Join us for our annual "Holiday Party with an Attitude" where folks vote for what person or organization who wreaked the most havoc on Missouri working families this year. Last year's winner in Kansas City were Rex Sinquefield in Kansas City. Who's it gonna be this year?

As always, the Holiday Happy Hour is a fundraiser - one dollar, one vote - vote EARLY and OFTEN.

Remember, the Leader Board reflects all on-line votes, off-line votes such as checks, and tables bought.

CANDIDATE	TOTAL VOTES
Rex Sinquefield	3154
Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA)	1737
Rep Todd Akin (R-MO)	2722
Frank Kartmann, President, Missouri American Water Company	395

CANDIDATE	TOTAL VOTES
Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA)	370
Wal-Mart	440
State Senator Jane Cunningham	395
State Senator Luann Ridgeway	500

All totals above reflect Tables purchased by organizations, votes from the Causes page, as well as cash and check donations.

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St. Louis

Rex Sinquefield, nominated by the St. Louis Jobs with Justice Workers Rights Board

Rex Sinquefield is a St Louis multi-millionaire intent on buying laws that help the 1% and screw over the 99%.  This year St. Louisans voted YES on Prop E, retaining the City’s Earnings Tax. The only reason why we had to vote on Prep E this year  – and every five years from now until eternity  – is because of Rex’s radical anti-tax ideology.   

Sinquefeld’s agenda also includes repealing the state income tax in favor of the Everything Tax, which would cause almost every single item and service you buy - from home sales to health care - to include a sales tax. The Everything Tax means more taxes for everyone but the rich. Rex seems to think that since the “free market” made him so much money, it must be good for everyone. 

He makes no secrets about his out-of-this-world lobbying efforts in order to get in good with the Missouri Legislature. For example, towards the end of 2010, Rex gave $200,000 to Speaker of the House Steven Tilley, even though he ran unopposed in his election. Rex isn’t the only candidate for Scrooge of the Year, but he’s well overdue to receive the crown. Vote for Rex Sinquefield for St. Louis JwJ Scrooge of the Year.

 

Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA), nominated by American Postal Workers Union Gateway District Area Local

Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) is blocking bill HR 1351, which has over 230 Co-sponsors, from leaving the committee, that Rep. Issa is the Chairman, to go to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. This bill, if passed, would bring solvency to the USPS financial difficulties.

On the other hand, he introduced bill HR 2039 and pushed it out of Committee to the floor for a vote with only 2 co-sponsors. If passed, this bill will end 6 day mail delivery, cut postal wages, and our collective bargaining rights, and force retirement for on our senior employees. Rep Issa is working hard to destroy the Postal Service which has been providing services to customers from all over the world for over 200 years. We receive no tax dollars. We are self sufficient. Rep Darrell Issa is truly Scrooge of the Year.

Rep Todd Akin (R-MO), nominated by Missouri AFL-CIO

Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) is proud to represent the 1%, not so interested in the rest of the 99 percent he’s been refusing to meet for months. He’s done nothing to address Missouri’s jobs crisis, voting against jobs any chance he gets.

Akin has also repeatedly voted against the unemployment insurance benefits and food stamps, questioning whether these critical programs are constitutional. He’s also used similar logic to justify punishing budget cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, all the while insisting on tax cuts to the CEOs and Wall Street bankers that have been foreclosing on Missouri homes and outsourcing our jobs.

Akin has also attacked the faith community, saying that “at the heart of liberalism is a hatred of God.” Rep. Akin has been Scrooge-worthy for years, now is the time to hold him accountable!

Frank Kartmann, President of Missouri American Water Company, nominated by Utility Workers Union of America Local 335

Frank Kartmann, President of Missouri American Water Company, is spearheading a union busting drive, including seniority loss, job cuts, outside contracting, and contract implementation. On top of all that, President Frank Kartmann is trying to increase health care costs for his employees, as well as a “record” water rate increase.

Utility Workers Union of America Local 335, which represents the workers at Missouri American Water, has been in a struggle with Frank Kartmann for over a year. He continues to try to privatize public water services and strip bargaining power from the union, after an all out postcard campaign, and several actions right in front of Missouri American Water. He is a true winner for Scrooge of the Year.

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Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA), nominated by American Postal Workers Union Local 67

Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) is blocking bill HR 1351 which, if passed, would bring solvency to the USPS’ financial difficulties. This bill has over 230 Co-sponsors, but it is being held in committee by the Chairman - Rep Issa. Rep Issa refuses to allow it to go to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.

In the meantime, Rep. Issa has introduced bill HR 2039 and pushed it out of Committee to the floor for a vote with only 2 co-sponsors. If passed, this bill will end 6 day mail delivery, close many small offices and decimate rural communities around this country. It will cut wages, end our collective bargaining rights, and force retirement or layoffs of our senior employees, including many veterans. Rep Issa is working hard to privatize the United States Postal Service, a non profit service agency that receives no tax dollars. Rep Darrell Issa is truly Scrooge of the Year.

While working Postal families are trying to keep their heads above water, hold on to their jobs, and fight to keep the Postal Service available to every citizen in the U.S., it is clear they have a sworn enemy - Rep Darrell Issa.

Wal-Mart, nominated by Communications Workers of America Local 6355/Missouri State Workers Union

So far this year, Wal-Mart has already made $8.8 billion in profits for its stockholders. Wal-Mart makes even MORE profits by being one of the largest recipients of corporate welfare, with the average Wal-Mart store receiving nearly $3 million in government subsidies. Further, Wal-Mart relies on assistance programs such as Medicaid to pay for its employees’ health care costs. In Missouri, Wal-Mart employs more people who personally - or through their dependants - rely on Medicaid to cover their health care costs than anyone else. And that number is only getting bigger - in October, Wal-Mart announced plans to dump health care coverage for its part time employees, who make up around one quarter of the company’s 1.3 million US employees.

Abroad, it is widely recognized as the leading force behind the outsourcing of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to countries like the People’s Republic of China, where no environmental protections exist and where workers’ who attempt to organize are brutally repressed.

This year, in Missouri alone, Wal-Mart lobbied our state legislature to:

• Undo our state’s minimum wage law
• Gut our state’s employment non-discrimination statute
• Eliminate the Missouri corporate franchise tax
• Destroy the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively

In Missouri, our school class sizes are swelling, our roads and bridges are crumbling; our state services to protect children, senior citizens and people with disabilities from poverty, abuse, neglect, and exploitation are strained to the breaking point. Wal-Mart is putting people over profit by every measure.
Sources: Wal-Mart; Wal-Mart Wach; Wall Street Journal

State Senator Jane Cunningham, nominated by National Nurses United - Kansas City and SEIU HealthCare

Jane Cunningham is a Missouri State Senator with a long history of standing up for corporations instead of workers and families.  Last year, she gained national infamy for proposing Missouri end child labor laws.  

Throughout the national health care fight, Sen. Cunningham repeatedly did the bidding of ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) a corporate think tank that promotes corporate interests by drafting legislation to strip workers’ rights and gut federal regulations.  Cunningham’s so-called “health care freedom” act was even drafted by ALEC.  

In 2011, Sen. Cunningham, motivated by her personal political agenda, is working with other fringe Senators to block Missouri from implementing any part the Affordable Care Act, including the competitive insurance marketplace.   Not only are her actions denying Missourians the ability to purchase affordable insurance for their families, her behavior is also preventing insurance companies from being held accountable to the new rules meant to lower premium costs and improve the quality of coverage.  Because of her heinous disregard for the welfare of Missourians, NNU & SEIU HC want you to vote Jane Cunningham the 2011 Kansas City Scrooge of the Year.

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