An Injury to One is an Injury to All!VOL. 118

NO. 18MARCH 21, 2012WEDNESDAY

(ISSN 0023-6667)

See Obama endorsed...page 3

See Wis. voter ID...page 7

Superior Federation of Teachers members used the DuluthLabor Temple March 13 for their phone bank on behalf ofLabor-endorsed school board candidates (see page 5).Superior Federation of Labor’s Warren Bender, a retiredmember of the Duluth Federation of Teachers joined them.

RTW passes first MN committee

Judge stops Wisconsin’s voter photo ID law in time for April 3rd’s local elections

ment, the more they realize thatit is a bad deal for middle classMinnesotans.”

A video produced for theMinnesota AFL-CIO docu-ments the huge Capitol turnoutMarch 12 and features thevoices of several workersspeaking out against so-calledRTW legislation. It’s at http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_5170

Where the RTW legislationgoes from the Senate Judiciarycommittee isn’t certain yet.Some reports have the measureas actually being dead in thislegislative session as it was inlast year’s. In a meeting withthe Rochester Chamber ofCommerce last Friday, SenateMajority Leader David Senjem(R-Rochester) reportedly saidhe doesn’t think there areenough votes in either theSenate or House to get themeasure on the ballot.

Republicans chose thewording for their RTW consti-tutional amendment carefully.Their so-called Freedom ofEmployment act is written tobeg for a “yes” vote. Labor iscountering with an Unfair,Unsafe and Unnecessary cam-paign that includes TV ads.

Labor is sponsoring RTWamendment briefings aroundthe state including:

Duluth Labor Temple,Wellstone Hall, 2002 LondonRoad, Saturday, March 24 at10:00 am, and Grand RapidsLakes Inn, 1300 East Hwy 169,Weds., April 11. Contact JasonMetsa, Jason@nealc.org orJamie Ebert, Jamie@nealc.orgfor more details.

Ebert said phone banking tostop RTW will occur onTuesdays and Thursdays from6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the DuluthLabor Temple.

AFL-CIO endorses ObamaBy Richard Trumka President, AFL-CIO

As president, Barack Obama has placed his faith in America’sworking men and women to lead our country to economic recov-ery and to our full potential as a nation. With our endorsement(March 13), we affirm our faith in him—and pledge to work withhim through the election and his second term to restore fairness,security and shared prosperity.

The coming election is about values. President Obama hon-ors the values of hard work, of mutual respect, and of solvingproblems together—not every person for himself or herself. Hebelieves that together we will get through the most challengingeconomic crisis in memory and restore opportunity for all. Eachof the Republican presidential candidates, on the other hand, haspledged to uphold the special privileges of Wall Street and the1% – privileges that have produced historic economic inequali-ty and drowned out the voices of working people in America.

President Obama took America from the brink of a secondGreat Depression by pressing Congress to pass the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act, which saved or created 3.6

MN rallies against voter IDST. PAUL - Minnesota union members were planning to con-

verge on the state Capitol Tuesday evening after this issue wentto press to rally against a House of Representatives vote on avoter ID amendment.

The proposed legislation would put a measure on theNovember ballot to amend the Minnesota Constitution to requireall voters to submit photo identification at the polls. It wouldeliminate the current process by which neighbors can vouch forvoters without identification and would make Election Day reg-istration impossible.

“Even though voters would be asked to approve the amend-ment this fall, they would have to wait and see what rules the2013 Legislature makes to know if they would be affected by it,”the Minnesota AFL-CIO said. “The amendment language doesnot define which government-issued IDs would be valid, if theID must have a current address, how absentee voters would beaffected and how a free ‘voter ID’ could be obtained. Join us aswe demonstrate our opposition against this amendment and helpus keep our democracy accessible to all eligible voters!”

Ingebrigtsen of Alexandria,who organized his fellow coun-ty sheriff workers, joining thefive DFL committee members.

Demonstrators were loudand committed to carry on thefight against right to work.

“That was the most impres-sive Labor demonstration I’veseen in the Capitol,” said MikeSundin of Painters & AlliedTrades Local 106.

“I’m really pumped,” saidIBEW Local 31 AssistantBusiness Manager DickSackett. “We had 14 memberswho went to St. Paul to fightright to work. Some of themtook the day off work to do it.”

Brady Nelson, President ofUSW 11-63 at SAPPI’s Clo-quet mill, joined the rally thatjammed the halls with chantsof “Just vote no!” and “Kill thebill!” He told Barb Kucera, edi-tor of Workday Minnesota, thathe and several hundred other ofhis co-workers would be out onthe street if their union hadn’ttaken action to stop unfair tradepractices. He knows the impor-tant work unions do. WhenChina and Indonesia weredumping cheap, subsidizedpaper on the U.S. market, inviolation of trade laws, theSteelworkers union pushed thegovernment to act.

“It wasn’t a bunch ofpoliticians, or even the compa-nies, that fought these unfairimports,” Nelson said. “It wasmy international union thatwent to bat for me and mymembers.”

“Today, working Minne-sotans showed there is sizableopposition to this recklessamendment that putsMinnesota’s high quality of lifeat risk,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson.“Plain and simple, the morepeople hear about this amend-

With Republicans in controlof both houses of the Minne-sota Legislature for the firsttime since political partieswere designated in the early1970s, it was a given that aright to work bill would showup. Republicans decided they’dnever get it past DFL Gov.Dayton’s veto pen so they’regoing to go the constitutionalamendment route and ask vot-ers to decide.

The Senate Judiciary andPublic Safety Committee heldthe first hearing on right towork at 8:00 a.m. Mondaymorning March 12 and weremet by a storm of 1,600 unionprotesters at the Capitol.

Those testifying against thebill represented a broad crosssection of society includingRepublicans, Democrats, Inde-pendents, public safety, busi-ness, construction workers,teachers, and nurses. ButRepublicans had their mindsmade up.

The bill barely passed thecommittee on a 7-6 vote withone Republican, AssistantMajority Leader Bill

By Dominique Paul NothThe Milwaukee Labor Press

MADISON, Wis. (PAI)--Calling it “the single mostrestrictive voter eligibility law”in the nation, Wisconsin DaneCounty Circuit Court JudgeDavid Flanagan on March 6issued a temporary injunctionstopping the state’s require-ment to show a photo ID in theApril 3 Wisconsin elections.

Milwaukee Mayor TomBarrett and dozens of otherpublic officials felt “vindicat-ed” and “elated” while RightWing GOP Gov. Scott Walkerand his supporters – whopushed the voter ID lawthrough -- hinted darkly at animmediate appeal.

Election officials immedi-ately started retraining pollworkers on how to let people

without a state photo identifi-cation card vote in statewidenonpartisan elections April 3,which also includes a partisancomponent, a GOP preferentialprimary for president.

Agreeing with the plaintiffs– the Milwaukee NAACP andVoces de la Frontera – that theywere likely to win the trial setfor April 16 to issue a perma-nent injunction, the judge notedthe complaint was based on theWisconsin Constitution. Un-like the U.S. Constitution, itspells out explicitly the require-ments for a voter and had ledthe Wisconsin Supreme Court

to step in frequently since the1800s to protect that “sacredright” despite normal deferencedue to the state legislature.

Flanagan cited his deci-sion’s compatibility with theU.S. Supreme Court’s rulingseveral years ago upholding themore flexible Indiana votinglaw. He cited the thoroughlydocumented testimony by theplaintiffs’ key witness, respect-ed University of Wisconsin-Madison Prof. Kenneth Mayer,who used census data to esti-mate 220,000 constitutionallyqualified voters don’t have the

Hearings in Duluth, Virginia on state’s NCLB waiver, accountability systemMinnesota Department of

Education (MDE) Commis-sioner Brenda Cassellius willinclude Duluth and Virginia inthe second leg of her statewidetour. She is seeking input fromthe public after Minnesota wasone of the states given a waiverfrom the federal No Child LeftBehind law.

She has scheduled visits atDuluth Denfeld High Schoolfor Thursday March 22, 3:30pm, and Virginia’s RooseveltHigh School for Friday, March23 at 3:30 pm.

Amy Goodman at CSS Sat.Amy Goodman, one of the progressive movement’s most

treasured journalists, will speak at the College of St.Scholastica’s Mitchell Auditorium on Saturday, March 24 at2:00 p.m. A reception follows the free event.

Her presentation, “Grass-roots Democracy,” will demonstratethat resisters and grassroots movements exist in virtually everycommunity in America. People in these movements, she writes,are busy defending democracy on their own front lines and mak-ing a difference. She pins her hopes on these people and believesthat the viability of democracy in America depends on these“ordinary heroes.”

Goodman is a journalist, syndicated columnist and host ofDemocracy Now! The War and Peace Report, which airs dailyon radio, including KUMD 103.3 FM (9 a.m. to 10 a.m. M-F),television, and via computer around the world.

Oberstar to speak at SLCHSFormer Congressman Jim Oberstar will be the speaker at the

St. Louis County Historical Society’s 90th Anniversary AnnualMeeting in the Great Hall of the St. Louis County Heritage &Arts Center (the Depot) on March 27. A social hour at 5:00 p.m.is followed by a 6:00 p.m. buffet dinner ($40), 7:00 p.m. pro-gram, and 8:00 p.m. business meeting. RSVP by calling 218-733-7586 or email susan@thehistorypeople.org.

Bus trip for insurance reform CHUM Duluth and the Citizens Federation are taking a bus-

load of people to St. Paul Sunday, March 25 for a mass meetingwith Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman topush the state to create an Insurance Exchange that will help con-sumers instead of the insurance companies. The bus leavesCoppertop Church at 11:30 am, and Holy Family Church at noonand will return at 8 pm. A bag lunch is provided. Seats on thebus are going fast but call 727-0207 or email admin@citizens-fed.org if you want to try to get a seat.

Insurance exchanges, a key part of the Affordable Care Act,don’t start until Jan. 2014 but now is when crucial decisions arebeing debated in St. Paul.

Rust family benefitLinda (Johnson) Rust has been diagnosed with a rare form of

women’s cancer and is being treated in Chicago. Her husband isPhil Rust, a member of USW Local 776 at the Georgia Pacificplant in Duluth.

A Rust family benefit to off-set expenses not covered byinsurance has been scheduled for Friday, April 6 beginning at5:00 p.m. at Clyde Iron, 29th Ave. W. and Michigan St.

For information contact Sue Northey, 24 Mikaela Lane, Esko,MN 55733, snorthey10@msn.com, Mike Rust (591-0141) orSara Rust (590-3097).

Cassellius and departmentstaff will present informationabout Minnesota’s waiverrequest and plans for a newaccountability system that willmore accurately and fairlymeasure schools progress.

Central to Minnesota’sapproved waiver is the movefrom a widely criticized systemthat uses a single high-stakestest to measure school perform-ance to a system that uses mul-tiple measurements of account-ability. Cassellius says thatwhile measuring proficiency is

absolutely essential in anyaccountability system, otherdata is needed to get a full pic-ture of how a school is meetingthe needs of students.

As outlined in the waiver,Minnesota’s accountabilityplans will now look at individ-ual student growth, achieve-ment gap reduction and gradu-ation rates in addition to profi-ciency rates to generate aMultiple Measurements Rating(MMR) for every school in thestate. The MMR rating meas-ures performance in four keyareas: proficiency in readingand math, student growth fromyear-to-year, higher levels ofgrowth in groups of studentsthat are farther behind, andprogress in improving highschool graduation rates.Schools that struggle to meetsome or all of the goals will begiven support to change theway they operate.

The new accountability sys-tem will allow the state toacknowledge schools that aremost deserving of recognition,as well as focus attention on theschools in need of additionalsupport. Schools will be identi-fied as Priority, Focus andReward Schools. The state’slowest-performing schools willbe identified as PrioritySchools and will work directlywith MDE to implement turn-around strategies that aim todramatically improve theschool's performance. FocusSchools are identified as theschools making the largest con-tribution to the state’s achieve-ment gap. Those schools will

work with their district andwith the support of MDE toprovide targeted assistance tolow-performing subgroups.The state’s highest performingschools will be identified asReward Schools and be singled

out for recognition and studiedto identify best practices.

Read more about Minne-sota’s NCLB waiver visit at:http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Welcome/AdvBCT/NCLBWaiver/index.html

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IBEWIBEW 3131&&242242

Retirees’ Retirees’ LuncheonLuncheon

TuesTues., ., March 27March 271:00 p.m.1:00 p.m.

Clyde IronClyde IronMembers & TheirGuests Welcome!

I.U.O.E. Local 70Monthly Arrowhead Regional Meeting

Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 5:00 P.M. Duluth Labor Center, Hall B

Dave Monsour, Business Manager, (651) 646-4566

Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 10Retirees’ LuncheonTuesday, April 3, 1:00 p.m. VIP Pizza (12th & Tower)

Koch Bros. stuff to boycottAngel Soft toilet paperBrawny paper towelsDixie plates, bowls, napkins and cupsMardi Gras napkins and towelsQuilted Northern toilet paperSoft 'n Gentle toilet paperSparkle napkinsVanity fair napkinsZee napkinsGeorgia-Pacific paper products and envelopes

All Georgia-Pacific lumber/building products:Dense Armor Drywall and DeckingToughArmor Gypsum boardGeorgia pacific Plytanium PlywoodFlexrockDensglass sheathingG/P Industrial plasters (some used by crafters)FibreStrong Rim boardG/P Lam boardBlue Ribbon OSB Rated SheathingBlue Ribbon Sub-floorDryGuard Enhanced OSBNautilus Wall SheathingThermostat OSB Radiant Barrier SheathingBroadspan Engineered Wood ProductsXJ 85 I-JoistsFireDefender Banded CoresFireDefender FSFireDefender Mineral CoreHardboard & Thin MDF including Auto

The political season seemsto never end and probablynever will now that corpora-tions are citizens in the U.S.and can throw unlimited,untraceable money on behalf ofcandidates and issues. I’m not apolitical wonk-type that enjoysthe process and can easily notget involved, but I’m torn.

This Saturday is the St.Louis County 3rd County UnitDFL Convention and I’m a del-egate out of my precinct caucusbut I still don’t know if I’llattend. It’s in Ely beginning at10 a.m. The time and distancehave me thinking I should stayhome and try to solve a plumb-ing problem that has been apain for a fortnight, it’s theNCAA Sweet 16, and AmyGoodman’s at CSS, and.......Ah, but the guilt!

Most of the issues that Ibelieve in will get moved alongthrough Ely by good delegateson to the 8th Congressional

District convention at SpiritMt. on May 5. That’s right inmy backyard almost. I would-n’t be interested in becoming astate or national delegate sothat would be the end of theDFL activist road for me.

The rub for me is that the8CD convention will decidethe endorsed DFL candidate torun against Republican Rep.Cravaack in the fall. There arethree Democratic candidates.The trouble is only one says hewill abide by and honor theendorsement process. RickNolan says he won’t go onwithout the party endorsement.Tarryl Clark and Jeff Andersonappear to be ready to run in aPrimary Election August 14with or without the partyendorsement. I’d like the DFLendorsement to mean some-thing, even though it is comingfrom a small subset of DFLersin the huge 8CD. I should go toEly and get my two cents inand my vote for Rick Nolan.

There’s no doubt the partyendorsement doesn’t mean asmuch any more in DFL poli-tics. Sure everyone would liketo have it but it just ain’t goingto happen for everyone. You’dlike to go to bat for those thatstill believe in it and say theywon’t run without it. That maynot be the best political strategyanymore but it sure is nice tohave principled people tobelieve in.

Then I think of Minnesota’sDFL Governor Mark Dayton.If we didn’t have a DFL gover-nor, Minnesota would be thesame as Wisconsin in terms ofhow working families are treat-ed. We wouldn’t be worriedabout constitutional amend-

ments on next November’s bal-lot that will try to makeMinnesota a right to work state,require a photo ID to vote, anddefine marriage between only aman and a woman. Publicemployees would have losttheir collective bargainingrights already. There’d be noprevailing wages or projectlabor agreements. School,health care, and social servicefunding would have dried up.

Mark Dayton wasn’t allow-ed on the floor of the state DFLconvention in Duluth last yearbecause he wasn’t going toabide by the party endorse-ment. I wonder where we’d beif he hadn’t run? Would anoth-er DFLer, even one with theparty endorsement have wonthat race or would RepublicanTom Emmer be our governor?

I’m torn and only a coupledays remain to repair the dam-age. No, not the plumbing.

LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012 PAGE 3

LABOR WORLD(ISSN#0023-6667) is published

semi-monthly except one issue inDecember (23 issues).

The known office of publication isLabor World, 2002 London Road,Room 110, Duluth, MN 55812. Periodicals postage is paid at

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Send address changes to: Labor World, 2002 London Rd.,Room 110, Duluth, MN 55812

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Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor BodySubscriptions: $22 Annually

Larry Sillanpa, Editor/ManagerDeborah Skoglund, Bookkeeper

Board of DirectorsPres./Treas. Mikael Sundin,Painters & Allied Trades 106;V.P. Paul Iversen, BMWED1710; Sec. Jayme McKenna,AFSCME 66; Al LaFrenier,Workers’ United Midwest Bd;Mike Kuitu, Operating Engineers 49; Dan O’Neill,Plumbers & Steamfitters 11;Steve Risacher, Carpenters361; Dan Leslie, IBEW 31;Stacy Spexet, USW 9460

6 7

Hey, ALEC puppets, listen up!Editor:Do you GOP ALEC prima donnas think you are above the

laws of the land that were put here for all to abide by? We electyou to work for us, and you should create laws to better all of us.Instead you work for big business, creating laws with them tokeep us living barely above the poverty level, attempting toshred us of the dignity we earned while lapping up your extrav-agant lifestyle.

Is it an ALEC free ride for your children’s education that youare working for? Does ALEC’s cash make you envious? A north-ern lake cottage? A revolving line of credit? Off-shore accounts?

Can’t you make up your own minds as “statesmen?” You’llnever meet that definition of being “widely respected for integri-ty and impartial concern for the public good.” Not a singleRepublican among you who could run on that ticket. You poor,poor misguided souls! When all is said and done and you arewondering why you have nothing or nobody left in your life,maybe then you’ll look back and ask yourselves, “What have Idone?” Were you all taunted as children and now want your turnto be the tormenters. Do you really believe you’re untouchable?

Working class America built this country with blood & sweat,heart & soul. We have fought & won some of the greatest battlesand will continue to do so here in Minnesota. We are survivors!

As you seek to be someone who could be looked up to, we’vewaited for you to show some sort of decency but to no avail. Youwon’t play that game, and we’ll work to ensure that you’rebenched. If you want to play ball, let the games begin!

America’s workers are the true heroes of democracy. We cre-ate a difference in everyday life for everyone around us.

Perhaps you could try being a person your folks would beproud of for a change!

R James Syria, Union Brother, AFSCME Local 695

Obama endorsed...from page 1million jobs. He championed comprehensive health insur-

ance reform, which -- while far from perfect -- set the nation ona path toward health security that had eluded our country fornearly 100 years. He insisted upon Wall Street reform—passedover the objection of almost every Republican—that is nowbeginning to reverse decades of financial deregulation that putour entire economy at risk.

Although the labor movement has sometimes differed withthe president and often pushed his administration to do more anddo it faster, we have never doubted his commitment to workingfamilies. He has worked hard to create good jobs; he has madethe revival of the manufacturing sector a hallmark of his jobsagenda; he has moved aggressively to protect workers’ rights,pay and health and safety on the job; he has worked for a fair res-olution of the housing crisis and he put his confidence andadministration unequivocally behind the workers and companiesin the American auto industry—a move that saved hundreds ofthousands of jobs and is helping to revive the economy now andfor the future.

President Obama has earned the support of working peoplefor a second term and today the AFL-CIO voted proudly andenthusiastically to endorse him for a second term.

The labor movement is the original social network—a work-ing class social network—and this year the unions of the AFL-CIO will be mobilizing working people to come together toorganize our neighborhoods door to door, powered by cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned energy. We will be runningan independent program rooted not in parties or candidates butin helping working people build power, making informed deci-sions about which candidates at every level to work for based onrecords and issues.

“Quote, Unquote”“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard

against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' It pro-vides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy laborunions and the freedom of collective bargaining...We demandthis fraud be stopped.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

(Thanks to UFCW Local 1189 Newsletter)

This Day In Historywww.workdayminnesota.orgMarch 20, 1852 - "UncleTom’s Cabin," the HarrietBeecher Stowe novel thatpublicized the evils of slavery,was published. It was the firstnovel to sell a million copiesand is one of the most im-portant books in U.S. history.For more: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun05.htmlMarch 21, 1965 - Led bythe Rev. Dr. Martin LutherKing, Jr., some 3,200 peoplebegan a march from Selma toMontgomery, Alabama, toprotest racial violence. Earlierefforts to hold the march hadfailed when police attackeddemonstrators and a whiteminister was fatally beaten bya group of Selma whites. Thefive-day walk ended March26, when 20,000 peoplejoined the marchers in frontof the Alabama state Capitolin Montgomery. Soon after,Congress passed the VotingRights Act of 1965.

The non-profit Labor World, Inc. is theofficial publication of the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body. It is an educa-tional, advocacy newspaper for workersand unions. The views and opinions sub-mitted and expressed in the Labor Worlddo not necessarily reflect the views of thepaper, its Board of Directors or staff, theDuluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body, itsaffiliated unions, their officers, or staff.

~NOTICE~2012 Labor World Issues April 4, 25; May 9, 23;June 6, 27; July 11, 25;Aug. 8, 29; Sept. 12, 26;Oct. 10 31; Nov. 14, 28;

Dec. 19.

Duluth’s public employees stabbed by “good” Labor-endorsed DFLers By President Erik Simonson

Fire Fighters Local 101Mayor Don Ness has to be

one of the most anti-labor,alleged Dflers I have everknown. He does a tremendousjob of disguising it. He clearlyhas many fooled, but his popu-larity in the community doesnot hold much water amongstthe working class employees ofthe city. I always wonder whathe thinks the ‘L’ stands for.

One of King Don’s mostrecent accomplishments is acomplete rewrite of Duluth’scivil service code, to allow areturn to favoritism, cronyism,nepotism, and discrimination.These were just some of thereasons civil service was creat-ed to protect public employ-ment in the first place – to pre-vent such extreme preferential

Hilty announces retirementBill Hilty (DFL-Finlayson), a progressive and labor stalwart,

announced Monday he will not seek re-election to the stateHouse of Representatives. He represents District 8A, whichincludes parts of Pine, Carlton, and St. Louis counties. Redis-tricting put Hilty in District 11B, taking Carlton and St. Louiscounty areas from him and moving his new district to includesouth of Pine City and west of Mora.

Parts of Hilty’s old 8A, and some of Rep. Mary Murphy’s 6B,have been combined into new District 11A with an open seat thatDFLers Mike Sundin (Painters & Allied Trades Local 106) andlawyers Jesse Berglund and Pete Radosevich will compete for.

An 8-term lawmaker, Hilty was instrumental in passing elec-tion integrity legislation that ensures a voter-verifiable paper trailand post-election audit in Minnesota elections. The system hasbecome a model for election integrity across the nation. Heserved as chair of the House Energy Committee.

actions. King Don has fol-lowed the lead of radical con-servatives all over the countryby continuing the attacks onpublic employees and the restof the working class. The onlydifference is he does it with“DFL” behind his name.

Under the guise of “mod-ernization,” “streamlining,”and “efficiencies,” King Donhas effectively gutted the civilservice code in Duluth. Yes, itneeded updating. Yes, it neededadjusting. No one disputedthat. But as I have heard awell-respected labor leadersay: “Let’s not throw the babyout with the bath water.”

Aside from the necessaryupdates, the administrationpulled off a major victory overorganized labor March 12.After several months of delib-

eration, tabling, amendmentsand apparently fruitless discus-sions with councilors, the citycouncil approved Ness’s ordi-nance by a 5 to 4 vote(Gardner, Boyle, Fosle andStauber opposed).

In approving this change,the Civil Service Board, abipartisan and apolitical citi-zens’ board that has acted as abuffer between employees andemployer for decades has beenchanged by the council to anappellate board instead of anapproving board. This boardalso happens to be one of theonly boards whose membersare appointed by the city coun-cil. Most boards have membersappointed by the mayor. Withthis significant change most ofthe employment and hiringcontrol has been shifted fromthe Civil Service Board to cityadministration.

In my department, promo-tional opportunities in the fireprevention division will nowbe able to be hired from theoutside. Promotional opportu-nities for fire department mem-bers will be decreased. In somecases administration will havefull authority to prevent certainmembers from even beinginterviewed for promotions.

There are many otherchanges, but King Don couldnot accomplish this withoutcity council approval. We wereconfident that with a majority

of labor supported councilors,we would have sensible andlike-minded representationmaking the right decision. Wewere deceived. Duluth CityCouncilors Dan Hartman,Linda Krug, Emily Larson, andJennifer Julsrud decided thatthe pressures from the Kingwere greater than their testa-ment of support to labor.Remember when they came tous for support in their cam-paigns for council, pledgingtheir support for labor andlabor issues, and support forworking families? Apparentlytheir lip service to labor isexceeded by their duty to themayor. All four councilorsvoted in favor of the ordinance(along with Garry Krause) thatsubstantially altered civil serv-ice laws in Duluth, against theurging of city employeeunions, the Civil ServiceBoard, and labor endorsedcouncilors Patrick Boyle andSharla Gardner.

I heard their arguments:They want to amend it in thefuture; they think it is the bestthing for the city; they agreewith “progressive change”; it isa compromise. And my person-al favorite: “We think this isbetter for you.”

Frankly, it makes me sick.I have much more experi-

ence and history with the city’scivil service code than all ofthem combined. I fully under-

stand the inner workings of cityhall, and to blame the civilservice code for delays in hir-ing is disingenuous at best. Thechanges that were made returnus to times where favoritismand political favors ruled.

So councilors Krug, Larson,Hartman, and Julsrud, congrat-ulations. You fooled us all. Youcampaigned on the backs oflabor, and deceived us withempty promises. That is fine;you have made your choice.There are no do-overs on thisone for me, and I for one willwork even harder to ensureyour paths forward are lonelyones indeed. I hope whateverHis Majesty promised you wasworth the knife in our backs.

Thank you to CouncilorsGardner and Boyle for votingagainst these draconianchanges. You truly get it.

CLB opposed“reform”

At their March 8 meetingdelegates to the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body unan-imously endorsed a motionasking city councilors to voteagainst civil service reformmeasures being promoted byMayor Don Ness.

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Area construction unions, employers’ groups oppose Right to Work (for less)The Twin Ports Construc-

tion Liaison Committee, anorganization comprised of 12Building Trades unions and 18unionized contracting compa-nies and their associations (seead below), jumped into theright to work fray immediatelylast week.

The Minnesota SenateJudiciary & Public SafetyCommittee voted 7-6 March 12to move a measure along thatcould put an anti-union, anti-middle class right to work con-stitutional amendment on theNov. 6 general election ballot.

The Twin Ports Construc-tion Liaison Committee(TPCLC) announced March 14that the group officially oppos-es the ‘Right to Work’ lawamendments being proposed inthe Minnesota legislature.

In a press release TPCLCsaid the so-called ‘Right toWork’ amendment essentiallyallows workers the ability toopt out of union membership,while they could still receivethe many benefits that theunions have bargained for overyears. “In a nutshell, theseanti-worker laws weakenunions and the collective bar-gaining process—a processthat has proven to improvesafety, skill’s training, workerbenefits and pay, and allow forbetter worker representation”said the release.

Job loss high in RTW statesFlorida trailed only Texas for construction jobs lost in an

analysis done for last October by the Associated GeneralContractors of America.

The Lone Star State lost 12,800 jobs, compared with 4,800 inFlorida. The loss of jobs in Texas might be surprising to manygiven that Gov. Rick Perry has been campaigning as a presiden-tial candidate on the vibrancy of his state’s economy.

The AGC study also mentioned the 11,600 construction jobslost in Florida over the past year, which the Business Journal pre-viously published Friday, when a report showed the state'sunemployment rate had dropped to 10 percent in October from10.7 percent in September. Construction led the industry groupsin terms of jobless, with government finishing second worst,down 8,600 jobs.

Over the past year, Florida’s loss trailed only the 13,800 jobslost in Georgia, the association said.

“Construction employment gains are likely to remain spottyfor months to come,” said Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief econ-omist. “Local factors, rather than regional or industry trends,seem to dictate whether a state has rising or falling constructionemployment in a given month.”

“Union Man Dues” youtubedSinger/songwriter Turner R. Corn took Merle Haggard’s song

“Working Man Blues” and made it into “Union Man Dues” forhis homestate of Indiana’s losing battle against right-to-work(for less). Turner is a native Hoosier and proud union member ofLaborers Local 795 in New Albany. David Williams filmedTurner singing the song at various venues around Indianapolisover two days in January 2012 during the "Right-to-Work"protests at the Indiana Statehouse. You can view the video andsong on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUoSWEm_FHM

TPCLC says Minnesota, asa free-bargaining state, hasbenefitted from its strongunionized construction indus-try. “In ‘Right to Work’ states,union market share drops con-siderably, wages fall for work-ers, there are more workplacesafety incidents, higher workerfatalities and the medianincome level of all workers isconsiderably less – to the tuneof $7,542 per family.”

Darrel Godbout, TPCLCChairman and Business Agentof Ironworkers Local 512, said,“On behalf of over 6,000 union

family households that buildand maintain the northland, westrongly oppose this divisivebill that not only hurts all work-ing families, but also affects themany fine Union contractorsand their ability to competefairly in our region.”

The controversial Senatehearing that passed the meas-ure found the Capitol jammedwith an estimated 1,600 unionmembers opposing it. It isexpected to move on to anothercommittee hearing, but maylack enough bi-partisan support

“As written, the TPCLC

believes (the measure) isunnecessary, as Minnesota lawalready provides that no one inMinnesota can be forced to joina union, it is unfair becauseunions are now forced to repre-

sent non-members and it isunsafe due to the weakenedability to negotiate strong safe-ty standards – an area that isnear and dear to the construc-tion industry.”

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Gov. Walker leading the way with pension envy as the next wedge issue By Philip Anderson

Divide and conquer is themethod conservatives use tokeep people fighting each otherrather than fighting for pro-gress. Religion, guns, gayrights, and abortion are classicwedge issues that divide peo-ple. These issues create a lot ofemotional heat but have littleimpact on most of us.Governor Walker hoped to usepublic employee unions as awedge to divide labor inWisconsin. He failed. The pub-lic support, union and non-union, for the recall effort hasbeen tremendous. Now he istrying to use pension envy todivide us.

Governor Walker is attack-ing the public employee retire-ment system. He wants to“study” the possibility ofchanging Wisconsin Retire-ment System (WRS) to adefined contribution plan andto allow younger workers theoption to participate voluntari-ly. Given that the WRS is inexcellent financial health and isnot a drain on the state budget,the Governor must be promot-ing these changes for ideologi-cal and political reasons.

Why should you care aboutpublic employee retirements?Because, similar to killing bar-gaining rights, Gov. Walker,and his conservative backers,are coming after your retire-ment next. Privatizing WRS isa prelude to attacking privatepensions and Social Security.

By attacking WRS, Walkeris advancing the national con-servative agenda to make indi-viduals responsible for theirown benefits, privatize govern-ment services, and weaken thesocial safety net which theyhave always opposed. This iswhat is behind the move to401K retirement plans (calleddefined contribution), the pri-

vatization of Social Security,and individual mandates forhealth insurance.

Defined contribution plansshift the risk from the employ-er to the employee. In a definedcontribution plan the employeris only responsible for provid-ing the employer contribution(if any). They have no respon-sibility for the final retirementincome, its stability, or its ade-quacy.

With a defined benefit plan,such as WRS, the employer isresponsible for making theircontribution AND for manag-ing the retirement system toensure sufficient funds to paythe promised benefits. The riskis with the employer ratherthan with each individualemployee.

Employers love to avoidrisk, responsibility, and shiftcosts to someone else. This iswhy defined contributionretirement plans are so popularwith private sector employers.Of the 67% of employers whooffer any retirement plans, only21% still provide a definedbenefit plan. In the public sec-tor, 90% of employers offerretirement plans and 84% aredefined benefit plans.

Creating strong, stableretirement systems for allworkers is essential for build-ing a better economy. Insteadof dismantling what hasworked well in the past, weshould be expanding definedbenefit retirements, strengthen-ing Social Security, and pro-tecting Medicare for everyone.This is not ideologicallyacceptable to the conservativereactionaries represented byGovernor Walker and his sup-porters.

Let’s consider some factsabout the Wisconsin Retire-ment System (WRS). TheDepartment of Employee Trust

Funds (ETF) manages WRSand a number of other publicemployee benefits for 1470units of government acrossWisconsin. This includesschool teachers, city, county,and state employees. This rep-resents about 572,000 employ-ees and retirees. It is the 9thlargest public retirement sys-tem in the country. Currently ithas about $80 billion in assetswhich are invested by the Stateof Wisconsin InvestmentBoard in stocks, bonds, realestate, and other financialinvestments.

WRS is not the cause of thebudget deficit. Between 2003and 2009, 80-90% of ETF rev-enue came from investmentearnings. ETF received only$670,600 in general purposerevenue for 2010-11 out of a$66 billion budget.

WRS is well managed. It is“fully funded” (99.7%) whichmeans the WRS assets are largeenough to cover all expectedcurrent and future retirementpayments. It is sustainable andnot a drain on the state budget.

WRS pensions are not over-ly generous. In 2010 ETF paidout $3.8 billion in retirementpayments. The average retire-ment benefit was $23,800 ayear, 83% of WRS retirementsyield less than $40,000 peryear, and 26% are less than$10,000 per year.

WRS is an important con-tributor to our state’s economy.In 2006, WRS beneficiaries(86% of them live inWisconsin) spent $4.5 billion,accounted for over 33,000 jobsthat paid $1.7 billion in wagesand salaries and over $730 mil-lion in federal, state, and localtaxes. In 2010, WRS invested$13 billion in Wisconsin com-panies and companies withWisconsin employees.

WRS is not properly part of

the state budget. It is a TRUSTFUND. WRS is compensationPAID to employees and setaside for future retirement.Employees DO contribute toWRS from their wages. WRSis not taxpayer dollars avail-able for budget balancing pur-poses.

So don’t believe propagan-da about public employees’retirement and benefits.Governor Walker wants todivide the people with goodretirements from the peoplewith poor retirements, theyoung from the old, the union

from the non-union, and thepublic unions from the privatesector unions. Pension envy isthe next wedge issue on theagenda.

Don’t let him divide us. Wemust work to improve and pro-tect everyone’s future bydefeating the conservative,reactionary, anti-worker agen-da. We can start by recallingScott Walker. An injury to oneis an injury to all.

Philip Anderson is an AFT-WI Retiree Chapter Memberwho lives in Maple, Wisconsin.

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More than 60,000 rally in Madison again to protest Walker actionsBy Blake Deppe The Peoples WorldMADISON, Wis. (PAI)--A

sunny but chilling Saturday,March 10 here saw more than60,000 workers rallying andmarching, the conclusion to aweek of activities leading up tothe first anniversary of thenight that Radical Right GOPGov. Scott Walker pushed hisanti-worker collective bargain-ing law through the Wisconsinlegislature.

The rally comes amid acampaign to recall Walker andthrow him out of office in aspecial election tentatively setfor June 5. It showsWisconsinites stood up andproved that once again, theyare ready to fight back against

Wis. voter ID blocked...from page 1type of ID required under the so-called Act 23. While not

required in his decision, Flanagan singled out Mayer’s evidencethat the rule hit disproportionately hard on minorities, elderlyand indigent. He quoted from 40 affidavits of disenfranchisedvoters submitted by plaintiffs.

The need for an immediate temporary injunction, the judgewrote, was a hard point but the “scope of the impairment hasbeen shown to be serious, extremely broad and largely need-less.” The judge also pointed out the basic uselessness of theimposition, noting there is “no evidence of any voter fraud thatwould have been prevented by Act 23.”

The Wisconsin law is part of a nationwide effort by the RightWing-GOP-business coalition to curb voting rights. Voter IDmeasures, and more, have been introduced in 30 states andenacted in several of them. In the South, the Obama administra-tion’s Justice Dept. is challenging the statutes under the VotingRights Act’s sections that specifically apply to states and citieswith past histories of discrimination. But it has shied away fromchallenging voter ID and other such restrictive laws elsewhere.

The temporary injunction that stops Wisconsin’s photo IDlaw is just one of several federal and state lawsuits moving for-ward. Another Dane County court just approved a full hearingfor the League of Women Voters challenging Act 23’s constitu-tionality. The ACLU has filed new cases of disenfranchised dis-abled voters saying in a federal lawsuit that Wisconsin’s voter IDbill violates the Voting Rights Act.

Flanagan’s ruling did not change other aspects of the law –signing a poll book, 28-day residency, no witness allowed at thepolls to vouch for your vote – but unless the state can greasethrough an appeal, it means that as of now that voters lacking aphoto ID cannot be blocked from casting ballots on April 3.

Walker’s schemes.Unions and their allies

marched through downtownMadison to the state Capitol,site last year of months ofprotests that occupied it, a tentcity outside of it in the dead ofwinter, and demonstrationsagainst Walker’s law that even-tually totaled 100,000 people.

The goal this year is to“reclaim Wisconsin” and“recall Walker.” Signs embla-zoned with such slogans couldbe seen even in the smallneighborhoods that lay justoutside of Madison -- proofthat Walker's harsh cuts to pub-lic services and assaults onunion rights agitated workersfar and wide.

The protests in Madison lastyear also energized the labor

movement nationwide, unionleaders meeting in Orlando,Fla., reminded reporters. Thatdetermination carried over totwo successful recall electionsagainst Right Wing GOPWisconsin state senators lastsummer, a 61%-39% defeat ofan even harsher collective bar-gaining ban in Ohio in the fall,the pending recall votes thatcould unseat Walker and otherRight Wing officials this sum-mer, and continued activismever since last year, leaderssaid.

They expect such activism –and the organizing activity itprompted – to continue thisyear, and Madison at least, boreout that expectation. TheMarch 10 rally, with 62,000-65,000 demonstrators, was a

sight to behold. Workers fromall walks of life marchedaround the capitol building,declaring, “Workers rights arehuman rights!”

“I’m standing up and fight-ing back!” called one workerfrom the crowd. “I refuse toaccept Walker’s bad choicesfor Wisconsin.” Another said,“The only way to compete withthe 1% is to stand together andform a network. It’s time forcorporations to stop forcing the99% to carry their burden.”

Jen Leonard, a student andmother, remarked, “It’s allabout mobilization on a grass-roots level, keeping up theenthusiasm.” Her plans to be ahigh school teacher have beenderailed. That’s because a yearof Walker’s anti-labor agendaleft its mark: In addition toattacking collective bargainingrights, his policies haveallowed tax cuts for corpora-tions, at the expense of the

99%. And school funding wascut.

“You shouldn’t have to bewealthy or lucky to havehealthcare,” said KellyAlbright, a mother of three. “Ifwe don’t stop Scott Walkernow, he will destroyWisconsin. We must repeal thetax cuts for the wealthy and forcorporations, and make thempay their fair share.”

If workers aren’t successfulin kicking out Walker, suggest-ed scientist Reza Mehrparash,it may embolden the RightWing to launch similar attackson worker rights throughoutthe country. “This is serious,”he stressed. “Walker is goingfor the jugular of the workingclass. Call your local union.Tell them to send their bestorganizers. If we don’t win thisfor workers now,” he conclud-ed, “it's going to set a badexample for the rest of thecountry.”

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Project Save Our Homes asking US Bank to help Superior family keep homeIn solidarity with families

across the U.S. resisting fore-closures and evictions, theOccupy Our Homes movementmade March 12-16 a NationalWeek of Action to protest thecriminal foreclosure practicesof the nation’s largest banks.

The housing system built byWall Street banks and for the1% has utterly failed the 99%.Banks’ criminal foreclosurepractices have cost millions ofAmericans their homes.Millions more homeowners areat risk of foreclosure in coming

years. While hundreds of thou-sands of families face home-lessness, bank-owned vacanthomes fall into disrepair.

In this area a coalition wascreated to help families facingforeclosure. Project Save OurHomes (PSOH) was instru-mental in saving one Duluthfamily from foreclosure and ishelping others.

In Superior Monday, only11 days from a scheduled auc-tion of Chris and KrystalDunbar’s South End home,supporters mailed a petition

signed by more than 1,500friends, family and strangers toUS Bank president RichardDavis asking his bank to haltthe foreclosure process andwork with the couple to keeptheir home.

“US Bank seems to havetrouble keeping track ofpapers,” says Dylan Knaggs ofProject Save Our Homes, refer-ring to the Dunbar’s frustratedattempts to apply for a loanmodification through the bankin 2009-10. “We’ll be makingcopies, using certified mail,

and documenting the wholeprocess.”

Chris and Krystal Dunbarraise three children in a modesthouse on Banks Avenue thathas been in Chris’ family forfour generations. The Dunbarsfell behind on mortgage pay-ments in 2009 after Chris unex-pectedly lost his job. US Bankrefused to modify the mort-gage, returned partial paymentsand soon notified the familythat they were in foreclosure.Chris found new employmentin 2010 and offered to pay thebank at double the original rate.US Bank again refused torestructure the mortgage, basedon what Project Save OurHomes activists have sincelearned was inaccurate infor-mation about the family’smonthly income and expenses.A sheriff's sale of the house isscheduled for March 27th.

During bank week inDuluth PSOH organized aningenious “Kids Need Homes”event at US Bank in DuluthMarch 14. About 15 tykes andtoddlers (accompanied by theirparents) had a genuine “sit-in”to the consternation of bankofficials. The kids sat on thefloor of the Superior Streetbank lobby and drew picturesof their houses as RachelKilgour entertained them withher guitar and voice. A halfdozen police officers who werecalled in were perplexed abouthow to resolve such a blatant

trespass situation. The kidswere moved to the outer lobby.

Later about 75 protestersheld a spirited rally in front ofUS Bank. Parallel eventsorganized by Project Save OurHomes, Occupy Duluth andTwin Ports MoveOn Councilresulted in loud, raucous eventsup and down Superior Street.

MoveOn delivered petitionsto the Organizing For Americaoffice. They asked PresidentObama to fire Ed DeMarco, theacting director of the FederalHousing Financing Agency, anappointee of President GeorgeW. Bush. DeMarco has notsupported providing relief tothe 11 million mortgage hold-ers currently underwater (theirmortgage is more than theirhome is worth). Eleven millionhomeowners are now stuckneeding to pay off three-quar-ters of a trillion dollars of col-lapsed house values caused bythe burst of the housing bubblethat Big Banks created.

Occupy Duluth then had aloud, boisterous two hour rallyin front of Wells Fargo Bankprotesting the bank’s role inmaking billions in profits offthe mortgage crisis, and alsocalling for support for a pro-posed Minnesota two-yearmoratorium on mortgage fore-closures.

USW Local 9460’s AdamRitscher, Vern Simula, and JoelKilgour contributed this report.

PAGE 8 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

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Project Save Our Homes occupied US Bank March 14 withfamilies and children drawing posters asking the bank towork with working families struggling with foreclosure.Last year US Bank earned a record $4.9 billion in profitsbut has a history of refusing to work with homeowners fac-ing foreclosure says the local coalition. For more visitprojectsaveourhomes.blogspot.com, OccupyOurHomes.org.