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July 15, 2008National/PoliticalNew Yorker attacked for Obama cover The magazine considered the bible of the white, liberal US intelligentsia was under attack on Monday for a satirical cover depicting Barack Obama as a Muslim and his wife Michelle as a terrorist. The New Yorker said that the illustration, which showed Mr Obama wearing sandals, a robe and a turban, was intended to satirise the scare tactics being used by opponents of the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. But the cover prompted a wave of criticism from commentators, who said it would fuel false rumours about Mr Obama’s background, threatening to drive a wedge between The New Yorker and many of its readers in the Obama-supporting chattering classes. Federal employee groups step up political efforts as fall elections approach As the party conventions and general election season draw closer, federal employee groups are ramping up their political contributions and mobilizing members to support candidates and raise awareness about their priorities. In the presidential campaign, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will benefit primarily from those efforts. Obama has received the endorsement of four federal employee unions: the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. Department Is Criticized on Disputes Over Wages The Government Accountability Office sharply criticizes the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department in two reports to be issued on Tuesday, saying it mishandled many overtime and minimum-wage complaints and delayed investigating hundreds of cases for a year or more. The G.A.O. also criticizes the division for greatly reducing the number of enforcement actions it takes each year and for not focusing on the low-wage industries where, one report said, it is most likely to find violations. ....“In too many cases,” Mr. Miller said, “investigators from the Wage and Hour Division simply drop the ball in pursuing employers that cheat their employees out of their hard-earned wages.” With Medicare vote, G.O.P. splitting from Bush If President Bush opts to exercise his veto threat on a Medicare bill this week, he can no longer count on Republicans to back him up. That's the political fallout from last week's surprise Senate vote that saw 18 Republicans – including nine who reversed previous stands – vote with all Democrats to block a mandated 10.6 percent cut in payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients. On the House side, 129 Republicans broke with the White House in a June 24 vote on the bill. If these votes hold, Congress wields more than a vetoproof, two-thirds majority in both houses. The lopsided votes are already spurring talk among Democrats of reviving previously vetoed legislation, such as a bid to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Bush lifts executive ban on offshore drilling President Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore oil and gas drilling Monday and blamed the Democratic-led Congress for "standing between the American people and these vast oil resources." Nurses Take Campaign for Safe Staffing Levels to Capitol Hill The formula too many hospitals use today to establish nurse-to-patient ratios should be called the “whatever-we-can-get-away with” formula, says Suzanne Gordon, nursing professor and co-author of the new book, Safety in Numbers: Nurse to Patient Ratios and the Future of Health Care. Gordon, along with representatives from four AFL-CIO nursing unions, met in a roundtable discussion with dozens of health care experts from the staffs of Senate and House members to explain the dangerous and sometimes tragic impact of understaffing on patient care that is also a major factor in driving nurses from the profession and the growing nurses shortage. The roundtable, sponsored by the RNs Working Together, the coalition of 10 AFL-CIO unions representing more than 200,000 registered nurses, is one step in the campaign to build support on Capitol Hill for the first national nurse-to-patient ratio legislation (H.R. 2123) introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). ... Safe staffing levels would bring more nurses back into the field, and in California it already has, says Burger: It made a difference almost overnight. From the time the bill was signed into law in 1999 to 2007, more than 80,000 nurses were added to the workforce. Most of those, said Barbara Blake, an RN and state secretary of United Nurses Associations of California/AFSCME, are nurses returning to the profession. Abortion Proposal Sets Condition on Aid The Bush administration wants to require all recipients of aid under federal health programs to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control. Under the draft of a proposed rule, hospitals, clinics, researchers and medical schools would have to sign “written certifications” as a prerequisite to getting money under any program run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Such certification would also be required of state and local governments, forbidden to discriminate, in areas like grant-making, against hospitals and other institutions that have policies against providing abortion. Govs turn to fixing infrastructure Improving the nation’s crumbling bridges, roads and sewage systems is a $1.6 trillion problem that governors intend to address in the next year. .. Some 70 current and former governors attended NGA’s centennial that celebrated governors’ role in crafting important national policies and programs in the last 100 years, such as welfare reform and the interstate highway system. U.S. states, cities welcome investment from abroad .. In America's political lexicon, few words are more poisonous than "outsourcing." Foreign direct investment in America, meanwhile, is politically fraught; witness the uproar in St. Louis over a Belgian brewer's successful bid for Anheuser-Busch. But behind this debate, foreign investors are being wooed by a growing number of politicians, from Manhattan to Mobile, Ala. "Globalization is a reality," explained Sam Jones, Mobile's mayor. "You can sit around and wish that something else was taking place or you can take advantage of globalization, what we call 'insourcing.'" Foreign investors went shopping in the United States last year, attracted partly by the cheap dollar. ... States are far more aggressive, courting foreign investors through trips abroad and incentives. California, New York and Texas have proved the biggest magnets, topping OCO Global's list of foreign investment in new facilities or expansions from 2003 to '07. But even Michigan, one of the rustier states, has seen a boost from foreign investors, ranking fourth. New Vision for Schools Proposes Broad Role Randi Weingarten, the New Yorker who is rising to become president of the American Federation of Teachers, says she wants to replace President Bush’s focus on standardized testing with a vision of public schools as community centers that help poor students succeed by offering not only solid classroom lessons but also medical and other services ... “Imagine schools that are open all day and offer after-school and evening recreational activities and homework assistance,” she said. “And suppose the schools included child care and dental, medical and counseling clinics.” You’re on Autopilot, but Check the Speedometer TARGET-DATE funds have been sold as a kind of autopilot for 401(k) plans, freeing workers from ever having to look at their retirement accounts. But the funds may need a second look themselves. A new study has found a striking lack of consensus about how the funds should operate, leaving employees and retirees exposed to widely varying levels of risk. The fees that the funds charge vary widely, too. Although target-date funds have won a special blessing from the government as a safe place for companies to put workers’ 401(k) money, the industry has no solid indexes or guidelines for assessing their performance. That means a worker who wanted to check on his target-date fund may have some difficulty assessing it. While research exists on various funds’ history, there is no accepted benchmark for comparison and no agreement on what constitutes success, wealth preservation or high returns. ... A SEEMINGLY endless supply of research has shown that many American workers are not up to the challenge of investing for retirement. Some do not save at all, while others try, only to pull out their money too early. Some people save diligently but make unsuitable investments, like putting all of their money into their employer’s stock, or into low-yielding money market funds that do not keep up with inflation. Others chase the latest “hot” mutual funds and overpay. CA in court battle on proxies CA, the second-largest maker of mainframe computer programs, has told the Delaware Supreme Court it shouldn't be forced to pay for dissident proxy fights, in a hearing requested by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. CA asked the SEC for permission in April to omit a stockholder proposal by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees from proxy papers to be filed this month. The SEC on June 30 referred the question to the Delaware Supreme Court, the first time the agency has used a procedure established last year by the state's legislature. News from San Francisco and UCUC service workers strike over pay Hundreds of service workers at the University of California's 10 campuses and five hospitals began a five-day strike Monday in a dispute over wages. .. Tom Rosenthal, chief medical officer for UCLA hospitals, which includes a branch in Santa Monica, said that all emergency rooms remained open and that no surgeries had been canceled. But he cautioned that the longer the strike goes on, the greater the threat to patient care. "What makes this strike so dangerous is we don't know from day to day who might show up," Rosenthal said. The workers, members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, say they are paid 25% less than employees with comparable jobs at community colleges and private hospitals. Related articles
State/LocalCourt won’t review privatization law The state Supreme Court will not review the constitutionality of Rhode Island’s controversial privatization law. Governor Carcieri sought an advisory opinion from the high court after arguing that the law –– passed near midnight in the waning days of the 2007 General Assembly session –– essentially blocked his ability to save money by replacing state workers with temporary contractors. The use of contractors can save tax dollars largely because they don’t receive health and retirement benefits from the state. The fight largely epitomized the Republican governor’s clash with organized labor and its supporters in the Democrat-dominated General Assembly. .. Specifically, the amended law requires the administration to give union leaders six months notice of attempts to replace union workers. And it requires the administration to provide a detailed cost analysis 60 days before asking private staffing firms to bid on the service in question. Workers Protest Hartford School Layoffs About 50 to 60 people marched in front of Hartford City Hall Monday afternoon to protest recent school district layoffs and an increase in health insurance costs to district retirees. Blaring into a bullhorn, Mark Blumenthal, president of AFSCME Local 566, which represents district custodians, rallied the demonstrators with a series of chants. "We need public awareness," Blumenthal said. "What's going on needs to be heard. We are part of the city." In the past several weeks, at least 85 school employees have been laid off, most without much warning, according to school employee union leaders. Nonjudicial Wages Frozen Until N.Y. Judges' Pay Is Raised More than 1,100 nonjudicial employees of the New York Office of Court Administration will see their wages frozen when court employees' new contracts with the state go into effect. .. The largest bargaining unit representing OCA employees, the Civil Service Employees Association, ratified its contract 2,876-to-114 in a vote that was counted June 25. CSEA officials said the salary cap will affect about 350 of their 6,000 members. Health bill seeks fairness for workers, retirees Much misinformation has been propagated, on these pages in a June 27 Citizens Budget Commission article and elsewhere, which has called upon Gov. David A. Paterson to veto a bill concerning retiree health insurance protection. That bill, S.6457-A/A.9393-A, stems from the hard work of key legislators, such as Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna, and Assemblyman Peter Abbate, D-Brooklyn, who really do care about retired public workers and who have been working for years in a bipartisan way to address responsibly the issue of retiree health care costs. Credit ratings reflect Forum’s problems The likelihood of Forum Health’s filing for bankruptcy is high if the hospital system cannot “achieve targeted savings” in upcoming union contract negotiations, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s, major investment research and credit rating firms, recently downgraded Forum’s bond rating: Moody’s from B1 to B3, and Standard and Poor’s, from BB to B+. Editorial: Salary bump-up shows distorted priorities Thinking Ohio University President Roderick McDavis might feel undervalued if they did not bring his salary "in line" with those of other Ohio college presidents, the board of trustees bumped up his pay by $85,000 per year. Outrageous. And ironic that money is suddenly available to be lavished upon an administrator when there wasn't enough to prevent dozens of local residents from being laid off from service jobs. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1699 President Dave Logan said the trustees are out of touch. We agree. Beyond the risk of deepening the divide between town and gown, a more devastating concern is what will happen to our local, state and national economies when fewer students can afford to pursue college educations. Committee discusses car, fuel cost-cutting measures NEWARK -- Although many city officials hope to reduce the money the city devotes to its cars and fuel each year, there is little agreement about the best way to accomplish the task....However, no change can be made to the police department's use because the cars are included in the contract with the union. That is not true for the fire department or American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. In fact, AFSCME Union President Lew Shumaker said she supported taking away non-emergency vehicles. If small costs weren't controlled, she said, it can lead to layoffs. Will other Phila. unions embrace police-contract "model"? The new one-year contract between the city and its police union could establish a new partnership between labor and management in City Hall, observers said yesterday, although it remains to be seen whether the other three municipal unions will embrace it as the model that Mayor Nutter would like it to be. .. The police union, representing 6,285 sworn officers, won some wage and benefit increases, while the city cut its health-care contribution by more than 10 percent without affecting benefits... The city's three other unions - the blue-collar workers of District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the white-collar employees with AFSCME District Council 47; and the International Association of Fire Fighters - would not comment on the police contract or its effect on their negotiations. Shorter workweek stirs debate Five of Erie County Council's seven members say they want more details about a plan to move county workers to a four-day workweek before they would either support or reject the proposal. ... Karen Dorich, an employee in the county's General Accounting Office and president of Local 2666 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, said her union also supports the workweek change. AFSCME represents about 350 county employees, including clerks, workers in the health and planning departments and county sheriff's deputies. State economic Web site touted low union numbers until bloggers rallied A Maryland state economic development Web site was touting the state’s low union membership rates in a bid to lure businesses, until pro-labor bloggers started hammering the practice. Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development chief David Edgerley axed state-sponsored online promotional material that has for many years downplayed organized labor’s strength and presence in Maryland. The “Choose Maryland” site said Maryland has a “quality workforce . key to achieving corporate goals” and pointed out that private-sector union membership in Maryland is below the national average and that between 1990 and 2001, unions won representation rights for only 1 percent of the total new firms. Bloggers from Free State Politics were the first to red-flag the material, but soon other popular Maryland politics discussion sites, including Maryland Politics Watch, entered the fray and called on the state to remove the page. Business balking at health changes Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to ask businesses, insurers, and hospitals to kick in about $100 million to close a gap in funding for the state's landmark health insurance law is threatening to fracture the fragile coalition whose support was instrumental in passing the measure. Business and insurance industry leaders are opposed to Patrick's plan, saying it is unfair to ask them to pay more, especially during an economic downturn. But consumer groups praised the proposal, saying patients were asked to pay more when copayments and deductibles for subsidized health plans were increased earlier this year. Now, they say, it is time for others to step up and pay their share. |
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