Dockworkers of the World Unite!
In a potent reminder of what organized labor can do, thousands of dockworkers along all 29 West Coast ports took the day off in a coordinated action to protest the U.S. war in Iraq.“We are supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq,” said union President Bob McEllrath.
See the full story here.
Labels: dock workers, iraq war, labor, labor organizing, strike
Some Roses Don't Smell So Sweet
Before you order those overpriced roses for your Valentine's Day sweetie, consider a few disturbing facts from our friends at US/LEAP:- Flower workers are primarily women who work long hours, especially before holidays like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, are paid poverty-level wages, and face hazardous working conditions
- Over 60% of flowers bought in the U.S. come from Colombia
- Nearly 100,000 flower workers are employed in Colombia, most of whom are women
- The largest grower and exporter of flowers from Colombia is Dole, which is also the largest exporter of flowers from Latin America to the U.S.
- Dole announced in October 2006 that it would close its largest plantation in Colombia following a two-year campaign by its workers to improve wages and working conditions and form a union.
OK, so what should you buy your loved ones? Fair Trade certified chocolate, of course. Some of our favorites include:
Equal Exchange
Art Bars
And if flowers are still the thing, you can now get them from Fair Trade certified sellers.
Labels: chocolate, Colombia, economic alternatives, fair trade, flowers, labor, US/LEAP, worker rights
If guards organize, the terrorists win.
The Associated Press reports today that "Bush and his Senate allies will kill an antiterror bill if Congress sends it to the White House with a provision to let airport screeners unionize, the White House and 36 Republicans said yesterday."Bush et al's argument is that unionized TSA screeners would pose a threat to national security. Once unionized screeners would presumably get better pay, benefits, and job security—all those things unions are famous for helping workers win—than they have now. So I'm not really seeing the connection—in fact, I'd be tempted to say that, if we're going to have screeners at all, the greater risk comes from them being less satisfied with their jobs.
And it's not like this is even dirty politics, like Republicans' attempt last session to couple a minimum wage increase with cuts to the estate tax. Here the two issues—national security and the rights of the people who are, rightly or wrongly, delegated to protect it—seem very strongly connected indeed.
And it's not like the right to organize has undermined security in any other part of Homeland Security. Said John Gage, president of American Federation of Government Employees, "Denying these people rights that everyone else has in Homeland Security is not based on any rational reason."
Sounds about usual for the Bush administration.
See Stephen Barr's coverage in the Washington Post: Effort to Give TSA Screeners Union Rights Advances
Labels: labor, national security, unions