From Philly Labor –

A 60 Minutes Segment that aired tonight demonstrated the future of automation in the work place and how robots will be replacing people at alarming rates. At one point, it demonstrated that a $22,000.00 Robot working in the place of a person is equal to paying a worker $3.35 an hour therefore saving the company more money than if it hired a Chinese worker.

The segment also said that the robotic automation will allow American manufacturing the ability to more effectively compete with China and within 3 years there will be a huge increase in American Manufacturing. ONLY ONE PROBLEM, ALL THE JOBS WILL BE GOING TO ROBOTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING SOME ALREADY RICH GUY (PROBABLY FROM CHINA BUT WHO REALLY CARES WHERE HE IS FROM) RICHER!!!!

Only one question 60 Minutes did not ask when it was talking about the amount of computer science/automation tech jobs that were going to be created due to the robots, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FACTORY WORKERS (IN THE USA AND IN CHINA) WHO ARE OUT OF JOBS BECAUSE THEY WERE REPLACED BY ROBOTS?????

Sure it’s going to be great to finally watch some Flyers hockey now that the NHL strike is over but lets not forget those UFCW Local 1776 members who will finally get to go back to work at the WellsFargo Arena to put food on their tables for their families. LET’S GO FLYERS AND LETS GO UFCW LOCAL 1776!!!!

2012 will be remembered as a very important year in the history of the labor movement — a year in which unions across the Philadelphia region and the nation banded together in solidarity to take action on a plethora of issues, many of which will directly affect the future of organized labor. Once again we stood together to preserve our existence as a movement, as a voice and as an advocate for the rights of working people and the middle class… From national events like the Presidential election, Wisconsin’s anti collective bargaining law, Fighting Hyatt’s working conditions, the Chicago teacher’s strike and the Great Walmart Walkout, to important local Philadelphia based events such as SEIU 32bj District 1201 leadership’s fight for survival against privatization, the fight by Philadelphia construction trades against Post Brothers, the city unions negotiations with the Nutter administration to get contracts after years each without one, all remind us that we must always stand strong together in solidarity as a community in the face of greed to ensure that working families always have a voice.

In honor of those issues and many more, Phillylabor.com has comprised a list of labor’s top stories of 2012 as collage and as documentation for the purpose of always remembering, learning that we must always be ready to join together now and in the future to protect the standards that our forefathers fought so hard to achieve in order to maintain their legacy today and pass it on tomorrow.

(Scroll Down on the home page of this story and navigate to the next several pages to view 22 of labor’s top stories both locally and nationally)

In what many said was the most important election in the history of the labor movement in America, against anti-labor GOP candidate, Mitt Romney, who vowed to repeal Davis-Bacon, Project labor agreements and to enact “Right To Work” legislation across the land on “Day One” if elected, organized labor showed an unprecedented commitment of Solidarity in representing working families and the middle class on the campaign trail every step of the way to help President Barack Obama get re-elected for a second term.

In a long and stressful negotiation with the school district of Philadelphia with potentially catastrophic circumstances in the balance, SEIU 32 BJ District 1201 union leaders, George Ricchezza, Dennis Biondo and Co. representing the school district’s blue collar school employees fought off attempts by the school district to privatize their industry and negotiated a multi-year contract with the school district of Philadelphia that literally saved the union itself and jobs and the livelihoods of over 2700 of employees in an unprecedented display of courage, commitment and strength on behalf of their union’s membership.