PEB Recommends Wage Hike at UAL
Recommendations submitted by the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) investigating the contract dispute at United Airlines include substantial pay raises and pension improvements for 15,000 mechanic and related employees represented by the IAM.

"The board looked at the facts and saw a company paying its employees at 1994 levels," said Robert Roach, Jr., IAM Vice President of Transportation. "They examined prevailing wage rates across the industry and saw an unfair advantage for United Airlines in the area of labor costs." 

President Bush appointed the PEB on December 20, 2001, two years after negotiations between United and the IAM began. The board was given 30 days to investigate the contract dispute and make non-binding settlement recommendations. 

"The board's report contains significant improvements over United's 'no increases' proposal," said Scotty Ford, District 141-M president and lead negotiator for the mechanic's group at United. "We will review the report carefully, and hopefully it can serve as the basis for a settlement."  

Report from the Presidential Emergency Board:
http://www.iamaw.org/publications/pdfs/peb236report_final_.pdf

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Working Families Honor King
Hundreds of union members and civil rights activists honored the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with four days of political action, community service and rallies in Miami. Executive Assistant Diane Babineaux headed an IAM delegation to the annual event.

The delegates held seminars and workshops to discuss election reform, voting rights, voter education, immigrant worker rights and voter mobilization The celebration is held each year in a city that symbolizes King's struggle for justice and equality for all people. Miami was picked for this year's celebration to highlight King's campaign for voting rights for blacks and other citizens.

"We brought the celebration to Florida this year to commemorate the one-year anniversary when tens of thousands of disenfranchised Floridians marched to the state capitol to ensure that what happened in the 2000 elections will never happen again and to make sure that their votes will be counted in future elections," said Richard Womack, the AFL-CIO Civil and Human Rights director.

Workers Target World Economic Forum
An elite group of international business leaders and political leaders gathered to discuss key issues on the global agenda may get an earful from union leaders and working families when they meet in New York City later this month. Workers will tell them how the global economy and the race to the bottom for cheap labor affects their lives and their communities.

The 2002 World Economic Forum's annual meeting usually meets at the ski resort of Davos, Switzerland, but was switched to NYC this year. It is expected to be met by protests, teach-ins and other events sponsored by workers, environmentalists, students, people of faith and others fighting the excesses of corporate power.

IP Tom Buffenbarger joins AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and other union leaders from the U.S. and around the globe who have been invited to attend the Forum. Union participation has been rigidly limited in the past.

Unfair Trade Policies Ravage Steel Industry
As many as 600,000 Steelworker retirees, their surviving spouses and dependents may lose healthcare benefits as predatory trade practices devastate the once-booming steel industry. The recent bankruptcy of LTV Corp., one of the nation's larger steel producers, means that 20% of the nation's steel-making capacity has been lost in slightly more than a year.

The International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent, bipartisan panel, found that the steel industry has been seriously damaged by unfair trade practices. Additionally, the ITC urged President Bush to impose stiff tariffs on a wide range of imported steel products.

"More must be done," declared IP Tom Buffenbarger. "Our brothers and sisters need our help to save their retiree healthcare and other benefits." The Steelworkers Union has urged the White House and Congress to level the playing field in global trade by passing legislation that protects LTV retiree healthcare benefits.