If I went to work in a factory the first thing I would do is join a union.  - Franklin D. Roosevelt

AFL-CIO Executive Council Finally Adopts An Ethical Practices Code

By Harry Kelber

An Ethical Practices Code, a standard feature for decades in AFL-CIO Constitutions, has been restored in the 2009 version of the Constitution, after having been secretly eliminated in the 2005 text.

Section 17 of the current Constitution now states:

“The Executive Council shall be authorized by a two-thirds vote to (1) adopt an ethical practices code that covers the executive officers and employees of the AFL-CIO and the state, area and local bodies, and to establish an appropriate enforcement system and appropriate sanctions  for violations of such code,  and

“(2) require trade and industrial departments and national and international unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO to adopt and enforce within their own organizations ethical practice codes that are consistent with the AFL-CIO code and to establish appropriate sanctions for non-compliance with this requirement.

“In the event the sanctions provided for by the Executive Council include suspension from the AFL-CIO or AFL-CIO office, that sanction may be imposed  only by a two-thirds  vote  of the Council after an appropriate hearing.”

Will Each Executive Council Member Vote for Honest AFL-CIO Elections?

By Harry Kelber

When the AFL-CIO Executive Council meets in Washington on August 4-5, it will have an opportunity to rectify a disgraceful situation that deprives  union members of honest elections, including the right to run as a candidate for a national, policy-making position.

It is an incredible fact worth endless repeating that, for the past 124 years, since the founding of the American Federation of Labor, no officer or member of any affiliated state federation or central labor council  has ever been elected to the AFL-CIO’s highest body, its Executive Council. In all those 124 years, less than a handful of opposition candidates have dared to run for Executive Council seats, only to face a crushing defeat from entrenched incumbents.

The complete dominance of international union presidents on the Council is based on Article IV of the AFL-CIO Constitution, that gives international unions as many convention votes as the number of its total membership, while affiliated state and local bodies are limited to one vote each.

If you add all the votes of the state feds and CLCs together, the most they can total is 700 convention votes, while a big union like the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is entitled to one million convention votes.  The one-vote delegates are little more than wall flowers at conventions. In effect, millions of AFL-CIO dues payers are deprived of proper representation at conventions.

Executive Council members have a triple obligation to revise the undemocratic convention rules: (1) the rules are morally indefensible in a democratic organization; (2) Executive Council members benefit by the unfair rules, that guarantee their re-election, and (3) they are depriving the AFL-CIO from developing new leadership.

AFL-CIO’s Web  Applauds  Absurd Idea:
 ‘Finance Reform is Main Street Victory’

By Harry Kelber

Apparently seeking favorable congressional news to report, the AFL-CIO Now web site featured a July 15 story headlined:

Main Street Wins: Senate OKs
Wall Street Reform, Obama to Sign

For 124 Years, Only International Officials Were Elected to AFL-CIO Executive Council

By Harry Kelber

Ever since 1886, when the American Federation of Labor was founded, no officer or member of an affiliated State Federation or Central Labor Council has been elected to the policy-making Executive Council. And fewer than a handful have even dared to be a candidate for a national position to face a sham election, where they were certain to suffer a crushing, humiliating defeat.

The members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council are an exclusive group of international union presidents, who are middle-aged or elderly, and can hold their position until they are ready to retire or die, in which case, they are replaced by other international presidents, without a formal election.

The Executive Council functions like a private “Club” that doesn’t depend on the rank-and-file for anything but their steady union dues payments, because under the AFL-CIO Constitution, they command the majority of convention votes to ensure their re-election far into the future.

Union members know almost nothing about Executive Council officers, whose decisions can affect the livelihood and economic future of working families. Even when they win a bogus election by default, we do not know who they are, what they look like, where they come from, what they do or think or what their achievements are.

A Unique Message and Sound Advice

By Harry Kelber

I seldom receive a direct message from any member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, either friendly or critical, so I was pleased to get one from Baldemar Velasquez, the president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), who was elected to the Council at the AFL-CIO’ s 2009 convention.

Here is his  unsolicited e-mail message to my web site, printed in full:

 “Hey Harry,

  “I'm on the AFL-CIO executive council and I don't fit your

 description.  I don't even come close to the 6-figure

 salary and I'm not asking to be in that category

(check the DOL LM-2 documents on the web.)  We put

 all our money into organizing.   I don't have a pension

 either and I'm not asking for one because the hard

working people I represent don't have one.   When we

 get a pension for the farm workers, I'll take what we

 get for them   Although I take your criticisms to heart,

 be careful that your paintbrush not be too broad.

Hasta La Victoria!
Baldemar Velasquez
President, Farm Labor Organizing Committee AFL-CIO

What Is Missing in the Jobs Campaign Is a Strong Voice from the Unemployed

By Harry Kelber

While there is general agreement that creating jobs for the 14.6 million people who are officially unemployed should be a top priority for our government, millions of them may be permanently excluded from the nation’s work force.

The AFL-CIO, which has been leading a campaign for “Decent Jobs NOW!” almost exclusively for at least a year, has shown hardly any progress for its efforts. Its campaign consists of repeated speeches by President Richard Trumka attacking the greed of Wall Street and the big banks, but then advocating no actions except calling on union members to send e-mails and faxes to their representatives in Congress, which they have done numerous times without any visibly favorable effect.

It should be noted that the AFL-CIO jobs campaign is conducted by people who already have good jobs, often high-paying ones with substantial benefits. But what is clearly absent are the voices of the 8.6 million who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, who would be the beneficiaries of a successful campaign effort.

Senate Blocks Aid for 1.7 Million Jobless, Ready to Enjoy a Week-Long July 4 Holiday

By Harry Kelber

Senate Republicans have blocked  a Democratic attempt to extend unemployment  assistance to the  1.7 million people whose unemployment insurance benefits have expired. The bill would have approved  an emergency unemployment compensation program through November 30.

While Democrats contended that the additional spending was justified to help the unemployed pay their bills and boost the economy, the Republicans insisted that the $33 billion price tag was too much to add to an already bloated federal deficit.

The Senate will consider the extension of unemployment insurance benefits after their week-long July 4th holiday. And it is far from certain that the bill will be approved, since the Democrats do not as yet have the 60 votes to prevent a Republican filibuster. Thus, 1.7 million families are continuing to be denied money for the bare necessities of life.

Whirlpool Moves to Mexico to Cut Labor Costs; Unions Are Unable to Stop Exodus of U.S. Jobs

By Harry Kelber

Whirlpool, the giant laundry and kitchen appliance company, finally moved its Evansville, Indiana. plant to Mexico, leaving its 1,100  employees (including 45 visually-impaired workers) without a livelihood and depriving a community that had depended on it for jobs since the company was founded in 1956.

Whirlpool workers and their union have known about the company’s plans to move to Mexico for the past 10 months (since August 2009), but were unable to convince the company to remain in Evansville. People have asked: “Did the union and the community try hard enough?”

In recent years, hundreds of U.S.-based multinational corporations have moved their operations to China, India and other low-wage countries, attracted by reduced labor costs, tax subsidies and the absence of “labor trouble.”   This has resulted in the exodus of tens of thousands of good-paying. Jobs that were formerly held, not only by blue-collar manufacturing workers, but also by white-collar professionals in the financial services industries.

Time for a Frank, Heart-to-Heart Talk About the AFL-CIO and its Members

By Harry Kelber

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler did not challenge any of the charges I made about them in my LaborTalk article of June 22, which stated:

Å Shuler did not perform any of the duties of secretary-treasurer for the past 10 months, since she won the AFL-CIO’s No. 2 spot in a sham, uncontested election as the hand-picked candidate of the Federation’s Executive Council.

Å While spending full time on her commitment to unionize young workers and arranging the Young People’s Summit on June 10-13, Shuler was on the AFL-CIO payroll as secretary-treasurer at a salary of $238,976 a year plus a 60 percent retirement pension.

Å Trumka forced the withdrawal of a rival candidate to Shuler to save her from having to compete in a real election in 2009, instead of being elected by acclamation.

In any organization, such accusations would cause intense discussion from supporters and critics alike. There would undoubtedly be calls for an investigation. The print and electronic media would at least mention the nature of the charges and follow the story, as long as it had public interest.

A ‘No-Show’ AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Is Paid $238,976 a Year + a 60 % Pension

By Harry Kelber

For the past 10 months, Elizabeth Shuler has been AFL-CIO’s secretary-treasurer in name only, after winning the Federation’s No. 2 position in a sham, uncontested election as the hand-picked candidate of the AFL-CIO Executive Council.

There is not a shred of evidence to show that she has performed any of the functions or fulfilled any of the responsibilities of the job, or whether she is competent to do so, for a salary of $238,976 a year plus a 60 percent retirement pension. According to the AFL-CIO Constitution, duties of the secretary-treasurer include the following:

• To  “be in charge of and preserve all moneys, properties, securities ,and other evidence of investments, books, documents, files and effects of the Federation.”

• The Secretary-Treasurer will be furnished “a copy of  all official reports issued by such affiliated organizations, together with a statement of their membership in good standing and to furnish  such additional statistical data in their possession  as may be called for by the Secretary-Treasurer of this Federation.”

• “The Secretary-Treasurer shall be required to provide for an annual  audit of all books, accounts,  records and financial transactions  to an independent public accountant.”

The Nurses’ Union Shines a Bright Pathway
To a Bigger and Stronger Labor Movement

By Harry Kelber

The National Nurses United (NNU) is one of the most remarkable labor organizations in the country. In a few years, it has nearly tripled its membership, growing from a California-based union of about 60,000 to a powerful national nurses association of more than 155,000--and still growing--in a unique manner, quite unlike other trade unions.

NNU has proven that a union can grow even in tough economic times. if its members are inspired to play an active role in its organizing campaigns. In the past two weeks, ,more than 1,900 registered nurses in five Texas hospitals voted to join the Texas affiliate of NNU in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. NNU has won a string of election victories covering 5,500 RNs in Texas, Nevada and Illinois, since it was founded in December 2009.

NNU Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro termed the election victories as confirmation that RN unionists are “the most independent, honest brokers for patients, based on their very real, life experience, fighting to protect patients at the bedside and to change the healthcare system for all patients and future patients”

How Will 32 Million People Get Health Care?
What about the Other 13 Million Uninsured?

By Harry Kelber

The White House has begun a massive campaign to sell  a skeptical American public, both from the left and the right, on the advantages of the health care law. Polls show that the public remains confused and deeply split over many of the provisions of the new law.

With President Obama’s participation, the expanded White House team will explain how the health care law benefits young people under 26, retirees on prescription drugs and those with “pre-existent conditions,” who can’t be turned down or overcharged for health insurance  coverage.

Yet, there is little or no discussion of the fact that a large vote for the health care law came from those who felt a bond of sympathy for the 45 million people who were uninsured,  and, of course, the uninsured themselves.

Both Congress and Corporate America Are Reluctant
To  Create Jobs,  So What Should Unions Be Doing?

By Harry Kelber

Unless organized labor fights for jobs a lot harder and smarter than it has, millions of unemployed workers will never again get to see the inside of a workplace. And you better start believing it, because it may be you or a member of your family who may be victimized.

With all the hoopla about the end of the Great Recession,  the sobering fact is that only 41,000 new jobs were added in the private sector in May  Employers have several options they can exploit to meet their production needs before hiring new—or their former—workers.

They can insist  that their employees  work harder and longer and accept wage cuts or else  end up without a job. They can hire temporary workers from an agency at lower wages, with  no benefits and no worker rights.  They can hire workers under contract for a limited time, and fire them when they don’t need them.

How Sweeney and Trumka Tricked Members
To Grab 4-Year Term by an Illegal Voice Vote

By Harry Kelber

Shortly after John Sweeney had been elected AFL-CIO president and Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer, in 1995, the two of them were plotting how they could double their term of office from two years to four years.
But how to do it? Not by going directly to the membership. It would make them look greedy, There’d be lots of opposition from many unions and their  members, who were, in principle, against giving so much power to elected officials.  There would be endless debate, particularly on the companion amendment to hold AFL-CIO conventions every four years instead of every two. Was it too soon and too risky to push for a four-year term, they wondered.

Besides, there was the problem of the AFL-CIO Constitution, which, in ARTICLE XVI, stated: :”The Constitution can be amended only by the convention, by two thirds of those present and voting, either by a show of hands, or if a roll call is properly demanded, as provided in this Constitution by such roll call.”

This looked like an impossible hurdle. Sweeney and Trumka knew they couldn’t command a two-thirds approval of their amendment.  Who would lead the campaign in their behalf? Both Sweeney and Trumka reasoned they could not afford a bruising --and losing--battle to increase their term of office.

Brother Trumka’s Supporters Are Invited
To Inform Us About His Achievements

By Harry Kelber

Let’s be fair.

We’ve made some sharp criticisms of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and his style of union leadership (and there’ll be more to come), but we really ought to give his supporters a chance to talk about his accomplishments.

That’s why we’re inviting his defenders to use our two web sites and my e-mail box (listed below) throughout June to answer two simple questions: ”Why I would vote for Trumka in a real election? And why I am pleased with his performance?”

Keep your e-mails to 200 words. The content of your letters will not be edited.

Trumka and the Labor Press Bury Scandal About Removal of ‘Ethical Practices’ Clause

By Harry Kelber

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka kept his determined silence,  refusing to explain or investigate how an “ethical practices” clause, that had been in effect since the founding of the Labor  Federation in the 1950s, had been removed in the 2005 edition of the Constitution.

In 1957, the Executive Council unanimously  adopted  a constitutional provision that “any trade union official against whom serious charges of corruption are leveled should be removed from office if those charges are true.”

To further protect union members against unethical behavior by officials, the 1957 Committee on Ethical Practices decreed that “all audit reports should be available to the membership of the union and its affected employees.”  It said that the trustees of welfare funds should make a full disclosure and report to the beneficiaries at least once a year. These provisions are designed to protect members from financial abuse, but how many AFL-CIO international  and local unions comply with them?

Surely,  the mysterious removal  of the “ethical  practices “ clause in the AFL-CIO Constitution is worth  some attention by the labor media. Yet not a single labor publication  has even mentioned it,  much less discussed it. And the same is true of the labor radio outlets.

The House Ditches Jobs Bill to Enjoy Holiday;
AFL-CIO Leaders Have No Fighting Answer

By Harry Kelber

The U.S. House of Representatives postponed consideration of a jobs bill on May 28, deciding to go home and enjoy the Memorial Day Holiday that will extend to June 7, when Congress is scheduled to reconvene.

The bill before Congress would save or create one million jobs through various measures, and would extend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to the end of 2010  for  the 6.7 million  workers who have been without a job for 27 weeks or more.’

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that the bill’s package of aid to the states, infrastructure projects, extension of UI and COBRA health benefits, creation of summer jobs, loan guarantees for small businesses and other provisions in the bill will help save or create  more than one million jobs. The bill’s target of one million jobs  is only about one-seventh of the 15.3 million people officially listed as unemployed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The bill, costing $143 billion, is running into opposition from  many House and Senate Democrats, who are uneasy about spending more money on job creation, when  they are under heavy pressure from the public and  Republicans to cut the mountain of public debt. They are aware that government spending and budget reductions will be among the key issue in the mid-term elections, and those seeking re-election are looking for political cover.

Who Removed the ‘Ethical Practices’ Clause From the AFL-CIO Constitution? -- And Why?

By Harry Kelber

Someone in the AFL-CIO hierarchy ordered the removal of the “Ethical Practices” clause in the 2005 edition of the Federation’s Constitution, in violation of a series of six codes of ethical conduct adopted in 1957 at the merger of the AFL and CIO.

The removal of this provision in  the Constitution means that union members will have no legal basis within the AFL-CIO structure to  bring charges  against any officer who steals or misuses union funds,  violates union bylaws  or ignores members’ basic rights.

I have e-mailed and phoned  AFL-CIO General Council Lynn  Rhinehart repeatedly to ask her to explain who authorized the omission of the Ethical Practices language in the Constitution. She refused to respond, which may mean she  doesn’t consider the problem important enough to warrant her attention or she has something to cover-up

Brother Trumka, What Do You Do for Members,
Besides Making Your Anti-Wall Street Speeches?

By Harry Kelber

Since March, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has been making speeches in cities and counties across the country, including one on Wall Street itself,  with a double-barreled message: “Make Wall Street Pay!” and “Decent Jobs Now!”

Despite his excellent speeches, Brother Trumka has not gotten a dime from the banks and Wall Street tycoons. The reason is obvious. He hasn’t asked them for money, or even suggested a “ball park” price tag as compensation for the innocent people who lost their jobs, their homes and a part of their retirement income because of Wall Street’s reckless and greedy behavior.

There is no public evidence that Brother Trumka has ever spoken to the banks’ CEOs or  that he even knows them or has made an effort to meet them.  So how can he make them pay? The furthest he has gone is to ask the Wall Streeters to “pay their "fair share” of the cost of creating the jobs they destroyed. And  who decides what’s a “fair share”?

If Brother Trumka and the AFL-CIO Executive Council were really interested in making Wall Street pay,  here is a scenario that could have a good chance of accomplishing it.

AFL-CIO Won't Ask Major Banks for a Dime,
Despite Demands to 'Make Wall Street Pay'

By Harry Kelber

Some 2,000 union and community activists braved the continuing rain in their march to Washington’s  K Street, to confront Wall Street lobbyists and major banks with a message that the AFL-CIO has been repeating for months in dozens of labor rallies across the country—“Decent Jobs Now!” and “Make Wall Street Pay!”

In advertising the rally, the AFL-CIO billed it as a “showdown” event, but no confrontation occurred. Labor speakers were content to review how Wall  Street was responsible for the economic crisis that caused millions of workers to lose their jobs, homes  and a part of their retirement income. Meanwhile, bank officials and employees were  going about their business, largely indifferent to the shouting and chanting outside their front door.

The featured speaker was Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO’s secretary-treasurer, who told the crowd: “Our presence here sent a clear message that Wall Street needs to pay for the jobs its reckless practices destroyed, and to stop the 1.4 million a day to kill Wall Street reform legislation.” Sister Shuler forcefully added: “”We’re not going to stand for that.  We need good jobs now. We need to invest in America now.  And Wall Street needs to pay.”

Lots of Green Jobs for Union Members
If Labor Establishes Its Own Companies

By Harry Kelber

By creating a chain of cooperative workshops and stores that provide “green” products and services to the nation’s consumers, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win can provide millions of jobs to unemployed workers, make significant improvements in  the environment,  contribute to the economic recovery and  enhance their political influence in Washington and with the general public.

Is this a wild idea? Not at all. American labor has the funds to make the initial investment in  the buildings and equipment that will be needed.  It can assemble a work force  more readily than any corporation from the millions of union members who are currently unemployed.  It can also supply a network of experienced union officials and shop stewards to manage the various green projects. And these would be union jobs, paying union wages and benefits.

Union leaders have been talking about "Green Jobs as Good Jobs” at  various conferences, trying to press the U.S. Senate  to approve the environment and energy bill, but the legislation has been blocked by a planned Republican filibuster. If Congress fails to act or produces a poor bill, doesn’t it make sense for organized labor to move ahead on its own?

The Employment Picture Is Improving!
Only 15.3 Million People without Jobs!

By Harry Kelber

While the Obama administration and congressional Democrats saw the April increase of 290,000 jobs as further evidence that the recession was over, there was an actual increase of 300,000 people in the ranks of the jobless last month, with total unemployment rising to 15.3 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With the job picture showing improvement, President Obama has decided to focus on cutting government spending to shrink the budget deficit, in response to Republican and public criticism of the government’s spending policies.  Further, he shows no desire to spend more money on job creation beyond the $781 billion that Congress approved two years ago.

The prevailing mood among Obama’s advisers and Democrats is that as the economic recovery  gains strength, companies will increase their hiring, absorbing millions of unemployed.  Eventually, the plight of the jobless will no longer be the government’s responsibility, but will depend on the operation of the free market economy.

AFL-CIO Is Opposed to Arizona Immigration Law,
But Is Silent about Attacks on Targeted Workers

By Harry Kelber

The AFL-CIO leadership has  strongly condemned Arizona’s new immigration law and will join  with the growing public  campaign for a federal comprehensive immigration law.   The Federation’s president, Richard Trumka, said: “The law is not only  an affront to American values of fairness and respect for the U.S. Constitution— it severely undermines workers’ rights.”

But Brother Trumka went further to describe how the Arizona law would threaten the jobs of millions of workers and disrupt union organizing campaigns.  He explained:

    Any employer faced with Latino workers’ complaints—in the form of
    a picket or a lawsuit—can simply call the police and have workers
    arrested under the guise of ‘reasonable suspicion.’ The law’s chilling
    effect is all too  clear."

Brother Trumka: Your Silence is not an Answer.
How Do You Intend to ‘Make Wall Street Pay’?

By Harry Kelber

Brother Trumka, in your speech at the April 28th rally, you provided convincing reasons why the Wall Street crowd, including the major banks, should pay billions of dollars in compensation to the victims who lost their jobs, their homes and a portion of their retirement income because of Wall Street greed and reckless investments.

Yet, surprisingly, at the rally, and in speeches you have been making across the country, you never mentioned how the AFL-CIO was going to ” Make Wall Street Pay!” After months went by, it was becoming clear that you never intended to ask the banks for even a dime, but preferred to have them as an “issue,” on which to build your reputation as a leader.

In your Wall Street speech in front of one of the banks, you told the bankers: “Pay your fair share of the cost of creating the jobs you destroyed.” What is a “fair share”? How can it be determined, except by negotiations? But you didn’t offer to negotiate. In fact, we are led to believe that you never met these bankers face-to-face. So how can you make them pay?

The Union of the Unemployed Is Growing; In 3 Months, It Gained 1,950 Job Activists

By Harry Kelber

Ninety days after it was launched, the Union of the Unemployed remains a work in progress,  but the foundation is expanding, using a unique organizing principle. the Ucube, The  basic unit consists of  six jobless workers within the same  zip code address forming a: ”cube”  Nine such cubes make a Neighborhood. Three Neighborhoods form a “Power Block’ that contains 162 activists.
Politicians cannot easily ignore a multitude of power blocks, nor can merchants avoid them. The union is built from the ground up. Ucube activists will select their own leaders at each UCube level. Check the Ucube web site:
 
http://www.unionofunemployed.com/

As the Union of the Unemployed expands, ucube by ucube, its political activity is also increasing. In 90 days, UCubed activists sent  17,000 messages to Congress. Almost10,000 of these emails and letters supported a long-term extension of unemployment benefits. Another 2,000 activists signed the “Throw the Bum Out’’ petition after Senator Jim Bunning stopped a 30-day extension of unemployment and COBRA health benefits.

Obama Proposes an Independent Board To Play Leading Role in Health-Care Law

By Harry Kelber

It took more than a year of economic in-fighting and  political wrangling for President Obama to get what he wanted: a health care law, even with its imperfections, on which his legacy may depend.

The new health-care law will cost the federal government $940 billion over 10 years, but it is expected to extend coverage to 32 million uninsured people and be able to save $138 billion during this decade, according to projections of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The important  provisions of the 2,400-page health-care legislation are confusing to most people, especially since many of the significant features do not go into effect until 2014. Between now and then, millions of currently insured people may be forced to drop their coverage because of unaffordable increases in premiums, co-payments and out-of-pocket costs.

One of the main provisions of the law, including the creation of state insurance exchanges where uninsured Americans can shop for competitively priced policies, will also  not take effect  until 2014.

Many working people are unaware that they will be penalized if they don’t possess  the health insurance coverage  mandated by the law, even if they cannot afford it, despite government subsidies. They will have to pay an annual  penalty of $695 per person up to $2,085 per family, or 2.5 percent of their family income, whichever is greater.

Why Do Our Labor Leaders Refuse to Talk About the War in Iraq and Afghanistan?

By Harry Kelber

Reading AFL-CIO’s publications and listening to statements by AFL-CIO’s leaders, you wouldn’t know there are wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. The AFL-CIO Executive Council doesn’t seem to feel that the two wars  are the concern of the labor movement or worthy of any comment. You’d never guess that  many thousands of working families, including union households, are worried about their loved ones  risking their lives to fight in a dangerous region that they know little about.

We are told the government hasn’t the money to create the millions of public works jobs that are needed for some 15 million unemployed Americans. Yet, we have been spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually for the last eight years on the two wars. (26.5 cents of every tax dollar in 2009 went for military-related spending; only 2 cents for education.) And so why do top labor leaders, who see the obvious connection,  so  unwilling to talk publicly about it?

You’d think that the AFL-CIO would show some public respect for the many union members who have died in the two wars. But honoring them is not on any union agenda.

A Proven Way  to Curb the Big Banks
From Risky Gambles with Our Money

By Harry Kelber

Here is how the reckless power of the banks was curbed during the Great Depression. It provides a model that we can use today to reform the financial system of Wall Street.

After only a few days in office, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced a four-day “bank holiday” to begin March 6 1933, promising the public that Congress would work out a plan to reform the banking industry.

By mid-June, Congress had passed the landmark Banking Act of 1933 (also known as the Glass-Steagall Act), that prohibited commercial banks from  engaging in the investment business. The Act prevented the banks from using their depositors’ money for private investments in securities, the stock market and other financial ventures.

The Act was an emergency response to  the failure of thousands of banks during the Great Depression. The new law also placed tighter restrictions on national banks, and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), that insures depositors  with a pool of money in case of bank losses or failures.  

Trumka Warns Harvard Audience of Plots
To  Poison  Workers’  Anger  with  Hatred

By Harry Kelber

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told an audience at Harvard’s  Kennedy School  of Government that “there are forces in our country that are working hard to convert justifiable  anger about an economy that seems to work for only a few of us into racist and homophobic hate and violence.”

He did not identify “the forces of hate;”  or the extent of their influence or objectives, except to refer to hateful words against President Obama and  the highly-respected Congressman John Lewis.

Trumka mentioned the many ways that working people have been short-changed in an economy that favors the rich and powerful, emphasizing the loss of 11 million jobs. “Mass unemployment and  growing inequality threaten our democracy,” he said. “We need to act—and act boldly—to strike at the roots of working people’s anger and shut down the forces of  hatred and racism.”

What Happens to 47 Million (+) Uninsured
From Today to Year 2014—and Beyond?

By Harry Kelber

 There probably are no loud cheers for the new health-care law coming from the 47 million people who are currently without health insurance It appears that only 32 million will have access to health care coverage, and they won’t be eligible for this important medical protection until 2014.

What happens to the other15 million who are left out of the law? And what about the tens of thousands of people who will be added to the pool of the uninsured in the next four years, because they cannot afford the high premiums, co-pays and out of-pocket expenses? (Based on past records, an estimated 100,000 people will be left to die between now and 2014 for lack of medical treatment.)

How will the recipients of health insurance be selected? What if many newly-insured people, especially low-income families, can’t keep up with the medical costs, and are forced to give it up or go into bankruptcy? Will there be a time limit to the government’s subsidies for health care?

Trumka Attacks the Banks with Speeches;
What’s His Plan to ‘Make Wall Street Pay’?

By Harry Kelber

 “Wall Street executives destroyed 11 million jobs with their risky practices and now they must pay to create new jobs and not be allowed to return to business as usual,”   AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said during an interview with MSNBC.

Trumka also boasted that the AFL-CIO’s unprecedented two weeks’ campaign under the slogan, ”Decent Jobs Now!—Make Wall Street Pay!,”  conducted 200 events in front of major U.S. banks, and he vowed to revisit Wall Street April 29 with “10 to 12,000 of my friends to take the message straight to executives.”

In addition to continuing his verbal assaults on the greedy bankers and financiers, what else does Brother Trumka propose to “Make Wall Street Pay!”? Thus far, he has been silent about the issue. He has not raised the question of whether millions of workers should be compensated for the loss of their jobs and a part of their retirement income.

Whirlpool to Move Production to Mexico,
Despite Appeals to Keep Jobs in the U.S.

By Harry Kelber

 While labor, community and religious activists from six states held a giant rally in a last-minute appeal to  Whirlpool  to keep its production facilities in the United States, the company did not budge from its plan to close down  its Evansville, Ind. operations  and  open a new plant in Mexico that would employ 1,100 workers  to produce its dishwashers, refrigerators and other kitchen appliances.

   In addition to the rally, Evansville residents sent petitions with a total of 110,000  signatures and made more than 1,700 phone calls to Whirlpool, all with the same theme: “Make It in America.”  But company executives ignored their plea, even though they had accepted millions of dollars in federal stimulus money.

   On Thursday afternoon, March 25, the Evansville community, the victim of the Whirlpool plant closing, turned out to say farewell  to the first group of 500  laid-off workers who, on the next day, would walk out of the plant for the last time.

ILCA  Media  Members Will  Give  Themselves
 A Barrel of Awards to Celebrate Their Talents

By Harry Kelber

From April 1 to the end of July, members of the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA) will be involved in competing for some 80 or more awards in about 50 categories that cover all aspects of media journalism. The competition for the awards is limited to paid-up ILCA dues-payers, and the entries will be mostly judged by ILCA members themselves.

The reason for the large number of awards, ILCA leaders explain, is “to recognize the cutting-edge work members are doing and encourage labor journalists to expand their horizons.” Categories for awards range from newsletters to high-circulation magazines of international unions.

In the “General Excellence” categories, Group 4 states: “Eligible items include booklets or brochures used to promote organizing or legislative activity, calendars, posters, books commemorating anniversaries and similar publications.”

Union Rallies  and Marches Are Important,
But They Won’t Compel Wall Street to Pay

By Harry Kelber

In 200 cities across the country, the AFL-CIO and its allies have mobilized their infuriated members by the hundreds of thousands to demonstrate against the big banks and investment houses on Wall Street.  With picket lines, rallies, marches  and angry speeches in front of targeted banks and financial institutions,  the demonstrators have been repeating their twin demands: “Good Jobs Now!” and “Make Wall Street Pay!”

Under severe pressure from union members who had lost their jobs and their homes, the AFL-CIO Executive Council, meeting in Orlando, Fl. on March 3,  decided to call a week of action against Wall Street. It is the first and only national mobilization by organized labor since the recession began in December 2007.  The demonstrations will continue until the end of March.

Democrats Win  Historic Health Insurance Law;
Tough Hurdles  to Universal  Coverage Remain

By Harry Kelber

Democrats in Congress secured passage of a landmark health insurance law on March 21 by a vote of 219-212   with not a single Republican voting for it and 34 Democrats joining the opposition. When President Obama signs the legislation, it will not go into effect until 2014.

After more than a year of  intense public discussion of health insurance in the media and in Congress, misconceptions about the actual provisions of the law remain. In the ensuing months before the November elections, Democrats will emphasize the advantages of the law, while Republicans will call attention  to its defects.

One thing is clear: this is not the universal health care bill we all hoped for.  It would extend insurance coverage to 31 million people, but what about the other 16.5 million who do not have insurance coverage and the  tens of thousands who are being forced to give it up because they can’t afford it?

Starting in 2014, this law will mandate that millions of people who are currently uninsured must buy insurance from private companies or the U.S. Internal Revenue Service will collect 2 percent  of their annual income in penalties. Poor people will be given subsidies to help them purchase insurance.

Under this law, Americans cannot be denied insurance because of a “pre-existing condition” or dropped  from coverage when they get sick. But critics claim that without an enforcement mechanism, there is little to hold the insurance companies from getting around the law.

UCubed activists will select their own leaders in each cube, neighborhood, block and higher group as well. The UCubed website is: www.unionofunemployed.com.

UCubed now has 1,649 members in over 1,400 zip codes—up from 321 only 30 days ago. Its job activists can be found in every state of the union except Alaska and Nebraska. Three hundred and fifty-nine (359) cubes are actively functioning--a five-fold increase from the 72 a month ago. Last week, the cube-to-cube linking function went live, says Rick Sloan, Acting Executive Director of Ur Union of Unemployed. One jobs activist, Alexandra Aldrich, has grown her original cube into seven cubes. With two more cubes, she will have created the first UCubed Neighborhood, near Boston, Mass.

Let’s See the Contract the Labor College
Signed  with its New Corporate ‘Partner’

By Harry Kelber

Fifth and final article

A heavy veil of secrecy hangs over the contract that the Board of Trustees of the National Labor College signed with its new “partner,” Princeton Review, an academic investment company.

The only thing we know about the deal thus far is that Princeton Review plans to contribute a certain amount of money to the financially strapped Labor College. How much money? We simply do not know.  Nor do we have the slightest information about what  the company wants for its money.

What Are the Terms of the ‘Partnership’
Between NLC and an Investing Company?

By Harry Kelber

Fourth in the series

In a January 14 press release, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who is Chair of the National Labor College, announced that the board of trustees had approved the selection of The Princeton Review, Inc. and its subsidiary, Penn Foster Education Group, Inc., leading providers of postsecondary educational services, as a partner with the NLC, which Trumka expects to be named “The College of Working Families.”

Princeton Review and Penn Foster Education Group are “for profit” companies. When they invest in a venture, they expect to earn a profit. There is no evidence that they have any sympathy for unions or working families. So why are they entering into a partnership with the National Labor College?

The Labor College, which is fully subsidized by the AFL-CIO, has been operating at a loss for years. Although its annual budget is $28 million, it has amassed a debt of more than $40 million. If Princeton Review is willing to cover the debt and assure NLC’s financial future, what does it get for that pile of money? We simply don’t know, and are left to speculate, because the terms of the partnership have been kept secret from union members, who have thus far been paying the bill for the college’s operations.

In addition to money, the National Labor College needs students. Currently, its two degree programs have a total enrollment of 272 students, a paltry number for an accredited college. The AFL-CIO, with 11.6 million members, has made no sustained effort to recruit more students for the college. It appears to be relying on the “marketing” skills of Princeton Review to provide a substantial and steady flow of students from AFL-CIO unions.

Will Online Courses at the Labor College

Develop a Student’s Leadership Skills?

By Harry Kelber
Third in a Series

The fundamental mission of the National Labor College is to “make higher education available to workers; to prepare union members, leaders and staff for the challenges of a changing global environment, and to serve as a center for progressive thought and union learning.”

For more than three decades, the college, then known as the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, had been providing a venue for week-long conferences and leadership training for AFL-CIO’s affiliates at the Federation’s 47-acre suburban plot in Silver Spring, Maryland. But in 1999, the Center was transformed into the National Labor College (NLC) and by 2004, it had become fully accredited with the Middle States Accredited Association as an independent, undergraduate college.

Why  the  National   Labor  College Attracts
 So Few Unionists  to its Degree Programs

By Harry Kelber   
Second of a Series
The National Labor College (NLC) is a fully-accredited undergraduate academic institution, subsidized by the AFL-CIO, to provide any of its 11.6 union members and their families from any part of the United States and Canada with an opportunity to acquire a college education and a baccalaureate degree.

Located on a suburban 47-acre plot in Silver Spring, Maryland, the college permits its students to work for a four-year degree without leaving their job, their home or their community. As an additional appeal, the college offers academic credits for “life  experience” and accepts transfers from other colleges up to a maximum of 56 credits. That still leaves students with the task of earning an additional 64 credits for the 120 required for a four-year degree,  Tuition is $174 per credit, to be raised to $199 per credit by May 10, 2010.

Awarding Companies for Hiring Workers
Is Not a Good  Answer to Jobs Problem

By Harry Kelber
 

The U.S. Senate’s $35 billion jobs bill passed its first legislative hurdle with the support of five Republican senators. The bill, approved by a vote of 70-28, contains two major provisions. First,  it would exempt businesses that hire the unemployed from  the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and give them an additional $1,000 tax credit if each new worker stays on the job a full year.

Second, it would extend highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and pump $20 billion into them in time for the spring construction season. The money would make up for lower-than-expected gasoline tax revenue. In addition to the tax incentives, the Senate bill would extend a tax break for small businesses buying new equipment up to $250,000 and expand an initiative that helps state and local governments pay for infrastructure projects.

Awarding Companies for Hiring Workers
Is Not a Good  Answer to Jobs Problem

By Harry Kelber
 

The U.S. Senate’s $35 billion jobs bill passed its first legislative hurdle with the support of five Republican senators. The bill, approved by a vote of 70-28, contains two major provisions. First,  it would exempt businesses that hire the unemployed from  the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and give them an additional $1,000 tax credit if each new worker stays on the job a full year.

Second, it would extend highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and pump $20 billion into them in time for the spring construction season. The money would make up for lower-than-expected gasoline tax revenue. In addition to the tax incentives, the Senate bill would extend a tax break for small businesses buying new equipment up to $250,000 and expand an initiative that helps state and local governments pay for infrastructure projects.

The Unemployed Have Begun to Organize
Their  Own  Union to Press Fight for Jobs

By Harry Kelber

It’s been only a month that a union for the unemployed has come into existence through an ingenious  grass-roots organizing campaign. In case you haven’t heard about it, the union’s name is “UR Union of the Unemployed” or  its nickname, “UCubed,” because of its unique method of organizing.

UCubed is the brain-child of the International  Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), whose leaders  feel that the millions of unemployed workers need a union of their own to join in the struggle for  massive jobs programs.

 The idea is that if millions of jobless join together and act as an organization, they are more likely to get Congress and the White House to provide the jobs that are urgently needed. They can also apply pressure for health insurance coverage, unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits and food stamps. An unemployed worker is virtually helpless if  he or she has to act alone.

Joining a Cube is as simple as it is important.  (Please check the union web site:  www.unionofunemployed.com) Six  people who live in the same zip code address can form a Ucube. Nine such UCubes make a neighborhood. Three neighborhood UCubes form a power block that contains 162 activists. Politicians cannot easily ignore  a multitude of power blocks, nor can merchants avoid them.

Can Democrats Hold the Loyalty
Of Union Voters in 2010 Elections?

By Harry Kelber

The AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions spent tons of money on the 2008 elections, and they thought they had gotten their money's worth when the Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress and the White House.

After eight years of President George Bush, the unions rejoiced at the prospect of a partnership with a pro-worker Obama administration. They were assured that their top priority, the Employee Free Choice Act, would become law as soon as the health-care reform bill was approved.

But after months of delay, congressional Democrats agreed to eliminate "card check," a key provision of EFCA that would make recruiting new union members a lot easier. And President Obama and the Democrats quietly dropped the bill from their legislative agenda. The President didn't even mention EFCA in his "State of the Union" address.

Labor leaders did not publicly protest the snub, which many privately considered a betrayal. They didn't want to lose their newly-gained acceptance by the White House. Besides, Obama had made several pro-labor appointments to various government agencies and his executive orders had eliminated several severe restrictions imposed on unions during the Bush years.

But labor's ties with the White House began to fray. Obama allowed U.S. corporations to continue transferring hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs to countries with low-wage standards. He angered millions of his labor supporters by his swift and overgenerous bailout of major banks and Wall Street financial institutions.

Our Old Problem: What Will Convince
Unorganized Workers to join a Union?

By Harry Kelber

For decades, unions have spent millions of dollars and hired thousands of organizers to persuade workers to join unions, but have had limited success. Yet here we are in 2010, faced with colossal failures. With our supposed best efforts, unions now represent only 7.2 percent of the nation's workforce in private industry. That is the lowest rate since 1901. And some more horrendous news: In only one year-2008-some 800,000 union members dropped out of the labor movement. What should we be doing about that?

Surely, unions are good for working people. They provide higher wages and better benefits than for those in non-union jobs. That's especially true for working women and ethnic minorities, and it applies equally to virtually every region of the country.

If you're a union member, you don't have to face your boss for a raise and run the risk of being fired. The union uses its strength to represent you and your co-workers in collective bargaining with the boss. And it can usually get a better deal for you than when you act on your own.

With a union card, you can earn some measure of respect from the boss, because if he gets abusive or treats you unfairly, he knows the union can cause him trouble, sometimes by calling a strike.

Given such time-honored advantages of unions, why does only one out of eight of the nation's workers join? What's wrong with our organizing message? Why are we so unconvincing?

How Will Big Business Solve Job Crisis?
Will Millions Never Enjoy a Steady Job?

By Harry Kelber

Even if the Obama administration is correct in insisting that its $787 billion stimulus package has saved or created as many as three million jobs, Congress, worried about the enormous budget deficit and national debt, is not likely to allocate many more billions for job creation, especially with all the signs of economic recovery.

Even under the most optimistic calculations, the government will have created no more than five million new jobs. That would still represent only a fraction of what is needed to provide a full-time job to every American adult who needs one.

When companies, large and small, decide it is a profitable time to begin rehiring, they will have a huge labor pool of more than 30 million unemployed workers to pick and choose from. Every one they hire must in some way contribute to their profitability.

Why the AFL-CIO and Solidarity Center
Won’t Ever Mention ‘The World of Labor’

By Harry Kelber

I initiated the weekly “The World of Labor” column on May 4, 2006. because I believed that in this era of globalization, American union members ought to know what was happening to workers and their unions in other countries. And it was a way of promoting international labor solidarity.

In those several years, I have posted (by actual count) 198 weekly articles on “The World of Labor,” with each article describing what was happening in six individual countries, big and small. A great many of those articles dealt with the same problems that were troubling U.S. workers and their unions. In all that time, I had never missed a single deadline.

No one asked me to write the global column. I did it on my own, after I saw that neither the AFL-CIO NOW nor the Solidarity Center would undertake the task.

Let's Prevent a Repeat of 1994 Election
When Republicans Recaptured Congress

By Harry Kelber

With only nine months left before the mid-term elections, Republicans are clearly enjoying their momentum after their candidate, Scott Brown, won the Massachusetts Senate seat held by the late Senator Ted Kennedy for 47 years. The GOP victories for governor in Virginia and New Jersey were also regarded as harbingers of a resurgent, unified political party that, only a few months ago, looked confused and leaderless.

In contrast, the Democrats appear confused and divided on health-care reform and how to strike a balance between cutting the national debt and increasing the level of spending to create urgently-needed jobs.

How  Did  We Allow 800,000 Members
To End Ties with the AFL-CIO in 2008?

By Harry Kelber

While our leaders were occupied elsewhere, the AFL-CIO lost 800,000 members in one year--2008. As a result, union membership in the private sector fell from 7.6 percent to 7.2 percent in 2008, the lowest rate in decades.  You can check it out with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Those figures should have sounded alarm bells ringing throughout the labor movement. How could this catastrophic loss of members happen?  Why didn’t our leaders stop the exodus before it reached such astonishing numbers? Surely, the situation cries out for an immediate investigation to pin down the reasons for this massive drop in union membership.

But nothing happened. Neither Trumka nor the AFL-CIO Executive Council thought the loss of 800,000 union members was  sufficiently alarming  to command  their attention. Nor were there any comments on the AFL-CIO web site..