Click graphs to see full size image of unemployment statistics in the US

Huge Demonstration at Whirlpool in Evansville

Click to link to picture gallery

 

On Friday, February 26, 5000 people demonstrated in Evansville, Indiana, at the Whirlpool Plant. Whirlpool announced last year that it intends to close the plant this year, laying off all 1100 workers. 

Story on AFLCIO.org homepage, with two youtube videos of rally speeches: 

http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/02/28/community-labor-unite-with-iue-cwa-at-whirlpool-rally/

 Two more youtube videos from the march to the Whirlpool factory door:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwSWwlmDmjc
Petition Delivery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vd-cJWyDzY
Bullhorn Speech

A collection of rally and march photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/labor2008/

 

Some of the media coverage:

http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12053728
Thousands Bussed In For Labor Rally
NBC14

 

http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=134561 
Whirlpool Rally Draws Thousands
FOX 7

 

http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=134581 
FOX 7 Rides Along on Rally Buses
FOX 7

 

http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12052911
Whirlpool Employees Prepare For Life After Layoffs
NBC 14

 

http://www.freep.com/article/20100227/BUSINESS07/2270308/1002/BUSINESS/Business-news-briefs-Whirlpool-plant-closing-protested

Whirlpool Plant Closing Protested
Detroit Free Press

 

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/feb/27/no-headline—271/ 
Buy American Goods and Save American Jobs (LTE)
Evansville Courier & Press

 

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/feb/26/protest-to-save-jobs/

  Protest to Save Jobs
Evansville Courier & Press

 

http://michiganmessenger.com/35269/union-files-charges-against-whirlpool-over-threats

Union Files Charges Against Whirlpool Over Threats
Michigan Messenger

 

Kentucky Senator repeatedly blocks unemployment extension

http://www.dailykos.com/tv/w/002587/

Responsible Budget Coalition

“We Can’t Wait” rally crashes Capitol”

QC Die Workers get an ounce of justice

The Quad City Times reported today that after months of litigation, the workers at the Quad City Die Cast plant in Moline won a portion of the health care benefits denied to them last year when the company announced it was going to shut down.

Read the articles linked here

and here

Corporations are not people

Sign up today for Strategic Planning Class March 29

Quad City Federation of Labor presents

University of Iowa Labor Center Class:

Strategic Planning

strategic planning flyer

Monday, March 29, 2010

9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

UFCW 431 Hall 1401 W. 3rd Street Davenport, IA

Register Today! RSVP by March 23: 309-738-3196 or quadcityfed@netexpress.net

Trumka’s Statement on State of the Union

President Obama was exactly right when he spoke tonight of the stubborn
resilience of the American people in the face of adversity.  Despite
daily insecurity and the deep hurt of not being able to find jobs,
working people’s goodness, decency and hard work have kept our country
going.

But Americans are also deeply frustrated and angry.  We want to see
elected leaders who’ll fight for us and bring real change. We want
jobs-President Obama is absolutely right that jobs must be our number
one focus in 2010.  And we must act on a scale that will be meaningful:
We need more than 10 million jobs just to get out of the hole we’re in.
We want health care fixed.  We want our leaders to break the
stranglehold of Wall Street and the big banks and make them pay to
repair the economic damage they created.

President Obama spoke directly to those concerns tonight.  He called for
a jobs bill and putting people to work.  He called for America to take
its place as a world leader by investing in our economic foundation,
education, infrastructure and energy technology.  He demanded tough
financial reform.  He called for curbing corporate influence, stopping
tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and enforcing trade
rules.  He committed to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.  And he
said we must finish the job of reforming health
care.

The President was right to call out Republicans for obstructing change
and putting politics ahead of progress.

Now it’s time for all of us to get busy and work together to bring the
big changes that are essential-starting with enacting a jobs bill that
is big enough to create jobs for the millions of people who want to work
and can’t find jobs.  The time for small change is long gone.  We were
pleased to see that the President embraced two of the job creation
proposals we have made – investing in infrastructure and helping small
businesses get credit through TARP funds.

We’re ready to fight for the President’s vision – and we’re going to
insist that it be done right.  That includes restoring the freedom of
workers to bargain to make jobs into good jobs by passing the Employee
Free Choice Act.

We will not agree with every aspect of every proposal.  We will continue
to be an independent voice for middle class Americans and fight for the
change working families need-and we are ready to do more.  This is the
time for a broad movement of Americans demanding jobs and an economy
that works for all, and we’re ready to put our energy and leadership
into building that movement-taking the fight to the doorstep of the
banks that are exploiting struggling homeowners, of corporations that
are running away from communities and of lawmakers who choose to back
them up.

We hope elected leaders at every level will choose instead to lead with
action.  Working America is watching to see what they do.  We are in a
“show me” kind of mood and we are ready to see results.

DOL Report on Unionization

The Department of Labor released new statistics on unionization in the country.Most Notable:

• Illinois is still 3rd in the nation in union membership behind California and New Yo
• Nationally membership was about steady…dropping from 12.4% to 12.3%.
• For the first time, more public sector workers (7.9 million) are unionized than private sector (7.4 million)
•  Union members continue to earn higher wages and are morelikely to have health and pension benefits than their non-union counterparts
•  Workers in education, training, and library occupations had the highest unionization rate at 38.1 percent.
• Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white, Asian, or Hispanic workers.
• Among states, New York had the highest union membership rate (25.2 percent) and North Carolina had the lowest rate (3.1 percent).

DOL Report on Unionization

CTBA comparison of IL tax proposals

Chicago, IL (January 15, 2010)

Today the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability released a comparison of tax proposals presented by Governor Pat Quinn, Comptroller Dan Hynes, Cook County Assessor James Houlihan, SB 750 sponsored by Sen. James Meeks and HB 174 sponsored by Rep. John Cullerton. As the report points out, the size of the revenue shortfall is so significant, its sheer magnitude belies any suggestion that the state can cobble together a budget next year without a revenue enhancement. To fund the state’s FY 2010 General Fund Budget of $26.08 billion ‑ 86% of which goes to education, healthcare and human services ‑ Illinois had to manufacture $6.259 billion in non‑recurring, one‑time revenue. That’s 24% of the $25.08 billion budget without pension fund payments and 21% of the $29.55 billion budget with $3.466 of borrowed pension fund payments included. “If present trends continue, we will start fiscal year 2011 with an over $13 billion budget shortfall. This means there is no sustainable revenue source to pay for over 40% of fiscal year 2010 state appropriations in fiscal year 2011,” reports Ron Baiman, CTBA Director of Budget and Policy Analysis. Click here to read the full six page report