Transport Workers Solidarity Committee

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Originally published here - http://www.iww.org/en/node/4592

US Railroad Worker And US Socialist Labor Leader Stopped the Blacklist

http://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1902/blacklist.htm

Eugene V. Debs

Stopped the Blacklist

Written: September, 1902
First Published: September 1902, Wayland’s Monthly
Source: DEBS: His Life Writings and Speeches 1908 by The Appeal to Reason newspaper, Girard, Kansas. Page 297-300
Online Version: E.V. Debs Internet Archive, 2008
Transcribed/HTML Markup: David Walters, August, 2008
Public Domain: The E. V. Debs Internet Archive follows the advice of the original copyright (now expired and in the public domain) published in the title page of the 1908 edition: “Copyright by The Appeal to Reason: “NOTE—Copyright protection is taken upon this volume for the sole purpose of protecting the work of Comrade Debs from prejudiced misues by pirate Capitalist publishers, and will not be invoked against Socialist and Labor Publications and Comrade publishers, they giving us notice.—Appeal to Reason”

It was on a mixed train on one of the mountain roads in the western states. The conductor and both brakemen had already shown me their old A. R. U. cards, which they treasured with almost affectionate tenderness. The soiled, illegible scraps were souvenirs of the “war,” and revived a whole freight train of stirring reminiscences. The three weather—beaten trainmen were strangers prior to ‘94; they were off of three separate roads, and from three different states.

Northwest flight attendants union sues Delta for union busting schemes
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D94LHM486.htm

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS November 24, 2008, 4:18PM ETtext size: TT
Northwest flight attendants union sues Delta

By HARRY R. WEBER

The union that represents Northwest Airlines flight attendants is suing Delta Air Lines Inc. to block the world's biggest carrier from starting the process to integrate the two carriers' seniority lists until the combined group is given the opportunity to vote on union representation.

Northwest's 8,000 flight attendants are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, while Delta's 14,000 flight attendants are not part of any union.

Atlanta-based Delta bought Northwest for $2.8 billion in stock on Oct. 29. Federal rules allow for a post-merger union election involving workers from two different airlines if, among other things, it is determined that a single carrier exists.

But in its suit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington on Friday, the AFA-CWA said it has not yet filed its application with the National Mediation Board seeking a single carrier determination that would prompt a union representation vote. It noted Delta has not yet obtained a single operating certificate from the FAA. Therefore, the AFA-CWA said efforts by Delta to start the seniority integration process are premature.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7971114554624864182

No Peace No Work! ILWU Shuts Down West Coast Ports On May Day 2008

On May 2, 2008, ILWU shut down west coast ports to protest the war and commemorate May Day. This video shows some of the speakers at the May Day rally initiated by the ILWU Local 10 and interviews longshore workers about why they are taking action against the war on May Day 2008.
For more information on this action go to
http://maydayilwu.googlepages.com/home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw8lwKTguoo

Produced by the Labor Video Project
P.O. Box 720027
San Francisco, CA 94172
(415)282-1908
lvpsf@labornet.org

US Airline Bosses Want Regulation of Market In Oil To Survive

Date: July 11, 2008 7:13:11 AM PDT

An open letter to all airline customers

Dear

Last week, crude oil hit an all-time high of $146, and the skyrocketing cost of fuel is impacting our customers, our employees, the communities we serve, and the economy as a whole. United, and the majority of other major U.S. airlines, are asking our most loyal customers to join us in pushing for legislation to add more transparency and disclosure in the oil markets. Please see the attached open letter from the leaders of the U.S. airline industry.

An Open letter to All Airline Customers:

Our country is facing a possible sharp economic downturn because of skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, but by pulling together, we can all do something to help now.

For airlines, ultra-expensive fuel means thousands of lost jobs and severe reductions in air service to both large and small communities. To the broader economy, oil prices mean slower activity and widespread economic pain. This pain can be alleviated, and that is why we are taking the extraordinary step of writing this joint letter to our customers. Since high oil prices are partly a response to normal market forces, the nation needs to focus on increased energy supplies and conservation. However, there is another side to this story because normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation.

Flight Attendants Face High-Pressure Cabins : Growing Nightmare For Airline Workers
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92222458

BUSINESS
Flight Attendants Face High-Pressure Cabins

by Frank Langfitt

Audio for this story will be available at approx. 9:00 a.m. ET

Enlarge
Frank Langfitt/NPR
Erin Gailey has flown for Alaska Airlines for 25 years. She says the job of a flight attendant has changed dramatically.

Morning Edition, July 7, 2008 ·Flight attendants have one of the tougher jobs in America these days. Airline companies are reeling from high oil prices, and new baggage fees are annoying more customers. Caught in the middle is the flight attendant, the public face of an industry that's on the ropes.

When Stefannee Steffenhagen started working for Air Wisconsin — a US Airways commuter service — several years ago, she thought it was the beginning of what she called "that little-girl dream."

But the reality of the job doesn't quite measure up. In her brief career, Steffenhagen has seen a lot of change.

Today, she has fewer amenities to offer passengers, and they're increasingly angry about it. She says one of her toughest jobs is just getting women to put their purses in the overhead compartment.

http://www.solidarity-us.org/node/1473

A union Defeated at United Air Lines
— Malik Miah and Terry O'Rourke
THE APRIL 1 certification of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) was no April Fool’s joke for the 8600 eligible mechanic and related United Airlines (UAL) employees who voted in the March 31 representational election. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), which served the members for nearly five years under very difficult circumstances in the aviation industry, lost the vote by 4,113 to 2,631.
Many of us were surprised by the 75% participation of eligible voters (which included laid-off employees, some over six years) and the IBT’s three-to-two margin of victory. The IBT is known for corruption and a lack of internal democracy. Its leaders arrogantly stated that it supported secrecy in its dealing with UAL and called AMFA’s open negotiations with member observers a “circus.”
Many members, even supporters of the IBT in San Francisco, have praised AMFA’s communications. Their main charge was that AMFA did not have the resources to fight outsourcing and take on the company, pointing in particular to how AMFA failed to win the strike at Northwest Airlines in 2005-06. They also blamed AMFA for not defending the defined benefit pension plans lost during bankruptcy in 2005.