CWA Local 9510's News Blog

Extenders' Bill Still Faces Serious Obstacles in the Senate

· The fate of the long discussed American Jobs and Closing Tax
Loopholes Act of 2010, commonly referred to as the 'Extenders' bill, is
completely up in the air as Senators focus on partisan and special
interests while ignoring a struggling economy. The crucial bill works
towards extending crucial unemployment benefits beyond the short run
while providing necessary emergency assistance to those struggling with
the economic downturn. It also closes the Reverse Morris Trust (RMT)
Corporate Tax Loophole. Wall Street tax lawyers created this loophole,
and it has been widely used to the detriment of CWA members through
Verizon's sale of landline assets. We saw its abuse first in New England
through the sale to Fairpoint, and now Verizon continues to act against
its workers in 14 states through the sale to Frontier. It's been bad for
our members and consumers, but good for Verizon as they walked away with
$3.3 billion in tax free profits. CWA says both to Verizon's shady and
detrimental practices as well as to bickering Senate legislators that
enough is enough.

· At the end of last week, the Senate swiftly passed a six-month
Medicare physicians' payment bill, otherwise known as the "doc-fix"
which was previously included in the 'Extenders' bill. By a voice vote,
the Senate thus passed HR 3962 which would prevent a scheduled 21
percent cut in payment rates to doctors who receive Medicare
reimbursements. It will also increase their pay by 2.2 percent. This new
Medicare bill will now go to the House of Representatives, which is
scheduled to reconvene tomorrow, Tuesday, June 22nd.

CWA members need to contact their Senators to urge them to support
H.R. 4213.

· This bill passed in the House of Representatives, marking a
major CWA victory with the first step in closing the RMT corporate tax
loophole completed. Click to see how your representative voted:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2010-324

Senator McCaskill of Missouri Moving against Senate's Secret Hold Rule

· Democratic leaders gave Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri
the green light to push for a major change in Senate rules. The motion
would change the Senate rules governing a single Senator's ability to
block legislation or nominations while remaining anonymous. Changing a
Senate rule requires 67 votes, and Sen. McCaskill claims to have 67
signatures on her legislative letter demanding the rule change. The
senators who have signed the letter include nine Republicans, two
Independents, and 56 Democrats. CWA supports this measure and commends
it as an important step in reforming the Senate's rules.

Senate MUST Pass House FAA Bill with Pro-Union Language

· The Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration's
(FAA) programs currently faces a deadlock in the Senate due to House
Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar's (D-MN)
insistence on retaining language that makes it easier for FedEx workers
to unionize. FedEx has an egregious history of vigorously suppressing
workers' attempts to unionize. Under the House bill, jurisdiction for
FedEx labor relations would shift from the Railway Labor Act (PL 69-257)
to the National Labor Relations Act (PL 74-198). This would put FedEx
under the same rules as its rival UPS, and would finally give ground
FedEx employees the right to organize locally; they currently are only
permitted to organize nationally, making it very difficult to have their
voices heard.

· The Senate is planning on having a "test vote" on the
legislation including the House pro-union language, hoping to see it
fail. Its failure would thus prove the deadlock this language creates,
and would insist that Oberstar remove his language from the pending
bill. CWA urges members to contact their Senators insisting Oberstar's
language be protected

Important Hearings-

· The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
will hold a hearing titled "Universal Service: Transforming the
High-Cost Fund for the Broadband Era" chaired by Chairman Rockefeller
(D-WV). The hearing will take place on Thursday, June 24th at 10:00 am
in the Russell House Office Building.

· The Senate Rules and Administration Committee chaired by
Senator Schumer (D-NY) will hold a hearing titled "Examining the
Filibuster: Silent Filibusters, Holds, and the Senate Confirmation
Process." The hearing will take place on Wednesday, June 23rd at 10:00
am in the Russell House Office Building. CWA has been following the
discussion of these rule changes closely, and encourages our members to
watch online or on C-SPAN.