I grew up in the union movement.  I’ve been lucky to have grown up in the US because being a unionist here doesn’t always mean death, jail time or torture, it has in our past as evidenced with the treatment of Mother Jones, Joe Hill and Wesley Everest, but it’s better today than it is in many countries around the world.  Countries, like Turkey.

In Turkey’s push to assist in the "war on terror" and to put aside their own internal struggles against terrorists, they have brilliantly decided that a woman in the labor movement is a terrorist.  

Have you ever heard about Kevser Mizrak?

Today, the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO held its COPE Convention. The main reason for this convention is to endorse candidates for office. Below the fold is the listing of candidates officially endorsed by the states AFL-CIO.

You might notice that Rep. Dan Boren is missing from those endorsements. The reason for this is that his voting record regarding labor was not up to par. District 4, home of Rep. Tom Cole also received a no endorsement

I want to share with you all our endorsement today of Sen. Barack Obama. Seth Michaels on our staff has the details below.

The AFL-CIO today endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.

The AFL-CIO General Board, which voted to endorse Obama, includes presidents of all 56 unions in the AFL-CIO, as well as Executive Council members and representatives of state and local federations, trade departments and constituency groups. The General Board votes by per capita membership. In conjunction with the endorsement, the AFL-CIO launched a new website: Meet Barack Obama.

Its so rare for traditional media to analyze anything, so Kudos and Diggs to Raj Cohan of CBS Denver for challenging this anti-employee rights scare ad:

Ad: What if labor bosses controlled class elections. Thanks for your vote. I want to assure you that a vote for me is best for you. Ms. Hudgens has just agreed that there isn't gonna be any secret vote. Sign these cards showing us who you like the best, and my campaign committee will collect and count em.

Here's the spin. The ad attacks legislation in Congress called the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). If approved, it would amend the National Labor Relations Act to make it easier for unions to organize. How would it work? If a simple majority of workers sign cards saying they want a union, EFCA would essentially require the National Labor Relations Board to certify the union, assuming there was no illegal coercion involved in gathering the signatures. Under these circumstances employers would be barred from demanding a secret vote.

http://cbs4denver.com/...

An international day of action against the union-busting Starbucks has been called for 5 July 2008.  Please support this action.

More scary PR from the Union Busting industry below on labor reform coming from Dems.  Although the PR doesn't say it, most Small Businesses are exempt from Federal Labor law, and ALL Small Businesses would be exempt if Congress adjusted the NLRB's 1959 interstate trade threshold of $500,000 to an inflation adjusted $3.1 Million.  

Mom and pop shops can't afford anti-union lawyers, and tend to play by the rules.  The union busters, chambers of commerce, and the GOP aren't trying to protect "small business."  Their neglect to adjust the $500K exemption proves it.  Big Business are the ones who want to keep $0 penalties for labor law violations, but they also want the support of small business owners by putting more of them under Federal jurisdiction.

The Employee Free Choice Act adds penalties for firing union supporters.  It also levels the playing field for small business as well as law-abiding big businesses against scofflaw corporations.

The unionbusters PR over the fold...

I don't know if this has been diaried yet, but I haven't seen it on the rec list, so here it is:

From the Detroit Free Press:

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union's International Executive Board voted unanimously to endorse Obama and noted "a historic primary campaign which activated and mobilized millions of voters."
"On every issue that counts, we can count on Barack Obama to stand with our members, our families and our communities," Gettelfinger said. "He has pledged to rebuild America's manufacturing base and to assist the auto industry as we retool toward a cleaner, more modern transportation system."
Gettelfinger also said in the union's endorsement that Obama supports workers' rights to organize, will push to make health care affordable and available to everyone and "understands the need to change our trade policies so that U.S. workers and U.S. companies can compete fairly in the global economy."

Here in Colorado there is a fight over unionizing going on. Conservatives are trying desperately to turn Colorado into a so called "Right to work" (for less) state by introducing a ballot initiative for same.

This battle has been rife with controversy and the initiative is currently being challenged by unions on the grounds that there has been massive fraud in the collection of signatures for this odeous initiative.

Here's a press release from some attorneys who are worried about the Employee Free Choice Act crippling their industry.  Union busting strategies are built around the premise of $0 penalties for labor violations and prolonging contract negotiations indefinately until employees give up and leave.  By adding fines for harrassing or firing union supporters, the EFCA would make it too expensive to violate the law, and it wouldn't be cost effective to hire expensive union busters.  

Sen. Obama vowed to stand by re-elected SEIU president Andy Stern and union members by ushering in a union- friendly administration. He also vowed to pass the Employee Free Choice Act if elected to presidential office.
...
Founded in 1958, Jackson Lewis LLP is dedicated to representing management exclusively in workplace law. With offices in 37 cities and 500 attorneys, Jackson Lewis has developed a specialized expertise in every aspect of employment, labor, benefits and immigration law. Additional information about Jackson Lewis LLP can be found at www.jacksonlewis.com .
http://newsblaze.com/...

For America's Lil' Three (now down to 3.1%of total U.S. GDP (personal consumption spending now accounts for 70%)), the answer is likely to be Mexico. The reason? Automotive unions in Mexico have agreed to cut wages to 'near China levels':

http://biz.yahoo.com/...

A couple of articles continue to perpetuate a GOP lie which might undo some Democrats.  

Maine has been targeted because of the expected Senate race between Representative Tom Allen (D-Maine) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).  They are on opposite sides of "The Employee Free Choice Act."
http://www.wcsh6.com/...

This is in the boring details of labor law, but the truth usually is a sleeper compared to a good scary lie.  As Forbes says, "Who's afraid of a little organized labor? U.S. business, that's who."

The scary lie:  Democrats want to eliminate secret ballot elections for union elections.

The boring truth:  The Employee Free Choice Act does not change current labor law regarding secret ballots and majority card check.

Ever heard of Combustible Dust? No, ask Tammy Miser

Shawn’s back was towards the furnace when they were picking up their tools and there was a blast. Some say Shawn got up and started walking towards the door and then there was a second, more intense blast. Shawn didn’t die instantly. He laid on building floor while the aluminum dust burnt through his flesh and muscle tissue. The breaths that he took burnt his internal organs, and the blast took his eyesight. Shawn was still conscious and asking for help... And the two things that I can always remember and that never leave are his last words, ‘I’m in a world of hurt,’ and his last breaths." Tammy Miser Congressional hearing on combustible dust

At almost every rally for Hillary  behind the candidate there is usually a sea of union members  holding signs and wearing their colored t-shirts.  AFSCME's green shirted members, campaigned hard for HRC in battleground states, and were joined by members of the AFT and the Machinists at most rallies.

I failed to see any large scale union presence at Hillary's speech last night. That leads me to guess they are in the process of negotiating Hillary's exit from the stage.   Under no circumstances are they willing to help give George Bush's disasterous economic policies a third term. They'll probably break the news to Hillary soon that they are endorsing Barack.  I'm sure they would rather endorse after Hillary concedes, but if she waits too long, I'm sure they'll start the process of switching their endorsements.

A quick check of those three websites show no mention of HRC, let alone urging members to help her fight on, while SEIU and the Teamsters both feature Obama on their front pages.  My guess is that in a couple of days, AFSCME (1.4 million members) AFT ( over a million members) and the machinists ( over 700,000) will tell Hillary that it's over and she needs to leave the race or they will dump her.

Yes. We. Can. It's not just a theme or a rally cry, it can have even more meaning today.  Today, we can do more than just support Obama and cheer a nomination long over due. We can do something about the tragic death of Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez.

Yes, we can, AS A COMMUNITY, we can do a very small act of solidarity...

We can express our sympathy to the family of Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez.

And yeah, doing it is important, to her family, to migrant farm workers all over this country and to me, a single person.  It's worth just a few seconds of your time today.

More after the flip:

My dad told me this weekend that some of his parts suppliers and buyers are shutting down their operations in Mexico and moving back to the States and into Canada.

Okay, I’ll bite, "why Dad?"

"Because of bribes.  The suppliers and buyers have told me that they’re tired of trying to get things done when you have to bribe everyone to get it done.  And if you don’t bribe all the right people, the workers don’t show up to produce anything at all."

Two of the most aggressive Clinton advocates today on the rules committee work for the American Federation of Teachers. One, Liz Smith, is the political director of AFT, while the other lady (sat next to Harold Ickes) is an assitant to the AFT President. Both of them were fervent on Saturday in their declaration for democratic votes. If that's the case, why didn't they let their own members vote to endorse a candidate?

As a leader of one the largest and most politically active locals in all of AFT, and as a pledged delegate for Barack Obama, I can tell you, they don't represent our membership on this committee.

Kay Steiger, guest-blogging at Matt Yglesias' site, considers sexism in "trade professions" and after pointing out that jobs like hair dressing aren't counted as such precisely because women do them, suggests that

What would help is first what these truck mechanics Harding points to are already doing, mentoring young women in non-traditional fields. Secondly, unions that represent those industries need to not only be free of sexism themselves, but aggressively pursue lawsuits that would discourage sexual harassment. This is happening with some larger trade unions already, but it's not as wide as it should be.

I think this really sells short the potential for trade unions to take on discrimination.  Any kind of organization with the resources can file a lawsuit - or individuals or groups can do it with no organization at all.

From the GOP dominated National Association of Manufacturers

Card Check: Secret Ballots As a Campaign Issue
We've commented before that support of the Employee Free Choice Act is a losing issue in general election campaigns because most Americans will recoil from the idea of eliminating secret ballots in the workplace. Polling conducted for the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace indicates as much.
http://blog.nam.org/...

To clarify for "most Americans", current labor law requires a secret ballot election if over 30% of employees have signed a statement saying they want to be represented by a union.  If over 50% have signed a statement, the Labor Board considers a secret election superfluous since majority rules in a democracy.  

The Employee Free Choice Act doesn't change the process of majority rules.  What it does is add penalties for illegally harrassing and firing union supporters.