My colleague David Sirota writes in his column about Democrats:

First, their leaders campaign on pledges to create a government insurer (a "public option") that will compete with private health corporations. Once elected, though, Democrats propose simply subsidizing those corporations, which are (not coincidentally) filling Democratic coffers. Justifying the reversal, Democrats claim the subsidies will at least help some citizens try to afford the private insurance they'll be forced to buy — all while insisting Congress suddenly lacks the votes for a public option.

Despite lawmakers' refusal to hold votes verifying that assertion, liberal groups obediently follow orders to back the bill, their obsequious leaders fearing scorn from Democratic insiders and moneymen. Specifically, MoveOn, unions and "progressive" non-profits threaten retribution against lawmakers who consider voting against the bill because it doesn't include a public option. The threats fly even though these congresspeople would be respecting their previous public-option ultimatums — ultimatums originally supported by many of the same groups now demanding retreat.

Soon it's on to false choices. Democrats tell their base that any bill is better than no bill, even one making things worse, and that if this particular legislation doesn't pass, Republicans will win the upcoming election — as if signing a blank check to insurance and drug companies couldn't seal that fate. They tell everyone else that "realistically" this is the "last chance" for reform, expecting We the Sheeple to forget that those spewing the do-or-die warnings control the legislative calendar and could immediately try again.

   Indeed.

   Read the rest of the column.

   This was in the Financial Times today:

A US bank regulator joined financial executives on Wednesday in calling for changes to consumer protection rules proposed by Chris Dodd, the chairman of the Senate banking committee.

“In every case consumer protection has the edge and will trump safety and soundness and I think that is backwards,” said John Dugan, the comptroller of the currency, at an American Bankers Association conference.

   A bank regulator--in theory someone who is supposed to be neutral--is advocating against strong consumer protections before the main lobbying group for the banking industry? This regulator should be fired.

   The healthcare bill is a mess--it won't cover all Americans at affordable costs and it will hand insurance companies tens of billions of dollars in new profits, the hard-earned wages of working people who are already stressed out financially.

   The only ray of light down the road to fix this, if you just deal with the Senate language, is Section 1332. Here is Bernie Sanders' explanation:

If the Senate bill is passed, the only opportunity that states would have to move towards a single payer system would be to get a waiver from the Exchange requirements through Section 1332.[1] 

Section 1332 enables a state to apply for and receive a waiver (beginning in 2017) from the requirement to operate an Exchange.  In order to get such a waiver, the state would have to present an alternative plan that would provide coverage at least as comprehensive and affordable, to at least a comparable number of residents, as the federal legislation would achieve.  The state plan could not increase the federal deficit.

States could apply for Section 1332 waivers for up to 5 years at a time. To do so, they would have to comply with transparency regulations in the development of the state plan and enact a law providing for state action under the plan.  If the state waivers were approved, the federal government would provide the State the aggregate amount of any tax credits and cost-sharing reductions that would have been paid to residents of the State in the absence of a waiver, which may only be used for providing health insurance coverage under the state plan.

Section 1332 does not expand existing waiver authority under any existing federal health program (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP), but it would require the Secretary to create a coordinated waiver process so that a state could submit a single application for waivers under Sec. 1332 and under any other federal health law for which waiver authority already exists.

In order for states to try a different approach without first having to set up an Exchange, the date the waivers are currently available under Section 1332 of the Senate bill would have to be changed from 2017 to 2014.  Otherwise, a state seeking to innovate using a different model – including something approaching a single payer system at the state level – would first have to go through all the trouble and expense of establishing and operating an Exchange before having the opportunity to receive a waiver.

Assuming the date in section 1332 is changed, however, this provision will facilitate state efforts to set up single payer systems.  If a state plan to cover everyone through an alternative model is approved, they will not be required to set up an Exchange through which private companies compete.  In other words, after receiving such a waiver, states would no longer be preempted from setting up their own systems in lieu of an Exchange.

   Keep that in mind.

   There is a lot of talking about the coming debt burden on companies:

Maybe they should have, because 2012 also is the beginning of a three-year period in which more than $700 billion in risky, high-yield corporate debt begins to come due, an extraordinary surge that some analysts fear could overload the debt markets.

With huge bills about to hit corporations and the federal government around the same time, the worry is that some companies will have trouble getting new loans, spurring defaults and a wave of bankruptcies...

...The period from 2012 to 2014 represents payback time for a Who’s Who of private equity firms and the now highly leveraged companies they helped buy in the precrisis boom years.

The biggest include the hospital owner HCA, which was taken private in 2006 by a group led by Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts for $33 billion, and has $13.3 billion in debt payments coming due between 2012 and 2014. Another buyout led by Kohlberg Kravis, for the giant Texas utility TXU, has $20.9 billion that needs to be refinanced in the same period.

   And who do we think will be asked to assume the burden of the leveraged buyouts and gambling-gone-bad? The workers. Because of companies can't get new loans, the first thing that will happen is a wave of severe cuts in wages--on a population that already has not seen real wage hikes in decades, compared to productivity.

   The talk of recovery is not dealing with the real world of people.

    Chris Dodd has put his regulatory reform bill on the table. Bottom line: it is, at best, average--and certainly does not do what needs to be done to remake the rules of the economy.

    The biggest flaw, in my opinion, is giving the Federal Reserve Board more power, particularly placing consumer protection in the hands of the Fed--rather than in the hands of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a proposal that the Administration had laid on the table that I thought was a very good idea. It simply is not conceivable to me that the Fed will be a serious place for the defense of consumers' rights. After all, it's the Fed that was asleep at the wheel as the seeds of the financial crisis were sown--by the very circle that has enormous influence with the Fed, either by literally having people who sit on the Fed's governing board, or its regional banks, or by simply having the ear of those people who run the Fed.

    When was the last time someone you knew had the ability to influence the Fed?

   Second issue: while the Fed would oversee with more authority institutions with more than $50 billion in assets and have the power to seize and break up failing insitutions, the legislation does not do what I believe needs to be done--take a part the basic model of big banks and replace our banking system with regional and community banks. The big bank model is a failure because bankers of the Citibank philosophy (read: Robert Rubin) will be less attuned to the average person down the street than they are to the market and monetary manipulations that happen half way around the world.

    The Dodd bill only modestly addresses the core problems in our financial system.

Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.

While in Harare, Zimbabwe, we met with the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ), an initiative of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) which started operating in September of 2003. The research institute's primary objective to develop, through research, well-grounded policy positions designed to influence development processes and outcomes at the national, regional and international levels. This is particularly important in the context of globalization where national policy is increasingly giving way to regional and international developments. In this regard, the ability to anticipate developments will help in designing proactive policies that respond promptly to external challenges.

LEDRIZ shared with us the training and research materials and documents they use in training programs throughout the country around the "8 Socio-Economic Rights.' Rather than directly endorsing political candidates, ZCTU advocates for democracy and good governance in Zimbabwe. LEDRIZ is strategically positioning itself to be part of every major economic policy debate in Zimbabwe, an impressive feat given the tight autocratic rule President Mugabe maintains over the country. In addition, LEDRIZ is fighting hard to establish progressive policies such as opposing the privatization of public utilities, providing support for the informal sector, protecting workers' pensions and their ability to retire with dignity.

In establishing an aligned research institute, the labor movement in Zimbabwe is following the examples of the US, European, South African and Namibian trade unions. Such a research think-tank is particularly helpful in an economy like Zimbabwe's which has experienced a wrenching brain drain, undermining capacity. The main strength of LEDRIZ is that it is a member of several national, regional and international networks such as the Alternatives to Neo-liberalism in Southern Africa (ANSA) which it coordinates; the African Labour Research Network (ALRN); and the Global Union Research Network (GURN), launched in January 2004 under the coordination of the ILO Bureau of Workers' Activities and the International Trade Union Council (ITUC).

Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.

Imagine being one of only five opposition voices in a country of thirteen million people, where all radio, print and television is strictly controlled by the government. That's Ben Madzimure's uphill battle everyday as editor of "The Worker," the voice of the labor movement, in Zimbabwe--especially because his newspaper is only printed once a month, with only 5,000 copies distributed throughout the country.

"Zimbabwe used to have such a vibrant and independent media but most of the press was shut down," said Madzimure. Today many of the print reporters across the country bite their tongues and print the government's viewpoint. Madzimure, on the other hand, actively seeks out stories the government doesn't want mentioned, such as worker discontent and political corruption, and provides an unfiltered analysis of current events.  

While President Mugabe lost the presidential election of 2008 (despite employing voter suppression strategies), he refused to relinquish power to the victor, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. Today, under a "power sharing" agreement between the parties of Mugabe and Tsvangirai, the government continues to control all forms of media and mass-communication.

Given that Zimbabwe is one of the most literate countries in Africa, around 90 percent literacy rate, print media is a critical tool in moving a message. Madzimure says that after the newspaper is read, it's passed on to at least nine other people and it remains a  "permanent marker," because people use it to "wrap things or to fill holes."

With a population spread out over hundreds of miles in rural areas, "The Worker" is the main way for the trade union federation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), to disseminate news and inspire activity. "When ZCTU calls for national actions, the media doesn't report on it at all, "The Worker" is a main vehicle giving directions to people on how to participate in strikes, elections and public actions," said Madzimure.

Yet, despite financial support from the ZCTU, the Solidarity Center in the United States, the Canadian Labour Congress, and others -- the $1 USD price tag to purchase the paper is too expensive for most Zimbabweans. With 80 percent job informalization in the country , according to a recent United Nations report, the labor movement relies on its local networks to make sure the message filters throughout the country. Union members at every district are providing reporting as "volunteer correspondents" and several unemployed  reporters are also lending a hand.

Madzimure's dream is to eventually turn "The Worker" into a daily publication, offering investigative reporting and political analysis. In the meantime, while most Zimbabweans have no access to the computer, this does not stop Ben from promoting widely via every medium at his disposal including a news blog, a fan page on Facebook (it has 3,800 fans), and on Twitter (12,000 followers).  

Click here to learn more about The Worker from Ben Madzimure's, the Editor.

Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.

It's hard to believe that more than 90 percent of the workforce in Zimbabwe are part of the informal sector. These workers do everything from selling bananas and playing music to selling stone carvings and other crafts. Unfortunately because they are not considered part of the formal economy, they are often the most exploited-or ignored-by the government. As a result, in 2002, they formed the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA), an associate of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), to help gain a voice for their members in government.

These workers, who traditionally competed against each other and with the formal sector -are now coordinated and working together to tackle pressing issues such as social security, disability benefits, improved infrastructure, working conditions, and many others.

The Informal Economy is being helped by ZCTU together with their elected leadership to lobby legislators to change the laws to that they become user friendly.

We were given the opportunity to visit two community projects coordinated by the informal workers association with President Beauty Mugijima and program coordinator Elijah Mutemeri.

The first project was a village where they are working with the local community to build a school in an area where hundreds of people were forced to relocate during "Operation Restore Order." As part of a de-urbanization program under Mugabe, the controversial leader of the country, nearly 2 million workers were forcibly removed from their homes in cities, stripped of their belongings, and forced to live in rural areas, without any agriculture skills or training. We met with this community who, despite having very few resources and little volunteer support, are trying to build a school to teach area children. They recently succeeded in getting accredited by the local government and the community is pushing public officials for additional resources to build the school. The visit was especially inspiring because the teachers working there endure long commutes because they believed in helping the community. Many families in the makeshift town are also raising orphans or abandoned children, as well their own.

The second project we visited is an orphanage for children that the union is helping support. As we arrived children were singing, clapping, and rushing to offer us hugs and high fives. Most of these hundreds of kids lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, and the orphanage provides them not only with a place to go to learn and go to school, but also gives them a family.

The teachers and caretakers who work there are mostly volunteers and you can see that they share a deep commitment and passion for the future of these kids.

Stay tuned for a small-dollar donation drive to help this orphanage in the coming weeks.

Click here to watch a video about ZCIEA: Responding to 'Operation Restore Order'.

In Harare, on the way to our meeting with Wellington Chibebe, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), even our driver was excited for us.

"He is a good, good man. I've only seen him on TV, but he's fights very hard for the people and to promote democracy!"

Since the early 1990s, ZCTU grew increasingly opposed to the government of Robert Mugabe and was the main force behind the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In fact, MDC's leader and the current Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai held the same position with the ZCTU before Chibebe.

Chibebe is one of the most vocal-and effective-voices in civil society promoting respect for human rights and democracy. Despite being brutally beaten, tortured, and having his life threatened over the last two decades, Chibebe remains more positive than ever about the direction of his country. It was largely due to Zimbabwe's labor movement that in the 2008 presidential election Tsvangirai defeated Mugagbe. Yet despite MDC's victory, Mugabe, refuses to step down and the nation has a "power sharing" agreement.

When we met with Chibebe, he was cautiously optimistic about the power-sharing agreement and the future of democracy in Zimbabwe. "Our role as the labor movement is to fight for democracy and good governance, respect for people's basic rights, and also social and  economic rights." He says that while the MDC plays a critical role in promoting democracy, the mission of the union movement will be to hold all political parties accountable to these principles. "We just can't afford to repeat the same mistake by treating any government or political party as angels from heaven," he says. While he described the beginning of the power-sharing agreement as "terrible," Chibebe felt strongly that "things are now getting better, we are able to make some positive changes happen."

Chibebe was born 300 miles south of Harare. His upbringing herding goats and farming built both a sense of responsibility and social consciousness, he says. "Rural kids grow up different from urban ones, you start fighting for your rights at a very early age. If you aren't aggressive, you'll get abused." He also described how in rural life he had no access to books or libraries, so everyone listened to their elders, learning about the importance of struggle and hearing passionate tales of resistance against the ruling government. Not even a teen when his mother passed away, Chibebe became passionately involved in political struggle for social and economic justice that has lasted his whole life.

Being at the helm of the Zimbabwe labor movement at this moment is no easy task. The country faces unemployment rates of more than 90 percent. The media is controlled by the government. Union leaders are routinely harassed and imprisoned. And the Mugabe government instituted draconian laws to thwart unions, such as arresting any meeting of more than four people. Yet the affiliates of the ZCTU, representing more than 30 unions and every sector of the economy, have remained united. "While it is very difficult at times with unemployment so high to convince people to be in unions, we are still able to recruit and grow."

Chibebe works tirelessly to bring attention to Zimbabwe's economic and human rights realities and to pressure the government to reform its ways.  As workers struggle to survive inflation and low paying informal employment, Chibebe has expanded the work of the ZCTU to represent all workers in both formal and informal employment.  ZCTU  fights for economic and social justice not just for his members, but for the fundamental rights of all of Zimbabwe's workers.

In 2002, Chibebe and the ZCTU had the vision of helping informal sector workers-everyone from street vendors to musicians and artisans-form unions. The desire for social and economic change spread like wild fire when the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Associations (ZCIEA) started in 2002. Presently with more than 1.5 million paying members (out of  3.5 million members), the informal workers now have access to all the resources of the ZCTU such as their lobbyists, their research arm, and the strength and power of their affiliate unions.

Chibebe, and everyone we met with at ZCTU, speaks with great pride about the support they've been given by the American labor movement through the Solidarity Center, which maintains an office in the country. "Because of the Solidarity Center and the American worker, we've had incredible moral and material support," Chibebe said. Some of the examples he cites are the role the Solidarity Center plays in supporting their research institute, expanding distribution of their newspaper "the Worker," their ability to fund a lobbyist, create a paralegal program, training activists and leaders, and getting support from international governments and politicians through organizational delegations such as the visit from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU).

Click here to watch a video of Chibebe Wellington speak about his work.

I'm writing to get the attention of any organizers among the readership of this blog. There is a group of workers out there who merit serious consideration for a major organizing campaign: "job coaches" and "direct support staff", who work with developementally disabled adults in day programs and group homes respectively.

Many of these workers barely earn minimum wage, are treated as disposable and lack even a modicum of job security. They can be--and often are--suspended and subsequently fired for things like a client's fabrication.

Right off the top I can name four advantages an organizer would have with these workers:

1. ACCESS. Job coaches are not confined to one spot. They typically go out into the community with their clients four times a week, either by public transportation or in a van. An organizer could get a day pass from the local transit authority and ride around for several hours a day meeting and talking to staff of various programs without having to worry about the meddlesome eye of management. Never in my four years in the field have I seen a director or assistant director board a bus. Or, they could go to the popular sites--Farmers Markets, McDonads and especially bowling alleys--and simply wait for them to show up.
2. OUTSOURCING IS IMPOSSIBLE. The clients are the product. If the company wants to flee to Indonesia or the Maquiladoras, it must relocate the clients and their relatives as well.
3. AUTOMATING IS IMPOSSIBLE. The recent Supreme Court decision made corporations like people. It did not do the same for machinery.
4. LARGE FIELD. There are 50 adult day programs just in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor area plus Torrance alone, and countless group homes. I have yet to encounter or even hear of a unionized one.