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Philip J. Jennings: My Words in Tribute to John Sweeney Philip J. Jennings: My Words in Tribute to John Sweeney How sad we are to receive the news that our union brother, John Sweeney, has been taken from us. I first met John over 30 years ago. He had an immense impact on life and on a generation of emerging leaders who mourn together at this sad loss. I send my sad condolences to Maureen, Tricia and John Junior. He was elected president of SEIU in 1980, having spent 20 years as first a contract negotiator and then president of the legendary SEIU 32b local in New York. The local was a union power in New York and counted over 40,000 janitor members. A militant local that had negotiated a collective agreement that provided janitors with a decent life and dignity on the job. I had joined the FIET secretariat in 1980 and in those years, as workplaces evolved and white-collar unions grew their base into the wider services sector, new horizons for union activity opened. Relationships were established with John and his SEIU team and those new organizing horizons opened for FIET. We committed to the idea that our global union work should embrace janitors, cleaners and security guards. It was John and his lively and ambitious team that became a key force for FIET to develop and grow the sector. A FIET World Congress resolution in 1987 and the FIET Property Services sector were founded in 1988. He had set the wheels in motion to grow at home and grow union strength abroad. John, a New Yorker, made his home in Bethesda, Maryland. In the Bible, Bethesda possessed a pool where miracles of healing occurred. Under John's leadership, the membership of SEIU doubled. It was considered a union miracle at a time of slipping union membership. This organizing success was no miracle. His cure was to invest in organizing, increase the financial resources available, to trust and build a strategy and compose a brilliant, creative and committed team to deliver on the promise. A legacy that produced a further doubling of SEIU's membership the following decade with Andy Stern at the helm. John had the appearance of an old-school labor man from a bygone era but how those appearances deceived. He was soft spoken, until he made one of his speeches and then no microphones were required, he employed words that conveyed confidence and hope. He challenged and encouraged you to see the possibilities of international union work in a new light. In the words of Seamus Heaney, "Believe that further shore is reachable from here." From a low membership base, the FIET Property Services sector rapidly grew, and today at UNI Global Union, the sector has well over 1 million members and a presence in each continent. They have become a global union power. John insisted that organizing had to be front and center of our international work. With the increasing global reach of multinational companies, he wanted those organizing campaigns to go global and they did. Today Uni Global Union has several global agreements with the major property services companies. That seemed a long way off when we began our work in property services. He encouraged us to take international solidarity campaigns beyond supportive messages to coordinated action across borders. John recognized the importance of working with and developing confidence with unions that had long-standing relations in those companies where the head office was based. To bridge mutual understanding, he encouraged international union delegations to visit with American workers employed in the same multinational. It was always an eye-opener as another hitherto hidden side to corporate behavior was revealed. From anti-union busting campaigns, victimization and intimidation of employees, to third-class wages and unsafe conditions. He felt that if those delegations could walk in the shoes of his members, if even for a day, those human exchanges would build comprehension, sympathy and support. John and his team introduced us to another style of campaigning, in the words of the late congressman and civil rights legend John Lewis to make 'good trouble.' A whole new playbook emerged from street theater, encounters with CEOs on golf courses and sometimes at church, to shareholder leverage campaigns. This included deep financial analysis, looking at who owned the properties, who invested in them and, of course, who the tenants were. During financial roadshows, CEOs were often surprised to field questions about why they treated their janitors, cleaners and security guards, many of whom immigrants were, so badly. The aim was to make these invisible workers—who usually toiled through the night—more visible. Always eager to take the concerns of these invisible workers to the public street demonstrations became a regular occurrence. I recall the SEIU Justice for Janitors campaign in Century City, Los Angeles, on June 15, 1990, when the SEIU called a demonstration to highlight the plight of the janitors. The march was met with a violent reaction from the notorious Los Angeles police. It became worldwide news. The new economic reality was present: changing ownership structures, soulless portfolio entries in financial institutions' balance sheets, demanding above market rates of return, slipping union contract coverage, new and international service providers. In this case, the Danish ISS was resisting the local organizing drive. The celebrated film "Bread and Roses" is based on the plight of these mainly immigrant workers. Today, UNI Global Union celebrates Justice for Janitors Day on June 15 each year. I know John was thrilled to know the day had gone global. We won local recognition and negotiated a global agreement with ISS. On the opening day of the 1991 FIET congress in San Francisco, John and American union leaders led the 2000 delegates in a demonstration against the unfair labor practices of Apple computer against its own janitors. The march turned into an act of solidarity with the Russian people, as a coup occurred there during that weekend. John dared us to act, pushed us beyond the customs of the day and it transformed organizations and lives and it was always conducted with a personal modesty and a warm human touch. He wanted to know you and about you. He would pull my leg about my Welsh roots and say "How could Wales inflict me on the world?" I would say, "You live in Bethesda, that’s also a Welsh town." I idly said to John, "You should visit Wales. We can do it in a day." He accepted. My bluff was not to be called. He and Maureen took the dawn train from London to Cardiff. With my mother in tow and much talk of the Oscar winning movie "How Green was my Valley," a tale of life in a Welsh mining village, off we went to the valleys of the Welsh Rhondda. They were immersed in the miners' struggles, the mining towns, learned the history of the red flag at Cyfartha Castle, saw the site of the Aberfan tragedy and at lunch consumed the very Welsh lava bread (a Welsh delicacy made from seaweed). Our day concluding with an interview next to the Cardiff city center statue of Aneurin Bevan, the founder of the National Health Service born in those same Welsh mining valleys. They were both in London in time for dinner. He always asked how my mother and family was. He took his ideas to the AFL-CIO and, as president, transformed it into an important political force. He built new alliances, he championed union organizing, migrant workers, the invisible workers, equality, the fight against racism and discrimination and for unions to be inclusive. He brought a new focus and intensity to international trade union work and stressed the need for new economic alternatives to the neoliberal thinking of the day. He sought a more robust International Labor Organization, wanting them to take a bigger stick to breaches of freedom of association. He argued for a stronger social dimension to trade deals and sought for the World Trade Organization demonstrations in Seattle to be a wakeup call to policymakers. He worked in close cooperation with the global union movement to tackle the 2008 financial crisis including exchanges with President Barack Obama. In 2007, he hosted a major global union organizing event in Washington, D.C., with 200 people present. Ideas were shared about union growth, global campaigning and the struggle against anti-union laws. The ideas exchanged had a strong impact on me and those reflections resulted in a new strategic direction for Uni Global Union and the 'Breaking Through' plan as our organizing plan was and continues to be known. He took us to the Capitol to lobby political leaders for labor law reform and for the Employee Free Choice Act. We all hope that the Joe Biden labor reform promises will be delivered and when they are, we will remember John. John had an immense impact on my life. He gave you confidence to keep improving and striving and never to forget why you were doing this work, whether it was in the streets with workers or at the G20 and Davos corridors of power, to "believe that further shore is reachable from here." Philip J. Jennings served as general secretary of UNI Global Union from 2000-2018 and general secretary of the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET) from 1989-1999. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/09/2021 - 12:13 — Feb 9
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Black History Month Profiles: John Clayton Black History Month Profiles: John Clayton This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only the conditions for working people in our community, but also across the country. Today's profile is John Clayton. John Clayton is a natural born multitasker. The multiple roles in which he excels—composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, mentor and bassist extraordinaire—garner him a number of challenging assignments and commissions. His accomplishments include a Grammy Award and eight additional nominations. He has worked with artists, including Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gladys Knight and Queen Latifah. He is a co-founder of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Clayton Brothers Quintet. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/09/2021 - 09:27 — Feb 9
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Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Houston AFM Members Perform Concerts for COVID Patients Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Houston AFM Members Perform Concerts for COVID Patients Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Last April, the Houston Methodist Center for Performing Arts Medicine launched Musicare, a pilot program with the Houston Professional Musicians' Association, an affiliate of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). Since then, AFM members have performed more than 400 concerts for ICU patients at Houston Methodist. In the early days of the program, the shows were performed for the hospital surgical ward, but in recent times the shows have been overwhelmingly for COVID-19 patients. And the program is seeing positive results. Houston Symphony cellist Brinton Smith spoke about the experience: “Sometimes you think people aren’t really all there, and then you see that they’re crying, or you get some kind of emotional response. The people who really love music have these powerful responses that you never forget.” Read more about the program. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/09/2021 - 08:30 Tags: Community Service, COVID-19 — Feb 9
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Disregard for Health and Safety: The Working People Weekly List Disregard for Health and Safety: The Working People Weekly List Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List. Amazon Has ‘Disregard for Health and Safety of Its Own Employees:’ RWDSU President: "Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union president Stuart Appelbaum discuss Amazon’s upcoming vote to unionize workers in Alabama. First of all, I'd say that a majority of the workers at the plant have already signed cards saying that they want to union at that facility. I know that there are a lot of complaints about the dehumanization and the mistreatment of workers at the Amazon facility. People get their assignments from robots. They're fired by text message. And they feel that the robots are treated better than the human beings who work there. There are a lot of concerns about health and safety. Even before the pandemic, the pace at the fulfillment center was unsustainable." Ron Bieber: Congress and Biden Should Act on an Agenda for Working People: "Now we have a unique opportunity to continue to improve the lives of working folks with a workers first agenda supported by the AFL-CIO, the country’s federation of national and international labor unions that represent millions of working men and women. First is empowering workers. Stronger unions are essential to helping our country address and move forward out of each of the crises facing us right now, so we are hopeful that the Biden administration works with Congress to enact the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act." Column: Biden Sweeps Trump’s Rabidly Anti-Union Appointees Out of a Key Federal Labor Agency: "Continuing his considerable effort to strip the government of all vestiges of Trumpism, President Biden on Tuesday swept a clutch of union-busting officials out of a little-known but all-important federal labor relations agency. The agency is the Federal Service Impasses Panel, which rules on disputes over government union contracts when an agency and its union can’t reach agreement." AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Shuler Talks Tech and Jobs: "'We are going to insert ourselves at every table,' Shuler said. 'If we don’t get workers to the table, there’s going to be more of what Trump tapped into,' she said, in reference to angry voters who feel left behind by globalization. 'Training works better when you talk to workers. They can tell you what will and won’t work when automating. We’re not always hostile—we can be collaborators and make it go well.'" John J. Sweeney, 1934-2021: "John Sweeney, who led an era of transformative change in America’s labor movement, passed away Feb. 1 at the age of 86. Sweeney was one of four children born to Irish immigrants in a working-class Bronx neighborhood shortly after the Great Depression." Amazon’s Anti-Union Blitz Stalks Alabama Warehouse Workers Everywhere, Even the Bathroom: "Amazon is the great white whale, a target that labor groups have longed for years to organize, said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, which is providing personnel and strategic guidance to aid the RWDSU. 'We’ll give them whatever they need to help them win,' Trumka said. 'It’s an important, important drive.'” Pandemic Wears on Essential Workers: ‘Everybody Forgets That You’re Still on the Front Line’: "In March, when Americans were just starting to adjust to a locked-down world and no one could have predicted how long the pandemic would last, The Wall Street Journal interviewed essential workers, from a subway operator to a home-health aide. The Journal recently talked to the same group again to see how they have fared in a crisis that has so far led to more than 440,000 U.S. deaths and a transformation of the U.S. economy that is painful for many. The workers expressed a mix of frustration, exhaustion and determination. Most still see the importance of what they do, and some have seized on the demand for services like home deliveries to boost their incomes. Others have stopped working, partly out of fear of getting infected. Others have no choice but to keep going and feel lucky they still have jobs." Biden Moves Quickly to Show Union Workers that Democrats Care: "Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, are more optimistic about the prospects for organized labor than they’ve been in many years. 'I know what he is. Joe Biden’s a blue-collar guy,' said Trumka, who like Biden is from a working-class area in Pennsylvania and has known the president for 40 years. 'He understands working people, the importance of a paycheck, importance of health and safety on the job, importance of having a union.… He understands all of that. It’s not something he picked up in the polls. It’s what he believes.'” Amazon’s Cynical, Anti-Union Attack on Mail Voting: "A battle over voting by mail is again being waged in an electoral contest. But now it’s Amazon that opposes a mail-ballot election in order to thwart a unionization effort at an Alabama fulfillment center. In November, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, rejected Donald Trump’s falsehoods about voter fraud, writing on Instagram just after the election, 'By voting in record numbers, the American people proved again that our democracy is strong.' Now, however, Amazon’s opposition to mail balloting threatens to undermine workplace democracy. In the era of Covid-19, it also endangers public health." Aviation Unions Are Asking Congress for $15 Billion to Extend Furlough Protections: "A coalition of aviation unions has asked congress for a $15 billion extension for a furlough protection program, warning a lack of funding would lead to layoffs. The funding would extend the current Payroll Support Program through September 30. Otherwise, it would expire on March 31. 'Without these actions, wide-scale layoffs in the industry will begin as early as March 31st,' the unions wrote in a letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with others." A New Day for Labor in the South?: "'The whole South has right-to-work laws, this is where they originated,' MaryBe McMillan, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, told Facing South. 'It would be a completely different environment here in North Carolina to be able to collect fair share fees from workers who are already represented by a union, so that it's not just union members who are paying but everybody's that's reaping the benefits of a union contract who can put in some money towards the administration and implementation of a contract and union representation.' McMillan is also encouraged by Biden's support for reforms that would allow public employees to collectively bargain, something prohibited in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, and the PRO Act's heightened penalties and enforcement measures against employers who threaten and even fire workers who attempt to unionize. 'It's really important that companies face stiff penalties when they break the law and violate workers' rights,' said McMillan. 'That's especially important here in the South, where we see a real hostile, union-busting climate.'" Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 02/08/2021 - 12:57 — Feb 8
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Black History Month Profiles: LaTanya Cline Black History Month Profiles: LaTanya Cline This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only the conditions for working people in their community, but also across the country. Today's profile is LaTanya Cline. LaTanya Cline is a member of United Domestic Workers of America (AFSCME Local 3930). Cline is a home care provider to many individuals, including her husband, a military veteran. She is also one of the hardest-working union organizers you'll ever meet. Whether she's dancing and welcoming people to food distributions, door-knocking to organize home care providers or talking to voters, Cline shows up time and time again for working families and her community. Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 02/08/2021 - 08:37 — Feb 8