FAIR AND BALANCED NEWS MEDIA ??  

I got one more gripe!!  Remember when the “News” was actually the News?  Nowadays, you have “well spoken” political figures editorializing on what they now call “the news”.  Then you have three to five analysts to dissect what was said and two more pundits to tell you what they really meant.  It’s simply not the news that is being reported but rather, some political view or agenda that is being furthered.  “Liberal Media”, another lie.  Ya know a well told lie three times, unrebutted becomes the truth.  Fox News, ultra right wing conservative Rupert Murdoch‘s bunch,  ABC Michael Iesner’s Disney, CBS Westinghouse Corp. and NBC belongs to General Electric.  All are worldwide corporations with global interests that promote a lot of things, but I can assure you  it ain’t no liberal agenda.   Then there’s the Limbaughs, Reagans, Savages, Hannitys, O’Riellys and hundreds more of the same (ad-nauseum), Liberals??  Not!!  Oh and one more thing,   never, ever  disagree with their positions or they will vilify you out of existence.    Control the Media and you influence Public Opinion -  “Check Mate”.  Power brokers win,  working families are simply “Collateral damage”!! 

                                    Steve Williams, Bus. Mgr.

ENJOY THE WEEKEND???

The assault on working families in America is full speed ahead. In spite of a war on terror, a war on Iraq and the worst economy since the Depression, the Bush administration still has time to vigorously and viciously attack working families here at home.

When you have unlimited amounts of money to spend you can hire the most effective spinmeisters available and make the worst of ideas and bills sound all warm and fuzzy. Most workers who still have jobs are too busy trying to make a living and those who don’t have jobs are too busy trying hopelessly to find one, to pay attention to or understand what is happening to them.  

Examples are the Family Time and Workplace Flexibility Act(Senate version) and the Family Time Flexibility Act(House version). These certainly sound like family-friendly bills, don't they? The proposed new rules would eliminate the 40 hour workweek and overtime and would affect 80 million workers now protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act. There goes the weekend. What’s left of it! But that’s nothing.  

When Republicans talk about “flexibility” it means letting business do whatever it wants while trouncing worker and consumer rights. Ever since FDR’s New Deal overtime means that a worker gets paid time-and-a-half his wages when working over 40 hours. This was to help hold the workweek down to 40 hours or close to it, thus providing time for workers to have and enjoy family activities. It is hypocritical for the Republicans, who claim to be so strong on “family values” to eliminate the opportunity for most regular working people to engage family activities. Not only do they want to take away the time, but also the income.  

These bills are filled with devious rules, such as reclassifying workers as managers to eliminate their overtime. Someone frying burgers at McDonald’s on the night shift could be making overtime. Suddenly he is the assistant manager and no raise and no overtime.

Another really bad one for middle income workers is to put a limit on income, above which you do not qualify for overtime. The bills also give employers the right to delay paying any wages for overtime or giving any “comp” time off for as long as 13 months, at the employer’s discretion.  

Of course, you will only be affected by these bills if you are fortunate enough to have a job, which is another subject. Over the past 58 years we have had positive job growth, until now. For 58 years, 10 Presidents both Republican and Democrat, throughout wars and economic downturn, this country still has had positive job growth.  

Until now the worst record was President Eisenhower’s 2^nd term, when his average was 15,000 lost jobs per month. The best record for average monthly job growth took place during both of President Clinton’s terms. The highest being a monthly job growth average of 242,000.  

Do you want to take a guess as to which President holds the worst record? George W. Bush has lost 2,000,000 jobs to date since he was “selected”. That works out to be a negative job growth of 69,000 lost jobs per month. He is the only modern President to achieve such an outstanding record.  

There is a seemingly endless list of acts, bills , rules and orders already in force or proposed which have a negative impact on our working families, elderly citizens and our children. They have dramatic effects on such core issues like health care and prescription drugs, education and the ability to earn a living wage. Others like the Patriot Act I and proposed Patriot Act II have very serious invasions of liberties and rights in the name of security. We all must pay attention to what is happening in Washington and Tallahassee .

                                    Bill Sweeney, Organizer

MEMBERS’ CORNER

Dates to Remember: