10/03/03
E
Messenger
The
Electronic Newsletter of the
Florida
AFL-CIO
New
Members according to the AFL-CIO Work in Progress
This week's WIP: 1,470
Year to date: 114,783
Round
4 in Overtime fight goes to….LABOR!
People
power beat corporate power today when the U.S. House of Representatives
voted 221-203 to oppose the Bush administration's overtime pay
take-away. We won because hundreds of thousands of people spoke out.
Since Bush announced his overtime pay attack, people like you have sent
more than 1 million letters, faxes and e-mails opposing the overtime pay
take-away.
Today,
AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney called on President Bush to
"withdraw his assault on overtime and withdraw his threat to veto
any legislation that protects overtime."
You
can do the same thing. Please take one minute right now to SEND A
MESSAGE to President Bush by clicking on the link below. Tell him to
surrender! http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/bushcutsot/xiuzl5mdm
After
you send your message to President Bush, please SPREAD THE WORD by
forwarding this e-mail to friends, family and co-workers who might be
interested. If we each reach out to at least 10 other people, we can
make a big difference.
Or, click on the link below to tell your friends, family and co-workers.
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/bushcutsot/forward/xiuzl5mdm
The
Bush overtime pay take-away is also getting more scrutiny by the media.
An editorial in "The Washington Post" this week called on the
House to "vote to block" the overtime take-away, saying,
"The [Bush] administration proposal tilts too far in the direction
of employers." You already knew that, but as more people learn
about the big changes in their work life that are coming if President
Bush gets his way, our collective strength to beat back the Bush
overtime pay attack grows.
House
Rejects Overtime Proposal
The
Washington
Post
Labor
scores victory in House vote
CNN Money
House
Rebuffs the White House Over Rules to Limit
Overtime Pay
The New York Times
STATE
NEWS
Our
man is in the Hospital – Our hopes are with him
Bill
McBride in Tampa hospital after collapsing at health club
(10/01/2003 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
TAMPA --
Former gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride was hospitalized Tuesday
after collapsing while jogging at a health club, his family said.
McBride, 58, was on a treadmill at Harbor Island Health Club when he
passed out, said his son, Bert, 15. Health club employees called an
ambulance and...
McBride
in fair shape since cardiac arrest
(10/02/2003 © Miami
Herald)
TAMPA -
Former gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride remained hospitalized in
fair condition Wednesday, one day after he suffered sudden cardiac
arrest while jogging and had his heart restarted with electric shock.
McBride, who lost to Gov. Jeb Bush last
November, had just completed a workout on a treadmill at Harbor Island
Health Club when he passed out on a nearby stretching mat. Longtime fri
House
elects new speaker…meet the new boss, same as the old boss!
GOP
picks future House speaker
(10/01/2003 © Orlando
Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE
-- Florida's ruling House Republicans elected a Panama City businessman
Tuesday as House speaker for a two-year term after next fall's
elections. Rep. Allan Bense, first elected
in 1998, was chosen by a unanimous vote of the 81-member GOP caucus, the
largest majority in the 120-member House held by the party since shortly
after the Civil War. "The biggest mistake
Bense
elected as next speaker
(10/01/2003 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
Rep. Allan Bense,
elected only five years ago, on Tuesday was officially designated by
fellow GOP lawmakers to become the next speaker of the Florida House in
November 2004. Bense, a conservative
Republican contractor and road-builder from
Panama City
with strong
business support, will bring power back to the Panhandle if the
Republicans, as expected, maintain their strong majority in the Hous
Education
School
boards vs.state political cowards
(10/02/2003 © Orlando
Sentinel)
The governor
and Legislature continue to abdicate their responsibilities and give lip
service to children in public schools, then pass on the burden of
funding education to the local taxpayers. They failed to fully fund the
class-size-reduction constitutional mandate. Now they inappropriately
pressure local school boards to raid their funds. They show a systematic
disregard for the parents of chil
Pre-K
plan is a work in progress
(10/02/2003 © Orlando
Sentinel)
TAMPA -- When
Florida's free pre-kindergarten program begins in 2005, don't expect a
simple expansion of the current public school system or for all pre-K
teachers to have college degrees right away. The advisory panel working
on how to implement the program approved by voters a year ago envisions
children attending state-funded pre-K programs in public, private and
church-run schools,
Another
Florida
Retirement
System Scam
First
he used your money to help keep Enron’s stock up for a few days during
the collapse, he wants to use it to prop up
America
’s number
one school privatization company!
Schools
firm buyout derided as bailout
(10/02/2003 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE
-- The $93 billion state retirement fund for Florida government
employees, including public school teachers, is on the verge of becoming
the principal owner of a financially failing school-management company
that makes its money by supplying private services to operate poorly
perform...
Jeb
wants to put an end to secret campaign accounts…now that his last
election is
over!
Gov.
Bush urges halt to secret donations
(
10/01/2003
© Gainesville
Sun)
ALLAHASSEE -
Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that legislators should not be able to
collect money in secret to help pay for campaigns waged for House
speaker or Senate president. Bush said he would support lawmakers
closing a campaign finance law loophole that has allowed legislators to
funnel more th...
Aversion
to openness Clarke takes a stand in favor of secret legislative funds
(
10/02/2003
© Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
Communicating
has never been a strength of state Rep. Donna Clarke of
Sarasota
. During her
re-election bid last year, we said that "her communication skills
on the campaign trail leave much to be desired; her responses to issues
raised in public forums often seem confusing and vague." But
Clarke's aversion to openness has struck a new low. Her adamant refusal
to disclose who is contributing
2
lawmakers decline to disclose
(10/02/2003 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE -
One day after Gov. Jeb Bush called on state lawmakers to reveal all big
money donations to fundraising groups they control, two Republican House
members refused. Rep. Donna Clarke of
Sarasota
and Rep. Stan
Mayfield of
Vero Beach
said they won't
disclose the names and occupations of ...
How
much did he get to raise our phone bills?
Argenziano:
Phone rate hikes are the biggest giveaway
(10/01/2003 © St.
Petersburg Times)
Her
opposition to the new telephone rates law fell on deaf ears in the
Legislature, but state Sen. Nancy Argenziano,
R-Crystal River, still plans to log her displeasure before the Florida
Public Service Commission next week. The commission is holding 10 public
hearings statewide to give the public an opportunity to comment on the
petitions filed by the three major local phone providers seek
To
make case against PSC rate hike, just add logic
(
10/01/2003
© St.
Petersburg Times)
I want you to
consider doing something. Not only that, but I want you to consider
doing it the hard way. Do you remember that this past spring, your state
Legislature voted to jack up your local telephone bill? Local rates will
go up 30 to 90 percent, depending on location. Well, the final action
has to be taken by the outfit that regulates utilities in
Florida
, the Public Ser
Senator
Pruit’s continues talking about education
Senator
tours for Bright Futures
(09/30/2003 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE
-- Traveling in a yellow school bus, a leading Senate Republican kicked
off a statewide tour Monday, supporting the state's Bright Futures
scholarships awarded to college and university students. Senate budget
chairman Ken Pruitt's barnstorming also rekindled hard feelings with
Gov. Jeb Bush and the more conservative House over the direction of the
popular but costly progr
The
“Council of 100” has spoken…get ready to pay!
Water
grab or bold idea? Either one promises a water fight
(
10/01/2003
© Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
Any
water fight is to be entered into advisedly. Water control is an issue
like race, like abortion, like free coinage of silver. It lends itself
to harsh, irrational and stark divisions. It nurtures conspiracy
theories. A hundred secondary issues are pulled into its orbit. Yet
Florida
seems spoi...
The
first shot has been fired
(10/02/2003 © Bradford
County Telegraph)
Like a
subterranean stream flowing beneath the surface, seemingly unnoticed,
the plan to transfer water from north to south Florida has been in the
back of politicians' and developers' minds for years. Pressure has been
building since the mid-1960s to tap the 'unlimited' abundance of north
Florida
w...
Rep.
Cretul wants more water talks
(
10/02/2003
© Gainesville
Sun)
CALA - State
Rep. Larry Cretul is pushing for statewide
hearings on future water policies, similar to those the state Senate
intends to hold next week. The Ocala Republican and a fellow lawmaker
see such meetings as essential before the House takes any action to
change state water policies, inclu...
He
said pipe it out; they pipe up
(
10/02/2003
© St.
Petersburg Times)
The
debate over proposed water transfers in
Florida
just got publicly
personal on the
Citrus
County
political front. In
an opinion piece in today's Citrus Times, U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite,
R-Brooksville, and state Sen. Nancy Argenziano,
R-Crystal
River
, take aim at
remarks made recently by state Rep. Charles Dean, R-Inverness, on a
local television program. Dean suggested taking wa
The
Bush teams get ready for another
Florida
election.
Bush
to Lead Brother s Florida Campaign
(
10/02/2003
© Lakeland
Ledger)
MIAMI
-- Gov. Jeb Bush of
Florida
will serve as
chairman of his brother's re-election campaign in the state, whose votes
could prove crucial in the presidential election next fall. The Bush
campaign announced the appointment on Wednesday, along with that of
Brett Doster, a 32-year-old lobbyist an...
Cuban-American
legislator joins president s re-election campaign
(10/02/2003 © Miami
Herald)
TAMPA, Fla. -
A leading Cuban-American legislator has joined President Bush's
re-election campaign committee, but only after a closed-door debate over
whether the Bush administration was committed to sharpening its Cuba
policy. Following intense negotiations with Bush campaign officials and
his own peers in the state Legislature, Rep. Gaston Cantens
agreed to attend Wednesday's news conference
President
to name team for Florida campaign
(
10/01/2003
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
President
Bush, staking an early claim to a state essential for his re-election,
will roll out a
Florida
campaign team
today. The
Florida
team, to be named
in
Tampa
, will include a
respected manager who has served both the president and his brother,
Gov. Jeb Bush, in winning
Florida
campaigns: Brett Doster.
2001
protest spoiler gets key Bush role
(
10/01/2003
© St.
Petersburg Times)
TAMPA
- Brett Doster
was not about to let protesters disrupt a presidential visit. So when
three sign-toting demonstrators showed up at the New York Yankees'
Legends Field two years ago, Doster asked
police to remove them, team officials said. Police complied. The charges
were later dropped, and the protesters are suing the city for violating
their First Amendment rights. Dost
Director
selected for Bush campaign
(10/02/2003 © Bradenton
Herald)
TAMPA - A
32-year-old lobbyist and real estate agent was appointed director of
President Bush's re-election campaign in Florida on Wednesday. Brett Doster
was a key player in Bush's 2000
Florida
campaign as
political director and then worked for 16 months under his younger
brother, Gov. Jeb Bush,...
Florida
election 2004
Miami-Dade
mayor raises $800,000 in third quarter for Senate race
(10/01/2003 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
ORLANDO --
Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas raised almost
$800,000, former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum raised $500,000, and U.S. Rep.
Peter Deutsch raised $400,000 in the third quarter, officials from their
U.S. Senate campaigns said Tuesday. The reporting period ended Tuesday
but candidates don't h...
McCollum
faces larger field in U.S. Senate bid
(10/01/2003 © Palm
Beach Post)
WEST PALM
BEACH -- Bill McCollum acknowledges his second campaign for the U.S.
Senate will be a dramatically different race from his unsuccessful bid
in 2000. It's more complex, for one thing. Three years ago, the former
Orlando-area congressman had the nod of the Republican Party leadersh...
Senate
race war chests grow
(10/02/2003 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE
Signaling to national political donors that Florida's race for the U.S.
Senate is heating up, contenders for the seat now held by Bob Graham say
they have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for their
campaigns. This week marked the end of the third-quarter campaign
finance reporting period, which is seen by experts as a vital indicator
of early financial strength for statewi
Dollars
growing in Senate race
(10/02/2003 © Orlando
Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE
-- Signaling that Florida's race for the U.S. Senate is heating up,
contenders for the seat now held by Bob Graham say they have collected
hundreds of thousands of dollars for their campaigns. This week marked
the end of the third-quarter campaign finance reporting period, which is
seen by experts as a vital indicator of early financial strength for
statewide campaigns next
McCollum
visits P.C. on last leg of candidacy trail
(10/02/2003 © Panama
City News Herald)
PANAMA CITY
By his own admission, the Bill McCollum who made a whistle-stop in
Panama City Wednesday is different from the one who ran unsuccessfully
for U.S. Senate three years ago. 'Having run before is a big advantage
in this race,' he said shortly before boarding an airplane at Sowel...
After
Jeb’s election…offshore drilling back on the table (so much for the
deal he made)
Florida
lawmakers: offshore inventory saps energy bill support
(
09/30/2003
© Lakeland
Ledger)
PENSACOLA
,
Fla.
All except one
member of
Florida
's congressional
delegation advised House and Senate leaders Tuesday that it will be
difficult for them to support an energy bill that includes a
Republican-sponsored inventory of offshore oil and natural gas
resources.
Florida
lawmakers from both
p...
Most
state lawmakers oppose oil, gas drilling
(
10/01/2003
© Orlando
Sentinel)
WASHINGTON --
Twenty-six of
Florida
's 27-member
congressional delegation said Tuesday that they would vote against any
energy bill that includes exploration for oil or gas in the eastern
Gulf of Mexico
. Only Rep. John
Mica,
R-Winter
Park
, refused to sign
the letter to the congressional leadership. That sort of unified message
could make a difference as House and Senate ne
As
the dust settles on workers’ comp people are figuring it out, there
was no reform.
Few
optimistic about workers comp reform
(
10/01/2003
© Palm
Beach Post)
So much for
reform. Florida's latest top-to-bottom rewrite of its workers
compensation laws, deemed vital to the health of the state's booming
home construction industry and the tens of thousands of jobs it
provides, is being labeled a flop just as it goes into effect.
Contractors say the ...
NATIONAL
NEWS
Election
2004
Gephardt
Won't Get Early Backing of Labor
The
New York
Times
10/01/03
Bob
Graham Spokesman Resigns
(10/02/2003 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
By NEDRA
PICKLER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON -- The spokesman for Democrat
Bob Graham's presidential campaign resigned Thursday as his staff
considered how to save his lagging candidacy. Jamal Simmons told Graham
and his wife, Adele, he was leaving as other key staff met at Graham
headquarters in
Miami Lakes
,
Fla.
, to discuss how -
or whether - to proceed with the campaign. Grah
Bush
Stays Far Above Foes in the Money Race
The LA Times
10/01/03
Dean
widens cash advantage
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
10/01/03
Clark
attends private meeting with congressional Democrats
(10/01/2003 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
WASHINGTON --
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark took his White House campaign to Capitol Hill
on Tuesday, looking for support on the home turf of six of his
Democratic presidential primary rivals. Among the 10 Democratic
presidential candidates are four senators and two representatives. Most congressiona...
Democrats
trade places in fund-raising race
(10/01/2003 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
WASHINGTON ·
The latest round of fund raising has led to a reversal of fortunes in
the Democratic presidential race, with one-time underdog Howard Dean now
the front-runner in the money chase and former leader John Edwards in
the back of the pack. The overall record holder is President Bush,
...
Freedom
Ride 2003
Advocates
for Migrants Take to the Road
The
Washington
Post
10/01/03
Worry
of deportation doesn't keep some immigrants from protesting
Kansas City
Star
10/01/03
Out
of the Shadows
The
New York
Times
10/01/03
Immigrant
Workers' Freedom Ride
The
Miami
Herald
10/02/03
The
California
Coup
Labor
Presses Workers to Oppose Recall
The LA Times
10/01/03
Actor
claims win assured -- 'We'll see,' says Davis
San Francisco
Chronicle
10/02/03
Republican
front-runner acts as if win inevitable
(10/02/2003 © Miami
Herald)
While
Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday appeared ready to move
into the governor's house, incumbent Gray Davis and his fellow Democrats
tried to shrug off the latest polls showing them in big trouble in
Tuesday's election and insisted it is too soon to write their political
epitaph. Schwarzenegger spent the day trying to cast an aura of
inevitability around his candidacy, lifted by
Schwarzenegger
offers ambitious 10-point agenda
(10/02/2003 © Miami
Herald)
SACRAMENTO -
GOP candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger's agenda for his first 100 days as
governor if he is elected Oct. 7 borrows some ideas from Democratic Gov.
Gray Davis and includes others that could be hard to get past the
Legislature and unions. The actor's 10-point plan, which he announced
Wednesday in the Capitol in
Sacramento
, includes at least
five ideas from
Davis
that have been
tried bef
Schwarzenegger
gets boost from poll
(10/02/2003 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Buoyed by a new poll that has him
leading all recall candidates less than a week before the election,
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday talked about what would be the first
100 days of a Schwarzenegger administration. "We are ready to take
office," he told a crowd of about 400 supporters. "We are
ready to take action. We are ready to return
Cal
Schwarzenegger
admits he 'behaved badly'
Sacramento
Bee
George
Bush’s
America
Statement
by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on September Unemployment and Job Loss
Figures -
October 3,
2003.
Despite the welcome announcement today that our nation gained
57,000 jobs in September, the economic picture remains grim. Working
Americans cannot be confident that the modest jobs bump, primarily in
temporary jobs, means the nation has turned the corner on the longest
period of sustained job loss since the Great Depression.
The
nation has lost 2.6 million jobs under President Bush's watch, and we
are still nowhere near on track to be where we should be nearly two
years after the end of the recession.
The loss of 29,000 more jobs in the manufacturing sector last
month shows again that our nation's policies are simply not supporting
middle class jobs. So far,
we have lost 2.5 million manufacturing jobs under President Bush, and
employment in the manufacturing sector -- bludgeoned by the Bush
administration's misguided trade and tax policies as well as its failure
to act decisively on the dollar -- is at its lowest level since 1958.
Nearly four million more Americans are uninsured since President
Bush took office. Nearly
three million more slipped into poverty.
Layoff announcements are on track to exceed one million for the
third year in a row. Close
to one million long-term jobless workers are collecting extended
unemployment benefits because their regular benefits have expired and
they still cannot find work.
Nearly 11 million individuals are unemployed and want to work but
cannot find jobs. Five
million are forced to work part-time because they cannot get full-time
work. Unemployment is
higher in all but one state (where the rate is unchanged) under Bush's
leadership, and new claims for unemployment insurance compensation rose
again last week.
Contrary to his promises, President Bush's irresponsible tax cuts
have not trickled down to create new jobs for working Americans.
The net jobs gain in August and September amounts to only two
percent of the goal of 688,000 jobs for the two months that the Bush
economic team has promised, translating into an overall jobs deficit of
672,000 jobs below their projection.
Working Americans who are watching jobs leave their communities
and who are struggling to survive in the worst jobs crisis our nation
has seen in decades need a real national economic policy that will
get our nation back on track without delay.
But instead of working to create
jobs and offset the tremendous job loss during this Administration - -
through investments to build schools, roads and bridges; greater aid for
the states; extended unemployment benefits; and tax and trade policies
to support job growth in America - - President Bush has offered up only
flimsy plans that will lock in millionaire tax breaks, enshrine damaging
budget deficits, and roll back rights for workers and consumers.
Republican
'recovery' leaves more poor
USA
Today
10/01/03
Consumer
Confidence Declined
The
New York
Times
10/02/03
Working:
Troubling signs of a jobless recovery are everywhere
Houston
Chronicle
Wal-mart
Watch
Wal-mart
saves cash by regulating health benefits
San Francisco
Chronicle
10/01/03
Wal-Mart:
How to play 'Beat the Devil'
By Jim Hightower
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=15559
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.
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Rich Templin
Communications Director
Florida
AFL-CIO
