[Educationforall] spam con huevos labor news, views and concerns, 4.10.12‏‏‏‏‏-I‏

Fri Apr 13 05:12:23 UTC 2012

Labor: The Original Social Network‏U.S. Corporations Return To Pre-Recession Profits, But They’re Not Translating Into U.S. Jobs  THIS TUESDAY 4-17-12 @ 5PM - 'LA Wage Theft' Ordinance Launch Party  US Union Pensions in $369 Billion Hole According to Credit Suisse‏ Tijuana Maquiladora Tour April 14--Tour Maquilero en Tijuana 14 de abril‏ Federal Funds to Train the Jobless Are Drying Up  Join 99% Spring Fired for Wearing the Wrong Color Shirt: The Scary Truth About Our Lack of Workplace Protections  Workers Collapsing While Making Your H&M Clothes and Puma Shoes: Where's the Mass Outcry?   The Rise and Fall of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers  
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For too long, our political process has been dominated by too much money and too much power concentrated in the hands of too few. 

That’s why Workers’ Voice was created: to build an independent voice for the working and middle class. That voice will be fighting for the 99%—working people joining together to recognize the value of hard work and call for good jobs, a fair economy and to build a strong middle class.

As megamillionaires like Mitt Romney, the Koch brothers and large corporations plan to try and buy the 2012 elections, Workers’ Voice—powered by cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned energy—will activate and energize networks of working families, both online and offline, to come together to organize their friends, family, co-workers and neighbors, and make their voices heard.

As Theresa Brown, a worker from Cooper Tire in Ohio, said this morning at a press conference to launch Workers’ Voice, “It doesn’t matter if you’re in a union or not because we’re all fighting corporate greed and it’s time that we stood up and took this country back because we’re tired of it.” 

Susan Baskett, who is from Michigan and unemployed, said, “Politicians aren’t paying attention to, or doing enough, to put people like me back to work. Workers’ Voice will let us connect with other people in similar situations so we can work together to organize our neighborhoods and communities.” 

Check out Workers’ Voice and sign up here.

Workers’ Voice represents and fights for all working families—union and nonunion—around political campaigns, legislative issues and holding elected officials accountable. And we hope you’ll be a part of it.

Thanks for all the work you do.

In Solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIOTo find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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U.S. Corporations Return To Pre-Recession Profits, But They’re Not Translating Into U.S. JobsBy Pat Garofalo | ThinkProgress

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There are 750,000 low-wage workers in Los Angeles.1 in 3 receive less than minimum wage.80% are cheated of overtime pay.

Each week, wage theft robs Los Angeles workers of $26 million--that's $1.4 billion per year.
But...
4 in 5 workers who file a claim for wage theft never see a dime.

The Los Angeles Wage Theft OrdinanceCampaign Launch PartyCome learn about this exciting new ordinance that:stiffens penalties for wage theftprotects workers against retaliationrevokes the worst offenders' right to do business until they pay their workers what they're owedTuesday, April 17th5 PM - 7 PMDowntown Labor Center675 S. Park View StreetLos Angeles, CA 90057Join the Los Angeles Coalition Against Wage Theft to enjoy food & community and fight for wage justice in LA!
Please RSVP to: FightWageTheftLA at gmail.comOr call: (213) 480-4155 x205-- Tia Koonse, Attorney at LawUCLA Downtown Labor Center FellowEpstein Program in Public Interest Law and PolicyM.U.P., UCLA School of Urban Planning(213) 820-5268Support social and economic justice for students, workers, and our communities.Join us at the UCLA LABOR CENTER 2012 BANQUET on May 10!
Honoring Mark Ayers, President, Building and Construction Trades Department, Laphonza Butler, President, SEIU ULTCW, and Congresswoman Judy Chu.RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY
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US Union Pensions Hole Deepens to $369bn
by Dan McCrum and Ajay Makan

The Financial Times
April 8, 2012

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/45dbbafe-7838-11e1-bffc-00144feab49a.html#axzz1rbNXm8Ud

The hole in the pension plans of US labour unions now
stands at $369bn Credit Suisse has calculated with the
aid of new reporting standards. This raises the
prospect of higher pension contributions for employers
and deteriorating industrial relations.

Multi-employer pension schemes, managed by trade unions
on behalf of members working for many different
employers, are now just 52 per cent funded, the bank
calculates with m ost of the burden to close this gap
likely to fall on small and midsize companies.

S&P 500 companies' share of this obligation is
estimated at just $43bn. However Credit Suisse
identifies seven large companies in the S&P, including
Safeway and UPS, where the pension liability is a
significant proportion of their market capitalisation.

There is also a "last man standing" risk for companies
if other contributors to a fund fail. In 2007 it cost
UPS $6.1bn to withdraw entirely from the Central States
Pension Fund, capping its liability.

More than 10m people are covered by such multi-employer
schemes with contribution rates typically set by the
collective bargaining agreements that cover pay,
benefits and working conditions. Membership of these
funds, and the businesses contributing to them, tend to
be concentrated in industries with highly unionised
workforces, such as construction, transport, retail and
hospitality.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, which
regulates reporting of US pensions, now requires
companies to disclose more details about their
involvement with such plans in their annual regulatory
filings.

Credit Suisse combined these with separate filings from
over 1,350 multi-employer plans. "FASB provided the key
to unlocking the door", said David Zion, head of
accounting research for the bank.

The bank's findings contrast with the approach used by
the plans themselves whereby funding levels are
calculated on an actuarial basis which smooths
investment returns over several years and discounts the
size of future payments to beneficiaries at an expected
rate of investment returns of 7.5 per cent annually.

Critics argue that this produces an overly optimistic
view of assets and liabilities: on this actuarial basis
multi-employer plans are 81 per funded, a gap of only
$101bn. Safeway last week said that its liability was
$1.88bn "on the basis established by the Pension
Protection Act of 2006". Credit Suisse estimates that a
fair value for the liability is $7bn, more than the
company's market capitalisation.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which insures
US pension schemes, estimates that at the start of
2009, the most recent figures it has published, multi-
employer plans were 48 per cent funded, with $331bn of
assets to fund $686bn of liabilities.

____________________________________________

PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to
people on the left that will help them to interpret the
world and to change it.
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1 attachment (133.5 KB)Maquilado...pdfDownload(133.5 KB)Download as zip(Versión en espanol, por favor ver abajo) Tijuana Maquiladora Tour Come to learn about Tijuana communities and workers' conditions and struggles! Saturday, April 14, 2012, 9 am to 3 pm  Important Notice: Citizens returning from Mexico should present an U.S. passport. (Otherwise, they need an official ID, birth certificate, and waiting in line when returning to the U.S. for a period of time to be decided by the border gate officer.) More information: the U.S. State Dept. web site:  http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#entry_requirements All tour participants must read the US travel alert to Mexico and sign the tour waiver. Please read the attached file.  Schedule (There may be slight variations from tour to tour.) 9:00 am sharp- San Ysidro/Tijuana border-bus station. We will walk together to cross the border gate and travel to our locations in Tijuana using chartered buses for transportation. 9:45 am- The crosses at the border: More than 7,000 immigrants have died trying to cross the border. 10:30 am- Otay Industrial Park, Sanyo, Douglas Furniture, other maquiladoras: workers' labor conditions, labor rights and struggles

NOTE: We will visit the Tijuana industrial area but won't enter any factory. 11:00 am- Community Ejido Chilpancingo-Rio Alamar: industrialization, health, environment, urban development 11:30 pm- Metales y Derivados, a story of struggle and success for environmental justice 12:15 pm- Lunch 1:00 pm- Group dialogue about the experience; time for questions and comments 2:00 pm- Working women in Tijuana are organizing artisan cooperatives and promoting an alternative economy. They will bring their handcrafts to the tour. To learn in advance about these cooperatives, please go to http://ollincallicoop.blogspot.com/ 3:00 pm- Return to the Tijuana bus station Donations $30 regular, $20 students, $ 50 solidarity Donations cover the bus, lunch, and a donation to the workers' organizations. To reserve a place, please go to www.sdmaquila.org If you prefer to use the postal system, or for more information, please contact:Herb Shore: sdmaquila at cox.net, (619) 287-5535 Sponsored by Colectivo Ollin Calli Tijuana, Colectivo Chilpancingo for Environmental Justice, San Diego Maquiladora Workers' Solidarity Network, Environmental Health Coalition, and Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras  @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  MAQUILADORAS  EN TIJUANA: UN RECORRIDO Conoce las luchas y condiciones de trabajo de los y las trabajadoras de las maquilas S?bado 10 de marzo, 9 am a 3 pm Nota importante: Ciudadanos de EUA necesitan pasaporte para regresar a EUA. Ciudadanos de EUA tienen que leer la alerta del Departamento de Estado y firmar el waiver. Please see the alert in an attached file. AGENDA DEL TOUR (PUEDE VARIAR UN POCO DE UNO A OTRO TOUR) 9:00 am en punto en la estaci?n del trolley de San Ysidro o la estaci?n de taxis de la entrada a Tijuana desde San Ysidro. Desde la estaci?n de trolley cruzaremos la frontera a pie para abordar un autob?s particular que nos transportar? en Tijuana. O tambi?n nos podemos reunir del lado de Tijuana en la estaci?n de los taxis amarillos. 9:45 am- Visita a las cruces en la frontera: M?s de 7,00 emigrantes han muerto tratando de cruzar la frontera. 10:30 am-  Parque Industrial de Otay: Sanyo, Douglas Furniture, otras maquiladoras: condiciones laborales, derechos laborales y luchas en las maquilas NOTA: Visitaremos una zona industrial de Tijuana pero no entraremos a ninguna f?brica. 11:00 am- Comunidad Ejido Chilpancingo-Rio Alamar: industrializaci?n, salud, medio ambiente y desarrollo humano 11:30 am- Metales y Derivados, una historia de lucha y ?xito por justicia ambiental 12:15 pm- Lunch 1:00 pm- Dialogo con el grupo sobre la experiencia del tour; preguntas y comentarios 2:00 pm: Trabajadoras de Tijuana est?n organizando cooperativas que promueven una econom?a alternativa. Ellas traer?n su producci?n al tour. Para saber desde antes sobre esas cooperativas, favor de visitar: http://ollincallicoop.blogspot.com/ 3:00 pm- Regreso a la estaci?n de autobuses amarillos de Tijuana  DONACIONES Para reservar, favor de escribir a maquilatijuanasandiego at earthlink.net. O si prefiere, puede reservar en la p?gina web (en ingl?s) at http://sdmaquila.org. USA: $30 regular, $20 students, $50 solidarity M?xico: $20 regular, $10 estudiantes, algunas becas a estudiantes $5, gratis a trabajadoras/es Las donaciones cubren el autob?s, almuerzo y una donaci?n a las organizaciones de trabajadoras Invitan: Colectivo Ollin Calli Tijuana, Colectivo Chilpancingo por Justicia Ambiental, Red de San Diego en Solidaridad con los y las Trabajadoras de las Maquiladoras, Coalicion pro Justicia Ambiental, Coalici?n Pro-Justicia en las Maquiladoras   prcua 
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http://truth-out.org/news/item/8411-federal-funds-to-train-the-jobless-are-drying-up

Federal Funds to Train the Jobless Are Drying UpMotoko Rich, The New York Times News Service: "With the economy slowly reviving, an executive from Atlas Van Lines recently visited Louisville, Ky., with good news: the company wanted to hire more than 100 truck drivers ahead of the summer moving season. But a usually reliable source of workers, the local government-financed job center, could offer little help, because the federal money that local officials had designated to help train drivers was already exhausted." Read the Article 

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April 9, 2012
A University of Wisconsin professor is introducing Bruce Springsteen’s music and its connections to economic injustice and social change to a new generation of listeners.Join more than 100,000 activists, from unions and community, faith and other progressive groups, to take the economy back from the 1% and challenge corporate greed as part of 99% Spring. Training sessions around the nation this week will let you know how to take back the economy, starting with Tax Day (April 17) actions across the nation to demand the 1% pay their fair share.
Read more and comment.  UW Class Explores Springsteen’s Message and Social Change Today BCTD President Ayers Has Died Walker Repeals Wis. Equal Pay Protection American Rights at Work Launches Union-Made Guide ‘Workers Need to Have Power and a Voice’ March Job Growth Weaker than Expected TWU Local 100 Takes Message to Albany APA Activists Hit the Doors to Kick Off National ‘Every Vote Counts’ Campaign CWA District 6 Members OK AT&T Mobility PactRead more important news of the day on the issues working families care about.Follow the AFL-CIO:
            Take the next step. Become a mobile activist
by joining the AFL-CIO Rapid Action Text Team.
Text NEWS to AFLCIO (235246) to receive action alerts and more.
(Message and data rates may apply.)
To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org.
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http://www.alternet.org/story/154825/fired_for_wearing_the_wrong_color_shirt%3A_the_scary_truth_about_our_lack_of_workplace_protections?akid=8548.16102.tQoUBb&rd=1&t=2

Fired for Wearing the Wrong Color Shirt: The Scary Truth About Our Lack of Workplace ProtectionsMost American workers labor under the auspices of employment-at-will, which allows employers to hire, fire and promote for good reasons, bad reasons, or no reason at all.READ MOREJake Blumgart / AlterNet
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http://www.alternet.org/story/154870/workers_collapsing_while_making_your_h%26m_clothes_and_puma_shoes%3A_where%27s_the_mass_outcry_?akid=8548.16102.tQoUBb&rd=1&t=12

-Workers Collapsing While Making Your H&M Clothes and Puma Shoes: Where's the Mass Outcry?70 percent of the clothing made in Cambodia is sold in the United States--where's the Foxconn-style outrage over atrocious conditions for garment workers? READ MOREBy Anne Elizabeth Moore / TruthOut.org
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http://www.alternet.org/story/154859/the_rise_and_fall_of_cesar_chavez_and_the_united_farm_workers?akid=8548.16102.tQoUBb&rd=1&t=24

-The Rise and Fall of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm WorkersIn his new book "Trampling Out the Vintage," Frank Bardacke traces the magnificent and tragic history of that groundbreaking union. READ MOREBy Nelson Lichtenstein / Dissent Magazine
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Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monitory gain to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the material for research and educational purposes. This is in accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. section 107..
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

Listen to Native Voice One http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/nv1/ppr/index.shtml

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