Tuesday, April 08, 2008 Bush Flogs Trade Pact With ColumbiaIgnoring a blood-soaked record of human rights violations that includes murder, kidnapping and torture of trade union leaders, President George Bush is urging Congress to approve a free trade agreement with Columbia, calling it essential to America’s national security interests. The bid by the Bush administration to secure yet another free trade deal was immediately attacked by lawmakers, labor leaders and human rights activists across the hemisphere. “The IAM strongly opposes the U.S. Columbia Free Trade Act (FTA) and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure its defeat,” declared IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “Forcing consideration of this NAFTA-style trade agreement is especially outrageous given the hundreds of murders that have been committed against trade unionists over the past few years. Moreover, this trade deal comes at a time when record numbers of U.S. workers are losing their jobs as more and more corporations relocate outside our country.” The chances for the legislation to win Congressional approval appear slim, with Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME), co-founder of the House Trade Working Group, declaring the Columbia FTA dead on arrival. “If the Bush administration really believes this agreement is vital to national security interests, it would not send it to certain defeat,” said Michaud. “They would work with Democrats to stop labor leader assassinations and address forced displacement and murder of Afro-Columbians.” Two Thumbs Up for New IAM VideosWilliam W. Winpisinger Center Director Chris Wagoner plays a stubborn management representative in a simulated negotiation session with IAM members of Alabama Local 2003. Two of the IAM’s most important issues are featured in a pair of Machinists News Network (MNN) videos debuting this week on http://www.goiam.org/. In ‘ Tankers Today, Fighters Tomorrow? ,’ (http://www.goiam.org/content.cfm?cID=12737) Headquarters GVP Rich Michalski speaks to the annual convention of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in Philadelphia and hammers home the case for reversing the decision to award a $40 billion tanker contract to Airbus instead of Boeing. “This isn’t just a union issue,” declared Michalski, who criticized the government’s bidding process for never evaluating the long-term employment impact of outsourcing a multi-billion dollar defense contract. Michalski also urged delegates at the convention to contact lawmakers and demand hearings on the tanker contract. In ‘ A 'Not So Mock' Negotiations ,’ (http://www.goiam.org/content.cfm?cID=12734) the bargaining committee from Local 2003 in Daleville, AL, travels to the IAM’s education facility in Southern Maryland for a week of training that included simulated bargaining sessions and mock confrontations with management representatives. “This kind of training takes it from the white tower theory to real application,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Frank Santos, a seasoned veteran of multiple negotiations who helped guide the mock bargaining sessions. “It’s important for committees to understand what goes on in negotiations, especially if they’ve never been in one. This also helps bond committees.” In less than three weeks, the novice and veteran members on the Local 2003 committee will be negotiating for real on behalf of 3,100 IAM members employed by Army Fleet Service (AFS), a division of L3 Communications at Ft. Rucker. The training provided new committee members with a taste for the stress, the frustration and the rewards of real negotiations. “From my negotiating experience, this (training) is as close as you’re going to get to sitting across the table and speaking to the CEO’s,” said District 75 Business Rep. Tony Blevins. IAM Mechanics Approve US Airways PactThe IAM announced ratification of a collective bargaining agreement reached last month covering 3,300 Mechanic & Related employees at US Airways. Highlights of the agreement include base wage and license premium increases, improved overtime rates, new shift premiums and participation in the IAM National Pension Plan, a secure multi-employer pension plan. “District Lodge 142 and the negotiating committee performed an excellent job under the most difficult of circumstances,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “I thank the members for their full support. Without them, this agreement would not have been possible.” The agreement, which will be effective through December 31, 2011, was ratified by 65 percent of the voting membership. “Our members have approved an agreement that provides higher wages, a sound pension and enhanced job security,” said District 142 President Tom Higginbotham. “This agreement allows all US Airways Mechanic & Related employees to work under a single agreement for the first time since the America West merger.” Milwaukee Members Ratify Harley-Davidson Contract
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