Sometimes stories happen because of planning; other times serendipity intervenes, which is how we got to the conversation we’ll be having today.
In an exchange of comments on the Blue Hampshire site, I proposed an idea that could be of real value to unions, workers...and surprisingly, employers.
If things worked out correctly, not only would lots of people feel a real desire to have unions represent them, but employers would potentially be coming to unions looking to forge relationships, and, just to make it better, this plan bypasses virtually all of the tools and techniques employers use to shut out union organizers.
Since I just thought this up myself, I’m really not sure exactly how practical the whole thing is, and the last part of the discussion today will be provided by you, as I ask you to sound off on whether this plan could work, and if so, how it could be made better.
It’s a new week...so let’s all put our heads together and rebuild the labor movement, shall we?
As I've disclaimed previously, I'm helping my friend Shelia Smoot in her July 13 runoff election for the AL-07 Congressional seat. I've said a lot about Shelia and why I think she is the best person to represent the constituents of this district.
However, I want to try something different and offer you some quotes and testimony that come from others about Shelia. Here I start with an endorsement from a supporter in Eutaw, Alabama that was submitted to the campaign
From Debbie in Eutaw, AL - I believe that Shelia's vision alone, on upgrading technology in the rural area, will bring the black belt into the information age and make this generation competitive.
Below the fold you will find more endorsements and testimony about Shelia
One of the very first things I learned when I began helping out at Democratic Headquarters was that everything we distributed needed to have a union "bug" on it to assure labor unions we appreciated them and weren't taking for granted their support, volunteers, money and, eventually, the votes of their members ... all of which they would certainly withhold if the bug wasn't on literature, shirts and so forth. Exceptions could be made for small quantities, but the words "Produced in house, labor donated" needed to be on even those items. This was all new to me (as I was new to politics) but the way people told it, the sky would fall if you left off the union bug.
For the unfamiliar, union bugs are the little union emblems on printed items, as shown to the right. They testify that the product was printed in a union shop. Because they're usually so small as to be virtually unreadable they look a bit buglike, hence the name. Those bugs in the illustration are all from shirts in our household and, believe it or not, that selection is just from shirts recently laundered and stacked on the washer waiting to be put away. No shortage of union bugs here!
But recent events indicate the union bug is destined to follow the boll weevil into oblivion. Things look grim for the little rascal, at least in Alabama's 7th Congressional District where Shelia Smoot's campaign continues to distribute union-bug free literature, just asthey did before the June 1 primary. The images below are of items being passed out by the Smoot campaign at a Jefferson County Young Democrats event this past Monday evening.
This piece (also shown front and back) does not bear a union bug, although it clearly says "Paid for by Smoot for Congress, P.O. Box ..."
The Smoot campaign was also passing out this piece (also shown front and back) of literature at the same event and it has a union bug right under her elbow, so someone on the campaign knows about bugs:
The real irony here is that Shelia Smoot herself was not at the event where these particular cards were passed out. She had gone to Mobile, to talk to labor leaders about an endorsement. And in fact, the very next day she was able to announce that the Southwest Alabama Labor Council had endorsed her for the runoff in the 7th CD. She had already been endorsed by AEA and the Montgomery and Tuscaloosa Area Labor Councils.
Yes, Shelia Smoot is definitely breaking new ground here, making it clear that Alabama labor organizations are broad-minded and big-hearted enough to no longer give a damn about whether campaigns use union shops for production of campaign materials or not.
Good bye little union bug, we'll miss you, but I reckon Alabama candidates -- even Democrats -- just don't need you any more.
Shelia Smoot's relationship with unions was mentioned a couple of days ago in the comments of this thread. The Selma Times-Journal also notes that Smoot needs labor on board to squeeze past Terri Sewell in a runoff.
Smoot has an arduous task getting labor to back her. She’s made a couple of fatal mistakes.
Before the primary election Smoot criticized the way the unions decided to interview candidates, something the devout aren’t about to overlook.
But the greatest sin of this self-proclaimed pro-union candidate rests in her campaign literature.
Recently, some pieces of campaign literature appeared in the district without the union bug appearing anywhere on it.
"I'm for labor, but you know it would be nice if the female candidates in this race, got an opportunity to be interviewed by ALFA. We did not. It would be very intriguing if the women in this race would be allowed to be interviewed by all the unions. We were not given that opportunity. So no, some of us don't have those endorsements. But you are talking to Shelia Smoot, UAW proud and UAW strong."
"I don't need an endorsement for a union; I am union."
Now she needs union endorsements. And apparently her campaign distributed a lot of literature lacking a union bug in the final weeks of the campaign. Images below the fold. These pieces came from Jefferson County, but the same literature was reported in other counties in the 7th CD as well.
The UMWA endorsed both Artur Davis and Ron Sparks for governor back in January. Today their leadership rescinded the Davis endorsement and endorsed Sparks only. So much for "our word is our bond." Why did the Alabama UMWA take this unusual action?
The passage of the health care bill by Congress in March "will not reduce or change any of the current health care benefits UMWA active members, retirees and their families receive," UMWA President Roberts said.
“And it will not mean a tax increase for UMWA members or their families, now or in the future," Roberts said. "Any excise taxes that our members’ benefits may be subject to won't become effective until 2018. If some portion of those benefits were to be subject to that tax at that time, it would be paid by the insurance providers, not individuals members.”
That really doesn't sound like HCR was a deal breaker for UMWA members or had a huge impact on their lives. On the other hand, Davis has supported -- and VOTED FOR --
So, Artur Davis has voted for the interests of working people time after time after time, but now the only vote that matters is the latest one? Tell me, if these are the rules Labor lives by, why should any Representative consider their wishes before casting a vote? After all, they can always make it up on the next one, right?
This is how union leaders make their organizations politically irrelevant.
... an opportunity to highlight the preventable nature of most workplace accidents and ill health and to promote campaigns and union organisation in the fight for improvements in workplace safety. The slogan for the day is Remember the dead - Fight for the living.
Don Blankenship, the man ultimately in charge of Massey Energy's West Virginia mine where 29 workers died in an explosion April 5, assured financial analysts last week that safety is paramount in his operation.
Massey, the country's fourth largest mining company, issued a statement that same day asserting that a review of conditions in the Upper Big Branch mine uncovered no problems shortly before the blast that killed more workers than any other mine disaster in nearly four decades.
All that could only mean one thing, right? Massey did nothing wrong and bears no responsibility. So clearly the disaster was an act of God or an omission by workers. God killed them. Or they killed themselves.
...
That contention -- that God's hand or worker blunder caused a disaster -- is a bogus employer excuse that managers frequently dredge up. The supervisor of the Westray Mine in Canada, where 26 workers died in an explosion in 1992, did the same thing. A government-commissioned report on that catastrophe recounts that manager, Gerald Phillips, "blatently blamed the miners for the explosion." It's a refrain that might be repeated in the aftermath of the Tesoro refinery blast on April 2 that killed seven workers and the explosion on the Transocean Ltd. oil offshore oil drilling platform on April 20 that killed 11 workers.
It's a lie. And when workers die, it's a damned lie. Employers are responsible for maintaining safe working environments. Yet, across this country, 14 workers are killed on the job every day. The American people and their government must hold employers accountable. Or the workplace killing will never stop.
Amen, brother!
Safety regulations aren't just an extra expense on the bottom line; they're a matter of life and death for working people.
OMG, black people just can't stand Artur Davis. He's in trouble and "falling like a rock." Then again, maybe that's a bit of an overreach in light of this development:
Sixteen black mayors from across Alabama announced their support for Artur Davis for Governor today, citing his track record of standing up for ordinary Alabamians and his vision for creating jobs and improving public schools.
“I know Artur Davis, I know his track record of standing up and fighting for communities like mine, and I am proud to support him for Governor,” said Selma Mayor George Evans.
Prichard Mayor Ron Davis added, “Artur Davis will be a Governor who puts the needs of ordinary people over the agenda of special interests. He has the right vision to improve Alabama’s public schools and rebuild our economy,”
Artur Davis welcomed the support of Alabama’s black mayors. “For years, I have said that I do not need nor will I seek the permission of Montgomery's power brokers, regardless of race, to run for office and serve the people of Alabama. These grassroots endorsements are a signal that the era where one voice can speak for an entire community is over.”
Congressman Davis continued, “Entrenched forces in Montgomery prefer to maintain their stranglehold on the levers of power and they will not support this campaign because I am not beholden to their agenda and will not be controlled with their special interest money. The support of these Mayors - the people closest to their communities - is the strongest sign yet that we can take back our state. I look forward to fighting against special interests as Governor and advocating for the people of Alabama."
Mobile Mayor Sam Jones endorsed Davis for governor months ago. News flash: Mayor Jones is black, too.
Artur Davis isn't unpopular with black Alabamians, he's unpopular with some power brokers in the black community who are quite content with business as usual -- and don't want to see their influence further diminished.
No one better understands how broken state government is than the people at city and county levels, struggling to meet the day to day needs of their communities. Mayors, city councils and county commissions have their hands tied by the 1901 Constitution. Whenever their communities need zoning, economic development or most anything else, they're forced to go hat in hand to Montgomery, spend precious resources on lobbyists and beg the Legislature for permission -- often in the form of another Constitutional Amendment which is then subject to statewide approval. The system is broken -- and that's not even getting into the difficulties posed by the patronage system. It's shouldn't be surprising that mayors are lining up behind Davis, the candidate who will at least try to change the status quo.
Full list of mayors endorsing Artur Davis is below the fold.
As a Congressman, Artur Davis has been supportive of issues important to working people, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the EFCA. Today at IAFF Local 117 in Birmingham, the Alabama chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters endorsed him for governor, praising his strong record of support.
“Our executive board unanimously decided to endorse Artur Davis for Governor for the great state of Alabama because of his unwavering support for us while he was in Congress,” said State President Dale Wyatt. “He stood by us on all of our issues that are important to fire fighters across the state of Alabama and we're proud today to announce his endorsement.”
Congressman Davis thanked the PFF for their endorsement and vowed to continue to be a champion for fire fighters as governor. “I have enormous admiration both personally and professionally for the men and women who wake up every single morning and go on a shift every single day and literally risk their safety and their lives to keep our communities safe,” said Davis. “As a Member of Congress, I've been proud to stand with the men and women behind me and I will continue to stand with them as governor.”
The IAFF has 33 affiliates in Alabama with over 2,300 members.
On March 25, 1911, approximately 500 young women - most of them Jewish and Italian immigrants aged 15 to 30 - arrived for work at the Triangle Waist Company, a New York sweatshop factory that made tailored blouses for women and paid the workers an average of $6/week.
Of the 500 women who reported for work that day, only 354 would leave alive.
The factory occupied the top three floors of the Asch Building, a 10-story building on Washington Square in Manhattan. To "prevent theft," the workers were required to leave by a single exit so their purses could be checked. Other exits were locked from the outside.
This anti-theft measure would prove fatal to many.
When the fire broke out on the 8th floor at approximately 4:40pm, the workers first tried to extinguish the blaze with the 27 buckets of water available - the only anti-fire precaution taken by the owners. However, the water was soon exhausted and the fire spread.
Many workers on the 8th floor were able to escape by elevator and the stairs. Workers above them though were trapped by the rapidly spreading flames feeding on the cotton cloth. Some tried the small fire escape, but it collapsed under the weight of so many people.
Others waited for the fire department to rescue them with ladders and nets, but the ladders only reached to the 6th floor of the building; the nets shredded when multiple bodies hit them at once.
Faced with the horrifying prospect of being burned alive, desperate young women instead jumped to their deaths.
On the flip, some chilling excerpts from the March 26, 1911 New York Times report. Also, a review of how this incident galvanized the American labor movement and led to improved worker safety laws.
"Grill" in absentia, of course. Parker Griffith, who once begged for introductions at union halls, wouldn't be caught dead in a ditch with members of a labor organization these days. He's a "conservative Republican" and, you know, they don't associate with the working classes.
Al Henley, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alabama AFL-CIO opened the show.
Here are selected quotes ...
The Alabama labor union community feels that it's necessary to straighten out some confusion about refunds of the contributions we made to the Parker Griffith campaign for Congress. There've been reports from the Congressman's office that no money has been requested to be returned.
The truth is, most of the area's unions have requested, in writing, a refund of their donations. So let the record be clear. Those of us that are here, and many people who wanted to be here and could not be here, we want our money back.
Henley said the labor community was not pleased when Griffith decided to leave his state Senate seat and pursue a risky congressional campaign. They decided to back him anyway in the hope of gaining a "pro-working family congressman." He said unions went "all-in" with volunteers and contributions to help elect Griffith. He promised to be a 100% voter on issues that we felt would benefit the district's working families, including Health Care, the Stimulus and the Employee Free Choice Act."
Henley said labor contributed $219K to elect Griffith and they felt they had been instrumental in electing a pro-working family congressman.
Shortly after he was elected, Dr. Griffith turned into Mr. Hyde. It began with his votes on the Lilly Ledbetter Act. Everybody in America knew the Supreme Court ruling was wrong and when Congress voted to remedy the issue, he voted against it. And against the best interest of the district. ... When a man and a woman work side by side, doing the exact same work, it's a no-brainer that they should be paid the same. What a slap in the face to all the women in the district, and especially our women union members.
When a Congressman blasts the Stimulus Package at every chance he gets, votes against it and then issues stimulus funding to his constituents and claims he's respinsible for delivering it, that's plain old-fashioned hypocrisy. ... As a State Senator, Parker Griffith never saw an incentive program he didn't like. He voted to give enormous amounts of taxpayer money to one of the world's largest corporations in the form of incentives to lure them to Mobile County. It amounted to over $350K per job and the principle is the same.
Parker Griffith promised to support our position on health care. ... We all know now he sold us out and aligned with the medical and insurance industries. ... doing nothing is not an option. Our health insurance premiums have doubled in the last 10 years and are projected to double again over the next 10 years.
Parker Griffith promised us during the campaign that he would support working families:
After he got elected he decided that equal pay for equal work was wrong.
After he got elected he decided laid off workers didn't need unemployment compensation and help with COBRA payments for their health insurance.
After he got elected he decided Alabama would be better off when state employees and police officers and firefighters and EMTs and teachers were without jobs.
After he got elected he decided America would be better off without the American automobile industry.
After he got elected he decided Alabama working families had too much help here and the system did not need changing.
Labor unions in Alabama are serious when we endorse candidates to represent working families ... His public service as a Congressman has ranged from disappointing at its best to disgusting at its worst.
Parker Griffith is an extremely wealthy man ... he also has a very healthy campaign fund. It's obvious to all of us that he had no intention of keeping his promises to us so we again ask publicly for our money back.
Parker Griffith, we feel you have swindled us. We feel you have used us for name recognition purposes and used our volunteers to countradict all the horrible campaign ads your new found friends aired against you during the last campaign. Parker Griffith, give us our money back.
To our Republican friends who plan on reelecting Parker Griffith. It's very important that you understand these facts:
He knowingly resigned from three key committees ... these committees have been essential in getting aerospace and defense contracts in Alabama's 5th congressional district.
Griffith claimed ideological frustration when he did the party switch, but he commissioned a poll right before he made this move.
He does not represent the best interests of the working families in the 5th congressional district. We don't believe not one single word he says. We believe he has no core or no principles. So -- God bless you folks -- you can have him. We don't want him no more and we'll see all of you on the campaign trail.
Henley's last warning to Republicans is the real deal: Don't trust anything Parker Griffith tells you. As long as your interest aligns with his self interest, you might be ok, but as soon as he senses a better opportunity, Griffith will drop you like a hot potato.
After Henley's remarks, representatives of several other organizations stood up to ask that Griffith also return their contributions. In the interest of keeping this to a manageable length, I'll post that separately.
The Communication Workers of America, Local 3902 have announced their support of Artur Davis for Governor. The campaign says it's the first union endorsement for either side. From their press release:
The Communications Workers of America Local 3902 represents approximately 2,500 workers in the Birmingham, Centreville/West Blocton and Shelby County areas. “More than anything, Alabama needs a governor who will stand up for hard-working families and work to get our economy moving again,” said Communications Workers of America Local 3902 President Rhonda Taylor. “Artur Davis has the integrity, the leadership ability and the vision to lead Alabama to a brighter future.”
Artur Davis welcomed the support of the communications workers. “I am pleased to have the support of the hard-working individuals who make up the Communications Workers of America Local 3902. As a congressman, I have stood with them to fight for a more fair, more secure workplace and I look forward to continuing that fight as Alabama’s next governor.”
Davis has a good voting record on labor issues -- SEIU had some good words for him last year.
Two-thirds of those surveyed had suffered some form of wage violation. Some had been paid significantly less than the prevailing minimum wage; many had worked overtime without being paid at the required overtime rate. Others were simply not paid at all for hours worked outside of their regular shifts. Those who were seriously hurt on the job often were given no recourse: Just 8 percent who experienced an injury filed a workers' compensation claim, and workers' compensation insurance paid medical costs for only 6 percent of the injured employees.
The report is Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America's Cities -- read more here. About 35% of the workers surveyed were undocumented. This is the real danger to our society from undocumented workers -- employers can treat them like dirt with no repercussions. And once they start treating some employees like dirt, it spills over to treating all employees that way and next thing you know we're all in a breakneck race to indentured servitude.
This is not the kind of Labor Day story you're likely to find in the Alabama newspapers, where just yesterday the Birmingham News characterized the Pullman Strike as a "tiff," but it's just the kind of thought provoking discussion we should to be having here. Heaven knows, Alabama has our share of undocumented workers, and employers are taking unfair advantage of many if not most of them. Nevertheless, stories like this one seldom make the papers in Dixie. I wonder why.
Throughout the Southern system's history, the region's media have almost invariably been part of what Atkins labels the "solid phalanx" of powerful interests: a unified business community, elected officials, the clergy and other opinion shapers. Southern newspapers and radio stations joined the forces relentlessly battling unions, the New Deal and advancements in civil rights for African-Americans.
Southern media acted as uncritical stenographers transmitting and amplifying the crudely racist views of segregationist politicians ...
As Atkins' book vividly shows, another crucial component of genuine democracy has been grievously lacking in the South: independent mass media willing to challenge and investigate corporate power and to serve as the voice of those shut up by bosses, shut out of power and shut down by multinational corporations seeking ever cheaper labor.
Toadying to the rich and powerful in order to maintain "influence." Yeah, that sounds familiar and all too common in Southern media circles. What is it about the South that makes it so hard for the media to be the champion of the underdogs?
This Labor Day, Wake Up Walmart, along with a large coalition of labor, environmental and community groups, are challenging Walmart to live up to their PR promises and join us in supporting the American Values Agenda for Change at Walmart.
To help with the effort, Wake Up Wal-Mart is airing two TV ads in major cities. Check out the first here and the second below the fold:
The question is why? Why are they pandering to the party that is WRONG about everything, and has been wrong about everything from the Civil Rights Acts and Medicare to the Iraq War and the Economy?
Seriously, what has the present day gop ever been right (pun intended) about? Why are they constantly being rewarded for bad behavior? Why do democratic candidates pander to the wrong at the expense of what's right, and against Progressives/ liberals/democrats who btw are right (pun intended) on the issues?
Why are we treated like the no family values, culture of cronyism and corruption?
Why is Alabama a "majority republican state"?
Why do Alabama voters consistantly vote against their self interest?
There has been a lot of talk this week about the surprising move by Walmart to publically support President Obama’s health care reform plan, supposedly positioning themselves as a
leader in the fight to bring health care to all Americans. As we mentioned in a post on our blog
yesterday, this might be easier to swallow if Walmart had any history of leading by example. Instead, they usually do just the opposite.
Given
Walmart’s long record of trying to build a positive
reputation on ineffective work-arounds to health care coverage
for employee, the recent revelations about sacrificing quality for cheap perescription drugs, and their deceptive PR campaign that severely overstated their workers’ health
care coverage, it’s not hard to understand our skepticism. [get the details in the extended entry]
1. The LA Times came to Birmingham and the only people interesting enough to quote are a tourist from Pittsburg and a homeless man. Way to earn those big newspaper journalist bucks.
2.Spencer Bachus wants hearings on how Bernie Madoff made off with $50 billion of somebody else's money. That's fine and good, but isn't this a bit like closing the barn door after the whole herd escapes? Was Bachus proposing more oversight and regulation 5 or 10 or even 15 years ago when it might have prevented this sort of grandmonumentalginormous theft from investors?
3. God, or at least the Christian Broadcasting Network, is not on the side of labor unions. I read the article twice and found no mention of the roughly half a billion dollars Alabama taxpayers have given these foreign-owned companies to entice them to build plants in our state, but the author was honest enough to mention that "GM has 360,000 retirees. In America, Hyundai has zero." True. Do they mean to imply that GM would be immediately more competitive if God struck down those 360,000 GM retirees and got them off the books tomorrow? Or that Hyundai will never keep employees long enough for them to get pensions? Neither option is particularly Christian...
4. Foreign auto companies who came to Alabama for the tax breaks and cheap labor are doing great in the marketplace, right? Not so much, notwithstanding what our Senators tell us. Sales of Alabama made vehicles were down 53% in December. How does that compare to Big Three sales? Well, Chrysler sales were also down 53%, Ford's were down 32% and GM's dropped by 31%, same as Nissan. To reiterate, sales of made in Alabama vehicles are down exactly as much as sales of Chrysler vehicles, as of last month.
5. Newly elected Congressman Bobby Bright (being sworn in today) want's to eliminate cost of living raises for members of Congress and opposes any bailout for any organization or special interest out there. As long as he's taking a hard line, maybe he'd like to draw a really bright line and give up the taxpayer provided health insurance and pension benefits members of Congress receive, too. That's how the rest of us have to live, after all.
6. Speaking of how regular folks live, 65,000 more Alabamians needed food stamps to get by in 2008 than in 2007. That is 1 in 7 of us and the economic downturn, recession, depression or whatever they like to call it, is just getting cranked up.
8.Alabama farmers need broadband internet service. So do the rest of Alabama's rural residents. This is infrastructure development that will pay huge dividends in the future, especially in the least developed parts of Alabama. Bob Riley just selected a contractor to make broadband internet service available throughout the state. The $1.7 million cost will mostly be paid through federal grants. Your tax dollars at work, in a good way.
With virtually no exceptions, Republican members will continue insisting that the policies of shitting on the little guy are the only ones that they'll support, and Democratic members will continue to give these idiots serious thought and consideration in the futile hope that we can all just get along.
... You failed us and failed us and failed us. Collectively you're a bunch of irresponsible opportunistic whiny ether-sniffing assface sissypants bedwetters until such time that you prove through your deeds that you're not.
Dear members of the 111th Congress, please surprise me -- and finding your backbone only long enough to oppose President Obama's agenda is not the surprise I'm looking for.
President Stewart Burkhalter says the group is still discussing an endorsement in the 2nd Congressional District. Might this be evidence that the "he's a liberal" charges against 2nd district candidate Bobby Bright are a bunch of hooey? Which they are, of course.
If you have been following the news in Huntsville the last two weeks, you know how the local media was awaiting the Volkswagen announcement. There were stories about VW's new North American strategy and about the potential impact to Greenbrier - the town, not the barbecue restaurant!
In short, the picture was of the entire state, from the leadership to the humblest citizen, holding its breath in anticipation of another Alabama industrial recruiting victory. So the sting of loss was all the sharper for the hoping.
Gov. Bob Riley, leading Alabama's courtship, declined to comment on Volkswagen, citing his administration's policy of not discussing ongoing economic development projects. But state officials involved in the recruitment said they were unsettled by persistent rumors that Volkswagen may have struck an agreement with the United Auto Workers.
Now, of course, the state director for industrial development immediately pledged fealty to the new VW plant (sorry, I won't link to an AP story). But it's no secret that conservatives hate unions, and have no use for working people (except as cannon fodder). And given the conservative complexion of the state powers-that-be, the following comment from a forum site sounds plausible:
05 July 2008 06:31 PM 05 July 2008 06:31 PM
Hide Post
Word has it that the State is not pursuing this one hard as is Tennessee. Alabama has some other plants that are fighting to keep it out due to the fact that VW is already in talks with the UAW for representation in this plant. Alabama is a afraid that a pro-union plant would upset the delicate balance in their "right to work" environment.
Whew, that was a close one, wasn't it, Bob? Sorry, Neal, sometimes the project lead is the last to know...
The San Francisco Chronicle has an article about a fight brewing between ILWU and management. Long story short: There's a dispute about the procedure the ILWU is using for the shutdown and whether the rules apply. (via)
The union doesn't seem to be backing down, and the S.F. labor council is supporting them.
After Downing Street has a copy of the Vermont AFL-CIO resolution supporting the ILWU.
Here are couple of posts that I found interesting:
Police fired rubber bullets and other nasty ammo at war protesters in April of 2003 and hit several longshoremen. ILWU responded by walking off the job. There are lots of ambiguities with this incident.
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One of the very first things I learned when I began helping out at Democratic Headquarters was that everything we distributed needed to have a union "bug" on it to assure labor unions we appreciated them and weren't taking for granted their support, volunteers, money and, eventually, the votes of their members ... all of which they would certainly withhold if the bug wasn't on literature, shirts and so forth. Exceptions could be made for small quantities, but the words "Produced in house, labor donated" needed to be on even those items. This was all new to me (as I was new to politics) but the way people told it, the sky would fall if you left off the union bug. 
Today is 
As a Congressman, Artur Davis has been supportive of issues important to working people, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the EFCA. Today at IAFF Local 117 in Birmingham, the Alabama chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters endorsed him for governor, praising his strong record of support.
Of the 500 women who reported for work that day, only 354 would leave alive. 
When the fire broke out on the 8th floor at approximately 4:40pm, the workers first tried to extinguish the blaze with the 27 buckets of water available - the only anti-fire precaution taken by the owners. However, the water was soon exhausted and the fire spread.
The Communication Workers of America, 
.
1. The 
