Common Ground Dec. 12 by JH Communications

DECEMBER 2012

Democrats call for balanced approach on ‘fiscal cliff’

By Common Ground staff There appears to be room for compromise in Washington, DC on the looming fiscal cliff—a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that will kick in early next year if the President and Congress don’t take action to avert them beforehand. Days after the Election, both President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner outlined their approaches to the fiscal cliff. Boehner spoke out against any further tax increases, citing a consultant’s report that tax rate increases would “destroy 700,000 jobs.” But the GOP Congressional leader left the door ajar to the possibility of increased revenues that would presumably come

in the form of eliminating deductions and closing loopholes, rather than raising rates. In his own remarks, President Obama called for a balanced approach. “If we’re serious about reducing the deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue. And that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes,” Obama said, according to a transcript of the remarks published by the Washington Post. “And I just want to point out, this was a central question during the election. It was debated over and over again,” Obama added. “And on Tuesday night we found out that the majority of Americans

agree with my approach. And that includes Democrats, independents, and a lot of Republicans across the country, as well as independent economists and budget experts. That’s how you reduce the deficit, with a balanced approach.” The President said his plan would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. He also specifically called for an immediate extension of middle class tax cuts that would benefit 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses. Like Boehner, Obama left room for compromise: “I want to be clear, I’m not wedded to every detail of my plan. I’m open to compromise. I’m open

to new ideas. I’m committed to solving our fiscal challenges, but I refuse to accept any approach that isn’t balanced.” Democrats back ‘balanced approach’ Rhode Island’s newly reelected Democratic Congressmen endorsed Obama’s approach in statements released last month. “David agrees with President Obama that the only way to avoid painful spending cuts and across-the-board tax hikes is to reach a bipartisan agreement that asks the rich to pay their fair share. He will continue to press his Democratic and Republican colleagues in Congress to continue nego-

tiating until a compromise is reached,” said Rich Luchette, a spokesman for Congressman David Cicilline. “I applaud President Obama’s approach for dealing with our budget challenges in a balanced way that recognizes our country is at its best when the middle class is at its strongest,” added Congressman Jim Langevin. See Fiscal cont. on page 4

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Common Ground

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DECEMBER 2012

Verizon workers finally get a four-year contract By Common Ground staff

Verizon workers this fall finally struck a new fouryear agreement with Verizon, bringing an end to a year-long period of sometimes contentious negotiations that included a two-week strike early on in the process. Locally, the membership of IBEW Local 2323 voted overwhelmingly for the new deal, with 90 percent favoring it, according to the business manager, Steve Murphy. “The overall thought process is that it was an excellent agreement,” Murphy said. The agreement, which took effect in 2012, affects 750 local workers and approximately 45,000 nationwide. Just one year ago, negotiations got off to a rocky start when Verizon workers went on a two-week strike at the end of August. One of the biggest sticking points was a company plan to strip pensions away from everyone and enroll its employees in defined contribution plans modeled after 401(k)s, according to Murphy. Once Verizon backed off that plan, the logjam in negotiations was broken, Murphy said. The new contract increases pay, preserves most existing pensions, institutes premiums for health care, and contains key job security language. Its provisions specifically include the following, according to Murphy: • Raises: The contract, which expires in 2015, has a compounded 8.2 percent increase over its fouryear life. In 2012, the initial raise amounts to 2.25 percent. That edges up to 2.75 percent in 2013 and an even 3 percent in 2014. • Bonuses: There’s also a contract ratification bonus of $800 that is being paid out to all Verizon workers this year. • Corporate Profit Sharing: The contract includes a provision that allows rank-and-file employees to participate in corporate profit sharing. As long as corporate profits meet a certain threshold, Verizon workers will receive an annual bonus of $700 for the duration of the contract. • Health care premiums: One significant change in the new agreement is the requirement that workers now pay premiums for their health care. “We have an excellent health care package—definitely the best in the telecom industry,” Murphy said. • Pensions saved: One of the biggest wins for IBEW members is the preservation of existing pension plans for all current workers, even for

those who may have just a few years on the job. The union, however, was unable to ensure that future hires will enjoy the same benefit. Instead, they will be enrolled in a 401(k)-style retirement plan. • Job security: Another key provision is language in the contract that provides job security for those who were hired before 2003. • Preferred hiring for union members: One of the biggest wins for the IBEW, Murphy said, is a new requirement that Verizon fill open positions with union members before seeking non-union workers. That is a nationwide requirement—meaning that Verizon has to exhaust the resources available in the U.S. unionized workforce before turning to overseas call centers. The provision effectively reins in the off-shoring and outsourcing of jobs, according to Murphy. “We believe this is a fair and balanced agreement that is good for our employees as well as for the future of the Wireline business,” said Marc Reed, Verizon’s chief administrative officer, in a statement released last month. “It provides competitive wages, valuable benefits, and affordable quality health care while giving the company new flexibility to better serve customers and become more efficient.” As part of the normal negotiation process, both the IBEW and the company walked away with things they wanted. On the company side, in addition to some of the above concessions, Verizon now has won the ability, under certain limited circumstances, to use workers in one position to fulfill multiple jobs. For example, if a customer who needs pay-per-view service dials into a call center and is accidentally transferred to a sales rep in a different department, that rep can now help them with their pay-per-view needs, instead of transferring the call to another service center. Previously, the union contract had cross-crafts language that prevented that. Murphy took over as business manager from William McGowan on July 26, just as the national-level negotiations were entering their final days. But he had previously served as the president of the local, making for a smooth, seamless transition. For now, Murphy said the IBEW is just focused on implementing the terms of their hard-won contract. “We need to work under this agreement and prepare for 2015,” Murphy said.

Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

Page 3

Flynn wins re-election to Rhode Island RIFTHP

By Common Ground staff

It’s been a turbulent two years, to say the least. “It’s been a very rocky couple of years,” said Frank Flynn, who has just completed his first two-year term as president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Profes-

sionals and was re-elected to a new term on July 28 this past summer. Before he took office, the Central Falls School District laid off all the teachers at the high school. Then, during his term, two other districts, Providence and Woonsocket, followed suit, issuing mass layoff notices to all the teachers in their districts. Flynn knew what he was in for. He said he knew the economy was starting to dip down as he was taking office. As expected, the recession has put urban communities under fiscal stress, including Pawtucket, Providence, West

Warwick and Central Falls— all places where the teacher union has locals. “That has a significant impact on their school budgets,” Flynn said. Two years later, he says there are now positive signs that the economy is improving. But a persistently high unemployment rate limits the ability of the state to generate revenue from income taxes, meaning that there will continue to be fiscal pressures in the near future that weigh down on education funding. “I think it’s still a rocky road,” Flynn said. But he said he’s in for the long haul. His predecessor,

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Marcia Reback, held office for 18 years. Flynn previously worked as a special education teacher for more than 30 years in the Cranston school system and was president of the local during his time in the district. As president of the state organization, he is now responsible for a membership which currently totals about 9,000, including 6,000 elementary and secondary-level teachers. Flynn plans on running again when his current term ends. “I hope to be here several terms,” he said. “Hopefully it will work [out that] people have confidence in my leader-

ship and keep me here for a long stay.” Top priorities Flynn said the Rhode Island chapter of the American Federation of Teachers is still developing its legislative agenda for the next session. But he said one of its top priorities is sure to be dealing with tax equity issues. Fighting to restore more of the money that was cut from state funding for developmentally disabled services will be another priority, Flynn said, adding that the issue affects some of his members on the health professional side. See Flynn cont. on page 14

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Common Ground

Fiscal cont. from page 1 “Equally important, the President reached out to Republican leadership, and I am encouraged that Speaker Boehner has also signaled his willingness to negotiate in a fair and responsible way. However, when Congress returns next week, it is incumbent upon all of us to make our actions speak louder than words by working together in good faith, while ensuring that the one requirement of any budget deal is that it strengthens the middle class.” U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, said his top priority is protecting the middle class from tax increases and implementing the Buffett Rule, which would become law through the Paying a Fair Share Act, legislation for which Whitehouse is the main sponsor. The rule calls for those Americans whose annual earnings run into the millions of dollars to pay taxes at a rate of at least 30 percent, according to a summary provided by Whitehouse’s Senate office. “My top priority in the coming weeks is to protect middle-class Rhode Islanders from income tax hikes, and I agree with the President that we should move quickly to do so. In fact, the Senate

has already passed legislation to shield 98 percent of families and 97 percent of small businesses from any income tax increases,” Whitehouse said. He added: “Unfortunately, House Republicans have held middle-class tax cuts hostage in order to preserve lower tax rates for the top 2 percent. That approach was rejected on Tuesday by voters in Rhode Island and throughout the country, and I hope my Republican colleagues will now be willing to join with us in asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a fair share in taxes in order to keep our economy strong.” Labor group: Don’t push unemployed off the cliff One group of Americans that is particularly vulnerable is the unemployed, according to labor advocates. Unemployment benefits will expire for one million unemployed Americans in the first quarter of 2013 if Washington takes no action. Ultimately, five million workers would lose federal benefits next year absent any extension, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

“[F]or millions of jobless American workers, the continuation of federal unemployment benefits—now being debated in Congress—could make the difference between staying alive financially and falling off the cliff between Christmas and New Year’s,” IBEW said in a position statement posted on its Web site. The IBEW also cited a Congressional Research Service study that showed 26 million workers and their families benefited from unemployment insurance in 2011. In addition, an estimated 2.3 million Americans, including 600,000 children, stayed out of poverty thanks to unemployment benefits. The impact of unemployment insurance has an economic ripple effect that spreads beyond just the families of those who receive it. According to the EPI report, any ad-

DECEMBER 2012 ditional reduction in income for the unemployed also cuts into their “purchasing power”—their ability to spend money on “essential goods and services.” That could affect Americans whose jobs are tied to the production and delivery of those goods and services. Ultimately, as a result, as many as 400,000 more Americans could find themselves unemployed if federal unemployment benefits aren’t renewed, according to the IBEW. “It would be a human disaster—a cruel and avoidable one—if Congress fails to act and allows federal unemployment insurance to expire,” the IBEW concludes. “It is imperative for Congress to put partisanship aside and come together to reauthorize EUC [Emergency Unemployment Compensation] for 2013.”

Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

Page 5

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Impact of OSHA 10 in New England

By James Celenza

Rhode Island, like Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Missouri, mandate safety training for construction workers on publicly funded projects. Passed in 2001, the Rhode Island law requires that workers on any municipal or state construction projects (costing in excess of $100,000) complete the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) approved 10-hour health and safety training course and carry proof of completion of the course (the OSHA 10 card). The OSHA-approved course (known, colloquially, as the OSHA 10) covers a variety of construction safety and health hazards. Training emphasizes hazard identification, avoidance, control, and prevention. It also includes basic OSHA rules and procedures, in addition to topics such as fall protection, trenching, and scaffold safety and the proper use of personal protective equipment. Since 1971, OSHA has authorized trainers to teach this course and to sign course completion cards (the “OSHA Completion Card”). RICOSH, for example, with its partners in the New England Consortium (TNEC), are authorized training providers. Basically, the state rules have generally piggybacked on this preexisting federal support structure. One misunderstanding, however, about these different

state rules persists. Though these state rules all rely on the OSHA 10 training content and OSHA-authorized trainers, the rule that workers on publicly funded construction projects must take the course and produce the “OSHA 10 card” is not an OSHA rule. There is no federal OSHA rule requiring the 10-hour training. In Rhode Island, the Department of Labor and Training enforces the OSHA training. In Massachusetts, the Attorney General’s office enforces that state’s rule. Recently, the Center for Construction Research and Training, (CPWR), a nonprofit research and training institution created by the Building and Construction Trades Department in the AFL-CIO, commissioned a study based on interviews with key informants such as workers, union officials, state and federal health and safety inspectors, and contractors and builders in Massachusetts to assess how well the rule was working. (Note: For more information on CPWR visit www.cpwr. com.) It found that contractors, both general and subcontractors, working on public sector projects accept the course requirement and appear to be in uniform compliance as the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office has not found violations. The survey also showed universal compliance with OSHA 10 training in the public sector and unionized construction sector. The survey also revealed, how-

ever, that non-union and residential construction workers and those with limited English are much less likely to have had OSHA 10 or any health and safety training at all. Generally, these diverse stakeholders support the introduction of a new refresher requirement to sustain the commitment to ongoing worker safety training. There was a strong consensus on the value of the OSHA-based training requirement in that it raises the bar for worker safety in the commercial construction sector even beyond public projects. James Celenza is a member of the Rhode Island Committee on Occupational Safety and Health.

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Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

Union training center gets big upgrade By Common Ground staff

The Apprenticeship and Training Center run by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 57 in Johnston is in the process of receiving several upgrades that will give it a fresh look and make it better able to serve its apprentices, according to the program administrator. The most obvious change is a new paint job on major pieces of equipment on the 12-acre site. The union spent all summer and parts of the spring and fall giving a facelift to equipment that it obtained from government surplus, according to Christopher Treml, the administrator for the Apprenticeship and Skill Improvement Program. “It [had] that drab army green to it,” Treml said. Now, “it looks like you’re walking into an equipment dealership.” The repainted equipment includes two cranes, two bulldozers, a forklift, a motor grader, and a few miscellaneous trucks. The snappy new look is coming hand in hand with a number of other changes to the training site, including the construction of a new hoisting area and a new office building for the apprenticeship program, Treml said. At a time when the construction and building trades overall are battling an unemployment rate as high as 40 percent in some places, Treml said Local 57 is looking ahead to the future. “We’re trying to be proactive,” Treml said. “We want to be proactive instead of reactive.” The training center has been in operation since 1971 and maintains apprenticeship programs that normally take three years to complete. The center currently has a dozen apprentices in its program, which runs on Tuesday and Thursday nights and during the days on Saturdays. In recent years, the center has focused on expanding its hands-on capacity for training apprentices. The center has created areas where apprentices can practice digging for foundations and excavating around major pipes. The center is now in the process of constructing a new hoisting area, which will consist of a mock three-story building that is built out of a steel skeleton.

Once the area has been set up, apprentices will be able to test their skills at using the crane to set pieces of steel on it—simulating the environment of a real construction job site, according to Treml. The hoisting area is a double benefit to the center. Not only will it allow future apprentices to hone their skills as crane operators, but current apprentices are also involved in its construction. They will develop their welding and cutting skills as they work on fabricating the steel for the makeshift building. “It’s going to fall into their education,” Treml said. Next, in the spring, the union hopes to break ground on a new office for the apprenticeship program. Treml said he currently works out of the union hall on Gano Street. Relocating the office so that he is close to the training center will be advantageous to the program—saving time on commuting back and forth between the office and the site. The new office, approximately 1,800 square feet in size, will have space for Treml and the training site coordinator, Steven Rogers. The apprenticeship program also could be due for a boost in numbers. Treml said the union is currently exploring the possibility of hiring more part-time instructors so it can enroll a greater number of apprentices. “We’re looking to bring in new people,” he said.

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Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

Page 7

From Vietnam to Coventry, he battled addiction

By Common Ground staff

It was the 60s, drugs were everywhere, and everyone was doing them. For Thomas Malloy, it started with marijuana. Then it was speed. “What started the hard stuff was overseas,” Malloy said. “I was in Vietnam when I started the hard stuff.” Malloy, a member of the executive board for IUPAT, Local 195, has been clean for 24 years, after spending nearly as much time abusing drugs. “I had a good time with it for ten years,” he said. “Then I tried to stop for ten years.” After returning to the United States, Malloy’s addiction landed him in trouble with the law. He was arrested for transporting heroin and sent to federal prison, serving out three years of a nineyear sentence. He would ultimately go to prison a couple of times. “It snowballed,” Malloy said. “Even then, it wasn’t enough to stop me.” In prison, Malloy continued to have

access to every drug he needed except for heroin—which he promptly resumed using once he left prison. At the time, he didn’t realize he had an addiction. He didn’t even realize he had a problem. Instead, he viewed it as just a “small habit” that was also a money-maker for him. Along the way he went through as many as 20 detox programs—something that he describes as nothing more than a con to avoid serving additional prison time. It took a divorce, estrangement from his child, and going to jail in the late 1970s for a second time for Malloy to realize that he did have a problem. “It slowly seeped in,” he said. Malloy, who was living in Boston at the time, moved to Coventry to attend a drug addiction recovery program at the former Marathon House over an 18-month stretch from 1983 to 1984. “I heard something there that didn’t

click but the seed was planted,” Malloy recalls. The message he heard: There was help for people like him. The lie was dead— the lie that once an addict always an addict. After successfully completing the program, Malloy settled into something of a normal life. He worked for a while as a counselor at the Marathon House. He got a girlfriend in Rhode Island. Then he joined the painters union in Boston and spent several years commuting from the Ocean State to work, before transferring to the Rhode Island chapter of the union after learning he was going to be a father.

his girlfriend were expecting, he started drinking. Suddenly, things that he normally would have considered bad ideas—like shooting up heroin—didn’t seem like such a bad thing after all. “I didn’t think that drinking was an issue for me but when I started to drink I started to do the things that I [was doing] before,” Malloy said. And so, he went back to the Marathon House, saying he had to swallow the embarrassment of the situation in order to save his life. The second time around it took only a few months to get through the program. “They gave me the abbreviated version—the Reader’s Digest version,” Mallow said. He re-entered the program on NoAddiction strikes back vember 15, 1988—and he’s been clean Serving the struck City of Providence since 1854 It was then that his addiction ever since. back. The final turning point, he says, was For Malloy, it had always been about getting involved in a 12-step program. PROVIDENCE FIRE FIGHTERS LOCAL 799 See Malloy cont. on page 8 drugs, not alcohol. But when he ASSOCIATION and INTERNATIONAL OF FIRE FIGHTERS

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Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

Malloy cont. from page 7 “The actual street-level, gut-wrenching thing for me was someone saying, ‘I did the same thing. I got out. So can you,’” Malloy said.

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The secret to staying clean Malloy, now 61, has since re-married and has a 15-year-old daughter who is part of his life. He says a good deal of credit goes to the union for making his recovery possible. “The union gave me a chance to build a foundation in a 12-step program,” Malloy said. In the ensuing 24 years, his life has all the hallmarks of someone who has turned it around. Malloy began volunteering for United Way and became a Big Brother. He is in the leadership of the local painters union and he also started going back to church. And he’s been a speaker at schools, prisons, and elsewhere. The secret to staying on the straight and narrow isn’t what you would think it is. “In order to keep this thing, you’ve got to give it away,” Malloy said. In other words, in order to keep the hope that one has been given through a 12-step program, a recovering addict has to share it with others. The alternative—just holding onto it for yourself like a “miser”— not only risks losing it, but it also denies help to the many others who could use it, according to Malloy. “The message is hope and the promise is freedom,” Malloy said.

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Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

Page 9

The rich get richer, everyone else loses in possible Hostess liquidation

By Kenneth Quinnell As part of its liquidation filing, Hostess is requesting approval to pay $1.75 million in bonuses to executives—the same executives who ran the company so poorly it is closing its doors and liquidating its assets. The pattern of paying executives large sums of money while firing workers is nothing new for Hostess. The CEO at the time of the most recent bankruptcy filing, Brian Driscoll, is guaranteed as much as $2 million even as the company liquidates. Many are suggesting that it was necessary for Hostess to be liquidated once the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) workers refused the latest offer from Hostess. The company itself isn’t exactly in control of the negotiations, as the two hedge funds

that control about 60 percent of the company’s debt, Silver Point and Monarch, are really in charge. The two companies effectively gave the workers an ultimatum—accept cuts or we shut the company down. The argument is that workerrelated costs are driving the company’s losses and that Silver Point and Monarch are in danger of losing money on their Hostess investment. It isn’t clear, though, that either of the key premises behind the ultimatum are true. After emerging from its previous bankruptcy filing, there isn’t much evidence that much was done to improve the company’s bottom line. Declining market share and failure to innovate with changing consumer demands made it difficult for the company to keep up. Deep debt,

concessions from unions, the laying off of workers, the closing of factories and switching CEOs six times in 10 years— none of whom were experienced in the baking field— none of these things made the company more profitable. Neither did giving large pay raises to the very executives that were running the company into the ground. It also isn’t clear that Silver Point and Monarch are losing any money on their investment. They, along with other investors, bought about $450 million of Hostess debt. But such debts are often purchased at well below their face value and the actual purchase price for the debt is not public record. Depending on how much the companies get for the proposed liquidation of Hostess, they could eas-

ily make a profit on the deal, particularly through avoiding paying pensions promised to Hostess workers. What is certain is that the company is going to hurt workers, regardless of what happens. One worker told the story on Daily Kos: In July of 2011 we received a letter from the company. It said that the $3+ per hour that we as a Union contribute to the pension was going to be “borrowed” by the company until they could be profitable again. Then they would pay it all back. This money will never be paid back. The company filed for bankruptcy and the judge ruled that the $3+ per hour was a debt the company couldn’t repay. The Union continued to work despite this theft of our self-funded

pension contributions for over a year. What was this last/best/ final offer? You’d never know by watching the mainstream media tell the story. So here you go.... 1. 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Currently, I make $16.12 an hour at TOP rate of pay in the bakery. I would drop to $11.26 in 5 years. 2. They get to keep our $3+ an hour forever. 3. Doubling of weekly insurance premium. 4. Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan. 5. TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don’t have it now then you never will. See Hostess cont. on page 10

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Common Ground

Hostess cont. from page 9 Remember how I said I made $48,000 in 2005 and $34,000 last year? I would make $25,000 in 5 years if I took their offer. It will be hard to replace the job I had, but it will be easy to replace the job they were trying to give me. While the BCTGM workers who stood up to Hostess may not personally benefit from their action, others might. Michael Hilliard, a University of Southern Maine economist and labor relations expert, argues that the situation could force the hand of other companies: “You’ve seen ownership practices for any kind of largescale manufacturing operation replaced by this short term financial mentality, that’s come largely from Wall Street, and looking at companies less as enterprises than as bundles of assets that can be moved around a chessboard,” Hillard said. “They’re operating with the idea that you can always squeeze more—squeeze more out of operations, squeeze more out of labor, squeeze more out of distribution, just find any way to get more profit. “The idea that this is how you run a healthy economy is a question, and so who’s standing up to this? Labor unions are one of the ways people have to make their concerns known about the economic conditions in our world,” he continued. Hilliard said that corporate investors across the economic spectrum may have to take into account the power of the working class, realizing that such obviously greedy moves will be protested like they haven’t been in the past. Kenneth Quinnell is an author for the AFL-CIO blog.

DECEMBER 2012

AFL-CIO report shows Rhode Islanders could be harmed by cuts to Social Security By John A. Pernorio

According to a new report released by the AFLCIO, 203,660 Rhode Islanders could be negatively impacted if Congress attempts cuts to Social Security, including 34,381 people with disabilities and 15,449 children. Of the 204,829 Rhode Islanders who get their health care coverage from Medicaid, 15,449 children and 28,103 seniors could be affected if the lame-duck Congress makes cuts to Medicaid benefits. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid combined deliver $6.4 billion per year into Rhode Island’s economy. As the so-called “fiscal cliff ” approaches, members of Congress have suggested cuts to benefits for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid even while calling for renewing tax cuts for the richest 2 percent. If those tax cuts are renewed, the richest 2 percent in Rhode Island would receive an average of $27,350 in tax cuts, while the rest of Rhode Islanders would receive an average of $1,180. The 2012 House Republican budget plan would cut federal support to Rhode Island’s Medicaid pro-

gram by at least $4.3 billion over 10 years. Rhode Island working families have been mobilizing around the Lame Duck session and will continue calling on Congress to end tax cuts for the richest 2 percent and to say “no” to cuts to benefits for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. “We need to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits and other important programs that support our working families. Retirees, people with disabilities and children shouldn’t have to suffer because some in Congress want to give more tax breaks to the richest 2 percent. It’s time for the richest 2 percent to pay their fair share and for our elected officials to strengthen programs that create jobs and rebuild the middle class,” said George Nee, president of the AFL-CIO. For more information, see: www.aflcio.org/content/download/57711/820151/file/RI.pdf John A. Pernorio is President of the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans.

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Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

Page 11

First jobs will be union jobs for Massachusetts casinos

According to an article written by Dan Ring on masslive.com, a company planning a casino in Palmer has reached a deal with a federation of about 50 labor unions to allow future employees to form a union at the casino and negotiate a contract. The Mohegan Sun finalized the agreement with the Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO to cover employees at its planned casino in Palmer. The agreement could help the Mohegan Sun win the lone casino license for Western Massachusetts. Under the state’s casino law, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which would award the license, must consider whether an applicant has a contract with organized labor, including hospitality services, and has the support of organized labor for its application, reports masslive.com. Paul Burns, a member of the Palmer Town Council, told masslive. com it was a very important move for the Mohegan Sun to demonstrate it is cooperating with labor. “It shows you Mohegan’s commitment,” Burns said. The agreement marks the first of its kind for any casino developer in western Massachusetts, the Mohegan Sun said. “The first jobs to be created from casino gaming in Massachusetts will be union jobs, and we’re excited to bring that opportunity to Western Mass. and the entire region,” Mitchell G. Etess, chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said in a

statement. “By formalizing this commitment to the Pioneer Valley AFLCIO, we recognize the importance of preserving worker rights to organize once our facility opens in Palmer.” The Mohegan Sun is planning to build on about 150 acres off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike. The Mohegan Sun and Ameristar Casinos, which is planning a casino in East Springfield, had both previously signed deals with the Pioneer Valley Building and Construction Trades Council of Springfield and Carpenters Local 108 to help build proposed casinos. MGM Resorts and Penn National Gaming are also proposing casinos in Springfield. In a separate development on casinos, state gaming regulators moved

ahead in their process for examining bids by casino developers. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to hire a team of Spectrum Gaming Group of Linwood, N.J., and Michael & Carroll of Atlantic City, N.J., to investigate the financial and ethical backgrounds of casino applicants, explained masslive.com. A spokeswoman for the commission could not say how much the consultants would be paid. The commission tapped the same consultants in May to develop a strategic plan and complete other tasks such as preparing regulations and application forms for background checks. The consultants, working with the Massachusetts State Police, will investigate the integrity, honesty, character, financial stability, the history of com-

pliance with gaming licensing requirements, litigation matters, and the suitability of the companies. Casino companies are expected to submit materials, along with a nonrefundable $400,000 application fee, to the commission by Jan. 15. The commission is expected to complete the process for the background checks by October. During their meeting in Boston, gaming commissioners also said they planned to approve a preliminary agreement with the state’s 15 community colleges to train casino workers. Bruce Stebbins, a commissioner, explained to masslive.com that the panel will not grant exclusive training rights to the colleges. “They can be our partners,” Stebbins said of the colleges. “It’s a good partner to have to make sure residents ... find avenues and find a path toward careers in gaming.” Elaine B. Driscoll, communications director for the commission, said commissioners decided against granting the colleges exclusive training rights because commissioners are attempting to encourage competition and did not want to shut out private companies from job training. William F. Messner, president of Holyoke Community College, had argued that exclusivity would allow the commission, casino operators, and job applicants to focus on a single training provider, reports masslive.com.

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Common Ground

DECEMBER 2012

UFCW speaks out on behalf of Walmart employees Last month, in an op-ed for the Huffington Post, United Food and Commercial Workers President Joe Hansen wrote about the struggles that Walmart Associates have long endured: low wages, poor working conditions, and inconsistent schedules. But the biggest issue these workers are facing right now is retaliation for their bravery to stand up and speak out. Read Joe’s piece, and see why he is calling for support of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) members who are going on strike this week, to take back the holidays, to get respect on the job, and unite together to stop retaliation from Walmart:

Home for the holidays? Not for Walmart workers By Joe Hansen

additional annual sales for the industry, keep prices low for shoppers, and create more than 100,000 jobs. Walmart—which paid its top six executives $59 million in compensation in the last fiscal year—can afford to pay its workers more. But instead of investing in their workers, the Walton family—whose combined family fortune is estimated to be over $100 billion—has chosen to engage in elaborate stock buybacks that take earned corporate profits and put them back into the hands of shareholders. For Walmart, stock buybacks have been the reason the Walton family’s interest in the company has risen to 51 percent—shifting the control of a so-called public company into the hands of a private family. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is more than familiar with Walmart’s tactics of silencing workers who want to unite as a group to address work-related problems. But as so often happens in our resilient American workforce, employees are taking the lead in changing the Walmart culture themselves. Last fall, the new employee association, the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), was formed by and for hourly associates in Walmart stores to help change the way Walmart does busi-

ness. In just one year, OUR Walmart has grown from a group of 100 Walmart associates to an army of thousands in hundreds of stores across 43 states. Last month, members of OUR Walmart participated in first-ever strikes and protests in cities across the country—including Chicago, Dallas, the Washington, D.C. area, Miami, Orlando, Seattle, and from Southern California to Sacramento and the Bay area. It’s time to restore some balance between the wealthy few PROVIDENCEBRUINS.COM

not provide enough hours to support a family or qualify for benefits. The retail sector is the largest industry by employment in the United States, and Walmart’s sheer scale in size means that its practices have an enormous impact on our country’s labor, business, and employment climate. The retail giant’s drive to put profits ahead of its workers has influenced other retailers to do the same, and this low-wage business strategy has, in turn, led to depressed wages across the retail and manufacturing sectors and forced more and more workers to rely on public subsidies at taxpayer expense. It doesn’t have to be this way. A recent study by Catherine Ruetschlin, a policy analyst at Demos, titled “Retails Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Overall Economy,” shows that raising wages to $25,000 per year for fulltime retail workers at the nation’s largest retail companies (or those employing at least 1,000 workers) would result in improving the lives of more than 1.5 million retail workers and their families who are currently living in or hovering above poverty. A higher wage increase would create more purchasing power for retail workers, which would generate $4 to $5 billion in

1 LaSaLLe Square, Providence, ri 02903 | Phone: 401-273-5000 | Fax: 401-273-5004

Wanted: Store Associates who will work for low pay, poor working conditions, erratic schedules—including working on Thanksgiving Day—and not enough hours to qualify for health care. Associates must be willing to live on public subsidies at taxpayer expense in order to survive. Those who try to speak out or unite as a group to address workplace issues will be silenced and possibly terminated. Please apply within your local Walmart store. As the six members of the billionaire Walton Family— heirs to the Walmart superchain—prepare to sit down to a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner with their families, the holiday will be very different for the 1.4 million Walmart associates who work for them. For the second year, Walmart is planning to put profits before its workers by beginning its Black Friday sales at 8pm on Thanksgiving Day, and forcing its workers—many of whom are part-time—to abandon quality time with their own families during a cherished American holiday. This latest move by the biggest retail employer in our country is the most recent blow to Walmart associates, who are already struggling to survive on an average hourly wage of $8.81, and are punished or fired for sticking together to address the erratic work schedules that do

and the rest of America, and we can start by making sure that our country’s biggest retail employer lets its workers have a voice and a seat at the table. On Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, these brave men and women will take a stand against the retail giant to protest Walmart’s attempt to silence workers who speak out for change. Will you join us? Joe Hansen is president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

2012-2013 PROVIDENCE BRUINS

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