By Pat Eiding, President of The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO

– One of the great privileges of serving as President of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO is leading the annual Labor Day parade up Columbus Avenue. Rain or shine, I’m always proud to look back from the head of the parade and see so many groups of union members marching with their brothers and sisters, celebrating the achievements of America’s working people.

The fact is, though, that the majority of working people in our area are not members of unions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 14% of Pennsylvania’s workers are represented by unions. Even though Philadelphia’s workers are more likely to be union members than workers in most parts of the commonwealth, most working people in our city don’t belong to a union.

But does that mean that Philadelphia’s unions are only interested in the 1/5 of workers here whom we represent? Nothing could be further from the truth.

Unions have fought for overtime laws, workplace safety laws, and Social Security. We’ve fought for family leave and expanded access to healthcare. We’ve fought for fair trade deals, and opposed the so-called “free trade” schemes like NAFTA that have undermined America’s manufacturing base and cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs. We’ve called on government to invest in public schools and public infrastructure.

Today, the most-pressing problem facing America’s workers is simple: Working people in America are no longer being paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work. Over the last 50 years, American workers’ wages have stagnated, barely rising above the inflation rate. Meanwhile, the wealthy have seen their wages skyrocket. 50 years ago, the average CEO of an American company made 20 times what his average worker made. Today, that CEO earns 300 times more. According to the Pew Research Center, over the last 15 years, pay for 9 out of 10 Americans has continued to stagnate, or even shrunk. For the top 10%, wages have risen by nearly 10%.

This situation isn’t just unjust. It’s terrible for the n0ation as a whole. For generations, the American economy has been driven by consumer spending. We can’t have an economy that works for all of us by consistently depriving 90% of the nation’s consumers of the fruits of their labor.

So while organized labor continues to help workers organize unions at their workplaces so they can access the proven power of collective action and collective bargaining to win what they deserve, the AFL-CIO has also launched a national Raising Wages campaign. I’m proud that Philadelphia is one of 15 cities that have taken on this campaign. America’s unions are fighting to raise the minimum wage, and to win laws guaranteeing workers the right to paid sick time. We’re also fighting for implementation of new Department of Labor rules that will expand access to overtime pay for salaried workers.

In Philadelphia, after helping to win the landmark Paid Sick Leave bill in City Council, the AFL-CIO is fighting to win higher wages for workers across the board. Dozens of unions – some bringing members from as far as Ontario, Canada – have turned out to support Philadelphia’s fast food workers going on strike for a $15/hour wage and a union contract from huge corporations like McDonalds. We’ve stood on the picket line with non-union, minimum-wage workers at the Philadelphia International Airport, demanding that their employers respect the city’s Living Wage ordinance. We’ve organized rallies to raise our state’s minimum wage, and met with legislators about bills to raise that minimum and to improve enforcement of it. We even recently organized a forum, moderated by the AFL-CIO’s national President, Richard Trumka, and myself where workers described their experiences of having been cheated of their wages by unscrupulous employers – a problem that a Temple University study estimated costs Pennsylvania’s workers between $19 million and $32 million every week.

I’m confident that we’re going to prevail in the Raise the Wage campaign. And when we win, most of the workers who benefit won’t be union members. Why would organized labor dedicate so much time and energy and money to a campaign that’s not only about our members?

The answer is simple, and it’s the whole reason for organized labor in the first place: Solidarity. Union members are members of this community. Every single day, union members and workers who aren’t in unions are together in the workplace. We’re together on buses, and in restaurants, and at the movies, and at ball games and the doctor’s office.

Working people, union and non-union, really are in the same boat. Organized labor is dedicated to raising the standard of living and protecting the rights of all working people. That’s what we’ve done for generations, and we intend to keep doing it for generations to come. And that solidarity among all workers is the greatest thing we’ll be celebrating as we march up Columbus Boulevard on Labor Day.
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Source – http://www.phillyrecord.com/2015/09/a-day-and-a-movement-for-all-working-people/

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– Thousands of Steelworkers and supporters joined the Solidarity In Steel Rally in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday 9/1 showing their unity and solidarity with the locked out steelworkers at ATI plants and those working without contracts at ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel.

United Steelworkers International Vice President Tom Conway urged workers to continue showing their strength and resolve for fair contracts. USW District 10 Director Bob McAuliffe said Steelworkers want fair contracts that protect working families and support their communities. Members of several area labor councils including Allegheny, Beaver/Lawrence, Greater Westmoreland and Johnstown/Somerset participated in the rally, as did President Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Snyder in a display of solidarity across the entire labor movement for fair contracts now for Steelworkers.

Donations in support of the locked-out Steelworkers at ATI can be made securely online through the PA AFL-CIO at: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/lock-out-solidarity-fund-2200-steelworkers-locked-out-by-ati

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6365

The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO has endorsed the following candidates in the November 2015 general election:

Mayor
Jim Kenney

City Council At-Large
Blondell Reynolds-Brown – D
Helen Gym – D
William K. Greenlee – D
Allan Domb – D
Derek S. Green – D
Daniel Tinney – R

City Council by District
1. Mark F. Squilla
2. Kenyatta Johnson
3. Jannie L. Blackwell
4. Curtis J. Jones Jr.
5. Darrell L. Clarke
6. Bobby Henon
7. Maria Quinones Sanchez
8. Cindy Bass
9. Cherelle Parker
10. Brian J. O’Neill

Sheriff
Jewell Williams

Register of Wills
Ronald R. Donatucci

City Commissioner
Lisa M. Deeley – D
Anthony Clark – D
Al Schmidt – R

In addition, the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO has endorsed the following judicial candidates in the November 2015 general election:

Supreme Court
Judge Kevin Dougherty — D
Judge David Wecht — D
Judge Christine Donohue — D

Superior Court
Alice Beck-Dubow — D

Commonwealth Court
Mike Wojcik — D

Source – http://www.pa.aflcio.org/philaflcio/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=0C7A64F7-C8CD-4B21-92D2-F3A1813A6982

By The Pa. AFL-CIO

– A major victory for fast food workers in forming unions at McDonalds, Burger King and other franchises took a big step forward yesterday with a landmark decision by the National Labor Relations Board in a case involving a Teamsters organizing campaign at a waste management company.

The NLRB ruled that Browning Ferris Industries qualifies as a “joint employer” alongside one of its subcontractors. The decision effectively loosens the standards for who can be considered a worker’s boss under law, and its impact will be felt in any industry that relies on franchising or outsourcing.

Unions already representing workers and helping them form unions in service and retail industries have been challenging big corporations that rely on these business models to claim no accountability to workers. Yesterday’s decision is a major victory that opens the door to organizing and representing millions of workers on large scale basis instead of on a worksite-by-worksite model which is very difficult.

The NLRB which has a Democratic majority whose members were appointed by President Obama ruled by a 3-2 margin with two Republican board members dissenting. The majority decision states, “It is not the goal of joint-employer law to guarantee the freedom of employers to insulate themselves from their legal responsibility to workers, while maintaining control of the workplace,” they wrote. “Such an approach has no basis in the National Labor Relations Act or federal labor policy.”

The Browning Ferris case grew out of an organizing effort by the Teamsters. The union sought to have the waste management company named as a joint employer for workers employed by the staffing firm Leadpoint Business Services, a subcontractor for Browning Ferris. If Browning Ferris were deemed a joint employer, it would have to join Leadpoint in bargaining with the Teamsters. Such a determination could also make it easier for the Teamsters to organize workers at other staffing agencies that do work for Browning Ferris.

A regional director of the NLRB ruled that Browning Ferris did not exert enough control over Leadpoint workers to be considered a joint employer under current standards, but the Teamsters appealed that ruling to the federal board. This week’s ruling will change those standards for future cases.

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6361

By Laura Benshoff

– Teachers union president Michele Paulick said she received some unwelcome news at the Chester Upland School District teacher convocation this week.

“Our superintendent, Gregory Shannon, read a letter from our receiver, Francis Barnes, that informed the teachers that there are no funds,” said Paulick, who described feeling “shock, frustration and anger” at the news.

However, in a Thursday evening vote, the 200-member union decided unanimously to work without pay for as long as individual members are able, Paulick said. The Chester Upland School District educates about 3,500 students, with nearly the same number attending area charter schools.

“We arrived at the decision to continue working because we have to put our children first,” she said. “It’s not their fault we’re in this situation.”

Two factors put Chester Upland in an especially difficult position. The district, which has been designated fiscally distressed for more than 20 years, is carrying a $24 million budget deficit from the last school year. Thanks to Pennsylvania’s ongoing budget gridlock, no money is flowing into the district from state coffers.

With no fund balance and no money coming in, officials said they won’t be able to make payroll for the first week of school, which starts Wednesday.

The parent union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, is helping to raise funds to supplement teachers’ loss of income. This is the second time in recent memory that Chester Upland teachers voted to work without pay. In 2012, the district ran out of operating funds in January and asked for an emergency infusion of cash from then Gov. Tom Corbett.

This year, the timing is worse, said Paulick. “We haven’t had any paychecks coming in over the summer, so it was very difficult to budget” for the coming weeks.

News that the district is too broke to operate comes on the heels of another blow to the district’s finances. Earlier this week, Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Chad Kenney rejected several portions of a recovery plan that would have eliminated the district’s existing fund deficit.

The plan, backed by Gov. Tom Wolf, proposed eliminating the $24 million deficit, largely by cutting back special-education tuition payments to charter schools. Those payments have ballooned in recent years to $40,000 per student, regardless of how severe — and therefore expensive — the student’s disability may be.

Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan said the receiver and state advisers to the district “are reviewing our options for further corrective action” based on Kenney’s comments.

When the budget is finally passed, “all districts would have the money come to them retroactively,” said Sheridan. Other districts have cut charter payments or taken out loans to cover their costs while the state budget negotiations sputter along.

Pennsylvania is two months into the fiscal year with no budget as Wolf and GOP legislative leaders wrangle for a spending plan that bends to their priorities.

Paulick said the impasse is “a travesty.”

“We are out here serving our community and serving our students, and we just need the support from our elected officials,” she said.

Source – http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/85684-chester-upland-cant-pay-its-teachers-but-theyre-working-anyway