IAM Member Tells Senate About Job Losses
IAM District 6 President Jerry Nowadzky testifies about job loss before
the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee. (Photo by Rick Reinhard.)
Sitting before a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing, IAM District 6 President Jerry Nowadzky of Des Moines, Iowa, put a face to the many jobs that have been lost due to NAFTA and other trade agreements.
“Our local union lost 1,000 members,” Nowadzky told members of the panel. “All these people are in the same boat that I am in, it’s a pretty scary boat.” Jerry shared his personal story and the fears he has for his children who are entering the workforce.
“I think it’s time for all of us to take a serious, sober look at what this means to the future of our economy and our country. It requires the best of what all of us have to offer.” Committee Chairman Senator Dorgan (D-ND) thanked Mr. Nowadzky for putting a face on the growing problem. “I hope they do see that people are hurting, it’s not just me, it’s thousands across this country” added Nowadzky.
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UAL Poised to Reapply for Loan Guarantee
United Airlines will submit a revised application to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) in hopes of securing a loan guarantee backed by the U.S. government.
The 3-member board rejected United’s latest application on June 18, but within hours of the announcement, indicated it would reconsider the application if the carrier submitted unspecified “additional information.”
In a message to employees, United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton said the airline would submit a new application “in a matter of days rather than weeks.” Tilton did not indicate what changes the new application would contain, despite widespread speculation among industry analysts and United’s competitors.
In a statement issued after the board’s decision last week, District 141 President Randy Canale pointed to sacrifices already made by IAM members. “Our members ratified new labor agreements providing $2.6 billion in savings and were instrumental in the passage of legislation that provided United an immediate $375 million reduction in pension obligations. Additionally, retiree representatives recently approved painful changes to health care coverage valued at more than $300 million,” said Canale, who urged members to ignore rumors and rely on updates provided on the District 141 website at
www.iam141.org.
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Lou Dobbs Reports on Defense Offsets
With help from the IAM, cable news anchor Lou Dobbs painted a stark picture of defense trade offsets and their growing impact on the U.S. aerospace industry.
In a CNN report that aired on June 17, Dobbs described offsets as a multi-billion dollar practice “that forces the United States to subsidize some of Europe’s richest countries and, at the same time, (gives) them free technology created by American innovation and American workers.”
The internationally broadcast segment highlighted the $3.5 billion sale of 48 F-16 fighter jets to Poland. To secure the sale, Lockheed Martin arranged for U.S. firms to purchase more than $10 billion in non-defense related goods from Poland. Similar deals call for U.S. jobs, tooling and technology to be transferred overseas in exchange for a large defense contract.
Unregulated offset deals threaten the entire aerospace industry, according to IAM Trade and Globalization Dept. Director Owen Herrnstadt, whose testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services was featured on the program. “We fear that the U.S. aerospace industry could suffer enormously - like the U.S. shipbuilding industry, where the U.S. was once one of the world’s great leaders,” said Herrnstadt.
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Senate To Aid Workers Exposed to Hazardous Material
The Senate passed a bill last week speeding overdue compensation for IAM workers exposed to toxic substances on the job.
Affected workers from the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP), Middletown, IA, were awarded $100 million dollars collectively through a program administered by the Federal Energy Department but only $140,000 in claims has been paid to date.
Lawmakers amended the Senate Defense Bill to make the Labor Department the administering organization, in an attempt to quicken compensation.
“It has become clear that the program has not been working as intended and this measure will help correct the situation,” said Pete V. Domenici (R-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Suspicion arose when cancer afflicted numerous members of Local 1010, Burlington, Iowa , who worked line-1 from 1945 to 1975, when radioactive and other hazardous material exposure was possible. Ninety-five percent of at-risk workers were IAM members.
Public officials and the IAM struggled to identify affected workers to offer medical screening and compensation, because the workers would not discuss their work, deeming it classified.
“The workers were sworn to secrecy about everything they did at the plant and they continued to honor that, long after the security restrictions were lifted,” explained one official.
The atomic weapons work was moved to Texas in 1975, before the Department of Energy was created, so the company never appeared on lists of current or former nuclear sites.
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Consumer Confidence Hits New Low
Americans refuse to buy into the Bush administration’s claim that the U.S. economy is on the upswing. The latest ABC News/Money Magazine poll indicates only 34 percent of Americans are confident of the current economy, bringing consumer confidence very close to its lowest point of the year.
With only 34 percent of respondents saying the “buying climate” was good, the consumer confidence index fell to negative 20 in the week ending June 13 after a negative 19 mark the week prior.
Consumer confidence is an index that measures the confidence of Americans in the national economy, their own finances, and a willingness to spend money.
A separate survey measuring American’s economic expectations found that only 28 percent of respondents said the economy was improving.
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Workers Vote to End Otis Strike in Germany
Union workers represented by IG Metall in Germany ended a five-week old strike against Otis Elevator after ratifying an agreement with increased compensation and training for employees displaced by a plant closing.
“The striking metal workers made it possible to achieve a breakthrough at the negotiating table,” said Hartmunt Meine, IG Metall Regional Director. “Although we could not change the absurd decision to close the plant, the result of the negotiations is much better than the original offer from Otis.”
The Otis workers in Germany struck the subsidiary of Connecticut-based United Technologies Corporation (UTC) after the company announced it was closing a profitable facility in Stadthagen, Germany and relocating production to the Czech Republic. More than 360 jobs would be lost due to the closing.
Under the new agreement, workers will receive 12 months of job training and increased severance payments. Displaced workers will also receive a lump sum payment equal to five months’ wages. Apprentice workers will have the option to continue their company-paid training at other plants.
IG Metall represents 2.5 million workers in Germany and is affiliated with the International Metal Workers Federation, a worldwide federation of more than 200 unions in 100 countries. The IAM is a key member of the federation, representing UTC workers at numerous U.S. facilities, including Pratt-Whitney, UTC Fuel Cells and Hamilton Sundstrand.
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Democrats Fight for Jobs
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other democrats are fighting to create and sustain US jobs through the “American Jobs Plan.”
The plan includes initiatives to invest an additional $40 billion in funding for research and development in science, engineering and math and support for public-private partnerships and education. These ventures will improve American technology, increasing the quantity and quality of American jobs.
Additionally, Pelosi told her colleagues that she wanted her lawmakers to focus on the budget, veterans' concerns, outsourcing and Medicare.
Democratic efforts are paying off. A recent Los Angeles Times poll showed a generic Democratic congressional ballot leading its Republican counterpart by 19 points, and a Time magazine poll that has congressional Democrats leading by 12.
For more information click here.
To view a related IAM video click here.
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Massachusetts Proposes Ban on Outsourcing
State lawmakers in Massachusetts have approved a budget item that would prohibit the state from doing business with any company that uses offshore outsourcing for any of the state's work.
Massachusetts state Senator Jack Hart inserted the measure as an amendment in the state's annual budget. The provision would “only apply going forward” and would not affect firms or work in past agreements.
The electronic food stamp operation in Massachusetts operates under a $160,000-a-month contract with J. P. Morgan-Chase, which then outsources the telephone service center to India. Additionally, Massachusetts’ data about its Medicaid program is being handled at least partially by workers in Bangladesh.
“We're actually putting people out of work here and sending this work to India and employing these people with taxpayer dollars,” said Senator Hart.
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Bush Student Loan Plan Costs Americans $5,500
This week, Congress is considering a plan to increase student loan costs according to Our Future, a non-profit organization. Bush’s plan would eliminate fixed interest rates on federal student loan consolidation, which would increase costs by about $5,500 per student.
First Lady Laura Bush recently started another campaign advertising the benefits of Bush’s education plan. Nonpartisan groups such as the United States Student Association, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, and Public Interest Research Group allege that the education plan does not add up, and are taking action to stop the pending education bill from becoming law.
Our Future is also taking action, encouraging outraged citizens to let Bush know how they feel.
If you would like to participate click here to send Bush your student loan bill.
Read more here.
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Western Territory Taps Wiegand for Special Rep
GVP Lee Pearson appointed Local Lodge 821’s Rod Wiegand to Grand Lodge Special Representative this month. In addition to Organizing Director duties for District 725, he had been assigned to servicing the membership in the Sacramento area.
Prior to joining the Grand Lodge staff, Wiegand had been responsible for the organizing of over 650 new members into the IAM, and has conducted campaigns in the aerospace, service contract and automotive sectors of industry. He will be assigned to Colorado and New Mexico.
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