Weekly Labor Reader, July 31, 2019
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In a statement, MA AFL-CIO President Steven Tolman said,
Read more From the Boston Globe:
"Bus drivers on Martha’s Vineyard Sunday afternoon approved their first-ever contract, which calls for pay increases and seniority protections — and ends a monthlong strike against their company during the busy tourist season.
The drivers, who are represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union, are employed by Florida-based Transit Connection Inc., which is contracted to operate buses for the Vineyard Transit Authority.
The vote was 32 to 1, according to the union. Drivers return to work on Tuesday.
In a statement released by the union following the vote, driver Richard Townes said: “This is a historical day for VTA drivers and a great day for the island. We can now better provide for our families, our jobs are more secure, and we can get back to safely transporting our riders, friends and allies, whose support on the picket lines and year-round was critical in achieving this fair contract.”"
Continue reading more from the Globe here
Save Our Apprenticeships!
We need your help. The Department of Labor just released a proposal that could decimate training and labor standards in registered apprenticeship programs across the country, and we only have a few weeks to stop it.
Tell the Department of Labor: Hands off our apprenticeships!
Apprenticeships are key pathways to gainful employment, training workers for highly skilled jobs while paying living wages and providing health care. This new proposal would drive down standards for the world-class apprenticeship programs that workers and industries depend on. It would jeopardize not only good jobs, but safety standards in industries like construction. Watering down these programs is just plain wrong.
Right now, the Department of Labor is asking the public for feedback on this misguided proposal. We have to let them know that working people won’t stand for this.
Help save our apprenticeships by taking a quick 2 minute action by August 26th
President Steve Tolman testifying with Peter MacKinnon, President of SEIU Local 509, on bills that would give workers a stronger voice when it comes to decisions made about their healthcare by the GIC. Local 509 is currently the largest union of state employees that does not have a seat on the Commission and this legislation, among other important reforms, ensures that they will have a seat and that there will be a fairer balance between labor and management on the Commission.Read President Tolman's testimony here.Should Massachusetts restore the requirement of time-and-a-half pay for retail workers on Sundays and holidays? (YES!)
"In my store, whether it is a young 17-year old-saving for the rising costs of a college education or a single mother, keeping time and one half pay was the one issue that each of my co-workers found vital in our negotiations."
Read more from the Boston Globe
“There’s a lot of things this administration has done that makes it difficult to work here, but this is the first thing that’s really hit staff on a personal level,’’ said a public liaison for superfund site cleanups who moved to Exeter, N.H. — a two-hour drive from Boston — in part because of her ability to work from home two days a week, which allows her to pick up her 2-year-old from day care."Read more in the Boston GlobeConstruction Unions Proud to Set U.S. Record for Gender Equity at Encore Boston Harbor
Read more from Everett Independent
Self-serving false alarms are sounded over health of the retirement system
John Ratliff, President of the Alliance for Retired American's opinion piece was featured in the Sunday Boston Globe. Self-serving false alarms are sounded over health of the retirement systemI was disappointed with the article “Funding crisis approaches for Social Security” (Page A1, July 21). I am among the 75 percent of Massachusetts seniors who depend on Social Security.In its 84 years, through wars and recessions, Social Security has never missed a payment. If nothing changes, Social Security will be able to pay full benefits through 2035. Simply raising the federal minimum wage would extend this greatly.People with ulterior motives continue to sound false alarms. Some simply want to cut our earned benefits. Others want to let Wall Street manage the system — for a profit, of course.Several bills pending in Congress would expand Social Security benefits and extend the life of the Social Security trust fund. A common feature is to raise the cap now placed on the income taxed to fund the program. There is no reason that Jeff Bezos should pay a lower percentage of his income into Social Security than his lowest-paid employee.Expanding Social Security and eliminating the cap on earnings has the overwhelming support of the American people.Read more in Boston GlobeReject Eugene Scalia
Eugene Scalia, the nominee for secretary of labor, has spent his entire career making life more difficult and dangerous for working people. The AFL-CIO opposed him in 2002 for solicitor of labor based on his anti-worker record. He has fought ergonomics standards, threatened to destroy workers’ retirement savings, challenged the expansion of health care and dismissed repetitive injuries as “junk science.” The secretary of labor needs to be a true advocate for working people. Scalia’s views are dangerously outside the mainstream and leave us no choice but to oppose his nomination.Labor Guild School of Labor-Management Relations Classes
July 31: Beach Party at the State House for Fund Our Future
August 3: 1199 SEIU Community Fair, Boston
August 6: Boston Tradeswomen Tuesday
August 12: Harbor Cruise Greater Southeastern MA Labor Council
August 23: MA AFL-CIO Political & Legislative Roundtable, Dorchester
September 2: Labor Day Breakfasts in Boston and Worcester
September 2: Bread and Roses Heritage Festival in Lawrence
September 6: Western MA Area Labor Federation's Labor Day Breakfast, Chicopee
September 25-September 27: MA AFL-CIO Convention, Springfield
For a full list of events, visit the calendar on our website. If you have any events that you would like to be included, contact Rachael Running at rrunning@massaflcio.org
@massteacher: "This is a victory by and for the community. But it is just a small step." - MTA President Merrie Najimy on the #mabudget passed today. https://massteacher.org/news/2019/07/school-funding-heads-in-the-right-direction … #fundourfuture: https://www.saveconstructionapprenticeships.org/#/34/