Walker and Gingrich Share a Donor
by Clyde Weiss | May 15, 2012
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, facing a recall next month for taking away the collective bargaining rights of nearly 200,000 Wisconsin public service employees, has a new billionaire to fund his drive to stay in power: Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.
Adelson, the same billionaire who almost single-handedly financed the failed campaign of GOP Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, is now “one of the embattled Wisconsin governor’s biggest donors,” according to John Nichols, writing in The Nation.
Adelson, an anti-union casino owner whose right-wing ideology makes him a perfect fit to fund Walker’s campaign, isn’t Walker’s only out-of-state backer. Nichols reports that 74 percent of all Walker’s donations “came from residents of other states, with Floridians providing more than $1 million and Texans, Californians and New Yorkers providing roughly similar amounts.”
Walker may have money, but recent polls show he’s got a lot of work to do if he’s going to keep his job. AFSCME members and our coalition partners will work harder to make sure he doesn’t.
Arizona Legislature Champions the Rich, Corporations, but Attacks Workers
by Clyde Weiss | May 15, 2012
Arizona’s Legislature – dominated by Republicans who hold two-thirds majorities in each chamber – has finally finished its business for the year. Thank goodness they’ve gone home after having spent 116 days doing the bidding of corporate-backed, right-wing groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Goldwater Institute.
In a state with some of the highest poverty and foreclosure rates in the nation, you would think legislators would have been hard at work creating jobs and helping working families climb out of this recession. Instead, these lawmakers began their session pushing a package of anti-middle class, union-busting bills despite the fact that most Americans favor collective bargaining rights.
Let’s take a look briefly at what they tried – and failed – to accomplish. One measure would have killed collective bargaining entirely. Another, aimed at undermining the bargaining power of working families, would have required employees to re-sign up annually to have their union dues deducted from their paychecks. And despite being tossed out by courts last year for being unconstitutional, lawmakers introduced another bill that attempted to silence the voices of union members in the political process.
Teachers, firefighters, police officers and the public service workers of AFSCME joined forces to kill these bills. They succeeded – none of the measures passed.
Another ALEC-inspired bill championed by Gov. Jan Brewer did pass despite the efforts of AFSCME and our partners. It wiped out civil service protections for state employees, making it easier for politicians to fire public service workers who don’t toe the line for them and their cronies. Some employees are already being re-classified and told to re-apply for their own jobs.
On a more positive note, Governor Brewer recently signed a bill a bill that returns money taken from AFSCME members’ paychecks for pensions. But her action came only after AFSCME stood up against these unconstitutional cuts in court - and won. But challenges remain.
The right-wing super-majority also tried to ensure its power would not be watered down by attempting to remove the chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. This unjustified power grab was overturned by the state Supreme Court.
The super-rich and corporations can also thank Arizona lawmakers for giving them additional tax cuts in a package that was passed in the final hours of the session. The tax cuts include slashing the income tax rate on capital gains, among others. They will cost Arizona taxpayers $107.8 million a year by 2019.
“One thing is clear. In order to stop these politicians who have failed their constituents, our members and co-workers must register to vote and then go to the polls,” says Sheri Van Horsen, president of AFSCME Local 3111. “It is up to us to take our state back to the land of sanity for our families and our future.”
Twitter Regulates JP Morgan
by Kate Childs Graham | May 14, 2012
On Friday, a report was released showing that JP Morgan Chase may have lost more than $2 billion in bad trades. Calls for heavier regulation immediately followed the report’s release, from politicians, pundits and tweeters.
Within hours, JP Morgan was a trending topic on Twitter. Across the world, tweeters united to show that Wall Street will not go unchecked…at least in social media.
Here are some favorites:
Indeed, it is scary. However, if the company had an independent chair of the board who provided improved oversight and risk management, JP Morgan’s loss could have been avoided.
Until JP Morgan Chase gets meaningful controls over risk and real oversight of management, Twitter will have to keep up the regulation.
AFSCME Honors Law Enforcement Officers
by Jon Melegrito | May 11, 2012
It’s National Police Week — a time to celebrate the law enforcement officers who put themselves in danger when duty calls, to protect our streets. And it’s a fitting time for lawmakers to commit themselves to adequately fund the grant programs that are critical to law enforcement.
Those programs include the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) and the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants that assist state and local law enforcement agencies in carrying out and updating their justice programs. AFSCME is urging its members and community allies to use the toll-free Public Safety hotline to contact their U.S representatives and senators. Simply dial 877-267-2485 and follow the instructions to be directly connected to the office of your member of Congress.
Such programs are vital to preventing the violence that claims the lives of too many officers each year. On average, one law enforcement officer dies in the line of duty in the United States every 53 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1971, more than 19,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.
On Sunday, the 24th Annual Candlelight Vigil takes place at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. The ceremony recognizes the hundreds of heroes killed in the line of duty and their names are added to the walls of the memorial. The National AFSCME Law Enforcement Board will be attending the ceremony.
“As we gather this week in our nation’s capital to pay honor and respect to our fallen brothers and sisters who have given the ultimate sacrifice, let us never forget that our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line each and every day to protect our nation and keep it strong,” said James Lyman, executive director of the New York State Law Enforcement Officers Union (Council 82). “God bless them and keep them safe.”
Among those risking their lives is William Beeler of the Manchester, Conn., police department (Local 1495, Council 15). Beeler suffered serious injuries last year while responding to a domestic violence call. Like the 125,000 public safety officers – including 30,000 police officers – represented by AFSCME, Beeler was not afraid to act in spite of the potential threat to his own life.
It is also a fitting time to welcome the law enforcement members now bolstering our ranks. Last month, AFSCME grew by 325 police officers in Greater Salt Lake City, Utah, after they voted to unionize. They are now represented by The Unified Police Federation/AFSCME Local 45, which has set the standard for quality representation for police officers in Utah.
Congress established National Police Week in 1962.
Romney’s (Lack of) Vision
by Kate Childs Graham | May 11, 2012
In Mitt Romney’s new stump speech, he claims that he has a “very different vision for America.” And if “different” means “backwards,” indeed he does.
In his new “crusade against unfairness,” Romney is trying to co-opt the growing chorus of middle class voices rallying against corporate excess for his own political purposes. What America really needs is for Romney to stop the unfairness of playing fast and loose with the facts at the podium.
Romney’s manufactured image of public service workers is just plain wrong. In many places, because of their union contract, public service workers make a fair wage and receive fair benefits. In other places, there is still much work to be done. Whatever the case, we need to pull together to promote economic opportunity. We don’t need to pull everyone down as part of Romney’s never-ending race to the bottom.
We know why Romney thinks it’s unfair for working folks to have the right to participate in the political arena. People-powered organizations don’t support him. And that’s because AFSCME members and others know that a public sector run by Romney and his minions wouldn’t work for public service workers or for the families we serve. We know how important it is to support elected officials who support high quality public services.
Romney’s telling the truth about one thing. There is a lot of unfairness in this country and we need to stop it. His new stump speech makes it clear: Under Romney's economic plan, working families will never get the fair shake we deserve. Under President Obama’s plan, on the other hand, we will.
During Corrections Officers Week, A CO Speaks Out About Privatization
by Jon Melegrito | May 11, 2012
Paul Wilson is a member of the ACU National Steering Committee, which held its Spring meeting in Washington, DC, during Corrections Officers Week. (Photo by Jon Melegrito)
The battle to preserve quality public services is not over in Louisiana.
Corrections officer Paul Wilson knows the big business interests, who want to privatize his and other prisons, will be back. But as long as he’s president of Local 3803, he’s not about to let prison operators like GEO or Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) have big fun on the bayou. As in, big profits from running state corrections facilities.
A corrections officer for 19 years at the Avoyelles Correctional Center (AVC) in Cottonport, Wilson says “we have been able so far to beat back private prison operators from gaining a foothold in the state. And we are determined to keep it that way.”
Last year, Gov. Bobby Jindal tried but failed to sell some of the prisons. Legislators didn’t like the idea of balancing a budget with one-time revenues from a prison sale. Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy compared the strategy to “a junkie selling the television set and radio to generate money for his next fix.”
Eager to please his corporate backers, Jindal tried again this year. Again – thanks to Democrats and Republicans who opposed the move, Jindal bowed to public pressure and backed off from the sale.
“But we know these profit-hungry corporations and their allies in Baton Rouge [the state capital] will keep pumping campaign money to politicians to get their way,” Wilson says. “We won’t let them. There’s too much at stake to hand over the prison to private control.”
Wilson’s immediate concern is the financial impact to his 300 coworkers at AVC. “Privateers claim they will save money for the state,” Wilson says. “But I’ve read studies that show most of the savings are achieved by dramatically reducing salaries and benefits for employees. Many of our members won’t be able to feed their families. I know our members are worried about bankruptcies and house foreclosures, not to mention losing their jobs.”
“Expect high turnovers because of poor pay and benefits,” he adds, “and the hiring of inexperienced officers who will settle for lower wages. That’s a recipe for danger. When you have overcrowding and staff shortages inside prison walls, that fosters disturbances, break outs and even hostage situations. When that happens, you endanger the staff, inmates and the general public.”
AFSCME Members Fired Up to Recall Wisconsin Governor Walker
by Clyde Weiss | May 11, 2012
Wisconsin voters have chosen Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett as their candidate to recall Gov. Scott Walker on June 5 for his attack last year on workers’ rights, and AFSCME members are unifying behind him in this historic recall election.
Whether you’re a Wisconsinite or not, the stakes are too high to sit this election out. Scott Walker is the poster boy for the anti-union attacks we have faced from coast to coast and has already raised millions of dollars from some of the most anti-union people in the country, including billionaire right-wing extremist David Koch.
While AFSCME endorsed former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk in the primary, we’re rallying around Tom Barrett now.
“AFSCME members have been proud to support our friend Kathleen Falk,” said AFSCME Council 24 Exec. Dir. Marty Beil. “But the ultimate goal has always been to defeat Scott Walker. The grassroots campaign we’ve built to counter Walker’s millions from out-of-state billionaires will be working hard to help Tom Barrett.”
Added Rick Badger, executive director of AFSCME Council 40: “We are unified in our support for Tom Barrett and will do everything we can to make sure he defeats Scott Walker on June 5.”
“Wisconsinites have a choice on June 5,” said AFSCME Council 48 Exec. Dir. Rich Abelson. “Tom Barrett will pull Wisconsin together again and heal the wounds that Scott Walker has inflicted. Scott Walker will continue to tear our state apart with his bullying, ‘my way or the highway’ political tactics. The choice is clear.”
Public Job Losses Hit Women, African-Americans Hardest
by Clyde Weiss | May 10, 2012
While 3 million jobs were added to the private sector since the Great Recession officially began in June 2009, the picture is grim for public sector employees. Federal, state and local governments shed 584,000 jobs during that period and in a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, we learn that public-sector job losses have been particularly damaging for women and African Americans.
“Women and African Americans constitute a disproportionately large share of the state and local public-sector workforce” because those employers “have provided more equitable opportunities for women and people of color,” the EPI report states. As a result, they suffer disproportionately higher job losses in the public sector.
“Between 2007 (before the recession) and 2011, state and local governments shed about 765,000 jobs. Most of them are women and African Americans. EPI says “approximately 540,000 fewer women are employed in state and local government jobs than in 2007.” Among African Americans, a whopping 7.6 percent (177,000 people) lost their jobs. EPI’s report calls that “the largest percentage change for all racial groups.”
The shame is that this didn’t need to happen. Instead of cutting services, state and local governments should have increased revenue. Unfortunately, right-wing legislators are demonizing public service employees so they can justify cutting their jobs, wages, retirement security and other benefits in order to avoid having to pay their fair share of taxes.
Romney: “Governor Kasich Is Doing a Heckuva Job”
by Kate Childs Graham | May 10, 2012
Certainly, there are governors across the country who do a good job. There are governors who stand with working families, and don’t turn their backs on us. Gov. John Kasich of Ohio isn’t one of them.
If it weren’t for AFSCME members pulling together last November, Kasich’s beloved Senate Bill 5 would have destroyed working families in Ohio by wiping out collective bargaining. That bill went down in a 61 to 39 percent people’s veto. As a result of his actions, his approval ratings plummeted. Only 38 percent of Ohioans approve of the job he's doing, making Kasich one of the most unpopular governors in America.
Yet, presumed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, himself once governor of Massachusetts, took to the podium and lauded Kasich for doing a “heckuva job.” It’s the most recent in a series of blunders that prove that Romney is out of touch. Corporations aren’t people, and Kasich isn’t doing a “heckuva job.”
Marriage Equality Matters for Workers
by Kate Childs Graham | May 09, 2012
Across the country, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) public workers don’t get a fair shake. In 30 states, they could be fired based solely on their sexual orientation or gender identity. They experience harassment and discrimination on the job. They earn less than their straight co-workers, and they don’t have equal access to benefits like health care.
In his endorsement today of same-sex marriage, it is clear that Pres. Barack Obama wants to level the playing field for LGBT working families. This afternoon, in an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, he said:
"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”
AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee and Sec.-Treas. Lee Saunders released a statement applauding President Obama’s message. They said:
“President Obama’s announcement today recognizes a fundamental American right – that every citizen is entitled to respect and dignity, and the equal protection of our laws. For too long, lesbian and gay Americans have been denied the right to marry the person they love, raise a family and live as equal citizens in our country.”
Yesterday, North Carolina became the latest in a list of states that have passed constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. In places where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender couples are denied the right to marry, working families lack access to pension benefits, Social Security survivor benefits, family health and bereavement leave and immigration of spouses and family.
Because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a measure which President Obama opposes, even in states that allow same-sex marriage or where workers have won domestic partner benefits through union contracts, LGBT families are denied access to more than 1,000 federal protections and benefits.
AFSCME is on the frontlines of the fight for equality in the workplace and in every place. We are making sure LGBT public workers get a fair shot. Join us in the fight.
