By MELANIE TROTTMAN

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm President Barack Obama’s full slate of five nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, erasing doubts about the validity of the board and its future actions.

Questions about the legitimacy of the board, which oversees private-sector union elections and referees workplace disputes at unionized and nonunionized companies, have persisted since Mr. Obama installed two members using so-called recess appointments last year while Congress was on a break. Those appointments are under Supreme Court review after lower courts found the Senate wasn’t technically in recess at the time. There are also questions about the validity of roughly 800 board decisions made since the appointments.

Mr. Obama recently withdrew the nominations of the two appointees and nominated two others to fill their seats. The swap was part a broader Senate deal to clear the nominations of five other executive-branch nominees. The two new picks for the labor board joined three previous board nominees who have been awaiting confirmation.

The three Democrats and two Republicans were confirmed in votes that at times were largely partisan. The Democrats include Kent Hirozawa, chief counsel to NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce; and Nancy Schiffer, who has worked as a lawyer for union federation AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers. Both cleared the Senate on 54-44 votes. The third Democrat, Mr. Pearce, was confirmed on a 59-38 vote for a second term that will start after his current one expires Aug. 27.

The Republicans confirmed on voice vote are Philip Miscimarra, a partner in the labor and employment group of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, and Harry Johnson III, a partner with Arent Fox LLP.

Before the voting began, Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa), chairman of the Senate labor committee that has overseen the NLRB nominations, told lawmakers there was no reason all the nominees shouldn’t be confirmed with strong bipartisan support.

“The vetting process has been quick, but it has been thorough,” he said. “The board is the only place workers can go if they’ve been treated unfairly and denied the basic protections that the law provides,” said Mr. Harkin, who noted that employers can also seek help from the board when unions conduct “wildcat strikes.”

But the Senate labor committee’s ranking Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee raised fresh concerns about Ms. Schiffer and Mr. Hirozawa’s ability to set aside what he has called their “pro-union advocacy past” and ability to “act as neutral arbiters between employees and employers.” Mr. Alexander said Tuesday he is still “not persuaded they’ll be able to transfer their positions of [union] advocacy to positions of judge.” He voted against them while supporting Mr. Pearce and the two Republican nominees.

The NLRB is an independent federal agency but its board members are appointed by the president. Tradition holds that if the president is Democrat, so too are most board members. The same is true for GOP presidents. The arrangement draws board critics during every administration but Republicans say the Obama-chosen board has gone further than ever to advance union interests in a way that is unfair to employers.

For their part, Mr. Hirozawa and Ms. Schiffer have said during their hearings that they would be neutral when making board decisions. But business groups remain concerned.

“Frankly, we’re concerned about the composition on the board and we can only hope that they’ll bring objectivity to their decisions,” said Randy Johnson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s senior vice president of labor.

Go To: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323854904578637872875060486.html

The right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council has modeled legislation to strip workers of their rights nationwide.

BY Mary Bottari and Rebekah Wilce for the Center for Media and Democracy

– According to a new analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), publishers of ALECexposed.org, at least 117 bills introduced in 2013 fuel a “race to the bottom” in wages, benefits and worker rights—and resemble “model” bills from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

As working Americans speak out for higher wages, better benefits and respect in the workplace, a coordinated, nationwide campaign to silence them is mounting—and ALEC is at the heart of it. ALEC corporations, right-wing tink tanks, and monied interests like the Koch brothers are pushing legislation throughout the country designed to drive down wages; limit health care, pensions, and other benefits; and cripple working families’ participation in the political and legislative process.

Emboldened ALEC goes on the offense

ALEC’s mallet of choice for private-sector workers is so-called “Right to Work” legislation. These laws were utilitized in Southern states before and after WWII to suppress wages and keep out unions like the CIO, which supported an end to Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. In the decades that followed, they made little headway in northern states. In 2012, however, Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana rammed a “Right to Work” bill through the legislature. Next was the battle royale in Michigan. Governor Rick Snyder pushed “Right to Work” through a lame duck session in December 2012 right before a new, more worker-friendly legislature was sworn in. As CMD reported, it contained verbatim language from the ALEC bill.

In every instance, ALEC and the Kochs were there to cheer the radical policies on. Koch Industries has long been an ALEC funder, serving on ALEC’s corporate “Private Enterprise” board, but the Kochs also exercise their power through Americans for Prosperity, a David Koch founded and funded political action group that spent millions on TV defending ALEC legislators and Scott Walker against recall and providing fake, astroturf support for the bills in Ohio and Michigan. It’s not the first time the Koch family has come to the aid of union-busting bills. The Institute for Southern Studies points out that in 1958, Kansas passed a right-to-work law “with the support of Texas-born energy businessman Fred Koch, who viewed unions as vessels for communism and [racial] integration.”

Other high-profile ALEC fights include battles over “paycheck protection” in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, and Missouri. In 2012, Californians battled an ALEC-style “paycheck protection” bill, disguised as campaign finance reform. Prop 32 was defeated at the polls in November 2012, but not until millions had been spent on both sides. Opponents were right to be worried. New numbers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel show that Wisconsin’s Act 10, which crippled unions’ ability to negotiate for better pay and benefits, cut union membership in half and forced workers to pay thousands more in benefits.

While ALEC and its supporters frame their actions as fiscally responsible and pro-worker, it is clear that this is a deeply political agenda. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that, on the whole, these types of bills don’t create new rights for employees but “significantly tilt the political playing field by enabling unlimited corporate political spending while restricting political spending of organized workers.” Fox News reporter Shepard Smith put it even more bluntly. He noted that of the top 10 political donors in the United States, only three donated to Democrats—all unions. “Bust the unions, and it’s over” for the Democrats, he said.

ALEC’s attack on wages, benefits, and unions harms all workers

ALEC’s wage suppression agenda also targets non-union workers in the low-wage sectors that are forming the core of the U.S. economy. In an issue brief called “The Politics of Wage Suppression: Inside ALEC’s Legislative Campaign Against Low-Paid Workers,” the National Employment Law Project counted 67 bills sponsored or co-sponsored by ALEC politicians in 2011-12 that eroded wages and labor standards.

Gordon Lafer, a political economist at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center and a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), told CMD, “ALEC’s efforts against the minimum wage, prevailing and living wage, paid sick leave, etc. are an across the board attempt both to worsen any kind of labor standard and also to undermine any institutional or legal basis through which workers exercise some control over the workplace in the labor market.”

As Lafer notes, the fate of union workers and non-union workers are inextricably linked: “Unions help raise standards for non-union workers. In places with unionized workers, that increases the pressure on employers of non-unionized workers to reach and meet similar standards.” To cite just one example, ALEC’s “Right to Work” law alone depresses wages for both union and non-union workers by an average of $1,500 a year, according to an EPI study.

But you won’t see these statistics at ALEC. In an annual propagandistic ritual, ALEC “scholars” rank states’ economic outlook based on how well states are following ALEC policy prescriptions. While Wisconsin under Scott Walker has consistently ranked amongst the worst in the country in job growth and economic performance even by groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in ALEC’s world, Walker’s state is 15th in economic outlook.

Average Americans pay the price

Eleven states have introduced bills in 2013 to override or prevent local paid sick leave ordinances. At least eight of these were sponsored by ALEC members, and this is no accident. Although ALEC has not adopted such a bill as an official “model,” ALEC member the National Restaurant Association (NRA) brought a bill to override local paid sick leave ordinances to ALEC in 2011, as CMD has reported.

The commerce task force’s Labor and Business Regulation Subcommittee took up “paid family medical leave” as the sole topic of discussion at the ALEC 2011 Annual Meeting in Louisiana. Subcommittee meeting attendees were given complete copies of Wisconsin’s 2011 Senate Bill 23 (now Wisconsin Act 16). They were also handed a target list and map of state and local paid sick leave policies prepared by the NRA. Since then, Louisiana enacted a similar law in 2012, and 2013 has seen the introduction of a spate of similar bills, with Mississippi, Kansas, Tennessee, and Florida signing the measures into law.

Wisconsin Act 16 overrode Milwaukee’s popular paid sick leave ordinance that was passed in November 2008 by referendum with nearly 70 percent of the popular vote. In 2011, while the Capitol was surrounded by protesters and Democratic Senators were out of state, the Wisconsin Legislature moved to override the measure.

Harold Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, put it best when he told CMD, “The sole purpose of ALEC has been to develop the most anti-middle class, pro-corporation policies, legislation, and agenda in history. They’ve been waiting for just the right moment to reverse the progress of the American middle class and drive everyone to the bottom, to the lowest wages, the weakest benefits, no job security, and no retirement to speak of. We may not have the billions of dollars of the Koch brothers. But we have each other and we must stick together and fight ALEC’s cynical and un-American agenda.”

Excerpted with permission from the Center for Media and Democracy.

Go To: http://inthesetimes.com/article/15355/special_report_the_alec_fueled_race_to_the_bottom_in_wages_and_workers_righ/

Here’s some Food For Thought. When you oppose unions and union members who are picketing a non-union job site, you are most likely supporting an employer who is taking advantage of it’s workers.

Fighting injustice ain’t pretty, but someone has to do It!

Think before you judge and RESPECT WORKER’S RIGHTS!

By The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)

– This summer CLUW has been working hard to battle the heat brought from Congress to cut Social Security by means of a new “Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI)” formula. Currently Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is designed to adjust social security benefits to the current cost of living. The “Chained CPI” is a formula Congress has proposed that would not take into account the significant portion of a senior’s budget which goes towards medical costs. The cut resulting from a “Chained CPI” formula would be immediate, and would compound benefit reductions so that seniors lose more as they get older. A senior retiring at age 65 in 2011 would lose about $6,000 in benefits over 15 years using this formula. “Chained CPI” is a smaller measure of inflation, which operates under the assumption that seniors can replace purchases with less expensive alternatives and ignores the fact that costs such as health care cannot be substituted.

Judy Beard, CLUW National Treasurer, liaison to the Mature Women Workers Committee and Director of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Retiree Department commented,

“…President Obama stated in his state of the Union address in 2011 that we should strengthen Social Security without cutting the benefits of current retirees, and he needs to keep his promise, because retirees (receiving an average yearly benefit of just $14,669.16) don’t deserve the burden of the deficit which they didn’t cause.

As with many issues facing the working class, such as unemployment and underemployment, stagnant low wages, and workplace discrimination, cutting Social Security by instituting the chained CPI (or through any other means, such as raising the retirement age) will affect women (and our families who depend on us) even more harshly. We already know that the average Social Security benefit is lower for women than for men, and women rely even more on their Social Security income than men do. Social Security is a critical anti-poverty program for women and their families, and older women are more at risk for poverty than older men, partly due to higher health care costs. Women especially simply cannot afford this cut to their essential Social Security benefits, and no Social Security recipient deserves to have the burden of federal budget cuts amount to their having to choose between the mortgage and health care…”

On June 29th, Eleanor G. Bailey, director of APWU’s retirees in the Metro New York City area, and a past National Vice President of CLUW, represented CLUW in New York City for a forum on social security, hosted by the New York Chapter of the National Action Network Political Action Committee (NANPAC). Dawn Jones, the chairwoman of NANPAC, is also a CLUW member. Joining Eleanor Bailey on the panel were four other experts, including Dionne H.E. Polite, Associate Director of Multicultural Initiatives of the AARP of New York, Jacquel Ryan, Medicare Benefits Specialist for Metroplus, Benjamin W. Veghte, PhD, Research Director for Social Security Works, and Edlyn Wiler, Esq., of the Harlem Community Law Office. The program was presented to seniors, caregivers, families and the general public with over a hundred in attendance.

Sister Bailey explained, “Woman can least afford any cut in benefits …many [women] have worked in low paying jobs or have worked part time, so their benefits are lower than men’s. Also, women tend to live longer than men. The “Chained CPI” cuts would be devastating in their later years.” She informed the group that the Chained CPI formula would amount to a $1,000 or more cut to our seniors’ budgets annually, and asked, “Who can afford this? How are [seniors] going to buy health care cheaper?” Social security cuts affect all seniors, and, as Sister Bailey pointed out, Chained CPI “puts seniors – especially those in their 80’s and 90’s – at risk for poverty. 1 in 6 older Americans live in poverty.”

Ms.Bailey urged the audience to join with New York seniors, and from around the country, to participate in the National Day of Action against Chained CPI.

On July 2nd, in over 50 cities nation-wide, over 2,000 people demonstrated against the Chained CPI by lining up and creating a human chain against the Chained CPI. Organized by the Alliance for Retired Americans, many CLUW members, including Eleanor Bailey, participated in this day of action.

In Ohio, lifetime CLUW member Toni McBroom (past IAM member) along with union members from the Steel Workers, IAM, and UAW and retirees, families, and children demonstrated against the Chained CPI outside Ohio 5th district (R – Bowling Green) Congressman Robert Latta’s office on the National Day of Action. Below the group is pictured with signs that read “Chained CPI = stealth tax on the middle class and cuts for seniors,” “Social Security is an earned benefit” and “Say no to chained Social Security cuts.”

Go To: http://www.cluw.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=297993

by Dale Mezzacappa for the Notebook and Holly Otterbein for NewsWorks

– With new money for Philadelphia schools coming in at a trickle, even though schools are just six weeks from opening under a doomsday scenario, Superintendent William Hite said Friday that he believes the District has enough funds on hand to restore the positions of 220 secretaries for the upcoming school year — one for each school — as well as fall sports and 66 itinerant music teachers through January.

At a contentious four-hour School Reform Commission meeting that started at 8 a.m., Hite and his chief financial officer, Matthew Stanski, said they were confident that they could increase by $33 million their bare-bones budget. The budget resulted in 3,800 layoffs and stripped schools of nearly everything but a principal and a core of teachers. But the District leaders said that, as of now, they can count on only $17 million in additional funds from the city and state.

The rest, Stanski said, was eked out through identifying further savings in the budget passed at the end of May.

“To give you an example … [we’ll] go after vendors who we feel like owe us money for poor service or overbilling or things like that,” Stanski said.

Hite said that his priority is opening schools in September with as little disruption as possible.

“I want to point out that everything we do from this point forward is focused on opening schools and using the resources we have to meet the needs of students,” Hite said. “We plan to use revenue we believe is available to get schools ready.”

Stanski said the $33 million breaks down this way: $17.6 million for the secretaries and expenses of summer reorganization; $3.9 million for the music teachers, and $3.7 million for athletics (to pay for coaches, most of whom are teachers earning extracurricular money; referees; transportation; and equipment). The balance, $7.8 million, will be invested in the District’s internal turnaround initiative, the Promise Academies — although the SRC engaged in a lengthy debate over how to evaluate, refine, and improve the model.

Hite said that he decided to use the extra aid to bring back secretaries because principals identified them as being vital to getting schools open in September.

“The principals said they need one secretary to make sure students are registered, rostered and safely placed,” he said. “Principals said this function is extremely important.”

Many larger schools used to have more than one secretary, but only one per school is being restored.

Likewise, Hite said he chose to restore music and sports because students see them as invaluable.

“The students … indicated this was important to them as part of what makes school school,” the superintendent said.

In particular, Hite said he was influenced by a group of students that organized a protest against budget cuts at the District’s headquarters in May. The students requested a meeting with him after the rally, and later “declared themselves my advisory group,” Hite said.

Not yet restored are other crucial positions, including counselors and assistant principals, as well as nearly 2,000 paraprofessionals and aides who monitor the lunchroom and help keep order in school hallways.

Hite said that the principals emphasized that it was important to get their own secretaries back because they know the community, the students, and the families. However, that is not guaranteed.

The District laid off 307 secretaries altogether, and is calling back 220. Some head secretaries have retired or resigned, Hite said, creating vacancies that must be filled according to seniority. Secretaries, who are members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, can apply to transfer to other schools, which could set off a chain reaction of movement.

“Where we can return secretaries to their school, that is our intent,” Hite said. “That is part of our conversation with the PFT.” As he sees it, he said, what’s happening now “is not about who gets to transfer,” but making sure schools have people present who know students and families to make school opening as smooth as possible under the circumstances.

Philadelphia this year faced an unprecedented funding shortfall of more than $300 million. Although the District asked for $180 million in additional combined city and state funds, a package cobbled together in Harrisburg resulted in about $127 million in new funds, and most of that is contingent on achieving significant contract reforms with its teachers’ union. The District is also counting on saving $133 million in labor costs. Negotiations with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers are ongoing, and the contract doesn’t expire until the week before school opens.

Joan Taylor, a teacher at West Philadelphia’s Middle Years Alternative School, asked the School Reform Commission to resign in protest because the state did not meet the School District’s funding request.

“Will you, the most powerful people here, stand up for equitable education funding by refusing to be complicit to the injustice we have foisted upon the children we’re supposed to protect?” she said. “This is not a rhetorical question. You need to get on the right side of history.”

Hite said he expected the SRC to hold more special meetings before school opens as the financial situation changes. The budget will need to be amended by the SRC at some point.

Check the Notebook site for further reporting on the meeting

Go To: http://thenotebook.org/blog/136237/33-million-additional-funds-hite-restores-secretaries-music-sports