Political Action Update

	Political Action Update
Vol. 07-04	February 7, 2007

Pass Fair Share:

Bring fairness to Iowa workplaces

Pass EFCA:

Drive fear out of the American workplace

Fair Share has been introduced in the Senate as a Senate Study Bill — SSB 1120 —in the Labor and Business Relations Subcommittee (no meetings scheduled).

In the House, it has been introduced as HF 324. The public hearing: Wednesday evening 2/14.

               The top priority for the AFL-CIO union
                      movement is passage of the Employee Free
                     Choice Act (EFCA), said the AFL-CIO
                     General Board Feb. 8th at its annual
                      meeting in Silver Spring, Md.
Why? Read the testimony of a Desert Storm veteran, the first witness to speak at EFCA hearings taking place on               Capitol Hill:

Keith Ludlum, a North Carolina worker who worked
in the Livestock Department at Smithfield Foods, talked
of his service in Desert Storm:

“I served my nation to protect the laws of our land, not companies like Smithfield that deprive us of those laws.”

The next year (1993) he was fired for organizing when management found out about his activities. A sheriff was brought in to escort him out and create a climate of fear amongst his co-workers. Ludlum’s story is available at http://blog.aflcio.org/

The message he left with Congress:
     “You have the duty to protect the rights of American
       workers. People’s lives and jobs are on the line.
       These elections are neither free nor fair.
       I will always work hard, but it is up to you to do so too.”

EFCA would help by:

· Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.

· Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contracts.

· Allowing employees to form unions simply by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Iowa co-sponsors of EFCA:

                >Bruce Braley (1st District)
                >Dave Loebsack (2nd District)
                >Leonard Boswell (3rd District)
          Union members can send e-mails to their lawmakers here:
           http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/signthe_EFCA.

Keith Ludlum, a North Carolina worker who worked
in the Livestock Department at Smithfield Foods, talked
of his service in Desert Storm:

“I served my nation to protect the laws of our land, not companies like Smithfield that deprive us of those laws.”

EFCA would help by:

· Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.

· Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contracts.

· Allowing employees to form unions simply by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Iowa co-sponsors of EFCA:

Keith Ludlum, a North Carolina worker who worked
in the Livestock Department at Smithfield Foods, talked
of his service in Desert Storm:

“I served my nation to protect the laws of our land, not companies like Smithfield that deprive us of those laws.”

EFCA would help by:

· Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.

· Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contracts.

· Allowing employees to form unions simply by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Iowa co-sponsors of EFCA:

The top priority for the AFL-CIO union movement is passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), said the AFL-CIO General Board Feb. 8th at its annual meeting in Silver Spring, Md.

Why? Read the testimony of a Desert Storm veteran, the first witness to speak at EFCA hearings taking place on Capitol Hill:

Keith Ludlum, a North Carolina worker who worked in the Livestock Department at Smithfield Foods, talked of his service in Desert Storm:

“I served my nation to protect the laws of our land, not companies like Smithfield that deprive us of those laws.”

The message he left with Congress:
     “You have the duty to protect the rights of American workers. People’s lives and jobs are on the line.
       These elections are neither free nor fair.
       I will always work hard, but it is up to you to do so too.”

EFCA would help by:

· Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.

· Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contracts.

· Allowing employees to form unions simply by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Iowa co-sponsors of EFCA:

Bruce Braley (1st District)
Dave Loebsack (2nd District)
Leonard Boswell (3rd District)

Union members can send e-mails to their lawmakers here:

http://www.unionvoice.org/

campaign/signthe_EFCA.

URGENT: Contact your representative

By e-mail: firstname.lastname@legis.state.ia.us.

By phone:

Representatives 515-281-3221;
Senators: 515-281-3371

By USPS:

The Honorable (insert name) State Senator
(or)
State Representative

Statehouse, Des Moines, IA 50309

You can identify your legislators (and just send them an email with a click) by going to:

http://www.legis.state.ia.us/FindLeg/Default.aspx

Do it now! Even if you’ve never done it before!

It’s UNION time!

Keith Ludlum, a North Carolina worker who worked
in the Livestock Department at Smithfield Foods, talked
of his service in Desert Storm:

“I served my nation to protect the laws of our land, not companies like Smithfield that deprive us of those laws.”

EFCA would help by:

· Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.

· Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contracts.

· Allowing employees to form unions simply by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Iowa co-sponsors of EFCA:

The National Right to Work Committee strikes! (with a bit of mis-information we find amusing)

According to a leaflet circulating from the RTW folks, we union people could actually refuse to help the free-riders in our workplaces (but we perversely insist on doing it just to retain our immense power)! Bunk! — this is a fantasy theory that assumes there are bosses who will voluntarily sit down to negotiate with the union without being obligated to by law. Sound like any bosses you know?

Bills

Watch

HF 236 ELECTRICIAN LICENSING. Establishes a statewide system of licensing for electricians and life safety installers. IFL supports.

HF 248 Registration Deadline. Changes registration deadline for primary elections to 11 days before election day. IFL opposes.

HF 249 Math and Science Teacher Credit. Creates a math and science teacher practical experience program and provides an income tax credit. IFL opposes.

HF 263 English Instruction. Appropriates money to community colleges for development of an adult English instruction program to be offered in workplaces. IFL supports.

HF 286 ALLOWABLE GROWTH. Sets the allowable growth in education funding at 4%. IFL supports.

HF 287 Stem Cell Research. Creates the Iowa Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. IFL supports.

HF 291 FIREFIGHTER PHYSICALS. Provides for candidate physical ability tests for fire fighter applicants under the statewide fire and police retirement system. IFL supports.

HF 295 Prison Privatization. Prohibits the Department of Corrections from entering into an agreement with a private sector for-profit entity for the purpose of housing inmates committed to the custody of the director of the Department of Corrections. IFL supports.

HF 306 Job Tax Credit. Provides a $1000 per employee individual tax, corporate income tax, franchise tax, or insurance premium tax credit for a business that has an employee who is a member of the National Guard or military service reserve on active duty and the employer either continues the employee on the business’s payroll or continues providing health benefit coverage. IFL opposes.

HF 313 Living Wage Study. Directs Iowa State University to conduct a study regarding the economic, fiscal, and social effects that a living wage, or self-sufficiency wage, would have in Iowa. Two Iowa State University professors with specialized knowledge in this area shall conduct and coordinate the study. The bill requires that the Department of Workforce Development, Department of Economic Development, Department of Human Resources, the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, the Child and Family Policy Center, the Iowa Policy Project, and representatives of labor organizations and business and industry also participate in the study. IFL supports.

HF 318 Volunteer firefighter tax credits. Provides volunteer firefighters and EMT personnel with an income tax credit. IFL opposes.

HF 324 Fair Share Agreements. Allows management and labor to negotiate fair share clauses in their collective bargaining agreements. IFL supports.

SF 98 Historic Preservation Credits. Increases the amount of tax credits that may be approved each fiscal year to $20 million. IFL opposes.

SF 109 ALLOWABLE GROWTH. Sets the state allowable growth in education funding at 4%. IFL supports.

SF 114 Elevator Laws. Gives elevator laws priority over conflicting provisions in the building codes of the state or any subdivision. IFL supports.

SF 122 Sales Tax Exemption for Appliances. Exempts energy efficient appliances from sales tax. IFL opposes.

SF 128 Cigarette Tax. Raises the tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack and deposits the money in a health care trust fund to be used only for health care. IFL supports.

SSB 1166 Cigarette Tax Increase. Proposes a $1 per pack increase in the cigarette tax and an increase to 88% of the wholesale sales prices for tobacco products. IFL supports.

SSB 1172 Payroll Dues Deductions. Authorizes payroll deductions for union dues for employees receiving payment from the state and specifically including providers of services under a home and community-based services waver, and child care providers. IFL supports.

SSB 1173 Clean Elections. Creates the Iowa voter-owned clean money election fund and establishes eligibility for receiving campaign money from the fund, including limiting private funding. IFL supports.

“We’ve been smiling ever since we hit Des Moines. We’re actually going to be playing offense!”

Democratic Representative Mary Mascher at a Legislative Forum

Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Lobbyist Meeting

10:00 Monday Mornings

During the Legislative Session

2000 Walker Street

Des Moines, Iowa

Union members welcome!

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

BROKE … BROKER—BAGHDAD AIN’T WALL STREET

Christmas bonuses and security clearances. While record numbers of American troops were getting stripped of security clearances because they were so deep in debt, investment banks on Wall Street were handing out record Christmas bonuses.

Since 2002, more than 7,000 troops in the three branches of the military have lost their clearances because of finances. But Wall Street was handing out close to $24 billion in bonuses, up 17 percent from the previous year.

While many of our fighting men and women could not be trusted even to die for their country, Goldman Sachs was giving $25 million each to its upper echelon “golden 25” and Morgan Stanley slipped its CEO $40 million.

Not even a lump of coal, though, for the 47 miners who died last year, a 10-year high. America’s 46,000 miners are still waiting for many of the safety measures that Congress and state legislatures rushed to adopt in the wake of the Sago Mine explosion.

Get this: the estimated cost of the protective legislation could be covered by a mere 5 of those “golden 25” bonuses.

Passing and Failing:
a test for legislators

The moral test of government is how that government treats those in the dawn of life, the children; those in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.

Hubert H. Humphrey

His words, our mission.

What words could better express the role of government than those chosen by Humphrey to appeal to the better nature of his party, the Democratic Party? These words also reflect the core mission of the labor movement.

The most who need it least.

The Republican attitude toward government is best expressed in their phrase: “Starve the beast.” A slogan that best captures the spirit of the Republican Party—since Newt Gingrich took it over and took out a contract on America’s workers—would have to be: “Help those the most who need it least.”

The focus on people of the new Democratically-controlled Legislature—from early childhood needs to the Senior Living Trust Fund—would make Humphrey proud. With their very first bill, raising the minimum wage, Democratic legislators made life a little easier for a quarter of a million Iowans, including over 94,000 children.

An empty moral bank account.

Anybody who voted against the minimum wage bill failed Humphrey’s “moral test of government” and should file for moral bankruptcy.

Labor Center

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

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

Health and Safety: OSHA, Ergonomics,
Workplace Stress

♦Using your contract to protect health and safety

♦Overview of rights under OSHA and the NLRA

♦Building a strong safety committee and developing programs on
ergonomics or stress-reduction

♦Ergonomics track: Identifying risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders
and reducing hazards

♦Workplace Stress track: Strategies for locating and targeting sources
of workplace stress