July 04, 2009
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Oil Worker Issue 8

Posted On: Jun 24, 2009 (17:52:44)

Download: OilWorker_Issue_8.pdf
2009 Election Results

Updated On: May 21, 2009 (23:20:00)

President:                      Jim Savage

VP Philly Refinery:       Nancy Minor

VP Eagle Point Docks: Rick Zimmerman

Financial Secretary:     Mike Olsen

G&N Chair:                  Brad Takacs

Recording Secretary:   Tim Gildea

Sgt. at Arms:                 Gabe Swartz

Trustees:                       Regina Vicario         Charlie Wilson

                                       Dan Ozdowski              

G&N Committee:         Joe Grosse               Mike Olsen

                                       John McGrath          Charlie Wilson

Joint H&S Committee: Joe Grosse               John McGrath

                                       John Garrity              John Henninger

Executive Pay Watch 2009

Posted On: Apr 27, 2009 (12:16:50)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Do Something
About It
Just as passing the Employee Free Choice Act is central to securing the economic future of America's working families, so is ensuring that our financial markets are regulated.
Take action today and tell Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), chairs of the House Finance Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, that we're counting on them to draft legislation that truly strengthens our financial regulations and begins curing the disease that has infected our economic system.
 
In 2008, CEOs and other executives responsible for our current financial crisis pocketed millions of dollars from bonuses and golden parachutes, while our government spent billions of our dollars bailing out their companies.
Vikram S. Pandit, CEO of Citigroup Inc., received more than $38 million in total compensation in 2008, the same year his company took $50 billion in U.S. taxpayer money.
To shed light on executive pay, the AFL-CIO released Executive PayWatch 2009 earlier today. In this report, we learn that CEO perks alone grew in 2008 to an average of $336,248—or nine times the median salary of a full-time worker.
This comprehensive report includes much more information, including:
Outrageous executive pay is a symptom of a disease that has infected our entire economic system. It is a disease of greed and corruption made worse by the Bush administration’s obsession with further deregulating Wall Street and ideological aversion to oversight and accountability in our financial system.
Check out Executive PayWatch 2009 today and pass it around to your family and friends. It’s20time to shed light on outrageous executive compensation, particularly while America’s working families are bearing the brunt of the worst economic crisis in our country since the Great Depression.
In Solidarity,
Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator
P.S. Mad about overpaid CEOs? So are we. The most important thing to do right now to curb executive pay is to fix our broken financial system by regulating our financial markets. Tell your representatives to draft legislation that truly strengthens our financial regulations and begins curing the disease that has infected our economic system.

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Buy American!

Updated On: Mar 26, 2009 (14:06:00)

BUY AMERICAN RALLY


On Monday, March 30th,

the United Steelworkers will hold a "Buy American" rally in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg at 12:30 PM.  PCN will televise the event.  Please consider this a request that you make every effort to attend if possible.  Friends, families and neighbors are also cordially invited.  The "Buy American Resolution" passed the Pennsylvania State House today on a vote of 192-0.  Thank you all for a job well done, but our work continues on PA municipalities, Boards, Authorities, etc.  Please let me know if you will be able to attend.  Hope to see all of you in Harrisburg on Monday.
Steve Raysely / Bob McAuliffe - Rapid Response Coordinators USW - District 10
EFCA Action Center

Updated On: Mar 16, 2009 (03:54:00)

Workers Hit Capitol Hill in Support of EFCA - 03/15/09

Three hundred fifty worker lobbyists from 34 states hit Capitol Hill.

Last week as this important labor law reform bill was re-introduced in Congress. These workers had 125 meetings with members of Congress uring support for the reform that takes employer intimidation out of workers’ choices to form unions. Bill Samuel, Legislative Director for the AFL-CIO, says the corporate reign over the workplace and worker’s lives cannot continue because it takes an enormous financial toll on working families.

[Samuel]: “They’ve had thirty years of basically unchallenged power in the workplace and we’re all suffering as a result of that - stagnant wages and growing income inequality. I think Congress is ready to deal with this.”

Larry Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute says this reform is vital to allow workers to once again share in productivity gains so they can consume and drive the economy to full recovery.

[Mishel]: “Since 2002 we’ve had eleven, thirteen percent productivity growth but there has not been any movement whatsoever in the hourly wages and hourly compensation of workers, whether you have a high school degree or a college degree.”

 

Isn't it good to have a contract, and someone fighting for your rights

Updated On: Mar 13, 2009 (15:30:00)

Market Scan
Sunoco Slims Down
Lisa LaMotta, 03.13.09, 1:10 PM ET  

Call it a "business-improvement initiative" or call it cost-cutting -- either way -- it means people are going to get laid off.

In the most recent round of layoffs from a major U.S. company, Sunoco announced Friday that it was cutting a fifth of its (non-contract) workforce, or 750 jobs, in the first round of what it likes to call its business-improvement initiative.

"It is never easy to take steps that impact the lives of employees and their families," said Chairman Lynn Elsenhans. "While the company has enjoyed several years of strong financial performance, we are now facing a different - and more difficult - economic reality. Like many other companies across a variety of industries, Sunoco is taking steps to remain competitive."

Shares of the refiner dropped 6.7%, or $1.96, to $27.15, in late-morning trading on Friday.

The Philadelphia-based energy company said that it expects to save $300.0 million in 2009 due to the initiative. It will take a charge of $30.0 million to $45.0 million in the first quarter related to the cuts.

Sunoco has been affected by the severe drop in demand for oil over the last year as the price per barrel reached record highs last July and then fell below $40 per barrel in recent months. The global economic downturn has economists predicting that the demand for oil will continue to decline in 2009.

A recent report from the Commerce Department showed that imports have declined more than exports, pushing down the trade deficit to $36.0 billion. The slowdown in imports can be attributed to the slowdown in the importation of oil. ( See "Trade Deficit Hits Six-Year Low.")

Sunoco's full-year 2008 income dropped 12.9%, to $776.0 million.

 

EFCA info and links

Updated On: Mar 11, 2009 (19:14:00)

 

Employee Free Choice Act: All You Need To Know

The Employee Free Choice Act, sometimes called "card check," is legislation aimed at strengthening the labor movement by changing the way unions organize workers and also by helping workers reach agreements with employers more easily. According to the AFL-CIO, there are three main goals of EFCA. 1)Remove current obstacles to employees who want collective bargaining. 2) Guarantee that workers who can choose collective bargaining are able to achieve a contract. 3) Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing … more

Employee Free Choice Act Strikes Fear in the GOP

But, first, if you enjoy big partisan fights on the floor of Congress, if you enjoy hyperbolic warnings from Republicans about Armageddon and the end of the republic as we know it?  Tomorrow might be a good day to call in sick and curl up with C-SPAN—because tomorrow, Democrats in both houses of Congress are expected to introduce a piece of legislation that may divide Republicans and Democrats more sharply than any other issue—more than the stimulus, more than the budget, more than even healthcare maybe.  It is the … video

 Please Check Out This Video. It Will Give You An Idea Of What We're Up Against.

Rapid Response

Updated On: Mar 10, 2009 (19:49:00)

March 10, 2009

Buy American Update

Thanks to the help of Rapid Response, nearly 600 Buy American Resolutions aremoving in cities, school boards, counties, states and other government entities across the country. To date, over 60 have passed, including resolutions at the West Virginia House and Senate. Those numbers continue to grow daily!

Why is this fight so important?

We need to create grassroots pressure at all levels of government to get Americans back to work.The economic recovery bill contains billions for infrastructure and other initiatives. If these dollars are used to “Buy American” when it comes to goods and services, we’ll maximize job creation. However, if our government entities who are spending the money try to waive the Buy American requirements found in the economic recovery bill, then we defeat the whole purpose of stimulating our economy – and miss out on an opportunity to get and keep Americans working.

 

Get the Buy American Resolution passed in your municipality, boro, city, county or other local government entity. If you don’t know your elected officials at the local level, now is the time to meet them! For a copy of the ActionCall for more guidance, visit:

http://images.usw.org/download/rapid/ActionCall_Buy_America_Combined.pdf.

How can I help?

The more resolutions we pass, the greater the chances of getting Americans back to work.

Visit www.makeourfuturework.org Anytime to See Updated Buy

American Activity From Across the Country

USW Rapid Response

�� (412) 562-2291 �� http://www.uswrr.org
EFCA Action Center

Posted On: Mar 10, 2009 (19:26:50)
 
The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in Congress today!
 
Greedy CEOs are doubling down to try to defeat it.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Today, we took an important step towards restoring balance and fairness to our economy and rebuilding the middle class—the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in BOTH the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Corporate special interests are twisting arms, spending millions on misleading ads and spreading lies and propaganda to block the bill. We've got to put relentless pressure on Congress, starting now.

Rep. Andrews, Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez need to hear from you immediatelythey're already hearing from corporate lobbyists and CEOs.

Make sure your elected officials actively support the Employee Free Choice Act!

The folks who want to stop this bill are unionbusters and the same greedy CEOs who ran our economy into the ground. They are happy with the status quo. They don't want to level the playing field for workers.

But with the most pro-worker Congress in years, and President Obama committed to the bill, this is our best chance yet to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

There's not a moment to lose—e-mail your lawmakers right now!

Passing the Employee Free Choice Act is one of the three main goals of AFSCME's Make America Happen campaign. We've already achieved goal one—passing a jobs and economic recovery bill that helps working people. Now we must fight to make quality health care affordable and available for all—and to rebuild the middle class by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

Now that the bill has been introduced, it's time for you to speak up.

Click here and send your message today!

The stakes couldn't be higher: giving more workers a fair chance to negotiate for better pay, benefits and job security will help restore the struggling middle class and make the economy work for everyone.

Thanks for helping to make America happen, again.

In solidarity,

Tracey Conaty
AFSCME e-Action Network

 

EFCA Pa Labor Update

Posted On: Mar 09, 2009 (21:23:30)
Take Action: Help Turn Around America and
Rebuild the Mi
ddle Class

Efcalogo
No matter how strong an econo
mic stimulus plan we enact, it will not result in broadly shared, lasting prosperity unless we also restore workers' freedom to join unions and bargain with their employers for a better life.

That's why we need the Employee Free Choice Act - to turn around America's economy and rebuild the middle class.

President Obama said he will sign the Employee Free Choice Act once it lands on his desk. 
Now WE need to get it there.


Call Senator Specter today toll free at 1-866-207-2060
and urge him to co-sponsor and support the Employee Free Choice Act.
 
AND


Bob Mazzei 005Write a letter to Senator Specter today

and urge him to co-sponsor and support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Click here for sample messages and an easy way to send your letter online.

CBA Update

Posted On: Mar 04, 2009 (20:27:54)

Tentative agreement is signed!

Informational meetings Thursday and Friday this week, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

All meetings at 4 pm

Vote next Friday 5am to 8pm.

Thanks for staying Strong!!!

This should be our next Great Campaign

Updated On: Mar 04, 2009 (12:09:00)

                                       PA Labor Update

 Welcome to the 1st 2009 Pennsylvania Labor Update

Brothers and Sisters,

After an historic win last fall, Pennsylvania union members are wasting no time getting back to work to make sure the Employee Free Choice Act is passed.  Union activists from across the Keystone state are calling, writing, and visiting their elected officials in droves to make sure they are supporting the legislation.   And it doesn’t stop there; faith leaders, economists, scholars, community organizations, retirees, student organizations and more have joined forces in support of the Employee Free Choice Act because folks realize the positive effects that will result for all working people in Pennsylvania. 

However, groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace are spreading lies about what the Employee Free Choice Act would really accomplish.  A few common misconceptions are disproved below:

1.      The Employee Free Choice Act does NOT eliminate the secret ballot.

2.      When it comes to worker intimidation, corporations are the culprits.

3.      The current system IS undemocratic.

As the economic downturn worsens, the need for the Employee Free Choice Act becomes more and more apparent.  A report recently released by the Center for American Progress showed that just a 5% increase in union membership in Pennsylvania would result in an additional $852,000,000 pumped into the state economy annually.  With the Employee Free Choice Act, Pennsylvania can make the findings of that report a reality.     

As we move forward with this campaign, there will be many actions and events hosted across the Commonwealth that union members and leaders can get involved in. Please bookmark and distribute our new blog address:  http://employeefreechoice.typepad.com/PA/ for the latest developments on the Employee Free Choice Act campaign in Pennsylvania.

 

In Solidarity,

Frank Snyder

National AFL-CIO Pennsylvania State Director

For more information, check out the new section in the Main Menu Area to the left -

"Employee Free Choice Act".

To Register, Click on the

"One Million Strong"

Link in the upper right hand corner of this page.

CBA Update

Posted On: Mar 03, 2009 (18:25:54)
Document review continues through tomorrow. 
 Details on meetings and Vote will be sent when T/A signed.
 
STAY Strong!
CBA Update

Updated On: Mar 03, 2009 (18:22:00)

Details on info meetings and ratification vote will be sent this afternoon once agreement actually signed.

 STAY STRONG!

 The regularly scheduled Stewards Meeting for the first Tuesday of the month has been cancelled.

The Negotiating Committee would like to thank all of you for your support and continued defense of our contract.

 Info meeting tonight is cancelled.

Further details on info meetings and votes will be communicated ASAP.

CBA Update

Posted On: Mar 02, 2009 (19:41:30)

Verbal Agreement @ 6:55 pm

24 hr extension to review language before signing.

More information tomorrow on meetings and vote.

Thanks you all for staying strong!!!


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