Bruce Mansfield union walks out on contract talks

By J.D. Prose jprose@timesonline.com | 1 comment

SHIPPINGPORT — Union representatives for workers at FirstEnergy Corp.’s Bruce Mansfield coal-fired plant walked out on negotiations Monday amid accusations that the company has violated the current contract and wants to end health care subsidies for retirees.

“How can we move forward with a new contract when you have already violated the current agreement?” asked Herman Marshman Jr., the president of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 272. “You can’t have an agreement if nobody’s abiding by the agreement.”

After two negotiating sessions last week, Marshman said the union walked out on the latest one Monday angry over FirstEnergy’s approach. The current contract expires Feb. 15, he said.

FirstEnergy has violated the agreement 29 times, Marshman claimed, endangering the safety of employees. One example he cited was the company having emergency medical technicians assigned clerical work instead of being positioned to respond to a crisis.

“Our issue is that if they’re not on their station … then they have to stop doing whatever they’re doing and go back to their station to get their equipment to attend to the emergency,” said Marshman, a 34-year employee and plant system operator.

As for retirees, Marshman said FirstEnergy wants to eliminate health care subsidies for them as of Jan. 1, 2015. That, he said, is just one of 20 concessions the company has proposed.

Continue reading IBEW Local 272 Protests First Energy Contract Violations →

House Democrats Balk At Efforts By Obama, Boehner On Controversial Pacific Trade Deal

WASHINGTON — House Democrats balked Thursday at a bill designed to clear congressional hurdles for President Barack Obama’s controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. By refusing to put forward a co-sponsor for the legislation, House Democrats have significantly hampered the prospects for the bill’s passage.

The legislation, introduced Thursday, would prevent members of Congress from offering amendments to a still-unfinished deal between 12 Pacific nations, and would instead force an up-or-down vote on whatever deal the Obama administration eventually reaches.

The pending trade deal is supported by corporate interest groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, while organized labor and traditionally liberal public interest groups have consistently voiced concerns over the TPP’s potential to undermine important environmental, public health and labor standards.

Late last year, 151 House Democrats signed a letter opposing the so-called fast track scheme, also known as trade promotion authority. Several House Republicans oppose fast track on the grounds that it excessively empowers the executive branch, but many others, including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), support the proposal.

“Obama wants to pass it; Democrats in the House want to oppose it,” said one House Democratic aide, who was granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the Democratic position. “Republicans are split ideologically, and want to know why they should take one for Obama.”

Nevertheless, Boehner said at a Thursday press conference that he cannot pass the bill without Democratic help.

“I’ve made clear to the president that this can’t pass unless there is bipartisan support for it,” Boehner said. “And this goes back months, and yet we’ve seen scant attention to this issue by the administration in terms of encouraging Democrat leaders and Democrat members to stand up and vote for it.”

Kind’s office said that there had been discussions with the administration, but no formal request that he sponsor the bill.

The New Democrat Coalition, meanwhile, issued a statement, endorsed by Kind, on the fast track legislation, saying, “We are encouraged by the introduction of a bipartisan, bicameral bill to spur action on Trade Promotion Authority. We look forward to working with our colleagues in considering this bill … Trade Promotion Authority will help the Administration conclude important agreements that will open markets and create jobs.”

Many House Democrats are flatly opposed to the TPP and efforts to ease its passage. House Democrats are often more responsive to liberal interest groups than their Senate counterparts, and many members — including some in the Democratic Party leadership — believe that opposing TPP is good for electoral politics in 2014. While supporters of the deal argue it will increase economic growth, similar recent trade deals have undercut some U.S. industries and weakened global labor protections.

“The president has failed to find someone who is willing to introduce the bill. He’s got over 200 members to cultivate from, some of whom would like to have his support in the next election. But Democratic members are extremely skeptical of this,” Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) told HuffPost.

“We’ve tried free trade, and not only has free trade not improved the U.S. economy, it’s gutted manufacturing and driven down our labor standards,” he added, citing NAFTA as a prime example.

“We expect to have a robust conversation on the Hill about how trade agreements should be negotiated and the role of Congress in that process,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told HuffPost. “We’re eager to engage directly with members of the Finance and Ways and Means Committees and with all of Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority legislation that has broad, bipartisan support.”

The precise terms of the deal remain secret from the public, and the dozen countries involved in the talks have yet to reach a formal agreement. The Obama administration has categorized the negotiation text as a classified document. Congressional staffers have complained about being denied access to the U.S. position.

This fall, WikiLeaks unveiled a draft of the deal’s intellectual property chapter, prompting outcries from global health experts and Internet freedom groups, which warned that the language on patents, copyrights and other intellectual property could increase the cost of medicine and curb free speech on the web.

Progressive groups came out strongly against the trade promotion authority, suggesting that approving it and the underlying trade deal would undercut efforts to curtail income inequality.

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership would be an unmitigated disaster for everything from the environment to Internet freedom and working families,” said Charles Chamberlain, the executive director of Democracy For America, a grassroots progressive organization, which intends to make trade an election-year issue.

“Members of Congress must be able to work to ensure that any proposed trade agreement is a fair deal for all Americans, not just the rich and powerful,” Chamberlain added in a statement. “Let’s be clear: A vote for fast track authority on the TPP is a vote for a deal that will hurt hardworking Americans and haunt every single member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, who votes for it.”

Go here for link to article and video interview on the Trans Pacific Partnership with Noam Chomsky.

Federal Budget Deal is an Endorsement of Austerity at the Expense of All of Us

NNU
December 11, 2013

http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/entry/national-nurses-statement-on-federal-budget-deal/

National Nurses United, the nation’s largest organization of registered nurses, today expressed dismay and alarm over the federal budget deal announced yesterday, saying it will perpetuate the harmful effects of austerity, especially with so many in Main Street communities continuing to feel the painful effects of the Great Recession caused by Wall Street speculation.

“There is no reason to cheer an agreement that requires unwarranted pension cuts for federal workers, including VA nurses who earned that pension, underfunds nutrition programs and fails to extend assistance for the long-term unemployed,“ said NNU co-president Jean Ross, RN.

“Austerity budgeting, reflected in this latest deal, continues the disturbing focus by politicians in both parties in Washington, who should be fighting for jobs at living wages, restoration of the disgraceful cuts in food stamps, healthcare for all, housing assistance, and other human needs, not simply how to please Wall Street and the banks,” said Ross.

Continue reading Nurses Union Condemns Budget Deal →

Big news on budget agreement between Sen. Patti Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan, respective leaders of Senate and House budget committees. Agreement cuts pensions, unemployment compensation, and Medicare reimbursements, and raises airfares. Restores across the board cuts to military and domestic programs. No tax hikes on the billionaires and corporations, and no cuts in subsidies to oil, coal, and gas industry.

Hear Progressive Caucus leaders Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Barbara Lee, and Rep. Jim McGovern discuss these developments live at the Progressive Democrats of America Roundtable discussion tomorrow at 1pm.

http://www.weactradio.com/roundtable/

Iceland to write €24,000 off every household mortgage

Despite international opposition, the Reykjavik government will press ahead with the debt relief plan.

The Blue Lagoon, Grindavik, Iceland

Image: Chris Ford via Flickr/Creative Commons

THE ICELANDIC GOVERNMENT has announced that it will write off household mortgage debt in order to kickstart the economy.

Under the plan, every household in the country will have €24,000 worth of debt written off.

The move was part of the election manifesto of the Progressive Party, led by Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson.

The idea will cost the country €1.2 billion and will begin in mid-2014. Iceland has been burdened with debt since the 2008 financial crisis, which saw the krona collapse.

A government statement said that the plan would kick-start consumer spending.

“Currently, household debt is equivalent to 108 per cent of GDP, which is high by international comparison.

“The action will boost household disposable income and encourage savings.”

The plan has been criticised by the IMF, the OECD and various economists, with the IMF saying that the country has “little fiscal space” for the move, while the OECD says the plan should be limited to low income housing.

The measure has improved the country’s rating with Standard & Poor’s, who upgraded the economic outlook from negative to stable.

Note by Randy Shannon

There are a little over 75.5 million homeowners in the USA. What would happen if every homeowner in this country were to receive the same kickback from the US government that Iceland is paying out? Well, each homeowner would get a check for $32,800.00.

This would be a total outlay from the US Treasury of $2.46 trillion. If this were done in monthly payments over a four year period the amount would be $51.4 billion per month. Does this sound like a lot of money?

The bankers don’t think this is a lot of money. Right now the Federal Reserve is transferring $82 billion per month to private US banks that are insolvent due to the 2008 financial crisis. The Fed is printing US dollars, “buying” worthless mortgage backed securities from these zombie banks, and the banks are depositing the cash back into the Fed and earning interest. That interest is paid by us homeowners.

So for about 40% less outlays per month the Federal Reserve could kickback the same amount to each US homeowner as the Government in Iceland is doing. Now the Federal Reserve and US Treasury are saying that this $82 billion a month is stimulating the economy, but the percent of people employed has remained unchanged since 2008. The unemployment rate has dropped because people have given up looking for a job. If the bankers in control of our country’s finances really wanted to stimulate the economy they would and they could do the same as Iceland and it would cost less!

Congresswoman Lee on Nelson Mandela’s Passing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2013
Contact: Carrie Adams (202) 225-2661

Washington, D.C.— Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) issued the following statement on the passing of former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela:

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Nelson Mandela, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, family, and the people of South Africa. His legacy will live on forever in how we live our lives and fight for freedom and justice in a multi-racial society. We must pause and remember Madiba in his greatness; he used his life not for himself, but for the good of his country and the good of the world, and his spirit will live on.

“Even throughout his 27 years of incarceration and brutal treatment, his spirit was never broken and this stands as a testament to the power of reconciliation. Not only is Nelson Mandela the father of the liberation movement in South Africa, but he also laid the framework for modern liberation movements throughout the world. With a dignified defiance, Nelson Mandela never compromised his political principles or the mission of the anti-apartheid movement, fighting the global AIDS pandemic, ending poverty and preserving human rights.

“During Mr. Mandela’s trip to the United States in 1990, it was a great honor to be a member of the host committee that welcomed him to my district of Oakland, California.  One of my proudest moments as a member of Congress was when I led the effort to remove Mr. Mandela and the ANC from the U.S. Terrorist Watch list in time for his 90th birthday.  I served as an official election observer for the 1994 South African elections when President Mandela was first elected, and it was a magnificent reminder that perhaps one day my own country would elect an African American president.

“Mr. Mandela exuded a larger-than-life presence and a humble spirit that was remarkable; he is my hero and an inspiration to us all. While this earth will miss the physical presence of Nelson Mandela, his indomitable nature, his gentle spirit, and overwhelming smile will remain with us all. My heart is heavy as we mourn the loss and celebrate the life of this great warrior.”

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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.

 Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a former Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and currently serves as CPC Whip and Chair of the Task Force on Global Peace and Security. Congresswoman Lee serves as a representative from the United States to the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations.