Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Thanksgiving brings back many good memories. I remember as a school boy delivering the Chicago Tribune and realizing that today's newspaper was the largest in numbers of pages than any other day of the year. I used to dread it cause I had so many customers. Made for a very heavy paper bag.

There are many of our fellows who are desperate this Thanksgiving. Lost jobs, about to be lost jobs, hungry families.

We all can make this Thanksgiving better than most by helping others. The community food pantries are just about bare. Please consider a donation to one in your community. It will do you and others a world of good.

And, if you believe in prayer, say one for our country and for our new President Elect.

Emergency Assistance for the U.S. Auto Industry

The following message is from USW President, Leo Gerard:

Nov. 24, 2008

A Special Message about the Emergency Assistance Package for the U.S. Auto Industry

Sisters and Brothers,

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, let us not forget that our nation’s economy is in crisis. We’ve all felt the effects of this difficult time and we need to do what we can to prevent the crisis from getting worse.

That means supporting an emergency assistance package for the U.S. automakers. Let’s be clear: this is not a bailout that only helps Wall Street. This is an absolutely necessary loan to aid Main Street and protect our jobs.

The auto industry employs millions of hard working men and women and provides health care and pensions to millions more retirees. These family-supporting jobs are vital to communities across the nation. But this issue goes far beyond that – millions more jobs, including tens of thousands of USW jobs - are directly tied to the auto industry.

If the auto industry goes bust, chances are our jobs will go with it, and our entire economy will spiral deeper into peril.

So supporting this package isn’t just about solidarity for our brothers and sisters at the United Autoworkers and other unions, although that on its own would make this a worthy cause. It’s about saving our economy, protecting the middle class and fighting for our families.

Here’s what you can do right now:
1. Visit our Web site, www.usw.org or the UAW’s site at www.uaw.org and get the facts about the emergency assistance package. You can also download a PDF version of the talking points by clicking here. http://assets.usw.org/News/uaw-talking-points.pdf
2. Call and write your Congressmen and Congresswomen, state leaders and governors to express support for the emergency assistance package and request that they support the UAW-endorsed plan. You can mail Congress using our easy tool by clicking here.
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/autojobs
3. Pass along this information and ask your co-workers, friends and families to also take action.

Here’s the message we need to send: Congress must act in December to avoid the terrible consequences that would result from a collapse of the domestic automakers. It must pass legislation providing an emergency bridge loan to enable the domestic auto companies to continue their operations. At the same time, it should include requirements that will protect the taxpayers, and ensure the accountability and long term liability of the domestic auto companies.

As always, thanks for all you do.

In Solidarity,

Leo W. Gerard

Bush Tours America to Survey Damage Caused By His Presidency

What Conservatives Are Doing

Republicans, after handing billions of dollars to the Wall Street crooks, want the big three auto companies to go belly up.

They want to compare the workers in Right to Work states that have no union organization to those states who have organized workers.

It's the race to the bottom.

Since workers without a union have to pay most or all of their Medical Insurance, and have no pensions, these Republicans are saying that the members of the United Auto Workers should be in the same boat in order to become competitive.

What we really need is the Employee Free Choice Act, so those workers in southern states can bargain collectively for better wages, working conditions, and benefits.

If the "big three" are forced into bankruptcy, millions of workers will lose their jobs. Foundry workers, rubber workers, Steelworkers and others. The retirees will lose part of their pensions and will lose their medical insurance.

Those calling for this to happen are getting their wages paid by us, their pensions paid by us, their medical insurance paid by us.

The Right to Work (for less) people need to stop dividing workers.

Contacts: Gary Hubbard, USW (202.778.4384)
Nancy Gravatt, AISI (202.452.7116)
Adam Parr, SMA (202-296-1515)
Skip Hartquist, SSINA (202-342-8450)
Roger Schagrin or Tamara Browne, CPTI (202-223-1700)

The following joint statement was released today by the United Steelworkers, American Iron and Steel Institute, Steel Manufacturer’s Association, Specialty Steel Industry of North America and The Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports.

1. The Chinese government should stop manipulating currency, export tax and rebate policies. The U.S. government should insist that China have WTO-consistent policies on raw materials, semi-finished and finished steel products to ensure that no U.S. manufacturers are disadvantaged.

2. During a worldwide economic recession, China should not try to maintain economic growth by directing subsidized exports to the U.S.

3. China should stop subsidizing excess, redundant, inefficient and highly polluting steel capacity.

4. It is more important than ever that the U.S. government vigorously enforce our nation’s laws against unfair trade and that the United States stand up against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to combat China’s WTO-illegal practices and its efforts to evade U.S. enforcement of countervailing duty (CVD) law.

5. The U.S. government should, at this time of economic crisis, execute leadership in the global trade arena to ensure that China and all countries follow rules-based trade. At stake are millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs and the future of hundreds of U.S. communities. Our nation’s ability to rebound from this economic downturn will rely heavily on the ability of U.S. manufacturers to recover. Standing up to Chinese unfair trade practices will help Americans maintain their quality of life during these unprecedented and challenging times.

Conservatives; Anti-American

The Bush bunch has no problem in pumping twelve billion dollars a month into Iraq but at the same time can’t see their way clear to extent unemployment compensation to idled workers in our own country for six weeks.

They can bail out the banks but can’t see their way clear to provide a bridge loan to the auto companies.

In the balance is three million jobs lost, and thousands of retirees losing their medical insurance and much of their pension.

The big three auto companies must not be allowed to go into bankruptcy, and so called conservatives that are calling for their demise should be marked for removal at the next election.

Another Republican Bites the Dust

Ted Stevens, the convicted Senator from Alaska lost his election giving the Democrats an even larger victory in the U.S. Senate. Too bad for the hockey mom, Sarah Palin.
Two more to go.

The Board Room

Never call me a "conservative"

Let us all pray for our President Elect, Barack Obama.
Let us pray as well that President Bush will leave office without creating more damage to our country in the time he has left.
Now we all know what "conservatism" really means and I for one, want no part of it.
Can you imagine someone calling you a "conservative"? What a slap in the face that would be.

Mouseland

USW - Road To Change

Congratulations!

The Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 30-18 is very pleased with the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.
Finally, the Bush era is over and we can get our country back on track.

Another candidate having our endorsement was SOAR member Nancy Demowski who won here in Indiana's 17th House District.

SOAR Chapter member Harry "Jon" Faust also won his election for Miami County Commissioner.

Congratulations to all of them.

Vote for the Change We Need

Who Should You Vote For??

If you don’t want Social Security privatized…
If you don’t want Medicare privatized…
If you want a pension...
If you don't want to lose your Medical Insurance...
If you don't want the value of your Medical Insurance taxed...
If you're tired of the Wall Street bailouts...
If you're sick of CEO's getting their golden parachutes and millions in bonuses...
If you believe all Americans should have medical insurance…
If you want the cost of health care to be less…
If you think the Medicare Prescription drug plans are a rip off…
If you believe that Medicare should be able to negotiate drug prices with the drug companies...
If you believe that Medicare should be able to re-import safe and cheaper drugs…
If you want a safe food supply…
If you don’t want toxic toys to be brought into this country…
If you don’t want any more Bush type preemptive wars…
If you want to see the congress finally start to work together to get something done…
If you don’t want to lose your home…
If you want to see a strong middle class…
If you want workers to be able to organize unions…
If you want safer work places…
If you want the Dept. of Labor to once again be a help to workers…
If you want the National Labor Relations Board to help workers…
If you think men and women who do the same job should get the same pay…
If you want more and better schools instead of more prisons…
If you want our country's infrastructure to be fixed...
If you want a clean environment…
If you don’t think torture is a good thing for America…
If you want America to once again be an example to other nations…
If you don’t want Indiana to become a Right-to-work-for-less state…
If you think Indiana should have a better Workers Compensation law…

Then you should vote for:

Barack Obama/Joe Biden for President and Vice President
Jill Long Thompson for Indiana Governor
Joe Donnelly for U.S. Congress
Larry Balmer for Indiana Senate
Nancy Dembowski for Indiana State Representative
Harry “Jon” Faust for Miami County Commissioner