By The Philly Public Record

– They are best known as the Pink Nuns and that they live, work, and prayer behind a grated iron fence that keeps them from mingling with the public. Most Philadelphians are unaware of their existence.

But to Catholics and Christians of all faiths, many believe Philadelphians believe this city would have long gone the way of Detroit and other cities which have borne the brunt of economic and social failure if it were not for the prayers emanating around the clock from their home at 22nd & Green.
To those who know, “the Pink Nuns” is the pseudonym for Cloistered Contemplative Sisters, whose primary mission is to honor Jesus Christ in his presence in the Holy Eucharist during Masses and at all hours with their prayers. Joining them are hundreds of people who by the scores take part at any time of the day and night by visiting them in the chapel on Green Street.

Fully appreciative of what they contribute to the welfare of this city is Ed Coryell, Sr., executive secretary-treasurer/business manager of the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters, whose headquarters is located just a short walk away from their chapel and convent. His carpenters this week lent a hand to the sisters by donating their services in hanging two huge banners announcing the 100th-anniversary celebration of what is now an international order consisting of 22 houses in 10 countries staffed by a total of over 450 nuns.

Founded by a German diocesan priest, Arnold Janssen, who saw the need for more prayer, his first volunteers came from active missionary sisters. It took root and in 1915, Mother Mary Michaele found its first convent in Philadelphia. Soon thereafter, Cornelius A. Lane bequeathed a generous sum for the establishment of an adoration convent for the sisters. Nine sisters were sent from Steyl, Germany, and American woman soon applied and were admitted.

The carpenters, led by Ed Coryell, Jr., made quick work of hanging the huge banners, despite heavy winds.

Coryell, Sr., whose union contributes many man hours to helping charities, said, “I strongly believe, if it weren’t for the prayers emanating from these sisters, 24-7, Philadelphia would not be the positive city it is right now.”

Source: http://www.phillyrecord.com/2014/12/carpenters-union-helps-pink-nuns-mark-their-100th-anniversary/

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– Tis more rewarding to give than to receive; and during this Holiday Season our unions and our members across Pennsylvania are generously responding to the calls for help from their United Way Labor Liaisons and Labor Agencies to make these Holidays more joyous and cheerful for families, children, parents and people who are less fortunate and need help.

“Not only do we encourage you to buy union and buy American during the holidays, and throughout the year, we also encourage you to give union and give American during this season of joy. We want to make sure that no one is left out or left behind and everyone enjoys the holidays. It should be a season of celebration and good will for all. There is still plenty of need in our communities all over Pennsylvania and it is up to us to come together to meet those needs,” President Bloomingdale said.

“It is the season not only to enjoy spending time with family and friends, it is an important opportunity for all of us to come together to help make the lights and the candles of hope and joy of the season shine brighter for every man, woman and child. By joining together we can help fulfill the needs and make our communities better places for all of our families,” Secretary-Treasurer Snyder said.

Our thanks and appreciation go out to all of our United Way Labor Liaisons and all of the unions across Pennsylvania and the nation who help make this holiday season more cheerful and joyous for so many families and people.

Below are a few of the activities and projects supported by our unions and our United Way Labor Partnerships:

Greater Johnstown Regional CLC and United Way of the Laurel Highlands
Labor Liaison: Sue Stevens
Project: Sponsored and decorated a little house in Johnstown Central Park for Christmas 2014

Harrisburg Regional CLC and United Way of the Capital Region
Labor Liaison: Karen Overly Smith
Project: Red Cross Holiday Cards for Veterans – CLUW led the team in creating 350 cards.

Allegheny County CLC and United Way of Allegheny County
Labor Liaisons: Joe Delale and Jim Blatnick
Project: Labor of Love/Stuff the Bus Toy Drive

Erie-Crawford CLC and United Way of Erie County
Labor Liaison: Ron Oliver
Project: Collected Clothing, Shoes and Winter Coats to give out before Christmas for families in need.

Greater Wilkes-Barre CLC and United Way of Wyoming Valley
Labor Liaison: Sandy Moosic
Project: Filled 500 Christmas stockings for area special needs children and provided food order vouchers for union families in need.

York-Adams CLC and United Way of York County
Labor Liaison: Alan Vandersloot
Project: Holiday “Bell ringing” to benefit the Salvation Army – Raised $851.18 in 2013.

Lancaster CLC and Lancaster Community Services/Organized Labor
Labor Liaison: Jean Martin
Project: Bought 185 ARC Angels gifts for Christmas 2014

Additional projects and activities are being undertaken by both local unions, Central Labor Councils and United Way Labor Partnerships and our good friends. If you wish for us to list your activity or project please forward a brief summary by e-mail to Jimmy Deegan at: editor@paaflcio.org. Thank you and make this a happy and pleasant holiday season and a New Year.

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=5685

BY David Sirota

– If you are a public school teacher in Kentucky, the state has a message for you: You have no right to know the details of the investments being made with your retirement savings.

That was the crux of the declaration issued by state officials to a high school history teacher when he asked to see the terms of the agreements between the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System and the Wall Street firms that are managing the system’s money on behalf of him, his colleagues and thousands of retirees.

The denial was the latest case of public officials blocking the release of information about how billions of dollars of public employees’ retirement nest eggs are being invested. Though some of the fine print of the investments has occasionally leaked, the agreements are tightly held in most states and cities. Critics say such secrecy prevents lawmakers and the public from evaluating the propriety of the increasing fees being paid to private financial firms for pension management services.

The secrecy trend is spreading throughout the country. Last month, for instance, Illinois officials denied an open records request for information identifying which financial firms are managing that state’s pension money. Like their Kentucky counterparts, Illinois officials asserted that the firms’ identities “constitute trade secrets.” Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act includes special exemptions for information about private equity firms.

The denial from Illinois pension officials followed a decision earlier this year by Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, to reject a newspaper’s open-records request for information about state pension investments. The treasurer’s office argued that financial firms have the right to “minimize attention” around their compensation. Last week Raimondo, who is now Rhode Island’s governor-elect, held a closed-door meeting of the state investment commission to review the state’s $61 million investment in a controversial hedge fund.

In a recent essay, Steve Judge, president of the Private Equity Growth Capital Council, wrote that secrecy is necessary and appropriate to protect the financial industry’s commercial interests.

“The argument that [agreements] should be accessible to the public is akin to demanding that Coca-Cola publish its famous and secret soda recipe,” he wrote. “Like Coke’s secret recipe, [agreements] contain proprietary and commercially sensitive trade secret information that, if disclosed, could undermine a private equity fund’s ability to invest and generate high returns for its limited partners.”

In Kentucky, that defense of secrecy is being challenged in both the state legislature and the courts.

Rep. Jim Wayne, a Democrat, is planning to reintroduce his legislation to subject pension investment agreements to procurement statutes that mandate public release of all government contracts. Meanwhile, Randolph Wieck, the Kentucky high school teacher, has filed a class-action lawsuit charging KTRS officials with, among other thing, violating their fiduciary duty to retirees by moving pension money into opaque alternative investments.

Even if legislators and courts in Kentucky and elsewhere press for transparency, events in Iowa suggest the secrecy may continue. There, the private equity firm KKR in October warned state pension officials that if they release information about the fees that Iowa taxpayers are shelling out to Wall Street, the financial industry may respond by effectively prohibiting the state from future private equity investments.

Of course, maybe that threat isn’t so terrifying. After all, with many high-fee Wall Street firms failing to deliver returns that beat low-fee stock index funds, investors like Warren Buffett are saying public pension systems shouldn’t be plowing retirement savings into hedge funds, private equity and other so-called “alternative investments.” That is an especially powerful argument when such investments keep allowing the financial industry to charge ever-higher fees in near-total secrecy.

Source: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17416/wall_street_to_workers_give_us_your_retirement_savings_and_stop_asking_ques

– As we approach the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and the accomplishments of the civil rights movement, it will soon be time for the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference, which will be held from Jan. 15–19 in Atlanta at the Westin Peachtree Plaza. A description of the event:

Established to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the accomplishments of the civil rights movement, this multi-ethnic, multi-gender and intergenerational conference reinforces the historic bond between the labor and civil rights movements and honors Dr. King’s vision that collective action—whether at the voting booth or in the workplace—will mobilize participants to continue their work in order to make his dream a reality.

While the root of this conference is set to uplift the struggle of African Americans and the civil rights movement, this conference is specifically inclusive of people of color, young people, LGBTQ people, women and immigrants.

Community service has been a constant focal point of this conference and again opportunities to volunteer will be offered, as well as sessions to teach participants how to infuse community service into the labor movement.

Through plenaries, workshops and panels, attendees will be able to build knowledge and skills on a range of issues, including race; intersectionalities of underrepresented groups; development of labor–community relationships, especially with other civil rights organizations and much more.

If you are a union member and are interested in attending the conference, register today at https://www.signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=201582E

The deadline to register online is Dec. 14. You can register for the conference on-site for a $25 surcharge.

Source – http://www.pa.aflcio.org/philaflcio/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=696f9d89-6ce0-4d36-85b2-0787ecb53895

By Tom MacDonald

– A plan to sell Philadelphia Gas Works to a private company is officially dead.

Because of a lack of action from City Council, UIL Holdings issued a statement saying it had “no choice” but to terminate its offer to buy PGW.

The Nutter administration selected the Connecticut-based company from a list of bidders for the city-owned utility, but after an extensive review, City Council decided against holding a hearing on the proposed deal. Instead, it held hearings about the city’s energy future.

Since the summer, an escape clause in the agreement allowed the UIL to exit without penalty. But it persevered for months, trying to salvage the $1.86 billion deal.

The agreement would have automatically terminated at the end of the year.

In addition to updating PGW’s infrastructure more quickly, Mayor Michael Nutter wanted to use the sale proceeds to replenish the city’s pension fund.

In the wake of the Thursday announcement, Mayor Michael Nutter and City Council President Darrell Clarke issued dueling statements.

“This decision by the Philadelphia City Council is a big mistake and represents a massive failure in leadership for our city and our citizens. It is unfortunate for Philadelphia that City Council could not make a public decision in this important matter following public hearings and an up or down vote,” Nutter said. “Instead, City Council held no hearings and chose a behind-the-scenes decision-making process and no action, thus shutting out the public and denying Philadelphians the opportunity to voice their views.”

Clarke, in turn, placed the blame directly on Nutter’s doorstep.

“Make no mistake, the failure of this deal is not the fault of UIL Holdings,” he said. “The lack of sufficient jobs, consumer and safety protections in this deal are a direct result of the Nutter Administration’s request for proposals, which was limited in scope and issued with no input from City Council.

“Such a shortsighted deal that did not address the concerns of the approving authority, in this case City Council, never had a chance of winning our endorsement. It is a shame that the administration did not make this clear to UIL earlier in the process,” Clarke continued. “This company and its shareholders could have been spared a significant amount of time, money and resources.”

Source: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/75950-uil-pulls-the-plug-on-pgw-deal?linktype=hp_topstory

Brief PhillyLabor Editorial – Amongst many other factors, it is our contention that Philadelphia City Council did justice to PGW workers whose livelihoods and pensions were on the line as part of the proposed privatization effort by Mayor Nutter and City Council refused to allow the injustice to happen! Kudos to Philadelphia City Council and Keith Holmes, President, Gas Workers Local Union 686 for standing up for the workers.