America’s Future Now Conference Sets Progressive Vision

by Mike Hall, Jun 7, 2010

The America’s Future Now conference kicks off this morning. During the next three days, the largest gathering of progressive activists, leaders and lawmakers will map out an economic and political agenda for change—and the organizing strategies for taking that agenda to the country.

Those strategies will focus on fighting the corporate lobbies that stand in the way of economic justice and reform; energizing and building a movement for jobs now; and creating a progressive majority that challenges both obstructionist Republicans and timid Democrats.

Group Launched to Stop Legislation that Would Make Union Organizing Easier

WHAS11.com
Posted on June 4, 2010 at 12:45 AM
Updated Friday, Jun 4 at 12:53 AM

A pro-business group launched in Kentucky on Thursday aims to make "card check" legislation an issue in the congressional elections this fall.

The Coalition to Protect Kentucky Jobs is a project of the Workforce Fairness Institute, which is backed by unspecified business owners. The Kentucky effort is supported by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Kentuckiana, the American Small Business Partnership, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers.

It's about the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow workers at a non-union employer to simply sign up if they want union representation rather than by secret ballot. The bill has fallen short of bipartisan support in recent Congresses.

Spanish Union 'Ready to Call General Strike'

Comisiones Obreras (CCOO)

June 5, 2010

Spain’s largest union said yesterday it was not satisfied with the details of government labour reform proposals leaked to the media so far and that a general strike “seems inevitable”.

Labour unions have called a one-day public sector strike on Tuesday against government austerity measures which include a public sector pay cut, and have threatened a general strike if they are not happy with the government’s labour reform package.

The government has said it is proceeding with its own version of labour reform as months of talks with unions and business leaders have failed to produce a consensus, and that it will present the plan to the other parties on June 9.

Union leaders met on Friday and “reiterated their rejection of the austerity plan as unjust, unbalanced and bad for the economy, along with some of the contents that have emerged on labour reform,” trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) said in a statement.

Florida Governor Slammed for Hospital-money Veto

Governor Charlie Crist, Florida

Critics charge that Gov. Charlie Crist slashed the budget of a hospital in Gainesville that serves thousands of poor people out of political spite.

By MARC CAPUTO AND LEE LOGAN
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

Of all the times Gov. Charlie Crist has flip-flopped, few decisions stand out like his budget veto of nearly $10 million for Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Crist recommended the money in his proposed budget in January. He recommended similar funding in the previous three years and approved them in the budget.

Crist's veto of the money -- used to treat 18,000 uninsured Floridians -- also conflicts with his veto message that said he preserved budget items that ``served the most vulnerable.''

On Thursday, the governor defended his veto: ``The concern was more with the process of it, to be honest with you. And the lateness of it. I didn't want things that came late and didn't have the complete committee vetting opportunity.''



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/04/1662596/crist-slammed-for-hospital-money.html#ixzz0q3JnCx9g

Fla. Senate Candidate Tests Politics, Ethnicity

In this May 18, 2010 photo, Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio speaks to members and guests at the Florida Federation of Republican Women, meeting in Coral Gables, Fla.

MIAMI — At a boutique hotel in Miami's upscale Coral Gables neighborhood, members of a Republican women's group smile and gush as Senate candidate Marco Rubio enters the room. A Spanish-language television reporter approaches with a microphone.

What is his stance on the Arizona immigration law? Does he favor amnesty for undocumented immigrants?

"I don't support amnesty," Rubio says. "I support a legal immigration system."

A Cuban-American lawyer and former state House speaker, the 39-year-old Rubio has captured the attention of national Republicans hoping to attract Hispanic voters, a majority of whom voted for President Barack Obama in 2008.

But it's among Hispanic voters that some of Rubio's conservative positions could prove divisive.

Chiles' Entry Into Race for Governor Stirs Up Fla. Politics

Lawton "Bud" Chiles III, the son of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles, walks to the Florida Press Center in Tallahassee, Fla. Thursday, June 3, 2010. Chiles, made a late entry into the governor's race as an independent candidate on Thursday, saying both major parties have been influenced too much by money.

By JEREMY WALLACE
Sarasota Herald-Tribune


Published: Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:36 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:36 p.m.

Late entries into the two hottest races in the state are shaking up Florida politics.
Political newcomers Jeff Greene, a Democrat running for Senate, and Rick Scott, a Republican challenger for governor, are running campaigns not seen before in Florida on this scale, spending millions of dollars of their own fortunes to bypass the traditional party routes and go straight to electorate with TV ads.

Thursday brought another twist: Bud Chiles, the son of one of the state's most beloved governors but who has no elected experience himself, announced he is running for governor. Even though Chiles said he will run as an independent, his candidacy is causing panic among Democrats that it will cost Democrats their best shot at winning the governor's mansion since 1994. The winner that year was Chiles' father, Lawton.

1,900 Texas RN’s Vote to Join NNU Affiliate

by Mike Hall, Jun 4, 2010

More than 1,900 registered nurses at five Texas hospitals have voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee-Texas (NNOC-Texas), an affiliate of the 155,000-member National Nurses United (NNU).

The election wins by the nurses took place during the past two weeks, with the latest victory coming last night at the Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville. They join the registered nurses who voted for a voice at work at four other HCA hospitals: Corpus Christi Medical Center in Corpus Christi, Del Sol Medical Center and Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso, Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen.

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, June 4, 2010

Friday, June 4, 2010

(Alliance for Retired Americans)

Alliance Members Get the Chance to Ask President Obama Questions
At a special event on Tuesday, June 8, Alliance members are invited to ask the President health care questions by telephone. A few members of the Alliance will be attending the event - which will include information on benefits for seniors under the new health care law - live, in Wheaton, Maryland. Other members are invited to ask the President questions by phone. The special number Alliance members can call to talk to President Obama is: 800-837-1935, Passcode 80272058. This one-time, national "tele-town hall" can also be seen and heard on television by watching C-SPAN, or on-line at www.healthreform.gov.

Economy Adds 431,000 Jobs–Barely Enough to Stay in Place

by James Parks, Jun 4, 2010

Some 431,000 net new jobs were created in May. A whopping 411,000 of those new jobs were temporary U.S. Census jobs while private employers added only 41,000 new jobs in May. Overall, the unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent, down from 9.9 in April, according to a report released this morning by the U.S. Department of Labor.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the low number of private-sector jobs is further evidence the recovery is still fragile.

The Economic Recovery Act saved us from a second Great Depression, but it was not sufficient to power strong and sustained job growth, and its effects are expected to wane in coming months.

Steelworkers Help Green Light New Energy-Efficient Bulbs

by Mike Hall, Jun 2, 2010

Here’s a way to reduce your carbon footprint and support good green union jobs. Check out the new Sylvania Super Saver halogen light bulbs made by the United Steelworkers (USW) in a Wellsboro, Pa., plant.

As more and more households turn to the energy-efficient bulbs over the familiar incandescent light bulb that sucks up much more energy, many manufacturers are shutting down their U.S. operations and producing the new bulbs overseas.

But Osram Sylvania has decided to manufacture its Sylvania Super Saver halogen bulbs at existing facilities in the United States. Wellsboro currently produces the outer glass portion of light bulbs that are assembled at Osram Sylvania’s plant in St. Marys, Pa.