LABOR LEARNING IN THE LANDING: Monday September 13 marks the opening of the 116th term of the Labor Guild’s School of Labor Relations, the oldest such labor education program in the country. As always, we have sought to offer the core labor relations courses- Basic Steward Training, Labor Strategies, Roots of Labor Law., Public Speaking, Religion and Labor, Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way., Political Power and Building Trades, A Look to the Future and Paul McCarthy’s new course How to Think and Act Strategically- Part II. . In short, there are plenty of opportunities for personal and professional growth in the Fall term to be held at the Guild headquarters, 85 Commercial St in Braintree, across the street from the Weymouth station on the Greenbush line. Check the fall bulletin or website for more details.. Note there are several scholarships for needy or unemployed students. Students are reminded that some courses fill up rapidly, so early registration is strongly encouraged..
CUSHING GAVIN AWARDS DINNER: It hardly seems possible in the heat of summer that it is time to plan for the 44th Annual Cushing-Gavin Awards Dinner. This year’s festivities will be held on Friday, December 3rd at the usual Sheraton Boston site, 6:00 social, 7:00 Dinner. A critical element in the success of this award night is a large pool of worthy nominees. Readers will find a copy of the nominating sheet enclosed and hopefully you will strike while the iron is hot to add your nominee to the supply of candidates. As you might suspect, no worthy person can receive this award until some colleague/friend nominates them. Note, a letter with the accomplishments and qualities of the nominee is always helpful. A long standing tradition is to rotate the attorney’s award each year between labor and management counsel: this year the attorney is to come from union ranks.
GOT YOUR RAFFLE TICKET?
DRAWING LABOR DAYLABOR DAY: Trade union members and friends here in the Greater Boston area will mark Monday, September 6 with the traditional 9am Greater Boston Labor Council’s Labor Day breakfast,held at the Park Plaza, Breakfast Tickets $50 Table $500 contact: rrogers@gblc.us.
The drawing for the raffle of two tickets, plus cash, for the Notre Dame vs Army game held Nov 20, 2010. under the lights at Yankee Stadium will be held at the breakfast. You do not need to be present to win. All donations provide some much needed funds for The Labor Guild.
On Labor Day afternoon (12 noon- 5:30pm) the Bread & Roses Heritage Festival will hold its 26th Annual Labor Day celebration on the Common in Lawrence. This family event includes music and dance, plus historical walking and trolley tours, children’s entertainment, international food court, & more. For more information: call 978-794-1655, or emailinfo@breadandrosesheritage.org,
The day before, Sunday, September 5, The Labor Guild will once again lead the Labor Day Sunday TV Mass produced by Catholic TV in the Channel 7 studios on Bulfinch Place, Boston, at 7:00 am. Those wishing to join us should RSVP laborguild@aol.com or 781-340-7887 and plan on being at the studios by 6:45am. This Church program is carried in multiple cities across the nation with roughly 5 million viewers.
NEW POSITION
Rick Reilly, retired senior V-P, American Arbitration Association and past Cushing Gavin Awardee has been appointed Chair of Joint Labor Management Committee for Police and Fire for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
RIP:
Jackie Corbett, a Guild member since 1986 and multi term student, Jackie was a member of UFCW Local 1445, working first at R.H. Stearns. She passed away on May 11, 2010.
Leo Monahan, Past President, IBEW Local 103 and a card carrying Labor Guild member for 42 years, went home to God on June 27. The union was Leo's passion. He spent his career fighting for worker's rights, and believed in the solidarity of the brotherhood.
Bob Ziegler, a school bus driver and husband of past Guild President, Dorine Levausseur, of the Mass Teachers Association, died in June.
RECENT ELECTIONS:
1199SEIU members elected Veronica Turner as V-P for Massachusetts. Veronica comes out of the Boston Medical Center.
Gary Sullivan, 2009 co-chair of the Cushing –Gavin Awards Dinner, among other accomplishments, has stepped down as President of UWUA Local 369. Elected to this position is DavidLeonardi, the former Business Agent for Area 1.
APWU Boston Area General President Moe Lepore has retired from that position. Bob Dempsey is the new General President for this area.
IBEW Local 104 held its election of officers on June 17. Tiler Eaton returns as Business Manager, Jeff Place as President and Hugh Boyd as Treasurer.
CSOA (Court Security Officers) held their elections on June 8. Elected are: Robert M Diaz, Pres; Joseph Walker,Treas; Mark Dowgiewicz,V-P Joseph Cosentino, Secretary
Pipefitters Local 537 ‘s elections were June 5th “The results; Business Manager Leo Fahey; Asst.Business Manager Tom Kerr; BA’s: Sean Tolland & Paul Campbell . Pres Don Mc Kee & V-P, Rob McKay
Thenew business manager for Carpenters Local 275 is Guild President, Kevin Kelley
CONGRATULATIONS
Past CGA recipient and Boston area arbitrator, Roberta Golick will assume the top position at North America's leading organization of labor and employment arbitrators She was elected President of the National Academy of Arbitrators in early June.
At the June Gompers/Murray/Meaney Conference in Hyannis, Mass AFL-CIO’s Bob Bowers and Tim Sullivan received the Merit Awards and State Auditor, Joe DeNucci was the recipient of the first Kennedy Award.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Mass Interfaith Worker Justice Dinner Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, 6:30 p.m. St. Monica-St. Augustine Parish
331 Old Colony Ave., South Boston For more information and to RSVP, contact Anthony Zuba at (617) 840-5860 or info@massinterfaith.org.
7th Working Waterfront Festival in New Bedford Sept 25-26. . Family event and still manages to highlight the risks and dangers for fishermen as independent contractors without health insurance. The website is workingwaterfrontfestival.org 37th Annual Robert Fuchs Labor Law Conference"New Directions and New Faces at the NLRB and DOL" Thursday, October 21, 2010, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m, Suffolk University Law School, Featuring new NLRB Board Member Mark G. Pearce and new Solicitor of Labor, M. Patricia Smith, you will hear from the decision-makers and gain critical practice perspectives from leading attorneys and academics
LABOR LIFE
Archdiocese of Boston June 2010
VOL, XXXXI No 5 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RECREATE EDUCATIONALLY
In this economic crisis it’s as important as ever for union officers and the rank and file membership to keep up-to-date. Our School provides instructors who are experienced practitioners in their fields, guest lecturers who are top experts and a chance to discuss ideas and network with others. Come to school. Bring a friend or co-worker, encourage your membership to participate. The School of Labor Relations, sponsored by the Labor Guild will start itsfall term on Monday September 13 and run Monday evenings (7-9:30) until November 15. You will find a school flyer enclosed and we are happy to send out a packet of flyers to your group. Check the web site (www.laborguild.com) for course descriptions.
2010 FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP
Meet them before you need them! Two Day Financial Tune-Up Wednesday, May 19th will feature the US Department of Labor Topics covered will include labor management reporting requirements and union elections. Tom Iacobucci will conduct the afternoon session on union budgeting, strategic planning, cash management and internal controls. Thursday, May 20th, the IRS will be conducting a workshop on the new non-profit reporting requirements. Breakout sessions will be offered in the afternoon. $100 for two days. Info and registration: laborguild@aol.com, 781-340-7887.
SCHOOL GRADUATION – May 17th
Come join us for graduation night, Monday, May 17th and cheer on 80 studious people as they receive their certificates.
PARLIMENTARY PROCEDURE WORKSHOP
On Wednesday, June 9th Patti Legault-Frank will present “How to Run a Union Meeting and more”. A flyer is included in this month’s Labor Life. Feel free to share it with a friend. $50 including lunch. Info: laborguild@aol.com, 781-340-7887.
LERA- Spring Meeting
Tuesday, April 27th at the IBEW 103 Hall
Do We Have A Story for You – The Making of the National Nurses Union.
Karen Higgins, Past President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, Co-President of National Nurses Union
Julie Pinkham, Executive Director, Massachusetts Nurses Association. Social @ 5:30, Dinner @ 6:30. Tickets and Info: Mary Cappadona: Mary.Cappadona@gmail.com
The Labor Guild’s The Young Labor Practitioners group is now the
“LABOR PRACTITIONERS NETWORK”
And will hold its Spring 2010 Meeting on Thursday June 10 at Durty Nelly’s (108 Blackstone St., Boston 02109)
A place for new and experienced practitioners to meet and greet!
Topic for Presentation & Discussion:
The Use of Social-Electronic Media In Organizing & Labor Disputes
Presenter: James Shaw, Segal Roitman LLC
Times & Schedule
5:30pm networking begins
6:00pm brief presentation / speaker
6:20pm open discussion & questions
6:45pm networking & social
Sponsored by: Segal, Roitman LLP and ?????
BE A WINNER!!!!!!!
NOTRE DAME vs NAVY
Navy Day: Saturday Date: Oct. 23, 2010 Location: East Rutherford, N.J.
Enclosed are two raffle tickets ~~~~ one could be the big winner of 2 tickets to the Notre Dame vs Navy football game PLUS $150 cash. 2nd prize is two tickets to the same game plus $100 cash and third prize is 2 tickets to that special game plus $50 cash. Each ticket is a $25 donation to The Labor Guild. To enter send us back your completed stub with the appropriate donation. For more tickets call the Labor Guild @ 781-340-7887 or email laborguild@aol.com
CHAPLAIN’S CORNER by Fr. Pat
The Boston Labor Community has been called to support an assortment of hotel, restaurant and other workers beleaguered by some very insensitive owners. In place of my own comments I want to present the ideas of a long-time champion of hospitality and food service workers. A well-known academian and activist, Br. Herman Zaccarelli, C.S.C. touches our heartstrings with, “JUSTIFIED BLINDNESS; WHAT YOU DO IS WHO YOU ARE, EXPLOITATION OF HOURLY WORKERS IN THE HOSPITALITY AND FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY.”
In our high-speed American society, we want to move fast, skip the careful observation and assessment and get straight to the perceptions of everyone and everything. How do we do that? We generalize. If we “see” a doctor, we immediately conclude intelligence, compassion and success. Teacher or Professor? Intelligence, insight and nurturing. Accountant? Steadfast, detail oriented? While certainly prone to error, the “what you do is who you are” generalization is one we all really like to use. Think about it. When getting to know someone new, one of the first questions we ask will undoubtedly be, “So, what do you do?” We really do believe that when we know what they do, it will tell us who they are.
It’s easy and quick, so what’s the harm? Well, in working with the low income hourly employees in the hospitality and food service industry, every day I see the damage caused by this “what they so is who they are” way of looking at people. In my 40+ years experience I have found the problem occurs most often because we start to believe that the good people hold the good jobs. The bad jobs, like washing dishes in a hot restaurant kitchen, scrubbing toilets in a hotel, or cleaning up a littered ballroom late at night after a fancy banquet held for the successful people, are held by, well… a different type of person. Of course, they are not actually bad people, but many observers think that kind of work is done by those who are, to put it kindly, somewhat flawed. And somewhat undesirable, just like their jobs. But that’s really O.K., such people’s reasoning goes, because those unskilled folks are actually lucky to have any job at all.
Poor language skills, limited education, questionable immigration status, no specialized job skills, health problems from inadequate medical care, and sheer poverty. These certainly can make getting and holding a job of any kind extremely difficult. Additionally, the working poor in America must endure long work days, low pay, few if any benefits, unpleasant working conditions, monotonous routines, intolerable work schedules, and lack of respect. If we’re really honest, most of us wouldn’t consider that lucky on our worst days.
If we are determined to observe these workers and conclude that what they do is a reflection of who they are, then we should at least see clearly what they do. The hospitality and food service employees I encounter are, in most cases, those who are forced to work harder, endure more, get less, and persevere with little reward or even hope for advancement. The US Department of Labor reports that nearly three in four workers earning the minimum wage or less are employed in service occupations, mostly in food preparation and food service jobs. It’s important to recognize that full-time minimum wage workers in the US still fall 40% below the poverty line established by the federal government. Who are these new working poor? Overwhelmingly they are people whose work actually does reflect who they are. They are individuals characterized by dogged determination, tremendous internal strength, long suffering, and great tenacity. When writers like Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America) and Gabriel Thompson (Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing Jobs (Most) Americans Won’t Do) spent time with the workers most Americans consider unskilled and poorly paid, the writers invariably comment on the shear physical difficulty of the jobs these workers do. But these writers also unfailingly express their surprise and awe at the strength of character these workers exhibit. The positive attitudes, the steadfast determination to go on every day, and the human kindness they display to each other in the midst of their poverty are nothing less than remarkable.
The majority of workers who do what most of us would view as menial tasks survive only because of their extraordinary physical and mental strength of character. Don’t kid yourself. You have to be exceptionally strong to endure the daily challenges they face. I recognize their tremendous character because I recognize firsthand the conditions these workers face. I must admit this recognition comes easier because I had the advantage of
learning the wisdom of following the guidance of teachers who cautioned us not to rely on outward appearance when judging inward character. The prophets and Jesus recognized our human tendency to perpetuate injustice based on outward appearances and warned us against it. What they called us to do, instead, was to see with our hearts, not just our eyes. We have to use our heart to look past what isn’t always so easy or pleasant to see. What we will find when we sharpen our perception is that the people who desperately need us to see them most clearly are the very ones we overlook when we travel to hotels or eat in restaurants or enjoy the benefits of the labor of millions of the new poor. They are the ones we often don’t want to see at all… because when we look closely we see lives that we have helped to make unjustly painful.
Some would rationalize our societal blindness by saying that it’s not really a moral issue. It’s just business. Yes, they forlornly conclude as they sadly shake their heads, it’s really unfortunate that not doing more for these workers simply represents too high a price for society – or business to pay. It’s true; the financial costs to business and to society will certainly be higher when we finally see the necessity of granting these workers their natural rights to fair wages, health benefits, child care assistance, and respect for their human dignity and a labor union for collective bargaining. But if we are honest, the societal cost of our inaction is even higher. Seeing the true character of the country’s estimated 20+ million low-paid hospitality and food service workers, allows us to see their inherent goodness. It also forces us to examine our own.
When we recognize society’s responsibility to invest in the success of everyone (as it invested in ours), we are compelled to see people in the same way that Jesus and the prophets see them. We begin to see them for who they are, not for what they do. And then we need to act, help, advocate for change. If we fail, then our greatest cost will be the realization that it’s what we don’t do that reveals our true character.
INTERN
The Labor Guild is benefitting from the experience and skills of a second Fr Ed Fund Intern. Daniela Dana, a Labor Guild student a few years ago and formerly shop steward for staff of the Boston City Police, SEIU L 888, will be fulfilling the three-fold mandate of the Labor Guild Board- continue expanding the library, add to our many mailing lists and expand our public relations outreach.
R. I. P.
When our Fr Ed was sick, a frequent caller and encourager was long time Guild member, SAM HIRSCH who was a life-long labor and civil rights activist and U.S. Army veteran. Sam died on December 2, 2009 at the age of 86. Sam was co-founder of the Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition with the late Rev. Robert Kennedy at a time of plant closings and eroding workers' rights. He was instrumental in the passage of lead paint regulations, worked tirelessly for heath care reform, and was very active in the civil rights struggles in the 1960s and in the movement to end apartheid in South Africa. Earlier he was active in the painters' and the culinary workers' unions, and a target of McCarthyism. In the 1970s, while on the staff of the ACTWU, Sam played an important role, with Fr Pat, in helping southern textile workers secure their first contract with textile giant, J.P. Stevens, and then became an organizer with Corporate Campaign, Inc. from 1981 until his death
ROBERT F GOSNELL, a member of the Labor Guild for over 20 years and a multi term student at our school, passed away at his Hanover home after a long illness on May 11, 2010. Bob retired after many years as a Business Agent for the Carmen's Union Local #589 M.B.T.A. He was the brother of Guild executive board member, Tom Gosnell.
ALICE DOYLE passed away this week after a long battle. She was the mother of our hard working “book manager” here at school, Joe Doyle.
NEW BOOKS
Tom Juravich, Labor Studies Professor, U/MA Amherst has a new book, “At the Altar of the Bottom Line: The Degradation of Work in the 21st Century” which goes behind the statistics of the economic collapse and into the work and lives of Americans who feel like they are being sacrificed At the Altar of the Bottom Line. Workers voices are front and center in this book which is based on 85 in-depth interviews. It includes photographs by Paul Shoul and a CD that features a series of audio documentaries with excerpts from the interviews as well as four original songs written and performed by Tom. www.powells.com $33.25
“Go to the Worker” by Kimball Baker includes an introduction by Fr Edward Boyle, SJ. In the mid 1930’s, as in recent times, the excesses of U.S. capitalism sent the American economy and its workers into a tailspin. Workers in that era responded by organizing massively and negotiating tenaciously, helped mightily by the Catholic social-action movement. This group of priests and laypeople, blending strong spirituality and a passion for worker justice, helped multitudes of workers claim their rights and exercise their responsibilities. Says the author of his book, “. It's been a long time coming, and it feels good. I feel happy for myself, of course, but especially for Father Ed and for all those other wonderful characters out there who can finally look down and say "Well now, you finally got that story told!" www.atlasbooks.com/marquettepress $30
”Getting America Back to Work” by Stewart Acuff ( our graduation speaker) and Richard Levins. lay out in kitchen-table English how the nation’s wealthy accumulated power and brought the economy to its knees and brought the middle class to the verge of poverty. www.do-good.biz $12.95
GRADUATION
Graduation was a rousing evening of celebration here at the Guild on May 17th. As noted above, the guest speaker was Stewart Acuff, Chief of Staff to the Pres of UWUA. Shown here with Guild President, Kevin Kelley, Carpenters Local 275 Valedictorian was Michael Riordan, Teamsters Local 25, pictured with Fr Pat. Paul McCarthy led the students, families, faculty and guests (including Mass AFL-CIO President Haynes and Nick Shaw) in song. Registrar Mark Smith joined Fr. Pat in awarding certificates to some 68 students. Fall term begins on Monday, September 13 and runs through November 15th.
The Labor Guild’s School of Labor Relations will begin its fall term on March 15. Come join us
Registrar Mark Smith and Book Manager, Joe Doyle
CALENDAR
85 Commercial St Weymouth MA 02188 781 340-7887, laborguild@aol.com, www.laborguild.com
GUILD PRESIDENT: Eileen Norton, Dir of Organizing,MNA
VICE PRESIDENT: Steve Finnigin, USW Dist 4
CUSHING-GAVIN AWARDS DINNER—
Dec 3, 2010 Friday @ 7
Sheraton Boston
AROUND TOWN:
Faculty: Frank Callahan, Paul McCarthy and Atty. Paul Kelly
Kit Plunkett, Norm Teed, Chuck Monahan
Fr. Pat celebrates Labor Day Sunday Mass on TV
Guild executive board members Thomas Gosnell
& Chuck Monahan at Health Care rally on Labor Day
School of Labor Relations on May 11th.
”
Mark your calendars for the next term of school. We begin March 15 and will run for 9 weeks (with a break for Columbus Day). Recreate educationally!
LABOR LIFE MIDSUMMER BULLETIN 2010
AROUND TOWN:
Kit Plunkett, Norm Teed, Chuck Monahan
Fr. Pat celebrates Labor Day Sunday Mass on TV
Guild executive board members Thomas Gosnell 
& Chuck Monahan at Health Care rally on Labor Day
”
