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Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

Military notebook: Chambliss, Isakson defend vote against Franken amendment

Senate Democrats are crying foul over an amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill, offered this month by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. The Franken amendment prohibits government contracts from being issued to companies who prevent their employees from suing their employers if they have been raped or assaulted at work.

Their complaints are not about the amendment — the measure sailed through a floor vote, 68-30 — but that 30 senators, all Republicans, voted against it.

The two Georgia senators, Sen. Johnny Isakson and Sen. Saxby Chambliss, were among the 30 nay votes.

The amendment stemmed from accusations from a KBR/Halliburton employee, Jamie Leigh Jones, that she was drugged and raped by multiple co-workers in 2005 while working in Iraq.

Jones was initially prevented from suing KBR/Halliburton because, as a condition of her employment, she signed an agreement that forced her grievances to be addressed by an independent arbiter, preventing her from taking the company to court.

A three-judge panel in Texas later permitted the lawsuit to go forward.

Both Chambliss and Isakson, through written statements, defended their votes on the grounds that the amendment would be thwart arbitration as an option for employers to address grievances.

“This would be a major, fundamental change in U.S. labor law and I believe it would be very detrimental to employees to eliminate arbitration as an option,” Isakson said.

“If that happens, these employees’ only recourse will be to litigate suits in court, which is a very lengthy, expensive and time-consuming process,” Chambliss added.

AIR FORCE HAS SAFEST YEAR EVER

The Air Force tallied the fewest number of accidents ever recorded, according to an Air Force Times report.

The number of recorded “Class A” accidents — mishaps that result in a death or at least $1 million in damages — totaled 16 in 2009, nine fewer than 2008. In 1952, more than 2,200 hundred Class A accidents were recorded.

The mishap rate in 2009 was 0.82 incidents for every 100,000 flight hours, according to the Air Force Times report, the lowest in the 62-year history of the U.S. Air Force.

MUSEUM ANNOUNCES PHOTO CONTEST

The Museum of Aviation is co-sponsoring an ongoing photo contest with Middle Georgia College. It is set to end Oct. 30.

The museum is looking for the best photos of its exhibits. Photo manipulation is prohibited.

All photo submissions must be made through the Museum of Aviation Web site, www.museum-ofaviation.org, and there is a $5 entry fee.

The winner of the contest will win $1,000, with the second- and third-place finishers also winning cash prizes.