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July 14, 2008National/PoliticalMcCain's Out-of-Touch Co-Chair Says U.S. is "a Nation of Whiners" Every time you look around lately, John McCain and friends are spouting off about important issues like the economy, globalization and Social Security. And with each passing day, they give Americans a clearer sign of just how out of touch they really are..... Now, the McCain campaign's co-chair, former Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, says that America's economy isn't doing all that badly. In fact, he told The Washington Times: "We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today." McCain takes a Social Security risk It was a spectacular flop: a president making dozens of fruitless trips around the country to build support for a plan his own party's leadership refused to accept. But President Bush's failed push to privatize Social Security has not deterred John McCain from putting forward the same idea -- and from risking a similar political disaster. McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, spoke several times last week about changing how the popular retirement program is funded, at one point calling it a "disgrace" that younger workers are forced to pay for a plan that, in his view, is unlikely to benefit them when they retire. .. "This could well be McCain's Achilles' heel with regard to large numbers of people who are already Social Security retirees and the baby boomer generation, which is getting ready to retire," said Charles M. Loveless, legislation director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which helped fund the 2005 effort and expects to spend millions this year. ... Loveless, of the public workers' union, said his group would probably invest at least $2 million in the campaign and would focus its grass-roots mobilization efforts in Florida because of its large number of retirees. For labor unions, polls show promise The nation's labor unions, in decline for decades and on the defensive for eight years during the Bush administration, are counting on a major revival if Barack Obama is elected president in November and Democrats gain stronger majorities in Congress. With plans to spend at least $300 million on voter registration, issue ads, direct mail, get-out-the-vote operations and other campaign activities, organized labor sees the 2008 election as a watershed moment, and it has lined up solidly behind the Democratic presidential candidate. .... The 10 million-member AFL-CIO, a federation of 56 unions, plans to spend $53 million on outreach to its members, while its affiliated unions have promised another $150 million for the fall campaigns. Change to Win Unions, a separate organization with 6 million members, including the Service Employees International Union, are expected to spend at least another $100 million. Changes in Fast-Growing States May Sway Election / More Younger Voters Favor Democrats In Colorado, Nevada (no link) Some of the nation's fastest-growing states are undergoing demographic changes that could transform Republican strongholds into swing states in 2008 -- and even trend toward Democrats in the long run. .. The shifts are particularly noteworthy in Colorado and Nevada, both of which President Bush carried in 2004. They are high on the target list this year for Barack Obama's campaign. A similar population shift has been seen in New Hampshire, the North's fastest-growing swing state, which President Bush won in 2000 but narrowly lost in 2004. Clinton asks teachers union to shift support to Obama Sen. Hillary Clinton made a politically bittersweet visit to the American Federation of Teachers gathering in Chicago on Saturday, thanking the union for its early support in her bid for the presidency then urging members to get actively behind her former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama. Union election to be lesson on women's achievement ... On Monday, barring any rebellion before votes are tallied, the trio is expected to be elected to the top three positions of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers at its Chicago convention. Their election would mark the first time three women will hold top positions in a union whose membership is more than 70 percent female. ... Cornell University labor expert Kate Bronfenbrenner views the arrival of the three women at AFT's top ranks as the exception to the rule in major American unions. "The problem is that union leaders literally don't leave until they die," Bronfenbrenner said. Treasury Acts to Shore Up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Alarmed by the sharply eroding confidence in the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, the Bush administration on Sunday asked Congress to approve a sweeping rescue package that would give officials the power to inject billions of federal dollars into the beleaguered companies through investments and loans. In a separate announcement, the Federal Reserve said it would make one of its short-term lending programs available to the two companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Fed said that it had made its decision “to promote the availability of home mortgage credit during a period of stress in financial markets.” News Analysis / Government as the Big Lender The desperate worry over the health of huge financial institutions with country cousin names — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — reflects a reality that has reshaped major spheres of American life: the government has in recent months taken on an increasingly dominant role in assuring that Americans can buy a home or attend college. Editorial / Medicare’s Bias The intense struggle in Congress last week over a relatively modest Medicare reform bill has underscored a disturbing truth: many of the private plans that participate in the huge government-sponsored health insurance program for older Americans have become a far too costly drain on Medicare’s overstretched budget. Proxy access proxy? Court could give the nod to investor groups' putting nominees on own ballot, with expenses repaid if they win A Delaware court ruling expected as early as this week could give shareholder activists the chance to nominate dissident directors to corporate boards. The catch: The loser picks up the tab. Earlier this year, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed what's called a proxy reimbursement proposal at CA Inc., a computer software maker in Islandia, N.Y. Under the proposal, the union would pay to put forth its dissident slate of directors on its own ballot—not the corporate proxy. However, the union would be reimbursed by the company for its costs if at least one of its nominees is elected. .. “It's going to be quite precedential,” said Rich Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension investment at AFSCME. The union has been a leading voice for increasing shareholder access to the director-nominating process and rejected the SEC's attempts last year to settle the issue. Now AFSCME plans to fight on by pushing for proxy access and getting the Delaware court to allow its proposal at CA. Audio recordings of the oral arguments are available on the Delaware Supreme Court website. State/LocalNM hospital ordered to negotiate with union The National Labor Relations Board has ordered a private Las Vegas hospital to bargain with a union, saying the hospital violated federal law by refusing to do so. The ruling late last month came in response to an unfair labor practices complaint the union—District 1199 of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees—filed against Alta Vista Regional Hospital. Under the terms of the decision, Alta Vista must post a notice in its facility declaring that it had violated federal labor law and informing employees of their rights... "The hospital thinks that if they can delay this as long as possible, the workers will give up and go away," said Eleanor Chavez, director of District 1199. "The workers remain steadfast in getting union representation at the hospital." Related article from the Las Vegas Optic: Hospital ordered to negotiate Costs higher in new health care deal Although overall costs will go up, state workers will pick up the same share of their health insurance costs under an agreement reached by unions last week. A coalition of state employee unions settled on keeping the 12 percent-88 percent split between worker and employer costs in a single day of talks with Gov. Chris Gregoire's negotiation team. .. Monthly premiums for the average worker's 12 percent share will go up by $12 to $91, according to the board. That percentage share has been in place during the two most recent two-year contracts with the governor. And it has been expanded to all state workers. "That's never a given," said Tim Welch, a spokesman for the Washington Federation of State Employees. Deal pares down Wayne layoffs Wayne County employees slated for reassignments or layoffs on Monday should show up to their normal jobs instead. After hours of negotiations on Friday, county and union officials came to a compromise on the employment and reassignment issues. There will still be layoffs in the roads division, but fewer than originally feared by union members. There will be job reassignments but again, fewer workers will be affected than originally proposed, as the agreement stands. "Any type of layoff and displacement of employees to other positions are suspended for one week," said Vanessa Denha-Garmo, county spokeswoman. "Management and AFSCME have worked very closely and diligently to come up with a process to continue services with the county with the minimum amount of employees affected." Windsor stalls tunnel deal in scandals' wake DETROIT -- Windsor is putting on hold its negotiations to buy Detroit's share of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel for $75 million amid separate criminal investigations of Detroit officials, a lawyer for the Ontario city said Friday. ... Adams reiterated Friday that the Mayor's Office is making plans for layoffs if the deal collapses. Unions are required to receive notice of layoffs, and Adams said officials are researching when to send them out. .. Ed McNeil, special assistant to Al Garrett, president of Michigan AFSCME Council 25, said Friday he hadn't heard about the renewed possibility of city layoffs. Contract OK saved Synagro $1 million A review of documents associated with the Synagro Technologies Inc. contract that has sparked an FBI bribery investigation suggests company officials had good reason to lobby City Council members hard to approve the deal. It was a no-bid contract. It was worth $22 million more per year than the company Synagro was replacing. And if City Council approved the deal by Dec. 31, Synagro would save $1 million. .... Any re-evaluation of the contract is good news to city unions, who fought the Minergy and Synagro contracts for years, fearing they would lose jobs. "This stunk from the beginning. Maybe the truth will come out," said John Riehl, president of one AFSCME local that represents water department workers. Report: Moving 100 Illinois workers south helps area A report suggests moving state transportation workers from Springfield to southern Illinois could create a $15 million bump in the local economy there, but not without damaging the capital city. Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants more than 100 Springfield Illinois Department of Transportation workers transferred to an office in Harrisburg. ... Opponents of the move, though, questioned the accuracy of those predictions. “The numbers cited in this report are just one economist’s view of jobs in these areas,” said Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. Blagojevich cuts historic sites budget in half On the cusp of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has slashed about half of the state's budget used to maintain and operate historic sites, including those dedicated to the 16th president. ... Anders Lindall, spokesman for the union that represents many of the workers who staff historic sites, said the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union is still analyzing cuts in agencies across state government. ''We fear that the cuts could result in layoffs.'' Lindall said. ''We think that the General Assembly should come back right away and override these irresponsible cuts.'' La Salle Veterans Home survives governor's veto pen Despite the budget slashing in Springfield, the $6.2 million for the Illinois Veterans Home in La Salle is still intact, says State Senator Gary Dahl. ... Additionally, he urged the governor to assist in speeding up the hiring process at the veterans home to staff the additional beds and alleviate the massive amounts of overtime for caregivers at the facility.He said nursing assistants at the veterans home average 15 or more hours of overtime monthly. ...Additionally, the senator said the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers, which represents hourly workers at the facility, needs to cooperate with management and the Veterans Administration to help fill the job openings. AFT Delegates Show Solidarity for Healthcare Workers The possibilities of thunderstorms didn't stop AFT's delegates from wanting to go to Resurrection Hospital to rally on behalf of the healthcare workers who have been fighting for a fair contract. .. Also speaking at the rally were AFT vice president Marilyn Stewart and Ann Twomey, AFSCME organizing director Tracey Abman, and Resurrection worker Shirley Brown. Kona hospital to lay off 10 percent of its staff Kona Community Hospital plans to lay off 54 people, or more than 10 percent of its work force, next week to trim deficit spending. The Big Island hospital is part of Hawaii Health Systems Corp., the state subsidized network of about a dozen hospitals serving mostly the neighbor islands and rural areas. ... Clifford Uwaine, executive assistant to the state director of United Public Workers, told a committee at the state Capitol on Friday that he and his boss would fly to Kona today to pinpoint which employees will be terminated. Related article from the Star Bulletin: 54 layoffs diagnosed at Kona hospital Families Fight to Keep Rosewood Center Open Dozens of families say closing the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills puts their loved ones at risk. They want to keep Rosewood open -- and now they're getting some help. There have been reports about trouble at Rosewood for years. State regulators have documented cases of poor treatment of residents, and crumbling facilities. Earlier this year Governor O'Malley announced that the state would close Rosewood. But many families say Rosewood is the only home their loved ones have ever known. On Sunday, some of them came to Rosewood to protest the closure. ‘The governor has made a bad decision; he thinks it's good but he's had bad advice,’ said Harry Yost, whose son Larry is a Rosewood resident. Letter: 'Me-first' label is an insult On behalf of the 38,000 Massachusetts public employees represented by AFSCME Council 93, I write to express my strong objection to Joan Vennochi's disparaging statements regarding public employees. In her July 10 column, Vennochi writes, "A me-first mentality is not unusual for public employee unions." This gross generalization is both unfair and inaccurate. AFSCME alone has thousands of members working for the state Department of Mental Health and Department of Mental Retardation. These members have devoted the better part of their lives caring for the most vulnerable members of our society. In this line of work and in virtually all public sector jobs, people must always put those they are responsible for serving before themselves. That's what public employees do. It is the very nature of the public sector job. Perhaps if Vennochi spent a day watching an AFSCME member bathe and feed a mentally retarded adult with severe physical handicaps, she would not be so quick to paint public servants with such a broad brush. State workers got their 4 percent cost-of-living raises despite budget cuts, but some Nevada correctional officers may get a 5 percent pay cut July 21. (scroll down) Corrections Director Howard Skolnik wants to eliminate the extra 5 percent that 450 prison workers earn on the swing and graveyard shifts. Cutting “shift differential” would save an estimated $700,000, he says. That has the state workers union upset, saying Skolnik didn’t provide documentation to justify the cut. Dennis Mallory, chief of staff in the local office of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, says employees bid for those shifts and they fashion their lives around them. Union grievance could cost USF thousands Formal objections from the staff union could reverse dozens of layoffs despite USF's tightening budget. William McClelland, president of the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), filed a class-action grievance against USF last week. The grievance is in response to reports of labor agreement violations and could potentially affect every laid-off staff member at the University. While grievances are regularly filed against USF, a large-scale complaint like McClelland's is rare. "A class-action grievance is very unusual," said Michael Hoad, vice president of communications, who also said that he has never heard of one occurring at the University. Shorter week could save money / DiVecchio looks at 4-day workweek for county workers ... Karen Dorich, an employee in the county's General Accounting Office, is also president of Local 2666 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. Dorich called the proposed workweek change "a wonderful idea" and said her union supports the proposal. AFSCME represents about 350 county employees, including clerks, technical and professional employees of the health and planning departments; deputies in the Erie County Sheriff's Office; and the public defender's detectives. "Not only will we be able to conserve gasoline by driving to work one less day per week, but employees may also be able to save on baby-sitting or day-care costs as well," Dorich said. Council expected to delay decision Huntington City Council is expected to delay a vote on a proposed contract for the city's non-uniformed workers until it has more time to review the contract. .. The AFSCME union represents 109 of the city's 360 employees. Those employees include workers in the Public Works Department, including its garbage, sanitation, streets, motor pool and floodwall divisions. On June 30, the union voted 56-21 to approve a contract that includes the new health insurance plan implemented by Mayor David Felinton. The union also agreed to forego pay raises in the first year of the contract. Union members will receive pay raises totaling $3 an hour over the final four years of the agreement. Wis. legislative committee to look at overtime Potential abuses in Wisconsin state employees working overtime will be examined by a legislative committee this week. An audit released last month found that the state has paid more than $187 million in overtime to workers since 2005. State workers' pay hits a ceiling / Limit may raise private sector's attractiveness to skilled employees .... Pawlenty hasn't complained about his pay, which is just below average for governors across the country. But the lack of a pay increase at the top of state government has had some peculiar results on the rest of the state's 33,000 executive-branch employees. That's because state law dictates that, with few exceptions, no government employee can make more than the governor. ... Overall, however, Minnesota state employees are comparatively well paid. The average, full-time state employee earned $53,789 a year as of January. That's about $10,000 more than the average working Minnesotan, who tends to be younger and less experienced than many state employees. S.J., unions reach deals / 'Tough Economic Times' Shape Agreements San Jose has reached a tentative labor agreement with the city's largest employee union and finalized a pact with a separate management group - deals officials said signals workers' willingness to help ease the city's chronic budget deficits. .. The Municipal Employees Federation, San Jose's largest union, ratified the tentative agreement Thursday night. The union's 2,500 San Jose workers include custodians, public safety dispatchers, librarians and planners. Erik Larsen, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 101, which includes the Municipal Employees Federation, called the deal a "mixed bag." State's new eligibility system to take on Medicaid, food stamp recipients State social services officials now plan to switch 1 million or more needy people in the next year to a different application process for benefits, including Medicaid and food stamps. The state says it intends to shift 953,000 elderly and disabled Medicaid patients into its problem-plagued "integrated eligibility" system by September 2009 – on top of its previously stated goal of moving in 288,000 more food stamp recipients by August 2009. State employees welcome to bring babies to work ... The babies are short-timers, and within six months, they'll be gone. The workers will celebrate when they leave for daycare. New parents at many state offices can take their children who are under 6 months old to work. .. The program allows parents who might not have a lot of extra leave time saved up to continue working while still spending time with their new child, he said. Parents find it convenient, and co-workers enjoy the little ones around the office. .. Since the program started 12 years ago, 42 babies have gone to work with Mom or Dad. News from San Francisco and UCUC workers union to begin strike The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3299, a union that represents approximately 20,000 workers statewide, announced that it will begin its five-day strike today. The decision comes in spite of a temporary restraining order issued by the Superior Court of San Francisco, and affects 8,500 UC service workers at 10 campuses. Lakesha Harrison, the president of AFSCME Local 3299, said the union’s right to strike is guaranteed by the Constitution. .. But Nicole Savickas, a coordinator for human resources and labor relations at the University of California Office of the President, said that the UC’s chief complaint was that the union was vague about a potential strike before announcing the strike on Thursday. “We had just received notice. ... They had committed to giving us 10 days,” Savickas said. Related articles:
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