WIN: Labor's view on ObomneyCare

What does SCOTUS upholding the ACA mean for you?

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Organized labor is hailing the Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act.

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry says the Supreme Court rejected the cynical politics of Republicans opposed to health care reform and working people won a resounding victory.

National Nurses United says the ruling shouldn’t be the end of health care activists’ efforts to find a permanent fix for America’s broken health care system.

The nurse’s union says it will step up a campaign for a universal health care program based on patient need, not on profits or ability to pay – a Medicare for all.

The American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said now that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld healthcare has been put within reach of working families and they will be able to get treatment they need without battling big insurance companies.

Families USA was one of many organizations that had been arguing for the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling came down Executive Director Ron Pollack held a conference call to tout what the upholding of the Act meant.

Pollack noted:

No longer will they be able to charge a discriminatory premium based on health status, like an adult who may have high blood pressure. No longer will a health company be able to discriminate against women in the premiums they charge exclusively because of their gender.

We spoke with National Medical Association President Dr. Cedrick Bright about why his organization supporting the legislation.

Bright stated:

The law helps to catch the vulnerable people, we'll have a safety net for vulnerable people who fall through the cracks. The law does allow, does not allow for insurance to deny any type of patients coverage if you have pre-existing conditions. The law doesn not allow for insurance to cancel your coverage when you get sick. The law allows you to continue to get care while in the past there were limits on the care you could receive.

One aspect of the act that isn’t discussed very often is how it will specifically benefit women.

Some 19 million women are currently uninsured, but in 2014 part of the law kicks in that will make Medicaid available to 10.3 million women.

Women, on average, pay higher rates for health insurance, but part of the law now prohibits insurance companies from charging based on gender rating.

Additionally, the law takes a big leap when it comes to maternity laws in the United States.

Businesses with more than 50 employees will now be required to allow nursing women to take a break for the purpose of relieving breast milk.

graphic: San Antonio business Journal

source: Workers Independent News

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WIN: New documents show extraordinary influence of ALEC

By Doug Cunningham

The Madison, Wisconsin based Center For Media And Democracy Thursday released a report called “ALEC Exposed In Wisconsin: The Hijacking of A State”.

The Center For Media and Democracy Executive Director Lisa Graves says it documents the extraordinary corporate influence of ALEC’s legislative agenda that goes far beyond mere lobbying that gives unelected corporate lobbyists equal votes with lawmakers on Wisconsin laws.

Lisa Graves noted:

 Our key findings are that 32 bills or budget provisions that have been introduced in this last year and a half reflect ALEC model legislation. Twenty-on of these bills were passed, nineteen of them became law. Over a quarter million dollars has been given to ALEC legislative members in the state by ALEC corporations in campaign donations since 2008. And nearly a half million dollars - $400,000 – has been given to Scott Walker to his state account since 2008.

The Center For Media Democracy and Common Cause are calling on attornies general in Wisconsin and other states to investigate ALEC’s legislative role and its claim that it isn’t a lobbying organization.

Graves says ALEC’s heavy handed control over many state politicians – including key legislators in Wisconsin- amounts to a corporate hijacking of state government.

Graves explained:

When you look at that information in totality we think its fair to say that ALEC has helped hijack Wisconsin. And we think it’s fair to say that the people of Wisconsin have not been informed by their elected officials about the role of ALEC.


source: Worker Independent News

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WIN: Sharp increase in workers suing for overtime

4/16/2012

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Jesse Russell reports that more workers are suing to get the earned overtime pay employers are not paying.

The rate of workers suing employers for unpaid overtime was up by 32 percent in 2011 in comparison to 2008, when the recession started.

During the recession employers tightened their belts by putting more work on employees instead of hiring more workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act guarantees overtime pay for hourly employees who put in more than 40 hours per week.

Even salaried workers can claim overtime if they earn less than $455 per week.

Meanwhile, even as workers are being loaded up with more work wages fell by two percent in 2011.

In addition to the increased burden on employees, USA Today says the increased dependence on smart phones means workers are rarely truly off work and can be bothered by employers at anytime.

Rightardia suggests that on call workers should be paid a flat stipend for carrying a smart phone capable or receiving email or one that has Internet access.

Of course, the way many companies get around wage and hour rules is by making low paid workers managers. Of course, these managers ended up on the short end of the stick when bonuses were determined at the end of the year. Technical managers were even excluded from management events and parties in one company Wirehead worked.

If you are in a union, think twice about becoming a manager. Do your home work. It may be a step backward.

source: Workers Independent News

art: http://www.agileforall.com

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WIN: All "right to work" laws do is lower wages

1/12/2012

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The New Year is off to an old start – workers rallying at staehouses to defend their rights. Jesse Russell has more.

2012 is starting off much like 2011 with images of concerned citizens filling state houses. This year, instead of the images starting in Wisconsin, they’re starting in Indiana where workers are opposing a Republican plan to turn that state into a so-called “right-to-work” state. The legislation would ban businesses and unions from writing contracts that would require employees to pay dues to the unions that represent them. Last week members of the NFL Players Association challenged legislators to vote against the legislation and this week saw Oklahomans standing with their Indiana counterparts detailing how right-to-work has had a negative impact on their state. Jesse Isbell is an Oklahoma worker:

[Isbell]: "There is no anecdotal or empirical evidence that right-to-work has benefited Oklahoma’s state economy in anyway. The truth is it has driven down wages."

Oklahoma was the 22nd state to pass the legislation. Since that legislation has passed manufacturing jobs continue to move to Mexico and overseas. The most recent company to pack up was Bridgestone Tire where Isbell was an employee of 36 years.

The New Year is off to an old start – workers rallying at staehouses to defend their rights. Jesse Russell has more.

2012 is starting off much like 2011 with images of concerned citizens filling state houses. This year, instead of the images starting in Wisconsin, they’re starting in Indiana where workers are opposing a Republican plan to turn that state into a so-called “right-to-work” state.

The legislation would ban businesses and unions from writing contracts that would require employees to pay dues to the unions that represent them.

Last week members of the NFL Players Association challenged legislators to vote against the legislation and this week saw Oklahomans standing with their Indiana counterparts detailing how right-to-work has had a negative impact on their  state. Jesse Isbell is an Oklahoma worker who said:

There is no anecdotal or empirical evidence that right-to-work has benefited Oklahoma’s state economy in anyway. The truth is it has driven down wages.

Oklahoma was the 22nd state to pass the legislation. Since that legislation has passed manufacturing jobs continue to move to Mexico and overseas. The most recent company to pack up was Bridgestone Tire where Isbell was an employee of 36 years.

The term"right to work" is misnomer because these laws give workers no inherent right to find work. In the past, the "right to work'  laws made paying union dues optional.

Now the GOP is trying to trying to ban the collection of union dues form payroll deductions. The intent is not only to weaken unions , but also to weaken the fund raising of the Democratic party which relies on union contributions.

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America Beyond Capitalism: Has The Populist Movement To Reclaim Our Democracy Emerged?

1/10/2012

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Jesse Russell takes a look now at a re-released book on America and capitalism.

In 2005 historian and economist Professor Gar Alperovitz (Alper – vitz) released “America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy.” In that book he essentially predicted that due to the economic inequality in the United States history suggested the nation was ready for a new populist movement aimed at reclaiming a democratic society from corporate overreach. He was off by a couple years, but the Occupy Wall Street movement appears to be the first step toward the movement he foresaw. Alperovitz said:

 I think we may be at the beginning point of thinking about, in a much more profound way, that something is really wrong and its time to begin opening a big, big debate, almost likle a Federalist Papers, about where we’re going in this Century.

That book has now been re-released as it provides pieces of what could be a road map for where the movement can go from here. Alperovitz added:

It’s all about changing and democratizing ownership from the bottom up, state-by-state, city-by-city, and reports on an enormous amount going on at worker owned companies, land trusts, co-ops, things the press doesn’t cover but will be part and parcel as we move forward.

The US is an economic throwback to pre-Wold War 2 economics. We are a plutonomy that is supportive of unequal income and wealth distribution that eventually leads to social and economic instability.

After the Nazis were defeated in Europe, societies were developed that are more socially egalitarian.

This is why the Europeans today live longer, are happier and are better educated than Americans.

Of course, the GOP  is quick to jump on any reform that would make the US more egalitarian. According to the right wing such reforms are socialistic.

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