Let me say this about that
—By Gene Klare
Labor abbreviations
THE LABOR MOVEMENT and labor publications are replete with abbre-
viations and acronyms for the names of labor organizations. This column will
spell out names behind shorthand versions which sometimes appear in the North-
west Labor Press and elsewhere. Here starts the list:
AFL-CIO is perhaps the most often-
used abbreviation. It stands for American
Federation of Labor-Congress of Indus-
trial Organizations. The AFL-CIO is not a
labor union; it is a federation of labor
unions, a union of unions. It is sometimes
called an umbrella organization. The AFL
evolved from an organization started in
1881 with the name of Federation of Or-
ganized Trades and Labor Unions. In
1886 the name was changed to American
Federation of Labor. Its first president
was Samuel Gompers, who had been
president of the predecessor organization.
He was president and editor of the Cigar
Makers International Union. The CIO
was formed in 1935 by breakaway unions
that wanted to organize workers in all oc-
cupations, particularly in mass-produc-
SAM GOMPERS
tion industries. John L. Lewis, president
of the United Mine Workers (UMW), was
the ClO’s first president. The AFL and CIO merged nationally in 1955. Its affili-
ates include:
AFGE — American Federation of Government Employees.
AFM — American Federation of Musicians.
AFSCME — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employ-
ees.
AFT — American Federation of Teachers. Affiliates include the Oregon Fed-
eration of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5017; the Portland Federation
of Teachers and Classified Employees (PFTCE); and the Portland Community
College Faculty Federation (PCCFF) and the Portland Community College Fed-
eration of Classified Employees (PCCFCE).
AFTRA — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
ALPA — Air Line Pilots Association.
APWU — American Postal Workers Union.
ATU — Amalgamated Transit Union.
BAC — International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers.
BCTGM — Bakery, Confectionery & Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers In-
ternational Union.
CPBCTC — Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council,
based in Portland.
CWA — Communications Workers of America; unions merged within it in-
clude the International Typographical Union (ITU), The Newspaper Guild (TNG),
the International Union of Electronic, Electrical,Salaried, Machine and Furniture
Workers, and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).
GMP — International Union of Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied
Workers.
IAFF — International Association of Fire Fighters.
IAM — International Association of Machinists, sometimes called Interna-
tional Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). A division
within it is the former International Woodworkers of America (IWA), which has
its headquarters in Gladstone. Another is the Transportation Communications In-
ternational Union (TCU).
(Turn to Page 11)
PAGE 2
Labor sues OSHA to force action on
employer-provided safety equipment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight
years of delay by the U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor on issuing a stan-
dard requiring employers to pay
for job-related personal protective
equipment (PPE) —a standard
that, by the government’s own esti-
mates, would have prevented 50
deaths and 400,000 injuries on the
job had it been released on time —
has prompted the United Food and
Commercial Workers (UFCW)
and the national AFL-CIO to sue
to force the release of the standard.
UFCW is an affiliate of the
Change to Win labor federation.
The Labor Department’s foot-
dragging on this rule has exposed
20 million working people in some
of America’s most dangerous in-
dustries, including meatpacking,
poultry and construction, to a terri-
ble choice: Pay for the protective
equipment out of their own wages,
or accept increased risk of injury
on the job due to a lack of protec-
tive equipment, union officials
b h
m k
Bennett Hartman
Morris & Kaplan, llp
Attorneys at Law
Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm
Representing Workers Since 1960
Serious Injury and Death Cases
• Construction Injuries
• Automobile Accidents
• Medical, Dental, and Legal Malpractice
• Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Premises Liability (injuries on premises)
• Workers’ Compensation Injuries
• Social Security Claims
We Work Hard for Hard-Working People!
111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650
Portland, Oregon 97204
(503) 227-4600
www.bennetthartman.com
said.
This Occupational Safety and
Health Administration rule would
require employers to pay the costs
of protective clothing, lifelines, face
shields, gloves and other equipment
used by workers to protect them
from job hazards.
The Occupational Health and
Safety Administration (OSHA) esti-
mates that 400,000 workers have
been injured and 50 have died be-
cause of this shortfall in protection
on the job.
OSHA’s longstanding policy has
been to require employers to pay for
safety equipment. In 1997, the Oc-
cupational Safety and Health Re-
view Commission found that
OSHA’s existing standard did not
meet this policy requirement; there-
fore, a new rule was required.
OSHA promised in 1999 to issue
this new rule in July 2000, but it
missed that deadline and every self-
imposed deadline since. The agency
has failed to act in response to a
2003 petition by UFCW and the
AFL-CIO and numerous requests by
the Hispanic Congressional Caucus.
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 3, asserts
that OSHA’s failure to act is putting
workers in danger, and seeks to end
the eight-year delay.
“Nothing is standing in the way of
OSHA issuing a final PPE rule to
protect worker safety and health ex-
cept the will to do so,” said Joseph
Hansen, UFCW International Presi-
dent. “It is long overdue that the
agency take action on protective
equipment. Now, we are asking the
courts to force OSHA to act.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit, asks the court to
order the secretary of labor to com-
plete the rule within 60 days of the
court’s order.
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as a voice of the labor movement.
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Telephone: (503) 288-3311
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Editor: Michael Gutwig
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Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of
each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-
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JANUARY 19, 2007