The rights of the men and women who work at airlines and railroads are in jeopardy.

Over 75 years ago, Democrats and Republicans worked together to craft the Railway Labor Act to resolve labor disputes in the airline and railroad industries. Under the Act, the National Mediation Board administers union representation elections in the industry.

Until today.

Radical anti-union members of Congress are attempting to rewrite this important labor law and change the role of the National Mediation Board without debate or discussion. They have included drastic changes to the law in the FAA Reauthorization bill.

Click here to write Congress today and make sure that these changes are removed from the FAA Reauthorization bill.

The changes these radicals are seeking would:

• Make it much harder for airline and railroad workers to hold union representation elections.

• Threaten airline and railroad workers' right to a secret ballot during union representation campaigns, allowing for management intimidation and retaliation.

• Allow airline and railroad management to decertify unions without an election in a merger.

The FAA Reauthorization bill is an important piece of legislation that must be passed to ensure safe, efficient air travel. It is not the place to make drastic changes to rules that protect the rights of workers to join labor unions.

We must stand together to let Congress know that unrelated, controversial changes to labor law have no place in this bill.

Watch the video then use this form to write your Senators today and make sure that these changes are removed from the FAA Reauthorization bill. Or text FAA to 69866 to connect to your Senators' offices.

Watch It:

Komen for the Cure just released the following statement from Nancy Brinker and the Susan G. Komen Board of Director

We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives.

The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.

Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.

Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.

It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women. We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics - anyone's politics.

Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work. We ask for the public's understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve.

We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern.

Group to Address Lack of Responsible Policies on Hydraulic Fracturing in the State

COLUMBUS - Recently a group of Ohio legislators announced the creation of a caucus comprised of Senate and House members who are promoting legislation to strengthen relatively weak laws surrounding shale oil and gas exploration in the state.

"I think we looked around and kind of realized that a strong group of legislators are all working on legislation to bring about substantive and thoughtful laws for a practice that has been given pretty wide latitude by the Kasich administration. I also think that some of us are a little irritated that the Governor is saying 'we have to do this right,' yet no one in his administration has proposed to deal with the gross violation of private property laws that exist, the blatant discrepancy in seeking a fair revenue for the state, or the serious concerns about public and environmental health," Hagan said.

Responsible Shale Energy Development Caucus (RSED) members have introduced legislation that directly addresses some of these issues, and some members are currently working on legislation to bring greater accountability and responsibility to Ohio's oil and gas extraction laws.

The following statement can be attributed in whole or in part to Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of ProgressOhio:

"ProgressOhio believes first and foremost the health and safety of Ohioans should take precedence over any discussion of revenue generated from fracking. ProgressOhio stands firmly with the 72% of Ohioans who are in favor of a moratorium on fracking until issues such as environmental impact, water quality, disclosure of chemicals and waste disposal issues are resolved.
 
While the aim of generating more revenue for our local communities is valid, we believe that Ohio should be examining and eliminating some of the over $7 billion in tax loopholes and expenditures, including tax breaks for private jets, that leaders on all part of the political spectrum agree are wasteful and ineffective.  

What is the State's cost to replace an entire aquifer that has been contaminated by toxic chemicals and unregulated drilling?  What is the State's cost to replace infrastructure and repair damage after earthquakes caused by wastewater injection?  More importantly, what is the cost to the people of Ohio, our health, our children, and our communities when the short term profits of big oil and gas are put before our property rights and our rights to clean water and air?  

Until we can have a moratorium in place and the science proves our communities are safe, the environment is unharmed and earthquake ramifications are understood, talking about splitting up the spoils of fracking money is premature.  The State of Ohio needs to put our people before corporate profits."

John Kasich is on the run but we need your help to fight his extreme corporate agenda.

The annual State of the State address is scheduled for February 7th but for the first time in the history of the State of Ohio, its not going to be at the Statehouse.   

After the beating Kasich took on Issue 2, he knows the people are against him. So Kasich is breaking 200 years of tradition and running away to a small venue in hopes that no one will make the effort to travel there.

Will you join us to protest the State of the State?  Can you grab a FREE BUS from Youngstown to/from Steubenville on Feb 7th and stand up for the 99%?  Click here to RSVP for the FREE BUS FROM CLEVELAND. YOUNGSTOWN or COLUMBUS.

Why are we protesting the State of the State? Why are we rallying for the 99%?

Because Gov. Kasich isn't standing up for us and someone needs to be fighting for our future and our communities.

We are at a make or break moment in Ohio. While our citizens continue to struggle, John Kasich is giving away the state to his biggest campaign contributors.

Education. Environment. Voting Rights. Workers' Rights. Attack after attack - Kasich and his allies are working for their corporate special interests, continuing to ignore the will of the people.

Can we count on you to stand up for regular Ohioans and stand up against Kasich's bus at the State of the 99% Protest?  We can send a message for the 99% but we need your help.  Click here to RSVP and get more information on the protest.

On February 7th, we will prove him wrong.  Citizens from across Ohio are going to come together and protest Kasich's fire-sale of Ohio to his corporate friends.  We will show him that the 99% won't sit back while he rewards his 1% campaign contributors.

John Kasich has the wrong vision for Ohio. It's time for Kasich and the rest of the politicians to do the right thing. The days of rewarding campaign contributors with Ohio's tax dollars are over.

The corporate takeover of Ohio stops here.

Join us in Steubenville on the 7th.  Make your voice heard.  We have a free bus but you must CLICK HERE to RSVP and get more information.

Ohio's oil and gas resources have caught the attention of drillers, investors and political leaders alike. Thanks to a process known as hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), substantial reserves of oil and gas trapped deep under the surface can be extracted and brought to market, with a potential value of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Innovation Ohio has released a report, "Fracking, Fairness and the Future," in which they call on Governor Kasich and state lawmakers to ensure that Ohio workers, landowners and taxpayers receive a fair share and a fair shake if the state decides to allow expanded drilling for oil and gas.

"Though a shale boom potentially could bring tens of thousands of jobs to Ohio, environmental concerns have raised doubts about whether fracking and its associated processes are safe. However, environmental issues are not the primary focus of our report. Because creating jobs will do little good if we poison our people and destroy our state, we believe it is self-evident that fracking should be halted if threats to public health and safety cannot be resolved. But if fracking does go forward, we believe that the economic benefits should be shared fairly with ALL Ohioans, not transferred out of state or allowed to flow down a one-way street in the direction of Big Oil."

IO's recommendations include: charging industry a reasonable severance tax and sharing the revenue with local governments hit hard by budget cuts and poised to deal with the local impacts of increased drilling; establishing a landowner's bill of rights; and creating a "Hire Ohio" policy to ensure new jobs go primarily to the Ohioans who need them.

Rootscamp Ohio is the one event a year where it doesn't matter whether you're a blogger, an elected official or a super-volunteer that had never been politically active before SB5 - if you're a progressive and have something to share, we want to hear from you.

Please join us on Saturday, February 25^th for Rootscamp Ohio 2012, a unique chance to network, share and learn from your peers across the state.

Tickets are free and space is limited so make sure you can attend by RSVP'ing today!

What:        Rootscamp Ohio 2012

Who:         Progressives from across the state.                   

When:       Saturday, February 25th, 2012                  

Sign-in starts at 8:30 AM and the opening session is at 9:30 AM.

Where:     Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA)                  

 390 Worthington Rd. Ste. A                  

Westerville, OH  43082-8329 [map]

The Putting the People's Interests First Act of 2012 Would Build on STOCK Act by Setting Strict Firewall to Prevent Any Conflicts of Interests that Could Arise by Members of Congress Owning Stock Affected by their Official Duties

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Wednesday, offered an amendment that he said would strengthen the pending STOCK Act by requiring senators and their senior staff to divest from individual stock holdings in companies that could be affected by their work.

"Members of the House and Senate should focus on serving their constituents, not their stock portfolios," said Brown, speaking from the floor early Wednesday afternoon. "While the STOCK Act is an important step, we can draw an even clearer line by preventing our colleagues from voting on issues that affect their financial investments...There's no reason they need to be in the business of buying or selling stocks that could be influenced by their actions."

The Putting the People's Interests First Act of 2012, which is being sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), technically prohibit members of the Senate and staff from owning individual stock in areas affected by their congressional work but does allow investment in broad-based funds such as mutual funds and allows for assets to be placed in blind trust.

Public Policy Polling

Things are looking up for Barack Obama in the crucial swing state of Ohio. His opponents are unpopular, his own numbers are on the rise, and as a result he holds a healthy lead over the entire Republican field of candidates.

Obama has broken even with Ohio voters. 48% now approve of him with an equal 48% disapproving. His net approval has increased 8 points from 41/49 when PPP last polled the state in early November. The most important thing that's happened since then is Obama's base rallying around him. He's gone from a 73% approval rating with Democrats to 82%. And although he remains unpopular with independents he's still seen a 13 point net improvement with them from -26 (30/56) to -13 (40/53).

While Obama's becoming more popular, his opponents are moving backward. Only 28% of Ohioans have a favorable opinion of Mitt Romney to 56% with a negative one. Independents (30/53) and Democrats (14/73) pretty universally dislike him and he's not that hot with Republicans (43/36) either. Ron Paul (27/57) and Newt Gingrich (25/59) are even more unpopular. Rick Santorum actually has the 'best' numbers of the Republicans in Ohio at 35/48.

Santorum also, in contrast to most of our polling, comes the closest to Obama in Ohio. He trails by 6 points at 48-42. Romney's down 7 at 49-42, Paul's down 10 at 48-38, and Gingrich trails by 12 at 51-39.

Full Results Here

COLUMBUS - Today Gov. John R. Kasich announced that a block of tickets to his 2012 State of the State address on Tuesday, February 7, in Steubenville will be distributed to the public via an internet lottery. Interested individuals can register for the ticket lottery at: http://governor.ohio.gov/tickets/

The governor's State of the State address is historically delivered in the Ohio House of Representatives chamber at the Statehouse in Columbus, where public seating is limited. This year's address--the first delivered by a governor outside of the Statehouse--will be delivered to a special joint session of the General Assembly convened at Wells Academy, the top-performing public elementary school in Ohio and part of Steubenville City Schools. Wells shares a spacious auditorium with the Steubenville High School which allows for more Ohioans to attend.

Names will be collected until 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 2, and individuals selected for tickets by random lottery will be notified via e-mail by noon on Friday, February 3.

State Of The 99% Ohio:
Protest and Rally At State Of The State!