 | | Denis Hughes, President | Ed Donnelly, Director | June 29, 2009
| Issue Twenty
| President's Message Regular Session Falls Short on Labor Agenda
One of the favorite sayings of President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Immanuel is “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. Unfortunately, in terms of passing labor oriented bills to help working families in New York State, we have done just that in the 2009 regular legislative session. The shortcomings of this year are not just of note for union members, but all working men and women who rely on government to keep the playing field level between the extremely powerful corporate interests and ordinary, working people. The failure to enact an unemployment insurance increase and indexation is the primary example of this, but the list is almost too large to cover in one newsletter.
The Governor has still not put forth an alternative to the NYS AFL-CIO unemployment insurance increase proposal, despite promises to do so, and the Legislature has also not passed a decent unemployment benefit increase. This colossal failure is keeping federal funding out of the hands of working men and women and flies in the face of everything that the Obama Administration has attempted to do to address unemployment and stimulate the economy at the grass roots.
The failure to rein in Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) and create real wage standards for businesses and not-for-profits that get IDA funding is another example. IDAs hand away $600 million annually in tax breaks to business and this does not include the bonding and construction assistance that IDAs give away at taxpayer expense. Yet IDAs continue to operate with no wage requirements, driving down the wage base and the end result is government subsidized poverty wage jobs.
The Governor continues to rail against high property taxes. Yet his proposals to deal with the problem are to attack the pensions of public employees, cut education and health care aid, and further erode important labor programs like competitive bidding and prevailing wage laws. Yet there is no similar attempt to take on businesses that accept IDA funds but do not pay their own property taxes and rarely meet their job creation targets.
The attack on the pensions of working men and women is yet another example. In fact the nearly fanatical quest for a new Tier 5 ended up being the very reason it did not pass. Even with the willingness of most unions to discuss this issue, it takes fair, methodical negotiations where the needs of all unions are addressed to enact any meaningful changes.
Finally, the failure to address our structural, long term revenue problem in this year’s budget will mean more pain in next year’s budget. Again, failure to enact a coherent plan will lead to more draconian cuts in construction, education, health care, transportation, worker protection programs and many other issues that working families rely on.
As always, the NYS AFL-CIO stands ready to work with the Governor and Legislature to address the problems that working New Yorkers face as we assess this year and move forward. We hope that the Governor and Legislature will assess some too.
Denis M. Hughes Call to Action YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED IF THERE IS A NEED FOR A LABOR LOBBYIST MEETING
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! Issue of the Week The NYS AFL-CIO along with the Public Employees Federation opposes the following legislation :
A1039 McEneny/S396 Breslin
An Act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to authorizing a pilot residential parking permit system in the City of Albany and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof.
This bill would authorize the City of Albany to create a system of restricted parking in which parking on the public streets would be limited only to those possessing a permit as a resident of that neighborhood. We believe that the public streets are, and should remain, open to use by all of our citizens. They should not be restricted to use by a small group for any purpose including parking.
Parking problems exist in Albany as in many cities. But this is not a new development. Current residents moved into their residences well aware of the neighborhood conditions. They implicitly accepted the bad and the good of an urban environment, including limited parking. Restricting parking to residents only would inconvenience many other citizens and could have very negative impacts on small businesses in the city. Keep An Eye On July 7-8, 2009
Utica, NY - NYS Professional Firefighters Annual Convention
Thursday, July 30, 2009
NYS AFL-CIO Cope “Day at the Races”Saratoga Race Course “At the Pavilion”, 11:30 am- 6:00 pm
For further information contact Legislative Department at:518-436-8516 or edonnelly@nysaflcio.org Copyright 2009 New York State AFL-CIO All Rights Reserved
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NYS AFL-CIO Events Annual Labor Celebration
December 16, 2010
Sheraton NY Hotel & Towers
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Support Haitian
Relief Efforts Haiti is a scene of unimaginable devastation and human tragedy today. The NYS AFL-CIO is asking our affiliates to do all they can to help Haitians survive Tuesday’s massive earthquake.
Donations can be made to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center Emergency Relief Fund to ensure that assistance reaches workers and their families. You may write checks payable to: Solidarity Center Education Fund
888 16th Street, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006
Please note in memo line: “Earthquake Relief for Haitian Worker Fund”
The Solidarity Center and its partners are ready to assist Haitian workers and their families in any way possible. Please contribute what you can to the Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers campaign. Updates on the relief efforts will be posted at
http://www.solidaritycenter.org
Thank you for your life-saving generosity.
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Ethically Speaking...Introducing a new monthly segment written by Chalmers Clark, PhD, focusing on ethical considerations in conversations about our work and positive values that organized labor strengthens in American society. In our last issue of Ethically Speaking... we took the doctrine of employment-at-will (EAW) and put it under the ethical lens of justice. We then brought the concept down to its roots in everyday notions such as 'fairness' and 'even handed treatment' or 'an even playing field'. (full story)
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Unemployment Resources
If you're out of work, you're not alone. In December, 2009, the unemployment in the United States remained at 10 percent, while in New York State it climbed to 9 percent. America's working families deserve better.
Increase Unemployment Benefits NOW!
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History of the NYS AFL-CIO The New York State AFL-CIO has a rich and proud history, which is deeply embedded in labor's continuous struggle for dignity and economic and social justice. This history is the story of the State Federation and its predecessor federations dating to 1865. Click here to view the full history of the NYS AFL-CIO
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