Archive for the “Current Affairs” Category

Via Heritage Action

This week, Representative Todd Rokita (R-IN) introduced the Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act (H.R.4385), which would allow employers to pay individual union workers more than the union contract specifies. Currently, union contracts set both a floor and a ceiling on wages, meaning that while workers cannot be paid below a certain amount, they also cannot be paid above a certain amount, eliminating true performance-based pay.

The legislation is necessary because unions have actually fought bonuses awarded to their members. The National labor Relations Board (NLRB) has sided with the unions, and not the workers, in such cases, claiming the bonuses constituted an illegal “direct dealing” with the workers.  “Direct dealing” is forbidden under collective bargaining law. This means that if a union worker works hard, takes initiative and proves to be an indispensable asset to their actual employer, they can’t be rewarded unless the union says so.

This creates the false dynamic that the union, not the actual company, is the source of their income. Hard workers end up being held back while less productive workers are propped up. It removes the incentive for hard work and runs contrary to the spirit and values that built America.

The RAISE Act would not eliminate the floor set by collective bargaining agreements, but would  remove the pay ceiling, allowing exceptional employees to be compensated as such. It also does not allow employers from unfairly rewarding non-union workers with raises just to punish union workers. Simply put, it is not union busting, but a way of rewarding deserving employees.

Heritage Action supports (H.R.4385) and will include CO-SPONSORSHIP of this legislation in our scorecard.

Related Links:
Heritage Action’s Legislative Scorecard
For Employees, It’s Time for RAISE
Heritage: Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act
RAISE Act Lifts Pay Cap on 8 Million American Workers

On Saturday, 26-year-old Nathaniel Gatchell was ran down and killed by Anissa Northup, who was intoxicated at the time, as he crossed Broadway. Here’s two of her Facebook posts from March of this year.

Prayers to the Gatchell family.

Click to enlarge

THE JARS OF CLAY ARE COMING TO FORT WAYNE  Wednesday, April 18 …. details here 

From a local MSM site.

Through several anonymous donations, Crime Stoppers is now offering a $5,000 dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual(s) in the attempted murder of David Kuker.

I guess he still cannot identify the shooter. FWPD are still mum on the facts.

Hoosiers for Conservative Senate released the following statement today:

Hoosiers for Conservative Senate call on Richard Lugar to apologize to State Treasurer Richard Mourdock for his top aide’s irresponsible and slandering remarks insinuating Mr. Mourdock is  wearing a Confederate necktie in his latest email and media blast.

Monica Boyer, Co-founder of HFCS stated,  ”Such remarks are insulting to the political process and to Hoosiers. Hoosiers have had enough of the slander and call on Senator Lugar to reign in his staff, stand up and debate the issues, and leave the personal attacks for the playground sand box.  Co-Founder Greg Fettig also stated that “it is a sad day when our once esteemed senator would resort to using allegations of racism in a desperate attempt to save his failing candidacy.  Hoosiers and all Americans deserve much better than this and this is just another illustration of Senator Lugar having lost touch and holding disdain with his constituency”

One of the racism allegations came in the form of an email from David Willkie, Lugar’s political director, which stated:

There’s wild elk in Indiana!… and we’re not talking about a patriotic fraternal organization!Wait… put down your gun.

That’s not an Indiana elk… (if so, it would be one of the first wild ones since the Civil War when guys sported Confederate neckties like Richard Mourdock’s).

You can read the entire email here. That found its way to Politico, where Willkie showed he’s an even bigger ass.

In addition, local radio talk-show Limbaugh wannabe, Gary Snyder has stooped to the same level  on Twitter, as well as his blog. For the record, the Lugar Campaign pays Snyder to run ads on his blog, and who knows what else.

When you’re desperate, I suppose you’ll do anything to try and win, especially when everything points to a losing campaign. Watch the Mourdock -v- Lugar debate tonight at 8 p.m. on WANE TV.

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By Micah Clark

Our Not So Safe Hoosier High Schools

There is a disturbing new report out which shows that Indiana has a top national ranking that should worry a lot of parents and policy makers. The report finds that Hoosier high school girls are among the least safe in the nation in terms of sexual assault and rape. The analysis of sexual violence conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 17.3 percent of high school girls in 9th through 12 grades report having had forced sexual intercourse. The national average is10.5 percent. Indiana’s alarmingly high student rape rate places us as the second highest state in the nation.

The numbers may even be worse than this report indicates.   Advocates have always claimed that only about 50% of rapes and sexual assaults are ever reported. Toby Strout, executive director ofMiddle Way House in Bloomington, said 80 percent or more of unwanted sexual activity involves people who know each other and are either in a relationship, dating or acquaintances. “We’re not talking about people jumping out from behind the bushes,” Strout said. Sadly, the news reports claim that the solution rests in better sex education (as if a violent boy using a condom really makes a dime’s difference in terms of victimization), rather than promoting character education and expecting moral restraint among high school boys. Read the rest of this entry »