PeoriaStory

Experienced reporter works weekends to make ends meet

PEORIA -- Here's a story that is so sad and disgusting people need to read it. Dean Olsen formerly worked at the Journal Star.

http://jimromenesko.com/2014/10/23/meet-the-medical-reporter-who-took-a-part-time-job-at-mcdonalds-to-make-ends-meet/

Stand with fast food workers

PEORIA, IL -- Another day, another good cause.  The raise they receive may be spent in Peoria instead of sent to Chicago or Wall Street. 

A great analysis of Oregon issues -- exactly the same as in Illinois

PEORIA -- Read this! It's about Oregon, but 'Illinois' could be substituted every time Oregon is mentioned.

It tells how Democrats who control Oregon have turned their backs on their base, including the unions, tried to steal state employee pensions, weaken unions to prepare for a right-to-work initiative, are giving  concessions to corporations, etc.  The similarities are amazing. With DINOs in charge. (Democrats in name only.)

But it's also how the DINOs have been stopped by strong union action. It can be done.  It must be done!

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Caterpillar prospers while workers languish, and its CEO gets an F in economics

PEORIA -- Here's a very interesting May 26 story about Caterpillar, Inc. that the Peoria Journal Star didn't run, though business reporter Steve Tarter does sort of discuss it in his column.

Read the original column, then ask yourself, which came first, the chicken or the egg!

Check out this quote from its CEO, Doug Oberhelman. whose current pay is $22 million per year, while some of Cat's workers are eligible for food stamps:

 

"Then comes the difficult question: Why is Caterpillar fighting its workers over wages?

 "Oberhelman nods briskly, eager to put the issue to rest.

“We have to be competitive if we’re gonna win. And frankly, if we’re not competitive ... we’re not gonna be here in the next 30 years. That’s a simple message, but” — he starts to hammer his hand against the table — “it’s very ... very ... tough.” After a pause, he lets his hand lay flat. “I always try to communicate to our people that we can never make enough money,” Oberhelman continues. “We can never make enough profit.”

"When will workers’ wages rise? “The answer to that is: when we start to see economic growth through GDP,” he said. “Part of the reason we’re seeing no inflation is because there’s no growth. Inflation was driven by higher labor costs, not higher goods costs. Frankly, I’d love to see a little bit of that. Because I’d love to pay people more. I’d love to see rising wages for everybody.”

Oberhelman's answer indicates he must be smoking something.

What makes the GDP grow? Answer:  higher wages.  His statement makes no sense. 

There will be no growth if wages don't increase. 

How many people do you know who would buy a new car or home if only they made more money?

Who does he think pays for Cat's equipment -- the tooth fairy?  No, it's government, based on taxes, which depend on the economy and wages. And corporations building things, based on sales, based on wages.

If profitable corporations fight their workers on wages, there will be no growth, and the economy likely will collapse again or stagnate.  It's the old chicken and egg situation. Give Oberhelman an 'F' in logic and economics.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 UPDATE 5/29/13 - Here's a story and photo of a Caterpillar bulldozer destroying a historic Mayan temple.  It's not Caterpillar Inc.'s fault but....it is symbolic of the greed destroying the planet, of which Cat is a part.

 -- E.H.

'Lean In' to organize

PEORIA -- Here's a fabulous article on the new feminism:

Forget the glamour gals at the top, it says. If you want a better job, organize a union.

That's the only way most women will improve their paychecks and their lives.

The great pension ripoff and the politics of resentment

PEORIA -- As the Democratic Party-controlled Illinois state government is poised to gut pensions and benefits for state workers, the politicians should read this: How Business Elites Looted Private-Sector Pensions.

The author writes that corporate elites discovered they could loot private sector pensions without penalties, and that fact is being used now to gut public sector pensions. 

So now we have the politics of resentment: " I lost mine so you should lose yours. I can't afford to pay taxes for you."

That's shortsighted, since government pay and benefits can set a standard that corporations must reach to attract qualified employees. But that requires connecting the dots a bit -- a challenge for many people.

How sad, and how stupid the Democrats have become, to fall into the Republican austerity trap. They will be blamed for gutting public pensions, alienating their base of support! 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

PJS union schedules press event

PEORIA -- From a news release:

 

 

PEORIA MAYOR JIM ARDIS AND OTHERS TO CALL FOR FAIR NEGOTIATIONS AT THE JOURNAL STAR

It’s time to save the Journal Star.

As downstate Illinois’ largest newspaper, the Journal Star continues to be highly profitable. However, New York-based owner GateHouse Media continues to push for the slashings of jobs and salaries of the people who write, create and deliver the paper.

Why? GateHouse recently lavished a $800,000 bonus on CEO Michael Reed, who makes a salary of $500,000 a year. Further plump bonuses to other executives pushed the total to far over $1 million.

While GateHouse continues to try to slash the Journal Star, readers might ask questions. How does a smaller local staff make for a better local paper? How do continued cuts at the newspaper make for a better value for readers?

We ask the same questions. We are Peoria Unit 86 of the United Media Guild, which represents those targeted employees. We want only reasonable contract negotiations and a fair settlement. We just want to do our jobs as Peoria’s public watchdog.

Please join us at 9 a.m. Monday, April 9, in front of Peoria City Hall, 419 Fulton Street. Mayor Jim Ardis will present a letter signed by the City Council urging GateHouse to reach a fair settlement with the Guild. We also will present a similar letter from the head pastors of two of the largest churches in Peoria – who requested to meet with Journal Star publisher Ken Mauser, but were denied - urging justice and moral fairness in ongoing contract negotiations. -30-

 

My take:  This could send the PJS down the drain. As more and more talented people depart, it likely wont be worth reading, a horrible loss for Peoria and downstate Illinois.  Bad for democracy, too.  A subscriber boycott may be next. GateHouse:  stop the greed, negotiate with the employees.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Illini Bluffs teachers stand up for their civil liberties

GLASFORD, Il. -  Has Wisconsin finally spread to Illinois?

About 300 people gathered on Aug. 23 in an outdoor field at the American Legion Hall in Glasford, south of Peoria, to support striking teachers at the Illini Bluffs School District. 

The strike issue:  the school board's insistence during contact negotiations to subject teachers to random drug testing. 

That's right: random, a search of the body without probable cause, something that violates the US Constitution which forbids unreasonable searches.

The rally attracted teachers, supporters from other unions,  Illinois Federation of Teachers officials, parents and students.

And a smart politician, state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, who is running for Congress in the 17th District. Koehler, who once headed the Peoria Area Labor-Management Council, told the audience that he's backing the teachers. "I'm with you all the way."

The way to have a drug free workplace is to set up a joint teacher-board committee to work on drug issues, he said.

"Random drug testing does not give you an accurate view of what is going on in your building.  If it's a power play to force you to do what you don't want to do, shame on them," he said of the school board.

Tyler Hesh, the president of the teacher union at Illini Bluffs, said, "if you have to stand up for what is right, that's what you have to do."

Marcia Campbell, secretary-treasurer of the IFT, with 103,000 members in Illinois, said "I'm so proud of what you are doing. It's harder to stand up for what you believe in than to give in."

IFT president Dan Montgomery said, "you're cause is just, you will prevail."  No other Illinois school district subjects its teachers to random drug testing, he said. 

A flier was distributed stating that the real issue is the animosity of school board president Dennis Brown against teachers who have complained about his "inappropriate personal relationship" with another district employee.

The relationship has resulted in "financial gain" to the employee, "retaliatory teacher demotions" and "rewarding of (Brown's) supporters with nepotism based jobs."

Random drug testing is retaliation against the teachers, it says. The flier calls on Brown to resign from the board.

"Illini Bluffs parents demand that the 'Peyton Place' environment that has been created by Brown and fostered by his enablers be resolved," it states.

Petitions are being circulated, and one speaker also called for board members who do not agree with Brown to speak up now.

Parents and teachers were ejected from a recent board meeting by police, after the board refused to answer questions from taxpayers, she said.

This is a civil liberties issue, and the teachers are to be commended for standing up for their rights, and the rights of all.

Here's a link to an excellent Peoria Journal Star editorial on the issue.

The American Civil Liberties Union has a long history of opposing random drug testing.  See this link on the national ACLU website for a list of cases and lawsuits elsewhere.

 -- Elaine Hopkins 

 

 

Union rally draws 300

PEORIA -- Union members rallied on April 7 to support their fellows involved in difficult bargaining situations, and to promote a Chicago rally on Sunday.

An estimated 300 people gathered at 5 p.m. at the Peoria County Courthouse.  Speakers exhorted the crowd to vote out politicians who attack labor unions and collective bargaining. 

NAACP president Don Jackson said the low voter turnout in the April 5 local elections in Peoria -- at 17 percent -- was appalling. 

A speaker collected signatures on petitions aimed at the Peoria chapter of the American Red Cross, which is refusing to bargain a first contract.  The petition says no more blood donations until negotiations occur.

The crowd chanted, waved signs, and listened to the speakers.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Big pro-union rally in Peoria

PEORIA -- Perhaps 1,000 people crowded into the plaza at the Peoria County Courthouse on Feb. 24 to show solidarity with those fighting for collective bargaining in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

The 5 p.m. rally -- which had little local publicity aside from emails and other internet messages and word-of-mouth, but nary a mention in the Peoria Journal Star --  featured interesting signs, chants, and several speakers. 

Photo by Al Harkrader

They were some of the top union leaders in Peoria along with state Sen. Dave Koehler. The speeches were brief, as the weather was cold and gray.

A few of the speakers expressed thanks that Gov. Pat Quinn was reelected in Nov., since he supports union rights.

Meanwhile, Peorian Michael Perillo, who has been to Madison, Wisc., wrote this account of his visit there:

I just returned earlier today from Madison's capitol building, where I had spent the night on the cold, hard, marble floors with hundreds of Wisconsin protesters.

When I walked into the capitol building after the evening rally, moving closer to the rotunda at the center, with thousands of others for a common cause, and hearing everyone chant and yell in unison "Solidarity Forever," I realized more so than ever that this was a force that is dearly needed right now in all of us.

Watching it on the news or trying to describe it will not come close to experiencing it yourself. Being surrounded by peaceful protesters, young and old, men, women and children who are sincere and willing to put themselves on the line to make a difference is powerful.

There was one woman whom I interviewed who put it best:

"To see what is going on here everyday, I almost cry because I know I'm not alone in the fight and we're showing them. We're showing them union power and what people can do when they stand united and work together. We're going to beat this thing[...]they [Scott Walker and cronies] have sparked a response in the labor movement that we haven't been able to do ourselves...they have put the 'move' back in labor movement" -30-

 Michael's vivid story reminds us of the urgency of this movement.  It must not fail!

Update 2/25/11: Here's another account of what's going on in Madison.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Update 2/25/2011:  I posted this comment on the PJStar website today, in response to an editorial about a proposal in the Illinois General Assembly to cut back public notices posted in newspapers:

Here's a recipe for tyranny: 
1. Stop telling the public about what is really going on in government.  Don't announce meetings where people can conveniently learn about them, and communicate to the public only through press releases on the government's hard-to-find and navigate websites.

2. Deprive workers and retirees of the wages and pensions they need to maintain middle class lifestyles, so they can't afford access to the computers, phones and websites to get information about the government.

Everything nowadays connects:  the oligarchy seems determined to reduce the USA to a clone of Latin America -- a few rich and masses of poor.

And though the PJS editorial above is spot on about this issue -- if it ain't broke don't fix it is appropriate here -- the PJS is also complicit in the downward spiral of this nation.

It didn't even bother to cover the Feb. 24 pro-labor rally which attracted more than 1,000 people downtown to express solidarity with the groups in Wisconsin and elsewhere.  It also didn't run an advance story on this rally -- hoping, I guess, to depress turnout.

When a newspaper becomes irrelevant to its public, it is in peril!  Maybe that's why the legislature feels emboldened to stiff it.  -- E.H.

 

UPDATE II, 2/25/2011: There's a big solidarity rally at noon on Sat. Feb. 26 at the Illinois State Capital, East Side, Capital Steps, in Springfield. Will the news media ignore this one?  

Comment, 2/26/2011 from Ed Dentino:

I have not seen the print edition of the PJStar yet.   It is remarkable and interesting that no story was reported about the court house demonstration.   I have lost track of the the owner's and cast of news writers even though I see the paper most days.   I recall the Copley's seemed to affect the political endorsements even though  they were absentee owners.

It is just amazing what the GOPers have been advocating in some states and in the U.S. Congress.