PeoriaStory

Wisconsin solidarity rally on Thursday

PEORIA -- A rally to support pro-labor demonstrators in Madison, Wisc. has been scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 24 at the Peoria County Courthouse.

"Support our friends in Wisconsin as well as women, children and seniors that are under attack across the nation," the flier reads.

The event was announced at the Feb. 21 Peoria County Democrats Presidents' Day Dinner, where the featured speakers were Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon and US Sen. Dick Durbin.

Durbin said he is touring the Illinois Congressional districts represented by Republicans to tell the public how their members of Congress are voting in Washington.

Peoria's Congress member Aaron Schock voted against a $10 million grant program that would have gone toward redevelopment of the warehouse district and riverfront, Durbin said.

Schock also voted against $6 million in stimulus funds that have paid for Peoria's new airport terminal, he said.

"All we have to do is tell truth (about) who stands on the side of the millions out of work," Durbin said.

"We're watching closely" what the Republicans do, and "we're standing behind this president to put people back to work," he added.

Both Simon and Durbin expressed solidarity with the Wisconsin protestors. "These are battles we never thought we would have to fight again," Simon said.

The Wisconsin situation is "not acceptable to me or (Illinois) Gov. (Pat) Quinn," she added.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

On Wisconsin....

PEORIA -- To counter the many lies -- lies? let's tell it straight! -- in the mainstream media about the Wisconsin revolt against corporate greed, here are stories that tell the truth -- the documented truth, about what is really happening there:

The governor and his friends: high pay for cronies, tax cuts for corporations: 

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12372

Koch brothers funding governor. 

http://www.alternet.org/story/149965/wisconsin_is_a_battleground_against_the_billionaire_kochs%27_plan_to_break_labor%27s_back?page=entire

http://www.truth-out.org/scott-walker-runs-koch-money67916

New York Times agrees.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/us/22koch.html?src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB

Wisconsin government workers make less than others in Wisconsin:

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_d4093848-3c92-11e0-ac18-001cc4c03286.html

 

The right wing game plan:

http://www.truth-out.org/what-conservatives-really-want67907

Spliting the working people in the US (divide and conquer):

http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/5003-the-republican-strategy

Labor's last stand: http://www.readersupportednews.org/off-site-news-section/52-52/5000-labors-last-stand

 

And while we're at it, lies about Social Security and the deficit:

http://www.alternet.org/story/149967/why_are_some_pundits_and_politicans_hell-bent_on_underminig_social_security%2C_in_spite_of_its_success_and_strength?akid=6550.40608.owcoTT&rd=1&t=18

 

Yes, the links above are an eye-full.  Read them and weep for our supposed democracy. On the other hand, this information is not secret.  People who know it must tell others and vote accordingly. Otherwise we're all Wisconsin.  Or worse.

Working people did not cause the Great Recession, Wall Street did, yet it's never been more prosperous, while employees everywhere are paying the price. 

Everytime you hear talk about deficits, ask about taxing the rich!  That's the real solution to fiscal problems in the USA. If the Tea Party had any brains they would seize on this issue. Oh, I forgot -- they're funded by the corporate rich, who want to steal from the rest of us. That leaves the rest of us to stand up and demand change!

 -- Elaine Hopkins 

 Update, 2/21/2011:  Watch out for disinformation campaigns, dirty tricks: 

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/480448/tea_party_leader_hatches_diabolical_plan_to_infiltrate_and_embarrass_union_protesters_in_wi_and_other_states/#paragraph2

 

Spirit Airlines pilots strike led by former Peorian

UPDATE 6/16/2010:  The strike is ending, and the Spirit pilots have secured a fair and equitable contract, its leadership announced. Not one pilot crossed the picket line, and the management of Spirit realized a settlement was in everyone's best interests. Congrats to Spirit pilots!

Here are some relevant links: Associated Press and ALPA.

PEORIA -- The strike by Spirit Airlines pilots may seem far from Peoria. But it's not.

The strike chairman is Paul Hopkins, 39, my son, graduate of Woodruff High School and Western Illinois University.  He's been an airline pilot for years, and worked for Spirit for several years. He's a first officer.

His father, my husband, is George E. Hopkins, a nationally known expert on airlines and pilot labor who has written several books on the subject. So Paul has a free consultant, for what that's worth.

Paul and his fellow pilots are members of the Airline Pilots Association, an AFL-CIO union. He's had released time from flying to work on strike preparations for weeks.  Every pilot has been contacted to stand in solidarity with their fellows.

So far, none has crossed the picket lines, he said in a phone call shortly after 2 p.m. today, June 12. 

The pilots are a very diverse group.  Some speak Spanish, to the delight of Spanish language media, he said. Some are conservative Republicans, but also strongly support the union, he said. 

That's the key to a successful union strike.  Solidarity.

He's confident that the strike will shock airline management into agreeing to a fair contract that will pay Spirit pilots what other pilots flying comparable aircraft now make. That's their goal.

A last minute offer by Spirit management did not reach that level, he said.

They've had wide support from pilots from other airlines, who have conducted informational picketing with them as the strike deadline approached. They know that their future pay and benefits can be affected by what happens to the Spirit pilots.  "We're the tip of the spear," he said.

In a way, the pilots stand for all working people, whose economic welfare rose with the rise of organized labor, and has fallen in recent decades as unions have been weakened.

This is also a labor relations test for the Obama administration.  The president has the power to order airline pilots back to work, and presidents have done this in the past.  But ALPA endorsed Obama, and the head of the FAA is a former ALPA president and Eastern Airlines pilot. So the political climate is right for a successful strike, it seems.

All unions who supported Obama will be watching to see what happens in this strike.

Spirit is a small airline, owned by investors, not a publicly traded company, and said to be a highly profitable operation.  It's headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and flies to Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico,  Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Peru and other Latin American destinations.

Spirit canceled most of its flights in the last couple of days so its planes would not be stranded in far flung locations. Paul said about half the fleet is now parked at the airport in Fort Lauderdale. 

The company is in meltdown mode, he said. Stranded passengers cannot reach anyone to find out about refunds or rebooking.  It announced it would fly through the strike but refused to give details then canceled the flights. So its credibility is zero.

It hoped to hire charter operations to fly its flights, but apparently could not hire any or enough so far. Pilots are a community, and many will refuse to cross picket lines, including those not in unions. Even some Spirit managers have said they won't cross, Paul said.

Spirit is not well liked by its customers who complain of fees that nickle and dime them on top of the fares. It's known as a discount carrier, and competes with American Airlines on its international routes.

It pioneered the extra charges for baggage that many other airlines then adopted, and recently announced it would charge for carry-on luggage, beginning in August.So it's cheap fares are deceptive.

Once again, it's up to the workers to stand and fight for everyone's well being, against the   corporate managers whose only goal is to make money at the expense of others. 

Pilots are more committed to safety than the managers, and serve as a check on corporate greed. It makes sense to pay them a living wage so it's a career for them and safe transport for the public.

Here's a link to an Associated Press story.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

UPDATE:  6/14/2010:  Paul is quoted in the New York Times.

And -- most of the national stories focus on stranded travelers.  While that's sad, it's been no secret that Spirit pilots were planning a strike. Weeks ago they took out billboards and national newspaper ads to warn passengers.

Strikes are rough, but they're the only way to reach an intransigent management.  As Paul has said, "they hate the pilots but love money."  So now they have to choose between them.

A union wins one

PEKIN -- Here's an unusual story:  for once the union won!  And most are women!

Members of Laborers Local 231 gathered in Pekin to celebrate their victory on April 15 after a four-month strike, during the coldest winter in years, a strike that's been all but invisible in the local mainstream media.

Union steward Robin Harrison said the union walked out from Pal Health Technologies of Pekin on Oct. 2.  The strike ended Feb. 1 with the workers getting raises and a 401(k) match.

The company makes prescription orthotics, and has been in business for 32 years. The owner decided to try to rid the workplace of the union, she said. "They brought in union busters.  They thought a few would cross the picket line and train new workers."

But the boss was wrong. Only one person crossed. Sixty-one went on strike.The mostly female workforce, many of them over age 40 and 20-year veterans at the plant, showed solidarity, she said.

Jane Evans, a UAW Local 974 retiree, agreed with Harrison. "If they hadn't stuck together...." she said. "They stuck together."

When the owner saw his contracts evaporating, he settled, Harrison said. "We won unfair labor practices. We had the law on our side, which made a huge difference," she added.

The women's celebration included a concert by activist Anne Feeney and Evan Greer, who are on a Midwest tour (see story below). Feeney also played and sang for the women last fall, while they were on strike.

Feeney's t-shirt said it all:  "Kick Ass for the Working Class."

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Ehrenreich witty, charming as she talks about the poor

UPDATE 1/9/10:  Ehrenreich has a fabulous account of her visit to Macomb in today's Financial Times.

MACOMB -- Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickle and Dimed and other best sellers, apologized to Western Illinois University students if they were required to read her book.

In a witty, charming 50-minute speech at WIU, Ehrenreich, a grandmother, obviously sympathized with the college generation who applauded when she said there should be amnesty for student loans.

Being a college student is a full time job in itself, she said, and students should not be forced to work long hours or be burdened with huge loans. 

Ehrenreich said poverty in the US has been stigmatized as the fault of the poor, who have made "poor choices" or are lazy or promiscuous.  But in reality, she said, poverty results from low wages. "It's a shortage of money because of inadequate pay."

She described her experiences working in low wage jobs, as depicted in Nickle and Dimed. That was important research, she said, because instead of just interviewing people in those jobs, she felt their weariness and understood their plight in a way that could not be communicated in interviews.

Low wage workers are treated badly, suspected of drug use and theft by employers, she said. They're asked to take drug tests, though research proves that's a waste of money, she said. It's done to intimidate them, "it's a ritual of humiliation to get you in the mood for a (low wage) job."

Low wage jobs, contrary to what people may believe, are challenging, she said. "Every job takes skill, intelligence and concentration and deserves our respect," she said, to applause.  

Low wage workers often are ripped off by employers who require them to work "off the books," and they are charged more for shelter and food, she said. They are "kicked downhill" instead of being helped. They're charged more for credit, medical care and other items. Homelessness is criminalized.

Her book Nickel and Dimed took place "in the good old days before the Recession," and "when anybody could find a job."  It's much worse today, she said. "Now the middle class is losing jobs. Stereotypes of poverty don't work any more." 

The so-far overlooked results of the Recession, she said, include:

1. More women turning to sex work, stripping and prostitution.

2. Urban hunting -- shooting and eating squirrels and raccoons in cities such as Detroit.

3. Suicide, including homicide of family members.

4. Surrendered medical care - people skipping doctor appointments and medication.

5.  Crowding, as people double up for shelter.

She suggested cutting pay rates at the top and paying more to low wage workers, to applause.

"Could we stop the meanness, the persecution of people already having a hard time?" she asked.

"Stop kicking people when they're already down. This is not liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. This is fundamental morality."

The Bible has over 3,000 references on helping the poor, she said, but not one on abortion or gays or stem cells.

"There is so much that needs to be done," she said. "We can't fund raise for everyone that is sick. You have got to hold politicians' feet to the fire."

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Rove controversy continues

PEORIA -- The controversy over the anti-union, Karl Rove appearance in Peoria on Monday, May 11 continues to boil. Scroll down.

UPDATE 5/11/09: Rove sneaked into town and spoke to about 40 people, according to news accounts. The press was barred from the event, as were union members and certain elected officials.

Here's the PJStar story.

I showed up and carried a hand lettered sign that read "Anti-Union = Anti-American" on one side and "Arrest Rove for War Crimes" on the other side.

Too bad he wasn't arrested for conspiracy to torture, and send to jail.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Why do businesses hate unions? Do they want the US to fail?

UPDATE 5/9/09: Check out this story from the PJStar. Local Democratic officials are furious, may drop funding for those involved in inviting Rove. Good for them!

UPDATE 5/8/09: The PJStar finally did the story, which includes information about a noon rally opposing this event by the unions. Be there!

PEORIA -- Here's an e-mail leaked to me, which is self explanatory but amazing in its ignorance! It went to all the movers and shakers in Peoria.

Why do they want to destroy the unions? Don't they know that ill-paid workers don't buy anything? Not cars, not hospital or medical services, not anything, and they don't pay many taxes either, so that governments can build the roads using Caterpillar equipment.

That's why the US is in the tank now: union membership in the private sector is at an all time low, and wages have dropped accordingly, so that people can't buy anything!

Yet business leaders want to keep that trend going? Amazing. Read it and weep.

Then it might be fun to organize and picket or disrupt the meeting!

Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 2:36 PM

The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Economic Freedom Alliance and other business groups in opposing the Card Check legislation. On behalf of Roberta Parks and myself, I’d like to invite you to a special meeting on May 11 about Card Check that will feature Karl Rove. The information is below.

As you know, Congress is currently debating the most egregious changes in labor laws proposed in more than a half-century. Cynically named the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), it is often referred to as “Card Check.” No matter what name it goes by, this effort by union bosses is nothing more than a blatant attempt to reverse a declining union membership through draconian measures that threaten the very underpinnings of American freedom, by:

* Requiring binding arbitration on a first contract between the union and employer;
* Increasing penalties on employers;
* Eliminating parameters regarding the size or scope of employers who may be the subject of unionization.
* Eliminating the right of employees to make a decision on unionization in a private ballot election.

Targets for unions will certainly include manufacturers, retailers, health care, service companies, insurance, or any other employer. In addition, the law allows for attempts to unionize just a division or section of a company.

Clearly, the Employee Free Choice Act is a ticking time bomb strapped to this nation’s struggling economy. While national employer groups are monitoring this legislation closely, the stakes are too high to simply hope that they can thwart big union’s clout in a DC-centric effort. For that reason, the presidents of seven major Midwestern business organizations from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and Ohio have agreed to pool their resources and take the battle against the EFCA deep into the heartland of this nation.

Instead of dealing with lobbyists and staffs in our nation’s capital, we will be taking our message directly to the people in targeted legislative districts throughout the Midwest. Unencumbered by the need for lobbying etiquette, we will be using a number of methods to get the attention of members of Congress who are important swing votes on this matter—and making our opinions ring as clear as a bell.

This Midwestern group of business organizations will be using the Economic Freedom Alliance—a 527-chartered organization—to communicate our message through TV, radio, newspapers and direct contact from district business owners. It is our intention to become the “point of the spear” in America’s business community’s efforts to defeat these onerous new labor laws. I encourage you to visit our website. www.economicfreedomalliance.org.

On Monday, May 11, 2009, the Economic Freedom Alliance will be hosting a briefing on EFCA featuring Republican political expert Karl Rove at the Hotel Pere Marquette, 501 Main Street in Peoria, IL from 1 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. We are inviting to you attend to learn how your company may be affected by Card Check and how you can be most effective in combating its passage.

Right now labor groups control Washington and have the financial means to fight. In fact, unions have spent more than $350 million in the last election in an effort to grease the skids in Washington, DC. The consequences of EFCA will be severe and devastating to business. We can’t afford to stand back and let labor unions eliminate private ballot elections so that they can use intimidation and other tactics when unionizing....

Jim McConoughey
President/CEO
The Heartland Partnership
100 SW Water Street
Peoria, IL 61602
309.495.5901
309.657-5901 (cell)
[email protected]

UPDATE 5/7/09: WCBU-FM radio, the NPR affiliate in Peoria, reported today that the Chamber of Commerce has dropped its sponsorship of this event after members who are also affiliated with unions complained.

Here's another view of Card Check, one based on facts instead of prejudice:

Univ. of Ill. Study Finds No Cases of Union Intimidation from Majority Sign Up

Study analyzed Illinois public sector over six year period

(Washington, May 4) Majority sign up does not cause union or employer intimidation, according to a new report released by University of Illinois Professor Robert Bruno. Bruno analyzed data from public sector workers in Illinois for six years and found that out of more than 21,000 people who joined unions through majority sign up, a process sometimes referred to as “card check,” there was not a single proven case of union or employer intimidation.

The report states:

In brief, from 2003-2009, 21,197 public sector workers employed in state, county, municipal and educational institutions voluntarily joined a union. Most importantly, contrary to business claims, in nearly eight hundred petition cases, there was not a single confirmed incidence of union coercion.

The report comes as Congress considers the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that will give workers back the freedom to bargain with corporations for better wages and benefits. It includes a majority sign up provision which gives workers the choice of how to form a union rather than leaving that choice in employer’s hands, as it is under current law. Opponents claim this will lead to intimidation and coercion from unions, but according to today’s report, that simply isn’t true.

“Today’s report shows that corporations are throwing more lies to keep workers from forming unions,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “Workers form unions to bargain for a better life, not because of outside intimidation. Workers need the majority sign up provision because it gives workers the choice of how to form a union, not corporations.”

According to the findings, the lack of intimidation on either side also shows that when there is a clear path to forming a union, the workplace as a whole functions more smoothly with no friction.

The report concludes:

As is true in so many other policy areas, on the subject of union representation the states are incubators for new ideas and practices. Illinois has demonstrated that a majority authorization petition can genuinely determine the will of the employees to be unionized and provides a functional, largely non-adversarial and event-less process for insuring a fair work environment for everyone.

According to Bruno, the Illinois state law is very similar to the proposed Employee Free Choice Act majority sign up provision. The report, commissioned by the United Association for Labor Education is the first part of a nationwide report which analyzes similar state laws.
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-- Elaine Hopkins

Workers organize sit down strike in Chicago

UPDATE, Dec. 7, 2008: Is this the revolution or what?

President-elect Barach Obama has expressed sympathy for the workers, and Chicago officials are moving to set up sanctions against Bank of America for withdrawing the employer's line of credit, the Chicago Tribune reports.

PEORIA -- Shades of the 1930s! Chicago workers have seized a factory and are holding it with a sit down strike.

The Chicago Tribune's account says they want vacation and other pay the employer owes them.

A story on National Public Radio said the company had to shut down because Bank of America refused to give it a loan, even though the bank received federal bailout funds.

Whatever the truth, these workers deserve our praise and support. The erosion of the middle class in the USA has occurred because of the erosion of unions, and the wages and benefits they bring to their members and to other workers whose employers fear they will also unionize.

Unions are not perfect, but the economic facts are indisputable.

And busting every worker down to the minimum wage destroys purchasing power, so workers cannot buy cars, houses and other items.

Is there any doubt that every unsold car and house in the USA would be sold immediately if the millions of minimum wage workers in the nation could only afford to buy them?

These workers in Chicago are fighting for everyone. Good for them!

-- Elaine Hopkins