West Virginia Blue
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United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts will be the keynote speaker at a July 10 rally of union members who are military veterans from West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The rally will highlight the issues important to veterans in the upcoming 2008 elections.
Roberts, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, will be joined at the rally by West Virginia AFL-CIO Vice President Bob Brown, West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw, and Anne Barth, the Democratic nominee for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District.
"Like all working people, veterans are worried about our future and our childrens' future," Roberts said. "Most of America's military veterans come from a working family background. They're not working on Wall Street, they're working in the mines, mills, hospitals and nursing homes. They're the police officers and firefighters. They bring power to your home and keep the railroads running.
"So we're going to be talking about the issues that matter to most veterans, our families and all working people." Roberts said. "And we're going to be talking about electing leaders who will put working families' concerns first." <!--[endif]-->
The United Mine Workers have endorsed Barack Obama.
United Mine Workers of America Endorses Barack Obama for President
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) today endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for President of the United States. The endorsement came after a unanimous vote of the union's National Council of the Coal Miners' Political Action Committee (COMPAC) in favor of the endorsement.
"We are extremely proud to make this endorsement today," UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. "Sen. Obama shares the values of UMWA members and our families. He understands and will fight for the needs our members have today and the hopes our members have for a secure future for themselves and their families.
"Most of all, Sen. Obama will implement the clear change in direction UMWA members-indeed, all American working people-must have if they are to once again move forward and have a true opportunity to realize the American dream," Roberts said. "After eight years of being pushed aside by an administration which neither respects nor values the contributions American working families make to our society, we are looking forward with great anticipation to a new era in our nation starting with the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.
"We looked at the positions of both Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) when considering this endorsement," Roberts said. "On issue after issue, it is clear that Sen. Obama will be on our side while Sen. McCain will not.
There is a storm starting to brew up regarding the Captive Audience Bill that came out of the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary during the WV Legislature Interim Session at the end of November. Basically what the Bill does is bar employers from making attendance compulsory for employees when the topics to be discussed are political or religious. A synopsis discussing this Bill can be read here in an article by Mannix Porterfield in the Beckley Register Herald.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An effort to bar employers from staging mandatory talks in the workplace to discuss political and religious matters under the threat of retaliation against workers who boycott them cleared its first hurdle Wednesday.
But the so-called “captive audience” measure didn’t exit the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary without a spirited battle.
After a lengthy debate, Delegate Tim Miley, D-Harrison, coaxed a divided voice vote in sending it out with a recommendation for approval by the full Legislature next year.
Have you ever found yourself in the position of having to attend a "meeting" at work with politicians running for office? I have... and it is not a very pleasant experience when the candidates that are being thrust on you are Republicans with no offset on the Democratic side. My boss actually required every one of his employees to gather in one place to hear political speeches by candidates running for state offices. My feelings are pretty clear on this subject... the owner of a company certainly can conduct a meeting and present political views, however, I as well as anyone else working for the company should be free to walk out or choose not to attend and not have to worry about any retaliation or punishment for not participating. Of course not attending or walking out would certainly put about 2 strikes against you as it would be obvious how you felt about something that was near and dear to your bosses heart.
Now the Bill is being touted as a Union sponsored attempt to take away the ability of mine owners to coerce employees to listen to anti-union propaganda from their bosses. In another article published this past week in both Bluefield Daily Telegraph and the Beckley Register Herald that can be read here,
Delegate Tim Mile, (D-Harrison) has taken a stand that...
While that provided some of the impetus, Delegate Tim Miley, D-Harrison, says his stand was that no such bill would be crafted that solely benefited union organizing.
“We were going to identify those areas that might be sensitive, those areas of speech and communications there might be some sensitivity to, so that we were going to make it hopefully a bill that would address areas of sensitivity and great concern to people,” Miley said Wednesday.
“We just weren’t going to pass something solely for the fact that somebody was mad at Massey Energy or (CEO) Don Blankenship. I’m not into targeting people or retaliation by legislation.”
The old standby of "another unnecessary law" comes forward from those that don't like the idea of protecting worker's rights to not listen to propaganda on political and religious matters. You aren' t protected if the boss says you have to go period! The argument is that workers are already protected under Federal law. Read what Senator Clark Barnes (R-Randolph) the Minority Whip in the State Senate says about this legislation...
Barnes wondered why such a law is needed in West Virginia if federal law now bars discrimination at the work site based on race, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation and other reasons.
“Could this be considered a brand new attack on the constitutional rights of free speech?” he asked. (emphasis mine)
Free Speech??? What a crock... the workplace is not a setting that should be abused by someone who owns a company to proselytize his or hers ideas and beliefs on those who work for their company. The real concern that Barnes and others apparantly have is that the Bill is an outright attack on Massey Energy and their CEO Don Blankenship who have blatently used mandatory meetings to threaten their employees trying to organize in our state. There was a time when worker's rights were protected... those rights have eroded since the Reagan administration, and we desperately need legislation such as the Captive Audience Bill to protect our work force from the abuses of their bosses. It doesn't just apply to union organizing... it applies to every business. I don't work in a business that is typically union, and I along with my fellow employees were required to listen to one point of view at work.
The Legislature goes back to work in Charleston next week so let your Delegates and Senators know how you feel on this Bill. All of the House of Delegates is up for reelection in November and so are a lot of Senators. I think they might just listen to you if they want to remain in office.
How about it Randolph County? I hear that Clark Barnes is going to have a tough ride in the November election... this might be an issue that can be used to send another Democrat to the Senate to replace Barnes.
Hal and Shirley Macleery listen at the United Mine Workers' annual Labor Day celebration in Racine.
Sarah K. Winn has the story--Racine was the place to be on Labor Day.
"Working families are losing their ground," said Elaine Harris, a representative with the Communication Workers of America. "The Bush administration has put its political agenda ahead of the good of the people."
Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, agreed, saying 2008 should be different if people get out and express their opinions.
"If we are going to restore some virtue to this economy, you need to get up on your feet and get out on the street and vote Democrat," she said to the crowd. "We have everything to gain this time and nothing to lose."
John Unger, the state senator from Berkeley County and candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, related the story of his grandfather, whose career included work in a unionized quarry.
"He always put the fight in the fight," he said. "It is important to continue to fight for working families and for me to continue to join in that fight."
West Virginia University law professor Bob Bastress, who is running for the state Supreme Court, told the crowd about his law work defending mine workers and labor rights.
"I understand how important those paychecks are for workers," he said. In his 2000 campaign for the Supreme Court, Bastress had the support from labor groups.
[snip]
Gov. Joe Manchin, who arrived on his motorcycle, pointed to how the state is leading the way in the mining industry, particularly when it comes to safe conditions.
"West Virginia is making a difference," he said. "Everything is based around the safety of the worker. If we can't do it safe, don't do it."
As recently as April 27th I posted a Diary about how Massey Energy pushed the envelope by intimidating coal miners at the Progress Coal Company that can be seen here.
In a story reported yesterday in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph by Mannix Porterfield we learn that the right of coal miners to organize continues to be abused here in Boone County, West Virginia at the Brody Mine.
Boone County, WV (from Wikipedia)
This story really hits home as to the lengths a company will go to to prevent collective bargaining in our state. The story can be seen here.
BECKLEY, W.Va. - A union election at Peabody Energy's Brody Mine in Boone County was frozen Wednesday by the National Labor Relations Board amid formal complaints by the United Mine Workers of America the mine owner violated federal organizing statutes.
Gary Muffley, the NLRB's region 9 director, said the election would be "canceled pending investigation of the unfair labor practice charge."
Federal labor law violations were alleged this week by the UMWA in its organizing effort at a contractor operating the Brody Mine.
"The actions of the company in this election crossed the line, even in the eyes of the NLRB," UMWA President Cecil Roberts said in a statement from his office.
Roberts interpreted the agency's speedy response to his complaint that "there is evidence that the company so polluted the election process at this mine that it will be impossible to hold a free and fair election at this time."
The story goes on to detail the absolutely ridiculous lengths that the Peabody Mine Company went to in violating the law and abusing the rights of coal miners.
In his complaint, Roberts accused the firm of instigating violence and other illegal acts in a "plot" to make the union look responsible.
"At least one worker has been used by the company as a plant within our organizing campaign," the union leader said.
"He later `renounced' his support for the union after he was fired for sleeping on the job and made false and misleading statements about the union."
Last week, Roberts said, the same unidentified employee threatened union members, staff and their spouses outside a Beckley hotel to trigger a response while "a `union avoidance lawyer' was hiding in the darkness of the hotel parking lot with a video camera."
Police were called and a confrontation never occurred, Roberts said.
It is interesting to contrast this to the diary by Clem Guttata yesterday regarding unions in Pennsylvania and how well they are doing..
There is no doubt in my mind that the abuses listed above will continue until the Employee Free Choice Act is passed by Congress, and we have a President in office that will not veto the legislation.
Click on There's More for more of my thoughts on the plight of unions in West Virginia.
Unions in the United States and West Virginia are continuing to lose ground as can be seen in this article from Forbes Magazine and the Associated Press here.
Miners at a Massey Energy Co. subsidiary have rejected an attempt to unionize a West Virginia mine, the company said Thursday.
Miners at Massey's Progress Coal Co. voted 180-110 not to be represented by the United Mine Workers of America. The National Labor Relations Board conducted a secret ballot on Wednesday.
"We appreciate the confidence these members have in their company and are pleased our members can now put this event behind them and focus on what they do best - safely mining coal," said Don L. Blankenship, chairman, chief executive officer and president.
The Richmond, Va.-based Massey is a largely nonunion company. The union filed a petition with the NLRB on March 7 to represent workers at the Progress mine near Twilight in Boone County.
Union spokesman Phil Smith said the UMW sought the election after a majority of the mine's employees "signed cards indicating that they wanted a union."
"This election had little to do with actual workplace democracy and workers having a free voice to express their will about whether or not they wanted union representation," Smith said. "It had everything to do with a vicious campaign of fear and intimidation on the part of the company, which is precisely what the Employee Free Choice Act will eliminate."
The law would take away the right of employers to demand secret-ballot elections by workers before unions could be recognized.
The House and the Senate need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to help bring back rights for workers and more importantly to let companies know that they can't continue to downgrade the quality of life for Americans. Blankenship will be doing all he can to stop the Free Choice Act. As we all know if the Free Choice Act passes that Bushie will veto it. We need to show our representatives in Washington that we support this act and even more to insure that a Democratic President is elected in November of next year so that we won't have to contend with more anti-americans vetoes from PResident Bush.
Statement of AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on the United Mineworkers of America (UMW) New Report on the Sago Mine Disaster
A new report on the Sago mine disaster released today by the United Mineworkers confirms that the deaths of 12 miners at Sago on January 2, 2006 were unnecessary and totally preventable. These deaths were not due to some "act of God," but rather were the result of failures by mine management and the government.
The detailed, exhaustive report shows that substandard mine seals, lack of adequate oxygen, no safety chambers, no two-way communication, no tracking devices, and no onsite, experienced mine rescue teams all contributed to these tragic deaths. Many of these failures were years in the making. They were the result of decisions by the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) to weaken legal requirements and by the Bush Administration to stop new, stronger rules on mine rescue teams, oxygen supplies and escape ways and mine refuges.
The Sago disaster and other mine disasters in 2006, which claimed a total of 47 lives, led Congress to enact the first improvements in the mine safety law in 30 years. Now we must ensure that these changes in the law translate quickly into improvements in safety in the nation's mines.
I commend the United Mineworkers for their leadership and dedication to protecting all of the nation's miners - whether they have a union or not - and their tireless efforts to see that the 12 men who died at Sago did not die in vain.
When you put the Republicans in charge of the government--a party that doesn't believe in the power of government--you end up with predictably disasterous results.
Just as the story of the loss of New Orleans is one of human failures to response to an Act of God, the loss of life at the Sago Mine disaster now appears to have been wholly preventable.
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