Keith J. Anderson                                           Christopher S. Berry                                              Kenyon R .Bittle                                     Joseph J. Cancelosi

William B. Clift                                                 Jerry A. Drake                                                           Christopher A. Dundin                       Shane S. Edwards  

Reggie J. Ewing                                                 John R. Faubion                                                       Maria I. Forsberg                                    Cole S. Frasier

Kenneth D. Fredricksen                              Adam W. Gilbert                                                       David I. Grove                                             Shane  C. Hertel

NEW YORK
CNNMoney.com

Millions of jobless Americans are one signature away from getting their unemployment benefits back.

The House voted Thursday 272 to 152 to push back the deadline to file for extended unemployment benefits until the end of November. The approval came a day after the Senate voted 59 to 39 to restore the weekly checks, ending a seven-week stalemate.

President Obama, who urged lawmakers Monday to approve the extension, is expected to sign the measure quickly. Some 2.9 million people were scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of the week.

"Americans who are working day and night to get back on their feet and support their families in these tough economic times deserve more than obstruction and partisan game-playing that happens too often here in Washington," Obama said after Wednesday's Senate vote.

The jobless stopped getting their checks in early June, after Congress failed to extend the deadline to apply for benefits.

Senate Republicans, as well as Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, prevented the legislation's passage, saying it should be paid for first. They suggested covering the $34 billion tab with unused stimulus money, a step the Senate Democratic leadership rejected.

Federal unemployment payments, which last up to 73 weeks, kick in after the state-funded 26 weeks of coverage expire. These federal benefits are divided into tiers, and the jobless must apply each time they move into a new tier.

The payments will be retroactive to the previous deadline of June 2. But it could take up to a month for states to start sending the checks again, experts said.

Stan Sorscher
Labor Representative (SPEEA)
Huffington Post

Please call the below listed Snohomish County Councilman is support of the ordinance Local 191 has been working on for some time.  Be sure and call ALL listed councilman and email them. In your communication include the following information: Please cc Travis Patterson on any email’s tpatterson@ibew191.com.

1. You’re a member of IBEW Local 191.
2. Urge their support of Responsible Ordinance 10-054 and Apprenticeship Ordinance 10-055.
3. You support the ordinance and amendments as written.

John Koster (R)
E-mail:  John.Koster@co.snohomish.wa.us
Barbara Chapman, Aide: 425-388-3494
E-mail:  Barbara.Chapman@co.snohomish.wa.us

Brian Sullivan (D)
E-mail:  Brian.Sullivan@co.snohomish.wa.us
Helen Cicero Hambelton, Aide: 425-388-3494
E-mail:  Helen.Hambelton@snoco.org

Mike Cooper (D)
E-mail:  Mike.Cooper@co.snohomish.wa.us
Kimberly Cole, Aide: 425-388-3494
E-mail:  Kimberly.Cole@co.snohomish.wa.us

Dave Gossett (D)
E-mail:  Dave.Gossett@co.snohomish.wa.us
Cecilia Wilson, Aide: 425-388-3494
E-mail:  Cecilia.Wilson@co.snohomish.wa.us

 Working Americans are outraged over the jobs crisis.

Ben from Augusta, Ga., says the economy is not doing as well -- and describes feeling hopeless and scared, because he doesn't know what's going to happen next.

In Washington, D.C., Patricia is shouldering the burden of the poor economy:

I find that I'm doing more and more for my family with less and less that I have because they have less and less.

Larry from Las Vegas pinpoints one of the prime culprit behind the economic mess:

It's unfortunate on how the situation has occurred with these big bankers capitalizing on the U.S. government…wherein, they robbed us.

And Lori in Rochester, N.Y., offers common-sense solution to the nation's underlying problem: corporate greed.

When we've got corporations engaging in commerce overseas and not here, taking jobs away from Americans and taking them overseas because it's better for the bottom line, for the profit of the company, we have to start thinking about Americans and what’s best for them, and not what's best for the company.

AFL-CIO's Trumka blasts Senate failure to pass Jobs Bill

The following was released Wednesday by the AFL-CIO:
Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on Senate Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Bill
June 16, 2010

Senators face a stark choice: Turn their backs on our fragile economic recovery just as it gains momentum, or finish the job they started a year and a half ago. Our communities are still struggling. Working men and women whose jobs have not returned are looking to their leaders for action. Almost half of those without jobs have been unemployed longer than 6 months, and extended unemployment and health care benefits have been keeping them and our economy afloat. The private sector is not yet creating the jobs we need. This is no time to let up or back off.

On the heels of a Wall Street-created economic disaster -- the worst in generations -- there is a telling absurdity to some members of Congress proposing to cut workers unemployment benefits by $25 a week while at the same time protecting wealthy investment managers from being taxed at the same rate as working people.

We need a jobs bill that will extend unemployment benefits to those who have been looking for jobs without success, provide relief for cash-strapped states to maintain vital services, fund local infrastructure projects, extend COBRA benefits and provide Medicaid assistance to states. The substitute offered by Sen. Baucus would accomplish those goals. Without this funding we stand on the brink of a perilous downward spiral.

Copyright © 2010
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse / UCAN
Posted June 4, 2010

While websites like Facebook and MySpace make it easy to share vacation photos with old classmates, the personal information on social networks is also attracting people besides friends and family members.  Scam artists, identity thieves, debt collectors, stalkers, hiring managers, and companies looking for a marketing advantage are turning to social networking sites to gather valuable information. Before you publish your next status update, take care that you aren’t risking your identity, security or reputation.

Below are eight things you shouldn’t give to a social network – when signing up for an account, posting content or interacting with your contacts through the network.

In the current recession, no sector has been harder hit than the construction industry, which has lost more than 2 million jobs.  The unemployment rate in the construction industry is a staggering 27 percent, almost triple the overall unemployment rate.

You can help put building and construction trades workers back on the job by contacting your senators and representatives and urging them to support Building Star—H.R. 5476 and S. 3079. The legislation would provide building owners rebates and low-cost financing options for energy-efficient renovations in existing buildings.

It would, says the Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA):

mobilize building owners, construction firms, the building trades and manufacturers and distributors of building supplies to create jobs NOW in 2010, not later. Building Star will put sheet metal workers back to work retrofitting existing buildings, and would do so fast.

If acted on quickly, the bill could create as many as 185,000 jobs this year in construction, manufacturing and support jobs.

Click here to send a message to your lawmakers.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, says:

Clean energy is not only the next great growth industry, but it’s an engine for job creation today. Energy-efficiency programs like “Building Star” will put Americans to work in construction and manufacturing and save small businesses money as we strive for American energy independence.

For-profit insurers want to take over our state's workers' comp system

The following column by the staff of WSLC Reports Today appears in the latest edition of Real Change.

About 100 years ago in Washington State, we gave up the right to sue our employers when we get injured at work. In exchange, we got a public nonprofit insurance system that pays our medical costs and partially replaces the wages of those who miss work due to on-the-job injuries.

Our employers gladly accepted this trade-off. Facing potentially bankrupting lawsuits whenever an employee was injured, businesses jumped at the chance to pay for this insurance, as long as they got some legal immunity.
The system is called workers’ compensation. And by most accounts, it’s worked pretty well for a century.
But now, the insurance companies want a piece of the action.

It’s crunch time for putting America back to work. Members of Congress have been talking a lot about jobs. Now is their chance to put that rhetoric into action with The Promoting American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213), which the U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote upon this week -- perhaps as soon as today.

Call 1-877-442-6801
 
Please call 877-442-6801 NOW and urge your U.S. Representative to vote for H.R. 4213 to create and save jobs and make Wall Street pay. Tell your representative that a vote against H.R. 4213 is a vote against jobs.

TAKE ACTION: Please call your U.S. Representative and Senators TODAY and urge them to support H.R. 4213. This is particularly important for those of you who live in the congressional districts of U.S. Reps. Brian Baird and Adam Smith, neither of whom have indicated yet whether they plan to support H.R. 4213, but ALL union members in Washington are urged to make the calls because U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell also hasn't indicated which way she plans to vote.

The Promoting American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213) does four critical things:

1. Extends Unemployment Benefits and COBRA subsidies for the rest of the year
2. Provides additional Medicaid money to cash-strapped states
3. Provides funding for infrastructure improvements
4. Closes tax loopholes to Make Wall Street Pay

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says, "If you are not for this bill, you are not for jobs -- period. No more excuses."