April Unity - TWU 556

Capitol Hill UpdateEverything an 8th Grader knows aboutUS GovernmentLesson One: The United States Constitutionby Portia Reddick White, TWU Legislative RepresentativeThis is the second of a series of articles to help theFlight Attendants of TWU Local 556 understandTWU’s involvement in the legislative processWhen you work in and around the D.C. areayou become quite familiar with the phrase“On the Hill”. But in essence you don’thave to live in DC to participate on the Hill. In fact,the process on the Hill begins and ends with you,the voter, the constituent.The power of change belongs to you becauseof your vote, your voice, and your convictions. Thelast ‘Capitol Hill Update’ (January 2007) specified agoal to explain the legislative process that we havein the US and how we function with that system.The first article in the series is a review of the U.S.Constitution in regards to the legislative process.There is a new television game show that has acatchy title – something like “Are You as Smart as a5th Grader?” In the show, contestants answerquestions that normal 5th graders know theanswers to. And, in answering some of the questions,the contestants figure out that they have simplyforgotten what they learned in grade schooland are aided by 5th graders helping them answervarious questions. So, borrowing from that theme…6th to 8th grade students learn the basic structureof our government. Thus the title “Everything an 8thGrader knows about US Government. Lesson One:The United States Constitution.”Most of us probably remember that there are3 branches of government; the legislative branch,the executive branch, and the judicial branch. TheConstitution of the United States speaks to eachbranch in separate Articles. Article 1: the legislativebranch (the House and the Senate), Article 2: theexecutive branch (the Presidency) and Article 3:the judicial branch (Supreme Court and inferiorcourts).Article 1 of the Constitution established theBranch of Congress and gives Congress the powerto make laws.Our three branch system of government wasestablished by the “founding fathers”, the framersof the Constitution, as a means to form a governmentwithout allowing one person to have toomuch control. The Constitution provided for a separationof powers with each branch having its ownresponsibilities with the idea to make sure the rightsof citizens were not ignored. The three branch systemallows for a branch to check and balance thepowers of the other branches so that a balance ofpower is maintained.As someone who is living in the United States, aMember of TWU, and a Flight Attendant ofSouthwest Airlines, we have a civic duty to fulfill.There will always be specific issues that weencounter at work like OSHA protections, FMLA,security issues and/or something like the FAA allowingthe use of cell phone usage onboard airborneaircraft that will have our Membership in the forefrontof legislation that affects our working environments.Additionally, issues like healthcare, taxes,and education (that affect us whether we work inthe airline industry or not) demand our involvementin lobbying, explaining our position on the issues toour local, state and federal legislators. It comesdown to first understanding the background of theprocess, the process itself, and the role we play inthe process.Hopefully, the brief explanation within this articlehas renewed your understanding and knowledgein the history and purpose of the legislativebranch. For more information for those who wouldlike to be experts of the process, the following is abrief list of websites where you can get more information:www.house.gov/www.senate.gov/www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/Legislative.shtmlhttp://thomas.loc.gov/http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/legi.htmlAnd finally, here’s a challenge to test yourknowledge: finish the following tidbits of informa-22