SEIU: Case Shows Need to Act on SCOTUS Nominee

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Workers Independent News is heard Monday through Friday at 8:45 and 11:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry says Monday’s oral arguments on immigration at the U.S. Supreme Court underscores the need for the U.S. Senate to stop blocking President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

Henry says SEIU has faith that “justice will prevail over the politics of hate and the Supreme Court will rule in favor of these programs.”

The court is hearing a challenge to President Obama’s executive order preventing four million undocumented immigrants from being deported. Obama issued the executive order to allow otherwise law-abiding immigrants to escape deportation while the government concentrates deportation efforts on higher priority deportation targets.

If the court deadlocks 4-4 Obama’s order remains blocked. The Obama administration argues that Texas has no legal standing to bring the case because the executive action doesn’t harm or impose any obligations on Texas or any other state.

United Steelworkers: China’s Aluminum Trade is Tsunami Against U.S. Jobs

The United Steelworkers Monday filed a section 201 petition against China’s aluminum industry trade practices. USW President Leo Gerard explains why the union filed the case.

“China’s over-capacity has depressed world prices by creating global imbalance between supply and demand. Imports that depress global prices have led to collapse in prices in the United States and the closure and idling of facilities here and the loss of thousands of jobs. This has led us to file this case.”

Gerard says the steelworkers want the U.S. government to negotiate an end to China’s over-capacity in the critical aluminum industry. The union has also filed a relief plan to support competitive aluminum prices.

“China’s policies have created an economic tsunami that has destroyed the global price of aluminum, with the effect of rising imports causing serious injury to American companies and to our members,” Gerard says.

Gerard says the aluminum industry is a very important economic sector to aerospace and to national security and the U.S. government needs to stop China’s subsidized over-capacity to protect the U.S. aluminum industry.

Labor Leaders Among Those Arrested in Democracy Awakening

Labor leaders were among those arrested Monday at the Democracy Awakening “Congress of Conscience” protests in Washington D.C. AFL-CIO Vice-President Tefere Gebre, CWA President Chris Shelton and AFGE President David Cox were arrested in a civil disobedience protest.

 

More than 300 organizations drew thousands to the protests to demand an end to money in politics.

The April 16-18 actions were aimed at a protecting voting rights, getting big money out of politics and demanding a fair hearing and an up or down vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.