Friday, September 24, 2010

A broken job creation tool where millionaire developers rule

Big tax breaks for corporations that don’t produce jobs… Public subsidies for million-dollar luxury condos… Influence-peddling by politically-connected businesses…

Sadly, that just about sums up the sorry state New York’s job creation programs. While everyday New Yorkers struggle to find a job and pay the bills and small businesses try to keep their heads above water, our state’s main job creation programs are favoring corporate giveaways over smart investments that could create quality jobs and get our economy back on track.

This week, the New York Daily News reported that Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino is fighting to hold on to a $1.4 million tax break for a company that created only one job and put back into the economy less than it took out. Paladino could be the poster child for what's wrong with so-called economic development in New York. His companies have received millions in IDA subsidies. He successfully lobbied to change Empire Zone boundaries, established to generate jobs and economic growth in areas with high poverty and unemployment, in order to collect tax breaks on a waterfront luxury condominium development. As a result, he was able to avoid paying $875,000 in sales taxes and the buyers of the million-dollar condos will enjoy more than $5 million in property tax breaks over the next 10 years.

But he's not alone. As we recently documented, New York's biggest job creation program handed out $135 million of your tax dollars to companies that created no jobs or actually cut them. Fortunately, state political leaders recently wised up and eliminated the wasteful and much-abused Empire Zone program. But IDAs, now the largest job creation tool in the state, have been allowed to maintain the status quo.

Let's send a message to all state candidates that we won't stand for an unaccountable job creation program that pads the pockets of millionaires instead of delivering the good jobs we need:

Sign our petition to reform IDAs today!

Tell the Buffalo Bills to Respect Westin Hotel Workers

As fans of workers' rights, and fair wages and working conditions, take a moment to send a message to the Buffalo Bills and tell them to respect the boycott of the Westin Hotel in Providence. Workers at the Westin called for a boycott after their employer imposed 20% wage cuts and tripled their health care costs. Ask the Bills to avoid patronizing this hotel during their upcoming game in New England. Tell them not to eat, sleep or meet at the Westin Hotel until this labor dispute is resolved.


Background:

In March the employees of the Westin Providence hotel voted 138-2 to boycott the hotel because of unfair labor practices.

The General Counsel of the National Labor Relation Board has authorized a massive complaint against the Westin Hotel. The NLRB in Washington D.C found merit in the Union’s charges against the Westin’s March 11, 2010 imposition of 20% wage cuts, tripling of health care cost, and subcontracting that cost 50 union workers their jobs.

We need your help, so we ask that you do not eat, sleep or meet at the Westin Hotel.
The employees of the Westin Providence have received an incredible outpouring of support from the Providence community and from around the country. You can read some of the great press on the boycott here:

http://www.projo.com/video/?nvid=414110

http://www.projo.com/news/content/HOTEL_BOYCOTT_05-27-10_OJIKVC1_v15.89a56c7.html

http://www.projo.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=414300

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) Appeals for Support

Many of you are familiar with the work of WIVB - TV, News Channel 4. Journalists at the station have asked for support in their struggle for a fair contract. Quality journalism remains an important aspect of our democratic society, thus we feel that journalists should be adequately compensated. We are posting an appeal that was sent to us by the folks at WIVB-TV, and at the end of the appeal, there is information about a rally being held this Thursday, 9/23, at 12:00 noon at 2077 Elmwood, where the WIVB station is located.


An Appeal to Maintain Quality Standards in Western NY

As the anchors and reporters of WIVB-TV, Channel 4, we are proud to work for Buffalo’s number one local news station. We work hard every day to gather and deliver the news that matters to our community. We are members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA, AFL-CIO), and we need your support in our struggle to get a fair contract that ensures quality journalism.

We are the top Buffalo news station precisely because of our ability to attract and retain the top journalists in our market. We want to ensure that the stories we produce in the future are based on meticulous investigative reporting and production. The owners of WIVB-TV − Rhode Island-based LIN Media − want to make drastic changes in the way news is reported and to the wages and working conditions of its employees. LIN wants to decide how stories are produced without input from professional journalists. In addition, they want to cut some employees’ pay by as much as 30% and to deny pay increases over the life of the contract, even though they are doing very well financially.

Our last collective bargaining agreement with WIVB-TV expired on September 30, 2008. We negotiated with management in a good faith effort to reach a new agreement until December 2009, when management declared an impasse, ceased bargaining with us and simply implemented their last contract proposal. They have already raised the cost of our health insurance and stopped contributing to our retirement accounts.

If the corporation was simply trying to save money, why did the top five executives at LIN Media receive more than $550,000 in bonuses last year? We believe they are attempting to cut costs by penalizing those who have helped the station achieve its number one ranking, even as its top executives line their own pockets. In addition, we believe their destructive changes in the newsroom will result in a decline in the quality news reporting that has made WIVB-TV an award-winning local news station. If WIVB-TV is going to maintain high standards and continue to bring the quality news reporting our region has come to expect, we need your help.

As professional news reporters and anchors, we cannot agree to LIN Media’s changes without reasonable protections that allow us to continue to safely and responsibly deliver the news. We are fighting to keep quality news in our community and we need your support to achieve this goal.

PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR RALLY at NOON (12pm)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

WIVB STATION, 2077 ELMWOOD AVENUE, BUFFALO

HELP US SEND A MESSAGE TO LIN MEDIA THAT
QUALITY JOURNALISM MATTERS TO WESTERN NY

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Mott’s Workers Achieve Victory with Ratification of New Contract


As you may recall, over 300 Mott’s workers in Williamson, NY went on strike on May 23, 2010, due to unfair requests that the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) was making in regards to the workers’ new contracts. DPS was looking to reduce wages and benefits and was making attempts to break their union, Retail, Wholesale, and Department Stores Workers (SWDSU) Local 220.

Yesterday, these workers found victory with the ratification of a new contract. Through their hard work and tremendous popular support, Mott’s workers have a new contract that restores their current wage levels and continues defined-benefit plans. Mott’s workers will be returning to work on Monday, September 20, 2010, knowing that they were able to stand up for themselves, take action for and achieve what they know is right, and were able to show that there is strength in numbers.

Furthermore, this strike demonstrates that good jobs are important and worth fighting for, and that companies should not try to reverse labor standards that have been set in place. If corporations try to reduce workers’ standard of living, it is important to recall this strike and numerous actions before it, take example and stand strong and united in face of injustice.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Mott's Worker's Strike and the Fight Against Corporate Greed


After extensive research, we produced this article which will be coming out in CEJ's Fall Newsletter. We thought it was a very important story, so we decided to post it here as well...


The Mott's Worker's Strike and the Fight Against Corporate Greed
You may not know this, but about 100 miles east of Buffalo, a major battle in the fight against corporate greed is being waged. In the town of Williamson, NY, over 300 workers from RWDSU (Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Workers) Local 220 at the Mott’s manufacturing plant have been on strike since May 23rd over a proposed new contract that would reduce pay and benefits along with a whole other list of concessions. This affront comes at a time of record profits for the company who owns Mott’s, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, which is seeking to take advantage of a depressed economy as an opportunity to lower wages and benefits, and attempt to break the union.

According to workers, things began to noticeably change at the Mott’s plant over 2 years ago, when Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) bought the company from Cadbury Schweppes. As soon as that happened, DPS began eliminating any and all benefits which were not explicitly included in the contract. These included family parties, hot dog roasts for surpassing production goals, free hams at Easter, and audaciously even, the elimination of a popular work-safety committee. The family-oriented, cooperative atmosphere of the plant was systematically eroded. DPS began following the contract to the letter, to the point where one long-time employee was fired for carrying a knife in his locker that he used to open boxes with.

When it came time this spring to renew a contract, the company failed to negotiate in good faith, presenting an offer which included $3.00 per hour pay cuts, reduction in company contributions to the 401 (k) retirement plans, no pension plan for new employees, and higher health care premiums. The deal would also include the ability of DPS to assign employees to different job titles and pay grades at will, on a day to day basis. For some workers, this new contract would mean the difference between having a good job and living at the poverty level. DPS would not cooperate in negotiations, saying that if the contract was not signed, upon expiration of the current contract they would institute $1.50 wage cuts and benefit reductions, meaning that a good paying job at $38,000 per year would become a $30,000 per year job. Union representation came back to the table with their own offer, conceding 3-year wage freezes but leaving benefits intact. When this offer was rejected by DPS, the RWDSU 220 knew their only option was to strike.

It would be one thing if Dr. Pepper Snapple needed to reduce pay and benefits for financial survival. RWDSU Local 220 has made concessions when times were tight before. However, this past year the company enjoyed a record $555 million in profits. According to RWDSU Local 220’s Bruce Beal, $50 million alone came from the Mott’s plant in Williamson. Perhaps as a result of the record profits, DPS CEO Larry Young received a pay increase this year, up to $6.5 million – a 113% increase from three years ago.

During a meeting between RWDSU and DPS representatives, RWDSU President Larry Applebaum was told that workers should think of themselves like a commodity, such as soybeans or oil. When supply increases, price should decrease, regardless of how large a profit the company was making. If wage reductions would mean that employees could not afford their car or their house, they should sell those things because they were “living beyond their means”. DPS was looking to take advantage of economic hardship and unemployment within the community at large as a justification to pay its employees less. Should they succeed, it would only make the local economy suffer further, as available income to spend at local businesses would decrease as well.

Currently, the Mott’s plant in Williamson is operating with replacement workers from NY State and across the country. As evidence to the skill of the RWDSU Local 220 workforce, the plant, which normally runs at an 87% efficiency rate, is down to a 12% rate. Production has dropped from the usual 40,000 cases per day to around 6,000, while the quality of the product has also suffered. It seems financially unwise for the company to refuse to negotiate. However, Bruce Beal of RWDSU Local 220 put it into a larger picture, saying “their main goal is to break this union,” adding that, “they feel the best way to get to the workers is to go after their pocket books.”

RWDSU Local 220 grows stronger every day, due to the tremendous support they are receiving. Although 10 of the 300 workers are dealing with expensive chemotherapy treatments for cancer, the national RWDSU has paid for their insurance so they can continue treatment. However, as fall rolls around, apple growers are getting anxious as to where they will be selling their product. Currently, 20% of the apples grown in NY State are purchased by Mott’s. Obviously, it is urgent for all involved that the situation becomes resolved as soon as possible. RWDSU is calling on Dr. Pepper Snapple to come to the table to negotiate a new contract in good faith.

As this strike has evolved, entering its 4th month, it has taken on a much broader significance in the context of the fight against corporate greed. Workers across the country have taken notice of what Dr. Pepper Snapple is doing to the employees at Mott’s. This strike is about a set of principles - that good jobs are important and worth fighting for, and that companies that are doing well financially should not be able to take advantage of a down economy to erode the standards of labor in this country that folks have worked so hard in fighting for. If RWDSU Local 220 can show that workers are a powerful force that will not be moved, it will send a message to other companies that may prevent them from doing the same thing to their employees. Victory for the Mott’s workers would represent another major blow to the forces of corporate greed.

For more information, and how to support RSWDU Local 220 and their strike, visit http://www.mottsworkers.org/. There you will find information about how to contribute to the “RWDSU Mott’s Hardship Fund”, and a list of Dr. Pepper Snapple products that they are urging consumers to boycott.

You can also write or fax a letter to DPS President & CEO Larry Young at
5301 Legacy Drive, Plano, TX 75024 or fax it to (972) 673-7976 (RWDSU asks that you please also fax a copy of your letter to the RWDSU at 212-779-2809)


Thanks to Tom Campbell @ WNYLaborToday, Ari Paul @ The Nation, and Stephen Greenhouse @ NY Times, among others, whose research greatly contributed to the writing of this report.