The Tribune covers the lack of candidates filed so far for city council. There is also an open seat for CPS school board that no one has filed for yet. We need candidates who will work with city and school district employees as partners. That includes real collective bargaining that allows workers a voice on their job.
By ANDREW DENNEY
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The deadline to file for the April elections for the Sixth and Second ward seats on the Columbia City Council is less than two weeks away, but no one has filed to run for the Second Ward seat — which is being vacated by Jason Thornhill — and no challengers have filed to take on two-term Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe.
Thornhill, who was elected in 2009, said he has approached two residents in his ward to gauge their interest in taking his place on the council, but so far neither has committed. Thornhill said voters in his ward, which encompasses northwest Columbia, are “fairly apathetic” and said the ward does not face many controversial issues.
The deadline to file is Jan. 10, and the election is scheduled for April 3. Thornhill said he is leaving the seat to spend more time with his family.
City attorney Fred Boeckmann said if there are no filers by the deadline, then write-in candidates would be accepted for the April ballot. If there are no write-in candidates for the election, Thornhill would remain Second Ward representative — unless he resigns — until a new council member is found through a special election.
Thornhill said if no one files for the seat, he will continue to work with the council until a new representative is found. “I wouldn’t just walk off and leave them hanging,” Thornhill said. “But there would have to be some sort of end in sight, so to speak.”
Until the boundaries of the city’s six wards were redrawn this year to account for population shifts revealed in the 2010 Census, Thornhill’s ward was the most populous. From 2000 to 2010, the Second Ward grew by 7,733 residents. Before the ward boundaries were drawn to cede territory from the Second Ward into the First Ward, the former had more than 21,000 residents.
But when considering the elections for the sitting representatives of the city’s six wards, voter turnout in the Second Ward was among the lowest. There were a total of 1,243 voters in the 2009 race for Second Ward representative when Thornhill defeated Allan Sharrock with 51 percent of the vote.
Turnout was lower for Hoppe’s re-election in 2009 — 1,122 voters came to the polls and favored Hoppe over challenger Rod Robison with 59 percent of the vote.
Hoppe, who has served on the council longer than any sitting member, said if she wins re-election in April she will not seek a fourth term.
Reach Andrew Denney at 573-815-1719 or e-mail akdenney@columbiatribune.com.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Community nears goal in food drive challenge
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/dec/15/community-nears-goal-in-food-drive-challenge/
August Kryger
Brad Fraizer, president of Columbia Professional Firefighters, holds a sign Thursday morning at Broadway and Providence Road. Columbia firefighters and others are putting on a last-minute push to meet the goal of collecting 1 million pounds of food for The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri by 6 p.m. Thursday.
By ANDREW DENNEY
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Organizers of a food drive for The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri say donations picked up in the final hours of the effort and the goal of collecting 1 million pounds of food appears to be within reach.
The effort began last month when Mayor Bob McDavid issued a challenge to Columbia residents. Peggy Kirkpatrick, executive director of the food bank, said yesterday afternoon that the effort had raised less than 300,000 pounds of food.
But Brad Fraizer, president of Columbia Professional Firefighters, said that by 11 a.m. today, the volume of donations had doubled.
“It’s huge,” Fraizer said. “We’re really shocked at how generous the community is being.”
Columbia firefighters have been a major part of the effort — they have accepted donations at fire stations since the effort began, and Columbia Fire Chief Charles Witt and Deputy Chief Randall White have each pledged to donate 1 ton of food to the drive.
To take part in the effort, would-be donors may either give food or a monetary donation — a $1 donation translates into 20 pounds of food. Donations are being collected at Broadway and Providence Road and at Schnucks and Walmart stores throughout the city. Donation bins also are available at City Hall. The drive ends at 6 p.m. today.
Last year, the food bank distributed 27.4 million pounds of food to area schools and food pantries.
This year, officials at the food bank expect to distribute about 30 million pounds. Through the first 11 months of the year, the food bank has distributed 350,000 more pounds of food to 135 pantries and 138 schools in the 32-county region.
According to food bank statistics, the number of Boone County residents who receive food assistance increased from 14,628 per month in 2009 to 20,016 per month this year, and 42 percent of Columbia Public Schools’ elementary and middle school students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch.
This morning, state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, delivered more than 500 pounds of ham donated by Kansas City-based Farmland Foods as part of the effort. Schaefer said the company also would like to meet with food bank officials to assess their need for protein-rich food, which he said is hard for the food bank to access.
Schaefer said he has also pre-filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would extend for an additional 10 years a tax credit for foods pantries that expired in August. The credit was aimed at small- to midlevel donors and was worth as much as 50 percent of their donation with a $5,000 cap.
Reach Andrew Denney at 573-815-1719 or e-mail akdenney@columbiatribune.com.
August Kryger
Brad Fraizer, president of Columbia Professional Firefighters, holds a sign Thursday morning at Broadway and Providence Road. Columbia firefighters and others are putting on a last-minute push to meet the goal of collecting 1 million pounds of food for The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri by 6 p.m. Thursday.
By ANDREW DENNEY
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Organizers of a food drive for The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri say donations picked up in the final hours of the effort and the goal of collecting 1 million pounds of food appears to be within reach.
The effort began last month when Mayor Bob McDavid issued a challenge to Columbia residents. Peggy Kirkpatrick, executive director of the food bank, said yesterday afternoon that the effort had raised less than 300,000 pounds of food.
But Brad Fraizer, president of Columbia Professional Firefighters, said that by 11 a.m. today, the volume of donations had doubled.
“It’s huge,” Fraizer said. “We’re really shocked at how generous the community is being.”
Columbia firefighters have been a major part of the effort — they have accepted donations at fire stations since the effort began, and Columbia Fire Chief Charles Witt and Deputy Chief Randall White have each pledged to donate 1 ton of food to the drive.
To take part in the effort, would-be donors may either give food or a monetary donation — a $1 donation translates into 20 pounds of food. Donations are being collected at Broadway and Providence Road and at Schnucks and Walmart stores throughout the city. Donation bins also are available at City Hall. The drive ends at 6 p.m. today.
Last year, the food bank distributed 27.4 million pounds of food to area schools and food pantries.
This year, officials at the food bank expect to distribute about 30 million pounds. Through the first 11 months of the year, the food bank has distributed 350,000 more pounds of food to 135 pantries and 138 schools in the 32-county region.
According to food bank statistics, the number of Boone County residents who receive food assistance increased from 14,628 per month in 2009 to 20,016 per month this year, and 42 percent of Columbia Public Schools’ elementary and middle school students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch.
This morning, state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, delivered more than 500 pounds of ham donated by Kansas City-based Farmland Foods as part of the effort. Schaefer said the company also would like to meet with food bank officials to assess their need for protein-rich food, which he said is hard for the food bank to access.
Schaefer said he has also pre-filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would extend for an additional 10 years a tax credit for foods pantries that expired in August. The credit was aimed at small- to midlevel donors and was worth as much as 50 percent of their donation with a $5,000 cap.
Reach Andrew Denney at 573-815-1719 or e-mail akdenney@columbiatribune.com.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Columbia School Board to discuss bond issue, collective bargaining
It appears that the CPS School Board will vote to do what every one else does - allow teachers to elect an exclusive bargaining representative and bargain collectively. Stay tuned.
Monday meeting offers last opportunity to voice issues with tax rate increase proposal
Columbia Missourian
Saturday, December 10, 2011 | 4:59 p.m. CST; updated 10:41 p.m. CST, Saturday, December 10, 2011
BY JAMES AYELLO
COLUMBIA — As the Columbia School Board prepares to ask its residents to consider approving a $50 million bond issue with a 52-cent tax rate increase, it will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the District Administration Building to discuss any last issues before the proposal is finalized.
The board has said that if no new money comes into the district, it will begin deficit spending by the 2012-13 school year.
“We need to figure out how we get ahead in this game," school board member Jonathan Sessions said at the board’s special session Tuesday night. “We really need to assess what it's going to take to build a ladder out of the hole we’re in.”
The board will also be revisiting the issue of collective bargaining for district employees, including teachers.
Until a couple months ago, the board was considering two polices, HH and HA, created by the Missouri School Board Association. Policy HH was a plan that would require the district to recognize one or more bargaining groups that would negotiate exclusively with the district.
Policy HA was a less specific policy that provides legal ground rules for districts to negotiate with employee associations. It also outlines election rules for employee groups and recognizes which groups are allowed to collectively bargain,according to a previous Missourian report.
In October, when it appeared the board was going to make a decision about the polices, it instead voted 6-1 to send them back to committee. Following the meeting, the board decided to hire a consultant to work with the district's policy committee to help revise the polices in order to make them more specific to the district.
At Monday night's meeting, the policy committee will unveil the revised policies to the board and the public. The two new policies will be presented to the board for a first reading and will be presented again on Jan. 9 for approval.
The district currently employs a “meet and confer” policy that calls for employees of the district to negotiate their contracts on an individual basis.
The board will also consider a new name for the administrative building at Monday's meeting.
Monday meeting offers last opportunity to voice issues with tax rate increase proposal
Columbia Missourian
Saturday, December 10, 2011 | 4:59 p.m. CST; updated 10:41 p.m. CST, Saturday, December 10, 2011
BY JAMES AYELLO
COLUMBIA — As the Columbia School Board prepares to ask its residents to consider approving a $50 million bond issue with a 52-cent tax rate increase, it will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the District Administration Building to discuss any last issues before the proposal is finalized.
The board has said that if no new money comes into the district, it will begin deficit spending by the 2012-13 school year.
“We need to figure out how we get ahead in this game," school board member Jonathan Sessions said at the board’s special session Tuesday night. “We really need to assess what it's going to take to build a ladder out of the hole we’re in.”
The board will also be revisiting the issue of collective bargaining for district employees, including teachers.
Until a couple months ago, the board was considering two polices, HH and HA, created by the Missouri School Board Association. Policy HH was a plan that would require the district to recognize one or more bargaining groups that would negotiate exclusively with the district.
Policy HA was a less specific policy that provides legal ground rules for districts to negotiate with employee associations. It also outlines election rules for employee groups and recognizes which groups are allowed to collectively bargain,according to a previous Missourian report.
In October, when it appeared the board was going to make a decision about the polices, it instead voted 6-1 to send them back to committee. Following the meeting, the board decided to hire a consultant to work with the district's policy committee to help revise the polices in order to make them more specific to the district.
At Monday night's meeting, the policy committee will unveil the revised policies to the board and the public. The two new policies will be presented to the board for a first reading and will be presented again on Jan. 9 for approval.
The district currently employs a “meet and confer” policy that calls for employees of the district to negotiate their contracts on an individual basis.
The board will also consider a new name for the administrative building at Monday's meeting.
Here They Go Again...
No big surprise here. There are likely to be lots of anti-worker bills in the Missouri legislature again. It's like that movie Groundhog Dog It's up to us to make sure they meet the same fate that they have in the past.
‘Right-to-work’ fight to resume in Jefferson City
Missouri News Horizon
December 6, 2011 | Posted by: Tim Sampson
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – As the 2012 state legislative session begins to take shape, a familiar labor fight is heading to the floor of the Senate.
Once again, State Senate Leader Robert Mayer, R-Dexter, has introduced a bill that would keep Missouri workers from being forced to join a union against their will. Mayer recently pre-filed a bill to be brought up during the next legislative session, which begins in January.
The so-called “right-to-work” issue was debated during the 2011 legislative session but failed to gain enough traction to pass both chambers. The proposal would give workers in Missouri the option to not join a union if the rest of their workplace chooses to unionize – preventing them from having to pay union dues or strike against their will.
Pro-business lawmakers and lobbyist have argued that current law is unfair to individual workers and makes Missouri less attractive when trying to court businesses from neighboring right-to-work states.
But labor groups contend that allowing individual workers to opt out weakens the stance of the union. They say right-to-work laws are unfair since they allow workers who opt out of the union to benefit from union actions that increase wages and benefits to all workers.
‘Right-to-work’ fight to resume in Jefferson City
Missouri News Horizon
December 6, 2011 | Posted by: Tim Sampson
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – As the 2012 state legislative session begins to take shape, a familiar labor fight is heading to the floor of the Senate.
Once again, State Senate Leader Robert Mayer, R-Dexter, has introduced a bill that would keep Missouri workers from being forced to join a union against their will. Mayer recently pre-filed a bill to be brought up during the next legislative session, which begins in January.
The so-called “right-to-work” issue was debated during the 2011 legislative session but failed to gain enough traction to pass both chambers. The proposal would give workers in Missouri the option to not join a union if the rest of their workplace chooses to unionize – preventing them from having to pay union dues or strike against their will.
Pro-business lawmakers and lobbyist have argued that current law is unfair to individual workers and makes Missouri less attractive when trying to court businesses from neighboring right-to-work states.
But labor groups contend that allowing individual workers to opt out weakens the stance of the union. They say right-to-work laws are unfair since they allow workers who opt out of the union to benefit from union actions that increase wages and benefits to all workers.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Slow progress at the NLRB.
Wednesday Nov 30, 2011 6:30 pm
Working In These Times
Crazy Day at NLRB: Shutdown Averted, Boeing Case Settled
More peaceful days may be ahead for the federal agency in charge of enforcing labor law and mediating conflicts
WASHINGTON D.C.—In one of the most tense votes ever held in the history of the National Labor Relations Board, today the federal agency voted to proceed with enacting a new rule to curtail employers' ability to appeal workplace unionization elections before they are held.
The tension was in part due to GOP NLRB Member Brian Hayes threat to resign in protest of the vote, as I reported last week. His resignation would have effectively shut down the agency, because it would have lost a quorum of members needed to issue rulings.
The NLRB voted to move forward with a limited portion of a union election reform rule related to eliminating pre-union election voter eligibility determination appeals that currently delay union elections. Under the rule, such appeals would be held after a union election is already held. Now the rule will be prepared for final "publication," after which time it will be voted on again.
“The vast majority of NLRB-supervised elections, about 90 percent, are held by agreement of the parties—employees, union and employer—in an average of 38 days from the filing of a petition. The amendments I propose would not affect those agreed-to elections” NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce said today. He continued:
Hayes later explained why he did not resign from the NLRB, saying, “First, it’s not in my nature to be obstructionist. Second, as a practical matter, my resignation might not mute the issue… Lastly, however, and most importantly, I believe resignation would cause the very same harm and collateral damage to the reputation of this agency and to the interests of its constituents as would the issuance of a controversial rule without three affirmative votes and in the wake of a flawed decisional process. I cannot be credibly critical of the latter and engage myself in the former.”
Polarizing Boeing case finally settled
In other news—but very much related to the NLRB being a target of Republicans—the Machinists Union (IAM) and Boeing have settled their dispute, which resulted in a high-profile NLRB complaint filed against Boeing for illegal retailiation against striking union members. The IAM and the company reached agreement on a new four-year contract, which contains language ensuring that production of the 737 Max airliner will be in Renton, Wash.
IAM District Lodge 751 President Tom Wroblewski said that "if union members vote to approve the deal in the coming weeks, the union would inform the NLRB that it has no further grievances with Boeing,” the AP reported. The contract agreement was reached 10 months before the union's current contract with Boeing expires, which is highly unusual. The contract also reportedly allows for pay and benefit increases over its four years.
NLRB General Counsel Lafe Solomon said: “The tentative agreement announced today between Boeing and the Machinists Union is a very significant and hopeful development. The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the employees, and, if ratified, we will be in discussions with the parties about the next steps in the [complaint] process."
A Boeing spokesman "called the new contract with the union 'a starting point of a new relationship' with the union," the AP reported.
If the union drops its lawsuit against Boeing, the NLRB may stop pursuing its complaint against the company.
However, Capitol Hill observers still expect congressional Republicans to continue issuing attacks on the NLRB. “The war against the workers’ rights has been going on for more than a year and I do not think they will stop," said Aaron Albright, a spokesman for Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee. “I do not think they will stop their obsession with breaking up workers’ unions.”
Earlier in the day, at a special forum on the attacks on the National Labor Relations Board and workers’ rights sponsored by the National Labor Relations Board, University of Texas Labor Law Professor Jules Getman said the attack on the NLRB was “an almost brilliant strategy by the right wing. Attacks on workers are unpopular as in Ohio, but attacks on governments are fairly popular. So if you can make it about government, you can succeed in taking away the rights of workers.”
WASHINGTON D.C.—In one of the most tense votes ever held in the history of the National Labor Relations Board, today the federal agency voted to proceed with enacting a new rule to curtail employers' ability to appeal workplace unionization elections before they are held.
The tension was in part due to GOP NLRB Member Brian Hayes threat to resign in protest of the vote, as I reported last week. His resignation would have effectively shut down the agency, because it would have lost a quorum of members needed to issue rulings.
The NLRB voted to move forward with a limited portion of a union election reform rule related to eliminating pre-union election voter eligibility determination appeals that currently delay union elections. Under the rule, such appeals would be held after a union election is already held. Now the rule will be prepared for final "publication," after which time it will be voted on again.
“The vast majority of NLRB-supervised elections, about 90 percent, are held by agreement of the parties—employees, union and employer—in an average of 38 days from the filing of a petition. The amendments I propose would not affect those agreed-to elections” NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce said today. He continued:
Rather, the amendments would apply to the minority of elections which are held up by needless litigation and disputes which need not be resolved prior to an election. In these contested elections, employees have to wait an average of 101 days to cast a ballot. And as several employees testified at our hearing in July, that period can be disruptive and painful for all involved.Hayes had threatened to resign because he felt that the process and traditions of the NLRB were not being followed in the run up to consideration of the rule change. He said was not consulted properly as the agency reviewed 65,000 comments received about the rule, and that he did not have proper time to issue a dissenting rule change, among other things.
Hayes later explained why he did not resign from the NLRB, saying, “First, it’s not in my nature to be obstructionist. Second, as a practical matter, my resignation might not mute the issue… Lastly, however, and most importantly, I believe resignation would cause the very same harm and collateral damage to the reputation of this agency and to the interests of its constituents as would the issuance of a controversial rule without three affirmative votes and in the wake of a flawed decisional process. I cannot be credibly critical of the latter and engage myself in the former.”
Polarizing Boeing case finally settled
In other news—but very much related to the NLRB being a target of Republicans—the Machinists Union (IAM) and Boeing have settled their dispute, which resulted in a high-profile NLRB complaint filed against Boeing for illegal retailiation against striking union members. The IAM and the company reached agreement on a new four-year contract, which contains language ensuring that production of the 737 Max airliner will be in Renton, Wash.
IAM District Lodge 751 President Tom Wroblewski said that "if union members vote to approve the deal in the coming weeks, the union would inform the NLRB that it has no further grievances with Boeing,” the AP reported. The contract agreement was reached 10 months before the union's current contract with Boeing expires, which is highly unusual. The contract also reportedly allows for pay and benefit increases over its four years.
NLRB General Counsel Lafe Solomon said: “The tentative agreement announced today between Boeing and the Machinists Union is a very significant and hopeful development. The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the employees, and, if ratified, we will be in discussions with the parties about the next steps in the [complaint] process."
A Boeing spokesman "called the new contract with the union 'a starting point of a new relationship' with the union," the AP reported.
If the union drops its lawsuit against Boeing, the NLRB may stop pursuing its complaint against the company.
However, Capitol Hill observers still expect congressional Republicans to continue issuing attacks on the NLRB. “The war against the workers’ rights has been going on for more than a year and I do not think they will stop," said Aaron Albright, a spokesman for Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee. “I do not think they will stop their obsession with breaking up workers’ unions.”
Earlier in the day, at a special forum on the attacks on the National Labor Relations Board and workers’ rights sponsored by the National Labor Relations Board, University of Texas Labor Law Professor Jules Getman said the attack on the NLRB was “an almost brilliant strategy by the right wing. Attacks on workers are unpopular as in Ohio, but attacks on governments are fairly popular. So if you can make it about government, you can succeed in taking away the rights of workers.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)