Friday, March 29, 2013

March 29 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Labor Union Members Rally At The Mo. Capitol
College student loan interest rates set to double
Momentive Workers Hope Third Time's the Charm
30,000 Gallons of Oil Spill in Minn. Derailment
Broadcast Employees Reach Tentative Agreement with ABC
Teachers' unions meet in angry mood
Tube strike called off after talks
Undocumented workers' grim reality
UK's CO2 emissions up 4.5% in 2012
Study: Iraq, Afghan war costs to top $4 trillion
Talk of Medicare Changes Could Open Way to Budget Pact *
Health Care Law Will Raise Some Premiums, Study Says *
Deal Reached to Force Paid Sick Leave in New York City *
Median Household Income Down 7.3% Since Start of Recession *

Thursday, March 28, 2013

March 28 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Chicago School Closings Spark 'Wildfire' of Protest
Arrests at Chicago schools protest

Train hauling Canadian oil derails in Minnesota
Buried In Grain
Book on environmental movement: a prescription for abstention and defeat
Study: State Tax Cuts Don't Spur Economic Growth
Our Health Care Prices Are 'Ludicrous'
Nurses Welcome First Contract at Two South Florida Hospitals
Nurses Reach Agreement with Sutter California Pacific
The World's Debts Shall Not Be Repaid
 Shredded Social Safety Net: European Austerity Costing Lives
Canada quietly pulls out of UN anti-droughts convention
Channel ferry passengers face strike disruption
Activists plan month of drone protest

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

March 27 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Big Okla. quake in 2011 was man-made
Poverty Doesn’t Create Jobs
Postal Service Chases Competition, Tracking Packages and Workers
Pablo Solón: How can we overcome the climate crisis?
Wastewater leak from tarsands plant enters Athabasca River
Extracurricular activities to return to Ontario public elementary schools
US veterans face 'inadequate care'
Ecuador courts Chinese bids for land
China's exploitation of Latin American natural resources raises concern
For Dow 30, tax burden isn’t what it used to be
EPA: More than half of U.S. rivers in poor health

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

March 26 Week In Review

Week In Review
March 26 2013
by Bill Onasch

Between a Rock and a Hard Place
That was the subject line of an e-mail blast from Labor Campaign for Single-Payer national coordinator Mark Dudzic. It opened,

“There is a tough contract fight underway in Massachusetts that may portend the future of healthcare bargaining. The Old Rochester School Committee is demanding that new hires pay 50% of all healthcare premiums. The UE represents non-teaching employees of the school system. Cooks start at $13,300 per year. Family coverage would cost 80% of their income, leaving them earning $2 an hour after deductions for health insurance!

“It gets worse. Most of these workers would be better off if they bought subsidized coverage on their own through the state's ‘Healthcare Connector’ healthcare exchange. But, under Massachusetts’s healthcare rules, these UE members would not be eligible because that plan is only available to workers whose employers offer no coverage. To add insult to injury, many of these low wage workers would be subject to a fine of $1,000 or more per year under the state's individual mandate rules if they chose to remain uninsured rather than bankrupt their family by participating in the employer's plan. You can show your solidarity with these workers by signing their change.org petition.”

These workers are trapped by a state “reform” implemented on Mit Romney’s watch as Governor. During last Fall’s election campaign, President Obama lauded that program as an inspiration for his Affordable Care Act. Workers in every state face higher costs, and even possible loss of coverage, due to that cynically named scam.

Green Good Grief
The official green component of the labor movement, guided by the United Steelworkers, is gearing up for the sixth annual Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference, in our nation’s Capital April 16-18. The keynote plenary session features some top rung union officials and the executive director of the Sierra Club speaking about “Building a National Dialogue on Climate Change and Good Jobs.”As always, there are some good topics scheduled for workshops.

March 26 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Harassment an Issue in UPS Bargaining
Scientists Link Harsh Winters to Dramatic Decline in Arctic Ice
Sierra Club Slams Environmental Groups for Backing F racking
Triangle Shirtwaist Victims Remembered
Port of Tacoma shut down again after second longshore worker death in a month
This is What Teamster Democracy Looks Like
Walmart Sues Union, Others Who Have Protested At Florida Stores
The Cyprus Eurocrisis: The Beginning of the End of the Eurozone?
Cree walkers speak at Parliament Hill after Idle No More trek
Labatt brewery in St. John's hit by wildcat strike
Search and rescue role privatized
As furloughs loom, federal workers turn to local union leaders for comfort
Health law may boost temp hiring
Companies Get Strict on Health of Workers *

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

March 20 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
View from Argentina: Which Direction for Pope with Checkered Past?
Activists discuss how to stop frack attack
Idle No More and Defenders of the Land call protests for Indigenous rights
Study: Global Warming Doubles Risk of 'Katrina-Magnitude' Events
SEIU Hospital Workers Strike for Affordable Healthcare
Capitalism, Steven Pearlstein, and Morality
Sales of Hostess Brands Approved by Judge
SPEEA Technical Workers Approve Boeing Pact
Rally Against Patriot Coal's Retiree Health Care Cuts
Oakland Waste Management Workers File Charges over Employee Intimidation
Hudson News Workers Rally for Justice at San Jose Airport
Jackson Park Chicago RNs Win First Hospital Contract
Polish workers rescued after mine collapse
Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution
Edmonton public school trustees reject teachers' deal
UK unemployment rises to 2.52m
Civil servants stage one day strike
Former Guatemalan dictator on trial
Missouri birth control law struck
America’s war legacy: Unemployment
Subway Worker Freed After Hours Stuck in Mud *

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

March 19 Week In Review

Week In Review
March 19 2013
by Bill Onasch

No Hallmark Cards For This One
Today is the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Unlike in Afghanistan, it could not be a NATO operation. Most European governments, and even Canada, thought it was a bad idea and sure to give them political grief. Only Bush’s ever loyal pal, the “New Labor” Tony Blair, eagerly contributed the blood and treasure of the British working class from day one until the very end.

The so-called neocon advisers to the second President Bush thought the only remaining superpower should start acting like one. They devised what they initially grandly proclaimed as the Bush Doctrine that declared in effect that the USA could and would militarily intervene anywhere, any time, to protect and advance their interests. None of their resumes included service to their country in uniform but, of course, they had staff to take care of such mundane stuff as fighting. Convinced victory would be swift and low cost, they picked Iraq to be a Shock and Awe example to the world of what happens to those winding up sideways to the Bush Doctrine.

March 19 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Costs of US Wars Linger for Over 100 Years *
Union Health Plans Will Suffer under Obamacare
Greece, Syriza and the Struggle Against Austerity
Germany Forced to Cancel Climate Programs
NDP calls on Tories for more transit, health-care funding
B.C. teachers union elects new president
Enbridge finds more leaks in Norman Wells pipeline
Iraq rocked by explosions on anniversary of war
Fukushima loses cooling power
Unwanted Electronic Gear Rising in Toxic Piles *
Cyprus Bailout Incites Turmoil as Blame Flies *

Monday, March 18, 2013

March 18 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
FBI snooping provision ruled unconstitutional
Telecoms firm hails 'significant victory' over FBI

Euro Zone Reaches Deal on Cyprus Bailout
Turmoil in Cyprus Over a Bailout Rattles Europe *

Great Lakes experiencing 'new stresses'
Enbridge ordered to dredge more oil from Kalamazoo River
Climate change could turn polar bears brown, study says
Maryland death row inmates in limbo
2 Tire Factories With Different Trajectories Reveal Social Schisms in France *
Right to Lawyer Can Be Empty Promise for Poor *
University of Tennessee Wins Approval for Hydraulic Fracturing Plan *
Mississippi Tells Public Schools to Develop Policies Allowing Prayers *
‘No Confidence’ Vote for Head of NYU *
Ethanol Surplus May Lift Gas Prices *
In Missouri, utility digging defies reform
Student Guestworkers Pressure McDonald's
More than 250 arrested in Montreal anti-police brutality protest
Worker Is Crushed by Garbage Truck Compactor in Brooklyn *
Dust from demolition of hundreds of KC homes poses health risk
NLRB to appeal power-stripping ruling to Supreme Court
Ending the Dues Check-Off: Forcing Union Renewal?
Civil servants plan further strike
Climate debate cut from British curriculum for children up to 14

Friday, March 15, 2013

March 15 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
JJ’s explosion origins traced to kitchen area
Insurers warn of overhaul-induced sticker shock
Cities Weigh Taking Over From Private Utilities *
Fight is on to save Saturday mail delivery
Overdue raise in minimum wage would benefit all workers
Review: 'Lincoln' Somehow Missed the General Strike
Push for Social Security 'Chained' CPI Rears Its Ugly Head Again
RNs to Picket Ohio, West Virginia, California Community Health Systems Hospitals
Canada drops out of top 10 most developed countries list
Teachers reach tentative deal with Alberta
Spring Rain, Then Foul Algae in Ailing Lake Erie *
Tenn. University Proposes Fracking on Its Own Land *

Thursday, March 14, 2013

March14 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
China wrestles with cost of cleaner environment
Chrysler Moves to Silence Opposition to 10-Hour Day
Climate Movement Claims 'Victory' After Suit Dropped by Energy Giant
Earned Sick Leave Measure Passes in Portland
YRC’s Proposed Change: On Hold
UPS Talks Get Hazy on Healthcare
Monarch Migration Plunges to Lowest Level in Decades *

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

March 13 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Postal Unions Agitate to Keep Delivering Mail on Time and on Saturday
Wage Gap Widens for Women
Are We Really Living Longer?
Community Rallies Behind ARMC Nurses As Hospital Demands Huge Cuts
Hospitals’ abuse of charity care puts communities at risk
Blaze erupts after tug hits pipeline on La. bayou
Manitoba Métis Win Historic Ruling
Worker trapped under concrete slab has died, police say
Historic Cambridge shirt factory closes for good
Province hints at possible imposed settlement with teachers
Union claims Target hiring practices off the mark

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

March 12 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
7.7% Is Likely a Short-Lived Low in the US Unemployment Rate
Victory for Howard University Dining Hall Workers
AFL-CIO Urges Use Of  TIFA to Address Worker Rights Abuses in Iraq
An Important Trade Agreement You Need to Know About
Railroad Workers United passes resolution supporting locked-out ILWU members
ILWU supporters rally in downtown Vancouver
City College of San Francisco Fights for Its Life
US ‘Corporate Tax Dodgers’ Keeping More Money Overseas
Mother Jones, Workers Resistance, and the Origins of Rank-and-File Unionism
Dissent Brews in the OSSTF
Aung San Suu Kyi support for copper mine outrages Burmese activists

Monday, March 11, 2013

March 11 Week In Review

Week In Review
March 11 2013
by Bill Onasch

Bad News From Mauna–Worse From Washington
On the world’s biggest volcano, located on the island of Hawaii, an observatory has been monitoring carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere since 1956. From its isolation in the central Pacific Mauna Loa is the most prominent recorder of the baseline progression of this single biggest factor in global warming. News from there is never good; the most recent worse than usual. John Vidal writes in the Friday Guardian,

“The chances of the world holding temperature rises to 2C – the level of global warming considered ‘safe’ by scientists – appear to be fading fast with US scientists reporting the second-greatest annual rise in CO2 emissions in 2012. Carbon dioxide levels measured at Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii jumped by 2.67 parts per million (ppm) in 2012 to 395ppm, said Pieter Tans, who leads the greenhouse gas measurement team for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The record was an increase of 2.93ppm in 1998....Tans told the Associated Press the major factor was an increase in fossil fuel use. ‘It's just a testament to human influence being dominant,’ he said. ‘The prospects of keeping climate change below that [two-degree goal] are fading away.’”

March 11 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Métis celebrate historic Supreme Court land ruling
Once critical of free trade agreements, ambitious Obama hunts new deals
A Restaurant Was Popular; Its Closing Was Celebrated *
OSHA fines AT&T in death of worker after Gladstone attack
BP Breaks Up With Solar Energy: It’s Not You, It’s Us
Fashion Models Shatter Stereotypes, Demand Labor Rights
Strike fund set up for workers at Sisters Camelot
Porter Airlines: The Little Strike that Could
Shaw broke employment law with contract workers
Life expectancy gap complicates budget debate

Thursday, March 7, 2013

March 7 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Women, often working through unions, are transforming the world
L.A. Teachers Block Outsider Attempt to Buy School Board
Two years after Fukushima
Hugo Chavez on climate change and capitalism
'McDonald's Guest Workers Stage Surprise Strike'
Why Immigration Is a Top Priority for U.S. Labor
Arkansas adopts most restrictive U.S. abortion law
Lion kills worker at California animal park
Occupation at the University of Sussex
Pollution Forces Chinese Leaders to Act
Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres
Bid to halt polar bear trade fails
In South Bronx, Memories of Chávez and the Aid He Gave *

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

All In All, I'll Miss Hugo

by Bill Onasch

All in all, I’ miss Hugo Chávez.

I didn’t always agree with his “Twenty-First Century Socialism” which was a curious blend of the spiritual teachings of the figure whose birth began the current count-up of centuries; the Latin American liberation hero of the Nineteenth Century, Simón Bolívar; and the leaders of the Twentieth Century Cuban Revolution that inspired many–including me–with the possibility of socialism without Stalinist deformation. It’s a mix not unlike the hydrogen peroxide fuels of early German rockets–powerful but inherently unstable. It needs further refinement.

It reflected the autodidactic progress of a soldier who abhorred the social injustice he saw around him and decided to do something about it. He became a revolutionist of action, borrowing and adapting ideas of others on the fly. He sometimes confounded and even embarrassed his admirers with flamboyant statements--but he was no blow-hard.

He backed up his talk with measures that brought improvements for the poor of his country and also contributed material solidarity to other countries. In particular, an internationalist symbiotic relationship blossomed with Cuba. The Cubans provided medical, educational and security professionals in short supply while Venezuela returned the favor with oil vitally needed because of the more than half-century embargo imposed by the USA on Cuba.

One way to judge a person’s life is the attitudes they continue to attract in death. Hugo is loved by the poor majority of his country. He will always be hated by Venezuela’s rich elite.

Our bipartisan rulers in Washington saw Chávez as a dangerous ally of Fidel. They made no secret of their desire to see him go–one way or another. They couldn’t embargo Venezuela–a major source of U.S. oil. They did promote political opposition and were prepared to recognize a coup attempt against Hugo–but that effort collapsed after two days. They are no doubt weighing options for skulduggery now.

Hugo’s immediate replacement–likely to be made permanent in a special election within 30 days–is not a charismatic soldier. Nicolas Maduro is a bus driver who became a leader of the transit union and socialist party. While his style may be different there’s no reason to suspect he will depart from the basic line of march in progress.

I offer my condolences to Hugo’s daughters and my solidarity to the working people of Venezuela and the new leader they choose.

March 6 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Hugo Chávez 1954-2013
Hugo Chavez - socialist showman who transformed Venezuela
Hugo Chavez, Undefeated
Maduro readies to lead after Chavez's death
Venezuelans mourn President Chavez

A Stealth Tax Subsidy for Business Faces New Scrutiny *
Cabinet Picks Could Take On Climate Policy *
Ousted Maldives President and Climate Champion Arrested
Miller & Harkin Introduce Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $10.10
ILWU files Unfair Labor Practice charge against Mitsui-United Grain
Solidarity helps Castlewood workers win 3-year lockout
Nurses Welcome Steps toward Cathedral Hill Agreement
UE 766 Defeats Concessions, Wins Wage and Benefit Improvements
Long Struggle, Rally, Lead to Pay Raises and No-Concession Contract
Wolcott Paras Negotiate Raises, Retain Defined Benefit Pension
US scientists report big jump in heat-trapping CO2
Regulators Crack Down on Classifying Workers as Contractors
Students continue protest over law course changes
Renault Wins Union Support for New Labor Deal *

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

March 5 News Update


Each Monday-Friday, by 9AM Central, we’ll post links to news stories and analytical articles of interest to working people. Sometimes they will be accompanied by editorial commentary. Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Lonmin workers strike at South Africa mine
Mexico's wealth gap in spotlight as Slim and miners get richer
Anoka County repeals prevailing wage policy
Airport food workers ratify first contract
Review: Air Safety Lessons Could Save Lives in Hospitals
Ed Koch, Workers’ Arch-Foe
SF City College threatened by privatization
Obama Offers to Cut Social Security, Medicare (Again)
Third Maine Town Passes 'No Tar Sands' Resolution to Fight Pipeline
Hospital safety should be a guarantee, not a gamble, legislators say
The AFL-CIO has a plan to save the movement
Quebecers launch coalition against EI reform

Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf
Cambodian Workers Camp Out, Hunger Strike Against Walmart and H&M - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/#sthash.YOn2c1sR.dpuf

Monday, March 4, 2013

March 4 Week In Review

Week In Review
March 4 2013
by Bill Onasch

Extreme Climate Acknowledged–Extreme Action Needed
It is understandable if global warming was far from the thoughts of my hometown as we dug deep on sidewalks and driveways, and even high on roofs, after tandem storms deposited a couple of feet of snow. To his credit, Rick Montgomery did a good job of reminding us in a front page story in the Sunday Kansas City Star. He begins,

“Those drought-damaged evergreens outside? Regional climatologists say to expect more in the years ahead. And the surreal mounds of snow now hiding shrubs that barely survived summer’s heat? Get used to that, too. It seems contradictory, this weird weather whiplash. But just consider the last couple of years in the nation’s midsection. Floods unleashed by record inflows into the Missouri River basin in early 2011. Then sudden and prolonged dryness. Now 20 to 25 inches of snow heaped on Kansas City in the most dramatic, back-to-back smacking delivered by any winter week that many of us can recall. Yet to experts who study climate change models, it makes sense. Think extreme.”

But my upbeat feeling about seeing climate science featured on the front page was let down before I could finish reading the paper. An article by Brad Cooper tells us,

“Almost a decade after Kansas wrestled with the merits of evolution, the Legislature now grapples with the politics of environmental science.... Bills look not just to set aside the concerns about greenhouse gases spewed to generate energy. Some would also require schools to teach challenges to mainstream climate science. Others aim to prevent public money from being used to promote development policies intended to ease strains on the environment.”

Thinking extreme in Kansas politics is a new norm too.

Our labor statespersons are seldom inclined to seek new norms of any kind. They weren’t digging out snow in Orlando where the AFL-CIO executive committee held their winter meeting. Most had probably not even read National Nurses United Co-President Deborah Burger’s well reasoned appeal, Why Labor Should Oppose the Pipeline. Without referring to it by name, our leaders gave their blessing to the Keystone XL Pipeline by endorsing all pipelines.