The Weekly Wrangle

On this Labor Day, the Texas Progressive Alliance stands with fast-food workers in their fight for economic equality as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff covers the decision by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett to reject the petitions submitted by pre-kindergarten advocates to get a referendum on the ballot this November.

We don't just need jobs, we need -- as Theodore Roosevelt advocated -- jobs that pay a living wage. WCNews at Eye on Williamson says that no matter what Cong. John Carter says, a living wage is not a "dumb decision".

Horwitz at Texpatriate notes that Fox26's allegations of exuberant pay raises for Annise Parker's inner circle are a bunch of poppycock, and analysis by the Houston Chronicle article proves it.

The ride-sharing service called Uber is coming to Houston, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs explored both the pros (Part I) and the cons (Part II).

Neil at All People Have Value made some more posts on his new blog. Please look around and offer your comment. All People Have Value is part of Neil Aquino.com. Please consider checking out the full website.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme knows Republicans don't care about the uninsured or about Latinos. That's why Hidalgo and Maverick Counties in South Texas have the highest numbers of uninsured Texans in the state.

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And here are some other posts of interest by Texas bloggers.

Offcite interviews HISD Superintendent Terry Grier about the design philosophy behind the construction of their new schools.

Flavia Isabel compares Amazon and Tesla.

Better Texas Blog goes on the road for Obamacare education.

Concerned Citizens liveblogs Rep. Joaquin Castro's town hall on immigration.

Equality Texas celebrates the effect that the demise of DOMA had on one bi-national couple.

Greg Wythe published a guide to Texas election code for the Kindle.

Harold Cook is not voting for Harvey Hilderbran.

The TSTA blog chastises George P. Bush for attacking teachers.

Texas Living Waters expresses ambivalence about the water infrastructure referendum.

Juanita Jean documents the lies of True The Vote.

Lastly, BOR keeps track of the abortion battle as it transitions to the regulatory agencies.

Thank a union thug today

After a new Funny and an excerpt from EJ Dionne's "New Life for Labor" at Truthdig -- on the state of play this year -- my Labor Day Facts and Funnies from a year ago. (Has it only been 12 months since we had Mitt Romney to kick around?)

Be sure and thank a union thug today for your holiday. And your vacation time, and your healthcare -- especially if you still have all those. And like Neil says, tip time and a half while you're at it. (Actually I think holiday pay is double time, but I never quarrel with my brother when he's got his Zen on.)

Could this Labor Day mark the comeback of movements for workers’ rights and a turn toward innovation and a new militancy on behalf of wage-earners?

Suggesting this is not the same as a foolish and romantic optimism that foresees an instant union revival. What’s actually happening is more interesting.

Precisely because no one in organized labor expects the proportion of private-sector workers in their ranks to rise sharply anytime soon, unions, workers themselves and others who believe that too many Americans receive low wages are finding new ways to address long-standing grievances.

At play here is “Stein’s Law,” named after the late conservative economist Herb Stein who shrewdly declared: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” The steadily declining share of our economy that goes to wages is one of those things.

As New York Times labor writer Steve Greenhouse has noted, until 1975, “wages nearly always accounted for more than 50 percent of our nation’s GDP.” But in 2012 they fell to a record low of 43.5 percent. Those who make the economic engine run are receiving less of what they produce. And it’s not because employees aren’t working harder, or smarter. From 1973 to 2011, according to the Economic Policy Institute, employee productivity grew by 80.4 percent while median hourly compensation after inflation grew by just 10.7 percent.

Last Thursday’s one-day strike of fast-food workers in dozens of cities is one of the new forms of labor creativity aimed at doing something about this. The folks who serve your burgers are demanding that instead of an average fast-food wage of $8.94 an hour, they ought to be paid $15. Assuming two weeks of unpaid vacation, this works out to $30,000 a year, hardly a Ronald McDonald’s ransom.

The protests have the benefit of putting low-wage workers in the media spotlight, a place they’re almost never found in a world more interested in the antics of Miley Cyrus and Donald Trump. “They want a raise with those fries,” the New York Daily News cheekily led its story on the strike.

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The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday a year later, on September 5th, 1883.

On September 5th, 1882, some 10,000 workers assembled in New York City to participate in America’s first Labor Day parade. After marching from City Hall, past reviewing stands in Union Square, and then uptown to 42nd Street, the workers and their families gathered in Wendel’s Elm Park for a picnic, concert, and speeches.

Labor Day parade, Main Street, Buffalo, NY, ca. 1900.

This first Labor Day celebration was eagerly organized and executed by New York’s Central Labor Union, an umbrella group made up of representatives from many local unions. Debate continues to this day as to who originated the idea of a workers’ holiday, but it definitely emerged from the ranks of organized labor at a time when they wanted to demonstrate the strength of their burgeoning movement and inspire improvements in their working conditions.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Here are some quick tips on how to celebrate labor the union way:

• Fire up your Weber grill, made by the International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers.

• Grill some all-beef Butterball patties. If you are in the mood for hot dogs and brats, Oscar Meyer, Nathan’s and Johnsonville have what you are looking for.

• Add some Heinz Ketchup, Gulden’s Mustard and Vlasic pickles.

• Throw it all on a Wonder Bread bun.

• Funyuns, Fritos and Doritos are good side options.

• Wash it all down with a cold Budweiser or any other union-made brew. And there’s Minute Maid juices for the younger set.

Update: The Agonist has some good reading about Eugene V. Debs, who ran for president in 1920 from his prison cell.

When Republican Warren Harding was elected, he commuted Debs' sentence and invited him to the White House. The day after leaving the Atlanta Penitentiary, Harding greeted Debs at the White House with these words: "Well, I've heard so damned much about you, Mr. Debs, that I am now glad to meet you personally." It was a different time.

CNN's John King on the Houston mayoral race

Sunday Funnies

Obama pantsed the Republicans today

President Obama announced on Saturday that he will ask Congress for authorization to launch military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military in response to his alleged use of chemical weapons last week.

Obama reiterated that the United States has concluded that Assad’s forces gassed civilians and opposition fighters in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Aug. 21 and said “this menace must be confronted.”

“The United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets,” Obama said, adding that while he believes he has the authority as Commander-in-Chief to order strikes, he “will seek authorization for the use of force” from Congress. Obama also outlined what the campaign would entail, saying that any U.S. military action in Syria would not be an open ended intervention but one that is meant to hold Assad accountable and to deter him and degrade his ability from using chemical weapons in the future. 

For the record, I am dead set against any action in Syria, even "limited" action (which is probably defined as a hundred or so Tomahawk missles fired from ships and jets).

But, echoing comments from Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, Obama asked: “what message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children and pay no price? … We are the United States of America. We cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus.”

The president also said that Congress will debate and vote on the authorization for force in Syria when it returns from the August recess. “I am ready to act in the face of this outrage,” he said. “Today I’m asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one nation.” 

I've already posted my opinion on Hawk Kerry, who is acting like a Secretary of War and not State. What a disgrace, and he seems completely oblivious to it.

But that's not the news. Today Obama put the GOP in a trick bag. Painted them into a corner. And they don't know whether to shit or wind their wristwatch.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, yesterday.

“There are potential repercussions,” Paul said on Fox News Channel. “If he launches this little piddly attack with a few cruise missiles, it won’t stop chemical weapons, but it may well insight a gas attack on Israelis. I think it’s a big mistake.”

Paul said that if military action is undertaken, it should only happen after Congress signs off.

Cong. Peter King of New York, today.

"President Obama is abdicating his responsibility as commander-in-chief and undermining the authority of future presidents. The President does not need Congress to authorize a strike on Syria. If [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians deserves a military response, and I believe it does, and if the President is seeking congressional approval, then he should call Congress back into a special session at the earliest date. The President doesn’t need 535 Members of Congress to enforce his own red line."

The Senate will pass whatever the president wants -- and with Republican votes like John McCain and Lindsey Graham -- but there's enough anti-war liberals and tea partiers in the House that a resolution to strike Syria will probably fail (without lots of strings attached).

Can you imagine a tough-talking Republican -- like say, my Congressman, John Culberson -- trying to explain his vote when he gets primaried from the right?

If he votes 'yes'...he obviously can't criticize Obama for taking action. 'Support the president in a time of war' and all that.  If he votes 'no'... he looks like a pussy. Bowing down to Assad.

To be certain, this has ALWAYS been the dynamic when military strikes are on the table. Hawks and doves, tough guys versus pantywaists. And a few other categories.

A 'no' vote isn't going to make Obama look bad, because he'll just fire the Tomahawks anyway if he feels like it (and he obviously does). See, he's not up for re-election next year. And besides, some Americans think war presidents are hot.

What Republicans are not grasping is that you have to be against war on moral principles, not because you're tired of fighting wars or because you don't want to spend any more money. You have to be against -- or for -- war no matter who's in the White House. Otherwise you just look like a partisan hypocrite.

Not that it bothers them to be one of those...

What's also disgraceful is John Boehner not calling the House back into session until September 9. TEN DAYS from now.

Nothing gets in the way of the Republican House avoiding work. Not even voting on military action in Syria.

House leaders issued a statement saying that “serious, substantive” questions were being raised regarding Syria and they are so glad that the President is asking them to vote because this is so important, constitution, blah blah – oh, and they are going to take the measure up on September 9th, which is another way of saying they are not coming back early from vacation for this “serious, substantive” matter.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today issued the following joint statement.

“Under the Constitution, the responsibility to declare war lies with Congress. We are glad the president is seeking authorization for any military action in Syria in response to serious, substantive questions being raised. In consultation with the president, we expect the House to consider a measure the week of September 9th. This provides the president time to make his case to Congress and the American people.”

Can you imagine if Democrats had told Bush they’d get back to him on Iraq when they were done with vacation?

This was to be expected by this House, after all, they are only planning on working 9 days in September.

Obama has bamboozled them.  Every last one of them.

Update: The New York Times has the backstory on how it all went down, focusing just on the policy and not the politics.

Why the mayor's pay raises are a BFD

Because perception is reality.  Altering the perception is why so many people are trying to spin the matter one way or another.

Those who have followed the previous reporting on this topic don't need to be caught up, but let's provide a one-paragraph summary anyway for casual observers.

In 2011 Mayor Annise Parker laid off around 750 city employees because she did not want to raise any taxes or fees in order to balance the budget, but about the same time she began granting -- and has accelerated since then -- significant salary increases to high-level staff members.  The city's firefighters, no pal of the mayor's, have heavily criticized the move, and the president of one of the unions representing city employees called it "heartbreaking".  But the police officers' union (big supporters) stood behind her, contending that 'the market' dictated that the key people around the mayor were underpaid compared to similar jobs in the private sector, and were thus worthy of the increases once the city's financial footing was secured.  Even Richard Shaw, head of the local AFL-CIO, backed Parker up, saying (somewhat unnecessarily, unless he's extending a private fight into public view), "The firefighters need to quit whining".

For the record also, Noah at Texpatriate led the reaction in the left blogosphere, calling it a "phony" issue, and has supplied considerable inside information to support that POV.

Parker's highest-profile challenger, Ben Hall, has -- as with several other opportunities -- tried and failed to make this much of a campaign issue so far.  A couple of the local uber-insiders have the best interpretation of the affair for today...

GOP communications consultant Jim McGrath said the issue will be little more than water-cooler fodder at City Hall unless Hall can show a pattern of such decisions.

"Taxpayers and voters care about their well-being and their future and if the mayor has failed in some regard as it relates to that, that's something you can get traction with," McGrath said. "This inside baseball stuff will not fundamentally alter the dynamics of a race that isn't looking good for Mr. Hall at present."

Democratic political consultant Mustafa Tameez agreed: "This is not going to be seen well by the public, but something like this doesn't make or break the election."

So for everyone who thinks it's no big deal -- or hopes it won't be -- here's a news flash: it should be, and it ought to be.  And while Hall cannot find any traction with the topic, it appears that another of Parker's challengers, Don Cook, has.  This is from his campaign bulletin last night, via text message.

"It is characteristic of the insensitivity of this administration that Ms. Mayor Parker would give these massive pay raises to staff members while the 747 people she laid off in 2011 have not been rehired.  Parker claims credit for turning the local economy around, although an outside observer might conclude that has more to do with the city's position atop the carbon energy food chain.

"But Houston's economic recovery, as with the rest of the country, has been limited to those at the very top," Cook said.  "In fact, the highest 7% of wage earners have seen increases in their incomes of an average 28%, while the lower 93% of Americans have experienced real income deductions of 3%.  This business of the Mayor's is just more feather bedding for the elite while the rest of us tighten our belts.

"As Mayor, I pledge that not only will I rehire those 747 employees, I will only claim $31,138 of the current mayor's salary of $209,138, and find something better to spend the remaining $178,000 on."

The 31K figure is based on current estimates of a 'living wage' as being $15 per hour, a 40-hour work week, and a 52-week year.  "I figure the mayor, along with everybody else, deserves a living wage," said Cook.

That is how you make a mountain out of a molehill.  Alas, I predict the corporate media will overlook this candidate's statement... seeing as how we're headed into a holiday weekend and all.  After all, "nobody pays attention to political campaigns until after Labor Day".  Right?

Update: I'm delighted to see that the HouChron e-board proved me wrong and referenced Cook's press release Saturday morning. They did so as they justified the pay raises and slammed Ben Hall, but their mention of Cook's name and pledge still qualifies as progress, however minute it may be.

In other news, here's the ballot order for all local candidates standing for election in November.