Stand with front-line defenders of airport security

Transportation security officers are on the front line protecting more than 600 million Americans who travel by air every year. Airport employees at LAX and across the country also depend on TSOs to screen baggage and luggage to prevent another terrorist attack.

But the 40,000 TSOs, including 2,000 in Los Angeles, do not have the same right as we do to collectively bargain to fight substandard working conditions, hostile management practices and discrimination.

The TSOs who keep us safe should not be second-class employees. That’s why airport workers are holding a solidarity rally on Thursday, Dec. 17, at 2:30 p.m. to support TSOs who are organizing with the American Federation of Government Employees. The rally will start between terminals 1 and 2 at LAX at 1 World Way in Los Angeles.

They’ve stood up for our safety, and now we’re standing up for their rights!

Keep middle-class jobs in California!
Delta Dental has announced it is terminating more than 100 employees at its Cerritos facility and moving the work to a non-union facility in Georgia.

Help Teamsters Local 986 fight to keep good jobs with good wages here in California. If you and your family get coverage from Delta Dental, please call the company and tell them why we need to preserve good middle class jobs.

Call Tony Barth, chief of operations, at (415) 972-8300 and tell Delta Dental that closing down the Cerritos facility is unacceptable!

Maria Elena Durazo’s blog debuts on Huffington Post
Maria Elena Durazo, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, debuted as a Los Angeles guest blogger last week on Huffington Post, the popular progressive blog. Her first two posts can be seen here and here, and future posts will be archived here.

Entire news channels are devoted to Wall Street, yet far too often working people are an afterthought in today’s news media. Maria Elena plans to use her blog to shine a spotlight on issues facing the working class, such as immigration reform, health care, Employee Free Choice and retirement security. Maria Elena will write for the Huffington Post’s new Los Angeles edition.

We need your help to make Maria Elena’s blog a success. Go to the blog post and share your thoughts in the comments section. And be sure to click to become a fan of Maria Elena’s blog. You can also share her posts on Facebook or Twitter and subscribe to her RSS feed.

Utility workers fight for jobs and low water rates
The Southern California Gas wants to raise your water rates so it can layoff 1,000 entry-level meter readers, the majority of whom are minorities. Stand up for good jobs and lower water rates  by attending a meeting hosted by the Utility Workers this Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Messiah Lutheran Church, located at 1201 W. Manchester in Los Angeles.

Invited guests include:

• The California Public Utilities Commissioners
• Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
• Senator Rod Wright
• Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III
  

Employment Opportunities in Labor
Do you have an opening at your union which you want to spread the word about? If so, please e-mail John Kawakami at jkawakami@launionaflcio.org. We will be sure to get it posted on our website and next newsletter.

Current Job Postings

• Executive Director, ALADS
• National Sound Recordings Claims Representative, AFTRA National
• Graphic Designer, SEIU-UHW
• Lead Organizer, United Steelworkers CLEAN Carwash Campaign
• Advertising + Marketing Sales Rep for Union Publications
• Health & Safety Educator/Coordinator, LOSH
• Staff Attorney, ACLU