Daily Newswire
National/Politics
Mitt Romney and the 1%
Gerald McEntee, President of the 1.6 Million-Member AFSCME Union 01/27/2012 2:37 pm. Cross-posted at Firedog Lake
Mitt Romney has released some information on his income taxes over the past two years. Turns out he's paid less than 14 percent on more than $40 million in income. He makes more in one day than most American makes all year, yet he pays a tax rate that is far less than what the vast majority of Americans pay. ….. . These are the candidates of the 1%, for the 1% and by the 1%. If they have their way, Mitt Romney and the wealthiest people in America won't have to release their tax returns. They won't even have to file.
Meister: So, what about the state of the unions, Mr. President?
01.27.12 - 1:30 pm | By Dick Meister, San Francisco Bay Guardian
Unions? Organized labor? The AFL-CIO? Those words were nowhere to be heard in President Obama's State of the Union address, despite labor's vital role in the economy and strong support for Obama. The continued support of the labor movement is essential if the president is to carry out the bold plans he outlined and if he is to be re-elected. …. President Gerald McEntee of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees described the president's speech as "a comprehensive plan to move our country forward, bolster job creation and find real solutions for the problems confronting our country." McEntee noted that "in today's political environment, it takes guts to stand strong with working families – even when we make our voices heard, loud and clear, because the toxic influence of money in politics – which the president spoke out against – is powerful."
Pensions Aren’t the Problem for State Budgets
This is a crosspost by AFSCME Secretary Treasurer Lee Saunders from Huffington Post., AFL-CIO blog, January 27, 2012
Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal, the Pravda of the 1 percent, is at it again, continuing its push to gut the retirement security of millions of middle class workers across the country while enriching the Wall Street moneymen who just three years ago took our economy over the cliff.
Democrats playing a dangerous game
Sen. Hatch takes up pension reform—and his right flank
By Bernie Becker, The Hill, - 01/29/12 08:41 PM ET
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has taken another step to ensure he does not follow in the footsteps of his former colleague, ex-Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah). Hatch recently signaled he plans a major push on public pension reforms, an issue that is a specialty of one of the Republicans challenging him. It’s the latest step Hatch has taken to solidify his right flank. … Liljenquist led the charge to revamp Utah’s pension system, and told The Hill in an interview that Hatch’s interest in the issue “came out of the blue to us.” …. Ferrier, the Hatch spokeswoman, said the federal government needed to get involved in pension reform to ensure that taxpayers in states like Utah, which have put pension reforms into place, aren’t stuck assisting pension programs elsewhere.
GOP seeks to loosen labor’s grip / Legislation would require workers to reaffirm unions with votes every 3 years
By Tim Devaney-The Washington Times Sunday, January 29, 2012
In an effort to loosen labor's grip on workers, two GOP lawmakers want legislation that would require workers to re-affirm the existence of their unions with new votes every three years. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Rep. Tim Scott of South Carolina are pushing the Employee Rights Act that also would place limits on strikes, how fast a union can organize and how membership fees may be used to support political candidates. The bill has yet to receive a committee hearing in either chamber. …. Unions also would be required to receive written consent from each member before donating portions of their membership fees to political candidates. This would be determined individually, member by member, so some members could agree to support a certain candidate, and others could decide against it. Their money would be split up. …. The AFL-CIO and SEIU did not respond to requests for comment.
Republicans May Block Nominees After Obama Recess Appointments
January 29, 2012, 8:49 AM EST By Laura Litvan (Bloomberg)
Senate Republicans are weighing a plan to block most of President Barack Obama’s federal appeals court nominations starting in June or earlier in response to the recess appointments he made this month. The idea was discussed at a private retreat of Senate Republicans on Jan. 25 at Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington. The option of stopping all consideration of executive and judicial nominees didn’t get as much support as a more modest reaction to Obama’s recess appointments, which included the installation of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, senators said.
Government Cuts Kept U.S. Union Rate at Record Low in 2011
Holly Rosenkrantz and William McQuillen -Bloomberg Jan 27, 2012 1:05 PM ET
The rate of union membership in the U.S. fell to a record low in 2011 for a second-straight year, as a loss of government jobs partially offset a rise in private- sector employees, the Labor Department said. Labor unions represented 6.9 percent of employees in private companies, unchanged from 2010 and down from 7.2 percent in 2009, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate in the public sector was 37 percent. …. Workers in education, training and library occupations had the highest unionization rate, the Labor Department said. Among states, New York again had the highest union membership rate at 24 percent, while North Carolina had the lowest, at 2.9 percent.
Indiana joins GOP union-bashing with right-to-work law / Republicans' promotion of 'right-to-work' laws, designed to undermine basic union functions, is pure ideological vendetta
Michael Paarlberg, guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 January 2012 10.19
….. If right-to-work boosters were honest about what the laws were designed to do – which is simply to punish unions – they would still find supporters. There are, after all, plenty of politicians who hate unions for purely ideological reasons. But they are never sold that way, and Indiana is no exception. Instead, a right-to-work law will show that Indiana is "open for business", says Indiana House speaker Brian Bosma, and make the state a "magnet for job creation", promises GOP activist Grover Norquist. Actual evidence in this regard is highly doubtful. ….. It's not that unions have moved much to the left. Rather, it's Republicans who have tacked so sharply to the right, precisely on those mundane workplace issues on which there was once a consensus: the right to organize, the right to bargain, the idea that free riders should pay their fair share. It can be seen in the assaults on union rights in neighboring Ohio and Wisconsin, and the GOP's quixotic (and self-defeating) crusade against the National Labor Relations Board – not even a union, but a nonpartisan mediating agency.
What a Drag
Jared Bernstein, On The Economy blog, Jan 27, 2012
Here’s one reason we’re stuck in slow growth mode: the budget crunch among state and local governments. The figure shows the yearly percentage point contribution to or subtraction from real GDP growth from the state and local sectors since the late 1980s. The trend bounces around but the recent cliff dive is evident. It’s also why we keep losing jobs in these sectors month after month. Unlike the feds, states have to balance their budgets every year, which means they either raise taxes or cut services. They haven’t done much on the tax side, so they’ve been laying off teachers, cops, maintenance workers; practically every month over the past few years we’ve been adding private sector jobs and shedding public sector jobs.
The Austerity Debacle
By PAUL KRUGMAN, New York Times, January 29, 2012
…. Which is not to say that all is well with U.S. policy. True, the federal government has avoided all-out austerity. But state and local governments, which must run more or less balanced budgets, have slashed spending and employment as federal aid runs out — and this has been a major drag on the overall economy. Without those spending cuts, we might already have been on the road to self-sustaining growth; as it is, recovery still hangs in the balance. … Half a century ago, any economist — or for that matter any undergraduate who had read Paul Samuelson’s textbook “Economics” — could have told you that austerity in the face of depression was a very bad idea. But policy makers, pundits and, I’m sorry to say, many economists decided, largely for political reasons, to forget what they used to know. And millions of workers are paying the price for their willful amnesia.
In retiree-heavy Florida, health reform not a popular topic
Fri, Jan 27 2012 By Andy Sullivan (Reuters)
There's one small-government idea that Republican presidential candidates are reluctant to discuss in this retiree-heavy state: their plans to rein in health care costs for the elderly. Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, front-runners for the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama on November 6, both support reforms to the Medicare government health insurance program for the elderly that could help set federal spending on a sustainable course.
Retiring later a tough sell in cutting deficit
By Patrice Hill-The Washington Times Sunday, January 29, 2012
….Even so, the Congressional Budget Office recently found that gradually raising the retirement age by just three years for seniors to collect Social Security and Medicare benefits would go a long way toward curing the looming shortfalls in those programs, while giving a major shot in the arm to the economy so it can create more jobs and better support the retiring population.
Retirees may find their benefits targeted for cuts
Associated Press, JANUARY 27, 2012, 4:59 P.M. ET
It's a case of broken promises. A growing number of companies are reneging on health insurance and other retirement benefits, leaving retirees scrambling and sometimes uninsured. In some cases the companies have few options. They cut benefits programs because they're in bankruptcy and must reduce costs to survive. In other cases, however, retirees have to fend for themselves even as corporate profits soar. … The most recent case in point is Eastman Kodak Co. The iconic company filed for bankruptcy protection last week. Now its employees and retirees can only stand by and watch as the company works its way through bankruptcy protection and hope that their benefits aren't severely cut.
Consumer Spending in U.S. Stalls as Americans Save
Alex Kowalski - Jan 30, 2012 8:49 AM ET Bloomberg
Consumer spending stalled in December as Americans used a jump in incomes to restore depleted savings, indicating the biggest part of the economy will not be a driver of the expansion. …. Incomes increased by the most in almost a year, pushing the savings rate to a four-month high. …. Incomes climbed 0.5 percent last month, the most since March after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month.
Starbucks founder's hot pay package: $65M
MSN Money partner on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 5:11 PM By Michael Brush
You might have heard that your Starbucks coffee is getting more expensive because of the rising price of beans. But there may be another reason: The big pay that the coffee giant scoops out to CEO and founder Howard Schultz. All told, Schultz got $65 million last year. At, say, $3.25 for a tall latte, that’s 20 million cups of joe. But the total is only one of several reasons the Starbucks (SBUX 0.00%) chief is my latest One-Percenter of the Week. ….. Even assuming he works an 80-hour week and took only two weeks off, Schultz made $4,100 an hour, compared to a typical barista wage of probably around $12 an hour. "I wonder how Starbucks’ baristas feel" about Schultz's pay, asks Lisa Lindsley, who monitors CEO pay closely as director of capital strategies at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
State/Local
AK: Worker-favored pension plan makes progress
January 29, 2012 - 12:09am By Pat Forgey, JUNEAU EMPIRE
Alaska’s public employees could be getting nearer to having the option for a traditional pension plan, instead of the 401(k)-style plan new employees were controversially forced into starting in 2006. Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, says his bill to allow employees to chose either a traditional defined-benefit retirement or the current defined-contribution plan is close to getting an agreement between state and outside actuaries that it would be cost neutral. …. Alaska became the first state to switch entirely to a defined contribution plan for new hires in 2006, and unions and employee advocates have been trying to switch back ever since.
AZ: TABOR law in a different form? Critics cry foul over proposed rule
by Fields Moseley, azfamily.com, January 27, 2012 at 6:24 AM
…. Olson believes in small government and to achieve that end, he came up with House Rule 38. It caps the amount the legislature spends to the "preceding fiscal year" with any increase or decrease based on population and inflation. … According to Olson, the rule, if it passes, simply gives them a baseline; it doesn't handcuff the legislature. Critics say this is a backdoor to "tax payer bill of rights" legislation that failed just last year.
CA: Community Delegation Demands First Contract for Beverly Nurses
LA Union, Jan 27, 2012
The first delegation arrived this week to Beverly Hospital in Montebello. Beverly Hospital is stalling in negotiations. It has almost been a year since Beverly nurses voted to join AFSCME United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.
Connecticut Downgrade Sparks a Fiscal Health Debate
Monday, January 30, 2012 By Paul Burton, Bond Buyer
…. Anyone who needed a wakeup call got one 10 days ago when Moody’s Investors Service threw a high, hard one at Connecticut, lowering the state’s general obligation bond rating to Aa3 from Aa2, citing budgetary and pension shortfalls, and depleted reserves. ….. “What the rating agencies are doing is responsible. They’re telling the states to clean up your act,” said Jonathan Henes, a restructuring partner with law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP in New York. …. Standard & Poor’s, in a report last week about state and local governments, called pension underfunding a less formal method of deficit financing. But in the same report, it cited the “fundamental credit strength” of state and local governments.
CT: Nonpartisan analysts: Malloy was way off in projected savings from pension givebacks
January 27, 2012, By Keith M. Phaneuf, CT Mirror
Pension concessions granted by unionized state employees last year will provide just over one-third of the $4.8 billion savings projected by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration, nonpartisan legislative fiscal analysts reported Friday.…. When Malloy and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition first announced a tentative concessions deal on May 13, the administration estimated it would save $21.5 billion over the next two decades, including $4.8 billion from pension changes.
Florida Could Allow Random Testing of Public Workers
James Buechele, Associated Press, 11:47 PM Jan 27, 2012
…. The bills would allow the government to randomly drug test employees every three months. Doug Martin of AFSCME says even if a bill is passed, legally, the law can't be enforced. "We don't think that the law will be able to be enacted unless the federal courts change their mind over the fourth amendment right to be free from search and seizure," said Martin.
IL: Public libraries close Mondays due to budget constraints
By John Dickow, DePaulia, Monday, January 30, 2012
Chicago Public Libraries will re-open Monday afternoons starting Feb. 6, Mayor Emanuel announced last week. The city is re-allocating $2 million in resources to keep branch locations open six days a week. …. "The mayor is taking a half-step in the right direction," said Anders Lindall, spokesperson for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, which represents the library employees. "But our union and all the people in the city want him to come all the way and fully restore library hours and employment."
IL: Many City Council salaries rise in tough economy
By Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, January 30, 2012
…. Even the lowest pay of an alderman — $104,000 — is nothing to scoff at, a point made recently by the leadership at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 31. The union noted the council's six-figure salaries after Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, and Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, suggested library employees put on hold 3.5 percent pay hikes this year to minimize layoffs at the Chicago Public Library. The library jobs were among 5,800 slashed from city payrolls since 2008.
IL: Knox County, unions at odds over workers' benefits
STEPHEN DI BENEDETTO, GateHouse News Service, Jan 28, 2012 @ 09:30 PM
County union officials on Thursday countered the Knox County Board chairman's recent criticism that labor negotiations have stalled because of a new drug-testing policy, arguing that the chairman is trying to distract the public from the county's attack on workers' benefits. In doing so, Randy Lynch, representative for AFSCME Council 31, and Darren Smith, who represents the Operating Engineers Union, urged Knox County Board Chairman Greg "Chops" Bacon and other members to negotiate in-person to help the two sides smooth concerns over concessions on workers' benefits, such as vacation time, sick days and medical benefits.
Indiana right-to-work law to get final push this week
8:30am EST By Susan Guyett (Reuters)
Republicans lawmakers were expected to give a final push this week to legislation that would make Indiana the first right-to-work state in the nation's manufacturing belt, dealing a setback to organized labor in a presidential election year. ….A committee of the state Senate was due to consider the measure on Monday and the full Senate was expected to give it final approval on Wednesday, sending it on to Daniels for his signature.
IN: Union members, Occupiers protest in Super Bowl Village
AP, January 29, 2012
A mix of union members and Occupy protesters from across Indiana marched through Super Bowl Village on Saturday in opposition to the state's proposed right-to-work legislation. About 75 marchers weaved through packed crowds at the pre-game street fair in downtown Indianapolis in the first of what could be several such protests before the big game Feb. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
MA: Library Employees Looking Toward Unionization
By Christopher Tanguay, Patch, January 28, 2012
The following Letter comes from the office of Town Manager Christopher Whelan. As many of you are aware, the Town of Concord has been notified by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, Council 93 (AFSCME) that a "strong majority" of Library employees have signed a card expressing interest in being represented by AFSCME. A number of Town boards, committees, citizen groups and individuals have inquired about the situation. As an employer, the Town is prohibited from interfering or "taking sides” in a labor organizing initiative, so this letter is simply intended to provide you with the Town's perspective by providing answers to the following questions.
MA: Harvard University Union Members Protest Proposed HU Library Layoffs
by Jason Pramas (Staff), Jan-27-12 Open Boston Media
Over 20 Harvard employees and supporters held a demonstration outside Harvard University's 90 Mt. Auburn St. facility on Wednesday against proposed "voluntary and involuntary staff reductions" at the Harvard University Library- while a meeting on restructuring the labor force at the library was being led by HU Library Executive Director Helen Shenton inside. The protestors - including a number of Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers members - said that the fact of a significant uptick in Harvard's endowment last year should obviate the need for any further staff layoffs or cuts in staff hours.
MI: Detroit, unions approaching concessions deadline
5:49 AM, January 29, 2012 | Associated Press
City officials continue to negotiate with Detroit's 21 unions and 48 bargaining units with time running out on Mayor Dave Bing's deadline for deals to be reached on health, pension and other concessions. The number of bargaining units has made the process cumbersome, especially with all sides operating beneath the imposing specter of a state-appointed emergency manager who would take over the city's finances and have the authority to redo union contracts. …. The 100 or so members of the Detroit SEIU are being represented in the current talks by Teamsters and AFSCME bargainers.
MI: State will stick with Benton Harbor EM despite audit findings
Sun, Jan 29, 2012 By T. Kelly, The Michigan Citizen
State-appointed Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris can breathe easy, he will not lose his job despite audit findings of irregularities. A recent audit report found that Harris is not following standard accounting procedures and is functioning without a system of checks and balances. While he has reduced Benton Harbor debt with the sale of assets, the city continues to operate with a $650,000 deficit after two years of EM rule.
Minn. Labor Unions, GOP Fight Over ‘Right To Work’
January 27, 2012 6:46 PM (WCCO) —
Minnesota Republicans are preparing to debate a constitutional amendment making union membership voluntary. However, state labor leaders say it’s a “union killer.” At the headquarters of Minnesota’s largest public employees union, the fight is already underway. …. “What we need are good paying jobs,” said Eliot Seide, the leader of Minnesota’s American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). “In ‘right to work for less’ states, workers make on average $5,500 less than in the state of Minnesota.”
MN: City council approves contract with unions
By: Kim Ukura, Morris Sun Tribune, January 28, 2012, 05:00 AM
….. The new contracts with both the General Unit and the Public Works Unit of the city's American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) unions include wage increases for each of the three years of the contract and a change in the city's health insurance contribution.
MN: Unions mobilize to stop amendment banning same-sex marriage
By Paul Warren, Workday Minnesota, 28 January 2012
…. Eliot Seide, director of AFSCME Council 5, after providing intense and sometimes emotional testimony describing his own experience with discrimination as a Jewish American, roused members from their seats in exuberant applause as he roared, “Now why do the same people who try to take away our rights, try to eliminate our jobs, take away our right to bargain, discriminate against us for being public workers; why are they on that bill? Because, they want to divide, destroy, and distract everybody in this room. Either, we hang together, or we will certainly hang separately!”
NH: Public workers' unions are targets in unprecedented number of bills before the NH Legislature
GARRETT BRNGER Associated Pres: January 29, 2012 - 11:14 am
Faced with a Republican majority in both houses of the Legislature, New Hampshire public employee unions are seeing an unprecedented number of anti-union bills. The onslaught began last session with the contentious so-called right-to-work bill, which died when the House sustained Gov. John Lynch's veto. The bill has returned this session, along with other bills designed to reduce the bargaining power of public unions. A series of bills in front of a House labor committee last week drew the ire of union members who filled Representatives Hall in opposition. The proposals included prohibiting mandatory negotiating fees for employees who aren't in unions, prohibiting the taking of dues from public employees' paychecks and banning former public employees or union members from the state's negotiating team.
NH: ALEC's Latest Actions
Ben Adler, The Nation, January 29, 2012 - 10:45pm ET
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization that has been leading recent coordinated attempts to move state laws rightward, has some busy minions in the New Hampshire state legislature. In the past week they introduced seven pieces of ALEC’s model legislation.
NJ: Jackson, unions reach settlement regarding furlough dispute
Andrew Martins, Tri Town News, Jan 26, 2012
A potential unfair labor practice ruling that threatened to put the Jackson municipal budget in jeopardy has been avoided through a settlement with two local unions, officials announced during the Jan. 24 Township Council meeting, bringing to an end the dispute over the 2010-11 furlough days for those groups. …. Members of the local chapters of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Transport Workers Union (TWU) affected by the forced unpaid furlough dates agreed to an offer from the township that would give those days back as time off.
NY: Cuomo Seeks Civil Service Law Changes
By JACOB GERSHMAN, Wall Street Journal, JANUARY 30, 2012
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is quietly seeking more leeway to hire and transfer state employees outside of a competitive process, a move unions say would weaken civil service rules designed to prevent patronage. …. But the proposals are being criticized by union officials, who say it would weaken a merit system first crafted into law by a state assemblyman named Theodore Roosevelt as a guard against Tammany Hall cronyism. "The civil service changes would further erode the use of merit and fitness in filling public employment positions while opening the door to patronage abuse, which was the very reason civil service procedures were established in the first place," said Stephen Madarasz, a spokesman for Civil Service Employees Association, the state's largest union of public workers.
NY: Unions, Comptroller caution against new pension system
Patrick Gallagher | Jan 27, 2012 |Westfair
…. Civil Service Employees Association President Danny Donohue voiced concern that Cuomo is out of touch with the state’s blue-collar workforce. The CSEA represents roughly a third of the 186,000 workers employed by the state.
NY: Six Niagara unions join forces over insurance
By Thomas J. Prohaska, Buffalo NEWS January 29, 2012, 7:04 AM
The six unions that represent Niagara County employees want to bargain together over county health insurance benefits, a move County Manager Jeffrey M. Glatz rejects.…. “To get prices for different things is wrong?” asked Thomas J. Lafornia, president of the county’s unit of the Civil Service Employees Association. But he denied the unions have done that. “We haven’t gone that far,” he said. “The county is looking to change the health care plan in general,” said William Rutland, president of the county unit of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
NY: Labor ills, budget gap slam Westchester Medical Center
12:53 AM, Jan. 29, 2012 | THERESA JUVA-BROWN, LoHud.com
With strained labor relations in the wake of 400 job cuts and leaders still grappling with a $26 million budget gap, there seems to be no panacea for the woes at Westchester Medical Center. ….. Peter Piazza, president of the Civil Service Employees Association at the medical center, described the situation as “somber and dire.” He said that although officials claim a major loss in revenue, they haven’t complied with state law and been transparent with their records, a charge the medical center disputes.
OH: Prison guard who made political Facebook comments lost his job.
By Laura A. Bischoff, Dayton Daily News, 10:24 PM Friday, January 27, 2012
The firing of a Lebanon Correctional Institution prison guard who once was commended for saving the life of a suicidal inmate has ignited debate over free speech in the workplace and whether it extends to threatening comments on an employee’s Facebook page. for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union that represents Hubbard, noted the governor publicly threatened to run people over with a bus if they got in the way of his agenda. “That’s part of the problem with these folks — all these double standards,” Shafer said.
OH: Questions surround Head Start / TPS looks into taking over
BY KATE GIAMMARISE, BLADE 1/29/2012
…. What might happen to current Head Start workers if TPS takes over the program is unclear. Superintendent Pecko has said he is uncertain what would happen with the current work force, but he has said the district would hope to use all certified early-childhood-education-licensed teachers. EOPA employs 300 Head Start workers -- teachers, assistants, custodians, bus drivers, family service workers, and medical staff -- who are represented by the Ohio Association of Public School Employees. The union has said it will work with the EOPA board to help the agency keep Head Start funding.
OH: Signs of the times: Anti-Kasich signs sprout along, removed from Ohio turnpike
John Michael Spinelli, Columbus Government Examiner, JANUARY 30, 2012
Signs along roadways generally offer drivers information that can be useful, while other signs only add to the commercial advertising that routinely clutter the view. The dozens of guerilla marketing signs that have sprouted along portions of the Ohio turnpike, and been removed as quickly as they have been spotted, reflect the love-hate relationship some Buckeyes are having with their first term governor. But who's responsible for the distribution of dozens of signs along the Ohio turnpike saying Ohio's first-term Republican Gov. John Kasich has sold out middle class workers and wants more foreign investment is unknown.
SD: Adelstein backpedals on collective bargaining bill
Ryan Lengerich Journal staff | Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sen. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, has reversed course on a bill he supported to prohibit collective bargaining for public employees. The senator said Saturday he will no longer sponsor the bill, HB1261, and will actively oppose it. He had the change of heart after returning to Rapid City this weekend. "I realize that it was a bill that was worded awkwardly and it would not work in the best interest of all," said Adelstein, on Saturday night. "I realized that the bill would just not operate well for our town and for the state. I made a mistake." …. Matt Miller, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 59 union executive director, said until the bill is officially killed his organization is ready to defend collective bargaining. He was surprised to hear about Adelstein's change of heart. "We think anyone who studies the issue in depth understands collective bargaining is a fundamental part of American life," Miller said. "We hope other legislatures look at it in as much depth as Mr. Adelstein does."
WA: CRC tolls on the table in Olympia
Columbian, January 28, 2012
…. Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, is promoting his three bills to cut state spending. Senate Bill 6378 would exclude future state employees from pension plans that guarantee a certain amount upon retirement. Instead, they would be enrolled in a plan that splits retirement contributions between the state and the employee and yields whatever investing that money produces. The legislation has four additional sponsors, including Democrat Rodney Tom of Bellevue.
WI: Thompson the governor touted collegial work with unions
Daniel Bice, Journal Sentinel, Jan. 29, 2012 |
….. Marty Beil, head of the Wisconsin state employees' chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said he asked Thompson to insert a plug for public employee collective bargaining in the speech. The rest of Thompson's talk focused on welfare reform and school choice programs. "We asked him, in his speech to the Puerto Rican Legislature, if he would mention that we had great experience in collective bargaining here in Wisconsin," Beil said Friday. "He said, 'Give us some ideas.' So we did. We sent him some ideas, which ended up in the speech then." So AFSCME officials helped write that portion of Thompson's talk? "Correct," said Beil, who was present for the 1997 speech in San Juan. "He did it at our request." Imagine what would happen if the Wisconsin State Employees Union offered to write a portion of one of the current Republican governor's speeches.
WI: Gov. Walker treads lightly before likely recall election
By Bob Secter, Chicago Tribune January 29, 2012
Staring down a million-signature petition drive to demand his recall, Republican Gov. Scott Walker says his high-profile beef with unions does not extend to those representing workers in the private sector, and he will not move to weaken their clout as Indiana is on the verge of doing. Walker's moves against government employee unions have fed political chaos in Wisconsin, and his disavowal of interest in so-called right-to-work legislation for nonpublic unions holds the potential to split organized labor and avoid creating more enemies ahead of a likely vote on his ouster later this year.
WI: Walker denies knowing of wrongdoing by former top aides
CLAY BARBOUR and MARY SPICUZZA | Wisconsin State Journal | ( Saturday, January 28, 2012 8:30 am
A day after investigators accused his former top aides of using a secret computer system to do political work on the taxpayers' dime, Gov. Scott Walker denied knowledge of illegal activity taking place during his time as Milwaukee County executive.
WI: County touts tentative pact with unions, geared to save $1.9M
STEVEN VERBURG | Wisconsin State Journal | Friday, January 27, 2012 10:00 am
…. "We're pleased to see that Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is using Governor Walker's tools to balance the budget and save taxpayers money," Lund said in an email. …. Leaders of five county union locals disagreed. "This is how good government works," said Arlyn Halverson, president of American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees Local 65, which represents county highway department staff and other blue collar workers. "We all sat around like a family sitting around the table and worked this out."
WI: Examiner says County Board didn't bargain in good faith, owes back pay to employees
By Lyn Jerde, Daily Register | Friday, January 27, 2012 10:52 pm
Columbia County engaged in unfair labor practices during negotiations on the 2009-2010 contract with union-represented employees and must pay some of the employees back pay on top of the back pay that the county paid in May, an examiner with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission has ordered. …. • Pay each employee represented by AFSCME Local 2698-A (professional employees) an amount equal to 1 percent of the back pay received by each employee as a result of the arbitrator's awards.
WI: Milwaukee County looks at changing pension program
Steve Schultze of the Journal Sentinel, Jan. 29, 2012
By phasing out Milwaukee County's expensive defined-benefit pension plan in favor of a new 401(k)-style program, the county could save as much as $1 billion over the next 50 years, according to a new study. The county's actuarial consultant projected savings of between $5 million and $36 million per year in taxpayer payments to the county pension fund, if the change applied to all employees switching to a system in which the county matches employee pension contributions made to personal accounts.
WI: New Lisbon Correctional Officer’s sharp eyes save a life
AFSCME Council 24, 01/25/2012
After working a long overnight shift at the New Lisbon Correctional Institution, Correctional OfficerTina Cottingham could be forgiven if she drove right past what looked like nothing more than a pile of trash in the road. But something about it didn’t look right to Cottingham. She decided to take a closer look. What shefound was a disoriented and shivering elderly woman, curled up on the road and desperately trying to cling to warmth in the darkness of a cold January morning. …. The lack of more significant recognition from her employer, the state Department of Corrections, troubles Marty Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24. Cottingham is a member of WSEU Local 134.
