Genie Forklift Recall Product Notice: 130001 Description: Service and Parking Brakes Model Affected: GTH-1056 Release Date: April 29, 2013

If you have a machine or machines in your fleet within the serial ranges listed on the attached bulletin please fill out the owner update form attached to the bulletin and return to Genie. You may also visit our website to register your machine.

After 45 years of driving a cab in New York City, Beresford Simmons says the emergence of the National Taxi Workers Alliance in the past few years is helping his family and those of other drivers reach the middle class.

Simmons’ story is one of three illustrating that unions make the middle class strong, giving workers a voice in our economy, portrayed in a trio of new videos by the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

New York City freelance writers Jeremy Pikser and Susan Kim say that working under contracts negotiated by the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), has ensured fair pay for their work, and in Pikser’s case, his health care benefits kept him and his family out of bankruptcy during a long bout with throat cancer.

When Wisconsin child care workers won collective bargaining rights and the right to join a union in 2006, it helped LaTonya Johnson and other child care workers maintain a middle-class life. But in 2011, Gov. Scott Walker (R) repealed those rights. Says Johnson:

Without the union, not only was I afraid I would descend into poverty, but I did….So for people who think having a union or being organized doesn’t have a bottom-line effect, I’m here to tell you it does.

Johnson is fighting back as a recently elected member of the Wisconsin General Assembly.

You can see Simmons' story above and see the other two videos at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today published Firefighting Precautions at Facilities with Combustible Dust, a new, informative booklet that outlines safe procedures for emergency responders who may face fires and explosions caused by combustible dust.

“This booklet will keep both emergency response and facility workers safe by giving them a framework to prepare for potential emergencies involving combustible dust,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Stakeholders that have reviewed the booklet, including fire chiefs and union health and safety representatives, describe it as ‘an excellent resource for explaining the hazards associated with combustible dust and outlining the best practices for pre-incident operational preparation by emergency responders.’”

Read the entire Press Release by clicking here or you may download the Firefighting Precautions at Facilities with Combustible Dust Manual by clicking here.

Union workers, some of whom are also veterans, are rebuilding the World Trade Center. 

This week, they lifted the last piece of spire to a height of 1,776 feet. At 22 tons, the spire will house state-of-the-art lighting and a beacon, which will be visible for miles.

Steve Plate, head of the construction project, said:

"We're back and we're better than ever."

Watch the USA Today video below, check out a slideshow from The Washington Post and watch the AFL-CIO video on union veterans who've been rebuilding at the World Trade Center (below).

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a massive trade deal currently being negotiated that could threaten our environment, jobs, workers, consumer protection, and more.  The TPP is written by the 1% for the 1%.  While the public-and even Members of Congress-are shut out of the talks, over 600 corporate lobbyist are actively involved in shaping the agreement. 

The TPP could mean:

• Lost jobs, by making it easier for corporations to offshore your work.
• Lower wages and fewer rights, by speeding up the global race to the bottom since it includes countries with even lower wages and fewer workers rights than China.
• The erosion of existing environmental protections, greater pollution from natural gas and other industries, and higher energy prices.
• Corporate attacks in private international courts that would gut our consumer, environmental, health and worker protections. 

We want a fair deal or no deal!!!

To find out more about this important issues go to:

http://www.cwa-union.org/tpp

http://www.sierraclub.org/trade

February 14, 2013 - Representatives from Unlimited Play and Natalie Blakemore addressed the Delegates at the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO Labor Council Meeting regarding their newest Playground Project that will be anchored in McCoy Park, Independence, MO., which is just south of Truman Library.

Unlimited Play has built six (6) of these Unlimited Playgrounds in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area (Zachary's Playground) and at the request of investors from Kansas City, MO the concept is coming to our area.  Unlimited Play is seeking Sponsorships, Donoations (Organizations and Individuals) and Volunteers to help them complete this project. 

We invite you to watch this short video that shows the Playground Equipment and download their Flier for more details.

The AFL-CIO is made up of 57 Unions that represent more than 12 million working people in every walk of life.

The Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO is proud to endorse the United Labor Credit Union as the official lending institution for Organized Labor in the metropolitan area.  United Labor Credit Union is located at 6320 Manchester Ave, Suite 41C, on the lower level of the Greater Kansas Firefighters Hall.  

United Labor Credit Union offers competitive lending rates, regardless of what you need to purchase.  They provide many options to it members including checking, savings etc.  ULCU is owned, operated and controlled by its members.  We invite you to join ULCU. 

The Institute of Labor Studies and Kansas City, MO radio station KKFI 90.1 FM host a weekly radio program called Heartland Labor Forum.  This is the only radio show about the workplace and the labor movement in Kansas City. 

The Heartland Labor Forum airs on Thursday evenings 6:00 PM till 7:00 PM and is rebroadcasted on Friday mornings from 5:00 AM till 6:00 AM.  Older broadcast are archived at The Institute of Labor Studies website and are available for listening as streaming audio.