[Educationforall] spam con huevos labor news, views and concerns, 5.28.12‏‏‏‏-I‏I

[Carlos Pelayo]

Remember: The AFL-CIO, the National Endowment for Democracy, and Venezuela Plantations, Prisons and Profits  Two on American Airlines Bankruptcy‏Hostess Brands Uses Bankruptcy Court to Screw Workers Out of Pensions, Benefits  Egypt's Labor Movement Finds its own Strength‏  
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Remember: The AFL-CIO, the National Endowment for Democracy, and
Venezuela The AFL-CIO's "Solidarity Center" (formally known as the
American Center for International Labor Solidarity or ACILS) was
actively involved in bringing together the leadership of the
right-wing Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV) and that of the
business community FEDCAMARAS (along with at least some of the leaders
of the Catholic Church) just prior to the April 2002 coup attempt that
briefly deposed the democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez. This
I reported last year in the April 2004 issue of Labor Notes
(www.labornotes.org/archives/2004/04/articles/e.html. (For this put in
the larger context of AFL-CIO foreign policy, see my May 2005 article
in Monthly Review at www.monthlyreview.org/0505scipes.htm. [16])  
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Labor/SolidarityCtr_AFL_Venez.html
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/26/opinion/blow-plantations-prisons-and-profits.html?_r=3&nl=todaysheadlines&adxnnl=1&emc=edit_th_20120526&adxnnlx=1338054014-nyOItJBbOK57ZzbAVJp4dQ

Plantations, Prisons and Profits
Read the Article at the New York Times


@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Two on American Airlines Bankruptcy


After closing arguments, bankruptcy judge advises
American to make a deal

By MARIA RECIO

The Miami Herald

Posted on Fri, May. 25, 2012

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/25/2817515/after-closing-arguments-bankruptcy.html


As American Airlines made its final stand Friday in
U.S. bankruptcy court, the judge finished the lengthy
hearing on a surprising note by telling the courtroom
that the airline and its unions need to work toward a
deal.

In American Airlines' closing arguments after three
weeks of testimony, the company said its labor
contracts must be terminated for it to survive and
dismissed its unions' calls for a merger with US
Airways Group Inc. as "smoke and mirrors."

But U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Sean Lane said that
though he was prepared to rule by the June 22 deadline,
he would prefer not to.

"The only thing I have in front of me," he said of the
so-called Section 1113 hearing, "is whether to reject a
collective bargaining agreement. You're all still stuck
with each other. You still have to negotiate new
agreements."

Even if Lane abrogated agreements with the pilots,
flight attendants and transport workers, American would
still have to come to agreement with its unions.

"I urge, and I cannot urge this any more strongly, that
the parties resolve this where they need to resolve
this - the negotiating table," said Lane. "Regardless
of what I do, you're going to have to do it anyway."

Mediation is scheduled to start next week with the
labor groups before another judge of the bankruptcy
court, and Lane would like a resolution that does not
require him to make a decision. "I'll do it even if I'm
reluctant to do it," he said.

The trial has exposed the deep-seated distrust between
labor and management.

The carrier's parent, Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR
Corp., filed for bankruptcy in November and now is
trying to persuade the court to reduce its labor costs
as it moves to reorganize as a standalone company.
American's pilots, flight attendants and transport
workers counter that a prospective merger with U.S.
Airways, with which they have reached initial labor
agreements, is the viable solution.

American has been walking a fine line on the merger
issue, saying that it is irrelevant to the labor
contract hearing, but at the same time saying that the
carrier will consider consolidation as part of its
business strategy.

On Friday, however, the focus was on the short term -
the June 22 deadline as the carrier hemorrhages money.

"We don't know if consolidation is in the future," said
American Airlines attorney Jack Gallagher. "What we do
need is to get out of bankruptcy. We need a competitive
labor structure."

Saying that there was no concrete business plan that
involved a merger, he told Lane that the "term sheets"
the unions had agreed to with U.S. Airways did not
amount to a deal. "We think that's more smoke and
mirrors. It's a distraction. It's a red herring. It's
not really something before you."

American got a strong boost from the Unsecured
Creditors Committee, which represents the company's
nine largest creditors, when its attorney, Jack Butler,
said, "There's only one business plan before you." A
deal with U.S. Airways is "completely speculative," he
said.

The unions countered that it is also an issue of
timing, since American may wait until it has a more
favorable cost structure and then seek U.S. Airways as
a partner. Ed James, attorney for the Allied Pilots
Association, which represents American's pilots, said
terminating the contracts was permanent and could not
be undone. Sharon Levine, a lawyer for the Transport
Workers Union, said that the unions should not be used
"as bait" for a future merger.

American - which Gallagher said has lost $10 billion
over the past 10 years and in the first quarter of this
year lost $80 million a month - is seeking $1 billion a
year in labor savings from its unions.



May 25, 2012 APA president Bates lays out rationale for its labor deal with US Airways

Andrea Ahles

SkyTalk

Read more here: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2012/05/apa-president-bates-lays-out-rationale-for-its-labor-deal-with-us-airways.html#storylink=cpy

It appears that not all of American Airlines' pilots
are pleased with the union's agreement to support a US
Airways bid.

In a long message sent to pilots on Friday afternoon,
Allied Pilots Association president Dave Bates provided
details on how the union came to its "conditional labor
agreement" with US Airways, even though the Tempe-based
carrier has not yet officially launched a takeover bid
of American.

"In vivid contrast to the wood chipper that AMR
management had in mind for us, it became clear that
there was a better path for our future. Beginning with
the first discussions we had with US Airways, we
delineated key prerequisites that would be required to
gain APA's support for a merger with US Airways. These
priority items include, but are not limited to: a
viable business plan and a strong capital structure;
furlough and pay protection for all active pilots;
support for a pension freeze with an industry-standard
defined-contribution retirement plan; pay scales that
would quickly exceed the current rates at Delta and
United; and scope protections that would protect AA
pilot jobs. Few if any of these items could be obtained
from AMR management," Bates wrote.

Bates noted that there were some "naysayers" who are
urging members to contest the US Airways agreement and
that simply plays into American's hands.

"While our market-based CLA with US Airways management
is not the "industry-leading contract" we would all
prefer, we believe that the final contract we are now
negotiating with US Airways is supportable in
bankruptcy court, enhances our case and will be
significantly better than what AMR management has in
mind for us. In comparison to what other legacy airline
pilots experienced in bankruptcy, APA did much better
than any before us. Most of our CBA is preserved and we
have stopped the downward spiral that typifies
bankruptcy. The alternative to a consolidation with US
Airways is to have our contract gutted and to continue
to suffer under the failed leadership at AMR under a
business model that few believe can succeed," the
letter said.

Keep reading for the full text of Bates letters to the pilots.


The Path to the US Airways Conditional Labor Agreement

The APA leadership has received a number of member
queries in recent days regarding the conditional labor
agreement (CLA) we reached with US Airways.

To understand the path to our agreement with US Airways
management, we must acknowledge the reality of our
current situation. It's sometimes necessary to point
out the obvious-- negotiations in bankruptcy are not the
same as bargaining with a profitable company. Without
the ability to compel AMR management to bargain in good
faith--actually, to even bargain at all-- in Chapter 11,
we are facing massive displacements, more furloughs and
drastic changes to our benefits and quality of life. In
short, AMR's failed cornerstone strategy (sometimes
referred to as the "Tombstone Plan") has put American
financially at the very bottom of the industry--not the
best conditions for us to negotiate contractual gains.
Sadly, the legal process in bankruptcy heavily favors
American Airlines' management, with minimal safeguards
to preserve contractual provisions that define our
compensation, benefits and working conditions.


For the rest of the letter go to:
http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2012/05/apa-president-bates-lays-out-rationale-for-its-labor-deal-with-us-airways.html#storylink=cpy



Read more here: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2012/05/apa-president-bates-lays-out-rationale-for-its-labor-deal-with-us-airways.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here:
http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2012/05/apa-
president-bates-lays-out-rationale-for-its-labor-deal-
with-us-airways.html#storylink=cpy

____________________________________________

PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to
people on the left that will help them to interpret the
world and to change it.
]@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
http://www.alternet.org/story/155415/hostess_brands_uses_bankruptcy_court_to_screw_workers_out_of_pensions%2C_benefits?akid=8849.16102.5Yca5N&rd=1&t=15

-Hostess Brands Uses Bankruptcy Court to Screw Workers Out of Pensions, BenefitsA judge allows the company to cancel its union contracts; on the same day, the Twinkie-maker sends lay-off notices to all 18,500 workers. READ MOREBy Bruce Vail / In These Times
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Egypt's Labor Movement Finds its own Strength
The impetus for Mubarak's fall, workers are now
crafting a new network to secure their rights.
By Mai Shams El-Din
Global Post
May 24, 2012

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/120523/egypt-labor-movement-finds-own-strength 

CAIRO — In many respects, the popular revolt against
Hosni Mubarak began on April 6, 2008 in Mahalla,
Egypt.

Security forces unleashed a torrent of violence
against 30,000 striking textile workers and thousands
of their supporters, killing several demonstrators and
injuring hundreds. The April 6 Youth Movement emerged
from that mass action when engineer Ahmed Maher co-
founded the group that would slowly galvanize millions
of workers and ultimately help touch off the
revolution.

Three years after Mahalla, worker Shaaban Hegaz stood
in front of the cameras during a rally on
International Labor Day — May 1 — holding a banner and
appealing to journalists: "Would you take a photo of
our demands? We have come all the way from Suez.”

Although Egypt’s labor movement has been born anew in
the days and months since the January 25 uprising,
wooing workers from the official government union to a
growing network of independent ones, activists like
Hegaz, 40, are finding an impatient audience these
days.

The country’s economy took a massive hit following the
fall of Mubarak and voters are hungry for relief. Last
year the ruling military implemented a law
criminalizing labor strikes that disturb production,
imposing penalties of years in prison or thousands of
Egyptian pounds in fines. 

The nascent Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade
Unions — formed during the uprising as the country’s
first independent union — wants to repeal the law,
balancing workers‘ right to organize against economic
concerns. Ultimately, organizers hope to again bring
the power of labor to bear on the Egypt’s entrenched
political leadership. 

"The ruling military practices are the legacy of their
teacher [Mubarak]," said Kamal Abbas, general
coordinator of the Center for Trade Unions and Workers
Services.

As Egyptians vote this week on their first-ever
civilian president, four leftist candidates who have
presented ideas to improve the socioeconomic
conditions of workers are polling well below
frontrunners like Amr Moussa and Abdel-Moneim
Abolfotoh.

Some labor leaders have called on the four pro-labor
candidates, Hamdeen Sabahi, Abul Ezz El-Hariri, Hisham
El-Bastawisi and Khaled Ali to form a united front
representing workers. 

“These are all wishes," Abbas said. "This is a new-
born movement, with independent labor syndicates
formed only one year ago, so it is too hard for the
movement to shift its struggle from a direct economic
struggle to a political one. The movement lacks the
awareness." 

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has put
Egypt on the blacklist of countries violating labor
rights since 1957, when the Egyptian government told
millions of Egyptian workers that the only legal union
would be the state-sponsored Egyptian Workers
Federation, which later became the Egyptian Trade
Union Federation (ETUF). 

Then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser summarized the
regime’s longstanding approach to labor rights when he
said, “The workers don’t demand; We give.”

In 1976, the law governing the formation of labor
unions was amended, depriving Egyptian workers from
the right to form labor unions only upon state
approval, giving huge authority to ETUF.

ETUF became Mubarak's tool to keep workers in check
and also allegedly a gateway for financial corruption
— especially under Hussein Megawer, a leading figure
in Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party.

Megawer is now facing trial for his alleged
involvement in attacking Tahrir protesters on February
2, 2011 during the popular uprising that left 13 dead
and hundreds injured.

Unyielding continuity

Labor movement leaders and advocates say that when it
comes to suppressing labor organization, the ruling
military junta has picked up right where Mubarak left
off.

According to a report released by Sons of the Land
Human Rights Association, over 20,000 workers were
fired from their jobs since last year for protesting,
and 30 others committed suicide as they were unable to
provide basic support for their families. So far in
2012, the country has witnessed 1,398 labor strikes in
both government and private sectors, including those
by teachers, doctors, public transportation workers,
post offices workers and public taxation authority
workers.

Many of the strikers have joined the upstart Egyptian
Federation of Independent Trade Unions, which has
grown to more than 1.6 million workers and has aligned
with more than 100 other new unions.

The coordinator Abbas, who was imprisoned for many
times by Mubarak regime, was sentenced to a six-month
sentence by an Egyptian misdemeanor court in March for
chanting against the head of the official labor union
during a speech at the ILO in June 2011.

"This is the attack of counter-revolutionary forces
against activists, whether labor activists or
political activists, and a continuation of the
practices of the ousted regime," Abbas told Daily News
Egypt last March. 

The average Egyptian worker, Abbas said, is not aware
of the fact that he or she represents the strongest
social class that can affect politics if it is
properly moderated and organized.

"The labor movement cannot yet understand that it is
the capitalist political regime that needs to be
changed so that its economic demands are met," Abbas
said.

Leftist lawyer and member of the Popular Alliance
Socialist Party Magda Fathy agreed, recalling the days
before the revolution when the leftist political elite
used to protest in front of the doorsteps of the
Journalists Syndicate against the oppressive labor
laws.

"Workers back then, and till now, are not aware that
this law is the reason of their suffering. I cannot
blame them alone, the political elite is also
responsible for not educating the working class,"
Fathy explained.

Fathy said that hopes are high that candidates with
agendas favoring the labor movement can unite to
achieve social justice.

"We are trying to organize our efforts," Fathy said.

Fear of an elitist constitution

The major demands of the labor movement in the new
constitution have two major dimensions: The first
calls for giving constitutional grants for syndicate
freedoms while the other stipulates granting social
and economic rights with no restrictions like the
right of free education in all stages, health care and
the right to work.

Workers’ advocates want Egyptian labor law to adhere
to ILO standards, which by grant labor unions the
right to organize without state approval and ban
disbanding unions under any circumstances, among many
other protections for labor unions.

The real battle lies in the laws that organize
constitutional rights, the Syndicate Freedoms Law is
the perfect example, Fathy said.

In May 2011, the Egyptian government initiated a
dialogue among the shareholders in the work
relationship including government officials,
businessmen, and workers to draft a law for syndicate
freedoms and labor.

The dialogue also included a wide range of
representatives from all political forces and reached
a draft law that most of the political forces had some
reservations upon, but according to Abbas, it met the
basic standards when it comes to labor rights.

But the surprise, Abbas said, came when the Muslim
Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)
presented a totally different draft law in the
parliament that further restricts labor freedoms.

"The Brotherhood’s draft law stipulated that labor
organizations should be designed so the top of the
syndicate leadership controls the bylaws without
giving the lower ranking members of the syndicate
power to directly elect its leaders," Abbas said.

The law also prevents workers from forming more than
one syndicate in one industry.

Khaled Azhari, a member of parliament representing the
FJP, said the law’s intention is to avoid redundancy,
not to limit the right to organize.

"Syndicate and workers' unions should be established
freely and not built on party or religious bases,"
Azhari said in a statement. 

The Muslim Brotherhood leadership has not typically
had a warm relationship with Egypt’s working class,
said Joel Beinin, the former director of Middle East
studies at the American University in Cairo to
Business Today.

“Their national leadership now, as pretty much always,
consists of wealthy, or at least upper middle class
people,” he said. “These are not people who are
personally inclined to be sympathetic to the needs of
workers.”

____________________________________________

PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to
people on the left that will help them to interpret the
world and to change it.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 
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
 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/educationforall/attachments/20120528/500ebb34/attachment-0001.html>