August 25, 2004  AFL-CIO Sets Its Sights on a Kerry Victory  The labor movement would expect a John Kerry administration to repeal what officials called President Bush's anti-union executive orders, to push for and sign a sweeping bill to make organizing easier and to discard new overtime regulations that went into effect Monday.

John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said during a meeting with Washington Post reporters and editors yesterday that his 13 million-member organization is focused on helping Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), win the November presidential election. "We have a very good relationship with both senators and their voting record speaks for itself in support for working-families' issues," Sweeney said. Washington Post

August 24, 2004  Overtime cut undermines workers  Guest Column by John Sweeney, AFL-CIO  Yesterday, the biggest pay cut in American history took effect: The Bush administration's overtime pay cut became official. It's a new federal rule that could strip up to 6 million workers of overtime pay protection, forcing them to work longer hours without fair compensation.

Nurses, police lieutenants, chefs, team leaders, working supervisors, assistant managers and financial services workers are just some of the millions of workers who used to earn overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours a week -- and who will now lose that eligibility. Seattle Post Intelligencer

August 24, 2004  Sacred Heart accused of unfair labor practices  The union representing licensed practical nurses and other laid-off workers at Sacred Heart Medical Center said Monday it will file an unfair labor practice charge against the hospital.

In addition, a dispute over severance pay could lead to a separate grievance.

"They're offering us a pittance," said Mary Murdoch, who will lose her job as an LPN after 24 years at the hospital. She would get four weeks of severance pay in the hospital's offer. Spokesman Reivew

August 21, 2004  Widening wage gap undermines democracy  The old adage holds true: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

What many of us suspected was confirmed last week by a new report from the Census Bureau.

The wealthiest 20 percent of households in the country now take in a whopping 50 percent of the income.

The burden is nothing new in Montana, where the per capita personal income is only $24,831 -- more than $5,000 less than the national average. And where a very high percentage of folks work multiple jobs to keep afloat. Great Falls Tribune

August 21, 2004  AFL-CIO gets down to nuts and bolts  If America’s union members have anything to say about it, come Nov. 2 this country’s ship of state will be making a sharp course correction. And they’ll have plenty to say about it, judging from the highly detailed plans laid out at an AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting totally devoted to politics, held here Aug. 9-11.
“We will have the finest political effort in the history of the labor movement,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told reporters. Sweeney declared emphatically, “We are leading a solid, united labor movement.” People's Weekly

August 21, 2004  Unions support Nelson state Supreme Court  The state's largest union of school and government employees threw its weight behind Justice Jim Nelson on Monday in the race for one of two contested seats on the state's top court.

"Jim Nelson is a proven jurist who has served Montana well. He reads the constitution for what it says. He has no ulterior motives," said Eric Feaver, president of MEA-MFT, a union of 16,000 teachers, state employees, college professors and other public employees. Missoulian

August 20, 2004  State reports healthy job growth  Montana job growth continues at a healthy pace, with one in five new jobs created in the relatively high-paying fields of mining and construction, a Friday report from the state Department of Labor and Industry shows. Missoulian

August 20, 2004  Could you Lose Overtime Pay?  More than 6 million workers will lose their right to overtime pay. Are you one of them? Find out now. workingamerica.org 

August 20, 2004  United: Pension end is likely  United Airlines said termination and replacement of all of its pension plans "likely will be required" for the company to exit bankruptcy and attract financing.

The airline made the statement in a bankruptcy-court filing Wednesday and delivered it to employees Thursday in a taped message.

It was the first time United has predicted the outcome of the crisis surrounding its pensions, which are underfunded by $8.3 billion. The company is refusing to pay $575 million it owes the plans this year.

United's four plans cover 120,000 workers and retirees, many of whom would face reduced retirement benefits if the government takes control of the pensions. United, which operates its second-largest hub at Denver International Airport, employs 6,200 here. Denver Post

August 19, 2004  City-union accord still cloudy  An 11-day strike against the city of Billings essentially ended Tuesday morning when the directors of three city departments nodded their heads.

But what they were agreeing to when they gave that nonverbal confirmation is still a matter of some dispute. Billings Gazette

August 19, 2004 Rising Cost of Health Benefits Cited as Factor in Slump of Jobs  The trade-off between health and wages has become a prime workplace topic. In 2002, Local 226 of the hotel and restaurant workers union in Las Vegas negotiated a contract agreement with casino and hotel operators for a blanket raise of 60 cents an hour, which the union could apportion between wages and health care.

The union considered the deal a victory because it allowed workers to maintain health care benefits at virtually no cost. In the first year of the contract, though, all of the increase ended up going to health care, leaving nothing for higher wages. "It was the first time we had to sacrifice wages to health care," said Pilar Weiss, assistant political director of Local 226.

The growing portion of employee compensation used for health care ultimately depresses workers' ability to spend on other items. And health care outlays can, in turn, force automakers and other consumer-product companies to raise prices. New York Times

August 18, 2004  Back to work: 'Gentleman's agreement' ends Teamsters strike  After reaching a "gentlemen's agreement" on the fate of three fired employees Tuesday morning, the city of Billings and the Teamsters union found a way to end an 11-day strike. Billings Gazette

August 17, 2004 State, union contract talks to begin  Contract negotiations between the state and public employee unions begin Aug. 31 and labor leaders readily talk of a strike if the result is not a substantial pay raise.

Even the Republican Senate president predicted the next governor would face a worker walkout.

Union officials said workers won't stand to be treated again as they were by the 2003 Legislature, which froze salaries for 1 1/2 years before a 25-cent hourly increase takes effect Jan. 1, 2005, union officials said. Missoulian

August 17, 2004  Strike ends as city, Teamsters reach agreement  The strike is over. Negotiators for the city of Billings and the Teamsters union that represents about 350 city workers reached a settlement this morning at 10:45.

Joe Dwyer, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 190, said the two sides reached the agreement during talks at the Teamsters hall in the Heights. He said some workers should be back on the job today and everyone should be back to work within 24 hours, or by 11 a.m. Wednesday. Billings Gazette

August 16, 2004  Strike continues: Teamsters reject latest offer; city says there will be no more negotiation  By a vote of 169 to 107, striking city employees Sunday afternoon rejected the city's latest contract offer, over 13 nonunion employees who were fired for refusing to cross picket lines.

City negotiators responded by saying they plan no more contract talks with representatives of Teamsters Local 190. Instead, they will focus on hiring replacement workers and will seek City Council approval of the most recent contract proposal, given to union negotiators Saturday. Billings Gazette

August 16, 2004  Fired worker stands ground  In the eye of the hurricane that is the city employees strike stands Julie Fraley, a part-time member of the maintenance staff at Parmly Billings Library.  Fraley, who attended Sunday's gathering of Teamsters Local 190, started working at the library last November. On Friday, the day before the start of the strike, Fraley spoke to her bosses at the library.

She informed them she had struggled all week over what she would do if her fellow employees went on strike. Fraley decided she couldn't "betray the memory of my father, who had been a Teamster for over 25 years, and that I would not cross the picket line." Billings Gazette

August 15, 2004  Union to vote on contract today: 5 to 8 replacements ready to work Monday, Bauer says  Striking city employees will vote today on the city's latest three-year contract offer.

But union officials hope members will give a thumbs-down to the offer, to show support for 13 employees who were fired after refusing to cross picket lines. Billings Gazette

August 15th, 2004  Oil wells abundant, workers scarce  Oil activity in Richland County is enjoying its biggest resurgence in about 20 years, but the oil business is facing problems finding well-trained employees, petroleum experts and industry officials say. Sydney Herald

August 12, 2004  Retirement in Peril  United Airlines’ attempt to shed responsibility for its multi-billion pension promises isn’t just an ominous warning for workers at United and other companies in the airline industry that may follow United’s lead. It’s another sure sign of the Wal-Martization of America: the coming collapse of the traditional private sector pension plan system, mainly because of the decline of unions. TomPaine.com

August 12, 2004  Construction workers may be hard to find  Earlier this year, legislators authorized an unprecedented amount of spending - $462 million - on prisons, schools and state buildings. But Wyoming may soon be scrambling for construction workers because of recovering economies in neighboring states, according to a report.

"While Wyoming seems uniquely poised to take advantage of Colorado and Utah's generally weaker economic positions .... other states in the region seem equally well-positioned," wrote researcher Craig Radden Henderson in Wyoming Labor Force Trends, a monthly newsletter of the Department of Employment's Research & Planning Section.

In 2002, Wyoming's average weekly wage was $557, while Colorado's was the region's highest ($731), followed by Nevada ($654), Utah ($588) and New Mexico ($566). Wyoming was trailed only by Idaho ($542) and Montana ($500). Billings Gazette

August 11, 2004  Planned labor march takes back seat to unions' election-year efforts  Union leaders on Wednesday talked about markedly increased efforts to get out the vote this fall. They also praised their political strategy sessions, saying they were a rare instance of unions holding each other accountable on their election plans.

Asked to detail their election plans state by state in closed meetings, a few unions "were missing in action," remarked one AFL-CIO official.

As for the march, its leaders say the lack of the AFL-CIO's support along with little news coverage has not discouraged them.

The goal of the march, they said, is to bring attention to issues ranging from the push for "a national living wage" to the call for the U.S. armed forces to return home from Iraq. Kansas City Star

August 10, 2004  Services idle as Billings workers strike  The work week began Monday with much of the city's work force on strike - and in visible force - over pay and seniority issues, and leaders on both sides expected no immediate resolution.

Buses were idle, the library was closed and plans were being made for drop-off sites for residents' garbage as the strike by more than 350 city workers, members of the Teamsters Local 190, entered its third day.

''We're doing the best we can to provide services to our citizens,'' Mayor Chuck Tooley said, ''certainly not nearly at the level we offer and provide them when we have our excellent employees on the job.''

The union said Friday that workers would go on strike, effective at midnight, after agreement could not be reached on a new labor contract. Union members Wednesday narrowly rejected a three-year offer the city had termed its ''last, best and final.'' Independent Record

August 10, 2004  Economic concerns aired at forum  As head of the Missoula Area Economic Development Corp., King knows of a business that wants to come to Missoula.

One hurdle is that the business needs welders and other skilled workers, but Missoula has too few. The University of Montana College of Technology has a welding program, King said, but "it can't meet capacity." Speaking up from a chair at the front of the room, Paul Williamson, dean of the College of Technology, agreed: "We don't have enough graduates to meet demand, and we have a waiting list to get into the program." Missoulian

August 7, 2004  Summer of Labor Discontent in Mining Industry  They're on strike at Becancour and Labrador City in Canada, and last month they downed tools at La Caridad in Mexico and Nye, Montana. With high metal prices driving up company profits, miners and smelter workers are looking for a bigger slice of the economic pie and sometimes taking tough action to get it. Reuters

August 6, 2004  Judge denies city's request for court order  A judge on Friday denied the city's request for a court order to keep some dispatchers from walking off the job because an expected strike of city workers had not yet been called, a city official said.

The city sought a temporary restraining order ahead of a looming strike by the Teamsters Local 190 to be "ahead of the game," said Rick Harden, the human resources manager for the city. The union, whose members on Wednesday narrowly rejected a three-year offer by the city, had agreed to work through the close of business Friday but threatened to strike any time after that. Missoulian

August 5, 2004  Wal-Mart employees rely heavily on state aid, California study finds  Inadequate wages and benefits force workers at Wal-Mart stores in California to seek $86 million a year in state aid, according to a report released this week by the University of California-Berkeley Labor Center.

Moreover, if other retailers cut their wages and benefits to the levels offered by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the cost to California's public-assistance programs would rise by $410 million annually, the study said.

In their report, Berkley researchers Arindrajit Dube and Ken Jacobs contend that more than other retail workers, Wal-Mart employees rely on a variety of public-aid programs, including food stamps, Medicare and subsidized housing.

"In effect, Wal-Mart is shifting part of its labor costs onto the public," the researchers wrote. "Wal-Mart's long-term impact on compensation in the retail industry has the potential to place a significant strain on the state's already heavily burdened social safety net." MagicValley.com

August 4, 2004  Stillwater Mining Reports Second Quarter Results  For the first half of 2004, revenues totaled $184.9 million, compared with $124.2 million for the first half of 2003. The 49% increase in revenues is primarily due to a 21% increase in the average combined realized palladium and platinum prices from sales of mine production, the sale of about 156,000 ounces of palladium inventory received in the Norilsk Nickel transaction, contributing $40.1 million, and the increase in sales of 47,000 ounces of secondary reprocessing materials, contributing $28.2 million. Yahoo Finance

August 4, 2004  Labor and the Health Crisis  Workers in every Industry from trucking to telecommunications, know that there's a health care crisis in the United States. Yet the AFL- CIO refuses to endorse the only proposal that can rein in health care inflation without damaging quality of care: a single-payer system. ZNet

August 4, 2004  NorthWestern to reconsider bonus package  NorthWestern Corp. officials have pulled the plug on a plan to pay the bankrupt company's top four executives $6.55 million in bonuses if the company is sold off, state and company officials said Tuesday. Missoulian

August 2, 2004  While United in Politics, Unions face Internal Rifts  The nation's labor unions have rallied behind John Kerry after being openly divided just a few months ago when many unions backed Representative Richard A. Gephardt for president while others supported Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor.

But behind their newfound unity in politics, the nation's unions are in turmoil, with some labor leaders maneuvering to become the A.F.L.- C.I.O.'s next president and some hinting that they might pull out of the organization. Some union presidents, alarmed that the labor movement is shrinking, are calling for a radical overhaul of organized labor, while others angrily accuse them of trying to dictate policies and of washing labor's dirty laundry in public. ZNet

August 1, 2004  Freight backed up but railroad won't hire.  In this era of outsourcing and automation, when the drive to reduce the number of workers in the production and distribution of goods has been relentless, even the Wall Street Journal is forced to admit that workers and their skills are essential to the functioning of the economy.

The lead story in the July 22 Journal was headlined, "Woes at Union Pacific Create a Bottleneck for the Economy." UP is the largest railroad in the country, moving about 13 percent of all the freight by volume.

This is not even the peak season for railroads. Grain harvests are not yet ready to move, demand for the coal used in electric generation is low, and goods for the holiday season are just reaching U.S. shores. The Journal says the main problem facing the UP is that the "railroad has found itself without adequate staffing to handle the extra freight" generated by the "unexpected" growth in the U.S. economy. 

It is not until the last third of the article that it quotes unnamed spokespeople from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the United Transportation Union as saying "the company's problems stem from not hiring enough conductors and engineers." Workers World

July 31, 2004  Missing out on the gravy train  What should be a glorious ride for American railroads has turned into a glitch-ridden mess.  And that's not counting unpredictable events, like bad weather and major derailments. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

July 27, 2004 Salt Lake City rule gives priority to living-wage contractors  Despite warnings that his action violates at least the spirit of state law, Mayor Rocky Anderson signed an administrative rule Monday giving preference to contractors who pay a living wage. Salt Lake Tribune

July 26, 2004  At least 6 million American workers will lose their right to overtime pay starting Aug. 23.  "It's the worst rollback in employee rights in 57 years," he says, harking back to the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, a bill that put some limitations on trade union activities. Christian Science Monitor

July 22, 2004  Top NorthWestern brass receive $6.55 million in parting gifts  When Gary Drook, the top executive at NorthWestern Corp., told Helena leaders last week that the utility probably will be sold when it emerges from bankruptcy and he'll be out of a job, he failed to mention that he's asking for a $3 million goodbye check.

In a filing last week with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, NorthWestern asked for change of control compensation - called "golden parachutes" - if the company is sold.

If the court agrees, four top managers would split nearly $6.55 million - after taxes - including Drook's $2.99 million.

The move surprised and outraged the Montana Public Service Commission, which voted unanimously Wednesday to fight the payments.

PSC Chairman Bob Rowe said he knew that the executives would ask for higher compensation packages but was angry to see "golden parachute" payments in the mix.

"My very first thought was, 'Have you no shame?' " Rowe said. Billings Gazette

July 22, 2004  City makes contract offer; union sets vote  BILLINGS - Union leaders said Thursday there will be a vote on the city's proposed three-year labor contract, but that more than 300 city employees are prepared to walk off the job if the deal is rejected.

Voting is set for Aug. 3-4, and union officials plan to make no official recommendation on whether the proposal should be ratified, said Joe Dwyer, secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters Local 190.  Missoulian

July 20th, 2004  Mine workers approve new contract

Workers from the Stillwater Mine will be back on the job Wednesday morning after union members approved a revised contract offer Monday.

Promises of a $1,000 bonus to ratify the contract and softer language on some working conditions were presented to the workers in an attempt to end the weeklong strike against Stillwater Mining Co.

About 80 percent of the union members approved the new contract in balloting that ended at 9 p.m.

"I'm glad this is behind us," said Brad Shorey, president of Local 8-0001 of the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International. A precise vote total wasn't available Monday. Billings Gazette

July 19th, 2004  One Day In July, a Street Festival for the Working Class, When Minneapolis Became a Union Town

Seventy years ago, truck drivers and business leaders waged an historic battle in the Warehouse District -- a battle that turned a strongly anti-union city into a union town. And a group of union activists are putting together a street festival Saturday, July 24, to make sure we don't forget it.

During spring and summer 1934, truck drivers and pro-union forces clashed violently with police and business interests that had mounted what amounted to a private war. Several died on both sides, some beaten with clubs, others shot. Skyway News

July 19th, 2004  Stillwater workers turn out for vote  Hundreds of workers from Stillwater Mining Co., the only U.S. producer of palladium and platinum, turned out to vote on a tentative new labor contract Monday, one week after going on strike over a rejected deal.

The local union president expressed optimism that members would approve the latest proposal.  Shorey said he didn't expect that a tally would be released until early Tuesday. Officials said earlier in a statement that workers could be on the job Wednesday if the agreement is ratified.  Seattle Post Intelligencer

July 18th, 2004  Stillwater in tentative labor accord with miners  Stillwater Mining said Saturday it has reached a tentative agreement with a union representing more than 800 striking workers at two Montana mines.

Workers at Stillwater mines in Columbus and Nye, Mont. walked out July 12 in a dispute over a pension plan for members of the Paper, Allied, Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Local 8-0001, according to a report in the Billings Gazette.

Union members will vote on the new agreement Monday. If the deal is ratified, work will resume Wednesday. Investor's Business Daily

July 16th, 2004  Teachers' Union Calls Pay Stagnant  The average salary for a. U.S. teacher was $45,771 in 2002-03, up 3.3 percent from the previous year, according to new report from the American Federation of Teachers. 

South Dakota had the lowest average salary in 2002-03, at $32,414. The other states in the bottom tier were Montana, at $35,754; Mississippi, at $35,135; North Dakota, at $33,869; and Oklahoma, at $33,277. Also in the lowest tier were the Virgin Islands, at $34,764; Guam at $34,738; and Puerto Rico, at $22,164. Business and Legal Reports

July 16th, 2004  Editorial: Overtime pay/Congress must block new rules  When the Bush administration announced plans last year to revamp the rules that govern overtime pay, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said she was trying to modernize an antique rule book and put more money in workers' pockets. When union leaders and Democrats charged that her plan would do exactly the opposite -- creating confusion and denying overtime pay to millions of workers -- the Labor Department dismissed the complaints as so much partisan hyperbole. Minneapolis Star Tribune

July 15th, 2004  Labor pains Don Judge, former executive secretary of the Montana State AFL-CIO, is the labor relations advocate working on behalf of the union. For 30 years, he has been a labor advocate in the Big Sky State. Judge, who wears a trim white beard and calm demeanor, has seen a lot of labor abuses, but recent activity at Community stands out in his mind. “I would say that management’s actions are among the most blatant that I’ve seen in 30 years working in the labor movement,” he says. Missoula Independent

July 15th, 2004  Miners meet tonight to discuss demands  About 900 members of the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International (PACE) Local 8-0001 went on strike Monday against the Stillwater mine at Nye and the smelter and warehouse in Columbus.

On Wednesday afternoon, PACE International Representative Steve Gentry called John Stark, Stillwater Mining's vice president of human resources, to say PACE has scheduled a union meeting for tonight. Gentry said he'd call Stark back after the meeting to set up a second round of talks.

Union Local President Brad Shorey said union members are starting to narrow down their key demands for changes to the proposed contract. Seventy percent of miners rejected the agreement between their union leaders and the company last week. Billings Gazette

July 14th, 2004  Mine strike continues: No further negotiations scheduled  Union leaders and officials from Stillwater Mining Co. met for nearly eight hours Monday but were unable to resolve their differences and end the company's first strike.

By late Tuesday, no further talks were scheduled.

About 900 members of the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International (PACE) Local 8-0001 went on strike at noon Monday effectively shutting down the platinum and palladium mine and mill at Nye and the smelter, warehouse and lab in Columbus. Billings Gazette

July 13th, 2004 Miners on strike: Stillwater Mining union workers want better retirement, sick leave  For the first time in the company's 12-year history, about 850 union workers at Stillwater Mining Co.'s Nye mine and Columbus smelter went on strike Monday in a dispute over pensions and working conditions.

The strike by the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International (PACE) Local 8-0001 caught company officials off guard.

"The union negotiating team had strongly recommended ratification to its membership," said Stillwater Chief Executive Frank McAllister.

Former Montana Attorney General Joe Mazurek, a Helena attorney who serves on the company's board, also didn't see the contract rejection coming. Billings Gazette

July 13th, 2004  BILLINGS -- City and union leaders said Monday that they will seek mediation to try to resolve a labor contract dispute and avert a potential strike by more than 300 Billings city employees.

Members of the Teamsters Local 190 last Friday overwhelming rejected what the city had called its "last, best and final" offer and authorized a strike, secretary-treasurer Joe Dwyer said. Key issues, Dwyer said, are longevity pay and promotion based on seniority. Billings Gazette

July 12th, 2004  Stillwater Mine and Metal Recovery Facilities Workforces on Strike as Labor Contract Expires  As announced earlier today, a proposed labor agreement between Stillwater Mining Company and the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Local 8-0001 has been rejected by a vote of the union membership. An extension of the previous contract, which covers workers at the Company's Stillwater Mine and Columbus, Montana processing facilities, expired at noon today, July 12. The union bargaining unit accordingly has now declared a strike. Yahoo

July 11th, 2004  Labor Federation Looks Beyond Unions  These people will not be part of a traditional union that negotiates contracts covering wages and working conditions. Rather, they will be part of a fast-growing, newfangled advocacy group that will campaign alongside labor unions on many issues, like raising the minimum wage and fighting new rules that cut back on overtime pay.

"We are trying to get nonunion people and union people to work together, and we're seeing that there are a lot of issues they have in common," said Ms. Skorupa, the amiable, highly energetic director of a crew of eight canvassers who knock on 2,500 doors each week.

The A.F.L.-C.I.O. quietly began this effort last year in two cities and has expanded it to a total of 400 canvassers in 10 cities, including Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Tampa, Fla. The aim is to enlist one million nonunion people to join the labor federation's new community affiliate, Working America. Thousands of people who have signed up have joined hands with union members to send President Bush letters and e-mail messages opposing changes in overtime rules and urging an end to tax breaks that encourage companies to send jobs overseas. New York Times

July 9th, 2004  Two national labor unions representing hospitality and textile workers agreed to merge Thursday, creating an organization with more than 800,000 active workers and retirees.

About 1,500 delegates from both the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE) voted to combine the two labor groups at a meeting at a Chicago hotel.

The new union, called UNITE HERE, boasts an active membership of more than 440,000 workers, as well as more than 400,000 retirees, in both the United States and Canada, union spokeswoman Amanda Cooper said. Seattle Post-Intelligencer

July 8th, 2004  To spite their face  Like so many announcements from Montana’s dwindling and divided labor unions, last week’s rampage against successful Democratic candidates by AFL-CIO Executive Director Jerry Driscoll didn’t make front page news. It barely made the news at all, but the little story offered significant insight into the sorry state of affairs at Montana’s largest union, where petty, adolescent squabbling has apparently replaced long-term vision and grassroots organizing. Missoula Independent

July 5th, 2004  Unions subtly nudging Kerry on VP choice

Walking a line between help and hindrance, influence and annoyance, organized labor factions are trying to gently nudge Rep. Dick Gephardt or Sen. John Edwards onto the Democratic presidential ticket.

Despite labor's strong ties to Gephardt, unions aren't solidly behind him as John Kerry's pick for vice president. Some prefer Edwards as the fresh face they think can bring energy and charisma to the ticket. Lexington Herald-Leader

June 29th, 2004  The leaders of America's labor unions are a well-paid bunch: four earned more than $400,000 last year, and another four had salaries above $300,000.

The two highest salaries, both well over $400,000, went to executives whose unions cater to workers in Hollywood's entertainment industry.

Overall, 140 unions reported $7.4 billion in receipts and $6.4 billion in assets in 2003, according to Labor Department data compiled by Political Money Line, a nonpartisan service that tracks campaign spending.

Total expenses weren't compiled, so it is difficult to gauge the financial health of organized labor as it heads into November's election. Union leaders are pledging record spending to mobilize their members to support John Kerry and congressional Democrats this fall.

The union official who earned the highest salary last year was John McLean, executive director of the Writers Guild of America-West, who was paid $445,461. The guild counted 7,601 members. Anchorage Daily News

June 29th, 2004  The Montana AFL-CIO has endorsed a solid slate of Democrats for statewide office, but left off one Democratic legislator for helping defeat another Democratic lawmaker and another for his involvement in a rival labor group.

Omitted from the endorsement list and given a ''no recommendation'' was Sen. Ken Toole, D-Helena, who helped defeat Sen. Bea McCarthy, D-Anaconda, who was running for a state House seat in the June 8 primary. Toole sent a letter to Anaconda voters criticizing McCarthy for voting for electric utility deregulation in 1997 and urging them to elect her opponent, Dan Villa. Montana Standard

June 28th, 2004  Labor Endorses Candidates 
The Montana State AFL-CIO’s political endorsement convention was held in Butte, Montana at the Ramada Copper King Inn, June 25 and 26, 2004. Over 100 delegates, guests and candidates watched as statewide and legislative races were debated, deliberated and considered for the largest union in Montana to bestow labor’s endorsement.

June 28th, 2004  In the first Labor 2004 neighborhood walks to reach out to swing voters about what’s at stake in the fall elections, more Laborers participated than members of any other union. And as the June 28th – July 4th Voice@Work Week of Action approaches, Laborers are stepping up to the plate, riding a surge of activism. 

June 27th, 2004  Some participants in the state AFL-CIO convention joined pickets outside a theater here.

State Auditor John Morrison was among those on the picket line Friday outside Carmike Cinemas, a couple of miles from the convention site. Besides the picket support, conventioneers agreed to endorse a statewide boycott of Carmike. 

June 25th, 2004  About 100 union members from throughout the state are expected Friday and Saturday for the Montana State AFL-CIO biannual political convention in the Ramada Inn Copper King in Butte.

"Our members are very much tuned in to this year's elections — both nationally and at the state level," said Jerry Driscoll, AFL-CIO executive secretary. "Based on AFL-CIO membership numbers, labor in Montana has the potential of delivering over 100,000 votes in this year's important election." Montana Standard

June 23rd, 2004 Teachers union backs Schweitzer  Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian Schweitzer picked up the endorsement over the weekend of the political committee of the state's largest union, the MEA-MFT, and will be seeking the backing of Montana AFL-CIO's this weekend.  Missoulian

June 19th, 2004  The state Department of Labor and Industry reported that Montana added 3,900 jobs between May 2003 and May 2004. 

June 16th  Some regard unions as defense against jobs going overseas  “I get a call last week from Intel, I get a call from Microsoft, I get calls from places we never used to get calls from,” said Andy Banks, the organizing director for the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers in Silver Springs, Md. “People are realizing that labor unions are the best-kept secret in America. You have no employment rights at work unless you have a collective-bargaining agreement.” Wintson-Salem Journal

June 16th, 2004  Electrical workers have reached a four-year labor agreement with PPL Montana that includes a nearly 12 percent increase, the company announced Tuesday.

The 240 workers are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1638. Billings Gazette

June 13th, 2004  It's no surprise that former Cleveland Mayor Dennis Kucinich has emerged in 2004 as a workingman's hero.

It's also no surprise that he is the keynote speaker at Saturday's AFL-CIO Labor Council's 35th annual Cope Dinner.

Past speakers have include former Democratic Senators Howard Metzenbaum and John Glenn and former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer.

They all had seven-figure bank accounts. Not so for Kucinich. Cincinati.com

June 12th, 2004  Malting firm to tap springs  The state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission has approved an agreement allowing International Malting Co. to use water from Giant Springs for its malt plant near Great Falls.

The deal approved Thursday drew objections from some, however, that the state should get more money in the deal. The state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission has approved an agreement allowing International Malting Co. to use water from Giant Springs for its malt plant near Great Falls.

The deal approved Thursday drew objections from some, however, that the state should get more money in the deal. Billings Gazette

June 10th, 2004  And now, your feature boycott  Moviegoers attending the premier of the movie Troy at the Carmike Plaza 6 theater in Butte on May 14 were met with a union strike as seven employees staged a walk-out after months of conflict between the union and the theater. The following day, all seven employees were fired. Prior to that mass housecleaning, three other employees had been fired shortly after signing their union cards in April.

Jacquie Helt, executive secretary treasurer of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees No. 427, based in Missoula, and vice president of the Montana AFL-CIO, says the walk-out sought to draw attention to ongoing labor issues—including wrongful terminations, scheduling and seniority issues, harassment and overall disrespect for employees. Missoula Independent

June 9th, 2004  Death on the Job is the title of a report by the AFL-CIO describing on-the-job deaths and injuries for the year 2000, the most recent studied. According to the publication, on-the-job deaths from traumatic injuries claimed the lives of 5,915 workers, while another 6.3 million suffered workplace injuries or illnesses.

The report found that Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana had the highest fatality rates in 2000, while Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire had the lowest.

May 27th, 2004  Brightening union blues  Two Missoula unions walked away from negotiating tables recently with one thing in common: satisfaction with their new contracts.

“It’s fair and a good agreement,” said Dennis Daneke of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. “I credit our contractors for sitting down and doing business with us in a fair and open way.”

Daneke was pleased that contractors will continue to provide health insurance, even as prices skyrocket.

“They came to the plate, ponied up, and helped us out,” said Daneke.

Members of Local #28 in Missoula and Kalispell ratified the contract with 89 percent voting in favor of the new agreement, which will affect 27 employers and almost 300 skilled-trade workers. The contract includes a 7.2 percent wage and benefit increase over two years, which will bring carpenter wages up to $18.70 per hour and millwright wages up to $20.30. Both will receive benefits that work out to $6.80 per hour, as well. Missoula Independent

May 27th, 2004  Dennis Kucinich’s small campaign of big ideas

And why Montana? On Monday night at the Wilma, Kucinich told a press gathering and later a rally of supporters that voters in Montana’s June 8 primary, the nation’s last, could send Kucinich to Boston’s July 26–29 convention with momentum and a message of peace, among other things, and so exercise a bit of leverage on the Democratic Party’s still unfocused identity. Missoula Independent

May 25th, 2004  Presidential candidate Kucinich spreads his message to enthusiastic supporters in Missoula

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is realistic about the chances of winning his party's nomination - nil - but he's confident he still has the power to influence the party platform, he told enthusiastic supporters in Missoula on Monday.

Entering the packed Wilma Theatre to a huge round of applause and a standing ovation, the only major-party presidential candidate to visit the state so far said simply, "Wow."

"They said, 'C'mon to Missoula; we've got a small group of people who want to meet with you here,' " Kucinich said. "Wow!"

Photo's taken by Steve McArthur

Above: CLC President, Mark Hanson shaking hands with Presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich.

Photo: (Mark Hanson, Ethel McDonald, Dennis Kucinich)

The Ohio representative and former Cleveland mayor drew loud cheers for his plans to stop the war in Iraq, repeal the Patriot Act, get out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and develop a national, single-payer, nonprofit health insurance program.

It's his hope, he said, that a strong showing in the final primary elections of the year - including Montana's on June 8 - will send delegates bearing his message to the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July. Montana delegates have 21 of 4,322 total votes at the convention.

"If we're able to get a powerful vote here in Montana, then we can take that to the convention," Kucinich said.

May 22, 2004 Working...And Poor
In today's cutthroat job market, the bottom rung is as high as most workers will ever get. But the political will to help them seems a long way off 

A hike in unionization would also give the working poor some leverage over wages. The rule of thumb used to be that union workers earn about one-third more than nonunion ones. But the differential has ballooned with the collapse of pay scales at the bottom. Today, blue-collar workers in a union make 54% more than unorganized ones and are more than twice as likely to have health insurance and pensions, according to an EPI analysis. Because unions boost workers' bargaining power and help them win a greater share of productivity gains, any resurgence would give low-wage workers more clout to deal with the effects of factors such as globalization, immigration, and technology. Still, the U.S. isn't likely to alter the laws governing unionization any time soon. Employers have body-blocked such attempts since the late 1970s, arguing that profits and economic growth would suffer. Today, labor law reform still goes nowhere, snagged in the broader political deadlock that grips the U.S. Business Week Online 

April 6, 2004  Blood and Coca-Cola. Former Columbian Coca-Cola employee to recount tales of bloodshed "Columbia's the worst country in the world to be a union organizer," he said. "The government is conservative; they're cooperating with the Bush administration to implement a neo-liberal agenda, which tends to try to downsize, underpay and discourage unions."

The International Confederation of Free Trade (ICFTU), which represents 158 million workers, concluded that nearly 200 Columbians had been killed because of their trade union activities. Daily Vanguard

April 6, 2004  Paying a living wage would -- more than anything -- help poor people rise above the poverty level, according to people who work with the poor.

Surviving on minimum wage is nearly impossible, experts say.

But offering a living wage is easier said than done, especially in a town like Butte where a percentage of the population toils in jobs that pay less than $1,000 a month. Officials estimate a living wage in Butte pays between $8 to $10 an hour. Minimum wage in Montana is $5.15 an hour. The Montana Standard

March 4, 2004    Montana manufacturing companies would receive a 3 percent tax cut under a jobs bill Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., defended on the Senate floor Wednesday.

On the heels of a World Trade Organization ruling that U.S. manufacturing-export tax incentives are illegal, the jobs bill would repeal the tax credit, but provide a new tax break nationwide for companies that keep manufacturing jobs in the United States.

On March 1 the European Union began charging U.S. exports a 5 percent penalty tariff, with a 1 percent increase each month until the tax credits are repealed.

Manufacturing is almost 25 percent of Montana's economy and since 2000 the state has lost more than 13 percent of its manufacturing jobs, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.  Great Falls Tribune

March 4, 2004    UNITE and HERE unions  merge. The strength of two newly-combined unions may be put to the test even before the merger process is completed, as hotel workers in nine of Los Angeles’ largest hotels face expiration of their contracts in mid-April. Employers could be seeking cuts in health care benefits. People's Weekly World