Robert Masciola, deputy director of the AFL-CIO Center for Strategic Research, describes the current efforts of the Building Justice Campaign. The campaign, which seeks to raise standards in the residential construction sector, currently is focused on Pulte Homes and its Del Webb subsidiary to increase Pulte’s accountability for the actions of its subcontractors. Until Pulte does so, the campaign is cautioning union members and retirees before purchasing a Pulte or Del Webb home.

Arizona and Nevada are two of the fastest growing states in the country as retirees flock West for warm weather and lower taxes. The retiree housing boom has been profitable for Pulte Homes, which owns Del Webb, the biggest national builder of “active adult” (55 years and older) communities.

Around the country this Saturday, thousands of union members will get a visit from their fellow union members and have a chance to learn about the issues they care about in November’s elections.

This weekend’s door-to-door canvass is at the center of the AFL-CIO union movement's effort to mobilize more than 6,000 union volunteers to knock on 200,000 doors and engage union members in 20 states this spring. These volunteers will discuss issues such as health care, jobs, the economy and trade, and how John McCain's pro-Bush voting record in the Senate has worked against the interests of America's workers.

Saturday’s door-to-door walks to educate and energize union members are part of the AFL-CIO’s Labor 2008 political program, set to be the largest union mobilization in history.

The U.S. Senate today moved a step closer to approving legislation that would protect the collective bargaining rights of tens of thousands of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and other public safety officers.

By a 69–29 vote, the Senate killed a filibuster led by several extreme anti-worker Republican senators against the workers' rights bill. Eighteen Republicans joined all Democrats in backing the move to end the filibuster. The vote on final passage is expected later this week.

http://www.mua.org.au/events/460_20080513.html
Back in the Gate: Howard Gone- MUA Here to Stay!
Event date: 31 May 2008
Type:
Location: Brett Park, Five Dock
Time: 11am-4pm
Cost: Free
The Sydney Branch of the MUA invites all members and their families to celebrate the 10 year anniversay of the return to work of Patrick workers with a family carnival and picnic day.
It is hard to believe that 10 years has passed since the Howard Government, Patrick owner Chris Corrigan and others engaged in their criminal conspiracy against the MUA to shed the Australian waterfront of unionised labour.
On April 7 1998, hundreds of guards and dogs stormed the wharves under cover of darkness as Patrick boss Chris Corrigan sacked his entire workforce of 2000 men and women nationwide with the aid of balaclava wearing goons and savage attack dogs. The Australian industrial relations landscape would never be the same again. This vicious attack on wharfies was undertaken with the complete support of the then Howard Government.
What followed was a monstrous battle to stop this criminal injustice perpetrated solely because the 2000 sacked wharfies were members of a union. The reactionary attempts to eradicate waterfront unionism failed because the Australian people rejected such inappropriate tactics that were fundamentally at odds with the aspirations of the Australian people who treasure the concept of a "fair go".

Union activists from across the state came together in Philadelphia in recent days for a two-day training session in getting out the vote as part of the union movement’s Labor 2008 political mobilization program.

Members of more than a dozen unions participated in presentations that overviewed key working family issues like health care, the economy and Sen. John McCain’s anti-labor voting record. Attendees engaged in dynamic discussions about effective communication, worksite visits and activist recruitment.

The Philadelphia training is one of a series of Labor 2008 trainings that have taken place around the country in key states like Missouri, Ohio and Colorado.

Here's one from the "just-when-you-think-you've-seen-it-all" file.

California is facing a $20 billion budget shortfall. Teachers are getting pink slips. Health care, social service, education and other budgets are being slashed to the bone. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) warns that all Californians should get ready for some budget belt-tightening.

Well, almost all Californians.

Republican legislators twice this year blocked moves to close a tax loophole for their super-wealthy friends—the ones who just can't live without yachts or jet planes. The loophole let's the uber-rich buy their floating and flying palaces tax free!

Despite the refusal by Burma’s military dictatorship to allow relief agencies to deliver food, medical care and supplies to survivors of the devastating May 2 cyclone, the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB), the country’s underground democratic union movement, is delivering aid to some affected villages. We cannot report exactly which villages are receiving the aid for fear the government will intercede to stop the assistance. But AFL-CIO Solidarity Center representatives in the field confirm that FTUB unions are delivering some aid. But much more help is needed.

Click here to make a donation to help Burmese workers.

This is the third in a series of posts on Wal-Mart’s 2008 shareholder resolutions. The full list of resolutions - and Wal-Mart’s statements regarding them - can be found in the company’s 2008 proxy here (PDF).

Resolution #7 on this year’s proxy proposes the establishment of a human rights committee at Wal-Mart. Below, the details of the proposition, why Wal-Mart’s shareholders would benefit and how the company has reacted to the proposal.

Wal-Mart’s Public Image Problem
Reports of human rights violations have dogged Wal-Mart for years - particularly in the company’s supplier factories, most of which are overseas. These violations have thoroughly damaged Wal-Mart’s reputation, with everyone from ">U.S Senators to Wal-Mart employees to factory workers themselves speaking out about the inhumane conditions in Wal-Mart’s supplier factories. Bama Athreya, director of the International Labor Rights Forum, testified before Congress on the issue of toy safety, explaining that “Wal-Mart bears a lion share of responsibility for pushing the toy industry to a place where worker health and safety are basically nonexistent.”

Wal-Mart also holds the ignominious title of being the only company investigated by Human Rights Watch for its domestic labor practices. The group’s 2007 report labeled Wal-Mart’s union-busting policies a violation of basic human rights, saying:

It pursues its anti-union agenda relentlessly, often from the day a new worker is hired, devoting considerable time and resources at all levels of the company to the anti-union drumbeat.

The constant stream of allegations have damaged Wal-Mart’s reputation and in turn, its profits. In 2007, a Bank of America analyst’ report found that Wal-Mart’s profits had suffered as a result of organized labor’s opposition to the company and its unethical labor practices.  The report noted that the union’s campaign “has cost WMT [Wal-Mart] real estate sites in key locations, adversely impacted comp store sales to some degree, and has distracted m management from focusing on its retail strategy. Additionally, Lee Scott now spends a large amount of time improving WMT’s image domestically and abroad, and WMT has been forced to focus advertising dollars on defending their brand.”

A report released today by market research firm Clark, Martire and Bartolomeo revealed some rather unsurprising news:  consumers do not perceive Wal-Mart to be a gay friendly business.  While this may be great news to some supposedly ”pro-family” associations, it’s bad news for Wal-Mart.  According to the same report, gay and lesbian consumers are nearly 70% more likely to patronize a business they perceive to be gay friendly.  For example, Apple, who recently surpassed Wal-Mart as the top music retailer, was perceived to be the most gay friendly of any retailer.

Unfortunately, these consumer perceptions are backed by Wal-Mart policy.  The Human Rights Campaign’s 2008 Buying for Equality Guide gave Wal-Mart a ‘red rating’ which reflects that it offers no domestic partner benefits and its discrimination policy does not include gender identity and/or expression.  Wal-Mart refuses to address the concerns of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community citing its policy to avoid “highly controversial issues”.  The real controversy, however, is Wal-Mart’s stagnant social policies and an inability to adapt to the growing needs and demands of an increasingly diverse population.

Patrick O'Meara, corporate finance specialist in the AFL-CIO Office of Investment, updates us on recent shareholder action at Verizon by union members and retirees.

Union members and retirees continue to challenge Verizon to become a better company. Sporting red T-shirts, some 50 current and retired members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Electrical Workers (IBEW), including members of the Association of BellTel Retirees, traveled to Lincoln, Neb., last week for the annual Verizon shareholders meeting.

Good news: Wal-Mart has finally returned control of Debbie Shank’s bank account to her family. At last, Debbie’s husband Jim can get back to paying Debbie’s medical bills and focus on providing some quality of life for her.

Jim Shank sat down to record this special thank you message to members of the Wal-Mart Watch community:

Like Jim, we’re so grateful for the help and support you’ve given to his family. Your dedication to this cause was critical in creating the tremendous public pressure which ultimately forced the company to do the right thing for Debbie Shank.

It’s also a reminder of just how important it is to keep the pressure on this company to make positive changes. We hope you’ll continue to support our efforts to hold Wal-Mart accountable. Click here to share this message with friends.