An Injury to One is an Injury to All!VOL. 119

NO. 18MARCH 20, 2013WEDNESDAY

(ISSN 0023-6667)

This is part of an advertisement that the NALC is runningin Washington DC newspapers aimed at Congress. Visitwww.nalc.org to find out more.

Crystal Sugar refiles UI caseBakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Miller

union representatives of workers who have been locked out oftheir jobs by American Crystal Sugar for more than 18 months,point out that company management is not telling the wholestory about Crystal’s lengthy and costly campaign to blockunemployment insurance coverage for locked out workers.

American Crystal Sugar filed a Petition for Rehearing withthe North Dakota Supreme Court March 12, asking the Court toreverse its decision on unemployment benefits for locked outworkers.

However, Brian Ingulsrud, Crystal’s Vice President ofAdministration told shareholders and the public when the deci-sion first came down Feb. 26 that the Supreme Court decisionthat overturned a lower court ruling didn’t concern ACS.“There’s not a whole lot we can say because that’s a matterbetween them and the state,” Ingulsrud said.

In fact, Crystal Sugar has been paying a large Minneapolislaw firm to argue against locked out workers receiving unem-ployment benefits from the lockout’s beginning. Through theirhired lawyers, the company has opposed payment of benefits atall levels of North Dakota’s unemployment insurance system,from the state Job Service all the way to the Supreme Court ofNorth Dakota.

“What Crystal Sugar Corporate says to shareholders and thepublic is one thing. What it does behind their backs is complete-ly different,” said John Riskey, President of BCTGM Local167G. “If unemployment benefits are a matter between workersand the state, why has the company involved itself in the processand spent so much shareholders’ money on appeal after appeal?”

It is clear, Riskey said, that the petition to the Supreme Courtby Crystal Sugar is yet another way of punishing locked outworkers for belonging to a union. He noted that, though eligi-bility for unemployment insurance is a matter between individ-ual workers and the state and does not involve the union, CrystalSugar management continually refers to the union or organizedlabor in its petition.

American Crystal Sugar has processing plants in East GrandForks, Crookston, and Moorhead, Minn.; Hillsboro and Drayton,N.D.; and packaging and trans-portation sites in Chaska, Minn.and Mason City, Iowa. Workersat these facilities are representedby five BCTGM Locals.

Don’t buy American CrystalSugar or Target’s Market Pantrybrand made by ACS. Buy canesugar such as C&H or beet sugarmade in Michigan. The AFL-CIOboycott of ACS continues.

Rally for USPS this Sunday!

Snappy locks out Sheet Metal Workers inDetroit Lakes duct work production plant

about the Sunday action. Theaction is meant to remind con-gressional representatives tomaintain the six-day maildelivery language in the con-tinuing budget resolution,expected to be renewed March27.

Donahue announced Feb. 6that he is planning to end deliv-ery of first class mail onSaturdays in August. He saidthe move would cut costs andeliminate 22,500 letter carrierjobs. In response, NALC presi-dent Frederic Rolando urgedDonahoe to resign.

Opponents of Donahue’sscheme say he is actually mak-ing that move illegally. Somecongressional reps are callinghim on his game of chickenwith them and have legislationto counter his proposals.

needs,” Dulas saidPostmaster General Patrick

R. Donahue, his 50 vice presi-dents, and management rightdown to Duluth postmasterArby Humphrey appear tohave a game plan to destroy theUSPS, which is actually writ-ten into the U.S. Constitution.Slashing service and financial-ly strapping the USPS seems tobe the game plan of manage-ment that can only be interest-ed in destroying the mostrespected of all federal agen-cies by consumers. The endgame can only be to privatizethe postal service say manyunion workers.

“We want to make this fightabout the cost of losingSaturday mail delivery andhow it would affect people ineach and every state,” NALCPresident Fredric Rolando said

This Sunday, March 24 willbe a national day of action call-ing on the United States PostalService to continue to honor“service” to its customers. TheDuluth rally will take place onthe corner of Lake Avenue andSuperior Street from noon toabout 1:00 p.m.

National Association ofLetter Carriers Zenith Branch114 Merged president ScottDulas says everybody whosupports Saturday delivery, theU.S. Postal Service in general,and the many union employeeswho work there is invited.

“Invite your family, yourfriends, and your neighbors tojoin us,” Dulas says. “ThePostal Service’s plan to endSaturday mail is an attack onthe future of this great institu-tion, on the customers whoneed it, and on the employeeswho support it!” He saidAmericans depend on Saturdaydelivery to stay connected andto facilitate their business.Eliminating a day of deliverywill hit rural communities,small businesses, and seniorcitizens the hardest. “This isn’ta change the American peoplewant or that the Postal Service

Snappy Air DistributionProducts of Detroit Lakes, MNlocked out 96 members ofSheet Metal Workers Local 10and eight temporary employeeson Monday, March 11.

The union and companyhave been in contract negotia-tions. Union members votedthe company’s contract down77–16 on Friday, March 8, theday it expired. They went towork the following Monday tofind the doors locked.

“The company wants tolower wages and increase ourmembers’ contributions to theirbenefit package ,” said SheetMetal Workers 10 businessmanager Jim Bowman. “This isa group of very loyal, long time

employees who have seen onlythree percent in any increasessince 2007. They’ve been try-ing to help the company out,and now the company comesasking again.”

Bowman said almost threequarters of the work force hasbeen employed at Snappy for atleast 25 years.

“One of our negotiatingteam members has workedthere over 40 years,” Bowmansaid. “Now they’ve been told ifthere’s no contract there’s noinsurance for the families. It’s alittle tough to talk about secondcareers to workers in their late50s and 60s.”

The workers are productiveand the company is profitable,but last April Blue Wolf CapitalPartners LLC, a New York-based private equity firm,bought Standex InternationalCorporation which ownedSnappy’s five U.S. plants.Terms were not disclosed.

The Detroit Lakes plantmakes HVAC (heating, ventila-tion, and air conditioning) ductwork for residental use that isprimarily sold in the westernUnited States.

“We hope to keep talkingand hope something happens inthe next few weeks, but they

hired some replacement work-ers in the first week,” saidBowman. He said the union isdiscussing whether picketswould be effective or not.

“We may do some informa-tional picketing but it probablywouldn’t do us much good,”Bowman said.

The truck drivers aren’tunion, which means they’dprobably go through the pick-ets. Teamster union driversgenerally have it in their con-tacts that they don’t have tocross picket lines.

Bowman said the first weekof the lockout found the work-ers getting “favorable” pressfrom Detroit Lakes and Fargonewspapers. Fargo televisionstations and local radio havealso covered the lockout.

Management/labor disputesare all trending toward compa-nies locking out workers ratherthan letting them continue towork as talks continue. Fewstrikes by workers are occur-ring. The Minnesota Legis-lature has a bill that has beenbrought forward that wouldallow locked out workers toreceive more than 28 weeks ofunemployment compensationinsurance from those aggres-sive employers.

Open house at Nolan’s Duluth office 4/4Jeff Anderson, Congress-

man Rick Nolan’s DistrictDirector, came to the DuluthAFL-CIO Central Labor Bodymeeting last Thursday to inviteeveryone to an open house atNolan’s Duluth office.

Fletcher to address WLHSUnion and civil rights leader, author and

commentator Bill Fletcher, Jr. keynotes the32nd Annual Conference of the WisconsinLabor History Society in Waukesha Saturday,April 20. “Fighting Inequality: A WisconsinTradition,” will be held at Machinist Lodge1377, 1726 South West St., 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A former AFL-CIO Education Directorand Assistant to the President, Fletcher is theauthor of 2012’s “They’re Bankrupting Us:And 20 Other Myths About Unions.”

Other conference topics include narrowingthe racial and income gap, and redeeming labor’s power.

A $30 registration fee covers lunch and materials. Issue checkto Wisconsin Labor History Society and mail to same at 6333 W.Blue Mound Road, Milwaukee, WI 53213.

Find out more at http://www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org/

Roast to recognize Hilty 4/6A recognition dinner and roast will be held Saturday, April 6

to honor Bill Hilty, who served 16 years in the Minnesota Houseof Representatives. Hilty retired after last year’s session.

The event is also a fundraiser for Congressman Rick Nolan.Secretary of State Mark Ritchie is expected to be there. Hiltyworked hard throughout his career to make sure Minnesota vot-ing was as clean and transparent as possible. While many stateshave had problems with electronic voting, Hilty made sure it did-n’t happen in Minnesota. His bills among other things, requireda paper trail to follow electronic votes so results could be veri-fied. Some states were less interested in the truth than Rep. Hiltyalways was.

The dinner at the Fond Du lac Tribal and Community Collegeon 14th Street in Cloquet is Saturday, April 6, with a social hourat 5:00 pm, dinner at 6:00 p.m., and a program following. Ticketsare $40 in advance, $50 at the door. Mail checks to TreasurerPam Hall, 108–8th Street, Moose Lake, MN 55767. The eventis sponsored by the districts 11A and 11B DFL units, call DanReed, 218-273-6103 or Tom Kurhajetz 612-423-3612.

“We’re open on the firstfloor of the Duluth TechnologyVillage adjacent to Pizza Luceand we want everyone to stopin on Thursday, April 4 from 3to 5 p.m. for our open house,”Anderson said.

Minnesota 8th Congres-sional District representativeshave had offices in the Duluthfederal building, now thenamed for Judge GeraldHeaney, for decades. Beefedup security has made the officemuch less accessible and Nolanwanted to change that so he’smoved to the heart of down-town Duluth.

“Our door is open to every-one and we hope everyonetreats everyone else with cour-tesy and respect,” Andersonsaid.

He said Nolan doesn’t thinkthe town hall meeting concepttouted by Rep. Chip Cravaack,who Nolan defeated inNovember, is a good way toconnect with constituents.Anderson said those town hallmeetings were about 20 min-utes of a power point presenta-tion and then a question andanswer with attendees.

“Rick would much rathermeet with people in coffeeshops or on street corners andhave better dialogue,”Anderson said. Those types ofsessions have started and futureevents will be scheduled.

Nolan also has offices inBrainerd, staffed by formerstate representative Al Doty,and Center City, staffed by for-mer state senator Rick Olseen,and will soon open another onthe Iron Range staffed byJordan Metsa and TomRukavina.

On Monday Nolan an-nounced 24 touring mobileoffices his staff will operate inthe district in March and April.Contact his staff at 218-464-5095 in the Duluth office tofind a site near you.

Get connected to resources throughout Minnesota!For services provided by the Community Services Programsponsored by the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body andthe United Way of Greater Duluth...Call 218-726-4775

Community Services ProgramLynette Swanberg, Director

424 West Superior Street Suite 402, Duluth, MN 55802

Donʼt know where to turn? Dial 2-1-1 or 1-800-543-7709 or visit

www.211unitedway.org

PAGE 2 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

Lost Wages? Unpaid Bills?Can I Get Fired?

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INJURED AT WORK?

Congressional candidate Rick Nolan, left, acknowledgesthe good work of Rep. Bill Hilty at the Carlton County DFLConvention last March 31. (Labor World file photo)

Bill Fletcher, Jr.

Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 10Retirees’ LuncheonTuesday, April 2, 1:00 p.m.

Riverside Bar & Grill8500 Grand Ave. Spirit Mt. Chalet

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I.U.O.E. Local 70Monthly Arrowhead Regional Meeting

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 5:00 P.M. Duluth Labor Center, Hall B

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There’s always a lot to learnat the free workers’ comp sem-inar by Falsani, Balmer, Peter-son, Quinn, and Beyer firm.This isn’t dry workers’ comptalk–even heard an “F-Bomb.”

On March 14 you wouldhave heard college basketballexpert Fred Friedman, NEMN’s chief public defender,say Duke, Miami, Indiana, andKansas are good NCAA Final 4picks, 4 days before bracketswere picked. It won’t do youany good reading it here. Thetourney will have started by thetime you get this paper. Youhad to be there, and as it turnsout Miami and Indiana are inthe East Region. One won’t go.

Friedman says he has a lotof “useless knowledge” in hishead. Sure, Fred. What he real-ly knows is the law. As thelunch speaker he scared every-one straight with a talk aboutDWIs. His point was you canhave fun without alcohol, but if

you do drink it, don’t drive.Really, it was entertaining.

Friedman said a lot of coun-tries have much lower levels ofblood alcohol than our .08,even as low as .04. Too muchperfume could get you to .04.In those countries he said peo-ple don’t drive cars every daylike we do. They use efficientmass transit. I know, you’reconjuring up a scene whereyou’re sitting on a train next tosome guy that’s hammered.

Friedman said it’s prettymuch a 50/50 chance that afatal car accident has alcoholinvolved. Divided highwaysgive you the best chance tomake it home and our interstatesystem has lowered trafficdeaths considerably. There aretwo really bad places in thisregion for traffic deaths. InMinnesota it’s where Hwy 210has a stop sign as it intersectswith Hwy. 169 east of Aitkin.

In Wisconsin it’s every-where. He didn’t say that. It’smy bad joke. He said it’s all ofHwy. 2 east of Ashland toMichigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Wisconsin is different tho’.They want you to drink beerand eat brats. Guess whereMiller, Leinenkugel’s, and, say,Horny Goat are from.Wisconsin has the lowest alco-hol tax of any state. It’s resi-dents consume 30% more alco-hol than any other state. Blameit on the Packers.

Falsani U. also had a goodpresentation on Essentia’sSpineX program by Dr. BrianKonowalchuk. Surprise, theAMA is moving away fromdrugs and surgery for backtrouble. I liked his line thatback surgery is for leg pain, notfor back pain. He actually usedthe phrase “doctor induced dis-ability” and said about 50% ofspine surgeries aren’t needed.Most of us will have back painat some point in our lives andbacks are hard to rehab. Hesaid don’t think laying down is

the answer. Moving and exer-cise are. He says they haveabout an 80% success rate withSpineX and about 2.5% of thepatients get worse.

He said chiropractic adjust-ments, massage and other con-servative care treatments arehelpful for some people but hedidn’t seem like a big fan. I am.

Bob Falsani’s going to giveme an “F” because I haven’tsaid anything about workers’comp. The subject makes mostof us glaze over. That is untilwe get hurt at work. My Tip #1:Be safe, don’t get hurt at work.Tip #2: If you do get a workinjury you’d better report itimmediately to a supervisor.Tip #3: If you have a bad injuryyou might as well call an attor-ney because the system sucksand it will try to starve you.

Our legislators are a bunchof wusses on the subjectbecause it means they have tocome between labor and busi-ness to discuss w.c. They creat-ed a useless Workers’ CompAdvisory Council that doesn’tadvise them because it has anequal number of reps fromeach camp. There are so manythings wrong with our w.c. sys-tem but legislators don’t wantto change anything to helpinjured workers because it maybe detrimental to the economyis how Sean Quinn sees it.When you see your state legis-lators tell them to upgradeworkers’ comp, it needs it.

If you’ve done the same jobfor a long time and are feelingit, don’t pass it off as just get-ting old. It’s more probablethat, say, your shoulders areshot because you’ve beeninstalling ductwork over yourhead for decades. That’s calleda Gillette claim: minute, repeti-tive trauma over a long periodof time said Eric Beyer.Doesn’t have to be a specificaccident. Be proactive in yourcase, you’re in for a battle.

See you at Falsani U 2014.

LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 PAGE 3

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6 7

Corporate crime rap sheet showsit’s becoming commonplace

By Phil Mattera, Director Dirt Diggers Digest

Corporate crime has been with us for a long time, but 2012may be remembered as the year in which billion-dollar fines andsettlements related to those offenses started to become common-place. Over the past 12 months, more than half a dozen compa-nies have had to accede to ten-figure penalties (along with plen-ty of nine-figure cases) to resolve allegations ranging frommoney laundering and interest-rate manipulation to environmen-tal crimes and illegal marketing of prescription drugs.

The still-unresolved question is whether even these heftierpenalties are punitive enough, given that corporate misconductshows no sign of abating. To help in the consideration of thatissue, here is an overview of the year’s corporate misconduct.

BRIBERY. The most notorious corporate bribery scandal ofthe year involves Wal-Mart, which apart from its unabashedunion-busting has tried to cultivate a squeaky clean image. Amajor investigation by the New York Times in April showed thattop executives at the giant retailer thwarted and ultimatelyshelved an internal probe of extensive bribes paid by lower-levelcompany officials as part of an effort to increase Wal-Mart’smarket share in Mexico. A recent follow-up report by the Timesprovides amazing new details.

Wal-Mart is not alone in its behavior. This year, drug giantPfizer had to pay $60 million to resolve federal charges relatedto bribing of doctors, hospital administrators and governmentregulators in Europe and Asia. Tyco International paid $27 mil-lion to resolve bribery charges against several of its subsidiaries.Avon Products is reported to be in discussions with the U.S.Justice Department and the Securities and ExchangeCommission to resolve a bribery probe.

MONEY LAUNDERING AND ECONOMIC SANC-TIONS. In June the U.S. Justice Department announced thatDutch bank ING would pay $619 million to resolve allegationsthat it had violated U.S. economic sanctions against countriessuch as Iran and Cuba. The following month, a U.S. Senatereport charged that banking giant HSBC had for years looked theother way as its far-flung operations were being used for moneylaundering by drug traffickers and potential terrorist financiers.In August, the British bank Standard Chartered agreed to pay$340 million to settle New York State charges that it launderedhundreds of billions of dollars in tainted money for Iran and liedto regulators about its actions; this month it agreed to pay anoth-er $327 million to settle related federal charges. Recently, HSBCreached a $1.9 billion money-laundering settlement with federalauthorities.

INTEREST-RATE MANIPULATION. This was the yearin which it became clear that giant banks have routinely manip-ulated the key LIBOR interest rate index to their advantage. InJune, Barclays agreed to pay about $450 million to settle chargesbrought over this issue by U.S. and UK regulators. UBS justagreed to pay $1.5 billion to U.S., UK and Swiss authorities andhave one of its subsidiaries plead guilty to a criminal fraudcharge in connection with LIBOR manipulation.

DISCRIMINATORY LENDING. In July, it was announcedthat Wells Fargo would pay $175 million to settle allegations thatthe bank discriminated against black and Latino borrowers inmaking home mortgage loans.

DECEIVING INVESTORS. In August, Citigroup agreed topay $590 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that itfailed to disclose its full exposure to toxic subprime mortgagedebt in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. The followingmonth, Bank of America said it would pay $2.4 billion to settlean investor class-action suit charging that it made false and mis-leading statements during its acquisition of Merrill Lynch duringthe crisis. In November, JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisseagreed to pay a total of $417 million to settle SEC charges ofdeception in the sale of mortgage securities to investors.

DEBT-COLLECTION ABUSES. In October, AmericanExpress agreed to pay $112 million to settle charges of abusivedebt-collection practices, improper late fees and deceptive mar-keting of its credit cards.

~NOTICE~Issues for 2013 are:

April 17 Workers Memorial;May 8, 22; June 19;

July 10, 24; Aug 7, 28;Sep 11, 25; Oct 9, 30;Nov. 13, 26; Dec. 18

See Corporate crime...page 4

Corporate crime rap sheet growing longer all the time...from page 3DEFRAUDING GOV-

ERNMENT. In March, theJustice Dept. announced Lock-heed Martin would pay $15.9million to settle allegations thatit overcharged the federal gov-ernment for tools used in mili-tary aircraft programs. InOctober, Bank of America wascharged by federal prosecutorswith defrauding government-backed mortgage agencies bycranking out faulty loans in theperiod leading to the financialcrisis.

P R I C E - F I X I N G .European antitrust regulatorsrecently imposed the equiva-lent of nearly $2 billion in fineson electronics companies such

UM mesothelioma study to be released 4/12 in Mt. IronAfter about five years of research the University of

Minnesota is ready to release the findings from their TaconiteWorkers Study that seeks answers as to why northern Minnesotaresidents are three times more likely to die of mesothelioma, theterminal, asbestos-related disease, than residents of the rest ofthe state. A community meeting is scheduled for the MountainIron Community Center on Friday, April 12, from 3-5 pm.

The study was given to UM School of Public Health afterIron Range legislators were frustrated by Republican Gov. TimPawlenty’s administration’s failure to act, and, in fact, to not dis-close that they had uncovered more deaths than they publicized.

The five part study reviewed occupational exposure, studiedmortality causes, lung cancer incidence, environmental exposureto asbestosis, and a respiratory study of living taconite workersand their spouses.

Statistics show at least 82 mesothelioma deaths but the num-bers are undoubtedly much higher. Many workers have beenexposed and died from the disease beyond taconite workers.

Find out more at http://taconiteworkers.umn.edu/index.html.

as Panasonic, LG, Samsungand Philips for conspiring to fixthe prices of television andcomputer displays. Earlier inthe year, the Taiwanese compa-ny AU Optronics was fined$500 million by a U.S. courtfor similar behavior.

E N V I R O N M E N TA LCRIMES. This year saw alegal milestone in the prosecu-tion of BP for its role in the2010 Deepwater Horizondrilling accident that killed 11workers and spilled a vastquantity of crude oil into theGulf of Mexico. The companypleaded guilty to 14 criminalcharges and was hit with $4.5billion in criminal fines and

other penalties. BP was alsotemporarily barred from get-ting new federal contracts.

ILLEGAL MARKET-ING. In July the Justice Dept.announced that British pharma-ceutical giant GlaxoSmith-Kline would pay a total of $3billion to settle criminal andcivil charges such as the allega-tion that it illegally marketedits antidepressants Paxil andWellbutrin for unapproved andpossibly unsafe purposes. Themarketing included kickbacksto doctors and other health pro-fessionals. The settlement alsocovered charges relating to thefailure to report safety data andovercharging federal health-care programs. In May, AbbottLaboratories agreed to pay $1.6billion to settle illegal market-ing charges.

COVERING UP SAFETYPROBLEMS. In April, John-son & Johnson was ordered bya federal judge to pay $1.2 bil-lion after a jury found that thecompany had concealed safetyproblems associated with its

anti-psychotic drug Risperdal.Toyota was recently fined $17million by the U.S. Transpor-tation Dept. for failing to notifyregulators about a spate ofcases in which floor mats inLexus SUVs were sliding outof position and interfering withgas pedals.

EXAGGERATING FUELEFFICIENCY. In November,the U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency announced thatHyundai and Kia had overstat-ed the fuel economy ratings ofmany of the vehicles they hadsold over the past two years.

UNSANITARY PRO-DUCTION. An outbreak ofmeningitis earlier this year wastied to tainted steroid syringesproduced by specialty pharma-cies New England Compound-ing Center and Ameridose thathad a history of operating in anunsanitary manner.

FATAL WORKFORCEACCIDENTS. The Bangla-deshi garment factory where aNovember fire killed more than100 workers (who had beenlocked in by their bosses)turned out to be a supplier forWestern companies such asWal-Mart, which is notoriousfor squeezing contractors tosuch an extent that they haveno choice but to make impossi-ble demands on their employ-ees and force them to workunder dangerous conditions.

UNFAIR LABOR PRAC-

TICES. Wal-Mart also createsharsh conditions for its domes-tic workforce. When a newcampaign called OUR Walmartannounced plans for peacefuljob actions on the big shoppingday after Thanksgiving, thecompany ignored the issuesthey were raising and tried toget the National Labor Rela-tions Board to block protests.Other companies that employ-ed anti-union tactics such aslockouts and excessive conces-sionary demands during theyear included Lockheed Martinand Caterpillar.

TAX DODGING. While itis often not technically crimi-nal, tax dodging by large com-panies frequently bends the lawalmost beyond recognition. Forexample, in April an exposé inthe New York Times showedhow Apple avoids billions ofdollars in tax liabilities throughelaborate accounting gimmickssuch as the “Double Irish witha Dutch Sandwich,” whichinvolves artificially routingprofits through various taxhaven countries.

FORCED LABOR. InNovember, global retailerIKEA was revealed to havemade use of prison labor inEast Germany in the 1980s.

Note: For fuller dossiers onsome companies listed here,see dirtdiggersdigest.org/corporate-rap-sheets.

Wade SmithDuluth Insurance Agency

218-724-4507

PAGE 4 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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Minnesota Legislature passes final bill to create health exchange

Job openings hit 11-year high in MNbut they’re not such good jobs

St. Paul, MN – On Mondaythe Minnesota Legislaturepassed the final vote to create aHealth Insurance Exchange inthe state. Expected to be signedby DFL Governor Mark Day-ton this week, the exchangewill allow Minnesota to moveforward on how they want thesystem to work for their state.

Senate DFLers passed thefinal version, HF 5, 39-28 on a

The JOBS NOW Coalitionreports that job openings inMinnesota are up 127 percentcompared with three years ago.

In the fourth quarter of2012, Greater Minnesota had24,500 job openings, an 11-year high—the largest numberof openings for any fourthquarter since 2001.

The updated Job VacancySurvey from the Minnesota

Department of Employmentand Economic Development.Statewide, found 59,000 jobopenings—the largest numberof openings since 2005.

However, only 61 percentof all job openings are full-time. With 156,000 unem-ployed job seekers competingfor 36,000 full-time job open-ings, job seekers still outnum-ber full-time openings by more

than 4-to-1.Other major statewide find-

ings include:• Of the 23,000 part-time

openings, only 19 percent offerhealth care.

• The median wage for part-time openings is $9.41 perhour.

• Only 42 percent of allopenings require education ortraining beyond high school.

• Only 23 percent of allopenings require a four-yeardegree.

A quarter of all openings arein two large industries—retailtrade, and accommodation andfood services. For openings inthese two industries, the com-bined median wage is $8.31per hour.

In both of these low-wageindustries, job openings fellsharply during the GreatRecession; but they haveincreased dramatically over thelast three years. In retail trade,job openings rose by 183 per-cent; in accommodation andfood services, job openingsmore than tripled, rising by 224percent.

The median wage for all jobopenings is $13.14 per hour.

JOBS NOW’s Cost ofLiving research shows that in aMinnesota family of four withboth parents working full-time,each worker must earn $14.03per hour to meet basic needs.

To see the Cost of Livingresearch by county, use theonline Family Wage & BudgetCalculator at http://www.job-snowcoalition.org/calculator/calculator.html

The Minnesota Citizen’s Federation Northeast has beenworking hard on health care reform before it was a populareffort. Here’s what their staff director Buddy Robinson hadto say about the Health Insurance Exchange passing:

Minnesota is now poised to set up a Health InsuranceExchange with very strong pro-consumer features. It willminimize the insurance industry's influence, and keep badpolicies off of the Exchange starting in 2015. The results ofthe Exchange, in tandem with new federal subsidies to helppeople afford insurance, and along with curbing someextreme insurance industry abuses, can give a positivemessage that government can help with the critical issue ofhealth care affordability. However, it remains to be seen justhow affordable the new policies will be. That will be revealedin October. Much more needs to be done to achieve theACA’s stated goal of making health care affordable for allAmericans. Doing so will require, at some point, gettingcoverage out of the hands of the private insurance companiesand creating one simplified universal system for everyone.

straight party line vote.If states don’t create their

own exchange by March 31they will have to use a modelcreated by the federal govern-ment to be in compliance theAffordable Care Act.

Enrollment in the Minne-sota Health Insurance Exchan-ge begins Oct. 1, 2013, withplan coverage starting Jan. 1,2014.

Liz Doyle, AssociateDirector of TakeActionMinnesota, said Monday wasan historic day. “This landmarklegislation will provide much-needed relief for thousands ofMinnesotans struggling withthe soaring cost of health care.An estimated 1.3 millionMinnesotans will gain accessto affordable coverage on theMinnesota Exchange, includ-

ing over 300,000 currentlyuninsured individuals.

Minnesota families are pro-jected to save over $1 billionby using the exchange to pur-chase insurance — with theaverage family saving $500and a lower-income familysaving approximately $1,800.

Nearly 200,000 small busi-nesses employees are alsoexpected to access coveragethrough the exchange. Smallbusinesses currently pay onaverage 18 percent more thanlarge businesses, an average of$11,000 per year for a familycoverage. Small employers areprojected to save up to 7.5 per-cent off of premium costs in theexchange and those eligible fortax credits will save even more.Small business owners would

be able to choose the plan fortheir workers, or let theiremployees choose the planthat’s right for them.

The bill funds operation ofthe exchange by charginghealth insurance companies a1.5 percent surcharge on pre-miums of the health plans pur-chased through the exchange inthe first two years.

While the exchange is web-site based consumers will alsobe able to contact a new stateagency that will administer theexchange. A seven memberboard will be appointed byDayton before April 30 to gov-ern the exchange. No one thatserves on the board can haveany financial ties to healthinsurance companies or med-ical providers.

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The BP gas station on 40th Ave. W. just off I-35 is beingremodeled as a Holiday station with almost all non-union,out of area labor. Duluth Building & Construction TradesCouncil president Craig Olson said Holiday had a history ofusing local union labor in the past. “Now one minute theytell us the workers are independent contractors, then theysay they’re Holiday employees,” he said. Upholding areastandards on a picketline last Friday were Carpenters 361’sChris Hill, IBEW 242’s Darik Carlson, and CarpentersSteve Risacher and Casey Frank. Holiday gas stations areowned by the Koch brothers. A two gate system has nowbeen set up at the site. Risacher asks that everyone remem-ber the Little Stores have been using union labor for theirprojects. Interstate Spur on 27th Ave. W. and Michigan St.,a mile from this Holiday did also. (Craig Olson photo)

Chicago rally kicks off labor’s campaign for immigration reformBy John Wojcik, Labor

Editor, People’s World(PAI)--Chicago’s labor

movement turned out in forceto support immediate reformof U.S. immigration law,including a path to citizenshipfor the 11 million people in thiscountry without documents. Itwas the first in a series of ral-lies labor will hold nationwideto campaign for comprehen-sive immigration reform.

Central Body joins effortThe Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body Feb. 14 joined the

AFL-CIO’s effort for comprehensive immigration reform byvoting unanimously to support a resolution that calls for it:

Every day, more than 11 million immigrant aspiring citizenscontribute to our communities, our economy, and our coun-try—yet are denied a voice in the workplace and essentialrights in our society; A strong and vibrant democracy cannotfunction unless all men and women, regardless of their skincolor or where they were born, can participate meaningfully inthe political process with full rights and equal protections; Theunion movement recognizes that the way we treat new immi-grants reflects our commitment to democracy and the valuesthat define us; Working people are strongest when workingtogether and the union movement is strongest when it is opento all workers, regardless of where they come from; The cre-ation of a road map to citizenship for new American immi-grants would improve wages and labor standards for all work-ers by empowering immigrant workers and halting employerswho take advantage of our failed immigration policies to pur-sue a race to the bottom; Temporary worker programs do notreflect America’s values as a democratic society. Historyteaches that guestworker programs create a second class ofworkers, unable to exercise even the most fundamental rights,which lowers wages and working conditions for all workers;The dreams of young immigrants to have access to quality edu-cation and the hopes of millions of immigrants to reunify theirfamilies are consistent with American values...

Hundreds of Chicago con-struction workers, laborers,butchers, grocery workers,teachers, truck drivers and jan-itors jammed the Instituto delProgreso building in the heartof the city’s Latino community.In a March 7 rally, they heardChicago Federation of LaborPresident Jorge Ramirez say,“Labor is in this 100%. Let theword go out across this countrythat we demand immigration

reform and we demand it now.”The campaign continues

beyond Chicago. On March11, for example, unions tookthe cause to one “ground zero”in the battle over immigrationreform, Arizona.

Union leaders state compre-hensive immigration reformwith a path to citizenshipwould help not just the undoc-umented workers, but all work-ers. That’s because venal andvicious employers hire theundocumented for substandardwages and sometimes refuse topay. Or they threaten nativeworkers with firing and re-placement by the undocument-ed unless the natives take cutsin pay, benefits and standards.

“When one worker has norights, the rights of all workersare in danger,” AFL-CIOPresident Richard Trumka toldthe rally in Chicago.

In Phoenix on March 11,AFL-CIO Executive VicePresident Arlene Holt Baker,Communications WorkersPresident Larry Cohen andleaders of unions and immi-grant rights groups pledged tocontinue the crusade untilCongress approves andDemocratic President BarackObama signs legislation ensur-ing a guaranteed path to citi-zenship for undocumentedworkers.

That same day, Trumka tookthe campaign to the Bricklay-

ers convention in San Diego,emphasizing the same themes.

“It’s damn near impossiblefor the vast majority of aspiringcitizens to navigate America’sexcuse for an immigrationprocess today. And these arepeople just like you and me orour parents or grandparents,who came to this country tofollow the American Dream, towork hard and play by the rulesto make a better life for them-selves and their families,”Trumka told that constructionunion’s delegates. “Let me beabsolutely clear about some-thing: We do not want a nationwith borders in name only. Wewant strong borders, but Irefuse to sit back and accept asystem like the one we havetoday where America has first-class citizens and second-classpeople who live and workamong us but who don’t have asay in our democracy and can’tshare America’s constitutionalprotections.”

Trumka and Joseph Hansen,president of the United Foodand Commercial Workers andchair of Change To Win, joinedChicago labor leaders and areaunion members. “Something isbroken in a country when youhave 11 million people whowork hard, pay taxes and liveby the age-old American dreamof a better life for themselvesand their families and theyhave to live as second-class cit-

izens,” Trumka stated.He told the Chicagoans that

big companies are the onlyones that benefit from leavingin place “our broken immigra-tion laws. They keep theirimmigrant workers down byreminding them that no matterhow badly they treat them, ifthey make any noise, they’llend up on the list to be deport-ed. This lowers wages, bene-fits, safety and standards for allworkers. That’s why we saythe time is now, not tomorrowor the day after, but now, forreform that includes a fair anddoable path to citizenship.”

The crowd of brown, blackand white workers went wild --cheering, applauding andstomping their feet. In thehuge contingent from theService Employees, Polish andLatina cleaning womenembraced, jumping up anddown. “What an incredible,beautiful, diverse crowd you allare,” Trumka said. Theycheered even louder.

Immigration reform wouldalso help people brought hereas children, who want to workbut are hampered by the lack ofproper papers. They’re oftenforced into the so-called“underground economy.”

Estefano Flores, 18, was inthe crowd. Her parents broughther to the U.S. from Mexico atage 5. She wants to go for hermasters degree at DePaulUniversity in Chicago. “Buteven with that, how can I get ajob without that Social Securitynumber?

“This is my home. I spentmy whole childhood here. It’sterrible when teachers find outabout your status and theirwhole attitude changes. I’veseen my father fired from thejob because of this. I’ve seenmy mother be exploitedbecause of this. I know fieldworkers are treated like slavesbecause of this but I believe inAmerica’s promise, liberty andjustice for all.”

Teacher Alicia Ramirez toldthe crowd her husband isundocumented. “We've tried toget his status adjusted for 12years and now they say his casewill be heard in three weeks. Ihave to tell my 7- and 10-year-old sons that very soon theymay not see their father, whothey know and love, for a longtime.”

Trumka, following her,added: “Alicia, it is for you thatwe take this stand, it is for youthat we demand immigrationreform now.”

PAGE 6 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

Stay clear of power lines on the work site when using cranes, booms,buckets, ladders, loaders or any tall equipment. The first rule is to

keep looking up. Equipment needs to have ample room in every directionto avoid the risk of contact with power lines. Plan ahead when operatingtall equipment and have a spotter on the ground to watch for potentialhazards.

Electric energy is a powerful tool, but if your equipment comes in contact with a power line you could receive an injurious or fatal shock. Call Minnesota Power if you have any questions regarding power lineson the job. We are more than willing to assist at any job site to ensurethe safety of everyone.

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Get ready for our garage sale!Are you ready for spring yet? Okay, it’s only March here but

now’s a good time to get your house in order for spring and youcan support your Community Services Program while you’redoing it.

I look around my house and garage and can’t believe thepiles of items I’ve brought in to the basement or have placed onthe shelves in the garage over the winter. With snow and icemelting, I start getting anxious to eliminate that excess in mylife, and living/working spaces, to make room for my own sortof new spring growth – getting de-cluttered and organized.

If your house and garage look anything like mine, you’ll behappy to know that the Community Services Committee is host-ing an indoor garage sale at the Coppertop Church on SaturdayMay 18, 2013.

We’re going to make it very easy for you to help us:• we will place your items in price categories, so there is no

need to mark your goods unless you have them marked fromprevious attempts at a sale, or you really like pricing your stuff;

• drop off will be open from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Friday,May 17 at the Coppertop Church (Skyline Blvd. & Rice LakeRd.);

• you’ll receive a tax donation slip at the time of drop-off;• you can be part of the “early purchasing crowd” by helping

set-up on Friday, May 17;• all items that are not purchased will be donated to Goodwill

Industries, a United Way funded agency.We are asking that you NOT include clothing in your dona-

tions to the sale as the community room is unable to accommo-date that sort of volume, so bring your knick-knacks, Christmasdecorations, tools, linens, working electronics, or whatever youfind that is in good shape, but is in need of a new home. As issaid…one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

For more information or to volunteer for this or otherCommunity Service activities, please call Lynette Swanberg,Community Services Director at 218-726-4775 or you canemail commservices@unitedwayduluth.org.

Thanks again for your help!

~workdayminnesota.orgST. PAUL - The Minnesota

Legislature is taking up bills toextend the right to organize tothousands of low-wage work-ers who lack that right today.

The proposed legislationwill give home care workersand child care providers theability to bargain collectivelywith the state. Currently, homecare workers are organizingwith the Service EmployeesInternational Union; child careproviders are organizing withAFSCME, the AmericanFederation of State, Countyand Municipal Employees.

The Minnesota AFL-CIOhas launched an online effortfor people to contact their leg-islators about the proposals.

For years, home-based childcare providers have been unit-ing to advocate for quality careparents can afford. Home careworkers provide direct support

services to the elderly and peo-ple with disabilities to helpthem remain in their homes andlive independent lives.

Legislation extending col-lective-bargaining rights tofamily child-care providerscleared a second committeelast Thursday when it passedthe House Early Childhood andYouth Development Commit-tee. The panel defeated severalamendments attempting torestrict organizing rights.

On March 21, dozens ofhome care Workers and theirclients will rally at the State

Capitol to show their supportfor passing the Home Care Bill.

“After nearly eight years ofwork, family child-careproviders are moving closer tohaving collective bargainingrights,” AFSCME Council 5said in its email. “SF778 andHF950 give providers a betterchance to lift their profession,to make quality child care moreaffordable for working parents,and to help prepare kids forschool and success in life.Contact your legislators. Askthem to support providers bysupporting the bills.”

View this AFSCME Council 5 video on child care workers: youtube.com/ watch?v=y DCJAi998oU&feature=youtu.be

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Liaison Program Newsfrom Lynette Swanberg, Director

Pres. Obama nominates Thomas Perez for his next Secretary of Labor On Monday President

Barack Obama nominatedAssistant U.S. AttorneyGeneral Thomas Perez to behis labor secretary. His confir-mation by the Senate is expect-ed to be contentious because ofhis body of work that has beenvery supportive of issues thatsupport people and troubleRepublicans.

If confirmed Perez wouldfollow fellow Hispanic HildaSolis, who resigned in January.

“Tom is a dedicated publicservant who has spent hiscareer fighting to keep theAmerican dream within reachfor hard-working middle-classfamilies and those striving toget into the middle class,” theWhite House said in a state-ment.

Perez, 51, has beenAssistant Attorney General forthe Civil Rights Division of the

Call Congress to cancel thecuts, repeal sequestration

The AFL-CIO is urging all its members and their families tocall their members of Congress and to tell them to repeal seques-tration. The hope is to cancel the across the board budget cutsthat will cost more than one million jobs this year alone andmany more jobs over the next decade.

The federation says there is a simple solution to make theproblems of budget cuts and job loss go away: repeal sequestra-tion. It is that simple.

“Sequestration is a fancy word for a dumb idea,” said AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.

Republicans forced sequestration in the deal made to avoidthe fiscal cliff by pushing it down the road a few months. Theyappear to be getting their way now and want to cut SocialSecurity, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits. They also want to gutessential services working people depend on. They’ll do all thatto working Americans and the American people in order to pro-tect tax breaks for Wall Street and the richest 2% of Americans.

This is a manufactured crisis that doesn’t allow real problemslike putting America back to work, raising wages, and reducingeconomic inequality to be addressed.

Call Congress at 1-888-659-9401 and say “cancel the cutsand repeal sequestration!”

United States Department ofJustice since 2009.

AFL-CIO president RichardTrumka made this statement onthe Perez nomination:

“Working men and womenwill be well served byPresident Obama’s choice ofTom Perez to lead theDepartment of Labor.

“Throughout his career,Perez has fought to level theplaying field and create oppor-tunities for working people,whether in the workplace, themarketplace or the votingbooth. He has worked to elimi-nate discrimination in housing,provide access to educationand health care, end hatecrimes, crack down on employ-ers who cheat workers out ofwages and expand our democ-racy by protecting the funda-mental right of every Americanto vote. In the 1990’s, he

worked on the front lines of theeffort to pass comprehensiveimmigration reform under theleadership of the great SenatorTed Kennedy—a job that willserve him well in today’s drivefor commonsense immigrationreform.

“At a time when our politicstilts so heavily toward corpora-tions and the very wealthy, ourcountry needs leaders like TomPerez to champion the cause ofordinary working people. Andworking families need anddeserve a strong advocate astheir Secretary of Labor -- onewho will vigorously enforcejob safety standards, wagelaws, and anti-discriminationrules, and who will speak outforcefully for working familiesand their workplace rights,including their right to jointogether to improve their livesand working conditions.

“President Obama has cho-sen such an advocate in TomPerez, and we congratulate himon this nomination.

Mary Kay Henry, Presidentof the Service EmployeesInternational Union (SEIU)said, “During his time as LaborSecretary in Maryland, Mr.Perez’s had a strong record ofenforcing labor laws, especial-ly wage and hour and otherviolations that stood in the wayof workers earning a fair wage.Enforcing these labor laws helpto close the income gapbetween the wealthy andeveryone else.”

Perez filed against discrimi-natory job postings at a Floridahealth-care company, sex dis-crimination in hiring in Texas,and against Georgia for failingto ensure overseas votingrights. In another lawsuit Perezaccused Arizona’s MaricopaCounty Sheriff Joseph Arpaioof discrimination against

Latinos. The 51 year old Perez was

born in Buffalo, NY and ismarried to Ann Staudenmaier,a Washington DC attorney withthe Legal Clinic for theHomeless. They have threechildren.

The son of Dominican par-ents Perez worked his waythrough college being agarbage collector and with thehelp of federal Pell Grants andstudent loans. He has devotedhis career to public service.

“Tom knows what it’s liketo climb the ladder of opportu-nity” said Obama. “His storyreminds us of this country’spromise.”

Obama cited Perez’ workensuring fair lending practices,preventing discrimination ofveterans and combatinghuman trafficking. In last fall’selections Perez fought voter IDlaws in Texas and other states.

PAGE 8 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

People often ask, 'What is a typicalretainer fee?' That's one of the first questionsthat you should ask your lawyer, because itvaries depending upon what kind of case youhave. Usually, an attorney accepts a personalinjury case on the basis of a contingent fee,which means there is no fee unless there is arecovery. In that case,a portion of therecovery is the fee.

ON THE RETAINER FEE:

President Obama nominated Thomas Perez as his nextSecretary of Labor Monday, (Photo/Getty Images)