a message from director michael bolton published by the united steelworkers district 2 afl-cio·clc...
TRANSCRIPT
is published by the
United Steelworkers District 2 AFL-CIO·CLC
MICHAEL BOLTON, Director 1244A Midway Rd., Menasha, WI 54952
(920) 722-7630
Contributors to this issue include: Jay McMurran, Tammy Duncan, Lori Gutekunst, Cindy Odden, Linda Lucas, Jason Wilcox, LU 12075
Matthew Kelly, Tony Pascarella, Susan Davis
Articles and photos are welcome and should be sent to:
Art Kroll, Editor, District 2 News 20600 Eureka Road, Suite 300, Taylor, MI 48180
[email protected] • 734-285-0367
April 15, 2015, is the deadline for submissions for the next issue.
won't be on the ballot in 2016. "He isn't running again, they are," he said. While the White House and GOP leaders have cited trade as fertile ground for bipartisan cooperation, prospects for passage in this Congress are unclear. The trade pact has a powerful ally in the Trade Benefits America Coalition, an amalgamation of more than 250 business interests and corporations who are lobbying Congress to enact fast track and support TPP. The coalition is running a competing national campaign in key districts and states highlighting how trade benefits their local economies and small businesses. "We believe this debate will be won by having local voices who support trade and its impact on the economy make that case directly to lawmakers," said Kevin Madden, a spokesman for the coalition. The White House boasts GOP allies, including House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. However, the Senate has already postponed taking up a fast-track bill until April to build support for it. Some House Republicans are reluctant to vote for anything that expands the power of the executive branch, and many top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, oppose it. Trumka said it is a far more significant trade deal than ones that have come before it, including 1994's North American Free Trade Agreement, and would have sweeping consequences for the U.S. economy. "This agreement will shut the door on millions of American workers for a long time to come. Inequality will grow, jobs will be lost, wages will be lowered, and this country's middle class will continue to get dinged," he said. Trumka was dismissive of a February Gallup poll that showed a majority of Americans, 54%, view trade as an opportunity for economic growth, while 38% said it was a threat to the economy from foreign imports. "I think a proper trade (deal) is good if it benefits everybody," he said, "But we haven't seen that yet, and we have no reason to believe TPP will be that either."
MICHAEL H. BOLTON, DIRECTOR
MARCH 27, 2015 • VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 • PAGE 1
I would like to remind you i f y o u r L o c a l h a s n ' t registered for the April 13th –1 5 t h R a p i d R e s p o n s e Conference, please do so as soon as possible. While the rooming block has expired at the host hotel, the conference is at the time that the Fast
Track Authority (FTA) will be introduced and the USW will be “lobbying” on the hill to try and derail this trade bill. With that said, this month I would like to share with you an article by Susan Davis, Chief Congressional Reporter at USA Today. WASHINGTON — A top union official put lawmakers on notice Tuesday that votes in favor of giving President Obama fast-track authority for a pending multilateral trade pact will be used against them in the 2016 elections. "We are going all out to oppose it: phone banks, leaf letting, door knocks in various congressional districts and Senate states in informing the general public, and we will continue this until we are successful in defeating it," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said during a reporter roundtable. If approved, fast-track authority would allow Obama to negotiate a final trade deal that can only be approved or disapproved by Congress — not subject to amendment or filibuster. The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, also supported by Obama, affects 12 countries that make up 40% of the world's population and 60% of global GDP. While labor unions have historically allied with the Democratic Party, the trade debate has pitted unions against the White House. Trumka warned that approval of fast-track authority and the TPP would have far-reaching political implications beyond the Obama administration. "It will adversely affect the way working people view this administration and all those in the Democratic Party for a long time," he said. Democrats under pressure from the White House to support it should remember that the president
USW District 2 USW District 2 USW District 2 Council Steering CommitteeCouncil Steering CommitteeCouncil Steering Committee
The District 2 Council By-Laws established a District 2 Council Steering Committee comprised of a rank and file structure. It was set up to assist in the following:
Development of agenda for Council Conference.
● Planning of the District Council Conference Educational Conferences.
● District 2 strategic planning.
● Determining and assessing educational needs within the District.
Generating and leading activism and other purposes consistent with the mission and directives of District 2 and the USW.
The elected members of the Steering Committee are listed below by manufacturing sector. If you need to contact a Steering Committee Member, please do so by using the email provided.
NameNameName LU#LU#LU# SectorSectorSector Email AddressEmail AddressEmail Address
Hawley Warren 1299 Steel and Related
Dennis DeMeyer Jr. 2-15 Paper [email protected]
Kevin Bishop 1533 Amalgamated [email protected]
Jesse Edwards 2-232 Automotive Related
Kent Holsing 12075 Chemical &
Energy Related [email protected]
Mary Jane Holland 9184 Health Care [email protected]
Mark Lewis 12934 Public [email protected]
Dave Page 1327 At Large [email protected]
Wes White 1327 At Large [email protected]
Jim Whitt 2-145 Allied Industrial [email protected]
DISTRICT 2 CONTACT IDISTRICT 2 CONTACT IDISTRICT 2 CONTACT INFORMATIONNFORMATIONNFORMATION
USW District 2 Office 1244A Midway Road Menasha, WI 54952 (920) 722-7630
Northern WI & MI Sub-District Office 1244A Midway Road Menasha, WI 54952 (920) 722-7630
Southern WI Sub-District Office 1126 South 70th Street Suite N509A West Allis, WI 53214 (414) 475-4560
Northern MI Sub-District Office 503 North Euclid Avenue Suite #10 - Euclid Plaza Bay City, MI 48706 (989) 667-0660
Southern MI Sub-District Office 20600 Eureka Road, Suite 300 Taylor, MI 48180 (734) 285-0367
A Message from A Message from A Message from DirectorDirectorDirector Michael BoltonMichael BoltonMichael Bolton
is published by the United Steelworkers District 2
AFL-CIO·CLC MICHAEL BOLTON, Director 1244A Midway Rd., Menasha, WI 54952
(920) 722-7630
Have you been to District 2’s Page on Facebook?
www.facebook.com/USWDistrict2
MARCH 27, 2015 • VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 • PAGE 2
Did you know?Did you know?Did you know?
Political Humor?
Next Generation & WOS Join Together to Walk the Bay City St. Patrick’s Day Parade
USW LU 1299 Building Committee Updating Union Hall
Over this past year, the Building Committee for USW Local 1299 has been busy getting repairs made and updating the union hall. Members of the building committee are Stephanie Pruitt, Wheeler Marsee, Bob Kemper, Mike Swift and Lee Kettlewell. The committee was able to use the funds generated from a motorcycle raffle the local had run last year. New tables, refrigerator, painting and glass block windows were all purchased for the basement of the hall. Along with the improvements in the basement, new awnings for the exterior and stained glass in the steeple were installed. Above is a picture of the exterior of the Local 1299’s hall and the steeple.
Members of USW Locals 2-585, 1077, 9899, and 12075, along with USW District 2 Staff and UA Local 85, took to the streets on March 15 in Bay City, Michigan, for the annual Bay City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Their presence during the parade was very well received, and the crowd offered them many cheers and salutes as they passed by. It is so important that we in the labor movement work to educate the public as to how our
members participate in, and contribute to, our communities, and this was a wonderful opportunity to showcase their involvement. Members and family in attendance truly left feeling welcomed, appreciated, excited, and full of anticipation on topping the showing next year. We would like to extend our appreciation to the Local Union Executive Boards, USW District 2, and the community for all of their support.
11%ER’S
MARCH 27, 2015 • VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 • PAGE 3
WOS Quarterly Meetings (Wisconsin) ● March 31, 2015 USW Local 2-87 Hall 204 M-28 East • Munising, MI ● April 8, 2015 USW Local 2-148 Hall 1201 Gillingham Road • Neenah, WI
● April 10, 2015 Milwaukee Labor Council Building 633 S. Hawley Road • Milwaukee, WI
USW Rapid Response & Legislative Conference ● April 13 - 15, 2015 Washington Hilton
1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW • Washington, DC
Wayne State University Honoring USW President Leo W. Gerard ● April 22, 2015
Wayne State University McGregor Center • Detroit, MI
Michigan District 2 Legislative Conference ● May 6 - 8, 2015 Radisson Hotel Lansing at the Capitol 111 N. Grand Avenue • Lansing, MI
Wisconsin Right to Work Law Update & Training ● May 11 - 12, 2015
Radisson Paper Valley Hotel 333 West College Avenue • Appleton, WI
Women of Steel Quarterly Meetings (Michigan) ● June 2, 2015 Civic Club
183 Ninth Street • Manistee, MI ● June 3, 2015
Kent Ionia Labor Council 918 Benjamin Avenue NE • Grand Rapids, MI
● June 5, 2015 USW District 2 Southern Michigan Sub-Office 20600 Eureka Road, Suite 300 • Taylor, MI
Sub-District Local Union Leadership Training (Northern Michigan)
● June 8 - 9, 2015 Great Hall Banquet and Convention Center 5121 Bay City Road • Midland, MI
Sub-District Local Union Leadership Training (Southern Michigan)
● June 11 - 12, 2015 Weber’s Inn 3050 Jackson Road • Ann Arbor, MI
Women of Steel Quarterly Meetings (Michigan) ● June 12, 2015
USW Local 12075 Hall 3510 James Savage Road • Midland, MI
Sub-District Local Union Leadership Training (Northern Wisconsin)
● June 15 - 16, 2015 Radisson Paper Valley Hotel 333 West College Avenue • Appleton, WI
Sub-District Local Union Leadership Training (Southern Wisconsin)
● June 18 - 19, 2015 Olympia Resort & Conference Center 1350 Royale Mile Road • Oconomowoc, WI
Upcoming D2 Events Upcoming D2 Events Upcoming D2 Events On Thursday March 26, 2015, USW Local 904L SOAR members gathered at the Labor temple in Madison, WI, to fill out postcards to send to union members to encourage them to vote for Justice Ann Walsh Bradley for Supreme Court on April 7, 2015.
The SOAR members began at 10:00 a.m. and continued to 1:00 p.m. Some were willing to take more home and bring back this Monday in time for mailing.
USW Local 904L SOAR Members Help Get Out the Vote
MARCH 27, 2015 • VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 • PAGE 4
Let's get one thing straight… Employers and Corporations did not feel generous and decide to give you two days off every week to have a social/personal life. (We now call them weekends). Corporations did not just feel like being nice one day and give their employees paid vacations. CEOs didn't get together in a board room and say "Let's give our employees more rights at work" or "Maybe there should be laws to limit our power over an employee". Virtually ALL the benefits you have at work, whether you work in the public or private sector, all of the benefits and rights you enjoy everyday are there because unions fought hard and long for them against big business who did everything they could to prevent giving you your rights. Many union leaders and members even lost their lives for things we take for granted today. The right-wing attack on unions is nothing more than ignorance, lack of education, and propaganda. If republicans would rather support corporations instead of organized groups of workers working to secure a fair work environment A.K.A a union, I ask them to walk the walk as well. Give up every benefit and right that you use that unions are responsible for. Complete trust and submit yourself to the corporate agenda you fight for. Play by their rules with no influence from democrats or labor unions to try to force rights among the workers of this country. Dedicate your life to their life goal of making your company more money than the year before. Just understand that this may mean sacrificing the union fought rights you enjoy everyday. I mean, you don't want to be a hypocrite, do you? Like bashing unions on your union fought lunch break? Which means if you practice what you preach, you don't get a lunch break. Corporations use to work employees 80+ hours a week, offer no breaks, hire children, offer horrid, unsanitary work conditions, paid literally next to nothing, and even murder. Not murder with a pen like they do today, but actual murder. They basically did whatever they wanted. This is what they were like before unions. Don't take my word for it, look it up. (Links at bottom of page). If we rid the world of unions tomorrow, who is to say that they won't go right back to the way they were merely 70 years ago? The GOP governor of Maine signed a bill to repeal child labor laws this year, maybe they are going back to their roots whether we have unions or not. So conservatives, please practice what you preach and give up all these rights and leave the umbrella of these laws for they were brought to you by unions…
36 Reasons Why You Should Thank a Union
Weekends—All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Breaks—Paid Vacation—FMLA— Sick Leave—Social Security—Minimum Wage—Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination) —
8-Hour Work Day—Overtime Pay—Child Labor Laws—Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)— 40 Hour Work Week—Worker's Compensation (Worker's Comp) —Unemployment Insurance—
Pensions—Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations—Employer Health Care Insurance—Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees—Wrongful Termination Laws—Holiday Pay—
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967—Whistleblower Protection Laws—Military Leave— Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee) — Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS) —Right to Strike—Privacy Rights—
Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises) —Employer Dental, Life, and Vision Insurance—Pregnancy and Parental Leave—Public Education for Children—Sexual Harassment Laws—
Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work) —
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) —Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States So will conservatives give up all 36 of these union fought rights? Will they stand by their rhetoric that unions are thugs and refuse to take benefits from these "thugs" or will they hypocritically carry on the diatribe that unions are ruining this country while enjoying their weekends and paid vacations? Or...Maybe they could just admit that while not perfect, like anything else, unions have done great things for working people that they use and benefit from everyday of their lives? Maybe a conservative union-hating family got to have some of the best moments of their lives while on vacation from work, and they still got to come to a job still there waiting for them, because of unions? Maybe a conservative can't wait for their lunch break at work so they can turn on the radio and listen to Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Back talk about how horrible unions are? If you don't want to give up all your union fought rights and benefits at work, I understand. I don't want to either, that's why I'm pro-union and vote Democrat. But maybe you could just admit that unions are not demons spawned from hell, and admit the FACT that they have improved your life in more ways than one? Or am I asking too much?
36 Reasons Why You Should Thank a Union — ORIGINALLY POSTED TO THE NEW DEAL
MARCH 27, 2015 • VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 • PAGE 5
This column will become a monthly article where we encourage you to send us a few paragraphs answering the question “Why Am I Middle Class?”. Because of space, one will be selected monthly and all others saved for future issues. Below, was written by Steve Donovan, Staff Representative.
“Why Am I Middle Class?”
My family grew up poor. Watching a single mother struggle to pay the bills and put food on the table for 5 children and work very hard to try and give her children everything they needed to grow up was tough on all of us. My family finally made it to the middle class. Along the way, my mother taught me middle class values. These values were instilled in my upbringing that I can truly say I am proud of her and the fight she endured to become a middle class family.
I have had the great fortune to be a union worker for almost all of my working life — participating in my local union and getting involved with it and the community. Because of this, I have been able to support myself and help others along the way.
Every day I stand up and fight back against corporate elitists that attack the working or “middle class”. They keep trying to take our good standard of living away from us only to put more and bigger profits in their pockets.
With the help of the union, and the right elected government representatives, we will be able to stop this class-warfare against the middle class and continue with future generations of sisters and brothers having a better standard of living.
Get the Man Right, Get the World Right - Adapted from Game Changer, by Matthew Kelly.
Once upon a time there was a very successful Union President. He had a long career as a Union member and his Local was enormous.
Over the course of several years, things started to go wrong. He started to lose political battles, started to lose members, and all of his adversaries, like piranhas, were hoping and waiting for him to fail so they could take over his local, and take over his membership.
But the Local President, he really wanted to find a way to regenerate the life of his Local. He decided to get all of his members together one Saturday evening for a dinner. At the dinner he would present to them a plan to bring renewal to the Union.
That Saturday morning he was at home preparing for the dinner and working on his speech. His wife, a doctor, came into the study there at home and said, ‘Honey, I’ve been paged to the hospital and will be gone until later in the afternoon, can you look after our daughter?”
The girl was seven years old. The wife raced to the hospital, the husband continued working on his speech.
About 10 minutes later there was a knock on the study door. There appeared his seven year old daughter who said, “Dad, I’m bored. I’ve got nothin’ to do.”
The father tried to half amuse her by playing a game with her and half tried to work on his speech for that evening, and that wasn’t really working out. Then he realized, unless he could figure out another way to amuse his child, he wasn’t going to get his speech finished in time.
So, he picked up a magazine and began flipping through it and he came to a large, brightly colored map of the world. He ripped the map of the world out, and then he ripped it into many pieces. He proceeded to throw all the pieces all over the living room floor. He said to his daughter, “if you can put the map of the world back together, I’ll give you $20.”
His daughter rushed around the living room picking up all the pieces, and the father went back to his study to work on his speech thinking he may be bought himself 1 or 2 hours., to finish writing his speech. He knew his seven year old daughter had no idea what a map of the world looked like.
About 10 minutes later, there was another knock on the study door. There stood the girl smiling with the completed puzzle. The father looked at her in amazement and said, “Honey, how did you do it so quickly?”
The girl looked up at him and smiled and said, “You know dad, I had no idea what the map of the world looks like, but as I was picking up the pieces, I noticed that, on the back, there was a picture of a man. So I put a piece of paper down and I put the picture of the man together because I knew what he looked like. Then I put another piece of paper on top, held them tight together, then I turned it over and there was the world.”
The father smiled, and the girl continued, “You know dad, I figured if I got the man right, the world would be right.”