Airlines’ Tangled WorldDelaney discusses unholy alliances and issues facing 141 Members

For-Profit Health Care Atkinson diagnoses business, government, and media

This Season’s Rock Stars of Labor A look at superstars in the history of the labor movement

IAM141.ORG Messenger 2

Official Publication of District 141, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Editor-in-Chief – Rich DelaneyExecutive Editor – Dave AtkinsonManaging Editor – Mike Mancini

District 141 Communicator – Mike ManciniDistrict 141 Communicator, US Airways – Dave LehiveLayout & Design – Mike Mancini

Send Address Changes To: District Lodge 141, P.O. Box 1149, Redwood City, CA 94064-1149 Main Phone: (847) 640-2222

Member-friendly businessesFairview Manor: Guest house in redwood tree-studded Santa Cruz mountains, minutes from the beach. Gael Abayon, 141 Retiree, Innkeeper. (831) 336-3355 fairviewmanor.comInterline Cruise Connections: A true interline agency; no fees, unheard of low rates, airline savvy, and knowledgeable staff. (800) 654-3827 (303) 730-2225 www.airlinecruise.com

CONTENTSSummer 2009

Pg 4. Treasurer Atkinson on health care

5. PresidentDelaney on the tangled world of airline issues

6. ReviewAuthor, columnist Michael Pollan on The Politics of Food

7. Member SpotSaint Francis, United CSR, rapper, humanitarian

8. Education9. Safety10. Organizing AirTran: “60 Days to D.C.” may lead to first organizing

victory in a decade; Cards already filed

12. HistoryMore than 179 years ago, to the chagrin of business leaders everywhere, “the most dangerous woman in America” was born. The season also commemorates the passing of John L. Lewis, whose legacy includes found-ing the CIO, now part of the AFL CIO

14. Remember Listing of retired Members; Obituaries

Went green, stayed union, saved money

Every issue of the new Messenger is printed under cer-tification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an inde-pendent, nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests.

Established in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation, the FSC now has offices in more than 45 countries.

“FSC provides standard setting, trademark assurance, and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in responsible forestry,” District 141 President Rich Delaney says. “We’re proud to be one of those organizations.”

Products carrying the FSC label are independently certi-fied to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic, and ecological needs of present and future generations.

The FSC’s principles describe how forests should be man-aged. They include:

• Respect for international workers rights• Prohibition of the use of hazardous chemicals• Respect for human rights, with particular attention to

indigenous peoples• No corruption• Identification and appropriate management of areas

that need special protection, including cultural or sa-cred sites; habitats of endangered animals or plants

So how much more is all this green costing?

“We’ve reduced production cost by about one-half,” says Dave Atkinson, Secretary Treasurer. “We produce the new Messenger 90 percent in house. It’s quarterly now, and it’s about education. Before this, it was 90 percent outsourced; it was about news, and it had a shorter shelf life. Bottom line is we’re spending less dues money for the new Messenger with a longer life, at a unionized printer.”

That’s a little green we can all appreciate.

3 Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG

MEMBER TALKSafety, everyday

The worst-kept secret among airline executives is their obsession with everything cheap. That preoccupation, and the executive salary benefits derived from it, also extends to safety, and safety-on-the-cheap is something from which we need to protect ourselves daily.

We may not be able immediately to change the greed-driven executive culture, but nothing is stopping us from voicing our own concerns about safety. Safety issues are, after all, what we face each time we go to work.

District 141 Members Kevin Ash –RDU, Mark Stevens–PBI, Dennis Spence–PHL, and Eli Concepcion–PHX, join District 141 Communicator–US Airways, Dave Lehive.

WHAT’S YOUR SENIORITY IN THE AIRLINES, AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A STEWARD FOR SAFETY?

PHL — 21 years seniority; 5 years Steward for SafetyPHX — 10 years seniority; 6 months Steward for SafetyPBI — 24 years seniority; 2 years Steward for SafetyRDU — 25 years seniority; 6 months Steward for Safety

WHAT IS YOUR STATION’S CURRENT, NO.1 SAFETY ISSUE?

PHL — Missing CO2 monitors in the A-East terminal need to be replaced. These units check for unsafe CO2 levels throughout an eight hour day. We are working with manage-ment and have initiated the lock-out tag procedure.

PHX — Our big issue is operating equipment with design flaws. Our workers feel that lav trucks, originally designed for 737s, pose a potential hazard when used with 757s.

Our other big issue is working in a clean environment; one that is safe.

RDU — Having time, staffing, and a clear procedure in place for passenger loading bridge operation. It’s too easy for an accident to occur involving ramp and customer service.

WHAT SUCCESS HAVE YOU HAD IN CREATING A SAFER WORK PLACE?

PHL — Gaining an active, working, ongoing safety com-mittee provides freedom to address many safety concerns.

PHX — Having more respect from the company than we might otherwise have without a union improves our commu-nication of safety concerns from Members to the company.

PBI — We are having some luck in communicating with vendors to insist on compliance with safety standards. We also notice improvement in communication between Mem-bers and management, and that is a direct result of the union and its involvement in safety.

RDU — Likewise, better communication, thanks to safety meetings. When vendors show up, that helps.

WHAT IS DISTRICT 141 DOING FOR YOU?

PHX — Having the District 141 Director of Safety coordi-nate time off for Members to address legitimate safety issues is a huge benefit.

PBI — We appreciate follow-up, which 141 is providing, when Members bring forth safety concerns.

RDU — We’re just getting this whole thing underway, and district support is driving it.

WHAT ARE STEWARDS OF SAFETY DOING FOR YOU?

PHL — Regular briefings on Thursday mornings and swing shifts. We update the safety bulletin boards and we do random recurrent training, like how to tag broken equipment.

PHX — Every Tuesday, we do walk-arounds to tag busted equipment. Maintenance audits are big.

PBI — We discuss safety and environmental concerns dur-ing the walk-around.

We would like to have a joint safety conference for cus-tomer service and fleet service (ramp).

RDU — We’re trying to make the best of a situation with the contract vendors by working as a group to correct safety problems. We also inspect ground equipment regularly.

Safety Q&A from the IslandsHenry Young, United Airlines HNLCG, serves as District 141 Ground & Flight Safety Coordinator and Honolulu’s LL 1979 Safety Liaison. Henry provides insights to District 141 V.P.– Hawaii, Sandy Olmos, for this safety Q&A from Hawaii.

“WHAT ARE KEY SAFETY ISSUES FOR ALL EMPLOYEES?”

Safety education and training are essential to the extent that it’s applied everyday, by everyone.

Safety is a lifestyle as much as it is a program. The keys are awareness, practice, maintenance, and accountability. Accidents happen when there is complacency.

“IS SOSAP WORKING?” (STATION OPERATION SAFETY AWARENESS PROGRAM)

For a new program, it is working, but there’s still room for improvement. SOSAP seems to happen on borrowed time, when the employees are between one flight departing and the next one arriving. It needs enforcement, but we’re headed in the right direction.

I do hope my job [Ground & Flight Safety Coordinator] will become obsolete. Of course, that’s in a perfect world.

IAM141.ORG Messenger 4

TREASURERFor-profit health care: A must-not readby Dave Atkinson, District 141 Secretary-Treasurer

If you think we have the best health care system in the world, please stop reading this article. Your head will explode.

We can no longer trust our for-profit health care system. We cannot be brainwashed by free market propaganda from business, government, and the media. All three have been telling us to believe in a health care system that they them-selves don’t even use. Democracy does not mean you have the right to go without health insurance. Democracy does not mean you have the right to go bankrupt trying to pay for your daughter’s cancer treatments.

It’s time for all of us to listen to the issues. It’s time to rec-ognize that the nation has a problem with health care.

FOR-PROFIT HEALTH CARE

For many people this is a heated debate, and it should be. The health care industry spent $134 million on lobbying this year and it paid off — for the economic elite.

The compensation of Aetna Insurance CEO Ron Wil-liams is $24,300,112. The CEO of Cigna Insurance, H. Edward Hanway, is limping along with $12,236,740. William McQuire,

CEO of United Health Group, retired in 2006 with a platinum parachute worth $1.1 billion. McGuire’s billion-dollar-buh-bye is the largest retirement package ever paid in corporate America.

QUALITY OF CARE

Capitalism and the essential market-based forces of choice, competition, and incentives have failed to reduce price or improve care.

Are you expecting a little bundle of joy? What you don’t know is you’re about to play the lottery of birth. Thirty coun-tries have a lower infant mortality rate than the United States.

Do you plan to retire in good health and live until your 80? If so, move. There are thirty other countries with a higher life expectancy than the U.S.A. We’re only checking the scores for birth and death. For other health issues, it gets worse.

ONE REMEDY

A single payer system works like this. Patients choose from competing doctors and hospitals. Those doctors and hospitals are paid from a universal, nonprofit, health coverage fund. There are no co-pays or deductibles, and there are real cost controls and benefits, for less money than we and our employers pay now.

This is not socialized medicine but more like socialized insurance. The question you have to ask yourself is, do we cut the middle man — insurance companies — out of the picture to provide a better health care system? Do you think health care should be the right of all citizens?

Thanks for thinking.

5 Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG

PRESIDENTTangled issues define the summer of ‘09• United negotiations, mediation• US Airways punitive “points” system• Hawaiian Airlines and Mileage Plus negotiations• UAL Corporation’s outsourcing obsession• Organizing: Eliminating downdraft on wages• ‘Super’ alliances and re-regulation

There’s a saying, “The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” That’s how District 141 is approaching this tangle of issues; dealing with each in a measured way.

All internal issues, from negotiations to merger, are play-ing out in the worst U.S. economy since the Great Depression.

Unemployment is climbing from an already high published rate of 9.5 percent. The real unemployment rate is worse. When people who have exhausted their unemploy-ment benefits are included, it’s closer to 16 percent. And none of these rates take “under-employment” into account. Working Ameri-cans, many within our district, are working part time involuntarily.

Turmoil is defining the airline industry once again. It is bringing the possibility of bankruptcy back into conversation, and the restlessness of airline consolidation has gov-ernment battling with itself. Consolidation is taking on new forms — whether it’s the new-est wave brought on by Republic purchasing Frontier and MidWest or the “older” style, by today’s standards, of a super alliance between United and Continental.

If the unrest of summer of 2000 will forever be known as the “Summer from Hell,” then summer of 2009 may come from the same zip code.

UNITED NEGOTIATIONS

Contract talks between District 141 and United Airlines began in the first week of April, and have been continuing steadily since then. We have met face-to-face with the com-pany more often and more consistently than any other Union within United.

The pace has been slower than anyone wishes, but nonetheless deliberate. This stride is necessary to address the many proposals submitted by Members prior to negotiations. We are attempting to resolve work-life issues that people have told us are important. District 141 does not want to al-low work-life issues to get lost in a larger discussion of airline industry economics.

Improvements in wages, benefits, and job security are

still the main goal of District 141 negotiations with UAL Corporation. Issues concerning accrual and use of seniority, as well as sick time, are important as well. It all needs to be addressed.

UNITED NEGOTIATIONS — MEDIATION

We continue to meet with United in direct negotiations, as called for under the RLA (Railway Labor Act).

During the first week of August, both District 141 and United will jointly apply for mediation assistance, through the National Mediation Board. This will begin the second phase of negotiations under the RLA.

A federal mediator, once assigned, will meet with both parties to determine the status of negotiations. The mediator will also assume control of the talks. That means the mediator will make basic decisions of when and where the parties will meet, and will attempt to guide discussions towards a tenta-tive agreement.

The mediator may ultimately make a decision that no fur-ther progress can be made during that phase of negotiations. Then the mediator will make a proffer of binding arbitration to both sides.

It is important to understand that medi-ated negotiation does not have a time frame. Under the law, mediated negotiation can last as long as the mediator determines.

We are hopeful that positive momentum made during recent weeks of negotiations will continue. We hope it will be aided by the presence of a federal mediator. Our goal is to attain a progressive agreement, in the least time possible.

US AIRWAYS “POINT” PROBLEMS RANGE FROM IMPLEMENTATION TO BASIC FAIRNESS

US Airways has implemented an attendance policy, known as their “point system.” Issues with the attendance point system have been addressed in the grievance proce-dure. Now those issues are making their way to arbitration — the final stage of the grievance process.

Problems with implementation of the point system range from its application to its basic fairness.

The transition from the existing attendance policy to this new approach is causing employees to be rushed through the company’s discipline system. Members are now facing discharge, often prematurely.

District 141 aims to address each specific problem with the point system as it occurs. This means hundreds of griev-ances are in process. We are appealing cases and preparing specific cases for arbitration. The results of arbitration will be used to settle similar grievances. Though not a quick process, this will be the most productive — eventually.

Outsourcing, organizing, negotiations — continued with President on Page 10

IAM141.ORG Messenger 6

REVIEW‘The politics of food’By Michael Pollan, award-winning author & columnist, speak-ing at the World Affairs Council of Northern California

“Cheap food turns out to be very expensive,” says Michael Pollan. He’s referring to the $2.5 trillion we spend in the United States on national health care costs annually. Costs, which he says, are related directly to the foods we eat.

Of that $2.5 trillion, three quarters goes to treating pre-ventable diseases. “That does include smoking and alcohol-ism,” Pollan concedes, but most of those diseases are prevent-able: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, 40 percent of cancers, and cardiovascular diseases. “The health care crisis in America is another way of saying ‘American Diet,’” Pollan says.

We’re spending less on food and more on health care.

In 1960 we spent roughly 18 percent of national income on food. Today it’s 9.5 percent, about half. During the exact same period, money we spent on health care went from 5 to 18 percent of national income. Pollan acknowledges there are multiple explanations, but the two are related. “Food is the elephant in the room,” Pollan says.

What in this diet is so bad? The usual suspects are saturat-ed fats, refined sugars, trans fats, and refined carbohydrates. Every population in the world adopting a western diet has developed predictable chronic diseases. We’ve documented it since 1900. These are facts that nobody debates.

So how does the food industry and government deal with these sturdy facts?

By ignoring them. It’s not allowed in debate. The last time the government made any suggestion about food was in 1977. A committee headed by George McGovern issued a simple statement, consisting of only four words, “Eat less red meat.” It turns out the government is not allowed to say eat less of anything when there is a power lobby, and the beef lobby is quite powerful. Lobbyists rewrote very clear words to read instead “Choose meat that will reduce saturated fat intake.” Industry loved it. It was muddier.

It turned an “eat less” message into an “eat more of some-thing different” message. It translated the conversation about food into a conversation about something else — nutrients. The problem with talking only about nutrients within our diet is that it misses another elephant in the room — our overall diet. It’s like talking about the fleas on the elephant and ig-noring the elephant itself.

In the early 1980s, just a few years after McGovern said don’t eat red meat, the country began a low-fat campaign. Thinking in nutrition terms, we focused on fat. The problem is we binged on carbs. Low and behold, we got fatter, by 12 lbs.

We know what we need to know. To the extent we can get off the western diet, we will be healthier. We need to focus on the elephant, on both individual levels and on public levels.

On a personal responsibility level, which industry loves to talk about, what to do is deliciously simple. Pollan advises, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” That’s it. In reality, it’s a tidbit harder. Food is well engineered and cheap.

On the policy side, Pollan says we live in a food environ-ment that “favors and enshrines” corn and soy with subsi-dies. That makes corn and soy cheap. The food industry in turn finds very clever rearrangements of corn and soy, from Twinkies to chicken nuggets. The problem is we are subsidiz-ing the wrong kind of food.

How do you make healthy calories more competitive with unhealthy ones? To change the demand side, the subsidy system has to change. “The health care industry, assuming reform, may turn out to be an ally of the food movement,” Pollan says. If health care insurers are responsible for large populations that they cannot cherry-pick — people they must take care of for a long time — it will be in health care com-panies’ vested interest to support policies that will make a healthy diet competitive with an unhealthy diet.

It’s not happening now. All corporate power is on one side, with health care lobbies and food lobbies are on the same team. In New York City, each new case of type 2 diabe-tes costs health care companies over a half a million dollars. It is currently cheaper to treat rather than to prevent. That means amputating limbs, prescribing medication, and so forth. The economics are perverse, and there’s no incentive for change … yet.Learn more on michaelpollan.com; itsyourworld.org

7 Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG

MEMBER SPOTRapper and CSR Francis Koenig works to help people with ALS

Francis Koenig, Customer Service Representative with United at RDUOZ (Raleigh-Durham), has always loved poetry and music.

“That’s a perfect combination for a rap musician,” Koenig says with a smile.

“I started writing poetry when I was in my early teens. There were some domestic violence issues in our home between my mom and my step dad, and I needed a way to escape. Later on, I merged my poetry with music.”

Koenig’s musical hobby led him to a side career as a rap musician. “I joined a band and started performing around town,” he says. “I enjoyed it and decided to continue my mu-sical career after the band broke up.”

Koenig performs under the name Saint Francis. He has recorded two CDs and performs around the world. He was in Sweden in January and recently returned from trips to Frank-furt, Cologne, Paris, and Dublin.

“I go into clubs and ask for a showcase,” he says. “They are usually receptive. I do one of my own rap songs and then hand out my CDs.”

Koenig has been with United for 10 years. He began his career in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, and was transferred to RDUOZ in October 2008.

He has four older brothers between the ages of 37 and 51. His relationship with his oldest brother, Donald, inspired his most heartfelt musical composition.

“Donald was diagnosed with ALS [Lou Gehrig’s disease] about eight years ago,” Koenig says. “Although we are nine-teen years apart, he is the person I am closest to in the family. He is my godfather, and because of the way he has handled this terrible affliction, he’s also my hero.”

“Doctors gave him three to five years to live. It’s now eight years and he is still fighting. Even though he can’t move or speak, you can see in his eyes how determined he is to survive.”

Koenig wrote the song, “Hero,” about four years ago. The song is used extensively in public service announcements by the ALS Association on radio and television and also at the organization’s events and fund raisers.

“I’ll perform it anytime and anywhere I’m asked,” Koe-nig says. “It has become a kind of anthem in the MySpace community for people who are living with this devastating disease.”

Koenig, Donald, and Donald’s significant other have started a nonprofit organization called Angel Hands for ALS,

(www.angelhandsforals.com). Its goal is to get donations of vitally needed medical equipment and give it to people who suffer with the disease.

“Having the right equipment helps the ALS sufferer’s quality and the quantity of life,” Koenig says.

“I hope all of my colleagues will go to the website and help. It can make a real difference for ALS victims and their families.”

Koenig says juggling a full time job, his charitable en-deavors, and his musical career isn’t easy.

“I’m always tired,” he says. “I don’t get much sleep. I put in about 50-60 hours a week on my music alone. But music is my passion and something I enjoy very much. “

“It’s my dream to eventually work at it full time. But I also enjoy my job, so until that day comes, I’ll continue with both.”

More information about Saint Francis the musician can be found on his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/stfrancis-music or you can call him toll-free at 866-709-3368.

Do you have a “hero” in District 141? You can nominate a 141 Hero for interview in a future Messenger by going online.

iam141.org/hero

Rapper, United Customer Service Rep and humanitarian —St.Francis Koenig belts out “Hero.” It takes one to know one.

IAM141.ORG Messenger 8

EDUCATIONDistrict educator overhaul

District 141’s Education Department is undergoing a complete overhaul. We are training new district educators and retraining current educators. Shortly after taking office, we put in place a complete redesign of the education web page on the new iam141.org. Educational materials used in training classes are scheduled for an update. And District 141 is also completing a technology upgrade, making it easier for the educators to transport equipment, set it up, and teach.

Nine newly trained educators emerged from training classes in May at the District Office. Another class is sched-uled for completion by the end of July. When complete, there will be fifteen District educators ready to give Members the training they need and deserve.

District 141 Member training is also underway. Classes al-ready complete are at SFO, LAX, SAN, SLC, ALB, RDU, and ROC. Participants include District 141 Members from US Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines. Also participating were Members from other districts and airlines. More training for more Members at more stations is being scheduled. If any station is in need of training, it ‘s best to talk to your AGC and your Local Lodge President. Those officers know what manda-tory approvals are needed, before training begins.

SAFETYOn the job, and off

District 141 is working with United Airlines to improve Members’ safety and health, both in and out of the work-place. Initiates are in effect, or in the process of roll-out.

‘MOVE SMART’ AND BACK-A-LINE

The goal of MoveSMART® is to teach employees the prin-cipals, skills, and attitudes for taking personal control of their own safety. Training focuses on safe lifting and body mechan-ics, and is designed to prevent employee injuries. Participants learn simple, powerful techniques using principals derived from the martial arts. The program builds a base of techniques and strategies that increase usable strength, improve balance and control, increase body awareness, and enhance judg-ment. These skills also reduce employee injury associated with strains and sprain type injuries and increase safety while reducing the wear-and-tear of daily work. MoveSMART started at ORD, and already has rolled out in IAD and SEA.

Back-A-Line is a new back belt being tested to reduce back strain injuries. These belts are easier and more comfort-able belt to wear. They have an extra layer of support when pushing, pulling or lifting heavy objects. The belt can be

9 Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG

worn all day, compared to old support belts which would need to be removed or adjusted constantly during strenu-ous activity. The belts have been tested and implemented at PDXCG and SEACG with very favorable results.

District 141 also is working with the IAM Occupational Safety and Health Department. A grant from the Department of Transportation is being used to teach hazmat safety to twenty United Airlines Members. With continuing grants, it is expected that hazmat safety training will extend to the rest of District 141 Ramp and Stores. This safety training is in addition to the hazmat training already given to Members by United Airlines.

It is the goal of District 141 to reduce member injuries through these safety initiatives, and to promote safety both inside and outside of the workplace.

STATION OPERATION SAFETY

First launched in the summer of 2008, the Station Opera-tion Safety Awareness Program (SOSAP) was created in coop-eration with United Airlines, IAM District 141, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA.)

SOSAP provides employee Members with a self-reporting, voluntary, and non punitive environment for the reporting of incident and related safety concerns. Under this program, Members confidentially submit valuable information about a general safety observation or a specific safety-related event that may not have reported otherwise.

The top five safety concerns captured in the SOSAP re-ports at United Airlines are:

• Driving in Gate/Non Gate Areas• Early Brake Release• Weight & Balance Issues• Passenger Count Discrepancies• Insertion / Removal of By-Pass Pin (Airplane)

To file a SOSAP report, always have a Shop Steward pres-ent. If you file on SkyNet, access via iam141.org > Member Ser-vices > United Airlines > SkyNet, and then navigate to SOSAP.

MEMBER SNAGS 30K FOR SAFETY ED

Sometimes it only takes one Member to make a differ-ence in safety.

Meet Richie Howell from Local Lodge 1776 in Essington, Pennsylvania. He just earned a $30,000 grant from the Penn-sylvania Department of Transportation. Howell plans to use the money to support safety education in his local. “It will keep Members trained and current on safety issues,” he says.

Involving Members throughout the airport is part of the plan for safety education. That includes United Airlines, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Atlantic Aviation. “We’ll be able to train all Members,” Howell adds.

What’s the key to this victory? Activism and sticking-to-it make a difference. In addition to being a 30-year active employee of US Airways fleet service (ramp), and president of his local lodge, Howell serves on the AFL CIO Transporta-tion Industry Partnership, which he credits for assistance with the grant. Howell also serves on the Penn. State Coun-cil of Machinists as Vice President–East, Airlines, and he’s a delegate to the AFL CIO in his community.

A union Member since its inception at the airline, How-ell comments on how it was before the Union. “For years there was no say in work rules regarding safety. Our jobs were on the line every day because of it. Now we have a lot more say in the work place.”

Educating Members is a job that never really concludes. Besides safety education, what other goals does Howell have? “To keep our Members well-educated in politics and legislation. Politics plays a big part in our industry,” he says.

New Members (and newly interested Members) some-times ask, “What can I do?” Staying informed is the first step. The inaugural issue of the new Messenger, for example, de-bunks myths about the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation which is under vigorous attack by corporations and cham-bers of commerce. Your online resource is always iam141.org. Everyone leads busy lives, and sometimes a quick e-mail reminder is all it takes. You can join our email update list by going online to iam141.org/join.

Members of IAM Safety Committee, Tony D’Aloiso, Chair, collaborated to produce and display a huge safety banner

IAM141.ORG Messenger 10

HAWAIIAN CONTRACT: MEDIATION?

Hawaiian Airlines Members rejected a tentative agree-ment last spring. Negotiations are underway once again. A gap still exists between what the company offers and what Members believe are true improvements. That means Hawai-ian negotiations will soon enter the mediation phase, similar to the United negotiations. District 141 believes that a federal mediator will bridge the differences, allowing Members to vote on a replacement agreement.

MILEAGE PLUS — JOB SECURITY AND AFFORDABLE BENEFITS

Mileage Plus (MPI) negotiations also began in April and will continue in direct talks. Issues of job security and afford-able benefits are main topics of discussion.

MPI is an example of what has been happening through-out our company and industry. MPI was a once vibrant and active part of United’s sales operation. Today it occupies a single location. MPI has seen the day-to-day effects of moving American work overseas.

District 141’s priority is to stabilize the MPI work. Our priority is to allow remaining employees to work without constant threat of losing their jobs to operations in India or Philippines. While MPI negotiations share things in common with United negotiations, they are not on the same track toward mediation. District 141 will continue with direct talks with MPI, so long as progress is being made.

ORGANIZING — CANNOT BE OVERSTATED

With a change in organizing leadership, District 141 Organizing Department is seeing unprecedented activity. The importance of organizing success to each Member of 141 can-not be overstated.

High on the radar is bringing current Delta employees into the IAM. In doing so, they would be joining brothers and sisters from newly merged Northwest Airlines.

Delta is now the largest airline in the industry.

As such, it will influence wages, benefits, and working conditions — at all airlines. It is in every airline employee’s interest, regardless of the carrier at which they work, that the new Delta becomes a unionized company. It’s in every Member’s interest that Delta negotiates the future with fully unionized employees.

That’s why I ask every IAM Member to do this: Encourage employees of both Delta and Northwest to participate in the signing of authorization cards, encourage them to call for a representation election, and encourage them to vote in that election.FROM ‘AIR’TRAN TO ‘FAIR’TRAN

Here’s a very encouraging development. The response of employees of AirTran Airways to the IAM continues to be posi-tive. AirTran Crew Members, including Ramp, Reservations,

and Public Contact, have by themselves taken the action necessary to call for a representation election. There’s a real possibility that AirTran Crew Members could become Mem-bers of the IAM.

It will be a tough fight. Air Tran Crew Members face an employer determined to stay unorganized and determined to remain unanswerable to its employees.

District 141 organizers, using the most up-to-date com-munications tools, are showing AirTran Crew Members the benefits of belonging to a Union — especially the IAM and especially during chaotic times.

When the date of this election is known, we will again call on District Members to talk to our counterparts at AirTran. Encourage them to vote. The job security of all IAM Members will benefit from the success of this and future organizing campaigns by District 141.

UAL — NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE TO OUTSOURCING

We continue to address the impact of United’s increased reliance on express carriers and its devastating effects on employees and stations.

We have actively worked with United to structure a finan-cial model to show, in some cases, that IAM Members should continue to perform the work of handling the UAX operation.

The challenge of competing with vendors and non-union airlines for work is great. System wide and in every hub, UAX schedules exceed United’s mainline schedule in size. We must do everything we can to secure as many UAX jobs as possible.

MASTERS OF THE TANGLE

The Department of Transportation and the Justice De-partment are debating pros and cons of a United-Continental alliance. Meanwhile, District 141 and the entire IAM are lobby-ing the Obama administration to recognize the need for some form of re-regulation of airlines.

In what looks like a replay of the banking and auto in-dustries’ panhandling for protection, major airline heads are asking for government investment in air transportation. They are calling for funding of NexGen satellite air traffic control, infrastructure improvement, relaxing the remaining protec-tion from foreign ownership, and anti-trust limitation.

The IAM believes none of that should be considered unless and until there is some regulation involving worker security. Thirty years of airline deregulation — and the cur-rent state of the industry — clearly shows two things: carriers cannot regulate or discipline themselves and workers are the ones who suffer.

Isn’t it ironic, especially during the summer, to think that little league baseball games are played with umpires. But an industry, vital to the success or failure of the global economy, operates virtually without rules or controls to protect workers.

District 141 Officers wish you a safe, enjoyable summer with your family. Stay informed with iam141.org. Stay together. We’ll be able to enjoy many more summers in the future.

President ...continued from page 5

11 Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG

ORGANIZINGAirTran: 60 days to D.C.

After 60 days of organizing work, District 141 files for the right to represent AirTran workers in collective bargaining. The filing on June 26, with the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C., culminates phase one of unionizing AirTran crew members (rampers, and customer service agents).

AirTran’s non union workforce exerts downward pressure across the industry on airline worker’s wages, benefits, and work rules.

“We were clear with AirTran crew members about our time frame. No long, drawn-out campaign, but crew members had to support our organizing efforts,” says 141 Director of Organizing, Tim Nelson.

Support us they did. AirTran crew members turned out in record numbers in the key Atlanta hub and in busy line sta-tions system wide.

”AirTran is the most oppressive airline company I’ve ever seen,” says Nelson. Pay is among industry-worst. That’s remarkable for an airline whose profits remain among the industry’s highest. AirTran rival Southwest Airlines, in contrast, is heavily unionized by the IAM and others, profitable, and high-paying.

“At AirTran, respect and dignity are out of town,” Nelson says. He notes AirTran crew members are written up routinely — and fired — for not charging extra for a overweight bag. When a passenger adds weight to the bag after contact with an AirTran crew member, workers are still held liable.

“It’s insane,” says Nelson. “Crew members on the ramp get axed for late flights, with no recourse. The work-life expectancy of an AirTran crew member is about six months.” The company maintains a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Crew members either quit or get fired.

This stinks. Our organization exists in part to free these folks from unchecked corporate oppression. The aim is to empower workers with a voice. “It’s our mission, it’s what we do, and it is our duty to reach out and organize these folks,” declares Nelson.

However, a difficult road lies ahead because AirTran man-agement is determined to stay non union. Nelson appeals to all locals to support District 141 Organizing by talking to AirTran folks at your station. Encourage them to do the right thing. If you can mobilize organizing committees for this, contact Tim Nelson.

Moving forward, Nelson anticipates a complete ballot count by late August. Follow the campaign at www.airtran-crewmember.com. Nelson encourages all airline workers to add supportive comments to the AirTran message board.

Nelson concludes saying, “It’s the humanitarian thing to do. It’s also smart politics and smart economics. These folks

need our help. We all benefit — all workers in all airlines and other middle class jobs — when downward pressure on wage, benefits, and work conditions is limited or removed.”

The next step is to hold an election at AirTran in which workers can vote for or against union representation. Unlike a U.S. presidential election, for example, a simple majority vote is not considered “good enough” under current law. Instead, more than 50 percent of all eligible workers must vote “yes.” Failure to vote one way or the other counts as a “no” vote.

The system established under NLRA, the National Labor Railway Act, which governs airline labor unions as well, is inherently tilted in favor of corporations and against workers. The EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) seeks to level that play-ing field, and is discussed in detail in the Spring 2009 Messen-ger (available online at iam141.org).

“60 Days To D.C.” is an organizing effort led by Tim Nelson and assisted by District 141 Communicator–US Airways, Dave Lehive. It may well become the first major organizing victory for the district in over a decade.

Not bad for a couple months work.

From airTran tofairTran

Tim Nelson’s cell is 224.234.5414; tnelson@iam141.orgContact information also on iam141. org > About > Staff

LABOR HISTORYAtlanta’s washerwomen strike

It was the Summer of 1881. With the official end of slavery less than two decades before, thousands of black laundresses were striking for higher wages, respect for their work, and control over how their work was organized. The women were gaining so much support they threatened to call a general strike, which would have shut down the entire city of Atlanta.

Government and business were not amused.

In July 1881, twenty of those laundresses met to form a trade organization, the Washing Society. They sought higher pay, respect, and improved work rules. With the help of black ministers throughout Atlanta, they held a mass meeting and called a strike to achieve higher pay at a uniform rate.

The Washing Society, or “Washing Amazons,” as their opponents called them, established door-to-door canvass-ing to widen their membership, urging laundresses across the city to join or honor the strike. They also involved white laundresses, who were less than 2 percent of laundresses in the city — an extraordinary sign of interracial solidarity for the time.

In three weeks, the Washing Society grew from 20 to 3,000 strikers.

By August, municipal authorities were taking direct action by arresting strikers, fining members, and making house visits. But the laundresses were not deterred. The white establishment was so agitated that city politicians got involved. The City Council proposed that members of any washerwoman’s organization pay an annual fee of $25 and then offered nonprofit tax status to businesses that wanted to start commercial laundries. Even though the $25 fee would mean several months of wages, the strikers were not discour-aged. They responded with a letter to the mayor, agreeing to pay the fees rather than be defeated. “We mean business...or no washing,” the letter stated.

These politically savvy workers were willing to pay the fee in exchange for self-regulation. To them, self-regulation of their industry was about respect. In the post-Civil War South, the laundresses refused to be seen as subordinate. These laundresses saw the strike as asserting their freedom and identity and gaining respect for their work.

The resolve of the striking laundresses — despite the arrests, fines, and proposed fees — inspired other domestic workers. Cooks, maids, and nurses began demanding higher wages. Hotel workers went on strike. Unlike past strikes, em-ployers — aware of the magnitude of the black labor unrest — weren’t confident they could find replacement workers. So the following week, the City Council rejected the proposed fees. The laundresses had prevailed.

In the end, the strike not only raised wages, but also established laundresses — and all black women workers —

as instrumental to the New South’s economy. The white establishment was forced to acknowledge that black women workers, former slaves, were not invisible.

Mother, what a leaderIn one tragic week in 1867, Mary Harris Jones lost her hus-

band and her four small children in a yellow fever epidemic. Tragedy continued to pursue her in 1871, when she lost every-thing she owned in the Great Chicago Fire. But out of tragedy came triumph for Mary Harris “Mother” Jones who, despite her setbacks, would go on to become what labor activists called “the greatest labor agitator” of their time.

Seeking a new path for her life, Jones began to attend meetings of the newly formed Knights of Labor, which nurtured a passion for justice and equality that she inherited from her Irish-born parents.

Having lost her own family, she “adopted” the working peo-ple of America. They responded by calling her “Mother Jones.”

She was born in May or August (exact date is unclear) when Andrew Jackson was president; when she died 100 years later, in 1930, it was the dawn of the New Deal.

America changed a lot in the century of her life, and “Mother” Jones played a significant role in making those changes happen.

IAM141.ORG Messenger 12

She was called “the most dangerous woman in America.” Rock on, Mother, rock on.

13 Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG

She went from city to city helping strikers, leading pro-tests, and organizing workers. In 1898 she helped found the Social Democratic Party and in 1905 she was present at the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World.

After 1890, Jones dedicated most of her efforts to orga-nize miners for the United Mine Workers.

She achieved national fame in 1902, when she led a charge by Pennsylvania coalminer’s wives who chased away strikebreakers with brooms and mops. The next year, she led a “children’s crusade” of striking children who marched to President Theodore Roosevelt’s home in Long Island, NY, seeking the abolishment of child labor.

On February 12, 1913, Jones led a protest in Charleston, West Virginia, and was arrested. A military court convicted her of conspiring to commit murder and she was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Her case created such uproar that the United States Senate ordered an investigation of conditions in the West Virginia coal fields. However, on May 8, 1913, before the investigation began, West Virginia’s newly elected governor set Mother Jones free. She was 83 years old.

Later in 1913, she participated in an epic strike by coal min-ers in Colorado, where she was arrested and imprisoned twice.

Mother Jones inspired nationwide expressions of outrage against the “machine gun massacre” of miners and their fami-lies at Ludlow, Colorado, on April 20, 1914, when 20 people were killed.

Mother Jones went on to participate in 1915 and 1916 in the strikes of garment workers and streetcar workers in New York, and in the strike of steel workers in Pittsburgh in 1919. In January 1921, at the age of 91, as a guest of the Mexican government, she traveled to Mexico to attend a meeting of the Pan-American Federation of Labor.

In 1923, when she was 93 years old, she was still working among striking coal miners in West Virginia.

Mary Harris Jones died in Silver Spring, Maryland, on No-vember 30, 1930, just 7 months after her 100th birthday. Her grave is near those of the victims of the Virden, Illinois mine riot of 1889.

Lewis: His ‘groupies’ are now known as the AFL CIO

John L. Lewis was a rock star among American labor leaders in the first half of the 20th century, regularly advising presidents and challenging America’s corporate leaders.

This year commemorates the 40th anniversary of his death on June 11, 1969.

As founder and leader of the Congress of Industrial Or-ganizations (CIO), Lewis raised living standards for millions of American families in the 1930s.

In 1935, the first year of the CIO, nearly four million work-ers joined labor organizations and wages were raised by more

than a billion dollars.

Lewis was born on Feb. 12, 1880, in Lucas, Iowa, the son of a Welsh immigrant coal miner. He became a coal miner at the age of 15 after settling in Panama, Illinois.

Between 1898 and 1907, Lewis tried farming, construction work, and running a small business before joining the Labor Movement in 1907. He served as president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1920 until 1960.

Lewis sent hundreds of UMWA organizers to help cre-ate some of the nation’s leading labor unions, including the United Steelworkers of America, the United Auto Workers, the Communication Workers of America, and many other organi-zations that continue to speak for America’s workers.

One of Lewis’ greatest legacies was the creation of the UMWA Welfare and Retirement Fund in a contract with the federal government that was signed in the White House with President Truman in attendance.

The UMWA Fund permanently would change health care delivery in the coal fields of the nation, building eight hospi-tals in Appalachia and establishing many clinics.

In 1964, Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian decoration, by Presi-dent Lyndon Johnson. He remained chairman of the UMWA Fund until his death.

From coal miner to founder of the CIO to advisor of presi-dents, John L. Lewis remains a rock star of labor.

IAM141.ORG Messenger 14

REMEMBERRecent retireesUnited Airlines

Alforque, Protasio A. LAXCG 22 Yrs 0 MosBeatty, David G. PITCG 37 Yrs 1 MosBerry, Zoe J. CHIRR 22 Yrs11 MosChuck, Gerald E. BUROZ 25 Yrs11 MosD’Ambrosio, Julie A. PBIOZ 21 Yrs 9 MosDagenais, Jewell B. SFOCS 41 Yrs11 MosDittmar, James O. DENCS 9 Yrs 2 MosDohrmann, Ninive C. SFOCS 11 Yrs 9 MosDusek, Harvey J. PHLCG 16 Yrs 7 MosFilipinski, Larry ORDCG 12 Yrs11 MosGleeson, William G. ORDCG 19 Yrs 2 MosGraham, Patricia A. LAXCS 31 Yrs11 MosHarrison, Debra L. DTWRR 13 Yrs 1 MosHill, Carol R. IADCS 20 Yrs 6 MosIngo, Dominic B. ORDCG 21 Yrs 9 MosJohnson, Johnnie L L. LAXCG 10 Yrs 7 MosJones Jr., Wilson SFOJJ 10 Yrs 2 MosKalsbeek, Linda LAXCG 10 Yrs11 MosKim, Curtis G. K. HNLCG 24 Yrs11 MosKowalski, Margaret M. ORDCG 19 Yrs11 MosLorek, Karen CHIRR 12 Yrs 7 MosLudwig, Slavica ORDCG 38 Yrs10 MosMahoney, Robert C. MCOCG 40 Yrs 5 MosMansfield, Mary Lee L. RNOOZ 10 Yrs 1 MosMay, Frances B. SFOCS 11 Yrs10 MosMcCormick, John T. SJUCS 10 Yrs 3 MosMcFadden, Frank J. IADCG 22 Yrs 6 MosMoore, Herbert C. JAXOZ 34 Yrs11 MosMorris, Colin H. HNLRR 29 Yrs10 MosOwens Jordan, Ruth C. DENCG 22 Yrs 3 MosPerkins, Rosalina Q. ORDCG 11 Yrs 1 MosRegal, Steve ORDCS 10 Yrs 2 MosReggio, Ellen L. ABQOZ 22 Yrs11 MosRich, Corrine K. SFOCG 14 Yrs 7 MosRodgers, Annie ORDCG 10 Yrs 3 MosSands, Edward L. HNLRR 11 Yrs 3 MosSatterfield, Cynthia A. LAXCS 21 Yrs11 MosSiel, Robert P. ORDCG 36 Yrs11 MosStewart, Betty A. DCACS 10 Yrs 2 MosStubing, Kevin JFKJL 20 Yrs 0 MosTitcomb, Debra K. HNLRR 25 Yrs 2 MosTownsend, Melvin D. DENCG 38 Yrs11 MosTurner, Deborah ORDCG 19 Yrs 9 MosValdez, Josephine V. ORDCG 16 Yrs 7 MosVan De Sande, Peggy P. HNLRR 11 Yrs10 MosVandling, Larry M. LASOZ 11 Yrs 9 MosVeloso, Joseph B. LGACG 37 Yrs 1 MosWong, Carrie C. LAXCS 10 Yrs 7 MosWong, Larry C. ORDCG 17 Yrs 6 Mos

US Airways Retirees

Abbasi, Arshad A. - - - 04/25/09Benzin, Richard L. - - - 05/30/09Curbelo, Edward - - - 03/01/09Firmani, Daniel D. - - - 02/04/09

Full, Edward B., Jr. - - - 04/18/09Gould, Gary L. - - - 02/03/09Gove, Alan F. - - - 03/12/09Griffin, Thomas R., Jr. - - - 07/17/09Hortert, Keith B. - - - 02/09/09Hutchinson, George B. - - - 05/19/09Kirkwood, William H. - - - 04/10/09Megahan,Ralph R. - - - 04/11/09Murphy, Paul E. - - - 05/30/09Norris, Walter C. - - - 05/03/09Peternel, Edward W. - - - 04/27/09Petruska, Charles T. - - - 04/09/09Phelps, James P. - - - 02/13/09Salas, Alfredo - - - 03/02/09Stark, George H. - - - 05/25/09Streyle, Wayne T. - - - 06/28/09Tesauro, Sherry L. - - - 04/08/09Torrey, Brian D. - - - 05/17/09Voss, Erling R. - - - 03/08/09Wynn, Douglas L. - - - 03/31/09Zellers, Dennis E. - - - 04/29/09

ObituariesUnited Airlines

Andres, Gary H. SMFOZ 04/05/09August, Harry retiree JFKCG 03/07/09Besse, Norma T. retiree LAXRR 03/25/09Burgess, Dale I. retiree GEGOZ 3/16/09Chel, Cornelis retiree LAXCG 04/01/09Colina, Edgardo G. retiree SFOJJ 02/06/09Connor, Richard F. retiree JFKFF 04/27/09Conticchio, Libertaria R. retiree EWRHH 01/10/09Contreras, Juan A. ORDCG 04/29/09Davis, Marilou E. retiree SEARR 03/08/09De Ford, Leslie A. retiree DENCG 02/12/09Deavers, Joan K. IADCS 04/01/09Delgado, Jesus retiree MIAHH 03/17/09Ewert, Michele J. CHIRR 02/24/09Farrelly, James T. ORDCS 03/17/09Faulkner, Troy C. retiree MSYOZ 02/21/09Fedele, James A. retiree DENRR 01/04/09Fensch, Donald W. retiree SEAFF 04/28/09Fields, Richard W. retiree DENCG 04/24/09Fiorenza, Ralph K. retiree PHLHH 01/16/09Foster, Willie J. retiree ORDCS 03/04/09George, Mary F. retiree PDXCS 04/23/09Griglak, John V. retiree PITCG 03/27/09Grimaldi, Michael J. retiree LAXCG 04/26/09Grob, Robert J. retiree ORDCG 02/08/09Hagedorn, Alma M. retiree SEAFH 04/16/09Harrison, Vernon O. retiree SLCFF 04/08/09Hathaway, Eunice A. retiree NYCRR 02/27/09Higgins, Albert G. retiree HNLCG 03/20/09Hull, Larry L. retiree ORDCS 03/31/09Izydorczak, Jo Ann H. retiree BUFCS 03/30/09Jenkins, Jolene P. retiree LAXCS 02/14/09Johnson, Lennart O. retiree BOSCG 03/21/09Johnston Jr, Arthur G. retiree SEACG 03/13/09Kaminski, Chester A. retiree CLECG 02/24/09

15 Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG

Larry, Julia M. retiree OMACG 02/11/09Layman, Karen S. retiree RNOOZ 02/28/09Lee, Nancy T. F. SFOCS 04/28/09Lineberry, Stephen S. retiree SFOCG 02/21/09Malvarez, Carlos A. retiree MIAHH 02/23/09Man, Ron SFOCS 02/23/09Mc Morrow, Michael J. retiree PDXCS 03/15/09Mura, Chizuko retiree DENHH 04/02/09Murray Jr, Edward P. retiree JFKCS 02/22/09Novak, George J. retiree DCAFF 03/29/09Obas, Francois retiree JFKCG 04/03/09Paget, Elizabeth A. BOIOZ 04/23/09Palombo, Robert T. retiree MCOCG 12/07/08Pankiw, Sofia retiree SFOHN 03/01/09Pemberton, James D. retiree DENCG 04/09/09Perry, Dorothea M. retiree IADRR 02/10/09Perry, George D. retiree BOIOZ 02/25/09Poole, Betty J. retiree DCAHH 03/23/09Porria, Walter T. retiree SFOJJ 03/02/09Rakestraw, Kenneth L. retiree ATLCG 03/02/09Rihel, David J. retiree INDJJ 04/24/09Robinson, Annie L. retiree DENHH 03/20/09Roper, Warren J. retiree DENTR 04/06/09Rowles, Gerald W. retiree SEARR 03/14/09Rowlette, Vera L. retiree SFORR 02/14/09Sanchez, Pedro H. retiree LAXCS 04/15/09Sapelak, Frank J. retiree DTWCS 02/02/09Schaefer, Barbara A. retiree SFOGH 04/20/09Schutte, William D. retiree SEACG 03/09/09Seman, Thomas J. retiree CLECG 02/05/09St John, Harold R. retiree IADFF 02/28/09Staff, Leonard E. retiree DENFF 04/21/09Steele, Kenneth W. retiree BDLOZ 03/02/09Still, Robert retiree SFOCS 03/13/09Stone, John F. DENCG 04/30/09Sun, Alice P. retiree SFOCS 02/01/09Szymanowicz, Anthony IADCG 02/10/09Taft, Roy R. retiree SFOCG 02/21/09Tartaglini, Louis J. retiree LAXCS 03/11/09Tear, Lorraine A. retiree DENCS 02/06/09Thrailkill, Theodore T. retiree PDXCS 04/02/09Tortoriello, Gennaro retiree EWRFF 03/09/09Twiddy, Douglas R. retiree ORFOZ 04/21/09Uddin, Inam A. IADCG 04/29/09Van Sant, William L. retiree DENCG 04/10/09Vizzard Jr, Thomas F. ORDGQ 02/03/09Wall, Mildred L. retiree OMAHH 04/03/09Wilcox, John retiree SANCS 04/03/09Wohlgemuth, Roy W. retiree ORDCG 03/27/09Wyborn, George E. retiree SFOHF 02/16/09Zwarts, Jeanette G. retiree LAXFF 02/18/09

US Airways Obituaries

Hudson, Brian D. - - - - - - - - -Hupp, Michael J. - - - - - - - - -Jamery, Richard M. - - - - - - - - -

Workers memorial ceremony honors fallen Members

Families, friends, and fellow IAM Members gathered at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Placid Harbor, Maryland as part of a national observance of Worker’s Memorial Day to honor the memory of those who perished on the job or from work-related disease. Each year the IAM honors its fallen brothers and sisters by inscribing their names on bricks that are placed at the Workers’ Memori-al at the Winpisinger Center. Family members and co-workers honored the memories of 21 IAM and Transportation Commu-nications Union (TCU) members.

District 141 Secretary Treasurer Dave Atkinson says, “This day always brings remembrance and reflection on those brothers and sisters we have lost on the job.” Forty-two Mem-bers of the transportation territory are remembered on the Winpisinger memorial.

Our most recent loss is Walter Bailey, 22. Walter died tragi-cally when his US Airways fleet service vehicle overturned on August 5, 2008.

“The IAM cares very deeply about its Members, their families, and the work our Members do. We struggle and fight hard every day to assure that when one leaves for their job, that they return home safe and sound,” says IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “We don’t always win that fight, but it inspires us to work ever harder so that others don’t have to endure the pain and grief of losing a loved one. Only when we all make safety and respect for workers paramount will we cease to have a ceremony like today.”

This year’s service was the 20th annual observance of Workers’ Memorial Day, which began in Canada and is now observed every April 28th in thousands of services around the world. In the United States, this year marks the 39th anniver-sary of passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which created the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis-tration (OSHA) to set and enforce workplace safety standards.

Bricks surrounding the Memorial bear names of fallen Members of the IAMAW.

INSIDE • For-profit health care? It pays, but

not for consumers and employers• Summer ‘09 presents a tangle of

challenges, rivaling UAL Corp’s infamous “Summer From Hell”

• Simple and messy: “The Politics of Food”

• Member photos, safety, education• Summer rock stars, from the

history of the labor movement

M E S S E N G E RS u m m e r 2 0 0 9

USPS

000-993

MAILING LABEL

ADDRESS ONE

ADDRESS TWO

CITY, STATE, ZIP

it don’t rock without you>>iam141.org/join

The Org