The former director of security at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch (W.Va.) mine was sentenced to three years in federal prison for lying to federal agents and destroying documents sought by investigators looking into the deadly blast that killed 29 in 2010.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin had sought a 25-year sentence for Hughie Elbert Stover but said after the sentencing:

Three years for a man who is 60 years old is a long time. We wanted to send a very clear message and we have done that.

Ken Ward of The Charleston Gazette writes that the charges against Stover

focused on his role in a Massey practice of warning workers underground of impending safety inspections, a routine occurrence that federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) investigators now say played a major role in the disaster.

Last week, Gary May, former superintendent at the Upper Big Branch mine, was charged with conspiracy to violate federal money safety laws. He is the third former Massey official to face criminal charges related the explosion.

The Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Facebook, the social network with more than 800 million users across the globe, are working together to bring new jobs to North Carolina.

With business and membership booming, Facebook is building sprawling new computer data centers in Rutherford County.  Even though the Tarheel State has the lowest union density in the country, that didn’t stop Facebook from choosing the IBEW to work on the project, valuing the quality and training that comes with a union work force.

The job is now creating hundreds of construction jobs in a struggling part of the American South and bringing new members into the union—changing the lives of N.C. working families for the better.

Check out this video (above).

When working people come together in political action and successfully fight to elect lawmakers who back working families, they are at least guaranteed someone who will listen to their concerns. But in too many cases corporate money has propelled politicians like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to office where they turn a deaf ear to working people.

In this cross-post from Working America’s Main Street blog, Ruth Oditt shows that even the loss of thousands of jobs and the economic devastation of communities isn’t enough to move Corbett to act, let alone listen.

Marcus Hook is a town teetering on the edge of destruction.  Last year, Sunoco Oil announced that it would shut down its refinery in Marcus Hook.  This refinery has employed residents for generations; it provides a tax base for the community, and directly funds part of the school district.  As horrible as it is, I wish this were an isolated event; but Sunoco is also closing its south Philadelphia refinery, and ConocoPhillips is closing one in nearby Trainer, Pa.  In total, 2,500 Pennsylvanians will be laid off, and thousands more will see their livelihoods affected as more residents struggle with unemployment and the tax base disappears.

Throughout the last six months, elected officials across the political spectrum have joined together to help find a buyer for these refineries and save the community.  There has been one notable exception:  Governor Tom Corbett (R).  Our governor has refused to attend important meetings with stakeholders, speak to the press about the issue, or even meet with the workers facing layoffs.  We were heading out to Marcus Hook that day to collect letters from the community demanding that the governor help save their jobs.

As we rode out to Marcus Hook I kept finding myself distracted.  It must have been the factory town, with the factory closing, that drew my mind back.  I couldn’t help thinking of my own hometown.

I’m not from anywhere all that special to the rest of the world. Just one of those small factory towns in Ohio; one of the many with no factories left. I remembered the guy I dated just after high school that worked at one of the plants. I remembered hearing that he’d moved away after the shut down, and being glad for him. I remembered being just 18, looking for a job just to make ends meet while I started off at college. I remember competing with laid off factory workers for a position at a service station. I remember moving away, because I couldn’t find enough work to pay the bills. I remember those who didn’t; some have kids, and others have moved back in with their parents.  Most of them still haven’t found full time jobs. One way or another, they manage to feed their own kids.

I knew what today would be. The men would have those expressions—the ones that say, “I have to figure out how to make this work, but I don’t think there is a way anymore.” The women usually look sad, and scared. Everyone is angry.

I knew what would come next from what happened in my town. Families couldn’t keep their houses. Some young workers moved away and some moved back in.  The rising crime rate, desolate downtown streets, and closed up shop fronts follow quickly. The children don’t have safe schools, or the activities they need to learn to be the leaders the town needs. The playgrounds start to rust.

I was right.  Everyone I met had the grim sadness I expected. Some were vehement, angry, and ready to act. Some were scared, and quiet; a sense of hopelessness hung about them. Resignation reflected in their eyes as they glanced over their shoulders to the dead end of the street where you can still see the light from the burn off of the oil refinery, for now.

No one was too busy to write a letter to the governor about this. One after another the heartbreaking stories poured onto the pages. Christine said “Dear Governor Corbett…our families, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren depend on us to provide for them.” She knew what a lasting impact this time would have on her town. Jay said simply “Dear Governor …I believe you need to stand up.”  Theresa started her letter by saying that she is “struggling as it is.”  Each face, each voice bracing for the impact of the work that their governor has not done for them.

I was prepared for all of this. I have seen these things before. They always make me sad, and so, I fight to make things better where I can, with what small voice I have alone, and with a lot of organizing. Still, I wasn’t prepared.

As the night drew to a close, I met a kindly woman with a quiet about her. She had an injured leg which caused her trouble while standing at the door, so she invited me in promptly and sent her grandson to get me some tea.  I glanced around, saw three happy dogs, a younger and an older child, a neat, but lived in home.  I sipped the tea while she told me about choosing to move to Marcus Hook because it was such a fine place to raise a family. The tea was sweet tea, and tasted just like the kind my mother made.  I was reminded of home now more than ever.  She told a few stories about friends and family, the older child was an 18 year old student at the local high school. They both were writing letters to the Governor when the older woman’s head popped up and she broke the quiet asking very plainly “What’s going to happen for the kids?” My mind raced back to all of my friends who had moved away, or stayed, and all of the choices they should never have had to face. I couldn’t bring myself to answer her.

Just then, the younger girl piped up. She was not subtle. She told of kids who were 11 and 12 smoking cigarettes outside the classroom windows, and how when she was that age she was only thinking about soccer practice, but that funding has already been cut. She said that she knew the pizza shop was closing, and that none of her friends could find jobs. She also said she knew it was all going to get worse. I knew she wasn’t wrong.

As I finished my tea and they finished their letters, the older woman, Ellen, didn’t say a thing.  She looked at me, and her eyes got very sad. My tea was done, and so were their letters, so Ellen showed me to the door. As my hand stretched out for the doorknob, she said, quietly, “The mayor would be glad to know about your work. His house is that one there. He’s a nice man. You should visit him.” With that, I stepped out the door, took a deep breath, composed myself, and went to see the mayor.

The faces I had seen this evening shared a certain intensity as soon as I brought up Sunoco. The face of this man, the mayor, was intense before I said anything at all. He looked profoundly exhausted. When we spoke, his voice quavered, showing the same exhaustion. He was, as Ellen had suggested, heartened to know of the work we were doing. Mostly though, he was tired. I invited him to write a letter and his eyes lifted under heavy lids to catch mine as he said that he has met with President Obama three times about this, but that Governor Corbett hasn’t had time to see him once. “Do you think it will work?” I struggled to find the words to answer. He finally obliged me.  When I glanced at the letter later the second line caught my eye: “maybe this time you will…accept my offer for a meeting”

We pay our legislators, and our senators, and our governors. Their paychecks always arrive on time. The job they are doing to earn these checks is to represent the people, to act in our best interest. There are going to be a lot of folks In Marcus Hook whose paychecks won’t arrive on time or at all. They will be performing the tasks they are paid to do until they are asked to leave. Dear Governor Corbett, can you say the same?

General Electric (GE)  records show that it pays far, far less in taxes than us ordinary taxpayers. So much for the claim that corporate taxes are too high.

GE’s Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K filing for 2011 reveals that the company paid at most 2.3 percent of its $81.2 billion in U.S. pretax profits in federal income taxes during the past the past 10 years.

Last year when it was revealed that GE paid no federal income taxes in 2010 and in fact enjoyed $3 billion in net tax benefits, a company spokesman said:

GE did not pay U.S. federal taxes last year because we did not owe any… [but] our 2011 tax rate is slated to return to more normal levels with GE Capital’s recovery.

An examination of its 10-K filing  shows that in 2011, GE’s effective federal income tax rate was only 11.3 percent, less than a third the official 35 percent corporate tax rate, according to Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ). Says CTJ Director Bob McIntyre:

I don’t think most Americans would consider 11.3 percent, not to mention GE’s long-term effective rate of 2.3 percent, to be “normal.” But for GE, taxes are something to be avoided rather than paid.

Read more from CTJ here.

GE is one of 280 profitable Fortune 500 companies profiled in “Corporate Taxpayers and Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-2010.” The report shows GE is one of 30 major U.S. corporations that paid zero—or less—in federal income taxes in the past three years. The full report, a joint project of CTJ and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is at http://ctj.org/corporatetaxdodgers/.

All trade unions in India united around a common agenda and staged a general strike Tuesday demanding workers’ rights and economic justice.

The Indian newspaper The Hindu reports that the solidarity of the more than 5,000 unions representing millions of members affiliated to India’s trade confederations centers around demands which seek:

strict enforcement of all basic labor laws without any exception or exemption and stringent punitive measures for violation; a universal social security cover for unorganized sector workers without any restriction and creation of a National Social Security Fund.

India’s union memberss represent the nation’s full political spectrum and Gurudas Dasgupta, general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress says the government’s economic policies:

have undermined the interests of workers to such an extent that trade unions representing the Left, Right and Centrist parties have been forced to come together. Such unity was not witnessed even during or after the Emergency.

For 21 months in 1975 to 1977, the Indian government declared a state of emergency and suspended civil liberties and elections.

Click here and here to read more about the general strike from the Hindu.

We’ve got great news! Tomorrow we are launching a new AFL-CIO website and blog with a fresh, clean look and streamlined navigation and search functions that will enable you to find what you need more efficiently across the website and blog.

One of the key goals of our new site is to make it easier for you to upload photos, videos and events so we can highlight the great work of union members and our allies. There are many options for interactivity across the site and new ways to take action and get involved in your community.

The AFL-CIO Now blog will have many interactive features as well, including the ability to comment by logging in with social media accounts. If you are a current commenter on the AFL-CIO Now blog, you will need to register again to comment. By logging in with social media accounts, you can:

• Comment with your social profile and become a persona on our blog.
• Subscribe  to comment threads more easily.
• Easily share comments with your social networks.

We’re sorry for the inconvenience of registering to comment again, but we think you’ll like the new look and the improved features of the website and blog.

We hope the new site and blog will help us build an even bigger  community of activists and encourage you to be part of creating a vibrant online community.

Please send us your comments and suggestions along the way.

And join us tomorrow for the launch of the new AFL-CIO online community!

Six months ago, Tropical Storm Irene battered New York’s Hudson Valley and historic flooding devastated communities like Schoharie, leaving hundreds of homes destroyed or severely damaged.

But Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) members have been helping Schoharie’s residents reclaim their homes. In a unique program, IUPAT apprentices and journeymen members are putting up sheet rock and painting damaged homes in the town. Says IUPAT’s Lee Eck:

We’ve incorporated our apprenticeship program into helping the recovery effort in Schoharie in an effort to help get these people’s lives back together. Our apprentices are getting real life training and these people get their house put back together.

Click here for report on the program from YNN.com.

Elizabeth Boomer of the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department sends us this.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell), which pits a Nigerian plaintiff, Esther Kiobel, against Anglo-Dutch oil and energy giant Shell.

While the case does not specifically deal with labor rights abuses, the AFL-CIO has filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief in support of the Nigerian plaintiffs. In its brief, the AFL-CIO affirms its strong belief that corporations, which are given many rights and privileges under the law, should also be held responsible when they are party to wrongful acts, whether those acts occur in the United States or abroad.

Kiobel and the other plaintiffs in the case hail from the rural Ogoni community in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Their protests against decades-long destruction of their economic and environmental livelihoods by the oil industry led to violent reprisals at the hands of that industry and the Nigerian authorities in the early 1990s—culminating in a sham trial and the execution of the Ogoni author and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other community leaders (including Kiobel’s husband) in 1995. Shell was the main oil operator in the Ogoni community for many years. The case will test whether Kiobel and other members of the Ogoni community can seek compensation for human rights abuses alleged to have been committed by Shell in collusion with Nigerian authorities.

The stark dichotomy between the litigants is hard to overlook. Ms. Kiobel hails from an economically shattered community. The defendants represent a company that posted a $28.6 billion profit in 2011.

The case, involving two non-American litigants, has precedent-setting potential and was brought to U.S. federal courts under a somewhat overlooked law enacted by Congress in 1789 known as the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). While the Supreme Court upheld certain applications of the law in 2004 and U.S. courts have found that individuals can be held accountable for violations of international law, at stake today in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum is whether corporations can be held liable by foreign plaintiffs for wrongs committed in violation of the law of nations.

In Nigeria, natural resources-based economic development and the brutal treatment of the Ogonis is part of an all-too-common trend on the continent. With a new scramble afoot for Africa’s natural resources, Nigeria remains a cautionary case for governments, particularly in Africa, which seek to hitch their economic and social development to natural resource wealth. The Solidarity Center, an international non-profit organization allied with the AFL-CIO, has long-standing programs with union partners in Nigeria.

Click here for more on labor rights in Nigeria.