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 peaceful protest of students at UNC Chapel Hill engaged in a sit-in outside Chancellor Moeser’s office to demand an end to university apparel being made in sweatshops itself ended when the Chancellor ordered their arrest.

The Chancellor’s order to arrest the students came on day 16 of the sit-in and only hours after NC AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer MaryBe McMillan appeared and spoke in solidarity with the students at a rally outside the South Building.

In a statement posted on its web site, UNC Sweatfree responded to the arrests:

“Chancellor Moeser characterized our actions as illegal, demonstrated by his order to arrest us– but let us ask, which is more criminal, taking a stand for the human rights of workers by peacefully occupying an office of a public institution that our tuition pays for, or allowing our Carolina apparel to be made under sweatshop conditions that violate international and domestic law?

“The sit-in ends with our arrests; but the campaign for justice for all workers will continue.”

UNC Chapel Hill makes considerable profits from the sale of apparel branded with its name and logo - apparel stiched with abuse of workers toiling in sweatshops. Arresting students that rightly take a stand against such injustices through peaceful, civil disobedience is an outrage. Such a heavy handed response may be typical of the authorities in countries where UNC-CH apparel is made, but it has no place at the flagship institution for higher education in North Carolina.

The NC State AFL-CIO calls on Chancellor Moeser and others in the administration of the University of North Carolina to immediately drop all charges against the students and adopt the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) so that students, faculty and Tar Heel fans everywhere can wear UNC apparel with pride.

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".

Our members at PASS (Professional Airways Systems Specialists) of NC need our help to secure passage in the Senate of FAA Reauthorization (S. 1300).

The House has passed its version of FAA Reauthorization back in September 2007. It is time for the Senate to stop dragging its feet and pass the Senate version before several important provisions of FAA reauthorization can become law.

We encourage our members to take action to support PASS. You can fire off a letter to your Senators here.

Dozens of students at UNC Chapel Hill have staged a sit-in since April 17, 2008. The students are protesting Chancellor Moeser’s refusal to adopt the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP), a program that would ensure that Chapel Hill branded apparel is not produced in sweatshops.

The DSP works by certifying only those producers that comply with UNC Chapel Hill’s code of conduct for factories that produce apparel with the UNC logo. In order to become a designated supplier, factories must provide workers with fair wages, guarantee freedom of association, eliminate forced and unpaid overtime, and provide safe working conditions.

According to a posting on their website, Chapel Hill students began their sit-in after similar protests at other universities:

“After it became clear that the UNC administration was unwilling to engage in honest and respectful discourse about the human rights concerns of students, faculty, and staff, after three years during which workers have been losing their lives and livelihoods for manufacturing UNC licensed apparel and daring to stand up for their rights, 10 UNC students began a nonviolent occupation of the lobby of South Building, 10 feet away from Chancellor James Moeser’s office. Though he cannot see the workers who suffer to make our Carolina apparel, he will see us every day until he adopts the DSP.”

Take Action in support of Students Against Sweatshops at Chapel Hill

Union members in North Carolina know all too well the suffering caused by the apparel industry’s race-to-the-bottom to produce at the lowest possible cost. Thousands of textile workers lost their jobs when textile companies in our state moved shop to places with inferior wages and working conditions.

As workers in these new production zones have stood up for their rights, organized and formed unions, apparel companies have closed factories and moved elsewhere to exploit other more desperate and impoverished people, leaving devastated communities in their wake - just like they did in NC.

Why, then, would the flagship public university of our state - with arguably one of the most recognizable brands of any college or university in America - refuse to join the DSP and end this cycle of exploitation by apparel companies?

Take a Stand for Sweatshop Free UNC-CH

The NC State AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with the students at UNC Chapel Hill as they continue their non-violent protest of a university administration which ignores that UNC apparel is made in sweatshops. We encourage our members to support them by:

1. Calling Chancellor Moeser at (919) 962-1365
   email him at chancellor@unc.edu
   fax him at (919) 962-1647
2. Calling his boss - the Board of Trustees
   (http://www.unc.edu/depts/trustees/member.html)
3. Sign the petition demanding UNC Chapel Hill adopt the DSP
   (http://www.petitiononline.com/uncchdsp/petition.html)
4. Donate food
5. Learn more about the campaign for a sweatshop free UNC and other ways you can take action
   (http://dsp4unc.wordpress.com/take-action/)

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.

2008 will surely be the most expensive election in history, and political parties at every level will need to raise and spend vast sums of money to secure victories in November.

But when Theresa Kostrzewa, contract lobbyist for Smithfield Foods and Smithfield Packing, came with check in hand, the NC Democratic Party said, “Thanks but no thanks.”

In typical fashion for a company that profits from the abuse of their workers, Smithfield responded with threats and intimidation. Well the NCDP is apparently not to be cowed by Smithfield.

Party Chair Jerry Meek wrote a scathing indictment of Smithfield and the company’s history of law breaking, union busting, and malicious corporate behavior. You can view the letter in PDF here.

Decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions. But the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous. Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs. The unions of the AFL-CIO remember these workers on April 28, Workers Memorial Day.

In Raleigh, a ceremony will be held at the Employment Security Commission at 12 noon, 700 Wade Ave, Raleigh, NC.

In the Fayetteville area, the Greater Sandhills CLC is sponsoring an event Monday from 2pm-3pm in front of the Smithfield Packing plant, 15855 NC Highway 87 West, Tar Heel, NC.

Since there is no parking at the plant, people can carpool from the Subway restaurant on Highway 87 in Tarheel. Be at the Subway by 1:30pm if you want to carpool.

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!