|
|
ATU Action Weekly Update - 5/15/06
AFL-CIO and Change to Win Agree to Coordinate Election Year Efforts AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Change to Win Chair Anna Burger announced last week that they have reached a tentative agreement on a plan for coordination of member mobilization activity for the 2006 election year. "The entire labor movement is united by the desire to make working people's issues the country's priorities this election year, and we are taking all the necessary steps to effectively coordinate our efforts toward this end," said Sweeney and Burger. The AFL-CIO and Change to Win will create a National Labor Coordinating Committee (NLCC) to be chaired by Gerald McEntee, AFL-CIO political committee chair and President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and vice-chaired by Edgar Romney, Secretary-Treasurer of Change to Win and Executive Vice President of UNITE-HERE. Political directors and staff from the organizations will work in close collaboration on every aspect of the program, and the organizations will share the costs of joint activities. As part of the agreement, Change to Win releases its affiliates to participate in state and local central labor bodies, and AFL-CIO President Sweeney will recommend to the AFL-CIO Executive Council that the United Farm Workers be eligible to participate in state and local bodies. "The upcoming Congressional elections pose a tremendous opportunity and challenge for the U.S. labor movement," said ATU International President Warren S. George, responding to the announcement. "It is crucial that we as a movement work together to force change in this country for the benefit of working people. Hopefully, this agreement will allow us to do so."
Congress Votes to Extend Tax Breaks for the Wealthy Last week, the U.S. Senate and House seperately voted to grant America's wealthy another $70 billion dollars in tax breaks. AFL-CIO President Sweeney stated that the votes are "a perfect example of the Republican leadership's upside down priorities while working families are struggling with skyrocketing health care costs, vanishing pensions and record gas prices." According to an analysis by the Urban Institute - Brookings Tax Policy Center, those making more than a million a year would receive a whopping $42,000 in tax breaks under the Republicans' plan, while middle-income Americans will only get about $20 a year. "It's outrageous that the Republican-controlled Senate and House are giving millionaires enough in tax breaks to buy a brand new car while working families won't even get enough to buy a tank of gas," said Sweeney. President Bush is expected to sign the tax cut measure this week.
AFL-CIO, ATU Launch Leadership Development Series The AFL-CIO, ATU and a number of other unions, are sponsoring a new series of workshops designed to help rank-and-file union members gain the skills needed to organize and improve their workplace, their community and their nation. The Leadership Development Series is a two-year program of one-day interactive workshops featuring veteran organizers and political activists from national unions and the AFL-CIO. Participants at the one-day workshops will learn such basic and advanced skills as:
Workshops will be held several times a year in cities across the country. They are available to AFL-CIO affiliate union members, including ATU members, at no cost. The initial workshop in the series - Fundamentals of Grassroots Organzining, will focus on one-on-one organizing, worksite mapping and analysis, and generating awareness of important issues. Dates and locations for this workshop are:
ATU members may register for the workshops online at: http://www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/leadershipdevelopment.cfm For more information about the Leaderhsip Development Series, or the Fundamentals of Grassroots Organizing Workshop, go to: http://www.aflcio.org/LDS. The ATU encourages all ATU members in these areas to attend these worthwhile workshops and to become activists within their local.
Are You - or Do You Know - an ATU Member Who Has Been Elected to Public Office? Stephen Fein, Financial Secretary of ATU Local 1447 in Louisville, Kentucky, is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Louisville and Jefferson County Democratic Party and Chairman for the 44th Legislative District. Bob Bartlett, a member and former President/Business Agent of ATU Local 788 in St. Louis, Missouri, is currently running for his former office as Missouri State Representative for the 60th District. His election will be on November 7, 2006. Ted Mohr, a Retired Member of ATU Local 587 in Seattle, Washington, is a Precinct Committee Officer for the Democratic Party in Whatcom County, Washington. Karl Cook, a Member of ATU Local 241 in Chicago, Illinois, is currently running for a position as a Cook County Commissioner. His election will be on November 7, 2006. Daniel Kozub, a Member of ATU Local 1342 in Buffalo, New York, was elected to the Erie County Legislature on November 8, 2005. Have you, like Brothers Fein, Bartlett, Mohr, Cook and Kozub, been elected to public office, selected for a state or local political party position, or are you currently seeking election to public office? Do you know of any ATU Brothers or Sisters who have been elected or are currently seeking election to public office? If so, please let us know by sending an email to atuaction@atu.org, Please include the member's name, the office held or sought, and the date of election. Thanks. |
