CPS calls CTU’s proposed rejection of in-person school an ‘illegal strike’

 

The CTU House of Delegates Wednesday approved to ask the full membership 

to refuse 

to return to in-person teaching.

 Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Chicago Teachers Union is proposing an ‘illegal strike,’ CPS says - Chicago Sun-Times

Teachers are currently voting on a plan to refuse to return to schools on Monday, which “would cancel in-person learning for the tens of thousands of students who asked to return,” a district official said Thursday.

By Nader Issa @NaderDIssa  Updated Jan 21, 2021, 6:53pm CST

A decision by the Chicago Teachers Union to refuse in-person work and instead continue teaching remotely because of health and safety concerns would constitute an “illegal strike” in the eyes of Chicago Public Schools officials, the district wrote in a letter to all teachers and staff on Thursday.

Though union leaders have been careful not to call their planned action a strike since teachers intend to keep working from home, CPS human resources chief Matt Lyons said the collective labor action of not returning to schools, as ordered by the district, “is a decision to strike.”

“This vote would cancel in-person learning for the tens of thousands of students who asked to return — and the thousands of pre-K and cluster students who are already learning safely in classrooms,” Lyons wrote.

“Pre-K and cluster program staff are expected to report to work on Monday — as they have done since Jan. 4 — and all K-8 staff without approved leaves of absence or accommodations are expected to report in person beginning Monday, Jan. 25. A collective failure to do so constitutes an illegal strike.”

The district is committed to continuing to negotiate daily, Lyons said, adding that “the union’s input has in many cases strengthened our reopening plan.”

The CTU, meanwhile, is adamant that its resolution for teachers to collectively refuse to return to classrooms — despite being in clear defiance of the district’s orders — wouldn’t be a strike.

“They’re not withholding their labor,” CTU attorney Thad Goodchild said in an interview. “They’re asking to work safely, and CPS is demanding that they work under unsafe conditions.”

The CTU’s 600-member House of Delegates approved a measure Wednesday that would see all union members refuse to work in-person until an agreement is reached with the district on health and safety protocols.

The union’s full membership is now voting through Saturday night on the following measure: “In response to serious unfair labor practices and the lack of a safe reopening agreement, do you authorize the CTU to conduct remote work only, starting on January 25?”

“In addition, in the event that CPS retaliates against or locks out members as a result, do you authorize a strike?”

t remains to be seen if CPS officials would lock out all teachers from remote work and withhold their pay as has been done with about 90 preschool and special education teachers and clinicians who have refused to report to their schools as ordered this month. A lockout would have the same effect as a strike — it would be impossible for classes to continue regardless of the venue. Union leadership is counting on putting the district in that bind to force its hand at the negotiating table.

If the full union agrees to the resolution and CPS responds by locking out teachers, the union has said it would call an official strike — and would be allowed to because of several alleged unfair labor practices: the failure to provide a safe workplace, the refusal to comply with an arbitrator’s ruling and retaliation against employees for protecting their safety, among others. Illinois educational labor officials have never ruled on whether a strike over an unfair labor practice is legal or not, Goodchild said, but there is national labor precedent that it is.

Goodchild also argued that the district’s order to reopen schools is currently being contested in labor court — the case is due for an administrative trial next week — and the CTU is simply refusing to comply with a directive it views as illegal.

Asked about CPS’ letter, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said at an afternoon news conference that the district has called “every collective action we’ve ever done” illegal, and “to be perfectly honest with you, we don’t think much of it.”

“For what it’s worth, our members didn’t vote on a strike. Our members voted to remain in remote learning to mitigate disaster.”

Goodchild would not say whether members who do report to schools on Monday would face discipline from the union as so-called “scabs” would for crossing a picket line during a strike.

“That’s not our focus, our focus is keeping everyone safe,” Goodchild said. “Our members are going to realize that by doing that they are undermining their own safety and the safety of their colleagues and the safety of their families. That’s the focus here. This isn’t about trying to threaten people with consequences.

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic. The consequences that we’re concerned about are the health and safety consequences posed by the pandemic and by CPS’ reckless mishandling of the question of how and when to safely resume in-person learning. ... We are focused on acting as one union. Our union does that well. Our members are being put in just a horrible spot by the mayor and her team at CPS.”

Chicago Teachers Unions delegates approve CPS walkout, send vote to full union membership - Chicago Sun-Times

Biden: Major Infrastructure Plan Is on the Way

 

Biden says plan will have “historic investments in infrastructure along with manufacturing, research and development and clean energy.” AP Photo/Matt Slocum

 January 19, 2021

Tom Ichniowski, Bruce Buckley, and Pam McFarland

 The Biden administration’s legislative ideas are coming into sharper focus, starting with a $1.9-trillion coronavirus “rescue” plan that includes only a small list of construction-related provisions. But what has captured construction executives’ interest is the second item on incoming President Joe Biden’s Capitol Hill agenda: an economic recovery proposal due in February that Biden says will “make historic investments in infrastructure, along with manufacturing, research and development and clean energy.”

The new administration will also seek other legislation and revamp regulatory policies in areas such as the environment and labor relations, industry officials say.

Once the recovery plan is fleshed out in legislative text, it still must win approval on Capitol Hill. Biden’s proposals face a somewhat smoother path there than Democrats feared a few months ago, thanks to wins in Jan. 5 runoffs in two U.S. Senate races in Georgia. The victories resulted in a 50-50 party split in the chamber, where new Vice-President Kamala Harris will hold the tie-breaking vote.

It also gives Democrats the ability, in certain circumstances, to bypass the 60-vote threshold for ending a filibuster by using budget reconciliation, which allows bills to proceed with just a simple majority. The House remains in Democrats’ hands, but with a margin that has narrowed to only 11 votes. 

A Senate controlled by Democrats means “change in chairmanships, change in staff and change in priorities,” says Michele Stanley, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association vice president for government and regulatory affairs. Democrats’ slim Senate majority “means these priorities will not be accomplished without a lot of consensus,” Stanley adds. 

Steve Hall, American Council of Engineering Companies’ senior vice president for advocacy, says Democrats’ Senate edge “allows [Biden] I think to be a bit more aggressive and to shape the start of the conversation—in terms of the legislative agenda—more to his liking.” But Hall says, “The president is going to need Republicans on his side to move the big stuff forward that becomes law.” 

A Key Deadline

Construction officials say they hope 2021 will finally be the year when Congress approves the biggest of that “big stuff”—a long-term infrastructure bill with as much total funding as politically possible. 

Biden whetted industry appetites in his Jan. 14 rollout of the rescue plan, saying he would present his “Build Back Better recovery plan” before a joint session of Congress in February. Biden said, “It’s time to stop talking about infrastructure and to finally start building an infrastructure so we can be more competitive.”

He said his proposal would produce “millions of good-paying jobs that put Americans to work rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our ports to make them more climate resilient [and] to make them faster, cheaper, cleaner to transport American-made goods across our country and around the world.”

Biden did not provide a price tag for the infrastructure plan, but during the presidential campaign he floated a $2-trillion proposal. Still unknown is how such a proposal would be paid for and how broad its scope will be. 

Infrastructure advocates expect the plan’s centerpiece to be a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization. Hall says, “We know that’s going to be the driver.” Highway and transit programs now are operating under a one-year stopgap, which lapses Sept. 30. Hall says that deadline will force legislative action. “It’s got to happen,” he says. “There’s an end date at the end of September.”

Democrats’ Senate control and Biden’s clean energy and other climate-related priorities already are shaping the content and contours of the highway part of the package. The new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Tom Carper (D-Del.), has signaled he won’t use a $287-billion measure the panel cleared last Congress as a starting point. That bill never advanced to the chamber’s floor. 

In drafting a new highway bill, Carper now wants to greatly expand the earlier version’s provisions dealing with climate change, a spokesperson said. He said Carper aims to have the new bill follow Biden’s framework, which includes moving to zero carbon emissions in the transportation sector. 

Audrey Copeland, National Asphalt Pavement Association president and chief executive officer, says Biden’s plan will go beyond highways and transit. “I think it’s definitely going to be broader,” she says. 

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) also anticipates Biden’s plan will be wide-ranging. Kristina Surfus, managing director for government affairs, said a key NACWA goal is for water to be “front and center” in the package. She adds, “Investment in water closely aligns with related Democratic priorities—building for resilience and advancing environmental justice.”

Biden may push other legislation, too. For example, construction unions are optimistic that a key priority, the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act, may make progress in a Congress with Democratic majorities. The bill would make sweeping labor-policy changes, such as ending the prohibition on secondary boycotts. The House passed the PRO Act in 2020 but the Senate didn’t take it up. 

Yvette Pena-O’Sullivan, executive director of the Laborers’ International Union of North America , says, “there’s a lot of hope for figuring out a way to move the PRO Act or something like it, so it’s not just a symbolic bill that’s sitting out there,” She adds that “we will see how well the discussions go. It may not look exactly like the PRO Act, but there’s real opportunity to get labor reform done.”

But the bill will face strong opposition from Associated Builders and Contractors and other business groups. 

Rescue plan

Biden’s initial legislative priority, however, is his $1.9-trillion “American Rescue Plan.” It seeks to address immediate problems stemming from the persistent coronavirus pandemic. The envisioned legislation would fund activities such as a stepped-up vaccination push, further payments to individuals, extended and increased unemployment benefits, expanded paid family leave, and major funding infusions to state and local governments and schools.

The rescue plan’s only direct construction-related funding is in its $130 billion for K-12 schools. That can go for a variety of purposes, including physical improvements to school facilities, such as upgrading ventilation systems and modifying indoor spaces to allow social distancing. But schools also may choose to use the funds to hire more janitors or counselors, buy personal protective equipment or expand school bus service.

Other provisions could have indirect benefits for construction. The plan’s $350 billion for state and local governments would keep key public personnel on the job, such as police officers and firefighters. But using the money to shore up state and local agencies’ operating budgets could avoid delaying construction projects.

On the regulatory front, the Biden administration is expected to try to undo what critics call the Trump administration’s rollbacks.

Within his first days of office, Biden plans to direct agencies to delay any rules that have not gone into effect, including “midnight rules” President Donald Trump issued in his last days in office. These are likely to include rules to weaken protections for migratory birds and to change the metric for determining “significant” sources of pollution under the Clean Air Act. Biden also can issue executive orders reversing policies Trump put in place through such directives.

Environmental groups also expect the Biden administration to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to shift environmental policy in their favor. Under that law, Congress can disapprove rules issued within 60 legislative days of an administration’s end. That covers rules finalized after Aug. 21. One possible Biden target for CRA action is blocking a less-stringent rule on methane emissions. Dan Lashoff, World Resources Institute director, calls repealing that rule a “no brainer.”

But many Trump regulations that affect construction came before the CRA cutoff. “The closer it gets to getting a rule into place, the more limited their options are,” says Melinda Tomaino, Associated General Contractors of America director of environmental services. 

Some Trump rules, such as his replacement for the Waters of the United States regulation and revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act, are already being challenged in federal courts. Tomaino says Biden’s administration isn’t likely to continue Trump’s defense of those rules if cases reach the U.S. Supreme Court.  

The new administration also can put its stamp on policy through actions that do not involve the lengthy rulemaking process, says Brad Thompson, managing director for strategic initiatives at C2ES, a climate and energy think tank. He says the US Dept. of Energy, for example, could release new energy-efficiency standards.

Thompson also expects the White House Council on Environmental Quality to revisit  NEPA changes issued in July, to again place an emphasis on a project’s “cumulative impacts.” 

Biden’s stated commitment to addressing social justice inequities will affect pollution regulations, Tomaino says. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency has been working on a plan to deal with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. She says she expects the PFAS focus to “go into overdrive with the new administration.”

Changes in labor-related regulations also could be coming. Eric Dean, general president of the ironworkers’ union, says he wants more US Labor Dept. leadership on addressing COVID-19-related issues, such as safety and health protocols.

“We want them to give us a blueprint for how to navigate something we’ve never dealt with before,” Dean says. “We thought government should provide the leadership.” Under the Trump administration, “all we got were crickets,” he says.

According to Biden’s transition team,  his rescue plan would authorize the Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a COVID-19 protection standard for workers, presumably including those in construction.

Organized labor, especially the laborers’ union, is cheering Biden’s decision to nominate Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, former president of a laborers’ local and a building trades regional executive, as labor secretary. Pena-O’Sullivan says the union also expects to see much more enforcement of labor laws and regulations, including those dealing with wages, independent contractor issues and safety.

Dramatic shifts could come at the National Labor Relations Board. Wilma Liebman, a Democrat who chaired it during the Obama administration, says that under the Trump administration, the board has been staggering in its sweep and its speed in … how many precedents that have been overruled, both by way of adjudication and rulemaking, possibly more than any other in history.” Those changes have favored employers, she says, and drew praise from business groups.

The five-person NLRB now has a 3-1 Republican majority. It has one vacant Democratic seat. A Republican seat will open up in August, at which point Democrats are expected to take the majority. 

The ironworkers’ Dean also hopes the new Congress will reach a deal on an approach to help financially ailing multi-employer pension plans;  the plans are common in union construction.

Teamsters at Marathon’s St. Paul Park refinery strike for safety

 

by Union Advocate

Operations and maintenance workers at Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in St. Paul Park went on strike today. Members of Teamsters Local 120 say they are taking a stand not just for good jobs, but also for the safety of their community.

At issue in the dispute is management’s ability to replace union members with workers from lowest-bidder subcontractors, including firms from outside Minnesota.

“We want a contract that protects jobs where the money goes back into our communities, jobs for people who have an interest in the safety of our community,” Local 120 Business Agent Scott Kroona said. “If somebody comes in from Texas or Indiana, which is what the company wants, their money goes back to Texas or Indiana. And they don’t care about St. Paul Park.”

Local 120 represents nearly 200 workers at the Marathon refinery.

Picket lines went up at each of the facility’s gates at 5 p.m., and they will stay up around the clock indefinitely, Kroona said.

With Teamsters outside, it raises the question of who’s doing the work inside the refinery. Kroona said he expected the company to bring in replacement workers.

“I have to believe they are not as skilled or well-trained as the workers we have in there,” he said. “And when you’ve got petroleum products under high temperatures and high pressure, every job is dangerous. I don’t care how minor a job you’d call it.”

As proof, the union pointed to an April 2018 explosion at the Husky refinery in Superior, Wis., which resulted in worker injuries and residential evacuations in the area. Contractors working in the refinery at the time later sued the company.

“These are some of the most dangerous jobs you can have,” Local 120 President Tom Erickson said. “Mistakes are literally life and death, not just for workers but for people in the community and the environment.”

By refusing to bargain over the impact of contract language that would put more subcontracted workers in the facility – impacts like safety risks – Marathon is forcing union members to take a stand for their community, Kroona added.

“We don’t want to happen at St. Paul Park what happened at Superior,” he said. “We absolutely don’t want something like that to happen here, and it absolutely could happen here.”

The union has filed charges of unfair labor practices against Marathon, claiming the company, in 24 negotiating sessions since late November, has bargained in bad faith.

“Marathon never had the intention of reaching a contract from the very beginning,” Kroona said.

Local 120’s previous agreement with Marathon, a three-year pact, expired Dec. 31.

Teamsters who work at the St. Paul Park refinery last went on strike in the summer of 2006.

EXCUSED ABSENCE! The Editor was sick with Covid-19

 

Hi folks!

I was sick with Covid-19. Not only was I quarantined, I was with all the symptoms of this horrible virus; headache, fever, chills, diarrhea, nausia, vomiting, and my favorite, "brain fog" !! Not a pleasant experience. I don't recommend it. Please do all of the things that Dr Fauci suggests: Frequent hand washing, spray the air where you reside and work with Lysol or alcohol. Keep germs out of where you live and work. Remember: the bosses don't give a shit about us. We are on our own. Demand PPE and safe work spaces. Frequently wipe down your computers and cell phones with sanitizer. AND... wear a mask. Don't go out unless you absolutely must: medical appointments and stuff like that. Stay out of the grocery store. Have your food delivered. I'm deadly serious folks! This crap is nothing to play around with. See Brother Lisímaco's report about Ecuador. We have to take care of each other. UNION STRONG sisters and brothers!

Ciao,

Josesito 57

                                                                 Editor, Labor Today

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THE SUCCESSFUL XXVI CONGRESS OF THE CONFEDERATION OF WORKERS OF ECUADOR, CTE.

 

By Lisímaco Velasco

Labor Today Correspondent, Ecuador

Mr. Velasco is a political advisor and instructor for the Confederation of Workers of Ecuador (CTE)

The congresses of the Confederation of Workers of Ecuador, CTE, as was the custom, were held every four years, in compliance with their own statutes and around the time of their anniversary, that is, between the first and second week of July.

Since its foundation in 1944, for the first time we faced a pandemic, and on the days when it was supposed to be held in congress, the cases of contagion and deaths from the covid19 increased, which is why we were in quarantine, travel between cantons and provinces was prohibited, as well as the airports were closed, and consequently the respective authorities, in this case the Ministry of Labor, according to Ministerial Resolution No. MDT2020-028, resolved: "To issue the regulations concerning the exercise of the functions of the The "Art. 1" of the "Directives of Labor and Social Organizations" states "By virtue of the state of exception declared throughout the national territory as a result of the public calamity generated by the presence of the pandemic produced by the COVID-19 and in response to the health emergency that the country is undergoing, exceptionally, the directives of the labor and social organizations registered with this Ministry are declared to be in charge of the following functions a) The definitive and provisional directives of the labor organizations that have completed their statutory period within the period from December 16, 2019 until 90 days after the conclusion of the last state of emergency decreed by the President of the Republic due to the presence of the pandemic produced by COVID-19 will be in extended functions". 

The state of emergency began in March for 60 days and then was extended for 30 more days, as provided by the Constitution of the Republic, so officially and by decision of the Constitutional Court, the state of emergency in Ecuador ended on September 12, from this date the Ministerial Resolution, extended the functions of the directives of the labor organizations for 90 days, this means that until November 11, the president of the CTE and all its management bodies were in force; the XXVI Congress of the CTE was held one day earlier, on December 10, in which the new Confederation's management was elected, in strict compliance with the Constitution, the laws and resolutions, as well as its own statutes.

It is worth remembering, although some do not understand it, that this congress was held in national and world conditions, unique, unprecedented in the life of the Confederation since it was founded in 1944, conditions before which all institutions, agencies and organizations, we were forced to change our usual behavior, from the National Assembly, to the United Nations, production on the planet was affected, and changed the conditions and mechanisms of education at all levels, changed the forms of religious worship, and the life of political, trade union and social organizations.

The Congress of the Confederation of Ecuadorian Workers, could not be the exception, the trade union organizations had to resort to other forms of meeting, of convening, of demonstrating, and it was not possible to act for the congress in the same way that we had done in the 25 previous congresses, we were never before subject to any Committee of Emergency Operations (COE), neither national nor local, under these conditions.

The lack of sanitary facilities and the reoccurrence of infections, as well as the absence of suitable premises, did not allow the authorization to carry out our event initially in the city of Latacunga, so in our eagerness to comply as soon as possible, with the realization of the Congress, we proposed to do it in the city of Quito, in premises that we considered suitable as the Agora first and then in the National Theater of the House of Culture, 3 days before the inauguration, when everything was prepared, printed, elaborated, they denied us in writing, the authorization that verbally we had obtained.

With everything ready we had to go back to page zero, we expected the Ministry of Labor to take action and as it had done before, proceed again with the figure of "extended functions", or to provide a regulation to recognize the realization of a virtual congress, by using one of the computer platforms in vogue today.

Not having found any of these ways, and in view of the proximity of the legal deadline of the extended functions, by the competent authority, and the fact that the Confederation is left in the lurch, without its management bodies, the Congress had to be held against all odds, against detractors and anti-workers who besieged and attacked the event.

In these conditions, we decided to move away from any populated center, to assume all possible and existing biosecurity measures, and to summon once again the delegates who had previously been delegated by their organisations to participate in the XXVI Congress of the CTE. We did not do it in a closed place, we did it in an open land, in the middle of nature, outdoors, only under giant tents, which occupied 400 square meters and protected us from the rain that came and accompanied us part of the congress.

In another tent we proceeded to the registration and inscription of the delegates, in which could be called "The Congress of Tents". As planned since the first convocation, the delegates received their folders with the respective documents: convocation, agenda, draft of the rules of the congress, draft of the rules of elections, political document, work report, finance report, report of the financial control commission, and, annexes. In addition, they received their personal biosecurity kit, which included a CTE mask, a mask from the Workers' Movement, and an antiseptic alcohol spray, and temperature recording as a requirement.

Due to the conditions of the pandemic, the delegates approved to declare themselves in permanent session, and once the agenda that was approved was exhausted, they proceeded at the end of the same day to the election of the new Executive Committee, which will give political leadership to the CTE, until the year 2024. In this way, we complied, in accordance with the slogan of the Congress: "The CTE, beyond exploitation and pandemics, for life, rights and popular power".

________________________________________________________

ESPAÑOL

EL EXITOSO XXVI CONGRESO DE LA CONFEDERACIÓN DE TRABAJADORES DEL ECUADOR, CTE.

12/01/2021

Por Lisímaco Velasco

Corresponsal de Labor Today, Ecuador

Sr. Velasco es Asesor político e instructor de la Confederación de Trabajadores del Ecuador (CTE).

Los congresos de la Confederación de Trabajadores del Ecuador, CTE, como eran costumbre se realizaban cada 4 años, en cumplimiento de sus propios Estatutos y en torno a los días de su fecha aniversario, esto es entre la primera y segunda semana de julio.

Desde su fundación en 1944, por primera ocasión enfrentamos una pandemia, y en los días en que debía realizarse en congreso, arreciaban los casos de contagios y fallecidos por el covid19, razón por la estábamos en cuarentena, estaban prohibidos los viajes entre cantones y provincias, así como cerrados los aeropuertos, y consecuentemente con esto, las autoridades respectivas, en éste caso el Ministerio de Trabajo, según Resolución Ministerial Nro. MDT2020-028, resolvió: “Expedir la normativa referente al ejercicio de funciones de las directivas de las organizaciones laborales y sociales” que dice en su Art. 1. "En virtud del estado de excepción declarado en todo el territorio nacional derivado de la calamidad pública generada por la presencia de la pandemia producida por el COVID-19 y en atención a la emergencia sanitaria que atraviesa el país, de forma excepcional se declara en funciones extendidas a las directivas de las organizaciones laborales y sociales registradas ante esta Cartera de Estado conforme el siguiente detalle: a) Estarán en funciones extendidas las directivas definitivas y provisionales de las organizaciones laborales que hayan terminado su período estatutario en el plazo comprendido entre el 16 de diciembre de 2019 hasta 90 días después de que concluya el último estado de excepción decretado por el Presidente de la República por la presencia de la pandemia producida por el COVID-19”.

El estado de excepción se inició en marzo por 60 días y luego se amplió por 30 días más, conforme lo dispone la Constitución de la República, por lo que oficialmente y por decisión de la Corte Constitucional, el estado de excepción en el Ecuador terminó el 12 de septiembre, a partir de ésta fecha la Resolución Ministerial, extendió las funciones de las directivas de las organizaciones laborales por 90 días, esto significa que hasta el 11 de noviembre, el presidente de la CTE y todos sus organismos de dirección estaban vigentes; el XXVI Congreso de la CTE se realizó un día antes, el 10 de diciembre, en el cual se eligió la nueva directiva de la Confederación, dando el más estricto cumplimiento a la Constitución, las leyes y resoluciones, así como a sus propios estatutos.

No está por demás recordar, aunque algunos no lo entienden, que este congreso se realizó en unas condiciones nacionales y mundiales, únicas, sin precedentes en la vida de la Confederación desde que fue fundada en 1944, condiciones ante las cuales todas las instituciones, organismos y organizaciones, nos vimos obligados a modificar nuestros comportamientos habituales, desde la Asamblea Nacional, hasta la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, la producción en el planeta se vio afectada, y cambiaron las condiciones y mecanismos de la educación en todos sus niveles, cambiaron las formas de los cultos religiosos, y la vida de las organizaciones políticas, sindicales y sociales.

El Congreso de la Confederación de Trabajadores del Ecuador, no podía ser la excepción, las organizaciones sindicales tuvimos que recurrir a otras formas de reunirnos, de convocarnos, de manifestarnos, y no se podía actuar para el congreso de la misma manera que lo habíamos hecho en los 25 congresos anteriores, nunca antes estuvimos sujetos a ningún Comité de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE), ni nacionales ni locales, los cuales por las condiciones sanitarias y rebrote de contagios, así como la ausencia de locales adecuados, no permitieron la autorización para realizar nuestro evento inicialmente en la ciudad de Latacunga, por lo que en nuestro afán de dar cumplimiento a la brevedad posible, con la realización del Congreso, nos propusimos hacerlo en la ciudad de Quito, en locales que consideramos adecuados como el Ágora primero y luego en el Teatro Nacional de la Casa de la Cultura, 3 días antes de la inauguración, cuando todo estaba preparado, impreso, elaborado, nos negaron por escrito, la autorización que verbalmente la habíamos obtenido.

Con todo listo tuvimos que volver a foja cero, esperábamos que el Ministerio de Trabajo, tome cartas en el asunto y como lo había hecho antes, proceda nuevamente con la figura de “funciones extendidas”, o que provea de una reglamentación para reconocer la realización de un congreso virtual, mediante la utilización de alguna de las plataformas informáticas hoy en boga. 

No habiendo encontrado ninguno de estos caminos, y ante la proximidad de que se cumpla el plazo legal, de las funciones extendidas, por la autoridad competente, y que la Confederación quede en el abandono, sin sus organismos de dirección, el Congreso debía realizarse contra viento y marea, contra detractores y antiobreros que asediaban y arremetían en contra del evento.

En esas condiciones, decidimos alejarnos de todo centro poblado, asumir todas las medidas de bioseguridad posibles y existentes, y convocar una vez más a los delegados que con anterioridad se encontraban delegados por sus organizaciones para su participación en el XXVI Congreso de la CTE. No lo hicimos en un local cerrado, lo hicimos en un terreno abierto, en plena naturaleza, al aire libre, solamente bajo carpas gigantes, que ocupaban 400 metros cuadrados y que nos protegieron de la lluvia que se hizo presente y nos acompañó parte del congreso.

En otra carpa se procedió al registro e inscripción de los delegados, en el que podría denominarse “El Congreso de las carpas”. Como estaba planificado desde la primera convocatoria, los delegados recibieron su carpeta con los respectivos documentos: convocatoria, agenda, proyecto de reglamento del congreso, proyecto de reglamento de elecciones, documento político, informe de labores, informe de finanzas, informe de la comisión de control financiero, y, anexos. Adicionalmente recibieron su kit personal de bioseguridad que incluía una mascarilla de la CTE, una mascarilla del Movimiento de los Trabajadores, y un spray de alcohol antiséptico; adicionalmente se disponía de equipos de desinfección, para vehículos y personas que ingresaban del lugar del congreso, y toma de temperatura como requisito.

Por las condiciones de la pandemia, los delegados aprobaron declararse en sesión permanente, y una vez agotada la agenda que fue aprobada, procedieron al final del mismo día a la elección del nuevo Comité Ejecutivo, que dará conducción política sindical a la CTE, hasta el año 2024. De esta manera dimos cumplimiento, conforme lo manifestaba la consigna del congreso: “La CTE, más allá de la explotación y la pandemia, por la vida, los derechos y el poder popular”.

California Labor Commissioner Files Lawsuit against Developers of Beverly Hills Property for $431,000 Owed to Workers

 

Release Number: 2021-02                                                   Date: January 5, 2021

Los Angeles—The California Labor Commissioner is suing a group of property developers to collect $431,421 in unpaid wages and penalties owed to 23 workers who renovated a luxury property at 1712 Tropical Avenue in Beverly Hills, and were not paid for their work. The suit includes a mechanic’s lien against the property seeking $184,232 for the unpaid labor performed by the workers, plus $247,190 in statutory penalties.

Named in the lawsuit are four limited liability companies (LLCs): 1712 Tropical LLC, Eastwind Financial LLC, SBW Capital Partners LLC and Woodberry Square Center LLC, as well as Charles Infante and Danilo Reyes, two individuals without contractors’ licenses who hired the workers on behalf of the property owners.

“Workers deserve to be paid for all the work they do, regardless of their employers’ business model – it’s unconscionable that these workers’ wages were stolen,” said Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower. “My office is using every tool available to ensure they receive what they are owed.”

The Labor Commissioner’s Office began its investigation after the workers filed wage claims. The investigation found that 1712 Tropical LLC purchased the property in July 2018 for $5.1 million, and subsequently added the other LLCs with ownership interests.

The LLCs engaged the two unlicensed contractors, who then hired the workers to perform all the construction and improvements to the property. The renovated property was subsequently sold for $10 million last July. 

The workers were not paid for all of their hours worked, with some workers performing up to eight weeks of unpaid labor between February 1 and May 1, 2020. They are seeking to recover unpaid minimum wages, liquidated damages, regular wages and waiting time penalties.

The mechanic’s lien is an important collection tool for construction laborers who have suffered wage theft. Since 1879, the California Constitution has guaranteed the right of construction workers to obtain a court-ordered sale of property that they have worked on in order to recover unpaid wages, even if hired by a subcontractor.

When workers are paid less than minimum wage, they are entitled to liquidated damages that equal the amount of underpaid minimum wages plus interest. Waiting time penalties are imposed when the employer intentionally fails to pay all wages due to the employee at the time of separation. This penalty is calculated by taking the employee’s daily rate of pay and multiplying it by the number of days the employee was not paid, up to a maximum of 30 days.

The Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, or the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, combats wage theft and unfair competition by investigating allegations of illegal and unfair business practices.

The Labor Commissioner’s Office in 2020 launched an interdisciplinary outreach campaign, “Reaching Every Californian.” The campaign amplifies basic protections and builds pathways to impacted populations so that workers and employers understand legal protections, obligations and how to defend them.

Contact: Paola Laverde / Erika Monterroza, Communications@dir.ca.gov, (510) 286-1161

In defense of life and people, CTB demands Immunization Now!

In its last meeting in the year 2020, held on December 17 and 18, the CTB's National Board of Directors celebrated the 13th anniversary of the Central, founded on December 12, 2007, and approved the following political resolution:

 

1- Brazil reaches the end of 2020 punished by covid-19, mass unemployment and an irresponsible, denialist and corrupt government, which behaves like a true genocide. The disease claimed the lives of 183,822,000 Brazilians by December 16. The number of deaths grew again and the state health departments registered 968 deaths in 24 hours by covid-19 on December 16, not counting SP. It means that the country is back to the level of more than 1 thousand deaths per day. More than 7 million people have already been infected.

 

2- The sanitary tragedy is not a fatality of fate, but the inevitable result of the inaction and negationism of President Jair Bolsonaro, which is why he was denounced by ABJD (Brazilian Association of Jurists for Democracy) in the ICC (International Criminal Court) for a crime against humanity and his policy was classified as homicidal by the Society of Medicine and Surgery of Rio de Janeiro. It is not by chance that Brazil today occupies the second position in the ranking of countries with more deaths per Covid-19 behind the USA and ahead of India. The three champions are governed by leaders of the extreme right who have neglected the lethality of the disease.

 

3- Reflecting the progress and achievements of science, associated with the concentration of efforts and resources to combat the disease, vaccines were developed and tested in record time, demonstrated remarkable efficacy and are already being applied in China, the USA, Russia, and England. Many other nations, including neighboring Argentina, have already purchased the vaccine and should begin its application later this month.

 

4- In contrast, Brazil does not even have an immunization plan and logistics. Jair Bolsonaro stimulates the propagation of Fake News against the vaccine, has opened a bizarre war against governors and does everything in his power to sabotage the immunization, including demanding the signature of a term of responsibility of those who will be vaccinated. We run the risk of staying at the end of the vaccination line and the price will be paid in human lives.

 

5- The insane conduct of the leader of the extreme Brazilian right arouses strong indignation in broad sectors of Brazilian society, which mobilize throughout the country to demand Immunization Now!

 

6- The working class is the main victim of the pandemic, to which it has become more exposed and vulnerable, as well as of mass unemployment and the fall or even total loss of income. For this reason, the National Direction of CTB guides leaders and class activists to occupy the front line of battles for immediate vaccination, extension of emergency aid and a plan to combat unemployment anchored in public investments.

 

7- The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the Unified Health System (SUS) and the popular struggle for its strengthening.

 

8- Hand in hand with the health crisis is the depression of the economies and, in its wake, the devastation of labor markets. Hundreds of millions of jobs have been destroyed in the world.

 

9- In Brazil, the IBGE's open unemployment rate rose to 14.4%, breaking a new historical record. More than half the working age population has no occupation, which translates into a colossal waste of productive forces and immeasurable suffering for the poorest and most vulnerable sections of our working class.

 

10- The approval of emergency aid in Congress alleviated the social situation and prevented a deeper plunge of the economy into recession, but it was halved by the government and expires this month. In alliance with the other centers, the CTB is fighting for the extension of the benefit as long as the pandemic and mass unemployment last, as well as for the rescue of the original value of R$ 600.00.

 

11- Amidst the adversities and the crisis it is necessary to highlight some positive news, such as the MAS victory in Bolivia, the calling of an exclusive National Constituent Assembly with equal gender composition in Chile, the defeat of the Republican Donald Trump in the USA, the approval of an extraordinary tax on great fortunes in Argentina, and the electoral victory of progressive forces in Venezuela and Uruguay.

 

12- This set of events signals the weakening of the conservative wave that has invaded the American continent in recent years and a change in the direction of the political winds. It also attests to the failure of neoliberalism, which only produces social misery and economic stagnation.

 

13- In Brazil, amidst the whirlwind of bad news, it is necessary to emphasize the victory in the approval and regulation of Fundeb and the defeat in the Senate of the maneuvers of private politicians and scholarship holders to divert resources from the fund to private schools, churches, and the S System.

 

14- The international situation has also been marked by the escalation of the conflict between the US and China for the economic and geopolitical leadership of the world, a duel destined to play a determining role in the movements of international diplomacy over the coming decades.

 

15- The elections held on November 15 and 29 (second round) revealed the emptying of the stock market bubble which, in 2018, resulted in the election of several governors and congressmen, in addition to the president himself, with an appreciable mass of votes for extreme-right candidates. The majority of the candidates supported directly by the Bolsonaro were defeated in the ballot, which on the other hand resulted in a significant advance of the DEM and other right-wing and center-right subtitles housed in the so-called Centrão.

 

16- The defeat of the Bolsonaro candidates reflects popular discontent with the government's obscurantist and reactionary course, which is especially evident in metropolitan regions and within youth.

 

17- Another notable fact of the plea, which deserves further reflection, was the record level of abstention, which on average reached 29.5% of the electorate in the second round. Although influenced by the coronavirus pandemic, the phenomenon reflects the discouragement and massive depoliticization within the Brazilian people, as well as the strong presence and participation of militia in the electoral process in many municipalities, mainly cariocas.

 

18- Although worn out, Bolsonaro and the scholarship still have an appreciable political and social base that should not be underestimated. In addition, the retired captain made a renegotiation with Centão and now entered the dispute for the presidency of the Federal House. It should also be noted that the policy of neoliberal restoration is in tune with the interests of the ruling classes and has broad support within the national and foreign bourgeoisie.

 

19- The government persists in the minimum state policy, founded on the containment of public investments, privatizations, and the handing over of the people's patrimony to the big capitalists, especially foreigners. It attacks the civil service and public services with its proposal of administrative reform. It wants to impose the so-called green and yellow card, allowing hiring outside the CLT.

 

20- In unity with the other central offices, social movements and progressive forces, the CTB defends an economic policy that is opposed to neoliberalism and that supposes the repeal of EC 95 and the end of the harmful freezing of public spending; a substantial increase in public investment in infrastructure, health, education, science and housing; the expansion of credit and support for small entrepreneurs and family farmers; auditing of public debt and a progressive tax reform with a reduction in the share of indirect taxes in the burden, progressive increase in inheritance tax rates and taxation of large fortunes and remittances abroad of profits and dividends, correction of the table and change in IRPF rates.

 

21- Without the broad mobilization of the working class and all democratic and popular forces, it will not be possible to avoid further setbacks. We must intensify struggles in defense of the interests and rights of the working class, of public property, and against the privatizations and administrative reform of Paulo Guedes, accumulating forces to defeat the Bolsonaro and pave the way for a new project of national development, with democracy, sovereignty, and valorization of labor.

 

22- The Executive Board of CTB wishes a happy end to the year for the class leaderships and the Brazilian working class as a whole, while reiterating the need to intensify resistance and the fight against retrocession.