ALF V1

An international campaign for the reinstatement of 50 Mexican rubber workers employed by German-based Continental AG, was successful after 22 months. The illegal dismissals on 18 May 2009 were made under the guise of the global financial crisis. The ICEM-affiliated National Union of General Tire/Continental Workers’ Union (SNTGTM), led by General Secretary Alberto Espinosa Rocha, launched a full mobilisation of the union for their reinstatement and to support each sacked worker who chose to fight for re-employment.

The struggle, termed to “Resist One More Day than Continental,” supported especially the reinstatement of union activists Juan Pablo Hernández Lara and Alfredo Calderón and was won one year, ten months, and ten days after the sackings, when 50 colleagues returned to work at the factory in San Luis Potosí, 430 kilometres north of Mexico City.
The members of SNTGTM, through the decision of the union's Congress to wage the fight, supported every worker contesting dismissal, and the union paid them the minimum wage for a worker in the sector throughout the legal process. That income is low, but the faith and support from fellow members was vital.

The SNTGTM and reinstated workers gave special thanks to the ICEM, International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), the United Steelworkers (USW), and the AFL-CIO, for their solidarity and support internationally. The SNTGTM singled out the IGBCE and European Works Council for their important assistance in forcing the struggle onto the agenda of Conti's management meetings.

In recent months, the union has recovered hundreds of jobs and established conditions for increased factory production in Mexico. The SNTGTM is now fighting the proposed regressive labour law in Mexico, which, if enacted, would jeopardize their hard-won achievements.

ICEM.org, Mon Apr 11 2011

Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason says Tory broken promises are costing Albertan jobs.
 
In the last election Ed Stelmach promised to increase the amount of bitumen being upgraded in Alberta. ERCB figures released today by the Alberta Federation of Labour show the percentage of bitumen refined in Alberta is far less than promised by the Conservatives, and is expected to continue to decline.
 
“The PC government’s support for the Keystone XL pipeline will accelerate the loss of jobs to the US,” Mason says. “The net result of the PC government’s policies will send tens of thousands of jobs south.”
 
Energy Minister Ron Liepert’s recent comments regarding US President Barack Obama’s concerns are unacceptable and an embarrassment to all Albertans.
 
“They demonstrate the rudeness and arrogance for which Liepert is well known. The premier should apologize to the president on behalf of all Albertans,” says Mason.
 
 
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 Note: AFL news release on bitumen exports available at AFL website

 Canadaviews.ca, Mon Apr 11 2011

Thousands of European trades union members demonstrated against austerity measures as EU finance ministers closed a two-day meeting in Hungary that confirmed Portugal was next in line for tough spending cuts.

Thousands of people marched in Budapest to protest against EU austerity measures on behalf of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) on Saturday, April 9.

ETUC estimated the turnout of European workers at about 40,000. They were in Budapest to protest against EU-driven reforms to cut state spending and to make wages and pensions more competitive, as part of a bid to trim governments' growing deficits.

"We want jobs, growth, our welfare state intact, and we are not going to pay for bankers' mistakes," ETUC general secretary John Monks told the crowd.

The protest came as EU finance ministers and central bankers from the 27-nation bloc gathered for a second day of informal talks on the response to the ongoing eurozone difficulties underlined by Portugal's request for an EU bailout.

As part of the 80 billion-euro ($115-billion) bailout deal, the EU is asking Portugal to commit to further financial reforms in order to bring its budget deficit and debt into more sustainable territory.

The ministers have defended the need for painful austerity measures despite the protests.

"People must understand that we are not making savings to make people angry, we are making savings in order to pay for our social policies," said Luxembourg's Luc Frieden.

Germany's trade minister said that today’s governments have to implement tough measures if they didn’t want to abdicate their "responsibility to future generations."

"What we are doing is to work for a sustainable framework for growth. For sustainable growth, a stable currency is a pre-condition, and [so are] stable budgets," Wolfgang Schäuble told reporters.

Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said it was "normal" for trade unions to protest against budget consolidation measures, "but I think from the governments' [side] what we have to say is that ... they are necessary."

According to European Commission estimates from November, deficits in the EU are expected to fall from 6.8 percent in 2010 to 5.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2011, against an EU-recommended limit of 3 percent.

Author: Stuart Tiffen (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Toma Tasovac

 DW-World.De, Sat Mar 9 2011

A project manager at a sheet metal company in B.C. recently shared with me his thoughts on the labour shortage in Canada and how he's dealing with it. He chuckled. "If someone calls me up, I give them a job."
He was only half-kidding. Industries like construction, oil and gas, energy, transportation and manufacturing are reeling from a lack of unskilled labourers and skilled workers and tradespeople (i.e., welders, plumbers, electricians, sheet metal workers).

In the oil town of Fort McMurray, Alberta, labour is in such short supply and housing is so scarce that workers are being flow in from Edmonton.
A human resources director at a concrete products manufacturer in B.C. told me it's very difficult to fill their general labourer positions. "Our products are going out as fast as we can make them. The trouble is that help is often unreliable and it's difficult to schedule production around people that might not show up for work," she says.

"We've hired a couple of recent immigrants and they've worked out very well," she adds. "It is production work so there is not a huge amount of communication involved, so it's okay if their English isn't yet the greatest."
Hiring temporary foreign workers has crossed her mind, but the thought of looking into the process overwhelms her. "It seems to have a lot of government red tape. We've all got so much on our plates right now, we're all maxed out."

Adding to that is the fact that hiring temporary foreign workers is inherently a short-term solution for a problem that has far-reaching effects. Even if the construction boom tapers off after 2010, the baby boomers will still be in retiring, and Canadians still won't be making more babies, so it seems inevitable that the issue of worker shortages will keep arising. A C. D. Howe Institute report says the ratio of residents aged 65 and over to those of traditional working age (18-64) will rise from 20 per cent in 2006 to 46 per cent in 2050.

One of the Conservative government's first steps in dealing with this issue is on the temporary worker front; it launched new temporary foreign worker units in Calgary and Vancouver, September 1.

"Not a day has gone by since I was appointed minister that I have not heard about labour market shortages threatening to hold up Canada's economic growth. We're taking the first steps to addressing those needs," says Citizenship and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg.

But considering the long-term statistics (not just the shorter outlook to 2010), should temporary workers really be the focus for solutions to Canada's labour needs?

A report by the Canadian Bar Association says temporary foreign workers are not meeting the needs of labour-hungry employers, because time is spent getting the person trained on the job, particularly where safety is concerned, and just when they are up to speed, employers have to start all over again with new workers.

Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) President Gil McGowan says the AFL supports more permanent immigration to Canada. "Bringing in temporary workers, who are very vulnerable to abuse and exploitation is no solution," he says. "Immigration policy should be about building a stronger society, not about importing cheap labour to serve the short-term needs of employers."

Although the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is advocating for an expanded temporary foreign workers program for the construction industry, it also recognizes it can't be the sole solution.
"Immigration policy must play a bigger role in meeting future labour demand," says Michael Atkinson, CCA president. In a recent letter to Prime Minister Harper, CCA recommended that the government needs to adopt a proactive immigration policy that will target individuals with needed skills and expedite their entry.

"The points system that is used to screen for permanent residents needs to be revised to put greater emphasis on experience and arranged employment in the skills required," it noted, adding that the federal government also needs to work more closely with provinces to expand provincial nominee programs.

Many provinces are looking to their provincial nominee programs to bring in immigrants who can fill their particular provincial labour needs quickly. But provinces can't do this all alone. What seems to be missing is bureaucratic and political leadership at the federal level in proposing much-needed changes to the immigration system overall.

This labour crisis has been like a mirror held up to the immigration system, reflecting its many flaws. Thanks to the shortsighted "points" system to immigration sales offices that falsely "recruit" immigrant professionals (see Publisher's Note on page 3), the Canadian immigration system has lost sight of what Canada needs, how Canada works, and how to make immigration policies sophisticated and flexible enough to reflect these things.

ere's an example. Last spring, when that airplane full of Portuguese deportees flew back to Portugal, it made big headlines, partly because many of the people were hard workers who were filling needs in the labour-crunched construction industry in Ontario. A smaller follow-up headline told the story of one of these deportees who was later allowed to return to Canada on a temporary worker permit to go back to his construction job. Hardly efficiency at work here.

In B.C., the provincial government is trying to do its part to fill its labour gap, partly by subsidizing the new Skills Connect for Immigrants programs that help skilled immigrants enter positions equivalent to their qualifications in such hot industries as construction, transportation, energy and tourism.

Six service providers have been chosen to administer the program, including ASPECT, Back in Motion, Camosun College, Douglas College, Multicultural Helping House Society and Surrey Delta Immigrant Services Society (SDISS).

"If immigrants move to B.C. to work in a field where there is a shortage, then we need to help them get their training and credentials recognized [through these programs]," says Minister of Economic Development Colin Hansen.

Cameron Brine, program manager of the Skills Connect program called Arrive B.C., which is offered by Back in Motion/MOSAIC, focuses on the construction and transportation sectors.

"The program helps skilled immigrants get any retraining and assessment they require to get into a position equivalent to their skills," he says, adding that it focuses on more highly skilled immigrants. "The jobs are waiting," he says - jobs such as project managers to site managers.
Eleanor Guerrero-Campbell, executive director of Multicultural Helping House Society, is also hosting one of the Skills Connect programs for construction, which they have named the Bamboo Network for Construction. "Most of our clientele are engineers," she says.

She explains that the program follows the participants (who pay a portion of the costs of the program) through three key steps. Number 1 is career assessment, which includes credential and language evaluations. Number 2 is skills enhancement services. "For example, if a participant wants to go into CAD construction and wants to top up his training, we can help arrange that," she says. Number 3 is a workplace practicum, which allows them to get a little Canadian experience.

"Employers are quite excited. Very eager. Some of them want to participate like tomorrow. The market is so hot, so it's a good time for skilled immigrants to go for a career in construction."

Still, these Skills Connect programs are just one part of the solution for B.C., since they focus on the higher educated professionals like engineers and can only deal with a small proportion of the province's underemployed immigrants at a time.

Matthew Stevenson, a workshop facilitator for the Skills Connect program through the Multicultural Helping House, says the B.C. Construction Association is also developing a program to help immigrants. "It will help them get sustainable, meaningful employment with room to grow," he says.

"Although it's not the end focus of our Arrive B.C. program, the largest gap is labourers," adds Back in Motion's Brine. For immigrants interested in the construction industry who don't qualify for the Skills Connect program, he recommends a placement agency for the construction sector in New Westminster called Proactive Personnel (www.proactivepersonnel.ca).

The provinces seem to be focusing on provincial nominee programs and programs like Skills Connect to help their current immigrants and attract new ones, but much more work still needs to be done at the federal level to make the immigration system reflect current and future Canadian realities.

While we're still waiting to hear about the Conservative government's promised national clearinghouse for foreign credentials (to help all of those professionals who had the necessary points to get here but have faced barrier after integration barrier after arriving), it's clear that what Canada needs now is an overhauled system that integrates immigrants who can work in trades and labourer positions, and want to help build our country. When will these applicants start getting the points they deserve?

canadianimmigrant.ca

AFL releases new figures showing that Alberta has fallen even further behind government's own upgrading targets than previously thought

As Premier Ed Stelmach and his ministers continue to lobby the U.S. government to approve yet another massive bitumen-export pipeline, Alberta's largest union group has uncovered information showing that even more potential Alberta jobs in upgrading and refining are being "lost down the pipeline" than previously thought.

For years now, the government has said it aims to upgrade or refine two-thirds (67 per cent) of all oil-sands bitumen within the province before export. Up until yesterday, figures from the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) had suggested that about 61 per cent of bitumen was being upgraded or refined within Alberta.

However, as a result of research inquiries from the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), the ERCB now admits the actual figure is closer to 56 per cent. And the ERCB's projections suggest the proportion of bitumen upgraded in the province will continue to fall.

An ERCB official told the AFL about the export figure in an email: "Therefore the percent upgraded would be 131.2/236.7 or 55.4 per cent. A small amount of in situ production was also upgraded to produce 0.8 m3/d but this would only round the total to 56 per cent."

McGowan says: "What these figures demonstrate is that Albertans have been lied to by their leaders. They also show that government ministers like Ron Liepert and Iris Evans have become little more than pitchmen for energy and pipeline companies that prefer raw bitumen exports over Alberta-based job creation."

Earlier this week, Stelmach wrote to the New York Times promoting TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which, if approved by the Obama administration, will send at least 435,000 barrels of raw bitumen per day to the U.S. Gulf Coast for upgrading and refining.

This will be in addition to the hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of raw bitumen that is already being shipped to refineries in the U.S. Midwest on two other bitumen pipelines (the Alberta Clipper and the original Keystone). Those pipelines were approved and built over the past three years with the Stelmach government's blessing.

In his letter to the Times, Stelmach boasted that oil-sands production will create more than 342,000 jobs in the U.S. between 2011 and 2015. The same job-creation figures have been used by Iris Evans, the minister of international and intergovernmental relations, in her many pitches for the pipeline to the U.S. audiences.

"It's outrageous that, while the Alberta government is so far from meeting its own targets for bitumen processing within the province, the premier and other cabinet ministers are actively campaigning to ship even more bitumen beyond our borders," says McGowan. "Who the heck do these guys work for - the citizens of Alberta or the pipeline companies?"

"Every barrel of raw bitumen we send out of Alberta means lost jobs," adds McGowan. "It also means lost revenue for the province, revenue that could be used to pay for things like health care and education. We are losing jobs down the pipeline and pouring revenue down the drain."

The ERCB is investigating the error in its most recent figures for bitumen processing in Alberta, which are from 2009. It expects to confirm corrected figures in the coming weeks. Once that's done, the figures will show that the proportion of bitumen upgraded in the province dropped from 58 per cent in 2008 to 56 per cent in 2009.

"Good jobs are leaking out the province right now as a result of bad decisions made by the Stelmach government at the behest of big oil companies," concludes McGowan. "But that leak will turn into a gusher if the Keystone XL pipeline is approved. When the heck is this government going to realize that what oil companies want is not always good for Albertans?"

McGowan will be available at the Legislature (Rotunda) today at 1:00 p.m. to answer questions from the media.

As the leader of the only party that has consistently opposed the construction of bitumen export pipelines, NDP Brian Mason will also weigh in on the issue at 1 p.m. from the NDP office in Calgary at 321, 3132-26 Street N.E.

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Contact: Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour @ 780-218-9888 (cell)
Richard Liebrecht, Communications Officer, Alberta NDP Caucus @ 780-916-3937

Yet another Republican governor is killing jobs. This time, it's John Kasich in Ohio.

A study out today shows his proposed two-year budget could mean a direct loss of 51,052 jobs in that state. The study by Innovation Ohio, shows that such job losses would be more than double than the 22,000 jobs created since Kasich took office. This blow to Ohio's economy is in addition to the Kasich-backed bill passed by the Ohio Legislature gutting collective bargaining rights for public employees, a drastic move that limits workers' ability to attain or maintain middle-class jobs.

Innovation Ohio Communications Director Dale Butland puts it this way:

School districts and local governments will, of course, do everything possible to avoid laying people off. But they've already made the easy cuts and pared their budgets dramatically. So when the Governor proposes to cut school funding by $3 billion and local government funding by 50 percent, firing workers or raising local taxes are the only realistic choices they have left. But attacking workers - whether through a job-killing budget or the unfair Senate Bill 5 - will not fix Ohio. It will only destroy the middle class. And that's not what Gov. Kasich was elected to do.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker already has racked up quite a record as a job killer, after only a couple months in office. In Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott turned away federal high-speed rail project, costing the state much-needed jobs, his hand-picked department heads are being paid special salaries-unabashed cronyism costing the state's taxpayers a bundle.

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Thurs Apr 7 2011
Byline: Tuyla Connell

On 10 March 2011, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), backed by the National Action Party (PAN), put forward a bill radically reforming Mexico's labour laws. The bill was drawn up without consulting the social partners and proposes sweeping labour law reforms that seriously curtail workers' rights and heighten job insecurity.

The ITUC and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) are firmly opposed to the bill and are hoping for a new proposal in keeping with the fundamental rights of the ILO and the recommendations of the Committee of Experts on the Applications of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR). The bill drafted by the PRI does not include the proposal made by trade unions to eradicate the "protection contracts" making it virtually impossible for workers to form free and democratic unions that represent their interests. Proposed amendments to establish a 40-hour week as well as improvements to seniority bonuses and the holiday system were also rejected. "The rejection of these proposed amendments is unacceptable," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. "Once again, labour outsourcing, precarious contracts and unfair dismissals are being facilitated."

In a letter to the Mexican authorities, the ITUC urged President Felipe Calderón to take on board the trade unions' proposals and do everything possible to have the PRI bill withdrawn. It is essential that proposed labour reforms be drawn up within the framework of a genuinely tripartite process, including employers, the government and labour representatives, to ensure better protection of workers' human rights and create a legal foundation on which a national strategy can be built for sustainable and effective development.

ITUC-csi.org, Tues Apr 6 2011

When my phone rang in Moss Beach, California, I was surprised to find a young girl calling from a small town in Ohio, not far from Columbus. She and her friends in eighth grade were writing a play about Eleanor Roosevelt for a school project. She saw my book on the internet, She Was One of Us: Eleanor Roosevelt and the American Worker. They wanted their drama to address the workers in Ohio and Wisconsin. "Eleanor Roosevelt went into a coal mine, didn't she?" the girl asked. "Do you think she would be supporting the workers today?"
Now is a good time to share my answer because workers are gathering in solidarity rallies across the country calling for respect, dignity, and a voice at work. Would Eleanor Roosevelt be supporting the union rights of teachers and nurses, fire fighters and police? The short answer is an empathetic "yes.

One of the most admired women in the world, Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the Newspaper Guild for over 25 years and a staunch advocate for unions, which she came to view as a "fundamental element of democracy." She believed that everyone had a basic right to a voice at work. She argued for union rights in the public sector, while also campaigning to defeat state right-to-work laws.

But this call had a very personal touch for me. I was born and raised in East Liverpool, along the Ohio River. First the potteries left the valley and then the steelmills shut down. Good union jobs disappeared. The city struggles to survive and now the workers who provide vital services to the citizens and keep the town running are threatened with the loss of a basic human right in the name of yet another crisis they didn't create.

Gov. John Kasich not only proposes to end collective bargaining for public workers, he has shown his disdain for the workers Eleanor Roosevelt so admired by publicly calling the policemen "idiots." My brother was an Ohio State Highway Patrolman. His son is a policeman near Cleveland; not far from where his dad and I grew up. They deserve better. The men and women who protect our lives, teach our children, care for the sick, plow the snow, and keep the cities running deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

All unions and employers, public and private, need to maintain high standards of responsibility, accountability, and transparency. Taking away the rights of unions, however, is not the answer to the current fiscal problems. As Eleanor Roosevelt argued, we need a system where "All interests shall be equaly considered and concession shall never be expected from one side only." This is not about the money. As President Obama clearly stated, this is an "assault on unions."

Eleanor Roosevelt's belief in labor unions as a critical part of our democratic process began when she was a young debutante volunteering in the tenements on the lower east side of Manhattan, where she first learned about sweatshops. She walked her first picket line in 1926 to support a box makers' strike in New York. As First Lady, she refused to cross a picket line and proudly joined a union in 1936 at the height of the sit down strikes in Michigan, when workers were being attacked and fighting back. She told striking workers in 1941 that she felt it was important that "everyone who was a worker join a labor organization."

In 1945, after FDR's death, she took her belief in democracy at work to the United Nations and the task of framing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Under her guidance, working closely with union leaders, Article 23 declared that everyone, without discrimination, has the right to a decent job, fair working conditions, a living wage, equal pay for equal work, and the right to join a union.

Eleanor Roosevelt gave careful consideration to her positions. President Roosevelt was concerned about public employee unions, although not anti-union as some have suggested. His wife struggled with the issue in her newspaper column after his death, "My Day." In the 1950s, she finally concluded that unionization was necessary because employers in the public sector were little different from those in the private sector, refusing to listen to workers and treat them fairly.

"You cannot just refuse to meet with people," she wrote, "when they want to talk about their basic human rights." For teachers, police, and fire fighters she said that there was no "method of complaint and adjustment that could take the place of collective bargaining with the ultimate possibility of a strike." She told her readers that the striking teachers in 1962 had "no other recourse but to strike to draw attention to the legitimate complaints."

In 1958, as co-chair of a national council established to defeat right-to-work laws in six states, she called on "right-thinking citizens, from all walks of life" to challenge the "predatory and misleading campaigns." When human rights were invoked she called the argument a "calculated and cunning smoke screen to beguile the innocent and unknowing." She took greatest offense when the California ballot language suggested that FDR would support right-to-work laws, responding "The American public understands very well that Franklin Delano Roosevelt would never have supported such a reactionary doctrine."

When asked "Where, after all, do human rights begin?" Eleanor Roosevelt answered "In small places close to home... the neighborhood...the school...the factory, farm or office...unless they have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere." Her voice resonates today in support of workers in Ohio and across the country. Their voices were heard on April 4th. Workers rights are human rights.

American Rights at Work, Wed Apr 6 2011
Posted by: Brigid O'Farrell

In Washington, D.C., more than 1,000 marched in solidarity with workers under attack in Wisconsin, Ohio and across the country.

From Pocatello, Idaho, to Paris, France, and in hundreds of big cities and small towns in between, workers and community, civil rights, student and faith activists yesterday said We Are One with workers in Wisconsin, Ohio and everywhere middle-class jobs are under attack.

The first wave of more than 1,200 events that ran through this week coincided with the 43rd anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, Tenn., where he was helping sanitation workers fight for justice, workers' rights and a voice with AFSCME.

In Memphis yesterday, more than 1,000-including veterans of the 1968 sanitation workers strike-braved a tornado watch and marched through the rain. AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders led the march and said that Republican lawmakers such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are:

attempting to change the rules to silence workers so that corporate influences can go unchecked. Their actions have awakened a powerful movement and we will not allow them to steal our power or our future....Isn't it ironic that on April 4, 2011, we are fighting the same fight they were on April 4, 1968?

At a rally yesterday evening, Saundra Williams, president of Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO, told the hundreds who marched through downtown Detroit chanting, "Bankers got bailed out, workers got sold out," that:

there isn't anything that we can't do as long as we are one. We can accomplish anything.

Carl Peters, a Postal Workers (APWU) member, told the Detroit Free Press:

"This is a rally in support of the right to collective bargaining; the right to have unions....The workers have rights, too. We're tired of the banks being bailed out while the working people suffer."

In Missoula, Mont., where several anti-worker bills are under consideration by the legislature, more than 100 people rallied along a busy commuter route. Sierra Club member Bob Clark told the Missoulian:

"It means a lot to be here and for others to be here. We are part of a larger movement that is taking place nationally. This is happening in other communities across the country and to be here brings out the message that no matter where we are, we are one, whether we are doing this for workers' rights or environmental justice."

Meanwhile in Helena, Greg Rollins from Ironworkers Local 732 joined about 1,500 others for a "No Fooling with Our Future Rally." He called the event "awesome" and reports, "I plan on attending as many as I can to support my union brothers and sisters." Click here for photos and here for video.

Dan Mercer reports from Ottawa, Ill., "Several hundred workers, union and nonunion, gathered in Washington Square Park to stand up to attacks on workers' rights and support the idea of the American Dream." High school history teacher Bob Bradish told the crowd:

Workers deserve respect. Workers deserve dignity. Workers must support those who stand for our ideals. We have made sacrifices. It is time for others-the wealthy-to make sacrifices

Nadia Valentine, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, wowed the crowd with a fiery speech that supported unions and their cause, reports The Ottawa Times.

Valentine said she had been taught by family and teachers "every benefit that a worker receives today came from the struggles of a union member." She promised she would not let her generation forget that fact.

From Afghanistan, Mary Heslin reports that a rally in support for We Are One that was scheduled in Kabul was canceled for security reasons. Instead, supporters made get out the vote calls for Wisconsin state Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg, who is running against a Scott Walker ally in today's election and is endorsed by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Tues Apr 5 2011
Byline: Mike Hall

When lawmakers-usually with the backing of corporations and right-wing, anti-worker groups-push for so-called right to work laws, they claim it will bring business and jobs to their states. Nothing could be further from the truth, says economist Gordon Lafer.

Lafer testified earlier today before a New Hampshire state Senate committee on proposed "right to work" for less legislation. In a study released this morning by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), he shines a light on the deceptive methodology used to derive these claims and the harm the laws could have on New Hampshire's economy.

Backers of the proposed legislation cite figures from the National Right to Work Committee to back up their job and economy claim. Says Lafer:

...the claims supplied by the Right to Work Committee are utterly without economic foundation. If a college student presented an analysis similar to the committee's for a graduate thesis, it would be rejected for faulty methodology. In America, anyone is free to advocate a personal ideological agenda, but both legislators and the public at large deserve to know the difference between ideological passion and scientific fact.

In "Right-to-Work: Wrong for New Hampshire," he writes:

Contrary to what RTW backers have claimed, the scientific analysis of right-to-work laws shows that they lower wages and benefits for both union and nonunion workers alike without exhibiting any positive impact on job growth.

Simply put, at a time of economic need, right-to-work laws are a prescription for further decline.

An earlier report, "The Compensation Penalty of ‘Right-to-Work' Laws," by EPI economists Elise Gould and Heidi Shierholz, found that wages in "right to work" states are 3.2 percent lower than in states without the law. Workers also are less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance and employer-sponsored pensions.

A bill to force "right to work" for less was introduced this morning in the Pennsylvania State House. Pennsylvania is the 13th state this year to consider such legislation.

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Tues Apr 5 2011
Byline: Mike Hall