Representative Bernard Supports Measure to Cut Banks' Ties To Terrorists

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Representative Mack Bernard (D-West Palm Beach) announced this week that he has joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in sponsoring legislation to cut financial ties between Florida state-chartered banks and Iranian-financed terrorists.

House Bill 613 and Senate Bill 792, “The Financial Institutions Act,” would impose new rules on state chartered financial institutions to certify that their corresponding banks are not engaged in federally-prohibited activities with Iranian-linked counterparts. The financial restrictions would also apply to any other terrorist organization designated by the United States. Compliance and reporting violations could reap up to a $100,000 civil penalty.

One of the primary intentions of House Bill 613 is to weaken Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities, as well as to inhibit the country’s ability to arm insurgents targeting U.S. combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The proposed Financial Institutions Act is needed to help guarantee America's security and to combat terrorism," said Representative Bernard, the lead sponsor of HB 613. "I'm proud to be among the Democratic and Republican lawmakers in support of this important bill."

"Unequal Protection": The People's Masters

Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of the smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society.

This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights. — Albert Einstein, Monthly Review, May 1949[1]

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Florida AFL-CIO · Working Families Lobby Corps

Legislative Alert!

135 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32301 · 850-224-6926 · FAX 850-224-2266

· www.flaflcio.org·Florida AFL-CIO’s You-Tube Page·Florida AFL-CIO’s Facebook Page· Florida AFL-CIO’s Twitter Feed or on your mobile phone here

Lines have been drawn

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

Two Union Busting Bills

—SB 830 and SB 1352—

Are both up this week in Senate Committees!

This Wednesday at 1:30pm, the Senate Budget Committee will vote on Senate Bill 830. 

This legislation would deny access to dues deductions from public employees’ paychecks if they choose to be a member of a union. In addition, SB 830 takes away workers’ rights to participate collectively in political activities by outlawing deductions for political funds.  If SB 830 becomes law, it will restrict the political rights of thousands of Florida’s families.

The proposed legislation does nothing to create jobs or solve budgetary problems. Instead, SB 830 directly targets public sector unions. This bill would not apply to the other 364 organizations that the State of Florida offers payroll deductions, which includes giant insurance and investment organizations.

SB 830’s counterpart in the House (HB 1021) has already been passed, and the Senate Budget Committee meeting is one of the final steps of this legislation before it heads to the Senate Floor for a final vote!!!

Call the Senators in the Budget Committee listed below TODAY, tomorrow and Wednesday morning. Tell them to "stop the attacks on working families. It is my choice to join my union and I do not want politicians in Tallahassee taking away my rights."

Budget Committee Members Contact Information

Alexander, JD (Chair) (R) 17 (850) 487-5044

Negron, Joe (Vice Chair) (R) 28 (850) 487-5088

Lynn, Evelyn J. (R) 7 (850) 487-5033

Altman, Thad (R) 24 (850) 487-5053

Benacquisto, Lizbeth (R) 27 (850) 487-5356

Bogdanoff, Ellyn Setnor (R) 25 (850) 487-5100

Richter, Garrett (R) 37 (850) 487-5124

Fasano, Mike (R) 11 (850) 487-5062

Simmons, David (R) 22 (850) 487-5050

Flores, Anitere (R) 38 (850) 487-5130

Gaetz (D), Don (R) 4 (850) 487-5009

Hays, Alan (R) 20 (850) 487-5014

Thrasher, John (R) 8 (850) 487-5030

Wise, Stephen R. (R) 5 (850) 487-5027

The Building Trades are Under Siege by the Florida Legislature

The working men and women of the Building Trades of Florida are engaged in their struggle of their lives in fighting against SB 1352, which would radically change how construction projects in Florida are regulated and built.

SB 1352 sponsored by Senator Hays (R Umatilla) would prohibit the state of Florida or any local government from:

• · Entering into any contract on the conditions of employment (Project Labor Agreements)
• · Respecting local hiring preferences
• · Offering prevailing wages
• · Participating in apprenticeship programs
• · Designating work assignments
• · Recruiting employees from a single source
• · Controlling and limiting staffing on worksites

Limiting union access to local government activities is another form of union busting in which the Legislature is practicing.  SB 1352 is the anti-union construction industry’s dream.

This bill makes it illegal for local governments to require contractors to provide their employees a living wage, health care or other employee benefits such as sick leave.  It also bans requirements for local hiring or participation in registered apprenticeship.

This union busting legislation has already passed the Senate Community Affairs Committee this week with a 7-2 vote and is now being heard in the Senate’s Governmental Oversight and Accountability committee.

Call the members of the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee TODAY, tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday morning. Tell them to VOTE NO on SB 1352. Tell them “This is nothing more than a Big Government takeover of local government decision making.”

Governmental Oversight and Accountability

Garcia (R), Rene (R) 40 (850) 487-5106

Latvala, Jack (R) 16 (850) 487-5075

Benacquisto, Lizbeth (R) 27 (850) 487-5356

Bogdanoff, Ellyn Setnor (R) 25 (850) 487-5100

Dean, Charles S. ''Charlie'' (R) 3 (850) 487-5017

Norman, Jim (R) 12 (850) 487-5068

Fasano, Mike (R) 11 (850) 487-5062

Wise, Stephen R. (R) 5 (850) 487-5027

Flores, Anitere (R) 38 (850) 487-5130

Chernobyl Legacy – Photo Essay About the Nuclear Accident . Caution  Very Graphic

Glenn Beck had his turn, and now it’s ours. On October 2nd, thousands of progressives will march in the One Nation rally in Washington, D.C., in support of America’s middle class. Corporate America has put a chokehold on the nation, and we’re losing our middle class as a result. Mike Papantonio joins Ed Schultz in discussing the importance of this rally on MSNBC’s The Ed Show.

Guess what? When you buy a foreclosed property from Wells Fargo, you may not have a clear title to the property. Go read the whole sorry mess, as spelled out by Yves from Naked Capitalism:

Now specifically, the potential problem with the deal is the bank in many states will at best be giving the buyer a “quitclaim” deed (the addendum finesses this in paragraph 18, that the buyer only gets a “special/limited warranty deed. As the lawyer who took a dim view of this addendum put it, “This is like the ‘Special Olympics,’ not like ‘You are my special someone’.” That means the bank is merely transferring whatever it interest it has.)

But per the AFX article above, the bank may own nothing .It may have foreclosed without having a clear enforceable right to the property (this is the basis of the burgeoning number of cases where borrowers are successfully challenging the bank/servicer’s right to foreclose, because it cannot prove it actually owns the note, which is the IOU between the borrower and the lender; if you don’t own the note, in 45 states, you have no right to enforce the lien on the property). More...