(BUFFALO) – A recently-negotiated and new, two-year Master Agreement between Kaleida Health and its three Unions - Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1168, the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17 and 1199 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) United Healthcare Workers East – was ratified tonight (July 19th) by more»

(JOPLIN, MISSOURI) - Rebuilding Joplin, Missouri physically and economically after the May 22nd tornado that killed 158 people and leveled huge swaths of the city will be a long, long project. However, Laborers Local 319 is using its resources and skills to help local residents rebuild their town and their lives. Local 319 is offering free construction more»

(WASHINGTON) - Amid a cacophony of complaints by Management Lawyers, Scott Pedigo’s voice broke through the rhetoric and laid out for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) what it’s really like to try and form a Union in today’s economic environment. Pedigo, who serves as President of Utility Workers Local 304 in West Virginia, was the only more»

(BUFFALO) – Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, who’s received the endorsement of the Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council in the race for the Erie County Executive’s Office, believes county residents/taxpayers are ready for a change. So much, in fact, that while walking in the July 4th Parade in Orchard Park - which has never been a traditional more»

(LAKE VIEW) – Representatives of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17 tell WNYLaborToday.com a new agreement with the Erie County-Headquartered Union’s Independent Heavy Highway Contractors has been ratified. The four-year pact calls for a wage increase and future employment stability for its Western New York Membership. The more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: First off, WNYLaborToday.com would like to offer our Congratulations to Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 212 on their now successful and nearly three-month-long campaign to get a new contract at more»

Cantor Obstructionism Imperils Finding A Debt Ceiling Solution With little more than two weeks to go before a possible government default, Congressional Leaders are sounding out their members this weekend over a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while cutting the overall debt by some $2 trillion over 10 years - or look for an unorthodox more»

(PITTSBURGH) - The United Steelworkers (USW) Union is voicing its disappointment that Goodyear Tire has issued a WARN (The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) notice to its Members at Local 878L - informing them that their services will no longer be needed at the Union City, Tennessee facility that is now scheduled for shutdown. The Worker more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: For more information and to view a Labor News Video on the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees’ recently-held Next Wave Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, visit: http://www.afscme.org/blog/afscmes-next-wave-of-young-leaders-energized-to-confront-challenges. (ATLANTA) - More than 600 new and young more»

Speaking on the Senate floor this week, Republican U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky offered what may be the most concise summary of Conservative Constitutionalism ever spoken — America must rewrite the Constitution to force Conservative outcomes because we the people consistently elect lawmakers who disagree with McConnell. “The more»

(WESTERN NEW YORK) - Members of the Getting Our Money’s Worth Coalition are responding positively to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s annual report on Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Performance, which concluded that despite improvements in reporting - more needs to be done to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of these economic more»

(ALBANY) - The Public Employees Federation (PEF) has reached a tentative contract agreement with the State, New York’s second-largest State-Employee Union that represents 58,000 Professional, Scientific and Technical Employees announced today (Saturday, July 16th). As a result of the conceptual agreement, Governor Andrew Cuomo has agreed to rescind the more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York/HealthNow, Inc. Members represented by Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 212 take part in a ratification vote on a new three-year contract with the Western New York Health Insurance Provider today (Wednesday, July 13th) at the Hearthstone Manor in more»

Wisconsin voters saw through Republican trickery and voted for the real candidates in six State Senate Democratic primaries on Tuesday (July 12th). The balloting was the first round of elections to recall six Republican State Senators who were instrumental in ramming through Republican Governor Scott Walker’s bill that eliminates the Collective more»

(WASHINGTON) - On the heels of two months of dismal job growth, a panel of Workers, Economists and National Leaders detailed solutions on how to deal with the jobs crisis during a National AFL-CIO Forum held in Washington, D.C. yesterday (Monday, July 11th). Titled "The Jobs Crisis - Moving to Action: A Dialogue Between Workers and Policymakers," the more»

Today (Tuesday, July 12th), Wisconsin Working Family Voters are taking another step to take back their government from Republican Governor Scott Walker’s radical, anti-family, anti-community, pro-Koch Brothers agenda - and they have to defeat a Republican dirty trick to do it! After the State Senate in March rammed through Walker’s bill that eliminates more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: My apologies for the lateness of WNYLaborToday.com’s weekly Sunday Labor Column. I was out-of-town over the weekend at a family reunion in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and now find myself scrambling to recover and get on track in more»

Debt Ceiling Talks Focus On Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid Cuts President Obama is pressing Congressional Leaders “to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue,” The Washington Post reported more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Cory McCray, who serves as chairman of the Baltimore, Maryland-headquartered Young Trade Unionists Group (pictured above in one of WNYLaborToday.com’s “It’s Cool To Be Union” T-Shirts), is a frequent Young Unionist Contributor to WNYLaborToday.com. This is the latest offering from McCray that WNYLaborToday.com more»

(SPRINGVILLE) - In separate actions, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and 1199 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) United Healthcare Workers East, which combine to represent 200 Workers who are employed at Bertrand Chaffee Hospital and Jennie B. Richmond Nursing Home in Southern Erie County, have filed Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) more»

National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on June’s Employment Figures: The news that our economic recovery is stalled is a warning bell for leaders in Washington. Too many politicians are blocking desperately needed measures to create new jobs and their actions are now pro-longing the recession and putting us at risk of a double dip. Working People more»

USW International President Leo Gerard: The USW Strongly Opposes Any Cuts To Social Security, Medicare Or Medicaid Benefits (PITTSBURGH) - United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo Gerard has released the following statement regarding his Union’s stance on proposed cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid Benefits: “Quite simply, more»

(BUFFALO) - Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 212 and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York/HealthNow, Inc. have reached a tentative three-year agreement, Union Officials announced today (Friday, July 8th). The agreement, which must be ratified by Union Membership, also ends an 11-week lock-out of nearly 400 Workers. more»

(ALBANY) – The Public Employees Federation, which is New York State’s second-largest State-Employee Union, representing 58,000 Professional, Scientific and Technical Employees, has posted the following updates on its website regarding contract negotiations with the State: Thursday, July 7th: PEF’s Contract Team is reviewing a counter proposal from more»

BREAKING LABOR NEWS REPORT: An agreement between OPEIU Local 212 and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York/HealthNow, Inc. on a new contract has reportedly been reached. The news comes as nearly 400 Union-Represented Workers at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Buffalo ended their 11th week of being locked out of their jobs by the company. WNYLaborToday.com more»

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican-Utah) voted against beginning debate on a measure that would have the Senate declare the rich should share the pain of debt reduction, a day after arguing that it's the poor and Middle Class who need to do more. "I hear how they're so caring for the poor and so forth," Hatch said in remarks on the more»

While Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s law dismantling Collective Bargaining Rights has harmed Teachers, Nurses and other Civil Servants, it’s helping a different group in Wisconsinites - inmates. That’s right, prisoners - yes, prisoners - are now taking up jobs that used to be held by Unionized Workers in some parts of the State. As more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: WNYLaborToday.com “met” Union Ironworker Ron Hoyle on the Social Network Facebook, where Your Regional, On-Line Labor Newspaper was intrigued by a life-like, black-and-white pencil drawing of an Ironworker walking along a steel beam that was featured on his Profile Page. After “friending” Ron and then more»

(BUFFALO) - Western New York Communications Workers of America (CWA) Union Leaders are telling WNYLaborToday.com their Members “are ready to go” in a major mobilization effort should Verizon Communications and their Unions not reach a fair and equitable contract. However, negotiations that are now underway have Union Leaders saying the company is more»

Top Democrats Reject Coburn-Lieberman Plan To Cut Medicare According to The Washington Post, leading Congressional Democrats “immediately recoiled” last week from a new proposal to cut $600 billion in Medicare spending over the next decade - in part by raising the eligibility age. U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman (Independent-Connecticut) and Tom Coburn more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: First off, WNYLaborToday.com would like to wish our Viewers/Readers a tremendous July 4th Weekend. Hopefully everything’s gone well and is continuing to go well with you and yours this weekend. The weather has been glorious more»

(SPRINGVILLE) - After years of financial difficulties, the administration of Bertrand Chaffee Hospital and the Jennie B. Richmond Nursing Home in the Erie County Town of Springville are attempting to balance their budget by demanding $500,000 in cuts to wages and benefits of Unionized Employees, representatives of the New York State Nurses more»

The battle against Public Service Workers such as Teachers, Firefighters, Police Officers and others has erupted on an unexpected front - in Massachusetts, a State that has been known for decades for its progressive Labor Laws. The Massachusetts State House has voted to eliminate the right of Public Employees in cities and towns to bargain over Health more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 212 has taken their message mobile in the lock-out of nearly 400 Union-Represented Employees at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York/HealthNow, Inc. The Union is stepping up its public campaign in order to put additional pressure on the company more»

(ALBANY) – Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that New York State is closing seven State Prisons comes at a time when staff reductions and crowded conditions have resulted in an increase in violence at these facilities, said Public Employee Federation (PEF) President Ken Brynien, who also warns the closings will force “double bunking,” which puts more»

Union Leaders and ministers in Britain are clashing over the impact of a strike by Public Sector Workers who mounted picket lines outside schools, government buildings, job centers and courts. The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union claimed it was the "best-supported strike" they have ever had, but the government questioned the numbers taking part. more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Richard Iannuzzi (pictured above), who has headed the Statewide Union since April 2005, is president of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) – which represents more than 600,000 members who work in, or are retired from, New York's Schools, Colleges and Health Care Facilities. NYSUT’s Members include Classroom more»

(CHEEKTOWAGA) – A number of Labor Union Pension Funds were devastated in the wake of the Ponzi Scam run by investor Bernard Madoff, who is now serving prison time after being convicted of running a $65 billion fraud scheme, including several here in Upstate New York. But one of them, Laborers Local 210 in Buffalo, has made remarkable strides in coming more»

Massey Energy Managers hid serious safety problems at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia - where on April 5th of 2010 an explosion killed 29 miners - from Federal Mine Safety Officials by keeping two individual sets of records, an investigation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) revealed. The mine’s production log noted issues more»

(GOWANDA) - 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers East-Represented Workers at the Gowanda Rehabilitation Nursing Center in Cattaraugus County have unanimously voted to authorize its bargaining committee to issue a Strike Notice. The vote comes after more than 100 workers held an informational picket and rally on June 18th. more»

(LOCKPORT) - Registered Nurses (RNs) at Eastern Niagara Hospital’s Lockport Facility have overwhelmingly authorized their Union Leadership to set up an informational picket, 1199 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Healthcare Workers East Representatives announced this afternoon. The RNs have been working without a new contract since April more»

Less than three years after receiving $10 billion in bailout money from American Taxpayers, Goldman Sachs has informed its employees it will fire 1,000 workers in the United States and elsewhere, and shift their jobs to the cheaper Singaporean Labor Market. According to Fox Business, Goldman Sachs has quietly informed workers and lawmakers of its plan to more»

(BUFFALO) – More than 400 1199 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Healthcare Workers East-Represented Members who are employed at the Oakwood Nursing Home in Buffalo, the Newfane Rehabilitation Health Center and Absolut at Gasport – which are both located in Niagara County - have ratified new three-year Collective Bargaining Agreements, Union more»

Across the U.S., American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Members and Working Families are under attack. We have come together, as a Union and a Nation, to stand up for Workers’ Rights and Public Services. In Wisconsin, Young People are playing a pivotal role in the fight to preserve Collective Bargaining. As we move more»

U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican who plans to seek the GOP’s Presidential Nomination, said she would stoke U.S. Economic Growth by cutting taxes on Corporate Income and Capital Gains and considering elimination of the Minimum Wage. Corporate Tax Rates should be significantly reduced from a maximum 35% and Capital Gains more»

(SALAMANCA) – The on-going dispute between the Seneca Nation of Indians and New York State over the collection of taxes on cigarettes sold on Indian Land is holding up millions of dollars in Indian Gaming Revenue that Salamanca was to receive, which has not only placed the delivery of critical Public Services for its citizens in jeopardy, but the future more»

(BUFFALO) – A tentative agreement on a new Master Contract impacting nearly 8,000 Union-Represented Kaleida Health Workers in Buffalo was reached at 2:30 a.m. today (Tuesday, June 28th), Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1168 President John Klein tells WNYLaborToday.com this morning. With time running out on a contract that had been extended more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Several Members of IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 237 pose for a photo after participating in a “Clean Sweep” action in Niagara Falls on Military Road earlier this year. This is one of many charitable and community efforts the Niagara County Union and its Members involve themselves in more»

Following AARP Story, GOP Has New Ammunition In Its Goal Of Cutting Social Security According to Politico (http://politi.co/kxt85x), the Seniors’ Lobby AARP (American Association of Retired People) is in “damage-control mode” following a news report in The Wall Street Journal that the group is open to cuts to Social Security benefits. A nationwide more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: If you strolled Downtown Buffalo over the past couple of days to watch some of the great three-on-three Gus Macker basketball that took place, maybe you also noticed an informational booth that had been set up by Orchard Park’s more»