Volume 08, Issue 01

May 2008

IFL Endorses Candidates

The Fourteenth Biennial Pre-Primary Committee on Political Education (C.O.P.E.) Convention was held at the United Steel Workers Local 310 Hall in Des Moines on Saturday, April 12.  Delegates representing 32,658 of the members of the Federation’s affiliates came together to vote on the IFL’s official endorsements for state legislators and Congress.

U.S. Senate and House: 

Delegates enthusiastically reaffirmed their August 2007 endorsement for Tom Harkin for U.S. Senate.  Since he was first elected to Congress in 1974, Harkin has been one of the strongest advocates for working families in Congress.  (See endorsed U.S. House candidates below.)  There was no       

endorsement in the 4^th Congressional District.  

 IFL Executive Vice President Jan Laue reminded the delegates  that although it’s been a long hard winter for our top priorities, we learned some valuable lessons. “We’ve found out that we need more than the Trifecta: we need a bigger majority—the right majority—we must figure out how to get it, and we’re here to start that today.”

   IFL President Ken Sagar, referring to Working America efforts in  Iowa, added that “ If we can reach out to other working people, union or not, and get them to vote, maybe we’ll be able to change the dynamic in the Legislature.  …  By 2010 and 2012 maybe we can start electing our own.”     

Tom Harkin:

 US Senate. 

AFL-CIO voting record: 
Lifetime, 93%
2007, 100%

Bruce Braley:

1^st District.   

    “The flood of cheap imports flowing into our country is harmful to our consumers, they’re taking  away jobs from American workers.  It has to stop and we have to make that happen.”

  AFL-CIO  voting record: Lifetime, 96%2007, 96%

Dave Loebsack:

2^nd District. 

   “The balance of power has shifted in this country too far towards the employer, beginning with Reagan and the PATCO strike. The Employee Free Choice Act is the first step to right that balance of power.” 

AFL-CIO  voting record:
Lifetime, 96%
2007, 96%

Leonard Boswell: 

3^rd District. 

   “As a member of Congress, I believe it is the responsibility of those elected to represent the people at every level of government to ensure that our government works to ensure that every person who wants gainful employment has it.”  

AFL-CIO  voting record:
Lifetime, 85%
2007, 96%

Find endorsements for state legislative seats on the IFL website:  http://www.iowaaflcio.org/

Go to “What’s New” and click on

Political Action Update VOL. 08-11

Rob Hubler:

5^th District.  

     Speaking of his opponent, Steve King:  "Is this the representation western Iowans want to be known for?  Continuous fear and demagoguery, all for the sake of extremism and dividing this country, is the foundation for [King’s] re-election campaign.  [My campaign] lets the people of the Fifth District know there is an alternative come Nov. 4."  (Iowa Independent 3/10/08)

Workers Make Slight Gains in 2008 Some Outcomes Still Uncertain 

With one possible exception, the 2008 Legislative session ended with workers making only slight gains.  Although Democrats held the majority in the House (53-47) and the Senate (30-20) and the Governor is a Democrat, labor’s priorities still met with greater than expected resistance from not only the usual anti-labor Republicans, but also from a small cadre of “pro-business” Democrats.

The one exception, expansion of public sector collective bargaining (Chapter 20), passed both the House and Senate along mostly party lines, but as of this writing, still awaits a decision by the Governor on its final outcome.  The legislation would simply allow public workers the same latitude in bargaining as workers in the private sector, rather than restrict them to bargaining over a very limited list of items.

To those in labor, it seems a common sense proposal, yet management, both public and private, reacted with horror, claiming that merely discussing additional subjects would increase property taxes and put control of the workplace in the hands of unions and unidentified third parties.  Of course, bargaining over these issues in the private sector has not resulted in the mass bankruptcy of private sector businesses. In fact, allowing workers to talk about these issues may lead to greater innovation and efficiency, as well as increased employee morale.

Legislators approved legislation that will expand health care for all Iowa children over the next few years, allow small increases in benefits in Workers’ Compensation, and make sure that public employee pension systems remain solvent, and eventually, fully funded.

 The remaining IFL priorities—fair share,prevailing wage and employee choice of doctor—did not gain enough support for passage, particularly in the House.  To move this agenda, we need to continue to educate our members, as well as the candidates, on our issues, and make sure that in November we elect an even larger majority of labor-friendly legislators who truly support workers and understand their issues.

To some extent, what happens to our agenda in Iowa is tied to what happens in the national elections.  A Democratic sweep would ensure passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.  Increased organizing activities, which would  flow from this rebalancing of our national labor law, would have a dramatic impact on our influence at the Iowa Statehouse.

We will certainly revisit these issues in the 2009 legislature.

Job Losses Worsen Recession Fears 

Lost in March: 80,000 Jobs

The Labor Department's jobs report for March showed a net loss of 80,000 jobs last month. That marks the third straight month that jobs have fallen—the longest period of decline since early 2003—leading a Wachovia economist to say, "If we had known it was anything like that, there would not have been any debate going on about whether we were in a recession. It's pretty stark."

Lost since January: 232,000 Jobs

The Labor Department now estimates that the economy has shed 232,000 jobs in the first three months of this year.  The net result is that, in just three months, the nation is down more than a half million jobs. 

Quote of the Week

“More — much more — is necessary to prevent the wholesale collapse of the U.S. economic system. A maximum wage should be imposed — the highest paid American should earn no more than ten times the lowest paid.”

 Ted Rall, editorial cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Cavalry Isn't Coming, April 15, 2008. 

2,283 reasons to Say

“No Columbian Free Trade Deal”   

According to the National Labor School ("Escuela Nacional Sindical," or ENS, 2,283 trade unionists have been murdered since 1991. The majority of these men and women were killed because of their trade union activity.  Thirty-eight murders took place in the first eleven months of 2007.  The number of trade unionists murdered has fortunately decreased from record levels; however, more trade unionists still are killed in Colombia every year than in any other country. 

The ENS also registered 201 death threats against trade unionists in the first eleven months of 2007.  The combination of ongoing assassinations, death threats and violence against family members creates a climate of fear for trade unionists that makes it impossible for them to fully and confidently exercise their rights to organize, bargain collectively, go on strike or criticize the government.  Workers' Rights, Violence and Impunity in Colombia, January 9, 2008, AFL-CIO

President John Sweeney on Columbia 

“The AFL-CIO position on the Colombia FTA remains unchanged: the violence, murders, impunity, and violations of workers’ rights in Colombia must end.” 

Iowa Dems vote with Sweeney

Voting “Yes” to end the Fast Track debate deadline (and probably kill the deal  until we get a new Congress):  Bruce Braley, Leonard Boswell, Dave Loebsack.  We thank them. 

   America’s Health Care System is Broken 

What’s wrong with it?  Read this. 

 Premium costs are rising three times faster than wages or inflation

• The average premium for family health insurance coverage today is more than $12,000—and it’s expected to double by 2016 unless we do something.

 Exploding costs are hurting working families

• One in four families had a problem paying for medical care in the past year—and more than two-thirds of those with problems had insurance.

• Every 30 seconds, someone files for “medical bankruptcy.”

 Rising costs are hurting our employers

• As health costs increase, employers that offer health coverage are finding it harder to compete— with companies in countries that have universal coverage and with nonunion employers here in America that don’t offer benefits.

 As costs rise, more people are uninsured

• Today, 47 million people in our country have no health coverage. In 2013, if we don’t change things, 56 million of us will be uninsured.

 Retirees are losing employer-sponsored health care

• Only half the employers who provided retiree health coverage in 2000 are still providing it today—a 50% drop in seven years.

 Lack of insurance hurts all of us

• Premiums for employer-provided family health insurance coverage include about $1,000 toward the cost of care for the uninsured.

 Today’s health care system is wasteful and inefficient

• Private insurance companies spend 15% of their money on administrative costs.  Compare that to less than 3%  for large public plans such as Medicare.

 But insurance and drug companies are profiting

• Profits for drug makers are almost 20%, compared with 6.3% for all Fortune 500 companies. Health insurance company profits have increased 1,084% in five years.

 The people want America’s health care system fixed

• Ninety percent of Americans say the U.S. health care system needs to undergo fundamental change or be rebuilt completely. Among union members, 71% say it is “critical for elected officials to address health care.”

Central Labor Council Health Care Meeting-in-a-Box  AFL-CIO Labor 08HOT FATS 

How do McCain’s health care proposals stack up? 

Experts from a number of organizations confirm that McCain’s plan will:

¨ Create a New Tax on Working Families by making health care premiums part of taxable income.

¨ Increase Costs to Workers, since his tax credit would cover less than half the average health premium.

¨ Leave Workers at the Mercy of Big Insurance Companies by encouraging employers to stop offering health care.

¨ Make Health Care Harder to Get, pushing workers into the private health care market and promoting Health Savings Accounts.

¨ Lower the Quality of Available Health Care by circumventing state laws, resulting in lower quality coverage without consumer protections.

 For more, go to: http://www.aflcio.org/ McCain revealed 

 John McCain:  Every bit as anti-worker and anti-union as Bush 

McCain’s record on Workers’ Rights.

He voted for:

· 1996—a national Right to Work-for-Less bill to ban union security clauses nationwide.

· 1996—the Team Act, which would have created company unions.

· 2001—a bill to kill the ergonomics regulations we had fought for 15 years.

He voted against:

· 2003—a temporary extension of unemployment benefits.

· 2004—protecting workers’ overtime rights.

· 2005—protecting 10 million workers’ minimum wage, overtime and equal pay rights.

· 2006—an amendment to prevent privatization of federal jobs.

· 2007—collective bargaining rights for federal employees.

· 2007—Employee Free Choice by supporting the filibuster to block it. 

McCain’s record on Trade.

He voted for:

· 1993—The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

· 2000—Permanent normal trade relations with China

· 2003—South Africa Free Trade Act

· 2003—U.S.-Chile Trade Act

· 2003—U.S.-Singapore Trade Act

· 2004—U.S.-Australian Trade Act

· 2005—The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)

· 2006—Permanent normal  trade relations with Vietnam

· 2006—The Oman Free Trade Act

The extreme right-wing CATO Institute has named John McCain one of the five  “most consistent” free traders in the Senate.  (http://www.freetrade.org/congress) 

èMcCain has voted with Bush 89% of the time.  (And he’s running as a “maverick”?)

For more: visit www.mccainrevealed.org

"What effect will a Democrat in the
White House have on unions?" 

Labor activists express their hopes

Al Skinner, USW 310, Des Moines, "A Democrat would give us the best opportunity to get our broken trade laws fixed." 

Joe Ironside, IAMAW 831, Cedar Rapids, "Card Check. Hopefully the Department of Labor will help working people.”

Kerry Bowen, CWA 7102 Des Moines,  "Better than a Republican president that would veto the "Employee Free Choice Act." Workers rights would be restored to Americans."

Dan Barr, IBEW 1634, Cedar Rapids,   "Having a Democrat in the White House will return the balance of power away from corporations and back towards workers." 

AFL-CIO Voting Scorecard for 2007
How did the Candidates Vote on Labor Issues? 

The voting scorecard ranks Senators based on 19 votes in 2007.  Tallied votes include support for workers’ freedom to form unions, allowing the government to negotiate with drug companies to bring down the price of prescriptions for Medicare recipients and fully funding a program to help low-income children get health care.  To see how your Senators and Congressmen voted:  http://www.aflcio.org/issues/legislativealert/votes/index.cfm 

Mark Smith Retires

“...his work and life have made an indelible mark on the social, political and economic history of our state .” 

It was an evening filled with good friends, good food, lots of conversation and laughter and memories that were sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant and always focused on trying to deal with the hard business of farewell-taking. 

And there were awards—from the plaque of Mark’s favorite saying: “Our job is to keep the big guys from kicking the little guys around,”  to a tribute Senator Harkin read into the Congressional Record, to a resolution of the Iowa Senate, to a flag flown over the US capitol.

 Speakers included Senator Tom Harkin, AFL-CIO Regional Director Todd Anderson, State Senator Dick Dearden, Representative Leonard Boswell, and Labor Center retiree Roberta Till-Retz, who recalled their unforgettable first impressions of Mark.  They praised his compassion for the least among us, his undying commitment to the labor movement, his leadership and the powerful progressive legacy he helped build in the IFL.

Mark’s farewell speech to Iowa labor addressed the need “to start talking about government as good because it can take a little bit from all of us and make great things happen.”  He spoke of the need to end the war in Iraq, of “Democrats who need to turn to the left,” of the unneeded Bush stimulus rebate, and of workers thinking of voting for John McCain, which would be like “a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.”

IFL officers Ken Sagar and Jan Laue paid tribute to Mark’s passion for justice, his love of poetry, his uncanny political judgment, and his skillful mentoring.

Some excerpts from Mark’s remarks:

“The Iowa Labor movement has given me wonderful opportunities over the last 34 years.  I’ve been blessed with a wonderful job.

“I’ve had the chance to work with the finest and most decent, the most compassionate and caring human beings in the state.

“I was mentored by some of the pillars of the Iowa Labor movement.  I got the equivalent of a Ph.D. with majors in Labor History and Political Science riding around Iowa in Jim Wengert’s Ford station wagon in the ‘70s.  Other seminars were held in taverns on the east side of Des Moines... Some of the instructors like Bill Fenton from the Machinists have died.  Some like Don Rowen and Jim Wengert are here tonight.  I am thankful to all of them.

“It wasn’t only the great people; it was also that the Federation has had and continues to have a progressive agenda, what Don Rowen used to call ‘the work of the Lord’.  There is a long tradition of us caring about and taking positions on issues like fair trade, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights law, funding for education, health care for all, child care, welfare reform— plus all the core labor issues like fair share, prevailing wage and expanding scope of bargaining.

“Thank you all so much.  It’s been a great ride…..”

“Mark Smith made a difference…and that’s one of the most significant things you can say about someone.”

    Ken Sagar 

Jim Wengert, Mark Smith and

Don Rowen, creators of a great

 IFL legacy. 

“Thank you, Mark, for not ever hiding your anger in the face of injustice, and for having the courage to fight against any odds….” 

Jan Laue 

"78 Cents for Every Man’s Dollar”   

In March, Lt. Governor Patty Judge released the first report in nearly a decade on the gap between salaries earned by women and men.  The report found that on average women received 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man - an increase from a similar report done in 1999, which found that women earned 73 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts.

   The salary gap between women and men was small in architectural and engineering careers, business and financial operations, and computer and mathematical science careers.

But in other jobs, the gap was wider.  Women make significantly less than men in education, healthcare, management, and sales careers.

What can change this?  Unionizing unorganized women workers!  The “union difference” in wages for women:  33%.  Source: U.S. DOL, BLS . 

Would Medicare Survive  a McCain Presidency?

  Do you think health care for our parents and grandparents is scary now?  Then try not to think about what would happen to it under the McCain tax cuts. 

   Those cuts (keeping tax cuts for the wealthiest, cutting corporate income tax, ending the alternative minimum tax) would create “a giant budget gap so large that eliminating it would require cutting Social Security benefits by three-quarters, eliminating Medicare, or something equivalently drastic.”  (NYT, 4/28/08) 

Exxon Pays for
Research Challenging Global Warming 

$1 million bucks,
1,001 horses,
10 mpg.  

Superrich not Bothered by Gas Prices 

Exxon has offered scientists and economists $10,000 each to undermine a major climate change report from the UN.  Turns out, that’s peanuts for Exxon, which reported the most profitable year ever for any company—$39.5 billion.  Exxon made more money per minute—$75,150—than 90% of the U.S. population earned all year. 

The Veyron from Bugatti

   UAE oil men flush with cash, says Bloomberg News, are “helping cover the costs of developing super cars” like the 10 mpg, 1,001 horsepower Veyron from Bugatti. The $1.2-million Veyron coupe hit the market December, ‘04. They are now zipping around Dubai.   
   Skyrocketing prices for oil are also keeping Rolls-Royce in business. Rolls-Royce deliveries jumped 36% last year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  A Rolls-Royce salesman  says: “Oil prices are helping to support our sales.” Too Much 5/29/06 

Join the conversation at www.WorkingFamiliesVote08.org 

“A Hopeful Year for Unions”

This headline from a New York Times editorial (2/7/08), says it is, based on the fact that the percentage of American workers who belong to a union rose for the first time in 30 years, growing last year by over 300,000 members to 15.7 million card-carrying members. 

   This is great; but there are some cautionary notes in this good news:

• Employers’ illegal tactics are at an all time high, and the NLRB, which is supposed to stop such tactics, is so anti-labor that unions are suggesting it be abolished.
• The courts have been stacked against labor by Bush, witness recent Supreme Court decisions such as the Lilly Ledbetter case denying a worker the right to sue for wage discrimination, or the Coke case, deeming a home health care aide ineligible for protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Bush has torn the guts out of OSHA and the Fair Labor Standards Act, taking the employer’s side and failing to enforce the laws.
• The pressures on unionized workplaces have grown from “free” trade, the deregulation of the economy under the Bush “corporadoes” and a changing technology that eliminates more jobs than it creates.
• The percentage of members in Iowa did not grow—it was 10.5% in 2007, which was a decrease in Iowa’s union density from the 2006 number of 11.3%.

So what makes us hopeful?

For one thing, it’s clear that workers still want unions, and they are risking a lot to get them!

Additionally, union leaders anticipate a record union turnout in this election.  Labor-friendly candidates who get elected and are held accountable for their votes can turn all those negatives on their head.  (...even here in Iowa!)