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Happy Recycling!

Get Free Ice Cream from Friendly's on June 6th

On Saturday June 6th from noon to 5pm, Friendly's is giving away a free scoop of ice cream. You get to choose from 26 flavors.

Black Raspberry
Butter Crunch
Butter Pecan
Chocolate
Chocolate Almond Chip
Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Chocolate Soft Serve
Coffee
Cookies ‘n Cream
Forbidden Chocolate
Hunka Chunka PB Fudge
Maple Walnut
Mint Chocolate Chip
No-sugar-added Vanilla
Nuts Over Caramel
Orange Sherbet
Purely Pistachio
Raspberry Swirl Fat-Free Frozen Yogurt
Strawberry
Twist Soft Serve
Vanilla
Vanilla fat-free frozen yogurt
Vanilla Soft Serve
Vienna Mocha Chunk
Watermelon Sherbet

Posted by hrpufnstuff on 06/04/09 at 4:25PM

If only the SUV had rolled one or two more times, we might not be having this conversation.

SOURCE

The Communications Workers of America acknowledged today that they’ve agreed to a wage freeze and 10 furlough days in exchange for no layoffs and seven bankable paid personal days.

“Given the realities of the current economic crisis, and soaring levels of unemployment, our two top priorities in these negotiations were the protection of all of our members’ jobs and preserving the integrity of the collective bargaining agreement,” said CWA District One Vice President Chris Shelton. “We achieved those goals.”

The agreement was subject to some controversy after The Star-Ledger reported that the Corzine Administration rushed to finalize it to avoid a potentially embarrassing demonstration in front of his campaign kickoff -- a picket line that the guest of honor, Vice President Joe Biden, might be hesitant to cross. Corzine yesterday dismissed that as “speculative” and said that part of the sense of urgency in getting a deal arranged was that layoff notices were posted on Friday.

Republican State Committee Chairman Tom Wilson didn’t buy that, however, and sent a letter to Attorney General Anne Milgram asking for an investigation into what he titled a “Biden buy-off” to see if it constituted official misconduct.

“Clearly, Governor Corzine’s desire to avoid the embarrassment of having the Vice President cancel his appearance motivated Corzine to reach an agreement with the CWA,” wrote Wilson. “The fact that the governor agreed to less than he originally said was needed to meet the growing budget crises means that Jon Corzine placed his political needs ahead of his public responsibilities. “

Meanwhile, the Governor’s office touted the agreement as saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars in labor costs while avoiding layoffs.

“The agreement averts layoffs in this time of a deep national economic crisis and allows the state to continue to provide with minimal disruption the vital public services the people of New Jersey depend on,” said Corzine.

Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.

SOURCE

// apparently someone called open season on our nations disabled //




From The Providence Journal. In the picture, Nathan Madison, of United Cerebral Palsy, puts on a T-shirt after helping Bill St. Pierre with his at the June 2 rally at the State House to support funding for programs for the developmentally disabled.


PROVIDENCE –– An estimated 2,000 people rallied outside the State House June 2 afternoon to send a message — “No More Cuts” to programs and services for the developmentally disabled.

The protesters, wearing orange T-shirts that said “Keep the Promise” and “No More Cuts,” said they began a grass-roots effort after “an official with the House Finance Committee” said he would not rule out sweeping cuts to human-service programs for the elderly and disabled as the legislators grapple with the state’s budget deficit.

They referred to comments made last month by Rep. Steven M. Costantino, who is overseeing the budget battle as chairman of the House Finance Committee. Costantino yesterday referred questions to Rep. Thomas Slater, D-Providence, chairman of the committee’s Human Services Subcommittee.

“As far as I know, there have been no decisions on developmentally disabled [funding] and on elderly affairs,” said Slater. “There have been no decisions made at this time.”

Slater said of the demonstrators, “Either they’re misguided or premature or somebody heard something or told somebody else. They have not come to talk to me about it. They know I’m in charge of the DD budget and the elderly budget. They’ve got to realize how the system works.”

Rally organizers said they ran out of T-shirts after handing out 2,000 of them. Demonstrators, including dozens of people in wheelchairs, filled the stone plaza outside the main State House entrance.

The rally was preceded by a 72-hour vigil that began Sunday on the grounds of the former Ladd Center, the original “Rhode Island School for the Feeble-Minded,” which federal authorities closed 15 years ago after an investigation revealed deplorable conditions.

Tom Kane, president of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, said that while no one foresees a return to such institutionalization, “if there are cuts, people will be segregated in their homes.”

Kane, who is also president/CEO of CranstonArc, said, “All Rhode Islanders deserve to live with dignity and to be cared for by family and trained professionals. These funding cuts to services will cause irreparable damage to the individuals the developmental disabilities’ system is designed to protect — the most vulnerable of Rhode Islanders.”

Steve Reeder, associate director of Ocean State Community Resources Inc., of Rhode Island, stood in the crowd with client Mildred Hayes, who uses a wheelchair.

“We don’t want to see residents lose any services,” said Reeder. Budget cuts would threaten day programs that allow people “to be out in the community,” participating in programs such as music, art and pet therapy.

Reeder said Hayes “has the opportunity to go to a knitting group one night a week,” and has also had a volunteer job.

“The way these cuts are going — you’d have to look at [cutting] staff. In some cases they’re making nine or ten dollars an hour. What do you cut after that?”

SOURCE

Letter from CWA DIstrict 1 Vice President Chris Shelton about the settlement reached with the State.


Please read this very important letter carefully.







June 4, 2009



Dear CWA Member,



As a result of the worst recession since the 1930s, New Jersey’s revenues have dropped by 25%. The April 15th income tax revenues were 42% lower than last year’s. The economic recession is real and the threat of job loss to thousands of our members is also real. CWA has been negotiating with the Corzine Administration in order to prevent the layoff of thousands of our members and to address the issue of unilateral furloughs and the possibility of losing our contractual wage increases and increments at a time when the New Jersey Legislature and Governor are closing a $9 billion shortfall in order to enact the State Budget.



The CWA Bargaining Committee has negotiated an Agreement with the Corzine Administration. The Agreement maintains the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, it treats all of our members equally, and in doing so provides for job security for our members.



What follows is a Summary of the Agreement:



Wage Deferral:



We will defer the July 1, 2009 3.5% raise until January 2011.We will receive the July 1, 2010 raise on time as well as all scheduled increments.



No Layoffs:



There will be No Layoffs of any CWA represented workers from the date of ratification of this Agreement at least until January 1, 2011. (The Layoff Plans submitted to the Civil Service Commission laying off thousands of workers, and causing the bumping and demotions of thousands of others will be void upon ratification of this agreement.)

The Department of Children and Families will rescind its current plans to close the Regional Day Schools and there will be no layoffs of those workers consistent with this Agreement. There will be a committee set up to explore the future of the Regional Day Schools and CWA will be represented on the committee.

SOURCE

as per this document.. regional day schools will not.. repeat will not be closing..
parents.. please contact your local districts to verify that your children will not be transitioned..

SOURCE

The state's largest public employee union would accept a wage freeze and unpaid furlough days to help reduce spending under a tentative deal, Gov. Jon Corzine said yesterday.

Corzine called the agreement with the Communications Workers of America "very important for our budget to make sure that we get something that is a very substantial giveback." He said negotiations are continuing with other unions along with the CWA.

With his Republican opponents quick to criticize the accord -- and link it to the politics of Corzine's re-election campaign -- the governor and the union defended it as a compromise amid a recession-ravaged state budget.

"There is a tentative agreement on wage givebacks and furloughs that has yet more details to be ironed out, and that has to be appropriately negotiated with other unions," Corzine said yesterday following a news conference on school construction in Newark. "I expect there will be an agreement on the terms that are negotiated at the collective bargaining table, not just with CWA but with all of the various parties that are involved."

Corzine did not provide details on the terms of the deal, but senior Democratic officials told The Star-Ledger Tuesday the pact would include 10 furlough days in the budget year starting July 1, along with a wage freeze and some "bankable" paid personal days that workers could take in the future.

Union officials issued a statement yesterday, saying that negotiations "have created the framework for an agreement that will deliver significant savings to the state and provide job protections to our members."

"But we are still working on language, the document is not finalized, and the characterization of the agreement in the press is incomplete," the statement from CWA District One said.

Representatives of other unions that represent state workers, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, could not be reached for comment on the tentative deal yesterday.

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee chair Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) said the tentative agreement, if approved by other unions, would lead to at least $300 million in savings for the $28.6 billion budget proposed for the new fiscal year.

The deal would remove "a major obstacle in passing a budget," she said.

"It's not even debatable that this is historic -- that we opened a previously negotiated contract and achieved right-on-the-nose budget savings without people losing their jobs," Buono said.

Corzine imposed two furlough days before the current budget year ends June 30 and was seeking 12 more days in the new budget.

Union members have protested the furloughs and criticized the governor. The CWA planned to protest outside Corzine's re-election kickoff event in West Orange on Tuesday night, but later called it off.

The Democratic officials, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the negotiations, previously said the specter of a union protest raised concerns for the White House because Vice President Joe Biden was on hand to praise Corzine.

Republicans said the decision not to force the pro-labor Biden to cross a picket line cost New Jerseyans money.

"It was a taxpayer-funded political event because his giveaways to the CWA -- in order to have the vice president not have to worry about crossing a picket line -- is typical of the timidity of Jon Corzine," said Chris Christie, Corzine's Republican opponent in the fall election.

Corzine called reports of Biden's concerns about a picket line "speculative" and stressed that the vice president did not alter the terms of the accord with the union.

"Not one single I or T was dotted or crossed differently with regard to the direction that we're taking," said Corzine, who has spent months pushing for a wage freeze-furlough combination as an alternative to more than 7,000 layoffs. He said the urgency of resolving a deal was accelerated because "layoff notices were actually posted last Friday."

The CWA statement also swiped at Christie, saying his "inaccurate and uninformed speculation about yesterday's events betrays a troubling disregard for the facts."


Statehouse Bureau reporter John Reitmeyer contributed to this report.

SOURCE

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's largest state worker union and the Corzine administration say they have struck a tentative deal on wage freezes and furloughs.

No details were released Wednesday.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine threatened to lay off thousands of state workers unless he got about $400 million in concessions from labor as he grapples with a budget shortfall.

On Wednesday, the governor said details of the agreement have yet to be worked out. He said other unions besides the Communications Workers of America have yet to sign on.

Bob Master, of the CWA's District 1, described the agreement as a framework "that will deliver significant savings to the state and provide job protections to our members."

The two sides have been in negotiations for weeks.

SOURCE

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's largest state worker union and the Corzine administration have struck a tentative deal that freezes wages for 18 months and requires 10 furlough days but guarantees no layoffs through 2010.

The proposed memorandum of agreement, obtained by The Associated Press, would modify the existing contract between the Communications Workers of America and the state, if members ratify it.

Facing a severe budget shortfall, Gov. Jon S. Corzine threatened to lay off as many at 7,000 state workers unless he achieved millions in concessions from labor. The tentative deal would achieve $309 million in savings if the other unions agree, according to a person familiar with the talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the administration.

The tentative deal defers the 3.5 percent pay increase union workers were due in July until Jan. 1, 2011. Workers also will be required to take 10 furlough days before July of next year, including the day after Thanksgiving and Lincoln's Birthday. They will not have to take a furlough day this month.

In exchange for the concessions, totaling 7.5 percent of employees' salaries, the administration has pledged not to lay off state workers through the end of next year. The state also will create a Paid Leave Bank, in which workers who take the unpaid furlough days will be credited with seven days off they can use any time after 2010.

The governor on Wednesday confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached, but said details had yet to be worked out. He said other unions had yet to agree, even in principle.

"There is a tentative agreement with regard to a wage freeze and furloughs, but the details need to be ironed out," Corzine said. "I expect we will have an agreement. It will be an agreement on the terms that were negotiated at the collective bargaining table not just with CWA, but with all parties involved."

Bob Master, of the CWA's District 1, described the agreement as a "framework," and said it would "deliver significant savings to the state and provide job protections to our members."

The two sides have been in negotiations for weeks, but the talks intensified as the gubernatorial primary drew near.

Some union workers will be exempt.

Bill Lavin, president of the state Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, which represents municipal firefighters, said police and firefighter unions have gone to court to protect public services workers from being furloughed.

The CWA reportedly had planned to protest outside the West Orange arena where Corzine was accepting the Democrats' nomination for a second term Tuesday night, but canceled their plans, indicating that a deal was near.

That drew criticism from Corzine rival Christopher Christie, the GOP candidate for governor, who called the governor's victory party "a political rally at the taxpayers' expense."

And, Assembly Republican leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris Plains, said Corzine hurriedly struck a deal with the union to avoid the political embarrassment of having Vice President Joe Biden cancel his appearance with the governor rather than cross a union picket line.

SOURCE

just got news... school is not closing... repeat.. school is not closing... dont have details yet... will forward once avail!

if it wasnt for the migraine id be screaming my head off!
this is incredible!

CONGRATS ALL... THIS BLOG HAS 1000 HITS!

ive been discourged by the lack of news lately.. no news usually is not good news..
im not just talking about rumors.. or hearsay.. im including actual news coverage in any media type..

now if you allow me to be paranoid for a moment..

no news means that the flow of information or commuication has ceased..

no news means that if there is information its beeing censored or covered in someway where its more difficult to find or able to link it to the "real" story.

no news could also mean.. that we are not the important story anymore..

the third... can never be allowed to happen... even if the powers that be would wish it otherwise...

dont let this story die.. or kids are depending on us..

/end paranoia

no news could also mean...... drumroll... that something just awesome is happening and we havent heard about it yet!!

either way... ill keep ya posted... :)

I had a nice visitor from the Census today..

Very nice and professional representative sat with me at the foot of my stairs (its cooler down there) and took all of my data (we just data nowadays anyway).. 20 minutes and pretty painless..

While she sat there and pecked away we discussed what her experiences have been like working for the census in the urban enviorment..

1% of the people she runs into she would rather not run into again.. but mostly..
She commented how many dont open the door becuase they assume she is with immigration or just outright refuse to participate due to some myth or another as to what the census "really" is..

Please.. if census comes to your door.. take a moment.. the data they collect is used to determine the services that are avail in your area..

/end public service announcement

I just recieved an update regarding the protest we had scheduled for the below...
it will not.. repeat.. will not be taking place..

i dont know the details yet.. but will post when i have them avail..


================================================
We need to inform Corzine's big money donors
about how our governor is trying to close the
schools for special needs children!

This, after he included in his speech to the
state that he would protect our most
vulnerable children and citizens.

Come out and let his donors see whose back he
is trying to balance the budget on. Come out
in full force! We need all of the parents and
children to come out on June 4th to let
Corzine and his donors know who is being most
affected by his budget cuts.

What: Picket at Bon Jovi's Fundraising
concert to get Corzine re-elected!
Where: NJPAC in Newark
When: June 4th, 2009
Time: 5:45 pm
***Make sure you wear comfortable shoes!