IN THIS EDITION:
- US Senate Must Pass Stimulus to Support Frontline Workers
- Workers Struggle as Unemployment Benefits Expire This Week
- Hundreds of Local S6 Members Rally for a Fair Contract
- Portland Letter Carriers Blow Whistle on USPS for Delaying Mail to Benefit Amazon
US Senate Must Pass Stimulus to Support Frontline Workers
This week, the Trump administration and Congressional leaders have been bogged down in tense negotiations over the next federal COVID response stimulus, which we hope will provide more funding to support hazard pay for frontline workers, shore up state and local budgets, provide an extension of unemployment benefits and support the US Postal Service.
Currently, Maine is facing a $1.4 billion dollar budget fall over the next three years, while municipal leaders are already considering layoffs and cuts in services due to revenue losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In May, the US House passed the Heroes Act, which provides $1 trillion dollars in state and local aid, with $500 billion to states and $375 billion to towns and cities.
Unfortunately, the Senate Republican plan released on Monday does not include funding for state and local governments, the Postal Service or hazard pay for essential front-line workers. It also cuts weekly enhanced unemployment benefits by two-thirds, which will cause severe hardship for thousands of Maine families. To make matters worse, the plan would make workplaces less safe by shielding businesses from accountability if workers get sick due to corporate negligence.
As unemployment continues to spike and coronavirus cases surge nationwide, the Senate plan falls woefully short in addressing the crisis we face. If you haven’t already, please click here to tell our elected officials to pass the Heroes Act.
Workers Struggle as Unemployment Benefits Expired This Week
Tens of thousands of Mainers are facing a dire future as the extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits expired this week. The US Senate has so far failed to meaningfully act to extend Unemployment benefits. Cutting this benefit so sharply will cause severe economic pain to Maine's economy as laid off workers have used UI to pay rent, make house payments and purchase health insurance after losing their employer-sponsored health care.
The Maine Department of Labor has also pointed out that a system to verify everyone’s previous wage information, as embodied in the Senate Republican plan, would take several months to implement and is likely unworkable. Simply extending the $600 benefit is the truly sensible and humane thing to do. On Monday, Senator Angus King met with members of our Unemployment Assistance Group and he assured us he supports the full $600 and will fight for it. Senator Susan Collins, on the other hand, supports cutting it. Please click here to tell our Senators to pass the full $600 extended benefit.
Hundreds of Local S6 Members Rally for a Fair Contract
[caption caption="Masked union members rally at BIW last Saturday." align="center"]
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Last Saturday, hundreds of members of Machinists Local S6, their families and alliesrallied and marched outside the Bath Iron Works Shipyard as the country’s largest strike finished its fifth week. Machinists International President, Bob Martinez, Jr. rallied the crowd highlighting the corporate greed of General Dynamics. “This is the largest strike in the United States of America right now. The eyes of the nation are upon us.”
House Speaker Sara Gideon, whom the Maine AFL-CIO has endorsed in the race for US Senate, told the crowd “When you go on strike, making sure that a fair contract and good jobs and strong benefits are available, you’re not doing it for you, you’re doing it looking backwards at the young men and women who have just started at Bath Iron Works and want to make a career here.”
She pledged to support the workers and the union "until you are able to go back to work with the contract and benefits that you deserve.”
Senator Susan Collins has declined so far to take a side in the labor struggle. “Sen. Collins says she is not going to get involved in this strike,” IAM President Martinez told the crowd. “Any politician who can’t support us now, don’t come looking for our support in November.”
If you would like to support Local S6, please consider donating to their solidarity fund.
Portland Letter Carriers Blow Whistle on USPS for Delaying Mail to Benefit Amazon
[caption caption="Undelivered mail in \"shark cages\" at The Portland Post Office." align="center"]
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Portland letter carriers (NALC Local 92) have filed a complaint with the Office of Inspector General that the agency is intentionally delaying the delivery of first-class and priority mail in order to prioritize the delivery of Amazon packages. The complaint, which was filed July 13, accuses Postmaster James Thornton of delaying thousands of first-class and priority parcels so that fourth-class Amazon parcels can go out for delivery instead.
As the Portland Press Herald reports, the allegations have come as the new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy has tried to cut costs - and many feel deliberately undermine service -- by limiting overtime and reducing extra trips, despite the fact that the post office is handling a massive surge of packages for online shoppers. In 2013, Amazon entered into a secretive contract with the USPS that provided a substantial discounts on each package in exchange for the guarantee of a steady revenue stream from the massive volume of deliveries.
As NALC 92 President Mark Seitz, points out, the problem is that the current administration is trying to turn a profit on the agency rather than treating it like an essential public service. DeJoy and corporate lobbyists have long wanted to privatize the Postal Service, which would have a devastating impact of mail deliveries across rural Maine. Fortunately, union members like the Portland Letter Carriers are fighting back to ensure this critical public service continues.