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<div><div><ol><li><font size="3"><b><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Bill Quigley on the Working Poor </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"</span><a href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ak2wJOs5EebV04pEdufR52QzrNz9JkoU" target="_blank" style="line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(166, 66, 28); cursor: pointer; ">Why Don’t We Pay People Enough? 8 Facts About America’s Struggling Working People</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"</span> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Cora Currier on Housing Policy </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"</span><a href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=m/RsadzTjaecATM2On93wGQzrNz9JkoU" target="_blank" style="line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(166, 66, 28); cursor: pointer; ">Meet the Obscure Federal Regulator Who’s Not Helping Homeowners</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"</span> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><a href="http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe571274746d067c7d1d&ls=fe161d777d63077b721678&m=fefc1172766306&l=fed1157376640678&s=fe3215727764017c7d1d71&jb=ffcf14&t=" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 18px; color: rgb(2, 74, 130); cursor: pointer; ">The State Worker: Some California unions drop furlough cases; two soldier on</a> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15703?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=2" target="_blank" style="line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">iEmpire: Apple's Sordid Business Practices Are Even Worse Than You Think</a> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15711?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=27" target="_blank" style="line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Civil Rights Groups Call on Alabama Automakers to Oppose Harsh Anti-Immigration Legislation</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); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font size="3">Labor's 1%þ </font></h2></li><li><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 15px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; "><font size="3"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/us/rules-revised-for-h-2b-guest-worker-program.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23" target="_blank" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; cursor: pointer; ">Labor Dept. Issues New Rules for Guest Workers</a> </font></h3></li><li><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 15px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; "><font size="3"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/business/global/after-fukushima-disaster-a-confused-effort-at-cleanup.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25" target="_blank" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; cursor: pointer; ">A Confused Nuclear Cleanup</a> </font></h3></li><li><font size="3"><b><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Bishops Urge Congress to Protect Life & Dignity of Jobless, Working Poor</span> </b></font></li><li><font size="3"><b><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 17px; ">Greek People Start 48-Hour National Strike</span> </b></font> </li></ol></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div><span class="ecximgborder" style="line-height: 15px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); float: left; "><a href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kXx3CsmTdK/qNVhaiwNe32QzrNz9JkoU" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(166, 66, 28); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://www.truthdig.com/images/eartothegrounduploads/workerworker160.jpg" border="0" alt="" width="160" height="110" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-top-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-right-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-left-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); "></a></span><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Bill Quigley on the Working Poor</strong><br>"<a href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ak2wJOs5EebV04pEdufR52QzrNz9JkoU" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(166, 66, 28); cursor: pointer; ">Why Don’t We Pay People Enough? 8 Facts About America’s Struggling Working People</a>" -- Millions of people in the U.S. work and are still poor. Here are eight points that show why the U.S. needs to dedicate itself to making work pay. </p><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><font color="#0066cc" size="2"><a href="http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html" target="_blank">http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html</a></font></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></div><div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div></div><div><span class="ecximgborder" style="line-height: 15px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); float: left; "><a href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=04ZpXXTRtRPZQVcTEgJFGWQzrNz9JkoU" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(166, 66, 28); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://www.truthdig.com/images/eartothegrounduploads/edwarddemarco160.jpg" border="0" alt="" width="160" height="110" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-top-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-right-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-left-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); "></a></span><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Cora Currier on Housing Policy</strong><br>"<a href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=m/RsadzTjaecATM2On93wGQzrNz9JkoU" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(166, 66, 28); cursor: pointer; ">Meet the Obscure Federal Regulator Who’s Not Helping Homeowners</a>" -- Fannie and Freddie are required to help homeowners while earning profits so they can pay back the taxpayers who bailed them out. Here is our guide to the little-known federal regulator, Edward DeMarco, ultimately in charge of the two companies. You may have never heard of him, but as The Washington Post put it, he’s “the most powerful man in housing policy.” </p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><h3 style="font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; font-family: georgia, serif; "><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/business/states-negotiate-25-billion-deal-for-homeowners.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2" target="_blank" style="line-height: 18px; font-weight: inherit; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; cursor: pointer; ">States Negotiate $26 Billion Deal for Homeowners</a></h3><h6 style="line-height: normal; font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Arial, sans-serif; ">By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and SHAILA DEWAN</h6><p style="margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Nearly two million Americans could benefit from mortgage relief from the nation's biggest banks, as part of a broad government settlement to be announced as early as Thursday.</p><ul style="line-height: normal; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; list-style-type: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; "><li style="line-height: 13px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; "><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/bullet4x4.gif" border="0" vspace="2"> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/02/09/business/help-for-some-homeowners.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/multimedia/icons/graphic_icon.gif" alt="Graphic" width="11" height="11" border="0" 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; "> Graphic: Help for Some Homeowners</a></li></ul></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><a href="http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe571274746d067c7d1d&ls=fe161d777d63077b721678&m=fefc1172766306&l=fed1157376640678&s=fe3215727764017c7d1d71&jb=ffcf14&t=" target="_blank" style="line-height: 18px; color: rgb(2, 74, 130); cursor: pointer; font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial; ">The State Worker: Some California unions drop furlough cases; two soldier on</a>
</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15703?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=1" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><img src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyimages_1328744947_screenshot20120208at6.41.20pm.png_640x481_310x220" alt="" width="313px" height="196px" border="0" 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><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; "></span><p class="ecxheadline1" style="line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 20px; "><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15703?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=2" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">iEmpire: Apple's Sordid Business Practices Are Even Worse Than You Think</a></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">New research goes beyond the New York Times to show just how disturbing labor conditions at Foxconn, the "Chinese hell factory," really are. <a class="ecxreadmore" href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15703?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=3" target="_blank" style="line-height: 11px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; ">READ MORE</a></p><p style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><span style="line-height: 13px; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small; "><em>Arun Gupta / AlterNet</em></span></p><p style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><span style="line-height: 13px; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 8pt; "><em><br></em></span></p></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; width: 415px; "><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15711?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=26" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyteaser_traffic1.jpg_95x68" alt="" width="112" height="81" align="left" border="0" 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><td><span style="color: white; ">-</span></td><td valign="top"><p class="ecxheadline3" style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15711?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=27" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">Civil Rights Groups Call on Alabama Automakers to Oppose Harsh Anti-Immigration Legislation</a></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">Civil rights groups are turning to a new potential ally in the fight against Alabama’s harsh immigration law: the state’s top automakers. <a class="ecxreadmore" href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15711?akid=8234.16102.-hmHNI&t=28" target="_blank" style="line-height: 11px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">READ MORE</strong></a></p><p style="line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); ">By Elena Shore / New America Media</p><p style="line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); "><br></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal; "><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); "><font size="4"><b>Labor's 1%</b></font><br><br>by Mark Zimmerman<br><br>Published by Portside<br>February 3, 2012<br><br>The staggering level of wealth and income inequality has<br>finally become a focal point of political discussion and<br>action in the United States. While the major problem is<br>clearly the enormous increase in the concentration of wealth<br>among the extremely wealthy, perhaps best described as the<br>"top tenth of the one percent," those in the lower tiers of<br>the one percent have benefited as well.<br><br>Several months ago, David Cay Johnston, a columnist for<br>Reuters, published an article on the diversity of the "one-<br>percent." Using income data from 2009 tax returns, Johnston<br>concluded that "Economically, those just entering the top 1<br>percent have nothing in common with those in the top tenth<br>of the top 1 percent....while all those in the top 1 percent<br>are certainly well off, the vast majority still go to work<br>every day. Almost half of the top 1 percent, or 1.4 million<br>taxpayers, make $344,000 to $500,000." [1]<br><br>Unfortunately, a significant percentage of the leadership of<br>organized labor fits comfortably within that bottom half of<br>the top one-percent. Many union members, including this<br>author, would consider those salaries problematic.<br><br>There are those who take the position that the subject of<br>union leaders' salaries should not be a matter for public<br>discussion, that it will only give fodder to labor's<br>enemies. This is a legitimate concern. The right-wing,<br>anti-labor "Union Facts" website, for example, has for years<br>made an issue of the differences between the salaries of<br>union leaders and the members they represent.<br><br>But it may also be true that the levels of inequality<br>between union rank-and-file and elected officers, as well as<br>large differentials in salaries from union to union and<br>sector to sector, is detrimental to labor. There are<br>several reasons that this may be so: First, salaries that<br>can easily translate to a lavish lifestyle breed distrust<br>and disgust among dues-paying members. Second, when non-<br>union workers become aware of exorbitant salaries paid to<br>union officials - as when they happen upon the Union Facts<br>website - it provides yet another reason they may want to<br>stay away from union organizing efforts.<br><br>But, perhaps most importantly, we have to ask ourselves what<br>the impact of outsized salaries has on the psyches of their<br>recipients. Can a union president earning, say, between<br>$300,000 and $600,000, year after year, remain immune to the<br>trappings of wealth, power, and a luxurious lifestyle? Will<br>an officer accustomed to a $400,000 salary maintain a<br>burning desire to increase taxes on the wealthy or to rally<br>his members to fight inequality?<br><br>Between $600,000 and $50,000<br><br>The highest paid labor leader in the United States may be<br>Terence O'Sullivan, President of the Laborers International<br>Union (LIUNA/AFL-CIO). In 2010, the last year for which<br>figures are publicly available, O'Sullivan was paid nearly<br>$600,000. O'Sullivan's earnings for the previous three<br>years were comparable. [2]<br><br>Until last year, Richard Hughes served as the President of<br>the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA/AFL-CIO).<br>Hughes was elected to that position in 2007, becoming only<br>the eighth president in the ILA's 117 years of existence. In<br>2010, Hughes' last year as president, the ILA paid him<br>$464,000. Harold Daggett succeeded Hughes as President in<br>2011. In 2010, the ILA paid Daggett $399,000 in his<br>capacity as Vice President.<br><br>In 2010, AFSCME paid its president, Gerald McEntee, over<br>$400,000; Vincent Giblin of the Operating Engineers (AFL-<br>CIO) received $426,000; and Randy Weingarten of the American<br>Federation of Teachers (AFT/AFL-CIO) got $389,000. The<br>median salary for union members in the United States is less<br>than $48,000. [3]<br><br>There are 57 union leaders on the AFL-CIO's Executive<br>Council, representing nine million union members. Seventeen<br>of the executive council's members - thirty-percent - were<br>paid in excess of $300,000 in 2010. Most were presidents of<br>craft unions (ten from the building trades) and two were<br>from the public sector.<br><br>On the other hand, the seventeen lowest paid members of the<br>Executive Council had incomes ranging from $47,000 to<br>$161,000. Very few were from craft unions, but six were<br>from industrial unions.<br><br>Inequality and diversity<br><br>That the AFL-CIO leadership is male dominated and<br>overwhelmingly white is not new. The federation has<br>attempted to address that issue by creating additional<br>positions on its Executive Council. But those efforts have<br>gone only so far.<br><br>Despite the fact that women make up about 43% of union<br>members, only 19% of the AFL-CIO's Executive Council are<br>women. But among that top earning 30% - the $300,000+ club<br>- there is only one woman. In 2010, the average compensation<br>for the male members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council was<br>$252,000 while the average for the female members was<br>$194,000 - a 23% difference.<br><br>Of the nine black union officials who were on the AFL-CIO<br>Executive Council, only one had earnings above $300,000.<br>None of the four Hispanic members on the council had<br>anything close to that level. The average compensation for<br>the ten black and Hispanic members who received salaries<br>from their unions was $146,000 - nearly $100,000 less than<br>the council average. [4]<br><br>Should we be concerned about these levels of inequality?<br><br>It is easy enough to find justifications for paying elected<br>union leaders salaries that put them in the top one-percent:<br>These are demanding, high-stress jobs requiring many skills,<br>lots of travel, taxing schedules, etc. Salaries of union<br>officers leading organizations with hundreds of thousands of<br>members pale in comparison to corporate executives and<br>leaders of large not-for-profit organizations.<br><br>But, one has to wonder whether union leadership so far<br>removed economically from the rank-and-file, can<br>meaningfully represent the millions of members who live<br>paycheck to paycheck and have little or no expectation of<br>being able to retire securely. According to a recent study<br>that was reported on the website Inequality.org, "The life<br>experiences of the wealthy....leaves the rich less<br>compassionate and altruistic than people of more modest<br>means." [5]<br><br>Union presidents have a way of staying in office for an<br>extended period. Gerald McEntee of AFSCME is retiring after<br>30 years as President of AFSCME. Terence O'Sullivan is now<br>in his thirteenth year as President of the Laborers. With<br>salaries between $400,000 and $600,000 a year, one can only<br>imagine the lifestyle they lead - and wonder how that<br>impacts on the decisions they must make on behalf of their<br>membership.<br><br>There are good reasons for concluding that having union<br>leaders in the top one-percent of income earners does harm<br>to organized labor. We can start by asking the following<br>questions: Should an elected union official be paid more<br>than the president of the United States or a member of<br>Congress? [6] Can a certain salary level be a corrupting<br>influence - how many people can resist the trappings of an<br>upper-class lifestyle when they receive an upper-class<br>income year after year? Are the benefits of large salaries<br>worth the costs - how much does the perception of corruption<br>or elitism harm labor's image both within its ranks and<br>among the population at large? Finally, do the enormous<br>salary differentials between building and construction<br>trades presidents and those in other labor sectors<br>negatively impact on the functioning of the AFL-CIO?<br><br>The Occupy Wall Street movement has not only highlighted the<br>issue of income inequality. It has also put forth a<br>challenge to organized labor in the form of the implicit<br>question the OWS movement raises: Where has organized labor<br>been? In light of that question, the uncomfortable facts<br>discussed above may provide at least part of the answer.<br><br>[Mark Zimmerman has been involved with organized labor for<br>over thirty years. He can be contacted at<br>iamzimmerman@gmail.com ]<br><br>Footnotes:<br><br>1.<br><a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/david-cay-" target="_blank" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://blogs.reuters.com/david-cay-</a><br>johnston/2011/10/25/beyond-the-1-percent/<br><br>2. 2007-10 LM2's. See below for a full list of AFL-CIO<br>Executive Council and CTW Leadership Council salaries.<br><br>3. Bureau of Labor Statistics -<br><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm" target="_blank" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm</a><br><br>4. AFL-CIO Executive Council members average union-paid<br>salary was $239,000 in 2010.<br><br>5. Understanding Our National Empathy Deficit,<br><a href="http://inequality.org/empathy-and-wealth/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://inequality.org/empathy-and-wealth/</a><br><br>6.$400,000 and $174,000 respectively.<br><br>=====<br><br>AFL-CIO Executive Council 2010<br>Union Members Income<br><br>(President unless otherwise noted 2010 [7]<br><br>Terence O'Sullivan 480,000 $571,000<br>Laborers (LIUNA)<br><br>Richard Hughes 44,000 $464,000<br>East Coast Longshoremen (ILA)<br><br>Vincent Giblin 390,000 $426,000<br>Operating Engineers (IUOE)<br><br>Gerald McEntee 1,465,000 $400,000<br>AFSCME<br><br>Randy Weingarten 860,000 $389,000<br>American Federation of Teachers (AFT)<br><br>Mark Ayers NA $380,000<br>Building & Construction Trades (BCTD)<br><br>Newton Jones 61,000 $379,000<br>Boilermakers (BBF)<br><br>Patrick Finley 40,000 $361,000<br>Plasterers and Cement Masons (OPCM)<br><br>Capt. John Prater 44,000 $328,000<br>Airline Pilots Association, (ALPA<br><br>William Lucy [8] 214,000 $322,000<br>Postal Workers (APWU)<br><br>Edwin Hill 685,000 $322,000<br>Electrical Workers (IBEW)<br><br>James Williams 117,000 $314,000<br>Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)<br><br>James Boland 84,000 $308,000<br>Bricklayers (BAC)<br><br>William Hite 341,000 $306,000<br>Plumbers and Pipefitters (PPF)<br><br>Michael J. Sullivan 136,000 $304,000<br>Sheet Metal Workers (SMW)<br><br>Harold Schaitberger 296,000 $303,000<br>Firefighters (IAFF)<br><br>Matthew Loeb 112,000 $300,000<br>Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE)<br><br>Malcolm Futhey Jr. 53,000 $299,000<br>United Transportation Union (UTU)<br><br>Robert Scardelletti 45,000 $298,000<br>Transportation Communications (TCU)<br><br>John Wilhelm 230,000 $285,000<br>UNITE-HERE<br><br>Richard Trumka 8,455,000 $277,000<br>President, AFL-CIO<br><br>Walter Wise [9] 122,000 $269,000<br>Gen'l Secretary, Ironworkers (BSIOW)<br><br>Michael Goodwin 99,000 $260,000<br>Office & Professional Employees (OPEIU)<br><br>James Little 118,000 $256,000<br>Transport Workers Union (TWU)<br><br>Thomas Buffenbarger 594,000 $250,000<br>Machinists (IAM)<br><br>Arlene Holt Baker 8,455,000 $246,000<br>Executive VP, AFL-CIO<br><br>Frank Hurt 85,000 $228,000<br>Bakery, Confectionary (BCTGMI)<br><br>Nancy Wohlforth 99,000 $203,000<br>Secretary-Treas., OPEIU<br><br>D. Michael Landford 50,000 $199,000<br>Utility Workers (UWUA)<br><br>Liz Shuler 8,455,000 $188,000<br>Sec'y.-Treas., AFL-CIO<br><br>Larry Cohen 504,000 $185,000<br>Communication Workers (CWA)<br><br>Frederic Rolando 286,000 $182,000<br>Letter Carriers (NALC)<br><br>Loretta Johnson 860,000 $182,000<br>Executive VP, AFT<br><br>Gregory Junemann 67,000 $180,000<br>Professional, Technical Employees (IFPTE)<br><br>John Gage 279,000 $170,000<br>Government Employees (AFGE)<br><br>Cecil Roberts 76,000 $161,000<br>Mineworkers (UMW)<br><br>Leo Gerard 581,000 $161,000<br>Steelworkers (USW)<br><br>Lee Saunders 1,465,000 $158,000<br>Secretary-Treasurer, AFSCME<br><br>Roseann DeMoro 131,000 $154,000<br>Exec. Dir., National Nurses United (NNU)<br><br>Lawrence Hanley 192,000 $146,000<br>VP, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)<br><br>Bob King 377,000 $146,000<br>United Auto Workers, (UAW)<br><br>Clifford Guffey 214,000 $144,000<br>Postal Workers, APWU<br><br>General Holiefield 377,000 $133,000<br>Vice President, UAW<br><br>Fred Redmond 581,000 $130,000<br>VP, USW<br><br>Bruce Smith 28,000 $127,000<br>Glass Molders (GMP)<br><br>Rogelio Flores 279,000 $125,000<br>Vice President, AFGE<br><br>Robert McEllrath 37,000 $116,000<br>West Coast Longshoremen (ILWU)<br><br>Diann Woodard 20,000 $100,000<br>School Administrators<br><br>Michael Sacco 32,000 $100,000<br>Seafarers (SIU)<br><br>Veda Shook 60,000 $88,000<br>Flight Attendants (CWA)<br><br>James Andrews [10] NA $85,000<br>North Carolina AFL-CIO<br><br>Baldemar Velasquez NA $47,000<br>Farm Laborers (FLOC)<br><br>Robbie Sparks [11] NA $1,050<br>Business Manager, IBEW 2127<br><br>Roberta Reardon* 65,000 0<br>Radio & Television Artists (AFTRA)<br><br>Clyde Rivers** 190,000 0<br>California School Employees Association<br><br>Maria Elena Darazo^ NA 0<br>President, Los Angeles, AFL-CIO<br><br>Ken Howard* 128,000 0<br>President, Screen Actors (SAG)<br><br>======<br><br>Change to Win Leadership Council<br><br>Affiliation Members Income<br><br>James P. Hoffa 1,327,000 $357,000<br>Teamsters<br><br>Joseph Hansen 1,290,000 $321,000<br>UFCW<br><br>Mary Kay Henry 1,917,000 $214,000<br>Service Employees (SEIU)<br><br>Tom Woodruff 1,917,000 $206,000<br>Executive VP, SEIU<br><br>Eliseo Medina 1,917,000 $205,000<br>Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU<br><br>Geralyn Lutty 1,290,000 $176,000<br>International VP, UFCW<br><br>Arturo Rodriguez 5,200 $81,000<br>United Farm Workers (UFWA)<br><br>Sources:<br><br>[7] As reported on each union's 2010 LM-2 report unless<br>otherwise noted. Includes salary and other compensation as<br>listed on each union's LM2 report, Schedules 11 or 12,<br>excluding disbursements for official business. Benefits<br>such as health insurance are not included.<br><br>[8] Lucy was AFSCME's Secretary-Treasurer until he retired<br>in 2010. This salary figure is what he received in his last<br>full year at AFSCME (2009). He continues to receive this<br>salary as a pension benefit. His AFSCME earnings for 2010<br>were over $800,000, presumably a severance package.<br><br>[9] The President of the Ironworkers Union, Joseph Hunt, was<br>paid $355,000 in 2010.<br><br>[10] Salary for fiscal year ended 6/30/09 - source IRS Form<br>990.<br><br>[11] It is unclear what this reported compensation<br>represents.<br><br>* Not compensated by their unions.<br><br>** Clyde Rivers is retired from CSEA. His current<br>relationship with CSEA is not known.<br><br>^ Most recent IRS 990 (2009).</pre></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><h3 style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; font-family: georgia, serif; "><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/us/rules-revised-for-h-2b-guest-worker-program.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23" target="_blank" style="line-height: 18px; font-weight: inherit; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; cursor: pointer; ">Labor Dept. Issues New Rules for Guest Workers</a></h3><h6 style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Arial, sans-serif; ">By JULIA PRESTON</h6><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; ">Officials said changes to the H-2B program would add protections for foreign temporary workers and also spur recruitment of Americans.</p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; "><br></p></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><h3 style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; font-family: georgia, serif; "><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/business/global/after-fukushima-disaster-a-confused-effort-at-cleanup.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25" target="_blank" style="line-height: 18px; font-weight: inherit; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 110, 18) !important; cursor: pointer; ">A Confused Nuclear Cleanup</a></h3><h6 style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Arial, sans-serif; ">By HIROKO TABUCHI</h6><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; ">Some of the companies that built Japan's nuclear plants are now cashing in on the cleanup, though their knowledge of decontamination is a work in progress.</p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; "><br></p></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Bishops Urge Congress to Protect Life & Dignity of Jobless, Working Poor</strong><br> <br>“As they negotiate the details of the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act, Congress should find ways to assure continuation of Unemployment Insurance Benefits and reject proposals to exclude children of hard working immigrant families from the Child Tax Credit,” said Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).<br> <br>“The economy is still leaving too many people without work.” wrote Bishop Blaire in a February 9 letter to Congressman Dave Camp and Senator Max Baucus, who are heading the conference committee responsible for crafting a final agreement. “When the economy fails to generate sufficient jobs, there is a moral obligation to help protect the life and dignity of unemployed workers and their families. We also must protect those programs that help low-income workers escape poverty and raise their children in dignity.”</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; ">Bishop Blaire also raised concerns that proposed changes to the unemployment insurance system could harm jobless workers and their families, adding “[a]ny changes must protect the lives and dignity of beneficiaries.”</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><br></div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; ">The full text of Bishop Blaire’s letter is available <a href="http://capwiz.com/cacatholic/utr/1/LTBBRIMVSI/JBTVRINAQH/7915695901" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">here</a>. Contact Steve Pehanich,<a href="mailto:spehanich@cacatholic.org" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">spehanich@cacatholic.org</a>, for more information.</div><div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><br></div></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><font style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Greek People Start 48-Hour National Strike</strong></font><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; ">Niki Kitsantonis, The New York Times News Service: "Condemning the new barrage of measures as 'a tombstone' for Greek society, the country's two main labor unions called the action on Thursday immediately after government officials announced the deal with creditors on the new austerity measures, which are expected to be voted on in Parliament on Sunday or Monday. Unions are planning protest rallies for both days of the strike, and the day of the vote when the crowds are expected to be largest." </span><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=aV8tRaEa5OhDqH%2BHzYe8NVVAn52%2BOwyw" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; "><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; "> </span>
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