Olivia Marie Anastasi came into the world on March 19, 2012 at 6:02 am. She is the daughter of Tom and Kate Anastasi, our son and daughter in law from Minneapolis, Minnesota. That of course means we are grandparents for the first time. After a very long labor Olivia was born healthy and weighed nine pounds one ounce, twenty-two inches long. She took her time entering the world and her mom is doing fine. Kathy and I couldn’t be happier or prouder of her. Congratulations to Tom and Kate and a new life begins with love and hope.

 

The Palmen Motors Group bargaining committee, will request authorization on March 28, 2012 to strike if a contract with Palmen Motors is not successfully negotiated by April 18, 2012 The technicians are members of Local 72. All of us fully support our brothers at Palmen in their negotiations The vote will be taken at Local 72 Headquarters.   

 

May the love of Easter fill your house with happiness and joy. Best wishes from our executive board and retiree board to you and your family. Have a safe and happy Easter.

 

The Southeastern Wisconsin UAW- CAP Council announced its endorsement of Kenosha Mayor, Kenosha County Board, Kenosha Alderman and Kenosha County Circuit Court. We urge all of our members to reach out to their families and friends in all of these districts and ask them to vote for our endorsed candidates.

 

 

The UAW proudly endorses incumbent Keith Bosman.MayorBosman does an outstanding job and received tremendous support.

UAW-C.A.P. has endorsed candidates who will bring civility and professionalism to the common council.

These endorsements represent the UAW’s strong belief that Kenosha needs a new direction on City Council. There are a couple of districts where unfortunately there is no opposition for the incumbents. The election of our C.A.P. endorsed candidates is vital to the best interests of everyone in the city.

 

The UAW support goes to the challenger, Chris Schwartz. Chris will be a great addition to Kenosha’s Common Council. She is hard-working, resourceful and is willing to work in a civil and professional manner. The incumbent has aligned himself in a voting bloc that regularly obstructed administration initiatives to move the city forward.

 

Jan is the incumbent in District 3. The UAW endorsed Jan because he is one of the more conscientious council members. None of our members are aware of who his opponent is or what he represents. We are very confident in Jan Michalski and his support of working people.

 

Tod is the incumbent in District 6. The UAW gave a very strong endorsement to Brother Ohnstad. Tod is a member of our union and he works hard to carry forward the issues important to working people. He is by far the best candidate and deserves strong support in his reelection campaign.

 

The UAW is supporting Paul Trombino in the eighth district. Paul has a long record of involvement in Kenosha, including terms on the Kenosha Police & Fire Commission. He will hit the ground running and will not need on-the-job training.

 

The UAW’s endorsement in the ninth district went to Keith Rosenberg, a long-time union member. Brother Rosenberg also proudly served in the U.S. Navy and will work hard for the residents of the ninth district.

 

Anthony is the incumbent in the tenth district and won the UAW’s support. Anthony Kennedy is an outspoken opponent of the Fab Five on the council floor He is a strong voice for his district and a counter to many of the negative influences and obstructionist on the council floor. We are concerned that Alderman Kennedy’s opponent will be yet another tool of the Fab Five. We believe the tenth district will be better served with an alderman who is not affiliated in that way with that kind of behavior. Anthony Kennedy has earned our support.

 

Mary Magdalene Moser won UAW support in the 12^th District. Mary is a union member and the daughter of a former Democratic state senator from Milwaukee. She is a strong voice for people who have been neglected by the incumbent. The incumbent in the 12^th district is also affiliated with the Fab Five and has used his position on council to tout his resume and promote himself.

 

UAW- Local 72 Retiree Chair Curt Wilson defeated the incumbent in the 13^th district in the primary and is now moving on to the general election. U.A.W.-C.A.P. is proud to endorse Curt Wilson. “He brings tenacity, experience and a dedication that the 13^th district hasn’t seen for many years.

 

Fifteenth district incumbent Mike Orth won the UAW’s support. Orth, a Kenosha teacher, chairs the Parks Commission and bring a sense of reason and compromise to his post. We think Mike Orth is the kind of alderman who brings a unique combination of knowledge and character to his position.

 

Rob Johnson is a write candidate for alderman in the sixteenth district. The incumbent Jesse Downing is running for alderman while running for mayor at the same time. We don’t appreciate it when a candidate isn’t confident enough in their candidacy for mayor that they have to have a backup plan. We urge our members to write in Rob Johnson in the sixteenth district.

 

The UAW-C.A.P. endorses the following candidates for the county board:

The UAW-C.A.P. has endorsed Ed Antaramian for Judge-Circuit Court, Branch 2

I’ve received calls from some of our retired members saying that they are having difficulty with service from Humana insurance. This is not the first time we have had trouble with Humana. Throughout the ten or more years Humana has been our insurance provider we have had numerous meetings with them complaining about the lack of service, incorrect information, lack of response by customer service representatives and in general a lack of cooperation with our members and our benefit representatives. As always my advice is to document everything with dates, times, names and precisely the answer to the question that was asked. All of us know that the UAW-V.E.B.A. trust is the overseer of the insurance program and the final appeal is to them but you must protect yourself from having information or a lack there of, being provided to you by Humana that may be inaccurate. If you are unsure about an answer or a bill do not be afraid to ask our UAW-Regional Benefit Rep about the issue. He can be reached at 1-262-654-8606 extension #14. We have asked for assistance from the international union concerning several issues and we will continue to ask for their assistance to resolve them.

 

 

The UAW opposes the Ryan budget proposal and its attack on the middle class and our most vulnerable citizens by proposing that middle class Americans make more sacrifices while giving more tax breaks to corporations and the very wealthy.

 

At a time when the U.S. economy is still recovering from the global economic crisis and when millions of Americans remain unemployed or underemployed and real wages have stagnated or fallen, the Ryan budget proposal would gut many of the important safety net programs on which Americans rely.

 

A serious proposal to reduce the federal budget deficit should focus on increasing revenue rather than on simply cutting important services. The Ryan plan does significant harm to ordinary Americans, seniors, and the most vulnerable. .At the same time, the proposed budget fails to increase tax revenues from corporations or the wealthiest citizens and proposes even more tax cuts for the wealthiest. 

 

Specifically, the UAW opposes the health care proposals in the Ryan budget, starting with its call for the repeal and defunding of the Affordable Care Act, which offers a path to providing health care coverage to 32 million Americans currently without coverage. 

 

The Ryan proposal also calls for the block granting of Medicaid, cutting the program by $207 billion over five years. Not only would this dramatic cut harm the elderly and disabled who rely on Medicaid for their health care, but it would also have the effect of causing significant job loss to the U.S. economy. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the proposed Medicaid funding cut alone would result in a loss of 2.1 million jobs over the next five years. Because Medicaid has a low overhead and 96 percent of its funds go toward non-government-provided benefits, this job loss would be overwhelmingly in the private sector. The Ryan proposal would end Medicare as we know it by capping benefits for seniors which would make health care coverage both more costly and less accessible for seniors.

 

The Ryan proposal has many other provisions we find objectionable, including cuts to job training programs that enable workers to prepare or retrain for jobs of the future and cuts to Pell grants that allow students from families of modest means to attain a college education, and it cuts funding for feeding and housing programs that protect and assist millions of children living in poverty. Finally, the Ryan budget seeks to reduce spending by $5.3 trillion in addition to spending cuts that had already been agreed to.

 

The UAW believes that the federal budget is a moral document as well as a fiscal blueprint. The Ryan proposal fails miserably on both counts; it cuts the safety nets that allow ordinary Americans to get by during hard economic times and that protect the most vulnerable citizens, and it cuts in ways that will cause more unemployment and jeopardize the fragile economic recovery.

 

Governor Walker is traveling the country to raise millions in campaign donations to fight his recall election. The Governor’s speeches and fundraising letters reveal his hostility to all unions and the collective bargaining rights of American workers—not only public employees. The excerpts below are from a four-page fundraising letter signed by Governor Walker and addressed “Dear Fellow Conservative”. There is no date on the letter, but it was sent early in 2012.

 

“Conservatives are under attack in Wisconsin and that means…There’sBIG TROUBLE AHEADwhere you live.  If the powerful labor unions get their way in my state…They’ll get their way in yours. This is the frontline in the battle to rein in the too-powerful labor unions which are using Wisconsin as a ‘test case’ for their national strategy. We must stop them NOW. Big Labor Bosses know what they want, when they want it, and how they’re going to get it. Their naked power grab starts here in Wisconsin and then radiates across the country. Mark my words, if they barge and bully and get their way here, your state’s next….so, together, we must fight them tooth and nail right here and now.

 

But thousands of Big Labor protestors, many bused in from Chicago and Las Vegas, buzzed around the State Capitol like angry wasps. Many of their signs were profane and obscene. When I saw the Big Union-sponsored mercenaries descend on our State Capitol from parts unknown, I knew what we were experiencing in Wisconsin was not an isolated case. It was just a taste of what the rest of the nation would soon be forced to endure. Because if the Big Union Bosses could make their rampage of intimidation work in my state, they’ll make it work in yours. For the Union-paid protestors who screamed until their faces were red and painted signs filled with hate-filled threats and profane words, all I can say is that they can yell and curse all they want butI’m not going to back down from my conservative good government efforts. Will you help me stand against the largest organized labor battle since President Reagan had the fortitude to do the right thing and take them on nearly 30 years ago?”

 

Governor Walker spoke at an orientation for Texas legislators sponsored by the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. Gov. Walker boasted about his attack on public employee unions in Wisconsin. He said:

“The unions like to call it collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is not a right. Collective bargaining is an expensive entitlement, and it is time we stood up and put the power back in the hands of the taxpayers.”

Source: “Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker gives speech to conservatives at legislative forum in Texas”, Appleton Post Crescent (January 12, 2012)

 

Governor Walker spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee Conference in Washington, D.C. It was reported as follows: “Walker told the gathering of conservative activists that he’s facing a recall election because ‘the big government union bosses from Washington want their money.’”

Source: WisPolitics (February 10, 2012) “Walker warns of dire consequences if he loses, asks conservative activists for help in recall”

 

The more I read about Gov. Walker the more I’m convinced he’s got to go. His assault on working people is right out of the dark ages. After all aren’t union people good citizens? Don’t we pay all the taxes and fight all the wars. Politicians like Walker forget they are sworn to represent everyone, not just the rich.

 

The award winning documentary about the rise of the UAW by Victor Reuther's grandson, Sasha, will be shown Friday night, March 30 at 7pm at Monona Terrace One John Nolen Drive, Madison, Wisconsin. Phone: 608-261-4000. The film is free and seating is first come first served. The film depicts the first half of the 20th century in Detroit, Michigan where it was arguably the center of America's manufacturing landscape. With a promise of surefire employment, this booming metropolis was inundated with hopeful job-seekers trying to build a future for themselves. Most soon discovered that the constant stream of immigrants meant they had to accept whatever working conditions demanded of them or risk being replaced. Three immigrants, however -- brothers Walter, Roy, and Victor Reuther - sought to give an equal voice to the workers pitted against the might of the automobile manufacturers. Overcoming intimidation and unified opposition from government and business, they organized the United Auto Workers (UAW) into a powerful advocate for workers' rights. With rare access to behind-the-scenes footage, this brand-new documentary -- directed by Victor Reuther's grandson and narrated by Martin Sheen -- offers a vivid portrait of the early ideals of the modern American labor movement.