Apr
2013 8
2013 8
VIDEO: San Diego IBEW Members Discuss Union-Owned, Union-Operated Affordable Housing
Tom Lemmon, Business Manager for the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council (SDBCTC), recently gave an interview in which he describes his experiences growing up in the National City Apartments. The apartment complex, now owned and operated by local unions, provides affordable, quality housing for low-to-moderate income families....
Apr
2013 4
2013 4
Longtime LiUNA! Member Is First Person to Announce Candidacy for Boston Mayor
The Mayor’s office in Boston isn’t exactly a bastion of high turnover. Since 1968, only three men have held the position — Kevin White from ’68-84, Raymond Flynn from ’84-93, and Thomas Menino from ’93 until the present. Now, with Menino opting not to run for a sixth term due to illness, all eyes are ...
Apr
2013 4
2013 4
NYC Fast Food Workers Stage Surprise Strike, Demand Wage Increases, Freedom to Unionize
Over 400 food workers at more than 50 fast food locations in New York City went on a surprise strike today demanding higher wages and the ability to unionize without retaliation. Wages of $15 an hour are being sought. This is the second action of its kind by fast food workers in the city but ...
Apr
2013 3
2013 3
200 People Protest NV Assemblyman’s Attempt to Undermine Prevailing Wages, Overtime Pay
Over 200 union workers stood outside the Nevada legislature in protest as the Nevada Assembly Government Affairs Committee debated a proposed law that would make drastic changes to the state’s prevailing wage standards. The bill, sponsored by Republican Assemblymen Pat Hickey, would change the threshold for prevailing wages to kick in from...
Apr
2013 1
2013 1
Launch of LaborMail Enables Crowd-Sourced, Union-Funded Labor Journalism
Prometheus Labor Communications has introduced LaborMail, a union-owned and operated email hosting service which dedicates 25 percent of its revenues (not it profits) to underwrite the work of labor journalists. Prometheus Labor Communications workers are members of UE Local 274 and its owner, Steve Dondley, is a member of OPEIU Local 6. The...
Apr
2013 1
2013 1
Michigan Building Trades, Nurses Protest Out-of-Town Hiring by Borgess Health
When Borgess Health announced that they would be building a new $26 million Ambulatory Care Facility last fall, local workers expected to fill a majority of the 500 construction jobs the project would create. But when construction began this year, tradesmen and women from the area found themselves on the outside of the job site ...
Mar
2013 21
2013 21
Construction Union Health and Pension Funds Taking Banks to Account for Mortgage Malevolence
The United States Supreme Court last week refused to hear an appeal by financial institution Goldman Sachs that sought to halt a class action settlement which alleges the company provided false and misleading information about mortgage backed securities it had underwritten. On Monday, after the news broke, Goldman Sachs saw its share drop 2...
Mar
2013 20
2013 20
In Illinois, Clergy Gather This Morning to Give Thanks for a Project Labor Agreement
This is a sweet story of the power of organized labor to bring opportunity — and joy — to a community in need. Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) typically include minority, female, and veteran hiring mandates. Thus, a new PLA entered into by the Illinois Department of Transportation is a source of hope for minority hiring ...
Mar
2013 19
2013 19
SF Symphony Strike Results in Cancelled Performances Up the Eastern Seaboard
With no new contract in sight, the San Francisco Symphony has upped the ante in their strike efforts and cancelled a highly publicized East Coast tour. The week-long strike has undone a string of performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Representatives...
Mar
2013 15
2013 15
Insulators Union Votes to Set Aside Four Cents for Every Hour Worked to Establish a Tissue Bank Which Will Aid in Mesothelioma Research
A new weapon in the International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators’ war against mesothelioma was introduced at their recent national convention when a vote was cast to set aside four cents for every hour of work to establish the Insulators Tissue Bank. Through work with Mt. Sinai Hospital, the fund will help provide optimal ...
Mar
2013 14
2013 14
MA Senate Candidate Lynch Refusing to Advertise on Station Locked in Labor Dispute with the IBEW
Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch, who is running in the Democratic primary for the open Senate seat left by Secretary of State John Kerry, has decided to refrain from advertising on ABC affiliate WCVB-TV due to an ongoing labor dispute between the station and members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). The former...
Mar
2013 6
2013 6
Natural Gas Boom Brings Thousands of Jobs to Ohio, but Ohioans Aren’t Getting Them…
The opening of the Marcellus and Utica Shale for natural gas drilling has brought a wave of business to Ohio that was expected to create jobs for local residents. While some Ohioans have found work in this booming industry many have simply seen the jobs they are qualified for go to out of state workers. ...
