Thursday, July 28, 2005

GOP Pushes Through CAFTA

Republican leaders in the House dusted off their favorite trick of late night votes and last minute arm twisting to win passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

After the normal fifteen minute voting period ended, CAFTA was headed for defeat with 180 votes against, 175 in favor and dozens undeclared GOP leaders scoured the floor, making deals and pressuring lawmakers to switch their votes.

After keeping the vote open for 47 more minutes, GOP leaders squeaked out a narrow 217 to 215 final tally in favor of the disastrous trade deal.

The vote echoes a similar move in 2002 when House leaders held open the vote on Fast Track trade authority, which gave the Bush Administration the authority to negotiate trade deals like CAFTA.

They forced several GOP lawmakers to switch their vote and turned a defeat of Fast Track into a similar narrow victory.

“CAFTA is for multinational companies who want to make a profit by shutting plants in the United States and moving to places with cheap labor,” said Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich (D) as he condemned CAFTA during the House debate.

“President Bush and his free trade allies keep telling us these deals will create U.S. jobs, but where are they?” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.

“The President should visit our laid off Maytag workers in Galesburg, Illinois or our sugar workers in Florida and tell them face to face how great NAFTA and CAFTA are."

"How many jobs have to go overseas, how many communities destroyed, how many families devastated before Congress wakes up and stops these horrible trade deals?”

Only 15 out of 202 House Democrats voted for CAFTA while 205 out of 232 Republicans voted in favor. The Democrats who supported the legislation: Bean (IL), Cooper (TN), Cuellar (TX), Dicks (WA), Hinojosa (TX), Jefferson (LA), Matheson (UT), Meeks (NY), Moore (KS), Moran (VA), Ortiz (TX), Skelton (MO), Snyder (AR), Tanner (TN), Towns (NY).

Delegates Elect AFL-CIO Leadership Team

Wearing shirts and carrying banners that declared “One Strong Voice for Workers Rights,” nearly 1,000 cheering delegates at the AFL-CIO Convention in Chicago elected John Sweeney, Richard Trumka and Linda Chavez-Thomson to lead the labor federation for the next four years.

The delegates also reelected IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger, TCU President Bob Scardeletti and 41 others to serve as AFL-CIO Vice Presidents on the federation’s Executive Council. Click here to view the latest IAM video of the AFL-CIO Convention.

Sweeney called for union members to be prepared for an aggressive campaign to protect the labor movement from anyone who would do it or its members harm.

“Making things work for working people is what has always mattered to me, and none of us should ever forget what our movement is all about—winning rewards for work and respect for workers,” said Sweeney in his acceptance speech.

Delegates also passed several constitutional amendments and resolutions changing the structure of the federation’s governing bodies.

Delegates approved raising the per capita tax for each national and international union and organizing committee to 65 cents per member per month, up from 53 cents.

They also supported Convention action on Resolution 61, which establishes a special fund to provide emergency support to state and central labor bodies, to combat raids by disaffiliating unions and to assist trade and industrial departments.

Visit the special AFL-CIO website to view text and descriptions of all the resolutions and amendments passed at the federation’s constitutional convention.

Raytheon IAM Workers Fight for the Future

IAM workers at Raytheon Aircraft in Wichita and Salina, Kansas are fighting for their future – for a fair and just contract. After Raytheon’s demands of substandard health care, no raises and no pension increases, the IAM negotiating committee and the workers held a rally.

Rainy skies broke a sweltering heat wave, but the Machinists braved the wet weather to send Raytheon a message: "Don’t treat working families like second-class citizens."

The 4,200 Machinists of local lodges 733 and 2328 at Raytheon vote Saturday on the contract in Wichita and Salina.

“The rally worked,” said District Lodge 70 Directing Business Representative Steve Rooney. “After the rally, Raytheon returned to the table with the beginnings of a good contract.” IAM negotiators reached a tentative agreement early Thursday morning after an all-night bargaining session.

The contract is a three-year agreement, with wage increases of three percent each year, and pension increases of three dollars over the life of the agreement.

“Now it’s up to the members,” said Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge. “They’ll make the decision on their future.”

Southern Territory General Vice President Bob Martinez expressed support for the membership, saying “The Machinists want a fair and just contract, and they’ve proven their willingness to fight, if need be."

"They’ll have the full and complete support of the Southern Territory in their decision.”

Machinists Union Seeks Jobs Pledge From Maytag

The IAM called on Maytag’s board of directors to withhold approval of any sale that would result in the widespread loss of jobs or the transfer of the company’s manufacturing facilities to low wage locations in the U.S. or overseas.

“The nightmare of ruined families and destroyed communities in the name of boosting shareholder value must end,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger.

“We believe Maytag’s board can and should seek a commitment from any potential buyer to keep the company’s jobs and facilities in their present locations.”

Thousands of jobs were lost when Maytag closed its Galesburg, Illinois facility and moved production to Reynosa, Mexico. Analysts say thousands of additional jobs will be destroyed as the ripple effect of the closure continues to spread. The IAM represents nearly 4,000 workers at Maytag facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Ohio.

President’s Social Security Plan Losing Steam

After extensive road trips this Spring and a recent appearance with his mom, President Bush’s effort to dismantle Social Security is losing steam. His whistle-stop Social Security tour managed to decrease public support for private accounts and the reception in Congress isn’t much better.

GOP leaders in Congress are backing away from the President’s plan for private accounts. A new proposal, called the Growing Real Ownership for Workers Act of 2005 (H.R. 3304) was introduced by House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Jim McCreary (R-LA). Republican Senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina introduced a similar proposal in the Senate.

The plans call for using the current surplus in the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for a smaller version of private accounts.

The proposals mask some serious economic flaws, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Both assume large transfers of general revenues from the federal budget, more than $600 billion in the House version.

Other creative accounting gimmicks, such as off the books Treasury bonds, make Social Security look solvent but actually make federal budget problems worse. “Their design, structure and costs make little sense from a policy standpoint,” the study concludes.

And “they achieve solvency on paper without making any improvements in the long-term fiscal situation.”

GOP lawmakers had planned to have overhaul legislation by this summer, but now concede little will be done until the Fall at the earliest.

Send Wal-Mart Back To School

Back to school shopping has begun for most families, this year take the pledge to send Wal-Mart back to school.

Wal-Mart has a lot to learn. The conglomerate retailer has failed to provide for their employees and failed the communities they do business in.

When shopping for the children on your list, think of the $135,000 settlement Wal-Mart paid for child labor law violations. Consider Wal-Mart’s discrimination against women and the 1.6 million female employees that have been affected.

As families scrape by to provide new clothes and school supplies remember that Wal-Mart routinely forces communities to subsidize their employees’ health care and with their low wages, does little to help their own associates out of poverty.

Make a stand for the children you’re buying for, don’t shop at Wal-Mart for their back to school needs, sign the pledge and send Wal-Mart back to school.