Congressional Budget Office :

budget (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Monthly Budget Review

The federal government ran a budget deficit of $489 billion in the first seven months of fiscal year 2013 (that is, from October 2012 through April 2013), according to CBO’s estimates.

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CBO’s Projections of Federal Receipts and Expenditures in the National Income and Product Accounts

How do CBO’s projections of federal receipts and expenditures in the national income and product accounts compare with CBO’s baseline projections of revenues and outlays in the federal budget?

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Implications of the Department of Defense Readiness Reporting System: Working Paper 2013-03

CBO releases a working paper on the Department of Defense Readiness Reporting System

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H.R. 1377, Mescalero Apache Tribe Leasing Authorization Act

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 24, 2013

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H.R. 934, a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act related to a segment of the Lower Merced River in California, and for other purposes

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 24, 2013

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H.R. 829, a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of the Illabot Creek in Skagit County, Washington, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 24, 2013

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H.R. 767, a bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 24, 2013

the Other Washington ~~

English: The top of the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington Deutsch: Turmkorb und Spitze der Space Needle, in Seattle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Find layoff and closure information on Washington state employers.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) act requires companies with 100 or more employees to notify affected workers 60 days prior to closures and layoffs.

Read the WARN requirements.   Click on layoff notices (WARN)

WARN data include the name of the employer, business location, number of affected workers, type (layoff or closure) and effective date of layoff or closure. The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration has more information about WARN.

NOTE: Employment Security recently changed the server address for the WARN RSS feeds. If you previously subscribed but haven’t received updates lately, please update your RSS reader to point to the new URL above.

Sign up for RSS and receive WARN information in your feed reader as soon as it is published on Employment Security’s Web site.

Sign up for the WARN listserv and receive WARN information by email as soon as it is published on Employment Security’s Web site.

The date Employment Security receives a WARN notice (right-hand column) determines the order in which the information is displayed. You can change the results shown in each column by clicking on the column heading.

CARE2 : Trayvon, Planned Parenthood,Min Wage and more

 

What’s Happened In The Trayvon Martin Case Since You Stopped Paying Attention It’s been nearly a year since George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old on his way back to his father’s townhouse. read more

Victory! Judge Throws Out Arizona Planned Parenthood Law A federal judge last Friday overturned HB 2800, a state law in Arizona that banned Planned Parenthood from contracting with Medicaid. From The New… read more

Why Employers Won’t Fire People If We Raise The Minimum Wage To $9 The overwhelming empirical consensus shows little if any effect of the minimum wage on employment. read more

USA.gov and Disability insurance information

Disability Insurance

Disability insurance provides income for you and your family if you are unable to work because of illness or injury. Visit the USA.gov Blog to read more about disability insurance.

 

CARE2

“Right to Work” Laws Explained                                     Right to work laws have been in the news a lot in 2012, but what exactly does this term mean? What implications does it have for workers and labor… read more

Chemical Industry to Parents: Avoid Lead, Tail Pipes and Choking                                     The chemical industry publishes a website for parents – and completely shirks all responsibility for the toxic chemicals they produce. read more

Top 3 Dirty Energy Battles To Watch in 2013 Well, here we are again. Another year older and (hopefully) wiser. As we prepare for the transition to 2013, it’s time to strengthen our resolve to… read more

Burma : Welcome to West Wing Week

 

West Wing Week: 11/22/12 or “Hello Burma!” bywhitehouse

Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President made an historic trip to Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, attended the East Asia Summit, and pardoned the National Thanksgiving Turkey at the White House with the First Family.

Black Friday …

 

NOTHING! PLEDGE TO BOYCOTT WAL-MART!Wal-mart workers routinely face unsafe working conditions, poverty-level low wages and intimidation and retaliation when attempting to speak-up or organize. This is why this Black Friday Wal-mart workers and their supporters are taking part in over 1,000 protests nationwide. These will include strikes, boycotts and direct actions to fight back against unfair and abusive labor practices. We need you to join in! Watch video and pledge to boycott Wal-Mart on Black Friday! Wal-mart workers are taking enormous risks in staging these actions and need your full support. Share this video and pledge with your family, friends and network. Together we can make an impact. Yours, Axel Caballero and the Cuéntame team. PS – Please help support our work. Cuéntame depends on your support to continue investigating issues and producing content. We are a non-profit and we take no money from the government, lobbyists, or corporations. You can contribute any amount here so we can continue to uncover stories that are important to you. Every dollar helps. Thanks!

Support Obama

**Guess what? Since this supporter put together this list, our economy has continued to add jobs. To date, we’ve added nearly 5.2 million private sector jobs over 31 consecutive monthsWhat is this?Every day from now until Election Day, we’ll send you something that makes the case for voting for Barack Obama. Today, it’s a supporter’s handmade list of why they support our president. What can I do? If you like it, we ask that you share it with any friends, family members, and neighbors you know who are still making up their mind about who to vote for (and everyone knows some). All you have to do is pass it on — forward it, share on Facebook, or on Twitter. Done. What else? If you spot something that’s especially persuasive or inspiring, or if you want to share your own graphic, essay, or personal story, send it on to forwardthis@barackobama.com and we’ll pass the best ones along. With 12 days to go in this election, and millions of voters still making up their minds, it’s the job of everyone who supports President Obama to let everyone else know who they’re voting for this year — and why. Thanks for your help. Obama for America —- Time is running out. Chip in today, when your donation can make the biggest difference.

Pregnant Workers Deserve Better – Take Action

http://www.nwlc.org/our-issues Tell Congress: Pregnant Workers Deserve Better                 Tell your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to ensure that pregnant women are treated fairly on the job. Did you hear the good news? Last week, the Senate introduced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to ensure that pregnant women aren’t forced out of their jobs. But just because a bill was introduced doesn’t mean it will move unless we turn the pressure up. That’s where you come in. Take Action: Please Contact Your Members of Congress today and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. The more co-sponsors, the more likely this bill will move forward. Forty years ago, women were expected to quit their jobs when they became pregnant. Back then, pregnancy was widely regarded as a disabling condition. Today, it is now a well-accepted fact that most women remain perfectly healthy and able to work throughout their pregnancies, and since 1978 pregnancy discrimination has been illegal. Yet women in physically demanding jobs are STILL being forced out of the workplace, just because they need temporary, minor modifications to their job duties during pregnancy. As a result, expectant mothers are losing their jobs when they can least afford it. Here are three startling examples: Heather got fired from Wal-Mart for carrying a water bottle. Natasha was forced onto unpaid leave and then fired because her district manager at Rent-A-Center found out she needed help with occasional heavy lifting on the sales floor. Sarah lost her job at a fast food restaurant for taking bathroom and water breaks. And what do all of these women have in common? All three needed only minor accommodations to continue safely working during pregnancy. But because their employers refused, all three were forced out of work. That’s why we need to build support for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Please join us by asking your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the bill. Thank you for your help! Sincerely, Emily J. Martin Vice President and General Counsel National Women’s Law Center    P.S. Fired up? Help spread the word by forwarding this action alert to friends, family and colleagues. P.P.S. Need more info? Check out NWLC’s resources on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

CPS states they Offered a Fair and Reasonable Deal to CTU to Avoid a Strike

Photo from Care2

Visit cps.edu/childrenfirst or call 311 if you have no alternative childcare

From the CPS website : Posted September 9, 2012

The Chicago Board of Education is Offering the Chicago Teachers Union a Fair and Reasonable Proposal to Set the Stage for a Deal and Avoid a Strike:   Increases in Pay: 16 percent average salary increase equaling $320 million over the next four years, including COLA (3% year 1; 2% years 2,3,4) lanes and modified step increases that both reward experience and provides better incentives for mid-career teachers to help keep them serving in the Chicago Public School system. New Opportunities and Security for Laid Off Teachers: Teachers displaced due to school closings: will receive a job at a school receiving their students if there is a vacancy; placed in a reassigned teacher pool for five months or may elect to receive a three-month lump sum severance; or placed in a Quality Teacher Force Pool in which teachers who apply for positions shall be entitled to an interview and explanation if not hired. Teachers displaced due to turnarounds or phase outs: placed in a reassigned teacher pool for five months or may elect three-month lump sum severance. Teachers displaced for other reasons: shall have recall rights for one year for the same unit and position and will be offered interim assignment in substitute teacher pool. Joint Implementation of Teacher Evaluations with Flexibility When Needed: The Board has proposed to work jointly with CTU to fully implement REACH Students and maintain performance standards and student growth requirements. This proposal will also allow CPS and CTU to study REACH’s implementation jointly and make adjustments as needed. New Short-Term Disability Policy, Including First-Ever Paid Maternity Leave: While the banking of sick days will end, the Board will offer short-term disability to all CTU members, including paid-maternity leave. Employees will no longer need to use sick days to take time off needed for the birth of a child – nor will they need to bank the number of sick days needed before starting their family planning. Employees who have a short-term illness will not have to use sick days in order to take time needed to get well; short-term disability coverage will cover their needs and provide pay while recovering. The proposal will protect accrued sick-day accumulation for teachers with over 15 years of service in the form of pension service credits. CPS to Cover Part of Employee Pension Contribution: The Board has also offered to continue picking up 7% each employee’s 9% pension contribution. Freeze on Health Care Contributions for Most Plans:  The Board is calling for a modification to the health care plan funding that will freeze all employee health care contributions for single and couple plans with a small increase in family contributions of no more than $20 a pay period in addition to a small increase in emergency room co-pays.  67 percent of all CTU members will not see a change to their healthcare. Increased Opportunity for Promotion: The Board proposes that CPS and CTU collaborate and work together to increase promotion opportunities and identify differentiated compensation models that have worked in other places. Improved Health and Living: Like the nearly 40,000 City employees who have already signed up for the Wellness program, the Board is asking teachers to join the program at no cost. Teachers can opt-out of Wellness, and pay a small premium differential.   Improved Monitoring of Class Size Issues: The Board remains committed to protecting and maintaining current class sizes, but will establish a panel and joint supervisory committee with the CTU to monitor and address any class size issues that may arise.   Creation of a New CTU/CPS Commission to Find Fair Pension Funding Solution: The Board pledges to partner with the CTU through the formation of a Legislative Commission to find the right solutions for pension reform and draft legislation that ensures equitable pension funding.   A Better, Fuller Calendar: Maintain a calendar with 180 student attendance days, and 190 teacher workdays, including 10 Professional Development days.   A Full School Day: The newly extended Elementary school day will continue to be 7 hours, while high school days will now be 7.25 hours, a decrease from 7.5 hours. In addition, high school teachers will be limited to teaching only five classes.