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January
26, 2007:
 Meet
US Senator Schumer!!!
Class and Catastrophe: New
Orleans
28 Senators Vote to Repeal
Minimum Wage
James S. Colombo Scholarship
Fund
Jack Davis Gives $10,000 to
Veterans
Organizing Campaign Targets
Pooler
Monroe County Tax Breaks Through
COMIDA Under Fire
Newspaper Guild Rallies for a
Fair Contract
Labor Adopts Two Stances on
Health
Randy Kuhl Turns His Back on
Labor
Roncone's Becomes First Union
Restaurant in Rochester!
Upcoming Labor Council Meetings
Community Services Committee
Fundraiser
On The Line Radio with Ken
Warner
Links of Interest
Job Openings
Pictured Above:
Sheet Metal Local 46 Members
Dale Dowling and
Chris Hollfelder, with Bob Fink
and Gene Simes of Operation
Firing for Effect 2008.
Editor's Note:
Coming soon......the newly
improved Rochester & Genesee
Valley Area Labor Federation
Website!!!!! Stay logged in! For
the time being, the Mobilizer
has what you need to keep up
with Labor in the mid-western
counties of New York State. If
there's something you want to
know, see, or tell us, just drop
a note.
US Senator, Charles Schumer
(D-NY), Saturday January 27: Join
New York’s senior senator, Chuck
Schumer, as he releases his new
book “Positively American” this
Saturday, January 27, and signs
copies at book stores in
Pittsford and Brockport. Sen.
Schumer will appear at Lift
Bridge Books, 45 Main Street,
Brockport, from 12:30 to 1:30,
then will travel to Barnes &
Noble, 3349 Monroe Avenue in
Pittsford, where he will sign
copies of his book from 2:00 to
2:45.
Labor Lyceum - Saturday,
February 17, 2007, 10am to Noon:
NYSUT, 30 North Union Street,
Rochester, NY.
Class and Catastrophe:
Rebuilding New Orleans After
Katrina,
presented by Credric Johnson,
Professor of Political Science,
Hobart & William Smith Colleges.
They Did What?!?!?!?!?! 28 US
Senators Vote to Repeal the
Minimum Wage:
http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/01/25/28-senators-vote-to-repeal-minimum-wage-2008-elections-anyone/
James S. Colombo Scholarship
Fund:
The college scholarship fund
established in honor of the late
James S. Colombo, Rochester
Labor Council President,
1973-74, will be accepting
applications this spring.
Scholarship awards up to $2000
will be granted to
Rochester-area union members,
their children or grandchildren
who are pursuing a college
education in a medically-related
field. Awards will be based on
educational goals, scholastic
achievement, character, and
financial need. For an
application, please contact
Linda Donahue at Cornell-ILR in
Rochester, 585-262-4440; e-mail
LHD4@cornell.edu.
The deadline for submission of
applications is June 1.
OFFE
Receives $10,000 Donation from
Pominent New York Businessman: In
2006, Jack Davis ran for
Congress in New York State's
26th District. Davis spent close
to $2 million of his own money
in the campaign. Jack Davis
garnered an impressive 48% of
the vote against a well-known
incumbent. Mr. Davis, a former
Marine, is also very concerned
with the future healthcare needs
of our former military
personnel. Today, Jack Davis met
with 4 members of Operation
Firing For Effect, a grassroots
veteran’s rights organization
devoted to full mandatory
funding for the Department of
Veterans Affairs healthcare
system. OFFE Chairman, Gene
Simes, President of Sheet Metal
Workers Local 46, Chris
Hollfelder, OFFE Senior Trustee,
Dale Dowling, and OFFE
Historian, Bob Fink spent
approximately a hour and a half
with Mr. Jack Davis discussing
OFFE’s plans to make mandatory
funding a reality. At the
conclusion of the meeting, Davis
reached in his desk, pulled out
his checkbook, and wrote a
$10,000 donation check to OFFE
to help the organization
accomplish their goals. Mr. Jack
Davis is challenging other
corporations and businesses to
follow his lead and support
OFFE’s efforts to insure full
mandatory funding for our former
military personnel. Operation
Firing For Effect is a
subsidiary of Veterans For
Veteran Connection Inc., and is
a registered 501-3C non-profit
organization. For more
information please visit their
website:
www.offe2008.org
Pooler Enterprises Campaign
starts its “Dig In”: On
Monday December 18th organizers
from the Rochester Building
Trades began what could possibly
be a long organizing campaign
against Pooler Enterprises,
Inc. Ronn Pommerening from the
Bricklayers Local #3 NY conveys
the campaign’s goals, “We are
hopeful that the company’s
president, Gary Pooler, does not
wish to ignore basic Building
Trade organizations and quickly
agrees to work with the Trades
to come to an agreement on good,
meaningful contracts”. The
area’s four basic constructions
trades (Bricklayers, Carpenters,
Operating Engineers and
Laborers) are spearheading this
organizing campaign. Presently,
an informative banner to notify
the general public is underway.
If you wish to drive by to show
your support for the campaign,
we are set up directly across
Brooks Avenue from Wegman’s
corporate headquarters at
Cryovac Air Seal Corp.
Monroe County Tax Breaks Through
COMIDA Under Fire:
Labor questions COMIDA's (County
of Monroe Industrial Development
Agency) about the use of local
labor on projects receiving tax
incentives. Subsequent Reviews
of current projects finds a
local project failing to meet
compliance standards, and loses
its funding.
Henrietta Project Violates
COMIDA Regulations - Loses Tax
Breaks
Labor Questions Local Labor Use
on Henrietta Hotel Project
Channel 13 - Labor Speaks Out
About COMIDA
GRC 9 Labor Asks Questions About
COMIDA Tax Incentives
Channel 10 2006 Report on
COMIDA's Efficacy
 Newspaper
Guild Rallies for a Fair
Contract!:
By a vote of 51-4, the Newspaper
Guild voted against the final
contract offer from Gannett
Newspapers. Rallying outside the
Democrat & Chronicle, members of
the Newspaper Guild, fellow
union members and friends stood
in solidarity, asking Gannett to
come back to the table and
negotiate a fair and respectful
contract.
Working Together: All
three of our Labor Council's
within the Rochester and Genesee
Valley ALF signed resolution
endorsing Single Payer
Healthcare (previously HR 676)
and Mandatory Funding for
Veteran's healthcare being
promoted by OFFE (as seen
above). The Labor Councils
working together in unison as an
Area Labor Federation allows
support of over 90,000 union
members for these resoluitions.
Kuhl Slaps Labor’s Face:
It took only days after the
election for Randy Kuhl to turn
on labor. Instead of asking how
he could better work with Labor,
he had his name removed as a
sponsor from the Employee Free
Choice Act proposed
legislation. This Act would be
a huge victory for labor in the
organizing field. This would
allow unions to simply get more
than 50 percent of their intent
cards signed before a union must
be recognized and a fair
contract negotiated. This would
avoid unnecessary intimidation
as well as cutting time and cost
drastically. Since this was
first on his priority list, it
should also be first on ours.
The question is: why did Mr.
Kuhl support this piece of
legislation if he didn't believe
in it? AND, why did he so
abruptly change his mind? The
Steuben/Livingston Labor Council
is considering an action on this
issue that may include all labor
leaders in the area. We will
keep you informed, but please be
ready to help.
Roncone's Restaurant - Welcome
to Organized Labor!!!:
Roncone's Restaurant at 232
Lyell Avenue became Rochester's
first UNION RESTAURANT on
November 17th, 2006 with a
strong welcome from Mayor Duffy,
Assemblywoman John, Senator
Robach and many union brothers
and sisters. Next time you have
a craving for pasta, support
fellow union members at
Roncone's.
Roncone's in the Democrat and
Chronicle
Upcoming Labor Council Meetings:
Rochester Labor Council
COPE (Committee on Political
Education) - 4pm, February 7,
2007, NYSUT
Steuben/Livingston 2007 Labor
Leaders meeting will take place
on February 7, 2007. from 10 AM
until noon. Thiswill take place
at the USW local 1000 hall in
Corning. This meeting will be
to evaluate what the labor
council has done over the past
year and what you want to see in
the future. ALL labor leaders
are asked to have a
representative at this meeting.
NOTE THE CHANGE!
Chemung/Schuyler Labor Assembly
will hold their general
membership meeting on February
7, 2007 at 6 PM. This will be
held at the CWA local 1111 union
hall, 459 E. Church Street in
Elmira. The change was made due
to the normal date falling on
Valentines Day. We hope this
will be more convient for our
delegates.
Rochester Labor Council
Executive Committee - 5pm,
February 8, 2007, IBEW Local 86
Rochester Labor Council
Delegates Meeting - 7pm,
February 8, 2007, IBEW Local 86
Rochester Labor Council
Organizers Meeting - 9am,
February 12, 2007, NYSUT
Finger Lakes Central Labor
Council Meeting - 5:30pm,
February 12, 2007, IBEW in
Geneva (Rt 20)
SAVE THE DATE!!!!! AREA LABOR
FEDERATION ANNUAL MEETING -
MARCH 31, 2007
United Way's AFL-CIO Community
Services Fundraiser
Order tickers to the February
11th, 2007 Rochester RazorSharks
game. Tickets are $10.50, half
of which is a doantion to the
Community Services Committee.
www.uwrochester.org/wedontyoudo/labor.asp
To order tickets, please contact
Rosemarie McKinney (585)
242-6477 or
rosemarie.mckinney@uwrochester.org
On The Line Radio with Host, Doc
Warner,
Saturday, 9:05am, 950AM WROC
Newstalk 950AM WROC features a
radio show each Saturday morning
focused on Labor issues in our
community.
www.onthelineradio.org
Some Links of Interest:
Presenteeism: Is it a Problem?
CNNMoney.Com Article
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/26/news/economy/bc.life.work.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes
Jim Bertolone replies to
Unshackle Upstate:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061122/OPINION02/611220389/1039/OPINION
UAW Union Approved Car List
http://www.uaw.org/uawmade/auto/2007/index.cfm
Concerned about Religion,
Politics and Labor? This link is
for you!
http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/10/19/voter-guides-for-people-of-faith/
The Bush Economy and
Outsourcing:
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/71a2q4d1SqjL/
Working Assets
http://www.workingassets.com/
Would you like to purchase
AFL-CIO materials?
http://unionshop.aflcio.org/shop/index.htm
Do you know someone NOT
currently receiving the
Mobilizer? If they wish to be
included, please contact the
Area Labor Federation staff to
provide their contact
information. Rochester office;
Aron, at (585) 263-2650. Elmira
office; Carol at (607) 734-8290.
JOB OPENINGS
AFTRA LOCAL 223 JOB OPENING:
Labor friendly organization is
seeking a part-time accountant.
Interested individuals should
forward a resume to AFTRA
president, June Baller at
JuneBaller@hotmail.com.
UAW 1752:
Employees at Schweizer Aircraft
would like to make interested
parties aware of a large hiring
that is taking place in the
Southern Tier. There will be
100+ people hired over the next
couple of months. Positions
include: Maintanence, Machinist,
Electric Shop, Stock Clerk, Wood
and Plastic worker, and
painter. Military Experience in
hydralics, aviation, and flight
systems a definite plus. Apply
at Schweizer Aircraft, 1250
Schweizer Rd. in Horseheads NY.
AFSCME ORGANIZING OPPORTUNITIES
2006/2007:
Organizer-in-Training program is
an intensive year-long program
to learn the fundamentals of
building worker power through
union organizing.
Organizers-in-Training come from
diverse backgrounds of work,
organizing and academic
experience.
Organizers-in-Training learn the
nuts and bolts of an organizing
campaign from talking one-on-one
with workers, to developing
leaders, and organizing direct
actions. Candidates are placed
on active campaigns with
experienced lead organizers who
provide mentoring and one-on-one
training throughout the program.
Salary starts at $33,216 with
family health coverage, a car
allowance, twelve paid holidays,
401k, pension plan and more.
Women and people of color are
strongly encouraged to apply.
Open to Seniors. For more
information, visit
www.afscmeorganizers.org.
Union ALTERNATIVE Winter Break
is a program for students
interested in learning about the
labor movement and the work of
union organizing. Participants
travel to a union organizing
campaign for five days of
intensive classroom and field
training. Program participants
will be provided with lodging
and transportation during the
week as well as a $150 stipend
for food. Students are
responsible for providing their
own transportation to the
campaign site. Open to juniors
and seniors only. For more
information and to apply, visit
www.afscme/altbreaks.org
WINTER BREAK is January 7th -
12th, 2007.
Deadline to apply is November
17, 2006.
Union alternative spring break
2007 same concept as Winter
Break, simply in the spring! We
have two sessions to pick from:
March 11th to 17th and March
18th - 23rd. Deadline to apply
is February 28th,
2007.
AFSCME/UNCF Union Scholars
Internship
provides students of color with
an opportunity to work on the
front lines of the labor
movement. Students will
participate in a variety of
activities that may include
helping non-union workers
organize a union at their job,
building AFSCME's grassroots
political program or conducting
research for organizing
campaigns. The best part is that
you'll have a chance to make a
difference in people's lives.
The ten-week internship provides
a stipend of $4,000, on-site
housing, and an opportunity to
attend a week-long orientation
and training at Harvard
University. In addition,
participants who successfully
complete their internships are
eligible to receive an academic
scholarship of up to $5000. Open
to sophomores, juniors and
seniors of color only. For more
information and to apply, visit
www.uncf.org
and look under the section
pertaining to internships. Look
for the AFSCME/UNCF Union
Scholars Program.
Application deadline: February
28, 2007.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS TO DO THIS
WORK
* Passion for social and
economic justice and the ability
to
articulate that passion.
* Desire to work something other
than a 9 to 5 job, ability to
work nights and weekends.
* Valid Driver's License
* Ability and desire to travel
extensively.
For more information, contact
Sherry Wright at (513)910-0998
or
swright@afscme.org.
Editors: Carol Leber & Aron
Reina
Executive Editor: James
Bertolone
News for the Mobilizer? Call
(585) 263-2650 or Fax (585)
263-4671 or
RLCAFLCIO@aol.com |
