News Briefs
Norton Holds Rally to Protest Contracting Jobs at Walter Reed
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) held a rally recently to protest a decision to contract out jobs at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Congressional representatives noted “highly unusual circumstances” in awarding the contract to IAP and feel that “sustained congressional scrutiny” and “…decisive congressional intervention” are in order. Walter Reed employees, represented by AFGE, initially won the $120 million base operations support services contract in 2004.
However, the Army failed to complete the privatization review in
the time allowed by law. The Army tried to cancel the privatization effort, but Department of Defense officials refused the request. Over the objections of Walter Reed managers earlier this year, the Army reversed its earlier decision and awarded the work to a contractor.
Councilman Gray Launches Campaign for Chair
Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent C. Gray kicked-off his campaign for Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia Saturday, March 25, at 12:30pm at The New Macedonia Baptist Church 4115 Alabama Avenue, SE.
“I will be a Council Chair who brings people together to fashion the best solutions possible for the city,” said Vincent Gray. “This is an extraordinary day for me and the residents of Ward 7 and this great city as we move forward collectively towards one city.”
The program included remarks from the Campaign Co-Chairs Lorraine Green and Don Murray. They will be followed by brief messages from residents representing each of the 8 wards.
Fighting for New Orleans Residents’ Voting Rights
Earlier in March, the U.S. Department of Justice pre-cleared the April 22, 2006 election in New Orleans even though more than half of the city’s 500,000 residents have been exiled in 44 states across the nation.
The evacuees do not know who is running for office, and those running for office don’t know how to communicate with the voters. This process is undermining the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Last Friday, Rev. Jackson and civil rights leaders announced steps to secure a fair and open election. They will also provide journalists with an update on the latest developments surrounding the upcoming April 1, 2006 march and rally in New Orleans to secure the right to vote, the right to return to the city, the right to assist in the reconstruction of the city and the right to organize.
NAACP Joins Discrimination Suit Against City of Reading , Penn.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and its Reading Branch recently announced that they joined in Cortney Horne's employment discrimination lawsuit against Reading, Pa.
The amended complaint was filed on Feb. 27. The suit charges the Reading Fire Department with implementing discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices against African Americans and other minorities.
As a result of the city's discriminatory hiring and recruitment practices, there are no African Americans and only two Latinos among the approximately 147 uniformed Reading Fire Department employees. Although Blacks constitute 10 percent and Latinos constitute over 30 percent of the city's working age population, the fire department remains virtually all-White.
County Executive Announces One-Year Stabilization Plan for Hospital
Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson announced recently that the state and county will provide Dimensions Healthcare with $26 million to ensure that the hospital system will remain in operation for the next year.
Governor Robert Ehrlich, Jr., State Senator Ulysses Currie and County Councilman Sam Dean have been working with Johnson to develop this plan and joined him at the announcement.
The funds will come from a combination of county and state money as well as in the form of rates from the Health Services Cost Review Committee (HSCRC). The county will provide $15 million in fiscal year 2007. This plan will keep the hospital doors open as the county and state work through the process of selecting a new company to acquire and operate.
