Katrina Coverage

The AP reports on the Davis-Bacon reinstatement in "Bush administration to reinstate prevailing wages on Katrina contracts" by David Hammer. There, way, way, way down in the 14th paragraph, comes a slight bit of truth:
Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., said a Democratic Policy Committee hearing they held earlier this month had an […]

From Froma Harrop:
New Orleans offers a quick study of Bush labor policy in action: On Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina strikes, causing widespread destruction. Four days later, President Bush commits $10.1 billion of the taxpayers' money to rebuilding New Orleans. Four days after that, he suspends the Davis-Bacon Act — the law that requires federal contractors […]

From 10/4's Eased out of the Big Easy from Jesse Jackson:
After his administration's incompetence and indifference had lethal consequences in Katrina's wake, President Bush has been scrambling to regain his footing. He's called for an "unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis." In religious services at the National Cathedral, he called on America to "erase this […]

From the AFL-CIO comes AFL-CIO News: Workers Win Fair Wages as Bush Backs off Davis-Bacon Suspension:
In response to working families and their unions, as well as community and religious groups and some members of Congress, President George W. Bush on Oct. 26 rescinded his executive order that allowed contractors to pay substandard wages to construction […]

Senator Teddy Kennedy offers the following statement while introducing the "Rebuild with Respect Act":
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed the silent slavery of poverty for all of America to see. There’s no excuse for ignoring what so obviously needs to be done to achieve genuine equality and basic fairness in this country. We know we’re a […]

From our comrades at pww.org:
Gulf Coast union leaders hailed an action campaign launched by the AFL-CIO Sept. 30 to defend workers’ wages and rebuild their hurricane-torn states while turning the nation in a new direction that puts “people before profits.”
Julie Cherry, assistant to Louis Reine, secretary-treasurer of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, said the labor movement will […]

On October 5, former president Bill Clinton visited Louisiana on a fact-finding tour and made these points among others:
- give rebuilding jobs to those affected, not out-of-state firms: For long-term work, Clinton said it's important to "hire people from Louisiana even if they have to be retrained."
- repeal the suspension of Davis-Bacon
- "We need to […]

The post here links to the following:
this
PDF file
And, "Davis-Bacon Suspension and Its Legislative Aftermath [Order Code RS22288] (October 3, 2005)" available from here.

Rep. Raul Grijalva has sponsored the Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act, which would block Bush's suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act. While certainly of interest, nothing that this Democratic representative does should not be reported without also noting that he's a proud former member of the racial separatist group MEChA. That group wants to "liberate" […]

Like a reverse The Jungle, the "liberals" at the S.F. Chronicle have a Page 1 "Special to The Chronicle" report from Eliza Barclay entitled "As locals struggle, migrants find work in New Orleans":
Two weeks ago, Geremias Lopez was picking grapes near Bakersfield, but when he saw an advertisement on Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language television […]