It is no longer that they just reap the benefits gained by the union without paying the cost of the struggle, now they are a drain on the limited resources needed to make the fight to keep our jobs and the lobbying cost of trying to maintain and keep our benefits from eroding even further.

While the union is not permitted to bargain for pay and health care benefits by law, it can lobby Congress and the Administration about the issues. This takes a strong union with the resources to provide that strong voice, it takes an Independent newspaper to investigate and report the facts. That strong voice is NCFLL Local 644 and that independent newspaper is THE UNIONIST.

I hear the dues is too high and "I can't afford it", it is more that you can't afford not to pay the dues. Actually dues is low, for a GS‑12 is $.67 a day, less than a cup of coffee for lower grades it is proportionate . I can not promise that dues will not increase by rising costs, but its like paying for an insurance policy.

I have written in the past that the union is the best voice you have, now it may be the only voice you have. Help pay for the fight for your job, join the union now !

Jim Weyrauch
President
Philadelphia, PA
215 597 5183

Dave Berestecky
Executive Vice President
Pittsburgh, PA
412 395 4718

THE UNIONIST PAGE 2

THE UNIONIST is a participating member of the International Labor Communications Association, the Pennsylvania labor Communications Association and the AFGE Editors Association and prescribes to the required code of ethics of each one.

It is estimated that there are over 8 million contractors working for the U. S. Government. That is four contractors for every one federal worker. And these contractors, some who are owned by European and Asian groups, are performing sensitive work.

Last March, Dan Guttman, a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, testified before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee about the influence of contractors. Guttman also said that at one point the Secretary of Energy that could have been written by a private contractor, the Secretary didn't know what he was saying until he started reading the speech.

Guttman also cited the 1962 Bell Report prepared for President Kennedy, which praised the role of contractors in such endeavors as the Atomic Bomb and the Apollo Space Exploration projects. But it also warned of their undue, invisible influence. It said, "even as they work side by side with officials in government offices and respond to citizen queries on governmental hotlines, contractors are NOT found on government organization charts or in official phone books." It added that "contractor Work is often transmitted within agencies as if it were the official work product."

Guttman also spoke of the shadow government "of contractors who increasingly do more than just sell the government products, or provide services (like cleaning, security, printing and the like. He spoke of "significant fraction who play a daily role in the basic work of government . . . drafting rules. Plans, policies, and budgets, writing statutorily required reports to Congress, interpreting and enforcing laws and selecting and managing other contractors and the official workforce it.

(Cited in part from Mike Causey columns)

John Lechman, Vice President, ESA, Local 644 retires after 41 years of dedicated government service with over 20 years of service to the union. John began his career in 1962 in the National Institute of Health , after a stint in the Navy, he started with DOL in 1963. He stayed with DOL until 1979 when he went to EEOC, returned to DOL in 1979 and ran for ESA Vice President in 1981 and has won re‑elections 8 times. He will be missed by his friends and especially those members he served so well for all of these years. This writer will miss his quiet counsel and hard work. I lovingly called him Dr. No. but he never said no to a member in need. He was always there for all of us.

THE UNIONIST PAGE 3

9-11 HEROES HONORED WITH STAMP

The United States Postal Service has issued 250 million copies of the commemorative stamp to honor emergency workers killed in 9‑11 terrorist attacks. Featuring the color photo by Thomas Franklin depicting three New York firefighters raising an American flag over the rubble of the World Trade Center, the 45 cent stamps will a sold only in sheets of twenty. Eleven cents from stamp will be donated to a special fund set up the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist families of emergency workers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty in connection with the attacks.

The pharmaceutical manufacturers formula for increasing sales of their expensive prescription drugs includes bribing you doctor. Not only are physicians euchred into handing out sample of industry‑promoted potions to their patients to hook them as future uses, but the pill pushers also offer doctors handsome "consulting fees" for sitting through meetings. Held where? At luxury resorts, all expenses paid

Even the Bush Administration has choked a little on that. It is so far only a proposal, but the "guidelines" issued in October 2202 by the independent inspector of the Health and Human Service Department may eventually make this kind of nearly‑bribery illegal.

Some drug makers seem unashamed. Two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies, Bristol‑Myers Squibb and Glaxo‑Smith Kline, now say they are wiggling out of a promised price discount plan for the low‑income elderly. With industry‑issued discount cards, a month's supply of Bristol Myers' Cholesterol‑lowering pill Pravachol was briefly available to the elderly with annual incomes of $18,000 or less for $15. Now it will cost them $59.

(quoted from THE WASHINGTON SPECTATOR)

Largest U.S. employer ...
962,000 workers Largest U.S. retailer....
3,300 stores in U.S. And largest union buster ....

• Cited by the NLRB with 40 Unfair Labor Practices complaints covering hundreds of Allegations in less than one year
• Faces class action suit over discrimination Against women in hiring, promotions, assignments, training, pay and retaliation.
• Smallest wages in Industry. Wal-Mart pays $2 to $3 an hour less than union stores.
• Smallest benefits in the Industry. Wal-Mart Employee Health Care Plan requires employees to pay nearly half the company's costs.
• Wal-Mart is a job destroyer. For every two jobs created by Wal‑Mart, a community loses three.

PERSONAL NOTE

My daughter Cindy would like to thank of the local 644 members and friends who have continued to send her cards and gifts whiles she is going through rehab and therapy. She is cheered by all of the love and friendship shown to her and hopes to thank all of you personally .But she wanted me to write this thank you note , so you know how much she appreciates all that you have done for you. Remember her in your thoughts and prayers, you are in hers.

The Bush Administration has restored the awarding of cash bonuses to political appointees while deciding that the federal employee pay raise was too high. Citing the war time crisis, President Bush limited the civilian career pay raise increase to 3.1 percent‑‑‑ a full percentage point less than the 4.1 percent that had gained support in Congress.

THE UNIONIST PAGE 4

The FAA decision conflicts with OMB's guidelines for what should remain in governmental jurisdiction. These guidelines state that activities which significantly affect the life, liberty or property of private persons "are inherently governmental."

"Over the past six years, the average health care premium for government employees has increased 61 percent," Bobby Harnage , President AFGE pointed out in hearings before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Service.

He urged lawmakers to support HR 1307 and S 1982 which would change the financing formula so that agencies would pay approximately 89 percent of the premiums. This is in line with what large employers in the private sector and several large states pay for their employees, some as much as 100 percent of the premiums.

OMB TO BYPASS CONGRESS APPROVAL OF LIBERAL OUTSOURCING POLICY

At a briefing for federal agencies and labor groups, Administrator Angela Styles for the Office Of Procurement Policy , stated that even though OMB welcomed comments on the revised A76 policy, she indicated the Administration's desire to move quickly without Congressional approval on implementing OMB's proposed A‑76 revisions.

"Despite claims that this policy will create a level‑playing field, OMB provided little evidence to prove their assertion , said the Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Union President Greg Junemann. "The revised policy does nothing to fix the inherent unfairness of the current A‑76 process. Instead, it makes it even easier for contractors to be unjustly awarded government contracts. There is no proof of taxpayer savings, no accountability for contractors nor is there a

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CORPORATE TAX CHEATS

A super scam on U. S. tax payers is the one where U. S. based corporations make purchases from their own foreign subsidiaries. How it works , is that the U. S. based corporation purchases "supplies" and services from their overseas selves, grossly inflating the prices they pay. These phony purchases move huge sums of corporate profits out of our country into the accounts of their foreign Affiliates, thus escaping U.S. taxation on those profits.

Senator Wellstone was tragically killed in a plane crash along with this devoted wife Shelia while on a campaign trip for re‑election as the most progressive Senator in the Senate. His lone votes for working families were legendary and his phrase " "Never separate the lives you live from the words you speak". was the most descriptive image of his life and work.

Both will be sorely missed and never forgotten.

The transfers go two ways. In addition to buying from foreign subsidiaries , US corporations also sell products to their overseas affiliates at ridiculously low prices, such as selling missile launchers to an Israeli subsidiary for $52 each.

THE UNIONIST is a bona fide union. newspaper and is a member of the International Labor Communications Association, Pennsylvania Labor Communications Association and AFGE Editors Association. We take no advertisement and it is paid for by union dues of its members. The promise is to investigate and report the truth . The paper is distributed to the field employees of the Philadelphia Region of the U.S. Department of Labor , as well other Labor Organizations , and all members of Congress in Local 644's jurisdiction and Members of the Labor and Health committees in both the House and the Senate.

The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the benefits of "union density" to workers. The Justices let stand a decision by a lower court against non­union workers who refuse to pay dues for UFCW organizing drives. The Court of Appeals had ruled that non‑union workers covered by collective bargaining agreements can't refuse to pay that portion of their dues targeted for organizing other workers in their industry, even outside their own Geographic area.

Do you want to know the latest news in the civil rights community? Visit www.civilrights.org. Three government sites most popular for civil rights activists are: www.eeoc.org; www.onm.org; and www.firstgov.gov for all federal government questions.