1/21/04
E
Messenger
The
Electronic Newsletter of the
Florida
AFL-CIO
New
Members according to the AFL-CIO Work in Progress
This week's WIP: 1,084
Year to date: 1,563
ANOTHER
OVERTIME VICTORY –
AND IT STILL AIN’T OVER!
In a
sharp rebuke to the Bush administration and Republican leadership, Senate
Democrats and a few Republicans voted against cloture today on the Omnibus
bill. In short, they filibustered the omnibus
bill primarily because the Harkin overtime amendment was not included in
it.
The Senate voted 48-45 against cloture. Democrats who voted wrong
include Murray, Hollings and Miller (Georgia). Republicans voting right
include Snowe, Ensign, McCain and Campbell.
For procedural reasons, Senate Majority leader Frist
also voted against it in order to call for another cloture vote.
That means there is only a two vote margin between George Bush’s
attack and millions of
America
’s workers.
This is the fourth consecutive legislative victory we've had on the
proposed Department of Labor overtime regulations. Thank you to everyone
for your continued hard work. The AFL-CIO is now developing
a legislative strategy for the next steps in this fight. In
the interim, we wanted to report the good news.
Both
Florida
Senators voted against Cloture and supported the filibuster.
Please call their staff, thank them and demand that they
continue to support the filibuster until the Harkin amendment is included
and your overtime rights are protected.
Senator
Bob Graham:
Washington
(202) 224-3041 /
Tallahassee
(850) 907-1100 /
Miami
(305) 536-7293 /
Tampa
(813) 228-2476
Senator
Bill Nelson:
Washington
(202) 224-5274 /
Tallahassee
(850) 942-8415 /
Miami
(305) 536-5999 / Broward Office (954)
693-4851 /
Tampa
(813) 225-7040 /
West Palm Beach
(561) 514-0819
STATE
NEWS
Jeb Bush decries voter
mandates as too expensive…but claims we have enough money for wealthy
tax cuts!
More
of the same
(01/21/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
During his
90-minute press conference unveiling his budget recommendations Tuesday,
Gov. Jeb Bush talked about a lot of things: The resemblance between
himself and Fidel Castro. Fixing
Florida
's
regressive tax system.
Re-directing state resources to the poor, elderly and
disadvantaged. Honoring the will of the voters and returning
integrity to state government. OK, we're kidding -- except maybe
A
disappointing blueprint
(01/21/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
Gov. Jeb Bush
disappointed Tuesday, presenting a lean $55.4 billion budget proposal for
the coming year that all but perpetuates the status quo in how he believes
the state should spend taxpayer dollars.
Governor
proposes billions in tax breaks
(01/21/2004 © Pensacola
News Journal)
TALLAHASSEE Gov.
Jeb Bush proposed $131 million in tax breaks Tuesday as part of a budget
plan that raises state spending by $1.4 billion.
Gov.
Bush proposes tax cut for wealthy, $1 billion more to schools
(01/21/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Jeb Bush unveiled a $55.4 billion state spending plan on Tuesday that
cuts taxes for Florida's wealthiest residents and businesses while hitting
students with higher tuition costs and leaving thousands of children and
elderly on waiting lists for state services. Buoyed by a re...
Budget
calls for tax cuts
(01/21/2004 © Florida
Today)
TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Jeb Bush is asking the Legislature for tax cuts on stock portfolios
to help retirees and a return to the back-to-school sales tax holiday for
parents. Those cuts would cost the state nearly $140 million. And while
Bush proposed increased spending on public schools, his propos...
Budget
favors schools, investors
(01/21/2004 © Bradenton
Herald)
TALLAHASSEE - Gov.
Jeb Bush proposed a $55.4 billion state budget Tuesday that provides
another tax break for wealthy investors, a sales-tax holiday and more
money for schools, while doing little to ease skyrocketing waiting lists
for programs serving the poor and disabled. In his election-year budget
recommendation, the Republican governor echoed his call for repeal of the
state's class-size
The
budget – its all about who counts.
Cold-hearted
freeze
(01/19/2004 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
State should free
up money to insure low-income children Gov. Jeb Bush boasts that since
1999 his administration has doubled to 1.5 million the number of children
insured under Florida's KidCare program.
That's laudable, but falls short of the standard that
Florida
can and should achieve:
The governor and Legislature should enable as many eligible children as
possible to be insured.
State
panel urge greater insurance access for children, high-risk people
(01/19/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
When Ann Van Ordon
moved to South Florida from New Jersey in October to be near her daughter
and grandchildren, she never suspected the move would place her health and
finances in jeopardy. She had an individual health insurance policy with
Aetna
in
New Jersey
that cost about $500 a
month, and she thought she would be able to continue the coverage with
Aetna
here. When she notified
the in
Wait
List Grows For Children Stuck In Health Care Limbo
(
01/20/2004
© Tampa
Tribune)
Last summer, Debbi
Lowe got a $40-a-week raise. It was more than she expected. So too was the
result: Her three children lost their health insurance. With the raise,
Lowe's salary from her job at a carpet store was too high for her children
to qualify for Medicaid, the state and federal program that provides
health insurance for the poor.
Budget
ideas fell flat in past
(
01/20/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Budget ideas gone
bad. Budget bloopers. Whatever one calls them,
some ideas that looked good to the governors who proposed them fell in
death spirals so spectacular they deserve to be recorded in the Florida
Governors Hall of Infamy. Today, as Gov. Jeb Bush presents his sixth
annual spending "wish list," someone - the governor's budget
director Mike Hansen, communications czarina Jill Brat
More
prison beds, troopers, judges called for despite lower crime rate
(01/21/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Florida's violent
crime rate is the lowest it has been in 30 years, but Gov. Bush is
nonetheless asking legislators to boost spending on prisons and to hire
more highway patrol troopers. The governor credits part of the drop in
crime to criminals now serving 85 percent of their sentences.
Florida
’s tax structure
still moving backwards
Backward
taxes
(
01/20/2004
© Orlando
Sentinel)
Our position: The
state tax structure should be more pressing an issue than initiative
process. Too often, state lawmakers are their own worst enemy. And the
state's regressive tax structure -- where the poor and middle-class pay
proportionately more taxes than the rich -- is a perfect case in...
Many
don t benefit from tax break
(
01/20/2004
© Orlando
Sentinel)
Jim Hammock is
learning the hard truth about tax-break legislation designed to help
thousands of Floridians who bring their parents or grandparents into their
homes.
Jeb sold
his story to FAMU – not everyone bought it.
Students
Protest Governor s Speech
(
01/20/2004
© Capitol
News Service)
Students still
angry over Jeb Bush?s dismantling of
affirmative action policies walked out in protest today during the governor?s
Martin Luther King Day speech at
Florida
A & M
University
.
Bush
defends One Florida at King Day breakfast
(
01/19/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Gov. Jeb Bush went
to
Florida
A&M
University
today and marked the
King holiday by defending his "One Florida" policies.
Governor
Speaks at FAMU
(
01/20/2004
© Capitol
News Service)
Governor Jeb Bush
is joking that he's looking forward to the result of tonight's
Iowa
caucuses. Four
democratic presidential candidates are vying for the top spot with an eye
toward taking on the Governor's brother in November.
The
Scripps feeding trough is open for business!
Bush
family friend takes lead on Scripps
(
01/20/2004
© St.
Petersburg Times)
When Gov. Jeb Bush
needed someone to negotiate a landmark pact with the Scripps Research
Institute, he didn't pick a lawyer out of the Yellow Pages. After all,
$369-million in state money was involved, as was a world-renowned
scientific organization. And the legal work would pay as much as $275 an
hour. So Bush turned to David Brown, a longtime friend.
Private
prisons a bad deal for everyone – except the corporations getting the
money.
A
matter of PRIDE and cash
(
01/20/2004
© Orlando
Business Journal)
TALLAHASSEE
-- More than $5 million
in unpaid loans from
Florida
's private prison labor
program has prompted inquiries from state auditors and the office of the
Florida Auditor General.
Florida
s faith-based prison is a dangerous idea
(
01/20/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Gov. Jeb Bush's
pronouncement that
Florida
will open the nation's
first "faith-based" prison is a terrible idea that is unethical,
probably unconstitutional and may even lead to favoritism of
fundamentalist Christian inmates.
Education
Senate
task force proposes McKay voucher reforms
(01/21/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE -- A
Senate task force charged with finding ways to curb abuses in the state's
voucher program for disabled children approved a list of proposed reforms
Tuesday night but stopped short of asking that voucher-taking schools meet
academic standards.
Class-size
costs overshadow hike, educators say
(
01/21/2004
© Palm Beach
Post)
Gov. Jeb Bush
probably won't go down in history as the man who killed metal shop at
Boca Raton
High School
. But his proposed
budget, announced Tuesday, paired with the class-size amendment, likely
will do just that.
Two
R s for education: Reading, reducing class size
(01/21/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
While touting his
boost of almost $1 billion for public schools, Gov. Bush bemoaned that
$508.2 million of that had to go toward reducing class size rather than
teacher salaries, equipment or new classroom programs. 'Parents love it,
teachers love it. But it is not directly related to rising stud...
Bill
aims to tighten early graduation rules
(01/19/2004 © Florida
Today)
When legislators
last year approved a shortcut to high school graduation, they did it to
help bored students get ahead and help alleviate classroom space concerns
related to the class-size amendment. But the rules had some unintended
consequences, such as allowing students to skip government cla...
Success
of schools hinges on lawmakers
(
01/19/2004
© Florida
Today)
Cooperation
between the
Space
Coast
's state lawmakers and
school officials is critical to providing quality education in
Brevard
County
's public schools. That
hasn't always happened in the past, but we're optimistic it will
this year for a number of reasons. Several Brevard legislators plan
...
Help
is warranted
(01/19/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
Drowning in their
own success, the state's community colleges need the life raft that Gov.
Jeb Bush threw out last week: a budget boost of $104.5 million. That
increase, the largest in 14 years, would be used for more teachers and
classes to absorb the backlog of applicants for the increasingly p...
Six
feet down at Turlington
(01/19/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
Given that
education board chairman Phil Handy last month dismissed potential fraud
and criminality in the school voucher program as "hiccups,"
Florida lawmakers might not want to hold their breath for signs of
deference. But one would think that a state agency asking for a quick
$8.7-million to pay for its mistakes would not be so eager to engage the
people who write the checks. Not the st
Lawmakers want to take
“special interests” out of constitution
In
order to limit the people’s right to amend their constitution the
politicians have taken to calling the people a “special interest.”
They argue that there is an industry surrounding the gathering of
signatures for ballot initiatives across the country.
Well, there is an even bigger industry surrounding the legislature.
How much did the phone companies pay for the phone rate hike?
Did you get to vote on that? Sure,
the constitution is no place for pregnant pig regulations but this is not
about pregnant pigs. This is
about the class size amendment and tax cuts. This
is about the Florida Restaurant Association and the smoking ban.
This is about taking away the people’s last line of defense
against the powerful corporate lobbies.
Lets
not make it harder to amend
(
01/20/2004
© Ft. Myers
News-Press)
Constitutional
amendments have gotten out of hand in
Florida
, but undermining
democracy is not the solution
New
Dockery Amendment Under Way
(01/19/2004 © Lakeland
Ledger)
TALLAHASSEE Thanks
to a strong push by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, it appears that state
lawmakers will spend plenty of time in the next few months deciding
whether to make it harder to amend Florida's Constitution. The complaint
is that it's 'too easy' to amend the Constitution.
Florida
elections
Democrats
take aim at Rep. Harris
(01/21/2004 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
BY VICTOR HULL
VICTOR.HULL@HERALDTRIBUNE.COM LONGBOAT KEY -- Despite long odds, three
Democrats insisted Tuesday that they can defeat powerful incumbent
Republican Rep. Katherine Harris in this year's District 13 congressional
race.
Oh,
That Katie! Isn t She Such A Jokester?
(
01/21/2004
© Tampa
Tribune)
As ``Stop the
presses!'' moments go, this should have been somewhere between Tiger Woods
winning a golf tournament and a
Florida
forecast of sunny
weather. Instead, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Who's The Fairest of Them
All, decided to create a media event rivaling Michael Jackson's
arraignment to announce - ``Sound the trumpets!'' - that she intends to do
NOTHING.
Can’t we just have a
piece of paper? Is that so
hard?
Legislative
race highlights flaws in state election reform law
(01/19/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
The recent
legislative race in Broward and Palm Beach counties exposed a flaw in the
state election reform law that could cast uncertainty over the upcoming
presidential primary and raise the same constitutional concerns at the
heart of the 2000 recount debacle. State election officials are leaving it
up to each county to decide whether they print out images of each ballot
from their touc
Voting
Machine Printouts Sought
(01/20/2004 © Lakeland
Ledger)
Voting Machine
Printouts Sought The Associated Press BOCA RATON -- A congressman pushing
to require electronic voting machines to produce a paper trail is taking
his case to the courts.
NASA
workers told their jobs are safe…but with Texas Rep. Tom Delay calling
the shots, for how long?
Space
Workers Assured Jobs OK
(
01/20/2004
© Lakeland
Ledger)
Space Workers
Assured Jobs OK New policies may create more opportunities. The Associated
Press CAPE CANAVERAL -- Two Republican congressmen and the director of the
Kennedy Space Center reassured concerned workers that President Bush's new
space policy may create more opportunities for them, not cause massive
layoffs. KSC director Jim Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon and U.S. Rep
AFSCME aims high
State
workers union setting high goals
(
01/19/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Well, there's
nothing like aiming high. The American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees is negotiating with the
state for employee wages, benefits and working conditions.
"Negotiating" might not be the right word for what AFSCME does
every year, as it implies that the other side listens and is amenable to
some give-and-take. Actually, the process works more like this:
Insurance
may change for state workers
(01/21/2004 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
State employees
could save on monthly health insurance premiums by taking a risk on paying
higher co-payments and deductibles if they get sick, under the budget
proposal Gov. Jeb Bush outlined Tuesday.
Firefighters
at odds with the happiest place on earth.
Firefighters,
Disney Government at Odds
(
01/20/2004
© Lakeland
Ledger)
Firefighters,
Disney Government at Odds By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA
,
Fla.
They use 15-foot ladders
to pluck passengers from a broken Peter Pan ride. They treat theme park
visitors who sometimes wilt in the summer heat.
NATIONAL
NEWS
After
Iowa
…its
getting real interesting.
Dean
falters in Iowa test; Gephardt to drop out today
(01/20/2004 © Miami
Herald)
DES MOINES - Sen.
John Kerry of Massachusetts won Iowa's presidential precinct caucuses
Monday night, a surprising victory that shook up the contest for the
Democratic presidential nomination. Sen. John Edwards of
North Carolina
took second place,
another surprising finish from a candidate who had been lagging until
recent days.
Democrats
pick leader who they think could beat Bush
(01/20/2004 © Miami
Herald)
DES MOINES - After
a year-long campaign that was defined almost entirely by the Democratic
presidential candidates' views on Iraq, Monday's come-from-behind finishes
by Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards in Iowa
foreshadow a dramatic mood swing in the Democratic electorate.
Campaign
Trail Just Got Longer For Democrats
(01/20/2004 © Tampa
Tribune)
DES MOINES, Iowa -
For Iowa Democrats, John Kerry showed himself to be what he had argued all
along: the reassuring, establishment candidate with the war hero's record,
solid policy positions and broad experience in government to be a strong
challenger to President Bush. He shattered the conventional
Iowa
wisdom that organization
is all.
Candidates
have put Florida on back burner
(01/19/2004 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
It's not that the
Democratic candidates for president have lost their taste for Cuban
sandwiches in Ybor City, no longer care about
the Everglades or have forsaken the elderly in the condo canyons of
Broward County. To this point, it just didn't pay for them to spend much
time in
Florida
Gephardt
says farewell
(01/21/2004 © Miami
Herald)
ST. LOUIS -- U.S.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, caricatured for years as a passionless robo-politician,
wept openly Tuesday as he bade farewell to his long public career in a
poignant hometown news conference. Gephardt, who rose from childhood
poverty to the highest levels of government only to fail in two bids for
the presidency, was surrounded by his family -- all dressed in black -- as
he
Perspective:
Clark: The mystery man in the Democratic field
(01/21/2004 © St.
Augustine Record)
PEMBROKE, N.H. --
A New Hampshire Republican who walked into the gymnasium at the Pembroke
Academy on Saturday afternoon and saw the crowd assembled to hear retired
Gen. Wesley K. Clark had a one-word reaction: "Wow!"
Where the jobs go
Backlash
brews as more white-collar jobs move overseas; states consider banning
deals
(01/18/2004 © Winter
Haven News Chief)
--> SAN JOSE,
Calif. — Executives from Silicon Valley to Wall Street are adamant that
shifting white-collar jobs from the United States to developing countries
is good business, but a backlash is brewing.
Indiana
's state government
canceled a $15 million contract with an Indian consulting firm in
November.
Grocery
workers continue struggle for fairness
STEPPING UP AGAINST
SAFEWAY--While 70,000 UFCW members continue walking picket lines in
southern
California
, union leaders and the AFL-CIO announced
Jan. 20 a nationwide mobilization effort to hold the line for health care,
with actions to include community support and intense education of Safeway
shoppers. On Jan. 15, the AFL-CIO Office of Investment reported to the
Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) that because of Safeway's
confrontational labor strategy and poor management, Safeway investor WSIB
has suffered "significant losses." Negotiations are imminent for
contracts expiring in May for some 30,000
Washington
state grocery workers at Safeway and
other chains. Also on Jan. 15, a group called San Francisco Giants Fans
for Justice at Safeway delivered a statement to Giants president and
general partner Robert Magowan, a Safeway
director and former CEO. They asked him to "step up to the plate and
use your influence to bring a just settlement to the Safeway labor
dispute." The contracts for 10,000 Bay Area workers at Safeway and
Albertsons expire in July. To support the workers, please mail a check
payable to AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer to the Hold the Line for Health
Care Strike Fund, AFL-CIO,
815
16th St., N.W.
,
Washington
,
DC
20006
. Or donate online through the AFL-CIO at
https://secure.ga3.org/08/holdtheline
.
Once
again, Bush does whatever it takes to get his way!
BUSH DUCKS SENATE
JUDGE VOTE--In a Jan. 16 end-run of the U.S. Senate, President Bush used a
recess appointment to place Charles Pickering on the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals. This allows
Pickering
, opposed by the AFL-CIO and civil rights
groups because of his controversial and destructive record on civil rights
and other issues, to serve until a new Congress takes office January 2005.
"Americans deserve federal judges of distinction and fairness, not
judges with questionable records on civil rights," AFL-CIO President
Sweeney said of the appointment.
Pickering
's nomination to the court was rejected
by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2002. He also was unable to overcome
a Senate filibuster after Bush renominated him
last year and the Judiciary Committee approved the nomination 10-9 on Oct.
2. For more information, visit http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/factsheet_ns04242003.cfm
.
The
President doesn’t want to hear about it!
Check
out this message we got from the folks at Get Active, the company that
helps maintain the working families network.
Whitehouse
Email Problems
Over the past week,
email sent to President Bush (or any other advocacy target at @whitehouse.gov)
has been difficult or impossible to deliver. The Whitehouse mail system
has been refusing to establish connections with external email servers and
is reporting that its service is unavailable now. This is not a
problem specific to messages sent from the GetActive
system: email from other domains is also not getting through. We are
actively investigating the problem. Repeated inquiries to technical
staff at the Whitehouse remain unanswered.
For now, it appears
that the Whitehouse is either blocking all inbound email, or only allowing
a small percentage of inbound mail through. Given this situation, we
recommend that you temporarily stop targeting the Whitehouse via email in
your Advocacy campaigns. Remember, you can always still target the
Whitehouse for delivery via fax.
We will send you an
update when we find out more regarding this situation.
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
