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Claycomo Workers Favor Contract, Harley Davidson Workers Face Lay-Offs

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Workers at the Ford Claycomo factory have approved a new contract with the company. About 70% of the workers have voted in favor of the contract. The contract guarantees the plant will continue to make the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribune compact SUVs and Ford F-150 pickup trucks.  The plant also will get a new body shop. The nationwide vote on the new deal ends tomorrow.

Meanwhile, workers at the Harley Davidson motorcycle plant in Kansas City are facing their first layoffs in the decade the plant has been operating.  The company plans the temporary layoffs in about two weeks because of slow sales. The company says it expects a 20-year run of higher annual sales and higher annual profits to end this year.

State Representative Questions Need for Second Injury Fund

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A state representative questions the results of a state audit that claims the Second Injury Fund will go bankrupt next year and suggests the fund is no longer needed.

Rep. Steve Hunter (R-Joplin) chairs the House Workforce Development Committee. Hunter says State Auditor Susan Montee failed to consider the sharp increase in awards from the fund and focused only on business contributions to it. Hunter also notes Montee’s husband represents workers seeking payments from the fund. He claims that should be considered a conflict-of-interest and she should have stepped aside and allowed an independent firm to audit the fund.

Hunter says an investigation is needed to discover why payments from the fund have risen from $24 million in 2000 to $64 million last year. Hunter has asked House Speaker Rod Jetton (R-Marble Hill) to authorize an investigation. The Speaker has subpoena powers.

The Second Injury Fund provides benefits for workers who suffer a workplace injury who had entered the workforce with a previous injury or disability. Hunter says the fund is no longer needed, because the Americans with Disabilities Act protects disabled workers. He says other claims that could be filed with the Second Injury Fund can be funneled through the regular Workers Compensation system.

Montee, a Democrat, has heard the criticism from Republicans. She says that’s fine if they want to criticize her, but the pending shortfall in the Second Injury Fund must be addressed. Montee predicts a shortfall by as much as $57 million dollars next year. She says Republican lawmakers were warned by House staff workers about the problem when they addressed the Second Injury Fund in 2005. Montee rejects claims she has a conflict-of-interest. She says she has nothing to do with her husband’s law practice.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Nurses Claim Their Strike Is Hurting Services

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Union nurses striking one of St. Louis’ biggest hospitals say their absence is hurting hospital services. St. John’s Mercy Medical Center says enough registered nurses are crossing the picket lines, or have been hired as substitutes, that staffing levels are normal and care is not affecated. A spokesman for the striking nurses says the units handling births are particularly short. The hospital says those units are performing service as usual.

Senators Plan to Close Pension Loophole

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A couple of Republican Senators have announced plans to close a pension loophole that came to light after a colleague was appointed to a lucrative position in state government. Governor Holden appointed Senator Ken Jacob of Columbia chairman of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission after Jacob lost the Lt. Governor’s race in the Democratic primary. Senator Matt Bartle of Lee’s Summit says the appointment will boost Jacob’s state pension to $47,000 a year whether he serves one day or ten years. The position pays $94,000 annually. Bartle is a Republican. Jacob was the top Democrat in the State Senate, who often had high-profile clashes with Republicans in the chamber. Still, Bartle says this isn’t a slap at Jacob, noting that Jacob does have experience in the area. Bartle says his intent is simply to end the practice of allowing such appointments to qualify immediately for lucrative pensions.

Missouri Teacher Pay Ranks Low Among States

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A naitonal survey saying Missouri teachers are paid well under the national average might be an issue without a solution. The American Federation of Teachers ranks Missouri 43rd in average teacher salary among the 50 states. Missouri’s average teacher salary is $37,641, $9,000 less than the national average. The average salary in Missouri has gone up about $800 a year for the last five years, but the state still lags behind, because other states also have moved to raise teacher salaries. State education officials say that makes it hard for the state to move up the rankings. Missouri’s figures do not include additional pay given teachers who are sponsors of extracurricular activities. The state education department says that would add about $1,600 to the average salary. And those officials also say other states might be counting extra pay in their figures. Missouri has a law setting a minimum teacher salary of $18,000 a year. The minimum for teachers who have master’s degrees and have 10 years of experience is $24,000.

Unemployment Compensation Fix Ready

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State lawmakers take their time, but in the waning hours of the legislative session they swallow hard and approve a compromise to shore up the unemployment compensation fund. Red ink was the selling point on this bill. An unemployment compensation fund $300-Million in the red, projected to grow to $500-Million next year if the legislature did nothing. Representative Todd Smith of Sedalia proposed the medicine; big payments now from businesses to make the fund solvent for the future. Smith told colleagues the legislature had put off taking action for too long. The Director of the Division of Employment Security, Gracia Backer, says both sides worked too hard to let the bill die. The state had been borrowing from the federal government to prop up the fund. Reforms should not only keep the fund solvent, but provide enough money to increase the maximum weekly benefit for laid off workers.

Boeing Makes Final Offer to Union

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Boeing says it has made its final offer to its largest union in St.Louis. The company says its proposal meets several of the union’s demands. It proposes a 61% increase in workers’ costs for some health insurance plans. The Machinists Union represents 28,000 Boeing workers in St. Louis. A union spokesman says the company has come a long way from its original proposal. Members will vote on the agreement Sunday.

Union Files Complaint Against Grocery Chains

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The union representing 10,000 workers for three St. Louis grocery store chains has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Union workers are threatening to strike next week against Schnucks Markets, Dierbergs Markets and Shop ‘n’ Save Warehouse Foods. The companies have threatened to hire temporary workers if there is a strike. The union says it’s unfair for the companies to be offering replacement workers $12.50 an hour when a union worker has to be employed for five years to get that much. Representatives of the grocery chains say the difference is that temporary workers will not have health insurance and pension benefits and union workers do.

Hazelwood to Stay Open with Fewer Workers

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The Hazelwood Ford Plant will stay open, but half of the people working there today won’t be working there next year. Ford says it’s going to eliminate one of the two shifts at the plant. Ford says demand is down for the SUVs it builds at Hazelwood. Ford does say it will invest $100 million to upgrade the plant. The decision comes after Governor Holden unveiled a $9 million incentive package to keep the Hazelwood factory opened at least through 2007. Ford had planned to close it. Successful negotiations between the United Auto Workers and Ford led to the breakthrough to keep Hazelwood open. Holden said the state’s incentive package, $5 million in job training assistance and $4 million of other tax credits, was negotiated over a two day period in St. Louis after the labor talks were concluded. The city of Hazelwood and St. Louis County will also provide tax abatements to help finance upgrades at the plant. Approximately 2,600 people are currently employed at the Hazelwood factory. Holden made the announcement during a news conference in Hazelwood. He was joined by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder and House Speaker Catherine Hanaway. Holden also announced that he would soon appoint a Missouri Automotive Partnership with the goal of retaining the five assembly plants, dozens of auto suppliers and thousands of autoworkers in Missouri.

Second Lawsuit Filed Against Secretary of State on November Elections

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A second lawsuit has been filed against Secretary of State Matt Blunt by a group trying to get an issue on the November ballot. Blunt has ruled that a petition drive to get a vote on collective bargaining powers for fire and ambulance personnel did not get enough valid signatures. The State Council of Firefighters says in its lawsuit that Blunt’s office provided it with outdated voter registration lists, on which the petition campaign was based. A group backing a tobacco tax package has made the same claim in an earlier lawsuit.