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Workers all over the country are rising up by the thousands to defend the basic American right of collective bargaining. We can fight the anti-union ambush in the states with worker solidarity among Latinos and all workers, but first we need to understand why we are fighting and what is at stake.

What is happening in Wisconsin and other states will shape the future of the middle class in the nation and the basic structure of workplace protections for working people, particularly for Latinos and all minorities.

We can no longer take these protections for granted. The minimum wage, paid sick leave, Social Security, Medicare and child labor laws are among the protections and benefits that workers in the labor movement helped secure for millions of Americans. The 40-hour workweek (as opposed to 60, 70 or 80 hours) did not materialize from one day to the next; it was the subject of a hard-fought battle spearheaded by the labor movement for more than a century. This arduous fight--led by hundreds of thousands of union activists who marched, fasted, lost their jobs and even, in some cases, their lives-- won workers the now-standard eight-hour day.

We must defend these rights. Collective bargaining gives workers a way to negotiate with employers for higher wages, job security, and safer working conditions. The hallmarks of the American middle class--raised wages, retirement funds and paid vacation time--weren't gifts from corporations to their workers. They were the result of collective bargaining. Yes, collective bargaining, the same right that the Wisconsin Republicans, at the bidding of the billionaire Koch brothers, just yanked away from public workers despite massive and unprecedented public protests.

These measures target teachers' aides, nursing assistants in public hospitals, road repair workers, sanitation workers and others who already labor in tough and low paying jobs. Gov. Walker and his cronies have stripped even these vulnerable workers of their basic right to negotiate for higher wages and better benefits.

Losing Wisconsin could mean losing the first line of defense that workers have when facing abuses. And those who will suffer the most are the workers who are already the most vulnerable in the nation: minorities.

For the Latino community this must be an issue of grave concern. Latinos face the highest rate of death on the job, and they have the lowest levels of pension coverage and health insurance. Many Latinos in low-wage jobs have their wages stolen from them by their employers more than any other group.

On the other hand, Latinos stand to benefit enormously from joining unions. Latino union workers earn almost 51 percent more (in median weekly earnings) than their nonunion counterparts. They also have better health insurance and pension plans. Other workers of color also achieve similar gains the moment they join a union.

Wisconsin isn't the only state where this struggle for bargaining rights is happening. Other states, including Ohio and Indiana, confront similar assaults that would limit the basic rights of public workers.

According to polls, a majority of Americans support these workers. That's because most people, whatever their experience with a particular union may have been, understand that unions are central to having a healthy middle class. A recent report by the Center for American Progress demonstrates a correlation between the financial share of the nation's income going to the middle class and the number of workers in unions. As our middle class erodes, the income gap between the richest and poorest Americans widens.

These recent attacks on organized labor are not new, but they are escalating as a result of unions' weakened position. For several decades, there has been a decline in union membership among all demographic groups. Corporate lobbyists have succeeded in changing the way labor laws are applied and administered (To whose advantage? You get one guess). Current federal legislation gives employers the upper hand in using tactics (both legal and illegal) to prevent workers from organizing.

The share of workers represented by unions was relatively stable in the 1970s, but since the 1980s it has fallen rapidly. This decline has caused wages to stagnate and the quality of work to take a nosedive for all workers. Now, there is less pressure on non-union employers to raise wages and agree to better working conditions. Today, the richest 1 percent owns 34 percent of the country's wealth. While the entire bottom 90 percent of Americans own a mere 29 percent of the nation's wealth. To put this into perspective, if we examine the combined net worth of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans in 2007 and that of the poorest 50% of American households, we find that they are almost the same, $1.5 trillion for the former and $1.6 trillion for the latter. In 2009, the number of people in poverty was the highest it has been in more than half a century since poverty estimates were made available in 1959. This situation is shameful and we must fight back against measures that only exacerbate the problem.

Labor unions strengthen the economy, our tax base and help build the middle class by helping workers secure higher incomes, critical benefits and workplace protections. Unions give workers a fighting chance in an unequal economy and collective bargaining strengthens America's democratic process. The quality of life of everyone who earns a paycheck is at stake. If the courts back Walker and we lose Wisconsin, the next questions the Koch brothers could raise is: why do these workers have weekends when they could be working? Oh, and their children too.

Huffington Post, Fri Mar 18 2011
Byline: Hector E. Sanchez

The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) is lobbying the province to name a minister for the Status of Women.

The AFL says Alberta women continue to suffer inequality, especially in the workplace.

Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL, Nancy Furlong says on average women in the province make 72 cents for every dollar a man earns. Ironically, women with university degrees make 67% of what men with similar degrees command.

Furlong says that puts Alberta behind Canada, which is also lagging worldwide, currently sitting at the same level as Turkey and Mexico.

The AFL says giving women an institutional voice would ensure the province doesn't fall even further behind. Alberta is the only jurisdiction in Canada that does not have that kind of representation.

iNews880, Thurs Mar 17 2011

The Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill had sweeping implications not just for organized labour, but for all public service sectors in the state. Major changes were made to Wisconsin's post-secondary education system, and Canadians should take note: these kinds of cuts have already begun in our universities, and more cuts and privatization could be coming our way.

Many Canadian university executives have embraced the image of an enterprise university, characterized by corporate-style executive leadership. There is a growing consensus among higher education administrators and corporate executives about the role and nature of public universities as market actors best run by market ideas.

This transformation that has, in part, led to the growth of privatization on campuses, which is the first step toward the changes Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has just pushed through in Madison, Wisconsin.

Governor Walker's agenda shows what the future could be if we aren't successful in pushing back on corporatization and privatization on our campuses and communities.

Context for cuts to post-secondary education

Canadian universities have been facing cuts for some time.

Ironically it is the big four audit and consultancy firms that have helped define the crisis and that are now advising universities on how to get out of the crisis. Several universities and colleges across Canada have begun implementing resource optimization-a review process designed by these firms to cut costs of administrative and academic support services and to encourage privatization.

The world's corporations are using the economic meltdown to veil their attacks on the public sector, including post-secondary education. They, along with conservative think tanks and big audit and consultancy firms, have sown the seeds for the attack on public services and public sector unions.

More information on corporate influences on university campuses can be found here, here and here.

Students and teaching assistant unions at the heart of protest

With dramatic cuts and efforts to privatize post-secondary education, it is no wonder 800 university students marched out of their classes in opposition to Governor Walker's budget.

They understood so clearly the catastrophic implications of the budget and the need for immediate action. They also understood so plainly their common cause they shared with the public sector workers including those on campus.

The University of Wisconsin System (UW) would lose $250 million in state funding under Walker's proposed budget, with half of the cuts absorbed by UW-Madison and half by the other campuses. The UW is one of the largest systems of public higher education in the United States, serving almost 182,000 students each year and employing more than 32,000 faculty and staff statewide. Part of the budget plan is to separate Madison campus from the rest of the UW System.

The restructuring that the bill calls for, like removing the Madison campus from the UW System, studying a similar move for the Milwaukee campus, and moving all of the universities to more of a market model is de facto privatization. Some other the other impacts of the bill on post-secondary education include:

• Phasing-out a scholarship program aimed at low-income and first-generational students

• Eliminating in-state tuition rates for undocumented persons at UW-Madison

• Authorizing all four-year campuses to create a charter school

With the groundwork for similar cuts already in place in Canada, thanks to the steady increase in corporate involvement on university campuses, students and union members on Canadian campuses should take note. These attacks on post-secondary education have serious implications for the quality, affordability and accessibility of our system. It's becoming increasingly important to fight against privatization on our campuses.

Though the situation in Wisconsin may be troubling to many, the protests also point the way to incredible potential for powerful alliances between students, community activists, union members and their unions. The power of all these groups working together to fight privatization and corporatization is pivotal to the fight for quality and accessible public services.

For more on the situation in Madison:

• Resisting the "Shock Doctrine" - Attacks on public sector and workers rights intensify

Check out CUPE's previous articles on privatization on university campuses:

• "Resource optimization" in Canadian universities threatens education, job security

 

• Virtual post-secondary education: privatization and profit

• Private for-profit education grows in Canada

cupe.ca, Thurs Mar 17 2011

Amnesty International has urged several US states to abandon planned legislation that would drastically restrict workers' rights.

States including Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee have proposed bills severely limiting the collective bargaining rights of trade union members. A similar bill was passed in Wisconsin on Friday.

"State governors must withdraw support for these measures which, if adopted, would violate international law," said Shane Enright, Amnesty International's trade union adviser.

â??The US has an obligation to uphold the rights of American workers - including the specific right to organize and bargain collectively."

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a bill on Friday that undermines the ability of unions in the public sector to protect workers. The legislation also takes away nearly all collective bargaining rights for most public employees, limiting their negotiation rights only to wages.

As well as restricting collective bargaining rights, union activists say legislators in as many as 37 states have introduced hundreds of anti-union bills. Some affect negotiation of healthcare benefits, restrict freedom of association, place caps on the minimum wage and deprive workers of the right to strike.

Similar measures being promoted in Congress would affect federal public employees.

"The Wisconsin bill is symbolic of a wider attack on unions in the USA, where workers and are facing an onslaught from the authorities," said Shane Enright.

"Many employees are already struggling because of the economic crisis and these laws will undermine fundamental human rights and labour rights protections, which are sorely needed to ensure that employees do not bear the brunt of the crisis. It will also jeopardize the delivery of vital public services that these employees deliver."

â??This is also a struggle for migrant workers' rights, for education and health rights, for wage security, for workplace health and safety. We are seeing communities insisting on social justice, economic rights and personal liberties against powerful vested interests. Fundamental human rights are at stake, and we stand in solidarity with the US labour movement in this struggle.â??

Under international law, all workers have a human right to organize and to bargain collectively.

These rights are an essential foundation to the realisation of other rights, and are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, as well as conventions adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

As a state party to the ICCPR and a signatory to the ICESCR, the USA has an obligation to respect the human rights under these instruments and treaties.

As a member of the ILO, the USA also has a commitment, through the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, to respect, promote and realize the fundamental rights set out in the organization's core conventions.

Moves to limit such rights in the USA are also at odds with commitments made under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) as well as numerous subsequent trade agreements negotiated and ratified over the last 15 years.

Amnesty International, Mar 17 2011

Saskatchewan posted its best safety record in two decades last year while in Alberta, workers continue to suffer injuries and deaths at a horrific rate. Why? It's not exactly rocket science. Saskatchewan takes workplace safety more seriously with both education and regulation aimed at reducing injuries and deaths.

The Wheat Province has had eight straight years of decreases in its time-loss injury rate -a 37-per-cent drop in its injury rate since it instituted a WorkSafe Saskatchewan injury-prevention partnership between its Workers Compensation Board and Ministry of Labour Relations.

Saskatchewan prosecutes companies that don't maintain a safe environment for employees. It prosecuted nearly six times as many cases as Alberta in 2010 despite having a workforce a quarter the size.

But where Saskatchewan and most other provinces in Canada really show up Alberta is on farms. Farm workers in at least eight provinces are covered by occupational health and safety legislation. Alberta farmers are not. Farms have been exempt from Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Act since 1977.

Twenty-two people died in Alberta farm accidents in 2010, a shocking increase of nine fatalities over the previous year. By comparison, Saskatchewan recorded 10.

Saskatchewan farmers can also voluntarily apply for coverage under the province's Workers' Compensation legislation. Most agricultural employees in Alberta are not eligible for Workers' Compensation. Alberta farm workers also miss out on the protection of labour-standards legislation that provides for overtime, vacation days, time off and minimum wage, but that's another issue.

Alberta's response to its spike in farm fatalities was to appoint a committee. This week, in time for Farm Safety Week, it established a 15-member Farm Safety Advisory Council "to bring government and industry together towards the shared goal of improved farm safety." Creation of this council was first recommended in 2009 and again in 2010 after consultation with 20 "stakeholder groups."

The Alberta Federation of Labour calls this council an exercise in political public relations, and a half measure at best. AFL president Gil McGowan says the Alberta government lacks the courage to stand up to the pressure it is facing from big agricultural business not to introduce workplace safety rules.

But it's not just agricultural corporations that reject the idea of regulation. Smaller farmers don't want to be constrained by another pile of rules either. Many farmers oppose any imposition of OH&S standards, believing as one newly-appointed council member stated, that "farmers should regulate themselves."

"The farmers just don't want legislation telling them what to do," Lacombe-area grain farmer Kathy Pyper said Monday. "The farmers know how to make proper choices and sometimes they (government) get a little carried away with their regulations."

Nine of the 15 members of the new council are farmers. There's also a greenhouse operator, a veterinarian and a feed company official. If they all feel the same way, there is little hope for any reduction in farm accidents any time soon. So far, just talking about farm safety hasn't helped.

This response is typical in Alberta, which was the last province in Canada to implement seatbelt legislation -a full decade after Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Albertans value their freedom, but it is killing them in farmyards every year. Quite often the victims are small children who fall off farm machinery or run under the wheels of farm trucks. Three died on farms and ranches last year. They deserve our protection.

Agriculture Minister Jack Hayden says he hopes to receive draft recommendations for ways to improve farm safety within six months, but he concedes it will be at least a year before any changes could be implemented. And that's probably optimistic.

Will the changes be cosmetic? Will they involve colourful brochures and videos? How many years will pass before Alberta finally joins other provinces that already provide this necessary health-and-safety protection to agricultural workers?

And in the interim, how many more farm workers will die?

Edmonton Journal, Wed Mar 16 2011

Today, more than a dozen MLAs are hearing from union leaders calling for a minister to be made responsible for the Status of Women in the province.

"Alberta's women continue to suffer inequality, especially in the workplace," says Nancy Furlong, Secretary Treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour, which represents 140,000 workers.

"This unfairness is felt at all levels of society. On average, Alberta women earn 72 cents for every dollar a man earns. However, Alberta women with university degrees earn only 67 per cent of the wages earned by men with similar degrees. Women managers in Alberta earn 86 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn," says Furlong.

"Meanwhile, those who are most vulnerable also suffer. While most Albertans saw their incomes rise between 1989 and 2008, families headed by female lone parents have seen a drop in incomes, leaving the province with the highest lone-parent poverty rate in Canada - 24 per cent here compared with 16 per cent for Canada as a whole," she says.

A total of 27 union leaders today lobbied more than a dozen MLAs from the government - including three cabinet ministers - and from opposition parties and called for the province to name a minister responsible for the Status of Women.

"The Alberta government is lagging other provinces in acting to address gender inequality. Naming a minister responsible for the Status of Women will help ensure that Alberta women don't fall any further behind. It will provide much-needed focus on an issue important to all Albertans."

Within Canada, Alberta is the only jurisdiction that does not give women an institutional voice. Across the country, there are official advisory councils to government on the status of women, women's secretariats that form part of larger government ministries and, in select jurisdictions, entire ministerial portfolios dedicated to the status of women.

"Women's voices must be heard if this unfair treatment to be ended. All other jurisdictions in Canada give women an official avenue to raise their concerns with government. A Minister for the Status of Women would be able to analyze what happens in other regions to find which policies best contribute to women's equality," says Furlong.

"Alberta used to be at the forefront of the fight for equality, led by the Famous Five and their campaign to have women declared ‘persons' under the law. It is time for Alberta to take back that leadership role," she says.

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Media Contact:
Nancy Furlong, Secretary Treasurer, Alberta Federation of Labour @ 780-720-8945 (cell)

 

WASHINGTON -- While Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) may have won the most recent battle in Madison by securing passage of an anti-union bill, labor activists are optimistic they may emerge as the victors in the long run.

Forming a union is a lengthy process, and although labor officials say they already see more interest from workers, it's too soon to measure an increase in membership numbers. But there is one indication the battles in Wisconsin are providing a boost for labor.

Working America, an advocacy organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO that provides an outlet for non-union members to support the labor movement, has signed up approximately 20,000 new members since Feb. 15. The group was active in the state in 2008, when it built up the bulk of its membership, which now stands at 65,000. It was inactive for the past couple years, however, and just reopened shop the beginning of 2011.

Joining up with Working America is far easier than enrolling in a union, involving simply filling out a form either in person or online. New members are asked to contribute $5, although no dues are required.

Joining a union, on the other hand, requires holding elections and often battling with management, which may employ all sorts of tactics to slow down or stop the process.

"The increase in Working America numbers provides one of the first real-world examples of what we've seen, which is increased interest nationally and in Wisconsin of supporting workers' rights," said one labor official.

In late February, the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse voted 249-37 in favor of union representation through AFT-Wisconsin, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. One professor at the university said Walker's actions galvanized them to form a union.

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AdvertisementLabor officials have publicly acknowledged the role that Walker and the fight in Wisconsin have played in their mobilization efforts. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka recently dubbed the governor "the Mobilizer of the Year," predicting Republicans would suffer politically from their efforts to take away collective bargaining rights.

"Now they're seeing what backlash really looks like," Trumka said. "I promise you this. It's like the old song goes, ‘You ain't seen n-n-n-nothing yet.'"

Working America field organizer Kevin Pape said that in addition to the traditional door-to-door canvassing, the group has been actively recruiting new members at the rallies around the state. Pape said that at these protests, they have had large numbers of people approaching them and asking about the organization. "It's pretty much the easiest organizing you can ever do," he said.

"People are just thirsty for a connection to a labor movement," Pape added. "The effort required to get somebody to join has definitely decreased. This is an avenue to join the labor movement, and they're just jumping at it."

Working America regional director David Wehde said that in their door-to-door recruitment, many people are eager to show solidarity with the protesters but can't make it to the big rallies in Madison. "So when we come by their doors and check in with them about what's going on, they're literally grabbing our clipboards and saying, 'Great! What do I need to do?' That's one group of folks, and that's a level of intensity that is new."

Another growing group comprises people concerned about what's happening and who may have personal experience with the economic downturn. But it's unlikely they would have become involved if someone hadn't come to their door.

"At Working America, we've always been focused on an economy that works for everybody, creating good jobs that you can raise a family on," said Wehde. "People always have been responsive to that. But the interest that people have right now is much more about connecting the dots. They're seeing something happening -- what's happening in Madison, what's happening across Wisconsin with this legislation that is really an attack on workers, and more people get that than we have seen."

Bob Emberger, a retired resident of River Falls, Wis. -- approximately 250 miles from Madison -- told The Huffington Post that he joined Working America earlier this month when an organizer came to his door. Even though he said he didn't particularly like the last union he was in -- the Chicago Bartenders Union in 1960, which, according to Emberger, "represented most of the awful things you've ever heard about unions" -- he believes that collective bargaining rights are important to preserve.

"I have relatives who have told me about how things were before the days of unions, and so I thought that they were pretty important," said Emberger.

Working America has recruited more than three million members in the last seven years, and in 2008, it helped mobilize white working-class voters for the Obama campaign. An AFL-CIO post-election survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates found 60 percent of Working America's members identified as "moderate" or "conservative."

Polls taken around the Wisconsin dispute show majorities against taking away collective bargaining rights. Additionally, a recent poll by a conservative think tank in Wisconsin showed evidence the enthusiasm gap favoring Republicans in the state in 2010 has vanished.

Huffington Post, Wed Mar 16 2011
Byline: Amanda Terkel

March 14, 2011 will definitely go on record as being a historically organized labor day in the State of Maryland. The Rally to "Keep the Promise" was the theme. Fifteen thousand people showed, over seventy-five busses packed the Naval Academy, and the AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was the main speaker. When stepping in Lawyer's Mall, the central location of the rally, and seeing two-hundred people there two hours before schedule, you knew this was going to be a special day. As the rally grew closer, more and more people began to come. The opposition, the Tea Party had 50 people there, but even they had no clue of the energy that was coming from the Naval Academy. That's when you heard it, massive commotion coming from Rowe Boulevard, the sound of the American Labor Movement marching for Maryland legislators to "Keep the Promise". As the massive amounts of people entered Lawyers Mall, even the tea party was stunned because it never stopped, the people kept coming. The streets were blocked, the bells were ringing, and the signs were waving. That's when you knew the real American Labor Movement was here to stay.

The speakers were even different from the regular rallies. These were not everyday labor leaders that you see at every rally. The speakers were everyday "working men and women" who were public employees that would be affected by the tier system, deduction in paychecks to cover retirement options, and the decrease in prescription drugs. As we listened to the speakers, one tune that sounded familiar from the crowd that night was, "Keep the Promise". Every five minutes the crowd would chant "Keep the Promise" because even though public employees have taken a decrease in their paychecks for the last three years, the State of Maryland is asking them to take another one this year to subsidize the 2% for their pensions. They are also mandating retirees pay more for their prescription drugs. They are instituting a tier system for the young workers. This is when you have to ask the question, "When is enough, enough?"

The night ended with the AFL-CIO President letting the crowd know that this cannot happen anymore. The battles will be fought and the American Labor Movement will persevere. I must say that this was a truly inspirational night from the moderator Anthony McCarthy, the fifteen thousand people, the seventy-five busses, the workers telling their stories, the silencing of the Tea Party, to hearing our fearless leader President Trumka. I must say that it was a proud day to be a part of the American Labor Movement. As the Howard County teacher stated "We are in a story of David and Goliath. You better believe that labor is "David" and today is the day that we strike back with our rock."

The Pragmatic Progressive Forum, Wed Mar 16 2011

Not content to deny state, county and municipal employees and teachers a voice in the workplace-with legislation that takes away collective bargaining rights-Wisconsin Republicans have now moved to deny Democratic legislators the right to vote on legislation as it is being considered by state Senate committees.

For the better part of a month, fourteen Democratic state senators denied Republicans the quorum they sought to pass Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's anti-labor legislation-and, in so doing, provided the time for the development of a mass movement that last Saturday drew more than 100,000 union supporters to the Capitol. The Democratic senators have returned and the legislation has passed.

But Republican poll numbers have collapsed. And they are furious.

How furious?

Walker and his legislative consigliere, state Senator Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, have now moved to deny the dissenting Democrats the right to participate in the legislative process.

On Monday afternoon, Fitzgerald, who has publicly admitted that he and other Republicans advanced the anti-labor legislation in order to strengten the position of the GOP in 2012 elections, sent a letter to senators that read: "Dear Members: With the return of the Senate Democrats this weekend, questions have arisen regarding Democrat members' participation in Senate standing committee public hearings and executive sessions. Please note that all 14 Democrat senators are still in contempt of the Senate. Therefore, when taking roll call votes on amendments and bills during executive sessions, Senate Democrats' votes will not be reflected in the Records of Committee Proceedings or the Senate Journal. They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded."

In other words, the fourteen Democrats who refused to go along with legislative moves that have sparked multiple lawsuits and raised serious constitutional questions will now be denied their ability to represent 2.2. million Wisconsinites who live in their districts.

This was the latest authoritarian move by Fitzgerald, who last week spoke of having the Democrats arrested and openly discussed expelling them from the Senate as punishment for their dissents. The majority leader's over-the-top actions have led one senior legislator, state Representative Mark Pocan, D-Madison, to begin referring to the Wisconsin as a "third world junta" state that he calls "Fitzwalkerstan."

While that line gets a laugh, the assaults on representative democracy are serious.

"Senator Scott Fitzgerald isn't content with illegally passing a bill which takes away the rights of 175,000 working Wisconsinites and now has expanded his attacks to disenfranchise the voices of 2.2 million more Wisconsin residents and taxpayers," declared Scot Ross, the executive director of the One Wisconsin Now advocacy group, who referred to Fitzgerald's latest move as a "tantrum."

"Considering how the Republicans plan to slash $900 million from our public schools, cut healthcare for 1 million Wisconsinites, raise prescription drug costs for countless seniors, raise taxes on the working poor by $51 million while at the same time handing $200 million in tax breaks for the wealthy and corporate special interests," said Ross. "Senator Fitzgerald might better spend his time convincing his fractured caucus that Governor Walker isn't sacrificing their majority in pursuit of higher office."

State Senator Fred Risser, a Madison Democrat who is the senior member of the legislature, was aghast at what Fitzgerald had done.

"Who does Senator Fitzgerald think he is? Just because his brother is the speaker of the Assembly and his best friend is the governor of Wisconsin does not give him the power to decide who can and cannot vote in the State Senate," said Risser, whose Senate service began before Fitzgerald was born. "His statement that Senate Democrats can no longer vote in committee is the height of arrogance. In my tenure in the legislature, I have never seen any attempt to deny duly elected legislators their right to vote."

The Nation, Tues Mar 15 2011
Byline: John Nichols

Alberta's poorest workers continue to endure unnecessary hardship and poverty thanks to a two-year delay in increasing minimum wage by the Alberta government.

"Alberta's minimum wage has been stuck at $8.80 per hour since April 2009," says Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour, the province's largest labour organization, representing 140,000 workers.

"More than a year ago, the government needlessly cancelled a scheduled increase to the minimum-wage level. That was unacceptable. Last fall, the Alberta Legislature Standing Committee on the Economy recommended an immediate increase to $9.05 per hour. The Minister of Employment and Immigration has ignored that recommendation. That is inexcusable."

McGowan called for the government to immediately adopt the $9.05 minimum-wage level and to restore annual increases to the minimum wage, based on the average weekly earnings index. He also called for the government to make a one-time bump to the minimum wage to $12.20 as the province's economy stabilizes, so low-income earners can make a living wage.

"We believe that anyone who works full time, full year in our province should earn a wage that allows them to stay out of poverty. The current minimum wage doesn't do that. There must also be a system that guarantees regular increases to prevent the minimum level from being eroded by inflation over the years," says McGowan.
The current minimum wage leaves a full-time worker at an income of $4,000 per year below the Low-Income Cut-off, otherwise known as the poverty line. With economists predicting food process will rise up to 15 per cent next year, things are going to get even worse for those earning low wages.

"Despite its wealth, Alberta has the second lowest minimum wage in Canada," says McGowan. "Increasing minimum-wage levels will not cost jobs. In fact, a five-year analysis of minimum-wage increases in Alberta in shows that employment actually increased in those occupations most likely to pay minimum wage, including retail sales, cashiers and clerks, food and beverage service and travel and accommodation retail services," he says.
"Last week, the world marked International Women's Day. Because women are disproportionately paid lower wages, it would be timely to make an immediate increase to minimum-wage levels. This simple step will ease poverty, including child poverty. Alberta can afford to do better and must do better," says McGowan.

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Media Contact:
Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour @ 780-218-9888 (cell)