Lorraine Sevigny, 61, and Brian Cardinale, 59, are facing eviction from their Village at Crafts Hill apartment after Lebanon police searched their home on tip from an unknown source and found a small quantity of marijuana early in May. The couple, who have been together for 20 years, are both disabled, Sevigny from a traumatic brain injury she sustained in a car accident, and Cardinale with multiple sclerosis. Cardinale moved into Sevigny's apartment in February after his apartment building in Hartford Village burned down. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Brian Cardinale, 59, sorts through his more than 15 prescription medications, many of which he says help manage the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and side effects of the drug Interferon, in Lebanon, N.H. Thursday May 26, 2016. Though he smoked marijuana recreationally before having children, Cardinale said after his MS diagnosis he took up the drug again to help "take the edge off" from his cocktail of prescriptions. Though he has moved in with his long-time girlfriend Lorraine Sevigny since his apartment burned in February, Cardinale is not eligible for a medical marijuana card because he has no permanent address. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Getting caught with a small amount of marijuana is supposedly not a big deal anymore. Even in New Hampshire — the only New England state yet to decriminalize pot — first-time offenders just have to appear in court, plead guilty and pay a fine. Then they are free to move on with their lives.
Or at least that's what many New Hampshire cops, prosecutors and lawmakers would like you to believe.
Lorraine Sevigny and Brian Cardinale know better. Their lives are about to be turned upside down because of a petty offense. Chalk up another "win" for the war on drugs.
Three days after Lebanon police knocked on the door of their one-bedroom apartment and a search turned up a small amount of marijuana, the couple had another unannounced visitor. This time, the landlord's director of property management had come to hand deliver an eviction notice.
Sevigny, 62, and Cardinale, 59, have until June 14 — five weeks from the date of their arrests — to get out, according to the eviction notice.
Last week, when I stopped by the apartment in West Lebanon where Sevigny has lived for 11 years, moving boxes were being stockpiled in the living room. Not that Sevigny and Cardinale had any idea what they were going to do after they finish packing up.
"We have nowhere to go," Sevigny told me.
Sevigny and Cardinale are both disabled, and say they smoke pot for pain relief. She's dealing with the debilitating effects of a traumatic brain injury incurred long ago in a car crash. He suffers from multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system for which there is no known cure.
They have been a couple for 20 years, but only started living together three months ago. In February, a fire destroyed the apartment building in Hartford where Cardinale lived. The fire started in another apartment, but Cardinale lost nearly everything.
Sevigny was still waiting to hear back from Twin Pines when police came knocking on May 10, a Tuesday. Earlier that day, Lebanon cops had received "drug intel" about marijuana use at the 100-unit apartment complex from a source who wouldn't give her name.
Shortly before suppertime, Sevigny opened her door to three police officers standing on the small front porch.
According to their report, cops said they could smell marijuana. Sevigny and Cardinale, who was inside at the time, told me that police threatened to seize the apartment and they'd be out on the street if they didn't consent to a search of the premises.
"They admitted they smoke and gave consent" to a search, the police report states.
Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello told me that he's confident his officers played by the rules and didn't misrepresent their powers.
Sevigny and Cardinale cooperated with the search, pointing police in the direction of the kitchen where a glass jar contained a small amount of marijuana.
Often times, Lebanon police who made 157 pot busts (three a week) last year, will handcuff offenders and take them to the station to be booked.
But it was such a small amount (Cardinale guesses less than a half ounce), police apparently didn't feel the need. Sevigny and Cardinale were given summons to appear in Lebanon District Court on June 27 on the misdemeanor charge.
For Sevigny and Cardinale, marijuana is a benign alternative to prescription painkillers. "I already take 18 meds a day," said Cardinale, bringing out out a tray of pill bottles from the kitchen.
New Hampshire passed a law in 2013 allowing for the medical use of marijuana, but it took nearly three years to implement. A dispensary in Lebanon finally opened last month.
After being burned out of his apartment in Hartford, he had been waiting for Twin Pines to finish his paperwork to see if he could stay with Sevigny or was eligible for his own place.
From his dealings with the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, he's become friendly with a small group of veterans. A couple of the vets grow marijuana for their personal use, and give a little bit to him for free, Cardinale told me.
Sevigny also finds that smoking marijuana on occasion lessens her headaches and other pains. When she was in her 20s, Sevigny was involved in a serious car crash that left her in a coma for a month.
She's never been the same. She worked in medical sales in the Boston area, but had trouble keeping her concentration and dealing with chronic pain. It was "20 years of going job after job after job," she said.
Sevigny receives a monthly Social Security disability payment that covers her rent and other living expenses.
Although she's no longer able to hold down a job, she keeps busy. From the looks of her spotless apartment, she spends a fair amount of time with a vacuum cleaner and dust cloth in her hand.
During my visit, unlike Lebanon police, I didn't catch even a whiff of burnt marijuana. Only the smell of warm chocolate cheesecake that Sevigny was baking in the kitchen for a friend.
Until recently, Sevigny volunteered twice a week at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic in downtown White River Junction. She did everything from caring for the office's plants to finding the best prescription drug prices for patients. "She was very helpful to us," said Dana Michalovic, executive director of the free clinic.
I heard about what had happened to Sevigny from Wayne Gersen, the retired superintendent of schools in Hanover and Norwich. Gersen and Sevigny met a half dozen years ago through a meditation group that gathers weekly in Norwich. "She has as big a heart as anyone I know," Gersen said.
Gersen and other friends are sort of at wits' end trying to help Sevigny and Cardinale out of their predicament.
It's bad enough that the couple is looking at combined fines and court fees of $1,000 or more.
As I mentioned earlier, three days after police showed up, Sevigny received an eviction notice. As is its practice, Lebanon police immediately notified Twin Pines of the pot bust, which, under the terms of Sevigny's lease, automatically triggers eviction proceedings.
Last week, I spent more than an hour talking with Twin Pines Executive Director Andrew Winter. Due to privacy concerns, Winter said he couldn't talk about individual tenants.
But from our conversation, I could tell that Twin Pines was in a tough spot. The nonprofit purchased the two low-income housing complexes last year with the help of a $6.8 million federal loan.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture makes low-interest loans for rural housing under the condition that there be a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drugs.
"While we recognize that state policies on marijuana are rapidly evolving, we still need to comply with federal restrictions that govern the financing of our properties," Winter said.
Sevigny called New Hampshire Legal Assistance last week in hopes of getting free legal help. Under the law, she can appeal the eviction notice in court. If nothing else, it could buy her and Cardinale a little time.
The two apartment complexes, which Twin Pines has renamed the Village at Crafts Hill, have had their share of drug problems, including a recent heroin overdose. Some cleaning up was probably overdue.
But I'm not sure that evicting Sevigny and Cardinale is going to accomplish much, other than put a disabled couple on the verge of homelessness.
The law isn't solving a problem here; it's creating a much bigger one.


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Ceris' 31 Days of Horror Challenge: Day 2 - Beetlejuice
Beetle....... Don't worry I'm not that stupid!
Day 2's horror film is one of my favourite's even if it is starting to look a bit dated now. Michael Keaton's characterisation of Beetlejuice isn't your typical horror movie bad guy, but more of a nightmare haunting boogey man, and the mouldy look he chose to go for with his make-up make's me feel somewhat queasy whenever he is on screen.
Art by Mark Levy
Starting the film, we meet Barbara and Adam Maitland who are a young couple in love living in a lovely big house and who spend the first 5 minutes of the film trying to scare off a crazy realtor named Jane. Their idyllic life is destroyed when a rogue dog crosses their path and causes them to crash into a river and die. At first glance I thought the dog was cute but after a mere 30 seconds on screen I hope that I never come across him in person.
Our two lovebirds return home - although they can't remember how - and discover they are dead, something I thought would be somewhat obvious to them as they crashed into a river in an upside down car! Jane conveniently jumps on this and sells the house to a new owner, and so enters the somewhat dysfunctional Deetz family. I loved the relationship between Delia Deetz played by Catherine O'Hara and Otho played by Glenn Shadix and in particular during the scene when they first enter the house and cringe at the current decor, whilst dreaming up some eccentric interior design ideas.
It's safe to say Barbara and Adam are not fans of their new lodgers and so try to scare them away, however this fails as they can't been seen although based on their attempts at scaring the Deetz I don't think it would bother me either! This failed attempt leads to us meeting our star Beetlejuice who describes himself as a 'bio-exorcist' and tries to convince the Maitlands to take him up on his service to help rid the house of the unwanted guests. I learnt today that Michael Keaton ad-lib 90% of his lines for the film which as a theatre actress makes me nervous but also highlight's Keaton's impressive skills as an actor.
A trip to the Netherworld and we meet the joyful Juno who expressly tells the Maitlands not to work with Beetlejuice and they need need to scare the Deetz away themselves, but it's pretty clear that that's not going to happen. Back in their house Lydia has read the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, and is able to see the recently departed Barbara and Adam, it obvious from their first encounter that Lydia is a little odd and prefers to spend time with them that her uninterested father and crazy step-mother.
And so we arrive and my favourite part of the film and the infamous dinner scene that is accompanied by the classic song Day-O while doing some interesting choreography which a few of the characters seem to enjoy doing too much. From this point on in the film it really starts to show its age, with the large snake with Beetlejuice's head looking a bit tired. The final part of the film includes Lydia sacrificing herself to be Beetlejuice's bride, while Barbara and Adam age is record time, before making a miraculous recovery to stop a weird looking priest marrying Mr and Mrs Beetlejuice to be by riding in on a Sandworm which proceeds to eat the striped baddy. I find the final part of the film a bit chaotic, however Beetlejucie gets his comeuppance in the waiting room at the end of the film by getting his head shrunk by some weird looking voodoo man, and the Maitlands and Deetz live together in the house in harmony ..... I think!
We watched Beetlejuice on DVD, but it is also available to watch on Netflix.
#Beetlejuice #TimBurton #MichaelKeaton #31DaysofHorror #HorrorMovies #Review
Craig's Top 20 / '20 Horror
Happy Horror-Days!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Showing posts from February 27, 2019
Video: 'Donald Trump is a racist' – ex-lawyer Michael Cohen explains
By Emmanuel Donkor February 27, 2019
Trump's former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, has testified before members of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday and, among others, called the U.S. President Donald Trump a racist and explained why.
The man who was 'resurrected' by Pastor Alph Lukau in viral video has been Identified and arrested
The man who was allegedly resurrected in a video by Pastor Alph Lukau of Alleluia International Ministries has been identified as Brighton from Zimbabwe.
President Akufo-Addo Congratulates President Muhammadu Buhari On His Re-Election
The Ghanaian people, their government and I extend warm congratulations to His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election, for a second successive term, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the elections of Saturday 23rd February, 2019.
Kenya's president congratulates Buhari for earning Nigerians' trust
Kenya's president, Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday congratulated his counterpart Muhammadu Buhari upon his victory in the Nigerian presidential elections.
UK To Finance Tamale Airport, Bekwai Hospital, Kumasi Central Market Phase 2 This Year
The Government of the United Kingdom has pledged funds to undertake three major infrastructure projects in Ghana this year.
Jordyn Woods may Discuss the Tristan Thompson Saga on Jada Pinkett Smith's Red Table Talk
Jordyn Woods, the model, and Kylie Jenner's ex bestie who is said to have hooked up with Khloe Kardashian's man, Tristan Thompson at a party, may be opening up on the whole saga.
South African Tourism partners EIB for content production
SOUTH Africa's tourism marketing organization, South African Tourism (SA Tourism) and leading Ghanaian media organization Excellence In Broadcasting (EIB) Network have partnered to produce content about South Africa for Ghanaian audience.
Muhammad Buhari re-elected Nigeria president
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has declared Muhammadu Buhari of APC as winner of the 2019 presidential election that held on February 23rd, 2019.


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Tag: labor union
In California, a "Labor Slate" Aims to Redefine the Relationship Between Unions and Politics
Posted on September 3, 2020 September 3, 2020 by Hamilton Nolan
From union jobs to Medicare for All, this new pro-worker slate is pushing a progressive platform—and could become a model for how organized labor approaches elections.
The political influence of organized labor usually involves jockeying with other interest groups that are trying to sway Democratic politicians. In recent decades, this dynamic has achieved mixedresults, at best. In California, one group of union activists is now trying to take a more direct approach: forming a "Labor Slate" of candidates, in what they hope will become a model for future election cycles.
Centered in the Bay Area, the idea for the Labor Slate effort began germinating last summer. Gaelan Ash, an AFSCME staffer and one of the Labor Slate's organizers, said that even in progressive Northern California, "It's a pain in the ass going up against so-called progressive politicians" who do not end up prioritizing the needs of the working class. "There are so many amazing labor leaders who would make better politicians," he said. "[We realized] we need to make this much more about building an organization that's membership based and rooted in labor."
The project came together in full force earlier this year, taking advantage of the fact that everyone had more free time after the pandemic struck. Now, Labor Slate is an established organization with a full platform and a slate of six candidates—three of whom are running for City Council in the East Bay city of Hayward, and three who are running for various board positions in other Bay Area cities. Organizers say that they made the strategic choice to only back candidates who are running in nonpartisan races this November, in order to avoid an immediate clash with the established political parties. If all goes well, they hope to scale up to partisan races like those for California State Assembly in four to six years.
Labor Slate is funded by member dues of $5 a month. The group is not formally allied with any unions, but draws on the interest of true believers in the labor movement. All of the candidates the group nominates must agree to its platform, which was developed by an internal working group. The platform emphasizes union jobs, affordable housing, Medicare for All, public education and transportation, as well as increasing taxes on the rich. Jon Ezell, the group's recording secretary and an ILWU member who works at San Francisco's recently unionized Anchor Brewing Company, said that the platform committee had the advantage of having input from union members working directly on many of the issues—when discussing healthcare, for example, union nurses were in the room. The group's platform, Ezell said, is intentionally broad, so that candidates can "fill in the gaps" based on local conditions.
Anchor Brewing's union drive drew public support from elected officials in San Francisco. That opened Ezell's eyes to the potential for building union power through electoral politics. "You can help people unionize," he said, "or you can change the environment they unionize in."
One of the Labor Slate's candidates is Eduardo Torres, who is running for a board seat in the Ambrose Recreation and Park District in Bay Point, where he's lived for 41 years. Torres is a longtime activist and organizer with Tenants Together, which promotes affordable housing and tenants' rights in California. (The other five candidates are also members of unions or labor groups in the area). "I am part of the working class. We have elected officials that don't look back at the community that helped get them elected," Torres said. "We're sick of our elected officials not doing what they should be doing, which is helping low income and working people."
Though Labor Slate is a new and relatively small group, it has the advantage of being rich with trained organizers. Dozens of union locals are already represented in its membership. If it can find success with its first crop of candidates in November, it can lay claim to being a legitimate new model for union members to engage with local politics. Its promise is not just in who it gets elected, but in the potential for building a labor-centric approach to elections that sits outside of the Democratic Party—which has, on a national scale at least, largely come to take union support for granted.
For Torres, who grew up in a union household, the advantage of the Labor Slate is not just the phone banking and door-knocking it brings to his campaign, but also a sense of mutual accountability between candidate and cause. "It helps me see the bigger picture," he said. "There's a lot of work to be done. And it will be done by the working class."
This blog originally appeared at In These Times on September 2, 2020. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Hamilton Nolan is a labor reporter for In These Times. He has spent the past decade writing about labor and politics for Gawker, Splinter, The Guardian, and elsewhere. You can reach him at [email protected]
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Amazon Will Not Change Without a Union
Posted on April 21, 2020 by Hamilton Nolan
Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, Jeff Bezos has gotten $24 billion richer. Amazon's stock price has risen more than 40% since mid-March. This explosive creation of corporate wealth has coincided with an unprecedented level of labor activism against Amazon, including multiple well-publicized workplace walkouts, protests, and a growing drumbeat of negative PR about the company's handling of the pandemic, particularly regarding the workplace safety of warehouse workers. There has never been as much coordinated labor action against Amazon. And Amazon has never been more successful. If the goal is to truly change Amazon, it's time to make the strategy sharper.
Yes, Amazon is a behemoth. It is not just a trillion-dollar company run by the world's richest man; it is a machine that is slowly eradicating the traditional retail industry in America and changing the entire landscape of work. It is the engine that will eliminate millions of service industry jobs and reconstitute them as warehouse jobs. For this reason, Amazon warehouse workers are the most strategically important workers in America for the labor movement. If unions aspire to the fundamental goal of ensuring that working people get a fair share of the proceeds of the economy they create, then unions must be able to exert serious influence in the strongest parts of the economy. It's that simple. If unions are relegated to economic niches, they will not be able to transform the economy in favor of workers in the way they should. And for decades, with the decline of manufacturing and the rise of anti-labor law, this is exactly what has been happening. If Amazon is America's most powerful company, the influence of organized labor must be strong inside Amazon. Otherwise, organized labor cannot accomplish its mission on a national scale. The efforts of labor campaigns should be evaluated with this reality in mind.
These facts have been clear for years. The covid pandemic has provided an opportunity for a host of labor groups, many operating under the Athena Coalition, to crank up pressure on the company with walkouts and a media campaign—and the company has responded by firing both warehouse workers and tech workers who protested, exhibiting a bold industrial shamelessness that would make Henry Frick proud.
Because labor organizing is so difficult, and the odds are stacked so high against regular working people, we often tend to focus exclusively on what workers have won, emphasizing and celebrating every sign of hope or victory, no matter how small. This is important for the sake of morale. But it is equally important to look at our campaigns in the cold economic light of the corporate view. From the perspective of Amazon, here is what has happened lately: Their stock price is through the roof; the are rapidly capturing market share from wounded and dying competitors; they are hiring tens of thousands of new employees to meet exploding demand; and all signs indicate that they will come out on the other side of this crisis stronger than ever before. Shareholders and executives are fat, happy, and rich. A few minor flare-ups of labor unrest here and there is an exceeding small price to pay for what the bottom line is telling them right now.
I am sorry to say that there is only one thing that organized labor can do that will have any real lasting impact on Amazon, and that is: unionizing it. Neither a media campaign nor a PR campaign nor a political campaign is going to cut it. I say this not to denigrate any of the activists doing that work now, nor any of the brave Amazon employees who have agitated and spoken out at the risk of losing their jobs and being demonized by corporate spokespeople. All of that work is valuable. But it is valuable instrumentally, in that it lays the groundwork for a successful union campaign. A union can exercise power directly in a way that none of these other tactics can. Amazon warehouse workers who are unionized can win better pay and better benefits and a safer workplace directly, through collective bargaining, rather than indirectly through public pressure that may well simply be ignored by their staggeringly rich and powerful employer. The primary goal of all of the Amazon-related work that is being done by political and labor activists must be to unionize as much of the company as can possibly be unionized. That is the path to power. Realistically, the only path.
Will it be easy? No. It will be very hard. Walmart was the Amazon of a previous generation. It got much of the same sort of attention from organized labor. Are there any unionized Walmarts? To make a very long story short: no. A year and a half ago, the Retail Workers union announced with great fanfare that they were organizing an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island. Has that warehouse been unionized? No. The Fight For 15 is an example of a labor campaign that has, in fact, won widespread concrete wage gains for fast food workers without creating any unions. But the fast food industry is different from Amazon. It includes many different employers, who can be played off against one another; unlike Amazon, it is a public-facing retail business with physical locations that open it up to a much greater variety of public actions; and huge portions of its work force can reap substantial increases in pay from minimum wage increases that can be imposed on the local or state level, which is less true for Amazon, where hourly pay is somewhat higher.
The amount of money that Jeff Bezos made in the past month is many times greater than the combined budgets of every labor union in America. The labor movement cannot hire more PR consultants, lobbyists, or advertising firms than Amazon, nor can the company's economic influence over politicians and regulators be matched. Jeff Bezos could personally fund ten anti-labor campaigns the size of the entire Fight For 15 out of his own pocket and not even miss the money.
Yes, it will be hard. But it is necessary if we want to prevent the future of work in America from being ground up in a vast algorithmic machine in service of a lone mega-billionaire. So it has to be done. The one thing that all of Amazon's spending cannot change is the fact that, if 50% plus one of the employees in an Amazon warehouse decide that they want to stop being exploited, they will have a union, by law. And once they have a union, they will collectively bargain, by law. And once they collectively bargain, they become a serious force to be reckoned with, something that Amazon has never yet had to deal with. There is a reason why companies like Amazon have such sophisticated internal anti-union surveillance systems. It is because they understand that a union gives employees a type of power that they will never otherwise have. Not a power that depends on influencing others, but an inherent structural power of their own.
Is Amazon willing to close down sophisticated fulfillment centers to stop union campaigns, costing themselves hundreds of millions of dollars? Perhaps. Are they willing to fire and retaliate against any worker they think might be an organizer? Perhaps. But those are the stakes. This is a long war. The alternative is allowing Jeff Bezos, a man who said that he could not think of any way to spend his fortune except space travel even after his employees had been complaining of horrific workplace exploitation for decades, to set the agenda for working conditions in America. The alternative is unacceptable. The alternative is death to organized labor, and it is doom and poverty to working people. So we fight it. We have to fight it with the strongest weapon we have. That's a union. Everything else must be a step in that direction. Otherwise, we will look back in 20 years, wondering why we lost.
This article was originally published at In These Times on April 20, 2020. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Hamilton Nolan is a labor reporting fellow at In These Times. He has spent the past decade writing about labor and politics for Gawker, Splinter, The Guardian, and elsewhere. You can reach him at [email protected].
Posted in unionsTagged Amazon, labor union, union, workers rightsLeave a Comment on Amazon Will Not Change Without a Union
House Passes Bill to Dramatically Strengthen the Power of Unions
Posted on February 12, 2020 by Jeremy Gantz
House Democrats just passed an important blueprint for strengthening unions and building worker power. If signed into law, the labor law reforms within the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would amount to the biggest change to the rules governing employers and workers in generations. Among other major features, it would bolster workers' ability to unionize, expand organizing rights to more workers and strengthen the right to strike.
Although flawed, the legislation would go a long way toward reversing decades of GOP-backed efforts to grind unions into dust.
"This is about stemming the assault that the Republicans are making on the rights of working men and women in our country," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who sponsored the PRO Act along with 218 other House members, including three Republicans, called the legislation the "most significant update in U.S. labor laws in 80 years" and "a major step towards creating an economy where everyone can succeed."
But the PRO Act, which the House approved Thursday evening with a 224-194 vote (mostly along party lines), has essentially no chance of becoming law anytime soon. Although 40 Democratic senators do support the Senate version of the bill, it is unlikely to be passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and will not be taken up for consideration during the current legislative session by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
So why did Speaker Pelosi bother bringing the bill to a floor vote this week? It's an election year. The PRO Act strengthens Democrats' claim to be the only party really fighting for the middle and working classes. And it hands organized labor a victory to point to, giving unions a rallying cry that could serve to solidify their members' active support for whomever becomes the Democratic nominee later this year.
"Stand with us today and we'll stand with you tomorrow," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said at the press conference alongside Democrats.
None of this is to argue the PRO Act's passage is solely a ploy by Democrats to shore up labor's support as the campaign season lifts off. It signals the Democratic Party's leftward movement since the 2016 election cycle. We've seen a wave of labor actions among teachers, journalists and nonprofits; it is no coincidence that the party has embraced an ambitious labor law reform bill amid this new organizing momentum. Democrats are shifting left along with the party's base.
While it's true that voting for a bill you know will not become law anytime soon isn't exactly an act of political courage, members of Congress deserve applause for passing a measure that would clearly add muscle to a flailing union movement.
What the PRO Act would change
For about the last 40 years, employers have whittled away at labor power and unions through a host of unionbusting tactics. Meanwhile, GOP-controlled state legislatures have passed so-called "right to work" laws that have kneecapped unions by allowing employees to opt out of paying dues even though unions that still must represent them.
To counter all of this, the PRO Act, would among other things:
Penalize employers who fire or retaliate against workers trying to form a union.
Streamline the union certification process.
Prohibit employers from forcing employees to attend anti-union meetings, often deployed during organizing drives.
Eliminate right-to-work laws, which exist in 27 states.
Ban the permanent replacement of striking workers
Legalize secondary boycotts and picketing.
Make it harder to classify workers as independent contractors (similar to California's AB5 bill, which Uber and Lyft are fighting).
It all adds up to a potential power rebalance that could help to counter rampant inequality and generally stagnant wages across vast swaths of the U.S. economy. Various groups aligned with business—from The National Retail Federation to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—are, of course, apoplectic over the proposed legislation.
Major omission
The PRO Act does indeed include a "grab bag" of measures for which unions have long been pushed. But there's one big thing missing in the bill when it's placed in the context of the last few decades of labor law reform campaigns: a provision allowing any group of employees to organize through a majority sign-up process ("card check"), rather than through a voting process monitored by the National Labor Relations Board.
Remember the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the reform law pushed by the labor movement during the 2008 election cycle that died in the U.S. Senate after passing through the House? Its centerpiece was card check, without conditions, making organizing much easier by circumventing the commonly drawn-out election process. The PRO Act only requires card check if an employer is found to have violated labor law during a failed union election.
It matters because card check alone could be as powerful as all of the PRO Act's provisions for boosting union density and labor power. Strangely, the PRO Act, the biggest piece of labor law reform legislation in years, contains a watered-down version of EFCA's centerpiece. Whether or not this signifies a strategic retreat on the part of Democratic leaders, who surely remember the battle over EFCA, is unclear. But it is puzzling, given that the PRO Act is—at least until the White House and the Senate flip to Democrats—mainly an aspirational statement of values and solidarity. Why not include card check as well, so there's no daylight between the party and unions as the election approaches?
Card check is still an avowed goal of some legislators, namely, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who both laid out their plans for empowering workers and labor unions last year. (Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden and Andrew Yang also support card check.) The Sanders and Warren plans make the PRO Act seem relatively small bore, more tactical than structural in its approach to rewriting the rules workers must live by.
That does not mean the PRO Act is just window dressing; it would mark significant change if enacted. The House vote is notable, albeit essentially symbolic. A real victory must wait until Democrats win a Senate majority and the White House—and still prioritize rebuilding the labor movement as much as they did yesterday.
This article was originally published at InTheseTimes on February 7, 2020. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Jeremy Gantz is a contributing editor at the magazine. He is the editor of The Age of Inequality: Corporate America's War on Working People (2017, Verso), and was the Web/Associate Editor of In These Times from 2008 to 2012.
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Trade Unions Demand Governments Address Gender-based Violence in the World of Work
Posted on December 2, 2019 by Cassandra Waters
This week marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and trade unions around the world are demanding governments ratify and implement International Labor Organization Convention 190 (C190), on ending violence and harassment in the world of work.
Read the statement from the International Trade Union Confederation in English, Spanish or French.
C190 was adopted last June at the International Labor Organization. The AFL-CIO and trade unions around the world campaigned for more than a decade to win this important new global standard, and now are leading the fight to see its framework adopted by governments and employers.
Gender-based violence and harassment is a particular threat to women, LGBTQ workers and other marginalized groups. Homicide is one of the leading causes of death on the job among women in the United States, accounting for almost a quarter of workplace deaths among women, while it accounts for only 8% of workplace deaths among men. It is also a particular threat to workers in low-wage, precarious working arrangements, as poverty and marginalization can prevent workers from escaping or challenging dangerous conditions.
The C190 framework emphasizes that everyone has the fundamental right to be free from violence and harassment at work, and requires governments adopt an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach to end it. C190 requires governments and employers address the root causes of gender-based violence at work, including discrimination and unequal power relationships. Violence is a tool that both reflects and reinforces a gendered power hierarchy at work and in society, and ending violence requires allowing women workers to take collective action to confront this hierarchy directly.
C190 also calls for investigating sectors and occupations that are more likely to experience violence and harassment. In the United States, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation to adopt specific violence protections for nurses, medical assistants, emergency responders and social workers. These workers are predominantly women, and they face extremely high rates of violence on the job. The law would require employers to develop an enforceable, comprehensive violence protection program in U.S. workplaces.
This article was originally published at Aflcio on November 27, 2019. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Cassandra Waters is the global worker rights specialist at the AFL-CIO.
Posted in unionsTagged International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, labor union, unionsLeave a Comment on Trade Unions Demand Governments Address Gender-based Violence in the World of Work
Trump's SEC Chairman Proposes to Disenfranchise Investors and Reduce Shareholder Democracy
Posted on November 8, 2019 by Brandon Rees
In a partisan 3-2 vote, the Trump administration's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to curtail the rights of investors to file proposals for a vote at company annual meetings. If adopted, these changes will hinder shareholder proposals by union members and their pension plans to hold corporate management accountable.
"We strongly oppose the SEC's shareholder proposal rule changes that will limit the ability of working people and their pension plans to have a voice in the companies that we invest in," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA). The proposed changes include dramatic increases in stock ownership requirements and vote resubmission requirements.
Corporate CEOs of the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce have long wished for these changes to the shareholder proposal rule. In a 2017 letter to the SEC, the AFL-CIO showed how these proposed rule changes will undermine efforts to increase corporate responsibility for environmental, social and governance issues.
"The right to petition corporate management by filing shareholder proposals is an integral part of shareholder democracy in the United States," Trumka explained. "The SEC should protect the rights of working people as the real main street investors, not the interests of overpaid and unaccountable corporate CEOs."
For more information about the efforts of SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, nominated by President Trump, to disenfranchise investors and reduce shareholder democracy by curtailing the shareholder proposal rule, please visit the Investor Rights Forum.
This article was originally published at AFL-CIO on November 5, 2019. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Brandon Rees is the Deputy Director of Corporations and Capital Markets for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The AFL-CIO is a federation of 55 national and international labor unions that represent 12.5 million working men and women.
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U.S. Steel lays off Michigan workers a week after Trump bragged 'business is thriving'
Posted on August 21, 2019 by Laura Clawson
Just last week, Donald Trump was bragging about the success of his steel tariffs. This week, U.S. Steel is laying off workers in Michigan—temporarily, but for as long as six months.
"Steel was dead. Your business was dead. Okay? I don't want to be overly crude. Your business was dead. And I put a little thing called 'a 25 percent tariff' on all of the dumped steel all over the country. And now your business is thriving" Trump said, in the same Monaca, Pennsylvania, speech at which he had a coerced audience of workers told they'd lose pay if they didn't attend. "And I'll tell you what," he added later, "Those steel mills—U.S. Steel and all of them, all of them—they're expanding all over the place. New mills. New expansions. We hadn't have—we didn't have a new mill built in 30 years, and now we have many of them going up."
This is, of course, false. There are not "many" new steel mills going up (and on top of it, there had been at least one built within the last 30 years). U.S. Steel is investing $1 billion in its Mon Valley Works facilities, but there's no guarantee of new jobs there.
And now U.S. Steel is idling blast furnaces and laying off workers—temporarily, we very much hope—as steel prices have fallen significantly from a 2018 peak shortly after Trump announced his tariffs. The steel tariffs did at least temporarily lead to increased investment and jobs. But of course Trump had to lie about the scale of the improvements and you're unlikely to see him admitting to the slump that's hitting now.
This blog was originally published at Daily Kos on August 20, 2019. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Laura Clawson is labor editor at Daily Kos.
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Why Join a Labor Union? The Key Benefits Workers May Not Know About
Posted on August 19, 2019 August 19, 2019 by Janet B. Gerhard
Unions are struggling in this country. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that the percent of U.S. wage and salary workers who were members of unions in the year 2018 was 10.5 percent, down from 20.1 percent in 1983. That low level of membership has not been seen since the 1930's—just before the introduction of labor laws protecting workers' rights to organize—a September 2018 PBS News Hour article observed. When only 1 in 10 U.S. workers is a member of a union, according to Bureau of Labor statistics, it would seem that many working Americans are missing out on the key benefits that union membership affords.
Biggest Reasons to Join a Union – How Unions Improve Workers' Welfare
When I asked my friend Ray Greaves, who is General Chairman of New Jersey's Amalgamated Transit Union, how he would sum up the benefits of joining a union, he said this: "Any worker who has the opportunity to join a union should, because when you join a union, you improve your safety at work, prioritize the health of both you and your family, protect your financial stability, invest in your retirement savings, and access a whole community of support in your job."
Those benefits were worth unpacking further, with a closer look at how unions improve workers' welfare— starting with these three key benefits:
Better Wages and Job Benefits Via "Collective Bargaining" – Membership in a union means that you are part of an organized body of employees who can negotiate better, more favorable wages and other conditions of employment, such as health insurance benefits, retirement plans and fair work practice policies. As evidence, a study by the Economic Policy Institute found (among still other economic advantages to joining a union) that:
Unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation, including both wages and benefits, by about 28%.
Unionized workers receive more generous health benefits than non-unionized workers— and pay less for those more generous health benefits. In retirement, unionized workers are 24 percent more likely to be covered by health insurance paid for by their employer.
Unionized workers are more likely than their nonunionized counterparts to receive paid leave, are 18 to 28 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are 23 percent to 54 percent more likely to be in employer-provided pension plans.
In other words, there is strength in numbers. Whereas one person won't convince HR and management that they need comprehensive health insurance coverage, a large body of unionized employees will be much more persuasive at making the same case.
Better Job Security and Just Representation of Your Employee Rights – Unions have successfully championed legislation to protect employees from unfair work environments and labor practices. A case in point: the Weingarten Act, passed in 1974, which allows a union member to ask for union representation if they are called into a meeting that may change their job status or take disciplinary action.
Often, union representation can ensure the mitigation of disciplinary actions against you. Imagine, for example, a scenario in which you have a drug or alcohol problem and test positive for a drug screening or begin to exhibit problem behaviors at work. In addition to successfully advocating for protection of your job and milder punitive actions on the part of your employer, your union may help you find a low-cost treatment option that allows you to keep your job by seeking treatment for your condition. (In many cases, a union will have contracted with a specific provider for just these sorts of situations.) That access to low-cost addiction treatment and protection of your job while you are away are benefits that many non-unionized workers often don't get.
Safer Working Conditions – A 2016 study in the American Journal of Public Health concluded that labor unions promote healthier, safer workplaces by ensuring "higher wage and benefit standards, working hours limits, workplace hazards protections, and other factors." The researchers further concluded that unions promote workers' well-being by encouraging "democratic participation" and "a sense of community among workers."
There are many benefits to union membership: This list is not exhaustive. Still, better wages and benefits, better job security and representation of your rights, and safer working conditions are three key reasons to join a union. Together, they make the case that more working Americans should be joining unions.
About the Author: Janet B. Gerhard is Director of Public Affairs for FHE Health, a nationally recognized addiction and mental health treatment provider. Janet is regularly invited to speak to workforce gatherings about addiction-related topics. Learn about FHE Health's addiction treatment programs here. If you have questions about this issue or other treatment-related inquiries, feel free to contact Janet at 1-866-768-7021.
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The Trump Administration's War on Federal Workers
Posted on June 17, 2019 by Sarah Lahm
Claiming 700,000 members in the United States and overseas, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) stands as the nation's largest federal and D.C. government employee labor union. The union represents employees who provide care and support for veterans, the elderly and disabled, and people in need of housing through the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with other federal agencies.
A statement on the AFGE website describes these employees as the "vital threads of the fabric of American life." Now, the AFGE contends, its members are under attack, thanks to recent actions by the Trump administration.
The AFGE is currently in contract negotiations with the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of 260,000 employees who work for the agency. In the process of these negotiations, AFGE District Office Manager Matt Muchowski says that VA management is attempting to undo labor rights that have been won by the union since its founding in 1932.
To better understand the nature of these affronts, Muchowski argues, it is important to look at three executive orders signed by President Trump on May 25, 2018. While the orders have since ostensibly been ruled in violation of labor law by a U.S. District Court in August 2018, Muchowski says that sections of the orders which limit time spent during the work day on union activities (known as "official time") as well as due process are being pushed into the contract by VA negotiators.
This approach is "making it difficult for federal workers to do what they do," by seeking to alter key elements of the contracts negotiated between AFGE members—including Veterans Affairs workers—and management, he says. Further, Muchowski notes, this strategy has already been employed during negotiations over the Social Security Administration contract earlier this year, which resulted in major concessions for workers. He says the Trump administration's approach to the AFGE negotiations "represents an escalation of its anti-union tactics."
The key elements of the 2018 executive orders fall under three categories: employees' job protection and due process rights, official time and collective bargaining procedures.
The first order outlines limits on the use of "progressive discipline" approaches for workers in federal agencies and instead calls for the allowance of more immediate dismissals, among other more stringently dictated relations between management and workers.
The second order calls for more regulated and restricted use of "official time": time employees are allowed to spend on union duties while still on the clock. This is a concept that has been part of AFGE's labor contracts since the Carter administration, Muchowski notes, when the presence of unions in the workplace was seen as "part of effective governance."
Under this model, an employee can conduct union business while using government-provided items such as office space, computers or phones. Trump's executive order, however, calls for employees' official time to be greatly reduced and also mandates that they should no longer be given free or reduced rate access to an office or a computer.
While the Trump administration holds that this revision is necessary to make the government "effective and efficient," Veterans Affairs employee Germaine Clano disagrees. Clarno is a social worker at the Edward Hines, Jr., VA Hospital in suburban Chicago, and she says the loss of official time would be devastating.
Clarno provides full-time union representation to doctors, social workers and other professional employees of the VA through the official time provision, whether they are dues-paying union members or not. It's work she describes as essential. "The culture of the VA is still very retaliatory," Clarno says, noting that she acts as a resource for employees who would like to bring allegations of "waste, fraud or abuse" to light.
"Taking away official time means taking away employees' security around being able to report what's going on at the VA," Clarno insists, "so that we can make things better for our veterans."
The third order issued by Trump in 2018 is designed to "assist executive departments and agencies in developing efficient, effective, and cost-reducing collective bargaining agreements." The order claims that collective bargaining agreements limit managers' ability to either hold "low-performers accountable" or reward "high performers," and that they are often drawn out, at the expense of taxpayer money.
The order calls for an expedited contract negotiation period, with lingering disputes to be settled by the politically-appointed members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP). In the post-Janus era—which has brought new challenges to public sector unions—it's notable that panel member David Osborne's bio states that he has built a career around "offering free legal services to those hurt by public employee union officials."
While both the FSIP and attempts to govern through executive orders are not new, they are part of an increasingly fraught era for federal workers and the Trump administration's federal management team.
Just days before Trump issued his three executive orders, news reports noted the rising tension between workers and federal managers, who had just unveiled "an ambitious and aggressive plan to modernize the civil service," according to Nicole Ogrysko of the Federal News Network. This plan, union leaders alleged, was intended to cut department budgets while turning more federal employees into poorly compensated temp workers.
Trump's executive orders were contested in court by the AFGE and other labor unions, and in August 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled in favor of the unions. At the time, a review of the case appeared in the online news outlet, Government Executive, where reporter Erich Wagner stated that Brown Jackson found the executive orders to be in violation of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.
This Act upholds the value of good-faith labor-management negotiations and concludes that they are done "in the public interest." Nonetheless, Muchowski says, the Trump administration has persisted in seeking to negotiate labor contracts with federal employees according to the 2018 executive orders. As evidence, he cites the recently settled contract between the Social Security Administration and the 45,000 AFGE members who work there.
During the contract negotiation process, SSA management and union negotiators could not agree on twelve clauses, according to a reportfiled by Tom Temin of the Federal News Network. As a result, the contract was turned over to the FSIP, which has the power to either "recommend a way to agree," or "order specific, binding actions" that both parties must abide by, Temin states.
While some government panels are bipartisan, the FSIP is not: All seven members were appointed by Trump. Temin notes that, of the twelve disputed clauses, the FSIP sided with management on ten of them. Although AFGE members were able to keep certain grievance rights, they did lose ground on some central matters, including the implementation of a seven-year contract (the union wanted a two-year term) and the loss of both office space and hours set aside for official time.
David Cann, director of field services and education for the AFGE, says he believes the FSIP's actions are a violation of Judge Brown Jackson's ruling against certain aspects of Trump's executive orders. Brown Jackson's decision, Cann notes, found that parts of the executive orders violated collective bargaining rights outlined in the Civil Service Act of 1978, and that neither the president nor his subordinates could continue negotiations under such terms.
Because the FSIP is an entirely politically appointed body, Cann argues that its members are, in effect, Trump's subordinates and therefore should not be allowed to settle disputes, using what he believes are the administration's executive orders as a guide.
In a statement posted to its website, the AFGE minced no words about the dangerous precedent such a decision could set: "A panel of Trump's union-busting appointees has imposed anti-worker provisions in a new labor-management contract for the people who ensure elderly Americans and those with disabilities can live with dignity and financial security."
Clarno has been closely tracking the contract settlement between AFGE and the Social Security Administration and says that, for her, the "fear is that the Federal Service Impasse Panel will push the same thing" for VA workers in contract negotiations. "Federal employees can't strike," she states. "Really, what leverage do we have? We have none. It's very, very concerning."
This article was originally published at In These Times on June 14, 2019. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Sarah Lahm is a Minneapolis-based writer and former English Instructor. She is a 2015 Progressive magazine Education Fellow and blogs about education at brightlightsmallcity.com.
Posted in Federal GovernmentTagged collective bargaining, federal workers, labor union, Social SecurityLeave a Comment on The Trump Administration's War on Federal Workers
NEWS FLASH: Labor Membership Boosts Incomes, Families And Economy
Posted on September 14, 2015 by Dave Johnson
Study after study, report after report, and of course common sense and our own eyes are telling us that unions help people and the economy do better. It's obvious. But the billionaires and big corporations want to keep pay and benefits low, and pay politicians to keep it that way.
Which Democratic presidential candidates will come out in favor of strong labor rights and the laws and regulations that protect and encourage this?
A new report presented by the Center for American Progress co-authored with economists Richard Freeman and Eunice Han is only the latest look at how labor unions enable working people to do better. The report, "Bargaining for the American Dream: What Unions do for Mobility," looks at "economic mobility" and "intergenerational mobility" and finds that mobility is better where unions are strong.
Big words, but what does this mean for real people? The study found that areas with higher union membership demonstrate more mobility for low-income children:
? Low-income children rise higher in the income rankings when they grow up in areas with high union membership.
? An increase in union density is associated with an increase in the income of an area's children – as much as or more than high school dropout rates.
? Children of non-college-educated fathers earn more if their father was in a labor union.
Previous studies had looked at how other factors affected mobility: single motherhood rates, income inequality, high school dropout rates, social capital and segregation. But they had not looked at union membership. This study did look at this and found that the effect of union membership is close to the effect of inequality; only single motherhood has more of an effect.
At an event about the report, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers (starting about 12:35 in the video) was rather pro-labor. He congratulated the authors for the study, but warned not to necessarily interpret the results as causal. He said the data used could also show that it's the policies of the old Confederate states that cause lower mobility. Those states "are set up to produce a lot of immobility." Are unions a cause or a symptom of that? The data show that holding all other factors constant, being in a union does appear to mean your children and grandchildren will do better.
Summers said private sector unionism by its nature goes hand-in-hand with private sector monopoly power and monopoly profits. Unions make sure that workers share in it. But government policies have assisted in making union organizing difficult, thereby decreasing membership.
The report suggested ways that unions might promote increased mobility. Union jobs pay more, which can lead to better outcomes for the kids in union families. Union jobs are often more stable, leading to a stable living environment for children to grow up in. Union jobs tend to come with family health insurance.
These gains show up in children who are not from union families but come from more densely unionized regions. This could be because unions push up wages generally, not just union members, and fight for programs that benefit everyone, especially low-income people.
While studies, reports, common sense and our eyes show us that people and our economy do better when workers are able to organize to fight the power of organized wealth, organized wealth is winning. Public policy increasingly supports wealth over working people. Unions are in decline, public investment is in decline, income inequality is rising. Even in times of political domination by Democrats, such as the early years of the Obama administration, little is done to reverse these policies and help working people.
In this presidential campaign Republicans are overwhelmingly speaking out for the interests of the billionaire class that funds them. For example, "Jeb!" Bush has introduced a plan to dramatically cut taxes for the rich. The Republican frontrunner is an actual billionaire.
On the Democratic side, frontrunner Hillary Clinton largely avoids championing specific policy proposals, and in spite of populist language is suspected of supporting the wealth/corporate-owning class. Opponent Bernie Sanders initiated his campaign in an attempt to "move Clinton to the left," to get her to endorse specific policies that could address the problems of increasing inequality and the decline in pro-worker, pro-labor policies that worsen inequality. Interestingly, he is rising in the polls and even overtaking Clinton in some states as a result of his message.
Will the Democratic Party at large see this and rally for stronger labor laws as part of their plan to fight inequality and raise wages? If Bernie Sanders gets the votes to win the nomination and become the candidate, will the party apparatus fall in line? Or will they continue to provide only lip service – and lose elections?
This blog originally appeared in Ourfuture.org on September 11, 2015. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Dave Johnson has more than 20 years of technology industry experience. His earlier career included technical positions, including video game design at Atari and Imagic. He was a pioneer in design and development of productivity and educational applications of personal computers. More recently he helped co-found a company developing desktop systems to validate carbon trading in the US.
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California Working Families Beat Koch-Backed Prop. 32
Posted on November 8, 2012 by Mike Hall
For the third time in the past 14 years, California voters rejected an attempt—fueled by millions of out-of-state dollars—to shut working people out of the political process when they soundly defeated Proposition 32. California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski said working families:
Rejected a blatant power play by corporate special interests to silence the voice of working people. Despite weeks of misleading advertisements backing Prop. 32 paid for by billionaires and out-of-state super PACs, the margin of defeat was decisive. Prop. 32 backers spent more than $50 million in an effort to fool voters.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that $11 million of that war chest came from "a shadowy Arizona group that became entangled with the state's Supreme Court over where it got its money."
Ultimately, that money was traced back to two outside groups with ties to the billionaire oil tycoon brothers, David and Charles Koch, as well as to Karl Rove, the former top strategist to former President George W. Bush, whose web of super PACs and non-profit groups spread hundreds of millions of dollars in campaigns across the nation.
Prop. 32 would ban the use of voluntary payroll deductions by union members who want to contribute to their union's political activity. It would do nothing to stop the campaign spending by secret corporate-backed PACs and the wealthy. Pulaski says:
Prop. 32 had the effect of driving millions of firefighters, electricians, nurses, teachers, plumbers and other working people to the polls today. This measure was nothing less than an attack on working people; an attack we took personally.
More than 40,000 union volunteers made more than 3 million voter contacts and distributed more than 5.1 million worksite leaflets.
As of this morning, Prop. 32 was losing by more than eight percentage points. Working families defeated similar measures in 2005 and 1998.
Working families also rallied to help pass Prop. 30 that will raise $6 billion to put the state's education system back on track by ending cuts to schools and providing funds to rehire teachers, reduce class sizes and update textbooks. It's paid for by asking the state's wealthiest to pay their fair share. Learn more about Prop. 30.
This post was originally posted on AFL-CIO NOW on November 7, 2012. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Mike Hall is a former West Virginia newspaper reporter, staff writer for the United Mine Workers Journal and managing editor of the Seafarers Log. I came to the AFL- CIO in 1989 and have written for several federation publications, focusing on legislation and politics, especially grassroots mobilization and workplace safety.
Posted in economy, unionsTagged 32, california, Citizens United, labor union, Labor Unions, prop 32Leave a Comment on California Working Families Beat Koch-Backed Prop. 32


Indonesia Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems market is gaining pace on account of growing demand in IT, commercial and industrial sectors. Further, the country's government is focusing on strengthening the economy by investing heavily in the commercial and industrial sector infrastructure, which in turn would ultimately spur the growth of commercial and industrial sectors, resulting in an increase in demand for UPS systems in the country.
According to 6Wresearch, Indonesia UPS Market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during 2018-24. Expected growth in the country's infrastructure on account of significant emphasis on ICT, Banking and Financial, Healthcare, Aviation and Commercial sectors would drive the demand for UPS systems in these segments, where seamless power support is necessary for several crucial operations. Government initiatives such as 100 Smart cities by 2020 and 1,000 technopreneurs by 2020 are expected to further boost the UPS market during the forecast period.
Java Region is projected to capture the highest Indonesia UPS market share over the coming years due to the development of the commercial and industrial sectors owing to outsize concentration of people, wealth, foreign investment and political capital as well as rapid urbanization. Java will continue to account for an outsize proportion of investment and construction activity in Indonesia over the next 10 years. On account of robust economic growth and industrial expansion, Java is predicted to continue its dominance in future as well.
The Indonesia UPS market report thoroughly covers Indonesia Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems market by KVA ratings, applications and regions. The Indonesia UPS market outlook report provides an unbiased and detailed analysis of the Indonesia UPS market trends, opportunities/high growth areas and market drivers which would help the stakeholders to device and align their market strategies according to the current and future market dynamics.


Vibrant two piece bikini with front tie detailing and bottom side cutouts. This is the perfect bikini to mix & match. The top is a scoop neck and can provide tiny push up and the bottom is somewhat cheeky.


If you have sensitive skin, the likelihood of being allergic to metal is very likely. Any alloy that has nickel or lead can irritate your skin and sometimes leave a nasty green mark on your skin when jewelry is worn for a long time. A necklace is a piece of clingy jewelry coming in direct contact with the nape and some parts of your neck area, which sometimes causes irritation and itching to sensitive skin, especially when mixed with sweat and moisture. You may choose to overlook necklaces, but the good news is that there are hypoallergenic pieces you can wear so you can still have the choice to wear this type of accessory.
Number one rule when picking necklace chains is to avoid anything that is made of nickel or mixed with nickel. Nickel what lower-priced jewelry are often made since it has a high polish, cheap to produce and durable. But it also accounts for most metal allergies, found in the form of itch, crusty residues on skin or rash. Brass and copper can also have ugly effects to sensitive skin, so choose to stay away from them, or choose those that have a thick, hypoallergenic outer layer, like gold plating.
Also, it's best to invest in hypoallergenic fine jewelry. Don't settle for something of lesser value if it will just irritate your skin. Jewelry with higher levels of purity means it has less alloys, that's why gold, platinum and sterling silver are less likely to cause skin allergies and contact dermatitis.
The purity of gold is measured in karat (k), and the higher the karat, the higher the ratio of gold to alloys. 24k is the purest form of gold, and anything below 14k means that at least half of the jewelry is made of alloys. For those looking for hypoallergenic gold necklace chains, choose those that are 14k and above. Whether it's yellow gold or rose gold, a 14k, 18k or 24k necklace is a great choice for people looking for hypoallergenic jewelry. White gold of a high karat level is also great if you prefer a more silver color, but it's better to choose platinum.
This simple pearl pendant necklace has 14k gold chain, available in yellow gold, rose gold and white gold.
A beautiful cross necklace, this one's made of solid 14k yellow and white gold. The design is great for both men and women.
This one's a dainty little necklace wherein you can set the moon phase on the pendant. It's cute and had lots of positive reviews about it being hypoallergenic.
Gold-plated pieces may contain a nickel base or nickel alloy, so before buying anything that is gold-plated, make sure you know what metal is underneath the gold lining. The great thing is there are lots of gold-plated jewelry that is gentle to your skin just like solid gold jewelry. This means it's much cheaper, too. Gold is often plated over sterling silver, making it a durable jewelry option.
This has a cute triangular pendant filled with opal that looks trendy and beautiful.
Feel free to add a pendant to this thin chain made of sterling silver plated with 18k gold.
Gift this shiny trinket to yourself or someone special. This one's plated with hypoallergenic, 18k white gold, with pendants studded with little cubic zirconia crystals.
When buying silver jewelry, make sure it's marked "sterling" or "925," which means it's 92.5 percent pure. Avoid silver-plated jewelry, as it could have a brass or copper metal base, which can irritate sensitive skin.
This link chain necklace proudly states that it's made in Italy and safe for all skin types.
Get ready to get lots of compliments with this beautiful crystal hummingbird pendant on a sterling silver chain.
This beautiful necklace made of sterling silver has a simple and dainty pendant, with a stone of sparkling cubic zirconia in the middle.
Tungsten is a strong and attractive metal, so it doesn't need to be mixed with nickel or other skin-irritating metals. Tungsten chains are common in men's jewelry.
If you're digging the hiphop fashion, this tungsten golden toned chain necklace is a perfect accessory.
This one's a black version of the golden chain necklace earlier. Try it with its matching tungsten carbide bracelet.
If you prefer a silver finish, get this tungsten chain necklace. It's dazzling finish makes it perfect for contemporary style.
Platinum is a pure metal that is malleable, but durable. It doesn't have to be alloyed with a cheap base metal like nickel. Sometimes, it is alloyed with iridium but it is less likely to cause allergic reactions. Platinum is like silver in color, and platinum chains can be worn with pendants. You can also find a lot of platinum-plated sterling silver chains on the market.
This light rope chain necklace crafted in genuine platinum provides a great chain for people with sensitive skin to hold their rings and wear it on the neck.
This round snake chain is thicker and sturdier than the earlier mentioned platinum chain, and is made of solid platinum – not hollow and not plated.


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Буксар:

 Буксар — город в индийском штате Бихар.
 Буксар — округ в индийском штате Бихар.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Stochastic gradient descent requires that training samples be drawn from auniformly random distribution of the data. For a deployed system that mustlearn online from an uncontrolled and unknown environment, the ordering ofinput samples often fails to meet this criterion, making lifelong learning adifficult challenge. We exploit the locality of the unsupervised Spike TimingDependent Plasticity (STDP) learning rule to target subsets of a segmentedSpiking Neural Network (SNN) to adapt to novel information while protecting theinformation in the remainder of the SNN from catastrophic forgetting. In oursystem, novel information triggers stimulated firing, inspired by biologicaldopamine signals, to boost STDP in the synapses of neurons associated withoutlier information. This targeting controls the forgetting process in a waythat reduces accuracy degradation while learning new information. Ourpreliminary results on the MNIST dataset validate the capability of such asystem to learn successfully over time from an unknown, changing environment,achieving up to 93.88% accuracy for a completely disjoint dataset.


An essential feature of urban buildings, acoustic insulation is perfect for limiting both external noise pollution and noise between rooms. Whilst thermal bulk insulation does have some soundproofing properties, acoustic insulation batts have a thicker density (kg/m3) which makes them perfect for absorbing noise. Acoustic insulation is typically used between bathrooms, bedrooms, home theatres and offices. For multi-level dwellings, insulating between floors is also recommended to minimise sound transfer.


text:
Florence Elizabeth "Bette" Jones Hicks
Florence Elizabeth "Bette" Jones Hicks, age 83, passed away on Thursday, August 11, 2016. She was born on August 20, 1932, in Ocala, Florida to Mary Bailey Turner and G. Henry Turner and graduated from Gainesville High School in 1950. She attended the University of Florida and was a member of Tri-Delta. She received her bachelor\'s degree from Florida Southern College. Bette dedicated much of her life to ministry and helping others. She served as a youth counselor and leader at the Methodist Youth Camp in Leesburg, Florida, where she met her first husband Dr. Kenneth R. Jones, with whom she raised 4 children. She also served in inner city ministries in Atlanta, Georgia where was deeply involved in the civil rights movement at Trinity Methodist Church. Bette had an entrepreneurial spirit and was a pioneer in the international travel industry. She organized hundreds of trips around the world, specializing in in the Middle East. When travel to China opened up in the late 1970\'s, she arranged for CNAC Hump Pilots and Flying Tigers to return, as well as trips for medical researchers. Bette is survived by her four children, daughter, Jana Ost and her husband Matt, son Gaylon Jones and his wife Mary, daughter Julie Jones, son Doug Jones and his wife Theresa, as well as 5 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. She is also survived by her son through marriage J.D. Hicks, his wife Blake and their 2 children, and close friend Rubin Davis who loved and cared for Bette, Dash, and her parents throughout their lives. Husband Dashwood \"Dash\" Hicks preceded her passing on November 2, 2015. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 419 NE First Street, Gainesville, Florida at 11:00am on Saturday, September 3, 2016. Interment will be at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery beside her husband Dashwood Hicks. In lieu of flowers, contributions should be made to the American Cancer Society or the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675.


However, Trump's speech did include some elements of a realistic approach to the jihad threat, ideas that have been glaringly lacking from U.S. foreign policy for nearly sixteen years now.
Trump no doubt thought that Muslim leaders would welcome this promise in light of the ill-fated Bush/Obama attempts to establish Western-style republics in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the disastrous effects of "regime change" in Libya and elsewhere. And that is doubtless true: a respite from Obama's reckless and self-defeating interventionism is most welcome.
But it should also be remembered that America never tried in any serious way to impose its way of life upon Iraq or Afghanistan. In both countries, American forces oversaw the implementation of constitutions that enshrined Sharia as the highest law of the land.
America did not stand strongly for the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and equality of rights for women and non-Muslims -- all of which Sharia denies. If America had offered refuge to those who wanted to live in freedom, who knows how many millions of Muslims would have chosen liberty over Sharia. But we will never know.
It is all too easy to imagine a scenario in which these Saudi arms are used against Israel.
President Trump also announced "a new Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology -- located right here, in this central part of the Islamic World." That its name is similar to Obama's euphemistic "Countering Violent Extremism" program, so named to avoid any hint that Islam might have something to do with terrorism, was not a good sign.
Nor was Trump's statement that "this groundbreaking new center represents a clear declaration that Muslim-majority countries must take the lead in combatting radicalization." The world has been calling upon, and waiting for, Muslim-majority countries to take the lead in combatting radicalization since 9/11, and long before that.
So where is the global Muslim movement to reform Islam and counter the jihadists' interpretation of its core texts? Egypt's al-Sisi, who was present at Trump's speech, several years ago called upon the Islamic scholars of al-Azhar, the most prestigious and influential institution in Sunni Islam, to work toward reforming Islam to curb its violent elements. Nothing has yet been done.
How long will we wait? How much longer will non-Muslim and reformist Muslim leaders issue these calls before realizing nothing is going to be done?
An actual honest confrontation of the crisis of Islamist extremism would require an honest and thorough examination of the motivating ideology of jihad terrorists. President George W. Bush hamstrung this effort when he declared, shortly after 9/11, that Islam was a "religion of peace." Barack Obama made it altogether impossible when he heeded the demands of Muslim, Leftist, and other allied groups in 2011 by ordering the removal of all mentions of Islam and jihad from counterterror training.
Trump didn't say anything about the nature of Islam. He didn't affirm it was peaceful or note that it contains doctrines of violence. And that is as it should be: neither he nor any of his predecessors has the title of "theologian-in-chief." Bush and Obama never had to say anything about Islam, and they caused considerable damage to counterterror efforts by doing so. Trump spoke of "Islamist extremism," thereby recognizing the obvious: there is a problem within Islam. Rather than pretending that the terrorists were not Muslim, he noted correctly that they were frequenting mosques.
If he can follow through on these words with a realistic adjustment of our counterterror stance so as to meet the actual threat we face, Sunday's speech could go down in history as a turning point in the free world's struggle against jihad.
But if his enemies from the swamp succeed in preventing him from doing this, and if they reassert the failed policies of the last sixteen years, then the jihad will advance apace -- bringing unimaginable chaos and bloodshed with it. The stakes couldn't be higher.


The past week and a half has been quite frustrating as far as the babies' orphanage is concerned. In order to receive more money from the government (the government pays the orphanages based on how many kids they have), the orphanage has taken in a group of older children who have families who can't afford to care for them. So, last Monday my group was split in two with half of the kids being moved to another group while the other half stayed behind along with 8 new, older children. I nearly cried as they took my kids out of the room, not sure if I would be able to see them anymore. Since then, things in my original group have been rough. The majority of the new kids are between the ages of 5-7 and the kids that were left in that group were the most severely handicapped ones, several of whom cannot sit up on their own. It was literally impossible for me to do anything with them with half a dozen loud kindergarten-aged kids running wild.
This morning I was finally able to meet with the head supervisor to discuss how I could continue to work with the special needs kids. The supervisor told me I could still spend time with my kids from both groups and that if I didn't want to stay in their room, I could taken them down to the main hall where the adoptive families visit with their children. Then she asked me if I would be able to work with two deaf boys who just received hearing aids from the government. They are introducing the hearing aids to the kids gradually and wanted me to watch them to make sure they don't pull them out, etc. Of course I said yes and how delighted I was to discover that there were several kids with Down syndrome and other special needs in their group as well! I had so much for with those little cuties this morning and then this afternoon I got to love on two of my angels who I haven't seen since last Monday… It was a good day.
Hmmm, I don't believe Aloysha is on RR. Did you let Andrea R know about him? I wonder what his story is. Man! I can honestly say that I really miss being there if just for the chance to see and love on these kids. I wish we had been able to see these little guys while we were there. I'm working on a post about Vika and Tonya right now, I misss those two munchkins!


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Whitesboro is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. Until the 2000 Census the area had been part of the Whitesboro-Burleigh CDP, which was split in 2010 into separate CDPs for Burleigh and Whitesboro. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was 2,205. Whitesboro was founded as a planned residential community for African Americans and has the majority of the township's black population.

History
Whitesboro was founded about 1901 by the Equitable Industrial Association, which had prominent black American investors including Paul Laurence Dunbar, the educator Booker T. Washington and George Henry White, the leading investor and namesake.  He was an attorney who had moved to Philadelphia after serving as the last black Republican congressman representing North Carolina's 2nd congressional district. White and his fellow entrepreneurs wanted to create a self-reliant community for blacks without the discrimination faced by black residents of the southern states. Shares in the planned community were sold to African Americans from North and South Carolina and Virginia.

In 2006, the Johnson Family Historical Trust discovered the value of its original deed to Whitesboro property from the George H. White Realty Company. It has been called one of "America's Untold Treasures" by appraiser Phillip Merrill. The Johnson Family Historical Trust holds rare items important to Whitesboro, such as a 1936 radio formerly owned by James L. Johnson, a nationally recognized ham radio operator. His radios are of interest to Whitesboro and national history in technology.

There are more than 50 known and appraised artifacts from the original investors of the town that will be featured in Whitesboro in upcoming years. A dig for national history is planned to uncover more artifacts at various historical sites in Whitesboro, hosted by the Johnson Family Historical Trust.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 3.632 square miles (9.406 km2), including 3.614 square miles (9.360 km2) of land and 0.018 square miles (0.047 km2) of water (0.50%).

Demographics

Census 2010

Education
It is within the Middle Township School District which operates Middle Township High School.

Countywide schools include Cape May County Technical High School and Cape May County Special Services School District.

In the era of de jure educational segregation in the United States, a school for black children was maintained in Whitesboro for grades 1-8.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Whitesboro include:
 Stedman Graham (born 1951), a 1,000-point scorer for the Middle Township High School boys varsity basketball team; he is an educator, author, businessman, and speaker who is the longtime partner of media mogul Oprah Winfrey.

References

External links

 The Cape May County Gazette, community newspaper
 The Beachcomber

Census-designated places in Cape May County, New Jersey
Middle Township, New Jersey
African-American history of New Jersey


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Poems from the Book of Hours (Paperback)
By Rainer Maria Rilke, Babette Deutsch (Translated by), Ursula K. Le Guin (Introduction by)
New Directions, 9780811227582, 64pp.
Paperback (7/15/2016)
One of the most powerful poetry collections of the twentieth century, now in a beautiful new edition
Although The Book of Hours is the work of Rilke's youth, it contains the germ of his mature convictions. Written as spontaneously received prayers, these poems celebrate a God who is not the Creator of the Universe but rather humanity itself and, above all, that most intensely conscious part of humanity, the artist. Babette Deutsch's classic translations—born from "the pure desire to sing what the poet sang" (Ursula K. Le Guin)—capture the rich harmony and suggestive imagery of the originals, transporting the reader to new heights of inspiration and musicality.
RAINER MARIA RILKE (1875–1926) is one of the greatest poets who ever wrote in the German language. His most famous works are Sonnets to Orpheus, The Duino Elegies, Letters to a Young Poet, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, and The Book of Hours.
Babette Deutsch (1859–1982) was a poet, critic, and novelist, as well as a translator.
Praise For Poems from the Book of Hours…
If Rilke cut himself shaving, he would bleed poetry.
— Stephen Spender
Rilke remade the sturdy sonnet, recast the sonorous song. He quickened the
German language itself.
— Rika Lesser
Poets in English continue to line up for the inevitable failure of translating
Rilke's short lyrics. The best translations I have seen are from Babette
— Clive James


text:
Home/News/Southee, Seifert star as NZ beat Pak to clinch T20I series
Southee, Seifert star as NZ beat Pak to clinch T20I series
Hamilton, Dec 20 : Right-arm pacer Tim Southee's brilliant bowling followed by half centuries from wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert and captain Kane Williamson helped New Zealand secure a comfortable nine-wicket win over Pakistan in the second T20I at the Seddon Park on Sunday.
Chasing 164, the Black Caps rode on a brilliant 84 not out from Seifert and unbeaten 57 from Williamson to comfortably chase down the target with four balls to spare.
Earlier, opting to bat, Pakistan once started poorly as they lost Haider Ali (8), Abdullah Shafique (0) and Mohammad Rizwan (22) within the first six overs with just 33 runs on the board.
Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez then tried to steady the ship. However, wickets kept falling at other end. In the end, Hafeez remained not out on 99. During the course of his 57-ball knock, the 40-year-old smashed 10 fours and 5 sixes and helped the visitors post 163/6 — a below par-total — in their allotted 20 overs.
READ: AITA women's tennis: Pooja stuns top seed Aarthi, enters quarters
Southee was pick of the New Zealand bowlers as he returned with figures of 4/21 in his four overs.
The hosts, then made easy work of the chase as they just lost the lone wicket of opener Martin Guptill who scored 21 runs from 11 balls, with the help of two 6s and a four before getting out by Faheem Ashraf before getting over the line in the final over of the match.
After his wicket, Seifert and Williamson, who returned to the team after becoming a father recently, shared an unbeaten stand of 129 to take the team home.
Pakistan had lost the first match by five wickets in Auckland on Friday.
READ: Bouncy Gabba pitch could be the right place for my secret delivery: Lyon
The two teams will now face each other in the third and final T20I in Napier on Tuesday.
Brief scores: Pakistan 163/6 (Mohammad Hafeez 99*; Tim Southee 4/21) lose to New Zealand 164/1 (Tim Seifert 84*; Faheem Ashraf 1/19)


One of the coolest thing for these selectors is that they're supported even in IE7 (if you care), apart from labels' 'for' attribute.
Drop that crap IE7! IE8 to follow soon!
very nice but this selector for class name or contents of elements ?
Nice info. Certainly will have to look to modern browsers and ignore IE7.


text:
require 'custom_model_naming'

module Spree
  Product.class_eval do
    include CustomModelNaming

    self.param_key = :product
    self.route_key = :products

    scope :unsubscribable, -> { where type: nil }
    scope :subscribable, -> { where type: 'Spree::SubscriptionProduct' }
    scope :recurrent, -> { where recurring: true }
    scope :not_recurrent, -> { where recurring: false }

    def subscription?
      false
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Bath Pub Company will run the pub following a £250,000 joint refurbishment with Enterprise Inns.
This pub is a bit tucked out the way, but has the advantage of the river running right past which makes a pleasant place for a pint on a sunny afternoon. Inside it's quite cavernous, far bigger than first impressions suggest. Besides the main bar area, there's a small sports room with a pool table, dart board, etc. and beyond that a large modern looking dining area which may well have been a skittle alley in a former life. There's also a smaller, cosier dining area and a decent sized patio next to the river.
The main bar has a traditional feel with a patterned red carpet, red bench seating and a fireplace with some type of log burner in. There seemed to be several food offers available, although we didn't check the menu. There is also a Sunday carvery counter between 12:00 and 4:00. Barmaid seemed friendly and helpful (and very attractive!). The music in the bar was playing slightly too loudly for a Sunday lunchtime though.
Beers on offer were Butcombe, Doom Bar, 6X and Pedigree, the latter being £2.50 a pint as they were apparently over-stocked. Ciders were Thatcher's Gold, Blackthorn and Gaymer's.
Hot Food : Yes last updated 03 March 2011 by hondo .
Real Ale : Yes last updated 03 March 2011 by hondo .


The Wildcat Fungo by Warstic has a Thundercloud full dip stain with a blood Wartip, and black and white engraving. Choose from WSF100BIRCH or WSF200MAPLE models, each cut from our top 10% reserve stock of birch and maple. Warstic logo is engraved onto all Designer Series wood bats.


text:
Q: Stylus not compiling everything in one .styl file It's weird. Stylus was perfectly working, until I copy paste some css to try something.
When I added this to my style.styl file :
.navigation
  list-style none
  background white
  width 100%
  height 100%
  position fixed
  top 0
  right 0
  bottom 0
  left 0
  z-index 0

it compiled to this
.navigation,
list-style none,
background white,
width 100%,
height 100%,
position fixed,
top 0,
right 0,
bottom 0,
left 0,
z-index 0,

the rest of the css is compiling fine.

A: Check if you're using space-based indentation in your stylus-sheet.
Stylus default is tab indented. But you can use 4 or 2 spaces if you write it between curly brackets.
 .navigation {
    list-style none
    background white
    width 100%
    height 100%
    position fixed
    top 0
    right 0
    bottom 0
    left 0
    z-index 0
  }

A: Probably, you have a wrong indentation inside your file where you pasted this code. Could you show an original file?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Macedonians were deciding on their country's future Sunday, voting whether to accept a landmark deal ending a decades-long dispute with neighboring Greece by changing their country's name to North Macedonia.
The June deal would pave the way for NATO and possibly European Union membership, ending a dispute dating from the early 1990s when Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia. Greece had argued that name implied territorial ambitions on its own province of the same name, and blocked the country's efforts to join NATO.
The referendum is non-binding, allowing the government to take the outcome as a fair reflection of public opinion regardless of the turnout. Under the country's constitution, a binding referendum would need a minimum turnout of 50 percent.
Supporters of the deal, led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, have focused on the vote being the lynchpin of the country's future prosperity, the key to its ability to join NATO and, eventually, the EU. It would be a major step for a country that less than two decades ago almost descended into civil war, when parts of its ethnic Albanian minority took up arms against the government, seeking greater rights.
Zaev cast his ballot in the southeastern town of Strumica and called on his fellow citizens to ensure a strong turnout.
Do you think Macedonia will vote in favor of the deal?
If the "Yes" vote wins, the next step is for the government to amend parts of the country's constitution to ensure it doesn't contain anything that could be considered irredentist against Greece. Only after those changes are approved by the Macedonian parliament does the deal face ratification in Greece.
But others said they had no intention of voting.
There's been growing concern over the reach of Russia, which is not keen on NATO expanding in a part of Europe once under its sphere of influence. Mattis said there was "no doubt" that Moscow had funded groups inside Macedonia to campaign against the name change.
The constitutional amendments that are required need a two-thirds majority of parliament's 120 members to go through. So far Zaev has pledges of support from 73 lawmakers — seven short. A low turnout on Sunday could complicate his task in persuading more lawmakers that the name change deal reflects the will of the people.


text:
Law firms Analysis
After the crackdown: litigation report
Tougher regulation, cross-border investigations and the rise of class-action suits have come to define the financial sector and changed banks' attitudes to disputes
Kinstellar is Law Firm of the Year in Central Europe
Kinstellar has been named "2016 Law Firm of the Year: Central Europe" by the leading UK and European legal magazine The Lawyer at its annual European Awards Ceremony. The event, held on 9 March at London's Hilton Bankside hotel, was hosted by BBC broadcaster Katie Derham and was attended by over 250 lawyers from around the world. […]
Chutney Mary, SW1
Chutney Mary is the pimped-up reincarnation of the original restaurant of the same name which, until very recently plied its trade at the bottom end of the King's Road. I have fond memories of Chutney Mary: the original, having visited not long after it opened in the early 1990s. I remember that it was expensive even then, quite a stretch on my baby lawyer salary. It has certainly kept pace with inflation, and then some.
China The leadership interview Law firms Intellectual Property Asia Pacific US & The Americas Analysis
Pillsbury chair Rishwain on the firm's Chinese "hub" strategy
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is among a minority of international firms to have by-passed Hong Kong and entered into Greater China via an office in Shanghai. Six years after its 2006 launch in Shanghai, the firm expanded its mainland China footprint to Beijing and most recently it announced a plan to set up a base in Hong Kong.
By Yun Kriegler	 18 March 2016 00:03