Franklin County Democrats

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take my daughter to the Jefferson National Expansion Museum and to the top of the Arch in downtown St. Louis.  Even with the TSA-style security check, $15 tram fee, and $7.50 movie tickets to see “Monument to the Dream” the day was an enjoyable one.   The building of the arch involved several trades but most notably the Ironworkers that earned $5.25 p/hour on this job and the Crane Operators of the International Union of Operating Engineers which earned $7.25 p/hour.  If you have seen the movie or saw the construction in real time it is hard to deny they earned their money.

Being of a person of political interests i could not resist thinking of Peter Kinder, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney’s opposition to the Prevailing Wage and wonder could we have built the arch on the cheap?  If a contractor from Backwater, USA was the low bidcer on this federal project would it have turned out the same?  Could Darryl, Darryl, and their brother Darryl have kept the opposing legs of the arch within a tolerance of 1/64th of an inch?  Who knows, maybe we could have had a two-legged viewing platform 400 feet in the sky instead of legs that meet at the top.  Of course, without the prevailing wage the middle class would be much harder to see.

How could Republican President George W. Bush turn a 6 trillion dollar projected surplus into a 10 trillion dollar budget deficit without a word from Republicans or the Tea Party?  How has right-wing economics led to almost thirty years of GOP power?  Do you believe in Santa Claus?

Our friend Thom Hartmann has the story on this six minute video and explained in his excellent article, Two Santa Clauses or How The Republican Party Has Conned America for Thirty Years.   If you have ever wondered why tax cuts for rich folks are the answer to all economic conditions, check it out.

HERE IT IS – OUR LEGISLATORS TRYING TO BREAK DOWN SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

(see 2nd item in Legislative Update for 2/13/12)

Missouri NEA Legislative Update Week 7, No. 1, February 13, 2012
By Otto Fajen MNEA Legislative Director

SCHOOL LEVY ELECTION DATES

The Senate Financial & Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee heard SB 569 (Will Kraus) on February 13. The bill eliminates both the February and June election dates for public elections.  The Association opposes the bill.  School districts rely on local tax funding to build and operate schools.  School districts should have the option to hold elections at the February and June dates.  Any bond elections on such dates must have strong community support to reach the two-thirds majority required for passage.

PUBLIC FUNDS TO RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS

The Senate General Laws Committee will hear SJR 47 (Scott Rupp) on February 14.  The SJR would remove the existing constitutional provision to keep public funds from being given to religious institutions.  The General Assembly is responsible for establishing and maintaining free public schools, not private or religious schools.  Association believes that public funds should support public schools and opposes the joint resolution.

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C-Span recently featured an extensive interview with Scott Paul, Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing in which many aspects of what a successful manufacturing policy were discussed.  Mr. Paul specifically addressed current and proposed tax incentives such as the upfront deduction for plant and equipment and the Value Added Tax to what other nations that have vibrant manufacturing sectors are doing. Did you know that the President of Singapore, rated the best place to manufacture in the world, lists free education and infrastructure – not corporate tax cuts as keys to their success?

My favorite portion of the interview was the statement that “trade agreements shouldn’t be based on philosophy but on results.”    Continuing our our current path of unarmed benevolence toward those nations that are winning a trade war against us is the first step, developing a domestic environment that supports manufacturing is next and both are discussed in this fascinating interview.

WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION AND WHISTLE-BLOWER LAW

Last week the Senate again took up SCS/SB 592 (Brad Lager) for floor debate on February 1.  It was in session debating the bill for nearly fifteen hours before reaching an agreement to end the filibuster effort at about 1:20 a.m. It endorsed legislation early February 2 that would change the state’s workplace discrimination laws.

Wes Duplantier of The Associated Press wrote in The Columbia-Missourian:

Fearful of reversing decades of hard-fought civil rights gains, Democrats held the Senate floor for hours Wednesday and into early Thursday morning, vowing to block a preliminary Senate vote on the bill.

That bill would require workers who bring wrongful termination lawsuits to prove discrimination was a “motivating factor” – not simply a contributing factor – in the employer’s action. The legislation also would apply to other wrongful discrimination actions, such as the denial of promotions.

In cases where employers were found to have wrongfully discriminated, the legislation would tie punitive damages to a company’s number of employees, with a maximum award of $300,000. Political subdivisions, such as city governments, would not be liable for any punitive damages.

I encourage you to read Wes’ full article (linked above) to hear how especially Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus who led the filibuster effort by speaking against the original bill for 10 hours, plans to continue to oppose this  erosive piece of legislation.

Personally I enjoyed listening to the live audio cast during the hour or so after midnight. Senator Chappelle-Nadal read from the works of famous black authors, notably Langston Hughes of the Harlem Renaissance.

The House brought up HB 1219 (Kevin Elmer) briefly on February 1 for floor debate and then placed the bill on the Informal Calendar. The MNEA opposes HB 1219. The bill is substantially the same as SCS/SB 592.

Thanks to the substandard reporting of the American corporate media, especially on matters of economic policy, it is very hard to learn about how other nations operate their economies.  This is especially true if it involves the concept of more power and a better life for the 99% of people that don’t live on investment or inherited income.

Nation of Change featured How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the “1 Percent” to demonstrate that history shows us  many have used nonviolent struggle to change their lives and history.  It can happen here.

The 1 percent thereby lost its historic power to dominate the economy and society. Not until three decades later could the Conservatives return to a governing coalition, having by then accepted the new rules of the game, including a high degree of public ownership of the means of production, extremely progressive taxation, strong business regulation for the public good and the virtual abolition of poverty. When Conservatives eventually tried a fling with neoliberal policies, the economy generated a bubble and headed for disaster. (Sound familiar?)

Labor stepped in, seized the three largest banks, fired the top management, left the stockholders without a dime and refused to bail out any of the smaller banks. The well-purged Norwegian financial sector was not one of those countries that lurched into crisis in 2008; carefully regulated and much of it publicly owned, the sector was solid.

Although Norwegians may not tell you about this the first time you meet them, the fact remains that their society’s high level of freedom and broadly-shared prosperity began when workers and farmers, along with middle class allies, waged a nonviolent struggle that empowered the people to govern for the common good.

If this keeps up it’s going to put a crimp in the GOP’s narrative that Obama’s policies have made things worse.

From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics …

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the
unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private
sector, with large employment gains in professional and business
services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government
employment changed little over the month.

That’s the lowest unemployment rate since 2009 when Obama had just been sworn in after the Bush Administration left the economy in a tailspin. Also in the BLS report, the private sector generated 257,000 jobs in December, while government jobs declined during the last 12 months. So much for the “Obama is a socialist” meme.

But don’t worry. By the time Dems get the economy nearly fixed the American people will reward them by putting Republicans back in charge so they can trash it and we can start the process all over again. This is how it has been going the last three decades. You’d think middle class working people would wise up already … but no.

Missouri NEA Legislative Update
Week 5, No. 2, January 31, 2012
By Otto Fajen     
MNEA Legislative Director

ACTION ALERT:  HOUSE COMMITTEE TO HEAR TENURE REPEAL BILL

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee will hear HB 1526 (Scott Dieckhaus) on February 1.  The bill eliminates the current tenure law for new hires, and places new hires into a system of contracts of up to four years.  The bill also substantially changes the existing tenure law, eliminating seniority as a factor in decisions regarding reduction in force.  The Association strongly opposes the bill.

The bill also includes numerous mandates regarding teacher evaluation systems, such as requiring at least fifty percent of evaluations to be based on student test scores and prohibiting districts and employees from designing evaluation systems within collective bargaining negotiations.

ACTION NEEDED:  Your help is needed!  Please call, write or e-mail to urge your state representative to oppose HB 1526, the Tenure Repeal Bill. The following link will connect you to the MNEA Legislative Action Center Action Alert on HB 1526.

Type in your zip code and the alert will automatically be directed to your state representative.  The Action Alert contains a brief summary and a brief, editable message box to help you send an email to your state representative on the issue.   Your message will have a greater impact if you personalize the message and add your own concerns regarding the bill.

Write Your Representative

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Missouri NEA Legislative Update
Week 5, No. 1, January 30, 2012
By Otto Fajen     MNEA Legislative Director

ACTION ALERT: VOTE “NO” ON PAYCHECK DECEPTION ATTACK ON WORKERS

The Senate may act on one or more bills attacking labor unions when the members convene for floor debate during this week’s session.  The Senate Small Business and Industry Committee approved SCS/SBs 553 and 435 (Dan Brown) and the bill is on the Senate calendar for floor debate.    The bill eliminates authorization for public labor union payroll deductions for payment of union dues. The bill also revises authorization for public labor union payroll deductions for political action.

The Association strongly opposes the bill.  This attack is just more of the same old politics.  All employees have the constitutional right to an effective union voice in their employment and to work together to support  political campaigns without undue interference from state policies that would undermine those rights.

ACTION NEEDED:  Your help is needed!  Please call, write or e-mail to urge your state senator to oppose SCS/SBs 553 and 435, the paycheck deception attack. The following link will connect you to the MNEA Legislative Action Center Action Alert on SCS/SBs 553 and 435.

Type in your zip code and the alert will automatically be directed to your state senator.  The Action Alert contains a brief summary and a brief, editable message box to help you send an email to your state senator on the issue.   Your message will have a greater impact if you personalize the message and add your own concerns regarding the bill.

Write Your Senator

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The Editor of Time Magazine, Fareed Zakaria, has penned a transformative article -  The Case for Making It in the USA.  How is it transformative?  Check this out,

President Obama spoke forcefully in his Jan. 24 State of the Union address about the importance of reviving manufacturing in America. Economists tell us it’s a complex matter involving tax, trade and regulatory policy, exchange rates and educational skills. It is. But when you move from high-level policy to specific cases, you will often find one element that is rarely talked about: a foreign government’s role in boosting its domestic manufacturers with specific loans, subsidies, streamlined regulations and benefits. In effect, these governments–many in Asia, though some in Europe as well–have a national industrial policy to help manufacturers.