Building Trades News

Economic Report:

Sales of existing homes in June grew at the slowest rate in 10 years. According to the National Association of Realtors home sales were down 2.6 percent since May. The number of homes for sale at the end of June was up by 0.2 percent, meaning the market is adding inventory as less people are buying.

On Wednesday the New York Department of Labor cited a Queens factory that produced clothing for Macy?s, Banana Republic and more for underpaying workers. According to the complaint by city officials the factory employed mostly Chinese immigrants and cheated them of more than $3 million in pay. More than 10,000 items were marked by the labor department with tags that identify them as being produced by ?underpaid workers.? Officials said the company ?coached employees? in how to lie about what they were actually being paid.

By Doug Cunningham

Midwest Airlines is pressuring pilots for concessions threatening to declare bankruptcy if the pilots union doesn?t give the airline what it wants. The union says the concessions are drastic. Midwest has set a Friday deadline for a concessions agreement it says it needs to avoid a bankruptcy filing. Cuts are being imposed on flight attendants as well. Midwest is owned by a private equity consortium headed by TPG Capital.

By Doug Cunningham

The U.S. Justice Department and Attorneys General in 22 states will decide how copper company ASARCO will emerge from bankruptcy and one way is much better for workers than the other. The AFL-CIO is urging the government to accept the bid of Vedanta Resources PLC. ASARCO employs 1500 United Steelworker members as copper miners. Grupo Mexico used to own ASARCO and it was constantly at war with its workers and their unions ? which include the USW, the Teamsters, Boilermakers, IBEW, IAM, IUOE, Millrights and Pipefitters. The AFL-CIO says Vedanta PLC has a much better record and for workers and their families would be the better company to bring ASARCO out of bankruptcy.

Will it be minimum wage for California?s state employees? It?s an option if a budget stalemate isn?t broken. Jesse Russell reports:

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened on Thursday to cut the pay of state workers down to the federal minimum of $6.55 per hour if a budget stalemate isn?t broken. Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature are battling over a $15.2 billion budget deficit and the governor suggested the pay cut as a way to save the state money as the budget languishes. The executive order would pay workers once a deal is signed. In the meantime, it would also force state agencies to terminate 20,000 contracts with interns and temp workers. The Service Employees International Union represents many of the state workers and is considering legal action if the Governor moves to slash wages.

Economic Report:

California home foreclosures hit a 10-year high in the second quarter. More than 63,000 homes were foreclosed on in the state; that's an increase of 33.5 percent since the first quarter. Year over year, the increase is 261 percent. Default notices for mortgages were also up substantially, hitting a record increase of 125 percent over the previous year.

Labor leaders and environmentalists stood in solidarity on Tuesday to demand clean air and quality jobs at the Port of Oakland. Jesse Russell reports:

More than 3000 members of organized labor, environmental groups, and the community joined together on Tuesday at a rally intended to bring attention to the need for clean air and good jobs at Oakland California?s port. One of the primary targets is the port's truck fleet. The rally participants, including Teamster?s President Jim Hoffa, called on the port to implement a sustainable truck program that will cut back on the toxins that trucks emit. Hoffa said that the goal of the rally was to ?curb pollution in our ports and create good-paying jobs for port drivers.? A similar sustainable trucks program was adopted by the Port of Los Angeles earlier this year. If Oakland adopts such a plan, they will be the second port in the country to do so.

More layoffs are on the horizon at United Airlines as the company tries to cope with an economic downturn. The company announced Tuesday that 7,000 workers would be laid off by the end of 2008. The airline reports that it lost $2.7 billion in the second quarter of the year.