Change- Hell Yes - Change

[lame54]

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latest-news/labor-moves-quickly-job-safety-workers-rights

January 5th, 2010 11:11 AM
Labor moves quickly on job safety, workers' rights
By Sam Hananel / Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Soon after she became the nation's labor secretary, Hilda Solis warned corporate America there was "a new sheriff in town." Less than a year into her tenure, that figurative badge of authority is unmistakable.
Her aggressive moves to boost enforcement and crack down on businesses that violate workplace safety rules have sent employers scrambling to make sure they are following the rules.
The changes are a departure from the policies of Solis' predecessor, Elaine Chao. They follow through on President Barack Obama's campaign promise to boost funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, increase enforcement and safeguard workers in dangerous industries.
Solis made a splash in October when OSHA slapped the largest fine in its history on oil giant BP PLC for failing to fix safety problems after a 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery.

Garnering less attention, she just finished hiring 250 new investigators to protect workers from being cheated out of wage and overtime pay. She also started a new program that scrutinizes business records to make sure worker injury and illness reports are accurate. And she is proposing new standards to protect workers from industrial dust explosions — an effort the Bush administration had long resisted...

[tblue]

1. Love it!

It's good change and just freaking common sense. Solis sounds like she's doing a heckuva job!

[Vincardog]

9. I Love it More!

[lame54]

15. Sez who?

[cali]

2. and this thread, pointing out a positive about the administration will sink

[Luminous Animal]

3. I recced the thread and I was going to post something positive

until you came in and pissed in it.

[Greyhound]

4. It's her way. n/t

:shrug:

[Mari333]

5. I rec'd it too. if Michael Moore likes it, who doesnt?

[cali]

6. uh huh. well, you posted in it, and it's silly to let your animus toward me

prevent you're posting something positive.

[Luminous Animal]

7. You took all the joy out of it with your naysaying.

My animus isn't towards you but against the fact that or your willingness to preemptively slam DUers.

[cali]

11. I didn't slam anyone. and clearly you're giving me way too much

power over you.

[laughingliberal]

26. Yeah, you did. You slammed the people who aren't doing handstands daily for all the 'change' we're

seeing and you hijacked a thread which could have been something we would all celebrate to spit bile at those less loyal than yourself.

[laughingliberal]

27. self delete-wrong place

[AllyCat]

50. hahaha!!! Oh jeez, this is just weird.

And yeah, you slammed...um yourself?

[laughingliberal]

24. +1000 nt

[laughingliberal]

28. +++1000

[Atticus]

48. +++googolplex

[laughingliberal]

23. Same here. I work hard to find areas where I can support the administration

but the shrillness of his supporters are damping down my enthusiasm when I find these areas. Way to go!

[Kid Dynamite]

25. A milquetoast positive

that ignores the elephant in the room (EFCA)? I'll break out the party favors!

[hfojvt]

33. it seems to have done fairly well n/t

[lame54]

39. it's still breathing

[ChiciB1]

70. I'll Give It Some MORE Breath!! And I'm No Rah-Rah For All Things Obama...

but won't EVER knock the Admin for doing something POSITIVE! It's truly sad that those of us who want to speak out against what we don't agree with get jumped on EVEN WHEN we support issues we see as beneficial!

It SHOULD prove to the others that we aren't here just to be "crabby ass" jerks! Speaking for myself, I DO want Obama et al to succeed... it's just up to them to SHOW US what we as Democrats can actually support! Too many things have gone the other way from what we thought we were going to see as REAL CHANGE!

JMHO!

[Skittles]

38. full of it again

[varelse]

42. It has 60+ recs already

:shrug:

[pundaint]

43. Don't confuse our realism with your cynicism. This is nothing but great news.

When it's Change and real democratic principles, there is overwhelming support. The administration is doing a fine job on the international front too, except for the Afghan quagmire. That said, there is still lots of criticism on healthcare, banking, military expenditures, transparency, dadt deserved, so don't expect a pass.

[kenfrequed]

64. Wow

Does it feel ok to be this wrong? Seriously enough of the prog-hate.

[Parker CA]

8. K&R!!

[Union Yes]

10. Hilda Solis is a bright star in the Obama adm. knr for Hilda! nt

[tblue]

12. Quick! Clone her!!! nt

[Orsino]

13. Change. n/t

[havocmom]

14. Don't let some good news sink, DUers!

:kick: and keep it so

[Union Yes]

16. Bump for labor! nt

[lame54]

17. fistbump for labor...

:fistbump:

[Union Yes]

21. Solidarity bump!

:fistbump:

[natrat]

34. you guys are so full of shit it hurts-this admin is crushing labor look at detroit look at hcr

Residents of states with higher-than-average health care costs -- states such as California, New York, Florida, and Connecticut, for example -- will be hit hard if the bill passes, because it includes a heavy tax on health plans that cost employees and employers more than a combined $12,000 per year per person. In these and many other states, because of the higher charges by doctors and hospitals, many of which are teaching institutions or public institutions that provide more tertiary care and that treat much larger numbers of low-income patients, and all of which have much higher real-estate costs and wage rates for staff, insurance plans are inevitably also costlier. Yet the residents of those states and their employers will end up getting socked with taxes as high as 40% on those plans that are over the limit. The result, experts say, is that many employers in these states will simply reduce coverage to bring the plans in under the limit.

Also slammed by this tax will be unionized workers -- most of them again concentrated heavily in relatively union-friendly states such as California, New York and much of the northeastern U.S. -- who over long years and many bitterly fought contract battles -- have negotiated better-than-average health insurance coverage. The fruits of their struggles, which often included tough strikes and lockouts, and deals that involved forgoing bigger pay increases in return for better health coverage, could be erased by this legislation if the bill is passed as written.

And what about the so-called "near poor"? Under the plan as it stands, everyone would be required to buy health insurance, or face a stiff fine of as much as $1,200 from the IRS for a family. People earning less than 133% of the federal poverty level (that would currently be approximately $13,000 a year for individuals or $30,000 a year for a family of four, except in Hawaii and Alaska where the numbers are slightly higher), and less than four times the federal poverty level ($40,000 for an individual or $88,000 for a family of four), would be given a subsidy to help them buy that insurance. But they would be expected to pay as much as 12% of their income out of pocket for coverage, up to a limit of $5000 for an individual and $10,000 for a family. (I'm just trying to imagine how that would hit a family earning $88,000 a year. First of all, it seems clear to me that many hard-pressed families will look at the costs, just decide can't afford it, and pay the IRS penalty.)

But the number of people who could lose insurance coverage under this legislation could be much higher.


more
http://blog.buzzflash.com/lindorff/308

[Grinchie]

46. Just wait until the fines start causing Counties to lose Tax Revenue

There are people like me that have left the Rat Race and work for no one but ourselves. We are out of debt, own everything free and clear, and are fastidious in how we manage our budgets.

I am waiting to see how this so called mandatory Health insurance, if it ever makes it into law, will affect me, and I live on only what it takes to pay real property tax, and nothing more. Everything else I produce for myself, off the land, and off my farm.


This is the best way of life I know, and it will be interesting to see mandated Insurance start to compete with Real Property Tax. Personally, I don't want Insurance. Insurance is a myth, promulgated by fear and the idea of "Money for Nothing" which yields and environment for Insurance Companies to thrive, regardless of any benefits they give.

I have seen firsthand how the Insurance companies treat individulas with chronic diseases, and to be honest, I can do better myself. I can do better by proactively focusing on safe work habits, not polluting my body with the thousands of toxic foods that consist of the American Diet, and maintian a healthy, safe work environment for myself. I have found the secret of healthy living, and it consists of distilled water, H2O2, Ozone, Organic Food, and at least 6 hours a day of sweat inducing labor. Do I have aches and pains at the end of the day? You bet I do, but that's part of life and the body telling us to slow down a bit.

My family contains at least two medical professionals, and there is no way in hell I will pay into an insurance system that they say has been broken for the past 20 years.

The Democrats are absolutely nuts if they think that America will tolerate manadatory health insurance. It would be like saying you cannot use a Machete anymore, and you must use a gas powered weedeater.

No thanks, I can take care of myself.

[Enthusiast]

58. Me too!

:fistbump:

[laughingliberal]

29. +++1000

:fistbump:

[ChiciB1]

71. Yepper... More Labor UNIONS! It's At The Heart Of What I Feel Is GOOD

for AMERICA! There's a overwhelming need for MORE UNIONS! My family would never have made, or at least I don't think it would have been a positive, had it not been for belonging to a UNION!

[avaistheone1]

18. Glad to here it.

Keep it up. There is much to do.

:kick:

[G_j]

19. I like her!

:applause:

[lunatica]

20. This is indeed change we can be thankful for!

Thank you Hilda Solis! Thank you, thank you!

[JimWis]

22. K&R

[immoderate]

30. K&R Hilda!

--imm

[Goldstein1984]

31. Good news

In spite of being an Obama "hater," (I prefer "critical supporter") I also like to see and recognize his accomplishments. This is a significant one.

One of the biggest areas of abuse is in OSHA injury record-keeping. Companies go to great lengths to avoid reporting a workplace injury as recordable. Workers compensation insurance rates are based on how a company's recordable injury rate (RIR) compares to the national average for that particular industry, and employee bonuses are often linked to RIR. Industries with high RIRs are targeted by OSHA for increased surveillance. Rather than committing the necessary resources to prevent injuries, some companies resort to "aggressive case management" following an injury.

In once case I'm familiar with, an employee was treated with ongoing first aid (to be recordable, an injury must, among other things, require "treatment beyond first aid) by a company medic until after December 31st. Once employee bonuses were set in stone, the resistance to the employee receiving the surgery necessary to repair the injury disappeared. By that tie, the surgery was far more complicated because of the three months of delay. I spent three days creating the document that forced the injury to be recorded when it should have been, rather than "when complications requiring surgery developed." By that time the bonuses were paid, but I at least created a situation where the people making the decisions fell under scrutiny. In this case, the problem was client pressure on a contractor.

In spite of being on the private sector receiving end of OSHA inspections, I have an excellent working relationship with the agency. They are good people whose jobs were complicated by years of bad government. More enforcement by OSHA makes my job much easier.

[laughingliberal]

32. +1

[seeinfweggos]

35. largest fine in osha's history for bp

i like her

[lame54]

36. me too

[lsewpershad]

37. K&R

Change we can believe in.

[varelse]

40. K&R

Thanks for starting a positive, informative thread.

[NYC_SKP]

41. K & R nt

[midnight]

44. Good...

[Hekate]

45. "Garnering less attention, she just finished hiring 250 new investigators to protect workers"...

Does it seem to you that Obama appointees don't walk around boasting? That they just work on getting the job done?

This is just excellent.

Hekate

[UrbScotty]

55. +1

[WT Fuheck]

47. She is one of Obama's best appointments.

Too bad he couldn't find someone like her for other important roles on the economic team.

[guruoo]

49. +

[OnyxCollie]

51. Kick. nt

[voc]

52. Kick. nt

[katkat]

53. A bit at Labor and a few environmental things

That's how Obama is better than Bush. Still pales against what he could have done.

[UrbScotty]

56. Yeah, and a couple other little things

like foreign policy:

US most admired country globally: Survey

The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration,
according to a new poll.

It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI).

"What's really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009," said Simon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.

He believes that during the previous administration of George W. Bush the United States suffered in the world ranking with its unpopular foreign policies but since Obama was elected, and despite the recent economic turmoil, the country's status has risen globally.

Then there's this little matter.

Yep. Obama's a Bush-bot! :sarcasm:

[winyanstaz]

54. Well this is some good news in a very bleak time...

thank you for this information.

[BumRushDaShow]

57. K&R

:kick:

[Capt. America]

59. I work for DOL and it is night and day versus Elaine Chao. We call her Comerade Chairwoman Solis.

[mopinko]

67. kickin' that right there.

[stlsaxman]

60. Kickin' for the nay-sayer! nyah nyah!!

[Moosepoop]

61. K&R! Love it!!

I hope that sometime during her tenure she revisits some of the changes made to the FLSA under Chao. A lot of people in a lot of professions got royally screwed with those changes.

[SlingBlade]

62. Positive, Yes ! We need to celebrate

the positive moves forward but with an eye on progressive change that seemingly
neither party wants due to Corporate influence.

We need to stand or fall together as one voice or the gig is up my friends.

[kenfrequed]

63. Another good mark

I do like it when the administration does something right. Hiring her was a good move. I hope she also does a bit more to protect our right to organize as well.

[lonestarnot]

65. Hell yes!

:applause:

[Bluenorthwest]

66. Hilda rocks

A bright spot in DC. Van Jones was my former favorite, now Solis has the top slot because Van is gone. Good luck, Hilda!

[tilsammans]

68. K & R!!!

:applause:

[tekisui]

69. knr for Solis!