Labor Day
By Robert Judd, President
BCTGMIU Local 116


Labor Day is Monday September 5th, and I find myself becoming much more aware of the meaning of Labor Day every day.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the health of the local labor force. There is a lot going on if you take a few minutes to look around.

Quality Markets warehouse just returned to work after being on strike. Thankfully they weren’t out long. Our own local bakery, Penny Curtiss has been without a contract for over two years on the fresh side, and the frozen contract expired months ago. Up north a bit, Interface Solutions locked its union workers out of the plant, and refuses to let these men and women earn a living and support their families.

Northwest Airlines is having trouble. They’ve got one union out on strike and the other unions are doing their work! The AMFA has its hands full. Word to the wise- Watch the airlines. What happens with the airlines always trickles down the labor force, and eventually affects everyone that works in the USA.

Everywhere I look, I see the big corporations and the small companies doing the same thing… shitting on the people that make it all come together. Five years of a republican DC has just about wiped out the middle class in America. Now, most people equate “middle class” with “The working poor”. Major oil companies are posting record profits, while gas and oil prices skyrocket. We have oil here in America, but the corporate pigs in charge say that the cost of American labor makes our oil cost prohibitive.

At Penn Traffic, the bankruptcy judge shelled out over $40 million to so-called turnaround experts, yet balks at the thought of the people at Quality asking for what they’ve given up over the years.

The hardest part of all of this is that the people responsible for this are mainly the aggressive shareholders, which is you and I. We own the stocks and mutual funds through our 401k’s and our pension funds. We all need to be more conscientious with our investments, wherever we have them. There is power in numbers and if the organized workers of America unite and demand these companies treat their workers with dignity justice and respect we can make a difference.

Happy Labor Day, my friend. This holiday is for you!

Fraternally,

Robert L Judd – President
BCTGMIU Local 116
Syracuse NY


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In Defense of Employer Provided Healthcare
By Robert Judd, President
BCTGMIU Local 116


It’s a sad day when one of America’s biggest stores, and a major employer is the target of legislation that will force them to give decent affordable benefits to its workers. Maryland’s Fair Share Health Care Act would require employers with more than 10,000 employees to contribute at least 8% of their payroll to health care, or to donate that amount to public assistance funds, shifting the burden of healthcare to the employer and not the already overburdened taxpayers. While I am definitely not a fan of the Walton family, I don’t think this is the right way to solve the problem. This law, if passed would be like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.

There are quite a few concerns that come to mind after reading the article in the St Louis dispatch. One of those concerns is whether or not employers should be selling healthcare to their workers. It’s been standard operating procedure for years to offer benefit plans to employees as an incentive to attract a quality workforce. Has the time come to take a look at how we get our doctor bills paid? Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich doesn’t think it’s an employer’s responsibility to provide health benefits. I’m curious as to how he propose the average Joe goes about paying his medical bills. There was a lot of talk about a national healthcare plan back in the Hillary Clinton White House, but has since been largely forgotten. I’ve heard various groups in different areas talk about making health coverage a state task. Who does this guy think we should go to if not our government or our large employers?

The cost of healthcare and health insurance is just out of sight, and that’s a burden that Mr. and Mrs. Jones and their 2.4 children just can’t carry. The last time I looked at a COBRA statement at one of my member shops the cost was close to $1000 per month. That’s $33 per day, or $4 per hour worked for a full time worker. A 2 hour visit to the family doctors waiting room, followed by a 5 minute chat with the nurse practitioner is at least $75 at most offices. One of my own prescriptions carries a monthly cost of $397, or $1.89 per dose. Without insurance, I would not be able to afford the medicine that controls my condition. Without that, I would not be working. Without working, I would not be able to afford to house my family. Without a roof over my head, we become wards of the governments welfare system, which we already pay too much for. You should be able to see where I’m heading with this.

Back to the law being debated in Maryland. Taxpayers love it because it presumably takes some of the burden off of them. The governor, a republican, hates it because of its cost to business. Wal-Mart hates it so much it’s threatening to pull the plug on a huge distribution center planned in one of the states economically depressed areas. It then accuses the labor unions and other supporters of ‘having their own agenda” like that’s not just a little bit hypocritical? Wal-Mart has hired at least 8 different lobbyists to fight the bill.

One other thought I couldn’t get out of my head is the fact that Maryland has six employers that meet the criteria of 10,000 employees, yet Wal-Mart is the only one that seems to have a problem with it. It’s also the only company that currently does not spend at least 8% of its payroll on the health of its workers.

Something has to be done about the crisis Americans face in health care, but I don’t know if this is the right way to approach it. Maybe our next first lady (or first man?) will have a plan to keep America healthy.

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In Defense of the New York City Transit Strike
(in two parts)
By Robert Judd, President
BCTGMIU Local 116


I spent a good deal of my evening catching up on current events, most notably the unfortunate strike by Local 100 of the Transportation Workers Union in New York City. This is day two, and both sides are standing firm at this point.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls union members “thugs” and says they are being selfish. He can’t understand how the union can claim that it is standing up for the working class, when so many people are unable to get to their jobs, or do their Christmas shopping, or get to their appointments. Well I can understand completely how they can make that claim. Local 100 is actually fighting two battles here.

The visible, obvious battle is about the pensions of the people that give a large portion of their life to keep New York City moving along. The mayor wants new hires to contribute 6% of their wages to the pension fund. So while they’ve got 3% wage increases on the table, they’re actually offering a pay cut. It’s going to cost these men and women more to work every day. Going to work and losing 3% of your hourly wage just isn’t in the best interests of the labor force. While the present members would not be subject to this condition, it does in effect create a two-tier workforce. This contract it’s the pension. Next contract it’ll be the insurance. After that, the pay levels. This is a common trick by businesses to split the rank and file, and pit the new guys against the old-timers.

One weapon that the mayor has in this war is the Taylor Law of 1967. This law prohibits strikes by public employees. That gives state government an unfair advantage by removing the union’s last line of defense. There are fines being demanded, and jail time for some of the union officials. The numbers are staggering to a backwoods hick town union man like me. But where are the fines and jail threats for the city’s negotiating team? The Taylor Law clearly requires public employers to negotiate and enter into agreements with public employee organizations regarding their employees' terms and conditions of employment, and that defines and prohibits improper practices by public employers and public employee organizations. To let this situation get to this point is not what I consider bargaining in good faith. Just because Mr Bloomberg elects to donate his paycheck back to the city doesn’t mean the TWU members should have to.

The second, less visible battle is the battle that Local 100 is fighting for scores and scores of working women and men. Our pensions are under attack nationwide, and Local 100 is saying that this is unacceptable, that our labor force deserves better treatment from the executives that are so far removed from daily life in the working world that they’ve lost touch with reality. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation says that over 9% of the recognized pension plans had frozen accruals in 2003. That means no pension increases period. What you have now will be what you will get in 20 years when you retire. That number is expected to rise.

If big business has its way, pensions will be a thing of the past. Well, normal defined benefit pensions for everyone but the executives who can rely on the golden parachutes that they all go around and collect like baseball cards. Business prefers defined contribution pensions, more commonly known as your 401k accounts. Problem here is that many of the companies that offer a 401k have only one or two options for investing your retirement money. Usually one of these choices is that companies stock. The stock market can be a vicious animal. What may be a $1 million portfolio one day could lose much of its value in a very short time, putting you and me at risk of deciding if we’re going to buy our medicine or the cat food that’s on sale at the damaged goods store.

Right now there are 33,000 people out on the street facing jail, so that you may have a pension to depend on when you retire. I thank the members of TWU Local 100 for standing up for America’s future retirees and support their cause without reservation.



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(part 2)

Well, the TWU workers in Local 100(NYC) are back to work, thanks in part to a mediators recommendation today. The parties are still a long way away from signing a final offer, but getting back to the table is a good way to start. Everybody thinks unions are just chomping at the bit to get a “free vacation” as some call a labor stoppage. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Calling a strike is most likely one of the most difficult decisions a union officer can call. Not only does it mean that their members are outside looking in, it could also mean financial disaster for their employer. I don’t think the board members of Local 100 got much sleep this past week. It’s members were on strike for a mere three days, but they are going to lose six days pay. They faced jail time for casting a vote for America’s workers. They are facing fines that could cripple the union’s financial stability. How this translates into a free vacation is beyond me. Those are big price tags for doing something that millions of union members take for granted- exercising their right to defend themselves against a hostile employer.

They’re paying double time in order to stand up for something they believe in. People in chat rooms and forums are talking about how much money these people make, and how large they’re living. Here’s a little lesson in economics. It’s much more expensive to live in New York City than it is Lakeport NY. A quick Internet search brought me to some houses in Manhattan. On the cheap side, a one-bedroom apartment is going for $259,000. I guessing that $60,000 MTA worker isn’t living close by.

Instead of bashing the union, and its members, maybe we should take a look at why they took the risky, costly step that they did. If they’re willing to endure all the punishment that is being meted out, something must be very wrong with the process. That’s the story we’re not hearing.