CPD IN THE NEWS

PMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is sticking with President Trump.

Presiding at the U.S. banking giant's annual shareholder meeting Tuesday, Dimon got an earful from investors who criticized JPMorgan's support of the new White House administration and asked whether he would step down from Trump's business advisory council.

Read the full article here.

Ahead of this week's meeting of the trust funds of the World Bank’s Climate Investment Funds, 100 groups have called for the CIFs to finally sunset, now that the Green Climate Fund is clearly operational. Two-thirds of the groups are from developing countries.

Here's the letter.

June 14, 2016

Dear Trust Fund Committee Members of the Strategic Climate Fund and Clean Technology Fund:

Now that it has approved projects and is beginning to disburse money, the Green Climate Fund is clearly operational. It is thus also unambiguously clear that it is time for the World Bank’s Climate Investment Funds to sunset.

Since their inception, the CIFs were meant to be interim funds. In 2008, the sunset clauses of the Strategic Climate Fund and the Clean Technology Fund said, “…the SCF will take necessary steps to conclude its operations once a new [UNFCCC] financial architecture is effective…” and “the CTF will take necessary steps to conclude its operations once a new [UNFCCC] financial architecture is effective.”[1] That new financial architecture – the Green Climate Fund – is now indisputably effective. The CIFs’ raison d'etre has expired; attempts to reinterpret the obvious must cease.

Unlike the multilateral development bank-driven CIFs, the GCF was set up according to the principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. With a governance structure evenly split between developed and developing countries, the GCF is founded on a “country-driven approach” accountable to the institutions and people in developing countries, and has placed a premium on direct access to funds by developing country entities. The GCF promotes a gender-sensitive approach to its funding – the first climate fund to do so from the outset of its activities.

While lessons learned from the CIFs should be applied to the GCF, efforts to spin the CIFs as complementary to the GCF are disingenuous. Resources directed toward the CIFs are resources that should instead be directed to the GCF. Any effort to raise new sources of finance for the CIFs should cease immediately, and there should be no new investments.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

11.11.11-Coalition of the Flemish North-South Movement, Belgium

ActionAid International        

Aksi for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice, Indonesia

All Nepal Peasants Federation, Nepal

All Nepal Women’s Association, Nepal

Alliance Sud, Switzerland

Alyansa Tigil Mina (Alliance Against Mining), Philippines

Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, Philippines

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, Thailand

Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development, Regional

ATTAC Japan

BankTrack, Netherlands

Beyond Beijing Committee, Nepal

Both ENDS, Netherlands

Bretton Woods Project, United Kingdom

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Philippines

Campaign for Climate Justice, Nepal

Carbon Market Watch, Belgium

Center for Biological Diversity, United States

Center for Environment, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Center for Popular Democracy, United States

Center for Socio-Economic Research and Development, Nepal

Centre for 21st century Issues (C21st), Nigeria

Centre for Social Impact Studies, Ghana

Centre pour l'Environnement et le Développement, Cameroon

Centro Humboldt, Nicaragua

Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnologia Apropiada/Friends of the Earth El Salvador

Christian Aid, United Kingdom

Civic Concern Nepal

Climate Action Network Europe, Regional

Climate Change & Development NGO Alliance, Azerbaijan      

Climate Finance Group for Latin America and the Caribbean (GFLAC), Mexico

CNCD-11.11.11, Belgium

Consumers Protection Association, Lesotho

Digo Bikas Institute, Nepal

Ecological Christian Organisation, Uganda

Ecological Society of the Philippines

Environics Trust, India

Farmers Forum South Asia, Regional

Finance & Trade Watch, Austria

Food & Water Watch, United States

Foundation HELP, Tanzania

Freedom from Debt Coalition, Philippines

Friends of the Earth - England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Friends of the Earth United States

Gender Action, United States

Global Catholic Climate Movement Pilipinas, Philippines

Green Development Advocates, Cameroon

Haburas Foundation/ Friends of the Earth Timor Leste

Heinrich Böll Stiftung North America

Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, India

Human Rights Alliance Nepal

Indian Social Action Forum, India

Indigenous Environmental Network, United States/International

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, United States

Institute for Policy Studies, Climate Policy Program, United States

Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), Regional

International.Lawyers.Org, Switzerland

Jagaran Nepal

Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya

Jeunes Volontaires pour l'Environnement, Niger

Kitanglad Integrated NGOs, Inc., Philippines

Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, South Korea

KRuHA – Peoples Coalition on Water, Indonesia

Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre, Nigeria

LDC Watch, International

Leads Nigeria

Les Amis de la Terre France 

Migrant Forum in Asia, Regional

National Coastal Women's Movement, India

National Hawkers Federation, India

National Women Peasants Association, Nepal

Nepal Youth Peasants Association, Nepal

Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Nigeria

NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark

PALAG Mindanao, Philippines

Panay Rural Development Center, Inc., Philippines

Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Philippines

Philippine Network for Rural Development and Democratization, Philippines

Policy Analysis and Research Institute of Lesotho

Population, Health, Environment Ethiopia Consortium, Ethiopia

Practical Action, United Kingdom

Reacción Climática, Bolivia

River Basin Friends, India

Rural Reconstruction Nepal

Sahabat Alam Malaysia/Friends of the Earth Malaysia

Sanlakas Philippines

Solidaritas Perempuan, Indonesia

South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication, Regional

South Asia Food Sovereignty Network, Regional

South Asia Peasants Coalition, Regional

Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, United States

Students for a Just and Stable Future, United States

SustainUS, United States

Third World Network, Malaysia

Trade Union Policy Institute of Nepal

VOICE Bangladesh  

WomanHealth Philippines    

Women Welfare Society, Nepal

Worldview-The Gambia        

By Karen Orenstein

Source

Brianna Roy-Rankin, 23, is just the kind of worker Target would like to retain and promote. She says she loved her job at the retailer's store in Champaign, Illinois. She had great bosses, got along well with her co-workers and enjoyed the employee discounts. But last week, after two years as a sales associate, Roy-Rankin quit her job.

“I couldn’t really plan. I was at the mercy of the scheduling system,” she says. “Otherwise, I honestly, probably, would’ve stayed.”

Roy-Rankin went to college nearby, at the University of Illinois. Before she graduated in May, she says it was a constant challenge to balance her studies and social life with her part-time job -- usually around 20 hours a week at just under $10 an hour.

Target has an unforgiving scheduling system. Roy-Rankin says she would have to submit requests to take time off for spring break or visit her parents weeks, if not months in advance -- otherwise she’d be slotted to work without recourse. She would learn about her weekly work schedule three weeks in advance, which wasn’t too bad. But then her hours would fluctuate drastically. One week, she’d be scheduled for a 8 a.m.-to-noon shift on a particular day; the next, it might be a 5 p.m.-to-11 p.m. closing shift. Eventually, it became too much to juggle.

Roy-Rankin's situation is hardly unique.

A Common Trend

Nearly three in 10 hourly workers in the United States say they rarely get consistent work schedules, according to a study released Tuesday by WorkJam, a firm that specializes in workforce scheduling technology.

What’s more, an astounding 56 percent say they get their schedules a week or less in advance. Both trends run rampant in the fast-growing service sector, especially in low-wage fields like retail and fast food. And while policies of this sort save companies money by allowing them to tailor schedules to an expected flow of customer traffic, workers say it's the source of headaches.

Joshua Ostrega, chief operating officer and co-founder of WorkJam, admits the 56 percent figure came as a bit of a shock. “I think it’s extremely high,” he says. “We were actually quite surprised.”

 

Workers Employed in the Retail Trade Industries (Seasonally Adjusted) | FindTheData

An especially harsh practice among retailers is what’s known as just-in-time or on-call scheduling. Under this system, workers are required to be “on call” to come in and work on a particular day even if they’re not scheduled to do so.

The industry’s profit margins are tight, says Ostrega, and companies are looking to extract savings however they can. Software-based scheduling systems do the trick by linking labor supply to consumer demand. When store traffic is low, the system calls for fewer employees; when the system projects more patrons, it demands more workers. Employers like it because it keeps them from racking up unnecessary labor costs.

Now, unpredictable scheduling is increasingly drawing the interest of public authorities.

'The Pressure's Mounting'

In April, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters to major retailers that inquired about their on-call scheduling and asked whether their policies violated state law. Like seven other states and the District of Columbia, New York has so-called reporting-time laws that require employees to be paid when they report to work, even if no work is provided.

Since the letters went out, a number of high-profile companies have announced changes to their policies. The Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch, which both received the notices, said they would end the practice of on-call scheduling. And Starbucks promised last year to provide more consistent scheduling to baristas. But as a recent story in the New York Times revealed, the cafe chain has failed to do so.

Robert Hiltonsmith, senior policy analyst at Demos, a progressive think tank, expects the positive trends to continue -- even if Tuesday’s survey suggests employers overall aren’t relenting on tough and irregular scheduling demands. “I think it’s a slow burn, but the pressure’s mounting,” he says.

It’s in part a question of economic self-interest, Hiltonsmith says. Burned-out workers tend to quit their jobs fairly quickly, and high turnover is expensive. That’s one of the reasons why Walmart, the nation’s largest private-sector employer, and its top competitors voluntarily hiked wages earlier this year, according to Hiltonsmith. In fact, when Walmart announced it was boosting starting pay to at least $9 an hour, it also promised to notify workers of their schedules at least two and a half weeks in advance.

Reforms like this and others -- shifts that are scheduled the same time every week -- could prevent retailers from losing employees like Roy-Rankin, the kind of people who are otherwise content at work.

There’s also mounting political pressure, which stems from growing public concern over the livelihood of service-sector workers. Hiltonsmith attributes this to the “seismic shifts in the labor force” -- the decades-long decline of manufacturing and growth in service-sector employment.

Contrary to the popular image, retail workers are not teenagers looking to make a quick buck. The median age of a retail trade employee is 38, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I think people had less concern when it wasn’t people trying to support their families,” Hiltonsmith says. “For better or worse, the service economy is the economy of the country’s future.”

Source: International Business Times

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: National Federation of Independent Business President Juanita Duggan, fresh off her secret special-interests meeting with Donald Trump last week, has some advice for downtowners scratching their heads about how to interact with the unconventional campaign: Treat it like any other. "We’re doing what we would do with any campaign: asking questions and letting them know our agenda," she told PI. "It was an extremely substantive meeting with the candidate himself. That speaks for itself."

A4A's Nick Calio, the only other known attendee, wasn't available for comment, according to a spokesman. (Both Duggan and Calio contributed to Jeb Bush's campaign, for the record.) Other major trade groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, API and the National Association of Manufacturers, weren't invited. The New York Times reported that Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who's advising Trump, invited people for whom he has “great respect.” Trump's spokeswoman didn't answer a request for comment.

MACK'S BACK: Connie Mack, the former Florida congressman who recently left Levick, registered to lobby for DCI Group on behalf of Puerto Rico bondholders. Mack declined to specify which investors, but he previously worked for DCI on behalf of hedge fund BlueMountain Capital Management on its dispute with the island commonwealth. DCI Group is the grassroots/"AstroTurf" specialist that The New York Times said helped coordinate a lobbying campaign purportedly comprising retiree bondholders.

Mack criticized the current bill on Puerto Rico's debt, telling PI it features an unconstitutional stay and a "bailout in the form of a super Chapter 9."

NO DEAL: Pharma giants Pfizer and Allergan have called off their $160 billion merger after Treasury released new anti-inversion rules Monday, Pro Tax’s Bernie Becker reports. Pfizer was planning to move its legal address to Ireland, and the deal would have been the largest in a series of mergers allowing companies to take foreign addresses, reducing their tax bills. Conservative groups, including Americans for Tax Reform and 13 others, have called on Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to address the issue through tax reform instead of regulations. http://politico.pro/1S241li

— Roberti Global, Tarplin Downs & Young and Ogilvy Government Relations lobbied for Pfizer on inversions, and SKDKnickerbocker was also advising the drugmaker. Van Heuvelen Strategies represents Allergan on international taxes.

STATUS UPDATES:

— The Center for American Progress named Liz Kennedy its new director of government and democratic reform, after having served as counsel and campaign strategist at Demos, working on voting rights, money in politics and corporate accountability, among other issues.

— Rob Hill, who most recently directed the field efforts at the Small Business Administration, joins Precision Strategies as the director of mobilization and campaign management. The firm also hired Sam Libowsky from Starcom MediaVest Group as principal for paid media and Nathaniel Lubin, Obama campaign veteran and former White House director of the office and digital strategy, as of counsel, focusing on paid media and digital strategy.

— Vernessa Pollard and Veleka Peeples-Dyer were named co-leaders of McDermott Will & Emery's expanded FDA practice. Pollard came over from Arnold & Porter last month, and the firm is planning to add at least three more lawyers to the group this year.

NEW BUSINESS: Cassidy & Associates is now lobbying for Patagonia on coastal resiliency, infrastructure, clean water and watershed restoration. The lobbying firm also signed Delmarva Group, the law offices of Eugene Vamos, Geos Institute, Osen LLC, Parts Life and Steadman Philippon Research Institute.

— McBee Strategic Consulting started a partnership with government and public affairs firm Tendo Consulting in London.

GRAY AREA: The House Ethics Committee will not conduct a full investigation into allegations against Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), POLITICO’s John Bresnahan reports, after the Office of Congressional Ethics found several potential violations. Grayson has been accused of receiving compensation from a hedge fund and other entities he controlled while in Congress. Though the committee will continue to review these allegations, it is not required to act further. Grayson, who is running for Senate, has accused his primary opponent, Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, of instigating OCE’s probe, and has called for an investigation of OCE and its congressional staff. http://politi.co/1PTKdc4

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader, will be introducing former Sen. Blanche Lincoln for her award at the Bryce Harlow Foundation dinner later this month. Former House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, now with PwC, will be introducing the current chairman, Kevin Brady. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will deliver a special tribute to the late Bryce Harlow. There will also be taped tributes expected to come from a prominent U.S. ambassador, top congressional leaders and a former president.

— Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) hosted a book-signing party for her daughter Stefany's book, "Ellie & Coach," at the townhouse of 3 Click Solutions' Patrick Murphy. The book celebrates her daughter Ellie's struggle with diabetes with the help of her family and service dog. Attending were Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

KASICH'S CASE: Allies of Gov. John Kasich will hold a large meeting this afternoon to brief supporters and donors, reports POLITICO’s Anna Palmer. The event will be headlined by Ohio Sen. Rob Portman. Also slated to attend: Kasich senior strategist John Weaver, Republican operative Charlie Black and Bob Rusbuldt, co-chair of the governor’s steering committee and head of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, and more, in the American Trucking Association’s townhouse. http://politi.co/1RE1ED2

COACH LUNTZ: After Republican polling firm Luntz Global, founded by consultant Frank Luntz, asked CEOs across the country about their views on traditionally left-leaning policies, they found that the majority supported raising the minimum wage, increasing paid parental leave requirements and increasing paid sick leave, BuzzFeed's Cora Lewis reports. Managing Director David Merritt has since coached business lobbies, like the Council of State Chambers of Commerce, on how to reconcile these differences. But left-leaning advocacy groups, like the Center for Popular Democracy, say business lobbies are ignoring their members' views. http://bzfd.it/1SPBhJq

ON THE HILL: The Alzheimer’s Association is bringing more than 1,200 people, it's largest-ever fly-in, to the Hill to share their personal stories and ask Congress for increased funding for medical research around the disease, and to pass the HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act. They have more than 450 meetings scheduled. Retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) will receive the Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will each receive a Humanitarian Award.

DOCTOR, DOCTOR: Doctors for America, the American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and 137 other groups are calling for Congress to provide the CDC with funding for research into the causes of gun violence and how to prevent it, reports Pro Health Care’s Dan Diamond. http://politi.co/1QmvbhP

MEMORIAM: Cindy O'Malley, a government affairs counselor at K&L Gates, died March 30. She was a Robert Davis (R-Mich.) and House Armed Services Committee alum. Services have been scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at St. Ann Catholic Church in Arlington, Va. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for contributions to either American Cancer Society or the Girls & Boys Club-Camp O'Malley in Grand Rapids, Mich.

NEW PAC REGISTRATIONS:

Brand New Congress (Non-Qualified Non-Party, Unauthorized)

Florida Voters Project (Non-Qualified Non-Party With Non-Contribution Account, Unauthorized)

NAFSA PAC (Non-Qualified Non-Party, Unauthorized)

I'm Bringing Sexy PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only Committee, Unauthorized)

My Vote Matters Now

JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEES:

Emily Cain Victory Fund

Future Focus

Kennedy-Sinema Victory Fund

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:

Armory Hill Advocates (formerly known as Rawlson Policy Group): PANTHERx

Arnold & Porter LLP: Rebiotix, Inc.

Capitol Connections, LLC: Florida Aquaculture Association

CapView Associates LLC (doing business as CapView Strategies): Pfizer Inc.

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Delmarva

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Geos Institute

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Law Offices of Eugene Vamos

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Osen LLC

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Parts Life, Inc.

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Patagonia

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Steadman Philippon Research Institute

CG Technologies Inc.: Torch Technologies, Inc.

Lincoln Policy Group: American Trucking Association

Lincoln Policy Group: Cognizant Technology Solutions

Lincoln Policy Group: National Park Hospitality Association

News Corporation: News Corporation

The Ickes and Enright Group, Inc.: Deaf Professionals Arts Network

Third Dimension Strategies, Inc.: Computer Science Education Coalition

NEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: PhRMA

Hannegan Landau Poersch Advocacy, LLC: Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, Inc.

Law Offices of George Harris, LLC: City of Dothan

By ISAAC ARNSDORF

With help from Cogan Schneier and Brianna Gurciullo

Source