Labor Unions | Philadelphia Independent Media Center

Labor Unions

In which I look at voting and the Occupation Movement. Can voting be a replacement for occupying?

There were several letters in the Inquirer's letters column that advocated that, rather than take part in protests like Occupy Philadelphia, people should vote instead and thereby toss out the bad politicians and put better politicians in. Great idea, in theory anyway. Let's review the last dozen or so years and voting.

by Stephen Lendman | 02.24.2011

worker struggles

Union Busting in America - by Stephen Lendman

It dates from America's 19th century industrial expansion when workers moved away from farms to factories, mines, and other urban environments, with harsh working conditions, low pay, and other exploitive abuses. As a result, labor movements emerged, organizing workers to lobby for better rights and safer conditions, pitting them against corporate bosses yielding nothing without a fight.

During unionism's formative years, workers were terrorized for organizing. In company-owned towns, they were thrown out of homes, beaten, shot, and hanged to leave management empowered.

by Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign | 01.08.2011

One might think that a war is raging between politicians and public sector workers. Recently elected Republican governors have threatened to use the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction on state workers by passing legislation that would outlaw strikes, rescind the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining, reduce pensions, and require workers to provide explicit agreement before their dues can be used for political campaigns.

But there is technically no war at all, for in war two contending and opposed factions must meet on the battlefield. In this case, only one faction has appeared; thus far organized labor is nowhere to be seen. Therefore, the conflict should be more properly categorized as a massacre: public workers across the country have been forced to relinquish billions of dollars in the form of permanent wage cuts, temporary furloughs, reduced benefits, and layoffs, all without putting up a fight.

event details

posted by:

begins: Sep 3, 9:00 pm

ends: Sep 3, 10:30 pm

location: Clark Park, 45th & Regent

Labor Day Weekend In Clark Park --

Two films that explore local workplace organizing experiences:

Friday, Sep. 3rd, 8pm, Clark Park, (45th & Regent Sts.)

Yo! Taxi

- a firsthand account of the real issues, struggles and circumstances on the job from members of the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania. Taxi workers of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities share stories of their lives allowing the passenger (or viewer) to get behind the driver¹s seat and better understand who is at the wheel. 2009; 28 minutes

Welcoming Change at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Remarks by Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO, National Press Club, Washington, DC

by Employee Free Choice Act Now | 01.11.2010

Our economy does not work without good jobs, so we must take action now to restore workers' voices in America. The systematic silencing of American workers by denying our right to form unions is at the heart of the disappearance of good jobs in America. We must pass the Employee Free Choice Act so that workers can have the chance to turn bad jobs into good jobs, and so we can reduce the inequality which is undermining our prospects for stable economic growth. And we must do it now—not next year, not even this summer. Now.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2010
3:34 PM

CONTACT: AFL-CIO

Media Outreach Department 202-637-5018.

UNITE HERE Local 634 Members Beat Back SEIU Raid By 2:1 Vote

by Josh Eidelson | 11.05.2009

2,400 Local 634 members cook and serve food, supervise children, and keep them safe in nearly 300 Philadelphia public schools and early childhood programs. They're among nearly 30,000 UNITE HERE members who've resisted SEIU raids.

Last week the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) announced the results of the election to represent the 2,300 cafeteria workers and noon time aides in the Philadelphia School District: members of UNITE HERE Local 634 voted by a 2:1 margin to stay with their union and rejected SEIU’s anti-union tactics.

After months of attacks directed by New York-based SEIU 32BJ, the PLRB counted 1121 votes for UNITE HERE Local 634 and only 551 votes for SEIU Philadelphia Joint Board. There were 10 votes for no union and 198 challenged ballots.

EFCA Counting The Votes - Which Side Are YOU On Boys? : Employee Free Choice Act

by Employee Free Choice Act Now .org | 03.13.2009

The cloture vote (which requires 60 votes) and the vote on the final legislation (which requires 50 votes)are two completely separate things, and they should be treated separately.