The rally will feature speeches from Florida's gubernatorial candidates and union and community leaders. Participants will meet at the Hilton, 333 1st Street South at 11:45 am for a march to the rally site at South Straub Park.
For more information contact Rick Smith at SEIU Local 1120, (727) 322-8558.

Florida really needs healthcare…real healthcare…now!
Hard Decisions for Employers as Costs Soar in Health Care
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/business/18CAR1.html?todaysheadlines

Broder: Health Care in "Death Cycle"
Washington Post 4/17/02

Florida to HMOs: Pay up
(4/17/02 © Orlando Business Journal)

Parents Give Up Kids for Better Care
(4/17/02 © Orlando Sentinel)

Don't prolong debate on health care crisis
(4/17/02 © St. Augustine Record)

Florida Campaign 2002
Tampa Tribune: State Democrats Spring Into Action
http://info.tbo.com/printversion.cgi?url=http%3A//tampatrib.com/politics/MGATQH7O50D.html&oaspagename=printthispage

News-Herald: Gubernatorial candidate McBride makes stop in Bay
The News Herald http://www.newsherald.com/articles/2002/04/18/lo041802d.htm

News-Journal: McBride says he's education candidate
Tampa lawyer vies with Reno for nomination
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/041702/Local/ST006.shtml

Reno's toughest race may be within her own party
(4/17/02 © Bradenton Herald)

McBride's cigarette tax for education funding generating a whole bunch of feedback on the editorial page of the St. Pete Times on both sides of the issue. Check out the letters by clicking on the link below.
St. Pete Times: Letters to the Editors
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 18, 2002
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/04/18/Opinion/Cigarette_tax_boost_w.shtml

Florida House speaker aspirants raise unlimited money
(4/17/02 © Daytona Beach News-Journal)

Katherine Harris raises $1.7 million in race for Congress
(4/17/02 © Daytona Beach News-Journal)

Redistricting - Jeb endorses gerrymandered maps…surprise, surprise!
Governor enters districts battle
(4/17/02 © Miami Herald)

AP: Bush to court: Reject redistricting challenge
http://www.floridacapitalnews.com/legislature/stories/020416redistricting.html

Bush to back new district maps
(4/17/02 © Daytona Beach News-Journal)

News-Journal: Redistricting just a political game
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/041702/Opinion/ST001.shtml

Redistricting records flood Florida court
(4/17/02 © Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)

Florida Legislature
AP: Special session unlikely until last week of April
News-Journal wire services
http://www.news-journalonline.com/cgi-bin/printtext.pl

Miami Herald: Governor's 'quiet time' profitable
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/3085723.htm

Equal pay for equal work rally in DC
Rally at Capitol backs equity-in-pay bills
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel 4/17/02

Clinton Joins Unions To Demand Equal Pay For Women
Cybercast News Service 4/17/02

Working women rally for pay equality
San Antonio Express-News 4/17/02

The showdown over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge hits the floor
GOP Pushes for Arctic Oil Drilling
(4/17/02 © Miami Herald)

Senate Set to Resume Alaska Oil-Drilling Debate
(4/17/02 © Miami Herald)

2 Sides Push on Arctic Oil, but Proposal Lacks Votes
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/politics/18ENER.html?todaysheadlines

Education
Orlando Sentinel: Jeb's education effort fails those most in need
April 18, 2002
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=orl%2Dlocmiket18041802apr18

The Problem With Bright Futures
(4/17/02 © Lakeland Ledger)

Orlando Business Journal: Let them eat audits
http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2002/04/15/editorial1.html?t=printable

Private Groups Get 42 Schools in Philadelphia
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/education/18EDIS.html?todaysheadlines

More on the privatization controversy at DCF

Child abuse investigations found to excel with deputies
(4/17/02 © Miami Herald)

Collier group wants one firm to manage area's child welfare services
(4/17/02 © Naples Daily News)

More news on that rascal Tom!
Feeney pal tries to take van service from Lynx
(4/17/02 © Orlando Sentinel)

Feeney's office refuses to detail calls
(4/17/02 © Palm Beach Post)

Orlando Sentinel: Feeney's friends
April 18, 2002
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=orl%2Dedped181041802apr18

More on "granny cams"…are they really still considering this?!
St. Pete Times: Keeping an eye on Grandma
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 18, 2002
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/04/18/news_pf/Floridian/Keeping_an_eye_on_Gra.shtml

The fight for state workers hits a snag

Service First plan approved
(4/17/02 © Tallahassee Democrat)

Jeb's buddy turns down plea offer
Ex-tech chief to reject deal
(4/17/02 © Tallahassee Democrat)

The travesty that is Enron continues…
Judge approves $140 million in employee bonuses at Enron
(4/17/02 © Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)

Enron teaching relevant lessons
(4/17/02 © Tallahassee Democrat)

House panel approves bill to tighten accounting industry oversight, corporate disclosure rules
(4/17/02 © Naples Daily News)

Morgan facing queries over deal that allowed Enron to conceal debt
(4/17/02 © Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)

President Sweeney on Ergonomics
Statement by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney For Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Ergonomics Hearing
April 18, 2002
Today’s hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is the first real opportunity for Congress to question the Administration about the Bush ergonomics plan. It is now incumbent upon Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao to explain why the Administration moved backward on worker safety and rejected a 10-year effort to improve the lives of workers.
The Bush plan is an even worse insult to workers than it was originally thought when it was released on April 5, 2002. Since then, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on musculoskeletal injuries that revealed a discouraging trend for worker safety. The BLS report for 2000 showed that the number of musculoskeletal disorders involving at least a day off work essentially did not change: 577, 814 cases were reported that resulted in time off the job. But for workers in some of the highest risk industries, including truck drivers, nurses, cashiers, and employees for air transporters the number of reported MSDs are on the rise.
For more than half of the states that report data on these injuries, work is increasingly a dangerous place to be. In 21 of 43 states, the number of workers who suffered injuries that forced them to take days off work went up between 1999 and 2000. The most dramatic increases are: 40% more workers who had to take off work because of an injury in Maine, 32% in Nevada, 17% in California, and 10% in Massachusetts.
But the BLS report shows only a piece of the picture – it only reports on injuries that result in time off the job. So while BLS may show that injuries requiring days off are decreasing overall, there have been sharp increases in injuries that result in restricted activity as employers try to keep injured workers on the job. For injured workers still on the job, an estimated 377,000 in 2000, there has been virtually no change in the number of MSD injuries since 1992.
The bottom line is that workers go to their jobs everyday and face an epidemic of preventable injuries – an epidemic that is not improving despite the Bush Administration’s claim.
The Bush Administration had its chance to protect workers and responded with meaningless measure that provides workers with no protection. The time has come for Congress to move swiftly to pass the Breaux-Specter bill so that American workers can finally have a new ergonomics standard to give them the protection they deserve.

Ergonomics guidelines challenged
(4/17/02 © Tampa Bay Business Journal)

US budget process in trouble…as opposed to every other year

Partisanship Is About to Sink Budget Plan
http://tm0.com/latte/sbct.cgi?s=156763306&i=504906&m=1&d=2548396

Italy's workers still on strike

Nationwide Strike Hobbles Italy Los Angeles Times 4/17/2002

Millions of Italians Take to the Streets in a General Strike New York Times 4/17/2002

WORLD Washington Post 4/7

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Rich Templin
Communications Director
Florida AFL-CIO