Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer

from the Charlotte Observer:

The Observer's recent interview with Republican N.C. Labor Secretary Cherie Berry sounded like a satire on how public officials work.

Staff writer Ames Alexander asked her whether she planned to do anything in response to the Observer's series describing workplace safety violations at poultry processing plants run by House of Raeford Farms, a big N.C. company.

Her answer: No.

Asked how her department is doing in keeping workers safe in such dangerous jobs as poultry processing, she replied:

"Our department has the best safety record and fatality record we've had in many, many years. Our numbers have been on a downward trend. And that's what our work is targeted toward -- keeping those numbers going down."

What about companies that aren't reporting workplace injuries? Her response:

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writers

The fate of $600-$1,200 rebate checks for more than 100 million Americans is in limbo after Senate Republicans blocked a bid by Democrats to add $44 billion in help for the elderly, disabled veterans, the unemployed and businesses to the House-passed economic aid package.

GOP senators banded together Wednesday to thwart the $205 billion plan, leaving Democrats with a difficult choice either to quickly accept a House bill they have said is inadequate or risk being blamed for delaying a measure designed as a swift shot in the arm for the lagging economy.

The tally was 58-41 to end debate on the Senate measure, just short of the 60 votes Democrats would have needed to scale procedural hurdles and move the bill to a final vote. In a suspenseful showdown vote that capped days of partisan infighting and procedural jockeying, eight Republicans — four of them up for re-election this year — joined Democrats to back the plan, bucking GOP leaders and President Bush, who objected to the costly add-ons.

To many people, increasing the federal minimum wage rate by 70 cents, from $5.15 to $5.85 might seem like pocket change.

But it means a lot to the people who bag groceries, sweep floors at local elementary schools, and ask customers if they want fries with that super-sized meal.

By increasing the federal minimum wage rate to $7.25 over the next two years, the new Democratic-led Congress took the first concrete step toward a broader American agenda to grow our economy and increase opportunities for all Americans, not just a privileged few.

After a decade of Republican obstructionism, Democrats are producing results.

It’s not just Democrats in Washington who are making a difference. North Carolina Democrats took the lead last year in increasing the state’s minimum wage rate from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour. That change took effect in January.

• Creation of a Cabinet Level Labor Department (Woodrow Wilson)
• The 8 Hour Workday and Overtime (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
• National Labor Relations Act (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
• Minimum Wage Law (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
• Unemployment Compensation Law (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
• Civilian Conservation Corp (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
• The Full Employment Act for Labor (Harry Truman)
• Family and Medical Leave Act (Bill Clinton)
• Worker's Compensation (Woodrow Wilson)
• Raised North Carolina's Minimum Wage (Gov. Mike Easley)

As the Republican Do-Nothing Congress leaves for a month-long vacation, they left the American people with false hope and shallow promises that they would increase the minimum wage this year.

Instead, Congressional Republicans are playing election year politics again by adding a provision to slash estate taxes for the wealthiest 8,000 Americans to a minimum wage increase bill that would increase wages for 6.6 million Americans for the first time in nine years. The bill would also add $800 billion to the already-ballooning federal deficit. Democrats know this is a false choice and offer a new direction that puts increasing the minimum wage at the top of its agenda.

Dallas, NC-North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek delivered the following remarks at a press conference at Biggerstaff Park in Gaston County, NC, located near Gaston College, where President Bush gave a speech in support of the Central American Free Trade Agreement:

"Today, President Bush was in Gaston County for one reason - to provide political cover for Congresswoman Sue Myrick who is selling out her constituents by committing to vote in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Congresswoman Myrick needed the President to try to sell an unfair trade deal that will benefit big corporations at the expense of American workers.

When George W. Bush and Karl Rove recruited Richard Burr to run for the Senate, they knew that if elected, Burr would be a rubber-stamp for the administration.

They got what they wanted.

Last night, the U.S. Senate passed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

It was hard to tell how Richard Burr would vote because he spoke out of both sides of his mouth for so long. When the vote was cast, Burr, along with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, voted in favor of CAFTA.