Senate Passes Garment.Liabilt Mean AFL-CIO to His Opposition to Make Entie Health Plan
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Labor Calls on LegislatuirE00posi elegates from throughout D the state convene at Sacra- mento Monday to review the cur- rent session of.the Legislature in the light of needs and aspirations of the two million California wage earners represented by urnons of the AFL-CIO. The annual Legislative Confer- ence opens at 9:30 a.m. Monday at Vol 37-No. 19 -My2,19 the -Sacramento Radisson Hotel with a review of pending bills inter- mixed with remarks by key political leaders. Health .A highlight will be an address by Martin Manley, Assistant U.S. Sec- retary of Labor, during the confer- Crisis. ence dinner Tuesday evening at the hotel. Monday's discussions of bills will T,aAx on be led by Jack Henning, executive secretary-treasurer of, the California Labor Federation, and Bob Bal- Benefits genorth, president of the State The labor movement has launch- Building and Construction Trades ed a grass-roots lobbying campaign Council of California. The two or- against a proposal to attach taxes on ganizations jointly sponsor the current employee health benefits to conference. the national health care refonn now State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, being debated in Congress. labor's endorsed candidate for gov- The problem is in the House ernor, will speak to the delegates Ways and Means Committee where during the opening session. Others Republicans and some conservative who will speak are Lieutenant Gov- Democrats are trying to impose ernor Leo McCarthy, Senate Presi- such a tax, Executive Secretary- dent Pro-Tem Bill Lockyer, Assem- Treasurer Jack Henning warned bly Speaker Willie L. Brown, Jr., California Labor Federation affili- and Assembly Member James L. ates this week. Brulte, the Republican floor leader. Henning urged letters, faxes and Lobbying - the primary busi- phone calls for the two California ness of the conference - will start Democrats on the Ways and Means Monday afternoon and continue all Committee: day Tuesday. Delegates will orga- * Robert Matsui, whose 5th nize their visits immediately after Congressional District covers part the Monday lunch break and then of Sacramento County start heading for the State Capitol to * Fortney H. (Pete) Stark, Jr., make certain their representatives in whose 13th District includes parts the Assembly and Senate under- of Alameda and Contra Costa stand labor's position on key bills Counties. at SEF COPE Banqut affecting working menand women. The AFL-CIO Executive Council Kathleen Brown Th6 scene&- his bakto1-he Ra- made labor's opposition to any tax -state"- 11easurer Kathleen Brown, endorsed for gov- ists and guests at last night's San Francisco Labor on benefits clear to President Clin- ernor by the state AFL-CIO Committee on Poitical Council COPE benefit banquet'at the Sheraton Pal- ton during a meeting earlier this Educaion COPE, addresses somne 500 trade union- ace Hotel. month, Robert McGlotten,, the fed- eration's director of legislation, re- minded affiliates earlier this month. Clinton was told that any tax on current employee benefits would Senate Passes Garment.Liabilt mean AFL-CIO to his opposition to make entie health plan. Legislation garment Communications Workers with sup- manufacturers jointly liable along * Smoking bill sheds bad amendments. from the state federation. The tax on health benefits is con- with their sewing subcontractors for port tained in a proposal by Rep. Dan labor law violations and for * Senate passes two labor measuOres. The bill would permit Pacific the Illinois Demo- pay ser- Rostenkowski, withheld from workers was passed Bell to provide long-distance the this -week. Page 4 vice within California in competi- by Assembly tion with AT&T, MCI and Sprint, The vote was 41-32 for Assembly all of whom it. Bill 3046, which is sponsored by Means Committee with assertions derground economy violators and opposed the California Labor Federation and that enforcement would be too keep 30 percent of the penalties won T Santorii of the CWA told com- the International Ladies' Garment costly for under-funded enforcement in court. mittee members that his union has Workers Union and carried by Hilda agencies. The Department of Industrial Re- collective bargaining contracts with Solis, D-El Monte. The measure All "aye' votes were by Demo- lations claimed, as it did in the case Pacific* Bell assuring that jobs cre- now moves to the State Senate. crats, and all "no" votes were by of AB 3046,, that enforcement of ated by the company's entry into long-distance service will remain in Meanwhile, another bill aimed at Republicans. Democrats Cruz Bust- the laws would be too costly The amnante, Fresno; Louis Caldera, Los department once again failed to take California and will be paid living preventing rip-offs of workers and with decent benefits. evasion of state taxes under- Angeles, and Jim Costa, Fresno, into account fines against law- wages by The other com- ground economy operators were recorded as not.voting. Absent breaking. employers, and once again long-distance cleared were Democrats Burt Margolin, the committee members ignored it. panies are shipping such.jobs out of on the Assembly Ways and Means (Continued Page 4) L.A.; Willard Murray, Paramount, The vote was party-line, except the state to low-wage areas, Santoro Committee and was sent to the As- testified. sembly floor. That measure is AB and Jackie Speier, South San that Republican Paul Horcher of Di- 3374, carried by Johan Klehs, Francisco. amond Bar voted "yes" along with Richard Holober, assistant re- D-San Leandro,, and sponsored by In addition to tightening laws and the Democratic majority. search director for the California the state AFL-CIO federation. penalties against underground econ- Also in the Ways and Means Labor Federation, urged the com- Federation head Jack Henning, omy operators, AB 3374 would en- Committee this week, there was bi- mittee members to support AB speaking for the bill, called the un- able workers or groups'of workers partisan support for AB 3720 by 3720 as a. means of keeping good- derground economy "the fastest to file private civil suits against un- Costa, which is sponsored by the paying jobs in California. in r m growing industry California."14 The garment industry joint lia- bility bill aims at curbing abuses rampant in sewing sweatshops oper- COPE's Statewide Endorsements ated-by so-called "'stitch and ditch" employers exploiting workers who Here are COPE's primary Secretary Of State: Attorney General: won usually are immigrant workers un- election endorsements certain about their rights and sus- for statewide office: Gwen Moore Tom Umberg ceptible to coercion and exploita- Treasurer: Superintendent of Public tion. Governor: Similar bills have been passed by David Roberti Instruction: the Legislature twice and have been Kathleen Brown C Delaine Eastin vetoed both times. Gov. Pete ontroller:, Wilson's opposition to this third bill Rusty Areias Insurance was signaled earlier when the state Lieutenant Governor: Don Perata Commissioner: Department of Industrial Relations Davis (dual) Art Torres tried to block it in the Ways and Gray Gin The hnttttqp-linvoi"or i XnL<bv1a'niee%Eh!mmp:I.PnA;-114wzCaINatuaYR%.UgMzULinlMeIC09'J traue agreemnen? right now is the Chey*, which Gen- simply high-jacked the. familiar GMOfficial told the New York lJong. GM i ern up -to produce A reportlin the NewYork Times Times that would not have endl Motors Corp. started importing nickname for. Chevrolet. explained it last week. they' at- the Opel Corsa-Chevy at its big into that country immediately after How-does it happen that NAFTA Under tempted theirnmulI-7national shuffle. RmsArizfie planit in the state of the* North American Free NAFT7A,9corporations. do-: without NASAM Trade makes it possible for General Mo- ing business inMe.]Wxico no longer Coahula;just arssteborder Agreement went into effect on tors to import cars into- Mexico True, Mmust. payhihetIM- Jan. 1. are required to.export more than. port* -duties on' the- Spain-built from* Spain rather than from the they import. The agreement._doesn't- Mexicans have bought more than United. States or Canada, the other Chevy,that it would if-the cars we require. such imports. to come from imported from. the U.S. Or Canada.* Guess where most-of-the cars 5,500 Cbevys so far this year Al- two countries that are part of the the. United States or froth Canada. most that many more have been or- But thiS Won't be -an issue for'- prodted there are goin*o* esod dered by buyers whose names are on Mexican auto dealers' waiting lists. .0J* b xP.o'.r. -:-N U-Mber, K.eGet ra Just what the NAFTA IkT A I V. A ep promoters INAFr'A is promised. Right? piling up oisasrrous Jan. 1,- the three auto- makers ex- GMWcars exported to Me.xico--in the. week -by the*New York Times. numbers for American auto *ported .a- total. of 14,991- cars and Wrong. workers. same three-month period.-. They include only- cars and GM builds these in trucks to Mexio*fo their Ameri-0 three auto mfacturers In- trucks to be Chevys A-total of 85-,075 cars and trucks can factories. Thle ready driven away by Spain. The corporation's bonanza. built in creased their American. exports. purchasers. Not taken into account isn't for Ameri- Genieral Motors*,*Ford and That means A deficit -of -70.084 first hundreds creating any jobs Chrysler plants in Mexico were im- vehicles during the firtM uarerof. from1-2nislthe quarter- a.re'the of factories in cans laid off because U.S.- em- of1993 'o14.*991ti etAt the Mexico- producing parts* ranging ported into the U.S-. in the first thr6e 1994 - more- than." 1,000* carsOr ployers have shifted production to months after the-North- American same&-time, they *were Incesn frmegines to wheels for export to Mexico to exploit cheap labor.