Labor Union Blog

Economic Report:

How does the country’s former Federal Reserve chairman feel we should handle the mortgage crisis? Alan Greenspan says throw money at the problem. The former chairman told ABC’s “This Week” that creating a larger budget deficit should be the least of the governments concerns as throwing a cash pillow under mortgage borrowers and creating a short term fiscal problem would be much less damaging to the economy than the current solution – freezing the prices of homes and interest rates. Greenspan’s approach runs counter to that of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

By Doug Cunningham

The Communications Workers of America and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to provide for a full review process of the comments made to proposed revisions to the newspaper-broadcast ownership rule, changes proposed by Chairman Kevin Martin. The unions want an open process including a 90-day comment period to help resolve issues of localism and women and minority ownership of broadcast media.

It could be a cold winter for 400,000 Ohioans. Jesse Russell reports:

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting grim news for the 400,000 Ohioans that depend on the Home Energy Assistance Program to help offset heating fuel costs. With winter just starting Ohio has already begun exhausting the funds set aside due to rising fuel costs for propane and heating oil users. The program sets aside $37 million dollars for the entire winter and it has already burned through more than half. Ohio isn’t alone in the chilly plight. State fuel assistance program directors across the United States have been waiting to see if their calls for the President to increase funding for the federal Energy Assistance Program by $1 billion. So far those calls have fallen on deaf ears as President Bush has responded by instead threatening to slash the funding by 44 percent. If that happens it could eliminate assistance for at the least 1.1 million households across the country. What happens if households can’t pay? Vermont is the only one state in the union that protects oil and propane customers from being disconnected if they can’t pay the costs.

By Doug Cunningham

Swing voters in the 2008 presidential election are focused on issues like affordable health care, good jobs with wages that can support families, secure retirement and real economic opportunity for the next generation. That’s according to Lake Research partners, based on polling they’ve done for the Change To Win labor federation. This strong voter focus could produce the most significant political change since 1980, according to Change To Win. Pollster Celinda Lake says voters overwhelmingly believe that the American Dream is in jeopardy. And she says there’s been a broad paradigm shift toward the basic working family values embedded in the American Dream concept.

The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work. Here are a few recent items from the week of Dec. 10–14.

WORK STOPPAGES

CNA/NNOC, Sutter Health: The California Nurses Association (CNA/NNOC) went on a second two-day strike Dec. 13 at San Francisco Bay Area hospitals operated by Sutter Health Systems. Nurses, frustrated with negotiations that stalled over nurse-patient staffing ratios and retirement issues, struck 13 Sutter Health and two Fremont-Rideout hospitals in Northern California Oct. 10–11. Sutter Health officials have publicized plans to hire replacement workers for longer than two days and lock out participating nurses for the remaining time.

In November, we reported that the Arizona AFL-CIO was calling on union members to economically boycott the city of Nogales, Ariz., after the City Council voted, 4–3, to take away the rights of city employees to have union dues deducted from their paychecks and to withdraw recognition of the union.