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LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER
Week of February 12, 2010
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Updated on a regular basis
Bulletin Board:
Getting Workers Back on Union Rolls
Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released today showed that unionization rates remained virtually unchanged between 2008 and 2009—falling a tenth of a percentage point from 12.4 in 2008 to 12.3 in 2009—and for the first time unionized public sector employees outnumber private sector union members. For the last six years union membership rates have hovered between 12 and 12.5 percent, but they have dropped considerably over the last 25 years. Significant legislative changes must occur in order for a substantial portion of the American workforce to get back onto union rolls as polls indicate they would like to do.
Unionization rates increased slightly in 2007 and 2008—growing from 12 percent to 12.1 percent in 2007 and from 12.1 percent to 12.4 percent in 2008. But over the last quarter century union membership rates have fallen significantly and the current union membership rates are a fraction of what they were in the early 1980s. Rates have fallen by almost 8 percentage points since 1983, the first year comparable union data are available, when union membership rates were 20.1 percent.
The ailing economy in 2009 reduced the union workforce by 771,000, and this decline appears to have disproportionally affected private sector unionized workers. Though the American economy shed almost 4.9 million jobs last year according to the BLS union figures released today—representing a decline of 3.8 percent— the total number of private sector unionized workers declined by 10.1 percent and the private sector unionization rate fell from 7.6 percent in 2008 to 7.2 percent in 2009.
For the first time in a quarter century public sector workers make up over half—51.5 percent—of the total unionized workforce despite there being five times more wage and salary workers in the private sector.
Public sector unionization has remained relatively steady over the past few decades and the percentage of public sector unionized workers increased slightly from 36.8 percent in 2008 to 37.4 percent in 2009. The strength of unions in the public sector compared to those in the private sector is primarily due to different employer practices in union elections in each sector.
Most Americans say they would join a union if they could. But in public sector union elections employers typically remain neutral, while in the private sector the current union selection process is broken and allows antiunion employers to engage in aggressive campaigns that often intimidate workers.
These unfair union election laws mean that workers cannot choose a union without employer interference and even if they successfully vote to join a union they are often prevented from fairly negotiating a first contract. Research from MIT’s Sloan School of Management shows that workers in 45 percent of successful elections were still waiting for a first contract two years after voting.
Unions benefit workers. Those in unions earn significantly more on average than their nonunion counterparts and union employers are more likely to provide benefits. When unions are strong and able to represent the people who want to join them, these gains spread throughout the economy. Nonunion companies increase their wages and all workers have more purchasing power.
It will take substantial legislative changes to allow all Americans a stronger voice on the job and a true opportunity to unionize. The Employee Free Choice Act is the first step toward restoring workers’ basic democratic right to make a free choice to join a union. It would reform the labor relations system through provisions that create a level playing for workers by granting workers a fair and direct path to form unions, hold bad actors accountable with stiffer penalties on employers who break the rules, and restore fairness in negotiating with a first contract arbitration process. Passing the bill would help restore workplace democracy for workers attempting to organize, boost unionization rates, and improve the economic standing and workplace conditions for millions of American workers.
David Madland is the Director of the American Worker Project and Karla Walter is a Policy Analyst at American Progress.
Is The GOP Ready To Govern Again?
Perhaps Republicans have come to place too much value on toeing the party line and too little on offering new ideas. by Charlie Cook
An observation that strikes a strong chord with a great many people these days is that although Democrats in Washington have certainly performed poorly enough over the past year to deserve being thrown out of power, congressional Republicans have done virtually nothing to deserve being thrown back into power. The GOP's eight years in the White House and six years in control of Congress were certainly inauspicious.
Looking toward November 2, the Democrats' situation in the House isn't quite bad enough to say that their majority is a goner. But unless something bends the political curve in their favor, Democrats are headed toward losing more than the 40 seats that would cost them control.
Pennsylvania is expected to hold a special election on May 18 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha. The Cook Political Report rates the contest a "toss-up," raising to 51 the number of Democratic House seats now in competitive situations. Twenty-five are toss-ups or even more vulnerable; 26 are in the "lean Democratic" category.
Murtha's district went for Republican John McCain four years after being carried by Democrat John Kerry. Even under normal circumstances -- meaning, even if they weren't under siege -- Democrats would have trouble defending this district without Murtha.
Just how bad is the Democrats' current situation? In the three statewide contests since the 2008 presidential election, the Democratic nominee has run an average of 9 percentage points behind Barack Obama's performance.
In the Senate, a Republican takeover is
unlikely -- before 2012. With Democrats likely to lose five to seven Senate
seats this year, the GOP has a very good chance of reclaiming the majority
in 2012, when Democrats will have 23 seats in play compared with only nine
for Republicans, or in 2014, when 20 Democratic seats come up and
Republicans will have to defend only 13.
Republicans' exile could be brief, but do they deserve to reclaim power?
In short, Republicans' exile to the wilderness, congressionally speaking at least, could be brief, but do they deserve to reclaim power? The GOP appears to be on track to winning the midterm elections, so from a crass political perspective, how can it be faulted? Well, Republicans have cobbled together some pro forma proposals, but they certainly haven't made many good-faith efforts at producing public policy in the past year. To be sure, many Democratic congressional leaders haven't seemed open to GOP or conservative ideas, but that does not absolve Republicans of responsibility for addressing the nation's unemployment and health care problems.
If Republicans return to power soon, what will they do? As New York Times Book Review Editor Sam Tanenhaus wrote in his 2009 book, The Death of Conservatism, "Today's conservatives resemble the exhumed figures of Pompeii, trapped in postures of frozen flight, clenched in the rigor mortis of a defunct ideology." Tanenhaus's characterization of the GOP as long on obstruction and recrimination and short on constructive efforts to address our country's mounting problems rings true. Although the GOP's negativity might help it win the midterm elections, it hardly provides a sound basis on which to govern.
Remember how Karl Rove's divide-and-conquer strategy to re-elect President Bush worked but failed to give him a foundation on which to govern for his final four years or the authority to rule. Perhaps during Bush's presidency Republicans came to place too much value on toeing the party line and too little on offering new ideas. A party can atrophy intellectually.
When I listened to President Obama deliver his State of the Union address, I was disappointed not to hear an acknowledgement that he had squandered the mountain of goodwill he enjoyed when he was sworn into office a year earlier; that he had misread his mandate and neglected one of his most basic job requirements -- to help manage the economy. And I still haven't heard those mea culpas. But Republicans, for their part, need to acknowledge their own shortcomings. That would be an important first step toward convincing voters that they grasp why they were thrown out of power and that they deserve to be entrusted with power once again.
I've been struck by the remarkable ad that Japan's embattled automaker, Toyota, is now running: "For over 50 years, providing you with safe, reliable, high-quality vehicles has been our first priority. In recent days, our company hasn't been living up to the standards that you've come to expect from us or that we expect from ourselves."
When will either of America's political parties learn that the best way to start anew is by apologizing?
YOUR COMMENTS
Recent Senate Votes
M. Patricia Smith, of New
York, to be Solicitor for the Department of Labor
- Vote Confirmed (60-37, 3 Not Voting)
The Senate confirmed Patricia Smith to be the Labor Department's solicitor,
despite concerns that she gave contradictory statements during her
confirmation hearing.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted
NO
Sen. Jim Bunning voted
NO
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act
- Vote Passed (233-187, 14 Not Voting)
The House passed this bill that would raise the federal debt limit to
$13.029 trillion and enact pay-as-you-go budget enforcement rules aimed at
cutting the government's deficit. It now goes to the president for his
signature.
Rep. Brett Guthrie voted
NO
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES
Enforcing Change
Five Strategies for the Obama Administration to Enforce Workers’ Rights at the Department of Labor
From air pollution to food safety to
children’s toys, one of the hallmarks of President George W. Bush’s
administration has been its failure to enforce laws designed to protect
ordinary Americans. This failure is perhaps nowhere more evident than at the
Department of Labor, where the Obama administration will have an opportunity
and an obligation to correct the Bush administration’s inadequate
enforcement of important workplace protections.
Lax enforcement by DOL harms workers, taxpayers, and law-abiding businesses. Every year, workers lose $19 billion in wages and benefits through illegal practices, nearly 6,000 American workers die on the job, and at least 50,000 workers die due to occupational dis- ease. Taxpayers are cheated out of $2.7 billion to $4.3 billion each year in Social Security, unemployment, and income taxes from just one type of workplace fraud that misclassifies employees as independent contractors. Employers who play by the rules have trouble competing with irresponsible firms that keep labor costs illegally low. As one business owner frustrated with weak enforcement of labor laws wrote recently, “It is very difficult to compete when someone is not paying his/her dues and not playing by the rules.”
Workers in traditionally low-wage and potentially dangerous industries are harmed most by the Bush DOL’s weak enforcement. At least 50 percent of garment, nursing home, and poultry employers violate basic minimum-wage and overtime protections, and 50 percent of day laborers are paid less than the wages they are owed. Construction workers and truck drivers are especially likely to get killed on the job, with fatality rates over five times the national average. At least one in 10 meatpackers is injured on the job every year, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration only inspects about 75 of the more than 5,000 meatpacking plants annually.
This report provides a detailed guide for how the Obama administration can protect workers and their paychecks by enforcing existing wage-theft and worker-safety laws that are already on the books. Wage-theft laws prevent employers from paying less than minimum wage, failing to pay overtime, forcing employees to work off the clock, stealing workers’ tips, and violating prevailing wage laws on work contracted by the federal government. Worker-safety laws regulate occupational health and safety standards in American workplaces.
This report differs from other examinations of Bush’s lax labor law enforcement to date in two key ways. First, the recommendations are geared toward initiatives that DOL officials can adopt immediately under existing authority. We do recommend legislative changes, but this report is focused on helping the Obama administration hit the ground running and quickly improve the lives of working Americans.
Second, we take a broad view of the enforcement problem, systematically analyzing the effect of weak enforcement across DOL, rather than focusing on just one problem or agency. This perspective allows us to recommend policy changes that apply to multiple programs, encourage cross-divisional cooperation, improve the balance between enforce- ment programs and other activities, and highlight areas where the agency’s culture as a whole must shift to better enforce worker protections.
We recommend five major strategies for a new Department of Labor:
Opportunity 1: Use penalties to create a culture of accountability. Under Bush’s watch, DOL has not used penalties to its full authority to go after scofflaw employers—even though an agency-commissioned study found that when employers are penalized, they and other employers are more likely to comply with wage-theft laws. Moreover, the civil and criminal penalties are simply too low to deter or even adequately punish lawbreak- ers. The Obama administration must use penalties forcefully, especially in cases of willful, repeated, or high-hazard violations. It should also work with Congress to increase maxi- mum allowable fines, and it must promote a depoliticized agenda where DOL is again seen as the top labor cop. These changes will send a message to lawbreakers that there is a new culture of accountability at DOL.
Opportunity
2: Increase enforcement staff and use partnerships to assist underfunded enforcement divisions. DOL worker-protection programs have insufficient personnel to meet enforcement needs. The Bush administration has worsened this long-standing prob- lem through its budget cuts and by rejecting community partnerships that can multiply DOL’s enforcement capacity. Increased funding from Congress is necessary for adequate enforcement, though the Obama administration can immediately increase agency capabil- ities by strengthening relationships with community organizations, industry associations, state worker-protection agencies, and labor unions. These groups can inform the agency’s enforcement agenda and assist with industry monitoring.
Opportunity 3: Target high-violation sectors with strategic initiatives. Bush’s DOL has relied on investigation methods that do not catch enough lawbreaking employers. DOL allowed department resources to be used inefficiently and many offenders to go unpun- ished by focusing on reactive, complaint-driven wage-theft investigations, poorly targeted worker-safety inspections, and voluntary compliance assistance. The Obama administra- tion should reduce safety violations and wage theft by targeting high-violation industries and locations through strategic initiatives backed by sound data.
Opportunity
4: Use thorough record keeping to drive enforcement priorities, enhance public accountability, and improve performance evaluation. Good data is key to enforcement, but the Bush administration squandered opportunities to improve data collection on worker protection. Important workplace data often goes unrecorded and underutilized, and limited online availability weakens public accountability. Moreover, the administration has intentionally weakened critical reporting requirements for businesses. The Obama administration should ensure that DOL collects quality data and then uses that information to accurately target strategic enforcement initiatives, improve public accountability, evaluate past performance, and plan for future operations.
Opportunity 5: Strengthen immigrant protections to improve job quality for all work- ers. Immigrant workers—both legal and undocumented—frequently face abuse from lawbreaking employers, which drives down job standards for all workers in industries with high concentrations of immigrant workers. The Obama administration must ensure that laws are enforced for all workers and decrease reporting barriers for immigrants by renew- ing the agency’s commitment to treat all workers equally, increasing outreach to trusted community organizations, and improving bilingual services.
The Obama administration can take a major step forward in helping to protect workers, taxpayers, and responsible businesses by employing these five strategies to effectively enforce labor laws. The Obama administration can immediately implement these strate- gies, but doing so will not be easy. It will require strong leadership to change DOL’s culture and make enforcement a priority.
Read the full report (pdf)
Learn more from the Center for American Progress Action Funds American Worker Project.
HUMOR
"Sarah
Palin's also getting criticized
because last week she demanded that Obama's chief of staff,
Rahm Emanuel,
step down because he used the word retarded. But then,
Rush Limbaugh
did the same thing on his radio show, and that, she said, was O.K.
Unfortunately, she's been unable to respond to the criticism because she's
wearing mittens." -Jimmy Kimmel
"Maybe Sarah Palin would be smarter if she had bigger hands." -Jimmy Kimmel
"Congratulations to the
New Orleans Saints.
They defeated my Indianapolis Colts. So all I can say is, 'Don't worry,
Indianapolis, FEMA is on the way.'" -David Letterman
"Big
blizzard in Washington D.C. this
week - they had over two feet of snow. D.C. completely ground to a halt. No
activity, no signs of life...But really, how could you tell the difference?"
-David Letterman
"They got a lot of snow in Washington, D.C. And the city came to the biggest
standstill they've had since the Democrats got the supermajority." -David
Letterman
"The entire East Coast is covered with snow banks and snow drifts...Or as
Toyota
drivers call them - 'cushions.'" -Jimmy Fallon
"It was so cold in Washington that the new senator from Massachusetts,
Scott Brown,
was actually wearing pants." -David Letterman
"You know who I am talking about? The new senator from the state
of Massachusetts. Before he got into politics, he had two jobs. He was a
go-go boy. And he was also a
nude model.
And they swore him in last week. It was a moving ceremony. He put his hand
on a copy of 'Cosmo.'" -David Letterman
"Senator Scott Brown. Comes out of nowhere, this guy. And he used to be,
like, a go-go boy. That's where he got his start. And then he was a nude
model, and now, he's a senator. Have you seen the guy? Terribly
good-looking. He looks like one of those guys in an adult film who would
describe his work as 'tasteful.' He looks like one of those guys at the
health club that would snap you with his towel." -David Letterman
"But this
President Obama,
he had an idea about how to handle it. He's going to let the Democrats
handle the snow. They'll put it on the back burner and hope it melts."
-David Letterman
"Most congressmen are actually taking this opportunity with all the snow to
spend some quality time with their mistresses." -Jimmy Kimmel
"On Saturday, Sarah Palin looked at
notes written on her hand
during a speech at the Tea Party Convention in Tennessee. Isn't that wild?
Oddly enough, she was reading, 'Hi, I'm Sarah Palin.'" -Jimmy Fallon
"We learned last weekend that Sarah Palin writes notes on her hand when
she's giving speeches. You can see the notes right there on her hand. The
first one is, 'Hitch up the dogsled,' 'buy Chapstick,' 'clean rifle.'"
-David Letterman
"Well, congratulations to the world champion New Orleans Saints for winning
the Super Bowl. That's the best thing to happen to
New Orleans
since
George Bush left office."
-Jay Leno
"Did everybody watch the Super Bowl? Everybody's happy for New Orleans. In
fact, FEMA announced plans to congratulate them in about two weeks." -Jimmy
Fallon
"President Obama just held his first monthly bipartisan meeting and said
that working together on jobs would be a good place to start. You know where
else would have been a good place to start? A year ago." -Jimmy Fallon
"And just two weeks before he is scheduled to go to Nevada to campaign for
Harry Reid, President Obama said Las Vegas is a place of excess that people
should not visit during hard times. I guess the president feels if you want
to see people cavorting with prostitutes and wasting your money, go to
Washington." -Jay Leno
INTERESTING
Lawmakers Vow Fast Action on Campaign Finance Bill
By Matthew Murray, CQ-Roll Call
“We will let it bake over the next week and a half and get people’s comments and opinions and have legislation ready to go when we get back,” Schumer said on a Thursday conference call, referring to the upcoming Presidents Day recess. “We have to move quickly because unlike most bills that move through Congress, this one comes with a deadline of action — if we don’t act quickly, the court’s opinion will have an immediate and disastrous impact on the 2010 elections.”
“We do not want foreign interests spending money,” Van Hollen said. “We want to make sure they can’t dump millions of dollars to influence the outcome of an election to serve foreign interests, as opposed to serving America’s interests.”
Schumer, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman last cycle, also pledged that the disclosure proposals in the bill will expose corporate and union financiers using pass-through political organizations and “AstroTurf” lobbying outfits to obscure their political outlays.
“We will drill down so that the ultimate funder of the expenditure is disclosed,” he said.
Schumer and Van Hollen’s announcement comes one month after the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which threw out most restrictions on the purchase of political advertising by corporations, unions and nonprofit organizations.
Republican lawmakers and conservative groups hailed the 5-4 decision as a victory for free speech. Echoing the sentiments of many Democrats and liberal interest groups in recent weeks, Schumer bashed the Supreme Court’s conservative majority for “one of the worst decisions [ever] issued.”
“We are not going to let this decision to go unchallenged,” he said. “At a time when Americans are worried about special interests having too much influence, this decision opens up the floodgates and allows special interest money to overflow elections and undermine our democracy.”
Schumer also said the legislation has the backing of the White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.).
Republican support for the bill may be much harder to come by. Arizona Republican John McCain , a principal author of the landmark 2002 campaign finance law of which the court voided a portion, equivocated when asked if he would sign on to the legislation.
“I’d have to look at it and see what he has in mind,” McCain said. “This was a constitutional ruling by the United States Supreme Court. I strongly disagreed with it, as you know, but I would certainly have to look at it before I would want to sign on.”
McCain is facing a primary challenge from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
“It’s hard to see how Republicans can be against disclosures, disclaimers and [support] foreign influence on our electoral process,” he said. “We expect there will be Republican support.”
Schumer declined to name any possible Republicans who might support the bill but said he is confident some will be brought on board.
“It’s hard to see how Republicans can be against disclosures, disclaimers and [support] foreign influence on our electoral process,” he said. “We expect there will be Republican support.”
Kathleen Hunter contributed to this story.
Buy American Mention of the Week, By Roger Simmermaker
An American-made Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. And guys, if you’re thinking about getting roses for that important woman in your life, you can be sure to get guaranteed American-grown roses from Jackson & Perkins, which delivers all of their roses from California's San Joaquin Valley. But what if you’re interested in getting something other than the traditional Valentine’s Day gift of roses that can still claim the United States of America as the source?
Few things can warm an American heart more than a good, hot cup of coffee, and the best place to get it is from the USA Coffee Company at www.USACoffeeCompany.com where every bit of it is truly American from tree to cup.
Only American workers and American jobs are involved when you buy any of the many types of coffee and other related products from the USA Coffee Company, which grows all of their coffee in the great state of Hawaii. You can check out their V-Day Combo special and get free USPS Priority shipping.
America’s patriotic brick-and-mortar store American Aisle (www.AmericanAisle.com) has all kinds of American-made Valentine’s Day gifts at special prices to celebrate the special day with your sweetie. How about a vase full of Chocolate Red Roses on 14-inch stems complete with silk leaves for an amazingly low-priced $3.99? Also tough to beat is a six piece gift stick of creamy caramel-filled, milk chocolate molded hearts wrapped in red and gold foil for $4.99.
Also available at www.AmericanAisle.com (if you don’t live close enough to the Chicagoland area to visit their store in person) are Heart Pops for 59 cents each, Valentine Pretzels (14 ounce bag for $7.99), Red Candied Dried Tart Cherries for $1.99, a Hearts Filled Teddy Bear for $7.99, a Cupid Crunch Bag of candy for $5.99, along with milk chocolate pretzels, dark chocolate pretzels, and white chocolate pretzels for $7.99 each. How simpler (and cheaper) can it be to shower your sweetie with Valentine’s Day treats?
You can also buy American when you buy what I buy if you visit www.AmericanAisle.com and pick up their Icon Candle Heart for a mere $19.99. I can’t wait to fire up this candle and smell the romantic aroma blend of caramel, chocolate, and vanilla that I just know my wife will love. And now you can get 10 percent off your order using my special HTBA coupon code at checkout.
American Aisle is also having a moving sale between President’s Day on February 15th to February 21st, where you can get a whopping 40% off by using coupon code HTBAEX at checkout to get the lowest price ever.
At www.MadeInUSAForever.com you can choose from American-handcrafted Perla Fragola Strawberry White Chocolate or medium- and large-piece handcrafted chocolate by Maxmillan Chocolat by clicking the Food & Drinks tab on their website.
How about a Pixel Organics “Sweet Dreams” decorative pillow for your sweetie at www.MadeInUSAProductsStore.com? It’s the perfect way to rest and relax with an American-made pillow with Valentine’s Day decorative colors.
And why not consider classy clothing for the classy lady in your life from www.eagles-way.com? Show her she’s your “Sweet Valentine” and make her sparkle with a ladies fashion T with a valentine motif on a pink background. These three-quarter sleeve all-cotton shirts come with jewel decorations and are made in USA by Cactus Fashion. The Valentine motif shows the words “To my Valentine” and “All my Love Now and Forever” with valentine hearts and ribbons and sparkly gemstones.
So now it’s easy to satisfy your sweetie and do your part as a patriotic American by keeping your money in America where it should be for the benefit of other Americans who need jobs so they can take pleasure in satisfying sweeties of their own.
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Roger Simmermaker is the author of How Americans Can Buy American: The Power of Consumer Patriotism and writes "Buy American Mention of the Week" articles for WorldNetDaily.com and his website www.howtobuyamerican.com. Roger is a member of the Machinists Union and National Writers Union, has been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, and has been quoted in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Business Week among many other publications.
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