LaborGroups News 10Feb04

www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews10Feb04.pdf
www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews10Feb04.doc

*** YourName (at) Labor4Kerry.com NOW AVAILABLE !***
1) Tell IKEA: Catalog Print Workers Deserve Safe Jobs, Overtime Pay
2) AFL-CIO's Work in Progress, February 9, 2004
3) CWA: Michigan, Ohio Hold CWA 2004 State Battleground Meetings
4) MSN Mexico News and Analysis, Feb 2-8, 2004
5) Presidential Talking Points
6) The Interfaith Alliance: Media Roundup Newsletter
7) Bill Miller's LaborPower Newsletter III(2)
8) Comcast Hasn't Kept its Promises
9) USA: Alert! University Ordered To Turn Over Records On Student Antiwar Activists
10) 2/20 USA:Nat'l Day of Solidarity
11) DNC: How much will Bush make you pay?
12) CZARNECKI’S LABOR EDUCATION NEWSLETTER Vol. VIII No. 11 JANUARY 12, 2004
13) 45 Min. Internet Audio Of "Grocery Workers Battle For Healthcare!"
14) Chicago: Road Trip to Louisville to Protest Taco Bell!
15) TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT ILLINOIS BILLS TO KEEP JOBS IN AMERICA!
16) Some graphic images related to offshoring of jobs...
17) Chicago: Special Black History Month Event!
18) Chicago: ENVIRONMENT 2004 EVENT!
19) Vieques, Puerto Rico
20) Rob Sanchez's JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER !
21) Carolyn Kay's "Make Them Accountable"
22) Kelber, AFL-CIO Critic, Expelled from Union In Explicit Violation of CWA Constitution
23) OBAMA for Working Families !
24) Citizen Works' Corporate Reform Weekly, February 9, 2004
25) Kerry Forth the Good News!
26) STOP THE EXECUTION OF KEVIN COOPER
27) 300,000 call for censure by tomorrow?
28) Secrecy News -- 02/09/04
29) CLG News
30) John Kerry for President - Dick Gephardt on his Endorsement of John Kerry
31) TruthOut
32) Smoke THIS !


www.JohnKerry.com

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*** YourName (at) Labor4Kerry.com NOW AVAILABLE !***

webmail.Labor4Kerry.com

Also available at www.LaborGroups.org/freemail.htm
and www.73online.org

Be sure to tell your friends !

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1) Tell IKEA: Catalog Print Workers Deserve Safe Jobs, Overtime Pay

Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is one of the largest catalog
retailers in the world. Every year it distributes more than 110
million copies of its biannual catalog in 23 languages
worldwide. But those glossy catalogs don't tell you about the
war the printer behind the IKEA catalog is waging against its
workers. Click on the link below to act now or keep reading for
more information.
www.unionvoice.org/campaign/tellikea/

IKEA's printer, Quebecor World, is the largest commercial
printer in the world--with $6.3 billion in global sales and
more than 37,000 employees. Workers at the printing plants are
trying to win a voice at work by forming a union. Their jobs are
tough and dangerous. The printer has been cited for safety
violations by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration 141 times in the past five years.

Safety isn't the only issue. As in workplaces across America,
Quebecor World's workers face cuts in overtime pay, cuts in
health care and wage freezes. Quebecor World also is opposing
the workers' freedom to choose a union with legal and illegal
tactics.

IKEA didn't commit these acts but it has agreed to a code of
conduct for how it runs its business. Quebecor World doesn't
live up to IKEA's code of conduct. Now is the time for IKEA to
insist Quebecor World do better. Please take one minute to send
a fax (it's free) to the IKEA store near you and the IKEA
headquarters by clicking on the link below.
www.unionvoice.org/campaign/tellikea/

After you act, please spread the word by telling your friends,
family and co-workers about this by clicking on the link below.
www.unionvoice.org/campaign/tellikea/forward/

James Chandler, a pressman and 20-year employee of Quebecor
World, has a horrible story about an accident at one plant: "One
guy got his hand caught in a belt. The operator took the time to
disassemble the belt instead of just cutting it because it would
slow down production more. In the meantime, the guy was
screaming."

This isn't an isolated incident. Another worker in Tennessee was
killed while adjusting a machine that hadn't been shut down
properly. Other workers were injured in a plant that didn't have
working fire-extinguishing systems.

Quebecor World is a huge corporation, not some mom-and-pop copy
shop. It should treat its workers fairly and IKEA needs to
insist on it. Please act today.

Thanks for all you do.

In Solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO
Feb. 9, 2004


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2) AFL-CIO's Work in Progress, February 9, 2004

www.aflcio.org/aboutaflcio/wip/wip02092004.cfm

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3) CWA: Michigan, Ohio Hold CWA 2004 State Battleground Meetings

Quote to Remember

"Well, I was going to Harvard Business School and worked it out
with the military."

-- President Bush explaining on Meet the Press why he didn't
serve his full term in the Alabama National Guard. (click here
to read transcripts of the full interview.)

Michigan, Ohio Hold CWA 2004 State Battleground Meetings

More than 100 local union officers, activists and staff
participated in CWA 2004 state battleground meetings held
recently in preparation for this year's presidential election.

In Michigan, more than 50 officers and staff showed great
enthusiasm and excitement as they reviewed the national
political scene on Wed., Feb. 4. This meeting was the first
state battleground meeting since CWA endorsed Sen. John Kerry
for president. Kerry's endorsement was widely popular among the
CWA leaders, which was reflected in Senator Kerry's sweep of the
Michigan causes on Saturday, Feb. 7.
A highlight of the meeting was an appearance by former New
Hampshire Governor Jean Sheheen who serves a co-chair of Sen.
Kerry's national campaign. The night before, on Tuesday, Feb. 3,
Sen. Kerry was the big winner with victories in Delaware,
Missouri, Arizona, North Dakota and New Mexico.
(Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
Polls Note Drop in Public Support for Bush

Public opinion polls 10 months before an election are
notoriously suspect, but President Bush's public support has
dropped sharply over the past month, especially among older
voters, political independents and people in the Midwest, an
Associated Press poll found.
And for the first time, more voters in this poll's two years of
tracking the question said they would definitely vote against
Bush than said they would definitely vote for him. (Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
Kerry: Bush Budget Leaves Manufacturers Out in the Cold

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), CWA's endorsed candidate for
president, recently expressed serious concerns about President
Bush's proposed 2005 budget and its likely impact on domestic
manufacturers and jobs.

"The President talks about creating good factory jobs but
instead he's cutting the very programs designed to do just
that," said Kerry, who is also ranking member on the Small
Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. "At a time when
America's manufacturers are struggling to regain market share
and recover from devastating job losses we ought to be
strengthening manufacturing assistance programs, not crippling
or eliminating them."
(Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
Bush-Cheney on Way to $170 Million By Spring

The Bush-Cheney reelection team is on track toward its goal of
raising $170 million by early spring. What the impact of that
money will be, and when it will start to be felt, looms as one
of the largest unknowns of this election cycle.
Current plans call for the campaign's heavy advertising to start
in March or April, a GOP source said, adding that the Republican
National Committee may sponsor some ads before then. But there
is some second-guessing about this in Republican circles, where
some wonder whether the White House-run reelection team is being
complacent in the face of serious peril.
(Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)

Republican House Members Slam Bush Polices

According to leaked news media sources, growing frustration over
President Bush's immigration plan and lack of fiscal discipline
came to a head behind closed doors at the annual House
Republican retreat in Philadelphia, held Jan. 29-Feb. 1.

House lawmakers, stunned by the intensity of their constituents'
displeasure at some of Bush's key domestic policies, gave his
political strategist Karl Rove an earful behind closed doors. (Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
GOP Sources Report Alarm in the White House

President Bush is facing weaker reelection prospects than his
strategists expected, spreading alarm in the White House and
Republican circles, GOP sources are telling the news media. At
the same time, the Democratic Party is finding itself with a far
more promising hopes for the fall election compared with just a
couple of months ago.

The dramatic turn of fortunes is among the reasons President
Bush agreed to an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on
Sunday, Feb. 8. The President has granted far fewer interviews
than most of his predecessors, but is under pressure to respond
to the increasingly effective attacks from Democrats.
(Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
Hastert Threatens Kentucky Voters on Tobacco Buyout Plan

In a dramatic threat to Kentucky residents, U.S. House Speaker
Dennis Hastert pledged for the first time recently that he would
push a tobacco buyout plan to the House floor, but only if
Republican Alice Forgy Kerr is elected to Congress.

Kentucky voters will go to the polls Feb. 17 in a special
election for Gov. Ernie Fletcher's vacant 6th District seat.
Democrat Ben Chandler is facing Kerr.
Tobacco growers attending the $50-a-head Kerr-sponsored event
in Lexington applauded Hastert's remarks. But a Kentucky Farm
Bureau representative was more reserved, saying the group was
encouraged but would fight for a buyout regardless of who wins
the Feb. 17 special election for Chandler said through a
spokesman that he was disappointed that Hastert was "playing
politics" with the buyout issue. Chandler, if elected, would
continue to press for a buyout anyway, the spokesman said.
(Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
Online Voting Canceled for Americans Overseas

Citing security concerns, the Department of Defense canceled
plans to use an electronic voting system that would have allowed
Americans overseas to cast votes over the Internet in this
year's elections.
The system, the Secure Electronic Registration and Voting
Experiment, or Serve, was developed with financing from the
Defense Department. Paraphrasing the memorandum, a Department of
Defense spokeswoman said: "The department has decided not to use
Serve in the November 2004 elections. We made this decision in
view of the inability to ensure legitimacy of votes, thereby
bringing into doubt the integrity of the election results." (Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
Most States Expect Pollution to Rise if Regulations Change

A majority of state environmental officials believes that air
pollution from coal-burning power plants would increase if the
Bush administration's changes to the Clean Air Act were to take
effect.

The administration has said the changes, originally approved in
August, would have minimal impact on air pollution.
The survey, which was requested by Senators Joseph I. Lieberman,
Democrat of Connecticut, and James M. Jeffords, the Vermont
independent, gathered responses from 44 states on the section of
the Clean Air Act governing aging coal-burning plants, New
Source Review. (Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)
Bush Proposes to Help Grandparents of Rich Kids

In one of the lesser publicized tax proposals in his proposed
federal budget released recently, President Bush offers a tax
break for what must be a very small group of taxpayers: those
who support their grandchildren even though the kids are
independently wealthy or earning a substantial income on their
own. For the first time, such grandparents will be able to claim
dependent exemptions for the grandkids.

The provision to benefit grandparents raising rich kids is
supposed to simplify the law. Another "simplification" is a
proposal to reduce the maximum capital gains tax on gold coins
from 28 percent to 25 percent.
Of the $1.24 trillion that the administration estimates its tax
proposals will cost over the next decade, only 11 percent will
hit before the 2008 election. But the impact will be severe on
the budgets of the president elected that year.
(Full Story, go to:
www.cwa-cope.org/e-politics/040209.asp)


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4) MSN Mexico News and Analysis, Feb 2-8, 2004

MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
FEBRUARY 2-8, 2004

1. EX BRACEROS INVADE FOX RANCH
2. CHIAPAS LAWMAKER CALLS FOR EXPULSION OF FOREIGNERS
3. ZAPATISTAS CONDEMN FOREST DESTRUCTION
4. FOUR THOUSAND MARCH IN PUEBLA AGAINST FTAA
5. PAN COMMITTEE PROMOTES HALF OF "PRESIDENTIAL COUPLE" FOR MAYOR
6. SPANISH BANK MAKES OFFER FOR BANCOMER
7. TARRANT CLOSED CONFLICTED PLANT IN MEXICO
8. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (WWW.MEXICOSOLIDARITY.ORG FOR DETAILS)



1. EX BRACEROS INVADE FOX RANCH
Two thousand former Braceros from 16 states invaded a ranch owned by the family of President Vicente Fox, demanding the return of 10% of their salaries deducted during the infamous guest worker program from 1942 to 1964. Protestors dispersed after Ramon Martin Huerta, under-secretary of Governance, agreed to discuss Bacero grievances in a formal meeting this coming Thursday. Former Bracero workers are increasingly organized on both sides of the border, demanding return of money deducted from their paychecks while employed in the United States for retirement programs that never materialized. The Mexican government claims there is no evidence that US banks ever sent the funds to Mexico. Legal actions are pending in the US seeking information from Wells Fargo Bank that could shed light on billions of dollars in lost funds.


2. CHIAPAS LAWMAKER CALLS FOR EXPULSION OF FOREIGNERS
Luis Gabrial Sanchez, a Chiapas state legislator from the Green Party, called for the expulsion of dozens of foreign human rights observers from indigenous communities in the Montes Azules bio-reserve. Sanchez accused the foreigners of providing logistical and political support for Zapatista communities under threat of expulsion from Montes Azules. Hundreds of human rights observers, including this reporter, were expelled from Chiapas in 1997, but the Mexican government has largely assumed a hands-off attitude since then.


3. ZAPATISTAS CONDEMN FOREST DESTRUCTION
On Thursday the Junta of Good Government in La Garrucha denounced the wholesale destruction of forestland via officially sanctioned logging in three PRI-affiliated communities in the canyon region of the Lacandon rainforest. "We have been struggling for the defense of our natural resources," said a member of the Junta. "The problem is in the forest. The bad government permits private companies to destroy it."

4. FOUR THOUSAND MARCH IN PUEBLA AGAINST FTAA
More than 4,000 demonstrators marched through Puebla's historic central plaza protesting a meeting of the hemisphere's deputy trade ministers who are trying to breath new life into stalled negotiations on the Free Trade Area of the Americas. The negotiations closed on Saturday with a vaguely worded statement and several serious disagreements that prevented any significant advances in the FTAA. Special and differential treatment for developing countries, corporate agricultural subsidies, and market access rules led a long list of unresolved disputes that pitted the US and Canada against Southern countries. In the area of special and differential treatment, the US argued for development assistance and capacity building programs while Southern countries called for incorporating the issue into each negotiating group with the goal of concrete actions, including compensation funds in some cases. Special and differential treatment arguments take into consideration the advantages in scale and economic power that US-based corporations enjoy when competing with less powerful Southern companies. Corporate agricultural subsidies are supported by the US and Canada but condemned by Southern producers who cannot compete in export markets where basic grains are often dumped at below the cost of production. The question of agricultural subsidies sank recent WTO negotiations in Cancun. The market access debate revolves around elimination of tariffs, with the US supporting less comprehensive tariff reduction than Mercosur countries. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for the first week in March in Puebla.


5. PAN COMMITTEE PROMOTES HALF OF "PRESIDENTIAL COUPLE" FOR MAYOR
Members of President Fox's National Action Party (PAN) formed a committee this week to back Marta Sahagun de Fox, the President's wife, as a candidate for mayor of Mexico City. Sahagun, who reportedly has presidential ambitions in 2006, denied any knowledge of the committee. In January she became a member of the PAN's 300-delegate national council, a necessary preliminary step to seeking the presidential nomination. Term limits bar Vicente Fox from seeking a second term, but speculation is rife that the other half of the "presidential couple" is anxious to hold the reigns of power. Many PAN powerbrokers have a cool relationship with the President and have objected strenuously to a Sahagun candidacy, perhaps accounting for the unofficial mayoral committee.


6. SPANISH BANK MAKES OFFER FOR BANCOMER
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Spain's second largest bank, offered US$4.1 billion this week for the 41% share of Bancomer that it doesn't currently own. Bancomer is Mexico's largest bank, and the purchase would cement BBVA's predominance in Mexico's increasingly profitable banking industry. Bancomer controls a quarter of Mexico's credit market, nearly 29% of client resources and 40% of all banking transactions. Competitor Banamex, which is owned by US-based Citigroup, is Mexico's second largest bank.


7. TARRANT CLOSED CONFLICTED PLANT IN MEXICO
Tarrant closed its textile factory in Ajalpan, Puebla, on February 3, the last of six Tarrant plants to close in a five month period in Central Mexico, leaving about 5,000 workers unemployed. Fired workers met with factory lawyers in groups of four and were forced to sign papers awarding them only about two-thirds of their legally mandated severance pay. Three workers affiliated with an independent union formed at the plant rejected the severance settlement and insisted on a formal hearing before the local labor board.

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Administrative Office of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAFTA's labor side agreement) accepted a complaint filed by the Puebla-based Center for Worker Assistance (CAT) and United Students Against Sweat Shops claiming that local labor boards routinely deny legal registration for independent unions. A public report is expected in four months, however, decisions by the National Administrative Office have no legal standing or enforcement mechanisms.


8. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (WWW.MEXICOSOLIDARITY.ORG FOR DETAILS)

February 14: Demonstration to demand justice for women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

February 27: Demonstration at YUM, Inc. (owner of Taco Bell) in Louisville, sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. March 3-5: March to Taco Bell headquarters from Los Angeles to Irvine, sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

March 3-9, 2004: International Women's Day Delegation to Juarez, Mexico.

March 13-21: Delegation to Chiapas sponsored by the Mexico Solidarity Network and the Chiapas Peace House.

April 2004: Women Confronting Globalization tour: Toronto, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa.

April 24 - May 2: Annual MayDay Delegation to Mexico City and Puebla.

July 25 - August 8: Women's Delegation to Chiapas and Ciudad Juarez.

#############################################################
Mexico Solidarity Network www.mexicosolidarity.org

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5) Presidential Talking Points

Help Wipe the Smirk off Bush’s Face.

Presidential Election Talking Points for

All Concerned Americans

(Abbreviated Version, February 10, 2004)

***For the fully-sourced 26-page version free version of these

Talking Points, please email uxorpress (at) usa.com.

A public service project initiated by Bob Zimmerman, author of:

The American Challenge: Twenty-One Winning Strategies for the 21st Century.

www.TheAmericanChallenge.com , or BobZimmerman (at) usa.com BobZimmerman (at) usa.com>.

Contact for queries is Sondra at 415-383-8481.

The Bush Record Exposed: Nothing but Lies, Deceptions, and Crimes against Humanity

1. Bush deserted from the military when the U.S. was at war in Vietnam.

2. The Bush War of Terror is judged “unfocused,” and the Bush decision to

invade Iraq is dubbed a disastrous “strategic error.”

- Source: U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, December 2003.

3. Bush and Cheney Knew: They deliberately and repeatedly lied to us about

9/11; they were told 9/11 was imminent; and, instead of protecting us, they

slept at the helm; the record shows they should have prevented 9/11.

4. Bush Knew: He deliberately and repeatedly lied to us about Iraqi WMD.

5. Bush Knows: He has destroyed more American jobs than Herbert Hoover.

6. Bush and Cheney seek to place WMD in space and on Mars.

7. Bush lied to us and then used our soldiers as re-election propaganda props.

8. Bush refuses to cooperate with the official 9/11 investigating commission.

9. Bush actions upon learning of the 9/11 attack are highly suspect.

10. Bush deliberately stonewalls the families of the victims of 9/11.

11. Bush and Cheney concern for America’s national security and claims about

exporting democracy to Iraq are entirely bogus.

12. Bush Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill says Bush is a failed president.

13. Bush is obstructing justice in the criminal investigation of the White House.

14. Bush and Cheney are neocons with an anti-democratic, fascist agenda.

15. Bush policies and programs favor only wealthy special interest groups.

16. Bush seeks to fool seniors and to destroy Social Security and Medicare.

17. Bush is anti-choice, anti-women’s rights, anti-civil rights, anti-human rights,

anti-worker rights; his approach to the environment and gays is disdain.

18. Bush is pursuing an ugly policy of economic class warfare in America.

19. Bush has repeatedly looted the U.S. Treasury to enrich his wealthy friends.

20. Bush tax cuts are nothing but an ugly scam on working families and retirees.

21. Bush, with a smirk on his face, is waging war on America’s children.

22. Bush is contributing to the spread of AIDS amongst our youth.

23. Bush has failed to provide promised federal funding to fight global AIDS.

24. Bush is deliberately waging war on the environment.

25. Bush and Cheney’s foreign policy is deliberately creating global instability.

26. Bush and Cheney deliberately spread hatred, fear, and loathing in America.

27. Bush is deliberately rescinding the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

28. Bush and Cheney war talk is nothing but schoolyard bullyboy arrogance.

29. Bush has failed to capture Osama bin Laden and defeat al Qaeda.

30. Bush and Cheney immediately after 9/11 helped the bin Laden family and

about 140 other Saudi financiers of terror flee America.

31. Bush deliberately undercuts our soldiers and veterans by slashing veteran’s

benefits and by treating our soldiers as slaves.

32. Bush is highly antagonistic to working people and their unions.

33. Bush elective wars are ungodly and un-Christian.

34. Bush federal deficits (trillions of dollars) are a catastrophic blunder.

35. Bush is deliberately starving state and local governments.

36. Bush favors political fundraising over attending the funerals of the

soldiers who died fighting his false war in Iraq.

37. Bush as lord high executioner and mass-murderer.

38. Bush anti-science policies are retarding scientific research.

39. Bush stole one election; is he planning to steal another?

40. Bush has lost his self-proclaimed global war of terror.

41. Bush war spending is counterproductive and bankrupting America.

42. Bush will say and do anything to avoid defeat in 2004.

43. Bush and Ashcroft seek to crush dissent in America # 1 (USA Patriot Act).

44. Bush and Ashcroft seek to crush dissent in America # 2 (First Amendment).

45. Bush sends U.S. reserve units into action without proper equipment.

46. Bush has appointed a cabinet of, by, and for the wealthy.

47. Bush spends big for bombs while slashing vital programs for the needy.

48. Bush denies access to necessary medical care to millions of Americans.

49. Bush is deliberately destroying America’s middle-income families.

50. Bush wants full control of what is left of our free press.

51. Bush has set out to destroy the separation of church and state.

52. Bush and Cheney may be tried as war criminals.

53. Bush and Ashcroft have failed to prosecute most giant corporate crime.

54. Bush has an energy bill that only energizes energy company profits.

55. Bush and Rove rigged the California gubernatorial recall election.

56. Bush, a rugged individualist, or a military deserter, and a spoiled brat?

57. Bush and Cheney prefer rebuilding Iraq to rebuilding America.

58. Bush friends stuff their pockets with staggering war profits.

59. Bush appoints judges for the sole purpose of furthering neocon interests.

60. Bush White House secrecy exceeds all reasonable bounds.

# # # # # # #

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6) The Interfaith Alliance: Media Roundup Newsletter

MediaRoundup
A Report on the Use of Religion in the '04 Elections
February 9, 2004
A Project of The Interfaith Alliance

Some say religion has no appropriate role in politics; some say it is the only thing that matters. Most Americans agree that the answer is somewhere in between. Unfortunately, the disagreement over how and whether matters of faith should be raised in campaigns still leads to division.

This report offers a roundup of news stories where religion –either positively or negatively – has played a role in a political candidate’s quest for elected office. This will cover political campaigns, their affiliating organizations or independent groups seeking to influence the outcome on an election.

Media Roundup is NOW ready.


www.interfaithalliance.org/Election2004/Election2004.cfm

REGISTER TO VOTE


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7) Bill Miller's LaborPower Newsletter III(2)

Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.

Please - click on 'Forward' in your email program and send this message on to fellow union members and to mailing lists you belong to or control.

The Newsletter is taking on new focus and direction! www.135steward.org/changes.htm
I. H.R. 814. The `Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2003. www.135steward.org/rights.htm
See what your representatives support to help or hurt YOU. www.135steward.org/getout.htm
While visiting the LaborPower website, please click on the boxed (Google) ads occasionally. Visiting the advertisers pays a royalty for our website.
II. In the News. When Government Contractors Abuse the Help, Taxpayers Pick Up the Legal Tab. www.135steward.org/news.htm
FMLA Codebook - Electronic Edition. www.135steward.org/fmlabook.htm
III. Action Link. Monitor Your Congressmen. capwiz.com/congressorg/megavote/
IV. Surveys.
Rep. Bell of Texas wants to know how you feel about the current state of the economy. bell.house.gov/hor/tx25/home.htm
Rep. Kind of Wisconsin wants to know whether you're concerned about the federal deficit. www.house.gov/kind/
Rep. Smith of Washington wants to know what Congress' top priorities should be in 2004. www.house.gov/adamsmith/startPage/qom_jan04.html
Subscribe to this Newsletter for Free. 135steward (at) 135steward.org?subject=subscribe 135steward (at) 135steward.org?subject=subscribe> . Your address won't be shared.
Please support the LaborPower effort. www.135steward.org/support.htm
Info on Overtime Cuts: www.135steward.org/proposed.htm
Get Involved! www.saveovertimepay.org/
Get Quick Answers to Your Workplace Questions. Join LaborPower. www.135steward.org/join.htm . Now, Receive a Free copy of The FMLA Codebook - Electronic Edition and a Free subscription to the Rights at Work Newsletter (www.135steward.org/raw.htm ) when you join! www.135steward.org/fmlabook.htm
LaborPower Web Forum. www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.pl =(Thanks to Eric Lee, www.labourstart.org ).
Sign petitions online from www.135steward.org/pro_union.htm and www.135steward.org/goodwage.htm
Circulate a petition! Details at www.135steward.org/instruct.htm
Sign the Living Wage Petition! www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/HR1040/
Questions and comments are always welcome. 135steward (at) 135steward.org 135steward (at) 135steward.org>
LaborPower is a proLabor website where people can see what others are doing - and what we can do - to either benefit or hinder the working class majority. The working class is a true majority. Moving in one direction, one person, one vote, one voice, we can decide the fate of the nation and the world. For more about LaborPower's goals visit www.135steward.org/doctrine.htm
If you know someone else who may be interested in or benefit from the LaborPower effort, please forward this message or share the LaborPower link. www.135steward.org
In Solidarity,
Bill Miller

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8) Comcast Hasn't Kept its Promises

Please read the two new stories below about Comcast's privacy
policies.

_________________________________________

Comcast on Privacy: The Policy Hasn't Changed - Just the Way
Comcast Describes It

Comcast has announced that it is not changing its privacy policy
- but it is changing the way it will announce the policy to the
public. In an AP story that ran on January 27th, Jennifer Yates
reported, "Gerard Lewis, Philadelphia-based Comcast's senior
counsel and chief privacy officer, said there were no changes to
the actual policy, which is sent out annually in compliance with
federal laws."

Full Story: www.unionvoice.org/ct/gpaozBp117uD/

_________________________________________

Comcast Promised It Wouldn't Monitor - Has It Kept Its Promise?
Comcast had earlier collected information on High Speed Internet
subscribers and the web sites that they had visited. Several
subscribers initiated lawsuits and Comcast claims they have
suspended the practice...

Full Story: www.unionvoice.org/ct/b1aozBp117uK/


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9) USA: Alert! University Ordered To Turn Over Records On Student Antiwar Activists

University Ordered to Turn Over Records on Anti-War Activists
By Ryan J. Foley
February 7, 2004, The Associated Press
www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi

DES MOINES, Iowa - In what may be the first subpoena of its kind
in decades, a federal judge has ordered a university to turn over
records about a gathering of anti-war activists.

In addition to the subpoena of Drake University, subpoenas were
served this past week on four of the activists who attended a Nov.
15 forum at the school, ordering them to appear before a grand
jury Tuesday, the protesters said.

Federal prosecutors refuse to comment on the subpoenas.

In addition to records about who attended the forum, the subpoena
orders the university to divulge all records relating to the local
chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a New York-based legal
activist organization that sponsored the forum.

The group, once targeted for alleged ties to communism in the
1950s, announced Friday it will ask a federal court to quash the
subpoena on Monday.

"The law is clear that the use of the grand jury to investigate
protected political activities or to intimidate protesters exceeds
its authority," guild President Michael Ayers said in a statement.

Representatives of the Lawyer's Guild and the American Civil
Liberties Union said they had not heard of such a subpoena being
served on any U.S. university in decades.

Those served subpoenas include the leader of the Catholic Peace
Ministry, the former coordinator of the Iowa Peace Network, a
member of the Catholic Worker House, and an anti-war activist who
visited Iraq in 2002.

They say the subpoenas are intended to stifle dissent.

"This is exactly what people feared would happen," said Brian
Terrell of the peace ministry, one of those subpoenaed. "The civil
liberties of everyone in this country are in danger. How we handle
that here in Iowa is very important on how things are going to
happen in this country from now on."

The forum, titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard
Home!" came the day before 12 protesters were arrested at an anti-
war rally at Iowa National Guard headquarters in Johnston.
Organizers say the forum included nonviolence training for people
planning to demonstrate.

The targets of the subpoenas believe investigators are trying to
link them to an incident that occurred during the rally. A
Grinnell College librarian was charged with misdemeanor assault on
a peace officer; she has pleaded innocent, saying she simply went
limp and resisted arrest.

"The best approach is not to speculate and see what we learn on
Tuesday" when the four testify, said Ben Stone, executive director
of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, which is representing one of
the protesters.

Mark Smith, a lobbyist for the Washington-based American
Association of University Professors, said he had not heard of any
similar case of a U.S. university being subpoenaed for such
records.

He said the case brings back fears of the "red squads" of the
1950s and campus clampdowns on Vietnam War protesters.

According to a copy obtained by The Associated Press, the Drake
subpoena asks for records of the request for a meeting room, "all
documents indicating the purpose and intended participants in the
meeting, and all documents or recordings which would identify
persons that actually attended the meeting."

It also asks for campus security records "reflecting any
observations made of the Nov. 15, 2003, meeting, including any
records of persons in charge or control of the meeting, and any
records of attendees of the meeting."

Several officials of Drake, a private university with about 5,000
students, refused to comment Friday, including school spokeswoman
Andrea McDonough. She referred questions to a lawyer representing
the school, Steve Serck, who also would not comment.

A source with knowledge of the investigation said a judge had
issued a gag order forbidding school officials from discussing the
subpoena.

ON THE NET

Drake University: www.drake.edu/
National Lawyers Guild: www.nlg.org/

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
**"Report From Baghdad" CD-ROM**

Pacifica Radio KPFK Los Angeles Reporter Lee Siu Hin's July 2003 trip to U.S. occupied Iraq. An interactive CD-ROM with articles, photos, audio and video interviews includes: people of Iraq, U.S. military, human rights workers, religious leaders and more!

Each CD costs: $15.00 plus $3.50 S/H (work both PC and Mac)
The CD sells will be benefit the Baghdad Independent Media Center, ActionLA, and PeaceNoWar.net
*Additional donations are welcome, and it will be tax deductible.

For more information, tel: (213)413-1778 e-mail: info (at) ActionLA.org
URL: www.ActionLA.org

Send check/money orders to:
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1013 Mission St. #6, South Pasadena, CA 91030
=============================================================
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War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate
Not in our Name! And another world is possible!

Information for antiwar movements, news across the World, please visit:
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
10) 2/20 USA:Nat'l Day of Solidarity

Updated Calendar of Events for National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab and South Asian Immigrants
Date: 2/8/2004 8:24:38 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: NationalOffice (at) BlueTriangle.org NationalOffice (at) BlueTriangle.org>
FEBRUARY 20, 2004
NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH MUSLIM,
ARAB AND SOUTH ASIAN IMMIGRANTS

First they came for the Communists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, but by that time, no one was left to speak up.
--Pastor Martin Niemoeller, Nazi Germany

We call on people everywhere to come together on the 3rd National Day of Solidarity to resist the scapegoating and criminalization of Muslim, Arab and South Asian immigrants! Take action and speak out on February 20th, 2004 as part of the National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Immigrants!

Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. government has launched a wide-scale assault on the basic rights of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians. These communities have been the targets of mass roundups, indefinite detentions, secret hearings, and more. Thousands have been deported through the selective enforcement of immigration laws. Through “Special Registration,” 82,000 men and boys from 24 Muslim, Arab, and South Asian countries came forth to register, and many were subjected to brutality and detention. Despite having complied with this law, 13,000 men and boys are now in the process of being deported. Families continue to be devastated as they are torn apart, jobs and homes lost. Neighborhoods continue to be raided by INS officers, thousands are still detained over minor visa violations, and tens of thousands of people have fled the United States in fear of being persecuted. Not one of these men have been charged with any connection to the events of 9/11, but they are being arrested, humiliated and deported precisely on that very pretext.

Repression continues to intensify. This past August, the Department of Homeland Security began implementing a system to keep track of foreign students. On January 5, 2004, the government launched US-VISIT, which will result in the fingerprinting and photographing of millions of visitors to the US. Twenty-seven countries are exempt from the invasive US-VISIT program. The fact that 25 of the 27 countries profiled are European, shows clearly that the U. S. Government’s domestic practice of racial profiling has extended to the world community. Is this how our government intends to make friends, And is this the kind of example we want to give for the world?

The government’s merciless onslaught is relentless. All Muslims, citizens and non-citizens, are regarded as potential terrorists or traitors as we have seen with the arrest of Muslim GI’s who served at Guantánamo Bay, where hundreds of “enemy combatants” are being held without due process. The threat of a life time of indefinite detention has been used to force young Muslim men to plead guilty to “conspiracy” charges so the government can trumpet that it is breaking up “terrorist cells”. Several federal court decisions have declared that parts of the 1996 Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act are unconstitutional, that Jose Padilla cannot be held as an “enemy combatant”, and that the detainees in Guantánamo cannot be denied access to attorneys or the U.S. Courts. These court decisions however do not change the overall repressive measures because they do not have the force of law. And further, this will be decided by the Supreme Court, several of whose members have publicly said that in times of “war” the executive should be given a free hand to curtail civil liberties if need be.

The government also calculates that these adjustments will allow people to swallow the application of repressive measures to a broader cross section of people in this country. In many ways, political dissent and opposition has already been criminalized and demonized across the board using the rationale of "national security,"- e.g., FBI spying on anti-war protesters, "no-fly lists," and the creation of a culture of distrust. Thus, some refinements in the mechanisms of repression are acceptable to the government. But they should not be acceptable to the people as a carrot to get us to accept the overall premise that destruction of civil and human rights is required in order to safeguard national security. The government has used fear to stampede us into accepting or ignoring the persecution of Muslim Arab and South Asian people in our country. If we allow this, who will be next to be profiled as an “enemy combatant”?

It is up to us to determine the kind of future we want. And it is the responsibility of those who have seen through the lies to expose them — and fight for the truth.

February 20th is an opportunity to open the eyes of many more people to the reality of this repression and mobilize many more into this movement to stop it. On this day, communities of Muslim, Arab and South Asian immigrants can see that there are many others who will stand with them and act fearlessly to stop this repression.

Standing together on the National Day of Solidarity sends an important message to the government that they will face a growing multi-national and inter-religious movement of citizens and non-citizens who are organizing an unstoppable fight to end this kind of repression!

We must learn from history. February 19th is the anniversary of the infamous Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt, authorizing the roundup and imprisonment of Japanese Americans living in the western coastal states. The specter of this moment in history lives in the Special Registrations, the fingerprinting at airports, and selective detentions of today.

On February 20th wear a blue triangle with the name of one of the newly “disappeared!”

In the early 1940’s, German Nazis used different colored triangles to categorize and divide the people held in concentration camps. We will not allow the same kind of profiling to happen here. We wear a blue triangle affirmatively to demonstrate our solidarity with those being targeted today.

Be creative on February 20th. Find a way to bring people together to express our resistance to these attacks on our colleagues, friends, neighbors and each other!

• Sponsor a speak-out for the families of the disappeared so they can tell their stories
• Think of what it would mean if on that day churches, synagogues, mosques, unions and schools declared that they would provide sanctuary for the persecuted
• Organize a vigil or demonstration at a local INS detention center
• Hold a teach in at your local school, college, or university
• Call your political representatives and demand that these outrages cease
• Organize a poetry SLAM or a music show
• Write a letter to your local newspaper calling for justice for all
• Demand that our colleges and universities not turn over the files of immigrant students to the government
• Contact local TV and radio talk shows asking to be part of the program
• Create and Display new and creative art expressing our desire for justice and respect for human rights
• Give voice to those who have been affected through radio shows and speak-outs

Remember the roundup of the Jews in Nazi Germany.
Remember the roundup of the Japanese Americans in the U.S.
Think of the roundup of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians in the U.S.

Initial Endorsers:
Afrikan-American Institute for Policy Studies & Planning, Greenville, SC • American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, San Francisco, CA (ADCSF) • American Muslim Voice • Bay Area United Against War, CA • Reverend Dorsey Blake, Senior Pastor, Fellowship Church, San Francisco • California Interfaith Alliance for Prison Reform • Valerie Camacho, student, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA • Central Texas Immigrant Worker Rights Center, Austin, TX • Charleston Peace, Charleston, SC • Coalición de Derechos Humanos/Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras, Tucson AZ • Compañeros del Barrio, San Francisco • Compassion for Farm Animals, San Diego, CA • Mark Conlan, Editor/Publisher, Zenger's Newsmagazine, San Diego • Council on American-Islamic Relations - California (CAIR-CA) • Cultural Defense League, Bisbee, AZ • Riva Enteen, San Francisco • Claudia Fernety, social activist / artist, San Diego, CA • Filipino Community Support, San Jose, CA • Food Not Bombs, Akron, Ohio • Food Not Bombs, San Diego Chapter • Frente Indígena Oaxaqueño Binacional (FIOB), Fresno, CA • Fresno Center for Nonviolence, Fresno, CA • Fuerza Unida, San Antonio, TX • Global Exchange • Thomas J. Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Detroit • Norma J F Harrison, Peace and Freedom Party*, Member, State & County Central Committees, Berkeley, CA • Hate Free Zone Washington, Seattle, WA • Prof. Gloria House, Detroit • Justice for New Americans • La Raza Centro Legal, San Francisco • La Resistencia • Donald R. Lake, Founder, Citizens for a Better Veterans' Home, San Diego • Travis Morales, supporter of the Revolutionary Communist Party, Houston TX • Mira Nair, Filmmaker, Mirabai Films • New Jersey Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine • Not In Our Name • NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, New York, NY • October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation • The ORGANIC (Opposing Repression Globally and Nurturing Independent Communities) Collective, San Diego, CA • Pakistan American Alliance • Peace Fresno, Fresno, CA • The Prince Myshkins, musicians, San Diego, CA • Queers For Racial And Economic Justice • Reverend John Oda, Pine United Methodist Church, San Francisco • Rev. Jim Oines, Lutheran Pastor and Worker in the Sanctuary Movement for Central American Refugees, Thousand Oaks, CA • Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights • Refuse & Resist • Dorothy Salem, Ph.D. Cleveland, OH • sbafarms collective, Winnie, TX • Sikh Media Watch • South Alameda Peace and Justice Coalition • South Asians Against Police Brutality and Racism, New York, NY • Stop the Disappearances Car Caravan Committee, Chicago, IL • Mazen M. Sukkar, Esq, Hollywood, FL • Texans for Peace • Lee Van Ham, Jubilee Economic Ministries*, San Diego, CA
Note: * indicates organization listed for identification purposes only

For more information and to get involved, contact the Blue Triangle Network. Please e-mail or mail your endorsement of this call. Distribute, post & publish everywhere! Funds are needed to organize for February 20. Please, immediately send donations. All actions on February 20 should be publicized and popularized. Write, e-mail or call the Blue Triangle Network with news of activities in your area: P.O. Box 7451, Dearborn, MI 48121-7451; (313) 942-7187; E-mail: NationalOffice (at) BlueTriangle.org www.BlueTriangle.org/

___Our organization endorses or ___I personally endorse (check one) the above "call" for a NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH MUSLIM, ARAB AND SOUTH ASIAN IMMIGRANTS (signing this "call" gives permission to publish or otherwise make public this endorsement. If organizational or institutional affiliation of a personal endorsement is to be listed for identification purposes only check here.___ )

Signature_____________________________________Name Printed________________________
Organization or Institution___________________________________________Title____________________________

Address______________________________________________________________Phone______________________
Enclosed is my donation of $____ to distribute, print, publish, fax, and mail this call nation wide.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
National Immigrant Soliadrity Network
No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!
webpage: www.actionla.org/ISN/ (For latest immigrant issues/news)

***Please consider making a donation to the important work of the ActionLA Coalition, National Immigrant Solidarity Network and US-Mexico Border Actions
Send check pay to:
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(All donations are tax deductiable)


*to join the lmmigrant Soliadrity Network daily-news litserv, send e-mail to: isn-subscribe (at) lists.riseup.net isn-subscribe (at) lists.riseup.net>

*a monthly ISN monthly Action Alert! listserv, go to webpage www.actionla.org/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi


*National Immigrant Soliadrity Network is the part of the ActionLA Coaliation and US-Mexico Border Actions Project

US-Mexico Border Actions
No Militarization of Borders! Support Immigrant Rights!
e-mail: borderactions (at) aol.com

*to join the US-Mexico Border Information Bulletin, send e-mail to: Border01-subscribe (at) yahoogroups.com Border01-subscribe (at) yahoogroups.com>

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e-mail: Border (at) ActionLA.org Border (at) ActionLA.org>

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------------------------------------------------------------------------
11) DNC: How much will Bush make you pay?


Bush Deficit Disaster Puts Your Family at Risk

Dear Robert P. Kolb,

This week, we learned that President Bush plans to leave millions of children and families behind in his budget for the fiscal year 2005. The LA Times reported that of the 65 federal programs President Bush is eliminating in his budget, more than half of them are education programs:

The projects Bush would eliminate include a $246-million effort to
improve early childhood education in low-income neighborhoods and a
$174-million program to foster learning in large high schools. Also
targeted are programs that help gifted and talented students,
promote arts in education and attempt to stop students from dropping
out.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. He's also making massive cuts to the Community-Oriented Police Services program, taking money out of local communities that pays for the first responders who protect us.

And the same day that a letter laced with a toxin was found in Senate offices, Bush told Congress he wanted to eliminate an $8.2 million program that would help protect our nation's communities from these kinds of attacks.

President Bush is abandoning our children and abandoning the security of our nation.


A Deficit Disaster

President Bush's devastating cuts that hurt our children and make us less secure do nothing to alleviate the enormous deficits he's created that leave America with crippling new debts that will last for generations. Bush took the record surpluses created by President Clinton and turned them into record deficits.

Click here to read our DNC Special Report: A Deficit Disaster to learn more about how the historic new deficits affect you and your family, including specific facts about your state. Learn how:

* The Bush tax cuts borrowed money from your family to give to
America's wealthiest special interests.
* Bush has lied about a plan to cut the deficit.
* Bush's misguided spending priorities make the deficit bigger.
* Conservative allies are hammering President Bush for his
irresponsible fiscal policy.

Click here to read the report today!


Spread the Word

Click here to tell your friends about the devastating effects of the Bush deficit disaster.

www.democrats.org/tellafriend/2005budget.html


Quote of the Week

"It's not just fiscal conservatives that are concerned about the deficit. We're all concerned about the deficit. The deficit is too high for any of us."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), 1/27/04


------------------------------------------------------------------------
12) CZARNECKI’S LABOR EDUCATION NEWSLETTER Vol. VIII No. 11 JANUARY 12, 2004

CZARNECKI’S LABOR EDUCATION NEWSLETTER Vol. VIII No. 11 JANUARY 12,
2004

LABOR EDUCATION RELATED ITEMS

SCHWARZENEGGER CUTS UC INSTITUTE FOR LABOR & EMPLOYMENT’S BUDGET
The Governor unilaterally eliminated $2 million from the ILE budget (no
other University research program was singly out for elimination).
Director Katie Quan kqu- (at) uclink.berkeley.edu Phone 510-643-7213 urges
individuals to go to www.unionvoice.org/campaign/uclaborctr which
will fax a letter to the California legislators (please also send copy
of letter to ILE) See also an article “Class Warfare” by David Bacon
that appeared in the Jan. 12 issue of “The Nation”
www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml

In a related activity, Nelson Lichtenstein nel- (at) history.ucsb.edu has
formed a national “Committee to Defend Labor Studies Scholarship”
against attacks from the right-wing. Interested in learning about such
attacks and in catalogue the information. Note: On a broader scale the
Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) is setting up a new ezine Right
Web News rightweb.irc-online.org to track America’s right-wing .

UAW-FORD UNIVERSITY - EXAMPLE OF DISTANCE LEARNING
www.uawford.com/UFU/Intro.cfm
When trying to promote online learning, oftentimes overlooked are union
and company arrangements. This site lists courses, resources,
universities involved and range of degrees.

BILL BARRY DEVELOPING HISTORY PROJECT OF STEELWORKERS AT SPARROWS PT.
Bill, the Director of the Labor program at the Community College of
Baltimore Co., bba- (at) ccbcmd.edu has the first installment at
www.sparrowspointsteelworkers.com Each title page features the
Bethlehem Steel Chorus.

FOCUS ON PACE & UE EDUCATION ACTIVITIES www.paceunion.org &
www.ranknfile-ue.org
PACE (Paper, Allied-Ind, Chemical & Energy Workers) trains over 7,000
members per year. It’s site has Steward Tips, info on Human Rights
Committees, and section on Mobilizing the Membership with good
illustration of the One-On-One training program. It’s S & H section
looks at Cancer in the workplace, worker rights and “Training
Philosophy”. Also has info on Sex Harassment and ADA (Americans with
Disability Act).
Can’t even list all the topics covered in UE’s (United Electrical
Workers) Information for Workers section. Sub sections entitle:
Workplace Rights, Grievance Handling, Negotiations, Worker Friendly Laws
and Workplace Issues, Job Protection and Effective Locals (New Members,
Newsletters etc.)
Has new section: Protecting Members’ Rights When They’re Called to
Military Service. Union also has a Steward Kit, a Leadership Guide, and
an extensive list of videos, pamphlets and books.

TEACHING K-12 ECONOMICS ecedweb.unomaha.edu/K-12/home.cfm
A resource from the Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Economic
Education. Though some of the material might be too elementary for
labor educators, there is a section on the use of Internet sites that
suggests new approaches to teaching economics.

ITEMS RELATING TO LABOR UNION – WORKERS

NLRB OFFERS TOLL FREE INFORMATION SERVICE www.nlrb.gov
When one calls 1-866-667-6572 and after a brief into, callers are
automatically linked to the appropriate NLRB Regional Office where they
can talk to an Information Officer or receive referral to other
government service. Sounds like a winner. Reported in IRRA mailing
list.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION INFORMATION SOURCE www.crinfo.org
This site funded by the Wm. & Flora Hewitt Foundation lets viewers
search the CRInfo resources by topics using a keyword-based system.
Also has conflict resolution stories from wide variety of sources. Site
also gives info on Mini-Grant Programs. Reported in IRRA mailing list.

END OF THE SATURN EXPERIMENT ?
The UAW and General Motors agreed on a new contract that allows the
union & GM to negotiate a transition next year toward the umbrella
contract (instead of their separate agreement). If the two sides cannot
agree the negotiated four year contract will remain in force. Source:
AP release Dec. 15.

SOLIDARITY CENTER’S REPORT ON NAFTA IN MEXICO
www.solidaritycenter.org
At the 10th Anniversary of NAFTA, this report “Justice for All: The
Struggle for Worker Rights in Mexico” takes a hard look at the promise
and the consequent failure of NAFTA.

HEALTH CARE STATISTICS AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES PROPOSALS.
www.kff.org
www.kff.org/uninsured
By the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Health Insurance Coverage in
America 2002 provides info on coverage by any possible sub-group. Site
also has Side-by-Side Summary of P(residential Candidates Proposals for
Expanding Health Insurance Coverage.

NEW CANADIAN COMPASSIONATE CARE BENEFIT
Effective Jan 4, Canadians will be paid for a six week period (following
a two week waiting period) to provide care to a member of their family
who is gravely ill. Basic benefit is 55% of average earnings up to max
of $413 per week. Reported in Robert Drago’s WorkFam-L mailing list.
dra- (at) psu.edu

TALKING POINTS ON NEW MEDICARE DRUG LAW – REBUTTAL TO AARP
Too late to change the situation, but at least someone has taken the
time to refute the AARP ads supporting the new Medicare Prescription
Drug Law – from the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities
www.cbpp.org/12-11-03health.pdf

WHAT MAKES A DAMN GOOD COMMUNITY ORGANIZER?
By Hunter Bear (Hunter Gray) hunterb- (at) earthlink.net based on his 50
years of organizing. Covers the characteristics and qualities of an
effective organizer.

(MEXICAN) BORDER COMMITTEE OF WORKERS WEB SITE
www.cfomaquiladoras.org
CFO stands for Comite Fronterizo de Obrer@s launched this Internet site
with the Mexico-U.S. border Program of the American Friends Service
Committee (AFSC). CFO is led by maquiladora workers with goal of
organizing and educating the rank and file. Currently web page only in
Spanish.

NEW REPORT – BLACK-WHITE GAP STILL HUGE www.FairEconomy.org/0115
To be available on Jan. 15th Dr. Martin Luther Kings’s birthday. By
Dedrick Muhammad, Attieno Davis & Meizhu Lui, entitled: The State of the
Dream: Enduring Disparities in Black & White. Looks at a dozen
indicators and concludes US has failed to reach Dr. King’s vision of
progress. Contact Betsy Leondar-Wright 617-423-2148 x13

NEW REPORT ON LIVING WAGE
www.brennancenter.org/presscenter/releases_2003/pressrelease_2003_1210.html

Speaking of rebuttals, the report looks at the more than 100 living ways
statures enacted by local governments and lo-and-behold finds they have
improved the economies of these communities with little impact on their
budgets.

HERMAN BENSON ARTICLE ON THE NEW UNITY PARTNERSHIP (NUP)
www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/articles52.htm
The Director of the Assoc. for Union Democracy (AUD), gives his analysis
of the attempt by five international union leaders to “restructure the
AFL-CIO). Dejavue all over again?

SAFETY SERIES OF ARTICLES IN NEW YORK TIMES
Three major articles by David Barstow on Dec. 21 to Dec.23 covering: “A
Trench Cave in”, “(lack of “Charges for Deaths in Workplace” and
“California leads in Making Employers Pay”. There was also an editorial
on Dec. 23.
Hopefully they will remain accessible in the NY Times web site for a
while. www.nytimes.org

TWO ITEMS FROM LABOR JOURNALS
In the Winter/Spring 2004 issue of New Labor Forum, Steve Early reviews
Dan Clawson’s new book – The Next Upsurge: Labor & the New Social
Movements. qcpages.qc.edu/newlaborforum/ Latest issue not yet on
web.
In the Winter 2003-4 issue of WorkingUSA, Judy Atkins & David Cohen
provide an attempt to solve the current crisis in organizing in their
article: A Proposal for a 21st Century Trade Union Education League.
davi- (at) comcast.net

THREE PUBLICATIONS FROM UC (UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA) PRESS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA LABOR www.ucpress.edu/journals/scl - has
union membership data, organizing reports, info on labor legislation,
immigration, living wages and California labor relations.
CHILDREN OF NAFTA by David Bacon
www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9989.html - looks at the effect of
NAFTA on those who labor in agricultural field and maquiladora
factories.
POCKET GUIDE TO HIGHER EDUC. EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS ACT by Carol
Vendrillo, Ritu Ahuja & Carolyn Leary. cper.berkeley.edu Handy
resource of law that governs collective bargaining at Univ of Cal. and
California State Univ. Systems

NEW BOOK; STICKING TO THE UNION: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE LIFE & TIMES OF
JULIA RUTTILA
www.palgrave-usa.com/catalogue/index.asp
Story of union radical who worked to free Wobbly prisoners from
Centralia Tragedy, led the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Intern’l Woodworkers
of America and used picket signs and her typewriter to fight for rights
of workers.

Compiled by Ed Czarnecki eczarn- (at) comcast.net

------------------------------------------------------------------------
13) 45 Min. Internet Audio Of "Grocery Workers Battle For Healthcare!"


www.sf.indymedia.org/news/2004/02/1676467.php



Grocery Workers Battle for Healthcare! - (45 min 32bps mp3)

by johnx Sunday February 08, 2004 at 01:02 AM


LA (& SF) Grocery Workers Battle for Healthcare - 45 minutes. 32 Kbps MP3.
audio: MP3 at 10.3 mebibytes
LA (& SF) Grocery Workers Battle for Healthcare - 45 minutes. 32 Kbps MP3.

Labor Video Project:
P.O. Box 425584, San Francisco, CA, 94142.
Email: lvpsf (at) labornet.org
(415)282-1908

------------------------------------------------------------------------
15) TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT ILLINOIS BILLS TO KEEP JOBS IN AMERICA!


Sunday, February 8, 2004


TO: All Activists

SUBJECT: SUPPORT ILLINOIS KEEP JOBS IN AMERICA BILLS!

On Tuesday, February 3, 2004, two Keep Jobs In America bills were introduced in the Illinois State Legislature. SB 2375 is sponsored by Senator Carol Ronen (D- 7th District) and HB 4550 is sponsored by Representative Larry McKeon (D-13th Distri