFL-CIO to push the concerns of working families to the forefront of the national political debate and inform union members of the positions of candidates on labor issues. Check the site at www.workingfamiliesvote2008.org.

Union Shop Online
See everything The Union Shop Online has to offer at https://unionshop.aflcio.org.