News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Week:

There’s so much you see and for that matter - don’t see - watching this amazing group of Republican Presidential Candidates out on the campaign trail that it leaves me more than shaking my head how any Working Person - Union or non-Represented - could ever make a rational decision to vote for any one of what I can only describe as morons.  For one, and I can say this because I myself am white, where are people of color when you watch any one of their campaign stops, news conferences or debates?  Are they just exclusively for white people?  Do they think that’s the only ethnic group that America is comprised of?  On that note, how can any voter who isn’t in the 1% believe this group – even though some dress in blue jeans in a pathetic attempt to connect with Working People or who say they aren’t rich just because they only have a paltry $6.7 million in their bank account – could ever be in support of everyday Working People?  But you never know.  The populace that watches TV is being daily brainwashed by a countless number of commercials with brief messages regarding the alleged lousy job President Obama’s done while in Washington, giving no time to address the Party of No’s track record on attempting to stop every worthwhile job-creating measure the President has tried to push forward over the course of time.  That’s why Working Americans need to take the time to get educated on the issues and not take for granted or be allowed to be brainwashed by these programmed ads that the other side hopes you’ll buy.  The best way that I’ve seen it put in recent weeks was by a posting on the Social Network Facebook by Damian Jr. D’Alberto, a Tugger/Supervisor at FedEx on Staten Island, via Steve Lawton, a Business Agent at Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1102 on Staten Island, that went like this:

Republican Nominees are talking Union-Busting while Obama is appointing Labor-friendly appointees to the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board).  How is it (that) Union Members continuously refuse to see the fact that Republicans do not have any love for Labor Unions?  I’ll simplify it for all the Union People out there:

Republican Presidents=Anti-Union 

Obama=Pro-Union

Union Worker + Obama= Stronger Unions

Union Worker + Republican President=Weaker Unions

What a great and easy way to boil it down and get right to the point!  Thanks to Steve Lawton for saying it and for Damian Jr. D’Alberto for posting it on Facebook.  I suggest all our Union Viewers/Readers repost this on their Social Networks and/or disseminate it to their Union Brothers and Sisters.  It really hits home and this is exactly what needs to be underscored with not only those in the Labor Movement, but with all Working People.

Just a reminder not to forget the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council’s 2012 Annual Dinner Meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, January 18th at Lewiston Fire Company #2, which is located at 1705 Saunders Settlement Road in Niagara Falls.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet-style dinner will be served at 6 p.m.  The event, which will also serve as the Niagara-Orleans Central Labor Council’s first monthly meeting of the year, will honor several area Union Leaders and Union Members with the Council’s Union Champions at Work Awards.  “It’s a way of saying ‘thanks’ for all their hard work and dedication to their Union Local, to the Labor Movement and to the Niagara-Orleans Community,” Niagara-Orleans AFL/CIO Community Services Liaison Bill Jakobi says.  In addition, interim Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation President Richard Lipsitz and newly-appointed United Steelworkers District 4 Director John Shinn will serve as guest speakers.  Those set to receive Champion at Work Awards are: International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 463 Business Manager Paul McCollum; Christ Sposito, who has a deep history with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1117; Teamsters Local 264’s Kenneth Bojanek; and United Steelworkers Local 9434 President James Anthony.  In addition, United Auto Workers Local 686’s Ronald Bassham will receive the Earl Frampton Community Services Award.  To RSVP, contact Bill Jakobi by January 11th at 716-285-8461 or via e-mail at bill@uwgn.org.

I had the opportunity to stop in at their Orchard Park Union Hall today and meet with IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 41Business Manager Mike Gaiser to talk about a number of things, and at the same time found out how involved the Electrical Workers’ Union is involved in the local community and what its Members are doing to give-back.  For example, several Local 41 Members Mike Allen, Aaron Arnold, Calvin Goins, Tim Horton, Dan Tillman, Grady Williams and John Tucker volunteered to do an array of electrical work on a house that is being transformed by an East Side Buffalo non-profit, whose mission is to teach the less fortunate the basic skills to become a productive person in society.  On another front, Local 41 Members Ed Dunatov and Paul Wasik recently volunteered some of their time to help rewire a home owned by a East Side Block Club Leader that was severely damaged after it was firebombed in retaliation by a local gang member, in what was a heavily publicized news story as a number of individuals, businesses and organizations came together to help out.  In addition, IBEW Local 41 recently presented Roswell Park with a check for $5,000, proceeds of which came from its Members’ raffle of two pairs of Buffalo Bills’ Season Tickets (Pictured Below from left to right: Roswell Park’s Chris Musial, Local 41 Business Agent Jud Payne and the Lipsitz Green Law Firm’s Robert Boreanaz/Photo Courtesy of IBEW Local 41).  Fundraising to help worthwhile causes is nothing new for Local 41.  Over the past several years, the IBEW Local has raised nearly $100,000 to assist Mercy Flight locally.  And if that wasn’t enough, IBEW Local 41 Members donated more than 20 bags of warm clothing to The Friends of Night People, a soup kitchen and clothing center for the Homeless and Working Poor in Downtown Buffalo.  WNYLaborToday.com asks that you remember what IBEW Local 41 and its Members have done for the Western New York Community when someone attacks Labor Unions.  It’s yet another great and positive example of what Unions and their Members are doing for Western New York, news that you just won’t find in any other mainstream media outlet across our region. 

In case you missed it, this is what Mario Cilento - the new President of the 2.5-million Member New York State AFL-CIO - had to say about Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State Address: "Governor Cuomo is right to continue focusing on jobs, jobs, jobs.  The path to strengthening our Middle Class, and in turn our economy, is creating and retaining good jobs throughout our State.  The Governor has laid out an ambitious and thoughtful plan to move New York toward that goal.  A proposed convention center holds much promise for New York City. In addition, for far too long our highways, bridges and tunnels have been neglected and in need of repair, making investment in our infrastructure crucial.  The State of the State is just the beginning of the Legislative Session and the New York State AFL-CIO will actively promote and defend the rights and economic security of Working Families on a number of issues announced both today and in the coming months. The Governor has laid out jobs’ agenda that furthers those goals."  And speaking of Cilento, there’s a very good interview that all Union Members should watch that features the new New York State AFL-CIO President that recently aired on Capital Tonight on YNN (Your News Network) out of Albany, which was entitled: Mario Cilento On His New Gig As Head Of AFL-CIO.  It was introduced as such: New York has a long history of a powerful Labor Movement.  Unions have been very successful in getting legislation passed and also swaying the outcomes of elections.  The State’s Largest Labor Federation is the AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization that includes several of the State’s Largest Unions including CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association), NYSUT (New York State United Teachers), among others, and they elected a new president.  It can be viewed at http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/12/mario-cilento-on-his-new-gig-as-head-of-afl-cio/#.   

WNYLaborToday.com would like to send out our most sincere congratulations to 1199 Service Employees International Union’s Jennifer Hibit, who was named by Mark Poloncarz, the new Erie County Executive, as his Chief of Staff.  Hibit had served as Poloncarz’s Campaign Manager during his successful campaign against incumbent Republican and anti-Worker/anti-Union County Executive Chris Collins.  Hibit had served as a Political Coordinator for the SEIU Healthcare Workers East Union here in Western New York.  We anticipate she’ll do a tremendous job for Erie County Executive Poloncarz and his gain is Organized Labor’s loss.  Best of Luck, Jen, in your new position!

While perusing the Internet over the past several days, WNYLaborToday.com wanted to bring to the attention of our Viewers/Readers the following Labor News Stories that should be of interest:

From The Washington Times: Headlined: Wisconsin Gov. Walker: Unions ‘want me dead’ (The entire story can be accessed at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/5/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-unions-want-me-dead/: With a June recall election all but certain, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the debate is no longer just about collective-bargaining rights for state workers.  Union leaders and others, he said, have made it personal.  “They want me dead.  I don’t think that’s an exaggeration,” Mr. Walker said in an exclusive interview with The Washington Times after a roundtable discussion at the American Enterprise Institute.  His opponents have until Jan. 15 to collect about 540,000 signatures and trigger another election, which would surely center around Mr. Walker’s successful but controversial efforts to strip many collective-bargaining rights from teachers and other government employees in his state, all in an effort to close budget gaps and put Wisconsin back on firm financial footing.  Mr. Walker said he expects the drive to be successful and is preparing for the possibility that, for the second time in less than two years, he’ll be back on the ballot.  The recall initiative already has claimed several victims. In August, Democrats captured two seats in the state Senate, but fell short of recapturing the majority, which would have allowed them to block further changes sought by Mr. Walker and his Republican colleagues in the Legislature.

And speaking of Governor Walker, this story from www.boston.com that was headlined: 3 arrested as part of probe into ex-Walker aides (The entire story can be accessed at: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/01/05/3_charged_in_investigation_related_to_wis_gov/?page=full): MADISON, Wis.—A former close aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and a Walker appointee were arrested on embezzlement charges as part of an on-going criminal investigation centered on people who served during Walker's tenure as Milwaukee County Executive.  A third person, who worked six months for the state Department of Public Instruction until being fired, was charged with child enticement in a case the county prosecutor said was discovered while investigating the others.  The arrests of former Walker aide Tim Russell and Kevin Kavanaugh, Walker's appointee to the Milwaukee County Veteran Service Commission, come more than a year and a half after the investigation into county personnel began. The third person arrested, Brian Pierick, is Russell's long-time partner.  The charges against Russell and Kavanaugh involve embezzlement of money donated to help relatives of Veterans killed or wounded in action.  Some of the money was used to pay for a trip to Atlanta for Walker's staff member to meet with one-time presidential candidate Herman Cain, the complaint said.  Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said the investigation is on-going.

And this regarding New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his call to increase the Minimum Wage in New York: The Worker Justice Center of New York in Kingston applauds the commitment by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to making an increase of the State’s Minimum Wage a top priority in 2012.  The low-wage communities that we serve throughout New York face an on-going struggle to earn a meaningful living because our current minimum wage of $7.25 - the same as the Federal Floor despite our State’s high cost of living - is simply not enough.  Eight other States have instituted an increase in their wage floor, including Washington State - which will become the first State in the Nation to set its Minimum Wage above $9 an hour.  As our economy continues to impose serious day-to-day hardship upon millions of New Yorkers, raising the Minimum Wage is a fundamental solution that will have an immediate and lasting impact on residents across the State.  We know that New York can and must do better.  We call upon lawmakers in Albany to follow Speaker Silver’s lead and take necessary action to implement an increase this year.

And finally, from the National Occupy Movement and The National Move to Amend Coalition: a Funeral for Democracy will be held on Friday, January 20th in Downtown Buffalo as mourners of Liberty and Justice hold a funeral procession around Niagara Square, which will come to an end at the new Federal Courthouse.  The National Occupy Movement and The National Move to Amend Coalition, along with an array of local supporters, are participating in a National Action to mark the two-year Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's January 2010 ruling in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission.  According to the groups’, it’s just the latest - and most blatant - example of how corporations have hijacked our Government.  They say the ruling opens the floodgates to a tsunami of corporate money in elections and leaves ordinary citizens little opportunity to participate in our Democracy.  “They've gone after our tax dollars, our public services, our jobs, our schools, our military, our votes, our future, our freedoms - and the Federal Courts have helped them every step of the way,” the groups said in an e-mail to WNYLaborToday.com.  For more information contact movetoamendbuffalony@gmail.com.