America Would Be Better Off With More Strikes

By Chris Rhomberg CNN

In Chicago, thousands of public school teachers and support staff represented by the Chicago Teachers Union have walked off their jobs after reaching an impasse in contract talks with the city.

During the 1970s, an average of 289 major work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers occurred annually in the United States. By the 1990s, that had fallen to about 35 per year. And in 2009, there were no more than five.

The decline in strikes cannot be explained solely by declining union membership. According to a study by sociologist Jake Rosenfeld, unionization among private-sector full-time employees fell by 40% between 1984 and 2002. But the drop in total strike frequency was even greater, falling by more than two-thirds.

Since the 1970s, the forces of economic globalization and technological changes have put increasing pressure on employers and employees. Neither of those forces by themselves, however, requires the disappearance of either unions or strikes, as is shown by the example of other industrialized nations such as Canada, Britain, Australia and many European countries. Rather, the most important difference in the U.S. experience has been a profound change in the legal and institutional order governing labor relations and workers’ rights.

We have essentially gone back to a pre-New Deal era of workplace governance.

“This is a difficult decision for all of us to make,” said union President Karen Lewis about the Chicago teachers’ call for a strike. Work stoppages involve real sacrifices, not least of all from the striking workers.

For the sake of our economic and political future, however, America would be better off if we had more strikes.

Read the full story.

Story comment:

What would make America better off is a dramatic cultural shift in corporate America where workers and unions are not seen as enemies to profits but as partners in mutual prosperity. It baffles me to this day how many unemployed and angry working class men and women are Republicans based on religion and other superfluous issues. Yet, the Republican upper-class only seeks to exploit workers. Vote with your wallet, not your addiction to loosy goosy ideologies.

Wear Red In Solidarity With Chicago Teachers

Wear red tomorrow to show your solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union!

Chicago Teacher Strike Poses Test For Unions

By Sam Hananel-AP News

The massive teacher strike in Chicago offers a high-profile test for the nation’s teacher unions, which have seen their political influence threatened as a growing reform movement seeks to expand charter schools, get private companies involved with failing schools and link teacher evaluations to student test scores.

Union leaders are taking a major stand on teacher evaluations, one of the key issues in the Chicago dispute. If they lose there, it could have ripple effects around the country.

The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association – the nation’s two largest teacher unions – have been playing defense in jurisdictions around the country as Republicans and Democrats alike seek greater concessions in a bid to improve ailing public schools.

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union – the AFT’s oldest local – walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations.

“This is a long-term battle that everyone’s going to watch,” said Eric Hanuskek, a senior fellow in education at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. “Other teachers unions in the United States are wondering if they should follow suit.”

Read the full story.

Teachers and Parents March on Day 1 of Chicago Teachers Strike

Another Day In The Park as Chicago Teachers Strike Enters 2nd Day

Labor Day Parade NYC

CWA Members at the Labor Day Parade 9-08-2012. CWA District 1 VP Chris Shelton (center). Click on the photo to view the photo gallery.

Saturday’s storms could not keep union working men and women from celebrating at the 130th annual Labor Day Parade in Midtown. In attendance were Members from many of the CWA Locals in the NY area.

Tens of thousands of people representing some 300 unions marched up Fifth Avenue.

The grand marshal this year was Gary LaBarbera, the president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.

With an election hanging on jobs and the economy, marchers took a serious tone. CWA Verizon workers are still working without a contract and it is over one year since their last contract expired. CWA Union Members carried signs that read “We Are One” while chanting, “CWA, CWA”.

“We’re seeing the industry pick up, which is a very good sign that the recovery is on the way. So we’re very very pleased with what’s happening,” said LaBarbera.

“We’ve got to make sure we concentrate our efforts, whether they be at the polling stations on Election Day or throughout the year, to make sure that the middle class workers of our city, state and country are protected,” said Vinny Alvarez of the New York City Central Labor Council.

NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio joined with workers and CWA District 1 VP Chris Shelton to march in the Labor Day Parade. Other elected officials also marched with workers from 44th Street to 66th Street.

Labor Day Parade/Brooklyn Cablevision Workers’ Labor Day Rap

The Labor Day Parade is this weekend Saturday, September 8th.

CWA Members from Locals across NYS will take part in the Labor Day Parade on Sept 8th, Manhattan NY. For those wishing to attend, CWA will assemble on 48th Street between 5th and 6th avenues. Please wear red and support our great Union way of life, by attending the parade and marching with your Union Sisters and Brothers.

Brooklyn Cablevision Workers’ Labor Day Rap

Brooklyn Cablevision workers kicked off the Labor Day weekend with a powerful music video about their struggles to join CWA.

The song, “We Are The Union,” features two Cablevision technicians, Jerome “Jaywalk” Thompson, Jr. and McDaniel “Grimm” Paul, and a former customer-service agent, Shatoya Thomas-Flemmings.

In January, 282 Brooklyn Cablevision workers joined CWA Local 1109, becoming the company’s first employees to unionize. Since then, workers at Brooklyn Cablevision contractors Vision Pro and Falcon Communications have voted to join CWA.

Watch the video here:

Verizon Named A Severe Safety Violator

OSHA just confirmed what workers have been saying for years: Verizon ignores worker safety.

Verizon is among 332 of the nation’s employers that landed last week on OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program list. Created in 2010 to get tough on employers, the list calls out companies with willful, repeated and egregious workplace violations.

Verizon earned this ghastly distinction after federal officials discovered “repeat and serious” violations connected to the tragic death of Verizon technician Douglas Lalima, a member of CWA Local 1109. OSHA cited the company for 10 violations totaling $14,700 — the maximum penalty under the law.

Lalima, a 37-year-old father of four, was in a cherry picker installing steel suspension strands in Brooklyn last September when he was electrocuted and burst into flames. The inspection found that Verizon failed to provide Lalima and his fellow technicians with life-saving equipment, such as insulated gloves. The steel suspension strands had not been grounded during installation, employees were not wearing hard hats, and protective equipment had not been inspected. The technicians — including Lalima, a 15-year veteran of the company — had not been adequately trained in safety procedures. Furthermore, Verizon neglected to list Lalima’s death as a fatality in its mandatory records.

Bargaining Report # 63 – Friday, August 31, 2012

One Nation March 10-2-2010. Click on photo to view album.

Negotiations between Verizon and CWA and IBEW under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) have been going on for over a month, beginning on July 27th, and continuing through today. The parties have broken for the weekend, and will resume bargaining on Tuesday in New York.

All parties are continuing to abide by the mediator’s request for a blackout on the specific details of negotiations. However, we can report that significant, though painstaking, progress has been made on a number of major issues in the bargaining. A number of critical issues remain unresolved, and will be addressed when bargaining resumes.

Statement by FMCS Director George H. Cohen On Verizon-CWA-IBEW Labor Talks
Aug 31, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As of this date, the parties now have been engaged in intensive negotiations for five weeks under the auspices of myself and Director of Mediation Services John Pinto. As previously reported, progress continues to be made but a number of issues remain to be resolved. Pursuant to the mediators’ recommendation, the parties have agreed to continue their negotiations until concluded at an undisclosed location in New York.

Have a Safe and Happy Labor Day!