Daily Newswire
National/Politics
Why Labor Has Learned to Love Immigration Reform
by Beth Reinhard, National Journal, January 31, 2013
When President Obama delivered a major speech trumpeting immigration reform from Las Vegas earlier this week, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sat in the front row, right in front of the podium. Such a show of support from Big Labor would have been unthinkable just a few years ago when President George W. Bush unsuccessfully pushed legislation to offer illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship. In fact, the AFL-CIO turned against the 2007 deal in part because leaders thought the temporary worker program pandered to corporate interests. … A survey of AFL-CIO members in December found 62 percent favor comprehensive immigration reform that includes a route to citizenship.
Union leaders endorse immigration reform framework, but devil is in the details
by: MARK GRUENBERG, People’s World, january 30 2013
. ….. AFSCME President Lee Saunders and Secretary-Treasurer Laura Reyes agreed. "Immigrant rights are worker rights," they said. Reyes was in Las Vegas. 'While many important policies and details remain to be debated, the framework release is an important first step in moving forward on fixing our broken immigration system." It also supports citizenship for undocumented workers.
On Immigration, Obama Assumes Upper Hand
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and MARK LANDLER, New York Times, January 30, 2013
As the specifics of immigration legislation take shape on Capitol Hill, President Obama is making it clear that he wants the overhaul on his terms. Officials in the West Wing are convinced that the politics of the immigration issue have firmly shifted in their direction. That belief is fueling the president’s push for quick action and broad changes that go beyond what Republicans are signaling would be acceptable if they are to back legislation that allows a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
Business, Labor Tackle Worker Visas
By LAURA MECKLER, Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2013, 7:16 p.m. ET
Senators writing an immigration bill are hoping that two longtime adversaries—big business and labor unions—will make the task easier. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union have been meeting for weeks to try to fashion rules for how low-skilled workers would be admitted into the U.S. in the future under the still-unwritten legislation. The goal is to devise a visa program, separate from one aimed at farm workers, to fill jobs at hotel, janitorial, meat-packing and other companies that use low-skilled employees. By all accounts, the Chamber and labor groups are working intensively toward a solution, but a host of tricky questions will make reaching an agreement tough.
Penny Pritzker, commerce secretary?
By Al Kamen, Washington Post: January 30
…. Meanwhile, buzz at the Labor Department has it that economist Ed Montgomery , dean of Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute, who served as the department’s chief economist, assistant secretary for policy and deputy secretary during the Clinton administration, is being looked at as a potential secretary of labor. In 2009, President Obama appointed Montgomery, who had worked on the 2008 Labor transition team, to the presidential task force on the auto industry, which dealt with the Chrysler and General Motors bailouts.
Some Unions Grow Wary of Health Law They Backed
By JANET ADAMY and MELANIE TROTTMAN, Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2013, 10:32 p.m. ET
…. Union leaders say many of the law's requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive. Among other things, the law eliminates the caps on medical benefits and prescription drugs used as cost-containment measures in many health-care plans. It also allows children to stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26. To offset that, the nation's largest labor groups want their lower-paid members to be able to get federal insurance subsidies while remaining on their plans. …. Top officers at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the AFL-CIO and other large labor groups plan to keep pressing the Obama administration to expand the federal subsidies to these jointly run plans, warning that unionized employers may otherwise drop coverage. A handful of unions say they already have examined whether it makes sense to shift workers off their current plans and onto private coverage subsidized by the government. But dropping insurance altogether would undermine a central point of joining a union, labor leaders say.
Federal Rule Limits Aid to Families Who Can’t Afford Employers’ Health Coverage
By ROBERT PEAR, New York Times, January 30, 2013
The Obama administration adopted a strict definition of affordable health insurance on Wednesday that will deny federal financial assistance to millions of Americans with modest incomes who cannot afford family coverage offered by employers. In deciding whether an employer’s health plan is affordable, the Internal Revenue Service said it would look at the cost of coverage only for an individual employee, not for a family. Family coverage might be prohibitively expensive, but federal subsidies would not be available to help buy insurance for children in the family.
Labor agency short of board members
By Joe Davidson, Washington Post: January 30
Once, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, a tiny government agency, was a forgotten backwater. Now it’s merely treading water. Although small, the FLRA is important to federal employees. It handles federal union representation disputes, unfair labor practice complaints and conflicts between agencies and labor organizations. But it is stymied. The three-member panel has only one. It lacks a quorum, so the authority cannot issue decisions.
US states scramble to pay for child welfare services-GAO
WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:40pm EST (Reuters)
U.S. states are patching together funds from a variety of sources to care for thousands of children who have been abused or neglected, but they are still struggling to meet demand for services, a federal watchdog agency said on Wednesday. "Child welfare agencies, like other state agencies, operate in an environment of ongoing fiscal constraint," the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a special report. "They must make difficult choices about how to allocate their limited resources."
Fat Cat Public Retirees? Think Again.
BY: LIZ FARMER | JANUARY 30, 2013, Governing.com
As states and localities grapple with reforming their pension plans in the face of escalating costs, experts say one of the biggest misconceptions about the system is that pensions are making retirees rich. … The truth is, a few well-compensated retirees have stolen the spotlight from the masses, panelists said. Meredith Williams, executive director of the National Council on Teacher Retirement, recounted a story in which a resident had heard that more than 2,000 people in his state were receiving pension benefits of $200,000 or more annually. Before taking that up with that resident’s legislator, Williams went back to check the numbers – the actual total was two people, not 2,000. “We have become subject to all these urban legends and fiction becomes fact when it becomes reported a few times,” he said, adding later that most retirees are not well-to-do.
Incomes jumped in December, spending slower
Martin Crutsiner, Associated Press, January 31, 2013
Consumers increased spending at a slower pace in December, while their incomes grew by the largest amount in eight years. Incomes surged because companies rushed to pay stock dividends before income taxes increased on high-earners. The Commerce Department says consumer spending rose 0.2% last month, down from a 0.4% increase in November.
States push political groups to reveal secret donors
Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY, 7:24p.m. EST January 30, 2013
A growing number of states are working to force secretly funded non-profit interest groups to reveal their donors, as these tax-exempt organizations play a bigger role in politics. The move comes as efforts to demand further disclosure of interest groups' activity in federal elections have failed to gain much traction in Congress and at the often-deadlocked Federal Election Commission. …. Tim Phillips, president of the conservative Americans for Prosperity, said the push by state regulators will have a chilling effect on fundraising and does little to address union spending, which largely benefits Democrats.
Gov. Phil Bredesen calls for 'artificial crisis' on the debt
Jan 29, 2013 | The Tennessean
Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and other proponents of reducing the national debt urged a crowd of 50 students and business people to pressure Congress to take action in a breakfast panel at Lipscomb University. The Tennessee Democrat said he and other members of the national Fix the Debt effort are trying to create an “artificial crisis” that would force Congress to bring the $16 trillion federal debt under control.
Government is hurting the economy — by spending too little
By Ezra Klein , Washington Post: January 30, 2013
…. That said, the government is hurting the recovery, and badly. But it’s not because it’s spending too much, or because of concerns over future policy. It’s because government, at all levels, is spending and investing too little. Despite the stimulus and various other policies we’ve passed to help the recovery, and despite the large deficits the government has been running, government spending and investment have, at all levels, been contractionary since 2010. ….. A big reason for this is cutbacks on the state and local level, which have been much larger than cutbacks at the federal level. In 2010, for instance, federal spending took 0.23 percentage points off GDP, while state and local spending took 0.43 percentage points off.
Accused Of Falsifying Staff Logs And 'Profiteering' On Human Suffering, CCA Turns 30
Forbes blogs, 1/30/2013 @ 2:04PM |47 views
Corrections Corporation of America — the largest of the three main private prison companies in the United States — celebrated its 30th year of operation this week but the ACLU did not exactly join the celebration. From Carl Takei’s birthday toast: So, on its thirty-year anniversary, what is CCA’s vision for the future? A March 2012 CCA investor presentation boasts that incarceration “creates predictable revenue streams,” and cites the demographic trends in CCA’s favor:
State/Local
CA: Obamacare loophole threatens UC students
Nanette Asimov and Victoria Colliver, Chronicle, 11:02 pm, Tuesday, January 29, 2013
…… Wheeler, 38, had so many medical bills that he reached the $400,000 limit allowed by his UC student health plan. …. Health care limits like the one imposed by UC are already illegal under the sweeping federal health-care law - dubbed Obamacare - that takes full effect next Jan. 1. But the health care act does not apply to "self-funded" college plans like UC's, in which the university takes on the financial risk of medical claims. Now, thousands of UC students are demanding through a petition drive that the university voluntarily lift its insurance caps. "There's a loophole in Obamacare that exempts (self-funded) student health plans," doctoral student Charlie Eaton of the UC Student Employees Union told the regents.
CA: UC students, workers to protest fat executive pay
Don Bauder, January 30, 2013, San Diego Reader
"They get golden handshakes when they retire, and we get cat food!" That will be the rallying cry tomorrow (Jan. 31) as University of California workers and students stage protests at UC medical facilities and all ten UC campuses. The demonstrations are sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). …. The protesters point out that outgoing UC President Mark Yudof, after only five years of service, will retire with a $230,000 annual pension.
CA: Group urges federal benefits protections, decries tax breaks outside Schiff's Burbank office
Burbank Leader, January 30, 2013 | 2:32 p.m.
Roughly a dozen activists and union members gathered outside the Burbank office of Rep. Adam Schiff’s Wednesday, urging the congressman to protect federal health insurance programs, while blasting what they called the nation's “rigged tax system.” … “We need to have everybody pay their fair share of taxes — that includes the wealthy and corporations,” said Lenny Potash, an Atwater Village resident and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union retiree.
Connecticut union membership at lowest level in 2 decades
New Haven Register: Thursday, January 31, 2013
…. Larry Dorman, a spokesman for Council 4 of AFSCME, said the decline “highlights the painful fact that people are working harder and harder for less and less.” He said Council 4’s membership, the second largest in the state after the Connecticut Education Association, is down 9 percent in the last two years and the losses would have been worse if state workers hadn’t agreed to concessions as a part of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s state budget process a year and half ago .
FL: Scott recommending that state civil service workers get bonuses
Miami Herald, Jan 30, 2013
…. When Scott unveils his $74 billion budget on Thursday – the highest dollar figure in state history – it will include bonuses of $1,200 for each of the state’s civil service employees in non-supervisory roles. …. Previously, Scott had told the union he would propose bonuses only for up to 35 percent of workers. “It’s better than expected,” said Doug Martin … Martin said his union, AFSCME Florida Council 79, will continue to negotiate with Scott’s office.
IL: Green Flags On Vehicles Show AFSCME Solidarity
Thursday, January 31, 2013 by Mike Plunkett | Journal News
"Green is AFSCME's color," Chad Zumwalt said, pointing to a green bracelet around his wrist. "The flags are something we're doing at Graham to show solidarity for all AFSCME-represented state employees." Zumwalt, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local 2856 at Graham Correctional Center in Hillsboro, explained the green flags that have been flying above vehicles up and down Route 127, downtown, in parking lots, and neighborhoods. … Zumwalt said AFSCME employees have been negotiating with the state for 14 months, since December 2011, and have been working without a contract since December 2012.
IL: State board withdraws proposal on university civil service classification
Wed, 01/30/2013 - 5:26pm | Christine Des Garennes, The News-Gazette
A state board has withdrawn a controversial proposal that would have stripped universities of their authority to exempt some employees from the civil service system. The merit board of the State Universities Civil Service System, which oversees the hiring of civil service employees at public universities in Illinois, voted Wednesday to pull a proposed amendment to its rules that would have put back in the agency's hands the power to decide when university hires are civil service or when they are exempt and considered academic professionals. …. "We're angry that after 15 years of talk, there has been no action to resolve the problem," said Jeff Bigelow, a regional director with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, Council 31.
IL: Prison watchdog group asks Quinn to reconsider closing Dwight facility
KURT ERICKSON - H&R, Jan 31, 2013
A prison watchdog group is calling on Gov. Pat Quinn to cancel plans to close the state’s maximum-security prison for women in Dwight. The Chicago-based John Howard Association issued a plea to the governor late Tuesday saying the Dwight Correctional Center has been one of the few bright spots in the state’s overcrowded prison system. …… The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, which has sued to stop the closures, welcomed the support of the organization. "AFSCME has long emphasized Dwight's unique and successful programs for women offenders and the importance of its proximity to Chicago,” spokesman Anders Lindall said.
IL: Madigan letter to unions: Drop dead
By Chris Wetterich, State Journal Register, Jan 30, 2013
Well, the letter wasn’t that strong. But it’s pretty close. … The theory was that Madigan was publicly for pension reform but privately backing the unions and blocking for them, at least until after the 2012 election. I always thought that was too simplistic and sure enough, the speaker added another layer to the onion today when he wrote the following letter to AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan rejecting Carrigan’s idea of a pension summit with the public employee unions.
IL: Many Illinois issues being decided by judges
Kurt Erickson, Quad City Times, Jan 31, 2013
…. High-profile court orders on gun control, rulings affecting the closure of state prisons and the threat of legal action surrounding any action on pension reform have put the legal system smack in the middle of the decisions usually left up to the executive and legislative branches. … Attempts by the governor to close state facilities and withhold raises from unionized state workers have landed his administration in court on multiple occasions against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
IL: Inspector general launches investigation into East Moline corrections worker's hire
Jan. 30, 2013, 10:26 pm, By Eric Timmons, qconline.com
The Illinois Department of Corrections violated its own policies when it hired former Congressman Phil Hare's son as an assistant warden at East Moline Correctional Center, according to a report by the state's inspector general. …. Greg Johnson, AFSCME 46 local president at EMCC, said political appointees in the state's prison system were nothing new and it was unfair to single out Mr. Hare.
KS: House approves bill preventing paycheck deduction for public union political activities
By BRENT D. WISTROM, Eagle, Jan. 30, 2013, at 6:39 p.m.
Public unions inched closer to losing some of their political clout Wednesday when the House tentatively approved a bill banning paycheck deductions that unions use to fuel political advocacy. Many conservative Republicans who helped the bill pass in a 66-54 vote said it is a way to protect “a silent majority” of public union members who feel pressure to channel a bit of their paycheck to union politics. … The bill has pitted political heavyweights against each other, with the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity backing it and Kansas National Education Association and Kansas Organization of State Employees opposing it.
KY: Lexington, Ky., and Unions Reach Consensus on Pension Plan Reform
by: SHELLY SIGO, Bond Buyer, Wednesday, January 30, 2013
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In Lexington, Ky., elected officials and union representatives may have set the stage for a new level of dialogue on how to solve unfunded pension liabilities. But city leaders and union representatives say the consensual agreement worked out through an unusual public process is based on compromise and shared sacrifice that produced changes that will lead to a defined-benefit pension plan sustainable for both parties. … Union representatives agreed to lower annual cost-of-living adjustments, increased contributions from active and future employees, reduced disability payments, and a revised plan for new hires. …. For the unions, he said, an important factor underpinning the deal was that the city’s does not participate in Social Security, he said. That means retirees receive only a portion of Social Security benefits. …. Kapoor said he believes Lexington’s approach can be used by employers across the country.
MD: In State of the State speech, O’Malley presses transportation needs
Brian Witte, Associated Press, January 30, 2013
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley urged lawmakers on Wednesday to take steps to address a backlog of transportation needs, but he did not endorse any specific funding proposals in his annual State of the State speech.
MI: Local governments can oust emergency managers after 18 months, but must restart clock in March, expert says
By Khalil AlHajal | mlive.com, January 30, 2013 at 4:43 PM Print
– The state's new financial emergency law, Public Act 436, allows local boards and councils to oust an emergency manger after 18 months, but governments already under receivership will have to restart the clock when the law goes into effect March 28, said Michigan State University economist Eric Scorsone in a Detroit seminar Wednesday. For the Detroit School District, which has been under emergency management for 50 months, the board could, by a two-thirds vote, order a move from emergency management to a consent agreement with the state, but not until September 2014.
MO: Union dues collecting is examined by Missouri, Kansas lawmakers
Jason Hancock and Brad Cooper, The Kansas City Star, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013
….But by making it more difficult for public employee unions to collect dues, GOP lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri could weaken a chief political nemesis…. The push in Missouri for what supporters call “paycheck protection” — and detractors call “paycheck deception” — is considered by many to be a lot like right-to-work light. Members of public employee unions — teachers, state workers — would be prohibited from even voluntarily having dues deducted directly from their paychecks.. …. …. “The bottom line is this is about politics,” said Jeff Mazur, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 72.
NH: 'Right to Work' bill back on tap in Legislature
By GARRY RAYNO, Union Leader, January 30. 2013 9:54PM
Passing right-to-work legislation will help spur the state's economy and set the state apart in the Northeast, supporters of the bill said at a hearing Tuesday. But opponents said House Bill 322 is an attack on organized labor that will drive down wages and destroy middle-class families in New Hampshire. …. Former Rep. David Welch, R-Kingston, noted he ran in 2010 saying he would support right-to-work legislation but when he learned union members were a small percentage of the state's workforce, he did not see a problem and voted against the legislation. "I lost my election because of this issue," Welch said. "All the emails I got about the union thugs, it turns out the thugs are not in the unions."
NY: Thruway slashing jobs / Authority to cut 234 workers, including those in canal system, as a way to save $20 million
By Rick Karlin, Times Union, Thursday, January 31, 2013
Just over a month after putting the brakes on a plan to raise tolls, officials with the state Thruway Authority confirmed Wednesday that they will be laying off almost 8 percent of its workforce. …. The cuts will hit 192 people who work on the actual Thruway; the Erie Canal system, which is part of the authority, will lose 42 people. Most of the layoffs will fall on members of the Civil Service Employees Association, but some other unions with fewer members in the authority — including the Teamsters and Public Employees Federation — will be hit as well.
NY: Essex County union contract falls
By LOHR McKINSTRY, Press-Republican, January 31, 2013
…. The proposed three-year contract for the local chapter of the Civil Service Employees Association union went down, 205 to 87, in Tuesday’s voting. … The proposed contract had no raises for this year, 1 percent pay increases for 2014 and 2 percent for 2015. …. CSEA Local 816 President Michael McGinn said the county wanted to do away with some overtime for certain workers, including some in the Sheriff’s Department, and that has been cited as one reason the contract failed.
NY: One-Man March for NYC Child Care Gains Support
BY G.L. TYLER | AFSCME blog, JANUARY 30, 2013
Every Monday afternoon, Raglan George, Jr., sandwiches himself between two picket signs with slogans like “New York City working families need child care,” then makes his way back and forth in front of New York City Hall. … Known as “Rags,” the DC 1707 executive director and AFSCME International vice president is starting to get some company on his picket line. In recent weeks, New York City Council members lined up with him, as did supporters from the New York City Central Labor Council and the New York State AFL-CIO.
OH: Inmates transferred to state prison after fight at Conneaut facility
The Columbus Dispatch, January 31, 2013
Fighting that erupted over the weekend at the privately owned Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut resulted in dozens of inmates being transferred to a state-owned prison in Mansfield. ….. Officials with the Ohio Civil Service Association, the labor union representing state prison employees, said they have long been concerned about problems at the Lake Erie facility and lack of transparency in reporting incidents. “This isn’t about unions. This isn’t about trying to blame someone. This is about the safety of the employees,” said Tim Shafer, OCSEA operations director and a former corrections officer.
OH: City Negotiating Settlement Over Pension Lawsuit
BY GERMAN LOPEZ · City Beat, JANUARY 30TH,
The city of Cincinnati and a union representing city workers are currently negotiating an out-of-court settlement for a lawsuit involving the city’s pension program. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) claimed in a 2011 lawsuit the city isn’t meeting funding requirements. A Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas motion filed Jan. 4 and accepted Jan. 23 gives the city and AFSCME until April to settle the case out of court. By law, Cincinnati is required to heed to the Cincinnati Retirement System (CRS) Board of Trustees when setting the percent of payroll the city must contribute to retirees. But the AFSCME lawsuit argues the city hasn’t been making contributions dictated by the board.
OH: North Ridgeville gives salary boost to AFSCME workers
By Bruce Geiselman, Sun News, January 31, 2013 at 8:10 AM Print
City workers belonging to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will receive 75 cent-per-hour pay raises retroactive to the start of the year. … The 75-cent pay hike averages 4 percent for AFSCME members, although the percentage varies by employee. …. Starting in 2010, AFSCME workers agreed to a pay freeze. In 2011 and 2012, the workers agreed to accept furlough days for which they worked but were not paid. In 2011, the union agreed to two weeks of furlough and in 2012 it was one week of furlough, Gillock said.
OH: Solid waste board approves labor contract
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 10:12 am | STEVE ROBB Messenger
… The board met Tuesday to vote on the agreement, which had already been approved by members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The board vote was 5-0 in favor of the contract. The three-year contract will provide a 5 percent pay increase in the first year and 4 percent in each of the following two years. However, the employees’ share of health insurance premiums will increase to 5 percent the first year, 10 percent the second year and 15 percent the third year.
PA: Blue-collar union fails to accept Nutter's 'final offer'
SEAN COLLINS WALSH, Daily News, anuary 31, 2013
THE DEADLINE for the city's largest union to accept Mayor Nutter's "final offer" came and went on Wednesday, but it seems little had changed in the negotiations between the administration and District Council 33, which represents 11,000 blue-collar workers. The sides met twice this week to negotiate Nutter's plan, which includes pay raises in exchange for givebacks on benefits and work rules. But after spending Wednesday night together in a Center City hotel, they left without reaching an agreement. … But the union says it requested data on the financial impact of the city's proposals and expects to negotiate again once it gets a reply. "We're still negotiating; nothing has been decided tonight," DC 33 President Pete Matthews said. "We asked for more information. The city left, and we believe that they will come back with that information to continue to negotiate."
PA: Corbett pushes liquor privatization, with a twist
By SETH ZWEIFLER · January 30, 2013, 8:04 pm, Daily Pennsylvania
With a banner behind him displaying words like “consumer choice” and “consumer convenience,” Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced an aggressive new proposal Wednesday to privatize the state-owned liquor industry. … Although the main tenets of the proposal were similar to what most anticipated — with the crux of the plan being to sell off the retail and wholesale operations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board — Corbett’s announcement did take one unexpected twist. The governor said that a projected $1 billion in revenue from the sale would be given directly to public schools over the course of the next four years.
PA: Letter - Don't outsource control of lottery
Tim Seip, Ex-State Representative. Republican Herald: January 31, 2013
….. The British company that is poised to take over the lottery has already stated at a Senate hearing that they look forward to expanding gaming into taverns and other outlets. This would further add pressure to the competition for scarce dollars, which our veterans organizations and volunteer fire companies presently struggle to gain shares of. … AFSCME (American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees) has already taken legal action to stop this unilateral action by Gov. Corbett, in an effort to protect jobs that will be lost if this contract is enacted.
TN: Sanitation workers end strike against Republic Services
By Thomas Bailey Jr., Commercial Appeal, January 30, 2013 at 5:16 p.m.
Believing their bonus checks are finally coming, striking sanitation workers for Republic Services announced Wednesday they will return to work and the bargaining table Thursday. …. Republic is contractually obligated to give workers a monthly safety bonus — 1.5 percent of pay, or about $50 to $75 — if they complete a month of work without an accident or safety issue. But the bonus checks were late this month. The company explained the delay as a clerical error due to corporate restructuring.
TX: Federal jail employees indicted
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 4:55 pm BY JON VANDERLAAN oaoa.com
Accused of supplying federal inmates with contraband items such as cell phones, marijuana and tobacco in return for cash, 13 Ector County Correctional Center employees have been indicted on federal charges of bribery. … The Ector County Correctional Center is a federal lockup facility located in the Ector County Courthouse. The space is rented by Community Education Centers to house arrestees of federal crimes. Ector County Judge Susan Redford said CEC bought out Civigenics, which has rented the space for the facility for around 15 years.
WA: US pension fund eyes selling oil holdings
By Pilita Clark, Financial Times, January 30, 2013 5:10 pm
A US pension fund with nearly $2bn in assets is considering selling its holdings in some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies because of the threat posed by climate change. In what investor advocacy groups say would be the first divestment of its kind, the Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System is to discuss on Thursday a request from Mike McGinn, the city’s mayor, to sell out of companies including ExxonMobil and Chevron.
WI: Safety of Wisconsin Prison Guards Debated
Marge Pitrof, WUWM NEWS | JAN 30, 2013
There is disagreement over how safe Wisconsin's prisons are, in the wake of Act 10. It left the prison workers' union with only the power to negotiate limited wage increases. Marty Beil, head of the Wisconsin State Employees Union told an Assembly committee on Wednesday, that security in the prisons has deteriorated because of staffing shortages, and inmates have assaulted six workers since Christmas Eve. Ed Wall, Wisconsin corrections secretary responded that the injuries were minor and did not require anyone to be hospitalized. Meanwhile, some prison guards have been working to form a new union, breaking away from the WSEU. It now represents 1800 corrections workers.
