Local Union 105 Election has concluded.  The election took place over two days June 25th and 26th.  The results are now available to all members.

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By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
New York Times

Federal and state officials, many facing record budget deficits, are starting to aggressively pursue companies that try to pass off regular employees as independent contractors.

President Obama’s 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years. More than two dozen states also have stepped up enforcement, often by enacting stricter penalties for misclassifying workers.

Many workplace experts say a growing number of companies have maneuvered to cut costs by wrongly classifying regular employees as independent contractors, though they often are given desks, phone lines and assignments just like regular employees. Moreover, the experts say, workers have become more reluctant to challenge such practices, given the tough job market

DOL has announced nearly half a billion dollars in green jobs grants since January 1. On Wednesday, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced nearly $190 million in State Energy Sector Partnership and Training grants. These grants will train workers for careers in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other industries, and will help states implement comprehensive development strategies around renewable energy. Thirty-four awards ranging from approximately $2 million to $6 million each are being made to state workforce investment boards in partnership with their state workforce agencies, local workforce investment boards, and One-Stop Career Centers. Read the full story.

SMWIA General President Michael Sullivan recently appeared on the Bill Press Show, discussing the SMWIA's opposition to the health insurance reform legislation that recently passed the U.S. Senate on December 24th.
Expressing his frustration with the bill, General President Sullivan reminded viewers that health policy holders already pay an additional 30% more in premiums due to the number of uninsured. The health benefits tax would exacerbate that problem.
According to Sullivan, construction workers average 1,400 hours a year in work hours due to the “on again-off again” nature of the industry. They also pay higher health care premiums in order to bank their insurance payments to ensure their families do not lose coverage when in between projects. Due to these circumstances, construction workers would be uniquely and unfairly targeted by this tax.
Health industry experts recently questioned the assumption that the tax would target only the most lavish insurance packages, typically carried by CEOs and executive personnel of larger firms. Last week, the Washington Post y cited research showing that many health plans have high premiums not because the benefits are lavish but because they cover older and sicker workers or serve regions with high health costs.
When asked about whether or not the SMWIA will remain opposed to health reform legislation on final passage, Sullivan stated it depended upon whether or not the health benefits tax is taken out of the bill

Orange County, CA officials held a contentious hearing last Tuesday in an effort to make a political show of the board's conservative attitudes by attacking union construction workers.

The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution sponsored by Supervisor John Moorlach, to prohibit the requirement of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on county projects unless required by state and federal law.

The decision changes nothing about how the county operates because the county board has never favored such agreements in the past.

Washington (CNN) - House Democrats anxious about health care negotiations prepared to meet Tuesday night as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House conferred with labor leaders unhappy with a tax being considered for the final bill.

Pelosi huddled with several key union leaders in her office earlier Tuesday. President Barack Obama met with a dozen labor heads Monday night, and is scheduled to meet with the entire House Democratic caucus on Capitol Hill Thursday.

At issue for many House liberals and union heads is growing concern that Obama and the congressional leadership will place an excise tax on high-end insurance plans to help pay for the sweeping legislation.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka warned Monday that Democrats risk losing critical union support in the upcoming midterm elections if they don't drop the tax.  View full story. 

Health Care Reform:  GET INVOLVED

Speaking on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, SMWIA General President Michael Sullivan, called for national pension reform, noting that proposed legislation “benefits union members and employers” while reinforcing existing law. He reiterated that “this is no bailout.”

General President Sullivan spoke in support of bipartisan legislation proposed by Representatives Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) and Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) that would protect workers in their 50s from having their pension benefits frozen, extend pension funding relief for employers, and strengthen the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

The Senate, which will hold a hearing on pension funding Oct. 29, may offer its own bill. “Workers in their 50s can expect a drop in benefits of about 35 percent if their pension is frozen,” Pomeroy said at the news conference to introduce the Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act. According to Pomeroy, 3.3 million U.S. workers have had their pensions frozen. The Pomeroy-Tiberi bill has provisions sought by employers, workers, and the Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), according to the bill's sponsors.

The legislation is a bipartisan bill that addresses the consequences of PPA pension funding rules on employers struggling to survive one of the worst recessions in U.S. history. Details of the bill show that it would:

Allow multiemployer plans to elect a one-time fresh-start of the Funding Standard Account, with the sum of the outstanding balances amortized over a single 30-year period, effective starting with the 2009 or 2010 plan year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced in a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday that he will send a health care reform bill to the Senate floor that includes a public option. States will have until 2014 to decide if they want to participate in the public plan.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced in a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday that he will send a health care reform bill to the Senate floor that includes a public option. States will have until 2014 to decide if they want to participate in the public plan.