OBAMA 2012: PEOPLE GET READY

Rochester, N.Y.-- Facts are facts-- and the American Labor Movement needs to get into gear right away. The President has shown real leadership and is taking aggressive steps to put Americans back to work. He is working to restore middle-class security for decades to come. He deserves our support.

For years before the economic crisis, middle-class security had been slipping away. Wages stagnated while health care costs soared. We’ve added back 2.6 million private sector jobs as of September 2011, but there’s more work to do.

When President Obama took office, he both addressed the immediate economic crisis and laid the foundation for a U.S. economy that can out-innovate and out-build the world.

FACT: President Obama successfully fought for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act to provide benefits and retraining to workers who have seen their jobs move overseas.

President Obama also created the National Export Initiative, a government-wide effort to help small businesses compete in the global marketplace and double our nation’s exports by 2015.

FACT: President Obama provided tax incentives and made investments in clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and advanced car batteries to grow high-technology U.S. manufacturing capacity and supply clean energy projects with American-made parts and equipment.

FACT: President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a national effort to invest in technologies that will create high-quality manufacturing jobs and enhance America’s global competitiveness.

FACT: President Obama signed the America Invents Act, historic patent reform legislation that will help American entrepreneurs bring inventions to market sooner, helping to create new businesses and new jobs.

FACT: President Obama made the tough and politically unpopular decision to extend emergency rescue loans to the American auto industry, saving 1.4 million jobs and preventing an economic catastrophe for communities across the country. GM and Chrysler were required to cut labor costs and overhaul their business models in exchange for government loans, guaranteeing their accountability to taxpayers. Today, GM and Chrysler have repaid the loans they received and are rehiring thousands of workers.

To level the playing field for American businesses and workers, President Obama signed trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. Together, the agreements are estimated to increase exports by over $11 billion and support over 70,000 American jobs.

FACT: President Obama passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to hold Wall Street accountable and end taxpayer-funded bailouts. Wall Street reform ensures that if a financial company fails, it will be Wall Street that pays the price—not the American people—and sets ground rules for the riskiest financial speculation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was established to protect consumers from unfair financial practices and make sure that credit card companies and mortgage and payday lenders have to follow the rules. We need to hold Wall Street accountable. President Obama is definitely on the side of the middle-class consumer.

This is just a short list of accomplishments. Go to http://www.barackobama.com/ for more details.

ARE WE STILL CAPABLE OF BIG THINGS?

NLRB APPROVES UNION ELECTION RULE; GOP FOAMING AT THE MOUTH

Washington, D.C.-- The National Labor Relations Board voted Wednesday to move forward with a new labor rule that Republicans and business groups charge would restrict the ability of employers to bring concerns about union elections to the regulatory agency. Score one for the good guys.

A 2-1 vote was along party lines, with the two Democratic members backing it and the lone Republican voting no. The rule will now be drafted into final language for a subsequent NLRB vote before it goes into effect.

Democrats says the new rule will eliminate delays between when employees file for a vote on whether to start a union and the day the ballots are cast.

“Today an election can be held up by pre-election appeals to the Board, which in the end are rarely granted and even more rarely result in a changed outcome. An election can also be delayed by raising irrelevant issues in pre-election hearings, which are intended to be quick and non-adversarial,” the Democratic chairman of the NLRB board, Mark Gaston Pearce, said in a statement before the meeting.

Much of the tension on the politically divided NLRB is the result of the fact that the board is not fully constituted. Though the NLRB should be made up of five members, it currently only has three - 2 Democrats, board chairman Pearce and member Craig Becker, as well as 1 Republican, member Brian Hayes.

GOP member talked of "walking out"

The board requires three members to form quorum and issue new rules on labor regulations. The GOP has been playing the devilish role of the obstructionist since, well-- forever.

Until the meeting occurred, it remained an open question whether Hayes would even attend Wednesday’s session. If Hayes had chosen not to show up or had resigned, he might have denied the NLRB the quorum to make new rules on labor relations.

Hayes said he decided against quitting, explaining during the board meeting that he felt his resignation would not only deprive the board of the views he represents, but also tar the image of the agency.

“It is not my nature to be obstructionist,” he said at the meeting. “I believe resignation would cause the very same harm and collateral damage to the reputation of this agency.”

Craig Becker
photo provided

The Obama administration has had problems confirming new members to the NLRB board. In fact, Becker was a NLRB nominee whose Senate confirmation failed in early 2010, leading the Obama administration to recess appoint him in March 2010.

Becker’s appointment will expire when the Senate adjourns for recess sometime at the end of this year, meaning that the NLRB would no longer have the minimum three members needed to make rules regarding labor relations.

Because of this impending deadline, the NLRB, ahead of Wednesday’s vote, stripped its proposed rule on union elections of the more controversial aspects that had previously been proposed. For example, providing employee email addresses and phone numbers in the voter list and the facilitation of online petition-filing had been in the original proposed rule but has since been removed for future consideration.

In predictable partisan fashion, yesterday the U.S. Chamber of Commerce criticized the NLRB’s move, arguing that the proposed rule would lead to “ambush elections” that don’t allow employers adequate time to discuss unionization with their employees.

Meanwhile, the anti-labor House passed by a 235-188 vote a bill that would roll back the NLRB rule. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), was drafted in response to the NLRB’s more sweeping earlier proposal and was the second whack at the labor board this fall by the GOP-led House, which in September approved a bill that would ban the NLRB from forcing companies to close or relocate jobs.

HERMAN CAIN: IT'S A SHAME

Enough Already

NYLA ANNOUNCES LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR 2012

Albany, N.Y.-- The New York Library Association has released the details of their Legislative Priorities for 2012. CSEA represents tens of thousands of workers in educational or library settings throughout New York State.

Library Aid

Seek restoration to 2010 levels of $84.45 million or at the very least maintain $79 million level from 2011.

BOCES‐Libraries Internet Partnerships

This bill (S.1573 Oppenheimer/A.464 Gunther) would authorize BOCES to contract with public libraries or library systems for Internet services. 2011 Status: reported to Senate Floor 6/7/2011.

Library Card Info Distributed to Students

This bill (S.4174 Oppenheimer/A.6239 Bing) would require school districts to disseminate informational materials about applications for public library cards to students if they are provided by their library. 2011 Status: Passed Assembly 6/23 and reported to Senate Rules 6/13/2011.

Expand Eligibility for EPE Funding to Include Libraries

This bill (S.4100 Farley/A.6385 Reilly) would expand eligibility to receive Employment Preparation Education (EPE) funds to include libraries. There is currently $96 million in EPE funding available. 2011 Status: Passed Senate 6/20/2011.

NYS Comprehensive Information System

The bill (S.3297 DeFrancisco/A.4997 Russell) would authorize the state library to coordinate the bulk purchase of electronic resources like databases for state agencies, libraries and other governmental entities that would save the state and local government’s money. 2011 Status: Passed Senate 5/9/2011.

SUNY/CUNY Procurement Flexibility for Electronic Resources

This bill (Farley/A. 8673 Paulin) would expand flexibility provided to SUNY/CUNY to purchase products like books to also include electronic resources like online databases, which are a growing component of academic library collections.

System Funding Flexibility

This bill would give more local control to library systems on how to allocate reduced funding from the state to the meet the needs of the libraries and communities they serve.

School Library Materials Aid

This bill would require schools to have a certified school librarian in order to receive school library materials aid.

Library Elections

This bill would clarify that library elections are covered by Education Law.

MTA Payroll Tax

This bill (Martins/Abinanti) would add public libraries to list of entities exempt from MTA pay roll tax.
 
To upload the NYS library advocate's 2011 Voter's Guide to see how your local Assembly and Senate representatives are doing, you can go here.