[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Message from Senator Barack Obama

[Ricky Baldwin]

Hi folks-

Thought I'd pass this along.  I wrote both senators
and Tim J. on this.  Here's the only response I have
so far received.  Though obviously a form letter, at
least he seems to be on the right side of this one.

Take it easy-
Ricky

--- senator_obama at obama.senate.gov wrote:

> From: senator_obama at obama.senate.gov
> Subject: Message from Senator Barack Obama
> To: baldwinricky at yahoo.com
> Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 11:53:45 -0400
> 
> 
> Dear Ricky:
> 
> Thank you for writing me regarding the President’s
> suspension of the
> Davis-Bacon Act.  I agree with you that the last
> thing that workers
> affected by Hurricane Katrina need is to have one of
> their most basic labor
> protections suspended.
> 
> On September 8th, President Bush proclaimed that all
> federal contracts to
> be performed in the hurricane-affected areas of
> Alabama, Florida,
> Louisiana, and Mississippi would be exempt from
> Davis-Bacon Act
> requirements.   The Davis-Bacon Act ensures that
> workers earn prevailing
> local wages on federally-funded construction
> contracts.  The President’s
> move suspends this requirement, and permits
> contractors to pay less than
> the locally prevailing wage on contracts entered
> into after September 8th.
> 
> I think the President was wrong to suspend the
> Davis-Bacon Act, which is
> why I co-sponsored with Senator Kennedy the Fair
> Wages for Katrina Recovery
> Workers Act.  If passed, this bill would reverse the
> President’s suspension
> and ensure that the workers involved in the recover
> and reconstruction
> effort will earn a prevailing wage.  I am hopeful
> that my Republican
> colleagues will see the need to protect workers
> affected by Hurricane
> Katrina, and work to pass this bill.
> 
> An estimated 400,000 to 1 million workers may become
> unemployed as a result
> of Hurricane Katrina.  These hard-working Americans
> will need good jobs
> quickly.  Workers in Mississippi and Louisiana were
> among the poorest in
> America even before the hurricane; the states rank
> 1st and 2nd among the
> poorest states in the nation.   The President’s
> move to depress their wages
> even further is confounding, and extremely
> unfortunate.
> 
> President Bush would have Americans believe that
> Davis-Bacon wages are
> exorbitant, and that contractors would not be able
> to afford to do their
> jobs and pay their employees’ wages.  Nothing
> could be further from the
> truth.  For instance, sheet metal workers in Pearl
> River County,
> Mississippi earned $9.16 an hour before the
> Hurricane, and truck drivers in
> Mobile, Alabama made $8.54 for an hour’s work.  I
> am sure you will agree
> with me that by any reasonable estimates, these
> wages are not prohibitively
> high.
> 
> Ricky, thank you for writing.   As this fight for
> fair wages for America’s
> workers continues in the coming days, I will be
> certain to keep your
> communication in mind.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
>               Barack Obama
>               United States Senator
> 
> 
> P.S.  Our system does not allow direct response to
> this email.  However, if
> you would like to contact me again, please use the
> form on the website:
> http://obama.senate.gov/contact/



		
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