READERS NOTE: This file begins with December and ends in January... 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that employers can reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

Employers may now establish two classes of retirees, with more comprehensive benefits for those under 65 and more limited benefits -- or none at all -- for those older.

More than 10 million retirees rely on employer-sponsored health plans as a primary source of coverage or as a supplement to Medicare, and Naomi C. Earp, the EEOC chairwoman, said, “This rule will help employers continue to voluntarily provide and maintain these critically important health benefits.

Arizona employers face a first offense 10-day suspension of their business license -- second offense: they're closed! Let us hope that anti-business Democrats in the Legislature don't apply their "Resolution 80" thinking to similar legislation for Guam.

HIT ME, DEALER! Membership in the Auto Workers union continues to fall as troubles continue for GM, Ford and Chrysler, so the UAW is organizing casino employees in Atlantic City, Detroit, Newport, RI and Connecticut's Foxwoods Resort and Casino -- one of 400-odd Indian Tribal casinos that employ 250,000 across the nation. One reason for joining the UAW: owners are requiring dealers to share tips with supervisors...80% of the dealers at Casino Alzar in Indiana signed up. This is the kind of management stupidity that unionizes a company from inside, top down.

TEACHERS UNION "Executive Council" votes to endorse BJ Cruz in the January 5 election -- but a member dissents in the PDN's forum: "...the GFT voted unanimously for BJ, is not true. It may have been "yes" by all those that voted, but I didn't vote, I wasn't polled, I wasn't called, and I never got any e-mail asking me. And, I do have a vote."

So much for the myth of the "union vote"...

THE TEACHERS UNION WEBSITE REPORTS: Port Board Attempts to Bypass Procurements Laws -- The Board of the Port Authority of Guam (adopted a memorandum of understanding) allowing Matson and Horizon Lines, to purchase three cranes, install them, maintain them, and recover their investment (over) a five year period. When the union’s Matt Rector asked for time to analyze the agreement and get meaningful input from (port employees that the union claims to represent), his request was denied.

The union says this raises a large number of questions. Why are they in such a hurry that they won’t allow a week for union attorneys to look it over? Why don’t they purchase cranes through the procurement process that is regulated so that it prevents corruption and improprieties? Do any of the Board members have any financial stake in either of these private companies or will they in the future? Why are we buying the junk that the Port of Los Angeles is getting rid of? Guam’s Port is Guam’s life line and needs to be protected and enhanced for the good of the people of Guam, no one else. To do anything less is immoral.

If you are wondering how the teacher’s union became the bargaining agent for employees at the port and GWA -- it happens this way: under the Guam law that regulates public employee unions, only ten percent of the employees in a particular work group have to express a desire or show an interest in being represented by a union.

A union collects signatures (on authorization cards, membership applications or a simple petition) and presents this “showing of interest” to the Director of the Department of Administration (or to the Governor of Guam -- for political effect) and the GovGuam grants the union “exclusive recognition”. There is never an actual vote by all eligible employees in the department or agency. (Managers and supervisors in GovGuam agencies are earnest supporters of unions.)

A union can easily get signature from more than 10 percent of any group of employees. They can sign up because under Guam law, no one can force them to pay union dues. GovGuam lacks the money (and the will) to conduct secret-ballot elections.

Like an unhappy employees who organizes a company from the inside, we believe the teacher’s union is doing some “inside” work...organizing bargaining units in GovGuam that it can someday sell to off-island unions like the SEIU (Service Employees), the ILA (Longshoremen), IBEW (Electrical Workers) or the IBT (Teamsters). GHURA workers could be squeezed into the Hotel-Restaurant union (HERE-Unite)

Sale of these units would allow the teacher’s union to revert to what it once was: a union for teaching professionals. Once established in Guam with employees of the Airport, GWA, GMH nurses, Port employees, DPW drivers, firefighters, GPSS clerical employees, DODEA bus drivers, these unions will start organizing private sector employees in Guam -- a job that will be easier after Democrats repeal Guam's "right-to-work" law.  (Remember, we told you on 12-24-07 -- repeal is coming -- bet your lungs on it!)

WalMart BETTER WITHOUT UNIONS -- unions would like everyone to believe that Wal-Mart is like Hell on Earth. It makes sense: they need to beat the company down so they can swoop in to “save” it by unionizing everyone. Peter from Employer Report sent this around:

The AFL-CIO is planning to spend $53.4 million on get-out-the-vote efforts during the 2008 campaign, according to the Wall Street Journal. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is aiming for $60 million. (Both organizations budgeted only $48 million in 2004.) The top spender in the 2004 election, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), also plans to exceed its 2004 budget of $65 million.

Repeal of all 22 state Right to Work laws would be a “nice” trophy, too. Guam's "Employee Choice" right to work is already in the crosshairs of Democrats in the Legislature! 

“Confrontation is bad for business,” one trade association lobbyist notes,  “businesses have never been effective at combating unions.”

A National Association of Letter Carriers union thug told talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh that the NALC union is not in the pocket of Democrats, as a caller to the program claimed earlier this month. After Rush apologized, letter carriers from across the country called the program to say the union endorsement is meaningless because NALC members ignore their union and vote Republican anyway.

Jamie Rubin has signed on with the Clinton campaign. Who is Jamie Rubin? He's the husband of CNN's super-liberal TV correspondent Christiane Amanpour who revealed that President George W. Bush is the main cause of Islamic extremism throught the world.  We thought it was CNN.

OSAKA — Two years ago, when George W. Bush met with then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Kyoto, the U.S. president was asked about a recently concluded preliminary agreement on reorganizing American military bases in Japan.

Bush replied that it was up to Japan to expedite the agreement, which centers on construction of an airstrip in northern Okinawa for relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan.

Six months later, a final report said once the Futenma replacement facility became operational in 2014, the U.S. Marine Corps contingent at the base would be downsized by 8,000 marines and their dependents, who may number about the same. Their new home would be Guam.

As Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda heads to Washington Thursday to meet with Bush, however, the realignment agreement is stalled, and doubts on both sides are growing over when, or even if, the Futenma replacement facility will materialize.

The sticking point in the agreement is the construction of two 1,800-meter runways, in a V-pattern, adjacent to Camp Schwab on the northern part of the main island near Henoko. Current plans call for the runways to be built close to the shoreline, which the prefecture fears will create noise pollution problems.

Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, who was elected last November, announced his opposition to the current plan and demanded the facility be moved farther out on the peninsula and adjoining sea.

But the central government and the United States have refused to reconsider the plan. Last week, a meeting between Nakaima and central government officials in Tokyo failed to resolve the issue.

Over the past year, the central government has sent mixed signals to both Okinawa and the U.S. over whether it would compromise.

In January, then Defense Agency head Fumio Kyuma said he would be willing to scrap the runway configuration and build a single runway. However, both then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the U.S. said the V-configuration would move forward.

Last week, after a meeting between Okinawan officials and the central government, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura indicated to reporters that Tokyo might be more flexible.

But two days later, following a visit to Japan by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Machimura told reporters it would be extremely difficult to meet Okinawa's demands.

Time is running out for both sides, though. Unless actual construction of the new facility begins within the next 18 months, it will be extremely difficult to meet the 2014 deadline.

In May, the central government began a preliminary environmental impact assessment off Camp Schwab. The work was carried out despite the presence of antibase protesters in the area who had prevented previous attempts to do a survey of the seabed.

But most observers of U.S.-Japan security relations agree ensuring the base reorganization takes place as scheduled by working with Okinawa is not a priority for either Fukuda or Bush.

With the U.S. presidential election next November and speculation mounting that Fukuda will dissolve the Lower House well before then, both leaders are expected to focus their attention this week on more immediate issues, including Japan's resumption of its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

According to the Okinawa Prefectural Government, there were about 43,000 U.S. service members and their dependents living in Okinawa as of the beginning of 2007. These included approximately 13,500 marines and 8,000 of their dependents at 16 bases and facilities. There were about 7,000 U.S. Air Force personnel and another 7,000 of their dependents at seven bases and facilities.

Labor Peace will save Detroit? The only thing that will save Detroit is more hit vehicles, faster line speeds, and less suicidal incentives. In fact, Detroit's incentive costs are far greater than their costs ($1,500-$1,900 per car ) just for health care. Regardless of the deal the Big 3 cut with the UAW this fall, absent those fundamental market moves, somebody in Detroit is bound to go away.

Consider the scenario that created wealth for everyone and defined the American Century: Henry Ford proved that paying his workers well not only stabilized his workforce but allowed his assembly line finally to reach its maximum. Ford also knew that if his own workers could not afford to buy the products they made, his company would fail. So he cut the prices of his cars, paid his workers America's highest wages and became one of America's richest men.

The U.S. Senate voted cut $2 million from the Labor Department's Office of Labor Management Standards. The agency collects LM-2 forms that report on union finances...a way to shine the light of accountability on union leaders.

LM-2 forms revealed that one Local of the United Food and Commercial Workers union spent $26,000 of members' dues on rounds of golf for the bosses and $3 million on hotel bills. The forms also report on union bosses' salaries: Jimmy Warren, Treasurer of the Steelworkers union makes $825,262 a year; Don Hunsucker, UFCW Local 1288, earns $679,949 a year.

The Labor Department got 13 indictments and seven convictions in September 2007 alone, bringing criminal action to 97 indictments and 115 convictions for 2007 YTD. Since 2001 the Justice Department has racked up 800 convictions and $102 million paid back to union members.

We urge you to save material  like this to use in your employee-education campaign when a union comes around trying to sign up your employees. 

We don't call it "GFT" anymore -- we use "teacher's union". They are on a relatively aggressive organizing drive...GHURA's Section 8 employees two weeks ago, this week it is what they call: "san-a-tation" companies. They're even leaflet-ing the cops! Police officers who bother to read the application (further down on this page) are likely to decide to pass.

Recent flyers refer to "forming a union with GFT" -- perhaps under a kind of umbrella union.  Their  representation of DODEA bus drivers who work for an off-island contractor may have been instructive. Those employees are unprotected by Guam's "right-to-work" law...last time we looked at their contract, it did not include a health plan -- employees receive the cash value of the health benefit required by the federal Service Contract Act, but the feds generally accept benefits plans if they are in a union contract.

The deal with the off-island contractor  may have given them an idea: organize a whole flock of bargaining units (PAG, GIAA, GPD, GFD, GPSS central office, GHURA's section 8 staff, DPW drivers and private sanitation drivers) -- get them all certified by DOA or the NLRB (as appropriate) and SELL the units to the SEIU, Teamsters, UFCW, HERE-Unite, etc. They may have hit on something. If they build some solid units out of these small groups, they may be worth a lot of money to the big unions that will come to Guam soon! And who says local organizations won't benefit from the military build-up?

The organizing at the Ordot dump involved DPW employees (on government time!) handing out flyers and membership applications to private sanitation employees entering the dump.

They also entered parking areas of  at least one sanitation outfit to put leaflets on employee-owned vehicles.

We have always wondered why the core membership (teachers) tolerate use of union time, energy and resources to organize non-teachers. Why do public school teachers, who make up the bulk of GFT's membership, continue to work under  a bloated, inept system that diverts money from classrooms to pay a herd of make-work administrators, flunkies, political hires and consultants? Why are teachers still working in sub-par facilities that lack adequate cooling/ventilation? Why do they have to cope with a chronic shortage of classroom supplies and equipment? And why are teachers' wage/benefits packages between 14 to 53% below school systems in the mainland U.S.?

In October, the 2500?-member teachers union was trying to organize GHURA employees. Employee job insecurity is the union's main pitch. Even supervisors were helping to sign up members for the GFT.

When you check the GFT Membership Application (and payroll-deduction for union dues form), you wonder if GovGuam employees read what they sign. Here is part of the form employees sign:

Lawyers say the language would be enforceable in court. New recruits agree to pay dues for a full year -- even before there is a contract? On Guam today, you can get cell-phone or cable TV without signing a contract that reads like this.  No one signs  a form like this to join a bowling league, a golf club, a credit union, a church or a business association. A super-harvest of guaranteed dues!

THE BACKSTORY ON THE UAW-GM, FORD, CHRYSLER ACCORD -- Business Week analyzes why Chrysler and the UAW settled after a 6-hour "Kabuki" staged mostly for union members...many locals voted to reject the deal, but it was finally ratified by Ford employees and there will be labor peace at the big three for the next three years.

GUAM PORT TO PRIVATIZE CARGO EQUIPMENT -- The Guam Legislature passed Bill 165 to allow the Port Authority to contract-out management  and operation of the port's cargo-handling equipment. Supporters of the change included port officials and the port users group say this will give the port access to greater resources for its cargo operations and allow the port to focus its efforts on other aspects of it operations -- including applying for more federal financial assistance.

They cited the success of similar contracts at the Guam Power Authority, which uses private managers at some power plants, and the Guam Waterworks Authority, which recently contracted-out management of wastewater operations. The Guam Federation of Teachers has been sniffing around GPA and GWA, but organizing employees has not met with success. The teachers union recently claimed to have organized government employees at the Port. The GFT called Bill 165 a "sellout".

In August, the Legislature enacted Bill 22, allowing the Port Authority to hire part-time employees, and the teacher’s union called on the Governor to veto the bill because it is "illegal and in-Organic". The union believes that replacing classified government employees with part-timers is just one part of a sinister scheme to bust the union and privatize the entire Port.

Unionizing Guam’s port is a decades-old issue -- first attempted by the Operating Engineers union back in the 1960s. Port workers are government employees...historically, when employees had problems with any Port manager, the employees always got relief with a visit to the Legislature.

The GFT said Bill 22 was a Legislative attack on "working families". Replacing full-time, classified government employees (dues-paying union members) with part-timers could result in elimination of the bargaining unit -- that is the real reason the union opposes part-timers at the Port. Forget increased efficiency and productivity -- without a bargaining unit at the Port, the teachers union stands to lose dues income and political muscle.

HOLD PLACED ON "NO-MATCH" PENALTIES -- U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has issued an order in San Francisco barring the Bush Administration from carrying out plans to send tough new "No-match" letters warning employers they face fines of up to $10,000 if they hire people whose Social Security numbers that actually belong to someone else.

The judge said the new work-site rules -- intended to untangle the immigration mess and serve as a counter-terror weapon -- would impose hardships on businesses, adding that the opponents had "demonstrated they will be irreparably harmed" if the rules are enforced. (They will have to fire illegals and terrorists with mis-matched names and SSNs).

Breyer's preliminary injunction will remain in effect until a pending lawsuit challenging the rules goes to trial sometime next year or until a higher court intervenes.

Opponents to the plan include the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a number of other business, labor and immigration-activist groups. They claimed the plan would place a burden on employers to cross-check names with Social Security numbers and would cause them to terminate people who appear to be "foreign born".

The backstory: each year the Social Security sends thousands of employers so-called "No-Match" letters, saying that the Social Security numbers that employers provided on W-2 Forms for certain employees do not match SSNs records. Typically, the number has many (sometimes hundreds of) names attached to the same SSN.

An employer is expected to reasonable, non-discriminatory steps to resolve the mis-match. Employers have been responsible making these checks since the I-9 Form became part of the hiring process back in 1987. A lack of I-9 enforcement is largely responsible for the illegal alien mess in the U.S. today.   

The Interior Department's Business Opportunities Conference ended with presentations on Tax, Trade and Business Incentives in the Territories; a Business Roundtable and luncheon speeches by Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, Samoa's Delegate Eni Faleomavaega, CNMI Delegate Pete Tenorio, Carl Petersen of the Guam Chamber of Commerce, Paul Ratteman of the Samoa Chamber and Juan Guerrero of the Saipan Chamber. Conference participants held separate B2B (business to business) meetings and the conference closed with a reception.

By far the best-attended event was the second progress report by the JGPO (joint Guam program office) and NavFac Command on the planned military build-up of Guam. General David Bice, Captain Paul Filigni and Carl Petersen summarized developments to date and responded to a lively Q&A session.

Hillary Clinton has been endorsed by the American Federation of  Teachers union.  Her latest pronouncement: "I have a million ideas that Americans can not afford."

With the 2008 presidential and Congressional elections on the horizon, the Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether voter-identification laws keep poor people and members of minority groups from going to the polls.

The justices will hear arguments from an Indiana case, in which a federal Appeals Court upheld a law requiring, with certain exceptions, that someone coming to vote must present some kind of  government-issued photo identification. Before the law was enacted in 2005, Indiana voters  only had to sign a registry book at the polling place...where a photocopy of the voter’s signature was kept on file. The high court will rule next June. 

The United Auto Workers union and General Motors agreed to a tentative contract to end a two-day strike -- the first against GM in 37 years. The union had a superior negotiating position: a $900 million strike fund. It also became clear to the UAW that the carmaker was going broke! 

The agreement creates a GM-financed, UAW-administered voluntary trust to administer retiree health care, a burden that made GM uncompetitive. That expense, combined with GM’s pension expenses and wages, brought the hourly rate for union members to about $80. Toyota’s labor costs in the United States are less than $50 an hour.

The so-called Big Three got into that fix over decades of weak management giving in to excessive union demands  on the theory that car buyers would pay higher and higher sticker prices for cars with lower quality, lower fuel economy and comfort/convenience features that were "available" instead of "standard". 

Retiree health was one of TWO strike issues...the other was job security, which came into sharp focus for the union when Toyota replaced GM as the world's biggest automaker earlier this summer. 

Between the two APs -- the Associated Press and the far-left American Prospect -- there was plenty of coverage of the promises politicians are making to unions in hopes of garnering their support, financial and otherwise:

Ex-Senator John Edwards said he wants "to be the president who is responsible for the greatest union growth in America"

Governor Bill Richardson  explicitly said that his goal is to raise union membership to 20% of the workforce -- and  “fire all the union-busting attorneys at the NLRB [National Labor Relations Board],” and joked about making SEIU president Andy Stern his Secretary of Labor.

Sen. Chris Dodd promised that he’ll “be a union guy inside the White House.”

Senators Clinton and Obama continued to express their support for the grossly mis-named “Employee Free Choice Act.”

HillaryCARE 2.0

We are monitoring Senator Hillary Clinton’s health insurance plan -- because she might be elected to the Presidency.

Clinton unveiled her $110 billion-a-year plan to insure the health of every American. Clinton vowed to cover all 47 million Americans who do not have health insurance. Aside from the numbers, her plan is simple.

Coverage would be MANDATORY for all Americans. (No details on coverage for people are in the U.S. unlawfully -- or immigrants from Micronesia). She plans to pay for it by eliminating $54 billion in tax cuts for families that earn more than $250,000 a year and with an additional $56 billion in savings generated by somehow “streamlining” the health care industry and its bureaucracies.

Clinton stressed that the changes would not affect anyone who was happy with their current health plan. People without insurance -- or those who are burdened by high premiums -- would be given two choices: a government-run plan or privately-administered health insurance. Coverage would be mandatory for all Americans.

The Clinton proposal would create serious problems for health insurance companies. Insurers would be compelled to reduce some of their rates and they would be forced to accept people who have been rejected due to pre-existing conditions and illnesses or because their genetic profile indicated a higher likelihood of serious health problems.

Insurance companies point out that health insurance that covers everyone regardless of the condition of their health could be made available, but the government would have to subsidize it with money from the taxpayer.

Clinton’s plan would force the enrollment of healthy young people, ages 18 to 30 (they don’t buy health insurance because they KNOW they will never be old or get sick). The Clinton plan's mandatory participation would use the premiums paid by healthy patients to offset higher costs incurred by older patients.

Clinton’s plan will include penalties for people who refuse or fail to participate -- for openers: loss of the standard personal deduction on income tax filings.

Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani’s campaign staff called the Clinton plan "socialized medicine". Giuliani’s PR staff said, "If you liked the movie 'Sicko,' you're going to love HillaryCare 2.0!” (2.0 is software-lingo for the latest version...it refers to Clinton's effort to enact a similar health plan offered by her husband in 1993-94). Guliani says this latest health scheme includes more government mandates, expensive federal subsidies, more bureaucracy, longer waiting times, a decrease in patient care and tax hikes to pay for it all.

In any case, we need to follow this issue -- Clinton’s election prospects are very strong and her plan could be reality as early as 2009!

Guam's firefighters, EMTs and 911 Operators who joined the Guam Federation of Teachers union are looking at a draft of their union contract. GFT officials plan to visit all the firehouses to get input from the members. They will also report on the status of the lawsuit the union filed for a group of firefighters.

The topics listed in our "On-line Library" can be a useful guide for negotiating a collective bargaining agreement (union contract).

Haste -- and the desire to be perceived as sharp, decisive boss are signs of an inexperienced negotiator and an easy opponent. The union has done their homework on you and they know how to lead you into costly blunders.

Remember, the union team does this for a living...but you won't do this kind of negotiating more than once every 3-5 years.  You should always bring in an outside negotiator. Your attorney should be given progress briefings, but generally, attorneys should not lead your negotiating team -- unless they specialize in this area of law and unless they know your business inside and out.

Example: experienced negotiators never agree to what a union calls a "standard" or " boiler-plate" clause. There is no such thing as a standard clause or a standard contract!

Use someone the union knows, trusts and respects to be your chief negotiator. This person must have your authority to make an agreement and they should have  "nothing else on their plate" for the duration of the contract talks. They should have plenty of time (days, weeks or more) to devote to this project.

During negotiations,  the only person who speaks for your  side is your chief negotiator. They may ask a  team member to speak -- to explain (not debate) -- about a technical or operational point.

The team should also include your CFO and at least one of their most experienced staff.  Other team members should include your top operations executive and one or more senior supervisor(s) as issues and circumstances may warrant.

The NLRB imposes no deadlines on negotiations. Management is obliged to bargain in good faith, but there is no legal penalty for taking a lot of time -- for keeping quiet and simply listening attentively to what the union's negotiator is saying (or not saying). Your  management team and your employees are going to have to live with the agreement for 3-5 years, so take plenty of time.

The union side is "obliged" to put on a show for their side --  at the start and even throughout the bargaining. Don't be offended and don't react, just listen patiently for the REAL agenda -- it is always a subtle part of the "act".

Negotiations never conclude until the entire document (with everything, EVERYTHING -- no matter how trivial) in writing. When your chief negotiator is ready, get a full review of the final  draft from your CPA and another from an attorney who specialized in this area of law...pricey? Yes, but this will be the most useful, instructive legal advice you will ever get.

Neither side is ever 100% happy with the final agreement, but once it is signed both are honor-bound to live with it. The side that breaks it usually loses.  

On September 8, the U. S. Labor Department reported that 4,000 jobs were lost between July and August. The deepest cuts were in housing (construction and manufacturing). It is the first employment decline since 2003, when the job market was emerging from the 2001 recession. This  jobs report is expected to persuade the Fed to cut the short-term interest rate on Tuesday, September 18th. A quarter-point reduction (to 5 percent) is expected, but a half-point cut cannot be ruled out after the latest jobs report.

Almost as soon as the Legislature enacted a bill allowing the Port Authority to hire part-time employees, the Guam Federation of Teachers claimed it had organized a majority of the classified government employees at the Port.

The union called on the Governor to veto Bill 22 because they say it is "illegal and in-Organic". The union also announced plans to seek “exclusive recognition” as bargaining agent for the Port's classified government employees.

Guam law governing public employee unions, allows the Director of the Department of Administration to recommend "exclusive recognition" status to the Governor if a union has collected signatures from only ten-percent of the employees in a proposed bargaining unit. GovGuam employees rarely get to actually vote on the union issue. We can remember the last vote.

Under rules of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), unions must obtain signatures from one-third of the employees to get the NLRB to conduct an election on the union question. If the union wins the vote, the NLRB “certifies” the union as bargaining agent.

The issue of “exclusive recognition” is negotiated with a private employer -- who usually agree to it because unions will leave money on the table to get exclusive recognition into a contract…it means the company agrees not to deal with rival unions. (The company did not want ONE union, why would it want TWO?)

The new port manager, Kenneth Togawa ran into immediate union opposition to hiring part-timers at the Port.  The union asserts that replacing classified government employees with part-timers is just one part of a sinister scheme to bust the union and privatize the Port.

Unionizing Guam’s port is a decades-old issue -- port workers are government employees...when they had problems with any Port manager, the employees always got relief from the Legislature.

GFT says Bill 22 is a Legislative attack on "working families". Replacing full-time, classified government employees (and dues-paying union members) with part-timers could result in elimination of the bargaining unit.

That is the real reason GFT opposes part-timers at the Port. Forget increased efficiency and productivity -- without a bargaining unit at the Port, the GFT stands to lose the dues income and political muscle.

The Navy's blunder in raising the rates for water sold to GWA comes at a time when civilian support for the military build-up of Guam is threatened by people with real or imagined reasons to oppose the actions of federal/military authorities. Insiders tell us that GWA and CCU knew for a couple of months that the cost of Fena water was going up, but the Navy's timing on this water issue was clumsy and annoying.

As Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo pointed out on 8/13:

This Guam build-up needs more ardent support from our elected officials. Supporters need to let Washington know that a handful of ill-informed, confused, anti-military/federal government malcontents do not represent the majority of Guam residents.

Communicate with Bordallo on-line at:

That link will take you to an easy-to-use form where you can leave your personal or company message.

The Democratic presidential debate sponsored by the AFL-CIO turned out to be a contest to see which candidates could best pander to their union hosts.

The Wall Street Journal noted that Sen. Hillary Clinton was the only candidate to specifically mention passing the grossly misnamed "Employee Free Choice Act." The bill was narrowly blocked on a procedural vote. It will be back after President bush leaves office. The mis-named "Free Choice" act would end secret ballot votes for workers deciding whether to join a union is so tainted that no one else wanted to bring it up.

             Expect a similar Bill to pop up in the Guam Legislature -- a one-vote shift

             in the political majority will mean more union-friendly laws -- and repeal of

             Guam's right-to-work law.

Trying to outdo his rivals for union endorsements, John (the haircut) Edwards said:

              "I intend to walk onto the White House lawn and explain to America how 
           unions are important to this country."

Sen. Joe Biden burnished his own credentials and "hinted that much of Edwards' union support has come in the last two years and been tied to his current presidential bid."

Why all the fuss? As the Chicago Tribune reported that there are big bucks to be had for candidates who get the support of top union bosses:

In terms of campaign support, unions  gave more than $200 million in 2004 to its candidates,  and that number will grow in the coming year. They want to put a pro-union Democrat in the white house in 19 months.

AFSCME alone expects to spend more than $50 million, out-spending the $48 million the AFL-CIO spent in 2004, and the Service Employees Union President Andy Stern intends to spend more than $60 million. 

ARE YOU "Firing Right"?

There is an exercise that should be regularly reviewed by all employees who may say, "You're fired!" Firing people is not only a serious, emotional event for the employee -- can be very costly to the employer when it is done incorrectly.

Even if you do it right, the Labor Department can cost you lots of time, paper and legal fees -- even if things  eventually turn out in your favor -- you may still face an annoying, expensive civil lawsuit.  

The TOP management officer of the organization should be the only person with authority to terminate employment for any reason.  Lower-level management staff should only be authorized to "suspend"  employment until the CEO has had an opportunity to review the record and make a decision.

Employers should consult an attorney (you won't need a labor law expert) every attorney can explain things like:

1. Breach of employment contract (it does not have to be in writing)
2. Employment discrimination (everyone is protected)
3. Breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing (prepare to meet some union people)
4. Unjust or abusive dismissal (damage to whose reputation?)
5. Slander, defamation, libel (where the BIG bucks are)
6. Violation of public policy (possible government action)    
7.  Negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress (payouts can
      be huge and how will it play to a jury, on TV news and the newspaper?)

Think of how will you explain your acts to a jury -- or the media!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HIKE IN MINIMUM WAGES -- The minimum wage increase has presented top management with a rare opportunity: you now have a compelling reason to weed-out the UNRELIABLES, the WHINERS, the UNDER-FORMERS, and the employees who have RETIRED ON THE JOB, using a systematic (and defendable) performance appraisal process.

All pay adjustments should be made on the basis of regular, thorough performance appraisals.

Your company’s Performance Appraisal system may have been allowed to deteriorate into a system where no one gets a fair, timely rating. If most employees get a “Satisfactory” rating (no one is great or lousy, just “Satisfactory“), then your leaders (supervisors and mid-level managers) have failed -- your company and the employees!

The entire organization needs to renew the commitment to the appraisal process and arrange to re-train the people who perform them. Otherwise, any adjustments -- particularly those driven by increases in the Minimum Wage -- will not have the desired effect. The Employers Council offers an cost-effective PA training program that we can deliver on-location.

Careful, detailed appraisals should guide decisions about which employees will get pay adjustments -- and which ones will not be on your payroll this time next month.

The minimum wage increases over the next three years will have a "ripple-effect" on the wages of employees who currently earn more than minimum wage. These employees have an expectation of a modest pay increase because the “new-hire” starts at an hourly rate it took others 2-3 years to achieve. Their expectation is not reasonable -- adjusting for the ripple is easier if you have reliable performance data.

It will not be necessary to adjust the pay rates of ALL employees, only those in the lower 20 to 30 percent of your pay plan for hourly-employees.

Before deciding that you can’t or won’t make ripple adjustments, you must evaluate how well your leadership can communicate (truthfully and factually) with ALL employees about costs, the competition, your growth plans and possible dislocations (typhoons or tax increases) ahead.

If your leaders don’t have the respect and trust of their employees, you should re-think your "no ripple" decision or you will face TWO unwanted problems: (1) a large turnover of your experienced employees as they leave to join your competitors who paid the ripple; (2) a union may try to capitalize on your perceived "unfairness".

MINIMUM WAGE -- On July 1, 2007 the Guam minimum wage rose from $5.15 per hour to $5.75. Today, (July 24), the federal minimum wage rises to $5.85. Employers must pay the highest minimum wage rate as changes become effective.  The federal minimum goes to $6.55 on July 24, 2008, then to $7.25 a year later 7/24/09.  These increases hit smaller employers hardest because they are less able to absorb higher labor costs. Employees who get "priced out" of the job market suffer most when politicians play economic games.

Legislation is pending in the U.S. House of Representatives that will extend federal immigration laws and give the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) a non-voting Delegate to Congress.

Title I of H.R. 3079, the Northern Mariana Islands Immigration, Security, and Labor Act (ISLA), is like Senate bill S. 1634, introduced by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI). The language of ISLA and S. 1634 was jointly drafted by the Departments of Homeland Security, Labor, Justice and Interior. These bills will not just extend Federal immigration laws to the CNMI, they will also create a Federally-controlled guest worker program, establish visa programs for visitors and investors, and give certain long-time CNMI guest workers "non-immigrant" resident status.

“The CNMI needs stability and the Marianas region needs security. This bill makes a leap in that direction,” said Delegate Donna Christensen (D-VI). “There is real opportunity to end past abuses and unpredictable immigration policies that did not result in a healthy and productive CNMI economy. The U.S. military’s reinvestment in the Marianas region should make everyone want to make these islands secure.”

The bills will also give the CNMI a non-voting Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives -- like Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), who is a co-sponsor of H.R. 3079, said, “For far too long, Congressional concerns over CNMI immigration policies and abuse of guest workers have lingered. It is time to correct this and work to build a healthy CNMI economy, which in turn will create greater opportunities for residents and non-residents alike.”

The Insular Affairs Subcommittee will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 3079 in the CNMI during the August recess. Imposing federal immigration and minimum wage laws on the CNMI have been an obsession of Rep. George Miller, an ultra-liberal from California’s East Bay area.

Political interests in the CNMI stridently oppose these measures, but with Democrats in control of Congress, it was only natural for them to try to exert more control over the CNMI -- and if business has a problem with the change, well -- Congress says: "that's tough!" 

Monty McDowell of Advance Management was elected President of The Employers Council on June 28, 2007. Mark Mamczarz of Black Construction was chosen to serve as Vice-president; Rod Rankin of AON Insurance was elected Secretary and Larry Butterfield of Citizens Security Bank is the new Treasurer. The new officers will hold office for 2007-08.

The Guam Legislature was called into special session on 7/16 to deal with Governor Felix Camacho's request to use $21 million received from the federal government. The money came from "Section 30" taxes -- collected from military personnel and federal employees located in Guam. The $21 million covers underpayments to Guam between 1985 and 2006.

Last March, Guam's Revenue and Taxation Director Art Ilagan and the U.S. tax officials worked out a re-calculation of Section 30 taxes due to Guam. With the $21 million windfall announced last week, Gov. Camacho cancelled his decision to reduce the pay of public employees and furlough others.

One question that is expected to be raised during the special session of the Legislature: If the Governor knew about the $21 payment from Washington back in March, why was it necessary to announce pay-cuts and furloughs in May and June?

FOR YOUR FILES:

(ALL SENATORS)

29th Guam Legislature
I Mina' Bente Nuebi Na Liheslaturan Guahan
155 Hessler Place
Hagatna, Guam 96910

Governor Felix P. Camacho
P.O. Box 2950
Agana, GU 96910

Remember the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act of 20+ years ago? If compliance and enforcement of IRCA throughout the U.S. had been as good as good as it was in Guam, there would not be 12 (or 20?) illegal aliens in America. U. S. Immigration reform efforts have been pronounced dead for this Congress -- and probably until 2009. Unlikely allies (President Bush and Ted Kennedy) were handed a bitter defeat in the Senate on Thursday. Our suggestion: stepped-up, relentless enforcement of IRCA -- perhaps increasing to $10,000 the penalty for not having I-9 forms for every new hire. Only real problem in Guam: ICE (was INS) performs mostly "inspection" (not investigation) functions here.

The Employee Free Choice Act (ECFA) passed the House but was narrowly rejected by the  Senate. EFCA is not going to go away. Unions will wait for a new President. A similar measure is in the desk drawers of  minority members of the Guam Legislature. Under ECFA, if a majority of your employees sign a union card, it will unionize your workforce...President Bush's poll numbers are low, but the Democrat-controlled Congress gets equally low ratings from the voters. Business finds itself in an increasingly anti-employer atmosphere on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives passed EFCA, H.R. 800, as a payback for union money. It failed on a 51-48 vote in the Senate on June 25. President Bush had promised a veto of EFCA.

EFCA would have overturned more than 70 years of well-established labor law. It would eliminate employee rights to secret-ballot elections when certifying union representation. It would have also cleared the way for the federal government to set binding contract terms on companies and their employees -- with no rights to an appeal - if they could not reach an agreement on a first contract within 120 days.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 gave employees the right to join or form a labor union and to bargain collectively over wages, hours, and working conditions. The NLRA requires that a union must demonstrate that it has the support of a majority of employees before it may be the representative of those employees. The law provides detailed procedures that ensure a fair election, free of fraud, where employees may vote confidentially without peer pressure or coercion from unions or employers.

Under current law, any union organization that seeks to represent a group of employees must first demonstrate employee interest in the union. They do so by collecting signed authorization cards from at least 30 percent of the employees.

Using those cards, the union then petitions the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election to determine whether the majority of employees want that union to represent them. The election must take place within 60 days and gives equal time for both the employer and union organizers to make presentations. It even affords the union representatives access to employees away from their workplace. Employers are not allowed the same access away from the workplace.

Elections are supervised by the independent National Labor Relations Board, using secret ballots. An NLRB agent oversees the entire voting process to ensure that neither the employer nor the union can know how employees vote. NLRB elections are held within 60 days of the filing of the petition, and unions prevail in only 55 percent of elections.

Unions spend a lot of time and money trying to organize employees, but since they lose almost half of the elections, they want to change the rules. They need signed cards from 30 percent of the employees to petition the NLRB conduct an election -- but they need 50%+1 vote to win.

Union stooges in Congress are happy to change the rules and liberal Democrats pay off their campaign-finance debts to unions with anti-business, anti-employee rights legislation like EFCA.    

Under a “card check” system called for under EFCA, employees are asked to sign cards that indicate support of a union in the presence of union organizers, their fellow employees and sometimes the employer. The process is an invitation to coercion, intimidation and even threats of violence in the workplace.

This proposed legislation will also impose contract terms on private employers through compulsory, binding arbitration, with government agents setting binding wages and work rules between the parties for two years. This law will be an unconstitutional infringement on the “freedom of contract” rights of private employers and "freedom of association" rights of employees!

Who reports directly to the CEO of your organization?
Jack Welch, former head of GE writes about the dysfunctional dynamic where departments like HR and IT get buried and neglected under lesser layers of the bureaucracy like the VP of marketing or the CFO. Welch says with its critical role in hiring and developing people, HR is so central to success that it’s practically criminal if the department doesn’t report directly to the CEO. When it doesn’t, the rest of the organization can only assume the CEO doesn’t get “the people thing“, someone else is actually running the place, or both. There are consequences…front-line managers, who usually have among the most relevant ideas and information, do not get heard high enough up in a timely way. Their insights get filtered before making it to the CEO.

Newsletter material for the first seven months of 2007 is being ARCHIVED -- mostly to make the file easier for us to manipulate and for faster downloads.  We are developing an index of the Archive...

No one gets of out this world alive, so maintain a sense of values...

1.  Take care of your health -- it is your major source of true wealth. Without good health, real happiness is almost impossible.

2.  Be cheerful and helpful -- people will repay you in kind. Avoid angry people...they are usually vengeful. Avoid zealots...they are no fun at all.

3.  Don’t give advice. Smart people don’t need it and fools won’t follow it. Listen more and talk less -- no one ever learned anything while they were talking.

4.  Be tender with the Young, compassionate with the Old and the Weak. Be sympathetic to the Striving and tolerant of the Wrong...because sometime in your life, you will be all of these.

5.  Don’t equate money with success. What counts most about success is how you achieve it.