Sen. Casey offers prescription for change
LEWISBURG -- U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. spoke at Evangelical Community Hospital recently about his health initiatives, focusing mainly on his efforts to improve Pennsylvania's direct care workforce.Sen. Casey, a Democrat, spoke to an audience of nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care aides and others who have spent numerous years in the field of direct care. His concern, he said, is with the baby boomer generation aging at a time when staffing in nursing and personal care homes is on the decline. As a result, there may not be adequate health care for the next generation of elderly residents.Direct care workers are poorly paid and underappreciated, he added, and the issues that surround direct care will affect all of the population eventually.Sen. Casey listened to the issues, concerns and desperate situations that were raised by direct care workers, many who have worked in their profession for more than 30 years.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Casey backs bill making it easier for employees to form unions
The U. S. Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a bill that supporters say would make it easier for employees to form unions and detractors say is undemocratic. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is all for it.Casey, who spoke passionately about the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday, believes adopting it will eventually help compensate workers whose productivity has been rising for years without a corresponding hike in their wages.“Unions are a cure for rising inequality because they raise wages for more low-and-middle income wage earners, more so than for higher wage workers,” the Democrat said during his floor speech, according to a transcript.U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter remains uncommitted on how he’ll vote on the bill, but the Republican plans to explain his position Monday evening on the Senate floor, a spokeswoman said. The Senate will take up a House bill passed March 1. U.S. Reps. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, and Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, voted for it. … … Under the bill, workers could simply sign a card designating a union to negotiate a contract on their behalf. If a majority of employees in a workplace sign, the union would instantly be formed. If an employer and union can’t reach an accord on a contract within 90 days, either may request a federal mediator. If, after 30 days, mediation doesn’t work, an arbitrator would settle disputes.Workers can sign such authorizations now, but a formal, secret election, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, is required and a majority of employees must vote to form a union before it is recognized as their contract bargaining representative. During the election process, unions and employers can lobby workers on their positions. … … Critics, including many Republican congressmen, say the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 would eliminate elections, allow union leaders to intimidate workers into joining unions, and force small businesses to accept contracts they can’t afford. … … In an interview Friday, Casey said it’s employers who have been guilty of intimidating workers from joining unions.“If anything this is an attempt to level the playing field,” he said.
The U. S. Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a bill that supporters say would make it easier for employees to form unions and detractors say is undemocratic. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is all for it.Casey, who spoke passionately about the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday, believes adopting it will eventually help compensate workers whose productivity has been rising for years without a corresponding hike in their wages.“Unions are a cure for rising inequality because they raise wages for more low-and-middle income wage earners, more so than for higher wage workers,” the Democrat said during his floor speech, according to a transcript.U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter remains uncommitted on how he’ll vote on the bill, but the Republican plans to explain his position Monday evening on the Senate floor, a spokeswoman said. The Senate will take up a House bill passed March 1. U.S. Reps. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, and Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, voted for it. … … Under the bill, workers could simply sign a card designating a union to negotiate a contract on their behalf. If a majority of employees in a workplace sign, the union would instantly be formed. If an employer and union can’t reach an accord on a contract within 90 days, either may request a federal mediator. If, after 30 days, mediation doesn’t work, an arbitrator would settle disputes.Workers can sign such authorizations now, but a formal, secret election, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, is required and a majority of employees must vote to form a union before it is recognized as their contract bargaining representative. During the election process, unions and employers can lobby workers on their positions. … … Critics, including many Republican congressmen, say the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 would eliminate elections, allow union leaders to intimidate workers into joining unions, and force small businesses to accept contracts they can’t afford. … … In an interview Friday, Casey said it’s employers who have been guilty of intimidating workers from joining unions.“If anything this is an attempt to level the playing field,” he said.
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