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<ol><li><font size="3"><b><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 17px; ">So, What About the State of the Unions, Mr. President?</span> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 17px; ">Union Membership Holds Steady in 2011</span> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><span style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">ACTA: The International Treaty You've Never Heard of That Could Affect Internet Freedom</span> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15303?akid=8184.16102.2fbi5g&t=31" target="_blank" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">46 Million Americans Live in Poverty -- So Why Isn't Anybody Saying the P Word?</a> </b></font></li><li><h2 class="ReadMsgSubject" style="line-height: 24px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font size="3">Stop the attacks on the US Postal Service!þ</font></h2></li><li><font size="3"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); line-height: 17px; ">Labour And Globalization: As Conflicts Go International, Unions Follow Suit</span> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 17px; ">When New Obama Chief of Staff Was NYU Executive, School Ceased Recognizing Union</span> </b></font></li><li><h2 class="ReadMsgSubject" style="line-height: 24px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font size="3">Two contractors fined for heat illness last summer.þ</font></h2></li><li><h2 class="ReadMsgSubject" style="line-height: 24px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font size="3">Cablevision Workers Join CWA, 2011 Union Member #s Notch Upþ<span style="font-family: Tahoma; "> </span></font></h2></li><li><h2 class="ReadMsgSubject" style="line-height: 24px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font size="3">domestic workers and their children march for rightsþ</font></h2> </li></ol><div><br></div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@<div><br></div><div><font style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">So, What About the State of the Unions, Mr. President?</strong></font><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Dick Meister, DickMeister.com: "Unions? Organized labor? ... Those words were nowhere to be heard in President Obama's State of the Union address, despite labor's vital role in the economy and strong support for Obama.... Obama failed to take advantage of a great opportunity to explain the true nature of unions and their importance to the country-at-large and make clear the often vicious anti-unionism of his political enemies."</span><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5WjvZTZD%2BajILzEGX9whQSBO08HpkE8R" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#cc0000" style="line-height: normal; ">Read the Article</font></a><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> </span> </div><div><br><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ </div><div><br></div><div><font style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Union Membership Holds Steady in 2011</strong></font><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">John Schmitt and Janelle Jones, Center for Economic Policy and Research: "After falling by almost 1.4 million workers between 2008 and 2010, union membership hit a plateau in 2011. The total number of union members (up about 49,000) and the share of workers in a union (down 0.1 percentage points) were essentially unchanged last year.... The three broad industry categories with the largest net increases were health care and social assistance (up 101,000), construction (up 73,000), and durable manufactured goods (up 36,000)."</span><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hjk9SB6xupVXRz658WXl6iBO08HpkE8R" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#cc0000" style="line-height: normal; ">Read the Article</font></a><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> </span>
</div><div><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></span></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ </div><div><br></div><div><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">ACTA: The International Treaty You've Never Heard of That Could Affect Internet Freedom<br></strong><font color="#cc0000" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: normal; "><a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2FHbTfM3foPE6z1W3gOvhSBO08HpkE8R" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Read the Article at Common Dreams</a></font>
</div><div><br></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><p class="ecxheadline3" style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; "><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15303?akid=8184.16102.2fbi5g&t=31" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">46 Million Americans Live in Poverty -- So Why Isn't Anybody Saying the P Word?</a><br><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); ">By Isaiah J. Poole | Campaign for America's Future</span></p><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; font-size: 10pt; "> </span></div><div> </div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Stop the attacks on the US Postal Service!</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div class="ecxWordSection1" style="line-height: 17px; page: WordSection1; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">Dear Sisters & Brothers:</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">As the Senate reconvenes in Washington today, the NALC is closely monitoring expected Senate action for this and the coming weeks. With Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announcing late last week that he would be delaying a floor vote for the controversial anti-piracy bills pending before Congress, the Senate schedule now has unexpected floor time that will need to be filled. All indications are that the leadership plans on moving S. 1789, the 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011, as early as next week. S. 1789, in its current form, is unacceptable to the NALC and to many stakeholders and customers throughout the country.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><b style="font-weight: bold; "><u>Please call Sen. Dianne Feinstein at (202) 224-3841 and Sen. Barbara Boxer at (202) 224-3553 and ask them both to oppose S. 1789 in its current form</u></b>.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">The legislation:</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">* Allows for five-day delivery in two years' time if the Postal Service is not turning a profit, but fails to give the Postal Service any flexibility to achieve that profit.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">* Phases out door-to-door delivery in favor of curbside and centralized delivery.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">* Fails to recoup the $55 billion to $75 billion in CSRS pension surplus funds.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; ">* Does not go far enough in restructuring the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.5in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.5in; ">* Includes an anti-labor provision that would direct arbitrators to take into special consideration the financial condition of the Postal Service before rendering a decision.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.5in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.5in; ">* Unfairly attacks injured postal workers by removing them from the OWCP rolls and forcing them into retirement without implementing a formula that would make these people whole. The reduction in compensation would be severe.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><b style="font-weight: bold; "><u>Please call Sen. Dianne Feinstein at (202) 224-3841 and Sen. Barbara Boxer at (202) 224-3553 and ask them both to oppose S. 1789 in its current form</u></b>. The legislation is deeply flawed and needs significant changes before the Senate should consider passage of this bill.</p><p class="ecxMsoPlainText" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "> </p></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); ">Changes to the bill should include provisions from S. 1853, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2011. This bill takes the necessary steps by addressing the issues laid out above to strengthen the Postal Service while maintaining the excellent level of service Americans have come to expect, preserving middle-class jobs and creating new opportunities for the Postal Service moving forward.</span></div><div> </div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Labour And Globalization: As Conflicts Go International, Unions Follow Suit<br><br><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01/27/labour-globalization-unions-international_n_1236103.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01/27/labour-globalization-unions-international_n_1236103.html</a><br><br>On any battleground, common wisdom has long held that<br>defeating an adversary often owes a great deal to one's<br>ability to think like the enemy.<br><br>So it comes as little surprise that as transnational<br>corporations use their global reach to cut costs -- and<br>workers' pay -- the labour movement has begun to take a<br>similar tack. From picket lines to backroom<br>discussions, big labour is banding together across<br>sectoral, national and international borders in an<br>attempt to capitalize on the very forces that for years<br>have been employed against them.<br><br>As Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of<br>Labour, explains, "There's only one way we can fight<br>globalization, and that's to reach out to unions around<br>the globe."<br><br>It's a strategy that's being implemented on many fronts<br>in an effort union leaders describe as labour's best --<br>and only -- chance for survival.<br><br>This week in Washington, D.C., Public Services<br>International, an umbrella organization representing 20<br>million workers from nearly 150 countries, is holding a<br>meeting of North American public sector unions -- which<br>Canadian Union of Public Employees national president<br>Paul Moist says is the first of its kind in more than<br>30 years.<br><br>In addition to increasingly hostile bargaining tables<br>and mounting attacks on pensions, Moist says discussion<br>has underscored the need for greater cooperation.<br><br>"I don't think we have the luxury anymore in our own<br>borders to focus on our own issues. Globally, we can't<br>afford not to be talking to each other," he told The<br>Huffington Post on Wednesday. "The trade union movement<br>must move beyond the borders of supporting one another<br>and supporting communities and non-unionized workers as<br>well.<br><br>"I believe we'll thrive -- or not -- based on our<br>ability to do those things."<br><br>CAW national president Ken Lewenza echoed this<br>sentiment at a rally on Saturday in London, Ont., which<br>drew thousands in support of 420 locked out<br>Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) workers.<br><br>"This will be a wake up call for the international<br>communities, for the international labour movement to<br>act like these global companies. If they're going to<br>exploit workers from one country to another, we arm our<br>forces and we just refuse to do work that's going to be<br>moved to the lowest bidder," he told media. "If the<br>international labour community can't come together in<br>one voice and one fight-back campaign, then the only<br>question is when are we going to lose the identity of<br>the trade union."<br><br>The CAW is now in talks with the Communications, Energy<br>and Paperworkers Union (CEP) to create a new labour<br>organization -- which, according to a report obtained<br>by the Toronto Star, is part of a strategy to "reverse<br>the erosion of our membership, our power and our<br>prestige."<br><br>With pressure mounting to cut government spending and<br>boost corporate profits, Moist says the bonds between<br>public and private sector unions have never been<br>closer.<br><br>This cooperation was evident at the rally in London,<br>when the leaders of virtually every major Canadian<br>labour organization took to the stage.<br><br>During his speech, Moist pledged $15,000 on behalf of<br>CUPE to support the affected CAW workers and their<br>families -- an amount he expects to grow if the lockout<br>wears on.<br><br>"We need to not just visibly support, we need to<br>financially support all strikes," he said on Wednesday.<br>"CUPE is predominantly a public sector union, but ... we<br>need to support all workers who are kind of on the<br>receiving end of a corporate blow, and that's my take<br>on what's going on in London."<br><br>Despite raking in record profits in 2011,<br>Illinois-based heavy machinery manufacturing giant<br>Caterpillar, which owns EMD through its subsidiary<br>Progress Rail, locked out CAW workers at its London<br>plant on January 1 when the union refused to accept a<br>deal that would slash wages from $35 to 16.50.<br><br>Some observers have suggested that Caterpillar -- which<br>has declined multiple requests for comment from<br>HuffPost -- is planning to shift operations to a new<br>facility in Muncie, Ind., where workers earn less than<br>what the company wants to pay its employees in London.<br><br>All of which explains why a delegation from United<br>Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)<br>-- the union that represents workers in Erie, Penn.,<br>who build locomotives for General Electric, EMD's main<br>competitor -- made the trek to London on Saturday.<br><br>When it comes to "fighting these multinationals," Gene<br>Elk, a UE official involved in bargaining with General<br>Electric, says widespread cooperation among unions is a<br>must.<br><br>Though UE recently negotiated a three-year contract for<br>workers at the Erie plant, Elk says there is a sense<br>that "GE is following lock-step the pattern set by<br>[Caterpillar]."<br><br>Last year, GE announced it is building two new plants<br>in Fort Worth, Texas, where Elk suspects wages will be<br>within the $15 to $18 range -- about half of what<br>workers make at the Erie plant.<br><br>"We don't think it's an accident that GE is setting up<br>a low wage shop in Fort Worth, just like [Caterpillar]<br>is setting up a low-wage shop in Muncie," he says.<br>"They're both doing the same thing."<br><br>Both Texas and Indiana are so-called "right-to-work"<br>states, where legislation has made it more difficult<br>for unions to organize.<br><br>GE Transportation spokesman Stephan Koller did not<br>address questions about the Fort Worth facility, but<br>maintained that the recent negotiations in Erie "ended<br>in a package that offers good wages and good benefits<br>to our employees."<br><br>"GE did not lock out any of its employees and did not<br>request any wage reductions," he said.<br><br>According to Elaine Bernard, executive director of the<br>Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School, the<br>solidarity between the CAW and UE represents a<br>deepening understanding within the labour movement of<br>how dramatically globalization has shifted the playing<br>field.<br><br>"In the old days, you would have said, 'Well, gee if<br>these Canadian workers' plant closes, that's good;<br>That's more work for us.' They're not seeing it that<br>way," she says. "They're realizing that if these<br>workers who have fought for and won reasonable working<br>conditions have their working conditions cut in half,<br>that's not going to benefit anyone in the U.S."<br><br>She describes the recent, tangible examples of growing<br>coordination between disparate unions as the tip of an<br>iceberg that is only beginning to emerge.<br><br>"You're seeing the one-ninth," she says, "but trust me,<br>there's eight-ninths below."<br><br>Precisely what this enhanced cooperation will bring --<br>and how soon -- however, remains to be seen.<br><br>In the case of disputes with multinationals like<br>Caterpillar, Ryerson University labour expert Maurice<br>Mazzerolle says power will elude workers until they can<br>mount a campaign that affects the company's bottom line<br>-- "because at the end of the day, that's what they'll<br>respond to.<br><br>"I think it would take a meaningful or dialogue or<br>gesture or something from a significant purchaser or<br>their equipment or a government," he says. "It just<br>can't be [about] their reputation."<br><br><br>Local 506 Goes to Canada to Rally With Locked-Out Locomotive Workers <br><br>23 January, 2012 <br><br>London, Ontario <br><br><a href="http://www.ueunion.org/uenewsupdates.html?news=667" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://www.ueunion.org/uenewsupdates.html?news=667</a><br><br>The members of UE Local 506 build locomotives at the<br>General Electric plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, on the<br>shores of Lake Erie. When the local learned recently<br>that, on the northern side of that same lake, fellow<br>locomotive builders were under attack by a greedy<br>multinational corporation, they knew that this was a<br>fight that directly concerned them.<br><br>So on Jan. 21, Local 506 sent a delegation to London,<br>Ontario to a rally in support of the 465 members of<br>Local 27 of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), who were<br>locked out of their jobs on New Year's Day by<br>Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar bought the London<br>locomotive plant and the rest of Electro-Motive Diesel<br>(EMD) just 17 months ago, and is now trying to impose<br>massive cuts in wages and benefits. Caterpillar's<br>attack, if it succeeds, is likely to put downward<br>pressure on wages and labor conditions throughout the<br>locomotive industry.<br><br>The Ontario labor movement mobilized for this rally,<br>which brought 15,000 people - many travelling by bus<br>from the far corners of the province - to a park in<br>Downtown London on a cold but sunny Saturday morning.<br>The CAW greeted the UE delegation like VIPs,<br>recognizing the importance, in a battle like this, of<br>solidarity among workers in the same industry. CAW<br>members hung the Local 506 banner behind the stage,<br>next to their own banner, as a backdrop for the<br>speakers. Local 27 President Tim Carrie, who chaired<br>the rally, called on Local 506 President Roger Zaczyk<br>to kick off the rally as the first speaker. Zaczyk<br>brought the greetings and solidarity of his members,<br>and said that one of the signs carried by many in the<br>crowd expressed what we are all united to fight for -<br>"Good Jobs for All."<br><br>The range of speakers who followed Zaczyk to the<br>microphone showed the breadth of support for the<br>lock-out workers, both in the London community and<br>across the Ontario and Canadian labor movement.<br>Speakers included the presidents of both the Canadian<br>Labor Congress and the Ontario Federation of Labor; the<br>leader of the New Democratic Party, Canada's labor<br>party, in the federal Parliament; the president of the<br>Canadian Union of Public Employees, the country's<br>largest public-sector union; a daughter of a locked-out<br>EMD worker; the president of the graduate employee<br>union at the University of Western Ontario; the<br>director of the London Abused Women's Center, an<br>activist from Occupy London, and a nun who is a leading<br>social justice activist in London. Several speakers<br>noted how significant it is that the GE locomotive<br>workers are in solidarity with the EMD locomotive<br>workers - including London Mayor Joe Fontana, who took<br>issue with the company's claim that the EMD workers<br>perform "unskilled" work. "It's not easy building<br>locomotives. You're not making tweezers!" Fontana, like<br>several other speakers, also called out Canadian Prime<br>Minister Stephen Harper (of the Conservative Party),<br>who gave Caterpillar tax breaks but refuses to<br>intervene to help end the lockout. The mayor told the<br>prime minister, "Get your ass down here!" Local 27's<br>EMD Shop Chair Bob Scott told Caterpillar, "You want a<br>fight? You got a fight. You pissed off the wrong<br>membership."<br><br>The rally concluded with a barnburner of a speech by<br>Ken Lewenza, national president of the CAW. Lewenza<br>denounced the attacks on public employees, which are<br>occurring in Canada as well as the U.S., and blasted<br>the Harper government for presiding over the loss of<br>450,000 manufacturing jobs across Canada.<br><br>Besides Zaczyk, the UE delegation included Local 506<br>Treasurer Steve Hyzer and Executive Board Member Mike<br>Ferritto, as well as UE-GE Conference Board Secretary<br>Gene Elk and UE NEWS Managing Editor Al Hart. Following<br>the downtown rally, the UE members and other rally<br>participants headed for the EMD plant, where they<br>joined workers on the picket line.<br><br>Despite making billion dollar profits and benefiting<br>from a 20 percent increase in productivity, Caterpillar<br>wants to cuts EMD workers' wages by as much as $18.50<br>an hour. The company's take-it-or-leave-it proposal<br>also eliminates the defined benefit pension, retiree<br>benefits, survivor benefits, COLA, four holidays and<br>many other benefits. The company would also drastically<br>reduced vacation, overtime pay, prescription, dental,<br>vision and other benefits. At the same time it is<br>demanding outrageous contract concessions from its<br>London employees, Caterpillar is threatening to move<br>their work to a low-wage plant in Muncie, Indiana.<br><br>(See more photos from the London rally on UE's Facebook<br>page.)<br><br>____________________________________________<br><br>PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to<br>people on the left that will help them to interpret the<br>world and to change it.<br><br></pre><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><font style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">When New Obama Chief of Staff Was NYU Executive, School Ceased Recognizing Union</strong></font><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Josh Eidelson, In These Times: "In The University Against Itself, GSOC activist Susan Valentine wrote that NYU campaigned against GSOC with 'classic techniques such as interference from supervisors (faculty, in this case) and the threat - and fulfillment - of firings.' Several aspects of the campaign, Valentine charged, would have been illegal had workers been covered under the Labor Relations Act."</span><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div><a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7JoIcL9r7Fc0jnAa9RRYQHRc99H%2Bs7js" target="_blank" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#cc0000" style="line-height: normal; ">Read the Article</font></a><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> </span></div><div> </div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><div><div align="center" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6df/1666177117/VEsH/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img longdesc="http://www.ufw.org/" src="http://www.ufw.org/images/unitedfarmworkerswrapper.jpg" border="0" alt="wrapper" width="633" height="85" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a><br><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dc/1666177117/VEsE/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img longdesc="https://secure.ufw.org/page/contribute/sparechange" src="http://www.ufw.org/images/donatebar.gif" border="0" alt="donate" width="633" height="28" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a><br></div><table align="center" border="2" bordercolor="#000000" width="632" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><tbody><tr><td height="594" valign="top" width="407"><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dd/1666177117/VEsF/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><span style="line-height: 31px; font-size: 24px; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Two contractors fined for heat illness last summer.</span></strong></span></a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dd/1666177117/VEsC/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img align="left" border="0" height="120" hspace="3" src="http://action.ufw.org/page/-/themsun.jpg" vspace="3" width="126" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a>We want to share updates about two heat illness cases we reported to you last summer. These are cases where Cal-OSHA cited and fined farm labor contractors for violating California's heat regulation. The UFW helped bring these cases to the attention of Cal-OSHA and to the public. Cal-OSHA has issued fines for the violations.<strong style="font-weight: bold; "> <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dd/1666177117/VEsD/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Can you help us tell Cal-OSHA to see these cases through, conduct follow up inspections, not reduce the fines and treat any subsequent violations by the same companies more severely?</a></strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">According to Cal-Osha news release, farm worker Nicholas Chavez, 16, was working for farm labor contractor AgPrime when he became ill with heat illness symptoms while harvesting bell peppers near Bakersfield under temperatures of more than 100 degrees. A supervisor noted the teen's illness, but failed to seek medical help for him. Cal-OSHA found AgPrime did not provide adequate water, shade, rest breaks or first aid kits at the worksite, did not train new employees or supervisors to identify and treat symptoms of heat illness, and didn't have procedures to protect workers laboring in high temperatures or to call emergency medical help if needed. AgPrime was cited and fined $61,425.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">The state Division of Labor Standards Enforcement reviewed the case because of the farm worker's young age and "the circumstances that led to the injured worker and his guardians' separation of employment from AgPrime," a state news release said. The state issued two $500 citations to AgPrime for child labor violations--- failure to maintain a permit and for letting a minor work outside of permitted hours. Wage and retaliation claims were settled resulting in additional payment of $400 each.<br>.<br>We also told you about another case where 47-year-old Romero Vasquez collapsed in a cantaloupe field last July near Blythe on the California-Arizona border after toiling in 102-degree heat. He later died. Cal-OSHA reported their investigation found C. Clunn Consulting, the farm labor contractor, didn't provide farm workers with required training on identifying and treating symptoms of heat illness and failed to enforce its own heat illness prevention program. The business was cited and fined $74,125.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">These citations against labor contractors are the first step in ensuring farm workers are protected in the fields. But for the fines to have any real meaning, <strong style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dd/1666177117/VEsA/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">we need to ensure Cal-OSHA follows through on these cases</a> and doesn't continue practices from the previous decade when fines were reduced to next to nothing. <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dd/1666177117/VEsB/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Please send your e-mail today @ http://action.ufw.org/calosha.</a></strong><br><img alt="" height="65" src="http://action.ufw.org/page/-/asrsigblue.jpg" width="183"><br>Arturo S. Rodriguez, President<br>United Farm Workers of America<br><br>PS: We will be sharing future plans by the UFW to further protect the people who produce our food in the near future.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dd/1666177117/VEsO/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img alt="" height="25" src="http://www.ufw.org/images/takeaction_v.jpg" width="124" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a><br><strong style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6dd/1666177117/VEsP/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://action.ufw.org/calosha</a></strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6da/1666177117/VEsHBQ/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img alt="" border="0" height="10" src="http://www.ufw.org/images/tellafriend.gif" width="32" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a><b style="font-weight: bold; ">After you take action please share this campaign with your friends and family. </b>You can send them an e-mail, post this campaign on your<em><strong style="font-weight: bold; "> Facebook</strong></em> <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">and/or </strong><em><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Twitter</strong></em> page by <strong style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6db/1666177117/VEsHBA/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">clicking here</a></strong>or going to<strong style="font-weight: bold; "> <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6db/1666177117/VEsHBw/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">https://secure.ufw.org/page/share/calosha</a></strong></p></td><td valign="top" width="207"><p class="ecxstyle1" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">The Bakersfield Californian:<br><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6d8/1666177117/VEsHBg/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Cal-OSHA cites two labor contractors</a></strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">Cal-OSHA cited two farm labor contractors following the heat illness of two employees, one of whom became ill while working in a field southwest of Bakersfield.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">Cal-OSHA cited AgPrime Corp. of Los Banos and C. Clunn Consulting of Holtville for violating heat illness prevention standards, a Department of Industrial Relations news release issued Wednesday said.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">In AgPrime's case, a 16-year-old farmworker became sick while picking bell peppers with his guardians as temperatures reached 105 degrees July 6, the news release said. A supervisor noted the teen's illness, but didn't get medical help, the news release said.<strong style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6d8/1666177117/VEsHAQ/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">...MORE</a></strong></p><hr><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Imperial Valley Press:<br><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6d9/1666177117/VEsHAA/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Local farm labor firm cited for heat-related fatality</a></strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">...In the case involving the local company, an employee, Romero Vasquez, 47, collapsed in a cantaloupe field in Blythe on July 7 and later died after being airlifted to a hospital in Phoenix. Vasquez had been packaging cantaloupes, loading 40-pound boxes on a trailer and driving a tractor in 102-degree heat prior to his death. High humidity added greater risk to the worker.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; ">The investigation revealed that C. Clunn Consulting did not provide employees or supervisors required training on how to identify and treat symptoms of heat illness, according to the press release. C. Clunn failed to enforce its own Heat Illness Prevention program which included having emergency medical procedures in place to safeguard employees in case of severe heat illness. <strong style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6d9/1666177117/VEsHAw/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">...MORE</a></strong></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" width="637" height="148" align="center" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><tbody><tr><td height="142" style="border-top-width: 2px; border-right-width: 2px; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-width: 2px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-right-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-bottom-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-left-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-image: initial; vertical-align: top; width: 627px; "><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><br><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Check out our website at: </strong><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a6df/1666177117/VEsHAg/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">www.ufw.org</a> and keep up with the latest news.</span></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Check out the UFW's Social Networking pages.</strong> Click to visit our <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a626/1666177117/VEsHDQ/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Facebook Fan Page</a>, <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a627/1666177117/VEsHDA/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Facebook Cause</a>,<a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a624/1666177117/VEsEBQ/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">YouTube</a>, <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a625/1666177117/VEsEBA/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Flickr</a>, </span><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a622/1666177117/VEsEBw/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">MySpace</a>,</span><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; ">and <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a623/1666177117/VEsEBg/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Care2</a> pages. Please link to us and become our "Friend" and follow us on <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a620/1666177117/VEsEAQ/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Twitter</a>too!</span></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">If you received this message from a friend,</strong> you can <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a621/1666177117/VEsEAA/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">sign up for the UFW List Serve</a>.</span></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">If you want to change your mailing address </strong>and/or phone number <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a62e/1666177117/VEsEAw/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">click here</a></span></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">If you want to receive our alerts at a different e-mail address, </strong>send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:ufwofamer@aol.com" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">ufwofamer@aol.com</a></span></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Please add us to your safelist:</strong> Please add ufwofamer@aol.com to your address book so that our messages don’t get trapped in your spam filter. If you have questions about how to do this, drop us an e-mail.</span></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a62f/1666177117/VEsEAg/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Privacy Policy</a></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; ">To unsubscribe, go to: <a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a62c/1666177117/VEsEDQ/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://action.ufw.org/unsubscribe</a></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana, geneva; ">This email was sent to cgpelayo@hotmail.com.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; "><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">United Farm Workers, P.O. Box 62, Keene, CA 93531, </strong></span><strong style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c26/14563619/4691b262/2b46a62d/1666177117/VEsEDA/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva; ">http://www.ufw.or</span>g</a></strong></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span class="ecxstyle5" style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; "><br></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><div><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="line-height: 17px; "><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=BHEEsVVvgW5IfXNtib43O0dSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img width="626" height="71" border="0" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/banner_afl-cio_now_blog_626.jpg" alt="" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></td></tr><tr><td><table width="100%" cellpadding="13" border="0" style="line-height: 17px; "><tbody><tr><td><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">Jan. 27, 2012</b></span></p><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="7" border="0" align="right" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); width: 22px; height: 38px; "><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=yKeSF3YbxH0ooAWlXrpg1kdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img border="0" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/jobs-bond-wp.jpg" title="" alt="" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a><br><span style="line-height: 13px; font-size: 10px; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=N6%2B9X0gju3d9Ade06LueakdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Labor and management are partnering in Washington State to create jobs and rebuild infrastructure</a>.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Workers at Cablevision overcame management’s anti-union campaign and yesterday voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA). “This is about my son, his future and the future of the Cablevision 99%,” says Cablevision technician Marlon Gayle. The victory comes as new data out today show <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=GN%2BByy8gqO/5%2BZBRDaW2pkdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">overall U.S. union membership increased slightly in 2011</b></a>.</span><br></p><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><tbody><tr><td valign="bottom" height="24"><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=aWJTOcmiE/5vIJlIHNoHf0dSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img border="0" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/read_more.gif" alt="Read More" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">Got comments? Post them at </span><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=XmO1AUURA/P3jb6fRsi/VUdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "></a><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=o7MPCvXqKoHDPKUQgxlPFkdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">blog.aflcio.org</b></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">.</span></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><img width="16" height="12" border="0" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" alt="" style="line-height: 17px; "> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZD0Q1Ix%2BydBkE/JoWia0skdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Overall Union Membership Notches Up from 2010 to 2011</strong></font></a></font></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><img width="16" height="12" border="0" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" alt="" style="line-height: 17px; "> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=sYVOb5vIvaIKn/9hVOI2gUdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Labor, Management Partner to Create Jobs in Wash. State</strong></font></a></font></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><img width="16" height="12" border="0" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" alt="" style="line-height: 17px; "> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=AMb8k4JEkjA4f9/6RxepkI%2BNEL7b7/Z9" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Apple’s Profit Skyrockets, Workers Die at Its Factories</strong></font></a></font></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><img width="16" height="12" border="0" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" alt="" style="line-height: 17px; "> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=GXjcxUxTtIB6zdhOFqsk%2BEdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><font face="Arial" color="navy" style="line-height: normal; "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Gov. Scott Set to Hand Florida’s Prisons to Corporate America</strong></font></a></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; "><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=p9e9OLxnD0Ab1f0CdIwBTUdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><span style="font-family: Verdana; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Read more important news</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; "> of the day on the issues working families care about.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="7" bordercolor="#cccccc" border="1" align="center" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><tbody><tr><td><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center" style="line-height: 17px; "><tbody><tr><td valign="middle" align="center"><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><nobr><span style="font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family: Arial; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Follow the AFL-CIO:</strong></span></span><strong style="font-weight: bold; "><br></strong><a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=nLL9EdFxJsrGC8NbNfU9VUdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img border="0" title="Facebook" alt="Facebook" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_facebook.jpg" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=xzv4WJM%2BBQdGp3C8Yn6o00dSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img border="0" title="Twitter" alt="Twitter" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_twitter.jpg" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=p10tbMJGyrR/BPp8cHa1VkdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img border="0" title="Google+" alt="Google+" src="http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/icon_24x24_googleplus.jpg" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=w2Q1Azq64wSfH5vVg7erHo%2BNEL7b7/Z9" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img border="0" title="YouTube" alt="YouTube" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_youtube2.jpg" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a> <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=c7k2ZWLfSPao3DvsDXH8l0dSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img border="0" title="RSS" alt="RSS" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_rss.jpg" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></nobr></p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; "><span style="font-family: Arial; "><span style="font-size: 13px; "><em><nobr>Take the next step. Become a mobile activist</nobr><br><nobr>by joining the AFL-CIO Rapid Action Text Team.</nobr><br><nobr>Text <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">NEWS</strong> to <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">AFLCIO (235246)</strong> to receive action alerts and more.</nobr><br>(Message and data rates may apply.)<br></em></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-family: Verdana; ">To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at <a href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=8Wb63PfnkeNHparL%2BjtZPUdSMlBisXCg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">www.aflcio.org</b></a>.</span></p><br><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">DOMESTIC WORKERS AND THEIR CHILDREN MARCH FOR RIGHTS<br>Story and photos by David Bacon</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Working In These Times, 1/27/12</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12631/domestic_workers_and_their_children_march_for_rights" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(30, 102, 174); cursor: pointer; ">http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12631/domestic_workers_and_their_children_march_for_rights</a></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> SACRAMENTO, CA - Early Tuesday morning busses of domestic workers and their children began arriving at the huge grassy mall in front of California's state capitol building. Dozens of Mexican, Filipina and African American moms, kids in tow, poured out onto the steps leading into the legislature's chamber. When the crowd grew to several hundred, they took up their placards, pushed their strollers out in front, and began marching around the building.</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> Some of the kids had clearly done things like this before. One five-year-old raised her fist in the air as the crowd chanted, calling on members of the state Assembly and Senate to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Another girl, who looked about three, knew the chant by heart: "We are the children, mighty mighty children, fighting for justice and our future." She didn't miss a beat, and as one of the organizers held the bullhorn up to her mouth she did a little militant dance to accompany it.<br> With balloons and even a couple of clowns, it all seemed very festive. But the happy atmosphere didn't hide a more unpleasant truth. Many of the moms there probably see less of their own children than the youngsters they care for. And in the case of those caring for the aged, sick or disabled, the conditions of that work can seem like something a century ago.<br> Domestic workers often don't get a break to eat, even working many more than the eight-hour workday considered normal for most workers. Others cook for the families they work for, but can't use the same implements to cook for themselves. If they have to sleep in the homes of clients, they often have to get up during the night several times to perform basic services for them, like taking them to the bathroom, or giving them medicine. And the night is considered a rest period, for which they sometimes don't get paid.<br> One Filipina caregiver from the East Bay explained that she sleeps in the same bed as her client. "What I'd like would be a bed where I could sleep by myself," she said.<br> Even at five or six, the kids marching with their moms are old enough to understand a little of those bitter truths. When one young girl, who looked about kindergarten age, held up a sign saying "trabajo digno," or "decent work," she knew enough to explain, "she doesn't get enough money, and she works too hard."<br> Last year the state Assembly passed AB 889, authored by Assembly members Tom Ammiano and V. Manuel Perez, that would give domestic workers some state-recognized rights in their efforts to curb abusive conditions. It would provide meal and rest breaks, overtime and reporting pay as enjoyed by other workers, and expand domestic workers' access to workers compensation. In addition, it would guarantee eight hours of sleep for those who work around the clock, and allow them to use kitchen facilities.<br> The bill would affect the 200,000 people who work in California domestic service, who are almost entirely women, and immigrants or people of color. While domestic workers face the same excuses for substandard conditions faced by other women, namely that they're only working to supplement the income of men, most of them are either the sole source of income for their families, or are bringing home pay that their families can't live without. One woman explained that she was still working many more than 40 hours a week, and was in her 70s.<br>The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is modeled on one that was enacted in New York State in 2010. It is supported by dozens of statewide worker and community advocates, including the California Labor Federation and many other unions, Filipino Advocates for Justice, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, the Women's Collective of the San Francisco Day Labor Program, a number of churches and synagogues, and Hand in Hand, the Domestic Workers Employers Association. Its main opponent is the business association for agencies that provide domestic workers to clients.</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> At the end of the last session of the legislature, the bill was in the appropriations committee of the state Senate. The marchers hoped to pry the bill loose, get it passed through the Senate, and convince Governor Jerry Brown to sign it. One of several legislators who spoke to the crowd, Watsonville Assembly member Bill Monning explained in Spanish, "This bill is just, and we're going to make sure it becomes law and that domestic workers finally get the same basic rights as other workers."</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; "><br style="line-height: 17px; "></font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src=""></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><hr style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">For more articles and images, see http://dbacon.igc.org</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; "><br style="line-height: 17px; "></font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">See also Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press, 2008)</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">Recipient: C.L.R. James Award, best book of 2007-2008</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2002</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; "><br style="line-height: 17px; "></font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">See also the photodocumentary on indigenous migration to the US</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">Communities Without Borders (Cornell University/ILR Press, 2006)</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4575</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; "><br style="line-height: 17px; "></font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">See also The Children of NAFTA, Labor Wars on the U.S./Mexico Border (University of California, 2004)</font></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#000000" style="line-height: normal; ">http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9989.html</font></div><pre style="font: normal normal normal 115%/normal monospace; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">--
</pre><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">__________________________________<br><br>David Bacon, Photographs and Stories<br>http://dbacon.igc.org<br></div></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><br><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font size="2">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..<br></font><a href="http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc" size="2">http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html</font></a></font></div>
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