NC State A.F.L. – C.I.O.

This Saturday, the day before Mother’s Day, letter carriers will conduct the largest one-day food drive in the nation, having delivered over 70 million pounds of food to community food banks, pantries and shelters in each of the past four years.

What: 16th Annual NALC Food Drive

When: This Saturday, May 10, 2008

Where: mailboxes across the nation

How you can help: Place bags of nonperishable food items at your mailbox. Your letter carrier will pick them up and deliver them to local food banks.

On May 10th North Carolina Letter Carriers will carry with them more than just mail - they will carry the kindness and generosity of thousands of working men and women across our state. We hope you will join in making 2008 their most successful year ever.

Teamsters Local 391 has an aggressive attitude about organizing. That attitude is paying off as the Teamsters have recently won key organizing victories in both the public and private sectors.

“Organizing is tough,” said Jack Cipriani, Teamsters Local 391 President. “Here in North Carolina, the task is extra tough. But our recent success shows that when workers get an honest look at what the union can do for them, they overwhelmingly choose to join our ranks.

In the public sector, the Teamsters organized the State Capitol Police. Despite an archaic state law prohibiting public employees from enjoying the right to collective bargaining, nearly 90% of the officers have signed up to join.

In the private sector, the Teamsters are winning a long-running organizing battle with the company that was formerly Overnite Transportation. Once UPS bought Overnite, the union was quick to secure a card-check agreement. In a week and a half, more than 200 UPS Freight workers at five locations throughout the state signed up to join Local 391.

Said NC State AFL-CIO President James Andrews, “In each of these organizing victories the common thread is that when given a chance to freely choose union representation without coercion from their employer – workers will choose the union.”

The State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC) voted at it’s annual convention May 3 to affiliate with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). With 55,000 members, SEANC was the largest independent public employee association in the United States not affiliated with a union.

“This vote marks the largest union victory ever for working people across the South — especially in North Carolina, which previously had the lowest rate of unionization in the country,” said SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope.

SEANC now becomes SEIU Local 2008.

The 2008 session of Carolina Labor School will be held on the campus of UNC-Wilmington on Sunday, June 22 - Friday, June 27.

Download the flyer and registration form.

Because of limited meeting space, we put a cap on the number of registrations we accept. Confirmations are made on a first-come, first-serve basis. The deadline to register is May 30, 2008.

For more information, contact Jeremy at (919) 833-6678.

Few people in the United States know that May 1, 2008 is a holiday - International Workers’ Day - recognized in almost every country with the exception of the U.S., Canada, and South Africa. Ironically, it was U.S. workers that founded the holiday.

International Workers’ Day (also known as May Day) is deeply rooted in the American union movement - specifically the struggle during the late 1800s for an 8-hour workday.

In 1884 at its annual convention in Chicago, the precursor to the American Federation of Labor announced that from May 1, 1886 henceforth, the 8-hour workday would constitute a "legal day’s labor".

You can learn about the Brief Origins of May Day in an article by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

The AFL-CIO Blog has a great article about May Day celebrations going on today.

Letter Carriers and Postal Workers in NC Observe Workers’ Memorial Day and May Day

The Nathaniel Greene Branch 630 of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) in Greensboro and Memorial Branch 936 in High Point observed today a two minute moment of silence on May 1st at 9:15 AM, in opposition to the US war in Iraq. The APWU and the Rural Letter Carriers locals in High Point also participated with Branch 936 in the protest.

Branch 936’s observance also includes recognition of Workers’ Memorial Day. Branch 936 President Annie Woods said her branch is memorializing all the lives lost in the ongoing Iraq War as well as all U.S. workers who died this past year in on-the-job injuries.

These North Carolina union actions are in solidarity with the San Francisco Labor Council, the San Francisco Letter Carriers Union, the New York City Metro APWU and many others. All these unions decided to act following the decision of the West Coast Longshoremen’s Union (ILWU) to hold a day shift 8 hour work stoppage on May Day in opposition to the US war in Iraq.

The NC State AFL-CIO adopted Resolution 12: Bring the Troops Home Now at our 50th Annual Convention last fall. In the resolution, delegates to the convention highlighted the great cost of the Iraq War borne by our armed forces abroad and working families at home and found "the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives needs to stop".

Reynolds still refuses to meet with FLOC to discuss the plight of their tobacco field workers. FLOC supporters will gather Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at the Reynolds American Plaza Building, RAI’s corporate offices, on 401 N Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC.

What: Take action at Reynolds shareholder meeting

When: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 8:00 AM

Where: Reynolds American Plaza, 401 N Main St, Winston-Salem, NC

There are two important areas of participation the day of the shareholders meeting:

1. Fifty or more people will act as “proxies” and enter the shareholders meeting with FLOC to participate. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS ASAP so we can process the paperwork to enter the meeting. Email flocnc@floc.com or call organizer Evan Hughes at 919-360-4410 to volunteer or with any questions.
2. There will be a simultaneous event outside the shareholders meeting to bring the message of Justice to the general public. This is your chance to get creative and make signs, puppets, and banners.

Download the flyer for this event.

Next Tuesday, April 29th, members of the Alliance @ IBM, a division of CWA, and their supporters will take action with a picket line and rally outside the IBM shareholders meeting in Charlotte.

What: IBM Stockholder action and picket line

When: Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Time: 8:30 am picket line and 12:30 pm rally

Where: Charlotte Convention Center, 501 South College St, Charlotte, NC

Download the flyer for this event.

The Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) represents a continuation of the Bush administration’s failed trade policies, an agenda that has contributed to the loss of more than 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2000, skyrocketing trade deficits and shrinking paychecks.

The Columbia deal was drafted and signed by the Bush administration before the expiration last summer of its “fast-track” trade authority - authority that required the House and Senate to vote up or down without amendments on trade agreements within 90 days of their being introduced to the Congress, which the President did last week.

Unable to amend the language of the Columbia FTA, the Democratic controlled House voted to change House rules and eliminated the deadline, without which this dangerous “free trade” agreement hopefully will just die in the Congress.

How did your Congressman / Congresswoman vote on the rule change?

Colombia remains the most dangerous country in the world for union members–39 trade unionists were murdered in 2007 and another 17 to date in 2008. Of the more than 2,500 murders of trade unionists since 1986, only some 70 cases–about 3 percent–have resulted in convictions.

Balanced trade agreements must guarantee the right to organize, lift the lives of workers in both countries and prevent exploitation. But this can’t happen in a country where workers who try to organize are killed.

Last October we told you about a new campaign to pressure Reynolds American Tobacco to recognize FLOC as the bargaining representative for the hundreds of field workers that pick the tobacco Reynolds uses in their products. Reynolds still refuses to meet with the union to discuss the plight of their workers.

The time has come to take the campaign to the next level - to the Reynolds shareholders meeting. FLOC supporters will gather Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at the Reynolds American Plaza Building, RAI’s corporate offices, on 401 N Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC.

There are two important areas of participation the day of the shareholders meeting:

1. Fifty or more people will act as “proxies” and enter the shareholders meeting with FLOC to participate. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS ASAP so we can process the paperwork to enter the meeting. Email flocnc@floc.com or call organizer Evan Hughes at 919-360-4410 to volunteer or with any questions.
2. There will be a simultaneous event outside the shareholders meeting to bring the message of Justice to the general public. This your chance to get creative and make signs, puppets, and banners. More information on rally-art parties to come.

We are looking forward to an exciting event that will make clear that FLOC and farmworkers will not back down until Reynolds comes to the table to discuss the deplorable conditions in the tobacco harvest.

What: Take action at Reynolds shareholder meeting

When: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 8:00 AM

Where: Reynolds American Plaza, 401 N Main St, Winston-Salem, NC

The North Carolina HOPE Coalition is co-sponsoring a teach-in on collective bargaining rights with the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change and Traction. Scheduled for April 3rd on the campus of North Carolina Central University, the teach-in is timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary Martin Luther King, Jr’s stand with public employees in Memphis, TN.

What: A teach-in on Collective Bargaining at North Carolina Central University

When: Thursday, April 3, 2008 from 7 to 9 pm

Where: NCCU Student Union building

On April 3, 1968, Dr. King delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top” speech at the Mason Temple in Memphis, TN. King had returned to Memphis to support striking public sector workers in the city sanitation department. The public employees had been on strike since they walked off the job February 12 of that year to protest dangerous working conditions, poverty level wages, a lack of respect on the job, and to demand recognition of their union. The next day, April 4, 1968, King was assassinated.

A little over a week later the sanitation workers and their representatives reached an agreement with the City of Memphis to recognize the union, AFSCME, and bargain over the conditions of employment, thereby ending the strike.

Public employees in North Carolina have no right to collective bargaining due to a now 50-year old law that bans state, county, and local governments from entering into contracts with their employees. Repeal of the statue, GS 95-98 is a top priority of the HOPE Coalition, of which the NC State AFL-CIO is a charter member.

At the teach-in you can learn more about collective bargaining - what it means, why it’s matters, and how to secure it for NC public employees. The session will include a brief video on Dr. King and will include food and refreshments. Attendance is open to the public, and there is no cost to attend this event.

Download the flyer for this event.

Sign-on For HOPE

Our effort to gather signatures onto an open letter to members of the General Assembly continues. You can see the list of signers as of April 1, 2008 at the HOPE website.

If you have yet to join this effort, it’s not too late to add your signature, today!

The state federation has developed a strategic plan that includes hands-on support for central labor councils, APRI and the Alliance for Retired Americans.

We have conducted two very successful trainings for Labor 2008 political coordinators. At the meetings in Charlotte and in Fayetteville, President Andrews and Secretary-Treasurer McMillan facilitated the discussion and got commitments from local leaders on a number of action points.

Special thanks to Southern Piedmont CLC president Will Cashion, Greater Sandhills CLC president Tony McKinnon and area labor leaders.

In addition to the regional political coordinator trainings, the North Carolina State AFL-CIO is sponsoring a one day training session on the national AFL-CIO economic education effort called “An Economy that Works for All.” This training is intended for political coordinators, legislative chairs and union staff who, after going through the training, will be able and willing to deliver the presentation to their local union and other unions in the area. This training session will take place at our state office on Thursday, Feb.28, 2008.

Also, to support Labor 2008 and other important programs, we are working to re-build central labor councils around the state. This work includes some financial assistance to staff some of the program work in each area.

Already we can report the Southeastern CLC in Wilmington is now re-building its membership base with the help of the North Carolina State AFL-CIO and has just elected new officers.

Yet more welfare for an undeserving corporation

Once the employer of 1,450 workers in NC, many of them union members of USW Local 850, Continental Tire (CTNA) in recent years has all but ceased production here, choosing to open shop in Brazil. In moving its North American headquarters to Lancaster, SC, the tire maker would complete the process of abandoning Charlotte, Mecklenberg county and our state.

The company has yet to fulfill its obligations to employees and retirees under their collective bargaining agreement, and many hundreds of those who have lost their livelihoods live in Lancaster county or elsewhere in SC. Unemployment in Lancaster is now at 10.9%, the highest in the state.

Sadly, the failure of CTNA to keep covenant with its workers apparently isn’t enough to dissuade state and local government in SC from extending possibly millions of dollars in corporate welfare to relocate 300 white collar jobs across the state line.

In an article in the Charlotte Observer, a company spokesman believes it can get a sweet deal from the tax payers, especially in desperate Lancaster county:

"South Carolina does have a very proactive business climate," said Continental spokesman Rick Holcomb.

The article continues:

The company has been offered incentives from the county and the state to relocate. The state would not release details about the incentives it offered because it says it has a year to finalize them with the company.

The Lancaster County Council, though, will vote on an incentive package that would freeze Continental’s property fees at 6 percent in lieu of taxes and would offer a 95 percent property tax rebate the first year and a 65 percent rebate the second year — about $200,000, said Keith Tunnell, president of the Lancaster County Economic Development Corporation.

It is time to stop giving tax breaks and other welfare to corporations that break their promises to American employees, ship their jobs overseas, and extort the very state and local governments left holding the ball with false hope and empty promises.

Below is a list of Lancaster county government officials who no doubt will be deciding on those incentives and their contact information:

• Bryan Vaughn
  swvaughn@yahoo.com / home: 803-802-6651
• Fred Thomas, Vice-Chairman
  ham@comporium.net / business: 803-416-2999
• Wesley Grier, Secretary
  grier1949@yahoo.com / home: 803-285-7796
• Larry Honeycutt
  lhoney@comporium.net / home: 803-246-0021
• Rudy Carter, Chairman
  rudylc@comporium.net / business: 803-285-3929 / home: 803-286-4961
• Jack Estridge, District 6
  home: 803-475-2849
• Wayne Kersey, District 7
  fayekersey@yahoo.com / business: 803-285-2130 / home: 803-285-9711 / cell: 803-287-9453

On February 9, thousands of activists, including hundreds of union members, rallied for a progressive legislative agenda, including justice for the Smithfield workers and collective bargaining for public employees. The rally and march were part of the second annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HK on J) event organized by the NC NAACP and over 80 partner organizations including the NC AFL-CIO.

During the rally at Chavis Park in Raleigh, participants heard rousing speeches from Rev. Dr. William Barber, president of the NC NAACP and other progressive activists including three speakers from labor:

• NC AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer MaryBe McMillan speaking on a living wage,
• Alvin Vincent, Regional Director for UFCW speaking on justice for Smithfield workers, and
• Ashaki Binta of the HOPE Coalition speaking for collective bargaining rights for public employees.

After the rally, the crowd took to the streets and marched to Legislative Building to demand that our elected officials protect workers’ rights, provide affordable healthcare, educate all children, and address inequities in the criminal justice system.

Thanks to the many union members who came to HK on J including delegations from UFCW, USW, IBEW, UNITE HERE, IBT, and the Carpenters Union. Special thanks to Ricky McDowell and the UAW Civil Rights Council for bringing a busload of UAW members to the event. We will need the help of all union members during the upcoming legislative session to achieve collective bargaining and the other goals of the HK on J. Stay tuned on how you can help.

HOPE Coalition Seeks 1,000 Signatures for Letter to Lawmakers

When it comes to setting the conditions of their employment, union members know that only a collective bargaining agreement gives them a voice at work. North Carolina’s public employees, unfortunately, have no such protection. Since 1958, General Statue 95-98 has outlawed contracts between state, county and municipal governments and their employees.

As a core member of the Hear Our Public Employees Coalition, our State Federation has been part of the strongest push in recent memory for repeal of the law that prohibits collective bargaining agreements in North Carolina. A bill that would do just that, HB 1583, passed out of a Judiciary committee and is now in the Appropriations committee. It was the first occasion in memory that legislation on this issue has made it through a committee. Although the bill still faces a difficult path, it remains alive.

To build support for passage of HB 1583, HOPE has set a goal of collecting 1,000 signatures onto an open letter to lawmakers. Both individuals and organizations can join this effort.

We urge you to be a signer on the open letter to North Carolina legislators. Download the sign-on page, complete the form at the bottom, and return it to HOPE to add your signature. After you add your signature, ask your local union, friends, family, church or civic group to consider doing the same.

Public employees of state and local governments provide essential services to the citizens of North Carolina. Everyday these civil servants deliver for the people of our great state. Now we can return the favor by delivering for them our 1,000 signatures to the General Assembly. Sign on for collective bargaining rights, today!

On behalf of the officers and volunteers of the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, we would like to thank the affiliates of the NC State AFL-CIO and your members for your continued and steadfast support of our work to serve labor and the community at large.

On average, the NC A.P.R.I. supports 20 families a month with food, clothing, and other needs. Our Food Bank used to be able to provide these families with frozen foods including meats, fruits and vegetables. However, after squeezing many years of use out of our deep freezer, it recently died.

We are appealing for your help in getting a replacement new or used chest freezer. If you have one that you would like to donate or if you know someone who might, we would greatly appreciate it! Please contact our office at (919) 833-6671. Another way folks could help would be with a tax deductible contribution made payable to:

NC A. Philip Randolph Institute
1408 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC 27605

Sincerely,

Mary Montford
Community Services Chairperson