Labor Agreement
Secret TPP Text Unveiled: It’s Worse than We Thought
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive multinational Trade Agreement among twelve Pacific Rim countries; Canada, Singapore, Japan Brunei, New Zealand, Chile, United States, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico: signed on 4 February 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, stated to: "promote economic growth, support the creation and retention of jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in our countries; and promote transparency, good governance, and enhanced labor and environmental protections, and contains measures to lower trade barriers, such as tariffs, and establish an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. It has not entered into force.
· The TPP would make it easier for corporations to offshore American jobs. The TPP includes investor protections that reduce the risks and costs of relocating production to low wage countries. The pro-free-trade “Cato Institute” (an American Libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.) considers these terms a subsidy on offshoring, noting that they lower the risk premium of relocating to venues that American firms might consider.
· The TPP would push down our wages by throwing Americans into competition with Vietnamese workers making less than 65 cents an hour. The TPP’s labor rights provisions largely replicate the terms included in past pacts since the “May 2007” reforms forced on then - president George W. Bush by congressional Democrats. A 2014 Government Accountability Office report (the supreme audit institution of the federal government) found that these terms had failed to improve workers’ conditions. This includes in Colombia, which also was subjected to an additional Labor Action Plan similar to what the Obama administration has negotiated with Vietnam.
· The TPP would flood the United States with unsafe imported Food, including by allowing new challenges of “International Food Inspection” border food safety inspections not provided for in past trade pacts.
· The deal would raise our medicine prices, giving big pharmaceutical corporations new monopoly rights to keep lower cost generics drugs off the market. The TPP would roll back the modest reforms of the “May 2007” standards with respect to trade pact Intellectual Rights patent terms.
· The TPP includes countries notorious for “Drug Trafficking” and severe violations of human rights, but the term “human rights” does not appear in the 5600 pages of the TPP text. In Brunei LGBT individuals and single mothers can be stoned to death under Sharia law. In Malaysia, thousands of ethnic minorities are trafficked through the jungle in modern slavery.
From: Gary Koniz
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 6:26 PM
To: mark.pearce@nlrb.gov
Cc: christina.ford@nlrb.gov; richard.bock@nlrb.gov; dallas.manuel@nlrb.gov; david.cohen@nlrb.gov; amy.ferrell@nlrb.gov; luis.padilla@nlrb.gov; Paul D'Aurora; thomas@job-rights.com; david.berry@nlrb.gov; Pam Bondi; SA in Charge Michelle S. Klimt; Eric Affeldt; Richard F.; arthur.amchan@nlrb.gov; robert.giannasi@nlrb.gov; imee.licare@nlrb.gov; Mary.Meyers@nlrb.gov; Senator Bill Nelson; Senator Marco Rubio; Frank Denton; david.goldman@nlrb.gov; patricia.weth@nlrb.gov; Lorri Park; Jim Dao; Richard Trumka; Bob Woodward; eleanor.laws@nlrb.gov; Margaret Diaz; Helen Parker; Russell Harper; John Patrick; thomas@job-rights.com; John Gage; mwilliams@flaflcio.org; Mario Cilento; Donna Alston; Doris Orr'Richardson; Dorothy "Dodie" Hofstetter; PressOffice@bls.gov; cpsinfo@bls.gov; Richard Templin; stovall74@gmail.com; margarette58@yahoo.com;
Subject: Just Wages For The Working Class Demanded!!
Dear Mr. Pearce:
NLRB Chairman
I don't think you understand that we need you to take the situation of the occurring wage robbery theft of services more deliberately seriously than you are doing at the present time. It is not a game to us and life and death to those that it is life and death to, to take seriously. I want that understood, if anyone thinks different.
You can view my earlier 2008 discussions with your predecessor NLRB Chairman Mr. Peter Schaumber on my Campaign Website (below) under the heading "Labor Agreement," and as well attached to this email.
Our Golf Course Maintenance Workers who are diligently laboring to their jobs are being squeezed down to $9.00 per hour and to less than a 40 hour work week by their ruthless ClubCorp U.S.A. Employer; when they need to be at $11.00 just to maintain their Cost of Living, and should be at $13.00 for their skilled work in 2016 dollars.
It seems as if the current National Labor Relations Board is bent on allowing "the purging" of our American Middle Class Workers to make way for a Third World Immigration Invasion Take Over who are willing to work for the Minimum Wage.
Here are a few of former NLRB Chairman Schaumber's comments about "your" present administration provided to the “LaborUnionReport.Com”and regarding the Politicizing of your Agency which has become all too obvious in its bias against employees.
“Former NLRB Chairman Sees a Dramatic Shift in Rulings Under Obama Board”
September 17, 2010 By Editor
“Peter Schaumber, former Chairman and Board Member, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), predicted that, if given the opportunity, many of the NLRB’s significant Bush Board rulings are likely to be reversed under President Barack Obama’s administration. Schaumber, appointed by President George W. Bush, told corporate in-house counsel of the potentially dramatic changes to American labor law during his Keynote Address at the InsideCounsel/Fisher & Phillips National Labor Law Symposium yesterday.”
"Schaumber lamented the politicization of the NLRB that has resulted from the change in the appointment process away from selecting a Board of “impartial government employees” as originally contemplated by Congress. He said the oscillations in Board law as party control changes create instability in labor-management relations and impugns the integrity of the Board as an impartial body."
"Schaumber said that he hopes he can play a role in meaningful labor law reform and in affecting a positive change in labor-management relations now that he is back in the private sector."
"Schaumber predicted that the free speech of employers to non-coercively oppose unionization during union organizing campaigns will be restricted and increased penalties will be levied against employers particularly for alleged violations during first contract bargaining. He said that while the Board cannot adopt specific provisions of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) as has been feared, it can usher in rules and decisions to establish fertile ground for the card-check process and that are consistent with EFCA’s underlying principles."
“The Board doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” said Schaumber. “It’s affected by the political climate in Washington.”
H.R. 5000: Employee Free Choice Act of 2016
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes. This bill was sponsored by Congressman Alan Grayson 9th CD FL (D) was assigned to a congressional committee on April 20, 2016, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole.
Peter C. Schaumber
2700 Calvert Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
202 363 2900
peter@schaumberconsulting.com
Most Respectfully,
Gary L. Koniz
Journalist Correspondent
Independent Candidate for
U.S. House of Representatives, 4th CD, FL
“United Labor Unifying The Nation Providing Jobs
And A Fair Cost Of Living Wage For The People"
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5000
Employee Free Choice Act of 2016
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 20, 2016
Mr. Grayson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the “Employee Free Choice Act of 2016”.
SEC. 2. Streamlining union certification.
(a) In general.—Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, whenever a petition shall have been filed by an employee or group of employees or any individual or labor organization acting in their behalf alleging that a majority of employees in a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining wish to be represented by an individual or labor organization for such purposes, the Board shall investigate the petition. If the Board finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection (a).
“(7) The Board shall develop guidelines and procedures for the designation by employees of a bargaining representative in the manner described in paragraph (6). Such guidelines and procedures shall include—
“(A) model collective bargaining authorization language that may be used for purposes of making the designations described in paragraph (6); and
“(B) procedures to be used by the Board to establish the validity of signed authorizations designating bargaining representatives.”.
(b) Conforming amendments.—
(1) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD.—Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 153(b)) is amended, in the second sentence—
(A) by striking “and to” and inserting “to”; and
(B) by striking “and certify the results thereof,” and inserting “, and to issue certifications as provided for in that section,”.
(2) UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.—Section 8(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)) is amended—
(A) in paragraph (7)(B) by striking “, or” and inserting “or a petition has been filed under section 9(c)(6), or”; and
(B) in paragraph (7)(C) by striking “when such a petition has been filed” and inserting “when such a petition other than a petition under section 9(c)(6) has been filed”.
SEC. 3. Facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements.
Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(h) Whenever collective bargaining is for the purpose of establishing an initial agreement following certification or recognition, the provisions of subsection (d) shall be modified as follows:
“(1) Not later than 10 days after receiving a written request for collective bargaining from an individual or labor organization that has been newly organized or certified as a representative as defined in section 9(a), or within such further period as the parties agree upon, the parties shall meet and commence to bargain collectively and shall make every reasonable effort to conclude and sign a collective bargaining agreement.
“(2) If after the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date on which bargaining is commenced, or such additional period as the parties may agree upon, the parties have failed to reach an agreement, either party may notify the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service of the existence of a dispute and request mediation. Whenever such a request is received, it shall be the duty of the Service promptly to put itself in communication with the parties and to use its best efforts, by mediation and conciliation, to bring them to agreement.
“(3) If after the expiration of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the request for mediation is made under paragraph (2), or such additional period as the parties may agree upon, the Service is not able to bring the parties to agreement by conciliation, the Service shall refer the dispute to an arbitration board established in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed by the Service. The arbitration panel shall render a decision settling the dispute and such decision shall be binding upon the parties for a period of 2 years, unless amended during such period by written consent of the parties.”.
SEC. 4. Strengthening enforcement.
(a) Injunctions against unfair labor practices during organizing drives.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 10(l) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(l)) is amended—
(A) in the second sentence, by striking “If, after such” and inserting the following:
“(2) If, after such”; and
(B) by striking the first sentence and inserting the following:
“(1) Whenever it is charged—
“(A) that any employer—
“(i) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee in violation of subsection (a)(3) of section 8;
“(ii) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in violation of subsection (a)(1) of section 8; or
“(iii) engaged in any other unfair labor practice within the meaning of subsection (a)(1) that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7;
while employees of that employer were seeking representation by a labor organization or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative defined in section 9(a) until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into between the employer and the representative; or
“(B) that any person has engaged in an unfair labor practice within the meaning of subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 8(b)(4), section 8(e), or section 8(b)(7);
the preliminary investigation of such charge shall be made forthwith and given priority over all other cases except cases of like character in the office where it is filed or to which it is referred.”.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 10(m) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(m)) is amended by inserting “under circumstances not subject to section 10(l)” after “section 8”.
(b) Remedies for violations.—
(1) BACKPAY.—Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(c)) is amended by striking “And provided further,” and inserting “Provided further, That if the Board finds that an employer has discriminated against an employee in violation of subsection (a)(3) of section 8 while employees of the employer were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative defined in subsection (a) of section 9 until the first collective bargaining contract was entered into between the employer and the representative, the Board in such order shall award the employee back pay and, in addition, 2 times that amount as liquidated damages: Provided further,”.
(2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 12 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 162) is amended—
(A) by striking “Any” and inserting “(a) Any”; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
“(b) Any employer who willfully or repeatedly commits any unfair labor practice within the meaning of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(3) of section 8 while employees of the employer are seeking representation by a labor organization or during the period after a labor organization has been recognized as a representative defined in subsection (a) of section 9 until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into between the employer and the representative shall, in addition to any make-whole remedy ordered, be subject to a civil penalty of not to exceed $20,000 for each violation. In determining the amount of any penalty under this section, the Board shall consider the gravity of the unfair labor practice and the impact of the unfair labor practice on the charging party, on other persons seeking to exercise rights guaranteed by this Act, or on the public interest”.
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From: Gary Koniz
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2016 6:04 AM
To: Phillip Vogelsang – FOP General Counsel
Subject: Re: Politicized NLRB At Odds With American Workforce
Here is your email as you requested be taken off my Campaign List for a fair Cost-Of-Living Wage: Phil Vogelsang (pvogelsang@fop530.com); with words for your General Counsel:
I just wanted you to think about whose impoverished pockets (of the ruthlessly exploited American Working Class here in Jacksonville,) that your Fraternal Order Of Police Union (FOP) doesn't seem to want to lend an Organized Labor helping hand to survival of our Workers about;) and from whom that you are sadistically intending to exact your Golden Parachute Unfunded Police/Fire Pension Fund from in the form of increased Sales Taxes to take out of the hungry mouths of their malnourished children and the clothes off their backs; and beside Bankrupting the City over and Depriving the Taxpaying Public of our necessary Public Works Projects and Public Employment to being sacrificed for the sake of your over ambitious retirements when you make over twice as much on your Unfunded PFPF Plan as the working poor who you are demanding money from, and who never will have any Retirement Plans of their own to live for.
Think about what it is that you are doing here, and how the public is regarding you, and Voluntarily Renegotiate your Contract to a more laudable level of public decency, and one in which you Contribute Into out of your paychecks like everybody else who works for a living.
And while I have this moment alone with you; to encourage you to take an active interest in our Fair Economy For All Social Justice Agreement. All of us together encouraging the idea along of Fair-Minded Government and Overcoming the Inertia of Bad Faith will make it come about; and what is the primary motive for my collective list. Please visit my Campaign Website to appreciate our total commitment to the Creation of a Model Society here in our America.
Consensus = Power. Imagine what a large group of determined people can do, God Willing.
Self-Serving Myopia is the Death of our Government and the Bane of all its Trusting Citizens.
Either you are Socially Correct in your Public Endeavors or you destroy the Holy Fabric of our Nation. You need to admit that the Unfunded Police Fire Pension Fund was a “Costly Mistake” for the FOP and the City of Jacksonville to have ever negotiated, To Be Rendered Null and Void.
Most Respectfully,
Gary L. Koniz
Journalist Correspondent
Independent Candidate for
U.S. House of Representatives, 4th CD, FL
“United Labor Unifying The Nation Providing Jobs
And A Fair Cost Of Living Wage For The People"
(904) 730-2055 Office
www.garykonizforcongress.com
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Understanding Citizenship
Article 2, Section 1, Clause 5
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
A person who is born of just one parent who is a citizen of the United States is a citizen by birth, but not Natural Born Citizen. Someone cannot hold or have held dual citizenship with a foreign country and be a Natural Born Citizen. The fact that we are confused by this qualification, or perhaps even wish to alter this qualification, must be because we do not understand WHY this qualification was established in the first place. So, before we take a stand either way, we must consider the reasons why this qualification was established by the framers of the American Constitution.
The whole reason the president must be a Natural Born Citizen is because our framers had a history full of foreign kings imposing foreign law and foreign favor upon the people and they knew how dangerous foreign influence was to Liberty. George Washington spent a great bit of effort trying to drive this understanding home in his Farewell Address of 1796:
“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.”
8 U.S. Code § 1401 - Nationals and citizens of United States at birth
The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth:
(a) a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof;
(b) a person born in the United States to a member of an Indian, Eskimo, Aleutian, or other aboriginal tribe:
Provided, That the granting of citizenship under this subsection shall not in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of such person to tribal or other property;
(c) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such person;
(d) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United States who has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year prior to the birth of such person, and the other of whom is a national, but not a citizen of the United States;
(e) a person born in an outlying possession of the United States of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United States who has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year at any time prior to the birth of such person;
(f) a person of unknown parentage found in the United States while under the age of five years, until shown, prior to his attaining the age of twenty-one years, not to have been born in the United States;
(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years:
Provided, (A) That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization as that term is defined in section 288 of title 22 by such citizen parent, or any periods during which such citizen parent is physically present abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person (A) honorably serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, or (B) employed by the United States Government or an international organization as defined in section 288 of title 22, may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph. This proviso shall be applicable to persons born on or after December 24, 1952, to the same extent as if it had become effective in its present form on that date; and
(h) a person born before noon (Eastern Standard Time) May 24, 1934, outside the limits and jurisdiction of the United States of an alien father and a mother who is a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, had resided in the United States.
This is an important distinction that helps us understand WHY the Natural Born Citizen requirement is a must. The President is the commander in chief of the military. Our framers knew from their history that it would be extremely dangerous to allow someone of foreign influence to exercise power over our military. Founder, John Jay wrote a letter to George Washington on July 25, 1787, expressing this very point.
The commander in chief could have no fractionalized loyalty. The commander in chief must be loyal to the United States, first and only. Prior to being a Natural Born Citizen, the candidate for president would have proven that loyalty by having been a “distinguished revolutionary patriot.” Once time established the availability of Natural Born Citizen candidates, that unbroken loyalty would be proven in party by the fact that both parents were citizens of the United States and establishing that the candidate would have been raised in a home with loyalty only to the United States.
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Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (Pub.L. 82–414, 66 Stat. 163, enacted June 27, 1952), also known as the McCarran–Walter Act, restricted immigration into the U.S. and is codified under Title 8 of the United States Code (8 U.S.C. ch. 12). The Act governs primarily immigration to and citizenship in the United States. It has been in effect since December 24, 1952. Before this Act, a variety of statutes governed immigration law but were not organized within one body of text.
Enactment
H.R. 5678 was named after its sponsors, Senator Pat McCarran (D-Nevada), and Congressman Francis Walter (D-Pennsylvania).
President Harry Truman, a Democrat, vetoed the Act because he regarded the bill as "un-American" and discriminatory. His veto message said:
Today, we are "protecting" ourselves as we were in 1924, against being flooded by immigrants from Eastern Europe. This is fantastic. ... We do not need to be protected against immigrants from these countries–on the contrary we want to stretch out a helping hand, to save those who have managed to flee into Western Europe, to succor those who are brave enough to escape from barbarism, to welcome and restore them against the day when their countries will, as we hope, be free again....These are only a few examples of the absurdity, the cruelty of carrying over into this year of 1952 the isolationist limitations of our 1924 law.
In no other realm of our national life are we so hampered and stultified by the dead hand of the past, as we are in this field of immigration.
Truman's veto was overridden by a vote of 278 to 113 in the House and 57 to 26 in the Senate.
Speaking in the Senate on March 2, 1953, McCarran said:
I believe that this nation is the last hope of Western civilization and if this oasis of the world shall be overrun, perverted, contaminated or destroyed, then the last flickering light of humanity will be extinguished. I take no issue with those who would praise the contributions which have been made to our society by people of many races, of varied creeds and colors. ... However, we have in the United States today hard-core, indigestible blocs which have not become integrated into the American way of life, but which, on the contrary are its deadly enemies. Today, as never before, untold millions are storming our gates for admission and those gates are cracking under the strain. The solution of the problems of Europe and Asia will not come through a transplanting of those problems en masse to the United States. ... I do not intend to become prophetic, but if the enemies of this legislation succeed in riddling it to pieces, or in amending it beyond recognition, they will have contributed more to promote this nation's downfall than any other group since we achieved our independence as a nation.
Provisions
The Act abolished racial restrictions found in United States immigration and naturalization statutes going back to the Naturalization Act of 1790, which had limited naturalization to immigrants who were "free white persons, of good moral character." The 1952 Act retained a quota system for nationalities and regions. Eventually, the Act established a preference system which determined which ethnic groups were desirable immigrants and placed great importance on labor qualifications.
The Act defined three types of immigrants: immigrants with special skills or relatives of U.S. citizens who were exempt from quotas and who were to be admitted without restrictions; average immigrants whose numbers were not supposed to exceed 270,000 per year; and refugees.
The Act allowed the government to deport immigrants or naturalized citizens engaged in subversive activities and also allowed the barring of suspected subversives from entering the country. It was used to bar members and former members and "fellow travelers" of the Communist Party from entry into the United States, even those who had not been associated with the party for decades.
It expanded the definition of the "United States" for nationality purposes, which already included Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to add Guam. Persons born in these territories on or after December 24, 1952 acquire U.S. citizenship at birth on the same terms as persons born in other parts of the United States.
A 1962 guideline explained procedures under the Act:
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 requires an alien to apply for a petition for naturalization. This form may be obtained from any office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, a division of the Department of Justice, or from any court authorized to naturalize aliens.
Before applying, an alien must be at least 18 years old and must have been lawfully admitted to live permanently in the United States. He must have lived in the United States for five years and for the last six months in the state where he seeks to be naturalized. In some cases, he need only have lived three years in the United States. He must be of good moral character and "attached to the principles of the Constitution". The law states that an alien is not of good moral character if he is a drunkard, has committed adultery, has more than one wife, makes his living by gambling, has lied to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, has been in jail more than 180 days for any reason during his five years in the United States, or is a convicted murderer.
Modifications
Parts of the Act remain in place today, but it has been amended many times and was modified substantially by the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965.
When regulations issued under the authority of the Passport Act of 1926 were challenged in Haig v. Agee, Congress enacted section § 707(b) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979 (Pub.L. 95–426, 92 Stat. 993, enacted October 7, 1978), amending § 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act making it unlawful to travel abroad without a passport. Until that legislation, under the Travel Control Act of 1918, the president had the authority to require passports for foreign travel only in time of war.
Provisions that excluded certain classes of immigrants based on their political beliefs were revoked by the Immigration Act of 1990.
As a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Act underwent a major restructuring beginning in March 2003 and its provisions regarding the admissibility and removability of terrorist suspects have received much media and scholarly attention.
An applicant for US citizenship must meet the following requirements:
Must be admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident (LPR), commonly referred to as one who possesses green card status. There is only one exception to this requirement: If an applicant has served in the US armed forces during war, that person may be naturalized without first becoming a permanent resident if they were in the United States upon induction or enlistment into the US military.
Continuous residence in the US for at least five years immediately preceding the applicant's filing for naturalization. Continuous residence is not the same thing as physically present here. That is, one must maintain their status as a legal permanent resident but not necessarily be physically inside the borders of the US to accomplish this. For example, if one is overseas for a portion of this period, maintaining an address location and paying one's state and federal taxes may help ensure continuity of residence for this requirement. Also, if overseas for any more than a few months, it may be advisable to obtain a travel document prior to departing. This may be done on INS Form I-131. Only three years continuous residence are required if the applicant is filing for US citizenship based upon marriage. This exception applies if you are the spouse of a US citizen and have been married for three years; are the battered spouse of a US citizen (even if you are separated or divorced); are a refugee or political asylee; in the US military or are a widow or widower of someone in the US military; or are a spouse of a US citizen in particular overseas jobs.
Actual physical residence (within the state in which the petition is filed) during at least the three months immediately before filing for US citizenship is another requirement.
Physical presence within the US for a total of at least one half of the period of required continuous residence. That is, two and a half years for most applicants and one and a half years for spouses of US citizens.
Continuous residence (but not necessarily physical presence) in the United States from the date of filing the naturalization application up to the date of being sworn in as a US citizen.
The ability to read, write and speak ordinary English unless they are physically unable to do so due to a disability such as being blind or deaf, or suffer from a developmental disability or mental impairment. Those over 50 years old on the date of filing who have lived here for a total of at least 20 years after admission as a permanent resident and those who are over 55 and have been legal permanent residents for at least 15 years are also exempt from this requirement.
A basic understanding of the fundamentals of US history and government. There is an oral test that covers fundamentals of US history and government and it is required for naturalization.
Good moral character and an affinity for the principles of the US Constitution. Good moral character is reflected in the applicant's behavior before applying for US citizenship. Good moral character is demonstrated by paying taxes and having a clean criminal record, for example, and is an important part of qualifying for naturalization.
Applicants should be at least 18 years of age at the time of filing. Certain exceptions exist, however, for the children of other permanent residents who are seeking naturalization.
Other Paths to Citizenship
An applicant under the age of 18, may still qualify for naturalization if one of his or her parents is a citizen or becomes a citizen of the United States.
Applying for U.S. citizenship is a long, extensive process, but for many it is worth the time and effort the process demands. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) handles citizenship applications and here are the basic requirements you need to meet when applying for citizenship in the U.S.:
You already have a green card
You are at least 18 years old.
You have lived in the U.S. lawfully as a permanent resident for at least five years unless you are a spouse of a U.S. citizen, refugee, or received your green card through political asylum.
During those five years, you have been physically present in the U.S. for at least half of the time.
You have not spent more than one year at a time outside the U.S.
You have not established a primary home in another country.
You have lived in the state or district where you are filing your application for at least three months.
You have "good moral character".
You can read, write and speak English.
You can pass a test about U.S. history and government.
You will swear that you believe in the principles of the U.S. Constitution and will be loyal to the U.S.
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Gary L. Koniz
9480 Princeton Square Blvd. S., #815, Jacksonville, FL 32256
Home: (904) 730-2055 - Cell: (904) 402-5503
gary.koniz@hotmail.com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
+ I began my Professional Writing Career in 1979 as a Reporter/Photographer covering School Events for The Pougkeepsie, NY School District working with the local newspaper The Poughkeepsie Journal. It was with this newspaper that I began doing Freelance Work in Investigative Journalism for the next ten years covering The War On Drugs (and becoming involved directly with President Ronald Reagan’s Task Force in 1981, “To Break The Cone-of-Silence Surrounding Organized Crime Activities,” regarding The Drug-Chemical Warfare Subversion occurring in the aftermath of The Vietnam War.) I also worked on many other crisis issues of State; the Economy, Labor, Humane Appeals, Race Relations, a Proper Moral Foundation for The Nation, and The Environment, before relocating to Buffalo, NY in 1989.
+ In Buffalo, NY I became involved with Bishop Henry Mansell of The Diocese of Buffalo on an expansive Christian Social Outreach Project on Government Reform and began to work as an advisor and media correspondent with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on The War On Drugs, and many other vital issue of the hour; that as well involved working closely on all levels of the government with many other Political Leaders, most notably with Senator Alfonse D’Amato, Senator Jay Rockefeller, (with whom I assisted in working on the Senator’s 1992 Presidential Campaign Platform as a Policy Platform Speech Writer, and with whom I continued on with to the present day in correspondence,) and Senator Edward Kennedy, now past away, (with whom I worked closely with as well on the Drug War.)
+ I also worked closely with, and in conjunction to AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney, on Economic/Labor Issues, and was successfully involving with raising The Minimum Wage; and to the upgrading of The Minimum Wage Law itself to the initiation of a Prevailing Fair Wage and Benefits Legislation based to The Federal Government’s General Schedule, (GS) Standards formula, and for Universal IRS Deductible Health Care, (and still as yet to be accomplished.) I also worked very closely with NYS Congressman Jack Quinn, (in particular,) and with New York State Governor George Pataki, with New York State Senator William T. Stackowski, New York State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski, The City of Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello, with Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement, with Government Agencies, (most notably The Federal Aviation Administration,) and with The National Guard and Central Command on The Drug War.
+ During this time (of the decade 1989 – 2000,) I was also directly responsible for the clearing the City of Buffalo‘s air with The Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA,) regarding the local Bethlehem Steel Mill in stopping them from its burning of low grade coal with high sulfur benzene carcinogens emissions. And he was responsible for the resolution of The Native American Indians‘ Tax Treaty Case, with New York State‘s Governor George Pataki; (that was resolved in the favor of The Seneca Indian Nation for New York State not to Tax on their Reservations in Violation of the existing Treaty With The Seneca, in War Crisis.)
+ During this time I also did extensive coaching and air-time psychology work as well as providing Screen Play Literary contributions with the Actor Larry Hagman in the early to mid-1990’s for many years as a contributing commentator and was instrumental in creating the final episode of “Dallas,” entitled, “The Dallas Reunion,” that aired November 15, 1996, five years after the T.V. Series has ended on May 3, 1991; successfully changing the psychological resolution to the tragic (apparent suicide) ending of his Character J.R. Ewing as the series had ended with that suspicion in its conclusion of J.R. having killed himself and to the horror of his grief stricken fans to relieve; to his having been hallucinating from being “sabotaged” with the Drug LSD and shooting at the demon in his dressing mirror, instead of taking his own life.
+I was also a Correspondent, Political Press Agent, and Information News Source Advisor to the Editor of The Buffalo News, Mr. Murray Light, from 1989 – 2000 (and in major contributions to his “War Press” in Policy Confrontation to the Drug War and to other crises issues of the era.) I was successful in forming a united public army around The Buffalo News in influence and with the ability to generate dynamic social policy change, (in resolution to The Drug War,) before moving to Jacksonville, FL in 2000 where I currently reside with my wife Kathleen and work as a National Correspondent and Lobbyist for; Veterans Affairs, (The Wounded Warrior Program,) Labor Rights, the Economy, and the Environment.
+ In these past years since moving to Jacksonville, FL 2000 I have organized and represent the Golf Course Maintenance Workers for ClubCorp U.S.A.. I remain on vigilante U.S Security Watch; and I am a Contributing Editorial Policy Writer for many newspapers and agencies; The Buffalo News, The New York Times, CNN, The Poughkeepsie Journal, The Washington Post, and with The Florida Times Union of Jacksonville, FL. I am also a Contributing Freelance Writer for Military Officer Magazine, and for The Catholic News.
+ I have run for Public Office in 2010, 2012, and 2014 for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 4th Congressional District of Florida on a United Labor Social Justice Platform on the theme of initiating an era of Economic Prosperity here in our America in an up-hill battle against Class Discrimination. I am on the Active List to run again for this 2016 General Election. I am committed in dedication to the Ideals of America; of Hard Work, Faith, Family, Freedom, Equality, and Excellence, and with a devotion to the pursuit of knowledge to that end to the achievement of these goals to shape the destiny of our Nation to create a more Just and Humane Society for the American People to endure, who our Nation should care about as the Divine Ethos of the Standard of this Country above all; Held on the High Moral Ground of Principle, in keeping to the vision of our Founding Fathers, for unity and nobility of purpose.
Skills_____________________________________________________________
As a Coordinating Supervisor I am dedicated to the process of continuous improvement in evolving and changing markets. I am extremely results-oriented and proactive in addressing and resolving problems.
· Interpersonal Communications Effective Leadership
· Consistently meets goals Efficient Multi-Tasker
· Project Management · Conflict resolution
· Customer Service-Oriented · Well Organized
· Deadline-Oriented · Technical Writing Skills
· Press Release Writing · Event Management
· Negotiating Skills Commercial Law
· Operations Analysis · Proofreading and Editing
Work History______________________________________________________
06/1978 to Present Freelance Journalist/Correspondent and Lobby Activist
08/1964 to 08/1967 U.S. Army Heavy Equipment Operator - Okinawa, Vietnam
08/1967 to 05/2000 Union Heavy Equipment Operator and Trades Organizer
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS - Briarcliff Manor, NY
OPERATED ALL TYPES OF HEAVY EARTH MOVING EQUIPMENT AND HELPED
SUPERVISE ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THROUGHOUT NEW YORK STATE
12/1977 to 06/1978 Project Development Team Supervisor C.ET.A. Program Poughkeepsie, NY - In charge of developing C.E T.A. Job Projects for Dutchess County NY - Hired and Supervised 7 employees - Contacted Non-Profit Organizations and Prepared Grant
Proposals - Exceeded Requirements - Trained, Coached, and Mentored C.E.T.A. Staff.
06/1978 to 06/1979 Public Information Officer Poughkeepsie School District -
Poughkeepsie, NY - In charge of press relations for the Poughkeepsie School District - Created releases – Prepared, Edited, and Highlighted School Activities for "The Poughkeepsie Journal"
02/1968 to 10/1974 Commercial Charter Pilot - Sky Acres Flying School
Billings, NY - Flew Charter Flights throughout the North Eastern, Eastern Seaboard, and Southern United States and Canada, Single and Multi-Engine Land - Freight and Passengers.
09/1985 to 06/1986 Freight Processor - IBM Light Industrial Computer Operator
International Business Machines - Poughkeepsie, NY - Temporary Employment -Warehouse Operations – Loaded - Unloaded and Processed Freight throughout the central warehouse
1992 to 2000 Lobbyist with Greater Buffalo Building And Construction Trades Council
New York AFL-CIO, New York, NY – with President Edward Cleary – Policy Writer
1995-2009 AFL-CIO International - with President John Sweeney – Policy Writer
06/2000 to Present North Florida Central Labor Council – with President Russell Harper
06/2008 to Present Secretary – International Brotherhood Of Golf Course Maintenance Workers - DeerCreek Country Club Maintenance Department – ClubCorp U.S.A.
Education__________________________________________________________________
6/1974 Bachelor of Arts – Creative Writing/Journalism – Summa Cum Laude
Graduate Teaching Assistantship - SUNY New Paltz – New Paltz, NY 12561
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2016 Campaign Agendas
Thank you for taking an interest in my Campaign for Congress in the 2016 Election and for your kind support in assistance with the signing of my petition forms, in need of 2298 to be Qualified to be on the ballot; to be mailed in to your County Supervisor of Elections in; Duval, Baker, and Nassau Counties of Florida’s 4th Congressional District. I am running as a retired Union Operator with the International Union of Operating Engineers and Building and Construction Trades Organizer in New York State, and as a Journalist Correspondent, in Representation.
It is critically important for us to take charge of the government at this time, to stand together as a "United Labor Organization” to work-out a successful economy here in America for the critical and vital economic relief we need; FOR ALL OF OUR AMERICA'S WORKERS, and not just for the fortunate privileged few who have the Large Numbers of Leverage to be able to organize themselves into Strong Middle Class Unions to be able to provide a gainful livelihood for themselves and their families here, in ECONOMIC FREEDOM; with LEGISLATION being the decisive word, and at the very least for a Cost-Of-Living Wage. The Health and Well-Being of our population and the maintenance needs of our Infrastructure and for Full Public Employment cannot wait on Economic Conditions To Improve to get resolved. Our Agendas Are As Follows:
1. To Legislatively Mandate for Full Public Employment and a Cost-Of-Living Wage (and otherwise for appropriate Middle Class Wages,) to be paid to America's Workforce. Fiat Issue is key to this project that cannot wait on Economic Condition To Improve to get taken care of.
2. To Legislate Price Monitoring to Prevent Consumer Gouging to the Cost of Living Essentials.
3. To Legislate for a National Health and Dental Care System based to income in graduated payroll deductions as an addition to Medicare, in which everyone in America would be issued a Medicare Card and with the option to be covered for their basic Health and Dental Care Needs.
4. To Legislate for Contingency Full Faith Certificate Fiat Issue Monetary Resolution to be Enacted; To Fund For Government Services, Create Employment, Provide for the Environment, Education, and Emergency Relief, and To Preclude Fiscal Deficit by Issuing Taxation Shortfall directly from the Treasury instead of borrowing the money at excessively high interest rates.
5. To Legislate for Protection of our Stock Market and the Public Investments from Panic Selling and Manipulation by Placing a Cap of 3% on the amount that Stock Prices Can Fall in any given Trading Day, to be operated under the red line banner: TRADING IS CLOSED FOR TODAY.
6. To Legislate for Mandatory Trade Tariff Restrictions to Protect American Interests and Jobs.
7. To Legislate for the return of decent Bank Account Savings Interest Rates of 3% to 4% or higher in the Great American Spirit and former Tradition of Friendly Fair-Minded Banking Practice of caring for their customers and our Nation’s Public Welfare as a display of faith.
Gary Koniz
United Labor
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Veterans Standard
“It is something between us that we don't ordinarily talk about,” the author Ernest Hemingway once said in his fine commentaries on life that: "the experience of war; of the horror, and the terror, and the bravery, and the trembling, and the sheer ordeal of it; is a very hallowed thing that loses something of its unspoken reverence if we try and talk about it. It's a very private personal affair." The relief of sharing the bleak loneliness of war that is in our hearts as we wait solemnly to die for someone to relate it to, is the strength that we find in each other in drawing from. It is something that ordinary people cannot fathom, what war is really like, that is diminished if it is talked about to people other than ourselves who can't understand; of what nothing can be said.
The feeling of panic (being scared, ) becomes a defiance of the inevitable fate of death that is difficult to describe, something in the realm of wanting to see its end and to find out what the end of life was all about, that became more powerful than the longing to live. So, we reversed polarity. Or, the polarity reversed itself instinctively, sealed by our inevitable fate. And such is the terrified mind of the seasoned soldier that is calm and reflective at the center. What do you suppose would make 70,100 men, Confederate Soldiers, take leave of their senses to march headlong across an open field into a hail of rifle and canon fire of the Union Army on the morning July 3, 1863; in what 51,000 Confederate Soldiers were casualties (killed, wounded, captured or missing.) War made us that way too. And that is the way that we face life today.
We are guided here in that regard by a strong moral sense of duty and obligation of propriety and correctness to do what is right for the people, under the directed Guidance of The Hand of God.
I have been most pressing about the issue of our U.S. Economy in foremost concern, as each of us is all painfully aware of and to its life threatening effect in negative ways of life and death regarding the exploitation of Cheap Labor upon the Working Class People of this nation; that has left our Country's Economy starving for Working Capital, that we need to put-a-stop-to.
There are workable solutions available to us, with everybody's mutual cooperation, that will improve the business opportunities available to us and enhance the quality of life for every U.S. Citizen who is willing and able to work for a decent living, to be provided with suitable cost of living employment, and money to spend in the economy, as being Good For Business, and for all concerned in the long run; and for Full Employment to be Subsidized For by the prioritized use of Full Faith Fiat Solution if not totally provided for by private employment. WE would like to see the results of this Economic Solution succeed, and of what that will provide the basis for an enduring harmony and prosperity to exist. The overall economy needs the public to have money to spend to keep it alive and thriving and the people need to be able to survive economically.
We need also to put an end to the Drugs Destroying our Country that never does get resolved and that is only getting worse by the day. This condition is being caused by Mass Addictions being fueled by, and resulting from, the lack of employment imposing impoverished circumstances overall that we need to rectify by providing Positive Action Gainful Public Employment to an otherwise desperate population, as discussed; and by the Use of Military Strength Involvement under the Articles of Martial Law to Detect and to Interdict the Drug Trafficking Criminal Element at large under War Clause with Capital Punishment for the Major Traffickers involved; and otherwise to be De-Criminalized and treated humanely as a Medical Condition of Addiction.
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New York State AFL-CIO
9480 Princeton Square Blvd. S, #815
Jacksonville, FL 32256
January 1, 2016
Mario Cilento, President
NYS AFLCIO
50 Broadway, 35th floor
New York, NY 10004
Dear President Cilento,
I am writing to let you know and as to the entire New York State AFL-CIO, that I am on the Active List for the 2016 General Election; (running as a retired Union Operator with the International Union of Operating Engineers and as a Building and Construction Trades Organizer in New York State, and Journalist Correspondent, in dedication to Labor Representation.)
I hail from the days of the NYS AFL-CIO Presidents Edward Cleary and Dennis Hughs; as an organizer in the 1990's with the Greater Buffalo Building and Construction Trades Council. I am running for Congress in Florida’s 4th CD as a Labor Organization in running a War Campaign to Square-Off with and Confront the Existing Errors in our Government as they affect All Of Our Society’s Workforce; and in the meaning of Establishing Economic Justice and needing all the support I can gather to bring about a genuine caring regard for the well-being of the people; as this Country needs to be concerned with; and as my Campaigns have always been about. I am organizing a movement of the people to that effect, for the people to take an active interest in succeeding with; and not to remain on Politically Passive in their own regard as they have been.
I can't stress to you enough how important it is for us to take charge of our Government at this time, to stand together as a United Labor Organization to engineer and to work-out a successful Economic Resolution here for everyone in America, for the critical and timely vital economic relief we need; FOR ALL OF AMERICA'S WORKERS, and not just for the fortunate workers who have the Large Numbers of Leverage needed to organize themselves into Powerful Labor Unions to be able To Force a gainful economic livelihood to be able to provide for themselves and their families, in ECONOMIC FREEDOM; with FREEDOM being the decisive word, and at the very least to provide for a Cost-Of-Living Wage. Please take time to consider our proposal.
Fiat Issue Resolution is key to a Successful Economy. The needs of our Infrastructure and for Full Public Employment cannot wait on Economic Conditions To Improve to get taken care of, and must be resolved “On Demand” as they become apparent to intervene and to deal with.
Also! Our Economy without Consumer Spending to generate and to sustain itself will only get worse. We can't allow our economy “To Be Starved" (and the people along with it,) in allowing a lop-sided condition of Corporate Avarice (and otherwise) “Mass Exploitation of Workers” to be carried-on with. Our plan is to Effectively Unionize all of our Workers in America under the Umbrella of UNITED LABOR to be administered by the American Federation of Government Employees, AFGE, under the guidelines of the Federal Government’s General Schedule Rates.
Thanks so much for your fraternal involvement with me in this project. In under-score; that I am not an ordinary Politician Candidate, but a Labor Rights Activist Candidate with the Contacts and the Power and the Resources to get the jobs we need done once in Office, to be able to count on you to be among. I was in the Labor Wars of the late 1960’s and know how to run things.
Gary L. Koniz
Journalist Correspondent
Independent Candidate for
U.S. House of Representatives, 4th CD, FL
“United Labor Unifying The Nation Providing Jobs
And A Fair Cost Of Living Wage For The People"
(904) 730-2055 Office
www.garykonizforcongress.com
www.news4jax.com/politics/gary-koniz/29170618
The Right Formula for Peace and Prosperity in Our Time: Calls For a Fair Deal Prevailing Middle Class Wage Legislation with an Anti-Trust Fair Price Cost of Living Regulation Agreement, an Affordable Graduated FICA Payroll Deducted National Health and Dental Care Plan, and for Full Faith Fiat Issue; To Fund For Government Services, Create Employment, Provide for the Environment, Education, and Emergency Relief, and To Preclude Fiscal Deficit by Issuing Taxation Shortfall directly from the Treasury instead of borrowing it at excessively high interest rates; (there is a Lending Conspiracy going on here that is tied to the annual Congress Approval in Escalation of the National Debt Ceiling;) and to ensure that the Stock Market is not being subject to manipulation by placing a Cap on how far any giving stock can fall, (3% of its value) on any given Trading Day; that will in all, and along with a Fair Balance of Foreign Trade, Produce the Consumer Purchasing Power We Need for Economic Vitality, Growth, and Stability.
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Unfair Ballot Assessment Fees In The State of Florida
From: Gary Koniz
Sent: Monday, January 4, 2016 7:19 AM
To: Jordan; Adam S.; Gary Holland; Gary Holland; Ken Detzner; Hogan, Mike; Hogan, Mike; Fleet, Beth; Fleet, Beth; Nita D. Crawford; Vicki P. Cannon; Frank Denton; info@FloridaActionAlerts.com; bradley.rob.web@flsenate.gov; brandes.jeff.web@flsenate.gov; clemens.jeff.web@flsenate.gov; evers.greg.web@flsenate.gov; gibson.audrey.web@flsenate.gov; benacquisto.lizbeth.web@flsenate.gov; braynon.oscar.web@flsenate.gov; gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov; joyner.arthenia.web@flsenate.gov; legg.john.web@flsenate.gov; negron.joe.web@flsenate.gov; sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov; simmons.david.web@flsenate.gov; Bean.Aaron.web@flsenate.gov; stargel.kelli.web@flsenate.gov; portilla.miguel.web@flsenate.gov; Charles McBurney; Brian McGrory; Charles McBurney; Office of Open Government; Jim Dao; Scott Pelley; Rick Scott; Louis Rose; Rebecca Sharp; Mayor Lenny Curry; cojfeedback@coj.net; Scott Wilson; Jim Love; ABowman@coj.net; Scott Wilson; LBoyer@coj.net; DBecton@coj.net; Warren Jones; JoyceMorgan@coj.net; Ferraro@coj.net; Charlotte; MattS@coj.net; RGaffney@coj.net; KBrown@coj.net; GarrettD@coj.net; RBrown@coj.net; DoyleC@coj.net; Gulliford@coj.net; THazouri@coj.net; GAnderson@coj.net; SNewby@coj.net; JRC@coj.net; jpalmer@actionnewsjax.com; kbuckner@actionnewsjax.com; SNewby@coj.net; generalmanager@actionnewsjax.com; SA in Charge Michelle S. Klimt; Sheriff Bill Leeper; Sheriff Mike Williams; Sheriff Joey Dobson; Richard Trumka; Russell Harper; Mike Williams; John Patrick; Pam Bondi; Shane, Jonathan; Peggy CMG-JacksonvilleTV; koflaugh@comcast.net; Lizette Alvarez; Mike Garber; Neil Henricksen; Paige Kelton; oped@nytimes.com; Alan Baker; Billee Bussard; Bruce Dold; Lizette Alvarez; david.ratz@coxinc.com; Gerald Dopson; Gerould W. Kern; Helen Heath; Isaiah Rumlin; Jennifer Waugh; mediadesk@centcom.mil; Ashton B. Carter; Bob Woodward; Carol Boone; roblopvel@gmail.com
Subject: New Year’s Resolution To Be Passed
RE TO: Ken Detzner
Florida Secretary of State:
Sir:
In the attached documents you can see the huge disparity in Florida's Overly Harsh Ballot Assessment Fees for the Federal Offices; of the $10,440 required for Political Affiliations, and the $6, 960.00 for the No Party Affiliations, (and with the $10,440.00 for the Party Affiliations going directly into the coffers of the political parties themselves;) and otherwise of needing 4616 Signed and Verified Petitions, (2290 in redistricting years such as this one,) to get Qualified to be on the ballot here in the State of Florida, in financial hardship in unfair and unjust assessment to the majority Working Class Population in need of Representation.
As compared to the reasonable and fair-minded Ballot Assessments for the Federal Offices; of $600.00 going to the State Coffers and with $300.00 in Additional Fee Collected from the candidates for the Political Parties in the State of Mississippi, or to 1000 petitions needed; as Compared With the State of Florida's Assessment "Pogram."
The Florida State Legislature of both House has flat-out refused our appeals over the course of many years now and has failed us unconscionably to respond to our requests for "Lowering Florida's Ballot Assessment Fees."
What we need from you now at this time, as our "Florida Secretary of State," is an "Executive Order" from your High Office "Directing/Commanding" the Florida Legislature to "Redetermine the Ballot Assessment Fees" at this critical 2016 legislative session juncture to a more modest and realistic amounts in fairness to All Potential Candidates regardless of their economic station in life; and no longer for us here in the State of Florida to be conceived of as a government of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy, in Class Discrimination.
This Is Not A Bureaucratic Game Of Class Prejudice That We Are Playing Here!
Gary L. Koniz
Journalist Correspondent
Independent Candidate for
U.S. House of Representatives, 4th CD, FL
“United Labor Unifying The Nation Providing Jobs
And A Fair Cost Of Living Wage For The People"
(904) 730-2055 Office
www.garykonizforcongress.com
www.news4jax.com/politics/gary-koniz/29170618
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The Florida Division Of Elections
Ballot Qualifying Reform Bill
Nov. 20, 2016 at 5 p.m. is the deadline for submitting
requests for drafts of general bills and joint resolutions.
· The Overly Harsh Ballot Access Fees Currently Being Imposed for the Federal Offices Assessed at $10,440.00 to the Party Affiliated and $6960.00 for No Party Affiliation to the State Are To Be Reduced to One Flat Fee of $1750.00 for both Party and No Party Affiliations Candidates In Deference to the Economic Realities of The Working Class vs. The Wealthy In Fair and Equal Economic Representation for all the people.
· The Overly Severe Congressional Petition Qualifying Numbers Requirements Currently Set at 1% of the District Population, or of a total of 4616 Petitions Required for Florida’s District 4, or 2298 State-Wide in Apportionment Years, and 119,316 State Petitions for Senate Seats is to Be Reduced for both Offices to 1750 Petitions that Can Be Partially Pro-Rated in any amount at $1.00 per Petition Against the Ballot Assessment Fee.
· The Absurd Write-In Candidate Category in lieu of Ballot Access Payment or Petition Requirement in which No Candidate’s Name Is To Appear On any Ballot, in Total Waste of the Candidates and Supervisor of Elections Time in having To Hand Count Every Ballot, Is To Be Done Away With.
· Qualifying Petitions Are To Get Processed By The Individual Supervisors Of Elections In A Timely, Orderly, and Courteous Manner On or Close To the Time of their Being Submitted. It Is the Supervisor of Elections Responsibility to ensure that there is Adequate Personnel On Hand to Handle the Job.
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The Florida Division Of Elections
Ballot Qualifying Reform Bill
Nov. 20, 2016 at 5 p.m. is the deadline for submitting
requests for drafts of general bills and joint resolutions.
· The Overly Harsh Ballot Access Fees Currently Being Imposed for the Federal Offices Assessed at $10,440.00 to the Party Affiliated and $6960.00 for No Party Affiliation to the State Are To Be Reduced to One Flat Fee of $1750.00 for both Party and No Party Affiliations Candidates In Deference to the Economic Realities of The Working Class vs. The Wealthy In Fair and Equal Economic Representation for all the people.
· The Overly Severe Congressional Petition Qualifying Numbers Requirements Currently Set at 1% of the District Population, or of a total of 4616 Petitions Required for Florida’s District 4, or 2298 State-Wide in Apportionment Years, and 119,316 State Petitions for Senate Seats is to Be Reduced for both Offices to 1750 Petitions that Can Be Partially Pro-Rated in any amount at $1.00 per Petition Against the Ballot Assessment Fee.
· The Absurd Write-In Candidate Category in lieu of Ballot Access Payment or Petition Requirement in which No Candidate’s Name Is To Appear On any Ballot, in Total Waste of the Candidates and Supervisor of Elections Time in having To Hand Count Every Ballot, Is To Be Done Away With.
· Qualifying Petitions Are To Get Processed By The Individual Supervisors Of Elections In A Timely, Orderly, and Courteous Manner On or Close To the Time of their Being Submitted. It Is the Supervisor of Elections Responsibility to ensure that there is Adequate Personnel On Hand to Handle the Job.
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Government Program Summaries
Duties of The Director’s Office
The mission of the Director’s Office is to provide statewide coordination and direction for the interpretation and enforcement of election laws, as required by the Florida Statutes, and to provide supervision to the Bureaus in the Division. [In need of Court Mandamus]
Florida Administrative Code: 1S-2.045 Candidate Petition Process.
(5) Verification of Signatures. [On the Subject of Timely Verification of Petitions.]
(a) Upon receipt of candidate petition forms and payment of applicable signature verification fees, the supervisor of elections shall verify the signatures on each petition form to ensure that each person signing the petition form is a registered voter in the county, district, or other geographical area represented by the office sought, unless otherwise specified in Sections 99.095 and 99.09651, F.S. [Within a reasonable amount of time.]
(g) If all other requirements for the petition are met, a signature on a petition shall be verified and counted as valid for a registered voter if, after comparing the signature on the petition and the signature of the registered voter in the voter registration system, the supervisor is able to determine that the petition signer is the same as the registered voter, even if the name on the petition is not in substantially the same form as in the voter registration system. [Clarification of what constitutes a Legally Valid Signature]
(6) Determination of Required Number of Signatures.
(b) No later than 5:00 p.m. on the 7th day before the first day of the qualifying period, supervisors of elections shall submit to the Division of Elections the number of valid and invalid signatures received on Form DS-DE 104 for each candidate for federal, state, multicounty district, or multicounty special district office. [As Distinct From Timeliness]
Florida Statutes 99.061 Method of qualifying
(4)(b) Any person who is seeking election as a write-in candidate shall not be required to pay a filing fee, election assessment, or party assessment. A write-in candidate is not entitled to have his or her name printed on any ballot; however, space for the write-in candidate’s name to be written in must be provided on the general election ballot. A person may not qualify as a write-in candidate if the person has also otherwise qualified for nomination or election to such office. [This Category of Qualifying Is To Be Eliminated]
On the topic of Overly Harsh Ballot Assessment Fees; $10,440 for Party Affiliations, and $9,960 for No Party Affiliations, there is the demand for Mandamus from the Secretary of State. Look here at this absurdity. That while the Qualifying Fees for both Senate and House remain the same the number of Petitions Required are astronomically disproportionate; 119,316 to 4,456 for the US House (or 2298 in Re-Apportionment Years.) So that The U.S. Senate Candidates are unfairly Forced To Pay the Exorbitant Extortion Fee. And for what that the Supervisors of Elections have to Verify at the Expense of their respective County Tax Base. It is The Secretary of State’s Job to ensure proper and equitable Implementation. FS 97.012(1)
Senator Marco Rubio
From: Gary Koniz
Sent: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 11:32 AM
To:
Subject: Fw: U.S. Economic Justice Agreement
Dear Adele:
I am enclosed here today with the forward of the letter that I sent out on 1/5/2016 to the New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento on the proper reasoning for our U.S. Domestic Labor Accords Agreement of State. To what that I am stating emphatically that we are Not Going To Continue here in our America with an Upper Class Dominated Society, with the poor Working Class not even being allowed To Get By on what they are being paid and with no one caring.
1. To that effect, (of achieving a totally fair-minded society in Economy Justice here at long last,) that we are proposing, (in the Conscientious Concern to the well-being of all the American People,) for the IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE UNIONIZING of the Entire American Workforce, Top To Bottom, to be based to the Federal Government's General Schedule Rates for each Category of Job Description. With the Bottom Line being for “The Cost of Living Wage” to be paid to every wage earning worker in America who depends to their employment for survival.
You can keep the Minimum Wage Law for casual, temporary, and part-time employment for High School Kids living home with their parents and that sort of thing; but not for Wage Earners with themselves and families to support. Wage Earners in this country need to make The Cost of Living Wage to survive on and that is what they are going to be paid. What hypocrisy is it to have a 40 work week if people have to work two or three jobs to get by; and if they do get by At All. If employers are down on their luck and their business is failing, they can file for a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Proceeding out from under their Cost of Labor with The Federal Government Supplementing the Employees Income to the Cost of Living Wage by Fiat Issue Resolution.
2. It is not a wise decision to take up an intractable stand against the new Background Checks for Gun Purchase Restriction. It is needed in these times! But you are going to be in trouble here if you do not "Stipulate" for Due Process Rights to the Labeling Criteria for denying anyone their Constitutional Right to own a firearm; as to anyone's Psychiatric History Labeling, and Criminal History Labeling; or to being on a Terrorist Watch List; for the public to be able to defend themselves against False or Mistaken Identity Allegations in such regard, to be provided with a Public Defender; (without having to hire the expense of an attorney, if one can indeed be found.)
3. And to relate to the Senator Not To Involve himself with any Mud Slinging “Ad Hominen” Attacks on his opponents, (arguments made by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, rather than attacking the argument directly.) To regardless of whatever Negative Comments or Advertising Contexts; Mud Slinging by our National Leaders, (who are supposed to be Noble,) is inherently revolting to the American Sensibility.
The American Public wants Responsible Leaders to them who they can respect, (and to say revere,) as being Serious Minded and Dignified Persons of Serious Moral Bound Intent to the grave and serious Work of State ahead of governing over us and protecting us from all harm.
4. Campaign Agendas as well as our own Must Center To the Needs of the Working Class. Having genuine caring sympathy for the needs of the Working Class People is not enough. Our leaders also need to have a concrete plan of action and the ability to follow through with such a plan. Once this Country is firmly rooted in caring regard for all of its people, (and not with the idea of being a dog-eat-dog free-for-all, but to the idea of creating a clean well-ordered society that is the direction we need to go in; then all other pressing matters of State will fall into line.
I am here attached with the issue of the hour of overly excessive Ballot Assessments for the Federal Offices here in our State of Florida and our subsequent frustrations with attempting to have this issue addressed and drastically lowered by the Florida Legislature in concern to the Working Class Needs of our Nation who need their own just and deserved Representation in Washington to be able and allowed financially to get on the Ballot to take care of. This is a Federal Human Rights Issue of State that the Senator needs to take charge of in resolving.
We simply Cannot Continue On Together with a government; of The People, by The People, and For The People; that favors the prerogatives of the Wealthy over the dire suffering of the Public.
Most Sincerely,
Gary L. Koniz
Journalist Correspondent
Independent Candidate for
U.S. House of Representatives, 4th CD, FL
“United Labor Unifying The Nation Providing Jobs
And A Fair Cost Of Living Wage For The People"
(904) 730-2055 Office
www.garykonizforcongress.com
www.news4jax.com/politics/gary-koniz/29170618
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_____________________________________________________________________________
From: Senator Marco Rubio
Sent: 3/07/13
To: gary.koniz@hotmcail.com
Subject: Resolving Our Economy
Dear Mr. Koniz,
Thank you for reaching out to me with regard to our nation's spending habits and the federal budget. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on these important issues.
I am committed to improving the economic well-being of our nation and its citizens. The story of America is evidence that this goal is best achieved by increasing freedom and economic incentives for individuals. When the federal government borrows about 44 cents of every dollar that it spends, it restricts freedom and endangers prosperity. The taxes and borrowing necessary to pay for our massive federal government crowds out other investments, puts an incredible stress on taxpayers, and leaves staggering a debt for our children and grandchildren to pay.
On September 22, 2012, the Senate passed H.J. Resolution 117, another short-term Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government at current levels for six months. After four consecutive years of trillion dollar deficits and a national debt that has surpassed $16 trillion, once again, the federal government left one of its most basic duties unfulfilled by refusing to pass an annual budget. I voted against this short-term Continuing Resolution because the budget problems we face will only be harder to overcome the longer Congress delays fulfilling its responsibility to the citizens of this country.
As you may know, Representative Dave Camp (MI) introduced the No Budget No Pay Act, H.R.325 on January 21, 2013. This bill extends the debt limit through May 18, 2013. Additionally, the legislation requires members of the House and Senate to adopt a budget for Fiscal Year 2014 by April 15, 2013. If either of these bodies does not, pay will be suspended for members in that particular body until a budget is adopted or the end of the 113th Congress. The House of Representatives passed H.R.325 and the Senate subsequently passed the bill on January 31, 2013.
I did not vote for this bill because it did not contain any measures to actually solve our debt problem through spending reforms and economic policies to help us grow our way out of this debt. This measure not only raises the debt ceiling without any of these reforms, but it means we will again have to deal with this issue again in just a few months. I will continue to oppose raising the debt limit if it does not address the root cause of our fiscal crisis: spending beyond our means. We simply cannot afford to delay serious reforms.
Our fiscal problems today are due to decades of profligate spending by both political parties. We have an enormous national debt because Washington has repeatedly postponed tough decisions while sticking future generations with the bill. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects the net interest payments on our debt will cost $224 billion dollars in FY2013. In FY2023, those net interest payments are projected to grow to $857 billion. The crushing national debt will continue to eat up more and more of the federal budget unless we address our debt and deficits and put federal spending back on a sustainable course. If Washington continues down this same destructive path, CBO projects that federal deficit spending will total $7 trillion over the next ten years. By addressing our debt and deficit sooner, we can compound our savings.
Republicans and Democrats must come together to enact spending reforms that address the realities of what our federal government can afford. Tax increases will further stall our growth and do little to close the budget deficit. Irresponsible spending, promoted by both political parties, has resulted in a massive debt that threatens our future prosperity and security as a country. The federal government must spend smarter on its priorities, but more importantly it must have fewer roles to perform. By returning spending decisions to states and localities, the levels of government most responsive to citizens, we can restore freedom and ensure responsible governance.
Our current federal government restricts the individual liberty of Americans when it, among other actions, increases taxes and fees, promulgates excessive and burdensome regulations, places itself between you and your doctor, and prints money to pay its bills. This is detrimental to our country because economic freedom and individual liberty are what have made America exceptional. Our vibrant middle class is unique in the world. The opportunity to enter and thrive in the middle class must be ensured for all Americans. Big government impedes and limits those important individual choices.
Again, your thoughts on federal government spending are appreciated. I will keep them in mind as Congress works to enact a responsible budget that addresses the long-term fiscal and economic issues we face as a nation.
Sincerely,
Marco Rubio
United States Senator
______________________________________________________________________________
Panic Sets In
Not only operating its economy on a Consumer Gouging Minimum Wage Exploiting Class Division and refusing to adopt a Cost of Living Wage Agreement for its Workforce; at $275 per week, with a maximum of 14 weeks available, the State of Florida is among the very few “Lowest Paid” States with the “Least Amount” of weeks available for UI Benefits, ranked lowest with Georgia, North Carolina, and Kansas. All other States have 26 Weeks.
Unemployment Insurance Weeks By State TABLE 1
TABLE 1 |
||
Unemployment Rates and Weeks of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Available |
||
State |
Unemployment (3 month avg.) |
Reg. UI available |
Alabama |
6.0% |
26 weeks |
Alaska |
6.5% |
26 weeks |
Arizona |
6.2% |
26 weeks |
Arkansas |
5.2% |
25 weeks |
California |
5.9% |
26 weeks |
Colorado |
4.0% |
26 weeks |
Connecticut |
5.2% |
26 weeks |
Delaware |
4.9% |
26 weeks |
District of Columbia |
6.7% |
26 weeks |
Florida |
5.2% |
14 weeks |
Georgia |
5.8% |
14 weeks |
initial claims before 7/1/15 |
5.8% |
17 weeks |
Hawaii |
3.4% |
26 weeks |
Idaho |
4.1% |
26 weeks |
Illinois |
5.5% |
26 weeks |
Indiana |
4.5% |
26 weeks |
Iowa |
3.6% |
26 weeks |
Kansas |
4.4% |
16 weeks |
Kentucky |
5.0% |
26 weeks |
Louisiana |
6.0% |
26 weeks |
Maine |
4.4% |
26 weeks |
Maryland |
5.1% |
26 weeks |
Massachusetts |
4.6% |
30 weeks |
Michigan |
5.0% |
20 weeks |
Minnesota |
3.8% |
26 weeks |
Mississippi |
6.1% |
26 weeks |
Missouri |
5.3% |
20 weeks |
Montana |
4.1% |
28 weeks |
Nebraska |
2.9% |
26 weeks |
Nevada |
6.7% |
26 weeks |
New Hampshire |
3.4% |
26 weeks |
New Jersey |
5.5% |
26 weeks |
New Mexico |
6.7% |
26 weeks |
New York |
5.0% |
26 weeks |
North Carolina |
5.8% |
12 weeks |
initial claims before 7/1/15 |
5.8% |
15 weeks |
North Dakota |
2.8% |
26 weeks |
Ohio |
4.5% |
26 weeks |
Oklahoma |
4.4% |
26 weeks |
Oregon |
6.1% |
26 weeks |
Pennsylvania |
5.3% |
26 weeks |
Puerto Rico |
11.8% |
26 weeks |
Rhode Island |
5.5% |
26 weeks |
South Carolina |
5.8% |
20 weeks |
South Dakota |
3.5% |
26 weeks |
Tennessee |
5.6% |
26 weeks |
Texas |
4.2% |
26 weeks |
Utah |
3.6% |
26 weeks |
Vermont |
3.6% |
26 weeks |
Virgin Islands |
8.2% |
26 weeks |
Virginia |
4.4% |
26 weeks |
Washington |
5.2% |
26 weeks |
West Virginia |
7.3% |
26 weeks |
Wisconsin |
4.4% |
26 weeks |
Wyoming |
4.0% |
26 weeks |
Unemployment Insurance Benefits By State TABLE 2
State |
2014-2015 Maximum Weekly Amt |
State Unemployment Website |
||
Alabama |
$265 |
|||
Alaska |
$370 (plus $24 per dependent w/max 3) |
https://labor.alaska.gov/unemployment/ |
||
Arizona |
$240 |
www.azdes.gov/esa/uitax/uithome.asp |
||
Arkansas |
$451 |
www.arkansas.gov/esd/Employers/ |
||
California |
$450 |
https://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/ |
||
Colorado |
$529 |
httpss://www.colorado.gov/cdle/unemployment |
||
Connecticut |
$590 |
https://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/UI-Online/index.htm |
||
Delaware |
$330 |
https://ui.delawareworks.com/ |
||
District of Columbia |
$359 |
www.dcnetworks.org |
||
Florida |
$275 |
https://www.stateofflorida.com/articles/florida-unemployment.aspx |
||
Georgia |
$330 |
www.dol.state.ga.us/em/ |
||
Hawaii |
$551 |
|||
Idaho |
336 |
labor.idaho.gov/dnn/idl/Businesses/eservices.aspx |
||
Illinois |
$426 (Individual) to $580 (w/dependents) |
|||
Indiana |
390 |
www.in.gov/dwd/2614.htm |
||
Iowa |
459 |
www.iowaworkforce.org/ui/uiemployers.htm |
||
Kansas |
420 |
www.dol.ks.gov/KansasEmployer.aspx |
||
Kentucky |
415 |
www.oet.ky.gov/ui/ui.htm |
||
Louisiana |
247 |
www.laworks.net/UnemploymentInsurance/UI_Employers.asp |
||
Maine |
378 |
www.state.me.us/labor/unemployment/tax.html |
||
Maryland |
430 |
https://www.dllr.state.md.us/employment/uibenefits.shtml |
||
Massachusetts |
$698 |
https://www.mass.gov/lwd/unemployment-insur/ |
||
Michigan |
362 |
www.michigan.gov/uia#Employers |
||
Minnesota |
$629 |
www.uimn.org/uimn/employers/ |
||
Mississippi |
$235 |
www.mdes.ms.gov/employers/unemployment-tax/ |
||
Missouri |
$320 |
labor.mo.gov/Employers |
||
Montana |
$464 |
www.uid.dli.mt.gov/TAX/uitax.asp |
||
Nebraska |
$362 |
www.dol.nebraska.gov/center.cfm?PRICAT=2&SUBCAT=1J |
||
Nevada |
$407 |
httpss://uitax.nvdetr.org |
||
New Hampshire |
$427 |
www.nhes.nh.gov/services/employers/claimtax.htm |
||
New Jersey |
$646 |
https://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/ui/ui_index.html |
||
New Mexico |
397 |
www.dws.state.nm.us |
||
New York |
$420 |
https://labor.ny.gov/ui/ui_index.shtm |
||
North Carolina |
350 |
www.ncesc.com |
||
North Dakota |
470 |
www.jobsnd.com/unemployment-business |
||
Ohio |
$424 (Individual) to $524 (w/dependents) |
httpss://unemployment.ohio.gov/PublicSelfServiceChoice.html |
||
Oklahoma |
440 |
|||
Oregon |
538 |
www.oregon.gov/employ/tax |
||
Pennsylvania |
573 |
https://www.uc.pa.gov/portal/server.pt/community/uc_pa_gov/11449 |
||
Puerto Rico |
133 |
trabajo.pr.gov/content.asp?cn_id=4 |
||
Rhode Island |
566 |
www.uitax.ri.gov |
||
South Carolina |
326 |
dew.sc.gov/emp-taxes.asp |
||
South Dakota |
345 |
dlr.sd.gov/ui/uitax.aspx |
||
Tennessee |
275 |
www.tennessee.gov/labor-wfd/es/EmployerAssistance.shtml |
||
Texas |
454 |
www.twc.state.tx.us/customers/bemp/unemployment-tax.html |
||
Utah |
479 |
httpss://jobs.utah.gov/ui/employer/employerhome.aspx |
||
Vermont |
425 |
labor.vermont.gov/unemployment-insurance/employers/ |
||
Virgin Islands |
378 |
www.vidol.gov/unemployment_taxes.php |
||
Virginia |
454 |
www.vec.virginia.gov/vecportal/employer/employer_services.cfm |
||
Washington |
$637 |
https://www.esd.wa.gov/index.php |
||
West Virginia |
$424 |
|||
Wisconsin |
$370 |
dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax/ |
||
Wyoming |
$471 |
|||
_____________________________________________________________________________
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
9480 Princeton Square Blvd. S., #815
Jacksonville, FL 32256
(904) 730-2055
November 15, 2009
President Richard Trumka
AFL-CIO National Headquarters
815 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear President Trumka,
The time is at hand now when we need to work together and move aggressively as a United Labor Position, Union and Non-Union Workers alike, to protect and to maintain our equilibrium here of The American Workforce, amid the chaos of the international market place vying for our places in the workforce and at odds with our very survival.
Work is a blessing to us; in the terms of its outright stimulation, of the physical and mental rewards of it, (as to the satisfying emotional results of its discipline in routine that it produces,) and from the standpoint of its financial necessity, (of crucial magnitude to everyone's survival,) and of what work that is the primary essential building ingredient to having a successful life and relationships of a family nature, (in securing our Nation’s Foundation;) and what includes as well the attaching of responsibility and to the necessity to defend our survival when such demanding situations present themselves, and to adapt to challenging times about us; to what that our mutual defenses of Labor are paramount.
What this nation needs is to have an aggressive respect for each and every member of The Working Class; in demand for Appropriate Wages being paid in American Middle Class Terms across the board, To Everyone, based to the Federal Government’s General Schedule, (GS) Standards; and also in government mandate, to provide adequate Health Care to the entire population, either privately of an affordable nature, or publicly for the greater good through an optional General Enrollment Plan with The IRS. To what that there is no future in being complacent with compromise. This is the breeding ground for war against The American Public Middle Class being sacrificed to economic catastrophe.
The idea of cheap foreign workers, (who are being imported to come here for the sake of quick profits at the hands of irresponsible profiteers, and for other motives politically of gathering a Third World Voting Block to out-replace The American Population with themselves of the Cheap Foreign Labor version,) should be abhorrent to us; and who are besides in being the ruination to our Middle Class Standard of Living are laying idle our own domestic workers with themselves and sending their entire paychecks back to their own countries of origin, and who therefore do not support the U.S. Economy in its crisis of Purchasing Power to thrive and to sustain our industries and employment; that has resulted in massive Revolving Credit Card Debt, in further erosion of consumer spending. This is a self-defeating disaster in crisis undermine of our entire U.S. economic system.
Most Respectfully Yours,
Gary L. Koniz - United Labor Secretary
Golf Course Maintenance Workers Union
________________________________________________________________________________
9480 Princeton Square Blvd. S., #815
Jacksonville, FL 32256
(904) 730-2055
August 14, 2010
President Richard Trumka
AFL-CIO National Headquarters
815 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear President Trumka,
I keep attempting to relate with you and to the management of The AFL-CIO going back in time for many years, that “small groups of isolated employees” are unable to effectively unionize in order to protect themselves; (especially at the lower levels of the wage scale and who are too easily replaced,) due to the power of the employers at that level to easily be able to intimidate their workers through personal threats of loss of employment. In consequence of which fact, that I have repeatedly been calling for solidarity from the ranks of Organized Labor to side with the plan for Mandating The Legislation of Fair Wages and Benefits, to be named the Prevailing Wage and Benefits Law, that would Replace the current Minimum Wage and Re-Set all Minimum Wage Levels to The Government’s General Schedule Wage Rages. Which would not in any way effect the viability of existing unions or the Need and Right of Worker’s from forming Unions. The time is at hand now when we need to work together and move aggressively as a United Labor Position, Union and Non-Union Workers alike, to protect and to maintain our Economy here of The American Workforce, amid the chaos of cut throat employers and cheap labor on the international market place vying for our places in the workforce reducing us to tributary wage slaves and at odds with our very survival. This is a self-defeating disaster in crisis undermine of our entire U.S. economic system.
Work is a blessing to us; in the terms of its outright stimulation, of the physical and mental rewards of it, (as to the satisfying emotional results of its discipline in routine that it produces,) and from the standpoint of its financial necessity, (of crucial magnitude to everyone's survival,) and of what work that is the primary essential building ingredient to having a successful life and relationships of a family nature, (in securing our Nation’s Foundation;) and what includes as well the attaching of responsibility and to the necessity to defend our survival when such demanding situations present themselves, and to adapt to challenging times about us; to what that our mutual defenses of Labor are paramount.
This nation needs an aggressive defense for each and every member of The Working Class; in demand for Appropriate Wages being paid in American Middle Class Standard across the board, To Everyone, to what the Federal Government has already established the ideal base for in the manner of its Prevailing General Schedule, (GS) Standards; and also in government mandate, to provide Affordable Health Care to the entire population.
Most Respectfully Yours,
Gary L. Koniz - United Labor Secretary
Golf Course Maintenance Workers International Union
________________________________________________________________________________
9480 Princeton Square Blvd. S., #815
Jacksonville, FL 32256
March 9, 2009
President John J. Sweeney
AFL-CIO National Headquarters
815 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Beloved President Sweeney,
A long time ago, over thirty years gone by now, when I graduated from college with a B.A. in English/Creative Writing, I set out with the ambition, (and as everyone has an ambition to accomplish something useful and worthwhile in purpose to their lives,) with that idea of "Repairing The World." That to me, was, and has been, the driving goal in my life to this very day to accomplish. And no easy task in statement to master, as you can surmise, that has taken me down many roads of self-study to accomplish; such as, history, politics, social science, sociology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, legal studies, law enforcement, the religions of the world, the economy, the environment, and with business and labor affairs. And what has involved me with many political offices, and with newspapers, television and radio shows over the years in richness of working experience, and that I pursue relentlessly, to let you know a bit about my motivations.
I am hoping for a major career impact with my writing in syndication to the nation’s leading newspapers in coverage to The Positive Elements of our Social Responsibility, and what with as well to have a close working relationship of involvement with our current government leaders, at any time in the politics of transition that way, as a constant in the capacity of Monitoring Correctness and Propriety, (and to that important function in the developing of news interests on vital issues of the hour as they surface to discuss.)
And in my own right to relate that I need to work steadily on the political-social dramas of our times as they present themselves in the day to day as the years evolve in spontaneity to be challenged or accorded to, in order to achieve an impact on the crucial issues of times needing to be resolved and to the idea of managing the government.
And hopefully, if I am to be so honored as to receive the coveted Alicia Patterson Fellowship Grant for the upcoming year of involvement to the nation, that I would wish to precede in the following order of priority magnitude with the four projects required:
1. The Native American Indian agenda of Sovereignty Affirmation needs to be fulfilled in the promise of time to them in this country, in restitution for the blatant overrun and confiscations of their lands which occurred in the name to the establishment of our nation; which is of paramount importance to the success and vitality of The United States in spirit to resolve unto them, and along with their other issue, to the restoration of their dignity as indigenous sovereign, to be acknowledged for by The American Nation.
2. Secondly, that the Nation’s reasoning on Labor and the overall Economy needs to be repaired. Our Country needs Full Employment, and by Fiat Monetary Issue Resolution if and, and as, required. And there is absolutely no good reason at all for the government to go on with the attitude that Labor needs to work “solely” off The Supply and Demand concept of The Federal Minimum Wage as the only wage law in The Nation to exist; which is blatantly the robbery of services for the vast majority of hard working and dedicated people across our land, as a concept to endure. Every category of work needs to have a Prevailing Wage set by formal legislation to the Government’s General Schedule (GS) Pay Scale, which will force Private Employers to pay workers comparably for their training, occupational skills, and education beginning at the bottom of the food chain, (GS-1,) with The Cost Of Living Wage. This will also greatly improve things on the Industrial/Business side of the economy by increasing “The Purchasing Power” of the consumers, thus generating the much-needed increase in production and employment.
3. Thirdly, that a National Universal Health Care plan, based to an IRS Payroll Deduction formula in national enrollment base needs to be expeditiously implemented, and with immediate benefit of support to those currently without adequate or with no Health Coverage, (that involves a great percentage of the population;) which such a plan is designed to benefit. And to counteract those of the elitist economic camp of mentality who feel, “that they work hard to pay for their Health Care and don‘t intend to subsidize everyone else,” who need to be told that the vast majority of The Nation's Rank and File Workers cannot afford to buy adequate Health Insurance, and that The IRS Deduction formula reaches out to provide for everyone, rich and poor alike, as well in fairness to all.
4. And fourthly, that I would like to be able to finish up my ongoing business with The Federal Government, (going on now for over thirty years,) involving The War On Drugs, which would involve effective countermeasures for The Elimination of The Drug and Pornography Mafias that feed off the economic blight of the nation, and to related Violent Crimes and Robberies in our streets, by coordinating Local and Federal Law Enforcement with the Intervention of Military Units, (that is a point of law to be exacted for from The Federal Legislature,) to effectively remove the drugs from our population, and from our neighborhoods and schools. And in conjunction to The Drug War that we need the understanding with our Government, that our Nation’s Combat Veterans are not to be left to waste and die at the hands of an irrational and irresponsible, and to a certain way of looking at the subject, corrupt, pre-meditated, and traitorous in the destructive sense, psychiatric industry; predisposed, not to healing, but to a hostile “pogrom-like,” purging in mentality, bent on “disposing” of our returned home Combat Veterans, whose reward for their patriotic sacrifice and gallant service to our country has been, and is being, repaid with psychiatric treachery and devastation. So let us handle the job at hand promptly together, and not to linger on any longer in the mind set to being ignored, and in making excuses of it being someone else’s job to handle, on the part of the government that is constantly changing hands to us, to do so. This a crisis matter, and has been a crisis matter since the aftermath of The Vietnam War, of what concerned The Psychiatric Devastation and Massacre of The Vietnam Veterans, continuing on as yet to be rectified.
And which is the follow up to the Veterans Case, as we have been pursuing now for several decades with the “Authorities” of the Veterans Administration, the Military Association of America, all Local, State, and Federal Agencies of Law Enforcement, and with the Media to arouse public awareness and directed involvement to put an end to the psychiatric massacre of our returning home from combat Veterans and proud heroes to us all; that I need to finish up here on what we started working on many years ago, and with great suffering and loss of life involved with the toll for our government’s inaction.
And it is all for the sake of money that the jobs we need to do, and which can only be done most effectively in non-political determination and strategy in point of policy, don’t get done. And I mean, in the sense that they don’t get done, to the loosing of our American Nation, (of the American People as we are described about in the meaning of Sovereign, before the era of Civil Rights, of the WWII generations,) for the aggressions of the many ways of wars now upon us; of corrupt, irrational, and immoral ideologies and for the allowing of distinctly foreign peoples to arrive here each day to take our place, in being overrun, that we need to correct for. Which you, and everyone else of our American Nation under God, can judge for yourself as to the direction it is going if I can get some help from you with finances to communicate with the powers to set things right again for America. We’ve been complaining of the injustices occurring for too many years now without anyone to assist us, to need a kind hand of finances with the project.
And besides that I have many other important issues in crisis to ”Try” in the public press and to assist the Nation in resolving of such matters to the best of my abilities, (and as is my inner volition of convictions to do besides,) and which cannot under any circumstances get done without somebody, such as myself of concerned involvement, to do what it takes to make what needs to occur ”happen” in our destiny, and to make things become a reality, in the technical meaning of “making” the news; which in no means as well can occur without a benefactor, (in the appeal to you,) to finance my endeavors. To what I am very hopeful you will consider me for my sincerity as a worthy candidate.
* We need ”to save America now” at this crucial time in our history together from the forces of error and chaos that threaten us, in the opportunity of present action to do so. And which will involve me with supervisors everywhere on all of the upper levels of management, in private businesses, and with respected government leaders and agency heads in objectives. In what settings that I am well polished and experienced with from my prior work history, and as much a follower to every one of them in the overall to their objective as they would be to me in our mutual necessity to survive at what it correct.
Every leader, who expects to get things accomplished, also knows how to be a good follower to others when the need arises to them who are in the urgent crises of their own endeavors to have their wishes in supervision carried out; and as those leaders are good and decisive supervisors in their own right to those who they need to supervise and to command. You say what you want done, in example, and it gets done as you expect by those subordinated under you. But when you go out into other realms of expertise that lie beyond your own powers of dominion, you know when to be a “good follower” too. The mechanic says “don’t start the engine until I tell you,” and so you do as you are told and wait. And there are situations where the necessity of “seconding a motion” is crucial to the leadership involved to follow along with in providing “reinforcing support,” to a worthy idea, and not just for the sake of getting things accomplished, but for the intention also of “making other people successful” at what they are doing, and from which we derive great personal and emotional satisfaction ourselves from doing; to what everyone as supervisors in their own way knows how “to follow along” about and to appreciate.
I am not the type of journalist to “talk at problems,” but one that “inter-involves” myself with “the politics” of getting things done; (and as I know to respect for the egos concerned of the many superior positions to be dealt with;) to add that you need the jobs, as I have earmarked for, done in your own behalf as well, as you live in the country too.
Gary L. Koniz
Journalist/Correspondent
United Labor
______________________________________________________________________________
Times Union Questionnaire
From: Fader, Carole (carole.fader@jacksonville.com) This sender is in your contact list.
Sent: Wed 5/14/14 10:01 AM
To: gary.koniz@hotmail.com
Dear Gary,
A recent news story said that the United States is the only Western country -- and one of only three in the world -- that does not provide some kind of monetary payment to new mothers who have taken maternity leave from their jobs. In your opinion, is this something that should be changed or not? Please respond in 200 words or less to feedback@jacksonville.com and please include your name and area of town in which you live. Your input is appreciated!
Carole Fader
Assistant managing editor-community engagement
The Florida Times-Union
P.O. Box 1949
Jacksonville FL 32231
(904) 359-4635
Dear Carol,
Here is the complete article about U.S. Maternity Leave Payments, (or lack thereof,) that needs to be studied by everyone for comparative reasoning. I feel, based upon the information provided, that women should be allowed Social Security Payments for maternity leave up to 14 weeks, or whatever amount of time that satisfies a woman's and her infant's needs during this critical post natal time, (if not provided for by their employers,) as it is in Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and other modern Social Democracies. We need to be a people oriented society and not one based to, and dependent upon, purely mercantile pursuits.
U.S. Alone Among Western Countries
On Lack of Paid Maternity Leave, UN finds
By John Zarocostas
McClatchy Foreign Staff
May 13, 2014
Read more here: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/05/13/227338/us-alone-among-western-countries.html#storylink=cpy
GENEVA — The United States is the only Western country _ and one of only three in the world _ that does not provide some kind of monetary payment to new mothers who’ve taken maternity leave from their jobs, a new U.N. study reports.
Two other countries share the U.S. position of providing “no cash benefits during maternity leave,” according to the report, which was released Tuesday by the International Labor Organization: Oman, an absolute monarchy in the Persian Gulf; and Papua New Guinea, a South Pacific nation where the U.S. State Department says violence against women is so common that 60 percent of men in a U.N. study acknowledged having committed a rape.
The other 182 countries surveyed provide either a Social Security-like government payment to women who’ve recently given birth or adopted a child or require employers to continue at least a percentage of the worker’s pay. In 70 countries, paid leave is also provided for fathers, the report said, including Australia, which introduced 14 days of paid paternity leave last year, and Norway, which expanded its paternity leave from 12 to 14 weeks.
The United States also provides for fewer weeks of maternity leave than what other Western countries mandate, the report said.
Under U.S. law, businesses are required to allow a new mother to take as many as 12 weeks of unpaid leave. In New Zealand, the leave is 14 weeks; in Australia, it’s 18 weeks. Switzerland has allowed women workers to take 18 weeks off since 2005; they’re paid 80 percent of their salaries under a government program similar to Social Security in the United States.
Government provides the payments in most the surveyed countries, the International Labor Organization said, with 107 nations making cash benefits available through their national social security plans. In 45 countries, the benefits are paid solely by employers, while in 30 countries employers and social security plans bear the costs.
The International Labor Organization, which has promoted better working conditions since it became the U.N.’s first specialized agency in 1946, said it prefers leave mandates that do not saddle individual companies with the cost, saying such requirements hurt businesses and potentially lead to bias against hiring women.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, requires that mothers receive 14 weeks leave at full pay through a combination of government and employer payments. In Great Britain, a new mother is allowed to take a full year off, the report said, with payments during the first six weeks totaling 90 percent of her salary. After that, the payments are set at the equivalent of $232 per week or 90 percent of pay, whichever is less, for the next 33 weeks. The final 13 weeks of the leave are unpaid.
The report held out the prospect that the United States might one day join the rest of the world through the proposed Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act of 2013, which would establish a national paid family leave insurance program to provide 12 weeks of paid leave to recover from childbirth, serious illness, care for a sick family member, or to bond with a new baby. The legislation was introduced in December by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and has 87 sponsors, but its prospects are uncertain in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.
Despite what the report described as positive movement over the last two decades in maternity leave policies around the world, the report found that financial support provided in half the countries was “neither financially adequate nor sufficiently long lasting.” It said that 830 million women workers “are not adequately covered in practice, mainly in developing countries.”
Laura Addati, a maternal protection specialist for the International Labor Organization, said that 98 countries worldwide met the organization’s standard of 14 weeks leave and that 74 countries met the standard of providing cash benefits of at least two-thirds of earnings during that time.
The report noted that five U.S. states mandate paid maternity leave _ California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. It said that about 12 percent of women workers in the United States are entitled to mandated paid maternity leave.
“In order to have gender equality, you must have maternity protection,” said Shauna Olney, chief of the International Labor Organization’s gender, equality and diversity branch.