By The PA. AFL-CIO

– The push for so-called pension reform has been a red herring for conservative lawmakers for years. By deliberately sabotaging the system through under-funding, and then misrepresenting to the public the dire state of the resulting unfunded liabilities, the right wing has been able to convince many people that the problem is with pensions. In reality, the problem has been one of mismanagement and irresponsibility on the part of our legislature.

The amended version of SB1 does nothing to address the budget, provides for no new sources of revenue to help pay the unfunded liability, and the supposed savings are dwarfed in comparison to the $26 billion that Act 120 will save over the next 25 years.

Act 120, passed in 2010 to address the unfunded liability in the pension system, made real reforms, and was the result of careful negotiations and shared sacrifice. As a result of the changes – taxpayers are no longer on the hook if fund performance dips when there is a recession. Employee contributions were increased and benefits were reduced – all to pay for the shortfalls caused when the ultra-conservative legislature stopped making full payments into the system.

The State House vote on SB1 today was one driven by ideology, not facts. In a race to the bottom, there is pressure to strip hard-earned benefits from workers, instead of looking for ways to expand opportunity and retirement security to all workers. But we should not engage in a race to the bottom. The labor movement in Pennsylvania has always maintained that a rising tide lifts all boats. Through our unions, we will continue to fight for fair wages, good benefits, and dignity in retirement for ALL workers. We make no apologies for social and economic justice in the workplace.

After final passage in the House by a vote of 106 to 89, SB1 now heads back to the State Senate for a concurrence vote. It reflects poorly on the proud history of the Pennsylvania General Assembly that we are now at a time when the legislature takes action to restrict, rather than expand, workers’ rights – and to reduce, rather than improve, the standard of living for working families in Pennsylvania. We will urge Governor Wolf to veto this misguided attack on workers.

To Tell Your State Senator To VOTE NO When SB1 Comes Back To The Senate For Concurrence
Comments, Go To: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-tell-the-senate-to-reverse-course-and-reject-sb1

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6110

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– With disregard for public opinion, with disregard for facts, and with disregard for the basic responsibilities of State Government outlined by our Constitution – the extreme conservative wing of the Republican Party has now passed a phony budget through both chambers of the legislature. This budget is not balanced, it relies on accounting gimmicks and one-time sources of revenue, and it forces workers and homeowners to continue subsidizing corporate welfare for multibillion-dollar out-of-state corporations.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Pennsylvanians have demanded a budget that restores education funding. Pennsylvanians have demanded a budget that includes property tax relief for working families and especially for senior citizens. Pennsylvanians have demanded a budget that finally starts taxing gas drillers, instead of inviting companies to come into our Commonwealth and strip our resources for free. Pennsylvanians have demanded a budget that makes the minimum wage in Pennsylvania a living wage for all workers. Pennsylvanians have demanded a budget that invests in our future, with a vision towards what our great State can achieve: Schools that teach; Jobs that pay; Government that works.

What we have witnessed over these past several days is far from ‘Government that works.’

Instead of delivering on the priorities of Pennsylvania’s families, the leadership in both chambers have ushered through a series of ideological attacks on wages, on workers’ rights, and on retirement security. The legislature has passed bills to give away valuable public assets and to eliminate jobs. None of these priorities are shared by the people of Pennsylvania.

This budget severely fails the people of Pennsylvania, and clearly deserves the veto that Governor Wolf has promised. It’s time for the legislature to stop playing games, and do the work they were elected to do on behalf of all Pennsylvanians.

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6115

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– With Pennsylvania’s State Budget deadline looming, the Legislature has opted to spend these final days playing politics and reviving old discredited attacks on workers instead of working to pass a real budget plan.

The GOP budget, passed by the State House on Saturday, is a mirror image of failed budgets passed under Governor Corbett. It creates a $3 billion deficit, it relies on gimmicks like fund transfers to provide one-time savings, and it fails to invest in education or provide property tax relief to homeowners. What’s more, the legislature passed this budget knowing that it was all just political theater. Governor Wolf made it clear from day one that he would veto any budget that punishes, not protects working families. Still, the ultra-conservative GOP leadership in the House continued to push their inadequate and flawed budget rather than negotiating in good faith with the Governor or Democratic lawmakers.

Playing politics with the state Budget was just the start, however. Over the weekend and into the beginning of this week we have seen both chambers of the legislature take action on ideological attacks targeting workers’ rights and middle class jobs.

House Bill 466, the liquor privatization bill that was passed by the House in February was referred from the Senate Law & Justice Committee last night, and will likely see a full Senate vote by tomorrow.

Senate Bill 1, which would eliminate defined benefit pension plans for teachers and state employees, and which passed the Senate in May is now on second consideration in the State House, with a vote on final passage possible as soon as tomorrow.

There is also talk of new votes on other anti-union bills including paycheck protection, stalking & harassment (the bill that would criminalize constitutionally-protected activities during labor disputes and organizing campaigns), and several attacks on teachers and education.

These ideological attacks are ones which the GOP-controlled legislature would not vote on when they had an enthusiastic accomplice in Governor Corbett, but they seem happy to pass these bills now that they face near-certain veto on the desk of Governor Wolf. This is the kind of political theater that explains why the legislature currently has only a 28% approval rating, while 53% of voters disapprove of the job they are doing.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! To tell The legislature to DO THEIR JOB and Pass a responsible budget that funds our schools, and protects the middle class and working families, go to – https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-tell-the-legislature-to-stop-the-gimmicks-and-pass-a-real-budget

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6094

By Joel Mathis

– There will be no Philadelphia newspaper strike after all.

On Friday night — after an exhausting 11-hour negotiating session with a federal mediator, and 25 hours before their contract was set to expire — the Newspaper Guild and Philadelphia Media Network announced they had reached a “tentative agreement” on a two-year contract.

The Guild represents journalists, ad sales people, and other support staffers at Philadelphia Media Network, which owns the Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com.

Neither side would comment after they emerged from the mediator’s office. Guild officials said details of the agreement will be presented to members on Monday. The two sides had previously been at an impasse on two remaining issues: seniority and healthcare. They had previously come to agreement on the status of Philly.com employees, who until now have been governed under a separate contract from their print bretheren.

There were signs as the evening wore on that perhaps the mood was lightening up — members from each negotiating team emerged into the lobby to present a lurking Philly Mag reporter with small snacks.

But the agreement followed months of increasingly angry rhetoric and dire predictions. The original contract expired in February, and after months of impasse, Guild members voted earlier this month to begin strike preparations. The Guild held a rally on Thursday in front of the company’s newsrooms at 801 Market Street, which came just hours after senior company officials sent out a memo telling workers how they could cross picket lines.

Although workers this year received profit-sharing checks based on the company’s 2014 performance, that profit followed a long decline, and it was widely believed that a work stoppage could well wreck the newspapers permanently — and perhaps dramatically reshape the Philadelphia media landscape in unprecedented fashion.

“A work stoppage would cripple this company,” Howard Gensler, the Guild’s president, said during Thursday’s rally. “They know it. We know it.”

Assuming the agreement is ratified, though, the theory won’t be tested.

Source – http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/06/26/no-newspaper-strike/

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO’s history, and that of the entire labor movement, has been about fighting for workers’ rights. This includes rights relating to dignity and fairness in the workplace. A union contract, and the benefits it provides, does not discriminate. It ensures equal protection and equal treatment regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. The labor movement also maintains that these rights, such as equal pay and non-discrimination, are fundamental, and should be enshrined in the law for all workers.

Today’s landmark decision by the US Supreme Court reaffirmed that the US Constitution grants equal dignity in the eyes of the law to all people. It was just over a year ago that Pennsylvania became the 19th State to recognize marriage equality when a federal judge struck down the Commonwealth’s ban. Since that time, the march towards nationwide marriage equality has only gained momentum; prior to this morning’s ruling, thirty-seven states plus the District of Columbia already recognized marriage equality.

This has been one of the defining civil rights issues of our time, with clear implications on the rights of workers and on the economic freedom of millions of Americans. Prior to the full recognition of marriage, employers could choose not to extend benefits to the families of certain workers, including health insurance, family leave, death benefits, and more. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO recognizes that such divisions solely benefit employers and politicians who seek to weaken us in the struggle for workers’ rights.

Union membership has always been the best protection against such discrimination in the workplace, and it is STILL the only protection against sexual-orientation based employment discrimination in many parts of Pennsylvania. That means that without an employment contract that says otherwise, a couple that gets married on Saturday, can be fired from their jobs on Monday morning if their boss learns that they are in a same sex relationship. This runs counter to the entire notion of equal protection and equal dignity under the law. It is why the National AFL-CIO has come out strongly in support of federal legislation in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and it is why the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO strongly supports the passage of laws in the Commonwealth which prevent discrimination in employment and housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO has a long and proud history of uniting workers across the lines that divide us. Let us all resolve that today’s victory for equality and dignity shall add urgency to the fight for full employment equality in Pennsylvania.

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6085