Laura Isensee
Reuters

It has come to our attention that a need has been identified for supplemental
insurance. Through input of the membership and discussions with multiple
insurance companies we were able to negotiate a national agreement with AFLAC.
As part of this agreement, any IBEW member is eligible for group payroll rates.

IBEW Local 17 Business Manager, Kevin Shaffer, and his executive board have been
working with Michelle Calvin and AFLAC for the last 18 months to establish
availability of Short-Term Disability for their membership. While negotiating
availability for Local 17’s membership was their immediate goal, they also
pursued the availability for all IBEW members and contractor affiliates across
the nation.

Michelle Calvin is our National Account Liaison. She has been with AFLAC since
1997. During her time with AFLAC she has been an agent, District Coordinator,
Special Projects Coordinator, Regional Coordinator, State Trainer and is now the
National Account Liaison for the IBEW account. Michelle’s office has established
a toll free number (888-AFL-IBEW ext 204) and a full-time administrator
specially assigned to handle IBEW service. You can expect personalized and quick
communication from her office. Michelle’s office is familiar with the unique
needs of IBEW members.

AFLAC is a supplemental insurance that pays cash directly to the insured in case
of an accident or illness. Most members were requesting short term disability
and it was unavailable if the company the member was working for didn’t have a
payroll deduction established.

AFLAC has now created a national payroll account for all IBEW members in the
United States. Any active IBEW member can now enroll using their individual
checking, savings, or credit card. The member receives a group payroll rate.

TUMWATER – The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) today announced lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums for 2010 than earlier forecasted. In June, L&I advised the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Committee on a preliminary basis that an average increase of 15-20 percent might be necessary next year. L&I Director Judy Schurke today proposed an average increase of 7.6 percent.

“I know that any increase adds to the challenges that businesses and workers face in this tough economy,” Schurke said. “We have pushed this proposed rate increase down to the lowest possible level given the uncertain state of our recovery from this deep recession.”

With a proposed increase of 7.6 percent, average premiums would go up by about 4 cents per hour worked. The state-run workers’ compensation system collects insurance premiums from businesses to cover costs for medical care and wage-replacement and pension benefits for workers injured on the job.

Schurke said there are three big factors related to the economy that affect rates:
·       Reduced investment returns.
·       Fewer premiums because of reduced hours worked.
·       Fewer jobs for injured workers to return to.

Recent health-care inflation of 8.5 percent and wage inflation of 3.4 percent are two other factors that affect next year’s rates.

Because Washington premiums are based on hours worked, L&I must explicitly adjust rates for wage inflation. Other states assess premiums as a percentage of payroll, so wage inflation is already accounted for when payrolls rise. The State Fund provides insurance to employers and workers at cost; the money to pay claims comes from premiums and investment revenue. No money comes from taxes that go into the state General Fund.

 Bill, opposed by retailer, would make it easier for employees to organize

By Lori Gordon Logan and David Faber
CNBC

At the Wal-Mart annual meeting in June, it was showtime for Mike Duke as he made his debut as CEO in front of 16,000 Wal-Mart employees and shareholders at the Bud Walton arena in Fayetteville, Ark.

Duke, 59, is the fourth CEO in Wal-Mart’s 47-year history. He’s a polite man, but not above a little bragging — making a point to remind the crowd about the company’s record $400 billion in sales for the latest year.

“I really love to compete, but only when we win,” he told his cheering audience. “So that we can continue to be aggressive in helping our customers to save money and live better.”

But if there is one threat to Wal-Mart’s success, it may come from a desire on the part of its own employees to live better — with higher pay and more affordable health insurance. When that desire leads to talk of a union, Wal-Mart fights back hard.

Since its earliest days, the company has succeeded in keeping unions out. But that could soon become more difficult.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has proposed a federal law — the Employee Free Choice Act, or EFCA — that would make it easier for workers to form unions and harder for management to block them.

"We are introducing legislation that puts power back into the hands of the people who are truly the backbone of our country," Harkin said in March when the bill was introduced.

If EFCA were to become law — which is far from certain — it could, over time, upend the low-cost, low-price model that Wal-Mart is built on.

“Thousands of businesses are opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act, and Wal-Mart would be opposed also,” said Duke.

 Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite predictions the Great Recession is running out of steam, the House is taking up emergency legislation this week to help the millions of Americans who see no immediate end to their economic miseries.

A bill offered by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and expected to pass easily would provide 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for more than 300,000 jobless people who live in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent and who are scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of September.

The 13-week extension would supplement the 26 weeks of benefits most states offer and the federally funded extensions of up to 53 weeks that Congress approved in legislation last year and in the stimulus bill enacted last February.

People from North Carolina to California "have been calling my office to tell me they still cannot find work a year or more after becoming unemployed, and they need some additional help to keep their heads above water," McDermott said.

Critics of unemployment insurance argue that it can be a disincentive to looking for work, and that extending benefits at a time the economy is showing signs of recovery could be counterproductive.

But this recession has been particularly pernicious to the job market, others say.

Some 5 million people, about one-third of those on the unemployment list, have been without a job for six months or more, a record since data started being recorded in 1948, according to the research and advocacy group National Employment Law Project.

All union members and supporters of quality universal health care coverage are urged to participate in a "Stand Up for Health Insurance Reform" rally this Thursday at 6 p.m. in Seattle's downtown Westlake Park. Speakers at the rally will include U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, the Rev. Leslie Braxton, and Molly Moon, owner of Molly Moon’s Ice Cream.

As Congress prepares to reconvene, this is our opportunity to make a clear statement to our delegation, to the rest of Congress and to President Barack Obama that we want them to finish what they started by reforming our health insurance system.  Led by Organize for America, Thursday's rally in Seattle is one of a series of national events on Sept. 3.  It is supported by a wide assortment of organizations and coalitions -- including the Washington State Labor Council and the Healthy Washington Coalition -- which are focused on achieving health care for all in 2009.

All WSLC-affiliated unions and members of the Healthy Washington Coalition are urged to mobilize rank-and-file members, friends, neighbors and family to attend this important rally. This a very important opportunity for Seattle and surrounding area residents to speak with a resounding voice. Bring signs and union banners, and come Stand Up for Health Insurance Reform!

We'll see you this Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Westlake Park.

Can't make it to the rally?  Health Care for America Now is setting up a text message alert system so you receive text alerts at key moments when we need to take action to support health insurance reform in the next few months.  Please text "STAND" to 94553 to join the HCAN campaign and "Stand Up for Health Insurance Reform."

The U.S. Army Reserve and the Army National Guard signed an agreement with Helmets to Hardhats at the Pentagon on July 2 that allows soldiers greater access to career opportunities in the construction industry.

Helmets to Hardhats is a nonprofit program that works with the 15 building and construction trades and more than 80,000 employers represented by nine leading contractor associations to help connect servicemembers to quality career opportunities in the skilled trades.

As part of the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative, the joint venture will benefit all parties by recruiting and training highly skilled workers to serve both the civilian and military sectors.

According to Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, acting director of the Army National Guard, "More than anything, Helmets to Hardhats brings the opportunities to our soldiers to come back and find a job if they don't have one."
 
Darrell L. Roberts, executive director of Helmets to Hardhats, said he wants the program to help soldiers with "careers that are not short term, not dead-end jobs, but opportunities coupled with skilled training that helps place the servicemember on a path to sustained, secure career opportunities."

“I’m pleased to begin this partnership with Helmets to Hardhats, an organization that has been a great friend to the military. I look forward to collaborating with our newest valued partner to achieve mutual goals to attract, develop and retain a quality workforce,” said Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, Chief, Army Reserve. “This is a natural partnership because Army Reserve Soldiers are well-trained and have the appropriate skill set for the building and construction industry.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — During a visit to Memphis today, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced five grant competitions, totaling $500 million, to fund projects that prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

"Emerging green jobs are creating opportunities for workers to enter careers that offer good wages and pathways to long term job growth and prosperity," said Secretary Solis. "Workers receiving training through projects funded by these competitions will be at the forefront as our nation transforms the way we generate electricity, manufacture products and do business across a wide range of industries."

Four of the competitions announced today are designed to serve workers in need of training through various national, state and community outlets: Energy Training Partnership Grants; Pathways Out of Poverty Grants; State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants; and Green Capacity Building Grants. The fifth competition, for State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants, will fund state workforce agencies that will collect, analyze and disseminate labor market information and develop labor exchange infrastructure to direct individuals to careers in green industries. Detailed information on grant opportunities can be found in each grant solicitation.

By Roger Runningen and Brian Faler
Bloomberg

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. unemployment will surge to 10 percent this year and the budget deficit will be $1.5 trillion next year, both higher than previous Obama administration forecasts because of a recession that was deeper and longer than expected, White House budget chief Peter Orszag said.

The Office of Management and Budget forecasts a weaker economic recovery than it saw in May as the gross domestic product shrinks 2.8 percent this year before expanding 2 percent next year, according to the administration’s mid-year economic review issued today. The Congressional Budget Office, in a separate assessment, forecast the economy will grow 2.8 percent next year. Both see the GDP expanding 3.8 percent in 2011.

“While the danger of the economy immediately falling into a deep recession has receded, the American economy is still in the midst of a serious economic downturn,” the White House report said. “The long-term deficit outlook remains daunting.”

The budget shortfall for 2010 would mark the second straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. Along with the unemployment numbers, the deficit may complicate President Barack Obama’s drive for his top domestic priority, overhauling the U.S. health care system.

“It throws a wrench in health-care reforms,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in an interview. “No matter the specific numbers, they’re a constant reminder that we’re in bad, bad shape.”

Spending Caps

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio seized on the estimates to call for the Democrat-controlled Congress to impose “strict annual caps on federal spending.”