05/14/04
E
Messenger
The
Electronic Newsletter of the
Florida
AFL-CIO
New
Members according to the AFL-CIO Work in Progress
This week's WIP: 211
Year to date: 55,508
STATE
NEWS
Legislative
dust continues to settle
THE
CHECKS ARE IN THE MAIL
(
05/13/2004
© Alachua
County Post)
And these checks
are forming the policy of the State. Some can argue that checks for
fundraising are a way of democratic expression of the views of the
senders, such as voting at the polls. It is a particular expression of
democratic rights.
Deletion
of e-mails raises questions
(05/13/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE -
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's top aide deleted hundreds of e-mails in the
last two days of the legislative session, a practice questioned by a
leading open records advocate and the next speaker of the House.
Give
Florida s Lawmakers Trip To Disney World
(05/13/2004 © Lakeland
Ledger)
Give Florida's
Lawmakers Trip To Disney World After following the actions of our
legislators this past legislative session, I believe I have a way to
save our state a big bunch of money: We should move all of the state
government, including all commissions, to the Magic Kingdom in Walt
Disney World
Don
t Miss Chance For Cut
(05/12/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Florida's
Legislature loves to cut taxes, but curiously, it passed up an
opportunity during the recent legislative session to stop a charge on
consumer and business telecommunications services. Fortunately, the
state's Department of Revenue vows to take a careful, measured approach
to drafting rules applying the obscure but potentially costly Substitute
Communications Services Tax.
Editorial:
Veto firearm-record bill
(05/12/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
Even the
two-thirds-majority requirement that Floridians placed in the state
constitution two years ago couldn't keep the Legislature from passing a
near-record 15 measures that further block public access to public
documents.
ACTION
ALERT
(
05/13/2004
© Alachua
County Post)
Sierra Club News
Release CALL THE GOVERNOR:
VETO
Shooting
Range
: SB1156 THE CLOCK IS
TICKING NOW. HE WILL EITHER SIGN THE BILL;
LET THE BILL BECOME LAW WITHOUT HIS SIGNATURE; OR VETO THE BILL.
Quality
of Care
(
05/14/2004
© Capitol
News Service)
Governor Jeb
Bush says he will sign new health are legislation requiring hospitals to
give patients a report on the quality of care. Bush says it will help
consumers make good decisions. The bill requires hospitals to report on
the rate of infections and mortality.
Straight
From The Heart?
(
05/14/2004
© Lakeland
Ledger)
Straight From The
Heart? It's a tough question: Did Florida Senate President Jim King's
opposition to strengthening the state's seat-belt law
come straight from his heart -- or his stomach? During the recent
legislative session, King was the biggest obstacle to the bill, which
passed the House handily and was backed by the governor
Shady
deals? Politics?
High prices? Record
Profits? That’s
healthcare in the
US
.
Health savings accounts = privatization of Medicare.
Premium
hikes, cost-cutting give HMOs healthy profits
(05/13/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
Profit at
Florida's HMOs more than tripled last year thanks to the health plans'
fourth consecutive year of double-digit insurance premium hikes.
Employers, however, shouldn't expect the insurers to cut their premiums
anytime soon.
Levine
To Lead Health Agency
(05/13/2004 © Tampa
Tribune)
TALLAHASSEE -
Alan Levine, a former Tampa hospital executive and bare-knuckled
advocate of Gov. Jeb Bush's health care proposals, was appointed
Wednesday by Bush to lead the Agency for Health Care Administration, the
site of contentious battles over the role of HMOs in state-funded health
care.
Bush
touts health-care plan
(05/14/2004 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
A tax-free
health savings account to pay for basic medical expenses, combined with
a high-deductible insurance plan covering catastrophic illnesses, may be
offered to state and university employees next year.
Gov.
Bush Promotes Health Savings Accounts
(05/14/2004 © Tampa
Tribune)
TALLAHASSEE -
Gov. Jeb Bush is touting health savings accounts to help provide health
insurance for some of the 3 million uninsured Floridians. Bush and Lt.
Gov. Toni Jennings will tour the state this summer to urge companies to
use the accounts, a new insurance product
allowed by the sweeping Medicare bill his brother, the president, signed
into law in December.
Pre-K
Pre- K
(05/12/2004 © Capitol
News Service)
Governor Jeb
Bush says he has not made up his mind on whether to veto the pre
kindergarten legislation passed in the final hours of the legislative
session. The bill is not all the Governor wanted and is weak when it
comes to certification standards for teachers.
Penelas
seeks special sesson on pre-K bill
(05/13/2004 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
THE ASSOCIATED
PRESS TALLAHASSEE -- Lawmakers should convene a special session to beef
up a bill they passed recently to start a universal pre-kindergarten
program next year because the legislation is watered down, Miami-Dade
County Mayor Alex Penelas said Wednesday.
Tales
of the FCAT
Editorial:
FCAT s blob effect
(05/11/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
One of the many
false impressions state officials spread about the Florida Comprehensive
Assessment Test is that its hold on the school calendar is limited to a
few days when pupils take the test. In reality, and to the detriment of
genuine education, it is almost always FCAT season.
FCAT
data sifted for schools failings
(05/12/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
Middle school
principals headed straight for their computers Tuesday morning, in
search of the student-by-student details behind the disappointing FCAT
results they got the day before.
Education
secretary expresses concern over poor FCAT grades
(
05/14/2004
© Daily
Commercial)
The academic
performance of middle school students should be the focus of education
reform, according to Florida Secretary of Education Jim Horne. During a
government accessibility event in Eustis on Thursday, Horne said he was
concerned that middle school test scores last year dropped
Other
education issues
Schools
flouting voucher rules might still get paid
(05/14/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
State officials
pledged to tighten standards for Florida's school voucher programs, but
a new proposal actually makes new voucher rules voluntary and assures
schools they will continue to receive tax dollars even if they don't
follow them.
Horne,
top education officials head to class
(
05/11/2004
© Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
TALLAHASSEE
,
Fla.
--
Florida
's education
commissioner is going back to elementary school. Jim Horne, an
accountant who was plucked from the Florida Senate by Gov. Jeb Bush to
run the Department of Education,
Schools
funding changes tenuous
(05/13/2004 © Jacksonville
- Florida Times Union)
TALLAHASSEE --
As the initial celebrations over a school funding change beneficial to
Northeast Florida subside, the tenuous nature of the formula has
relegated local legislators to a sentiment of cautious optimism for the
near future.
That
glass is half empty on education, governor
(
05/13/2004
© Jacksonville
- Florida Times Union)
Spinning around
the news dial ... click. The latest results of the Florida Comprehensive
Assessment Test show that 49 percent of public school students in third
grade through 10th grade can't read at grade level and 44 percent can't
perform at grade level in math. So what's up with all of the
back-slapping?
Higher
college prices kicking in for Florida
(05/13/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
University of
Central Florida and other state universities are gearing up to raise
tuition and fees before students arrive at campus this fall, increases
that some strapped collegians say are slowly strangling them
financially.
Higher
college prices kicking in for Florida
(05/13/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
University of
Central Florida and other state universities are gearing up to raise
tuition and fees before students arrive at campus this fall, increases
that some strapped collegians say are slowly strangling them
financially.
Refusing
to pay for justice
The
courts lose again
(05/13/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
Conservatively,
Florida needs 88 new judges to be able to keep up with increasing
population and caseloads, according to an annual analysis conducted by
the Florida Supreme Court. But the Legislature was too busy playing
politics during the last session. For the second straight year, no new
judgeships were funded.
Picking
up the tab
(
05/11/2004
© Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
Six years ago,
voters told
Florida
lawmakers that it was
time for the state to pay for the state court system. The deadline is
literally just a few months away, and the Legislature has finally done
what voters asked. Unfortunately, legislators short-changed just about
everybody in the process.
Fee
bill offers relief to courts
(05/13/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
A revised bill
waiting for the governor's signature could make more than $33 million
available to spend on court-related programs that state officials are
unwilling to pay for after taking over the judicial system July 1.
No
Anna! Not the children!
Spare the children!
Sen.
Cowin won t run for reelection
(05/12/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
A Republican
state senator who represents parts of Southwest Volusia County said she
plans to resign from her seat to run for Lake County superintendent of
schools.
Sen.
Cowin to run for school superintendent
(05/12/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
LEESBURG --
State Sen. Anna Cowin, R-Leesburg, who
served for eight years on the Lake County School Board, said Tuesday she
will resign from the state Legislature to run for Superintendent of
Schools. Cowin, 57, has served in the Senate
since 1996 and was a member of the School Board from 1982 to 1990.
Bush
picks new government
Critical
appointment
(05/13/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
Gov. Jeb Bush
made one of his most important decisions of the year when he named Alan
Levine as the new head of the Agency for Health Care Administration.
That appointment is critical because AHCA oversees
Florida
's Medicaid program,
which is targeted for major reform and governs the care of needy people,
from infants to nursing-home patients.
Ex-N.Y.C.
jail chief heads troubled Florida juvenile unit
(05/13/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE -- A
former Brooklyn cop, whose 31-year career in law enforcement inspired a
TV series and took him to the top of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's
administration before ending in controversy, will be the next head of
Florida's troubled Department of Juvenile Justice.
Bush
taps three agency chiefs
(
05/13/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Gov. Jeb Bush
reached within state ranks for the three new agency heads he announced
Wednesday. Anthony Schembri, the model for
the TV cop in 'The Commish,' was named
secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Florida
election 2004
Kerry
comes into Republican stronghold
(05/11/2004 © Bradenton
Herald)
JACKSONVILLE,
Fla. - As a boat drifted behind the Jacksonville Landing and a plane
flew overhead, both touting President Bush, Democratic presidential
hopeful John Kerry told a crowd of about 3,000 cheering supporters,
'Florida is going to be Kerry country in November 2004.'
Editorial:
U.S. House campaign
(05/12/2004 © Naples
Daily News)
Connie Mack IV
has riled big political feathers in Southwest Florida by calling
attention to campaign contributions accepted by Carole Green, an
incumbent Florida House member from Fort Myers. Mack and Green are among
the field seeking the U.S. House seat now held by Porter Goss — and
previously held by Mack's father, also named Connie Mack.
The
State In Brief
(
05/13/2004
© Orlando
Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE
-- Florida Attorney
General Charlie Crist, who early polls
showed could have emerged as a formidable U.S. Senate contender, today
will join Mel
Martine
z's campaign for the
job
Kerry,
in Orlando, accuses Bush of ignoring health-care crisis
(05/13/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
ORLANDO --
Appearing in the same gymnasium President Bush visited last fall to tout
his Medicare prescription drug plan, Democratic challenger John Kerry on
Wednesday accused Bush of failing to address a 'crisis' in escalating
health-care costs.
Election
season lacking contests
(05/13/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TAMPA - State
Reps. Arthenia Joyner, a Tampa Democrat, and
Don Sullivan, a St. Petersburg Republican, have something in common
beyond representing portions of the Tampa Bay area. Both voted to keep
the controversial phone rate increase, but neither has attracted an
opponent so far as they seek re-election.
Being
unknown could help Johnnie Byrd
(
05/13/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
There seems to
be a presiding officer syndrome that afflicts
Tallahassee
in election years.
Politicians skilled enough to become speaker of the Florida House or
president of the Senate usually know their limits.
Crist
Expected To Head Martinez s Campaign
(05/13/2004 © Tampa
Tribune)
TAMPA - State
Attorney General Charlie Crist is expected
to be introduced in Tampa today as the U.S. Senate campaign chairman for
fellow Republican Mel Martinez. ``I can't confirm that,'' Crist
said Wednesday when asked whether he would be present for what the
Martinez
campaign billed as a
major endorsement announcement.
Race
For 2 House Seats Shows Republican Split Along Ideological Lines
(
05/13/2004
© Tampa
Tribune)
TAMPA
- The Florida House
seats being vacated by Reps. Johnnie Byrd and Sandra Murman
are attracting particular attention from Republicans. Both seats will be
open, always an invitation for candidates, and both are in conservative
legislative districts rooted in eastern
Hillsborough
County
.
Democrats
focusing on Senate, take aim at Fla.
(
05/14/2004
© Miami
Herald)
Democrats aiming
to take back the U.S. Senate are starting in
Florida
, one of five states
with vigorously contested races for seats now in Democratic hands. The
Florida 2004 Senate Democratic Victory Fund was launched Thursday to
raise money for the Democratic nominee
Martinez
picks up Crist s backing for Senate bid
(
05/13/2004
© Miami
Herald)
TALLAHASSEE
,
Fla.
- U.S. Senate
candidate Mel Martinez picked up the backing Thursday of Florida
Attorney General Charlie Crist in his bid
for the Republican nomination. Crist, an
unsuccessful candidate himself for the same seat in 1998, said he feels
Martinez
gives Republicans
their best chance at regaining one of the state's two Senate seats.
Democratic Sen. Bob Graham is retiring.
Former
GOP official blasts party members
(05/14/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
Wes Stow, who
pledged to take the high road when he resigned May 3 as chairman of the
Citrus County Republican Executive Committee, railed against his
adversaries on the committee in an e-mail he sent to committee members
Wednesday. He called two of the county's top Republican Party officials
County
race gets national endorser
(
05/14/2004
© St.
Petersburg Times)
TAMPA
- Onetime Democratic
presidential candidate Howard Dean has thrown his weight into... the
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections race? That's right. On
Thursday, the former
Vermont
governor announced the
Dean Dozen, a group of 12 candidates across the country who are running
for various federal, state and local public offices. None currently are
incumbents.
Florida
labor news
Six
Immokalee farm contractors cited, warned in farm labor sweep
(
05/12/2004
© Naples
Daily News)
A caution to
farm labor contractors statewide: Field work violations won't be
tolerated. Six Immokalee farm contractors and one from
Hendry
County
were either fined or
received warnings during a May 5 random sweep in
Southwest Florida
from the state agency
that oversees farm labor compliance.
FAU
settles two-year pact with faculty union
(05/14/2004 © Boca
Raton News)
With little
apparent argument, Florida Atlantic University and the union
representing faculty have settled a two-year work contract ? and
hope to reopen talks on the next pact a year from now. 'We have signed a
tentative agreement with the faculty,' FAU President Frank Brogan
Other
state news
Judge
acts with proper restraint in turf war
(05/13/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
- Daniel Webster
The law rammed through the Legislature last October to hijack the case
of Terri Schiavo, who lingers in a
vegetative state on a feeding tube, was a spectacularly bad piece of
legislation.
Critics:
Property tax cuts could come at cost to all
(
05/14/2004
© Gainesville
Sun)
An initiative
aims to double the state's homestead exemption. Some people want to see
a change in state law that they say would result in homeowners paying
around $500 less in property taxes each year.
Boosters
press for Oliphant
(05/14/2004 © Miami
Herald)
About 40
supporters of former Broward Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant
gathered at Calvary Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday and
urged her to run for her old office this fall, but the beleaguered
former official wasn't ready to commit.
The
State In Brief
(05/14/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
Byrd's aide
deletes e-mails TALLAHASSEE -- E-mails from the final two days of House
Speaker Johnnie Byrd's reign could be gone for good, deleted by an aide
who said she doesn't think they're any of the public's business. P.K.
Jameson, chief of staff for the speaker, said she routinely deletes
electronic messages.
NATIONAL
NEWS
House
Republicans refuse to allow debate or vote on overtime
May
12—House
Republicans today refused to allow a debate or vote on an amendment that
would protect overtime pay for workers who stand to lose their overtime
pay under new rules issued last month by the Bush administration. Unless
Congress acts or President Bush backs down, the regulations will go into
effect Aug. 23. The
222–205 party-line vote came on a motion by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.)
to instruct U.S. House of Representative members of a House–Senate
conference committee on the fiscal year 2004 Labor, Health and Human
Services and Education Appropriations bill to report out an amendment
blocking any portion of the Bush administration’s final overtime
regulation that takes away overtime pay rights from workers who qualify
under current rules. Only two Republicans voted against tabling the
amendment. The U.S. Senate
last week passed a similar amendment by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
However, House GOP leaders are expected to try and delay any vote on the
Harkin amendment until after the Bush administration regulations take
effect. As a result, “the vote on the Miller motion to instruct may be
the only chance for the House to support the Senate overtime amendments
and guarantee that workers will not lose their overtime rights,” the
AFL-CIO said in a May 11 letter to House members. The
Harkin amendment, which was attached to the Foreign Sales Corporation
tax bill (S. 1627), allows updates to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s)
rules that govern overtime eligibility but ensures no currently eligible
workers lose their overtime pay and lets stand any provision that
actually expands overtime eligibility. It also applies retroactively. If
the Bush overtime take-away goes into effect before the legislative
process is finalized, the Harkin amendment would halt the overtime pay
grab.
For
weeks, the White House has conducted an intense spin operation that
tried to paint the new provisions of the FLSA as an expansion of
overtime eligibility that would not cost workers their overtime pay
rights. “The House
leadership passed up an opportunity to allow the Bush Administration to
make any needed updates to the rules governing overtime pay, while
stopping them from taking away overtime pay from even a single
worker,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “
America
's
workers deserve to at least have a vote on this matter in the House so
that they can see where their leaders stand on Bush's efforts to slash
their overtime pay.” After
a yearlong drive to take away workers’ overtime pay, the Bush
administration published its new overtime rules April 23 and they are
due to go into effect in late August.
If
they do take effect, it will “mean longer hours and less pay for
millions of workers—and more litigation for our entire economy,”
Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the
Economic Policy Institute, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee
hearing May 4. Eisenbrey told the committee
the Bush administration overtime “final rule and its preamble
are rife with ambiguity. Many of the regulatory provisions have been
changed without real explanations, even while the [Labor] Department
claims—contrary to the plain language of the rule—that it is not
changing the law.” Although
the Senate and House backed a similar overtime pay protection amendment
last year, Republican congressional leaders, working closely with the
Bush White House, stripped the amendment from the final version of
appropriations bill to which it was attached.
House
Blocks Overtime Vote Sought by Dems
Associated
Press (AP)
The
truth about those Medicare prescription drug cards
PICK
A CARD?--Seniors
using many of the Medicare prescription drug cards that became available
May 3 will pay more for their medicine than they would pay using several
online pharmacies, according to a report by the minority staff of the
House Government Reform Committee. The cards were created as part of the
Bush administration's Medicare prescription drug legislation passed by
Congress last November. Seniors must choose from 70-plus card options
offered by pharmacies and drug companies. But choosing a card may be
difficult because the Medicare prescription card website may be carrying
inaccurate pricing information, according to news reports. For
more information, visit
http://www.retiredamericans.org
or http://www.aflcio.org
.
G.O.P.
Got Most Money From Drug-Card Company Workers
New
York Times
Election 2004
Biggest
Divide? Maybe It's Health Care
New York
Times
5/14/2004
Polls
Show Bush's Job-Approval Ratings Sinking
New York
Times
5/14/2004
Bad
Signs For Bush In History, Numbers
Washington
Post
5/14/2004
Bush
Rolls Out Spanish-Language TV Ads
New
York Times
Bush
Ad Takes Negative Turn
Washington
Post
House makes tax cuts
permanent
House
Backs 10% Tax Bracket
Washington
Post
5/14/2004
House
votes to preserve bottom tax bracket, looks next to child tax credit
Associated
Press (AP)
5/14/2004
Should
Tax Cuts Be Paid For?
Washington
Post
5/14/2004
Wal-Mart
Watch
U.S.
Discloses Wal-Mart Fine of $3.1 Million
New
York Times
Would
Wal-Mart be bad for poor Chicagoans?
Chicago
Tribune
Wal-Mart,
Target profits rise, but gas prices a worry
USA
Today
5/14/2004
National
labor news
OSHA
BILLS WEAKEN PROTECTION--On
a party-line vote, the House Education and Workforce Committee May 5
approved four bills that make enforcement of the Occupational Safety and
Health Act (OSHA) more difficult and do nothing to enhance workers'
safety and health protection. One bill, H.R. 2728, weakens the
requirement that an employer respond within 15 days to contest a
citation. H.R.s 2279 and 2730 make changes
to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and H.R. 2731
requires taxpayers to pay the legal fees of small employers in some
instances.
Many
Who Served on 9/11 Are Still Pressing Fight for Workers' Compensation
New
York Times
Two
union law bills before congress
WFMZ-TV
Channel 69
Gap
Acknowledges Labor Violations
Washington
Post
SAN
FRANCISCO REI agrees to pay back wages Immigrants worked at S.F. factory
that suddenly closed
San
Francisco Chronicle (SFGate.com)
Gap
Inc. admits abuses overseas
Orange
County
Register
5/14/2004
South
Florida looks to cash in on trade with China
Fort
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
5/14/2004
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