Benefits Bearing the Union Label - Happy Labor Day!

H/t to Lowell for this:




Excerpt from speech:

So let us never forget: much of what we take for granted-the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, health insurance, paid leave, pensions, Social Security, Medicare-they all bear the union label. It was the American worker-union men and women-who returned from World War II to make our economy the envy of the world. It was labor that helped build the largest middle class in history. So even if you're not a union member, every American owes something to America's labor movement.

There's much more, especially on healthcare reform, so go over for the full report at Blue Virginia.

The Chamber of Commerce War Against Working People

According to the AFL CIO Now blog, the local Findlay Chamber of Commerce, in an outburst of incredible mean spiritedness, pressured the mayor of a small Ohio town, Findlay, into canceling a parade whose sole purpose had been to celebrate the spirit of American commerce and manufacturing and to highlight American made products like Harley Davidson motorcycles. The reason for the cancellation?

The event had been organized by local unions. Featuring the big bikes and also antique cars, the event was to highlight the quality of American made - and Ohio made products, and to encourage residents to buy Ohio. But the Chamber pressured Findlay's mayor, Peter Sehnert into canceling the parade completely. Sadly, politics also reared its ugly head in the decision. Here's the money quote:

“Basically, Findlay’s a non-union, Republican area and mostly what we had were Democratic speakers and union people,” Sehnert said. “It’s not what I had in mind.”

According to the AFL-CIO blog,

Someone could infer from Sehnert’s statement that a pro-America, buy-America celebration isn’t supported by Republicans. Because the Greater Findlay Chamber of Commerce rejected an event that would have opened with a parade of U.S.-made, union-made Harley-Davidsons and classic American autos driving down Main Street, alongside floats showcasing American-made products. Speakers would have included U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Betty Sutton, the state attorney general and state treasurer. Blatt says Gov. Ted Strickland was thinking of speaking as well.

Look, labor and management have real differences and while there is understandably an adversarial relationship, there should be more things that bring them together than separate them. It's possible to find common ground. For example, no union wants business to fail. No reasonable person wants that, if for no other reason, rational self-interest. Without healthy, thriving businesses, there would be no jobs. So, unions are not out to destroy commerce or manufacturing. And this event was set up precisely to find the common ground and celebrate what businessmen and businesswomen and union men and union women have in common, the desire for a thriving economy and a good business climate.

What they should be fighting about is better wages versus holding down costs, safe working conditions versus efficiency, etc. In other words, there are issues where both sides can and should negotiate. But there is one area where there is no equivalency. Unions do not want to destroy business or chambers of commerce.

But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and groups like Right to Work in Virginia do want to destroy labor. They are engaged in nothing less than a war against working people.

What If Everything You Thought You Knew About Unions Was Wrong?

What if everything you thought you knew wasn’t true? And what if you had to rethink some conventional wisdom and revise some stereotypes you had been brought up with from the time you entered elementary school? What if the conventional wisdom was just wrong about something you held as real? Here’s an example of what I mean. For years, we have all been encouraged to believe the carefully crafted and cultivated meme that business people were the repository of all wisdom and that left unfettered and unregulated, they would create unlimited prosperity. The entrepreneurial spirit was celebrated above all else and with it a bias against any government regulation.

In the wake of the economic meltdown that took our whole economy crashing down with it, nobody any longer believes the likes of Jeffrey Skilling, Ken Lay, Robert Nardelli, or hosts of other captains of industry are heroes. They are seen for the greedy robber barons they always were. People for whom day trading was a major pastime are now afraid to even look at their 401 (k) plans and certainly don’t believe a privatized Social Security system, based on investment in the stock market, is the best place to park their retirement nest egg. In fact, is there anybody left to argue that totally unregulated markets have the wisdom to even keep us safe even from food borne illness let alone other dangers?

So, if all the experts were wrong about the wisdom of totally unregulated markets, maybe they also are wrong about the way they’ve been portraying unions and union members. The average American has a stereotypical view of union members as lazy and overpaid. And ungrateful too. But what if union workers actually were well-trained heroes who saved lives?

It turns out they are.

As Emptywheel points out in this diary on Daily Kos, all those involved in the dramatic rescue of the U.S. Airways passengers from the Hudson River were well-trained union members who cited their unions for giving them the training and skill to perform their jobs and save lives. But first let’s start with today’s Washington Post report, which, while lauding the rescuers as individuals, is conspicuously silent on their union backgrounds.

No ferry captain expects to encounter a disaster of this magnitude, said Lombardi and a half-dozen other captains who helped all 155 survivors of a US Airways jet that crash-landed in the Hudson River. But they're trained for it. They learn CPR, basic firefighting and hypothermia treatment.

Last July, a Circle Line vessel rescued survivors of a helicopter that crashed near the Lincoln Tunnel while on a sightseeing trip. In August, New York Waterway deckhands plucked a struggling swimmer out of the Hudson. In September, New York Water Taxi crew members rescued a 65-year-old man whose kayak capsized during a lesson. [snip]

In fact, there are so many ferryboats moving thousands of people a day through the congested New York Harbor that they have come to be an efficient and flexible waterborne first-response team.

Their response time is almost always less than two minutes, most often less than a minute and a half, said Vince Lucante, a port captain for New York Waterway, Lombardi's company. On Thursday, Coast Guard video showed, the first boat was alongside the jet within three minutes of it hitting the water.

"It's not in the day-to-day job description, but it is there," said Michael Starr, another port captain for New York Waterway. "People don't often realize the emergency skills a ferryboat job requires."

What’s missing in this report is where those ferryboat workers got those emergency skills. It wasn’t from the ferry companies, but from their union training. All the skilled trades unions have apprentice programs that train potential members in basic skills and then give them courses to upgrade those skills so members can qualify for even better paying jobs in their field. That training is paid for by the unions out of union member dues, and it saves the companies that hire union workers money. Because the unions take the responsibility for training their members, companies don’t have to provide those courses.

As it turns out, most of the ferryboat workers are members of the Seafarers International Union (SIU) or the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association (MEBA), two unions that spend a lot of bucks to keep their members skills upgraded. I know this personally because my husband, Dan, is the assistant to the President of the SIU and we've been down to the SIU training facility in St. Mary's County, Maryland. It's an exceedingly well run, ultra modern school, where seafarers upgrade their skills at no cost to themselves or the shipping companies that hire them.

In addition, the airpline pilot, Capt. Chesley Sullenerger, whom every newspaper and major broadcast station has lauded as a hero, is a member of ALPA, the pilot’s union. Here’s a quote from the AFL-CIO blog, which gives the full story of the backgrounds of these brave men and women who saved so many lives:

The quick thinking, bravery, experience and extensive training of US Airways Flight 1549 pilot, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, the crew of flight attendants, the air traffic controllers guiding the flight low over Manhattan and the rescuers were the key factors in yesterday’s “Miracle on the Hudson,” where 155 people survived an emergency landing in the river.

The mainstream media is chronicling the miracle, but as Marcy Wheeler on Emptywheel points out:

What they are not telling you is just about every single one of these heroes is a union member.

They are union members who got that that extensive safety and job training thanks to their union contracts.

Sullenberger, with 40 years of flight experience, served as instructor and safety committee chairman for the Air Line Pilots (ALPA). Following, the US Airways merger with America West, the airline’s pilots are now members of an independent union.

The crew of three flight attendants who shepherded the passengers safely out the emergency exits are members of the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA). Says AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend:

Flight attendants are highly trained safety and security professionals and today’s successful evacuation is an overwhelming example of the necessary role flight attendants serve on board the aircraft. Flight attendants receive extensive training on emergency evacuations and each year they undergo additional training to ensure their proficiency.

The air traffic controllers who helped route the Airbus A320 around Manhattan, after Sullenberger reported that a bird strike had shut down both engines, are members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). As Reuters reports:

The ferry crews that immediately responded when they saw the plane in the river are Seafarers (SIU) members. The SIU provides extensive safety training for its members. Marine Engineers (MEBA) members pilot many of the ferries and fireboats that responded. Those police and fireboats that arrived to pull passengers to safety are crewed by members of the Fire Fighters (IAFF) and Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA).

As Wheeler points out:

They are the men and women who performed so heroically on 9/11

You won’t get this story from any of the mainstream media, which is unfortunate. Neither the right nor the left trusts the newspapers or television stations to give unbiased reports anymore. And that’s a dangerous situation. Face it, bloggers are not professional journalists and for the most part don’t have the time, training, or skill to break the major stories or do in depth exposes.

But because newspapers are failing in their responsibility to present fair, accurate, and complete coverage, more and more people are turning to other sources. We need all the media outlets, from blogs and alternative media to a vibrant mainstream media that is unafraid to tell the truth, the whole truth. Because when you leave important stuff out, it may be a sin of omission, but it still slants the story and leaves people with their stereotypes unchallenged. And that means everything - or at least some things - that we believe may not be true. And the public's distorted views about unions is one of those things.

Seven Big and Dangerous Myths About the Auto Industry

A friend just emailed me this article from the Knoxville News' on-line business section. It's a compilation of the seven biggest myths about the Big Three automakers. Here's their opening salvo.

The debate over aid to the Detroit-based automakers is awash with half-truths and misrepresentations that are endlessly repeated by everyone from members of Congress to journalists. ******1: Nobody buys their vehicles.

Reality: General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC sold 8.5 million vehicles in the United States last year and millions more around the world. GM outsold Toyota by about 1.2 million vehicles in the United States last year and holds a U.S. lead over Toyota of nearly 700,000 so far this year. Globally, GM in 2007 remained the world's largest automaker, selling 9,369,524 vehicles worldwide - about 3,000 more than Toyota.

Ford outsold Honda by about 850,000 and Nissan by more than 1.3 million vehicles in the United States last year. Chrysler sold more vehicles here than Nissan and Hyundai combined in 2007 and so far this year.

The article goes on to debunk other oft-repeated fables, such as the one that U.S. made cars are unreliable junk.

Reality: The creaky, leaky vehicles of the 1980s and '90s are long gone. Consumer Reports recently found that "Ford's reliability is now on par with good Japanese automakers."

The independent J.D. Power Initial Quality Study scored Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Mercury, Pontiac and Lincoln brands' overall quality as high as or higher than that of Acura, Audi, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Scion, Volkswagen and Volvo.

J.D. Power rated the Chevrolet Malibu the highest-quality midsize sedan. Both the Malibu and Ford Fusion scored better than the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

And this one, which will be an eye opener for my fellow environmentalists.

Myth No. 3: They build gas-guzzlers.

Reality: All of the Detroit Three build midsize sedans that the Environmental Protection Agency rates at 29-33 miles per gallon on the highway.

The most fuel-efficient Chevrolet Malibu gets 33 mpg on the highway, 2 mpg better than the best Honda Accord. The most fuel-efficient Ford Focus has the same highway fuel economy ratings as the most efficient Toyota Corolla. The most fuel-efficient Chevrolet Cobalt has the same city fuel economy and better highway fuel economy than the most efficient nonhybrid Honda Civic.

A recent study by Edmunds.com found that the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact is the least expensive car to buy and operate.

And this one, also important to those of us concerned with climate change, renewable energy, and energy conservation.

Myth No. 5: GM, Ford and Chrysler are idiots for investing in pickups and SUVs.

Reality: The domestics' lineup has been truck-heavy, but Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have spent billions of dollars on pickups and SUVs because trucks are a large and historically profitable part of the auto industry.

The most fuel-efficient full-size pickups from GM, Ford and Chrysler all have higher EPA fuel-economy ratings than Toyota and Nissan's full-size pickups.

Myth No. 6: They don't build hybrids.

Reality: The Detroit Three got into the hybrid business late, but Ford and GM each now offers more hybrid models than Honda or Nissan, with several more due to hit the road in early 2009.

And finally, for the union-busting anti-labor critics on the right, this should finally put to rest their favorite whipping boy.

Their union workers are lazy and overpaid.

Reality: Chrysler tied Toyota as the most productive automaker in North America this year, according to the Harbour Report on manufacturing, which measures the amount of work done per employee. Eight of the 10 most productive vehicle assembly plants in North America belong to Chrysler, Ford or GM.

The oft-cited $70-an-hour wage and benefit figure for UAW workers inaccurately adds benefits that millions of retirees get to the pay of current workers, but divides the total only by current employees. That's like assuming you get your parents' retirement and Social Security benefits in addition to your own income.

Hourly pay for assembly-line workers tops out around $28; benefits add about $14. New hires at the Detroit Three get $14 an hour. There's no pension or health care when they retire, but benefits raise their total hourly compensation to $29 while they're working. UAW wages are now comparable with Toyota workers, according to a Free Press analysis.

I actually find the union's capitulation to the two-tier system that leaves new workers not only earning half the amount of older GM workers, but also bereft of a pension when they retire, appalling. I understand why the union had to agree to this to be competitive. But it means that America, far down the road, is going to have a looming crisis for that generation of blue collar workers when they hit retirement age that will make the concern over the baby boomers pale.

Let's face it, most baby boomers still are in some kind of pension system, many in the old defined benefits type, and a majority in a defined contribution, 401K plan - but regardless of which type of plan we have, we have something in a nest egg. With no pension plan at all, it leaves blue collar workers, who are not at the upper end of the pay scale nor particularly investment savvy, to fend for themselves. Most of those workers are in the 20s right now. But what happens when they hit 65 or 70 and are too old for hard, physical labor, because we're not talking about desk jockeys here?

Just a thought.

Meanwhile, lots of people, even those who are intelligent and well informed, believe the myths just debunked. I had dinner the other night with somebody who is one of my smartest friends - she's an orthodontist who guest lectures at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee - and she was shocked when I told her that auto workers do not make $70 an hour. Before this, she said that, although she is usually a pro-labor Democrat who thinks we need to bring our manufacturing base back inside this country, she had little sympathy for the auto industry and their workers. She also was surprised to learn that labor costs were only 10 percent of the Big Three carmakers expenses.

If this was an eye opener to her, I would guess an awful lot of other people would be just as shocked to learn that much of what they hear on televsion, radio, and local newspapers may just be free trade, anti-union, right wing talking points with little relation to reality.

I guess we still have a lot of work cut out for us, deconstructing the seven big myths that still guide the public's perception. It would be nice if more of the media took the lead in correcting those myths rather than being the ones largely responsible for spreading the misperceptions. Kudos, however, to the Knoxville News for stepping up and doing what a newspaper should do, investigate and spread the truth!

Leslie Byrne and Rex Simmons Show Solidarity With Union Workers

UPDATE: AS OF 11 PM A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UFCW AND GIANT AND SAFEWAY APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN REACHED. THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME OUT AND SHOWED THEIR SUPPORT FOR WORKERS.

Saturday afternoon, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) was joined in a show of solidarity by Leslie Byrne, candidate for the 11th Congressional District, and Rex Simmons, former candidate for Delegate in the 40th District, in front of the Giant at Old Keene Mill Road in Springfield. Workers are in negotiation with both Giant and Safeway for a just wage increase and better health and pension benefits. Shown with Rex and Leslie is Erica Oliver Terry, a shop steward from the Giant in Alexandria.

Leslie and Rex helped hand out pamphlets to customers, asking them to show that the community supports the workers at Giant in their quest for a decent wage and better health and pension benefits for their families.



Other union members also joined to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters in UFCW. Pictured here are Dan Duncan, President of the Northern Virginia Central Labor Council and Executive Director of the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO; Rex Simmons; John Niemiec, President of the Fairfax Professional Firefighters Union, Local 2068; Joyce Putnam, OPIEU; Erica Oliver Terry; Gerard Myatt, Teamsters; and Mark Federici, UFCW.




This is basically the same line up, except instead of Dan, yours truly is in the picture. I took the one with Dan, he took all the others. I'll have more photos from Joyce Putnam and will do an update.

Breaking News: UAW Strikes GM Plant

At 11 a.m. today, the United Auto Workers walked out of plants across the nation in a general strike against General Motors. Here’s a statement from the UAW Website:

“We’re shocked and disappointed that General Motors has failed to recognize and appreciate what our membership has contributed during the past four years,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “Since 2003 our members have made extraordinary efforts every time the company came to us with a problem: the corporate restructuring, the attrition plan, the Delphi bankruptcy, the 2005 health care agreement. In every case, our members went the extra mile to find reasonable solutions.

“Throughout this time period," said Gettelfinger, "it has been the dedication of UAW members that has helped GM set new standards for safety, quality and productivity in their manufacturing facilities. And in this current round of bargaining, we did everything possible to negotiate a new contract, including an unprecedented agreement to stay at the bargaining table nine days past the expiration of the previous agreement.”

“This is our reward: a complete failure by GM to address the reasonable needs and concerns of our members,” said UAW Vice President Cal Rapson, director of the union's GM Department. “Instead, in 2007 company executives continued to award themselves bonuses while demanding that our members accept a reduced standard of living.

There will be picketing at the Fredericksburg GM plant. I’ll try to find out more tomorrow.