Sister Mary Kenney O’Sullivan was the first female organizer of the AFL in 1888. She lasted 5 months before having a falling out with Gompers. Use the link below to read her bio. You will notice strong parallels of the male leaders back then to today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kenney_O%27Sullivan Approximately 20 years ago the NABTU (North America’s… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Market Share
Where are the AFL Women?
The Building Trades Has Many PIGs (Passive Income Generators) Feeding Off the Trough Fed by the Rank & File
The definition of Passive Income Generators: a business (Building Trades promote themselves as businesses) that produces passive income that can be used to offset passive losses (pitiful attempts to sell themselves and us). The Building Trades, trades’ Internationals and their marketing arms all use the term Value, which as a noun, denotes the importance, worth… Continue Reading
“Any fool can make a rule – And any fool will mind it.” ― Henry David Thoreau
I submit this quote aptly applies to the International/District Council officers as they are “loyal to a fault” to their respective General Presidents. Here’s another: “The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules” – Banksy. What they’re talking about here is blind obedience…. Continue Reading
Marty Walsh Leaves the Building Trades Better Than he Found it….
….consistent with the oath taken by all Building Trades members. He stabilized the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). He was a key player in the effort to secure $91 billion from taxpayers to shore up Taft-Hartley pensions. And, he advanced infrastructure in the U.S. Now Marty is off to the NHL and his successor has… Continue Reading
Our Own Tammany Hall – But all Trades Internationals Have a William “Boss” Tweed at the Helm –
The electricians shuffle. Fresh out of convention the current International President has resigned, and an appointment will fill the remainder of his presidency starting January 4th, 2023, with their small cabal of insiders exclusively dictating who that is. All trades, by and large, have done this. The rank & file seldom gets a vote. Before… Continue Reading
Biden & the Railway Workers – Nothing Our International Presidents Haven’t Done to Us for 50 Years –
Which, by the way, is giving the management alliance bosses what they want! In fact, the numbers over the last five decades demonstrate that our senior officers have perfected being “toadies” to the “bosses”. Consider – How much has the price of a dollar increased since 1975? The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.70%… Continue Reading
So, The Rank & File Thinks They Have a Pension Thru 2051?
At Labor Rising we deal with measurable facts in the full light of day! We have written 4 versions of this blog with the longest being 3,983 words, this is number 5. The issue of multiemployer pension underfunding and pension failures is setting up average R&F members for a very real financial haymaker! The American… Continue Reading
Workers Own the Job – Work to Rule
Not management – not the senior trades leaders – we, the workers, do! Consider: Measurable market share over the past 50 years has continuously declined “NET” across the trades. Density of trades workers vs. non-union workers is worse than market share and is the better measure for senior leadership’s failures over the same 50 years…. Continue Reading
WWOFD – What Would our Founders do?
Many of the founding fathers were not looking for trouble. An example is Archibald Barnes, 1888 First General President of the Tin-Knockers. Brother Barnes wanted the tin-knockers to be recognized as a valuable partner within the industry and with employers. Sound familiar? However, employers believed to their core that capital and labor had “nothing to… Continue Reading
The Building Trades “Our Movement – Our Moment” Convention Anthem: Yet Another BS Slogan?
Since Georgine in the 70’s right through to this year’s conference, we hear hollow slogans crafted for the masses. If the slogan was indicative of a strategy, it would be backed up with structure. We challenge you to go to NABTU website or anywhere and find structured strategy to back up “Our Movement – Our… Continue Reading