(BUFFALO) – Kaleida Health will be served with a court order today directing the hospital to stop the process of closing or transferring operation of the Judge Joseph S. Mattina Community Health Care Center on Buffalo’s Lower West Side, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA). State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Drury's order states more»

(BUFFALO) - The 200 employees of the Waterfront Health Care Center in Buffalo have voted overwhelmingly to reject massive across-the-board wage and benefit cuts proposed by Specialty Care Group, a for-profit nursing home operator headquartered in the Bronx, 1199 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Representatives announced. Kaleida Health is set more»

After 10 Years, Consolidated Biscuit Workers Will Vote On Union By National AFL-CIO News Now Blog Reporter James Parks After a decade of struggle, workers at cookie maker Consolidated Biscuit Company (CBC), now Hearthside Food Solutions (HFS), in McComb, Ohio, are a big step closer to joining a Union. The National Labor Relations Board more»

(WESTERN NEW YORK) – The 2.5-million member New York State AFL-CIO has announced its endorsement of Democratic U.S. Congressional Candidate Kathy Hochul, who is seeking election to the 26th Congressional District. A special election for the seat formerly held by Republican Chris Lee is scheduled for May 24th. The New York State AFL-CIO represents more»

(OLEAN) – Despite horrible weather and a heavy downpour, 100 Union Members participated in a “We Are One!” Rally that was held in Olean late Tuesday (April 19th) – joining together to protest the attacks on Workers’ Rights and Collective Bargaining across the United States and calling for Working Families across the Southern Tier to stand up and more»

(WASHINGTON) - While millions of Americans struggled to get back on their feet after the worst economic downturn in decades, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the Nation's largest companies got average pay of $11.4 million in 2010 - a 23% increase in one year, according to the National AFL-CIO’s Executive PayWatch (www.paywatch.org) website. AFL-CIO more»

(PITTSBURGH) - The United Steelworkers (USW) are congratulating Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, the leader of the Mexican Mineworkers’ Union, on being chosen to receive the prestigious Meany-Kirkland Human Rights Award. The award, approved by the National AFL-CIO Executive Council, recognizes Gomez’s “courageous commitment to defend the aspirations more»

(BUFFALO) – As the Telecommunication Giant Verizon focuses - for the most part - on the suburbs, Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Michael Hoffert and CWA (Communications Workers of America) Local 1122 President James Wagner today joined with a host of area Elected Officials and Community Advocates to call for Verizon’s FiOs ultra-fast more»

The cancellation of the ABC-TV Soap Operas “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” will not only deprive millions of viewers of their favorite shows, it will also deprive thousands of Union Members - Actors, Crew Members, Writers and Production Staff - in Los Angeles and New York of a regular paycheck. In a statement, the American Federation more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Your Regional, On-Line Labor Newspaper has been reporting on the Labor problems facing Unionized Workers at BlueCross BlueShield here in Buffalo. For more information, read WNYLaborToday.com’s latest Labor News Report: 400 OPEIU Local 212-Represented Workers At BlueCross BlueShield Won’t Be Allowed To Return To Their more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: The following President’s Perspective by New York State President Denis Hughes (pictured above) appears on the New York State AFL-CIO website (http://www.nysaflcio.org/). The New York State AFL-CIO represents 2.5-million members across New York. In commenting on the New York State Economy, post the new budget, more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: First off - A reminder the Cattaraugus-Allegany AFL-CIO Central Labor Council will hold a “We Are One!” Rally against the current attack on Workers’ Rights that’s taking place across the United States in Olean’s more»

Opportunity can strike at the strangest of times and places. For National AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, who believes in getting the Union Movement’s message out to audiences that normally don’t hear it, that opportunity came on a recent flight from Washington, D.C., to Detroit when Republican Pollster/Strategist and Fox News regular Frank more»

Many times in my travels to visit with Western New York’s many Union Locals and to speak with Union Presidents and their Memberships - the issue of a lack of participation of the membership at Union Meetings and the overall point of getting involved is nearly always brought to my attention. While my comments and thoughts vary from Local to Local, more»

Stony Brook Research Assistants Win First Contract After Long Battle Research Assistants (RAs) at Stony Brook University in New York stood tough for 10 years, organizing, mobilizing and calling out management for trying to get rid of their Union. Now, RAs have ratified their first contract. The 683 RAs are PhD candidates who work for faculty at the more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Cory McCray, who serves as chairman of the Baltimore, Maryland Young Trade Unionists Group, has been reported on and profiled by WNYLaborToday.com several times in recent months. WNYLaborToday.com has also republished several worthy columns authored by McCray over that same period of time that targets Young Union Members more»

Alliance Reacts To President Obama's Plan To Reduce The National Deficit On Wednesday, President Obama gave a speech outlining his plan for reducing the National Deficit by $4 trillion before 2023. The president’s framework rejects plans that would “end Medicare as we know it” or transform Medicaid into a dramatically underfunded block grant. The more»

Just when you thought the political pandering to corporate greed could not get any worse, Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich has taken it to a new low. Hidden deep in his proposed budget is a provision to allow his administration to contract out for 75 years any state service to any applicant that the state budget and management director (OBM) - a Kasich more»

(ALBANY) – Council 82 of the New York State Law Enforcement Officers Union announced today the Union has reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with New York State. The yet-to-be ratified agreement calls for no wage increases during the life of the contract and Union Members would have to pay more for their Health Care Coverage. more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Earlier this year, a small minority of Republicans helped Democrats defeat a GOP attack on two key Labor Provisions aimed at hurting Construction Workers. The defeat was a result of a dynamic decade-long effort by Construction Unions to persuade business and Republicans of the importance of Union Rights on construction sites. more»

(BUFFALO) – In a taped message offered to management representatives in order to update them on current contract negotiations with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York says it will not allow its 400 Union-Represented Employees to return to their jobs if a new contract isn’t bargained more»

News, Notes & A Bunch Of Observations Made While Covering The Western New York Labor Community Over The Past Several Days: I’m starting to see and read more and more on the Internet and the Social Networks on the Call for a Nationwide Strike to counteract the attack on Unions and Workers’ Rights by the Republican and the wealthy in this more»

(NEW YORK) - Richard Iannuzzi has been re-elected to his third term as president of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). NYSUT represents 600,000 Teachers, School-Related Professionals, Academic and Professional Faculty in Higher Education, Professionals in Education and Health Care and Retirees. The Union is affiliated with the American Federation of more»

Contrary to recurring predictions of the demise the American Labor Movement, National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told a Wayne State University audience in Detroit that the “Labor Movement has a rich and vibrant future.” “Unions have a strong future in America - because we need them to improve our lives,” said Trumka – who noted the attacks more»

(NEW YORK CITY) - Thousands of city residents and Union Members (pictured above/Photo Courtesy of the New York State AFL-CIO and Amy Desjardins-Director of Organizing & Field Services) rallied in support of Workers' Rights over the weekend along Seventh Avenue in New York City’s Times Square. The demonstration came amid fears of large-scale more»

Republican Budget Would Drastically Alter Medicare, Medicaid & Social Security Last week, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (Republican-Wisconsin) released a proposal to cut more than $4 trillion in federal spending over the next decade through drastic changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Ryan’s plan privatizes Medicare, turning more»

America's Richest Companies: Only “The Little People: Pay Taxes Have you paid your 2010 taxes yet? On a percentage basis, you're certainly paying more than the most profitable U.S. companies and in some cases you're literally paying more. Consider, for instance, that General Electric made $26 billion in profits over the last five years and not only more»

Statement by National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Proposed Colombia Trade Agreement: “We’re deeply disappointed the Obama Administration has signaled that it will move forward to submit the proposed U.S.-Colombia Trade Agreement to Congress for a vote in the near future. In our view, the situation in Colombia remains unacceptably violent more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: As of Thursday evening, Democratic Candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg’s victory in the State of Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court over a Republican Candidate that was backed by GOP Governor Scott Walker is now is question after a Republican Official with a reportedly checkered past acknowledged that thousands of votes for more»

(OLEAN) – The Cattaraugus-Allegany AFL-CIO Central Labor Council will hold a “We Are One!” rally in support of job creation and against the current attack on Workers’ Rights that is taking place across the United States in Olean’s Lincoln Park on Tuesday, April 19th, which is located across from City Hall on the corner of East State and South more»

National AFL-CIO Remains Opposed to Colombia Trade Deal National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s intention to send a U.S.-Colombia Trade Agreement to Congress for a vote: We’re deeply disappointed the Obama Administration has signaled that it will move forward to submit the proposed more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President James Briggs (pictured on the right) and Niagara-Orleans CLC/United Way Labor Liaison Bill Jakobi (on the left) proudly display the Horizon Award the Council received from The United Way of Greater Niagara, which recognized Organized Labor for its community more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: WNYLaborToday.com received this news story via recently-retired Western New York Council on Occupational Safety & Health (WNYCOSH) Executive Director Roger Cook, who discovered it on The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com): David Koch, the billionaire libertarian financier, doesn't just support Republican governors more»

(PITTSBURGH) – The United Steelworkers (USW) have reached a tentative, four-year Master Agreement with International Paper (IP) after a week of negotiations over key economic issues, the Union has announced. The agreement was reached after nearly a year of planning and strategic meetings that was brought about by an 80-person bargaining committee, which more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Melina Harris (pictured above) is president of the Seattle, Oregon-headquartered not-for-profit Sisters In The Building Trades organization, which was created in 2006 to provide women working in the Construction Trades with individual and personal support, as well as mentoring and assistance in what has predominately been more»

(ALBANY) - The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is applauding the State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo for not including the suspension of the Nursing Care Quality Protection Act (Public Health Law 2805t) in the 2011-12 New York State Budget. This important law protects public health by disclosing nursing quality care indicators and more»

(HANOVER, MARYLAND) - Text messaging? Smartphone App? Internet advertising? Facebook and Twitter? Sounds like standard fare these days for a corporate operation, right? Think again. These tools and more are being utilized every day in the field by what some would think an unlikely type of organization for Social Media - a Union that represents more»

(WHITESVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA) - One year ago today, 29 Coal Miners were killed in an explosion at a West Virginia mine that had a long and troubling record of safety violations. This evening in Whitesville, family members, mine rescue personnel and first responders, along with Acting Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, U.S. Labor Secretary Labor Hilda more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: The following President’s Perspective by New York State President Denis Hughes (pictured above) appears on the New York State AFL-CIO website (http://www.nysaflcio.org/). The New York State AFL-CIO represents 2.5-million members across New York. We all eagerly anticipate job creation as a result of the recently more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: As many as 300 Community Residents, Patients and Activists, as well as Unionized Health Care Workers, Civil Rights, Religious and Elected Representatives, joined together late today (Monday, April 4th) to publicly protest Kaleida Health’s decision to close the Judge Joseph S. Mattina Community Health Care Center, which more»

National AFL-CIO News Now Blog Across the Nation and around the world today – Monday, April 4th and throughout the week –Working People are saying: “We Are One!” with workers whose Rights and Middle-Class Jobs are under attack in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere by Republican governors and legislators. Workers are also honoring the anniversary of Dr. more»

If you’re a Union Member and you’re still sitting or lying down on your couch – you had better get up off it - and quickly. You need to get into the game because this past week was one hell of a week for Organized Labor, Union Members - and for that matter, all Working People - right here in Western New York, as well as across New York State and the more»

Bargaining Rights Mean Dignity: That’s The Message On Monday, April 4th Across the United States on Monday, April 4th, Working People and allies from the Civil Rights Movement, the Religious Community, student groups and many more are standing together for the rights of all workers to bargain for a Middle-Class Life, our right to a voice in the political more»

(BUFFALO) – The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 212 - which is currently in contract negotiations with BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York - is working to bring back more than 40 jobs to Buffalo that the Regional Health Care Provider had moved to Pennsylvania, Union Representatives tell WNYLaborToday.com. OPEIU more»

House GOP Leader: Social Security “Cannot Exist” For Future Generations Discussing the future of Social Security, U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Republican-Virginia) told an NPR radio interviewer last week: “We're going to have to come to grips with the fact that these programs cannot exist if we want America to be what we want America to more»

New Gallup Poll: More Americans Side With Public Employee Unions Than Governors Who Are Trying To Strip Collective Bargaining Rights & Slash Public Services From Standing Up For Public Service: www.standforpublicservice.org/blog/poll-americans-back-unions-over-govs: A National Gallup poll released today shows more Americans side with Public Employee more»

In Washington: More Than 800 Professors & Notable Scholars Urge Lawmakers Not To Revoke Collective Bargaining Zoe Bridges-Curry/americarightsatwork.org (WASHINGTON) – With Public Employees under siege in states across the country, a significant group of notable scholars have come together in protest. In an official letter released by American more»

(BUFFALO) – A major protest will be held on Monday, April 4th outside the slated-for-closure Judge Joseph S. Mattina Community Health Care Center on Buffalo’s West Side – which will coincide with hundreds of “We Are One” observances and rallies that will occur across the Nation that day to commemorate the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and more»

From The National AFL-CIO News Now Blog Site: Republicans in the Ohio Senate last night (March 30th) passed by a vote of 17-to-16 S.B 5 - legislation that eliminates the rights of 350,000 Public Employees to bargain for Middle-Class Jobs. Earlier in the evening, the Republican-controlled House passed the bill. Republican Governor John Kasich more»

National AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow Jennifer Angarita contributed to this National AFL-CIO News Now Blog Report: Today, on what would have been César Chávez’s 84th birthday, Students, Workers and Immigrants joined together to pay tribute to the legacy of Chávez. As a renowned Labor Activist and a leader of the United Farm Workers (UFW), more»