[Educationforall] spam con huevos labor news, views and concerns, 4.18.12‏‏‏‏-I‏

Thu Apr 19 04:36:06 UTC 2012

400,000 Public Sector Workers Set to Strike over 'Cruel' and 'Unfair' Pension Reforms‏ The Landscape of May Day in New York  Truthout Reporter Mike Ludwig on RT: Are EPA Fracking Regulations Hurting Jobs?   Briefs Examine Spending, Utilization and Efforts To Integrate Care For People Eligible For Both Medicaid and Medicare‏ Tell Sens. Feinstein and Boxer: Raise the Minimum Wage‏ Tell Senate: Stop Attack on Fair Union Elections‏ Murder, Suicide and Financial Ruin: How the Class War Is Destroying Americans' Lives   
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400,000 Public Sector Workers Set to Strike over
'Cruel' and 'Unfair' Pension Reforms

By Liam O'Brien 
The Independent (UK) April 17, 2012

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/400000-public-sector-workers-set-to-strike-over-cruel-and-unfair-pension-reforms-7654567.html#

Almost 400,000 public sector workers could strike over
the Government's controversial pension reforms,
slamming George Osborne's "cruel" and "unfair" attempts
to save the Treasury tens of billions of pounds.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS)
union and Unite will take action on May 10, the day
after the Queen's Speech, which is expected to announce
a Parliamentary bill on pension changes.

The PCS, which has 290,000 workers in 200 Government
departments, promised further action after 90.5 per
cent of those balloted voted to reject the Government's
pension offer. Both national and regional protests are
expected, as well as another strike in June. Meanwhile,
Unite said its 100,000 NHS members faced paying £30
extra per month into their pension pots amidst a
backdrop of pay freezes and the prospect of a regional
pay scale. Their combined memberships mean that May 10
could signal the biggest strike since November 30, when
more than one million public sector workers took
industrial action.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "The ongoing
programme of industrial action with other unions we
have agreed sends a clear message to Government
ministers that we do not accept their unnecessary plans
to force public servants to pay more and work longer
for less in retirement."

"We will continue to show that there is an alternative
to this Government's cruel and unfair cuts that clearly
are not working."

Speaking on behalf of Unite's health members, who voted
by more than 9-1 to reject the pension changes,
National officer Rachael Maskell claimed the Government
was "picking the pockets of health workers", saying:
"In the face of continued attacks, health workers will
be stepping up their campaign and looking to join other
public sector workers in taking action on May 10."

The Police Federation, however, expressed concerns that
the public sector strike could overshadow its own
planned march, also scheduled for May 10. The event, a
demonstration across central London, was meant to
highlight the "destruction" that could be wrought by 20
per cent cuts to the police.

Metin Enver, spokesman Police Federation of England &
Wales, said: "At the moment we're not sure what the
impact will be on our event. Clearly we'll need to
assess what the impact is on our own event - some of
our members might find that they have leave cancelled
if there are work requirements.

But the British public will have to endure strikes as
early as Tuesday. Workers who maintain London's Tube
lines will walk out at 4 pm on April 24, and return at
he same time on Friday. The disruption is expected to
effect the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee lines. The
Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) general
secretary Bob Crow said his members were simply seeking
"basic rights" in being allowed to join the Transport
for London pension scheme, but London Mayor Boris
Johnson said: "It will come as no surprise to Londoners
that, a week before the mayoral election, Ken
Livingstone's RMT friend Bob Crow is trying to hit
hard-working Londoners and businesses."

____________________________________________

PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to
people on the left that will help them to interpret the
world and to change it.
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http://truth-out.org/op-ed/item/8587-the-landscape-of-may-day-in-new-york

The Landscape of May Day in New YorkNathan Schneider, Waging Nonviolence: "Ever since the idea of working toward May Day started catching on in Occupy Wall Street last January, it has been infused with the impulse of creating the vision of a radically different kind of city. The visionary impulse, however, has also mixed with things more mundane. Over the course of the May Day planning process in New York, in at least two meetings each week, OWS organizers have been patiently patching together an historic joint rally and march with labor unions, immigrants' rights groups and community organizations, many of which were invited to participate in the planning process since the beginning." Read the Article 

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/906163/hs_students_in_nyc_call_for_a_may_1st_walkout/#paragraph4

HS Students in NYC Call for a May 1st WalkoutBy Sarah Seltzer | AlterNet
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http://truth-out.org/news/item/8606-mike-ludwig-on-rt-are-epa-fracking-regulations-hurting-jobs

Truthout Reporter Mike Ludwig on RT: Are EPA Fracking Regulations Hurting Jobs?Mike Ludwig, RT: "On Tuesday the battle of new regulations on the hydraulic fracturing technique continued on Capitol Hill. The EPA put the finishing touches on new rules that are intended to protect the environment from the pollution believed to be caused by fracking. Many think that these new regulations will only choke the industry and prevent the creation of much needed jobs. Mike Ludwig, a reporter for Truthout, gives us his take on the new regulations." Watch the Video 

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Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer:"It is time to raise the minimum wage to jump start our economy. Support Senator Tom Harkin's bill that calls for raising the minimum wage from the current level of $7.25 to $9.80 — a 35 percent increase."Automatically add your name:Learn more about this campaignTell Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer: Raise the minimum wage to jump start the American economy.Dear John,Imagine having to feed your family, pay rent and basic services at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.There is not a single state in America where a worker living on current federal minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom unit working a standard 40-hour work week.1What's more, in 2011 a minimum-wage worker after working 40 hours per week for a full year would have just one hour's worth of wages left over to spend on rent and other basic services, after paying for family health-insurance coverage.2Tell Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer: Co-sponsor Senator Tom Harkin's bill to raise the minimum wage. Click here to automatically sign the petition.American families deserve better than this as our economy slowly inches out of its worst downturn since the Great Depression. We need to increase the minimum wage now, which will help millions of American families by putting them on a solid economic track. Fortunately, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has introduced the "Rebuild America Act," which calls for raising the minimum wage from the current level of $7.25/hour to $9.80/hour — a 35 percent increase — over the course of two and a half years and then index it so it rises automatically in the future with the cost of living.3We need to generate support for Senator Harkin's legislation because increasing the minimum wage would increase spending power for working class Americans and boost consumer confidence, revving up the nation's economic engine. Along with our friends at AFL-CIO, we believe raising the minimum wage of our workers is a "proven and effective way" to jump start our economy.4 Senator Harkin's legislation is an effective vehicle to provide that jump start.Tell Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer: Co-sponsor Senator Tom Harkin's bill to raise the minimum wage. Click here to automatically sign the petition.The high unemployment rates that were a legacy of the Bush administration have put enormous downward pressure on wages, as employers have not felt the need to offer competitive wages to hold on to workers. The resulting low wages have increased "child and family poverty" and continue to drive up the gulf of inequality between the 1% and the 99% in America.5Raising the minimum wage is critical for our economy, as the current rate of $7.25 has not kept pace with inflation and is well below its peak value in 1968. If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would currently be at $10.52.6We need Congress to raise the minimum wage now to ensure that America’s working class income earners are not falling behind in our current economic climate.Tell Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer: Co-sponsor Senator Tom Harkin's bill to raise the minimum wage. Click below to automatically sign the petition: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5545841&id=38598-2880264-YdshlGx&t=10The more Senators we can convince to get behind Senator Harkin's legislation, the greater leverage he will have to push Senate leadership to move his bill to the Senate Floor for a vote.Thank you for speaking out in support of working class Americans.Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets1. National Low Income House Coalition, REPORT: Out of Reach 2012: America's Forgotten Housing Crisis, March 14, 20122. John Schmitt and Marie-Eve Augier, "Affording Health Care and Education on the Minimum Wage," Center for Economic and Policy Research, March 2012.3. Dave Jamieson, "Raise Minimum Wage By 35 Percent, Peg It To Inflation: Senate Dem," HuffingtonPost.com, March 29, 2012.4. AFL-CIO, Minimum wage issue page.5. Doug Hall, "Increasing the minimum wage is smart for families and the economy," Econonomic Policy Institute, May 19, 2011.6. David Madland, "Harkin Bill a Big Step Forward for Our Middle Class," Center for American Progress, March 29, 2012.Share on Facebook 
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April 18, 2012
Around the nation on Tax Day yesterday, including in Ames, Iowa, working families (above) demanded that the 1% and corporations pay their fair share.Congressional Republicans—backed by their corporate sponsors—are continuing their assault on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and workers’ rights. This time, Republican senators are trying to ram through a resolution to kill a new rule by the NLRB that ensures that workers who want to vote to form a union at their workplace get a fair opportunity to do so. Clickhere to tell your senators to vote “No” on S.J. Res. 36. Read more and comment.  Tax Day Actions Demand 1% and Corporations Pay Their Fair Share Speakers Oppose ‘Blunt Instrument of Program Consolidation’ at Job Training Hearing Students Win as Cleveland Teachers, Mayor Find Common Ground Standard & Poor’s: Congress Endangering Biz Credit by Not Funding TransportationRead more important news of the day on the issues working families care about.Follow the AFL-CIO:
            Take the next step. Become a mobile activist
by joining the AFL-CIO Rapid Action Text Team.
Text NEWS to AFLCIO (235246) to receive action alerts and more.
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To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org.Click here to unsubscribe.

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http://www.alternet.org/story/155011/murder%2C_suicide_and_financial_ruin%3A_how_the_class_war_is_destroying_americans%27_lives?akid=8605.16102.E3WFtq&rd=1&t=3

Murder, Suicide and Financial Ruin: How the Class War Is Destroying Americans' LivesThe financial fraudsters, the One Percenters, fleece the most vulnerable -- military families, minorities, low-income people -- to generate their fast riches. READ MOREMark Ames / Consortium News
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