New Postal Amendment to Pipeline Bill

Whether or not to approve construction of the Keystone tar sands pipeline is one of the first pieces of legislation that the Senate has taken up since the 114th Congress came into session this month.  For this bill, newly minted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised an open-amendment process.  Said McConnell, “nobody is blocking any amendments,” and Senate Democrats are taking him up on his offer. A wide range of amendments on a variety of topics have been offered, including amendments to subsidize heating bills for low-income families and require companies using the pipeline to pay into an oil spill cleanup fund.  This week, the Senate voted 98-1 in favor of an amendment to affirm that climate change is indeed real and "not a hoax."

Senate postal champion Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is now leading a new charge to undo the Postmaster General’s disastrous decision to slow down the mail and close 82 mail processing facilities.  Sanders introduced an amendment to the Keystone bill that would restore service standards to July 2012 levels and would block the closure of any processing facilities for two years.  The amendment already has secured the support of a dozen co-sponsors: Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Tom Udall (D-NM), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Murphy (D-CT.), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

While APWU opposes passage of the underlying bill, and President Obama has vowed to veto the bill, we are calling upon APWU activists to reach out to their senators and ask them to support this important amendment.  This bill’s open-amendment process could be a unique opportunity to force senators to say where they stand on the future of America’s public postal service.

Please call your senators and ask them to support the Sanders postal amendment.  To find the phone numbers for your two senators’ DC offices, please click here.

Thank You Senator Baldwin for Your Support!

Retired NEWAL President Tony Vanderbloemen, Milwaukee Area Local Business Agent Mark Ferrari, APWU of Wisconsin President Steve Lord, Wausau Area Local President Mike Tomzyck, and Madison Area Local President Bret Wersland meet with US Senator Tammy Baldwin to discuss legislative issues dealing with the USPS.  We were also there to express our gratitude for all her help trying to stop the disastrous postal reform bill S1486 and plant consolidations and closures.

APWU of Wisconsin Adopts Resolution to Endorse the Candidacy of Mary Burke for Governor of Wisconsin

The American Postal Workers Union of Wisconsin held their State Convention in Appleton recently. While attending the Convention, delegates from throughout the State of Wisconsin representing their members voted on numerous resolutions during the business sessions.

The vote to adopt the following resolution was passed unanimously. 

Mary Burke

• Whereas: Wisconsin's economic recovery is stagnant compared to neighboring states and the national average and,
• Whereas: Mary Burke will seek to create good paying jobs in Wisconsin that don't come at a cost to the environment and,
• Whereas: Mary Burke will work to restore collective bargaining to state workers and,
• Whereas: Mary Burke believes Wisconsinites deserve better. A better economy, a better future for our children through a quality education, and better leadership,

Therefore Be it Resolved: That the 2014 APWU of Wisconsin Convention endorse the candidacy of Mary Burke for Governor of Wisconsin.

Call Your Senator Today

The Senate will take up the Bring Jobs Home Act tomorrow. This bill—S. 2884—would stop allowing corporations to deduct their moving expenses when they offshore good American jobs to other countries.

Call your senators now at 888-659-9401 and tell them to vote YES on the Bring Jobs Home Act tomorrow. Even if you already have called, your senators need to hear from you again.

The vote on this measure comes as news continues to trickle out about Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, when companies it managed outsourced good jobs abroad.^[1]

And this week, a new report showed Romney’s tax plan would create even more incentives for corporations to ship jobs overseas.^[2]

Romney is not the only politician, though, who has been on the wrong side of job creation for working families. Politicians continue to support measures that reward corporate CEOs and leave the rest of us to take the hit.

Now they have a chance to move toward a comprehensive plan to stop outsourcing and create family-sustaining jobs in the United States. This not only must include passing the Bring Jobs Home Act but should also:

• Tax U.S. corporations’ overseas income the same way domestic income is taxed, so they do not shift income and jobs overseas just to lower their tax bill;
• Make sure trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership are fair and benefit working families—not just multinational corporations;
• Stop currency manipulation by our trading partners; and
• Bar companies that send call center jobs overseas from receiving federal grants and tax breaks.

Please call your senators today at 888-659-9401 and ask for their support for the Bring Jobs Home Act.

^[1] www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/07/
14/evidence_mounts_of_mitt_romneys_continuing_ties_to_bain_after_1999
^[2] www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2012/07/hanlon_outsourcing.html

Source: AFL-CIO

USPS default on Aug. 1 appears likely

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service is within weeks of defaulting on a legally required $5.5 billion payment into a heath benefits fund for future retirees.

So far, it appears House leaders have no intention of preventing that from happening — they have postponed any action on relief measures until at least fall.

(FULL STORY)    Source: Federal Times

"Don't Take Away New Medicare Benefits for Seniors"

The following statement was issued today by Leon Burzynski, president of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, in response to the U.S. House voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act:

"The U.S. House shamefully voted to take away Medicare benefits that are helping seniors in Wisconsin better afford to see a doctor and fill a prescription."

"Wisconsin retirees are upset that, in voting for repeal, Reps Duffy, Petri, Ribble, Ryan, and Sensenbrenner chose ideology and partisan politics over seniors' basic needs.  We are pleased that Reps Baldwin, Kind, and Moore stood up against the powerful special interests in support of a law that is helping workers and retirees across our state.

In Wisconsin, over 59,000 Medicare beneficiaries have already saved a total of $37,919,307.00 on their prescriptions. Also in Wisconsin, 647,617 seniors have received free, life-saving tests for chronic diseases. 

"Retirees worry about their children and grandchildren, and are happy the law allows young adults under age 26 stay on their parents' health insurance.  Seniors are glad to see working families finally protected from the greed and outrageous business practices of the insurance companies."

"This was the 33rd vote in Congress to repeal this law, a law that in the past two years has been approved by both houses of Congress, signed by the President, and upheld by the Supreme Court. It is time to move on. Political gamesmanship will not help a single retiree, worker, or student live a better, healthier life."

The real truth is that seniors have already and will continue to benefit from the Affordable Care Act.  For a complete list of the benefits available under the ACA, visit the website 'Seniors and the Affordable Care Act'.

Durbin again asks for new USPS audit regarding consolidations

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has sent a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe urging him to adhere to a provision – included in the Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations passed last month by the Senate Appropriations Committee – that would require the Postal Service to conduct a new audit that shows cost savings before moving forward with plans to close or consolidate facilities that were recently found to be efficient.

 See Full Story  (Quincy, IL News)

Romney Working To Eliminate The US Postal Service

Mitt Romney and his economic advisors like Kevin Hassett have a clear message in how a Romney administration would address the US Postal Service. It’s fairly simple they would eliminate it.

See Full Story  (New Hampshire Labor News)

Watch Your Mail, Tell Your U.S. Representative: Stop H.R. 2309, Vote NO!

APWU News Bulletin 16-2012, June 19, 2012

A bill that would destroy the Postal Service — and our jobs — could be voted on in the House of Representatives in July, and APWU President Cliff Guffey is calling on union members to send their legislators a message: Vote NO on H.R. 2309!

To help APWU members send the message to Congress, the union will be mailing a brochure to the homes of union members in the coming days. President Guffey is asking all recipients to sign the postcard included in the brochure, affix a stamp, and mail the card to their U.S. representatives.

“GOP House leaders are trying to round up support for the bill,” Guffey said, “so we must take action immediately.

“Please ask your House member to oppose H.R. 2309 — or any similar bill — and to support legislation that addresses the cause of the USPS financial crisis without slashing service and punishing workers,” he said.

Full Story

COPA Money Comes Back to Wisconsin

APWU of Wisconsin receives COPA Funds from National for distribution in upcoming elections.

La Crosse, WI -  APWU of Wisconsin (APWUWI) State President Steve Lord announced at the APWUWI Executive Board meeting recently that the State has received checks from your COPA contributions for distribution to “Labor-Friendly” candidates in the upcoming elections.

Checks were received for Wisconsin Legislators as follows:

• Rob Zerban – Candidate for First District Congressional District $1,000.00
• Gwen Moore – Congresswoman 4th District $5,000.00
• Jamie Wall – Candidate for 8th District Congressional District $2,500.00
• Pat Kreitlow – Candidate State Senator District #23  $2,500.00
• Tammy Baldwin – Candidate for U.S. Senate (Herb Kohl vacant position) $5,000.00
• AFL-CIO Recall Effort – $10,000.00

Pictured Below:

Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt (right) accepts a check for $10,000.00 for the upcoming Recall Efforts in Wisconsin. The COPA check was presented to Neuenfeldt by APWUWI President Steve Lord and APWU Central Region Coordinator Sharyn M. Stone.

Photo by: John E. Durben

BREAKING NEWS! Senate Vote on Postal Bill

(Note: Received in a recent e-mail.)

The United States Senate has Passed the United States Postal Service Bill "21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012" (S1789) by a vote of 62-37.

The Amendment voting results (as I have it) are recorded as either withdrawn, passed, or failed, are posted below.

(R) McCain #2001 Management substitute amendment WITHDRAWN

(D) Tester #2056 Amendment to modify the process of closing or consolidating Post Offices and Postal Facilities. PASSED

**(R) Coburn #2060 Amendment to provide transparency, accountability, and limitations of government sponsored conferences. (not germane to bill) PASSED

(R) McCain #2033 Amendment to establish the Commission on Postal Reorganization (in HR 2309) FAILED

**(D) Wyden-(D) Feinstein #2020 Amendment to require the Postal Service to consider the effect of closing or consolidating a postal facility on the ability of the affected community to vote by mail and to provide Post Offices and Postal Facilities to protect the ability to vote by mail. PASSED

**(R) Coburn #2058 Amendment to alternatives to Post Offices. PASSED

(R) MaCaskill-(D) Merkley #2031 Amendment to prohibit the closing of a rural Post Office unless certain conditions are met and to establish a 2 year moratorium on the closing of rural Post Offices. PASSED

(R) Coburn #2061 Amendment to require retirement eligible employees of the Postal Service to retire. FAILED

(R) Snowe #2080 Amendment to improve, sustain, and transform the United States Postal Service (closures) PASSED

(D) Udall #2043 Amendment to strike the limitations on changes to mail delivery schedule, with an offset. FAILED

**(D) Durbin #2082 Amendment to improve, sustain, and transform the United States Postal Service (closures) PASSED

(D) Akaka #2034 Amendment to replace provisions that would be financially devastating to thousands of Postal workers and Federal employees who were injured on the job and who receive compensation from the OWCP. FAILED

**(D) Bennet-(R) Blunt #2047 Amendment to establish citizen's service protection advocates in each state with respect to facility closures. PASSED

(R) Corker #2083 Amendment negatively impacts six day delivery and Collective Bargaining FAILED

**(D) Mikulski #2003 Amendment to prohibit the USPS from closing any postal facility without certification from the Governor of the state in which the Postal facility is located. WITHDRAWN

(D) Akaka #2049 Amendment to clarify consultative rights of Postmasters and Supervisors FAILED

(R) Paul #2025 Amendment to end the mailbox use monopoly FAILED

(D) Manchin #2079 Amendment to improve, sustain, and transform the USPS (closures) FAILED

**(R) Paul #2026 Amendment to provide merit pay for the PMG and limit the authority of the USPS to award bonuses WITHDRAWN

**(D) Bingamin #2076 Amendment to require that state liaisons for states without a district office are located within their respective states. PASSED

(R) Paul #2027 Amendment to close Post Offices in the Capitol complex PASSED

**(D) Cardin #2040 Amendment to prohibit the closing of a Postal Processing Plant if the nearest Postal facility is more than 50 miles away. WITHDRAWN

(R) Paul #2028 Amendment to establish a pilot program to test alternative methods for the delivery of Postal Services. FAILED

(D) Carper #2065 Amendment to provide for temporary authority to adjust the first class mail stamp rate. WITHDRAWN

**(R) Paul #2029 Amendment to require the USPS to take in consideration the impact of regulations when developing a profitability plan. PASSED

(D) Carper #2066 Amendment to limit the compensation of executives of the Postal Service PASSED

(R) Paul #2039 Amendment to eliminate Collective Bargaining FAILED

(D) Casey #2042 Amendment to maintain current delivery time for market dominated products for 4 years. FAILED

(R) Paul #2038 Amendment to end the Postal Service monopoly on First Class Mail and mailbox use WITHDRAWN

**(D) Landrieu #2072 Amendment to determine the impact of certain Postal Facility closures or consolidations on small businesses PASSED

(R) DeMint #2046 Amendment to cut union income FAILED

**(R) McCaskill #2030 Amendment to improve FECA PASSED

(R) Coburn #2059 Amendment to allow the USPS to close unprofitable Post Office Facilities. WITHDRAWN

**(D) Pryor #2036 Amendment to express the sense of the senate to place a moratorium on Postal Facility closures and consolidations until enactment. PASSED

**(D) Rockefeller #2073 Amendment to clarify retirees cannot be required to enroll in Medicare. PASSED

**(D) Rockefeller #2074 Amendment to ensure the Postal Service Health Benefits Program be comparable to the FEHBP PASSED

(D) Schumer #2050 Amendment to maintain door to door delivery point services PASSED

**(D) Tester #2032 Amendment to limit the pay of Postal Service Executives. PASSED

(D) Warner #2071 Amendment to require reporting regarding retirement processing and modernization. PASSED

I hope the above information has been helpful.

Sam Wood www.swfloridaapwu.org

President - Southwest Florida Area Local / APWU

Medicare bill would hike costs to federal workers

Four Republican senators have introduced legislation designed to improve Medicare, but with federal employees paying a price.

CLICK HERE for complete story

Source: THE WASHINGTON POST

Obama, Romney Differ on Plan to Cut Medicare, Medicaid

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney sharply disagreed this week on a budget proposal by U.S. House Republicans that would dramatically change Medicare and Medicaid while lowering taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans. The GOP presidential candidate praised it as “bold and exciting,” while a White House spokesperson called it, “a recipe for destroying Medicare as we know it… it is not a plan that this President could support.” MD/DC Alliance president Frank Stella spoke at a Tuesday rally against the plan, and Alliance Executive Board member Bill Cea is joining Vice President Joe Biden today at an event in Florida to highlight the Administration’s opposition. Read some of Biden’s remarks explaining what’s at stake at http://bit.ly/GIY9Ws.

“Under the proposal, seniors would be given vouchers to either buy health coverage in the costly private insurance market, or purchase it from a Medicare program that would be made more expensive by the exodus of younger, healthier retirees,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. The plan would also cut spending on Medicaid and turn it over to cash-strapped states, jeopardizing the only way over 70 percent of seniors are able to afford long-term or nursing home care. The budget plan, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), was approved by the House Budget Committee on Wednesday and is expected to be voted on by the full House next week. Also, on the same day that Romney endorsed the Ryan plan, one of his top economic advisors, Greg Mankiw, was forced to apologize for a joke he shared on his blog about deporting seniors to lower Social Security and Medicare costs. For the Alliance’s latest fact sheet on the Ryan budget, go to http://bit.ly/GKlJVx.

Source: Friday Alert – Alliance for Retired Americans

What Wisconsin Will Recall

Eleni Schirmer | March 19, 2012

In the year since the uprising against Governor Scott Walker’s attacks on public unions, employees, and services, the outrage of Wisconsin’s citizens has been compressed into a single word: recall. But some are discussing what next, if the recalls are successful. Will they be enough to take Wisconsin forward?

While spring bursts into Wisconsin, things look bleak for Walker. After investigations of illegal activity in his administration during his 2002-2008 service as Milwaukee county executive, including 15 felony charges against former staff, Walker has opened a legal defense fund in his name, something elected officials may do only if they are being investigated for a violation of law. While the specifics of the “John Doe” case are not yet public, Walker’s opening of the defense fund suggests he is implicated in the charges.

It doesn’t look much better for Walker’s collaborators. Last week Republican Senator Pam Galloway of Wausau resigned, preempting her upcoming recall election and surrendering the Republican majority in the Senate. The Senate is now split 16-16 between the parties.

An independent judicial oversight body filed a complaint about Walker supporter and Supreme Court Justice David Prosser’s outburst last summer. He choked an opposing justice during heated discussion about the constitutionality of Walker’s law to strip collective bargaining rights. A panel of appeals judges will file their recommendations, ranging from reprimand to replace, with the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Feet on the Ground

While political elites fight these battles on an elevated stage, the people of Wisconsin continue to organize with their feet on the ground. A large coalition of activists has worked, without the initial support of the Democratic Party, to launch recalls of four Republican senators and key Walker allies. Fatigued by only moderate success in last summer’s Senate recalls, Democratic leaders seemed wary about attempting recalls again.

But citizens in these districts were not so easily discouraged. A group of constituents from the Dodge County area, for example, didn’t agree with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s claims that his district was too Republican for him to be recalled. A local area photographer and writer, Lori Compas, gathered friends and neighbors. Not only did she successfully collect enough petition signatures to trigger a recall, she has decided to take on Fitzgerald in the election herself.

In response to a lawsuit filed by the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, the League of Women Voters, and the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP, a circuit judge issued a permanent injunction against Walker’s voter ID law, declaring suppression of the vote a primary threat to democracy. A movement led by Native American rights activists and environmentalists won a key fight against an aggressive mining bill that would destroy sacred land in northern Wisconsin.

These fights and victories are among the many ways Wisconsin’s activists and community members continue to struggle for justice.

Recall What?

For unions, recalling Walker is fundamental for long-term survival. His Act 10 eliminated collective bargaining, removed fair-share dues deductions, and required 51 percent of eligible members in every bargaining unit approve a union’s recertification every year—a major task in itself. The law threatens the basic sustenance of unions.

Thus far the challengers to Walker, to face off in a Democratic primary May 8, are Kathleen Falk, former county executive of Dane County (Madison); Kathleen Vinehout, a state senator; and Secretary of State Doug LaFollette. Two others are seriously considering running: Tom Barrett, mayor of Milwaukee and Walker’s opponent in the 2010 governor’s race, and Peter Barca, minority leader in the state assembly. The recall election will be June 5.

Falk earned the early endorsement of the state’s major unions. Of the current candidates, she has issued the strongest statements about the need to restore collective bargaining rights. Other candidates have not made pledges to restore collective bargaining, and have in fact distanced themselves from pro-union stances, in what they see as an attempt to increase their statewide electability—which places increased strain on the relationship between unions and Democrats.

Though Vinehout’s background as a rural Wisconsin farmer makes her appealing to more moderate voters, she has a progressive streak, including a fierce defense of the state’s public health care plan. Barrett, who has already lost in a statewide election to Walker once, is a weak supporter of labor at best, and will likely build his campaign on opposition to unions. This mirrors Walker’s own efforts to paint Falk as an undemocratic stooge of big labor. Democrats are in the wary position of both needing unions for support and needing distance from unions for widespread appeal.

The “union issue” is a critical one: how much is the recall about unions? And, more broadly, how much is the recall about justice for the people of Wisconsin? Removing Walker is necessary for the basic survival of workers, but removing him does not in itself guarantee improved conditions. After all, Democratic Governor Jim Doyle, Walker’s predecessor, imposed plenty of his own cuts to workers and public services.

To Endorse, or Not

One union, the 2,700-member Teaching Assistants’ Association, Local 3220 AFT at the University of Wisconsin, is hotly debating this question. At TAA’s membership meeting February 23, members voted to adopt a set of criteria necessary to endorse a recall candidate. TAA would not endorse any candidate who doesn’t state an intent to repeal all of Act 10—which would mean not only reinstating collective bargaining rights but also restoring cuts to wages and benefits (about a 9 percent pay cut) and cuts to public services. These cuts include removing 53,000 people from BadgerCare, the state health care program, and $1.6 billion in cuts to public education.

While Falk has declared she will restore collective bargaining rights, she is less aggressive about restoring the cuts to workers, calling on a need for “shared sacrifice.” Yet Falk has issued no call for closing corporate tax breaks, instituting a millionaires tax, or other means to create more evenly distributed wealth. She has bragged about bargaining concessions from her employees when she was Dane county executive, including at a meeting with TAA members. Under the recently passed criteria, the union could not endorse her campaign or any other’s.

This poses a serious strategic question: Does TAA stand for its greater vision or does it bend to the urgency of the current situation? The public feeling about the recall is so strong that many TAA members want to abandon any criteria for endorsement in order to support the pro-union candidate. The resolution will be re-voted on.

The debate has sparked discussion among the ranks of other unions who are concerned about the early endorsement of Falk. While the need to remove Walker cannot be overstated, many are concerned that recall alone is not enough. Removing him does not guarantee the restoration—much less expansion—of public services funding. Restoring cuts to wages, benefits, and public services may seem like demanding the impossible, but many TAA members argue that, after all, these funding levels existed just one year ago.

Though “recall” has rhetorical power, it doesn’t adequately describe the outrage at injustice that spurred last year’s mobilization, and it cannot sustain the energy, creativity, and solidarity that fueled the fight. Nor does it capture the demands for alternative solutions: closing Wisconsin’s corporate tax loopholes, increasing jobs, expanding public education and affordable health care, and bringing back the high-speed rail plan thwarted by Walker.

Pushing the envelope is a particular strength of the TAA, which led the initial charge to occupy the Capitol in February of last year. Members want to push candidates to reconsider their priorities, reminding the people of Wisconsin it’s not simply who we are fighting against but what we are fighting for.

Update: When TAA members revisited their resolution on March 20, they voted to rescind it—but also voted down a proposal to endorse Falk.

Eleni Schirmer is a member of the Teaching Assistants Association.

Source: Labor Notes

Letter From Senator Ron Johnson

Recently I contacted our Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson regarding legislation affecting Postal and other Federal Workers. It is strongly apparent that he is walking lockstep with our favorite Representative from California Darrell Issa. Perhaps those Postal and Federal employees who voted incorrectly in the last election may want to save this letter and read it again while you are at the ballot box? (If that is supposed to be my average salary – where are the rest of my checks?)

John Durben, Editor APWU of WI

Read Letter…

Contact Your Member of the House Today!

When Congress comes back into session right after Labor Day both Houses of Congress are going to be looking at revamping the Postal Service and/or fixing billions in FERS and CSRS overpayments which have been made by the Postal Service. Many bills have already been introduced in both Houses of Congress taking aim at overhauling the Postal Service while others look to allow access to billions in overpayments made by the Postal Service into both FERS and CSRS retirement funds. Multiple legislators have polarizing views as to how to fix the Postal Service and the USPS’s financial problems.

The APWU are asking our members to reach out and urge their member of Congress to cosponsor and support Congressman Lynch’s H.R. 1351, which will let the USPS use billions of dollars in CSRS and FERS overpayments to meet its financial obligations. Unlike, other bills that address the pension overpayments, H.R. 1351 will not attack the rights of workers to collectively bargain.
Also, tell your member of Congress to oppose Congressman Issa’s H.R. 2309. Rep. Darrell Issa’s H.R. 2309 does not correct the massive USPS overpayments to its CSRS and FERS pension accounts. Congressman Issa’s bill will wage an attack on current negotiated wages, benefits, and protection against layoffs of postal workers.
What can you do to help? Contact your member of Congress today! You can reach your member of Congress by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard today at (202) 224-3121 or to find your member of congress click here.

If you have not already sent a quick message to your member of congress asking them to cosponsor H.R. 1351 and oppose H.R. 2309 take action today by clicking both of the links below.
To send your member of congress a quick message asking them to cosponsor and support H.R. 1351 please click here.

To send a quick message to your member of congress asking them to oppose Congressman Issa’s H.R. 2309 please click here.

Below you will find a list of those members of Congress who have not yet signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 1351. If you see your member of Congress listed below please reach out to them and ask that the cosponsor and support H.R. 1351.

 

Adams, Sandy    FL    24    R Aderholt, Robert    AL    04    R Akin, Todd    MO    02    R Alexander, Rodney    LA    05    R Amash, Justin    MI    03    R Austria, Steve    OH    07    R Bachmann, Michele    MN    06    R Bachus, Spencer    AL    06    R Baldwin, Tammy    WI    02    D Barletta, Lou    PA    11    R Barrow, John    GA    12    D Bartlett, Roscoe    MD    06    R Barton, Joe    TX    06    R Becerra, Xavier    CA    31    D Benishek, Dan    MI    01    R Berg, Rick    ND    AL    R Biggert, Judy    IL    13    R Bilbray, Brian    CA    50    R Bilirakis, Gus    FL    09    R Bishop, Sanford    GA    02    D Black, Diane    TN    06    R Blackburn, Marsha    TN    07    R Boehner, John    OH    08    R Bonner, Josiah    AL    01    R Bono Mack, Mary    CA    45    R Boustany, Charles    LA    07    R Brady, Kevin    TX    08    R Brooks, Mo    AL    05    R Broun, Paul    GA    10    R Brown, Corrine    FL    03    D Buchanan, Vern    FL    13    R Bucshon, Larry    IN    08    R Buerkle, Ann Marie    NY    25    R Burgess, Michael    TX    26    R Burton, Dan    IN    05    R Calvert, Ken    CA    44    R Camp, David    MI    04    R Campbell, John    CA    48    R Canseco, Francisco    TX    23    R Cantor, Eric    VA    07    R Capito, Shelley    WV    02    R Carney, John    DE    AL    D Cassidy, William    LA    06    R Chabot, Steve    OH    01    R Chaffetz, Jason    UT    03    R Christensen, Donna    VI    DL    D Clyburn, James    SC    06    D Coble, Howard    NC    06    R Coffman, Mike    CO    06    R Cole, Thomas    OK    04    R Conaway, Michael    TX    11    R Cooper, Jim    TN    05    D Cravaack, Chip    MN    08    R Crawford, Eric    AR    01    R Crenshaw, Ander    FL    04    R Cuellar, Henry    TX    28    D Culberson, John    TX    07    R Davis, Geoffrey    KY    04    R DeFazio, Peter    OR    04    D Denham, Jeff    CA    19    R DesJarlais, Scott    TN    04    R Diaz-Balart, Lincoln    FL    21    R Dicks, Norman    WA    06    D Dold, Robert    IL    10    R Donnelly, Joseph    IN    02    D Dreier, David    CA    26    R Duffy, Sean    WI    07    R Duncan, Jeff    SC    03    R Duncan, John    TN    02    R Ellmers, Renee    NC    02    R Farenthold, Blake    TX    27    R Fincher, Stephen    TN    08    R Flake, Jeffrey    AZ    06    R Fleischmann, Charles    TN    03    R Fleming, John    LA    04    R Flores, Bill    TX    17    R Forbes, J.    VA    04    R Fortenberry, Jeffrey    NE    01    R Foxx, Virginia    NC    05    R Franks, Trent    AZ    02    R Frelinghuysen, Rodney    NJ    11    R Gallegly, Elton    CA    24    R Gardner, Cory    CO    04    R Garrett, Scott    NJ    05    R Gibbs, Bob    OH    18    R Gibson, Chris    NY    20    R Giffords, Gabrielle    AZ    08    D Gingrey, Phil    GA    11    R Gohmert, Louie    TX    01    R Goodlatte, Robert    VA    06    R Gosar, Paul    AZ    01    R Gowdy, Trey    SC    04    R Granger, Kay    TX    12    R Graves, Samuel    MO    06    R Graves, Tom    GA    09    R Griffin, Tim    AR    02    R Griffith, Morgan    VA    09    R Guinta, Franklin    NH    01    R Guthrie, Brett    KY    02    R Hall, Ralph    TX    04    R Harper, Gregg    MS    03    R Harris, Andy    MD    01    R Hartzler, Vicky    MO    04    R Hastings, Richard    WA    04    R Hayworth, Nan    NY    19    R Heck, Joseph    NV    03    R Hensarling, Jeb    TX    05    R Herger, Wally    CA    02    R Herrera Beutler, Jaime    WA    03    R Hoyer, Steny    MD    05    D Huelskamp, Tim    KS    01    R Huizenga, Bill    MI    02    R Hultgren, Randy    IL    14    R Hunter, Duncan    CA    52    R Hurt, Robert    VA    05    R Issa, Darrell    CA    49    R Johnson, Bill    OH    06    R Johnson, Samuel    TX    03    R Johnson, Timothy    IL    15    R Jordan, Jim    OH    04    R Kelly, Mike    PA    03    R Kind, Ron    WI    03    D King, Steve    IA    05    R Kingston, Jack    GA    01    R Kinzinger, Adam    IL    11    R Kline, John    MN    02    R Labrador, Raul    ID    01    R

Lamborn, Doug    CO    05    R Landry, Jeff    LA    03    R Lankford, James    OK    05    R Larsen, Rick    WA    02    D Latta, Robert    OH    05    R Lewis, Jerry    CA    41    R Lewis, John    GA    05    D Long, Billy    MO    07    R Lucas, Frank    OK    03    R Luetkemeyer, Blaine    MO    09    R Lummis, Cynthia    WY    AL    R Lungren, Daniel    CA    03    R Mack, Connie    FL    14    R Manzullo, Donald    IL    16    R Marchant, Kenneth    TX    24    R Matheson, James    UT    02    D McCarthy, Kevin    CA    22    R McCaul, Michael    TX    10    R McClintock, Tom    CA    04    R McCotter, Thaddeus    MI    11    R McDermott, Jim    WA    07    D McHenry, Patrick    NC    10    R McKeon, Howard    CA    25    R McKinley, David    WV    01    R McMorris Rodgers, Cathy    WA    05    R Mica, John    FL    07    R Miller, Brad    NC    13    D Miller, Candice    MI    10    R Miller, Gary    CA    42    R Miller, Jeff    FL    01    R Moore, Gwendolynne    WI    04    D Mulvaney, Mick    SC    05    R Murphy, Tim    PA    18    R Myrick, Sue    NC    09    R Neugebauer, Randy    TX    19    R Noem, Kristi    SD    AL    R Nugent, Richard    FL    05    R Nunes, Devin    CA    21    R Nunnelee, Alan    MS    01    R Olson, Pete    TX    22    R Palazzo, Steven    MS    04    R Paul, Ronald    TX    14    R Paulsen, Erik    MN    03    R Pearce, Stevan    NM    02    R Pelosi, Nancy    CA    08    D Pence, Michael    IN    06    R Petri, Thomas    WI    06    R Pitts, Joseph    PA    16    R Poe, Ted    TX    02    R Pompeo, Mike    KS    04    R Posey, Bill    FL    15    R Price, David    NC    04    D Price, Thomas    GA    06    R Quayle, Ben    AZ    03    R Rahall, Nick    WV    03    D Reed, Tom    NY    29    R Rehberg, Dennis    MT    AL    R Reichert, David    WA    08    R Renacci, Jim    OH    16    R Ribble, Reid    WI    08    R Rigell, Scott    VA    02    R Rivera, David    FL    25    R Roby, Martha    AL    02    R Roe, David    TN    01    R Rogers, Harold    KY    05    R Rogers, Michael    AL    03    R Rogers, Michael    MI    08    R Rohrabacher, Dana    CA    46    R Rokita, Todd    IN    04    R Rooney, Thomas    FL    16    R Roskam, Peter    IL    06    R Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana    FL    18    R Ross, Dennis    FL    12    R Royce, Edward    CA    40    R Ruppersberger, C.A.    MD    02    D Ryan, Paul    WI    01    R Scalise, Steve    LA    01    R Schilling, Robert    IL    17    R Schmidt, Jeannette    OH    02    R Schock, Aaron    IL    18    R Schweikert, David    AZ    05    R Scott, Austin    GA    08    R Scott, David    GA    13    D Scott, Tim    SC    01    R Sensenbrenner, Jim    WI    05    R Sessions, Pete    TX    32    R Shimkus, John    IL    19    R Shuster, William    PA    09    R Simpson, Michael    ID    02    R Smith, Adrian    NE    03    R Smith, D. Adam    WA    09    D Smith, Lamar    TX    21    R Southerland, Steve    FL    02    R Stearns, Clifford    FL    06    R Stivers, Steve    OH    15    R Stutzman, Marlin    IN    03    R Sullivan, John    OK    01    R Terry, Lee    NE    02    R Thompson, Bennie    MS    02    D Thompson, Glenn    PA    05    R Thornberry, Mac    TX    13    R Tiberi, Patrick    OH    12    R Tipton, Scott    CO    03    R Turner, Michael    OH    03    R Upton, Frederick    MI    06    R Vacant    NV    02    R Vacant    NY    09    D Vacant    OR    01    D Van Hollen, Chris    MD    08    D Walberg, Tim    MI    07    R Walden, Gregory    OR    02    R Walsh, Joe    IL    08    R Watt, Melvin    NC    12    D Waxman, Henry    CA    30    D Webster, Daniel    FL    08    R West, Allen    FL    22    R Westmoreland, Lynn    GA    03    R Whitfield, Edward    KY    01    R Wilson, Joe    SC    02    R Wittman, Robert    VA    01    R Wolf, Frank    VA    10    R Womack, Steve    AR    03    R Woodall, Rob    GA    07    R Yoder, Kevin    KS    03    R Young, C.W.    FL    10    R Young, Todd    IN    09    R

Source: APWU E-TEAM

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on

“Gang of Six” Plan
July 20, 2011

Both parties keep telling us that deficit reduction requires “tough choices” and “shared sacrifice” and “taking on sacred cows.”  But then we keep seeing bipartisan support for plans like the so-called “Gang of Six” that cut Social Security benefits, kill jobs, give tax incentives for corporations to export good jobs overseas, tax health benefits, and lower tax rates for billionaires and corporations.  There’s no shared sacrifice here.  The only sacred cows being gored are working people, the middle class, seniors and the poor.  Though the plan is very specific when it comes to spelling out tax cuts for rich people, there are still a lot of blanks to be filled in.  Even so, we’ve seen enough to know that there is nothing here for working people.  We need to keep asking our leaders: “Who got us into this mess?”  It wasn’t working people.  The people who got us into this mess are getting off scot-free, and this Gang of Six proposal shows they have accomplices in both parties.

Now is the Time to Contact Your Legislators!

On Thursday and Friday of last week a small but dedicated crew stuffed, stamped, and labeled 4000 letters to be sent out to all members of the APWU of Wisconsin. Included in this mailing is a letter for our members to sign and a stamped and addressed envelope for them to mail the letter in to their congressional representative. As local leaders your job is to make sure they mail it in. Please contact all of your stewards and tell them to remind members to send in their congressional letter. They should do this on the workroom floor and at service talks. You should also do follow ups with your representative to get them to cosponsor HR1351. No one else will do this for us. It is up to you to make sure this gets done.

Thanks,

Steve Lord, President - APWU of Wisconsin

Webmeister Note: If you are an APWU member and have not receive the aforementioned letter, you can contact President Lord at the following email address:  Steve Lord  lordsa@charter.net or at:

PO Box 2371
Oshkosh, WI 54903
Cell 920-279-0638

Legislators Must Apply Pension Overpayments to Pre-Funding Bill

APWU News Bulletin 09-2011, May 17, 2011

Guffey to Senate Subcommittee:

In testimony before a Senate Subcommittee on May 17, APWU President Cliff Guffey urged legislators to take immediate action to restore financial stability to the cash-strapped agency.

“This is not a request for a subsidy or bailout of the Postal Service,” Guffey said at the hearing before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security.

“The Postal Service is very capable of dealing with the challenges it is facing because of declining mail volumes and a shift to electronic transmissions,” the union president said. “What it cannot sustain is the burden of the unique and unreasonable requirement that it pre-fund its retiree health benefits over a 10-year period.” No other government agency or private company bears this burden.

The hearing was called to examine management plans and legislative proposals to address the USPS financial crisis, including an updated version of a bill introduced last year by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), chairman of the subcommittee.

A Mixed Bag

Guffey praised provisions of Sen. Carper’s “POST Act” that would permit the USPS to use overpayments to its pension accounts to meet the pre-funding obligations, noting they would “give the Postal Service more than $5 billion in breathing room each year.”

But he also criticized several negative aspects of the bill. The proposed legislation would give the Postal Service authority to close post offices solely for financial reasons, and would require arbitrators to consider the financial health of the USPS when contract negotiations end in arbitration, he pointed out.

Guffey objected to proposals to allow management greater freedom to close small post offices, saying consideration must be given to the availability of postal services in these communities.

“We are sensitive to the cost and the possibility of deficits in small postal offices,” the union president added. “In our new National Agreement, we have agreed to flexible schedules and to the use of lower-wage and temporary workers in small facilities where such savings might increase the viability of small postal facilities.” Cutting service is not the answer to USPS financial difficulties, Guffey said.

Postal Workers Get the Blame

The union president also expressed the APWU’s “unalterable opposition” to proposals that would change the standards for arbitration when contract negotiations end in an impasse.

“The draft legislation we have seen would destroy the fairness of postal bargaining in several ways: It would put an arbitrary time limit on interest arbitration; it would make postal employees pay the price for congressionally-caused deficits employees have been powerless to prevent or alleviate, and it would place a cap on increases in postal wages.

“These provisions would gut free collective bargaining by postal employees, and the APWU is adamantly opposed to them,” Guffey said.

The APWU appreciates Sen. Carper’s leadership is addressing the pre-funding requirement and the overfunding of postal pension funds, Guffey said. “We will help in any way we can to support sensible legislation that does not seek to address postal financial problems at the expense of postal employees.”

APWU members are encouraged to contact their local legislators and urge them to support bills to correct the USPS financial crisis. “We must make legislative action a priority,” Guffey said.

Wisconsin Labor Jams Capitol To Resist Governor’s Attacks

Howard Ryan |  February 16, 2011

Wisconsin’s new Republican governor inadvertently issued a wake-up call to the state’s labor movement by announcing legislation February 11 that would crush public employee unions.

Scott Walker made the proposals just two days after similar measures were unveiled in Ohio.

Wisconsin’s labor movement and allies mobilized three days of emergency rallies in Madison, the state capital, ahead of an expected vote in the legislature February 17. Thirty thousand drumming, chanting protesters descended on the Capitol February 16. Some made plans to camp out there that night.

Building trades members planned to set up a grilling operation to feed bratwurst to workers and students there.

Madison schools had closed that day when about half the teachers called in sick. About 800 Madison high school students walked out of class and marched to join protests. University of Wisconsin students, who had planned an action around university funding, turned instead to workers’ rights and brought an estimated 1,000 protesters to the Capitol.

A thousand teachers and supporters stopped traffic as they walked from Wisconsin AFL-CIO headquarters to Walker’s house near Milwaukee. Two hundred protesters turned out when the governor spoke in Eau Claire.

A massive phonebanking and door-knocking campaign urged voters to contact the more moderate Republicans in the state senate. In the face of such massive resistance, Republican legislators signaled a willingness to back off late Wednesday.

A PART OF HISTORY

Jim Cavanaugh, president of Madison’s 90,000-member South Central Federation of Labor, described an outpouring of solidarity. An AFL-CIO news conference brought private sector union leaders to declare their support for embattled public employee unions.

In an email, Dave Poklinkoski, president of a utility workers local, said, “The breadth and depth of the solidarity at these rallies is beyond anything witnessed in Madison in living memory.” He invited friends to come “be a part of history.”

Walker would eliminate collective bargaining for public employees on all matters except wages. Any wage increase surpassing the consumer price index would have to be approved by voters. His plan calls for state employees to contribute much more to their pensions and health insurance costs—the equivalent of an 8 percent pay cut.

For good measure, Walker added that he had briefed the National Guard, so it would be ready to address any potential disruption of services caused by union protests. A veterans group slammed the governor, asking if he understood the military is not a “personal intimidation force to be mobilized to quash political dissent.” A spokesman later said soldiers would only replace prison guards.

Police and firefighter unions would be exempt from the new law. Both of Milwaukee’s uniformed unions endorsed Walker’s gubernatorial bid last year, leaving other unionists in the state muttering about backroom deals. But firefighters, to great applause, joined the throngs descending on the Capitol.

‘BUDGET REPAIR’

Walker is selling his anti-bargaining proposal as part of a “Budget Repair Bill” aimed at addressing the state’s immediate $136 million deficit as well as a larger deficit of $3.6 billion projected for the next two-year budget cycle. He says his proposals on health and pension contributions would save $30 million and help avert wide layoffs of state employees.

But AFSCME Council 24 points out that state employees have already sacrificed for years, taking unpaid furlough days and heavier workloads. Late last year, they offered a contract containing $100 million in concessions—an offer legislators rejected and the governor ignores.

The Economic Policy Institute think-tank said Wisconsin public employees actually earn 5 percent less in wages and benefits than private-sector counterparts, when workers with similar experience and education levels are compared.

Much of the governor’s proposal does not concern the state budget at all, but serves to cripple public employee unions. It would prohibit collecting member dues through payroll deductions and end any requirement that employees pay union dues at all. It would require union bargaining units to hold an annual certification vote in order to maintain representation.

Cavanaugh believes Walker may have overreached politically and that, assuming the immediate threat can be turned back, the labor movement can reap benefits.

“We’re getting a lot of people off their butts, seeing what these right-wing fanatics are capable of,” he said. “We’re achieving more union solidarity than we’ve seen in a long time.”

SOURCE: LABORnotes