A groundbreaking collaboration between the Environmental Defense Fund and IUE-CWA got off the ground with the first of six pilot projects to identify energy productivity measures at manufacturing facilities.

Pulling in members from six other locals, IUE-CWA put together a team to work with members at the Cobasys hybrid battery plant to look for ways to reduce energy usage and carbon output.

Over a three-day period, the members identified some 20 projects that if implemented could save the company 18 percent on its energy bills.

This is the first partnership with a union for EDF, which has routinely worked to promote energy-saving opportunities to corporations. For IUE-CWA, the project is a natural outgrowth of its green jobs work and its lean/high performance manufacturing success.

During the pilot phase, teams of IUE-CWA members are being trained by noted energy consultant Bruce Bremer, who got his start at Toyota where the “treasure hunt” concept originated. Toyota and General Electric then worked back and forth to develop the tools to quantify projected savings.

The goal is for the Division to ultimately run its own treasure hunts and offer the service to its employers similar to the work being done in lean manufacturing.

In addition, once the pilot shows the viability of the union-initiated process, EDF and IUE-CWA will start a train-the-trainer program with other unions.

Brendan FitzSimons, EDF’s project manager for corporate partnerships, was amazed at the knowledge and expertise IUE-CWA members brought to the effort.

“The IUE-CWA workers who participated in the treasure hunt brought an impressive depth of practical, first-hand manufacturing technical expertise and knowledge that was invaluable in identifying energy-saving opportunities,” he said. “The treasure hunt provides a great way to tap this resource.”

The project is aimed at helping to overcome some of the barriers that hinder companies from adopting energy-efficiency investments--ranging from limited resources, information gaps and organizational barriers. By addressing these barriers, EDF hopes that companies will start to invest in the many economically attractive energy-savings opportunities that are available.

By increasing its efficiency, the U.S. manufacturing sector can save money on energy costs and protect itself from future energy price increases. These investments also promote U.S. manufacturing competiveness that protect and create new jobs here -- and improve environmental performance to boot.

“Energy-efficiency treasure hunts will give IUE-CWA workers new skills to make their companies more productive and competitive,” said IUE-CWA President Jim Clark. “That’s good for our members’ job security and good for their company’s bottom line.”

Any local interested in joining the pilot project or having a treasure hunt conducted at their site, should contact the Division at 937/298-9984.

Below, you'll find a link to materials that explain the Relief Fund's benefits, as well as the application form to submit if you've encountered such property loss. 

Download 2011 Disaster Relief .pdf

Article 15, Elections, Section 3- Local Officers, Subsections (a) – (c) of the CWA Constitution reads as follows:

(a) Local Officers shall be nominated and elected during the months of September, October, November and December. (Underlining added.)

(b) Officers of a Local shall be at least President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer or Secretary and Treasurer. Beginning with Local elections in 1987, no member shall be permitted to hold more than one such office.

(c) Beginning with the elections held in 1972, the term of office for Local Officers shall be three years or until their successors have been duly elected and qualified.

 Majority Vote:

The CWA Constitution, Article 15 – Elections, Section 4 – General Provisions, Subsections (e) – (g) reads:

(e) The election by Locals of officers, members of a governing body, and delegates and alternate delegates to the Union Convention shall be by secret ballot among the members in good standing. The nominee in any election receiving a majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected; provided, however, that Locals may provide in their Bylaws or Rules for the election of candidates by a plurality of the votes cast in any election, other than an election of Local President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Secretary-Treasurer. (Underlining and bold added)

(f) In the case of elections requiring a majority vote, if no one nominee receives a majority on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be conducted and the two nominees receiving the greatest number of votes on the first ballot shall be the nominees on the second ballot. If no one nominee receives a majority on the first ballot and there is a tie for second place, a run-off election shall be conducted and the person receiving the greatest number of votes on the first ballot and the two persons who tied for second place shall be the nominees on the second ballot.

(g) In the case of elections requiring a plurality vote, if a tie renders the election indecisive for any position, a runoff election shall be conducted and the nominees who tied for such position on the first ballot shall be the nominees on the second ballot.

Adequate Notice of Elections:

Elections required by title IV to be held by secret ballot must be preceded by a notice of election mailed to each member at his last known home address not less than fifteen days prior to the election. \48. For purposes of computing the fifteen day period, the day on which the notices are mailed is not counted whereas the day of the election is counted. For example, if the election is to be held on the 20th day of the month, the notices must be mailed no later than the 5th day. The notice must include a specification of the date, time and place of the election and of the offices to be filled, and it must be in such form as to be reasonably calculated to inform the members of the impending election. Specification of the offices to be filled would not be necessary if it is a regular, periodic election of all officers and the notice so indicates. A statement in the union bylaws that an election will be held at a certain time does not constitute the notice required by the statute. Since the Act specifies that the notice must be mailed, other means of transmission such as posting on a bulletin board or hand delivery will not satisfy the requirement. A notice of election must be sent to every member as defined in section 3(o) of the Act, not only to members who are eligible to vote in the election. Where the notice, if mailed to the last known permanent or legal residence of the member, would not be likely to reach him because of a known extended absence from that place, the statutory phrase ``last known home address'' may reasonably be interpreted to refer to the last known temporary address of definite duration. A single notice for both nominations and election may be used if it meets the requirements of both such notices. \49 (Bold and underlining added for emphasis.)

Future severance benefits include agreements modifying or extending existing agreements. Benefits include: stock or option awards, acceleration of awards, tax gross-ups, perks, among other benefits

Golden parachutes are severance agreements paid to executives following a change in control. We're concerned that golden parachutes can reward underperformance leading up to a merger, and aren't justified given Whirlpool’s high levels of executive pay.

Golden parachutes can also encourage executives to support a merger that isn't in shareholders' best interests. And their cost may reduce the value ultimately received by shareholders.

Like outsized annual compensation packages, shareholders have expressed concern about excessive and unnecessary golden parachutes. These agreements often include:

• Accelerated vesting of option and stock awards, a form of unearned income
• Several multiples of annual salary and bonus
• Tax gross-up payments
• Several years of medical and other benefits and perks

 Shareholders will be on the hook for significant payouts in the case of existing severance agreements that cover current Whirlpool executives:

• According to the 2010 proxy, these payments for change in control exceed $58 for 4 executives, while the 2011 proxy lists 5 executives who would receive a total of $76 million

• In cases of a change in control and termination, shareholders would see payouts of approximately $108 million (based on 2010 and 2011 proxy figures)

• CEO Jeff Fettig would be due to receive over $48 million (2011 proxy) if he were terminated following a change in control. These staggering sums are neither appropriate or necessary in order to secure the services of executives to run our Company

This $108 million in severance payouts could be paid for by the $632 million in tax credits given to Whirlpool just in the last two years.  These tax credits have added to our nation’s annual deficit and debt and helped lead to major cuts in Medicaid and other social programs for poor Americans.

Millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies was handed out to Whirlpool to help maintain Retirees health care benefits including the Medicare Part D subsidy and the subsidy under the “Affordable Care Act” to help provide medical insurance for those retirees age 55 to 65.  Whirlpool received hundreds of millions of dollars in energy tax credits to build energy efficient appliances in America and then moved production to Mexico.  $300 million the year.

Whirlpool took these tax credits and subsidy “hand outs” and then cut retiree health care benefits.  Now, retirees who are not on Medicare must pay more upfront cost for medical care.  They must pay a $500 deductible before receiving  coverage for most prescription drugs, and some retirees must pay 50% and even 100% of the higher tier drugs.

Medical and Prescription drug coverage was eliminated for Retirees age 65 or on Medicare.  While Whirlpool is giving these retirees $85 per month to help pay for a drug and medical plan, this payment is not indexed to healthcare inflation.  As premiums of Medicare and/or Medicare Advantage Plans continue to increase, retirees have less and less pension money to pay for everyday expenses like decent food and utilities for their home.

Over 50% of retirees from the Evansville Division try to live on $400 to $500 per month in Whirlpool pension.  Over the 20 to 30 years of their retirement, they received no COLA adjustments to their pension payments.  Even with Social Security benefits, (which also did not fully keep pace with inflation) many retirees must rely on Food Stamps and other social programs to live.

Is this how Whirlpool’s top Executives help pay for their big salaries, bonuses, perks and severance payment?  Even with all the profits generated from the poverty wages in Mexico, Whirlpool still must cut benefits for retirees?

The small severance pay ($10,000 six month maximum) for all the production employees at the Evansville Division has run out.  Now, most of them can’t afford to stay in school and can’t find a decent paying job to provide for their families especially those, age 50 to 62.  They can’t afford medical insurance.

This is the pain and suffering of Whirlpool’s terminated employees and retirees.  This is what happens when a rich corporation turns its back on our community and our country to exploit poverty wages in Mexico.  We get more divided families and divorces, more child poverty and more decline in the standard of living for middle class Americans.

In conclusion, we as shareholders strongly believe that the policies of Whirlpool Executives are, in part, causing the decline in the U.S. Market for Whirlpool appliances with less sales and less earnings.  These policies help create a race to the bottom for America’s middle class.  This is not the best way, in the long run, to build shareholders value.  Declining wages and tax revenues equal less sales and less social safety net for the poor.

We respectfully ask you to consider our opinions and vote yes to our proposal on future severance pay Agreements.  Please give your older production retirees a cost of living adjustment to their pension.

Thank you for listening.

Once again we will look at the nuts and bolts of keeping our jobs -- but also defending our right to belong to a union. We are under attack as never before, and that means we have to mobilize and be unified as never before. 2011 will be known as the year workers woke up and fought back!

We also have some election business, with the IUE-CWA trustees and the President of the Division votes both occurring during the Division Conference.

Here's the Schedule

Friday, July 8

• 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., Registration

Saturday, July 9

• 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m., Registration
• 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., 11th Division Conference
• 7:30 p.m., IUE-CWA Reception

Sunday, July 10

• 9 a.m. - 11 a.m., Workshops
  • Green Chemistry
  • Making the Argument to Reshore Our Jobs
  • Workplace Violence
• 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Workshops repeat
• 1 p.m. - 2 p.m., Legal Clinic
• 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m., Furniture Workers' Council Meeting

What You Need to Know

Elections. Delegates and alternates to the IUE-CWA Division Conference must be properly elected by the membership in accordance with their local constitution, and must comply with the requirements of Article XIV of the Division Rules and the CWA Constitution. Delegates and alternates cannot be appointed.

Registration. All delegates, alternates and guests must be registered in order to attend the IUE-CWA Division Conference. The deadline for registering is May 20. Use the enclosed registration form. If you are sending more than one person, please photocopy the registration form before you begin. Please note that you must register separately for the CWA Convention.

Reception. There is a $20 per person fee for attending the IUE-CWA reception. Please indicate how many people are coming and put their names on the check. Make the check out to IUE-CWA and mail it to 2701 Dryden Road, Dayton, Ohio 45439. There is no charge for children under the age of 16 to attend, but you must note them on the registration form.

Housing and Travel. Attendees are responsible for making and paying for their own room reservations and travel arrangements. CWA will provide housing information in its convention call.

Dates. July 9-10, 2011.

Hotel. All IUE-CWA activities will take place at the Las Vegas Hilton, 3000 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nev. 89109; 702/732-5111; FAX 702/732-5948 Elections. Delegates and alternates to the IUE-CWA Division Conference must be properly elected by the membership in accordance with their local constitution, and must comply with the requirements of Article XIV of the Division Rules and the CWA Constitution. Delegates and alternates cannot be appointed.

Registration Form

Click here to download a registration form.

Elected leaders from more than 25 different local unions and six unions holding contracts with General Electric met January 8 to discuss mobilization efforts in advance of this year’s national negotiations with the industrial giant.

They came together under the Coordinated Bargaining Committee of GE unions, an organization which has spent more than four decades fighting for the wages, benefits and rights of workers at GE.

IUE-CWA President Jim Clark, who serves as chair of the CBC, urged local leaders to educate their members in advance of the talks.

“Our strength at the bargaining table depends on GE understanding that our members will do whatever it takes to support their bargaining committee,” he said.

Attendees learned how GE’s new salaried health care plan Ð which GE plans to put on the negotiating table -- has vastly increased costs for its participants.

There are anecdotal stories of salaried workers paying thousands of dollars out of pocket because they chose the wrong level of health coverage and found themselves with an unexpected illness or even a pregnancy.

Though GE complains about the size of its health care bill, GE’s own numbers show that cost increases have been moderate and have remained a consistent percentage of the company’s profits.

Yet in meetings with GE CEO Jeff Immelt last fall, Immelt was adamant that significant changes to GE’s health care coverage were needed because of escalating costs.

Immelt has moved to a so-called “consumer-driven” insurance model where participants are expected to find the lowest cost providers and evaluate health care treatment options based on costs and outcomes.

UE Conference Board Secretary Steve Tormey warned that GE’s health care proposal is just another way for the company to break workers apart.

The problem comes down the road as those who have ongoing medical conditions separate themselves into the higher coverage plan and those who are younger and healthier take the less costly option.

“Eventually costs go up because your risk pool is smaller,” Tormey explained, “and you start to pit old versus young workers against each other at the bargaining table.”

Though GE’s stock price has taken a hit, the company itself is strong, as GE is showing higher profits for each dollar in sales.

While many of the locals cited health care as a primary concern, GE Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor cautioned that the CBC must work toward a balanced contract. “We have to think about job security and pensions and much more,” he said. “No one item is the entire contract. We can’t fall into that trap.”

UE President John Hovis praised the CBC structure for keeping union members strong. “I shudder to think what it would be like today if not for the CBC.”

Unions represented at the meeting were the IUE-CWA, IBEW, UE, IAM, USW and IFPTE.

President Obama and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt used an IUE-CWA plant as a backdrop to share their vision for America’s industrial future.

Standing in the huge gas turbine plant, Obama alluded to the repurposing of some of the facility’s empty buildings to produce hybrid locomotive batteries, as well as the new growth in exporting energy efficient turbines to China.

“Our challenge is to harness the spirit, the potential, that you represent,” Obama told an audience of IUE-CWA members who had won a lottery to be part of the visit. “I want plants like this all across America. This is a model of what’s possible. We know we can compete. Not just in the industries of the past but the industries of the future.”

Obama used the visit to announce Immelt’s appointment as chair of the White House’s new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

“The president made it very clear that he wants to grow jobs in this country, he wants to export more than we import, and fortunately our CEO agreed with him,” said Local 301 Business Agent Carmen DePoalo, who got to speak with Obama afterwards.

Though some have criticized the appointment, pointing to GE’s long history of shuttering U.S. plants and shipping jobs overseas, IUE-CWA President Jim Clark felt the move could only benefit U.S. workers.

“GE has been moving some jobs back to the United States, but now Jeff’s really on the hot seat to deliver,” said Clark. “Let’s see what he does.”

The Recovery Act’s green investments committed through the end of 2010 created or saved nearly 1 million jobs, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute and the BlueGreen Alliance.

On the two-year anniversary of the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and as President Obama and Congress begin the budget debate, the report provides evidence that the Recovery Act succeeded in responding to the nation’s economic crisis and that green investments create jobs while laying a foundation for the development of a 21st century green economy in the United States.

“This report shows us a breakthrough opportunity to create and support jobs in new and existing green business sectors,” said David Foster, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance. “Green investments are among the best and fastest way to solve our nation’s unemployment crisis. If we radically reduce the budget deficit without making green investments proven to create jobs, we will be squandering one of our best strategies for getting Americans back to work and keeping America competitive in the global economy.”

The findings came less than a week after the fourth Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference again showcased workers fighting for a clean energy economy, and urged a new, less sympathetic Congress to take action.

“It gets frustrating to come year after year and see nothing being done,” said Dayton, Ohio Local 755 President James Winship, whose local represents workers making hybrid batteries, energy-efficient diesel engines, parts for the Chevy Volt electric car and freight rail components. “Our companies could be growing Ð and hiring Ð but Congress won’t commit to an energy policy that pulls this nation forward.”

Winship was part of IUE-CWA’s delegation to the conference, where members working in green jobs network for new customers and learn greener ways of doing business, in addition to lobbying Congress.

“It is going to be a lot tougher to win the policy changes we need,” BlueGreen Legislative Director Yvette Pena Lopes told IUE-CWA delegates during a briefing. “There is little hope for a comprehensive energy bill Ð instead we will look at specific projects bill by bill.”

Supporting the Environment Protection Agency against Republican efforts to defund the agency or limit its ability to regulate greenhouse gases will also be a big fight over the next year, Lopes stated.

“This conference was hugely educational to learn what other companies are doing and how we fit into it,” said Tyler, Texas Local 782 President Claretta Allen, about her first time attending the conference. “We are interested in how we can train our members to higher skill levels.”

Chris Thompson, a member working at DMAX, led a panel on how that company was able to go landfill free last fall. “We are the generation of responsibility: we need to clean up the messes we make,” said Thompson. “If you explain the need and the benefit to workers, they get it and will help out.”

Thompson says the idea to recycle more scrap and waste came from the hourly side but was embraced by management.

DMAX Communications Director Courtney Strickler acknowledged that going landfill free brought benefits not only to the environment but to the company as well. “We market our engine as being one of the cleanest, most efficient diesel products on the market,” she said. “It just makes sense competitively to let people know that the manufacturing process is just as clean and efficient.”

Even before the EPI released its report documented job creation, another delegate, Louisville, Ky. Local 761 President Jerry Carney boasted of his own local’s gain in members thanks to stimulus money investment.

“The government put in some money but GE more than matched it and now we have hundreds of new jobs making green appliances,” said Carney. “We used to use taxpayer money to send jobs overseas. Now we’re spending it to create new jobs.”

Those new jobs in Kentucky are just some of the nearly 1 million documented in the EPI report, Rebuilding Green: The ARRA and the Green Economy. The report finds that the $93-billion green investment increases U.S. gross domestic product by $146 billion and provides jobs for some of the country’s most vulnerable workers, including middle-wage earners and those with less than a four-year college degree.

The report also examines the overall effectiveness of ARRA in stemming the economic crisis, and presents evidence that, by the middle of 2010, ARRA created or saved up to 3.4 million jobs, boosted GDP by up to $520 billion and reduced the unemployment rate up to 1.8 percentage points.

“Not only was the Recovery Act successful in responding to the economic crisis -- creating and saving millions of jobs and boosting GDP -- the unprecedented green investments included in the legislation were responsible for a significant amount of that success,” said EPI Research Director John Irons. “Two years after the Recovery Act was enacted, this report demonstrates a path forward for economic growth and employment in the green sector."

In demonstrations reminiscent of the birth of the labor movement, workers in Wisconsin sparked a nationwide protest against those trying to eliminate the bargaining rights of public sector workers.

From Wisconsin and Indiana to Ohio and New Jersey, unionists were forced to mobilize to beat back anti-worker actions of GOP-run state governments. Though the details of whether they were demanding pay and pension cuts or banning union campaign finance committee varied, the anti-worker sentiment was the same.

Nowhere was it seen more clearly than in Wisconsin, where even after workers said they would agree to pay and pension concessions, Gov. Scott Walker said he would not accept any deal unless it included stripping workers of collective bargaining rights.

Workers are maintaining a vigil in the state capitol, where legislative business in the Senate ground to a halt as state Democrats left the state, depriving the body of a quorum. Crowds have swollen to over 100,000 during demonstrations.

CWA President Larry Cohen hailed the reaction “the dawn of a new movement, this is an awakening,” in huge teleconferences with CWA members.

Public opinion polls show a majority of Americans support workers’ right to bargain. Some 61 percent said they would oppose legislation in their state similar to what Walker is demanding.

Big crowds also have turned out in Columbus, Ohio, in opposition to GOP Gov. John Kasich’s plan to cut pay and pensions and strip collective bargaining rights from Ohio public workers, notably teachers. In retaliation, Kasich locked thousands out of the statehouse and blocked web access within the building to pro-worker websites.

Thousands of unionists also jammed the Indiana capitol to oppose plans by the GOP-run House to make Indiana a right-to-work state. Gov. Mitch Daniels told state lawmakers to drop the right-to-work scheme. He said it would endanger other goals. Indiana Democratic lawmakers left the state, halting action by depriving the House of a quorum.

“The job in front of us -- all of us in the labor movement -- is as monumental as any struggle we have faced,” warned AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka. “Too many politicians in our state legislatures want to weaken us instead of restoring a voice for workers. They don’t care about working people. For them, it’s the same old story: Whoever has power tries to punish the other side.

“In state after state, it’s payback time, pure and simple,” Trumka said.

Speaking to the nation’s governors, President Obama finally weighed in on the growing outrage, warning that “it does no one any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified or their rights are infringed upon. We need to attract the best and the brightest to public service. These are times that demand it.

“But as we make decisions about our budgets going forward, I believe everyone should be at the table, and the concept of shared sacrifice should prevail. If all the pain is borne by one group -- whether it’s workers, or seniors, or the poor -- while the wealthiest among us keep getting tax cuts, we’re not doing the right thing,” Obama said.

Those pushing for right-to-work legislation may find an unexpected consequence. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute finds that wages for both union and nonunion workers are lower in states with right-to-work laws than in those without.

Controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables, EPI economists found that wages are 3.2 percent lower in RTW states than in non-RTW states.

The provision of both employer-sponsored health insurance and employer-sponsored pensions is also lower in RTW states. The report found:

• Using the average wage in non-RTW states as the base ($22.11), the average full-time, full-year worker in an RTW state makes about $1,500 less annually than a similar worker in a non-RTW state.
• The rate of employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) is 2.6 percentage points lower in RTW states compared with non-RTW states, after controlling for individual, job and state-level characteristics. If workers in non-RTW states were to receive ESI at this lower rate, 2 million fewer workers nationally would be covered.
• The rate of employer-sponsored pensions is 4.8 percentage points lower in RTW states, using the full complement of control variables. If workers in non-RTW states were to receive pensions at this lower rate, 3.8 million fewer workers nationally would have pensions.
  

Longtime retiree activist Helen Quirini passed away October 14 at the age of 90.

A familiar face at General Electric shareholder meetings, Quirini regularly sparred with successive GE CEOs as she eloquently pleaded for increases in GE retirees' pension checks.

She also argued the retirees' plight during several rounds of national negotiations.

Quirini started her career at GE in 1941 as a member of Local 301. One of her first big victories was to stop pay discrimination against women in the plant.

Her passion for justice extended to her community as well. She volunteered for the United Way, YWCA and was a long-time advocate for seniors and better health care.

Quirini's work was recognized with the prestigious Patroon Award for community service volunteers in Schenectady, the Joseph A. Beirne Award from the National United Way, the Gerald L. Phillippe Award, the Human Rights Commission Award and the Catholic Charities Senior Citizen Award among other awards.

"Helen will be missed," said GE Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor. "Her energy was boundless and her dedication unrivaled. As we face tough negotiations next year, her absence will be felt by us all."

Salem, Va. Local 161

• Participates in Relay for Life benefiting the American Cancer Society in memory of former president Cindy Arrington.

Lynn, Mass. Local 201

• Sponsors a Children’s Christmas Party and Dial-A-Santa. The Christmas party is for members and children from a shelter for abused women and children. Dial-A-Santa is for the community. Both have been operating since the 1969 strike.

Schenectady, N.Y. Local 301

• Donates to Arthritis Foundation, Special Olympics, City of Schenectady Winter Carnival, Boys Club.
• Supports local sports teams playing baseball and football.
• Gives to Treats for Troops Overseas.

Syracuse, N.Y. Local 320

• Conducts a Santa Call-In. Children can call and speak to Santa himself and personally deliver their wish list.

Waterford, N.Y. Local 359

• Raises money through 50/50 drawings at monthly union meetings, summer picnics and holiday party for Capital District food pantry.

Rochester, N.Y. Local 381

• Raises money for Alyssa’s Angels, which was started by a member in her daughter’s name to offer financial support to those with chronically ill children.

Pittsburgh, Pa. Local 623

• Collects items to support the troops. The local shipped eleven boxes, weighing 25 pounds each to troops in Afghanistan. Items donated by members included personal hygiene products, non-perishable snacks, reading material, batteries, disposable cameras and phone calling cards. The union even threw in a few Local 623 t-shirts for good measure.

N. Tazewell, Va. Local 647

• Raises money for Appalachian Teen Challenge with members volunteering time to help in yard sale, hotdog sale and raffle of a handmade quilt.

Bucyrus, Ohio Local 704

• Holds monthly 50/50 drawing with proceeds going to local charities.
• Organizes yearly Hog Roast with all profits to benefit local charities.
• Puts up a yearly Angel tree, making many children’s Christmas due to the generosity of the members.

Warren, Ohio Local 717

• Supports Cross Family Book Bag Give Away. The Cross family lost two children and their mother in a deliberately set house fire. In their memory the family gives away 300+ book bags.
• Holds door collection for Disabled American Veterans of Trumbull County.
• Raises money for Children’s Rehabilitation Center. Union counselors took a tour of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center that provides schooling and physical therapy to handicap children and were moved by the facility. The fundraiser provided new shoes to accommodate leg braces and orthotics to approximately 170 children.
• Supports the Camelot Riding Center. The center provides free riding lessons for children with physical and mental handicaps, providing valuable self-esteem and physical therapy results. The center recently became one of only a few facilities in the country providing therapy to returning soldiers.
• Contributes to the Niles Halloween Parade and the MLK Halloween Bash, which is provides Halloween fun for children age 12 and under in a safe environment.

Dayton, Ohio Local 755

• Holds Fish Fry/Monte Carlo with all proceeds going to food pantry, Cancer Society, local children’s events and Special Olympics.
• Sponsors Golf Outing to raise money for Breast Cancer 5k walk and United Way food pantry.
• Holds Children’s Holiday Party which includes women and children from a local abused women’s center. St. Joseph, Mo. Local 1116
• Donates to Second Harvest Food Bank.
• Supports Camp Quality, kids with cancer.
• Adopts local families for Christmas.
• Encourages member donations to United Way through example by giving from local treasury.

In an early celebration of the Labor Day holiday, a dozen Dayton-area employers will display products manufactured in southwest Ohio by members of IUE-CWA. 

The exhibits will highlight major employers in Dayton, as well as IUE-CWA, which moved its headquarters to Dayton two years ago.  The companies employ a total of more than 2,200 workers.

A 110 x 30 foot tent will hold displays by IUE-CWA represented employers. Products on display to include a military Humvee, with an engine by General Engine Products; a GMC truck with a DMAX diesel engine; compressors from Behr; hybrid auto battery packs from Cobasys; and shocks and struts by Tenneco. 

Other employers with exhibits will be Dayton Phoenix, Dimco Gray, Leggett and Platt, Staco, Crown Cork and Seal, Visionmakers and General Electric.

The exhibits are free and open to the public.  No Dragons ticket is needed for admission to the tent.

The displays will be open 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 1 on Dragons Plaza in front of Fifth-Third Field at the corner of Patterson Blvd. and Monument St.

Drawings will be held for two team-autographed Dayton Dragons baseballs, a team-autographed Dayton Dragons bat and a $250 gift certificate to Visionmakers.

Through a $3.9 million job training grant from the Department of Labor, more than 60 Ohio workers have received skill training, with 600 expected to graduate by the end of 2011. Funding is availabel for another 1,500 to receive supplementary training.

The courses are provided through the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, the only nationally certified, industry-recognized program for front-line production workers.  Workers learn advanced manufacturing skills for a clean energy economy.

A green production skill training module also is being developed as part of the grant. Upon completion, Dayton will be the first area of the country to have a concentration of industrial workers trained in a nationally recognized green tech module.

IUE-CWA President Jim Clark said area employers "are already starting to take note of the program's graduates." He introduced one of them, 43-year-old Lee Gillis Jr. who starts a new job Monday after two years out of work.

Gillis described being in a room recently with eight other people seeking the same manufacturing job. Proudly holding up his certification, Gillis said that when he showed it to the interviewer, "everything changed. They hired me."

CWA President Larry Cohen said having a "Labor Department in Washington that actually listens" made all the difference in pursuing the grant. "It was an honor to fight for this program and for this funding," he said. "Anyone can lay off workers, the question is, how do you get companies to hire workers."

Classes are free and open to all dislocated workers in Ohio. Click here for more information on the free training.

"I applaud the decision of our members at Momentive Performance Materials to accept this new collective bargaining agreement. 

"The last 18 months have been full of turmoil and controversy, but it is never easy to adjust to a new owner with a different structure and different needs.  No contract gives either side everything they want.  The decision to ratify was difficult as evidenced by the close vote, 388-337.   But this contract does give members a pathway to put the acrimony behind us and rebuild.

"The ratification settles the National Labor Relations Board charges and gives full back pay and interest to our members.  This will provide relief to those who have suffered much hardship. 

"Going forward, there are opportunities for job and pay advancement in the plant.  Plus there are base wage increases for the majority of positions, a lump sum bonus and yearly percentage increases the final two years of the agreement.  And, our pension and health care benefits were maintained.

"I congratulate the negotiating committee from the locals involved – Local 359 President Dominick Patrignani, Local 380 President Howard Connors and Local 707 President Rick Madal – for all their hard work and leadership.  GE Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor and his staff also deserve credit for their stewardship of these tough negotiations.

"IUE-CWA members have and will continue to produce world class quality products.  Our hope is that this new contract lays the groundwork for growth and continued success in Waterford and Willoughby."

"I want to report on the meeting we have held with Local 359's Executive Board and top officials from Momentive Corporation over the past two days to lay the groundwork for what I hope will be successful negotiations starting next month.

"The relationship between the company and the local has been strained ever since changes were unilaterally made to wage rates and job classifications for the production workers at the Waterford plant.

"That case is before the National Labor Relations Board.  But simultaneously with the progression of charges related to those actions, we are faced with the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

"If we are to reach a just contract, we must address all the complex and challenging issues facing both the company and the union.  We want a just and equitable contract.  So we must be open to every avenue to achieve that goal. 

"The bottom line is that we cannot move forward without a serious attempt to resolve the charges and the contract in one package.  Our objective must be a 'global solution' covering both the NLRB case and a new CBA.

"It would be tough – probably impossible – to reach a collective bargaining agreement without resolving the pay our members lost.  That means the company faces an uphill battle.  And, despite our strong case at the NLRB, the process could take years to resolve with appeals.

"We have members who are hurting financially now.  We have a company that could suffer if there is a production stoppage.  Both sides face real risks if we cannot succeed.

"That is why, at the request of the local, following a vote by their Executive Board to pursue such a course, the IUE-CWA Division organized this pre-contract meeting to bring the parties together.  We did not bargain.  We did not discuss specific demands.  But we did have an opportunity for a full and open airing of the concerns from each side of the table.  I am happy with the progress. Both sides were professional and listened closely.

"When talks open June 7, negotiations will be for a national contract covering three local unions at two sites.  We must be able to move beyond animosity and retribution … and focus on what is best for our members. 

"The issues that face us are serious and the union and the company obviously have different points of view.  But that is what negotiations are for: to find common ground.  I hope these two days of discussion help us to turn the corner so we can make real progress in the national talks.

"The jobs and the future of the Waterford facility are extremely important to the IUE-CWA.  The IUE-CWA Division and the Conference Board have done everything we can to support Local 359 since this conflict began.  We renew that commitment, and will work diligently in securing these jobs for the future…..but this must include justice for our members."

The letters communicate the amount of pension that the PBGC will pay after any reductions that the PBGC may apply. This week General Motors will be following this communication with letters that will explain the process they will use to pay the "top up" amounts so that Delphi hourly retirees will continue to collect the same amount of pension pay that they have been receiving.

We are hoping that this transition will be as seamless as possible for our affected members.

Some 50,000 retirees at General Motors stand to lose their health care at the hands of a U.S. Treasury controlled GM. On July 9, IUE-CWA GM retirees marched and protested in Cincinnati where Vice-President Joe Biden, who heads the White House Middle Class task force, was speaking on a stimulus initiative. The IUE-CWA retirees stood strong in defiance to the Treasury's plan to show disparate treatment to some former GM employees.

IUE-CWA retiree Debra Turner describes how she may end up in a wheelchair if she loses her General Motors health care.

Our highlight this year will be a special viewing of the Academy-Award nominated documentary Witness, with personal recollections of the events surrounding Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination.  This will be followed by a reception and private tour of the National Civil Rights Museum which is housed in the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was shot.

In addition, we will discuss:

• How the economic crisis is disproportionately rolling back years of advancements in the minority community and among women
• How local unions can create effective and active diversity and equity committees
• How to work with employers to make sure that workplaces are free from racial discrimination and sexual harassment
• An open forum on next steps for promoting diversity activities within IUE-CWA

The conference will be held at the Westin Memphis Beale Street, 170 Lt. George W. Lee Ave., one block from the city's famous blues bars and restaurants and across the street from the Rock and Soul Museum and the Gibson Factory.  Rooms are $119 a night.  Reservations may be made by calling 1-800-937-8461.  The program starts at 1 p.m. on Friday and will conclude no later than 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Click here for the registration form.  The deadline for both hotel reservations and meeting registration is June 26.