On the picket line

Workers march for jobs in Illinois

Over 5,500 workers and their supporters stretched more than eight blocks during a “Put America Back to Work” march in Granite City, Ill., on Feb. 10. They included laid-off steelworkers in Granite City and laid-off auto workers from Decatur and Fenton, Mo. More than 2,500 members of Steel Workers Local 1899 were laid off from U.S. Steel-Granite City Works in December. The march, sponsored by local and state labor unions and several community groups, was held to support passage of the federal stimulus bill. The workers, whose output is between 30 and 35 percent construction-grade steel, supported the bill because they hope it will help them get back to work. In its report on the march, the St. Louis Suburban Journals noted that “‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and schools could begin within 90 to 120 days” after the bill is signed into law and “each billion dollars spent on infrastructure generates $6 billion in economic activity and provides 34,000 ‘good-paying’ jobs.” (Feb. 10) Imagine if there were marches of laid-off workers demanding jobs all over this country. Better yet in Washington, D.C.

Contract won after 6-month teachers’ struggle

The 800 teachers in the Wayne-Westland district of Michigan put up a six-month struggle, including a four-day strike last October, to win a new contract on Feb. 3 that included raises and smaller class sizes. The one concession was slightly higher deductibles for health care coverage. Though the union agreed to a no-strike, no-lockout provision in the new contract, the district agreed not to prosecute the teachers who participated in the “illegal” strike. One of the things that worked in the teachers’ favor was that a number of parents and students showed solidarity on the picket lines. (Detroit News, Feb. 3)

Talks extended for refinery workers

The United Steel Workers union agreed Feb. 1 to extend talks on a new three-year contract for 26,000 oil workers at 74 U.S. facilities. The current contract expired Jan. 31. If an agreement is not reached by March 1—the major issue is wages—the workers have voted to strike. (AFP, Feb. 2)

Labor ‘rat’ is ruled free speech

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 6 that a town can’t ban a large inflatable rat used to protest anti-union labor practices. The case was brought by Electrical Workers Local 269 against Lawrence Township after it was fined $133 for violating the town’s sign ordinance in April 2005. The union was protesting use of nonunion labor at a health club. Calling it a “landmark” ruling, not just for unions in New Jersey but all around the country, the union’s lawyer told the New Jersey Star-Ledger, “This decision really validates the rights of the unions ... to peacefully and effectively express themselves.” (Feb. 6)

LGBT coalition supports passage of EFCA

Pride at Work, the AFL-CIO organization that advocates on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, has put together a broad coalition of LGBT organizations working for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which will make it easier for workers to join unions. Among the many influential groups supporting the bill are the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Human Rights Campaign. To find out more about Pride at Work’s campaign, visit prideatwork.org. While you’re at it, sign the petition supporting EFCA.

S.F. labor groups demand Gaza relief

On Jan. 26 the San Francisco Labor Council passed unanimously (with two abstentions) a resolution that called on the Israeli government “to open immediately its border crossings into Gaza so that urgently needed humanitarian and reconstruction assistance can avert further pain and suffering by the Palestinian people in Gaza.” The resolution was sent to the California Federation of Labor, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, urging them to take similar action. On Feb. 4, Golden Gate Branch 212 of the Letter Carriers Union passed a resolution that called on the governments of Israel and Egypt to “open immediately the border crossings into Gaza, and keep them open, so that urgently needed humanitarian and reconstruction assistance can avert further pain and suffering by the Palestinian people in Gaza.”