Economy -- A Green, Unionized Economic Recovery

December 19, 2008

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers

ECONOMY

A Green, Unionized Economic Recovery

Early in the presidential campaign season, well before any American voted in a caucus or primary, then-senator Barack Obama stated clearly that as president, he intended to strengthen unions and make America's workers one of his top priorities. "We're ready to take the offense for organized labor," Obama said in December 2007. "We need to strengthen our unions by letting them do what they do best -- organize our workers. If a majority of workers want a union, they should get a union. It's that simple. ... That's why I was one of the leaders fighting to pass the Employee Free Choice Act [EFCA]. That's why I'm fighting for it in the Senate. And that's why we'll make it the law of the land when I'm President." Yesterday, it was reported that Obama will nominate Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) as his Secretary of Labor, a strong indication that he intends to follow through with the pledge he made last winter. Solis is the "daughter of a Mexican union shop steward and a Nicaraguan assembly line worker" and is "in line to be the third Hispanic nominee in Obama's Cabinet." Solis has a solid commitment to putting workers first by supporting fair wages, recognizing the importance of unions, enforcing workplace safety and wage protections. "We're confident that she will return to the Labor Department one of its core missions -- to defend workers' basic rights in our nation's workplaces," AFL-CIO president John Sweeney said. And Solis's voting record in Congress proves it. The AFL-CIO noted that she has voted with the organization's priorities 100 percent of the time in 2007 and 2008 (97 percent lifetime); Solis also received an "A+" rating for voting in support of the middle class.

BUSH LEAGUE LABOR: The last eight years of the Bush administration's Labor Department have been disastrous for America's workers and unions. If confirmed, Solis "will be taking charge of an agency widely criticized for walking away from its regulatory function across a range of issues, including wage and hour law and workplace safety," the Washington Post observed. As a recent CAP study noted, lax enforcement harms all involved, not just workers. "Taxpayers are cheated out of $2.7 billion to $4.3 billion each year in Social Security, unemployment, and income taxes from just one type of workplace fraud" and "[e]mployers who play by the rules have trouble competing with irresponsible firms that keep labor costs illegally low." Last July, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report finding that the Labor Department "did an inadequate job of investigating complaints by low-wage workers who alleged that their employers were stiffing them for overtime, or failing to pay the minimum wage." Last year, the department's inspector general "found that mine safety regulators did not conduct federally required inspections at more than 14 percent of the country's 731 underground coal mines during the previous year." Also, the GAO recently found that Bush's Labor Department "gave Congress inaccurate and unreliable numbers that understated the expense of contracting out its employees' work to private firms." The report added that the contracting policy itself "demoralized" the agency's workers. Now, the department is "racing to complete a new rule" -- one Obama strongly opposes -- "that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job." "The Bush administration had abdicated its responsibility to protect workers," said Thea Lee, policy director of the AFL-CIO. "We have high hopes that we will see a dramatic change of direction under the Obama administration."

RECORD OF PUTTING WORKERS FIRST: In 1996, as a California state senator, Solis took money out of her own campaign account to fund signature gatherers to put a minimum wage raise initiative on the ballot when the state's executive branch would not act. The measure ultimately passed, and California's minimum wage earners received a 35 percent increase in pay. Solis has been a strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for American workers to unionize. "Unions are vital to the health and strength of our communities, and our workers are the bedrock of our economy," Solis said in 2007 while advocating for the Free Choice Act. "In this day and age when the number of women and new immigrants is increasing in the work force, it is important that they become a part of the American fabric and one of the ways is to be a member of a union." Seeing that the Bush administration has made significant cuts in funding labor law enforcement, one labor lawyer has noted that "bigger than any legislative change that may be out there is the question of funding." In fact, Solis "wants to see funding shifted from union oversight programs to efforts like conducting the required number of mine safety inspections, and restarting surveys of workers in vulnerable industries on issues like proper overtime payment."

GREEN JOBS BOOSTER: While Solis has been called a "stalwart friend of the unions," she is also a leader in the fight for green jobs. Solis authored the first environmental justice law in the country as a state senator and her signature legislative achievement in Congress has been the passage of the "Green Jobs Act," a measure that "provides federal money for 'green collar' job training, 'such as energy efficiency retrofit and service, green building construction, and solar panel installation.'" At the National Clean Energy Summit last summer, Solis urged the nation to "choose to transition to a clean energy economy that secures our energy supply and combats climate change." Solis has also argued that green jobs can be a way to lift Americans out of poverty. "Programs which link green job training to underserved communities in both rural and urban communities present a golden opportunity to advance not only the energy security of our nation, but also the economic security of our families." "We can think of no better person to help President-elect Obama implement his plans for an economic recovery fueled by the creation of millions of new green jobs," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. Endorsing Solis, CAP senior fellows Bracken Hendricks and Van Jones said that "she has provided a powerful voice for a transition to a low carbon economy that invests in strong communities, the skills of working people, and the ingenuity and inventive spirit that is at the heart of the American tradition."

HEALTH CARE -- HHS ADOPTS RULE ALLOWING MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO DENY WOMEN CONTRACEPTIVES: Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally adopted a new "conscience rule" permitting "federally funded health care providers to decline to participate in services to which they object, such as abortion." White House Press Secretary Dana Perino claimed that the new regulation simply re-affirmed existing conscience clauses and did not rewrite reproductive laws. But while the new regulation doesn't explicitly rewrite existing legislation, it fails to provide a clear, medically-accepted definition of abortion, expands the definition of health care providers protected by conscience regulations, and allows practitioners to deny women access to commonly used methods of birth control. During the rule's open comment period, medical professionals rejected the new rule and expressed concern about its consequences. "Implementation of this regulation would effectively allow health care providers' personal beliefs to override patients' right to full disclosure of accurate information and available health care resources," six medical associations warned in a joint statement. President-elect Obama can overturn the rule through a three to six month notice and comment process or Congress could act to reject it. As RHRealityCheck explains, "If the motion to disprove is passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President, the rule cannot be enforced or defended in court." Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) have introduced legislation prohibiting HHS from implementing the new rule.

RADICAL RIGHT -- FOX TOUTS AVID IMMIGRANT WITCH HUNTER AS 'AMERICA'S TOUGHEST SHERIFF': Fox's new "reality" television program, "Smile! You’re Under Arrest" -- which features law officers in Phoenix "setting up grandiose sting operations to lure criminals with warrants into their waiting hands, and cameras"-- is intended to project Sheriff Joe Arpaio, from Maricopa County, Arizona, as "America’s Toughest Sheriff." However, as Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund Henry Fernandez notes, in reality Arpaio "has diverted deputies and resources from solving crimes to chasing immigrants -- and done so with no real strategy other than to attract television cameras." According to Fernandez, "Arpaio's deputies carry out traffic stops and neighborhood sweeps that have reportedly stopped people for no greater 'crime' than being brown." Arpaio also requires that crime victims and witnesses prove their immigration status, which ensures that fewer whistleblowers will come forward. Meanwhile, "some 48,000 felony fugitives remain on the loose in his jurisdiction." The conservative Goldwater Institute conducted an investigation and found that violent crimes in Maricopa County have increased 69 percent since 2004 and murders have increased a whopping 166 percent. On Sept. 25, Arpaio's jails lost accreditation, and "he is now operating the jails outside Arizona law."

IRAQ -- REPORT: GONZALES AND RICE APPEAR TO HAVE LIED TO CONGRESS ABOUT VETTING BUSH'S PRE-WAR URANIUM CLAIMS: Discussing Iraq in his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush infamously declared that "the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." The White House later repudiated the statement after former ambassador Joseph Wilson blew the whistle on the claim. As part of an investigation into pre-war intelligence claims, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence asked the White House to provide examples of times that the CIA had cleared such uranium references for use in speeches. On Jan. 6, 2004, then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales sent a letter to Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) on behalf of then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that claimed the CIA had "orally cleared" the uranium claim for two of Bush's speeches. But in a new memo, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) says that he has found evidence contradicting Gonzales. "Contrary to Mr. Gonzales's assertions, the Committee has received evidence that the CIA objected to the uranium claim in both speeches, resulting in its deletion from the President's remarks," writes Waxman. When White House speech writers tried to put the uranium claim into Bush's September 12, 2002 speech to United Nations., the CIA rejected it because it was "not sufficiently reliable to include it in the speech." When National Security Council staff refused to take the uranium claim out of Bush's September 26, 2002 speech, Jami Miscik, the Deputy Director of Intelligence at the CIA, called Rice personally to request it be removed.

The investigating judge in the case of Muntader al-Zaidi says the Iraqi journalist shows signs of being beaten after being arrested for throwing a shoe at President Bush. CBS News reports that Zaidi has also "been kept completely out of the reach of his legal representation and his family." In a letter to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Zaidi has apologized for his actions and asked for a pardon.

President Bush announced today that his administration will "come to the rescue of General Motors and Chrysler by providing them with low-interest loans" using money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. In exchange, "the automakers will need to restructure, getting tough concessions from creditors, suppliers and the labor union."

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson issued a memo yesterday declaring that "[o]fficials weighing federal applications by utilities to build new coal-fired power plants cannot consider their greenhouse gas output." "The current concerns over global climate change should not drive E.P.A. into adopting an unworkable policy of requiring emission controls" in these cases, Johnson said.

In a press conference today, President-elect Obama will announce Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) as transportation secretary. It is unclear whether Obama will announce other appointments today that have been recently reported, such as Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) for labor secretary and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk for U.S. trade representative." More »

Obama has reportedly selected Adm. Dennis C. Blair for Director of National Intelligence where he will oversee "the federal government's 16 intelligence agencies" and supervise the president's daily intelligence briefing. Previously, Blair commanded U.S. forces in the Pacific, served on the National Security Council, and worked on counterterrorism at the Pentagon.

Federal regulators adopted new rules governing the credit card industry yesterday. The rules, which take effect in July 2010, "will allow credit card companies to raise interest rates only on new credit cards and future purchases or advances, rather than on current balances."

In a move that might give him "more room to pursue energy and environmental legislation," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced "an unusual power-sharing arrangement" with former chairman Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). Dingell will take the lead role in drafting health reform legislation and will become "chairman emeritus" of the committee.

A new Justice Department audit concludes that the FBI encouraged agents posted in Iraq from 2003 through 2007 to improperly claim overtime pay, resulting in $7.8 million in cost to taxpayers. Due to a "faulty" policy, agents billed work hours when they were "watching movies, exercising, and attending parties."

And finally: Capitol Hill offices are "a little more Scrooge-like this year," according to the DC Examiner. Most offices are missing the traditional holiday decorations. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has a real 15-foot Christmas tree in his office, but his staff admits that the tough economy forced them to downsize on the decorations. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) gave up decorations altogether and donated the funds to a needy family in his home state. The office Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), who recently lost her race for re-election, is also noticeably empty. "We're in a period of transition,” an aide to Dole said.

In a first, a declaration "seeking to decriminalize homosexuality won the support of 66 countries in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday."

THINK PROGRESS: Vice President Cheney defends torture: It "would have been unethical or immoral" for us not to do it.

WONK ROOM: A call for a clean economic stimulus».

YGLESIAS: Despite what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says, political scientists largely think the war in Iraq damages U.S. security.

AMERICA BLOG: Rev. Rick Warren tells NBC's Ann Curry that gays need maturity and just want multiple sexual partners.

TEXAS: Gov. Rick Perry (R) yesterday " used his first public endorsement of a bill heading to the 2009 Legislature to support a proposed license plate with an anti-abortion message."

UTAH: Human Rights Campaign is petitioning the Mormon church to support same-sex equality legislation in Utah.

MICHIGAN: Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in November, the highest since 1992.

"I am optimistic that we can change the tone in Washington, D.C."
-- President Bush, 12/13/00

VERSUS

"I came with the idea of changing the tone in Washington and frankly didn't do a very good job of it."
-- Bush, 12/18/08

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A Green, Unionized Economic Recovery

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