Thousands Protest Michigan Budget that Cuts Biz Taxes, Raises Tax on Poor, Seniors

by Mike Hall, Apr 13, 2011

Thousands of Michigan workers, students, seniors and others are heading for the state capitol in Lansing today for a massive rally against Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) proposed budget that cuts $900 million from education, taxes pensions, raises taxes for low-income families and slashes vital services–all while, cutting business taxes by $1.7 billion.

The budget battle follows last month’s fight over Snyder’s “financial martial law” bill.

The new law allows Snyder to declare a “financial emergency” in a city or school district and appoint a manager with broad powers, including the ability to fire local elected officials, break teachers’ and public workers’ contracts, seize and sell assets, eliminate services—and even eliminate entire cities or school districts without any public input.

Also last month Snyder signed a new law that cuts state unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks.

Snyder and Republican legislators are expected to try to push the budget through as quickly as possible, says Michigan AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney.

They’re hurrying to get this done and the result of that is they’re not listening to everyone involved enough.

In a joint statement, Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer and House Democratic Leader Richard Hammel said the Snyder plan balances the budget on the backs of

seniors, working families, and students while giving billions away to big corporations… It does nothing to resolve the concerns and frustrations that have brought people to the Capitol by the thousands in recent weeks to voice their opposition to his agenda. We also question the amount of revenue this plan will actually generate since the bulk of the revenue raised from the pension tax comes from hitting the lowest pensions.

Lies, More Lies and Wis.’s Gov. Walker

by Tula Connell, Apr 13, 2011

Our friends at AFSCME have pulled together facts that refute the “misinformation”—to put a polite gloss on it—Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has perpetrated throughout his attacks on the ability of public employees to achieve and mantain a middle-class life. Check it out.

Wisconsin did not have a budget deficit before Scott Walker took office. On Jan. 31, the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a memo projecting a $121.4 million surplus for the state. Walker created the “budget crisis” by providing $116 million in tax breaks to corporations, squandering the surplus. Walker’s budget proposal includes another $83 million in tax breaks for multistate corporations and investors.

Walker refused to sit down with unions to help fix the Wisconsin budget. Public employee unions agreed to all of Walker’s fiscal demands, including doubling their health care premium contribution to 12.6 percent and contributing 5.8 percent of their salary to pensions, which according to Walker would save the state $300 million over the next two years. Despite this, Walker forced through legislation stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights and to this day has refused to sit down with them.

Show Solidarity with Workers Under Attack—Buy a Button or Pin

by James Parks, Apr 12, 2011

The struggle to save the nation’s middle class from the assaults of Republican governors and legislators continues to grow as more and more people realize that strong unions provide a counterbalance to runaway corporate power.

You can show your support of those who are on the frontlines of the struggle by purchasing “We Are One” buttons and lapel pins or a “Stand With Wisconsin” tee. When someone asks what the message means, you can tell them you’re standing in solidarity with millions of working people from every walk of life for the right to bargain collectively for good, middle-class jobs.

Order your pins and buttons today here. The pins are $15 each and the buttons are $10. For every pin you purchase, $12.95 goes to support mobilization efforts opposing attacks on working families in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states. For every button purchase, $9.43 goes to the help the workers under attack.

Stand in solidarity with the courageous Americans who are struggling each day to preserve our American Dream.

Also available for $14 is the union-made ”Stand With Wisconsin” T-shirt. All profits will go to help the Wisconsin workers. You can purchase the shirts here.

Fair Pay Act Would Bring Equal Pay for Equal Work

by Mike Hall, Apr 12, 2011

Today, as equal rights advocates mark Equal Pay Day to remind the nation that women are paid just 80 cents for every dollar men earn, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the Fair Pay Act of 2011 that would ensure that employers provide equal pay for jobs that are equivalent in skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

Harkin says that discrimination accounts for much of the pay gap and there are too many loopholes and barriers to effective enforcement of existing laws. “We need to strengthen penalties and give women the tools they need to confront discrimination.”

At the same time, we must recognize that the problem of unequal pay goes beyond insidious discrimination. As a nation, we unjustly devalue jobs traditionally performed by women, even when they require comparable skills to jobs traditionally performed by men.

Millions of jobs dominated by women such as social workers, teachers, child care workers and nurses are equivalent in skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions to similar jobs dominated by men says Harkin:

But the female-dominated jobs pay significantly less. This is inexplicable. Why is a housekeeper worth less than a janitor? Why is a parking meter reader worth less than an electrical meter reader? Why is a social worker worth less than a probation officer?

AFL-CIO Blog Archives for March 2011

Read the AFL-CIO blogs for March 2011.

All House Members Would Have Lost Under Election Rules They Seek for Workers

by Mike Hall, Mar 28, 2011

The House member leading the fight to deny aviation and rail workers fair union elections would have lost his seat by a 68-32 percent margin under the election rules he wants to impose on transportation workers.

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wants to repeal last year’s new rule by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that says air and rail elections should be decided just like any other election—including congressional elections—by a majority of votes cast. Previously under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which covers rail and airline workers, each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.

A new report from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) finds that not only would Mica be an overwhelmingly loser under those rules, but not one member of Congress would have won election if they had to play by the same rules Mica, Delta Airlines and other transportation corporations want to impose on workers.

The House version of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that Mica and most House Republicans are pushing would repeal the new NMB rule. Using the old standard, CWA reports that Mica would have received just 32 percent of the votes in his 2010 reelection.

Mica received support from 69 percent of the voters in his district who cast a ballot amounting to slightly over 185,000 actual votes tallied for him. However, if you add the over 83,000 voters who voted against Rep. Mica to 312,000 eligible voters who did not participate, then Rep. Mica would only muster 32 percent of the overall total.

Maine Gov. Removes Labor Mural in Stealth Move

by Tula Connell, Mar 28, 2011

Over the weekend, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) secretly removed from a state building an 11-panel mural depicting working families’ history. Like Republican state legislators in Wisconsin who passed a bill killing collective bargaining through a series of dirty tricks, Maine’s Republican governor operates away from the public eye—despite being an elected official accountable to taxpayers.

LePage resembles Wisconsin Republicans in another way—giving jobs to personal connections, in this case, his daughter. LePage made sure his 22-year-old daughter got an entry-level job in the governor’s office paying $41,000—$10,000 more than those who pass teacher and police tests. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s top aides found a comfy job—with a $12,000 raise—for the girlfriend of one of his staunchest allies.

Like Walker, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and other newly elected Republican lawmakers, LePage turns his nose up at democracy. During a rally Friday in Maine to protest the removal of the mural, an artist at the rally suggested:

that people form a human chain to block the mural’s removal. When asked what he would do if that happened, Governor LePage said, “I’d laugh at them, the idiots. That’s what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!”

Last week, LePage sparked outrage in the state and across the nation when he ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural depciting the state’s labor history from the Department of Labor. The mural, in part, depicts a 1986 paper mill strike and “Rosie the Riveter” at Bath Iron Works.

American’s flight attendants forbidden to strike

March 25, 2011, 3:01 p.m. EDT

By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The U.S. isn’t allowing flight attendants at financially strapped American Airlines to walk the picket lines any time soon, and that could change the tone of labor negotiations across the industry, some experts said Friday.

The National Mediation Board, the U.S. agency that referees labor-management relations for airlines, has ignored a request made a year ago by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, asking the federal government to release it from negotiations for what’s called a 30-day cooling-off period, which then allows for a strike.

For almost three years, American Airlines flight attendants have been in talks with management, seeking improved wages and benefits as well as more job security. But management has refused to deal until the union allows it more scheduling flexibility for workers in order to increase productivity.

The NMB later said the carrier’s fragile finances and the weakened national economy would weigh heavily on its decision, according to the union.

The NMB said it would not comment on any ongoing labor negotiation.

Medicare rise could mean no Social Security COLA

Mar 27, 5:14 AM EDT

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments.

The government is projecting a slight cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits next year, the first increase since 2009. But for most beneficiaries, rising Medicare premiums threaten to wipe out any increase in payments, leaving them without a raise for a third straight year.

About 45 million people - one in seven in the country - receive both Medicare and Social Security. By law, beneficiaries have their Medicare Part B premiums, which cover doctor visits, deducted from their Social Security payments each month.

When Medicare premiums rise more than Social Security payments, millions of people living on fixed incomes don't get raises. On the other hand, most don't get pay cuts, either, because a hold-harmless provision prevents higher Part B premiums from reducing Social Security payments for most people.

Wis. Walker’s Latest Stealth Move Shows He Thinks He’s Above the Law

by Tula Connell, Mar 26, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has already proven he doesn’t care about the will of his constituents. Now, he thinks he’s above the law.

In a late Friday move–so as to get little media attention–Walker defied a court ruling and published the bill killing collective bargaining rights for the public employees. A judge had issued a restraining order on the law, passed by state Assembly and Senate in a set of dirty-trick moves. The restraining order barred its publication, but apparently the rule of law doesn’t apply to Walker.

The Wisconsin Law Journal reports that the Republican state senate leadership sees publication of the bill as enacting the law–in short, bypassing due process in the court system.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who said he went to the Reference Bureau with the idea, wasted no time in saying that the law’s online publication meant it would take effect Saturday. His brother, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, agreed, according to a spokesman.

“It’s my opinion it’s published, it’s on the legislative website, it’s law,” Scott Fitzgerald said. “It was clear to me after our discussions this morning, if it in fact it is posted and it says published and there’s a specific date on it, it would be very hard to argue this was not law.”

Not so, says Dane County Circuit Judge Sarah O’Brien, who

refused to take up a request for emergency action made late Friday by the Democratic district attorney, Ismael Ozanne, saying there was no “critical urgency” in her addressing the posting because the temporary restraining order preserves the status quo. She said she didn’t know what effect the online posting had, and that the issue could wait until a previously scheduled hearing Tuesday in one of the lawsuits challenging the law’s legitimacy.

With residents now calling their state ”FitzWalkerstan” because of the Fitzgeralds’ close ties to Walker, seems to show again how dictatorships often start with Troikas.