President’s Report January 11, 2014
By: President Greg Goold
2013 presented many challenges to organized labor. We have been successful in some areas and not so successful in others. Labor continues to be a prime target for conservatives to focus blame on, accusing us of everything from being the cause of the “Great Recession” to the Wall Street Crash to offshoring of jobs to poor test results in our schools. As unionists we know that this is just smoke and mirrors tactics: diverting the real cause by casting blame on others. Looking forward to 2014, we as unionists will face continuing political challenges as the 1% of this country try to take even more for themselves and leave less for the other 99%, in the process tearing down the fabric of this country.
This coming year organized labor will once again face the unneeded, unwanted and unfair assault of “Right-To-Work” legislation that will be brought forth in Missouri by corporate funded lawmakers. Right to Work (for less) legislation does nothing to help a state create jobs. In fact just the opposite is the case where RTW has been enacted. Wages, safety, health care, schools and quality of life have all suffered while another layer of bureaucracy is created to govern and enforce the legislation. As unionists we must unite against this outright assault on our rights. As citizens, we must educate ourselves, then educate our families and friends about the true cost and effect that Right to Work (for less) legislation will have. This coming year will be the year to become active, engaged and involved if you would like to keep your rights.
I and the leadership team are very aware of the dues dollars that are contributed each month from each member to support our Lodge activities. I am pleased to report that because of an increased awareness of expenditures and cost cutting activities that were undertaken earlier this year, we have been able to save the Lodge over 50% from the previous year’s expenditures. This is great progress, however it does not get our Local out of the fiscal situation that we find ourselves in. We must face the fact that this local has not accounted for increased per capita requirements passed down from the Grand Lodge that have occurred since 2008, and have been supplementing the deficit by withdrawing from our reserve account each year to make up the difference. The per capita requirement or tax is a large part of the dues we all pay and goes to the Grand Lodge for operations. We cannot continue to do this any longer. We must face the fact that a change in the manner we handle per capita increases passed to us from the Grand Lodge must be passed.
Here at 778 we have an advantage of being an unaffiliated Local over locals affiliated with a district lodge. We operate as district lodge in the financial area without the burden of paying a district lodge our dues dollars for servicing. This means that more of our dues stay here at the Local and on average are much less than other comparable locals who support a district lodge. I know that any increase in your dues is unpopular, but if we do not address this issue immediately and head on, the alternative will be much worse when it is finally addressed. I took the job of President knowing that there would be unpopular decisions that must be made. I hope that I have proved to you this year that I have only the best interests of the Local and its members in mind, with the Constitution and Bylaws as the rule. And that each of you can see that this decision is necessary and in the best interest of our Local.
Appointments have been made to fill open positions in the lodge Executive Council. Per our Lodge Bylaws the President puts forth the appointment to the Executive Board who takes the appointment under debate then votes to approve or not approve the appointment. With that said I would like to congratulate Cory Wallace who has been appointed to the position of Financial Secretary and Jeremy Young to the position of Sentinel/Conductor. Additionally, I would like to announce that Louis Anaya has been added to the Kansas State Council of Machinists as one of our representatives.
2014 will be a challenge to unionists here in Missouri with all of the anti-union bills being written for the benefit of the 1% without regard for the harm it will do to the hard working people both union and non-union here in Missouri. As unionists we must become more educated on the issues and bills that our elected law makers are bringing out. We must pay attention, become more active, engaged and involved in both our union and what is happening politically. This is the year to take action for your jobs, your livelihood and your families by becoming the informed union member in the crowd who can stand up and say I am the informed citizen who pays attention and votes!
In Solidarity, Greg Goold President, Local Lodge 778
What is MNPL?
Since taking office in January, I have had the opportunity to talk to our members on issues that affect their participation in our union. One of the issues that are brought up often is how their dues are being used for political campaigns. This is simply not the case. For the International Association of Machinists to use members’ dues for political campaigns is covered under the Labor Management Relations Act, also known as the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. This act made it illegal for unions to use dues for political campaigns. The IAM’s response was to create the MNPL - The Machinists Non-Partisan Political League.
So, what is the MNPL? To answer this I am going to go back to 1947, to the beginning, and explain the Taft Hartley Act and how it affected our union and the labor movement here in the United States.
The Act is Federal Law (Pub.L. 80–101, 61 Stat. 136, enacted June 23, 1947) that is still in effect and restricts the activities of labor unions. Up to this point the NLRA, National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) of 1935, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which enacted protection for private sector employees, promote organization and collective bargaining, established exclusive bargaining representative for employees, determined that employers have a duty to bargain with the employees representative and established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was the law of the land for labor.
Sponsored by Senator Robert Taft (R) and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. (R), the Taft-Hartley Act amended the National Labor Relations Act, it became law when President Harry Truman’s veto was overridden. President Truman called the Act a “dangerous intrusion on free speech", and that it would "conflict with important principles of our democratic society".
Taft-Hartley added many prohibited actions, or unfair labor practices, on the part of the unions to the NLRA, which had previously only prohibited unfair labor practices committed on the part of the employer. The Act prohibited jurisdictional and wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, secondary and mass picketing, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns. Union officers had to sign non-communist affidavits with the government. States were allowed to pass right-to-work laws and the executive branch of the federal government could obtain legal strikebreaking injunctions if an impending or current strike imperiled the national health or safety. According to First Amendment scholar Floyd Abrams, the Act "was the first law barring unions and corporations from making independent expenditures in support of or [in] opposition to federal candidates"
The Act also revised the Wagner Act's free speech policy to allow employers to deliver anti-union messages in the workplace. These changes confirmed an earlier Supreme Court ruling that employers have a constitutional right to express their opposition to unions, so long as they did not threaten employees with reprisals for their union activities nor offer any incentives to employees as an alternative to unionizing.
As you can see the Taft-Hartley Act had, and continues to have a profound and far-reaching effect on the labor movement in the United States. For any person who works for a living, collects a wage from an employer for a service or labor, this act has directly affected you and your ability to organize, have a collective bargaining agreement and representation. A fair wage, a safe workplace, equality and dignity should be a right here in the United States. Unfortunately that is not the case and the labor movement is under attack by political factions that are funded by multi-national corporations with very deep pockets. The only way this will change is through the political process. Our political system is dominated by money, more so now than any time in the past with the Supreme Court ruling of Citizens United. Unionists must be able to promote candidates who are supportive of the values of the working person and the labor movement. This takes money.
So MNPL is the voluntary contribution political fund of the International Association of Machinists which contributes to candidates of both parties who have proven their support to the labor movement through their voting record or who pledge to support the IAM and its members who donate to the fund. But as I explained earlier, no part of our union dues is used to support political activities. It is illegal by federal law. The MNPL is strictly funded with donations of unionists who understand that the political process and political funding is necessary for the labor movement to survive.
As you can see from the above chart, the amount of political contributions by labor is far exceeded by business. Yet many right wing pundits would have the public believe that political contributions by labor are nearly equal. 3/2/2013
