AFT Leader Outlines Vision to Build Better Public Education System

by James Parks, Jul 9, 2010

Saying America’s teachers would “lead and propose, not wait and oppose,” AFT President Randi Weingarten outlined a vision to “build a system of public education as it ought to be.”

She said real changes could be made by focusing on good teaching, creating a curriculum that provides opportunity for students to learn and sharing responsibility and accountability with parents and administrators.

Weingarten spoke yesterday at AFT’s biennial convention in Seattle, which runs through Sunday. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will address the convention tomorrow.

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, July 9, 2010

Social Security: House Minority Leader Raises Renewed Privatization Fears
Social Security: House Minority Leader Raises Renewed Privatization Fears

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stated this week that he is unsure whether the Republican Party will revive their 2005 movement to privatize Social Security. Recently, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a member of the president’s Fiscal Commission on addressing the national debt, released a budget blueprint that included dramatic cuts to Medicare and Social Security before effectively privatizing both systems. Boehner has distanced himself from Ryan’s blueprint without mentioning where he stands, leaving many advocates for seniors uneasy about the fate of these programs should Republicans return to power. “Representatives Ryan and Boehner must not have seen what I saw when we put unbridled faith in the markets and Wall Street,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “We need to continue our work to protect Social Security. It is a valuable lifeline which has kept millions of retirees out of poverty.”

Shopping for Perks Among the Big Airline Alliances

Certain Air France fliers can't earn Delta miles, though both are in the same alliance.

The Wall Street Journal
Thursday, July 8, 2010

Airlines pitch their global alliances as seamless networks, yet there are so many hitches that consumers may want to shop around.

Alliances have existed for more than a decade as airlines have sought to market themselves jointly. But the companies have found that splicing together computer systems and competitive instincts has been difficult and is still evolving. As a result, perks and policies vary among each of the three big alliances—Star, oneworld and SkyTeam.

"There are still really deep pockets of incompatibility. It's not always what it's cracked up to be," said Randy Petersen, publisher of frequent-flier magazines and founder of the website FlyerTalk.com.

Passport Fees Going Up Next Week

All of the increased security and the anti-fraud measures added to passports in recent years come at a cost, officials say.

By A. Pawlowski, CNN
July 7, 2010 10:15 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Get ready to open your wallet a little wider to satisfy your travel bug: It is soon going to cost more to apply for a new U.S. passport or renew an old one -- a move criticized by the public and some lawmakers.

Starting next Tuesday, adults applying for their first passport book will have to pay $135 -- a 35 percent increase from the current $100 fee.

(The cost of the wallet-size passport card, which Americans can use on certain trips closer to home, is rising from $45 to $55 for first-time applicants.)

Want to add more visa pages to your passport book? It's free now, but you will have to shell out $82 under the new fee schedule.

The renewal fee for passport books will rise to $110 -- up from the current $75.

75th Anniversary of National Labor Relations Act: Unions the Answer Then and Now

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis addressed the AFL-CIO Executive Council in March.

by James Parks, Jul 7, 2010

In this crosspost from Huffington Post, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis reaffirms the importance of the National Labor Relations Act, which gave workers freedom to form unions.

July 5 marked the 75th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act—also known as the Wagner Act—one of the lesser known, but key components of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. In addition to Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, a federal minimum wage and laws regulating child labor—all controversial concepts at the time that we now take for granted as basic elements of fairness—the New Deal included the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) which protected workers’ rights to join or form unions and engage in collective bargaining

Minnesota Nurses Ratify New Contract

by James Parks, Jul 7, 2010

After more than three months of tense negotiations that included a 24-hour strike, some 12,000 nurses in Minnesota’s Twin Cities yesterday voted to ratify a new three-year contract with 14 area hospitals. The new pact contains no concessions or give-backs and maintains the pension plan.

Although they did not win new safe staffing language they sought, the nurses maintained safe staffing language already in their contract, in which a nurse has a right to close a unit when it becomes unsafe to admit any more patients. The nurses are members of the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU).

Trumka: Arizona Suit a First Step, But Not Enough

by James Parks, Jul 7, 2010

The Obama administration’s suit to stop Arizona from implementing the anti-immigrant law, known as SB1070, is an important first step towards protecting the fundamental civil rights of working people in the state, but does not go far enough, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said.

In a statement late yesterday, Trumka said the administration can— and should—revoke the authority the Department of Justice has delegated to Arizona under agreements in which Homeland Security trains members of eight state and local law enforcement agencies in Arizona, including the state police, which allows the officers to enforce immigration laws

Union Values: Made In America

Dave Johnson writes for the Campaign for America’s Future and adapted this post for us.

Our country was born out of a fight to cast off colonial rule by a wealthy elite and govern ourselves as We, the People. This fight continues, and nothing more clearly represents this American effort to lift each other up than organized labor. On July 4, as we celebrate our independence I encourage people to recognize our ongoing battle by buying Made in USA goods, and by working for democracy and the rights of workers everywhere

Arizona Court Says Secret Ballot Measure Unconstitutional

by James Parks, Jul 2, 2010

Opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act were dealt a blow June 30 when an Arizona state court judge struck down as unconstitutional a proposed state constitutional amendment that sought to restrict how workers can vote in union representation elections.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig granted an injunction sought by Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99 to prevent Proposition 108 from appearing on the ballot in November. The proposition, which was backed by the anti-union group Save our Secret Ballot (SOS Ballot), would have required secret ballots in all union elections and elections for public office. Employee Free Choice Act opponents wrongly claim the legislation would take away the right to a secret ballot election for union representation. In fact, the act would give workers—not employers—the option to choose whether to vote on union representation by signing union authorization cards

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, July 2, 2010

Alliance Executive Director Testifies in Front of the Fiscal Commission

On Wednesday, Alliance Executive Director Edward F. Coyle testified in front of the president’s Fiscal Commission, which is charged with addressing the nation’s national debt. Coyle conveyed to the committee’s board members that retirees are deeply disturbed by the talk coming out of the Commission of cutting Social Security benefits and raising the retirement age. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) had said earlier this week that if the Republicans were to win control of the U.S. House, the party would try to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70 as part of a fiscal reform plan. “John Boehner’s call to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70 is not only deeply hurtful and insensitive to workers, but also reflects a dangerously flawed misunderstanding of how Social Security is financed and operates,” Coyle told the Commission. In response to critics who blame Social Security for America’s budget deficit, Coyle challenged them to find a federal program that functions as efficiently as Social Security. Coyle proposed raising the payroll tax cap for the wealthiest Americans in order to further strengthen Social Security’s financial structure.