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November 13, 2009National/PoliticalReid Mulls Medicare Tax Increase for High Earners The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is considering a proposal to increase the Medicare payroll tax on high-income workers to help offset the costs of providing health insurance to millions of Americans, Senate aides said Thursday. The proposal is part of a legislative package that Mr. Reid has put together in secrecy and submitted to the Congressional Budget Office for analysis. ….. Steven M. Kreisberg, director of collective bargaining and health care policy at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said an increase in the payroll tax on high-income people was “far preferable” to the excise tax on high-cost insurance plans. “At a time of rising inequality in income and wealth,” Mr. Kreisberg said, “it is appropriate to ask those who make more to bear a greater burden.” Related from Wall Street Journal: Reid Weighs Rise in Medicare Tax Tensions brim between GOP and CEOs over healthcare reform Tension between Republicans and the nation’s top CEOs over healthcare reform escalated this week when the executives released a report praising aspects of President Barack Obama’s top initiative. Republicans in Congress and some of their business allies in Washington are fuming over a new report commissioned by the Business Roundtable (BRT), an organization that represents more than 50 of the nation’s biggest corporations. AFL-CIO’s Trumka Says Executive Compensation ‘Out of Control’ Executive compensation is “out of control,” and long-term shareholders need a greater say in how companies are run, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. Related: Wall Street Journal: AFL-CIO’s Trumka Outlines Labor’s Job Creation Agenda Wall Street Journal: AFL-CIO’s Trumka Says EFCA Is ‘The Best Stall Ever’ Obama Announces White House Jobs Summit This morning, President Obama announced he will invite labor leaders, business executives, small business owners, economists and other financial experts to a special White House summit on jobs next month. Trumka: Deeds Lost And Dems Will Lose Without Populist Focus One of the most powerful labor leaders in the country said on Thursday that Democrats were unable to hold the governor's chair in Virginia and may lose seats nationally because of a lack of truly populist principles. Free to Lose ….. Here in America, the philosophy behind jobs policy can be summarized as “if you grow it, they will come.” That is, we don’t really have a jobs policy: we have a G.D.P. policy. ….. Just to be clear, I believe that a large enough conventional stimulus would do the trick. But since that doesn’t seem to be in the cards, we need to talk about cheaper alternatives that address the job problem directly. Should we introduce an employment tax credit, like the one proposed by the Economic Policy Institute? Should we introduce the German-style job-sharing subsidy proposed by the Center for Economic Policy Research? Both are worthy of consideration. Misbehaving Contractors are Recovery Act Winners The federal government has awarded about $17 billion in direct contracts under the various provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). ….. An examination of the national Recovery Act contractor spreadsheet shows that many of those companies appear in POGO’s database as having been involved in cases of misconduct. They account for more than $6 billion in Recovery Act contract awards. U.S. deficit sets October record of $176.4B The U.S. government deficit hit a record for October as the new budget year began where the old one ended: with the government awash in red ink. ….. The Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit for October totaled $176.4 billion, even higher than the $150 billion imbalance that economists expected. H1N1 death toll estimated at 3,900 in U.S. Nearly 3,900 people, including about 540 children, are believed to have died from the H1N1 flu in the first six months of the epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Red Cross Is Faulted Over Blood Supply The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it has found widespread and persistent problems with the storage and distribution of blood supplies by the American Red Cross. An FDA investigation in 2008 found more than 200 significant violations at 12 Red Cross facilities across the U.S., according to a report posted to the FDA's Web site. Violations include blood components that were distributed with incorrect references to the donor's gender, and blood distributed in cases where a donor wasn't properly cleared to give blood. …. The Red Cross has been under intense scrutiny for more than a decade, and has been cited for similar violations by the FDA, most recently in 2005. State/LocalAFSCME wants new alarm system at Fulton State Hospital The labor union that represents state workers wants the Missouri Department of Mental Health to upgrade security at the state's maximum security mental hospital in Fulton. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is asking the state to implement the Man-Down alarm system. It consists of a pager-like device that a worker would wear and could activate if physically attacked. Related: ConnectMidMissouri: Mental hospital workers urge state to buy new alarm system MissouriNet: Union pushes for reduction of violence at state forensic hospital KOMU: Hospital Sees More Staff Injuries AP: Union wants more safety measures for staff at Mo. mental hospital, cites increase in assaults Union protests Red Cross layoffs Calling last Friday’s Red Cross layoff “a bloodbath,” members of AFSCME Local 3145 said Wednesday that layoffs of Red Cross blood drive employees endanger the safety of the community. Union members spoke during a press conference at Council 4 AFSCME union headquarters in New Britain. The conference came in the wake of Friday’s layoff of 22 workers in the Connecticut Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross — 19 are union members. AFSCME “disappointed” in court system layoffs The head of a union that represents some of the workers in the judicial branch of state government says he is “extremely disappointed” the chief justice didn’t consult with the union before announcing layoffs. AFSCME members in the executive branch are voting later this month on a plan that will see all workers take five unpaid days off as a way to save money — and prevent layoffs. Danny Homan, president AFSCME Council 61, says AFSCME members who work in the court system had been emailing him, suggesting they might be willing to do the same thing. Related: Radio Iowa: Culver: executive branch layoffs could be trimmed to “100 or 200? Gazette: Union agreements may result in fewer state employee layoffs Quad City Times: Culver considers retirement incentives Guv orders furloughs, job elimination as response to financial woes Gov. Bill Richardson on Thursday pledged to axe 1,000 vacant state jobs, ordered nearly 20,000 state workers to take five furlough days and cut state agencies. …… Richardson’s explanation didn’t inoculate the governor against criticism from state employee unions. “It is very unfortunate that they’re balancing the budget on the backs of 20,000 hard-working middle class people,” Carter Bundy of American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees, Council 18, said Thursday. ASFSCME represents about 6,500 classified state workers in New Mexico. Legislators believe pressure is building to consider furloughs of state employees — The chairmen of the Kansas Legislature’s budget committee believe furloughs of government employees are growing more likely because of the state’s persistent budget problems. …. The state has about 38,500 employees, including some 15,000 on university campuses. About 21,000 workers are covered by Kansas’ civil service system. The most serious discussion of furloughs has come in Kansas’ court system. Salaries and employee benefits consume 98 percent of its $97 million appropriation of state tax dollars. City sees employee benefits as way to save money City officials yesterday said that they expected to save $6.3 million annually by making some changes to health-benefit plans offered to nonunionized city workers - including upping some out-of-pocket costs and shifting the way the city pays insurance bills. …… Attorney Deborah Willig, who represents both the firefighters union and white-collar workers in District Council 47 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said that the unions might consider using self-insured plans. Today is last workday for 84 Eighty-four nonunion government employees lose their jobs today, the first of about 650 state workers expected to leave their jobs by the end of the year to help reduce the budget deficit. …… In October the Hawaii Government Employees Association agreed to a two-year contract including 18 furloughs days for the remainder of fiscal 2010 through June 30, and 24 furlough days for the fiscal year from July 1 to June 30, 2011. The state is still negotiating with United Public Workers, which represents blue-collar state employees. Calls to both unions were not returned yesterday. Related from the Advertiser: Hawaii state worker layoffs cut back to 650 instead of 1,100 Library union OKs wage freeze / The contract would limit layoffs to 14 if approved by the board of trustees. Rockford Public Library trustees meet Monday to consider a one-year labor contract that includes a wage freeze for 87 union employees and would limit the number of proposed layoffs to 14. The agreement ratified by the union on a 45-4 vote late last week, represents a culmination of difficult budget and labor talks amid a financial crisis in which the library has sought to cut $1.7 million from its budget. ….. Ferraro said the agreement means the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 473 has successfully worked with the Library Board to reduce the number of layoffs, limit service reductions, keep the Lewis Lemon Library Branch open, and raise revenue for the library through increases in fines and fees. County union ratifies bargain / AFSCME passes contract with limited 3 percent pay cut A union representing the majority of Dane County employees has ratified its 2010 contract, which includes a temporary 3 percent pay cut for the year, according to statements from Dane County and the union released Thursday. …. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 1,500 Dane County employees, previously entered into a tentative agreement in late October with the county after negotiations between the union and the county. Now, the last of the union’s bargaining units voted to enter into the agreement Wednesday night. Detroit City Workers Rebuff New Mayor Detroit’s public sector workers have won a battle in a months-long war with Mayor Dave Bing. The recently re-elected mayor had threatened for a month to terminate contracts if city unions didn’t accept his proposed 26 furlough days—amounting to a 10 percent wage cut. He tried to make good on that threat in late October, moving to impose terms on AFSCME District Council 25, which represents 3,500 Detroit workers. 2 Oakland County unions accept 2.5% pay cut Two of Oakland County's nine employee unions have become the first to approve a 2.5% pay cut needed this year to balance the county's budget, which faced a $14.3-million deficit before commissioners began cutting……… .County commissioners approved renegotiated contracts on Thursday with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Oakland County Prosecutor's Investigators Association that will reduce pay by 2.5%. DETROIT PENSION INVESTIGATION / Lawyer Ronald Zajac is a force behind Detroit's 2 public pensions Ronald Zajac doesn't officially run Detroit's two public pensions, but as their lawyer for nearly 40 years, he has advised pension trustees on significant matters: investments, ethics and travel policies, contracts, open-records requests and lawsuits. His supporters laud his experience and expertise. Critics complain, though, that Zajac has encouraged trustees to operate in secrecy, a sentiment apparently shared with some lawmakers in Lansing, who are pushing several bills that would impose stricter oversight on public pension boards.The debate follows Free Press reports that Detroit trustees destroyed expense records, engaged in unlimited travel around the world and have few rules on ethics and conflicts of interest. ‘Dicey’ Puerto Rico Bonds Beat U.S. States as Fortuno Cuts Jobs Governor Luis Fortuno’s declaration of a fiscal emergency hasn’t deterred investors from buying Puerto Rico’s bonds, which have returned 20 percent this year, more than any U.S. state. ….. Fortuno wants $2 billion of spending cuts, mostly through reductions in the Commonwealth’s payroll. He proposed deploying $6 billion of federal stimulus funds and $500 million from his government to employ fired workers on infrastructure projects while trying to lure private companies to maintain employment. Three-day furlough for city workers Furloughs, which have become a fact of life for many businesses struggling to survive the economic slump, have come to Yuma City Hall as it responds to a sharp drop in revenue for the first quarter of the new fiscal year. ….. Each employee, with the exception of public safety staff, will be taking 24 hours of unpaid time off between now and March 1, he said. Tampa City Council to seek cheapest vendors, not local ones The City Council made it clear Thursday what it thinks about ordinances that give local businesses a leg up on government contracts. Council members don't want them anywhere in Florida. With a 5-2 vote, the council agreed to back an effort by a businesses association to pass a state law banning the local ordinances. Despite deficit, Cincinnati City Council cuts property taxes After months of debating and wrangling, Cincinnati City Council on Thursday approved a property tax rollback for 2010. The rate will drop from 4.53 mills to 4.46 mills, a savings of $3 per $100,000 of assessed value to property owners, from $296 to $293 a year. The city will collect $28.9 million next year, the same amount it has collected since 2000. |
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