Arkansas AFL-CIO

"Economy that Works for Everyone" event in Fort Smith

Thank you to everyone who came out to our event in Fort Smith on Friday, about the economy and the Employee Free Choice Act. We had about 35 people there, from APWU, BCTGM, UBC, Crawford County Democratic Party, CWA, IBT, OPEIU, UA, UAW, and USW. 3 TV channels covered it, as well as the Times Record.

Speakers included Ricky Belk, Secretary-Treasurer of the Arkansas AFL-CIO, Ronnie Teague, President of USW Local 7893, Donna Ledbetter, USW Local 7893, and Shelly Reeves, UAW Local 716.

Arkansas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Ricky Belk

USW Local 7893 President Ronnie Teague

Donna Ledbetter of USW 7893

Shelly Reeves of UAW Local 716

Arkansas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Ricky Belk

More from the Times Record, 40/29 (ABC), Fox 24 and Lynch at Large.

Final set of Highlights from our Vigil

In case you missed our vigil at the Capitol a few weeks ago about the Employee Free Choice Act, our blog last week had clips of some of the speakers, and yesterday as well. Here's the final set of clips. Note: due to technical difficulties, clips are not available from every speech.

Rev. Howard (Flash) Gordon, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock

Imam Johnny Hasan

Rev. Steve Kopley, Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice

Rev. G. E. McElroy, Pastor of Greater Archview Baptist Church

More Highlights from our Vigil

In case you missed our vigil at the Capitol a few weeks ago about the Employee Free Choice Act, our blog last week had clips of some of the speakers. Here's another set of video clips from that dynamite event.

Gordon Brehm of the A. Philip Randolph Institute

Chris Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Arkansas Young Democrats

Bill Kopsky, Executive Director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel

Margie Jones of the Community Outreach Neighborhood Organization

Labor In Action

Thank you to all the locals and CLCs that have been writing letters to Senators Lincoln and Pryor at their meetings, and making phone calls too. It's not too late to join in! If you'd like help with sample letters and other materials for your meeting, just call the office at 501-375-9101. (Photo from UA Local 29)

If your local or CLC has been making calls and writing letters, please call Fred at 202-538-1869 so we can report your success!

Future Events

We will be holding an event in Fort Smith on Friday at noon, "Economy that Works for Everyone". It'll take place at USW Local 7893 hall at 5500 S. 28th St. We'll be talking about the economy, bailouts and outrageous CEO pay, and workers that are suffering. If you're anywhere in the area on Friday please attend, we hope to have television cover the event.

Also mark your calendars for the Jefferson County CLC's Day of Action on April 23rd. They'll be leafleting outside a plant that morning about the Employee Free Choice Act. To find out more, contact Tom Peavey on his cell, at 870-329-4166.

Please let us know about more events! Email Laura (lpackard@arkansasafl-cio.org) to get added to future newsletters.

State Legislature News

Update: An amended version of House Bill 1939 (sponsored by Rep. Rick Saunders) has passed the Senate and is back in the House. Please contact your Representative now to ask them to vote for this bill. If you know your Representative’s name, call 501-682-6211. If not, you can look them up here.

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Thank you to everyone who attended our Legislative Reception on Tuesday night at the Capitol Hill lounge. Members had some great conversations with the legislators that were there. Hope you can make the next one!

House Bill 1939 (sponsored by Rep. Rick Saunders) has passed the House and will be heard in the Senate. HB 1939 would encourage more movies to be made in Arkansas by offering a 15% rebate on qualified production costs and an additional 10% rebate for below-the-line hires of Arkansas residents. This would make Arkansas more competitive with nearby states like Louisiana that offer these kinds of tax rebates, and potentially mean more good jobs in Arkansas.

Senate Bill 945 (sponsored by Sen. Joyce Elliott) will allow automatic withholding of union dues for county employees through their paychecks if requested by the employee. This would make it easier for county employees to pay their dues, if they choose this method.

Please contact your Senator now to ask them to vote for these two bills. If you know your Senator's name, call 501-682-2902. If not, you can look them up here: http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/senators.php

Highlights from our Vigil at the Capitol

For those of you that have been following our blog awhile, you may recall having seen video clips before of Tony Jones from USW, Rhonda Woods of Paris, Tony Gossett of Jonesboro, and Senator Joyce Elliott. They were all able to attend and speak at our vigil, and here's your chance to see them in action again.

Tony Jones

Rhonda Woods

Tony Gossett

Senator Joyce Elliott

Keep your eye out in future blog posts for more clips from our dynamite speakers at that event. More here about the vigil from KATV (ABC), THV (CBS), KARK (NBC) and the Arkansas Times.

Local Union Spotlight: UAW Local 1482

"The Employee Free Choice Act I think is very important... The people that want to join a union, they [should] have the choice, not leave it up to the employer"

UAW Local 1482 President Bill Wright talks about his local. At their regular meeting in March, attendees took time to write letters to their senators asking them to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Boeing facility in Melbourne served as a repair station, certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, for MD and -700 series Boeing airplane doors and flight controls - providing maintenance, repair and overhaul services. It was shut down, however, in 2006. UAW Local 1482 is made up of more than 125 retirees from that facility, and they still meet regularly.

Take Action: Write a Letter to the Editor

One of the ways we can get the word out to the public about the Employee Free Choice Act is to get our message in the papers. This is especially important if your local paper is printing things that are misleading or wrong.

Have you written a letter to the editor yet about the Employee Free Choice Act?

Here are some great letters that have been printed around the state: Arkansas Times and Texarkana Gazette

If you'd like some help writing a letter to the editor for your local paper, please call Laura at the office at (501) 375-9101.

There's an online tool you can use, which gives you suggested talking points and submits the letter automatically.

Also if you have written a letter to the editor recently (whether it was printed or not) please contact Laura, she's keeping a statewide list of what does and doesn't get printed.

Labor In Action

Central Arkansas CLC Past President Lindsay Brown speaks at the "Working Lunch", along with President Jimmy Brewer

Thank you to everyone that attended our "Working Lunch" letter writing and calling event at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall in Little Rock on Monday the 9th. We ended up with several letters to U.S. Senators Lincoln and Pryor, and KUAR public radio, KATV Channel 7, and KARK Channel 4 were there to record it.

Also thank you to the folks who helped leaflet at the "Smoke on the Water" BBQ this past weekend - Ben Lilienfeld and the Steelworkers, and John Temple of IAM.

The crowd at the vigil on Monday

And a special thank you to the 125 people we counted at the vigil outside the Capitol Monday night. We generated more letters to Senators Lincoln and Pryor, and all four TV networks covered it! Video clips from some of the speeches will be available in future newsletters. More here from KATV (ABC), THV (CBS), KARK (NBC) and the Arkansas Times.

Members of the Jefferson County CLC write letters to their senators, at their monthly meeting.

If your local or CLC has been making calls and writing letters, please call Fred at 202-538-1869 so we can report your success!

UAW Local 1482 members writing letters to their Senators about the Employee Free Choice Act

To contact your Senators and ask for their support of the Employee Free Choice Act, the number to call is 866-207-2060. When calling, if you're leaving a voicemail don't forget to leave your address too so they know you are a constituent.