UWUA News
OSHA Hadn't Inspected Fatal Plant Since 2000 Share
Harrison County power plant where a worker died last week had not been inspected by federal workplace safety officials for more than a decade, U.S. Department of Labor officials confirmed last Monday. Read More

UWUA and American Water in Rialto, CA Share
UWUA has already beaten American Water to the punch and is mobilizing with voters in Rialto to kill this bad deal once and for all. Read More

UWUA Local 223 Wins Hiring and Workforce Development Report at MichCon Share
UWUA Local 223 and the Staff of the MPSC lobbied for any efforts by MichCon in hiring new field workers in permanent positions to implement the 10 year MMO program, pointing out that it would be a benefit to the company to begin hiring and training workers now, to replace workers who will be retiring in the future. Read More

Labor News
Grocery Union Members Approve New Labor Contract Share
Workers at Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons grocery stores ratify a contract that includes some wage increases. Negotiations had lasted months. Read More

Next Up Summit: Young Workers Can Help Build Union Movement Share
Workshops, plenaries and caucuses will include issues and topics such as “Building Student-Labor Coalitions,” “Worker Solidarity—We Are One,” “Economics of a New Generation,” and “Building Power for 2012.” Read More

Industry News
San Bruno, CA Blast Investigation Results Released Share
The board unanimously agreed at a meeting last month that the accident was caused by what NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman called "a litany of failures" by PG&E, one of the nation's largest gas companies, as well as weak oversight by regulators. Read More

New Study Uncovers Skills and Education Necessary for Success in 21st Century Workforce Share
Fifty-three percent of employers say their companies face a significant challenge in recruiting non-managerial employees with the skills, training, and education their companies need. Read More

Harry Reid Announces the World’s First Hybrid Solar-Geothermal Power Plant Share
Nevada Senator Harry Reid began his time as host of the fourth National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas yesterday by announcing the world’s first hybrid solar-geothermal power plant — to be built in his state. Read More

States of Denial
‘Right to Work’: The Wrong Answer for Michigan’s Economy Share
RTW laws have no impact on the performance of state economies.  Seven of the 10 highest-unemployment states are states with RTW laws, including Nevada and Florida, which have unemployment rates higher than Michigan’s unemployment rate of 10.5%, and South Carolina, which also has an unemployment rate of 10.5%. Read More

On Jobs & Deficit Obama Requires the Wind at His Back Share
On the policy front, tax increases on the wealthy will help to roll back one of the major causes of our deficit problem: the Bush Tax Cuts. Politically, the plan will put Republicans in the position of either working with the President or, more likely, trying to argue that cutting Medicare benefits rather than taxing millionaires is the best way to reduce the deficit. Read More

The Effects of Cutting Social Security COLAs on the Living Standards of the Elderly Share
While some have characterized a changing of the inflation formula for benefits as a “painless” way to generate budget savings, the potential loss in benefits would actually be a substantial portion of most retirees’ income. Read More

The End of the Middle Class? Share
The jobs we’ve been shedding by the millions are solid, middle-class positions — the kind that could support a family and send children to college. Read More

Rank-and-File Economics Share
The out-of-the-box solution would be to organize for a comprehensive program of job creation. Blueprints for jobs-based recoveries do exist. Read More

COPE (Political Education)
Democrat Leishman Wins Hillsborough County Special Election Share
A Democrat has won a special election for a rural Hillsborough County, NH, House district, grabbing a seat in a moderate Republican bastion that is home to Rep. Charles Bass and the late Walter Peterson. Read More

Another Shutdown Battle Looms in Congress Share
"Members of Congress are playing with people's lives, not just their own political careers," said Martin Bonifanti, chief of the Lake Winola volunteer fire company in Pennsylvania. "While they are rattling on among themselves down there in Washington, people are suffering." Read More

Human Rights
Age Discrimination Exists, But It's Not About How Old You Are Share
Younger managers don’t want to hire older workers, but older managers are wary of younger workers. But, age discrimination does occur, but it’s not about actual age, it’s about wanting to work with people “like me.” Read More

NLRB Juggling More Facebook, Social Media Cases Share
"Employers are struggling to figure out what the right policies are and what they should do when these cases arise," said Michael Eastman, labor law policy director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Read More

A Shocking Call For Reform: Surpassing Car Crashes, Drugs Are Now #1 Cause of Accidental Death Share
In 2009, drug overdoses killed about 37,500 Americans, many of whom had taken a cocktail of pills or mixed prescriptions with alcohol or other drugs. Car accidents, on the other hand, took 33,800 lives that year. Read More

Veterans Affairs and Information
Female Veterans Raise Awareness At Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Share
F2F taps the power of fashion to raise awareness about the unique struggles military women face while transitioning home. Its mission is to promote a national dialogue on the challenges facing female veterans as well as raise funds to support research and services. Read More

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