China, Trade and YOU

The McCain War

Special Message from Pittsburgh on the 2008 Presidential Election Campaigns

May 12, 2008

In a recent meeting of the International Executive Board, concerns were raised about the media’s ongoing attempts to sensationalize and mischaracterize the contest between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic Party presidential nominee. Most disturbing have been attempts to define working people’s voting decisions in this contest as somehow racially based, while completely ignoring the fact that for years Senator McCain and many of his Republican colleagues have treated all working people with complete disdain, whether those workers are white, Black, Hispanic or otherwise. Shouldn’t that be the issue for 2008, and not this absurd and unfair focus on race and sometimes on religion?

There is a lot of talk that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is now fated to lose the Democratic nomination and should pull out of the race. We believe it is her right to stay in the fight and challenge Senator Barack Obama as long as she has the desire and the means to do so. That is the essence of democracy, and of the Democratic Party process.

But we believe just as strongly that Mrs. Clinton will be making a terrible mistake — for herself, her Party and for the nation — if she continues to press her candidacy through negative campaigning with disturbing racial undertones.

America needs a clean break from eight catastrophic years of George W. Bush, and it needs it now. And so far, Senator John McCain is shaping up as simply the “Bush Sequel” – with more war in Iraq, even more tax cuts for the rich while the middle class struggles mightily, and courts packed with even more right-wing activists intent on undoing decades of progress in civil rights, civil liberties and other vital areas. The Democratic Party must field the most effective and vibrant candidate it possibly can. And more attack ads and squabbling will not help achieve that goal.

The IEB feels, therefore, that we need to make it absolutely clear to our staff and local leadership that both Democratic candidates would be far superior advocates for the rights of working people and their families than Senator McCain, and to make it equally clear that neither Democrat should urge a choice based on the race or the age of working-class voters. All workers have a common need to be represented better than they have been by George Bush or will be by John McCain, whether he or she is a retiree, a worker in one of our facilities, or one of the fine young men and women fighting right now to protect our nation.

It’s bad enough that John McCain’s supporters are already engaged in the politics of divide and conquer, especially if Senator Obama is the Nominee, which now seems likely. These destructive Republican tactics are deeply troubling and completely unfair, as Senator Obama’s grandparents, who raised him during much of his youth, fought in World War II and worked honorably in manufacturing jobs to support their family. And they are deeply troubling because the Senator has pledged his own undying allegiance to our country and to working-class Americans, and because of his outspoken commitment to a vibrant middle class which grows from the bottom up and which recognizes that when it comes to economic policies and trade, American workers must come first.

Dividing working people along racial and ethnic lines is the oldest and meanest game in the book, and it is the one the Republicans are already using to distract attention from the fact that Senator McCain has made it abundantly clear that he offers nothing more than a continuation of the Bush administration’s sorry record of relentlessly assaulting the well-being and interests of working people and of our nation’s unions.

John McCain is proposing a health care “plan,” for example, that is a health care industry-driven rehash of the approach that employers have been trying to shove down our throats for years in bargaining – and he is doing it with the full support of Bush and their Republican cronies in Congress and the insurance industry. John McCain has never seen a free trade deal that he doesn’t love – and as a candidate he’s already cheerleading for even more of them. He is calling for more Bush-type tax cuts for the wealthy that are creating the worst income inequality the country has seen since 1928. He opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, which Senator Obama supports for all workers, including for part-time and contract employees. John McCain will keep doling out subsidies to big oil. And he (along with Senator Clinton, unfortunately) has pandered to working people’s struggle to pay for rising gasoline prices by calling for a microscopic “gas tax holiday” that will only save working people pennies while robbing our country of the funds needed to rebuild our failing infrastructure – which is just one of the job-creating functions that our government should be investing in instead.

Given these troubling circumstances, the IEB urges all staff and local leadership to share Senator McCain’s vicious anti-worker record with our members, and to encourage them to understand that media attempts to sensationalize differences among working people based on race, ethnicity or religion will only distract us from the real need to change our nation’s policies on health care, trade, workers’ rights, energy and foreign affairs. Getting that message out immediately to all our members and supporters is crucial, and we must not let either the last few days of the Democratic primary process or the everyday McCain lies rob us of the chance to end the Bush assault on us, our union and our families.

GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH CONFIRMS MASSIVE CHINESE ENERGY SUBSIDIES TO STEEL INDUSTRY

New report uncovers unprecedented subsidies affecting global steel market.

Washington DC, January 8, 2008 – According to a new report commissioned by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), the Chinese government has exponentially boosted its steel output over the last three years through massive, trade-distorting energy subsidies. Total energy subsidies to Chinese steel from 2000 to mid-year 2007 reached $27.11 billion. Despite China’s entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002, energy subsidies grew, totaling $25.07 billion through mid-year 2007. These energy subsidies include supports for thermal and coking coal, electricity, and natural gas.“Chinese subsidies exist, they are enormous and they are shaping the global steel market,” said the report’s author, Usha C. V. Haley, Ph.D.

China has identified steel as a strategic industry, and both the central and provincial governments have decided to ramp up steel production with massive subsidies that have now been confirmed.”China is the largest producer and consumer of steel in the world, accounting for 40 percent of the global market. Much has changed for China’s steel industry in the last 5 years. In 2005, China went from a net steel importer to a steel exporter. In 2006, China became the largest steel exporter in the world by volume, up from fifth largest in 2005. This enormous increase in production has come at a cost for U.S. manufacturing; more than 1.8 million U.S. jobs have been displaced since China joined the WTO, according to the Economic Policy Institute”

Source: AAM

China Cheats Indiana

Manufacturing is a vital part of the economies of most states. As a share of gross state product (GSP), manufacturing is the largest sector in 10 states and in the Midwest region as a whole. It is the second largest in nine states and third largest in 21 others.

Manufacturing jobs lost from 2000-2007: 109,800

Manufacturing accounts for $67.2 billion of Indiana's GSP, the number 1 contributor to the state’s economy.

45,200 jobs lost, 2001-2006 (all sectors), as a result of the trade deficit with China, equaling 1.5% of the total state employment in 2001.

Source: AAM

China Cheats. Indiana Loses.

Demand that the candidates put
a stop to the cheating by enforcing

our laws against unfair trade.

Indiana has lost 109,800 manufacturing jobs since 2000. Why? Because too many in Washington are unwilling to enforce our laws against unfair trade, allowing countries like China to cheat, and putting U.S. workers and manufacturers at a disadvantage. Want proof? Our soaring $256 billion annual trade deficit with China has cost Indiana alone more than 45,200 jobs and more than 1.8 million jobs nationwide.

We need a President and a Congress who will stand up to China. Until then, China will continue to illegally subsidize their industries, keep the value of their currency low, dump their products in the U.S. and steal our jobs. Don’t let them get away with it.

Find out more at www.americanmanufacturing.org.

Message from the Alliance for Retired Americans

Tomorrow is primary day in Indiana. The Alliance wants to make you aware of available resources should you have any questions or problems in voting. The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

An organization named Election Protection is America's largest non-partisan voter protection coalition formed to help people vote. Trained volunteers will staff the hotline and answer any questions from 5:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. to provide all voters with free assistance.

The Election Protection toll-free number is 1-866-OUR VOTE (or 1-866-687-8683) and it is available to ANYONE who has a question about or a problem when they vote in the Indiana Primary tomorrow. The Election Protection website is www.866OurVote.org .

Morel mushrooms

The morels are out folks. Go to the SOAR recipe website for some good recipes.

For president-who should I vote?

Gosh, for me, that’s really a tough question. The conservative nuts have the country in such a mess and a vote for McCain would result in more of the same-so he’s out of the question, so

the decision has to be between Clinton and Obama.

I’ve been watching and listening and reading about these two candidates just like you have and I think it’s a toss up.

Both have 100% voting records with the AFL-CIO and both have 100% voting records with the Alliance for Retired Americans.

I have seen and heard them both speak, and briefly met Hillary back in October 2001. They’re both good for working families and retirees and both have the family values necessary to really lift America out the fix that we’re in.

Please be sure to vote tomorrow in Indiana and which ever one of these super candidates you vote for will be fine with me.

Bush Social Security Plan

A 20 year-old worker today could expect to receive over $440,000 from Social Security, but will receive $100,000 instead under the Bush Plan.

Think About It!

If you don't mind Wall Street corrupting Social Security and wasting your money,

then Social Security privatization is right for you!

(Wall Street has spent millions of dollars lobbying Congress for the privatization of Social Security and will win big if private accounts are created.

If you welcome shouldering an additional $2 trillion in debt,

then Social Security privatization is right for you!

(Establishing private accounts creates at least a $2 trillion financial crisis for Social Security that does not currently exist because this amount will have to be borrowed in order to pay for transition costs.)

If You think the word "voluntary" means being told where to invest,

Then Social Security privatization is right for you!

(The federal government will decide what investment rules you play by.)

If you like the idea of supporting your elderly parents:

Then Social Security privatization is right for you!

Privatizing Social Security will cut benefits, shrink nest eggs and create the risk of poor investments.

You Owe It To Your Grandchildren To Tell Them The Truth About Privatization!

President George W. Bush and others want to convince people in their 20's that Social Security will not be there when they retire. It's a lot easier to take something away from people if they don't think they are going to get it anyway. They hope you, your children and your grandchildren won't fight their Social Security privatization plan, but they are not telling you that it will drastically cut benefits. Don't fall for it.

What Social Security Privatizers Don't Want Young People to know...

If you want to receive less money when you retire, then Social Security privatization is right for you! (if you are in your 20's and the Social Security plan is enacted, you will receive 25% less in Social Security benefits.)

Debra Birkholz, a Champion For Working Families and Retirees

To Vote for Debra Birkholz

Working families and retirees in Indiana’s eighth senate district will have a wonderful opportunity in a few days to add a real champion to the Indiana Senate, someone who will be on our side for a change.

For too long, our representation in the senate has been less than marginal. Debra Birkholz is labor’s candidate and she promises to be just the ticket for what ails our state. She has the support of the Alliance for Retired Americans and the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees. Vote for real change.

How Committed are the Presidential Candidates to Retirees

For your information, below is the voting record of presidential candidates put out by the Alliance for Retired Americans on the ten most important issues affecting retirees in the 110th Congress, January 2007-December 2007. It reflects how committed they are to retirees and older Americans.

Hillary Clinton 100%
John McCain 0%
Barack Obama 100%

Source: Alliance for Retired Americans

McCain: Out of Touch

iRack

What Would You Do With 3 Trillion Dollars?

Turn Around America

Am I bitter? Hell no, I'm Pissed!

I had a good job all the way up to retirement. My job never went overseas. I didn't lose my healthcare and I didn't lose part of or all of my pension.......but if I had......I'd be more than bitter. I'd be pissed. As a matter of fact, I am pissed......And if I could afford it, I'd spend every opportunity to hound each and every Congressperson and Senator in Washington D.C. until they did something about it.
I know too many workers who have had those things happen to them.
I think that the comments made by Senator Barak Obama which the media and others are spinning for political advantage are made pretty clear by the following speech. And I think he's right on.

Congrats to Nancy Pelosi

The House of Representatives yesterday, passed a rule to put on hold the requirement that the Columbia Free Trade Agreement be considered within 90 legislative days.
Now, Congress can decide whether or not, or when to schedule a vote on this rotten trade deal with a country that has more union leaders murdered than any other.
Finally, we have a congress with some back bone to oppose this whacky president.

We have more to be concerned with in the United States than a lousy trade deal, such as people losing their homes, high gasoline prices, bankruptsys, loss of jobs, and this crazy so called "war" in Iraq.

Congratulations to those in the congress who care about people.

VOTE-Jill Long Thompson

Senator Sherrod Brown speaks out

For Immediate Release

Monday, April 7, 2008

SENATOR SHERROD BROWN CALLS PROPOSED COLOMBIAN FTA BETRAYAL OF MIDDLE CLASS

Brown Says Trade Pact Continuation of Failed Trade Polices Hurt Workers

and Businesses at Home and Abroad

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today called the proposed Colombian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) a betrayal of the middle class. Brown said the trade pact is a continuation of trade policies that hurt workers at home and abroad. He released the following

statement:

"Congress will not pass a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. The Colombian government has stood by and watched continued violence against union leaders. Its response has been unacceptable."

"The proposed Colombia FTA betrays small businesses, it betrays workers, and it betrays consumers. Colombian workers earn little more than $600 a month. This FTA is much less about finding new markets for American goods than it is a continuation of this administration's failed trade policy - a policy that exploits workers in developing nations, fosters unsafe working conditions, and allows unsafe products and food into our country."

"There will be no backroom deals to save this agreement - it stands alone, and it will be defeated in the open."

"Middle class families in Ohio and throughout the country are struggling. Our economy is in a state of crisis - in employment, housing, energy, and financial markets. This is another job-killing trade agreement that betrays our middle class."

"We want trade and plenty of it - but under rules that raise standards and ensure our exports have a lasting and sustainable market of consumers."

"Trade can be a development tool, but the way this administration has pursued trade is not promoting sustainable development. We want trade with countries that will open lasting markets for American goods, not just sources for cheap labor. The American people want a pro-trade, pro-development, pro-labor, and forward-looking approach."

Stop Killing America

Haven't you right wing so called conservatives done enough damage? Isn't it time to admit that your policies aren't the real values of America? Step aside and let people with genuine human values fix our nation.
Enough of your killing. Enough of your invading. Enough of your holier than tho attitudes. Enough of your allowing companies to leave our shores, taking good paying American jobs. Enough of your ignoring the problems of real people in the United States with your greed. Enough of your failed, economics.
Time to care about people.
Time to educate our children.
Time to stop the war mongering.
Time to stop the intolerance and hate.
Conservatives, wake up and see the light.
Conservatives, change your ways.
Conservatives, it's time to elect progressives. It's time to care about the poor. It's time to take care of those with no medical insurance. It's time to have trade policies that work for Americans.
It's time to say no to the murderous Columbian trade agreement.

It time
To do what's right
It's time to be true patriots
Stop the greed

Straight Talker McCain

In Indiana, Enough is Enough

Jill Long Thompson Will Protect Indiana Jobs!

Indiana’s manufacturing industry has suffered devastating job loss!

Number of factory jobs lost in the State of Indiana from 2000-2006:

98,000

(Chicago Tribune, April 2, 2006)

But those who still have jobs are seeing an increase in wages, right? WRONG!

The State of Indiana’s ranking in per capita income growth:

45 of 50

(Chicago Tribune, April 2, 2006)

"The Steelworkers are proud to endorse Jill Long Thompson for governor. Jill has stood with us in many battles to create a better future for working families, both while serving as a member of Congres and, later, as a concerned citizen. She has supported us over the years and we are enthusiastically supporting her now."

- USW District 7

Jill Long Thompson for Governor of Indiana

Steelworkers Summer

What is Steelworkers’ Summer?

Steelworkers’ Summer is an educational and training internship in which participants develop skills useful for union organizing by experiencing firsthand the kinds of struggles workers face while trying to win a voice at work. It is also designed to give participants an understanding and appreciation of the positive impact the union has had on their parents’ working lives.

Internships are open to young adults, 18 years of age or older. Selection preference is given to children of members of the United Steelworkers International Union.

Steelworkers’ Summer is committed to uniting students, workers, and community activists to bring about social justice through work place and community organizing.

What kinds of qualifications are needed to participate in Steelworkers’ Summer?

Applicants should have a strong commitment to social and economic justice, as well as openness to working with a broad cross section of people. This includes people of various races, ethnicities, religions and orientations. Participants need to be people-oriented, enthusiastic, energetic, flexible and willing to work long hours on an unpredictable schedule. A college degree is not required. Previous union experience is not necessary. Volunteerism or activism is a plus.

You can download an Application and get more information here

For More Information, Contact
Steelworkers' Summer
USW Organizing Department
Five Gateway Center
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: 412-562-2550
E-mail: steelworkerssummer@usw.org

Source: USW website

“Enough is Enough!”

Jill Long Thompson's campaign for Governor announced it has selected an original score composed by three Montgomery County brothers as its official theme song.

Written and produced by Carl, Troy and Alan Thompson (no relation to Jill) all of Ladoga, the country theme song entitled "Enough is Enough" will be used at various campaign events.

"Jill is the real deal," added Carl. "She's smart, she's tough and she's got the kind of common sense that will allow her to clean up Mitch's mess, protect our jobs and put Indiana back on track."

Enough is Enough

There's two on the ballot but not hard to choose

A vote makes a difference could mean win or lose

The state of Indiana is in distress

Vote Jill Long Thompson to clean up the mess

Vote Jill Long Thompson so Indiana will make it

We need a change she's the one to change it

Enough is Enough and this is how we'll say it

Enough is Enough Vote Jill Long Thompson

Who's the one to fix our state

Plain and simple the best candidate

Jill Long Thompson she'll work for you

All that know her know it's true

Enough is Enough Vote Jill Long Thompson

Enough is Enough Vote Jill Long Thompson

Let her be our voice Governor Jill Long Thompson

You can visit Jill's website by clicking here

4000 U.S. Dead -- Why?

McCain's Shadow

Has anyone else noticed that John McCain has been keeping Senator Joe Lieberman within whisper shot?
At least twice now, McCain has screwed up when responding to questions concerning foreign affairs, and Lieberman had to bail him out both times.

Now that's scary!

Obama Speech: 'A More Perfect Union'

McCain--Wrong on George W. Bush

Since President Bush took office, John McCain has supported Bush’s positions 89 percent of the time. McCain’s support of Bush’s policies reached as high as 95 percent in 2007.

Source: AFL-CIO

McCain--Wrong on Health Care

John McCain wants to make health care premiums part of taxable income, creating a new tax for working families. His plan would force working families to fend for themselves in the private insurance market and undermine employer-based health care. In addition, McCain has voted to slash funding for Medicare and opposed the reauthorization and new funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Source: AFL-CIO

McCain--Wrong on Social Security

John McCain voted for Bush’s Social Security privatization plan and says the only solution to fixing Social Security is through private accounts.

Source: AFL-CIO

McCain--Wrong on Jobs

John McCain has made it a point to tell audiences that some jobs “aren’t coming back.” What he doesn’t often explain is his role in exporting those jobs in the first place. McCain voted against prohibiting the overseas outsourcing of government contracts and voted to privatize federal jobs. He also voted to contract out federal jobs. And McCain has certainly done little to aid those who have lost their jobs, voting against the extension of federal unemployment insurance benefits.

Source: AFL-CIO

McCain--Wrong on Workers

John McCain voted to block the Employee Free Choice Act and supported a national “right to work” for less law. He supported President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while voting against raising the minimum wage.

Source: AFL-CIO

McCain--Wrong on Trade

John McCain has cast vote after vote for every free trade agreement under the sun, including the most devastating agreement in our history, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He has gone on to praise NAFTA and its effects and has voted to make it easier for the president to enter into agreements without strong worker protections.

Source: AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO Congressional Voting Record for 2007

AFL-CIO Voting Record for 2007 -Percent of votes in favor of Working Families

The AFL-CIO Voting Record lets you know where your lawmakers stand on working family issues such as strengthening Social Security and Medicare, freedom to join a union, workplace safety and more.
All votes were selected for inclusion because of their importance to working families. The graph below show the percentage of the time that each of these Representatives and Senators voted correctly ie; a pro-working families, vote. The Voting Record also shows each member's lifetime record of support for working families.

Here's how they have voted

You can find this information, not only for the above but for all the members of congress by going to the AFL-CIO website.

Ah, Those Wonderful Christian Conservatives

On Saturday, March 8, President Bush vetoed H.R. 2082, an important piece of anti-torture legislation that would have banned the use of waterboarding, stress positions, induced hypothermia, and other so-called "harsh" interrogation techniques by requiring all U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, to abide by the restrictions in the Army Field Manual while conducting interrogations. H.R. 2082 was passed by a majority of both houses of Congress.

Sometime this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow, the U.S. House will vote on whether or not to override the President's veto. It is very difficult to override a veto (it requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress), so the attempt to override may not be successful. That said, we want to make every effort to convince as many Members of Congress as possible to vote for the override.

Please call your Representative in Congress and urge him or her to vote to override the President's veto of H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization bill. To contact your Member of Congress you can call the Capitol switchboard at (202)224-3121 and ask to speak with your Representative.

Thank you for your efforts to end U.S.-sponsored torture and the conservatives who want to cause as much human pain, misery, suffering and death to as many people as they can before they get thrown out of Washington.

Torture is a Moral Issue

Bush Clone McCain Ready to Screw Retirees

Friday, March 7, 2008

John McCain Restates Support for Social Security Privatization

In an interview appearing in the March 3 edition of The Wall Street Journal, John McCain restated his support for the privatization of Social Security, saying, “As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it -- along the lines that President Bush proposed.” The proposal McCain favors is the same Bush privatization plan rejected by the American people in 2005 for jeopardizing the economic security of current and future retirees and ravaging guaranteed benefits for seniors and the disabled. Without the program, half of all American seniors would live in poverty. Privatization would mean a 30-50% cut in benefits, with the average retiree losing $134,000 in payments over 20 years of retirement. Arizona Alliance members gathered outside a Phoenix Social Security office this morning to protest Sen. McCain’s support for privatization, which he has consistently favored and voted for in 2006. “Don't be fooled, John McCain is, was, and always will be a privatizer,” said George J. Kourpias, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “While he fancies himself a maverick, he has long championed the Bush plan to gamble away Social Security on the roulette wheel of the stock market. In a Bush-McCain world, seniors' risk would be Wall Street's reward.”

Source: ARA Friday Alert

USW Condemns Outsourcing of Air Force Fuel Tankers; Condemns McCain's Lobbying; Calls on Congress to Defund

USW Condemns Outsourcing of Air Force Fuel Tankers;

Condemns McCain's Lobbying; Calls on Congress to Defund

For Immediate Release March 4, 2008

PITTSBURGH - The United Steelworkers (USW) today denounced the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for awarding a contract for the construction of Air Force refueling tankers to the European firm, Airbus, and called for its defunding. The contract is worth up to $100 billion, with its value rising to $408 billion over its lifetime. The USW also decried Sen. John McCain for his role in lobbying the DOD on behalf of the French corporation.

USW International President Leo W. Gerard pointed out that the DOD’s choice of Airbus undermines our country’s economic and national security. Gerard expressed grave concern over the fact that McCain lobbied so relentlessly for Airbus instead of U.S. based Boeing at a time when the U.S. government has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over unfair trade practices resulting from the French company’s illegal subsidies.

"Senator McCain's insistent lobbying for Airbus reveals he's no different than George Bush when it comes to putting the interests of corporate profits ahead of concern for American workers and their communities,” Gerard said. “In other words, the only thing that will change for workers under McCain is that things will get worse."

“With tens of thousands of jobs at stake over the next 20 years,” Gerard said, “this decision will have a deep, damaging and enduring impact on the aerospace industry and supporting industries, such as aluminum, glass, rubber and advanced materials and electronics, among others where many USW-represented workers will feel the impact.

Finally, the union joined the AFL-CIO, whose executive council this week called on Congress to exercise its Constitutional authority by conducting a complete review of the nation’s procurement policies, including any and all waivers of the “Buy American” provisions granted by the Bush Administration to date.

“Given the breadth and depth of the potential negative consequences of this contract award,” Gerard said, “the USW urges Congress to defund this project in its entirety until the investigation is complete.”

The USW represents 850,000 workers in the United States and Canada employed in the metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and other industries as well as the service and public sectors.

Contacts:

Tony Montana (USW) – 412-562-2592

Andre' Carson Wins ARA Endorsment

André Carson, Democratic Candidate for Congress in Indiana's 7^th District, met Wednesday with members of several area senior groups and promised them that he will fight to protect and strengthen Social security.

"Social Security is a promise we made to our seniors and one we must keep," said Carson. "Unlike my opponent, I would never privatize Social Security. Our seniors and future generations cannot afford to have their guaranteed benefits left to the whims of the stock market."

At the meeting, which included representatives from Alliance for Retired Americans, United Senior Action, the Generations Project, and local union retirees, Carson signed a pledge to oppose any attempt to partially or fully privatize Social Security.

Signing this pledge to oppose any legislation that would partially or fully privatize Social Security, clinched the Alliance for Retired Americans endorsement of Andre' Carson for Congress in Indiana's 7th CD.

USW 12775 Important Notice

Attention all Linemen
You are invited to attend

A Linemen’s Meeting
March 5, 2008 5:00pm CST
At USW 6787
1100 n. S.R. 149
Chesterton IN

All of us have been devastated by the recent fatality and what this means to linemen and the work we perform at NIPSCO.

We need to come together and discuss what we can do to keep ourselves safe.

We need to do this for our families, our apprentices and our customers.

There will be a second meeting later in the week for our Linemen on the east end of our service territory

NIPSCO Balderdash on Lineman death

The following is taken from the Michigan City News Dispatch.

"NIPSCO has commissioned a third-party investigation into the accident.

NIPSCO director of communications Colleen Reilly said any time there is a serious injury or fatality, the utility calls in a third-party inspector to investigate.

"Every job has a safety protocol," Reilly said."

Isn't the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) a third party? And can anyone remember NIPSCO ever accepting their findings and taking responsibility?

NIPSCO's only "safety protocol" is to find the accident victim at fault. The NIPSCO management team will not accept any responsibility for its failed safety program. Lies, lies, and more lies. Sort of reminds you of the Bush administration, doesn't it?

Another Fatlity at NIPSCO

NIPSCO Deaths And Injuries

• Journeyman lineman Jeff Cox died Friday as the result of injuries he suffered after an electrical accident in Marshall County on Feb. 16, 2008.

• Apprentice lineman Mike Nesius died Aug. 16, 2006.

• Kevin Reinhold, a journeyman lineman in Angola, IN, died Aug. 1, 2001.

• Since 2001, there have been at least a dozen electrical contacts, with five resulting in serious injury or amputation.

(Source: United Steel Workers Local 12775)

Let's not kid ourselves. We all know what the problem is at NIPSCO and NiSource.

Nipsco says they’re dealing with safety by trying to find out how an accident happened so that they can prevent similar accidents in the future. They call such an investigation, “Root Cause Analysis”.

NIPSCO also has implemented what they’re calling a “behavior-based safety process.”
By that, they mean, they’ll give their workers a little pat on the head when they keep from getting hurt, and heck, they may even give them a Chinese made jacket or a piece of pizza, but they’ll discipline the hell out of them when they do get hurt.

NIPSCO is so smart, of course, that they don’t allow the union to participate in the safety program on an equal basis. They make it a strictly disciplinary process.

Everyone knows how nipsco’s safety program really works.

The highest paid managers at the top put on a good show about safety, but the front line supervisors are pressured to get more and more production and so, although they do have safety tailgate discussions dealing with safety, and they do hold an occasional safety meeting, they at the same time look the other way when safety rules are broken. The worker knows that to do a job safely takes more time, but wanting to please his boss and make the job easier, goes ahead and breaks the safety rules. So everybody's happy. If he doesn’t get hurt, his boss is pleased as punch and gets a feather in his cap. Production increases and usually the jobs get done with nobody getting hurt.

But this is managements game plan, and it’s no secret.

Although the safety manual at nipsco does put the greatest responsibility for a workers safety on the employee, I believe it also says that the supervisor is ultimately responsible for the safety of the workers under his direction, or some such thing.

Any time there is a lost time accident at NIPSCO, the front line supervisor should be the one being investigated, and if there are more than two accidents within a year involving workers under his direction, that boss should be fired.

Barack Obama on Iraq

We're Winning the War?? The Surge is Working??

3,973 U.S. soldiers dead

29,203 U.S. soldiers wounded

1,173,743 Iraq deaths

500 billion dollars spent

What has this guy been Smokin?

For My Misguided, Right Wing Christian Friends

I recommend this book to the far right wing Christians. The ones who are intolerant. The ones who side with the Pat Robertsons of the world in calling for the assassination of some world leaders. The ones who value the lives of those yet unborn more than the lives of those who have already taken their first breath. The ones who favor dropping bombs on the innocent and the invasion and occupation of other countries. The ones who favor the rich more than the middle class and the poor. The ones who hate. The ones who insist that everybody in the nation be like them. The ones who would lure immigrants with, “come on in, we know it’s against the law, but we’ll look the other way” for years, then turn around and wish to put them on freight trains back to their countries of origin. The ones who think themselves better than others. The ones who favor the death penalty. The ones who insist that their religion is somehow the only “true religion”. The ones who are in favor of merging companies, unionizing businesses and churches for strength, but disallow the same right to workers. The ones who have convinced the media that they are the only ones with “family values”. The ones who make a mockery of the word, “evangelical”. The ones who have so perverted and twisted the word “Christian” to the extent that Christians have become embarrassed to even claim their religion to others for fear of being labeled a nut. To those who boast the “Ten Commandments” and at the same time forget what Jesus said. The ones who have stripped the term, "born again" of its real meaning in the eyes of the media. The ones who think Jesus was a Republican.
I think you’ll like it.

Callous NIPSCO Finally Pays

Dale Burnham was a retiree of NIPSCO. He passed away one year ago. His children just now received Dale's death benefit of $10,000.
As far as I know, this is a record for the length of time that NIPSCO was able to keep from paying such a benefit, beating their old record of eight months.
Justice prevailed.
Now Dale can rest in peace.

The NIPSCO Way is One Way

When it comes to sending out junk mail advertisements or a customers bill, NIPSCO is always right on schedule, quick on the draw, and doesn’t miss a lick.

When, on the other hand, NIPSCO has a bill of its own to pay, or a life insurance benefit to pay, or an OSHA fine to pay, it’s a horse of a different color. That’s for sure.

As for life insurance, because it takes so long for NIPSCO to pay a death benefit, it sure does make one wonder if, when people finally give up on them, someone at NIPSCO isn’t pocketing the money that should have been paid out to a widow or other beneficiary.

Perhaps some of NIPSCO’s high paid cheaters and investigators can figure out what’s happening.

NIPSCO……you got one heck of a problem…… and if you don’t get to the bottom of this on your own, you’re going to become a great story on the evening news.

Board of Directors or youtube, which shall it be?

Pay the death benefit, NIPSCO. 

This is the second time that I know of that you've sat on  money that's not yours. What will it take to make you pay up?

Your employees negotiated that life insurance and you have no right to steal it from their beneficiaries.

Pay up!

Come on NIPSCO, be the good citizen you claim to be

If there are no competent management persons at NIPSCO able to pay an employee's death benefit, then please, will the most competent, incompetent management person please step forward and take over the NIPSCO benefit department so we can put a stop to this fiasco?

If the Benefit Department is located in a foreign country, please bring the whole department back home to Indiana.

WANTED -- Competent NIPSCO Manager

Please report to NIPSCO's South Lake Complex in Merrillville, Indiana, and take over the Benefit's Department.

NIPSCO Needs Help...mayday...mayday....mayday

If you are a life insurance representative, please contact the Northern Indiana Public Service Company and show them how to go about paying a death benefit.

Is NIPSCO a Cheat?

When NIPSCO fails to pay a negotiated death benefit to a deceased retiree's beneficiaries in a timely fashion so that they can pay final expenses such as funeral costs, taxes, pay off a mortgage loan or other personal debts, is the company just a plain old fashioned cheat?

Or......are they just being heartless, unfeeling, coldhearted, uncaring, insensitive, unsympathetic, cruel, cold, pitiless, harsh, unkind, ruthless and inconsiderate?

NIPSCO......pay what you owe!

NIPSCO, Get off your Duffs!

About a year ago, a member of our chapter of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees who worked several years at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company passed away.

This retiree had three children.

He retired with union negotiated life insurance.

The sons sent in the required death certificates and other information and hoped to receive the death benefit within a reasonable length of time. It wasn’t forth coming.

One of the sons phoned me about three weeks ago and told me that the death benefit hadn’t been paid yet, and that after phoning the NIPSCO representative, was told that they couldn’t find the necessary paperwork. After mailing it to them once again, the representative phoned him and told him that they found the paperwork, but still no check was sent.

I phoned Mel Stasinski twice about this. I don’t know who he works for since NIPSCO contracts out so much of their work to Costa Rica, several other companies and perhaps several other countries, but I know he has something to do with benefits. He has a NiSource email address. I believe I sent him an email message as well about this problem. I got no response from Mel Stasinski as he is very seldom by his phone.

I then phoned Rick Bond, Benefits Director for NiSource and asked him to look into this snafu.
Rick Bond then phoned me more than two weeks ago and left a message. The message said they had all the necessary paperwork and that the benefit “will be processed very shortly.”

I phoned the beneficiary this morning and he said that no check had been received.

Now, someone is speaking with forked tongue.

If any NIPSCO customer fails to pay a NIPSCO bill, do you think NIPSCO would sit on its hands for a year? I don’t think so.

NIPSCO either needs to hire enough people to do the necessary jobs, or they need to fire someone. Which is it?

NIPSCO, or NiSource, or who ever is responsible for paying death benefits, please get off your duffs and pay this one!

One Day = $720 Million

What is this 'Iraq war' charge on my bill? Part 2

What is this 'Iraq war' charge on my bill?

Canadian Health Care

Mythbusting Canadian Health Care - Part I
By Sara Robinson
Published on http://www.ourfuture.org

Summary:
2008 is shaping up to be the election year that we finally get to have the Great American Healthcare Debate again. Harry and Louise are back with a vengeance. Conservatives are rumbling around the talk show circuit bellowing about the socialist threat to the (literal) American body politic. And, as usual, Canada is once again getting dragged into the fracas, shoved around by both sides as either an exemplar or a warning -- and, along the way, getting coated with the obfuscating dust of so many willful misconceptions that the actual facts about How Canada Does It are completely lost in the melee.

I'm both a health-care-card-carrying Canadian resident and an uninsured American citizen who regularly sees doctors on both sides of the border. As such, I'm in a unique position to address the pros and cons of both systems first-hand. If we're going to have this conversation, it would be great if we could start out (for once) with actual facts, instead of ideological posturing, wishful thinking, hearsay, and random guessing about how things get done up here.

To that end, here's the first of a two-part series aimed at busting the common myths Americans routinely tell each other about Canadian health care. When the right-wing hysterics drag out these hoary old bogeymen, this time, we need to be armed and ready to blast them into straw. Because, mostly, straw is all they're made of.

1. Canada's health care system is "socialized medicine."-False. In socialized medical systems, the doctors work directly for the state. In Canada (and many other countries with universal care), doctors run their own private practices, just like they do in the US. The only difference is that every doctor deals with one insurer, instead of 150. And that insurer is the provincial government, which is accountable to the legislature and the voters if the quality of coverage is allowed to slide.

The proper term for this is "single-payer insurance." In talking to Americans about it, the better phrase is "Medicare for all."

2. Doctors are hurt financially by single-payer health care.-True and False. Doctors in Canada do make less than their US counterparts. But they also have lower overhead, and usually much better working conditions. A few reasons for this:

First, as noted, they don't have to charge higher fees to cover the salary of a full-time staffer to deal with over a hundred different insurers, all of whom are bent on denying care whenever possible. In fact, most Canadian doctors get by quite nicely with just one assistant, who cheerfully handles the phones, mail, scheduling, patient reception, stocking, filing, and billing all by herself in the course of a standard workday.

Second, they don't have to spend several hours every day on the phone cajoling insurance company bean counters into doing the right thing by their patients. My doctor in California worked a 70-hour week: 35 hours seeing patients, and another 35 hours on the phone arguing with insurance companies. My Canadian doctor, on the other hand, works a 35-hour week, period. She files her invoices online, and the vast majority are simply paid -- quietly, quickly, and without hassle. There is no runaround. There are no fights. Appointments aren't interrupted by vexing phone calls. Care is seldom denied (because everybody knows the rules). She gets her checks on time, sees her patients on schedule, takes Thursdays off, and gets home in time for dinner.

One unsurprising side effect of all this is that the doctors I see here are, to a person, more focused, more relaxed, more generous with their time, more up-to-date in their specialties, and overall much less distracted from the real work of doctoring. You don't realize how much stress the American doctor-insurer fights put on the day-to-day quality of care until you see doctors who don't operate under that stress, because they never have to fight those battles at all. Amazingly: they seem to enjoy their jobs.

Third: The average American medical student graduates $140,000 in hock. The average Canadian doctor's debt is roughly half that.

Finally, Canadian doctors pay lower malpractice insurance fees. When paying for health care constitutes a one of a family's major expenses, expectations tend to run very high. A doctor's mistake not only damages the body; it may very well throw a middle-class family permanently into the ranks of the working poor, and render the victim uninsurable for life. With so much at stake, it's no wonder people are quick to rush to court for redress.

Canadians are far less likely to sue in the first place, since they're not having to absorb devastating financial losses in addition to any physical losses when something goes awry. The cost of the damaging treatment will be covered. So will the cost of fixing it. And, no matter what happens, the victim will remain insured for life. When lawsuits do occur, the awards don't have to include coverage for future medical costs, which reduces the insurance company's liability.

3. Wait times in Canada are horrendous.-True and False again -- it depends on which province you live in, and what's wrong with you. Canada's health care system runs on federal guidelines that ensure uniform standards of care, but each territory and province administers its own program. Some provinces don't plan their facilities well enough; in those, you can have waits. Some do better. As a general rule, the farther north you live, the harder it is to get to care, simply because the doctors and hospitals are concentrated in the south. But that's just as true in any rural county in the U.S.

You can hear the bitching about it no matter where you live, though. The percentage of Canadians who'd consider giving up their beloved system consistently languishes in the single digits. A few years ago, a TV show asked Canadians to name the Greatest Canadian in history; and in a broad national consensus, they gave the honor to Tommy Douglas, the Saskatchewan premier who is considered the father of the country's health care system. (And no, it had nothing to do with the fact that he was also Kiefer Sutherland's grandfather.). In spite of that, though, grousing about health care is still unofficially Canada's third national sport after curling and hockey.

And for the country's newspapers, it's a prime watchdogging opportunity. Any little thing goes sideways at the local hospital, and it's on the front pages the next day. Those kinds of stories sell papers, because everyone is invested in that system and has a personal stake in how well it functions. The American system might benefit from this kind of constant scrutiny, because it's certainly one of the things that keeps the quality high. But it also makes people think it's far worse than it is.

Critics should be reminded that the American system is not exactly instant-on, either. When I lived in California, I had excellent insurance, and got my care through one of the best university-based systems in the nation. Yet I routinely had to wait anywhere from six to twelve weeks to get in to see a specialist. Non-emergency surgical waits could be anywhere from four weeks to four months. After two years in the BC system, I'm finding the experience to be pretty much comparable, and often better. The notable exception is MRIs, which were easy in California, but can take many months to get here. (It's the number one thing people go over the border for.) Other than that, urban Canadians get care about as fast as urban Americans do.

4. You have to wait forever to get a family doctor.-False for the vast majority of Canadians, but True for a few. Again, it all depends on where you live. I live in suburban Vancouver, and there are any number of first-rate GPs in my neighborhood who are taking new patients. If you don't have a working relationship with one, but need to see a doctor now, there are 24-hour urgent care clinics in most neighborhoods that will usually get you in and out on the minor stuff in under an hour.

It is, absolutely, harder to get to a doctor if you live out in a small town, or up in the territories. But that's just as true in the U.S. -- and in America, the government won't cover the airfare for rural folk to come down to the city for needed treatment, which all the provincial plans do.

5. You don't get to choose your own doctor.-Scurrilously False. Somebody, somewhere, is getting paid a lot of money to make this kind of stuff up. The cons love to scare the kids with stories about the government picking your doctor for you, and you don't get a choice. Be afraid! Be very afraid!

For the record: Canadians pick their own doctors, just like Americans do. And not only that: since it all pays the same, poor Canadians have exactly the same access to the country's top specialists that rich ones do.

6. Canada's care plan only covers the basics. You're still on your own for any extras, including prescription drugs. And you still have to pay for it.-True -- but not as big an issue as you might think. The province does charge a small monthly premium (ours is $108/month for a family of four) for the basic coverage. However, most people never even have to write that check: almost all employers pick up the tab for their employees' premiums as part of the standard benefits package; and the province covers it for people on public assistance or disability.

"The basics" covered by this plan include 100% of all doctor's fees, ambulance fares, tests, and everything that happens in a hospital -- in other words, the really big-ticket items that routinely drive American families into bankruptcy. In BC, it doesn't include "extras" like medical equipment, prescriptions, physical therapy or chiropractic care, dental, vision, and so on; and if you want a private or semi-private room with TV and phone, that costs extra (about what you'd pay for a room in a middling hotel). That other stuff does add up; but it's far easier to afford if you're not having to cover the big expenses, too. Furthermore: you can deduct any out-of-pocket health expenses you do have to pay off your income taxes. And, as every American knows by now, drugs aren't nearly as expensive here, either.

Filling the gap between the basics and the extras is the job of the country's remaining private health insurers. Since they're off the hook for the ruinously expensive big-ticket items that can put their own profits at risk, the insurance companies make a tidy business out of offering inexpensive policies that cover all those smaller, more predictable expenses. Top-quality add-on policies typically run in the ballpark of $75 per person in a family per month -- about $300 for a family of four -- if you're stuck buying an individual plan. Group plans are cheap enough that even small employers can afford to offer them as a routine benefit. An average working Canadian with employer-paid basic care and supplemental insurance gets free coverage equal to the best policies now only offered at a few of America's largest corporations. And that employer is probably only paying a couple hundred dollars a month to provide that benefit.

7. Canadian drugs are not the same.-More preposterious bogosity. They are exactly the same drugs, made by the same pharmaceutical companies, often in the same factories. The Canadian drug distribution system, however, has much tighter oversight; and pharmacies and pharmacists are more closely regulated. If there is a difference in Canadian drugs at all, they're actually likely to be safer.

Also: pharmacists here dispense what the doctors tell them to dispense, the first time, without moralizing. I know. It's amazing.

8. Publicly-funded programs will inevitably lead to rationed health care, particularly for the elderly.-False. And bogglingly so. The papers would have a field day if there was the barest hint that this might be true.

One of the things that constantly amazes me here is how well-cared-for the elderly and disabled you see on the streets here are. No, these people are not being thrown out on the curb. In fact, they live longer, healthier, and more productive lives because they're getting a constant level of care that ensures small things get treated before they become big problems.

The health care system also makes it easier on their caregiving adult children, who have more time to look in on Mom and take her on outings because they aren't working 60-hour weeks trying to hold onto a job that gives them insurance.

9. People won't be responsible for their own health if they're not being forced to pay for the consequences.-False. The philosophical basis of America's privatized health care system might best be characterized as medical Calvinism. It's fascinating to watch well-educated secularists who recoil at the Protestant obsession with personal virtue, prosperity as a cardinal sign of election by God, and total responsibility for one's own salvation turn into fire-eyed, moralizing True Believers when it comes to the subject of Taking Responsibility For One's Own Health.

They'll insist that health, like salvation, is entirely in our own hands. If you just have the character and self-discipline to stick to an abstemious regime of careful diet, clean living, and frequent sweat offerings to the Great Treadmill God, you'll never get sick. (Like all good theologies, there's even an unspoken promise of immortality: f you do it really really right, they imply, you might even live forever.) The virtuous Elect can be discerned by their svelte figures and low cholesterol numbers. From here, it's a short leap to the conviction that those who suffer from chronic conditions are victims of their own weaknesses, and simply getting what they deserve. Part of their punishment is being forced to pay for the expensive, heavily marketed pharmaceuticals needed to alleviate these avoidable illnesses. They can't complain. It was their own damned fault; and it's not our responsibility to pay for their sins. In fact, it's recently been suggested that they be shunned, lest they lead the virtuous into sin.

Of course, this is bad theology whether you're applying it to the state of one's soul or one's arteries. The fact is that bad genes, bad luck, and the ravages of age eventually take their toll on all of us -- even the most careful of us. The economics of the Canadian system reflect this very different philosophy: it's built on the belief that maintaining health is not an individual responsibility, but a collective one. Since none of us controls fate, the least we can do is be there for each other as our numbers come up.

This difference is expressed in a few different ways. First: Canadians tend to think of tending to one's health as one of your duties as a citizen. You do what's right because you don't want to take up space in the system, or put that burden on your fellow taxpayers. Second, "taking care of yourself" has a slightly expanded definition here, which includes a greater emphasis on public health. Canadians are serious about not coming to work if you're contagious, and seeing a doctor ASAP if you need to. Staying healthy includes not only diet and exercise; but also taking care to keep your germs to yourself, avoiding stress, and getting things treated while they're still small and cheap to fix.

Third, there's a somewhat larger awareness that stress leads to big-ticket illnesses -- and a somewhat lower cultural tolerance for employers who put people in high-stress situations. Nobody wants to pick up the tab for their greed. And finally, there's a generally greater acceptance on the part of both the elderly and their families that end-of-life heroics may be drawing resources away from people who might put them to better use. You can have them if you want them; but reasonable and compassionate people should be able to take the larger view.

The bottom line: When it comes to getting people to make healthy choices, appealing to their sense of the common good seems to work at least as well as Calvinist moralizing.

10. This all sounds great -- but the taxes to cover it are just unaffordable. And besides, isn't the system in bad financial shape?-False. On one hand, our annual Canadian tax bite runs about 10% higher than our U.S. taxes did. On the other, we're not paying out the equivalent of two new car payments every month to keep the family insured here. When you balance out the difference, we're actually money ahead. When you factor in the greatly increased social stability that follows when everybody's getting their necessary health care, the impact on our quality of life becomes even more signficant.

And True -- but only because this is a universal truth that we need to make our peace with. Yes, the provincial plans are always struggling. So is every single publicly-funded health care system in the world, including the VA and Medicare. There's always tension between what the users of the system want, and what the taxpayers are willing to pay. The balance of power ebbs and flows between them; but no matter where it lies at any given moment, at least one of the pair is always going to be at least somewhat unhappy.

But, as many of us know all too well, there's also constant tension between what patients want and what private insurers are willing to pay. At least when it's in government hands, we can demand some accountability. And my experience in Canada has convinced me that this accountability is what makes all the difference between the two systems.

It is true that Canada's system is not the same as the U.S. system. It's designed to deliver a somewhat different product, to a population that has somewhat different expectations. But the end result is that the vast majority of Canadians get the vast majority of what they need the vast majority of the time. It'll be a good day when when Americans can hold their heads high and proudly make that same declaration.

Stimulate This

To try to stimulate the economy by handing people a few hundred bucks doesn't make any darned sense to me. What people need is jobs. Jobs that pay a living wage. And what this country needs is an infrustructure that won't fall down around our ears.
This stinking Iraq business that these nutty right wingers seem to be loving is ruining our country. Thank the Lord we'll be getting rid of this nut and his henchman in a few months. I hope it's not too late.

Profile of a Giant - Elizabeth Cady Stanton

We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants - Labor Version 1