Category: Labor

GOP And The Workers

It always amazes me just how strong Repubs can be with the workers….and yet the GOP goes out of its way to screw the worker as often as possible.

Since about 1960 the GOP has been on a vendetta against the working class….and it just keeps getting worse.

It is 2024 and yet the workers have to put up with policies from the 1920s…..

But not to worry the GOP has plans for the working class….

Recently, you may have noticed that the hot weather is getting ever hotter. Every year the United States swelters under warmer temperatures and longer periods of sustained heat. In fact, each of the last nine months — May 2023 through February 2024 — set a world record for heat. As I’m writing this, March still has a couple of days to go, but likely as not, it, too, will set a record.

Such heat poses increasing health hazards for many groups: the old, the very young, those of us who don’t have access to air conditioning. One group, however, is at particular risk: people whose jobs require lengthy exposure to heat. Numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that about 40 workers died of heat exposure between 2011 and 2021, although, as CNN reports, that’s probably a significant undercount. In February 2024, responding to this growing threat, a coalition of 10 state attorneys general petitioned the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to implement “a nationwide extreme heat emergency standard” to protect workers from the kinds of dangers that last year killed, among others, construction workers, farm workers, factory workers, and at least one employee who was laboring in an unairconditioned area of a warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee.

Facing the threat of overweening government interference from OSHA or state regulators, two brave Republican-run state governments have stepped in to protect employers from just such dangerous oversight. Florida and Texas have both passed laws prohibiting localities from mandating protections like rest breaks for, or even having to provide drinking water to, workers in extreme heat situations. Seriously, Florida and Texas have made it illegal for local cities to protect their workers from the direct effects of climate change. Apparently, being “woke” includes an absurd desire not to see workers die of heat exhaustion.

And those state laws are very much in keeping with the plans that the national right-wing has for workers, should the wholly-owned Trump subsidiary that is today’s Republican Party take control of the federal government this November.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/04/11/republicans-have-plans-for-working-people/

This is only a couple of states but I look for it to appear in most Red States in the next 4 years or so.

If you work hard for a living why on earth would you vote for this band of thugs?

Just wondering.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Robots Vs Worker

For decades now there has been an increase of robots doing jobs that workers use to perform….from auto workers to mail workers to researchers……and in all that time there has been a debate on whether this is good or bad for society. (And that is a post for another day)

The newest area of confrontation is hospitality and in Las Vegas…..

The tourism-heavy economy is Las Vegas has left many workers vulnerable to being replaced by robots, and the city should work to diversify its economy to make sure humans still have jobs, analysts say. It’s already common to see robots doing jobs including bartending at establishments like the Tipsy Robot in Planet Hollywood, and many hotel check-in desks have been replaced by kiosks, NPR reports. With the use of artificial intelligence rising, studies have shown that as many as two-thirds of jobs in the city could be automated by 2025. Indeed, a July report from the Chamber of Commerce ranked Las Vegas as the No. 1 city when it comes to potential job losses due to AI.

John Restrepo at RCG Economics in Las Vegas says that to save money, the resort industry will replace humans wherever it is possible to do so without affecting “productivity, profits or the customer experience.” The city, he says, needs to move away from hospitality toward jobs “that are more highly skilled, that are not easily replaced by AI.” But hospitality workers aren’t giving up their jobs without a fight. Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, says the union plans to make sure protections against AI replacing jobs will be in the new contract. The union represents around 60,000 hospitality and service workers.

Pappageorge tells NPR that there was a “huge fight about tech” while negotiating the last contract and he expects the same this time around. “How do our folks make sure that the jobs that remain, that we can work them? And that we’re not thrown out like an old shoe? We’re not going to stand for that,” he says. Optimists include Sabrina Bergman, who assists the robots at the Tipsy Robot. She says machines will never fully replace the human touch in customer service roles

As a past labor organizer I hate to see robots replace workers that are only trying to provide for their families.

What’s next?  Will robots eventually replace our Congresses?  (Not a bad idea maybe then we could get some action out of the Congress)

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Limit, Save, Grow Act

Another cute ploy by the GOP to screw the American worker under the guise of a misleading title.

Some may even know that most ‘spending’ bills originate in the House and with the GOP in limited control of that body we will see more and more con jobs to appear as if it is fiscal conservative….it is not it will make things worse for the job numbers and the workers and their families.

But that has never been a concern of the GOP….the people and their lives.

An analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that House Republicans’ proposed cuts to federal spending for the coming fiscal year would kill 500,000 jobs and hinder economic growth, findings that Democrats seized on as further evidence of the GOP’s “willful disregard for the wellbeing of Americans.”

The CBO examined the potential economic impacts of Republicans’ Limit, Save, Grow Act (LSGA), legislation that the GOP-controlled House passed in late April amid a debt ceiling crisis that the party manufactured.

The White House and GOP leaders later struck a deal that included caps on discretionary spending for the next two fiscal years, but Republican appropriators have spent the past several weeks proposing cuts that are more in line with the LSGA, which took aim at Medicaid, federal food assistance, and other critical programs.

According to the CBO, the Republican bill’s far-reaching spending cuts would result in 0.5% lower GDP growth next year, which “would correspond to reductions in employment.” The CBO’s analysis indicates that roughly half a million workers would lose their jobs in 2024 if the LSGA became law.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the chair of the Senate Budget Committee and the lawmaker who requested the CBO assessment, said in a statement that “these new cuts, in addition to being wildly unpopular, are shown to inflict widespread economic pain and drag down American economic growth.”

“Republicans shower the wealthy with budget-busting tax giveaways, then claim to care about deficits,” said Whitehouse. “In their anti-government, pro-polluter crusade, MAGA Republicans have no problem harming workers and families as collateral damage. On what planet is that fiscally responsible?”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/republican-spending-cuts

I know that the GOP hates it when they are questioned on their decisions….but sorry….I gotta ask….are you f*ckers high?

This is the kinda of stuff you get when you elect the criminals in the GOP.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

May Day Surprise

Today is the International Day of the Worker….

Do you enjoy your TV?

You may have a sad time coming…….

Hollywood is now hours away from a strike that would affect scores of TV shows and films—as well the people who watch them. And the main sentiment in coverage is that a deal looks unlikely before the midnight deadline. Details:

  • Two sides: On one side is the Writers Guild of America, and on the other is the studios who pay them, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In broad strokes, the guild is seeking about $600 million in pay increases, along with other demands, per the Los Angeles Times. But the main sticking point is an extremely complicated one—how to fairly pay writers in an age when streaming has upended the traditional production model.
  • Hope fades: Both the LA Times and CNN report that the two sides are far apart. No temporary extension appears to be in the works, either. If no deal is reached, the writers will go on strike at 12:01am Tuesday (West Coast time). The last such strike 15 years ago lasted 100 days.
  • The impact: The first shows to go dark would likely be the late-night talk shows, as well as ones such as Saturday Night Live and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver that rely heavily on writers, per the BBC. Soap operas would quickly be in trouble, too. “If this goes on, we’ll see more reality, news, and sports,” Jonathan Handel, an entertainment attorney, tells CNN.
  • Impact, II: Scripted shows and films will see a different impact, depending on how far along they are in production. The BBC notes that some projects might be able to theoretically continue shooting, but actors who support the strike may balk at participating.
  • The arguments: This isn’t about posh lifestyles, argues screenwriter Zack Stentz in a New York Times essay: “At stake is nothing less than the survival of film and television writing as a viable middle-class career for the majority of our membership.” On the flip side, studios are under intense pressure from Wall Street to cut costs and make money from their streaming businesses, notes the LA Times.
  • Nitty-gritty: Deadline has a comprehensive look at the details and the main players. One modern wrinkle is how to handle the advent of artificial intelligence when it comes to crediting (and paying) writers.

There is an outside chance that you American Idol, Masked Singer and the Bachelor will not be interrupted…..but do not hold your breath.

Me?   I could care less for I know how to read.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Labor And Medicare

It is just not the GOP that works to undermine the Medicare debate…..labor is not a friend of our seniors either.

I have a long history of defending the labor movement….but that does not extend to union leadership.

I have long been a critic of our so-called labor movement….as a past labor organizer I see the biggest problem as the US labor is more concerned with monetary issues when they should be focused on the political.

I recently saw some disturbing news about the labor issues on Medicare….

“Medicare is a pillar of the healthcare system”

– AFL-CIO June 13, 2022

Such a statement from the AFL-CIO would suggest that labor is determined to protect Medicare and even support improving and expanding it to all Americans. Additionally, President Biden and Democrats regularly criticize Republican threats to reauthorize and voucherize Medicare. Meanwhile, what’s left out of both the Democrat talking points and the AFL-CIO’s 2022 national resolution on healthcare is any acknowledgment that the real threat to Medicare and healthcare today is the decades-long tax-subsidized privatization supported by both major parties.

With major support from organized labor, including AFL-CIO President George Meany at the signing, Medicare was signed into law in 1965. Before Medicare, only 60% of those over 65 had insurance since it was unavailable or unaffordable via private insurance (seniors were charged 3x the rate of younger people). Not only economically beneficial to the working class, the passage of Medicare was a huge civil rights victory as payments to physicians, hospitals, and health care providers were conditional on desegregation.

While a big victory, Medicare did not provide full coverage for all services, and from its inception, there has been a drive to privatize and hand it over to profiteers. In fact, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary (1972) of Medicare permitting private insurance companies (HMOs) to participate in Medicare.

President Clinton finalized HMO participation with Congress in 1997, and in 2003, the Medicare Modernization Act, under President Bush, further boosted privatization. The year 2003 marks the beginning of Medicare Advantage plans: insurance companies essentially masquerading as Medicare.

HMOs and all the other private insurance companies introduced into Medicare after 1997 have not saved the government money, but instead, raised the cost to taxpayers much more than traditional Medicare beneficiaries. In 2005 the Government Accounting Office reported that “It is largely . . . excess payments, not managed care efficiencies, that enable plans to attract beneficiaries by offering a benefits package that is more comprehensive than the one available to FFS beneficiaries, while charging modest or no premiums. Nearly all of the 210 plans in our study received payments in 1998 that exceeded expected FFS costs….”

Labor Leaders Provide Cover for Privatization of Medicare

If the Dems/GOP and Labor have their way then Americans will get screwed (as usual) by those we trust the most.

Just to let my readers know…..

Biden campaigned to expand Medicaid. Now he’s signed a bill to sharply curtail it, ending coverage for millions of people in the middle of a pandemic he pretends is over…

The Social Security administration continues to deny thousands of disability claims a year, in part because it continues to rely on a 45-year-old list of outdated job titles. We live in a System that is eager to help the people who least need it and quick to ignore, chastise and punish the weakest, sickest and poorest among us.

More broken promises that our ‘trusted’ leaders throw out the window once elected.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

SCOTUS Vs Labor

This post may not be interesting to anyone but those that believe unions are a vital part of our country for without them America would not be the strong economy that it enjoys today.

Workers could lose the right to strike if SCOTUS plays their role….

The Supreme Court hears a labor dispute on Tuesday involving striking truck drivers who walked off the job to try to secure a better contract from their employer, a company that provides premixed concrete for construction projects. Yet, while Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a fairly unremarkable case, the stakes for unionized workers could be enormous.

Glacier Northwest, the employer behind this case, seeks to upend a more than 60-year-old rule protecting unions from lawsuits when workers exercise their federally protected right to strike.

It’s an audacious ask, and the case could potentially be decided more narrowly. But the two-thirds of the Court that was appointed by Republicans has shown extraordinary hostility toward unions in the past. So we can’t dismiss the risk that the Court hands down a maximalist decision that upends the balance of power between employers and labor unions.

The case hinges on a rule protecting workers’ right to strike, and laying out how companies can claim that this rule does not apply to a particular strike.

The Teamsters, the union in this case, allegedly timed a 2017 strike so that it would begin after some of Glacier Northwest’s mixing trucks were already filled with concrete, forcing the company’s non-union employees to race to dispose of this material before it hardened in the trucks. But the company was able to remove this wet concrete from the trucks before they were damaged, and there are a wealth of cases establishing that workers may strike even if doing so will cause some of their employer’s product to spoil.

In one case, for example, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) — a kind of quasi-court that hears disputes between unions and employers — sided with milk truck drivers who struck, even though their strike risked spoiling the milk before it was delivered to customers. Another case, handed down by a federal appeals court, reached a similar conclusion regarding striking cheese workers.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/9/23541349/supreme-court-glacier-northwest-teamsters-unions-strike-concrete-garmon

Just another attempt to prevent workers from earning the wages they deserve.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

More On The Rail Strike

I have been following the possibility of a rail strike that will strike(no pun intended) fear and hate in the eyes of the consumer…..but all that could be premature…..Biden has ridden in on his white horse to save his bacon.

The House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by four of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If approved there, it will be quickly signed by President Biden, who on Monday asked Congress to intervene and avert the rail stoppage, which would unleash an estimated $2 billion-per-day hit on the economy. The unions have threatened to strike if an agreement can’t be reached before a Dec. 9 deadline.

Lawmakers from both parties expressed reservations about overriding the negotiations. And the intervention was particularly difficult for Democratic lawmakers who have traditionally sought to align themselves with the politically powerful labor unions that criticized Biden’s move, the AP reports. Democrats responded to that concern by adding a second vote Wednesday that would add seven days of paid sick leave per year for rail workers covered under the agreement; that bill passed 221 to 207, reports the Washington Post. It will take effect only if the Senate goes along and passes both measures. The call for more paid sick leave was a major sticking point in the talks.

The railroads say the unions have agreed in negotiations over the decades to forgo paid sick time in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits. The unions maintain that railroads can easily afford to add paid sick time at a time when they are recording record profits. Several of the big railroads involved in these contract talks reported more than $1 billion profit in the third quarter. Republicans voiced support for the measure to block the strike, but criticized the Biden administration for turning to Congress to “step in to fix the mess” and criticized Pelosi’s decision to add the sick leave second bill to the mix. They said the Biden administration’s own special board of arbitrators recommended higher wages to compensate the unions for not including sick time in its recommendations.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/30/house-passes-paid-sick-leave-railway-workers-despite-opposition-207-republicans

So will this settle the problems with band-aid solutions?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Looming Rail Strike

We hear about this from only one side…..that being it will screw the American consumer….this makes for a great campaign ad and of course it will be Biden’s fault and should give ammo to the GOP attacks as we enter into 2023.

But as with all issues that are used to divide the country there is more to this than the simplistic BS of the Right….

A new analysis shines fresh light on U.S. railroad giants’ “greedy behavior”—from gorging on their own stock to ramping up fees to pad their bottom lines—as workers struggle for basic rights and benefits in ongoing contract negotiations that could result in the first national rail strike in decades.

Updated figures compiled by the watchdog group Accountable.US and released Tuesday show that BNSF, a subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway that operates one of North America’s largest railroad networks, saw its net income rise 4% to $4.4 billion during the first three quarters of 2022. Union Pacific, meanwhile, saw its profits jump 11% to $5.36 billion during that period.

In those nine months, Union Pacific spent nearly $8 billion on stock buybacks and dividend payouts to shareholders, Accountable.US notes.

The rail transportation giant CSX reported a 37% surge in Fiscal Year 2021 net income, the watchdog added, and the company repurchased $3.7 billion worth of its own shares during the first three quarters of this year.

Rail workers haven’t fared nearly as well as industry giants and their wealthy executives and shareholders. For the past three years, many rail employees have worked under increasingly grueling conditions without a raise as management continues to resist demands for changes to draconian attendance policies, better pay, and foundational quality-of-life benefits such as paid sick leave.

“The same wealthy rail industry executives that say they can’t afford to pay their workers fair wages all had banner years in net revenue and shareholder giveaways,” said Liz Zelnick, a spokesperson for Accountable.US. “The big rail industry’s own earnings reports show they didn’t need to cut corners on safety and gouge businesses with excessive fees that get passed onto consumers. It only adds up to one thing: greed.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/23/greedy-behavior-profit-hungry-rail-industry-blamed-looming-strike

As usual it is the ‘robber barons’ that are the problem NOT the workers…..but not to worry Biden has a plan to avoid a strike….

President Biden urged Congress on Monday evening to immediately approve legislation that would head off a railroad shutdown by forcing workers and companies to enact the tentative agreement they reached in September. Without final approval of the deal, a shutdown could begin Dec. 9, per Axios. “As a proud pro-labor president, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement,” Biden said in a statement. “But in this case—where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families—I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement later saying the House will consider the legislation this week, though she echoed Biden’s reluctance to interfere with ratification. A shutdown, she said, “would grind our economy to a halt.” The Senate would be next, and Democrats there would have enough Republican support to overcome a potential filibuster, per CNN. Members of four of the 12 unions involved have rejected the agreement, per Politico. Many workers want a few sick days added to the deal, which was brokered by the administration. Biden said further negotiation could cause delays leading to a work stoppage.

Under the Railway Labor Act of 1926, with interstate commerce in play, Congress could put the contract in force or extend the “cooling-off period” to keep trains running during negotiations. Business groups said a shutdown could lead to shortages, higher prices, and a halt to factory production with, for example, the movement of 6,300 carloads of food and farm products a day disrupted. And passenger service for 7 million people a day would be affected, the groups said. Railroads would suspend the shipping of hazardous chemicals and fertilizers, as well as perishable goods, before a shutdown so they wouldn’t be stuck someplace.

As a labor organizer from years ago I support the workers…..if these companies have extra cash to buy back their stocks then they have the cash to pay the workers descent salaries and benefits.

The GOP will try to inyervene….at least Bernie has come out in defense of the workers…..

A House Republican from Pennsylvania said Sunday that Congress will intervene to stop a nationwide strike if rail companies and unions don’t reach a contract agreement soon, a step that would likely force workers to accept a deal without any paid sick days.

Acknowledging that rail workers “have a very reasonable ask” for better benefits and wages as they continue to labor under a punishing scheduling system, Rep. Brian Kevin Fitzpatrick said in a Fox News appearance Sunday that “Congress will not let this strike happen, that’s for sure.”

“It would be devastating for our economy” Fitzpatrick added. “We’ll get to a resolution one way or another.”

Powerful industry groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Railroads have been pressuring Congress to step in after members of the largest rail union in the United States voted to reject a White House-brokered contract deal that rebuffed workers’ push for at least 15 days of paid sick leave. The deal, touted by the Biden White House as a victory for workers and profitable rail companies, does not include a single paid sick day.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/28/sanders-vows-stand-rail-workers-republican-says-congress-will-prevent-strike

Pressuring?  You realize that means bribing the Congress to see their way, right?

The one thing you can be sure of in the strike outcome…..the workers will lose and massive profits will flow.

Enough said!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Pending Rail Strike

The huge story today is the possibility of a rail strike that is looming.

Let’s say it occurs….what will be the costs to us mere mortals?

American consumers and nearly every industry will be affected if freight trains grind to a halt next month. One of the biggest rail unions rejected its deal Monday, joining three others that have failed to approve contracts over concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time. That raises the risk of a strike, which could start as soon as Dec. 5, per the AP. It wouldn’t take long for the effects of a rail strike to trickle through the economy. Many businesses only have a few days’ worth of raw materials and space for finished goods. Makers of food, fuel, cars, and chemicals would all feel the squeeze, as would their customers. That’s not to mention the commuters who would be left stranded because many passenger railroads use tracks owned by the freight railroads.

The stakes are so high for the economy that Congress is expected to intervene and impose contract terms on railroad workers. The last time US railroads went on strike was in 1992. That strike lasted two days before Congress intervened. An extended rail shutdown has not happened for a century, partly because a law passed in 1926 that governs rail negotiations made it much harder for workers to strike. Here are some of the expected impacts:

  • Food: It would take about a week for customers to notice shortages of things like cereal, peanut butter, and beer at the grocery store, said Tom Madrecki, vice president of supply chain for the Consumer Brands Association. About 30% of all packaged food in the US is moved by rail, he said. That percentage is much higher for denser, heavier items like cans of soup. Trucks would not be able to make up the difference.
  • Travel: Roughly half of all commuter rail systems rely at least in part on tracks that are owned by freight railroads, and nearly all of Amtrak’s long-distance trains run over the freight network.
  • $2B a day: Railroads haul about 40% of the nation’s freight each year. The railroads estimated that a rail strike would cost the economy $2 billion a day in a report issued earlier this fall. Another recent report put together by a chemical industry trade group projected that if a strike drags on for a month some 700,000 jobs would be lost as manufacturers who rely on railroads shut down, prices of nearly everything would increase even more, and the economy could be thrust into a recession.
  • Chemicals: Chemical manufacturers and refineries will be some of the first businesses affected, because railroads will stop shipping hazardous chemicals about a week before the strike deadline to ensure that no tank cars filled with dangerous liquids wind up stranded. One example: This means the chlorine that water treatment plants rely on to purify water, which they might only have about a week’s supply of on hand, would become hard to get.
  • Animals: Any disruption in rail service could threaten the health of chickens and pigs, which depend on trains to deliver their feed, and contribute to higher meat prices.
  • Auto sales: Drivers are already paying record prices and often waiting months for new vehicles because of the production problems in the auto industry related to the shortage of computer chips in recent years. That would only get worse if there is a rail strike, because roughly 75% of all new vehicles begin their journey from factories to dealerships on the railroad. Trains deliver some 2,000 carloads a day filled with vehicles.

Read the full story for more details.

I hope this gives my readers a little perspective….I can only hope.

In the final analysis this will just give more fodder for the GOP to use as a chip for the next election….and demonize Biden for causing it.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Labor Day–2022

The first Monday of September and it is the holiday, Labor Day….the unofficial end of Summer…..

This is a short history lesson for those that do not have any idea what the US Labor Day is all about….

Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States that is dedicated to honoring the contribution of American workers in prospering and strengthening the country. It is typically celebrated annually on the first Monday in September.

Historically, Labor Day was instigated in the late 19th century by the trade union in an endeavor to commemorate workers. Shortly after that, the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor endorsed Labor Day by arranging a parade in the city of New York. In 1887, Labor Day was declared as an official holiday in the state of Oregon – making history as the very first state to recognize Labor Day. It was not until 1894, however, that Labor Day officially became a federal holiday across the entire country.

And that is Labor Day!

Just a heads up for my readers…..with the mid-term elections less than 2 months away IST will be focusing on the possibilities and observations on the elections.

Today I shall post once and spend the day with my daughter and granddaughter….a little schmoozing and a lot of grill food……

I hope everyone has a good holiday and enjoys whatever pursuit they chase …..

Be well and be safe….

Peace Out my friends…..

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