• State Of Union Way Off Mark For Workers  (2-06-06)
• United's Pension Default Largest In History  (2-06-06)
• Bush Health Plan's No Cure  (2-06-06)
• Bush Mine Safety Appointee Says Laws Adequate  (1-30-06)
• Unions Grow By 200,000-Plus  (1-23-06)
• Feds' CEO Pay Proposal ‘Not Enough’  (1-23-06)
• Prices Continue Climb As Wages Roll Downhill   (1-23-06)
• BLS Forced To Revive Women's Data   (1-16-06)
• Chamber Fights Majority Signing Agreements  (1-09-06)
• Who's On Our Side?  (12-19-05)
• CEOS Get Richer, Workers Make Less For More Work  (12-12-05)
• Tracking Corporate Behavior Online  (11-21-05)

State Of Union Way Off Mark For Workers  (2-06-06)
President Bush’s State of the Union address Jan. 31 ignored the realities of everyday life of working people: soaring health care costs, stagnant wages and income, erosion of retirement security, trade policies that send good jobs overseas and poorly enforced workplace safety rules, workers who saw the address said. The nation’s health care system is out of control and it won’t get better as long as the Bush administration continues to cater to the wishes of the big drug companies and other big corporations, said Jane McGovern, an uninsured interpreter in Hastings, Minn. “We need universal health care coverage in this country, not stale ideas and savings account schemes” such as those Bush proposed, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. Max Sanders, an unemployed teacher in Euclid, Ohio, said he “had hoped the president would say he is bringing good-paying jobs to Ohio and the rest of the country. But instead he talked about tax cuts to create jobs.” The president ignored a fact that’s understood “by virtually every working American: The playing field is anything but level,” Sweeney said. “And the president’s refusal to take action against currency manipulation by China or submit trade agreements with guarantees for core workers’ rights has only made it more unbalanced.” Bob Butero, a national field representative for the Mine Workers who lives in Wheat Ridge, Colo., said the speech convinced him more than ever that working families must vote their interests in November and regain control of Congress and the statehouses.

Back to Top

United's Pension Default Largest In History  (2-06-06)
In what would be the biggest corporate pension default in U.S. history, United Airlines received approval Jan. 31 from a bankruptcy judge to terminate its four pension plans. The move could put pressure on other airlines to dump their pension plans as well. United’s pensions are underfunded by $9.8 billion, according to court documents. The largest previous default was Bethlehem Steel’s, totaling $3.6 billion in 2002. The United unions representing mechanics, pilots, flight attendants and other personnel plan to appeal the bankruptcy judge’s ruling. On Jan. 18, the Flight Attendants-CWA reached a tentative agreement with United for a new defined-contribution pension plan. The new plan only guarantees United will contribute a certain amount to the pension plan each year. The terminated plan guaranteed that retirees would receive a specific payment each month. Even more insulting to workers is a stock compensation plan approved by a bankruptcy court that will give United’s 400 top executives more than $400 million—including $40 million for CEO Glenn Tilton. United’s workers have “worked harder than the guy at the top to make sure that this is a good value for the consuming public,” said Machinists President Tom Buffenbarger. “And they get...crapped on every time they turn around.”

Back to Top

Bush Health Plan's No Cure  (2-06-06)
So-called Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), President Bush’s answer to the health care crisis, will cost consumers more money and provide less health care, according to health experts. Bush pushed the idea of individual accounts in his Jan. 31 State of the Union address. The accounts require huge out-of-pocket payments because of high deductibles, as much as $10,000 for family coverage. Health experts said HSAs would encourage employers to abandon current heath plans and shift health care costs to workers or state and federal programs such as Medicaid. HSAs also would raise premiums for workers who remain in good, comprehensive health care plans, they said. For an in-depth look at HSAs, visit www.aflcio.org/issues/healthcare/hsa.cfm.

Back to Top

Bush Mine Safety Appointee Says Laws Adequate  (1-30-06)
Despite the deaths of 18 coal miners since the first of the year, the Bush administration’s choice to run the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Richard Stickler—a former mining company executive at a subsidiary of Massey Energy in West Virginia—declined to endorse strong new safety laws, such as those recently passed in West Virginia. Stickler told a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing Jan. 31 he believes the nation’s mine safety laws are adequate. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) requested on Feb. 1 that mine operators hold pre-shift safety reviews before beginning production. Mine Workers’ safety committees at UMWA mines, where collective bargaining agreements give them a wide range of rights to ensure miner safety, are conducting thorough inspections. State and federal inspectors also are inspecting all West Virginia mines. Seventeen of the 18 deaths this year have occurred at nonunion mines. “We must take all steps necessary to look at the condition of the coal mines right now, so as to identify any potential problems and act on them before they cause an accident that could add to this tragic toll,” said UMWA President Cecil Roberts. For more information, visit www.aflcio.org/issues/safety/ns02022006.cfm.

Back to Top

Unions Grow By 200,000-Plus  (1-23-06)
Union membership numbers, released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jan. 20, show a significant increase of 213,000 union members in the past year while union density remained steady at 12.5 percent. Those numbers reverse a trend of decline in recent years as good union jobs disappeared. “In a political climate that’s hostile to workers’ rights, these numbers illustrate the extraordinary will of workers to gain a voice on the job despite enormous obstacles,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Also in 2005, BLS figures show the increase in union members’ wages was double the increase in wages of nonunion members, underscoring just how important union membership is to workers at a time when wages are being held flat and health care and retirement costs are being shifted from employers to employees.

Back to Top

Feds' CEO Pay Proposal ‘Not Enough’  (1-23-06)
A new report shows the urgent need for real reform of CEO pay and the federal government’s proposed remedy for more disclosure, while important, is not enough, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. The average CEO is paid 431 times more than a U.S. worker’s average salary, more than 10 times the ratio in 1980, according to Executive Excess 2005: Defense Contractors Get More Bucks for the Bang by the economic and social justice advocacy groups Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed new rules to disclose the total pay for corporate chief executives are long overdue, but “increased disclosure alone is not sufficient to reform executive pay,” Sweeney said. “Ultimately shareholders must be empowered to more easily nominate their own directors to serve on board compensation committees.” For more information, visit www.aflcio.org/ or visit the AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch website at www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/index.cfm to see how CEO pay has been growing.

Back to Top

Prices Continue Climb As Wages Roll Downhill   (1-23-06)
With prices rising at the fastest rate in five years, the average hourly wage dropped for the third year in a row. The BLS reported Jan. 18 that the average hourly wage fell 0.5 percent last year, while real weekly wages for nonmanagerial employees—more than 80 percent of the workforce—declined 0.4 percent, after adjusting for inflation. At the same time, the consumer price index, driven by surging energy costs, rose 3.4 percent over the same period. BLS figures also show the inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings of wage and salary workers in the fourth quarter of 2005 declined 1.8 percent from a year earlier to $321. “The growing economy is showing up everywhere except where it’s needed most: in the paychecks of working families. The gap between real wages and productivity growth remains a fundamental problem in the current economic expansion,” said Jared Bernstein, senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute (www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeat_econindicators_wages_20060118).

Back to Top

BLS Forced To Revive Women's Data   (1-16-06)
After a huge outcry from women’s and other groups and congressional action, the Bush administration will resume collecting and reporting employment data about women workers in its monthly payroll survey. The Bush administration’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stopped collecting the data on women workers’ employment, hours, earnings and other job facts in July 2005. The BLS received more than 5,000 comments about the action and more than 90 percent were opposed. An amendment to the fiscal year (FY) 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services spending bill required BLS to resume reporting the women’s data for FY 2006, but the agency announced last week it would permanently reinstate the women’s data.

Back to Top

Chamber Fights Majority Signing Agreements  (1-09-06)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has stepped up its fight to outlaw majority sign-up agreements in which employers agree to honor the workers’ freedom to form a union when a majority signs authorization cards. According to news reports, the corporate business group is circulating a “briefing book” on Capitol Hill that claims to outline union tactics and strategies it says unfairly force employers to accept the workers’ choice to form a union. The group is supporting legislation that would make majority sign-up agreements illegal. Its lobbying efforts come as support for the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1696 and S. 842) has grown to 207 co-sponsors in the House and 42 in the Senate. Among other provisions, the act would strengthen protections for workers’ freedom to choose by requiring employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers signs cards authorizing union representation. For more information on the Employee Free Choice Act, see www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/.

Back to Top

Who's On Our Side?  (12-19-05)
The AFL-CIO launched a nationwide “Who’s On Our Side?” campaign Dec. 13 to hold members of Congress accountable for the votes they cast on working family priorities. In nine states, working family activists are releasing report cards grading their U.S. senators and representatives on working family issues during the 2005 congressional session. The lawmakers were evaluated on their votes in five categories: jobs and wages, retirement security, health care, tax fairness and education. “The AFL-CIO’s ‘Who’s On Our Side?’ campaign is going to make sure working families know who’s on their side on issues that are vital to their futures,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka. “Working families—with the facts in hand—have the power to take back the country and make sure we are represented by leaders who are fighting for our best interests, and not the special interests, every day.” The report cards looked at votes on trade, the minimum wage, community wage standards, child labor standards, protections for wages and pensions, Medicaid, health care, consumer protections, tax cuts for the wealthy, student loans and funding for public education. Throughout 2006, the “Who’s on Our Side?” campaign will include continuing reports on lawmakers and grassroots mobilization to put working family issues at the top of the 2006 congressional agenda. For more information, visit www.aflcio.org/reportcards.

Back to Top

CEOS Get Richer, Workers Make Less For More Work  (12-12-05)
CEO pay is rising at an astronomical pace while workers’ wages are dropping or stagnating, according to new reports. The average CEO made 431 times the salary of a production worker in 2004, up from 301-to-1 in 2003 and 24-to-1 in the mid-1960s, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute. While CEOs get richer, workers are producing more and taking home less pay. Worker productivity increased 4.7 percent during the third quarter of 2005, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, while real hourly wages and benefits decreased by 1.4 percent, compared with an even higher 3.1 percent decrease in the previous quarter. For more information, visit www.aflcio.org/ or visit www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/index.cfm to see how CEO pay has been growing at the AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch website.

Back to Top

Tracking Corporate Behavior Online  (11-21-05)
Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, added new features to its unique online database that gives the public easy access to information on corporate behavior. Job Tracker 2.0, with information on 60,000 corporations, allows workers to find out which companies in their communities export jobs and examine those employers’ track records on health and safety and workers’ rights. The database also provides the latest information on the salary of the company’s CEO. “You can’t get this range of information anywhere else even though so many corporate employers are failing our communities,” said Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. Job Tracker 2.0 is available at www.workingamerica.org/jobtracker.

Back to Top

For more Work-In-Progress click here.