Tuesday June 1, 2004 |
Machinists at BIW Ratify New Contract “GLR Dale Hartford and the negotiating team did an exceptional job on this agreement,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “It shows in the ratification results.”
CAFTA Signing Condemned by Unions The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) faces an uncertain fate in Congress. The proposed legislation eliminates tariffs on products from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatamala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Tariffs would also be phased out on nearly all U.S. farm products, including beef, poultry, fruits and vegetables. The U.S. sugar industry and thousands of agricultural and refinery workers in Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota and North Dakota are particularly vulnerable to increased sugar exports. “CAFTA threatens to do to the U.S. sugar industry what NAFTA did to our textile and manufacturing industries,” said IP Buffenbarger. “The cost will be measured in lost jobs, lower wages and less opportunity for workers, their families and communities.” The White House has 60 days to send the legislation to Congress, which then has 90 days to consider it. Thanks to the so-called Fast Track trade bill passed last year, members of Congress can only cast a “yes” or “no” vote on such trade deals. No amendments can be added.
A Nation Worth Fighting For The site of the seven-acre memorial became an emotional epicenter of reunion and remembrance for the estimated 100,000 veterans who attended the event. Many wore the medals, ribbons and uniforms that bore witness to heroic service and sacrifice in the conflict that cost more than 400, 000 American lives and 60 million lives worldwide. The veterans, who came from across the U.S., were welcomed, escorted and watched over by an army of police and medical personnel. Of the 16.4 million Americans who served between 1939 and 1945, fewer than 5 million are still alive. Age, injury and illness are shrinking their ranks at a rate of 1,100 per day. The oval-shaped memorial is located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The site includes a reflecting pool and fifty-six 17-foot high pillars bearing the name of each U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia. The pillars are linked by massive bronze ropes and hung with sculpted bronze wreaths symbolizing the nation’s industrial might.
Gladstein Named to ERISA Advisory Council
Gore Assails Bush Record “George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility,” said Gore in a fiery speech http://www.moveonpac.org/goreremarks052604.html delivered Friday at New York University. “Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world. We simply cannot afford to further increase the risk to our country with more blunders by this team.” ‘Fair Trade’ Champion Set to Retire In the late 1990’s when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was touted to be the savior of the free world, Sen. Hollings was often a lone voice of caution, warning that workers and communities under NAFTA would suffer. While Senator Hollings’ ideals are becoming mainstream, he fears something much worse unless something is done. “We’re bleeding manufacturing jobs, the plants are leaving and we’re racking up a trade deficit,” said Sen. Hollings in a June 1, New York Times interview. “I’m warning you that the world power that loses its manufacturing capacity no longer is a world power.” |