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September 2, 2008National/PoliticalBill Moyers reflects on the meaning of Labor Day. (includes video) BILL MOYERS: As we speak, the Democrats are on their way home from Denver in time for Labor Day weekend. That's a special holiday for many of them - especially the thousand or more delegates who are either active or retired members of a union, or from households with union members. Organized labor has been wandering in the wilderness for some years now, and its leaders came out in force in Denver, proclaiming: "We're back!" GERALD MCENTEE: We have been tattooed, beaten, bruised, thrown up against walls for the last eight years! Benjamin J. Marrison commentary: Race will influence vote, but how much? Race will be a factor in the November presidential election. ... The issue became news again Wednesday, when Gerald McEntee, the international president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told the Ohio delegation that overcoming racism will be a problem for Obama. Confront racism, leader tells union / Issue shadows campaign for Obama, Haynes contends The state's top union leader, concerned that some white voters will not vote for Barack Obama because he is black, issued an impassioned plea to union members yesterday to confront racism on the campaign trail. Speaking to politicians and pipefitters alike, Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Robert Haynes brought the audience to its feet at the Greater Boston Central Labor Council's annual Labor Day breakfast. He surprised many union members by delivering an unusually direct speech on the sensitive issue of racism, echoing concerns from other union leaders nationwide. "Barack Obama's skin color isn't what matters in this election," Haynes told more than 350 people who gathered for bacon and eggs at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. "I'll be damned, and I know you'll be damned, if I let racism . . . scare this country into voting for John McCain." Haynes followed US Senator John Kerry, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and union leaders who also urged workers to vote and campaign for Obama, citing the urgency of the election and the fact that Democrats have lost the last two presidential contests. Moving Obama Left ... On healthcare, progressives are divided between growing ranks of single-payer, Medicare-for-all advocates and a new, institutionally weightier coalition of more than 100 labor unions and other advocacy groups -- Health Care for America Now. The coalition, which includes organizations such as AFSCME (public employees) SEIU, the AFL-CIO, Campaign for America's Future, and ACORN -- promote a strategy closer to Obama's proposal that would include employer-provided or individually purchased corporate insurance and the option of a public plan Obama Song Pat Scutella an AFSCME 3530 [Council 85 PA] Member wrote this song after being inspired by an Obama Speech. Labor Day Message from Barack Obama “It’s time you had a partner in the White House,” presidential candidate Barack Obama says in a video Labor Day message to America’s working families.Promising to end tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas, to sign the Employee Free Choice Act and to deliver tax relief to 95 percent of working families, Obama says... Obama, health-care reform draw rally support WILMINGTON - A Labor Day event meant to honor the working class could just as easily have been a rally to elect Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and fix health care. .. "Health care is the least reliable system even for people who have it," said Lenny Potash, a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees who led the audience in a chant: "Health care yes; insurance companies, no!" Potash said the government should handle health care. Disclosures on Palin Raise Questions on Vetting Process A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain’s choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket. On Monday morning, Ms. Palin and her husband, Todd, issued a statement saying that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant and that she intended to marry the father. Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge. Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background. Related items: AFL-CIO news release: Statement of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the McCain-Palin Ticket Attorney challenges Monegan firing query The state has hired a private lawyer to represent Gov. Sarah Palin's office in the Legislature's investigation into the firing of former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. The lawyer already has challenged whether lawmakers even have authority to oversee the inquiry. Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group. There was $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project -- all intended to benefit Palin's town, Wasilla, located about 45 miles north of Anchorage. In introducing Palin as his running mate on Friday, Sen. John McCain cast her as a compatriot in his battle against wasteful federal spending. McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, hailed Palin as a politician "with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies -- someone who has fought against corruption and the failed policies of the past, someone who's stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money." McCain's crusade against earmarks -- federal spending sought by members of Congress to benefit specific projects -- has been a hallmark of his campaign. He has said earmarks are wasteful and are often inserted into bills with little oversight, sometimes by a single powerful lawmaker. Study: Sharp drop in black GOP delegates There are 36 black delegates at the Republican convention here — fewer than 2% of the total and a sharp drop-off from 2004, a think tank reports. The GOP record was set with 6.7% black delegates in 2004. The Democratic Party, which has targets for minority representation, said a record 24.5% of delegates at its convention last week were black. That's about twice the percentage of blacks in the U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau. Joanna Burgos, a spokeswoman for the GOP convention, said 13% of delegates this year are minorities. Stop shouting, stop ignoring, and listen / A Pioneer Press 'talking circle' brought together six passionate people speaking for two often at-odds groups. During the Republican National Convention in St. Paul this week, the GOP faithful are inside the Xcel Energy Center, hearing speeches from party leaders. Meanwhile, thousands of people with different agendas are gathering outside. The demonstrators will mainly be shouting at the delegates, and the delegates will mainly be ignoring the demonstrators. But what would happen if people from these two groups actually sat down face to face and had a conversation — not just a heated exchange of talking points? The Pioneer Press wanted to find out. We brought together six participants, three from each side. We asked Jeanne Zimmer, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center in St. Paul, to moderate an afternoon discussion. She brought the group together in a "talking circle," using a metal object that gave the floor to the person holding it. .... Sounds a lot like anti-war protester Jess Sundin [AFSCME Local 3800], who first became interested in environmental issues while living in Washington and decrying the clear-cutting of forests there. Labor Groups Mobilized to Keep Jobs in U.S. Monday marks the 118th celebration of Labor Day -- and as tradition has it, the Greater West Central Area Labor Council met for its annual picnic. But this year, labor advocates aren't just celebrating a day off from work: They're also talking about how to get their issues addressed at the polls this election year. .. Why should we make China rich?” asks retired AFSCME member Marlys Leary. “We owe her more money than we have in Fort Knox. Think about it." Leary says her son lost his job after working at the same place for 22 years. She says she knows he's not alone. Big Labor has one big hope (and $385 million to sell it) / AFL-CIO, SEIU go all out to pass organizing law ending secret ballots The labor movement's big-money campaign for Sen. Barack Obama faces stiff challenges in getting rank-and-file union members to overcome their concerns about the candidate, according to labor specialists and polls. Unions gain optimism on political front / Movement reverses long decline For the first time in a quarter century, union workers this year will have good reason to celebrate Labor Day. After decades of declining rolls, union membership increased last year as a percentage of the total work force. But organized labor's near-term future looks worrisome as the U.S. economic slowdown threatens to evolve into an outright recession, accelerating the loss of manufacturing jobs that have been a union bulwark for decades. As numbers slip, labor organizes big election push As the country kicks back on this three-day Labor Day weekend, organized labor is fully engaged in its most pivotal election in years, both nationally and in Colorado. Unions are focused on reversing a decades-long trend of membership decline, and they've pinned their hopes on the Democratic Party and presidential nominee Barack Obama. RNC protest highlights need for new priorities As the Republican National Convention convened Monday in downtown St. Paul, more than 10,000 people took to the streets to protest the Iraq War and demand new priorities for the nation. .. "We demand a reordering of national and local priorities . . . toward jobs, education, health care, rebuilding our infrastructure and an end to poverty as we know it," said Phyllis Walker, president of AFSCME Local 3800, which represents clerical workers at the University of Minnesota. Here's a protest you probably didn't expect to see in St. Paul Today, we'll see every grievance imaginable on display in the long-planned protest march on the Republican National Convention, even though the convention is largely on hold in response to the hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast. The usual suspects will bear down on the Xcel Energy Center: the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, Code Pink, AFSCME Local 3800, Welfare Rights Committee and Students for a Democratic Society. Are YOU Walking Sept. 4? Union members are ready for labor walks Sept. 4, the night Sen. John McCain accepts his nomination for the presidency. Many of these activists in Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin and around the nation will knock on doors while McCain is giving his speech to let our union brothers and sisters know that McCain will tax our health care benefits, take educational opportunities away from our veterans and privatize our Social Security. . “This country cannot afford another four years of George Bush economics..I was recently at the AFSCME Convention in San Francisco, and we got to hear Barack Obama. He supports labor, and I think he’s going to be great for this country”. —Valerie Kenny, AFSCME/ASEA Local 52, Anchorage, Ala. Editorial: Continuing Deception / Mr. McCain's ads on taxes are just plain false. ... The facts? The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that the Obama plan would give households in the bottom fifth of the income distribution an average tax cut of 5.5 percent of income ($567) in 2009, while those in the middle fifth would get an average cut of 2.6 percent of income ($1,118). "Your taxes" would go up, yes -- but not if you're someone who is sweating higher gas prices. By contrast, Mr. McCain's tax plan would give those in the bottom fifth of income an average tax cut of $21 in 2009. The middle fifth would get $325 -- less than a third of the Obama cut. The wealthiest taxpayers make out terrifically. The country can't afford the tax cuts either man is promising, although Mr. McCain's approach is by far the more costly. We don't expect either side to admit that. But neither side should get to outright lie about its opponent's positions, either. Bipartisan Calls for New Federal Poverty Measure Congressional lawmakers and officials of some cities are increasingly calling for an overhaul in the way the federal government measures poverty, arguing that the current definition fails to reflect fully the hardships or resources available to struggling Americans. The current measure — which is used to calculate the nation’s annual poverty rate — has remained virtually unchanged since it was developed in the 1960s. Democrats and Republicans alike say it is hopelessly outdated, and initiatives to provide a more accurate portrait of the nation’s most vulnerable people have begun cropping up across the country. This month, Representative Jim McDermott, the Democrat from Washington who is the chairman of the House subcommittee on income security, plans to introduce legislation that would require the government to develop a more modern and accurate method to determine who is poor. Representative Jerry Weller, Republican of Illinois, introduced a bill last year. Zahner Co. makes Labor Day list ... American Rights at Work, a worker advocacy group, named A. Zahner Co. as one of the country’s 10 most innovative companies in the way it handles labor relations, compensates employees and shares decision-making responsibilities with the work force. ... The state of Kansas, which has nearly 11,500 union employees, also made the list. The group said Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ efforts to create a new framework for the state’s bargaining units helped streamline services and protect workers’ rights. That was done by merging the locals of the American Federation of Teachers and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. That merger formed the Kansas Organization of State Employees, or KOSE. “Thanks to the strong partnership between the state and KOSE, employees are now positioned to address their own workplace issues through their union and provide better agency services,” the worker advocacy group said in its profile of Kansas. Using Nest Eggs Before Maturity / Despite Penalties, More Workers Are Borrowing From 401(k) Plans ... Hard economic times are driving some people to take actions that could jeopardize their futures. With home equity lines of credit and other types of loans harder to get, employees are increasingly raiding their retirement plans to take care of immediate needs such as paying down debt and medical bills, staving off foreclosure, or simply covering higher food and fuel prices. .....The pickup in withdrawals is a worrisome trend because 401(k) plans are replacing employer-sponsored pension plans and Social Security as the main source of retirement savings for many Americans, financial advisers and plan administrators said. Over the past two decades, as participation in 401(k) plans has quadrupled, politicians and employers have urged Americans to treat them as sacred. Yet some banks have started offering debit cards linked to accounts with money from 401(k) loans. .. Some of the nation's largest 401(k)-plan administrators have reported increases in hardship withdrawals. At T. Rowe Price, withdrawals were up 19 percent in June compared with the same period last year. At Vanguard, they increased 8.6 percent in 2007 from the year before. Whistle-blowers help U.S. recoup $9.3 billion Whistle-blowers helped authorities recover at least $9.3 billion from health care providers accused of defrauding states and the federal government, according to an analysis of Justice Department records. The department ramped up efforts in the 1990s to combat health care fraud by using private citizens with inside knowledge of wrongdoing. They now initiate more than 90% of the department's lawsuits focusing on health care fraud. US July consumer spending up 0.2 pct; personal income falls 0.7 pct Inflation-adjusted consumer spending in July fell for the second consecutive month as personal income fell faster than expected and by the largest amount in three years, the Commerce Department said today. ... However, after adjusting for inflation, consumer spending was down 0.4%, the largest decline since June 2004. .. Personal income fell 0.7%, well below the 0.1% decline economists were expecting and the largest decline since August 2005. Adjusting for inflation, personal income fell 1.7% in July following a 2.6% drop in June. One factor in the personal income drop was reduced tax rebates under the Economist Stimulus Act. Payments in July fell to $13.7 bln from $27.9 bln in June. Private employers paid their workers $13.2 bln in July, up from the $7.9 bln paid in June. Meatpacker in Brooklyn Challenges a Union Vote Agriprocessors, the Brooklyn-based company that is the nation’s largest kosher meat producer, is well known for the labor troubles at its meatpacking plant in Iowa — federal agents detained 389 of its workers as illegal immigrants in May, and labor officials in Iowa have accused it of employing 57 under-age workers. But Agriprocessors is also having labor troubles closer to home, with the company asking the United States Supreme Court to overturn a vote to unionize at its distribution center along the Brooklyn waterfront. If successful, the company’s appeal could have repercussions at companies across the country: it is trying to persuade the Supreme Court to rule that illegal immigrants do not have the right to join labor unions. State/LocalNaples among growing number of cities across Florida dipping into savings to balance their budgets The city of Naples is dipping into its reserves. Last month, Naples City Council came to a tentative agreement to use about $600,000 from its unreserved fund to balance the fiscal 2009 budget. ... That means Naples homeowners will not experience a tax rate increase in 2009. ... The size of Naples’ general fund reserve is what prompted representatives from one of the city’s largest unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, to request that the city use $3.5 million of the reserves to balance the budget, rather than eliminate jobs. Health care theme of labor picnic ... Guillermo Perez, chief negotiator for the United Union Employees of New York — a 125-member independent union — spoke about an ongoing issue he is having with the Civil Service Employees Association to have ergonomic standards to deal with injuries related to carpal tunnel syndrome. March for the Future /Annual Labor Day parade prompts talk of challenges in CNY .. Contingents of unions representing a wide range of workers such as home child care workers represented by Local 100A VOICE, an affiliate of the CSEA, and the United Steel Workers, who work at Crucible Specialty Metals, followed. Labor pact changes aid ECMC, workers Contract negotiations between union leaders and employers can be difficult. And once an agreement is reached, making changes can be next to impossible. But some unions have found a way to enable changes to satisfy both sides, improving working conditions and saving money for the employer. At Erie County Medical Center, about 20 changes have been made with CSEA Local 815 since contract negotiations ended six months ago using a series of memorandums of agreement (MOA). Law firm cashes in on work for ECMC / Billed $3.1 million over 4ø-year period ... Legal bills, which The Buffalo News obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show that ECMC paid Colucci & Gallaher $3.1 million from January 2004 through the first six months of this year for services that included the County Home. By comparison, Kaleida Health spends more than $2 million a year on its legal staff for a much larger operation, running five hospitals, clinics and the Visiting Nurses Association. Members: Unions still going strong In his Labor Day message to the rank and file, Sal Luciano, executive director of New Britain-based Council 4 AFSCME, AFL-CIO, reminded them that in Connecticut and across the country, "working families are being hit hard in this economy. A jaw-dropping 84 percent of people now say our country is headed in the wrong direction." Economy driving more to unions ... In Pennsylvania, the gains are coming in construction, trade/transportation/utilities and services unions. This year got off to a strong start when, in April, about 20,000 Pennsylvania home-based child care providers formed their own union — Child Care Providers United. The union represents family and neighbor providers who receive state funding to care for up to three children. It is affiliated with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union. Housing workers get new deal More than three and a half years after their last contract expired, Johnstown Housing Authority officials and union employees finally have a new deal. .. “It was a tough negotiation,” said Tim Miller of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union representing 39 housing authority maintenance and office personnel. Council unhurried on parking lease deal Is a $215 million proposal to lease Harrisburg's public parking facilities to a private operator stuck in the garage? The controversial plan has seemingly been frozen in place as the City Council vacationed for five weeks. Although the members have reconvened, the proposal still appears to be going nowhere fast. ... Complicating matters, the City Council received only two applicants in its nationwide request for consultants to analyze the deal to lease about 8,500 public parking spaces. Some council members already signaled a desire to mount another consultant search. ... Some employees, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, remain resistant, despite the new company's offer of raises, signing bonuses and job security. The union holds sway because a clause in its latest contract with the parking authority includes a prohibition on leasing city parking facilities to private operators. Company terminating Delco jail contract The company that has run the Delaware County jail since 1996 announced yesterday that it would terminate its $38 million contract with the county at the end of the year. GEO Group Inc., which operates 66 correctional and residential treatment facilities throughout the world, cited financial underperformance and frequent litigation as its reasons for pulling out of its sole county jail contract, for the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. The company intends to focus on state and federal institutions. Alabama OKs health care fee for obese Obese state workers in Alabama will pay more for their health insurance, but don't expect something similar in Washington — at least not soon. .... "The difference between Alabama and Washington is they have a lot of deep-fried foods down there," joked Tim Welch, spokesman for the Washington Federation of State Employees. The union maintains a seat on the board that sets benefits policy for state workers, and Welch said basing health insurance prices on things such as body fat wouldn't be fair. "I just don't think that would work here. There may be folks who are in perfect shape who have health risks. There are people who are large, but that's their genetics, and they're otherwise healthy," Welch said. County health programs may face deep cuts in '08-'09 ...The Health district says it faces a $4.4 million 2009 budget shortfall that could mean elimination of the First Steps program and a 20 percent workforce reduction beginning in October. ... Snohomish Health District's dire situation isn't unique. Across the United States, public health departments face dwindling dollars for programs.... He said the county council instructed the health district to use reserve funds--the health district's rainy day fund. The end result, he said, is a $4.4 million hole in a $22 million budget. ..... The district's main labor union, the Washington State Council of County and City Employees, represents about 50 health district administrative and clerical support workers. "The county has historically advocated that the health district spend down its reserve as opposed to increasing any funding," said the union's Deputy Director Pat Thompson Aug. 19. "That's a pattern that's been established for the past six years. So, the assumption would be that if that's the case, when that reserve runs out, the council's responsible for a plan to replace the funding." Tough times temper labor celebration ... Families are dealing with sticker shock at every turn -- from filling up at the gas pump, to stocking up on school supplies. "Even for those of us who have jobs, we're losing ground -- the middle class is coming closer and closer to poverty," said Rodolfo Franco, president of Local 304, the Washington Federation of State Employees, and an employee at North Seattle Community College. City union sues to halt Duluth layoffs A Duluth city workers' union is going to court to try to block proposed layoffs. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 66 will ask a judge Tuesday to temporarily bar the city of Duluth from laying off 165 full- and part-time workers. Related article from the Northlands News Center: AFSCME To Block Duluth Layoffs? Unions question city hiring practices GARY -- Mayor Rudy Clay defended his hiring practices recently against claims that too many people joined Gary's payroll in 2008. .. As they fight to save their members' paychecks, union leaders point to records that show Gary hired more than 100 employees this year. City officials say the records are misleading, though. By the city's explanation, the real number of full-time employees hired this year could be closer to 25. .... Ayanna Wright, president of AFSCME Local 4009, said those new hires should be the first people to go when layoffs finally hit the city of Gary. "It appears as if we're paying for the new people to be able to keep working at our expense," Wright said. City cuts paid time off days / Employees no longer able to roll over unused days off. Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight announced Friday 140 non-contractual city workers will lose a total of 700 paid days off next year, as part of ongoing city cost-cutting measures. By moving the eligibility dates for additional paid time off, the new policy will force each of those employees to give up five days off they would have otherwise been entitled to next year. ... And as negotiations with the city’s police, fire and AFSCME unions have continued, Goodnight has expressed concerns about the effect of PTO days on city staffing needs. Kranz: S.D. Labor unions need political weight .... Paul Aylward of Huron, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSME), says that organization does not like to support anyone by party. "But we do support people who support our issues. Any Republicans who support legislation we are for we support and the same with Democrats. Now there are probably more Democrats, but there are also a fair amount of Republicans who support the issues," he said. Unions' new role in the workplace On Monday, America will applaud the contributions of workers. Some of us will also give a cheer for unions, "the folks who brought you the weekend" - in this case a long weekend. This year, the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, or HUCTW, is celebrating its 20th birthday. In the last 20 years, Harvard University and the union have brought 5,000 jobs solidly into the middle class. They are sustainable jobs with good salaries, great benefits, better working conditions, and access to ongoing training. .. Our sister union, SHARE, in Worcester, has had great success in a hospital setting. There, union and management worked together to engage staff in problem solving on inpatient units. Number of state workers being laid off disputed The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union announced Thursday it had been notified of more than 450 layoffs. That’s the same number of positions the governor’s office acknowledged is being affected in four agencies. But the administration says the 450 total is misleading. Most of the layoffs are at the Department of Children and Family Services. The agency said its layoffs are affecting 306 positions, and the union says 289 of those are its members. Union deals leave lawmakers in dark Thousands of state workers are finishing a vote this Labor Day on their proposed new contract with the Blagojevich administration. But some lawmakers are frustrated with the way the negotiating process has been handled, leaving them in the dark even though they eventually will have to figure out how to pay for the contract. ... Negotiations on a new AFSCME contract this time were longer and more contentious than in previous years. Before it was over, a mediator had to be brought in to help resolve the major sticking point, the demand by the administration that state workers pay substantially more for their health insurance. Governor seeks campaign cash curb Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose administration is under federal scrutiny for allegedly trading state jobs for campaign contributions, proposed a ban Friday on political cash from anyone holding a government job. Business owners can't fathom repercussions of Pontiac prison closing ... For example, BesGrove said American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents prison workers, buys 500 to 600 turkeys every Thanksgiving. If the prison closes and his sales slow, he’d have to cut some of his own 168 employees. “The biggest damage, I think, is to the community and how we already have layoffs (from other businesses), an economic downturn and the flood in January,” he said. “It’s been a distressed community for a while.” Related articles
Three area state parks among list to close up Four area political leaders say they are absolutely shocked at the Blagojevich Administration's pending closing of 11 state parks, including in Morris, Marseilles and Channahon. .. Most the employees to be affected are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers, which was in the throes of signing a new wage contract with the state. Parade: Labor Day spotlights 'working class people' ....Tom Close, the longtime president of AFSCME Local 2371, which represents municipal workers across the Illinois Quad-Cities, said the most pressing issue for his union is “health care — No. 1.” A longtime employee of Oak Glen Nursing Home in Coal Valley, Ill., Close said many of the facility’s workers have to rely on state aid and food stamps to supplement their incomes. With insurance costs rising every year, he said, “it’s just terrible the people that don’t have health care because they can’t afford it.” Editorial: Re-elect incumbents to DM school board Inspiring the community to set higher expectations and raise academic achievement should be every school board's No. 1 goal. Students must be prepared to compete in a global economy. Every city needs a world-class education system to attract families and economic development. So in choosing candidates to endorse in the Sept. 9 Des Moines school board race, the Register's editorial board weighed who is most likely to move Iowa's largest district in that direction. Eight people are vying for three seats on the seven-member board. The three incumbents seeking re-election are Dick Murphy, Ginny Strong and Jeanette Woods. ... Woods, who retired from the district in 2003 after nearly 30 years as a lunchroom associate, bus driver and warehouse employee, would continue to bring a labor perspective to the board. She also was president of the AFSCME Local 2048 for years. So it's not surprising Woods would like to see the district look at the hiring process to assure that when people apply for jobs, they don't end up going elsewhere because of poor communication. She emphasized this is not criticism of Sebring, who has been on the job for only a couple of years and needed to address achievement first. Union: '08 election key for labor Labor Day for many people is a day to celebrate the efforts of workers. For many who identify themselves with the labor movement, Monday was a day not only to celebrate but also to build steam heading into the election season. People did a bit of both at the annual Labor Day Picnic on Monday. "You're not usually able to relax and have fun like we do today," Mary Larew said. "If you pay attention, people are networking all around the perimeter, talking about the different issues." Larew, a member of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 12, was taking a break under a shelter at Upper City Park on the sunny afternoon. About 250 people attended the event. Public housing workers tell bosses: ‘Stop the firings, no privatizing’ In response to numerous firings of employees for petty infractions, members of AFSCME Local 1355 and supporters held a spirited picket line on Aug. 22 outside the administrative offices of Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. For months CMHA has been terminating maintenance workers, particularly workers over 40 and those legitimately absent under the Family Medical Leave Act. Programs help city cut health costs ... As it struggles with higher fuel prices and stagnant tax income that are pushing its budget into the red, Columbus kept increases in what it pays for city workers' health care well below the national average last year.... Doug Moore, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1632, which represents more than 2,700 city workers, said the city's health-care savings are genuine and not coming as a result of denied health claims or other cost-cutters. "They offer a lot of things that are beneficial for employees," he said. "So far, it's been working in a positive direction." Toledo shows support for organized labor at annual parade ... Dave Taylor, 64, of Toledo, retired in 2001 after spending nearly 32 years in the Toledo traffic engineer's office, some of that time as a president of American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees Local 7. He said for years he marched in the parade and since retirement, he's come to watch. Workers not pleased by Del's rank in study / Rank boosted by lower wages, fewer union jobs Just in time for Labor Day, a new study by a Canadian think tank gives Delaware high marks for job growth, employee productivity and an unemployment rate that is consistently below the national average. Advertisement But Delaware's place in the study, done by The Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based libertarian policy group that favors a free market economy and limited government, is also based on some statistics Delaware workers won't find so appealing. .. "One of the reasons Delaware does well is that it has a relatively high rate of private sector employment and a relatively small public sector," said Niels Veldhuis, the institute's director of fiscal studies. ... The head of Delaware's largest union disagrees with the study's premise. "There's no reason we can't have a very strong economy in Delaware without workers also being represented," said Michael Begatto, executive director of the 7,000-member Council 81 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "It's a false choice." Overtime Pay Rises Across UC Campuses Overtime pay for employees at the University of California rose significantly last year, totaling approximately $135 million in 2007, an increase some say is a result of unwise and ineffective labor practices by the university. .... University officials said the increase in the total amount of overtime pay is due partly to rises in base salary, as was the case last year. Overtime pay typically increases if base salary increases. .... Lakesha Harrison, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, which represents the university's custodial and health care workers, sided against the overtime increases. "It's not a good thing to see people working that much overtime," Harrison said. "I wonder when these people have time to take care of themselves." Take a Virtual Tour and See What It’s Like to Work Hard—and Live in Poverty Service workers at the University of California’s (UC’s) 10 campuses and five medical centers have been trying for more than a year to negotiate a deal that would pay them a decent wage. The workers are paid so little that a recent study found as many as 96 percent of them can qualify for at least one form of public assistance. .. Last month, some 8,500 UC service workers went on a five-day strike to demand better pay and a fair contract. The workers, members of AFSCME Local 3299, include housekeepers, cafeteria workers and those who disinfect hospital equipment. On the Move: Aaron Anderson named president of Sacramento East U-Haul ... Steve Mehlman has been appointed communications director for United Domestic Workers of America, AFSCME Local 3930. Labor Day 2008 .. We need to restore the race to the top for American workers, rather than the race-to-the-bottom mindset that has permeated society today. And by doing so, we'll make Peter McGuire proud of his holiday once again. Search on for NMSU leader New Mexico State University is on track to hire its 22nd president as early as the first week of November, Board of Regents Chairman Bob Gallagher said. .... Barbara Arispe, president of the NMSU chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said she wanted the next president to be familiar with how union contracts and human resources policies affected each other, for instance, in contract issues and in salary equity. Ash faces Gray for Bennington Twp. super Republican incumbent Supervisor Leonard Ash seeks re-election, but must face-off against Democrat Patrick Gray in the Nov. 4 general election. ... This is the first time Gray, a maintenance specialist for Owosso Public Schools, has run for a township position, but he has experience on several other boards. He was president of the Owosso Education Personnel for three terms and two terms as president of the American Federation of State County Municipal Employees (AFSCME). |
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