| | | | | |
| | | | Site Information | | | Representing trade unions in Texas.
| Teamsters and Texas AFL-CIO members joined in a picket of the Governor's Mansion over George W. Bush's efforts to revive NAFTA trucking rules that would bring dangerous trucks and low-wage drivers to the interior of Texas.
The battle over the confirmation of David Perdue to the labor slot on the Texas Workforce Commission was in full swing. Perdue was committing unprecedented energy into his bid to win over two-thirds of the Texas Senate; the Texas AFL-CIO campaigned even harder against him. Part of Perdue's strategy: Suggesting the Texas AFL-CIO does not represent all working people.
The Texas AFL-CIO joined other organizations in backing the state's ban on second-mortgage loans. The opposition helped set the stage for a pro-consumer constitutional amendment.
The Abilene-Sweetwater Central Labor Council changed its name to the Abilene/Big Country Central Labor Council.
Maynard White, a past President of the Harris County AFL-CIO, was laid to rest at age 77.
A metal fabricating plant that has been given good grades for safety by Machinists Union officials was the site of an explosion that killed eight workers.
The Texas AFL-CIO set up a toll-free labor news hotline to keep workers up to date on legislative issues.
Labor endorsed Ciro Rodriguez in a special congressional election to succeed U.S. Rep. Frank Tejeda, who died after a long illness.
February
The United Auto Workers rejoined the Texas AFL-CIO, bringing nearly 11,000 union members into the federation after a 29-year absence. Carl Tillery was sworn in as a Texas AFL-CIO Executive Board member.
After the Texas Workforce Commission all but ignored an administrative law judge's ruling that it had failed to meet federal guidelines for helping displaced workers at Tyler Pipe, the Texas AFL-CIO asked the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate.
The George W. Bush tax plan, which traded property tax decreases for large increases in consumer taxes, was shelved by the Legislature.
Bush's plan for the Department of Human Services to solicit bids from private companies for running the state's welfare eligibility system were placed on hold after federal officials raised questions about the legality of the plan.
Former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright thanked the Texas AFL-CIO Executive Board for its support over the years and commended the labor movement for an extraordinary political turnaround in the 1996 elections.
The Texas AFL-CIO opened a Web page on the Internet, an important advance as more and more union members go on-line. The address for this economical way to publish information to all Texas union members is texasaflcio.org.
March
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, visiting San Antonio to serve as Grand Marshal for the St. Patrick's Day Parade, told a packed audience of union members they must embark on a new era of organizing to attain "a bigger, stronger labor movement."
Ciro Rodriguez won a special election runoff for the District 28 U.S. House seat by a 2-1 margin. Rodriguez emerged with labor's full backing from what started as a 15-candidate field.
Bill Hammond, the Texas Workforce Commission member representing business, published an article in his in-house publication on "The 10 Commandments of Firing." The appearance of the article pointed up that catchy pro-labor articles were nowhere to be found in the office of the commissioner representing labor.
Five labor retirees took part in the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature or Texas Silver-Haired Congress: Glen Peterson, Hazel Wright, Charlotte Parks, Al Hieken and Donnie Martin.
Wheel of Fortune announced it would devote Labor Day week to salute working families, invite union contestants and give away union-made products.
April
The federal government told Texas that private companies may not take over state jobs devoted to determining the eligibility of welfare applicants. The ruling angered Gov. Bush, who remains a strong backer of privatization, as well as both U.S. Senators from Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm.
Texas foot doctors considered joining the Office and Professional Employees International Union.
The city of North Olmstead, Ohio, approved a selective purchasing ordinance that disqualifies vendors who sell goods made in sweatshops.
The Texas AFL-CIO awarded 17 $1,000 scholarships to outstanding high school seniors who are sons and daughters of union members. The winners were chosen from an extremely competitive field of 365 applicants.
Pickets in Henrietta protested the Haines Construction Company's refusal to talk with the International Union of Operating Engineers.
A proposal to use tax dollars to subsidize private school tuition -- the vouchers idea -- died in the Legislature, thanks in large part to the strong campaign of the Texas Federation of Teachers.
May
The Texas labor movement finished an outstanding legislative session in which it survived with no major bad bills and some good ones. Among the big victories: a successful effort to impose legislative oversight and public accountability on the welfare reform process.
Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, a career friend of labor, announced he would not seek reelection, guaranteeing the 1998 elections would juggle the lineup of state officeholders.
Labor leaders A.L. Everett and Al Hieken were mourned. Everett, 55, died in Waco less than three weeks after receiving a heart transplant. Hieken, 88, had been a union activist from the time of the Roosevelt administration.
An Ohio woman's lawsuit against a direct marketing company pointed up that Texas sex offenders had been given access to sensitive personal information about law-abiding Texans. A Texas prison official said of the program's cancellation, "We lost some damn good programmers -- pedophiles. Some of our best computer operatives were sex offenders."
Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, was named by President Clinton to an advisory board on combating racism.
In his last act before failing to win confirmation, David R. Perdue, the so-called labor representative on the Texas Workforce Commission, signed a letter advocating that welfare-to-work participants be denied the minimum wage.
The Texas AFL-CIO asked union members to consider supporting the Texas Observer, a 43-year-old progressive newspaper that is under perpetual financial threat. Subscriptions and donations were recommended.
June
The Texas labor movement is gearing up for the sequel to the NAFTA debate, this time over whether to extend the treaty to Chile and the Caribbean Basin. Labor is focusing on NAFTA's role in employers' low-wage strategy.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that guards at for-profit private prisons do not enjoy the same protection from lawsuits as public employees. The 5-4 ruling has implications for efforts to privatize welfare.
Labor was fighting a proposal by the Federal Trade Commission to allow "Made in USA" labels on products with as little as 75 percent of their manufacturing costs in the U.S.
Detroit newspaper strikers received help from Texas and around the nation in a huge rally against corporate parents Gannett and Knight-Ridder. The strikers celebrated a National Labor Relations Board ruling that locked-out workers are entitled to return to work.
| | | |
| | | Contact Information | | | Texas AFL-CIO 1106 Lavaca, Suite 200 Austin, TX 78701 , Tel: (512) 477-6195 Fax: (512) 477-2962 http://www.texasaflcio.org/ E-mail Texas AFL-CIO | | | | If you're the owner or webmaster of this site then please Claim this Link Once you claim this link and we approve it you will be the only one who can modify the listing in the future. |
| |
| | Date Added: Mon Aug 29 2005 | | Last Updated: Mon Aug 29 2005 | | | | |
