By Doug Cunningham

Mark Ayers, President of the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department, is joining a presidential  Blue Ribbon Commission to develop a safe, long-term solution to managing used nuclear fuel and waste. Ayers says he’s honored and pleased that the Obama administration recognizes that America’s building trades unions have considerable knowledge and expertise to offer when it comes to making sure that nuclear energy provides clean, safe, affordable and reliable power. 

 Diabetes is a growing global epidemic, yet one of the earliest ways to detect diabetes can be excluded by some states under Medicaid. Jesse Russell reports:

Podiatry is defined as an optional service under Medicaid. Due to the omission podiatrists have been pushing Congress to make sure the profession is covered under any health care bill that might make it to the President’s desk. Dr. John Mattiacci is Temple University’s Dean of the School of Podiatry. He explains that podiatrists are often the first line of detecting the early onset of diabetes.

[Mattiacci1]: Podiatrist is a gate keeper who sees nothing but lower extremities and 80 percent of the ulcers that are caused in the 2 percent of 20 million people start with diabetic neuropathy.

Mattiacci said the cost for treatment is prohibitive and as a result there are more amputations than necessary.

[Mattiacci2]: In the United States the cost of diabetic ulcer treatment accounts for more than five to fourteen billion that is spent to treat it.

 New York, NY — It is one of a dozen construction projects in Manhattan that faced an uncertain future, until developers and local unions sat down together to negotiate a unique agreement that kept thousands of building trade workers on the job through some of the worst months of the recession. Mike Clifford reports for Workers Independent News….

SOT-OPEN: “These guys only made ten hours of work this week so far, they want to work. They’d work if it was 50 below right now.”

Wire lather Billy Grogan with Local 46 says he is glad it is only high winter winds that shutdown work for a couple of days on  construction of the Beekman Tower in Lower Manhattan.

The New York Department of Labor was able to collect and disburse more than $28 million in illegally underpaid wages during 2009. That is the largest amount of recovered wages in the state’s history – topping the previous record set in 2008. Nearly 18,000 New York workers benefited from the department’s ability to collect the wages by enforcing labor laws. According to the department, in 2009, 28 contractors were debarred from doing work on New York State public works projects due to wage violations.  

 By Doug Cunningham

 Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York says the multi-billion dollar Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn will bring thousands of jobs to the community.

 [LaBarbera]: “Construction workers are part of the community. It’s gonna generate tremendous revenue. It’s gonna put money back into our economy. We need these type of projects not only to just create jobs, but we need these projects and economic development throughout the city really to stimulate and continue the recovery.”

 By Doug Cunningham

 [Gary LaBarbera]: “This project will represent thousands of construction jobs and thousands of permanent jobs.”

 New York City Building and Construction Trades Council President Gary LaBarbera on the Atlantic Yards project. Labarbera is confident that after years of hurdles the project will happen.

 [LaBarbera 2]: “These jobs are good paying jobs with medical coverage and retirement benefits. We believe it’s gonna be very good for the community and that it’s gonna be a revenue generator all the way around.”

 By Doug Cunningham

A new Fiscal Policy Institute report says immigrants are an integral part of the economy in the 25 largest U.S. metro areas. SEIU 32BJ’s Hector Figueroa says reform is needed to prevent employers from exploiting undocumented immigrants to drive down wages for all workers.

 [Figueroa]:  “The problem will never go away until we change the law and it allows millions of people who are contributing to our economy as this report suggests to really be able to do that with the same rights as everybody else.”

By Doug Cunningham

Justice for Farm Workers Campaign spokesman Jordan Wells says the Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices

Act in New York state would give farm workers important labor protections.

[Wells 1]: “The right to form a union, the right to overtime pay, a day of rest per week, coverage under

the state’s disability insurance law.”

 Wells says farm worker labor rights is close to passage in the state Senate.

[Wells 2]: “There’s 28 sponsors in the Senate, so we’re very close. Thirty-two votes are needed for a majority in the Senate.”

 By Doug Cunningham

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka says before the economy can truly recover for workers, new, stronger financial regulations are needed so we don’t rebuild the same failed economic system. Trumka says we need a real economy.

[Trumka]: “So it’s up to us to actually re-connect the productivity and wages back together – they were ruptured in the seventies. And then re-create an economy that isn’t driven by debt-financed consumer spending.”

By Doug Cunningham

The AFL-CIO presented a five-point jobs creation program in Washington D.C. It calls for unemployment benefits extensions, serous infrastructure investment, more aid to state and local governments, targeting job creation efforts on hard-hit communities and using remaining TARP money for jobs . AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka,

[Trumka]: “This isn’t a white, black, red, brown issue. This is an American issue. It hits every corner of every city of every state.”