At our meeting on Monday, March 8, 6:00 pm at the Columbia Labor Temple we have the opportunity to question the candidates for Mayor of Columbia. These candidates will be there:
Jerry Wade
Bob McDavid
Sid Sullivan
Sean O'Day
Paul Love
Friday, March 5, 2010
Your Legislature at Work
It's always interesting to search for bills that our elected officials have introduced on labor issues. HB 1960, the School Construction Act is sponsored by Rep. Ruestman.The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Special Standing Committee on Workforce Development and Workplace Safety (Rep. Stephen Webber
is a member) on Monday, March 15 at noon. This is very late in the session for a House bill to get a House hearing, so there is little chance the bill will pass. It could be amended to a bill on the floor though, so pay attention!
This bill establishes the School Construction Act which exempts,
except in counties with a charter form of government, the
construction and maintenance work done for a school from the
prevailing hourly wage rate requirement upon the approval of the
school board. If a school district exempts itself, it must
notify the Division of Labor Standards within the Department of
Labor and Industrial Relations of the exemption.
REALLY BIG SALES TAX!
From the MNEA Legislative Update
by Otto Fajen
The Senate briefly debated Senate Joint Resolution 29 (Chuck Purgason) on March 4. Sen. Purgason offered a floor substitute that makes several changes, including adding exemptions for private schools, churches, motor fuel, insurance premiums and monetary donations to charities. SJR 29 is a proposed constitutional amendment which, if approved by a statewide vote, will replace the state personal and corporate income taxes, corporate and bank franchise taxes, existing state sales and use taxes and local earnings taxes with a greatly expanded and increased sales tax on most sales of goods and services. In a masterstroke of Orwellian deception, proponents refer to this massive sales tax increase as the “Fair Tax.”
The state needs a responsible and sustainable tax policy to fund investment in public schools and other vital services. Perversely, the so-called “Fair Tax” proposal will actually make Missouri’s tax code profoundly less fair, less adequate and less sustainable.
Missouri NEA strongly opposes this type of impractical, regressive tax change that will keep Missouri from maintaining the revenue it needs to invest in public schools, public higher education and other vital public services like healthcare.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Now Whirlpool Threatens Workers Who Protest Plant Closing
I found this amazing story at the Campaign for America's Future blog. Not only is Whirlpool planning to close a plant in Indiana, throwing the union workers out of work. Now they are threatening the "future employment opportunities" of the workers if they use their first amendment rights to protest the closing! You can send a message to Whirlpool with the link at the bottom of the story.
By Dave Johnson
February 24, 2010 - 4:15pm ET
The other day I posted Whirlpool Bites Hands Of American Taxpayers That Feed Itsaying, in summary,
- • Whirlpool closes a plant in Evansville
• Taxpayers will shoulder the unemployment and other costs.
• All the local supplier, transportation and other third-party jobs are destroyed.
• Even more home foreclosures in the area as a result.
• Local businesses are stressed or have to go out of business.
• They are playing nearby Iowa against Indiana for tax breaks and subsidies to keep just a few of the jobs.
• Whirlpool is profiting from making all this someone else's problem.
• And, of course, Wall Street celebrates the move.
A Whirlpool spokesperson responded, leading to the post, Whirlpool Exec Responds: The System Made Us Do It, taking a look at the bigger picture that forces our companies like Whirlpool to do these things that destroy people, communities and our economy,
I thought that was the end of it, but whoa, what's this? Whirlpool Threatens Workers: Protesting Plant Closure Risks 'Future Jobs'
Threatening workers who show up at the protest that they risk future employment?Click through to read the entire report and to see Whirlpool's letter.
And take action: Tell Whirlpool: Keep It Made in America and Save Our Jobs.
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Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Anti-Bargaining Bill Clears House Committee
From MNEA Legislative Update
by Otto Fajen
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee approved an HCS version of HB 1905 (Kevin Wilson) on February 24. HB 1905 is a rewrite of HB 805 last year's MSTA anti-bargaining bill for teachers. The bill would still prevent K-12 teachers from having the same right as other public employees to elect an exclusive bargaining representative under a consistent framework applicable to all public employees.
The bill also makes other changes that would weaken or undermine an effective bargaining process and make it much less likely that districts and employee organizations will reach bargained agreements. The bill unnecessarily limits the scope of what can be bargained, and gives exclusive control to school districts of many issues which could be handled by mutual agreement, such as setting bargaining timelines.
The Missouri NEA strongly opposes HB 1905. An effective bargaining process must have a unified employee voice capable of agreeing to and enforcing a bargained agreement. MNEA supports legislation that would treat all public employees fairly and that is built on broad consensus among public employee groups and public employers. An effective bargaining law must ultimately provide for exclusive bargaining representation, a clear duty for both employees and employers to bargain in good faith, binding agreements with a clear ratification process and a fair process to resolve impasse and grievances.
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