Candidate Mitt Romney
makes
more in one day than
the average American makes in a year, all while paying
a lower rate than millions of middle class Americans.
All
workers deserve decent wages, health care, and a secure
retirement. That’s what AFSCME stands for, that’s what
unions stand for, and that’s what the 99 percent stand for.
Council 5 is supplying locals with winter-proof lawn signs so
you can demonstrate that those are values you stand for, too.
To
get a sign contact your Local 34 union President.
"You must be
the change you wish to see in the world!" ~ Mohandas Karamachand
Gandhi
The
next stealth attack by tea-party Republicans is their attempt to
add a “right to work (for less)” amendment to the state
constitution. This misleading proposal protects no rights,
creates no jobs, drags down workers’ pay by $5,500 a year,
destroys collective bargaining, and undermines unions. It is
wrong for Minnesota.
"We can either settle for a
country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a
growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy
where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and
everyone plays by the same set of rules."
President
Barack Obama
We Can't Win
2012
State of the Union
President Obama delivered his State of the Union and laid
out his plan for an economy built on American manufacturing,
American energy, new skills for American workers, and a renewal
of American values.
• Since
the last State of the Union, the economy has created 1.9 million
private sector jobs.
• The top
1 percent take home 24 percent of the nation’s income, up from
about 9 percent in 1976.
• Private
sector job creation under Obama in 2011 was larger than seven
out of the eight years Bush was president.
• The top
1 percent of Americans own 40 percent of our country’s wealth
while the bottom 80 percent owns only 7 percent.
• Thanks
to the Affordable Care Act, 2.5 million young adults gained
health insurance.
• For
every one job opening, there are four people looking for
work.
• Last
year, China spent 9 percent of its GDP on infrastructure. The
U.S. spent 2.5 percent.
• 2.65
million seniors saved an average of $569 on prescriptions last
year thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
• “In
2011, the United States killed Al Qaeda’s most effective
propagandist, Anwar al-Awlaki; its operating chief, Atiyah Abd
al-Rahman; and of course its founder, chief executive and
spiritual leader, Osama bin Laden.”
• Union
membership is at a 70-year low.
•
Unemployment benefits have lifted 3.2 million people out of
poverty.
• The
United States used to have the world’s largest percentage of
college graduates. We’re now #14.
• One
quarter of all contributions to federal campaigns come from 0.01
percent of Americans.
• 47.8
percent of households that receive food stamps are working,
because having a job is not enough to keep them out of
poverty.
• In the
last three years, 30 major corporations spent more on lobbying
than they paid in taxes.
• 50
percent of U.S. workers make less than $26,364 per year.
• More
than one in 70 homes faced foreclosure last year.
• Oil and
gas jobs increased by 75,000 under President Obama.
• Since
1985, the federal tax rate for the 400 wealthiest Americans
dropped from 29 percent to 18 percent.
ThinkProgress’
Judd Legum rounded up these 19 essential facts we should know.
Theory
of Evolution! "When
businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like
squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it’s
the other way around.
It is
unquestionably true that without entrepreneurs and investors,
you can’t have a dynamic and growing capitalist economy. But
it’s equally true that without consumers, you can’t have
entrepreneurs and investors. And the more we have happy
customers with lots of disposable income, the better our
businesses will do.
That’s
why our current policies are so upside down. When the American
middle class defends a tax system in which the lion’s share of
benefits accrues to the richest, all in the name of job
creation, all that happens is that the rich get richer.
And
that’s what has been happening in the U.S. for the last 30
years.
Since 1980,
the share of the nation’s income for fat cats like me in the
top 0.1 percent has increased a shocking 400 percent, while the
share for the bottom 50 percent of Americans has declined 33
percent. At the same time, effective tax rates on the
superwealthy fell to 16.6 percent in 2007, from 42 percent at
the peak of U.S. productivity in the early 1960s, and about 30
percent during the expansion of the 1990s. In my case, that
means that this year, I paid an 11 percent rate on an
eight-figure income.
One reason
this policy is so wrong-headed is that there can never be enough
superrich Americans to power a great economy. The annual
earnings of people like me are hundreds, if not thousands, of
times greater than those of the average American, but we don’t
buy hundreds or thousands of times more stuff. My family owns
three cars, not 3,000. I buy a few pairs of pants and a few
shirts a year, just like most American men. Like everyone else,
I go out to eat with friends and family only occasionally."
*****Nick
Hanauer
Support
Indiana Workers!
First
it was Wisconsin, then Ohio, and now it’s Indiana.
Deep pocketed corporate interests, including Wal-Mart, in an
effort to destroy unions and workers’ rights, are pushing
right-wing legislators to ram through a Right-to-Work for less
bill. The
record shows that Right-to-Work laws have not only not created
jobs, but have actually eliminated them, have lowered wages and
benefits, and have increased unsafe working conditions.
Fortunately Democrats in the Indiana House and Senate are doing
everything they can to stop this attack on working families.
They need your support now! Please,
Click Here to sign the petition in support of lawmakers who are
standing for workers’ rights in Indiana.If we are to stop this blatant attack on working people
and workers’ rights, we need to do everything we can to show
support for Democratic lawmakers showing their courage in
opposing this bill.
Indiana's
governor needs a fact checker as he spins the truth about anti-union
so-called 'Right To Work' laws. The new position from Daniels is in
stark contrast to comments he made in 2006 when he told Teamsters he
opposed Right-to-Work.
Union
Plus Scholarship Deadline - January 31st: Need
money for college? You could get a job wearing a
pirate’s hat and selling fish dinners to
tourists in T-shirts. Or you can apply for a
Union Plus scholarship. It’s a process that
just takes a few minutes. What you need to
apply: a union sponsor – you, your parent or
spouse who is or was a union member (make sure
the union
participates in Union Plus);
and acceptance in a U.S. accredited school. ust
last year, 130 union families received
scholarships ranging from $500 to $4,000. And 18
of those winners came from
AFSCME
families.
One scholarship recipient said, “This
scholarship enabled me to go to the school of my
dreams. I highly encourage any prospective
applicants to take advantage of this
opportunity.”
You’ve
got everything to gain. What you need to do:
Submit a letter of reference and an essay on
your career goals and community service. Fill
out the application
online.
Need to take a break? Don’t worry. You can
save your work and return later. But don’t
take too long. The deadline to submit is
Tuesday, January 31st.
Next
Wave Meets February 25th!
Council 5’s Next Wave – for ¬members
younger than 35 or so – will meet February
25th from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the South St. Paul
office, 300 Hardman Ave. South. Lunch will be
served.
Reservations
are required: Contact Amy
Johnson;
the reservation deadline is February 21st.
Local
34 Elections!
LaQuita Williams has been appointed as Nominations Chair for
this year's elections. Joe Weston was appointed as the Elections
Chair.
Nominations will be taken at the February 1st and March 7th
General Membership meetings.
Please note that our Constitution has been amended to
change terms of office from one to two year terms. To
effect that change, the following officers will be elected to a
one year term in 2011: President, 2nd Vice President, Financial
Secretary (Treasurer), Sergeant-at-Arms, Junior Chief Steward,
and three Executive Board Members-at-Large. These officers will
serve May 2011 – April 2012 with those positions up for
election for a two year term in 2012. The following officers
will be elected to a two year term in 2011: 1st Vice President,
Recording Secretary, Senior Chief Steward, Membership Secretary
and three Executive Board members-at-Large. These officers will
serve May 2011 – April 2013.Click
Here to read the 2012
Officer Election Notice
Day
on the Hill March 27th!
Registration is now open for AFSCME Council 5’s Day on the
Hill March 27th. Last
year, a record 1,500 AFSCME members ignited a
push that saved 5,000 jobs; stopped $1.5 billion
more in budget cuts; and defeated attacks on our
pay, pensions and health care. We expect the
same attacks this year – plus a new one that
threatens our very existence as a union. A
proposed “right to work for less” amendment
to the state constitution could cripple our
union and hurt every middle-class family in
Minnesota. It’s the same kind of anti-worker
bill we’ve seen in Wisconsin, Ohio and
elsewhere. To fight back, we again need a huge
turnout on March
27th. Details are
available online.
Local 34 will elect its delegates at the February General
Membership meeting.
Candidate Mitt Romney
Candidate Newt Gingrich claims entrepreneurship
is understood “by most of the Asians, partially by
Latinos,” and 
AFSCME LOCAL 34
1/26/2012
Theory
of Evolution! "When
businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like
squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it’s
the other way around.
Support
Indiana Workers!
Union
Plus Scholarship Deadline - January 31st: Need
money for college? You could get a job wearing a
pirate’s hat and selling fish dinners to
tourists in T-shirts. Or you can apply for a
Union Plus scholarship. It’s a process that
just takes a few minutes. What you need to
apply: a union sponsor – you, your parent or
spouse who is or was a union member (make sure
the 
Next
Wave Meets February 25th!
Council 5’s Next Wave – for ¬members
younger than 35 or so – will meet February
25th from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the South St. Paul
office, 300 Hardman Ave. South. Lunch will be
served.
Local
34 Elections!
Day
on the Hill March 27th!
Registration is now open for AFSCME Council 5’s Day on the
Hill March 27th. Last
year, a record 1,500 AFSCME members ignited a
push that saved 5,000 jobs; stopped $1.5 billion
more in budget cuts; and defeated attacks on our
pay, pensions and health care. We expect the
same attacks this year – plus a new one that
threatens our very existence as a union. A
proposed “right to work for less” amendment
to the state constitution could cripple our
union and hurt every middle-class family in
Minnesota. It’s the same kind of anti-worker
bill we’ve seen in Wisconsin, Ohio and
elsewhere. To fight back, we again need a huge
turnout on March
27th. Details are
available 
