Transport Workers Solidarity Committee

SA Western Cape-based Transport and Omnibus Workers’ Union On Strike For Health And Safety And Proper Work Conditions

A BLEAK 2010 OUTLOOK FOR LABOUR

From a labour viewpoint, there is little to celebrate with the arrival of the 2010. The pending World Cup, the announcement of booming minerals sales to China and the various blips and surges on global Stock Exchanges do not signal joy to workers and their organisations.

More unemployment, greater levels of casualisation, more downward pressure on wages and the demand for more output from fewer personnel are what seem to be in store, overall. Locally, and even before the World Cup gets underway in June, the first effects will have been felt by the small army of casual labourers who helped build the stadiums around the country. By the end of March, the last of them will probably be out of work.

And while mining companies cheer at the increase in sales of iron ore and other minerals to China, there is a growing awareness in trade union circles that this means further job losses down the line: a proportion of the iron ore, for example, will return to South Africa as finished steel products, undercutting what local industry can produce. For years the unions — and some local employers — have raised warnings about the consequences of such sales.

Don't Let Georgia Tech Bust Teamster Bus Drivers

http://www.labornotes.org/2010/01/dont-let-georgia-tech-bust-teamsters

Don't Let Georgia Tech Bust Teamster Bus Drivers
By Evan Rohar| January 8, 2010

Forty bus drivers at Georgia Tech received an early gift for the holidays on December 18 when they learned they would no longer have jobs after the New Year. Ho-ho-ho.

The drivers became the first Georgia Tech workers to belong to a union when they voted to join Teamsters Local 728 in March 2008.

The trouble began when Georgia Tech decided to hire a different contractor to run its transportation services. The school chose Groome Transportation, a notorious bottom-feeder operation.

The previous company, First Transit, had signed a nationwide neutrality agreement after pressure from the Teamsters International, including a visit by rank and filers to a shareholders meeting in Britain. Local 728 subsequently won all seven of its bids to organize school and transit bus drivers at First Transit in Georgia, including the Georgia Tech election.

When the Teamster drivers applied to Groome, the company refused even to interview them and later snubbed union reps requesting meetings to talk about the situation.

1/18 Chicago MLK Day March for Jobs and Public Services
"Join us in celebrating Dr. King's legacy of struggling for social justice and defending workers' needs"
What: Rally
Start Time: Monday, January 18 at 11:00am
End Time: Monday, January 18 at 1:00pm
Where: Rally at CTA Headquarters
March will go to the Board of Education and end at the State of Illinois Building on 100 W. Randolph.

Chicago Transit Authority management is threatening to lay off over 1,000 bus drivers and maintenance workers on Feb. 7th. This means fewer and more crowded buses and trains.

Chicago Public School board plans to close another 25 to 30 neighborhood schools and hand over public education money to private companies. This won't help educate our kids.

Unemployment is at its' highest in 30 years, but caseworkers who approve Food Stamps and Medicaid have unworkable caseloads of 1100 to 2200 families per worker - so people can't get the help they need.

The rich and their politicians steal our taxes to bail out Wall Street. They sell our pubicly-owned resources to private companies, and then make us pay for it through higher fees and fines. We say: make the rich pay. They made this crisis; we're not giving up our jobs and services to pay for it.

L.A. school district union SEIU 99 agrees to furloughs for bus drivers

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd-bus23-2009sep23,0,1967227.story

L.A. school district union agrees to furloughs
About 1,100 bus drivers will take six unpaid days off this fiscal year to help offset the budget shortfall. It is the first time in recent history that a district union has accepted such a concession.

L.A. City Council gains union concessions to help close budget gap

By Jason Song
September 23, 2009
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In what Los Angeles school district officials hope is the first of several concessions by labor unions, bus drivers have agreed to take six unpaid days off this fiscal year, officials said Tuesday.

The deal is the first time in recent history that a school district union has agreed to furloughs. Last year, the district approved -- but never required -- four unpaid days off for most employees in an attempt to offset a budget shortfall.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing a nearly $200-million budget shortfall this fiscal year.

"We hope . . . we will be able to make similar announcements" in the near future, said David Holmquist, the district's chief operating officer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2U1xZAM7VI&feature=related

RMT Annual General Meeting 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/06/tradeunions.labour
TUC faces battle over call for general strike
· Hardliners angry ministers blocked leftwinger's bill
· POA refuses to withdraw 'embarrassing distraction'
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
The Guardian, Saturday September 6 2008

Restoring secondary picketing powers for the unions has been an important cause for the left but has been rejected by Gordon Brown. Photograph: Frank Baron

Hardline unions are set to split the TUC next week with a motion calling for the first general strike since 1926 in protest against Labour's refusal to give back secondary picketing rights and allow prison officers to strike.

The Prison Officers Association has angered the TUC council by calling for a series of one-day general strikes in protest at ministers blocking a leftwing Labour backbencher's bill this year which would have restored many of the union rights taken away by the Conservatives in the 1980s and 1990s.

It will be backed by the RMT rail union, led by Bob Crow, which has organised a series of strikes on the London Underground and in national rail companies over wages and conditions this year. Other unions such as the Fire Brigades Union and the Public and Commercial Services Union may support it.

difusiontel@tel.org.ar
www.tel.org.ar

13 and June 14, 2008
International Seminar on Public Transport Passenger "Situation Sector and the Role of Workers"
In successfully held the International Seminar on Public Transport Passenger "Situation Sector and the Role of Workers' (Declared Interest Social the Buenos Aires) on 13 and June 14, 2008.

Inaugural Meeting
During the inaugural session, which was attended by over 250 people filled the St. Maarten Chamber of the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires, spoke the international guests from 6 countries americas America and Europe. Statements were also made of subway workers, collective, trains and airports. In our country there were guests from the cities of Mendoza, Rosario, La Plata and, of course, Buenos Aires. In the day on Saturday was discussed in committee, exchanged experiences and proposals for the sector, and left open lines of joint work for the future.
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Images of the Seminar
International Seminar

4 th International Seminar on Education Flexibility, and Response Division of Workers

"Details of the Seminar On 16 and May 17, TEL organized in Buenos Aires y en el marco del Proyecto Latinoamericano (PL), the 4th International Seminar on "Answers to union strategies entrepreneurs are relaxed and precarious employment contract, subject of great importance for the present and future of the working class and its organizations.

Iran's war on trade unions
President Ahmadinejad is stepping up the repression of labour activists. We should support them in their fight for basic rights
All comments (54)

Peter Tatchell
guardian.co.uk, Monday August 18 2008 18:30 BST
Article history
The anti-worker dictatorship in Iran has stepped up its attacks on labour activists, with a new wave of arrests and jailings.

Among those recently jailed were two workers' rights campaigners, Sousan Razani and Shiva Kheirabadi. They have been sentenced to 15 lashes and four months in prison for the "crime" (under Iran's Islamic law) of participating in a May Day celebration in the city of Sanandaj earlier this year. The verdicts were issued by the criminal court of Sanandaj – branch 101.

On the same charges the same court sentenced Abdullah Khani to 91 days in prison and 40 lashes and Seyed Qaleb Hosseini to six months and 50 lashes.

In addition, Khaled Hosseini, a worker activist, was given a 91 day suspended sentence and 30 lashes because of his efforts to support the trade union leader, Mahmoud Salehi, who was imprisoned at the time and was being denied medical treatment. The charges against him include "disturbing public order and agitation."

NYC TWU Dissident Alleges Special Treatment Claim TWU Tilts Election

http://www.thechief-leader.com/news/2008/0523/news/007.html

Dissident Alleges Special Treatment
Claim TWU Tilts Election

By ARI PAUL

A candidate in a division election at Transport Workers Union Local 100 has claimed that the union's leadership is unfairly playing favorites by putting his opponent on release time and giving him lists of members in good standing with voting rights.

JOHN CHIARELLO: Local 100 playing favorites.
Line Equipment and Signal Division Recording Secretary John Chiarello is running against New York City Transit Signal Maintainer Shawn Welcome for one of the division's three executive board positions. The board position has been vacant since April 2007, when Richard Conte left the bargaining unit for a management position. Division rep Pete Foley, who is aligned with Mr. Chiarello, is running against Eli Harris, another division rep, for the vice chair position.

More Time to Campaign

But Mr. Chiarello, who was elected on the dissident Rail and Bus slate in December 2006, said that his opponent was put on release time, freeing him from his NYC Transit duties and giving him more time to campaign.

NYC TWU 100 Pres "Actions Are Like That Of A Transit Boss" Charges That "Toussaint of Acting More Like A Manager Than A Union Leader"
http://www.thechief-leader.com/news/2008/0530/news/013.html
Some Grumbling in Ranks
TWU, 'Transit' Combine On Track-Safety Course

By ARI PAUL

Thousands of New York City Transit workers are going through day-long safety stand-downs, many of them led personally by the agency and Transport Workers Union Local 100 presidents, in an effort to increase work safety on the subway tracks.

Local 100 Photo

WORKING TOGETHER: Both Transport Workers Union Local 100 and New York City Transit have heralded the stand-downs as a successful collaborative effort that will change the authority's 'organizational culture.' Track Inspector Thomas Bodai instructs workers on the rule changes.

In May and June, all 7,000 of Local 100's Maintenance of Way members as well as supervisors and workers in the Rapid Transit Operators and Car Equipment have and will attend joint presentations by NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts and Local 100 leader Roger Toussaint, and work in smaller groups to learn new track-safety rule changes.

2 Deaths Were Catalysts