Labor

President Obama Will Ask Congress for $300 Billion to Rebuild Roads and Railways to Put Americans to Work

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By Glynn Wilson – President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he will ask Congress for $300 billion to begin rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure starting with aging roads and railways, making the argument that the taxpayer investment is a worthy cause that will pay huge dividends by attracting businesses and helping get unemployed people back to…

UAW Files Appeal of Volkswagen Union Election Claiming Outside Interference

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Company Officials Now Consider Closing the Chattanooga Plant – By Glynn Wilson – The United Auto Workers union has filed an appeal with the National Labor Relations Board claiming outside political interference by special interest groups in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when Volkswagen workers narrowly voted against union representation by 44 votes. Inside sources say now instead…

Lessons from the VW-UAW Union Defeat in Tennessee

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By Chris Kromm – Facing South – Forty-four votes. If 44 workers at Volkwagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tenn. — less than 3 percent of the plant’s 1,560 hourly employees — had voted “yes” instead of “no” in last week’s closely-followed union election, the United Auto Workers and labor would be celebrating a “historic” victory in…

How Fear Beat the UAW in Tennessee

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Connecting the Dots – By Joshua Holland – A three-day election process ended on Friday when Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted against joining the United Auto Workers union 712 to 626. Coming into the vote, both sides knew what was at stake — the union drive was a direct threat to the low-wage economy…

Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference Kicks off at the Washington Hilton

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By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The opening session of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference for 2014 kicked off Sunday night with a dynamic panel of speakers who are at the forefront of the national discussion about how to address the country’s crumbling infrastructure, while at the same time beginning to deal with…

Blue Green Alliance Hosts ‘Good Jobs, Green Jobs’ Conference in Washington, D.C.

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By Glynn Wilson – HUNGRY MOTHER STATE PARK, Virg. – Some of the most powerful and effective leaders of labor unions and environmental groups in the country, along with a horde of union members, environmental activists and college students, are headed to the nation’s capital this coming week for one of the most interesting and…

Mercedes Workers Testify About Illegal, Threatening Anti-Union Activity by German Company Management

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By Glynn Wilson – TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Workers at the Mercedes auto plant say they can talk all day long on the job about Alabama football or hunting and killing deer. They just can’t talk about organizing a union. Mercedes employees and union supporters from across the state gathered at the United Auto Workers union…

Feds Find Probable Cause For Mercedes Labor Law Violations at Vance Plant

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Unions to Hold Press Conference and Rally in Coaling Alabama Monday, Jan. 27 – By Glynn Wilson – The National Labor Relations Board has found probable cause to hold a hearing charging Mercedes officials in Vance Alabama with violations of the National Labor Relations Act by acting to prohibit union organizing. A formal hearing on…

Senate Gridlock Breaks: McCarthy Approved at EPA, Perez at Labor

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By Glynn Wilson – Something has come over the Republicans in the U.S. Senate. Gridlock in Washington is cracking, and President Obama’s nominees are now working their way through confirmation like water through an open dam. A bipartisan deal was reached this week with the Republicans to allow votes on all seven of the pending…

AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka Joins Labor With Environmentalists in BlueGreen Alliance

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Watch the Video – Key segments from the speech – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 17) — The head of the largest and most powerful coalition of unions in America voiced his unequivocal support for the growing alliance between organized labor and the environmental community under the umbrella of the BlueGreen Alliance, a…

Union Leaders, Environmentalists Discuss Building a National Dialogue on Green Jobs, Reclaiming Democracy

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By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some of the most powerful union leaders and environmentalists in the country came together in the nation’s capital this week to find common ground on the critical question of how to create jobs and improve the economy while at the same time protecting the environment of the U.S.…

More Than 200 Pack Mobile Bay Conference Center to Fight Canadian Tar Sands Crude Pipeline

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Watch the video – Share the video – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE BAY, Ala. – More than 200 concerned citizens, public officials and environmental activists showed up at a citizens-called town hall public hearing Tuesday night to learn more about a plan to pump thick, hot Canadian tar sands crude oil making its way…

The Powell Memo Formed the Basis of A Call to Arms for Corporations

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Should American Democracy Be Purely About Capitalism? Or Is There Room for Compassion? Editor’s Note – An informed reader and contributor recently reminded me of the Powell Memo or Manifesto, what some credit as the beginning of the hyper activity on the part of American corporations to change the debate in the United States to…

President Obama Devotes Comments in Second Inaugural Address to Environment, Labor

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By Glynn Wilson – President Barack Obama placed his hand on two Bibles — one used by Abraham Lincoln and another by Dr. Martin Luther King — and recited the brief oath of office on Monday, while First Lady Michelle Obama held the Bibles one on top of the other as their daughters Malia, Sasha,…