JournalInquirer.com

Good reasons to give thanks - not just for turkeys
CT@Work
By Leo Canty
Published: Thursday, November 26, 2009 7:11 AM EST

We just can’t let a Thanksgiving Day go by without giving thanks for good health, great friends and family, the turkey on the table, and the lives we have been fortunate to live.

It’s also good to expand that list with a few thank-you options that might even make the conversation around the dinner table livelier.

Some could thank our governor. Before Jodi Rell leaves, there’s time to carve out more services and programs that prevent the poor and unfortunate from going hungry or getting the help they need to survive. A half-billion dollars of cuts to education, senior programs, social services, public safety, and programs that make life in Connecticut so precious will be sacrificed so we can protect all those billions that were gained on Wall Street while unemployment lines gained on Main Street.

Others could praise the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for its relentless battle to fight atrocious regulations that, for instance, would force business and industry to stop polluting our air, lakes, and rivers. Its half-billion dollar lobbying campaigns over the last dozen years have also successfully fended off affordable accessible health care for everyone, while preserving the ability for its members to reap even bigger profits by such measures as denying care or coverage to the sick, and passing along health-care costs to workers.

The lives of working families would be so much richer were it not for the efforts of the chamber, whose real job is to make the lives of its members richer at our expense. When the governor makes cuts, people bleed and the chamber gets the Band-Aids.

And someone might offer a positive acknowledgement to all the yams in the conservative media that have offered “fair and balanced” perennial criticism and perspectives on important issues. They’ve been brewing tea parties, questioning President Barack Obama’s American birthright, and carping about Democrats and public servants while praising businesses and service cuts. Without that loud 24/7 voice, people could begin to realize that there are actually many things that work well, help protect us, and make our lives and economy work better.

Most of us share a common bond in our national desire to care for, provide for, and protect our loved ones and ourselves. We want to live secure and comfortable lives, work productively, and be able to pay for the house, the car, and the kids. Health care that helps when it’s needed and a pension that allows a comfortable retirement are among the items on most everyone’s common list.

It seems to me that sometimes the rest of America cares more about each other than maybe the governor, the chamber, or the conservative media do. That’s something the rest of us can be thankful for.

And if there is a common dream for a decent living and a recapturing of middle-class status that makes work rewarding and our lives more secure and comfortable, then we need to thank the ones who are actually doing the most to make it happen.

The majority of the state legislature has fought hard to protect those most in need, keep services that benefit everyone, and push for a revenue system that is fair, equitable, and funds the services that people need, want, and use.

President Obama, Sen. Chris Dodd, and our local congressmen, John Larson and Joe Courtney, have fought hard to stop polluters, and they support middle-class values and the ability to prosper in a rapidly expanding world of wealth amassed by a shrinking pool of earners. They have fought hard to revamp a health-care system that creates more profits than cures, and they make sure we all have a better means to provide for ourselves when we can’t work or choose to slow down in our senior years.

We also have a blooming venue of alternatives to conservative media, online and in this paper. Bet you didn’t know the Journal Inquirer is the only commercial newspaper I’ve found in America that prints a weekly column written by a union guy.

As bad as some things may seem, there really are many good things that are happening that can give us good reasons to give thanks - and not just for the turkeys.

Leo Canty is a labor and political activist. He lives in Windsor.

JournalInquirer.com

Gangster capitalism: Don’t pay the workers
CT@Work
By Leo Canty
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009 12:08 PM EST

Free-market capitalists and some media pundits are among the loudest voices bemoaning the stress of broken backs from too much government. The noise is so loud that many have begun to believe that government regulation, monitoring, and enforcement is a bad thing.

Well, it is — if playing fair hampers your profits.

The market credo asserts that profits come by raising prices or cutting costs. This economy favors the latter. So, turning off lights, firing workers, buying cheap pencils, cutting wages and benefits, or just not paying people are among the many cost-cutting tricks that can be found in the magic profits kit.

Not paying people?

Yes, that trick seems to have become quite popular.

The trick is to just forget to pay the workers for their time on the job or — oops — use the wrong pay rate. Maybe put the old batteries in the little handheld payroll calculator to knock the OT calculations off a bit — in favor of the company, coincidentally.

Labor laws have their weaknesses and loopholes. They are sometimes a bit confusing and enforcement may not be at peak. So, with those conditions in place, the unchecked “oops” factor is becoming more common. That’s evidenced by the rising “mistakes” rate.

If making “mistakes” is easy, cheating is even less work.

Walmart, with thousands of employees in many states, has regularly been caught making wage and hour “mistakes.” In a recent combined class-action court case in Nevada, the judge found that the retail giant, and pillar of the community had failed to give its workers their entitled rest and meal breaks, skipped overtime pay, and doctored time cards to keep overtime down — 1.5 million times.

That case, with its $65 million-plus payback, is one of many brought against the company as its totals now exceed hundreds of millions of dollars in back wage and penalty payments.

Save money. Live better. No consequences.

And Walmart is not alone.

It shouldn’t work like that, but if lawsuits, penalties, and wage settlements cost less than paying for overtime, extra hours, or working lunches, then, sadly enough, it sounds like a profitable business decision to let a judge assess the wage payouts.

Gary K. Pechie, the director of Connecticut’s Department of Labor Wage and Workplace Standards Division, has seen a noticeable increase in inquiries, “mistakes,” and outright cheating here in our state.

In fiscal year 2008-09 the 30 crackerjack investigators in his department worked full speed and got $8.1 million paid back to workers whose bosses kept their cash. That was about a 12 percent increase over the previous year.

At a news conference state Sen. Edith Prague and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked why a contractor that has violated wage and hour rules, and was banned from Massachusetts state contracts, was still awarded a contract by our state’s Department of Transportation. There’s disagreement over the rules and eligibility for violators.

It shows how our system isn’t protecting us.

Worry not, the cavalry is coming.

Many states are tightening rules, boosting fines, and enforcement. U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis is at it too. She’s expanding the U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour investigative unit to hunt down more cheaters and “mistakes.” Connecticut’s federal DOL investigation unit will expand by 33 percent, from 9 to 12 people. They will work in tandem with Pechie’s crew, chasing the wage scofflaws.

We have a couple million people employed at tens of thousands of workplaces. I don’t doubt the ability, energy, and effectiveness of every one of our 40-plus Connecticut investigators chasing wage and hour violators and protecting our paychecks. Just think what 80 or 160 investigators could do.

Seems to me we have a case — that’s not an isolated one — where it makes sense to add a bit more government to guarantee fair and just outcomes. Sure, CBIA and the Chamber of Commerce may scream like banshees. But, really, should one’s labor and honest wages be the subsidy for the ill-gotten gains of any boss? Not in my book.

That’s not free-market capitalism. It’s gangster capitalism. And we all should be breaking our backs to stop it.

Leo Canty is a labor and political activist. He lives in Windsor.

JournalInquirer.com

A gallon of vinegar for Rell
CT@Work
By Leo Canty
Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009 12:08 PM EST

Benjamin Franklin once said that a spoonful of honey will trap more flies than a gallon of vinegar. With the press, politicians, friends, and family ladling out the honey upon the news of Gov. Jodi Rell’s impending retirement, I thought I should share some thoughts and catch a few pesky flies of my own.

First off, I say “rah-rah” to the governor.

Rell has accomplished many of the goals she set out to meet once she took over the ship of state from her wayward running mate and mentor, John Rowland.

During one of the most difficult economic challenges and protracted budget battles any governor has ever seen in this state, Rell courageously kept her focus and determination, without detour from the outcome she wanted. Slashing public services we all depend upon — cutting programs from early childhood education programs to elder care and everything in between — were actions geared to protect the wealthy and largest corporations from having to contribute their fair share of what it takes to make our state a great place to live and work.

Rell deserves recognition for warding off the forces of evil with her magical veto pen, without prejudice for those on either end of the economic spectrum. Last year she vetoed the minimum-wage bill; this year she focused on millionaires tax increase prevention. But the good fighter missed her mark. The minimum-wage veto was overridden, allowing an $8 per hour minimum for 2009, and the tax rate on extreme wealth did rise. Minimum-wage earners are now 35 cents per hour richer. A millionaire making $480 an hour has become about $2.50 an hour poorer.

Yes, it was a loss. But that is the kind of commendable effort this governor puts into her work.

Rell worked to fix our broken health-care system, vetoing the “Pooling Bill” that would have helped cities, towns, nonprofits, and small businesses with health-care costs — twice. Her forceful effort to provide affordable and accessible health care to every resident of our state came with a veto of the Sustinet Health Care Bill.

Last week I saw Life Star bringing in the rescued victims of unfortunate circumstances to Hartford Hospital. New reports are coming in daily about people who are in need of food banks and pantries to help boost them back on their economic feet.

Our departing governor stood up against those programs in order to help ease hardship on suffering Wall Streeters. But give her credit. She knew when to step back. The governor could have forced the issue and achieved those cuts in human services and emergency care, but she held back. Lives were saved. As Kenny Rogers might say — she knew when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. That’s a remarkable attribute of our governor.

The governor has made many efforts to boost our economy. The “Little Dig,” a project she inherited, was miserably botched by Rowland and lousy contractors. The project essentially had to be redone. But that’s twice the jobs in a sluggish economy.

Thankfully, Rell then vetoed the bill that would have required more oversight and more controls on the use of outside contractors for projects like the “Little Dig.” Later she did take ownership and sign a clean contracting bill in 2007. Now, the panel to oversee the program is still not in place and it has a target of 2011 to be up and running. That means we still have two more years to get twice the jobs from every state construction project — just what we need in this recession.

I have many more tales of gubernatorial derring-do, but there’s still 14 months to go to enhance the record of protecting the privileged, and helping those in need. We can count on more heavy lifting, heroic action, and maybe even some more judicious use of taxpayer-funded pollsters until the day of the 2011 Inauguration, when M. Jodi Rell’s term officially ends and she gets to ride off into the sunset.

It will be a glorious day. I’m counting the minutes in anticipation. And, I just might release all my honey flies as a tribute to the departing governor.

Leo Canty is a labor and political activist. He lives in Windsor.

JournalInquirer.com

Rescuing Main Street and the people who make a difference
CT@Work
Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009 12:10 PM EST
By Leo Canty

Who made the rule that we should bail out bankers, hedge-fund managers, and corporate executives instead of the people who are really important?

If your house is burning down, do you page your banker to help put out the fire? Do you think Bernie Madoff or his hedge-fund buddies would help someone fix a flat tire? Has a health insurance exec ever been called to help defibrillate a heart-attack victim?

No.

So who is really important?

A severe medical emergency brought local police and ambulance personnel to help a family member this week. Their committed efforts and skills in saving lives struck me as a stark reminder of just how important these people and services are, and how we can’t do without them.

While politicians and captains of business and industry are all chasing bigger slices of a smaller pie, many people are doing incredibly important things — helping those in need, rescuing loved ones from danger, and saving lives.

The problem is, in many instances, they have to do more with less help.

Windsor, for example, has a volunteer ambulance service, WVA, that made more than 4,000 calls last year. It’s a million-dollar operation that gets its money from patient billing, subsidies, and fundraising. The staff of two paid, do-everything managers and more than 75 volunteers respond to emergencies, save the lives of thousands of loved ones, and keep the operation at the ready for everyone. They are part of the team that helped keep my family member alive. They are incredibly important people.

Knowing that they are so important, why aren’t they treated like the Wall Street elite? Why aren’t bailouts, TARPs, and stimuli being tossed their way?

Funding to support the WVA operation is down. Revenues pay for equipment, supplies, staff, and pizza for volunteers. Patient billing brings in the most money, but customers who have lost their insurance, jobs, and the ability to pay have put a damper on the billing.

Windsor supplies a building for a minimal lease-back fee and a $10,000 subsidy. The subsidy used to be bigger.

And you can guess how well the fundraising is going during this recession.

What it all means is that the people who do incredibly important things are struggling to make it all work — for us.

I really don’t ever want either of the two WVA top dog EMTs and operations crew members, Laura Kennedy or Dan Moylan, shout out the “clear” call as they spark a defibrillator on me. But you can bet that if I get in that spot, I sure don’t want to be under the paddles when some crusty old defib battery that needs to be replaced craps out.

Having up-to-date, good working equipment, necessary supplies in ample quantities, vehicles that can be counted on to make the transports, facilities to support and train the volunteers, and paid help to keep the operation operable requires resources.

The payback for that investment could be your saved life.

Talk to Moylan and Kennedy and you’ll see how determined they are to make the program work, no matter what it takes. They aren’t complaining about the lack of support, and they’re proud of what they do within the limits that are put on them. But their eyes light up when they talk about how they could improve the program — if only they had the resources.

Windsor is fortunate to have great, caring, committed people working for the WVA. They do what it takes to help us.

As we let big business, big insurance, entertainment moguls, banks, and Wall Streeters corner the money market — wrestling away funds that support the WVAs of our country — we need to recheck our priorities.

Let’s get the important people at the WVA what they need to do a better job to help us.

That’s called putting Main Street ahead of Wall Street.

Leo Canty is a labor and political activist. He lives in Windsor.

CT@Work is America’s only weekly column authored by an individual labor leader/political activist printed in a commercial paper. It can be found in the Journal Inquirer (CT's 5th largest circulation) every Thursday.