Plain Dealer, 12/2009

plaindealerVol. 92 Issue 3 “A Voice for Working Kansans since 1919” December 2009th

eThe PlainDealer

(316) 529-8513 3830 S. Meridian Ave.

Wichita, KS 67217–3704

IN THIS ISSUE...AFL-CIO Wants Jobs Package —2

Union Shop Online™: USA Okay —3Growing Income Inequality is Bad for America —4

Holiday Travel?: UniteHere’s Happy Hotel Guide —5

Hawker Beechcraft to Close Salina PlantBusiness jet manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft Corp. announced Nov. 9 that it plans to close its Salina operation. The Wichita-based company hasn’t set a timetable, but its lease of buildings at Salina Airport expires in 2012. Hawker Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture had speculated in October the company likely would close the Salina plant. It is uncertain where these jobs will go.Hawker Beechcraft employs about 240 people in Salina, down from about 500 a year ago. The plant builds wings, spar assemblies and other subassemblies. Salina Airport Authority Executive Director Tim Rogers says it’s disappointing news coming from a company that has been in Salina since 1966. www.LL2328.org

What I Want for Christmas...In case you were worrying about what to get me, I’ve decided to just cut through all the suspense and let you all know!No, no fruitcakes... (well, if you want to run a couple of them out

friendly candidates, that would be okay)... no Chia pets, no subscription to the Fox “News” Channel...Okay, here it is. Are you ready? Really? Drum roll, please...YOUR ARTICLES! (No, NOT your articles of clothing.) I want your news, recipes, your original puzzles, poems and pictures. No need to wrap, just email to [email protected]!(Oooh, I can’t wait!)

We have seen an increase in people using our Prairie Land Food program. These days we can

We had someone this month that after seeing all the food they were getting, broke down and cried. I almost cried too. It was so heartwarming to know that what we are doing is the right thing to do.This is why we are here and why it is so important to us to keep this project going. This program is available to everyone, they don’t need to be a union member and

thereare no

incomeguidelines.This month, with the help of LL708,we were

able to buy

several holiday food packs that will go to union members having a rough time. Anyone that knows a union member that could use a little help, please let us know.

Hamilton IAM watch; that money will be used to help our union brothers and sisters in January. Instead of using this money in December we believe that after the holidays we could be of more help. Please support us and get your tickets today!One other thing we started this month is sending care packages to the soldiers overseas. They are

people take for granted and we believe it’s time we said THANK YOU. Too often they don’t hear from the lucky people back in the greatest country in the world. These are the heros of today and the future of tomorrow. Anyone

Harsh realities hit homeDon’t blame unions or others for Hawker Beechcraft plant closureBy Tom Bell, Editor & Publisher, The Salina Journal

closure.The company is due to pull all operations by Feb. 28, 2012, when the airplane maker’s lease runs out on 484,000 square feet of space near the Salina Municipal Airport. There’s little doubt that many, if not all, of those jobs will leave Salina before that date.

By the time doors close on Hawker Beechcraft operations, $12.6 million in payroll will be lost from Salina and surrounding communities. We estimate a similar amount has disappeared already since the plant started losing workers a year or so ago. At one time employment was up to 500.Those losses are a big blow to local economies no matter how one looks at it.

be wrong and unfair. We do not doubt that these and other folks did all they could to keep the plant and its jobs in Salina.The problem rests with two powerful outside forces. For starters, we are in the greatest recession since the Great Depression. That is followed by

large pool of cheap labor, along with no labor unions, little government regulation and no environmental restrictions.Slow sales make these lower manufacturing costs an irresistible attraction. That’s true for companies making everything from cars to toys.It’s an unfortunate and harsh reality. For Salina, it comes with a $25 million annual price tag.

wishing to donate money or items to be used in these packages,

There will also be a donation box at the Machinist’s Hall. We are going to try, with everyone’s help, to send a package every month.We would also like names and addresses of union members or their family members that are stationed overseas so we can send a package to them. Each package gets a letter to thank them for their service but if you would like us to include a personal message feel free to write it and get it to our committee.In these troubled times it is important to remember our brothers and sisters that might need a little help and support. But let’s us not forget that there are others in our community that need us too. If we overlook the community and

think only of ourselves, then when we need their support they will overlook us too. The Angel Tree program is in full swing and the children we help as union members might someday be the members that stand strong and lend a hand when needed. Without the community, we as union members would not be where we are today. Please do all that you can to support our community, and together we will grow strong again.

Creatively Caring: LL774 CSC and Prairie Land Food CollaborationBy Bob Gainer, LL774 Community Service Committee www.ll774.org/committees/community/community.php

Starting next month:Have a burning question

for the NLRB?Submit your questions to

[email protected], and an Information Officer will address your topic in a future

issue of The PlainDealer.

If Only...!

December 20092 — The PlainDealer

Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day. —Helen Steiner Rice

AFL-CIO, Allies Launch Campaign for Jobs PackageBy Mark Gruenbert, PAI Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Temporary Positions with U.S. CensusJob Posting Possibility from Mario Cervantes, AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison, United Way of the PlainsCheck this out...it is a temporary opportunity with U.S. Census...yup, next spring they will be back! They are looking for workers at all levels.

Exact pay rates will be determined by actual Job Title held...there is a testing process but more information (including practice tests) is available at www.2010censusjobs.gov

WASHINGTON (PAI)– The

are launching a large campaign to pressure lawmakers to pass a new jobs bill, federation President Richard L. Trumka says. Their drive already has support from approximately 200 House Democrats, who unanimously backed

door Capitol Hill meeting that Trumka addressed.The joint campaign will involve

Conference on Civil Rights, the National Council of La Raza and the Center for Community Change among others, the groups said at a joint “Spotlight on the Jobs

conference on Nov. 17. It also is designed to push the Obama administration into a commitment, before the president’s planned Dec. 3 White House summit on jobs. “The Recovery Act” – the $787 billion stimulus law – “created or saved 1 million jobs, and pulled us back from the brink of a depression,” Trumka explained. “But we haven’t hit bottom yet. Doing nothing is not an option. If we don’t act, everything will be even worse,” he declared. That’s because unemployment and underemployment combined cover more than one of every four workers, panelists declared.

coalition advocates includes a

of measures to help the jobless, all part of the stimulus law, that are due to end on Dec. 31. They include extended jobless

surance coverage for some jobless workers, and more food stamps.Their package also would extend more aid to the states. Trumka pointed out states face a $187

and without help they would – again – have to cut workers and services, right at a time when both are needed most.To keep the recovery going, the federation and the others also advocate creation of “direct public service jobs” in addition to – not as a substitute for – current state and local government jobs. To spur private job creation, they

credit over each of the next two years, and expanding federal construction to meet what engineers call a $3 trillion shortfall in what the U.S. needs to repair its infrastructure. That includes crumbling

ting old school buildings to make

ing railroad, airport and broadband capacity.The Obama administration has been reluctant to endorse a second stimulus bill, much less one

to business and Republican op

conservative Democrats about the

To counteract that negative pressure – which is continuing – the fed and its allies will send thousands of members out into streets, homes, workplaces and elsewhere, campaigning for jobs and arguing that by not putting people back to

and the economy will remain mired in recession.. “We’re organizing 30,000 people a week through Working America for health care, jobs and the Employee Free Choice Act,” Trumka pointed out. And he expects the hundreds of thousands of workers’ letters and phone calls to Congress about health care will be repeated about jobs.None of the panelists put a price tag on the new jobs program, but Trumka suggested that unused Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) money – several hundred million dollars – could help pay for the jobs package.Trumka also warned if any politician or group tries to “obstruct”

come Life Insurance Co. – whose representative asked a question – was absent from the Nov. 17 session. “I’ve never known the Chamber of Commerce or the National Association of Manufacturers to be for anything for working people,” said Trumka. While the package unveiled on Nov. 17 concentrates on immediate measure to help the 15 million jobless, Trumka again said the economy also must be put on a

credit and debt.And one key to creating such a new economy, he again declared, is passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. That law, a top labor legislative goal to help level the

bosses in organizing and bargaining, is hung up in the Senate by a

“There’s a real pathway to make any jobs good jobs. It’s called collective bargaining,” Trumka said, to applause from the packed room. “When my grandfather and dad went into coal mining, they weren’t good jobs. They are now,” said Trumka, who started his working life in the mines – before United Mine Workers aid paid his way through college and law school.

Kansas AFL-CIO is Now on Facebook! If you’re on Facebook, check it out at

AFT, Save the Children Sponsor Valentine Card Contest to Unite a Generation

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the children’s advocacy group Save the Children <www.

campaign to end child poverty in the nation. You can help pick the winning cards!

Children’s programs will receive the gift card set free. Each winning artist will receive a $500 U.S. savings bond.

lessons from AFT, teachers in classrooms across the country have helped young people express their artistry

for values such as unity, loyalty, compassion, honesty and responsibility.AFT says for “all children to be successful and productive citizens,” key values must be taught, encouraged

dents who are at a higher risk of dropping out of school.Each participating school was allowed to submit one entry in each grade category. Five entries from each

He later became UMW president

before claiming his presidency two months ago.“That’s why EFCA is part of the recovery. Without it, the people at the top will do great, the upper third will do okay, and the rest of us will do poorly and we’ll replicate the former economy,” Trumka concluded.

Magic Reindeer FoodReindeer food (also sometimes called Magic Reindeer Food or Magic Reindeer Dust) is for Santa’s reindeer. After all, they get hungry on Christmas Eve, too!

Ingredients:

adding as much colored sugar as you like for a festive effect.

Sprinkle this reindeer food outside tonight.

The moonlight will make it sparkle bright.As the reindeer

This will guide them

The PlainDealer — 3December 2009

Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most. —Ruth Carter Stapleton

Did you know?This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown

on Friday, December 11.Hanukkah or Chanukah, also known as the “Festival of Lights” or the “Festival of Rededication,” is a Jewish holiday celebrated from the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev to the 2nd or 3rd day of Tevet. Hanukkah lasts for eight days during the Gregorian months of November, December, or, less often, early January. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem as described in the Bible in 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees.

Mazel tov!

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The Plaindealer3830 S. Meridian Ave. Wichita, KS 67217–3704

Melanie Jenney, Editoremail: [email protected] of DirectorsJudy Pierce, President, Labor Federa-tionTim Franta, Sec./ Treas. (IAM Local 733)Stuart Elliott (APWU Local 735)Deb Boatright (Local 708)Dave Philpott (IAM Local 774)Kathy Petersen (IAM Local 839)Ralph Stout (Local 834)John Shepherd Jr. (UA Local 441)Advertising and stories are due by the 15th of each month. Subscription rates are $15 per year. Special rates available to union members and locals subscribing as a body.Founded in 1919 by Tom Tilma, the

the Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federa-tion, AFL-CIO, and covers news of interest to working people.Story suggestions and letters to the editor should be sent to the Plain-Dealer at 3830 S. Meridian Ave., Wichita, KS 67217–3704; by email to [email protected], or call (316) 529–8513 with your ideas. To be considered for publication, letters to the editor must be signed and include the author’s telephone number. Views expressed in letters to the editor are not necessarily the views of the Plaindealer, its Board of Directors or

Published monthly by Plaindealer Publishing, Inc. at 3830 S. Meridian Ave., Wichita, KS, 67217.

Another View:Dell Takes the Money, RunsBy Jim Hightower

loudly, laughing giddily, and slapping each other’s backs. We won, they hooted!Won what? The national bidding war among various states to bribe Dell, the computer giant, to build its new assembly plant on their turf. By putting up about $318 million in tax giveaways, cash, grants, and other

The future was bright.

two days after that ribbon cutting – Dell announced that it was cutting

there, and kissing off North Carolina. Thanks for the memories.Now, the political poobahs who had so happily thrown the public’s mon

hard bargain with the slippery giant. The governor rushed out to declare

clear to them,” she said, that if they left, “every red cent of incentives money had to come back.”

money to widen roads and upgrade interchanges is not expected to be

services, and $3 million in tax breaks that Dell already pocketed.

they received. Sure – as long as they’re willing to take their training to China to get a job. Along with most other computer makers, Dell has now moved all of its computer manufacturing offshore.–Jim Hightower is a nationally syndicated radio commentator and the bestselling author of Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow. For more information visit www.jimhightower.com.

Start Your Holiday Shopping Today at The Union Shop Online™Support America’s workers and

org.Start by checking out the great selection of holiday cards. For gift ideas, here are staff picks from the

Seth Michaels: There are a few great songwriters and musicians who have written about America’s workers and the everyday struggles they’ve gone through, but few have the long career, storytelling talent and appeal of Bruce Springsteen. Pick up “The Essential Bruce Springsteen” at The Union Shop Online for only

tion, heartbreak, joy and songs that don’t get old.And if you’re up for supporting grassroots activism for social justice, why not do it in style? Get

Danielle Hatchett: Winters in the Washington, D.C., area aren’t quite as harsh as they can be in my home state of New Jersey.But as we saw on Inauguration

Winter can certainly make his presence known. I always have

neck pullovers at $35 from The Union Shop Online will certainly keep me nice and toasty this fall and winter. On those particularly frigid days,

hoodie, which happens to come in

show my union pride.Tula Connell: As our recent

Lost Decade” report made clear,

the nation’s disastrous economy is putting at risk the livelihood of an entire generation of working people.Author Tamra Draut reported on this as far back as 2005, making Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead,more timely than ever.

for those who wonder why their adult kids have moved back in

everyone who worries about our nation’s future.As a stocking stuffer, your favorite unionists will enjoy this great new bumper sticker, “Green. Union.

unions. We vote” from The Union Shop Online. At $1.50 each, you can stuff a lot of stockings.Mike Hall: If you ever saw my CD

in the neighborhood of 4,000 from Francis Albert to Frank Zappa

wouldn’t be shocked that I’m heading straight to The Union Shop Online’s music section. At The Union Shop Online you’ll

Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Dave Alvin and Pete Seeger, as well collections of traditional union songs, working class classics and civil rights anthems.

coal mining, I’d be remiss if I didn’t steer you to Tom Breiding’s

the experiences of his own family

songs about labor struggles including “Union Miner,” “My Father’s

Clothes” and “The Bull Moose Special” and memorials to mining disasters, such as “The Longest Darkest Day.”

songwriter Tim O’Brien calls Unbroken Circle “Pure Americana.”

true stories in song provide easy access to a culture whose trials and tribulations are too often ignored.

Donna Jablonski:I have a framed version of the Working Families Unite for Civil Rights and Justice poster. It’s what I see every time I look up from my desk. The art is from a quilt by Adrienne Yorinks, a fantastic fabric artist, and it incorporates photos that celebrate the diversity of the union movement. The poster, only $15, is bordered by images of hands in all the shades of the earth’s people. Love it.James Parks: My favorite item in The Union Shop Online is the Who Made Your Shoes? poster.

trates the reality that many of the things we take for granted in our consumer economy are made by people who don’t make enough to buy the things they make. And it reminds me of what the union

Helpingeveryone live a better life.



The recent controversy over the

like AIG and J.P. Morgan Chase have served to highlight both the disproportionate growth of the

incentives that led traders and executives to take reckless risks with their companies and our economy.But they have also shined the spotlight once again on the grave threat posed to our society by the growing income inequality that was the trademark of the last 30 years of our economic history. Some facts* The CEO of the average company in the Standard and Poor’s Index makes $10.5 million. That means that before lunch, on the

(sometimes she) has made more than the minimum wage workers in his company will make all year. That translates to $5,048 per hour – or about 344 times that pay of the typical American worker. * Most people would consider a salary of $100,000 per year reasonably good pay. But the average

* And that’s nothing compared to some of the kings of Wall Street. In 2007, the top 50 hedge and private equity fund managers averaged $588 million in compen

times as much as the average U.S. worker. And, by the way, the hedge fund managers paid a tax rate on their income of only 15% – far lower than the rate paid by their secretaries.There is simply no moral or

kind of greed. Just as important, growing income inequality is a cancer that is attacking both the economy, and the social and political fabric of our society. A look at economic history makes several things clear.1) Growth of income inequality does not result from “natural economic laws,” as conservatives would like us to believe. It is the result of systems set up by human

different groups in the society.At the beginning of the Great Depression, income inequality, and inequality in the control of wealth, was very high.

Why Growing Income Inequality is Bad for America By Robert Creamer, a long-time political organizer and strategist 10/27/09

Then came the “the great com

manufacturing rose 67% while real income for the richest 1% of Americans fell 17%. This period marked the birth of the American middle class. Two major forces drove these trends – unionization of major manufacturing sectors, and the public policies of the New Deal that were sparked by the Great Depression.The growing spending power of everyday Americans spurred the

Real wages rose 81% and the income of the richest 1% rose 38%. Growth was widely shared, but income inequality continued to drop.

ground. Real wages fell 3% and income for the richest 1% fell 4%. The oil shocks, and the dramatic slowdown in economic growth in developing nations, took their toll on America and the world economy. Then came what Paul Krugman calls “the New Gilded Age.”

big gains at the very top. The tax policies of the Reagan administra

wages in manufacturing fell 1%, while real income of the richest one percent rose 135%. Much as they like to tout the magic “natural” effects of the market on levels of wages, conservatives have not been shy about using the power of government to affect the distribution of the fruits of the U.S. economy. They have slashed taxes for the richand for corporations, and increased the relative tax burden on working people. And by cutting taxes for the rich, they have transferred

in America from all of our children by increasing the federal debt. 2). Increased income inequality is completely unrelated to the relative contribution of various groups in the population to the nation’s economic prosperity.Who could argue that the executives and traders of the Wall Street

speculating ultimately sent our economy into a tailspin, made any

meaningful contribution to our economic welfare? Yet they often made hundreds of millions of dollars.

sector does not produce anything. The principal missions of the

and allocate capital effectively. Some in the industry – especially many community and regional banks – do just that. But in the

a whole didn’t “take on risk,” it shifted risk to ordinary Americans through gigantic taxpayer bailouts. Many Wall Streeters themselves escaped the recent economic debacle, having salted away hundreds of billions of dollars.

is made up of middlemen, who spend their time creating schemes that allow them to funnel society’s money through their bank accounts so they can take a sliver of every dollar off of the top. Right now, the private health insurance industry is busy trying to defend its turf against a public health insurance option. It wants to maintain its “right” to take that tribute off the top of as many health care dollars as possible. Remember, the private health insurance industry doesn’t deliver any actual health care. Does the CEO of CIGNA who is going to retire this year with a $73 million golden parachute contribute

who actually delivers health care?

nancial sector, many of whom are essentially professional gamblers. It is the farmers, manufacturing

the transportation companies, the guys who sweep up buildings, the

who teach our kids – those are the people who produce the goods and services that we consume in our economy. The real incomes of these Ameri

year since 2000, while the “bonus party” on Wall Street continues even though these Americas were asked to reach into their jeans and pony up hundreds of billions to bail out Wall Street’s catastrophic mistakes.3). As political scientists Nolan

McCarty, Kevin T. Poole and Howard Rosenthal show in their book Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches, inequality in income distribution causes political po-larization. It divides our society. Their study found that there is a direct relationship between economic inequality and polarization in American politics. McCarty, Poole and Rosenthal measured political polarization in congressional votes over the last century, and found a direct correlation with the percentage of income received by the top 1% of the electorate.They also compared the Gini Index of Income Inequality with congressional vote polarization of

comparable relationship.Want less political polarization?

less hatred and violence in our society? History shows that you start by once again compressing the difference in incomes between the very richest and the rest of America.4). Finally, increased income inequality is completely undem-ocratic. It is a betrayal of our most fundamental democratic values. And it is dangerous to our prospects for long-term survival.The increasing inequality of income leads inexorably to increasing inequality in the distribution of wealth. Power in the society is more and more concentrated in the hands of a few. It becomes more and more likely that some of our most powerful citizens came to that station not because of their merit, but because they got it the “old fashion way” – they inherited it. That is directly contrary to our shared belief in a more democratic society – where power and opportunity are broadly shared – where no one’s power or station in life are determined by accident of birth.The earliest Americans came to this continent to escape tyranny, aristocracy and plutocracy. Progressives who stand up against the increasing concentration of economic power in the hands of a few are standing for one of the

proudest traditions of our democracy. And our commitment to the democratic distribution of power is not simply an expression of utopian idealism.In his brilliant study of why societies in the past have failed, called Collapse: How Societ-ies Choose to Fail or Succeed ,

Diamond concluded that one of the most common factors was “rational behavior” by actors – and

prospects of the entire society. He found that this was often com

action were great in the short run, and the resulting damage to everyone else was not very palpable or immediate, except over time.This problem became especially acute when elites thought they could insulate themselves from the consequences of communal disaster. Then, they were even less prone to make decisions in the public interest.The increased inequality in the distribution of wealth and income

ing more and more likely. We see when the interests of the wealthy stand in the way of solutions to the problems of climate change and environmental destruction – or when we fail to raise enough money for the public education

the few who can afford private schools refuse to pay “higher taxes.”The creation of a democratic society, built on egalitarian prin-ciples, is the only real system-atic means of assuring that the interests of the entire society are

elites. Most stories of decisions leading to catastrophic collapse

whose interests diverge from the society at large. Democracy is the only real antidote.The undemocratic increase in the distribution of wealth and income is not only wrong, it is also dangerous to our future survival.



Before You Travel:Check Out UNITEHERE’s Hotel GuideUnion-friendly accommodations at www.HotelWorkersRising.orgBy James Parks, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, If you have plans to travel this holiday season, check out the UNITEHERE! Union Hotel Guide at www.HotelWorkersRising.org/HotelGuide before you book a

staffed hotels across the country.Just plug in city and state, and the site will display a list of hotels in the area that employ UNITEHERE! members and are doing right by their workers. You also can add the name of a hotel chain as part of the search.

A link on the site also enables you to quickly see which hotels are on the union’s boycott list and where workers are on strike.UNITEHERE! is working across the country to bring a better life to hotel workers who often are underpaid and who work long, hard hours to make our stay comfortable and safe. For example, the union is urging customers to boycott three hotels in the San Francisco area, including the Westin St. Francis, where 650 workers

The Palace and the Grand Hyatt, the sites of previous strikes also are on the boycott list.Members of UNITEHERE! Local

cent margin to authorize strikes at any of the 31 upscale hotels in San Francisco. Despite earning record

the hotels are using the recession as an excuse to demand changes in eligibility for the employees’ health care plan that would eliminate coverage or put it out of reach for many workers.

Unions: Making a Difference for Everyonewww.AmericanRightsatWork.org

Reinforce the middle class and lift up America’s communities. States with higher rates of unionization have lower rates of poverty, crime, and failing schools.

In partnerships with employers, community organizations, and local

Raise wages for all workers. Studies show that a large union presence in an industry or region can raise

Fight for all workers’ health and safety.ers sued to get employers to provide personal protective equipment. Now, workers in hazardous jobs which

asked to buy it themselves. Advocate for increases in the minimum wage and push for living wage ordinances. Unions have been instrumental in efforts to increase the federal minimum wage, state minimum wages and in the successful living wage movement which has already resulted in over 150 local living wage laws nationwide. Reduce wage inequality.out college degrees.Invest worker pension funds to rebuild communities.

CIO investment strategies to develop affordable housing in Chicago and to help New York City recover from

New York.

Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, providing an increase in the federal minimum wage.

Workers’ compensation laws, giving workers injured on the job medical coverage and compensation for lost time. Mine safety laws strengthening mine safety standards and protecting the rights of mine workers.

Earn higher wages.Have more trainingemployees more skilled and adding to productivity.Have safer workplaces. Union workers are often better trained on health and safety rules and union workplaces are more likely to enforce Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.6 Are more likely to receive workers’ compensation.to work more quickly.7 When workers are injured, unions help workers through the often complicated process

Have health insurance.

life insurance coverage.

President Barack Obama

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500Kansas SenatorsU.S. Senator Sam Brownback

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts

CongressmenTodd Tiahrt (for Wichita employees)

Jerry Moran (for Salina employees)

GovernorKansas Governor Mark Parkinson



Direct PipelinePLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS LU441

Richard L. Taylor, Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer

LocallyA SIMPLE MESSAGE WISHING ALL LOCAL 441 MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON AND THAT YOU ARE ABLE

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Come by and get outfitted with Local 441 apparel.

DeathsWe are sorry to report the death of Brother James R. Watson, 71, Retired Steam Fitter, residing in

PoliticalWe must support candidates that will support us in the pursuit of jobs for our membership. That obvi

arena of our jurisdiction. We feel that it is critical to maintain a presence politically so that when issues arise; the local will already have an established voice that will be heard. Thank you to all Local 441 members for your support both through your participation in the PAC fund and your involvement and support with various political groups.

MeetingsLocal Union 441 meetings are being conducted on the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Union Hall located at 1330 East First Street in Wichita. If other meetings are scheduled, you will be duly notified.

months. Please take the opportunity to attend a meeting in your area. The teleconference system is working well and has much better sound and video quality than in the past. The good news is that it is being provided for no additional cost to Local 441.

Retirees ClubThe next Retirees meetings will be on January 6th and February 3rd at 10 a.m. at the Hall. Please come and join us!

Restaurant, 4323 W Maple from January through November.

6 p.m., at the Olive Garden, 2641 N Maize Road.All retired members and their families are invited to join us. Come enjoy the fellowship!

Richard Taylor

At the Rail Column by Martin Hawver 11/23/09It’s just getting started at the Statehouse as the state faces its most harrowing budget crisis in

Tax expenditure; it sounds a little different than “tax cut” or “tax exemption,” and it sounds different for a reason. Lawmakers and some policymakers who favor increasing state revenues and closing some exemptions to raise more money for the state like the term.The concept is relatively simple. Every tax cut, those wished for by groups and those already in effect, are very frankly expenditures by the state. It’s giving away money that, without the exemption, the state would receive. It amounts to an expenditure, doesn’t it?Exempting, say, churches and charitable organizations from sales tax on things they buy and sell sounds like a reasonable idea, and Kansas

member of the Legislature.But, let’s say instead of an exemption, the state had those churches and charities pay sales tax on things they buy and collect sales tax on things

Now, consider this “tax expenditure” business. Instead of not having them collect taxes and pay taxes, let’s say that the state just appropriates

but it is a whole different deal when it comes to an appropriations bill that includes a line item to send thousands of dollars to every church in the state or every charitable organization. Sending taxpayer money to churches and charities is something that we just don’t do. It just doesn’t feel right, does it?Well, that’s what a tax exemption does, essentially. It’s simpler, and the nice thing about it is that because it is a tax exemption, it is private. Notice that your name is never in the newspaper showing how much money

enjoy. So, if you put an exemption in the tax system, it’s a lot more con

or the Catholics or the Girl Scouts or the local animal shelter.Anyone think that there would be less revenue foregone by the state if lawmakers had to vote to appropriate money to charities and churches? Now, how about the exemption from sales taxes for legal services and accounting services, even medical care? Hold up your hand up high if you think lawmakers will vote to make state appropriations, by name, to lawyers and accountants and doctors. Not much shade, is there?It’s interesting what a change in phraseology can do, isn’t it? Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report. www.hawvernews.com

Welcome to Wal-Mart, Welcome to WelfareThe Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says that

on state assistance than any other employer, with about 28 percent of the retail giant’s employees in the state on Medicaid alone.That’s not counting Walmart workers on food stamps, CHIP,

funded programs, points out state locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), which have been publicizing the report.

“The truth of the matter,” declares the UFCW Weekender, “is that Walmart’s ‘competitive’ business model can’t compete without taxpayer subsidies. All of us have to bear the burden for their irresponsible corporate behavior – and that’s unfair to responsible corporate citizens who compete with Walmart AND provide affordable, quality health care to their employees.”



Local Union Bulletin Board

Hammond, Zongker & Farris, L.L.C.ATTORNEYS AT LAWCity, State, Federal, Trial & Appellate Practice

Cases involving:Workers Compensation,

Auto Accidents,

262-6800

Thursday, December 3Operating Engineers LU101— Regular Meeting, 7 p.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaFriday, December 4APWU Local 735— Regular Meeting,7:30 p.m, 6920 W. Pueblo, WichitaDistrict 70— Regular Meeting,7:30 p.m, Machinist’s Hall, WichitaSaturday, December 5Machinists LL733— E-Board at 8:30 a.m.; Regular Meeting at 10 a.m.Machinists LL639— E-board Meeting 8 a.m., Regular meeting 9 a.m.Tuesday, December 8Machinists Local 708— Regular Meeting, 7 p.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaCWA Local 6402— E-Board, 5:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, Wichita Stewards, 7 p.m., 530 E. Harry, WichitaWednesday, December 9IBEW Local 1523— Regular Meeting, 5:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, Wichita Machinists Local 1989— E-Board, 3:40 p.m., Regular meeting, 3:50 p.m. 2005 Kansas Ave., Great Bend, 67530LU 441 Retirees— Breakfast, 9 a.m., Spears, 4323 W. MapleThursday, December 10SPEEA— Midwest Council Meeting, 973 S. Glendale, WichitaWichita Area Union Label— E-board, 6:30 p.m.; Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.mWichita/Hutchinson Labor Fed— Meeting at Machinists Hall, 3830 S. Meridian, WIchitaFriday, December 11 HAPPY HANUKKAH!Saturday, December 12Machinists Local 2328— E-Board Meeting, 9 a.m., 2055 S. Ohio, Salina Regular Meeting, 10 a.m., 2055 S. Ohio, SalinaMachinists Local 834 & 839— Regular Meeting, 10 a.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaMonday, December 14

227 S. Pattie, WichitaUSW Local 01350— Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Union Hall 427 N. Main, Hutchinson, 67501SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— Membership Recruitment / Organizing Committee 973 S. Glendale, Wichita

Tuesday, December 15CWA Local 6402— Membership Meeting, 6:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, WichitaWednesday, December 16SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— Governing Documents Committee, 5 p.m., 973 S. Glendale, WichitaThursday, December 17Salina Labor Federation— Regular Meeting, 7 p.m., 2055 S. Ohio, SalinaSteelworkers Local 13417— Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.m., 530 E. Harry, WichitaDistrict 70 Retirees— Luncheon, 11:45 a.m., 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaSaturday, December 19Machinists LL2799— E-board meeting 9:30 a.m., 3830 S. Meridian, Wichita Regular Meeting, 10:30 a.m.Machinists Local 774— 10 a.m. Regular Meeting, 3830 S. Meridian, WichitaMonday, December 21SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— Membership Recruitment / Organizing Committee, 4:30 p.m., 973 S. Glendale, WichitaSPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001— L&PA, 4:30 p.m. at SPEEA Hall, 973 S. GlendaleGlaziers Local 558— 5 p.m., 1330 E. 1st St., Wichita, KSFriday, December 25 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Please remember to send your 2010 meeting schedule to The PlainDealer at [email protected].

The Story of StuffFrom its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff (www.TheStoryofStuff.com) exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues (including corporate crassness), and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

stuff. Instead, try to create traditions and share your time with the ones your love. I hope you have a joyful holiday and a happy New Year!

Your Presence is the Best Present of All!

Help is Available for Kansas Families Saving for Higher EducationFrom Kansas State Treasurer Dennis McKinneyWith the price for education after high school continuing to increase, it is more important than ever for Kansas

community college, or seek a technical education, saving for these critical years in a child’s life is a necessity

Plan, I want you to know that help is available.This year the Kansas Legislature continued funding for the Kansas Investments in Developing Scholars

Program. The K.I.D.S program is a unique opportunity for Kansas families that want to begin planning for their child’s education beyond high school but may need some assistance to make the goal of savings a reality.

31st) to a Learning Quest account. If you are a Kansas resident ready to start planning for your children’s future, I urge you to visit our website at www.kansasstatetreasurer.com

and believe that if you are willing to work hard and save, you deserve the opportunity to advance yourself and your family. The K.I.D.S program is just one step to bring Kansas families closer to reaching their goals.Please apply now to participate in the Kansas Investments in Developing Scholars matching grant program by

Plain Dealer, 12/2009

Documents

Transcript of Plain Dealer, 12/2009