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May 8, 2008National/PoliticalClinton vows to buck odds, stay in race ... Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, a union that has spent hundreds of thousand of dollars promoting the Clinton campaign, also expressed frustration with what he sees as an imprudent rush to end the Democratic competition at the expense of the candidate he sees as the stronger potential nominee. He warned that the first-term Illinois senator offers a big target for the GOP. "[Republicans] will have a dossier on Barack Obama like you never saw, that is second to none," he predicted in an interview yesterday. Hillary, Obama, and Bubba ... One anonymous analyst, a senior political strategist for labor, shook his head in wonder and admiration for Hillary. .. Obama simply won’t sell, he said, echoing recent comments by local and national leaders of the steelworkers, AFSCME, and other big unions. Who won’t buy? Guys like me,” he said. “And guys I work with. And women who work. We’ll take him as vice president in a minute, but Hillary’s ours. She is one tough broad.” All eyes on the Democrats' superdelegates Linda Chavez-Thompson knows she holds the most valuable political currency seen in recent years: a superdelegate vote. But after Tuesday night's primaries in North Carolina and Indiana -- in which Barack Obama handily took one victory and Hillary Clinton narrowly took the other -- Chavez-Thompson still isn't ready to cash it in. An officer for the Democratic National Committee, she is among hundreds of undeclared delegates in one of the most epic, long-standing battles for the presidential nomination. .. Chavez-Thompson said she likely won't say who she supports until the convention because she is an officer on the DNC and because she represents the AFL-CIO. White House May Soften Health Policy (no link) The Bush administration appears to be softening a policy that states have complained hindered their efforts to expand health-care coverage for poor children under a popular state-federal insurance program. In a letter sent to states Wednesday, the administration says it will give states more flexibility to prove that they have enrolled 95% of poor children from eligible families -- a condition, laid out in an August directive, for using federal funds to expand coverage under the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Medicaid Should Not Fund Hospital Surge Capacity, Leavitt Says New Medicaid regulations that will reduce federal funding to states will not hurt hospitals’ ability to prepare for terrorist attacks and other national emergencies, Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt told a House panel Wednesday. Senators Blast Labor Department After GAO Report Shows That It Gives Earmarks Without Accountability U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), and Patty Murray (D-WA) today revealed the findings of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report (.pdf) they commissioned which showed that after seven years of providing nearly $300 million in earmarks, the Department of Labor (DoL) did not properly monitor funded activities, to assess whether the grant objectives were being met or properly evaluate them to determine whether the funded activities were effective. Labor seeks benefits of green economy After years of decline, Big Labor is hoping to revive its movement by hitching a ride with the environmentalists. The vehicle: a Senate global warming bill set for action next month. First, union lobbyists inserted into the bill a requirement that government money on clean energy projects be spent domestically. Now, the AFL-CIO is working to expand its “buy American” mantra to cover the sector’s entire supply chain and ensure that at least 85 percent of labor and production is done stateside, said Bob Baugh, co-chairman of the union’s energy task force. At-risk gubernatorial seats increase Since January, the last time Out There assessed the 11 governorships up in 2008, the contests are swinging to extremes — either getting hotter than ever, or snoozier. The likelihood of a switch in partisan control of the top spot has grown in at least three states — Missouri, Washington state and North Carolina — and remains high in Indiana, making these races the most vulnerable for the party in control, according to an analysis by Out There. CVS shareholders reject executive pay proposal Shareholders gathered this morning for CVS Caremark Corp.'s annual meeting narrowly rejected a proposal that would have limited the use of "gross-up" payments to senior executives. .. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) opposes such payments and has submitted shareholder proposals to a number of companies, including Woonsocket-based CVS Caremark, seeking to restrict "gross up" awards. State/LocalRell Cool To Expansion Of State Worker Insurance Pool Gov. M. Jodi Rell expressed strong reservations Wednesday about a Democratic bill that would permit municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses to join the state employee health insurance pool. .. "Health care pooling is a win-win situation," said Sal Luciano, executive director of Council 4, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Fate of pension revocation bill in doubt The fate of a key ethics reform bill, which revokes the pensions of corrupt officials and public employees, remained in doubt late Wednesday as the legislative session neared adjournment. Letter tells of prison’s situation At his Tuesday press conference, held in Pontiac, State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa (53rd District), released copies of the letter, sent on Friday, by Illinois Department of Corrections Director Roger E. Walker Jr., to State Sen. Arthur J. Wilhelmi, R-Crest Hill (43rd District), canceling the plan to close a portion of Stateville Correctional Center, Joliet, and making public for the first time a new plan to close Pontiac Correctional Center by February 2009. .. Danny Jarrett, president of AFSCME Local 494 (which represents officers at PCC), said at the conference that "Pontiac is fully functional. We went through so many changes to make it safer for all employees and inmates." Eggs & Issues / Dahl, Weller aide provide legislative updates .. Dahl noted the General Assembly went nowhere with trying to substitute a 401(k) retirement plan, or the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees plan. IDOT move could cost $1 million: All of a sudden — spending an issue .... The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees represents about 100 employees in the Division of Traffic Safety. AFSCME Executive Director Henry Bayer said the state must bargain with the union when a facility closes, including moving expenses. The union is working to block the move, but Bayer said, at the least, it wants to ensure all employee relocation costs are covered. Unions criticize raises for officials When several of Kane County's public unions settled contracts last year, county officials held the line at raises of 3 percent. On Wednesday, some of those union members gathered at the government center to say that was not enough. "My 3 percent is entirely chewed up in gas prices," said Bob Leonard, a health department worker who is president of AFSCME Local 3966. "We didn't get a raise. We're behind." Atlanta workers say revenge prompted layoffs Janet Williams said she complained to her boss that she was being sexually harassed by a co-worker. One week later, a supervisor for Atlanta's General Services office told Williams she was being laid off. Williams is one of at least 30 former Atlanta employees appealing the city's decision to let them go. .. Nancy Lenk, a leader at a city union that represents about 2,000 city workers, said she has heard similar complaints from laid-off employees. "I think there's been inappropriate layoffs," said Lenk, assistant director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1644. Harrisburg City Council members call for freeze on parking plan Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed's $215 million parking plan is meeting with at least temporary opposition from some City Council members and possibly from a key union. ... But the union - the American Federation of Federal, State and City Employees District 90 - has rejected negotiations with the potential operator, according to the letter. That makes it unlikely the language in question will be removed from the contract, the council members wrote. AFSCME District 90 Director Mary Schwanger declined to comment this afternoon, saying she wanted to wait for the outcome of tonight's vote. Water fight ... One of the bottom lines emphasized repeatedly during the event was the increasing likelihood that multinational corporations will try and buy up and privatize publicly owned water works. .. Detroit, with the world's largest water plant, could be particularly vulnerable to this sort of attempted takeover, warned John Riehl, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 207, which has more than 900 members and represents workers at Detroit's Department of Water & Sewerage. Mich. high court: Gay partners can't get health benefits Local governments and state universities in Michigan can't offer health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday (.pdf). The court ruled 5-2 that Michigan's 2004 ban against gay marriage also blocks domestic-partner policies affecting gay employees at the University of Michigan and other public-sector employers. The decision affirms a February 2007 appeals court ruling. Forum Health report: Keep it intact / The study by the Chartis Group was commissioned by the Ohio attorney general in 2007. A report on the status of health care in the Mahoning Valley, and where Forum Health fits into its future, was to be made public this morning. The study, by the Chartis Group, a national consulting firm that specializes in the health care field, was commissioned by the Ohio attorney general’s office in 2007. Union issues dominate at Otsego board Stalled contract negotiations between Otsego County and its largest union colored much of Wednesday's meeting of the Otsego County Board of Representatives. .. About 12 CESA workers crowded in the doorway to watch as Washburn and James Ganio, also an IT employee, urged the county board to make a new contract offer. The number of workers at the meeting might have been much larger but for a memorandum sent to department heads Tuesday afternoon by Jennie Ghlia, the county's personnel director. Pact approved for custodians After four years of negotiations, the School Committee and school custodians have finalized a new contract that will raise employees' salaries 14 percent over four years. ... Earlier the custodians and other employees covered under Council 39 of the American Federation of State, County and municipal employees ratified the contract in an overwhelming vote. Lawmakers tout law that pays nurses more money Iowa House speaker Pat Murphy and other lawmakers paid a visit to University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City Tuesday to highlight legislation passed on the final day of this year's session. The bill earmarks this year's Medicaid provider reimbursement increase to go directly to increasing the wages of registered nurses. Immigrants’ and Workers’ Rights Spoken Through the Megaphone ... It began at the Quarry Plaza, where a mass of 150 people gathered to listen to speakers discuss immigration, labor, and justice. Students, community members, and faculty, many wearing green to show solidarity with campus workers, gathered in front of a large banner reading, “Sí Se Puede,” hanged from the balcony of the student union, evoking the phrase, “Yes we can!” which was made famous in the days of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers union. Yolanda Lopez, an employee at UC Santa Cruz and a member of AFSCME, spoke into the megaphone, setting the tone for a long day of marching, chanting and celebrating. Tennessee governor to offer buyouts to 2,000 state workers Tennessee will offer voluntary buyouts to 2,011 state workers in an effort to shore up its budget. DPS and state PERA system await merger talks A possible merger between Denver Public Schools' pension system and the state's public employees retirement system would remove employment barriers for teachers and save the district millions of dollars, supporters say. Jail costs increasing for Peoria, privatization considered With the cost to put people in county jails on the increase each year, Peoria is taking a look at the private sector to do the job. Maricopa County is predicting an 8 percent increase in the jail incarceration fee in fiscal year 2009 for Peoria, a $108,000 jump to $383,000. Also, new DUI laws have increased the number of booking days for first- and second-offenders. |
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