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The Western Kentucky Worker | |
Official newsletter of the Western Kentucky Area Council, AFL-CIO
Prepared by Berry Craig, KEA-NEA and AFT- Kentucky
Volume 7, Number 8, September 2006
Labor Day parade may be longest such procession ever
State Rep. J.R. Gray, D-Benton, will be grand marshal for the city's Labor Day parade.
“Our theme is ‘Stand Up and Fight Back,'” said Jeff Wiggins, council president. “J.R. stood up and led our fight in Frankfort against Gov. Fletcher's right-to-work bill and his plan to abolish the prevailing wage. J.R. is our best friend in the legislature.”
A veteran lawmaker, Gray is chairman of the House Labor and Industry Committee and a former Machinists' union official. He was the 2002 recipient of the W.C. Young Award, the highest honor the council bestows.
The Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee, a private, non-profit group, annually hosts a Labor Day weekend of activities, including a flea market, free entertainment and political speaking.
The downtown Paducah parade will start at 9:30 a.m. on Labor Day and head up Broadway to 17 th St. “The way it's looking, it will be the largest parade ever,” Wiggins said. “Union floats and veterans' groups will be in the lead. We want to honor our unions and those who have served or serve in our armed forces.”
Political speeches will start at 1 p.m. at Carson Park . Several incumbents and challengers are expected. A number of union-endorsed candidates are slated to speak.
After the speechmaking, the band, “Snake Bite,” will perform free at the park. Food, featuring barbecue cooked by the Marshall County High School Quarterback Club, will be available on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The flea market will be open all three days, too. Saturday and Sunday's activities include a “ Battle of the Bands” in which 40 music groups will compete. The music contest is also free.
Saturday's lineup includes motorcycle field events, plus a poker run starting at 1 p.m. from Carson Park . Awards will be presented at the park at 4 p.m. The field events will run all day.
“Usually Saturday is a slow day, but this year it may be our biggest day,” Wiggins said.Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
Machinists to host benefit skeet shoot at Calvert City
The Kentucky State Machinists' Council will host its second annual R. Thomas Buffenbarger Skeet Shoot Sept. 23 at the Calvert City Gun Club.
The sporting event benefits the Guide Dogs of America, an international group that provides “guide dogs and instruction in their use, free of charge, to blind and visually impaired men and women from the United States and Canada .” Buffenbarger is international president of the IAM.
The program starts at 8 a.m. and runs to 4 p.m. “All shooters are welcome,” said Benny Adair, a Machinist, council vice president and event organizer. “Bring your shotguns and have some fun with the Machinists.”
The cost to shoot is $25 per person. Twenty and 12-gauge shells will be provided. There will be a barbecue lunch for shooters and guests.
“The first 100 entries will be guaranteed a slot to shoot,” Adair said. Entrants may telephone Adair at (270) 559-8752 or (270) 527-1780.
The event is an open shoot. Calvert City Gun Club rules will prevail, Adair said.Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
Rasche mends fences and wins labor nod in house race
State Rep. Frank Rasche came to the July council meeting seeking to mend fences with local labor.
The veteran Paducah Democrat left with a recommendation for endorsement. “I've been very critical of Frank,” said Jeff Wiggins, council president. “But the simple fact is that people like Frank Rasche keep Jody Richards as speaker of the House. Jody Richards keeps J.R. Gray chairman of the Labor and Industry Committee because the Democrats control the House.”
Wiggins is also on the state AFL-CIO Executive Board, which endorsed Rasche. Heretofore, local and state union leaders had not counted him among consistently pro-labor lawmakers.
Bruce Brockenborough, his Republican opponent, visited the council twice. He surprised delegates by opposing Gov. Ernie Fletcher's proposals for a right-to-work law and for abolishing the prevailing wage. He also wrote Wiggins two times, reiterating his positions and characterizing himself as pro-labor.
“We all appreciate what Bruce said,” Wiggins added. “His heart seems to be in the right place. But I'm afraid if the Republicans gain control of the House, their leadership would pressure Bruce, or any other freshman lawmaker, into voting their way. The only thing standing between us and a right-to-work law and the end of the prevailing wage is a Democratic House.”
Rasche emphatically told delegates he is against a right-to-work law and supports the prevailing wage. “J.R. Gray is exactly where you need him,” Rasche said. “When I have a labor question, I go to him.”
Rasche also apologized to delegates for not regularly visiting the council. He pledged to return. “I appreciate your support, and I cherish it,” Rasche said.
Hardy Williams, council recording secretary, urged delegates to recommend Rasche. “Frank's not my favorite candidate and not my favorite representative, but he is a Democrat.”
Williams added, “I saw something in him tonight I never saw before. I
never saw him act so humble. I think we have touched him and ought to give him a chance.”
Other union-endorsed candidates who spoke included Tom Barlow, Gerald Watkins and Kevin Byars. Barlow, a Paducah Democrat, is challenging U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, the Hopkinsville Republican who unseated him in 1998. Watkins wants a seat on the Paducah City Commission. Byars is a candidate for Marshall County sheriff.
“So many people are coming up to me and saying, ‘I voted for Bush the last time and the time before that, but I'm coming home to the Democratic Party this time,” Barlow said. “They are putting the past behind them.”
Barlow said he has stumped the district from east to west. “Everywhere I go, even in Republican counties, I hear the same thing. People say…[the Republican-majority Congress and President George W. Bush] just don't have any common sense.”
Barlow said the issues he hears about most are energy independence and affordable health care. “People want fairness in their health care and they don't want their children and grandchildren having to stand guard on oil pipelines 20 or 30 years from now. We can have energy self-reliance here.”
The candidate also urged union members to support him in November. “Don't leave the people who are coming home lonely. Get out there and spread your arms around them.”
Area Council President Jeff Wiggins echoed Barlow, who served a single term in Congress. “When this man was in Congress, he voted with labor better than 90 percent of the time,” Wiggins said. “Ed Whitfield is one of the most anti-union members of Congress. We've got to send Tom back to Washington .”
Wiggins also cautioned that Whitfield will try again to split the union vote. “He throws out a few crumbs here and hands out a few checks there.
“Then he goes back to Washington and votes for a national right-to-work bill. We need to be looking at the big picture and doing what's best for all working people, not just for us as individuals or for our individual locals.”
Watkins agreed with Wiggins and Barlow. Though Watkins is a Democrat, the city commission race is non-partisan.
“This is a critical election from top to bottom,” said Watkins, a political science professor at the West Kentucky Community and Technical College . “We've got to get control of city hall, the state senate and Congress.”
Byars spoke briefly, thanking the council for its endorsement. He said he came from a union family.
Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
General Tire plant may shut as early as next month
Wayne Chambers expects the Mayfield Continental-General Tire plant to begin a complete shut down as early as mid-October.
“They served us with a six-month plant closure [in August],” said Chambers
vice president of Steelworkers Local 665, the plant union. “It was no surprise, but when you get that final notice, it kind of hits you in the gut.”
German-owned Continental all but shut down the plant in 2004. The company said it intended to manufacture tires as cheaply as possible overseas.
Mayfield production went to low-wage countries, said Chambers, who is also a council trustee.
“But these tires that come out of places like Mexico or Brazil or Indonesia are not going to be any cheaper [to the consumer],” he said. “They'll cost the same as tires made in Mayfield.”
The plant opened in 1960 manufacturing auto and truck tires. It once employed more than 2,400 people.
Chambers said 107 union employees and 35-40 salaried employees were on the payroll when the company announced the plant would close.
“All we are doing is mixing a little rubber and shipping a few tires,” he said. ”They apparently plan to stop mixing around Oct. 15, when our contract expires. Warehouse operations will likely continue until the announced shutdown date of Feb. 1.”
He said the union will fight for pension and insurance benefits for workers who lost jobs. “We don't know how that will go, but we hope you will all keep us in your thoughts and prayers.”
He thanked local unions and politicians who stood up for the plant workers. “A lot of good people supported us,” Chambers said. “A lot of people had a lot of good jobs at the plant over 46 years. We hate to see it go.”
Wiggins urged delegates not to purchase Continental tires. “Or if you buy a new car and it has Continental tires, tell the dealer you aren't going to buy the car unless he takes those tires off and puts another brand on the car.
“We need to send Continental a message that we aren't going to put up with this. It's time union folks took care of each other. What butters our bread butters the bread and butter of our brothers and sisters.”
Chambers also said it behooves union members to vote for candidates who will put a stop to government policies that tolerate or promote the outsourcing of work and the shipping of U.S. jobs to cheap labor Third World countries. “It all starts at the ballot box,” he said.Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
BP&W candidate forum will be October 19 at City Hall
Frances Willey expects another packed house for the Paducah Business and Professional Women's Club local candidate forum, set for Oct. 19 at the city commission chambers. “We've done this three times,” she said. “Before it has been standing room only inside the chambers and outside.”
The commission chambers are on the second floor of city hall. The program will start at 6:30 p.m. and go until 8:30 p.m. and is expected to be televised on cable channel 11. “Each candidate will be given three minutes to speak,” Willey said. “There will be a three-minute question-and-answer session for each candidate after that.”Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
Got news? Email it to Berry Craig at bcraig8960@charter.net or Jeff Wiggins at JLWiggins2@Juno.com.