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January 21, 2010National/PoliticalLabor Leaders Digest Senate Setback Labor leaders met by phone Wednesday as the loss of a Democratic Senate seat and the specter of further party defeats in November threw unions' legislative agenda into disarray and further diminished chances of passing a bill to ease organizing. Officials of the AFL-CIO, a federation of 57 unions, discussed options and strategy, including how to keep the administration and members of Congress focused on pro-labor issues such as jobs and enforcement of trade laws, and beefing up pre-election campaigning for vulnerable Democrats. They also discussed the possibility of salvaging the union-organizing bill, known as Employee Free Choice Act. ... Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees said Friday that the organizing bill would be taken up after health care. Reached Wednesday, Mr. McEntee said he still believes the bill "is in play." Pension fund targets 33 US companies on governance A pension fund that campaigns against perceived corporate governance failures will target Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, International Business Machines Corp, and 30 other companies at their upcoming annual shareholder meetings. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said it has submitted proxy proposals on issues such as bank bonuses, splitting chairman and chief executive roles, requiring executives to keep company stock after they retire and giving shareholders a "say on pay" for executives. .. These proposals would help make corporate directors more accountable to shareholders, more closely tie executives' and companies' financial interests and focus companies on long-term success rather than potential short-term share price gains, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee said. Activists to Discuss New Catholic Hospital Organizing Rules Seven months after the U.S. Catholic Church released guidelines aimed at improving sometimes bitter relations between workers and management in Catholic hospitals, the church’s social activists will learn how well the guidelines are working and what more can be done to ensure justice for workers. Paul Booth, executive assistant to AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, and John Carr, executive director of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, will lead a panel on the guidelines Feb. 6 at the Catholic Labor Network Gathering in Washington, D.C. Union Big: Labor Won’t Support House Passing Senate Bill AFL-CIO legislative director Bill Samuel tells me in an interview that labor won’t support any efforts by the House to pass the Senate health bill in its current form — creating major complications for one of the key solutions Dems are contemplating in the wake of their huge loss last night. “We don’t want the House to pass the Senate bill,” Samuel said a few moments ago by phone. “We would not be in favor of passing the Senate bill without fixing the problems that we’ve identified.” Not so fast on the health excise tax Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says federal employees need not worry about being left out of a provision in pending health insurance legislation that would allow state and local government workers and other unionized employees a five-year delay before possibly being hit by an excise tax on high-cost health insurance plans. Democrats reconsider healthcare possibilities .... Democratic leaders are still exploring whether the House could pass the healthcare bill that the Senate approved just before Christmas, obviating the need for another vote on major healthcare legislation in the Senate, where Democrats would no longer be able overcome a Republican filibuster. .. Advocates of this approach believe that the package could scale back the new tax on high-end "Cadillac" health plans, boost insurance subsidies for low- and moderate-income Americans and make other changes to satisfy House Democrats' complaints about the Senate legislation. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rise The number of newly-laid off workers seeking jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, as the economy recovers at a slow and uneven pace. .. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 482,000. Wall Street economists expected a small drop, according to Thomson Reuters. Obama's Pro-Union Nominations to Labor Relations Board Stalled A pitched battle is taking place behind closed doors over the Obama administration's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It's unfortunate that the conflict has avoided the glare of the public spotlight, because the outcome of this partisan skirmish may be more important than that over the labor movement's number-one legislative priority, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). .. But it is not Liebman or Pearce who has business interests petrified, but one of Obama's other appointees, Craig Becker. Becker serves as associate general counsel to the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO. Ineligible firms got $25M in stimulus work Six companies received $24.8 million in economic stimulus work under federal programs set aside for disadvantaged businesses even though government investigators had found them ineligible, federal records show. Unions get behind Obama bank fee The labor movement plans to lend its considerable weight to help pass President Barack Obama’s proposed bank fee this year. Envisioned as a tax on big banks to help recoup the government’s losses from the 2008 bailout of Wall Street, the proposal has attracted labor support. Unions see the tax as a part of a broader agenda for financial regulatory reform. .. On Tuesday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the bank fee should be part of the larger push to reform the financial sector. $13.4 Billion Earnings in Record Year for Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs reported record earnings on Thursday. But in reaction to the public outcry over executive compensation, the bank reduced the share of revenue going to bonuses... Nevertheless, on average, each Goldman employee is set to receive around $498,000 in bonus and compensation for 2009, an amount that could still incense the bank’s critics, given the economic pain elsewhere in the country. State/LocalBudget Fallout Includes Ideas From State Workers After hearing news of layoffs and furloughs being proposed to ease the state's budget gap, state workers delivered thousands of postcards with budget-balancing ideas of their own to the governor's office on Wednesday. Critics of Gov. Martin O'Malley's spending plan include AFSCME, the states largest labor union. Related from Gazette: Prince George's takes hit in O'Malley budget plan Budget Talks Continue ... The [Tulsa] mayor had asked the police and fire unions for a decision Wednesday about whether they wanted to take the layoff or pay cut option. ... But it's a different story for members of the municipal employees union, or AFSCME, the city's public service employees. They were given the choice of layoffs or pay cuts, just like police and fire. So they took an informal poll Wednesday, asking members to choose between the two. Final tally: 73% were in favor of layoffs. But unlike the police and fire unions, AFSCME's president says he has not had the chance to sit and talk with the mayor about other options. Union files complaint against Public Works The union representing Norwalk Department of Public Works employees has filed two complaints with the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations alleging "intimidation and harassment" by management. The complaints were filed by The American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Association Council 4 on behalf of Local 2405, which represents about 120 Norwalk public works employees. U of M workers, students to rally Thursday “Chop from the top” is the theme of a rally Thursday at the University of Minnesota to protest the manner in which administrators are balancing the budget for the state’s largest educational institution. ... Phyllis Walker, President of AFSCME Local 3800, which represents university clerical workers, said, “One of their plans is furlough days. President Bruininks told senior administrators that he intends to make staff take 10 furlough days (unpaid days off) over the next year.” She continued, “This is a pay cut for hourly staff at the university and we can’t afford it. Pay and holidays are negotiated with the unions on campus, and cannot be unilaterally dictated.” It's official: Dayton is running for governor Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, who formally announced his DFL candidacy for governor Wednesday, has always done things differently. .. With deep pockets and near-total name recognition, Dayton enters this race with two polls that show him an early favorite. He has also nailed down support from two powerful unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5, Minnesota's largest state employee union, and Teamsters Joint Council 32, which represents 14 locals in four states. Commissioners lay off 13 Against strong objections from a union leader, Luzerne County commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday to lay off 13 workers. ... Union head Paula Schnelly said 33 AFSCME workers were laid off in 2004. Another 16 lost their jobs in 2008, and the union was assured that there would be no more. 14 arrested near UC Berkeley in protest over shuttle bus driving contract Berkeley police arrested 14 protesters in front of UC Berkeley today after they linked hands and surrounded a shuttle bus at the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way. The protesters were cited and released at the scene. The protesters were public employee union members angry at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's move to contract out shuttle bus driving services to a nonunion outfit, said Lakesha Harrison, president of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. The union represents 20,000 workers at 10 UC campuses. ‘A Budget You Can’t Believe In’ The UC Board of Regents, the 26-member governing body of the UC system, met yesterday to discuss issues of the newly proposed budget... A number of individuals from various unions, most predominantly American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), made their appearance during the the public comment section of the agenda in the morning. They protested briefly and as they left, union members inflated balloons embossed with the message ‘Keep California’s promises and UC for everyone.’ Letter reveals L.A.'s plans for more layoffs Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Council leaders have begun laying the groundwork for the elimination of at least 1,000 more jobs by July 1 in an attempt to eradicate a budget shortfall that has now ballooned to nearly $200 million. High Court rejects state's prisons edict appeal The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Schwarzenegger administration's attempt Tuesday to dismantle a judicial panel that wants California to improve inmate health care by making its prisons less crowded, but set the stage for a possible ruling on the panel's authority to lower the prison population. No raises, some cuts in budget State employees get no pay raises in Gov. Jay Nixon's budget plan for the business year beginning July 1. “We are, however, providing a significant increase to make sure retirement benefits are fully funded,” state Budget Director Linda Luebbering said Wednesday evening in a briefing before Gov. Jay Nixon's State of the State address. House panel OKs city sales tax measure ... The legislation would allow cities to continue imposing multiple sales taxes for general purposes or capital improvements, effectively negating lawsuits that contended the practice violated state law. 2 contracts up for approval MILFORD – Town Administrator Guy Scaife told a sparse audience at the town’s budget and bond hearing Monday night he doesn’t support the latest contract covering police department patrol officers. ... Through elimination of the sick-time buyout for Teamster and non-union employees, $54,000 was saved this year, and the AFSCME contract sick-day buyout provision would cost the town $6,200 for the 17 employes, he said. Negotiations with AFSCME reached an impasse last year after the town and employees couldn’t agree on merit pay and other issues, and a fact finder was called in. State of the State SpeechesGov. Jay Nixon calls for budget cuts, autism insurance coverage and campaign donation limits .. Despite those money woes, Nixon delivered an upbeat State of the State speech in the House chamber on Wednesday night. The Democratic governor drew cheers from the Republican-controlled Legislature when he said the state would live within its means and balance the budget without raising taxes. .. Nixon's budget proposal calls for shrinking the state work force by 544 jobs, resulting in 1,800 fewer positions than when he took office a year ago. Governor targets oil taxes, federal 'war' Gov. Sean Parnell used his first State of the State speech Wednesday night to criticize the federal government and defend his proposals for oil company tax breaks and a big new college scholarship program based on grades rather than need. Sanford: 'I'm sorry, one more time' Gov. Mark Sanford offered one more apology to his state and family, and asked to put past differences with lawmakers aside to achieve a handful of goals in his eighth, and final, State of the State address as governor Wednesday. |
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