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Postal Unions, Associations & Labor News Archives

Jan-Feb. 2004 Labor News

Labor News Archives -March, April, May

May 18, 2004-Labor Media May Be Our Best Hope Against the Corporate Version-There is a growing consensus in the United States that mainstream commercial media are by and large not mainstream at all but instead are supportive of the corporate agenda. Of course, the largest media companies (which provide most Americans' news) and their large advertisers are themselves mammoth corporations. In addition to promoting policies that advance corporate interests, our major media often appear to place profits ahead of investing in in-depth quality journalism. But there is a sleeping giant among these alternatives, one that was a major force in our country in the past - and which could be so again. Some of its overseas counterparts already have demonstrated their power as opinion shapers. This giant has its own potentially enormous supply of funding - one that comes without corporate ties attached. And it is uniquely positioned to shift our habits of media consumption and participation. I'm talking about the labor media. I don't mean the handful of remaining labor reporters at daily newspapers or their talented but equally limited counterparts in the progressive magazines. I mean the actual or potential newspapers, magazines, radio shows, TV shows and websites produced by the thousands of labor unions in this country, the 64 international unions the central labor councils, regional labor press associations, state federations of labor, the AFL-CIO and the ILCA (International Labor Communications Association), as well as numerous independent outlets that focus on labor and workers' issues from workers' points of view. The labor media are "member-supported" entities with an unmatched membership base, but they need more support from union members and leaders if they are ever to realize their full potential.

May 18, 2004-House blocks overtime vote sought by Democrats -For the second time in a week, House Republicans have blocked a Democratic attempt to force an election-year vote on the Bush administration's new overtime pay rules. Tuesday's vote, 216-199, barred an effort by Democratic Rep. George Miller of California to get a vote on the new rules, which take effect in August. Miller's provision would require the Labor Department to retain the eligibility of all workers who currently qualify for overtime pay. The House had also rebuffed Miller's effort last week. The GOP-controlled Senate approved a similar measure earlier this month. Had Miller succeeded in the House, the overtime vote would have been largely symbolic, and would not have changed the new regulations. But it would have forced members of Congress to take a stand in an election year on a pocketbook issue important to many voters and labor unions, a key Democratic constituency.

May 17, 2004-Government Borrowing from Your Social Security-"Each week, through FICA contributions from their paychecks, millions of Americans contribute to the Social Security trust funds, the federal 'nest egg' that provides for their future benefits. Under the budget proposed by the Bush Administration, the government is expected to borrow over $2 trillion from these Social Security trust funds to pay for government spending over the next ten years. Moreover, Administration officials and Republican congressional leaders have called the trust funds "a mere accounting device"1 from which employees will get "nothing in return"2 - indicating that the federal government does not plan to honor its commitment to paying back what it has borrowed from Social Security." This calculator "shows how much of the money you pay into the Social Security program will be borrowed over the next ten years to pay for government spending. If the federal government does not repay the trust funds, as Republican leaders have suggested, none of this amount will be available to pay for your Social Security benefits."

May 17, 2004- Supreme Court: States Can Be Sued Under Disability Law-The Supreme Court upheld the rights of disabled people under a national law meant to protect them, ruling Monday that a paraplegic who crawled up the steps of a small-town Tennessee courthouse can sue over the lack of an elevator. The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act properly gives private citizens such as George Lane the right to seek money in court if a state fails to live up to the law's requirements, a 5-to-4 majority ruled.

May 17, 2004-U.S. Labor Department Issues Report on Emergency Preparedness for Federal Workers with Disabilities-The U.S. Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) today released a report that gives federal officials and workers key advice and comprehensive recommendations on ensuring a safe and secure environment for the more than 120,000 employees with disabilities who work in buildings, regional offices or field locations owned or leased by the federal government. The 80-page report, Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities: An Interagency Seminar of Exchange for Federal Managers, concludes that communicating with employees is paramount to developing, implementing and maintaining emergency plans that address the unique needs of employees with disabilities. It urges senior-level management "buy-in" and a total budget and personnel commitment by each agency. It recommends agencies build flexibility into their plans for evacuating and assisting people with disabilities by instituting backup emergency support plans. Finally, the report directs agencies to rigorously practice the plan with all employees so that they may become familiar with it and allow managers to evaluate the plan's strengths and weaknesses and make improvements.

May 17, 2004-NARFE Urges Aging Committee To Reject EEOC Rule To Allow Retiree Health Plan Discrimination -Speaking on behalf of NARFE's nearly 400,000 members and 2.3 million federal annuitants, Fallis said: "EEOC's ruling will permit employers to dishonor promises made to their workers and retirees by allowing them to alter, reduce, or even eliminate the earned health benefits of anyone age 65 or older. We find the timing of this decision particularly troublesome as employers consider whether retiree prescription drug benefits should be cut or replaced by the inferior Medicare drug program that will begin in 2006." The Congressional Budget Office estimated that one-third of retired workers with employer-sponsored benefits could lose their current drug coverage in response to the new Medicare drug benefit. "EEOC's action will only make it easier for employers to cast off retiree drug benefits," Fallis added.

May 15, 2004-Announcement: Concerned Postal Workers website launched-"For the past few months, a group of your Brothers and Sisters has been meeting to devise a plan to get our voices heard on saving Universal Service for Americans, and saving our jobs in the process. At our most recent meeting, Local 300 of the NPMHU came on board. This was very encouraging. We have just launched our web site. I apologize for the many "characters" involved. You can find the Concerned Postal Workers web site at: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze835wq/concernedpostalworkers/ Please make a note of it, visit it, link to it, and plan to participate in our planned event at the end of August. T-shirt design should be finalized at our next meeting. And, hopefully, the Letter Carriers will join us also. You may e-mail me with any questions. Hope I can answer them. The time for hand-wringing is over. It is time for our leaders to lead." In solidarity, Martin Johns Concerned Postal Worker
Red Bank Local (APWU) (source: 21st Century Postal Worker)

May 15, 2004-Outsourcing: the exporting of America-Yes, the very ones exporting America are the ones who claim to be the most patriotic! They wave the flag and demand the pledge stay intact, yet they don’t give a flying flip about Americans or the nation’s future. Millions of jobs have now vanished to sweatshops overseas. In addition, hundreds of companies have relocated their corporate headquarters in offshore countries (actually just mailboxes) so they can evade taxes while sponging off America. And they call themselves “patriots.” Benedict Arnold companies are what they are.

May 15, 2004-Not Labor News but this is an interesting news release- Rumsfeld reportedly approved Iraq interrogation plan- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved a plan that brought unconventional interrogation methods to Iraq to gain intelligence about the growing insurgency, ultimately leading to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, the New Yorker magazine has reported. The article hits newsstands on Monday.

May 15, 2004-'The last man standing'-78 yr. old Mail carrier honored for 58 years with USPS and has no plans to stop now Rudy Tempesta joined the Postal Service right after serving in World War II. He also served as president of the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers union for 34 years. So far as he can determine, he is the oldest active mail carrier in the nation. At a ceremony in Charlotte last week, Tempesta was one of 24 carriers the Postal Service honored for having at least 50 years of service. Tempesta is also a single father of 3 teenagers.

May 14, 2004-Police union rejects Bush, backs Kerry-Presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry on Friday collected the endorsement of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, a police union that backed President Bush in the 2000 election. "After three and a half years of disappointing leadership under George Bush, we need to change course in November and elect a president with a real record of supporting police officers and a lifetime of standing with law enforcement," IBPO President David Holway said in a statement provided by the Kerry campaign.

May 12, 2004-House panel backs union-supported changes in competitive sourcing -A House panel on Wednesday passed a union-backed legislative proposal that requires sweeping changes to the Defense Department's competitive sourcing program

May 11, 2004-AFL-CIO Accepts Chinese Vice Premier’s Invitation to Visit China- AFL-CIO accepted the invitation of China’s Vice Premier Wu Yi to travel to China to investigate Chinese working conditions. The Vice Premier extended the invitation during trade talks with the Bush Administration here in April.

May 9, 2004-Unions step up effort to oust Bush from office-Although down to a rock-bottom low of representing just 8 percent of American private-sector workers, organized labor is poised to flex considerable muscle in the presidential race, political experts say. Fueled by their loathing of President George Bush, unions are running television ads, knocking on voters' doors and spending tens of million of dollars in a sweeping effort to propel presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry into the White House. "Unions will play a major role in this election," United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger vowed in a speech last week to a group of Booth Newspapers editors and publishers in Lansing. "It'll be a down-to-the-wire campaign."

May 6, 2004-Split decision issued in Wal-Mart dispute-In rulings highlighting the United Food and Commercial Workers Union's campaign to organize Wal-Mart workers, an administrative law judge has upheld the firing of a Las Vegas Wal-Mart employee -- while also citing the company for violating workers' organizing rights. Larry Allen, a former produce sales clerk and union organizer at the East Serene and Eastern avenues store in Las Vegas, was terminated in August 2002. National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge Lana Parke ruled that his termination was lawful due to the fact that Allen repeatedly violated the company's no-solicitation policy by passing out union literature on company property. Union leaders plan to appeal the decision to the NLRB in Washington D.C. Parke also ruled that Wal-Mart managers violated the National Labor Relations Act by "impliedly telling employees to destroy or disregard union literature and taking union literature away from employees" at the Marks Street store in Henderson.

May 5, 2004-Senate takes first step to block Bush overtime regulations-The U.S. Senate handed President George Bush a stinging defeat Tuesday when it approved an overtime pay guarantee for workers who stand to lose their overtime pay under new rules issued last month by the Bush administration. The 52–47 vote on an amendment by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, came after nearly two weeks of an intense Bush administration spin operation that tried to paint the new provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as an expansion of overtime eligibility that would not cost workers their overtime pay rights. “Working families are fed up with the administration’s schemes and spin. They have a simple request: ‘Give us an iron-clad guarantee that our overtime rights are safe,’” Harkin said before the vote. “If Mr. Bush and his Department of Labor are sincere in their stated desire to preserve overtime, they can prove it by supporting my amendment to guarantee that workers who are entitled to overtime pay under the old rules will not lose that right under the new rules.”

May 4, 2004-NPMHU Activists Target Postal Reform-the Postal Service continues to work behind the scenes to encourage Members of Congress to adopt legislative proposals that would have an adverse effect on the postal workforce and on collective bargaining

May 3, 2004-Young: 'Next 8 Months Crucial For Carriers, USPS and Labor' -NALC President William H. Young told Ohio letter carrier legislative activists April 29 that the next 6 to 8 months will be a very determining period for the future of letter carriers, the U.S. Postal Service and organized labor. Addressing the annual Ohio congressional breakfast in Washington, Young picked up on comments a few moments earlier by longtime NALC friend Rep. Ted Strickland, D-OH, who said these are "very important days ... in the history of our nation." Strickland struck a partisan tone, warning against reelection of President Bush, saying the administration wants to take the country back to pre-FDR days. Young, however, emphasized that the NALC and letter carriers have a bipartisan approach and that such a policy is necessary to attain the union's legislative goals.

May 3, 2004-NALC and the Postal Service have published a new 2004 update to their Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM). The 2004 revision includes important new areas of agreement between the national parties concerning the meaning and interpretation of the National Agreement. The new JCAM also incorporates recent national arbitration awards and agreements reached by the parties at the national level since the last revision (you may need to update your Adobe® Reader® to version 6.0 for the JCAM .pdf to work properly. Click to open PDF

May 3, 2004-Labor sets GOP week jobs rally -The largest union coalition in the city is planning a major protest during this summer's Republican National Convention - one of several demonstrations in the works. New York's Central Labor Council, an umbrella group with 1.2 million members, said yesterday it is planning a "Good Jobs, Strong Communities" rally on Sept. 1 to protest President Bush's labor policies.

May 2, 2004-Outsource CEOs, not Workers -American companies are busily outsourcing workers when they should be insourcing CEOs from other countries. U.S. CEOs are way too expensive. U.S. CEOs make 23 times as much as CEOs in mainland China, 10 times as much as CEOs in India and 9 times as much as CEOs in Taiwan, according to the latest Towers Perrin worldwide survey. European and Japanese CEOs run many of the world's leading companies for a lot less pay than Americans. U.S. CEOs make five times as much as CEOs in Japan, four times as much as CEOs in Spain, three times as much as CEOs in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the Netherlands, and twice as much as CEOs in Germany and Switzerland. U.S. CEOs have put American factory workers, computer programmers and engineers in a race to the bottom with workers around the world while keeping themselves in a rigged race to the top. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If it makes sense to increase profits by outsourcing skilled labor, let’s save big money by outsourcing the most uncompetitive worker in the U.S. corporate hierarchy: the CEO.

April 29, 2004-Bush Rejects Labor's Call to Punish China-With unusual fanfare, the Bush administration rejected on Wednesday an American labor organization's demand that China be punished for gaining trade advantages by violating the rights of workers. The A.F.L.-C.I.O. petition said China violated the rights of its workers by suppressing strikes, banning independent trade unions and not enforcing minimum wage laws

April 28, 2004-OVERTIME argument prompts Labor Dept. to create new enforcement -The Labor Department, facing political heat over new overtime pay rules, is creating a new enforcement task force it says will focus on protecting workers' eligibility rights. DOL's FairPay Overtime Initiative

April 26, 2004-Outsource The House (and Senate)! Members of Congress who are crazy about privatizing federal functions should lead the way. Get rid of the U.S. Capitol Police (whose highly trained, discrete members have seen Senators and Representatives in some very interesting positions), and replace it with a much-less expensive rent-a-cop outfit. They could be paid less and the illegal aliens and convicted felons they would be likely to hire don't quarrel about things like salary and overtime. (Mike Causey FederalNewsRadio)

April 25, 2004- DOL cites USPS court case and Memo to define exempt employees under New overtime rules DOL publishes 154 page outline of new overtime regulations in Federal Register-The Department has taken the position that pilots are not exempt professionals. We have maintained that aviation is not a ``field of science or learning,'' and that the knowledge required to be a pilot is not ``customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.'' See Wage and Hour Opinion Letter dated January 20, 1975; In re U.S. Postal Service ANET and WNET Contracts, 2000 WL 1100166, at *7 (DOL Admin. Rev. Bd.). All of the occupations included in this group have less than 150 workers who could become exempt such as supervisory Secretaries and Mail Carriers for the Postal Service Dymond v. United States Postal Service, 670 F.2d 93 (8th Cir. 1982) (finding postal inspectors exempt even though some of their duties required them to follow a field manual that contained detailed procedures and standards). However, federal workers in Postal Offices , the Tennessee Valley Authority and in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia), and the Library of Congress in the Washington D.C. MSA) were included in the analysis, as they are covered by final rule.

April 25, 2004-Memphis Police Dep't conspired with Trucking Company and security firm to deprive APWU of constitutional and NLRA rights - On December 19, 2001, Memphis, Tennessee Area Local 96 filed a complaint against the City of Memphis , H. B. Phillips, Inc. , and Pro-Tech Security, Inc. in US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The Union alleges that a deprivation of the Union’s rights under the National Labor Relations Act and the U.S. Constitution, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, arose during the course of the Union’s strike at Phillips. The Union alleges that during the strike, Phillips and Pro-Tech, through on-duty and off-duty officers of the Memphis Police Dept. , attempted to “interfere with, deter, and intimidate” the Union, and directed MPD officers to “threaten to engage in and engage in force, violence, harassment and the unequal enforcement of the law.” The Union further alleges , “on-duty MPD police officers continuously conferred with agents of Phillips and Pro-Tech before confronting members of the Union and their sympathizers on the picket line.” The judge dismissed the case but on Union's appeal the decision was reverse and remanded.

April 25, 2004-Union and Community Members Call on Pennsylvania and National Leaders to Prioritize Good, Safe Jobs at Worker's Memorial Day Service -Local hotel workers, transportation workers, factory workers, postal workers, nurses and Richard Trumka, Secretary Treasurer of National AFL-CIO, will join firefighters, city workers, telephone operators, other local workers and Bill George, President, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, to mourn for those who were injured or killed on the job in the past year and to commit to escalating the fight for safer jobs. The event is part of Worker's Memorial Day, held annually on April 28

April 24, 2004-Study: Workers should stay home when sick-American workers should stop trying to be heroes and just stay home when they're sick — it could be cheaper for their employers, according to a study. Workers who come in sick cost their employers an average of $255 each per year, according to Cornell University labor researchers. Sick employees have difficulty concentrating, work more slowly and have to repeat tasks, bogging down productivity, according to the study. (They also get their co-workers sick, but those costs were not counted in the study.)

April 24, 2004-Labor unions endorse EEOC change to benefits law -Labor unions are joining employer groups in support of a new rule that would let companies reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted 3-1 along party lines Thursday to approve the rule, which is subject to further review before it becomes final. It's a politically potent issue this year that is stirring a large and powerful voting bloc and is boxing in lawmakers friendly to labor. Before it becomes final, the proposed rule must go through further review by federal agencies and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

April 24, 2004-FedEx, United Parcel, Other Cargo Pilots May Carry Guns May 1-Thousands of U.S. passenger airline pilots are carrying government-issued .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols in locked cases into cockpits under a voluntary program that began in April 2003. The agency has declined to disclose how many pilots participate, citing security concerns.

April 21, 2004-New overtime rules for federal workers remain unclear -Federal employees will not be immediately affected by the Labor Department's plan to revise overtime pay regulations, an official at OPM said Wednesday. OPM and union officials said, however, that the ultimate impact of the overhaul is still unclear.

- Democrats Challenge Bush Overtime Overhaul -The regulations will not apply to workers covered by labor contracts. Still, union officials said they feared the changes would strengthen the hand of companies in future bargaining. Critics say the department is actually deciding those jobs are exempt.

April 20, 2004- A Rank and File Perspective on the New Unity Partnership The political, economic and social pressures exerted on organized labor and working people are massive. The growing union vs. non-union gap serves to increase pressures on our respective unions by both employers and government. Given the circumstances it would be difficult for anyone in the labor movement to find fault with the premise that the answer to the myriad of problems lies in building stronger unions by pursuing a more aggressive organizing effort. Labor organizations are mass membership organizations, not corporations. While some corporate behaviors and techniques are practiced by unions in the normal order of "businesslike" functioning, much of this agenda is corrupting at best, and destructive at its worst. In a vast industrial nation like ours that lacks a truly expansive labor movement - let alone a mass progressive or left political movement - it's no wonder there is a temptation to apply corporate or corporate-like solutions to the structural and organizational problems faced by unions today. The challenge squarely before the NUP leadership, as well as the rest of us in the labor movement who honestly give a damn, is to find ways to move forward, adapt, and hopefully grow without abandoning the core principles of unionism. It is not always easy to do when under daily attack by corporate and government forces, but I applaud the NUP forces for their desire to stimulate such a discussion. I might as yet fail to understand or agree with much of their program, but they and others who wish to seek a solution to our current crisis are to be encouraged and recognized for their effort. (note the New Unity partnership is a group formed to bring changes to AFL-CIO by ousting AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and others in the 2005 elections)

April 20, 2004- Opinion: Unions trample on workers’ political rights -"John Kerry "doesn't warm anybody up." President Bush is likable and strong. Those were the prevailing sentiments of undecided and independent union voters who participated in focus group surveys last month in St. Louis and Philadelphia. The focus groups were conducted by Lake Snell Perry and Associates, a Democratic opinion research firm, on behalf of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor union. The results bring back to the fore the systematic disenfranchisement of millions of union members who happen to vote Republican. In the 2000 presidential election, Bush won 37 percent of the union vote, according to exit polls. Yet, of the more than $50 million the AFL-CIO spent that year on political activity, practically every dollar went to defeat Bush, to beat Republicans. The labor federation was using the dues of its politically dissenting members -- the nearly four of 10 who supported Bush -- to undermine their vote. And the same thing is happening again this election year. Just this week, in fact, the AFL-CIO unleashed new television commercials that bash Bush for supposedly rewarding companies that outsource jobs overseas."

Joseph Perkins is national affairs columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune and a member of the newspaper's editorial board, specializing in national issues and politics. Perkins previously worked on the White House staff of Vice President Dan Quayle as deputy assistant for domestic policy. Before that, he was an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal.

April 20, 2004-GAO denies federal employees standing in A-76 protests -The General Accounting Office has ruled that federal employees do not have the right to file protests to GAO over public-private competitions under revised OMB Circular A-76. GAO concluded that Agriculture Department employees who tried to file a protest of an A-76 decision had no statutory basis for disputing USDA’s choice of a vendor’s bid over their bid. The Agriculture employees and their union, the National Federation of Federal Employees, first filed an agency protest. They took their complaint to GAO after USDA rejected the initial protest. In its ruling, GAO said neither federal employees nor their unions qualify as interested parties. The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 defines an interested party as an “actual or prospective bidder or offeror whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of the contract or by failure to award the contract.” GAO comptroller general David Walker sent a letter to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairwoman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, suggesting Congress amend CICA to give federal employees standing in such protests.

April 20, 2004-Bush Takes Away Overtime Pay for Millions of U.S. Workers-The Bush administration’s yearlong drive to take away the overtime pay protections for millions of workers may become a new federal regulation after it is published in the Federal Register later this week. The Office of Management and Budget made the final version of the rule public today and employers can implement it after 120 days, approximately Aug. 20. Bush used the federal regulatory process, which does not require congressional approval, to make it easier for employers to avoid paying overtime to their employees. Last year, the U.S. Senate voted to block any changes in the overtime eligibility regulations, and the White House move this week came as Democratic senators again prepared to vote to block Bush from taking away overtime pay. Republican leaders had rearranged the Senate schedule several times to avoid a vote on legislation to stop the overtime pay cuts.

April 19, 2004- FedEx starts talks with pilots, hoping to avoid another slugout-FedEx and its pilots have started negotiations over new work rules, and both sides hope to avoid a nasty fight like the slugfest four years ago. The squabbling reached a peak in December 1998 when the pilots threatened to strike during the Christmas shipping season, raising worries around the country for FedEx customers. The strike talk also stirred up hundreds of non-flying FedEx workers who rallied in Memphis to support the company, Tennessee's largest private employer. The strike talk ended when FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith and other senior managers began preparing to lease planes and flight crews from other companies. Pilots agreed to keep working and contract negotiations resumed. Labor negotiations at FedEx are governed by the national Railway Labor Act, meaning the current work agreement remains in effect until it is amended. Under federal law, the pilots' contract can be amended as of May 31 and the new negotiations got underway late last month. The current contract took effect in 1999 after years of haggling between the pilots and a company that has consistently been averse to organized labor.

April 18, 2004- 'Meeting the Challenge' conference focuses on health care-Several major workplace conflicts in the past year have centered on the issue of health care benefits, conference organizers note. They include the fall 2003 strike by University of Minnesota clerical workers, the walkout by 70,000 grocery workers in California, and most recently the Twin Cities transit strike.At “Meeting the Challenge,” activists will reflect on these particular struggles and discuss the larger issue of reforming the entire U.S. system of health care. Speakers will include Kip Sullivan, a nationally-respected health care analyst, Mark Dudzik, national Labor Party organizer for the Just Healthcare Campaign, and Ajamu Dillahunt, chairperson of Black Workers for Justice and the president of the Raleigh, N.C., local of the American Postal Workers Union

April 18, 2004-EDITORIAL : Will your pension check bounce? Whole sectors of the economy such as airlines and steel may not make pension payments promised to their workers. Even mighty General Motors struggled last year to come up with $19.3 billion for an aging army of 350,000 retired autoworkers. This month, Congress looked at these choices and caved in to one side. Both the Senate and House passed similar bills that amount to an $80 billion gift for business, which will be allowed to pay less into pension pots than before. (note: a trend which may trickle down to postal workers)

April 14, 2004- President Young: NALC and USPS- At a crossroads (pdf)-"The Postal Service is moving forward and backward at once, a situation that is bound implode. Good managers have little incentive to continue as long as they see bad managers suffering no consequences—or even reaping rewards for atrocious behavior. NALC respects the Postal Service’s right manage the institution. You do your job and we’ll do ours. But don’t forget: We demand the same respect in return. Have top postal officials misinterpreted our good intentions? Do they believe they can continue to let these bad managers attack and harass letter carriers, and yet continue to reap the benefits of our cooperation and good will? If so, they’ve got it wrong. They are making a terrible, foolish mistake. They are placing at risk all the progress we have made, and the future of the Postal Service as well. So today NALC and the Postal Service stand at a crossroads. We can move forward or go back to the bad old days. Top managers can stamp out the sickness within their lower ranks and move to heal the damage they have done. Or not. Which will it be?"

April 14, 2004-Mississippi Senate passes own versions of campaign finance, tort reform-The Senate amended the bill once on Tuesday, inserting requirements that could weaken unions' roles in funding elections. An amendment by Sen. Tommy Robertson, R-Moss Point, says labor unions could not use members' dues to make campaign contributions. Unions would have to establish separate political action committees to give to political candidates.

April 14, 2004- Workers' Comp Bill Clears Major Hurdle-Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez reached agreement Tuesday on the last remaining major obstacle to overhauling California's $22-billion system for aiding injured workers. Barring any last-minute snags, the Schwarzenegger- Nuñez deal greatly increases the likelihood that the Democratic-controlled Legislature will pass a much-anticipated workers' compensation insurance reform bill, probably on Friday. The measure, which would then be signed by the Republican governor and could take effect immediately, aims to save employers billions of dollars on their workers' comp premiums.

April 14, 2004-OPM mailroom workers win competitions, will keep their jobs -The mail clerks demonstrated that over five years, they would cost OPM $769,500 less than contractors offering comparable services. OPM's network management employees showed they could outperform the private sector by $3.3 million in the same time span, and the benefits specialists posted savings of $8.3 million.

April 13, 2004-Will federal employees determine outcome of presidential election?
    Could federal workers determine the next president, or have I been on this beat too long? Federal union leaders, who almost always support Democratic presidential candidates, know that Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and probably George W. Bush won the federal employee vote. But congressional Republicans, except for a few in the Washington metro area, are convinced that the nation's 2.8 million federal workers are Democrats and that's that.
    And in a close race — which this one is shaping up to be — it could cost Republicans.
    When most people think of big concentrations of government workers, they think of metro Washington (334,821 workers), which includes many of the 144,000 in Virginia and 130,100 in Maryland. It does not include another large group — perhaps 30,000 intelligence community feds — who don't show up on any counter's radar screen.
    Missouri and Ohio don't strike people as hotbeds of federal employment, but they are "must win" states for the presidential candidates, and in a close race the feds could tip the balance.
    There are almost 55,000 feds in Missouri and about 84,000 in Ohio. In Missouri, St. Louis city and county have about 20,000 feds and Jackson County another 15,000. In Ohio, feds are well-represented in the suburbs of Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.
    Federal union leaders have had nothing good to say about President Bush since he took office, or when he ran the first time. They all have — or will — endorse Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat.
    Last week, Mr. Kerry tossed them a bone (and it doesn't take much), saying he would eliminate the jobs of 100,000 private federal contractors, leaving 5.9 million, and cut federal agency "administrative" costs. He didn't offer to restore the 347,000 federal jobs that President Clinton eliminated, many to be replaced by contractors.
    So will feds be players in the upcoming election? Remember, Mr. Bush's margin of victory over Al Gore was a lot smaller than the 113,267 nervous feds in Florida.
    Contractors vs. feds
    Contracting takes a beating — from some politicians and portions of the press — even though they, like civil servants, help keep the metro Washington area recession-proof and eternally green. Contractors have been called Beltway bandits for decades. Most have pretty tough hides.
    The point a lot of people miss is that there are times when contractors should not be used, for reasons of security and privacy, and times when they are less expensive, even if they charge more. Roughly 33 percent of the people hired by government retire from it. They get lifetime health coverage for themselves, their spouses and in some cases grandchildren, and annuities that are indexed to inflation. Over a 20- or 30-year period, that adds up. Contractors, on the other hand, leave the government payroll when the job is done. The trick is how long that takes. Mike Causey, senior editor at FederalNewsRadio.com

April 11, 2004-Union pension funds press companies to disclose political donations -Labor unions facing a government order to disclose their election spending are using their clout as stockholders to try to extract new details about the corporate world's political giving. Teamster pension fund spokesman Louis Malizia said a lot of corporate money goes into politics and that stockholders need easily accessible details to judge how well that money is spent. He said that a Labor Department requirement that unions, starting this summer, disclose their spending on election voter drives and other activities is not a factor in the effort. "But I'd say that for many of the accounting standards and other disclosure standards, labor is held to a higher standard than the rest of corporate America," said Malizia, assistant director of the Teamsters' corporate affairs office. "This is just yet another example."

April 8, 2004-Labor Study Is Alone Under Calif. Governor's Budget Ax-Of the hundreds of research institutes in California's public university system, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has targeted just one for elimination: a think tank dedicated to organized labor. It is the scourge of conservatives and industry groups. They call it "Union U" and charge that the institute has been used to train union "thugs" to beat up political opponents. But to founders, the Institute for Labor and Employment, based at UCLA and UC Berkeley, is a place where union leaders and academics can come together to explore workforce issues and trends. John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, calls Schwarzenegger's proposal part of a "conservative attack to cut labor studies programs."

April 7, 2004-Unions, civil rights advocates cry foul over EEOC changes -A new management initiative at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has infuriated union officials and civil rights advocates who say it will deny many federal employees an impartial hearing

April 7, 2004-Government Workers May Face Drug Test Changes-"The hair, saliva and sweat of federal workers could be tested for drug use under a new government policy proposed Tuesday that eventually will set a standard for private companies."

April 6, 2004-New York Teamsters Union sued over AIDS disclosure-The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Teamsters Local 804 on March 26, alleging that one of its officials disclosed the confidential information to the employee's co-workers at a UPS location in Manhattan where they work. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, seeks punitive damages and back pay for the several weeks the employee missed because he was too upset to work. The employee became distraught and took time off after co-workers avoided him or constantly asked how he was feeling.

April 6, 2004-LaborTech activists focus on labor, technology-Over 100 labor activists attended LaborTech 2004 at Stanford University during the weekend of April 2-4 to participate in a wide assortment of 25 workshops about labor and technology in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Belgium and Korea. Sessions included "How the Stream Labor's Video and Audio on the Internet," "Labor Radio," "Censorship and the Media Workplace," "Technology, Stress and Health & Safety," and "Labor and Research Tools," to name a few.

April 5, 2004-Agencies skirting job competition rules, union charges -Three agencies recently violated Office of Management and Budget rules by deciding to outsource government jobs without giving federal employees a chance to compete for the work, union officials say. Last month, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and Homeland Security Department finalized plans to outsource a combined total of nearly 200 jobs currently filled by federal workers, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission canvassed contractors for ideas on developing a national customer service center. All three agencies should have allowed civil servants a shot at the work, American Federation of Government Employees President John Gage said in a series of letters to Clay Johnson, OMB's deputy director for management.

April 5, 2004-Altering of Worker Time Cards Spurs Growing Number of Suits-Experts on compensation say that the illegal doctoring of hourly employees' time records is far more prevalent than most Americans believe. The practice, commonly called shaving time, is easily done and hard to detect a simple matter of computer keystrokes and has spurred a growing number of lawsuits and settlements against a wide range of businesses.

April 2, 2004- Former NALC Branch Treasurer Indicted for $69,000 embezzlement- "On February 17, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, former treasurer of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 36, the nation's largest Letter Carrier affiliate representing over 6,300 members, was indicted for using her position to embezzle approximately $69,000 in union funds between January 1999 and July 2001. This indictment followed her arrest by the United States Marshals Service at her home in Denmark, South Carolina, and resulted from an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office."
(source: Dept. of Labor)

April 2, 2004-Wal-Mart prepares to bury the left under a mountain of money-War Against All-If evil could be branded, its emblem would be the Wal-Mart logo. The retailer has become so large, and behaves so aggressively, it sometimes appears as a force of nature, like weather. Three huge grocery chains with a 70 percent combined national, big-city market share ambushed the United Food and Commercial Workers union this winter, all the while crying that Wal-Mart’s low-wage, few-benefits “model” made them do it. After more than three months on strike and lockout, UFCW President Doug Dority accepted a two-tier, higher premium health coverage settlement. If the Wal-Mart model is a private-sector inevitability, then larger circles of solidarity are the only defense. Labor can’t beat the Wal-Mart model piecemeal, or even if it were united. A larger mobilization is needed.

March 30, 2004-Open Letter to Progressive Democrats-By Paul Felton APWU 480-481 Michigan Local

March 30, 2004-Bush Executive Order Takes Aim at Unions - Government contractors must post notices telling workers that they cannot be forced to join unions, under a regulation issued by the Bush administration on Monday.

March 30, 2004-Snow Reignites Fight Over Job Outsourcing -Treasury Secretary John Snow reignited the political argument over U.S. companies shipping jobs overseas Tuesday with comments that "outsourcing" was an integral part of a global trading system. Asked in a newspaper interview whether he thought outsourcing of jobs to other countries made the U.S. economy strong, Snow replied, "It's one aspect of trade and there can't be any doubt about the fact that trade makes ... America strong."

March 26, 2004-Fact Sheet on John Kerry's Plan to Create 10 Million Jobs-Kerry is detailing a key part of his overall jobs agenda - a proposal to undertake the most sweeping international corporate tax reform in over four decades. Kerry will eliminate all of the tax breaks that encourage companies to move jobs overseas and use the savings to encourage companies to create jobs in America. Kerry will help jumpstart job creation with a New Jobs Tax Credit paid for by a one-year tax holiday to encourage companies to reinvest their foreign earnings in America. International tax reform is part of Kerry's overall plan to regain America's competitive edge, together with policies to lower the cost of health premiums for companies, modernize our information infrastructure, make energy more affordable, increase investments in education, and regain confidence in our fiscal future.

March 26, 2004-IBEW Endorses John Kerry for President- On behalf of the 750,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, President Edwin D. Hill today announced the union's endorsement of Senator John Kerry for President of the United States. "America needs a leader who will address the pressing needs of working families, especially jobs. John Kerry's long record as a military man and an elected official shows that he has the courage and vision to lead this nation in challenging times," President Hill said at a IBEW Construction Conference attended by approximately one thousand local union leaders

March 25, 2004-GAO Named Clean Air `Villain of the Month by Clean Air Trust; "Time for Someone to Investigate the Watchdog, Says Group-The Clean Air Trust today named the U.S. General Accounting Office as its "clean air villain of the month" for March 2004. Often described in boilerplate fashion as a "congressional watchdog agency," GAO earned the "villain" award by appearing to front for trucking companies that are facing tougher clean-air standards in 2007. Perhaps it's time for someone to investigate this "watchdog" turned lapdog. GAO appeared to compromise its reputation for independence by issuing a report avidly sought by the truckers, who want a new "independent review panel" to take another look at the EPA standards. The truckers also want taxpayers to underwrite their cleanup costs. GAO transmitted both of these trucker requests to EPA. Its report was officially requested by -- and its methodology conveniently hammered out in secret meetings with -- members of Congress led by Rep. Mac Collins (R-GA), who founded a trucking company that's run today by his children. "

March 28, 2004-Longtime APWU leader Greg Poferl will enter federal prison in Waseca, Minn., on April 6 to serve a 90-day sentence imposed as a result of participation in a protest at the United States Army’s School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia, earlier this year. Messages of solidarity can be sent to Brother Poferl at FCI, PO Box 1731 1000 University Drive SW, Waseca, MN, or to American Postal Workers Union, 8009-34th Av So, Bloomington MN 55425.

Background: February 8, 2004-APWU National Business Agent Sentenced to prison in protest against government -Greg Poferl, APWU National Business Agent, Support Services Division and 10,000 protestors demonstrated at Fort Benning in November 2003, demanding the government close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly the School of Americas) and voicing their opposition to Latin America foreign policy. He and 27 others were arrested for "crossing the line" or trespassing onto federal property, a deliberate action. Poferl was sentenced last month for trespassing at Fort Benning, Ga. in an annual protest against the Army's school for Latin American soldiers. Poferl received 90 days in prison and fined $1,000. Poferl and others blamed the school for alleged atrocities by graduates-more info

Greg Poferl's Statement in Court || Greg Poferl's letter to his sisters and brothers in APWU

Poferl's 2003 Article from Labor Notes: Globalization Goes Postal-How Free Trade Deals Could Mandate Postal Privatization

March 24, 2004-Union urges Democrats to switch parties for Specter in GOP primary-An international labor union is urging its Democratic members in Pennsylvania to switch their voter registration to Republican to vote for Sen. Arlen Specter in his primary fight against conservative Rep. Pat Toomey. Specter, a political moderate who generally supports labor issues, is the only sitting senator in the nation facing a primary

March 24, 2004-Labor vs. Wal-Martization-Grocers, Union Jostling Over A Broken Model -With a grocery workers strike now looming at Safeway and Giant, Washington becomes the next battleground in the struggle over the Wal-Martization of the economy

March 23, 2004-How Should Harassment Victims' Claims of "Constructive Discharge" Be Treated? A Question the Supreme Court Soon Will Confront-Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders. The case is a significant one, for it tests an important aspect of employer liability for sexual harassment. The case involves a claim of constructive discharge--specifically, that the employee's supervisor created an environment so sexually hostile that she was forced to quit. The question for the court is whether the employer in such a case should be held strictly liable or should be able to raise a recognized affirmative defense to liability.

March 22, 2004-Editorial: Trade and Labor Rights -THE ETHICAL basis of free markets is that they reflect free, individual choices. Workers may be paid little, but if they sign up for jobs voluntarily, then those jobs must be the best options available. Removing those jobs, for example, by closing factories on the grounds that they are "sweatshops," will make workers' lives worse. But what if the workers' choices are not free -- what if workers are locked up in factory dormitories and brutalized when they protest? In that case capitalism has lost its ethical foundation. Capitalism may remain a wonderful engine of economic growth, and growth in the long term tends to bring freedom. But in the meantime it will not be just. This is why the trade complaint against China, filed by the AFL-CIO last week, deserves qualified sympathy. China's police state abuses workers, who sometimes go unpaid and then get beaten up when they demand what is owed to them; it has punished labor leaders with harsh prison sentences handed down after fake trials. The AFL-CIO is right that such treatment violates the principle that free economics should be rooted in free politics. If the effect of the petition is to goad the U.S. government into protesting human-rights abuses in China, it will be constructive. But the unions' ambitions go beyond that. Their petition demands that the Bush administration punish China with trade sanctions, arguing that Chinese abuses drive down wages and increase the competitive pressure on American workers. In fact, ending abuses in China would not save many American jobs.

March 22, 2004-Outsourcing critics cite labor laws in other nations-Labor groups upset about job losses say U.S. companies are hiring workers in foreign countries in part because employment laws are often looser abroad. Employees working in foreign countries for U.S. companies are generally not covered by U.S. employment laws, which cover such issues as sexual harassment, age discrimination and worker safety. Instead, the workers are covered by employment laws in their own countries that U.S. labor officials say are often not as strict.

March 22, 2004-Bush Reelection Togs May Have Come From Burma -The official merchandise Web site for President Bush's reelection campaign has sold clothing made in Burma, whose goods were banned by Bush from the United States last year to punish its military dictatorship. The Kerry merchandise was made in the United States, said Mark Weiner, the president of Financial Innovations. The company, whose employees belong to the Communications Workers of America union, gets most of its merchandise from union factories

March 22, 2004-Businesses Point Workers Toward Ballot Boxes -A growing number of large U.S. corporations are offering services to register their employees to vote and mounting get-to-the-polls drives that advocates hope will swell the ranks of pro-business voters this election year. Companies portray the voter push as a nonpartisan employee benefit. But Republicans see it as a boon to their hopes of maintaining control of the House and Senate and reelecting President Bush. And Democrats, who have long benefited from union-led get-out-the-vote campaigns, are worried that business finally has developed a vigorous counterpunch

March 22, 2004-Labor Bus Tour Highlights Unemployment-Laid-off workers, students, a priest and creators of anti-offshoring Web sites are among the 51 people taking a bus tour through Rust Belt states this week to talk about job struggles, countering similar trips by the Bush administration to promote a growing economy.

March 21, 2004-Selling Out the Nations Workers-In seeking to privatize the jobs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the Bush administration aims to give the work to Big Business—while putting the nation’s safety at risk. (from 11/03)

March 20, 2004-Bush names Democrat to MSPB board-"The president has chosen Barbara Sapin to fill a vacancy on the three-member U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board that oversees merit programs within the federal workforce. Sapin, currently the general counsel to the National Abortion Federation and a previous vice chairman of the MSPB, has been chosen to fill the remainder of a seven-year term that expires March 1, 2007. By statute, at least one of the MSPB board members must be of a different political party than the other two. Both Sapin and Brennan's appointments must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate."

March 20, 2004-UK POSTMEN taken to their rounds in taxis because delays in sorting letters mean they are missing their lifts with early-morning Royal Mail vans. The CWU postal workers’ union says the problems are the result of staff cuts by Royal Mail, which has sliced around 500 working hours a week off its operation in Carlisle. Problems with late deliveries were highlighted last week after it emerged that a postman was mobbed by angry customers.

March 19, 2004-Labor Groups Aim to Build Unions in Iraq -Organized labor, with support from the Bush administration, is trying to build more unions in Iraq and help those already there to function free of government and employer control. The U.S. government, through the National Endowment for Democracy, has allocated about $15 million to form employer groups and unions in Iraq. International labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, are using some of those grant funds to help Iraqi workers and leaders create a labor code and organize. While labor and the Bush White House are locked in a political battle at home, they are working together to rebuild Iraq and create stable, independent unions.

March 19, 2004-KERRY trade policies likely to make talks tougher-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's vow to give more weight to labor rights and environmental provisions in global trade talks is likely to make for tougher negotiations with U.S. trade partners. The Massachusetts senator has criticized the labor and environmental terms of a new agreement with five Central American countries, demanding they be renegotiated to include "enforceable" international labor standards. Because of the controversy, Congress is not expected to vote on the agreement this year. New trade pacts with Australia and Morocco are also on hold.

March 15, 2004-FedEx to Pay $3.2 Million ++ to Female Truck Driver for Sex Discrimination, Retaliation-A federal jury returned a multi-million dollar verdict in favor of EEOC and a female truck driver in their lawsuit against Memphis, Tenn.-based shipping giant Federal Express Corporation for violations of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the intentional infliction of emotional distress to the female truck driver. The jury found Federal Express liable for a sex-based hostile work environment and retaliation and awarded her $391,400 in back pay and front pay, $350,000 in compensatory damages for emotional pain and distress, and $2.5 million dollars in punitive damages. The decision was the second time in just over a year that a Pennsylvania federal jury has issued a multi-million-dollar verdict against FedEx in a case involving allegations of sexual harassment

March 15, 2004-UPS Fined $71,000 for Covering up fatal accident of employee-The United Parcel Service has been fined tens of thousands of dollars for covering up an accident that killed an employee . The Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or OSHA, says because UPS interfered in the investigation, they'll never know exactly why a 33-year old man was electrocuted. UPS has been fined $71,000, not because they caused the accident, but because of what they did after the accident.

March 12, 2004-UPS, pilots try feds' blueprint for negotiating-More is at stake than labor peace in the latest round of negotiations between UPS and its pilots. "Labor experts say the closely watched talks also pose a test of what is known as interest-based bargaining (similar to USPS REDRESS) The increasingly popular process, which the National Mediation Board first tried in 1997, is designed to build trust and reduce the bluster and brinkmanship that often characterize collective bargaining"

March 9, 2004-Labor chief: Bush 'AWOL' on key issues-The president of the AFL-CIO criticized President Bush on Tuesday, saying the incumbent Republican “has been AWOL” while U.S. jobs have gone overseas and millions of Americans have struggled without health insurance.

March 9, 2004-Organized Labor Fights for Survival-Organized labor, facing setbacks in bargaining, membership and politics, is in the fight of its life to remain relevant to workers. Labor leaders meeting this week at a luxury seaside resort said Tuesday they must do a better job of organizing new workers to overcome steep losses in manufacturing and the current flood of white-collar jobs going overseas. "The fact is that union membership hasn't kept up with job loss," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. "The jobs drain and the steady assault by the Bush administration has made a hard challenge harder. Manufacturing job losses in particular have socked not only our members but our industrial unions." In other AFL-CIO Executive Council Business-New surcharge sought -Some officials are pushing for a new surcharge on affiliate unions to help boost the budget by $10 million or more. A vote is set for Wednesday. Executive Council Members include President William Burrus, APWU and Former President Vincent R. Sombrotto, NALC

March 9, 2004-Labor Unions, Strikes Losing Effectiveness-It appears his prayer will be answered. Although representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the grocery chains aren't talking, a tentative deal has been reached. Both sides claim victory. The supermarkets say they have cut labor costs and health care spending. The union says it has ensured job security and "affordable health care" for its members.

March 8, 2004-Americans Drop Out of Labor Force, Posing Risks for Bush, Fed-1.6 million Americans who have dropped out of U.S. workforce in the past year. The percentage of those working or looking for jobs has skidded for four years and fell in February to 65.9 percent, a 16-year low, the Labor Department said . Last month, 588,000 people left the labor force as the economy created just 21,000 jobs, a sixth of the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 65 economists. Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry, 60, who will lead the Democratic Party's challenge to 57-year-old Bush in November, on Saturday called the president a ``walking barrel of broken promises.'' Kerry, speaking in Houston, said he would lower unemployment by closing tax loopholes that send jobs and revenue overseas, enforcing the terms of trade agreements, increasing government funds for education and lowering health-care costs. Bush, at a press conference at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said Saturday that the ``economy's getting a lot stronger'' and that ``raising taxes will make it harder for people to find work,'' a reference to Kerry's plan to end tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 a year.

March 7, 2004-Capital Gains, Labor Losses -The leadership of organized labor has taken different paths in working to rid the White House of George W. Bush. Last fall, leaders of the unions that make up the AFL-CIO split. The national unions of the AFL-CIO need members to stay active. Their leaders reason that if a Democrat is elected, he will appoint National Labor Relations Board members who will be favorable to labor, and in turn their rulings will help unions gather more members. The problem is this theory hasn't materialized. Let's look at the presidency for the years 1976 through 2000 - 12 years overseen by a Republican president and 12 by a Democrat. The loss of union members, as a percentage of the work force, has been greater under Democrats (4.1 percent) than Republicans (2.8 percent).

March 5, 2004-Labor's Push for Reform Finds Solidarity With Kerry, Edwards- Is the deck stacked against workers who want to organize unions? Leaders of the AFL-CIO have been making that case for years. And now, with little notice, the leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination have joined them. Kerry insists his aim isn't to increase the number of workers belonging to unions. "That's not the goal," he said. "The goal is to empower people to do what they want to do; let people have a choice. I'm not going to go out and say you ought to do this or do that. That's not my role."

But while Kerry and Edwards present these changes as a matter of economic fairness, the prospect of more union members offers obvious political benefits to the Democrats. About three-fifths of union members voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in each of the last two elections. Just as importantly, voters from union households cast about one-fourth of all ballots in 2000 — a level far above their share of the overall population. More union members would inevitably mean more Democratic votes.

For that reason alone, Republicans would fiercely resist any drive to rewrite the labor laws; many Democrats from Southern states with little union presence would inevitably join them. Kerry and Edwards, as well as AFL-CIO leaders, recognize that labor law reform won't be politically possible any time soon, even if Democrats retake the White House this fall.

Yet simply forcing the cause of organizing reform onto the campaign agenda represents an enormous advance for unions. By binding the Democrats more closely to this cause, and publicizing it more widely, the unions have increased their leverage to pursue it through means other than congressional legislation, such as local initiatives providing preference in contracting to companies that allow card-check recognition.

March 5, 2004-All Jobs Count -NOBODY CAN SAY for sure how many U.S. jobs will be "offshored" to places such as India, but the best estimates are around 3.5 million between now and 2015. If that number sounds scary, try this one: The total number of U.S. jobs destroyed over the same period is likely to be well over 300 million. Capitalism eliminates jobs constantly, but except during recessions it creates new ones even more quickly: In 1999 alone, 33 million jobs were destroyed and 36 million created. That has not stopped state and federal legislators from touting 1 percent solutions. Sen. John F. Kerry, the leader in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, has sponsored a measure to require phone-based service workers -- IT support people and so on -- to inform callers of their location. A measure buried in the recently signed omnibus spending bill stipulates that certain work for the federal government may not be done overseas. According to the National Foundation for American Policy, more than 30 bills have been introduced in more than 20 states, including Virginia and Maryland, seeking to regulate or slow offshoring.

March 5, 2004-New York Union commercials target Wal-Marts-United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1, which represents workers from P&C, Peter's, Tops and Big M supermarkets in New York, is paying about $20,000 for home mailings, a monthlong radio advertising campaign and newspaper advertisements against two Wal-Marts planned in their neighborhoods. .

March 01, 2004- Arbitration Award: Priority of Limited Duty Assignments. The evidence of record is persuasive that Tallahassee LMOU Item 15 can be read consistently with ELM 546.141 and the National Agreement to afford an APWU craft employee seeking limited duty first consideration for APWU exclusive work over a letter carrier previously assigned to said works. Management violated the LMOU by failing to offer to Grievant the exclusive clerk work being performed by Carrier Knight on Tour 2. Management also violated the pre-arbitration precedent signed on April 20, 1999.