Rick Scott Rejects Obama Administration's Last-Ditch Pitch On High-Speed Rail

Sam Stein
HuffPost Reporting
stein@huffingtonpost.com

WASHINGTON -- Putting a formal end to attempts to satisfy his concerns with the project, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has rejected a last-ditch effort by the Department of Transportation to build a portion of a national high-speed rail system in his state.

Scott had what an official described as a "not long" phone conversation with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Friday morning, informing LaHood that he would continue to refuse $2.4 billion in federal funds for the project. The money will likely now be available to other states.

LaHood met with Scott earlier this week while he was in Washington for a conference of governors, attempting to satisfy Scott's concerns with the project following his rejection of it the previous week. At that time, Scott had insisted that overruns could end up costing his state more than $3 billion.

UCubed Demands New Focus on Jobs

Fri. March 04, 2011

The new unemployment numbers are in, and the results continue to depress. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that unemployment numbers have decreased for the third month in a row to 8.9 percent – the lowest since 2009. But, the tenth of a percent change is not to be confused with any real job creation, warns UCubed Acting Executive Director Rick Sloan.

“Only 192,000 new jobs were created last month,” said Sloan. “The BLS report of 8.9 percent unemployment is a far cry from the real – nearly 18 percent – unemployment rate. There are still millions more underemployed Americans.

“When you’re out of work for weeks, months and in many cases years, the only number you care about is ONE: yourself. The jobless want to go back to work. Our nation’s leaders must focus less on taking away jobs and more on creating them.”

Here are some facts about the real unemployment rate:

Official unemployment only counts for 48% of the total unemployed
7 million workers are not counted as “officially unemployed,” including discouraged workers and those who have been out of work for 99 weeks
4 million workers haven’t searched for a job because there are no jobs available to them
There are 8 million underemployed workers unable to find full-time work
Let’s help these folks out. Head over to UCubed’s Facebook page and sign up today!

Fair and Balanced, For a Change

Thu. March 03, 2011

It is not unusual to see mistakes and misinformation, deliberate or otherwise, in news stories about labor unions and union members. From pensions to payrates, the hard-won benefits enjoyed by union members are a constant target for right-wing publications aiming to fuel tension between union and non-union workers.

An exception to that norm is the coverage provided by business reporter Ted Reed in the Street.com. From his days as a reporter covering airlines and airline workers for various newspapers, to his current online coverage, Reed routinely provides refreshing insights and coverage without the customary bias.

In a recent article titled “Should Wisconsin Look to the Private Sector,” Reed examines the showdown in the Midwest, where Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker and others are seeking to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state employees.

Citing successful negotiations at several major U.S. corporations, Reed asks if maybe Gov. Walker should take a lesson from the private sector, where crisis negotiations with labor unions have produced gains for all involved.

For his article about the situation in Wisconsin, Reed interviewed industry experts and union leaders, including NFFE-IAM Federal District 1 President Bill Dougan, who voiced the opinion of many union members when he said, “It's pretty clear that what's going on in Wisconsin has little or nothing to do with the budget deficit.”

Dougan was equally clear in his remarks about the real but often misrepresented purpose of collective bargaining, "The bottom line is that labor and management share a lot of the same interest in terms of making employers more efficient in delivering their services,” Dougan said. "We're all about helping federal agencies be successful and delivering on their mission, because their being successful ensures that they continue to get funding that keeps our folks employed.”

IAM Challenges AFA Intimidation Tactics

Thu. March 03, 2011

In a letter to Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America (AFA-CWA) President Veda Shook, IAM Transportation General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. calls for an immediate halt to harassment and intimidation of AFA-CWA members who express support for the IAM.

“The IAM has received troubling reports that Flight Attendants, including AFA-CWA representatives, are providing United Airlines management with the names of fellow Flight Attendants - your dues-paying members – who support the IAM, alleging they are in violation of minor company policies,” said Roach. “We have also received reports from United Flight Attendants that individuals, some of whom are officers in your organization, are using fear and intimidation to suppress any pro-IAM discussions.”

The IAM represents 9,300 Flight Attendants at Continental Airlines, while AFA-CWA represents Flight Attendants at United Airlines. The National Mediation Board (NMB) will conduct a representation election to determine who will represent the combined group in the wake of the merger of United, Continental and Continental Micronesia.

“As this campaign proceeds, I expect spirited debate and I will of course have no objection to members expressing strongly held opinions and positions about both our organizations,” said Roach. “I will not, however, sanction or allow personal attacks, nor will I allow any Flight Attendant to be penalized for expressing his or her personal preference.”

Register Now for First IAM International Human Rights Conference

Thu. March 03, 2011

Registration is underway for the IAM’s First International Human Rights Conference.

The conference, themed Embracing Diversity in the House of Labor, will be held September 1st – 5th at the Buena Vista Palace in the Walt Disney Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL. A special discounted rate of $109 plus tax per night, single or double occupancy, has been arranged. To ensure the special rate, call 1-866-246-6563 and identify yourself as being with the “IAMAW Machinists Human Rights Conference.” Reservations must be made by August 1, 2011 to qualify for the discounted rate.

The conference will provide IAM human rights activists, women’s rights activists, community service activists and young workers the tools to better organize and network their efforts to improve conditions in the workplace, community and nation. Speakers, workshops and conference activities are planned and designed to appeal to all IAM members.

Discounted registration fees are available to those who register early. Click here for the official call letter, registration forms and details regarding early registration.

Should you have any questions, please contact the IAM Women’s and Human Rights Department at 301-967-4747.

U.S. Jobs Rise by 192,000 in February, 13.7 Million Still Unemployed

by Tula Connell, Mar 4, 2011

The number of U.S. jobs increased by 192, 000 in February, with the unemployment rate declining to 8.9 percent from 9 percent in February, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data out this morning.

Job gains occurred in manufacturing (33,000), construction (33,000), and several service-providing industries. Health care employment continues to increase, rising by 34,000 last month. Since a recent low in February 2010, total payroll employment has grown by 1.3 million, or an average of 106,000 per month.

The economy needs to add about 150,000 new jobs each month to keep up with the growth in the labor force. But to lower the nation’s unemployment rate to 6 percent by 2013 and make up for the more than 7 million jobs lost due to the recession, the economy needs to add 350,000 jobs a month.

Supporting Public Workers is Common Sense

John August, executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and a native Wisconsinite, sends us this on events there. The coalition is an alliance of 29 local unions representing 90,000 health care workers.

Americans oppose taking away public employee collective bargaining rights by a margin of two to one, according to a March 1 New York Times/CBS poll. The same poll indicates that a margin of 56 percent to 37 percent of those polled also oppose cutting public sector employee wages and benefits to reduce state budget deficits. Furthermore, asked how they would choose to reduce their state’s deficits, “those polled preferred tax increases over benefit cuts for state workers by nearly two to one,” according to the New York Times. These figures may surprise some, especially when so many media fail to explore the roots of these issues. I think what we have here is another example of what rarely is appreciated: common sense.

Whose House? Our House!

This is a crosspost from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

This evening the court of law ruled that the Wisconsin State Capitol MUST remain open to its people. The Capitol is going to resume business hours and protesters will be asked to leave every night.

However, the Capitol doors will re-open at 8:00 am each and every morning so that Wisconsin residents can exercise their first amendment rights without undue interference from their Governor.

This ruling is a huge victory for Wisconsin and an enormous defeat for Gov. Scott Walker and his unconstitutional power grab. Despite Scott Walker’s draconian attempts to take his ‘baseball bat’ to the First Amendment rights of those who disagree with his extreme agenda, he has failed yet again to silence the voices of the 74% of Wisconsinites who oppose his budget repair bill.

Solis Stands With Public Workers in Struggle for Rights

by James Parks, Mar 4, 2011

With 10,000 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) on the line, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis earlier this week pledged her support for public employees struggling to save their right to bargain for good middle class jobs.

In a phone call to CWA members this week, Solis, who comes from a union family, said she is inspired and proud of the hundreds of thousands of union and non-union workers nationwide who are taking on the states’ aggressive anti-worker agendas. She said


Budget sacrifices are one thing but demanding that workers give up
their voice is another. The governors aren’t just asking us to tighten
our belts, they’re demanding we give up our uniquely American rights
as workers.

The governors’ targets are “the men and women who care for our neighbors, teach our kids, keep our communities safe and clean, and run into burning buildings when others will not,” she said.

They do their work with little fanfare and don’t expect recognition,
but through unions they have a voice in the workplace and in their
future, and that’s what’s put us in the middle class.

Washington Hospital Center Nurses Strike, Rally for Better Patient Care

by James Parks, Mar 4, 2011

Nurses at Washington Hospital Center walked out this morning for a one-day strike to protest management’s refusal to address their concerns about safe patient care, management’s attempt to erode nursing standards, and management’s unfair labor practices.

The 1,650 registered nurses, members of National Nurses United (NNU), say the policies of the hospital’s owner MedStar Health have eroded patient care conditions and has prompted an exodus of hundreds of experienced RNs from the hospital.

“We just want to do the nursing,” said one RN, “but until all the units are fully staffed, we can’t do our jobs properly.”


We have to be sharp; we save lives, while MedStar sits on billions of dollars.