Raising Wages Could Cure What Ails America

Official Publication of the United Industrial, Service, Transportation, Professional & Government Workers of North AmericanSEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION nAFL-CIO
The United Worker
The United Worker is also available online at www.seafarers.org/aboutsiu/affiliates.asp
Volume 41, Number 1
January-March
2015
Raising Wages Could Cure What Ails America
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
has a seemingly simple approach to
one of America’s toughest challenges.
“The cure for what ails America
right now is raising wages, and everything that we do, in one way or another, comes back to that very thing. If
something raises wages, I’m for it. If
something lowers wages, I’m against
it,” said Trumka.
Both he and Georgia AFL-CIO
President Charlie Flemming brought
messages of progress and recent victories for the labor movement when they
spoke to the executive board of the
Maritime Trades Department (MTD), to
which the UIW is affiliated, in Atlanta.
Fleming addressed the board Feb. 19
and Trumka spoke the next day.
Trumka said the federation’s proworker efforts definitely aren’t confined to union members.
“We’re fighting to raise wages for
every worker out there,” he said, “and
that fight takes many forms. It extends
from our efforts to raise the minimum
wage, to enact paid sick leave, to support investment for America’s seaports
and locks and docks and railways, to
our opposition to bad trade deals and
anti-Jones Act proposals that would
endanger our country’s waterways and
further undercut the American middle
class. The working class. Our class.”
Later, he explained the dangers of a
presidential power called fast track, the
use of which has rarely been authorized
by Congress and is currently being
sought by President Barack Obama.
“Here’s how fast track works,”
Trumka said. “The president’s trade
representative goes off in a dark room
somewhere with people, comes back
with an agreement, lays it down in
front of Congress, and they have to
vote it up or down. They can’t filibuster it, they can’t do anything but vote it
up or down.”
Without the chance to introduce
amendments or take the time to review
the agreement in detail, any number
of bad bills could be passed simply
because there wasn’t adequate time for
a detailed review, Trumka said.
He then broke down a complicated
economic theory into easy-to-understand language.
“Raising wages spurs consumer
spending, and remember, our economy is 72 percent driven by consumer spending,” Trumka said. “And
that spending increases demand. And
whenever we have a demand increase,
companies have to hire people to meet
that demand. That’s how raising wages
creates a virtuous cycle of economic
growth and shared prosperity.”
Those simple principles are reflected in the AFL-CIO’s “Common Sense
Economics” program, a curriculum
designed for working families to better
understand that the state of the economy is not inevitable, but dictated by
public policy. Spreading the Common
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka addresses the 2015 Maritime Trades Department
executive board meeting in Atlanta.
Sense Economics message is important
because, according to Trumka, too
many people believe that the economy
is fated and immutable.
“The economy is not like the weath-
er,” he said. “The economy is nothing but a set of rules, and those rules
decide the winners and they decide the
See Quality of Life, Page 2
New Economic Policy Institute Report
America’s Trade Policies
Executive Council Demands Calls ‘Right to Work’ Laws Hoax
note: A comprehensive report nizations in the country forced to provide all
‘New Track,’ Not Fast Track by Editor’s
the respected, non-partisan think tank benefits for free, and banned from requiring
The AFL-CIO Executive
Council called for transparency and broad reform in the
nation’s trade negotiations
and policies—especially Fast
Track—during the Feb. 23 session of at the council’s winter
meeting in Atlanta.
The council in its statement
on the issue said current trade
policies of the United States
are undermining the interests
of working people and that
when decisions about economic policy are made behind
closed doors, “…those decisions tend to advance the
policy preferences of political
and economic elites, not the
broad interests of the populace
at large….America’s workers, small farmers, small businesses and domestic producers
have paid the price.”
It also said that the TransPacific Partnership Agreement
(TPP) and other trade negotiations currently underway are
likely to follow that pattern.
Trade negotiations, trade
promotion authority (known as
“TPA” or “Fast Track”) and
economic policy are inextricably intertwined, according to
the AFL-CIO. Because “trade”
agreements include provisions
on environmental policy, labor
rights, foreign investment,
food safety, anti-trust policy
and more, these decisions
should not be made behind
closed doors—away from the
eyes of the people and their
elected representatives.
Among other reforms, the
council said a new trade negotiating authority must:
n Ensure Congress approves
trade agreement partners before
negotiations begin;
n Create negotiating objectives that are specific to the
trade partners involved and
advance a trade model that
provides balanced, inclusive
benefits for all rather than a
corporate-rights agenda;
n Ensure an effective check
on the executive branch so that
it cannot unilaterally determine
whether congressional trade
objectives have been met after
See Federation, Page 4
Economic Policy Institute (EPI) recently illustrated the hoax of so-called right-to-work
(RTW) laws. The report’s summary offered
this description of whether RTW truly is about
freedom:
Corporate lobbies advocate RTW with the
goal of restricting unions. There are many
organizations that, like unions, require membership dues. For instance, an attorney who
wants to appear in court must be a dues-paying
member of the bar association. One may dislike the bar association, but must still pay dues
if he or she wants to appear in court.
Condominium or homeowners associations
similarly require dues of their members. A
homebuyer can’t choose to live in a condominium development without paying the
association fees.
Yet the national corporate lobbies supporting RTW are not proposing a “right to practice
law” or a “right to live where you want.” They
are focused solely on restricting employees’
organizations.
By federal law, unions are required to
provide all their benefits to every employee
covered by a union contract. In RTW states, if
a non-dues-paying employee has a problem at
work, the union is required to represent her—
including providing an attorney at no charge if
one is needed—the exact same as it would a
dues-paying member.
Unions in RTW states are the only orga-
those who enjoy the benefits to pay their fair
share of the costs of creating them.
Indeed, employer associations themselves
refuse to live by the same rules they seek to
impose on unions.
In Owensboro, Kentucky, the local Building
Trades Council decided to withdraw its membership in the local Chamber of Commerce,
but asked if it could still receive full member
benefits even though it would no longer be
paying dues. Absolutely not, answered the
Chamber. “It would be against Chamber bylaws and policy to consider any organization
or business a member without dues being paid.
The vast majority of the Chamber’s annual
revenues come from member dues, and it
would be unfair to the other 850-plus members to allow an organization not paying dues
to be included in member benefits.”
The Chamber’s logic is simple: If it had to
provide all its services for free, and dues were
strictly voluntary, it might go out of business.
This, then, appears to be the true aim of RTW,
and may explain why some corporate lobbies continue advocating for it even though it
doesn’t add up as economic policy. It appears
that the main goal of RTW may be not to create jobs or give workers more freedom, but
instead to make it harder for workers to have
an effective voice in negotiating with their
employer.
(Visit epi.org and look for the complete
report in a post dated Jan. 23.)
Quality of Life Issues Remain Top
Priority for U.S. Working Families
From the President
Why Fast Track is the Wrong Path
One of our union’s most important affiliations is our alliance with the
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFLCIO), the nation’s largest labor group. The AFL-CIO has 56 affiliates collectively representing 12.5 million workers. Those affiliates include our parent union, the Seafarers.
I’m a member of the AFL-CIO executive council,
and we regularly meet in order to examine key issues
affecting America’s working families. We also use
those gatherings to spell out the federation’s positions and outline strategies for promoting workers’
rights.
At our most recent session, which took place in
Atlanta in late February, the dominant topic by far was
United States trade policy, and in particular the urgent
need to oppose trade promotion authority – known as
TPA or Fast Track. This is a vital issue for American
workers, whether they belong to a union or not.
Michael Sacco
Right now, I don’t believe that anyone could effectively argue against the federation’s belief that current
U.S. trade policies undermine the interests of workers. As the executive council noted in its statement about Fast Track, when decisions about economic
policy are made behind closed doors, those decisions tend to advance the
policy wishes of political and economic elites, not the broader interests of
workers. U.S. trade policy decisions have been made this way for years, and
America’s workers, small farmers, small businesses and domestic producers
have paid the price.
Unfortunately, there’s no sign that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
(TPP) and other trade negotiations currently underway are likely to make
trade policy better from the perspective of workers or the public interest.
It’s critical to make the connection between trade negotiations and economic policy. And it seems like common sense that because such agreements
include components on environmental policy, labor rights, foreign investment,
food safety, anti-trust policy and more, these decisions should not be made
away from the eyes of the people and their elected representatives.
Modern history tells us all we need to know about where workers’ interests rank in trade deals. Whether those agreements involved Mexico, Korea,
Colombia, Guatemala or Honduras we were promised more employment and
higher wages. Instead, the results were massive exports of American jobs. It’s
no coincidence our trade deficit has spiraled out of control, taking U.S. manufacturing, including about 5 million family-wage manufacturing jobs, with it.
It hasn’t been a picnic for foreign workers, either. When Congress supported North American, Central American, and Colombian trade deals, they also
assured us the pacts would repair rampant labor rights violations and create
decent jobs for our neighbors to the south. But things have only gotten worse,
including increased repression, often in the form of violence.
Although the solutions, as always, are far easier said than done, the AFLCIO and its affiliates are wisely pouring resources into the fight to protect
workers in any and all trade deals. Our goals include instituting effective
checks on the executive branch; increasing public and congressional access to
trade proposals; and addressing shortcomings in existing trade deals.
The federation is working with a broad coalition of allies to defeat Fast
Track and instead develop more democratic and inclusive negotiating rules
that respect workers. This will involve continuing to educate union members
and their families about the negative effects of Fast Track. It certainly will
include holding elected officials accountable for their positions on trade.
One of our movement’s greatest strengths is our ability to mobilize in
grassroots campaigns. We need to tap into that strength by using tactics such
as office visits, workplace flyers, rallies, town halls and social media, to make
sure that elected officials know that their constituents support a fair trade
policy and oppose Fast Track.
It’s also completely appropriate to remind our elected representatives that
we still have a national economy, not just a global one. That’s why it makes
sense to boost federal funding to upgrade and rebuild ports, airports, railroads, roads, schools, water systems and other critical public infrastructure.
Strengthening our “Buy American” laws also would lead to job growth and
economic gain.
This is a crucial fight, and the labor movement will play a vital role in
winning for working families.
The United Worker
January-March 2015
The official publication of the United Industrial, Service, Transportation,
Professional and Government Workers of North America, AGLIW, AFL-CIO,
5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, Maryland 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675.
Direct inquiries to Jim Guthrie, editor.
Headquarters: Michael Sacco, president; John Spadaro, national director;
David Heindel, secretary-treasurer.
Atlantic Region: Kermett Mangram, vice president.
Caribbean Region: Eugene Irish, vice president.
Great Lakes Region: Monte Burgett, vice president
Gulf Coast Region: Dean Corgey, vice president.
Midwest Region: Thomas Orzechowski, vice president.
West Coast Region: Herb Perez, vice president.
2
Continued from Page 1
losers. And those rules are made by the
men and the women who we elect and
put in office. And those rules have been
rigged against us for far too long.”
Trumka also talked about the AFLCIO’s “Raising Wages” campaign,
which kicked off on Jan. 7 with the
National Summit on Raising Wages
held at Gallaudet University. The campaign is poised to spread the message
across the country, with smaller summits scheduled later this year in major
cities including Atlanta, Philadelphia,
St. Louis, San Diego, Minneapolis and
Columbus, Ohio.
In conclusion, Trumka urged the
crowd to continue the multi-faceted
efforts aimed at boosting the quality of
life for America’s working families.
“When [opponents] tell you that we
can’t raise wages, you tell them that we
can, and we will,” the federation president stated. “When they tell you that
we can’t have good pensions and good
health care, and good jobs, you tell
them that we can, and we will. When
they tell you that we can’t have better
Social Security or Medicare, you tell
them that we can, and we will. When
they tell you that we can’t have better ports and harbors, and better roads
and bridges, and a better rail system
and electrical system, you tell them
that we can, and we will. When they
tell you that we can’t have stronger
unions and more collective bargaining,
you tell them that we can, and we will.
When they tell you that our best years
are somehow behind us, you tell them
that our best years are still in front of
us, for us and for our kids and for all
the workers, and if they can’t deliver
that to us, get the hell out of the way.
Because we’re coming through, and we
won’t stop standing together, fighting
together, voting together and winning
together.”
Flemming, a longstanding member
of the MTD-affiliated International
Association of Machinists (IAM), said
Atlanta and its surrounding counties are
experiencing a surge of new unionizing
drives and employment opportunities
for union members, thanks in part to
the state labor federation’s efforts. He
also offered a candid look at some of
the challenges facing Georgia’s labor
movement.
“As many of you know, Georgia is a
red state. The Republican Party controls
all facets of our government. And we’ve
had some struggles,” Flemming said,
outlining how the most recent elections
in the state were very close to favoring
the pro-labor candidates, “Those were
competitive races, for the first time in
over a decade. We thought we had a
decent shot at winning; we just didn’t
get enough folks out to vote.”
He stressed the importance of ensuring that union members vote, noting
that the some of the final tallies in
Georgia on Election Day were separated by less than 200,000 votes. He
also mentioned that there are 100,000
union members and family members
across the state who are not registered
to vote, which could have turned the
tide in some of those close races.
Flemming said, “We have a lot of
work to do, but it’s possible to turn
Georgia, and I honestly believe in
2016 that there’s a real chance that a
Democrat could win those races, or at
least someone who supports workers.”
The Georgia AFL-CIO recently
proved that outreach and spreading
the message can have great effect on
The United Worker
Charlie Flemming
President, Georgia AFL-CIO
a community. In order to encourage
voters to pass a referendum that would
extend public transportation lines to
Clayton County, one of the most economically depressed counties in the
region, the state federation teamed up
with 24 environmental, religious, labor,
and civil rights groups and started a
grassroots campaign.
Flemming reported that the results
of their outreach were impressive, as
74 percent of voters approved the ballot
initiative on Nov. 4, with more citizens
voting in favor of that transportation
tax than for the governor or lieutenant governor. At a cost of a one-cent
sales tax, the people of Clayton County
voted to give themselves a chance to
get better jobs in more affluent parts of
the state, thanks in part to the Georgia
AFL-CIO canvassing the county and
increasing awareness of the approaching vote, Flemming said.
Meanwhile, as a 37-year veteran of
the airline industry, Flemming said he
is passionate about helping the flight
attendants of Delta Airlines – all 20,000
of them – secure union representation.
He also noted that nearly 12,000 of those
flight attendants are based in Atlanta,
and pledged that the Georgia AFL-CIO
would do everything in their power to
help those workers join a union.
Despite the tough political climate
in his state, he talked about the recent
increase in union contracts and projects
that are underway in Georgia.
“We have two new stadiums being
built here in Atlanta – a football stadium and a baseball stadium,” he said.
“The football stadium is costing $1.4
billion; the baseball stadium will cost
$650 million. We’re not getting all
the work, but we are getting about 60
percent of it. We’re deepening the ports
down in Savannah, so there are good
opportunities for growth down there,
with our brothers and sisters who are
longshoremen, as well as some of the
truckers.”
He also talked about the union jobs
in one of Georgia’s fastest growing
industries, the film production industry.
Atlanta has recently become the third
largest production location in the country, with plenty of union job opportunities involved.
He concluded, “So, there are a lot of
good things going on, and I think our
future is bright. We just have to continue to plow the fields. There’s a lot of
opportunity.”
January-March 2015
Dan Danzi (right in photo above) is pictured with his wife of nearly
15 years, Phyllis, who also works in the Seafarers Management
Information Systems Department. In the photo at right, Danzi (left) is
pictured inspecting a piece of machinery in the Brooklyn Hall back in the
1960s. With him is a technician from the IBM Corporation.
Information Technology Icon Dan Danzi Retires
The Seafarers International Union and
its affiliates, including the UIW, on Feb.
27 lost the expertise of an information
technology pioneer with the retirement
of Seafarers Management Information
System Director Donato “Dan” Danzi.
The Brooklyn, New York native, who
signed on with the SIU fresh out of high
school, has decided to officially close the
curtains on a 53-year career.
“I graduated from Abraham Lincoln
High School in 1961 but at that time, I
had no idea what I was going to do,” said
Danzi, who is believed to be the thirdlongest tenured union administrative/
managerial official alive today (only UIW/
SIU President Michael Sacco and SIU
Jersey City Port Agent Bob Selzer have
been answering the bell for UIW’s parent
organization longer). “I started working
for the SIU January 8, 1962 as a stock boy
… that was 53 years ago this past January
8 and here we are today.
“It was the first and only job I have
ever had aside from being a paper boy
hustling papers on the side in the streets of
Brooklyn,” Danzi continued. “I suppose
that is a long time on one job, especially
nowadays when people jump from job
to job just to have a buck or two more in
their pockets.”
In some ways, Danzi’s career with SIU
was more a matter of chance rather than
choice. The youngest of three boys in his
family, Danzi had three uncles who worked
in the printing business in Brooklyn. Each
enjoyed positions of authority, working as
managers and supervisors.
“Both of my oldest brothers worked
with my uncles for a while after they graduated from high school,” recalled Danzi.
“So when I graduated, I asked my mother:
Hey mom, can you talk to Uncle Frank
or Uncle Willie to see what they could do
to get me in? She was really hesitant in
responding and said I‘ve already asked for
Joe and I’ve already asked for Anthony, so
I can’t keep asking and asking.”
It was that ever so slight bit of uncertainty on his mother’s part that charted Danzi’s
course toward the SIU. “That’s really what
made me take a three-month business course
about IBM Machines that I happened to read
about in the paper,” Danzi said. “I really did
not learn much during the class, but they
later sent me to an agency that referred me
to the SIU office in Brooklyn. The rest I suppose is history.
“So if I had not went for that (the
three-month course) I probably would
have stayed in my mom’s face to see if
she would give in and ask my uncles to
see if they could get me in,” he said. “I
may well have winded up in the printing
business.”
Danzi said when he came aboard with
the SIU, all union data was kept on paper
reports which were generated on punch
cards. “At that time we were using about
100 cases of paper per month, so it was
January-March 2015
my job to order that stuff, stock it and
make sure that we always had enough supplies on hand to get our work done,” he
recalled. As time passed, he began moving
up the progression ladder, taking on more
responsibilities and learning more about
technological equipment along the way.
“I first learned about the peripheral
equipment and how it functioned,” Danzi
said. “I had a couple of wonderful guys
– Phil Leonti and Frank Paladino – who
took me under their wings and taught me
what to do, when to do it and why. So I
owe them a lot.
“They looked out for me from the
very first moment that I walked through
the door at the Brooklyn hall,” he said.
“Without them, I’m sure my career would
not have been as rewarding as it has.”
While not providing a blow by blow
account of his early to intermediate years
with the union, Danzi gave the impression that those days were characterized by
loads of fond memories; so much so that
he made a career decision and decided to
stick around.
“I guess I decided to stay with the
SIU at the point that I had about nine or
10 years in,” he said. “I had a good job,
I loved going to work, it was convenient
and the people that I worked with were
fantastic.
“I did have a couple of opportunities
at that time to get jobs in other unions,”
he continued. “Other people were interested in me and I could have made about
eight or nine thousand dollars more a year
which was actually a lot of money at that
time. But I already had nine or 10 years in
with the SIU and I had just gotten married.
So I decided to take the stability rather
than venture into the unknown.
“I’m proud that I stayed because the
journey has been just incredible,” he added.
Danzi said that perhaps the most challenging period of his career came when
(he does not remember the exact month
and year) a fire destroyed much of the
union’s Plans Office Building. “When the
building reopened in the aftermath of the
fire, there was no room in the building to
house the data center nor any place to do
our work,” he said. “So we found another
union in Manhattan that had the exact
same configuration as we had in terms of
equipment.
“They had free space in their facility
for work to be done during the night shift,”
he said. “So every single day, I would fill
my car trunk up with the day’s production
and drive to Manhattan via the Brooklyn
Battery Tunnel to get that work done. I had
my second shift guy work there.
“This went on for quite a few months
and then we took the old SIU Gym on
20th Street and converted it to our data
center,” he recalled. “All and all, it was
quite a time because we were wondering
how we were going to do pension checks
and paychecks for our members and
staff…. We were extremely lucky that we
found the work space with that union and
were able to keep on trucking.
“I thought it was pretty amazing that
that union allowed us to use their space
and equipment to keep our production
rolling,” he continued. “I was one of
several in the data center during the
hall’s last few years in Brooklyn. I was
responsible for the whole department
Members of the SMIS Department joined retiring director Dan Danzi (second from
left in row two above) for this farewell photo. In the front row (from left) are Sarah
Johnson, Johnnie Gorman, Lauren Tellez, David Hankins and Glenn Lewis. The
second row consists of Brian Horton, Danzi, Betty Beaumont and Phyllis Danzi
(Danzi’s wife). In the back row are John Sacco, Fred Long, David Cruz, Ravi
Natarajan, Jordan Biscardo and Lee Schmidt.
The United Worker
during that time.”
The SIU moved out of the union hall
in Brooklyn to its current headquarters in
Camp Springs, Maryland, in 1982. “But
the data center stayed behind because they
did not have facilities for it here,” Danzi
said. “I brought the data center with me
pretty much on my back when I came in
1984.
“I was workings night hours at the time
because the day shift had other responsibilities, developing new procedures and
operations methodologies, things like
that,” he continued. “So the only time
available to run the production environment that was available was on second
and third shift…. Those were the hours I
was stuck with, so I tried to teach other
guys various techniques, practices and
how to run other jobs. I ended up training
two guys on the late shift.”
Despite those early challenges, Danzi
not only endured, he thrived. What’s
more, he played a pivotal role in making
the SMIS department the highly efficient
technological operation it is today. Just
how significant Danzi’s leadership has
meant over the years perhaps was captured by Johnnie Gorman, his co-worker
of 30 years, when she described him as
hard-working, dedicated and the constant
exhibitor of a positive attitude.
“These are only a few of the many
positive attributes he shares with us every
day,” Gorman said. “It’s impossible to
measure what Danny has meant to the
Seafarers all these years.
“This is a bittersweet moment,” she
concluded, “saying good bye to a friend
and coworker who has meant so much.”
“My entire time with the SIU has been
a real joy,” Danzi said. “Over the span of
my career, I have worked for three SIU
presidents. There was Paul Hall, Frank
Drozak and Mike Sacco.
“All of them were and are great men,
all very driven and highly intelligent. But
I’d have to say that Big Mike is my favorite. He’s done one hell of a job leading the
SIU and it has been simply great working for him. The same goes for the entire
executive staff, especially Maggie Bowen,
my supervisor.”
When asked to share the most momentous day of his career, Danzi fired back
without any hesitation.
“January 8, 1962 (his arrival date in
the Brooklyn hall) was the best day of
my life,” he said. “It ended up bringing
me my kids and it brought me, my wife
of nearly 15 years, Phyllis. It was just an
incredible day.
“Because if it, I have four daughters
(two from previous marriage). “I have
Jeanine who lives in North Carolina; my
youngest daughter is Danielle who lives
in Riverside, Connecticut; my oldest
step-daughter Heather who lives in South
Dakota; and, my youngest step-daughter
Allyson who lives in Texas.”
3
Trade Deals Could Taint Obama’s Pro-Jobs Legacy
Editor’s Note: President Barack
Obama delivered a major address on
the economy, jobs, manufacturing,
trade and Fast Track March 18 in
Cleveland, Ohio. Following is Ohio
AFL-CIO President Tim Burga’s
response to the president’s address
President Obama has enacted
policies that have benefited Ohio’s
economy and helped strengthen our
middle class. His decision to rescue
the auto industry has meant the world
to many local economies across the
state, saving thousands of familysupporting, middle-class jobs. It was
the right decision at the right time,
a decision made for all the right
reasons.
The president has also protected
our jobs, particularly in manufacturing, by placing tariffs on countries such as China and South Korea
for illegally dumping products in
the U.S. However, his stance, stated
again today in Cleveland, to gain
“Fast Track” trade authority from
Congress to negotiate a “Trans
Pacific Partnership” pact presents
the same flawed approach to global
trade that has cost the U.S. and
Ohio hundreds of thousands of
good jobs.
Trade can be beneficial and create jobs. It can also be harmful and
destroy jobs. The U.S. and Ohio’s
import/export deficits represent lost
jobs and less than full employment,
which means downward pressure on
wages. Because of poorly crafted
Federation Wants
New Track in Trade
deals that occur without input from
Congress and its constituents, Ohio
has lost significantly more jobs than
it has gained form trade. We’ve seen
the harm and are still looking for the
benefits from the global trade pacts
of the last two decades.
The president and Congress
should work together to create a new
model for global trade that places an
emphasis on raising wages and shared
prosperity. Any trade deal must also
confront reality and stop currency
manipulation from countries party
to global trade deals to gain market
advantage. To date, issues like this
have gone unaddressed—a problem
that will only worsen in a deal with
no regard for state, regional and
local interests that would otherwise
be considered in an open and democratic trade negotiation.
This president has consistently
sided with Ohio workers on some
of the most important and politically risky decisions that have come
before him. It would be a shame
for him to abandon that allegiance
now, and potentially roll back the
gains that have been made though his
steadfast advocacy for the American
worker.
I call on the president and all
members of Congress to hold a free
and open process in considering the
biggest trade deal in history, one that
will cover a quarter of the world’s
population. Anything less would be
antithetical to the legacy the president has built so far.
Union Members Receive Tonnage Bonus Money
Continued from Page 1
an agreement has been negotiated, or whether agreements should qualify for expedited consideration; and
n Ensure Congress has effective opportunities to
strip expedited consideration from trade deals that fail
to meet congressional objectives or fail to incorporate
congressional and public participation.
To advance this agenda, the AFL-CIO commits
to working with a broad coalition of allies to defeat
“Fast Track” trade authority and instead develop more
democratic and participatory trade negotiating procedures that lead to fairer and more balanced trade deals
that put people and the planet over profits. Among
other initiatives, the council says the AFL-CIO is
committed to:
n Continuing to educate our members—and all
workers—about the negative effects of Fast Track
trade deals and that there is a better way; n Demanding greater transparency and inclusiveness in creating U.S. international economic policies,
consistent with democratic principles;
n Expanding our fair trade coalition to include
civil rights leaders, people of faith, small business
people, seniors and veterans;
n Ensuring that the U.S. trade and economic policies reflect the progressive reforms needed to make
U.S. producers and their employees more competitive
in the global marketplace; and
n Fighting to defeat any trade agreement that
fails to prioritize the needs of working families and
advance shared prosperity in the global economy.
Scott Boatright (left) and Tony Brown (right) will tell you that working hard, in this case going above and
beyond one’s normal duties, really does pay off. In December, each received tonnage bonus checks in
the amount of $4,487.75 for reaching certain productivity milestones during the calendar year which runs
from November to November. Both are UIW members at Jacksonville, Florida-based and union-contracted
Portus Stevedoring, LLC. Presenting them with their checks is SIU Asst. VP Archie Ware (center) who also
serves as UIW Representative.
NLRB Issues Rule for Resolving Representation Disputes
A new rule issued by the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is good
news for workers, according to the head
of America’s largest labor federation.
The NLRB has streamlined the process for resolving representation disputes with the new rule, published on
Dec. 15 and taking effect on April 14.
This final rule amends the existing
representation-case procedures in an
effort to simplify the process.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
stated, “The modest but important
reforms to the representation election
process will help reduce delay in the
process and make it easier for workers
to vote on forming a union in a timely
manner. Strengthening protections for
workers seeking to come together and
bargain collectively is critical to workers winning much-deserved wage gains
and improving their lives.”
The SIU is one of the AFL-CIO’s
56 affiliated unions, which collectively
represent more than 12.5 million workers. SIU President Michael Sacco is the
longest-serving member of the federa-
4
tion’s executive council.
The NLRB defines its role in resolving representation disputes as the following: “Representation petitions are
filed by employees, unions and employers seeking to have the NLRB conduct
an election to determine if employees
wish to be represented for purposes of
collective bargaining with their employer. The board will investigate these
petitions to determine if an election
should be conducted and will direct an
election, if appropriate. “In most instances, parties agree on
the voting unit and other issues. If parties do not agree, the NLRB’s regional
office holds a pre-election hearing to
determine whether an election should
be conducted. The NLRB’s regional
office conducts the election and, if
necessary, holds a post-election hearing to resolve challenges to voters’ eligibility and objections to the conduct
of the election or conduct affecting
the results of the election. Parties can
seek board review of regional determinations made before and after the
election.”
The board majority opinion was that
the rule would modernize the process
of administering the National Labor
Relations Act, making its procedures
more transparent and consistent, while
also cutting down on unnecessary litigation and delay. With the passing of
this rule, the board will be better able to
protect employees’ rights by answering
questions of representation fairly and
quickly. The final rule was approved by
NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce
and Members Kent Y. Hirozawa and
Nancy Schiffer. Board Members Harry
I. Johnson III and Philip A. Miscimarra
had dissenting views.
Chairman Pearce said, “I am heartened that the board has chosen to
enact amendments that will modernize the representation case process
and fulfill the promise of the National
Labor Relations Act. Simplifying and
streamlining the process will result
in improvements for all parties. With
these changes, the board strives to
ensure that its representation process
The United Worker
remains a model of fairness and efficiency for all.”
According to the agency, the changes
implemented by this rule include:
n Provides for electronic filing and
transmission of election petitions and
other documents;
n Ensures that employees, employers and unions receive timely information they need to understand and participate in the representation case process;
n Eliminates or reduces unnecessary
litigation, duplication and delay;
n Adopts best practices and uniform
procedures across regions;
n Requires that additional contact
information (personal telephone numbers and email addresses) be included in
voter lists, to the extent that information
is available to the employer, in order to
enhance a fair and free exchange of ideas
by permitting other parties to the election
to communicate with voters about the
election using modern technology; and
n Allows parties to consolidate all
election-related appeals to the Board
into a single appeals process.
January-March 2015
Walmart Workers’ Raise Shows Collective Actions Work
Editor’s note: One of the UIW’s most
important affiliations is its alliance through it’s parent organization, the SIU
- with the American Federation of LaborCongress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO), the nation’s largest labor
group. The AFL-CIO has 56 affiliates collectively representing 12.5 million workers.
UIW President Michael Sacco is the
longest-serving member of the federation’s
executive council, which met in Atlanta
in late February. The council approved
numerous statements that spell out its positions on various issues and outline strategies for promoting workers’ rights.
Excerpts from one of the most significant and timely statements are reprinted
here. The full statement is available on the
AFL-CIO website.
Raising Wages – It’s Time For Action
Workers at Walmart – our nation’s largest private sector employer – on Feb. 19
used collective action to win a raise for
more than 500,000 of their co-workers.
The fact that workers forced Walmart
to raise wages shows that America has
reached a turning point. Working people
are sending a clear message to our economic elites: “We deserve more.” We
refuse to just accept a society where the
wages of the top 10 percent rise and the
bottom 90 percent fall, where two families
– the Kochs and the Waltons – have more
wealth than almost half the country combined. Today we commit both to our goal
and our plan of action.
Raising wages is about fighting inequality by raising all workers’ wages, and it’s
about workers’ right to organize and bargain with our employers to raise our wages
without fear of reprisal or dismissal. But
raising wages is really about much more
than that if we are to build an economy
centered on improving the lives of the
people who do the work. Creating a raising
wages society requires a comprehensive
program of action, each part of which is
grounded in our collective voice. It begins
with re-establishing work – and workers –
at the center of the American economy.
In a raising wages society, Wall Street
will not write the rules of the economy.
From offshoring jobs to corporate-based
trade deals and risky investment schemes,
Wall Street and the wealthiest 1 percent – and even more the wealthiest 0.01
percent – have shaped our economy for
generations. Under pressure from Wall
Street, employers have failed to uphold the
promises they made to workers regarding
retirement benefits. Far too many employers have failed to pay into retirement funds
to keep the funds solvent. Millions of
workers who exchanged wage increases
over the years for the simple promise of
retirement security are now finding that
security in jeopardy. But it does not have to
be this way.
Indeed it cannot continue to be this
way because an economy built on wage
suppression and radical inequality does
not work. This type of economy produces
weak growth, financial bubbles and financial crises, and political instability. And
there is another choice – a choice that will
produce prosperity.
We can build a full-employment economy where workers’ wages rise as we create
more wealth. We can ensure that the public
investments we must make – from education to infrastructure – are well funded and
shared equally. And that the bookends of
the raising wages economy – childcare and
secure retirement – are guaranteed for all.
Raising wages means better lives and
opportunity for all. That has to mean
addressing racial injustice and economic
exclusion. Raising wages means addressing social and economic problems with
infrastructures and resources rather than
with criminalization and mass incarceration. Justice at work and justice in our
communities are intertwined and both must
advance for either to grow.
Collectively, these elements will build
January-March 2015
the final, critical element: political accountability. Raising wages is the workers’
common voice, and, when unified, will
establish a standard of accountability that
no political leader can evade.
But all this will only happen if we make
it happen. If we tell the truth about what
has happened to our economy. If we take
on the fights that will determine whether
wages in America continue to decline. If
we bring those fights to the streets of our
communities. And if, in the end, we hold
those who seek elected office in our country accountable for the only question that
matters: Are you for an economy where
workers’ income rises as we produce more
wealth? Or are you building an economy
where those who do the work must live on
the crumbs left over from the meals they
have made but others have eaten?
Telling the Truth
Every working person needs to know
the facts. The AFL-CIO has launched
Common Sense Economics to get these
facts into the hands of working people.
Wages for the bottom 70 percent have
been flat since the late 1970s, while almost
all the gains from the increasing productivity of our workforce have flowed to the top
10 percent.
Wage stagnation is not the inevitable
outcome of immutable economic forces.
Wage stagnation is the result of wealthy
and powerful people, big corporations and
Wall Street designing a global economy
where wages stay low.
The rules are rigged because they
rigged the rules.
But it hasn’t always been this way,
and it doesn’t have to be this way. At the
national, state and local levels we can bring
back government that enforces rules that
provide for an economy where wages grow
and where the wealth we produce is shared
fairly; that protects workers; and that
favors democracy in the workplace.
And we – the labor movement, our
allies and each of us as individuals – will
speak about these truths, about the fights
we take on, about the victories and gains
we achieve – in the same way, using a
common raising wages narrative. Whether
we are negotiating for a pay increase at the
bargaining table or mobilizing for a paid
sick leave ordinance in city hall, we must
recognize that each of these battles is part
of one overall raising wages campaign
– and we must all think and speak about
them in the same way.
Fighting the Fight
In the next few months, the labor
movement will fight five big fights over
the basic structure of our economy – over
whether we live in a low-wage or a raising
wages society.
We will fight to defend and expand
our rights at work – the right to organize,
the right to a living wage, the right to
overtime, the right to equal pay. And millions of us will bargain in thousands of
workplaces across this country to raise
our wages. In cities across the country we
will pass paid sick day and fair scheduling
legislation. And we will mobilize support
for federal legislation that strengthens
protections for workers who speak out
and take action with their co-workers to
improve their wages and working conditions and brings remedies for workers who
face retaliation for exercising their rights in
line with other workplace laws. More and
bigger changes are needed to fix our broken labor law system and restore workers’
freedom of association, but strengthening
remedies for workers is an important and
immediate first step. At the federal level,
we will fight to raise wages for the government’s own workforce. The federal government is the nation’s largest employer and
its actions set a standard for other public
and private employers.
We will fight for economic policies
that put full employment and wages that
rise with productivity ahead of Wall Street
profits. We will fight for increased federal
investment to fix our crumbling infrastructure, which will create jobs and increase
productivity, all of which will raise wages.
We will fight against financialization in all
its forms – from tax breaks for corporations that outsource jobs to student debt
peonage – and we will fight for taxing
financial speculation and expanding Social
Security.
We will stop Fast Track and fight any
trade policies or trade deals that undermine
our democracy and favor multinational
corporations over working people in the
U.S. and around the world,
We will fight against the marginalization of any of us – from mass incarceration
to the scandal of 12 million undocumented
immigrants without rights and without a
path to citizenship. When some of us have
no bargaining power, all of us lose.
We will fight in the states to keep right
wing politicians, acting on behalf of their
corporate and Wall Street patrons, from
rolling back fundamental economic and
social protections that we have won over
many decades of struggle.
All of these fights are about policy decisions that together make up the structure
of an economy built on wage stagnation.
They are not separate fights. They are one
fight, and that fight is about raising wages.
Raising Wages in Our Communities
Raising wages has to happen in the
places where we live and work. In the
weeks and months to come, working
people in 10 of America’s major metropolitan areas are going to be putting the pieces
together to turn these cities into raising
wages communities.
Over the past year, the AFL-CIO and
numerous affiliated unions already have
launched raising wages initiatives with
The United Worker
local unions and coalition partners in several southern cities (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta
and Miami) and now have begun to
undertake initiatives in additional cities: St.
Louis, Philadelphia, Columbus, San Diego,
Minneapolis/St. Paul and Washington/
Baltimore.
We call on state and local bodies in
these cities, union affiliates, community
partners, and progressive allies to identify
the current and potential raising wages
campaign opportunities in organizing, bargaining, legislation, and politics – and to
treat these opportunities as interconnected
components of a single nationwide initiative to raise wages – and to do so using a
common narrative.
We pledge to collaborate with and assist
each other in carrying out these raising
wages campaigns.
The AFL-CIO will work with our state
and local bodies, our union affiliates, community partners and progressive allies in
these cities to bring new energy, to help
pool resources and to offer coordination
among coalition partners in the raising
wages campaigns they undertake – and to
help spread the truth that a high-wage community is a better community to live in.
Together we can make it happen.
Holding Leaders Accountable
Accountability means we expect policymakers and candidates to take concrete
action to build a raising wages economy.
And we demand they stop changing the
subject away from economic inequality
and wage stagnation and stop proposing
Band-Aids that do not really solve the
problem. These are the standards by which
leadership will be judged.
Accountability starts with presidential
politics. In January, we held a national
summit on raising wages. Between now
and the end of 2015, the AFL-CIO and our
state partners will hold raising wages summits in the first four presidential primary
states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada,
and South Carolina. The first will be in
Iowa this spring. Each summit will bring
together diverse voices to discuss how we
can implement a comprehensive agenda to
increase workers’ bargaining power, raise
wages and living standards for the vast
majority of workers, and hold policymakers accountable. This has to be a conversation about every aspect of leadership
– policies, political strategies, and staffing
choices.
But accountability does not stop
there. As we go into raising wages fights
on Fast Track, on the right to organize
and bargain, on the power of Wall Street,
accountability on the question of raising
wages must be our watch word at every
level of the labor movement and we must
demand it at every level of government –
from town councils to state legislatures to
the halls of Congress. And raising wages
does not mean: will you throw us crumbs
from the table? It means: will you take on
the fight to ensure that those who create the
wealth get to share in it?
Why We Must Win
America is a country built on the idea
that hard work should be rewarded. The
labor movement’s contribution was to
show that if you want hard work to be
rewarded, people have to come together
to make it so through collective action and
solidarity. This is and always has been the
only effective path towards social and economic justice in America.
The most important thing now is to
raise our expectations and demand more.
We know things do not have to be the way
they are. We know who is responsible
for the theft of our wages. We know the
work we do has dignity and value, and we
deserve to be paid more for doing it. We
deserve to share in the wealth we all create together. We deserve more from our
economic and political elites. We deserve a
better and more functional democracy. We
must and we will raise wages.
5
AFL-CIO Creates Racial and Economic Justice Commission
“America’s legacy of racism and racial
injustice has been and continues to be a
fundamental obstacle to workers’ efforts
to act together to build better lives for
all of us,” said the AFL-CIO Executive
Council in a statement announcing the
creation of a Labor Commission on
Racial and Economic Justice.
The statement, released Feb. 25 during
the council’s winter meeting in Atlanta,
acknowledged “an ugly history of racism
in our own movement” and added:
“Yet at the same time the labor movement has a proud history of standing for
racial and economic justice. When we
have embraced our better selves we have
always emerged stronger in every sense.
And whenever we have succumbed to
the temptation to see some working people as better than others, we have always
ended up weaker.”
Pointing to today’s dramatically
increasing economic inequality, decreasing union density and growing instability for the majority of Americans, the
council said, “The need for all workers to
strengthen common interests in achiev-
ing economic justice is clear.
“At the same time our different experiences organized around race, gender
identity, ethnicity, disability and sexual
orientation often challenge and complicate this shared experience. If we are to
succeed as a movement, the full range of
working peoples’ voices must be heard in
the internal processes of our movement.
To be able to stand together we have to
understand where all of us are coming
from.”
The council pointed to the unemployment rate for African Americans—10.3
percent, more than twice as high as that
for whites—the criminal justice system
and educational inequities that are large
parts of a “world divided in many ways
by color lines.
“At the same time working people
share a common experience of falling
wages and rising economic insecurity.
To build a different, better economy we
need power that can only come from
unity and unity has to begin with having all our voices be heard, on all sides
of those color lines. We have to start by
acknowledging our own shortcomings
and honestly addressing issues that are
faced by the communities in which our
members live—both the problems and
the solutions. We have to find a way to
see with each other’s eyes and address
the facts and realities.”
The Labor Commission on Racial and
Economic Justice will:
n Facilitate a broad conversation with
local labor leaders around racial and economic disparities and institutional biases,
and identify ways to become more inclusive as the new entrants to the labor force
diversify;
n Engage in six to eight labor discussions around the country, with local labor
leaders, constituency groups and young
workers addressing racial and economic
issues impacting the labor movement and
offering recommendations for change;
and
n Attempt to create a safe, structured
and constructive opportunity for local
union leaders to discuss issues pertaining
to the persistence of racial injustice today
in the workforce and in their communities, and to ensure that the voices of all
working people in the labor movement
are heard.
Photo Identification Correction
The photo above was published on Page 3 of the October-December 2014
Edition of The United Worker. In the caption which accompanied this photo,
we misidentified the individual pictured at the far right as Gloria Ricks; in fact it
is Debbie (Toni) Wills. Pictured with Wills (from left) are Chianta Taylor (previously misspelled as Chianti), Shop Steward Cynthia Jones and Chief Shop
Steward Tiffany Blake. All are UIW members at UIW/SIU Headquarters in
Camp Springs, Maryland. They were photographed prior to voluntarily manning phone banks at AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington, D.C., during a
get out the vote effort for the Nov. 4 mid-term elections. We apologize to all
concerned (Ricks, Wills and Taylor) for any inconvenience our mistakes may
have caused.
UIW Directory
HEADQUARTERS
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Camp Springs, MD 20746
(301) 899-0675
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
721 Sesame St.
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(907) 561-4988
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104 Broadway Ave.
Jersey City 07306
(201) 434-6000
6
3/15
COLUMBUS, OHIO
2800 South High St.
P.O. Box 07770, 43207
(614) 497-2446
NEW ORLEANS, LA
3911 Lapalco Blvd.
Harvey LA 70058
(504) 328-7545
ST. CROIX, USVI
P.O. Box 7630
Sunny Isle 00823
(340) 773-6055
HONOLULU, HI
606 Kalihi Street 96819
(808) 845-5222
NORFOLK, VA
115 3rd St. 23510
(757) 622-1892
ST. LOUIS, MO
4581 Gravois Ave. 63116
(314) 752-6500
HOUSTON, TEXAS
1730 Jefferson St. 77003
(713) 659-5152
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1121 7th St. 94607
(510) 444-2360
JACKSONVILLE, FL
5100 Belfort Rd. 32256
(904) 281-2622
PHILADELPHIA, PA
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201-3A Altona & Welgunst
Suite 101
St. Thomas, USVI 00802
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P.O. Box 75, 20674
(301) 994-0010
The United Worker
TACOMA, WA
3411 S. Union Ave. 98409
(253) 272-7774
WILMINGTON, CA
510 N. Broad Ave. 90744
(310) 549-3920
January-March 2015
White House Acts to Close Retirement Advice Loophole
The Obama administration on Feb.
23 took the first step to close a loophole in the rules that govern Wall
Street brokers and financial firms that
provide retirement investment advice.
That loophole can drain away thousands, or even tens of thousands, of
dollars of hard-earned savings from a
single retirement account.
According to the AFL-CIO, the
“Retirement Advice Loophole” allows
Wall Street brokers and financial
firms with major conflicts of interest to provide investment advice that
serves their own interests instead of
what’s best for their clients. Obama
ordered the U.S. Department of Labor
to submit a proposed rule to strengthen
financial advisers’ fiduciary responsibilities and crack down on these
practices.
AFL-CIO
President
Richard
Trumka said the new rules are “long
overdue” and a “good first step.”
Under current rules, he said, Wall
Street firms can “create and distribute investment products to elevate a
financial adviser’s paycheck over the
best interests of workers and retirees.”
For example, they can sell financial
products that pay large commissions
but hurt their clients with unnecessary
fees, poor returns or excessive risks.
Millions of Americans are affected by
this loophole every year without even
knowing it, and it is draining away
their retirement savings.
Right now, some advisers are
required to put their customers’ interests first while others are not—and it
is often extremely difficult for workers and retirees to know which type of
adviser they are dealing with.
“Americans are worried about hav-
ing a secure retirement, especially
as they face increasingly complicated choices about how to save and
invest their hard-earned dollars,” said
Trumka.
“When they turn to professional
financial advisers to help navigate
their complex choices, they should
be able to have confidence that the
advice they get is in their best interest—and not driven by sales commissions and high fees that can deplete
their retirement accounts like a slow
leak in a tire.”
Wall Street and the financial industry are adamantly opposed to reforming the rules. Two years ago, they
lobbied hard for a House bill aimed at
derailing any new Labor Department
investment advice rule, and chances
are that they will be spending big
money to do the same thing in 2015.
New Jersey AFL-CIO, 16 Unions Celebrate Victory
Judge Orders Christie to Obey the Law, Fund Pensions
A New Jersey Superior Court Judge
has taken Gov. Chris Christie to task in
a ruling that forces him to contribute
his share to the New Jersey state pension system, just as public workers have
been doing all along.
Judge Mary Jacobson in late February
ruled in favor of the New Jersey State
AFL-CIO and 16 unions who sued
Christie for violating his own 2011
pension reform law by intentionally
shorting the system. The judge ordered
Christie to make a $1.6 billion payment
to the pension system this year.
According to New Jersey AFL-CIO
President Charles Wowkanech, publicsector workers accepted steep increases
in their health care and pension costs in
2011 in exchange for a promise that the
state would start paying what it owed.
Retirees gave up cost of living adjustments in exchange for the security of
knowing their benefits would continue
to be there. Public workers have never
skipped their contribution. The governor is the only one who has not lived
up to the deal, said Wowkanech. It’s as
if he is intentionally trying to bankrupt
the system to force public workers into
401(k)s.
Christie’s lawyers argued that the
2011 law, which the governor initiated, promoted and signed, was unconstitutional. It was an argument that
bewildered virtually everyone, including the judge, and proved beyond
doubt that Christie has no credibility
on the issue.
Now he’s at it again, stated
Wowkanech. In an otherwise empty
budget address, the governor proposed
“… wait for it …” putting the squeeze
on public worker benefits again.
As New Jerseyans can clearly see,
the governor has been blinded by his
own political ambitions and hasn’t been
acting in the state’s best interest for
a very long time, the state federation
president said.
“Christie touted the 2011 pension
reform law as a landmark achievement
that would ultimately save the state pension system,” Wowkanech concluded.
“Instead of blaming public workers for
a problem they didn’t create, we’re asking that the governor live up to the law
he signed and fully fund pensions.”
Gone But Not Forgotten
JESUS ARCE
Brother Jesue Arce, 53, passed away Oct.
4. Brother Arce joined the UIW in 2008
while working at Juanita’s Foods. He resided in Compton, California.
WAYNE ABELL
Brother Wayne Abell, 63, died Dec. 19.
He signed on with the union in 2000 and
worked at AMG Resources. Brother Abell
called Baltimore, Maryland, home.
born in Mount Sterling, Ohio and called
London, Ohio home.
Pennsylvania.
JOHN EBY
Pensioner John Eby, 75, passed away Nov.
20. Brother Eby was born in Shamokin,
Pennsylvania, and became a UIW member
in 1973 while employed at Paulsen Wire
Rope. A military veteran, he began collecting retirement stipends from the UIW in
1993. Brother Eby called Coal Township,
Pennsylvania, home.
MICHAEL WIDE
Pensioner Michael Wide, 73, passed away
Dec. 7. A native of Sunbury, New Jersey,
Brother Wide donned the UIW colors
in 1981 while working at Paulsen Wire
Rope. He went on pension in 1993 and
resided in his native city and state. Brother
Wide was a military veteran.
ROBERT BERGHAIER
Pensioner Robert Berghaier, 88, died Oct.
28. Born in Maple Shade, New Jersey,
Brother Berghaier was a military veteran.
He came under the union umbrella in 1962
while working at Victory Refrigeration.
Brother Berghaier started receiving his
pension in 1988 and resided in Chalfont,
Pennsylvania.
JOSEPH KIMMERLE
Pensioner Joseph Kimmerle, 80, passed
away Nov. 14. A military veteran, Brother
Kimmerle was born in New York. He
joined the UIW in 1984 while employed at
the Petro-Diamond Terminal Co. Brother
Kimmerle began collecting stipends for
his retirement in 2001. He lived in Long
Beach, California.
TIMOTHY COOKE
Pensioner Timothy Cooke, 74, passed
away Dec. 8. A native of Virginia, Brother
Cooke joined the UIW in 1980 while
working at Plymkraft. He went on pension
in 2002 and made his home in Yorktown,
Virginia.
STEVE MCCOMAS
Pensioner Steve McComas, 58, died Dec.
14. The Ohio native donned the union colors
in 1985 while working at UIW-contracted
Franklin International. Brother McComas
began receiving retirement stipends in 2011
and resided in Columbus, Ohio.
AUDREY DILLON
Pensioner Audrey Dillion, 95, died Dec.
7. Sister Dillon signed on with the union
in 1970 while working at UIW-contracted
Church & Dwight. She began receiving
her pension in 1984. Sister Dillon was
BONITA RETALLACK
Pensioner Bonita Retallack, 63, passed
away Jan, 11. Born in Pennsylvania, Sister
Retallack signed on with the UIW in 1972
while working at A&E Products. She started receiving retirement stipends in 2014
and made her home in Mount Carmel,
January-March 2015
LAURA WELLS
Pensioner Laura Wells, 71, died Feb. 4.
Sister Wells came under the union umbrella in 1972 while working at Bron-Shoe.
She began receiving compensation for her
retirement in 1972. Sister Wells mad her
home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
New UIW
Pensioners
Valli Brigner
Bron-Shoe Co.
Lancaster, Ohio
Jamie Cervantes
Juanita’s Foods
Wilmington, California
Jose Chevez Guzman
Paulsen Wire Rope
Carson, California
Donna Delozier-Price
Franklin International
Columbus, Ohio
Sharon George
A&E Products
Frackvile, Pennsylvania
Julia Graham
Dew Management Services, Inc.
Humble, Texas
Gerald Grimes
A&E Products
Ringtown, Pennsylvania
Kongmi Husted
Severson Group, LLC
Joshua Tree, California
Hattie McClain
Plymkraft, Inc.
Newport News, Virginia
Leon Montgomery
American Casting &
Manufacturing Corp
Hempstead, New York
Thomeson Murray
Crown Cork & Seal
Houston, Texas
Lynette Ramon
Mastertime Co., LTD
Kingshill, U.S. Virgin Islands
Mary Tulko
A&E Products
Shenandoah, Pennsylvania
Martine Varenick
A&E Products
Shenandoah, Pennsylvania
Joseph Vargas
Victory Refrigeration
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
BOBBY WILSON
Pensioner Bobby Wilson, 76, passed
away Dec. 14. Brother Wilson launched
his union career in 1983 while working
at UIW-contracted Progressive Driver
Services. A native of Virginia, he retired
from the union in 2001. Brother Wilson
lived in his native state in the city of
Hampton.
EARL YOUNG
Pensioner Earl Young, 75, died Feb. 6.
Born in Louisana, Brother Young donned
the UIW colors in 1976 while working
at union-contracted Crown Cork & Seal.
He went on pension in 2005 and lived in
Flowery Beach, Georgia.
The United Worker
7
Official Publication of the United Industrial, Service, Transportation, Professional & Government Workers of North AmericanSeafarers Intrnational Union, AGLIWDnAFL-CIO
Volume 41, Number 1
The United Worker
January-March
2015
Information Technology
Icon Dan Danzi Retires
Page 3
USPS Members, Activists NLRB Judge Finds T-Mobile
From Other Unions Unite Guilty of Labor Law Violations
To Save Postal Service
In recent years, the U.S. Postal
Service (USPS) has been under
attack from conservative lawmakers
in Congress and elsewhere who are
trying to privatize the constitutionally required service to benefit wealthy
campaign donors with the support of
anti-government extremists, according
to the AFL-CIO. The men and women
who work at the USPS, and their
unions, however, are fighting back.
Activists at the American Postal
Workers Union (APWU) are pursuing an aggressive agenda, said David
Morris in a recent article on AlterNet.
Morris is co-founder of the Institute
for Local Self-Reliance and directs its
initiative on The Public Good.
He pointed to APWU President
Mark Dimondstein’s embrace of activism: “We’re not afraid of the streets.
We’re not in the streets enough. We
need to picket, march, sit-in—not leave
it to lobbying or one-on-one negotiations.” He often pointedly praises the
actions of postal workers who 55 years
ago this March took their future into
their own hands by defying union leaders and staging an illegal strike against
low pay and benefits and poor working
conditions.
The strategy is a well-thought
out one, said Morris. One strategy is internal: instilling a renewed
sense of individual activism in the
APWU. Dimondstein envisions
a “cultural shift from a service
model to an organizing model of
unionism.”...“We need to retool, to
retrain people to see the union as
themselves. We need to encourage
workers to take their grievances
directly to the boss, in groups, not
just file paperwork and wait for
union officials to service them. We
need more of a movement, a sense
of connection to the larger community, which will give postal workers
hope and confidence.”
The other three strategies are external. One involves an active working
partnership with the other three postal
unions. (National Postal Mail Handlers
Union, National Rural Letter Carriers’
Association, National Association of
Letter Carriers)....The second external
strategy is to expand the partnership to
non-postal unions....The third external
strategy is to broaden the partnership
to private as well as public unions and
to build “a grand alliance between
the people of this country and postal
workers.”
The other related unions, such as the
National Association of Letter Carriers
(NALC), are also part of the fight, particularly with the new Grand Alliance
to Save Our Public Postal Service:
“This new alliance is a good complement to the one the NALC and the
other postal unions have been working
closely with over the past 18 months,”
NALC President Fredric Rolando said,
“a group made up of postal union
and mailing industry stakeholders with
a mission to advance in Congress a
multi-point postal strategy that includes
a comprehensive solution to pre-funding, freedom to offer new products,
fair treatment on pension valuations,
strengthened service standards and a
moratorium on plant closings.”
A judge at the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) yesterday
found T-Mobile U.S. guilty of engaging in nationwide labor law violations
against workers. The unprecedented ruling comes after a rare move last year by
the NLRB consolidating multiple complaints against T-Mobile U.S. for illegal
actions and policies in Albuquerque,
N.M.; Wichita, Kan.; Charleston, S.C.,
and New York City.
At issue were illegal corporate
nationwide policies that block workers from organizing or even talking to
each other about problems at work.
Workers throughout the T-Mobile U.S.
system were subjected to and effectively
silenced by these illegal policies; the
judge’s order to rescind them covers
40,000 workers.
Communications Workers of America
(CWA) President Larry Cohen said:
This decision exposes the deliberate
campaign by T-Mobile U.S. management to break the law systematically
and on a nationwide scale, blocking
workers from exercising their right to
organize and bargain collectively. This
behavior can only be changed by a
nationwide remedy to restore workers’
rights. Deutsche Telekom, the principal
owner of T-Mobile U.S., has claimed
that its U.S. subsidiary follows the
law. Now we have the official word:
T-Mobile U.S. is a lawbreaker. Bonn,
the headquarters of DT, no longer can
hide behind the false statements made
by T-Mobile U.S. executives. These
behaviors would be almost unimaginable in Germany or any other democracy
in the world.
The decision by NLRB Judge
Christine Dibble focused on T-Mobile
U.S.’s illegal employment policies and
restrictions that prohibited workers from
discussing wages with each other or
criticizing working conditions or seeking out assistance to blow the whistle on
unlawful behavior.
The decision finds that the corporate
policies “would chill employees in the
exercise of their…rights” or would be
construed “as restricting [an employee’s]
rights to engage in protected concerted
activities, including unionizing efforts.”
Judge Dibble found that T-Mobile
U.S.’s Wage and Hour Complaint
Procedure, for example, “tends to inhibit
employees from banding together.” She
writes that the corporate procedure’s
requirement that an employee notify
management of a wage issue first, “in
combination with the threat of discipline
for failing to adhere to the rule, would
‘reasonably tend to inhibit employees
from bringing wage-related complaints
to, and seeking redress from, entities
other than the Respondent, and restrains
the employees’…rights to engage in
concerted activities for collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.”
Carolina Figueroa, a T-Mobile U.S.
call center worker from Albuquerque,
said:
We are happy and relieved. We are
finally being heard. My co-workers
and I at T-Mobile U.S. will have the
right to speak out against unfair treatment and should not be muzzled or
retaliated against—and with today’s
decision, the company has to declare
this to all of its employees nationwide.
Holiday Gathering in Baltimore
UIW Representative Elizabeth Brown (seated at table second from right in the background), who also serves at SIU Port Agent, welcomed more than 20 guests to
the annual Christmas Party at the Union Hall in the Port of Baltimore. In addition to members of her staff and a host of merchant mariners from the SIU, guests
included Seafarers Entertainment and Allied Trades Union Rep. William Korte (seated at table to the right of Brown) and Shop Steward William Wright (standing far
right) from UIW-contracted AMG Resouces.