PAGE

Category Archives: Uncategorized

4 Stories for Local 32BJ

We posted links below to 4 stories on behalf of the dedicated union representatives at local 32BJ – George Richezza, Dennis Biondo and Company who have literally been in the fight of their lives to save their union and the jobs of the 2700 members they represent and with pride, dignity and intelligence THEY DID IT!

Congratulations and Thank You Local 32 BJ for representing your union, your members and the entire Philadelphia Labor Movement with utmost in dignity and diligence!

PhillyLabor.com

1) No raises – but no layoffs – for school district’s blue-collar workers – http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20120724_No_raises_-_but_no_layoffs_-_for_school_district_s_blue-collar_workers.html

2) District, 32BJ agree on contract – http://thenotebook.org/blog/125024/district-32bj-agree-contract

3) Blue-collar workers ratify Philly schools contract –  http://www.ydr.com/state/ci_21140480/blue-collar-workers-ratify-philly-schools-contract

4) Philly SRC signs off on contract with blue-collar union – http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20120724_Philly_SRC_signs_off_on_contract_with_blue-collar_union.html

 

PhillyLabor.com Announces Partnership with the Philadelphia Public Record Newspaper

In the interest of promoting the welfare of unions throughout the Philadelphia region, Phillylabor is excited to announce a partnership with the Philadelphia Public Record newspaper – http://www.phillyrecord.com/.

“Every effort to promote unionism goes along way in promoting family sustaining income,” said Philadelphia Public Record executive editor, Rory McGlasson. “Union workers have been proven to be the most efficient and effective way to save on the bottom line in every job, no matter how big or small.

“We welcome this relationship with Philly labor.”

Labor to convene in Philadelphia prior to GOP, Dem conventions

July 12, 2012|By Jane M. Von Bergen and INQUIRER STAFF WRITE –

When the Democrats announced their decision last year to hold their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., union electricians heard the news at their annual convention. They were stunned at the choice of a city with no union hotels in a right-to-work state, and their president, Edwin D. Hill, was furious.

The upshot is a huge preconvention convention planned by organized labor in Philadelphia on Aug. 11, weeks before the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

“Every union hotel will be filled that weekend,” promised John J. Dougherty, the politically connected leader of Philadelphia’s Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Hill’s union. Dougherty said he didn’t know how much it would cost to host the event, but said Local 98 would be picking up a lot of the tab.

The rally, titled “Workers Stand for America,” will be announced Thursday by AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and Hill at a news conference in Washington.

The rally is expected to attract anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of working people — union and nonunion — and workers’ advocate groups to Philadelphia. It is intended to focus public attention on issues such as jobs, pensions, health care, safety and the right to organize, local labor leaders said.

The night before the rally, Trumka and the top national leaders of many unions are expected to gather outside Independence Hall to urge politicians to support a “second bill of rights” for workers, Dougherty said. The signing will be followed by a party at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel. ”

“It’s going to be old-school — hamburgers, hot dogs, straw hat, confetti, red, white and blue,” said Dougherty.

Philadelphia was chosen, leaders said, because it had already promoted a series of similar rallies in 2011, because the first bill of rights was drafted in the city and because of its central location on the East Coast. It helped that Hill, who championed the idea to the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, could call on logistical help from the IBEW Local 98.

The theme is to bring working people together and to let political parties know that economic issues and working conditions of the middle class have to be on their agenda, said Patrick Eiding, who heads the Philadelphia Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO.

The danger is, of course, that organized labor will throw a party and no one will come, said Christopher Borick, director of the Institute of Public Policy at Muhlenberg College.

“Any time you stage an event, you want to make it look powerful,” Borick said. “And if the visuals don’t portray that — near-empty venues, small crowds and less-than-enthusiastic gatherings, there’s the risk that the event looks weak, and you can’t portray weakness as movement or an organization in a political environment.”

Eiding isn’t worried. “There’s not a chance that the Parkway isn’t going to be filled on the Aug. 11,” he said.

“I don’t know anything about it,” said Mayor Nutter’s spokesman, Mark McDonald. He noted that one of the major components of the local economy, beyond “eds and meds” — education and medicine — is hotel beds. “We’re happy for all these conventions.”

The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau cannot put an estimate on attendance because no bookings have been made through the bureau, which is unusual for large gathering. “It’s not a citywide [convention],” said spokeswoman Danielle Cohn.

Even four years ago, planting a Democratic convention in a city such as Charlotte would have been unthinkable. Why would Democrats, who rely on organized labor, put a convention in a right-to-work state and in a city that had no union hotels and where the majority, if not all, of the hotels were built by nonunion labor, asked IBEW spokesman James Spellane.

Even assuming it wasn’t an outright slap in organized labor’s face, it seemed to Hill and others that labor’s issues, and maybe even labor’s loyalty, were being ignored or taken for granted. “It made people realize,” Spellane said, “that there was a time when that wouldn’t have happened because so many [Democrats] had the consciousness of these issues.

“The Democrats didn’t do anything to be hostile to us. They probably just didn’t think about it,” Spellane said. “It just goes to show how the whole society has changed.”

The Democratic convention starts Sept. 3, Labor Day. The Republican convention begins Aug. 27.

Labor has always counted on the strength of its numbers, but recent events, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s defeat of a recall vote pushed by unions who wanted to unseat him for sharply curtailing collective bargaining, have cast some doubt on that perceived strength.

“If the Democratic Party decided to go to North Carolina because they want to extend their reach into the Southern states, they, of course, recognized that that would alienate labor leaders, being that they are going into a right-to-work state. But they were willing to take that gamble,” Muhlenberg’s Borick said. “Someone made that calculation. They are probably wagering that labor isn’t going anywhere, that they’ll still show up for the Democrats.”

That appears to be the case. Every labor leader interviewed for this story repeated a commitment to electing President Obama.

“It’s not a secret,” said Elizabeth McElroy, secretary-treasurer of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO and its political director. “Getting the president reelected is the goal of the AFL-CIO.”

Contact staff writer Jane M. Von Bergen at 215-854-2769, at jvonbergen@phillynews.com or @JaneVonBergen on Twitter.

http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-12/business/32649390_1_philadelphia-central-labor-council-union-hotels-annual-convention

Do Unions Have a PR Problem?

Attention: Philadelphia area union community,
I’m 47 years old and I’ve lived in Philadelphia my entire life. My father, Ironworkers Local 401 Business Manager Joseph J. Dougherty, has been a union member since I was a small child and a union official since I was 16 years old. Many of my family and friends are union members and I, myself, have been a member of Ironworkers Local 401 since 1982 when I was just 18 years old. It’s been part of the fabric of my life since I can remember.

As workers, we were taught to work hard and stand up for ourselves, our families, our union brothers and sisters, our contractors and especially for those pioneers who came before us who gave their blood, sweat, tears and for some their lives in order to establish the fair working conditions, benefits and wages that we now have today.

As I’ve gotten older and have been fortunate enough to know and watch Philadelphia area labor movement leaders like Philadelphia Council President Pat Eiding and Philadelphia Building Trades President Pat Gillespie work passionately and with compassion every day on behalf of all Philadelphia area union members and their families so that each and every one of us has a shot to maintain a job, fair wages, working conditions and standards. Firsthand over the years, I have watched my own father and other union officials like him dedicate their lives tirelessly to their members and to the labor movement with no ulterior motives other than to procure work and maintain standards. This has recently had me asking myself, “If there are so many good people in the labor movement, why do we get such a bad rap?”

Case in point, just a couple weeks ago on a scalding hot Father’s Day afternoon as my wife and I were headed to ShopRite to pick up some last minute groceries to take to dad’s, I saw IBEW Local #98 Business Manager John Dougherty (no relation to me) and #98 Business Rep Brian Stevenson along with several other Local #98 officials in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia demonstrating and handing out informational fliers to the general public to protest the hiring of non-union electrical workers to work at night by the shopping center. What was particularly inspiring was the fact that it was Father’s Day afternoon in Roxborough and although he could have easily have sent his members, apprentices or retirees who lived in the area, John Dougherty was handing out the fliers himself with his other union reps. Maybe I’m weird like that, but to me, it gave me chills down my spine to see a high profile union leader like Johnny Doc walk the walk, grassroots style.

As Johnny, Brian and company handed out the materials and spoke to the people, they did so in a very cordial and friendly manner. They were engaging and personable. There was no thugery, profanity or bullying going on whatsoever. Just some concerned men standing up for the standards and wages they have worked so hard to obtain on behalf of their members.

What was amazing was the variety of different responses they evoked. Some people walked or drove by without paying notice, others stopped by or honked in support and yet others drove by shouting obscenities without really knowing what was going on. I couldn’t believe one lady driving by shouting profanities without having a clue what was going on but you could just hear the venom in her tone.

I remember as I looked at the lady angrily screaming profanities at the top of her lungs with little kids in her car, having not a clue what was actually going on, it reminded me once again of the growing sentiment in this country that has spread like a cancer, of people who just do not like unions. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered why people increasingly feel this way? I mean are they opposed to fair wages? Are they opposed to fair working conditions? Are they opposed to 40-hour work weeks or weekends off? If there are so many good people and causes behind the actions, how in the world did we become the bad guys?

As I thought about, the only logical reason that I could come up with is, MAYBE IT’S ALL THEY SEE! Maybe it’s because the 6 o’clock news shows large groups of people protesting without explaining the reasons, or maybe it’s because the daily newspaper prints an unglamorous picture of a union leader as he rallies his members to vote to go on strike to keep their health and welfare benefits?######## As I thought about that, it became apparent that unions not only have an image problem, they have a PR problem. It seems now with all of the communication and PR resources available, that local unions would adapt and come out of the dark ages and start promoting themselves better like their big business and political counterparts. But currently only a small number of local unions use publicists or PR firms to enhance their images and even fewer aggressively use the often free tools available on the internet to do it themselves.

Let’s think about it for a second. Sure, pro-athletes, movie stars and the super rich etc. like to keep their good deeds and charitable endeavors private — but they are already lauded by the general public for their celebrity. And even though they do from time to time, they don’t need to promote their good deeds or image. On the other hand, unions, who are often ignorantly blasphemed and ridiculed for their efforts on behalf of working families, should make every effort to utilize the available PR resources to educate the general public about what we really do and what we are really about and much of the greatness that is bestowed within the union movement across the land.

For example, I wonder if that woman who drove by screaming profanities in front of her kids knew whether or not the non-union workers that were hired to work at night at the shopping center were getting paid fair wages with benefits. I wonder if she knew that the men she was screaming at from IBEW #98 who were standing out in 95 degree heat on behalf of working families had also spent the entire morning since 5:30 AM volunteering at the Gary Papa Father’s Day Prostate Cancer 5K Run. My guess is probably not!

FACT: In the city of Philadelphia alone, union leaders, members and working families make up a large portion of the fabric of our communities. They also support and contribute to a wide variety of community and charitable endeavors too numerous to list that raise countless funds for the needy. Just off the top of my head, the aforementioned union leaders listed above alone are involved with charitable organizations ranging from the Delaware Vally Stroke Council to The Variety Club, the United Way and the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, just to name a few.

BOTTOM LINE: In relative obscurity and without seeking the spotlight or pomp and circumstance, union leaders and members throughout Philadelphia have worked tirelessly for years to not only make Philadelphia and vicinity the number one union region in America but to also give back and make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate so that everyone has a shot at the American dream. I wonder if the majority of the general public has any idea of the positive impact the union community has made in the lives of so many? My guess is NO.

WELL IT’S TIME FOR UNIONS TO USE THE SAME PR STRATEGIES AND RESOURCES THAT ARE USED AGAINST US TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT!!! PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE!

Sincerely,
Joe Dougherty, Jr.
For PhillyLabor.com

Hospital workers union reaches deal with Jefferson, averting strike

By Julie Shaw — Daily News Staff Writer — Philadelphia Daily News — A STRIKE was averted Sunday morning when the union representing hundreds of employees — from nurses to housekeepers to clerical workers — reached a tentative settlement with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. If an accord had not been reached, hundreds of union members were expected to go on strike in front of the Center City hospital at 6 a.m. “We did not get everything, but everything major was achieved,” Henry Nicholas, the president of District 1199C of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, said in a statement. The tentative settlement was reached at about 1 a.m. Sunday — an hour after the contract officially expired. The union said it achieved six-year contracts that included wage increases each year at Jefferson, Temple University Health System, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Hahnemann University Hospital. The contracts also kept intact benefit and pension packages at Jefferson, Temple and Hahnemann. Over the past week, the union also negotiated contracts with 10 nursing homes in the region; those contracts have already been ratified. On Sunday, the contracts with Jefferson, CHOP and Hahnemann were ratified by union members, said District 1199C Acting Executive Vice President Chris Woods. He said he expected the contract with Temple to be ratified by around 7 p.m. Sunday. “I’m just happy that both sides did the right thing and got an agreement,” said Woods.