Tomorrow, January 31st, people across North America will be taking part in an Inter-Continental Day of Action against Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The TPP is another NAFTA, except this time on “steroids.” It could become the law of the land without any debate or amendments if Fast Track legislation is allowed to pass.
We can’t let that happen! Please be sure to call your Representative and Senators tomorrow and tell them to vote NO on Fast Track.
The stage is set for an LIRR strike come spring if the MTA does not accept the recommendations of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), recently impaneled by President Obama to look at wages and benefits at the railroad. That was the message of SMART General Chairman Anthony Simon, who appeared before the MTA Board of Directors in the company of TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen at the Authority’s corporate headquarters on Madison Avenue. Speaking at the Board’s first meeting of 2014, Simon — representing a coalition of 70% of LIRR unionized employees — expressed his members’ anger and frustration over being told to take three zeroes and make concessions while MTA managers were getting raises through “creative” accounting practices. Just 45 minutes earlier, in the same board room, the MTA’s Audit Committee was talking about what to do with a $80 million real estate “windfall.” It was the same old story — money for everything else except worker raises. The PEB panel released its recommendations last month — a contract worth approximately 18% over six years. But the MTA is rejecting the finding. With the public seating area in the board room taken up by TWU and LIRR union members, Simon said, “I ask this Board to become actively involved to help end this dispute now.” After speaking, Simon and Samuelsen talked to the press. That video will be posted on the Local 100 website. Article courtesy of TWU Local 100
The “ICB/TABB Journal” is now available. Formerly known as “TABB Talk,” the new publication offers a more functional layout, enhanced design and improved content. “Our goal is to make this the leading industry publication in its category, a useful resource that engineers, technicians, supervisors and contractors can refer to time and again,” said James Page, NEMIC Administrator. Each issue consists of seven categories: Commentary, Industry Pulse, Letters, Events, Tech Talk, Contractor’s Corner and a Feature article that addresses vital industry topics in an in-depth and thoughtful manner. This issue’s feature article by building performance consultant James E. Woods, P.E., Ph.D., discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with developing an educated and skilled workforce. While HVAC Testing Adjusting and Balancing will always be the central theme, the “ICB/TABB Journal” covers topics that go beyond traditional testing, adjusting and balancing. These include related disciplines such as HVAC fire life safety, commissioning, sound and vibration, indoor air quality, total building energy audit and fume hood performance testing. The “ICB/TABB Journal” is designed to be interactive. “It works best when our readers are fully engaged,” said Page. “We encourage them to submit ideas for matters of interest, opinions in the form of Letters to the Editor, or even relevant articles in the 500 – 1,000 word range.” As a bonus, if your article is selected for publication, you will receive a complimentary registration for the 2014 ICB/TABB Conference in Cleveland in May. To submit ideas and materials, simply email Imagine Communications at brouff@WeAreImagine.com. Visit here for a digital version of the “ICB/TABB Journal.
This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual data finding that in 2013, the union membership rate—the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of unions—was 11.3 percent, the same as in 2012. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, at 14.5 million, was little different from 2012. Among private-sector employees, the rate was 6.7 percent. “The data also show that among full-time wage and salary workers, union members have higher median weekly earnings than nonunion workers. The median weekly earnings of union members were $950, compared to $750 for nonunion workers. While they year to year changes are minuscule, in 1983, the first year for which comparable union data became available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers. Click here for more details from the BLS report.
Fast Track undermines the authority that we have entrusted to Congress to make sure that trade agreements with other nations are fair and in the best interests of working families – not corporations. If Fast Track is passed, job-killing trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that have been negotiated largely in secret could become law by a simple “yes” or “no” vote, without the possibility of any amendments. Congress will not be able to change a single word of the agreement, no matter how bad the provisions may be. The U.S. Senate just introduced Fast Track legislation to ram through the Trans Pacific Partnership. Read the text of TPA-2014 for yourself here. Please help us tell Congress that Fast Track is the wrong track by contacting your Senators today! You can get more information and updates on this dangerous legislation via the Coalition to Stop Fast Track.
The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers announces support for California Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal to authorize funding for the state’s high-speed rail program, utilizing $300 million of cap and trade revenue. This investment includes upgrades to commuter and intercity rail systems that improve connectivityand modernize transportationbetween regions throughout the state. Without high-speed rail, California’s existing transportation network cannot meet the demands of the projected population growth of 20 million new residents in the coming decades. Studies find that adding more highways and airports to what already exists would cost up to three times as much as high-speed rail. According to SMART General President Joseph Nigro, “California’s leadership in this effort will serve as a trailblazer for other states as the nation moves toward high-speed rail as a solution to solving present and future transportation challenges.” SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, is one of North America’s most dynamic and diverse unions with 216,000 members. SMART’s members produce and provide the vital services that move products to market, passengers to their destinations and ensure the quality of the air we breathe. We are sheet metal workers, service technicians, bus operators, engineers, conductors, sign workers, welders, production employees and more. With members in scores of different occupations, we advocate for fairness in the workplace, excellence at work and opportunity for all working families.
We are pleased, as your General President and Transportation Division President, to present the first SMART Constitution and Ritual to our membership. This is a milestone for both the former Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association and the United Transportation Union that have merged to become the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers. While our merger has been complete for some time, this document solidifies this great union and its members under a single Constitution. It is impossible to speak to the success in completing this Constitution without acknowledging both the hard work and the frustration of those who participated in the creation of the document and the membership who have waited patiently throughout this long and difficult process. The path has led both of us to take positions on interpretation of our separate constitutions and the merger agreement. In getting there, as would be expected of your leadership, we examined and debated every constitutional section thoroughly before agreement. At times, it required the help of an outside arbitrator to clarify a particular issue. While this slowed the process, it must be remembered the parties were tasked with blending 100 years of separate cultural and operational methods into a single Constitution that would govern our organization. Throughout this process both of us have recognized that in the end what matters is the importance of having a document that serves the best interests of all the membership of SMART. So, we are jointly resolved to move forward as an organization under one Constitution and Ritual and a single focus. We, as your leadership, are dedicated to working collectively to provide a transparent and accountable organization that will strive to provide fair and reasoned representation to our membership and the efficiency of operation necessary to expand work opportunities for our members. Fraternally and in solidarity,
TotalTrack, the database system that puts all apprentice and training journeymen information in one place, has been installed in all U.S. training centers. Developed by the International Training Institute, TotalTrack simplifies the work of instructors and training coordinators, allowing them to spend more time with students and less time doing paperwork. The training center in Cheyenne, Wyo. was the last center to be converted in December 2013. The first centers began using the system in 2011. “[TotalTrack] is a going to dramatically change how the apprenticeship program runs,” said Larry Lawrence, ITI field representative and instructional developmental specialist. “Once everyone gets used to using this great tool, they will see the value and potential.” Because TotalTrack is Internet-based, it doesn’t need to be installed on a computer network or require upgrades usually associated with an implementation of this size. Instructors, coordinators and students can access TotalTrack from anywhere they have Internet capabilities. Instructors can work on lesson plans, students can receive messages and homework assignments, and coordinators and administrators can check hours from anywhere, which frees instructors to do work at home.
The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance kicks off the 6th season of its award-winning TV series, Brotherhood Outdoors, with an elk hunt that is as challenging as it is inspiring. The show, winner of “Best Combination Show” in the 2011 Sportsman Choice Awards and a contestant for “Best Educational/Instructional” show in 2013, launches its exciting new season on Jan. 5 at 11 a.m. ET on the Sportsman Channel. Brotherhood Outdoors co-hosts Daniel Lee Martin and Julie McQueen, who double as the show’s skilled trip guides, invite viewers to come along and experience the behind-the-scenes excitement of outdoor gaming. Heart pounding scenes of hunters in anticipated pursuit of their quarry and the thrill of anglers fighting to pull in fish are woven into heartfelt stories of American’s hard-working sportsmen and women and their commitment to conservation and a hard day’s work. The new season begins with a memory-filled elk hunt featuring union machinist Gene Barnes who sets his sights on helping his 74-year-old father, Harlyn Barnes, harvest a bull elk in memory of his late son and the cherished hunting trips the three of them shared together. Follow the group as they confront Idaho’s steep terrain and high altitude, hiking to 7,500 feet in elevation to a lookout point to glass for elk. As the series continues, viewers will join an operating engineer on his quest for Boca Grande tarpon, chase coons through moonlit woods with a laborer, head to California with a machinist for some quick action wingshooting and his first hog, outwit or outwait a 150+ Kansas buck with a roofer and much more! Brotherhood Outdoors awards union sportsmen and women who are committed to preserving North America’s outdoor heritage with a guided trip or the opportunity to show off their guiding skills and local hunting or fishing destinations on national TV. Presented by Bank of Labor, Brotherhood Outdoors is also sponsored by the following unions, contractors and corporate partners: Buck Knives, Carhartt, Employee Benefit Systems, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, National Electrical Contractors Association, ULLICO and United Association/International Training Fund. For more information about Brotherhood Outdoors, the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance or Sportsman Channel, visit www.BrotherhoodOutdoors.tv and www.facebook.com/brotherhoodoutdoorstv.
