FAIR Act 'anything but fair'
Some U.S. House Republicans vowed to continue to push for a floor vote on the FAIR Act - a vote House Speaker Dennis Hastert says they won't win.

Such a vote would only reveal which of their colleagues snubbed the Republican Party's friends in the anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors, which have labeled the FAIR Act their top legislative priority.

The Fair Access to Indemnity and Reimbursement Act would allow construction contractors and labor unions to automatically recoup their legal fees if they win a court or administrative action brought against them by the National Labor Relations Board or OSHA. The money could be recouped even if the charges by the NLRB or OSHA were not frivolous.

Ironically, the ABC was holding its annual legislative conference in Washington while action on the FAIR Act was being considered. According to the Construction Labor Report, Hastert told a Feb. 14 breakfast meeting of the ABC that "the unions had done their jobs" in rounding up Democratic and Republican votes against the measure.

In a letter to all House members, IBEW President J.J. Barry wrote that the legislation was "anything but fair" and would cripple OSHA and the NLRB "in their efforts to enforce vital worker protection laws they administer."

The Clinton Administration "strongly opposes" the FAIR Act, which if passed would "result in a serious erosion of the rights and protections of workers."

New seat belt law in effect
If you're not buckled up, a new statewide Michigan law allows police to pull you over and hand you a ticket worth $25.

As of March 10, Michigan became one of 17 states that allows officers to pull over unbuckled motorists as a primary offense. This builds on a 1985 Michigan law which allowed police to ticket unbuckled motorists only if they were stopped for another infraction.

It has been proven that seat belts save lives, but 30 percent of Michiganians don't buckle up.

U.S. strike actions slow to a crawl
Do strikes by organized labor disrupt the nation's economy?

Anyone who still claims that they do should take note: according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1999, only 73,000 workers were involved in major work stoppages. This was the lowest level in 53 years, and the first time ever the level was below 100,000.

In comparison, in 1998, major work stoppages idled 387,000 workers . Work stoppages peaked in 1952, when 2,746,000 workers were involved in stoppages.

The numbers for 1999 include 10,000 Detroit school teachers who opted not to show up for work in September because of the lack of a contract.