There has been a lot of talk this week about the surprising move by Walmart to publically support President Obama’s health care reform plan, supposedly positioning themselves as a
leader in the fight to bring health care to all Americans. As we mentioned in a post on our blog
yesterday, this might be easier to swallow if Walmart had any history of leading by example. Instead, they usually do just the opposite.
Given
Walmart’s long record of trying to build a positive
reputation on ineffective work-arounds to health care coverage
for employee, the recent revelations about sacrificing quality for cheap perescription drugs, and their deceptive PR campaign that severely overstated their workers’ health
care coverage, it’s not hard to understand our skepticism. [get the details in the extended entry]
One of the most consistent defenses of Walmart is that it has succeeded because it simply delivered what customers wanted and that if you don't like it, just don't shop there. But Firedoglake has a great piece up this week that explains how even the non-Walmart shoppers are not only affected by Walmart, but are actually paying in many ways to subsidize it:
With the troubled state of the U.S. auto industry and more than 1000 members on the out-of- work list for several years, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Detroit Local 58 Business manager Joe Abdoo challenged his staff to get "proactive and creative" and build some grassroots activism to reclaim lost market share. They heeded the call.
(During this economy it's tough to resist the low prices, but this is food for thought. - promoted by DianeS)
If you are, I'm sure the Chinese will be psyched.
Wake Up Walmart, who I'm working with, has a great new video up highlighting the perils of supporting the Bentonville behemoth.
In their quest to cut costs, Walmort outsources more and more jobs overseas. It's come to the point where 70% of Walmart products are now made in communist China. "In the race to the bottom, Walmart gets ahead and the middle class falls behind," the ad warns.
Walmart's hometown newspaper, the Northwest Arkansas Morning News, has an interesting article up today about Walmart executives meeting with 200 of their cronies at a conference and outlining their plans for 2009. It could be a watershed year for progressives, but the Bentonville behemoth has some plans of its own and they ain't pretty.
So I thought I'd go through each one of Walmart's plans and translate some of their PR spin – or wipe the lipstick off the pig, if you will. All stats and figures are compliments of WakeUpWalmart.com, with whom I do some work.
Many of us who live in our near Lansing have been tuned in to the controversial proposed deal to give developer Pat Gillespie millions of dollars in tax abatements to tear down the historic Lansing City Market along the Grand River and replace it with high-end condos and a newer, smaller City Market.
This issue has raised quite a bit of a stir, as the deal is opposed by many labor groups and historic preservationists. The giveaway is supported by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and developers.
In many ways, the City Market deal represents a larger issue, both in Michigan and throughout the nation. Should cities and the state give away huge chunks of money to private developers and firms with very few strings attached, particularly when it comes to labor issues? Shouldn't tax abatements have more strings attached to ensure economic investments stay within the community?
I wrote a column in today's (Lansing) City Pulse addressing the City Market issue, which is scheduled to be voted on by the Lansing City Council on Monday.
(Cross-posted from the AFL-CIO
Now Blog. The ad will air on markets in Michigan and other states.)
Today the AFL-CIO launched the Union Veterans Council, bringing together veterans and members of military families to hold our leaders accountable on the issues that matter most.
The launch of the Union Veterans Council will help mobilize the more than 2.1 million union members who
are veterans to get involved in the 2008 elections and fight for the health and education benefits they deserve. These veterans will speak out to advocate policies like a fully funded Veterans Affairs (VA) and the recently passed 21st Century GI Bill.
(The "Meet Barack Obama" site is pretty cool. - promoted by rich)
Cross-posted from the AFL-CIO Now Blog. Michigan will be a key state this fall, and Michigan's unions will make the difference.
The AFL-CIO today endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.
The AFL-CIO General Board, which voted to endorse Obama, includes presidents of all 56 unions in the AFL-CIO, as well as Executive Council members and representatives of state and local federations, trade departments and constituency groups. The General Board votes by per capita membership. In conjunction with the endorsement, the AFL-CIO launched a new website: Meet Barack Obama.
DETROIT --About 3,600 workers at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. will find out soon whether a new contract was worth 80 days without a company paycheck.
Bargainers for the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement with the company on Friday that could end a bitter strike against the auto parts maker that crippled dozens of General Motors Corp. factories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Every weeknight on Ebling and You, Jack Ebling touches on any and all issues related to Mid-Michigan. Thursday was no exception. Note: Just click on "talked" below to hear each audio segment.
Jack talked with the UAW's Local 602 President, Doug Rademacher, about the latest agreement between the United Auto Workers and General Motors at Lansing's Delta Township facility.
Jack talked health care with Karen Surdenik and Louis Jones-Keren from Ingham Regional Medical Center about the latest news from Healthwise University.
Jack talked with Jessica Yorko, from the Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council, about the effect of gas prices on local commuters and the upcoming Smart Commute Festival.
Jack talked with Michigan Attorney General spokesperson Rusty Hills, about their project to fight scams against Michigan seniors.
Finally, Jack talked to MSU football legend, John Shinsky, about the 24th Annual Father Mac Dinner to raise money for Shinsky's Mexican Orphnage and Lansing Catholic High School.
Read more about Shinsky, his orphanage and his life story by clicking HERE.
Jack talked Friday afternoon, with T.C. Wallace Jr., superintendent of the Lansing School District, for his first live radio interview after Friday's mass layoffs.
(This diary was inspired partly in response to sentiments expressed in the comments at this diary at DailyKos. The diary's author expresses frustration that the American Axle strike has been ignored by the mainstream media, the blogosphere, and the presidential candidates. In MichLib's defense, several American Axle stories have been posted in Coffee Talk, and the lack of front-and-center attention is in no way a reflection of us ignoring the strike. There has been so much going on in Michigan of late that we have not given the American Axle strike the coverage it has warranted, and this diary is an attempt to rectify that. Also, in fairness to the Detroit Free Press, their coverage of the strike has been fairly extensive, and they deserve credit for that.)
I have to confess that between the Kilpatrick saga, the renewable portfolio standards fight, the McManus clan's antics, the MPI Research announcement, Bishop's ongoing shenanigans, the National Day of Silence, the crumbling economy, the primary fight, and so much more, the American Axle strike has fallen off my radar screen, until now.
Headquartered in Detroit, American Axle was founded in 1994 when investors purchased the Final Drive and Forge business from GM's Flint operations. The company now manufactures drivetrain components at several facilities across the country, including eight facilities in Detroit, a forge operation in Oxford, a driveline facility in Three Rivers, and a technical center in Rochester Hills. Seventy-six percent of American Axle's business comes from General Motors.
This year when the UAW's American Axle contract came up for renegotiation, American Axle Holdings, Inc. saw it as an opportunity to reduce labor costs under pressure from GM. Unable to reach an agreement, 3600 American Axle workers walked off the job on February 26.
Monday, Jack covered labor unrest in and around Mid-Michigan.
First he spoke with Art Covert, president-elect of the MSU Graduate Employees Union, about Tuesday's proposed strike.
Next he talked to David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, about the latest dealings between the UAW and General Motors.
(Health Care: something other industrialized nations believe is a right, but the U.S. treats like a commodity. - promoted by rich)
Ann is a cancer survivor from Manchester, Mich. And like many others, she's faced enormous hurdles in our health care system.
I have cancer, active treatment with no remission in 6.5 years. Several times the most appropriate diagnostic scan has been PET, but for years it was not approved for the type of cancer I have. We had to sign that we would pay the hospital if insurance would not...each time it took months (typically 10) before they paid. Meanwhile we had to keep writing the hospital, too, to prevent bills going to a collection agency....The decision on appropriate tests should be up to my doctor, NOT the insurance company.
Unfortunately, Ann isn't alone. In Michigan, more than 1 million people are uninsured, while many of those who have insurance are denied coverage and face skyrocketing costs and shrinking benefits. Stories like Ann's come from around the state and around the country, as we've learned from the AFL-CIO 2008 Health Care for America Survey.
DETROIT, March 19 -- The following is a statement from Michigan Change to Win legislative chair Bill Black regarding the current discussion surrounding a Michigan revote. "The Change to Win coalition, representing 200,000 working families in Michigan believes that a delegation representing the voters of Michigan should be seated at the Democratic Convention this year. "Michigan Democratic Party leaders assured the Change to Win unions that any effort to bring about a new Democratic primary would be open and transparent and would not be tilted to the advantage of either the Clinton or Obama campaigns. Regrettably, we are learning that may not be the case. "As of Tuesday, only two of the seventeen Democratic state senators were supporting the hastily drafted legislation for a process to conduct a new primary. Many legitimate concerns need to be addressed including voter eligibility, insuring the integrity of an election conducted by an outside party, and the ethics of raising resources to pay for the election with money raised outside of Michigan by governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania who are actively campaigning for Sen. Clinton. "Further, the concern that the proposed legislation will disenfranchise many Democratic voters in Michigan who played by the rules and cast a vote in the Republican primary in January because their Democratic candidate was not on the ballot or because they were told the results wouldn't count, has yet to be addressed. Exit polls showed that 32 percent of those voting in the Republican primary were Democrats who would be disqualified from voting in the Democratic primary under the proposed legislation. "In Florida, when a group of elected Democratic officials, included supporters of both campaigns, could not reach a consensus the plans for a revote were ended. "Rather than an open and transparent process a pressure campaign has been mounted in Michigan. Senator Clinton is making an unplanned visit to Michigan and there are unprecedented efforts by Sen. Levin, D-Mich., Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick, D-Mich., United Auto Workers (UAW) president Ron Gettelfinger and GM executive Debbie Dingell to pressure Michigan Democratic state legislators to change their minds and support the legislation. "The Clinton campaign's legislation has won the support of a majority of Republicans in the State Senate and can pass with a minority of Democrats. In an election that only affects Democrats, this is clearly the wrong way to run a primary and it would be a mistake for party leaders to support it. "We call upon Sen. Levin, Rep. Kilpatrick, UAW President Gettelfinger and GM executive Debbie Dingell to end their lobbying efforts and instead work with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and both campaigns to reach a fair and equitable solution to the delegate impasse. We propose a serious discussion of a fair solution to end the debate and insure the seating of a full Michigan delegation with 50% of the delegation for each of the two major Democratic candidates." ** Note: Media representatives interested in scheduling an interview to discuss Michigan Change to Win's position on holding a revote should contact Noreen Nielsen at Noreen.nielsen@changetowin.org. ** About Change to Win Seven unions and six million workers united in Change to Win to build a new movement of working people equipped to meet the challenges of the global economy and restore the American Dream in the 21st century: a paycheck that can support a family, affordable health care, a secure retirement and dignity on the job. The seven partner unions are: International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Laborers' International Union of North America, Service Employees International Union, UNITE HERE, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Farm Workers of America, and United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
I just read the linked article now. I admit that hadn't read it before. And I can see how someone reading the article could believe that a RTW campaign was being planned, organized, and such.
But if you re-read the article, Gaffney is the only one talking about a (perceived) planned campaign. Ken Braun of the Mackinac Center is talking about the legal timing constraints of any hypothetical ballot initiative. Ken Braun was my Chief of Staff when I was in the House for almost six years and I attended his 40th birthday party last night. I am not saying that I would be involved with any RTW drive, just that I would know about it.
I think the article was written in a way that does imply a campaign was closer to reality then any actually was.
P.S., I very rarely check Facebook anymore. I can only take so much social e-interaction.
Well, we can believe that Leon would know if someone was planning, organizing, and launching an effort to put right-to-work on the ballot. We can believe that because of this (must go below fold to find out what "this" is):
If they're looking for input (see bottom of article), let's flood them with support / advice / examples / whatever might help them actually enact this. It certainly can't hurt. There is a strong automotive/Michigan economy-specific motivation for doing so too. Many believe that part of the reason the Big 3 won't mass produce fuel-efficient vehicles, especially plug-in electric hybrids, is the real or perceived notion that 'there is no viable market' to warrant a large scale production ramp up for such vehicles. This could be the hard proof they need. Probably not. But again, it can't hurt.
Please check out (and feel free to borrow from) the cheesy form letter below the copyright line at the end of the article. Then send an email to the address found in the article's last sentence.
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy Dec. 28 proposed new "green purchasing policies and affirmative procurement programs" for all government contracting mechanisms and acquisition strategies to protect the environment and conserve natural resources and energy through contracting (72 Fed. Reg. 73,904).
The letter would require agencies to give preference to green products and services, including alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles; bio-based products; Energy Star and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated products; electronics registered on the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool; low- or non-toxic hazardous chemicals or products; non-ozone depleting substances; recycled content and/or remanufactured products; renewable energy; and water-efficient products.
"Agency acquisition policies and programs shall enhance and, where appropriate, mandate the purchase and use of green products and services covered in this policy letter," OFPP Administrator Paul Denett says in the proposed letter.
The policies would implement a Jan. 26, 2007, executive order (Exec. Order No. 13,423) directing agencies to strengthen the management of environmental, transportation, and energy-related activities, as well as various environmental and energy policy statutes. The letter would supersede OFPP Policy Letter 92-4, "Procurement of Environmentally-Sound and Energy-Efficient Products and Services," dated Nov. 2, 1992.
The proposed policies would apply to all acquisition and contracting mechanisms, including service contracts, purchases made using government purchase cards and fleet cards, and purchases valued at less than the micropurchase threshold.
Green Affirmative Purchasing Program.
Additionally, OFPP would require that each federal agency develop and implement a comprehensive affirmative procurement plan for the acquisition of green products and services, also to be referred to as a "green procurement plan."
At a minimum, the plan would be required to:
•?state a preference for the acquisition of green products and services, and require the flow of this preference down to all agency contractors and subcontractors;
•?explain the green acquisition roles and responsibilities of contracting officials, program managers, product specifiers, purchase card holders, and program administrators;
•?promote the acquisition of green products and services internally within the agency and externally to source providers and other government agencies, including agencies at the state and local levels; and
•?provide annual compliance monitoring, corrective action, and/or auditing of the agency green procurement plan.
Further, agency green plans should address:
•?the development and use of templates for incorporating green purchasing requirements into solicitations and contracts;
•?the use of government E-procurement tools, such as FedBizOpps.com, to publicize green acquisition requirements; and
•?the use of past performance evaluations of contractor adherence to green acquisition priorities.
Green Acquisitions, Socioeconomic Programs.
Under the policy letter, agencies would be directed to first determine their specific performance requirements for products and services and, if they determine that a green product or service can meet those requirements, to give first consideration to mandatory and preferred sources in obtaining such green products or services.
Socioeconomic programs administered by nonprofit agencies employing people who are blind or disabled, namely the AbilityOne program under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act and the Federal Prison Industries' UNICOR program, are mandatory sources in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation Subparts 8.6 and 8.7.
Small businesses, including small disadvantaged, women-owned, Native American, Alaska Native, Historically Underutilized Business-Zone, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, are preferred sources.
Additional Green Acquisition Requirements.
The OFPP policy letter also would require agencies to:
•?implement "automatic substitution policies" for the procurement of "functionally equivalent" green products and services in place of non-green orders for the same products and services ordered through central supply agencies such as the General Services Administration or the Defense Logistics Agency;
•?include requirements and preferences for the use of green products in all newly awarded services contracts, or in recompetitions of existing services contracts;
•?encourage the incorporation of requirements and preferences for the use of green products during modifications of existing services contracts; and
•?require GSA, DLA, and other contract supply agencies to supply "designated green products" and to "phase out any competing non-green products from their catalogs and on-line ordering systems."
Comments on the OFPP policy letter, "Acquisition of Green Products and Services," are due Feb. 26. Comments may be submitted by e-mail to "OFPPGreen@omb.eop.gov" ; subject line: "Proposed OFPP Policy letter."
Copyright 2008, The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington, D.C.
This is a fantastic proposal, not only for the country and planet, but possibly, hopefully, for places like Flint, Saginaw, Detroit and the rest of the industrial Midwest. If you saw any of the coverage of the recent Michigan Primaries, you know how badly we are hurting here. Many have suggested that green technologies are our only hope to reinvigorate the Automotive industry, to create green jobs here. With no other industry likely to come in to replace Automotive in any substantive way (we in Michigan have lost nearly 400,000 good jobs and great people since 2001), planet-friendly cars can and should (heck, must) be a real solution. Unfortunately, the Big 3 have been sluggish, even downright indignant towards the move to more fuel-efficient vehicles, particularly plug-in electric hybrids. I have a strong suspicion that what holds them back is the real or perceived notion that, 'there is no viable market' to warrant mass production of these products. Now I'm no 'government to the rescue' guy by any means, but this policy letter really can be part of the hard proof I think they need in order to take their foot off the brake, and produce these products at the level the people of Flint, America and the world need. Congratulations on this proposal. Let's make it happen!
Yeah, it's pretty cold. So are my legs, and my feet. I knew the feet were cold while I was standing there in the second hour, but didn't realize how cold my legs and butt were until I started walking back to my car.
I trudged back through the slushy snow on this cold Michigan morning, got in my car, turned the heat up and came home to warm up for a little bit.
While my kitty won't sit on my lap just yet (my jeans are apparently too cold), I'm holding a mug of hot cocoa and feeling pretty good. I'm gonna jump in the shower to warm up, and then head back to stand in the snow.
I am compelled to make sure my fellow Michiganians know that Right-to-Work legislation is terrible for workers and would be a disaster for our struggling economy. So, I'll spend a couple more hours standing in front of a polling station to warn people about a petition circulating to bring Right-to-Work (for less) here.
Below the fold, you'll find some important bullet points about how Right-to-Work is devastating for workers and our economy. Grab a hot cider and join me...
