Pacific Progressive

The Importance of Unionization Benefits for the Child Care System in California

This material was published by the Center for American Progress.

By Sarah Jane Glynn, Ann O'Leary

Child care providers are an essential component of the California economy. Working parents without care for their children miss out on work and on the pay needed to keep their families thriving and keep our economic engine humming.

Many working parents who work long hours outside of the regular business day rely on family child care providers, small family-run businesses, to care for their children when they work the night shift or must be at work at 5 a.m. to open the store. Yet last year alone, the number of licensed family child care providers in California decreased by 14 percent, in part due to the inefficient state reimbursement system that has had some providers waiting months to get paid by the state for the subsidized care they provide for low-income children. A lack of timely reimbursements is just but one problem plaguing family child care workers—little access to training and uneven quality standards also frustrate those providing care.

Gov. Brown could take a critical step toward improving the provision of child care in California by signing Assembly Bill 101. A.B. 101 gives family child care providers a voice in determining the rules and regulations that govern their work. The bill would allow these child care providers to form a union in order to participate in negotiations with the state about the child care industry—including how and when they are reimbursed for subsidized child care.

Nurses Take on Wall Street

by: Carl Finamore, Truthout | Report

An open-air soup kitchen staffed by registered nurses in union T-shirts feeding a line of San Franciscan's midday outside a busy federal building is not something you see every day and it caused heads to turn.

It was intended to make a point, one also emphatically made at protest rallies outside 60 other legislative offices in 21 states attended by thousands of nurses and community friends.

See also: "Progressives Say American Dream Movement Rivals Tea Party"

National Nurses United (NNU) selected the offices of major federal legislators to announce loud and clear: Our communities are hurting; Tax Wall Street to rebuild Main Street.

This project is another bold, political step for the politically active and growing NNU, now the largest nurses' organization in the country's history.

In addition to today's political outing, it also strongly advocates the government providing quality health care for everyone, much like Medicare currently does for seniors, and not exclusive to only those able to pay.

Now Is the Time to Fix Our Broken Infrastructure - American Jobs Act Will Put Millions to Work

This material was published by the Center for American Progress.

By Heather Boushey

Investing in infrastructure creates jobs and yields lasting benefits for the economy, including increasing growth in the long run. Upgrading roads, bridges, and other basic infrastructure creates jobs now by putting people to work earning good, middle-class incomes, which expands the consumer base for businesses. These kinds of investments also pave the way for long-term economic growth by lowering the cost of doing business and making U.S. companies more competitive.

There is ample empirical evidence that investment in infrastructure creates jobs. In particular, investments made over the past couple of years have saved or created millions of U.S. jobs. Increased investments in infrastructure by the Department of Transportation and other agencies due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act saved or created 1.1 million jobs in the construction industry and 400,000 jobs in manufacturing by March 2011, according to San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank economist Daniel Wilson.[1] Although infrastructure spending began with government dollars, these investments created jobs throughout the economy, mostly in the private sector.[2]

Infrastructure projects have created jobs in communities nationwide. Recovery funds improved drinking and wastewater systems, fixed bridges and roads, and rehabilitated airports and shipyards across the nation. Some examples of high-impact infrastructure projects that have proceeded as a result of Recovery Act funding include:

• An expansion of a kilometer-long tunnel in Oakland, California, that connects two busy communities through a mountain.[3]
• An expansion and rehabilitation of the I-76/Vare Avenue Bridge in Philadelphia and 141 other bridge upgrades that supported nearly 4,000 jobs in Pennsylvania in July 2011.[4]
• The construction of new railway lines to serve the city of Pharr, Texas, as well as other infrastructure projects in that state that have saved or created more than 149,000 jobs through the end of 2010.[5]

Chamber of Commerce Sues to Block Requirement that Workers be Notified of Their Legal Rights

by Laura Clawson, Daily Kos Labor

Last month, the National Labor Relations Board issued a new rule requiring employers to post notices informing workers of their legal rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The required posters (PDF) are available at the NLRB for employers to print themselves, and are to be posted in the same location as workplace safety and other such already-required notices.

So of course the Chamber of Commerce is suing to block the regulation:

Randy Johnson, the Chamber’s senior vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits, said the NLRB’s rule on the notices is the latest effort by the board to favor unions over businesses.

“At a time when the private sector is striving to create desperately needed new jobs, it is disappointing to see that the NLRB is imposing new and unnecessary regulations on employers,” Johnson said in a statement. “The latest rule is part of the NLRB’s pattern of tipping the scale in favor of unions, at the expense of employers and employees alike.”

The Chamber contends that the regulation infringes upon employers’ First Amendment rights and violates a number of other laws, including the National Labor Relations Act.

It's like a parody: The Chamber of Commerce is seriously suing to prevent workers from being notified of rights they already have under the law, by means of a poster no one will likely read anyway. And note that the poster doesn't just tell workers that they have the right to join a union and bargain collectively, and that their employers are prohibited from trying to dissuade them from exercising their rights in specific ways. It also tells them, by the way, that they have the right not to join a union and that unions are prohibited from trying to exert pressure on them to join. But it's clear which set of information the Chamber thinks workers will respond to more strongly.

 

Auto Workers Extend Contract with Chrysler Again and Focus on Negotiations with Ford

by Laura Clawson, Daily Kos Labor

After reaching a tentative deal with General Motors, the UAW was expected to shift its focus to wrapping up negotiations with Chrysler, where, like GM, workers are prohibited from striking as a condition of the 2009 government aid the manufacturers received. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne had previously been publicly displeased when UAW President Bob King missed a meeting with Chrysler to stay in negotiations with GM.

Instead, though, the union's contract with Chrysler has been extended once again, and Ford has become the focus of negotiations. Ford is currently the most successful U.S. auto manufacturer, and workers retain the right to strike:

The talks with Ford are also complicated by an unsettled contract grievance.

The union has said the company broke a pledge to treat workers equally when it restored raises and 401(k) matches for white-collar workers without making a similar payout to factory workers.

There is also simmering resentment among UAW workers at Ford over Chief Executive Alan Mulally's compensation last year of $26.5 million, which UAW President Bob King called "morally wrong."

The UAW also may seek to have Ford shift work from Mexico to U.S. plants, something it touted in its deal with GM. Ford builds the Fusion mid-sized and Fiesta small cars in Mexico. Ford also has an engine plant in Mexico.

UAW members at GM still have to vote on their contract.

 

Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Statement on USTR Trade Enforcement Action and Job Loss to China

Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Statement on USTR Trade Enforcement Action and Job Loss to China.

Commented AAM Executive Director Scott Paul:

"We’re pleased that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has made it clear that our nation won’t tolerate retaliation for trade enforcement actions taken on behalf of American workers and businesses. While this particular action will defend the U.S poultry industry, it should send a strong signal to China that we will continue to exercise our rights to enforce trade laws and reject attempts at retaliation.

"My hope is that this action will encourage more domestic industries to come forward and challenge China’s unfair trade practices. 

"Meanwhile, our nation continues to shed jobs due to our trade deficit with China. As a new study released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has reported, our nation lost 2.8 million manufacturing jobs in the last decade specifically because of the U.S. trade deficit with China.  Many more of these good-paying, skilled jobs are also at risk.

"We need to see many more trade enforcement actions like the one announced today in order to reduce the structural trade deficit caused by China’s currency manipulation, subsidies, and dumping."

Click here to view the full report on U.S. jobs lost due to the trade deficit with China.

Click here for an interactive map of jobs lost in every state.

 

Eight of 10 States with the Lowest Insured Rates are 'Right to Work'

by Laura Clawson for Daily Kos Labor

Pointing out that Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to roll back health care reform, We Party Patriots notes that:

...Texas has the worst healthcare of any state in the union with nearly a quarter of its residents uninsured. This leaves the state in a vulnerable position because when the uninsured need emergency care and cannot pay, the burden of the cost gets placed on the Hospitals and Doctors who treat them. That cost then gets passed on to everyone else.

By cutting low cost health programs for the underprivileged, Texas has set itself up for a walk on the high wire of healthcare with no safety net.  The private insurance available is in such demand that many find themselves priced out. According to the LA Times, only Mississippi has higher healthcare costs than Texas.

It comes as little surprise that Texas would have such poor insurance statistics to go with itsminimum wage jobs and failure to require workers compensation.

But it's not just Texas:

Florida is also lacking proper services with 22.4 percent of its people uninsured. Georgia is weighing in at 20.5 percent while Arizona is also sharing the circle of shame with an uninsured population of 19.6 percent. There are many correlations here, the foremost being that traditionally conservative-leaning states allow their people to go uninsured. The catch-22 is that they have unhealthy populations and therefore their hospitals and doctors’ offices are working at capacity and the buck is being passed to the insured. This kind of taxpayer burden is specifically what these politicians claim to oppose.

Labor Board Issues Complaint Against SVMH Management for Violating Workers' Rights

From NUHW

The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) issued a complaint against the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System for engaging in unfair labor practices that interfered with SVMH employees’ rights.

The PERB responded to two separate charges filed by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW).  The Board agreed that on June 20 of this year, hospital management restricted union members from distributing literature at “two public non-working Hospital areas” at which they were lawfully entitled to do so. The Board also agreed that on June 17, hospital management selectively enforced email rules in order to stifle pro-union speech by an NUHW member leader.

In both cases, the PERB found hospital management guilty of violating sections of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. The Board found that the healthcare system “interfered with employee rights,” commited “an unfair labor practice,” “interfered with the rights of bargaining unit employees to be represented” by their union, and “denied (the union) its right to represent bargaining unit employees.”

“This is a hospital board that meets behind closed doors, draws up privatization plans with no public input or knowledge, and considers hiring private investigators to go after whistle blowers when their secret plans are dragged out into the light of day,” said John Borsos, Vice President of NUHW. “Is it any surprise that this is also a management regime willing to break the law to prevent workers from exercising their right of free association?” The Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System has twenty days from the date of issuance to respond to the charges.

Read the PERB’s complaint.

 

Buy American

By Dave Johnson from Campaign for America's Future

Take a look at the agenda of the upcoming Take Back The American Dream Conference. There is a session on Tuesday titled, Strategy on State Level for Buy America Campaign.

This session will look at ways to trigger state-level procurement rules that say when states use taxpayer money to buy things, they should be buying American-made things, from American companies that employ American workers and pay American taxes.

The situation today is that some state-level procurement laws are very weak. As a result, a lot of tax dollars go to purchase goods made overseas instead of goods made in the USA. The impact of this often includes delays or cost overruns such as what happened with the San Francisco to Oakland California Bay Bridge, as well as the loss of jobs and revenue in the US.

The idea that national and state governments should "Buy American" isn't in any way a partisan issue. If you look at polling you find that Republicans as well as Democrats believe that at least now while we are in economic distress, and trading "partners" are selling to us but not buying from us, our tax dollars should be supporting American companies and jobs.

This conference session looks at 5 model bills to strengthen the efficacy and transparency of domestic procurement laws at the state level. It is a strategy session to (1) share the legislation, (2) talk about strategy, (3) listen to ideas.

Postal Service: Death by Bathtub Drowning

by: Allison Kilkenny, Truthout | News Analysis

President Obama announced in his deficit reduction proposal Monday that he supports allowing the US Postal Service (USPS) to stop delivering mail on Saturdays, among other revenue-generating proposals, such as allowing post offices to sell items other than stamps.

Strangely, while the president did make reference to refunding the $6.9 billion the Postal Service made to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), he failed to address the $50 billion to 75 billion in overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS).

Audits performed by the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General and the autonomous Postal Regulatory Commission both confirmed that the Postal Service has been bleeding money by overpaying into worker pension funds, placing the figure at between $50 billion and $75 billion.

It seems odd that the president would recognize the one area of hemorrhaging (FERS) without mentioning this second, far greater source of revenue loss, especially considering the White House's own proposals stand to save the USPS "only" $20 billion over the next few years.

The New York Metro Area Postal Union, APWU, and AFL-CIO view this failure to focus on an obvious way to save the USPS as a sign of ineptitude, a nefarious desire to see one of America's oldest public services destroyed, or an unhealthy mixture of both. As a result, the organizations put out a statement demanding that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe resign immediately. If Donahoe fails to resign, the groups state, they call upon the Postal Board of Governors to fire him.

What Skills Shortage?

Written by John Schmitt   

From CEPR Blog at the Center for Economic and Policy Research

I remember well the gas shortages of the 1970s. Long lines at the pumps, and gas prices through the roof. Higher prices are, of course, the textbook free-market response to a shortage.

Some economic analysts argue that an important reason we have high unemployment today is because we have a shortage of skilled workers. Employers have good jobs to fill, but they can’t find qualified workers to fill them.

If there really is a shortage of skilled workers, though, we’d expect to see skilled workers’ wages rising. Back in the late 1990s, for example, when the economy experienced four years of sustained low unemployment, and employers really were beating the bushes to fill vacancies, inflation-adjusted wages for workers at all skill levels rose faster than they have during any period in  the last three decades.

Journalist David Wessel has posted a magnificent graph at the Real Time Economics blog that shows almost the exact opposite of what we’d expect if there were a shortage of skilled workers.

Source: Matthew Slaughter via David Wessel.

Nearly 2.8 Million U.S. Jobs Eliminated or Displaced Since 2001 Due to Growing U.S.-China Trade Deficit

From the Economic Policy Institute

The U.S.-China trade deficit has eliminated or displaced nearly 2.8 million U.S. jobs since 2001, a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) briefing paper finds.  Growing U.S. trade deficit with China cost 2.8 million jobs between 2001 and 2010 by Robert Scott, EPI’s Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research, finds that all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico suffered jobs lost or displaced as a result of the growing U.S.-China trade deficit.

The trade deficit with China grew from $84 billion in 2001, when China entered the WTO, to $278 billion in 2010.   It eliminated or displaced 2,790,100 jobs, or about 2% of total U.S. employment over that period.  The biggest net losses, in terms of the total number of jobs displaced, occurred in California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts and Georgia.  In ten states, the jobs lost or displaced exceeded 2.2% of total employment.  These states are New Hampshire, California, Massachusetts, Oregon, North Carolina, Minnesota, Idaho, Vermont, Colorado and Rhode Island.

Of the nearly 2.8 million jobs lost or displaced, 1.9 million of them were in manufacturing.  These jobs represent nearly half of all U.S. manufacturing jobs lost between 2001 and 2010.  The largest share of manufacturing jobs lost or displaced were in computer and electronic parts, at 909,400 jobs, or 32% of all jobs lost or displaced.  Other hard-hit sectors of the manufacturing industry were apparel and accessories, textile fabrics and products, fabricated metal products, plastic and rubber products and motor vehicles and parts.  Service industries, including administrative, support and waste management services experienced significant job displacement.

Increases in U.S. exports tend to create jobs in the United States, and increases in imports tend to lead to job loss.  Thus, a growing trade deficit signifies growing job loss.  The trade deficit with China is exacerbated by the currency manipulation.  Because China has pegged its currency to the U.S. dollar instead of allowing it to fluctuate freely, the yuan has remained artificially low, effectively subsidizing Chinese exports and artificially raising the cost of U.S. exports.  U.S. goods are less competitive in China and in countries where U.S. exports compete with those from China.

The impact of the trade deficit with China extends beyond U.S. jobs lost or displaced.  Competition with China and countries like it has resulted in lower wages and less bargaining power for U.S. workers in manufacturing and for all workers with less than a four-year college degree.

 

In Wake of Ohio River Bridge Closure, NBC Nightly News Examines the Sorry State of U.S. Bridges

By Stephen Lee Davis for Transportation for America

Over the weekend, NBC Nightly News ran a sharp piece on our country’s structurally deficient bridges, focusing on the data in the T4 America bridge report.

At least one person somewhere in the U.S. is driving over a structurally deficient bridge every minute, according to T4 America director James Corless in a report on the woeful condition of our nation’s bridges on NBC Nightly News Sunday evening.

Brought into the national spotlight because of the recent closure of a highly-trafficked interstate bridge over the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky and the President’s scheduled appearance at a Cincinnati-area bridge this Thursday, more national media outlets (and Americans and their leaders in Congress, one would hope) are paying attention to the real-life impacts of underinvestment in infrastructure.

Watch the video here on NBC

Though years of underfunding, neglect and a failure to prioritize repair of the existing system have led us to this critical juncture, that doesn’t mean that we can’t choose a better future for our country. As the NBC piece (and the counter at the top of our website) shows us, Congress has failed for two years to write and pass a comprehensive transportation bill that could get us moving in the right direction.

But just putting more money into transportation won’t automatically solve the problem of deficient bridges. We need to make sure that money is spent wisely, which means making sure that money gets targeted first and foremost to taking care of what we’ve already built. Some instructive comments from our statement last week on the closure of the Sherman Minton Bridge in Louisville:

“States also need to be held accountable to address the growing backlog of structurally deficient bridges with their federal transportation dollars,” Corless added. “States can currently spend half of their money dedicated to bridge repair on almost any other type of project. Today the federal program lacks a system to ensure that federal money goes to repair the worst bridges or address the backlog before new highways are built…”

“One logical step forward would be Senator Ben Cardin’s Preservation and Renewal of Federal-Aid Highways Act, which would require the Secretary of Transportation to establish “state of good repair” standards for highways that receive federal funding, ensuring that federal dollars are targeted toward the most pressing needs first and holding states accountable for improving the condition of their systems.”

In case you’re new to T4 America, don’t miss our report on the country’s deficient bridges: The Fix We’re In For. State-by-state statistics are available, as well as a tool that allows you to find all of the deficient bridges in your area.

 

Schools in Disrepair

by Mark E Andersen for Daily Kos Labor

Not long ago I published "A trip to the school library," in which I documented how the lack of funds into a local school library has had devastating results.

The lack of funds is not only impacting learning materials, it is also impacting our nation's education infrastructure.

*The American Society of Civil Engineers, in its 2009 infrastructure report, gave the country’s school buildings a grade of ‘D.’

*About one-fourth (28 percent) of all public schools were built before 1950, and 45 percent of all public schools were built between 1950 and 1969, according to theNational Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. The average age of public schools is 40 years old, according to the 21st Century School Fund.

*Though there is no current comprehensive nationwide data on the condition of the country’s school buildings, estimates to bring schools into good repair range from a low of at least $270 billion to more than $500 billion.

Our schools are literally falling apart, yet politicians like Wisconsin's Scott Walker want to give our tax dollars to private schools in the form of vouchers. As the president said last week in his speech to the joint session of Congress "How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart? This is America. Every child deserves a great school—and we can give it to them, if we act now..."

Southern California Kaiser Permanente Caregivers on Strike

From NUHW

About 2,500 Kaiser Permanente employees throughout Southern California will be out on the picket line to protest Kaiser’s unfair labor practices and refusal to bargain in good faith toward a fair contract that protects patient care and leaves workers’ benefits intact.

On Thursday, they will be joined by approximately 1,500 NUHW members in Northern California as well as 17,000 Registered Nurses in the California Nurses Association and 2,000 Stationary Engineers who are striking in sympathy with NUHW in the biggest walk-out in Kaiser’s history.

Despite enjoying record profits over the last two and a half years of over $5.7 billion, Kaiser administrators refuse to address workers’ concerns about chronic short staffing and its negative impacts on patient care, and continue to insist on implementing major reductions to workers’ healthcare coverage and retirement benefits.

See this video of Kaiser mental health clinicians describing how chronic short-staffing at Kaiser adversely impacts patient care: http://kaiserunited.org/2011/09/kaiser-mental-health-workers-speak-out/

At Kaiser’s flagship Southern California hospital, Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center (LAMC), more than 1,100 NUHW-represented Registered Nurses will walk off the job for three days beginning tomorrow morning.