Progressive Action New Hampshire
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State House Watch From the American Friends Service Committee
We’ll begin posting these updates as we receive them, for everyone’s reference. People at the office of the American Friends Service Committee in Concord work tirelessy with Arnie Alpert and Maggie Fogarty to put out these comprehensive summaries of what’s happening at the state house.
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State House Watch April 10 There’s a bit of a lull at the State House right now. House committees are working on Senate bills that have crossed over, and Senate committees are working on bills that passed the House. The big one is the budget, now in the care of the Senate Finance Committee, which will meet next week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The capital budget is being examined by the Senate Capital Budget Committee, which begins meetings with state agencies on Wednesday. Funding for substance abuse prevention and treatment is a topic getting lots of attention because the House budgeted insufficient funds. Find out more about this issue on “State House Watch Radio” next week. During this lull, why not take a few minutes to give us your feedback on State House Watch? We’d love to hear from you. Just hit and tell us how we’re doing . HB 112, the House bill attempting to tie voting domicile to motor vehicle licensing and registration was tabled and sent to the NH Supreme Court for its opinion. Yesterday the Court responded with a “no opinion” opinion, due to a pending case filed by the NH SB 179, which includes the same dubious provisions as HB 112, but which also includes further restrictions on the right to vote, came before the House Election Law Committee on Tuesday. This bill restricts voting to people who have been in residence for at least 30 days prior to an election, and measures residency by economic factors like property ownership, business pursuits, employment, and motor vehicle registration. Opponents argued persuasively (to us, at least) that this provision is unconstitutional. Support for it is now the subject of an online petition sponsored by the Republican Party. We expect the Election Law Committee to ask for an advisory opinion on this one, too. We will keep you updated on these attempts at stifling voter participation in our state. The House Legislative Administration Committee held a public hearing on SB 136, establishing a committee to review constitutional amendments pending in Congress regarding the Citizens United decision and related cases. The bill currently recognizes the need for such an amendment. Please contact members of the committee to urge them to pass this bill as written. Next Week in the House The House will be in session on April 15 at 10 AM. Consent Calendar SB 265, establishing the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) savings account. Comes out of a committee with a 19-0 recommendation of OTP (Ought to Pass). Regular Calendar SB 47, repealing the payment of subminimum wages to persons with disabilities. Committee recommends OTP 16-0. SB 48, relative to the NH Commission on Native American Affairs. This bill extends the life of the commission to the year 2020. The committee recommends OTP on a vote of 11-3. Coming up in House Committees Ways and Means, Room 202, LOB Coming Up in Senate Committees The Senate will not be in session next week. In the Finance Committee Work on the budget continues in the Senate Finance Committee, which will hear more agency presentations next week. These meetings do not include opportunities for public comment, but like all official proceedings, they are open for members of the public to observe. We have heard that the committee will hold an actual public hearing on May 5 starting at 3 PM. We’ll have more details next week. These are the scheduled sessions for the coming week. Look at the Senate Calendar for additional information about which agencies are presenting on which day. Senate Finance, Room 103 SH (State House)
NH Voices of Faith vigils will be held each day, starting 15 minutes prior to the start of each hearing. Contact Maggie to sign up for a shift, and visit the group’s Facebook page to stay informed. The capital budget (or HB 25) is the portion of the state budget that deals with spending for big projects financed by borrowed money rather than general funds appropriations. Agency presentations on the capital budget will begin on Wednesday and continue Thursday and Friday. This biennium the budget adopted by the House includes funds for a new women’s prison, which is turning out to be more expensive than the amount allocated two years ago. Chris Dornin from Citizens for Criminal Justice Reform says, “For the original $40 million outlay, the state could have built a smaller women’s prison and an array of halfway houses and sober houses.” We are also hoping that money for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund makes a reappearance after being left out of the House budget. Additional units of affordable housing are critical for efforts to end homelessness. Public Hearings in the Senate Next Week Monday, April 14 Commerce, Room 100 SH Thursday, April 16 Rules, Enrolled Bills and Internal Affairs, Room 101, LOB One more State House event we noted: The NH chapter of the National Association of Massage Therapists will offer free chair massages to members of the General Court and staff on Tuesday, April 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in room 212, LOB. Events Coming Up William Hartung Speaking Tour – William Hartung, Director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy in Washington DC, completes his speaking tour, “Profits of War: The Military-Industrial Complex and the High Price of Defense,” with events tonight in Canterbury and Saturday morning in Manchester. Hartung is the author of Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex. The events are organized by AFSC’s Governing Under the Influence Project and co-sponsored by NH Peace Action and NH Citizens Alliance. For more information, contact Eric Zulaksi or look at our web page. Lawrence Wilkerson Speaking Tour – Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell and an outspoken critic of US military and foreign policies, will speak at events in Durham, Portsmouth, Nashua, and Plymouth, including keynoting the conference on building a culture of peace and nonviolence (see below). His other public events will be:
On Thursday, April 16, Col. Wilkerson will be a guest on “The Exchange” on NHPR from 9 to 10 AM, and on “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” on WNHN-LP from 12:30 to 1 PM. Hanging on for a Living Wage – A Forum – 1:30 PM at South Church in Portsmouth, 292 State Street. Panelists include: Rep. Jackie Cilley, Rep. Deanne Rykerson (Maine), Senators Martha Fuller Clark and David Watters. RSVP here. Wednesday, April 15 Tax Day – Join AFSC’s Governing Under the Influence project, NH Peace Action, and NH Citizens Alliance as we remind our fellow Granite Staters that we have a say in where our money goes. Click here to get materials you can distribute at your local post office. At 3 pm, we will be gathering in front of Senator Ayotte’s office in Nashua. Click here if you can join us. Thursday, April 16 Arnie will speak about the Governing Under the Influence project on AFSC’s “Spirited Action” conference call. “Spirited Action” is a monthly conversation about the work of AFSC and how Quakers can be involved in evolving movements for social change. These monthly calls are an opportunity to learn from AFSC staff about specific focus issues and campaigns, and hear ideas of how to get involved. Each one is also an opportunity to speak with other Quakers from the around the country about strategies for how to engage in collective social change work. If you’d like to participate, get more information here. The 7th Annual Building a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence Conference will take place from 9:30 AM to 3 PM at Boyd Science Center, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH. This year’s focus is Overcoming Money in Politics. Workshops include bird dog training; money in politics; prisons, profits, and politics; global warming; the Trans Pacific Partnership; and GMOs. Keynote speaker is Lawrence Wilkerson. This is free and open to the public. Bring your own lunch Please register here or on Facebook. Call NH Peace Action at (603) 228-0559 for additional details. This conference is sponsored by: NH Peace Action, Plymouth State University Peace & Social Justice Studies Council, PSU Office of Environment Sustainability, American Friends Service Committee-NH Program, League of Conservation Voters, Coalition for Open Democracy, People for the American Way, and Stamp Stampede. Friday, May 1 Rally for Immigrants and Workers Rights – This year’s rally will be at Market Square in Portsmouth at 5 PM. Information here. • Nashua – Monday April 13 at 5:30 PM – Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter, 2 Quincy Street. Use parking lot door #2. Next week on “State House Watch/White House Watch” Radio Our first guest next week will be Kate Frey from New Futures, the group leading efforts to secure adequate funds for substance abuse treatment and prevention. On the “White House Watch” segment of the show we will have Steve Duprey, who heads presidential debate planning for the Republican Party. The show airs on Monday from 5 to 6 pm and re-broadcasts on Tuesday from 8 to 9 am on WNHN-LP. You can listen live at 94.7 FM in the Concord area and on wnhnfm.org anywhere and anytime you can get an internet signal. You can also download podcasts of past shows, including last week’s with Erin Polley from Indiana AFSC and Senator Andrew Hosmer. In the past week Arnie posted an article about the candidates’ responses — or lack thereof — to questions about a quota for immigrant detention written into the federal budget. He wrote another about a lecture given by Martin Gilens comparing the poltical influence of ordinary people to that of wealthy people and influential interest groups. Next week will be a busy one for candidates, so check out the calendar and let Olivia know which ones you can attend and ask questions about the excessive influence of corporations. -Arnie Alpert and Maggie Fogarty PS – Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook. Search for “American Friends Service Committee-NH” to “like” us. After all, we are your Friends. AFSC’s New Hampshire “State House Watch” newsletter is published to bring you information about matters being discussed in Concord including housing, the death penalty, immigration, and labor rights. We also follow the state budget and tax system, voting rights, corrections policy, and more. Click here for back issues. The AFSC is a Quaker organization supported by people of many faiths who care about peace, social justice, humanitarian service, and nonviolent change. Arnie Alpert and Maggie Fogarty direct the New Hampshire Program, publish the newsletter, and co-host the “State House Watch” radio show on WNHN-FM. Susan Bruce helps with research and writing. Addy Simwerayi produces the radio show. We also thank Judy Elliott for help with proofreading. “State House Watch” is made possible in part by a grant from the Anne Slade Frey Charitable Trust. Your donations make our work possible. Click the “DONATE NOW” button on our web page to send a secure donation to support the work of the AFSC’s New Hampshire Program. Thanks! |
ACLU. Oral arguments will be heard on April 22.Lou D’Allesandro Speaks on Citizen’s United, Dark Money and SB 132
Lou D’Allesandro, State Senator, (D), District 32
Open government is not owned by anyone but the people. When a citizen in my district chooses to speak his or her mind, that person can walk through the doors of the State House without being stopped or questioned and can walk directly into my office. My door is always open. As New Hampshire citizens, we believe this is right because we believe that the Capitol is the people’s house and that our job as legislators is to serve the people. I try to embody this belief and work very hard to respond to my constituents, even stopping in the hallways between sessions to hear what they have to say. If we disagree, we might even have a debate. Such respect and openness to our constituents is the envy of other states, where the citizenry may not have as direct access to their elected officials.
However, with every election we see the further encroachment of outside groups and interests in influencing our elections. This threat to our democracy is the direct result of the 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC. Now, dark money groups with secret donors can attempt to push their pet projects on lawmakers with possibly dishonest or underhanded tactics. These outside groups do not understand our pride in service to our constituents, but their influence is felt all the same. Now, rather than hearing voices of our constituents on the merit of the argument, we lawmakers are forced to contend with the threat of overwhelming finances of special interest groups should we choose to vote with our conscience. This only serves to disenfranchise both the lawmakers and our constituents. We feel this frustration so deeply that, when I was at a forum held in Manchester, former Senator Majority Leader George Mitchell, who spoke, said that the Citizens United decision was a very bad decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court.
This threat to our democracy must be met with a forceful and immediate response. Last year, I supported a bill calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Unfortunately, this bill failed to pass the legislature, and the problem has only worsened since. In the 2014 congressional election, outside groups spent more than 49 million dollars on three congressional races in New Hampshire- one of the highest amounts of outside spending in the nation.
The citizens of New Hampshire see this continual erosion of our democracy, and are appalled. According to a University of New Hampshire Survey Center Granite State Poll, 69 percent of residents have said that they would support a constitutional amendment that limits corporate campaign contributions and spending. This support includes majorities on both sides of the political spectrum as well as independents1.
Furthermore, 56 towns in New Hampshire passed town warrants in support of a constitutional amendment, including a unanimous vote in the conservative town of Derry2. On this issue, I have listened to concerned citizens from all walks of life – from high school students to seniors, and small business owners to farmers – who spoke on the issue. I’ve rarely seen an issue with such deep and bipartisan support.
It is imperative that, as legislators, we respond to our constituents and show them we can address this issue and restore trust in our government. Therefore, I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass SB 136 this year.
House Hears Testimony Against Right to Work
The New Hampshire House is considering HB 402, another one of former speaker and extremist Tea Bagger, love of Free Staters, Bill O’Brien’s ALEC bills to try and kill collective bargaining in New Hampshire.
Already a “hire at will” state, New Hampshire has always had the unique political independence among its majority Republican leadership to pass on right to work laws. Corporate lobbying of state legislators has reached an all-time high, especially in the forefront of this is the lobbying group ALEC. As explained here which pools corporate funds and acts as a one-stop shop for making sure that legislators act on behalf of corporate interests.
Its important to understand this fact. ALEC has no intention of going away because the corporations that join ALEC have no intention of quitting. They figure, as they’ve always been right before, that people will get worn out and finally give up and go home. They figure no one will show up at hearings, they figure people won’t understand what unions do for workers. Can they get away with this in New Hampshire?
This (last we checked) is the sixth time (yes 6th) that Bill O’Brien has attempted to push this out of state, global corporate agenda on New Hampshire citizens. Representing not New Hampshire, but out of state corporate interests, Bill O’Brien and his less than genius lackeys have proposed this horrible bill once again to try and break labor at its knees. Today many people braved the cold to come to Concord and let their voices be heard. Here we have the testimony of Linda Horan a proud union sister in New Hampshire telling her story that she shared with NH Labor News.
The New Hampshire House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee is having the hearings and will vote on whether or not to recommend this bill as either “ought to pass” or “inexpedient to legislate” . Then it will go to the house for a full vote. Many reps follow the recommendation of the committees.
There is still time to make legislators think twice about passing this horrible legislation, please call or email the members of the committee listed above.
Linda Horan Statement Against Right To Work Legislation (HB402)
Today the NH House Labor Committee is hearing testimony on HB 402, Right To Work legislation. Many people are at the State House testifying for this bill. Linda Horan, a labor activist for many years, sent us her testimony.
Statement in Opposition to HB402
February 17, 2015
Good afternoon. My name is Linda Horan. I live in Alstead. I’m a retired telephone company worker and a proud member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2320.
During my 32 years as a phone worker, I had health insurance, good wages, a pension, and job security. These weren’t given to me by the company. These were things that I worked with other union members to win. And once we won them, we protected them. We didn’t do this by begging the company as individuals. We did this by working together to accomplish as a group what we couldn’t achieve as individuals. That’s the basic principle of unionism. HB402 attacks that principle.
Today, members of IBEW Local 2320, have been on strike for 124 days. This is a strike about our future and the future of telecommunications in New Hampshire. It’s a strike to defend hard won gains that have created a decent standard of living and job security. FairPoint is demanding the right to contract out every job. If that happens, all that we have worked together to gain could be gone just like that.
Again, phone workers won a decent standard of living and job security by standing together to accomplish together what we could not achieve as individuals. HB402 mocks these accomplishments and seeks to tear them down.
For the rest of Linda’s testimony: Linda Horan Statement Against Right to Work
What Did (and Didn’t) Happen at the Town of Grafton Deliberative Session
Two Free Staters seen riding into town to save Grafton residents from the hassles of governance by making governance a hassle.
Nestled in the green, rolling hills of north-western New Hampshire (western highlands) is the sleepy little town of Grafton. Rural, small and quiet, comprised once of farms, gristmills and dairy farms, now mostly small family farms and modest houses, Grafton derives most of its economic fuel from the neighboring cities of Lebanon and Hanover and from neighboring Vermont.
Grafton has for centuries stayed out of the limelight of state and national politics like many small towns in rural New Hampshire and liked it that way. Unfortunately, since becoming the unwitting host to a libertarian/anarchist (capitalist anarchists) group and their bizarre mix of right-wing fringe nutters, Grafton has found itself forced into the news. Especially in the news are the processes of town government, because as many have learned, there’s no better place to find an anti-government anarchist libertarian than at a town meeting. And so we proceed to the focus on the recent town Deliberative Session and as observed by Susan Bruce, the oddly conflicting portrayals of the events that unfolded that day and then night.
One story, by the Valley News, the newspaper that represents the geographic area that includes the town of Grafton, paints a picture that according to sources close to Progressive Action New Hampshire who were there, accurately portray the meeting. The Valley News report also makes an effort to illustrate the tension and irritation with the regular few cranks, representing themselves as Free Staters or sympathizers. As was reported to Progressive Action NH and as Susan reports was noted in the Valley News, the meeting was an “11-hour slog”. Our source said it took him all the powers of discipline he had in him to stay awake during the petulant nitpicking and objections brought on by just a few Free Stater cranks.
But as Susan points out, the Union Leader, a Manchester based news-rag that has a strong reputation of slanted hyper-conservative news reporting, seems to paint a far different picture than that of the Valley News, or that relayed by citizens who were present. According to the Union Leader the meeting was as the writer states in the first paragraph,
“Although regular voters and their Free State-oriented brethren disagreed on a number of things during Saturday’s deliberative session, they were undeniably united by the confusion that dominated the proceedings and that at one point seemed to bring moderator Susan Frost to tears.”
Firstly, let’s make something clear; according to one of the town selectman, our intrepid (but bored) observer and as the Valley News reported, the only thing or person needing constraint were a few cranks. Most notable among of which were Brian Fellers, who serves on the Planning Board, Jeremy Olsen, a Free Stater exposed years ago and a couple of their supporters from the audience. These people heckled and badgered and bothered in every process and procedure available to them, often to the groans of the people at the meeting, as the Union Leader writer observed but seemed unable to perceive the agony of being trapped in a slog of stupid.
The writer’s portrayal of the town moderator as crying? The writer states in the first paragraph “that at one point seemed to bring moderator Susan Frost to tears”. As Susan Bruce noted, the Union Leader did indeed decide to go there — to the dark and dirty dungeon of “weepy” slander the Union Leader once used against Edward Muskie so many decades ago to destroy his campaign and then used later by another conservative news reporter in an attempt to slander Hillary Clinton as she ran for president.
Apparently the writer just can’t let go of this and refers back to the moderator’s supposed “weepiness” not once but twice. Why did the writer feel so moved by this weepiness? How was the public served by this portrayal which not only seems a bit slanderous but at the very least a bit like the mean kid in the playground who looks to jab the shy one in the ribs to get him to cry so then he can mock him. Was the writer so excited about the efforts of Fellers and others of the Free Stater posse and their supposed government genius that he just got caught up in the excitement himself? Does the writer, like the Free Staters see every single individual who represents a position in government as the enemy, even ironically, when many of them seem so eager to serve in government?
The town elected her. Possibly she has more content than just whether or not she can handle the constant badgering of two or three nitwit cranks from some nefarious fringe organization. And might it be known some nefarious fringe organization that has made it clear over and over again that they represent an anarcho-capitalist ideology that believes all government must be dismantled and destroyed. A nefarious fringe organization that by the way, only to an outsider would seem to be the “brethren” of anyone in the town of Grafton that does not identify with their group. In fact, anyone who refers to any long-time or native residents of any New England town as some Huckleberry Hick bunch who just wrap their warm brotherly love around all new comers really has never experienced or lived in rural New England. We’ll not explain; natives and long-timers will know what we mean.
Of course the point returns to the fact that the Town of Grafton never asked for these cranks to appear on their doorstep. Most in Grafton don’t recall announcing their desire to be appointed the experimental ground-zero for the bizarre Free State Project social experiment of anarcho-capitalism. Ironically, the culture in most small New England towns of “live and let live” runs strong and thus no one batted an eye when a few came in with their battered travel trailers and motor homes and announced they were going to setup utopia.
If you talk to any old-timers around those parts you’ll find they’ve seen it all before. Even some old relics of those idealistic dreamers of a back to the country lifestyle still remain scattered around those parts; broken down cabins, a lone chimney in front of an idyllic small pond (that has a story we’ll not tell here for the sake of brevity) or comments like, “Oh yeah, that old hippie-house.” They come, do their thing and then move on when their imagined boom trickles to a bust.
Nope, no one thought much of the aspirations of these new newcomers and let them be. Until of course they began to meddle in local politics in a way that rattled more than just a few local town folk. Cut the entire budget by ten percent? We all know where that went last year. Also some Free Staters ran for public office, such as Jeremy Olsen and were immediately roundly opposed and some, such as Brian Fellers, ran for public office as a Planning Board member. As with many small towns invaded by these people, its only after the election dust has settled and they open their big mouths and expose their shriveled little minds and hearts that they reveal themselves.
The Union Leader writer seems enamored with the Free Staters. No doubt, since to the simple-minded they seem like a bunch of fun-loving folks who just want some budgetary sense. Right? No. Not when, as even the Union Leader pointed out, someone like Brian Fellers steps in,
“Brian Fellers then asked that the budget be reviewed by department, and later motioned to cut the appropriation for government operations from $249,103 to $49,103. That motion subsequently also failed…”
He wanted the town budget cut by more than half. Of course this undiscovered genius of municipal management was overruled by the rest of those present. Apparently the Union Leader writer, (most possibly a cub reporter) had never attended a town meeting or deliberative session? Possibly the writer might like to try sitting in on a few Board of Alderman meetings in the UL’s hometown of Manchester and then report back on the level of intelligence and organization occurring there? It appears that the writer couldn’t stomach the entire deliberation as the story ends at lunch-time. We’d think that said writer might have far more empathy for the tortured residents of Grafton had he also had to sit in that room until late into the evening that Saturday night. Surely he had plans that night, but for the town of Grafton the plan consisted of giving audience to the new town jesters.
The fact remains though, despite the efforts of an outsider news reporter with an outsider agenda, that the folks of the town of Grafton knew damn well what was going on, were not about to let it happen and stayed to the bitter end to make sure a few outsider cranks didn’t ruin their town by strangling the budget or the process.
Some of the brilliant warrant articles obviously proposed by Free Staters, which were either pushed aside for procedural/legal reasons or not recommended or supported by the majority of Grafton residents: (besides cutting the budget six ways to Sunday with no rhyme or reason involved)
From the Town record distributed that day: (all of which the selectman did not recommend)
– To see if the Town will vote to instruct the Chief of Police to not prosecute any matter relating to the use or possession of cannabis. [We’re not making a value judgment about pot, just noting two things: a) they don’t understand how government laws, rules and jurisdiction works and b) libertarians and especially Free Staters just love them some pot. Contrary to the their claims, they seem less concerned about the drug war overall and more about just getting busted for their stash.]
– To see of the Town will instruct the Select Board and the Budget Committee to reduce the operating budget by ten percent for the next three years. [The town voted to recommend a budget increase instead and this article was withdrawn by the petitioner after they were informed that state law requires deferring to an attorney.]
– To see if the Town will vote to establish an ordinance to discourage or otherwise prevent fraud and abuse of office at the local level. The title of this ordinance shall be “Fraud Remediation Ordinance for Small Towns” (F.R.O.S.T.). This ordinance requires any Town official found to have committed fraud, which includes falsification of public documents, to be removed from office forthwith. [Free Staters and their right-wing cohorts love them some constitutional contractural language like “forthwith”. Its also worth noting that Grafton has never had a problem with fraud and town officials].
– To see if the Town will vote to preclude the Town from paying the personal legal expenses and personal medical expenses of any Town official. [Again, no one has mentioned a problem with a runaway budget of legal and medical expenses for town officials].
– To see if the Town will vote to require all funding for the Grafton Public Library to be on a voluntary basis, (no use of taxation). [Don’t these people love to refer to the “founding fathers” as the cornerstone of their claimed Great Constitutional and Patriot Knowledge? What would Ben Franklin think of this?]
– To see if the Town will vote not withstanding Warrant Article #2, to set the operating budget for Public Safety: Police at $10,000.
– To see if the Town will vote to preclude any Town offical and the use of any Town funds to cooperate with the National Security Agency (NSA). [This of course is a federal issue, but according to conspiracy theorists, NSA is hiding under your bed right now — better look!]
And on and on it goes, a long 42 Warrant Articles of which the majority comprise a mish-mash of right wing conspiracy theories, anti-government crankery and libertarian scrooginess. From attempting to re-write the bylaws of the Town through the Warrant Article process to attempting to completely undo public departments and even going so far as to propose that Grafton study withdrawing from the school district that serves a whole cluster of towns in the area. What do these budget luminaries propose that the little town of Grafton do? Build its own school? After the Free Nuts cut the town budget?
An Argument for Eliminating the Tipped Minimum Wage
By Matt Murray of NH Labor News,
Every morning millions of Americans wake up and get ready to go to work as servers in restaurants, hoping that today will be a busy day, and that they will have extra generous patrons who tip very heavy. These workers must rely on the generosity of strangers because their employer only pays them $2.13 an hour. That is right servers are paid far below minimum wage, and 43 states approve of this.
The restaurant industry is one of the fast growing markets in the entire country bringing in over $600 billion dollars annually, and that trend does not appear to be stopping any time soon. Even during the Great Recession the restaurant industry continued to grow by an average of 9%.
This thriving industry relies on the fact that they can legally pay workers below minimum wage, which in most cases barely covers their taxes. The time has come to end this antiquated idea that servers should not be covered by the same wage requirements as every other employer.
Would you pay an extra dollar for that Chicken Parm if you knew that the server was being paid properly even before your tip? Would you even notice if they increased all their prices a dollar? Did you notice that they most like already raised their prices from this time last year? Servers in California are paid at least $8.00 an hour and people still go out to eat regularly.
Before you freak out over the idea of eliminating the tipped minimum wage, consider these facts from the Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC United):
Read the rest at NH Labor News, “An Argument for Eliminating the Tipped Minimum Wage”
After Its Disastrous Defeat on November 4, Which Way Now for the Labor Movement?
A cogent analysis and a basic question that progressive everywhere ponder. Most already know the direction to take.
There is no disagreement within the labor movement that we took a very big hit in the November 4 elections. Labor’s worst enemies among the politicians — Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio, who led the charge against public employees’ bargaining rights — registered significant victories. A large number of other Republicans across the country share their anti-labor bias.
But what about the Democratic Party, supposedly the party that represents the interests of workers? It was repudiated by millions of workers who either stayed home on Election Day or cast their ballots for the Republicans.
In 2008, Obama was elected president, and Democrats won control of both Houses of Congress. Hope was in the air. But in short order, the Democratic Party betrayed its promises to labor —- without whom the Democrats could never have won the election. No legislation guaranteeing full employment was enacted. No infrastructure…
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Undressing the N-Word
Moving In, by Norman Rockwell, inspired by integration efforts in Park Forest, Illinois. How would the utterance of that word effect the potential relationship illustrated?
Ran across a well written commentary by writer H. Lewis Smith on why no one should use the N-word in any context in the English language. While this commentary is addressed to African-American folks most specifically, its range should not be restricted to just that audience.
People of European heritage, that is who have light-colored skin and identify as ‘white’ (a racist construct itself), often express confusion about the use of the N-word. For some reason they seem to feel that if they hear someone of color use this term to refer to themselves or their peers, then they have a free license to use the word. Why of course, anyone would want to use such a disgusting word in any context is perplexing, but for want of understanding, many do.
Firstly, as Mr. Smith so eloquently lays out and anyone with any understanding of history should know, the N-word embodied the rationalization that allowed the mass brutalization of an entire people by another.
Those of European ancestry who live in America have reaped the fruits of the hard work of those who once were enslaved and often reap the fruits of systemic racism that still exists today. Statistics and even basic observation shows quite plainly that inequality exists today nearly as grossly as fifty or more years ago. Those statistics also show that such inequality, while most often economic also derives from social inequality put in place and held in place by old, yet firmly held beliefs, traditions and behaviors of those who have the power to make change where they can.
Recently a poll of ‘white’ folks showed that many have little empathy for or desire to understand the struggle of African-Americans for justice. Racist language and attitudes don’t touch people of non-African heritage yet surprisingly, many of these same people feel they have a right to pass judgment on when, how and to what degree African-American people should express outrage at their own oppression. The attitude of prejudice comes from ignorance, the ignorance remains in place due to a social construct that legitimizes one group’s experience while dismissing another’s, called privilege. In the context of the American social frame, it is known as “white privilege”.
This seems shocking, but its a symptom of the culture; a culture where the dominance of one group over another runs deep. It runs so deep that non-African people feel they have the right to arbitrate on and decide on the degree to which another group is oppressed. Privilege is exactly that — having the power to decide right and wrong and where responsibility lies and most importantly, who is allowed to suffer. What is the difference between this hypocrisy and that of the slave holder of old, who tightly holds the key to the shackles while laughing that his property enjoys their enslavement?
Like Mr. Smith, people take a minute to think agree that use of the N-word trivializes the suffering of those who came before us and built this country with no pay, no credit, not even a thanks. Use of the N-word excuses injustice and the dehumanization of racism, the N-word grants the lynch mob tacit approval, gives a nod to those who say that racism doesn’t exist and allows it to perpetuate. Use of the N-word by people of non-African descent, most importantly, practices the same oppression, the same brutalization by repeating and aping the very practice of those who held the slave system in place by their participation in it or obedience to it.
Mr. Smith says that all people of colored skin came from the same place. Let’s correct that: all humans came from the same place. Africa is in fact the genetic motherland of all of us. Science has shown that homo sapiens began in the rich lands of Africa and migrated over thousands of years to different locations as continental plates moved and shifted. Also, science has now shown that light colored hair shafts (blonde, red) and light colored skin, the hallmarks of people from regions with less sunlit days, were no doubt an evolutionary adaptation to survive. Light skin and light hair allowed the essential vitamin D to be absorbed into the body, the sun being the only source (until modern chemistry has made it possible as an additive) for this vitamin. While the development of other features such as nose shape in some folks seems still a debated topic, we should be long beyond any idea that human difference is more than skin deep.
Kwanzaa, the celebration of African unity and pride ended yesterday and in that evening Nelson Mandela passed away. This seems a fitting time for everyone to consider how their actions, even what seems the smallest, such as word choice can move us forward as a people or keep us all enslaved in ignorance and hate.
Column: “Undressing The N-Word”
By H. Lewis Smith
Nationwide (December 3, 2013) — Over the past year or so, many events have been occurring in the Black Community at the hand of the Black Community that continues to bring continual shame and degradation to the honorable memories, sacred struggle and sacrifice of African-American ascendants. Some may argue against it, but these acts continue to adversely affect the growth, development, and progression of the Black community, on a whole, to this very day. For instance, in November 2013, former NBA greats Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and ESPN commentator Michael Wilborn bowed down to and pledged their allegiance to a word that dehumanized, stigmatized and objectified their ancestors on national TV. That word is the n-word (n**ga).
It is this sort of pervasive 18th century slave mentality, blindness to such behaviors, and misuse of influential power – much-made possible by the blood and sacrifices of their own ancestors, that prompted writing the book Undressing of the N-word: Revealing the Naked Truth About Lies, Deceit and Mind Games. It is high time that Black America stop the antics, halt the selfish mentality of “I got mines”, and really use all resources they have to demand respect for the entire race within and without the community. Ignorance is no longer acceptable or the calling card to bring attention to Black America; rather, Black America must take the time to educate themselves, and in so doing, reality will be made clear.
The following are excerpts from one of the chapters in my soon-to-be released book entitled, Undressing The N-word: Revealing the Naked Truth About Lies, Deceit and Mind Games.
Forbiddingly, you learn today that your mother was brutally and unmercifully bludgeoned to death with a hammer. Now close your eyes and think about this for a moment: think about the heinousness in the act; see your mother screaming for her life and doing everything in her power to defend against and fight off her unrelenting attackers; think about all of the pain and anguish she endured as blow upon blow of the hammer welled down on her, before the final bit of life was unrightfully snatched with that last thud. Can you see it? Can you see the multiple plugs imprinted into whatever part of her body the hammer unforgivingly fell upon? Can you empathize with that dreadful moment in time?
Sears/K-Mart Owner Shuts Store Down for Thanksgiving
A K-Mart store owner in Plymouth, NH defies the corporate mandate from K-Mart by closing the doors of her store for Thanksgiving. K-Mart, Sears, Wal-Mart and other giant retailers intend to ignore the national holiday and schedule their employees to report to work. As everyone knows, retail workers’ pay falls substantially below the living wage mark. In addition, retailers like to keep their workers part-time or near close to it, causing most to take whatever hours they can to get their take-home wage as high as possible.
In addition, most low wage work requires short training periods and the unemployment rate in the country still remains high. Perfect conditions to remind workers that complaints about work schedules or hours will garner little sympathy and could cause one to be out the door. So much for that old saw about the open market place of the job and worker choice.
The whoring of the holiday is evident with a google search “stores open on Thanksgiving” bringing up headliners such as:
Reuters: “Eyeing holiday sales, more US retailers to open on Thanksgiving...Meanwhile, many Wal-Mart Stores Inc U.S. locations will be open all day…”
Latino Fox News: “Can’t Wait For Black Friday? More Stores Than Ever Now Open On.While stores like Walmart have been open on Thanksgiving for the past 25 years, others like Macy’s are opening for the first time on Turkey Day …
Retailindustry.about.com: “Complete List of Retail Stores Open Thanksgiving Day – Pre-Black Best U.S. Retail Promotions Thanksgiving Day is the new Black Friday, with some of the largest U.S. retail chains opening their retail doors and starting their Black Friday sales promotions …”
Isn’t that wonderful? Thanksgiving Day is the new Black Friday! Your corporate masters shall decide when you will rest and when you won’t! Get up slaves and work!
Think Progress has compiled a list of retailers that will stay closed on the holiday, Your Shopping Guide to Stores That Won’t Ruin Worker’s Thanksgivings
We at Progressive Action NH urge everyone to stay home, relax and spend the day with friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving.
PLYMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Many stores are planning to be open on Thanksgiving, but the owner of a Sears store in New Hampshire says her store is staying closed.
Franchise owner Holly Cassiano in Plymouth tells WMUR-TV (http://bit.ly/1ghrTuG) said she had one reaction when the Sears corporate office told her she had to be open on Thursday: anger.
She said she’s not going to let corporate retailers rule over family values on the holiday. She sent a letter to Sears with her reasons for staying closed, but hasn’t heard back yet.
‘‘I value my employees enough that I wouldn’t have them have to work on a day that’s mean to be spent with family,’’ she said. She’s also starting a petition calling on state legislators to pass a law allowing for franchise owners the flexibility to close on holidays.
She plans to open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.
A Granite State Poll shows that a majority of New Hampshire residents don’t like the idea of stores opening on Thanksgiving. The poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center shows just 9 percent approved of stores opening on the holiday, while 54 percent disapproved.
Full Story: boston.com
We’re Back!
Well its been a bit since anyone has posted here now hasn’t it? Judging from our stat ticker, unbelievably enough people have been checking in with us and we appreciate your faith in our possible resurrection. We intend to post at least twice a week, maybe more often. Coming up on a new legislative session in New Hampshire, the end of the government-has-hostage debacle (for now) and the continuing rage of Tea Baggers nationally and Free Staters locally will gives us plenty to stay up at night and worry over.
So without further ado, we’ll let Susan the Bruce weigh in on the latest happenings from the shut-down to the impending antics of our many ALEC tools in the state house:
Government by the Petulant
The government shutdown has ended and the possible default has been averted. For now. We’ll be going through democracy-by-hostage-taking again in just a few months. The Republicans have ample time to figure out their next round of demands. (Make me a sammich or we’ll shut down the gummint!) The Tea Partiers were ready to play Russian roulette with the global economy just because they hate Obama. The next time the US tries to impose democracy on some other country, the rest of the world is going to laugh in our collective faces. And they should.
This shutdown was brought to us by the party of fiscal and personal responsibility. That’s $24 billion of our tax dollars wasted by a bunch of 3rd grade playground bullies stomping their expensively shod feet about a law they don’t like. These are not statesmen, doing the work of the people. These are petulant and vindictive men who were willing to make the whole world pay because they didn’t get their way. This is why any person running for any office (local, state, national) who says they hate gummint should be immediately and permanently disqualified.
Will the party of fiscal and personal responsibility be taking up a collection to reimburse the taxpayers for the $24 billion? Don’t hold your breath. The poor lambs planned the shutdown for months, and then got miffed when a shutdown meant actually shutting things down. One take away from all this? We should really stop waiting for Texas to secede and take preemptive action. If they want to elect dunderheads like Ted Cruz, Randy Neugebauer, and Louis Gohmert to state government that would be one thing, but sending them to DC where they can mess with all of us? Sorry, Texas. This just can’t be allowed to go on.
As for GOP fiscal responsibility, we’re seeing it right here at home. The 2014 legislative session will begin in January, where they will have 638 bills to contend with. So far. The Senate cut off for filing LSRs is October 30, so we can count on a last minute flurry of filings. The average cost of an LSR (legislative request/potential bill) is $1500. Representative JR Hoell, of Dunbarton, is this year’s winner in the most bills filed category, at 21. That’s 21 bills, at a cost of $1500 each – Representative Hoell is going to cost NH taxpayers $31,500. Given that he’s a remarkably ineffectual legislator, we can be sure that few if any of these 21 bills will be passed. In 2013 Hoell sponsored 12 bills. None of them passed.
Hoell is not a member of the Free State Project, but he’s the next best thing. He’s part of the extremist libertarian crowd. They worship at the altar of Koch, Rand, and Paul (pere et fils.) They hate gummint, so they work tirelessly to become part of it. To show their contempt, they file endless nuisance legislation, to waste the time of their colleagues, and taxpayer dollars. They claim to hate wasteful spending, but they do it themselves at every opportunity. They also claim to hate the nanny state, but they are desperate to play stern patriarch to the uterus bearing population of NH. A sardonic tweet the other day (from an observer of the nanny state uterus brigade) read: “It’s not uterYOU, it’s uterUS.” To summarize Hoell’s bills, he wants everyone, everywhere to have unrestricted access to guns, wants to eliminate the judiciary and the police, and he wants women to serve as involuntary incubators. He might want to rethink giving the involuntary incubators unrestricted access to guns.
Coming in at 19 LSRs is Rep. Dan Itse, from Freemont. That’s $28,500 worth of taxpayer waste. Itse is another extreme libertarian, not a Free Stater, but certainly an ally. Many of Itse’s bills are aimed at ensuring that food produced in NH is exempted from the Food Safety and Modernization Act. These folks hate gummint regulation, and feel that in the free market, you should be able to choose for yourself what you buy. If you want to buy contaminated food, that should be your decision. If you buy it unknowingly and get sick or die, well, next time you won’t buy from that guy!
Itse also wants to recodify education laws, laws relative to law enforcement personnel, and wants to eliminate proprietorships from the business enterprise tax. He also wants to prevent students from voting. The extreme libertea crowd hates law enforcement and hates the judiciary. They sympathize with the crowd of whiny wife beaters who feel hard done by that they have to pay child support, but they don’t get full custody. Still, this year Itse made an effort to reel himself in. Last year he sponsored 42 LSRs, at an estimated cost of $63,000. Not a single one of them passed. I’m sure we’re all happy to know that fiscal conservatives like Itse and Hoell are looking out for us.
There are at least a dozen gun bills proposed, because, after all, in a state with 500 bridges that are on a red list for structural impairment, the only possible solution is guns and more guns. The unemployment rate is at a firm 5%, and obviously the best way to deal with that is GUNS!
The northern Carroll County delegation has managed to comport itself with admirable restraint. No one has filed an epic number of bills, no gun bills, or anything that (so far) seems like nuisance legislation. A pity that can’t be said of the legislators from the southern part of the state. We sell the good people of Massachusetts cheap booze and cigarettes, mock them for being socialists, and they thank us by sending their misanthropes to populate southern NH where they run for the legislature. Massachusetts gets the last laugh.
“This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.” Charlie Pierce
Can’t get enough of Susan the Bruce? Visit her website at: SusantheBruce
Progressive Action New Hampshire 