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Omaha Steve

Omaha Steve's Journal
Omaha Steve's Journal
April 26, 2014

My oldest daughter was in great pain


I was seperated from my first born right after her birth by a closed adoption. Several years ago birthmother, birthfather, and daughter were reunited a week before Christmas. It has been a wonderful experience for all the family members involved.

Last year my family tree grew with another grandchild. Each of my children have one of their own now. You may remember my post about Charlee Rayn: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023190997

That trip to Bobbi's adoption home closed a broken circle. One of the many memories was watching her older dog Skipper. His back legs were stiff, so he didn't really walk. His back legs kind of bounced. But the smile on his face as I watched him in the back yard told so much to this old animal lover.

Then came last month.



March 17, 2014: My heart is breaking today as I prepare to say goodbye to this beautiful little soul. The past 16 1/2 years I have spent with him have changed my life in so many ways. He was my first dog as an adult. The only dog that has truly been MINE. He has helped me through some of my darkest times. His unconditional love has changed me. We love you Skipper and you'll never be forgotten.

April 23, 2014: Meet the newest member of our family...Bear. He's a young schipperke who's beloved human recently passed. As you know we recently had to say goodbye to our Skip. Match made in heaven?? We think so!!! He'll be moving in on Friday



17 hours ago: Bear is headed home



I see see that same loving smile on Bear's face as he goes to his new forever home. Bobbi is continuing a tradition of a loving adoption.

OS

April 21, 2014

NLRB: Yuba Skilled Nursing Center pays workers $1,000,000 in backpay


http://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/yuba-skilled-nursing-center-pays-workers-1000000-backpay

Office of Public Affairs
202-273-1991
publicinfo@nlrb.gov
www.nlrb.gov

April 17, 2014

The San Francisco Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today announced the receipt of $1,000,000 from the owners of the Yuba Skilled Nursing Center in Yuba City, California to compensate current and former employees for the loss of pay and benefits that occurred when the owners unlawfully refused to hire them in 2011.

The Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers West (the Union) represented employees at the nursing center before it was purchased by Nasaky, Inc. (the Employer) in 2011. Under the National Labor Relations Act, new owners, who hire a majority of employees previously employed by the former owner, are obligated to recognize and bargain with the existing union as a successor employer. The Union alleged in charges filed with the NLRB that the new owners failed to hire the longtime employees in order to avoid that obligation.

The Region issued complaint and a hearing was held before Administrative Law Judge Gerald M. Etchingham, who found that the Employer unlawfully refused to hire employees in order to avoid its obligation to recognize and bargain with the Union. In September 2012, the Board ordered a comprehensive remedy for the unlawful conduct, requiring the nursing center to: offer jobs to employees of the former owner, restore the terms and conditions of employment that existed before the successor employer assumed control of the business, recognize and bargain with the Union, and pay backpay. Thereafter, the successor employer made offers of employment to these employees, many of whom are currently working at the nursing center, and recognized the Union as the employees’ bargaining representative. However, there remained a dispute over the backpay amount.

The $1,000,000 settlement concludes an extensive investigation into the Employer’s finances by NLRB Region 20 agents, with assistance from its Division of Legal Counsel in Washington, D.C., including the issuance of dozens of investigative subpoenas, depositions of the Employer’s accountant and operating officers, and proceedings in a U.S. District Court.

April 20, 2014

Did you forget that today is an anniversary for 18 men, women and children?


I almost forgot. My thanks to Manifestor_of_Light for a reminder.



Ludlow Massacre Monument Junction of Del Aqua and Colorado and Southern Railroad tracks, Ludlow, CO. This monument marks the site where striking miners and their families were killed in their tent colony on April 20, 1914.

http://www.umwa.org/?q=content/ludlow-massacre



The date April 20, 1914 will forever be a day of infamy for American workers. On that day, 18 innocent men, women and children were killed in the Ludlow Massacre. The coal miners in Colorado and other western states had been trying to join the UMWA for many years. They were bitterly opposed by the coal operators, led by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company.

Upon striking, the miners and their families had been evicted from their company-owned houses and had set up a tent colony on public property. The massacre occurred in a carefully planned attack on the tent colony by Colorado militiamen, coal company guards, and thugs hired as private detectives and strike breakers. They shot and burned to death 20 people, including a dozen women and small children. Later investigations revealed that kerosene had intentionally been poured on the tents to set them ablaze. The miners had dug foxholes in the tents so the women and children could avoid the bullets that randomly were shot through the tent colony by company thugs. The women and children were found huddled together at the bottoms of their tents.

The Baldwin Felts Detective Agency had been brought in to suppress the Colorado miners. They brought with them an armored car mounted with a machine gun—the Death Special— that roamed the area spraying bullets. The day of the massacre, the miners were celebrating Greek Easter. At 10:00 AM the militia ringed the camp and began firing into the tents upon a signal from the commander, Lt. Karl E. Lindenfelter. Not one of the perpetrators of the slaughter were ever punished, but scores of miners and their leaders were arrested and black-balled from the coal industry.

A monument erected by the UMWA stands today in Ludlow, Colorado in remembrance of the brave and innocent souls who died for freedom and human dignity.

In December, 2008, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated the Ludlow site as a National Historic Landmark. "This is the culmination of years of work by UMWA members, retirees and staff, as well as many hundreds of ordinary citizens who have fought to preserve the memory of this brutal attack on workers and their families," UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said.

"The tragic lessons from Ludlow still echo throughout our nation, and they must never be forgotten by Americans who truly care about workplace fairness and equality," Roberts said. "With this designation, the story of what happened at Ludlow will remain part of our nation's history. That is as it should be."

The dedication ceremony was held at Ludlow on June 28, 2009.



April 20, 2014

Fracking foes cringe as unions back drilling boom

I in no way support fracking.

OS

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140420/DAD9VIT80.html

Apr 20, 12:44 PM (ET)

By KEVIN BEGOS

PITTSBURGH (AP) - After early complaints that out-of-state firms got the most jobs, some local construction trade workers and union members in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia say they're now benefiting in a big way from the Marcellus and Utica Shale oil and gas boom.

That vocal support from blue-collar workers complicates efforts by environmentalists to limit the drilling process known as fracking.


In this April 17, 2014 photo, workers continue the construction at a gas pipeline site in Harmony, Pa. Dennis Martire, from the Laborers’ International Union, or LIUNA, said that the man-hours of union work on large pipeline jobs in Pennsylvania and West Virginia have increased by more than 14 times since 2008. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

"The shale became a lifesaver and a lifeline for a lot of working families," said Dennis Martire, the mid-Atlantic regional manager for the Laborers' International Union, or LIUNA, which represents workers in numerous construction trades.

Martire said that as huge quantities of natural gas were extracted from the vast shale reserves over the last five years, union work on large pipeline jobs in Pennsylvania and West Virginia has increased significantly. In 2008, LIUNA members worked about 400,000 hours on such jobs; by 2012, that had risen to 5.7 million hours.

FULL story at link.

April 20, 2014

World’s 100 Rarest Birds Identified by Scientists (one in 8 all species of birds is now threatened)


http://www.care2.com/causes/worlds-100-rarest-birds-identified-by-scientists.html

by Alicia GraefApril 16, 20145:30 pm



From large to small and colorful to camouflaged, birds have long captured the interest and curiosity of bird watchers and nature enthusiasts, but continued threats to their survival leave many with questionable futures.

Scientists from Yale University, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and collaborating universities have taken on the task of identifying who the rarest species are and have come up with a list of the world’s 100 most unique and rare birds according to how Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) they are as part of the EDGE program, which is working to identify the most vulnerable species on the planet.

According to EDGE, one in eight species of birds is now threatened with extinction. Not only are the birds featured on the list living close to the brink, but they are considered highly unique because of the way they look, live and behave.

After examining some 10,000 bird species from around the world scientists based their findings on both how unique they are and how threatened they are to identify the top 100. Their findings were published in the journal Current Biology.


FULL story at link.

April 20, 2014

April 20, 1948


http://nhlabornews.com/2014/04/april-20-1948/

While eating dinner in the kitchen of his home, gunmen open fire on UAW president Walter Reuther, who is hit by a shotgun blast to his right arm. His assailants, who were thought to be hired by gangsters trying to stop union organizing at the mob-dominated Michigan Stove Works, were never caught. Reuther eventually regained limited mobility of his severely damaged arm.



Source: Today In Labor History (Union Review)

If you liked this post consider subscribing to the NH Labor News via email. There are more great articles to come.

About Today In Labor History

The NHLN has joined with multiple other websites to help highlight some of the struggles that workers have faced throughout our history. We want everyone to know what the workers of the past had to endure for the rights we take for granted now. If you do not learn from the past, you are doomed to repeat it.

April 19, 2014

BREAKING... Fontenelle Forest Bellevue, NE fire in progress (news video)

Source: Omaha Steve

The fire is in at least two areas. Drought conditions prevail in the area. One line of fire is over 150 yards wide. Trees and grass with high winds driving it to the north. Fire crews are having trouble reaching the area. We are watching the fire from our deck. We will post Marta's photos when time allows. The fire is about 100 yards to the east of us. There is a wetland between us and the fire. There are no homes in danger at this time that we know of.

Details to follow. The fire that we know of is at the bottom of the green area on the map moving up.

OS






Read more: Link to source

April 19, 2014

BREAKING... Fontenelle Forest Bellevue, NE fire in progress (update photos)

The fire is in at least two areas. Drought conditions prevail in the area. One line of fire is over 150 yards wide. Trees and grass with high winds driving it to the north. Fire crews are having trouble reaching the area. We are watching the fire from our deck. We will post Marta's photos when time allows. The fire is about 100 yards to the east of us. There is a wetland between us and the fire. There are no homes in danger at this time that we know of.

Details to follow. The fire that we know of is at the bottom of the green area on the map moving up.

Moved to LBN.

OS




April 19, 2014

Corporate Tax Breaks: The US Government's Secret Subsidy Revealed




Published on May 17, 2013
The fact is, this spending vs. taxes debate is largely meaningless. Watch our explainer video to learn about corporate tax breaks, the U.S. Government's secret subsidy program that some in Congress want to gut vital programs -- like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security -- to keep in place for their wealthy donors. Then, take action: http://www.afscme.org/stop-the-giveaways



April 19, 2014

AFSCME TV honors several brave Ohio AFSCME snowplow drivers for their efforts to save lives on duty!


#t=86

Published on Apr 16, 2014
Our latest edition of AFSCME TV honors several brave Ohio AFSCME snowplow drivers for their efforts to save lives in the line of duty. Members Steve Kinstle, Larry Poage, Ed Kane, and Javier Gallegos are great examples of the millions of hardworking public employees all across this country who serve their communities every day.



Profile Information

Name: Steven
Gender: Male
Hometown: Omaha
Home country: USA
Current location: Bellevue, NE
Member since: Tue Nov 9, 2004, 06:03 PM
Number of posts: 99,566
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