January 27, 2011

National/Politics

Liberal Union Joins Attack on Romney in Florida
FactCheck.org  January 26, 2012

Newt Gingrich is getting help from a surprising ally: the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The liberal-leaning labor group is running a TV ad in Florida slamming Mitt Romney for profiting personally from a company later convicted of Medicare fraud while he was a director. The ad began airing just before a new poll showed Gingrich in a dead heat with Romney to win the Jan. 31 Republican primary.

UNION MEMBERS -- 2011
Bureau of Labor Statistics news release, January 27, 2012 10:00 a.m.

In 2011, the union membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union--was 11.8 percent, essentially unchanged from 11.9 percent in 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The number  of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, at 14.8 million, also showed  little movement over the year. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent and there were 17.7 million union workers. ….. Public-sector workers had a union membership rate (37.0 percent) more  than five times higher than that of private-sector workers (6.9  percent). …. Within the public sector, local government workers had the highest union membership rate, 43.2 percent.

State pension assets, earnings grew in 2010
Thu, Jan 26 2012 By Lisa Lambert (Reuters)

Bucking criticism about their financial performance, state retirement systems' assets grew in 2010, with investment earnings rising for the first time since 2007, the U.S. Census reported on Thursday. The pension funds' cash and investments totaled $2.2 trillion in 2010, up 10.7 percent, or $213.9 billion, from 2009, when their cash and investment holdings fell by $610.8 billion. … The Census found that total pension obligations were $3.2 trillion in 2010, compared with $3.1 trillion in 2009. Benefit payments in 2010 alone rose 6.2 percent to $63.5 billion. ….. In five states, including Wisconsin, where fights over public employee compensation have led to campaigns to recall elected officials and weeks-long demonstrations, they put in half or more of the contributions. The other four states were North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Jobs, Jobs and Cars
By PAUL KRUGMAN, New York Times, January 26, 2012

Mitch Daniels, the former Bush budget director who is now Indiana’s governor, made the Republicans’ reply to President Obama’s State of the Union address. His performance was, well, boring. But he did say something thought-provoking — and I mean that in the worst way. ….  He went on: “The late Steve Jobs — what a fitting name he had — created more of them than all those stimulus dollars the president borrowed and blew.” …. A big report in The Times last Sunday laid out the facts. Although Apple is now America’s biggest U.S. corporation as measured by market value, it employs only 43,000 people in the United States, a tenth as many as General Motors employed when it was the largest American firm.

Both Sides in Labor Fight Point to Oklahoma
By MELANIE TROTTMAN, Wall Street Journal, JANUARY 27, 2012

As Indiana moves closer to adopting a right-to-work law, both sides in the debate are zeroing in on the experience of Oklahoma, the last state to ease union-dues requirements under a similar law.…. Because a multitude of factors shape a state's employment picture, many economists say it isn't possible to determine precisely how much, if at all, the law reshaped Oklahoma's jobs picture. Evidence suggests, though, that the change has neither been the silver bullet proponents promised nor the destructive force on wages and quality jobs that opponents warned it would be. …. Last year, lawmakers in more than a dozen states introduced right-to-work bills, including in Michigan, Missouri and New Hampshire, though none became law.

Watchdog says GOP member of labor board wasn’t enticed to resign
By Kevin Bogardus, The Hill,  01/26/12 07:49 PM ET

A Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was not offered enticements to resign last year, according to a report from the agency’s inspector general.   In the fall of 2011, Brian Hayes, the labor board’s then-lone Republican member, threatened to resign. Doing so would have denied the NLRB a quorum and rendered it unable to issue rules or regulations.  Hayes would later decide against leaving, but his resignation threat led to calls for investigation into whether or not he was enticed to leave the NLRB by outside parties with an interest in seeing the board shut down.

Is the GOP retreating from fight on recess appointments?
By Greg Sargent, Washington Post, 12:31 PM ET, 01/26/2012

After denouncing Obama’s recess appointments to the new consumer protection bureau and the National Labor Relations Board as an act of tyranny or worse, it appears Senate Republicans are having second thoughts about entering into a protracted public fight over them:…. Judging by the quotes above, some Senate Republicans appear to have concluded that it may be a political loser for them to take up his battle. After all, it could reprise the dynamic that played to the Democrats’ advantage during the payroll tax cut fight: it could mire Republicans in an argument about process, even as the White House and Dems make the case for what their new consumer protection bureau would do for the American people.

Congress unlikely to pass transportation bill anytime soon
Daily Kos Labor, THU JAN 26, 2012 AT 11:00 AM PST

Congress is unlikely to pass long-term surface transportation bill this year, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said Wednesday. Neither the House nor the Senate has passed a bill, but even if each chamber passed its own bill, the differences between the two would likely be too big to overcome; just for starters, the House proposal is for a five-year bill, while the Senate proposal is for a two-year bill. Additionally, House Republicans are still calling for major cuts not supported by the Senate.

U.S. GDP Rises 2.8%
By JOSH MITCHELL And ERIC MORATH, Wall Street Journla, JANUARY 27, 2012, 8:37 A.M. ET

The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a year and a half in the final three months of 2011, signaling a sturdier recovery took hold despite troubles in other parts of the world. The nation's gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services produced -- grew at an annual rate of 2.8% between October and December, the Commerce Department said Friday. That is up from 1.8% growth in the third quarter and 1.3% in the second quarter. It was the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010.

Dems embrace new strategy on taxes
By Bernie Becker. The Hill,  - 01/27/12 06:00 AM ET

Democratic leaders are embracing a new strategy for tax reform that leans on President Obama's State of the Union call for tax fairness and economic equality. …. With that in mind, Democrats have said they want to target a tax break that allows “carried interest” to be taxed at 15 percent, one of the provisions that drove down Romney’s effective tax rate.

Public College, Private Dorm
By RONDA KAYSEN, New York Times, January 24, 2012

With state budgets tight and demand for a college education at a high point, public universities across the country are increasingly turning to the private sector to build and finance on-campus dormitories. …. Although proponents of private partnerships point to lower costs for construction and operation, those savings are not necessarily passed on to students. A room at the Heights, for example, costs about $1,000 more a semester than a room in Montclair State’s other dorms. “These things are often sold as savings, but they don’t often result in savings,” said Edward P. St. John, an education professor at the University of Michigan and an editor of “Privatization and Public Universities,” published in 2006.

Number of Older Inmates Grows, Stressing Prisons
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, New York Times, January 26, 2012

The number of Americans in prison older than 55 is growing at a faster rate than the group’s share of the population at large, and many prisons are unprepared to provide them with health care, which can cost as much as nine times more than for younger inmates, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Friday. The complications in handling the swelling number of aging prisoners range from making allowances for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia and finding sufficient ground-floor cells for inmates in wheelchairs to ensuring that older prisoners are not exploited or robbed by younger inmates.

HHS Releases More Details on Essential Health Benefits Packages
BY: DYLAN SCOTT | Governing.com | JANUARY 26, 2012

States received more guidance Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) about what the essential health benefits package for plans offered in states’ health insurance exchanges should look like.

An Rx? Pay More to Family Doctors
By CHRISTOPHER WEAVER And ANNA WILDE MATHEWS, Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2012

The nation's second-largest health insurer is shaking up its approach to paying doctors, putting a major investment behind the idea that spending more for better primary care can save money down the road. Starting this summer, WellPoint Inc., which insures some 34 million Americans, will offer primary-care doctors a fee increase, typically of around 10%, with the possibility of additional payments that could boost what they get for treating the patients it covers by as much as 50%. The new approach could pour an additional $1 billion or more into primary care, which WellPoint is betting will pay off in the form of fewer emergency-room visits and hospital stays.

Hostess asks judge to slash union obligations
AP, January 26, 2012

Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies that filed for bankruptcy reorganization earlier this month, has asked a judge to slash some of its commitments to union employees, saying it's the only way it can emerge as a viable company. The Teamsters union issued a swift rebuke on Thursday, saying Hostess was trying to "bully" its way out of obligations to its employees.

State/Local

CA: State Senate hits stalemate on universal healthcare for California
January 26, 2012 | 11:50 am, Los Angeles Times

State lawmakers deadlocked Thursday over a controversial measure that would provide universal healthcare in California. In a vote in which some Democrats did not participate, the measure received only 19 of the 21 votes needed for passage in the Senate, but it was put over for another possible vote next week.

CA: Sequoia Hospital vendor posted hospital employees' personal information online
By Aaron Kinney, bayareanewsgroup.com  01/26/2012 09:49:04 PM PST

A contractor working for Sequoia Hospital inadvertently posted the names and Social Security numbers of 391 current and former hospital employees on a public website, where it stayed for four years. An employee for Towers Watson, an international professional services firm, posted the information in October 2007, according to a statement issued Thursday by hospital CEO Glenna Vaskelis …. Tina Acree -- a business agent for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 829, which represents about 350 employees at Sequoia -- said a hospital official told her that someone working for Towers Watson brought the Sequoia employees' information home and mistakenly posted it on a public server. The hospital said the error occurred as the firm was putting together retirement and benefit statements for Sequoia employees.

Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper recommends Pinnacol privatization with tweaks
01/27/2012 01:00:00 AM MST Tim Hoover, The Denver Post

Gov. John Hickenlooper is recommending the privatization of Pinnacol Assurance, the state-chartered workers' compensation insurance fund, despite the ongoing concerns of business groups.

CT: State labor board begins hearing on Oxford school clerks
Republican American, Thursday, January 26, 2012 8:19 AM EST

The state Board of Labor Relations began a hearing Wednesday into a complaint that accuses the Board of Education of violating the legal rights of four school clerks. Local 1303-413 Council 4, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, which represents about 15 members, filed a municipal prohibited practice complaint in June with the state board.

CT: Former Zoning Officer Received More Than $20,000 Under Agreement
By Chris Dehnel, Patch, January 27, 2012

Former Zoning Enforcement Officer Abraham Ford is walking away from Vernon with more than $20,000, according to a separation agreement released by the town administration on Thursday. … The union - Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - had filed a grievance over the matter.

FL: Nurses sue to prevent privatization of prison health
12:08 AM, Jan. 27, 2012 |  Tallahassee.com

The union representing health-care professionals in Florida's prison system is suing the state to prevent privatization of their jobs — using the same legal tactics that succeeded for thousands of correctional officers who went to court to get at least a reprieve from their own firing. "We believe that any effort to turn thousands of state employee jobs over to private companies needs to be vetted by the public, with input from those workers," Jeanie Demshar, director of labor relations for the Florida Nurses Association, said Thursday.

IL: Unions dispute Bacon’s take on talks
STEPHEN DI BENEDETTO, The Register-Mail, Jan 27, 2012 @ 06:00 AM

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 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, like vacation time, sick days and medical benefits.

IL: State legislators seek more detail on JDC closure plan
By DOUG FINKE The State Journal-Register Jan 27, 2012

….. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees also said COGFA should hold hearings to ensure residents and others directly affected by the closure can be heard. “For COGFA to fail to scrutinize Quinn’s closure push would be to exclude the voices of those with the most at stake,” said AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall. “There is a process set forth in statute that requires a public hearing, and that process should be followed.”

IL: With This Library System, Government Isn’t All Bad
By JAMES WARREN, New York Times, January 27, 2012

 President Obama should have invited Mary Dempsey to the State of the Union address. Along with other guests, who were used as symbols of a skewed tax system and the need to retrain workers, she could have made another point: government can work. Ms. Dempsey is the Chicago Library commissioner, who is stepping down after an inspiring 18-year run. She is leaving after a remarkable transformation and amid uncharacteristic stumbles by Mayor Rahm Emanuel over library hours as the Missile and the crucial public employees’ union duel like Somali warlords. ….. . Soon, word spread that she was going after incompetent workers and was pro-branch libraries. She won workers over by cleaning up the circulation system, supporting technological innovation and transforming the library’s image. …. At the heart of the renaissance are about 800 workers, most of them unionized, workers who appear to care deeply, defying some stereotypes. They, too, are our much-derided “government.”

IN: In rush to pass 'right to work' next week, Indiana Senate panel plans Monday hearing
8:52 AM, Jan. 27, 2012 |  Indianapolis Star

Call it the "Super Bowl hustle." The legislature is rushing to pass the controversial "right to work" bill next week, with Gov. Mitch Daniels then expected to sign it before Super Bowl Sunday. A Senate committee will hold a hearing at 9 a.m. Monday on the bill that passed the House on Wednesday. Normally, the Senate would complete work on its own bills before taking up any House bills.

IN: 'Right to work' language is death knell for mass transit bill
Jan. 27, 2012 |  Indianapolis Star

…. Espich, R-Uniondale, the influential chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, refused to remove "right to work" language from legislation that would have expanded mass transit in Central Indiana. Most Democrats dug in their heels and refused to vote for the bill with that language -- even though they support mass transit.

MA: Occupy 2.0 Changes Tack
By DAVID SONG, CRIMSON  : Friday, January 27, 2012

In Occupy Harvard’s latest attempt to maintain visibility on campus, approximately 40 students, University employees, and locals accelerated the movement’s next phase, known as Occupy 2.0, with a march around Harvard Yard on Wednesday. …. According to Chamedes, Occupy 2.0 is particularly concerned with the layoffs some University Library workers face. ….Occupy Harvard members said that they will continue to collaborate with the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers and student groups such as SLAM to petition against library cuts.

MI: Bing Races to Beat Michigan’s Deadline for Detroit Union Deal
Chris Christoff – Bloomberg, Jan 27, 2012

…… Bing, 68, has said the city must trim annual employee benefit and pension costs, which have risen since 2001 to $35,000 per employee from $18,000. “We are meeting, not daily but more than weekly, and there are sidebar conversations every day,” said Al Garrett, president of AFSCME Council 25, which represents about 3,000 employees. Garrett has been with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees since 1973, and he said progress in labor relations is imperiled.

MI: City of Detroit will pay only most 'critical' bills
January 27, 2012 |   Detroit Free Press

Cash-strapped Detroit will p7ay only vendors deemed to be "critical" to keeping the city running, according to a memo obtained by the Free Press. The memo, written by Chris Brown, Detroit's chief operations officer, is dated Jan. 19 and addressed to department heads. It lays out new procedures that will require city officials to fill out weekly payment invoices for those vendors who are considered a priority.

Minnesota state pensions: A realistic scenario / Minnesota's systems are well-managed and are reasonably funded under the circumstances.
THOMAS MARSHALL, MARY BENNER and MARTHA LEE ZINS Thomas Marshall is president of the PERA board of trustees. Mary Benner chairs the MSRS board of directors. Martha Lee Zins is president of the TRA board of trustees.
Star Tribune: January 26, 2012 - 8:12 PM

We agree with the Minnesota Taxpayers Association ("A worse-case scenario," Jan. 22) that pension reform should not be based on envy or hostility toward dedicated public employees, but rather should be rooted in principles of sustainability, sound management and good government. However, to rely on this group as the definitive source of information on the state pension system's financial status is to have a distorted view of the plans' health. …. Rather than argue that public-sector workers -- most of whom are paid less than their private-sector counterparts -- don't deserve a pension, perhaps we should be asking this: "Don't private-sector workers deserve a secure retirement, too?"

MN: City workers get pay raise
Princeton Union Eagle, January 26, 2012

Unionized Princeton city employees will receive a 1 percent pay raise for the first six months of 2012 and an additional 1 percent in the last six months.  ….  The two unions are the Law Enforcement Labor Services for police officers, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees for the other non supervisory city workers. City employees did not receive a pay increase during 2010 and 2011 other than if an employee was moving up a step under the city’s pay guide.

MN: Cost of Minnesota government shutdown still climbing
PAT DOYLE , Star Tribune: January 26, 2012 - 7:49 PM

Last fall, state officials painted a bright picture of the government shutdown's impact. Legislators on the Senate Transportation Committee got a darker view Thursday, because of the escalating cost of claims by highway contractors for lost work. While 29 claims have been settled for $2 million, the potential cost to taxpayers is much greater. Contractors for 65 projects have filed or may file additional claims, "and some of those are larger projects," said Jon Chiglo, engineering services division director for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

New Jersey Pension-Fund Gap Grows Even After Christie Overhaul
January 26, 2012, 7:26 AM EST By Terrence Dopp, Bloomberg

New Jersey’s pension fund has only two-thirds of the assets needed to pay future benefits, and the gap widened even as Governor Chris Christie boosted employee contributions and froze raises, according to state data. The seven retirement funds covering government workers and teachers had a funded ratio of 67.5 percent as of June 30, down from 70.5 percent a year earlier, according to data released yesterday by the Division of Pensions and Benefits. The deficit swelled by $5.5 billion during the 12 months to $41.8 billion.

New Jersey Medicaid Rules Challenged
By CHERYL ARMSTRONG, Courthouse News, January 26, 2012

Community health centers say New Jersey is denying them millions of dollars of desperately needed Medicaid funding for poor patients.  The New Jersey Primary Care Association sued the New Jersey Department of Human Services in Federal Court.  The association, representing 20 community health centers, claims New Jersey is preventing it and other qualified health centers from obtaining proper reimbursement for Medicaid services.

OH: Kasich Pooh-Poohs Right-To-Work Law For Ohio / Gov. Says Labor Situation 'Pretty Darn Good'
WLWT,  7:05 pm EST January 26, 2012

Gov. John Kasich seems dismissive of a proposed constitutional amendment that would keep Ohio workers covered by labor contracts from having to join a union or pay union dues. Kasich was asked Thursday about Indiana Republicans who have cleared the way for their state to become the first right-to-work state in more than a decade. He told reporters at that he doesn't think the public is prepared for that or has an understanding of the issue.

OK: Both sides of child welfare debate
By Martha Stoddard, WORLD-HERALD, Friday January 27, 2012

Tears flowed and tales of trouble abounded at a hearing Thursday about whether to pull back on Nebraska's experiment in privatizing child welfare.  …. Conner and Vanevery were among about 50 people — foster parents, birth parents, attorneys, advocates, child welfare workers and others — who testified about Legislative Bill 961. … It represents the key recommendation from the committee's investigation into the state's child welfare privatization initiative. LB 961 would force the state to resume management of all child welfare cases.

PA: Erie Teamsters vote to give leaders strike authorization
GoErie.com JANUARY 27, 2012 12:31 AM EST

….. Members of Teamsters Local 397 "overwhelmingly" voted to grant strike authorization at two separate meetings Thursday, union President Al Rush said. ….. The city is asking Teamsters to pay what American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union members and management pay -- 15 percent of the per-person cost of management's insurance plan -- while remaining on the Teamsters' current plan.

RI: Accusations fly as council votes on Chamber tax break
By Liz Boardman/Independent, January 26, 2012

After two hours of debate that included accusations of influence peddling, name-calling and a split vote, the Town Council granted Southern R.I. Chamber of Commerce a tax exemption for its building on Old Tower Hill Road. The vote was 3 to 2, with Councilwomen Kathleen Fogarty and Mary “Polly” Eddy voting against the request. …. “During pension reform, the South Kingstown Chamber signed onto Engage RI,” Martin said. “No matter where you stand on pension reform, Engage RI was the main lobbyist for pension reform.” “Ms. Martin, I believe you work for an organization that has lobbyists,” Council Vice President Carol Hagan McEntee said, referring to Martin’s job as secretary-treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and director of political activities at the R.I. Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals.

Rhode Island RFP Gets 12 Proposals for Pension Plan
Friday, January 27, 2012, By Paul Burton, Bond Buyer

Rhode Island has received 12 proposals from vendors seeking to run the state’s new defined-contribution program, which pension overhaul legislation passed last fall created. The program will be a core part of each employee’s retirement plan and is in addition to their pension benefit. …. Unlike the state-administered system, many of these local plans are determined by collectively bargained contracts. Local plans vary widely.

SD: Republican lawmakers target public unions . Bill would ban collective bargaining deals
Jan. 27, 2012 |   Dennis Daugaard, Argus Leader

A group of Republican lawmakers has introduced legislation that would prohibit public employees in South Dakota from negotiating collective bargaining agreements with state and local governments. Such a law would end the ability of unions to negotiate employment contracts for government employees. While unions still could represent public employees, they would lose their most powerful tool: Bargaining with governments over wages, hours and benefits.

Virginia to transform system of caring for developmentally disabled
By Anita Kumar, Washington Post: January 26

Virginia will close all but one of its large institutions for the developmentally disabled and move thousands of people into their own homes, their family’s homes or group homes as part of a 10-year, $2.1 billion settlement announced Thursday with the U.S. Justice Department. …. Thursday’s announcement follows a federal investigation of Virginia facilities that concluded that the state discriminated against residents by keeping them in large institutions instead of providing community-based care in smaller settings. The institutions were faulted for keeping residents isolated and rarely allowing them to interact with people who are not disabled.

WI: Two more Walker ex-aides charged
By: Mackenzie Weinger, Politico, January 26, 2012 03:49 PM EST

Two former aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were charged Thursday with allegedly doing political fundraising while working on taxpayer time in the Milwaukee County Executive’s office when he ran it. The Milwaukee County district attorney announced Thursday that Kelly Rindfleisch and Darlene Wink, who both worked for Walker, who may face a recall election later this year, when he served as county executive, engaged in campaign fundraising during work hours.

WI: County touts tentative pact with unions, geared to save $1.9M
STEVEN VERBURG | Wisconsin State Journal | Thursday, January 26, 2012 8:00 pm

Most Dane County government offices would shut down for three days in 2013 and county workers would see an effective 1.25 percent pay cut for the year in a series of moves designed to save $1.9 million, County Executive Joe Parisi announced Thursday. ….. The pay decreases will help the county avoid losses of staff and service to the public, said Andy Heidt, president of AFSCME Local 1871, which represents white collar workers.

WI: Reform of county sick leave system advances
Steve Schultze of the Journal Sentinel, Jan. 26, 2012

A long-delayed reform of Milwaukee County's sick leave system expected to save taxpayers some $2 million over 20 years or more won the approval of a County Board panel Thursday.  … Kurt Zunker, the president of a union local that represented parks and other county workers, said the sick time cutback was a big mistake that would save little or nothing.