A rough attack against Big Labor and their allies in Congress, following defeat of the dialectically named Employee Free Choice Act:

The collapse of the AFL-CIO cannot be explained by employer hostility or the provisions of current labor law—otherwise, how was it possible for workers to build mass industrial unions in the 1930s, under conditions of widespread employer and state violence that turned many labor struggles into pitched battles?

The vast majority of working people see the AFL-CIO and the other bureaucratized trade unions as irrelevant, impotent, or downright reactionary, and for good reason. The last half century has seen an almost uninterrupted decay of the labor movement, to the point where an entire generation of the working class has grown to maturity without ever witnessing a serious and militant national strike by a major union—something which is true of no other period in US history since the American Civil War.

From the World Socialist Website, published by the International Committee of the Fourth International.

Meanwhile, the People’s Weekly World editorializes that the class struggle shall continue. Funny, the column looks just like a list of talking points from Big Labor. Lousy Social-Democrats.

P.S. The original post missed the PWW’s commentary.

Ambassador Susan Schwab and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong signed the U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement at 10 a.m. this morning on Capitol Hill.

A statement from President Bush:

I am pleased that United States Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and Republic of Korea Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong today signed the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement. This Agreement will generate export opportunities for U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service suppliers, promote economic growth and the creation of better paying jobs in the United States, and help American consumers save money while offering them greater choices. The Agreement will also further enhance the strong United States-Korea partnership, which has served as a force for stability and prosperity in Asia. I call on Congress to ratify this landmark Agreement, to the considerable benefit of the American people.

From The Korea Herald, an English-language paper, this news report, with a statement from Prime Minister Han Duck-soo:

If the amendments are not reflected in the agreement, the Korea-U.S. FTA may not be endorsed by the U.S. Congress…Korea also decided to accept the U.S. proposal to block further requests by the U.S. Congress on automobiles, rice, and other items.

NAM President John Engler upon the signing of the agreement (from our news release):

The U.S. – Korea negotiation resulted in a comprehensive agreement that came together in a short time and provides a broad scope of opportunities to most of America’s manufacturers. It contains the best IPR provisions and the strongest pro-competitive provisions we have ever seen in a trade agreement and its passage will be a real plus for most U.S. industries…

The negotiations were difficult for both sides, and this FTA is not perfect – U.S. auto makers have raised serious concerns with tariff and non-tariff provisions they feel are not adequately addressed and that will continue to block meaningful access to Korea’s auto market. The NAM is encouraging continued discussions to address these legitimate concerns.

Reuters story is here. And a news report from the Korean embassy.

There is a growing crescendo of support in the United States for dramatic action to curb greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the real challenge lies elsewhere. According to a recent report issued by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels declined 1.3 percent in 2006 while our economy was growing 3.3 percent. Energy use per unit of GDP fell 4.2 percent last year and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP fell 4.5 percent. We are already doing more than our part.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, China has become the world’s number one polluter. China relies on coal for 75 percent of its energy and industrial energy needs. China already has 16 of world’s 20 most polluted cities. A third of California’s air pollution and a fifth of Oregon’s comes from China, and the Chinese are planning to build 2,200 more coal-fired energy plants by 2020. (More from the National Center for Policy Analysis here.)

And of course the Chinese would like nothing better than for Congress to impose more environmental restrictions on U.S. industry, transferring even more U.S. jobs to their country.

Today’s Wall Street Journal on the just-completed Supreme Court term, “A Cautious Right Term.”

A Supreme Court Justice once told us never to underestimate the difference even a single new Justice can have on the nine-member body. We certainly learned that lesson this year, the Court’s first full term with Associate Justice Samuel Alito. The Court has moved notably back to the center, but its alleged new “conservatism” is more in temperament than politics.

And, especially important (with our emphasis):

The good news is that the Court did set clearer rules this year on several notable business cases, which united Justices on both the right and left in solid majorities reining in class-action lawsuits, employment law and patents.

In Credit Suisse First Boston v. Billing earlier this month, a seven-Justice majority dismissed an antitrust claim against investment banks from the days of the hi-tech bubble that would have been a tort lawyer’s dream. And in the antitrust case of Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, seven Justices dismissed the idea that the mere suggestion of a conspiracy was enough to bring charges of anti-consumer collusion. The press is calling these “pro-business” rulings, but it’s more accurate to say they were about restoring business confidence in the rule of law and setting limits on the tort bar and activist judges.

UPDATE (4:40 p.m.): You know what also matters? The freedom — the constitutionally guaranteed freedom — to influence the political process, including by pressuring candidates, that determines the selection of judges. From the D.C. Examiner:

The first blow came Monday in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life Inc., when the Roberts court struck down as unconstitutional a key provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The offending provision banned certain broadcast political ads mentioning the names of specific candidates — i.e. incumbent congressmen — during the 60 days prior to a general election and 30 days before a primary balloting.

The chief justice noted in the decision that the First Amendment requires a strong presumption against official censorship of political speech. And in a refreshingly direct statement, Roberts threw out the idea that federal bureaucrats can constitutionally assess the propriety of political speech based on the speakers’ intent.

“Enough is enough,” Roberts said. We can almost hear the founding generation that gave us America saying “hear, hear!”

Getting ready for Independence Day and the patriotic displays of the bombs bursting in air? Well then here’s a feature to whet your pyrotechnic palate, a video from Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, one of America’s largest and most renowned manufacturers of fireworks, and a family-run operation to boot.

Fireworker Antonio Zambelli ventured from Italy in 1893 to establish the Zambelli Fireworks Manufacturing Company in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which was to become a center for America’s fireworks industry. Building on the grand tradition Antonio began, subsequent generations of Zambellis are now known worldwide for setting the industry standard in design and technology — then exceeding it.

And we’re glad to see this news from the patriarch, George Zambelli, who reports that patriotic themes in large-scale fireworks displays are up 50 percent.

This week’s video combines some cool stuff being made, along with marketing and company profile materials. A piece of history, if you will, so to view this week’s Cool Stuff Being Made, click here. And cover your ears!

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab’s statement on the expiration and renewal of Trade Promotion Authority:

“America needs to remain open for business to the 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside the United States. American workers cannot afford for us to hang up a ‘Closed for Business’ sign. The United States must be in the game and not on the sidelines as other nations negotiate deals that disadvantage our businesses, farmers, ranchers and service providers. Our trading partners and competitors are already negotiating and closing trade deals around the world. At least 100 regional trade agreements have gone into force since 2002 and more than 100 are under negotiation. The President – indeed every President – should have TPA to ensure that the United States can best advance our country’s trade interests.

President Bush has used Trade Promotion Authority to open new markets for American farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers. With TPA, the United States was at the negotiating table, and able to reaffirm U.S. leadership in expanding the free and fair flow of commerce around the world to the benefit of the U.S. economy. U.S. exports to the ten countries with which we have implemented FTAs since 2001 have increased nearly twice as fast as U.S. exports to the rest of the world (25% vs. 13%). These exports have contributed to solid economic growth and job creation. Our agreements also provide American workers and their families a wider range of affordable products.

The Bush Administration and Congressional leaders have found a bipartisan path forward for Congressional approval of FTAs with Peru, Colombia, Panama, and Korea. I am hopeful this spirit of cooperation will guide our efforts to renew TPA, as President Bush requested in January, to keep the United States at the table negotiating for the continued benefit of the American people.”

The Employee Free Choice Act has been stopped for now, and this week on “America’s Business” we get a debriefing from two of the leaders who helped block the card-check bill, saving the secret ballot in the workplace: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

The Doha Round suffered a major setback this month in Germany, and joining host Mike Hambrick to explain the reasons — and reasons for continued hope — is Sean M. Spicer, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative.

Our series on Women in Manufacturing features Ann Brown, co-owner of New Vista Image, a Golden, Colo., firm that specializes in design and large-scale digital printing. (NBA All-Star banners!)

If the sky lights up on the Fourth of July, there’s a good chance the Zambelli family deserves the credit. Mike talks to George Zambelli of Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, who tells us everything that goes into making an explosive (but safe) celebration.

A year ago, Australia eliminated its national debt. Is Australia’s achievement a model for the United States? Explaining debt down-under is Steve Morling, the economics counselor at the Australian embassy in Washington, D.C.

In our regular segments, Renee Giachino of the American Justice Partnership declares this week’s tort-reform winners and losers; the NAM’s Hank Cox recalls “The Way it Was”; and NAM President John Engler closes with “The Last Word,” warning that Big Labor will continue pushing the Employee Free Choice Act.

For more on America’s Business and to listen to the show on-line, please click here.

From the Wall Street Journal:

NEW YORK — The U.S. and Panama signed a free-trade agreement Thursday that will eliminate tariffs on almost 90% of U.S. consumer and industrial exports to the Central American nation, the U.S. Trade Representative said.

The signing of the FTA comes at a crucial time, as the Bush administration’s Trade Promotion Authority expires Sunday. The so-called fast-track authority allows Congress to vote up or down on trade deals but not amend them. Any agreements signed before this weekend’s end date will still be considered under the fast-track authority.

The U.S. and Panama started FTA negotiations in April 2004. Total bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $3.1 billion in 2006, according to the USTR. Panama already has “broad duty free-access” to the U.S. because of several programs such as the Generalized System of Preferences for developing countries, the USTR said. However, only a quarter of U.S. industrial exports and 34% of agricultural exports entered Panama duty-free in 2006.

Got that? From 25 percent to 90 percent of U.S. industrial exports going to Panama duty-free — an accomplishment possible because of Trade Promotion Authority.

Here’s the Bloomberg story. The news from a Panamanian perspective, in Spanish.

Meanwhile, the Trade Promotion Authority clock ticks down.

Facing a serious lack of skilled workers, manufacturers don’t just bemoan the failings of our nation’s educational system or wait for someone else to solve the problem. They step up and and address the challenges directly. Take Lockheed-Martin, for example.

MOORESTOWN, NJ, June 29, 2007 — Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] Moorestown business recently welcomed the first 18 participants for its new Information Technology (IT) Apprenticeship Program. The three-year outreach program is designed to provide local high school students with valuable work experience and, ultimately, a possible career at Lockheed Martin.

The inaugural class of the IT Apprenticeship Program is made up of 11th grade students from the Burlington County Institute of Technology and Camden County Technical School. The program’s participants will receive classroom training at program partners Burlington County College and Camden County College; on-the-job training at Lockheed Martin; and continual one-on-one mentoring from assigned Lockheed Martin employees. For the final year of the program, following high school graduation, the participants will progressively spend more time getting “hands-on” experience at Lockheed Martin’s facility.

Upon successful completion of the IT Apprenticeship Program, participants will receive an Information Technician Registration Certificate from the state of New Jersey and have the opportunity to become full-time Lockheed Martin employees.

This program embraces many of the key training elements that NAM President John Engler and NAM member companies see as critical to successfully addressing the “skills gap.” It reaches into the high schools, involves the local community colleges and technical schools, and leads to an official certification that measures the technical skills gained by the apprentices.

A model program, yet one of hundreds that manufacturers are actively involved in — leading, really — around the country.

Al Gore’s forces of carbon depletion are anxious in Germany. Tickets sale for the Hamburg “Live Earth” concert are slow, the lead act is a convicted felon and debaser of women (Snoop Dogg), and other concerts are clearly outshining them. So what to do? Propagandize the schools!

Here’s a report translated from the Hamburger Abendblatt (Hamburg Evening Pages):

The Live-Earth-Concert on July 7th in Hamburg isn’t supposed to go bust. However, just a week before the big happening in the AOL-Arena (beginning July 4th, the HSH-Nordbank-Arena), only about half of the tickets have been sold – about 20,000. Frank Erich of the marketing agency responsible for the show has confirmed that with the Hamburger Abendblatt. The attempt to land Herbert Groenemeyer as a big drawing card has failed. Now organizers are attempting to fill the stadium another way: Education officials have been activated, advertising the event in the schools. The teachers are supposed to encourage students to buy tickets for the nine-hour concert for climate protection. “We’ve established a separate “Live Earth Concert” category on the Hamburg educational computer system,” says official spokesman Alexander Luckow.

In addition, a newsletter will be sent to the schools on Monday. For Thorsten Kausch, business manager of “Hamburg Marketing,” the approach is only logical. “We have to use all possible channels to draw attention to the concert,” Kausch said.

Using the educational bureaucracy to propagandize students on behalf of global climate alarmism. Sound familiar?

First it was his world history class. Then he saw it in his economics class. And his world issues class. And his environment class. In total, 18-year-old McKenzie, a Northern Ontario high schooler, says he has had the film An Inconvenient Truth shown to him by four different teachers this year.

UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): South Africans are cool to their own concert, too. Can guess why: Imagine being lectured at in three separate languages. Ouch.

UPDATE (9:30 p.m.) Motor.de, an online German alt-music mag, asks, “What if they gave a Live Earth concert and nobody came?”