Rochester Post Bulletin: Labor board finds hotel firings were illegal
Back in February, Representative Tim Walz rallied with members of Local 21 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union to protest the firing of the "Rochester 19." The workers at the Holiday Inn Express in Rochester had been fired by hotel's new owner simply for being union members.
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that the firings were indeed illegal, according the Rochester Post Bulletin:
"The evidence is sufficient to establish that (CMPJ Enterprises LLC) violated the (National Labor Relations) Act by refusing to hire former Sunstone unit employees, as the employer was motivated to avoid having a union and a bargaining obligation with the union," NLRB investigator Sue Shaughnessy wrote in a letter.
The workers found themselves out of a job after Texas-based CMPJ Enterprises bought the Holiday Inn Express from its longtime owner, Sunstone Hotel Properties. Their dismissal prompted charges from Local 21, the union that represented the workers, that CMPJ singled out the union workers for dismissal while retaining nonunion workers.
The union workers, some of whom had worked at the Holiday Inn Express for a decade or more, were fired only days before Christmas and without any prior notification.
"I'm not surprised" about the decision, said Abdifatah Abdinur, a staff organizer for Union 21. "No one should be laid off just because they were making decent wages and just because they were union."
In an article reprinted from The Hill, The American Enterprise Institute's John Fortier takes note of union membership in MN-01 as a factor in last fall's elections:
Labor strength in the 110th also derives from its identification and support of Democrats like Tim Walz (Minn.) and Jason Altmire (Pa.), who were considered long-shots in the midterm, but whose districts had high percentages of union members.
Winona Daily News:Bill would opt out of federal no child left behind law
In Bill would opt out of federal no child left behind law, Winona area legsilators say they're taking a symbolic stand against federal mandates that they believe have caused educators to teach to the test rather than educate children:
Just as they promised, Minnesota legislators are working to drop the No Child Left Behind Act and its limits on Minnesota education.
Winona Democrats Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes and Rep. Gene Pelowski this week joined dozens of other state lawmakers who want to opt out of the federal mandate that aims to make all students proficient in reading and math by 2014.
While some believe the act has helped students make academic progress, others say the law narrows class options and encourages teachers to tailor their lessons to the test.
According to the article, Winona middle schoolers took 18 tests in one month.
In the capital, the Washington Post reports that 'No Child' Target Is Called Out of Reach; Goal of 100% Proficiency Debated as Congress Weighs Renewal:
No Child Left Behind, the landmark federal education law, sets a lofty standard: that all students tested in reading and math will reach grade level by 2014. Even when the law was enacted five years ago, almost no one believed that standard was realistic.
But now, as Congress begins to debate renewing the law, lawmakers and education officials are confronting the reality of the approaching deadline and the difficult political choice between sticking with the vision of universal proficiency or backing away from it.
"There is a zero percent chance that we will ever reach a 100 percent target," said Robert L. Linn, co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing at UCLA. "But because the title of the law is so rhetorically brilliant, politicians are afraid to change this completely unrealistic standard. They don't want to be accused of leaving some children behind."
The debate over the perfection standard encapsulates the key arguments for and against No Child Left Behind.
Critics, including some teachers unions and many testing experts, view the law as a forced march toward an impossible education nirvana. They are lobbying Congress to reduce the 100 percent target and delay the 2014 deadline. They are also pushing for the elimination of sanctions -- which can cost millions of dollars and result in school takeovers -- that school systems face for failing to make yearly progress toward the goal.
But critics face an uphill challenge because of the rhetorical power of the argument for a universal proficiency target and a deadline. Anything less, advocates say, will hurt children, especially society's most vulnerable: poor and minority students.
In the battle between rhetoric and children's real needs, we'll side with the kids any day.
Netroots: Dem and Demmer
MnPublius reflects on the entry of Demmer in CD 1 GOP endorsement derby, while Minnesota Monitor looks at Demmer's ratings by special interest groups. In the comments section at MnPublius, a reader notes Demmer's refusal to get involved in the "Rochester 19" battle mentioned above. It looks like common ground between Walz and Demmer is support for gun rights.
The reader's remarks at MnPublius made us reflect a bit on the first 2 1/2 months of Representative Walz's term in office. The level of energy in both Washington and the District is remarkable: Walz's demand for transparency in the DM & E loan; public leadership in the debate over the Iraq resolution; passage of the first 100 hours package; standing up for medical care for active duty military and veterans; obtaining three committee assignments; speaking to human rights abuses in Darfur; pioneering constituent service with a mobile office; conducting listening sessions on the Farm Bill; leading discussions on hospice care funding and global warming; meeting average citizens in grocery stores and local leaders.
Those who approve of Representative Walz's work so far should consider rewarding him. The first quarter of the FEC reporting period ends on March 31. ActBlue provides two good places to send money to Walz's campaign fund: the Blue Majority page and the ActBlue Frontline page.
New Ulm Journal: Ice Jams
We're heading out to do some more birding and scouting for ice jams on the rivers.
It should be noted that the fight to get the workers jobs back at the Holiday Inn Express in Rochester continues. This ruling really only vindicates what the campaign has been saying all along. The new owner's actions violated community standards of behavior and the community demands that they be returned to work and made whole, including being represented by Local 21. That hasn't happened yet.
Posted by: John L Lewis | March 15, 2007 at 09:27 AM