|
Press Room | ||
May 6, 2008National/PoliticalApoyo sindical para Hillary ... De esta forma, SPU siguió el patrón de la Federación Americana de Empleados Estatales, de Condado y Municipales (AFSCME, por sus siglas en inglés), cuerpo al que está afiliada, que desde el principio de la campaña presidencial ha apoyado a la senadora por el estado de Nueva York. De hecho, el presidente de la AFSCME, Gerald McEntee, participó de la asamblea para agradecer el apoyo del grupo puertorriqueño y para traer un mensaje que la candidata demócrata grabó en vídeo para los servidores públicos. Related article: Proliferan los comités a favor de Hillary Clinton "Put 'Em Up" / Win McNamee of Getty Images photographed Hillary Clinton (no link) Hillary holding a pair of boxing gloves given to her by Gerald McEntee (shown at right), international president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, which endorsed her presidential candidacy. Says McNamee: "It seemed as if the assignment was going to be a standard campaign event. Toward the end, the union president motioned offstage to an assistant to hand him this pair of sparring gloves. The picture was made relatively early in the campaign, but it seems to have a bit of staying power because of the way the race has turned out." Clinton Leads Obama by Seven Percentage Points in Ipsos Poll Senator Hillary Clinton has a seven percentage point lead over Senator Barack Obama among Democrats nationwide the night before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, according to the latest Ipsos poll. Forty-seven percent of Democratic supporters across the U.S. would choose Clinton, who represents New York, if a primary or caucus were held in their states today, according to the telephone poll taken April 30 through May 4. Forty percent said they would vote for Obama, of Illinois, Ipsos said in a statement distributed today by PRNewswire. Hundreds await Hillary Clinton's M'vlle visit ... Guy Wiederhold, a union representative from Pottsville, Pa., said he thinks Clinton has a "very good" chance of winning Indiana in Tuesday's primary. Wiederhold, a member of AFSCME District Council #89, and other Pennsylvania union members arrived in the Region Friday and plan to campaign here for Clinton until at least Wednesday. Clinton Camp Hits Obama Over Teamsters Report On a conference call with reporters this morning, the Clinton campaign knocked Barack Obama over a report in the Wall Street Journal today that Obama "won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption." Clinton has not taken a position on oversight of the Teamsters, and, as the Journal notes, Obama's stance is unusual, as "[p]olicy makers have largely treated monitoring of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as a legal matter left to the Justice Department since an independent review board was set up in 1992 to eliminate mob influence in the union." Even the Insured Feel Strain of Health Costs The economic slowdown has swelled the ranks of people without health insurance. But now it is also threatening millions of people who have insurance but find that the coverage is too limited or that they cannot afford their own share of medical costs. ... Sage Holben, a 62-year-old library technician with diabetes who is active in her local union in St. Paul, says that in 2003 union members agreed to a two-year freeze on wages to protect their health care coverage. But for the union, which will begin talks on the next contract this fall, it may be difficult to continue that trade-off, Ms. Holben said States Get In on Calls for a Gas Tax Holiday .. But state gas taxes, which run as high as 45.5 cents a gallon, often add far more to the price of gas than the 18.4-cent federal excise tax and are the primary cause of price disparities across state lines. So lawmakers and candidates at the state level have been getting into the act... Economic studies have shown that high gas prices disproportionately affect lower-middle-class Americans like Mrs. Laster, whose family lives on her husband’s salary from McDonald’s. And these appear to be the voters politicians are trying to appeal to. Private firms cleared to help Texans applying for food stamps A move in Congress to limit the role of private firms in doling out food stamps is dead for now, allowing Texas to move forward with its privatization plans. U.S. House and Senate negotiators voted late last week against including a privatization ban in a $300 billion farm bill that lawmakers hope to finish this week. The ban would have prevented states from allowing employees of private companies to interact with people who are applying for food stamps or to decide someone's eligibility. Waxman Raises Concerns Over Medicaid Cuts New Bush administration Medicaid regulations could degrade the ability of hospitals to respond to a terrorist attack, the chairman of a House panel said Monday. .. Waxman’s committee is holding a two-day hearing on the issue, escalating the battle between congressional Democrats and the administration over the regulations. Leavitt and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will testify on Wednesday. Waxman’s staff surveyed emergency rooms in five cities and found that most of them were badly crowded and unprepared for an influx of hundreds of casualties. Related article from USA Today: Inquiry: Hospitals couldn't handle terror attack 'Say-on-Pay' Movement Loses Steam The movement to give shareholders greater say on executive compensation marked a watershed Monday. At its annual shareholder meeting, Aflac, the large insurer, became the first major American company to give investors a vote on how senior managers are paid. ... But some corporate governance experts and activist shareholders said there might not be too many more moments like it. ... "I thought we'd have a couple of more majority votes earlier on," said Richard Ferlauto, director of pension-investment policy at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which is sponsoring many of the more than 90 say-on-pay proposals. "There hasn't been an across-the-board breakthrough yet." ... Ferlauto and others pointed to several reasons for the leveling off of support. They said new e-proxy rules, which allow companies to send out proxy materials and collect shareholder votes online, have caused voter participation to fall. At some financial firms, the shareholder base has been diluted by sovereign wealth funds that have taken large stakes at the invitation of management. Aflac Shareholders Have Their Say on Pay ... Say on Pay is, of course, opposed by business groups. But even an aggressive activist investor like the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America thinks Say on Pay is a lazy exercise that doesn't accomplish much. The union prefers pushing companies to set parameters for designing pay-for-performance compensation plans. However, the unofficial leader of the Say on Pay movement, Richard Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension investment at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), says the carpenters are overstepping their bounds by pushing for specific metrics. Related article from the New York Times: Aflac Shareholders, in Vote, Back Chief’s Pay State/LocalEmployees react to Blagojevich's proposal to close Pontiac prison ... Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Illinois Council 31, which represents the guards, said the state’s prison system is filled 35 percent beyond the rated capacity and the state won’t have sufficient maximum-security beds if Pontiac is closed. He said the union will fight the proposal to close Pontiac as vigorously as it did in stopping the closures of prisons in Vandalia and St. Charles. “The number of inmates is not abating,” Bayer said. Related articles:
Benton area could be in running for Division of Traffic Safety office Springfield's loss is apparently a gain for Southern Illinois - and, specifically, the Benton area. Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Milton R. Sees announced today IDOT will relocate the Division of Traffic Safety in the coming months to Southern Illinois. .. All full-time employees will be offered the opportunity to relocate to Southern Illinois, with IDOT covering the cost of their relocation expenses. AFSCME employees who do not opt to move will retain a three-year right to recall within IDOT, at or below their current title. Harrisburg Mayor unveils ambitious parking proposal Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed this afternoon revealed a plan to lease 11 Harrisburg Parking Authority garages, its parking lots and approximately 900 metered parking spaces in the city to a private company, which would pay the authority a one-time up front sum of $215 million. ... The plan hinges on City Council's approval and negotiations with AFSCME local 521 B, the union which represents authority parking garage employees. The new operator would employ existing garage employees at the same rate and might add more workers, Reed said. Many R.I. workers may retire Administrators across state government are starting to plan for a mass exodus of longtime workers who might decide to retire this year because of looming changes to the health insurance coverage for retirees. .... “This has put the fear into all the workers,” said J. Michael Downey, president of Council 94, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, which represents 5,000 state employees. Suit filed to block Medi-Cal rate cuts An influential coalition of health care organizations sued the state Monday to block a 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal rates set to take effect this summer. The cuts would put Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal, safety net programs for the state's poor, on the verge of a "health-care catastrophe," said officials for the coalition. More layoffs as Atlanta's budget pain spreads ... Mayor Shirley Franklin announced Wednesday that she was laying off 441 city workers and eliminating 347 vacant positions as part of her plan to balance the fiscal 2008-09 budget, which has a projected $140 million shortfall. .. On Monday, city officials laid off workers in Atlanta's information technology, finance, procurement and human resources departments in closed-door meetings in the old City Council chambers. The city is eliminating 91 positions in those departments. State Senate Endorses Medicaid Home Care Bill Elderly people who are eligible for Medicaid and who are frail enough to require nursing home care will be freed from such institutional care — and, it is hoped, cared for at home in growing numbers — through a bill endorsed unanimously in the Senate Friday. The bill expands the fledgling "The Money Follows the Person Project," under which the state will give the same Medicaid funds to a person at home — or in some other community setting — that it would have if he or she were confined to a nursing home. OSHA slaps Sodexho with safety violations A list of repeated and serious violations of federal health and safety standards has resulted in fines and penalties adding up to $77,125 against Sodexho Inc. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration disclosed the allegations Monday, citing the Buffalo company following inspections earlier this year. The inspections of a facility at 60 Grider St. were prompted by employee complaints, OSHA said. ... Sodexho, which operates a laundry service at the site, has 15 days to contest the charges. Lawsuit contends Blunt's aides ordered staffers to break the law Gov. Matt Blunt's top aides ordered state employees to break the law by destroying copies of government e-mails so they wouldn't ever become public, a lawsuit filed Monday charges. Employee Appreciation Week We will soon observe State of Michigan Employee Appreciation Week - May 5-9, 2008 - and on behalf of the citizens of Michigan, thank you. Thank you for choosing a career in public service, and thank you for your dedication and willingness to serve the people of the great state of Michigan. Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Honors State Employees / Proclaims May 7 State Employee Recognition Day Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the recipients of the second annual Governor's Awards for Excellence and praised all state employees for their dedication to service during national Public Employee Recognition Week . |
 |
||
.gif)
