Thursday, June 24, 2004 |
Cessna Workers Vote to Authorize StrikeIAM members of Local 774 in Wichita, KS voted by a 99 percent margin this week to authorize a strike at Cessna Aircraft if the company fails to make a satisfactory offer once contract negotiations begin on August 12, 2004. Local 774 represents nearly 4,300 Cessna workers who fabricate and assemble the company’s line of private and corporate aircraft. Workers cite rising health care costs, job security, wages and Cessna’s desire to outsource more work as key issues in the upcoming negotiations. The talks with Cessna are expected to have far-reaching implications. Additional negotiations between the IAM and with Kansas plane-makers Raytheon and Bombardier will take place in 2005 and 2006 respectively. “Solidarity will be a critical element in all of these negotiations,” said Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez, who pointed to the strong showing in this week’s strike vote as a great beginning. “We need every member’s help to protect the wages, benefits and working conditions that took generations to achieve.” Local 1725 Member Dies in Heroic Rescue According to police, Sandefur was walking along the beach with a group that included his minister’s children, ages 9 and 6, when all three were swept into deep water by what witnesses described as a rogue wave. The 36-year old utility worker at US Airways in Charlotte, NC successfully fought waves and currents to bring both children back to safety. At one point, Sandefur held one child over his head while urging the other to keep going toward the shore. Bystanders helped pulled the children the remaining yards to safety, but Sandefur never made it back. A search by police, lifeguards and the U.S. Coast Guard for Sandefur’s body was called off the following morning. Fellow union members had nothing but praise for their co-worker, who rarely took vacations and worked hard to support his family. “He was always talking about his little boy,” said Rich Buschel, editor of Local 1725 Victory News. “He worked so hard he once fell asleep at the wheel going home and wrecked his truck.” Kent Sandefur is survived by his wife and three sons, ages 5, 14 and 17. U-Haul Campaign Moves Forward Despite ObstaclesThe IAM is keeping its eye on the prize in the year-long campaign to win contracts for workers at U-Haul in Las Vegas and other locations. Despite numerous Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) charges filed by the IAM and favorable decisions from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), U-Haul management continues to harass, intimidate and discharge union supporters. The nation’s largest truck rental company recently hired a battery of attorneys in an effort to overturn NLRB rulings and further delay the representational process. A trial conducted by the NLRB is now in its sixth week. Meanwhile, U-Haul employees in Fremont, CA walked off the job last week after the company discharged two union supporters. A 70 percent majority of employees at the Fremont facility recently signed a petition calling for IAM representation. The campaign at U-Haul began last year after employees contacted the IAM regarding widespread sexual, religious and racial discrimination at U-Haul of Nevada. IAM Local Lodge 845 began collecting authorization cards and by March 7, 2003, over 70 percent of U-Haul employees in Nevada had signed a petition demanding union representation. Take a Walk; Make a DifferenceAFL-CIO union members will take to the streets on June 26 in the latest round of neighborhood walks aimed at increasing union voter turnout on Election Day. The walks are part of the AFL-CIO’s ‘Labor 2004’ campaign, aimed at mobilizing union households around key issues in the upcoming presidential election. Hundreds of volunteers will fan out across neighborhoods in 13 states, including: Arizona; Florida; Iowa; Minnesota; Missouri; New Mexico; Nevada; Ohio; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Washington; Wisconsin and West Virginia. In many cases, children and spouses will accompany the walkers as they visit union households with literature that describes the sharp differences between Senator John Kerry and President George Bush. IAM members are urged to take part in neighborhood walks by contacting the AFL-CIO coordinators here. Despite May’s modest job growth, thirty-five states still have fewer jobs than when the recession started in March 2001, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) Job Watch report. The numbers in some states are startling. North Carolina, for example, has 96,600 fewer jobs than it did when the recession started, while Pennsylvania has 97, 600 fewer jobs. The report goes on to show that since the recession began, job growth in 49 of the 50 states has failed to keep up with the growth of the working age population, explaining higher unemployment rates in 47 states. The report points out that the latest numbers indicate the Bush administration’s job growth projections from their tax cuts have fallen well short of expectations. According to the EPI, the national economy has come up over two million jobs short of projections, with only one state, Hawaii, ahead of projections. The report can be viewed here.
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