Tag Archives: Election

NH AFL-CIO Presents Movie Night : ELECTORIAL DYSFUNCTION with Mo Rocca

  By New Hampshire Labor News | January 22, 2013 - 5:56 pm |
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morocca

morocca

Thursday, February 7
6:00pm

New Hampshire  AFL-CIO 
Movie Night!

Electoral Dysfunction
is the first documentary project to take an irreverent — but nonpartisan — look at voting in America. In the same way that An Inconvenient Truth revealed the need for immediate action on global warming—the film will help spark a national dialogue on the steps ordinary citizens can take to ensure that every vote counts.

Mo’s quest—set against the backdrop of the historic 2008 presidential election—leads him to Indiana, home to some of the toughest voting laws in the country. As he progresses on his journey, Mo investigates the heated battle over Voter ID and voter fraud; searches for the Electoral College; critiques ballot design with Todd Oldham; and explores the case of a former felon who was sentenced to ten years in prison—for the crime of voting.

Movie Night is FREE and open to NH AFL-CIO members and guests.
Call (603) 623-7302 for more information.

Thursday, February 7, 2013 – 6:00pm
161 Londonderry Turnpike, Hooksett

Take 2 Minutes To Help Workers At American Airlines Find Their Collective Voice

  By New Hampshire Labor News | November 21, 2012 - 11:39 am | ,
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From Beth Allen, Communication Workers Of America

Normally I’d be excited to let you know that because of your support, workers at American Airlines will finally get to vote for union representation next month. But this vote has me worried.

American Airlines has used every trick in the book to deny their passenger service agents the chance to vote to join CWA. Heck, they’ve even written some new chapters, claiming in court that an election would cause “irreparable harm” to the company’s relations with its employees.

Each delay has given the airline time to lay off more workers and outsource more jobs. Now they’ve asked the Supreme Court to intervene to stop the election. If they get their way, there’s no guarantee that this election will ever happen.

American Airlines passenger service agents are in Washington today, meeting with members of Congress about the election delays. Support these workers by asking your members of Congress to tell American Airlines CEO Thomas Horton to stop the delays and let the agents vote.

Why do the workers want Congress to weigh in? Well, over the past year American Airlines’ actions have shown that it doesn’t care much about its workers or passengers. Outsourcing has not only led to job loss, but hundreds of flights have been delayed as undertrained contractors took over the jobs of experienced workers.

But Congress passes a lot of legislation that affects how airlines do business, so the opinions of members of Congress matter to CEOs like Thomas Horton.

During this long battle the National Mediation Board, the Department of Justice, and even the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has told American Airlines that the election must go forward.

It’s time to stop the delays. Send your letter today.
http://action.cwa-union.org/c/1372/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5048

What Could Sweeter Than 2008 Election? 2012

  By Wayne Alterisio | November 20, 2012 - 2:12 pm | ,
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Union Vote

After receiving a gut wrenching kick in the electoral stomach in 2010 we just witnessed an enormous 180 degree turnaround in just two years. We got almost everything we asked for except a Democratic Congress. That was gerrymandered out of reach by a Republican win in 2010. We did the next best thing though, we turned New Hampshire blue against an onslaught of the Citizen’s United enabled Republican money machine. Facts matter and we didn’t cave to the outside money interest that swarmed into the Granite State.

We now have some friends in Washington that we can count on. We gained in the House and the Senate. It will prove to be way friendlier to fixing the financial ills of the Postal Service than the previous Congress. We did all that we could and more. We had help from Massachusetts with the election of Elizabeth Warren. I pray they put her on a banking committee so she can ask the tough questions to Wall St. manipulators. You know the ones that squandered away trillions of hard earned workers savings! For us here in New Hampshire we have two wonderful women totally on board for Letter Carriers. Carol Shea-Porter has already proven herself with two terms previously and Ann Kuster was vetted in 2010 by our legislative department and was our endorsed candidate. They will be there 100% for us.

Governor Hassan and a Democratic New Hampshire House is just the cherry on top. We know that an attack on New Hampshire working families is just the precursor to an attack on all workers in the country including letter carriers. Besides our agenda in Washington which is fixing the financial woes of the Postal Service we need to protect bargaining agreements right here for State and municipal workers and teachers. Also in New Hampshire we need to begin the dialogue with our State government for a no fault absentee ballot and eventually a vote by mail system that seems to work fine in 26 other states. This will go a long way towards putting a damper on phony voter fraud legislation requiring us to provide ID’s at the polls.

Lastly I would like to thank the 70% of Letter Carriers that supported us in this last election by voting for our endorsed candidates. For whatever reason the other 30% could not support candidates that will vote to protect their jobs, good luck to you, you will still enjoy good wages and benefits. New Hampshire Letter Carriers scored among the top percentage of workers endorsing and going to the polls and actually voting. As a union President I could not be prouder. I was especially proud at my last union meeting when I read out the names and asked to stand the letter carriers that volunteered for the last election. A third of the room was standing. Way to Go!

UAW congratulates President Obama on his re-election

  By New Hampshire Labor News | November 8, 2012 - 5:30 am | , ,
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DETROIT – The UAW is proud to congratulate President Obama on his electoral victory in the 2012 election. It is with great pride that in large part because of a nationwide, grassroots effort by our active and retired UAW members, along with our progressive allies and dedicated community leaders, President Obama won re-election and remains our president for four more years.

“President Obama stood by American workers in their darkest hour, and UAW members and citizens in communities that are part of the thriving auto industry, are grateful for his willingness to bet on us,” said UAW President Bob King.

“Today, the domestic auto industry is roaring back, with investment in factories, new workers and manufacturing returned to our country. This remarkable turnaround is the product of government, labor and community working together to find solutions to our nation’s problems and today it is driving the country’s economic recovery,” added King.

This 2012 election was successful because of the tireless commitment of working people who held steadfast in their belief about the kind of leader America needs: someone who believes in a better America with middle-class jobs, a strong auto and manufacturing sector, Social Security and Medicare for our seniors, Medicaid for those in need, and a fair tax system that favors the 47 percent instead of rewarding the 1 percent.

Americans have spoken – and they want President Obama to stay on the path of continued improvement for our economy. This election illustrates the hope people have for social and economic justice for our entire country and creating a ladder to the middle class.

But our work is not done, and we will continue to fight for social and economic justice for all Americans.

 

Health Care and Election 2012: The Choice

  By New Hampshire Labor News | October 16, 2012 - 5:25 pm |
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Jonathan Gruber is a Professor of Economics at MIT and was a key advisor to both Governor Romney during the development of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform and President Obama during the development of the Affordable Care Act. He will provide a presentation on the differences in the post-election landscape for health care in America under an Obama vs. Romney Administration, focusing on both insurance coverage and costs.

This hour long presentation will take place at 6PM October 29th at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 58 Lowell St, Nashua, NH 03064

Thank You,

Mark King

603.998.2400

peregrine8@myfairpoint.net

CACR 26: We need to keep those ‘Checks and Balances’

  By Liz Iacobucci | October 15, 2012 - 10:51 pm | , , , ,
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Fox in the hen house

On election day, Granite Staters will not only choose who will lead us for the next few years, we will also vote on proposed changes to the New Hampshire Constitution.

One of those constitutional amendments, CACR 26, would give the Legislature direct control over all operations of the Judicial Branch.  Think about that for a minute. Remember all the horse-trading and last-minute surprises that happen every budget season.  Do we really want the Legislature writing the Court’s Rules?

  • Do we want the Legislature deciding what to tell juries about the burden of proof, and what constitutes “reasonable doubt”?
  • Do we want the Legislature to decide Rules of Evidence such as whether the jury can rely on hearsay; whether the jury can hear testimony that is irrelevant but prejudicial; whether a lawyer, spouse or ordained minister can be compelled to testify?
  • Do we want the Legislature involved in the process of setting bail?
  • Do we want the Legislature telling courts how to treat victims of child abuse?

CACR 26 would take New Hampshire on a voyage to a strange new world, where the Legislature has direct control of the Judiciary.  Where Court Rules would likely change every two years, depending on who is elected House Speaker and Senate President, and who gets named to the Judiciary Committee.  Where the branch of government that is supposed to protect our rights – supposed to protect us from Legislative excesses – would be run by the very politicians that we need to be protected against.

It would be the fox guarding the hen house.

Except in this case, New Hampshire citizens would be the hens.  Do we really want to trust the Legislature to protect us from laws that trample on our constitutional rights?

This brainstorm may have come from Bill O’Brien’s leadership team, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually a “conservative” idea.  Pick whatever politician you hate – Democrat or Republican – and then imagine that politician is in charge of the New Hampshire court system.  Now, imagine that you are a prisoner awaiting trial, or a divorced parent waiting for a custody decision, or a small business owner who is being sued by a customer, or an injured worker trying to get your employer to pay your medical bills.  If that politician you hate has control of the Judicial Branch, how many different ways could he (or she) keep you from getting the justice you deserve?

There is no limit to the different ways the Legislature could muck up New Hampshire’s court system, if we give them that power through CACR 26.

And then two years and another election later, the other political party could take control of the Legislature and ramrod through a set of changes in exactly the opposite direction.

As John Broderick, the former Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, told the Union Leader,

[the original framers of the Constitution] sought to protect the separation of governmental powers because they had lived under regimes that respected no dividing lines, when the Legislature could invade the province of the judiciary for purely partisan reasons or, perhaps, without any reason at all.

[J]udicial independence is not just about keeping the Legislature in check, as important as that is. It is also about fulfilling the constitutional guarantee to each citizen that the courts will act impartially and free from the influence of political interests.

As former Governor Steve Merrill and former New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Joseph Nadeau told the NH Bar Association,

oversight of [Court] rules is oversight of administrative activities. And there is no place in a constitutional democracy for legislative intervention of the judicial branch. Political oversight of courts existed in dictatorships of Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and the former Russian Republics before they embraced democracy. We all know that resulted in judicial systems without independence, and without equal access or impartial justice.

If you’re a Democrat, imagine that the Republicans would be deciding Court Rules.

If you’re a Republican, imagine that the Democrats would be deciding Court Rules.

Either way, it’s probably not a very comfortable picture – especially if you end up looking to the court system for justice or to protect your rights.

In the case of CACR 26, the “conservative” vote is to keep our Constitution just the way it is.  The system of checks and balances between the Legislature and the Court system has worked for the past two centuries.  It’s protected our rights through Republican-led Legislatures – and sessions when the Democrats were in control.

Giving the Legislature control of the Court system wouldn’t work.  Maintaining the “balance of power” between branches of the government does.

 

NH Election News: Congressman Frank Guinta Neither Thrifty Nor Fair

  By New Hampshire Labor News | September 27, 2012 - 4:35 pm | ,
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Guinta 2

Last week, Congressman Frank Guinta falsely insisted on television that he had not voted for Big Oil subsidies in the Ryan Budget, but in May, 2011, he happily offered to give oil companies an even bigger free gift from the taxpayers.

The moderator at the BIA debate, Laura Knoy, said, “NHPR did…follow up with reporting on the oil and gas subsidies that Frank Guinta said were not in the budget and we have reported that in fact they were in the budget.”

Frank Guinta tried to trick the debate audience, but last May, he informed an outraged  audience at Conway Elementary School: “If you’re going to get rid of that tax benefit to those five companies let’s also eliminate those lease payments and make it fair.”  Fair?

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that oil and gas companies received $2.5 billion in tax preferences during FY 2011, while the federal government received $8.4 billion from oil and gas companies in royalty revenue, says the Department of the Interior. Thrifty?

Congressman Guinta seems to think “fair” and “thrifty” mean taking away $2.5 billion in subsidies and giving Big Oil $8.4 billion instead. That means a $6 billion raise for companies like Guinta donors Exxon-Mobil and Koch Industries.

Carol Shea-Porter knows that lease payments are owed to the taxpayers.

“It comes as no surprise that Congressman Frank Guinta misled the people again about the Ryan Budget,” said Shea-Porter campaign manager Naomi Andrews. “ Here is the truth—Congressman Guinta wants to give corporations free leases and oil that belongs to the American people.  That is neither fair nor thrifty.”

Aaron Gill For NH House Says: ‘RIGHT TO WORK IS WRONG FOR NH’

  By New Hampshire Labor News | September 22, 2012 - 7:20 am |
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Feel Free To Share This Picture

Feel Free To Share This Picture

Aaron Gill has been a follower and fan of the NH Labor News for while now.  I have told you about Aaron and his opposition to the extremists in the NH House.  Aaron has also told us about his believes in labor.  You can read his previous LTE to the NHLN here.

Below is an email and LTE from Aaron talking about his stance on Right To Work (for less) and his opponent pushing RTW in the NH House.  If you live in Aaron’s District (Deering-Goffstown) please email him and get your yard sign today.  We need more people in the NH House like Aaron who are willing to fight for the middle class not out of state agendas.

From AAron:

“With the primary over and the general election in less than 50 days, the Gill for NH House campaign continues to spread the message of Common Sense for Concord.

In yesterday’s Concord Monitor, I have a letter to the editor entitled, “Right-to-Work is Wrong for New Hampshire.” Despite the failure to pass a RTW bill in many past House sessions, and without any NH business leaders asking, the Republican Party quietly added the passing of RTW to their annual pledge. Failure to assimilate meant a primary battle with a well-funded pro-RTW candidate.

As you’ll read in my letter, I do not support any variation of Right-to-Work for a wide variety of reasons. This is another area where my opponent, Free Stater Mark Warden and I disagree. In fact, on the Girard-at-Large radio program on September 10, just after winning Bill O’Brien’s endorsement, Mr. Warden stated passing RTW is one of his top priorities next session. The choice couldn’t be more clear.

Please share this letter with friends and neighbors, consider hosting a ‘Gill for NH House’ yard sign (send a quick email to me), and visit my website NHGill.com to learn more. ”

Right-to-work is wrong for N.H.

The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed the requirement of union membership as a condition of employment. Yet that’s what proponents of the so-called right-to-work legislation claim to be stopping. So what is the point of right-to-work?

A May 2011 U.S. Dept of Labor study revealed that workers in states with right-to-work laws are paid 9.4 percent less than states without them. It appears lower wages is the point behind right-to-work, so why would New Hampshire ask for that?

Simple: New Hampshire didn’t ask for it. House Bill 474, the primary right-to-work legislation offered in the O’Brien House, was substantially written by ALEC, an extremely partisan Washington-based special interest group funded by the Koch Brothers and other large corporations.

How did ALEC’s model legislation get into the New Hampshire House? Simple: Several state representatives are in its circle. For example, Free Stater Mark Warden asked New Hampshire taxpayers to reimburse him $300 for attending an ALEC conference in December 2010. Warden voted for right-to-work in the last session and recently stated that passing right-to-work is one of his top priorities.

New Hampshire doesn’t need out-of-staters telling us what to do. Warden’s Free State ideology and ALEC’s right-to-work legislation are wrong for New Hampshire. That’s why I’m running against Warden for state representative in Deering, Goffstown and Weare.

AARON GILL
Deering

NH Letter Carrier Explains Why We Must Mobilize and Occupy The Elections

  By Wayne Alterisio | July 9, 2012 - 12:00 pm |
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Fact: The Labor movement will be vastly outspent by the conservative right in opposing any gains working stiffs like you and me deserve for all our hard labor.

OK, now that we have that out of the way, what can we do?

Activism today is a very daunting task. In the sixties mass movements, like the anti-war movement were pretty much reported on by the main stream media, by and large, as a noble cause. Today’s media is a different entity. Most of corporate media is either owned outright by conservatives or is bought outright through ads dominated by these people and groups. It runs along the lines of “total information dominance” as is asserted by some propaganda theorists. It’s based on a military theory that we’ve been hearing about called “full spectrum dominance”. This is when one force exercises not only superiority, which means they will win the battle, but dominance, which renders the battle obsolete.  We are not at total media dominance yet as witnessed by you being able to read this blog, but we are damned close.

In this environment, activists and democracy itself is ridiculed and small demonstrations of political activism, with the help of local law enforcement, are harassed, threatened and even beaten as I have personally witnessed at peaceful Occupy Wall Street events. I am not talking about rioters, but peaceful protesters. It takes a really huge commitment to subject you to this humiliation.

But take to the streets and get involved we must. Congress has totally failed us. They are bought and paid for and totally indebted to their sponsors. The Supreme Court in 2010 nailed the coffin shut with their Citizens United Ruling allowing corporations and billionaires to dump unlimited amounts of money to candidates and “dark money” groups, spreading disinformation and out and out lies.

Even though these people can write checks for tens of millions of dollars they can’t put a million or twenty million feet on the ground. Labor can potentially still do that. I witnessed a demonstration last spring in Manhattan that was the width of Broadway and sixteen blocks long. Unfortunately the media said there were a few thousand. There had to be thirty thousand. Not bad for the middle of the week.

I do not condemn anyone for their apathy or despair. I understand their disengagement. But overcoming this we must. I witnessed a local spark last fall when four or five hundred Letter Carriers and Postal workers and some labor affiliates “Occupied” City Hall Plaza in Manchester one Thursday afternoon. It was a beautiful thing! The seed has been planted.  My contribution to this blog will be how we can “Occupy” politics.