WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Your Regional, On-Line Labor Newspaper found the following column written by Author Rick Ungar on Forbes Magazine’s website (which can be directly accessed at: www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/03/04/gov-scott-walker-has-lost-the-war/). From Ungar himself: I write on politics with a specialty in Health Care Policy. more»

IUE-CWA (International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers and the Communications Workers of America) President James Clark has been honored as a “Champion of Change for Corporate Environmental Responsibility” by the Obama Administration. Clark is cited for his Union’s work in helping to train Union Members to more»

While Anti-Worker Bills in State Capitols across the Country still threaten Middle-Class Families, Republican State Legislatures are beginning to second guess whether to continue pursuing their extreme agenda attacking Working Families. Earlier this week, the Republican-controlled New Hampshire Senate tabled HB 1677, the so-called Right-To-Work Bill. This more»

I’d like to Thank WNYLaborToday.com for its continued diligence to Organized Labor. I know all too well that the decline in Union Support, Education and Collective Bargaining has placed this Country - and more importantly Western New York - in a dismal economic state. With the temperature in politics and the attitudes of Voters, it’s hard for the more»

(PITTSBURGH) – Question: How can American Manufacturers stay competitive in the age of globalization? Answer: By investing in America's Workers. That was the gist of the New Markets & Organizing Forum at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO's Convention last week. Labor Unions are a boon for inventors looking for committed, educated Workers to manufacture new more»

(OLEAN) – With the debate over President Obama’s 2010 National Health Care Law reaching a fever pitch now that the U.S. Supreme Court is in the midst of deciding whether or not to throw out some of its key components, Organized Labor is joining with the Health Care Access Coalition in Cattaraugus County for what Cattaraugus-Allegany AFL-CIO Central more»

When Craig Dubow resigned as CEO of the Nation’s Largest Newspaper Conglomerate amid health problems last year, he ended a six-year stint that “was, by most accounts, a disaster.” Gannett, the parent company of USA Today and 80 other American newspapers, had seen its revenue plummet $1.7 billion and its stock price fall 86%, from $72 a share to more»

(NEW YORK CITY) - Teachers and Staff at the New York French American Charter School in Harlem recently won a Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) decision that confirms their vote to join the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). A large majority of the Teaching Staff, along with other Staff Members at the school, signed Union Cards in November and more»

(ALBANY) – A report showing New York’s graduation rates are significantly on the rise is further proof the State should view education as an investment and not a budget cut, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) Union says. The report - which was presented in Washington at the Building a Grad Nation Summit, sponsored by America’s Promise more»

(WESTERN NEW YORK) - Leaders and Members of IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 97 here in Western New York didn’t raise the white flag when a private development company announced plans to build a power transmission line from Quebec to supply the huge appetite for electrical consumers and businesses in New York City, bypassing more»

(WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WISCONSIN) - Overcoming Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's Act 10 Legislation that requires recertification by annual secret ballot vote, Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 95 Representatives have announced the Union has won elections in two units, Community Care of Central Wisconsin (CCCW) and more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Your Regional, On-Line Labor Newspaper ran across this recently-published story on the Internet that featured Billionaire David Koch, one-half of the Koch Brothers who’ve been funding anti-Union Governor Scott Walker’s quest to eradicate Workers’ Rights and Collective Bargaining in the State of Wisconsin. more»

Wrenching testimonies from Laid-Off Workers are overflowing the Internet, crying out from the pages of policy reports and popping up in commercial media. But Labor Unions are still grappling with how to organize the unemployed, including their own ex-Members, into a political force. Department of Labor figures for December showed 13.1 million unemployed more»

(QUEENS VILLAGE) - United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, New York's largest Grocery Workers’ Union, will enthusiastically and aggressively encourage New York State Elected Officials to increase New York’s Minimum Wage to $8.50 an hour, UFCW Officials have announced. The Union, based out of Westbury, will mobilize its 23,000 Members to more»

(DUNKIRK) – CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association) Unit 6300 President Rose Conti admits “there’s never a dull moment” these days in Chautauqua County as the Public Employees Union that represents 1,000 County Workers continues its battle to stop the privatization of the County Home in Dunkirk, and awaits the involvement of a Public Employment more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: WNYLaborToday.com received the following Labor Commentary from the Civil Service Employees Association’s Voice Reporter/The Official Blog of CSEA-Monroe County Local 828 in Rochester. It can be directly accessed at: http://voiceforthemembersslate.blogspot.com/2012/02/gloves-are-off-if-its-fight-cuomo-wants.html. This more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: James Bertolone serves as President of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, whose 300 affiliated Union Locals combine to represent 100,000 Union Members in the Rochester & Finger Lakes Regions of New York State. In my first Labor Column of 2012, I’ll touch on several big stories in this more»

(ALBANY) - Public Employees Federation (PEF) Vice President Joe Fox, who testified today (Wednesday, January 25th) in Albany during a New York State Legislative Hearing on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposal that would directly impact the State’s Workforce, told Legislators to beware of ‘dangerous’ Budget Reform Proposals, saying they more»

(DUNKIRK) – Nearly 30 Representatives of Organized Labor from across Chautauqua County met in Dunkirk earlier this week to begin mapping out Labor’s plans to make the County-wide Democratic Party aware that it wants to be more involved in its decisions, and also set their sites on looking within Labor’s own ranks to run Union Candidates for a host of more»

Workers are gathering again at the Indiana Statehouse today (Friday, January 6th) to make sure their voices are heard as the Republican-Controlled Legislature attempts to ram through a so-called Right To Work (RTW) Bill that Republican Governor Mitch Daniels says is at the top of the State’s agenda. Yesterday, more than 7,000 Working People traveled to more»

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed more charges against the Super Retailer Target, adding more charges to what is already a long-running list of the ways Target violated Labor Laws in order to prevent its employees from joining the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union. Last June, Target intimidated Workers by handing out more»

Musicians in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Texas are now playing a happy tune following a December 27th ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that says Musicians in Symphony Orchestras are Employees with the freedom to join Unions – and not independent contractors. Members of the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Symphony Orchestra sought to join more»

(MANHATTAN) - The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which represents 1,300 Registered Nurses (RNs) at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan, has reached a tentative new contract agreement with Hospital Management, Union Officials have announced. RNs will vote on the proposed four-year contract on Wednesday, January 4th. The tentative more»

Happy New Year! Happy New Year? I guess that question will remain unanswered until we hear Governor Cuomo's State of the State Address and actually see his proposed budget. The question of how much joy there will be in 2012 also will depend on the efforts of our friends in the New York State Assembly and Senate. What road will the governor lay before more»

(DUNKIRK) – In the spirit of the Holiday Season – and even though Chautauqua County Legislators reneged on a previous vote to table a measure to hire a marketing company to promote the County Home in Dunkirk for privatization – CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association) Local 6300 has nonetheless invited all Legislators to take part in a round of more»

(OLEAN) – Former Cattaraugus-Allegany AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Hobart “Hobie” McKay Rhinehart, who captained the Southern Tier Labor Council for 15 years, has passed at the age of 83. He is being remembered today (December 9th) by several regional Labor Leaders as not only a tenacious advocate for ordinary Working People, but one who more»

When it comes to actually implementing so-called Green Technologies, the Building Trades Unions are in the vanguard. In St. Louis, Missouri - Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) Local 36 is seeking the highest ranking, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum, from the U.S. Green Building Council for its new 95,000-square-foot Headquarters and more»

(FORT WORTH, TEXAS) – Union-Represented American Airlines Employees are still adjusting to what they call a "kick in the gut." American Airlines’ bankruptcy has put all Labor Contract Talks on hold and Workers fear not only layoffs, but pay cuts and reduced benefits. More than 3,000 Transport Workers Union (TWU) Members in North Texas are now more»

Worker Activist and Documentary Filmmaker Michael Moore so admired the daily demonstrations against Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker that he traveled from New York to Madison for one on March 5th, 2011. The liberal firebrand opened his speech by heaping praise on those fighting the governor’s efforts to take collective bargaining powers more»

(OLEAN) – In recent years, Organized Labor has been - and still is depending on whom you talk to - in a state of transition. Battling inaccurate and negative stereotypes, dealing with outsourced jobs to off-shore lands, the “Great Recession” revisited and an ever-transforming economy have all contributed to our current day, tumultuous climate that more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: James Bertolone serves as president of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation - an AFL-CIO Union Cities Area Labor Federation whose 300 affiliated Union Locals combine to represent 100,000 Union Members in the nearby Rochester & Finger Lakes Region. Bertolone, who also serves as president of American more»

(JAMESTOWN) – In late January, IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 106 Business Manager David Wilkinson will be elected as the newest member – and fourth representative of Organized Labor – on the board of directors of the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County, an opportunity that Wilkinson tells WNYLaborToday.com he not more»

(ALBANY) – Kenneth Brynien - president of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF), the State’s second-largest state-employee union, representing 58,000 professional, scientific and technical employees, issued the following statement today regarding the layoff of 900 State Workers by Governor David Paterson: This is a dark day for the more»

Pictured Above: A combined 40 Union Members and their families from IBEW Local 106 participated in Jamestown’s Annual Christmas Parade, some riding in a float decorated with multi-colored lights, large cardboard cut-outs of Gingerbread Men and the IBEW Logo. More than 200 floats and marchers took part in the Wild World of Christmas celebration that was more»

Happy New Year! From WNYLaborToday.com Your Regional, On-Line Labor Newspaper WNYLaborToday.com would like to wish those within the Western New York Labor Community, as well as our readers, a healthy and prosperous New Year! As we enter 2010, WNYLaborToday.com looks forward to continuing to report on a variety of news occurring within Organized more»

(THE SOUTHERN TIER) - On the eve of a scheduled hearing by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) into charges of management misconduct, Union and hospital officials have agreed to hold a new election among Registered Nurses (RNs) in the TLC Health Network to determine whether Registered Nurses (RNs) can form a Union, 1199 SEIU (Service Employees more»

WNY Unionists Have Opportunity To Participate In A Live Webcast Called: Open For Questions About The Job Crisis/Get Chance To Ask Questions Of National AFL-CIO President Trumka (WESTERN NEW YORK) - Western New York Unionists will have their opportunity to ask National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka questions about the economy and job creation on more»

During the 12 years that I have been a business representative for Carpenters Local Union 66, I have never seen a project as worthy of the support of our elected officials as the Jamestown Oxy Coal CFB Power Plant Project. This project will create significant economic growth in Western New York - well beyond the approximate 330 temporary construction more»

Pictured Above: Members of the Olean-based Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters Local 66 take part in constructing a home for the Eisenhardt Family in the Cattaraugus County Town of Machias. Pictured from left to right are Union Carpenters Chris Vestea (a member of Carpenters Local 11), John Fratarcangelo (in red jacket) and Al Robison. (Photo more»

The following information was provided to WNYLaborToday.com by Lynn Miller, communications specialist for the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) in Buffalo: (MAYVILLE/CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY) - After two years, countless strategy sessions and almost 70 negotiation sessions with county management, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members more»