tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54798202011-10-16T14:32:54.607-04:00<I>Welcome to the weblog of Harry Kelber: writing for and working with rank and file union activists to bring democracy to the AFL-CIO</I>d@venoreply@blogger.comBlogger1361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1136470354253658552006-01-05T09:12:00.000-05:002006-01-25T21:56:12.503-05:00

Tom's Place Tho I did not know Tom, I thank him for getting Greg and David together, it allowed Sweet Chops to be a part of my liferichardalabonneheure

richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827298533442170255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1123034950344159232005-08-02T22:09:00.000-04:002006-01-25T21:57:40.236-05:00

Pictures from AFL-CIO in Chicago - LaborNetHarry Kelber at Chicago LAC Rank & File Convention

d@venoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1122848832988711222005-07-31T18:16:00.000-04:002005-08-02T22:43:43.443-04:00

How I Addressed the AFL-CIO Convention And Got a Standing Ovation by DelegatesBy Harry KelberAs the only declared candidate for a seat on the AFL-CIO Executive Council, I conducted a full scale campaign on issues that are troubling workers everywhere, while Council incumbents remained completely silent, waiting for the moment when they expected to be re-elected by acclamation.I was very fortunate

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1122749748737307292005-07-30T14:55:00.000-04:002005-07-30T14:55:48.780-04:00

Workers Independent News Harry Kelber brings down the house urging respect for dissidents and mass mobilization at AFL-CIO convention - 07/29/05 Looking back on 72 years in the labor movement, 60 as an activist, Harry Kelber drew repeated applause from AFL-CIO delegates even as he criticized the AFL-CIO leadership. The 91 year old labor activist, writer and educator says employers will never

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1122500894893971302005-07-27T17:38:00.000-04:002005-07-27T20:26:43.470-04:00

Today I reached a compromise agreement in which I was given 3 minutes time to address the AFL-CIO convention in return for which I agreed to give up my candidacy for the Executive Council. I had conducted a campaign for the past two days in which I criticized the activities and policies of the AFL-CIO leadership. Now I will have 3 minutes in which I can express the views about union democracy

harryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01082225355768526054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1122240747686096832005-07-24T17:32:00.000-04:002005-07-24T17:34:33.120-04:00

AFL-CIO convention resources - by Eric M. Fink, The UnCapitalist JournalThere are several good online resources for those interested in following the saga of the AFL-CIO convention this week.

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1121383103254745202005-07-13T19:18:00.000-04:002005-07-14T19:19:20.430-04:00

Exec Council Incumbents Are All in Hiding, But Still Expect to Get Re-Elected - LaborTalk By Harry KelberOnly 11 days are left before the start of the AFL-CIO convention, and we still haven't heard a word from the 51 incumbents on the Executive Council. In fact, they haven't announced they're running for re-election. They just assume that if they remain silent, convention delegates will give them

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1121134964133960012005-07-11T22:19:00.000-04:002005-07-11T22:25:33.356-04:00

News ReleaseHarry Kelber, a candidate for a vice president seat on the AFL-CIO Executive Council, says that because of a lop-sided convention voting system that favors big international unions, it is virtually impossible for any independent candidate to challenge incumbents.Kelber offers the following data to support his charge that the Executive Council has become a self-serving, self

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1120851209744419852005-07-08T15:31:00.000-04:002005-07-08T15:45:55.343-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Harry Kelber, a distinguished labor journalist and editor, has proposed a new media plan to help union organizers reach out to the millions of workers who say they would like to join a union. His plan comes at a time when the AFL-CIO has scrapped its official monthly publication, America@Work, and, given the federation’s budgetary restraints, is making no effort to replace

d@venoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1120426360941912172005-07-03T17:32:00.000-04:002005-07-08T15:47:10.276-04:00

Heads of 15 Largest Unions Plan Scheme To Take Permanent Control of U.S. Labor - By Harry KelberBoth the Sweeney and Stern factions favor continuing the AFL-CIO Executive Council, even expanding it, while reducing its powers in favor of the Executive Committee. all of its authority to the Executive Committee. If the international union presidents win convention approval to run the AFL-CIO like a

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1120412453106069612005-07-03T13:39:00.000-04:002005-07-03T14:04:56.480-04:00

Harry Kelber, Veteran Labor Journalist and Educator, To Campaign for Seat on AFL-CIO Executive CouncilHarry Kelber has officially notified AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka that he is a candidate for a seat on the 51-member Executive Council. Kelber, a well-known labor journalist and educator, is the first, and thus far the only, candidate for a position on the Council.Kelber's announced

d@venoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1113201373292104712005-04-06T22:36:00.000-04:002005-04-11T02:37:15.840-04:00

Sweeney Is Silent on Ties to War Hawks Who Are Promoting Bush’s Global Agenda

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1112575215363624182005-03-30T20:39:00.000-05:002005-04-03T20:40:15.363-04:00

AFL-CIO’s 50-Year Organizing Record Under Meany, Kirkland and Sweeney

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1111956281535612212005-03-23T12:30:00.000-05:002005-03-27T15:51:25.260-05:00

‘Good Jobs’ Is High on Labor’s Agenda, But What Can Unions Do to Create Them?

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1111956216848969792005-03-16T15:43:00.000-05:002005-03-27T15:50:42.206-05:00

Major Organizing Issues: Overwork, Stress and Less Time for the Family

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1110833411683087322005-03-14T15:50:00.000-05:002005-03-14T15:50:11.683-05:00

Stern-Hoffa Group Loses First Round, Seeking 50% Rebate for Organizing

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1109556890751655452005-02-28T13:12:00.000-05:002005-02-28T16:14:55.933-05:00

Will More Dollars for Union Organizing Solve Labor’s Failure to Grow Stronger?

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1109556725166182462005-02-23T20:40:00.000-05:002005-02-27T21:18:09.460-05:00

Trumka, No. 2, Is Leading Candidate To Replace Sweeney at Convention

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1109556785878462592005-02-16T19:30:00.000-05:002005-02-27T21:16:44.840-05:00

‘Reform’ Will Keep Same Leaders in Power; See No Need for AFL-CIO Council Elections

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1109556840064701922005-02-09T18:14:00.000-05:002005-02-27T21:15:38.383-05:00

Bush Moves to Wipe out Worker Rights At Pentagon and Homeland Security

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1107745399967344992005-02-02T20:03:00.000-05:002005-02-06T22:05:43.740-05:00

Stern Should Run for AFL-CIO President To Test His Proposals at the Convention “Andy Stern, who leads the largest and fastest-growing union in the country, is determined to save the American worker. And he’s willing to tear apart the labor movement — and perhaps the Democratic Party as well — in order to do it.”

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1107745305192462352005-01-26T22:01:00.000-05:002005-02-06T22:05:04.336-05:00

Let’s Demonstrate Our Power and Unity As We Battle Bush on Social Security

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1106520116792258172005-01-23T17:41:00.000-05:002005-01-23T17:42:58.280-05:00

Bush Drives to Privatize Social Security By Scaring Americans and Hiding Truth

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1105562297672093362005-01-12T15:38:00.000-05:002005-01-12T15:38:17.673-05:00

AFL-CIO’s New Internet Forum Welcomes Views of Members About Labor’s Future

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1104963302183092852005-01-05T17:15:00.000-05:002005-01-05T17:15:02.183-05:00

Why Won't America@Work Carry Reports Of Unions' Debate About Labor's Future?

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1104354873633350482004-12-29T16:14:00.000-05:002004-12-29T16:14:33.633-05:00

Teamsters In Debate Over AFL-CIO's Future

d@venoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1103517752981873782004-12-19T23:42:00.000-05:002004-12-19T23:42:32.980-05:00

Unions Have No Answers to Outsourcing

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1102912338072724442004-12-13T10:13:00.000-05:002004-12-13T13:13:52.783-05:00

Do Solidarity Center’s Covert Operations Help American Labor on Global Problems? The sixth in a series of six articles By Harry Kelber

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1102548111113497432004-12-08T18:21:00.000-05:002004-12-08T18:23:25.733-05:00

What’s Wrong with Both SEIU and CWA Plans For Revitalizing Labor Movement LaborTalk By Harry Kelber For nearly 10 years, labor’s brightest and most influential union leaders, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and the 51-member Executive Council, have grappled with the problem of revitalizing the labor movement, but they’ve failed to arrest the continuing decline in membership and

d@venoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1102444551076430232004-12-07T13:35:00.000-05:002004-12-07T13:35:51.076-05:00

Kirkland Built A Secret Global Empire With U.S. Funds to Control Foreign Labor December 6, 2004

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1102110668200337982004-12-01T22:49:00.000-05:002004-12-03T16:51:08.200-05:00

AFL-CIO Leaders Have Lost Their Spine

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1102110139729787362004-11-29T16:42:00.000-05:002004-12-03T16:43:17.010-05:00

U.S. Labor Reps. Conspired to Overthrow Elected Governments in Latin America November 29, 2004

d@venoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1101267120699026042004-11-23T22:30:00.000-05:002004-11-23T22:36:38.256-05:00

12 CLC Leaders Enter Debate With Plan To Rebuild AFL-CIO Within 75 Regions LaborTalk By Harry Kelber A dozen officers of central labor councils have proposed a plan for modernizing the AFL-CIO’s structure by establishing 75 regional labor federations in the nation’s major metropolitan centers that will have responsibility for union organizing, political action and community relations. The

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1101264531084868732004-11-23T21:48:00.000-05:002004-11-23T21:50:36.960-05:00

U.S. Labor Secretly Intervened in Europe, Funded to Fight Pro-Communist Unions November 22, 2004

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1101264354257320172004-11-17T21:45:00.000-05:002004-11-23T21:47:00.363-05:00

Stern’s Proposals to Restructure AFL-CIO Have Flaws and Raise Many Questions

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1100470472409551772004-11-15T17:15:00.000-05:002004-11-23T21:56:15.276-05:00

AFL is Funded for Covert Activity by CIA In Long-standing Ties with Spy Agency November 15, 2004

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1100200442901885632004-11-11T14:14:00.000-05:002004-11-11T14:14:02.903-05:00

Those 200,000 Election Volunteers Lost Unique Chance to Recruit New Members

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1099928939212177852004-11-08T10:48:00.000-05:002004-11-23T21:54:37.106-05:00

Meany Hired a Former Top Communist To Run AFL-CI0’s International Affairs A 6-Part Series by Harry Kelber November 8, 2004

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1099775435225762372004-11-06T16:10:00.000-05:002004-11-06T16:10:35.226-05:00

Bush’s Re-Election Doesn’t Resolve Conflict Over Jobs, Taxes, Health Care, Iraq and Terrorism

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1099153034305935572004-10-30T13:17:00.000-04:002004-12-03T16:40:10.456-05:00

AFL-CIO's DARK PAST A Six-Part Series Starting Monday, Nov. 8, 2004 By Harry Kelber Editor, The Labor Educator

d@venoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1098551925480875852004-10-20T13:18:00.000-04:002004-10-23T13:22:28.810-04:00

UNITE HERE Tests New Strategy in Strikes At Big Hotels and Casinos in Major Cities LaborTalk By Harry Kelber In its first test as a merged union, UNITE HERE is conducting citywide battles with hotels in San Francisco and Atlantic City, with strikes looming in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. While bargaining for wages, health care and pensions is important, what the union is seeking in San

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1097722391263477562004-10-13T22:51:00.000-04:002004-10-13T22:54:17.600-04:00

Labor’s Role in 2004 Elections Is Limited LaborTalk By Harry Kelber The AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions have poured hundreds of millions of dollars of duespayers’ money into the campaign to defeat George W. Bush by electing Senator John Kerry as president of the United States. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) alone brags that it is spending a cool $65 million in support of the

d@venoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1096855162228689382004-10-03T21:56:00.000-04:002004-10-03T21:59:22.226-04:00

Corporate Unionism (5) By Harry Kelber Editor, The Labor Educator Final Article in five-part series (October 4, 2004) The AFL-CIO convention on July 25-28, 2005 in Chicago gives us an opportunity (it may be our last chance) to supplant corporate unionism with democratic unionism. We will begin our campaign for union democracy soon after the November presidential elections.  We will use the

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1096429229790044642004-09-27T23:39:00.000-04:002004-09-28T23:41:56.540-04:00

Corporate Unionism (4) By Harry Kelber September 27, 2004 The fourth in a series of five articles (September 27, 2004) The source of corporate unionism within the AFL-CIO is contained in Article IV, Sec. 17 of the federation's Constitution, which specifies that international unions may have as many convention votes as the number of members they represent, while state and local central labor

d@venoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1095613234027078882004-09-20T06:54:00.000-04:002004-09-20T09:54:28.233-04:00

Corporate Unionism (3) By Harry Kelber Editor, The Labor Educator Third in a series of five articles (September 20, 2004) For years, active union members have been complaining about labor’s continuing  decline and the ineptitude of the AFL-CIO leadership. Finally, a debate on how to reinvigorate the labor movement is taking place, so far only among  top national labor leaders. Initiating the

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1095346889117136182004-09-16T11:00:00.000-04:002004-09-16T12:26:55.836-04:00

To ILCA Editors: Here is a letter that CWA's editor refused to print. If you received such a letter from one of your members, would you print it? Dear Editor: I was expelled from the CWA without ever having an opportunity to face my accuser so I could defend myself. The reason for my expulsion from my local union, where I had been a member for close to twenty years, was that I was four months

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1095015291687269012004-09-13T07:07:00.000-04:002004-09-16T23:27:45.416-04:00

larger image Corporate Unionism (2) By Harry Kelber Editor, The Labor Educator Second in a series of five articles (September 13, 2004) The poster boy of corporate unionism is Douglas McCarron, general president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. McCarron turned the union of 550,000 members virtually into his personal property by transferring the authority of its

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1094484025627329472004-09-06T11:20:00.000-04:002004-09-06T11:33:02.160-04:00

Corporate Unionism (1) By Harry Kelber, Labor Educator If union members want to maintain their rights for the dues they pay into their labor organization, they will have to be aware of the symptoms of corporate unionism and learn how to fight it. If labor leaders act as though they own the union and can do as they please with it, that's corporate unionism. If they can spend the union's money

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1094401653380057552004-09-05T13:26:00.000-04:002004-09-05T12:27:33.380-04:00

What Is Corporate Unionism? To find out, read Harry Kelber's five-part series, starting Monday, September 6, 2004. The Labor Educator www.laboreducator.org Part 2, due out on Sept 13 will spotlight Doug McCarron, "An Apostle of Corporate Unionism"

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1093582850545956172004-08-25T20:00:00.000-04:002004-09-06T11:31:50.066-04:00

AFL-CIO Leaders Offer Feeble Response As Bush Cuts Overtime Pay for Millions LaborTalk By Harry Kelber President George Bush handed Corporate America a gift worth billions of dollars, for which it had lobbied unsuccessfully for 66 years -- the elimination of overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a given week. Rule changes by the Labor Department went into effect August 23, depriving an

d@venoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1092622132885662282004-08-15T22:08:00.000-04:002004-08-23T09:33:22.433-04:00

On Labor Day, Monday September 6, 2004, the Labor Educator begins a 5 part series on Corporate Unionism By Harry Kelber

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1092612131022228192004-08-14T05:30:00.000-04:002004-08-15T22:10:32.520-04:00

Mim Kelber, a feminist writer and political journalist, who was a close associate of Bella Abzug for more than 40 years, including six years as Bella's speechwriter and adviser, died at her home on Aug. 13 in Brooklyn Heights. The cause of her death was heart failure, her husband, Harry Kelber said. Mim Kelber was born in Philadelphia on May 14, 1922 and went to Hunter College, where she was

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1092283295268115782004-08-11T23:58:00.000-04:002004-08-12T00:01:35.270-04:00

Debate on AFL-CIO's Future Is Postponed So Council Can Focus on 2004 Elections By Harry Kelber The AFL-CIO Executive Council, at its meeting in Chicago on Aug. 9-11, decided to delay any discussion about how to resuscitate a weakened labor movement until after the November elections, but the need for structural and policy changes will continue to be voiced by the New Unity Partnership (NUP) and

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1091678763764388382004-08-05T00:06:00.000-04:002004-08-05T00:06:03.763-04:00

Needed: AFL Leaders That Can Energize and Involve Workers LaborTalk By Harry Kelber If everything goes according to plan, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and the 51-member Executive Council will be elected for still another four-year term at the federation's convention in July 2005. If that happens, it will be a disaster for the nation's working men and women, who need a strong union movement to

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1091073376563682212004-07-28T23:56:00.000-04:002004-07-28T23:56:16.563-04:00

Wal-Mart Is Sued by 1.6 Million Workers LaborTalk By Harry Kelber Wal-Mart is now faced with a monumental sex discrimination class action lawsuit, involving 1.6 million current women employees and those formerly employed since 1998, making it the largest such case in history. Since November 2001, Wal-Mart has been a defendant in 28 complaints brought by the National Labor Relations Board,

d@venoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1091073216376179372004-07-21T23:53:00.000-04:002004-07-28T23:57:10.946-04:00

What Benefits Will Union Members Receive For 'Working America?' LaborTalk By Harry Kelber The AFL-CIO has many constituency organizations, whose members regularly lobby in well-organized, coherent campaigns on issues affecting working families: Coalition of Labor Union Women, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance,

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1089866667765423342004-07-14T21:44:00.000-04:002004-07-15T00:53:56.146-04:00

AFL-CIO Failed to Mobilize Its Members In Fight to Retain Overtime Pay Rights LaborTalk By Harry Kelber Millions of workers, many earning as little as $23,600 a year, will lose their right to time-and-a-half pay for overtime work beyond a 40-hour week, unless Congress acts by July 23 to block the April 2003 decree of the Bush administration. For the first time in more than 65 years since

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1088687464032495572004-07-01T09:10:00.000-04:002004-07-01T09:22:25.556-04:00

SEIU Calls for End to U.S. Occupation And Withdrawal of Troops from Iraq The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the AFL-CIO's largest affiliated union with 1,600,000 members, voted to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and to bring U.S. troops stationed there home, in a resolution approved unanimously by nearly 4, 000 delegates at the union's national convention in San Francisco on June

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1088116497431276082004-06-23T18:34:00.000-04:002004-06-24T18:36:36.050-04:00

Kerry Proposes to Raise Minimum Wage To $7 an Hour by 2007. Is That Enough? LaborTalk By Harry Kelber

d@venoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1087532002929330402004-06-16T00:13:00.000-04:002004-06-18T00:14:18.363-04:00

As the Nation Paid Its Respect to Reagan, Media Downplay His Anti-Labor Record LaborTalk By Harry Kelber While Ronald Reagan was eulogized as a charismatic, upbeat and beloved personality during the five-day funeral program of homage in his honor, hardly any mention was made that he was the first U.S. president to break a strike by a labor organization. There were no comments whatever about

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1086970784355654482004-06-09T12:18:00.000-04:002004-06-11T13:46:08.993-04:00

Unions Accepting a Two-Tier Pay System Are Giving a Major Concession to Bosses By Harry Kelber Since May 1994, I have written and posted more than 500 consecutive weekly LaborTalk columns. HK A growing trend among unions is to offer employers a two-tier wage system as a bargaining concession in return for some advantages for current union members. The two-tier structure permits the hiring

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1086360815366625572004-06-02T10:53:00.000-04:002004-06-11T13:44:45.723-04:00

'Working Poor' Have Slim Chances Of Enjoying Middle-Class Life Style LaborTalk By Harry Kelber Millions of workers are trapped in dead-end, full-time jobs that pay them poverty wages and almost no benefits. Even if the economy improves appreciably, most of them will never attain their "dream" of a middle-class life style. The irony is that, in a globalized economy, many are in danger of losing

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1085580854432603772004-05-26T10:14:00.000-04:002004-05-26T10:17:50.870-04:00

Justice Dept. Rebuilt Abu Ghraib Prison To Be Model of U.S. Criminal System LaborTalk By Harry Kelber While the nation is still in shock over the videos and photos of gruesome sexual and humiliating abuses of Iraqi detainees by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, it is well to recall the words of Attorney General John Ashcroft when he sent a team of prison experts to restore

d@venoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1085114989729852252004-05-20T00:49:00.000-04:002004-05-21T00:56:57.030-04:00

Senate Votes $170 Billion in Tax Breaks For Business; Zilch for Jobless Workers LaborTalk By Harry Kelber By a vote of 92 to 5, the U.S. Senate passed a bill on May 11 that would give tax breaks and giveaways of $170 billion over 10 years to benefit domestic manufacturers and multinational corporations. A helluva lot of Democratic “friends of labor” voted for this bill at a time when the

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1084331165789205682004-05-11T23:04:00.000-04:002004-05-11T23:06:05.790-04:00

AFL-CIO Leaders Have Cock-Eyed View Of How to Defeat Bush in 2004 Election LaborTalk By Harry Kelber The AFL-CIO and its affiliated international unions have maintained a strict silence about the war in Afghanistan and Iraq for more than a year without ever explaining the reason for the information blackout. Virtually the entire labor press has suppressed news about Iraq and the war on terrorism

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1083803531919581682004-05-05T20:36:00.000-04:002004-05-05T20:40:15.373-04:00

AFL-CIO Offers an Anemic Response to Health-Care Crisis LaborTalk By Harry Kelber Union leaders are fully aware of the crisis in health-care — and they know it's going to get worse. In every contract negotiation, the cost of health care is a hotly-disputed issue at the bargaining table. Employers insist that their workers share more of the financial burden of health insurance, noting that the

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1083213528284596032004-04-29T00:38:00.001-04:002004-04-29T00:49:29.920-04:00

Retirees on Medicare May Lose Benefits LaborTalk by Harry Kelber Actually, there is no law that requires employers to provide a health plan for their workers. If premiums continue to escalate as they have in recent years, employers may say that the only way they can provide health insurance to their employees is if they sharply reduce or eliminate benefits to retirees. Unions may eventually have

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1082687270425300032004-04-22T22:27:00.000-04:002004-04-29T00:44:22.936-04:00

Unions Should Plan on Organizing Banks LaborTalk by Harry Kelber Until now, the AFL-CIO has made only a half-hearted effort to organize banks and other financial institutions, one of the nation's least unionized industries. If unions are looking for new fields to conquer, the banks, with tens of thousands of employees, are as good a prospect as any.

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1082005664323206032004-04-15T01:07:00.000-04:002004-04-15T01:14:11.530-04:00

AFL-CIO Issues Are Jobs and Economy; Will Keep Mum on Iraq and National Security By Harry Kelber With a war chest of $44 million, the AFL-CIO is mounting its 'most expensive and earliest-ever grass-root mobilization effort for the 2004 elections,' aiming to surpass its record voter turnout of 2000, when union households accounted for 26% of the total national vote. The federation launched a new

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1081393250374404982004-04-07T23:00:00.000-04:002004-04-07T23:09:15.920-04:00

How I Was Illegally Expelled from CWA Without Notice, Charges or a Hearing In a trial in which I was not allowed to appear to defend myself or even face my accusers to refute their false charges, the CWA Executive Board on March 29 upheld the decision of President Morton Bahr to expel me from the New York Typographical Union No. 6 (CWA Local 14156), where I had been a dues-paying member and

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1080694160581065262004-03-31T21:42:00.000-05:002004-04-29T00:46:06.670-04:00

SEIU's 'United We Win' Opens Debate on the Crisis Facing Working Families and the Labor Movement LaborTalk By Harry Kelber The Service Employees International Union is the largest union in the AFL-CIO and has the best organizing record, so its views on the future of the labor movement deserve to be taken seriously. SEIU's report, 'United We Win,' offers a series of proposals to reverse the

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Union Mergers Rarely Bring New Strength Or Promote Worker Loyalty and Solidarity LaborTalk By Harry Kelber When the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CI0) merged in 1955, the move was hailed as marking a new era of union organizing and growth. At that point, the new AFL-CIO had a total of 104 national unions with a membership of 15,912,000 dues

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1079566247481420372004-03-17T18:30:00.000-05:002004-03-17T18:34:48.390-05:00

Is AFL-CIO a Channel For Bush's Regime Change in Venezuela? LaborTalk by Harry Kelber Hardly any union member knows anything about the AFL-CIO's American Center for International Labor Solidarity, because it operates largely as a clandestine organization. It was established in 1997 to replace the four regional organizations under former AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland, whose staffs had worked

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1078983012129833312004-03-11T00:29:00.000-05:002004-03-11T00:32:28.560-05:00

Employers in '30s Were Nastier, But Millions Joined Unions LaborTalk by Harry Kelber It's become standard practice for labor leaders to blame "aggressive" anti-union employers for the AFL-CIO's failure to organize the 40 to 50 million workers who say they'd like to join a union. They sidestep criticism of their poor organizing performance by quoting the horrifying statistics of employer

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1078376420561043682004-03-04T00:00:00.000-05:002004-03-04T00:02:30.390-05:00

How to Organize 50 Million to Join a Union LaborTalk for March 3, 2004, By Harry Kelber

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1077174206412836442004-02-19T02:03:00.000-05:002004-02-19T02:14:58.060-05:00

By Mike Griffin, War Zone Education Foundation read the complete article at CounterPunch One might wonder what dire threat a ninety-year-old writer and labor educator might be to the mighty AFL-CIO. As a labor reporter with press credentials, Harry had access to AFL-CIO Executive Council meetings and conventions, a seat in the press box and an uncanny understanding of the workings of labor's

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1077143994720386202004-02-18T17:39:00.000-05:002004-02-19T02:16:11.420-05:00

Exporting U.S. Jobs Is Good for Economy, Declares Bush's Chief Economic Adviser

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CWA President Morton Bahr upheld the expulsion of Harry Kelber, a long-time labor activist, from his local union, the New York Typographical Union No. 6, a.k.a. CWA Local 14156, without advance notice or a hearing and in clear violation of the national union's constitution. Article XX, Section 2 Charges (a) of the CWA Constitution states: "Charges made against a member of the union or an officer

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1076475917245276452004-02-11T00:04:00.000-05:002004-02-11T00:07:28.716-05:00

UFCW.net Members for Democracy - FRONT PAGE Ominously, the trend appears to be spreading from the mainstream to the alternative media. Here's Harry Kelber, a well known labor activist and proponent of union democracy saying a lot of very negative things about mainstream unions and their leaders on The Labor Educator. Now that's some real heavy duty negativity there Harry. Haven't you heard that

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1076302678210304582004-02-08T23:57:00.000-05:002004-02-09T00:12:13.543-05:00

Harry Kelber, a long-time labor educator and critic of the AFL-CIO’s undemocratic policies, has been illegally expelled from his union, the New York Typographical Union No. 6, now known as CWA Local 14156. The reason given for the expulsion was a lapse in dues payments of four months, although Local 6 officers openly admitted that they never informed Kelber, either by letter, fax or e-mail that

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1076122339076245312004-02-06T21:51:00.000-05:002004-02-06T21:56:14.046-05:00

'Electability Factor' Enables Kerry to Win LaborTalk By Harry Kelber Kerry's Iowa victory gave him the momentum to win in New Hampshire and establish himself as the front-runner for the nomination. The 700,000-member Communications Workers of America has endorsed Kerry, and it is quite likely that many of the forty international unions that have thus far made no endorsements will jump on the

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1075305616274258192004-01-28T11:00:00.000-05:002004-01-28T11:01:50.466-05:00

AFL-CIO Leaders Are the Problem For Decline LaborTalk, By Harry Kelber When John Sweeney became AFL-CIO President in 1995, he said that organizing would be his top priority. He budgeted a third of the federation's annual income for organizing and pressed affiliated unions to do the same. He called for the training of 1,000 full-time organizers. Hundreds of young, enthusiastic women and

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1074837423604520702004-01-22T00:56:00.000-05:002004-01-23T01:05:43.873-05:00

By Harry Kelber Kerry Wins Iowa Caucus; Dean Is Third; Gephardt, Fourth, Withdraws from Race In a stunning upset, Senator John Kerry won first place in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 19, garnering 38% of the vote. Former House minority leader Richard Gephardt, who had the support of some twenty AFL-CIO unions, finished a disappointing fourth, with only 11% of the vote. Soon after the results were

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1074138316981750732004-01-14T22:45:00.000-05:002004-01-14T22:46:37.153-05:00

Bush’s Immigration Plan Would Provide Quasi-Slave Labor to Low-Wage Bosses By Harry Kelber LaborTalk for January 14, 2004

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LaborTalk for January 7, 2003 By Harry Kelber 20 Top Union Leaders Averaged $223,000 In Pay In 2000-2002, New Survey Reveals Robert Chase, president of the independent National Education Assn., the largest union in the United States with 2.7 million members, was paid almost $223,000 in 2002, while Sandra Feldman, president of the rival American Federation of Teachers, with one-million members,

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1072917646827623312003-12-31T19:39:00.000-05:002004-01-01T14:38:50.076-05:00

LaborTalk (December 31, 2003) By Harry Kelber full text or pdf Let’s Make 2004 a Year of Action If national labor leaders are looking for actions that can win them the respect of politicians and the loyalty of workers, both union and nonunion, here are a few suggestions: • A March for Jobs in Washington with a demand that Congress spend $18.3 billion (the same as in Iraq) for public works jobs

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1072648291458500952003-12-29T10:13:00.000-05:002003-12-29T10:15:23.530-05:00

full text: REACHING THE UNORGANIZED By Harry Kelber A New Game Plan For Union Organizing (8) This is the last of eight articles on union organizing. More than 40 million unorganized workers would like to join a union, we’re told, but apparently they feel it’s too risky. Wouldn’t it be great if we could unionize even five million? But where are they? What industries and occupations do they

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LaborTalk for December 24, 2003 By Harry Kelber Why Do the Unemployed Remain Invisible? How Can the Labor Movement Help Them? Even though the federal government admits that there are some nine million workers who are unemployed, that has caused very little public indignation. Nor has the fact that more than two million have been unable to find a job for more than 27 months evoked a national

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1072148499484169502003-12-22T22:01:00.000-05:002003-12-29T18:51:03.186-05:00

full text: NEGOTIATING A FIRST CONTRACT By Harry Kelber A New Game Plan For Union Organizing (7) This is the seventh of eight articles on union organizing. Now that they are full-fledged union members working under a negotiated contract, the workers will still have a great deal to do to protect what they've won. They should be on guard against attempts by the employer and his supervisors to

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1071673553977691452003-12-17T10:05:00.000-05:002003-12-17T10:09:57.810-05:00

full text: Advice to Improve Union Publications By Harry Kelber LaborTalk for December 17, 2003 It's inevitable that, like politicians, bankers and corporation executives, some labor leaders will become involved in criminal activities. When a union leader's wrongdoing was very serious and widely publicized, I felt I had to report it, while giving him an opportunity to defend himself in our

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1071436827137948652003-12-15T09:53:00.000-05:002003-12-16T23:38:00.216-05:00

full text: A New Game Plan For Union Organizing (6) By Harry Kelber This is the sixth of eight articles on union organizing. A WINNING STRATEGY As the organizing campaign develops, the workers will be watching to see who is stronger - the employer or the union. That is why the union must move aggressively to put the employer on the defensive. One way to do so is to run ads in the local

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California Supermarket Chains Are Trying To Force Their 70,000 Workers to Surrender LaborTalk By Harry Kelber Although AFL-CIO President John Sweeney declared on Oct. 10 that "these workers [UFCW members] are not alone, and have the full support of the entire labor movement and our allies," only a few unions have appeared on the picket lines in support of the striking and locked out workers. In

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1070838571915648702003-12-08T10:17:00.000-05:002003-12-08T10:23:32.653-05:00

A New Game Plan For Union Organizing (5) By Harry Kelber This is the fifth of eight articles on union organizing. THE EMPLOYER OFFENSIVE Organizers should be aware that employers have access to U.S. Labor Department reports which unions are required to file annually. These reports inform them about the union's structure, membership, dues and assessments, salaries and expenses of officers and

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1070508498257796382003-12-03T22:30:00.000-05:002003-12-03T22:31:08.856-05:00

LaborTalk for December 3, 2003 By Harry Kelber Voice@Work Offers Wealth of Materials But Avoids Workers’ Troubling Questions Voice@Work assumes that it is helping unions improve their faltering organizing campaigns by repeatedly advertising the employers’ intimidating tactics and inviting abused victims to tell their horror stories at rallies and in videos. Here is their litany, with statistics,

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1070219181036283082003-12-01T09:25:00.000-05:002003-12-01T09:26:06.356-05:00

A New Game Plan For Union Organizing (4) By Harry Kelber This is the fourth of eight articles on union organizing. THE IDEAL UNION ORGANIZER If unions are to grow, they’ll need bigger, better and more successful organizing campaigns. That means they’ll also need a larger pool of well-trained organizers. The job of union organizer is the toughest in the labor movement. Yet many unions don’t pay

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1069860344767988442003-11-26T10:25:00.000-05:002003-11-27T22:32:02.373-05:00

LaborTalk for November 26, 2003 By Harry Kelber You’d never believe it, unless you were there and saw it with your own eyes. And it happened, in all places, the AFL-CIO’s 2001 convention in Las Vegas. Sitting in the convention hall were the 22 delegates from the Service Employees International Union, each entitled to cast 57,887 votes. Not far away was the delegate from the California Labor

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1069631845722185582003-11-23T18:52:00.000-05:002003-11-24T09:15:45.890-05:00

A New Game Plan For Union Organizing (3) By Harry Kelber This is the third of eight articles on union organizing. A NEW ORGANIZING STRATEGY The standard organizing method that unions use has built-in disadvantages. It calls for playing by the rules that are blatantly stacked in the employer’s favor. The workplace that the union is trying to organize is the employer’s fortress, a terrain where

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1069216667237119632003-11-18T23:37:00.000-05:002003-11-18T23:38:11.170-05:00

LaborTalk for November 19, 2003 By Harry Kelber Can Labor Win Campaign on Freedom to Join a Union?

d@venoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479820.post-1069087519377733452003-11-17T11:41:00.000-05:002003-11-18T13:16:21.513-05:00

The septad is a poetic form I created, somewhat similar to the Japanese haiku. It consists of 28 syllables, arranged in seven staggered lines. It can employ rhyme, rhythm, alliteration and assonance. It can compress a range of ideas and emotions into snapshots, establishing quick, intimate contact with the reader. Harry Kelber Reflections in Septads 1. Scars of wars shame losers to fight

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A New Game Plan For Union Organizing (2) By Harry Kelber This is the second of eight articles on union organizing. CORRECTING THE MESSAGE It has become an annual ritual that every June, for an entire week, central labor councils and local unions around the country, mostly the same ones, stage a variety of events to “shine a spotlight” on employers who deny their workers the right to join a

d@venoreply@blogger.com0