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ZONE 3 REPORT
By
Bruce Aubrey, Griever
Here we are…some months into
the Bethlehem/ISG
transition,
and many
issues are still unresolved,
but are being
worked
on! I have to
say it has been
interesting
and a little frustrating
at times, but
all in all things
are slowly
improving.
I guess the
question on everyone’s
mind is how
are these ISG
people to work
with? Clearly
the answer to
this question
could decide
if we all have a job
in the future.
It is still a little
early for me
to be convinced
one way or
another, but the ISG
people I have
met with seem to
be making an
effort to work
cooperatively
with the
Union
and the
workers. It may not
seem that way
to many workers
on the shop
floor, but most of
the problems
we face are coming
from the
department level
management. I
certainly do not
want to
suggest that ISG is giving
in on all or
even many
issues, but at
least they are willing
to listen to
our side of the
issues.
I believe the best thing we can
do to secure
our futures is make
a lot of money
for ISG, and
profit sharing
for ourselves. I
am NOT
suggesting people
should work
unsafely, cut corners,
violate
work rules, cross
units, waive
contractual rights,
do jobs they
are not qualified
for, or any of
the thousand-plus
other dumb
things people try to
get us to do.
It is NOT necessary
to violate
your rights to
make money for
the company,
and I believe
more and more
people are
starting to recognize
that. I
believe people perform
at their best
when they have the
right
attitude. It is not possible
for people to have a positive
attitude when
their rights are
being trampled
on. A major
part of the
cost of making
money is
respecting the rights
of the workers
you employ and
also meeting
the commitments
and
obligations you have to
those who
produce the products
you sell. I
believe ISG can
meet those
commitments and
obligations,
and I certainly hope
they will.
JULY
JOBLESS RATE AT
6.2%; NUMBER EXCEEDS 9
MILLION
Washington
– The nation’s
unemployment rate was 6.2% in
July, and 9.062 million people
are
out of work, the Bureau of
Labor
Statistics reported.
The July figures continued
the high-unemployment trend
seen
since the
U.S.
Supreme Court seated
GOP presidential nominee
George W. Bush in the oval
office.
The number of unemployed
in January 2001 – the last
data
gather under President Clinton
–
was 5.956 million and the
adjusted
jobless rate that month was 4
percent.
Since then, 3.106 million
people have joined the ranks of
the
jobless.
And that’s not the whole
story. BLS said the jobless,
discouraged
workers and those forced
to involuntarily toil part-time
total
10.5 percent of the labor
force.
That means more than 1 in 10
workers are unemployed or
underemployed
again.
And 21 percent of the jobless
workers have been unemployed
for more than 26 weeks, so
their unemployment benefits
have
run out. Forty percent of all
jobless
workers have been out for at
least four months, BLS data
showed.
Factories and government
lost jobs, a separate
establishment
survey said. Factories shed
71,000
jobs, marking the 36th straight
month of losses. Mass transit
lost
48,000 jobs last month,
declining
to 304,800.
Adjusted figures showed
governments shed 10,000 jobs in
July. Unadjusted figures, which
measured such things as the end
of
the school year, put the government
job loss at 1.185 million.
BLS said computer and
electronics products,
fabricated
metal products – including
steel –
and apparel and textile mill
losses
led the factory job declines,
which
ranged over all industries.
Without seasonal adjustments,
factories have lost 698,000
jobs in the last 12 months.
Computer makers shed 122,000
–
12,000 last month – and
textile
mills, textile product mills
and
apparel combined to dump
103,000 jobs in the last year.
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