May
2013 21
2013 21
CT Sen. Blumenthal Urges OMB to Move Forward With Silica Dust Regulation
New regulations surrounding dangerous silica dust have been swirling in a bureaucratic black hole for years. Now, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal is asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to move forward in the name of workers and families. The AFL-CIO and its affiliate unions have long urged President Obama to move forward with ...
May
2013 20
2013 20
OR Forestalls Nike Founder, Moves to Expand Prevailing Wages to Privately Funded College Projects
A bill requiring prevailing wages on all projects built on Oregon college campuses passed the state senate last week. House Bill 2646 flew through the House in a 27-2 landslide despite attempts from Nike founder and University of Oregon donor Phil Knight to have the bill pulled. State prevailing wage laws already cover publicly ...
May
2013 17
2013 17
Building Trades Join Union Protest Over Sale of Tribune Co. Newspapers to the Koch Brothers
The potential sale of the Los Angeles Times (LAT) to the Koch Brothers’ empire has sparked outrage from a wide array of onlookers with the newspaper’s employees apparently leading the charge. Both right-leaning Hot Air and the Washington Post write that at a recent in-house awards ceremony, LAT columnist Steve Lopez asked his fellow...
May
2013 15
2013 15
KC Southern Railway Bucks Bargaining, Unilaterally Installs Surveillance Cameras in Trains
Claiming “management perrogative,” officials from the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) have announced that they will install inward facing cameras on all of their locomotives in the upcoming weeks. As this represents a signal of distrust and managerial overreach, worker representatives are not pleased. In a meeting with the...
May
2013 10
2013 10
Colorado Gov. Snubs Business Lobbies, Signs Worker-Supportive Discrimination Bill
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has built his political career on being a universally likable character. In a complicated political state, “Hick” went from brewpub owner to Denver mayoral candidate and from popular Denver Mayor to Governor of Colorado. In the eyes of Republicans, however, his reputational ubiquity has wilted...
May
2013 10
2013 10
AFL-CIO: Based on Current Staffing, OSHA Would Need 131 Years to Inspect Every Workplace
The AFL-CIO has released its annual “Death on the Job” report which indicates that while the workplace is getting safer overall much progress must be made to prevent deaths and occupational illnesses in the future. It is the 22nd year that the report has been released. At the heart of the issue is the Occupational ...
May
2013 8
2013 8
REPORT: 2,230 Structurally Deficient Bridges in Ohio Alone
Records obtained by the Dayton Daily News reveal that Ohio is home to 2,230 bridges that have been deemed structurally deficient. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, government agencies are not properly funded to keep up with the repairs. Montgomery County Engineer Paul Gruner says continued repair and restoration delays only raise...
May
2013 7
2013 7
Canadian Prime Minister Responds to Outcry, Reinstates Prevailing Wages for Guest Workers
Following the controversy sparked by the RBC-iGate affair in which the Royal Bank of Canada was replacing Canadian IT workers with foreign counterparts in order to lower labor costs, the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced changes to the country’s temporary foreign labor program. The changes, made under...
May
2013 3
2013 3
Baseball Phenom Bryce Harper Credits Union Ironworker Father With His Limitless Work Ethic
Nurture versus Nature. It is the age-old philosophical question of human development that has been asked of countless people who display out of the ordinary physical ability, moral positions or social proclivities. Were you born that way? Or were you taught to be that way? Any baseball fan who has had the pleasure of watching ...
Apr
2013 29
2013 29
Why Is the National Country Club Lobby Worried About H-2B Visas?
When you picture all of the employers who might need a temporary, foreign worker with a visa such as H-2B, who comes to mind? A large employer with so many vacancies that they can’t secure enough American workers, right? After all, these visas are supposed to be reserved for employers who can prove that there ...
Apr
2013 29
2013 29
MD Casino Not Only Being Built Under PLA, Will Employ Unionized Workers in Permanent Jobs
Nearly a month after the announcement that the new Horseshoe Casino in Maryland would be built under a worker-friendly Project Labor Agreement (PLA), cause for celebratation doubled down with the announcement that a deal brokered by UNITE HERE to unionize jobs at the casino is nearing completion. The $375 million dollar casino, which will be ...
Apr
2013 19
2013 19
AFT Report Highlights Hedge Fund Managers Who Secretely Work to Undermine Pensions
A new report from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) lists 34 executives at hedge funds and investment firms who help make contributions to or are leaders of organizations with a negative view on traditional pensions. In naming these executives the union is hoping to persuade other unions to stop investing the flow of pension ...
