– On Friday, March 13th the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO voted to endorse Jim Kenney for Mayor of Philadelphia in the May 19, 2015 primary election. “Jim Kenney is the right choice for Philadelphia,” said Philadelphia AFL-CIO President Pat Eiding. “As a Councilman, he stood up time and again to defend working families on everything from prevailing wage to the right to organize. The son of a union firefighter from South Philadelphia, Jim has always focused on families in every neighborhood because he knows Philadelphia is not truly succeeding unless everyone is moving forward. We look forward to working with Jim to create a city where everyone has access to fair, safe working conditions and a living wage.”

Read Jim Kenney’s statement on receiving labor’s endorsement on the Philadelphia AFL-CIO’s website at: .

– The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO announced endorsements in a number of races in the May 19, 2015 primary elections. Here is the full list of candidates endorsed by the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO.

Mayor of Philadelphia: Jim Kenney

City Council Districts:
1 – Mark Squilla
2 – Kenyatta Johnson
3 – Jannie Blackwell
4 – Curtis Jones Jr
5 – Darrell Clarke
6 – Bobby Henon
7 – Maria Quinones Sanchez
8 – Cindy Bass
9 – Cherelle Parker
10 – Brian O’Neill

City Council At-Large:
Democratic Primary:
Ed Neilson
W. Wilson Goode, Jr
William Greenlee
Isaiah Thomas
Blondell Reynolds Brown

Republican Primary: Dan Tinney

City Commissioner: Lisa Deeley

Registrar of Wills: Ron Donatucci

Sheriff: Jewell Williams

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO has endorsement jurisdiction in state-level races, and will announce endorsements in those races next week.

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– Over the next several weeks, legislative committees are reviewing the Governor’s Budget proposal. As the Governor promised, his budget levels the playing field for Pennsylvania and begins to rebuild our middle class. These are the same goals that Pennsylvania’s working families share and they are the principles we voted for in the election. Some don’t like it because they will no longer get the free ride they have enjoyed over the past few years. They like the way things are. They don’t want things to change.

Now is the time to show our elected representatives that we support the Governor’s budget proposal. It is a fair budget that provides tax relief for low and middle income families. It is a budget that gives a tax break to business, but closes loopholes so that corporations, including drilling companies, will finally pay their fair share of taxes. It is a budget that restores the cuts in education so that our children have books and resources needed to learn and prepare for careers, and it is a budget that raises Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, makes additional investments in higher education and workforce development, and restores cuts in human services – especially programs the help elderly and disabled people.

This budget is a blueprint to move our state to prosperity and sound economic growth. Opponents will try to pick off the pieces of the budget they don’t like, but this budget must be viewed as a complete package to understand the relief that it will provide to average workers. We want to share with you some helpful budget information on the Governor’s web-site which will show you how this budget will provide funding for school districts across the state while also achieving property tax relief for all Pennsylvanians. Visit the website at www.schoolsthatteach.com to see how the budget will impact your district and your tax bill.

Ask your State Legislator to support the Governor’s budget in it’s entirety and oppose those attempts to defeat or undermine the goals of this budget.

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=5832

By Holly Otterbein

– State Senator Vincent Hughes’ upcoming legislation would register all citizens when they sign up for a state benefit, service or license.

– State Sen. Vincent Hughes traveled to Selma, Alabama this past weekend to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement in which police brutally beat non-violent activists. The events led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

Hughes, a Philadelphia Democrat, says he is now introducing legislation that would implement universal voter registration across Pennsylvania in order to honor those who demonstrated in 1965.

“Fifty years ago, thousands of people marched in Selma, Alabama, to fight for the right to vote for all Americans. Many gave their lives in that struggle,” he says in a statement. “We have made much progress as a nation since then, but the dream of universal access to the polls is something that is still yet to be obtained.”

Under his upcoming legislation, Hughes says government agencies would automatically register Pennsylvania residents to vote.

“Under current law, citizens are given the option to ‘opt-in’ by filling out a voter registration form when they apply for a public benefit, service or license through the Department of Transportation or other state agencies currently authorized to assist with registering voters,” he says. “Under my proposal, a state agency would automatically collect an individual’s relevant voting-related information with the application and send it electronically to the Department of State and to the counties for purposes of registering the voter.”

Hughes is planning to introduce the legislation next week. It will likely face an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled General Assembly. Conservatives tend to argue that universal voter registration is costly and that residents should decide for themselves whether to sign up. There are also political implications: It is generally understood that the Democratic Party stands to benefit the most from universal voter registration because many non-voters are part of demographic groups that typically support Dems.

Spokespersons for Republican leaders in the state House and Senate did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the proposal.

Source: http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/03/10/vincent-hughes-pa-needs-automatic-universal-voter-registration/

By Michael Madowitz & Danielle Corley

– The labor market is much healthier today than at any point since the Great Recession, but beneath the top-line numbers, it still has a long way to go before it returns to historically healthy conditions. Policymakers and pundits have taken far too much comfort in the decline in the headline unemployment rate. The extent to which unemployment has dropped depends on how it’s measured, especially in this recovery. When policymakers talk about the need to let off the gas pedal and start tightening policy, which Congress has been proudly doing since 2010, they are consciously or unconsciously taking a myopic view of the labor market’s recovery and causing permanent damage to the economy.

If we do not aggressively reintroduce the workers who have left the labor force and reduce the number of long-term unemployed, not only would it be an injustice to them, but it would also be a huge, permanent shrinking of the American economy as a whole.

Source: http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/es.aspx?s=785&e=785474&elq=de7e9a05844b4d45b5c1f880c58db023&elqaid=24880&elqat=1&elqTrackId=8581aac56ecd4290885bec2ab22701cf