Local 192 Amalgamated Transit Union AFL-CIO-CLC

As you can see on the front page of today's Oakland Tribune, over 350 Woodfin workers, union members, faith leaders, and Emeryville residents flooded the streets of Emeryville demanding "Backwages Now!"

The community of support that has been built around the Woodfin workers' fight for dignity and fairness has never been larger, or stronger. And last night, you - as part of that community - made a bold and unforgettable statement to the Woodfin and to the Emeryville City Council: WE ARE HERE TO STAY! ¡Aqui estamos, y no nos vamos!

Last night, the Woodfin presented their same tired arguments to the Council until late into the night, such that the Council had to schedule a continuation of the hearing for Monday, December 1st at 7 PM.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Woodfin is trying to drag this conflict out as long as possible, in the apparent but useless hope that you will tire of the fight, give up, and go away. But the Woodfin is fueling their fight with money - a resource that they will eventually run out of. We, however, are fueling our fight with our unshakeable belief in the rights of all workers, something we will never run out of. We can fight one day longer than the Woodfin, and we will.

So, please join with us in saying that justice for Woodfin workers was not just something that we had written in our calendar for Nov. 17th. Justice is something that one day will be ours, one beautiful day, when Woodfin workers have checks in hand, not because it was quick, not because it was easy, but because we showed our children what it really means to struggle for fairness, for equality, and for the things we hold dear.

With one part of the hearing down and one to go, help send a message to Woodfin owner Samuel Hardage that we can stay in the fight one day longer than he can. Call Sam Hardage at (858)-794-2338 ext. 700. Here's an example of what you can say: "Hi Mr. Hardage, my name is _______. I am calling to urge you to finally pay your workers at the Woodfin Suites Hotel in Emeryville the nearly $200,000 in backwages that you owe them from 2006. I will stand by Woodfin workers however long it takes for them to receive their hard-earned money. However, it is my hope that you will take this opportunity to do what is right and just, pay workers their backwages by Christmas, and put all of this behind you."

Please mark your calendars for a gathering on Monday, December 1st at 6 PM at the EmeryvilleCity Hall before the last half of the hearing. More details soon.  

Thank you again and congratulations to everyone.

Just two days after working families helped bring change to America in a historic election, Governor Schwarzenegger responded with more of the same worker takeaway proposals we have been fighting for years. Withunemployment at a record-high and families struggling to keep their homes, Schwarzenegger says the way to "stimulate" the economy is to cut worker overtime pay and take away meal breaks.California workers cannot afford a pay cut and taking money out of our pockets does nothing to help the economy or fix the budget. 

Send a letter to legislative leaders today, and tell them that working families need real economic stimulus that creates jobs and repairs our safety net, not more of the same anti-worker agenda.

To send a letter, visit www.unionvoice.org/campaign/worker_takeaways

Election Update- State Legislative Races

Votes are still being counted in three of Labor’s target districts- Assembly District 10, Senate District 19 and Congressional District 4. The races are very close, and there are still thousands of vote-by-mail and provisional ballots left to be counted. Figures are being updated daily by the California Secretary of State.

For the latest results, visit http://vote.sos.ca.gov/close.html 

Woodfin Hotel Workers March and Rally For Back Wages

In an effort to avoid paying workers the back wages owed to them, management at the Woodfin Suites in Emeryville have spent the last year bullying workers through trials, hearings, firings, scare tactics and deportation threats.

On Monday, November 17th at 7 PM, the Emeryville City Council will hear the case of the Woodfin workers' back wages. Show your support for these workers at a march and rally from Woodfin Suites (5800 Shellmound in Emeryville) toEmeryville City Hall (1333 Park Ave in Emeryville). The march will begin at Woodfin Suites at 5pm; the rally will take place at City Hall at 7pm.

To learn more, visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1732/t/44/event/index.jsp?event_KEY=45879

CFA Files Unfair Labor Charge Over Unpaid Raises at CSU

On Monday, the California Faculty Association filed an unfair labor practice charge against the CSU. The charge argues that the CSU Chancellor reopened bargaining on the grounds that not enough money was available for raises, and then voluntarily reduced the pool from which those raises could be paid by $31.3 million dollars.

To view the charge, go to http://www.calfac.org/allpdf/bargaining/ULPfiling_111008.pdf

On Tuesday, the nation elected a champion of working families to be the next president of the United States. President-Elect Barack Obama has been entirely focused on working families throughout his campaign, and is dedicated to tax relief for the middle class, affordable health care for all, energy independence and a new economy that works for workers. Obama is also a sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, an important bill that would level the playing field for workers forming and joining unions. 

Learn where Obama stands on the issues at www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/obama.cfm

Working Californians Win Big at the Polls

Thanks to these volunteers, labor-endorsed candidates Joan Buchanan (AD 15), Marty Block (AD 78) and Manuel Perez (AD 80) will be replacing anti-worker legislators in the Assembly. Ballots are still being counted in key races -- SD 19  (Hannah Beth Jackson), AD 10 (Alyson Huber), and CD 4 (Charlie Brown). Keep an eye on our website for updates on these races.

In his latest economic proposal released this week, Governor Schwarzenegger is once again aiming to balance the budget by taking away workers’ rights. His new plan would roll back meal breaks and daily overtime, along with unemployment insurance benefits. The proposal would also take away two paid holidays and force workers to take an unpaid furlough every month.

“A real economic stimulus plan would bolster, not shrink, benefits for the unemployed. It would create jobs, not weaken the protections for those already in them,” said California Labor Federation’s Art Pulaski. “Schwarzenegger’s ill-conceived and ill-advised worker takeaway proposals would undercut the rights and economic security of working families.”

Workers Fight For Union Recognition at Santa Clara Hyatt

More than 60 hotel workers and community supporters marched in the rain last week at the Santa Clara Hyatt in their effort to gain union recognition with UNITE HERE Local 19. In addition to the Hyatt, the local is also negotiating contracts with six other hotels in the county affecting 1,000 workers and their families.

Monday, October 13, 2008

In Toledo, Ohio today, Senator Obama will deliver a major policy address to lay out his economic rescue plan for the middle class. Michelle Obama will campaign in Minnesota, starting in the Rochester-area this morning and continuing with a rally for the Change We Need late this afternoon in the Twin Cities. Mrs. Obama will speak with Minnesota voters about the clear choice they have in this election between change and more of the same. She'll discuss the everyday challenges that working families face as our economy weakens and talk about Barack Obama and Joe Biden's long records of standing up for women and families.  Senator Biden will travel to New Hampshire where he will host a community gathering in Rochester and an afternoon event in Manchester.
 
Economic Rescue Plan for the Middle Class
 
Obama continues to lead on the economic crisis with a rescue plan for Main Street.

• Over the course of the campaign, Barack Obama has laid out a set of policies that will grow our middle class and strengthen our economy.
• But he knows we face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action – on top of the plans he's already laid out – to help workers and families and communities struggling right now. 
• That's why Barack Obama is introducing a comprehensive four-part Rescue Plan for the Middle Class – to immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners. 
• Obama has shown steady leadership during this crisis and offered concrete solutions to move the country forward – and his Rescue Plan for the Middle Class builds on the plans to strengthen the economy and rebuild the middle class that he's laid out over the course of this campaign.

Obama's Economic Rescue Plan for the Middle Class will:

• Jumpstart job creation by providing by providing a new jobs tax credit, cutting taxes for small businesses, and rebuilding our roads and repairing our schools.
• Provide immediate relief to families with a new plan to allow them to withdraw up to $10,000 of their retirement funds without penalty. He has already announced that he'll give a tax cut to 95 percent of workers and their families.
• Provide relief to homeowners by putting a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and taking steps to keeping property taxes down.
• Stabilize our financial system by unlocking credit, helping states and locations obtain the loans they need, and helping small businesses get back on their feet.

Six weeks after the legal deadline to pass a state budget, we still don't have one in place, and now Governor Schwarzenegger is ready to take it out on state workers.

Schwarzenegger is expected to sign an Executive Order declaring that, as of Monday, nearly all state workers will have their wages reduced to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until the state gets a new budget. He's also planning to fire more than 20,000 seasonal and temporary employees.

Yesterday, hundreds of union representatives from across the state came together to determine Labor’s endorsements for U.S. House of Representatives, California State Senate and Assembly, and statewide ballot measures. A complete list of endorsements can be found below.

As the costs of gas, food, healthcare and housing continue to skyrocket, its up to us to elect leaders who understand the challenges working families are facing, and who are ready and able to make some serious and immediate changes. We need legislators who will protect our jobs, fix our broken healthcare system, improve our economic situation and enhance our rights at work, especially the right to form and join unions.

Private employers who receive $10,000 or more in state money take note -- the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a California law restricting employer free speech about unions. The law prohibited the use of state funds to either promote or deter unionization and required employers to produce detailed accounting showing state funds have not been used for prohibited purposes.

According to the Court, states may no longer restrict an employer's right to communicate with their employees about unionization. CalChamber issued an article covering this case, available on www.calchamber.com. Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Brown 2008 U.S. LEXIS 5033 (2008).

Not corporate CEOs. Too many of them have made sure to secure a golden parachute for themselves, while workers face soaring health care costs, foreclosures and an uncertain future.

The Employee Free Choice Act would help level the playing field and get our economy back on track. That’s why we’ve launched a huge campaign to get 1 million people to support this bill and tell Congress it’s time for change!

California Votes to Protect Rent Control
In Tuesday’s election, California voters shot down.

98, the deceptive initiative by wealthy landlords to abolish rent control under the guise of ‘eminent domain’ reform. Instead, voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 99, a common-sense measure that would reform eminent domain without undoing renters’ rights.

For all workers, home ownership is a cornerstone of economic security.  But the rise in predatory mortgage lending and the collapse in the housing market have left many working families in California on the brink of disaster.

After much foot dragging, President Bush has finally signed a bill to grant extended unemployment benefits for long term laid off workers.  With California’s unemployment rate now third highest in the nation, these benefits will help maintain the needed safety net for the 1.6 million laid off workers who have exhausted their unemployment claims.

A robust middle class.  Economic growth and shared prosperity.  The American Dream.  None are possible unless workers have the free choice to bargain for a better life—in their workplaces and in our nation.

Join us in June for a Labor 2008 neighborhood walk in your area

To find the location nearest you and sign up to attend, click here

Western Regional Summer Institute for Union Women
 
Victoria BC
July 9 – 13, 2008

The Western Regional Summer Institute for Union Women offers an intensive week of learning within a supportive environment in which union women can develop their skills as workers, activists and leaders.

Ask a Working Woman Survey 2008

The AFL-CIO and its community affiliate, Working America, want to know what it’s like to be a working woman in America this election year and the unique issues that women face in the workplace.

The survey results will be passed on to politicians, women’s rights and labor organizations who will use them to advocate for women across the country over the next two years.

If you’re a working woman, share your experience by taking the AFL-CIO and Working America’s Ask a Working Woman survey; or Send the survey to a working woman you know and make sure her voice is heard.

L.A. City Council Approves Landmark Construction Policy
On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined construction workers, activists and clergy to celebrate the passage of the historic “Construction Careers and Project Stabilization Policy,” by the Los Angeles City Council.

Several Committee members have asked for the candidate contact info handed out at the board meeting. Here’s an updated version.

Our candidate for School Board in Oakland District 1 is Jody London. Her opponent – the son of Dreyer’s Ice Cream, who taught for 1 year but said it was too tough, and is now the director of his family’s private foundation, which gives to anti-union think tanks and the Hoover Institute – received a widely distributed letter of support from former Mayor Jerry Brown this week.

Your members may not usually be interested in the School Board but all of us need to stand together against right-wing Republicans buying their way into Oakland offices.

Look for more info shortly, and please contribute to labor-endorsed candidates.

You can download the candidate information here.