1/30/04
E
Messenger
The
Electronic Newsletter of the
Florida
AFL-CIO
New
Members according to the AFL-CIO Work in Progress
This week's WIP: 2,404
Year to date: 3,967
STATE
NEWS
Unethical
conduct in Bush’s administration?
Hahahahahheeeehahahahachuckchuckhahahheeheehahah!
Pulp
nonfiction
(02/01/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
The story line
sounds like something right out of a Carl Hiaasen novel, except that David
Struhs has beaten the irreverent Florida
author to the punch. It goes like this:
Florida
's top environmental
regulator helps bail out a major pulp mill that is pouring gunk into
Panhandle waters and then sneaks off to
Memphis
to become the company's
vice president.
Bush,
paper company defend Struhs on new job
(01/29/2004 © Gainesville
Sun)
Gov. Jeb Bush on
Thursday defended outgoing Department of Environmental Protection
Secretary David Struhs against critics who say
it is unseemly to work for a company he once regulated.
Exit
Struhs
(
02/01/2004
© Capitol
News Service)
The Governor says
there's nothing wrong with the fact that the State's Chief Environmental
watchdog is switching sides. Department of Environmental Protection
Secretary David Struhs (strews) submitted his
resignation Thursday so he can become a Vice President at International
Paper.
Head
of Florida DEP resigns
(01/29/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
TALLAHASSEE -- The
head of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, who oversaw
the state's efforts to restore the Everglades, said Wednesday he was
resigning to work for International Paper Co. The news of DEP Secretary
David Struhs' departure elicited a range of
reactions from environmentalists.
DEP
Candidate Carries Cement Plant Baggage
(02/01/2004 © Tampa
Tribune)
TALLAHASSEE - A
former bureaucrat who was a lightening rod for controversy during his
tenure at the Department of Environmental Protection, may be on the short
list to head the agency. Kirby Green, director of the St. Johns River
Water Management District, was the name heard most often Thursday as
Capitol insiders speculated about a successor to David Struhs
as DEP secretary.
Ethics
panel finds nothing corrupt in state plane use
(02/01/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE - The
Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed complaints against Senate
President Jim King and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, ruling that their use
of state planes to travel home for the weekend did not violate state
ethics laws.
You can
run but you can’t hide…Session 2004 is coming!
Without
a budget glossary, it s only numbers
(
02/01/2004
© Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
Nobody rolls
quarters into a newspaper machine hoping to find a good, meaty budget
story within. As a person who has produced a few, I freely own up to this
fact. But Jeb Bush released his budget last week, and slowly its details
have been trickling onto the news pages, making the topic unavoidable.
Legislature
geared up and ready to go
(
01/29/2004
© Lake City
Reporter)
What a great view
I had Tuesday for a few minutes here and a few minutes there. It was from
the 22nd floor of the Florida Capitol Building once the fog had burned off
by midday.I was in Tallahassee all day for the
annual Associated Press Florida 2004 Planning Session to see what the
upcoming legislative session may be like.
Less
will do from this Legislature
(01/28/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
If you're
wondering what your duly elected legislators will do for you this brand
new election year, the answer is not much. They won't solve the state's
growing health insurance crisis. They won't fix
Florida
's anorexic budget. They
won't mend our ailing education system. Mostly, they'll concentrate on
trying to keep their duly elected status.
Sales-tax
holiday reappears?
(
01/28/2004
© Florida
Keys Keynoter)
Saying that
lowering taxes spurs investment and growth, Gov. Jeb Bush has urged the
Legislature to return to
Florida
shoppers a
back-to-school break from paying state sales tax and to completely
phase-out a tax on stock and bond holdings.
Governor
s pointless fight
(02/01/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
Gov. Jeb Bush is
setting the state up for a vicious, heart-wrenching fight that pits the
contents of a woman's womb against the value of her own existence. Most of
all, Bush's request is pointless -- the outcome of this debate was decided
15 years ago. Bush wants a state law allowing guardians to be appointed to
the fetuses of women incompetent to make their own decisions.
Keep
governor out of womb
(02/01/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
After the
Legislature intervened last fall in the Terri Schiavo
case, Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said he had misgivings.
Soon, Gov. Bush again will ask the Legislature to take the state where it
doesn't belong. This time, Sen. King is expressing strong misgivings
beforehand.
Dems
actually win one…Kidcare to get a boost.
The
children of Florida deserve health care now
(02/01/2004 © Gainesville
Sun)
Earlier this week
(Jan. 27), my colleague Rep. Larry Cretul,
R-Ocala, asserted in this paper that there was no immediate need to
address the state's children's health insurance crisis.
Nibbling
the edges
(01/29/2004 © Gainesville
Sun)
They gave it the
old college try, but Democrats in the Florida Legislature were
unsuccessful this week in their attempts to force an extraordinary special
session to put more money into KidCare and
provide health care coverage for 100,000 additional children.
Caring
for kids
(
01/29/2004
© Orlando
Sentinel)
Kids may not vote,
but they do have a certain persuasive power when it comes to politics. The
100,000 children waiting for health insurance under the state's KidCare
program proved an irresistible force.
Extra
money found for KidCare insurance to cover
impoverished children
(01/29/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
OCOEE · Advocates
Wednesday praised Gov. Jeb Bush's decision to steer an extra $30 million
in next year's budget to a program that provides health insurance for
children, but said he needs to do it immediately because sick children
can't wait.
Child
care advocates say expand insurance
(02/01/2004 © Key
West Citizen)
KEY WEST -- Many
of the kids in Florida who qualify for affordable health insurance aren't
old enough to spell 'insurance,' 'premium' or 'legislature,' but they know
the pain of an ear infection, the lethargy of the flu or the stab of a
broken arm.
Is
the “Times
Union
” editorial
staff crazy!
LEGISLATURE:
Fiscal responsibility
(01/29/2004 © Jacksonville
- Florida Times Union)
It would be
irresponsible of the Legislature to greatly increase subsidized health
insurance for middle-class families at a time when the state has voter
mandates to build railroads and hire more schoolteachers, both at
substantial cost.
Yet…the
vouchers continue
Voucher
group head accused of looting $268,000
(02/01/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE --
Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher's ongoing investigation of the
state's school voucher programs led to its first criminal charge Thursday,
with the arrest of the operator of an Ocala correspondence school accused
of stealing more than $268,000 in voucher money.
Educator
accused of taking vouchers
(02/01/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
An Ocala man was
arrested Thursday on a charge of pocketing state money intended to pay the
private-school tuition of poor children under one of Gov. Jeb Bush's
prized school-voucher programs.
Equal
standards
(02/01/2004 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
Faced with
high-stakes testing and competition from private schools via voucher
programs, Florida's public schools have been pressed for greater
accountability under Gov. Jeb Bush's administration. Of course, schools
funded by taxpayer dollars should be evaluated on how well they carry out
their mission.
Educators
to lawmakers: Funding must keep pace with growth
(
01/29/2004
© Naples
Daily News)
Once again, it was
the educators and legislators. Once more, the educators told the lawmakers
that student enrollment was growing fast, and that they needed more money
to keep up with it. And, again, the legislators told the educators they
would place funding among their priorities.
Hospital reporting rules,
discounts on the table
Health
care bills would require consumer info, give discounts
(02/01/2004 © Naples
Daily News)
TALLAHASSEE —
Low-income patients without insurance would get hospital discounts and
every patient would be guaranteed price and risk information about various
procedures under two different measures lawmakers will take up this
spring.
Hospital
group wants uninsured patients discount law
(02/01/2004 © South
Florida Business Journal)
Florida would be
the first state in the country to enact a law requiring hospitals to offer
a discount program for uninsured patients who seek treatment in emergency
rooms under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by the Florida Hospital
Association (FHA).
Hospitals
would be required to provide cost and risk data
(02/01/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE -
Hospital patients would be guaranteed price and risk information about
various procedures and low-income patients without insurance would get
discounts under two different measures lawmakers will take up this spring.
Two
lawmakers want cost lists for hospitals
(02/01/2004 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
To help patients
be savvy consumers, hospitals should be required to disclose their prices
and performance, say two state legislators.
Health
Care Bills Head To Capitol
(02/01/2004 © Tampa
Tribune)
TALLAHASSEE -
Low-income patients without insurance would get hospital discounts and
every patient would be guaranteed price and risk information about various
procedures under two measures lawmakers will take up this spring.
Hospitals
propose discount for uninsured
(01/29/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
Florida's
hospitals offered Wednesday to fight for passage of a new state law that
would require them to give discounts of up to 30 percent to certain
uninsured patients, a measure the industry says would make health care
more affordable to those most in need
The fight to save your
access to the Constitution is on!
Citizen
initiatives need to be defended vigorously
(
01/29/2004
© Ft. Myers
News-Press)
The Florida
Chamber of Commerce wants to persuade the Legislature to put an amendment
on the ballot this year that would make future amendments much harder to
pass. Whatever happened to government of the people, by the people and for
the people?
Protect
the constitution, but protect states voters
(01/29/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
Florida Senate
President Jim King and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd weren't agreeing on much
during their legislative retreat last week until the topic of citizen
initiatives came up. Then both complained that voters are meddling too
much with the state constitution.
Here is the real reason
behind to push to restrict initiatives
Fairness
amendment
(
02/01/2004
© Gainesville
Sun)
There's another
citizens petition going around to amend the state constitution, and, once
again, one is circulating because the Florida Legislature is too timid (or
too reluctant to offend lobbyists) to do its job.
Talk about a bad
influence on children!
Jebfellows
(
02/01/2004
© Capitol
News Service)
The Governor is
looking for a few good men and women who want to get a first hand look at
how state government works.
Governor
seeking students for staff
(
02/01/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
"It's helpful
for me to get outside the box as to who I hang with as a leader and to get
different views and a different cultural perspective." That's Gov.
Jeb Bush explaining why he's bringing college students into his
administration.
Byrd
watch
Byrd
watchers flock to House speaker
(
01/29/2004
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Florida House
Speaker Johnnie Byrd controls everything from what bills are heard to
where legislators park their cars. So when he came to
Broward
County
on Wednesday, even
liberals groveled in front of this conservative Republican.
Voting
is going to be scary!
Md.
Voting Machines Said to Have Flaws
(
02/01/2004
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
ANNAPOLIS
,
Md.
--
Maryland
's new electronic voting
system has many potential security flaws that must be corrected but is
nevertheless 'worthy of voter trust,' a technical consultant told
legislators.
NATIONAL
NEWS
TSA
workers don’t need union protection…yeah right!
From AFGE
January
23, 2004
Airport screener discrimination complaints overwhelm TSA
By Chris Strohm
cstrohm@govexec.com
Airport screeners at the Transportation
Security Administration have flooded the agency with so many
discrimination complaints that it has begun to overhaul its management
practices, agency officials acknowledge.
Several TSA screeners claim the agency has failed to adequately address a
litany of problems they face at airports nationwide, including
discrimination against minorities and veterans, selective hiring and
firing practices, nepotism and management violations. They expressed
frustration over the problems and said that in some cases security is
being compromised.
Some screeners want a congressional inquiry into the situation and an
outside organization to provide oversight of TSA because they have lost
faith in the agency's ability to resolve problems internally.
TSA chief spokesman Mark Hatfield acknowledged on Friday that the agency's
Civil Rights Office faces a backlog of discrimination complaints. He said
the agency received 1,848 complaints during 2003. But he said 41 percent
of those complaints were from people who either lost their jobs as the
agency downsized by 6,000 screeners to a workforce of 50,000 or were not
hired.
Hatfield said the agency is overhauling its human resources department and
implementing procedures to address existing problems and mitigate future
ones.
For example, the agency is introducing a complaint process modeled after
the U.S. Postal Service
REDRESS program, an
alternative dispute resolution program that encourages workers to
participate in mediation during the informal, counseling stage of a
discrimination case. TSA also has increased the number of employees in its
Civil Rights Office to 36, and is in the process of hiring 12 more
employees, Hatfield said.
Screeners, however, said TSA not only has failed to resolve complaints in
a timely fashion, but is not doing enough to prevent problems from
occurring in the first place.
Bob Marchetta, acting president of the New
York Metropolitan Airport Workers Association, said TSA has not provided
screeners with adequate training on their rights. MAWA was formed last
year to represent the interests of screeners mainly at LaGuardia and John
F. Kennedy International airports. However, Marchetta
said he communicates with screeners at other airports across the country.
The retired screener is critical of TSA's new
efforts to address complaints.
"For the TSA to say they are reinventing the wheel, so to speak, is
disturbing," Marchetta said. "What
we have here is a situation where these rules and regulations were
supposed to be in order and enforceable from day one and they haven't been
yet. This is not proactive, this is reactive on
their behalf."
Peter Winch, a national organizer for the American Federation of
Government Employees, said screeners are contacting his union with
complaints. They have reported instances of nepotism, discriminatory
hiring practices, and management violations of standard operating
procedures.
Winch said he was told that the phone number TSA set up to handle
complaints at times has been flooded with so many calls that operators
stopped taking complaints.
TSA's grievance process is also "woefully
inadequate," according to Winch. "We'd like them to set up a
grievance procedure where a neutral person would be able to address
grievances," he said.
The agency prohibits screeners from engaging in collective bargaining,
which is another area of contention for many workers. AFGE
filed a motion this week
in federal appeals court in an effort to win screeners the right to
organize.
Hatfield said the Office of Civil Rights is working with TSA's
workforce performance and training division to educate employees on how to
file complaints, and with managers on ways to avoid conflicts before they
arise. He said the agency would distribute materials on its conflict
resolution program to employees and managers in the coming months and
provide formal training on how to preempt problems and resolve them.
"We have taken significant steps to not only get to the backlog of
complaints, but to process in a very timely fashion future complaints and,
more importantly, to educate and provide a program to our employees and
managers that will hopefully reduce the number of future complaints,"
Hatfield said.
As
expected, overtime takeaways at hand
Firms
Plan Expansion Of Overtime Exemptions (washingtonpost.com)
The
Washington
Post
1/29/03
Boeing
would deny overtime to veterans
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch
1/29/03
The
economy is doing great! If
you are rich.
About
2 Million to Use Up Jobless Benefits
AP
1/30/04
Economists
find job market data hard to pin down
USA
Today
1/30/04
Exhausting Federal Compassion
The
New York
Times
1/30/04
Pensions
Senate
OKs bill to relax firms’ pension-fund payments
Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette
1/30/04
Private-Sector
Solutions On Health Care Backed (washingtonpost.com)
The
Washington
Post
1/29/03
Sears
plans to phase out pensions and stock options
Buffalo News
1/29/03
Grocery
workers’ struggle continue
Workers
Are Stopped Far From Safeway CEO's Home
Los Angeles
Times
1/29/03
Religious
leaders urge talks to end labor strike
Sacramento
Bee
1/29/03
Veterans
Overtime Pay is in Danger
Cox News Service
1/30/04
If you have suggestions on
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– 6926 or at rtemplin@flaflcio.org.
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Rich
Templin
Communications Director
Florida
AFL-CIO
