E-Messenger 5-30-14 - Florida AFL-CIO

May 30th, 2014
E-MESSENGER
The Electronic Newsle0er of the Florida AFL-­‐CIO
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PAGE 2
FRIDAY FEATURE
Workers at McDonald's not only went on strike in several
cities around the world — they got arrested at McD's
headquarters during an annual shareholders meeting.
Shareholders left after they called police. 139 picketers
were arrested. The words chanted at the end of the clip?
"I believe that we will win."
WATCH HERE: HTTP://BIT.LY/1KQIGSS
.COM/FLORIDAAFLCIO
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BOYCOTT STAPLES
READ ATU AND UNITE
HERE’S OFFICIAL
ENDORSEMENT OF THE
APWU STAPLES
BOYCOTT!
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DIGITAL TRAININGS!
Exci%ng news: the #1uDigital training series—the AFL-­‐CIO’s series of free, online, top-­‐notch digital trainings-­‐-­‐is back!
New trainings start next week, so register now!
We’ll be confirming trainers and %mes shortly, as well as adding a couple extra trainings, so stay tuned for updates. But we didn’t want to wait one second more to show you what’s in store for the next phase of #1uDigital trainings.
#1uDigital is for AFL-­‐CIO affiliates, members, and progressive partners. Anyone who loves the labor movement and wants to learn can join our trainings, so share with staff, members, allies, partners, and friends. Share far and wide to make sure folks get these cri%cal trainings, especially as we gear up for the 2014 elec%on cycle.
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AFL-­‐CIO Now
www.aflcio.org/blog.
Hey, North Carolina, Our Freedoms Were Built Through
‘Imminent Disturbance’
May 29, 2014 Mike Hall | In The States
North Carolina lawmakers want to use a new gag rule to silence growing Moral Monday protests
over their extremist agenda that has attacked voting rights, education, the environment,
unemployed workers, health care and women's rights.The “imminent disturbance” rule allows
police to arrest anyone who poses a threat to create a disturbance.
Read more and comment »
Here’s What We’re Reading: Friday News
Roundup
May 30, 2014 Mike Hall | Political Action/Legislation
Here are some headlines from the working families’ news we're reading
today (after the jump).
READ MORE AND COMMENT »
Trumka: 'Act Without Delay to End the Deportation
Crisis'
May 28, 2014 Kenneth Quinnell | Political Action/Legislation
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AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement in
response to the ongoing deportation crisis in the U.S.:
We face a grave moral crisis on immigration reform. Our long-held belief is
that every possible step that could be taken should be taken with great
urgency. We reiterate our urgent plea that all political leaders, in both
branches, act without delay to end the deportation crisis.
READ MORE AND COMMENT »
Help Save America's Steel Jobs
May 28, 2014 Mike Hall | Political Action/Legislation
Steve Korotko, Chad Cramer and Mike Grillo (above), all have served full
tours of duty in the military and now they are United Steelworkers (USW)
Local 1219 members and serve as safety reps at the United States Steel
Corp.'s Braddock, Pa., plant.
READ MORE AND COMMENT »
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www.huffingtonpost.com
The Worst Places On The
Planet To Be A Worker
The Huffington Post | By Kevin Short
Where are the worst places on the planet to be a worker?
A new report by the International Trade Union Confederation, an
umbrella organization of unions around the world, sheds light on the
state of workers' rights across 139 countries. For its 2014 Global
Rights Index, the ITUC evaluated 97 different workers' rights metrics
like the ability to join unions, access to legal protections and due
process, and freedom from violent conditions. The group ranks each
country on a scale of 1 (the best protections) to 5 (the worst
protections).
The study found that in at least 35 countries, workers have been
arrested or imprisoned "as a tactic to resist demands for democratic
rights, decent wages, safer working conditions and secure jobs." In a
minimum of nine countries, murder and disappearance are regularly
used to intimidate workers.
Denmark was the only country in the world to achieve a perfect score,
meaning that the nation abides by all 97 indicators of workers' rights.
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The U.S., embarrassingly, scored a 4, indicating "systematic
violations" and "serious efforts to crush the collective voice of
workers."
“Countries such as Denmark and Uruguay led the way through their
strong labour laws, but perhaps surprisingly, the likes of Greece, the
United States and Hong Kong, lagged behind,” wrote ITUC general
secretary Sharan Burrow in a statement about the report. “A country’s
level of development proved to be a poor indicator of whether it
respected basic rights to bargain collectively, strike for decent
conditions, or simply join a union at all.”
Here's a look at the world rankings. Darker shades represent worse
protections for workers. A score of 5+ means that active conflicts, like
those in Syria or Sudan, block any legal protections for workers.
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9 Inspiring Maya Angelou
Poems You Can Read Online
The Huffington Post | By Maddie Crum
Acclaimed author, poet and activist Maya Angelou died today at the
age of 86. In remembrance of her inspiring life and prolific career,
we've selected 9 of her poems that you can read online:
"Caged Bird"
"The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still"
[...]
Read the full poem at Poetry Foundation.
"On the Pulse of Morning"
"The Rock cries out to us today,
You may stand upon me,
But do not hide your face."
[...]
Read the full poem at Poetry Foundation.
"Still I Rise"
"You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise."
[...]
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Read the full poem at poets.org.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/28/maya-angeloupoems_n_5403816.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
www.inthesetimes.com
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014, 5:59 PM
Walmart Moms’
Walkout Starts Friday
BY SARAH JAFFE
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For years, Walmart workers have protested the company's low wages and unfair
treatment of employees. This Friday, a week before the company's shareholders meet,
hundreds of 'Walmart Moms' will begin walking off the job. (OUR Walmart) In 2008, political commentators made a lot of fuss about “Walmart
Moms,” a demographic that was supposedly key to the election. The
Walmart Mom was an updated, service-economy version of the
blue-collar worker: Someone without a college degree, working and
raising a family, usually white, possibly religious. She was courted
heavily by both parties and perceived, at least in recent decades, to
be swinging right.
Six years later, the real-life Walmart Moms are going on strike.
According to a Thursday conference call hosted by the Organization
United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), hundreds of
mothers who work at Walmart stores throughout the country will
begin walking off the job on Friday, a week before the company's
shareholders meet in Bentonville, Arkansas. The action will
culminate in a nationwide strike on Wednesday, June 4.
Linda Haluska and Lashanda Myrick are two of those mothers, both
tired of struggling to support their children on what Walmart pays.
“We are Walmart moms; we're not some political category,” said
Haluska, who's worked at the Glenwood, Illinois store for 8 years,
on the call. “We're real people who are struggling to create happy
stable homes for our kids.” Walmart moms, in other words, want
politicians and pundits to listen to what they really need, not pander
to their perceived political biases.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/16759/
hundreds_of_walmart_moms_strike_friday
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A merger between the two largest cable companies in the country, Comcast and Time
Warner—whose CEO, Jeff Bewkes, is pictured here—could mean bad news for
consumers.
FEATURES » MAY 30, 2014
Big Cable’s Almighty Dollar
Will Comcast’s and Time Warner Cable’s money outpace
public objection to their potential merger? Stay tuned.
BY DAVID SIROTA
Overall, according to the Institute for Money in State
Politics, Comcast and Time Warner Cable have spent
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roughly $17 million on state campaign contributions in
the last decade.
There are plenty of reasons to worry about the proposal to combine
Comcast, America’s largest cable and broadband company, with
Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable firm and third-largest
broadband provider.
For one, there’s ever more consolidated control over content.
There’s also the possibility of certain types of content being given
special (or worse) treatment based on the provider’s relationship
with Comcast and Time Warner Cable. And there’s the prospect of
even higher prices. Indeed a Comcast executive recently admitted
that the company will not promise bills “are going to go down or
even that they’re going to increase less rapidly.”
http://inthesetimes.com/article/16758/comcast_time_warner_merger
www.thinkprogress.org
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Just Four Out Of 80 Candidates Endorsed By The Tea Party Are
Women
BY SCOTT KEYES AND ADAM PECK ON MAY 30, 2014
Conservatives' trouble among women continues.
169 Tweets 63 Shares
Americans Would Rather Do Business With White People Than
Black People
BY BRYCE COVERT ON MAY 30, 2014
Black people selling products online get fewer responses and lower offers than
white people.
95 Tweets 138 Shares
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The Exponential Growth Of American Incarceration, In Three
Graphs
BY NICOLE FLATOW ON MAY 29, 2014
In new illustrations of the U.S. mass incarceration epidemic, Louisiana and
Alabama stand out for their outsized contributions.
258 Tweets 4,066 Shares
First Republican State Legislature Passes A Minimum Wage
Hike
BY BRYCE COVERT ON MAY 28, 2014
Republicans in Michigan joined Democrats to pass a minimum wage increase to
$9.25 an hour and have it grow automatically.
106 Tweets 85 Shares
www.salon.com
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 07:45 AM EDT
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Scott Walker is falling
apart: The little
corruption problem
he just can’t shake
The embattled GOP governor wants to settle an awful legal headache.
But that has his conservative base up in arms
HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Scott Walker (Credit: AP/Andy Manis)
It seems as though every presidential race in recent years offers up a
Republican governor from the upper Midwest as the great white hope.
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They’re usually talked up as “reformers,” perhaps trying to capitalize on
the tradition of Robert La Follette, the famous Wisconsin iconoclast, at
times when the Republican establishment feels it needs to pretend to be
more “with it” than it actually is.
At one point it was Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, widely hailed in
the media as an innovative thinker who would be practically unbeatable.
Unfortunately, when he finally took the bait and ran in 2008 he flamed
out spectacularly with a series of gaffes in which he endorsed
discrimination in employment and insulted Jewish people. Then there
was Tim Pawlenty, a former Michigan Minnesota governor, who had
been on the short list for years, withering into an afterthought despite
spending lots of donor money on histrionic, Michael Bay-style campaign
ads designed to enhance his manly appeal.
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/30/
scott_walker_is_falling_apart_the_little_corruption_problem_he_just_ca
nt_shake/
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 09:32 AM EDT
Paul Krugman blasts
the Chamber of
Commerce’s pitiful
attack on
environmentalists
The New York Times columnist writes that the lobbying giant's latest
report undermines its own conclusions
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ELIAS ISQUITH
Paul Krugman (Credit: Reuters/Chip East)
In his latest column for the New York Times, economist and liberal
pundit Paul Krugman argues that a new report from the Chamber of
Commerce, intended to show that reducing carbon emissions will be too
costly, is actually a great piece of evidence for those who argue that the
U.S. can lead the fight against climate change without appreciably
hurting its economy.
“[I]f you focus on the report’s content rather than its rhetoric,” Krugman
writes, “you discover that despite the chamber’s best efforts to spin
things … the numbers are remarkably small.”
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/30/
paul_krugman_on_the_chamber_of_commerces_pitiful_attack_on_anti_
environmentalists/
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ruthOut
www.truth-out.org
Thomas Piketty: The Market
and Private Property Should
Be the Slaves of Democracy
Friday, 30 May 2014 10:18
By Lynn Fries, The Real News Network | Video Interview
18th century painting of The Royal Palace of Portici, a former royal palace
in Portici, southern Italy. Oil on canvas by unknown 18th century painter.
(Photo: Artist Unknown / DoD)
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http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/24041-thomas-piketty-the-marketand-private-property-should-be-the-slaves-of-democracy
"Bush's Fourth Term Continues":
Guantanamo, Torture, Secret
Renditions; Indefinite Detention
By Adam Hudson, Truthout | News Analysis
Part of a legal defense team walk at Camp Justice, part of the legal complex of the US
Military Commissions, at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, in Cuba, Thursday, June 5,
2008. (Photo: Brennan Linsley, Pool via The New York Times)
New drama rocks the Guantanamo military commissions as the
potential release of a Senate report on the CIA torture program could
influence the commissions' future and reveal previously unknown
details. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rejects a constitutional
challenge to indefinite detention.
Read more...
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WWW.LABORNOTES.ORG
‘Labor Priests’ Reviving
Social Justice Teachings
—and Action
May 28, 2014 / Robert Richter
Police arrest Father Andrew Switzer, a West Virginia priest and the son of
coal miners, during a Mine Workers rally to save pensions and health care.
Photo: CNS/David Kameras, courtesy of UMWA.
“Labor priests” were a recognized presence in the labor movement of the
1920s through the 1960s. Father Barry, the Karl Malden character in the
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PAGE 22
1954 film “On the Waterfront,” was the model of the priest who sided with
workers.
Priests conducted Parish Labor Schools where workers interested in
collective bargaining studied Catholic social justice doctrine, labor law, and
parliamentary procedure.
While parish-based Labor Schools have been largely replaced today by
worker centers, labor priests are once again gaining numbers (100 at last
count) who share their vision that to diminish workers is to rob them of their
God-given vocation.
The Influence of Pope Francis
The third meeting of the Priest-Labor Initiative showed some noticeable
differences.
A group that began with young, coast-centric, and primarily immigrant
backgrounds saw middle-aged priests join from the South as well as a few
Midwest states.
The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, which recently formed a labor caucus,
also sent several priests and plans to partner with the initiative.
Father Clete Kiley said, "We've got 30,000 priests in the country, and we've got a
hundred [in our network]. So we got higher goals than that.”
The past year has seen the influence of Pope Francis.
"Every time he speaks to priests, he's saying things like we need to have ‘the
smell of the sheep’ on us, we need to get out of our churches, we need to go out
and engage people, we need to encounter people," Kiley said.
"It seems to have given, I don't want to say permission, but an added emphasis
for this kind of an initiative.”
That's led to priests more confident in engaging issues of labor and work.
On Capitol Hill, Tom Shellabarger, a public policy advocate with Interfaith Worker
Justice, has seen the church's profile raised in a new light—everyone's asking
about Francis.
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"They want to know: Is the church really going to respond the way Francis has
responded?” Shellabarger said. “Is the church going to be there out in the streets
the way Francis has called them to be?"
Excerpted from National Catholic Reporter, by Brian Roewe.
The Priest-Labor Initiative was founded in 2012 by Father Clete Kiley and
held its third meeting this month in Atlanta, with two dozen priests in
attendance. Kiley was pastor of a large immigrant parish in Chicago,
worked on organizing drives at university food services and at O’Hare
airport, and is now director for immigration policy for UNITE HERE, the
hotel workers union.
- See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/2014/05/labor-priests-reviving-social-justice-teachingsaction#sthash.3X3GvL9v.dpuf
Social Security
Threatens To Close All
Field Offices
May 22, 2014 / Jim Campana
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A Social Security worker helps a veteran with benefits questions, next to a
poster promoting the agency’s online services. Many claimants who file on
the internet don't get all the benefits they're entitled to. Photo: Jim West/
jimwestphoto.com.
Need to figure out whether it makes sense to retire at 62 or 65? Wondering
how much your monthly Social Security benefit will be? Been married three
times and wondering what that means for your benefit?
Answers have never been farther than your local Social Security office,
where employees are extensively trained to give you accurate and helpful
answers. There’s a reason Social Security is the most popular of all
government programs.
But that will change if the Social Security Administration’s “Vision 2025”
comes to pass. Bureaucrats are mulling closure of most of SSA’s more than
1,000 community field offices in the U.S., where 43 million people sought
services last year.
- See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/2014/05/social-security-threatens-close-all-fieldoffices#sthash.XJVpha74.dpuf
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Florida News from our allies at Progress Florida
(Some of the news stories below may require a subscription to read.)
EATURED STORIES
Surprise witness emerges in redistricting trial
By Mary Ellen Klas
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
The trial over Florida’s redrawn congressional districts took a dramatic turn
Thursday when the judge closed the courtroom to the public and a private
citizen — whom legislators had commended for having drawn portions of
the final congressional map — testified he did not draw any maps and that
his name was used without his permission.
Light vetoes predicted when Gov. Rick Scott signs Florida budget
By Steve Bousquet and Michael Van Sickler
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's veto pen is looking more like a scalpel as signs
point to him trimming a fraction of spending in a record-high $77.1 billion
election-year budget.
Rep. Vasilinda Vies For FSU Presidency As Thrasher Finally Applies
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Tallahassee
Tallahassee State Representative Michelle Rehwinkle-Vasilinda says she’s
concerned the press isn’t taking her bid to be Florida State University
President seriously.
Let us see travel logs of governor
Editorial
Sun Sentinel
When candidate Rick Scott ran for governor of Florida in 2010, he
promised to make government more accountable and more transparent, in
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PAGE 26
part by selling the state's two planes, then a symbol of government
largesse.
BEST OF THE BLOGS
Rick Scott's "Not A Scientist?" He's Also Not Florida's CEO, And Shouldn't
Be A Shareholder
By Martha Jackovics
Beach Peanuts
In case you're keeping score, Rick Scott's latest reason for ignoring climate
change is the same as one of the many used by national punch line Marco
Rubio recently: "I'm not a scientist."
Jeb Bush gets a free pass in Sunday New York Times … ALL the news
that's fit to print? Whatever.
By Gimleteye
Eye On Miami
Anyone familiar with the record of Jeb Bush's two terms as Florida
governor will be rubbing their eyes at the recent NY Times profile depicting
Bush as "an intellectual in search of new ideas, a serial consulter of
outsiders who relishes animated debate and a probing manager who
eagerly burrows into the bureaucratic details."
Florida Chamber's Directors - asleep at the switch?
By Sandspur
SWFWMD Matters
Mark Wilson, Pres. and CEO of the Florida Chamber wrote a 742-word Oped piece for the Tampa Bay Times today.
“Busy Boys, Little Ladies” – Wait, What Decade Are We In Again?
By Galen Sherwin
Blog Of Rights
Rick Scott, the Governor of Florida, signed legislation earlier this week that
would provide professional development for teachers in “single-gender”
classrooms.
Not a Gentleman, but Still an Officer… State Attorney Protects Prosecutor’s
Offensive Remarks about Sonia Sotomayor
By Daliah Lugo
Dímelo
In our legal system, lawyers are deemed to be “officers of the court”.
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PAGE 27
FLORIDA POLITICS
GOP operative 'hopes' Republican-drawn maps were filed
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Leon County judge kicks public and media out of Florida
redistricting trial
A top Republican operative at the center of a legal challenge to Florida's
congressional districts testified Thursday that he and other consultants
regularly exchanged proposed maps with the hope they would be filed with
the Legislature.
Closed court sends terrible message
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
Reporters and the public were removed from a Tallahassee courtroom and
a live television stream was shut off Thursday as the trial over Florida's
congressional redistricting moved behind closed doors.
U.S. Rep. David Jolly on his 'purple' Pinellas district
By Curtis Krueger
Tampa Bay Times
Newly elected U.S. Rep. David Jolly sat down with Times staff writer Curtis
Krueger this week, just prior to a scheduled news conference about
Veterans Affairs issues.
Pasco's Rep. Amanda Murphy reflects on first year in House
By Rich Shopes
Tampa Bay Times
Before taking her seat in the state Legislature, Amanda Murphy already
had some notions about rough-and-tumble politics thanks to a class trip 25
years ago.
POLITICAL RACES
Can Jeb Bush Win the Presidency?
By Matthew Cooper
Newsweek
The conservatives were ornery, even angry. They had come to see their
hero speak, and their patience with the patrician, Yale-educated Bush,
second on the bill, was short—especially when he chided the conservative
main attraction.
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Jobs not helping Scott's ratings
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Related: VIDEO: Scott goes after Crist on the economy
Florida’s job market is the healthiest it’s been since Gov. Rick Scott was
elected in 2010.
Nelson still mum on Crist candidacy
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing
When it comes to discussing who might be the Democratic gubernatorial
candidate in 2014, Bill Nelson has acted a bit curiously over the past year.
2 Manatee commissioners boycott Gov. Scott's visit
By Sara Kennedy
Bradenton Herald
Five Manatee County commissioners Thursday attended a campaign event
for Gov. Rick Scott, but two of their colleagues boycotted the governor's
visit, contending that a budget workshop that was postponed should have
taken first priority.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Republicans on climate science: Don't ask us
By Darren Goode
Politico
Some leading conservatives have a new talking point on climate science:
They’re not qualified to talk about it.
One in five Floridians say they would not leave for a hurricane
By Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
Nearly one in five Floridians say they would not evacuate for a hurricane,
and of those who say they would evacuate, they won’t go until a Category 3
or higher is on the way, AAA said today.
LGBT
Victories propel gay-marriage movement
By Richard Wolf
USA Today
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PAGE 29
The race to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's state and federal
courts has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, fueled by an unbroken string of
pro-marriage rulings since the Supreme Court first weighed in on the
subject last June.
EDUCATION
School Choice
By Matt Galka
Capitol News Service
Public school supporters are speaking out against school choice.
No investigations into FCAT writing scores scheduled
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Concerns over lower-than-expected fourth grade FCAT writing scores
continue to resonate in Pasco County schools, with teachers and parents
reaching out to superintendent Kurt Browning to share their discontent.
Meet the new test, same as the old test
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The infamous FCAT exams, which for years tormented Florida’s public
school students, are now a thing of the past, and state education officials
are busy at work figuring out what comes next.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
State Spending by Minutes and Seconds
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Governor Rick Scott has until June fourth to sign the record 77 billion dollar
state budget.
Fla. Cities 'Mostly Unscathed' This Session, Still Hope To Revisit Local
Pension Reform
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Florida League of Cities Spokesman Ryan Matthews says overall, it was a
successful Legislative Session for local governments.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Documents Show the VA Debacle Began Under George W. Bush
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PAGE 30
By Mariah Blake
Mother Jones
President Barack Obama and his administration have come under fire
following a string of revelations about the huge backlogs of patients at
Department of Veterans Affairs clinics and the underhanded tactics many of
them used to hide the long wait times for medical care.
Inspectors visited Tampa VA hospital, officials say
By Howard Altman
Tampa Tribune
As a national Veterans Affairs probe expanded into whether patients died
as the result of being forced to wait for treatment, department inspectors
visited Tampa’s James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital last week, according to
local VA officials.
Complaint accuses 4 Fla insurers of discrimination
By Kelli Kennedy
Associated Press
Two health organizations filed a complaint with federal health officials
Thursday alleging some Florida insurance companies are violating the
Affordable Care Act by structuring their insurance plans in a way that
discourage consumers with HIV and AIDS from choosing those plans.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
High court to weigh in on medical malpractice caps again
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Less than three months after ruling that part of a controversial 2003
medical-malpractice law was unconstitutional, the Florida Supreme Court is
ready to take up another dispute about limits on damages in malpractice
cases.
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