by Sonya Sorich

Believe it or not, May 1 has more significance than a cute “it’s gonna be May” meme featuring Justin Timberlake.

Perhaps you’ve always wondered about references to May Day. A Huffington Post contributor explains May Day celebrations “were born more than a century ago out of a struggle by American workers for the eight-hour day.”

In the late 1800s, times were tough for workers in the U.S. You can blame the growing rise of corporations, which didn’t always create the best work conditions. Workers’ campaign for an eight-hour work day reached a milestone on May 1, 1886.

The aforementioned blog post notes:

Gradually, plans took shape for a day of worker protests demanding the eight-hour day. And on May 1, 1886, protests erupted all across the United States, with some 340,000 workers taking part. An estimated 190,000 went out on strike.

May Day celebrations later spread to Communist governments, which naturally didn’t make the U.S. government too happy. That’s why in 1958, President Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 as Law Day. The History Channel explains, “May Day had communist overtones in the minds of many Americans, because of its celebration of working people as a governing class in the Soviet Union and elsewhere.”

Law Day encourages Americans to focus on the rights established “in the fundamental documents of American democracy,” it adds.

For what it’s worth, after the 1886 protests, it still took decades for many Americans to finally see an eight-hour workday.

So what’s up with references to maypoles on May 1? Remember, May 1 was a celebration of spring in medieval and modern Europe, according to Encyclopædia Britannica.

May Day dances still take place in some communities.

The New York Times explains, “The May Day dance may seem a trifle outdated, but every spring in communities here and there across America, celebrants follow the ancient custom, erecting a maypole, usually cedar or birch, and dancing around it, typically weaving colorful ribbons around the pole as they go.”

One more May Day tradition worth noting: Wikipedia notes that in some parts of the U.S., people fill baskets with goodies on May 1. They put a basket on the recipient’s doorstep, ring the doorbell and try not to get caught. Believe it or not, I did this as a child.

Fun times.

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/04/30/2485595/may-day-2013-everything-you-need.html#storylink=cpy

It has been reported that the working agreement between Sheet Metal Worker’s Local #19 and their contractors association officially expired as of 11:59pm EST, April 30, 2013 which means the union is officially on strike putting thousands of hard working trades men and women out of jobs till further notice.

Phillylabor.com calls for the support for local #19 and it’s members and will follow this situation closely and provide updates as they come in!

Philadelphia, PA – This month, Pennsylvania dropped to 49th in the nation in job growth because of Tom Corbett’s harmful economic policies.

“Governor Corbett has overseen a Pennsylvanian economy in decline,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn. “The last economic report just further illustrates how disastrous Tom Corbett’s economy has been for the middle-class. Tom Corbett is more focused on giving tax breaks to corporations than he is on investing in education, lowering property taxes, and stemming rising tuition costs.”

Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Is Higher Than The National Average. “The Department of Labor and Industry said Friday the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.9 percent in March, down from 8.1 percent in February.The national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in March. [Associated Press, 4/19/13]

Pennsylvania Labor Force Falls Biggest Amount In 30 Years. “The size of Pennsylvania’s labor force shrank in March by the biggest one-month amount in almost three decades, as unemployment and payrolls also fell. A survey of households showed the number of people working or looking for work fell in March by 33,000 to just above 6.5 million. That’s the largest one-month drop since 1983.” [Associated Press, 4/19/13]

When Tom Corbett Took Office, Pennsylvania Was 7th in Job Growth.
[Job Growth USA, 01/11]

Now, Pennsylvania Ranks 49th In Job Growth. “Where’d everybody go? Earlier today I spoke with Mark Price, a labor economist with the Keystone Research Center. He noted — with the caveat that numbers can fluctuate from month to month — that in March Pennsylvania ranked 49th in the nation in job growth, ahead of only Wyoming.” [Philadelphia Daily News, 4/23/13]

Pennsylvania Is The Only State In The Nation With An Over-The-Year Percentage Decrease In Employment.
“The only over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Pennsylvania (-0.1 percent).” [Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 04/19/13]

IATSE LOCAL 8 SUSPENDED STRIKE ACTIVITIES AGAINST ELECTRIC FACTORY THIS PAST FRIDAY, APRIL 27, AS LEGENDARY PHILLY BAND, THE HOOTERS LEND THEIR SUPPORT – PHILADELPHIA, PA

— The Stagehands of IATSE 8, who have been on strike against Philadelphia-based Electric Factory Concerts for the past month, having set up picket lines outside the concert venue (located at 421 North 7th Street) over area wages and standards, put their strike on hold, however, during The Hooters concert at the Electric Factory, this past Friday, April 27th, 2013 because the enormously popular and influential band – some of whose members come from families steeped in the labor movement – secured an agreement with IATSE Local 8 stagehands for their Philly shows.

“IATSE Local 8 would like to thank Dave Uosikkinen and the all the members of The Hooters for their support of workers issues,” said Michael Barnes, Business Manager of IATSE Local 8.

Thus the union ceased all picketing, hand billing and social media activities as part of the settlement for last Friday’s Hooters show only.

“IATSE Local 8 looks forward to working with The Hooters on all their future shows in the Philadelphia area in venues that maintain the area standards established by stagehands over the last fifty years” Barnes concluded, “IATSE will be contacting every act scheduled for the Electric Factory to offer a one time pass for their scheduled event. This will prevent any disruption to fans that have already purchased tickets.

Going forward, the union has committed to work with the Hooters and all the acts to bring the best experience to the fans at venues that maintain the area standards. We hope more acts will follow the lead of The Hooters and The Drop Kick Murphy’s (who previously also supported the union) in supporting working men and women.

Written by Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor

Voters aren’t keen on Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan to privatize the state’s liquor stores, according to a poll commissioned by the labor union most vocally opposed to the proposal. The survey was conducted by a Republican pollster.

47% oppose the plan and 41% support it. It’s the first publicly released survey to show privatization at a net negative. Its results are a contrast from overall attitudes about privatization; respondents said they favored privatizing government services 40% to 38%.

GOP firm Harper Polling surveyed 500 likely Pa. voters via interactive voice response from April 8-10. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.38%.

Update: several readers emailed me and noted in the comments below that partners with Long, Nyquist & Associates – which represents UFCW 1776 – are also partners in Harper Polling. Add that grain of salt to the one described below.

The results paint a bleaker picture for privatization than did a recent survey commissioned by the the conservative Commonwealth Foundation which found 61% support for it.

The latest independent poll on the issue, from Franklin & Marshall in February, showed 53% of voters supported privatization while 34% opposed it.

In the Harper poll released by UFCW, 60% said the issue shouldn’t be a priority for officials in Harrisburg. Ranked among other issues, liquor placed last (9%) among fixing the economy (41%), funding education (38%), and transportation (12%).

In the memo, pollster Brock McCleary said the intensity of opposition surpassed that of supporters.

“It’s the difference between the guy who wouldn’t mind having another liquor store in his neighborhood and the guy who’s going to lose his job if they privatize the store where he works,” he wrote.

UFCW President Wendell Young IV agrees.

“What this poll shows is very low intensity from the voters on this,” he said.

He said he initially commissioned the poll to be internal, but decided to release it on seeing the numbers.

“I needed a credible poll, a poll that wouldn’t just tell me what I wanted to hear,” he said. “This is a Republican firm, the mostly work for Republicans, they’re gonna give me a good, hard, conservative look.”

The United Food and Commercial Workers local 1776 labor union represents the employees of the current wine and spirits stores. The Governor’s plan would provide incentives for private spirits sellers who hire them, but critics like UFCW 1776 say that the proposal would exchange well-paying union jobs for minimum wage clerk positions.

The poll also tested some of the negative messaging against liquor privatization. A majority of respondents said they would be less likely to support Corbett’s plan if it meant easier access to booze for teenagers, lead to job losses, reduce revenue for the state, or cause booze to increase in price.

“The Governor, Lt. Governor and others like to say that 70%, 80% of people support this. But that’s not true,” said Young. “It comes in cycles. The public perception of this issue is one way, but when it comes to the clear light of testimony,” public support tends to drop, he said.

Just as with internal polls commissioned by campaigns, the results of internal polls from advocacy groups should be taken with a grain of salt. Typically, the group commissioning a poll has final say over the questions asked and the language therein.

In this case, the pollster asked about “Governor Corbett’s plan.” Given the Governor’s low approval ratings, it’s likely attaching his name to the question brought down its numbers.

Not to mention, the bill passed by the state House and has noteworthy differences from the plan Corbett proposed – as will likely be the case in the state Senate should the measure reach a vote there.

“It might have affected it by a few points,” Young conceded, “but this is nowhere near the 70, 80 points you hear,” from supporters.

Corbett has taken as prominent a role on the liquor issue as any during his tenure so far.

51% of respondents identified as Democrats and 39% as Republicans. 15% identified as liberal versus very conservative (19%), somewhat conservative (27%) and moderate (35%).

Here’s the poll questions and topline results:

Liquor Privatization Poll Toplines

Go To – http://www.politicspa.com/ufcw-poll-voters-oppose-corbett-liquor-plan/47660/