AFL-CIO Blog

  • Pride Month Profiles: Dawn Lepard
    Pride Month Profiles: Dawn Lepard For Pride Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Today's Pride Month profile is Dawn Lepard of the Electrical Workers (IBEW). Dawn Lepard is union-strong and proud. She has been a member of Electrical Workers Local 86 since 2008 and a Pride at Work member for more than 10 years. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 06/28/2022 - 13:58 Tags: Pride — Jun 28
  • UAW President Ray Curry: ‘Fight Inflation by Stopping Price Gouging, Not Blaming Wages’
    UAW President Ray Curry: ‘Fight Inflation by Stopping Price Gouging, Not Blaming Wages’ Every time we go to the gas station or supermarket, we are reminded that prices are on the rise as inflation takes a bigger chunk out of our paychecks. The inflation rates are the highest they have been since the early 1980s. Inflation is not only a problem in our country as prices are rising all around the globe. The U.S. inflation rate has almost quadrupled over the past two years, but in many countries, it has risen even faster. Per Pew Research Center reports, “annual U.S. inflation in the first quarter of this year averaged just below 8.0%—the 13th-highest rate among the 44 countries examined.” As comparison, Canada has recorded their highest inflation rates ever.  Yet pointing this out doesn’t ease the real pain felt by members. We need relief. To get meaningful relief, policymakers should focus immediately on what can be done to ease inflation without harming working people. They need to study how we got here to fix the problem.  The COVID-19 pandemic has added to inflationary pressures as shipping and production have been interrupted by lockdowns and people being unable to work. Over reliance on supply chains based overseas made the problem worse as evidenced by the ongoing chip shortage that has hurt production of cars, trucks, agricultural equipment and part suppliers. The war in Ukraine adds pressure as we push for polices that shut down Russia’s ability to sell gas so that it is unable to fund its illegal war on the people of Ukraine. Yet anti-worker politicians and pundits ignore these factors and often try to pin the problem on workers by arguing that higher wages are to blame. As workers fight to organize or strike for better wages, many argue that they are the cause of inflation. It’s flatly not true and offensive to workers who are fighting for dignity and their fair share of the profits they deliver to their employers. The truth is that wages only account for 8% of the price increases, which means that wage increases account for less than half a percent of inflation. If rising wages had been the only contributing factor, inflation would have been between 2.5% and 4.5% in March (depending on supply chain constraints).  Nonetheless anti-worker messengers continue to argue the opposite: that inflation is caused by increasing worker wages and that we must raise interest rates to slow the economic growth. What they ignore is that higher interest rates make it harder for regular people to buy cars and homes. Higher interest rates lead to fewer jobs. Higher interest rates are designed to slow the economy for those who can least absorb the additional costs: the working and middle classes. You can see this in the numbers. The U.S. Commerce Department data shows that corporate profits rose 35% last year. As gas prices soared, Chevron’s 240% profit spike was part of “the best two quarters the company has ever seen,” prompting a dividend increase and assurances it would keep production low to maintain high prices. The rich got richer as those who experience sticker shock at the pumps pay the bill. The surge in pandemic profits has made a bad problem worse. That is why the UAW is in support of greater oversight and fighting price gouging. Windfall profits should be taxed and industry consolidation that enables price gouging should be reined in. We also need the Senate to pass legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs, health care and childcare. We need balanced solutions that do not make it even harder to make ends meet. The problems of inflation are real, but they should not be used as a pretext to make the lives of working families harder. Policymakers must listen to the voices of those affected the most by inflation: working women and men who keep this country going. Our union will continue to advocate and lobby for meaningful solutions that ensure economic fairness and justice for working families.  This post originally appeared at UAW. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 06/28/2022 - 10:56 — Jun 28
  • Pride Month Profiles: Ash Tomaszewski
    Pride Month Profiles: Ash Tomaszewski For Pride Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Today's Pride Month profile is Ash Tomaszewski of the United Autoworkers (UAW). Ash Tomaszewski is a queer, nonbinary law student and union organizer, dedicated to labor policy reform and contributing to individual workers' rights. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 06/28/2022 - 10:00 Tags: Pride — Jun 28
  • Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Chicago Federation of Labor Denounces Community Violence
    Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Chicago Federation of Labor Denounces Community Violence Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. On Friday, the Chicago Federation of Labor’s (CFL’s) Civil Rights and Human Relations Committee stood with union members and community partners to denounce the violence that has been terrorizing the community. According to reports, the city has experienced hundreds of shootings and homicides since the start of the year. “Peace starts with all of us working for justice. The CFL has been doing just that,” the labor council said in a public statement. The CFL pointed to its work connecting people in underserved communities with good union jobs and to its partnership with United Way to lift up families and neighborhoods that have been impacted by violence. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 06/28/2022 - 09:49 — Jun 28
  • Pride Month Profiles: Houston Brass-Playing Couple Share a Life in Music
    Pride Month Profiles: Houston Brass-Playing Couple Share a Life in Music For Pride Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. When two of Houston’s busiest brass players, who also happen to be a couple, want to share some downtime together, it can sometimes require comparing calendars. It’s a scenario that will be familiar to just about every musician couple anywhere. Nancy Goodearl, a horn player with the Houston Symphony since 1981, won the job after studying at the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University. Goodearl’s wife, Theresa Hanebury, has played trumpet with the Houston Ballet for nearly the same number of years. After two decades together, they’ve settled on a routine that mostly works, despite the fact that their schedules are quite different. Goodearl and Hanebury are members of Local 65-699 (Houston). Both grew up in New England, an hour away from each other—but they never met until landing in Houston. “I can’t even remember the exact time we met,” Hanebury said. “We of course knew of each other since we work in two different orchestras a block apart. But it wasn’t until the late ’90s that we actually got to know each other.” Early Start Both started music in elementary school. Goodearl ended up on her instrument as many horn players do, wanting to join her high school band because her older siblings played instruments and it looked like fun—and then the band director handed her a horn. “It stuck,” she said. “From that point, there was never really any question what I wanted to do with my life.” Hanebury began on the trumpet in third grade. “They showed us all the band instruments, and I got really excited about one in particular,” she remembered. “My mom asked me to show it to her, so I ran to the encyclopedia and looked up the clarinet. After some confusion, I realized that wasn’t it,” she laughed. “So we looked up the cornet. That was it.” Goodearl always knew she wanted to play in an orchestra and pursued performance degrees. Hanebury, perhaps a bit more pragmatic, got a degree in music education at the University of Hartford. “I figured I could always play the trumpet with a teaching degree,” she said. “The opposite is not always true.” While Hanebury was playing in the Sarasota Music Festival, a colleague told her about a wealth of teaching opportunities in Houston. “Three weeks later, I moved there and had 50 students in my first year.” She also won several auditions for trumpet positions in the city and has been with the Houston Ballet since 1983. Outside Activities While their orchestra jobs keep them quite busy, both Goodearl and Hanebury stay active in other areas, together and independent of one another, which they say helps to balance their personal lives on and off the job. Outside of music, Goodearl is a skilled potter, with her own pottery wheel and kiln. “I also do some crafty things,” Hanebury added, not wanting to be left out. “We take any time we can find to go fishing and kayaking.” Teaching has always figured prominently, and both understand the importance of music education and passing along what they’ve learned. Goodearl served on the faculty of the University of Houston for 20 years, while Hanebury has taken a break from teaching as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and health issues. “I had a bone marrow transplant last August, so I’m just waiting for things to be a bit safer before I go back to working with students,” she explained. Goodearl and Hanebury each perform extensively in small ensembles across the Houston area and also play with the Monarch Brass Ensemble, an all-female brass group made up of women from across the country and affiliated with the International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC). Both women have served on the IWBC board. “An IWBC conference is actually where we got to know each other,” Hanebury added. Since the ballet is not a full-time salaried job, Hanebury fills her time with freelancing. For the past decade, she has also been the Houston Ballet’s music librarian and pianist manager. “I wear many hats, but one of the things that keeps me busy these days is contracting,” she said. “I hire musicians for everything from local shows to churches and schools.”  Union Rules The contracting has given the couple a greater understanding of how the union works and how it benefits its members. “I’ve been a member of the Houston local since I started working here, and as such, a beneficiary of the Houston Symphony’s contracts,” Goodearl said. “I’m grateful to have this as a direct result of being a union member.” One such benefit is the Music Performance Trust Fund’s Music Family Scholarship, which their daughter has received for two years. Hanebury’s union dealings are a bit more hands-on. “I’ve learned a lot about writing union contracts during my years of hiring,” she said. “So much so that people now call me to learn how to do it, and I’ve taught a lot of the other contractors in town.” Hanebury added that she knows everyone at the Houston local and on the local board, and has served on negotiating committees at the Houston Ballet, which has given her a deeper understanding of how to work with a lawyer—another benefit of being a union member. Asked if they have opportunities to work together, Hanebury laughed heartily. “Our schedules are just so different, so there’s not much overlap. But I do try to hire Nancy when I contract. Not because we’re married, but because, you know, she’s pretty good.” Family Life The couple got married in 2015 in Massachusetts, “just a few months after same-sex marriage became legal,” Goodearl said. Even back then, finding time together was a challenge. “We would try to do a date night with rules that stipulated we couldn’t talk about work.” As if life hadn’t been busy enough, they adopted two children. “After that, date night morphed into no talking about work or the kids.” Angela, now 21, was adopted from China and is now in college. John, 18, is Guatemalan and about to graduate from high school. “I always wanted kids but never thought it was possible,” Goodearl said. “But we met some gay couples that had successfully adopted children from China, and they helped us realize it was possible.” “Having kids definitely changed some of the goals we may have had, professionally,” added Hanebury, who says she was still taking auditions at the time. But she is quick to add that she wouldn’t change a thing. “After the second kid goes off to college, everything will change again. It’s going to be a big adjustment.” Both concede, however, that finding time to spend together might become just a bit easier. “For starters, we hope to play together more after the kids are gone,” Hanebury continued. “It was tough when they were little, coordinating babysitters. The kids got used to us not being home. Holidays were especially challenging, because we typically play at church services, so they grew up having holidays with friends. They understood and got used to quick Christmas presents in the morning, and then we went off to work!” Pride—and Acceptance Goodearl and Hanebury are gratified to share their story during Pride Month. “We feel that Pride is about acceptance,” Goodearl said. “We know we have an unusual family, but we are, in the end, a family, with all that includes. We appreciate the freedom to be who we are.” She added that both children included the family’s story of diversity in their college entrance essays. “They’ve had to go through some challenges in their lives. When they were younger, for instance, we couldn’t both drop them off at school. But they embraced the diversity, and they understand that it made them stronger.” “I swear we’re always working when the Houston Pride Parade is going on,” Hanebury laughed. “But we are who we are, we live our lives and we have our family. We’re very grateful.” She said they have obviously met people over the years who are against who they are and how they live their lives. “For the most part, though, anyone we’ve encountered has been wonderful and accepting. And Pride Month is, in the end, a celebration of acceptance and of honoring those who came before us and made it easier for us all. This post originally appeared at International Musician, the official journal of the American Federation of Musicians. Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 06/27/2022 - 12:47 — Jun 27