AFL-CIO Northeast Council District Meeting
NEARI responds to GOP ethics complaint
For immediate release
May 6, 2019
RIGOP celebrates teacher appreciation week by…attacking teachers
Cranston, R.I. – Today, the RI GOP, apparently prompted
by Providence Journal reporter Katherine Gregg, filed an ethics
complaint against full-time East Providence classroom teacher, part-time
state senator, and National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI)
Vice President Valarie Lawson for supporting and voting for continuing
contract legislation currently before the RI General Assembly.
NEARI Executive Director Robert A. Walsh Jr., asked to comment due to Lawson’s union position, stated the following:
“It is sad that the beleaguered RI GOP would use the occasion of Teacher Appreciation Week to attack a hardworking classroom teacher. Like many Rhode Islanders, Val Lawson is active in her profession, her community, her union, and, in her case, she also serves as a newly-elected state senator.
“Val Lawson is a stickler for the rules. She attended the briefing for state senators conducted by the RI Ethics Commission and followed up with their executive director, Jason Gramitt, with questions on this topic. In fact, this matter was so clear-cut that neither the Ethics Commission staff nor Senate legal staff felt that she needed an opinion in writing.
Checkmate Consulting Group:
National Education Association RI (NEARI) is kicking off Teacher Appreciation Week with a 60 second ad we recently produced that captures NEARI’s commitment – inside
and outside of the classroom – to providing a high quality education
for every student from every zip code. The star of the ad, 8 year old
Avery Morris, is a one-of-a-kind personality and we were thrilled to
give her her first acting role. Now get her another coffee milk, please! -Learn More
Thread Reader: @Richard Trumka
Gallup recently put the popularity of unions at 62 percent—a 15-year high.
The @WSJ
reported that 2018 was the biggest year for collective action in three
decades. Teachers from West Virginia to Arizona. Google employees.
Workers in every sector and every region are embracing the
transformational power that comes from joining together in common cause.
@MIT mentions
found that half of non-union workers would vote to join a union today
if given the chance. That’s more than 60 million Americans.
The
stated purpose of the National Labor Relations Act is to encourage
collective bargaining. Yet in the more than 80 years since its passage,
every amendment to the law has made it harder for workers to form
unions.
Today,
union-busting consultants are paid tens of millions of dollars to deny
workers a voice on the job. And once a union election is won, these same
bad actors do everything in their power to undermine the collective
bargaining process. -READ MORE
IBEW Media Center: Stay Safe with National Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down Week
Every year, hundreds of construction workers are
killed on the job and more than a third die from falls, the number one
cause of accidental deaths in the industry. The tragic loss of our
brothers and sisters is made all the more bitter because every death or
injury from a fall is preventable with proper training and the use of
appropriate fall protection.
From May 6-10, the IBEW is joining with the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration, the North American Building Trades and the Center for Construction Research and Training for the 6th annual National Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down.
“This is great opportunity for our signatory contractors to take time for safety demonstrations, training in fall prevention and a review of site safety rules,” said Safety Department Director Dave Mullen.
OSHA spokespeople said they expect thousands of work sites and millions of workers to observe the stand down worldwide in 2019.
AFL-CIO: Union Made in America Mother’s Day
You have no excuse for waiting until the last minute to find a nice gift for Mother’s Day that also carries the union label. Our friends at Labor 411, the union business directory from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, can help you out.
If you want to go the traditional route with some top-of-the-line
chocolates, take a look at these from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco
Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
-SEE LIST
**Don’t forget to purchase your gifts and flowers at Stop & Shop, Shaws and Eastside Marketplace where our union brothers and sisters work.
AFL-CIO:
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“In unity is strength.” —Aesop
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Visit our websitefor more information, news and events.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
_____________________________________________
The 2019 George “Bing” Fogarty Memorial Classic Golf Tournament
The George “Bing” Fogarty Foundation was established by the family and friends of Bing to carry on his legacy of charitable works and helping others. Bing lived his life in service of others and quietly helped thousands of people in multitude of ways. This foundation will attempt to carry on those good works by making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate and in need of a shoulder to lean on.
When: Friday, June 7 Where: Exeter Country Club, 320 Ten Rod Road (Route 102), Exeter, RI Time: Registration 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Shotgun Format: Scramble Cost: $150 to play golf with steak fry; $125 Tee Sign; $250 Corporate/Union Sponsor
For more information: E-Mail BingFogartyMemorial@gmail.com or call (401) 932-3642
THIS WEEK IN LABOR HISTORY
Unionist:
Nationwide railway strike begins at Pullman, Ill. Nearly 260,000 railroad workers ultimately joined the strike to protest wage cuts by the Pullman Palace Car Co. – 1894
Longshoremen’s strike to gain control of hiring leads to general work stoppage, San Francisco Bay area – 1934
Some 12,000 Steelworker-represented workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber win an 18-day strike for improved wages and job security – 1997
The constitution of the Brotherhood of the Footboard was ratified by engineers in Detroit, Mich. Later became the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers – 1863
NEXT WEEK ON LABOR VISION:
Dr. Okurowski returns again this week in the first half of the
program to talk with Erica Hammond about the importance of AEDs
(Automatic External Defibrillators) in the workplace, and how having
them nearby during a cardiac event can significantly increase a
patient’s chance of survival.
And
in the second part of the show, a celebration from the State House of
the one-year anniversary of the ability of worker-owned cooperatives to
do business as a legal entity; brought to us by the members of Fuerza
Laboral and their tireless leaders, Heiny Maldonado and Raul Figeuroa.
Highlighted are workers from Healthy Planet Cleaning Co-op and several
other co-ops from around the state.
Rhode Island AFL-CIO 