[WASHINGTON, D.C.] April 24, 2012 – The Executive Board of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) announced the union’s endorsement of President Barack Obama for a second term. BAC represents nearly 90,000 skilled masonry and trowel trades craftworkers in the U.S. and Canada.

In making its decision, the five-member Board considered the union’s recent membership polling (BAC has conducted regular, statistically valid telephone surveys since 1983) indicating BAC members’ ongoing support for the President and his economic policies. Following the Board’s unanimous vote, BAC President James Boland made this statement:

“President Obama took office at a time when America’s economy was about to fall off a cliff. His leadership and policies – the Recovery Act, health care reform, stronger oversight of Wall Street and the financial sector, expanding opportunities for veterans, reviving the American auto industry, and support of Project Labor Agreements and prevailing wage protections – have not only pulled us back from the brink, but put our economy squarely on the path to recovery.

Few sectors have experienced higher recession-induced unemployment than the construction industry, and that includes many BAC members. But we know that anything worth building takes time, determination and skill and we are committed to helping President Obama build on the foundation begun more than three years ago, brick by brick, course by course, to create an economy that works for all Americans. President Obama has built his career respecting and valuing the workers who built America and he has earned our continued support. We are pleased to endorse him for a second term, and will stand with him in the challenging months ahead as he has stood by us.”
 

The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest continuous union in North America and represents roughly 90,000 skilled masonry-trowel trades craftworkers in the United States and Canada, including bricklayers, tile setters, cement masons, plasterers, stone masons, marble masons, restoration workers, and terrazzo and mosaic workers.

Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich connects the dots on the economy, in less than 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Who knew he could draw!?!

For thirty years, corporations have been shipping jobs overseas, Wall Street has helped the rich get richer by stealing from working class Americans. For thirty years, the progressive taxation system which was in place in this country has been picked apart to the point where working people are paying a higher percentage of their income in taxes, fees and other "per-use" charges.

Now we are being told that we need to "tighten our belts," make more concessions, because the top 1% of our citizens do not want to pay their fair share. In his new book, Jonathan Tasini outlines what's wrong with the current blaming of the fiscal crisis on working Americans, while making us pay for it.

Definitely worth reading...and it's FREE!

The recent attacks on workers in Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire and in Washington highlight the open assault on workers' rights. If you think the middle class isn't under attack, then you need to watch this video. Interestingly, the people who yell the loudest about free enterprise are pushing the elimination of PLA's, which are contracts entered into in a free market environment to provide quality workmanship on large-scale construction projects. Watch Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley stand up for our rights in DC.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a great article for Politico a few days ago, outlining plans put forward by billionaires through their newly elected congress. These plans include reducing --to the point of nearly eliminating-- the Estate Tax, which would throw our budget an additional trillion dollars into the red. According to Senator Sanders,

"All benefits would go to the top 0.3 percent. More than 99.7 percent of families would not gain a nickel. But Walmart’s Walton family would receive an estimated tax break of more than $30 billion if the estate tax were repealed."

Their plans also involve dismantling Social Security and Medicare--benefits which we working people PAY FOR.

Tell Congress: Don’t Carve Up Social Security

For those of you who wonder why we are involved in economic development issues, check this story out. Companies accross the US have received millions of dollars of economic development incentives, only to turn around and leave the country. Much of this economic development money isn't tied to job creation or even prevailing wages on the construction end. In the Capital District, the SI Group is planning to build a $30 million plant in China received $4.5 million in property tax breaks from the Rotterdam IDA. They are not listed in the AFL-CIO's Job Tracker yet, but see who is...

Many of us have only one experience with the NYS Department of Labor: applying for unemployment during the off-season. However, this New York State agency (and the public employees who work there) does much more for workers in the state. One example is shown in this video.