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September 4, 2008National/PoliticalI'm in the union to make lives better (no link) I was asked the other day by someone why I was a trade unionist. I never have to think hard about my reply because for me it's pretty fundamental. .... For me, the choice about being a trade unionist stems from my commitment to social justice. I think trade unions are a fantastic and greatly needed movement for social justice both within and outside the workplace. Lately I have started answering the question by adapting the slogan of the union of my mentor Bill Lucy, one of the leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Simply, trade unionists are representatives of the people that make Britain work. That's something that's never going to come to an end. Palin Assails Critics and Electrifies Party Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska introduced herself to America before a roaring crowd at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night as “just your average hockey mom” who was as qualified as the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, to be president of the United States. ... Ms. Palin’s speech came after Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York launched a withering attack on Mr. Obama as part of a relentless assault by Republicans arguing that Ms. Palin, the former mayor of a town of less than 7,000 people who has been governor of Alaska for 20 months, had a more impressive résumé than Mr. Obama. “She already has more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket,” said Mr. Giuliani, one of three former rivals of Mr. McCain for the nomination, including former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who took on Mr. Obama in speeches Wednesday evening. Focus Turns to Palin Record / Governor Pushed Conservative Agenda, but Showed Flexibility (no link) In the five days since Sen. John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, she has been embraced by the right and pilloried by the left as a staunch conservative on social and economic issues. But a look at her record as mayor of the small town of Wasilla and as governor of Alaska shows a politician more flexible in her ideology as she has juggled the needs of governing. Gov. Palin has supported abortion restrictions and floated the idea of pulling books she considered offensive from a local library. But she also drew the ire of the religious right by shelving calls for new abortion limits, when she worried it would distract from her bipartisan deal to push through a new gas pipeline. She forced through property-tax cuts, but also raised taxes on oil companies. She has close relations with organized labor, backing union contracts on a state pipeline. ... Beyond her advocacy of reforms in Wasilla and Juneau, Ms. Palin's Republican backers say her record shows her to be a classic fiscal conservative. They note that when she first took office as mayor, city coffers were flush with revenue from a new sales tax. She took the opportunity to reduce property taxes... On education, Gov. Palin has been a champion for school choice, including vouchers and home schooling. She said in a 2006 questionnaire that parents should be allowed to opt out of curricula they don't approve of. She supports teaching creationism in schools alongside evolution... Gov. Palin didn't make health care one of her top priorities, but where she did take a strong stand on health, it was for the free market. "Health care must be market- and business-driven, rather than restricted by government," her office said in a January statement. Palin E-Mails Show Intense Interest in Trooper's Penalty Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the running mate for GOP presidential candidate John McCain, wrote e-mails that harshly criticized Alaska state troopers for failing to fire her former brother-in-law and ridiculed an internal affairs investigation into his conduct. The e-mails were shown to The Washington Post by a former public safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, who was fired by Palin in July. Monegan has given copies of the e-mails to state ethics investigators to support his contention that he was dismissed for failing to fire Trooper Mike Wooten, who at the time was feuding with Palin's family. In a More Diverse America, A Mostly White Convention Organizers conceived of this convention as a means to inspire, but some African American Republicans have found the Xcel Energy Center depressing this week. Everywhere they look, they see evidence of what they consider one of their party's biggest shortcomings. As the country rapidly diversifies, Republicans are presenting a convention that is almost entirely white. Only 36 of the 2,380 delegates seated on the convention floor are black, the lowest number since the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies began tracking diversity at political conventions 40 years ago. Each night, the overwhelmingly white audience watches a series of white politicians step to the lectern -- a visual reminder that no black Republican has served as a governor, U.S. senator or U.S. House member in the past six years. Survey: State Salary Growth Trails ’07 What a difference a year makes: It was just a year ago that state employees were enjoying the first substantial uptick in their earnings in nearly five years. The 2007-08 median salary increase for state workers in professional and scientific occupations was 5.7 percent. This year, it's a modest 2.4 percent, according to the ninth annual public-compensation survey by the American Federation of Teachers. The salary increase — eclipsed by a 4 percent inflation rate and by a 5.1 percent increase in overall state spending — is more in line with previous years when the survey found a median increase of 2.5 percent in 2005-06 and 1.19 percent in 2004-05. "It's good there's some forward progress," says Dan Murphy of AFT's public affairs department. "We recognize these are tough times for states, but they need to at least keep pace with inflation, which since we tracked it in March, has actually gotten worse." .. In the nine years the AFT has been tracking the salaries of state government professionals, two things haven't changed: Public-sector salaries consistently trail those of similar positions in the private sector, and collective bargaining is a factor in reducing the private-public sector salary gap. Health care costs expected to rise 5.7% in '09 Get ready for another hike in copays and deductibles. A survey out Thursday from the Mercer consulting firm found that 59% of companies intend to keep down rising health care costs in 2009 by raising workers' deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket spending limits. On average, health care costs will go up by an estimated 5.7% next year for both workers and their employers, the study found. That follows this year's 5.7% hike and a 6.1% jump in 2007. State and Federal Electronic Government in the United States, 2008 ... This report assesses the nature of American state and federal electronic government in 2008 by examining whether e-government effectively capitalizes on the interactive features available on the World Wide Web to improve service delivery and public outreach. Although considerable progress has been made over the past decade, e-government has fallen short of its potential to transform public-sector operations. This report closes by suggesting how public officials can take maximum advantage of technology to improve government performance. Whistleblowers Are Left Dangling / Technicality Leads Labor Department To Dismiss Cases (no link) The Department of Labor, charged with enforcing the federal law protecting corporate whistleblowers at publicly traded companies, has been dismissing complaints on the technicality that workers at corporate subsidiaries aren't covered. The government has ruled in favor of whistleblowers 17 times out of 1,273 complaints filed since 2002, according to department records. Another 841 cases have been dismissed. Many of the dismissals were made on the grounds that employees worked for a corporate subsidiary, says Richard Moberly, a University of Nebraska law professor. He studies issues involving workers who face retaliation from employers for reporting wrongdoing, and based his findings on department data. The rest of the cases are either pending, withdrawn or were settled. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who helped craft the whistleblower provision -- part of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance act -- says the law was meant to cover workers in corporate subsidiaries. "Otherwise, a company that wants to do something shady, could just do it in their subsidiary," he said. The Department of Labor: A Damage Assessment ... From day one, Bush's Department of Labor has actively worked to undermine workers' rights to organize, to fair pay and decent benefits, and to safe working conditions -- rights that are essential to growing and sustaining a strong middle class. U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and other high-level appointees came to their posts determined to weaken the agency. Under Chao's leadership, the department has repeatedly torpedoed rules designed to help workers. One of her first actions was supporting the repeal of a rule that would have protected workers against repetitive motion injuries, the leading cause of workplace injuries. Chao went on to severely weaken the department's Wage and Hour Division -- which enforces overtime, minimum wage, and child labor laws. Wage theft has skyrocketed at the hands of this administration: An ongoing U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation has uncovered repeated cases where the agency refused to go after scofflaw employers who admittedly owed their workers back wages. State/LocalJudge Makes Decision in Layoffs Dispute A St. Louis County judge has ruled in favor of the city of Duluth in a dispute over layoffs. Judge Eric Hylden's clerk said the ruling came down around 9:30 this morning. The city's largest union, AFSCME, asked the judge to issue a restraining order against the city preventing 23 full-time employees from being laid off. The order was not granted. Editorial: Unions, city together can pull Duluth from its financial fracas Duluth’s public employee unions have done about all any city worker could have asked in seeking to stem massive layoffs in the face of a $6.5 million city budget crisis. The unions rallied on the front steps of City Hall, making their position known to anyone within view or earshot. Their leaders agreed to media interviews, never wavering in their support for the jobs of loyal, long-time city workers. They even went to court to seek a restraining order to stop the layoffs. ... The unions can be a key part of the solution by pitching sound ideas and working together with city officials. In turn, city administration, which hasn’t always been open to proposals from the unions, can do what’s best for all by allowing them a place at the table. Related articles:
Union vote set today for finance employees Several workers in the city finance department will decide today whether they want to unionize. Meanwhile, Finance Director Anna Tomasek said she's been left out of the proceedings leading up to today's election, a claim disputed by Law Director Rick Wolfe. Seven employees may vote in an election administered by the State Employment Relations Board to see if they'll join other unionized city employees by becoming members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Ohio Council 8 AFL-CIO. Tomasek has been against unionization efforts from the start. She said the workers in question don't qualify as "public employees" under state law because of their job descriptions, therefore they are ineligible to unionize. She also said she was left out of discussions about the matter. Layoffs loom in Toledo over budget deficit Toledo may have a $3 million to $5 million general operating fund deficit by year's end, and city officials may lay off more than a dozen employees within days to stop the red ink. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's administration has yet to decide which cost-saving strategies to pursue, but it is seriously considering layoffs along with voluntary and temporary work furloughs among other measures. ... Don Czerniak, president of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 7, said he has yet to discuss with city officials the possibility of layoffs. "We're the people that fill the potholes, we're the people that plow the snow, the people who fix the water main breaks and sewage backups, but we seem to be the working people who get hit by the layoffs," Mr. Czerniak said. Follow the scene inside Granholm's hearing room ... There are two guys seated in front of me, presumably members of the public, who are wearing T-shirts that have been turned inside out. What's the deal?... First, the gentlemen I mentioned earlier who were wearing their t-shirts inside out turned out to be an interesting story. I sat behind these guys in the audience through the morning session thinking, "What on earth do their shirts say?" What horrific profanity prompted state officials to force these two men into a fashion no-no -- sitting 20 feet from the governor in inside-out shirts? I found out during a break. Get this. One guy's shirt has the audacity to proclaim "AFSCME Local 207" on the front. The other guy's reads, "BAMN," the acronym for By Any Means Necessary, a radical group, sure, but one whose name is anything but profane. The guys told me that state officials told them they weren't allowing statements of any kind in the hearing room. And those two groups are opponents of the mayor, after all. Related article from the Detroit News: Deal for Kilpatrick centered on serving four months in jail ACLU takes on Carcieri over illegals The ACLU wants a Superior Court judge to halt Gov. Donald Carcieri’s controversial executive order on illegal immigration. ....Carcieri’s executive order, issued last March, touched a spark to the powerful powderkeg of illegal immigration issues. He ordered all executive departments and all individuals and businesses with state contracts to use the federal E-Verify system, which is operated by the Department of Homeland Security to determine job eligibility based on immigration status. .... This is the second of Carcieri’s executive orders to be challenged in court in recent weeks. Just last week, Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams effectively upheld a restraining order issued by Superior Court Judge Patricia Hurst preventing the governor from implementing health benefit plan changes and higher insurance co-pays on members of Council 94 AFSCME. Those members had rejected the health care-related provisions as part of a proposed contract settlement. County layoffs suspicious, says union Layoffs of Jackson County Highway Department employees and reduced workweeks have prompted union officials to question motives after broken-down contract negotiations. Last week, the Jackson County Highway Union Council 40 filed grievances on behalf of three employees who were indefinitely laid off the week before. Citing budget constraints, the Jackson County Highway Committee approved the layoffs in addition to reducing the workweek by one day for the next two months. However, Tim Sacia, president of the local union, said the committee’s actions came abruptly and without warning, noting the peculiarity between the decision and the fact that the union had filed for arbitration over contract negotiations. Clackamas County employees to work four days Clackamas County plans to become the state's largest government agency to switch to a four-day work schedule for most employees. Advocates say shutting county offices on Fridays or Mondays would save money, energy and the environment. "It demonstrates our commitment to sustainability," said Lynn Peterson, chairwoman of Clackamas County's board of commissioners. ... Some workers, such as public works laborers, are more productive if they work longer hours because they spend less time setting up and commuting, said Don Loving, public affairs director for the local council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. 11 Illinois parks to close due to cuts Thirteen state historic sites and 11 parks will close, and human services will be affected as the Blagojevich administration said Thursday it will lay off 325 workers. .... Most of those laid off are represented by the state’s largest union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which said the cuts will hurt children and poor families. ... “The governor’s actions will put abused and neglected children at greater risk, reduce access to Medicaid and food stamps, and further harm state parks and historic sites,” AFSCME executive director Henry Bayer said in a statement. DeKalb city employees agree to contract terms DEKALB - In a 44-3 vote, city employees who have been working without a contract since Jan. 1 approved a tentative agreement with the City of DeKalb last Wednesday. A round of negotiations began Aug. 22 with a Rockford-based federal mediator meeting with city staff and union representatives of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. From that and subsequent discussions, the members of Local 813 ratified the proposal Wednesday night after about 90 minutes of discussion and answering members’ questions in a basement classroom of City Hall, the AFSCME Council 31 staff representative assigned to the negotiations said. Times Union sues state over payroll records access The Times Union sued state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Wednesday, challenging his refusal to release state payroll data under a public information request. Attorneys for Hearst Corp., the newspaper's parent company, filed the suit in state Supreme Court in Albany, requesting the data, as well as costs and attorney fees. In court papers, the newspaper questioned the comptroller's refusal to release payroll information sought earlier this year by J. Robert Port, the Times Union's senior editor for investigations. Port filed a request under the state's Freedom of Information Law, seeking an electronic copy of payroll tables. DiNapoli's records access officer, Shelly Brown, agreed to release some of the information on March 19 - such as names, titles and salaries - but denied other requested data, the newspaper stated in court papers. Negotiators reach 1-year pact with white-collar workers The unionized white collar workers of Madison County have a temporary contract. The previous contract for Civil Service Employees ran from 2002 until the end of 2007. According to Mary Krause, personnel officer for the county, "We have a tentative one year contract with the white collar workers for calendar year 2008." The temporary CSEA contract is retroactive back to the first of January. Krause declined to reveal the percentage of increase in the temporary contract saying, "we are waiting for board day." Last of unions signs contract / All six labor groups in city have settled All of Concord's unionized employees now have contracts. City officials announced yesterday that they have settled a contract with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, the union representing about 100 workers in the general services and engineering departments. ... The new contract runs from Jan. 1, 2008, to Dec. 31, 2010. Employees will receive a 1.5 percent cost-of-living raise the first year, a 2 percent raise the second year and a 2 to 4 percent raise the third year, depending on the Consumer Price Index. Dangers of social work gain attention In social work, the responsibilities are many, the pay is low, and the risks are clearer than ever. Since the death of social worker Brenda Lee Yeager in Cabell County in July, many people are taking a hard look at safety in the field. Among them are lawmakers who announced last week that they would study the issue during interim sessions, advocates in the social work field and, of course, social workers themselves, such as Alice Downey-Hunter. .... A study by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees found that 70 percent of front-line child welfare workers had been victims of violence or threats in the line of duty. The State Worker: Giving up government job means more money, less security ..... State workers generally make less than their counterparts in the private sector. Their total compensation also lags other public employers. In Sacramento, the difference is about 16 percent, according to a 2006 study by the Department of Personnel Administration. The trade-off: job security and defined retirement benefits. Court Blocks Florida Ballot Measures Intended to Help School Vouchers Two constitutional amendments intended to help Florida’s school voucher programs withstand legal challenges cannot appear on the November ballot, the State Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The ruling was a major blow for prominent Republican leaders, especially former Gov. Jeb Bush, who made vouchers the centerpiece of education changes he pushed through in 1999. The measures were placed on the ballot by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which meets every 20 years. A third amendment was also blocked from the ballot. It involved a tax swap that would have eliminated property taxes charged by local school boards in 2010 in exchange for state money, including a possible 1-cent increase in the state sales tax. No labor peace on fall ballot / Group fails to head off 'right-to-work,' countermeasures A coalition of key metro-area businesses says the latest push to get "right-to-work" amendment supporters to withdraw their Colorado ballot measure has failed. Coloradans for Responsible Reform, a campaign group organized by Denver's business chamber and economic development arm, said proponents of the "right-to-work" initiative have concluded they will forge ahead instead of working out a compromise ahead of the November election. Negative news for affirmative action measure Colorado voters will have only one affirmative-action-related ballot measure to decide upon this November. The secretary of state's office announced Wednesday that Initiative 82, a measure that would have safeguarded affirmative-action policies in Colorado, doesn't have enough signatures to make the ballot. That leaves on the ballot only Amendment 46, which would eliminate certain affirmative-action programs in the state. State Finished Fiscal Year With $83.4 Million Surplus The final numbers are in. After a topsy-turvy year, the state has finished the fiscal year with an official surplus of $83.4 million. Estimates in February had placed the projected surplus as high as $280 million. Within months, estimates were that the state could run a deficit as high as $80 million. But with a travel ban, hiring freeze and general belt-tightening by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and better-than-expected tax collections, the potential red ink turned black. |
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