Union Herald Article from the desk of: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 66 1307 Market Street La Crosse, WI 54601 Neil Kamrowski Directing Business Representative, IAMAW District Lodge 66 April 2018 Rebecca Dallet wins a seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court On April 3rd, we had the spring elections in Wisconsin. This election had a couple of important items on the ballot. The most important in my opinion was the available seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Rebecca Dallet and Michael Screnock were the two candidates on the ballot. While the position is officially not a political seat, and therefore no political affiliation was listed on the ballot, each candidate has certain ideals that drive the decisions they are likely to make while serving on the Court. Judge Dallet has more liberal ideals while Screnock has more conservative ideals. As we have learned from looking at Janus VS AFSCME, the way that a judge looks at the laws has a direct correlation with their political views. Thankfully Dallet was successful in this election. The court still does not lean in the favor of organized labor though. The court still leans 4-3 conservative. This election was a step in the right direction, but we aren t done. This state still heavily leans to the non-labor friendly side. We need to do what we can to take this state back from anti- 1 P a g e o f 5
labor candidates. We need to get Walker out of office. We need to change the State Senate and Assembly to Pro-Labor advocates. Voter Turnout Voter turnout was ok for a spring election, but we can do better. The turnout for April 3 rd was 22%. Just 22 percent of eligible voters voted. For a spring election, this is actually the highest turnout since 2011 when the Supreme Court race came in the middle of the protests against Walker. We all know that traditionally voters don t turn out for off-year elections. This is just a fact. I myself am guilty in only showing up for presidential elections. Only in the last 8 years have I seen the importance of voting in every election. I have seen Wisconsin turn from a labor-friendly state to an anti-labor state. We need to continue to fight as we did on April 3 rd. Every vote matters. Right to Work Training Scheduled for June 1 Here at District Lodge 66 we have scheduled Right to Work Training. I have worked with the Midwest Territory and MWT Educator Joe Gruber to put together a good day of training for our members. There are limited seats available, so please contact your Lodge President to sign up for the class. The class will go over the legal obligations that a Lodge Representative needs to be aware of as well as the task of organizing new members. One of the biggest obstacles that Right to Work creates is the need to continually organize. Without retaining members, we are destined to fail. This is why conservatives push for Right to Work. It shifts the power to the employer by taking up our time organizing, and by taking away the funds that it takes to make a union function. It already looks like we will have a decent turnout for this training, and I am proud that the response has been as good as it has thus far. As I stated before, contact your Lodge President if you are interested in attending. Join the IAM at Rolling Thunder 2018 From the IAM s Imail. Subscribe to Imail at www.goiam.org Machinists Union members will ride as a union in Washington, DC s annual 2018 Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom, the world s largest single-day motorcycle event. It is believed to be the first time a national or international union will ride together in Rolling Thunder. The Memorial Day Weekend ride, which dates back to 1988, gives tribute to POW/MIA families while embracing the service of veterans and active duty military. Rolling Thunder events begin on Friday, May 25 and conclude on Monday, May 28. 2 P a g e o f 5
To participate, please email Carlos San Miguel, Director of General Secretary-Treasurer Services, at csanmiguel@iamaw.org. Please provide the following information: First and last name of the rider and passenger Address Cell phone number Date of arrival Deadline to register for the event is April 30, 2018. Letter Carriers Stamp out Hunger Food Drive National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) sponsors a food drive each year. In LaCrosse this program has run for a long time. This program is voluntary for each post office, so if you are outside of LaCrosse, contact your local post office to see if they participate. The food collected goes to local food pantries. These food pantries use the food to feed those that are in need. Some of the citizens that utilize these services could be between jobs due to layoff, or other hardships. May 12 th, 2018 is the date of this year s drive. I am asking our members and members from other unions to participate in this event in several ways. 1. Donate. Donate what you can by leaving non-perishable food in a bag by your mailbox. It should be out at your mailbox no later than 9am. If it doesn t get picked up, please leave it out until the following Monday. It is possible your mailbox got missed, or your letter carrier s vehicle was already too full to pick up additional items. Keep in mind that your letter carrier is collecting as well as delivering mail for the day. 2. Volunteer. Volunteers are needed for several tasks throughout the day. a. We need drivers to assist our letter carriers in collecting the items left on their routes. This way they can concentrate on their task of delivering the mail for the day. Anyone volunteering to drive should come to the LaCrosse Post Office at 8:30 AM on May 12 th for directions from the Letter Carrier in Charge. Volunteers will drive out in pairs of two to pick up donations and return them to one of five drop sites. b. We will need some volunteers at the drop sites to assist in organizing the donations and palletizing what is dropped off. Some of the agencies involved will also need some volunteers to unload at the agency site later in the day. To volunteer, you can contact United Way for location assignments. Be sure to let them know if you are with the IAM, or another union if that is the case. There will be an event on United Way s Ugetconnected site at http://www.ugetconnected.org and members can sign up through that website to volunteer for drop sites. We can coordinate some help through the District as well. 3 P a g e o f 5
Workers Memorial Day 2018 Just a reminder that Workers Memorial Day is on April 28 th. Please feel free to join the AFL-CIO for this event honoring our fallen workers and reminding us the struggles are not over in demanding a safer work place for our members, and non-members. OSHA is a good thing for our working class, but employers still ignore OSHA s standards. Employees in both Union, and Non-Union shops are still afraid to report safety violations of these employers fearing retaliation. On this day, we need to remember our fallen workers, and continue the fight going forward to maintain, and reinforce workplace safety. The nearest Workers Memorial Day Event is at Green Island Park - 2312 7th Street South in LaCrosse, WI Each year I have the privilege of reading a poem written by Lodge 21 Retired member Mike Baird at the Workers Memorial Day Event. Look around this place; Remember each and every face. Think about why we re here; And honor those we hold so dear. You stand here and bow your head; Precious thoughts as the names are read. In our hearts, our loved ones live; Prayers and love are what we give. Come together on this day; And share their memories in every way. In This Place Thank you once again Mike for a wonderful poem. As always, a great poem to honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice while trying to put food on the table for their families. District Lodge 66 Once again, on the third Monday of the month, our delegates met at the district office for their regular monthly meeting. On Monday March 19, 2018, our delegates took care of the regular business of the lodge. Along with the regular business, our delegates took 4 P a g e o f 5
action to approve a donation to Midwest Territory s 10 th annual Rides for Guides, and approved the continued monthly advertisement in the Union Herald. Several additional optional expenditures were tabled due to funding. The delegates also read or made available communications including Grand Lodge Executive Board minutes for June and October meetings. There was discussion on the Educator/Communicator Training that took place at the District Lodge 66 Office on March 3 rd. Overall the consensus was that the training was very thorough and well worth the time our Educators and Communicators spent that day. In Solidarity. 5 P a g e o f 5