Don't Threaten Workers and Retirees

NY House Race Shows Fallout of House Medicare Vote

Threats to Medicare Play Key Role in Tuesday’s Special Election

The following statement was issued today by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans.

“The outcome of the special election in New York’s 26th congressional district was greatly shaped by concern over a recent U.S. House vote to privatize Medicare and create an inadequate voucher program for retirees that would be run by health insurance companies.

"The April 15 Medicare vote troubled both seniors and workers.  For retirees already struggling to get by, these proposed changes would be devastating.  Many workers today are worrying that they will never be able to retire.

“Voters saw that Kathy Hochul will be a strong voice in Congress to protect the health care and retirement security of Americans of all ages.  She made it crystal clear that she opposes turning Medicare over to private insurance companies, reducing Social Security benefits, and allowing state governors to cut Medicaid support for seniors who cannot afford nursing home care.

“These results show that health care and retirement security will be on the minds of many voters in the 2012 elections.  The Alliance for Retired Americans will continue to educate voters on both the issues and where the candidates stand.”

Michael Buckley
Communications Director
Alliance for Retired Americans
202/637-5190
Mbuckley@retiredamericans.org

Don't Miss This Great "Tell it Like it is" Speech

Take Medicare Cuts Off The Table

The Race To The Bottom

by Bill Gibbons
PACE Representative, Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR)

Most of us have been around long enough to look back at how our country progressed and the working
class and middle class dream was achieved - most of it through the strength of unions and the collective bargaining process. Remember when one income based on a good job would support the entire family? Remember when health insurance and pensions where being established and improved through negotiations?

Remember when Social Security was looked upon as a great social program to be protected and Medicare was established? Remember when we talked about reducing the work week and a livable wage? If we didn’t have Medicare today, do you think we could get it passed in congress?

What is happening to the American dream? Well, if we pay attention, we can see it being attacked and torn apart by the conservative, right-wing, tea party movement, bank rolled by special interests and corporate money funded through various organizations with friendly patriotic sounding names.

Think about it. The attempts to privatize and eliminate Medicare. The same people don’t believe in Social Security and would like to eliminate workers’ rights and destroy unions and eliminate regulations that protect the general good.

These attacks on workers and the middle class have been going on for years. The difference now is that it has become so obvious. Private sector workers have been fighting to protect their standard of living for the last 30 years. Now, the public sector workers; police, firefighters, teachers and others areunder attack.

It’s a race to the bottom under the premise of budget shortfalls, protecting jobs, etc. while the entries such as the investment banks and misdeeds of Wall Street, that cause the recent economic problems, are unaffected and actually benefiting.

Medicare at Risk

By Jim Centner,
Director, Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR)

The new Republican budget reflects upside-down priorities – it protects special interest subsidies and tax breaks for those at the top, and cuts deep into the heart of the programs that are essential to the health of our seniors.  The Republican budget ends Medicare as we know it – converting it into a voucher-type program. While providing a windfall for the health insurance industry, it would force seniors to pay much more for healthcare. If Republicans get their way, premiums for more than 20 million seniors will skyrocket and they will all lose their guaranteed health benefits.

Starting in 2022, Medicare will be eliminated for new beneficiaries and converted instead into a voucher program.  There are more than 20 million near-elderly Americans who are now ages 50-54 who would not get Medicare when they retire but instead only get a coupon to purchase private health insurance.  This approach would transfer control of Medicare to insurers and there would be no guaranteed benefits, essentially ending Medicare. 

The voucher will fail to keep pace with increases in the cost of healthcare.  As a result, seniors will be forced to pay higher premiums in order to access the same benefits they would receive under the current system.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, a typical senior will spend more than twice as much of his or her own income on health services under the Ryan proposal, as compared to the current Medicare system.

Under current law, all seniors have guaranteed access to life-saving health benefits, including screenings for colon cancer, diabetes, and prostate cancer, as well as flu shots. If the Republican plan becomes law, there is a real possibility that seniors that were eligible for guaranteed health benefits last year could lose them.

The proposal would “reopen” the prescription drug donut hole, requiring that seniors pay full price for prescription drugs.  As a result, on average, seniors would pay $3,500 more for their medications over the next ten years.  Seniors and people with disabilities who have high prescription drug costs could pay an additional $12,300 over the next 10 years.

In their initial analysis of the Ryan Medicare plan, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined, "Under the proposal, most elderly people would pay more for their healthcare than they would pay under the current Medicare system…" Under the proposal, the gradually increasing number of Medicare beneficiaries participating in the new premium support program would bear a much larger share of their healthcare costs than they would under the traditional program…That greater burden would require them to reduce their use of healthcare services, spend less on other goods and services, or save more in advance of retirement than they would under current law.

We Can Make a Difference

by Connie Entrekin,

President, Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR)

Recent events have demonstrated that an informed electorate can make a difference. Retirees all across the country attended town hall meetings held by their legislators to let them know exactly what they thought of the Ryan budget plan. Educated and armed with the facts, activists showed up to demonstrate their displeasure with the Republican - led budget that recently passed in the House of Representatives and changed the course of the debate.

This grassroots activism once again established that working class Americans will not stand pat and allow the corporate elite and their elected lackey’s to run roughshod over what is good for all Americans. You made your voices heard! The leaders of the far right and minions of the rich backed-out from their draconian approach to destroy Medicare in a half-baked scheme to balance the budget.  

SOAR members joined with the Alliance for Retired Americans in over 20 “Don’t Make Us Work until We Die” events. These grassroot actions stressed that cutting entitlement benefits would require people to keep working far past when they should be able to retiree with dignity. These events also demonstrated to our elected officials that we are paying very close attention to their activities.

We must keep the pressure on!  We must continue to express our concerns about the budget process.  We must get a commitment from our legislators to oppose any attempt to weaken or dismantle Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The question we all must ask ourselves is one that many activists have asked themselves throughout the ages - "If not us, who; If not now, when?"

Too much Rain, but the garden keeps Growing

Stuck inside the last two days because of rain but the garden is looking great. We'll be eating lettuce any day now. Raspberries, goose berries, peaches, grapes, peas, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and peppers all look good. Waiting for beans and cukes and squash to appear.
Gardening is good for the soul and what ails a person. No doubt about that.
Indiana politics is making me ill. It's possible that Mitch Daniels could end up being the decline of America. He's sure made a mess of Indiana. And Mike Pence threatens to finish the job.

Typical Week End Weather

Typical Spring week end weather here in Northern Indiana. The sun shines bright and the temperature is great from Monday to Friday, then on the week ends it turns miserably cool and rains.

Tanglefoot did the trick

We enjoy feeding the Hummingbirds and Baltimore Orioles. They both use the same feeder but when the Orioles visit it, the feeder tips slightly allowing the water to drip away. So, I put a post in the ground about a foot deep and nailed a one foot square piece of particle board on top. I then put a small chick waterer on top which holds a one quart jar full of water (upside down).
The next problem was the darned ants coming up the post and invading the the thing.
I tried smearing a three inch wide band of grease around the post but it didn't faze the ants. I tried a little vasoline but that didn't work either.
I then went to the hardware store and got a small container of "Tanglefoot" and smeared a two inch band around the post a few inches below the board. That did the trick. Great stuff and well worth it.

RetirementTalk - A Wonderful Podcast

 About a week ago, I came across a podcast called “Retirement Talk-What to do with the rest of your life?”
It's one of the best podcasts I’ve heard by a retiree who puts in plain English, what retirement is all about.
It’s done by, Del Lowery. A man with a golden voice. Smooth......

These podcasts are about five minutes in length and and are filled with interesting stories and suggestions as to how to have a happy retirement.

The podcasts can also be downloaded from the iTunes store by a search on iTunes for “Retirement Talk for Boomers, Seniors, and Retirees.”

Take a listen. I think you’ll enjoy these short essays.


Here is Del's web address: http://retirementtalk.org/

Charlie

Not a thing on my mind

I'm speechless. Just too tired to comment this evening. It's not a good idea to wait till the end of the day to write something on a blog. I've learned my lesson.

Happy Mother's Day and good picking to you all

Bless all Mother's on this special day.

The Morel's are in full bloom in northern Indiana, so good picking mushroomers.

The Same Republican Pig

Don't Make Our Kids Work 'Til They Die

Indiana's One Party Rule A Complete Disaster

Statehouse Update
from
State Rep. Pat Bauer

May 2, 2011


INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana House Democratic Leader B. Patrick Bauer from South Bend recently issued the following statement on the 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly, which ended this past Friday evening:

     "The damage done by single-party rule this session will be severe and lasting.

     "It will be felt in the pocketbooks of Hoosiers, in the classrooms where our children are taught, and in the courtrooms of this state, where many will go in the months ahead to try to overturn some of the most onerous policies that are being signed into law.

     "Here are two 'accomplishments' from this session that describe these past four months perfectly:

     "We cut taxes on corporations by 25 percent.

     "We cut benefits for out-of-work Hoosiers by 25 percent.

     "Those two contrasts provide all the proof you need to see the true agenda advanced by Republicans when they have complete control of government. They might describe it as a mandate, but only on behalf of the rich and powerful special interests.

     "It has been an agenda that describes job creation as right-to-work proposals that prove only to drive down wages, health care and other benefits for workers. What else could you expect from those who think that having 270,000 Hoosiers unemployed is a positive sign -- and do nothing these past four months to try to find good-paying jobs for them?

     "But perhaps the greatest tragedy of this session will be the price paid by those children who will not be among the privileged few to be able to attend charter schools or use taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend private schools.

     "The children who are left out of these programs will see larger class sizes, fewer programs that will enable them to expand and enrich their individual talents, and fewer people to help them find those talents.

     "You will be told that the new state budget contains $150 million in additional funding for schools. This is a lie.

     "This governor has cut state support for schools by $600 million the past two years. That means our schools are being asked to make do with funding levels that are lower than they were two years ago. The additional funding in the new state budget will only make up a portion of what schools have lost.

     "In the weeks and months ahead, the dirty reality of what has been accomplished through single-party control of this Legislature will begin to dawn on the people of Indiana. They will realize that parents of children who are home schooled or go to private schools will have tax breaks that can even give them relief from the textbook tax that has plagued so many families for so long.

     "Those who propose such policies also will claim these breaks are small. They are the same people who claim that we should do nothing to give families a break from high gas prices this summer. As we have mentioned before, those in charge right now only turn fiscally conservative when it comes time to help those who earn less than them.

     "These leaders are the same people who will gush that this session was a resounding success.

     "They could not be more wrong. The 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly was a complete disaster."

Strengthen Social Security, Don't cut it!

Members of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees Chapter 30-18 say strengthen Social Security, don't cut it for our children and grand children.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Union Attacks = Workplace Safety in Jeopardy

Union Attacks = Workplace Safety in Jeopardy   

Today is Workers Memorial Day, a day that we mourn for those hurt or killed on the job.  We also renew our fight for the living.  With 4,340 workplace deaths and roughly 50,000-60,000 deaths from occupational illnesses annually, this fight could not be more critical.  Steelworkers are fighting against bad policy nationwide that could further threaten our workplace safety and health.

Consider what’s at risk:

• If proposed right to work legislation becomes law – One of the goals of this legislation is to harm a local’s ability to support itself financially.  As a result, locals could struggle to send members to safety trainings and to defend members who encounter safety and health concerns on the job.  In those states with right to work laws, workplace deaths are 52.9 percent higher than in non-right to work states.    A second recent study suggests that states that are working to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities should “consider encouraging trade union growth and repealing right to work laws.”  

• If public sector workers are stripped of bargaining rights – A nurse at a county care facility loses a tool to fight for safer nurse-to-patient ratios.   A road maintenance worker loses the ability to bargain for better safety equipment.  Without a union to back them up, too many workers keep silent for fear of retaliation when safety and health risks are present.  Eliminating bargaining rights eliminates our voice for safety on the job.

• If policies are enacted to limit unions’ ability to engage in the legislative and political process – Unions have always been at the forefront in demanding legislative changes to reduce exposure to safety and health hazards – hazards that too many employers would rather not address.  We can’t remove workers’ voices from these debates.

Given that many Steelworkers go to work each day in some of the most dangerous industries, any threat to safety and health on the job can impact us even greater.   Mourn for the dead, and let’s keep fighting for the living.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Note: Numbers are from 2009, the most recently available data; AFL-CIO, Death on the Job, April 2010; Ronald Zullo, Right-to-Work Laws and Fatalities in Construction, Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy at University of Michigan Ann Arbor, March, 2011.

Strengthen Social Security, Don't Cut It!

Complain, complain

A lot of my friends have been complaining of having received so much rain here in northern Indiana the last week or so.

I'm loving it however, and so is my garden. I'll be eating fresh lettuce before too long and the possum and raccoons are being trapped left and right (the rain must bring them out of their holes).

Speaking of critters coming out of their holes.....look at the tea baggers, birthers and afterbirthers.
I'm just sorry that one of the birthers had to be from Indiana, that being birther Dan Burton.
What a disgrace.

Republicans Uncoupled

Republicans have completely disconnected themselves from main street America. They voted to do away with the Medicare program and it has infuriated the vast majority of Americans.

Republicans voting for the Paul Ryan budget which eliminates the guaranteed medical insurance for anyone reaching the age of 65 while at the same time providing more tax breaks for the richest Americans have shot themselves in the foot and provided the proof of where their priorities and values are.

Republibirthers Want Us to Work 'Til We Die

Here is the Republican Birthers Plan to Attack the Federal Debt

1. Eliminate medicare
2. Medicaid block grants to states
3. Cuts in the Pell grant program
4. Cut taxes for the rich
5. Increase military spending

The Truth about Chris Chocola

"I very much support universal coverage. We actually have universal coverage now, it's called the emergency room."
Former Indiana congressman, Chris Chocola, President of the right wing crazy club for growth giving his opinion on universal healthcare. And this guy appeared on "Hard Ball" today trying to advise people who they should vote for? Give me a break.

Indiana Republicans are some of the nations worst

The Indiana House of Representatives has taken House Bill 575 which is the bill authored by State Senator, Ed Charbonneau and which takes away the ability of teachers to bargain for working conditions and has included taking away the rights of every school employee to bargain a contract including those who work in kitchens and cafeterias and busses.

Boy, I'll tell you what, these Republicans in Indiana are sure doing a job on working men and women.

During the last campaign for my state senator, I was assured that Ed Charbonneau was a fair person when it came to workers. Well, I've met him and spoken to him and he is indeed a personable guy but the idea that he is fair to workers is just down right false.

Shame, shame on the whole lot of them.

All about the deficit from Big Mike

Republicans have gone koo koo

The Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are trying to pass a budget which would privatize Medicare by giving seniors a voucher to buy their own medical insurance from insurance companies.
The Republicans have lost their minds.

Flying Fish in the Wabash

Saw hurts ears

I've been playing the musical saw for about four months now. Strangest thing is that it sounds great and actually beautiful, to me but when I listen to a recording of my playing it, it sounds terrible.

My wife makes me go outside to play the darned thing. Went out on the porch and was playing a tune and when I looked up there were eight cats watching me which makes me believe that it must sound good to someone......I mean thing.

GOP offers no death panels, just death from lack of care

By Leo W. Gerard

Republicans concocted death panels in an attempt to terrify Americans about health care reform, then propagated the lie because they wanted insurance corporations to profit from illness and injury unfettered.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed anyway, but now the GOP has announced that it plans to kill the reform, and Medicaid and Medicare too.

In one fell swoop, Republicans would foreclose on Americas’ long-held and cherished expectation that they’ll receive health coverage from their government in their old age, impoverishment or infirmity. For the elderly, poor, unemployed, disabled and juvenile who can’t afford insurance, the GOP offers no death panels, just death from lack of care.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, disclosed the GOP scheme to massacre Medicare and Medicaid. Instead of the government directly paying for medical services for the elderly and impoverished, Republicans would shift costs to states and the elderly.

Under their plan, instead of Medicare, the federal government would give seniors an unspecified amount of money toward the cost of premiums for private health insurance.

Also, instead of Medicaid, the GOP would give states some money to help pay for insurance for the poor, which includes nursing home care for the elderly. States and the elderly then would be stuck paying insurance costs above the amount provided by the federal government. Ryan and his GOP gang transfer medical costs to the elderly and impoverished to compensate for federal revenues lost when they slash income taxes levied on the rich and corporations by an additional 30 percent.

The GOP message to the rich and to corporations: keep your tax break and take another 30 percent. The GOP message to the middle class: pay more and lose your safety net.

The founders of the United States intended the government to serve the people not prostrate itself to the privileged. The signers of the Declaration of Independence and framers of the U.S. Constitution discarded the doctrine of the divine right of kings, the idea that monarchs derived their authority from God and thus were not subject to the will of the governed.

Instead, the founders and framers determined that rich and poor, men and monarchs are equal, that they possess inalienable rights and that the function of government is to secure those rights. Their vision of government is an organization operating with the consent of the people to protect the people. That is, to protect their inalienable rights, to protect them from inequities, to protect them from internal and external threats.

The GOP budget is a manifestation of a very different government philosophy. It subjugates the people to the divine right of corporations and the rich.

If the wealthy and corporations had paid their share of federal income taxes over the past 30 years since successive Republican presidents began cutting them, the federal deficit would be relative peanuts, if it existed at all. If the wealthy paid their share of social security taxes, the program would not face shortfalls after 2036. If corporations and the wealthy paid federal income taxes at the rates they did during the presidencies of Republicans Dwight D. Eisenhower or Richard Nixon, no one would be talking about killing off Medicaid and Medicare.

The nation’s largest corporation, General Electric, accumulated $26 billion in American profits over the past five years, while demanding $4.1 billion in “rebates” from the IRS and paying absolutely no federal income taxes last year. Two out of three U.S. corporations paid no income taxes from 1998 through 2005. The effective tax rate for the wealthy – the rate after loopholes and special deals - is nine points lower than that paid by the typical worker.

Still, Paul Ryan and his Republican crew insist that corporations and the rich are paying too much and demand that they pay an official rate of 25 percent instead of 35 percent. Because that will mean billions in lost revenue, the GOP slashes programs that protect the masses in the middle, education, health care reform, veterans benefits, public transportation, health and safety regulation, food and import inspection, Medicaid and Medicare. The GOP guts government for the people.

Because of those huge tax cuts for the rich and corporations, the Republican budget doesn’t even end the deficit until 2040. In fact, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined the tax cuts would increase the deficit’s share of the economy for the first 10 years of implementation. Under the GOP plan, public debt would rise to 70 percent of GDP by 2022. If the government maintained its current tax and spending levels, the debt would grow to 67 percent of GDP by 2022. 


The GOP budget shows Republicans believe corporations and the rich are super citizens with divine rights, while the vast majority of the nation’s citizens, the middle class, are lesser beings who are to be taxed but not protected by their government.

Many of these citizens – the elderly, the poor, the disabled – won’t be able to afford health insurance under the GOP scheme. They’ve paid taxes all their lives to support programs like Medicare. Now, the GOP intends to rip that out from under them, to take away the protection that they believed their government - government for the people - would provide.

The GOP announced this week that it believes new tax cuts for the rich and corporations are more important than Medicare and Medicaid, more important than the lives of vulnerable Americans who will die for lack of health insurance to pay for care.

Leo W. Gerard
 is the international president of United Steelworkers (USW).

The Leadership America Deserves

Republicans want to Get Rid of Medicare

Marchers Rally to Save the Middle Class

On April, 4, workers all over America rallied to support a workers right to have a contract with their employer that allows them to bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions. This was done to protest the many ways that the state governments are trying to remove the last bulkhead between the Wall Street and CEO greed and Americans that have the least, which would eliminate the middle class that unions have provided us.

Here are a few photos of yesterdays actions.

How the World Really Turns

Proponents of taking bargaining rights away from Hoosier teachers for everything except wages and wage related benefits site some of the most idiotic reasons. They complain that contracts in some schools down in Crawford County and East Chicago require a certain temperature for classrooms. Well, duh.....at some point in those schools history, some lame brained administrator thought he's save energy by keep the thermostats set at 50 degrees. Either that, or because of his cold heart, he insisted the temperatures be set at 90 degrees.

Another contract requires that the teachers' lounge be attractive, comfortable and spacious. Why? Because years ago some wild eyed, hippie principal on LSD insisted the lounge walls be painted black. Either that, or he wouldn't allow the stinking walls to be painted even though the plaster was falling off the ceiling.

Other contracts say that if teachers will be layed off, teachers with equal seniority break the tie by using their birth dates in Indianapolis, a blind draw in Munster and a roll of a die in East Allen County. Well, big whoop, that's exactly how it's done in many industries, including the Northern Indiana Public Service Company.

Another contract requires that a classroom carpet be cleaned efficiently. This was insisted on by the teachers because their principal was a pig. Either that, or he was too cheap to purchase a working vacuum cleaner.

Another thing Daniels and his cohorts are trying to do is take away a teachers experience when evaluating them. Well, I'll tell you how teachers in Indiana will be evaluated if all of this anti-worker legislation is passed. The teacher that plays bridge with the principles wife, or goes to church with the superintendant, or talks bad about another teacher, or is good at acting to be a good teacher is the teacher that will get a good evaluation. Simple as that. That's human nature and that's the way the world turns. It's a crock I tell you, a crock. And Daniels and the Republicans know it.

Democrats in the Indiana House are true heroes in doing everything they can to prevent these terrible pieces of legislation from being passed. And the Republicans that authored the bills in question, well, I just can't say here about what I think of them.

March to stop the freeloaders

By Leo W. Gerard - 04/01/11 09:29 AM ET

The nation’s greedy corporations and insatiable wealthy are fattening themselves on workers. There’s no trickle down. It’s the opposite; the rich have been sucking the economic lifeblood from the middle class for decades.

When reckless Wall Street banksters get taxpayer-funded bailouts, billionaires get tax breaks and gigantic corporations like GE and Bank of America pay absolutely no federal income taxes, they’re getting for free the very public services that enable them to make massive profits in this country – the courts, the roads, the trade regulators, the patent enforcement.

The middle class doesn’t get those big time special deals and loopholes. Workers pay their taxes. As a result, it’s workers footing the bill for the government services that enrich the rich. Greedy corporations, their CEOs and the right-wing politicians they buy with tens of millions in campaign cash are freeloaders.

It’s time workers stood up to the freeloaders. Join Monday’s We Are One rallies. These demonstrations across the country by religious groups, social justice organizations and labor unions will illustrate that the middle class is mad as hell and not going to take trickster economics anymore.

It’s time for greedy corporations and the insatiable rich to pay their fair share. It’s time to stop cuts to the government programs most treasured by and vital to the middle class and the vulnerable in this country – education, public transportation, Social Security.

It’s time to stop right-wing attempts to terminate democratic rights like collective bargaining and voting without harassment. It’s time for the middle class to stop paying for everything and for the insatiable rich and greedy corporations to start sharing the sacrifice required to recover from the economic crisis caused by reckless gambling by Wall Street bankster corporations.

March for your rights Monday. March for the middle class facing record rates of foreclosure, unemployment, child poverty, and loss of opportunity as country club conservatives cut off college loans and Head Start.

March for the right of college students to register and vote in the towns where they study. March for the right of workers to band together, elect representatives and bargain with employers for better pay and working conditions.

March for the right of the people to insist that corporations pay at least the same rate of taxes as workers do. March to end tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent who have now acquired more wealth than all the workers in the bottom 90 percent.

Greedy corporations, the insatiable wealthy and their purchased politicians have for three decades skewed public policy to enrich themselves while pushing down wages and benefits for the middle class.

From 1947 to 1975, a time of strong unionization in the workforce, real wages of average workers increased with productivity. The 75 percent rise in productivity and the nearly matching rise in wages gave the United States the largest, most vibrant middle class in the history of the world.

Since 1978, productivity grew 86 percent, but compensation for workers grew only 37 percent, and if the cost of benefits, mostly uncontrolled health insurance increases, is removed, the real average hourly wage did not rise for 35 years, according to Alan S. Blinder, professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University and a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Here’s how it works: The nation’s largest corporation, General Electric, earns tens of billions in profits from the labor of its workers but refuses to share the benefits with them. GE is expected to demand that its 15,000 unionized U.S. workers accept benefit cuts. So they’ll pay more for their retirement and health care and have less money to live and to pay taxes.

Meanwhile, the share of national income captured by the richest one percent rose from 8 percent in 1975 to 23.5 percent in 2005.

Under Dwight D. Eisenhower, the president in the 1950s, the nation’s richest paid an effective tax rate of 70 percent after loopholes. Today, it’s 16 percent – significantly lower than the 25 percent forked over through payroll deductions by individual workers earning between $34,500 and $83,600 a year.

That resulted from deliberate policy changes. Beginning with Ronald Reagan, country club conservatives cut taxes for the wealthy, while at the same time ending routine minimum wage increases and undermining the bargaining rights of labor.

The changes were made by increasingly wealthy politicians increasingly influenced by lobbyists. For example, 60 percent of the freshmen in the U.S. Senate and 40 percent in the U.S. House are millionaires. By contrast, only 1 percent of Americans are worth more than $1 million.

Compounding that is corporate influence, which worsened last year when the U.S. Supreme Court enabled corporations to donate unlimited money in secret. The upshot is corporations like General Electric, spending millions to lobby and paying zero in federal income taxes.

GE spent $200 million to lobby for loopholes in the federal income tax code over the past decade, made $26 billion in American profits over the past five years, and not only paid absolutely no federal income taxes, but got itself a $4.1 billion rebate from the IRS.

That is far from an anomaly. Two out of every three U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. And the situation hasn’t improved since then.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has written repeatedly about tax avoidance by the likes of Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, Wall Street banks that former President George W. Bush handed hundreds of billions in bail out dollars.

Bank of America got a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, even though it made $4.4 billion. Goldman paid only 1.1 percent in federal income taxes on its $2.3 billion in profits. New York Times reporter David Kocieniewski wrote in his story about GE that such tax dodging by corporations has resulted in a significant decline in federal revenue from corporations – from 30 percent in the 1950s to 6.6 percent in 2009.

Tax avoidance is a virtuous cycle for greedy corporations and the wealthy. They pay less in taxes, then have more money to lobby politicians to lower their taxes. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that lawmakers are hiring lobbyists right from their K Street firms to write legislation.

And Congress’ new right wingers are increasing this trend. Since they took office in January, nearly half of the 150 former lobbyists working in top policy jobs in Congress were hired.

For workers, however, it’s a vicious cycle. They’re forced to pay the taxes shirked by greedy corporations and the insatiable wealthy. And they’re forced to suffer service cut backs.

Right now, right wingers are trying to cut $51.5 billion from the federal budget – demanding elimination of programs essential to the middle class and poor such as subsidies for home heating for the impoverished.

But if the wealthy paid their share, say hedge fund manager John Paulson who earned $2.4 million an hour in 2010 – then those cuts would be unnecessary because the federal government would have an extra $69.5 billion in revenue.

Forty-three years ago on April 4 Martin Luther King was assassinated after standing up for the right of public sector workers in Memphis, Tenn. to negotiate for better lives.

In his last speech, Rev. King said God had allowed him to go to the mountaintop where he’d looked over and seen the Promised Land. “I may not get there with you,” he cautioned, “But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land.”

Greedy corporations and the wealthy have made it to the mountain top. And they’re shoving American workers down the hillside to ensure the Promised Land is reserved only for the richest.

The promise of America democracy is equality. Equal rights, equal treatment under the law, equal opportunity. Freeloading by greedy corporations and the insatiable wealthy is denying those promises to the vast majority of citizens. Americans must unify and march to wrest back those rights and secure the American Dream for all.

Take a first step. Join one of the 600 We Are One demonstrations on April 4.

Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers union,  also is a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Committee and chairs the labor federation’s Public Policy Committee.


Roxanne D. Brown
Assistant Legislative Director
United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy,
Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW)
1150 17th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
202-778-4384 - Phone
202-293-5308 - Fax

Garden Time

Those of you who are interested in a vegetable garden should get started preparing your soil and think about what you want to plant.

Grapes should have been pruned in February but if you failed to do that, better get it done now.

It's not too early to plant lettuce in the ground as well as onions.

I usually wait until Good Friday to plant potatoes.

A Prayer for Workers on the Occasion of the We Are One Mobilization, April 1-4

Almighty God,

We are gathered here today in fellowship and in hope
As women and men committed to justice and freedom,
And as people who honor the dignity and rights of all working people.
We recall today the life and the hope of Martin Luther King, Jr.
And we remember today his vision of a just society, a beloved community.

We have been to the mountaintop,
And we have seen the Promised Land

Even as Dr. King courageously stood with sanitation workers in 1968,
So we stand today with teachers, firefighters, police officers,
And all workers whose rights are today imperiled across this nation
We know, God, that your Spirit is among us
And that Dr. King’s vision abides in our hearts.

We have been to the mountaintop,
And we have seen the Promised Land

We see in one another and in our working brothers and sisters
Your divine signature, God, and we lift it up this day.
We offer this common prayer in one voice to you,
In one mighty chorus across the nation.

We have been to the mountaintop,
And we have seen the Promised Land

God of Compassion and Mercy,
We ask that you remain with us and strengthen us
As we endeavor to ensure that freedom prevails for working people,
And that your divine signature is never obscured by injustice.

We have been to the mountaintop,
And we have seen the Promised Land

We ask that you guide us today and in the days to come
That we may all one day arrive in the Promised Land
As a beloved community, a great fellowship of men and women
Committed to the dignity and welfare and freedom of all people.

We have been to the mountaintop,
And we have seen the Promised Land

We ask for these things
In the sure knowledge that justice
Will triumph.

Amen.

source: Interfaith Worker Justice

Democrats Return, but the Republicans are Still Here

Although the Democrat members of the Indiana House are returning, look for the Republicans to continue their attack on Hoosier working families.

Never before in my memory have Republicans been so blatant in their attempt to hurt the middle class. They sure have made it clear as a bell who they're working for.

I know that the Democrats were able to negotiate some positive changes to what the Republicans were trying to do, but they could only do so much.

I sure hope the eyes of Hoosiers have been opened through all of this.

I hope everyone realizes that Republicans are no longer real Republicans but are instead mean spirited, intolerant and in the pockets of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the National Right to Work Committee and their rich pals.

Absolutely shameful what they are trying to do.

I know that some are calling this a victory for Indiana workers, but I think to have such rubber stamp politicians licking the boots of some National Right to Work Committee is down right shameful and the guy who authored the "take away bargaining rights for working conditions" for teachers (State Senator, Ed Charbonneau) is on the very bottom of a very nasty pile.

Attack On Unions is an Attack on the Middle Class

The recent attack on unions in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states is a continuing attack waged against the working class, which has now become obvious to all.

We have observed the systematic dismantling of the middle class over the last 30 years and now it has reached transparency in a war waged against unions. The conservative Republicans, sponsored by big money interests, know that in order to gain complete control of our economic system and the transfer of wealth (that has been going on for some time), unions are the only institutions and firewall protecting workers and the middle-class.

If unions are destroyed or made ineffective, there is no other institution or organization that can help to protect all workers. And make no mistake about it, this is true whether one is in a union or not.

The facts are clear. As union membership has declined, the status of all workers-union and non-union has declined. Union workers make more money, have better benefits and most importantly provide workers with democracy on the job and due process that otherwise would not exist.

The attack on public workers is just an extension of the attack on private sector workers and their unions that has been going for years. And, if these attacks are successful, the result will affect all workers.

We should all be outraged by what is happening. Think about it. Wall Street and the banking industry and money brokers created the recession, loss of jobs and the resulting financial problems for the government on a Federal, State and Local level. 401(k) plans and pension plans are also adversely affected by these misdeeds. And, tax breaks given to the same people and those who have outsourced our jobs are making matters worse and being used as an excuse to attack workers.

Bill Gibbons, SOAR PACE Board Member

Debunk The Myths About Social Security

I’m tired about writing on the continuing attacks on Social Security. I feel like the boy who cried wolf one too many times. But here we go again; Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, despite its overwhelming opposition by the vast majority of Americans.

Let’s be clear, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are not responsible for adding money to the deficit. As I have stated many times before, the responsibility lies with corporate greed and out-of-control military spending.

Congress needs to hear from all of us. Strengthening Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, not weakening them is what the majority of Americans want. Just a few weeks ago, Congress approved huge tax cuts to the wealthy, and now they expect us to pay for them by cutting essential social programs.

Enough is enough! Social Security and Medicare provide essential supports to millions of retirees and disabled workers. The projections are clear. The financing of Social Security poses no major problem – it is projected to be fully solvent for almost 30 years with no changes whatsoever. Medicare poses a problem only because the private health care system is broken.

We must continue to debunk the myths that are coming out of Washington. Every time you hear someone say Social Security is going broke, set them straight! Social Security is not busted and it’s not broke! It has no impact on the deficit - it is self funding. If you want to fix Social Security, raise the cap so everyone pays their fair share.

Continue going to your elected Representatives Town Hall Meetings and tell them to strengthen Social Security, not weaken it! Continue writing letters and making phone calls. If we are to defend and strengthen these vital programs, our elected representatives must hear from us and they must know the consequences of voting against us!

Jim Centner, Director
Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees

The Assault Continues

All across the country, in state house after state house, the attack on the American worker continues. It doesn’t matter if you are a janitor, teacher, or a steelworker; you are now considered fair game by the extremists in the Republican Party.

The debacle that is playing itself out in Wisconsin is just one example of the onslaught on the middle class. The Governor in Ohio is out to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers in his state. Conservatives in Iowa, Indiana, Rhode Island and elsewhere are supporting Right-to-Work legislation in their state houses to weaken unions and destroy collective bargaining gains achieved over the last 50 years.

All of this is being done on the misguided notion that it’s the unions’ fault that our economy is in shambles. All the while, ignoring, the fact, that the lending and investing practices of the Wall Street elite and our misguided trade policies, caused the worst recession since the Great Depression. Simply put, the Republicans view our current economic crisis as an opportunity to gut public employee unions and to attack organized labor in general.

What is the motive? Is this an opportunity for them to pay back their supporters, the Wall Street insiders and their Corporate masters? Is it an attempt to silence the only real voice of Middle America or is it simply union busting?

Our nation is in crisis. The quickest way out is to put America back to work! We are not going to solve this problem by cutting salaries and benefits of public employees or destroying collective bargaining rights. We will solve it with strong unions and jobs!

Connie Entrekin, SOAR President

Indiana Senator Ed Charbonneau is Bad for Indiana

Whether to allow teachers in Indiana to continue to be able to bargain for working conditions seems to me to be a no brainer. Indiana Republicans seem to have a very poor understanding of what a union even is.

Items that appear in local union contracts which on the surface might seem strange or unusual to most people, have no doubt been placed there for a very good reason at some time in the history of that community of workers.

Anyone who has ever done any work for any entity knows full well that in every group of management there usually can be found at least one wild eyed, crazy acting, member that has no regard for the safety or an understanding of the human behavior of workers causing workers to be harassed, threatened or miserable. School administrators are no different. Some of them are really good and some are simple minded, hard headed egotistical nincompoops.

I can imagine some crazed administrator insisting that the temperature in classrooms be set higher or lower than that which is most conducive to learning. I can imagine how disruptive and miserable a work day could be for a teacher if an administer had a Captain Queeg complex.

Without agreed upon rules between teachers and administration officials, only bad things can be the result and the children who are trying to learn would be the most affected.

Why Republicans in Indiana are so afraid of allowing teachers this basic right to negotiate working conditions cannot be understood by me.

My own Indiana State Senator, Ed Charbonneau, in Indiana’s District 5, not only voted for this lousy assault on teachers but has the distinction of being one that authored or sponsored the darned thing.

Mr. Charbonneau knows better. He knows what a union is.

Governor Daniels and Indiana Senator Ed Charbonneau Anti-Union

Tell Congress: Don't Take Away Help for Seniors

This week is the first anniversary of President Obama signing the health reform law, which helps millions of retirees afford to see a doctor and fill a prescription.

But the big insurance companies want Congress to stop this. Tell Congress Today: Don’t Take Away Help for America’s Seniors.

The insurance lobbyists and their friends on Capitol Hill want to do away with a law that:

• Lowers prescription drug costs
• Closes the “Doughnut Hole” in Medicare Part D
• Eliminates co-pays and deductibles for preventive tests and screenings
• Provides free annual wellness visit with your doctor
• Helps early retirees keep their health care
• Assists middle-class families with cost of long-term care
• Adds 12 years to solvency of Medicare Trust Fund and cracks down on Medicare fraud

Medicare should take better care of seniors than big corporations. Tell Congress Today: Keep New Health Benefits for Retirees.

Standing Up For Social Security

I Want Ed Charbonneau to Have to Bargain With Me

My Indiana State Senator, Ed Charbonneau wants a law passed to prevent teacher unions from being able to bargain for work rules or conditions.  Maybe he would like to author/sponsor a law that would require himself, as a public servant, to meet the same standards as those that he wishes to impose on our teachers.

Maybe he will consider authoring a law that would require him to collectively bargain with the public for his wages, health care premiums, pension benefits, office space, furnishings, supplies, staff, utilities, phones, travel and above all, certify his election annually?

Our Dred Scott, Oh so True

No Rest for Walker

Indianapolis Rally Against Anti-Union Legislators

USW Slams Walker's Assault on Democracy

(Pittsburgh) – This statement was released this morning by the United Steelworkers (USW) on actions taken last evening by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Republican Senators.

In a clear violation of Wisconsin’s open meeting law, Wisconsin conservative senators yesterday voted without a quorum to strip the state’s public sector workers – teachers, nurses, and librarians – of collective bargaining rights that the people of Wisconsin granted them a half century ago.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                          
March 10, 2011                                                                                                                           
CONTACT:   Wayne Ranick (412) 562-2444

United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard said this attack on the rights of Wisconsin’s public sector workers is an attack on all working people. “Although Wisconsin law requires a quorum when Senators vote to spend the people’s money, these conservatives exploited a loophole to vote without a quorum on legislation to steal workers’ rights. This is not democracy,” Gerard said.

“As illustrated by the surging crowd of protesters who filled the capitol building in Wisconsin after the undemocratic sneak-vote Wednesday, workers everywhere, whether public sector or private sector, union or unrepresented, will unite to win back their rights with their feet at protests and their votes at ballot boxes,” said Gerard, who leads North America’s largest industrial union, with 850,000 members, including steelworkers, paper workers, oil workers, rubber workers and public sector workers in the U.S. and Canada.

The conservative attack on workers in Wisconsin is far from isolated, Gerard said: “This is a nation-wide campaign by billionaires and country-club conservatives, to terminate workers’ rights, giving unfettered power to corporations.” So far in Wisconsin, conservatives have granted only government workers the right to freeload – the ability to benefit from collective bargaining without paying union dues. In nine other states, from Maine to Missouri, conservatives are pushing right to freeload legislation to cripple all unions.

“All this legislation is an attack on the middle class, which blossomed in this country as a result of collective bargaining victories during the middle of the last century. Middle-class workers, whether Republican or Democrat, know they must repel this assault on their right to collectively bargain or be reduced to insecurity and poverty,” Gerard said.

Anti Worker Indiana Legislators

If people in Wisconsin think that the Republicans in their state legislature are acting improperly and against the best interests of the people who work for a living in Wisconsin, they shouldn't feel pregnant because we have Republicans in the Indiana General Assembly that are just as bad.

My own State Senator, Ed Charbonneau would fit in just fine up in Wisconsin. His willingness to take away bargaining rights from Indiana's teachers has given him that distinction.

First They came

By Pastor Martin Niemoller

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

An Open Letter to our Friends, Neighbors and State Politicians

Today, we are writing this open letter to our friends, neighbors, and state politicians. Over the past couple of weeks, democratic representatives have walked out of the State House and are taking a stand against legislation that will have long-term ramifications on Hoosier families. We applaud them for there tenacity and courage. The working families in Indiana will never forget their decision.

The common threads on the bills before them are singular – they enhance the powerful and erode the rights and privileges of working families and their children. So-called right-to-work legislation is a thinly veiled attempt to silence the voices of Indiana working people. The legislation at creating more charter schools and diverting already scarce funds out of the public school system and into pseudo-regulated private enterprise can only damage the future of education in Indiana. These things cannot be taken lightly.

We are in a unique position in time. Men and women that will probably not be here to see the results of their decision-making are determining what the future holds for our children and future generations. That is unfortunate and the stakes are high. These decisions will affect the social, economic and life building abilities of our children and grandchildren. There can be no future without access to a decent and affordable education. There can be no viable future for families without the ability to make a living wage. There can be no future for a house built on sand.

The state of working families is in the hands of the Indiana legislature. Think hard before you cast that vote against us. Deliberate long and realize that after your last election is over, Hoosiers across the state will live by these acts for better or for worse. Lastly, choose wisely the legacy you leave our children.

USW Local Union 809 President, Jeff Hooker
USW Local Union 5840  President, Russ Oberg 
USW Local Union 9550 President, Chuck Owens
USW Local Union 6805 President, Rick Richardson
USW Local Union 905 President, Tina Smythe
USW Local Union 12273  President, Frank Troyer
USW Local Union 1052 President, Nena Defeberche

Do Canadians Love Their Health Care? You Bet They Do. Watch This.

Think About It

Why in tarnation would my Indiana State Senator, Ed Charbonnaeu, Republican in Senate District 5 propose to take away the ability of teachers to bargain over working conditions.
He knows full well the value of this right. So why is he wanting to take rights away from our teachers?

This is truly a slap in the face of working men and women all over our great state and he should do his best to put a stop to what he started.

What's next? Will he some day propose to take the right to bargain working conditions away from people who work in the steel mills or for NIPSCO as well?

The attempt to take this right away from workers is disgusting.......pitiful........no excuse.

Hoosier Manufacturing Summit - All are Invited

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Fellow Hoosier,

It is my pleasure to invite you to Playing to Win: Indiana's Future as America's Manufacturing Leader, a summit discussing the Hoosier manufacturing tradition and how we can innovate in order to continue to lead in this field. At this event, I will be hosting experts in the manufacturing sector from around the State of Indiana. Leaders from the automotive industry, trade representatives, business professors, and other manufacturing professionals from across the sector who will gather to share ideas and best practices for out-working and out-innovating the competition.

The first panel, entitled, Racing toward Tomorrow: A Sector-Specific Profile of the Automotive Industry, will tackle the current status of the automotive industry in Indiana and how we can continue to lead in this field. The second panel, entitled, Developing a Winning Game Plan: Policy Prescriptions for continued Growth, will cover the future of the manufacturing sector more broadly and panelists will cover topics such as retooling, workforce training, trade imbalances, and market trends. All panelists will focus on Indiana's role as a current and future leader in this sector and there will be time for a question and answer session with the audience for each panel. I hope that you, as a stakeholder with insight to offer in this field, will join us for this discussion.

Date: Monday, March 7, 2011

Time: Check-in begins at 8:15 a.m. EST

First panel discussion begins at 8:45 a.m. EST

Summit will end no later than 12:00 p.m. EST

Place: Ivy Tech Community College's North Meridian Campus

4th Floor Auditorium

North Meridian Center

Corner of Meridian St. and Fall Creek Pkwy.

Indianapolis, IN 46208

To RSVP, please email manufacturing.summit@mail.house.gov with your name, company or school affiliation, and contact information.

Thank you for your consideration, and I hope you are able to join me in this discussion on Indiana's economic future next month.

Sincerely,

Joe Donnelly,

Congressman Joe Donnelly (IN-02)

Workers and Retirees Still Threatened

Public Workers in Wisconsin, Ohio Still Threatened; Retirees Continue to Protest

Wisconsin’s budget stalemate over union bargaining rights shows no sign of resolution, and it could be a long wait, according to the Associated Press. Governor Scott Walker (R) isn’t budging; Democrats in the state Senate who are gone are not planning to come back; and, despite talk of deadlines and threats of layoffs, the state doesn't have to pass a budget to pay its bills until at least May. Even then, there may be other options that could extend the standoff. The bill passed the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly last week after nearly three days of debate. Republicans in the Senate say they have enough votes to pass it once Democrats return.

Further east on Wednesday, the Ohio Senate approved a sweeping bill that would weaken the powers of public employee unions to negotiate contracts, propelling Ohio into the forefront of states seeking to revise public-sector labor laws. Like their counterparts in Wisconsin, demonstrators accused lawmakers of trying to use a budget crisis to destroy public-sector unions. But unlike in Wisconsin, Democratic lawmakers there did not have the numbers to delay the legislation through a walkout. The vote came after more than 8,000 union supporters descended on the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to protest. The GOP-sponsored bill passed the Senate 17 to 16, with six Republicans voting against it. According to The Washington Post, as the roll call finished, dozens of union supporters in the Senate gallery chanted, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” Screeches and shouts echoed down the corridors of the Statehouse, where hundreds of opponents of the bill had gathered.

The bill next goes to the state House, where it is expected to pass, and then to the desk of Gov. John Kasich (R), who is expected to sign it. According to the Post, by including police and firefighters unions, the Ohio bill goes even further than the one under consideration in Wisconsin. There, Gov. Walker has gained national attention by railing against the power of public unions, but he exempted police and firemen from his plan to strip collective bargaining rights. Ohio Republicans revised the bill to restore collective bargaining on issues including wages and hours, but they also extended an existing ban on strikes to include teachers, and they blocked binding arbitration, giving the final say in contract disputes to the government.

The changes don’t maintain workers’ ability to bargain on a wide range of contractual issues, such as pensions and health benefits, as well as on such matters as equipment for police officers and firefighters. Making strikes illegal for all public workers, their supporters argue, effectively neutralizes the power of collective bargaining and removes the incentive to come to the table. Opponents of the legislation said they are already planning to fight it with a ballot challenge. If it gathers enough signatures, the challenge would give voters a direct say on the measure this November. “Public workers did not cause the crisis, and blaming them for it will only serve to decimate the middle class,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance.

96 Cities Protest Cuts to Social Security Administration
House Republicans voted on February 19 to cut $1.7 billion from the Social Security Administration (SSA) budget in 2011, and that could result in workers being furloughed for up to 1 month over the next 7 months. As a result, Social Security office doors may be temporarily closed, phones will not be answered, and claims processing will grind to a halt. On a Wednesday conference call with reporters and Social Security policy experts, U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and other national leaders demanded a halt to the deep cuts to SSA. During the call, Richard Fiesta, Director of the Department of Government and Political Affairs at the Alliance, said, “These cuts are nothing but cuts for cutting’s sake. Social Security does not contribute a penny to our deficit -- both benefits and the cost of running SSA offices are funded by worker and employer contributions.”

The same day, retirees and SSA employees in 96 cities held informational pickets outside Social Security offices to draw attention to the devastating effects the cuts would have on services. For more information on these actions, go to http://strengthensocialsecurity.org/social-security-keep-it-working. Also, tens of thousands of Alliance members were asked to call their senators this week to drive home the message that the Social Security Administration cuts would hurt thousands of Americans. For a state-by-state analysis of the potential losses Social Security recipients would see, go to http://bit.ly/ihFxtF. Check out http://bit.ly/eVgLZ7 and http://bit.ly/8YG9i0 for photos and videos from Washington state protests of the cuts to SSA.  For Florida, go to http://bit.ly/hrbWYv and http://bit.ly/gxmY2s, and for protest photos from Ohio, go to http://bit.ly/eFJqgy.

Obama to Republican Governors: Opt Out of Health Care Law if You Can Do Better
Since its passage, Republican Governors have asked for flexibility in implementing the health care reform law—and they recently received it. During the Governor’s annual meeting at the White House on Monday, President Obama endorsed a bi-partisan proposal that would allow states to opt-out of implementing the health care reform law, as early as 2014. However, there is a major caveat: state officials must replace the health care reforms with a program that has the same level of effectiveness. This move has been characterized as Obama’s way of “calling the bluff” of Republicans. Many Republican Governors have expressed ideas for how they would implement health care in their respective states, but none of them have produced a plan that provides the same level of coverage, to the same amount of people, for a comparable price.

Factcheck.org Gets a Social Security Fact Wrong
A recent article published by Factcheck.org incorrectly reported that Social Security will face a $45 billion deficit this year. Additionally, the article reported that the program is “in the red.” However, this is simply not true. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the program will bring in $45 billion less in payroll taxes than it did last year. However, the Social Security trust fund, which currently contains $2.6 trillion, will earn $118 billion in interest this year. Therefore, overall, Social Security will not be running a deficit in 2011. The program will pay 100 percent of expected benefits this year and every year until 2037, without contributing to the national debt. “We hope that seniors will remain skeptical of people who try to convince them that Social Security is not financially solvent,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “The program is financially solvent and will remain that way well into the future.”

Source: Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert of March 4, 2011

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