Hector Alikhan, Local 3325, and Diana MacQuarrie, Local 2719, were two of the 2008 Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship winners.

The deadline to apply for the Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship is fast approaching. Applications for the program, which aims to help more women and people of color become union leaders, must be received by May 30.

The scholarship provides annual awards of up to $3,000 to help future union leaders with the cost of continuing their education in order to pursue their union career goals and leadership skills.

Scholarships can be used for tuition, books and travel for leadership training at accredited labor schools, colleges, universities and community colleges. Many students have used the program to attend the National Labor College.

In addition, scholarship winners will be matched with current union leaders to participate in a special mentoring program.

By affording opportunities for women and people of color to continue their education, the scholarship program is helping build a skilled, diverse leadership for the union movement to continue to reach out and provide benefits to more workers.

So far, the Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship Program has awarded $74,000 to 28 winners. Last year’s winners included AFSCME members Hector Alikhan from Local 3325 and Diana MacQuarrie from Local 2719.

All applications must be postmarked by May 30, 2009. Scholarship winners will be contacted by July 7, 2009.

Findings from renowned labor expert and Cornell University professor Dr. Kate Brofenbrenner reveal that employer tactics against workers’ efforts to form unions have increased and become more punitive than in the past.

A new report, “No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing,” released this week by the Economic Policy Institute and American Rights at Work exposes the ugly truth about corporate abuse of workers trying to form unions and bargain for a better life.

An in-depth examination of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election campaigns, interviews with workers and investigations of unfair labor practice filings gives a clear picture of what the process of forming a union really looks like. Workers are regularly subjected to threats, interrogation, harassment, surveillance and retaliation for supporting a union.

Some of the findings:

• 63% of employers interrogate workers in one-on-one meetings with their supervisors about support for the union
• 57% of employers threaten to close the worksite
• 47% of employers threaten to cut wages and benefits
• 34% of employers fire workers

For more, read the full report and fact sheet.

The last thing families struggling in this tough economy need is to pay more for their health benefits. But Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) wants to tax the health care benefits many Americans get from their jobs – as if they were income. And his plan doesn’t include a public insurance option to ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable health care.

Far from moving us in the direction of comprehensive health care reform, Senator Wyden’s proposal would only make the problem worse: costs would go up and fewer people would get the health care they need.

That’s why AFSCME launched a campaign this week against Senator Wyden’s plan to tax Americans’ health care. We will contact Oregon families by direct mail, phone outreach, door-to-door conversations, and through a new website at www.StopWydensHealthTax.com.

Also, AFSCME is co-sponsoring a radio ad campaign in Oregon with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the National Education Association to urge Congress to make quality, affordable health care accessible to all, not tax Americans’ benefits.

This Sunday night, the CBS News program “60 Minutes” will feature a story on American International Group (AIG), the failed insurance giant bailed out by taxpayers with more than $180 billion.  AFSCME has been a long-time critic of AIG and its top management.  In the years before the company imploded, AFSCME repeatedly warned that AIG’s board and management were acting in ways that threatened the interests of shareholders, including the pension funds of AFSCME members and other working Americans.   In early 2005, for example, AFSCME International President Gerald W. McEntee stated “AIG’s business practices put shareholders at risk for significant losses.”

Richard Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension investment at AFSCME, was interviewed for the “60 Minutes” story and is expected to be included in their report.

Tune in to “60 Minutes” this Sunday (May 17) at 7 p.m. ET on CBS.

And join our campaign against AIG at: www.afscme.org/greed

Vice President Joe Biden, addressing the 2009 AFSCME Legislative Conference on Tuesday, said the way to rebuild the middle class is to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and level the playing field for unions.

As chair of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families, Biden is focused on raising the living standard for middle-class families and improving the lives of working Americans. The best way to do that, says the vice president, is to make sure workers have the freedom to join a union.

“You know, I think it should be pretty simple. If a union is what you want, then a union is what you should get. It’s simple.”

A new billboard went up in St. Paul, Minnesota, today which asks Gov. Tim Pawlenty whether he’ll do his legal duty when it comes to certifying the results of the U.S. Senate election — or if he’ll try to further his own national political ambitions instead.

The billboard is part of an ongoing campaign by Alliance for a Better Minnesota, MN AFL-CIO, AFSCME Council 5, Working America, SEIU MN State Council, Americans United for Change and others urging Gov. Pawlenty to immediately certify the election as soon as the MN Supreme Court rules on the recount and give Minnesota full representation in the U.S. Senate.

Working America has just launched a new website at SeatOurSenator.com where concerned Minnesotans can sign this petition:

As a resident of Minnesota, I am concerned that we be fully represented in the U.S House and Senate, particularly as we take on such critical priorities as rebuilding our economy, making health care more affordable, bringing green jobs to the state and reforming the banking system to protect working families.

Minnesota’s current congressional delegation is hurt by the absence of a U.S. senator to represent the interests of our citizens.

A poll conducted by Alliance for a Better Minnesota found that 59% of Minnesotans believe Norm Coleman should concede to Al Franken, and 64% would have “serious doubts” about Tim Pawlenty if he refused to certify the election if the MN Supreme Court declares Al Franken the winner.

See more at Seat Our Senator.com.

During a Congressional hearing held Thursday by the House Education and Labor Committee, AFSCME member and registered nurse Miguel García testified about the need to enforce federal guidelines designed to protect health care workers from pandemic influenza and other airborne viruses.

Full details from the hearing, including complete transcripts, photos and more video, can be found on the Committee’s website. Read more about García’s testimony in an Online Xtra from AFSCME WORKS.

This animation from the American Worker Project, courtesy of the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF), shows how labor law gives workers a raw deal, taking you step-by-step through the current process for forming a union. It’s not pretty.

Watch it and weep. Better yet, watch it and tell your Senators and Congressmember to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Thousands of AFSCME members across the country, working in both maximum- and minimum-security facilities, state prisons and county jails, keep our communities safe by putting their lives on the line every day.

They are people like Daniel Meehan, a corrections sergeant at the Waupun Correctional Facility in Wisconsin and AFSCME’s Corrections Officer of the Year last year. A CO for 27 years, Meehan has mentored hundreds of young officers. As president of Local 18 (Council 24), he energized his co-workers to engage in political action, such as fighting anti-labor initiatives or budget battles in the state legislature.

When one of his co-workers was falsely accused with a felony charge, Meehan created a defense fund to defray his legal expenses and pushed for remedial legislation to address the statutory travesty of a “John Doe” investigation. Also, during a hostage crisis, Meehan assisted the warden and command staff at the Waupun facility to negotiate the safe release of the corrections officer who was being held.

AFSCME salutes these brave men and women:

“This week is National Corrections Officers Week when we recognize the extraordinary service provided by corrections officers across the United States. These men and women are doing a difficult and important job in our criminal justice system — safeguarding the public from those who would do us harm. Too often, their voice and experience are undervalued by those in government who seek to privatize their jobs or cut their pay and benefits. More than 85,000 corrections officers and corrections employees have joined forces with AFSCME to fight for safe workplaces, better pay and benefits and to uphold the standard of professionalism. We are proud of the work they do, day in and day out. We salute their service and will continue to fight for them and the valuable work they do for all of us.”

— AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee