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Congressional leaders have pledged to take up the panel's recommendations before the end of the year and have lawmakers cast an up-or-down vote.

Systems balance the need to remove injured soldiers with the safety of medevacs, help design better armor and prepare medical teams for when troops arrive at hospitals for treatment.

Coburn says Congress should pay workers out of its own budget as punishment for its "inability to maintain core federal programs."

Survey shows other projects have been put on the back burner, leading to award delays and less contract monitoring.

Group urges lawmakers to write letters of support in the wake of the February plane attack that has left many tax workers shaken.

From the UFT press release:

Educators seek more collaborative work environment and voice in school policy

Teachers and staff at the Bronx Academy of Promise Charter School in the South Bronx announced on March 12 their intention to join the UFT.

The entire teaching staff, along with other staff members at the school, have signed union authorization cards.

In a letter given to the school’s principal, the teachers’ organizing committee called for a more formal and collective voice in the school community to “ensure the quality of our students’ education.”

The UFT filed a formal petition today with the school’s board of trustees, and notified the state’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) that Bronx Academy of Promise teachers are seeking union recognition. If the school’s board does not recognize the union as the bargaining representative within 30 days, the UFT can ask PERB to certify the bargaining unit on the basis of the authorization cards.

“These teachers want the best for their students. They are dedicated to their school and creating the best learning environment that they possibly can. We are proud to welcome them into our union,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

“This is about job security, but it is also about making sure the school moves in the right direction,” said teacher Reagan Fletcher. “We are with our kids eight hours a day and deserve a voice in the policy decisions that affect them. Ultimately, this will benefit our children.”

“This will let us fulfill the mission of our school: to give the students the best possible school and the education they deserve,” said teacher Melissa Garcia.

The school, located at 1166 River Avenue in the Bronx, has been in operation since the fall of 2008, and currently serves approximately 240 students in kindergarten through 4th grade. The school employs 17 teachers, four teaching assistants, a social worker and several other staff members.

The UFT represents educators at ten other charter schools in New York City and co-operates a school in collaboration with Green Dot, a successful and labor-friendly charter school operator based in Los Angeles.

Additionally, in January, educators at the NYC Charter High School for Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries (AECI) in Queens voted overwhelmingly to unionize. On January 13, the AECI staff filed a formal petition with PERB seeking union recognition; a pre-hearing conference with both parties and PERB is scheduled for April 7th at PERB’s office in Downtown Brooklyn.

     

Even though the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has not been confirmed, AFGE is moving ahead quickly with its plans, seeking an election so transportation security officers (TSOs) can join a union.

On Feb. 22, AFGE filed a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for an election to allow the 41,000 TSOs to vote on union representation. In 2003, the Bush administration stripped the workers of collective bargaining rights. The FLRA is moving the petition through its election process quicker than usual, AFGE President John Gage said on the “Inside Government” radio show.       

Under law, the TSA administrator will decide if workers can have bargaining rights. The workers would then choose a union to represent them. President Obama this week nominated Maj. Gen. Robert Harding as TSA administrator. The previous nominee, Erroll Southers, withdrew after his nomination was held hostage by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) because DeMint opposes allowing TSA workers the freedom to form a union.

Gage told “Inside Government” today:  

We’re not asking anybody for rights. We have these rights as citizens. We’re basically asking the Congress, the Senate [and] the administration to get out of our way in exercising these rights.  

Download the radio show here.

Click image to view the enlarged version.

The pay gap between female and male workers in this country got a hearing in a Senate committee yesterday. But you wouldn’t even know the hearing happened: The issue apparently doesn’t rank up there with the antics of drunk superstars or foolish golfers to get attention by the corporate media.

Right now, U.S. working women receive 77 cents for every dollar paid to a male worker. The ratio has remained nearly unchanged for years. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has been pushing for more than a decade to pass a paycheck fairness bill, and yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12/S. 182).

The act would amend the 1963 Equal Pay Act, in a way DeLauro describes as a modest reform “that closes longstanding loopholes” and “stiffens penalties” for employers who discriminate based on gender. (Much of the info on the hearing is based on Daily Labor Report, subscription required.)

So why isn’t the 1963 act good enough?

The premise that current laws are effective is wrong, said Deborah Brake, a University of Pittsburgh law professor. Testifying before the Senate committee, she said most of women’s wage gains in pay relative to men occurred in the 1980s and there has been very little movement since.

Economic Policy Institute (EPI) economist Heather Boushey noted the pay gap starts the minute college grads throw their caps in the air, with newly graduated women earning an average 5 percent less than men who graduated from similar universities and engage in similar work. What then follows is a “career pay gap” of up to $434,000 in lifetime lost earnings for women who are the most educated and have higher-paying jobs.

The persistent gender wage gap is one more step on the ladder toward the nation’s growing income inequality. Unequal income leads to unequal wealth, with the persistent wage gap affecting families’ ability to pay the bills, finance their children’s education, buy a home or save for retirement, Boushey said.

The wealth gap differs from the income gap—it’s a person’s total assets, like pension funds and houses. A report out this week shows how bleak the wealth gap is for women, especially women of color.

Nearly half of all single black and Hispanic women have zero or negative wealth, meaning their debts exceed all their assets. The median wealth for single black women is only $100; for single Hispanic women, $120. This compares to just over $41,000 for single white women. About one- third of single Hispanic women and one-fourth of single black women have no checking or savings account.

The picture gets bleaker when these data are compared with men. Mariko Lin Chang, author of  “Lifting as We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth and America’s Future,” says:

Women of color own only a penny for every dollar of wealth owned by their corresponding men of color, of their same race. And in comparison to white women, women of color own only a fraction of a penny for every dollar of wealth owned by white women.

In short, women of color

face a double wealth disadvantage of being both a person of color and a woman.

In this cross-post from Border Jumpers, Bernard Pollack, who is taking a leave of absence from the AFL-CIO to travel through Africa, and Danielle Nierenberg send us another report from their journey through Zimbabwe.

Imagine being one of only five opposition voices in a country of 13 million people, where all radio, print and television is strictly controlled by the government. That’s Ben Madzimure’s uphill battle every day as editor of The Worker, the voice of the labor movement, in Zimbabwe—especially because his newspaper is only printed once a month, with only 5,000 copies distributed throughout the country.

“Zimbabwe used to have such a vibrant and independent media but most of the press was shut down,” said Madzimure. Today, many of the print reporters across the country bite their tongues and print the government’s viewpoint. Madzimure, on the other hand, actively seeks out stories the government doesn’t want mentioned, such as worker discontent and political corruption, and provides an unfiltered analysis of current events.

While President Mugabe lost the presidential election of 2008 (despite employing voter suppression strategies), he refused to relinquish power to the victor, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. Today, under a “power sharing” agreement between the parties of Mugabe and Tsvangirai, the government continues to control all forms of media and mass-communication.

Given that Zimbabwe is one of the most literate countries in Africa, around 90 percent literacy rate, print media is a critical tool in moving a message. Madzimure says that after the newspaper is read, it’s passed on to at least nine other people and it remains a “permanent marker” because people use it to “wrap things or to fill holes.”

With a population spread out over hundreds of miles in rural areas, The Worker is the main way for the trade union federation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), to disseminate news and inspire activity. “When ZCTU calls for national actions, the media doesn’t report on it at all. The Worker is a main vehicle giving directions to people on how to participate in strikes, elections and public actions,” said Madzimure.

Yet, despite financial support from the ZCTU, the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center in the United States, the Canadian Labour Congress, and others—the $1 USD price tag to purchase the paper is too expensive for most Zimbabweans. With 80 percent job informalization in the country, according to a recent United Nations report, the labor movement relies on its local networks to make sure the message filters throughout the country. Union members at every district are providing reporting as “volunteer correspondents” and several unemployed reporters are also lending a hand.

Madzimure’s dream is to eventually turn The Worker into a daily publication, offering investigative reporting and political analysis. In the meantime, while most Zimbabweans have no access to the computer, this does not stop Ben from promoting widely via every medium at his disposal, including a news blog, a fan page on Facebook (it has 3,800 fans) and on Twitter (12,000 followers).

The first public draft of core standards for K-12 education was released this week by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards, both welcomed and panned by critics, are intended to provide a consistent framework to prepare students for college and the workforce. NSBA [...]

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Move is part of a broader effort to boost transparency and accountability.

Working people have plenty to be angry with Wall Street about. A $700 billion bailout. Toxic assets and loan guarantees to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. A financial crisis and credit crunch. Billions of dollars in six- and seven-figure bonuses to the Wall Street executives who got us into this mess.

Unemployment reaching 10 percent. A mortgage crisis extending far beyond subprime loans. Abusive credit and debit card fees. More than five job-seekers for every one job.

Wall Street has treated Main Street as a giant ATM—gambling with the economy, then coming back with their hands out for help. But somehow, no matter how much help the banks need to survive, they always have the resources to fight proposals to regulate them or get them to pay their fair share.

That’s why the AFL-CIO community affiliate, Working America, has launched the ”I am not your ATM” campaign. Already, people in Albuquerque, N.M.; Columbus, Ohio; Portland, Ore.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Minneapolis have been photographed with “I am not your ATM” signs at major banks to let Wall Street know they’ve had enough. Wall Street’s biggest banks need to be held accountable, with a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Rather than asking taxpayers for more money, Big Banks need to start repaying us for the damage they’ve done.

In the coming week, we at Working America will hold more events in cities across the country, but you can participate online. Submit a photo to NotYourATM.com and send Wall Street the message that you’re done being Big Banks’ ATM. It’s time for them to clean up the mess they made, instead of expecting working people to do it for them.

Cabin crew workers in the UK today announced that they would be taking seven days of strike action at the end of the month.