An Injury to One is an Injury to All!VOL. 115

NO. 2JULY 8, 2009WEDNESDAY

(ISSN 0023-6667)

See Rally...page 2

David L. Bard, Joe Matthes, and UFCW 1116 Union Rep’sDan Hudyma and Tamara Jones were among a group cele-brating Al Franken’s victory at an NEALC rally at 21st Ave.East and London Road July 1. Similar impromptu ralliessprung up around the state in relief that Franken had wonand it was finally over (Photo by Chad McKenna, FieldOrganizer, North East Area Labor Council)

He didn’t officially declare for the U.S. Senate until Feb.2007, but Al Franken had many thinking he would runwhen he first appeared in Wellstone Hall May 7, 2005 for afundraiser for the Wellstone Memorial. (Labor World files)

Al Franken finally wins Senate seat

Mass rally demands universal health care

support of labor’s top agendaitem for Congress--theEmployee Free Choice Act.

In a letter to supportersFranken had stated, “We knowwhat we want: an economy thatworks for everyone, universalhealth care, and to create newjobs through renewable energyinvestment.”

Franken’s certification andseating, which was expectedyesterday, gives Senate Demo-crats their 60th member, themagic number that can squashRepublican filibusters andallow their agenda to proceed.However, two senators, TedKennedy of Massachusetts andRobert Byrd of West Virginia,have serious health issues thatare keeping them from thefloor. Other Democrats havebeen found to be wavering onthe Employee Free Choice Act.

AFL-CIO President JohnSweeney stated, “The seatingof Franken is a crucial steptowards passing the EmployeeFree Choice Act that will allowworkers to have a voice atwork, lift their standard of liv-ing and build stronger commu-nities as well as stronger fami-lies. We urge the Senate tomove forward swiftly on thiscrucial piece of legislation aswell as health care reform,financial re-regulation and allthe crucial issues facing work-ing families.”

Just days after being namedthe winner, Franken was on atwo-day tour of Fourth of Julyparades on the Iron Range. Theformer cast member/writer for“Saturday Night Live,” author,and radio talk show host, nowenters one of the most augustinstitutions in America as a firsttime candidate.

In losing Coleman became afrontrunner in next year’sMinnesota gubernatorial race.

tough times many Minnesotafamilies are going through.

“This is what we expect fora senator in the state of Min-nesota who, in the Paul Well-stone mode, went against thetide and declared it was notover,” said Ray Waldron,Minnesota AFL-CIO president.

Eliot Seide, director ofAmerican Federation of State,County and Municipal Em-ployees Council 5, was alsopleased. “The voice of workingfamilies just got louder inCongress, and that’s good newsfor America,” he said.

Probably no one outside theFranken campaign was moreexcited than Minnesota’s sen-ior U.S. Senator Amy Klo-buchar, who has had to carrythe ball on constituent servicesby herself. “I congratulate Alon a hard-earned election vic-tory, and I look forward toworking with him to serve thepeople of Minnesota and thenation,” Klobuchar said. “ Iknow Al is ready to roll up hissleeves and get to work. Andthere’s plenty of work to do inthe nation’s capital – on healthcare, energy, the economy andmany other issues.”

Franken said he had a tele-phone conversation with Presi-dent Obama when it wasannounced he had won. In astatement Obama said, “"I lookforward to working with Sena-tor-Elect Franken to build anew foundation for growth andprosperity by lowering healthcare costs and investing in thekind of clean energy jobs andindustries that will help Amer-ica lead in the 21st century.”

Franken is expected to serveon the powerful Health,Education, Labor and Pensions(HELP) Committee, where hecan play a key role in healthcare reform. He is also in full

It took 238 days but thelongest election in Minnesotahistory ended June 30, whenthe Minnesota Supreme Courtunanimously ruled thatDemocratic challenger AlFranken defeated incumbentRepublican Norm Coleman by312 votes on Nov. 4, 2008.

The basically three-wayrace had generated 2.9 millionvotes, but Franken polled poor-ly in strong DFL districts eventhough he carried the party andlabor endorsements.

The election and recounteffort, though slow andtedious, and the court’s concur-rence proved that MinnesotaSecretary of State MarkRitchie’s office and state elec-tion rules can and will stand thelight of day.

“I’m going to Washingtonto be the second Minnesotasenator,” Franken told a crowdof jubilant well wishers includ-ing many union members at apress conference outside hisMinneapolis home the dayafter the announcement.

Rose Friedman of St. Paul’sUnion Advocate newspaperreported that Franken becameteary eyed when talking aboutthe ordeal of the past eightmonths but said his own tra-vails pale in comparison to the

By Mark GruenbergPAI Staff WriterWASHINGTON (PAI)--

Declaring Congress must listento the voters, and not the healthinsurance companies, thou-sands of health care advocates -- led by unionists -- demandeduniversal, affordable healthcare in a mass rally on June 25.

The crowd, featuring morethan 1,000 CommunicationsWorkers legislative conferencedelegates -- decked out in red“We demand Health CareNow!” T-shirts -- then con-verged on Capitol Hill to lobbyfor affordable health care.

Other unionists at the rallywere from the Steelworkers,the Laborers (in orange), theSeafarers, The NewspaperGuild, the Office and

Professional Employees,IBEW, UFCW (in yellow), theTeachers (blue), the ServiceEmployees (purple), theTeamsters, the Ironworkers,AFSCME (green) and theBricklayers. Advocates fromalmost 200 other groupsnationwide chimed in, as somecame from as far as Seattle andPortland.

The system they advocate,which is similar to that beingpushed by the DemocraticObama administration andhammered out in key congres-sional committees, featuresuniversal coverage, medicalcost controls, consumer choiceof doctors, a government-runMedicare-like alternative tohealth insurers and that costsnot be shouldered by taxingworkers’ present insurance.The taxes may be a difference.

“All of us in the labormovement know we can’t justtake care of health care at thebargaining table. The bargain-ing table is being crushed” byrising health care costs,Communications WorkersPresident Larry Cohen told thethrong.

A minority of the crowdcampaigned for HR 676, gov-ernment-run universal healthcare, with total abolition of theprivate insurers, their high co-

pays and premiums, refusal ofcare and resulting deaths, hugeprofits and tons of paperwork.

And though leaders did notadopt the abolition of the pri-vate insurers, the health indus-try and its malevolent influence-- and especially its duplicitousback-door campaign againstthe public-run alternative --was in the speakers’ sights.

“Do you want a real strongpublic option?” Sen. CharlesSchumer, D-N.Y., yelled.“Yes!” the crowd yelled back.Schumer, a key negotiator, hasat times floated a weak publicalternative to the insuranceindustry.

“We’re counting on you togo across the street” to theCapitol “and convince and per-suade and cajole and cajole andcajole” lawmakers to enact uni-versal health care this year, saidSen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.“The special interests will nothijack this process. We musthave a strong public option.”

Service Employees Secre-tary-Treasurer Anna Burger,whose union is one of thenation’s largest for health careworkers, said her members seethe impact of lack of healthcare coverage in the nation’semergency rooms daily.

“People are more worried

Labor Day Picnic donations neededDonations to the Duluth

AFL-CIO Central LaborBody’s annual Labor DayPicnic this year are also show-ing the signs of a weak econo-my. To date only $4,800 of the$8,000 needed to pull off thedonation and volunteer-dependent tradition has beenraised with the picnic only twomonths away.

The picnic is free to CentralLabor Body-affiliated unionmembers and their families butit relies on donations and vol-unteers to make it happen. Anyamount helps.

Checks made out to “Labor

Website forLong Range

Facilities PlanThe Duluth School District

has launched a “user friendly”Long Range Facilities Planwebsite to make informationeasier for citizens to access andunderstand.

Improvements include aninteractive map to allow citi-zens to get a closer look at theplans and progress for eachschool in the district – includ-ing construction timelines, siteplans and more.

The site also includes aFrequently Asked Questionssection and an archive sectionwhere citizens may accessreports and other materialsrelated to the Long RangeFacilities Plan.

Access is available throughthe district’s website atwww.duluth.k12.mn.us orthrough www.chooseduluth-schools.com.

Rally demands health care...from page 1about their medical bills than about the illnesses they have to

treat,” Burger added. The insurers “have bean-counters andpaper-pushers telling people what they can’t get,” Burger said.“We know our health care system is broken,” added SEIU VicePresident Diane Palmer, RN, head of its Nurse Alliance.

AFSCME President Gerry McEntee made those points andalso warned the crowd about the controversy over paying thenation’s health care bill. Congressional panels are wrestling withan estimated $1 trillion cost of the health care overhaul. Overall,health care consumes $2.5 trillion, one-sixth of overall U.S. out-put. Some 20% -- at least -- of that health care cost goes forinsurers’ overhead, profits and paperwork.

“Our opponents will fight hard and fight dirty and they’ll out-spend us,” McEntee warned. “Taxing health care benefits is thewrong way” to pay for health care, and it’s pushed by the RightWing, he added. “The right way is, first, to start by taxing thewealthy, and second, by closing corporate loopholes.”

In their lobbying after the rally, unionists warned lawmakersthat if workers must pay taxes on their present health benefits,they and the labor movement will turn against the health carelegislation.

But there were two groups missing from the mass rally: Thenation’s employers -- except for one small business owner on alive video feed from a similar rally in the Pacific Northwest --and Republicans.

That’s even though some leading business groups joined priorcongressional hearings on health care, realizing its skyrocketingcosts makes them uncompetitive with foreign firms and can pushthem out of business here at home. The GOP, egged on by theinsurers, is against the public alternative, and much of the rest ofObama’s plan, too.

“We have a message to employers: Get off our backs and getby our sides and fight together for health care for all,” Cohensaid.

Brown said insurers are fighting so hard against the publicalternative because they fear its advocates are right. “The indus-try says they can do things the best, and that government can’tdo anything. So explain to me why they’re so afraid a govern-ment-run option will put them out of business,” he said.

Day Picnic” can be mailed toDuluth Central Labor Body,Room 110, 2002 London Road,Duluth, MN 55812.

If you or your group wouldlike to help with all the tasksthat the picnic entails contactPicnic Chair Yvonne Harvey,728-1779.

The picnic is Monday, Sept.7 from noon to 4:00 p.m. atBayfront Festival Park inDuluth. The event has becomeeven more popular since mov-ing to Bayfront because of bet-ter, closer parking accommoda-tions and much better terrainfor walking, bathroom facili-

ties, and of course, its proximi-ty to Lake Superior.

An effort by Harvey and herstalwart committee has alsomade the picnic a much morefamily-friendly outing, withmany events to keep childrenoccupied.

TEAM to helpdisplaced

TEAM will conduct an“Assisting Displaced Workersand Those Left Behind” pre-sented by Karen Hagen andTony Orman on Monday, July13 in the Duluth LaborTemple’s Wellstone Hall begin-ning at 11 a.m. with lunch at acost of $15. The presentation isexpected to last until 1:30 p.m.

Look forward to upcomingemails about these meetingsand information on how to reg-ister. To be added to the listemail umeapa@yahoo.com.

PAGE 2 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009

Sheet Metal WorkersNorthern Area~~ P I C N I CP I C N I C ~~

Games-Prizes-Pop-Beer

SundayJuly 26, Noon

Pike Lake Auto Club, Duluth

Guyer Bar-B-Que(Chicken & Pork)

GOLF TOURNAMENT(Contact Dick Barlage, 218-879-8914)

JUST COME & ENJOY!JUST COME & ENJOY!All active & retired members and their families are invited.

~Dennis J. Marchetti, Business Representative

Many things have come and gone in the last 113 years. Thankfully

the Labor World isnʼt one of them.

Happy Anniversary!

Superior Superior Federation Federation

of Laborof LaborMeets the first Wednesday of each month, exceptJuly, at 6:30 p.m., at the Superior Public Library

President Janice Terry, 394-2896

THANKS,John Watkins!(Laborers #1091 Retired)

For bailing out theLabor World so wellon such short noticein our time of need.We really appreciate

your help!

Labor World Board ofDirectors and Staff

I.U.O.E. Local 70Monthly Arrowhead Regional Meeting

Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 5:00 P.M. Duluth Labor Center, Hall B

Dick Lally, Business Manager (651) 646-4566

Laborers’ Local 1091~Important Meeting Change~Our Thursday, July 16 regularly scheduled monthlymeeting will need to be changed to Wednesday, July22 at 7:00 p.m. in Wellstone Hall of the Duluth LaborTemple. This could be a very important meeting witha ratification vote on a tentative agreement possibleon our Building Contract. Please make everyattempt to attend.

~Dan Olson, Business Manager

If you are tired of paying yourdues money to the BusinessManager to MANAGE you,try voting for someone whowill REPRESENT you andour collective best interests. Check out our website atwww.local49rankandfile.com.

Paid for by the candidate on his own behalf

ATTENTION: IUOE LOCAL 49OPERATING ENGINEERS MEMBERS

Vote MIKE KUITUBusiness Manager, IUOE Local 49Finally, a Voice for the Rank-and-File!

$50 million. That’s thenumber being thrown about onhow much was spent on therecently decided--8 monthslate--U.S. Senate seat nowholding Al Franken up. It’s alot of money but I wonder if itwasn’t more than that.

When Paul Wellstone decid-ed to run for a third term hesaid he would have to raise $12to accomplish the task as a two-term senator. That was a num-ber from 7 years ago when amillion wasn’t worth as muchas it is today. I was shockedwhen I heard him say that. Theman could do so much with$12 million rather than give itto television stations, campaignstaff, airplanes, signs and so on.

Franken should get his $25million pro-rated for havingmissed out on 8.2% of his term.Unless he gets backpay &interest, a rebate on health carepremiums, and pension credits.

Franken said during therecount that you couldn’taccuse him of wasted effort inwinning by such a narrow mar-gin, but he went wrong some-where to not have been

declared the winner on Nov. 5,2008 instead of June 30, 2009.

He didn’t connect well withworking folks. Heard thatmany times from folks thathave been through the battles.Franken did poorly in northernMinnesota for a Democrat. InSt. Louis County he got only64,319 votes. CongressmanOberstar got 88,137, PresidentObama 77,232. Franken wasdeclared the winner by 312votes. He left a lot of votes outthere in St. Louis Co. alone. Innorthwestern Minnesota Cole-man won by 4,526. That’s notexactly home turf for Dems butFranken had to do better there.

I don’t know if print mediaads are too much trouble forcandidates, but Franken, likemany before him, AmyKlobuchar included, spendnothing on local, or labor,paper ads. They’ll fall all overthemselves to get chopped upin a 10 second TV news clipthat takes 15 minutes. I knowthis is a huge television marketbut part of the reason isbecause it reaches acrossWisconsin and norther Mich-igan. Not a lot of votes there fora Minnesota candidate.

In an editorial lastDecember Proctor JournalPublisher Jake Benson wrote:

Of the 89 percent ofMinnesota adults who read alocal newspaper, 56.5 percentread political ads in thosenewspapers. In addition, threeof four undecided voters arenewspaper readers.

When it comes to credibilityin political advertising, news-papers are number one.Results from the Voters andMedia Survey show that votersof all demographic groups –age, ethnicity, income, andeducation – find political news-paper ads more believable thanany other medium.

Research has shown that:• Newspapers are the medi-

um most voters prefer for get-ting election information.

• Newspaper readers are themost likely to vote.

• Newspaper advertising ismore believable than othermedia.

•Newspapers are better atreaching ticket-splitting swingvoters.

• Voters look forward to adsin newspapers more than inany other media.

Labor is taken for grantedbut shouldn’t be by manyDemocratic- and labor-endorsed candidates. I remem-ber hearing a story from aWellstone campaign meetingwhere a staffer opposed spend-ing time and money on laborvotes. “Where else are theygoing to go?” was his point.Ask Franken.

Independent Dean Barkleygot 437,382 votes on Nov. 4,2008. Two other guys we don’teven remember got 23,000.Sure, some voters will vote foranyone but the anointed ones,but, again, Franken wasdeclared the winner by 312votes out of 2.9 million cast.He should have done much bet-ter.

Way back almost 20 yearsago a group of labor folks whowere excited about PaulWellstone challenging RudyBoschwitz put some moneytogether to run little ads in theLabor World to keep Wellstonein front of labors’ eyes. Hewasn’t even being accepted byBig Labor leaders. Don’t knowif it helped but he won againstall odds.

This time around Big Laborleaders jumped aboardFranken’s wagon far too earlyin the process. Remember JackNelson-Pallmeyer? He won allthe debates some of us thinkand was the best candidate butthe dye was cast.

Let’s not be in such a hurrywith the gubernatorial racenext year. And let’s see if can-didates like Tom Bakk, whohasn’t advertised in the LaborWorld for three years, cares toshare his message as perhaps,northern Minnesota’s candi-date for governor. He may evenneed us in the Primary Election

LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009 PAGE 3

LABOR WORLD(ISSN#0023-6667) is published

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Board of DirectorsPres./Treas. Mikael Sundin,Painters & Allied Trades 106;V.P. Paul Iversen, BMWED1710; Sec. Larry Anderson, Laborers 1091; Al LaFrenier,Workers’ United Midwest Bd;Mike Kuitu, Operating Engi-neers 49; Susan Jussila, MNNurses; Rick McDonald,IBEW 31; Jayme McKenna,AFSCME 66; Dan O’Neill,Plumbers & Steamfitters 11

6 7

Survey: Half of us can’t get affordable health care

WASHINGTON (PAI)--More than half of all Americans,52%, cannot get health care coverage they can afford, a newAFL-CIO survey shows.

The survey, with more than 23,000 responses, was releasedthe week of June 21, just before the federation and other unionsled a massive march on Capitol Hill on June 25 to demandaffordable universal health care, with cost controls, choice ofdoctors, a government-run competitor to the private insurancecompanies and no taxation of workers’ health care benefits.

Support for a government-run competitor to the insurers wasvirtually unanimous (95%-5%). So was cost controls on theinsurers (94%-6%).

The uninsured were even worse off, the survey added: 96%cannot get affordable health care. There are more than 47 mil-lion uninsured people in the U.S. And even if you have healthinsurance, the insurers kept piling expenses on workers, the sur-vey showed: 80% said their out-of-pocket health care costs rosethis year.

“The results are clear. Too many working families are suf-fering under the burden of high health care costs, lack of accessand a confusing and mismanaged system,” said AFL-CIOExecutive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker. “We hope this sur-vey and the voices of those who responded will help keep themomentum going as we work toward real health care reform.”

The march, follow-up lobbying and the survey came as fivecongressional committees continued working on an overhaul ofthe nation’s dysfunctional health care non-system. Health careconsumes one-sixth -- $2.5 trillion -- of the U.S. economy, withthe insurers taking the lion’s share of that, especially for theiroverhead and huge profits and in their denial of care, high co-pays and rising deductibles.

Survey respondents don’t trust the insurance companies, whoare campaigning hard against the health care package, and espe-cially the section -- which labor and the Democratic Obamaadministration are pushing -- to establish a government-runMedicare-style competitor to the private firms.

“Nearly all (96%) report they are dissatisfied with health carecosts, while 93% say they are dissatisfied with access to healthcare. Most (83%) say health insurers have too much influenceon their health care and treatment,” the survey added.

The situation has gotten so bad that AFSCME PresidentGerry McEntee harkened back to the insurers’ last, vicious, lying“Harry and Louse” TV ad campaign against health reform, in1994. “Remember Harry and Louise? We never got it,” he saidof health care overhaul. “They never got it. Now Harry is deadand Louise has diabetes.”

The survey said many of the 6,000 respondents who addedindividual comments “went further, calling for a single-payerhealth care system,” abolishing the insurers, their co-pays,deductibles, denial of care and high profits. More than 400 localunions, 20 internationals and 39 state feds support a single-payersystem, but the surveyors did not ask that question -- despitegrass roots demand when the survey was constructed.

“The troubling results of this survey are especially notablebecause the people who responded to it should be doing quitewell. Sixty-four percent are employed and 20% are retired.Seventy-eight percent are insured. Fifty-seven percent are inunion households. More than 80% attended at least some col-lege. Fifty-six percent are married and 52% are 50 to 64 yearsold.

“The experiences of these 23,460 people and the personal sto-ries from more than 6,000 of them are a telling signal of the fail-ure of America’s health care system,” the researchers concluded.

This Day In Historyfrom

www.workdayminnesota.org

July 8, 1862Labor organizer Ella Reeve Bloor was born. She investi-gated child labor in glass factories and mines and wentundercover to verify for federal officials the conditionsUpton Sinclair revealed in The Jungle, his expose ofimmigrants' exploitation by Chicago meatpackers.

~NOTICE~Next issues of Labor World:

July 22; Aug. 5, 19; Sept. 2, 23; Oct. 7, 28; Nov. 11, 24; Dec. 16.

High Court job discrimination ruling draws mixed reactionsBy Mark GruenbergPAI Staff WriterWASHINGTON-The U.S.

Supreme Court’s 5-4 decisionthat New Haven, Conn. -- and,by inference, any employer --went too far in throwing out afire fighters’ promotion exambecause it feared a civilrights/job discrimination law-suit, drew varying reactionsfrom unions and their allies.

On one hand, the Inter-national Association of FireFighters said any test for fire-fighters “must be completelyunbiased” and constructed toensure those who pass can dothe job. IAFF said it needs tofurther study the June 30 ruling

On the other hand, theLeadership Conference onCivil Rights, which the AFL-CIO backs, said the decision,written by Justice Anthony M.Kennedy, could set back effortsto erase the effects of discrimi-nation on the job.

Solis to hire 670 investigatorsWASHINGTON (PAI)--Repeating a theme she’s sounded in

other labor forums, Obama administration Labor Secretary HildaSolis told the Communications Workers her department will puta high emphasis on tougher labor law enforcement. It won’t bescatter-shot she said June 23 to the union’s 3,000-delegate con-vention in Washington. Instead, it’ll target violation patterns.

“Under my watch, enforcement of labor laws will be intensi-fied against employers who put workers’ lives at stake and work-ers’ health at risk. Make no mistake: The Labor Department isback in the enforcement business,” she declared.

“The (proposed) 2010 budget returns worker protection tolevels not seen since 2001,” when anti-worker GOP PresidentGeorge W. Bush took over, Solis said. He turned DOL into a“consultative agency” for business. She’ll add 670 investigators.

“We’ll investigate low-wage employers and use individualcomplaint investigations strategically to go after those employ-ers and industries who are persistent violators” of both wage andhour laws and job safety and health laws, Solis explained.

“President Obama and I both believe that the responsibility ofgovernment is to protect people from unsafe workplaces andunfair practices.”

Prominent outside attorneysin Supreme Court arguments,critiquing the ruling said thejustices went beyond the act torewrite the law itself. Theyadded the court should havesent the case back to trial inlower courts on its merits.

The Ricci vs. DeStefanocase is important because thecourt was asked to balance howfar an employer may go in rem-edying past discrimination --and to decide when doing sodiscriminates against otherworkers or worker groups.

The case involved an exam-ination given years ago by NewHaven for promotion to firedepartment lieutenant. Therehave been few, if any, minority-group lieutenants in NewHaven, though the city is 40%African-American. That’s apattern in firefighting and otherprofessions, said dissentingJustice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The test results showed all

nine New Haven white appli-cants passed, as did theHispanic-Americans. All theblacks did not. Nobody lost ajob as a result of the test.

Civil rights law encouragescounteracting past job discrim-ination -- but also says if a testresults in “disparate impact” onone group, that’s illegal. ButNew Haven did not discoverthat disparate impact until afterthe results were in.

Fearing a suit by theAfrican-Americans if it let thetest stand, and by the whites ifit didn’t, New Haven held fivehearings, declared the testflawed from the start andtossed it out. Nobody got pro-moted. The white fire fighterssued. They lost in lower courts-- including before SupremeCourt nominee SoniaSotomayor -- but won in theSupreme Court. Kennedy saidNew Haven was too hasty andlacked enough evidence.

“Fear of litigation alonecannot justify an employer’sreliance on race to the detri-ment of individuals who passedthe examinations and qualifiedfor promotions,” the key sec-tion of Kennedy’s opinion said.“The process was open andfair. The problem is that afterthe tests were completed, theraw racial results became thepredominant rationale for thecity’s refusal to certify” themand promote the firefighterswho passed.

“IAFF recognizes that pro-motional systems are devel-oped locally, where virtuallyevery fire department in thecountry uses its own, uniquesystem to best fit the needs ofthat community and its firedepartment. A variety of valid

promotional testing processeshave been developed that placeemphasis on different elementsof testing procedure – includ-ing written and oral testing,seniority, table top scenarios,efficiency ratings and job-relat-ed skills, to name a few,” theunion said in its initial reactionto the ruling.

Union President HaroldSchaitberger, a Fire Fighterfrom Northern Virginia, added:“Fire fighting involves life anddeath situations on a regularbasis, so any system used tohire or promote must be com-pletely unbiased and ensurecandidates are truly qualified todo the job. It’s a tough balanc-ing act for jurisdictions, butthey have a responsibility notto fail on either accountbecause lives are at stake.”

IAFF also said it “supportsand advocates unbiased, job-related, validated hiring andpromotional systems for Fire

Fighters on the basis of theirskill and ability in the technicaland demanding work of firefighting and emergencyresponse without regardto race, religion, sex, sexualorientation or national origin.”

The Leadership Conferencesaid Kennedy’s ruling “createda new standard that givesemployers very little room torectify situations where a poli-cy is found to have a discrimi-natory effect after the policyhas been applied.”

Its chief executive, WadeHenderson, added: “Employerswill now face a convolutedminefield when attempting toprotect workers from discrimi-nation. The court's decision isclearly contrary to Congress'intent in passing Title VII ofthe Civil Rights Act of 1964. Itleaves employers in aquandary, and gives them a dis-incentive to voluntarily ensurea fair workplace."

PAGE 4 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009

We are 4,500 strong, passionate, dedicated people—

from nurses and clerical staff to maintenance personnel.

Working 24/7, to bring world-class care to 1 person—you.

We are union workers, representing 7 different unions,with active labor management committees functioning in 10 of our 22

collective bargaining agreements.

We're healers, teachers, leaders and builders, and we're

proud to work at the Duluth Clinic, Miller-Dwan Medical Center,

Polinsky Rehabilitation Center and St. Mary's Medical Center.

The Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body’s Day of Caringteam for the United Way of Greater Duluth again helpedout with projects at Safe Haven on June 24. Front row areLori Doucette, Ellen Hanson, Jin Fair and Janet Hill. Backrow has Paul Hanson, Chad McKenna, and Alan Netland.(United Way of Greater Duluth photo)

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Remember Civics? We need it again to restore a participatory democracyBy Andrea Batista

SchlesingerI want to make an argument

that may seem strange in themidst of so many debates—health care, stimulus, CEOcompensation and so on—thatare critical to American work-ing people:

We all have to start caring alot more about civics.

Civics? Yes. If we want toensure that a pro-worker pro-gressive movement is in ourfuture, we need to raise a gen-eration of young people whofeel connected to the institu-tions of their democracy, whounderstand how to navigatethem and who understand froman early age that it is theirright—and their responsibili-ty—to question them.

In 1906, the Committee ofFive, appointed by theAmerican Political Science

Association to examine theextent to which schools werepreparing high school studentsfor citizenship, linked “poorpreparation at the early levelsto the plethora of bad politi-cians and weak public servantsits members believed dominat-ed turn-of-the-century Ameri-can government.” According toProf. Hindy Lauer Schachter,who authored a study on theseearly effects, the success of ourparticipatory democracy wasviewed as directly related to thepreparation of its youngest citi-zens.

If you believe this is truetoday, then you must alsoworry that our democracy is insorry shape.

Since 1969, the federal gov-ernment has tested young peo-ple on their civic knowledge—that is, their understanding ofthe inner workings of govern-ment and their rights andresponsibilities as citizens.These exams are part of a larg-er battery of tests in all subjectscalled the National Assessmentof Education Progress (NAEP).Unlike the other exams, how-ever, NAEP civics is testedonly every four years. By com-parison, math and reading aretested at least every two years,as required by No Child LeftBehind.

According to the 2006NAEP “Report Card,” only onein four American 12th-graderswas found to be “proficient”(and this was not a high bar).Five percent of 12th-graders

tested could explain three waysin which the president can bechecked by the legislative orjudicial branches. One in twocould explain the outcomewhen state and national lawsconflict. Twenty-eight percentof eighth-graders could articu-late the historical purpose ofthe Declaration of Indepen-dence.

When presented with a pho-tograph of the 1963 March onWashington with MartinLuther King Jr., only one infour could explain “two specif-ic ways in which marches anddemonstrations such as the oneillustrated can achieve politicalgoals.”

Lack of civic knowledge onthe part of our young people, asevidenced by these scores, is along-term threat. The decisionto vote—and then the basisupon which people make theirdecisions in the voting booth—can be traced to our civicknowledge. According to polit-ical scientists Samuel Popkinand Michael Dimock, authorsof “Knowledge and CitizenCompetence,” an essay:“Nonvoting results from a lackof knowledge about what gov-ernment is doing and whereparties and candidates stand,not from a knowledgeablerejection of government or par-ties or a lack of trust in govern-ment.”

But more than just knowingstuff, and more than just know-ing how to vote and wanting to,it is important that young peo-

ple have the experience of get-ting their hands dirty, talkingabout current events as theyunfold and learning how gov-ernment works through first-hand experience.

When civics was moreimportant in the schools in the20th century, for example, chil-dren brought home civicsgrades on their report cards. Infact, students took three civicsclasses, including Problems inDemocracy, in which theytalked about current affairs andchallenges facing Americangovernment.

“We know that a substantialpercentage of kids in the mid-20th century took thatProblems in Democracycourse,” lamented PeterLevine, director of the Centerfor Information & Research onCivic Learning and Engage-ment. Today, that course isgone, with nothing to replace it.

“I really do think that[coursework] probably can’t befound in the intricacies oftoday’s curriculum,” Levinetold me. “It’s not like they’redoing that somewhere else.”

And why not resuscitate thiscourse? Because it doesn't fitinto the goals of No Child LeftBehind? Well, reconcile thatwith the data showing that stu-dents who talk about currentevents with their families aremore likely to be engaged citi-zens and that engaged citizenswho participate in civic activi-ties are better students.

Today, there are some

efforts working to help youngpeople learn how to navigatetheir local institutions. LikeProject Citizen. In the words ofits founder, Charles Quigley,Project Citizen “activelyengages kids in going into theircommunities, interviewingpeople, doing survey research,identifying public policy prob-lems, developing their ownproposed solutions and politi-cal action plans, and trying tohave an impact on City Hall.”

Unfortunately, the programreaches only about 500,000students each year—about 1percent of the nation’s 2006school-age population.(Though I suppose we shouldbe satisfied that the programsurvived the Bush administra-tion’s efforts to decimate it—given how Bush officials can'thave been too keen on prepar-ing children to question andchange their government.)

Maybe it's anachronistic,but I think we need to raiseyoung people who care abouttheir local institutions as muchas they care about the worldsthey can access throughFacebook, who have an under-standing about how to pursuepolicy change right there intheir local City Hall, who talkabout current events and whoknow what a march onWashington can accomplish.

I care about civics because Icare about a lasting progressiveagenda in our country, one thatis based on the right and abilityof regular people to influencethe direction of their govern-ment.

Andrea Batista Schlesingeris the author of “The Death ofWhy: The Decline ofQuestioning and the Future ofDemocracy.” She is on a leaveof absence from the DrumMajor Institute for PublicPolicy, where she served asExecutive Director.

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Training, quick thinking by union crew saved those in pirate attack A New Look, and aDiscovery Channel

reenactment shows piratetakeover of the

Maersk Alabamaby Mike Hall, AFL-CIO Blog, Jul 6, 2009For several days in April,

the nation waited for the latestnews from a U.S. merchantship off the coast of Somalia,where the captain of theMaersk Alabama was beingheld hostage in a small lifeboatby Somali pirates.

The bare-bones newsreports said pirates armed withAK-47s boarded the ship—which was carrying food reliefsupplies to Kenya—capturingCapt. Richard Phillips and sev-eral other crew members. Therest of the crew managed toevade the pirates and eventual-

Bridges topic of history lunchThe St. Louis County Historical Society’s program “Lunch

With The History People” on Thursday, July 16 from noon to1:00 P.M. will be a look at this area’s bridges, built almost entire-ly with union labor.

Author and historian Denis Gardner will lecture on his newbook “Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel: Minnesota’s HistoricBridges.” His presentation includes marvelous photos, describesthe progression from wood bridges to reinforced concretebridges, explains the different bridge classifications and incor-porates fascinating stories of the bridges’ histories.

Gardner will highlight many bridges from the region includ-ing the Aerial Lift Bridge and the Oliver Bridge.

Copies of his book can be purchased at the event for $35.Gardner will be available to signs books after his presentation.

The lunch takes place in the Depot’s Ruth Maney Room, firstfloor of the St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center, 506 W.Michigan St., in Duluth. Feel free to bring your bag lunch to thefree event. ARCO coffee is provided.

AFT has contract with charterWASHINGTON—The American Federation of Teachers’

New York City affiliate and Green Dot Public Schools haveannounced a three-year contract agreement for teachers at GreenDot New York Charter School in the Bronx, an agreement thatAFT President Randi Weingarten said proves that unionizedcharter schools can be collaborative, innovative, and good forstudents and teachers.

“This contract can serve as a blueprint for giving charterschool educators a voice, for bringing innovations to the class-room, and for looking at new ways to improve labor-manage-ment relations in our schools,” said Weingarten, who also servesas UFT president. The UFT represents New York City’s 100,000public school educators, including teachers at two UFT-operatedcharter schools as well as teachers at eight other New York Citycharter schools.

ly capture one.We learned Phillips bro-

kered a deal allowing himselfto be taken hostage April 8 inexchange for the pirates leav-ing the ship. On April 11, NavySeal sharpshooters killed thetrio of pirates holding Phillipsand rescued the captain.

Now, thanks to an in-depthlook at the drama’s first day—from pirate sightings to thelaunch of the hostagelifeboat—we get the firsthandstory from the 20-man unioncrew.

In the latest edition of the“Marine Journal” published bythe Marine Engineers(MEBA), members of MEBA,the Masters, Mates and Pilots(MM&P) and Seafarers (SIU)unions tell their story.

In the story headlined

“Don’t Give Up the Ship:Quick Thinking and a Boatloadof Know-How Saves theMaersk Alabama,” the crewmembers say security trainingat union schools, plus Phillips’emphasis on shipboard securitydrills, helped prepare them forthe real thing.

When the pirates were firstsighted, Chief Engineer MikePerry set in motion plans toroute the ship’s steering andpower controls away from thebridge that pirates normallytarget to capture a ship. Thecrew also began to fortify asecure location on the ship.

When it was clear the nextday that the pirates were stillintent on capturing the MaerskAlabama, the 500-foot ship,with a top speed of 17 knots,

The 20-Strong Crew of the Maersk Alabama

Marine Engineers’Beneficial Association(M.E.B.A.) Officers:

Chief Engineer: Mike Perry1st A/E: Matt Fisher

2nd A/E: Dick Mathews3rd A/E: John Cronan

Second Mate: Ken Quinn

Masters, Mates & Pilots(MM&P) Officers:

Captain: Richard PhillipsFirst Mate: Shane MurphyThird Mate: Colin Wright

Seafarers InternationalUnion (SIU) Unlicensed

Crew:AB: ATM Zahid Reza

AB: Clifford LaconAB: Hector Sanchez

AB: Andrew BrzezinskiAB: Mohamed Abdelwahab

Bosun: William RiosElectrician: John WhiteQualified Man EngineDept. (QMED): Jimmy

SabgaGeneral Utility, Deck and

Engine (GUDE): Miguel Ruiz

Steward: Richard HicksCook: Husain Salah

Steward Assistant (S.A.):Mario Clotter

began evasive maneuvers. But,eventually, thanks to a calm seaand a faster vessel, the pirateswere able to get close enoughto use grappling hooks toscramble aboard.

The pirates quickly cap-tured the bridge where Phillipsand three other crew memberswere taken prisoner. But bythen the ship’s controls hadbeen rerouted, much of thecrew was safely hidden, andPerry and First Mate ShaneMurphy were quietly trackingthe pirates’ moves around theship.

Go to http://blog.aflcio.org/

2009/07/06/training-quick-thinking-by-union-crew-saved-boa rded - sh ip -new- look -reveals/ to read this absolutelyriveting account of the unioncrew’s quick thinking, bravery,capture of one of the piratesand, by the end the day, havingfull control of the ship.

Says Third AssistantEngineer John Cronan:

We maintained our disci-pline and we stuck together. Wedidn’t have to retake the ship,because we never surrenderedit. We’re American seamen.We’re union members. Westuck together, we did our job.

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UEA’s Tom Johnson receives UM’s highest honor for his work on lakesProfessor Tom Johnson, a

University Education Associa-tion member at UMD, hasreceived the highest honor thatthe University of Minnesotabestows upon its faculty mem-bers. The professor of geologyhas been named a RegentsProfessor.

Johnson is an internationalleader in the study of largelakes, and founder of the LargeLakes Observatory at UMD.

He also co-founded theInternational Decade of EastAfrican Lakes, advancingdrilling and coring technology.

On Feb. 9, 2007, Johnsonwas the featured presenter at awell attended global warmingconference sponsored by theBlue Green Alliance and theSierra Club in the LaborTemple’s Wellstone Hall. Hesummed up his presentation onthe science of global warming

at the time by saying it is themost serious problem mankindhas ever faced.

“We’re facing a roastedworld,” Johnson said.

In his travels around theworld, and right in his back-yard with Lake Superior,Johnson has been assessing thecondition of large lakes.Extracting sediment cores anddoing water research can giveclimate clues that date back650,000 years.

Twelve groups of scientistsare working independentlyaround the world using supercomputers to “slice and dicethe earth into 20 levels in theatmosphere and 20 levels onthe earth’s surface” saidJohnson.

All the scientists are gettingvery similar results on allaspects of their work.

Johnson said Minnesotawill get warmer by ten degreeswith double the carbon dioxidein 50 years. Warming maysound great for us he said butwe’ll also get 20 percent drier.Lake Superior’s levels willcontinue to drop.

He said three National

Oceanic Administration buoysthat have been in LakeSuperior, they’re taken out dur-ing winter months, show airtemperatures at 70.7 degrees in1998, and 74.7 degrees in2006.

Johnson said records havebeen kept in Sault Saint Mariesince 1906, the longest time ofanywhere on the Great Lakes.The records show the water has

warmed up five times morethan the increase in the globalmean temperature, a result ofits distance from the ocean.That doesn’t bode well for fish-ing or shipping Johnson said.

While climate changebrought on by the burning offossil fuels has been ignoredbecause of the bottom line forindustry, even economists arebeginning to side with the sci-

entific community he said.Johnson said as individuals

we can make a difference withbetter practices at home and bypushing elected representativesto force us all to clean up ouract.

Regardless of what happenshe said if you want to seeGlacier National Park you’dbetter get there soon.

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