December 4, 2006

Peace on Earth!

In this Holiday season, more than ever, let us be filled with a heightened spirit of goodwill and a renewed dedication to the struggle for dignity and justice for all.

 In the spirit of the trade union movement we say…

May Peace and Solidarity be with you throughout the coming year.

From all of us at the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

2007 Legislative Leadership

Senate

Senate

Senate

House

House

House

Majority Leader

President

Minority Leader

Speaker of the House

Majority Leader

Minority Leader

Michael Gronstal

John “Jack” Kibbie

Mary Lundby

Pat Murphy

Kevin McCarthy

 Christopher Rants

(D-Dubuque)

(D-Des Moines)

(R-Sioux City)

December 9, 2006, 12:30 p.m.

North Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Marvin Gardens

809 Central Avenue Fort Dodge

December 9, 2006, 5:00 p.m.

North Iowa Nine Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Hanford Inn

3041 - 4th St. SW

Mason City

December 13, 2006, 5:30 p.m.

Black Hawk Union Council, AFL-CIO

Brown Bottle

209 West 5th

Waterloo

December 15, 2006, 5:30 p.m.

Hawkeye Labor Council,

AFL-CIO

Iowa City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

RWDSU #110 Hall

526 F Ave. NW

Cedar Rapids

December 16, 2006, 9:00 a.m.

Dubuque Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Labor Temple

1610 Garfield, Dubuque

December 16, 2006, 12:30 p.m.

Clinton Labor Congress,

AFL-CIO

Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Rusty Nail

2606 W. Locust

Davenport

December 16, 2006, 12:30 p.m.

Southwest Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Tish’s

1115 S. 35th St. Council Bluffs

December 16, 2006, 5:00 p.m.

Des Moines - Henry County Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Lee County Labor Council,

AFL-CIO

Parthenon Steakhouse

715 - 8th St.

Ft. Madison

December 16, 2006, 5:00 p.m.

Northwest Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO

UFCW #222

3038 S. Lakeport,

Sioux City

December 17, 2006, 12:30 p.m.

Southern Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO

UFCW #230 Hall

1305 E. Mary Ottumwa

December 18, 2006, 5:30 p.m.

Iowa Federation of Labor,

AFL-CIO

Machinists Hall

2000 Walker St.

Des Moines

Five Reasons U.S. Working Families Aren’t Celebrating America’s Record Profits 

While the White House touts statistics claiming a “sustained recovery” for the U.S. economy, peeling back the layers reveals why working families are not celebrating those marks.  Lawrence Mishel and Ross Eisenbrey of the Economic Policy Institute point to five more meaningful figures that show that working families continue to struggle.

Profits up, but wages and incomes down for average Americans.

Hourly and weekly wages adjusted for inflation are below where they were in November 2001 when the so-called recovery began.  Yes, productivity is up by a whopping 14.7 percent, but 46 percent of the growth of total income in the corporate sector was distributed in profits, more than double the typical distribution of 20 percent in comparable recoveries.

Working families mired in debt.

U.S. households have increased their debt by 42 percent over the last five years.  Debt as a percentage of after-tax income is the highest ever measured in U.S. history.  Mortgage and consumer debt is now 120 percent of after-tax income, more than twice the level of 30 years ago.  The percentage of after-tax income that workers now pay on their debts is at an all time high of 13.9 percent.

Job creation is not keeping up with population growth and the employment rate has fallen sharply,

The U.S. has only 1.9 percent more jobs today than five years ago.  Private sector jobs have increased by 1.5 percent.  In comparable periods, job growth was an average of 8.8 percent, and never less than 6 percent.  Unemployment may seem low at 4.6 percent, but the percentage of the population holding jobs is 1.3 percent lower than it was in March 2001.  More than 3 million factory jobs have been lost since 2000.

Poverty is increasing.

The poverty rate stood at 12.7 percent in 2004, increasing by 5.4 million since 2000.  The poverty rate for children in 2004 was 17.8 percent, up from 16.2 percent in 2000. 

Households are spending more on health care.

Family health care costs rose 43 to 45 percent between 2000 and 2003 for married couples with children, single mothers and young singles.  Employers are cutting back on insurance coverage.  In 2005, the percentage of people with employer-provided health insurance fell for the fourth year in a row.  Nearly 3.7 million fewer people has employer-provided insurance in 2004 than in 2000.

Mark Your Calendar

February 26-27-28, 2007

Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

9th Annual Legislative Conference

 James Webb

Virginia Senator-Elect, Democrat, former Republican, Rabble-Rouser

 “The most important—and unfortunately the least debated—issue in politics today is our society’s steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century.  America’s top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years.  It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country.  Few among them send their children to public schools; fewer still send their loved ones to fight our wars.  They own most of our stocks, making the stock market an unreliable indicator of the economic health of working people.  The top 1 percent now takes in an astounding 16 percent of national income, up from 8 percent in 1980.”

...Senator-Elect James Webb from the November 14 Wall Street Journal.  Webb, who previously served as Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan, has a son serving in Iraq.

In cooperation with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO presents a conference for union members.

Workplace Rights

Five one-day programs designed for union members, officers, stewards and staff.

Each program will include discussion of:

• Understanding workers’ rights under the law

• How legal rights interact with collective bargaining & contract provisions

• Union strategies for protecting rights at work

 If not registering for entire series, please register for EACH program 30 days prior.

 Register: by phone (319) 335-4146, by FAX (319) 335-4464

or by e-mail at  www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr

If staying overnight, you will need to reserve and pay for your own housing directly with the Iowa House Hotel (319) 335-3513. A few rooms are being held for each program under “Labor Center” at an approximate rate of $72 per night, plus taxes.