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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.

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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.

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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.