Microsoft wants US suppliers to give employees paid time off

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft said Thursday that it will push its U.S. suppliers to give their employees paid time off — but that only applies for the staffers that do work for Microsoft.

Microsoft said it has about 2,000 U.S. suppliers, who provide services such as maintenance and security. The technology company does not know how many of its suppliers don't provide paid time off. It has heard from workers and media reports that some companies don't provide the benefit.

The announcement comes at a time when paid sick leave and income inequality have become hot topics. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama called on Congress to pass measures that would allow workers to earn up to seven days of paid leave.

Microsoft Corp. said suppliers with 50 or more employees will be asked to provide at least 15 days of paid time off for employees that mainly work with the Redmond, Washington, company. They can offer either 15 unrestricted paid days off or 10 days of paid vacation and five days of sick leave. Microsoft said it will give suppliers 12 months to make the changes.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said the rules will be written into future contracts and those that don't comply may be dropped as a supplier. She said the company did not discuss the issue with suppliers before the plan was announced Thursday.

Microsoft wants US suppliers to give employees paid time off

BCJ: VAC Again

This posting and the next three postings are from the Boone County Journal which is available free of cost at merchants across the county and on-line at:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-03-27-15.pdf#page=1

 

 

 

 

 

BCJ: PSB Sales Tax

BCJ Editorial: Pubic Safety Sales Tax

Letter to BCJ Editor: Public Safety Sales Tax Vote

Illinois governor's budget plan just the ticket or a huge problem? | Matthew Dietrich

 

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed budget plan for the 2016 fiscal year includes heavy cuts and has garnered both criticism and praise.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has been unsparing in his criticism of Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget plan.

He says while the governor calls for "shared sacrifice," the budget puts the entire burden of cuts onto the middle class, the poor and the disabled
From Cullerton:

Illinois faces monumental fiscal challenges. But before we decide that we want to be just like Indiana or Wisconsin - or Kansas or Mississippi, for that matter - let's take a deep breath and think about what kind of state we want to live in.

We have to fix our state's finances, but how we fix them matters. Let's start with two principles: An agreement that all segments of society should share the inevitable sacrifices, and an agreement that any solution has to be bipartisan.

Gov. Bruce Rauner himself voiced these principles in his Feb. 18 budget. Rather than being an extension of his shared sacrifice rhetoric, the budget takes direct aim at Illinois's middle class.

Rauner proposed slashing college funding by one-third. He would cut funding to communities by more than half a billion dollars. He shrinks public transit funding by almost 40 percent. And he amputates millions from programs that keep seniors in their homes.

Those of you planning to send your children to state universities, get ready for big tuition hikes. Those of you who take public transportation to work, get ready to pay more for less frequent service. That's right, we're going to make it harder for people to get educated and get to work. And this is supposed to make us more prosperous and competitive.

The pain will not be confined to the middle class. The elderly, the sick, and the addicted will all take it on the chin. So will Lauretta Schaefer, a 20-year-old student at Illinois State. Lauretta's mother, a substance abuser, abandoned her when she was a toddler. But Lauretta survived and thrived. She's now going to college thanks to a scholarship from the Department of Children and Family Services. Under Rauner's plan, Lauretta's scholarship program, her path to self-sufficiency, is eliminated.

Read the rest at Reboot Illinois.

But President and CEO Todd Maisch of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce says the agenda is just what the state needs.

Maisch writes:

The Illinois Chamber hosted Gov. Bruce Rauner and employers from Central Illinois last week in a town hall meeting. The purpose: To hear directly from the governor what he intends to accomplish and to consider his challenge to employers to help turn Illinois around.

I believe the vast majority of participants in the event came away energized to do what they can to support a new direction for our state. They responded positively to his challenge to employers to amplify his statements about the need for a real change of course. To be a larger voice on behalf of fixing state finances, improving the business climate to grow the economy, and returning control of state government to voters and away from government unions.

To be sure, most employers can find something not to like in the governor's proposals and recent FY16 budget plan. Examples include a possible service tax, cuts to workforce training programs, reductions in Medicaid rates to providers. However, the Illinois Chamber asks every employer to consider what our state and economy will look like in five years without a dramatic departure from the policies that led to the unsustainable status quo. The fact is, some short-term pain is the price we will all have to pay for more than a decade of failed leadership in Springfield.

The governor also pointed to states that succumbed to the "tax first, reform later" arguments of the public employees unions and others dependent upon state spending. The taxes always seem to arrive - along with their hit on the economy - but the discussion of real reform never seems to come around again. We simply can't afford that approach in Illinois and expect any change in our fortunes.

Read the rest at Reboot Illinois.

Illinois governor's budget plan just the ticket or a huge problem? | Matthew Dietrich

Knox County joins other urging governor not to cut funding - News - The Register-Mail - Galesburg, IL

Will Boone County do something like this?

GALESBURG — The Knox County Board voted Wednesday to join the United Counties of Illinois in urging Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Legislature to avoid cutting necessary funding to the county’s budget.

“This is a resolution we’re going to pass with the UCCI so we’re all on the same page with other counties not to take our income tax,” said member Greg Bacon, D-Dist. 1.

Rauner has proposed a 50 percent reduction in local governments’ share of the state income tax. Projected in this year’s budget, the county is expecting $920,000 in income tax dollars. If Rauner’s cut goes through, the county will be without $460,000.

Also, the Illinois House of Representatives passed a proposal including a 2.25 percent cut across the board, which will also cost the county. The legislation is expected to be brought to a vote in the Senate later this week.

Last year the board struggled with a $600,000 budget deficit, borrowing money from the landfill to cover the shortage. The deficit was caused in part by money the state owed the county not coming through.
The board voted 11-0 to send the resolution to Springfield with members Dick Conklin, R-Dist. 1, and David Erickson, R-Dist. 4 abstaining from the vote.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Knox County joins other urging governor not to cut funding - News - The Register-Mail - Galesburg, IL

Schock’s fundraiser: I feel ‘sad, angry, cheated’ - POLITICO

 

By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan

3/24/15 1:53 PM EDT

Rep. Aaron Schock’s longtime fundraiser sent an email to the Illinois Republican’s donors, saying she feels “sad, angry, cheated” and filled with “total disgust, disbelief and disappointment” at the congressman’s alleged misspending of taxpayer and campaign dollars.

Lisa Wagner is an Illinois-based GOP fundraiser who worked for Schock for the past four years, helping to catapult him to the top tier of the Republican money world.

Story Continued Below

Wagner’s email offers a window into the sudden fallout and acute anger in Schock’s world from the scandal that brought down the fourth-term congressman, who announced his resignation last week effective March 31. Schock is now under investigation by the Justice Department. Schock aides have been called to testify before a federal grand jury next month in Springfield, Illinois.

“You personally and generously supported Aaron in the past and were very kind to him,” Wagner wrote in an email, obtained by POLITICO. “He deceived us all.”

Wagner added, “The last time I saw Aaron was February 8, 2015. I have tried to text, email and call, but with zero response. Right now, I feel like someone we thought we knew really well died.”

“I believe he should be held accountable for his choices…. whatever the consequences [may] be…I have no sympathy for the him right now,” she wrote.

A spokesman for Schock had no comment.

Reached on Tuesday, Wagner told POLITICO that she spoke to Schock for the first time Monday since the scandal broke.

“We talked about the email I sent to a handful of individual donors who were close to Aaron,” Wagner wrote in an emailed statement to POLITICO. “During our conversation, I shared how angry and how disappointed I was with him. Our conversation was very raw, authentic and human.”

Wagner said that she is praying for Schock and believes that he will “work hard to make things right as best he can.”

She said that after talking with Schock, “I — for the first time — started to separate the sin from the sinner.”

“Aaron is going thru Hell,” Wagner wrote. “Many, many people genuinely like and care about Aaron as a human being, and their hearts are heavy and sad. I believe Aaron will work hard to make things right as best he can. From starting the process of returning checks to reaching out to people, Aaron will take full responsibility for his actions and choices.”

While Schock had kept a lower profile before announcing his resignation, the Illinois Republican voted this week and attended the weekly House Republican Conference meeting on Tuesday morning.

In her earlier email to donors, Wagner wrote that she worked for Schock for four years, “got paid a modest monthly retainer, but received no bonus, no trips, no gifts, no sporting events or rock concerts, not even a Schock t-shirt.”

“Worked my tail off and played by the rules for him,” she wrote. “I guess that is why I was kept out of the loop — until he [needs] something - a fundraiser for [Illinois Gov. Bruce] Rauner, a fundraiser for him, 15M for the [National Republican Congressional Committee].”

Wagner said she has “requested any money donated to him in 2015 be returned.”

“The response I received from the person managing his compliance now is that they legally have to return the 2016 general contributions, but not the primary money,” she wrote. “My request is that all of it should be returned.”

In closing, Wagner wrote that she is “truly sorry for the pain Aaron’s situation is causing you, me, his friends, supporters, staff, donors, the voters, those who believed in him — everyone. This whole situation hurts everyone.”

Above is from:  Schock’s fundraiser: I feel ‘sad, angry, cheated’ - POLITICO