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September 2003 IBEW Journal Deregulation Revived in Energy Bill
Congress went into the August recess with both houses having passed legislation strongly opposed by labor unions and consumer groups. The two bills will go to a conference committee composed of members from both chambers who will attempt to reconcile the differences from each version. The House bill includes provisions that promote electric power market deregulation nationwide by imposing a so-called standard market design, forcing every utility in the country to "unbundle" its transmission, generation and distribution services and rely on market forces in 2005. The Senate had worked for months to come up with a new energy bill only to give up at the last minute and adopt the same legislation it had passed in 2002 and which ultimately went nowhere. Their version includes repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) that, since its passage in 1935, has guarded against the utility company consolidation that benefited large companies at the expense of consumers. As intended nearly 70 years ago, PUHCA has allowed states to regulate utilities and ensure a fair electricity system. Davis-Bacon Under the Gun Wages for thousands of construction workers could be in danger thanks to legislation introduced in the House of Representatives that would abolish Davis-Bacon protections and allow employers to pay substandard wages on federal highway construction projects. Bill sponsor Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave said repeal of the law would save up to 38 percent of costs in federal projects. But the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, said labor costs generally make up 25 percent of construction projects, so Musgraves numbers do not bear out. Union leaders expressed shock that during such lean economic times, some members of Congress have chosen to pursue legislation that directly interferes in workers paychecks. "It is incomprehensible why Rep. Musgrave and [her colleagues] are using their time and effort in this struggling economy to bring home wage cuts to the working men and women they are supposed to serve," said President Edward Sullivan of the Building and Construction Trades (BCTD), AFL-CIO. Compounding the Pain Millions of workers suffering from diseases caused by exposure to asbestos could have their right to recover damages from manufacturers limited if federal legislation becomes law. If Senate Republicans prevail, a national trust fund could be set up to compensate victims. But those with the most to gain from such legislation are not the workers, but the companies that would be protected from lawsuits. The $108 billion reserve would come from 8,500 companies that made or sold asbestos products, or their insurers. None would pay more than $25 million a year. The bill, backed by business groups, would force victims with pending claims to take the additional step of applying to the new federal trust fund. Victims would also lose their right to a jury trial. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration estimates 1.3 million workers in construction and industry face "significant" asbestos exposure on the job. Big companies like Halliburton could save $3.5 billion on its pending liability for asbestos claims. "Workers suffering from the terrible effects of mesothelioma, asbestosis and related diseases deserve a compensation system that will allow them the proper redress and not one that will require them to go to extraordinary measures to receive the compensation they deserve," said BCTD President Sullivan. Big Media Tries to Get Bigger
In July, the FCC issued a decision that would have expanded television station ownership by networks to 45 percent of the national audience, compared with 35 under the current limit, reducing the number of media owners as well as diversity in news coverage. The Senate will take up the same issue in September. OSHA Stops Collecting
Data
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) comprise a broad category of injuries caused either by a single event or repetitive events. OSHA officials under the Bush administration have not reached a consensus about what constitutes such an injury, so they have apparently decided not to gather any data. But that wont bring them any closer to solving the debateor helping workers who have suffered such injuries. "Just because the government is not going to enforce a safety standard doesnt mean that workers will stop becoming ill or permanently disabled on the job," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Repetitive motion injuries account for one-third of all serious workplace injuries and cost approximately $50 billion each year. Many could be prevented if strong safety standards were in place, unions say. No Security in This Pension Plan Labor leaders worry that legislation to change pension funding rules could endanger the retirement security of working families. Far from encouraging employers to preserve traditional pension plans, this bill could signal the end of secure pension benefits for millions of American workers. The proposal under consideration by the House of Representatives could jeopardize the stability of pension funds by changing the way liabilities are calculated. By substituting a corporate bond interest rate for the 30-year Treasury bond as the benchmark interest rate to calculate a defined benefit plans current liability, it fails to provide pension plan sponsors with enough certainty to factor accurately the cost of their pension plans into their overall business planning. Faced with continued uncertainty, more employers may decide to reduce or abandon their pension systems. Defense Secretary Wages WarOn Own Workers
Dardanelle, Arkansas, Local 2219 Business Manager Brenda Bishop said her members, federal hydropower plant operators, are nervous about the proposed changes. "We fight them every day for rights we already have," she said. Labor Department Attempts to Bog Unions Down in Red Tape The Labor Department is attempting to impose onerous new requirements on labor organizations. Unions, which are already mandated to compile financial information and file extensive reports, will be forced to spend millions of dollars in member-paid dues to comply with the new LM-2 rule, which could cost an estimated $1 billion per year. Current rules already require unions to disclose far more information than corporations. This disparity will increase multifold under the new rules, which are being pushed by right wing, anti-labor groups like the Right-to-Work Committee, as part of their strategy to weaken unions. The rules would present an unusual burden for smaller locals that often rely on part-time and voluntary staff. Unfortunately, the spirit of these rules is not new. The reporting requirements were first proposed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and denounced by his own assistant secretary of labor. They were (unsuccessfully) resurrected again in 1992 by Rep. Newt Gingrich just before he became majority leader.
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Despite
the experiences of California and other states that show the disastrous
consequences of electrical utility deregulation, the concept refuses
to die in the U.S. Congress. Once again, Congress is dangerously
close to passing an energy bill that risks Americas affordable
and reliable electricity system by encouragingon a national scalethe
same elements of deregulation that decimated California. All previous
attempts by Congress to pass deregulation on a national scale
have failed.
Despite
support from President Bush and congressional leaders, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) appears thwarted in its attempt
to allow giant media companies to grow even larger. The House
of Representatives, driven by public outcry and a wide-ranging
coalition opposed to the rules scrapping decades-old regulation
governing the number of television stations media companies may
own, voted down the FCC merger rules 400-21. There is also strong
sentiment in the Senate against the FCCs position.
In
an approach that ensures identifying potentially hazardous jobs
will remain virtually impossible, the Occupational Health and
Safety Administration (OSHA) has cancelled plans to require employers
to report repetitive motion injuries.
Thousands
of IBEW members could lose their collective bargaining rights
if a plan by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is approved. Approximately
8,000 IBEW members are among the 750,000 civilian workers who
could be affected if proposed legislation removing civil service
protections and collective bargaining rights passes Congress,
ostensibly for "domestic security" reasons. (See "IBEW
Members Face Loss of Protections," July/August IBEW Journal
2003). 
