From The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO

– With the Obama Administration announcing new measures to fix the problems with the healthcare.gov website, and all the extreme attacks against the Affordable Care Act during the recent federal shutdown, it’s easy to lose sight of the basic facts about what the ACA actually does, and how it helps Americans get and use health insurance.

Our friends at the Pennsylvania Health Access Network are hosting a 90 minute webinar entitled Health Care Reform 101 on Wednesday, November 6, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.

* Learn the basics of health care reform including:

– New rights and protections for people with private insurance

– Expansions to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans

– Opportunities for small businesses and non-profits

– The new health insurance marketplace

– Medicaid Opportunity

– What the mandate means

– PLUS – Ask your questions

More details and registration information are available here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2471039487661378049

If you want your Halloween to be all treats and no tricks, make sure all your candy is union-made in America. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor’s resource site, Labor 411, has an extensive list of union-made candies. Here are some highlights, featuring sweets made by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW):

1. Baby Ruth
2. Butterfinger
3. Candy House Buttons
4. Caramello
5. Clark Bar
6. 5th Avenue chocolate bar
7. Ghirardelli Chocolates
8. Halloween Candy Corn (Herman Goelitz Company)
9. Hershey’s Candy Corn Kisses
10. Hershey’s Extra Dark Chocolate bar
11. Hershey’s Hugs
12. Hershey’s Kisses and Kissables
13. Hershey’s Nuggets
14. Hot Tamales
15. Jelly Belly
16. Kit Kat bars
17. Laffy Taffy
18. Malted Milk Balls
19. Mary Jane
20. Mike and Ike
21. Peanut Chews
22. Rolo
23. Smarties
24. Super Ropes
25. Tootsie Roll
26. Trolli
27. York Peppermint Patties

Source: http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Other-News/Union-Made-in-America-Halloween-Candy-Shopping-List

Countdown To Election Day

– Election day is Tuesday, November 5th. Please remember to vote!

PA. AFL-CIO Candidate Endorsements

2013 General Election:

The General Election is Tuesday, November 5. The following statewide endorsements were made by the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Executive Council.

Judicial Elections

Office – Party – Candidate

Superior Court – D – John T. “Jack” McVay

Judicial Retention Votes

Office – Judge

Supreme Court – Ron Castille
Supreme Court – Max Baer
Superior Court – Jack Panella
Superior Court – Susan Peikes Gantman

Endorsements Of Our Central Labor Councils

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO does not endorse in local elections, but we recognize the endorsements made by our Central Labor Councils. The following local endorsements have been made by CLCs for the 2013 General Election.

Note For CLCs: If you have any corrections or additions, please e-mail to mjohnson@paaflcio.org

Allegheny County CLC

Office – Candidate

Retention: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas – Ron Follino
Retention: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas – Kathleen Mulligan
Retention: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas – Lawrence O’Toole
Retention: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas – Jill Rangos
Retention: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas – Christine Ward
Retention: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas – John Zottola

Common Pleas Judge, Allegheny County – Mark Tranquilli
Common Pleas Judge, Allegheny County – Paul Cozza
Common Pleas Judge, Allegheny County – Jennifer Satler
Common Pleas Judge, Allegheny County – PJ Murray

Allegheny County Sheriff – Bill Mullen
Allegheny County Council, District 1 – Daniel McLain
Allegheny County Council, District 3 – Mary Gibson
Allegheny County Council, District 4 – Michael Finnerty
Allegheny County Council, District 8 – Charles Martoni
Allegheny County Council, District 9 – Robert Macey
Allegheny County Council, District 12 – Jim Ellenbogen

Mayor of Pittsburgh – William Peduto
Pittsburgh City Council, District 2 – Theresa Smith
Pittsburgh City Council, District 4 – Natalia Rudiak
Pittsburgh City Council, District 6 – Robert Daniel Lavelle
Pittsburgh City Council, District 7 – Deborah Gross
Pittsburgh City Council, District 8 – Dan Gilman

Bethel Park School District – Pamela Dobos
Bethel Park School District – John DeLallo Jr.
Bethel Park School District – Thomas Majernick

Beaver-Lawrence CLC

Office – Candidate

Magisterial District Judge, Beaver County – William Livingston
Judge for Common Pleas Court, Beaver County – James Ross
Retention: Judge for Common Pleas Court, Beaver County – Richard Mancini

Blair-Bedford CLC

Office – Candidate

Mayor of Altoona – John Pentland
Bellwood-Antis School Board (Write-In) – Jeff Nycum
Bellwood-Antis School Board (Write-In) – Chris McCartney
Bellwood-Antis School Board (Write-In) – Kevin Luensmann
Altoona Area School Board – John Klingeman
Altoona Area School Board – John Donley
Altoona Area School Board – Elizabeth Chapman
Hollidaysburg Area School Board – Scott Brennaman
Hollidaysburg Area School Board – Dean Rossi
Hollidaysburg Area School Board – Ron Sommer

Erie-Crawford CLC

Office – Candidate

Erie County Executive – Kathy Dahlkemper
Erie County Council – 2nd District – Andre Horton
Erie County Judge – Bill Kelly
Erie County Sheriff – John Loomis
Erie City Council – Dave Brennan
Erie City Council – Caz Kwitowski
Erie City Controller – Theresa Stankowicz
Erie School Board – Angela McNair
Summit Township Supervisor – Jack Lee
Millcreek Township Supervisor – John Groh

Fayette County CLC

Office – Candidate

Common Pleas Judge, Fayette County – Linda Cordaro
Common Pleas Judge, Fayette County – Joseph George

Harrisburg CLC

Office – Candidate

Retention: Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas – Scott Evans
Retention: Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas – Todd Hoover
Retention: Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas – Rich Lewis
Common Pleas Judge, Dauphin County – Anne Gingrich-Cornick
Mayor of Harrisburg – Eric Papenfuse
Mayor of Carlisle – Tim Scott

Indiana-Armstrong-Clarion CLC

Office – Candidate

Mayor of Homer City – Ken Cecconi
Treasurer of Indiana County – Sandy Kirkland
Tax Collector of White Township, Indiana County – Barbara Levine
Indiana School Board – Julie Timarchi-Cuccaro

Lehigh Valley CLC

Office – Candidate

Mayor of Bethlehem – Bob Donchez
Lehigh County Executive – Tom Muller
Lehigh County Commissioner, D2 – Susan Wild
Lehigh County Commissioner, D3 – David Jones
Lehigh County Commissioner, D4 – Goeff Brace
Lehigh County Commissioner, D5 – Wes Barrett

Allentown Mayor – Ed Pawlowski
Allentown City Council – Darryl Hendricks
Allentown City Council – Joe Davis
Allentown City Council – Julio Guridy
Easton City Council – James Eddinger
Bethlehem City Council – Bryan Callahan

Northampton County Executive – John Callahan
Northampton County Council, At Large – Peg Ferraro
Northampton County Council, At Large – Tom O’Donnell
Northampton County Council, At Large – Jerry Seyfried
Northampton County Council, At Large – Christine Borso
Northampton County Council, At Large – Ron Heckman

Montgomery County CLC

Office – Candidate

Perkiomen Township Supervisor – Anthony Stevenson
Horsham Township Council – Ronald Kolla
Horsham Township Council – Scott Freda
Horsham Township Council – Veronica Hill-Milbourne
Upper Moreland Commissioner, Ward 7 – Frank Clark

Philadelphia CLC

Office – Candidate

District Attorney – Seth Williams
Philadelphia City Controller – Alan Butkovitz
Court of Common Pleas – Anne Marie Coyle
Court of Common Pleas – Timika Lane
Court of Common Pleas – Joe Fernandes
Court of Common Pleas – Dan McCaffery
Court of Common Pleas – Giovanni Campbell
Court of Common Pleas – Sierra Thomas Street
Court of Common Pleas – Scott O’Keefe
Municipal Court – Martin Coleman
Municipal Court – Henry Lewandowski
Municipal Court – Fran Shields

Reading-Berks CLC

Office – Candidate

Judge for Common Pleas Court, Berks County – Eleni Dimitriou Geishauser
Judge for Common Pleas Court, Berks County – Theresa Johnson

Schuylkill County CLC

Office – Candidate

Schuylkill County Sheriff – Joe Groody
District Attorney, Schuylkill County – Karen Brynes Noone
Magistrate, Schuylkill County – Laine Mack
Mayor of New Philadelphia – Fran Tkack

Westmoreland County CLC

Office – Candidate

Prothonotary – Christina O’Brien
District Attorney – John Peck
Coroner – Ken Bacha
Clerk of Courts – Dan Blissman

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?page_id=316

By Bryce Covert

– On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Rep. Seth Grove (R) introduced a bill in the state House that would block cities and local governments in the state from implementing paid sick days bills or other forms of paid leave that aren’t already guaranteed at the state level. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Labor and Industry.

The bill states, “A political subdivision of this Commonwealth may not enact or administer a mandate requiring an employer to provide an employee or class of employees with vacation or other forms of leave from employment, paid or unpaid, that is not required by Federal or State law.” This would essentially mean that any local push for paid sick leave policies or other leave policies would be completely banned.

In response to the bill, Marianne Bellesorte, senior director of policy of Pathways PA, said in an email, “Preemption laws limit the rights and voices of voters and local lawmakers. In cities and counties, we know how to determine what’s best for our local communities and work places.” She also noted that “voters statewide are mobilizing in opposition to this proposal.”

As the push for paid sick days legislation moves forward in states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont and cities such as Newark, NJ and Tacoma, WA, so too does the counter movement to block these bills in the first place. A similar bill to Pennsylvania’s was introduced in North Carolina in August, and in June Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed a statewide ban that was backed by big business. These laws have been introduced in at least 14 different state legislatures, not including Pennsylvania, and enacted in eight: Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, seven paid sick days laws are currently in place across the country.

The bills have been fueled by the efforts of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a coalition of big business interests and conservative legislators, which handed out model legislation at a national meeting in 2011. And many of the lawmakers who have introduced these bills are members of ALEC, including Rep. Grove, who has introduced model ALEC legislation before.

Opponents of paid sick days often claim that they will be an unbearable cost on businesses, but the evidence suggest otherwise. Job growth has been stronger under Seattle’s law and business growth has also remained strong. San Francisco’s has also spurred job growth and enjoys strong business support. Washington DC’s and Connecticut’s have come at little cost. On the other hand, the average employer loses $225 per employee each year due to the lost productivity of sick workers who don’t have access to paid leave. The laws are also effective at curbing outbreaks such as the flu.

Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/24/2828431/pennsylvania-paid-sick-days-preemption/