Sanders: invested in the interests of gun owners--and manufacturers

[JonLP24]

179. Votes with corporations

by definition a vote against an oil & gas corporation would benefit a green energy corporation or vice versa, correct? Bernie Sanders does own IBM stock and is very involved when it comes to IBM so they certainly have a relationship.

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The other is that he actively works to make the lives of Vermonters better. My father works for IBM and there was a big change in how IBM handled retirement and pensions many years ago. Bernie got personally involved in the fight for the workers and stayed with it the whole way. So many politicians claim they want to work for their constituents. He actually does so and out of genuine desire to help the people he represents.

http://www.quora.com/What-do-Vermont-residents-think-of-Bernie-Sanders

Former IBM Workers Get Federal Help

WASHINGTON, March 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that laid-off employees at IBM’s plant in Essex Junction, Vt., will be eligible for help through a federal training and reemployment program for workers who lost jobs due to foreign competition.

Sanders, a senior member of the Senate labor committee, had urged the U.S. Department of Labor to make the Trade Adjustment Assistance available as soon as possible.

The department already had approved benefits for more than 115 IBM workers laid off in last June in Williston, Vt. Today’s announcement extends benefits to more than 300 IBM workers who lost their jobs in the same round of June layoffs at IBM’s Essex Junction facility. In addition, many workers IBM laid off last month also will be eligible for benefits.

“My heart goes out to all of the IBM workers who have lost their jobs. I am pleased, however, that these employees will finally be able to take advantage of job training, education and extended unemployment benefits that the Trade Adjustment Assistance program offers,” Sanders said. “Clearly, these federal benefits are not a substitute for a job, but they will provide some economic security as these workers look for new jobs and move on with their lives.”

Benefits under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program include:

Up to 130 weeks of full-time or part-time job training.
Up to 130 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for workers enrolled in full-time job training programs.
A wage subsidy for as long as two years for workers who are 50-years-old or older and re-employed in jobs that pay less than $50,000.
Reimbursement for the cost of relocating to a job in a different location.
Reimbursement for job search costs.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/former-ibm-workers-get-federal-help

Hundreds of IBM workers are expected to show up for a "town meeting" tomorrow in Winooski, Vt., organized by Rep. Bernie Sanders, an independent. Some 7,500 of his constituents work for IBM.

An employment-law attorney is scheduled to talk about whether IBM's plan amounts to illegal age discrimination.

Mr. Sanders and 19 other members of Congress last week asked the Internal Revenue Service to see if cash-balance plans violate age-discrimination laws.

Tort lawyers are bringing class-action suits against firms with cash-balance plans that, they charge, discriminate. Not all do. They say companies are trying to save money at the expense of older workers.

The Republican tax-cutting bill just passed by Congress includes a provision requiring companies to disclose to employees significant losses in benefits. It has bipartisan support. It could even be toughened if the White House and Congress reach agreement on a tax-cutting bill this fall.

Sanders also plans to introduce a bill requiring companies to let workers select the old plan if their employer switches to a cash-balance plan.

Norman Stein, a law professor at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, describes the pension trend as "pretty frightening." It hits workers when it may be "too late" to seek a new employer or save much more for retirement, he says.

http://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0816/p17s1.html

More coziness with IBM

With Vermont No. 1 per capita in private-sector green jobs and ninth in the nation in solar energy installations, the Department of Energy picked our state to host a regional solar test center,” Gov. Peter Shumlin said. “I am so proud that, through the efforts of Sen. Sanders and with partners like Sandia National Laboratories and IBM Essex, Vermont will be playing a leading role in critical research and development to advance clean solar power.”

The seven-acre testing site is on IBM-owned land in Williston, Vt., and will accommodate up to 300 kilowatts of solar power. Construction of the facility will continue throughout the fall.

Solar manufacturers, selected by a competitive process, will install photovoltaic systems at the Regional Test Center where they will be rigorously monitored by Sandia for performance and reliability. The testing site also will support collaborative research on integration of solar technologies into Vermont's statewide smart electric grid, built with $69 million in federal funds and matching contributions from the state’s utilities.

“Thanks to the vision of Sen. Sanders, the leadership of the Department of Energy and technical commitment from IBM, this Regional Test Center will help realize a national vision for research, demonstration and testing of cutting edge solar technology," said Steve Rottler, Sandia National Laboratories Vice President.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/solar-power-in-vermont

In 2012, Fortune ranked IBM the No. 2 largest U.S. firm in terms of number of employees,[7] the No. 4 largest in terms of market capitalization,[8] the No. 9 most profitable,[9] and the No. 19 largest firm in terms of revenue.[10] Globally, the company was ranked the No. 31 largest firm in terms of revenue by Forbes for 2011.[11] Other rankings for 2011/2012 include the following:[13]

No. 1 company for leaders (Fortune)
No. 1 green company in the U.S. (Newsweek)[48]
No. 2 best global brand (Interbrand)
No. 2 most respected company (Barron's)[49]
No. 5 most admired company (Fortune)
No. 18 most innovative company (Fast Company)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM#Environmental_record

I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding as the corporate money doesn't sway him -- saying he doesn't listen isn't the same thing as saying corporate money buys his opinion or his vote -- even factoring in the conflict of interest issues with IBM he still improved the pension plan when they were ripping it off & working to get help for the workers being laid off. IBM partners on a lot of green energy products in events featuring Bernie Sanders.

With the last question you went down the ugly road...