Local 7804 for the first time in many years endorsed candidates for Tacoma city council and for Tacoma mayoral races. Bill Barsama is the endorsed candidate for mayor. Mr. Barsama is a former city council member, a local civic leader and has served in many elected and appointed positions in the Puget Sound area. He is endorsed by the Pierce County Central Council and several other labor organizations. John McGinnis is the endorsed candidate for Tacoma City Council position #5. Mr. McGinnis is endorsed by the Pierce County Labor Council, as well as several local unions. Mr. McGinnis is a long time leader in I.A.M. Lodge 751 (machinists union) and has been a strong advocate for labor in Tacoma, Pierce County, and the State of Washington. With these two candidates we will again have a voice for labor in local politics. Please help make sure that we elect these two candidates as labor representatives this fall. Let’s take back our position as leaders in the community.
.During the Quad State meeting in Cannon Beach, Oregon, this past week, we were visited by James Curico, a representative from Sedgwick Claims Management Services. His job was to convince us that all was well with his Company and that they were diligently working to resolve all problems connected with medical claims that our members have been experiencing. I remain unconvinced and would advise you again to contact myself or Mike Nord at the first sign of problems with any claim handled by Sedgwick. They are business for only one reason and that is to save the Company money at your expense.
In Cannon Beach it was announced that C.W.A. District #7 will hold it annual meeting in Spokane next April. Our local as a part of the C.W.A. Wash./Idaho Council will act as host for the meeting. This is the first time in memory that the district meeting will be held in this State and it is being done at the urging of Vice President John Thompson. I consider this a great honor for our State and the Wash./Idaho Council.
At this writing there are changes again taking place in the makeup of local management at Qwest Communications. Although I do not know entirely what is in the future, I am convinced that the existing managers reshuffled in some manner will not resolve their problems. It would be nice to see a rethinking of the structure in local management. W e would like to see restructuring in order to reduce some of the kingdom building that has taken place in the recent past. This Company talks at great length about serving the customer but until management is forced to work together instead of taking care of Number One we will never to be able to reach the goals that are expected.
Speaking of restructuring, Qwest is in the process of changing your 401K program. If you do not receive information about the change in the mail contact the Local and I can give you the phone numbers to call. Please read the information provided as it is your money and your retirement that they are playing with.
Finally, remember that the local picnic will be on July29th at the Sportsman’s Club (160th and Canyon Road E.) We will BBQ and have games for the kids and the usual raffle for the adults. Please plan on attending. We always have fun and do look forward to seeing old friends as well as meeting new members.
That’s right, CWA-COPE. By working together through CWA-COPE Political Contributions Committee (CWA-COPE PCC), we can combine our power to elect candidates favorable to our issues.
We’re asking you to make a contribution to CWA’s member supported political action fund, CWA-COPE. It doesn’t take much. As little as $1 or two a week, or more if you want. If every member chips in a little it adds up quickly.
Why? Because everything that happens in Congress, or in your state legislature, or even down at the city council level of government, can have just as much of an impact on your life, your family or your standard of living as your collective bargaining agreement can.
Every dollar you give to CWA-COPE is split in half--%50 to the Washington Headquarters and %50 to the CWA District and state in which it is raised. Should your local raise more that its $2 per member per year CWA COPE quota, that money is divided three ways—1/3 to Headquarters, 1/3 to the state, and 1/3 to the Local.
Without union members like you contributing to political action committees there would be no minimum wage laws, child labor laws, unemployment compensation, health and safety regulations, civil rights laws, educational programs, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. These laws are on the books today because of organized labor’s involvement in the political process.
Remember, who gets elected affects you and your day-to-day life. Elected officials make the laws you have to live by; they levy the taxes you have to pay. Whatever gains you have made through the collective bargaining process can easily be taken away through the legislative process. The bottom line is simple— You can make a difference! A difference in who gets elected! You don’t have to get any more involved than simply agreeing to contribute to CWA-COPE.
You can download the payroll deduction card and follow the instructions, or contact me for the form. The internet location ishttp://www.cwa-union.org/action/political/contribute.asp. For more info from the national web site go to http://.www.cwa-union.org/action/political/bahr.asp. Or you may contact me at 572-7804, and I will gladly get the forms to you.
In Unity,
Randy Grams,
Sec/Treas.
Attend this complimentary retirement planning workshop sponsored by Baukol Retirement Specialists (“We are the experts on Qwest’s retirement plan!”) on Wednesday, July 25th. Workshop will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Mall Days Inn, 6802 Tacoma Mall Boulevard. Call 1-800-236-8768 to reserve your seat today, as seats tend to fill up quickly. Refreshments will be provided. We’ll see you there!
George W. Bush calls himself a “compassionate conservative.” But what is he compassionate about?
Certainly not safe workplaces: On March 20th, he signed legislation that killed the OSHA safety standard designed to safeguard millions of workers from crippling workplace injuries. Almost two million on the job injuries every year are ergonomics-related. Killing this workers’ safety standard will result in hundreds of thousand more such injuries.
Bush eliminated a rule that made it harder for businesses to get federal contracts if they repeatedly violate environmental, safety, labor, tax, civil rights or other laws.
Bush sided with HMOs and the insurance companies by promising to veto a bipartisan patients’ bill of rights, if it gives patients the right to sue HMOs that fail to pay for needed health care.
Bush signed an order banning Project Labor Agreements.
Bush proposed a tax cut that would give the wealthiest 1% of the population over 40% of the tax cuts.
Instead of strengthening Medicare for the future, Bush raids the Medicare Trust Fund to help pay for his tax cuts for the wealthy and doesn’t put money aside for prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
Bush sided with industry by canceling environmental regulations to limit the amount of arsenic that would be allowed in drinking water and by canceling new limits on the amount of carbon monoxide plants can emit into the air.
Bush used his authority to weaken the bargaining power of airline employees in contact negotiation under the Railway Labor Act.
Bush favors Paycheck Deception
Bush eliminated the White House Office on Women’s issue and opposes legislation that would strengthen enforcement of equal pay laws.
This is Bush’s report card. It’s time to send him back to school.
Condensed from “Bushwatch” at www.aflcio.org
Fast Track is a procedure through which Congress gives the president authority to negotiate trade agreements and provides special rules for considering those agreements. From 1975 to 1994, Fast Track authority outlined negotiating objectives for our trade negotiators, limited the time Congress could debate and consider legislation to implement trade agreements after they had been completed by the president and required an up-or-down vote on implementing legislation with no congressional amendments allowed. The president can negotiate trade agreements without Fast Track authority, but he then has to let Congress debate the agreement at length and possibly add amendments that would modify the agreement.
The AFL-CIO and its affiliate unions have opposed Fast Track legislation vociferously because it has not required the president to include enforceable protections for the environment and workers’ rights in our trade agreements. The AFL-CIO also has criticized the basic format of the legislation, since it lacks adequate procedures for consultation with Congress and the public and limits democratic debate about trade policy. The AFL-CIO worked with allies in the environmental movement, consumer groups and fair trade coalitions to successfully defeat Fast Track in 1997 and again in 1998.
Now President George W. Bush claims that he must have Fast Track authority in order to negotiate new trade deals, especially to complete the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which is based on NAFTA.
Although the Bush administration is trying to make Fast Track sound better by calling it “trade promotion authority,” the administration has not proposed fixing any of the problems with previous Fast Track proposals.
Anniversaries: Edward Clark, 36 years; Donna McPherson, 36; Lee Queen, 34; Ronald Ziemer, 34; Larry Smith, 34; Dan Riddle, 33; Reginald Zimmerman, 33; Richard Gibson, 33; Donald Schmidt, 33; Thomas Brown, 33; Cheryl Dallum, 33; Lury Williams, 33; Juanita Wright, 33; Karen Ingledue, 31; Teresa Bradford, 30; Weldon Scott, 28; Ron Jorgensen, 25; John Koster, 25; David Pedee, 24; Donald Johnson, 24; Douglas Daniels, 24; Kevin Smith, 23; James Armstrong, 23; Cheryl Tomlin, 23; Maynita Smith, 21; George Morrow, Jr., 21; John Gerasimczyk, 21; Mark Fox, 21; George Kinney, 20; Gay Decamillo,6; Troy Rush, 5; Bryan Mittge, 5; Daniel Eddington, 5; Russell Gienau, 5; Kenneth Ward, 5; Gerald Wilhite, 5; Robert Withrow, 5; David Schott, 5; Laumea Vee, 5.
Retirees: Joe Freer; Daniel Wiemer; John Barry; Susan Bellante; Phyllis Taylor; Richard W. Johnson; Peter L. Fischer; Marsha G. Christian; Robert W. Nordin; Mitch Chaput; Jackie Mattoni.
New or Resigned Members: Beverly J. Wilson; John J Gerasimczyk, Jr.; Denic L. Jacobsen; Donald O. Davis; Jason Pringle; Rick Gibson; Michael J. Farber; Ed Lee Ruonavaara; Glenda J. Griggs; Larry Samuel Kennedy, Jr.; Robert L. Shannon; Juanita Wright; Terrell Vandeganachte; Beverly J. Hilleary; Ronald Kinkade; Daniel Hubbard; Gregg Sherwood
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