By The PA. AFL-CIO

– The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO joins with the United Steelworkers in reiterating their full support for greater protections for scholarship athletes despite the decision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to decline jurisdiction, for the time being, over college football player efforts to form a union to have a voice and to end the exploitation of college athletes.

USW President Leo Gerard said in a statement that, “while we are disappointed by the NLRB decision, the USW remains committed as ever to the idea that scholarship athletes deserve the same rights and protections afforded to other Americans. We will not stop fighting until athletes secure the basic protections they so desperately need.”

Eventually, Gerard said, the players will win the right to collectively bargain, Maybe it won’t happen in 2015, but before today’s athletes send their children to college, every college scholarship football player and every college scholarship basketball player will be a proud union member and no longer exploited on their jobs.

The USW provided legal assistance to the Northwestern University players in their attempt to join the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA), the first union seeking to represent college athletes in collective bargaining. The protections the athletes sought include guaranteed scholarships that cover the full cost of attending school, a greater emphasis on concussion treatment, and better health care for student athletes during and after their playing days.

Kain Colter, the former Northwestern quarterback who led the unionization effort stated, “College athletes everywhere should take note. A few dozen 18- to 20-year-old Northwestern football players joined together to challenge an unjust system, while we hoped for a different ruling from the NLRB, we’ve succeeded in starting a conversation that is already changing the culture of college athletes as we know it.”

CAPA President Ramogi Huma, a former football player at UCLA, said the decision is disappointing because it’s likely to delay action. It may cause a loss of time and leverage in securing what players need for their safety,” Huma said, “And any delay can have serious ramifications for players.”
Both President Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Snyder on behalf of the members and leadership of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO expressed their full support and commitment to both CAPA and the USW in their efforts form their union now, to have their voices heard.

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6295

By The Communications Workers of America

– New Jersey Democrats trying to undo damage done to the state’s public-employees’ pension system met a familiar roadblock, Gov. Chris Christie wielding a veto pen.

Christie vetoed two bills that would have injected new money into the system and improved future funding. One bill called for a special one-time $300 million payment; the other mandated quarterly payments into the system. The state of New Jersey has not made a full pension payment since 1995. To make matters worse, Christie cut nearly $900 million from the budgeted state pension payment last year when he faced a $1 billion budget deficit.

“Even when the State has the money – or when it wouldn’t cost a penny – Gov. Christie acts to deliberately harm the pension systems that 1 in 10 New Jerseyans depend upon,” CWA New Jersey Director Hetty Rosenstein said.

Christie had signed a 2011 law requiring the state to do its part in restoring proper funding for the pension system, after forcing pension cuts for workers. But Christie reneged on the deal and in fact has vetoed more than $ 3 billion in pension payments from the budget in the past two years.

Source – http://www.cwa-union.org/news/entry/christie_vetoes_bills_to_fund_nj_pension/#.VdODTUWr9FS

By June Cohen

– An 89-year-old Philadelphia veteran is the latest supporter of the Stop Staples campaign.

A group of activists from the Philadelphia PA Area Local were handing out flyers in front of a Staples store in Springfield, PA, on Aug. 13, when they met the elderly gent on his way out of the store, said June Cohen.

“The man, who is active in veterans’ organizations, was very concerned about protecting the USPS against privatization, especially since the Postal Service is the largest employer of veterans”, said Randy Zelznick.

Besides boycotting Staples himself, he said that he would speak to veterans’ groups, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion about endorsing the boycott.

Source – https://business.facebook.com/philly.labor/photos/a.394185857399304.1073741825.394185660732657/559011820916706/?type=1&theater

By Jobs With Justice

– Google is a multibillion-dollar corporation, yet workers at its Google Express warehouses can barely make ends meet. They say they’ve been pressured to work at unsafe speeds, in poor conditions, and with damaged equipment. That’s why they’re standing together for decent wages and a decent life.

Lazslo Bock, Google’s senior vice president for “people operations” is on the record saying that Google employees and contractors “have a legal right to organize without fear of retaliation.” But without pressure from people like you, we can’t count on Google to live up to those words.

Will you stand with the Google Express workers as they join together for a better workplace? Make sure Google knows you support its employees’ right to speak up for each other with a union. To Send your message, Go To: http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4023/c/33/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10360&tag=15812EM

Source – http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4023/c/33/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10360&tag=15812EM

By The Philly Public Record

– Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-W. Phila.) released the following statement in response to Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai’s recent comments on state budget negotiations:

“I am disappointed by recent comments made by Turzai, who once again tried to link the issue of education funding to the privatization of our highly profitable state liquor-store system.

“Republicans refuse to seriously address education funding or property-tax relief, two of the most-important issues. We know test scores are dropping, critical educational programs are being cut, and over 20,000 public-school employees have been laid off across the state. It’s unacceptable to hold our schoolchildren hostage for an ideological agenda that is a bad deal for the people of Pennsylvania. Republicans simply cannot run from the basic fact that education funding is the top priority for the people of Pennsylvania.

“It’s also a complete fantasy that there are Democratic votes in the Senate to override Governor Wolf’s veto of the phony Republican budget. Senate Democrats stand united to fight for a state budget that fully funds the needs of Pennsylvania, including public education. The Republican budget fails that test by only providing $8 million in additional funding for public schools.

“It’s time for Republicans to come back to the negotiating table and start talking compromise. Together, we can find a path to a state budget that addresses the many needs of Pennsylvania in a way that works for the entire Commonwealth. However, that agreement must include significant new dollars for public education to win any Democratic votes.”

Hughes is the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Source – http://www.phillyrecord.com/2015/08/heard-on-the-hillin-city-hall-hughes-slams-republicans-tying-ed-funds-to-lcb/