News Archive
2005 (January - June)
News of Interest & News Affecting Labor

The democrats get set to rumble
US News & World Report (03/14/2005)
The gauntlet has been thrown down--even if the carpet hasn't. On the rugless floors of an anonymous high-rise in downtown Washington, staffers for a brand-new coalition, Americans United to Protect Social Security, worked feverishly while their offices were still being built. "We need a computer and a phone line," says Cara Morris, deputy communications director, "and that's it."

Losing Labor’s Power
LA Weekly (03/11/2005)
So you think Miguel Contreras — leader of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, the city’s political powerhouse — is losing sleep over the mayor’s race, or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attack on unions? Think again.

Union Rebukes Tech Leader
Hartford Courant (03/10/2005)
Teachers in the state's technical high school system overwhelmingly expressed their disapproval of Superintendent Abigail L. Hughes Wednesday in a vote that union leaders hope will lead to her firing.

No 'Immediate Crisis' in Social Security, GAO Chief Testifies
Los Angeles Times (03/10/2005)
WASHINGTON — Social Security "does not face an immediate crisis," the head of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said Wednesday, but it does face a long-term financing problem. GAO testimony: Click Here

AFL-CIO to lay off 80 to 100 staffers
Washington Times (03/10/2005)
The AFL-CIO will lay off up to a quarter of its staff in response to a decision last week to restructure operations.

Gerald McEntee
Christian Science Monitor (03/10/2005)
Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, was Wednesday's guest. Here are excerpts from his remarks.

Study: Hartford is the nation's most economically stressed city
CTCentral.com (03/09/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Boosters bill Hartford as "New England's Rising Star," but a recent study calls it the most economically stressed big city in the nation.

Students press for better working conditions for licensed apparel
Journal Inquirer (03/09/2005)
HARTFORD -- On the same day as the final game of the Big East women's basketball tournament, college students came to the state Capitol to urge the General Assembly to pass a law requiring Connecticut's public colleges to purchase and sell licensed merchandise made in what they called "civilized" workplaces.

BIG LABOR'S DECLINE
PBS News Hour (03/09/2005)
With the rise of a service economy, union membership has plummeted, and labor leaders are arguing over how to revitalize their movement. The debate was prompted in large part by this man, Andrew Stern.

Union Locals Face Audits From U.S.
Los Angeles Times (03/09/2005)
U.S. labor union locals are being audited by federal government inspectors in what officials say is part of a labor law enforcement campaign and union leaders charge is payback for opposing President Bush's reelection.

Connecticut to get $104m for highways
Connecticut Post (03/09/2005)
WASHINGTON — The House is poised to approve a $284 billion highway and mass-transit bill sweetened by $8.9 billion for 3,729 high-priority projects sprinkled across the nation.

Stern-Hoffa Group Loses First Round, Seeking 50% Rebate for Organizing
Labor Educator (03/09/2005)
For most of the three-day meeting of the AFL-CIO Executive Council on March 1-3 in Las Vegas, there were heated debates, mainly about money: who gets what share of the federation’s annual income, what for and how much.

Senate approves health coverage for 13,000
CTCentral.com (03/09/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A bill that would keep 13,000 poor parents on state health insurance until the next budget year begins in July was sent Wednesday to Gov. M. Jodi Rell's desk, where it awaits an uncertain fate.

Gender Discrimination Charges Spike in U.S. in 2004
Yahoo! News (03/08/2005)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Personal relationships are still a highly contentious issue at U.S. companies where gender discrimination charges spiked in 2004, according to a survey on Tuesday.

Senate Defeats Minimum Wage Increase
Yahoo! News (03/08/2005)
WASHINGTON - The Senate defeated dueling proposals Monday to raise the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage — one backed by organized labor, the other salted with pro-business provisions — in a day of skirmishing that reflected Republican gains in last fall's elections.

Supermax On Trial
Hartford Courant (03/08/2005)
On a summer afternoon nearly seven years ago, inmate Duane W. Ziemba ripped the intercom panel off the inside of his 7-by-12 cell at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers. He wrapped a towel around the metal plate and smashed it against the sprinkler to protest his transfer to the prison.

Public cool about heart of Bush's Social Security plan
USA Today (03/08/2005)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The heart of President Bush's plan for Social Security, allowing younger workers to create personal accounts in exchange for a lower guaranteed government benefit, is among the least popular elements with the public, Republican pollsters told House GOP leaders Tuesday.

Increase in prison suicides blamed on understaffing, poor health care
Hartford Courant (03/07/2005)
MILFORD, Conn. -- The state correction officers' union says understaffing and poor mental health care contributed to an increase in prisoner suicides last year.

Legislation would require employers to pay into insurance fund
CTCentral.com (03/07/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Companies with 100 or more employees could be forced to pay a fee to help cover their workers' health insurance expenses if they don't already offer coverage, under a preliminary legislative proposal announced Monday.

Blow to Bush reform plan
Yahoo! News (03/07/2005)
Opponents of President George W. Bush's plans to overhaul Social Security declared a small victory on Monday when Waddell & Reed, the Kansas-based financial services firm, withdrew support from a business-backed group pushing the reform.

Organizing tactics split labor
Philadelphia Daily News (03/05/2005)
AFL-CIO leaders agree that unions need more members. Whether to focus on recruiting or boosting clout is the point of contention.

Democrats assail Bush's budget, deficit
USA Today (03/05/2005)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are attacking President Bush's budget for worsening the already bleak deficit picture, even as a new congressional analysis of his fiscal plans shows no end in sight for huge amounts of red ink.

Labor Chief Emerges From Meeting a Winner, but for How Long?
New York Times (03/04/2005)
LAS VEGAS, March 3 - The president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. came out of its annual winter meeting on Thursday having fought back, at least for now, the biggest internal challenge he has confronted since taking the federation's helm a decade ago.

Federal government won't budge on testing requirement
CTCentral.com (03/02/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The federal government is considering compromises on some parts of the No Child Left Behind law, but not on requirements that students take standardized tests.

Y-NH poll: Don’t link union issue to approval of center
New Haven Register (03/02/2005)
NEW HAVEN — A recent poll by Yale-New Haven Hospital shows a majority of New Haven area residents support approval of the hospital’s proposed cancer center and want it considered separately from unionization issues.

Rell Joins Backers Of Same-Sex Civil Unions
Hartford Courant (03/02/2005)
Gov. M. Jodi Rell endorsed the concept of civil unions for same-sex couples Tuesday, adding to the momentum building behind the gay-rights measure.

Panel Approves Contract Ethics Bill
Hartford Courant (03/01/2005)
Sweeping legislation aimed at cleaning up the awarding of state contracts, one of the issues that crippled the administration of former Gov. John G. Rowland, was approved Monday by the legislature's government administration and elections committee.

Union president primed, ready for challenge
New Britain Herald (02/27/2005)
NEW BRITAIN -- When New Britain resident Bob Murphy was elected president of Local 1186 of Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees last December, he vowed to make some changes.

Rell's Budget Criticized At Public Hearing
Hartford Courant (02/25/2005)
Gov. M. Jodi Rell's failure to provide promised cost-of-living increases to nonprofit agencies doing work with the state will have serious repercussions, the lieutenant governor and dozens of agency officials told legislators Thursday.

Top State Pensioners Get More Than Governor
Hartford Courant (02/25/2005)
At a time when Gov. M. Jodi Rell is complaining that some officials earn more than her commissioners, a recent report shows that nine retired state employees earn annual pensions that are higher than the governor's salary of $150,000.

AFL-CIO Chief Details Agenda for Meeting
Yahoo! News (02/25/2005)
LAS VEGAS - AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said he'll study slashing member contributions by as much as half so that local unions would have more money to boost recruitment and reverse years of shrinking membership.

Retirement Fund Billions Short
Hartford Courant (02/23/2005)
State lawmakers must increase contributions to the state-run retirement fund for 55,000 active and retired public school teachers to keep the fund solvent, a spokesman for retired teachers testified Tuesday.

Trumka, No. 2, Is Leading Candidate To Replace Sweeney at Convention
Labor Educator (02/23/2005)
If, as is very likely, John Sweeney withdraws his name as a candidate for reelection as AFL-CIO president, he is almost certain to endorse Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka, the second-in-command, at the federation’s convention in July.

Fate of the Union
AlterNet (02/22/2005)
The news keeps getting worse for unions. According to the federal government, organized labor fell to 12.5 percent of the workforce in 2004, down from 12.9 percent in 2003. The percentage of private-sector workers in unions went from 8.2 percent to 7.9 percent. That's the lowest level since the early 1900's.

Unions Support Plan to Cut A.F.L.-C.I.O. Contributions
New York Times (02/19/2005)
Many of the nation's largest labor unions, including the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union, are pushing a plan to cut in half most unions' contributions to the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and instead devote the money to organizing workers, several labor leaders said yesterday.

Lawmakers criticize governor’s budget plan
New Britain Herald (02/11/2005)
NEW BRITAIN -- Tax increases proposed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell are too burdensome to consumers, area lawmakers said Thursday.
As part of her two-year, $31.1 billion budget plan, the governor proposed increasing taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and gasoline. The tax increases would help reduce the state’s $1.3 billion deficit, Rell said during her Wednesday budget address.

US initial jobless claims fall to four-year low of 303,000
Yahoo! News (02/10/2005)
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The number of US workers filing for unemployment benefits dropped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 303,000 in the week ended February 5, the lowest in more than four years.

Dems chide Rell for not targeting wealthy, Republicans praise her for closing gap
Journal Inquirer (02/10/2005)
HARTFORD -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell is receiving mixed reviews on her $31.1 billion budget for the next two fiscal years.

GAO takes issue with Bush budget
Washington Times (02/09/2005)
A report on the nation's fiscal status presented to Congress yesterday showed that expenditures in President Bush's budget are unsustainable and will lead to permanent deficits in the next decade.

WHouse Balks at Submitting Social Security Plan
Yahoo! News (02/08/2005)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has told lawmakers it has no immediate plans to submit its own detailed proposal to Congress for overhauling Social Security, sources briefed by the administration said on Tuesday.

Study: Nine in 10 Americans Worry About Retirement
Yahoo! News (02/08/2005)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly nine out of 10 Americans were worried about saving enough for retirement even before President Bush began his recent campaign to change Social Security, according to a newly released study.

Bush Proposes Steep Cuts in $2.57T Budget
Yahoo! News (02/07/2005)
WASHINGTON - President Bush proposed a $2.57 trillion budget Monday that would erase scores of programs and slice Medicaid, disabled housing and many more but still worsen federal deficits by $42 billion over the next five years.

Rell calls for tuition freeze at state colleges, universities
New Britain Herald (02/06/2005)
Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced Saturday that freezing tuitions for state colleges and universities will be part of her budget proposal to be introduced Wednesday.

A Battle Progressives Can Win
AlterNet.org (02/03/2005)
President Bush claims the 2004 election gave him a mandate to pursue his No. 1 second-term priority, the partial privatization of Social Security. But the voters don't think so.

Sikorsky workers feel betrayed
Connecticut Post (02/01/2005)
One member of Teamsters Local 1150 began chanting "USA! USA!" in a packed hall Monday, but his union brothers and sisters refused to pick up the chant during a heated rally whose theme was the betrayal of the American work force for political ends.

Without action, 13,000 may lose health coverage
CTCentral.com (02/01/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Cynthia Costa is trying not to think about her own health right now. She's got too many other things on her mind.

Rell: Invest In Education To Stimulate Jobs
NBC 30 (02/01/2005)
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell is angry about recent developments in Connecticut's economy. And that might be an understatement.

On Social Security, a rare Bush stumble
St. Petersburg Times (02/01/2005)
WASHINGTON - In large measure, President Bush owes his unbroken string of major political and policy victories to his gift for defining key issues simply, then staying ahead of the debate and never letting his opponents cloud his message.

Left allies regroup for battle
The Hill (02/01/2005)
Liberal groups and allies of the Democratic Party are structuring a coalition to defeat President Bush’s plans to restructure Social Security, a collaboration akin to the so-called shadow Democratic Party forged in an effort to oust Bush from office in the November election.

Democrats Give 'Pre-Buttal' to Pending Bush Speech
Yahoo! News (01/31/2005)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The two top Democrats in the U.S. Congress challenged President Bush on Monday to draft an "exit strategy" in Iraq and work with them in his drive to revamp the Social Security retirement program.

Lawmakers consider abolishing state's death penalty
CTCentral.com (01/31/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- On the same day serial killer Michael Ross' execution was postponed indefinitely because of legal maneuvering, state lawmakers on Monday began to question if Connecticut should have a death penalty at all.

Legislators scramble to save Sikorsky bid
New Britain Herald (01/31/2005)
WASHINGTON -- When the Pentagon dropped Sikorsky’s Comanche armed reconnaissance helicopter program one year ago, members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation confidently pledged legislative action aimed at saving the program.

Social Security's Racial Equity Debated
Yahoo! News (01/30/2005)
Does Social Security cheat black Americans? Yes, President Bush insisted last week. But some Social Security experts say the answer is clearly "no."

Delegation to meet with Sikorsky workers
WFSB 3 (01/29/2005)
Senators Christopher Dodd and Joe Lieberman, along with Congresswoman Rosa Delauro, will meet with workers and management of Sikorsky Aircraft Monday.

Rell won't intervene in nursing home talks
Journal Inquirer (01/29/2005)
HARTFORD - Gov. M. Jodi Rell won't intervene at this point in contract talks between more than 50 nursing homes and nonprofit agencies and the state's largest health care workers union.

Town’s police, dispatchers move to change union
Middletown Press (01/29/2005)
CLINTON -- The town’s police officers and dispatchers have filed petitions to change their representation to a new labor organization formed by a retired Branford police officer. The request means the possible end of a 33-year alliance with the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, one of the nation’s largest police labor unions, in favor of an organization barely six months old.

Big labor weighs in on DNC
The Hill (01/26/2005)
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has summoned four of the seven candidates to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, dangling the prospect of an important endorsement and discussing their visions for how to rebuild the party, according to campaign and union officials.

Kerry proposes health coverage for all children
Boston Globe (01/26/2005)
WASHINGTON -- Vowing to use his new ''national voice" in the wake of his presidential campaign, Senator John F. Kerry yesterday unveiled a sweeping plan to bring health coverage to all children, paid for by repealing recent tax cuts for the highest-income Americans.

White House: Deficit Will Hit Record $427B
ABC News (01/26/2005)
The White House says its drive to halve federal deficits by 2009 remains on track, though it projects that the cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will help drive this year's shortfall to a record $427 billion.

AFL-CIO targets Bush Social Security plan
Boston Globe (01/26/2005)
With rallies today in the financial districts of Boston and San Francisco, the AFL-CIO will launch a nationwide grass-roots campaign against President Bush's Social Security plan, arguing that scandal-ridden financial services firms in Boston and other cities should not be entrusted with private retirement accounts.

Rowland Friend Could Get Tax Break
Hartford Courant (01/21/2005)
An obscure bill approved during the chaotic final minutes of last year's legislative session could get a friend of former Gov. John G. Rowland off the hook for at least part of $70,000 in back taxes to the city of Waterbury.

Democrats Consider Tax Increases
New London Day (01/21/2005)
Hartford — Leading Democrats in the legislature are turning their focus to potential tax increases as they consider how to plug a deep hole in the state budget.

In NL, Federal Mandates Could Mean Staff Cuts
New London Day (01/21/2005)
New London — Meeting federal spending requirements could cost up to four staff positions as the No Child Left Behind Act jeopardizes funding for teachers of English as a second language, preschool and kindergarten, paraprofessionals and literacy tutors, Board of Education members said Thursday.

Even As Bush's Second Term Starts, The '08 Race Lurks
New London Day (01/21/2005)
With Cheney Ruling Out Run, Neither Major Party Has A Clear Heir Apparent For First Time In 50 Years

Union Questions Standards For Discipline
Hartford Courant (01/22/2005)
ENFIELD -- The state Department of Correction may not be the only agency disciplining its employees for associating with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Bush Vows Activist Agenda in Second Term
Stamford Advocate (01/21/2005)
WASHINGTON -- President Bush set forth on an ambitious second-term agenda of reshaping Social Security and sparking democracy in the Middle East after wrapping up his inaugural on Friday with moments of prayer and reflection.

Rell Calls For Juvenile Support
Hartford Courant (01/21/2005)
Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Thursday directed state child protection officials to develop better support services for youths at the state's juvenile correctional center, where recidivism is estimated to be as high as 50 percent.

Hoffa breaking away from labor biz as usual
Chicago Sun Times (01/20/2005)
The barons of the American labor movement gathered Jan. 10 at the AFL-CIO fortress across Lafayette Park from the White House, with doors closed to the public as usual. The AFL-CIO Executive Committee's agenda prepared by President John Sweeney allotted 30 minutes for reform of the labor federation. But James P. Hoffa of the Teamsters insisted much more time was needed to debate badly needed changes.

Supreme battle likely over justices
Yahoo! News (01/20/2005)
With an ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist administering the oath of office, Thursday's inauguration will provide a stark reminder that President Bush soon could be embroiled in what promises to be one of the biggest fights of his presidency.

Colapietro: To get state money, keep business here
New Britain Herald (01/20/2005)
HARTFORD -- When the state hands out the taxpayers’ money to lure businesses to Connecticut or help companies expand, it should make sure the firms aren’t shipping jobs to other countries, says a veteran state senator.

Lobby demands state improve mass transit
New Britain Herald (01/20/2005)
HARTFORD -- A determined group of transportation activists and lawmakers Wednesday demanded swift state action to improve mass transit and ease highway gridlock, even if it means higher gas taxes or electronic tolls.

SAGA providers lacking
New Britain Herald (01/20/2005)
NEW BRITAIN -- The way some clients put it, it was almost as if their medical benefits under Connecticut’s SAGA program disappeared overnight.

State Tests Air In UConn Building
Hartford Courant (01/20/2005)
A University of Connecticut Health Center building was tested by school and state inspectors for environmental threats after the deaths in the past month of two employees who worked there.

Hearing deals with ethics reform
New Britain Herald (01/19/2005)
NEW BRITAIN -- Municipal ethics reform dominated the discussion at a public hearing hosted by state senators and representatives Tuesday night.

Racketeering charges for 2 ex-DMV workers
Connecticut Post (01/19/2005)
The state is preparing racketeering charges against two former state Department of Motor Vehicle workers accused of selling hundreds of phony driver's licenses and state IDs to illegal aliens.

State DMV chief resigns
Middletown Press (01/19/2005)
HARTFORD -- Gary DeFilippo of Shelton will resign effective Feb. 1 as commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which has been wracked by corruption investigations and problems with the state’s new auto emissions testing program.

Youth Program Falling Short, Study Suggests
Hartford Courant (01/19/2005)
More than half of the boys sent to the state's new juvenile correctional center are getting into trouble again within six months of their discharge, a preliminary study shows.

Firm admits paying kickback for Waterbury contract
CTCentral.com (01/18/2005)
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- A heating company admitted Tuesday that it paid a $4,000 kickback to win a school boiler contract from the city of Waterbury in a scheme that involved former Mayor Philip Giordano and a reputed mobster.

AFL-CIO criticizes securities group
CBS Market Watch (01/18/2005)
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The AFL-CIO urged the Securities Industry Association to halt its support for "private accounts" for Social Security and argued that financial firms, not investors, stand to benefit most from privatization.

Rell To Reinstate Monitor
Hartford Courant (01/18/2005)
Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced Monday that she will reinstate the job of independent monitor at the troubled Connecticut Juvenile Training School to oversee improvements.

Cuts in disability benefits seen in Social Security plan
Boston Globe (01/18/2005)
WASHINGTON -- Disability benefits may not be safe from the across-the-board cuts that are likely in President Bush's proposal to allow personal investment accounts in the Social Security program.

France hit by strikes as unions embark on show of strength
news.telegraph (01/18/2005)
French public-service workers began a week of rolling strikes yesterday in the latest ritualised show of strength by trade unions against attempts to push through reforms.

Bush Thanks Troops, Political Supporters
Yahoo! News (01/18/2005)
WASHINGTON - President Bush launched his inaugural celebrations on Tuesday by thanking two groups that played major roles in his election to a second term — the military that prosecuted the war in Iraq and his most ardent and generous political supporters.

Workers' Rights at Risk
Los Angeles Times (01/17/2005)
Factory employees who may be displaced by a production shift find what once was an unlikely ally in retailer Gap. A push to improve conditions is growing.

Jobs that Americans won't do' filled by desperate migrants
Yahoo! News (01/17/2005)
She is dizzy, almost wobbly. Her head aches, her coughing won't stop, and because she doesn't have enough money she has not filled her four prescriptions nor seen a doctor recently.

Rell announces state employee hiring freeze
Hartford Courant (01/14/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced a freeze on most state hiring Friday, saying it's another step toward trying to cover next fiscal year's projected $1.3 billion deficit.

Bush Isn't Easing Up On Aggressive Agenda
Hartford Courant (01/14/2005)
WASHINGTON -- President Bush is eager. He's a buoyant leader armed with an ambitious agenda fit for someone with the kind of overwhelming mandate he may not have.

Cheney Defends Soc. Security Account Plan
Yahoo! News (01/13/2005)
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney took on critics of the administration's Social Security overhaul plans Thursday, arguing that channeling part of workers' salaries into the stock market would help pull poor Americans up the financial ladder.

Senate leader takes aim at tax break for company that flew Rowland for free
Journal Inquirer (01/13/2005)
HARTFORD - Sen. President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams, D-Brooklyn, says he's proposing legislation to close a loophole that gave a generous tax break to the air charter company that ferried former Gov. John G. Rowland about the country.

Poll: Voters like Rell, think Rowland deserves prison
CTCentral.com (01/13/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The honeymoon continues for Gov. M. Jodi Rell, while there's no letdown in the public backlash against former Gov. John G. Rowland.

Rell, Democrats release proposals for ethics reform
CTCentral.com (01/10/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Days after promising bold proposals for reforming state ethics laws, Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Monday unveiled a plan that would ban campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors.

Bush Proposes Pension Shortfall Plan
Yahoo! News (01/10/2005)
WASHINGTON - Companies that have not sufficiently paid into employees' pension funds would have to catch up within seven years under a Bush administration plan to address a multibillion-dollar shortfall.

Report: Rowland aide cooperated with corruption investigation
Stamford Advocate (01/10/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Federal corruption investigators won the cooperation of a close aide to former Gov. John G. Rowland only weeks before Rowland pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge last month, The Hartford Courant reported Sunday.

DMV to tighten licensing procedures in wake of arrests
Stamford Advocate (01/10/2005)
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- The state Department of Motor Vehicles will announce changes this week tightening drivers license procedures following charges that two DMV employees at the Bridgeport office issued phony licenses and Connecticut I.D. cards to illegal aliens and wanted criminals.

Congressional delegation split on extent of Social Security problems
New London Day (01/09/2005)
Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation have sharply different views on the scope of Social Security's problems and what needs to be done to fix them.

Dan Walters: Schwarzenegger declares war on the powerful public worker unions
Sacramento Bee (01/07/2005)
When Jerry Brown signed legislation extending collective bargaining rights to California's public employees nearly 30 years ago, it couldn't have come at a better time for the state's labor unions.

Amann cliffhanger ends with House election
Stamford Advocate (01/06/2005)
HARTFORD — Surrounded by family and friends, James A. Amann accepted a unanimous endorsement for a two-year term as speaker of the House on Wednesday, taking the gavel from retiring Speaker Moira K. Lyons.

Text of Rell's State of State address
Stamford Advocate (01/06/2005)
This is the text of Gov. M. Jodi Rell's State of the State address, as released by her office on Wednesday:

Bridgeport Council told of $7.2m deficit
Connecticut Post (01/05/2005)
BRIDGEPORT — Mayor John M. Fabrizi is ordering department heads to cut spending in an effort to resolve a projected $7.2 million deficit in the city budget.

New Rule Makes Hartford Hub Of Wal-Mart Debate
Hartford Courant (01/05/2005)
A new weapon debuts this month in the Wal-Mart workers war, as the retailer opens a large outlet on the former site of a condemned housing project in Hartford. Even people bored with the old debate over Wal-Mart - is it good or bad for the economy? - will want to keep an eye on this one.

Health threat greater to uninsured
Connecticut Post (01/05/2005)
HARTFORD — Uninsured Connecticut residents live shorter lives because of major obstacles to affordable health care, according to a report released Tuesday by the UConn Center for Economic Analysis.

Qwest, Union Reach Pact on Jobs
Hartford Courant (01/04/2005)
DENVER -- Qwest Communications and its largest employees' union have reached an agreement that will keep more than 1,000 customer service jobs in the union but will pay new hires at a different rate than existing workers.

Under stress, unions hook new members
GovExec.com (01/04/2005)
Carl Goldman didn't bother to sugarcoat his message. He told 30 federal employees at a recent meeting that he wasn't going to be able to do a good job representing them if more of them didn't join the union. Only four were members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which had earned the right to represent them.

House GOP retreats on weaker ethics rules
CTCentral.com (01/04/2005)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The new Congress convened Tuesday with the House re-electing Dennis Hastert as speaker after majority Republicans retreated on efforts to weaken ethics rules. Lawmakers, including 41 House and nine Senate freshmen, prepared to address the ambitious second-term agenda of President Bush.

OSHA Pares Back Proposed Work Safety Regulations
NPR (01/03/2005)
Under John Henshaw, its administrator from 2001 until last Friday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, moved away from proposed regulations for the agency's agenda and toward cooperative efforts with industry. NPR's Peter Overby begins a series of stories on the government's regulatory battles.

Congress expects $100 billion war request
USA Today (01/03/2005)
WASHINGTON — Congress expects the White House to request as much as $100 billion this year for war and related costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, congressional officials say.

Education proposals carry hefty price tag
Stamford Advocate (01/03/2005)
HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state budget may be in the red next fiscal year, but it isn't stopping state education officials from dreaming big. The state Department of Education has sent a wish list to the General Assembly that totals more than $41 million for the 2005-2006 year, even as lawmakers grapple with a projected $1 billion deficit.

Tough choices: Lawmaker calls state's growing poverty level 'embarrassing'; session begins on Wednesday
Journal Inquirer (01/03/2005)
HARTFORD -- Connecticut developed one of the most comprehensive social service and health care safety nets in the nation during the late 1990s.

Social Issues, Budget Await
Hartford Courant (01/03/2005)
From malpractice reform to gay marriage and medical marijuana to stem cell research, thorny social issues await the state legislature when the 2005 session opens Wednesday.

Down and Out in Discount America
The Nation (01/03/2005)
On the day after Thanksgiving, the biggest shopping day of the year, Wal-Mart's many progressive critics--not to mention its business competitors--finally enjoyed a bit of schadenfreude when the retailer had to admit to "disappointing" sales. The problem was quickly revealed: Wal-Mart hadn't been discounting aggressively enough. Without low prices, Wal-Mart just isn't Wal-Mart.

Labor Board's Critics See a Bias Against Workers
New York Times (01/02/2005)
From malpractice reform to gay marriage and medical marijuana to stem cell research, thorny social issues await the state legislature when the 2005 session opens Wednesday.