Howard Brandwein Presents – Union Resource Center Sponsorship Partner Heather Heninger With Aflac.

 

 

Aflac helps you get back to being you. So you can stop worrying about expenses and start getting better.

Heather Heninger, CA License No. 0G54263,
3530 Camino Del Rio N Suite 200,
San Diego CA 92108, Phone: 480.272.2377,
Heather_Heninger@us.aflac.com

LABOR: Union Dials In A Deal With AT&T.

The company and the union that represents hard-line workers
 in California could be close to a new contract.

After almost a year, the company and the union that represents hard-line workers in California could be close to a new contract.

Communications giant AT&T has reached a tentative agreement with the union that represents thousands of employees in California and Nevada, probably bringing a satisfactory ending to negotiations that lasted close to a year.

District 9 of the Communications Workers of America, which represents about 18,000 installers, repair crews and sales staff that run AT&T’s hard line operations and its home entertainment unit, AT&T U-verse, had been working without a contract since April 8, 2012. The four-year deal reached between union negotiators and AT&T management must be ratified by the workers.

The deal includes workers at a company call center in Riverside.

This was the second tentative deal the two sides reached, said Libby Sayre, the area director for District 9. A settlement reached in March was voted down by an overwhelming majority of the workers, sending the company and the union back to the bargaining table.

Sayre said the talks with the technicians who work with U-verse systems, called “premise techs,” is what brought down the first tentative agreement. Wage gains first offered for those workers were seen as too low, and the entire membership rejected the agreement by a 3-1 margin, she said.

“The sentiment was very, very strong on that, and we sent our team back to negotiate with AT&T,” Sayre said.

The deal that workers will vote on this month includes pay raises of 10.5 percent for phone line workers spread out over the four years of the deal, and 16.6 percent for U-verse technicians. It also includes pension increases and maintains the company’s health-care coverage with increases in employee contributions, according to a statement from the Dallas-based telecommunications giant.

“We thought we’d either need to see a significant improvement or there’d be a strike,” Sayre said. “But I give AT&T a lot of credit.”

Marty Richter, an AT&T spokesman, said in an emailed statement that the two sides were able to work out an agreement that was fair.

“Our goal throughout these negotiations has been to preserve high-quality middle-class careers for our employees, and this agreement does that,” Richter wrote in the statement.

The workers will vote by mail on whether to ratify the agreement over the course of this month, and the ballots will be counted May 1.

SHOCKING: WHAT ARE NORTH KOREANS SAYING ABOUT A NUCLEAR ATTACK ON THE US?

The aggressors and provocateurs will face a disgraceful ruin in the final battle to be started
 soon, and the great Korean nation will greet the bright day of national reunification.

 

Kim Jong Un’s Order Is Final Decision To End Showdown With U.S.  

Pyongyang, April 3 – The dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un issued an order for action at an operation meeting on the performance of duty of the Strategic Rocket Force of the Korean People’s Army on firepower strike. This is the final decision of justice prompted by the matchless grit of the brilliant commander of Mt.

Paektu to put a definite end to the long-standing history of showdown with the U.S. imperialists and blow up the dens of evils.

 Rodong Sinmun Wednesday says this in a bylined article.

The U.S. has persistently sought to realise the strategy for stifling the DPRK by force of arms, while trying to keep the state of confrontation going on in the Korean Peninsula, the article notes, and goes on:

The U.S. prodded the UN Security Council into cooking up “resolutions on sanctions” against the DPRK, labeling its satellite launch, a legitimate right of a sovereign state, as a “provocation”. The U.S. is threatening the DPRK with a nuclear war.

It is the final conclusion drawn by the DPRK that it can neither build a reunified thriving nation nor protect the life and security of the people unless it tides over such grave situation.

The grudge of the Korean people at the U.S., the sworn enemy, is running high and their patience has gone beyond limitation.

All the service personnel and people of the DPRK have waited for the time of a final battle for national reunification, pledging revenge on the U.S. for over half a century. They are waiting for the final order of Kim Jong Un, keeping themselves on high alert.

The aggressors and provocateurs will face a disgraceful ruin in the final battle to be started soon, and the great Korean nation will greet the bright day of national reunification.

With Furloughs And Military Training Cutbacks Coming, How Are You Affected By Sequestration?

Sequestration is the term for the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts the federal
 government must make by September, including $42.7 billion in Defense Department cuts.

The residents of the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia, with its large military presence, are on edge: sequestration is going into effect.

Sequestration is the term for the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts the federal government must make by September, including $42.7 billion in Defense Department cuts.

According to the report, the Navy had to cancel a six-month deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in order to reach its spending reduction targets, giving the 5,000 sailors just a few days’ notice.

“If you’re a single sailor and you were expecting to deploy and that was stopped at the last minute, if you own a car, you have put it in storage or perhaps you have sold it. You have gotten out of an apartment or a home you may share with a few other people. You have put your household goods in storage. You have disconnected from the world,” retired Adm. Craig Quigley of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance told Lewis.

The government also is expected to make cuts through temporary unpaid leave, or furlough days, for some civilian employees. Trying to ease the blow, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently announced that civilian Pentagon employees would be furloughed for 14 days, rather than 22 days as originally planned, and that furloughs would be delayed until June.

Before the sequestration deadline passed, and Congress was still struggling to make a budget deal to avoid the mandatory cuts, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter states that in addition to furloughs, sequestration meant cutting back on military training for conflicts other than Afghanistan.

“By the end of the year … two-third of our Army units, active-duty Army units and all of our reserve units will not be ready to fight other wars,” he warned.

Howard Brandwein Presents – Union Resource Center Sponsorship Partners Erwin & Charles Cohn With Cohn & Cohn.

2 Locations To Serve You:
                                    

33 North County
Waukegan, IL 60085
Phone: 847-623-9256

77 West Washington,
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-346-9336

We are a local, family owned and operated practice made up of a father and son team; Erwin and Charles A. Cohn. Our goal at Cohn & Cohn is to win your case and get the justification you deserve. Our experience dealing with accidental and personal injury cases for over 20 years has been very successful. Our client’s outcomes have been above and beyond what they had hoped for. If you have an accidental or personal injury case and need the best lawyers available, call our law office now!

Erwin & Charles Cohn, Cohn & Cohn
77 W. Washington Street Suite 1422 Chicago, IL 60602,
Phone: 312-346-9336, Fax: 312-346-9339,
cceclaw@aol.com, www.cohnandcohnlaw.com

Big Labor Scores A Win.

The compromise package will now move on from the negotiating table of the two 
interest groups to the eight lawmakers who are trying to pass immigration reform.

Organized labor succeeded in attaining special provisions in the illegal immigration compromise that will boost union contract prospects.

The AFL-CIO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed a package of immigration reforms on Friday after months of negotiations. Under the deal, 200,000 work visas would be issued each year, up from 66,000. Companies would be forced to pay those workers “prevailing wages” dictated by the Department of Labor’s regional standards.

Prevailing wages, which were first adopted nationally with the Davis-Bacon Act, require employers to pay workers at industry standards that are often determined by union pay, according to Steve Allen of the Capital Research Center.

“[Prevailing wage is] usually interpreted to be union wages, which gives unions advantages in bidding for contracts,” Allen said. “It raises prices for whoever’s paying for the project and by requiring union wage regardless, you might as well hire the union guy.”

The immigration deal would advance prevailing wage laws from federal contractors and the construction industry to any employer that applies for a work visa.

Allen said the provisions are a major reason many labor unions have embraced immigration reform, despite historical opposition to bringing in foreign workers to domestic labor markets.

Neither the Chamber of Commerce nor the AFL-CIO returned requests for comment.

Super PAC Ready For Hillary Clinton In 2016.

The Ready for Hillary super PAC launched its website Tuesday, declaring itself set to
 go in case the former secretary of State wants to jump into the 2016 presidential race.

Super PAC? Check. Website? Check. Hillary Rodham Clinton declaring her candidacy for president? Not yet, but some of her former supporters and campaign staffers are ready and waiting.

The Ready for Hillary super PAC launched its website Tuesday, declaring itself set to go in case the former secretary of State wants to jump into the 2016 presidential race. Clinton, who lost the 2008 Democratic nomination to Barack Obama, left the Cabinet post about two months ago.

“We are going to keep up the energy and excitement surrounding her potential candidacy,” said Allida Black, the PAC’s chairwoman and a supporter of Clinton’s 2008 campaign. “To succeed we need to start building an extensive field program — getting neighbors talking to neighbors, organizing on college campuses, and putting together the winning team of supporters that will help Hillary win in 2016.”

The super PAC launched in late January and says it now has more than 100,000 supporters. Veterans of Clinton’s campaign, including Ready for Hillary executive director Adam Parkhomenko and spokesman Seth Bringman, are also on board as staff. Black campaigned for Clinton in 14 states in 2008.

While the 2016 presidential campaign is more than three years away, early public opinion polls already show support for Clinton. A Quinnipiac Poll released last month showed Clinton would lead Republicans such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan by strong double digits.
Clinton has not discussed her political future, but her recent declaration in support of same-sex marriage was viewed by some political observers as a sign she may be a presidential candidate in 2016.

There are two other groups that have filed papers with the Federal Election Commission in support of Clinton for president, but they are not at the same stage as Ready for Hillary.

Study Finds Civilian Doctors Aren’t Familiar With Pentagon Health Care Program Or Dislike Its Compensation Plan.

The Pentagon provides health care for 9.7 million active-duty troops, military retirees,
 some National Guard members and reservists, and military children.

An estimated 620,000 Pentagon health care recipients a group that includes military retirees, National Guard members and reservists and the children of some active-duty troops — struggle to find private doctors who will accept them as patients, according to a new government study.

Many doctors reported that they turn away these patients because they are unfamiliar with the Pentagon health care program known as Tricare. Others say they did not like how little they are compensated or how long it takes Tricare to reimburse them.

The end result “is a potential problem with (beneficiaries) getting access to care, and that’s particularly mental health care,” said Debra Draper, director of the study done by the General Accountability Office (GAO).
The number of private doctors accepting new Tricare patients is trending downward, the study says, and is worse in certain categories. Only about 40% of civilian mental health providers take these patients compared with 67% of primary doctors and 77% of specialty physicians.

Civilian doctors in California and Texas were the most likely to turn away Tricare patients, according to the study. While nearly all doctors in those states were accepting new patients, more than half rejected Tricare beneficiaries.

In a written statement attached to the GAO report, Tricare chief Jonathan Woodson offered “no significant technical changes” in response to the findings.

The Pentagon provides health care for 9.7 million active-duty troops, military retirees, some National Guard members and reservists, and military children.

The majority receive care mostly from military doctors. But about 2 million choose a form of Tricare, allowing greater flexibility in picking doctors, in many cases because they do not live near military bases.

About 70% of this group are military retirees and their dependents. The rest are children of active-duty troops or National Guard and reservists and their dependents, according to the report.

Howard Brandwein Presents – Union Resource Center Sponsorship Partner Richard ‘Rico’ Caveglia With Ageless Living Lifestyle. Rico is creator of The Ageless Living Lifestyle. His

Free Training Session

Age 70

Fitness Age 22   America’s Anti Growing Old Trainer

Rico is creator of The Ageless Living Lifestyle. His health/fitness/wellness consulting and training company was established in 1981. Rico is dedicated to help individuals create a healthier, more energetic, productive and happy life in order to create a healthier, happier and peaceful world. He has 31 year’s experience training/coaching many of San Diego’s most prominent citizens.

Rico Caveglia, Ageless Living Lifestyle, 5215 Fiore Terrace #402
San Diego CA 92122, Phone: 858-274-0118,
ricoc@AgelessLivinglifestyle.com, www.AgelessLivingLifestyle.com

Rally Scheduled For Cesar Chavez Day.

The event has become the largest of the year for the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council.

Around 1,000 labor union members are scheduled to walk through downtown San Diego Monday in the sixth annual Cesar Chavez Day March.

The event has become the largest of the year for the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, according to the umbrella organization that represents the region’s unions.

A rally is scheduled before the march at Spanish Landing Park near Lindbergh Field to highlight issues for workers in the year ahead. The march will wind up at the Community Concourse next to City Hall.

Among those scheduled to participate are San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, San Diego Unified School District trustee Richard Barrera and Labor Council CEO Lorena Gonzalez, who is running for the open Assembly seat in the southern part of San Diego County.

US Deploys F-22 Stealth Fighters To South Korea.

The U.S. military deployed F-22 stealth fighters to South Korea on Sunday to participate
 in annual military drills amid heightened tensions with North Korea.

The U.S. military deployed F-22 stealth fighters to South Korea on Sunday to participate in annual military drills amid heightened tensions with North Korea.

The U.S. military command in South Korea said the F-22 Raptors were sent from Japan to Osan Air Base, South Korea participate in bilateral exercises, as it urged restraint from Pyongyang, Reuters reported.
“[North Korea] will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” the command said in a statement said.

The United States has flown B-2 and B-52 bombers to South Korea in addition to the F-22s as part of its annual military exercises with the South Koreans, which have come as North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un has ramped up his bellicose rhetoric to the two countries.

Pyongyang has threatened nuclear attacks and declared an end to the decades-old armistice. North Korea said Saturday that it was entering a “state of war” against the South.

The recent escalation in rhetoric has occurred in the wake of new sanctions against North Korea for conducting a new nuclear test earlier this year.

The annual joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, known as Foal Eagle, have prompted angry rhetoric from the North Korea in previous years as well.

U.S. officials have said they are taking the North Korean threats “very seriously” while noting the North Koreans often will wield bellicose rhetoric.

“We must make clear that these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously, and we’ll respond to that,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said last week.

Hagel last month restarted plans that were put on hold in 2009 to beef up U.S. missile defenses in Alaska in response to the new North Korean threats and nuclear test.

Military Working Cat Program Underway At ‘The Old Guard’.

Officials hope to capitalize on cats' olfactory and hearing prowess. While most people
 think of dogs as having sharp senses, cats actually have more acute senses.

Think the Army doesn’t have a sense of humor? Think again.

The news feature this April Fools’ morning on www.army.mil is about the 3^rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, and its efforts towards cutting spending through the introduction of cats to work alongside military police.

Military police currently use German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois for drug detection and tracking criminals. The cats will be used for the same thing, the article claims, as well as serving as claw-bearing, ready-to-scratch fuzzy attack missiles.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Sgt. 1st Class Tyler Radmall, platoon sergeant, 947th Military Police Detachment, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). “There are so many homeless cats in the Virginia area. Not only will the Army have a more cost-effective working animal, but we will be doing our part in getting them off of the streets and finding them employment.”

Soldiers in the regiment have been working to capture stray cats, which then go through a screening process to determine “trainability.” The article claims the feline soldiers will be evaluated on how they follow directions and sociability, with unmotivated cats getting the boot from the program.

The article claims participants are excited about the use of cats as police animals but admitted there are limitations.

“It has been a rough process,” Radmall said. “A lot of our soldiers were seen at the regimental aid station because they were scratched up pretty badly by the cats.”

The “program” has had one successful graduate, according to the story.

“We’ve already had one cat successfully graduate through the program, and we’re looking forward to having many more to follow in his footsteps,” Radmall said. “While the other cats in the program might not understand the gravity of his achievement, Gino serves as a role model for them. He exemplifies the Army values.”
And, as the article states, no cats were harmed in the writing of this story.

Howard Brandwein Presents – Union Resource Center Sponsorship Partner Attorney Sylvia Noel White.

Sylvia Noel White, P.A.

• Business Corporation and Partnership Law
• Consumer Law Claims and Protection
• General Practice Law
• Wills Estates Trusts and Probate Law

Noel White provides services in all areas of Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Administration. She also provides services regarding consumer issues and small business matters.
Sylvia Noel White, Sylvia Noel White, P.A., 201 Douglas Avenue, Suite B Dunedin, FL 34698, Phone: 727-735-0645, Fax: 727-735-9375, snoelwh@aol.com, www.dunedinattorney.com

Michigan’s New Labor Day.

Starting today, workers will have a choice in union membership and labor unions will have to earn their membership by service and not outdated work rules that force membership.

Today – March 28, 2013 – marks a new day for labor freedom in Michigan as landmark legislation making Michigan a right to work state goes into effect.

Starting today, workers will have a choice in union membership and labor unions will have to do what every other voluntary organization has to do: Earn their membership by service and not outdated work rules that force membership. Because the legislation was passed last year without immediate effect, it becomes law today on the 91st day after the 2012 Legislature adjourned. The final vote came after a day of demonstrations and violence by labor unions and activists opposed to ending decades of coercive, compulsory union membership in Michigan.

There are exemptions – and the law will not apply to all workers. Firefighters, local and state law enforcement officers, those represented by federal unions, employees protected under federal laws (such as the Railway Labor Act) and some other transportation workers, agricultural workers and domestic workers are not covered by the law. Right to work will not immediately apply to businesses that have existing collective bargaining agreements. Therefore, if a current labor agreement extends beyond the effective date of the law (March 28, 2013), membership – and payment of union dues – will remain mandatory until that labor agreement expires.

The reaction to right to work by Big Labor and state bureaucrats wedded to the old monopoly system reveals their true motives in dealing with their “members.” The Civil Service Commission claims that state employees are not covered by the law. Labor unions, primarily in the public sector, have been trying to renegotiate contracts as far out as possible before the law’s effective date in order to deny their members choice for years. Labor unions and supporters of the old, forced membership system can be expected to turn to the courts in an effort to avoid the law.

But in the long run, the new day of labor relations will not be denied.

Just as railroads tried to fend off competition from the automobile and just as monopoly telephone companies battled against emerging technology by using government rules and laws to stifle upstart competitors, such efforts will only prolong the inevitable. If labor unions can evolve into service-centered organizations that compete for membership in this new labor environment they will survive and prosper. If not, they do not deserve government protection any more than any other outdated monopoly.

Beer Fight Brewing Over Taxes.

If enacted, the Small BREW Act would cut the federal excise tax on beer from $7
 a barrel to $3.50, which is placed on a small brewer’s first 60,000 barrels produced per year.

There’s a tax fight brewing between large beer companies and their smaller craft brethren on Capitol Hill.

The Beer Institute, which includes member companies such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors, plans to “actively oppose” the Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce, or Small BREW Act, this year.
The Brewers Association — essentially the trade group for craft brewers — is lobbying for the bill, which would reduce the federal excise tax on beer from small producers.

Chris Thorne, vice president of communications for the Beer Institute, says his trade group has dropped its neutral stance on the legislation because it divides the industry.

“We are going to actively oppose this legislation,” Thorne said. “If the entire industry is unified and has one ask, we stand a far better chance of succeeding than when we have multiple bills to push.”

Thorne said his group opposes any tax increase on beer, but that all of the industry should unite behind one bill: the Brewer’s Employment and Excise Relief (BEER) Act, which is expected to be introduced later this year and would reduce excise taxes on beer produced by brewers large and small.

Bob Pease, chief operating officer for the Brewers Association, said the Beer Institute has been uncomfortable with his group’s preferred legislation in the past.

“That’s disappointing but not altogether unexpected,” Pease said. “They expressed discomfort in the past about various components in the bill so that’s why it doesn’t come as a total shock.”

If enacted, the Small BREW Act would cut the federal excise tax on beer from $7 a barrel to $3.50, which is placed on a small brewer’s first 60,000 barrels produced per year. After that initial 60,000 barrels, small brewers must pay $18 per barrel, which would be lowered to $16 under the bill.

In addition, the bill would expand the tax code definition for a small brewer. Right now, brewers who produce up to 2 million barrels of beer per year are considered small brewers. The legislation would raise the limit to 6 million barrels per year.

The Beer Institute said the bill amounts to a “giveaway” for a handful of profitable brewers.

TSA Simplifies Screening Process For Wounded Soldiers.

Starting Wednesday, the TSA will offer wounded soldiers
curb-to-gate service and allow them to go through security 
with their shoes, light jackets and hats on.

The Transportation Security Administration has announced it will be offering an expedited airport screening process to severely injured members of the armed services.

Starting Wednesday, the TSA will offer wounded soldiers curb-to-gate service and allow them to go through security with their shoes, light jackets and hats on. Current military personnel who go through a TSA checkpoint in uniform and with proper identification can already keep on their footwear, under existing rules.

“In recognition of the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, we have revised our screening requirements to allow expedited screening for this trusted group of citizens,” TSA deputy administrator John Halinski, himself a 25-year Marine Corps veteran, said in a statement.

In order to receive the expedited service, wounded soldiers or their travelling companions must contact the Military Severely Injured Joint Services Operations Center prior with their itinerary prior to traveling.
According to a report in the Marine Corps Times, TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said that the accommodation expansion was in the works prior to a mid-March incident in which a wheelchair-bound Marine was “humiliated” by the airport screening process.

The incident, which was reported to California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, was detailed in a complaint letter the congressman sent to TSA. The situation received national media coverage.

Following a conversation with Halinski about the incident, Hunter said he was assured of the deputy administrator’s commitment to wounded warriors.

“Based on our conversation and the level of detail provided, I have no doubt about Director Halinski’s commitment to providing for the care of our war wounded and his interest in ensuring veterans are treated with respect,” Hunter said in a statement on March 20.

“TSA has been working to improve screening procedures for wounded veterans and service members, which began before the specific report I received and conveyed, and I look forward to TSA’s action in the coming days,” he added. “The TSA already maintains a wounded warrior program and operation center and building on this program will help serve the interests of veterans across the country.”

In 2005, TSA instituted a “Wounded Warrior” screening program to help simplify the security process and ensure it affords “empathy and respect” to injured soldiers, according to a TSA website.

“We’ve had a wounded warrior program in place for some time to assist injured members of the military through the checkpoint process,” TSA spokesperson Nico Melendez said, according to NBC News.

“Starting now, in airports with or without TSA PreCheck lanes, these heroes will be escorted to and through the checkpoints and will not have to remove hats, caps, light jackets or shoes.”

Howard Brandwein Presents – Union Resource Center Sponsorship Partner Michael P Majancsik With Michael Majancsik, D.C.

Free Consultation – Call Now! 

 

Chiropractic Wellness is the most qualified facility for chiropractic rehab and exercise physiology in Long Beach. Our founder, Dr. Michael Majancsik, is not only a Licensed Chiropractic Doctor, but also a Board Certified Rehab and Physiology Therapist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. We serve our clients with techniques and equipment normally available only to world-class athletes. We help people who are pain and who want to get back to doing things they love to do.

Pain Relief & Improved Performance…For Life

1. Injury/Pain & Bodywork
2. Out Of Pain/Healing
3. Back To Doing The Things You Love
4. Enhanced Functionality/Fitness

Michael P Majancsik, Michael Majancsik, D.C., 3620 Long Beach Blvd., C-8
Long Beach, CA 90807, Phone: 562-424-1165, michael@drwellness.org, www.drwellness.org

Teachers Union Disappointed With Voucher Ruling.

An Indiana House committee hears arguments on Governor 
Mitch Daniels' school voucher plan.

An Indiana teachers union official says she is disappointed that the state Supreme Court has upheld the nation’s broadest school voucher program but isn’t sure if the case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Indiana State Teachers Association Vice President Teresa Meredith says she still believes the state should be investing in public schools and making those the best they can be.

The voucher law upheld unanimously Tuesday gives low- and middle-income students public money to attend private schools. More than 9,000 students are participating this year.

The teachers union sued over the law and said it harmed public schools by diverting money intended for them to the voucher program.

The justices sided with supporters who argued the program gives families more educational choices.

Divided Supreme Court Offers Mixed Signals In Marriage Debate.

Joey Williamson, left, and Gary Brown form New York City,
 cover themselves from the snow as they wait in line outside of 
the Supreme Court in Washington for the court hearing on
 same-sex marriage.

A divided Supreme Court debated Tuesday whether the Constitution includes a right to same-sex marriage and how broadly such a right would extend.

The justices wrestled with California’s ban on gay marriage in a case that would allow them to declare a nationwide right to same-sex marriage. But several justices seemed hesitant to go that far, questioning whether the issue should be allowed to percolate further in the states.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who casts the court’s typical swing vote, questioned whether the court made a mistake by agreeing to hear the case.

“I just wonder if the case was properly granted,” Kennedy said.

The court’s most conservative justices pushed back hard against the case for marriage equality. Justice Antonin Scalia repeatedly pressed attorney Ted Olson, who is arguing against the California ban, to tell him when the Constitution came to protect gay marriage.

The court’s liberals, meanwhile, argued that opening the door to same-sex marriage would not harm the institution of marriage any more than allowing marriage among infertile couples, or couples who are too old to have children.

It’s the first time the Supreme Court has tacked the subject of gay marriage. It will continue to hear arguments on Wednesday over the Defense of Marriage Act.

China’s Military Steps Up Drone Deployment.

New unarmed drone deployments include the recent stationing of 
reconnaissance and ocean urveillance drones in Northeast Asia near Japan and 
the Senkaku islands and along China's southern coast.

China’s military is expanding its unmanned aerial vehicle forces with a new Predator-like armed drone and a new unmanned combat aircraft amid growing tensions with neighbors in Asia, according to United States intelligence officials.

New unarmed drone deployments include the recent stationing of reconnaissance and ocean surveillance drones in Northeast Asia near Japan and the Senkaku islands and along China’s southern coast. Drones also are planned for the South China Sea where China has been encroaching on international waters and bullying nations of that region in asserting control over international waters, said officials familiar with intelligence reports.

“Unmanned aerial vehicles are emerging as critical enablers for PLA long range precision strike operations,” said Mark Stokes, a former military intelligence official now with the Project 2049 Institute. “A general operational PLA requirement appears to be persistent surveillance of fixed and moving targets out to 3,000 kilometers of Chinese shores.”

Japan, meanwhile, is developing and purchasing military drone capabilities to counter what it regards as Chinese aggression and Beijing’s growing military capabilities as Tokyo’s dispute with China over the Senkaku islands intensifies, the officials said.

After Chinese aircraft intruded into Japanese airspace over the Senkakus undetected late last year, Tokyo stepped up efforts to seek drone capabilities. The efforts include building an indigenous missile-tracking drone and high-altitude U.S. drones.

Howard Brandwein Presents – Union Resource Center Sponsorship Partner Dr. Michael Veerman With MVP Chiropractic.

Free Consultation – Call 815-312-4922 Now!

MVP Chiropractic provides a natural solution to health care.

 We provide a patient specific treatment plan that incorporates the use of chiropractic, physical therapy techniques, nutritional and ergonomic counseling, and home exercises to provide the most time efficient and effective plan. The incorporation of all of these therapies together is what sets MVP Chiropractic apart, by not only treating the symptoms but creating the solutions to what is causing them.

Dr. Michael Veerman, MVP Chiropractic, 313 W. Maple Street
New Lenox, IL 60451, Phone: 815-312-4922, mvpchiro@hotmail.com, www.mvpchiro.com

Union Issues Notice To Strike At Appalachian Regional Healthcare Facilities.

The newly renovated Morgan County ARH hospital in West Liberty had
 a grand opening in August 2012.

The head of Appalachian Regional Healthcare says a union has informed officials that its members intend to strike if an agreement hasn’t been reached on their contract by the time it expires on March 31.

The Harlan Daily Enterprise cited a letter written by ARH President and CEO Jerry Haynes that says the United Steelworkers union issued a 10-day “intent to strike notice” on March 21.

The union represents licensed practical nurses, certified nurse aids, and clerical, maintenance and housekeeping staff at ARH facilities across Eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.

Haynes said the not-for-profit ARH will proceed with plans to ensure that patients are cared for if the strike occurs.

The newspaper reported attempts to contact Roger McGinnis, president of the local USW, on Thursday evening were unsuccessful.

Pentagon Delays Civilian Furloughs.

DOD spokeswoman Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde said that furlough notices are not 
expected to be sent to civilians until April 5, although that date has not been finalized.

The Pentagon is delaying its furlough notices to civilian employees by two weeks after Congress passed a government funding measure giving the Defense Department more flexibility in its budget.

The Defense Department had been planning to furlough most of its nearly 700,000 civilian employee for up to 22 days before September in order to deal with budget reductions.

But the continuing resolution (CR) that Congress sent to President Obama on Thursday provides the Pentagon with an additional $10 billion in its operations and maintenance accounts, which includes civilian personnel costs.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said that the delay will allow the Pentagon to analyze the CR, and said no decisions have been made about whether the number of furlough days in fiscal 2013 will be changed.

“We believe the delay is a responsible step to take in order to assure our civilian employees that we do not take lightly the prospect of furloughs and the resulting decrease in employee pay,” Little said.

DOD spokeswoman Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde said that furlough notices are not expected to be sent to civilians until April 5, although that date has not been finalized.

While the continuing resolution included a full-year Defense appropriations bill — which allowed for the transfer of funds — the Pentagon is still facing across-the-board cuts under sequestration. The DOD must cut roughly $46 billion in fiscal 2013.

Sketch of 911 Conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed From Inside Guantanamo Bay’s Military Courtroom.

9/11 defendants Walid bin Attash, left, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed;
 appear at their Guantanamo Bay arraignment, May 5, 2012. Image: Janet Hamlin

Few artists in the world can boast that their work was critiqued by the accused mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Janet Hamlin remembers the stare Khalid Sheikh Mohammed gave her to earn her that dubious honor.

It was 2008, and the man known as KSM was trying to plead guilty before a military judge. Hamlin, a freelance courtroom sketch artist from Nyack, New York, had taken her charcoals and oversize board to Guantanamo Bay to draw him for CNN. Her impression would amount to the first image the world would have of the infamous terrorist since his 2003 capture, when he was snapped in a ratty T-shirt that showed his back hair. And KSM cared about how he looked.

“He would turn and pose — a deliberate turn, facing me, holding very steady,” Hamlin remembers. Yet as she learned during a courtroom break, KSM didn’t like how Hamlin drew his nose. “Sure enough, he was holding [the sketch], frowning, in the window,” she continues. His lawyers mentioned to her that KSM wanted her to consult an FBI most-wanted photo. “That original nose,” Hamlin says, “is buried under layers of pastel.”

No one has seen the confusing, often-revised process for post-9/11 war crimes trials like Hamlin. Since 2006, she’s made the trek to Guantanamo Bay at least 25 times, all to sit in the secured courtroom for hours on end, providing almost all of the few images from Gitmo that the public sees. Even the few reporters who cover the so-called military commissions most often prefer to watch them over closed-circuit television at the decrepit airplane hanger that serves as Guantanamo’s media center. Hamlin is in the courtroom, sketching away. I first met her at Guantanamo in 2010, as she captured the pained expression on the face of Omar Khadr, Guantanamo’s youngest resident, while his prosecutors showed a video of him as a smiling young teenager in Afghanistan playing with a bomb detonator.

That sketch is one of around 160 contained in Hamlin’s forthcoming book, Sketching Guantanamo. Published by Fantagraphics, the book is more than just a series of drawings from one of the world’s most infamous courtrooms. It’s a visual log of the form of justice — or injustice — meted out at one of the world’s most infamous places.

“This is a very historic series of hearings to me,” Hamlin says. “To be capturing that visually feels very gratifying.”

Presented above is a preview of Hamlin’s work in Sketching Guantanamo, scheduled for publication in October. (The stickers on her sketches indicate that they’ve been approved for release by military censors.) Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants face yet another round of pretrial hearings April 22. When next KSM steps into the courtroom, Hamlin and her sketchbook will be there with him. And by now, she knows how to draw his nose.

Howard Brandwein Presents – Union Resource Center Sponsorship Partner Timothy Rourke With BCI Financial Corporation.

If You’re In Need Of A Reverse mortgage, The Staff At BCI Is Here To Help You.

BCI Financial Corporation is an independently owned and operated Connecticut business providing a diverse range of financial products including Mortgage Loans, Auto Loans, and Reverse Mortgage Loans. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff is committed to helping you find the right loan product for your needs. Call Timothy Rourke today at 203-439-9400 or visit us online for more information.

Timothy Rourke, BCI Financial Corporation, 219 South Main Street

Cheshire, CT 06410, Phone: 203-439-9400, kpenfield@bcifinancial.com, www.bcifinancial.com

Union Leader Bullies Lawmakers With Threatening Ecard.

American Greetings ecard sent to Palm Beach County commissioners: “Do the right thing”

Union scare tactics get a whole lot scarier when the fear of God is brought into the mix.

Local Communications Workers of America President Richard Poulette sent an eerie American Greetings ecard to Palm Beach County commissioners warning God was watching, so “do the right thing.”
The spooky greeting featured a nun in full habit eerily staring at the reader with church organ music playing over and over in the background. The accompanying message read:

You know what you need to do. God wants you to give your workers a fair and equitable contract. Do the right thing.

The animated nun occasionally blinked and moved her eyes, which made the whole thing even creepier.
Invoking God is among the more bizarre tactics a union could use to pressure the opposition to cave to its demands, in this case “a fair contract with fair wage increases” for county employees.

Palm Beach County Administrator Bob Weisman told BizPac Review that while negotiations are running about six months behind, county workers were offered their first pay raise in four years. The lagging economy has made it impossible to offer raises until now, he said.

But union negotiators said the offer was not enough. They also want to be compensated retroactively for previous years.

Until now, the union has pressured commissioners to “do the right thing” using the usual tactics — letters and visits. But the county is clearly seeing some unusual methods this go-around.

In another crafty effort, the union is advertising on a billboard on I-95 that reads, “Do the Right Thing! Palm Beach County Commissioners. Give Your Workers a Fair Contract!”

So between a billboard-sized message and wacky emails warning God is watching BizPac Review wanted to know if Weisman thought the union complaint was valid.

“I always like to treat employees fairly and well, but financial circumstances have not allowed us to do that. I hope for a better future,” he said.

Biden And The White House Are ‘Still Pushing’ For Assault Weapons Ban.

Joe Biden Pushing For Assault Weapon Ban To Pass.

Vice President Biden and the Obama administration still hope to pass a federal assault weapons ban, Biden said Wednesday.

“I’m still pushing that it pass — we are still pushing that it passes. The same thing was told to me when the first assault weapons ban in ’94 was attached to the Biden crime bill, that it couldn’t possibly pass,” Biden said Wednesday in an interview with NPR. “It was declared dead several times.”

Earlier in the week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that a proposal to reinstitute a federal assault weapons ban would not be included in a gun control bill the Senate plans to vote on soon. Reid said the proposal, which Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced, would have weighed down the rest of the gun control bill. New gun control legislation, especially an assault weapons ban, faces strong opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

President Obama has urged Congress to pass legislation reinstating a ban on assault weapons.
Obama also charged Biden with leading a Congressional task force to make recommendations for reducing gun violence.

Biden has been a staunch proponent of passing new gun laws. He also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1994 when the panel considered a crime bill that included a 10-year assault weapons ban.

“I believe that the vast majority of the American people agree with us, the vast majority of gun owners agree with us, that military-style assault weapons are — these are weapons of war; they don’t belong in the street,” Biden said. “And [in] the recent decision declaring the right of someone to own a weapon in their home for self-protection, Justice [Antonin] Scalia acknowledged that you can constitutionally ban certain types of weapons. So I’m not going to give up on this.”

The effort to pass new gun laws is in response to a shooting massacre last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that resulted in 28 dead, including 20 young children.
On Tuesday White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said the White House would “find the votes” to pass the ban.

Military Takeover Of Lethal Drone Operations Under Consideration.

The official said no final decision has been made, and that there is
 no specific time frame in place, but that the change is being considered
 "due to a desire for greater transparency in who is being targeted."

The Obama administration is considering shifting lethal drone operations run by the Central Intelligence Agency over to the military, say U.S. officials.

The proposal is under “serious consideration,” one U.S. official said. The official said no final decision has been made, and that there is no specific time frame in place, but that the change is being considered “due to a desire for greater transparency in who is being targeted.”

By law, the military is not able to act covertly the way the CIA can, and it must answer to Congress.
The Daily Beast website first reported on the potential shift.

The military would operate and fly the drones, an administration official stated, but targeting would still be done jointly by various agencies. The shift would happen over time.

“It won’t happen overnight,” the U.S. official said, adding that operations in some countries would transfer to U.S. military control before other nations.

“Yemen is an example of one of the first programs that could shift,” the official states, while shifting the responsibility for the program that operates in Pakistan “would be much further out.”

CIA Director John Brennan has expressed a desire to move the intelligence agency back to traditional intelligence-collecting.

“The CIA should not be doing traditional military activities and operations,” Brennan said at his confirmation hearing.