Why Join a Union?

Dignity: The presence of a union means employees must be treated fairly by their employer, and that you have a voice and vote in important decisions that effect you.

Power: An employee has little power and almost no way to improve wages, benefits, or working conditions. Collective Bargaining balances the power that an employer has over its employees even in a “Team” or high performance work environment.

Protection: Without a union there is no due process at work. Unions provide a grievance & arbitration procedure which ensures fairness for all employees.

For more information contact:
United Steelworkers District 7 Office
Jim Robinson, Director
1301 Texas St., Room 200
Gary, IN 46402
800-932-8007

You are invited

To take part in the Healthcare Now Road Trip!
Yes there is an answer
To our healthcare problems! and
YOU,
Can be part of the solution.

Free showing of SiCKO, Michael Moore’s telling documentary about the failure of our healthcare system.

Following the movie, there will be a discussion with the HealthCare-NOW team members on your problems and what we have to do to fix our broken healthcare system.

WHEN: Monday, November 12, 2007

TIME: 6:30 P.M.

PLACE: United Steelworkers McBride Hall
1301 TEXAS STREET
GARY, INDIANA.

(From 80/94 go north on I-65 and exit on to 15th Ave.
Take a right (west) to Texas Street
Turn right (north) on Texas Street and go to the end of the road to McBride Hall.)

All who are concerned about what’s happening to our failing health care system and what to do about it are encouraged to attend.

Sponsored by the HealthCare-NOW coalition of activists and union supporters to fix our broken healthcare system by supporting an improved Medicare for all system as proposed by Rep. Conyers in HR 676, The National Insurance Act

Go See SiCKO

This Might Hurt a Little in Indiana

Hoosiers lead the nation in medical bankruptcies.

800,000 Hoosiers have no health insurance.

Watch the movie. And Act!

7PM, Friday, Nov 9
Earth House Coffee+Books
237 N. East Street,
downtown Indy

corner of New York and East.
Inside Lockerbie church,

Free
Donations accepted for Hoosiers for a Common Sense Healthcare Plan.
call 317-354-3207 for more info.

Lousy Safety Program at NIPSCO

The safety manual for the employees of the Northern Indiana Public Service Company used to say something about it being the responsibility of every employee to read the darned safety manual once in a while and become familiar with it.

Having retired about ten years ago, I don’t have a copy of the safety manual any more, but my guess is that it still says the same thing.

Well, It’s time for NIPSCO management to require each and every member of their management team to do just that before they end up murdering another worker or a member of the public.

Reports going around my neck of the woods are indicating that NIPSCO is playing the “blame game” rather than providing a good safety program and I am expecting that to change. Get it NIPSCO?

Who’s in charge of that outfit these days, any way? Start doing your job!

And more importantly, who's in charge of the Safety Department? Who is insisting that workers work unsafely? Who is doing the lying to OSHA?

We don't need any more workers getting electrocuted and we don't need any more explosions.

Please buy Union made candy this Halloween

This info came from the UFCW, AFT and BCTGM web sites.

If you plan to distribute candy to trick-or-treaters this Halloween, show support for union –made products by choosing union-made candy. Members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union (BCTGM) and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) as well as USW members make the sweets to line the candy bags of our children. Union candy suppliers include:

Annabelle Candy Co. makers of Rocky Road, Big Hunk, U-No, and Abba-Zabba

Ghirardelli Chocolate

Herman Goelitz maker of Jelly Bellies, Chocolate Dutch Mints, Candy Corn, Chocolate Temptations, Dimples, Goelitz Confections, Goelitz Gummi, Pet Rat, Pet Tarantula and Sweet Temptations and other confections

Hershey Chocolate USA makers of Hershey Kisses, Special Dark, Mr. Goodbar, Krackle, Nuggets, Swoops and Zagnut, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, York Peppermint Patties, Jolly Rancher and 5th Avenue. Nestle Treasures, Laffy Taffy, Flips Pretzels and Kathryn Beich specialty candy, Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, BB's and Pearson's Nips, Hershey's Pot of Gold, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chocolates, Ovation mint sticks and numerous seasonal specialty boxed and wrap,

Just Born maker of Peanut Chews, Marshmallow Peeps, Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, Zours and Teenee Beanee

NECCO -maker of NECCO wafers, Mary Jane Chews, Candy House Buttons, Sky Bar, Thin Mints, Candy Sticks, Bolster Bar, Canada Mints, Candy Cupboard, CyberSpeak, Clark Bar; and Masterpieces.

Premier Candy Co. maker of box chocolates

Russell Stover maker of box chocolates include Whitman and Pangburn brands

See’s Candies – “Famous Old Time Candies”
Tootsie Roll Industries maker of Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops, Flavor Roll, Frooties, Child’s Play, Dots, Andes Caramel Apple Pops, Charms, Blow Pop, Sugar Daddy, Sugar Babies, Charleston Chew, Fluffy Stuff Cotton Candy, Junior Mints and Cella chocolate covered cherries.

Kraft – Trolli brand candy.

Remember that Kraft, Keebler and Frito Lay snacks and Orville Redenbacher popcorn are also union made.

SCHIP Update, by Ken Kovack, Legislative Director for the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR)

Authorized funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance program ends in mid November. After this important legislation was vetoed by President George W. Bush, the legislation was adjusted to address the objections of the president.

The compromised legislation enjoys bipartisan Congressional support, support of the Governors Association and public opinion polls showing support has reached as much as 80%. The President has suggested a compromise proposal requiring, for example, a family of four with an income of $32,000 to pay 39% of their income for private health insurance and a family of four with earnings of $54,000 to pay 20% of their income for private health insurance. (Source: Bureau of National Affairs, Health Care Policy Report, 10/22/07). Bush also opposes funding the bipartisan compromised bill by a 6% increase on the tobacco tax. Instead, the President would opt for a tax deduction plan to offset the cost of insurance premiums. Another major problem is the Presidents opinion that the legislation moves the nation closer to socialized medicine.

It is well known that the Republicans raise the issue and fear of something being “socialized.” However, the President makes such a statement without considering that he uses socialized health care at tax supported military hospitals staffed with the best tax supported military doctors, nurses, medical research staff, administrative support staff, rehabilitation facilities and equipment, prosthetic devices, medical supplies, prescriptions, the best and latest surgical equipment plus office supplies, building maintenance and grounds keeping. Let’s not forget that the President is transported to the hospital in a tax supported government owned and staffed air or ground vehicle and most often with a federal and/or city police escort. How much more feeble can his socialized medicine argument be? And, if he chooses, he could be buried in a federally supported and maintained (socialized) cemetery.

Fires, Floods and the “Vicissitudes of Life”

''We can never insure 100 percent of the population against 100 percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life''...Franklin Delano Roosevelt

It was true 73 years ago and as this week’s devastating fires in Southern California remind us, it’s still true today. But whether it’s destructive flames on the West coast or devastating floods in the Gulf coast, we’ve seen just how quickly life’s circumstances can take a turn. One of the great untold stories during these times of national crisis is the Social Security success story.

8,700 Social Security checks have already been sent to residents in Southern California. Unfortunately, some of those checks will arrive even though residents have evacuated and their homes have been destroyed. But staff at the local Social Security offices will coordinate efforts to get those checks to California seniors, the disabled and their families who will need them. In its seven-decade history, Social Security has never missed a payment and it won’t this month either.

National tragedies like the California fires also remind us what a critical link SSA offices provide to a vulnerable population. But these offices have faced limited budgets forcing closures, low staffing and huge disability hearing backlogs. We’ve written to Congress urging support of increased funding for SSA administration.

In the wake of this disaster, the Social Security Administration is reminding beneficiaries to use direct deposit. It’s a simple process to enroll either directly with SSA or through the Treasury Department’s GoDirect campaign. As disaster victims in the Gulf coast and now those in Southern California have found, direct deposit allows Social Security beneficiaries access to their funds immediately without worrying if they even have a mailbox left or not.
Source: NCPSSM

The Future of Social Security and Those Who Depend on It

Private Accounts and Benefit Cuts
For decades, opponents of Social Security have attempted to privatize the program. They propose diverting some of the funds that normally go into the Social Security trust funds into private investment accounts. Some would also cut benefits by changing the formula to calculate initial benefits from a wage-indexed system to a price indexed one, and raising both early and normal retirement ages above the current law.

The Inheritance Myth
The Bush administration asserts that private accounts would allow investors to pass on their accounts to their heirs when they die. What they do not say is that the Social Security survivorship benefit paid to the minor children and spouses of the deceased worker would e substantially cut. If a worker dies at a young age, no amount of inheritance would offset the loss of benefits resulting from the deep cuts in benefits and the potential offsets for diverting funds to a private account.

In recent years, the Alliance for Retired Americans has fought to beat back attempts by the Bush administration and others to establish private accounts and institute the price indexing of initial benefits. Despite our successful efforts, privatization proponents can be expected to return and press their agenda again at the first opportunity.

The Position of the Alliance for Retired Americans
The Alliance for Retired Americans rejects privatization of Social Security. Privatization alters the fundamental structure of the program and does nothing to address the issue of long-term solvency.

The Alliance for Retired Americans rejects all changes jeopardizing the benefits of participants or undermining the Social Security system, including:

• Any increase in the early retirement age or any further raising of the normal retirement age beyond current law;

• Any change in the Social Security benefit formula increasing the number of years of earnings counted or indexing benefits to price instead of wage growth; and

• Any alteration to the Social Security disability insurance program that restricts eligibility and/or undermines due process through claims and appeals.

Source: ARA Issue Brief
The Future of Social Security and Those Who Depend on It-May 2007

Understanding the Social Security Trust Funds

Each year, the U.S. government reports the amount of money in the Social Security trust funds, the amount added or redeemed in a given year and the interest earned.

By the end of 2007, the trust fund reserves are estimated to be $2,237 billion. The Social Security trustees project that these resources will be sufficient to pay full benefits until 2041 - one year later than last year's estimate of 2040. After 2040, revenue from taxes at the current rates will be enough to pay 75% of scheduled benefits in 2041 and 70% of scheduled benefits in 2081.

The projected actuarial deficit over the next 75 years is 1.95% of taxable payroll, a slight improvement over the 2006 estimate of 2.02%. The projected shortfall may be met in a variety of ways as described below.

• Raising or eliminating the cap on taxable earnings. Raising the current cap of $97,500 to cover 90 percent of earnings would cut the 75-year shortfall by about 45 percent.

• Dedicating estate tax revenues above a certain limit to the Social Security trust funds. Current law gradually reduces the estate tax so that by 2009, only estates valued above $3.5 million ($7 million for a couple) will be assessed. Dedicating the tax revenues to Social Security would reduce the shortfall by 30 percent.

• Together, raising the cap on taxable earnings and freezing the estate tax at the 2009 level while dedicating the proceeds to the Social Security trust funds will meet three-fourths of the future shortfall.

Source: ARA Issue Brief, May 2007

Social Security, A Valuable Investment

Social Security is worth a ...

• Retirement policy of $250,000
• Disability policy of $353,000
• Life insurance policy of $403,000

Source: National Academy of Social Insurance

Social Security and the President's Proposed Budget

Social Security pays monthly cash benefits to retired and disabled workers and their dependents and to survivors of deceased workers. Benefits are financed by payroll taxes paid by employees, employers and the self-employed.

The Administration's 2008 budget for Social Security includes private accounts which would divert money out of Social Security and into private investment accounts.

The result would be:

• Worsen Social Security's long term financing
• Reduce Social Security benefits for future retirees
• Trade Social Security guarantees for the risks of the stock market
• Add trillions of dollars to the federal debt

Message:

Privatization would dismantle Social Security.

Close the back door budget approach to privatize Social Security!

Source: NCPSSM

Social Security-What a Great Program!

Social Security 2007

1. Social Security is more than just a retirement program. It provides life insurance to the spouse and young children of workers who die and it protects workers who become disabled and are unable to support their families.

2. Social Security does exactly what it was designed to do. It gives people a secure, basic income protected against inflation for as long as they live.

3. Social Security contributes to the well being of Americans by providing a foundation for retirement income that permits seniors to live in dignity.

4. Social Security is the largest single source of income for America’s retirees. Two-thirds of Social Security beneficiaries rely on Social Security for most of their income.

5. Without Social Security, nearly half of all retirees would fall into poverty.

6. Social Security is portable when you are working – you can take it from job to job.

7. Social Security is universal – 96 percent of Americans are covered by its protections.

8. It is progressive; its benefit formula provides a proportionally higher benefit to low and middle income Americans than to high income individuals.

9. The value of the life insurance provided to survivors through Social Security is over $400,000.

10. The Social Security Trust Funds are secure for at least another 35 years. After that with no changes, the Trust Fund would still continue to pay over 74% of the promised benefits. Social Security is not in a crisis.

11. Social Security is a well run government program. The administrative cost is less than 1% of the outlay of funds.

A Guarantee Not A Gamble

Source: National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

U.S. Health Care System is Broken!

The U.S. Health Care System is fundamentally broken and self-destructing.

We can’t just “tinker around the edges”, we must do a major overhaul.

Watch angry grandma Marilyn Furer show just how easy it is to do lead screenings.

Listen to Sen. Sherrod Brown talk about legislation he’s filed to try to put a stop to dangerous imports.

Hear from President Leo Gerard about the devastating effects of flawed trade policies as well as some ideas for how you can help fix them.

Stop Toxic Imports

The recently launched United Steelworkers’ Protect Our Kids – Stop Toxic Imports campaign will combat the massive influx of toxic imports endangering North American families.

We’ve been flooded with everything from toxic toys to lead-laced baby bibs, poisoned pet food and tainted tooth paste. It’s time to tell politicians and corporations that a cheaper price tag is not worth endangering our families’ health!

Go to www.protect-our-kids.org or www.stoptoxicimports.org to find valuable resources, including how to request a lead screening kit and information about USW Safe Home events across the United States and Canada.

Please sign our online petition calling on government to fix this problem and peruse the Web sites to find out how else you can help.

Pitiless George Says No to Children

Sorry folks. No signing ceremony today. Afterall, it wouldn't be good policy for me to deny healthcare for children in the light of day. So, I decided to do it behind closed doors.

Having government paid healthcare is good for me and congress, but surely you don't think it's good for children too. Afterall, they can always go to the emergency room.

Some of you just didn't ever understand what compassionate conservatism was. Well, this is it!

Elect John Edwards for President

Sisters and Brothers,

When was the last time you heard a President of the United States say the word union?

When was the last time we had a President that fought to strengthen labor laws, to put an end to unfair trade policies and protect the worker's right to organize? In 2008 we have the opportunity to elect a candidate that has vowed to do all of this and more.

John Edwards has based his campaign for the Presidency upon the promise to make healthcare a human right, and not something that our unions must negotiate. He has vowed to end the global ‘race to the bottom’, and will demand strong labor laws that:

• benefit working families.

• will not allow trade with countries that exploit workers, and the environment.
  

• will eliminate tax incentives for companies that move offshore, and

• put an end to currency manipulation by countries like China and Japan
  

In the past six years the Bush Administration has put the privilege of corporations before the rights of working Americans. Isn't it time we had a President that will fight for us and not against us?

Contribute to the campaign to elect John Edwards for President in 2008.

Edwards, Obama Promise To Walk Union Picket Lines

Edwards, Obama Promise To Walk Union Picket Lines Even After Taking White House

By Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer

CHICAGO (PAI)--In rousing pro-worker speeches to a packed hall of 1,000 unionists, two of the top three Democratic presidential hopefuls--Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.)--promised to walk with union picket lines even after they are elected to the White House.

Edwards and Obama were greeted with roars and ovations by the delegates to the Change to Win convention, meeting in downtown Chicago. The third top contender, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), also gave a strong pro-union speech--not including that particular pledge--but was forced to talk via speakerphone after her plane, along with hundreds of others, was grounded on the tarmac at the Little Rock, Ark., airport.

The three hopefuls are among seven vying for support from the 7-union 6-million-member federation, while also campaigning for support from the rest of the labor. CTW Chair Anna Burger said no decision was likely from the entire federation until after the February 5 round of primaries. The other four Democrats were not invited.

One CTW union, the Carpenters, has already endorsed Edwards. The Carpenters, including President Doug McCarron, were notable for their small presence--verging on invisibility--at the CTW conclave. They were neutral in the 2004 election.

Edwards, sounding more like a preacher than a trial lawyer, turned on the crowd repeatedly by reminding them of his strong support for union workers and their causes, even in daunting circumstances, such as the United Food and Commercial Workers’ struggle to unionize the 5,000 workers at the Smithfield pork-processing plant in Tar Heel, N.C. All three also opposed free trade pacts without worker protections.

Edwards noted he walked 240 picket lines for 23 unions--and his wife Elizabeth was even then walking with United Auto Worker pickets in Grand Rapids, Mich. GM forced UAW to strike, from Sept. 24-26, over several issues, including health care.

Smithfield workers, Edwards said, toil in 100-degree temperatures “with drinking water that is so tainted they have to put in Gatorade to kill the smell. But most people in America have no idea of what working conditions are like” at Tar Heel and elsewhere.

“So here’s what I have to say to all of you who are trying to earn a decent wage and have good working conditions: You are not alone. I’ll be with you every step of the way and I’ll be with you on the picket line when I’m elected president of the United States,” he declared.

All three also touted their pro-worker credentials in other ways, with Edwards repeating his pledge to “go out on the White House lawn” to tell Americans about the importance of unions to creating and preserving the middle class. He also reminded the crowd that he told the same thing “to 4,000-5,000 people at the Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento, not exactly your friendly audience.”

And when it came to passing the Employee Free Choice Act, which would help level the playing field between workers and bosses in organizing drives and in bargaining, Edwards said he would “use my political capital” for the bill. “And if we’re having trouble in particular Senate races and congressional races getting it passed, I’ll go to every one of those places and campaign for EFCA,” he declared.
Obama, a Chicagoan, reminded the crowd he started work 20 years ago as a community organizer, helping Steel Workers who lost their jobs when mills on the city’s South Side closed. “I’m not a newcomer. I didn’t discover working folks on the campaign trail,” he commented--without saying which of his foes did.

Obama blasted the GOP Bush regime as “the most anti-union administration in history.” He then stated that “if a majority of workers want a union, they should get a union,” referring to a key EFCA provision: Enshrining card-check majority recognition of unions in labor law, rather than at the employer’s discretion.

And after taking a swing at Wal-Mart, and mentioning the bill he co-sponsored in September to end companies’ “independent contractor” dodges, Obama returned to workers’ rights by declaring: “If your rights are being denied, I don’t care if I’m in the U.S. Senate or the White House, I will walk with you.” He got a standing ovation.

Clinton also strongly backed EFCA, saying she would “use the bully pulpit” of the presidency to push the bill. “I’ll travel the country, hold events, and explain the importance of unions even for those who are not unionized,” in order to push EFCA through, she said through the speakerphone.

All three hopefuls also touted their health care legislation and tried to draw differences between the plans. Edwards noted his bill was the only one where there’s a way to pay for its $90 billion-$120 billion cost, by repealing the Bush tax cuts for the rich. Obama said his bill guarantees coverage for all kids but not adults, because kids don’t have choices, but parents do.

Clinton said her plan is not government-run and would guarantee coverage--for those who do not want to keep their own health care plans--equivalent to the coverage Congress has. Congressional coverage gives lawmakers and staffers reasonable premiums and a choice of doctors. Clinton and Edwards would order individuals to buy insurance, with Edwards subsidizing the purchases by the poor.

###

Press Associates, Inc. (PAI)

Alliance Member on The Oprah Winfrey Show

Steve Skvara talks about losing his pension and health insurance,
asking “What’s Wrong with America?”

This Thursday, September 27, 2007, Steve Skvara, a retired steelworker serving on the Board of the Indiana Alliance of Retired Americans, will talk to Oprah Winfrey about losing his pension and health insurance, and asking his now famous question, “What’s Wrong with America?”

The Oprah Winfrey Show, “Sick in America: It Can Happen to You,” will be broadcast nationally Thursday, September 27, at 4:00 pm local time (airtime in most areas) on ABC-TV affiliate stations (check local TV program schedules for details).

“I am extremely proud of Steve for sharing his experience with the world,” said George Kourpias, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “This is only one example of how retirees will make their voices heard in the health care debate, and it is an important illustration of how powerful each of our stories can be.”

The broadcast will include a replay of Skvara's previously televised question, which he posed to the Democratic Presidential Candidates at the AFL-CIO’s presidential forum in Chicago, Illinois, August 7. Over one million people at home that night heard how Skvara retired from LTV Steel after he and his wife, Sandy, suffered life-altering injuries in an automobile accident. Two years after retiring, LTV filed for bankruptcy, costing him one third of his pension and all of his health care, and leaving Skvara unable to afford health insurance for his wife.

“Steve lost nearly everything when his steel mill closed. He has the spotlight, but unfortunately there are millions and millions of Steves who have lost their pensions and health care in retirement and now struggle to pay for medical care and other day-to-day expenses,” said Kourpias. “They cannot all be heard on Oprah, but they will be heard at the ballot boxes next November.”

Also on the show, guest Michael Moore will discuss his film Sicko with a health insurance lobbyist. The Oprah Winfrey Show airs daily for one hour. It’s U.S. audience averages more than eight million, and the program is broadcast in 134 countries around the world.

###

The Alliance for Retired Americans is a national organization that advocates for the rights and well being of 3 million retirees and their families.

Pass the SCHIP Bill

President Bush and his compassionate conservative pals are wanting another 200 billion dollars for their “war” in Iraq, but when it comes to providing an additional 4 million children some health insurance at a cost of 5 billion dollars, they squeal like a herd of pigs.

The SCHIP Bill (State Children's Health Insurance Program) is now out of committee and will be voted soon in both houses of congress. Bush says he will veto it. So much for his compassion.

Surely, making health insurance available to children whose parents can’t afford private insurance is the right thing to do.

After all, without medical insurance, these children are taken to emergency rooms all over the country which only increases insurance payments for the rest of us.

Opponents are wrong if they think this is “socialized medicine”. That’s what England has. The doctors and hospitals work for the government.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a single payer plan like the Canadians, where you can go to any doctor you want and the government pays the bill?

When will these Republicans and the president begin to help the American people for a change?

We need healthcare for all--NOW!

Enough of this fooling around.

While we spend billions of dollars policing the civil war in Iraq, people in our own country are going bankrupt because of their medical bills.

So much wonderful legislation has been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives only to hit a brick wall by Senate Republicans and the threat of Bush's veto.

There's only one way to bring sense to our government and that is to elect Congressman and Senators who care about the American people.

Healthcare for all Americans must be our number one mission. The phony crooks and liars in Washington need to get the boot. Their steering our wonderful country into oblivion.

Let's wake up and take our country back. The whole country this time, and make it once again a nation that we can all be proud of. One that cares about its own people for a change, and one that cares about our image to the rest of the world.

Floor Speech Against the War in Iraq, 2002

Former U.S. Senator, Paul Wellstone


3,791 dead American troops
27,848 wounded soldiers
1,000,000 dead Iraqi civilians
2,000,000 made homeless

When will the U.S. Senate come to their senses?

More troop deaths. For What?

Who are Those Union Busters?

The Real Terrorists are Union Busters

Get the LEAD Out

Protect Our Kids – Stop Toxic Imports

We need your help in getting the lead and other dangerous products out of our homes while drawing attention to a broken regulatory system and unfair trade policies that perpetuate corporate greed. Please pass the word about our upcoming campaign so we can all work together to stop unfair trade that is threatening our jobs and our families.

Source: USW Website

What You Can Do

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China Trade-Summary

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Rockefeller Bill

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Currency Bill

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Non-Market Economy Bill

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Turning Things Around

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Ineffective U.S. Response

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The Result of Chinese Steel Subsidies

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How China Subsidizes Manufacturing

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China Cheats on the Rules

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U.S. Manufacturing Job Losses

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U.S. Trade Balance with China

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China's Road from Obscurity

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China & United States Comparisons

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Trade & China

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Stop Toxic Imports

Toxic Toys, Fouled Food, Poisoned Pets

We all know too well the devastating effects of a broken trade system: the loss of jobs, shattered communities, staggering national deficits.

Now, nearly every edition of the daily newspaper or broadcast of the nightly news reveals there are more side effects that could harm every American — toxic toys, poisoned pet food, tainted toothpaste and an at risk human food supply are making their way into the United States from China and other places where there are little or no environmental and health regulations.

In early August, Fisher-Price recalled 967,000 plastic preschool toys made in China because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead. The recall covered 83 types of toys including play sets, toy vehicles, figures and musical instruments. Many of the recalled toys are connected to popular children’s TV programs including Sesame Street, the acclaimed educational series, and Dora the Explorer, an animated series. Fischer-Price is a subsidiary of Mattel Inc.

In July, media reported that 180 food factories in China that make everything from shrimp to candy were shut down after inspectors found industrial chemicals such as formaldehyde, illegal dyes and wax being used in products.
Source: USW

Bush's War = Madness

• 1,612 Days = WWll + 266
• Deaths as of Aug 17 = 3,706
• Daily rate (last 14 days) = 2.6

There really is a flaw in our system of government when a nut job for a president can't be removed from office when the only option is impeachment, and the impeachment process has lost its credibility because of the Monica Lewinsky thing and the result of Dick Cheney taking over would probably be just as bad.
What a terrible state of affairs.

Forked Tongue Cheney

Sweatshop Quick Fact #4

A recent poll showed that 76 percent of Americans believe that workers should be protected, just as corporate trademarks and products are in the global economy.

The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (S. 367 & H.R. 1992) will ban sweatshop goods from entering our markets.

Call or email your congressional representatives and ask them to co-sponsor this much needed legislation.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives

Members of the U.S. Senate

Sweatshop Quick Fact #3

The U.S. government often gives foreign aid to those same countries whose poverty is directly linked to exploitation by U.S. businesses operating abroad.

A quick phone call or letter to your U.S. Congressman and your U.S. Senators will go along way towards making the passage of the Anti-Sweatshop legislation become the law of our land.

The Bill numbers are H.R. 1992 and S. 367. Ask them to co-sponsor this humane legislation.

Sweatshop Quick Fact #2

While some sweatshops exist in the U.S. today, they largely disappeared with the rise of trade unions and government regulation.

We can eliminate more of these labor abuses by urging our U.S. Congressman and Senators to co-sponsor the Anti-Sweatshop legislation (H.R. 1992 and S. 367).

Sweatshop Quick Fact #1

What kind of manufactured goods are made with sweatshop labor?

It is not just the garment industry. Common sweatshop goods include tires, auto parts, shoes, toys, computer parts, electronics, and nearly every other kind of manufactured good.

Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (S. 367 & H.R. 1992). It will ban sweatshop goods from entering our markets. Do it for your country, do it for your children, do it for yourself.

Did You Know?

The Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 prohibits the importing or exporting of dog or cat fur products into the U.S. market.

The goal of this Act is to deter the brutality and suffering inflicted upon dogs and casts, whose fur was being used for products such as coats that were entering the United States. Is it not time to extend these same protections to human beings?

Urge your Congressional Representative and Senators to support the anti sweatshop legislation (H.R. 1992 and S. 367. This is the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act.

What's Wrong with America

Steve Skvara is the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Executive Board Member for Indiana and Illinois.

Anti-Sweatshop Enforcement

How would the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (S. 367 & H.R. 1992) be enforced?
The Federal Trade Commission is charged with investigation of complaints and enforcement. As an added incentive for businesses not to exploit workers, competitors or investors can bring a private suit against any company using sweatshop labor to produce goods for the U.S. market. This includes manufacturers that operate sweatshop facilities in the U.S. as well.

Have you called or written to your members of Congress yet?

Whe Benefits from from S. 367 & H.R. 1992

If the Decent Working Conditions and Fair competition Act can become law, consumers will get peace of mind knowing that they are not supporting sweatshop conditions. Businesses benefit from not having to go up against immoral competitors. Most importantly, workers around the globe will benefit from increased pressure to improve working standards - something our current trade relationships fail to do.

Please urge your members of the U.S. Congress to co-sponsor this legislation.

What is a Sweatshop Good?

Any good manufactured in a condition that violates core labor standards is a sweatshop good.

That includes:

• The right to associate, organize and bargain collectively;
• The right to work free from forced or child labor; and
• The right to have acceptable conditions of work in terms of wages, safety and health standards, and hours of work.

Call your U.S. Representative and Senators and urge them to support the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (S. 367 & H.R. 1992)

Central American Sweatshops

In Central America, companies exporting to the U.S. routinely target young, unmarried girls for hard labor. Forced abortions are common. When these girls reach a certain age, they are often fired in favor of younger workers.

In the overwhelming majority of these situations, workers have no recourse. They are merely bystanders in the global economy, used and abused by multi-national corporations in their quest to fatten bottom lines.

In the United States, workers are forced to compete with products made under these conditions. Downward pressure on wages and benefits, lost jobs and destroyed communities are the result.

We can do better; we can restore justice in our global trade relationships.
Tell your U.S. Representative and Senators to support the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (S. 367 & H.R. 1992). It will ban sweatshop goods from entering our markets. The bill also prevents our government from purchasing sweatshop goods with our taxpayer dollars.

Sweatshops in China

Manufacturing workers in China are routinely paid sub-poverty wages, locked inside plants and forced to work in filthy, unsafe conditions.The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (S. 367 & H.R. 1992) will ban sweatshop goods from entering our markets.

Call or write to your U.S. Representative and Senators and tell them to Co-sponsor this important legislation.

Anti-Sweatshop Legislation

Join the USW’s Fight for Anti-Sweatshop Legislation

For much too long, our trade agreements have incorporated all types of corporate protections, while ignoring the lives of human beings within our global economy. As a result, worker oppression and abuse is rampant around the globe:

In Jordan, recent reports exposed slave labor conditions among imported workers making products destined for the U.S. market. If workers spoke out against their lack of pay or 18-hour days, they were beaten. Because passports were seized, workers had no escape from their factory compound.

Call your U.S. Representative and Senators and urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 1992 and S. 367, the Anti-Sweatshop Bill.

The 11th Hour - documentary

“As an example, if we retrofitted all government buildings built pre 1950, and we created tax environments to help cities and municipalities and states and the federal government to retrofit those buildings, we could create 3 million industrial jobs plus we could import much less oil from the middle east. But more importantly we’d be having a much cleaner environment.”

Leo Gerard, USW President
from The 11th Hour - documentary
“The 11th Hour” is a new feature length environmental film in which I appear. Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, it documents the environmental crises we face.

With the help of over fifty of the world’s most prominent thinkers and activists, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, “The 11th Hour” documents the grave problems facing the plant’s life systems: global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction and depletion of the oceans’ habitats.

However, the most powerful aspect of “The 11th Hour” is not a portrait of a planet in crisis, but its offering of hope and solutions. The film ends with a call for restorative action through reshaping human activity.

“The 11th Hour” opens in New York and Los Angeles on August 17. On the 24th it opens in more cities and in the following weeks across the country. I strongly encourage you to go see it.

Bush's Brightest

Care for Kids!

Tell congress to put families first!

More than 9 million American kids have no healthcare coverage including 163,000 Hoosier kids.

Congress has the opportunity to fully fund the State Children’s Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 Billion to provide health care coverage to millions of children whose families don’t qualify for Medicaid and can’t afford private insurance.

This new funding has already been approved by U.S. Senate and House budget resolutions. We need to ensure that $50 billion additional funding is approved in the final budget.

For additional information or to sign the petition electronically, go to www.putfamiliesfirst.com.

Dirty Chao

DIRTY CHOW URGED TO CLEAN UP HER ACT

Workers at the Department of Labor (DOL) will have some good clean fun this week when they pass out bars of soap saying "Chao Thinks You Stink" and "Get Clean with Local 12". The workers, members of AFGE Local 12, are responding to DOL Secretary Elaine Chao's recent comments in Parade Magazine that American workers need to improve their personal hygiene in order to be more competitive. "While we're having a little fun at the Secretary 's expense," said Local 12 President Alex Bastani, "what isn't funny is the Secretary's disdain for American workers." After all, Bastani notes, "This is the very same Secretary of Labor who denied over 2 million workers their right to overtime." Local 12 recently defeated an effort to privatize over 250 jobs at the DOL at both the regional level and in the Washington DC National office. Also featured at the Tuesday and Thursday events will be a bubble machine. Photo of Chao that will appear on the bars of soap, photo courtesy of AFGE 12

Source: METRO WASHINGTON COUNCIL NEWS, AFL-CIO

Impeach Cheney

Bush's only word

Birkholz Announces Candidacy

Press Release

July 11, 2007

Debra Birkholz announces candidacy for State Senate, District 8

Birkholz formally announced her candidacy today at the LaPorte County Labor Coalition meeting in Michigan City. She has the endorsement of Jim Robinson, United Steelworker District Director and several retiree organizations. Having recently retired after a 32 year career at NIPSCO, Birkholz was elected four times as president of the clerical union at NIPSCO. Birkholz said, “ No one will ever be able to replace Anita Bowser but we do not have to lose her passion and commitment to seeing state government work for everyone.” She has been a resident of LaPorte County for nearly forty years and currently is the secretary of the LaPorte County Democratic Central Committee. She also serves on the LaPorte Labor/Management Committee. Birkholz is married to Mike Birkholz, one of the owners of Shaffner Tire in LaPorte. Together they have five children and four grandchildren.

Indiana Toll Road

VOP: Birkholz bashes Arnold on toll road lease statement

Having lost by just one vote to Jim Arnold in the March Democratic caucus to fill the late Sen. Anita Bowser’s seat, I was particularly disappointed to read our current state senator say, “there hasn’t been enough time to make a justifiable conclusion” (H-A, 6/30/07) on whether the lease of the Indiana Toll Road was the right thing to do.

Now more than ever, we need elected officials in Indianapolis willing to stand up and say “no” to every effort by this governor and his colleagues to sell off parts of state government. There’s a reason the U.S. House Transportation Committee just two months ago sent the governor a letter saying it was opposed to such sales or leases of public assets that obviously don’t serve the public interest.

Privatizing what should be government functions hasn’t worked well on the federal level, much less the state. The New York Times said it well on Jan. 16 when it editorialized that “full inquiries and public hearings are vital if the rich and shadowy world of privatization is ever to be plumbed for the scandal it is nurturing.”

At the state level, Texans admit their privatization of welfare services is a failure. The $900 million contract with Accenture will be ended two years earlier than planned with the highly respected Austin Statesman saying that “state employees are better suited for administrative functions and privatization is no guarantee that taxpayers are going to save money.” In Florida, even Republican lawmakers who once supported privatization schemes there are said by the Feb. 17, 2005, St. Petersburg Times “to be disillusioned by the reality.”

With this governor hoping to sell off or lease other state assets like the Hoosier Lottery, we need state legislators willing to stand up and take the long view of the public interest. That’s why if I am successful in my campaign for state Senate, the voters can count on me as one who will fight privatization tooth and nail.

DEBRA BIRKHOLZ

La Porte

Stop the Insanity!

3,606 dead American soldiers

26,558 wounded

$442 billion dollars so far

What does war look like?

"Like the backside of a baboon. When the baboon is up in a tree, with its hind end facing us, there is the face of war exactly: scarlet, scaly, glazed, framed in a clotted, filthy wig." Hecuba

Let's Stop Unfair Trade

Today, we need to celebrate our
independence, not lose it.

(Tell the Presidential candidates America deserves a real Independence Day.)

We hear a lot about national security from our Presidential
candidates — but none of them will tell you that one day we may
depend on foreign manufacturers for our national security.

That’s right — as America increasingly depends on foreign-built
products, our manufacturing base continues to erode. The same
manufacturing base that supplies the equipment our troops need
to keep America safe.

This Independence Day, Americans need to ask our Presidential
candidates to do more than just talk a good game and sit on their
hands while China and other countries cheat on our trade laws
with illegal subsidies, currency manipulation and dumping.

They’re taking America’s jobs — 49,000 a month in manufacturing
alone.

Today is the day we’re supposed to celebrate our independence.
But every year, we’re becoming less independent.

Tell our Presidential candidates that America needs to start
enforcing the trade laws and safeguarding our national security.

After all, what better day than today to start standing up for
America’s independence?

www.standupforsteel.org

Paid for by Stand Up For Steel, a coalition of the United Steelworkers
and America’s major steel companies.

Alliance for American Manufacturing

Manufacturing in the United States

Manufacturing in the U.S. generates about $1.4 trillion, or 12 percent of our gross domestic product, accounting for nearly three quarters of the nation’s industrial research and development (R&D), two-thirds of our nation’s total exports of goods and services, and supports more than 20 million high-paying jobs. Manufacturing also ensures we have a strong industrial base to support our national security objectives.

AAM believes that America’s leadership in the information age does not mean that we have to accept defeat when it comes to manufacturing. On the contrary, the nation that has the ideas and innovation, as well as cutting-edge technology and manufacturing, is the nation that will win the global economic battles of the future.

Inside modern manufacturing facilities, you will see the most productive, highly-skilled labor force in the world applying the latest in information, innovation and technology.

The fact is, our manufacturing industry has been, and will continue to be, a vital component of America’s success.

Today, Manufacturing Faces Extraordinary Challenges and Opportunities

American families and communities depend on a strong manufacturing base to improve our quality of life. American manufacturers should have more opportunities to export their products and increase production in the U.S., but a staggering set of circumstances has resulted in millions of layoffs and threatens the foundation of our economy: rising health care and retirement costs, a trend towards outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries, currency manipulation that distorts the marketplace, and unchecked cheating on international trade rules.

Some critics argue that a decline in manufacturing is inevitable. AAM begs to differ. Other sectors of the American economy—finance, information, services, technology—are clearly on the rise. But that does not mean manufacturing should decline. Just as manufacturing depends on technological advances and on access to information and finance, these sectors depend on manufacturing.

With manufacturing, America gets

More R&D – American manufacturers are responsible for two-thirds of research and development investment in the United States, and nearly 80 percent of all patents filed come from the manufacturing sector.
More Technology – American manufacturers are the leading buyers of new technology of any economic sector in the United States.
More Jobs – American manufacturing directly employs 14 million Americans and creates 8 million additional jobs in other sectors.
More Growth – American manufacturing is the largest single contributor the U.S. economy.
Tomorrow, America’s Success Depends on a Strong Manufacturing Base

As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated on Feb. 28, 2007, “I would say that our economy needs machines and new factories and new buildings and so forth in order for us to have a strong and growing economy.”

Contrary to popular misconceptions, the industrial age is not over. In fact, just the opposite is true. From nanotechnology, and robotics, to lasers and biotechnology; we are on the cusp of incredible advances in manufacturing. And America must be the nation that leads the world into the next stages of development.

Manufacturing is, and will continue to be, an integral part of the “new economy.” With manufacturing, the new economy will thrive. Without manufacturing, much of this new economy wouldn’t even exist.

Just In Indiana

• Manufacturing jobs lost from 2000-2007: 110,700

• Manufacturing accounts for $67.2 billion of the state’s GSP, the number 1 contributor to the state’s economy.

• 45,200 jobs lost, 2001-2006 (all sectors), as a result of the trade deficit with China, equaling 1.5% of the total state employment in 2001.

Source: Alliance for American Manufacturing

Merle Haggard for President

EFCA Statement

Statement by Leo W. Gerard, USW President

US SENATE VOTE ON EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

Pittsburgh – United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard said Monday’s procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on the Employee Free Choice Act demonstrates that, while the Republican leadership still has a chokehold on legislation that would benefit 60 million working men, women and their families, the promise of the bill’s passage by a new administration is well within reach.

The 51-48 Senate vote to move forward on the Employee Free Choice Act showed Democrats unanimously sided with workers, but fell short of the 60 vote threshold needed to end debate and proceed to a vote on final passage of the legislation.

“The support for Employee Free Choice by the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate offers real hope that soon workers will once again have a voice in deciding how they choose to organize as a union without being intimidated by their employer,” Gerard said.

“The unanimous support by the Senate Democrats points the way toward overcoming the obstruction by big business and the Republicans who seek to deny American workers their basic right to have a greater say in their lives through collective bargaining.

“The Employee Free Choice Act will remain an issue working families and their communities will continue to work until we achieve a Democratic Majority in the U.S. Senate and elect a new president in 2008,” he added.

How Did Your Senator Vote?

The EFCA vote in the Senate was 51 Right and 48 Wrong with Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) not voting as he is still out with a grave illness. All Democrats voted Right. All Republicans, EXCEPT Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector, voted wrong.


Source - Fight Back America - United Steelworkers AFL-CIO.CLC

EFCA Wins Majority Vote in Senate!

But votes short of 60 needed to cut off filibuster

Today, all workers in the U.S. should celebrate another victory on the road to meaningful labor law reform. After passing the House of Representatives in March, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) came up for consideration in the Senate. While a majority (51) of Senators voted for it, that was short of the 60 needed to stop the GOP filibuster. While short of the super majority needed in the Senate, it clearly sends the message that we are closer to the day when workers will have a true and fair choice on whether or not to form a union in their workplace.

Despite millions of dollars spent by anti-union lobbyists and corporations, the majority of U.S. Senators, under unrelenting pressure from Rapid Response and many others in the labor movement, stood up for workers and voted yes on the EFCA. And we proved that we now have the majority and that we will not stop until the EFCA is signed into law.

Through President Bush promised to veto the bill, we must fight to make sure the next President actively fights to get the EFCA passed through congress and signed into law.

How Did Your Senators Vote?

The EFCA vote in the Senate was 51 Right and 48 Wrong with 1 Senator not voting (Sen. Tim Johnson – D-SD who has been very ill.)

All Democrats Voted Right

All Republicans Voted Wrong Except Sen. Arlen Specter ( R-PA)

(Though Specter came under extreme pressure from within his party to vote against the EFCA he stood up to vote the right way for workers.)

Congratulations to each of you for your Rapid Response work to get us to this point! The fight is not over, but it is clear that labor law reform is on the horizon!

Source: USW Rapid Response

EFCA Vote Finally Comes

We celebrated a major victory on March 1, 2007 when the House of Representatives stood with us to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The vote was a solid win at 241-185. The Senate is expected to vote on the fate of the EFCA early next week, likely on Monday.

The legislation is now being debated in the Senate, where opponents are working overtime to stop the bill. Monday's vote will be on "cloture," which would end debate and allow for a true vote on the actual EFCA bill. If the cloture vote fails, it essentially kills the bill. Making things even more complicated, we need 60 members of the Senate to vote yes on cloture on Monday!

Every Senator supporting the Employee Free Choice Act must be there to vote. The level of support for the bill in the Senate is not as strong as the House. We need all supporters to be present and VOTE!

Make a last minute toll-free call to your Senators today.

Tell them to make sure to VOTE YES on the Employee Free Choice Act!

Dial: 1-866-340-9279

http://www.fightbackamerica.net - United Steelworkers AFL-CIO.CLC