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8/01/03
E
Messenger
The
Electronic Newsletter of the
Florida
AFL-CIO
New
Members according to the AFL-CIO Work in Progress
This
week's WIP: 753
Year to date: 91,953
AFL-CIO
Presidential Forum To Be Televised August 5th.
PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATES FORUM--Be sure to watch C-SPAN for live coverage of the
national AFL-CIO forum for presidential candidates focusing on working
family issues Aug. 5 in
Chicago
at
8 p.m. ET
, in conjunction with
the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting. All current Democratic candidates
are scheduled to attend. President George W. Bush has been invited to
speak to the council in
Chicago
or at a specially
scheduled meeting. The AFL-CIO asked the presidential candidates to
respond to a detailed questionnaire about issues critical to working
families such as jobs, health care, retirement security, education,
corporate accountability, a strong and secure
America
, civil and human rights
and the freedom of workers to form unions. You can read their responses by
visiting www.aflcio.org/candidates2004.
AFL-CIO WORKING FAMILIES PRESIDENTIAL FORUM
TUESDAY,
AUG. 5
BROADCAST LIVE ON C-SPAN
7 P.M. CENTRAL
8 P.M.
EASTERN
The
AFL-CIO Can Help You Host a Watch Party - Order
an AFL-CIO Working Families
Presidential Forum Watch Party Toolkit and copies of My Voter Guide by
calling 1-800-442-5645 (in Washington, D.C., call 202-637-5042). You can
also contact the Florida AFL-CIO in
Tallahassee
for assistance at (850)
224-6926.
This
is also a great chance to host a press event!
If
you host a watch party it could be a great chance to engage your local
media. Now is the time to let
them know that the House of Labor is determined to replace George W. Bush
with a president who will support the needs of
America
’s
families over the needs of the corporate CEO’s.
If you are interested in having a press event at your watch party
let us know and we can help you set it up!
WE NEED YOUR LABOR DAY NEWS
To
those of you have sent us your announcements thanks…to those who
haven’t… watcha waitin for?
Labor Day is OUR
holiday! The
Florida
AFL-CIO is compiling a press packet
to send out to state-wide media to help promote your Labor Day events.
This is the best time of year to discuss the working families
agenda and the press is already calling us looking for information about
labor day events across the state. As
you plan your events please let us know and we will include it in our
press packet. Also, we will
advertise your events on our website so that others can find out about
them and help you celebrate. Resources
and flyer toolkits are available at www.aflcio.org
and as always the state fed will be happy to help you plan for the media
at your event. Send your
information or requests for assistance to rtemplin@flaflcio.org.
Thanks!
The
med-mal “crisis”
Sound
and fury
(
08/01/2003
© Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
In most debates,
facts are the antidote to shrill rhetoric, exaggeration and attack. In
Florida
, the facts just seem to
aggravate adversaries into yelling louder and making cruder threats. The
Florida Medical Association, in particular, is pulling out all the stops.
The group is now dangling the ...
Lawyers
launch ad campaign slamming medical insurers
(07/31/2003 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Trial lawyers and
victims-rights advocates fired the latest shot in the battle over soaring
medical-malpractice rates on Wednesday, launching a scathing advertising
campaign that compares Florida's insurance industry with Big Tobacco. The
television ad by Floridians for Patient Protection -- ...
Victims
Group s Ad Takes Aim at Insurance Firms
(07/31/2003 © Lakeland
Ledger)
ORLANDO -- The
heat over reforming doctor's malpractice insurance rates intensified
Wednesday, as a victims' lobbying group debuted a television advertisement
equating insurance companies' claims of a crisis with the lies of Big
Tobacco. 'Big Insurance,' produced by Floridians for Patient Prote...
LEGISLATURE:
Time to agree
(
07/31/2003
© Florida
Times-Union)
Right or wrong, a
majority of the Florida Senate is firmly entrenched against the idea of
limiting jury awards for speculative damages. Therefore, it is time to
seek other ways to preserve access to health care. Gov. Jeb Bush and the
House speaker should consider a strategy of trying to reach a
Malpractice
reform may sting doctors
(
07/31/2003
© Orlando
Sentinel)
Doctors in
Florida
had better hire a good
lawyer to read the fine print of any malpractice-reform deal. For most of
the medical-malpractice battle, doctors and insurance companies had a
common foe in personal-injury attorneys. They had a common solution in a
$250,000 cap on pain-and-suffering dam...
Proposed
malpractice bill hides mistakes
(
07/31/2003
© Pensacola
News Journal)
Under proposed
malpractice legislation in the House, the public would not have access to
information on hundreds of doctors who make mistakes -- including ones
that result in patient death. Brevard attorney Mark Peters -- who
represents doctors and patients -- said that would be a disservice to ...
Malpractice
debate takes new direction
(
07/31/2003
© St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE
- Medicaid patients are
the newest pawns in the medical malpractice fight. Attempting to alter the
debate before another special session next week, the Florida Medical
Association and Gov. Jeb Bush's administration said Wednesday that rising
malpractice premiums will force doctors to ...
1,000
doctors provide affidavits
(
07/31/2003
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Dr. Karen Krueger,
a
Tallahassee
internist for 23 years,
says, 'I'm a dinosaur. I like to get to know my patients. I like to know
everything about them and hear all their problems.' While she describes
her not-in-a-hurry style as outmoded, it is Krueger's whole life of
diagnosing patients that ma...
Special Session D?
Bush
cancels special session on medical malpractice
(08/01/2003 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Jeb Bush canceled a special session for next week to address the
rising cost of medical malpractice insurance, saying lawmakers haven't
agreed on how to limit some lawsuit damages in such cases. He said
Thursday he was encouraged by negotiations between the House and Senate,
b...
Governor
calls off legislative session
(08/01/2003 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE ·
Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday pulled the plug on next week's special
legislative session that was supposed to tackle spiraling medical
malpractice insurance costs. Even so, Bush said he's optimistic that he
and lawmakers are closer to a compromise that could bring legislators back
to Ta...
Bush
cancels special session on insurance
(08/01/2003 © Miami
Herald)
TALLAHASSEE - (AP)
-- Gov. Jeb Bush canceled a special session for next week to address the
rising costs of medical malpractice insurance, saying lawmakers still
haven't agreed on how to limit some lawsuit damages in such cases. He said
Thursday that he was encouraged by negotiations between the ...
In
Florida
it’s all politics
As
DCF struggles, agency chief runs Oklahoma political campaign
(
07/31/2003
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
A Republican
running for the state Senate in
Oklahoma
has tapped a
high-profile Floridian to serve as her campaign chairman, and his name is
not Bush. It's Jerry Regier. Regier, a former Oklahoma Cabinet secretary,
was pulled from the
Sooner
State
last August to turn
around
Florida
's troubled...
DCF
chief criticized for campaign job
(
07/31/2003
© Orlando
Sentinel)
A Republican
running for the state Senate in
Oklahoma
has tapped a
high-profile Floridian to serve as her campaign chairman -- the head of
this state's troubled child-welfare agency. Jerry Regier, a former
Oklahoma Cabinet secretary, was recruited from the
Sooner
State
last August to turn
around ...
Head
of Florida child welfare agency ends plan to help friend s Oklahoma Senate
campaign
(08/01/2003 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
TALLAHASSEE --
Florida's social services chief resigned Thursday as the co-chairman of a
friend's state Senate campaign in Oklahoma after angry words from Gov. Jeb
Bush and other criticism that the role could be an ill-timed distraction
from his efforts to clean up the troubled agency. Department...
Official
ends role in campaign
(08/01/2003 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE -
Florida's social services chief resigned Thursday as co-chairman of a
friend's legislative campaign in Oklahoma after angry words from Gov. Jeb
Bush and other criticism that the role could be an ill-timed distraction
from his efforts to clean up the troubled agency. Department of Ch...
Voucher program may finally see some sunshine!
VOUCHER
ACCOUNTABILITY
(
08/01/2003
© Miami
Herald)
Gov. Jeb Bush has made accountability and oversight of public-school
education a top priority -- and we agree it should be. But why is the
Florida Department of Education keeping secret records associated with the
state's newest voucher system, the Corporate Tax Scholarships? The use of
public funds...
Voucher
program secrecy assailed
(07/31/2003 © Miami Herald)
The state's largest school voucher program funnels millions of tax dollars
to private schools, but faces increasing criticism because it has little
public accountability. The controversial program, called the Corporate Tax
Scholarship, allows companies to donate money to send low-income children
...
Palm
Beach
Post: Senators request copy of voucher program rules
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/auto/epaper/editions/wednesday/local_news_f37254fb430530550084.html
The
decision to suspend vouchers to the Islamic Academy of Florida didn't come
from the Department of Education, underscoring the image of the DOE as a
spectator to its own program.
A
Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times
published
July 29, 2003
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/29/Opinion/Who_is_accountable.shtml
Tallahassee
Democrat: Vouchers are under increased scrutiny
Senate to look at how to improve oversight
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/6414257.htm
School
vouchers coming up short
(
07/31/2003
© Orlando
Sentinel)
Catherine Mehner
of Apopka wants school-choice vouchers to help her afford to send her two
daughters to private school. Joanna, 16, and Hannah, 13, will have to take
numbers, however. Tens of thousands of students in
Orange
County
and elsewhere across
Florida
are competing for a
limited number...
Trial
lawyers liken insurers to Big Tobacco in ad campaign
(07/31/2003 © Orlando
Sentinel)
Trial lawyers and
victims-rights advocates fired the latest shot in the battle over soaring
medical-malpractice rates on Wednesday, launching a scathing advertising
campaign that compares Florida's insurance industry with Big Tobacco. The
television ad by Floridians for Patient Protection -- an o...
The best fix for education…adequate funding
Miami
Herald: NO TO ENROLLMENT CAPS
HIGHER EDUCATION WORTH PRESERVING
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/editorial/6413558.htm
Due
credit
(
07/31/2003
© Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
Most Floridians
are having a hard time understanding the current school budget crisis.
Wait a minute, they say. Didn't we just approve that new tax for schools?
Didn't we just vote for mandatory pre-kindergarten and lower class size?
Isn't there waste that can be cut? The bewilderment came throug...
State
Priorities Are All Wrong
(08/01/2003 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Observe the sorry
state of education in Florida today: disappointing test scores, painfully
crowded classrooms, decaying school buildings, severe shortages of
supplies and, at least in Palm Beach County, the impending elimination of
teacher aides, seventh-period electives and many high school...
Parents:
Say no to Florida s 18-credit track
(
08/01/2003
© Upper Keys
Reporter)
School begins in
Monroe
County
in just 10 days. It's
time for the 800 or so high schoolers attending Coral Shores High School
to put that summer job on ice, grab their parents credit cards and hit the
malls for their fall wardrobes. But there's one very serious decision
these teens must soon ma...
Elections
Palm
Beach
Post: Restore rights for 30,000, and move on from there
Palm Beach
Post Editorial
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/auto/epaper/editions/today/opinion_f362ce184305d0050082.html
Election 2004
http://www.myinky.com/ecp/gleaner_news/article/0,1626,ECP_4476_2145666,00.html
http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/030730goss.html
http://www.naplesnews.com/03/07/florida/d950794a.htm
Miami
Herald: Lieberman rips Bush in attempt to woo Cubans
BY PETER WALLSTEN
pwallsten@herald.com
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/6414475.htm
Kerry,
Dean tilt over tax issues
Boston
Herald
7/31/03
Teamsters
Likely to Back Gephardt
LA Times
8/1/03
Democratic
contenders in 2004 offer plans to reform health care
San Jose
Mercury News
8/1/03
Union
Forms Rival Political Organization
The
New York
Times
7/30/03
Castor
Taps Back Into Networking Roots in Bid for U.S. Senate
(
08/01/2003
© Lakeland
Ledger)
Betty Castor is
running for office again, and she is working hard at her old skills of
meeting people and organizing her campaign. Castor, 62, is running for the
U.S. Senate as a Democrat if, of course, Democratic U.S. Sen Bob Graham
continues his run for president. So far, she is competing ag...
Activists plan new rally in
Tallahassee
Protesters
hope to repeat One Florida Capitol clash
(07/31/2003 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
MIAMI - A key
organizer of a demonstration three years ago that brought national
civil-rights leaders and thousands of blacks to Florida's Capitol
announced Tuesday a repeat performance next March, just in time for the
presidential primary and the opening of the state's 2004 legislative
session. ...
Protest
planned on 2004 legislative opening day
(08/01/2003 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
MIAMI -- One of
the organizers of a demonstration that brought national civil rights
leaders and thousands of blacks to march in Tallahassee three years ago is
planning a repeat performance. Bishop Victor T. Curry said he will hold a
protest in the state capitol March 2 to mark the beginning of t...
Tallahassee
community servant quits…frustrated by Jeb
Knott
House manager announces resignation
(08/01/2003 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
Joan Matey's smile
brightened and the enthusiasm in her voice conveyed an excitement in
describing the cultural treasures of the Knott House, but a weary look
crossed her face as she explained why Thursday was her last day at the
Park Avenue mansion. 'What's killing me is, we have to spend 50 to ...
The Bush overtime attack continues
Democrats
Attack Bush Overtime Plan
The
Washington
Post
7/30/03
Overtime
pay rules discussed
The
Miami
Herald
8/1/03
Bush
team pushes tax cuts…workers not buying it
Tax-Cut
Tour 2003, at a Factory Near You
The
New York
Times
7/30/03
Cabinet
team draws praise, protest during Minnesota tour
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
7/31/03
The
California
coup
California Dreaming
The
Washington
Post
7/30/03
State
of
Decline
The
Golden
State
is degenerating
into a banana republic.
Can the nation be far behind?
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/01/opinion/01KRUG.html?th
Wal-Mart
watch
Entertainment Union Endorses Gephardt
The
New York
Times
7/29/03
Unions
protest Wal-Mart
San Francisco
Chronicle
7/29/03
WalMart
Plans Move into Chicago
USA
Today
7/29/03
Verizon
workers prepare for strike
Talk
of Partners, Rumblings of Battle at Verizon
New York
Times
7/31/03
Strike
Looms at Verizon
The
Washington
Post
7/30/03
Past
Looms Large as Verizon Prepares for a Strike
New York
Times
8/1/03
Election
strategy: use vets for campaign then toss aside
U.S.
Fights Verdict Backing Ex-P.O.W.'s
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/29/politics/29POW.html
Some
lawmakers say bill shortchanges vets
(07/31/2003 © Florida
Keys Keynoter)
Some lawmakers and
interest groups are complaining that a $90 billion, U.S. House-passed
spending bill shortchanges veterans' health-care programs, and say they
might do something about it. But supporters of the package for veterans,
housing, environment and science programs say they did the best...
Other
news
Drug
Lobby Pushed Letter by Senators on Medicare
The
New York
Times
7/30/03
Jobless
Rate Falls to 6.2%, but Payrolls Slump
The
New York
Times
8/1/03
The
Right Way to Trade
Washington
Post
8/1/03
If you have
suggestions on how we may improve this online publication or have
information you would like to see posted please contact our communications
director at (850) 224 – 6926 or at rtemplin@flaflcio.org.
If you would
not like to receive future copies of this newsletter or would like to be
added to our subscription list please let us know at cbell@flaflcio.org.
Rich
Templin
Communications Director
Florida
AFL-CIO
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