President of Steelworkers Interviewed on KCET

If you’re like me you missed the first airing of the interview with Bill Moyers on January 9th. Luckily you can still see it by clicking here.

United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard strongly supports President Obama’s appointment of Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor. He supports the Employee Free Choice Act, Universal Healthcare and placing manufacturing at the top of the agenda to fix the current economic situation. He railed against what he calls “Toyota Republicans” for spending billions of taxpayer dollars in the form of tax cuts to lure foreign car companies and undercut American wages.
President Gerard is a union man through and through. He is the son of a union miner who rose through the ranks. He’s credited with adding 350,000 members in his first term in office. He is also one of the founding members of the Apollo Alliance.

Pro Union Consulting, LLC Sees Growth In Economic Downturn

Pro Union Consulting is the brainchild of Founder and President Matt Kolbinsky. The company’s focus is training rank-and-file union members to become successful signatory contractors. While construction spending is down nationwide, enrollment is up for Pro Union Consulting. Packed classes such as the one put on at the Electrical Training Institute in January are testament to the growing demand. Some students have traveled from out of state to receive the same training credited with launching dozens of union enterprises into profitability.

The program has been updated to reflect the realities of today’s market conditions. More emphasis is being put on collections upon completion of work, mechanics liens and stop notices. New contractors are often unprepared to deal with customers who delay payments according to Kolbinsky.

Work at CityCenter Project Halted

The huge number of jobs created at the CityCenter Project has given construction workers around the country hope during the economic meltdown. If times were tough at home you could always travel to Las Vegas and find work it seemed. That has all come to a grinding halt as of last week. Sources say as many as 500 electricians and 1200 carpenters were given pink slips as funding for the project has all but dried up.

If you’ve never seen the Las Vegas CityCenter Project in person it’s hard to imagine the scope. Try to envision the largest construction site you’ve ever seen and then multiply that by three. It’s the largest construction project in the history of Las Vegas. That should tell you something right there. We’re talking billions of dollars worth of work. One blogger describes it as the Deathstar from Star Wars. Perhaps Dubai has something of this size, but I’ve never been there.

Community Backs Greuel for City Controller

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel hosted a traditional community picnic at the Sherman Oaks-Van Nuys Park to kick off her campaign for Los Angeles City Controller. A delicious lunch was served by volunteers. The crowd numbered in the hundreds bolstered by working families and key community groups. Children took center stage holding signs and eventually joining Greuel on the platform. She announced her support for energy audits of city buildings to identify opportunities for utilizing green technology to save money and reducing traffic by expanding programs to give incentives for not driving a car to work. She spoke about the budget crises and the need for more fiscal responsibility. Councilman Tom LeBonge and Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield spoke and enthusiastically announced their support.