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), has been reported on and profiled by WNYLaborToday.com several times in recent months. WNYLaborToday.com has also republished more»

(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters have overwhelmingly approved a first-ever National Agreement with the largest private provider of school bus transportation in North America - First Student Inc., the Union announced today. This historic contract, which was ratified by a 91% margin, improves working conditions and job protections for more than 20,000 more»

In Orchard Park, New York, just about 600 yards from the Buffalo Bills’ Ralph Wilson Stadium where as many as 73,000 football fans gather on Fall Sundays, sits the Big Tree Inn. Owner Dan DeMarco tells ESPN.com those Sundays account for 30% of his annual revenue. But with the National Football League (NFL) season in jeopardy because of the owners’ more»

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that a Union practice of displaying a large inflatable rat balloon at a secondary employer’s premises to protest the Labor Practices of its non-Union contractor is not coercive and so does not violate U.S. labor law. The case, Sheet Metal Workers Local 15 (Brandon Regional Medical Center), was originally more»

(BUFFALO) – Joined by representatives of nearly a dozen area Unions, locked-out Blue Cross Blue Shield Workers represented by Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 212 (pictured above/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) participated in a Solidarity Walk late Wednesday in front of the Health Care Provider’s Downtown Buffalo more»

(GLOVERSVILLE) – Union-Registered Nurses (RNs) at Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville want a fair contract that supports their commitment to providing the best care to their patients. Yet, after nearly eight months of negotiations, hospital management at the Fulton County medical facility has refused to make improvements in working conditions that more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: The following Labor News Report was made available to WNYLaborToday.com by the Buffalo Newspaper Guild-CWA (Communications Workers of America) Local 31026, which represents about 250 employees at The Buffalo News. Formed in 1934 as the Buffalo Newspaper Guild, the Buffalo Newspaper Guild is affiliated with The Newspaper more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: WNYLaborToday.com was out of town for a couple of days and we apologize for the minor lapse in Labor News Coverage on Your Regional, On-Line Labor Newspaper. With that said, we’d like to send out our belated Thanks to those men more»

Annie Deken, the AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison with the Springfield, Missouri Central Labor Council, gives WNYLaborToday.com’s Viewers/Readers some insight into the Union Assistance that is being provided to victims of the massive and deadly Joplin tornado via her report that was published on the National AFL-CIO’s News Now Blog website. Here’s more»

(BUFFALO) – As sporadic negotiations continue between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York/HealthNow Inc. and the Union representing nearly 400 of its locked-out employees, the company is “beefing up its staff in Albany and Binghamton” and sub-contracting out work to Michigan, Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: The following Labor Perspective is from New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes, president of the 2.5-million-member, Statewide Labor Organization. It currently appears on the New York State AFL-CIO’s website, which can be accessed directly at www.nysaflcio.org. From the start, no one has stated how much New more»

Republicans Gamble With Medicare And Lose Big The GOP’s desire to privatize Medicare and turn it into voucher program has not only hit a speed bump, it has completely backfired. Their proposal, authored by Wisconsin Republican U.S. Representative Paul Ryan passed the House on April 15th, but is becoming increasingly unpopular amongst a wide array of more»

(BUFFALO) – Kaleida Health and the 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 announced this evening that an agreement has been reached to extend the existing Master Bargaining Agreement until June more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Lynn Giglio (pictured above) is the new president of the Next Generation United/Rochester Chapter. Giglio, who is a member of United Auto Workers Local 1097 in Rochester, recently submitted the following Young Unionists Labor Column to WNYLaborToday.com and has invited Your Regional, On-Line Labor Newspaper to come to more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Richard Lipsitz, Jr., Political Action Coordinator for Teamsters Joint Council 46 and the Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation (WNYALF), delivers his comments on the many accomplishments of the late Manny Fried during a special event entitled, “One More Monday With Manny,” which was held earlier this week in more»

For the first time, California's largest Non-Profit Health Insurer has released the salaries of its 10 highest-paid executives in response to a new State Law intended to keep Health Care Insurance costs under control. The top earner at Blue Shield of California was Chief Executive Bruce Bodaken, who made $4.6 million last year - more than four times the more»

(LOCKPORT) - A Federal Mediator has entered contract negotiations between management and 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers East, which represents 125 Registered Nurses (RNs) at Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport. The Union Contract covering the Lockport RNs is set to expire on Tuesday, March 31st, after being more»

Statement by National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On The Republican Budget Proposal Vote In The U.S. Senate: Forty Senate Republicans have demonstrated their desire to block the road to the future. They have sent a loud and clear message to the American Public that sacrifice is for the weak, while the powerful and well-connected get tax cuts. This more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Communications Workers of America (CWA) National President Larry Cohen (pictured in the background) and CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton (pictured in the foreground) pose in front of a poster of memorabilia showcasing the 50th Anniversary of CWA Local 1122 of Buffalo and Local 1117 of Niagara County during a more»

(BUFFALO) – With a major league assist from Organized Labor in both Buffalo and Rochester, Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul scored a major upset victory over Republican Jane Corwin to win election to the U.S. Congress in the 26th District – a race that had national implications and now sends a strong message to the GOP that efforts to hurt Working People more»

WNYLaborToday.com’s Editor’s Note: A couple of hundred Union Members from across the City of Jamestown and Chautauqua County in the Southern Tier rallied in support of Workers’ Rights and the attack on Collective Bargaining outside Jamestown’s Municipal Building Monday evening. A number or area Labor Leaders took turns addressing those in more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: WNYLaborToday.com recently found the following Labor News Story that was originally published back in September 1987 by the Associated Press, and carried the headline: Oregon Debates The Rolling Strike’s Effectiveness. WNYLaborToday.com thought it was important to make our Viewers/Readers aware of this report, in light more»

The United Steelworkers Celebrate The 69th Anniversary Of The Founding Of Their Union (PITTSBURGH) – Sunday, May 22nd marked the 69th anniversary of the founding of the United Steelworkers (USW) Union. On May 22, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio, the forerunner of the USW, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), began building of an organization to more»

The Alliance for Retired Americans Political Action Fund, representing nearly four million retirees and community activists - including nearly 20,000 members across New York State’s 26th Congressional District – today announced its endorsement of Kathy Hochul’s candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in tomorrow’s (Tuesday, May 24th) special more»

Nevada Activists Say Fund Medicare Fully Rather Than Subsidizing Oil Companies Senate Republicans did not help their relationship with Seniors and Working Americans last week when they voted to keep $4 billion per year in subsidies for oil companies while supporting a budget plan that would end Medicare as we know it. Even with polls showing a majority more»

March On Wall Street Puts Spotlight On Income Gap & Harmful Budget Cuts About 20,000 people from a broad coalition of Unions and Community Groups, including scores of red-shirted Communications Workers of America (CWA) Members, marched on Wall Street to decry the vast and growing income inequality that is even worse in New York City than the country as more»

WNYLaborToday.com got a call last week from Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council/United Way of Greater Niagara Labor Liaison Bill Jakobi, who asked: “Have you seen the latest video commentary from Cory McCray?” McCray heads the Young Unionists Group in Baltimore, Maryland and is a frequent contributor to WNYLaborToday.com’s Young Unionist more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: Every Working Person – Union and non-represented – who lives in the 26th U.S. Congressional District has an extremely important responsibility on Tuesday. If you care about the direction this country will go in, then you must more»

(BUFFALO) – Negotiations are scheduled to resume tomorrow (Monday, May 23rd) between the Union representing nearly 400 locked-out Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York/Health Now NY, Inc. Employees and management. An Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 212 Official, meanwhile, has informed local Labor Leaders the more»

Mark Drajem at Bloomberg has this great story about Notre Dame refusing to buy "Fighting Irish" swag from China. The University of Notre Dame's campus bookstore sells "Fighting Irish" lettermen jackets, "ND" license plate frames and stadium cups picturing the school's Leprechaun mascot. Not for sale: anything made in China. Ten years after adopting the more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Mike Lagoda, a Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Western Region 6 Union Member and a mechanic with the West Seneca Central School District (pictured above), recently won a regional Bus Mechanic “Road-Eo” and now moves on to compete in a statewide competition this summer in Albany. Lagoda says he takes “a more»

(WASHINGTON) - National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka plans to issue yet another warning to Democrats today (Friday, May 20th), proclaiming that if lawmakers don't push hard enough to stem attacks on Labor's interests, Workers will abandon the party in the 2012 election. The Union Leader, whose perch atop the 11-million-member Federation makes him more»

Massey Energy Company’s Upper Big Branch Coal Mine in West Virginia exploded on April 5th, 2010 because the company operated the mine in a “profoundly reckless manner, which resulted in the deaths of 29 coal miners, who paid with their lives for the corporate risk-taking,” according to an independent report on the disaster commissioned by former West more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: WNYLaborToday.com ran across the following article on the Internet, which appeared on the website: truthout.org. WNYLaborToday.com thought it provided some interesting insight into the dilemma facing Labor Unions and their Leadership when it comes to the recent turn-of-events concerning the stance taken by some within the more»

(BUFFALO) – Nearly 600 workers represented by 1199 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) United Healthcare Workers East have ratified new contracts with two Buffalo-area Catholic Health System Nursing Homes – St. Francis of Williamsville and the Mcauley Residence in Kenmore, and at the Weinberg Campus in Getzville, Union Officials announced this more»

(BOSTON) – Two Dunkin Donuts franchise owners in have been cited and fined for violating Massachusetts Child Labor Laws, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Office of the Attorney General announced. James Carafotes, age 54, of Sutton, his business partner, Dinart Serpa, age 52, of Beverly, and their five franchise locations, have been fined a total of more»

(BUFFALO) – Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz has received the endorsement of the Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, whose affiliated Labor Unions combine to represent more than 80,000 Union Members, in his campaign for the office of Erie County Executive. Poloncarz, a Democrat, whose father was a Steelworker, responded by saying he is more»

(WASHINGTON) - President Barack Obama is drawing a line in the sand with Republicans over pending Trade Deals, one of few areas with the potential for bi-partisan action on Capitol Hill. Senior Administration Officials said Monday the White House will not act on any of the pending Trade Pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea - all of which are more»

(ALBANY) - As Unions around the country are increasingly under attack, more than 250 Independent Child Care Business Owners who belong to VOICE/CSEA Local 100A have a very different perspective on the importance of organizing a Union. They became part of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) to ensure a decent standard in their field while working more»

(BUFFALO) – Another negotiating session has been scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday, May 18th) between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York/HealthNow NY, Inc. and OPEIU (Office and Professional Employees International Union) Local 212 as the company’s lock-out of nearly 400 of its Unionized Employees in Downtown Buffalo stretches into a third more»

Medicaid Increasingly Targeted By Republicans According to The New York Times: “The changes to Medicaid proposed by (Republican U.S. Congressman Paul) Ryan, the House Budget Chairman, could actually have a more direct impact on older Americans than the Medicare part of his plan.” The House Plan would turn Medicaid, which provides Health Coverage for more»

(NORTH TONAWANDA) – After the City of Tonawanda imposed a three-tier, drug co-pay of $7, $15 and $35 without the consent of the Union, CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association) Unit 7692 – which represents nearly 100 Public Employees in the Niagara County City – stopped the practice through a favorable arbitration ruling. Now the City is making a more»

(ALBANY) – Danny Donohue, president of the 300,000-Member Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), responded quickly to word today that Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing changes in New York’s Tier VI pension plan that would reportedly create a new, but less generous, pension system for future State, Local and School Employees. Donohue said: more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: It’s a sure sign of our growth and reaching outside the Western New York Labor Community when WNYLaborToday.com starts receiving nasty responses from some Viewers/Readers. That was the case recently as two individuals – who more»

There was much fanfare made last week over the unveiling of a new video entitled: Buffalo: For Real, which area marketing and tourism gurus were absolutely giddy about using as their latest hook to help attract, interest and get people to come to Buffalo to find out what our region offers. But if you’re a Working Person, like so many across this country more»

Faculty at another University of Wisconsin campus have voted to be represented by American Federation of Teachers (AFT)-Wisconsin, becoming the fifth group to do so since Republican Governor Scott Walker began his attacks on Public Employee Collective Bargaining Rights in February. Yesterday, on May 13th, Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Michael Goodwin (pictured above) is president of the Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), which represents 125,000 members across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. OPEIU represents employees and independent contractors in Credit Unions, Hospitals and Medical Clinics, Insurance, Higher more»

(WESTERN NEW YORK) - Spearheaded by the Buffalo-headquartered National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)/Branch 3, Unionized Letter Carriers will be picking up donated canned and non-perishable foods today (Saturday, May 14th) during the 19th Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive across the Western New York Region. Despite lingering effects of more»

As of April 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the seasonally-adjusted Unemployment Rate stands at around 9 percent, as millions of Americans are seeking work in any position they can find. One company that’s hiring is Walmart, “one of the largest private employers in the U.S.” The company recently posted a job listing on-line for a more»

(SPRINGVILLE) - The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is stepping into contract negotiations between Bertrand Chaffee Hospital (BCH) and the Jennie B. Richmond Nursing Home (JBRNH), where approximately 200 workers are represented by 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers East and the New York State Nurses more»