Volume 7, Number 5 • October 2004 President/Business Manager’s Report Performance Review for the President of the United States of America By Ronald Kastner e' r e changes through Congress by adding it to a $750 a year more for each beneficiary in a al l major appropriations bill, and threatening PPO than it would have spent if the patient Wfam i l - to veto the funding bill. had stayed in the traditional Medicare iar with those The Budget Deficit - Bush inherited a program. annual job $256 billion surplus. Now there is a Bush's plan raises Prescription performance $374.2 billion deficit – a fiscal loss of Drug costs. Just three months after Bush's reviews. Our $630.2 billion dollars in three years. In Medicare "reform" passed and nearly two boss sits down 2011, the first of the baby-boomers will years before seniors see the benefits, the with us and have reached retirement age, coinciding verdict on it is in: it's no good for seniors, goes over the with an explosion of the deficit and especially those with lower incomes. specific parts of massive debt interest payments. By Seniors will not see cheaper prescription our jobs where we are expected to work at running large deficits in the years before prices when the plan is implemented in a competent level. the baby boomers retire, the country is 2006, because it does nothing to control It's time to look at George W. Bush's squandering the opportunity to prepare for the rising cost of drugs. The plan will raise job performance. He's had four years to this major demographic change. drug costs and reduce benefits all while meet the minimum expectations of his job enriching the pharmaceutical companies performance. How did George really do? Economy, Jobs Performance and the and providing a windfall for HMOs and First, in the area of the Econom y, Budget: President Bush Fails to meet the health insurance industry. 1.6 million private sector jobs have been expectations – 0 points on the appraisal. The Bush plan also makes it illegal for lost, 1.1 million government jobs have the government to negotiate drug prices been created leaving a conservative net In the area of Healthcar e more with the pharmaceutical industry, which loss of 585,000 American jobs since there Americans have lost their healthcare Continued on page 3 were in 2001 when George Bush took benefits after losing the jobs that provided office. There are tax incentives for those benefits. If they found a new job-it corporations to move jobs overseas has lower pay and either worse health because Bush said, "It's good for the insurance or no benefits at all. Today Gessler’s Report . .pg 2 American economy to ship jobs overseas if almost 44 million Americans are the work can be done cheaper there." 2.8 uninsured. Since Bush took office, at Election Endorse m e n t s . .pg 4-5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost, least 4.9 million more people, including COPE Report . .pg 6 and the replacement jobs are lower paying 126,000 more children, have become Sacco’s Report . .pg 7 service sector jobs. uninsured. Yet President Bush has put Haymarket . .pg 8 Still in the area of Jobs, Bush changed forward no plan and taken no effective the rules reducing the number of workers steps to remedy this crisis. USO . .pg 10 who qualify for overtime pay, giving then On Medicar e - contrary to federal Webster’s Report . .pg 11 comp or flex time when it is convenient for rules, the Bush administration has been Rep Fest . .pg 12 the corporation. He did this despite allowing some private health plans to "serious coaching" from citizens across actually limit Medicare patients' health Retirees . .pg 15 America who sent thousands of letters to care choices. The Bush administration Meetings . .pg 16 Congress and the White House opposing exceeded its authority when it allowed those reductions. When Congress stopped preferred provider organizations (PPOs) to his legislative attempt, Bush attempted to restrict beneficiaries' choices of doctors, change the Department of Labor rules. nursing homes and home health care When that was blocked he forced the agencies. Yet, Medicare is spending some SBC: Poor Losers By Rick Gessler, Vice President /Assistant Business Manager ere's an should legal l y be, an already settled dispute. Official Bi-Monthly Publication up d a t e In late September SBC filed a feder al International Brotherhood Hon the la wsuit in U.S . District Cour t, de m a n d i n g Of Electrical Workers status of the to have the arbitrator's aw ar d vac a t e d Local 21, AFL-CIO/CLC ar b i t r a t i o n and thrown out. Named as the defendant IBEW Local 21 decision on the in the suit is Local 21, Interna t i o n a l 1307 W. Butterfield Road dispute with Brotherhood of Electrical Wor ke r s . Suite 422 SBC in whi c h Ad d i t i o n a l l y, SBC has asked the Court to Downers Grove, Illinois 60515-5606 the company award SBC its costs, reasonable attorne y contracted out fees and all other relief the court deems just. Phone 630 960-4466 and continues to If ever y time SBC loses a major case in Fax 630 960-9607 contract out our work after the layof f of arbitration, it refuses to abide by the Local 21 members. In addition to getting arbitrator's decision or takes the Union to the company to abide by the terms of the co u r t, one might ask why continue to abide Website ag reement, our goal is to get our laid off by the no-strike clause in the contract. Th e r e www.ibew21.org members back on the payroll. SB C ' s st a l l are many answers to this question, but one Newswire hotlines tactics are bla t a n t l y wron g and will not be that stands out is In t e g r i t y . Both sides 630 415-2711 tolerated by our union. signed and agreed to the terms of the 866 423-9582 SBC's strategy is clearly to delay contract. One side continues to violate it, resolution of this dispute by not complyi n g and one side continues to represent the OFFICERS with the Arbitrator's awar d , beyond the date rights of the wor k ers covered by it. One side Ronald E. Kastner, that our laid off brothers and sisters maintain represents run a way corporate power and President-Business Manager recall rights. Briefly, our contract includes a greed and one side fights ever y day for a / Financial Secretary gri e vance and arbitration procedure to better life for all working families. This fig h t Rick Gessler, re s o l v e workplace disputes with SBC. Th e is about the lives of our laid off brothers and Vice-President /Assistant Business Manager last step is arbitration, where the company sisters and their families. Many still have not Jacquie Fields, and the union mutually select a neutral third found work and SBC continues using Treasurer pa r ty to hear the positions and argu m e n t s outside contractors. We must never forge t Linda Corcoran-Cox, from both sides, along with testimony and that an injury to one is an injury to all. Recording Secretary other rational on the dispute. Once the Our union is not taking SBC's lawsuit or arbitrator renders a decision in the case, it is their continued delays lightly. We have EXECUTIVE BOARD MEM BERS final and binding on both sides: co u n t e r sued SBC asking the judge to issue Kevin Curran Alison Watson "The aw ar d of the arbitrator shall be an order for the company to comply with the Bill Lawrence Rosetta Shinn Jim Noble Bryan Smith final and binding upon the par ti e s , Arbitrator's awar d . Larry Schuler subject to law, and the Company and the SBC is attempting to manipulate the law, Union agree to abide by the decision of the courts, the integrity of the arbitration MANAGING EDITOR Tom Hopper email: the arbitr at o r. " procedure and even the collective bargai n i n g [email protected] You win some and you lose some, b ut ag reement, but most important, SBC is Phone 630 960-4466 X223 aga i n , the decision is f in a l . injuring our brothers and sisters waiting for Fax 630 960-9607 United States Federal policy favor s recall. In suits to enforce arbitration awar d s , EDITORS industrial peace, preferring contract the law says that the courts should not Larry Moeller email: ag reements which include both arbitration accept even serious error of fact or contract [email protected] and no-strike clauses. It's important that all in t e r pretation as grounds for vacating an Nancy North email: members understand that our contract award. As long as the arbitrator is even [email protected] includes a no-strike clause. In other wor d s , arg u a b ly acting within the scope of the Comments and articles are welcome and the union gives up the right to strike to settle contractual authority, the award should be should be sent to the editors.