Cablevision workers won their union election today, beating back a brutal anti-union drive from the Dolans.
We're looking to organize cable and telecomm everywhere.
This was a great election and we are so proud of our new Brooklyn union members - the Cablevision 99%.
There's a song at the end of this. I'll dedicate it to women in NJ's labor movement.
Today is the 100th anniversary of one of the most important moments in labor history, in women's history, and in American history. From AFL-CIO blog:
The Bread and Roses Strike
On Jan. 12, 1912, some 25,000 workers at the mills of the American Woolen Company in Lawrence walked off the job when the company cut their pay-already a mere $8 a week for the men, and less for the women and children-after the state legislature passed a law shortening the length of their workweek from 56 hours to 54 hours. Workers stayed off the job for months, enduring beatings from police and the Massachusetts militia, who spared not even women and children.
Massachusetts, not New Jersey. Yes, this is outside our coverage area, same as when I took note of the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (NYC). A history professor at University of Massachusetts calls Bread and Roses "the first Occupy"- "the 99% against the 1% of 1912." Income disparity drives the Occupy movement, now a crossroads. And Labor is in flux, weakened in some states as historic collective bargaining rights are being challenged to varying degree. Wisconsin. Indiana. Ohio. New Jersey. There's something in the story of this strike - led by women, and successful - that's still inspiring. Especially to women.
When I was very young, one of my mother's friends in the school integration movement outside Detroit (where we lived) gave her a song - Bread and Roses - she said reminded her of me: Bread and Roses. An amazing song, Judy Collins' silvery soprano and Mimi Farina's liquidy mezzo. And it's about the best compliment I ever had.
Late-night musical bonus. Listen - under the fold.
The one-upsmanship of endorsement press releases continues, a list of Latino leaders supporting Steve Rothman we posted in the diary below this, and now Labor and infrasructural Democratic endorsements for Bill Pascrell.
At a certain point, you have to wonder whether these endorsement lists are canceling each other out, or even confusing rank & file voters. But to be honest, some of the sturm und drang between proponents of these two Democratic congressmen thrown together by redistricting is playing out at Blue Jersey. So, I trust the Blue Jersey readers will tell us whether this is helpful in their decision or just so much noise.
Endorsing Bill Pascrell:
Michael J. "Jerry" Breslin, Jr., the former Chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization & former Treasurer of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee: I have known Bill Pascrell very well for a number of years. He has always been a great team player. If the roles were reversed, I know that he would not back down from taking on a right wing Republican like Scott Garrett. I am proud to endorse the re-election of Congressman Pascrell.
Mark Roche, president of the Passaic County Building Trades: We're just beginning to see signs that things are getting better in our economy. That makes it critical for union members and Democrats to stand together. Bill Pascrell has always understood that. He's a good Democrat that's fighting for us.
John T. Niccollai, president of United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 464A: Congressman Pascrell is a fighter for labor. He has always stuck by us and we're ready to stick by him. The best bet for our members is to unite behind Congressman Pascrell because he has always fought for fairness in the workplace and the interests of the middle class. Any time we have ever called him with any kind of a problem he has been there for us immediately.
Below the fold, a list of labor organizations supporting Pascrell, some or all of which were previously released.
Today 21 union locals announced support for Congressman Bill Pascrell in his primary fight. Bill Mullen, President of the New Jersey State Building and Constructions Trade Council put it best: "Moving your home to challenge one of your own doesn't make sense. That's why we're standing by Congressman Bill Pascrell." And he is 100% right. Bill Pascrell isn't moving anywhere. I can say with certainty that if he was drawn into a district with Scott Garrett he wouldn't be running from the fight. He would take it head on like he has every race in his career.
That is the most disappointing part of Rothman's decision to move into Pascrell's district. There is a golden opportunity to take out one of the most extreme, ideologically driven members of Congress. A man who wants to drill for oil on New Jersey's shores, voted against reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act and refused to support funding for Hurricane Katrina victims. Garrett refuses to compromise on anything and epitomizes everything that is wrong with Washington D.C. right now. Instead of taking this fight to Garrett - someone Rothman disagrees with on almost every issue - he is fighting his own, another progressive Democrat who he almost always agrees with.
It makes no sense.
It is no secret that I'm a strong Pascrell supporter. Since my first race for the Haledon Board of Education right up until my election as the Mayor of Haledon he has been behind me. Bill Pascrell didn't start this fight. But you can rest assured he is going to end it.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ has proven for 7,000 New Jersey building cleaners that, especially in tough economic times, there is power in a union.
With just four days to go until SEIU's contracts expired with office building owners throughout the state, and a strike already having been authorized, SEIU negotiated a contract that will see wages increase by over 10 percent over four years throughout the state and benefits such as health care continue. In an economy in which the middle class is bearing more than their share of the downturn, it is inspiring to see a union winning these benefits for people currently making around $12 an hour.
But the work is not over. Today at 4 PM in Jersey City at 101 Hudson Street, joined by several elected officials including Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise and Assemblymen Charles Mainor and Jason O'Donnell, New Jersey workers will rally both to celebrate the new contract and to support their colleagues across the river in New York, who also face a January 1 deadline but have not reached a contract. The New York deadline is one of many upcoming deadlines throughout the country of contracts still not renegotiated as most SEIU contracts expire in 2012.
The formal member vote on the new contract will occur in early January - but this one already looks like a winner. We at Blue Jersey congratulate SEIU for keeping middle class New Jersey jobs and hope that New York office owners follow suit soon.
PS A related movie recommendation for the holiday weekend - Bread and Roses tells the (fictionalized) story of a SEIU organizing drive in LA. It's a bit over the top but fun and worth watching.
Going on right now at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is a faculty-organized teach-in to educate students & community on the history of labor struggle in the context of Occupy Wall Street and AFT's ongoing contract negotiation with the college. At 5pm there's a rally. Speakers include LD-31 Assemblyman Jason O'Donnell., Haledon Mayor (and AFT member) Domenick Stampone, and Marie Corfield, schoolteacher and 2011 LD-16 candidate for Assembly. - promoted by Rosi
152 days. That is the number of days the members of Raritan Valley Community College's faculty have been working without a contract. That is the number of days the Board of Trustees has stalled in offering AFT Local #2375 members a fair contract. Their offer to us hasn't changed: 0% raises for next year. But 0% isn't really 0%. A 0% raise is a 1.5% reduction for our members with the new health and pension reforms put into place by Governor Christie. And as these reforms phase in, this reduction in salary is going to get worse. The hardworking middle class members of the RVCC faculty don't deserve a pay reduction, not when so many of us are struggling to get by. Not when RVCC's President is one of the highest paid community college presidents in New Jersey with compensation over $245,000/year including a car and housing allowance, while the RVCC faculty salaries rank 9th out of the 19 NJ community colleges!
We need shared sacrifice, not hollow offers.
RVCC is a great place to learn and it provides an excellent education to residents of Central New Jersey. And don't just take my word for it. Reader's Digestrecently listed RVCC as a top ten "Affordable Colleges for your child to consider." This wasn't a list of just community colleges. It was all colleges. Our faculty is the driving force in making RVCC "student centered, led by idealists, and [displaying] good core values," - as Reader's Digest commented.
And it isn't just Reader's Digest making these observations. The Atlantic recently commented on the prestige our faculty enjoys:
In fact, it's possible to get a fine bachelor's degree at a reasonable cost and without going into debt. But students and their parents will have to stop thinking that name-brand prestige assures academic quality. The reverse is often true: professors who are rewarded for research are less likely to spend time with undergraduates. One offshoot of the PhD glut is that excellent teachers have taken positions at two-year colleges and regional branches of public systems. Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey, Western Oregon State University, and University of Maryland's Baltimore County campus are a few we've visited and were impressed with what we saw.
Our faculty are dedicated professionals and highly educated, having a minimum of a Master's Degree in their discipline. Over 45% of RVCC's faculty have a doctorate, Ph.D. or terminal degree in their field. They are teaching at RVCC because they love working with students, not for the paycheck. But that doesn't mean we don't deserve fair compensation. As we've said before, we understand times are tough. That doesn't mean the cuts should all fall on the faculty.
Today we'll once again be voicing our displeasure with the Board of Trustees prior to their annual meeting. Various members of the faculty are holding a "Teach-in" to educate students on Student and Labor activism across the world and the importance of affordable public education and fair compensation. At 5:00 PM Assemblyman Jason O'Donnell will be joining us for a rally of students, alumni, and faculty. We are proud to have a strong fighter for middle class values standing with us on the front lines. You can get more information and RSVP for the event on ourFacebook page. With so much emphasis on unemployment in our society, the Board needs to remember that teachers are job creators.
If education historian Diane Ravitch was the all-knowing eagle of education during her speech at last week's New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey's Acting Education Commissioner, Chris Cerf, was clearly the prey being circled by hawks. Blue Jersey's own Deciminyan reviewed Ravitch's speech, and it's a must read in light of my review of Cerf's...
In a standing room only venue, all eyes and ears, and iPhones and iPads, were trained on Cerf as he spoke to educators for about an hour. Tweets and texts were flying from the more tech-savvy, while others took notes with pen and paper. Cerf represents everything educators know is wrong about the divisive, corporate 'reforms' that are destroying public education nationwide: increased reliance on standardized testing and charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, and value added measures (VAM).
The former New York City Deputy Schools Chancellor under Joel Klein, Cerf came to New Jersey with some professional baggage. Leonie Haimson, education activist, Executive Director of the New York City group Class Size Matters, and founding member of Parents Across America (PAA) paints a troublesome portrait. With quite an extensive resume in the private and public sector, Cerf actually taught high school history for four years at the beginning of his career. However, it's ironic that he didn't make it to the five-year mark-the make-or-break point where teachers decide whether to stay or leave the profession. But he opened his speech with the applause garnering statement that he never worked harder than when he was teaching. Can't argue with that.
However, the hawks swooped in with boos, hisses and shouts of "liar!" when he emphatically stated that Governor Christie "has the highest regard for teachers," and that, "neither I nor the governor are against unions." Now, I think it's safe to say that anyone reading this post has some idea of current events in this state, so you know that this is simply not true. But if perchance you need some proof, look no further than Blue Jersey blogger Jersey Jazzman for evidence.
This past week the Courier News posted a sItory about our ongoing contract negotiations at Raritan Valley Community College titled RVCC professors won't give up annual salary raise.The article goes on at length to highlight the salaries of our more tenured professors - people who help make RVCC a top community college institution in New Jersey - but fails to mention the spike in administrative salaries over the past ten years. Moreover, there is no mention of our more junior members making significantly less than their counterparts across New Jersey.
Our position has remained consistent throughout negotiations: offering our members a 0% raise is a non-starter. With the new pension and benefit reforms, 0% is essentially a pay reduction. Our members don't deserve a reduction in wages. All we are asking for are good faith negotiations to reach a fair consensus. We understand that these are tough economic times. But based upon the salaries received by members in the administration - including the RVCC President, who is making over $245,000 in total compensation - we think there is room for negotiation.
We remain committed to a fair contract for our members and hope the administration comes to the bargaining table to reach a fair compromise. Until then, we will continue to give our side of the story. Before the last negotiation session members of AFT, students, and alumni came together to voice our displeasure with the state of negotiations. Watch a video of the rally below and please join us on November 29th at 5:00 PM as we stage another demonstration prior to a negotiation session.
The New Jersey School Board Association has placed several videos from last week's conference on their web page.
Only a small portion of the speech by Jamie Vollmer was posted. That's too bad--it was really good. He reminded us that there have always been critics of public education, and that people have always thought their schools and their youth were the best, despite the fact that graduation rates are much higher now and that the "olden days" are just a hazy memory.
On the NJSBA site, you can see Chris Cerf's entire speech, including the part where he unfolds his 7-region panel plan. You can also watch the panel discussion on tenure reform. Alas, Vincent Giordano, the Executive Director of the NJEA, was woefully unsupported against the reps the NJ Dept. of Ed.
For Chris Cerf and the tenure panel, go to NJSBA. Here's Jamie Vollmer:
Hello Blue Jersey community. My name is Maria DeFilippis, President of AFT Local #2375 representing the full and part time faculty at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC). As we currently work through contract negotiations, I wanted to introduce you to our situation and hopefully enlist your support and guidance as we move forward in bargaining for a fair contract for our members.
On June 30, 2011, the faculty contract between the Raritan Valley Community College Board of Trustees and the Raritan Valley Community College Faculty Federation expired. In years past negotiations were relatively simple: the Board asked for X, the faculty asked for Y, and we met in the middle at Z.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case this year.
We are currently operating in an environment without a good faith effort by our counterparts to reach a fair agreement. They claim there is no room for any negotiation. It is their way or the highway. We understand the current economic climate is poor - as mostly working class people, we feel it ourselves.
But in the face of how much the College is spending on salaries for administrators (which rank among the highest in the nation), as well as for car and housing allowances and personal expense accounts, we don't think the Administration is sharing in our sacrifice.
And that is all we are asking for: shared sacrifice.
At the very least we are owed a negotiations process where the Board is acting in good faith. Since June 30, we don't think we've been afforded that right. Raritan Valley Community College is one of the best community colleges in both New Jersey and the nation. This is in large part credited to the work of our faculty. They deserve to be fairly compensated. We will be paying more for our pension and health benefits. Certainly it is not fair to expect dedicated faculty and staff to take a pay cut. , In addition, to ensure that the College can continue to recruit qualified faculty to our institution, it is necessary to negotiate a contract that provides for fair compensation for our members.
Tonight members of our Local will be rallying before the Board of Trustees meeting in Branchburg outside the Atrium of RVCC at 5:45 PM.
Along with students, faculty and supporters we are going to stand in solidarity to voice our discontent with the current state of the negotiations and our lack of a contract. If possible, please join us and stand with our cause.
As these negotiations unfold, I hope to return to Blue Jersey and keep everyone informed and updated on our efforts. I also hope you can sign onto our efforts by following our AFT Local #2375 onTwitter and"liking" our Facebook page.
What did you see, my brown-eyed Son?
What did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a Red Knight, all covered in Armor,
Charge through a Blue Family, Broken Asunder!
I saw Family moaning, and say What a Headache
With heads all pushed, down in the sand
I saw union clans, counciling caution,
As their ranks were pushed so close to the edge...
And its a hard, Its a Hard
Its a Hard Rain Gonna Fall
News broke today of Gov. Chris Christie's remarks - with audio - claiming he protected Sheila Oliver's position as Speaker with the promise of GOP votes if she couldn't get Democrats, in exchange for her support to post the Christie-Sweeney-Oliver pen-ben bill and shepherd votes. His remarks came at a meeting in Colorado Christie took pains to cover up - failing to disclose it, its hosts (far-right oil billionaire Koch brothers) or even his out-of-state travel that day. No matter which account you believe - if either - what we learned today confirms something is very wrong in the way decisions are made in New Jersey.
The 4 hour-plus time lag before an Oliver denial of Christie's story concerns me. If Christie's story was bullshit, you'd expect her to say so immediately. First, Oliver's late-day statement - a humdinger:
"The assertions that Gov. Christie has made, they are outright lies. Outright lies. I am beginning to wonder if Gov. Christie is mentally deranged," Oliver said. "At no time did I ever, ever pick up the telephone, call Gov. Christie and ask him to quote 'save my leadership.' " The governor was engaged in a chest-thumping vaudeville entertainment session in front of the Republican donors, she said. "I don't expect to call him at all," she said. "I think it's disgraceful."
Mentally deranged, she calls Christie. This story may unleash a war of words between the GOP governor and the Democratic Speaker, a breaking of the confederacy between them that has infuriated so many Democrats. And it may mean that the compliance Christie counts on from Oliver may be cracking as Oliver attempts to save herself from political embarrassment. Though, it's impossible to miss that Oliver expended her energy distancing herself from political allegations from the Governor; she still hasn't said anything worth reporting about her role pushing pen-ben, in defiance of core principles. The possibility that Oliver may now wiggle out from under Christie's thumb and begin to lead as she was elected to do, keeps us from calling for her ouster from leadership.
Hamilton Township is the Birthplace of the Modern Day Tactics of Union Busting
Well, to start, there is no Labor Day Parade in Hamilton Township, but that is merely a by-product of Labor unfriendly leadership within the Township.
Long before Chris Christie became Governor of New Jersey. Long before Wisconsin's actions against Collective Bargaining. Long before John Boehner became Speaker of the House. Long before Republican Mitch McConnell became Senate Minority Leader...Hamilton Township has had John Bencivengo, Kevin Meara and Kelly Yaede hard at work busting up the Public Workers' unions of the CWA, AFSCME and the PBA.
As we analyze what has happened in Hamilton Township it is as though Christie, Wisconsin and the Congressional Republicans ripped a page out of the Hamilton Republican's playbook.
Claim a fiscal crisis and blame the public workers.
Bencivengo and team came into office by accident. On Election Day 2007, the Times of Trenton headlines screamed deficit and these three rode into office. http://nl.newsbank.com/nojavas... .
Since then, they have seized upon this deficit claim to justify a host of actions against the Township's Public Workers, which they state were needed to save the money of Hamilton Township taxpayers.
With the backdrop set of "fiscal crisis" and historical deficit levels these three, along with the sitting Republicans on Township Council, began to work to bust up the CWA,
AFSCME and PBA workers.
What is remarkable is that they moved forward with tax hikes and public worker lay-offs and furloughs without ever having actually naming what this deficit amount was. They have said it was $10 million. Then they said it was $8.8 million and $14 million. Next they said it was $16 million. Finally, they said it was $5 million.
Below, in chronological order, are the links to the various deficit amount claims by the Republican incumbents.
So, in 2008, the first thing that they set about doing was lay-off 54 public employees and reorganizing the Police Division.
In March 2010 they forced 8 furlough days on the remaining public workers in the Township. But in June 2010 they found the money to propose giving John Bencivengo a raise and to actually give significant raises to the non-Union Department Directors.
In 2010 they privatized the Engineering and Planning Department as well as the Ecological Center - further displacing public workers.
A further indication of their disregard for Public Workers and Collective Bargaining is that the Township's Personnel Director is not an actual Personnel Director - lacking all Civil Service level requirements to hold such a position.
Bencivengo and the all Republican Council continually discuss how rising benefit costs are wrecking the Township's budgets and that these costs need to be brought under control.
All of this is poor politics and pure political spin. The largest single increased cost to Township residents is the enormous increased spedning and probable waste i.e. HAMStat, the reckless and very "un-Republican" 2008 $13.3 million permanent Tax Hike that these elected officials gave to residents. A tax increase that they instituted without knowing what the true financial picture of the Township was.
The next largest burden on the Township has been decreased State aide followed by the State's hijacking of the utility Gross Receipts tax then followed by the diminishing property tax receipts.
Yet, despite their cries about labor costs and benefits increasing so dramatically over the past four years they have still found themselves able to increase Township spending a cumulative $20 million.
Yes, there is a global recession. However, due in no small part of the $13.3 million annual tax hike, Hamilton Township has lost more revenue due to lost tax receipts from exodusing businesses and residents than what the increasing labor and benefit costs have been.
The Public Workers in Hamilton Township are hardworking and have sacrificed much for the betterment of the Township. Unfortunately, their sacrifices appear to be borne out of Bencivengo's, Meara's and Yasede's generalizations as well as their insincere and unsubstantiated claims of fiscal crisis.
The Verizon strike - affecting 45,000 workers on the Eastern Seaboard - is over. The unions agreed to a 30-day return to work, effective midnight August 23, with work beginning Tuesday, which either side can cancel with a 7-day notice. And negotiations will continue as that old contract remains in force. Joint statement from CWA & IBEW:
We have reached agreement with Verizon on how bargaining will proceed and how it will be restructured. The major issues remain to be discussed, but overall, issues now are focused and narrowed.
Earlier this week there was a large, peaceful protest outside Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam's house in leafy Mendham, to bring middle class workplace issues to the very front door of a CEO whose compensation (from the very profitable Verizon) is in the millions.
Verizon engaged in a huge public relations campaign to counter the effect of viral strike videos, and picket lines of red-shirted union workers. Newspaper ads. Radio and TV blitz, all about how happy their customers are.
This customer supported the strike (maybe strike-supporting customers didn't occur to Verizon). My cell phone's busted, and I wasn't about to walk it in to Verizon. Now I can.
This isn't strictly New Jersey, but it's germane as hell when you consider that Gov. Christie is building a national future for himself on the backs of public employees in New Jersey. And Democrats and independents will want to know where the president stands - in clear opposition? Christie's making NJ the forefront - along with states like Wisconsin and Ohio - of a national GOP attempt to shift public thinking away from its historical support of union workers as the bedrock of the middle class to a belief that union workers are the people greedily stealing from and ruining the middle class. But unlike the leaders of those states, our governor has skillfully maneuvered that message - here, but especially nationally to movement conservatives hungry for his 2012 candidacy - into big-league GOP stardom. Is it presidential? He keeps demurring, but he does it like wallflower who can't stop lifting her skirts for all the boys to see. Especially the boys in Iowa.
But Barack Obama is the president. Blue Jersey, is the president's message strong enough, consistent enough, and clear enough to oppose the well-funded anti-union propaganda campaign of Gov. Christie and his disciples?
You tell me.
Here's a portion of Pres. Obama's remarks, yesterday at an outdoor Town Hall-style gathering at the Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, northern Iowa. The questioner is Bev Kromgezmi, a high school social studies teachers who taught some of the people in yesterday's crowd. His answer, after the jump.
THE PRESIDENT: How was she? Was she a good teacher? (Applause.) You got thumbs up.
Q What can I say?
THE PRESIDENT: What did you teach?
Q High school social studies.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's important stuff.
Q Many unions, especially public sector unions, helped you get elected in 2008. Those public sector unions and their members gained their salaries and benefits through collective bargaining. Recently, those benefits have been under attack. And I realize that this is a state issue mostly, but what can you do to help support collective bargaining in the states and, most of all, support the public sector unions, the middle class, many of whom are union members? Thank you. (Applause.)
This isn't strictly New Jersey, but it's germane as hell when you consider that Gov. Christie is building a national future for himself on the backs of public employees in New Jersey. And Democrats and independents will want to know where the president stands - in clear opposition? Christie's making NJ the forefront - along with states like Wisconsin and Ohio - of a national GOP attempt to shift public thinking away from its historical support of union workers as the bedrock of the middle class to a belief that union workers are the people greedily stealing from and ruining the middle class. But unlike the leaders of those states, our governor has skillfully maneuvered that message - here, but especially nationally to movement conservatives hungry for his 2012 candidacy - into big-league GOP stardom. Is it presidential? He keeps demurring, but he does it like wallflower who can't stop lifting her skirts for all the boys to see. Especially the boys in Iowa.
But Barack Obama is the president. Blue Jersey, is the president's message strong enough, consistent enough, and clear enough to oppose the well-funded anti-union propaganda campaign of Gov. Christie and his disciples?
You tell me.
Here's a portion of Pres. Obama's remarks, yesterday at an outdoor Town Hall-style gathering at the Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, northern Iowa. The questioner is Bev Kromgezmi, a high school social studies teachers who taught some of the people in yesterday's crowd. His answer, after the jump.
THE PRESIDENT: How was she? Was she a good teacher? (Applause.) You got thumbs up.
Q What can I say?
THE PRESIDENT: What did you teach?
Q High school social studies.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's important stuff.
Q Many unions, especially public sector unions, helped you get elected in 2008. Those public sector unions and their members gained their salaries and benefits through collective bargaining. Recently, those benefits have been under attack. And I realize that this is a state issue mostly, but what can you do to help support collective bargaining in the states and, most of all, support the public sector unions, the middle class, many of whom are union members? Thank you. (Applause.)
Our Ledger friends ask whether the good people of New Jersey will even want Verizon workers in their houses ever again after witnessing them in the act of striking. Witnessing what? S-L reports the FBI is investigating 90 acts of 'sabotage'. That's 90 'incidents' over 9 days of striking, in states from Massachusetts to Virginia, with 45,000 people out on strike. Really?
Strikes are a challenging business for both sides as S-L notes in their first paragraph (then promptly forgets). Their story deals only with striker behavior. And they have to pull from the entire Eastern Seabord for alleged stories of BB guns, blocked trucks, and cut cables. They, like many right-wing websites, are particularly scandalized by a worker "using his young daughter as a roadblock for Verizon trucks". I thought you should see that video. Does she look scared to you? Maybe she knows the well-financed PR assault her Daddy's up against.
What about what may be bad actions of scabs? Did S-L even consider the longstanding union-busting tradition of management sabotaging equipment so that striking workers are blamed? No. (Let alone snafus like managers rusty at dangerous 'hands-on' work [apparently] doing stuff like blowing transformers).
A few things for S-L to consider:
$258 million: compensation for Verizon's top 5 execs over the past 4 years
$6 billion: Verizon's annualized profits for 2011
$6,800: increased health care costs to each worker if Verizon wins
This isn't about getting rich off this company. Top Verizon execs have that covered. It's about retaining living wage jobs; that's what unions are supposedto do. The company's asking for about 100 give-backs including freezing pensions, cutting paid holidays, and exporting jobs to foreign companies.
Where's Star-Ledger's outrage at that? The people on strike are the people who built Verizon, literally. Verizon's claiming their back's against the wall because the market's transitioning from land-lines to wireless. Investment experts say even if Verizon succeeds in cutting worker benefits there's no guarantee it will stop their market share loss in landline. And the union makes the case its workers helped build Verizon's highly-profitable wireless side, which is not unionized. So why not support workers earning a living wage, and trying to keep their jobs in America?
So, difficult as strikes are - we get that, S-L - maybe you've overplayed the inconvenience to this company its workers built, that wants to shave worker benefits to rake in even more money. And maybe you haven't noticed many of its customers support the strike.
Jump for a video on the strike from the workers' side:
Today is a major day for Democrats in Wisconsin. Earlier this year the party stood as one against an onslaught from Tea Party and rank and file Republicans against working Americans and public union members. As a result, the party and the grassroots were able to pull together and set up recall elections against enough state Senators to move control to the Democrats with three wins.
Update: I found this table of where and what the stopped projects are. All of NJ's are at the same emerging South Jersey airport; search the table for Atlantic City.
Nearly 650 South Jersey workers were furloughed over the weekend at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, as the FAA halted work on air travel infrastructure projects across the country. Construction workers. Planners. Engineers. All were sent home after Congress failed to pass legislation re-authorizing federal ticket taxes - these are used to fund building projects for facilities like new runways and new control towers and modernizing air traffic control systems. Nearly 4,000 FAA employees across the country are furloughed without pay. Plus 87,000 construction jobs stopped, across the US. To maintain a safety baseline, the shutdown can only be partial. Unaffected are air traffic controllers and safety inspectors, who will remain on the job. So will FAA employees who inspect planes and test pilots.
Today, senators Lautenberg and Menendez fired off a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging him to steer his GOP conference to resolution that gets FAA back up. Our senators peg Republicans in both the House and Senate for the failure. GOP lawmakers tacked on a list of provisions to a long-term spending bill for the FAA approved by the GOP-led House this spring. On that list is a GOP-driven proposal, sought by the airline industry, that would make it more difficult for airline workers to unionize.
And they're not budging, even as the FAA warns that grinding these projects to a halt could significantly increase their ultimate cost to taxpayers. Even though FAA's also unable to collect the full measure of taxes on airline tickets bought, depriving the government of revenue (with most airlines pocketing that as a bonus instead of passing that savings on to you).
Senators' letter, after the jump.
Does anyone know what sort of pension and benefits Chris Christie will recieve after his term in office as governor? Also, any word with regard to any benefits from his other government jobs?
