Florida Senate Passes Overhaul of Teacher Contracts

Posted: March 24, 2010 - 7:09pm
By Brandon Larrabee

TALLAHASSEE - A broad overhaul of teacher contracts and pay narrowly passed the Senate on Wednesday, with Republicans saying the plan would prove to be a draw for teachers and Democrats saying the bill "ends the teaching profession."

The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, passed the upper chamber 21-17. Four Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Paula Dockery of Lakeland, broke with their party to oppose the measure.

Nuclear Power Plants Vulnerable to Attack, Former CIA Officer Says

Submitted by FCGOA on March 25, 2010 - 10:44pm

By Matthew Harwood
03/16/2010 - The United States is woefully unprepared to protect its nuclear power plants from a terrorist attack, a former CIA officer divulged on CNN.com yesterday.

Charles S. Faddis, the former head of the CIA's unit on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, writes that he investigated security measures at many U.S. nuclear power plants during research for a book on the state of U.S homeland security. He found them wanting. His call to secure these sites comes after President Barack Obama guaranteed $8 billion in government loans to a company to construct two new nuclear power plants in Georgia.

Machinists, Spirit AeroSystems Explore New Partnereship

IAM President Tom Buffenbarger (left), Spirit AeroSystems CEO Jeff Turner (center) and former Missouri Representative and current Spirit Board Member Dick Gephart (right) take questions from union and company representatives at a meeting in Wichita, KS.

Tue. March 23, 2010

In a meeting with the potential to redefine labor-management relations in the U.S. aerospace industry, IAM President Tom Buffenbarger, former Congressman Dick Gephardt and Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. CEO Jeff Turner met this week with managers and union stewards to discuss the state of the industry and the upcoming contract negotiations for 6,000 IAM members at Spirit.

AFL-CIO Backs NLRB in Supreme Court Case - Seat Obama Nominees Now

by Mike Hall, Mar 25, 2010

Last July, President Obama nominated three attorneys to fill the five-member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). But Republican senators have blocked action on nominees to the board, which has been operating with just two members since 2008.

Since then, the NLRB has issued nearly 600 rulings and five federal appeals courts have ruled that cases decided by the two current members—one a Republican and the other a Democrat—are valid.

Shuler: Unions Must Change to Reach Young Workers

Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer

by James Parks, Mar 25, 2010

Unlike the young people on the TV show “The Real World” who live in a $5 million mansion and spend their time mired in reality TV drama, today’s young workers are living more like the folks on “Survivor,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler said.

Delivering the Philip Murray Memorial Labor Lecture yesterday at Pennsylvania State University, Shuler said the reality is that young workers are hurting and the best way to get off that “Survivor” island is a union card.

Senate Ok's Health Care Fixes Bill, One More Hurdle in House

by Mike Hall, Mar 25, 2010

The health care reconciliation bill that corrects flaws in the overall health care bill passed Sunday by the U.S. House and signed by President Obama on Tuesday, won Senate approval (56-43) this afternoon and is awaiting a House vote as soon as this evening.

Before the final vote was taken, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called for a moment of silence in honor of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) who made enacting comprehensive quality health care reform the centerpiece of his 47 years in the Senate.

Holt Baker: 'We Want Our Jobs Back'

Arlene Holt Baker, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President

Shouting, “We want our jobs back,” union members and community allies rallied and marched in Cincinnati yesterday to send Morgan Stanley the message that if it can thrive on taxpayer bailout money, it needs to make sure the community prospers as well. The action was part of the AFL-CIO’s more than 200 “Make Wall Street Pay” events taking place through the end of this week.

California Working Families Out in Force to 'Make Wall Street Pay'

The nationwide grassroots campaign to make Wall Street pay to help rebuild our economy is on full display in California this week, as working families gather outside big Wall Street banks in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego and Orange County. Hundreds of working people are taking part in the protests statewide, along with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, who will be speaking at the Bank of America action in San Diego on Friday.

Community to Rally for Laid-off Whirlpool Workers

by James Parks, Mar 24, 2010

Members of the Evansville, Ind., community will come together Thursday afternoon to support the first group of laid-off Whirlpool workers. Some 500 of the workers will walk out of the plant Friday for the last time and head to the unemployment line as their jobs are shipped away to Mexico.

Just as they did last month, union members and community and religious activists will rally behind the workers to show that the layoffs will have serious consequences for the entire area.

Trade Deficit Costs Jobs in Every Congressional District

by James Parks, Mar 23, 2010

Members of Congress, listen up: The nation’s huge trade deficit, mainly with China, has cost jobs in every congressional district, according to a report issued today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Contrary to conventional wisdom, high-tech industries are losing jobs faster than any other sector of the economy.

Since 2001, some 2.4 million jobs have been lost or displaced in this country as a result of the massive trade deficit with China, the report says. More than one-quarter—26 percent or about 628,000 jobs—displaced by trade between 2001 and 2008 are in computer, electronic equipment and parts industries. Last year alone, China was responsible for more than 80 percent of our total, nonoil trade deficit in goods.

Help Match $100,000 Donation to Haiti from Union Plus

by James Parks, Mar 23, 2010

The union movement is working to bring relief to workers in Haiti affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake and to build a long-term strategy to move the country away from a sweatshop
economy to one that provides good jobs.

The first priority has been to respond to urgent needs for food, water, medical attention and dry shelter. If you haven’t yet had a chance to help, or wish to donate again to relief efforts, Union Plus has pledged to match up to $100,000 in individual donations to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief Fund. Already, Union Plus has matched $80,000 and needs just $20,000 more to reach that goal.