In Bastrop, Texas, a Union Member Steps Up
Autumn has come and gone in Bastrop, Texas, but many of those who lost homes and possessions in the raging late-summer wildfires there still need help. This week, Philip Lawhon jumped at the chance to use his skills as an electrician to keep the Bastrop relief effort humming.
Lawhon is director of member development for the 1,150-member Local 520 of the Electrical Workers (IBEW). He put on his tool belt when the Texas AFL-CIO—working with the Capital Area United Way in Austin—sent out a call for help wiring and lighting a temporary distribution center for the Bastrop County Wildfire Relief Center.
The center had been operating without power since October, trying to keep displaced residents supplied with the basics as they put their lives back together. Said Lawhon: Read the rest of this entry »
Texas AFL-CIO Honors Volunteer Firefighters in Summer’s Blazes
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Texas AFL-CIO communications director Ed Sills sends us this report.
The Texas AFL-CIO donated $150 gift cards to nine Central Texas volunteer fire departments that battled the rash of summer blazes.
Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller and Director of Human Relations Lee Forbes praised the departments for their bravery during the long struggle to protect life and property in blazing summer heat. Bastrop and many other Texas counties were declared federal disaster areas following the fires.
At a meeting of volunteer departments in Cedar Creek where the cards were presented, Moeller said:
The generosity of union members and friends in setting up the Wildfire Relief Fund made a difference to many working families who received gift cards to buy work tools and other necessities that might otherwise have fallen through the cracks in the aftermath of losing homes and, in some cases, livelihoods. As always, the labor movement makes disaster response a high priority in our operations. We hope the wait for such activity is very, very long, but we must always be prepared. Read the rest of this entry »
This Bridge Needs Work–and So Do America’s Workers
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Dave Johnson, a fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future, sends us this.
Millions of Americans need work and America’s infrastructure is in need of repair and modernization. This is work that has to be done eventually no matter what—millions of jobs that need to be done at a time when millions of people are looking for jobs. Thousands of people are joining “This bridge needs work and so do we!” rallies across the country to show support for President Obama’s American Jobs Act.
Along with rallies supporting infrastructure repair, many are joining in events to urge Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. A rally in Austin, Texas, later today is the latest action in support of Obama’s jobs plan, with union members from the Texas AFL-CIO and allies gathering outside a local venue where House Speaker John Boehner is appearing to tell him and all the Republican obstructionists in Congress to support legislation that delivers jobs. In recent days, rallies in support of the president’s American Jobs Act have taken place in Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle and Detroit. Rallies also took place in New York, Houston, Miami, Boston and Philadelphia.
Beginning Oct. 10, the union movement is stepping up these events to tell Congress that America Wants to Work. Throughout the Oct. 10-16 week of action, working families across the country are organizing hundreds of local actions—from vigils to protests outside job-outsourcing corporations and press events. Find your event here.
Donate to Aid Texas Wildfire Victims
In less than a year, Texas wildfires have consumed 3.6 million acres, roughly the size of Connecticut, notes Paul Begala, an affiliated professor of public policy at Georgetown and Daily Beast and CNN contributor. Four people have been killed and some 1,400 homes have been lost just in the most recent fire. Of the 10 largest wildfires in Texas history, six have occurred this year. Yet, as Begala points out:
Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry has cut funding for volunteer firefighters, who are the first responders to 90 percent of all wildfires in Texas, by 75 percent.
Meanwhile, Texas union members are fully mobilized to help. The Texas AFL-CIO is working with United Way organizations and has set up a Union Wildfire Relief Fund.
Click here to donate to the Union Wildfire Relief Fund.
Gov. Trashes Trailer Offer from Texas AFL-CIO, Prefers Mansion
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Years ago, when I moved into a three-bedroom trailer in Ohio, it felt like moving on up to me. But then again, I wasn’t coming from a nearly $10,000-a-month, five-bedroom, seven-bath mansion with pecan-wood floors, a gourmet kitchen, three dining rooms and a swimming pool for which taxpayers were footing the bill.
Maybe that’s why Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) ungraciously turned down the Texas AFL-CIO’s offer to solve his temporary housing problem–the governor’s mansion is undergoing renovation, hence the rental–and save the taxpayers nearly $120,000 a year. Every penny counts when the state is $11 billion in the hole and is slashing billions from schools, universities, public safety and other vital programs.
Yesterday, the Texas AFL-CIO offered Perry the use of a brand spanking new, 1,100 square foot, three-bedroom, two-bath mobile home with brand new appliances for just $1 a year. On top of that, it is located at the state federation’s downtown Austin offices, within walking distance to the Capitol, cutting down Perry’s big carbon boot print from the black limo entourage that chauffeurs him to work each day from his gated community in the West Austin hills. Read the rest of this entry »
State Budget Crises: New York, Texas for Starters
Last week in Albany, N.Y., in a scene likely to be repeated in state capital after state capital this year, thousands of state workers and their supporters took to the streets to protest proposed massive budget cuts in health care, education and other vital services.
As we reported last month, nearly every state faces billions of dollars in deficits because of the belly-up economy. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that for the remainder of fiscal year 2009, plus 2010 and 2011, 44 states face a total estimated deficit of $350 billion.
That means states are faced with the tough choices of cutting vital services, laying off workers or raising taxes.
