Terry Jones Tells the Northwest Arkansas Times

Editorial On Unions Cheap Shot

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Your recent editorial blaming unions for the troubles of the U.S. Postal Service (March 5) is another conservative cheap shot.

In the early years, providing health care benefits instead of giving deserved increases in salaries was regarded as a benefit to companies - not to the workers. Companies like the Postal Service also started providing pensions instead of raises because it was cheaper. Now health care prices have skyrocketed due to free enterprise. Interest rates are almost at zero in an attemptby the feds to bail out failing corporations, so pensions are also suffering on corporate books.

Now just what is it that the postal union has done? It accepted the cheap benefits provided by its contract with the U.S. Postal Service instead of fighting for fairer wages. Now you conservative-Republicanfree-enterprisers would like to rob the postal workers of both medical insurance and pensions so the service won’t have to raise the price of stamps.

How Enron-ic of you. Unions did not hijack the Postal Service.

Stupid management, greed and lack of foresight on the part ofexecutives hijacked the Postal Service. But that is the American way. Blaming unions for the failure of corporations and blaming the victims of medical malpractice for the cost of health insurance are just lame excuses for corporate mismanagement.

There are hundreds of things the Postal Service can do - like closing small post office branches - to reduce costs and meet its commitments.

When did it become popular for this newspaper to kick the little guys?

TERRY JONES / Fayetteville

Northwest Arkansas Times, Opinion, Page 5 on 03/23/2010

House Approves Historic Health Care Reform

In an historic vote more than 60 years in the making, the House of Representatives late last night voted to approve(219-211) what AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls a "momentous step toward comprehensive health care.”

The bill survived a $100 million lie-and-distortion campaign by Big Insurance to kill it-the same kind of tactics these groups have aimed at health care proposals forsix decades. Trumka says the bill is not “a baby step or half measure,” but a solid step forward to set our country on a path to health care that actually works for working families.

After personally calling dozens of House members on Friday, Trumka spent the weekend meeting with House members to firm up votes in favor of the bill. On Capitol Hill today, Trumka joined two workers-among the millions in this nation for whom passage of this health care bill means the difference between food and health care.

One of the workers, Liz Stender, lost her job in August while four months pregnant, and described how COBRA, which extends her health coverage, will run out next month. Now working part-time, Stender, a member of the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America,won’t be able to afford health coverage for herself or her small daughter–and today’s passage of the health care bill literally means the difference between groceries and insurance. Judy Cato, a member of the Alliance for Retired Americans, who also joined Trumka, described how the legislation will allow her and other Medicare beneficiaries to get mammograms and other preventive screenings without co-payments.

In a letter Friday to House members urging passage of the bill, Trumka wrote “the bill is not perfect.”

But we are realistic enough to know it’s time for the deliberations to stop and for progress to begin. And we are idealistic enough to believe this is an opportunity to change history we can’t afford to miss.

Union Members Made the Difference

Throughout the health care battle, mobilized union members provided a strong and visible counterpoint to the insurance giants’ television and lobbying blitz. Union members made more than 4 million phone calls and sent more than 1 million emails to lawmakers.Leaders flew to Washington and visited members of Congress in their districts, making more than 10,000 contacts.

In addition, canvassers from Working America, the AFL-CIO community affiliate talked to more than 210,000 people abouthealth care at their front doors, generating 30,000 health care petition signatures,31,000 phone callsto Congress, 40,000 e-mails and75,000 hand-written letters urginglawmakersto passhealth care reform.

The contacts not only helped win approval of health care reform, they improved the bill and ensured that its financing would be fairer.Pressure from working families and visits and phone callsfrom union leaders to lawmkers eliminated 85 percent of a tax on health care benefits that would have slammed working families–union and non-union. That same activism helpedstrengthen the bill’s employer responsibility provisions by requiring employers to shoulder more of their fair share.

As originally proposed last year, the benefits tax would have slammed working families–union and non-union. Butpressure from working families and visits and phone callsfrom union leaders to lawmkers only eliminated 85 percent of the tax bite. That same activism helpedstrengthen the bill’s employer responsibility provisions by requiring employers to more of their fair share.

In the days leading up to the vote, union members (see video) and leaders were on Capitol Hill and at representatives’ home district offices urging wavering lawmakers to back the health care bill.

In Fresno Calif., Friday, union members rallied outside Rep. Jim Costa’s (D) office. Later, Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, flew to Washington to meet with fence-sitting California lawmakers. Yesterday Costa announced he would vote in favor of health care reform.

AFL-CIO President Emeritus John Sweeney was on the phones, too. Several Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about the bill’s language on abortions. Sweeney, a devout Catholic, talked to the representatives about the Catholic Church’s long-history of fighting for social and economic justice and how providing health care for32 million additional people follows that teaching.

While union members attempted to persuade the undecided, they also warned lawmakers they would beheld accountable if they turned their backs on working families and voted against health care reform.

In Pennsylvania Friday, Rep. Jason Altmire (D), who courted and won union support for his election, announced he was voting against the bill. Yesterday, several dozen United Steelworkers (USW) members and retirees staged a sit-in at his Aliquippa office. Said Rick Galiano, president of USW Local 9305 in Beaver Falls, Pa.:

We busted our humps working for Jason Altmire and many other politicians who time and time again promise us that they’ll work for us and working families across America. We are tired of the broken promises. We helped Congressman Altmire win this seat because he vowed he would vote for health insurance reform. We’re here today urging him to keep that promise.

Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y), who narrowly won his last election-union family votes put him over the top-announced Thursday he would vote against the bill. On Friday, New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes and 20 other New York labor leaders sent Arcuri a letter saying his health care vote will have consequences.

Our members look for elected officials who have the courage to stand up to lies, distortions and political scare tactics. Your vote this Sunday will tell them what kind of elected official you are. Please do not disappoint them or us.

Yesterday, Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes and more than two dozen Bay State union leaders urged Rep. Stephen Lynch (D) to reconsider his announced “No” vote. They wrote:

If Congress passes this legislation, together, we can continue to strengthen consumer protections, increase market competition, and ensure that insurance companies no longer have a stranglehold on consumers. If Congress doesn’t pass the bill, none of this is possible. All we are left with is the status quo.

Congressman, we will not be able to explain to the working women and men of our union why you voted against their interests.

What Does the Bill Do?

In a video message to working families, Trumka says that at its core, the bill

means long-term health security–and that’s the most important thing for your future, and your children and their children.

Among other benefits, the health care reform bill

bans coverage denials or higher rates due to pre-existing conditions and outlaws the practice of insurers dropping coverage when someone files a claim or is diagnosed with a condition requiring expensive treatment. It covers an additional 32 million people, or 95 percent of the population.

The bill ends gender discrimination in setting insurance rates and establishes a procedure to review insurance premium increases and take action against unreasonable rate hikes.

It also makes improvements in the original Senate-passed version, such as not placing the cost of the bill on the backs of working families.

• It eliminates 85 percent of the tax on benefits that would have penalized working families.
• It substitutes in its place a progressive tax on the wealthy that requires Medicare contributions be paid on unearned income for the first time.
• It increases subsidies to purchase health insurance for low and moderate income people.

On the benefits tax, Trumka says:

We continue to think the excise tax is the wrong way to contain costs, but the changes included in the corrections bill cut the tax back deeply, so that it now eliminates 85 percent of the tax for all working families–both non-union and union–whose health benefits cost more due to factors beyond their control.

The bill also cuts brand-name drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries by 50 percent in 2011, and closes the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” completely by 2020. Stella Johnson, a retired school teacher and member of the Alliance for Retired Americans is one of 3 million seniors who each year falls in the donut hole.

At a press conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week, Johnson said her prescriptions become even more costly when she is forced to pay full price as result of the donut hole.

It is very hard for me to make ends meet. I have to choose between taking the medicines I need and paying my monthly bills. Because my prescriptions cost so much, I fall behind on some of my bills. When I get hit with late penalties, things get even worse.

The health care bill will help seniors like me who struggle every day to afford the prescriptions they must have.

Trumka says the bill is a “solid foundation” and the union movement will “continue our efforts to improve our health care system.”

We need to do more to bring employers into the system. We need to do more to bring down costs-and one of the best ways to do that is with a public health insurance option. And it will be critical to build on the reforms in the bill designed to change the way health care is delivered, so that we reward value rather than volume.

The Senate now must vote again, but this time Republican obstructionists will not be able to filibuster the bill because it will only require a simply majority to pass.

Important Meeting this Thursday, March 25th

The Northwest Arkansas Labor Council will meet at 5:30 on Thursday, March 25th. First on our agenda is Joe Holland, a Senior Staff Representative with the National AFL-CIO for almost 14 years, assigned to coordinate our Northwest Arkansas political activity in the U.S. Senate primary campaign. I think you’ll like Joe, who is a 3rd generation coal miner from Kentucky and proud UMWA Member for over 37 years.

We will also be reviewing the candidate questionnaires and recommending endorsements by the Arkansas AFL-CIO for two Arkansas Supreme Court Justices and for the Arkansas House of Representatives, District 92, Democratic Primary between Greg Leding and Bill Ramsey. In addition, we will review and make endorsements in two non-partisan Circuit Judge contests in the 4th District (Washington and Madison), the Republican Primary races for County Judge and Sheriff in Benton County, and the Democratic Primary race for Madison County Judge.

It's Time for Sensible Immigration Reform

Yesterday President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to drive an immigration reform bill forward this spring. We echo the urgency in the President’s message.

The AFL-CIO and the entire labor movement remain committed to comprehensive immigration reform and united around the framework for reform that we put forth a year ago. Our framework protects American workers, secures our borders, ensures that employers hire authorized workers and creates a path to citizenship for those who came to our country illegally. It also provides a rational and reasonable approach to future flow, which ties the number of new foreign workers coming into the US labor market to established labor shortages. Under our approach, the numbers—which would be established through an independent commission—would be much higher during robust economic times than they would be in times like today. The advocacy community, including the Reform Immigration for America campaign of which we are a member, has adopted this same approach.

American workers are facing a prolonged jobs crisis and nearly 10% unemployment, with no sign of recovery in sight. If immigration reform is to have any chance of passing this year, the Chamber of Commerce is going to have to abandon its insistence on the creation of a new temporary worker program and embrace a solution based on real employment needs. A new temporary worker program in today’s economy would be political suicide, and the Chamber must know that.

We need immigration reform now. The more we delay, the worse the problem becomes. It’s time to move forward and stop playing politics with a problem we should have fixed a long time ago.

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
on Immigration Reform
March 12, 2010

Please Take this Online Survey on NWA's Economic Future

The Northwest Arkansas Council, a business group funded by major corporate players, is in the process of developing a Strategic Regional Economic Development Plan for the four-county region of Northwest Arkansas. They have hired a consultant from out of state to interview "business leaders" about what they see as problems and what they want. They are not asking local unions or working families to participate in their focus groups or interviews about their concerns, their opinions about the region, or hopes for a better future.

This corporate group will then get the regional planning commission to adopt their economic priorities and control future economic development decisions in Northwest Arkansas. The only way to have any say at all is to participate in an online survey, and tell them what working families think about Northwest Arkansas and its economic future. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey, then pass it along and ASK YOUR MEMBERS TO ANSWER THE SURVEY QUESTIONS.

Click on this link: http://greaternorthwestarkansas.com/surveys.html

Let working families be heard.

Arkansas AFL-CIO Executive Board Recommended Endorsements

After a lengthy discussion about Senator Lincoln's position on Healthcare, the appointment of Greg Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, the Employee Free Choice Act, and trade issues, the Arkansas AFL-CIO Executive Board voted to support Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter for his candidacy in the Democratic Primary for the United States Senate. We believe that Bill Halter will listen to Arkansas' working families and support their issues in Washington as he has done as Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas.

Also, a recommendation for endorsement has been made for Senator Joyce Elliott for United States Congress District 2. The board believes she will be a candidate that will listen to working families in Arkansas and their needs as she has in the State House and State Senate.

For more information or if you have any questions please contact our office at 501-375-9101 or araflcio@swbell.net.

Sincerely,

Alan B. Hughes, President

NWA Green Jobs Training Center!

“The Fayetteville Green Jobs Training Center of Excellence will soon be a reality. Thanks to everyone involved in helping make this happen. I had lots of help. Joining me yesterday were Alderman Sarah Lewis, Representative Lindsley Smith, UA Engineering Professor Panneer Selvam, Stephen Smith from the Northwest Arkansas Labor Council, and Steve Clark from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, all of whom have been working to make this happen. Chief of Staff Don Marr, Senator Sue Madison, and Peggy Gabriel from the UA College of Engineering, as well as other members of my staff, have been involved but were unable to attend the announcement. The important thing is that we are taking steps to put people to work in green jobs that will save energy and money for local residents and businesses.” -- Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, AFSCME Local 965


Northwest Arkansas Lands Green Jobs Training Center

By Skip Descant

Saturday, February 27, 2010

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES— The next crop of energy auditors or energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning specialists could come from Northwest Arkansas.

Gov. Mike Beebe announced the launch of two green-job training centers in the state Friday. One will be based at NorthWest Arkansas Community College and the other at Pulaski Technical College’s North Little Rock campus. The two programs will be funded for the next three years with more than $2.5 million in federal grants.

No official start date has been set, but officials say they’d like to get the program off the ground in June.

In Northwest Arkansas, the job-training program will be based in Bentonville with some coursework in Fayetteville, said Becky Paneitz, NWACC president of the community college, speaking after a news conference in North Little Rock where Beebe made the announcement.

NWACC’s corporate learning center in north Fayetteville at the corner of Joyce Boulevard and College Avenue will house the classroom portion of the training program, while “lab-type work” will happen at the school’s main campus in Bentonville, said Beau Walker, interim director of public relations at NWACC.

“This is good not just for the city of Fayetteville, but the whole region,” said Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan. Jordan traveled to Little Rock to attend Beebe’s news conference.

“I really believe that between the two schools, we’ll be able to open a new job market for the whole state,” Jordan said.

Establishing a green job training center in Northwest Arkansas was a prominent plank in Jordan’s bid for Fayetteville mayor in 2008.

“Today teaches you that if you stay after something long enough and stay after it, it will come to pass,” Jordan said.

He was joined at Friday’s announcement by Steve Clark, president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce; Sarah Lewis, Fayetteville City Council member; and state Rep. Lindsley Smith (D-Fayetteville), who is also employed as Jordan’s communications director for Fayetteville. A host of officials from NWACC also attended the event.

Rick Mayes, director of building sciences at NWACC, will serve as director for the program. A program coordinator will begin work in mid-March, Walker said. The program coordinator will work to certify the new program with nationally known organizations such as the Building Performance Institute, the Residential Energy Services Network, Air-Conditioning Contractors of America and the Florida Solar Institute.

“This project is really geared toward weatherization for the state of Arkansas,” Paneitz said.

“One of the many goals for the Center of Excellence is to help bring lacking standardization to the state of Arkansas by training an educated, qualified workforce,” Walker added.

“It’s extremely important to the economic development for this region,” Paneitz added.

The coursework is being designed so that most professional certification training will take several days to several weeks depending on how the classes are scheduled. It’s not yet clear how much the classes will cost.

The state has said it wants to offer a minimum of 60 courses in the next three years, training at least 600 workers. The U.S. Department of Energy issued a $7.4 million grant to pay for the program. NWACC was awarded $1,356,088 and Pulaski Tech was awarded $1,231,202. The grants, which are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be administered by the Arkansas Energy Office, a division of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Roughly $4.9 million will be used by NWACC and Pulaski Tech to develop mobile training units that will visit the state’s other community colleges to provide the training.

Beebe said the money will allow the schools to “be able to train folks for the jobs of tomorrow, not the jobs of yesterday, the jobs of tomorrow.”

“(The program) marries environmental protection with economic development and it creates jobs for folks that will be long-lasting for the foreseeable future,” the governor said.

Organizers say they hope to identify more funding sources for future classes.

“The Centers of Excellence are charged with making this initiative sustainable and we anticipate other correlating funding will be designated to implement additional projects related to alternative energy such as wind, solar and geothermal,” Mayes said .

Initially, the training will include licensing and certifying professionals already working in these job sectors, say NWACC officials.

Local job watchers are praising the announcement.

“One of the great things about NWACC’s new offerings is that they will be shaped by the needs of our community,” said Keaton Smith, who leads Jordan’s Fayetteville Forward green economy group. “Programming will be fluid to meet consumer demand for new innovations and trends in the marketplace.”

“It is another key step in building a science, business and technology cluster,” said Steve Rust, president and CEO of Green Valley Development in Fayetteville. Green Valley Development is an economic development group charged with attracting and growing companies in the green-tech job sector.

More training in the green building sector will assist a growing move to build more energy-efficient buildings, said Karen Stewart, an environmental consultant with EcoPotential, a Springdale firm that offers training and consulting for environmental building certification in areas like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, also know as LEED.

“They go hand in hand,” Stewart said, pointing to a November 2009 report by the Green Building Council that shows green building will support 7.9 million jobs nationwide and pump $554 billion into the American economy — including $396 billion in wages — over the next four years.

“So this is really what needs to happen in Northwest Arkansas,” Stewart said.

Labor leaders say the training centers will be a boost for jobs.

“Even in Northwest Arkansas we’re running 7 percent unemployment, and this is the first step to get this set up to get the certification people need and I think, put more people in the workforce,” said Stephen Smith, president of the Arkansas Labor Council, which worked closely with officials in Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas, NWACC and others to secure the training center.

“We can then move on for more cooperation for more advanced job training in areas like solar and wind energy,” Smith added.

The Arkansas News Bureau’s Jeremy Peppas contributed to this report.

AFL-CIO PRESIDENT RICHARD TRUMKA ON SENATE PASSAGE OF JOBS BILL

Working people across America welcome the news that the Senate has passed a jobs bill today as a first step to put Main Street back to work. Senator Reid has said more actions need to be—and will be—taken. We couldn’t agree more. We need much bigger and bolder actions to ensure that we create 10 million jobs and Wall Street pays the bill to fix the financial disaster.

In a turn of head spinning hypocrisy, some Republican Senators had the audacity to vote for a bill they voted less than 48 hours ago not to allow even to be considered. If these Senators want to be seen as part of the solution, they must stop these procedural hijinks that are slowing down the Senate and hurting the recovery. Working families need jobs and are demanding real results from Washington.

Moving forward, we will be taking the fight for jobs to communities nationwide, focusing on the solutions we have outlined in our 5 point jobs plan: Extending unemployment insurance benefits, food assistance and health benefits; rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and investing in green jobs; increasing aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services; increasing funding for neglected communities to match people who want to work with jobs that need to be done; and using TARP money to get credit flowing to small businesses.

RICHARD TRUMKA
February 24, 2010

Momentous Step Taken to End Wage Theft

Miami-Dade County Passes Historic Measure Poised to Inspire Other Communities

Miami-Dade County yesterday overwhelmingly passed the first county-wide ordinance in the country to combat wage theft, making it easier for workers to bring legal action against employers who fail to pay or underpay them.

“This is momentous,” said Jeanette Smith, Executive Director of South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (SFIWJ). “The passing of this legislation will make a difference for every worker in Miami-Dade County and, hopefully, will encourage groups all over the country to establish similar mechanisms for workers in their communities.”

Thursday’s vote was the culmination of over a year of work by SFIWJ and the South Florida Wage Theft Task Force. Similar initiatives are being considered by states and cities across the country, including Los Angeles and New Orleans.

“This victory is a spark that will help ignite a wave across the country,” said Ted Smukler, Public Policy Director of Interfaith Worker Justice. “It is a shining example of many initiatives underway at the state and local levels to combat this crime, and demonstrates that there’s widespread political will when people are made aware of the extent of the crisis.”

“It’s a historic day for all Miami-Dade workers, employers who play by the rules, taxpayers, our economy, and our community, setting the precedent for the nation to follow,” said Fred Frost, President of the South Florida AFL-CIO and a member of the wage theft task force.

“This legislation will provide justice for exploited workers using a streamlined hearing examiner process, at very little cost to our county,” said Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners member Natacha Seijas, the measure’s principal sponsor. “I am very pleased that every colleague present today voted in favor of this Ordinance.”

“Recovering back wages owed workers will put more money in the local economy, send a message to crooked employers and create a more level playing field for honest employers,” read a Miami Herald editorial endorsing the ordinance, which the newspaper argued would “fill a vacuum” and “be a future deterrent.” “Employers would have to pay employment and workers' compensation taxes they're now avoiding, a burden for honest employers.”

“And now, the real work begins,” said SFIWJ’s Smith. “Tomorrow, we go out to the streets and we talk to workers. We visit congregations. We educate. We involve our community in a county-wide effort to implement this historic piece of legislation. The message is clear -- thou shalt not steal. Not in our community. Not anywhere.”

“When raising the minimum wage was blocked at the federal level for 12 years,” said IWJ’s Smukler, “people took action at the state level and were successful in winning state campaigns that raised the minimum wage above the federal level in a majority of states in the country, creating the momentum that eventually led to raising the national minimum wage in 2007. We believe that victories like today’s in Miami-Dade County can similarly inspire a wave of policy changes and legislation at the local, state, and ultimately federal levels, with the goal of ending wage theft in America.”

#####

No Deal on NLRB Appointments

President Obama must act immediately to restore the ability of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to protect the rights of American workers by giving recess appointments to two nominees who are being blocked by Blanche Lincoln and other Senate Republican obstructionists, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said today.

Writing on Huffington Post, Trumka put it this way:

The NLRB’s job is to protect workers’ rights—but for more than two years it has been functioning with only two members instead of the five it should have. Working people need an NLRB that can enforce the National Labor Relations Act—not one hobbled by vacancies.

Click here to read the entire post.

Saying “enough is enough,” Trumka is urging working people to take action now and call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1111or 202-456-1414 and demand that President Obama use his executive power to appoint Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the NLRB during the Presidents Day recess.

In a deal between the White House and the Senate minority, the Senate yesterday confirmed 27 non-controversial Obama appointees. But the NLRB nominees—Becker and Pearce—both highly qualified, well-respected labor lawyers who were nominated in July, were left out of the deal. The Republicans filibustered the Becker nomination, although he received a majority vote. The White House apparently has agreed not to make Presidents Day recess appointments—a process that allows the president to temporarily appoint his own nominee while Congress is out of session.

Trumka calls that decision:

A big win for the Republicans. A big win for corporations that want to file down the teeth of the NLRB. A big loss for working people.

He adds that progressives must act quickly to build support for a fully functional NLRB.

Progressives should take every opportunity to let their congressional representatives and the White House know that protection of workers’ rights is one of the first and most important changes working people expected to see when they voted in 2008. It’s been 13 months since the inauguration—it’s time.

CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE BOARD AND COMMITTEE OPENINGS

Please encourage eligible union members and representatives of working families to apply for these appointments.

http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/city_clerk/documents/misc/Board_and_Committee_Application_Form.pdf

Board, Committee & Commission Vacancies

CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE BOARD AND COMMITTEE OPENINGS

ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION COMMISSION

One Term Ending 03/31/14

AUDIT COMMITTEE

One Unexpired CPA Term Ending 12/31/12

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS

Two Terms Ending 03/13/15

BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY OF THE OZARKS

One Unexpired Term Ending 12/31/12

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

One Term Ending 03/31/16

Each commissioner must be a resident of the city for at least three years immediately preceding their appointment. A.C.A. Section 14-51-202.

CONSTRUCTION BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS

Three Terms Ending 03/31/15

Two Alternate Terms Ending 03/31/11

FAYETTEVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

One Term Ending 04/01/15

PLANNING COMMISSION

Three Terms Ending 03/31/13

One Unexpired Term Ending 03/31/11

One Unexpired Term Ending 03/31/12

TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

One Unexpired Term Ending 06/30/11

TREE AND LANDSCAPE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Utility Representative Term Ending 12/31/11

One Service Organization Unexpired Term Ending 12/31/11

One Land Development Unexpired Term Ending 12/31/11

February 26, 2010– APPLICATION DEADLINE

All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on February 26, 2010.

All volunteers must reside within the Fayetteville City Limits and be a Fayetteville Registered Voter. All applicants must submit a new application for each board, committee, or commission. Applications may be emailed to city_clerk@ci.fayetteville.ar.us or mailed to the City Clerk’s office at 113 West Mountain, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Please contact the City Clerk’s office at 575-8323 for more information.

http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/city_clerk/documents/misc/Board_and_Committee_Application_Form.pdf

New report shows unions substantially raise wages and benefits for workers

A new report released last week by the Center for Economic and Policy Research examines unionization rates, the size and composition of the unionized workforce and the wages and benefits for union workers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

"The union presence varies across states, but unions substantially raise wages and benefits for workers in every state," said John Schmitt, the author of the report.

The study, "The Unions of the States," finds that in the typical state, unionization is associated with a 15 percent increase in hourly wages. Unionization is also associated with a 19-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-provided health insurance and a 24-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Buy, Buy, American Pie

Obama Right to Make JOBS Top Priority

President Obama was exactly right when he spoke tonight of the stubborn resilience of the American people in the face of adversity. Despite daily insecurity and the deep hurt of not being able to find jobs, working people's goodness, decency and hard work have kept our country going.

But Americans are also deeply frustrated and angry. We want to see elected leaders who'll fight for us and bring real change. We want jobs-President Obama is absolutely right that jobs must be our number one focus in 2010. And we must act on a scale that will be meaningful: We need more than 10 million jobs just to get out of the hole we're in. We want health care fixed. We want our leaders to break the stranglehold of Wall Street and the big banks and make them pay to repair the economic damage they created.

President Obama spoke directly to those concerns tonight. He called for a jobs bill and putting people to work. He called for America to take its place as a world leader by investing in our economic foundation, education, infrastructure and energy technology. He demanded tough financial reform. He called for curbing corporate influence, stopping tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and enforcing trade rules. He committed to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. And he said we must finish the job of reforming health care.

The President was right to call out Republicans for obstructing change and putting politics ahead of progress.

Now it's time for all of us to get busy and work together to bring the big changes that are essential-starting with enacting a jobs bill that is big enough to create jobs for the millions of people who want to work and can't find jobs. The time for small change is long gone. We were pleased to see that the President embraced two of the job creation proposals we have made - investing in infrastructure and helping small businesses get credit through TARP funds.

We're ready to fight for the President's vision - and we're going to insist that it be done right. That includes restoring the freedom of workers to bargain to make jobs into good jobs by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

We will not agree with every aspect of every proposal. We will continue to be an independent voice for middle class Americans and fight for the change working families need-and we are ready to do more. This is the time for a broad movement of Americans demanding jobs and an economy that works for all, and we're ready to put our energy and leadership into building that movement-taking the fight to the doorstep of the banks that are exploiting struggling homeowners, of corporations that are running away from communities and of lawmakers who choose to back them up.

We hope elected leaders at every level will choose instead to lead with action. Working America is watching to see what they do. We are in a "show me" kind of mood and we are ready to see results.

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
On President's State of the Union Address
January 27, 2010

We Need a JOBS PLAN Now!

The election in Massachusetts last week was a sobering reminder to candidates running in 2010. Voters are fed up with the inaction in Washington and are expecting RESULTS. If candidates want the votes of working families come November, they need to pass real working families legislation - a jobs bill, health care reform, financial regulation and the Employee Free Choice Act. Our job could not be clearer. Our time to stand up and fight for the issues that are important to working families is now.

Please watch and share widely this short YouTube video of President Trumka commenting on the results in Massachusetts.

Also be sure to attend our candidate nominating convention in March. The full COPE will begin candidate interviews at 1:00 p.m. on Friday March 26th. There will also be a reception hosted by Martin & Kieklak Law Firm Friday evening. Affiliated union members are encouraged and welcome to attend both.

We need a strong job creation plan to foster growth, ensure that states perform the core functions that all American families deserve, and deliver jobs to Americans on Main Street. Join the Facebook group to show your support, and ask your state legislators to sign onto this letter. The AFL-CIO is calling on Congress and the Obama administration to take five steps now to care for the jobless and put America back to work. Read more.

Are you and your family members registered to vote? You can check your registration online and register to vote online too. You must be registered at least 30 days before an election in order to vote.

Thank you for all that you do.

In solidarity,

Alan Hughes, President
Ricky Belk, Secretary-Treasurer

Labor Council meeting rescheduled for February 4

Due to the Winter Storm Warning for Thursday, January 28, the meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Labor Council has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 4, at 5:30 p.m.

Building Retiree Power

I hope you will consider joining me April 5-8 in Las Vegas for Building Retiree Power, the 2010 national convention of the Alliance for Retired Americans. We will offer a wide array of education and training opportunities to improve your skills as a grassroots activist and as a leader of a local or state retiree group.

It may be a new year, but many of last year's challenges - health care, retirement security, and a lingering recession - still remain as great as ever. The future of our retirement, and what will be there for the generations that follow us, will be dramatically affected by what our leaders do this year.

I've heard experts say that in this November's elections older voters will make up over one-third of the turn-out. If the health care debate has been any indication, retirees will be the object of a lot of attention - and a lot of misinformation. We must do our homework on the candidates and the issues, and educate our neighbors so they will be able to separate fact from fiction come election time.

The Alliance convention will feature noted speakers and training workshops on topics such as health care reform, Social Security, community organizing, fund-raising, and using new on-line communications tools such as Facebook to reach more retirees in your area.

For more information about the Alliance for Retired Americans national convention, to be held April 5-8 at Bally's Las Vegas, visit www.RetiredAmericans.org or call 888/373-6497.

Barbara J. Easterling is president of the Alliance for Retired Americans. She was previously the secretary-treasurer of the Communications Workers of America.

Building a Stronger Labor Movement in Our States and Communities

Building a Stronger Labor Movement in Our States and Communities

AFL-CIO State Federation, Area and Central Labor Council Conference

AFL-CIO President Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer Shuler, Executive Vice President Holt Baker, IUPAT General President and State and Local Committee Chair Williams and State and Local Leaders will be attending and participating in our National Conference April 22-25 in Orlando, Florida

(National Community Services Conference begins on the evening of April 21)

Join state federation, area and central labor council leaders from across the country as we meet to share ideas, strategies, opportunities and challenges in building our movement at the state and local levels and winning historic national campaigns. We will focus on the information, tools and skills needed to accomplish these goals to help Turn Around America with a major emphasis on jobs, health care, the Employee Free Choice Act and the many issues within your states that will require attention as we move into Labor 2010. A comprehensive agenda will be developed over the next several weeks to include:

# Peer-to-Peer Discussions
# Grassroots Skills Workshops
# Communications and Technology
# Organizational Development
# Sharing of Best Practices
# AFL-CIO Youth Initiative


Registration for the Conference and hotel is all completed on-line. We encourage you to make your reservations early.

Register at: www.aflcio.org/sfclcconf

For further information, contact: Amy Morris at sfclcconf@aflcio.org or 202-637-5355.

Pass Real Labor Reform Law

Thanks to Brother Ricky Belk, CWA from Alma and Secretary-Treasurer of the Arkansas AFL-CIO, for sending the following letter to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and speaking up for working families in Arkansas.

Arkansans are no stranger to the hardships that workers and employers are feeling throughout the country. It’s more important than ever that our leaders pass meaningful reforms that directly affect workers in Arkansas so our middle class can help rebuild our country’s economy from the bottom up.

One of the best things we can do for workers everywhere is pass real labor law reform such as the Employee Free Choice Act to give them the ability to bargain for a better life. Unfortunately, instead of supporting this critical legislation, the Democrat-Gazette Editorial page has once again decided to confuse fact with fiction and irresponsible scare tactics.

Let’s set the record straight. The bill will not eliminate the right for workers to choose a secret-ballot election during organizing. It will, however, restore fairness to the system and let workers, not their bosses, make the choice in how they form a union.

The bill also will hold corporations accountable when they break the law and bring balance to negotiations by allowing for arbitration when employees and employers can’t come to an agreement.

I hope in the future the Democrat-Gazette will be more conscious of the facts and not just continue to echo corporate rhetoric. I urge all Arkansans to involve themselves in this debate and find out the truth for themselves.

RICKY BELK Alma

Wage Theft Should Be A Crime

“You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.” Deuteronomy 24:14 A worker I interviewed, whom we’ll call Victoria, took a job at a Fayetteville restaurant for $50 a day. She worked 10 to 10, six days a week. That comes to $4.16 an hour. Arkansas’ minimum wage is $6.25, plus time-and-a-half for work over 40 hours per week.

Victoria’s terms of employment were illegal. Had she been paid a legal minimum wage, she would have earned $300 more per week.

If only she had been paid.

Victoria was supposed to be paid every two weeks. But it was nearly a month before she got her first check. When she got her second check a week into her second month of work, her employer told her not to cash it for a week.

By that time she had additional responsibilities. She was the primary cook, preparing most of the orders and doing the dishwashing as well. She was coming in earlier and staying an hour later. Same $50 a day.

One day a couple of weeks later, Victoria suffered a pretty serious cut to her finger. It became infected overnight. She was treated and told to cover the finger for three days.

The doctor said she could return to work, taking some precautions to protect the injury. When she went back the next day, the owner fired her. The owner paid her half of what she was owed, with a hot check.

That hot check was Victoria’s good luck. You see, it is a Class Cfelony to pass a hot check of $500 or more - that’s a serious crime; same category as manslaughter.

Victoria went to the Workers Justice Center who contacted the county prosecuting attorney.

The prosecutor forced the former employer to make good on the hot check.

There are only civil penalties when an employer to underpays a worker, or hires people below the legal minimum wage, or refuses to pay for work an employee has done. There are legal sanctions.

Unlike the prosecutor’s office, these wheels move slowly. It takes time. And if the worker wins, the employer usually suffers just a slap on the wrist. But in truth, it is theft. Wage theft.

Maybe you think this is an unusual case, an exception to the rule. Not so. A landmark study published in fall surveyed more than 4,000 low-wage workers and found that nearly 70 percent of the workers had experienced at least one pay-related violation in the previous work week.

That’s shocking. (“Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers” at http:// nelp.3cdn.net/1797b93dd1ccdf9e7d_ sdm6bc50n.pdf)

These violations were widespread, not just rogue employers victimizing undocumented immigrants.

The typical worker lost $51 the previous week out of average weekly earnings of $339. That’s a 15 percent pay loss. Nearly 60 percent of the workerssampled did not receive mandatory pay documents that help insure pay is legal and accurate. Of those who worked overtime, 75 percent were not paid the legal amount and 70 percent of those who came in early or stayed late for their shift were not paid for their extra work.

The good news: Generally the employers that treated people well overall - offering health insurance, vacations, and paid sick days - had lower violation rates. High rates of cheating: Child care workers, personal and repair services, restaurants, textile manufacturing, private households, drug and grocery stores, retail, building and grounds workers, various manufacturing low-wage jobs.

Women, black and Latin workers got the worst of it.

Last week I heard from a parishioner who was faced with the choice between food and blood pressure medications because a contractor didn’t pay her husband $750 for his construction work. He’s white, male and native born.

I asked Fernando Garcia of the Workers Justice Center what would most help. He said, “Make wage theft a crime, like hot checks.” Then workers would have some clout behind them.

Not paying a worker a legal wage is theft - wage theft. It’s a crime to steal property. Why isn’t it a crime to steal someone’s blood, sweat and tears?

By Lowell Grisham

Monday, January 18, 2010

LOWELL GRISHAM SERVES AS RECTOR OF ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN FAYETTEVILLE. HIS COLUMN WILL APPEAR ON SUNDAYS AFTER TODAY.

Northwest Arkansas Times, Page 5 on 01/18/2010