Monthly Archives: August 2018

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

caregivers need your support ~ Tell the administration that you support caregivers and unions!
Dear Friends,

Union caregivers stood side by side with us in the Fight for $15. They helped win paid sick days and paid family leave for all workers in our state. Time and time again they’ve been right there with us to take on income inequality, hold corporations accountable, and push to change an economy that’s rigged against working families.

And that’s probably why the Trump administration is taking steps to try and undermine the union for home care providers.

Trump appointees are using a federal rulemaking process to weaponize the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). They’re trying to go after the home care union by trying to prevent union members from paying dues through their paychecks.

Fight back and show the Trump administration you support caregivers and unions!
SEIU 775 member and caregiver Berta Alvaradoknows firsthand how essential the services she provides for her clients are:

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve known caring for seniors is my calling. I’ll be a home care worker until I am physically unable. That’s why it is so important to have a union contract that provides training opportunities, healthcare, and other benefits. I pay for my healthcare benefits and support my union through payroll deduction, but this latest attempt by the Trump administration aims to weaken our power as union members. This is personal to me. My life is so much better off because of our union.”
I SUPPORT HOME CARE WORKERS!
The Trump administration’s actions are transparent. They’re not interested in improving home care or protecting people in need. They’re simply trying to silence the voices of home care workers — disproportionately immigrants and women of color who work every day caring for the most vulnerable among us.

Caregivers support our community and support our movement. Now they need your support, too.

Act right now! Tell the administration that you support caregivers and unions!

Thanks for your support,
Working Washington
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

When Freedom of Speech Hit an All-Time Low


Remember what the founders said …ALL

white judgmental  privileged

“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved,” wrote Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in The Pennsylvania Gazette.

You’ll find more notable quotes on the freedom of expression, a right U.S. citizens have held dear for more than 200 years, below:

“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.”

— Benjamin Franklin, U.S. Founding Father

“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press.”

— Thomas Jefferson

“But none of the means of information are more sacred, or have been cherished with more tenderness and care by the settlers of America, than the press.”

— John Adams, second U.S. president

“The liberty of the press is essential to the security of the state.”

— John Adams, second U.S. president

“If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.”

— George Washington, first U.S. president

“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”

— Thomas Jefferson, U.S. Founding Father

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

— U.S. Constitution

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

— Thomas Jefferson, U.S. Founding Father

“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.”

— Benjamin Franklin, U.S. Founding Father

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

working overtime ~ workingwa.org
The 40-hour workweek should be the standard, not the exception. Tell Washington State L&I you support expanding overtime rights to hundreds of thousands of salaried workers — because our time counts, too.
SIGN ON TO EXPAND OVERTIME
time clock
Friends—

Nobody should have to work without getting paid for it.

But right here in Washington state, there’s a loophole that lets companies get out of paying overtime — no matter how many hours you work. They simply have to pay you a salary and claim the nature of your job makes you “exempt”… and then they don’t have to pay you an extra dime if you work more than 40 hours in a week.

Technically there are rules about what kind of jobs can be exempt from overtime, but usually your employer is the one who tells you whether you get overtime or not. If you think they’re wrong, you maybe could file a claim over that classification. But unless you have a lawyer on retainer, in the day to day reality of the workplace, your employer gets to decide.

The good news: the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is working on new rules that could finally close the overtime loophole for hundreds of thousands of salaried workers in our state.

We’re asking the state to require that any worker who’s paid less than three times the minimum wage (about $75,000 a year) gets time-and-a-half if they work more than 40 hours a week — regardless of whether or not they’re hourly or salaried, and no matter what fancy title their boss gives them.

Sign our petition to L&I telling them you support expanding overtime rights for salaried workers. Time is money — employers shouldn’t just get both.

It may seem weird to think of a salaried worker getting overtime pay, but as recently as the 1970s, more than 60% of salaried workers got time-and-a-half when they worked overtime. Now just 7% of salaried workers do — and it’s not because people are working less.

Of course, the big business lobby groups aren’t just going to sit back and let workers take our time back without a fight. Big businesses appreciate a good loophole. They like things the way they are.

And they have ways to make their voices heard.

Now we need to make sure the state hears from workers, too — click to sign our petition to L&I to support expanding overtime rights in our state.

Some jobs may require long hours, but if an employer expects you to work more than 40 hours a week, they should be expected to pay accordingly.

Workers are human beings, and our time counts, too.

Thanks for the support,

Working Washington
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

the senate August 21st-28th **CONGRESS** 2018 the house


August 28, 2018 Wrap Up for Tuesday, August 28, 2018
August 27, 2018 Wrap Up for Monday, August 27, 2018
August 23, 2018 Wrap Up for Thursday, August 23, 2018
August 22, 2018 Wrap Up for Wednesday, August 22, 2018
August 21, 2018 Wrap Up for Tuesday, August 21, 2018
August 21, 2018 Wrap Up for Tuesday, August 21, 2018

House Activity 8/31

9:30:00 A.M. The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
9:30:53 A.M. The Speaker designated the Honorable Andy Biggs to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
9:31:09 A.M. Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.
9:31:31 A.M. SPEAKER’S APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL – Pursuant to section 2(a) of H. Res. 1012, the Journal of the last day’s proceedings was approved.
9:31:53 A.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Schweikert to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
9:32:23 A.M. H. Res. 1047 Considered as privileged matter. H. Res. 1047 — “Expressing the profound sorrow of the House of Representatives on the death of the Honorable John Sidney McCain, III, a Senator from the State of Arizona.”
9:32:38 A.M. H. Res. 1047 On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
9:32:58 A.M. H. Res. 1047 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
9:33:15 A.M. The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to H. Res. 1047and section 2(b) of H. Res. 1012. The next meeting is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on September 4, 2018.

House Activity 8/28

2:00:18 P.M. The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
12:00:26 P.M. The Speaker designated the Honorable Jim Banks to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
12:00:43 P.M. Today’s prayer was offered by Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.
12:01:29 P.M. SPEAKER’S APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL – Pursuant to section 2(a) of H. Res. 1012, the Journal of the last day’s proceedings was approved.
12:01:35 P.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
12:01:36 P.M. The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on August 27, 2018 at 11:39 a.m.: That the Senate passed S. 2511, S. 2896, and H.R. 6157 amended.
12:01:37 P.M. The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on August 28, 2018 at 10:06 a.m.: That the Senate agreed to S. Con. Res. 43, S. Con. Res. 44, and that the Senate agreed to Relative to the Death of the Honorable John Sidney McCain, III, United States Senator from the State of Arizona S. Res. 619.
12:03:01 P.M. S. Con. Res. 43 Without objection, the Chair laid S. Con. Res. 43 before the House.
12:03:09 P.M. S. Con. Res. 43 On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
12:03:12 P.M. S. Con. Res. 43 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
12:04:05 P.M. S. Con. Res. 44 Without objection, the Chair laid S. Con. Res. 44 before the House.
12:04:25 P.M. S. Con. Res. 44 On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
12:04:28 P.M. S. Con. Res. 44 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
12:04:53 P.M. The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to section 2(b) of H. Res. 1012. The next meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on August 31, 2018.

House Activity 8/24

11:00:05 A.M. The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
11:00:17 A.M. The Speaker designated the Honorable Alexander X. Mooney to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
11:00:43 A.M. Today’s prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Dan C. Cummins, Peoples Church, Jacksonville, TX
11:00:59 A.M. SPEAKER’S APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL – Pursuant to section 2(a) of H. Res. 1012, the Journal of the last day’s proceedings was approved.
11:02:35 A.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
11:03:10 A.M. The House received a communication from the Honorable Duncan Hunter. Mr. Hunter submitted his resignations from the Committees on Armed Services, Education and the Workforce, and Transportation and Infrastructure. The resignations were accepted without objection.
11:03:57 A.M. The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on August 23, 2018, at 1:31 p.m.: that the Senate agreed to the House amendments to S. 899; that the Senate passed S. 266, S. 1142, S. 1322, S. 2946; and that the Senate passed H.R. 2147
11:04:50 A.M. The House received a communication from Sera Alptekin, Caseworker and Field Representative, Office of Rep. Jackie Speier. Pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ms. Alptekin notified the House that she had been served with a subpoena for testimony, issued by the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Mateo, and that after consultation with the Office of General Counsel, determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the privileges and rights of the House.
11:05:28 A.M. The House received a communication from Mark Nagales, Constituent Services Director, Office of Rep. Jackie Speier. Pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Nagales notified the House that he had been served with a subpoena for testimony, issued by the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Mateo, and that after consultation with the Office of General Counsel, determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the privileges and rights of the House.
11:06:03 A.M. The House received a communication from Brian Perkins, District Director, Office of Rep. Jackie Speier. Pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Perkins notified the House that he had been served with a subpoena for testimony, issued by the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Mateo, and that after consultation with the Office of General Counsel, determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the privileges and rights of the House.
11:06:38 A.M. Library of Congress Trust Fund Board – Pursuant to section 1 of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board Act (2 U.S.C. 154) and the order of the House of January 3, 2017, the Speaker appointed Ms. Elizabeth Beretta-Perik, Jamestown, Rhode Island.
11:07:09 A.M. The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to section 2(b) of H. Res. 1012. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on August 28, 2018.

House Activity 8/21

12:30:45 P.M. The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
12:31:38 P.M. The Speaker designated the Honorable Barbara Comstock to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
12:31:56 P.M. Today’s prayer was offered by Rev. Erin Keys, Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC
12:32:50 P.M. SPEAKER’S APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL – Pursuant to section 2(a) of H. Res. 1012, the Journal of the last day’s proceedings was approved.
12:33:07 P.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
12:34:10 P.M. The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on August 20, 2018, at 10:30 a.m.: That the Senate agreed to S. Res. 609.
12:34:40 P.M. The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to section 2(b) of H. Res. 1012. The next meeting is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on August 24, 2018.