Union City News, Midstate Central Labor Council, May 2003

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PCOMING EVENT

Midstate Central Labor Council Meets the
3rp TuesDAY of every month. The next
meeting will take place MAY 20TH AT 7PM AT

TC3.

Street Heat: Building a stronger labor
movement requires change and a renewed
commitment to organizing and political
action. But it also means backing up our
organizing and political activities with the
capacity to mobilize union members and the
community. And that's what “Street Heat” is
all about.

Cortland Street Heat Committee meeting
June 10th at Workers Rights Board.

To get involved in Street Heat activities
please contact the Labor Federation at 315
422-3363

Cortland Community lssues Meeting

“No Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Our Commu-
nity” Wednesday, May 21st at 7pm at the
Christ Presbyterian Church located at 292
Tompkins St. in Cortland (the Old WKRT
building)

Labor Day Picnic and Dairy Parade

Planning Committees for both the Labor Day
Picnic and the Cortland Dairy Parade are be-
ing set up. Please consider being part of
these community events. For more informa-
tion see the accompanying article in the
newsletter, More details will be available at
the Labor Council meeting on May 20th.

{f you have an event you would like listed
here please contact the Central New York
Labor Federation, AFL-CIO at 315 422-3363,

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Union City
News

Midstate Central Labor

Council, AFL-ClO
CLC President: Linda Smith
607 849-3420

Central New York Labor Federation, AFL-CIC .

404 Oak Street

Syracuse, NY 13203-2297
(315)422-3363

FAX (315)422-2260
Http:/www.cnylabor.org

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Midstate Central Labor Council
i atin,
May 20, 200
Tc3
Dryden, NY

7pm

Agenda
Reports
Communications
Upcoming events
Committee assignments

Midstate’s Busy Summer

The summer is always a busy time for
the Midstate Central Labor Council and this year
is no exception. We'll be celebrating our 20th
annual Labor Day Picnic this upcoming
September. Over the years the picnic has
developed into a major community event in our
area. The Picnic Committee— which is a subset
of the Labor Council— meets weekly throughout
the summer and needs your help. We want to
insure that this 20th anniversary is very special
and will need extra help in planning the event.
Please contact Linda Smith at 607 756-5582 for
more information and to get involved in the best
Labor Day celebration in the area...

This summer the Labor Council will also
be involved in the Dairy Parade in Cortland. We
need volunteers to help come up with creative
ideas for a float as well as outreach and
coordinating of events. Please contact Midge
Grant at 607 423-5563 for more information.
for upcoming local

est in decades, with two-thirds of adults saying
they approve of unions— a level not seen since
41967, according to a recent poll for the AFL-CiO
by Peter D. Hart Associates. Among non-union
workers who aren't managers, 47 percent say
they would vote for a union in their workplace, up
from 42 percent in January 2001.

But in the face of this growing support, it
is also clear that the public has little knowledge of
employers’ aggressive attacks against workers
trying to exercise their freedom to form unions.
More than 75 percent of those surveyed say em-
ployers should take no position when workers
want to hold a union election, but only 44 percent
say they think employers oppose workers’ effort
to join unions.

In reality, nearly all employers use unfair
tactics to oppose workers’ freedom to form un-
ions, according to Kate Bronfenbrenner. The pub-
lic strongly disapproves of employer tactics to in-
timidate workers, such as requiring supervisors to
urge employees to vote against the union and
holding mandatory, closed-door anti-union meet-
ings— but even union members far underestimate
how often employers deploy these unscrupulous
methods. For example, only 20 percent of union
members surveyed thought employers require
workers to attend anti-union meetings, which they
do 92 percent of the time.

In February, the AFL-CIO Executive Council
passed a resolution to “educate, engage and mo-
bilize literally millions of union members and peo-
ple of conscience” to expose employers’ cam-
paign against workers and support state and local
legislation that supports organizing.

forking Family Prioriti
May 9, 2003
The vote today by House Republicans to

lion tax cut to the wealthy— an ac-
President Bush— is irresponsible,

ven the reported cost of the

is misleading. Republicans used gimmicks
cut sunsets to artificially lower the cost of

the tax cut, even as calculations show that the tax cut
will likely cost nearly $1 trillion in the next decade.

It is astonishing that congressional represen-
tatives would vote for a tax cut that reflects neither
the interests nor the wished of their constituents,
who by large margins prefer investments in core na-
tional priorities over tax cuts.

America’s working people need jobs, good
schools, a strong Social Security system and afford-
able, quality health care. Yet the oversized tax cut : Pus ope ae
lines the pockets of the rich and giant corporations ioe aa : :
while forcing the federal government into record defi-
cits, jeopardizing future improvements to programs
that benefit everyone.

Today’s tax cut makes an historically bad
economic situation for the states even worse. Over
the past three years, state governments have experi-
enced record budget deficits that are now approach-
ing $200 billion. The House is making that situation
worse by choosing tax cuts for the wealthy over aid to
the states.

President Bush’s and the Republican policies
of tax cuts for the wealthy haven’t produced jobs; in
fact, we've lost an average of 100,000 jobs each
month since President Bush took office.

Beginning May 31, 80,000 laid-off workers
will run out of emergency jobless benefits each week.
Yet House Republicans today and earlier this week
voted to block funding for emergency benefits from
the tax plan they passed, while giving away billions to
the wealthy.

Instead of giving away money to people who
don’t need it and bankrupting our future, Congress
should invest in priorities that put money into the
hands of those who need it and spend it.

top Wal- from devastating Co

Does Cortland need a Wal-Mart SuperCen-
ter? Come hear why NOT and learn what you can do
to help your community say “NO TO WAL-MART”
There is a community based meeting scheduled for
Wednesday, May 21st at 7pm at Christ Presbyterian
Church, 292 Tompkins St. in Cortland (the old WKRT
building). Panelists will discuss the environmental
concerns, labor and business issues. Fact sheets
and information needed to write letters, as well as a

petition will be available. We can make a difference!