Apr 15, 2019 | Departments, Home, MNPL
The new law prevents Right to Work ordinances from confiscating employee resources at the city and county level.
Starting immediately, workers in Illinois will no longer have their property and labor taken away from them under city-level Right to Work laws.
The legislation, signed this week by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, will prevent city and county officials from creating a patchwork of separate Right to Work zones across the state.
Governor Pritzker said in his signing statement that the new law would help ensure that “Illinois and all of its communities will never be a Right to Work state.”
“From the start, right to work was an idea cooked up to lower wages, slash benefits and hurt our working families,” Pritzker said. “‘Right to work’ has always meant, ‘right to work for less money,’ and it’s wrong for Illinois.”
Around the nation, corporate lobbyists have used Right to Work legislation to eliminate pensions and slash wages for employees. Last year, the Supreme Court added another twist to Right to Work – forcing employee groups to turn over their property and work for anti-union forces on demand.
“Imagine a law that would ‘protect’ cable subscribers from being ‘forced’ to pay for cable,” explained Machinists Union District 141 Legislative Director Dave Roderick. “A law like that would bankrupt cable companies overnight.”
“That’s what Right to Work does. It’s an attempt to bankrupt unions by forcing them to give their work away for free. Right to Work advocates want to work at union workplaces, and collect union wages. They also want costly contract negotiations and enforcement, but they don’t want to help pay for any of it,” said Roderick.
Supporters of Right to Work argue that employees would make more money overall if they were free to earn smaller paychecks and not get a pension when they retire. Since unions stand in the way of those things, Right to Work advocates seek to defund them.
Former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, who collected large campaign donations from anti-union lobbyists, has pointed to a recent Seattle wage study that he claims proves that lower wage earners make more money than those with higher rates of pay.
Rauner is a billionaire.
In Illinois, the township of Lincolnshire had passed a Right to Work ordinance in 2015 hoping to bankrupt unions within its borders. Local unions filed a successful lawsuit to stop the measure from going into effect, which was upheld after the city appealed the ruling.
The courts found that only the state government has the legal authority to enact such laws, and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, the union that filed the lawsuit, was awarded $10,000 in damages.
The new legislation will buttress the court’s decision, asserting that only the state can create Right to Work zones. “The law, as it is, does not allow a state to hand this responsibility down to the local communities.” Governor Pritzker said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune. “This bill actually just establishes what is the law today.”
It’s unclear how much money Right to Work lobbyists lost in this failed attempt to create city and county Right to Work zones in Illinois. The rules were vigorously promoted by former Governor Bruce Rauner, and by a range of corporate lobbyists and courts that have encouraged them.
The IAM141 Machinists Non-Partisan League works to protect the pensions, pay and rights of airline workers within city, state and national governments. The IAM141 MNPL is funded entirely through voluntary donations from members like you. To become a supporting member of the IAM141 MNPL, please complete an MNPL Automatic Payroll Deduction Card for any amount today. Find a card by visiting the MNPL page at IAM141.org.
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Illinois-will-never-be-right-to-work-.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”Governor Pritzker: “ILLINOIS WILL NEVER BE A RIGHT TO WORK STATE!”” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
Apr 10, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Education, Featured, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Spirit, Uncategorized, United
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AMY KLOBUCHAR TALKS MEGA-MERGERS, PRAISES UNION ACTIVISM
Presidential Candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Mn) spoke before hundreds of Machinists Union members at its conference of railroad and airline workers.
For Senator Klobuchar, the event was the highlight of her first campaign stop in Las Vegas, where she also visited the Blind Center of Nevada and the Harold Brinley Middle School. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), also addressed delegates at the Machinists Union Transportation Conference. The Machinists Union is the largest union of aerospace and rail workers in the world.
In her speech, Senator Klobuchar emphasized her close ties with unions, which Owen E. Herrnstadt, Chief of Staff for the IAM International President, praised in his introduction of the senior senator from Minnesota.
“Since taking office in 2007, Amy Klobuchar has been a fearless fighter on behalf of working Americans,” Herrnstadt told the assembled group of over 800 union members from the nation’s railroads and airlines. “Amy knows how to get things done.”
“She has supported efforts to protect our pensions, to protect voting rights, to make drug prices affordable, raise the minimum wage … and shine a bright light on corporations that want to merge.”
Mergers were a particular area of focus of Klobuchar’s speech to the Machinists, whose members have been rocked by two recent mega-mergers. Notably, the mergers between United Airlines and Continental, and US Airways and American.
But air transport is not the only industry that has endured huge and difficult mergers.
“We are now in a new Gilded Age,” said Klobuchar of the railroad industry. “We’re down to four Class One Carriers that are carrying 90% of the traffic.”
“This means that wages go down because there’s not enough competition,” she said. Unions are the leverage that we have. Unions can take on corporations and win better wages for workers.”
The first female senator from Minnesota spoke highly of the community spirit and activism of Machinists.
“The 600 thousand members of the Machinists Union… helped rebuild communities affected by the raging wildfires in the West and the floods in the Midwest.”
“You sent your Critical Incident Support Team to support survivors when a gunman opened fire in Aurora, Illinois, killing five people, two of whom were IAM Members.”
“And, after the devastation of Maria, you partnered with airlines to fly goods and disaster relief to Puerto Rico,” she said.
“That’s a community. That’s a shared story. That’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
After her speech, Senator Klobuchar spent time speaking with delegates and posed for pictures.
The IAM Transportation Conference assembles the top union activists within the railroad and airline industries. The event is being held this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will run through April 11.
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/190410_amy_klobuchar.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”Presidential Candidate Amy Klobuchar Talks Mega Mergers Praises Union Activism” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
Apr 9, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Education, Featured, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Spirit, United
Bernie Sanders to American Airlines CEO:
“You Damn Well Have Enough Money to Pay Your Workers a Decent Wage.”
In a fiery speech delivered before a packed gathering of Machinists Union leaders, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called out the CEO of American Airlines for his attempts to outsource thousands of jobs at the airline.
Presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) addresses Machinists at the 2019 IAM Transportation Conference. (Via IAMAW DISTRICT 141 FACEBOOK PAGE.)
Sanders was one of two Presidential candidates that addressed the union at its Conference of Airline and Railroad workers in Las Vegas, Nevada this week.
Senator and presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar (D-Mn) also spoke at the event.
The Machinists Union is the largest union of aerospace and rail workers in the world.
In his speech, Sanders confronted American Airlines CEO Doug Parker over his threats to outsource union jobs and cut health care benefits for thousands of employees.
“American Airlines wants to slash the pay of its employees; they want to outsource jobs,” Sanders told the crowd. “They want to take away health care benefits, and they want to abolish its defined benefit pension plan.”
“Brothers and sisters, together, we are not going to let that happen,” he said to loud cheers from the audience which included many American Airlines employees.
American Airlines has refused to negotiate with fleet service workers until employees agree to new outsourcing and wage and benefit concessions.
The Machinists Union proposals would only cost a fraction of the money that American has budgeted for stock buyback schemes and executive pay.
Stock buybacks can inflate a company’s stock value. Since many executives are awarded bonuses based on stock performance, these schemes are a popular tactic for increasing executive pay.
“This is exactly what Americans are sick and tired of. And it’s not just American Airlines. Companies make good profits in America, and then they shut down and move to some desperate developing country.”
“American Airlines is not a poor, struggling company,” Sanders continued. “Last year, it made a net profit of $1.4 billion. This is a company that had enough money to pay its CEO, Doug Parker, over $19 million in compensation last year. This is a company that had enough money to buy back $15 billion of its own stocks during a five-year period.”
“So, today I say to the CEO of American Airlines… You damn well have enough money to pay your workers a decent wage with good benefits.”
Sito Pantoja, General Vice President of the union’s Transportation territory, praised Senator Sanders for his long-standing relationship with the Machinists Union. Sanders was also a featured speaker at the 2014 Machinists District 141 Convention, one of the largest gatherings of unionized airline workers in the US.
(left to right) International President Robert Martinez Jr., Senator Bernie Sanders, General Vice President, Transportation Sito Pantoja
“Long before he ran for president, Senator Sanders walked the picket lines with us. He attended our local lodge meetings. He has never once failed to answer when the Machinists have called,” said Pantoja.
“Senator Bernie Sanders is a true champion of the people and a true champion of the IAM.”
The IAM Transportation Conference brings together top Machinists Union Leaders from the rail and airline industries. This year’s conference is being held in Las Vegas through April 11.
The full remarks from Senator Sanders and Klobuchar are available courtesy of the 8 News Now Las Vegas Facebook Page.
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Bernie-Sanders-to-American-Airlines-CEO_-_You-Damn-Well-Have-Enough-Money-to-Pay-Your-Workers-a-Decent-Wage._.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”Bernie Sanders to American Airlines CEO: You Damn Well Have Enough Money to Pay Your Workers a Decent Wage.” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
Apr 8, 2019 | Departments, Education, Home, Video
Weekly wrap up video for April 6th. Topics this week are about the American Airlines Tower ops stewards from Dallas and Chicago and Coverage from the 2019 Women’s Conference from Las Vegas Nevada.
Apr 5, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Featured, Home, Organizing, The Association, Video
[gdlr_video url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHJRJ_bjMlk&feature=youtu.be” ]
District 141 and 142 answer questions about issues our Association members are facing with American Airlines.
Apr 4, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Featured, Home, Organizing, The Association
Brothers and Sisters,
The Association leadership met with American Airlines executive management Wednesday, April 3rd in Washington, DC. The idea was to have an unfiltered discussion with company decision makers to, hopefully, break the logjam in negotiations.
The lower level company negotiators had reached the end of their authority and steadfastly continued their concessionary demands that the Association give up healthcare options that already exist, accept inferior retirement provisions and allow our work to be outsourced. Your negotiators refuse to accept these concessionary demands.
The higher level executives doubled down at the meeting by reinforcing all of the company concessionary demands. They unflinchingly argued that their proposals should be good enough for the Association workforce to accept. They glowed about the future rosy outlook for the company while simultaneously stating that the workforce should shrink and be happy about it.
Consider this: over a 5-year period, American Airlines has authorized that $15 billion of company money be spent to buy back company stock. The cost of our contracts, with all of our proposals including work protections, would only be a fraction of that money. The leadership of this company is clearly driven by greed over consideration of the long term survival of its workforce.
Sisters and Brothers, we are in the fight of our careers. The executive leadership of this company has made it perfectly clear that they will not play fair.
The choice for every Association represented member is to either lay down and accept this or clearly and unambiguously let the company know you refuse. Your Association leadership has already let them know we are in for the fight.
The rest is up to you.
Fraternally,
Your Association Negotiating Committees
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Association-Bulletin-44.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”American, AGAIN, Shows Their Corporate Greed” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
