OSHA Proposes Revising Standards On Noise in Construction

The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is considering revising its noise protection standards to require employers to use administrative or engineering controls rather than personal protective equipment to reduce noise exposures, according to a proposed interpretation scheduled for publication in the Oct. 19 Federal Register. 

“We plan to change our current noise standard enforcement policy, making it clear that ‘feasible' engineering controls means controls that are capable of being implemented,” David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, wrote in an Oct. 15 letter to agency employees. “We think this will enable us to require more employers to reduce excessive workplace noise levels, preserving the hearing of many workers.”

Administrative controls may involve limiting how long an employee can work in an area with high noise levels; engineering controls would reduce the decibel level of a particular machine or power tool. Some employers are concerned that the proposed changes would impose unreasonable costs on their businesses.

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Pro-business Democrats Struggle As Republicans Look Strong

The Perilous Position of Small Biz Democrats

 

Obama With The Car In D for Drive



Democrats are in the minority of candidates winning support from business groups such as NFIB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but they are out there.



Pro-business Democrats are at risk of being swept out of key offices as a wave of anti-Obama sentiment looks set to lift Republicans to victory in midterm elections. "It's going to mean we're going to have to reach out to other Democrats," said NFIB's Brad Close. "It helps to have friends on both sides of the aisle." Read More

A Small-Biz Congress?

Why are so many small-business owners running for office? In the past, they were too busy running their business to worry about politics. Today, however, many of these business owners feel threatened by policies out of Washington and think they have to run for Congress in order to protect their companies. Read More

Were Labor Unions Ever Necessary?

A Common argument made by some Republicans and Conservatives is that labor unions were necessary in society a hundred years ago, but they are no longer needed in today’s workplace.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

This argument, however, has many flaws. When looking deep into the history of the labor movement, unless you support a society modeled closely around that of the U.S.S.R., labor unions were not just unnecessary a hundred years ago, but have created lasting damage and are still continuing to wreak havoc across the nation.

Many fail to see the downside of the American labor movement at the time of its inception. Few remember that it was a product of the liberal progressive movement, which created many of the problems in society that we deal with today.

Just take a look at the progress that the labor unions have made in their short history. From just 90 years ago, labor unions have gone from trying to “protect” the workers that they represented to taking complete control of the companies that they were “protecting” them from. In essence, they have a track record of completely dismantling the companies that they have set up shop in.

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Union Organizing Activity In The Healthcare Industry Is On The Rise.

As if it doesnt cost enough already unions are mobilizing to unionize every sector of the health care industry as they possibly can

Realizing that their very survival is at stake, unions have looked to expand the nature, jurisdictional scope and geographic breadth of their organizing activities.

Traditional blue-collar labor unions (such as the Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers, the United Steelworkers, and the International Association of Machinists) seeking to stem the tide of membership losses, as well as more sophisticated service-sector unions (such as the Service Employees International Union, National Nurses United, and the California Nurses Association), are focusing their organizing efforts on hospitals and healthcare systems across the United States.

Healthcare is an attractive target, in part, because of the sheer number of jobs that it provides and projections for continued and rapid growth.

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Negative Consequences of New Health Care Law Requirements

Back on March 10, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a major policy speech about her efforts to pass President Obama’s health care bill.  She said, “…we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

The bill was passed and signed into law.  Over the last few months, we’ve had the opportunity to “find out what is in it.” Many people do not like what they’re seeing.

In the haste to pass HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, many provisions purportedly intended to provide people with health care assistance, have actually had unintended, negative consequences, which the Obama Administration is struggling to repair after the fact. 

Recent examples:

1.    Employers at some of the nation’s largest companies report that they may no longer be able to provide health insurance, known as “mini-med” plans, to their part-time or low-wage employees.

2.    Many are dropping health care benefits for retirees due to an expired tax credit that allows companies to provide prescription drug benefits.

3.    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is allowing insurers to charge higher premiums for coverage of children with serious medical problems, if states allow.

4.    Insurance companies are dropping Medicare Advantage plans, offering seniors fewer choices.

5.    There is no clarity on the minimum medical loss ratio (MLR) requirement, which calculates the percentage of revenue received from premiums that insurers must spend on benefits.

6.    We are seeing increased costs for health care plans for individuals and families.

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By Joseph Hovanec Jr.



It is clear that H.R. 3590 is not reducing the cost of health care which of course was the only justifiable reason to pass it. Instead, we are seeing massive cost increases from Insurance Companies who are doing nothing more than passing their increased cost to comply with the new law on to their insureds. 

NJECPAC members informed NJ Congressmen and Senators of that reality back in May when we visited them at their Washington Offices. 

At a recent meeting I attended in Dallas Texas, I met with many respected Electrical Contracting Business Owners from all over the country.  Many of them have begun negotiatiations with their Health Care Providers for renewing their policies under Obamacare. Each of them reported increases for their Companies Health Insurance Plans ranging anywhere between a minimum of 19% and as high as 49%

Did anyone that signed on for this kind of Hope and Change? Those that voted for H.R. 3590 have been called incompetent by some, I prefer to call them arrogantly ignorant.