A Prayer For The Rights of Public Sector Workers

We are gathered here today to pray for the rights of public sector workers. We all rely on public workers to provide essential services for the common good. Teachers, police officers, bus drivers, public health workers and others are an important part of our society.

Our religious traditions insist that workers, as human beings with inherent dignity, may freely associate to improve their conditions at work.

Let us pray together for the dignity and right of workers to live decent lives as a result of their labor.
We:

• Affirm that workers have the right to organize and bargain with their employers over wages, benefits, and a voice on the job.
• Insist that elected leaders honor collective bargaining agreements that were negotiated openly and in good faith.
• Pray that elected leaders will come together with workers to address budget challenges and explore equitable options for the future.
• Applaud the efforts of workers all over the world, in Wisconsin and other countries, to stand up for their human rights for basic health, safety and dignity.

God of Justice, these are the people who take care of our children and our elderly, build our roads and schools, teach our children, serve our food, and attend our houses of worship. They do not deserve the attacks against them.

Give them the strength to persevere and advocate for justice and fairness in the workplace.

Amen

Source: Interfaith Worker Justice

The War on the Workers

In a Democracy, Freedom of Assembly Trumps "Free Enterprise"

It's illegal in America now to buy or sell a human being, but a recorded telephone conversation between a Republican governor and a guy he thought was a billionaire benefactor shows that it's still possible to own a politician.

Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker didn't have time to talk to Democratic leaders or union officials about his anti-union legislation -- a proposal that has incited protests by tens of thousands for more than a week in Madison. But he jumped on the phone for 20 minutes this week when told the caller was billionaire David Koch, who was Walker's second largest campaign contributor, who provided $1 million to a GOP fund to attack Walker's opponent and who bankrolls radical libertarian organizations and the Tea Party.

Republicans like Walker, owned by billionaires like Koch, are fulfilling demands from corporate interests that government "free" enterprise by slashing corporate taxes and regulation. Over the past three years, America has suffered the consequences of a government under-funded after tax breaks to the rich and under-performing after years of lax regulation. The result: a growing federal deficit, the Wall Street collapse, the BP oil spill and the deaths of 29 Upper Big Branch miners. Still, Republicans want more government atrophy. That would leave only one restraint on corporate control of the economy, environment and government.

That one restraint is labor unions. A union is workers using their constitutionally-guaranteed freedom to assemble, the right to get together as a group, in this case a labor organization, to negotiate collectively with employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions.

Workers who gathered together in unions over two centuries in this country have succeeded in raising their wages, as well as the wages of non-union workers in competing industries. Union workers secured improved working conditions so fewer were killed on the job. And they achieved creation of the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which protects the safety of all workers. Over the decades, unions played a major role is obtaining legislation barring child labor, standardizing the 40-hour work week, and creating both Social Security and Medicare.

Similarly, studies show union successes enhance the lives of all workers in a state. In anti-union states, the average worker earns $5,333 less a year, the proportion of people without health insurance is 21 percent higher and the rate of workplace death is 51 percent higher. In addition, there's evidence that union workers improve quality. Currently, after receiving an education from union teachers, Wisconsin youngsters collectively score second highest in the nation on the ACT/SAT college admission tests. By contrast, the five states barring teacher unions rank at the bottom of the pack: South Carolina dead last at 50th; North Carolina, second last at 49th; Georgia third from last at 47th; Texas fourth from last at 47th, and Virginia ever so slightly better at 44th.

Still, Wisconsin Gov. Walker wants to destroy his state's teachers unions. Two studies determined that public workers, that is those employed by governments such as teachers, firefighters and police officers, earn less than their counterparts in the private sector when both benefits and education are factored into the calculation. It wasn't union workers, in the public or the private sector, who caused states' financial crises. That was gambling on Wall Street, which ravaged the economy. Still, Republican governors across the country are demanding that government workers pay.

The government workers in Wisconsin already agreed to accept Walker's financial demands -- that they pay more for their pensions and health care. This negates Walker's contention that this dispute is about the budget. The governor is demanding more than those financial concessions. He wants the legislature to cripple the unions' ability to bargain for improvements in the future. In his "budget repair bill," he would strip government workers of their right to negotiate over working conditions and benefits. They'd be able to discuss wages but could never get an increase above inflation.

This is union busting. At the demand of corporate interests. And Walker is joined by Republicans in Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and others in attempting to do it, both to private and public sector workers.

This is not about money. It's about controlling America. Corporations have bought Republicans, who now chant the corporate mantra that government coddles its citizens with the likes of mine and food safety rules.

Walker's eagerness to talk to David Koch illustrates this. Koch and his brother Charles own the second largest privately-held company in America. Only the fortunes of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates exceed the Kochs' $35 billion. They've used that money to finance the supposedly-grassroots Tea Party and conservative groups like the Americans for Prosperity Foundation (APF) that have funneled money into anti-reform policies -- including attempts to reverse environmental and health care legislation.

It's a giant circle. Koch got Walker elected. The Koch-backed Tea Party now rallies in Madison against the public employees. The Koch-financed APF bought $320,000 in TV ads against the public workers. Other Koch-financed GOP governors are sending letters of support to Walker. In his few weeks as governor, Walker passed legislation to lower tax rates for and limit damage awards against businesses like the Kochs'. In addition, tucked into the anti-union bill is a provision that would enable Walker to sell the state's power plants to the Kochs without bids or state agency review.

Corporations are accomplishing their goal of shriveling government to the point of ineffectiveness so "enterprise" is "free" to run rogue. Now with their purchased politicians, corporations are trying to do the same to unions -- the only organization other than government that has traditionally effectively defended working Americans.

In the recorded conversation between Walker and a liberal blogger posing as Koch, Walker accepted an offer of a vacation trip from the "billionaire" if he "crushed" the public employee unions and said his effort was to get "our freedoms back."

That's exactly right. This is a contest between the excesses of "free" enterprise and the constitutionally-protected freedom of assembly. And getting "our freedoms back" means wresting them back from corporations.

Leo W. Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers Union

Middle Class Revolution

Stand up against the Attacks on All Working Families!

Despite historic joblessness throughout our State, Indiana Legislators have already slashed unemployment benefits by 25%.

They have introduced broad proposals to lower our wages, decimate the public schools and strip us of our rights for collective bargaining. This is an unprecedented attack on unions, and we are all affected, whether we belong to union or not. Unions set standards for benefits, wages and working conditions. Without collective bargaining rights, the livelihoods of all Hoosiers are driven downward.

We support the Democrat Representatives who have taken a stand to slow down this radical agenda.

This is a historic fight and the voices of all workers must be heard. The time is now to work for good paying jobs, advanced manufacturing, and quality public education. This is not the time to attack the people who make Indiana strong!

Be there. Get on the Bus to Indianapolis.

Buses Leave Every Day Mon-Fri; Feb. 28-March 4 at 7:30 a.m.

                              McBride Hall, 1301 Texas St., Gary, IN

And on March 10: HUGE MARCH to stand up for Indiana Workers. Call your Local Union or District 7 for more details.

RESERVE your seat! Call 219-886-2596

                                   (or 219-384-4155 after 5:00 p.m.)

Sponsored by United Steelworkers District 7

We Welcome EVERYONE to join us on the bus.

All Supporters, Friends and Family included!

GOP Anti-Union Bill Dispenser

Social Security victory shows organizing is the way

An Essay by: Bruce Bostick

The developing struggle to protect Social Security from the Republicans and the federal Fiscal Reform Commission won a victory recently in President Obama's State of the Union address. There's an important lesson for us here.

In his speech, Obama said: “To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. And we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities, without slashing benefits for future retirees, and without subjecting American's guaranteed income to the whims of the stock market.”

This is a solid statement that won praise from activists fighting to defend Social Security. Obama took a position in opposition to the findings of the Fiscal Reform Commission that he appointed. His state- ment, further, is in opposition to the divisive push by corporate forces to split young folks from retirees, central to their drive to destroy Social Security.

Leaders of retiree groups had been told, right up until game time, that Obama might include language supporting the Fiscal Commission. However, retirees organized a grassroots campaign that built the ground beneath Obama, giving him room to fully support this essential program in his speech.

There has been a growing crescendo of deficit cutting calls directed at Social Security and other programs aiding working folks. Obama, in a move that many saw as a dangerous concession to right-wing forces, set up the Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Commission. Its marching orders were to develop a "bipartisan approach" toward cutting spending.

Even though Social Security is funded by working people and has nothing to do with the nation's deficit, it immediately became the focus of the commission.

Commission co-chair Alan Simpson, the right-wing former Wyoming senator, called Social Security a “giant cow with 32 million tits.” He went on to say he was “tired of people on Social Security sitting around in their gated communities, waiting to get in their Lexus to drive to the local Perkins to get their senior discount.”

Worse than his arrogance, was the program that Simpson and the commission put forward to attack Social Security. They called for:

• raising the Social Security eligibility age from the present 62 to 70.
• cutting benefits for future recipients.
• introducing "means testing" for eligibility.

This was greeted with alarm by retirees and many others. Raising the eligibility age to 70 would be a death sentence for people working in hard physical jobs. The introduction of means testing for Social Security would make it more of a “welfare program” for only the poorest Americans, instead of the income base for all that it was enacted to be. This would make it an easier target for cuts. The commission said benefits wouldn't be cut for current retirees, only future retirees - trying to split youth from present retirees.

The anger at those extremist proposals made it impossible for the commission chairs to get the votes needed to officially send its plan to Congress. However, a majority on the commission did vote for the proposals. It helped create a poisonous atmosphere as the American people went to the polls last November.

The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) and coalitions across the nation launched a fight. Many thousands signed a petition demanding that Social Security be strengthened, not cut. Mass meetings were organized. Delegations demanded that their representatives NOT support the Fiscal Commission proposals. ARA leaders from every state co-signed a strongly worded letter to President Obama, urging him to oppose the commission proposals. Right up to the State of the Union, discussions continued in Washington.

A study titled “Social Security and the Future of the Democratic Party” was sent to activists. It was presented at union halls, churches and retiree centers and was given to Democratic elected officials. The study, backed up by polls and research, showed that when Democrats back Social Security, their support goes up strongly. It also showed that when they are associated with attacks on Social Security, their support plummets. It cited recent polls showing Democrats were now below Republicans in response to the question, “Which party is best at protecting Social Security?”

Clearly, the organizing bore fruit with President Obama's speech.

There has been an ongoing debate on what relationship the people's movement should have to the president and Democrats. Some have taken a “plague on both your houses” approach, saying there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. Others have supported the administration but without doing enough to organize an independent fight for the people's agenda.

The Obama administration has corporate influences within its own ranks along with more progressive influences, and is facing heavily financed pressure from the ultra-right. Without pressure from an organized people's movement, the only push will be from the corporate side.

The ARA-led movement took a positive approach. They did not, even faced with real anger, break with Obama over the Fiscal Commission's plan. However, they were not going to sit on the sidelines and wait. What they did was mobilize and fight. This organized fight let all elected officials know that they attack Social Security at their own political peril. As a result, a victory was won, and retiree coalitions are stronger. With Obama's positive statement, support for him has also significantly improved.

Bruce Bostick, District 1 SOAR Coordinator

Attack on the Public Sector

From The Director’s Desk

All across the country governors and state legislators, as well as local elected officials, are trying to balance their budgets on the back of hard working public employees. All the states and most local municipalities are running huge deficits because they receive less money from the federal government than in the past; not because of the salaries paid to people, who teach our children, plow our snow and maintain our infrastructure. The simple fact of the manner is; our states and local governments are expected to provide more services with less support from our federal government.

The federal and state governments are providing considerably less financial assistance to our local municipalities than they did 30 years ago. The need for the services didn’t go away. The burden of financing these services was forced onto the municipalities and dramatically shifted the costs onto us via local taxes such as property, school and local sales tax.

I read in a recent article in USA Today by Dennis Cauchon, that our taxes are actually lower today than they were in 1950’s. We have a much larger infrastructure to maintain and a larger population to service than 60 years ago. The loop holes in our tax system, that allows the rich to escape their responsibilities and corporations to get away with paying as little taxes as possible have finally come home to roost. This has placed an unfair burden on the middle class and working poor and has jeopardized the financial well being of our towns and states.

In this rush to slash public sector pay and benefits, we have been hearing 3 popular myths that the right wing conservatives love to promote:

• Government employees are overpaid compared to the private sector.
• Taxes are out of control.
• The debt is out of control.

The pay issue - A recent study published by the University of Wisconsin revealed that “employees of state and local government earn an average of 11% and 12% less respectively than comparable private sector employees.” The study went on to say it is true that “benefits make up a slightly larger share of compensation for state and local sector, but, even after accounting for the value of retirement, healthcare and other benefits, state and local employees earn less than private sector counterparts. On average, total compensation is 6.8% lower for states employees and 7.4% for local employees than for comparable private sector workers.”

Taxes - The USA Today article, referenced earlier proclaimed our taxes are exceptionally low; regardless of the claims of the extreme right who have criticized that federal spending is out of control. The article states: “federal, stateand local taxes – including income, property, sales and other taxes consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last 50 years.”

Debt – The fact is, the U.S. debt is not out of control. Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. debt presented as percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is ranked 36 well behind nations such as Japan, United Kingdom and Germany. Our debt is manageable and not out of line in our global economy.

The bottom line here is federal, state and local government employees are not overpaid. By all measures they make less than their private sector counter parts. So what is the real agenda here? Could it be union busting? Is it just another attack on the middleclass?

We are not going to solve are nation’s problems by cutting the salaries of our public servants. We will simply put them in the same mess as the private sector with declining wages and home foreclosures. Our nation needs to develop a plan to put Americans to work! We should not be attacking the few middle class wage earners that still have jobs.

We are rapidly moving towards becoming a country of the have and the have nots. The time has come. We need to stand up against the rich and corporate elite and demand an industrial policy that will again make this country strong and put America back to work!

Jim Centner, SOAR Director

Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott

STATEMENT: President Guyott on the defeat of "Right to Work"

For Immediate Release
Contact - Jeff Harris, 317-632-9147
Mike Uehlein, 317-610-6634

Statement by Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott

February 24, 2011

Working families in Indiana are thrilled to hear that Governor Daniels, Speaker Bosma, and Senate Leader Long have abandoned the falsely-labeled “right to work” bill. We agree with Governor Daniels’ position that the members of the Indiana General Assembly did not campaign on these issues and so bringing it up during this General Assembly was indeed “a mistake,” as Senator Long termed it.

After rallying all week at the Statehouse, these developments show that when Hoosiers join together and raise our voices in pursuit of fairness and an economy that works for everyone, working families can make a difference. Working people agree with Governor Daniels – now is not the time to be having this conversation – our leaders need to focus on creating middle class jobs.

Indiana’s middle class is still under attack, and while we celebrate the solidarity and progress we’ve achieved on this issue, we continue to build momentum and mobilize to stop the numerous anti-worker legislative bills that threaten Hoosier working families. Without the ability of workers to join together, these attacks on the middle class will go unanswered.

Strengthening Indiana’s middle class and creating good jobs should be the highest priority in the General Assembly. While we have won this battle, the fight continues and our cause will endure.

Wisconsin's Governor Walker Tells All

Right now a critical battle is playing out in Wisconsin over worker rights.  In an effort to prevent a vote on anti-worker legislation, Democratic legislators left the state.  Thousands of union members and allies continue to rally against the attacks. 

A strong supporter of the legislation, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker unknowingly engaged in an extended tactical conversation with a blogger who claimed to be billionaire David Koch.  Read on and view the video below.

The following is an excerpt from an Associated Press article:

"On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents.

Walker believed the caller was a conservative billionaire named David Koch, but it was actually a liberal blogger. The two talked for at least 20 minutes - a conversation in which the governor described several potential ways to pressure Democrats to return to the Statehouse and revealed that his supporters had considered secretly planting people in pro-union protest crowds to stir up trouble."

Click HERE to Watch the Video 

The Right to Work for Less

It’s happening again. All across the country efforts are underway to expand the so-called Right to Work laws. To set the record (and the name) straight, right to work for less doesn’t guarantee any rights. In fact, by weakening unions and collective bargaining, it destroys the best job security protection that exists: the union contract. Meanwhile, it allows workers to pay nothing and get all the benefits of union membership. Right to work laws say unions must represent all eligible employees, whether they pay dues or not. This forces unions to use their time and member’s money to provide union benefits to free riders who are not willing to pay their fair share.

• Right to work laws lower wages for everyone. The average worker in a right to work state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states ($35,500 compared with $30,167).

• Weekly wages are $72 greater in free-bargaining states than in right to work states ($621 versus $549).

Working families in states without right to work laws have higher wages and benefit from healthier tax bases that improve their quality of life.

Federal law already protects workers who don’t want to join a union to get or keep their jobs. Supporters claim right to work laws protect employees from being forced to join unions. Don’t be fooled, federal law already does this, as well as protecting nonmembers from paying for union activities that violate their religious or political beliefs. This individual freedom argument is a sham.

Right to work endangers safety and health standards that protect workers on the job by weakening unions that help to ensure worker safety by fighting for tougher safety rules. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is 51 percent higher in states with right to work, where unions can’t speak up on behalf of workers.

Right to work laws just aren’t fair to dues-paying members. If a nonunion worker is fired illegally, the union must use its time and money to defend him or her, even if that requires going through a costly legal process. Everyone benefits, so all should share in the process. Nonmembers can even sue the union if they think it has not represented them well enough.

Big business and special interests spent a great deal of money to put key lawmakers in place to deliver for them. Now these lawmakers are fulfilling their commitment by pushing Right to Work legislation in a number of states.

What we can do.

SOAR needs to be in this fight. We must stand up to this attack on the labor movement. Find out if your state is being targeted. If so, call your state representatives and set them straight. Tell them to concentrate on legislation that creates jobs and to stop this unnecessary assault on workers.

Connie Entrekin, SOAR President

A Great Time At the Indiana Capital

What a great time we had yesterday and today at the Indiana State House. Rallies and demonstrations and prayer services to stop the anti worker legislation that the Republicans are trying to pass.
Finally, today, the Democrats in the House of Representatives went to Illinois to prevent the Republicans from having a quorum and to slow the business down.

I am so proud of them for continuing to look out for Hoosier workers.

They are the greatest.

Is It Ironic or just Sad?

You’ve seen it all on the news. There are crowds of protestors and people speaking out against those in government - and I’m not talking about the Middle East, or am I? Doesn’t it seem strange that there are people half-way around the world fighting to get some of the rights we have here in our country, while good hard-working Americans have to fight to keep those very same rights?

America has been the standard for many over the years for where they would like to be. An example of good hard-working people that stood firm on their convictions, principles and were willing to fight for them.

The “American Dream” was the goal of more than just those of us living in the U.S. Recently we have seen good examples of people rising up saying that they want a better life. They want good jobs and good schools. Many have pointed at the U.S. for what they wanted.

And yet, state after state is turning into a battle ground, because the “haves” are wanting to take out an even bigger piece of the pie and the “have-nots” are struggling to get a piece of the pie pan!

Who’s left in the middle? It’s the very group that created the middle class. The group that provides the workforce for the country and helped create that very American Dream that became the shining star of the world, and it is the Union. And how does corporate America show their thanks for the wealth we helped create for them? They attack us on every level, at every corner, and put the whole blame for the economic collapse of our country on us.

Wait, am I taking about America or the Middle East, well, isn’t that ironic …and sad.


Buril W. Smith
USW Local 9231

Steelworkers Lobby in Indianapolis

On February 15th, SOAR members from District 7 joined more than 600 Steelworkers in Indianapolis, Indiana to meet with and lobby their members of the General Assembly. The issues were:

1. The so called "Right to Work" legislation (the freeloader bill) that would reduce wages and increase poverty, and decrease the number of people that have health insurance.

2. Another issue was the Republicans wanting to reduce Unemployment Insurance by 25% making Indiana the fifth lowest state in the country for average UI benefits.

3. A bill that restricts the ability of teachers to bargain for anything other than wages and benefits.

4. And finally, we lobbied for full funding of the CHOICE program which allows seniors to stay in their homes rather than have to go to a nursing home.

By the looks on their faces, you can tell that our SOAR members love to help their union and haven't forgotten the power of unity. The photograph above represents just some of our SOAR members that participated. SOAR members are hard to corral for such a photo in the midst of so many people.

The Foxx In The School House

"the worst week ever for workers at the Indiana Statehouse."

Indiana Steelworkers:
More Action Needed NOW!   

“It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this has been the worst week ever for workers at the Indiana Statehouse.”

- Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott

Multiple bills designed to destroy our way of life and take away our rights have been introduced this past week in our state legislature.

Last week we asked you to write letters to Speaker of the House Brian Bosma telling him NOT to hold a hearing on right to work legislation.  Over 5,000 letters have been written to date.  Keep those letters coming!

On Tuesday, 600 Steelworkers converged in Indianapolis to fight back against this anti-worker legislation.  We need to do it again!



We Need More Action Now!

Indiana Steelworkers are being asked to come to the Statehouse next week to show our legislators that they can’t legislate us away.

We need members to come to the Statehouse on the following days:

Monday, February 21, 2011 beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Thursday, February 24, 2011 beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Please contact Brett Voorhies with the day you and/or your
local members will be coming at bvoorhies@usw.org or 317-435-3333.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE -- The following are the anti-worker bills introduced this week.
Note: These are all IN ADDITION to previously introduced Right to Work legislation!

House Bill 1585: Seeks to permanently ban collective bargaining for state employees, criminalize the encouragement and participation in strikes by public employees and takes away the pensions of those who do.  The bill also prohibits even voluntary collection of dues by local and state governments as well as school employers and disproportionately hurts the ability of women and minorities to bargain for better wages and working conditions. It passed out of committee, and now moves to the House floor for a vote.

Senate Bill 273: Like House Bill 1585, this bill seeks to permanently ban collective bargaining for state employees and criminalize the encouragement and participation in strikes by public employees.

House Bill 1203: An unnecessary bill designed to interfere with workers’ ability to designate a union to represent them.  If passed, the National Labor Relations Board has already pledged to sue the state.

House Bill 1538: Bars local units of government from setting a minimum wage higher than a state minimum wage, restricting an important way to put upward pressure on wages.

House Bill 1216: Prohibits project labor agreements and renders Indiana’s common construction requirements useless. Specifically, the legislation exempts from common construction wage requirements projects under $1 million and all school and university projects. Currently only projects under $150,000 are exempt from this law. Passing this bill would lower the wages of Indiana’s construction workers and open the door to out-of-state workers.

Senate Bill 333: Seeks to eliminate the use of all Projects Labor Agreements on publicly funded construction projects.

Senate Bill 575: Limits collective bargaining rights of Indiana’s teachers to the point of dismantling them.  If passed, only wages and certain fringe benefits may be bargained. This bill eliminates bargaining of hours and days, opening the door to extremely long hours and a longer work week with no additional compensation.

Senate Bill 001: Allows for outside agencies to be used to evaluate teachers and for teachers to evaluate other teachers. Teachers will not have input into the evaluation tool.  The State Board of Education will have to approve the tool chosen by a school corporation, limiting local control.  There is no appeal process under this bill if a teacher is fired unjustly.  The Superintendent of Public Instruction may revoke a teacher’s license at will.

House Bill 1002: Allows for charter schools to be established by mayors of 2nd class cities or a majority vote of a school board. The bill allows for acquisition of under-utilized buildings for $1 per year for up to 20 years.  The school corporation must maintain the building.  Charters have first option at any under-utilized building, meaning the corporation cannot choose to sell it if a charter wants the building. It also requires that only 50 percent of the teachers in charter schools need to be licensed.

House Bill 1003: Creates vouchers to allow public money to be diverted to private schools.  If passed, public schools are estimated to lose $110 million.

USW To Congress: Stop Focusing on CEOs

and Help Americans Get Jobs GOP Leadership Fails to Renew Trade Assistance

For Immediate Release: Feb. 16, 2011

Contact: Roy Houseman, 202-778-4384

Pittsburgh -- The United Steelworkers (USW) is urging Congress to reinstate funding for the enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program begun in 2009 that covers service workers and those whose jobs were exported to China or India due to unfair foreign trade.

The program had services slashed over the weekend when Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to block a bill extending the provision. The program assists workers who have been impacted by trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with job retraining and financial assistance. Opponents are trying to link the passage of future job off-shoring trade agreements to TAA.

Last week's vote reduces services for up to 170,000 Americans, from laid off steelworkers whose work was sent to China to office workers whose jobs have been outsourced to India. The Department of Labor was able to retain the program with reduced funding for one more year, but if Congress does not act to reinstate funding in the next year, tax-paying workers will lose a critical program that assists them in remaining competitive in the global economy.

“Once again, Americans are being put in the middle of a needless political battle and it’s working families who are paying the price,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “While members of the House and Senate try to win political points and the new leadership focuses on helping corporations and CEOs, tens of thousands of middle class Americans who lost jobs through no fault of their own could see job training and health care disappear.”

“These workers were already cheated out of good jobs because of bad trade deals. Now, they’re being cheated out of a second chance by their own elected officials, many of whom ran on promises of creating jobs,” Gerard said. “This political gamesmanship has to end so that Americans can go back to work.”

The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and has 850,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. It represents workers employed in metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining, atomic energy and the service sector. For more info: www.usw.org.

Is Indiana Senator Ed Charbonneau Anti Union?

Indiana Senate Bill 575 takes away bargaining rights from our school teachers by limiting the bargaining to only wages and benefits.

It does not allow bargaining over working conditions.

Can you imagine working for some misguided, uncaring, nincompoop administrator in a school system and not being allowed to straighten that person out through collective bargaining?

Not all schools have nitwit administrators but when you have one with no common sense, you need to be able to negotiate changes in working conditions.

The saddest thing about this piece of right wing nutty Republican legislation is that my own State Senator is one of the authors and or sponsor.

Ed Charbonneau, from Indiana Senate District 5 is a sponsor of this bill and that really tees me off. This guy should know better.

NFL Players Face Lockout by Team Owners

• In early 2008, NFL team owners opted out of the current deal two years early. The owners threatened to lock out the Players when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expired on March 4, 2010. The Players are NOT threatening to strike. The Players would play under the current deal - they are not asking for more.

• The league generate $8 billion in revenue last year and has seen a 400 percent increase in revenues over the past decade. Each team is worth at least $1 billion dollars. The model has been beneficial to all involved in the business of the game. Since the owners opted out, the responsibility lies with them to answer one question: why doesn’t the current deal work? If the teams are losing money, the owners should share audited financial statements with the Players so that, as business partners, they can help correct the problem.

• Thankfully, the NFL has remained strong despite the weak economy that has affected most Americans. The Green Bay Packers released limited financial information, and they generated $20 million in profits last year - not bad for a small-market team in one of the worst economic times in American history.
  

• The league has successfully negotiated multi-billion dollar television deals with CBS, Direct TV, NBC and FOX, although the NFL used the struggling economy as an excuse to lay off its employees and opt-out of the current CBA. The network deals contain provisions that require the networks to pay the NFL even if the owners lock out the Players and games are not played.

• The NFL has been granted every possible advantage from the federal government to become a successful business, including anti-trust exemptions. It also has 501c-6 non-profit status, which means the NFL pays less in taxes than average Americans.

• A lockout impacts not only owners, players and fans, but it hurts everyone associated with the business of the game. Economists estimate that team cities will lose approximately $160 million if there is a lockout.

• Hundreds of thousands in NFL communities will be impacted if owners lock out the Players, including:

1. Approximately 100,000 stadium employees
2. Hundred of thousands of municipal employees (Public Transportation such as train and bus workers, Parking Attendants, Police Officers, Radio/TV Reporters)
3. Small business owners
4. Retired players: Lose up to 80 percent of their benefits in an uncapped year
5. 600 Coaches: Many of whom have already lost their pensions

The Players’ message to NFL team owners is simple: “LET US PLAY.”

Event introduces federal bill: ‘Build America Bonds to Create Jobs Now Act’

Contact: Gary Hubbard, 202-778-4384 (O); 202-256-8125 (C); ghubbard@usw.org

Washington, D.C. (Feb. 11, 2011) – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined House Democrats and USW President Leo W. Gerard to raise their voices yesterday, sending a clear message that the number one national priority is to create jobs.

“Americans are demanding that we put jobs first; that we act to invest in our future and help our economy grow,” declared Leader Pelosi at a news conference in a U.S. Capitol room jammed with more than 100 USW members and activists of the union’s Rapid Response Network.

Speakers at the U.S. Capitol Press Event (l-r): U.S. Rep. John Carney, Jr. (D-DE); Barry Mortimer, USW Local 1001 activist at Osram-Sylvania Co., Wellsboro, PA; Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi; Aaron Patterson, USW Local 1152-L President at Cooper Standard Automotive, Bowling Green, OH; Leo W. Gerard, USW International President; U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA); U.S. Rep. Gerry E. Connolly (D-VA) - Photo by Steve Dietz

USW President Gerard reminded reporters behind the “Jobs Now” podium sign that more than 50,000 factories in American have shutdown in the past decade. “Everyone in these communities is affected,” he said. “The schools with reduced taxes from fewer pay checks in the community, to the little corner stores and the suppliers. If we are concerned about getting out of debt, we need to be making things and getting everyone back to work.”

He cited proposals for infrastructure repair, high speed rail and rebuilding water treatment plants as examples.

U.S. Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and John Carney (D-DE) each spoke to the bill introduced in the new congressional session by Leader Pelosi, the Build America Bonds to Create Jobs Now Act, (H.R. 11). As a lead sponsor of the bill, Connolly called the Build America Bonds program a jobs bill. “During the last two years, $4.4 billion from the Recovery Act leveraged $181 billion in bonds needed for school construction, bridge and road repairs that created jobs.” He said the bonds expired in December and need to be renewed.

USW Local 1152 President Aaron Patterson told the media gathering that the manufacturing recovery wasn’t working for them after their rubber auto parts maker, Cooper Standard Automotive in Bowling Green, Ohio, last Friday announced the shutdown of their plant that’s transferring jobs to Mexico, because Ford Motor Corp. wanted the cheapest hoses they could get. A group of 24 of the 200 workers at the Ohio plant were present.

The Bowling Green local union president looked at Pelosi, saying: “We need you to work with members of Congress to create policies that sustain our jobs.”

The USW activists at the press event were among 700 participating in a ‘Lobby Day’ on American worker job advocacy issues legislation such as currency reform, extension of enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), opposition to the U.S. – Korea and Colombia free trade agreements, and approaching the budget deficit battles with common sense solutions that don’t endanger economic recovery and job growth.

Also speaking was Barry Mortimer of USW Local 1001, a rapid response coordinator at his plant of 110 at Osram-Sylvania in Wellsboro, Pa., where halogen light bulbs are fully U.S. made with energy saving standards. “Everything is made in America, including the box the light bulbs are packaged in,” Mortimer said. “We need every government building in America to be buying and installing our bulbs to promote domestic jobs and energy savings.”

Pelosi said, “Working together, we can expand our economy through innovation and public-private partnerships. We can invest in transportation, in clean energy and manufacturing in new industries.”

The Democratic Leader’s Jobs Program can be accessed at: http://www.democraticleader.gov/

Republicans Can't Follow their own rules

Support Public Education

Will you join us in standing up for our kids and for public education?

The Indiana Federation of Teachers and the Indiana State Teachers Association are joining forces to hold rallies in support of public education in Indianapolis, East Chicago, and Anderson!

We'll be standing together to have our voices heard! Let's tell the General Assembly that they can't fix the education system by demonizing workers and draining funding from our schools. Please plan on attending one of these rallies to show your support for our kids, our schools and our future!

Indianapolis Rally
Tuesday, February 8th
Indiana Statehouse, South Atrium (inside the Statehouse)
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
5 p.m. Eastern Time

Lake County Rally
Wednesday, February 9th
4725 Indianapolis Blvd.
East Chicago, IN 46312
4:30 p.m. Central Time
(Outside event - Dress warm)

Anderson Rally
Thursday, February 10th
4610 S. Madison Ave.
Anderson, IN 46013
4:30 p.m. Eastern Time
(Outside event - Dress warm)

Join us at any of these rallies to stand with our union brothers and sisters! By standing together, we can make sure our representatives fight for Indiana’s children!

Hoosier Workers Under Attack in State Legislature

Backed heavily by out-of-state corporate interests, the Indiana legislature has introduced so-called “Right to Work” legislation that is designed to wipe out unions and weaken workers’ ability to bargain. Despite its clever name, “Right to Work” has nothing to do an individual’s ability to work. It is about trying to weaken or eliminate the strength of the collective voice of workers in the workplace.

Negative impacts of “Right to Work”:

• Drives down wages for all workers: Union and non-union workers in states with these laws make an average of $5,538 less a year than those that live in states without the law.

• Reduces benefits for all workers: Employers in “rtw” states are less likely to offer benefits and workers are losing health insurance coverage 70 percent faster than those in other states.

• Drains Billions for Indiana’s fragile economy: With the reduction of wages and benefits, Indiana’s economy stands to lose an estimated $17.3 billion as fewer dollars are circulated through the economy by Hoosier workers.

• Hurts workplace safety: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the rate of workplace deaths is 50 percent higher in “rtw” states.

• Reduces the overall quality of life: In addition to the decreased buying power of those in “rtw” states, the infant mortality rate is 16 percent greater while the poverty rate for all people is 19 percent higher and is 26 percent higher for children.

• Does not create jobs: Despite what the opposition would have you believe, “rtw” laws have no positive impact on states’ economies. Indiana’s unemployment rate is currently 9.8%. North Carolina, a state with a comparable population and economic base that has “rtw” laws on the books has an unemployment rate of 9.7%.

source: USW

"Right to Work" is Bad for Indiana

Corporate-backed politicians claim that “right to work” for less rules will help create jobs. In reality, these laws are another attempt by Big Business to force workers like us to give up the hard-earned wages and benefits we fought for at the bargaining table. “Right to work” for less:

Won't Create Jobs
We’re told this bill will create much- needed jobs, but that’s just what they told us about NAFTA, trade with China and deregulating Wall Street, too. It’s another corporate lie. “Right to work” for less laws actually lower wages, leaving workers like us with less money to spend and weakening our state’s economy.

Lowers Wages for Everyone
Greedy CEOs love “right to work” for less laws because they drive down workers’ wages and benefits. In fact, the average worker in states with these laws makes more than $5,500 less a year. In this economy, who can afford a $5,500 pay cut? (Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 2010)

Endangers Worksite Safety and Health
These laws weaken unions so we can’t bargain for safe, healthy working conditions—resulting in more injuries and even deaths at the worksite. (Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, AFL-CIO, 2010)

A Memory Spoof

Indiana Senator Mike Delph's Bigotry

Indiana Senator Mike Delph, a Republican from the Carmel area has proposed that Indiana become like Arizona in dealing with "illegal immigration".

In an interview not long ago he said that he's "concerned about the exploitation of cheap labor for profit and the exploitation of human beings that's going on today in the state of Indiana."

I think if Senator Delph was truly concerned about the exploitation of human beings that's going on in the state of Indiana, he would be introducing legislation that would make it illegal for companies to permanently replace workers if they are locked out or find it necessary to strike a company.

To me, Senator Delph's proposed legislation is nothing more than his way of expressing his bigotry.

Indiana AFL-CIO Reacts to Chamber Study

For Immediate Release: Monday, Jan. 31, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS – Today Indiana State AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott issued the following statement responding the to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s “study” on the so-called right to work law.

“It is disappointing that at a time when we should be having an open and honest debate about building an economy that works for all Hoosiers, the Chamber would publish such misleading and distorted documents.

Despite the leading questions, the deceptively appealing slogans and the overinflated promises of jobs, the simple fact remains that this legislation will devastate Indiana’s working families. Based on experiences of other states we know that wages will be driven down, benefits will be cut, workplace safety will suffer and the overall quality of life will decline.

Given all the facts, this is something no Hoosier could ever support.

The Chamber clearly has its own agenda and will do and say whatever it takes to implement it. However, if Indiana is to achieve true economic sustainability we cannot always put profits before people and ideology before facts.

We must restore balance so that our businesses, communities and workers can all have access to economic opportunity and that’s why defeating the so-called right to work law is so important.”

The Indiana State AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is a federation of 800 local unions across the state belonging to 50 International Unions. In total, the Indiana State AFL-CIO represents more than 300,000 working Hoosiers.

For more information on please visit www.in.aflcio.org or call 1-800-638-1217.

There is Power in Unity

There's nothing more satisfying than to be able to help workers against an employer that has no regard for those who have made the company profit. This company in Elkhart, Indiana by the name of American Electronics Components has been in negotiations with USW Local 1056 for two or three months. The local union consists of nine ladies.

This company refuses to bargain after offering their workers a raise of only 18 cents over three years. Oh, they also offered to increase their workers medical insurance premiums 40% for an employee and an increase in premium of 60% for a family member. Some workers pay more than $200 a week for their health care.

This company should be ashamed to have the name "American" in its name.

Power to the workers, and shame on this company and its management.

Social Security is not in Crisis

Nine Ladies Need our help

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

If you live in Northern Indiana, I'm pretty sure you're not going golfing tomorrow so why not take a leisurely drive for breakfast or lunch.

A company in Elkhart, Indiana by the name of American Electronics Components has been in negotiations with USW Local 1056 for two or three months. The local union consists of nine ladies.

This company refuses to bargain after offering their workers a raise of 18 cents over three years. Oh, they also offered to increase their medical insurance premiums 40% for an employee and an increase in premium of 60% for a family member. Some workers pay more than $200 a week for their health care.

The company needs assistance from our retirees in learning why it's a good idea to bargain in good faith.

If you can help us with an informational picket tomorrow, January 27th, please do so. The picketing will be at 1101 Lafayette St., (near Oakland Ave) in Elkhart, Indiana, from 9 am till 11 am EDT.

We would appreciate your being with us, but if you will be unable to help with the picketing, perhaps you could make a phone call to the company and encourage it to come back to the bargaining table. Their phone number is 574-295-6330. The plant manager name is Keith Vanderbosch. If he's not there, ask to speak to the owner.

Social Security and Unemployment Cure

The truth is ... If Congress does nothing — makes no changes at all — Social Security is projected to deliver full guaranteed benefits until at least 2037. Even after 2037, again without any changes, the trust funds will continue to pay more than 75% of benefits for decades into the future.

To date, Social Security has paid benefits in full and on time for nearly 75 years. If Congress enacts modest changes, Social Security will be able to meet 100% of its benefit obligations indefinitely. As one of the most successful government programs ever, the administrative costs to run it — less than 2% — are far below what Wall Street will ever charge investors for private retirement accounts.

What really needs to be done is to scrap the cap. Everyone should be required to pay the same percentage of Social Security taxes regardless of income. Currently, I think the cap is about $105,000. In other words, once a persons income reaches that amount, they don't pay any more into Social Security. Well, they should.

Plus, allowing people to retire and collect Social Security benefits at age 55 would open up the job market and alleviate the unemployment problem.

Benefits of the new law on Health Care

Where Are Those Darned Indiana Jobs?

Super Circus Begins Today

Today's House of Representatives promises to be a real circus as Republicans argue as to why the Health Care Reform law passed last year should be repealed.
Call your U.S. Representative and tell him/her to absolutely vote no and to keep the law in place. They are scheduled to vote tomorrow.

• Republicans want to take away discounts on prescription drugs that seniors get when they fall into the Medicare Part D donut hole.
• Republicans want the donut hole to never go away.
• Republicans want children to be denied medical insurance if they have a pre-existing condition.
• Republicans want to deny free annual check ups and preventive screenings for seniors.
• Republicans want your medical insurance company to be able to have annual and life time caps on how much they have to pay out for care.
• Republicans want seniors with chronic conditions to go to nursing homes rather than stay at home.
• Republicans want Medicare to go broke.
• Republicans want millions of people to be denied coverage.
• Republicans want to add $230 billion dollars to the deficit.
• Republicans want to take subsidies away from employers who wish to provide insurance to retirees.
• Republicans want your insurance premiums to be used to pay their CEO's as much as they want.
• Republicans want your children to be denied the ability to stay on your medical insurance until they reach the age of 26.
  

Today is the day for ACTION

The Truth About the Lunatic Religious Right in America

Health Care Repeal Vote Next Wednesday!

After delaying a vote in the House of Representatives to repeal the health care reform law in the wake of the shootings in Tucson, the U.S. House Republican leadership announced on Thursday that the House will debate H.R. 2, the repeal bill, next Tuesday and Wednesday, January 18 and 19. The House will begin debate Tuesday evening, and the vote will occur on Wednesday evening. The Alliance sent a blast fax today to all members of the House opposing H.R. 2. The letter states that repealing the law will negatively impact America’s seniors in the following specific ways:

• Revokes significant drug discounts for Medicare beneficiaries who fall in the Part D doughnut hole;
• Revokes free annual check-ups and preventive screenings;
• Revokes subsidies for employers who provide health care coverage for their retirees; and
• Revokes Medicaid options that allow older Americans with chronic conditions to live at home rather than in institutions.

Furthermore, the 2010 law extends Medicare solvency by 12 years and cuts the federal deficit by $230 billion the first ten years - and by more than $1 trillion in the next decade. Therefore, repealing the law would be detrimental to Medicare’s finances and add to the nation’s deficit. To view the letter, go to http://bit.ly/ht1vqN.

Source: Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert

What Social Security Opponents and Many on the Fiscal Commission Don’t Want Young People To Know...

If you believe seniors earn too much money, then raising the Social Security retirement age is right for you!

(Raising the retirement age would reduce benefits. Benefits are already too low. The average monthly benefit for a worker is $1,164.)

If you like the idea of continued benefit cuts, then raising the retirement age is right for you!

(The normal retirement age has already been increased, for some it is as high as 67. This means a 30% reduction in benefits for those retiring at 62.)

If you like the idea of competing with your grandkids for jobs, then raising the retirement age is right for you!

(In April 2010, the unemployment rate for workers 55 and older was 6.7%, it was 19.6% for those under 25.)

If you welcome working more years before retirement, then raising the retirement age is right for you!

(In 1899, a 20-year-old could expect to work 39 years. In 1949, a 20 year-old could expect to work 42 years. Today, they can expect to work 45 years. Raising the retirement age would increase this number further.)

If you think the hard-earned benefits of a retired worker should be used to pay down the deficit, then raising the retirement age is right for you!

(Social Security has a dedicated funding source and has not contributed a penny to the nation’s economic woes. The deficit is the result of the Bush tax cuts for the rich, two wars, and the lingering effects of the worst recession since the Great Depression.)

If you think raising the retirement age will only affect seniors, think again!

(Raising the retirement age will not affect those already retired, but those 50 and under.)

Source: Alliance for Retired Americans

Obama Created More Jobs In One Year Than Bush Created In Eight

This morning, the Labor Department released its employment data for December, showing that the U.S. economy ended the year by adding 113,000 private sector jobs, knocking the unemployment rate down sharply from 9.8 percent to 9.4 percent — its lowest rate since July 2009. The “surprising drop — which was far better than the modest step-down economists had forecast — was the steepest one-month fall since 1998.” October and November’s jobs numbers were also revised upward by almost 80,000 each. Still, 14.5 million Americans remain unemployed, and jobs will have to be created much faster in coming months for the country to pull itself out of the economic doldrums.

Responding the jobs report, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) noted that President Obama and the Democratic Congress have created “more jobs in 2010 than President Bush did over eight years.”

Indeed, from February 2001, Bush’s first full month in office, through January 2009, his last, the economy added just 1 million jobs. By contrast, in 2010 alone, the economy added at least 1.1 million jobs. This chart, produced by Pelosi’s office, demonstrates the difference between the Bush administration and the Obama administration on jobs:

As the Wall Street Journal noted in the last month of Bush’s term, the former president had the “worst track record for job creation since the government began keeping records.” And job creation under Bush was anemic long before the recession began. Bush’s supply-side economics “fostered the weakest jobs and income growth in more than six decades,” along with “sluggish business investment and weak gross domestic product growth,” the Center for American Progress’ Joshua Picker explained. “On every major measurement” of income and employment, “the country lost ground during Bush’s two terms,” the National Journal’s Ron Brownstein observed, parsing Census data.

Source: Women of Steel

Don't Fall For It

Wall Street executives 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. Others on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform are considering raising the retirement age as a way to deal with the nation's fiscal deficit. They hope you, your children and your grandchildren won't fight their efforts, but they are not telling you that it will drastically cut benefits.

Don't fall for it.

Source: Alliance for Retired Americans

So-called "Right to Work" Legislation

So-called “Right to Work” Legislation

· Backed heavily by out-of-state corporate interests, “Right to Work” legislation is designed to wipe out unions by bankrupting them and weakening their ability to bargain.

· Despite its clever name, “Right to Work” has nothing to do an individual’s ability to work. It’s about eliminating the voices of working people from the workplace and politics.

· “Right to Work” restricts the freedom of employers and workers to negotiate the agreement that is best for that workplace—a right which exists in most of America and most of the world. It substitutes the judgment of the government for that of the people doing the work.

· Being a traditionally industrial state with large Republican majorities in the Statehouse, Indiana is now the top target of these groups. If they are successful in passing “Right to Work” here, it will create a domino effect throughout the Midwest and the heart of the labor movement.

Negative impacts of “Right to Work”:

· Drive down wages for all workers: Union and non-union workers in states with these laws make an average of $5,538 less a year than those that live in states without the law.

· Reduce Benefits for all workers: Employers in “RTW” states are less likely to offer benefits and workers are losing health insurance coverage 70 percent faster than those in other states.

· Drains Billions for Indiana’s fragile economy: With the reduction of wages and benefits, Indiana’s economy stands to lose an estimated $17.3 billion as fewer dollars are circulated through the economy by Hoosier workers.

· Hurts workplace safety: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the rate of workplace deaths is 50 percent higher in “RTW” states.

· Reduces the overall quality of life: In addition to the decreased buying power of those in “RTW” states, the infant mortality rate is 16 percent greater while the poverty rate for all people is 19 percent higher and is 26 percent higher for children.

· Does not create jobs: Despite what the opposition would have you believe, “RTW” laws have no positive impact on state’s economies. Indiana’s unemployment rate is currently 9.8%. North Carolina, a state with a comparable population and economic base that has “rtw” laws on the books has an unemployment rate of 9.7%.

· Does not prevent businesses from expanding: A recent survey of business executives found that out of 26 factors considered when locating a business, “RTW” laws ranked 24th.
Source: Indiana AFL-CIO

"Right to Work" is Bad for Indiana

"Right to Work" is Bad for America

Crazy people in Congress

Over the past several months, we have worked hard to help congress and President Obama finally pass legislation that reforms our health care system and we were successful.

Because of these reforms, today:

• Children can remain on their parents’ policy until they reach age 26.
• Insurance companies can no longer impose annual or lifetime limits on payment for care.
• You can’t be charged extra for obtaining emergency care at an emergency room that isn’t in the insurance company’s network of providers.
• Your coverage can’t be canceled when you get ill and no child can be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
• Insurance companies must spend a certain percentage of the premiums they collect on actual care.
• Retirees on Medicare who end up in the Medicare Part D donut hole will get a 50% discount on brand named drugs.
• Those on Medicare can get free screening for cancer and other diseases.

Anti working family and retiree forces were successful in becoming the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and today they become the majority.

Since right wingers only consider passing legislation that causes human pain, misery, suffering or death, one of the first things on their agenda is to take away these much needed benefits.

Fortunately, working families and retirees still have a majority in the U.S. Senate and we have a friend (President Obama) in the White House.

So, you must ask yourselves, why would Republicans try to overturn this health care reform legislation when they know full well that they’re wasting their time? The answer is plain and simple. They want to put on a show for their insurance company friends.

Paul Kesler plays the saw

Let There Be Peace On Earth

I think it was seeing the movie, "One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest" starring Jack Nicholson some years ago that first interested me in the unusual sounds that can come from playing a carpenters saw. I got myself a new saw a couple weeks ago and have been toying with it. It has provided hours of entertainment for me trying to make some music with it. So far, my wife is calling it a "screeching saw", but I'm determined to get it to play music some day.
Anyway, here you will experience my first attempt and hopefully I'll be able to show improvement in a few weeks.
I'm pretty sure it will make you wince a few times in listening to this so please be prepared for it.
Happy New Year everyone.

Excessive Celebration

The "excessive celebration" rule for college football games is the best thing they ever came up with. Watching football players saluting, dancing, doing cartwheels and the like after making a touch down, catching a pass, executing a good block or tackle etc. is disgusting and takes away from the game.
Hopefully, the same rule can come out for pro football as well.

Five year blog

I just realized that I've been posting on this blog for five years now. Sure doesn't seem that long and it sure has been enjoyable.
Thanks to all of you for keeping it going.

Too Early for Basketball

This evening, Elaine is switching the television between football and basketball. Woe is me.

Please Pray for Peace

Peace on earth.
Merry Christmas everyone

Singing Saw

Austin Blackburn

Some 2011 Changes in Medicare

Here are some major changes to medicare for 2011.

1. In the past, Medicare allowed for a one-time free check up when
seniors joined the Medicare program. Beginning in 2011, seniors will
be able to get a free check up every year.

2. Beneficiaries will no longer have to pay any cost sharing for
Medicare covered preventive services that are recommended by the U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force and rated A or B. The law also waives
the medicare deductible for colorectal cancer screening tests.

3. In 2011, the Medicare part D drug benefit doughnut hole is from
$2840 to $6447.50. When beneficiaries fall into the doughnut hole,
they must pay the entire cost of their prescription medications.
Beneficiaries would not exit the doughnut hole until they have paid a
total of $4550 in out-of-pocket costs. Beginning in 2011, Medicare
beneficiaries who fall in the Part D drug benefit doughnut hole will
receive a 50% discount on the price of their brand name drugs.
Beneficiaries who fall in the doughnut hole will also receive a 7%
government subsidy toward the cost of generic drugs.

Source: Alliance for Retired Americans

Oh no, Republicans might have to work holidays

Yesterday, when Republicans learned that they might have to work until Christmas, Arizona senator, Jon Kyle, blubbered to the media that it was simply sacrilegious to expect congress to work up until one of the two most sacred holidays of Christianity.

Now, I used to work in a power plant and we had to work whenever we were needed. The soldiers fighting and dieing in Afghanistan are working through the holidays and working people all over America work during "holy week". Kyle also suggested that Senator Harry Reid was disrespecting Christmas to require that congress continue doing the country's business instead of being allowed to go home with their families and wrap presents, etc. I wonder what the homeless and those who are without jobs think of Senator Kyl's remarks.

Such hog wash, and truly disgusting. We need adults in congress. Or, maybe congress should declare that the week before and after Christmas should be national holidays for all to quit working.

Unfortunately, Jon Kyle thinks like most right wingers and we aint seen nothin yet.

NIPSCO - Listen up

OK, NIPSCO. If you think I enjoy having to write about you, you're nuts. I don't. But I don't like hearing about your disciplining your workers when they have an accident either.

Now the union has worked with you to improve your appalling safety program and you've been doing great things in reducing accidents and preventing more deaths of your workers, but for some reason, you're beginning to slide back into your old ways.

When someone is hurt on the job, all other workers need to be educated as to what happened and how they can prevent future accidents of the same type. Forget the discipline. If you must discipline someone, discipline the employees boss. That's the one allowing safety rules to be broken.

Now that's all I want to say about this, so just stop the craziness.

Happy Anniversary, Elaine. I love you.

Keep Your Stinking Hands off of Social Security

“We put those pay roll contributions there so as to give the contributors a legal, moral, and political right to collect their pensions and their unemployment benefits. With those taxes in there, no damn politician can ever scrap my social security program. Those taxes aren’t a matter of economics, they’re straight politics,”

FDR told... a Treasury official in 1941.

Life Line

Find them Cookies

No matter what Elaine does to keep me from eating her Christmas cookies, I am able to find them. I really do believe that this exceptional ability to sniff out cookies is a gift from the Almighty.

I want to share what I've learned over the years so as to make it possible for my friends to also locate these wonderful treats without getting into trouble.

One way is to wait until she leaves the house. After making sure that she has driven off down the road, search high and low in every possible nook and cranny. It's important to lock the door first.
When you do locate a batch, take no more than two cookies. That way it's less likely that you will be caught.

It's important to keep looking because there are bound to be more hidden away. Some possible hiding places would be under the bed, in her dresser, in her craft room, under the kitchen sink, between the pizza pans, on the top shelf behind the Crisco can, or the ever popular empty bag of sugar in the pantry, or lastly, if all else fails, check the trunk of her car.

When you think you've spent enough time in this excercise, put the cookies in a plastic baggy and wrap in newspaper so they can be placed next to your favorite chair to be eaten later in the evening.

I enjoy nibbling on them when her attention is on something else like a football game, etc.
Good hunting to you my friends.

A Must Listen to Speech

Snooki, Hefner, Chimp and Bush Tax Cuts