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Daily NewswireNational/PoliticalObama Offers Pep Talk to Democrats WASHINGTON — President Obama urged Senate Democrats on Wednesday to move beyond a demoralizing defeat last month in Massachusetts and to draw a lesson for their own campaigns as they navigate the difficult headwinds of a midterm election year. “I promise you, the answer is not to do nothing,” Mr. Obama said. “The American people are out of patience with business as usual.” Five days after a lively question-and-answer session with House Republicans at their retreat in Baltimore, Mr. Obama stood before a friendlier audience of Senate Democrats at the Newseum here. He said Congress should press ahead on health care legislation, but offered no guidance for how to accomplish the task. Unexpected Rise in U.S. Jobless Claims WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. And a second report by the Labor Department showed that people with jobs worked harder in the fourth quarter. In the jobless filings report, the agency said that new claims for unemployment insurance rose by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 480,000. Wall Street economists had expected a drop to 460,000. The rise is the fourth in the five weeks. Most economists hoped that claims would resume a downward trend that was evident in the fall and early winter. Health-care sector grew as economy contracted in 2009 Health-care spending in the United States grew last year despite a contracting economy, amounting to 17.3 percent of the gross domestic product, according to estimates released Wednesday. The health-care sector's share of the economy grew 1.1 percent in 2009 compared with 2008, the largest one-year increase since at least 1960. Spending growth by federal, state and local governments was 8.7 percent last year, nearly three times the rate for employers, insurance companies and individuals -- 3 percent. By the end of this decade, in 2019, health-care spending will be $2 trillion higher than it is now, it will represent 19.3 percent of the economy, and the government will pay 52 percent of it, according to the report released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Obama suggests Republicans could have a role in health-care bill President Obama urged congressional Democrats on Wednesday "to finish the job on health care," but amid tentative signs of bipartisan outreach on Capitol Hill, he suggested that Republicans could be enlisted to play at least some role in negotiating a final bill. For two weeks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) have struggled for a way to salvage health-care legislation that had appeared on the verge of final passage until a special election in Massachusetts deprived Democrats of their filibuster-proof Senate majority. Reid and Pelosi have yet to agree on a plan, and many Democrats are irritated that the protracted haggling over health-care reform is overshadowing progress on other legislation, including an $81 billion job-creation bill that Senate leaders plan to announce Thursday. The dispute has created tension between Democrats in the House and in the Senate and has revealed increasing frustration within the party toward Obama, who pushed Congress to produce a series of monumental bills last year but has not signed any of them into law. Dems protect backroom deals The health care bill is in trouble, but a series of narrow deals — each designed to win over a wavering senator or key interest group — is alive and well, despite voter anger over the parochial horse-trading that marked the rush toward passage before Christmas. With the exception of Nebraska Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson’s “Cornhusker Kickback,” which alienated independent voters and came to symbolize an out-of-touch Washington, none of the other narrow provisions that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid inserted into the bill appear to be in any kind of danger as Democrats try to figure out the way ahead. Not only that, House liberals want to reopen the labor deal struck just days before Democrats lost their 60-vote majority — not to dial it back but to provide more generous protections from the tax on Cadillac insurance plans. Health Official Can’t Guarantee Openness in Talks WASHINGTON — Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, told Congress on Wednesday that she could not guarantee greater openness in negotiations over legislation to remake the nation’s health care system. “I am not a principal in the negotiations,” Ms. Sebelius said in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee. “Nor is my staff.” Ms. Sebelius said administration officials provided “technical support” to Congress, but did not control the negotiations. Her comments came about five hours after President Obama affirmed the need for openness in efforts by the administration and Congress to finish work on a health bill intended to expand coverage and rein in costs. National Prayer Breakfast Draws Controversy For more than 50 years, the National Prayer Breakfast has served as a prime networking event in Washington, bringing together the president, members of Congress, foreign diplomats and thousands of religious, business and military leaders for scrambled eggs and supplication. Usually, the annual event passes with little notice. But this year, an ethics group in Washington has asked President Obama and Congressional leaders to stay away from the breakfast, on Thursday. Religious and gay rights groups have organized competing prayer events in 17 cities, and protesters are picketing in Washington and Boston. The objections are focused on the sponsor of the breakfast, a secretive evangelical Christian network called The Fellowship, also known as The Family, and accusations that it has ties to legislation in Uganda that calls for the imprisonment and execution of homosexuals. Why federal workers deserve what they're paid President Obama may not have given federal workers much of a salary increase -- just 1.4 percent -- in his proposed budget for fiscal 2011, but he did show them some love. And that demonstration of affection could pay off for Frankie and Flo Fed, including in ways they can take to the bank. The affection is apparent in Chapter 10 of the "Analytical Perspectives" section of the budget. "We are fortunate to be able to rely upon a skilled workforce committed to the public service," it says. Of course, lip service like that comes quick and easy. What makes this budget stand out is the level of serious attention that the White House, through its Office of Management and Budget, gives to federal employees. Recent budgets by previous administrations have not gone into the depth of detail on federal-workplace issues that Obama's spending plan does. Eye Opener: Scott Brown blasted by federal union Happy Wednesday! One of the largest federal worker unions blasted Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in an open letter on Tuesday, accusing him of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the federal workforce in one of his first major national television interviews. The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents more than 150,000 feds, took issue with Brown's statement during an interview on Sunday with Barbara Walters that federal employees earn twice as much as private sector workers. GOP seeks to block Obama’s labor pick WASHINGTON -- By being sworn in today, a week earlier than planned, Senator-elect Scott Brown has put himself in a position to help fellow Republicans scuttle a hotly disputed Obama administration nomination to the National Labor Relations Board next week. A vote to appoint the prominent union lawyer, Craig Becker, appears to be the only one in coming days in which Brown’s early arrival could make a crucial difference by giving Republicans their 41st vote in the Senate, allowing them to deploy the filibuster to block the nomination. State/LocalSenator: Cut lawmakers' pay if state employees take hit After shooting down five straight ballot propositions to give state lawmakers a raise, Arizona voters may get a chance to give them pay cut instead. State Sen. Ken Cheuvront, D-Phoenix, has introduced a resolution that would reduce lawmakers' pay in line with any pay cuts for other state employees. Senators and representatives now earn $24,000 for their part-time roles at the Capitol. "I think we need to live as we legislate," Cheuvront said. "It's important that if we're asking state employees to decrease their salaries that we should also be willing to decrease ours." L.A. council delays decision on cutting 1,000 jobs After struggling for eight hours to counter a rapidly growing budget shortfall, the Los Angeles City Council put off a decision to cut 1,000 jobs Wednesday and, through other actions, managed to add $4 million to the problem. Unable to take more straightforward action on a shortfall that has grown to $212 million this year, the council voted to seek another list of possible job cuts and, after hearing pleas from a chamber packed with protesting employees and residents, promised not to act on layoffs for 30 days. Hundreds show up to speak against L.A. city worker layoffs Hundreds of advocates for police officers, firefighters, the arts, senior programs, AIDS services and other municipal programs turned out Wednesday morning to urge the Los Angeles City Council not to cut 1,000 jobs to balance the budget. With city officials looking for ways to close a $208-million gap, Council President Eric Garcetti said that council members had received 89 requests to speak on the job-cut plan. That number was expected to rise as more people moved through the council chamber. ... “Don’t let our city experience a bankruptcy of spirit, a bankruptcy of culture,” said Roy Stone, president of the Librarians’ Guild within the American Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees Union Local 2626. “That is far worse than the financial bankruptcy you’re considering.” Other labor leaders argued that officials should drop the layoff plan and go after uncollected debts, which they estimated at $600 million. “Maybe a hundred of those attorneys that are scheduled for layoffs could help,” said Bob Schoonover, president of Service Employees International Union Local 721. Conn. gov unveils budget without raising taxes HARTFORD, Conn. Calling on Connecticut politicians to stop the partisan bickering and work together to address the state's fiscal crisis, Gov. M. Jodi Rell unveiled a revised budget on Wednesday that does not raise taxes or fees. The Republican governor, who delivered her final state-of-the-state address to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, said state residents are hurting and they are looking to their leaders in Hartford to lead and "right our ship of state." "They want an end to the theatrical histrionics of political press conferences and partisan pinball," said Rell, who is not seeking re-election. "They want us to act like adults." ... The revised budget Rell laid out addressed the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. She is expected to release a separate deficit-cutting plan later this month to cover the current year's deficit. When combined, both years are about $1.2 billion in the red. Her revised $18.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2010 spends nearly $28 million less than what was originally approved. To cover the deficit in fiscal 2010, Rell is relying on additional federal stimulus funding, borrowing $1.3 billion against future revenue streams, cutbacks to state agencies, delaying a $100 million payment to the state employees retirement fund and instituting Keno, a lottery-type game, to raise $20 million. Last Library Branch Closes Today The Southeast Branch of Lincoln Library, which has been open to city residents for 27 years, will close today, the victim of city budget cuts. The West Branch closed, perhaps permanently, on Wednesday. The closures were announced less than 24 hours after aldermen approved a spending plan for the next fiscal year that doesn’t include funding for the branch libraries. ... Roger Griffith, staff representative for AFSCME Council 31, said all three AFSCME locals that have city contracts are still trying to get questions answered. AFSCME proposed forgoing raises this year if the city was willing to extend its contract for another year and pay the raises that year, Griffith said. That offer was rejected, he said. Six unions, including police, firefighters, AFSCME, IBEW, Operating Engineers and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, gave the mayor a proposal this week they say would free up nearly $1.5 million. The unions proposed delaying two raises due in the next budget year — most of which are scheduled for March 1 and Sept. 1 — until Feb. 12 and Feb. 26 of 2011. The mayor wouldn’t comment on the proposal Tuesday night, saying he didn’t want to negotiate in the press. Superintendent, Unions Spar over Letter-writing Campaign ROCKFORD — In her job as a paraprofessional in the Rockford School District, Donna Henderson doesn’t expect to earn a great living, she just expects to earn a fair wage. She and all other paraprofessionals in the district have worked since July 1 without a contract, and it’s frustrating, she said. That’s what prompted Unity 205, a consortium of the district’s seven labor unions, to start a letter-writing campaign in an attempt to inundate School Board members with letters citing their concerns about school safety, student discipline and other matters. The purpose of the campaign, members said today, runs deeper than contract talks. More than 30 people met this evening at AFSCME’s Rockford office, 212 S. First St., to talk about the letters and what progress they’ve made. Culver: I won’t repeal Right-to-Work law Gov. Chet Culver bolstered his ties organized labor today by signing an executive order sought by construction unions, but he quickly made it clear he won’t try to repeal Iowa’s right-to-work law. The Democratic governor didn’t hesitate to say no when asked by reporters about he possibility of repealing right-to-work after he left the 57th annual state convention of the Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. “I don’t believe we are going to do that,” Culver said. “There are a lot of exciting things on the table at the Statehouse. It is unclear in terms of what particular steps we might take to help hard-working families, but I know that the Democratic Party is interested in fighting for those families, and making some progress in terms of helping those families out, especially during these tough economic times.” Revised merit pay proposal for state employees ready for Civil Service Commission review About 60,000 state civil service employees would be eligible for a 3 percent to 5 percent annual pay raise, depending on their job evaluations, under a merit pay proposal considered Wednesday. The state Civil Service Commission directed its staff to advertise and seek comments on the plan. The commission is expected to bring it up for discussion and a possible vote at its March 2-3 meeting. Wayne County gets 10 days to prove Friday furloughs are lawful Wayne County's government has 10 days to prove that every Friday furloughs ordered for 700 employees don't violate state law. Doyle O'Connor, an administrative law judge with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, said he would be bound to rule in favor of three American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees unions unless the county can prove that it didn't arbitrarily alter employees' workweeks in violation of the contract. The furloughs -- announced by Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano as a way to help plug a $100-million budget deficit -- are scheduled to begin Friday and last indefinitely. "This ruling doesn't stop the furloughs, but it puts them in jeopardy," said Bruce Miller, attorney for the unions. Wayne County workers protest furloughs Detroit -- Several of the 700 employees who are set to be laid off every Friday beginning this week petitioned a Wayne County Commission committee today to stand behind workers and block the plan. Yolanda Taylor, 36, who has already been laid off twice and bumped into other positions, said she cannot afford to give back any more. Taylor, who has worked for the county for nine years, added the Register of Deeds will shut down on Fridays as a result of the furloughs. "To me, it means I can't get gas, it means I can't get to work," said Taylor, who makes less than $30,000 a year as a typist. "How am I supposed to come to work Monday through Thursday and come and do my best? How much more do you want me to give (Ficano) when this man has not taken anything? Understand the severity of this." Executive Robert Ficano announced 700 employees will work one less day per week until further notice. The 700 nonsupervisory employees in three American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, will not work every Friday. State workers: Governor should keep promise to employees and restrain job, pension cuts Facing a $1.6 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm called for the early retirement of thousands of state workers. She would replace them by a ratio of two new hires for every three people who leave, she said Wednesday during her final State of the State address. But to Randy R. Barst, it’s not a reasonable goal to whittle the workforce at the Saginaw County Department of Human Services which contends with a growing caseload of the needy. “The caseload has been increasing while the staffing level has been decreasing for the last 10 years, so I don’t believe it’s realistic,” he said. Health-care unionizing bill creates ire Nothing is more sacred to senior citizens than the ability to live in their own homes through their golden years. That's often a tall order, and one usually facilitated by people who can help them eat, use the toilet and keep clean. While these professionals are crucial, a deal through the state that unionized them — and a bill that would strengthen it — is creating ire among some taxpayers. The state's in-home health workers are paid by the state in Medicaid dollars based on rates set up on a county-by-county basis. The state Department of Community Health and the Tri-County Office on Aging in 2004 collaborated to create the Michigan Quality Community Care Council. One year later, Michigan's home health-care providers voted by mail to unionize through the Service Employees International Union. The bottom line: Michigan's 42,000-plus home health-care workers are considered employees of the care council because their paychecks come from Lansing. A portion of their paychecks goes to the SEIU for union dues. Two Michigan conservative organizations said it's illegal for the council to conduct collective bargaining with the SEIU because only the Legislature can engage in bargaining for the employees, said Patrick Wright, director of the Midland-based Mackinac Center Legal Foundation. ... Wright said the situation mirrors creation of the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council, also through the state, that oversees providers of day care. The Child Care Providers Together Michigan union was later formed, and settled a contract with the daytime caregivers. Those care providers received an increase in subsidy checks, but 1.15 percent was deducted for union dues. Staff Editorial: Furloughs, layoffs are common enemies to all Eastern employees For some, it may be easier navigating a hedge maze than the tricky twists and turns of Eastern's current, yet ever-changing, furlough policy. President Bill Perry recently made several changes to the language and stipulations of the policy, but many aspects remain uncertain. As reported in an article that appeared in Wednesday's edition of The Daily Eastern News, one of the main areas of disagreement is between the faculty's acceptance of furloughs and the preference of civil service employees to use layoffs. But said acceptance does not mean anyone would prefer to see either. Basically, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 981 Clerical/Technical Chapter is the only union on campus that currently has furlough language in its contract. And regardless of the language, should the university have to enforce furloughs, Eastern administrators would first have to sit down with the chapter and negotiate the terms of furloughs before anything could go further. However, the Building Service Workers/Food Service chapter of AFSCME has no such language and will not even negotiate furloughs until the chapter's contract expires at Eastern in 2011. "There are some people within the bargaining process that feel furloughs are the best way to go, but I think the majority of them think letting the civil service system, layoffs and letting seniority decide, is important," Matt Pederson, president of the AFSCME said in the article. The City of Flint face layoff days The City of Flint unloaded a bombshell during a press conference Wednesday afternoon; an 8-million dollar shortfall has to be recovered by June. It’s the second time this decade Flint has had to dig itself out of a major multi-million dollar deficit. Back in 2002, the state appointed a financial manager to take over and make necessary cuts. Now, if the city doesn't take drastic measures, history may repeat itself. "These cost savings measures are going to impact us all, including my administration, city employees their families, as well as the residents and tax payers of this city, who deserve a fiscally responsible city hall," said Mayor Walling. Mayor Dayne Walling said, those measures include all non-public safety employees taking 12 non-paid days. Nixon nixes savings matches for state employees The state will stop matching state workers' deferred compensation contributions starting March 1. As part of Gov. Jay Nixon's latest round of budget cuts, the state will drop its monthly match of up to $35 between March 1 and June 30. Nixon's proposed budget includes the money for the matches for the fiscal year beginning July 1. But Bubs Hohulin, an assistant to Sen. Carl Vogel, said it's unlikely the match will be funded for the upcoming fiscal year. ... Joel Lawrence, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 72, said in a statement: "The state is in effect proposing a pay cut on top of a two-year pay freeze for the worst-paid state employees in the nation. This just underscores the need for the state to seriously pursue a balanced approach to raising revenue in Missouri." AFSCME represents close to 10,000 state workers. Mayor Bloomberg's gloom and doom budget plan brings bad news for city workers Last week, Mayor Bloomberg released a budget plan with two scenarios: bad and worse. Under the bad plan, 4,286 city employee jobs would be eliminated - 3,452 through attrition and 834 through layoffs. Twenty fire companies would be closed, police overtime slashed and the number of school nurses cut. The NYPD would be allowed to shrink by more than 800 positions through attrition. The worse plan paints a brutal picture of life in New York City if Gov. Paterson's budget passes, slicing $1.3 billion in state aid. Thousands of police officers and firefighters would be laid off. Street cleaning and street litter basket pickups would end. And the list goes on. It's unlikely that either Bloomberg's or Paterson's plan will go through as presented. ... As for the other city unions, Bloomberg said the little money put aside for 1.25% raises has been swept aside to help fill the yawning deficit. To get any salary increase, unions will have to give up some pension and health benefits or show extra productivity. ... The District Council 37 contract expires next month. City Seeks to Close 15 Day Care Centers in Budget Cut More than a half-dozen gentrified neighborhoods in Brooklyn would lose subsidized day care centers for low-income families under proposed city budget cuts, Bloomberg administration officials said Wednesday. A list of the 15 day care centers that are scheduled to close in July, 10 of them in Brooklyn, was released by the Administration for Children’s Services, and the agency tried to head off protests by unions, elected officials and families that have vowed to fight the closings. ... George Raglan Jr., the executive director of District Council 1707, the union that represents more than 25,000 social services employees in New York, said that hundreds of day care center employees would lose their jobs. “I believe that they’re closing these centers because they’ve been wanting to cut subsidized child care for a long time,” Mr. Raglan said. “They just want to shut them down. They don’t care if they’re doing well.” Union finds legislator's raise joke unfunny Cayuga County legislators Wednesday denied an accusation in a recent Civil Service Employees Association newsletter that the Legislature was considering a 50 percent raise for itself, dismissing any mention of a raise for legislators as shop talk not to be taken seriously. CSEA reported to members in a February newsletter that legislators were discussing a $5,000 raise for themselves, as well as raises for department heads. Union spokesman Mark Kotzin said CSEA based their report on information from a source who attended a closed committee meeting in January. Legislators said Wednesday no serious initiative to raise salaries is currently in the works. “That's crazy,” said Legislator Steve Cuddeback. “That wasn't discussed in anything other than tongue in cheek.” Kotzin said the union was told Cuddeback had suggested the $5,000 raise. Cuddeback admitted to comments about a raise, but said they were stated jokingly and in public. But the union is not taking even a joke lightly. “If it was a joke, it was certainly in poor taste,” Kotzin said. Colleges want to reopen talks / Contracts at State System campuses run until mid-2011 Leaders of Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities emerged from a closed teleconference Wednesday and announced their intention to enter negotiations with all seven of their unions for an unspecified reason. In interviews, officials from the two largest unions said they strongly suspect, based on talks within labor circles, that the issue involves a proposed work-force plan of early retirement incentives and other elements including regionalization of some individual campus services. Steve Hicks, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, said the retirement plan potentially could affect hundreds of faculty systemwide, as well as other university workers. Darrin Spann, an official with Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, could not say how many of his 350 maintenance, clerical and other State System workers might be affected. Mr. Spann, assistant to AFSCME Council 13's executive director, said the State System wants to meet with representatives of all the unions on Feb. 12. Liberal revenue agents One hundred fifteen organizations band together to promote new taxes to solve Washington’s $2.6 billion budget crisis. The quality of life for tens of thousands of Washington’s most vulnerable residents depends on a group with a clunky name that most of them have not, and will never, hear of: the Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition (Coalition). Whether they are severely disabled children receiving residential care, working poor families that need subsidized health insurance, adults who are unable to work, low-income students attending community college, wildlife threatened by toxic chemical spills or regular kids in overcrowded classrooms, the Coalition represents these Washingtonians’ best hope as the state legislature grapples with a $2.6 billion budget crisis. Nearing the midway point of the legislative session, it is unclear whether the Coalition will be able to achieve its ambitious goal: finding significant new taxes to prevent the massive cuts facing the state’s human infrastructure. ... The Coalition’s spokesperson, Sandeep Kaushik, says the group has a budget of several hundred thousand dollars and is taking a multi-pronged approach to the budget crisis. The Coalition is systematically lobbying individual members of the state Legislature, organizing grassroots events and sponsoring a paid-media campaign. Its funders are the Washington State Hospital Association, the Washington Education Association, the Community Health Network of Washington, the Washington Federation of State Employees and the Service Employees International Union. Cover Story: Washington’s Candy Land of Tax Breaks / As our cash-strapped state prepares to cut services for the poor and mentally ill, billions of dollars in tax breaks and exemptions are still being doled out. When Gov. Chris Gregoire arrived last month at the 100th birthday celebration for Albert D. Rosellini at his assisted-living facility on Seattle's First Hill, she was immediately waved over to the ailing former governor's wheelchair so he could whisper privately in her ear. In a room filled with well-wishers, including members of Congress and five other former governors, Gregoire bent down, listened, replied softly, and smiled agreeably. What do governors talk about when they whisper in each other's ears? Why, taxes, of course. "He said, 'Go with your heart on taxes,'" Gregoire confided later. "'Do what's best for everyone,' he said." She pronounced that "good advice." ... The 19,000-member Washington Federation of State Employees, however, sees exemption repeal as at least a job-saver. Some of its members were stunned last month when the federation blog mentioned that almost $15 billion was available to offset proposed state cuts in the employee ranks. They swamped legislators with calls and e-mails. Why not use that money rather than hack away at our programs and pay? they asked. Other members couldn't believe the money might really be there. In response to the "skeptical comments about the validity of our assertion," the federation blog ran another item the next day, linking to the DOR online exemptions report. "Right now," says Greg Devereux, the federation's executive director, "it seems state workers and teachers are the targets" of budget-cutters. "Our mantra is there should be shared sacrifices. But we're easy targets. Rather than piss off a hundred groups, just piss off two. They don't think they need us to get re-elected." SeaTac City Hall closed Feb. 12 as employees take off one of five furlough days Due to the financial challenges presented by the current economic downturn, the City of SeaTac has decided to schedule five furlough days in 2010. City officials negotiated the furlough days with the Washington State Council of County and City Employees, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO Local #3830. Previous Daily Newswires |
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